Voting for 10 Lok Sabha seats has begun in Maharashtra. Around 9 per cent voting was recorded till 9 am. Clashes were witnessed between local residents and police in Manavath taluka of Parbhani. They threw stones on police vehicles. MPCC president Ashok Chavan, former home minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Pritam Munde are in a fray for the second phase of polling.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar’s son Sujash Ambedkar has alleged that when voting button for Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi symbol was pressed it went in favour of BJP. Former chief minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh’s family members casted their vote in Latur. Senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil also casted his vote. Glitches were found in VVPAT machine in Akola for half an hour. Cooperation Minister Subhash Deshmukh casted his vote in Solapur. Around 1, 85, 46,000 voters will exercise their franchise in second phase. 179 candidates are in fray and 20,716 polling booths are there.
It is a fact that religion and caste-based politics dominate the Indian elections and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) never shied away from playing the religious and caste card from the selection of the candidates to the elections. Around 80 million first-time voters, between the ages of 18-21, will be casting their votes in the general elections this year and they will decide the fate of the nation for sure and a new chapter will be added to the history of Indian elections. However, what matters the most is that will they be going to vote based on religion, castes, and region or based on the performance this ruling government and the answer will make sure if the first-time voters contribute to making or breaking the nation.
Religions play a very crucial role in bringing mandate to the political parties in India and political parties as well since the country got independence from the British, have been using the same with full zeal for their political gain and also have been successful most of the time. In our country, religions bring more votes than development, that’s why even after 73 years of being independence – we deal with great poverty, lack of facilities in hospitals that caused the death of lakh of recently born and unborn child, lack of good educational institutions, lack of roads, electricity, and even very basic needs of daily life.
Even after having his image controversial in the past and accused of initiating and leading the 2002 Gujarat riots that caused the death of more than thousands of people – of which most were Muslims – PM Modi succeeded in projecting himself as the only Messiah of country’s development through his political campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and eventually he retained the power in 2014 as the anti-incumbent sentiments against the Congress-led coalition was rampant as a result of corruptions, accusations, and a downward drift in the governance. Moreover, Modi managed to play with the emotions of the Indians by promising so many things.
Once he got into power, he changed the image that he had created of himself before the voters. In the last five years, the Modi-led government has turned a blind eye on the attacks of religious minorities and Dalits by fringe groups. As per the data from IndiaSpend – which tracks down the news of violence in English language media — the reports of religion-based hate crimes mainly targeting Muslims have spiked significantly after 2014. Modi, instead of taking action against these cases, kept silence and indirectly promoted these kinds of communal-based violence against religious minorities as he believes that hitting at the Hindu sentiments would bring him to mandate, and in the end, he was right as he has become a brand now. Sectarian politics made him more popular across the nation and his party won the elections in Uttar Pradesh and formed the government.
However, the shining of the BJP started to diminish after the Demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) – as both of the decisions by the government hurt, disturbed and dragged the whole nation into crisis. This might affect Modi in the upcoming elections. Moreover, Modi is well aware of everything and knows all the nuances to use at the right time and place. Since the time his image started diminishing, he brought the Indian Armed Forces’ issue at the front and shouted like a lion against Pakistan and he failed; he brought the Ram Mandir issue and claimed to build a grand Ram Mandir by making a new ordinance but failed again! Then he brought an action for cow protection and faced defeat again; apart from all these, he has also used Love Jihad, Ghar Wapsi, etc. In the last two years, he has tried play with every possible communal subject impress the voters but was exposed at the end and is now in the silence and might be looking for something more powerful than the mentioned issue that he can use.
Babri Masjid was demolished in religious violence in 1992. In the Lok Sabha elections of 1984, the BJP got only two seats. However, by following the campaign, the BJP won 85 seats and then it continued to increase its political base. It won 119 seats in 1991 and 182 seats in 1998. It got 182 seats in 1999. Following the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, though the BJP lost seats and this was an indication that the secular Hindus had rejected the BJP for what had happened in Gujarat.
Muslims and Hindus have lived in India together for centuries, however, religious sentiments are exploited either to divert the attention of the people from the very important issue or as means of polarising the vote bank. All in all BJP’s ultimate ambition is to get the 80 per cent of the country’s total votes which are of Hindus and it will do it by using the Hindutva ideology. In the end, it will again bring the Ram Mandir dispute at the front – and even may be this time it will start the construction of the Mandir – even the base.
Hindutva is a political ideology which is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – a right-wing Hindu nationalist group. With the gradual rise of the BJP in national politics, this ideology has also gained popularity over the years through BJP, which is the political offshoot of the RSS. The Hindutva was coined in 1924 by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar – who fought for India’s freedom from India and also advocated the Hindu Nationalism.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
The Fadnavis government might be speaking highly of
its flagship scheme Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan but questions are being raised about
the success of the scheme as Marathwada is reeling under severe drought. The
BJP government had launched the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan to make Maharashtra
drought free by 2019. The main objective of the scheme was to make 5,000
villages free of water scarcity. The scheme was launched in December 2014 by
the state government with an objective to harvest rainwater and enhance
groundwater level. However, the project has failed to yield the desired results
due to haphazard and unscientific implementation.
Manoj Shemde Patil, a farmer from Beed said, “BJP,
NCP, and Congress are indulging in politics over farmers’ problems. They came
to power but have not addressed the drought issue. They have indulged in
frauds. If farmers from Marathwada protests against this issue, then false case
is filed against them.”
“Due to shortage of water, farmers and animals fall
ill. If animals fall ill, then how will farmers be able to cultivate? Political
parties give false assurances of implementing loan waiver scheme; they have
failed to address drought issue,” he further added.
Before election, politicians try to rake up the water
scarcity issue to attract the voters but no breakthrough has been achieved.
Residents of Beed, Latur are unhappy with the government for its failure to
address the water shortage issue. Even though several villages in Marathwada
come under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Swaraj Abhiyan but residents have to grapple
with severe water shortage issue. Marathwada has been facing water shortage
after two months of the withdrawal of monsoon season.
Former BSP leader Digambar Rathod
said, “The government has completely failed to address the drought situation
in the state. They are least bothered about farmers’ problems and only want
power. Democracy is dead as 21 parties have approached the Election Commission
to hold paper ballot. Be it Congress, Shiv Sena, NCP or BJP, nobody is thinking
about the welfare of farmers.”
In 2017-18, the government had claimed that out of
5,031 villages selected for the scheme 100 per cent work was completed in 396
villages, 80 per cent in 1,247 villages while work was on in the remaining
3,418 villages. However, the reality is far different as Marathwada is facing
severe drought. Opposition parties like Congress and NCP had targeted the BJP
government for its failure to address drought crisis in the state. Last year
Congress had also organised Jan Sangharsh Yatra in support of farmers affected
due to drought.
Independent MLA Mohan Fad said, “The
government should have resolved this problem till now. The inter-linking of
rivers has not happened due to scanty rainfall. The situation is only going to
get worse in future. The government has created a water grid project and under
it, the inter-linking of rivers will be speeded up. Marathwada’s problems can
be resolved only if Jayakwadi Dam is filled.”
Congress has sought an inquiry into the spending of Rs
7,500 crore in the past four years on this scheme. In 2018, the state received
74.3 per cent of rainfall. But till November 17, 2018, 715 tankers in total
were supplying water to various regions. In 2014, the state received 70.2 per
cent of rain fall which is lesser than 2014 but only 71 tankers were supplying
water at the time. Thus, the so called claim of the government about the
success of the scheme seems fake and fabricated.
BJP MLA Suresh Dhas said, “Nitin
Gadkari is doing his best for irrigation of Marathwada and soon drought issue
will be addressed. During NCP-Congress reign, no water was released but now
23.66 cusec water has been released from Krishna River. I have solved the water
scarcity issue in my constituency by spending Rs 150 crores and government will
take a decision pertaining to addressing drought issue in Marathwada.”
People of Marathwada have to walk several distances to
fetch water. More than half of Maharashtra is facing water crisis. Seven seats
of drought hit Marathwada are going for polls on April 18. Water shortage is
the biggest poll issue in this region. Due to water crisis many people from
Marathwada have relocated to metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and
Hyderabad. Many of them are earning their livelihood in these cities and are
unwilling to return to their native place.
People fight for every drop of water in Beed and Latur
districts of Maharashtra. Whenever, a tanker comes to the village people try to
fill buckets and pots of water. Water level has reached its lowest level in
Marathwada that even though wells are dug but the area faces water shortage
crisis. Villagers say that initially they could find water after digging 25 to
30 feet. However, now they are unable to find water despite digging 70 feet.
Those people who are unable to fill water have to rely on private tankers for
water.
People receive filtered RO water through tankers at
subsidised rates after a gap of 8 days. Villagers have several times approached
the Tahslidar with their grievances pertaining to water scarcity issue.
However, the problem is not resolved due to bureaucratic hurdles. Few years
back, trains were used to supply water to Latur which was the worst affected
district due to drought. Even today, the situation has not improved in Latur as
residents are facing water scarcity problems.
Even cows and buffalos are affected due to water
scarcity issue. Fodder camps have been started in Beed and Latur districts for
providing fodder and water to animals. The government has failed to create
enough water reservoirs. Even though dams in Marathwada were running dry and
the government completely ignored the situation.
Earlier Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
declared that 180 out of 353 talukas are drought-affected in the state due to
irregular monsoon. The declaration came the day after a farmer and his wife
committed suicide in the aftermath of the death of their two-year-old daughter
in a village in Ahmednagar district. Devendra Fadnavis government spent crores
of rupees on advertising Jalyukt Shivar, but that has not improved the water
situation in the state. If you look at the comparison between average rainfall
and the presence of water supply tankers in 2014 and the current year, fewer tankers
were supplying water in 2014 despite there being lower rainfall, which proves
that the scheme is a flop on the ground. The efficacy of the Jalyukt Shivar
scheme for the past five years leaves many questions on its credibility.
The Government has spent Rs 7,500 crore in the past
four years on this scheme alone. The state government has claimed that the
scheme has changed the water story of Maharashtra for all time; but in reality,
it has proven to be a jumla. The state government did not give details of the
Jalyukt Shivar. It is not mentioning the locations of the wells and farm ponds
that it claimed to have built in the past four years. It is getting exposed
every day with regards to the Jalyukt Shivar scheme. The scheme was launched in
December 2014 by CM Devendra Fadnavis-led state government with an objective to
harvest rainwater and enhance groundwater levels. However, the project has run
into stormy weather for its haphazard and unscientific implementation, undue
reliance on machinery, lack of transparency and public participation. While the
government has taken credit for providing a small scale irrigation facility at
the farmers’ doorstep, it is reluctant to take the responsibility for their
unsustainable use. Majority of the scheme work has been implemented
unscientifically. While one can see water as of now, it does not mean
groundwater recharge has taken place.
Besides borewells, Pravara River (a tributary of
Godavari River) is a major water source to the Hiwargaon village. Almost 80 per
cent of its ponds is dependent on groundwater, with most of them dug between
2012 and 2015 with the help of subsidies offered under the National
Horticulture Mission (NHM).
The 300-odd ponds in the village are the main source
of sustenance for the pomegranate-dependent agro-economy. The arrival of ponds
has led many farmers to shift to horticulture, with pomegranate cash-crop
rapidly supplanting the traditional horse gram, bajra, wheat, pulses, and onion
crops.
Most farmers in the village, as in western Maharashtra’s
horticultural belt, swear by the farm ponds, unmindful, however, of the
consequences of groundwater depletion owing to their unregulated construction
and digging.
The SANDRP study revealed that none of the farm ponds
in Hiwargaon had inlets and outlets or any other arrangement for excess
rainwater inflow that was envisioned in the scheme. Instead of digging the
ponds in a low-lying area, many of them are dug on the highest points of the
farms. The soil conservation is the key to groundwater recharge, but it has
been omitted in the scheme. Any programme claiming to deal with recharging
groundwater has to pay attention to the soil. If soil is conserved, groundwater
is automatically recharged. In the Jalyukt Shivar works, soil, fine sand and
the entire medium that hold the water and percolate it have been scrapped. If
the rocks are exposed, then how is the recharge supposed to take place? The
works under the scheme appeared to hold water, but would not recharge it.
Another problem with the farm ponds is that they expose the groundwater to
losses through evaporation, something that may not become immediately apparent.
According to data, around 13,950 ponds were dug
between 2014 and 2016 under the NHM, the JSY and the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana, while nearly 24,700 more were under construction under the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in 2016-17. Till
date staggering 1.6 lakh odd applications have been received by local
authorities under the ‘Magel Tyala Shettale (Farm Pond on Demand scheme)’ ever
since Fadnavis launched it in February 2016 but the Jalyukt Shivar programme
and its ancillaries are a quick fix that has failed. The government has not
taken into account the massive amount of work that goes into involving people in
carrying out watershed works. While local authorities said that they are aware
of the concerns engendered by the indiscriminate digging of farm ponds, they
find regulation impossible.
In 2017, the state received 74.3 per cent of rainfall.
However, until November 17, 2018, 715 tankers in total were supplying water to
various regions. In 2014, the state received 70.2 per cent rain, which is
lesser than 2017, but only 71 tankers were supplying water at the time in 2015;
the state had received just 59.4 per cent of rainfall. This was much lower than
in 2018. Even then, only 693 tankers were supplying water. So, these numbers
reveal us that the so-called claims of Jalyukt Shivar are fake and fabricated.
The proportion of small farmers (owning less than 5 acres) increased from 70
per cent to 79 per cent over the period 1995 to 2011.
So, while the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan intends to make Maharashtra drought-free by 2019, it appears to have worked mainly for prosperous farmers. As the first part of this series showed, a piecemeal approach of random work that ignores the geological water cycle of an area–a watershed–and spreads itself thin as the drought’s ravages spread is not helping millions of smaller farms.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
India is the largest democracy in the world with around 90
crore electorates, which is more than the combined population of Europe. The
process of voting has started on April 11, 2019, and will end on May 19, 2019.
This is a seven-phased election. The Indian voters will elect 543 members for
the 17th Lok Sabha.
The election is an opportunity for the Indians to elect their
suitable representatives. A suitable representative can speed up the process of
development and solve the problems of common people. The election also provides
us a chance to form a stable government. This is a proved fact that only a
stable government can fulfill that need of people.
If we analyse the 2014 general election voting patterns, we will
find some interesting results on social and economic aspects. Before putting the
interesting result of Indian voting pattern, I focus on voting pattern around
the world.
The voter turnout data published by International Institute
for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) indicate that the most recent
national parliamentary elections for major developed and developing countries,
where voting is optional as of the end of 2017, show that France has lowest
turnout ratio (43 per cent) while Germany has the highest (76 per cent). India
is also doing fairly well in comparison to other countries, as voter turnout
ratio in India has improved significantly to 66.4 per cent in 2014 from 58.2 per
cent in 2009.
The historical trend of voter turnout rate in general
parliamentary election since 1971 reveals, there is much fluctuation in voter
turnout on the Election Day during past 12 parliamentary elections and it
largely varies from 55.2 per cent to 66.4 per cent with average turnout close
to 60 per cent.
If we look at the voter turnout among male and female during
this period, it shows female turnout was usually lower than their male
counterpart. The gap which was as high as 11.9 per cent in 1971 election has
come down to 1.5 per cent in 2014. This suggests that now women are actively
participating in the election process and are more aware of their rights and
are independent in decision making. Similarly, if we look at the voter turnout
rate among 28 major States from the 1971 parliamentary election to the 2014
election, the highest turnout happened to in Kerala, West Bengal, and Tripura.
Further, if we closely observe the male and female turnout
rates in these three States, the ratio is almost equal to each other. It means
both males and females are actively participating in the election. The States
which are lagging in voter turnout rate are the ones where females are not
actively involved electorally for e.g., in Bihar, UP, MP, Maharashtra, and
J&K.
Socio-political factors like, population size, age,
educational attainment, political interest, and economic backwardness play a
major role which has been the major driving factors behind voter turnout
rates. So, to improve the women turnout
rate in India, all the stakeholders starting from Government, Election
Commission, Media and civic society should encourage, facilitate, and promote
women to come forward and participate in the election process.
In addition to this, another important aspect which leads to
low turnout is interstate and intra-state migration of both male and female.
Over the years both male and female are migrating due to various reasons like
looking for a better life, employment, marriage, and Education which impact the overall voter
turnout rate. We have calculated the net migration and mapped with the
Percentage of voter turnout among major States and the result shows States like
UP, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, and J&K have both migration and low voter
turnout rate.
Looking at the various indicators viz. life expectancy rate,
secondary gross enrolment rate there is no pattern which emerges between the
voter turnout ratio and these indicators. However, when the states are ranked
on the basis of multi-dimensional poverty index with highest poverty state
ranked as 1 and compared with rank assigned to states on the basis of voter
turnout with 1st rank assigned to state with highest voter turnout, different
patterns emerge.
Certain states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
Jharkhand with high poverty have lower voter turnout. Further, most of the
North-east and Eastern states have higher turnout rates and varying levels of
poverty. A group of states including Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu,
Haryana, and Punjab also have high voter turnout rate but associated with a lower
level of deprivation.
The Election Commission data indicates that there was around
1.24 crore missing women electorate at the time of 2014 elections in 10 states
only. By missing women, we mean the group of women who are eligible to vote but
are not yet registered as voters. This is a deeply alarming situation since it
means that approximately 1.25 crore women are denied their constitutional right
to vote. These are disturbingly high numbers of disenfranchised women which
warrant some urgent remedial measures.
There are two important issues that need urgent attention from
the government. Are 543 seats enough to represent 130 crore population? Since
currently, only 543 Lok Sabha constituencies represent 130 crore people in the
country, it is time to take a look at the legal provisions on the delimitation
of parliamentary constituencies till 2026 with a view to increasing their number
in order to rationalise population per seat which is currently at 15.6 lakh.
Even countries like UK, Germany Italy France, etc., have more than India’s
strength with bicameral status.
In a nutshell, we can say that the government should focus on the above issues and take corrective actions on case to case basis. If the government does this, the result will make our democracy stronger.
By Satish Singh
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Amid
positive market sentiments, investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in
domestic capital market rose to Rs 78,110 crore at the end of March.
P-notes are
issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors
who wish to be a part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves
directly after going through a due diligence process. According to SEBI data,
the total value of P-note investments in Indian markets equity, debt, and
derivatives stood at Rs 78,110 crore till March-end. At the end of February,
the same was at Rs 73,428 crore. Vinod
Nair, the head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said, “The
increase in P-notes investment is in line with the higher net inflows of FPIs
in the cash segment, which increased from Rs 13,500 crore in February to Rs
32,000 crore in March.” Of the total P-note investments made till March-end, Rs
56,288 crore was in equities, Rs 20,999 crore in debt and Rs 119 crore in
derivatives markets. Nair said, “An increase in the India equity exposure
is motivated by risk-on strategy adopted in emerging markets, as global bond
yield reduced and increased liquidity supported by central banks due to
slowdown in world economy.”
Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday hit at Prime Minister Narendra
Modi over his tweet on unseasonal rains and loss of lives in Gujarat, charging
he was concerned only about his home state. Overnight rains in Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat, and Rajasthan have left nearly 30 people dead.
Soon
after the Prime Minister expressed anguish over loss of lives in the unseasonal
rain and storm in Gujarat, Kamal Nath tweeted, “You are the PM of the
country not Gujarat”.
Kamal
Nath said that unseasonal rain in Madhya Pradesh claimed over 10 lives but the Prime
Minister expressed concern only for Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
the morning expressed anguish over loss of lives in various parts of Gujarat
due to unseasonal rain. He tweeted, “Authorities are monitoring the
situation very closely. All possible assistance is being given to those
affected.” Later the prime minister said, “We stand in solidarity with all
those affected due to unseasonal rainfall in various parts of the country.”
Anguished by the loss of lives due to unseasonal rains and storms in various parts of Gujarat. My thoughts are with the bereaved families.
Authorities are monitoring the situation very closely. All possible assistance is being given to those affected.
— Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 17 April 2019
मोदी जी , आप देश के पीएम ना कि गुजरात के। एमपी में भी बेमौसम बारिश व तूफ़ान के कारण आकाशीय बिजली गिरने से 10 से अधिक लोगों की मौत हुई है।लेकिन आपकी संवेदनाएँ सिर्फ़ गुजरात तक सीमित ? भले यहाँ आपकी पार्टी की सरकार नहीं है लेकिन लोग यहाँ भी बस्ते है।
“God made the
man, man made money and money made the man mad.”
The world
today is dancing on the rhythms of money. This money has created a number of
problems in society. If you have money,
then only you can proceed in your life and if you don’t have it, then you need
to face a number of problems in life.
Money has
become more important to people in such a way that they have forgotten about
humanity. If you spend some time out of
your home, then you will realise that how much this bribery and corruption is
spread in society. This is an outcome of the irresponsible government. If they
really don’t know how to balance rates of essential items with the occupation
of the populace, then it is a big question that why they are still sitting on
the chairs? If you look outside, you will notice that there is corruption in
each and every field. This is providing a wrong message in the populace. People
have started thinking that corruption can survive them in this highly expensive
society. If you are going through any type of documentation work related to the
government, then you will need to provide money at every step. Each signature
of an honourable person will ask you for money. If you refuse to pay, then you
will be on their waiting list. No one will help you or show humanity to help
you out. Your work will always be in a pending condition.
Is this
really a living place? If the world only knows the language of money, then is
it really a life you are living? If you don’t wish to find answers behind this,
then you are also one among them. You are only providing food to their roots.
One day these roots will increase to such an extent that it will become
impossible to find a way through all this. The best way to avoid bribery and
corruption is to take strict action against it.
Yes, we can
stop this ongoing chain. What we need to do is just live in unity. Say ‘no’ to
each corrupted person. Avoid them in society. Create a group of polite people.
Select an appropriate candidate in elections.
These ways
can surely lessen the ration of bribery and corruption. If you cannot stop it, then at least don’t let it
grow further. Stop giving money to corrupted officers and all those who are a
part of corruption. Always think about the next generation.
The most
important reason for corruption is the never-ending chain of bribes that are
offered and accepted throughout the country.
In a country
like India where bribery is the major source of income for most of the
government officials and public servants, we cannot expect the government
itself to do away with this corrupt practice. But the citizens cannot complain
that the government and government officials are involved in the corrupt
practice of bribery because it is the citizens who offer a bribe to these
public servants. If the citizens themselves stop offering bribes, the roots of
bribery will diminish in no time.
It is
essential for parents at home and teachers in the school to teach the children
the importance of honesty so that they do not offer or accept bribes in their
lifetime. Slowly but steadily, the practice of offering and giving bribes can
be eliminated from its very roots if people join hands and take an oath to
eliminate this practice by hook or by crook. However, the bitter truth remains;
we ourselves cannot imagine our life free from this practice so how do we
expect to abolish it completely?
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Your article
‘Drugs and narcotics seizures fly high during polling season’ made for sad
reading. (April 17, 2019)
It must be a
record when it comes to drugs, narcotics, and cash being seized while being
distributed to voters before elections which is a blot on Indian democracy. All
parties are at fault on this count as politicians lure voters with addictions
that the poor find it difficult to refuse. This is a threat to our democracy
when citizens choose leaders in an inebriated state or by bribes. The situation
in illiterate states like UP and Bihar is even worse where voters are offered
prostitutes for their votes.
Education is
the need of the hour and citizens should be made aware of their fundamental
rights to elect clean governments which would be responsible for their future.
Politicians luring voters with drugs and money should be barred from elections
for a lifetime!
S.N.Kabra
Anything
for votes!
Saint Eknath
Maharaj has advised people through his ‘Bharud’ that even if God manifests in
some person, he should not talk unnecessarily. In one of the canvassing
rallies, Sakshi Maharaj said while addressing the gathering that ‘I am a hermit
(a sanyasi). I have come to you begging for your votes. If you do not vote for
a ‘Sanyasi’, I will take away your merits and curse you.’ By making such a statement,
this person, calling himself as Maharaj, has insulted all ‘Sanyasis’. ‘Sanyasi’
means a person who has no selfish interests, wish or desires. ‘Sanyasi’ is a
person who has control over ‘shat-ripus (6 foes)’. He sacrifices his life for the
protection of Dharma and welfare of the nation. He has concern, love, and
affection for every person in society and this is what is even expected under
‘Sanyasashram’. Swami Vivekananda and Samarth Ramdas Swami are its examples. A
person following ‘Sanyasashram’ cannot say that he would curse somebody. By
saying such a thing, Sakshi Maharaj has exhibited his arrogance. Secondly, if
one has such power, the inner strength to curse others, such power should be
used for severely punishing sinful persons. There is no point in just bragging.
One, who begs, is a beggar. A beggar is a weak person; so how can such weak
person work for the welfare of others? A wise wouldn’t need more
explanation!
Manasi
Joshi
Drugs
priced higher than mfg cost
World Health
Organisation (WHO) has also established that even essential drugs in India with
lowest printed Maximum-Retail-Price MRP are exorbitantly priced over
manufacturing-cost followed by abnormally high trade-margin between ex-factory
price and MRP.
National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority NPPA is considering capping of profit-margins
of 73 more drugs but leaving out many more again. It is beyond understanding
why and how NPPA does not have a profit-formula uniformly for all drugs at a
time when even generic medicines considered to be a cheaper version of
respective branded medicines have exorbitant trade-margins of several hundred
per cent. Competition Commission of India CCI and Central Information
Commission CIC have taken cognizance of a serious issue. There are many
medicines where different drug-manufacturers take undue advantage of their
brand-popularity with prices of same medicine differing several times according
to brand-popularity thus establishing extra-ordinary high profit-margins of
even drug-manufacturers.
NPPA should
fix maximum profit and trade margins over manufacturing cost for all medicines
rather than differentiating by having various categories of medicines where
price-regulation is applicable only for some limited drugs. Price-revision of
any medicines must be allowed only once in a year say on First January only unless
approved as a special case by NPPA. Gimmick packaging other than in units of 1,
2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 gms, mltrs or units must not be allowed
unless approved by NPPA for dose-wise administration. The rule should be to
emboss or print the name of medicine in a manner that name is there on every
capsule or tablet thus ruling out the possibility of wastage of drug in case
name-portion of the strip is consumed.
Madhu
Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Citing a
“sting operation video” published on a little known website Tricolour News
Network (www.tnn.world), Congress leader and former Law Minister Kapil Sibal in
a press conference at Congress Headquarters on April 9 alleged that the
government officials and BJP top leadership were involved in a Rs 3 Lakh Crore money
laundering scam that exchanged demonetised currency notes months after the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deadline for a commission of 35-40 per cent. The
video played by Sibal professedly showed an illicit exchange of old Rs 500
notes for new Rs 2,000 notes by an official of the Research and Analysis Wing
(RAW), reportedly identified as Rahul Ratharekar. The sting video shows Ratharekar
claiming to an undercover reporter that officials drawn from 26 departments
were engaged in the money exchange operation. Calling demonetisation “the
biggest scam in the history of India”, Sibal also claimed that a large number
of currency notes were printed abroad and were transported into India.
He also told
the reporters that “nothing can be more anti-national than this” and targeted
the Election Commission for not acting on the complaints. Sibal was quoted as
saying, “The government, CBI, and ED will not arrest them, because ED
[Enforcement Directorate] protects those who loot the country.”
“Mr. Modi
started his tenure by fooling us and he is ending his five-year-tenure by
traumatising us. He traumatised the people of this country, he has traumatised
the poor of this country, he has traumatised journalists and his political
opponents. He has used the agencies to target people who are opposed to
him,” the former Law Minister said while introducing the sting video.
According to
the video, a part of the sting operation that shows Ratharekar conversing with
the reporter was shot at a Mumbai hotel in April 2017. RBI’s deadline to
exchange old currency expired on December 31, 2016.
The video
shows Rahul Ratharekar, with his wife by his side, was seen sitting in a suite
in Hotel Trident, Mumbai, and explaining the operation. Giving details, he claimed
that as much as Rs 3 lakh crore (three series of 1 lakh crore each) were
printed abroad in duplicates, and flown to the Indian Air Force base at Hindon
on the border of Delhi, from where the currency got transferred to the RBI. Ratharekar
also named one Nipun Sharan from the PMO as the person coordinating the
operation. Addressing the same clip, Sibal mentioned that the name is probably
a pseudonym since his enquiries about a man with this name had been fruitless.
Naming Amit
Shah twice in the same video clip, Ratharekar says that during the currency
exchange, it was ensured that no intervention would be made by any other agency
including the police. A team of 26 people from various departments had been
formed to oversee this currency transaction, he stated. The video also
highlights Rahul Ratharekar saying that he has been one of the best performing
field supervisors for currency exchange. He also said that he has already
completed more than Rs 20,000 cr worth of private transactions from CBD Belapur
RBI in this short period. He also reportedly explained how ‘Reliance Jio data
has been used and misused multiple times to show repetitive currency exchange
transaction in RBI’. The video also states Ratharekar saying that ‘whoever
tries to disclose this information or bring them out in open will be finished
off ruthlessly’. Purportedly, Ratharekar also confirmed that ‘the new currency
with the signature of Urjit Patel was printed six months earlier than November’
when Demonetisation hit the nation.
Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP) general secretary DP Tripathi told Afternoon Voice, “It is
really a very sinister scam. A high-level enquiry must be held because we all
know the way demonetisation was implemented which caused serious problems for
the Indian economy.”
Sibal,
however, restricted himself from authenticating the videos showed by him in the
press conference. He said that all the names and other details have been
brought to the public domain and directed the concerned agencies to initiate a
probe on the same. He called BJP President Amit Shah the kingpin of the entire
scam. While such unauthenticated videos presented by the political parties come
with a thought of dubiety, but the stated Tricolour News Network sting
operation video comes with details of names, places of meetings, a defence
serve and a particular air base making it stand out than many others and the
nature of the allegations is not only serious but also around the government
that claims to be running a zero-corruption government. The government’s
decision of demonetisation was also claimed to have the same purpose of
removing black money and teach a lesson to the culprits.
Another clip
showed the involvement of an official of a private bank who was seen carrying
out the exchange of old currency for new ones. Sanjay Shane, as identified in
the video as the manager of the Fort branch of IndusInd Bank in Mumbai, is seen
assisting the exchange of Rs 100 crore of old currency with new currency. As
claimed by the video, the transaction takes place in a godown of the
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The video shows Shane being told
that there were clients waiting to exchange as many as Rs 320 crores.
Former
BJP MP and now AICC observer Nanabhau Patole stated, “The new notes were not printed in India
but from overseas. This is the first time in the history of the nation that its
currency was printed in foreign countries. BJP is indulging in corruption. The
government is not willing to give any reply to the questions raised by Kapil
Sibal.”
Patole further
added, “In an attempt to bring back black money, the government has turned
black money into white. The statement issued by Rahul Gandhi that the Chowkidar
will be imprisoned is true. Raghuram Rajan, Urjit Patel had to quit from their
posts and many officials from NITI Aayog had to resign in BJP tenure.”
It is
further reported that Kapil Sibal’s press conference on Tuesday was the second
in a series on the issue of demonetisation. On March 26, Sibal had purportedly played
out another sting by TNN, where an alleged BJP worker was involved in such an
exchange of old currency. The allegations from Congress received sharp
criticism from the government; however, it has denied all the allegations.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called the claims as ‘false’ and threatened
legal action.
BJP
spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, “While making allegations against BJP, Congress doen’t
provide any evidence. Congress has adopted the tactics of stone-pelters who
throw stones and break glasses in Kashmir. After demonetisation more than
3,50,000 steel companies were shut. Kapil Sibal should answer, out of this, how
many steel companies were owned by Congress? Congress should provide concrete
evidence in support of its claim; till such time the party must stop its
stone-pelting strategy. Congress is trying to create doubt in the minds of
voters.”
Shiv Sena
MP Prataprao Jadhav
said, “Instead of making allegations Congress must provide evidence. They should
declare that many accounts are there and how many funds have been transferred.
Since the election is going on they are making such allegation which is
unjustified.”
It is a fact that religion and caste-based politics dominate the Indian elections and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) never shied away from playing the religious and caste card from the selection of the candidates to the elections. Around 80 million first-time voters, between the ages of 18-21, will be casting their votes in the general elections this year and they will decide the fate of the nation for sure and a new chapter will be added to the history of Indian elections. However, what matters the most is that will they be going to vote based on religion, castes, and region or based on the performance this ruling government and the answer will make sure if the first-time voters contribute to making or breaking the nation.
