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Implementation of NRC is necessary

November 26, 2019

Kudos to the BJP government for keeping its motto of “intention” and “courage” to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the country. The NRC is a register maintained by the Government of India containing names and certain relevant information for identification of Indian citizens of Assam state on the basis of their faith. The register was initially, specifically made for Assam. However, on 20th November 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah declared during a parliamentary session that the register would be extended to the entire country. Shah has clearly indicated that NRC will be applied nation wide and no person of any religion should worry. The register was first prepared after the 1951 census of India and since then it has not been updated until recently. This exercise is being done under the direct supervision of the honourable Supreme Court of India to get rid of the illegal migrants who have settled in Assam.

The NRC has been developed with the aim of segregating Indian citizens from illegal migrants. The centre’s view is very clear that no illegal immigrant will be allowed to stay anywhere in the country. The updating process of NRC started in the year 2013 under the strict monitoring and supervision of the Supreme Court of India. On December 31, 2017, a part draft NRC list was released and subsequently on July 30, 2018, the complete draft of NRC was released. It is a well-known fact that the issue of “foreigners” is still a live issue in the politics of North-East in general and Assam in particular. Many provisions promulgated by the Assam accord like the National Registration of Citizens came to effect after more than three decades of the signing of the accord.

Assam’s National Register of Citizens, currently being updated for the first time since 1951, is meant to be a list of Indians living in the state. One of the stated aims of the exercise is to separate citizens from undocumented migrants, or anyone who cannot prove that they or their ancestors lived in the country before midnight on March 24, 1971, or the eve of the Bangladesh war. During the Bangladesh Liberation war 1971, many illegal immigrants from Bangladesh came to India, mostly settled in Assam and West Bengal. The immigration continued even after the end of war. The Indian Government had to spent huge amount of public money for those illegal immigrants.

Immigration of illegal migrants from Bangladesh is a major problem in Assam. The flooding of illegal migrants has disturbed the political and cultural components of Assam. Assamese are feeling threatened by the ever growing power of migrants. The Bengali Hindus, who played a leading role in the struggle for India’s freedom, have perhaps been its worst victims. Between partition and 1971, when the Bangladesh Genocide that targeted the community occurred in which an estimated 3 million people were massacred by the Pakistan Army in one of the worst genocides in world history, the community was decimated. It is reported that almost 2 million people in Assam have been excluded from the final version of the National Register of Citizens in Assam that was released by the government recently. A total of 33 million people had applied for the NRC, of which 31 million made it to the final list.

The legacy of anti-immigrant sentiment in Assamese public sphere for more than a century has created an environment of deadly silence and trauma has taken control over the lives of several million people across the state. This legacy for more than a century now needs due consideration along with the colonial policies and schemes which enabled such a huge human population to move from one place to another.

Updating the NRC has been a decades-old demand, with various modalities and cut-off dates suggested over the years and many rounds of talks held and now it is done as per court order. But as the current trend in India, where politics is placed over the national interest, many opposition parties have started protesting. One must remember the benefits of bringing registered in the NRC is that it will form the basis for the detection of illegal migrants, inclusion will protect against harassment and a ticket to enjoying all the constitutional rights and safeguards and the benefits of government schemes.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 26 November, 2019

Web Team

November 26, 2019

BJP has committed a mistake by aligning with Pawar

BJP seems to have got its Maths wrong and aligning with Ajit Pawar was a mistake. NCP MLA’s themselves doesn’t trust their leader. Ajit Pawar who seems deserted at the moment which has even put BJP on a wrong footing as they formed the government thinking Pawar junior had the numbers. It would have been appropriate had the deal been struck with Sharad Pawar who is a seasoned politician.

BJP have 105 MLAs and deserves to have their men as Chief Minister. Maharashtra would have had a stable government had not the Sena ditched them after fighting the assembly elections together. BJP should actually have allowed Sena and Congress-NCP to form the government which would not have lasted more than a few months. Devendra Fadnavis should admit his mistake of aligning with Ajit Pawar and resign. Maharashtra is heading for another election in the next few months and BJP this time will get a clear majority as voters have seen all the drama and leaders who rejected voters verdict would be punished.

S.N. Kabra

Centre should accept WB state-assembly resolution to rename the state

Only old-timers know that since western part of pre-independence undivided Bengal came to India, the state was named as West Bengal, and East Bengal turned into East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Central Government should accept demand of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for immediate passing of long-pending resolution of the state-assembly to rename the state as Bangla thus removing ever-confusing prefix West. Proposed name will be one-worded and will not be able to be abbreviated like double-worded names UP, MP, HP, AP etc.

The Constitution should be amended whereby names of all institutions including High Courts named after states or cities may be auto-changed with change in names of state or city. Names of Bombay High Court and Madras High Court still remain the same despite renaming of respective cities as Mumbai and Chennai decades back.

There has been gradual change in names or spellings of cities with the process still incomplete despite more than seven decades of independence. Distorted spellings of Jullender and Simla by British rulers in India as Jalandhar and Shimla has been rectified. But spellings of cities like Delhi and Bareilly as per actual pronunciation are still to be modified. Delhi is distorted version of Dehli meaning entrance in English. Many other countries like Bangladesh and China have already respelled names of their capitals as per actual pronunciation. There are too many Rampurs and Bilaspurs in India which require renaming to avoid confusion. New names can be after heroic characters of Ramayan and Mahabharat.

Union Government should also adopt single name Bharat for the country abolishing British given name as India, in tune with unanimous resolution once passed by UP state-assembly. It is senseless to have two names for a country. Sri Lanka and Myanmar have already done away with such British legacy when these countries are no more known as Ceylon and Burma.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

Augment first AC-cum-AC two tier composite coach to Chalukya express

Bengaluru is well connected to Mumbai by train numbers 11021/11022 Dadar – Tirunelveli Chalukya Express and 11005/11006 Dadar – Puducherry Chalukya Express. Both the trains originate from Tirunelveli and Puducherry respectively and operate via Yeswantpur to reach Dadar early morning at 6 am on all the 6 days of the week.

It is given to understand that the train’s composition has not undergone any major changes w.r.t to augmentation of coaches. As the train’s journey involves beyond 24 hours, there is now an urgent necessity to augment one First AC-cum-AC Two Tier composite coach to both the rakes of Chalukya Express. As also it is given to understand that the other two trains to Mumbai from Bangalore also has one First Class AC coach- as attached to train numbers 11301/11302 Bengaluru- Mumbai CSMT Udyan Express and 11013/11014 Coimbatore- Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Kurla Express.

Hence the concerned Central Railway’s Mumbai Divisional authorities are kindly requested to augment one First AC-cum-AC Two Tier Composite Coach to the train numbers 11021/11022 Dadar – Tirunelveli Chalukya Express and 11005/11006 Dadar – Puducherry Chalukya Express. The suggestion can be considered in the best interest of enhancing passenger comfort.

Varun Dambal

Have a public opinion on political drama

Citizens have been paying close attention to what has been going on in the politics of Maharashtra from last one month. After the swearing-in of the new Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, the politics of the state has become more and more shaky. No other news is visible other than political events in Maharashtra. The media has been receiving daily information about political happenings in the state of Maharashtra from the last one month. What can happen in politics? The public opinion should be asked about all these political drama and the media should broadcast this constantly. As political parties are accusing each other, the public’s thoughts should reach the political parties.

Jayesh Rane

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Maharashtra floor test tomorrow by open ballot, orders Supreme Court

Web Team

November 26, 2019

The People of Maharashtra were expecting Supreme Court decision Tuesday on Maharashtra government formed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday morning in the presence of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari . However, the Supreme Court orders that the Maharashtra floor to be held on November 27. And it will conduct through open ballot and will be telecast live.
Reportedly, the swearing in of MLAs needs to be completed by 5 pm. Also the Speaker should be appointed to conduct Floor Test.

Maharashtra politics shows the moronic slant of elected representatives

Vaidehi Taman

November 25, 2019

Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have staked claim to form the government in Maharashtra. MLAs of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress arrived in buses and cars to a five-star hotel in Mumbai on Monday evening for what was seen as a show of strength hours after the three parties staked claim to power. “We are 162,” tweeted Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, challenging Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to “come and watch” for himself. A large conference hall in the hotel, where the MLAs gathered, flashed the “162” posters against the backdrop of an image of the Constitution of India. The three-party alliance, which calls itself the “Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi”, approached the Governor three days after the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister, with the NCP’s Ajit Pawar as his deputy, in an early morning oath ceremony that left everyone in shock. Ajit Pawar had attended a meeting hours before on Friday evening, when the three parties had declared that they would form an alliance headed by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Just 48 hours after he was sworn-in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, the irrigation scam case against Ajit Pawar was officially closed on Monday. The scam, pegged at around Rs 70,000 crore, relates to alleged corruption and irregularities in approval and execution of various irrigation projects in Maharashtra during the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) rule. Ajit Pawar was among the NCP ministers who were in-charge of the irrigation department at different times between 1999 and 2014 during the Congress-NCP coalition rule in Maharashtra. The move has given ammunition to the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine, which has accused the BJP of pressuring Ajit Pawar to switch sides.

Earlier on Monday, the Supreme Court reserved till 10.30am on Tuesday its order on a plea by the Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena combine’s plea against the Maharashtra Governor’s decision to swear in Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister in a midnight coup engineered by the BJP with the support of Ajit Pawar. A bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna is likely to pass an order on holding of a floor test, which the combine was pressing for Monday itself. Commencing arguments, SG Tushar Mehta commences arguments, raised preliminary objections to judicial review of the Governor’s decision. Mehta clarified that he was appearing for the Secretary of the Governor since the Governor could not be a party in person. In his letter, Pawar wrote his decision was in the interest of the people and a stable government. He added that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also staked claim, citing 170 MLAs in his support. At 10 am, senior leaders of the Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena combine reached the Governor’s office just half an hour before the Supreme Court hears the combine’s plea against the Maharashtra Governor’s decision to swear in Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister. Congress leader Ashok Chavan said they reached the Raj Bhavan at 10 am with letters of support to prove they had the numbers to form the government.

A day after the Supreme Court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place before it Governor BS Koshyari’s order on November 23 inviting BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis to form the government. The SC also asked for Fadnavis’s letter to the Governor claiming majority. The top court will Tuesday take a call on the floor test in the state that has been plunged into a political crisis for a month now. On Sunday, a bench of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna issued notices to the Centre and Maharashtra government on a petition filed by the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine. The court also issued notice to Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The bench asked Solicitor General Mehta to produce letters of the Governor at 10.30 am Tuesday for passing orders. The apex court declined the fervent request of Mehta seeking two days to place the Governor’s communication on record.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and AM Singhvi, appearing for the combine, told the bench that floor test be conducted on Monday itself so that it can be ascertained that Fadnavis enjoys majority in the house. They maintained that post-poll alliance of the three parties have the majority in the 288-member house. While Sibal termed as ‘bizarre’ the Governor’s decision to revoke President’s rule and elect Fadnavis as the Chief Minister, Singhvi said it is a “murder of democracy”. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for two BJP MLAs and some independents, questioned the maintainability of the writ petition filed by the combine and said they should have approached the Bombay High Court. Amid the political imbroglio, Ajit Pawar rushed to CM Devendra Fadnavis’s residence late at night, ahead of the crucial Supreme Court on floor test. In the meeting that lasted for 40 minutes, the two leaders are learnt to have discussed the apex court hearing and the ministerial berths that would be given to Ajit Pawar’s group. The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, said that it was a “routine meeting” to discuss “floor management and Supreme Court judgement”. “Cabinet assurances were given before bringing Ajit Pawar on-board,” a BJP source said. The NCP claimed three MLAs, who among others had attended swearing-in of Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister, were flown to Delhi in a chartered plane by the BJP the same day.

Fearing attempts to split their ranks, the parties have moved their folks to various hotels to prepare for the test of strength that they say the BJP will definitely lose. Any party needs 145 MLAs for a majority in the state assembly. The Shiv Sena has submitted to the Governor signatures of 63 MLAs (including independents), the Congress 44 and the NCP 51 (of 54). The Samajwadi Party has submitted the signatures of two members. In the Supreme Court, the Sena-NCP-Congress claimed the support of 154 MLAs, a few short of the number of signatures given to the Governor. The NCP says the signatures are missing because lawmakers were on their way back at the time. The BJP, which won 105 seats in the 288-member assembly, told the court it has the support of 170 MLAs, including all 54 MLAs of the NCP. Ajit Pawar’s uncle Sharad Pawar, the chief of the NCP, says 53 MLAs are with the party. Three NCP signatures missing from the letter submitted to the Governor on Monday morning are those of Ajit Pawar, Anna Bansod and Narhari Zhirwal. Maharashtra government formation LIVE Updates: Vehicles carrying Shiv Sena, NCP MLAs arrived at Mumbai’s Grand Hyatt hotel, where Sharad Pawar reached along with his daughter Supriya Sule around an hour ago. Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut invited Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai, where he said the three-party combine will showcase their show of strength. “We are all one and together, watch our 162 together for the first time at Grand Hyatt at 7 pm. Come and watch yourself,” Sanjay Raut tweeted. No party won a majority in last month’s Maharashtra polls. Pre-poll allies BJP and Sena won a majority together, but split over the Sena’s demand for rotational chief ministership.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Saheb Satta aur Shadyantra

Afternoon Voice

November 25, 2019

With Ajit Pawar betraying his uncle Sharad Pawar, the politics of Maharashtra have taken a new twist. In politics, trust is an important issue. Ajit Pawar gave a surprise to all those political analysts who were predicting Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister with the alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress. As per reports, around 10-12 NCP leaders joined Ajit Pawar in this event, and owing to this, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar expressed his disappointment stating unexpected and unfortunate act by his nephew. Furthermore, Sharad Pawar mentioned that he was not aware of these tactics and assured that the party would definitely take action regarding the same. But Ajit and Sharad Pawar are not the only uncle-nephew duo who has had differences. If you look back in politics of India you will recall Gopinath Munde and Dhananjay Munde, besides Ajit Pawar, NCP leader Dhananjay Munde has also played a very important role in making Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, as he allegedly showed strong support to the BJP. Dhananjay Munde, who has also been the leader of NCP in the Legislative Council, betrayed his uncle Gopinath Munde’s trust. He was a prominent BJP leader in Maharashtra and at the Centre. Dhananjay Munde also started his political career with the BJP and has also been the President of Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. But in the year 2012, Dhananjay left the BJP party of uncle Gopinath Munde and joined the NCP in the presence of Sharad Pawar.

Sunil Tatkare is a prominent NCP leader and a member of the Lok Sabha. He was once the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Energy and Minister of Finance and planning both in the state. Sunil Tatkare’s nephew Avdhoot Tatkare was also an MLA from the Shrivardhan assembly seat. However, Avdhoot Tatkare joined Shiv Sena before the 2019 Assembly elections. Jaydutt Kshirsagar joined the Shiv Sena in May, after resigning as MLA from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Later he was also a part of the cabinet with Devendra Fadnavis. Sandeep Kshirsagar, nephew of Jaydutt contested assembly elections on NCP ticket; and both Jaydutt and Sandip contested from Beed assembly. While Jaydutt contested on the Shiv Sena ticket, Sandeep contested on the NCP ticket. Jaydutt had to face defeat in this election.

Everyone is aware of Raj Thackeray’s political connections and relationship with Shiv Sena chief late Balasaheb Thackeray. After Uddhav Thackeray was made the Shiv Sena President, Raj Thackeray broke his ties with the Shiv Sena and formed a new party of his own, which he named the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. However, that was not the case as of Saturday morning. At 5:47 am, the President’s Rule was called off from the state with the signoff from President Ram Nath Kovind. At 7.50 am, in the presence of Governor of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of the state for the second time while Ajit Pawar from NCP took oath as Deputy CM.

A handful of NCP members attended this swearing-in ceremony only to later claim that they were tricked into attending it. Following this, a writ petition was filed in Supreme Court against the centre’s move to end President’s rule and the Governor’s move to invite Devendra Fadnavis to form the government. The hearing was scheduled at 11:30 am on Sunday and a three-judge bench of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan, and Sanjiv Khanna heard this petition. The proceeding started with Congress leader Kapil Sibal chalking out how the things unfolded right from the results of the election till today. He apologised to the court for making them sit on a Sunday and while taking the court through the incidences as they unfolded questioned why none of the documents was in public record. He even went on record to say that Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in a “bizarre manner” and urged the floor test should be conducted on Monday itself. Abhishek Manu Singhvi who was appearing on behalf of Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena’s plea also urged to have the floor test on Monday or Tuesday. He even pointed out that, “Supreme Court has consistently ordered floor tests to be held immediately whether it’s in UP in the year 1998 or Karnataka in 2018. May the best person win.” NCP MLAs have said that [they] we are with NCP and we don’t recognise him as NCP leader anymore.”

Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Maharashtra BJP in Supreme Court, on the other hand, argued that there was no need to have a hearing on a Sunday and as per him this matter should not have been listed. He asked that two or three days must be given. He said, “If they had the support they should have formed the government in 17 days. Governor action is immune and he must be satisfied.” He even reminded the court that Governor’s decision can’t be under judicial review. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also made an appearance in court on behalf of the Centre, and he claimed that the alliance does not have the numbers to form the government and their plea can’t be allowed. The inquiry in the Maharashtra irrigation scam against Ajit Pawar has been closed. The state Anti-Corruption Bureau closed its file of inquiry against Pawar. This development comes just 48 hours after the NCP leader extended his support to the state BJP.

India’s budget allocation for education is insufficient

Faheem Usmani Qasmi

November 25, 2019

For past few years, people constantly have been speaking up for progress in publicly-funded higher education and it has been an object of intense criticism in sections of the media and general public. They are opining that education condition of our country would become considerably worse than today if the education policies would not be taken for reconsideration. They suggest that India needs to sketch out new policies and plans to provide higher education to a large extent.

The ongoing Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) protests against fee hike should be a matter of concern for every individual and should not be a subject of criticism. It is obvious, when it comes to publicly funded institutions of higher education, fee hikes are always a volatile matter and a simmering volcano.

I think people are not realising the serious consequences of such rapid increase in fees of publically funded institutions or universities. It is not only about JNU or its students but it is now about our education system that will cause to deprive the next generation of education. While we all understand how crucial education is to shape our lives, it has also been a major problem in our country for financially backward families.

It is fact that the Indian government and institutions have taken many initiatives to reform the existing education model, but still there are several issues including financial ones that Indian education system needs to grapple with and should be resolved soon.

Many people think that only JNU students are making a hue and cry to dustup the system. But it should be clear for every one that protest was not only in JNU campus in last but in many other universities and colleges of the country. Only JNU got caught in media floodlights. It seems to be clever move to divert people’s minds from more pressing issues.

However, there have been protests against fee hike in many states such as some M Tech and PhD students of IIT-Bombay staged a protest against recent reforms approved by the IIT Council which recommended a 300 per cent hike in annual tuition fees. In Haryana’s Karnal, Bengaluru, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Delhi University also witnessed students-led strikes, sit-ins and protests over the same issues. It shows how students are suffering from financial burden for gaining education in our country.

According to a report the percentage of GDP expended on education has remained stagnant at around 3 per cent during the past few years. The expenditure on social infrastructure like education is a critical indicator of the commitment towards social infrastructure.

As the government aims to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025, there is a need to gear up the education system to address the requirement of a technologically and digital advanced society. It is also ironical to know that the government is not able to spend the allocated budget.

The Ministry of Education, renamed as Ministry of Human Resource Development, failed to spend over Rs 4 lakh crore made available to them between 2014-15 to 2018-19, and failed to meet budgetary targets.

Citing countries across the spectrum of economic development, the New Education Policy (NEP) panel suggested that central government expenditure on education has to double, and the state expenditure will also have to increase significantly to achieve the 20 per cent of their overall spending on education.

If we look at public expenditure of other countries’ GDP on education in 2017-18, it is surprisingly higher than India. Bhutan, Zimbabwe and Sweden spent 7.5%, Costa Rica and Finland 7 %, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa and Brazil 6% UK, Netherlands and Palestine 5.5% Malaysia, Kenya, Mongolia, Korea and US 5% while India spent only 2.5% which is now 3%.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 25 November, 2019

Web Team

November 25, 2019

Save public funds by devising economical mode of payment of RTI fees

According to CIC-report presented in Parliament, 13.70 lakh RTI applications were filed only with central public-authorities during the year 2018-19 with the figure not including number of RTI applications filed with state public-authorities.

There is huge spent of public-funds and man-hours on handling postal-orders by postal-department, banking-system and public-authorities receiving RTI applications since postal-orders are most common mode of payment of RTI fees. Postal-department alone according to an RTI response must be spending about Rs 50 on postal-order of Rs 10 submitted as RTI fees. Spending by banking-system and public-authorities may be even more establishing that crores of rupees are spent on receiving RTI fees through postal-orders.

This amount can and must be saved by introducing RTI stamps in denominations of Rs 2, 10 and 50 like the ones existed for payment of licence fees for TV and radio sets in past. This will also take care of payment of copying-charges in fraction of Rs 10 as postal-orders below Rs 10 are since discontinued.

Madhu Agrawal

Day night test a huge success

The Indian cricket team has excellently come out with flying colours in their first ever pink ball day night test match not only winning it by a huge margin but also setting a record by becoming the first team to register four consecutive test wins by an innings margin. A record number of fans present to watch the longer format of the game in a new garb goes to show that day night test matches are here to stay and the cricket loving nation has welcomed it with open hands. When the path breaking decision and declaration was made by the new BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to have a pink ball test many eyebrows raised doubts whether it would turn successful. The Kolkata D/N test proved that Sourav’s decision has turned cent per cent successful. The BCCI president has also promised to take the pink ball game to all parts of the nation and in a way revive test cricket. Sourav has rescued test cricket from fading just as he had led our Indian team to victories in so many tournaments as a flamboyant batsman and a valiant captain. Kudos to the BCCI president, the Indian team and thanks to team Bangladesh for accepting the invitation to play the pink ball test.

M Pradyu

Sabarimala Temple row

The Sabarimala temple row in Kerala is unfortunate as women are not allowed to enter the temple to pray by citing certain traditions and beliefs. With the Supreme Court all set to review its own verdict, one cannot help but wonder how liberal the Catholic Church is as it allows not only women but people of all faiths and communities to enter. Women deserve respect and should be given their due place in society.

Jubel D’Cruz

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

SC verdict on Maharashtra floor test tomorrow

Hema Singh

November 25, 2019

The Supreme Court has ordered that it would declare its decision on Tuesday at 10:30 am after hearing Shiv Sena- Congress-NCP combine petition against Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar’s after forming government in Maharashtra.

Reportedly, the Centre on Monday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party had the support of all 54 NCP MLAs to form a government in Maharashtra and asked the Supreme Court for two or three days for the plea against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision.

Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have taken oath on Saturday morning in the presence of governor Koshyari as a Chief Minister and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively.

RAF-CRPF deployed in Mumbai

Afternoon Voice

November 24, 2019

RAF ,CRPF, mumbai, maharashtra , devendra fadnavis, ncp, shiv sena, congress, sharad pawar, maharashtra chief minister, maharashtra deputy chief minister, maharashtra government formation, maharashtra politics, maharashtra political crisis — Image Courtesy: PTI

By late last night, several companies of CRPF and RAF personnel were flown to Mumbai and all of them were deployed all across Mumbai much before Devendra Fadnavis took the oath for the second consecutive term as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. In all, about 30 companies (over 100 personnel each in one company) were flown to Mumbai. This is besides a battalion of RAF and CRPF each already stationed in Mumbai. The Union Home Ministry silently deployed huge number of security personnel from Telangana to Mumbai amid fears of a severe backlash by the Shiv Sena cadres. Among the forces were a large number of personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which deals with riot-like situations and related unrest. While RAF personnel were still on bandobast duties. Though nothing untoward was reported on Sunday, what with all parties brainstorming on their future moves, the Maharashtra police nevertheless stepped up the alert.

When AV contacted Vidya Chavan spokesperson of NCP to know whether they were aware about Ajit Pawar’s motive behind supporting BJP she said, “The party and Pawar Saheb were not aware about Ajit Dada supporting BJP. In fact, Pawar Saheb was trying to have a tie-up with Shiv Sena and Congress to form a government in Maharashtra to keep BJP away from power.”

“Ajit Dada himself had come along with us for attending party meeting in Delhi and Mumbai. In fact, he was the one who said if any party MLA will go or support BJP we will take strict action against him or her. But no one from the party is ready to believe that Ajit Dada had taken this step. It was a big shock for both party and Sharad Pawar,” she said.

When asked, if Ajit Pawar resigns from Deputy CM’s post will party accept him, she replied, “Yes we will accept him if he is ready to admit his mistake. However, party will decide what step they will take further. But today it’s important that he should resign from the post,” she added further.

Maharashtra police is expecting sporadic protests by the Sena, which could turn violent. Most of them have been deployed in and around Mumbai besides the Konkan coastal areas, considered Shiv Sena strongholds. The deployment will be in place for the next few days. Depending on how the situation unfolds over the next 48 hours, the Home Ministry will take a decision on moving more numbers of central paramilitary forces to Mumbai. More companies of paramilitary personnel have been kept on standby.

NCP leader and National president of Nationalist Mahila Congress Fouzia Khan said,“No one was aware of Ajit Pawar’s decision to support BJP. However, Pawar Saheb and Supriya Sule have said if he wants to rejoin the party then he can.”

Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar held a meeting of his party MLAs, in the wake of his nephew and legislature party leader Ajit Pawar joining hands with the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra. With the stunning return of the BJP to power in the state – have prompted the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress to move their MLAs to different hotels. The MLAs have been sequestered in an attempt to protect them from poaching. The three parties have taken their MLAs to luxury hotels in Mumbai itself, anticipating that they will have to be rushed in anytime to the state assembly for a floor test in which the BJP has to prove its majority. MLAs of Mr Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were taken to Renaissance Hotel in Mumbai’s Powai in buses Saturday night.

The Shiv Sena has moved 55 of its 56 MLAs to Lalit Hotel in Mumbai’s Andheri. They have also been ordered to surrender their mobile phones. The Congress, meanwhile, has moved its 44 MLAs to JW Marriott in Mumbai. However, eight independents are staying at a hotel in Goa where the Sena MLAs are staying. Sources from the Congress and the Sena have said keeping their MLAs together would be crucial to defeating the BJP in a floor test that may be held by November 30.

To save the present position, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar held a meeting with NCP MP Sunil Tatkare in Mumbai, NCP MLAs Dilip Walse Patil and Hasan Mushrif were also present in the meeting. The meeting was held at his brother Sriniwas Pawar’s residence. Security has been tightened outside the residence of Sriniwas Pawar.

The tales of two Pawars in Maharashtra

Vaidehi Taman

November 24, 2019

The NCP, a party that Sharad Pawar formed by breaking away from the Indian National Congress in the year1999, began to loosen earlier this year. Some trace it to a curious incident that signalled the rise of Ajit Pawar within the party this April. Pawar was all set to contest the Madha Lok Sabha seat when, strangely, he withdrew his candidature. The veteran leader had made a rule that not more than two people from his clan would contest a Lok Sabha election. The rule was widely taken to mean Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule would continue to represent the party in Delhi. However, Ajit Pawar’s son Parth insisted on contesting the election from Maval constituency that he eventually lost by 1.5 lakh votes.

Pawar had no choice but to back out. This immediately sent out signals within the party. It was Ajit Pawar and not his uncle who was now calling the shots. Ajit Pawar’s rivals with in the party began exploring other options for their political survival. The first to leave was Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, a powerful Maratha leader from Solapur district who nursed a grudge against Ajit Pawar. Their rivalry dates back to an incident in 2010. The NCP MLAs had elected Mohite-Patil as a legislative party leader. Ajit Pawar would not hear of it. He forced his uncle Sharad Pawar to anoint him as legislative party leader. Mohite-Patil never forgave him. In March this year, the veteran NCP leader quit the party with his son Ranjitsinh, his departure beginning the exodus from the party. A common thread has emerged in the exodus. A majority of defectors had a score to settle with Sharad Pawar’s nephew and heir apparent, Ajit Pawar. The son of Sharad Pawar’s brother Anantrao, Ajit Pawar has represented the Pawar bastion Baramati in the Vidhan Sabha since 1994. He was a cabinet minister in all three Congress-NCP governments between 1999 and 2014.

In the last two years of the government, he became a power centre as Deputy Chief Minister. This is believed to be the time when hubris set in. In 2013, he hit the headlines with his crass statement at a public rally asking whether he should urinate in the dams if there is no water. He is also an accused in the multi crore-irrigation scam that rocked the state five years ago. The Anti-Corruption Bureau has filed a charge sheet against him in this case. In 2019, when NCP regained its strength Ajit was the one who joined BJP and damaged the probabilities of NCP and Shiv-Sena forming the government. He exactly followed the footsteps of his uncle Sharad Pawar. The over ambition of Sharad Pawar, made him an unreliable politician. It has come true with Ajit Pawar.

Sharad Pawar in his career was regarded as a protégé of Yashwantrao Chavan, the most influential politician from Maharashtra at that time. At a young age of 27 in 1967, Pawar was nominated as the candidate for the Baramati constituency of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly over more established members by the undivided Congress Party. He won the election and represented the constituency on and off for decades. In 1969 he joined the Congress(R) faction of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi along with his mentor Yashwantrao Chavan. In the early 1970s, the then chief minister Vasantrao Naik had been in the power for a long time and there was jockeying for succession among different factions of the state Congress party. At that time, looking to the future leadership of the party, Yashwantrao Chavan persuaded Naik to bring Sharad Pawar into his cabinet as state home affairs minister. Pawar continued as home affairs minister in the 1975-77 government of Shankarrao Chavan, who succeeded Naik as the chief minister. In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party, under Indira Gandhi, lost power to the Janata Alliance. Taking responsibility for the loss of a large number of seats in Maharashtra, chief minister Shankarrao Chavan resigned shortly afterwards and was replaced by Vasantdada Patil.

Later in the year, the Congress party split, with Pawar’s mentor, Yashwantrao Chavan joining one faction, Congress (U), and Indira Gandhi leading her own faction, Congress (I). Pawar himself joined Congress (U). In the state assembly elections held early in 1978, the two Congress parties ran separately but then formed an alliance to keep power under Vasantdada Patil and deny it to Janata Party which emerged as the biggest single party after the election, but without a majority.

In July 1978, Pawar broke away from the Congress (U) party to form a coalition government with the Janata Party. In the process, at the age of 38, he became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This Progressive Democratic Front government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi’s return to power. In the 1980 elections Congress (I) won the majority in the state assembly, and A.R. Antulay took over as Chief Minister. Pawar took over the Presidency of his Indian National Congress (Socialist) (Congress (S)) party in 1983. For the first time, he won the Lok Sabha election from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won the state assembly election of March 1985 for Baramati and preferred to return to state politics, and resigned his Lok Sabha seat. Congress (S), won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and Pawar became the leader of the opposition of the PDF coalition, which included the BJP, PWP, and the Janata Party. His return to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time. Pawar had stated at the time, “The need to save the Congress Culture in Maharashtra”, as his reason for returning to Congress.

In June 1988, Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Sharad Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as Chief Minister. Sharad Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the Shiv Sena in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of Congress in the state. During the course of the 1991 election campaign, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. There were reports in the media that Pawar’s name was being considered for the prime minister’s post, along with those of P.V. Narasimha Rao and N.D. Tiwari, in the event of a Congress victory. Rao named Pawar as Defence Minister. On June 26, 1991, Pawar took over that portfolio, and held it until March 1993. Pawar was sworn in as a Chief Minister for his fourth term on March 6, 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blasts, on March 12 ,1993. Until the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Sharad Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. In the 1996 General elections, Pawar won the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha and left the state assembly. In 1999, after the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to the 13th Lok Sabha were called, Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar demanded, in the Congress party working committee (CWC) meeting, that the party needed to propose someone native-born as the prime ministerial candidate and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics and replaced Kesri as Congress president. The party duly expelled the three, and as a response in June 1999, Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party. The same NCP is now shrinking in size.

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