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Blow to BJP-Kingmaker Sena to bargain hard

October 24, 2019

Though BJP-led ruling alliance managed to retain power in Maharashtra, the assembly election results declared on Thursday are blow to the BJP. The party could not improve its tally from last assembly elections and won only 105 seats compared to 122 seats in 2014. BJP’s sitting minister Pankaja Munde lost election from Parli seat. Its alliance partner Shiv Sena also won fewer seats than that of last assembly polls. But in present circumstances, the Sena is in strong position to bargain hard. Sena has given indications of sharing chief minister’s chair for equal tenure of 2.5 years. Thus, simple majority of ruling alliance in 288 member Maharashtra Assembly has given a shot in arm for Shiv Sena which will be king maker in the state. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said that 50-50 formula was fixed regarding Chief Minister and we will not bow down to it. Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut also said that BJP and Shiv Sena will form government in Maharashtra. He said that there will be no change on pre-fixed 50-50 formula. In Satara Lok Sabha bypoll, BJP candidate Udayanraje Bhosale lost the election to NCP’s Shriniwas Patil. Counting of votes for bypolls to 51 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies also took place on Thursday.

When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to Congress chief spokesperson Ratnakar Mahajan he said, “Elections are not contested on one issue. Media had written about the demise of Congress and had given publicity to BJP. Situation is different in every state. In Haryana BJP was expecting to win 50 seats and in Maharashtra they were expecting to win 220 seats. Kharge, Jyotiraditya Shinde, Shatrughan Sinha and Rahul Gandhi have campaigned for Congress in Maharashtra.”

On the other hand, after election results of Haryana, no party could win clear majority. Amid neck to neck fight, the ruling BJP has been single largest party and the Congress also revived it and got second position. As Haryana headed for hung assembly, great grandson of ex-deputy PM Devi Lal and Jannayak Janata Party chief Dushyant Chautala emerged as king maker in the state. Both BJP and Congress have approached Dushyant Chautala to form new government in Haryana.

National President of Women’s Wing, Nationalist Mahila Congress Dr Fouziya Khan said, “I salute Pawarsaab who at the age of 80 has lead from the front to take his party forward. Even though many leaders have quit NCP but party’s performance did not decline. Both Pawar and Jayant Patil have done hard work.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “People of Maharashtra have blessed the NDA with immense affection. We are humbled to have got the people’s support yet again. Our work towards Maharashtra’s progress continues! I salute each and every Karyakarta of the BJP, Shiv Sena and our entire NDA family for their hardwork.” BJP acting president JP Nadda also thanked the people of Maharashtra for the victory.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said, “People have given mandate to the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Both the parties will form government and will perform better work. Both parties should have won more seats.”

CM Devendra Fadnavis said that it is historic victory, the first time a government and a CM have come to power again in the history of Maharashtra. He indicated that he would retain the top post. In order to counter Sena’s bargaining intention CM claimed that 15 rebels are in touch with him and that the number may go up. Fadnavis said, “I thank the people of Maharashtra for giving a clear mandate to the ‘mahayuti’ (BJP-Sena alliance). No doubt the next government will be ours.”

BJP spokesperson Vishwas Pathak said, “The results have arrived as per our expectation. We had kept a target to win more than 200 seats. Our performance has affected due to 20 rebels but they will join us once again.”

In Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is the only party which improved its tally from the 2014 assembly polls. The NCP won 53 seats. This victory of NCP has made party president Sharad Pawar still relevant in the politics of Maharashtra. Buoyant with poll results, Sharad Pawar said that people have rejected BJP’s claims of crossing the 220-seat-mark. Buoyed by NCP’s performance, Sharad Pawar addressed a press conference and said, “The opposition has worked hard. All members of Congress-NCP and allies have delivered and given their best. Power comes, power goes but it is important to remain committed to a cause and we thank people for the love they showed.” On being asked about sealing a deal with Shiv Sena, he said that the NCP will not forge an alliance with Shiv Sena. It is against NCP’s policy. The NCP had won only 41 seats in 2014. The Congress has won 46 seats in state.

Maharashtra Results

BJP-Sena-161
Cong-NCP-98
Others-29
Total seats-288

Haryana Results

BJP-40
Cong-31
JJP-10
Others-9

BJP-Shiv Sena to form the government on 50-50 formula

Vaidehi Taman

October 24, 2019

Maharashtra assembly elections were quite surprising, where Raj Thackeray’s MNS got just one seat and Aam Aadmi Party failed to open its account. Where as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen won four seats. NCP results were very pleasantly surprising as eighty years old Sharad Pawar gave tough fight and he proved his point, this election verdict was moral booster for Congress and NCP. Once again Modi and his BJP failed on Congress mukt Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray was very humble in accepting the election verdict. As usual Devendra was self-boasting and all tomtomming about his party seniors. Meanwhile, Narendra Modi congratulated the people of Haryana and Maharashtra following the mandate in the assembly elections in both states. In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 160 seats, though their numbers shrunk in comparison to 2014. The Sena, which contested on 124 seats won 57 seats a few shorter than the 63 it won in 2014 when it broke ties with the BJP and went solo in all 288 seats of the state. This time, the party was allotted 124 seats by the BJP, which kept the lion’s share of 164 seats for itself. As a sweetener, the Sena was offered the Deputy Chief Minister’s post. Surprising with big numbers indicated that it wanted a turn at the Chief Minister’s post.

Sena contested fewer seats on BJP’s request. During the long and sometimes bitter seat-sharing negotiations, the Sena had held out for a 50:50 division as well. But it failed to carry its point, given the BJP’s spectacular performance in the Lok Sabha polls. There was speculation that the Sena – a big critic of the Central policies – was not happy with the situation. But Uddhav Thackeray had downplayed the matter, saying, “It doesn’t matter who is the younger or older brother. What matters is the relationship between brothers”. What helped the Sena assert itself was the BJP’s performance, which fell way below expectations. The party, which won 122 seats in 2014 and hoping to cross the majority mark of 145 this time, has settled on 103 seats, where as Sena scored 57 seats.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde defeated his cousin Pankaja Munde in Parli assembly constituency. Dhananjay Munde, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council of the bicameral state, said he won despite several BJP stalwarts including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah campaigning in support of Pankaja Munde. Pankaja daughter of late union minister Gopinath Munde, has accepted her defeat. Earlier this week, a police complaint had been filed against Dhananjay Munde for allegedly making an objectionable remark against Pankaja. He has denied the charge.

Pankaja Munde had defeated Dhananjay in the 2014 assembly polls.

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 160 seats in Maharashtra, which is more than the halfway mark in the 288-strong assembly. The Congress-NCP alliance won 99 seats, a considerable increase in its 2014 tally.

The by-elections to 51 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies across 17 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry has thrown up a few surprises, especially in BJP-ruled Bihar and Gujarat. In Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who rules the state in alliance with the BJP, lost three of the five assembly seats where polls were held. In Gujarat, the Congress won three of the six assembly seats where by-polls were held. The BJP and its allies held nearly 30 of the assembly seats, the Congress had 12. The rest were with regional parties. Bypolls were held on 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Gujarat, Bihar (5 seats), Assam and Punjab (4 seats each), Kerala (5 seats), Sikkim (3 seats), Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu (2 seats each) and one seat each in Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Meghalaya and Telangana. Of the 11 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, the ruling BJP and ally Apna Dal (S) won eight seats. The BJP won seven seats and ally Apna Dal (S) in one. The Samajwadi Party is ahead in two, while the Bahujan Samaj Party bagged the remaining seat.

But there was controversy over western UP’s Gangoh seat, where the Congress was leading all day. When it was overtaken by the BJP in the afternoon, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged fraud.

Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Jan Shakti Party retained the only Lok Sabha seat – Samastipur — where elections were held. In Kishanganj, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM opened its account.

In Kerala, the ruling LDF has won in 3 of the four seats where assembly polls were held. The opposition UDF has won one seat. In Assam, the ruling BJP won three of the four Assembly seats where by-polls were held on Monday.

The BJP also retained both Dharamshala and Pachhad seats in Himachal Pradesh, a state it rules. The Congress candidate in Dharamshala lost his security deposit.

In Punjab, the ruling Congress won three seats — even wresting the Akali bastion Jalalabad — and the Shiromani Akali Dal won one. In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress won in both assembly constituencies of Mandawa’s Khinwsar seat and Nagaur’s Khinwsar constituency.

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

Letters to the Editor: 24 October, 2019

Web Team

October 24, 2019

Punjab National Bank should clarify its relation with PNB Metlife

PNB Metlife is an insurance-company using logo of public-sector Punjab National Bank, but there is absolutely no clarity on exact relationship between Punjab National Bank and PNB Metlife where agents of PNB Metlife lure members of public through highly lucrative investment-offers but without giving any brochure or highlights of the offered schemes on website.

It is clear that no government-saving scheme presently provides annual-interest more than eight-percent that too taxable and only for senior citizens. It is impossible that any public-sector company like PNB Metlife may provide above-referred extra-lucrative scheme.

Punjab National Bank should make their relationship with PNB Metlife clear through newspaper-advertisements and prominently on their websites. In case PNB Metlife is not a subsidiary company of Punjab National Bank, then Punjab National Bank must take immediate steps to prevent PNB Metlife from using its logo and similarity in name. Otherwise all PNB Metlife investment-schemes should be available in detail on website of Punjab National Bank.

All investment-schemes of PNB Metlife should be compulsorily put on website, and agents should be cautioned not to befool members of public by getting their hard-earned money invested in schemes without providing a brochure.

Madhu Agrawal

Welcome to Siachen

Defence minister Rajnath Singh recently declared that the government has decided to open a part of the Siachen glacier to tourists. The world’s coldest and highest battlefield is an area known globally for its uniqueness in terrain and it’s extraordinary weather condition. The amazing place is definitely going to attract adventure seekers and tourists who love to be in places that really give them an out of the earth experience. The thrill and the chill can definitely boost the tourism potential. It can also enhance and uphold national integration and give the visitors a first-hand experience on how our defence personnel is taking ultimate efforts in such a terrain to safe guard our motherland. Though allowing tourists to visit the area benefits in many ways certain important matters like security, health of the visitors and waste disposal and management also should be taken care of in a meticulous manner.

M Pradyu

Don’t waste money on lavish weddings

It has become a trend to spend heavily on fancy boxes of wedding-invitation cards worth several thousands of rupees each which are practically of no use. Rather those getting such invitation-cards pull out necessary portion of programme-details, and start pressurising their minds about utility of such apparently costly but useless remnants. Costly platters with imported items where Indian substitutes are better and cheaper and cash-envelopes from parents of brides have become necessity in marriage-celebrations. Interestingly misusers of such trends in their elite gatherings themselves criticise such trend, but want some others to take initiative to stop such a practice.

Supreme Court directive on July 12, 2018 asking central government to consider making it compulsory for families to disclose wedding expenditure by both sides of the families of bride and groom jointly to the marriage officer concerned should be implemented. It will not only limit wasteful expenditure at times due to social bindings on marriages but also effectively check unaccounted money being spent on marriage-related functions apart from lodging false claims made by bride-side in case of marital-disputes and divorces. Even a marriage-tax of say 10-per cent can be imposed in case expenses cross rupees five lakhs by one side as was suggested in a private-member bill introduced in Lok Sabha in February 2017. Large-scale wastage of food-items in marriage-celebrations should be prevented by re-introducing Guest Control Order 1960. Only soft drinks and beverages should be allowed to be served in such functions.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

Strengthen corporate governance framework

Corporate Governance and transparency act as one of the key core values and strong pillars for a public listed company to evolve in a competitive market especially in India. The recent whistle blower revelation yet again raised at Board level is a jolt from the blue to all the stakeholders including key investors. From past decade and since the exit of its Chief Mentor, the popular IT bell weather company has witnessed rapid leadership turmoil resulting in Board level changes through big ticket exits. The exit of its senior leadership including its CEOs, CFOs and other key members in the recent years is still afresh. However the company’s unscathed fast paced growth under the dynamic leadership of its newly elected Non Executive Chairman amidst such adversities is also well known to the industry.

As also there is now an urgent need to strengthen the Corporate Governance framework to safeguard the interest of its investors. The secretarial standards board which has framed boardroom regulations for listed companies, needs an immediate overhaul by its custodians to avoid such repeated instances amidst public glare. Hence the principal custodians consisting of CAs and Company Secretaries further need to prepare strong policies and adopt them under their respective mandate. The same can further be implemented to achieve the key strategic Corporate governance changes required at the Board level.

The policy custodians also a need work in tandem with the Governments including the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Tax regulators and other regulatory bodies like SEBI to formulate a simple and yet a convincing strategy to the investors. The move will thus pacify the investors and other stakeholders having otherwise invested heavily in these companies through the trading activity.

Varun Dambal

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

Diwali begins with Dhanteras

C K Subramaniam

October 24, 2019

Diwali is a festival of lights and the celebrations start well ahead with people going in for high level preparations for the festivity. The celebrations associated with Diwali are also known to take a toll on the environment, including health risks among various individuals including young children and the senior citizens. It is our earnest desire to ensure that the festival is celebrated with joy yet without causing any substantial damage to the environment. The festival starts with high spirits and Diwali begins with Dhanteras.

We celebrate Diwali in a grand way without knowing much about the significance. Diwali is a gala festival and is celebrated as a five day festival and each day has a different message with mythological significance and importance attached to it.

First day of Diwali is popularly known as Dhanteras and Dhanvantri Puja is being conducted. The word Dhan means wealth and teras means 13th day of lunar dark fortnight of Kartik. In the evening the lamp is lit and Dhan Lakshmi is welcomed into our flat. Colourful rangoli designs and Goddess footprints are drawn on pathways starting from entrance of the house to mark the arrival of Lakshmi, sweets and fruits are offered to the Goddess. On this auspicious day people buy Gold, silver and utensils. In North India, they buy a broom to mark the occasion and there is great demand for it in the market in Delhi and other places. Earthen diyas are lit on Dhanteras in the evening to get rid of evil spirits.

The second day is celebrated as Chhoti Diwali and it is called Kali Chaudas. Kali means dark and chaudas means 14th day of the dark half of Kartik month and is believed that on this day Kali killed the demon Narakasura. This is the day to end evil all negatives attached to oneselves. Oil bath is taken on this day in Southern parts of India and that will give you a fresh lease of life as the massaging is done from top to bottom of the body.

Third day is the main festive day and Goddess Lakshmi is believed to enter flats and bless people. So people wear new clothes, light oil lamps and pray to Lord Ganesha, Saraswati, Kubera and Lakshmi. Diwali is also treated as the beginning of a new financial year. Lighting of the lamp is significant since darkness represents ignorance and light is a metaphor for knowledge. Poor should be fed to appease Goddess Lakshmi and bring cheer in the face of the poor strata of society.

Fourth day Govardhan puja assumes greater significance. There is a tradition of building cow dung hillocks, which signifies Mount Govardhan, the mountain which was once lifted by Lord Krishna. Feeding green fodder or spinach to cows this day is considered very auspicious.

Fifth day is Bhai Dooj, which is the last day of the festivity. Bhai Tikka assumes importance as sisters pray for the good health of their brothers and their well being. This too has mythological significance as brother-sister relationship is everlasting. Make Kheer with Kesar and donate the same and if you can’t make Kheer, then donate yellow dal.

Five day leading to Diwali can be enjoyed to the maximum by sharing one’s wealth and good wishes with those who are not so fortunate. It is not just about lighting diyas but cleaning your inner self of doubt, jealousy and spreading joy all around.

Diwali means fire crackers bursting on the day of Lakshmi Puja. The air quality deteriorates drastically around this time as a thick layer of smog, mixed with dangerous chemical. Instead of fire crackers, various alternatives could be looked upon to ensure that the fun factor remain intact. Let us all celebrate a safe and happy Diwali.

We may call this week a week with full of joy and celebrations. Let us all plan to celebrate a noiseless and pollution free Diwali. Happy Diwali wishes to one and all.

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

BJP, Shiv Sena set to retain power in Maharashtra

Web Team

October 24, 2019

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance looked set to return to power in Maharashtra while Haryana could be a cliffhanger with no clear majority for either the BJP or the Congress, Election Commission trends indicated as votes for the assembly polls held this week were counted on Thursday.

While the BJP did not appear to be headed for the emphatic win it was expecting in the states it had ruled for five years, the Congress took a back seat to its partner NCP in Maharashtra but could substantially better its tally in Haryana, according to the trends available.

In Maharashtra, the BJP was leading in 102 of the 288 seats and its partner Shiv Sena in 61. The Congress was leading in 40 seats, behind its ally Nationalist Congress Party that was ahead in 52 seats, the Sharad Pawar-led party faring better than its parent party and performing well in Western Maharashtra. In 2014, the BJP had won 122 seats in the western state, the Sena 63, the Congress 42 and the NCP 41.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was leading over his Congress rival Ashish Deshmukh in Nagpur South West. Making his political debut, Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray established a comfortable lead in the Worli assembly constituency.

In Haryana, BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar is seeking a return to power. The BJP was leading in 37 seats and the Congress in 31. In an electoral contest with no clear winner, Dushyant Chautala could well emerge kingmaker with his Jannayak Janta Party leading in 11 seats.
Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “Mission 75“, Chautala said it would fall way short of its target of winning 75 seats. Declaring that his party will hold the key to formation of the next dispensation, he told reporters, “People of Haryana want change.”

Both Khattar and his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress were among those who were leading from Karnal and Garhi Sampla-Kiloi respectively, according to early trends. In 2014, the BJP won 47 seats and the Congress 15, with two Haryana Janhit Congress legislators later merging with it. The INLD had 19 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal one each. There were five Independents.

Kamlesh Tiwari murder: ISIS ideology at the doors

Vaidehi Taman

October 23, 2019

On October 18, 2019, it was the first time we Indians realised that ISIS ideology has not only impacted the terrorist organisations and their operating style but the individuals as well. Kamlesh Tiwari, the founder of Hindu Samaj Party was attacked at his residence in Lucknow by two Muslim Youths (Later identified as Ashfaq Shaikh and Moinuddin Khurshid Pathan) and brutally murdered. Tiwari was stabbed more than 15 times on his face, neck and chest and his throat was slit in ISIS style. Finally shot in the face wherein the bullet was found on backside of the skull.

Murders are not new to India and UP but the context of this case and the way it was declared and executed has shaken the conscience of ordinary Indians. To understand this case let’s revisit the sequence of the events.

Abusing other’s religion and ideology is not new to Indian politics and Azam Khan of Samajwadi Party is one of the notorious names. On December 2, 2015, Azam Khan made an ugly statement that all the RSS leaders are homosexuals and that’s why they don’t marry. The reaction to such comment was obvious and that too from Hindu leaning organisations and individuals. Kamlesh Tiwari who claimed to be the President of Hindu Mahasabha retaliated to Azam Khan’s statement and on a social media post wrote that the prophet was the first homosexual of the world. This retaliatory remark from Tiwari outraged the Muslim community and lakhs of Muslims came on the streets of different parts of India protesting violently. Most of them were demanding death penalty for Tiwari. And most of them were demanding beheading of him. The slogan was “Gustaakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi sazaa, Sar tan se juda”. The community also demanded that blasphemy laws as per Sharia and Islam should be imposed in India just like other Islamic countries. Kamlesh Tiwari was arrested the very next day of the incident on December 3, 2015 by the then Samajwadi Party govt. National Security Act was imposed on Tiwari and charges under sections 153-A and 295-A were slapped against him.

But the Muslim community was not satisfied with this. They wanted death penalty for him and nothing less as per Islamic law. The case of Tiwari proceeded in the courts and in October 2016 the Allahabad High Court revoked the NSA imposed on Tiwari and subsequently he was released on bail. Hardliner Muslims continued to keep their demand of his beheading/death penalty and took the vow to kill him whenever he is out. Many bounties were also announced for his beheading.

After coming out from jail Tiwari founded Hindu Samaj Party in 2017 and carried out his political activities in a democratic manner. He also contested general elections in 2019 from Faizabad but lost. Police sources also claim that Tiwari was possibly on the hit list of many Islamists as well as ISIS for his remarks on Prophet Mohammad. The two ISIS suspects arrested by the Gujarat police in 2017 Obaid Mirza and Qasim had revealed that during interrogation.

The assailants of Tiwari on October 18, 2019 came in saffron Kurtas. One of them Ashfaq Shaikh befriended Tiwari on social media with a Hindu Name. He had forged the Aadhaar card of one of his Hindu colleague Rohit Solanki from a pharmaceuticals company where he used to work. He introduced himself to Tiwari as Rohit Solanki and came to meet him on the pretext of joining his Hindu Samaj Party. They brought Knife and Pistols in sweet packets. They sent his assistant out to bring some stuff and then executed the plan. One assailant slit his throat and the other shot him in the face. Police identified the assailants from a CCTV footage. Later on, they found that the sweet boxes they had brought were from Gujarat and that led the police team to Surat involving Gujarat police. Three conspirators named Faizan Yusuf Bhai, Maulana Mohsin Shaikh and Rashid Ahmed Khurshid Ahmed Pathan were arrested from Surat later, who were involved in planning Tiwari’s assassination. Two Maulvis named Mohammad Mufti Naeem Kazmi and Imam Maulana Anwarul Haq were arrested from Bijnor. The duo had announced bounty on Tiwari’s beheading of 1.5Cr in 2016. One person was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS from Nagpur named Syed Asim Ali. One more Maulvi was arrested from Bareilly who helped the two assailants to escape. Later on, the two assailants were also arrested from Gujarat-Rajasthan border. They had fled to Nepal but had to come back after they ran out of money.

Now one thing is very clear that all these people who are involved in Kamlesh Tiwari’s brutal ISIS style murder and those who are supporting them don’t have any faith in Indian Constitution or the rule of law. They’re the believers of ISIS style rule. And the irony is what Kamlesh Tiwari did in retaliation to Azam Khan’s remarks are being done by many in India for years and they are made Hero by one section of the society and the other section doesn’t react to them as they reacted to Tiwari’s remarks in 2015.

To conclude above incident one must agree that though they are minority but stands unitedly when it comes to such brutality. We the so called majority however have always shown tolerance towards such acts against religious atrocities.

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

All eyes on poll results

Dipti Joshi

October 23, 2019

People of Maharashtra and Haryana are eagerly waiting for results of state assembly polls. The counting of votes will begin at 8 pm on Thursday in both states. The Election Commission of India has made all necessary arrangements for this and security forces are deployed on counting centres. Voting in both states concluded on Monday evening. After the end of polling, exit polls predicted that the BJP-Sena alliance will gain a massive victory in Maharashtra assembly elections. In Haryana, a landslide victory for the BJP has been predicted.

When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua he said, “BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is going to win more than 220 seats. They will win more seats than predicted by exit polls. Elections have been fought under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis. He will retain Chief Minister’s post.”

Prior to exit polls, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that there will be a change of guard in Maharashtra after the assembly elections. The ruling BJP-Shiv Sena camp is seen exalted with exit polls while silence prevails in the camp of Congress-NCP. But they appeared to decline the exit poll results. Meanwhile gossips and whispers are going on across the state regarding election results. People are not only discussing about expected winners but also margin of loss and reasons of defeat of their nearest rivals. Amid all these gossips and whispers, all eyes are on assembly poll results which will be declared on Thursday.

NCP leader Vidya Chavan said, “NCP and Congress will win more than 100 seats. NCP will win around 65 to 70 seats. EVM glitches were reported in Satara. Steps must be taken to address this issue.”

It is remarkable that this time, in Maharashtra, two alliances are in fight the BJP and Shiv Sena on one hand, and the Congress-NCP on the other. As per exit polls, BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is going to retain power again. The picture looks grim for the Congress-NCP combine. Small parties in the state have allied themselves with the two alliances. Republican Party of India (A), Shiv Sangram, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Rayat Kranti Sanghatana are with ruling alliance while the Peasants and Workers Party, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, People’s Republican Party and the Samajwadi Party are with Congress-NCP.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, “Congress and NCP will win respectable number of seats. Exit polls are not accurate. People want change.”

In Maharashtra, total 3237 candidates contested elections for the 288 seats of state assembly. Amid 60.25 per cent voter turnout, all exit polls predicted two-third to three-fourth majority for ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. In 2014 Maharashtra had seen 64 per cent voter turnout.

In Haryana, 65 per cent voters exercised their franchise. Exit polls predict landslide victory for incumbent BJP in the state. Total 1169 candidates contested elections for the 90 seats of state assembly.

Shiv Sena leader Ashish Jaiswal said, “Our party will win 10 or 20 seats more than exit polls.”

Apart from assembly elections, bypolls were held to 51 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies which are spread across 18 states. The counting of votes in these states will also take place on October 24. The Election Commission of India will declare results.

Maharashtra polls at a glance

Total seats – 288

Voters – 8,98,39,600

Candidates – 3237

Voter turnout – 60.25%

BJP contested – 164 seats

Shiv Sena – 124 seats

Congress – 147 seats

NCP – 121 seats

MNS – 101 seats

Modi’s proactive measures to fight Corruption

Vinod Dixit

October 23, 2019

One of the biggest evils plaguing our nation is the curse of corruption. Corruption in the Indian society has prevailed from time immemorial in one form or the other. Corruption is a slow poison which kills the constitution, the society and the economy of developing nations. Asserting his government’s resolve against corruption and nepotism, PM Modi has already assured “justice” against the country’s economic offenders. It is to be appreciated that Modi government has provided an incorruptible administration at the helm. It has taken stringent steps to arrest generation of black money as well ensure that economic offenders are brought to book. The menace of corruption and black money has adversely affected us for decades. Under the dynamic leadership of Modi, the government has taken various proactive measures against black money stashed abroad which have led to positive results.

Stating that India stands committed in its fight against corruption, Modi has rightly said that “The very day that we assumed office, we constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of the Supreme Court to look into the issue. Government has entered into agreements with many countries for exchanging real time information on black money,” he said, adding the government has signed the Inter Government Agreement with the US to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Modi’s government is committed to making bureaucracy more efficient, performance oriented and accountable and their mission is to build a prosperous India. To achieve this objective, it is essential to fight relentlessly against corruption. Corruption is a principle challenge. Further, corruption has become something respectable in India, because respectable people are involved in it. Social corruption like less weighing of products, adulteration in edible items, and bribery of various kind have incessantly prevailed in the society. Corruption attacks the morality of the justice that damages the society. India is in a crucial phase of nation building. There’s a need to fight relentlessly against corruption.

No doubt our PM who has faced criticism for demonetisation and GST but these measures had left the corrupt scared and brought black money into the formal economy. Demonetisation was a ‘step’ towards eradication of corruption and black money. It is not the last step in our fight against corruption. The most prominent among these is demonetisation, which has “strengthened the hands of the common citizen and the government in the fight against corruption, terror funding, Naxalism, human trafficking, black money and counterfeit notes.

The one thing that needs to be ensured is proper, impartial, and unbiased use of various anti-social regulations to take strong, deterrent, and timely legal action against the offenders, irrespective of their political influences or money power. Several steps have been taken to make the bureaucracy more efficient, performance-oriented and accountable. The Government is committed to ensuring probity among public servants and to protect them from frivolous allegations. Firm and strong steps are needed to curb the menace and an atmosphere has to created where the good, patriotic, intellectuals come forward to serve the country with pride, virtue, and honesty for the welfare of the people of India. Corruption may also be controlled by openness, transparency and information costs, intergovernmental competition, localism, party competition, decision rules, collective action problems and public administration. Modi is on the right track because he is bringing systemic changes that will remove corruption for ever.

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

Letters to the Editor: 23 October, 2019

Web Team

October 23, 2019

Low voter turnout in Mumbai

Despite consistent efforts by the Election Commission of India (ECI) the recently concluded assembly elections in Maharashtra yet again witnessed low voter turnout in Mumbai. The elections were scheduled after spectacular general assembly elections in the month of October and hence turned out to be a low-key affair.

There is now an urgent need to create an innovative strategy to draw voters to the polling booth especially in urban areas. Providing a holiday apart, ECI should involve in extensive voter awareness drive through consistent outreach programmes including through social media. As also the need to update and make available the voter list in a seamless and hassle free manner will only evoke interest amongst the voters to vote on any polling day.

ECI should also strengthen its Voter Awareness initiatives by providing necessary information related to polling booths much in advance. Hence there is also a need to look into logistical and security arrangements through a strategic and systematic manner otherwise to garner high voter turnout on a polling day. Smart queue management during the polling at polling booths will also thus ensure quicker franchise process and thus enable voters to turn up at the booth.

Varun Dambal

PM Modi fails to fulfill several promises

In India, every politician keeps making promises at the time of elections but do not fulfil them once they come to power. An example of it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made several promises but not fulfilled any of them.

Jubel D’Cruz

Turmoil rocks Infosys

Infosys is the brainchild of Narayan Murthy and hitherto was considered as the most transparent corporate house of India. The turmoil which rocked Infosys stock on the bourses both in India & US comes as a shock. Whistleblower has targeted Infosys CEO & CFO for unethical practices which need to be investigated urgently. It could be an vested interest motive but shareholders including myself have been affected by dramatic single day fall in its stock price.

Infosys has asked top fraud investigating agency to look into the case & let us hope they come out with their report at the earliest. Also, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh mocking two directors on its board with communal remarks calling them ‘Madrasis‘ is demeaning & he needs to tender an apology. Ex-CEO & Infosys founder Nandan Nilekeni should be asked by the shareholders & govt to oversee various issues at Infosys so that the crisis can be doused without further damage!

S.N.Kabra

Too many milk-variants by Amul confuse consumers

Milk-giant Amul has added a new milk-variant under brand-name Buffalo in addition to earlier existing variants under brand-names Gold and Diamond. All these three variants are apart from cow-milk and several other low-fat variants. Apart from cow-milk, all other variants should therefore be processed from buffalo-milk, in case some of milk-brands are not made from milk-powder. Amul should print on its all milk-packs if milk is packed and processed after procuring natural milk, or some of these are made from milk-powder.

Now are three variants namely Gold, Buffalo and Diamond priced respectively at rupees 53, 55 and 57 per litre respectively with varying fat-contents increasing with price with newly added under brand-name Buffalo unnecessarily confusing consumers.

Even pricing-system of Amul is very confusing with Gold-brand milk priced at rupees 53 per litre, has printed Maximum-Retail-Price MRP at rupees 324. Evidently purchasing six one-litre packs will cost just rupees 318. Bigger six-litre economy-pack must cost below rupees 318. Interestingly while all other milk-packs are sold at printed MRP, this six-lire economy pack with printed MRP of rupees 324 is commonly available at just rupees 315. Amul has not cared to respond to advisory from Department of Animal Husbandry in this regard.

All milk-products should be compulsorily packed in either units of like 100, 200, 500 millilitres and thereafter in packs of 1, 2, 5, 10 litres etc rather than in non-metric irrational units like 180, 250. 400 or 450 millilitres or six litres.

Madhu Agrawal

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

New era in BCCI, Sourav Ganguly takes charge as 39th president

Web Team

October 23, 2019

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday took over as the BCCI’s 39th president, becoming the biggest name to head the world’s richest cricket board. The 47-year-old Ganguly was officially entrusted with the task of heading Indian cricket for the next nine months at the BCCI’s General Body meeting in Mumbai, ending a tumultuous 33-month reign of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA).

“It’s official – @SGanguly99 formally elected as the President of BCCI,” the BCCI posted on its Twitter page. Ganguly’s appointment was finalised last week.

It’s official – @SGanguly99 formally elected as the President of BCCI pic.twitter.com/Ln1VkCTyIW

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 23, 2019

In the meeting that was also a reunion of sorts for some of the familiar faces associated with the board before the CoA’s institution, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah was made the secretary.

During his tenure, Ganguly will look to coordinate with old guard such as former President N Srinivasan and ex-Secretary Niranjan Shah, whose children are now part of the BCCI. Mahim Verma of Uttarakhand became the new vice-president.

Former BCCI president and current junior finance minster Anurag Thakur’s younger brother Arun Dhumal became the treasurer while Kerala’s Jayesh George took the joint secretary’s position.

Ganguly, who took over as India captain during one of its darkest hours following the 2000 match-fixing scandal, will need to demit office by the end of July next year as per the provisions of new constitution, which makes ‘Cooling Off’ period mandatory after six years in office.

One of the most elegant left-handers to have represented India, Ganguly is expected to make use of his experience gained as the secretary and later president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

He has set a few goals and the primary ones are restructuring of first-class cricket as well as getting the administration back in shape along with getting India’s position of reverence back in the corridors of International Cricket Council (ICC).

With the conflict of interest rules in place, Ganguly will face the challenge of having quality cricketers on board as far as the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and national selection committees are concerned. His take on veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s international future, Day/Night Test cricket, permanent Test centres will also be dissected.

His tenure begins at a time when the International Cricket Council has left India out of its newly-formed working group, which might affect the country’s share in the ICC revenue. The group has been formed to figure out a new governance structure for the world body.

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