MLAs Caged – Parties refrain from getting auctioned in power bargain

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November 8, 2019

Tug of war continues in Maharashtra politics, as Shiv Sena demands Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to clarify his stand on the 50:50 deal and call Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray with some feasible terms. The deadline for government formation is midnight on Friday and 15 days after the Maharashtra election results were declared on October 24, the BJP-Sena feud remains unresolved. Shiv Sena has refused to back down on its demand for a “50:50” partnership with the BJP, including rotational chief ministership and has moved its MLAs to a hotel in Mumbai in an apparent attempt to prevent defections to the BJP. At the same time, Congress moved its MLAs to Jaipur. All the political parties have already caged their MLAs to prevent them from getting auctioned in power bargain.

When Afternoon Voice contacted NCP leader and Advocate Majeed Memon he said, “The BJP is desperately trying to remain in power by immoral and moral method. There are allegations from two Congress MLA stating that bribe offers are coming. This is a serious matter and should be reported to the Election Commission and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). The BJP headquarters from Maharashtra is also saying that they are prepared to give more plum portfolios to Shiv Sena. And this is literally auctioning of the cabinet ministries which should be condemned.”

When asked him, are they worried about BJP poaching their MLAs for forming the government he replied, “BJP’s poaching attempts are going on and they are expert in horse trading. But in Maharashtra they will be not able to do that because Sharad Pawar has already made a public statement two days ago that the skill of Amit Shah is on test in the state and they will not allow him to indulge in horse trading.”

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said BJP should prove its majority and stake claim. “They should get not just 15 days, but one month to prove their majority in the assembly, the single largest party should get the opportunity to form government first. If the Governor calls the single largest party to form government and their Chief Minister takes oath, then they have to show their majority on the floor of the house. If they fail, then others can form government. The Sena can too. But it is only fair that the largest party should get the chance first.”

NCP leader Vidya Chavan said, “A Congress MLA has said that BJP had made a proposal of paying Rs 50 crore to a Shiv Sena MLA. BJP is known for horse trading activities and look at the situation in Goa and Karnataka. Reddy brothers in Karnataka are involved in horse trading activities. Since both Congress and Shiv Sena are not willing to support BJP so they will use the same tactics to woo MLAs from other parties.”

Amid instability, right wing Hindu leader Sambhaji Bhide visited ‘Matoshree‘, the residence of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra, on late Thursday evening. However, Thackeray was not at home and therefore Bhide, whose arrival was unpredicted, could not meet him, said a close aide of the Sena chief. But some media reports said Uddhav returned Bhide without meeting, to which Bhide’s close aide slammed such reports. Bhide’s surprise visit to Matoshree came amid the ongoing stand-off between the Sena and BJP, the two saffron allies, over chief minister’s post after the Maharashtra assembly polls. With a virtual communication breakdown between the alliance partners, Sambhaji Bhide volunteered to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s residence Matoshree to conduct a fresh round of negotiations.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil told AV, “The meeting with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was to discuss the legal implications of the delay in government formation. The BJP-Sena alliance has won a clear majority and based on that, a government should have been formed. We discussed with the Governor the implications and legal options in the circumstances.”

But the BJP has also not budged from its stand that Devendra Fadnavis will be Chief Minister for a full term, with no time-share with the Shiv Sena.

They tried to finish us with ‘sweet talks’: Uddhav slams BJP

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Web Team

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November 8, 2019

Uddhav Thackeray slams BJP, uddhav thackeray, aaditya thackeray, devendra fadnavis, shiv sena, bjp, maharashtra political crisis — Image Courtesy: HT Media

After Devendra Fadnavis resigned as chief minister of Maharshtra on Friday, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray addressed a press conference for media on the false allegation made by Fadnavis against Sena.

Thackeray slammed ally BJP for trying ‘to prove him a liar’, claiming that it had agreed to share the chief minister’s post in Maharashtra during his talks with Amit Shah.

On Fadnavis allegation Thackeray said, “I am not a BJP wala. I do not lie. They had promised us and are now going back on their words.” Thackeray also alleged that the BJP tried to finish us with “sweet talk”.

Thackeray says he was hurt that the BJP tried to portray him as a liar.

He said, he would fulfill the promise made to his father, late Sena founder Bal Thackeray, to install a Shiv Sena chief minister in the state, and does not need Devendra Fadnavis or Shah for this.

He did not hold talks with the BJP after the Assembly poll results came in on October 24 as he could not tolerate being called a liar, he added.

The Sena chief also denied Fadnavis’s claim that Sena leaders targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to Thackeray , he did not attack Modi but criticised the NDA government from time to time over policies.

The BJP and Sena are locked in a tussle over the chief minister’s post, resulting in a stalemate despite the poll results giving the saffron alliance a combined seat strength of 161, way past the 145 majority mark in the 288- member House.

A taste of mythology with a teaspoon of fiction

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Vaidehi Taman

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November 8, 2019

Young law student and BMM graduate Virat Vilas Pawar has authored a book titled “Heroes of War”. He believes that he is science fiction buff since childhood, writing is his passion and he authored his yearnings into words. Heroes of Wars- Men From The Future was born is a fiction and mixture of Mythology and science, a story that is inspired by Mahabharat. The books talks about how God from the past travels to the future to ask for a favour from its own final incarnation. He was in conversation with our Editor-in-chief Dr Vaidehi Taman, and says it is the era where one can afford to be brave and speak about the unspoken. Following are the excerpts from Tete-a-tete.

Have you heard of “Hero of War” song by Rise Against from the album Appeal to Reason?

Yes, I have.

Well! What has inspired you to write this book?

I have grown up watching a lot of cartoons and reading tons of comics, but I always felt there was something that was missing. Not from the creator’s perspective but from the receiver’s perspective. Later, I realised it was the “Desi Flavor” that was missing. We wouldn’t relate much to underground metros or yellow taxies, but we can relate to railway stations and BEST buses. As I grew up, I always wanted to create Indian Superheroes and give the Indian audience an authentic taste of Science Fiction. Now to connect with the Indian audience, what can be better than the rich mythology we have? When we say mythology, the first thing that comes to our mind is the deadliest war ever fought in the history of mankind. “Mahabharata,” we all know about Mahabharata; every character can be pulled out and turned into a superhero arch. So I think the need for science fiction and the richness of our mythology has inspired me to write Heroes of Wars: Men From The Future.

How much you read Mahabharata and understood the same?

I have spent more than a year just reading about Mahabharata and various theories about the epic. As per my knowledge, it is not possible for anybody to completely understand this epic. The deeper you dig, the deeper it goes. It has every single emotion, mood, and situation in it.

Do you believe that the God has past, future and present? If yes, how would you see the same God in present scenario where internal and external enemies surround India?

Well, I will answer this question as a fiction buff. God, as a supreme entity, he knows the past; he is aware of the present and also knows the future. I feel it’s all pre-written, everything wrong that is happening now is part of a big plan (happy ending) where we all are just puppets, playing our roles to make it happen. So yes, maybe the good, the bad, the ugly is all part of God’s plan.

How do you define Adharma? And what is a War against Adharma?

I am quoting dialogue from my novel –

“Dharma doesn’t have to only mean religion or praying to one God.

The real meaning of Dharma is reality, faith, and belief in

Something; Dharma is doing what you have to do; Dharma

Is believing in the good; Dharma is supporting the right.”

This is Dharma, according to me. Adharma can be exactly opposite of it- being unfair, killing in the name of a specific thing, being dishonest, betraying people, not following humanity, and doing something wrong when you know it is not the right action. A War against Adharma means a fight that is against everything wrong for the greater good.

Why is Mahabharata a war against Adharma even if it was won by unfair methods?

Even though Lord Krishna used unfair means to help the Pandavas win the war, the intentions and the ultimate goal was to defeat the big bad villain. It doesn’t matter what methods you use as long as you are on the right side.

Kurukshetra is a family dispute, war happened between the cousins, Kauravas and Pandavas for the Kingdom but Mahabharatha is not a war it’s an epic. What is your take on this?

Of course, Mahabharata is an epic that involves thousands of characters with subplots of their own. The war could have been avoided, but the stubbornness lead to the devastation, isn’t it like today? There is a quarrel in the family that leads to the massive division of things. Every war/fight that takes place happens between two parties and later involves their allies, leading to the expansion of the teams.

What would have happened if the Kauravas had won the war against the Pandavas?

The victorious people tell the stories of victories. Maybe Kauravas would have told a story about how they won despite so much politics. Given the nature of the Kauravas ( As per the existing knowledge), maybe the world would be a different place now. (Psh, there is a part in the novel where you would get to know how the world would be if Kauravas won)

If Karna was killed by unethical means, how did Mahabharata Yuddham (Mahabharata War) become “Dharma Yuddham” (Righteous War)?

Even while I think of Karna, I get goosebumps. A warrior so perfect but unlucky in all the possible phases of life but it doesn’t matter how you are, what matters is what side you choose. If you stand on the side of evil, you are evil too. Karna knew Kauravas were wrong, but he still decided to fight on their side because he wanted to take revenge from Pandavas for being mistreated.

When you are talking about future, why didn’t Krishna actively participate in the Mahabharata war in the past?

*SPOILER ALERT!* Lord Krishna did participate, but due to some reasons, he couldn’t win the war, after numerous alternatives he finally decides to go to the future and recruit five super-warriors and fight Pandavas in this alternate timeline.

In the Mahabharata, why didn’t Sri Krishna save Abhimanyu when he knew already that he was about to be killed?

Action leads to reaction; Lord Krishna knew everything; he knew what would trigger Arjun the most. Maybe, he wanted to save the card for some other day and use it at the right time. We can’t comment on the action of a supreme entity.

Krishna was the most skilled at war strategy; but who tipped the scales when it came to might, Bheeshma, Arjuna, Karna or someone else, who was the most powerful warrior in the Mahabharata?

All of them were stronger than we can comprehend but if I had to name a few, the list would start from Karna, who was the master of all. Then comes Bheeshma, who taught both Kauravas and Pandavas. Of course, Lord Krishna has to be on the list considering who he was. Arjun is usually regarded as the strongest of all, but he broke down several times during the war, thanks to Lord Krishna’s guidance he managed everything pretty well.

In today’s time you do completely agree with the saga of Pandavas and Kaurava’s birth? How do you look at Panchali?

We believe what we are told. The birth of both Pandavas and Kauravas is unbelievable. In a world where we desperately need demigods and men with superpowers to step in, and we see none, it’s hard to believe something like this, but from a fiction perspective, “WOW.” Panchali was born out of the fire, the fire of rage. There are two ways of looking at her. Either strong woman or woman who didn’t take proper stand. Well, she managed five demigods on her own (initially), so I consider her quite strong.

Well, what is your objective of writing this book and what s your message to our readers?

The main objective of writing Heroes of Wars is to give the audience a taste of mythology with a teaspoon of fiction. As I said, we have a rich mythology, and I had to make use of the references to make something big. I wanted to give my readers something we already know dressed in a completely different way.

The message that I want to give the readers is to believe in you. Everything is possible in this world; with the right planning, everything can be conquered regardless of how difficult it seems.

Shiv Sena requested police protection for newly-elected MLAs in Mumbai

By

Hema Singh

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November 8, 2019

The Shiv Sena on Friday sought police protection in Mumbai for its newly-elected MLAs, who will be shifted to a resort, till November 15, apparently fearing defection from its legislative rank.

Sena secretary Milind Narvekar has written a letter to the Mumbai police commissioner, seeking necessary protection for the party’s MLAs till November 15.

In the letter, Narvekar said all MLAs would be staying at Retreat hotel in suburban Malad.

“Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be meeting his MLAs frequently for future decisions. We request you to provide necessary security measures,” Narvekar said.

A police official confirmed receiving the letter.

“We have received the letter from the Shiv Sena and the Mumbai police will take care of the security of their MLAs,” the official said.

The Sena has 56 MLAs, including the party’s youth leader, Aaditya Thackeray, who was elected from Worli in central Mumbai in the October 21 assembly polls.

The BJP and the Sena are locked in a bitter tussle over sharing power post declaration of assembly poll results on October 24.

Devendra Fadnavis resignes as Maharashtra CM

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Web Team

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November 8, 2019

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis resigned on Friday.

According to sources, Fadnavis drove to Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai and submitted his resignation to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

There has been no headway in government formation even a fortnight after Assembly poll results were announced on October 24.

The BJP and Shiv Sena are locked in a tussle over the issue of the chief minister’s post, resulting in a stalemate in government formation despite the Assembly poll results giving the alliance a combined seat strength of 161, way past the 145 majority mark in the 288-member House.

In the polls, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena-56, NCP-54 and the Congress won 44 seats.

Losing self-pride to the western psyche: India’s way

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Web Team

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November 8, 2019

Listening to a devoted journalist is always intriguing and it becomes more exciting when a foreign journalist describes the ancient glory of my own country with all convictions. However, it turned sour when we realize that even after decades of our independence from the British, millions of Indians still perceive the western concept of lifestyles and feel safe with the western medicinal practices. But India has the most ancient medical system in the world and Ayurveda (Unani/Siddha) is still in practice across the vast country.

Francois Gautier, a India-based French journalist, while interacting with a group of scribes at Guwahati Press Club on October 26, 2019 through video-conferencing, revealed that Indian ancient scholars realized the importance of plants & minerals in treatments long before the discovery of western medicines. Moreover, many diseases have a psychosomatic origin and it should be taken into consideration for treating those patients.

Most of the Indian schools and universities still today teach western concepts and thus produce some export worthy youths in western countries. So the greatest brain drain in the world can be seen among the Hindus, who leave their country to enrich research centers, academic faculties, medical & engineering groups all over the world, particularly in the US, Canada, and UK. Most Indians go abroad and eventually settle down there and finally, their successors are lost forever for their country of origin.

Otherwise, Hindus are descendants of an ancient civilization in human history and Hinduism is the only religion that accepts and respects all the other religious faiths, but there are many western journalists and correspondents who are still biased against India. The author of several books on India asserted that the western media should at least respect the country with a wiser past and still gives birth to humans with wonderful qualities.

“But most of the western correspondents posted in New Delhi take little notice about the uniqueness of India as they manage to see only the poverty and problems faced by the vast country. They hardly pay respect to the billion-plus nation even after 70 years of its independence. In a real sense, they are expected to report honestly about India so that their readers, many of whom are ignorant about the great nation, get enlightened,” said Gautier.

Himself a regular contributor to various international publications including few from France, Gautier argued that the foreign correspondents are normally assigned for four to five years in India and that is not enough for understanding a country which is so vast, diverse and also contradictory. More precisely, Delhi is very far from southern or eastern India.

Shockingly, the Indian journalists who regularly write for western media outlets normally follow the guidelines of their editors and very often they won’t hesitate to paint a negative image of their own country exclaimed Gautier. However, he feels that the alternate media has provided space for many Indians, including qualified journalists, to speak on various issues they deem fit for exposures.

“India is never in the news in the West unless there is some major catastrophe or huge elections. Thus, if anyone wants to write for those publications, he or she has to find stories that might often border on the sensational, marginal and even misleading,” commented the outspoken journalist, who was born and brought up in Paris and now living in India for decades.

“As a Frenchman, I was brought up to be proud of Voltaire, Napoleon, Victor Hugo, or Charlemagne. India has many great heroes, poets, authors, warriors, etc. If France had one Jeanne d’Arc, this country gave birth to dozens like Rani of Jhansi, Ahiliabai, Chennama, Rani Abbakka, Rani Rudramma, Rani Velu Nachiyar, etc. The British have Shakespeare, but Kalidas is one of the greatest poets ever on par with Homer,” stated Gautier.

In warfare, the French have Napoleon and here in Maharashtra Shivaji Maharaj could be a hero for modern India. Not just because he was a great fighter with extraordinary courage, but Shivaji was also an able administrator maintaining respects to human rights. Dedicated to Mother India, Shivaji was secular in nature, in spite of being an ardent Hindu, and never harmed the wives or daughters of his enemies. Fascinating with the life of Shivaji, Gautier has committed to a resourceful museum of Indian history in Pune, the birthplace of Maratha hero. The museum is expected to exhibit objects from the Vedas to tomorrow’s India. Visitors coming to the museum can learn many unexplained things about Indian history. The unique Hindu concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam should be explored as it can only save the human race, convinced Gautier explained.

Speaking about Hindu tolerance, Gautier opined that it has been one-way traffic for the Hindus as they experienced cruel genocides in the sad history of humanity. But Hindus have shown extreme tolerance and Hinduism is the only religion that never tried to convert others. However many Indian intellectuals claim that Hindus are intolerant, fanatic or fundamentalists.

Gautier took references from Kashmir pointing out that it was primarily the Muslims who wanted independence. But violence against the Hindus of Kashmir (called Kashmiri Pandits) was also propagated by them. They were chased out by violence and Gautier witnessed the massacre as he was there for media coverage in the early Nineties. Nearly four hundred thousand Hindus fled the Kashmir valley because of relentless violence targeting them.

India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a great admirer of English socialism and he adopted British constitutional, judicial and even education systems without considering the exceptional Indian socio-cultural and traditional values. Nehru had to nurture the sentient of a sizable Muslim population that did not join Pakistan (west or east) and continued to live in India.

“For these reasons, Nehru asked historians to show esteem to Muslim rulers like Akbar or Aurangzeb and ignore the greatness of Hindu warriors like Chatrapati Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, Rani Lakshmibai etc knowing that Hindus would not react not to speak of protesting,” commented the contributor to Journal de Geneve, Le Figaro, La Revue de l’Inde along with various Indian newspapers.

Hence Gautier believes that Indian history should be rewritten and he has reasons to explain. For over seven decades, the Indian establishment comprising people from Nehruvian-Marxist and pseudo-secular ideology used to influence everything from school curriculum to public policy to history writing. The Indian education system today produces a hundred thousand brilliant students, but they are not made to learn about their own history, works of literature, legends, etc.

It has built up a false narrative that systematically condemned India’s civilizational journey. Since the overwhelming majority of the people here remain Hindus, the establishment tried its best to turn itself anti-Hindu. It encouraged people to negate anything associated with Hinduism. The tendency extended up to reproving the Vedas, Upanisad, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and also Sanskrit, the mother of all Indian languages.

Bringing the reference to Hebrew, the ancient language of Israel, Gautier pointed out that Israeli people after getting a part of their holy land in 1948 started welcoming Jews from various parts of the world. As they came back to live in Israel a major problem was aroused because they spoke different languages. The Israeli authority asked their scholars to revive Hebrew, which had fallen in decrepitude so that everybody can speak Hebrew.

“Today the Hebrew language has unified Israel like nothing else, which should inspire India to revive Sanskrit. The government should invite some dedicated linguists to sit down with Sanskrit scholars for devising a way of simplifying and modernizing the ancient language. I am sure, it would energize and revitalize the whole Indian culture” stated the author of ‘India’s Self Denial’, ‘Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a Guru of Joy’, ‘A New History of India’, ‘A History of India as it Happened’ etc

Married to an Indian woman (Namrita Bindra), Gautier also argued that India and Israel share so much in common and both can learn a lot from each other! Hindus and Jews, far from being the persecutors of minorities have been persecuted for nearly two thousand years and have been the victims of worst genocides in history. While the German dictator Hitler murdered six million Jews in his gas chambers, Gautier revealed eighty million Hindus had to die at the hands of Muslim invaders.

By Nava Thakuria

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.

Celebration of Tulsi Vivah

By

Dipti Joshi

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November 8, 2019

Tulsi marriage marks the beginning of the Hindu wedding season and is celebrated on the last day of every Diwali. I am a resident of Vrindavan Society, Lalbaug where Tulsi marriage is celebrated in a beautiful manner. Every year, on the first day of Diwali, a little boy in traditional attire visits a housing association member’s flat to invite him to his wedding, along with his friends from the society. He invites everyone to say, “I want you to attend my wedding ceremony at the Society compound.” The festival has been celebrated by practicing a marriage ritual in the society opposite Jay Hind Talkies in Lalbaugh for almost 3 years.

According to members of the society, they start preparing for this day in advance of the month. On this day, parents come forward to register the name of their child who wants to marry Tulsi. There is a tradition of placing a poster of invitations on the premises of the society to invite people on the first day of every year. On the morning of the first day, the groom is invited along with his friends to the wedding of each member of the society at their house. Two days before the start of Diwali, lanters are lit on the society premises. Seating arrangements are also made for guests coming from outside.

The tradition of inviting 100 other families of the society started in 1990. Indeed, all the traditions and rituals of the generation that started this ritual have been passed on to the next generation, and I have ensured that they are followed. Adolescents also share enthusiasm with older men.

To mark the beginning of the Hindu wedding season, the marriage of Tulsi is celebrated. People decorate the area near the basil tree. While celebrating the festival, the human face/figure embellished with the bride is tied to the plant. And the one to whom she is married is considered as Lord Krishna. I have been watching this festival since childhood. Members of the society contribute contribute voluntarily and also look for sponsors for bearing the additional expenditure. People belonging to other community are encouraged to participate in this festival. Festivals like these need to be celebrated to keep our Maharashtrian tradition alive.

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

Letters to the Editor: 08 November, 2019

By

Web Team

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November 8, 2019

Amitabh Bachchan has made India proud

Many people are enamoured by fame and adopt various ways to achieve it. But only a few deserving candidates achieve it. Amitabh Bachchan, popularly known as Big B in Bollywood, is one of them. Some of his blockbuster movies are Deewar, Silsila, Coolie, Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Trishul, Muqaddar ka Sikandar and Don. He has done a marvellous job in all his movies. No one can beat his acting skills. He is also a well-known face on television and can host KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati) very well. He has made India proud by being conferred with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award and other awards too like the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. He is also known as the Shahenshah of Bollywood. His contribution to the Indian cinema will never be forgotten.

Jubel D’Cruz

Foreclosure-charges should be abolished business-loans

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in an RTI response dated September 3, 2009 mentioned that RBI does not approve policy of foreclosure-charges on pre-payment of loans, but keeping short of issuing any directives. However foreclosure-charges subsequently were abolished in a phased manner starting from RBI notification dated June 5, 2012 for home-loans with last two RBI notifications in this regard issued on August, 2 2019 where pre-payment of all types of loans except business-loans both for banks and NBFCs were waived.

With unprecedented economic-slowdown, business-activities have been drastically reduced where normal businessmen under pressure of loans wish to take sigh of relief by getting rid of loans of banks or NBFCs by arranging funds by selling assets or otherwise. Many NBFCs are charging foreclosure-charges to tune of abnormally high of 5-per cent plus GST.

RBI should respect its own principle of being against basic concept of foreclosure-charges by immediately abolishing all types of loans both by banks and NBFCs including business-loans and loans with fixed interest-rate.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

Ban on junk food

Advertisements and sales of unhealthy junk food are not to be sold in school canteens and near school premises. The ban comes as a result of surveys conducted and health reports that our children are heavily getting addicted to junk food and also there is a heavy deterioration health wise among young Indian children. The FSSAI will take all efforts to promote nutritious, wholesome and safe food among children.

The FSSAI had identified during a study and research, (recommended and ordered by Delhi high court in 2015 to curb junk food ) that ingredients like common High Fat, Salt and Sugar content (HFSS) in foods like ready-to-eat noodles, chips, pizzas, sugar-sweetened carbonated and non-carbonated beverages and confectionery are the villains causing obesity and health problems among children and later leading to fatal life diseases. The FSSAI decided to restrict the consumption and availability of such HFSS foods as six out of ten diseases were related to consumption of junk food. The FSSAI has called on stakeholders to take initiatives to promote healthy foods for a healthy life for our children.

FSSAI has banned the sale of junk food items like chips, burgers, pizzas, samosas and all oily items in school canteens and hostel messes. All foods that are high in fat, salt, sugar are not to be sold in school canteens, messes and shop’s within 50 metres of the school campus. Children addicted to junk food may find it difficult to come out of the habit initially and parents and teachers have a vital role to make them shift to consume healthy nutritious food. The ban which will be effective from December 2019 is surely going to be a game changer and in the long run is surely going to benefit students and help make them evolve as healthy future citizens of our nation.

M Pradyu

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

17 Disqualified MLAs move SC to defer Karnataka bypolls

By

Web Team

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November 8, 2019

The disqualified Karnataka MLAs moved the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking further postponement of the Assembly bypolls which are scheduled to take place on December 5.

A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana on October 25 had reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by the 17 MLAs, challenging their disqualification as lawmakers ahead of the trust vote by the then H D Kumaraswamy government.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the disqualified MLAs, mentioned the matter and said that the bypolls for the Assembly seats are scheduled on December 5 and candidates are required to file their nomination papers between November 11 and November 18.

He said the disqualified MLAs will not be able to file their nomination and moreover the apex court verdict has not been delivered on the particular issue.

Rohatgi sought postponement of the bypolls till the apex court delivers its verdict on the petitions challenging the disqualifications.

The apex court asked the counsel for the MLAs to file a fresh application in this regard.

Earlier, the Election Commission had postponed the bypolls, which were scheduled on October 21, to December 5 in view of the pendency of the petitions filed by the disqualified lawmakers.

Shiv Sena wants its CM to chair the power

By

Vaidehi Taman

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November 7, 2019

No matter whatever are the speculations in Maharashtra, it’s Shiv Sena that wants its leader to be Chief Minister, they want CM chair to be shared in two tenure, two and half years Sena and two and half years BJP, nothing more or nothing less. Amid the impasse between the saffron allies for the 14th day since the election result, Shiv Sena has remained adamant. Earlier, addressing a press conference, Sena’s Sanjay Raut put forth the views of party president Uddhav Thackeray and claimed that the fight is for ‘truth and lie.’ He further asserted that there was no deadlock from Sena’s end.

In 2014, BJP and Shiv Sena fought election without alliance. BJP got 122 seats and Shiv Sena got 73. BJP claimed power as largest party and they didn’t even approach Sena for support. Congress and Sena boycotted the voting, NCP abstained and BJP won trust vote. Later, after distribution of important portfolios to own MLAs, BJP tried to woo some Sena MLAs to join BJP. Then Uddhav Thackeray announced support to BJP and asked for ministerial portfolio. BJP said we are short only 22 MLA’S for majority so will offer only 2 cabinets and one minister of state. After hard bargain they settled on 2 cabinets and 2 state ministers. In 2014, Cong and NCP had 42-41 MLAs respectively so nothing much to focus on opposition and Fadnavis Government enjoyed its full term.

Now in 2019, BJP made three mistakes, one it made agreement with Shiv Sena offering Dy. CM post and fifty per cent ministerial post. Two, they wanted to finish Sharad Pawar and much hyped ED enquiry of Pawar become emotional events for Maratha voters. Pawar fought this battle for survival and he stood as man of the match. He created waves for Congress too. Both got 104 seats. BJP and Sena both lost 24 Seats. Now Sena –NCP-Congress together got a chance to control horse of BJP from power. Sharad Pawar is a family friend of Thackerays and got chance to become a Kingmaker. He may not join power but drive government being remote controlled. So, Congress and Pawer said if Sena breaks from BJP then they will extend support. Before Fadnavis goes for trust vote, NCP may contest for Speaker’s post. NCP-Congress will support and automatically fate of Fadnavis will be unambiguous. In current scenario, Shiv Sena has upper hand and BJP in spite having large vote share has nothing to dominate their allies. Moreover, Pawar proved it to BJP that there are still voters for Congress and NCP and eliminating them from politics is not easy.

It was agreed between the BJP and the Shiv Sena that they will fight the elections together for Lok Sabha and later to the state assembly. After the assembly elections, they will share the power between them. While, this was announced in the press conference by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra CM, later, Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said that it was also agreed upon that there should be a Shiv Sena CM for 2.5 years and a BJP CM for the other 2.5 years. Subsequently, an audio clip attributed to Thackeray is going round that whoever has larger numbers will take CM post. Both will share seats equally, as has been agreed upon. Looks like they deferred a potentially troublesome issue to be resolved at a later date.

It is true that BJP could win more seats than Shiv Sena even without the alliance with that party. But BJP does not want to defeat Shiv Sena, because there are no differences with that party ideologically. If these two parties contested separately, Congress would be the beneficiary. Also in the future Congress may play a role in the state of Maharashtra. BJP did not want it to happen. BJP wants to settle a score with Congress and make India Congress Mukth, which is highly impossible at this time. If at all it has to achieve it, BJP need to have an alliance with Shiv Sena. If these two combine, they can pull more than 50% votes and sweep the entire state. Hence, BJP went in for an alliance and also agreed for 2.5 years share in administration of the state. Uddhav Thackeray may think he has put BJP in a situation where it has no choice but to accept his demands. It appears that Sena, Congress, Pawar Congress want surging BJP to be held back or sabotaged at all costs! That is because in today’s world, nobody wants other to win, leave aside accepting one’s defeat gracefully. That would be impossible to swallow.

Working for larger cause, upholding democracy are things one only speaks, never means! Politics is all about self-interest. So coming to options before BJP, accepting Sena’s proposal would mean Modi has to read or listen to ill coached novice. Secondly, it would also mean turning blind eye to indiscretions and embarrassments of a partner who will leave no stone unturned to extract its pound of flesh. Leaving Sena with two Congress may be an alternative worth considering since it is very likely that the new dispensation would collapse under its own contradictions.

The BJP claims to have 121 MLAs including Independents and small parties on its side. But this number is much less than the 145-mark, the number needed in the Maharashtra Assembly. Therefore, the party has decided not to stake claim to form a government. On the other hand, if no government is formed by November 8 and the Governor calls the BJP since it is the single-largest party, then in that case, the state leadership will decide only after consulting the top leaders if they should go ahead or not. November 8 is the last date for the formation of government in Maharashtra. 14 days have passed since the poll results were announced on October 24 but there is a delay in the government formation as BJP-Shiv Sena still engaged in ironing out differences.

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