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BJP-Shiv Sena tussle in Maharashtra continues

November 1, 2019

As Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena continue to lock horns over power-sharing in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis could be the new Chief Minister as there are incorrigible whispers around. BJP is all set to form the government in the state on its own. The current scenario is that except the ruling parties of Shiv Sena and BJP, NCP are the most accepted parties in the state. The people of Maharashtra have shown love for them. The way Pawar pulled this powerful show during assembly elections, one thing is worth noticing that they have their set of voters and nothing can stop them if they try hard.

The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Maharashtra by winning 105 seats. The party fought the election in alliance with Shiv Sena, which bagged 56 seats. However, after the election results were announced, Shiv Sena demanded 50:50 portfolio sharing formula in state. Devendra Fadnavis said that Shiv Sena was not promised CM’s post for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was finalised before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. At this point neither Sena is in a mood to compromise, nor BJP is in a mood to agree upon Sena’s demands. So without wasting time, BJP is set to form the government on its own and would take an oath on November 5th or 6th. The swearing-in ceremony will take place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BJP is determined to form the government even if Shiv Sena keeps itself away from the alliance. Notably, the responsibilities for organising the oath-taking ceremony have been assigned to BJP MLAs Prasad Lad and Chandrakant Patil. Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told news agency that the party is firm on its demand of 50-50 portfolio-sharing formula. Right now things may look dicey, but later on very probable that after the usual going back and forth, the Shiv Sena and BJP will come together to form the government.

Since day one Shiv Sena quarreled for seat sharing. Then their strike rate is much lesser than BJP. The BJP will ideally like to take Shiv Sena’s support. However SS (Shiv Sena) would like to negotiate hard to get as many ministers in the cabinet and take the most important portfolios (Home, Finance, PWD, Irrigation etc). The BJP is in no mood to give into Shiv Sena’s demands and given NCP’s open offer of support may choose to form a government without Shiv Sena if Sena remains adamant. Eventually it will be Shiv Sena who will decide whether they want to work under BJP or not, but frankly speaking they have no options too. Party leaders from both sides have started hinting towards a possible reconciliation. Both parties have been deprived of power in the state from 15 years. They can’t afford to lose such an opportunity just for the sake of their ego.

Another weird but a possible combination could be that NCP forms the government with the support of INC and Shiv Sena but that is highly unlikely.

It is most likely that Shiv Sena has to offer support to BJP. This is because BJP governments in most states have had very good track record (Gujarat, MP, Chattisgarh). If BJP governs well in Maharashtra and Shiv Sena is not present in the government then in next election Shiv Sena will lose even more seats. Shiv Sena would not like to risk such a scenario and instead choose to partner with BJP so that it is able to maintain its position in Maharashtra. Essentially, the CM must be from the single largest party. Ministries should be allotted proportionately to the respective strengths. There is some room for bargaining either for DyCM or for a few important portfolios. If SS want CM, major portfolio and equal number of ministries it amounts to simple black mailing. BJP must not succumb to blackmailing. Now there are following options:

If both the parties fail to draw some conclusion, then re-election be ordered after a brief President’s rule. In this scenario, BJP must go alone. SS will lose like anything as it is on the verge of extinction like INC being a dynastic party. If Raj Thackeray is on extinction, Aaditya Thackeray is no better. In nutshell, BJP must not make any compromise beyond limit. In this scenario, Maharashtra may head for President’s rule if the new government in the state is not in place by November 7. The tenure of the existing Legislative Assembly ends on November 8.

People of Maharashtra have given mandate not to any party but to the alliance comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and other parties. A new government will have to be in place within the stipulated time. But the main hurdle in government formation is Sena’s demand for Chief Minister’s post for 2.5 years. If Shiv Sena wants to form the government with options they have in hand, they should take risk, if not without wasting time they both should come to some sorts of agreement. No matter what, Devendra would be the next CM of Maharashtra.

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

Maharashtra Ka CM Kaun?

Suraj Chandran

November 1, 2019

On Friday morning, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut posted a hard-hitting tweet stating. “Sahib, don’t feed your arrogance…many Alexanders have drowned in the ocean of time,” He believes that the people of Maharashtra want a chief minister from the Shiv Sena.

To validate his opinion, we spoke to many localities, some of them really endorse Raut’s statement but some refute his claim. Uttam Thakur the resident of Karjat said, change is the need of hour because BJP leaders have developed wrong attitude, they failed to take the success gracefully. This time if Sena forms government at least they will understand what went wrong.

Amol Birajdar, District General Secretary, BYJM, Latur told Afternoon Voice “I would like to see CM from the BJP side because it is a single largest party. And it has been a senior alliance partner. So, I think it should be BJP and they have won 105 seats.”

When asked him, why BJP has not got the expected majority this time?

He said, “There were lots of aspirants we (BJP) couldn’t accommodate all of them. So some of them turned against the party and they contested independently which has actually damaged BJP’s success ratio.”

Meanwhile Sanjay Raut said, “If Shiv Sena decides, it will get the required numbers to form stable government in the state. People have given the mandate to form government on basis of the 50-50 formula that was reached in front of people of Maharashtra. They want a chief minister from the Shiv Sena,”. There is no ultimatum to the BJP. They are big people,” he further stated.

Amit Badiricha – Shiv Sena social media team member said, “Uddhav Thackeray and Amit Shah have already discussed the alliance and which ministerial berth will be given to Sena, they both are the right people to take decision. I don’t know why and how Sanjay Raut is making different statements every day.”

When asked Sharad Pawar the NCP Chief, he denied the rumours of aligning with Shiv-Sena. On his meeting with Sanjay Raut he said it was not about government formation. The NCP has declared that the people’s mandate is for the party to sit in the opposition, along with ally Congress and other parties.

On the other hand Sanjay Nirupam an Ex. Member of Indian Parliament from Indian National Congress party, and former President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee. Nirupam served two terms as an MP in the Rajya Sabha first as a member from the Shiv Sena and then from the Congress Party. He has now warned Congress of not to get involved in Shiv Sena’s drama.

The Shiv Sena is adamant on its demand for an equal shot at the chief minister’s post in what its chief Uddhav Thackeray calls a “50:50” deal discussed with the BJP earlier this year, before the national election. Talk of the deal reemerged after the Maharashtra election results last week; the BJP won 105 of the state’s 288 seats and the Sena finished with 56. Together, they are comfortably past the 145-majority mark. Mr Pawar’s party won 54 seats and the Congress won 44, which means they can be spoilers if the Sena does make a radical move.

Interestingly, a farmer from Beed district in Maharashtra has offered to do what neither the Shiv Sena nor the BJP have been able to despite lakhs of farmers struggling to deal with mounting debts and crops destroyed by floods – name a Chief Minister. Shrikant Vishnu Gadale, a resident of Wadmauli village, wrote to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, asking to be made Chief Minister till the squabbling allies sorted out their differences. In his letter Shrikant Gadale, a farmer, said the floods that swept the state in August had heavily damaged crops and the state needed a functioning government as soon as possible to provide help to farmers in distress.

Nishant Vilas Birje, Yuva Sena Vasai Taluka Chief Coordinator said, “I never blamed BJP’s CM, but by looking at the current scenario, breaking promises and playing around makes no sense. Shiv Sena’s 63 MLA’s too visited Governor for the issues relating to droughts in Maharashtra and started their work towards relief.”

Abhishek Rai- Journalist said, “BJP’s manifesto is much more grounded in reality, and their promises are something that can be trusted. When it comes to accountability, we can any time trust BJP as they have worked towards development.”

Sumita Chakraborty, Editor of Stardust Magazine said,“I would prefer a BJP Chief Minister, preferably Devendra Fadnavis. I find him balanced empathetic to the people and strong.”

Credit goes to prolonged and heavy rains for cleanest Diwali air in city

Rajesh Choudhary

November 1, 2019

In the beginning of October, Mumbai hit headlines due to cutting of trees in Aarey Colony. Bombay High Court gave permission for this and on the very same day, government officials started felling trees in darkness of night. They cut over 2500 green trees despite protests by students and environmentalists. Aarey Colony forest is considered as lung of Mumbai’s environment. Cutting of trees is a matter of concern for residents of Mumbai because the air pollution is continuously increasing in the city. This matter reached to the Supreme Court. The apex court ordered the Maharashtra government not to cut even single tree in Aarey Colony.

Amid Aarey controversy, there is good news for Mumbaikars. The city has recorded the cleanest Diwali air in five years. Mumbai’s air quality has been best since 2015. Air quality monitoring began from the year 2015. On the other hand, the national capital Delhi registered a surge in air pollution on the occasion of Diwali. However, there was relief for Mumbai as Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city remained under 200. The data of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) revealed it. SAFAR is air quality monitor of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

As per SAFAR, people of Mumbai breathed better air after Diwali. Major pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 docked at 32 and 43 respectively in Haji Ali area of the city. This level of pollutants comes in the ‘good’ category. According to SAFAR data, an AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe. Above 500 is emergency category. PM 10 and PM 2.5 are solid and liquid pollutants of less than 10 and 2.5 microns in size and are suspended in air. These particles can enter our respiratory system. It is harmful to health. These air pollutants may cause health complications over long span of exposure.

SAFAR monitored AQI levels on 10 locations in the city. All areas recorded ‘good’ air quality. Navi Mumbai has the cleanest air with AQI levels at 2, followed by Bhandup at 3. There was more pollution in Andheri area where AQI was at 25.

Mumbai received the heaviest rain fall this year. The rains wrecked havoc in the city and many people lost their lives. Rains continued till Diwali. But it proved beneficial for environment of the city. Rain washed away air pollutants suspended closer to the surface. It kept air free of pollution. Thus, if the city had the cleanest Diwali air, its credit goes to prolonged and heavy rain.

It does not mean that the threat of air pollution is averted. Few decades earlier, the Aarey forest in Mumbai was spread over 3,000-acre land. Later on, it was reduced to only 1,300 acres. In the name of development people cut this forest. As result of this, the air pollution rose in the city. Also, the risk of floods has been increased. During past few years, Mumbai repeatedly faced flood like situation. The city has been turned into a concrete jungle. Population and vehicular traffic are increasing continuously. Thus, pollution is also increasing without any respite.

Earlier this year, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had also claimed that levels of particulate matter (PM) have declined in Mumbai. But the Union Environment Ministry tabled a report in the Lok Sabha revealing city’s level of PM 10 in 2018 was the highest in over 20 years. PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels in Mumbai have been steadily increasing. This report was prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

According to the CPCB, the annual average of PM 10 levels in Mumbai had been at 166µg/m3 in 2018 and 151µg/m3 in 2017. The annual safe limit for PM 10 is 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). Thus, it indicates that air of Mumbai is polluted and steps should be taken to reduce it. More trees should be planted and greenery in the city must increase. For this, efforts should be made by both people and the government. Clean and pollution free Mumbai is necessary for every resident of the city. We must achieve this goal.

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.

Letters to the Editor: 01 November, 2019

Web Team

November 1, 2019

All Souls Day

All Souls’ Day which is celebrated by the Catholic Church on November 2 every year is a Christian festival that honours all Christian souls who have died. Many people visit the cemetery and decorate the graves of their loved ones. Special Masses are celebrated in cemeteries and in churches on that day.

Catholics on this day remember and pray for the souls of people who have died and who are in Purgatory – the place in which those who have died atone for their sins before being granted the vision of God in heaven. The thought behind this is that when a soul leaves the body of the dead person, it is not entirely cleansed from venial sins.

But, through the power of prayer, the people on earth can help these souls gain heavenly vision they seek. At each one’s home, a special rosary is recited to remember and pray for the souls of their family members, friends, etc.

Jubel D’Cruz

Leading parties buying time

Even a week after the Maharashtra Assembly election results were declared giving the ruling alliance clear majority, constituents Shiv Sena and the BJP are in a tug of war over government formation. Maharashtra continues to hold suspense over the shape of the next government even though people of the state gave a clear mandate to the ruling coalition in the assembly election. Two alliances were in contest for power in Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena’s NDA and the NCP–Congress representing the UPA. Now, post-election, it appears all the four major parties are calculating their own moves separately, throwing out various possible combinations for government formation. Each has its own set of options before it. Maharashtra voters made it most cumbersome with a fractured mandate and that causes lots of problems in forming the government. Lots of issues are to be settled including the PMC Bank issue but the leading parties are buying time to form ministry. Vote Bank politics is taking the state by storm.

K. Ramani

Cat is out of the bag

50-50 is a bedroom secret and the cat is now out of the bag which has rocked the formation of the next government in Maharashtra. Not sure who is telling the truth but BJP deserves to put it’s men as the next CM of Maharashtra on the sheer strength of the number of seats they have won in the assembly. Promises have to be fulfilled in an alliance and Shiv Sena deserves to be given key portfolios in the next state government by the BJP.

Chief Minister heads the state but the job comes with a lot of responsibility as well. Devendra Fadnavis had done a wonderful job in the last Assembly and deserves another term as CM. Sena should concede that they have far less seats than BJP and compromise when it comes to CM’s post even if they were promised a 50-50 arrangement. The stock of Sena would rise if an amicable solution is found to form the next government than bickering and washing dirty linen in public which would only help the cause of the opposition!

S.N. Kabra

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

Smart city plan is slowly walking into controversy

Vaidehi Taman

October 31, 2019

After announcing 100 smart cities, BJP now announced its planning to open 100 additional airports by 2024, as part of a plan to revive economic growth in Asia’s third-largest economy, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The proposal, which includes starting 1,000 new routes connecting smaller towns and villages, was discussed at a meeting last week to review infrastructure needed by 2025. With economic activity at a six-year low and prospects of further slowdown looming, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to double down on infrastructure projects in a bid to revive growth and achieve a target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025. India, with a population in one billion plus, is the seventh largest economy in the world. The rapid pace of growth witnessed by the country is an indicator of rising aspirations of its citizens. Economic growth directly linked to labour market efficiency, has the potential to spring at a much faster rate, if citizens in metropolitan areas are provided with better lifestyle.

This is also the need of the hour, considering the country has witnessed matchless levels of migration from rural to urban India for education and professional reasons. One the way to achieve this is through focus on ease of living, build smart cities that are well equipped with public facilities, have adequate infrastructure to support needs of contemporary Indian families, and last but not the least, are affordable. According to figures on the union urban development ministry’s website, 49.5% projects are yet to be initiated but without proper guidelines..

Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur have started implementing 20 of the 159 projects that were approved for these three cities and completed 12. Surat and Ahmedabad have started work on eight of the 49 projects and completed two while Udaipur and Jaipur have completed three of the 91 projects that were selected.

Since the time the Narendra Modi led government assumed office, it has highlighted the urgency of providing Indians with better lifestyle, starting from basic sanitation to affordable housing to building a digital India. We need to acknowledge that our metro cities are bursting at seams, and capacity building is the only way forward. Semi-urban areas need to be groomed and graduated to cities, so that education, jobs, public utilities such as electricity, public transport, and sanitation, healthcare is no more a ‘privilege’ of the few, but a matter of fact for every Indian citizen. This is contrary to the Left leaning ecosystem that has glorified poverty and sees no problem when a significant chunk of the nation does not have access to basic facilities like electricity or potable water.

Meanwhile, for a smart city to succeed government needs to create more jobs. Smart city concept came from growing urbanisation. That means an increasing population as a result of better-paid jobs. If you do not create jobs and you have more urbanisation, it will be chaos. That is what is happening to the concept of Smart city in India. Everyone thinks that painting the walls, keeping the city in fancy look is what makes city look smart but building better roads, having better connectivity, better parking, etc means Smart city.

Well! Smart cities, yet to establish its existence, now India’s plans to expedite airport development still trails that of China’s, which has set a goal of having 450 commercial airports by 2035, almost double the number at the end of 2018.

The Indian government has committed investments of 1 trillion rupees to build airports in the next 5 years. Just three years back, only 75 of India’s 450 runways were functional, as airlines avoided flying to smaller, World War-era airstrips in

smaller towns. But Modi’s subsidy programme, which partly funds airline losses while capping fares on remote routes, has helped add as many as 38 airports to the nation’s aviation map at the start of this year, while contracts were given to airlines to start flights to a further 63 airports with no or limited connectivity.

In a bid to privatise state-owned airports and allegedly to benefit a well-known corporate house, the Central government has planned to privatize six more airports. All six airports that have been listed for the second round of the privatisation – Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Indore, Trichy, Amritsar and Raipur – will, in all probability, be awarded to the Adani group.

The government has brushed aside the suggestions given by the ministry of finance to allegedly benefit Adani. Ministry of Finance had recommended that any company or corporate house will not be awarded more than two airports, but the Modi government is planning to lift the cap that will pave the way for Adani to win all the six airports after the “bidding”. If the Adani group gets all the six airports in this round, it will become the largest group managing and developing airports in India. BJP government is accused of selling off everything from roads to airports to natural resources and profit-making public-sector companies including railways and Bharat Petroleum. All workers unions have protested privatisation of airports including RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), but the Modi government did not pay any heed to their protest. It shows that the government’s priority is to benefit their corporate friends, not the common man.

Meanwhile, the Smart city plan is slowly walking into its death. Which external investor would want to invest in cities with dismal infrastructure (potholed and congested roads, inept public transport, poor Internet connectivity)? State Governments only launch those projects, which give them political mileage and help in image building for the next State elections.

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

100 new airports – BJP’s new announcement after smart cities

Afternoon Voice

October 31, 2019

After 100 Smart city jumla, Narendra Modi government has promised to build 100 new airports. The government is planning to start 100 new airports within next five years, which seems not possible. As per reports, Modi government has taken this initiative in order to boost economic growth. Under this scheme 1000 new air-routes would be opened to connect small cities and villages.

It is worth mentioning that with pomp and show, the smart city project of Rs 98,000 crore was launched in March 2015. The BJP had promised to create 100 smart cities in its manifesto for 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But even after five years, no city in the country could become smart. The dream project of PM Modi could not be completed anywhere. Most of metropolitan cities are in chaos because the works undertaken for smart city project is not completed.

Now they are going to start new ambitious project of 100 airports. The central government will invest Rs 71 lakh crore to build 100 new airports. These new airports are expected to start operations by 2024. The timing of its completion concurs with the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. This indicates that the government has set its agenda for the next general elections. Practically, new airports cannot be built within five years. Therefore, the ruling BJP and its leaders will go to common people and ask for one more term to complete them. Thus, it has become the strategy of the BJP to make promises and seek time to fulfil them.

Actually, for accelerating economic growth the government is planning to increase number of infrastructure projects in the next 5 years. The Modi government has set the target of making India a 5 trillion dollar economy. So, PM Modi wants to double the number of infrastructure projects to boost the economy.

Recently, a meeting was held in New Delhi in this regard.In this meeting, it was decided to train 600 pilots every year to fulfill the demand. It was proposed to double the number of aircraft fleet in the country to 1200 in 5 years. As per sources, during the discussion, information was also sought on steps to start an aircraft financing business in India.

It is remarkable that during first tenure of PM Modi, 38 airports have been added to the aviation map of the country. 63 airports will be added in future and contracts have been signed for this. Modi government started UDAN scheme for small cities in the country.

Ashutosh

“There is nothing to see about the previously announced smart cities but despite slowdown the airline industry is growing. The government had opened one airport in northeast at a very difficult terrain. This could be one step for the government to increase air traffic. Another challenge for the government is to open 100 airports in the smaller states. There were number of schemes announced by the government that did not take off well.”

– Ashutosh
Senior Journalist

atul bhatkhalkar

“It is not right to say that the smart city project did not succeed. Smart city project was announced and cities were selected. In Maharashtra, Pune and Sholapur were chosen. Funding was made and work got started. The respective corporation must set up special purpose channel. The initial funding will be made by the central government. In India civil aviation network is very poor. He laughs and says, “In last 70 years we hardly constructed any airport. Majority of airports were constructed in British era. We have already started construction of Navi Mumbai airport and Chhatrapati Sambhaji airport. Within a year Ratnagiri will be connected by plane network.”

– Atul Bhatkhalkar
BJP MLA

Rohit Pawar

“Initially the government had announced about to build 100 new smart cities. Later on it announced that 100 existing cities will be converted into smart cities. They have not yet utilized the funds allocated for the project. At many places the work has not been started. Smart cities are about healthcare, transport, and toilets for women and facilities for common man. When asked about whether the government has missed the narrative about smart cities he said, “Yes and they have missed on the execution side too. At a time when government had announced smart airports, it seems they are fascinated about the word smart. They have to get clarity on what the smart is all about.”

– Rohit Pawar
NCP MLA

Uttam Agarwal

“When it comes to smart cities, people at the lower level don’t know what they have to do. There is lack of standardised format pertaining to how smart city will look like. Consultants are being hired. The work of government is to be done by passing tender. The authorities are not given proper briefing relating to construction of smart cities. IAS officers are deputed in the board of smart cities project and then the same officers are transferred. There is lack of vision. The operating cost of flights at Nanded is very high. The government has failed to rescue Air India. He laughs and says, “Industrialist’s are aware that they won’t be able to earn money in public private partnership. Today once a legislator is out of power and investigations are held therefore nobody is willing to take up infrastructure development work.”

– Uttam Abuwala
Chartered Accountant

Sanjay Jog

“The authorities were not clear about how project implementation will take place, because the initial controversy was concerning to the establishment of special purpose vehicle. So there was question about whether they are taking away rights of Municipal Corporation. The commissioner will take away the powers of Mayor. The second question comprises what do we mean by smart cities. We don’t mean by smart cities consisting of good roads, greenery. We require proper ambience in the growing set up of tier 1, tier 2 cities and mega cities, which was missing.”

He smiles and says, “As we are entering 21^st century we need to have a city that will accommodate migrated population. Thirdly it will give an opportunity to citizens to participate in the administration to keep the city environment friendly. But unfortunately it missed the boat because of procedural, administration and implementation issues. The idea of building 100 airports looks good, as it will increase regional connectivity. We have 130 crore population but very few use the civil aviation.”

–Sanjay Jog
Senior Journalist

Medha Patkar

“100 old houses have been demolished for constructing smart cities. In Indore a 114-year-old building has been demolished. The government has not given compensation. People were allotted homes that are similar to SRA transit camps. There is no provision of giving compensation to project affected persons. Indore Mayor managed to halt the demolition of the property required by him. Smart city is a foreign concept. The government is only making promises to construct 100 airports. Nobody is reading a party’s manifesto. The Election Commission should make manifestos promises to be fulfilled compulsorily. Whatever promises are made by party should be recorded. People should remain alert. She smiles and says political parties distribute sarees prior to five months of elections. All these practice must be stopped doing so. Airports are already built and later on it demolished and again reconstructed. The contract for renovation of Mumbai airport has been given without payment of bill. Government is doing all this to please Adani.”

– Medha Patkar
NBA leader

Majeed Memon

“Whether it is smart cities or airports these are only smart political movements. These are only smart political promises that are never to be fulfilled. This is only to lure the voters to come on their side. Their promises have absolutely no meaning. The main promise made by NDA at the inception of 2014 was to give 15 lakh rupees to every Indian. Where is that money? Therefore we are not to be guided by what they have promised. We should observe their performance.”

– Majeed Memon
NCP leader

Atul Londhe

“They keep on changing the goal post. They are giving false promises to attract voters. Neither smart cities have been established nor farmers have got minimum support price. Unemployment has increased. They had promised to bring economy on track, increase manufacturing. Real estate and textile sector are witnessing slowdown.”

– Atul Londe
Congress spokesperson

Sumita

“I’ve stopped believing in meaningless statements made by any of the political parties. I think as a citizen I’ve learnt to realise that all these empty promises are part of a political agenda, which in reality is extremely misleading. But as a frequent traveller it bothers me to see how advanced other countries are in terms of airports. India too deserves to be in the big league but unfortunately all our hopes get dashed thanks to empty promises made by our political parties irrespective whether it’s the ruling party or otherwise.”

– Sumita Chakraborty
Editor of STARDUST magazine

Komal Sharma

“Although BJP could not fulfill the smart cities project but they have tried their best. We can see the difference. BJP government made around 35000 km highways across 16 states. It’s a part of great development. They started many good policies like Ayushman Bharat, JanDhanYojna, GramJyotiYojnaetc which shows a great improvement. We need to give them time. Things will not change overnight. Now their announcement about airports is a great project to connect even small cities to the metros by air. It will save lot of time and increase trade. They are trying to fulfill their promises. J&K is the biggest example. We need to give them time and have trust.”

– Komal Sharma
General Lawyer

Aditay Paralkar

“I don’t need 100 working airports. I just need better roads after landing into a new city. Not patches just proper road. And instead of adding new airports the government can try to improve the ones we have got. The international ones are well off. But the domestic ones needs more care taking. And I really believe that 100 working airports by 2024 is just a fantasy.”

– Aditay Paralkar
Electrical engineer

Nishant Vilas Birj

“As the manifesto of BJP back then at 2014, 100 smart cities, which got into picture by 2015 when cabinet ministers signed the proposals and spent $14 billion for it, though few are almost done and few are not yet started but can see the city like Shillong, which is almost ready to be called smart city. I think initiative was important, well it’s a slow development but its going on. I appreciate it.”

“Though 2019’s BJP’s Manifesto during Lok Sabha elections was building more 100 domestic airports to make it convenient to the travellers to commute. Though keeping this promise by BJP government, I expect at least 20-25 airports by 2024, don’t over exaggerate by saying 100 which is not that possible in developing country to have such fast reaction on the projects. Building such small airports would encourage many commuters to travel places to places even more conveniently. But building airports at proper population which has many commuters who travel, must be studied well before constructing it, as later if there are less commuters, there would be again shut down of the airport and Indian Economy would bear a good amount of loss.”

– Nishant Vilas Birje
Yuva Sena Vasai Taluka Chief Coordinator

Bhaskar parikh

“The growth of infrastructure is really on a tremendous pace but introducing 100 new airports seems to be a very huge number and requires lots of capital to be invested. Being a frequent flyer I haven’t seen much of a change in any of this promises (Laugh). Yes aesthetically there are improvements done in airports but I have no idea about technicalities.”

– Bhaskar Parikh
Architect

Anita Motwani

“All governments announce many things but they never fulfilled their promises. So the thought is what are all the things or changes they made which have not been promised. According to me the loyalty and welfare are there for the country from this government. At least now INDIA has made a well-known place in this world.”

– Anita Motwani
Business woman

Jigar mistry

“As a frequent flight traveller there should be more routes to connect to the smaller villages because I have seen people working with me have to travel in bus or train to reach their desired destination like for an example A person living in Dehradun has the last flight destination to Delhi. I think they should work on this. According to me the best idea I must say.”

– Jigar Mistry
Bartender carnival cruises Australia

“I am not sure whether this government will fulfill the expectation of the citizens of India. People are unhappy with the way this government is functioning, especially the Financial Sector and Auto industry, which is in a very pathetic, state. Present Infrastructure, in the country is still not up to expectations of the common Man.”

– Sethuramn
Columnist

siddhant samajiskar

“100 airports? Seriously? This is a Hyperbole example it seems. They should now rather focus on minorities rather than providing 100 airports. We already saw what BJP has caused us yet with some transformation we still have nothing left just recession. And promises are just another tactics to gain some support. India had its time, now its time to grow.”

– Siddhant Samjiskar,
Social worker

Letters to the Editor: 31 October, 2019

Web Team

October 31, 2019

Politics should not just be about portfolios and power

BJP with 105 MLA’s in Maharashtra Assembly should have its very own Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister for the next full term. Shiv Sena pressure tactics is unwarranted and BJP should not blink under pressure. In a worst case scenario, it should let Sena take support from Congress and NCP to form a government but that arrangements won’t last for more than 100 days. Politics should not just be about portfolios and power but the will and votes of the people too need to be respected. ‘Little brother’ Shiv Sena should act like a responsible party and not be lured by Congress /NCP bait in their hunger to gain power.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today has the mandate of the entire country as his alliance led by BJP swept the Parliamentary polls held recently. It is better to be in alliance with BJP than Congress/NCP that has no presence left in the country. Hope better sense prevail and Shiv Sena supports BJP to form a firm government in Maharashtra that sails through its entire term without any glitches!

S.N. Kabra

Maha showdown

The stage is set for a Maharashtra showdown as both BJP and Sena harden their stand in the wake of forming the government in the state. Maha battle for capturing power is on the cards. People’s mandate is for the BJP and Sena should not shy away from taking the secondary role. The pact was decided before the elections and BJP stood first in the tally of seats and has the right to form the government headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Bringing some politics at this stage is not a proper option as coalition politics requires the support of both the partners. Sharing CM’s chair is not an ideal option and that may lead to difference of opinion and chaos in forming the ministry in the state.

Annapurani Shanthi

Welcome day and night test matches

It’s really good to know that the BCCI has given the green signal to conduct a day and night test match with the pink ball. The Indian cricket team will play its first-ever Day/Night Test match in Kolkata against Bangladesh next month. This path breaking decision and declaration made by the new BCCI president Sourav Ganguly within a week after he was appointed the chief clearly shows that he is very much here to give a new life and a new face to modern Indian cricket. It was amazing and surprising that when almost all cricketing nations played D/N test matches a powerful cricketing nation like ours hesitated all these years to play one at home and abroad. Thumbs up to Sourav for taking this decision. We cricket lovers have already started feeling the good changes happening in the ‘cockpit of Indian cricket ‘ which is definitely for the good and with a new ‘dynamic pilot’ who has cricket in his blood. Though there was some resistance from Bangladesh players the BCCI under Sourav’s leadership was able to convince them and our Indian players readily accepted this novel test form again clearly showing Sourav’s way of dealing with players and the game. As Sourav puts it, it’s a good development and Test cricket truly needs this push. It’s a great move for Test cricket and hopefully as Ganguly said will definitely bring back crowds to the ground. True sports lovers love changes and this change in the oldest format of cricket is definitely for the better.

M Pradyu

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

Priyanka Chaturvedi thanks Shiv Sena leader Sheetal Mhatre for filing FIR over death threats on Twitter

Web Team

October 31, 2019

priyanka chaturvedi e1572506544812 — File Photo

Shiv Sena leader Sheetal Mhatre on Wednesday filed an FIR with the MHB police, alleging death threat to her and party leader Priyanka Chaturvedi by a user on Twitter. The accused identified as Ashish Dwivedi.

Police have registered a case under section 506 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused.

After that, Chaturvedi thanked Sheetal Mhatre for helping file an FIR against the “open death threat.”

She wrote, “Thank you @sheetalmhatre1 and @Iamrahulkanal for helping file an FIR against such open death threats. Disagreement is acceptable, threats aren’t.”

Thank you ⁦@sheetalmhatre1⁩ and ⁦@Iamrahulkanal⁩ for helping file an FIR against such open death threats. Disagreement is acceptable, threats aren’t pic.twitter.com/NDsiA9RxG8

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) October 30, 2019

Chaturvedi also put out a screenshot of the tweet wherein the aforementioned person has issued death threats to her apart from using objectionable words for her.

Priyanka chaturvedi,Twitter threat,Twitter,Priyanka Chaturvedi,Sheetal Mhatre,Priyanka, Chaturvedi,Sheetal, Mhatre — Image Courtesy: Twitter-Priyanka Chaturvedi

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