by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions, Politics
By Amulya Ganguli,
The signs which were available about the decline in the influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat’s rural areas during the state assembly elections have been substantiated by the drubbing which the BJP has received at the Congress’s hands in the byelections in Rajasthan, where the saffron party is in power.
Earlier, the Congress had shown that it might well be on the comeback trail by its success in the Chitrakoot assembly byelection in another BJP-ruled state, Madhya Pradesh. In all these byelections, it was not so much the Congress’s victory which was noteworthy as the impressive margins of its success.
Although it is too early to say whether these election trends point to an ebbing of the saffron tide after the overwhelming nature of the wave in 2014 and again in Uttar Pradesh last year, there is little doubt that the BJP has reasons to be concerned.
In fact, the emphasis placed on the rural areas in the latest budget is an indication that the party has taken its setbacks in the Gujarat countryside seriously and is trying to make amends by reaching out to the vulnerable sections.
The proposed health insurance cover for 500 million, 40 per cent of the population, is not unlike the previous government’s food security programme for 67 per cent of the people.
More than what happened in Gujarat, where at least the urbanites stood behind the BJP, what the Rajasthan outcome has shown is that all the sections have voted against the ruling party.
The widespread nature of the discontent underlines a deep and extensive popular unhappiness with governance although a minister has sought to explain the party’s defeats by referring to the grievances of the Rajputs over the “Padmaavat” film.
But that can only be one of the reasons. What must have also undermined the BJP’s prospects is the violence unleashed by either cow vigilantes or individuals railing against the minorities.
While the lawlessness of the gau rakshaks was exemplified by the lynching of a Muslim cattle trader although he was carrying the required permits for his trade, the psychopathic wrath of anti-Muslim elements was evident in the killing of a migrant labourer from West Bengal.
Both these heinous crimes were filmed and repeatedly shown on television, but while the murderers of the cattle trader, Pehlu Khan, have gone scot-free because of the inability of the police to provide credible evidence although the lynching took place in broad daylight in front of cameras, at least the killer of Afrazul Khan, the migrant labourer, has been arrested.
While any other government would have expressed deep shock and dismay over the horrific incidents, the Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan has largely remained unperturbed, a trait of indifference to near-anarchic conditions demonstrated by several other BJP-led governments as well such as in Haryana.
What cannot but be worrying for the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo is that the virtually unchecked violence of saffron groups like the gau rakshaks or the opponents of love jehad is beginning to take its toll on the BJP’s electoral fortunes, notwithstanding all the talk about “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” or development for all.
The popular disquiet about the rampaging mobs might have been assuaged if prompt and effective police action was taken and the criminals were put behind bars. But if the absence of such deterrent steps is proving costly for the BJP, the reason is that it is not only the Muslims — or the Christians who have also been targeted by Hindutva outfits in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh — who are feeling insecure, as then Vice President Hamid Ansari pointed out, but the ordinary citizens are also distressed by the prevailing intolerance and intimidation.
Moreover, this atmosphere has been building up virtually from the time the BJP assumed power at the Centre and in several states as was highlighted by the return of national awards by a number of luminaries in the last two years in protest against the deteriorating situation. A recent open letter written by retired bureaucrats also referred to the “deeply disquieting trends” in the public sphere.
It is obvious that unless the governments at the Centre and in the states run by the BJP deal firmly with such rowdy elements, the party’s hope of a repeat run of the last general election in 2019 and even improving on its tally, as Amit Shah hopes, will not be fulfilled.
As is not uncommon in India, it is the failure of governments which usually leads to their fall rather than any efforts of the opposition. This tendency is again evident in Rajasthan where the Congress had just to wait in the wings to reap the electoral benefits of its opponent’s missteps.
After the humiliating setback in 2014, the Congress is showing signs of revival. But it will be making a mistake if it hopes to make electoral gains solely on the basis of the BJP’s inability or unwillingness to control its militant followers.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews, News, Politics
Shatrughan Sinha
By Subhash K. Jha,
Mumbai : Veteran actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who is a part of the “non-political” platform Rashtra Manch — aimed at raising issues concerning the Narendra Modi government — says he feels free now as he felt “stifled” by the stepson like treatment by the BJP.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. It’s party time. When and how did the Rashtra Manch happen?
A. It was an idea floating in some of our restless heads for a while. You know how hard it is for me to keep a secret (laughs). Special mention must be made of individuals like Ghanshyam Tiwari and K.C. Singh who made this possible. But I had to keep the plans under wraps until we actually launched the Rashtra Manch. And now here we are.
Q. How does it feel?
A. To have a forum, a platform where I can express myself and most importantly, be able to work towards bettering the country, is extremely liberating. I can’t tell you how free I feel. Khuli hawaa mein saans lene ka mazaa hi kuch aur hai (the thrill of breathing in the open air is something else).
Q. But your parent party the BJP never stopped you from speaking?
A. They never allowed me to do anything other than speak. I seemed to serve no purpose beyond being an outspoken member of my parent party. I felt my parent party was giving me the treatment given to a stepson. Quite honestly I felt stifled. Yashwant Sinhaji is someone I’ve respected and been associated with for a long time. When he came up with this idea of a non-political forum, I was completely for it. You see, we are not a breakaway party. We are not rebelling from our parent party. We are not fence crossers.
Q. So what is the purpose of the Rashtra Manch?
A. Let me first tell you what is not its purpose. We are not fighting any election in the Rashtra Manch. So in that sense we are not a political party. Our motive for coming together is to bring real change and reform in the social order. I am not just talking about lip service. But real changes.
Q. Like what?
A. Like addressing the financial issues, looking into the needs of the poor. We will be addressing farmers’ suicide, unemployment, internal security and external security. I feel too much attention is being focused on irrelevant issues to digress attention from actual problems. A case in point is the “Padmaavat” controversy. It was highly unnecessary and totally uncalled for.
Q. Would you be allowed to address real issues?
A. Why would we not be allowed? Doesn’t our honourable Prime Minister, the country’s biggest and strongest action hero Narendra Modiji want changes and reform to happen? We’ve floated this party to strengthen his hands, just as Jaiprakash Narain and V.P. Singh had floated a party while being a part of the RSS.
Q. Are you confident that your new party would be able to make a difference?
A. We have our hearts and goals in the right place. We have like-minded people in the party. Political optimists like Pavan Varma, Dinesh Tiwary, Renuka Chowdhary, Som Pal are with us. We feel empowered and hopeful.
Q. But the Telangana BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao has accused you and Yashwant Sinha of crossing all limits?
A. Iss saagar (ocean) may kitni gehrayee hai yeh toh sabko maloom hai (Everyone knows how deep this ocean runs).
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that his government will approach the Supreme Court for a stay on the ongoing sealing drive, after a meeting between the ruling AAP and BJP ended in chaos and a political blame game.
The sealing of shops and businesses — even doctors’ clinics — located in residential premises in the city is being carried out by a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee and implemented by the three BJP-led Municipal Corporations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that their leaders were attacked by the Aam Aadmi Party volunteers near the Chief Minister’s residence, where they had gone for a meeting. On the other hand, the AAP claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders walked out of the meeting.
BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Vijender Gupta urged Lt Governor Anil Baijal to order a high-level probe into the meeting issue.
“Strongest possible action is essential to ensure such incidents do not recur. Such violence, falsehood, and intolerance on Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom day is tragic,” Gupta said.
On the other hand, Kejriwal said the BJP delegation led by its Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari walked out of the meeting instead of trying to come up with suggestions that could be presented to the Lt Governor for remedial measures.
Kejriwal said: “All our MLAs and councillors had gathered for the meeting with the BJP delegation. But they refused to have a discussion in front of everyone.”
“There is nothing confidential about it. It is nobody’s personal issue. It is a public matter. I begged them to sit down, discuss, and together find a solution to the sealing drive. But they just walked out,” he said.
Tiwari later said that the AAP should end “urban naxalism” and said that a complaint had been filed at the Civil Lines police station.
“The AAP had over 150 supporters at the meeting. We wanted a meeting in a closed room. They misbehaved with our women Mayors and our MLA Vijender Gupta and disrupted the meeting. This is is highly condemnable,” Tiwari told reporters.
After the meeting ended, with both sides blaming each other, Kejriwal visited many markets, including in Hauz Khas, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, and Hudston Lane to take stock of the sealing drive.
Addressing a gathering in Meherchand Market in South Delhi, the Chief Minister said that the AAP government was “totally against sealing occurring in the city”.
“In the next two to three days, the Delhi government will file a petition in the Supreme Court to get a stay on the sealing drive,” Kejriwal said.
“We will put all your problems in the petition and get a stay from the Supreme Court,” the Chief Minister said.
Kejriwal said that traders were not given notice before the sealing and termed the drive as “hooliganism”.
The Chief Minister said that he had written a letter to the Lt Governor to urge him to implement four steps to put an end to the drive.
Kejriwal said that the Lt Governor and the central government have the powers to implement these steps and they can end the drive in 24 hours if they wish to do so.
AAP leader Dilip Pandey sat on a hunger strike near the Civic Centre in Central Delhi, alleging that the BJP was responsible for the ongoing sealing drive.
Later, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj tweeted that the three Municipal Corporation Commissioners will appear before an Assembly committee on the issue on Wednesday, wherein Delhi officials concerned too will be present.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, News, Politics
Jairam Ramesh
By Bappaditya Chatterjee,
Kolkata : The Narendra Modi government has made mockery of “a good idea” like Aadhaar by implementing it “horribly”, says Congress leader and former union minister Jairam Ramesh.
“Aadhaar is a very good idea implemented horribly. The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) vision of Aadhaar was that it should be implemented only for delivery of social benefits. Aadhaar was meant to be an instrument of eliminating fraud and duplicate identity in delivery of social programmes.
“I never expect aadhaar for airline tickets, bank accounts, mobiles…this is ridiculous. They (the Modi government) have made mockery of Aadhaar,” he told IANS in an interview on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Festival.
Further, Ramesh said, “People are dying because of Aadhaar card as they are not getting ration, pension without the biometric card. Aadhaar is inducing deaths of people.”
The former Union Environment Minister accused the Modi government of weakening and tweaking environment laws to favour industries.
“All the environmental laws are being weakened and diluted. Ministry of Environment has become a rubber stamp body. In the name of ease of doing business, it is being tweaked to favour industry…they are trying to weaken National Green Tribunal, forest conservation laws,” he said.
Criticising the river-linking project, Ramesh said, the “Ken-Betwa river linking project, of which Modi is going to lay the foundation stone soon, will destroy the Panna Tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
The technocrat-turned-politician also took a swipe at Modi for his speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos.
Addressing world leaders and global corporate honchos at the plenary session of the WEF, Modi dwelt on the threat of climate change.
“Prime Minister Modi goes to Davos and gives big bhashan (lecture) on environment and climate change. But his actions are entirely different.
“The Ministry of Environment has become the Ministry of Environment approvals. It is supposed to regulate. But they are not serious about it,” he said.
Asked about the present government’s role in the United Nations climate change conference, he said: “Now, BJP is parroting what I said in Cancun in 2010 that all countries must mitigate. BJP and (Arun) Jaitley criticised me. Now, the same thing you are saying nine years later.”
Lauding the erstwhile UPA government for putting the country’s economy on a higher growth trajectory, he said whatever the Modi government is doing is by building on the success of previous governments.
“When Modi talks about high growth, he forgets that during the ten years of UPA government (2004-2014), the average rate of annual growth was 7.4 per cent, which was quite high. In fact, in the last two years, the growth has been lower than the long term average. We hope the growth will recover from the next year onwards.”
In this context, Ramesh gave credit to the P.V. Narsimha Rao government and the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh for delivering a landmark budget in 1991 with a direction of liberalisation.
“In the last 26 years, we have had six Prime Ministers. Nobody has changed the direction of 1991 (for economic liberalisation) given by Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. In the last three decades, the Indian economy grew on an average of almost 6.6 per cent per year. So it is a huge achievement.”
Ramesh also criticised the Modi regime for demonetisation and the way the new indirect tax was implemented.
“I personally feel that the (current) slow down of economy is not irreversible. Demonetisation was a bad idea implemented badly. Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a very good idea implemented poorly. So both these shocks have combined to reduce economic growth,” the Rajya Sabha member said.
He accused the BJP government of failing to create employment and instead destroying jobs.
“Jobs are not only not being created but destroyed also. For the first time, in IT industry in Bangalore (Bengaluru), jobs are being destroyed. Job creation is a very serious issue today. This is not being created because investments are not taking place. The investment rate in India today is less than 28 per cent of GDP which is the lowest in the last 35-40 years.”
(Bappaditya Chatterjee can be contacted at bappaditya.c@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Asaduddin Owaisi
Hyderabad : Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said that the BJP is practising “pakoda politics” in the country.
“What is happening is all ‘pakoda politics’,” he said while reacting to the violent protests in some states against Bollywood movie “Padmaavat”.
While the Hyderabad MP did not elaborate on “pakoda politics”, his remarks were an allusion to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement that a man making Rs 200 daily by selling “pakodas” can’t be called unemployed.
“The unemployed are burning buses, attacking bus of school children, setting afire vehicles and shopping malls,” he said and alleged that those indulging in violence had the tacit support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Referring to Modi’s statement at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that his government had replaced red tape with red carpet, Owaisi said the red carpet was rolled out for those resorting to violence.
MIM president alleged that Modi had meekly surrendered to “these people”.
The Hyderabad MP said there was no rule of law, as in the name of Rajput sentiments some people were being allowed to do whatever they want.
Owaisi said the manner in which the government acted on complaint by Rajputs that the film hurt their sentiments showed its bias.
“For the sentiments of Rajputs, the government formed a committee, changed the name of the movie, deleted many scenes and even heroine’s midriff was covered, but what about sentiments of Muslims whose personal law is being interfered with by the government,” he asked.
The MP said the government brought the triple talaq Bill without consulting the community and was trying to bulldoze it in Parliament by refusing to refer it to a select committee.
—IANS
