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Government failed to fulfil people’s aspirations: Togadia

Government failed to fulfil people’s aspirations: Togadia

Pravin TogadiaNew Delhi : Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking U-turns on promises made ahead of the May 2014 Lok Sabha polls, including construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, and said his government had failed to meet people’s aspirations in four years.

In a four-page letter to the Prime Minister, Togadia raised issues ranging from the Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh to the ban on cow slaughter, repeal of Article 370 and 35A related to Jammu and Kashmir from the Constitution, Uniform Civil Code, and issues related to farmers and labourers.

He warned the government about what he said was “rising discontent” among the people, especially those affiliated to the Sangh Parivar.

Addressing a press conference here, the VHP leader reminded Modi of promises in the run-up to the last Lok Sabha polls and said selling big dreams was not enough.

“Nation-building is based on truth of the work that has to be seen on the ground,” he said.

“These questions are not just posed by an individual but lakhs of people associated with us through the ideology. They are baffled; and now they are upset because not just the government led by you is not seen doing anything on the ideological, socio-political and economic issues but also on many issues, there is a U-turn.

“It has hurt the people associated with the (Hindutva) ideology. The political power centres are seen deviating from that very ideology,” Togadia said.

“The BJP came to power based on these promises as the people believed you will fulfil these promises… what happened to those promises. They are still unfulfilled.”

He reminded the Prime Minister that the Bharatiya Janata Party at its conclave in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh had adopted a resolution for the construction of the Ram temple through a law made by Parliament.

He cautioned that time and tide don’t wait for anybody.

“In fact, time has been changing. The election results in Gujarat and bypolls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and now Uttar Pradesh, are the indicators,” he said.

Taking a dig at Modi, the VHP leader said there was no point blaming previous governments and political parties for the situation prevailing now in the country after enjoying power for nearly four years.

He, however, said it was never too late and sought time from Modi to discuss the issues he had raised, calling Modi his “Mota Bhai” (elder brother).

Togadia escaped unhurt in a road accident near Surat this month and voiced suspicion that it was an attempt to kill him.

—IANS

To spread message of cleanliness, PM to flag off Swachhagraha Express

To spread message of cleanliness, PM to flag off Swachhagraha Express

100 years of the Champaran SatyagrahaBy Arun Kumar Das,

New Delhi : To commemorate 100 years of the Champaran Satyagraha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off Swachhagraha Express, an exhibition train, from Motihari in Bihar next month to re-emphasise the spirit of cleanliness, or Swachhata, a value that was close to Mahatma Gandhi’s heart.

As part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the 14-coach train is scheduled to be launched by Indian Railways on April 10 to showcase the cleaning-up efforts undertaken till date by the government and also to generate greater awareness towards cleanliness in the run-up to the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019.

The Swachhagraha Express, exhibiting various aspects of the cleanliness drive and its benefits, will travel in six months to 60 stations across the country.

A collaborative effort between the ministries of railways and drinking water and sanitation, the Swachhgaraha Express will mostly touch remote stations. Its itinerary is now being finalised. The train’s journey is expected to dovetail into Modi’s pet Swachh Bharat Mission.

Consequent to the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission on October 2, 2014, by Modi, the Railways had launched “Swachh Rail, Swachh Bharat” in its bid to keep trains and stations clean.

As stated by the Modi government, the aim of the Swachh Bharat Mission is to achieve the vision of a “Clean India” by October 2, 2019, the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi and the government will use it to leverage this historic occasion to build a clean India.

“The purpose of the Swachhagraha Express is to reach out to far-flung areas, creating awareness about cleanliness, which was also a key element of the Champaran movement,” said a senior official involved with the project.

The coaches of the train will feature a detailed account of the milestones and progress achieved under the Swachh Bharat Mission and subjects such as water, hygiene and sanitation will be elaborated upon.

There will be messages on cleanliness, adverse effects on environment due to open defecation, use and maintenance of toilets, awareness about hygiene, importance of clean water in public health, and many such related issues which will be showcased to the people, including schoolchildren, during the six-month journey.

Drawing a parallel with the success of Mahatma Gandhi in making the freedom struggle a people’s movement, the Prime Minister has, on several occasions, emphasised that the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission can only be achieved by making it a people’s movement.

The Railways, with its vast network, plays a crucial role in the Swachh Bharat Mission. To this end, a series of measures to improve the cleanliness of stations were announced in succesive budgets since 2015. (The railway budget was merged with the general budget last year.)

The state-run transporter has also made operational a “Swachh Rail” portal to showcase cleanliness rankings of various stations and the methodology adopted for the rankings.

Railway tracks along many stretches resemble garbage dumps with leftover food, plastic bottles and paper boxes strewn all over. Discharge of human waste from trains is also a cause for concern.

“We have made all-out efforts to keep the tracks, stations clean as part of the cleanliness campaign,” said the official.

Replacing existing toilets in trains with bio-toilets and preventing open discharge on tracks are some of the measures taken to keep rail premises clean.

Several railway divisions have pressed into service mechanised systems for cleaning of tracks near stations. Besides, installation of bio-toilets in several trains have reduced the discharge of human waste on the tracks.

(Arun Kumar Das can be contacted at akdas2005@gmail.com)

—IANS

Macron announces additional 700 million euros for solar energy

Macron announces additional 700 million euros for solar energy

Narendra Modi and Emmanuel MacronNew Delhi : French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced an additional investment of 700 million euros for global solar energy generation by 2022 to reduce the use of fossil fuel and help combat climate change.

Speaking at the launch of the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) summit, Macron called for “joint duties” towards a “planet that we are sharing” and took a dig at his US counterpart Donald Trump who pulled out of the 2015 Paris climate deal.

Macron said the summit to revolutionize the use of the clean energy by generating over 1,000 GW of solar power by 2030 was an outcome of the Paris accord even as “some left the floor” but others decided to act and keep acting.

The French President co-chaired the summit with with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan that was also attended by the heads of 23 nations and 10 ministerial representatives.

Among those present were UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid.

“The French Development Agency will allocate additional 700 million euros to its commitment to solar energy by 2022,” Macron said.

This will take France’s total commitment to the solar alliance to 1,000 million euros.

“In 2015, we said we will allocate some 300 million euros to support (solar) projects in the member countries. This commitment by France was met a couple of months ago.”

Conceptualised by India, the solar alliance currently has 121 member countries. Out of those, 60 have signed the solar treaty and some 30 have ratified it.

The alliance of sun-rich countries was launched jointly by Modi and then French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the landmark 2015-Paris climate talks.

Without taking President Trump’s name, Macron at the Delhi summit said while some left the climate deal others stayed because they wish good for their children and grand children.

“All of us her have experienced global warming. Some of you here have lost your territories, economy and life of citizens.

“We should not forget that we only have one planet that we are sharing and for that there is no alternative. There is a joint destiny which means we also have some joint duties.

“Without the concept of climate justice there would have been no Paris Agreement.”

The French President pointed out that the alliance of the countries situated between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer account for three-fourth of the world’s population with a potential of 138 GW of solar power.

But, he said, only 50 to 60 per cent people living in the region have access to electricity.

Macron said the alliance needed to identify solar projects in every single member country.

“Each country with its solar energy potential will identify here their needs and how much finance they need. One hundred projects have already been listed,” he said, further calling the member states that investments in “these projects are very profitable”.

Under the ISA, 100 centres for excellence would train 10,000 technicians to achieve the target of 1,000 GW of solar energy that needs $1,000 billion, the President said.

He said the ISA should help small enterprises in small countries to help them mobilize projects and finances.

“But in order to reach $1,000 by 2030, to reach 1,000 GW solar energy, we need private investors. The alliance will provide a favourable framework,” he assured, adding that France, India, the World Bank and other member states were reviewing expensive existing guarantee mechanism.

The French President stressed on the affordable low cost solar solutions, saying “the alliance should be a place where technology can meet the expectations of people and country”.

He lauded India’s solar commitments that has 20 GW installed solar capacity – one of the fastest growing in the world. The country has increased its solar power capacity by about eight times over the past four years.

India’s wind power generation capacity is 32.8 GW. It aims to achieve 175 GW of clean energy by 2022, of which 100 GW is solar.

—IANS

Need to infuse new dynamism into stale India-France ties (View from Paris)

Need to infuse new dynamism into stale India-France ties (View from Paris)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, June 3, 2017.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, June 3, 2017.

By Ranvir Nayar,

Over the last seven decades, Indias relationship with France has been steady and stable, but perhaps a bit stale and out of energy — just like a long-married couple.

The election of Narendra Modi in 2014 as the Indian Prime Minister and the advent of Emmanuel Macron as the French President last year and the rapid economic reforms in both nations seem to have put a new energy in this relationship.

The two men have quite a few similarities. Both were elected to lead their respective nations with a surprisingly large majorities, demolishing the opposition parties, both used digital communication and social media networks to win the elections and continue to use them religiously even afterwards. They are also both seemingly in a big rush and have initiated a slew of economic reforms, including controversial ones and have so far managed to carry the day.

Both the leaders have also made their place on the global diplomatic platform and have infused a new dynamism in the international relations of their respective nations.

Thus when Prime Minister Modi and President Macron meet on Saturday in New Delhi, for the second time in less than nine months, there is widespread expectation they will infuse a new dynamism and energy in Indo-French ties.

It is a relationship that is multi-faceted, definitely time-tested and stable but in some aspects has also become stale. Over the decades, international affairs and geostrategic issues have become the bedrock of this relationship.

The bilateral relationship has received a big boost in the recent past due to the French prowess in certain domains that have become critical for India’s development. For instance, in the Smart City programme of the Indian government, which envisages development of 100 such cities, France is one of the key partners for India and can share a lot of knowhow, technology and processes to help this initiative. Currently, France has adopted three cities in India under this initiative.

France can also be a key partner in modernising and upgrading the creaking railway infrastructure across the country, improve the signaling and communications network as well as improve safety practices and standards and also help in introducing semi-high speed and high-speed railways in the country. The French national railway company, SNCF, is already conducting a feasibility study to upgrade the Delhi-Chandigarh route to a semi high-speed one.

The two countries are also collaborating in the shipping industry with French ports, notably Marseille entering into a ‘sister port’ agreement with Mumbai. French companies are also present in the large road construction projects in India. In waste management and water supplies, French industry leaders such as Veolia and Suez have been bagging contracts with Indian municipalities for some years now.

The list is seemingly endless. In the area of high technology, such as smart cards and avionics, as well as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and machine learning also there is a lot of scope.

Despite the very long list of potential business collaboration between the two nations, this is by far the weakest link in Indo-French ties and has been the case for decades. The trade has remained stubbornly stuck around 9 billion euros for close to a decade. Indo-German trade, by contrast, is close to 25 billion euros and India-UK around 27 billion euros. In fact, even though France is the third largest European economy, it ranks ninth in the terms of EU member nations’ trade with India, behind much smaller nations such as the Netherlands, Italy and even Belgium.

The trade is inordinately dependent on the Indian government or companies placing large orders for high value items such as defence equipment or civil aircraft. In the absence of these large deals, trade suffers and remains stagnant.

Even though there are nearly 300 French companies in India, an overwhelming share are the largest, with small and medium enterprises — the backbone of the French economy — almost entirely absent from the scene. This is in sharp contrast with Germany, whose SMEs have been fairly aggressive in India and are present in various domains. The story of Indian SMEs in France is no different. Besides exporters, mainly of commodities, some engineering products and textiles, the number of Indian SMEs engaged with France can be counted on the fingertips.

It is not for lack of trying, though. The French and Indian governments have long been trying to get SMEs to start exploring market opportunities. Way back in 2006, the then economy minister of France and the current head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde led over 500 French SMEs for a roadshow across various Indian cities. A number of other delegations of SMEs have been travelling to both the countries, but with very limited impact.

The biggest hurdle for the SMEs is that they lack market knowledge, adequate exposure and the financial muscle to explore new markets, especially ones reputed to be difficult — something shared by India and France. These factors make them highly risk averse.

To do some handholding and encourage French SMEs to start working with India, the Indian government has launched a concerted attempt — Access to India Initiative, which would identify relevant French SMEs, especially in manufacturing domain and assist them in all actions such as market research, creation of company, recruitment etc.

Such measures should encourage some French SMEs to take the plunge in India and if they succeed, it could lead others to follow.

A lot of expectations are riding on the Modi-Macron encounter and this visit has the potential to become the game changer in the bilateral relationship. However, overcoming the hurdles is far from easy and the two leaders would have to use all the tricks in their bags to make France and India natural business partners as well.

(Paris-based Ranvir S. Nayar is managing director of the Media India Group. He can be contacted at r.nayar@mediaindia.eu)

—IANS

Sonia attacks Modi government, says freedom under ‘sustained assault’

Sonia attacks Modi government, says freedom under ‘sustained assault’

Sonia Gandhi and Narendra ModiMumbai : UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday launched a direct attack against the Modi government, alleging that freedom of the people was “under systematic and sustained assault” as provocative statements from the ruling establishment were neither random nor accidental but “part of a dangerous design”.

Delivering the keynote address at the India Today Conclave 2018 here, the former Congress President all that was being done by attempts to rewrite history, falsifying facts and attacking nation builders.

“Our society, our freedom all are now under systematic and sustained assault. Make no mistake about it. This is a well sort out project long in the making to refashion the very idea of India,” Gandhi said.

“The freedom to think for oneself and differ and degree and to meet or marry according to ones wishes all this and more are under attack.

“Provocative statements from the ruling establishment are not random or accidental. They are part of a dangerous design,” she said and added that vigilante mobs and private armies have been let loose with state patronage.

She said callous remarks were being made about changing the Constitution of the country that “point to a deliberate attempt to subvert the very essence of India”.

“Parliamentary majority is being interpreted as a licence to stifle debate. Our freedoms are under attack. Our people are increasingly impatient,” Gandhi said.

She asserted that it was not in her nature to be a “voice of gloom and doom but we need to see things the way they are”.

“The evidence of this new and deeply troubling direction is there for every one to see. Fear and intimidation are the order of the day, alternative voices are being silenced. In far too many cases through violence and even murder.”

She spoke about the violence against Dalits and minorities saying there was “shocking insensitivity to atrocities on Dalits”.

“Society has been polarised with an eye for winning elections. Religious tensions are being fueled.”

Gandhi also took a dig at Modi for his frequent coining of acronyms in the name schemes and government programmes.

“We need to move fast, but fast, F.A.S.T., cannot stand for First Act, Second Think. Acronymising can be contagious,” she said to a laughter from the audience.

“India is a great country, a wonderful country, let us protect it, cherish it,” Gandhi said, ending her speech to a loud applause.

—IANS