Gujarat Elections: Resurgent Congress

• BJP's formidable election machinery and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would see them through. One of the farmers shot back: But he's not going to lead the Gujarat government. The rest of the group nodded their heads in silence. It is this silence that is worrying BJP.
• BJP's worry is reflected in Modi's eight trips to Gujarat in the past five months. Like an indulgent parent making up for his absence, Modi has been on a gifting spree. He has announced or inaugurated projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore, not counting the Rs 1.1 lakh crore Ahmedabad - Mumbai bullet train for which the foundation stone was laid on Sep 14. The Sardar Sarovar dam project dedicated to the nation and also the inauguration of the first phase of the Rs 615 crore roll-on, roll-off ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej.

• Calling Gujarat elections the mother of all battles for both the BJP and the Congress would not be a misnomer. 
• Anti-incumbency will play a part for BJP has been in power in the state for 22 years. 
• There is the discontent over the Centre's twin economic moves - demonetisation and the GST.
• Opinion Poll in all 182 constituencies of the state shows the BJP bagging 115 - 125 seats and Congress winning 57 - 65 seats. But on the ground, the mood is less upbeat. 
• Rahul Gandhi has seen impressive crowds at his rallies and has successfully tapped disenchantment with the big bang reforms. The BJP strategy has been to carpet-bomb the electorate with development rhetoric. This rhetoric will be lost on the nearly five million first-time voters born after 1995 who have no memory of a time when the Congress ruled the state.
• For the Congress, a fourth consecutive loss in Gujarat will only add to its declining fortunes. But winning could reinvigorate the party ahead of the multiple state elections due in 2018 and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
• While the BJP has a 48% vote share and the Congress 38%. A 6% swing in the Congress's favour could upset the BJP applecart.
• Clearly the BJP isn't getting the state on a platter this time. This time, it looks like it has its back to the wall, says a political analyst.
• Congress offered tickets to the three young Turks - Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel, emerging Dalit icon Jignesh Mevani and OBC leader Alpesh Thakore. Thakore had become a hero in his community by running an anti-liquor reform movement under the banner of the Gujarat Thakore Sena. 
• Rising prices and the problems caused by the GST are troubling the BJP in many pockets, with the party not doing enough to remove the doubts of the small businessmen. 
• BJP will have to drop at least a third of its 120 MLAs, particularly the Patel MLAs targeted by Hardik. Though Patels are only between 12-15% of the electorate, there are 44 BJP Patel MLAs and 10 Patel ministers. 
• On Oct 9, Rahul Gandhi delivered a moving speech which drew quite a favourable response. He spoke out against the BJP's highhandedness, manifested in slogans like 'Congress mukt Bharat'. Everyone has a right to be in politics. Why should anyone think of erasing others from politics? We in the Congress never think in such negative terms.
• The impressive turnout in Rahul Gandhi's meetings could be an indicator of the public mood, showing that the public disapproved of the politics of defection played by the BJP.
• Congress party even though lacks a strong state leader to counter the Modi aura sees a glimmer of hope of victory in the absence of Modi from the state and the growing discontent with the BJP.
• The Congress has also played up the tanashahi charge against the BJP. Hardik Patel was jailed in 2015 for 'waging war against the state' and banished from Gujarat. The case of a businessman and party ticket contender after being threatened skipped a meeting with Rahul Gandhi. Such high-handedness is only going to strengthen the resolve of the people to throw the BJP out. The state government is insensitive and high-handed.
• A combination of agrarian stress and the Hardik-led popular movement may dent the BJP's Patel vote bank that swept it to power in 1995. 
• Congress party's social media team racked up some impressive successes against the BJP - a Vikas Gando Thayo Chee (Vikas Gone Crazy) campaign lampooning the vikas plank.

• The real challenge for the Congress is to woo the urban voter. Issues like water, electricity, and the struggles of farmers or tribals don't exist in the cities. In 2012, the BJP managed a near-clean sweep, winning 42 of the 46 seats in 6 cities.

It would better for India, if Congress wins in Gujarat. Then at least Modi will regain senses and rule the nation democratically shedding his dictatorial tendencies. This guy is behaving like erstwhile Nizam of Hyderabad and is unacceptable in this 21st century. He must be dumped in 2019 elections into trash bin.

Egoist Modi destroys India’s growth story

 

A statesman is one who admits when he has made a mistake 

and has the grace to correct it before it does any more harm. 

Prime minister Modi has shown no signs of having either of these virtues.

A Cyclist - is a disaster for the economy

1. He does not buy the car and does not take a car loan. 
2. Does not buy vehicle insurance. 
3. Does not buy fuel. 
4. Does not use the services of repair shops and car washes. 
5. Does not fear “civic responsibility”. 
6. Does not use paid parking. 
7. Does not become obese. 
8. Yes, and well, dammit ! Healthy people are not needed for the economy. They do not buy drugs. They do not go to private doctors. They do not increase the country's GDP ! Total disaster!!! This is how corporate think 
9. On the contrary, every new McDonald's outlet creates 30 jobs: 10 Dentists, 10 Cardiologists and 10 Weight Loss Experts. 

So, what do you prefer- Cycling or fast food? 

It was amusing. Bikes were very popular before cars. Cars were viewed as a natural progression (it is sure easier going up a hill). This progress drove industrialization, higher productivity, and so forth. Giving up cars and using bikes do indeed threaten the car companies.


The present arbitrary economic system is flawed, which favors wastage & destruction and sees efficiency & lowered unnecessary consumption as a good thing. The numbers like the GDP are calculated with no eye to the long-term future, and the fact is that 'All resources are finite'.

MERSAL Plea junked: BJP's politics of intolerance

• After the death of Jayalalithaa in December, the BJP saw an opportunity to widen its base in Tamil Nadu.
• The controversy it created over the recent movie MERSAL, starring superstar Vijay, has brought to the fore: communal politics, intolerance and criticism.
• The character played by Vijay questions the effectiveness of the newly introduced GST.
• Instead of engaging ideas about these questions, the BJP decided to vilify Vijay. It threatened to launch protests and file court cases if the scenes were not removed. This led to massive public support for Vijay on social media. 
• The film’s producers tried to placate the BJP by meeting its Tamil Nadu leaders and even agreeing to remove the scenes if they misrepresented facts. But the enormous demonstration of support gave them the confidence to retain the sequences.
• Failed to browbeat the producers, the BJP pushed a communal line to discredit the actor by referring his full name, Joseph Vijay. 
• Stunningly, the actor’s offices were searched by the Income Tax department ostensibly because his company had failed to deposit with the authorities tax it had deducted at source for payments made to clients.
• With the economy being jolted by last year’s demonetisation and the choppy implementation of GST in July, the BJP has come under severe criticism. Rather than setting out to remedy the problems, the party is trying to gag criticism through intimidation. 
• By trying to demonise Vijay by invoking religion and misusing official machinery to intimidate opposing voices, the party is only exposing itself and undermining its position in Tamil Nadu.

The Madras High Court rejected a petition to ban the film, stating, "It is only a film and not real life. Freedom of expression is for all. If you don't like it; don't watch it". Earlier, Veteran actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have come out in support of Mersal, praising it for addressing critical issues. Expecting bigger things of democracy from BJP is insanity, which is fundamentally a communal and autocratic party.

Modi govt abandons Skill Development

 

Modi government flipflopped  and abandons its promise of training 500 million people to get jobs by 2022. The announcement came at a press conference on Tue 6/6/2017, when Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy stated that skill development "will be demand driven than supply driven." Analysts point out that without any numbers to pursue, the overall mission of providing skill development and vocational training would lack structure. 

• It was in 2009, Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had set the target of providing skill development and vocational training to 500 million people by 2022. 
• In Nov 2014, The Modi government had said that its National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 "supersedes" the 2009 policy. 

India is one of the youngest nations in the world, with more than 54% of the total population below 25 years of age and over 62% of the population in the working age group (15-59 years). The country's population pyramid is expected to bulge across the 15-59 age group over the next decade. This demographic advantage is predicted to last only until 2040. India therefore has a very narrow time frame to harness its demographic dividend and to overcome its skill shortages. -- National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015

• In January 2015, Rudy had said that the government was committed to creating a resource pool of 500 million skilled workers by 2022 and that 450 million workers would be trained between 2017 and 2022.
• In the 2017-2018 budget, the government has set aside over Rs. 17,000 crore for skill training, employment generation and providing livelihood to millions of youth who enter the workforce. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship received its highest ever allocation of Rs. 3,016 crore.
• Only 2% of India's workforce is skilled.
• There has been considerable talk over the years around the need to provide jobs, both the former UPA government and the current NDA government have missed the skill training targets since 2011. 
• In 2014-15, the NDA government trained 7.5 million people, and in the succeeding two years, 11.7 million people were trained.
• Rudy did not say how many of 11.7 million trained in the past two years had been employed.

Ever since liberalization started in 1992, successive governments focused on 'cash cows' and neglected agriculture and rural economy. The revenues generated was spent on trophy projects siphoning money by politicians, businessmen, industrialists and bureaucrats resulting in distress among lower classes and destruction of agriculture. Modi just doubled the speed without deep thinking. Almost all his schemes stands miserable failures. His failures are Make in India, Start up India, Skill India, Digital India, Swachh Bharat,  Demonetization, GST Roll out, black money & corruption, One crore jobs a year, No Lok Pal yet, Kashmir burning, Chinese troops remained at Doklam, Agriculture distress, Jan Dhan Yojana burdening Banks, Smart cities development, Minorities & Dalits alienated and so on with resultant side effects. Mind boggling amounts were spent on publicizing these senseless schemes. In discriminate imports from China resulted in closure of 250,000 SMEs. Agriculture and Rural economy, which provides livelihood to 70% of India, needed investment of about Rs.2-3 lakh crores every year for a period of 6-7 years to make it dependable, viable and remunerative and would have done wonders in terms of consumption growth resulting in vibrant economy. But that would be unspectacular and won't please demagogues like Modi, Chandrababu Naidu etc. In the process healthcare, education and welfare took a big hit. In 2019, worst performing rulers will be dumped without any doubt. Such is the collective wisdom of people of India.

MGNREGA budget exhausted in 6 months

 

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 Aims to provide for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• In the current financial year 87% of MGNREGA budget is exhausted with in 6 months. Supplementary demands for additional Rs.15,000 crores requires parliament's approval which is unlikely before Jan 2018.
• Utilization increasing from Rs.38,552 crores in 2013, Rs.36,025 (2014), Rs.44,002 (2015) and Rs.40,100 (2017-6m) indicates increasing rural employment distress.
• Average household employment provided decreased from 45.97(2013), 46.02(2014), 48.85(2015), 40.17(2016) and 45.97(2017) days against guarantee of 100 days of employment indicates apathetic attitude of Modi-BJP towards rural poverty alleviation.
• MNREGA (Congress UPA's scheme) was bitterly criticized by Modi in 2014 in his inaugural speeches in parliament but he too failed to alleviate rural poverty and its budget increasing while number of household days getting reduced year after year.

To be happy - Give up 15 things

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress, and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress-free and happy – we cling on to them.

Give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. 

1. Give up your need to always be right.
   Many of us can’t stand the idea of being wrong. Wanting to always be right, even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?
2. Give up your need for control.
   Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel. By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.
3. Give up on blame.
   Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.
4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk.
   People are hurting themselves with their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset. Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you, especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that. The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.
5. Give up your limiting beliefs.
   Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind.
6. Give up complaining.
   Give up your constant need to complain about many things, people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.
7. Give up the luxury of criticism.
   Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.
8. Give up your need to impress others.
   Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take off all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.
9. Give up your resistance to change.
   Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you.
10. Give up labels.
    Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.
11. Give up on your fears.
    Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
12. Give up your excuses.
    Send them packing and you no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses which are not even real.
13. Give up the past.
    It’s hard, especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but at the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all, life is a journey, not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.
14. Give up attachment.
    This is a concept that for most of us is so hard to grasp, but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.
15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations.
    Too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think are best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need and eventually, they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

Silence is Golden

Silence is Golden - A proverbial saying, often used in circumstances where it is thought that saying nothing is preferable to speaking. 'Speech is silvern; Silence is golden', is sometimes used. Present-day feminists would prefer it as 'Silence is a woman's best garment'.

Not talking means you are listening. When you are listening, you understand. There is no need to come up with something to say. There is no need to worry about whether you are a good conversationalist. And there is no need to try to make out what the person means. Everything that you need will come to you if you are receptive to receive it. 

We cannot control the way people interpret our ideas or thoughts, but we can control the words and tones we choose to convey them. Peace is built on understanding, and wars are built on misunderstandings. Never underestimate the power of a single word. 

Small people talk about other people, mediocre people talk about things, great people talk about ideas.

Avoid people who always have something to say and those who expect you to always have something to say. Don’t talk to people you don’t want to talk to, and don’t talk about stuff you don’t want to talk about.

• Nature's greatest gift to man is the ability to think and talk.
• People love to talk but hate to listen.
• No matter what we talk about, we are talking about ourselves.
• When you have nothing to say, say nothing.
• Constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating.
• An egotist talks and looks down on others.
• A fool speaks without thinking; a wise man thinks before speaking.
• Refrain from indulging in gossip. Small talk comes out of big mouths.
• When money talks it doesn't talk sense and truth remains silent.
• Talking vitiates doing.
• Talk only when you have something to say.

Learned is not he who talks much

Wise men speak because they have something to say; 

Fools because they have to say something ... Plato

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say ... RW Emerson

Health is wealth

Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. Just because your body is free of disease doesn’t mean you are healthy! Health is as important to a person as is wealth. Only a healthy person can work with efficiency to earn wealth.

Earning more money is good, however forgetting our responsibility towards health is not right. To earn more, one needs to work more. But bad health reduces our body and mind capacity to work more. An unhealthy body gets tired very easily. And a tired body easily loses motivation and self-confidence. If the youth doesn’t acquire healthy habits the nation can’t become strong.

Maintaining good health requires regular good habits and a disciplined life to be healthy. Good habits like regular exercise, balanced diet, positive thoughts, cleanliness and fresh environment help to maintain a healthy body.

Physical exercises are planned repetitive bodily activities that are done to gain good health and maintain physical and mental fitness. Physical exercises repair the body or a part of the body. It strengthens the body and makes the body muscles stronger. It helps to lose excess body weight and prevent obesity. Also, it helps to delay the process of aging and keeps a person healthy and young for a longer time.

Balanced diet helps to maintain or improve overall health. Proper nutrition is required for the organs and tissues of the body to work effectively. A healthy diet provides all the essential nutrients to the body. A balanced diet provides an adequate amount of fluid, protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and calories to the body.

Personality traits such as optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive thinking that usually comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management which is associated with many health benefits. An unhealthy mind results in an unhealthy body. Good mental health helps you to make the most of life and enjoy it.

For attaining a healthy and disease free body cleanliness is very important. A fresh environment leads to a fresh and healthy body. It reduces the risk of catching communicable diseases. A disease free environment is called a healthy environment. And to obtain a fresh environment it is the responsibility of the people to inculcate healthy habits.

Now is the right time to start working on one’s physical and mental fitness. It is never late anytime. Whenever a person realizes the importance of good habits, it is the right time to start working on it.  One should keep this in mind and take healthy steps for a better tomorrow.

Who lives medically, lives miserably ... a Latin proverb

Hard work is not the path to well-being. 

Feeling good is the path to well-being ... Abraham Hicks

The State is back with a loud bang

 

 

Modi never walks the talk

• In all three manifestos (2002, 2007 & 2012) released by Narendra Modi, as Gujarat chief minister, he often says, “Mai jo bolta hun, woh kar ke dikhata hun [What I say, I do].” 
• But, only a fraction of the manifesto promises by the BJP have actually materialized in his 13 year rule of Gujarat.
• The demand for jobs in Gujarat is very high. Two months ago, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation held interviews to recruit 600 conductors. As many as 12 lakh people applied. Similarly, there were 14 lakh applicants for the post of 1,100 talatis (village accountants).
• In its 2002 and 2007 manifestos, the BJP had promised farmers power supply for 14 hours. But the supply was for eight to ten hours, at the best.
• In 2012, the BJP announced a scheme to build 50 lakh pucca homes for the poor in five years. Less than two lakh of them have been built.
• In 2002, the BJP spoke about educating girl children and achieving 100% literacy by 2008. More than 35% of women and 16% of men, still remain illiterate.
• The gap between the poor and the rich has increased, and there is not much investment in rural infrastructure. The lives of poor have not improved.
• BJP’s credibility has taken a beating because its achievements have not matched its tall claims. The goal of any political party is to win elections. The problem with the BJP is that it exaggerates what has been done.

If the Congress party wins, it will be a vote against dictatorship ... Hardik Patel

Of late the Prime Minister Modi developed habit of coming out with new ideas and schemes very often, even when his earlier schemes were badly implemented or ended up in colossal failures, and goes ahead with them without discussion, inviting suggestions or adequate preparation which is an ingredient for its failure. But his spectacular launching publicity will hypnotize people (including well educated class) and they will be waiting for positive result will come some how, sooner or later. But miracles won't happen in real life.

Reform Tax Officials first

 

Among the 'corruption' effected departments, Commercial Taxes Department stands tallest followed by Income Tax Department etc. Without sterilizing these departments first, Modi & Jaitley venturing on GST Roll out and tax reforms tantamount to waging war with common man of India and will get defeated. The stories of corrupt tax officials harassing commoners are innumerable and surface incessantly. The fact is that every citizen of the country resorts to tax evasion and handles 'black money' and the bigger the tax evaded amount the smarter is that person. This excludes poorest classes of the nation.

Bhakts makes leaders infallible

The dividing line between the use and abuse of power is very thin. It is not adulation, but criticism that keep people in power from crossing the line. Bhakti makes political leaders believe in their own infallibility, inflates their self-opinion and, inevitably, leads them to take missteps. History has shown that every authoritarian regime has ended up doing harm than good to their countries. 

• In the history about the rise of authoritarian regimes in 20th-century, two questions confound us. First, how did entire nations and populations allow themselves to be so hypnotised by a person or a political party? Second, how did they permit leaders or regimes to take absolute control and then chip away their liberties and then they could hold sway with an iron grip for decades thereafter?
• The process is even more inexplicable and intriguing in countries that were once democracies and democratic takeovers of power, which eventually degenerated into authoritarian reigns.
• The demonetisation has been aggressively touted as a master stroke against everything from black money to terrorist funding to counterfeit money to corruption, while also being hailed as a major reform towards a cashless economy. 
• Any criticism is almost considered blasphemous and anti-national. This sentiment was not only stoked by the government or party in power but also ordinary middle-class citizens have started behaving like accomplices of the regime by shouting down, mocking and denouncing any contrary views, branding these as unpatriotic. 
• The shoddy and inept planning and execution of the demonetisation exercise is being defended as inevitable. We are being exhorted to treat it as our patriotic duty to suffer long queues, inconveniences, disruptions to our lives caused by this man-made crisis, without complaining or criticism.
• We became so much mesmerised by the larger-than-life aura of a leader that we refuse to believe that he and his government can do any wrong? 
• Popularity has never ever chastened any politician, except very rare exceptions — a Nehru, a Mandela. Most of those who have relied on personal appeal over everything else, have eventually led their nations to grief, when their self-belief descends into megalomania. Megalomania is always fed by popularity and fawning bhakts. The bhakts create an echo chamber, which resounds only with what the leader wants to hear and believe, totally shutting out different viewpoints and realities. 
• Modi and his party won a majority single-party mandate for the first time in 30 years in 2014 and his personal popularity has remained high, despite many questions that still remain unanswered. The authoritarian and majoritarian streak cannot be denied. 
• In the case of the surgical strikes, Modi and his party exploited nationalistic and strong-man sentiments to the hilt. In the case of demonetisation, we have seen him play the brave, lone-crusader card, the selfless, sacrificing leader rhetoric and the emotional appeal. In case of GST, introducing in Lok Sabha as 'money bill' undermining the rights of Rajya Sabha and avoiding constitution amendment speaks volumes about Modi's crookedness in defeating the spirit of constitution, laws and institutions. All these points to his tendency to personalise all his government's decisions to make his regime seem almost presidential in nature and help to build his image as a towering, decisive leader.
• What kind of leader Modi is for time to tell. Many people have bought his spiel hook, line and sinker, while others are sceptical. Whether his regime turns into a democratically elected one with autocratic tendencies, especially if he gets a second term, depends on his bhakts. \
• People are free to support and adore the Prime Minister but they must realise that love for one's country is completely different from love for a particular leader, party or a government. 
• These bhakts have no right to attack, browbeat and brand as unpatriotic those questioning the policies of their beloved leader. If India turns less-than-democratic once again, the bhakts are to be blamed squarely. Every leader derives his delusions from the reflections seen in the distorted mirrors put up by his fanatic supporters.

The theory that leaders are infallible is trash. That is why in our parliamentary democracy, constitution provides checks and balances in the form of independent judiciary, parliament to account for government's actions and independent institutions. How ever a simple parliamentary majority makes all these checks & balances vulnerable and two-thirds majority makes constitution ineffective. Financial interests exposed weakness of media houses and they tow line with authoritarian rulers. For democracy to survive and deliver what is expected these things must be incorporated in constitution or statutes: (1) Truly federal structure with near total autonomy for states and local bodies. (2) Prime Minister's and Minister's executive powers must be severely restricted except during war like situations. (3) All discretionary powers must be replaced with robust processes. (4) No expenditure should be allowed without prior legislative approval. (5) All projects must undergo tendering process and all allotments either by merit or auction. (6) All appointments must be through open & transparent process providing chance to all eligible candidates. (7) Lok Pal and investigative agencies must be granted total autonomy with their scope covering every one and excludes no one. (8) Finally thrift should be the guiding policy in government spending with no extravaganza of any kind.

India slips to 100/119 in Global Hunger Index!

 

 

Insanity is defined doubling the speed in wrong direction

It is a matter of shame that our politicians tell us that our's is most powerful economy in the world where as the reality is we are in the club of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and North Korea with half of the population either hungry or malnourished. Let someone remind Modi that his primary job is here with poor & lower classes not with Ambani's & Adani's and we don't need bullet trains but we need safe & affordable trains and that we just need schools, nutrition, healthcare, drinking water, sanitation, transportation, jobs and livelihoods for decent living. Spectacular publicity, self aggrandizement and Mussolini type fascism leads us to nowhere. People trapped in poverty can't just work hard to come out of that. They need external helping hand. That is the primary responsibility of the Government. Anything else is next. Modi must understand this. Knowing his personality, I am sure he will not. The irony is that one half of India is grappling with obesity and diabetes spending crores of rupees for getting treatment in corporate hospitals for over eating while the other half is either under fed or malnourished.

The Unexpected President: Chester A. Arthur

From humble beginnings Arthur rose to the heights of New York politics and society via a law degree and political advancement in an era of corrupt politics. Chester A. Arthur was a prime player in the corrupt Roscoe Conkling -New York political machine. He was placed on the 1880 Republican ticket with James Garfield only to win New York state in the electoral college. After Garfield's assassination, newspapers printed horror at the thought of Chester Arthur as President. Arthur embarked on a surprising Presidency, signing reform legislation giving birth to the civil service. This was a repudiation of his own political past and the corrupt agenda of his longtime allies. Arthur's political turn even drew the admiration of a tough critic like Mark Twain, and is a lesson today that a man may rise above his political and personal past to lead a nation an fulfill the office of President.

• When President James Garfield was shot, no one in the United States was more dismayed than his Vice President, Chester Arthur. For years Arthur had been perceived as unfit to govern, not only by critics and his fellow citizens but by his own conscience.
• Chester Arthur became the Vice President of the United States as a pawn in a game, but surprised the game’s players when Pres. Garfield was shot and killed and he became the President.
• Arthur knew better even than his detractors that he failed to meet the high standard a president must uphold. Arthur was a product of his time, was nothing of a visionary, had no agenda but himself for most of his life, but gave the presidency his best shot when it literally fell into his lap.
• Arthur became a leader in the corrupt New York political machine and partied while while his wife stayed home with the family. There is evidence that he wasn’t faithful to her.
• The moment President Arthur took office, he proved to be not just honest but courageous, going up against the very forces that had controlled him for decades.
• Roscoe Conkling wanted Garfield’s Custom House appointee fired and his own man put in, so he could use the patronage to fuel his political machine. Arthur refused. “For the vice presidency I was indebted to Mr. Conkling,” Arthur explained. “But for the presidency of the United States, my debt is to the Almighty.” 
• Arthur surprised everyone--and gained many enemies--when he swept house and courageously took on corruption, civil rights for blacks, and issues of land for Native Americans. His short presidency proved to be a turning point of American history, in many ways a preview of our own times, and is a sterling example of how someone can "rise to the occasion."
• He succeeded by embracing the cause of civil service reform. His advocacy for, and subsequent enforcement of, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was the centerpiece of his administration.
• Chester Arthur was not one of the great presidents. But he was a competent and honest one, and his corrupt past made his reformation all the more impressive. 
• The New York World summed up Arthur's presidency at his death in 1886: "No duty was neglected in his administration, and no adventurous project alarmed the nation."
• Mark Twain wrote of him, "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration."
• Journalist Alexander McClure later wrote, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Alan Arthur, and no one ever retired ... more generally respected, alike by political friend and foe."
• Arthur adopted [a code] for his own political behavior but subject to three restraints: he remained to everyone a man of his word; he kept scrupulously free from corrupt graft; he maintained a personal dignity, affable and genial though he might be. These restraints ... distinguished him sharply from the stereotype politician.

The health of the people is of supreme importance.

Men may die, but the fabric of our free institutions remains unshaken.

The extravagant expenditure of public money is an evil 

not to be measured by the value of that money to the people who are taxed for it.

There are very many characteristics which go into making a model civil servant. 

Prominent among them are probity, industry, good sense, good habits, good temper, 

patience, order, courtesy, tact, self-reliance, many deference to superior officers, 

and many consideration for inferiors.

Arthur did good job as his divine duty. Ambedkar feared in 1946 that constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic. Modi is proving Ambedkar's fears are correct. In India, corruption was a social stigma some 50 years ago and corrupt people face societal isolation. Today corruption acquired so much wide spread societal acceptance, the biggest corrupt fellow becomes a celebrity and acquire VIP status automatically. Our Modi failed to emulate Chester Alan Arthur and missed a great opportunity. Instead Modi pursued Congress style of ruling the nation and destroyed himself and the nation much faster. He never walks the talk. The more one analyses Modi, one will discover chilling similarities with fascist Mussolini. India has long way to go.

Amit Shah: Sunstroke

• Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah's son Jay Amitbhai Shah's Temple Enterprise Private Ltd. engaged in negligible activities and recorded losses in previous years. 
• In 2014-15, it showed a profit of Rs 18,728 on revenues of only Rs 50,000 before jumping to a turnover of Rs 80.5 crore in 2015-16.
• Temple Enterprise’s revenues came at a time when the firm received an unsecured loan of Rs 15.78 crore from a financial services firm owned by Rajesh Khandwala, the samdhi (in-law) of Parimal Nathwani, a Rajya Sabha MP and top executive of Reliance Industries.
• Shah’s lawyer sent in a response with a warning that criminal and civil defamation proceedings would be launched in the event of “any slant or imputation which alleges or suggests any impropriety on his part.”
• During UPA-II, BJP confronted Congress party president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, Robert Vadra, how he managed to grow his real estate businesses on the basis of unsecured loans from DLF. 
• The massive increase in revenues is coming from the “sale of products”. This included Rs 51 crore of foreign earnings, up from zero the previous year.
• The ROC filings reveal an unsecured loan of Rs 15.78 crore from a listed entity, KIFS Financial Services. The revenue of KIFS Financial Services for the same financial year when the loan was given was Rs 7 crore. The annual report of KIFS Financial Services does not reflect the Rs 15.78 crore unsecured loan given to Temple Enterprise.
• KIFS Financial Services promoter Rajesh Khandwala’s daughter is married to Parimal Nathwani’s son. Ahmedabad-based Nathwani heads the Gujarat operations of Reliance Industries. He is an independent member of parliament from the upper house. His re-election to the Rajya Sabha in 2014 was supported by BJP legislators in Jharkhand.
• Jay Shah’s lawyer said in his written response to The Wire stated that Rajesh Khandwala is an old friend of Shah's family.
• Specific question to Khandwala about why the annual report of KIFS Financial Services for the loan year does not mention the loan to Jay Shah’s company went unanswered.
• The massive increase in revenues is described in the filings as coming from the “sale of products”. This included Rs 51 crore of foreign earnings, up from zero the previous year.
• Shah’s filings with the RoC also reflect Rs 25 crore worth of finance from the Kalupur Commercial Cooperative Bank. The board of directors of the bank include individuals from the Nirma group and Nirma university. The chairman emeritus of the bank is Nirma’s Ambubhai Maganbhai Patel.
• Chudasama, a former director of the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, was chargesheeted by the CBI in 2010 for attempting to “convince, coerce, threaten, and influence witnesses on [Amit Shah’s] behalf to conceal the truth from the CBI” about the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser-bi. In 2015, a special CBI court discharged Chudasama from the case, just as it had discharged Amit Shah too in December 2014.
• Jay Shah’s partnership has also availed of a Rs 10.35 crore loan from IREDA. It is controlled by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Piyush Goyal was the minister at the time the loan was sanctioned.
• BJP will unleash 'whataboutery' technique instead of defending or explaining.

The Golden Touch of Jay Amit Shah

Kudos to Rohini Singh and The Wire for exhibiting courage to publish article against Modi & Amit Shah when entire media got subverted and dancing to Modi's tunes. The report created ripples on social media. Jay Amit Shah filing defamation case and his advocate abstaining from court speaks volumes. Piyush Goyal addressing a press conference defending a non-political entity but also proudly proclaiming that Jay Amit Shah would slap a 100 crore defamation suit against the organization and its reporter is only meek acknowledgement of facts. There was an eerie silence on news channels. In an ideal world this intimidation should have led to an outrage in the media. An investigative report should have been the subject of discussion, criticism, arguments and debate. Silence by intimidation being the last on the charter of a journalistic organization. The BJP leaders, including Union Railways minister Piyush Goyal and Home Minister Rajnath Singh have defended Jay Shah, even as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi took potshots at BJP saying that BJP's campaign of Beti Bachao (save the girl child) now appears to have turned in to the campaign about Beta Bachao (save the son). All politicians are same whether BJP or Congress. They loot public money for personal enrichment. They are parasites barring very few exceptions. As the citizens of India, it is our right to demand that the govt and its loonies stop destroying an important hallmark of democracy [Media]. Who ever posed a threat to our media will be voted out. 

Diwali - Firecrackers must be banned

• Firecrackers came into the country in the 1920s when the Nadar brothers had set up the industry in Sivakasi. Till then there weren't any firecrackers being burst on Diwali. It's a very recent, 20th century phenomenon in our country.
• NCR alone makes up almost 20-25% of the total firecracker market in the country which is over Rs.5,000 crores.
• Last year after Diwali, Delhi was choking and completely covered by smog. The PM 2.5 level is the most harmful particulate matter because everyone breaths it. It goes right into lungs. There are many cause of air pollution, firecrackers is one of the causes. All heads of pollution: poor fuel, crop burning and waste burning, etc have to stop. Every contributing factor to air pollution must be set right. Diwali pollution happens during the cold months, when the wind factor is low and crops are also burnt.
• Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant that is a concern for people's health when levels in air are high. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated.
• Firecrackers emit nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter which are so minute that they have a propensity to get lodged in the lung and can even enter the bloodstream. Patients of asthma and other respiratory disorders report discomfort and worsening of conditions during Diwali. 
• Firecrackers are made of chemicals which are lethal to health. Copper causes irritation of respiratory tract; Cadmium causes anemia and damages the kidney; Lead affects the nervous system; Sodium is bad for skin; Zinc causes vomiting; Nitrate can lead to mental impairment; Nitrite, which is the most lethal of them all, can send one to coma.
• High decibels of noise pollution created by firecrackers can cause temporary and sometimes permanent hearing impairment. Other problems that people of old age face on Diwali nights are sleeping disorders, restlessness, rise in blood pressure, and even heart attacks.
• So many accidents happen due to misuse or improper usage of firecrackers. Lives are lost and some are maimed for the rest of their life. Playing with fire, the most hazardous element of nature cannot be fun for everyone.
• The conditions of those working in factories that produce these crackers, are deadly. With no real precautionary measure or proper shield and child labors are incorporated to keep up with the demands of these crackers during Diwali. Buying these crackers is like contributing to their inhuman condition for another year.
• The day next to Diwali witnesses burnt garbage with toxic elements such as magnesium and phosphorus. Crores are spent every year in these burnt fire crackers which ultimately go towards contaminating the natural resources and accidental loss of properties and lives.
• Diwali and firecrackers don't go hand-in-hand. Firecrackers are not a religious practice and not linked with Diwali. Diwali is a festival of lights.
• The impact of crackers on children is far greater than it is on adults because their defence mechanism is much poorer and their ability to metabolise and detoxify environmental agents is different. Due to their high level of physical activities, children inhale more volume of air as compared to adults and so breathe in more toxic air.
• There are lesser number of children pursuing bursting crackers but there are very few who know about its ill effects. There is a drastic change in Delhi air. Drastic situation calls for drastic measures.
• Whenever an activity is found to be dangerous to public health, the court or government must step in and ban it. Gutka has been banned. Plastic too has been banned. Similarly firecrackers should be banned. As far as labourers in the firecrackers industry are concerned, it is important to note their employment is only seasonal. Bursting of firecrackers for weddings, parties, victories in matches, etc must be prohibited and the government has to enforce this.
• Banning them completely seems to be the best way.

Equally polluting things are diesel generator sets, automobile emission and burning of bio-mass. They must either be banned or usage minimised and regulated. Half hearted actions doesn't produce any results.

Joblessness: Modi's Achilles' heel of 2019 elections

• In 2013 election campaigning, Modi PM candidate of the BJP, at a rally in Agra thundered "If the BJP comes to power, it will provide one crore jobs every year" which is now haunting him.
• In May 2017, a Labour Bureau quarterly report noted that a mere 230,000 jobs were created in eight key sectors from Apr-Dec 2016, a far cry from Modi's 2013 promise. This, when over a million aspirants enter the Indian job market every month. 
• The GDP growth slipped to 5.7% in the Apr-Jun quarter, the lowest in three years, with manufacturing growing at a five-year low of 1.2%, from 10.7% a year ago.
• CMIE estimates that about 1.5 million jobs were lost during January-April 2017, the first quarter after the Nov 2016 demonetisation exercise. Worse, India is set to see a further 30-40% reduction of jobs in manufacturing compared with last year.
• With a general election in less than two years, the dearth of jobs could prove the Achilles' heel of the Modi government, rein in the high prices of essential goods and rectify anomalies in the GST. 
• RBI, in its monetary policy statement on Oct 4, reiterated the need for recapitalising banks.
• Currently 30,000 new youngsters are joining the job market every day, yet the government is creating only 500 jobs a day - Rahul Gandhi said, even as he admitted that the UPA government too faced the same challenge.
• India could have been sailing smoothly at 10% plus growth, but for the spate of disruptions, including demonetisation, GST, RERA and the new bankruptcy norms. Individually they may carry a broad range of benefits, together they have inflicted collateral damage much more than was anticipated.
• The real estate sector, which creates 1.5 million jobs, has been the worst hit. Home sales fell 26% in the Delhi-NCR in the first half of 2017 as demand nosedived post-demonetisation. Unsold inventory in the Delhi-NCR stood at 180,000 units and it will take developers four-and-a-half years to sell it.
• As many as 67 textile units are reported to have shut down across the country, rendering 17,600 people jobless.
• In Nov 2016 Larsen & Toubro sacked 14,000 employees, 11.2% of its workforce, as business slowed down and digitisation left many employees redundant. IT companies, including Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Cognizant, laid off tens of thousands of staff as global business grew tougher. HDFC Bank laid off 11,000 workers over three quarters citing digitisation. Yes Bank eliminated more than 10% of its workforce citing increased redundancy, poor performance and the impact of digitisation. Hiring intentions in corporates are 20 percentage points lower year-over-year. In the informal sector lakhs of workers go jobless as construction projects dry up given the unprecedented investment slowdown.
• Manufacturing was stuttering despite the government's high-decibel 'Make in India' campaign. Acquiring land for setting up manufacturing units continued to be tough. Private investment growth has been falling since 2012. The country still ranked a low 130th in the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings.
• India's job challenge is staggering, to put it mildly. The country needs to create 16 million jobs a year for the next 15 years to take advantage of its demographic dividend.
• In key areas like textiles, India has ceded its leadership to countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.
• Adding to the manufacturing woes is the implementation of new digital technologies like the internet of things, cloud computing and artificial intelligence in the manufacturing process, making traditional jobs obsolete. These technologies with a squeeze in services, are affecting IT jobs too.
• Sectors like construction, real estate, power, energy, infrastructure are destroying jobs. There has been a 30% decline in job creation since 2007-08 in these sectors.
• Short-term job creation looks near-impossible since we have been focusing on the wrong kind of manufacturing for 60 years, and are now paying the price.
• Bank credit has fallen by 50 per cent. New projects are not coming up as private investment is drying up. Focus on construction will also boost the steel and cement industry. Construction and infrastructure can boost economic activity and jobs substantially, but they have been marred by time and cost overruns. As critical as supporting giant projects is extending help to small entrepreneurs. 
• Recapitalisation of banks can also help them lend to businesses, given that bad loans to the extent of Rs 7.7 lakh crore have weakened their capacity to lend.
• IT is losing its sheen as a significant job provider, with markets such as the US becoming more protectionist. Technological advances are also rendering the work force obsolete at a faster clip. 
• This could be the right time to boost consumption through lowering interest rates or giving government subsidies to certain businesses.
• Reviving the informal sector remains the biggest challenge. It's impossible to gauge the extent of joblessness given paucity of data. There is simmering discontent waiting to explode that we must prevent. We must act now.
• The government has also increased budgetary allocations for anti-poverty programmes and rural employment generation schemes. The highest ever allocation under the MGNREGA was made during 2017-18. About 51.2 million households were provided employment during 2016-17.
• The larger debate continues to be over what India should focus on: manufacturing or services. Growth in the recent period has been driven by services, which in itself was owing to substantial inflows of foreign finance. India needs rapid manufacturing growth fueled by both export growth and expansion of the domestic market. 
• Today's joblessness is similar to that of late 1960's which prompted PM Indira Gandhi to amend Apprenticeship Act in 1973 to include training of graduate and diploma engineers as "Graduate" & "Technician" Apprentices and to mitigate their problem.
• Jobs will remain a thorn in this government's side which appears unsolvable and will have telling effect in 2019 elections. 

Good or bad aside, during UPA regime GDP growth benefited all, despite corruption and scams except 2008 global recession and 2013 economic dip. Modi riding the wave of anti incumbency and joblessness became PM in 2014 and instantly forgot his promises and commitments. He focused on foreign jaunts and blaming predecessor and did nothing for next two years. The advantage of low oil prices since 2013 was squandered away. Without even discussing with economic experts, he ventured on quack advised demonetisation and mangled GST roll out without adequate preparation and keeping away keys sectors out of GST and economy plunged into distress and millions jobs lost. Banks recapitalisation was given a miss and today banks do just retail banking only. In 2017 almost all economic parameters are worse than in 2013 and nothing much is likely to happen in next two years prior to 2019 elections. Modi & BJP are certain to pay price for their arrogance and incompetency. 

Swachch Bharat - Failure

India Today  |  Oct 16, 2017  |  Page 9

Without going into too many details, it is safe to declare that 'Swachch Bharat' has derailed and a 'Failure', simply because World Bank hasn't released any money committed for 'Clean India' even after three years of its launching and spending huge amounts mostly on publicity, with participation of President, PM, Governors, CMs, Ministers and everyone from politics and government with broom sticks posing for TV cameras, citing "moderately unsatisfactory" and "campaign's wider ineffectiveness". Thousands of crores of rupees spent so far has gone down the drain burdening exchequer with no lasting benefits. Modi & co must own up responsibility for this debacle along with many more failures. But it is too much to expect such nice things from third rated politicians from BJP and Sangh parivar. The reason for failure of 'Swachch Bharat' is insufficient home work done and improper planning prior to launching etc.

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and 

I will spend the first four sharpening the axe ... Abraham Lincoln

Ex-CBI Director R.K. Raghavan appointed Indian High Commissioner to Cyprus

• Former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief R.K. Raghavan has been picked up by the Narendra Modi government as India’s high commissioner to Cyprus.
• Raghavan, 76, who headed a probe that cleared then chief minister Modi of involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots, was the CBI director from January 1999 to April 2001.
• After retiring in 2001, Raghavan joined Tata Consultancy Services as a corporate security adviser and also served as consulting adviser to O.P. Jindal’s board of management.
• Raghavan’s appointment is a political one as ambassadorial posts are usually meant for Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers.
• Critics of Raghavan argue that he was responsible in playing down the evidence against Modi of involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The SIT headed by Raghavan in 2012 had given then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 57 others a clean chit in the Gulberg case and sought its closure.
• While the SIT has held that while there is evidence and many of the allegations made in the Zakia Jafri Complaint dated 8.6.2006 are true and correct, in its own assessment, this evidence is not prosecutable. This is not a clean chit to Modi as is being propagated.

R K Raghavan: the man who gave a clean chit to Modi

Did the SIT give clean chit to Modi? The answer is a big NO, here is why

Modi as PM rewards his henchman with plum positions irrespective of qualifications, experience or with possibility of any value addition. Now let us look forward for growth & prosperity!

Income grows, when you grow

• Income is materialistic and quantitative representation of your success.
• As you earn more, you succeed. But without success there is no monetary benefit.
• To be rich, to earn more and to make the income grow, one needs to grow & succeed. 
• Success comes to those who grow rapidly both as a person and as an employee as well.
• It’s all about the mindset and the personality you develop. So your developments, your prosperity is in your hand. The faster you develop those skills, personalities and competencies, the easier it will be for you to grow and earn more.
• The moment when you become comfortable in your zone, you cease to grow.
• The more you plan and procrastinate, the longer you will take to grow.
• Invest in your academics in early day. This will facilitate your entire career. A full time course from a renowned institute always adds value. Work hard to crack those premium institutes. You professional prospect will be limitless in those colleges.
• Identify your weaknesses and strength. The sooner you figure that out, the better for you. Work on the weaknesses and try to improve them. Hone your strengths for further improvement. 
• Networking, strong determination and integrity are other three factors which help in overall growth and development. Lastly, a sound financial knowledge is mandatory to earn, save. Invest and thereby grow.
• So once you are aware of the right mix of the above ingredients, you start growing. This growth needs to continue till the time you breathe your last.
• Learning new subjects, language has always been proved beneficial. Upgrading and honing technical skills and competencies need to happen simultaneously with your full time job.
• Massive layoff in IT firms for the past few months is due to obsolescence of the existing skill-sets. Those paid off employees are opting for courses for their career growth or just to bag a job immediately. However in such scenarios, it is always advisable to be pro-active than reactive.
• The day you stop learning and growing, your career will go for a toss. 
• You gather knowledge, experience and skill, the industry will be ready to grab you with the best compensation or you will be ready to come up with a unique idea for entrepreneurship. 
• Be unique and strong in whatever your strength is. That will differentiate you from the rest of the workforce and help you brand yourself to the industry. 
• The concluding advice is don’t run after money, concentrate on your own growth and money will follow.

Everything good in life is either immoral, illegal or fattening ... Nicole Richie

He who wishes become millionaire in a year will get hanged in two years.

My View:

Money is not that difficult to earn. Look at the people who earn money effortlessly by connections and manipulations. Money is only difficult to earn ethically, morally & legally. Compromise in all these three, then money will flood you. God seldom gives riches to good people. Morality is generally incompatible with amassing wealth. Most wealthy people in this world have committed some kind of abuse on society or nature in their path to riches. No good man has ever become rich. 

PSU Boards being filled with BJP workers

 

 

• The decision to nominate BJP workers as non-official directors makes a mockery of the party’s 1998 manifesto and the government’s own guidelines issued in 2015.
• In an interview, Modi repeated his favourite maxim, “minimum government, maximum governance.” He went on to state, “in a developing economy, state enterprises do have a role in some sectors. They have to be managed professionally and efficiently. We have given them operational freedom and brought in talent from the private sector as well to facilitate this.”
• Modi's decision that ONGC acquire 80% stake in debt trapped GSPC, by investing Rs.7,738 crore badly hurt its finances and its credibility. The decision is apparently imposed on the company by those whose primary objective was to bail out GSPC and obfuscate its shortcomings. A nominee director on the board of ONGC would have found it difficult to resist the extraneous pressure.
• A year after Modi’s interview with the WSJ, his government took the patently retrograde step of nominating BJP spokespersons and party workers as non-official directors of eleven odd CPSEs, many of which are ‘Maharatna’ and ‘Navaratna’ companies, which are expected to have a great deal of functional autonomy and be managed by professionals with experience.
• These include ONGC (Sambit Patra), Engineers India Ltd (Shazia Ilmi), Cotton Corporation of India Ltd (Rajika Kacheria), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (Asifa Khan), Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Surama Padhy), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (Tamilisai Sounderarajan), State Trading Corporation (Bharatsinh Prabhatsinh Parmar), Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Ltd (S. Malathi Rani), Andrew Yule & Company Ltd (Sipra Goon), National Handloom Development Corporation Ltd (Shikha Roy) and National Aluminium Company Ltd (K.G. Sinha).
• The credentials of each one of these persons are prima facie unimpeachable. But the question is to what extent will they be able to add value to the management of the CPSEs?
• Companies Act Section 166 requires the government to nominate any person who fulfills the criteria. While it no doubt provides a great deal of discretion, such a discretion cannot evidently be arbitrary and injudicious. The discretion so provided in the Companies Act enables the government to nominate persons who have sufficient domain knowledge relevant to the operations of a given CPSE.
• In its 1998 manifesto, the BJP, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, committed itself to managing the public sector “professionally”, “with least interference by government”.
• The department of public enterprises (DPE) advised all ministries that “non-official directors are to be drawn from the public men (sic), technocrats, management experts and consultants, and professional managers in industry and trade with a high degree of proven ability.” Further guidelines stipulate that persons nominated as non-official directors of CPSEs should be “professionals of repute having more than 15 years of relevant domain experience in fields relevant to the company’s area of operation”, “persons of eminence with proven track record from industry, business or agriculture or management.”
• The decision taken now by Modi government to nominate BJP workers as non-official directors clearly makes a mockery of the BJP’s own manifesto of 1998 and the guidelines issued more recently by the NDA government itself.
• Lord Denning, the greatest English judge of modern times, said, “there is nothing wrong with a director being nominated by a shareholder to represent his interests, so long as the director is left free to exercise his best judgment in the interests of the company which he serves. But if he is put upon terms that he is bound to act in the affairs of the company in accordance with the directions of his patron, it is beyond doubt unlawful.”
• It was reported that the present government had tried to appoint a BJP worker as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and it would have gone ahead with that move but for a PIL filed before the apex court.
• If Modi is earnest about reforming the CPSEs, he should walk the talk by distancing the government and his party from them. CPSEs needs professional management, competition and public accountability to perform its crucial role to play in nation building for decades to come and this kind of tinkering with their management is bound to hurt the economy.

Slogans such as “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” and “Reform, Perform and Transform” are laudable, easy to articulate but difficult to translate into tangible action. Intentions underlying such slogans are more important than the spoken words. Intentions will mean nothing, unless they get translated into genuine action. As the gap between words and deeds widens, the credibility of sloganeering will get eroded. It is very clear that BJP's hidden agenda is neither well being of the nation nor its people but saffronisation of India.