The people of Kashmir, at Uri, witnessed a sad demise on the morning of 18th September, when four heavily armed terrorists attacked the India Army base near the LoC at the town of Uri. Dropping down right after the attack were Home minister Rajnath Singh and Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar to look over the situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his cabinet vehemently condemned the attack.
Picture Credits: Deccan chronicle
The government was shocked by this mayhem because last week at the UNHRC summit at Geneva India clearly mentioned about Pakistan’s clear Human Rights Violation and “Cross Border Infiltration” which wouldn’t be tolerated at any level or stature. Given this it was clear that any further attack or Violation by Pakistan will be responded head-on and won’t end at Verbal negotiation.
It’s been two days since the attack and the only way India responded to the attack is the comment by Manohar Parrikar stating that lives of the 17 jawans will ‘not go in vain’ and by the DGMO Lt. Ranbir Singh saying that “India will respond at the time, place of our choice.” This calls for clear acid test for the proposition government by observing the current situation.
Let’s look back into the past 3 years back on March, 2013. “One year before the Prime Minister’s election” on 3rd March in Srinagar,J&K where 5 CRPF personnel were brutally killed and three months after that on June 2013 at the Indian Army convoy at Srinagar where eight Jawans were killed while their travelling from Leh.
This marked a huge Loophole in the then Proposition Government(UPA led by Congress) where BJP accused the Congress party leaders of handling the crisis in a way which was intolerable and not acceptable. This marked a positive attitude on the side of BJP where it admonished Congress of it duties.
And so the nation(Government) stands today looking and observing the despicable acts which ruins the credentials and integrity of our people. This is such a lame situation where it comes down to asking the government that ‘Are they really concerned about the injustice done to our soldiers Or is it just about arguing over the issue whether who does justice to our own people?’
And what does ‘bringing justice’ actually means? Or everyone just wants to Outfox the other in the least legitimate way. Is it really so difficult to judge and react to such underlying actions in a justifiable way? Will it always be about political destabilization over justice for real heroes?
Modi had once said ‘Khaunga Nahi, Khane bhi nahi dunga!’ which meant that he will not get corrupt and neither will he allow others to get corrupted. But riding on the ‘Modi Wave’, came the BJP Government of Devendra Phadnavis in Maharashtra in 2014. Of course, the CM himself is clean and his character is unquestionable but the same cannot be said about the members of his Cabinet.
Here is a list of 16 ministers with a question mark over their credibility:
1. Pankaja Munde
The state’s Women and Child Development ministry led by Munde, daughter of the late stalwart Gopinath Munde, was at the centre of controversy when, in July second week, the Aurangabad High Court struck down tenders issued by the Maharashtra Government worth Rs 12,000 crore for purchase and supply of Take Home Ration (THR), which is raw nutrition provided to Anganwadi children. The tenders issued in February were meant for the state’s 10,000 plus Anganwadis. But Self help Groups (SHG) complained of irregularities, claiming the tenders were designed to favour large companies. This defied Supreme Court guidelines which mandated a proper process for SHGs that would allow employment of women and supply of locally preferred nutritional THR items.
In June 2015, Munde was mired in the Rs 206 crore chikki scam, where she allegedly flouted norms by clearing purchase of chikki, mats and books without floating the mandatory tenders.
Image source : indiatimes.com
2. Girish Bapat
The minister of Food and Civil Supplies was served a notice by Lokayukta in mid-July for failing to curb the sky-rocketing prices of toor dal and other pulses. The Mumbai Grahak Panchayat filed a complaint in which it blamed Bapat for not invoking the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) to regulate prices between April 2015 to November 2015, when prices of toor dal went up from Rs 90 per kg to around Rs 200 per kg. It meant the traders earned profits in excess of Rs 4,000 crore and the Opposition has asked for a probe into it.
Image source : dnaindia.com
3. Girish Mahajan
The Water Source and Medical Education Minister was caught in a murky land purchase. He had forcibly purchased 5 acres of land in 2002 from a Dalit farmer at a cost of Rs 1.11 lakh on the pretext of setting up a sugar mill. The project, however, never took off. He had not divulged the procurement of this land in election affidavits. But immediately after dna broke the news, he said he would return the land to the farmer.
Image source : dnaindia.com
4. Vinod Tawde
The Education minister was accused of impropriety for awarding contracts to buy fire extinguishers worth Rs 191 crore without inviting e-tenders, similar to Munde’s chikki scam. The scam came to light in June 2015. Previously, the Opposition had accused him of having a fake graduation degree.
Image source : windows.net
5. Deepak Sawant
In April 2016, the Health minister was accused of a Rs 297 crore drug scam while purchasing drugs for state’s public health system. Leader of Opposition in the legislative council, Dhananjay Munde, had claimed that large quantities of iodine bottles, diabetes medicines etc were bought eventhough the municipal corporations did not need them. Sawant had also suspended three of his officers following the allegations.
Image source : india.com
6. Vishnu Savara
Tribal minister Savara was accused of a raincoat scam this month, where the raincoats for tribal kids in residential schools (Ashram Shalas) were ordered without proper tenders. Two months into monsoons, Opposition demanded an explanation as to why the students have not yet gotten the raincoats. “The department had invited e-tenders for procuring rain coats. Due to delay the process was cancelled on June 16, 2016, and the school principals were authorised to carry on the purchases. However, they were later forced to purchase the rain coats from certain vendors and that is why the High Court put a stay on the purchase and lashed out at the government,” Leader of Opposition Vikhe Patil said. The tribal minister did not deny facts but maintained that there was no corruption involved in it.
Image source : twimg.com
7. Chandrashekhar Bawankule
The Energy Minster was accused of purchasing solar pumps priced unreasonably high in favour of a particular company. In January, the CM had stayed its purchase after the red flag, but it was cleared in May after a probe.
Image source : ytimg.com
8. Diwakar Raote
Earlier this month, the Lokayukta sent a notice to Transport minister Raote seeking an explanation for an allegation of scam at the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) amounting to over Rs 30 crore. Despite its contract ending in December 2014, Trimax, the company that digitized MSRTC’s ticket vending system, kept receiving payments from the state.
Image source : hindustantimes.com
9. Prakash Mehta
An RTI query by Mulund resident Ankur Patil revealed that a case had been registered against the Housing minister Mehta in 2008 with the Anti Corruption Bureau for “carrying out corruption of crores of rupees in an SRA project”. The building in question is a 22-storey on in Ghatkopar. ACB chief said that the case was still pending in court because the position of the judge was lying vacant in the court. Mehta has, however, said, “The allegation is that there was corruption by me in some 22-storey building in the area, but let me tell you that there is no such building and no transaction involving me has even been done.”
Image source : maharashtra.gov.in
10. Pandurang Fundkar
Recently sworn in as agriculture minister, Fundkar is one of the suspended directors of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank and is being investigated for mismanagement of funds and irregularities. His name features in the chargesheet as well. While Sena-BJP was in Opposition, allegations of misappropriation were made against State Cooperative Bank. Opposition leader Vikhe Patil questioned how the same man, who was in charge of the bank then, is a minister now and asked the CM to sack him.
Image source : indiatvnews.com
11. Jaykumar Rawal
The newly inducted Tourism minister is accused of misappropriating Rs 36 crore from the Dadasaheb Rawal Cooperative Bank, Dondai, Dhule. Earlier this month, CM Fadnavis transferred the probe from a Special Investigation Team to the Crime Investigation Department (CID).
Image source : bp.blogspot.com
12. Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar
Labour minister Nilangekar is named in the CBI chargesheet for his links with a company declared as wilful defaulter by Bank of Maharashtra. He is a guarantor to loan worth almost Rs 50 crore, which was declared as NPA and a fraud account. The CBI investigations show that the property offered as collateral at the time of sanctioning the loan was not the property that was eventually mortgaged.
Image source : loksatta.com
Ranajit Patil
Minister of State for Home, Patil is said to have under-reported his properties in the election affidavit in 2010. A complaint has also been filed against him in the Anti Corruption Bureau for allegedly forging a dead farmer’s signature to get land in Akola. He bought the land for Rs 5 lakh from Haribhau Mohite in 2000 and transferred it to his son’s name in 2013. The transfer papers have signatures of Patil and Mohite, but government records show that Mohite died in October 2001. The complaint against him was filed by Mumbai-based advocate Prashant Nimbalkar.
Image source : hindustantimes.com
14. Ravindra Waikar
This Minister of State for Home is accused of usurping land spread across 20 acres in the pristine Aarey colony. Sanjay Nirupam has alleged that Waikar constructed a state-run gymnasium adjacent to the “grabbed” land and is running it through his private unregistered trust.
Image source : intoday.in
15. Ravindra Chavan
The Minister of State for Medical Education has 12 criminal cases pending against him. In December 2015, in a letter to CM Devendra Fadnavis, Dombivli builder Jagdish Wagh wrote, “Please save me from the harassment by BJP MLA Ravindra Chavan and KDMC’s additional commissioner Sanjay Gharat else I will also have to take extreme steps like Thane builder Suraj Parmar.” Wagh also said that Chavan had harassed and threatened him, extorted money from him and encroached on his flat in Dombivli, where Chavan lives with his family.
Image source : hindustantimes.com
16. Gulabrao Patil
Minister of State for Co-operation, Patil was arrested on June 16 by Jalgaon police. A case of usurping a prime plot belonging to a school through forgery is registered against him. He is currently out on bail.
Image source : usdaily.us
Besides these, veteran BJP minister Eknath Khadse had to recently resign over charges of corruption and shady land deals. However, even as the opposition continues to mount pressure, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is in no mood to blink, In an aggressive defence of his ministers, Fadnavis backed all of them by giving them virtual clean chits. He attacked the Opposition for “baseless allegations”. He further said the Congress-NCP government did not have the moral right to talk about corruption, by raking up ails like farm distress, losses to cooperative banks etc that began in the previous regime. “If we start to exhibit the deeds of the previous government, not even a single stadium in the state would be enough,” he said in the assembly. “Maharashtra’s image has been sullied. We are here to change that.”
Congress and NCP have refused to buy this defence. “The cabinet expansion was an opportunity for the CM to clean his house,” said Sachin Sawant, spokesperson, Congress, adding that the previous regime acted upon charges of corruption, which proved baseless. “But he has incorporated corrupt people. I do not think the CM is clean either. He is shielding corrupt ministers in his cabinet, which raises question about his integrity as well.”
BJP’s ally Shiv Sena has been measured in its criticism, for four in the above list — Deepak Sawant, Diwakar Raote, Ravindra Waikar and Gulabrao Patil — are Shiv Sainiks.
The state has come to an ethical dilemma now. One of the major election issues in 2014 was the corruption and hooliganism of Congress and NCP leaders. Now, the same leaders, who were once the accused, now accuse BJP of the same. Who will people believe and who will they support?
The state of affairs, in the State, is pretty pathetic.
The days of Anandiben Patel in Gujarat weren’t very smooth. The State-wide protests, following the thrashing of a Dalit family by cow protection group, have shaken Gujarat politics. In a recent rally, the Dalit community threatened the BJP Government that they will teach the saffron party a lesson in the elections next year.
However, the circumstances of Anandiben’s resignation are very similar to the situations in 2001 when Keshubhai Patel, then CM of the state, resigned. Similar to Anandiben, Keshubhai faced criticism after BJP lost by-elections and the foundered handling of the 2001 earthquake in the state.
Till he resigned, Keshubhai was the unquestioned leader of BJP in the state. The party had not many options then, and as fate would have it Narendra Modi, then general secretary, was promoted the new Chief Minister of the state. Similar, to how it is now, Modi came to power when elections were just a year ahead. The next election was held, to the backdrop of the violent communal riots of 2002. Modi gave a thumping victory to the party and established himself its champion in the state. With his mass appeal, he was able to repeat the results twice in the successive elections of 2007 and 2012. Then, as ‘Gujarat Model’ became the standard of development, Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014.
When Keshubhai resigned, it was an opportunity, that Modi seized, and how!
Now, when Anandiben Patel steps down, the party is again back to that phase. Who will be the new face? And will he be able to handle the heat? Modi had 2002 Riots to help him win the elections. 2016 is nothing like 2002. In the past one year alone, the incumbent party has antagonised two key voter factions. The Paitdar agitation, which brought the Government much shame, has alienated the support of Patils from BJP. The heat of Dalit Protests, and the deaths associated with it, is still rising. State Government has totally mishandled the entire incident.
Modi’s rise to the national level left a political void in Gujarat. It was understood that Anandiben Patel was just a caretaker till the next elections. But under her, the ‘care’ was not enough. Issues are getting out of hands. The Dalit issue has been so blown up that it might also affect elections in Uttar Pradesh. What BJP needs now is a strong leader, who can be another Modi, to make Gujarat ‘great again’, because, frankly, BJP is losing it in Gujarat now. Gujarat being the home state of Modi and Amit Shah, two largest leaders of the party, it also becomes a prestige issue for BJP to manage this efficiently.
So, will we see rise of a new Narendra Modi? Or will Gujarat see a change in Government after a long time and go for the alternatives – AAP or Congress?
What happens when Rahul Gandhi speaks? It gets trending, usually for the wrong reasons, but this time the ‘Arhar Modi’ comment is probably trending for the right cause.
Image source : dnaindia.com
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took a jibe at Modi Government criticising their inefficiency in controlling the price rise, particularly of food items like lentils. “Today in villages people are raising a slogan: Arhar Modi,” he said at the end of his speech in Lok Sabha today.
Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “You talk about Start up India, Make in India but not about price rise.” He said Modi had not commented on price rise in the BJP’s second anniversary celebrations nor had the issue of high food prices been discussed in the parliament.
He demanded Modi to give a date by when pulses will become cheaper. He asked why the Modi government was not utilising the money saved on oil import due to global drop in oil prices to give relief to rural people, especially farmers.
In his reply, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the money saved due to fall in crude bill was being diverted to building rural infrastructure like roads and go-downs. Jaitley claimed that the seasonal price rise was a common phenomenon and added that after the monsoon, the prices would soon stabilise.
The despair of common man has been on the rise since few months. Price rises in vegetables and pulses, one after another has been haunting the households. People are starting to feel the heat. Although, Jaitley claims that inflation is ‘under control’, we the people need some kind of visible impact. Unless Jaitley, or Modi Government, can deliver visible results, such jibes will get trending and their image is going to get tarninshed.
Is this the much awaited coming off age for Rahul Gandhi? From the perspective of Congress, there is no better time but only time will tell.
In a major setback to the image of BJP, the Supreme Court has reinstated the Congress Government in Arunanchal Pradesh. How did all this happen? Read ahead.
In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court has passed the judgement that actions of the Arunanchal Pradesh Governor were illegal. The Governor did not follow the due Constitutional procedures while imposing Presidents Rule and instating a new Government in the Assembly. Since, this was all done with the help of BJP, it’s a great loss of face value for BJP in the North East. Here is a timeline of all the important things that lead up to this.
Image source : indianexpress.com
December, 2015 – On December 9, a group of rebel Congress MLAs requested Governor JP Rajkhowa to impeach Speaker Nabam Rebia. They complained that the Speaker is trying to disqualify them from the Assembly. Agreeing to them, the Governor called for an emergency session on December 16 where the impeachment motion will be taken up. When Congress protested against this, the Centre imposed Presidents Rule in the state according to Article 356 of the Constitution. The special session was conducted unparliamentarily at a community hall. The session was attended by 20 rebel Congress MLAs, 11 BJP MLAs and 2 Independents. They passed the impeachment motion and also declared that Pul was the ‘elected’ leader of the house. On the very same day, the Speaker disqualified 14 Congress MLAs.
January 5, 2016 – The Gauhati High Court stayed the disqualification of the Congress MLAs and the Speaker’s plea was turned down.
January 15, 2016 – The Supreme Court refers the entire batch of petitions filed by the Speaker to a constitution bench, which examined the discretionary powers of the Governor.
January 29, 2016 – Nabam Tuki filed another petition in the Supreme Court challenging the imposition of President’s Rule in the state.
January 30, 2016 – Citing the complete breakdown of law and order, the Centre justifies the imposition of President’s Rule saying that Congress Government is in a minority in the state.
February 2, 2016– Governor Rajkhowa said the President’s rule in the state was temporary and that a new elected government would soon be formed in its place.
February 4, 2016 – The Supreme Court, examining the powers of Governors, took strong note of a submission that all decisions of the Governor are not open to judicial review and said it cannot be a mute spectator when democratic processes are “slaughtered”.
February 10, 2016 – The top court rejected the pleas of the rebel Congress MLAs against the Speaker.
February 19, 2016 – President’s Rule lifted in the state
February 20, 2016 – Dissident leader Kalikho Pul was sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh with the support of 18 rebel Congress MLAs, and two Independents and 11 BJP MLAs who gave outside support. Pul’s swearing-in came a day after the Supreme Court vacated its interim order to maintain status quo in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly, paving the way for government formation.
February 23, 2016 – The Supreme Court observed that it was empowered to “set the clock back” if there were constitutional violations in the manner in which the Arunachal Pradesh Governor issued orders that have eventually led to formation of a new government in the state.
February 25, 2016 – Pul won the vote of confidence without any opposition on the first day of the state assembly session, with 17 Congress MLAs including former chief minister Nabam Tuki remaining absent in the House.
March 3, 2016 – 30 rebel Congress MLAs who sided with CM Pul merged with People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), leaving no scope for the Congress to take any legal action against them. The merger took place with the CM announcing it at Naharlagun. He said they were “compelled” to take the decision as Congress had “shut all its doors” despite all of them asserting that they continued to belong to it.
May 6, 2016 – Top leaders of the Congress party took out a march from Jantar Mantar against what it called the ‘undemocratic’ policies of the Centre with regard to the imposition of President’s Rule in the states of Arunachal and Uttarakhand. Some of the leaders courted arrest before they were released by the police.
July 13, 2016 – The Supreme Court turned the clock back and restored the Congress government in the state. The court said the Governor’s actions were ‘illegal.’
Nobody exactly knows the full implications of the judgement as there is no precedence to this. There was a Government ruling for 4 months under the leadership of Kalikho Pul. SC has pulled them down and reinstated the earlier Government. How will everything turn out? Nobody knows especially because Congress might not have the numbers.
Everybody is hailing the crackdown of the Rs 13,000 Cr black money unearthed from overseas banks as a success of Modi Government. But here is something that everyone missed.
The crackdown of Rs 13,000 Cr black money has been made trending news in all media today. Everybody is thinking that Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his foreign visits collected information about such grafts. This is what actually happened.
Image source : dnaindia.com
Why is it not a Modi Achievement?
Currently the Income Tax authorities have unearthed more than Rs 13 Crore from just two sets of information from 2011 and 2013. And yes 2011 and 2013, Modi and his Government came in 2014. So why make such a sham about all this being his achievement?
What happened in 2011?
In 2011 the French government gave details of about 400 Indians with deposits in HSBC and Geneva. The Government found 628 bank accounts owned by Indians in HSBC. Of these, there is no money in 213 accounts or are owned by NRIs and hence Government cannot take any action against these.
What happened in 2013?
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in 2013 revealed that I-T officials have detected undisclosed amounting up to Rs. 5000 crore in foreign bank accounts lined to 700 Indians.
How did the I-T Department Follow-up?
An I-T report revealed that assessment for 398 cases has been completed by the I-T Settlement Commission. The I-T Department has filed 55 prosecution complaints before criminal courts in the ICIJ cases on charges of willful attempt to evade tax. In the HSBC Geneva case authorities have launched prosecution proceedings in 75 cases. The basis for most of these cases has been false statements made by the entities during the verification process.
What did the Courts do?
The criminal courts have paved the way for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to initiate actions against these cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This gives the ED the power to attach and confiscate properties of the accused, equivalent to their amount stashed abroad.
The I-T report said many Indians whose names appeared under the ICIJ cases have filed declarations under the Black Money Declaration Window Scheme. However the individuals against whom a probe has been launched are not eligible for any relief.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if it’s UPA or Modi Government that gets the credit but those who deserve punishment must be punished. This time, I-T Department is on the right track. Kudos for that!
