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Created on Monday, 08 August 2016 15:21
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(Image courtesy:Central Institute for Research on Cattle)
“There are allegedly hundreds of Gosadans and Goshalas in the country, which actually do not exist, in whose names people collect money and eat it up,” stated Bollywood doyen, Prithviraj Kapoor, while participating in a discussion on Gosadans and Goshalas (cow shelters) in Rajya Sabha way back in March 1958.
Mr. Kapoor's comment elicited a wisecrack from the then Deputy Minister for Agriculture, M.V. Krishnappa: “Since cow is a dumb creature so many people are doing so many things in the name of cow.”
Fifty-eight years later, the issue of dubious people masquerading as cow vigilante has now been raised in a similar way by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his maiden townhall with the public held last week, Mr. Modi stated: “I get so angry at those who are into the Gau-Rakshak business. A Gau-Bhakt (cow devotee) is different, Gau Seva (cow protection) is different. I have seen that some people are into crimes all night and wear the garb of Gau Rakshaks in the day.”
It is not known whether Mr. Modi, his bete noire of Chara Gohtala (fodder scam) fame, Lalu Yadav and other leaders have read the Parliamentary and Constituent Assembly debates on all that went wrong in the name of cow protection since the Independence. But what we all know is that the stringency and violence in the name of cow protection is nothing new. It has occurred under all regimes.
The obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) shown by a section of media especially TV channels’ on exposing publicity-hungry Gau-Rakshaks is relatively new phenomenon. This is diametrically opposite to its stance on Kuta-Rakshaks who pitch for safeguarding stray dogs at the cost of human lives. Though both types of vigilante group directly or indirectly contribute to human tragedies, yet media targets only Gau-Rakshaks. The media ignores or publishes as space filers tragic news about Kuta-Rakshaks'-induced killing of babies and kids by dogs.
Read more: Cow Protection row Overshadows Rational Policies
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Created on Saturday, 06 August 2016 15:17
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(Officials wait to collect voting machines. Image Courtesy:PIB)
Decades-old idea of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies (LS&SLAs) has gained currency with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitching for it.
The fact is NDA Government is operating like all other previous regimes that chewed on this idea of restoring status quo in electoral process without taking any decisive initiatives within certain timeframe.
The proposal has thus been shelved, rejected, revived, debated and dragged on for decades. And the situation is also unlikely to be different during the current regime.
This is obvious from an official reply to a question on this issue put in Rajya Sabha on 6th May 2016. The Government answered: “The issue involved requires wide consultation with various stake holders and hence, no specific time frame can be indicated.”
The Government should seize the opportunity to restore status quo as it existed till 1967, the year till which LS&SLA polls were held jointly. If the Government succeeds in this direction, then the initiative can turn out be a big-bang reform. It would benefit the economy and national exchequer in big way. It would also save precious time and energy of citizens as well as of candidates and all political parties.
Imagine the impact of removal of elections-induced policy paralysis & decisions holiday on economic growth, employment and wealth creation. GDP might certainly increase by two percent annually if elections at the Centre, State and local government level are synchronized and organized together. The yearly acceleration to growth might be 1% if the idea of holding simultaneous polls is limited to LS&SLAs.
Read more: Turn a Delayed Electoral Initiative into Big-bang Reform
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Created on Friday, 17 June 2016 18:32
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(PM N. Modi chairing Ist cabinet meeting. Image Courtesy: PIB)
“Policies presented to Parliament and to the public must be the agreed policies of the Cabinet. Ministers cannot dissociate themselves from or repudiate the decisions of Cabinet or their Ministry colleagues unless they resign from the Ministry,” says Canada's governance mantra captioned ‘Open and Accountable Government’ released in November 2015.
It adds: “All members of the Ministry are collectively responsible for carrying out the government’s policies as established by the Cabinet. They are therefore expected to work in close consultation with their ministerial colleagues. This principle is the foundation of a key constitutional convention known as Cabinet solidarity.”
Public accountability votaries would expect Narendra Modi Government to unveil such an initiative to lend credence to #TransformingIndia campaign.
Had the Government laid down Canadian-type Ministerial Code of conduct (MCC) after its formation in May 2014, Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi, would have had to resign. She would have done this either before or after making wild allegations against Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, and his Ministry on killing of wild animals.
The latter would have also faced music, if not exit from Cabinet, for violation of MCC in 2015 by utilizing Rs 20-lakh Toyota Fortuner for a few months in Delhi. The vehicle was bought by public enterprise SAIL for use by field staff of Forest Department in Odisha.
Read more: Unveil Ministerial Code to shun Maneka vs Javadekar type fights
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Created on Sunday, 15 May 2016 13:08
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(A tribal home in Kerala-Image Courtesy CAG)
Does #PoMoneModi (get lost Modi) campaign actually reflect hurt Malayalee pride? Would this campaign have trended on Twitter, had PM quoted official guesstimates on infant mortality rates (IMRs) for all tribes that would put Somalia in better light than India?
Does #PoMoneModi embody certain groups’ deep-rooted hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi? (He loves to operate as a star campaigner for BJP and thus provide fodder for anti-Modi campaigns! ). Was #PoMoneModi driven by argumentative Indian’s tendency to get into debate without doing home work?
The answer to these issues would become clear if we dig out bitter truth about the plight of tribals in Kerala and elsewhere across the country. And the unpleasant facts would equally expose the Centre where BJP is carrying on with UPA’s policy paralysis on tribals. The facts would also shame Kerala Government and those who like to shoot from the hip.
Let us start with the crux of #PoMoneModi. IMR in Kerala is 12 per 1000 live births, as compared to national average of 40, according to latest Sample Registration System (SRS) 2013 under which health indicators (HIs) data is collected by Office of Registrar General of India. SRS does not collect data for scheduled tribes (STs) or scheduled castes (STs) as separate groups.
Mr. Modi did not contest this or any of the other health indicators for God’s own country that are better than national average. Nobody can deny the fact Kerala is role model for other states as far as human development indicators are concerned.
In spite of this, a deliberate attempt was made to twist Mr. Modi’s observation that “infant mortality rate among the scheduled tribe community in Kerala is worse than Somalia” as comparing Kerala with Somalia. Such blatant distortion can only be done by persons who are allergic to facts or by ones who have inane dislike for Mr. Modi.
Read more: #PoMoneModi = Shame on all for Tribals’ Plight
