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- Created on 25 September 2015
(Edited Image Courtesy: Expert Group Report on Universal Health Coverage Nov2011)
The avoidable dengue crisis in national capital region (NCR) has served as a perfect opportunity for populist politicians and the media to indulge in hospitals-berating.
Headlines/hashtags aptly capture their attempt to whip mass hysteria over alleged medical negligence. Check out these: 1) Debate: #KillerNegligence: Care, but for profits? 2) Dengue, neglect claims a second young life in city. 3) Delhi dengue death toll at 11, govt warns hospitals. 4) Dengue scare grips Delhi: Cabinet discusses options against errant private hospitals. 5) Dengue: Act against refusal, overcharging by hospitals, Centre asks Delhi Govt.
Both the politicians and media have, on the other hand, virtually maintained silence over citizens’ criminal negligence in taking preventive & protective measures as specified in the familiar do’s and don’ts. Dengue is a highly ‘unpredictable’ viral disease for which there is no specific cure.
Hostile and biased reportage is thus likely to harden the negative opinion of the unruly and ignorant citizens’ towards the medical profession.
As it is, the growing attacks on hospitals deprive other patients of urgent medical attention. It is here pertinent to cite violence that followed the death of a dengue patient at a hospital in Noida, adjoining Delhi.
Read more: Save Healthcare from Kejriwals, Manjhis & Papus of Populist World
- Created on 11 April 2025
(Image culled from BJP's 2024 Union Budget Presentation)
"DATA is the new oil...Data is the new gold," exuded Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston on 22nd September 2019. He was addressing an Indian community event dubbed as #HowdyModi. Mr. Modi added: "Answer to Howdy Modi is ‘Everything is fine in India '."
Any accountability-seeker would disagree with his reply as many things are wrong in the country right from ground reality to the national dream named Viksit Bharat @ 2047.
Mr. Modi has been marketing his resolve of transforming India into a developed country by 2047 since 15th August 2022. He has, however, shied away from referring to NDA's earlier failure to realize this dream by 2020. ( https://bit.ly/3KlWbB4 and https://bit.ly/3AqEVpw ).
This ostrich-like approach to bitter truth conflicts with BJP's 2004 Vision to connect past with the present and the future to attain present goals. The Vision document articulated this belief by quoting Swami Vivekananda as having said: "It is out of the past that the future is moulded. It is the past that becomes the future."
No nationalist would, however, like Viksit Bharat @ 2047 dream to go the "India, a Developed Nation by 2020" way. The latter slogan was trumpeted by Vajpayee Government. Hence this column's resolve to flag flaws in the Viksit Bharat (VB) model to pave the way for guaranteed success.
With no lessons learnt from previous regimes & its own previous terms, Modi Government is building VB dream house without three pillars. The structure is being constructed, currently only on one pillar and that too a weaker one.
Read more: Viksit Bharat Castle Cannot be Built on a Single Pillar
- Created on 19 June 2019
“We have invited her with all due respect and I am still hoping that she will accept my personal invitation and attend the meeting on June 15th and give us the idea as to how to improve Niti further”.
Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar stated this while responding to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to boycott NITI Aayog’s (NA’s) fifth Governing Council meeting (GCM).
She should have changed her mind and attended the meeting. The least she can do even now is to submit a detailed paper on weakened Cooperative Federalism (CF) to him.
The suggested paper should list flaws in NA’s working as compared the performance of National Development Council (NDC) and Planning Commission. These two institutions, created by Jawaharlal Nehru, were wound up by Modi Government in 2015.
Other Chief Ministers from Opposition-ruled States should have latched on to Dr. Kumar’s offer to give suggestions to improve NA’s working.
Mamata didi has indeed erred by writing to Prime Miniser Narendra Modi, who is also NA Chairman, that she would not attend the meeting. Boycott and sulk is not the solution. Participation in the meeting to put hard facts about damage done to CF is the way to go.
She should take a leaf out of late Selvi J. Jayalalithaa’s book.
Read more: Assess State of Cooperative Federalism with an Open Mind
- Created on 06 April 2019
(Extracted Image Courtesy: BJP)
The war to win the poor as a class vote is becoming fiercer with Congress Party resolving to eliminate “abject poverty” by 2030. The war between the Congress & Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is reminiscent of the slogans war they fought in 1971.
The Congress won the 1971 Lok Sabha elections with its Garibi Hatao slogan, BJP, in its earlier avatar – Bharatiya Jan Sangh, fought the elections with its manifesto headlined “Jan Sangh Declares War on Poverty”. The Manifesto’s cover page showed an arm holding a danda (staff). One does not know whether the photo tried to invoke spirit of Mahatama Gandhi or of a Chowkidar.
The current war between the two parties is, however, is not a mere battle of slogans. It is serious clash of two approaches to remove poverty.
BJP is banking on all existing schemes plus the assumption for sustained economic growth. This is actually Modi Government’s approach to make India Poverty-free by 2022 under his New India Pledge unveiled during August 2017. This observation is tentative as BJP has not yet released its manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It may contain some new initiative in the domain of inclusive growth.
No one is, however, buying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of poverty-free India by 2022. Not even NITI Aayog that he heads. In a 2016 presentation, NITI stated: “Growing at 10% will transform India – India will be a $10 trillion economy with no poverty in 2032”.
Read more: BJP-Cong War on Poverty Shows No Lessons Learnt From 1971 One
