Home Page Beez5
- Created on 31 January 2014
“We are the Party that is responsible for the historic RTI Act. We pursued this because we believe that ultimately in transparency lies the solution to the problem. The RTI Act is the single most important reason why citizens of our country feel empowered to fight corruption,” stated Congress President Sonia Gandhi at AICC meeting held on 17th January 2014.
This patently wrong claim has been made on earlier occasions too by various stalwarts of the Congress party and the UPA. RTI is thus becoming yet another example of modern history being distorted through orchestrated disinformation.
The fact is that Congress Party is not the first entity that either ushered in or struggled for the Right to Information (RTI) / Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation. The credit on this count should go to all entities across the political spectrum that pitched for this transparency initiative over the last several decades.
The credit for being prime-mover of transparency legislation should perhaps go to late G. C. Bhattacharya of Democratic Socialist Party, who had moved The Freedom of Information Bill, 1983 in Rajya Sabha way back in December 1983, when Soniaji had not entered politics.
Read more: Madam Soniaji, please check facts & take back your RTI brag
- Created on 10 January 2014
THE Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has further lowered his stature by letting petty politics overshadow his unfulfilled obligations. While doing so the other day, he frittered away an opportunity to make amends and redeem his reputation.
One need not discuss here Dr. Singh's vitriolic attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at his stage-managed national press conference where many core issues did not figure at all.
A lot has already been said and written about Dr. Singh's remarks against Mr. Modi. The final say should now be left to the electorate. Let the voters decide whether Mr. Modi would be a nation builder as PM or a degrader of national unity like Dr. Singh.
PM has indeed allowed fissiparous forces weaken the country. He needs to be judged by his own words and actions on this charge.
Read more: PM should cast off Modi phobia & answer his failure on Federalism
- Created on 01 November 2023
(Image Courtesy: taxindiaonline.com)
The I.N.D.I.A.-BJP cacophony over the demand for caste census has deflected attention from core issues. The foremost is the impact of unprecedented delay in the launch of Population Census 2021, thereby blurring Amrit Kaal vision.
The findings of such decennial census have served as the primary building block for future socio-political-economic development of the nation since first national census in 1881. Census 2021 is, however, a special one and hence more important for attaining Amrit Kaal.
Other vital missing bricks or blocks in the foundation for Amrit Kaal Bharat/New India would figure during the course of this column.
The 2021 census would now be conducted after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The delay’s effect would be colossal if assessed against the invaluable advantages reaped by Modi Government from the 2011 census. It, for instance, enabled the Government to map 22 welfare schemes including free LPG connection scheme for the poor named Ujjwala Yojana.
As put by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “Data is new gold.” He stated this at #HowdyModi event at Houston, Texas on 22nd September 2019. Applying this quote to census data, one can say that data generated and analysed from delayed, digital census would be diamond-studded 24-carat gold.
Describing census 2021 as “Rashtriya Yagya” at an event held during September 2019, the Union Minister for Home Affairs, Amit Shah stated: “this exercise would lead to development in the Nation for next many decades to come and bring smiles to the people of the country.”
- Created on 20 December 2019
(Image courtesy: censusindia.gov.in)
The Rhetoric over enactment of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CCA, 2019) & ensuing riots call for a serious introspection. We should debate calmly as to why successive regimes & the Opposition have compromised national interest to play vote-bank politics.
Why no regime ever enacted a unified demographic code to govern citizenship, population control, emigration abroad and emigration within the country? Why illegal migrants continue to walk into India? Why infiltrators from countries adjoining both India & China don’t dare to enter the latter nation?
How infiltrators manage to get multiple identity cards including Aadhar and driving licence? This fact was recently admitted by Government in Parliament while answering question on Rohingyas, illegal migrants from Myanmar, staying in 12 States?
If they are being officially cared for as refugees, then why has the Government not enacted a refugee law as recommended by Group of Ministers (GoM) on Internal Security in 2001?
Should India be promoted as the Mecca for refugees in spite of it being on the verge of getting shameful label as the world’s most populous nation by 2027?
Read more: Row over Citizenship Should Pave Way for Demographic Code
