Data leak: India to Continue Probe Despite Cambridge Analytica Closure

The government will continue with its enquiry into the Cambridge Analytica data leak issue despite the firm announcing closure of business. 
Sources said, the ongoing probe will continue as the liability of the company existed prior to the closure announcement. 
The UK based data analytics and political consulting firm has been under fire in various countries for allegedly harvesting data from almost 87 million Facebook users and leveraging them for political campaigns.
The government had issued notices to both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, confronting them with questions on data breach issue. The last date for the two companies to respond is 10th of this month.
Yesterday, the British firm announced that it was immediately ceasing all its operations and filing for insolvency in Britain and the United States.

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India Bans Imports of Oxytocin

The Central government has banned the import of Oxytocin and asked the customs department to prevent any attempt to smuggle it into the country.

The move comes after the Prime Minister's Office held a meeting to check the "harmful effects of Oxytocin" as cases of its misuse by some dairy owners and farmers to boost milk production and increase the size of vegetables had come to light.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs, in an order issued recently, has banned all imports of Oxytocin in any name with immediate effect. It said all bona fide requirements of Oxytocin would be met by indigenous production.

There were some reports in the Media regarding misuse of oxytocin injection. However, scientific data on the extent of such practices was not available. The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) had earlier said that no ill effects have been observed in the animals in experiments carried out on the use of oxytocin.

In view of the reports of misuse of oxytocin by dairy owners in milch animals, the manufacture and sale of oxytocin injection was regulated under section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 published vide notification number G.S.R. 29 (E) dated 17.01.2014.

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Reservation Policy Is Here to Stay : Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Friday said that the Modi government will neither scrap the reservation policy nor allow anyone else to do so. While addressing the gathering at the Maharashtra BJP's Maha Melava rally on the 38th Foundation Day of the BJP, Shah accused the Opposition of not allowing the Budget session of Parliament to function.

Shah said in a press conference  that the journey of the party has been a difficult journey and full of sacrifices. He said BJP sacrificed maximum number of its leaders after independence as compared to any other political party. 

Shah was addressing a in Mumbai after the Maha-BJP-Maha Melava .The party President said BJP is a democratic party and it follows an ideology. Shah added that BJP from two MPs in Parliament, has now 330 members in Parliament. He said there are 1600 BJP MLAs in the country today.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with thousand of the BJP workers on the occasion of 38th Foundation Day of party.

Addressing through video conferencing, Mr Modi said, the BJP is a party which is completely driven by democratic rules.He said, there is no dynasty and casteism in the party. He said the party has brought a new hope for development of the country. 

Earlier, in his message, Modi said that the BJP is the party of a New India and is privileged to receive the blessings of people of all age groups, across all sections of society. He said party believes in diversity, unique culture of the country and above all the strengths of 125 crore Indians.

Prime Minister thanked people for their unwavering faith in BJP. He said, it is party's commitment that it will continue to devote itself towards India’s transformation.

Modi said that for BJP, the party workers are everything and they are the heart and soul of the party, whose sweat has taken the Party to new heights. He said party remember, with great pride, the heroic service and sacrifice of all party workers who built the BJP and committed themselves towards creating a stronger and better India.

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Journalist Accreditation Could be Permanently Cancelled for Fake News

The government has said that the accreditation of a journalist can be permanently cancelled if the person is found generating or propagating fake news. 

As per the amended guidelines for the accreditation of journalists, if the publication or telecast of fake news is confirmed, the accreditation of that journalist will be suspended for a period of six months in the first violation and for one year in case of a second violation. 

In case of a third violation, his or her accreditation will be cancelled permanently, the information and broadcasting ministry said in a release. 

It said any complaint of instances of fake news will be referred to the Press Council of India (PCI), if it pertains to print media, and to the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), if it relates to the electronic media, for determination of the news item being fake or not. 

This determination is expected to be completed within 15 days by these agencies, the ministry said. Once the complaint is registered for determination of fake news, the accreditation of the journalist, whoever created and/or propagated the fake news, will be suspended till the determination regarding the fake news is made, the ministry said.

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Another Bumper Crop in Offing!

Government has estimated that the foodgrain production will touch a new record of 277.49 million tonnes in 2017-18 crop year as against 275.11 million tonnes last year. 

According to the second estimate for 2017-18 released on Monday, Pulses production is pegged at a record 23.95 MT this year, up by 0.82 MT, from 23.13 MT last year. 

The wheat production is estimated to decline by 1.40 MT to 97.11 MT from the record of 98.51 MT achieved in 2016-17. 

The production of coarse cereals is estimated at record 45.42 MT this year as against 43.77 MT in 2016-17 crop year. 

However, oilseeds production is pegged lower by 1.39 MT at 29.88 MT in 2017-18 as against 31.28 MT during 2016-17. 

The Agriculture Ministry said, as a result of near normal rainfall during monsoon 2017 and various policy initiatives taken by the government, the country has witnessed record foodgrains production in the current year.

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Finally a Relieving News on Aadhaar

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has asked the government departments, Ministries and State governments to ensure that no essential service or benefit should be denied to a genuine beneficiary for want of Aadhaar. The news has come as a relieving piece for countless people. 

In a statement, the authority said, it has taken a serious note of some of the cases reported in media about the denial of essential services like hospitalisation or medical help. It said, such claims of denial are being investigated by the concerned agencies and strict action will be taken in case denial has occurred. It said, Aadhaar is meant to bring transparency and accountability in public service deliveries through effective use of technology and it should not be misused and made an excuse to any denial in the services.

The authority said, it will again write a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union territories to ensure that Aadhaar Act is implemented for all the schemes at the ground level in service deliveries to beneficiaries so that no denial happens due to want of Aadhaar.

The UIDAI last week had clarified that the Plastic or PVC Aadhaar smart cards are often not usable as the QR code commonly becomes dysfunctional during such unauthorised printing at some vendor/shop. Also, there could be a possibility of sharing Aadhaar details (personal sensitive demographic information) without informed consent with some devious elements.

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, UIDAI said, “So-called Aadhaar Smart card is totally unnecessary and a waste as during such printing its QR code often becomes dysfunctional. The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper or mAadhaar is perfectly valid for all kind of uses. “If a person has a paper Aadhaar card, there is absolutely no need to get his/her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so called smart Aadhaar card by paying money. There is no concept such as smart or plastic Aadhaar card.” 

In case a person loses his Aadhaar card, he can download his Aadhaar card free of cost from https://eaadhaar.uidai.gov.in. The print out of the downloaded Aadhaar card, even in black and white form, is as valid as the original Aadhaar letter sent by UIDAI. There is absolutely no need to print it on plastic/PVC card or get it laminated.

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Tussle Over Andhra Pradesh Getting Interesting

The tussle between Bharatiya Janata Party and Telugu Desam Party over the special status to the state is getting interesting day by day. Days after the TDP launched offensive against the ruling party at center, BJP has retorted by saying that the Andhra Pradesh received utmost priority during last three and half yrs under Modi government.

The BJP on Saturday said, Andhra Pradesh has received utmost priority and importance under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government.

In a joint press conference in New Delhi, party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao and Party's AP President and Visakhapatnam MP K. Hari Babu presented a list of institutions, projects and funds sanctioned for the state by the NDA government and asserted that the Centre has taken utmost care of the state.

“The state has received priority and the Centre is committed to its development,” the Rao said,

Referring to the charges made by MPs from AP representing TDP and YSRCP, Rao said it was all propaganda. Hari Babu said, the State has been provided funds for which is entitled to and the rest is under implemetion. The Party also refuted the criticism that the Centre has not done much for development of the State.

Hari Babu said that in a meeting held on Thursday, two major issues --- the revenue deficit the state had inherited at the time of bifurcation and the implementation of special package -- have been sorted out and concerns over other proposed projects and institutions were also addressed

The Centre will bear all revenue deficit for the entire period of the 14th finance commission and a total of Rs 22,113 crores will be paid to Andhra Pradesh as grant for the five- year period

The Centre has released a sum of Rs 1,269 crore to AP under different heads in the last few days with the gross grant including Rs 417.44 crore for the Polavaram multipurpose project, one of the contentious issues between the allies TDP and BJP, he said.

TDP MPs, along with YSR Congress, in both Houses of Parliament have been protesting for the last few days demanding implementation of all promises made by the NDA government under the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

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Bravo India! Government Says Country Cannot Become Refugee Capital of World

The central government has taken a very bold stance that must be applauded by every right thinking citizen. The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it does not want the country to become the refugee capital of the world.

  Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told this to a bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which was hearing a fresh plea by two Rohingya refugees alleging that the BSF was using chili and stun grenades to stop the refugees from entering India.

The ASG said he needed time to respond to the allegations made by the refugees. He, however, said not everyone can be allowed to cross the border and these matters are best left to the government to decide.

The lawyer appearing for the refugees said the government must be prevented from stopping more Rohingyas from entering India because of the persecution faced by them in Myanmar. The court gave the Centre time till the 7th of March to respond to the fresh plea.

The Rohingya crisis has sparked a debate in the country for a time and has occupied central space in the national debate from time to time. There are two groups in India – one that see Rohingyas as "refugees” and another as “illegal infiltrators". A majority opinion inclines towards the view that Rohingya Muslims are certainly not entitled to the refugee status.

For one, India is an extremely densely populated country and it doesn't need more people. . India has accepted Tibetan refugees because Tibet was occupied by China. Besides, there was a humanitarian and cultural basis to what we did. Rohingyas cannot claim any such affinity.

The Indian government has already termed them as illegal immigrants who "will be deported". It is true that some organizations, mainly human rights bodies, are raising pith in the name of humanitarian cause about the planned deportation of Rohingyas from India. But it is because they want to appear politically correct in the world. The arrival of Rohingyas carry a concern with them that there are terrorists hiding in that big pool of people. Besides, India is not signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention therefore it is not obliged to accept them.

The government of India must be lauded as it has maintained its stand that the "issue of national security is involved with regard to illegal immigration which our country cannot undermine". The government had on August 9 told Parliament that more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, stay in India. However, aid agencies estimate there are about 40,000 Rohingyas in the country.

Illegal immigrants cannot claim fundamental rights which are otherwise available even to non-citizens, the Centre had told the Supreme Court early this month in its fresh response to the PIL of two Rohingya refugees challenging their deportation to Myanmar.

The National Human Rights Commission had in August issued a notice to the Centre, saying "India has been home to refugees, for centuries" and from the human rights angle, its "intervention is appropriate" in the matter.

The latest stand of the government has to be seen in this light.

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Aadhaar Data Breach: Much Ado About Nothing

Yet another news turned out to be false. The Unique Identification Authority of India has denied the media reports that said that for 500 rupees one could have access to billion Aadhaar details. UIDAI has called it a case of misreporting and assured that there has not been any data breach.

The explanation may help put to rest the fears among people and nay-sayers on Aadhaar. There were reports of Aadhaar details being made available on payment of as low as Rs. 500. Some anonymous sellers were offering unrestricted access to Aadhaar details for 500 rupees over WhatsApp, the report said.

The UIDAI has said that the reported case appears to be instance of misuse of the grievance redressal search facility and assured that it maintains complete log and traceability of the facility and any misuse can be traced and appropriate action taken.

The grievance redressal search facility gives only limited access to name and other details and has no access to biometric details, it insists. According to UIDAI, the Aadhaar data including biometric information is fully safe and secure. 

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In Every Bandh, Public Property Bears Brunt

As the day comes to en end, a shut-down across Maharashtra called by Dalit leaders to protest the violence during the bicentennial celebration of the Bhima-Koregaon battle, the public property became main target of the miscreants. City and outstatation buses were again damaged in Mumbai and Pune.

In Mumbai, 47 buses of the civic transport service 'BEST' were damaged by protesters in Kalanagar area (Bandra), Dharavi, Kamraj Nagar, Santosh Nagar, Dindoshi and Hanuman Nagar, an official from the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told. In Pune, the number was as high as 55 where Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) buses were damaged, informed PMPML chief Tukaram Munde.
Both the cities witnessed a major disruption of road traffic owing to protests. Offices too witnessed low attendance, as employees stayed away from work fearing violence.
Though the state government did not declare a school holiday, many parents chose not to send children to school. District Collectors at many places declared holiday in their jurisdiction.

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EVMs : The Liberals Are a Loser Lot

Ever since the results for the Uttar Pradesh and four other states were announced, the liberal camp has gone hysterical against the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The EVMs were introduced in India in 2003 and since then, en number of governments have been removed or voted back in power - all with EVMs. At the central level alone, Vajpayee government lost the power in 2004 while Congress-led UPA retained and lost the power each once. It is true that Lal Krishna Advani protested against EVMs in 2009 and asked them to be removed. But wait, who was the adviser of Advani in 2009?
Sudhindra Kulkarni, the same commie Left Rasputin on whose insistence Advani toured Pakistan and made that unfortunate statement praising Jinnah. That brought doom on poor leader's career who had spent decades in serving BJP - nay, the party is seeing today's glory thanks to his untiring crusades against the pseudo-seculars (actually it was he who minted and popularized the term). The point is, in Kulkarni's company, Advani became a loser and cribbed against everything that went against him - a characteristic trait of the liberal imposters; they are always okay with anything until it goes in their stride. Not surprisinly, Advani cribbed even when Narendra Modi was given charge of leading BJP's campaign in 2014 and thereafter too.
When Advani made these allegations against EVMs, the Election Commission of India had put up 100 EVMs in open and challenged all to demonstrate how they could be hacked. Obviously, nobody took up the challenge. It was easier to shoot in the dark and play victim than prove the credentials of one's allegations. However, the issue was meaty enough for some souls to feast on it. Subramanian Swamy, a perpetual litigation-monger, took up the issue. He went to Supreme Court to seek relief with Lady of Irony standing smilingly behind him as hardly anybody remembered him standing in electoral fray ever and winning with a large vote share or say - losing with a thin margin.
Now, the crucial part. The SC, after pondering over the matter and giving due hearings, ordered that EVMs should be supplemented with the printed receipt of the vote being given. The court never said that EVMs were vulnerable or that they were useless. Like Kulkarni and his Red tribe, the entire spectrum of liberal ideology is bereft of any real liberalism or progressivism. This ilk is sustained on an inherited legacy of struggle, strife and sanity. The sustenance on which they survived till now is exhausting very fast and as they say, shallow water is always noisier.
That is why while crying hoarse about the fallibility of EVMs in UP and Uttarakhand, they forget that three states have thrown up results that sounded music to their ears. One only hopes all the best to the selective color-blindness of the liberals because that is the sure shot remedy of their removal.

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Maharashtra BJP Demands Expulsion of Home Minister R R Patil

The Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday demanded the expulsion of state’s Home Minister R. R. Patil for his failure in controlling the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The party also expressed its support for the ordinance issued by the state government for anti-superstition law with one condition.

Devendra Phadnavis, state president of BJP, informed the media about the resolutions passed in the Executive meeting which concluded on Wednesday. Citing the incidents of murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar and rape in Mumbai Nasik and Pune, he said, “The resolution asked the expulsion of Patil because he would neither move out himself or will not be removed. The transfers of police officials are pending for because NCP and Congress want their own favorable officers in plum places. The file is pending with Chief Minister for over two months. The Maharashtra has lowest rate of conviction in crimes, 9.5%, in the country. Even the naxalism is on the rise and Patil has done nothing in five years ever since he assumed the guardianship of naxal-affected Gadchiroli district.”

Pointing to an incident in the Bhandara district where three OBC girls from same family were raped and murdered six months ago, he said, “The government does not care about the poor and disadvantaged people. How would they feel the pain of these OBC family?”

Prime Minister Can't Expect Us to be His Cheerleaders

Phadnavis said that BJP had supported the anti-superstition bill back in 2005 and had warned of the legal defects in it. The government was not serious to bring it in the legislature or pass it. “We had many meetings with late Dabholkar and Shyam Manav (another activist pressing for the bill) and had asked that the article 2 in the ordinance, which stipulates action against anybody exploiting someone in the name of miracles, to be clarified. We said that if third party complaints are allowed in this article, it will lead to blackmailing. This is the only condition which we had put. Also, we want that Warkari sect should be consulted in this regard and we are even ready to do something in it.”

On the issue of funding to Madarassas in the state, as decided by the state government on Tuesday, he said, “Reducing the assistance to Hindi and Marathi schools and giving it to madarassas is wrong. I would like to ask the government whether it would ensure that no religious education is given and only modern education is given in the madarassas if they are to be given subsidy by the government.

Phadanvis also said that senior leaders Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari had chalked out the strategy of focusing on booth level and had said that minimum ten workers are to be prepared at the booth level. About 84 thousand booths have been identified all over the state and they are to be targeted in view of the impending Lok Sabha elections. The meet was attended by about 666 workers of the party. Earlier in the session, Maharashtra in charge of the party Rajiv Pratap Rudy, former national president Nitin Gadkari and deputy leader of party in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde addressed the workers.

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Can LPG Diversion Stop in India?

The government of India has embarked upon an ambitious project to check the pilfering of the LPG cylinders, a major component of the domestic fuel in the country. Recently, S. Jaipal Reddy, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, launched a unique initiative - the 'LPG Portal' - that will host data on the last mile delivery of domestic LPG cylinders, supplied by PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to nearly 10.4 millions households in the country. This is expected to curb the black marketing of the LPG cylinders.

The LPG Transparency portal can be accessed through the official website of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas : www.petroleum.nic.in. It can be also be accessed through the websites of oil marketing companies Indian Oil (www.indane.co.in); Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (www.ebharatgas.com) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (www.hindustanpetroleum.com).

For decades, the Indian OMCs supplied the cylinders to consumers at their doorsteps. Since the advent of economic liberalization in the country, this scenario changed with the demand for LPG cylinders by commercial establishments like eateries, hotels etc. Some cylinders even were fitted in the four wheelers. It was but natural that this surge in demand was fulfilled with diverting the LPG cylinders meant for domestic consumers to commercial customers.

In late 1990s, the government came up with idea to separate both cylinders and having color coding to identify the cylinders for each segment. However, given the level of corruption in supply cycle and absence of effective vigilance mechanism, that scheme has produced minor results when compared to the total volume of diversion.

The potal allows the consumers to know their individual pattern of LPG usage, LPG booking status, LPG refill history or request for surrender of their connection, highest consumption consumers, subsidy availed etc. The information on the portal can also be sorted by consumer number, consumer name and by distributors' name easily.

The government has expressed hope that this measure will emerge as a powerful tool for social audit for all domestic LPG supplies. This portal not only benefits consumers but is also a unique resource for civil society to access LPG distribution information, report discrepancies and register their feedback on the anomalies in supply, if any, an official release said.

Minister Reddy said at the occasion, "OMC's have been making efforts to increase coverage of LPG so that it is available in all parts of the country. However, the high prices and volatility experienced in the prices of LPG and our high dependency on imports of LPG makes it very challenging to maintain the supply of LPG to the customers at the subsidized price. The three Oil Marketing Companies supply over 32 lakhs cylinders per day and are expected to incur a subsidy burden of Rs.43,000 crore this year. Thus the need to curb unauthorized usage of LPG for commercial purposes has become acute in the recent times."

This is just one of the schemes launched by the government to curb the unauthorized use of LPG cylinders. For example, in Pune (Maharashtra), Mysore (Karnataka) and Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), the HPCL has launched a scheme wherein the finger prints of the consumers are registered. Similarly, IOC has decided to provide Unique Identification Numbers to the consumers. For this, the companies have joined hands with UID authority also. As per the plan, the delivery men of the company will check the finger prints of the end consumer before delivering the cylinders. These prints will be stored on the servers of the company.

In April 2012, R. P. N. Singh, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, informed the Lok Sabha that till April 1, OMCs had blocked 8,89,267 LPG connections of Piped Natural Gas consumers, in an effort to stop diversion of subsidized domestic LPG. PNG connections are provided to households in cities having City Gas Distribution projects to supply natural gas as cooking fuel. He also informed that the Government has enacted "Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000" and formulated "Marketing Discipline Guidelines, 2001" which provides for penal action against LPG distributors indulging in diversion/black marketing of LPG.

However, these measures have failed to throw up the expected results. During 2010 alone, OMCs had taken action in 140 established cases in the country for release of benami/bogus LPG connection

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We, The Indians, Need This

German voters are more and more inclining towards those political parties which favour more internet freedom. With the present United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi pressing for bringing more restrictions on internet use, we also need to adopt this trend.

Internet freedom becomes German political catalyst 

As per this report, Germany's Pirate Party, a party devoted to Internet freedom, gained backing in a weekly poll that showed it siphoning off support from opposition parties. The Pirates climbed 1 percentage point to 13 percent, displacing the Green Party, which slid 2 points to 11 percent, as the most popular force after the two main parties, according to a Forsa poll commissioned by Stern-RTL. 

The Pirates, whose platform focuses on web privacy and copyright issues, are gaining support from young voters disenchanted with the more established parties. The emergence of the party, which won its first seats in a state parliament in Berlin last year, threatens to shuffle

"For many young people, the Greens have become stale and old," Forsa director Manfred Guellner said in a statement. "The antinuclear issue doesn't pull them in anymore."

It has been long since the idea has been floated to incorporate internet in the list of basic human rights. But the leaders of Congress party, which is heading the UPA government and which claims the legacy of more than 100 years, are showing hysteric tendencies over the critical comments made on social networking sites and blogs. If the voters chose to give credence to leaders for more internet freedom, the scenario may change in the country. 

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Mark Of A Controversy

The jewellery professionals in the city are now up into arms agaisnt a recent directive by the central government to make the hallmark certification mandatory. The professionals have termed this order as an impractical one and say that it will create more problems for the sarafi pedhis.

The Union Cabinet had decided in January that all the gold jewelleries sold in the country should bear the Hallmark stamp. Apparently, the decision was taken to ensure the quality and authenticity of the gold jewelleries. A large part of the jewellery sold in the country carries this stamp already but it was a voluntary step and not the mandatory one.

However, the decision has not gone down well among the jewellers. Fattechand Ranka, president of the Pune Saraf Association, told Pune Mirror, “At the moment, there are not enough Hallmark centres. To get the Hallmark stamp means that jewellers from far off places will have to put off their business for at least four hours a day. Also, carrying the jewellery will pose danger to the person.”

The Jewellers are also dissatisfied with the provision that if the jewellery is found faulty even after the Hallmarking, then the responsibility will have to be carried by jeweller himself rather than the Hallmarking centre.

Ranka said, “We have given a presentation to the Union government in this regard. We have requested to set up more centres and clear these shortfalls. It has not come up with the draft of the law. If the law is enacted in the current form, then we will have no other option but to go to court.”

The Hallmarking of the gold and silver jewellery is done in India by the Bureau of Indian Standards, under the Consumer Affairs Ministry. 
The mandatory Hallmarking oof gold jewelleries, among others, will be implemented once the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986, bill will be amended.

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After Chavan, Who?

Ashok Shankarrao Chavan is unarguably in the midst of worst crisis of his tenure as the chief minister of Maharashtra. The political pundits have already written his government’s obituary. It is only an impending visit of US president Barack Obama that has helped his survive at least for a week. The Indian National Congress cannot change the Maharashtra CM just before the US president’s visit to Mumbai, where the latter is to visit Hotel Taj.

What a coincidence it is, that it was political developments after the devastation of Taj that Chavan was catapulted to his present post. Till then, he kept a low profile in the state cabinet and working as minister of revenue, cultural affairs among other departments. When 26/11 happened, then CM Vilasrao Deshmukh showed lack of regard to the heightened sentiments of the common people and had to go when, in a utter disregard of political correctness, he visited Taj along with film producer Ram Gopal Verma.

Now, the same Taj has helped him retain in the chair at least for a week and there are slight indications that he may manage to evade the axe. The Congress has little choice in Maharashtra to replace Chavan. All the contenders of the post have inherent deficiencies, which can hardly be overlooked. For example, Narayan Rane, who has seldom hidden his aspirations for the post and went on the launch a little rebel against high command in New Delhi when denied the chance last time, was a strong candidate. But the timing of Chavan’s crisis went against him since he is already embroiled in controversy of land grabbing in Mahabaleshwar.

Rane is alleged to have helped his wife buy a plot in Mahabaleshwar, which falls under green zone. The recent controversy involving his son, Nitesh, is too fresh in the public memory. Nitesh was alleged to have fired gun shots at Chintu Shaikh, his former aide in Swabhiman Sanghatana. Rane had a hard time defending his and Ritesh’s position in case then. It was only when home department under R. R. Patil of Nationalist Congress Party gave a clean chit to Nitesh that the issue died down. But with allegation flying so fast, it is next to impossible for Congress to install Rane in Chavan’s chair. After all, what is the use of removing one tainted CM for another tainted one?

The same is the case with other contenders. Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar Shinde, both former ministers and now union ministers, figure in the Adarsh Society scandal. Their name is automatically deleted from the list of possible CMs. Also in Shinde’s case, the situation becomes more at odd since his daughter, Praniti, is sitting MLA. Beyond them, the Maharashtra Congress has no real leader to reach to state audience. In this critical situation, the party would not like to install someone like Patangrao Kadam, known for his sharp tongue and rustic manners.

Fortunately for Congress, the seat arithmetic is in its favour. Therefore, it has little to worry about the nuisance from his alliance partner NCP. Previously, NCP had claimed CM’s chair many a times, since it had more MLAs. However, in the last election, the tide turned to Congress side and it has got an upper hand. This has silenced the Sharad Pawar-led party, effectively putting the onus of appointing new leader on Congress only.

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Bad Voyage For ST Buses

The hike in fares of State Transport buses has come as a real shocker in Maharashtra. The ST buses, marked by their red colour, are considered as common man’s vehicle for inter-city transport. The ST corporation, which manages the passenger transport in state, has introduced new fares from this month. Obviously, the public which was already reeling under the weight of inflation, has to bear additional burden, detrimental to the economy of the state. In all possibility, it might encourage illegal and worse, dangerous clandestine transport by private vehicles. It is a known fact that ST buses reach out to the most far away villages and hamlets in state, which are hitherto never approached by any other public transport utility.

The fares have been hiked by four per cent especially at a bad time. This is festival season in Maharashtra. The Ganesh festival has just concluded but Navratri, Dasara and Diwali are in the queue. The demand for oil, vegetables, cooking gas and other commodities touch a new high in this time. This is second fare hike of buses within six months. With this, the Maharashtra State Transport Corporation has become costliest public transport utility in India.

It might be interesting to see why ST buses have to undergo the hike in fares each time there is a hike in fuel prices, alienating its loyal passengers. The biggest detriment for the buses proves to be toll collection at booths, which is in place for a decade now. The government vehicles, including that of legislators, parliamentarians etc., are exempted from the toll charges. The same concession is not given to ST buses who have to shell out about Rs 200 Crores as toll charges on all roads in the Maharashtra. Then, the corporation pays Rs 700 per year to state government in the form of passenger tax.

About 40 per cent of ST corporation’s revenue is spent on paying salaries and conveyances of its staff. Another major portion is spent on purchase of fuels. Since the government of India has deregularised petroleum prices, the fluctuation in prices have become a routine affair. Another bane prove to be large number of concessions offered to passengers. The accredited journalists get 100 per cent rebate while senior citizens get 50 per cent off on ticket prices. Students are given likewise passes for monthly travel. Since majority of passengers, who are supposed to pay regular prices, prefer private buses, trains or own vehicles, the revenues have seen downward trend. Even when the revenue went up thanks to the hiked prices, profit margin of the corporation has never reached satisfactory level in the last two decades.

In this situation, it is really sad that the ST corporation choses to increase the burden on passengers instead of thinking of novel ways to pile up its revenues.

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The Shocking Announcement …In More Sense Than One

On the eve of the Ganesh festival in Maharashtra, the police, Chief Minister and media all have come with this 'shocking' announcement…that two terrorists are roaming in the street and cause havoc. Now in a state where a history-sheeter with two criminal cases against his name and known links with banned outfit Students Islamic of India can roam freely for two years, it is not a news that two terrorists have arrived in Mumbai in a bid to carry out their violent plans.

Joint Police Commissioner Himanshu Roy told reporters that intelligence reports received by the police and state home department said the pair -- said to be a Bangladeshi and a Pakistani -- entered Mumbai sometime ago.

The police fear that the two may carry out attacks during the Ganesh festival, which is celebrated in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra on a grand scale.

What was more dreadful for me was the manner in which the officials went public with the information which, as has come out, seems little helping towards nabbing the terrorists. Probably the administration was buoyed by the success in arresting two main conspirators in German Bakery blast cast, as was claimed just a day ago by the same police. Now if the officials could carry out that operation with such swift and silent moves, what stopped them from doing same in this case?

Exactly what type of precaution did the officials wanted the public to take while issuing the alert to citizens in this manner. Does the administration think that their alert will be consumed only by common public and not the men whom they are searching or who have given them the shelter? If they want to create panic, they have succeeded. Alert citizens are not made through panicky notifications. They are made through the consistent efforts, which sadly lacked all through these years.

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Sorry Plight of Marathi Schools

Two separate agitations in two different cities in Maharashtra have brought to fore the sorry state of Marathi schools in the state. In an year when the state is celebrating 50 years of its formation, the government apathy is killing the language schools in favour of the English schools. The action of the government is in stark contrast to the numerous promises it has offered to public, both before and after the elections last year.

Thousands of students and teachers joined hand to protest against the closure Marathi schools on Saturday. “We have a right to learn through Marathi medium, the government can’t deny us the right to do so,” the statements written on the placards carried by students read.

The issue was first raised by Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthhi Sena, student wing of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The porganisation first objected to a Government Resolution brought out by the state government on June 19 which made running Marathi schools in the state illegal. First the government invited applications from the willing school owners for permitting the schools. When it received 9,000 applications, it conveniently allowed other schools while denying the same right to Marathi ones. Not stopping at that, it even threatened with criminal action for running schools without permission. Almost 4,000 schools all over the state are now facing the axe putting a question mark on the fate of the students.

The activists and lovers of Marathi are obviously concerned over the manner in which their schools are being sent into obscurity in a systematic manner. The Chief Minister himself and his council apparently have misplaced their priorities. In a state where 13 members of legislature have been elected on a strong linguist agenda and rejuvenation of the Marathi culture is evident everywhere, symptoms of Macaulay's mentality will be hard to digest. It comes as no surprise then that the opposition is growing stronger day by day against government policy. The state government will have to mend his ways.

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Pune Needs The Ownership Answer

The citizens of the Pune are asking a question now : Who is the owner of the Pune Municipal Corporation? The corporators elected by the voters whose credentials are always under the shadow of suspicion? The public who is supposed to be king in a democratic system? This is the questions few enlightened souls in the city are asking to the functionaries who taken upon them to unquestioningly assume all authority and skip the responsibilities involved therein.

The issue came to fore when a handful of activists filed Right to Information application and unearthed data from PMC. The data clearly showed that even though the elected public representatives do not spare any attempt to scream from their rooftops on various issues in city, the same representatives more often than not skip their duty when the moment of reckoning comes.

An application filed by Sandeep Khardekar, President of Creative Foundation and city deputy chief of Bharatiya Janata Party; Vivek Velankar, founder of Sajag Nagrik Manch; Vijay Kumbhar of Surajya Sangharsh Samiti;Jugal Rathi of PMP Pravasi Manch; Suryakant Pathak of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat and senior cartoonist Mangesh Tendulkar brought the grim picture forward. The information showed that corporators across party lines, from ruling as well as opposition benches, gave a bye to the voting on important issues as well as General Body Meeting.

The just demand by the activists and their fact-supported attack did not go down well with the political parties. Ruling Nationalist Congress Party and Congress hit back at the same activists and asked them not to meddle into their affairs. Ankush Kakde, spokesman for the NCP went on to say that, NGOs have developed the habit of targeting corporators on some issue or the other. “Citizens elect civic representatives, who are thus answerable only to the common man, and not the NGOs," was his refrain.

Aba Bagul, leader of opposition in PMC and leader of Congress as well, even went further. “NGO members should contest the civic elections and take active part in the functioning of the PMC. Only then will they know under what pressure the corporators work,” he challenged the activists. The bold statements by the political parties were hard to digest by the intelligentsia. Tendulkar, a veteran in his eighties and having experience of more than 50 years for fighting for public cause, raised the question which we have highlighted above: whose house is this anyway? According to him, ‘the time has come to ask who is the real boss here.’

The public have chosen their representatives so that they can discuss and raise the problems faced by the citizens. The representatives have not been sent their to gossip and engage in mud slinging. They were not sent to the PMC house to bargain for their ‘fare share’ of commissions in tenders issued by the civic body. The PMC has a glorious history of more than 50 years but the recent incidents have overshadowed much of that glory. One corporator (Dattatray Khade) is in jail after being convicted of murder; another one (Deepak Mankar) is facing charges of land grabbing and threatening with life. One or two another are having criminal cases pending against their names. In such a scenario, it was a welcome move on the part of some of the activists to take a bold step and unearth information. Whatever points raised till now against the corporators, they were only accusations. This time it is the data which has provided ammunition to the attack.

It will be fallacy to think that all corporators skip their duty. Far from that. Fortunately, we still have people there who care for public probity and responsibility. In this scenario, it was reassuring that corporators like Mukta Tilak and Ujjwal Keskar stood on activists’ side and rapped the parties. However, it has every possibility that this verbal duel might take turn of mud slinging. Before that happens, Pune needs this answer: whose house is this?

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