Labour laws need to be reformed for more employment

The Government of Rajasthan has taken a bold decision to amend the labour laws. The state government has initiated steps to change three central labour laws- Industrial Disputes Act, Contract Act and the Factories Act -to unshackle them from the stringent requirement of their compliance. If at all, the Industrial Disputes Act is reformed then the companies will be allowed to retrench up to 300 hundred employees without seeking government permission, which is next to impossible to get. At present, it is restricted to 100 employees. The Contract Labour Act, which once passed, will be applicable to companies with more then 50 workers instead of the current 20 workers at present. Similarly the changed in the Factories Act will be applicable to factory premises with workforce of up to 40, which is currently 20, and without power supply to premises with 20 workers, which is at present 10. Lot of criticism is coming from almost all trade unions including the Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh, which is an outfit of the Bhartiya Janata Party. The opposition from the CPI’s, All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and CPI (M)’s, Central Industrial Trade Union (CITU) is on the expected lines. The labour wing of the Congress i.e. the Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC) has also opposed the purposed amendment being mooted by the Vasundhara Raje Government.

As a matter of fact, the need to change most of the labour laws are long overdue many of the laws were enacted in the beginning years after independence and they have, undoubtedly, become outdated. There are 45 central laws on labour and nearly 200 hundred state laws. The procedures to be adopted for the compliance of these laws are nothing less than nightmares for the industrialists. Six lacs labour disputes of more than ten years old are pending in the labour courts. The long-standing disputes in the courts have only harmed the interests of the employees because it is very difficult for them to sustain inordinately long periods of unemployment or under employment.

There has hardly been any significant job creation in the last two decades. This is a fact, which has been accepted by everybody including the government. Why there have not been many jobs in the last two decades. Young boys and girls, even if they are well qualified and skilled, find it very difficult to find the remunerative jobs with satisfactory working conditions. Most of our boys and girls are working in highly dissatisfactory working conditions where the exploitation is the rule of the day. There is no doubt that whatever jobs we have today, most of them are contract based.Contractors often cross the limit of exploitation of the employees. We all know the reality, politicians know the reality, and employees know the reality because only the bearer knows where the shoe pinches. Employers gleefully indulge into the large-scale exploitation in connivance with the labour department officials. Then why do we not come face to face with the reality? Why do we look at other way and avoid looking at the problems as they are? Exploitation is going on in the most devious and sinister manner and our governments hardly taken any steps to control it.

In this backdrop, the initiatives taken by the Rajasthan Government are welcome. Rajasthan will show the way to other states and the BJP Government in the Centre will do well by not creating any obstacles in the way. It may be noted here that it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Government, which had setup the Second Labour Commission under the chairmanship of  former Labour Minister of India, Ravindra Verma and after extensive study in India and abroad he had submitted the report in two bulky volumes to the then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, in 2004, his government was voted out of power and in the last ten years there was a complete silence on the issue the reforms of the labour laws. Since labour laws fall under concurrent list of Constitution of India, the Rajasthan Government is within its constitutional rights to take this lead. Once the assembly passes it, it will have to be sent to the President of India through the Governor of the State for his assent.

Needless to say, most of the industrialists from India and abroad have been feeling discouraged to make in large-scale investment in India because of archaic labour laws. It may be recalled here that long back when Ram Bilas Paswan was the Communication Minister he had given the telephone facility to all linemen at their residences. Most of the people raised objection to it on the ground that it would put extra burden on the government. However, Shri Paswan gave an apt reply to his critics, which is still relevant. He said that in any case linemen never make telephone calls to anybody on payment. They use government telephones during office hours. Consequently, the work suffers and no monetary profit comes to the kitty of the government. Then why should there be the hypocrisy of not providing telephone facility to linemen at there residences? Similarly, in the labour sector we find that, the employees are appointed on the contract basis and, that too, on very low payment. Then why should not the Contract Labour Act should be made flexible to safeguard the interests of employees. Industrial Disputes Act in the present form has killed many industries and has rendered huge number of employees to unemployment. So, why can’t it be amended to make it employment friendly? Likewise, we find that in small factories Labour Inspectors make money by accepting bribes from the employers and allow the exploitation of the employees go unabated. Therefore, it does not appeal to reason why the Factories Act should not be reformed to stop the corruption of the Inspectors. This will provide freedom to the employees and employers to bargain for higher wages and facilities. According to a report published in some of the newspapers the Raje Government has promised to generate employment for millions of young and able boys and girls in the next five years, if this aim is achieved it will be laudable.

The need of hour is to create employment with dignity to youngsters and reasonable freedom to employers. This initiative will certainly go long way in solving the problems of unemployment. It is expected that other state government will also follow suit and will not be swayed by the statements of trade unions and opposition parties.

Murders most foul in Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh must go

The gruesome murder after rape of two teenage girls in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh sends shock waves  across the country  and beyond .Any human being will shudder with the repulsion over the ghastly manner in which the two innocent girls were firstly raped and then strangulated to death . As if it was not enough ,the beasts were emboldened to hang those hapless victims to the branches of a mango tree. Their dead bodies were found hanging by their family members.What is most shocking is that when the parents of those girls approached the police to search their daughters, the policemen told them that they could get their bodies after two hours hanging to a tree. The police in the dispensation of Akhilesh Yadav could have become so insensitive was unimaginable. Instead of commiserating and sympathizing with the family members and immediately swinging into action they showed the utter irresponsibility and criminality in discharging their duties. 

 The Ahiklesh Yadav government has not only failed but it has shamed the state, the country and the entire humanity by its misdeeds and inactions. This government has done nothing for the people of state to alleviate their sufferings but it has certainly drowned itself in the deep vale of shame , which has further added insult to injury of the people by the stupid , heartless and mindless utterances of the Chief Minister and his family members.The Samajwadi Party, which has now become a rump  after the recent Lok Sabha elections and is confined to only the family of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav has lost trust of all sections of the society. 

It may not the out of place to mention that during the recent Lok Sabha elections Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav defended the rapists and goondas by one of his idiotic and preposterous speeches in which he had said that “boys will be boys. They will be committing mistakes. Even if they have committed the mistake of raping a girl, they cannot be put to gallows.” This is the clear mirror of the criminal mentality of a person who has unfortunately been the Chief Minister of a largest state of the country for three times. He also happened to be the Defence Minister of India for a short time. Responsibility, restraint and moderation is not the virtue of Mulayam Singh Yadav, his family members or even of the top leadership of his party. They do not know as to what they speak because they are intoxicated with power. These lumpens came to power not because of any leadership qualities or any ideological zeal but because of the narrow castiest and communal politics. Everybody knows how Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members have sucked the state white and amassed wealth by diverting the state funds, arm twisting ,extortion and and bribe taking. 

Regrettably,this young Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ahkilesh Yadav has crossed all limits of puerility. When media persons asked him  why the state was not taking care of the safety and security of the people? He shot back on the reporter that have you also been attacked? When the media person replied in negative then the Chief Minister fatuously said, thank you. Can it be the behaviour of a Chief Minister in senses? Most certainly NOT. It will be an understatement that the Chief Minister has failed to govern the state and if he has left any sense of self-respect and conscience, he should resign from his post and go for sel-introspection.

 The funny behaviour of his other family members and top leaders of his party further mercilessly rubs salt on the injuries of the people. His two other infamous uncles -Shiv Pal Yadav, who is a minister in Uttar Pradesh and Ram Gopal Yadav, who is a Rajya Sabha member have also defended the rapist and goondas. No amount of logic or persuasion can help these people to see the reason because they have blind with power. Shri Ram Gopal Yadav has blamed the media for the anarchy and law and order problem in the state. He unabashedly said that normally in such cases boys and girls fall in love with each other and when something goes wrong in their relationships then the girls give the colour of rape. 

Nothing can be farther from the truth than the senseless and shameless statement by this leader about the spine-chilling incidences of rapes and murders. The other leaders of the party like Shiv Pal Singh Yadav and Mohd. Azam Khan do not lag behind in passing the senseless comments. It appears that there is a competition in the Samajvadi Party to make silly statements and steal the limelight for all wrong reasons. It appears as if that even small time leaders of the party are vying with each other to make statements which please to their party bosses. 

 Uttar Pradesh is a cursed state. Sometimes dacoits make the hay while the sun of the politicians shines . Other times the general public is harassed by the goons and agents of two political parties namely; the BSP of Mayawati and the SP of Mulayam Singh . The story of these leaders is that of rags to riches. These leaders ,who were not in position to afford a bicycle when they started their political careers but now they have become the masters of thousands of crores of rupees in a span of less then twenty five years. These leaders, although, have been professing for Socialism and Dalit cause but in actual politics they have always played the politics of caste and creed coupled with insatiable greed to remain in power. 

The trends of the recent Lok Sabha elections have pleasantly and surprisingly dismantled all the cobwebs of castes and creeds, so assiduously built by the selfish and myopic leaders,be they from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party or even the Congress Party. The emergence of the Narendra Modi by shaking and destroying the caste and creed equations to become the tallest leader of the country is, no doubt,a happy development. But in the meantime Akhilesh must go lock, stock and barrel at least for some years.

Electoral Battle in Four Key Constituencies of East UP

Varanasi, Rae Bareli Azamgarh and Amethi are the four important parliamentary seats fall in Easter Uttar Pradesh. These constituencies have become important; not because they are anyway different from other constituencies of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. They have become important because four important leaders of the country namely; Mr. Narendra Modi, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Mr. Rahul Gandhi have been contesting election from these seats. Mr. Narendra  Modi has jumped for the first time in the parliamentary election from Varanasi. He has electrified the election campaign not only in Varanasi but also in most of the constituencies of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Although Modi wave is sweeping across the country, yet its effect is being felt with a greater intensity in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In fact, the very purpose of Mr. Modi to contest election from Varanasi is to send a signal that Uttar Pradesh will again get the honor of having the Prime Minster of India from Uttar Pradesh.

On the another hand it is an accepted fact that if the Congress led UPA is again voted to power Mr. Rahul Gandhi will certainly become the Prime Minister. Sonia Gandhi being the President of the oldest party, the Congress party, will continue to enjoy the place of honor in the country. Similarly, when Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav has thrown himself in the electoral fray from Azamgarh with the intention was to retain most of the seats in Uttar Pradesh. His Samajwadi Party is in power for the last more than two years after throwing the Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati out of power. Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav has himself held many important posts like; three times Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and former Defense Minister of India. His performance as the Chief Minister or the Defense Minister of India has been lackluster. He is bereft any vision for the development or even to the modern ideas but he is certainly apragmatic politician. He is rather known for following the outdated philosophy as practiced and preached by the late Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. His socialistic thoughts boil down to casteism. It may be said that he has neither any depth in economics and political science nor any sparks or brilliance of administration. Mulayam Singh and most of his followers owe their rise in politics to pure casteism and uncouth behavior in public life. He has passed on his baton to his son Akhilesh Yadav who is an utterly hopeless man, more known as a nincompoop than the bubbling energetic or dynamic Chief Minister of the biggest state of India, which is bigger than most of the European countries.

Mulayam Singh Yadav is again pinning his hope to win the election because of caste and the equation of Muslim Yadav. However, this time the BSP, his main rival party in Uttar Pradesh has fielded Mr. Shah Alam who is also known as Guddu Zamali against Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav in Azamgarh. Therefore, there is no possibility of his getting the support of the bulk of the Muslim community.

Mr. Guddu Zamali’s story has been of rages to reaches. This man was doing some petty job in Mumbai but he earned good amount of money by foul means. He got ticket of the BSP by sheer dint of money to contest assembly election and was elected. Developed proximity with Mayawati and even became a minister in her government. It became the gateway to earn huge amount of money. He is said to be the business partner of the brother of Ms Mayawati. He has good control over the Muslims of Azamgarh because he has been generously contributing to fundamentalist Muslim organisations and Madarsas of entire Uttar Pradesh. He is also big developer and the chairperson of Poorvanchal Group. He has filed an affidavit before the Election Officer of Azamgarh claim to have the asset of more than 400 crores.

The third candidate from Azamgarh is Mr. Rama Kant Yadav who is also a sitting Lok Sabha Member of BJP from Azamgarh. He too does not have any respectable record of a social worker his history is full of gunda activities many innocent citizens and officers posted in the district must have suffered because of his antisocial activities. The Congress candidate is insignificant and he is not going to cut any ice. Therefore, the fight in Azamgarh is bound to be triangular.

Yadavas are a dominant caste in Azamgarh. However, they appear to be divided between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rama Kant Yadav. If Mulayam Singh Yadav had not thrown himself into the electoral ring, most of the Yadav votes must have gone to Mr. Rama Kant Yadav. Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav would certainly be able to get a good chunk of Yadav and Muslim votes but if Muslims go for tactical voting and show their inclination towards Shah Alam @ Guddu Zamali, then the situation of Mulayam Singh Yadav will become precarious.

Mr. Rama Kant Yadav of BJP has the advantage of being a local person. He has won many elections on the ticket of different parties like; Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party and BJP. This time he has got an added advantage of Modi wave. If he is able to get the sizable number of Yadav votes, then he is assured of getting the Brahmi, Bhumihar, Rajput, Baniya and backward caste votes consisting of Sonkars, Kumhars, Naies, Rajbhars etc. No wonder he may emerge as the winner. Moreover, if he trounces Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav then he will be known as the giant killer.

Mr. Shah Alam @ Guddu Zamali may not get all the votes of his own Muslim community but he can certainly rest upon the votes of the scheduled castes. Ms Mayawati, in fact, has the unbelievable grip over the scheduled castes and they constitute more than 22% votes of Uttar Pradesh. In Azamgarh their number may be higher than the average of Uttar Pradesh. Thus, Mr. Guddu Zamali is giving a very tough fight to Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr. Rama Kant Yadav.

When Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav filed his nomination from Azamgarh, there was euphoria in the Samajwadi Party and it was said that his victory was forgone conclusion. However, as the time has passed by, the situation has become rather clear and if anybody is going to win the election from Azamgarh among from these three candidates, the margin of victory will not be very high. But if Mulayam Singh Yadav loses the election then it will be very heavy set back to him and his party. His party will hardly have the moral right to rule in Uttar Pradesh and his son may have to lose his Chief- Ministership. There is a rumour that if Samajwadi Party does not fair well in the Lok Sabha elections he may assume the post of the Chief Minister replacing his son, who was foisted upon the State of Uttar Pradesh.

As far as the Varanasi is concerned, there is hardly any doubt about the decisive victory of Mr. Narendra  Modi. Varanasi is the new name of the old Kashi and Banaras of the yester years. There are few cities in India, which have many names, and Varanasi is one of them. If you go to Banaras Hindu University, you fill find that in Devnagri script the name of the University is written as Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya. Kashi is immortalized for many things but the foremost among them all is that it is a place of Lord Vishwanath. It is also known as Nagari (city) of Baba Vishwanath. It is said to be the capital of Bhagwan Shankar. Here the river Ganges flows in the shape of the crescent moon. Holy Ganga has originated from the tangled tuft of Lord Shiva; and the crescent moon shines on His head and that is why; the Ganges has obtained the highest respect in Varanasi. Lacs of people take holy dip in the sacred river Ganga round the year. Thousands of old men and women come to Banaras and live there to die. They wait for their death because the belief is that a person who dies in Kashi will straightway go to heaven. Death in Kashi is guarantee to Swarga.  Those who do not die in Varanasi they certainly like to be cremated at Manikarnika Ghat of Banaras. They feel that the cremation at Manikarna Ghat will provide a confirmed in the heaven. Still more who have not been lucky to be cremated in Kashi, they wish that their ashes should be immersed in the holy waters of river Ganga at Varanasi, which will also enable them to get the heaven.

Only two decades ago, Banaras had the rare distinction of being a city with three Universities namely; Banaras Hindu University, Kashi Vidya Peeth and Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, the veteran freedom fighter and Hindu philosopher was the founder of the Banaras Hindu University. He afforded the rare opportunity to Mahatma Gandhi to share the dias with Viceroy of India at the time of laying of foundation stone of Banaras Hindu University. The meeting was presided over by no less a person than Anny Besant. Mahatama Gandhi, who was not a Mahatma till then and was still a Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi used the opportunity to the full to castigate the servile Indian rulers and the British Raj. He chastised the Rajas and Maharajas and looked at them with contempt for behaving like slaves and servants before the British rulers.

Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya’s name will be written in golden letters for relentlessly working for the spread of education in and around Varanasi. Banaras Hindu University is a unique institution in the sense that it has got nearly 100 hostels for the board and lodging of the students, male and female both. This is the one of the biggest residential universities of the world which is has got its own amphitheater, aerodrome, magnificent buildings, tree lined roads and almost all faculties of education, be it Engineering, Medical, Agriculture, Commerce, Astrology, Architecture.Almost all subjects of Humanities and Sciences are taught here. And Malviya ji ensured that this university does not remain to be meant for the regional or local students. A few decades ago one could see hundreds of students coming not only from all parts of India but from the far away countries like America, England, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka, Tibet and many African countries. Strange though it may sound but it is a fact that Malviya ji brought many Vice-chancellors like C.P. Ramaswami Iyer and Dr. Radhkrishnan as the Vice-Chancellors of the University from down south. There have been many teachers of great fame who came from the places like Assam, Bengal, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamilnadu. Brilliance and learning were the criteria for entry of brilliant persons from all over the country.

In or around the same time the great freedom fighter Babu Shiv Prasad Gupt founded Kashi Vidhya Peeth, another nationalist university. Babu Shiv Prasad Guta was also the founder of the prestigious Hindi Daily Aaj, which had to be closed down many times during the freedom straggle because it was highly critical of the British Government. Its celebrated editors included Babu Vishnu Rao Paradkar and R. R. Khandilkar, who were not from Hindi speaking area. They were Marathi speaking but their contribution to Hindi journalism was matchless. Another eminent journalist of the Aaj was Vidya Bhaskar and he was a Telugu speaking person. The Aaj newspaper provided a shape to the Hindi journalism in the initial years. Banaras is the place, which gave birth to great Hindi novelist, and story writers like; Munshi Prem Chand, Kashinath Singh, Shiv Prasad Singh and it was home to litterateurs like; Hazari Prasad Divedi, Aacharya Ramchandra Shukla, Babu Shyam Sunder Das, Ayodhya Singh Upadhayay Hariaudh and Jai Shankar Prasad. All these litterateurs have become the invaluable and glorious personalities of Hindi literature. Kashi of olden times was the centre of the learning, devotion, tantra, mantra and scholarship. People from across the world had been coming to Kashi to get the salvation and for scholarly activities. After independence persons like; Dr. Sampurnanand, Dr. Bhagwan Das, Mr. Shiv Prakash ji, Kamla Pati Tripathi, Dr. Tribhuvan Narayan Singh and Lal Bhadur Shastri represented Banaras in various capacities.

The veteran leader of the Bhartiya Janta Parti Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi has vacated the parliamentary seat from where Narendra Modi is contesting. Be that as it may, Murli Manohar Joshi has not be able to do justice to the people of Varanasi during his long stint as the Member of Parliament for ten years from 2004-2014. It will not be off the tangent to say that if he had been fielded again from the same constituency, he would have lost the election very badly. Although there are some people, who say that the new leadership but the fact is that it was a blessing in disguise for him and his prestige has been saved by shifting him from this parliamentary constituency to new parliamentary constituency Kanpur.

As far as Amethi and Rae Bareli Parliamentary, seats are concerned it can be said with good degree of certainty that these two seats will continue to be in the possession of the Gandhi family. There is virtually no contest in Rae Bareli as the main opposition party BJP has put up a candidate who is unknown. Other opposition parties have not fielded any candidate. In Amethi there will be some sparks of contests because two candidates like; Smrity Irani of BJP and Kumar Vishwas of AAP have made this election interesting because of their high profile personality. The visit of Narendra Modi has electrified the atmosphere.

Rahul Gandhi’s younger sister Priyanka Gandhi duly compensates him. She has taken up the cudgel on behalf of her brother, who is traveling across the country being the Vice-President of the Congress Party. The people of the area are deeply obliged to Rahul Gandhi because he keeps on coming over there for two days at the interval of three months. Apart from it, his father the late Rajiv Gandhi and the uncle the late Sanjay Gandhi had nursed this constituency. And that is the reason people of the area feel obliged to Gandhi family. There is therefore, hardly any doubt about his victory from Amethi.

The most important election therefore, has revolved round is Varanasi. There is an excitement all over India on the seat of Varanasi. Everybody is looking towards Varanasi. The people who were disenchanted with arrogance and non- performance of Murli Manohar Joshi have got hugely attracted towards Narendra Modi. His victory is beyond doubt. Now everybody will have to guess the margin of the victory with the nearest rival. The person who has been put up by the Congress Party is Mr. Ajay Rai, a local MLA of the Congress Party. Mr. Ajay Rai was two times BJP MLA from the same area. He switched over to Congress Party when BJP denied him the ticket. It is interesting to know that he is the younger brother of the late Krishnanand Rai, who was the BJP MLA from Varanasi. A former MLA Mr. Mukhtar Ansari murdered the late Krishnanand Rai in Varanasi allegedly. Mr. Mukhtar Ansari has floated a new party but earlier he was in the Samajwadi Party and with the Bahujan Samaj Party. This time he is contesting election from the predominantly Muslim constituency of Ghosi. It can be said to be the quirk of fate that a person who is undergoing jail for the murder of the brother of the Congress candidate in Varanasi has extended his support to the younger brother of the killed Krishnanand Rai. It is rightly said that there is no morality in the politics the only criteria is the self-interest. Politician can stoop to any level to serve his or her own interest.

Mr. Arvind Kejarival , the leader is also in the fray from Varanasi but he may  possibly be not able put up a tough fight to Modi because of many reasons. Let us see what happens.

What is happening in Uttar Pradesh?

Few days back a judge of the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court imposed a blanket penalty of Rs 25,000/- on a particular Information Activist for filing any Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the court. This is not only discriminatory but against all logic of the constitutional jurisprudence. Nobody cannot make any personal comment or attribute motives to the judge. However, I am within my rights to criticize the judgment because it falls within the public domain.

Public Interest Litigations (PILs) are filed under article 226 of the Constitution of India before the High Courts and under article 32 before the Supreme Court for enforcement of the fundamental rights. Fundamental Rights are the very core of the constitution. Speaking about the article 32 in the constituent assembly Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had said that Article 32 is the soul of the constitution. Article 226 is a corresponding article for Article 32 to be exercised by the High Courts. Therefore, both Articles stand on the same footing and if they are removed from the constitution then the entire constitution will be nothing but a dead body.

All PILs are Writs. The only difference between the PIL and the ordinary Writ is that ordinary writs can be filed only by a person who has locus standi but in PILs locus standi is dispensed with. In PILs, every citizen is supposed to be impacted with the law. Public Interest Litigation as the name suggests is in the interest of the public at large. Nevertheless to control the misuse of the Public Interest Litigations judges certainly have the discretion to impose any penalty/cost but the imposition of cost has to be reasonable, which will depend from case to case. This cost cannot be imposed in advance on any particular person. Those who file the Public Interest Litigation should also have the understanding that this is not to be converted into Private Interest Litigation or Publicity Interest Litigation.

Needless to say, that Public Interest Litigations have proved to the turning points in the constitutional history of India. The two legal luminaries and the former judges of the Supreme Court namely; V. R. Krishna Iyer and P. N. Bhagwati gave a new meaning and shape to fundamental rights through the Public Interest Litigations. Think of the situation of those under- trials who have been rotting for years in the jails of the country if the case of Hussainara Khatoon had not been decided through Public Interest Litigation. Similarly, think of the scourge of Child Labour if Bandhua Mukti Morcha case had not been decided by the Supreme Court. In the same way what would have happened to the pollution in the cities and indiscriminate mining of the natural resources by the greedy contractors, corrupt officials and politicians if number of cases on the environmental issue had not been decided upholding interests of the public. Therefore, the indiscriminate imposition of Rs. 25,000/- even before filing the Public Interest Litigation by a RTI activist Nutan Thakur is  patently erroneous and needs to be done away with. This can be rectified suo moto by the High Court as this order is per incurium.

  

Another very disturbing news which has come from Lucknow is about the arrest of an RTI activist, that too, from the chamber of the State Information Commissioner of U.P. Shri Arvind Singh Bist. Here again I would not like to comment on any individual person although Shri Arvind Singh Bist is personally known to me. He has been a veteran journalist and before joining, the post of the State Information Commissioner Shri Bist was working with leading newspaper the Times of India of Lucknow. Although, the arrest has no bearing on personally of Shri Arvind Singh Bist because he is more known to many people of Lucknow as a Senior Journalists and also as a Trade Unionist. He is also related to Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav whose son Prateek Yadav and the half brother of the UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is married to Shri Bist’s daughter. The arrest of the RTI activists Shri Ashok Kumar Goyal from the chamber of State Information Commissioner Shri Arvind Singh Bist is shocking and puts a senior and respected journalist into bad light. The RTI activist Shri Goyal has been doing a commendable job. His arrest needs to be condemned by every citizen of the country for the healthy growth of democracy. It would be better if the initiative is taken by Shri Bist himself to get the false cases quashed which have been leveled against the RTI activist.

Why Narendra Modi has emerged a strong leader!

Going by the enthusiasm of the people and the overwhelming response that Mr. Narendra Modi is getting across the country one can safely conclude that he is destined to be coronated as the next Prime Minister of India. There are quite a large number of people, who dislike Narendra Modi to the extent to hating him. Their hatred is so deep and diabolic that they cannot be convinced with any amount of logic or reasoning. Modi bashers say that he has become popular because he is being projected by some important corporate houses of the country with the help of paid media and because of the support of a cadre based organisation like the RSS. They also say that Narendra Modi is a rabid communal person and he has polarised the people of the country based on the religion, which will be detrimental of the polity of the country in the days to come.

However, they conveniently ignore and forget the fact that Narendra Modi has become immensely popular in the country not only because of the reasons being given by his adversaries but there are many more factors which has been responsible to make him what he is. Is it not a fact that most of the political parties, particularly the Congress Party, have not been indulging in the appeasement of the Muslims and treating them as vote bank? Is it not true that Congress Party and many of its allies have not perpetuated the caste politics and the cult of dynastic politics? Can anybody deny that there has been a backbreaking rise in the prices during the regime of Dr. Man Mohan Singh, which is run by the remote control of Ms Sonia Gandhi? Is it not a fact that many swindles, scandals and cases of corruption have not eaten the country to hollow during the last ten years of Congress Government?

It is a known fact, that the foreign policy of this country has no say in the comity of the nations. India is no longer respected as the strong and powerful country in the world. Even the smaller countries do not bother much about India. The relationship with the neighboring countries like; Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives has touched to its nadir. Pakistan, although a failed state and a bankrupt country, has never been friendly with India, yet it is poking its nose in the internal affairs of the country. Terrorist activities in India often take place with assistance and complicity of Pakistan. Many modules of terrorists have sprung up across India with the monetary support of Pakistan. Pakistan also works as the conduit between the Indian terrorists and terrorism exporting countries like Saudi Arabia.

These weaknesses of the Government and the Administration have left the people with no choice but to go to Mr. Narendra Modi, who has emerged as one of the strongest leaders the country has seen after independence. While all political parties are bending over backwards to  appease the minorities but here is a person who says that he will not succumb to any pressure and will remain upright to every citizen of the country regardless of caste, creed or religion without any fear or favor of anybody. That is what India needs at this time.

The political terra firma has almost become barren and that is the reason that Modi haters take the shelter behind the Gujarat riots of 2002. They shamelessly use the snoop gate or, the estranged relationship with wife against him. The fact is that in both cases the complaints have not come from the side of those who have supposedly suffered. The woman of the snoop gate has not said against Narendra Modi. His wife Yashoda Ben, who was married to him in the childhood, has no regrets for not being with Narendra Modi. She has herself said that she prays to God that he becomes the Prime Minister and serve the country in the best possible manner.  All the political adversaries of Narendra Modi have been side lined whether they are the leaders of the BJP like; L.K. Advani, Sushma Sauraj, Murli Manohar Joshi or Yashwant Singh. His opponents in the Congress Party like; Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi or Dig- Vijay Singh find themselves completely disillusioned. Man Mohan, the Prime Minister, is completely out of scene. Mulayam Singh, Mayawati, Jayalaitha, Mamta Bengerjee and Nitish Kumar have hardly any role to play.

 Arvind Kejriwal could have certainly changed the political discourse of the country if he had not been in the tearing hurry of becoming the Prime Minster of the country. In his impatience to get the power he even jettisoned his guru and mentor Anna Hazare. Anna Hazare must be credited to have changed the thought -process of the most of the people of particularly of the youngsters of the country. He was the harbinger of the hope for the young generation, which has been crumbling under the burden of corruption and unemployment. Nevertheless, this man Arvind Kejriwal drifted from path as shown by Anna Hazare. People believed him for some time but now he stands exposed. That is the reason that Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and his party has been dumped on the way side by the people of the country.

The type of response and support, which Mr. Narendra Modi received in Varanasi when he had gone to file his nomination paper, was unprecedented And that is why, we find a ray of hope and wish Narendra Modi gets absolute majority in Lok Sabha to bring about the changes that he has envisioned. May God help our country and us!

Time to rejoice over the Right to Information Act

By: Parmanand Pandey

Right to Information Act, no doubt, is one of the most revolutionary acts passed by Indian Parliament since inception after 1952. This Act was passed in 2005 after a great deal of efforts by Right Activists across the country. This Act has virtually overshadowed the much-hated Official Secret Act 1923.The Official Secret Act was brought in by the English Government to perpetuate its illegal rule in India. The demand to scrap the Official Secret Act, 1923, therefore, has been going on for quite long time.

This Official Secret Act is anachronistic with freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by the Constitution of India. This act provides for imprisonment to a person from three years to fourteen years to those found violating the Act. This Act vests with enormous empowers to those in possessions of authority. Under the official Secret Act, warrants may be issued at any time if the Magistrate feels that there is a danger to the security of the state. This provides extraordinary and arbitrary powers to the authorities. Even media persons were not spared from this draconian act. It may sound strange, but it is a fact that at a time when the satellite photographs can be taken of any place all over the world we often find the ridiculous instructions written by the senseless authorities on many palaces  saying that the ‘photography of this bridge/place/area is strictly prohibited violators will be prosecuted’. It is amazing that why the photography of a bridge should fall in the category of the official secret. This is in total contrast to the openness of the society. At a time when everything is available on the internet, the map of any place can be found through satellite on the Google map. A person sitting at the far away place from his/her house in the remote village can see and locate on the Google map. Yet if the foolish restrictions of photography are applicable on the citizens of the country, it exposes not only the insanity of the authorities but also there colossal ignorance about the march of the science and technology that has take place in the latter half of the 20^th century.

I have the satisfaction of being one of the campaigners for the Right to Information Act. I have had participated in numerous of seminars and workshops organized by the Right Activists and have expressed my feelings in those occasions. When I was the member of the Press Council of India from 1991 to 1997 I had advocated for the introduction of to Right to Information Act in the debates of the Press Council. A draft prepared by the Press Council was also sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Although, the draft was not comprehensive and needed to be amended but it was a good beginning of the Press Council of India.

The Right to Information Act is path-breaking Act in many ways. It has brought about tectonic change in the outlook and functioning of the Government apparatus. As the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Louis Brandies has said that ‘sunlight is the best disinfectant’ and he said it in the context of openness and transparency. This Act has worked as deterrent to the corrupt and irresponsible government officials. He had also said that ‘we should not only accept criticism but we should also embrace them’.

The Right to Information Act has been serving hugely for strengthening the democracy and the empowerment to the people of India. Most of us have still not forgotten that five members of Parliament were caught taking bribes for asking questions in Parliament. They were ultimately expelled on public outcry. Now there is a no need to go to any MP and MLA for asking the questions thanks only due to this epoch-making RTI Act. Every citizen has been empowered by the RTI to ask any relevant question seeking any information from any official and the official is a duty bound to provide reply to the question asked. If anybody, responsible for furnishing the reply avoids or failed to do so, will be punished and he or she may have to pay hefty penalty for withholding the information.

There has been a demand from the Right Activists for including the political parties within the ambit of the Right to Information Act. This proposal scared all political parties. There was an attempt by the Government of India to amend the Right to Information Act for keeping the political parties beyond the purview of the Right to Information Act. The amendment to keep the political parties out was even introduced in the Lok Sabha, which has happily expired today because it could not be taken up for debate and discussion in the stipulated period of six months. This is a big victory for every freedom-loving citizens of India. It is in fact a cause for good celebration. Let us rejoice it on two counts that the Right to Information Act has been left un-tinkered and that it is playing a very important role in empowerment of the people of India.

A death that often rattles the mind

Life is an enigma, a conundrum that is full of vicissitudes, triumphs and tragedies. This is not a philosophical blabbering but a self-experienced fact. There are certain things and events, which remain etched life-long on the minds. I have seen the death of my father when I was still an infant but when my mother died, I was a proud father of two children-Vinay aka Babbu and Utkarsh aka Shibbu. I am intending to write a book on my parents but the biggest handicap is that I do not possess any photograph of my father although there is one black and white photograph of my mother, that too, because of the preserving habit of my wife Nirmala. 

In fact, this morning when I got up from the bed my mind was agitated for inexplicable reasons. The face of my brother-in-law the late Ram Preet Mishra swam across my mind and made me think that life is really as transient a bubble. His death was not sudden. It came bit by bit. It was more sad and painful to those who were around him. Perhaps this is the reason that it is inscribed on my mind like a permanent scar.

It hardly needs to be said that the death of any near and dear is a jolting experience. The death of my younger brother-in-law Dhirendra Mishra two years ago was the bolt from the blue. He passed away all of a sudden at the Gorakhpur Railway station in the March 2012 in the prime of his life. He was perfectly hale and hearty, ever smiling, caring and sharing with no symptoms of any disease. When the news of his death was broken to me on the telephone, I could not believe to my ears as it fell like a ton of bricks. More than two years have elapsed but most of us have yet not reconciled to it. 

However, in less than a year another tragedy has overtaken in the death of my elder brother-in-law, Prof. R. P. Mishra. He was a gentle person incarnate, a very reticent, not very socially amiable person, mostly confined to himself but at the same time a family person. He was not only the scholar of Indian Philosophy but a deeply religious person also. Strange it may appear but he observed the religious regimen until the last day of his life. He had no such habits as can be described badly by any social norms. Nobody remembers him of playing any mischief or truant with anybody throughout his life. Very austere in living, parsimonious to the extent being irritating, he had no expensive hobbies. Simple dress, simple food, he was strictly vegetarian, teetotaler, a non-smoker. For the last six-seven years, he was inflicted with diabetes but keeping it under control by rigorous discipline in life.

At the beginning of May 2012 when I met him at Gorakhpur, he was down with mild temperature.We all thought that it was a temporary one like fevers and would be perfectly all right after taking the necessary medicines. We never knew that the temperature would prove to be fatal for his life. When his temperature did not come down for nearly a month, it rang the alarm bell for his family members. They started consulting one doctor after another but all their medicines were ineffective. Instead of improving his health, it got further deteriorated. Jyon jyon dawa ki marj badhata gaya. His family members ran from pillar to post but surprisingly even doctors, who claim to have been trained in diagnosing the ailments through modern machines could not detect the disease. This amply shows the inadequacy of medical training. Anyway, after months of the febrile body, he became extremely weak. It was a mere skeleton without flesh; almost no blood, only the bones. It was a frightening and scary sight to find him in his skin and bones.

However, after a great deal of persuasion and pressures, particularly from his cousin Virendra he moved to Delhi in August 2013 and was diagnosed for dreaded lever cancer. Even after learning about the life-consuming disease he remained the embodiment of fortitude, never betrayed the helplessness. It was an upsetting revelation. Anybody could guess the inevitable. His days were numbered. I am now left with admiration for all his family members for the courage, which they showed during the difficult times, and it included my father-in-law Dr Sabhajit Mishra, my younger son Utkarsh, my wife Nirmala, my younger brother-in-law Virendra and his wife Sadhna but two persons have left an indelible impact on me. They are Dr Mishra’s wife (She is so self-effacing that I do not know her name even) and his son Sachin. Both of them proved to be strong pillars of strength. Sachin always remained admiringly calm and composed. While others had broken down by the shattering news, he shouldered all responsibilities on himself from Rail reservation to consultation with doctors. I am amazed by the virtue of his courage. Dr Mishra was administered many shots of chemotherapy but by and by he was losing the battle against life.

 I specially got attached to him because he lived in his last days, at my very small house in Delhi without even a murmur of any inconvenience. There was hardly any space for the privacy for him but he had no complaints. He never demanded anything. His wife is, to say the least, an epitome of selfless service. Her devotion to her husband was matchless. I have yet to see any woman who is so untiring in her works and so caring for others. Nobody knew as to when she was sleeping as she got attuned herself with a cycle of her husband. Nevertheless, at the same time, she was sharing most of the works in the kitchen and attending to other members of the family. I cannot but salute to her devotion and dedication.

I have seen him dying him slowly and I can say that perhaps this is the reason that it has become an unforgettable tragedy of my life. Such instances make a man /woman to believe in destiny. Nobody knows how long one will live in this world and when in what circumstance he or she will disappear from the scene of the world because life is unpredictable. I have come to the conclusion that if somebody makes any prediction s/he is either a fool or a knave or a cheat. 

But for now, I must pray for his soul to rest in peace.