Hint of Change in President’s Speech

PRANAB MUKHARJEE, PRESIDENT OF INDIA

The President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has thrown hints for change of government albeit through a vague reference when he told the people to “…to elect a stable government which will ensure security and development” in his address to the nation on eve of 67^th Independence Day.

The President’s speech was loaded with important message if one reads between the lines of the text of his address. For instance, he mentioned about, “Widespread cynicism and disillusionment with the governance and functioning of institutions”.

It is sort of disapproval of the UPA Government for absence of governance and for undermining the institutions.  Mr Mukherjee’s ‘serious concern’ over the functioning of Parliament and Legislatures is yet another note of reprimand to the elected representatives. The President has also expressed concern over corruption. He said,” Corruption is a major challenge”.

Even a cursory look at the major scams like Common Wealth Games, 2G Spectrum, Coal etc. involving lakhs of crores of rupees is a clear indictment of the UPA Government under which all these scams took place.

For the BJP here is an opportunity to campaign for getting voted to power at the Centre. The Central leadership of the Party and the Central Campaign Committee headed by Narendra Modi should tell the people to vote for the BJP which promises to provide a stable government and promises to end the ‘corruption raj’ in the country.

It was rare occasion for the President of India who gave his mind unlike some of his predecessors who spoke about only hyped achievements of the government of the day. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee also told the people to do and work according to their conscience. Taking a leaf out of Bhagwat Gita, the President said, “Even as you choose so you do. I do not wish to impose my view on the people. I have presented to you what I think is right. Now it is for your conscience, your judgement, for your mind to decide what is right”.

The Independence Day also saw for the first time an Opposition leader getting equal prominence in the media at par with the Prime Minister while addressing the people. Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech at Bhuj received equal attention or better to say a little more than that of Manmohan Singh on the Independence Day. It was subject of debate as people and commentators compared the speech of the two leaders.

In the troubles state of Jammu & Kashmir, the chief minister Omar Abdullah sounded like a jilted lover when he said that the people of J & K were looked at differently or better say with disdain by the rest of people of the country and the government at the Centre. At a time when the chief minister should have attempted to cement the gap between the Centre and the State, Omar chose to drive a wedge that would only alienate the people in the valley from mainstream.

~R. K. Sinha

Independence Day: Don’t Let Sacrifices Go Waste

I was born in Independent India. This does not mean I am not aware of the sacrifices of the people many of whom laid their lives to see India a free nation. I can feel the pains of the nation during the freedom movement. I can visualize the scene when Shahdeed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Raj Guru were hanged by the British rulers. I can imagine the cries of the people who were massacred by the British Government at JaliaNwala Bagh massacre. The Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi or the courage of Subhash Chandra Bose.

This is our 66^th Independence Day.

As a young man I remember the 1971 war with Pakistan. I was a young journalist then. I had the rare privilege and opportunity to cover the war from forward areas as a war correspondent of The Searchlight and Pradeep published from Patna. That time, our leadership demonstrated the courage and guts to fight it out with Pakistan and crush the atrocities and killings of Bangla speaking population of East Pakistan. Our Army defeated the Pakistani forces and captured almost one lakh Pakistani soldiers and dozens of officers including Lt. Gen Niazi who was chief commander in East Pakistan and made them prisoners of war. Bangladesh was born. The POWs were brought to Ranchi and kept there for some time before being repatriated to Pakistan under ceasefire agreement. Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Arora was the commander in chief of the Indian Army in the war zone on the Eastern Sector with Pakistan and General Mankeshaw was the chief of the army staff.

My second most exciting and yet traumatic experience was the Emergency of 1975. I was with Jaya Prakash Narayan and involved in the JP movement.

I wonder how Indira Gandhi who had emerged as a strong Prime Minister and leader of the country in taking on Pakistan in 1971 despite international pressures particularly from Washington, subsquently turned out to be an oppressor of her own countrymen. She fell into the trap of her misguided advisors including her younger son Sanjay Gandhi when she declared internal emergency in the country on 26 June 1975. She had to pay the price when she and her party the Congress were defeated in the elections of 1977.

I feel sad when I see our Prime Minister today, the Defence Minister and other Congress Ministers and leaders including the Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The rulers have least regard for our soldiers. Look at the way our Army is being targeted by the two hostile neighbours- Pakistan and China. Loot at the scams in defence forces, be it the latest pay off in the helicopter deal or purchase of ‘boots, guns and jackets’ for our Army. Substandard materials are being purchased and given to our Army and other two defence forces, the Air Force and the Navy. Even food articles including cereals are substandard.

The government of the day is too much pre-occupied with fighting the fire of corruption which refuses to douse. The government’s second priority is to strike shady deals with some regional political parties for their support in and outside Parliament. Their third priority is to raise the bogey of secularism in the country that only aggravate communal divide.

I recall a speech of Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was addressing a public meeting in Allahabad. Our Prime Minister Shastri narrated an incident. He had gone to see an injured soldier to a hospital. He said that the solider was almost wrapped in cotton bandage. You can imagine his pain and plight. When the accompanying officer whispered into the ears of the injured soldier that Prime Minister Shastri had come to see him, the soldier said that he was feeling sorry that he was not in a position to salute the Prime Minister. After narrating the story, Shastri broke down at the dais in view of huge crowed at the meeting ground.   Shastri knew the contribution of our Armed Forces and the farmers to the nation building and hence he gave the slogan of ‘ Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’.

Will the rulers in command of the country take the trouble of going through the tenure of Lal Bahadur Shastri  as a Minister in Nehru Government and later as Prime Minister of India to learn a lesson or two from his life, perhaps not?

~R. K. Sinha

Blind Govt. And Monkey Justice

AKHILESH YADAV, CM, UP

DURGA SAKTI NAGPAL, SUSPENDED IAS OFFICER

There cannot be a better example of a government that is blind and a government who believe in monkey justice system than the Government of Uttar Pradesh headed by Akhilesh Yadav and run by his keens.

Akhilesh has maintained since beginning that the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Durga Shakti Nagpal, an IAS officer was suspended because she acted in prejudiced manner that threatened communal harmony in the area. What was her action that undermined communal peace? According chief minister and his uncle, the officer demolished the wall of a mosque in the area without giving any notice to the people who built the mosque. It now transpires that there is no mosque there as claimed by the chief minister. There is official report sent by the District Magistrate of NOIDA that confirms the non-existence of the mosque mentioned by the chief minister and his team. A wall was erected on a plot of land illegally. The SDM after receiving complaint from the plotter of the trap (Samajvadi Party leader) that there was illegal construction there. The SDM reached the place and spoke to the people of the locality. She counseled them and the people agreed to bring down the structure voluntarily. Where she demolished the wall in first place with bull dozer and where was the mosque?

The report submitted by the District Magistrate of Gautam Budha Nagar says that there was no communal tension and there was no mosque there.

Now, will the chief minister answer why he is blind to violent clashes between the Shias and the Sunnis in Lucknow for the past two days that has indeed disturbed communal peace right under his nose? Has the chief minister or his government taken any action against any officer for dereliction of duty in Lucknow? The answer is a big no.

Then why pick up an honest woman who was doing her job honestly? Why fabricate a case to trap and victimize the officer?

On an average the illegal mining of sand in the area fetches ill gotten money running into millions of rupees. A large slice of this money goes to the politicians in Lucknow. The sand mafia was threatened and their illicit business was closed.

What answer the chief minister has now?

The Centre woke up rather late and that too only after the case of the SDM sent nationwide shock waves. The whole country is outraged at the criminal conduct of the state government. First Union Minister Salman Khursheed said that the hands the Centre were tied. Now Narayansamy says New Delhi can act and the Centre can revoke the suspension after it receives a formal complaint from the victim, Durga Shakti that her suspension was wrong. Since the officer is from the Central Cadre of Indian Administrative Service, its parent authority is Department of Personnel under the Prime Minister of India.

The million rupee question is will the Manmohan Singh government undo the injustice done to Durga Shakti. Does the Congress and the government headed by it show the guts to respond to the call of justice at the risk of annoying Mulayam Singh Yadav? We eagerly wait for your call Mr Manmohan Singh.

~R. K. Sinha