SUBVERTING DEMOCRACY ?

Ministers are claiming that Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare are subverting democratic processes.

Now come on !

Is making people aware of a social evil, making them aware of their democratic rights, a subversion of parliamentary democracy ?

To my best knowledge, neither Anna nor Baba, has ever advocated dissolution of parliament and imposition of President’s rule !

They are fully aware – and staunchly believe – that Lokpal Bill / Delivery of Service Bill / Recall of Elected Representatives Bill etc. have to be passed by the parliament.

I think Baba / Anna should now , focus their energies, their arguments on educating the members of parliament.

How about asking our Members of Parliament to attend public hearings in their respective constituencies and openly declare their “stand“ on these bills and how they plan to vote?

And conducting non-violent, peaceful, absolutely silent demonstrations in front of their homes ? Those are perfectly democratic processes !

They are answerable to people who elected them !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

On 9th Day of the fast

Here is my appeal to  PM / Pranab / Khurshid / Advaniji :

Please do not make this a personal prestige issue. Compromise for the sake of nation’s prestige.

Settle on following compromise formula – and today itself :

Ø   Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India to be excluded from the purview of proposed Lokpal Bill

Ø   All other ministers / judges to be included

Ø   All MPs / MLAs to be included

Ø   All government servants to be included, irrespective of rank

Ø   Maximum punishment for those found corrupt to be life imprisonment

Ø   Lokpal to be made answerable to the President of India and can be dismissed / punished by the President if deemed to be corrupt

Ø   Lokpal shall not hold any other “ position of profit “, nor can be a retired government servant

Ø   Black money ( whether illegally stashed abroad or within the country ) to be declared “ National Asset / National Wealth “

Ø   Encourage black money to be repatriated legally – and without penalty – if invested in Govt approved Infrastructure Bonds / SPVs

Ø   Gradually reduce personal income tax to a max of 15 % and Corporate tax to a max of 20%

Ø   Start drafting a separate bill whereby voters can recall their elected representative to Panchayats / Municipalities / Legislative Assemblies / Parliament

Ø   Let this be an MOU to be signed by all present at today’s all party meet. Present it to Anna with a request to end fast. 

There are always two parties to a dispute. Any agreement reached must appear like a win-win situation to both. If any party gets a feeling that it “ lost out “, then it will find ways and means to sabotage the agreement.

What good is an agreement that looks good on a piece of paper but just cannot be implemented ?

Please forget the events of last few days. Make the first move towards reconciliation. Nation expects from you humility / magnanimity. Mud slinging will take you nowhere !

With regards

hemen  parekh

www.CustomizeResume.com

Jobs  for  All  =  Peace  on  Earth

Magic Wand ?

Is there a magic wand with which India can
Bring back black money stashed abroad
Stop generation of further tax evasion
Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh says, “ No “.
He is an eminent economist and he should know.
But let him at least consider following :
For the past tax evaders
• Without asking any questions as to the source of their funds, let them bring in those black monies stashed abroad and invest into Government approved “ Infrastructure Bonds / SPVs “.
• They can take out these monies only after 15 years
• During this period, they will not get any profit / interest / dividend etc from their investments. This “deprivation” becomes their only penalty.
* All the profits earned by these Bonds/SPVs, to be deposited into a “ Honest Tax Payers Tax Reduction Account” (HTPTRA), held by Government.
* During these 15 years, they will continue to pay their income tax on their other incomes @ 35 % normal rate
For the honest tax payers
• The amount deposited into HTPTRA to be used to bring down the maximum tax rate payable by the honest tax payers. The reduction could be 1% – 2% per year, till the maximum payable tax rate is brought down to 15 %
• This will be a “ Reward “ to the honest tax payers and will discourage tax evasion.
I am not suggesting this as a some kind of substitute for tax-evasion treaties to be signed with all the countries.
But to tackle this issue, we also need a permanent / structural / internal / motivational mechanism as well.
With a maximum personal income-tax rate of 15 %, Singapore has no black-money problem !
There may be a Magic Wand after all !
With regards
Hemen Parekh

Anna adjust – Baba believe

How can we expect corruption to disappear overnight ?
Believe when Prime Minister says there is no magic wand !
After all, it has taken 60 years of hard work by generations of politicians and by countless bureaucrats to put it in place.
Never underestimate the effort that went into institutionalizing it.
How can we blame present Governments ( both, Central and States ), for nurturing what they inherited from their predecessors ?
Baba, be patient.
Anna, be accommodating.
If we are not around when the Empire gets dismantled, how does it matter ? Do not raise unreasonable expectations by going on fast.
Shh, Shh, and don’t make too much noise – the Ministers are busy drafting and crafting and grafting !
Prime Minister has no other business. He has asked them to declare their assets. But why involve spouses in this ?
With regards
Hemen Parekh

THE FINE ART OF NEGOTIATIONS

6 June 2011

THE  FINE  ART  OF  NEGOTIATIONS

It consists of  :

·     Give and Take /  Compromise

You win some – you lose some. Agreement cannot be entirely on your own terms.

·     Face Saving Formula / A Win-Win Situation

                 No party must feel having “ lost – out “

·     Deal with Devil / Never walk-out

                 You don’t decide who shall represent opposite party

·     Red Herring

                 

                Some demands get included in a “ Charter of Demands “, only to divert your attention. These always get dropped later.

·     Negotiate / Negotiate / Negotiate

                  You cannot adopt a “ Take it or Leave it “ attitude

·     Don’t be in a hurry to settle

         If you exhibit a sense of extreme urgency, it will be treated as your weakness and taken advantage of.

·     Never give an empty threat

                  Opposite party may call your bluff !

·     Never say “ Never “ !

                  You may have to eat your words.

·     Do not go public

Never reveal what is shared with you in “confidence“

My request to Baba Ramdev / Anna Hazare and Kapil Sibal :

         Points listed above form the corner-stone of “ Negotiating in Good Faith “. Personal prestige has no place in it. Only the larger interest of your constituency counts.

My question to Kapil Sibal :

         You can arrest Baba Ramdev. How will you arrest people’s anger? Even military dictators of middle-east could not !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

Bitter Pill

That is how Times of India [ May 08,2011 ] describes the state of healthcare in India.

The report quotes Dr.A.K.Shiva Kumar, one of the authors of a Lancet paper on health services in India, as follows :

“ Poor health is the cause of poverty for nearly 39 million people in India. Around 30 % in rural India didn’t go for any treatment due to poor finances in 2004 – up from 15 % in 1995.

  In urban areas, 20 % of ailments were untreated due to monetary issues in 2004 – up from 10 % in 1995 “

I think it is other way around.

Poverty is the cause of poor health.

By Government of India’s own estimate, 32 % of Indians are “ Below Poverty Line ( BPL ) “. These 387 million people spend less than Rs.12 /day ($ 0.25) – presumably on food.

What kind of “ health “ can one enjoy on 2 cups of tea for food  ?

With regards

hemen  parekh

Primary Needs ?

In India, primary education is a “ State Subject “.
And most primary schools are owned by the states.
When asked by the Central Government, only 15 out of the 35 states bothered to furnish following information :
 No. of primary schools ……………………………… 566,221
 Schools that do not provide midday meals… 112,000
 Schools without electricity ………………………… 400,000
 Schools without toilets ……………………………….. 100,000
 Schools without boundary walls………………….. 400,000
States won’t tell you how many schools do not have a single teacher, but I suspect that would be in excess of 300,000 !
Obviously, state governments in India do not think that primary schools have some primary needs !
What else can explain this pathetic scenario ?
Could it be that the other 20 states which did not even bother to furnish any data, have no primary schools at all ?
When he is demanding that engineering / medical colleges use local language as “ Medium of Instruction “, there is no doubt about the noble intentions of Baba Ramdev.
Only question is : What should be our priority ?
( Source : DNA / May,09,2011 )
With regards
Hemen Parekh

Agriculture in China

Writing in Times of India ( 05 June, 2012 ), Subodh Varma provides following interesting info re: Chinese agriculture in the province of Sichuan :

Ø  All farming land is owned by the Government

Ø  Village Council allots land-plots to families , provides high yield seeds and arranges fertilizers and pesticides

Ø  In the province of Sichuan , water arrives in canals ( constructed in 256 BCE ), fed by Min River and irrigates 5,300 Square Kilometers of cultivated land. Water flows by gravity !

Ø  Families cultivate whatever they want and sell it wherever they can , for whatever price they get

Ø  A farmer family of four earned about 1,973 Yuan ( approx. Rs 17,500 / $ 312 ) per month in 2010 , according to the National Statistics Bureau of China

Ø  Farmers burn agricultural waste and residue in their fields , to return to their land , important minerals

Ø  China has 108 million heads of cattle ( against India’s 322 million )

Ø  Chinese cows yield as much as 3,700 liters per year of milk ( about 4 times of an Indian cow )

No wonder China does not need :

Ø  A monstrous / corrupt Government machinery for grain procurement

Ø  To store millions of tons of procured grains in the open , to rot under sun and rain

Ø  Then export these food grains by heavily subsidizing private sector exporters

Ø  A corrupt Public Distribution system

Ø  A Food Security Bill

And , unlike India ,China does not have 1.6 Million children ( under 5 ) dying each year due to starvation ( Indian Government likes to call it , “ Malnutrition “ )

Does any political party of India have the courage to include “ Elimination of Starvation “ in it’s election manifesto , for the forthcoming National Election in 2014 ?

With regards

hemen  Parekh

www.CustomizeResume.com

Jobs  for  All  =  Peace  on  Earth

Good News ?

According to World Health Organization’s “ Health Statistics – 2011 “ report, life span of an average Indian went up as follows :
 1990 ………………….. 57 years
 2000 …………………. 61 years
 2009 …………………… 65 years
Good news, no doubt . And hopefully, the life span will keep rising in the decades to come, when India’s population is expected to reach 1700 million people by 2050.
[ Source : Times of India / 16 May,2011 ]
Will we succeed in growing enough food and create enough jobs for all these millions ?
May be – if we can succeed in bringing back those 4 lakh crores of black money that Baba Ramdev estimates are lying in foreign banks.
Surely,we can pass a law to declare these monies as “ National Assets “, but only problem is that the foreign banks are governed by their own national laws !
May be we should shift our focus to prevention of generation of black money in the first place.

With regards

hemen parekh

Dispose them off !

India’s Law Minister, Veerappa Moily, urges high courts to dispose off during 2011, at least 65 % of the pending cases.
That is a mere 17.7 million cases out of the 27.2 million pending cases !
If courts work for 200 days in a year, that works out to disposing off some 88,594 cases everyday.
But honorable judges dare not ask the minister,
“ Sir, can you fix an upper limit to the number of new cases that we should admit – which, currently works out to 75,774 everyday ? “
No wonder, 24 % of pending cases are 5-10 years old.
But then, proposed Lokpal Bill envisages disposal of corruption related cases within one year !
We may need 1000 Lok Ayuktas in each state !
( Source : Times of India / 11 May,2011 )

With regards

Hemen Parekh