Silence the Critics / Disarm Them !

Why does any mention of Gujarat Model of development , immediately invites a lot of critics ?

Why does it create an allergic reaction , even amongst other BJP-ruled states ? And certainly amongst BJP leaders from other states ?

Such allergy and criticism from Congress and its allies is quite understandable , but nothing to worry about

What Narendra Modi – and his staunch supporters , must ask themselves is :

“ By making too much noise about Gujarat Model , are we rubbing it in too hard ?

Are we projecting ourselves as “ holier – than – thou “ ?

By endless repetition of Gujarat story are we alienating , even our ardent admirers ? “

An emphatic answer is , “ YES “ !

And this attitude spells bad – very bad – omen for NaMo and his campaign , over the weeks and months to come

It is high time NaMo and his team start declaring publicly :

“  Gujarat Model is NOT perfect 

Like any other state , we , in Gujarat too, have corruption / scams / murders / dowry-deaths / suicides of farmers and the jobless / land mafias / illegal mining / malnourished children / school drop-outs / communal tensions , etc

All that we are saying is that , we have less of these now than what we had 10 years ago – and , in many cases , less than in other states

We even know that we may never succeed in eliminating these problems completely

All that we are saying is that , we are acutely conscious of our limitations / shortcomings .

We are ashamed of what we do have , and are working very hard to reduce these problems still further

We are open to any constructive criticism , while admitting that we are bound to have slipped-up , here and there

We welcome – from friends and foes – sharply-worded specific suggestions as to what we need to do going forward

We are eager to learn from experiences of other states in tackling the problems of governance – even from currently UPA-ruled states !      “

I believe , only such candidness on part of NaMo team can win friends and silence the critics

You need to win over millions of fence-sitters who are suspicious of your tall claims – even fed up of your trumpeting it endlessly !

Only way you can do so is by giving up your “ High Moral Ground “ ! 

By placing NaMo on a very tall pedestal , you will make it almost impossible for him to live up to the expectations that you are raising !

What is so terrible to admit that even Gods have feet of clay ?

A generous dash of humility will earn you , people’s respect – and their votes

·      *    hemen  parekh  ( 22 Sept. 2013 )

Reach - Out Time ?

Narendra Modi claims that the Muslims of Gujarat have buried the ghost of Godhra and a great majority of them voted for BJP in the recent State election

There have been many communal ( anti-minority or anti-majority ) riots in most of the States of India since independence

It does not serve any purpose to keep doing post-mortem , again and again

It is obvious that the new generation ( including the descendents of the victims ) want to close the chapter and move on to a better / peaceful life

If , development of Muslims brought about a harmonious communal relations in Gujarat , surely it could be replicated on a national scale , all over the country

Narendra Modi has a fantastic opportunity to drive across this message by incorporating the following ACTIONS in BJP’s 2014 Election Manifesto :

Ø  Resettling of riot victims ( belonging to any community and residing in any state ) , in Government-built houses , within one year of coming to power

Ø  Simultaneous dismantling of , so-called “ Minority Ghettos “ , thru dispersal of minorities throughout the cities , for better integration within a city’s majority population

Ø  Granting Cabinet Minister status to the Chiefs of Minority Commission / Women’s Commission / Human Rights Commission

Ø  Providing for greater representation in the Central Cabinet to the people of the North-Eastern States and the Naxal affected areas

Ø   

Ø  Up gradation of the educational institutions belonging to the minorities

Ø  Greater representation to Minority Youth in “ Skills Development Program “ under NSDC

Ø  At the disputed Ayodhya site , creation of a “ World Peace Complex “ comprising of :

·         Ram Temple    ( for Hindus )

·         Mosque          ( for Muslims )

·         Church          ( for Christians )

·         Temple          ( for Buddhists )

·         Synagogue     ( for Jews  )

·         Akshar-Dham  ( for Jains )

*         Gurudwara     (  for  Shikhs  )

·         University for Comparative Studies of World Religions

·         Hospitals ( like Netralaya / Hridayalaya )

·         India Heritage / History Museum

·         Business Convention-cum-Industry Exhibition Centre

·       *        Tourist Complex

      

·              And right in the center of the complex , a giant statue of the “ Father of the Nation “

I invite readers to add to this list

Even if for all the wrong reasons [ viz; 2014 Elections ], let BJP not miss this opportunity to initiate steps for integration of the minorities into the mainstream of political / economical / social development of our country

It is about time to exhibit , BJP’s  truly “ Secular “ nature ( non-UPA  variety ? )

It is time to stop mere Congress-bashing ( with which , people are fed-up ) and promise some genuine positive actions to the minorities

And of all the leaders of BJP , who is better placed for such “ Pro-Activism “ than Narendrabhai ?

Carpe Diem ( Seize the Day ! )

·         hemen  parekh ( 21  Sept  2013 )

Needed - your Declaration of Intent - NOW !

A few months back , Planning Commission had prepared a scheme to distribute free smart phones to 71 million poor families

Recently , Kapil Sibal has submitted a scheme to distribute ( of course , free ) to children studying in Government schools ,

Ø  25 million smart phones

Ø  9  million tablets ( computers )

That would cost , somewhere between Rs 7,000 Crores to Rs 10,000 Crores

Earlier this week , a group called Smartnamo , has announced two models ( Safron 1 / Safron 2 ), of smart phones in honor of Narendra Modi

I believe top brass of BJP are considering to distribute 20 crore of these phones to youth between the age of 18 to 25 – free of cost , of course !

At Rs 1,000 per phone , BJP would need to raise Rs 20,000 Crore for this project

No problem !

India’s “ Businesses / Industry “ would oblige , since 75 % of industry-leaders want Narendra Modi to become the next PM

And these phones are believed to come pre-installed with a mobile app , ( called , VotesApp ? ) which will enable the young owner/voters to vote in 2014 National Elections , by simply touching the VOTE button , having finger-print recognition ( ala , Apple’s iPhone 5C )

Now , here is the most likely “ political specification “ of these phones :

Irrespective of , whether the owner / voter is residing and registered in Kashmir or Kanyakumari or anywhere else , the vote will get cast in favor of the local BJP candidate !

That would be one way to garner 275 seats in the Lok Sabha !

More seriously speaking , BJP will miserably fail to deliver on its corruption-free , Good-Governance promise , if it gets voted to power with less than 275 seats .

Secret behind NaMo’s  success story in Gujarat , is BJP majority in local assembly. No relying on corrupt coalition partners to carry out any reform !

And to get that kind of “ Absolute Majority “ , BJP must stop promising freebies and publish its  ACTION PLAN  for the first 100 days in power

TV opinion polls notwithstanding , even NaMo  euphoria  will fade away , if BJP continues to shy away from publishing , before October-end , its  “ Declaration of Intent “

·          Hemen  parekh [ 19 Sept 2013 ]

What exactly / precisely , will you do ?

Expected has come to pass

Narendrabhai Modi has been declared as the PM candidate of BJP

On TV channels , experts are offering advice to BJP / NaMo , on how they should conduct themselves  PRIOR  to 2014 national elections

For the voters , what matters is :

“ If BJP were to be voted to power , how will it conduct itself ,  AFTER  the elections ? After NaMo becomes PM ? “

All that we have been hearing from NaMo and other BJP leaders , over the last one year is :

Ø  Congress is corrupt

Ø  UPA 2 is incompetent

Ø  All of their policies are wrong , leading to price-rise , inflation , economic downturn etc

Ø  They failed to do THIS and THAT

But not a word so far of what exactly / precisely , BJP / NaMo would do , if voted to power !

I certainly don’t mean distribution of free laptops , tablets , mobiles , cycles ! Forget the manifesto !

As a citizen , I would like them to declare  NOW , their unambiguous stand on :

Ø  Dis-allowing “ convicted “ persons from contesting elections

Ø  Bringing political parties within the ambit of RTI

Ø  Appointment of a Lok Ayukt in Gujarat and passing of Jan Lok Pal Bill within 100 days of coming to power

Ø  Make CBI independent of Government

Ø  Passing Women’s Equal Representation Bill, pending for 40 years

Ø  Electoral Reforms incorporating , “ Negative Voting / Right to Recall “

Ø  Passing of Delivery of Services Act

Ø  Bringing out Black Money ( both , foreign and local ) for investment in Infrastructure / Health Services / Education / Housing for the poor  etc , thru suitable “ No Questions Asked “ Amnesty Schemes

Ø  Above all , creating 15 million jobs every year

These are , just a few of the people’s expections

Are BJP / NaMo willing to treat these as voters’  “  Charter of Demands “ ?

We have had enough of rhetoric oratory

People are asking :

“ Forget what UPA failed to do . We know that.

  What will YOU do , and WHEN ?

·          hemen  parekh [ 14 Sept 2013 ]

UPA 3 or NDA 2 ? What is your Choice ?

Our country is facing a long list of Economic and Social problems

Many of these require enacting new legislation

Equal number require strict implementation of existing laws

Solutions of quite a few problems , need bold / innovative and often , unpopular steps demanding deep sacrifices from different sections of our society

All of these need,

Ø    A heightened  sense of co-operation ( National interest comes first )

Ø    Willingness to reach compromises ( win some  / lose some )

Ø    An acute sense of urgency ( get going now / improve along the way )

Unfortunately , during the past few years , hardly any progress could be made towards Political / Social / Economic reforms , since no single political party got an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha

And , unless the Indian voters understand the shortcomings of the Coalition Government and decide to give one party ( it does not matter  which ) , an absolute majority in the forthcoming 2014 national elections , we can expect repetition of the history !

No Government which has to hopelessly depend upon its coalition partners , can carry out the desired reforms

I believe , any major national party ( only Congress and BJP ? ) , which gets less than 275 seats in Lok Sabha , will continue to be blackmailed by its coalition partners

And it would make absolutely no difference whether Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi heads UPA 3 or NDA 2 , as the Prime Minister !

Either would be an impotent puppet of “ Coalition Dharma “ where corrupt partners dictate the shape of reforms !

It is simple

Either we give 300 seats to a single party or we continue to suffer for another 5 years !

Remember , an imperfect decision is any day better than No Decision !

·         hemen  parekh

Let the Sleeping Dogs lie !

I think it was Oliver Cromwell who said these famous words – may be in a different context , at a different time , in a different country

But right now , in our beloved India , our very own ( not so beloved ? ) political leaders seem to be telling the Supreme Court , the same thing !

Yesterday , Supreme Court dismissed a Central Government appeal to review its earlier ruling , which held ;

“ An elected representative stands disqualified from the date of his conviction in a criminal offence . The mere fact that the convicted politician has appealed against his conviction does not imply that he would continue to hold office  “

So , what will the Government do now ?

With solid , unanimous backing from ALL political parties , it will amend the Representation of People Act , to nullify the Court verdict !

Of Course , retrospectively from 15 Aug 1947 !

I am not surprised , given the following statistics compiled by Association for Democratic Reforms :----

----------------------------------------------------------

Party ………% age of MPs/MLAs with criminal charges

----------------------------------------------------------

BJP………………………. 31

Congress…………….. 22

NCP……………………….30

Shiv Sena……………. 75

RJD…………………………46

JD(U)…………………..  44

SP……………………….   43

Rest …………………….. 32-36

----------------------------------------------------------

Not having voted for past 30 years , I have a satisfaction of not having chosen myself , which party will torment / torture / murder me for next 5 years !

But of course , I will vote when I am allowed to cast “ Negative Votes “ !

When will India’s youth rise in revolt ?

·         hemen  parekh

Rejoice You Jobless !

In Aug 2013 , India’s Finance Minister announced a scheme called ,

“ National Skills Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme “

Here are the highlights of the schame :

Ø   To impart skills to 500 million youth by 2022 ( i.e. 50 million / year )

Ø  Of these,

·         Private Sector to train 150 million

·         18 Central Ministries to train 350 million

Ø  Scheme will provide employment as well as post-placement hand-holding for 1-2 years

Ø  A youth trained by an accredited institution will be required to appear for a national skill test before getting a certificate and reward of Rs 10,000 from the Government . Towards this , Govt has set aside Rs 1,000 Crores / year for 1 million trainees

Now , could the Minister be ignorant of the following ?

Ø  For some 62 years , we have a Apprentice Act ( 1951 )

Ø  Under this Act , private / public sector companies are required to train apprentices in different trades / crafts , for periods of 1 /2 / 3 years

Ø  At the end of such training , trainees are required to appear for their NCTVT exams and pass , to get certificates

Ø  Already thousands of Central / State Govt Industrial Training Institutions ( ITI ) are also imparting such skills training to youths who may or may not have passed 10^th standard

Ø  Most companies are using this Act/Scheme to engage such “ Trainees “ in place of permanent workers , to reduce labor costs

But the Minister does admit that , notwithstanding past efforts on such a massive scale , country as a whole , created only 20 million jobs in 5 years ( 2004-2009 ) !  A meager 4 million / year !

May be the Minister hopes that this time around , the Magic Wand of a reward of Rs 10,000 , will create  a miracle  !

Only his arithmetic does not seem to add-up !

Every year , 50 million trainees will add-up to a reward of Rs 50,000 Crores !

Hopefully , the arithmetic will get corrected in time for 2014 National Elections !

   hemen  parekh

Boosting Economy : Reducing CAD

Times of India ( 25 Aug 2013 ) presented following facts about USA prisons :


>    In 2010 , USA prison cost (  $ 80 billion as per Bureau of Justice Statistics )

>    Total Prisoners ...............  1.57 million

>    Average Cost / taxpayer ......................................    $  31,286

>    Ave Cost / prisoner ( in New York / 2010 )................$  60,000

>    Ave Cost / prisoner ( in New York / 2012 )............... $   167,731 ( Rs 115 lakhs / year )

>    Prisoner to Guard Ratio ..............................................2  :  1

>    No of prisoners in NY jails  .......................................12,287

>    Waiting time for case disposal  ...................................95  days


With these kinds of costs , our Commerce Minister should be able to persuade US of A , to " Outsource " their prison system to India , for an annual fee  of $ 40 billion and save 50 % of the cost ! Obama Administration will simply love this idea of cutting back on Government spending !

Here are a few benefits to India :

>   Construction of 10,00 prisons will give a huge boost to construction industry and generate employment for 10 million MNREGA beneficiaries ( creation of permanent capital assets )

>   1.57 million retired Jawans will get employment as prison guards ( personalized service ! )

>   CCTV / Electronic Surveilance industry will get a boost

>   Employment of millions of cooks / clerks / sweepers etc

>   A boom to " Prison-Supplies " industry

>   A huge foreign-exchange earning

>   If FDI in " Prison Industry " is allowed upto 100 % , that would make Foreign Institutional Investors to rush to India !

Clearly a win - win situation for both the countries !     



----  hemen 

Time for " Out of Box " thinking ?

Of late , there has been a lot of debate on TV / Newspapers etc , on ,


>    What has caused current economic crisis

>    What needs to be done

>    Who is to blame


The crisis manifests itself thru ,

>    Falling Stock Index

>    Weakening Rupee

>    Increasing Imports

>    Decreasing Exports

>    Widening  CAD / Fiscal Deficit

>    Sliding Industrial Production

>    Falling GDP

>    Rising Unemployment  ......  etc 


Economists ( experts and otherwise ) are offering all kinds of solutions - often contradictory 

Only thing , they all seem to agree upon is that , current Central Government , is largely to be blamed for the current mess !

I am not an economist and unable to offer " Expert Solution " 

But I do have following simple , non-expert solution :

" Through  " No Questions Asked " , appropriate Amnesty Schemes , enable trillions of Black Money rupees to come out in the open , to fund the Infrastructure projects "

Our Government estimates that we need to pump in , every year , $ 100 Billions , for the next 10 years , into infrastructure development , ie , $ 1,000 billions

Our Commerce Minister , Anand Sharma , estimates that the Indians are hoarding 31,000 tons of Gold ( equivalent of $ 1,400 billions )

Given our current economic climate , I dont expect any foreign individuals / companies / financial institutions etc to come forward to invest such funds into India

What is worse , I expect , once again in 2014 , a " Coalition Government " to rule the Centre - fully paralysed by its Coalition Dharma and incapable of taking tough decisions !

Apart from that $ 1,400 billion worth of gold , it would be safe to assume that another $ 14,000 billion worth of cash Black Money is also lying locked up in Safe Deposit Vaults of Businessmen / Politicians and Government Officers !

Grant them amnesty and a 10 %  ( non - taxable ) return on such Infrastructure investments for a period of 10 years , and we won't need any foreign exchange inflow !

Some will argue :

You will be punishing honest tax-payers and rewarding the cheats !

True 

But , in my opinion , this is the only practical / viable solution , in short term 

And , if incorporated in the Feb 2014 budget , it will get approved unanimously !

If those " Cheats " can help create 100 million jobs in 10 years , forgive them for their dis-honesty !

It is high time we did some " Out - of - the - Box " thinking !

Morality of creating jobs today , far outweighs the immorality of tax-evason in the past !


--  hemen




   

Going Up in Smoke ?

Yesterday , Times of India reported :

India's tobacco industry supports 38 million people ( 380 lakhs )

Every year , some 6 million ( 60 lakh )people die in India thru use of tobacco ( mostly cigarettes )

Of these , some 6 lakh die by inhaling smoke of other cigarette smokers

So what can we do to save these 60 lakh ?

Immediately close down entire tobacco industry ?

And jeopardize the lives of 380 lakh  ?

Obviously , we cannot adopt a mutually exclusive solution !

We must find a solution that , not only saves those 60 lakh but also continue to provide livelihood to 380 lakhs

That cannot be done in one - or even five - years , but it is entirely possible to solve this problem over , 20 years , as follows :

>   Thru appropriate legislation , phase out tobacco industry by 2033
>   Immediately stop expansion of existing units
>   Do not allow new units to come up
>   Place a recruitment freeze in tobacco industry - no fresh hiring at any level
>   No replacement for retiring employees , after 2018
>   Provide incentives to industry to redeploy capital / manpower in alternate industries - especially those industries with large scope for creation of new jobs
>   Give generous tax-breaks to industry to remain profitable , even as they wind-up operations
>   Provide incentives to put up new-industry projects in less industrialized regions
>   Provide incentives for re-training existing workers in new skills in demand by others
>   Subsidize Voluntary Retirement Schemes of industry

This is just a partial list . I am sure , if there is political will , experts will come up with many more viable suggestions

Question :

With national elections looming on the horizon , which political party would want to alienate , a lucrative source of election funding ?