What will they think ?

As they walk to the polling booths over the next few months , what will 725 million Indian voters be thinking ?

Here are some guesses :

>    2G Scam...............................   Rs. 176,000   Crores

>    Coal Scam  ..........................    Rs. 185,000   Crores

>    Wakf land Scam  ...................   Rs.  200,000  Crores

>    Mining Scam ........................    Rs.  150,000  Crores

>    Irrigation Scam  ...................    Rs.  70,000   Crores

>    NHRM Scam  ........................    Rs.  10,000   Crores

>    Foodgrain  Scam ....................  Rs.  35,000   Crores

>    Highway  Scam  ...................... Rs.  16,000  Crores

>    Bihar land Scam....................... Rs.   20,000  Crores

>    Fodder Scam............................ Rs.   50,000  Crores

>    Commonwealth Games Scam...... Rs.  70,000   Crores

>    Forgotten Scams  ....................  Rs.   500,000  Crores

Even on their way to the polling booths , will the voters be conducting a " Pre-poll Opinion Survey  " of their friends and relatives , by asking :

"  Which candidate listed on the EVM will deliver us from the " Scam-Raj " and usher us into a " Surajya "  ?  "

If Congress - and other sundry political parties have their way , they would persuade the Election Commission to ban all such pre-poll , wishful exchange of  " Opinions "  on part of the voters !

They are convinced , that any such pre-poll  opinion-exchange that may lead to Surajya  is,  by definition , " mis-leading "  !

Where does our Constitution provide for " Freedom of Thinking "  ?

*    hemen  parekh   (  06  Nov  2013  )

Selling Dreams ?

Yesterday , on ABP TV , Arvind Kejriwal ( Aam Aadmi Party ) promised to Delhiwallas , unbelievable improvements in ,

>   Healthcare

>   Education

>   Electricity Supply & Prices

>   Safe drinking water ,       etc

Apart from a Jan LokPal

Provided , Delhiwallas vote AAP to an absolute majority ( he expects 48 seats ) , on 4th Dec

At the moment , it appears that he has succeeded in selling a dream  !

That is one kind of ability that most politicians do possess

But most of them woefully lack the second kind of ability , viz:

>   Management of expectations raised , thru delivering on promises made

It does not take a genius , much hard work or a lot of money , if your promise is :

>   35 Kg of free rice per month to each poor family

I hope 71 constituency-wise manifestos that AAP promises to publish by this week-end , do not contain such " Insults " to people suffering for so long  !

Delivering on promises made by AAP , will require :

>     A time bound ACTION PLAN ( Roadmap ) with quantitative Achievement

      Targets ( Milestones )

>     A " Resource Mobilization Plan " which clearly spells out ,

       *   How much money will be required for each initiative ( budgetary

         allocations )

  

     *    How ( from where ) this money will be raised ?

           Raising taxes is bad !  Borrowing is worse  ! Begging Central Govt is

           worst  ! Can you save from " leakages " ?

>      Transparent procedures , open to public scrutiny

>      A honest / corruption-free / committed bureaucracy to implement

>      Non - interference by elected MLAs

>      How will public be involved ?

>      Which third party will measure the " Actual vs Targetted " performance

        and publish the audited results, and  how often ?

Surely ,drawing up and monitoring such a Project Plan , cannot be a Rocket Science for  IIT /  IIM whizkid volunteers of AAP , when their classmates at ISRO are launching Mars Orbiter Mission ( MOM ) today  ! 

If AAP manages to display this second kind of post-election " Performance Ability " , then it will truly herald  an " Indian Spring " and re-write the rules

of how elections will get fought in State / National elections

Good Luck , Arvind !

*    hemen  parekh   (  05  Nov  2013  )

Ban Pre-poll Opinion Surveys ?

Congress has asked Election Commission to ban pre-poll opinion surveys of voters

Congress says , these are inaccurate , manipulated , misleading

What it failed to say is ,

"  We are frightened to death  ! "

What Congress refuses to believe is that these surveys are confirming that the UPA has failed to come up to the expectations of people  , who are , now looking for an alternative

For UPA , this is a self-inflicted wound  !

-    by refusing to ,

*     Accept CAG findings in umpteen scams

*     Asking concerned ministers to resign immediately

*     Offering the entire Government machinery for CBI inquiry

Can you believe that this is the party which claims " legacy " of Lal Bahadur Shashtry , who resigned , within hours of a train accident when he was Railway Minister  ?

 -    by taking moral responsibility

-    without waiting to appoint an " Inquiry Commission " ( ala 1984 Delhi / 2002 Godhra riots ) , to submit its report within a few years , fixing the blame on faulty equipment / human error

When Nehru died , Lal Bahadur was the first choice for the post of PM

Without any Opinion Survey  !

When will Congress re-learn its lessons in forgotten art of " morality "  ?

*   hemen  parekh  (  04  Nov  2013  )

Nightingale is singing

India's nightingale , Lata Mangeshkar is singing , "  NaMo  ,  NaMo  "

Congressmen are livid with rage

Shuklaji is advising Lataji to keep away from politics and keep out of controversy

And like his predecessor minister of I & B , B V Keskar , who had banned playing of harmonium and Kishor Kumar songs on All India Radio ,current I & B minister , Manish Tewariji is considering a ban on playing of Lata-Songs on all TV channels ! And, of course, on YouTube !

Just as Sardar Patel had banned RSS  ?

To pip Arnab Goswami at his " Noise Hour " debate every night ,  Rajat Sharma served a summons on Lataji to appear on " Aap ki Adalat " , and asked :

"  Lata Didi ,

   You are alleged to have corrupted classical Indian music

   Bhairavi raga is supposed to be sung in early morning , in order to gently

   wake-up the people

   Other day , in Pune , you sang Bhairavi in the evening and woke up people

   from deep slumber of last 9 years

   And you even re-named the raga as " Raga NaMo "  !

   What do you have to say in your defence ?  "

Instead of replying , Lataji starts singing :

"   ए मेरे वतन के लोगो , अब पकडलो EVM ज़रा जोरसे 

    जो फूल देखो कमल का , वो बटन दबावों जरा प्यारसे  "

Instead of clapping , the audience starts singing loudly , in raga NaMo :

"  आयेगा , आयेगा , आयेगा आनेवाला 

    आयेगा , आयेगा , आयेगा। ………  "

The singing reverberates thru the length and breadth of India that is Bharat and fills up every heart  !

Nighingale has sung for 725 million voters

*   hemen  parekh   ( 03  Nov  2013  / Diwali  )

  

   

Tora..............Tora.............Tora

During World War - 2 , as they approached Pearl Harbor on American coast , pilots of Japanese bombers chanted ,

Tora , Tora , Tora

( Attack , Attack , Attack )

As they approach 2014 National elections , 725 million Indian voters are chanting ,

NOTA , NOTA , NOTA

For past few months , they have been watching the mud-slinging by their political leaders on TV , Newspapers , Internet , Rally  etc

And they are wondering :

Only time these leaders cared to talk to us is when they wanted our votes during the past 10 years  !

They are least bothered if,

>     We commit suicide ( with family ) because we are jobless

   

       ( JOBS )

>     Our children go to sleep hungry

       ( POVERTY )

>     We sleep on the footpath

      ( HOUSING  )

>     Our dilapidated buildings are about to crash

       ( URBAN DECAY )

>     Even employed among us have no money to buy vegetables

       ( RISING PRICES )

>     Our children are dying of dengue because we live on overflowing gutters

       

       ( LIVING CONDITIONS )

>     Our women must walk 5 miles to fetch water

       ( SAFE DRINKING WATER  )

>     Our children must walk 5 miles to go to a          teacher-less school

       (  EDUCATION  )

>     For want of nearby hospital , our wives die during delivery

        ( HEALTH-CARE  )

>      Without fans , we get scorched in summer heat

        ( ELECTRICITY  )

>      To and fro , work-place , we spend 4 hours on the road

         ( TRANSPORT  )

Do these persons whose names appear on Electronic Voting Machines ( EVM ) , care for our tortured / tormented lives  ?

Are these not the very persons who have made our lives , a living hell  ?

From their air-conditioned cars and their air-conditioned bedrooms , do they have any time to peep into our slums  ?

Their only concern is to get voted back to power and make tons of money  !

NOTA , NOTA , NOTA

*   hemen  parekh  (  02  Nov  2013  )

Solomon come to Judgement ?

To millions of harassed bureaucrats , that is how Supreme Court's order of yesterday might appear

*    WHAT  ?

>    Bureaucrats must not function on verbal instructions from superiors and the political executives , as it leads to favoritism and corruption

>    Fixed tenures for bureaucrats and the setting up of a Civil Services Board ( CSB ) , to advise governments on transfers , postings , promotions and disciplinary actions

*    WHY  ?

 Supreme Court advanced following reasons :

   #    In the present political scenario , the role of civil servants has become complex and onerous

   #   Often , they have to take decisions with far reaching consequences in the economic and technological fields

   #   Their decisions must be transparent and in public interest. They should be fully accountable to the community they serve

*     HOW  ?

>     Each level of bureaucrat must send their " decisions " to the lower level , in writing . ( Will emails do ? )

>     If a bureaucrat receives " verbal " decision from his superior , he shall make appropriate noting on the file . ( Shall he record that he does not agree with this decision - and why - but is forced to take it under verbal order ? )

*     RESULT  ?

>     Decision making process , which has already considerably slowed down over the past one year , will come to a grinding halt , for the simple reasons that , at the time of taking a decision ,

    *    there is absence of adequate / impeccable data on which to base decision ( - concerned vested interest parties will ensure that relevant data / facts / figures are never revealed ! )

    *    there is no pre-existing and well laid-out " Policy Framework " , governing the issue at hand

    *    no bureaucrat - or his political boss - will ever want to take a decision , which , successors to follow , will quote as a " precedent "and not based on policy

*      QUESTIONS  ?

>    Is there here , some confusion between a " Wrong " decision   and a " Dishonest " decision ?

 Don't millions of honest people continue to take decisions , which in hindsight , appear wrong ?

>    Isn't a " Dishonest " decision one which got taken , solely for the benefit of the decision-taker ( or his family / friends etc )  ?

>    Are we trying to replace honest human " Judgement " by some rigid , hide-bound rules ? by some computer algorithms ?

Historian Arnold Toyanbee , once said :

"  Only two things are certain in life -  death and taxes  "

From now on , in India , it will be   -  death and delays


Will our Ministers re-enact British comedy serial , " Yes Minister " ? 

Only time will tell whether this decision of the Supreme Court , was " Right " or " Wrong " , but we are sure of one thing : this is an " Honest " decision

*   hemen  parekh  (  01, Nov  2013  )

   

We , the People ……..

Bihar CM , Nitish Kumar likens Narendra Modi to Hitler

He is not alone

Many in Congress / Third Front  ( of 17 parties ) too , think likewise , without saying in so many words

They all mean :

Modi is autocratic , authoritarian , undemocratic , etc..

Majority of Indians would agree !

But then ask ,

“ So what ?

  Modi may not be consultative

  He may be taking decisions on his own

  But he takes fast decisions – right or wrong

  And even if some of his decisions prove  to be wrong in course of time,

  these are “ honest “ decisions , taken in the best interest of citizens

  His decisions are never taken in order to benefit himself / family / relatives

  / friends / chamchas / party members / even well-wishers , etc

  He means – and acts accordingly – when he says ,

, “ I don’t take bribe and don’t allow my officers to take bribes  “

 

  He practices highest form of “ Raj Dharma “ of corruption-free and secular

  Governance

  Why else would  24 MUSLIM  BJP CANDIDATES ( out of 27 ) win municipal

  election in Salaya town of Gujarat ( where 85 % population is Muslim ) ?

  Because , in Salaya , not a single Muslim is un-employed !

  That is why , people of Gujarat elected him democratically for the third

  time in a row

  Unlike Hitler , he has not imposed his “ Dictatorship “ through military

  So , we don’t care if he is autocratic

  And “ We , the People “, will elect him in 2014 , constitutionally and democratically

  We are fed up of indecisive and corrupt politicians like you

  Go ahead !

  Like an Ostrich , hide your head in the sands at the approaching storm ! “

·          hemen  parekh  (  31  Oct  2013  )

 

       

Kamraj Plan is now Scam-raj Plan !

Some 50 years ago , Congress President , Kamraj Nadar realized that the ideals on which Congress was founded , were decaying. Congress had started rotting from within because of power-hungry politicians

So he came up with “ Kamraj Plan “, under which , senior congress leaders were required to resign from their ministerial posts and devote themselves to re-vitalizing the party

Six Union Ministers and six State Chief Ministers resigned

50 years later , the current version of Kamraj Plan is “ Scam-raj Plan “ !

Under this new “ Scam-raj Plan “ ,

Ø  Ministers need not resign as long as they are involved in no more than one scam at a time

Ø  Ministers may ignore any adverse comments made against them , either by CAG or by Supreme Court

Ø  Ministers shall conveniently misplace / lose , scam related files

Ø  Ministers may continue to chair GoM appointed to investigate irregularities of their own ministries

Ø  Ministers shall have triple reporting relationships , viz :

·         Congress President

·         Congress Vice President

·         Prime Minister

           (  strictly in that order  !  )

Ø  Ministers shall not hesitate to appoint their near-and-dear relatives to sundry Government posts , as Chair-persons

Ø  Ministers shall ensure that all Government contracts / orders above Rs 100 crores , are mandatorily given out to each other’s relatives , in a quid-pro-quo basis , without fear or favour !


All cases to be decided on the basis of “ merit “ alone – that is whether the relative is a son / daughter / wife or a cousin , with family members getting bigger orders

Then there are many other minor “ Dos and Don’ts “ which readers may wish to add , by way of comments / replies

Who authored this “ Scam-raj “ plan ?

That is a “ Scam Raaz “ ! Relevant file is missing !

·          hemen  parekh  (  30  Oct  2013  )