Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Misleading will Misfire !



As the D-day ( Doomsday  for BJP / Congress ? ) approaches ,  both Congress and BJP are getting panicky


They are desperately trying to mislead Delhi-ites , by spreading canards about Aam Aadmi Party (  AAP  )


Eg :


>   CANARD  :

     Anna Hazare is against Arvind Kejriwal

     TRUTH  :

     Anna may not support Arvind's " Political Means " but he fully supports
     his " Anti - Corruption Ends "



>   CANARD  :

     AAP is a B Team of Congress / BJP ( depending upon who is misleading )

     TRUTH  :

     AAP is the only A Team of Delhi-ites



>   CANARD  :

     AAP is collecting election funds thru illegal methods

     TRUTH  :

     AAP is the only party with courage to publish full details of every rupee
     collected ( and from whom and how ) , on its web site



>   CANARD  :

     Arvind Kejriwal holds 4 voter cards

     TRUTH  :

     Election Commission has accepted its own lapse, for failing to cancel
     old voter cards , as requested by Arvind



>   CANARD  :

      " Media Sarkar " sting operation has exposed corruption of AAP leaders

     TRUTH  :

      Even Election Commission has found no proof , after going thru 14 hours
      of raw footage of sting tape



>    CANARD  :

       AAP leaders are arrogant and have used foul language against their
       opponents during election rallies

       TRUTH  :

       They have owned-up their mistakes and apologized within hours ,
       whereas Narendra Modi has tried to justify his " Khooni Panja " remark
       and Sonia Gandhi has yet to regret her " Maut Ka Sodaagar " remark.
       Leave alone Congress / BJP leaders , publicly calling each other ,"Rats"
       and " Monkeys " , since they know each other better !




>    CANARD  :

       AAP candidates are not " Aam " ; they are Crore-patis

       TRUTH  :

       During past 5 years , Congress / BJP MLAs have tripled their assets
       from Rs 2 Crores to Rs 6 Crores ( on an average ) , with one having
       gone from Rs 6 Crores to Rs 111 Crores  !



>    CANARD  :

      Arvind Kejriwal has 5 FIRs filed against him ( eg: Illegal processions ! )

      TRUTH  :

      Congress / BJP have given tickets to persons having Rape / Fraud etc

      " Charge-Sheets " framed by Courts





What Congress / BJP fail to realize is  :



>     Manifesto promises notwithstanding , people of Delhi are not going to
       forget - or forgive - the torture inflicted upon them by Congress / BJP
       over the years


>     Delhi-ites don't give a damn for minor mistakes of AAP


>     This is not an election contest between political parties . It is a battle of
        Kurukshetra - the battle between the " Corrupt Masters " and the "
        Oppressed People " , where " Good " will triumph over the " Evil "  !


>      Misleading is bound to Misfire


>     People have  run-out of patience


>     Writing is on the Wall


>     Tsunami is about to sweep them into the dustbin of history  !




*       hemen  parekh   (  28   Nov   2013   )        

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Congress cannot Compete !



As far as Delhi-ites are concerned , Congress cannot compete when it comes to promising cheaper power ( - if voted to power on 4th Dec elections )


As far as reducing electricity charges are concerned , leading political parties have promised to Delhi-ites , in their manifestos :



>     0 % reduction      (  Congress  )


>     30 % reduction    (  BJP  )


>     50  % reduction   (  AAP  )




Reason  ?


It would be a " political suicide " if Congress promises to bring down power charges  !


For past one year , Sheila Dikshit has been bending backward to justify the existing power tariff , as being the cheapest in the country


Promising a reduction would amount to admitting that there is a scope for reduction  !


If Congress were to promise a reduction , two things were certain :


>     Delhi-ites will ask for massive " refunds " for over-charging / looting
        (  approx. Rs  6,000 Crores ?  ) over the past 5 years


>     Such a " Self - Exposure " of scam , would mean , a certain defeat
       at the hands of  Aam Aadmi Party  (  AAP  ) , on 4th Dec


>      And having been voted to absolute majority , AAP will ask newly
        appointed Lokpal to investigate who pocketed this Rs 6,000 crores
        and put them behind bars !



What Sheila Dikshit - and her bosses - do not realize is :


>    " Non-promise "  notwithstanding , Congress will be reduced to a
       minority when Delhi-ites vote on 4th Dec in favor of AAP


Congress sharing opposition benches with BJP  ?


Oh  !  What a dreadful thought  !


Oh   !  What a fall was there my Countrymen  !




*    hemen   parekh   (   27   Nov   2013   )


Monday 25 November 2013

Greatest Show on Earth ?



Elections in 5 states will get over soon

National Elections will be over in 7/8 months

Here is a partial list of what Anchors and Experts will debate on TV channels for the next few months :



>    SEATS



      *   No of seats in Lok Sabha / State Legislative Assemblies

      *   No of seats contributed by each state

      *   Current share of seats /  political party-wise

      *   Projected share of seats ( who will win how many )

      *   " Combinations & Permutations " possible to form UPA 3 / NDA 2



>    CONTESTANTS



      *   No of contestants for each seat

      *   Dynasty to which each belongs

      *   Religion / Caste / Sub-caste , to which each belongs

      *   Declaration of Assets / Wealth - and growth % since 2009

      *   Criminal records

      *   Who will win , from where and why



>     VOTERS


 
      *   No of eligible voters ( State-wise / Religion-wise / Caste-wise )

      *   No of first-time voters



>     VOTES POLLED



       *   Total

       *   Constituency-wise

       *   Vote-Share %

       *   Vote % Swing

       *   Margins



>       POLITICAL  PARTIES



         *   National Vs Regional

         *   War Chest accumulated

         *   Money spent ( - of course , cash without account only ! )

         *   Gain / Loss of vote-share

         *   No of rallies

         *   Average attendance at rallies

         *   No of high profile campaigners

         *   No of helicopters / trucks / buses hired

         *   Kilometers covered

         *   Freebies included in respective Manifestos

         *   Pre-poll / Post-poll alliances

         *   Seat-sharing formulas

         *   No of violations of Code of Conduct

         *   Mastery in abuses hurled ( or , received  ? )



>      ELECTION COMMISSION



        *   No of polling booths / sensitive booths

        *   No of Returning Officers / Poll Observers

        *   No of policemen / security forces deployed

        *   No of EVMs

        *   No of complaints received



There is no doubt , I have missed out many items

Alas !

Our " Democracy " has been reduced to its " Lowest Common Denominator " , of  a  process called " Voting " !

Karl Marx may have said,

"  Religion is the opium of the masses "

I would like to paraphrase , by saying,

"  Elections are the opium of Indian Voters "



*    hemen   parekh   (  26  Nov  2013  )

    

Sunday 24 November 2013

Justice Delayed - but not Denied



There are 300 + lakh cases pending before India's judiciary system , comprising ,


>    16,000  Trial  Courts


>     21   High  Courts


>     Supreme Court


 If you go by the average rate of disposal during the past decade , it would take more than 100 years to clear this backlog  !


Of course , by then , 400 lakh new cases would have been filed  !


So , it came as a pleasant - and welcome - surprise that , on last Saturday , Lok Adalats managed to clear , 35 lakh cases in 8 hours ! More than 10 % of the outstanding !


In Delhi alone , 300 Lok Adalat benches cleared 366,000 cases , with each bench clearing ( on an average ) , 3 cases per minute  !


In Mumbai , the record was clearance of 37,975 cases  !


Many were pending for more than 10 years  !


What kind of cases ?


>   Bounced cheques


>   Bank Recovery


>   Civil Suits


>   Motor Accident Cases


>   Service Matters


>   Family  Matters


>   Traffic Challans


>   Loan Disputes


>   Restoration of Water Connection ..... etc



How did Lok Adalats manage such fantastic rate of disposal  ?


May be because ,


>  No lawyer was present to accuse or defend  ! Litigants argued their own
    cases .  No vested interest to keep the cases going for  ever  !


>  Lok Adalats were televised live through web-casting. World was watching


>  No court staff


>  Rather than shuttle between courts for another 20 years , weary  litigants

   were happy with any " compromise "


It is said ,


"   Justice delayed is Justice denied  "


Our Lok Adalats proved that justice need not be delayed  !


Sam Pitroda ( Chairman , National Innovation Commission ) would agree that this is innovation par excellence  !


How about decorating the person who thought of Lok Adalats in the first place , with a "  Bharat Ratna  "  ?



*   hemen  parekh   (   25  Nov  2013  )

  

Saturday 23 November 2013

Demand Vs Supply



Kapil Sibal is a Master of Law


But his knowledge of Economics is not negligible


Recently , he proved it by saying ,


"  Prices of vegetables have gone up because poor people now are earning more and want to eat vegetables ( what a cheek ! )


Demand has gone up but supply has not kept pace


And , Law of Economics says ,


Prices go up when demand exceeds supply - and vice-versa  !  QED  !  "


Thank God , Kapil  did not ask poor to stop eating vegetables so that prices can come down  !


Or , ask rich people to stop eating 3 different vegetables at every meal  !


He could have even asked ALL Indians to forgo all meals for one day per week , so that demand gets reduced  !


Or , he could have quoted ,



>   Raj Babbar ( MP ) , who said,
     "  In Mumbai , you can get a rice plate for Rs 12 / -  "
     (  address please ! )


>   Congress Rajya Sabha MP , Rasheed Masood , who said ,
     "   In Jama Masjid area of Delhi , you can eat well for Rs 5 /-  "
     (  He is now getting his meals totally FREE in Tihar Jail  !  )


>    Montek Singh Ahluwalia , who proclaims ,
     "  Any person in a city , spending more than Rs 26 per day , is RICH  "



Now , not being Agriculture Minister , Kapil cannot say why supply failed to keep up with the rising population of 20 million per year ( a well kept secret ? )


But he must be considering it " Utterly Unwise " of his Government to be trying so desperately to bring 400 million people above the Poverty Line ( remember Rs 26 per day ? )


Would not that make them " Rich " enough to demand vegetables  ?


Wouldn't that make matters worse  ?


Why can't we keep them poor like our Lok Sabha MPs , who get their food in Lok Sabha canteen , at the following prices ?



*   Tea............... Rs      1.0

*   Soup..............Rs      5.5

*   Daal...............Rs      1.5

*   Meals............. Rs     2.0

*   Chapati...........Rs     1.0

*   Dosa...............Rs     4.0

*   Veg Biryani......Rs      8.0

*   Fish................Rs     13.0

*   Chicken..........Rs      24.0



And prey , why are our MPs  poor  ?


Because their cooks  /  drivers  /  maids  /  gardeners  / servants  /  watchmen  / peons  ..etc are all poor !


These servants are all staying in out-houses of the small 10 bed-room living quarters of the MPs   !


Of course , rent free since the MPs are so poor  !

 No need to vacate either , when you stop being an MP  !


Why can't Kapil persuade the Lok Sabha canteen contractor to open branches , all over India  ?



*   hemen  parekh  (  24  Nov  2013  )

  


Friday 22 November 2013

Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You !



Thank you ,



>   SUSHIL KUMAR SHINDE ,


     -   for ordering a probe into foreign funding of AAP


     because ,


    _   now you have made it possible to expose the funding of other political
     parties , hopefully leading to amendments of Foreign Contribution Act  /
     Representation of the People Act  /  Model Code of Conduct .. etc



>   ANNA HAZARE ,


     -   for deciding not to join AAP


    because ,


    -    if you had , you would have paralyzed the working of AAP , by
     insisting that corruption be eliminated thru a " Change of Hearts " only !




>   BABA RAMDEV ,



      -    for declaring that AAP has hijacked the Jan Lokpal Andolan of Anna


      because ,


       -    to prove you right , AAP will now pass Jan Lokpal Bill on 29 Dec





>   SHEILA DIKSHIT ,


        -    for releasing Congress Election Manifesto on the same day as the
      release of AAP manifesto


      because ,


       -   that gave Delhi-ites, an opportunity to compare , " Apple for Apple ",
       which party will solve their " Top Priority " problems






>   ANURANJAN JHA ,


      -    for conducting a sting operation on 9 AAP leaders , then " Editing "
     ( not " Doctoring " ? ) the video tape and refusing to give a copy to AAP
     (  encouraging , a " Trial by Media " ?  )


     because ,


     -      you would have to expose  your " Sponsors " when Election
     Commission calls you for interrogation




>   DR. HARSHVARDHAN ,


     -     for proclaiming that AAP is nothing more than a " B Team " of
     Congress and may win 1 or 2 seats at the most


     because ,


     -     if for nothing else than to prove you wrong , Delhi-ites will vote to
     power AAP on 4th Dec  ( with 50 + seats ? )



What a fantastic coordination among you !


What a perfect orchestration  !


What a gift to AAP  !


Thank You , all  !



*    hemen  parekh   (  23   Nov   2013  )