Is Lokpal Overdue ?

Sunday Times ( 14  July  2013 ) reports following findings of latest Transperency International Survey for India :

>  Who  takes  bribes and  how  often ( Bribe  Quotient )

*    Political  parties  ...........................  86 %
*    Police  .........................................  75 %
*    Legislature  .................................   65 %
*    Education  .....................................61 %
*    Health  Systems  ..........................  56 %
*    Business   ....................................   50 %
*    Judiciary  ...................................    45 %
*    Religious  Bodies  ......................    44 %
*    Media  ......................................... 41 %
*    NGO  ........................................   30 %
*    Military  ....................................... 20 %

And 68 % of the people surveyed say , Government actions to fight corruption have been ineffective

Obvious, isn't it , considering that the Central Government is so busy fighting Lokpal Bill !

hemen

Believe it or Not !

As per Economic Times ( 14 July 2013 ), none of the MLAs of the Manipur 2012 Assembly face criminal charges !

Now compare this with the following :

>    MPs/MLAs who have voluntarily declared criminal cases against them.................  1460

>    MPs who face criminal cases ..............................................................................    162

>    MLAs who face criminal cases ...............................................................................1258

>    BJP  MPs / MLAs who face criminal cases  ...........................................................    31 %

>   Congress   MPs / MLAs who face criminal cases  .......................................................21 %

Believe me , you will see most of them back in their respective legislatures , after the next set of National / State Elections , since , very few have been convicted with a prison term of 2 years or more

Venturesome amongst you might want to place bets with bookies !

Hemen Parekh

A Drop in the Ocean ?

As per Hindustan Times ( 14 July, 2013 ) report, Food Corporation of India [ FCI ] lost rice and wheat worth Rs 2050 Crores in transit and storage , during last 3 years

That was a mere 1.1 Million tons

What is a mere 1.1 million tons , compared to 50 million tons of grains planned to be distributed to 800 million poor Indians , every year , under Food Security Bill ?

( Ans : It is a mere Rs 1,25,000 Crores )

If you go by Mr Tariq Anwar - Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing -,  30 % of food grains supplied thru the Public Distribution System ( PDS ) , is lost every year !

How about replacing the Public Distribution System ( thru elimination of all middlemen ) , with a Poor Distribution System , under which , poor can simply queue up before the FCI godowns / silos and collect those grains for FREE , before they rot ?

hemen

Murder Most Foul

After being served pesticide-infected food , 22 kids died in Bihar two days back

Many more are fighting for their lives

As usual ,

>   Chief Minister promptly announced an inquiry and a compensation of Rs 2 lakhs each , for the families of the victims

>   If ever , culpability gets established after decades of court-case , the culprits will be let off with a prison term of a few months

But then other Chief Ministers have also offered " Blood Money " ( aka, " Compensation " ), when culprits have got away with murders of hundreds in ,

>   Collapse of poorly constructed buildings

>   Sinking of unfit and overladen boats

>   Fires in theatres / pandals due to poor wiring

>   Home made hooch mixed with petrol / spirit

The frequencies with which such incidences have been occuring  is such that one can statistically " predict " these events , weeks and months in advance !

Nothing ever changes in this " Ageless / Timeless " country !

Not for the poor in any case

hemen

Judicial Activism ?

Yesterday , Supreme Court announced :


MPs / MLAs , who have been handed out a sentence of 2 years or more , will immediately lose their membership of the Parliament / Assembly.

Will this order also prevent persons with criminal records from " contesting " elections ? 

I don't know

I am only happy that we have a Judiciary that is finally getting " Active " !

Sure , some will argue that the Courts are stepping into the domain of the legislative wings of our Democracy

But when the Lawmakers of the land become corrupt and even criminal , the Courts become the last resort for the poor people !

If lawmakers cannot - or will not - decide , then someone else has to !

Of Course , from the vested interests , there will be cries of " Judicial Activism " and of " Supremacy of the Parliament " !

The only interest of people in power , is to perpetuate the " Status Quo "

If they have their way , they will even pass a law which will prescribe following eligibility criteria for being able to contest an election ( Panchayat / State / National ) :

" A contestant must be a son / daughter / son-in-law / daughter-in-law / nephew / niece / spouse or any distant relative of a sitting or past MP / MLA - preferably with a criminal record "



--  hemen

Do not bribe the Voters

Do not make promises !

Do not bribe the voters !

That is what the Supreme Court is telling the political parties

" Henceforth , do not promise in your Election Manifestos :


>   Laptops / Tablets
>   Domestic Appliances
>   Gold Ornaments
>   Cows
>   Unemployment Allowance
>   Free food  .................................etc   "

Patently unfair !

Now what else can a political party promise ?

Already , they have been promising , for the past 65 years :


>   Elimination of Poverty
>   Jobs for  All
>   Water for Farmers ( Rains or no rains )
>   Own houses for  City-dwellers
>   College Education for Villagers  ...........etc


How about a political party promising :


>   No new legislation for next 5 years (- hence no stalled Parliament ! )
>   Strict implementation of all existing Laws of the Land

I am sure Supreme Court would welcome that !

hemen

When will they see Food ?

DNA [ 03 July 2013 ] reports findings of a survey :



How many kids are on Mumbai's streets ?

16,059

Why are they on streets ?

Poverty ..........................  38.4  %
Family on streets ............  17.9  %
To support family ..............08.5  % 


Means of Earning  ?

Begging  ...........................22.0  %
Rag Picking  ......................27.4  %


Spending Behavior  ?

Food  ...............................38.3  %
Contribute to family ...........21.1  %


Saving  Behavior  ? ( a cruel question , no doubt ! )

No ...................................89.1  %


Place  of  Living  ?

Slum  ..............................39.6  %
Street  ............................30.0  % 
Railway Platform  .............18.9   %


Age  ?

12-15  years  ....................56.6  %
18-18  years  ....................23.0  %


Not covered by Rapid Survey........approx  84,000 !
( Working in sweat-shops ? )


When will benefit of Food Security Ordinance reach them ?


hemen