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

Sunday 29 December 2013

A System - based Solution



DEAR  PEOPLE  OF  DELHI  :


Of course , you have a right to complain to your government and seek solutions to your problems


But then , 150 lakh people could each have a problem which , he / she wants solved " yesterday "  !


That would inundate your government , leading to a chaos , instead of satisfactory solutions  !


That is why Arvind said ,


"  Give us 10 days time to put in place , a system "


You could help him devise / implement  such a system


To begin with , submit your complaints in the following " Structured " manner ( - should be NEATLY handwritten ) :



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


COMPLAINT  FORM




>   Complainant Name


>   Age


>   Gender


>   Mobile No


>   Landline No


>   Email Id ( Optional )


>   Address


>   Nature of Complaint


>   To be attended by Dept ( your best guess )


>   Max no of days in which to attend ( be generous )


>   Date submitted ( date / month / year )



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


You may handover your complaint to ,



>    Government Secretariat


>    Arvind's Residence (  deposit in box kept outside
  )


>    Nearest  AAP  office




You gave previous Congress Government , 15 years for solutions of your problems - with no solutions


Now give , at least 15 days to AAP government  !


Be reasonable  !   Be patient  !




DEAR  ARVIND  :



Here are a few suggestions for you,


>   Within 10 days , print and distribute such a Complaint Form , widely
      all over Delhi . Keep it simple  ! Hindi as well


>    Make it downloadable from Delhi Government web site


>    Within 15 days , enable online submission of complaints on Govt web


      site . For each complaint , give comprehensive feedback . Make entire
      database searchable to any visitor , in a transparent manner


>   Within 30 days , start a Call - Center , where people can register their
      complaints over phone (  IVRS  ?  )


>   Within 45 days , launch Mobile App , "  Magic  Wand " , suggested by
      me , 2 days back 





*   hemen   parekh   (  30  Dec  2013  /  Mumbai  )

Saturday 28 December 2013

A Frog in Well ?




In Sanskrit , it is called , "  Koop  Mandook  "


A frog which cannot see the Sun rise ( - in Sanskrit , Arvind stands for Sun )


There is no other explanation for Nitin Gadkari to allege that a leading industrialist brokered a deal between AAP and Congress


There is no other explanation for Dr Harshvardhan to say ,


"   AAP will fail to deliver on its promises "


The leader of the opposition in Delhi Assembly ( who , in his post-swearing in speech , Arvind described as a " good man " ) , could not have dreamed that Arvind will motivate 50,000 Delhi-ites to chant ,


"  I will neither offer bribe , nor take bribe "


The good Doctor could not have realized that , after this slogan , Arvind need not worry about fulfilling AAP's poll promises


With this slogan , people of Delhi will themselves fulfill their own dreams  !


Even as experts ( - and some eminent non-experts ) , were debating till late in the night , how AAP will fail ,


>  Red beacons disappeared from official cars ( Magic Wand  ? )


>  Powerful bureaucrats were , unceremoniously shunted out


Do the feudal lords of Congress / BJP realize that , if AAP manages to cleanse the Delhi Administration of corruption , then people don't care if AAP fails to deliver on all of its other poll promises  ?


Most dangerous / unnerving thought  !


Most calamitous prophesy  !


Most certain obliteration  !


Nitinji ,


Remember that 26 year old dalit girl Rakhi Birla defeating a veteran Congress Minister in Delhi  ?


You would do well not to contest your 2014 Lok Sabha seat against Anjani Damania from Gadh Chiroli or Mumbai's Worli  !


People without homes , electricity , water , schools , toilets , hospitals etc , have sounded the death-knell of the corrupts  !


Can you hear it  ?


A new Sun has risen


The sooner you come out of your Koop and see it , the better  !


Sonia / Rahul have seen it


That is why they want Adarsh Scam Report " re-considered "  !





*   hemen  parekh  (  29  Dec  2013  /  Mumbai  )    

Friday 27 December 2013

Great Expectations



People of Delhi have " Great Expectations " from AAP government


And people of India will be watching how well AAP delivers on those expectations before 2014 general elections


Will AAP manage to deliver on its promises  ?


Here is when great expectations turn into " Unreasonable Expectations "  !


TV anchors are asking this question to every single AAP leader - all the time


And , they are also asking this question to sundry BJP / Congress leaders as well


Asking persons who are taking vicarious pleasure in predicting that AAP will fail miserably


Other than a random AAP leader ( notably , Arvind Kejriwal himself ), no one is saying ,


"   Of course , AAP will fail to deliver on some of those promises - especially
    those promises which require a YES nod from Central Government


    Of course , AAP may have made some miscalculations


    Of course , AAP has no experience in running a government


    Of course , AAP will make some mistakes


    Of course , AAP has no solutions to ALL the problems of Delhi


    So what  ?


    In 2009 , didn't Congress promise to ,


    >  abolish poverty ( as it has been promising for past 66 years )  ?


    >  bring inflation under control within 100 days of coming to power ?

        -  and then repeating that promise , every 100 days ?

       -  and even forcing Planning Commission and the RBI governor to say
       the same thing at every quarterly review  ?  "



Obviously , the vanquished are in a tearing hurry to write an epitaph on AAP's tombstone  !


I am reminded of the vultures circling in the sky when they see an animal dying on the ground  !


Are you surprised that the political vultures are waiting for AAP government to die / fail  ?


Are TV anchors allowing these vultures to use their powerful media to bring about , a " Self - fulfilling Prophesy "  ?


Have we become an ant crawling on a M F Hussein painting , which cannot step back and see it in perspective , in all its glory ?


On midnight of 15th August 1947 , I walked with the crowds of people ( all of them Aam Aadmi ) , from Shivaji Park to Gateway of India , in Mumbai


It took me 12 hours to walk that distance


But I was lucky to have witnessed history in the making


And now , after a lapse of 66 years , I am lucky once again , to be witnessing , another glorious moment of history !


Let us celebrate the arrival of our second freedom - the Surajya


Let us celebrate the beginning of the end of Cancer of Corruption


Let us celebrate the re-birth of the Common Man - the Aam Aadmi



*   hemen   parekh   (  28   Dec   2013  /  Mumbai  )  

   

Thursday 26 December 2013

Magic Wand ?




Yesterday , Arvind Kejriwal said ,


"  We don't have a Magic Wand with which to cure the problems of the people "


DEAR  ARVIND ,


You don't have to search very far for such a wand  !

That could be the name of an Android app ( I Seek It Now > < U Solve It Now )


To be developed by Home Ministry of Delhi Government , for successful implementation of


DELIVERY  OF  SERVICES  ACT


Make the app freely downloadable from Google Play or from official web site of Delhi government


To activate , a citizen will log into the App , by entering :


>      Aadhar  Identification  Number


>      Delhi Electoral Roll Number


As soon as he does , his name will appear on the first screen of the App , which will read ,


“  I wish to send my complaint to the following department ( For Example ) :
   


  * National Commission for Women

  • Garbage Clearance

  • Water Supply

  • Electricity Supply

  • Roads Repair

  • Rationing ( Food Distribution )

  • Police

  • Bus Transport

  • Railways

  • Post

  • Employment

  • Education

  • Irrigation

  • Building Permits

  • Revenue / Land Records

  • Anti Corruption

  • Other ……………………………………….etc

       (  List should not exceed 50  )


Touching name of any department name will open a SMS message box where the user will type out his complaint ( in a language of his choice )


There will be option to speak-out and record voice message , for illiterate users


Touching  SEND  button will transmit the complaint and within minutes, user will receive SMS reply giving,


  • Name of Officer responsible

  • Office Landline No

  • Mobile No of Officer

  • Email Id of Officer

  • Complaint No with date

  • Expected date of solving the complaint


Bingo  !


The Delhi Government official web site ( integrated with mobile App ) , will carry a tabulation of departments , arranged in the descending order of the no of complaints received / cleared / pending !


The Tabulation will also show , several performance matrices such as,


>  Max time / Ave time / Min time , for solving problem

>  Percentage Performance

>  Binomial Distribution Curve

>  Credit Points earned by the Department .........etc


This frugal innovation will bring in Good Governance to AAP government in Delhi


Arvind Kejriwal may want to request Nandan Nilekani / Sam Pitroda to help out . If they are too busy, his own Alma Mater , IIT-Kanpur would be glad to develop such an App within 15 days !



If AAP manages to successfully implement this in Delhi , it will succeed in convincing 760 million voters of India that ,


"  Where there is a Will , there is a Way

   Give AAP a chance to replicate this at All India level " 



*    hemen  parekh  (  27  Dec  2013 / Mumbai )


Wednesday 25 December 2013

A Castle in Air ?



When people talk about someone " building a castle in air " , it is said in a derogatory way


But dreamers know no other way  !


All of them build castles in air


And a few fortunate ( - and hardworking ) , even succeed in laying a foundation under that castle , at a later date  !


Modern day civil engineers have even demonstrated that one can build a sky-scraper , by building the top-most floor first and the foundation , very last  !


Being a dreamer , Arvind Kejriwal has , over the past few months , built just such a 18 story sky-scraper  , in the sky ( - remember his 18 point questionnaire to Congress  ?  )


When he gets sworn-in as Delhi Chief Minister on 28th , he must start laying a foundation below that sky-scraper


It will have to be a foundation of " Good Governance ", consisting of :


>  Committed colleagues ( not Ayaram - Gayaram  ! )


>  Non corrupt bureaucrats


>  Transparent processes


>  Timely delivery of services to Delhi citizens


>  "  Always Approachable " ministers ( no beacons / security / bungalows )


>   Periodic public scrutiny of Government's performance


>   Decentralized decision making  .............etc



I may have left out a few items


That is not important


What is very important is ,


In coming days  , will AAP leaders conduct themselves with such honesty / dignity / transparency / sense of purpose , that ,


>   42 opposition MLAs would find it  impossible to oppose the Vote of
     Confidence on 3rd Jan  ?


>   Congress / BJP will be forced to take action against their own corrupt
     leaders ( eg: Adarsh Scam )  ?


>   Some 1400 regional political parties ( as per Election Commission
     records ) may consider merging with AAP , in order to bring about
     a change in the political climate of India ( a viable 3rd front  ) ?



DEAR  ARVIND ,


>  Do not allow the past corruption crimes of Congress / BJP , to cloud
    your vision


>  Do not fritter away your energy in solving pea-nut problems


>  Enlarge your horizon beyond Delhi, to cover whole of India


>  Focus on 2014





*   hemen   parekh   (  26  Dec  2013  /  Mumbai  ) 

Tuesday 24 December 2013

The Sinking Ship ?



It is said ,


"  When a ship is about to sink , the rats desert it  "


Is Congress , a sinking ship  ?


Here are some reasons to believe so :


>   Some years back , TMC deserted it


>   Ever since A Raja / Kanimozi episode , DMK was threatening to leave it .

     This finally happened last week


>   On issue of Telengana , TSR left sometime back.

 Now Kiran Reddy is
     about to leave


>   Last week , Prafull Patel gave a hint that NCP is getting ready to leave ,
     when he he asked Congress to own up all of its past mistakes , starting
     with 2G Scam


     Earlier , Sharad Powar had made it amply clear that he won't work under
     Rahul Gandhi as a PM

    
>   Having got a " Clean Chit " from CBI in the dis-proportionate assets case
     Mulayam has started distancing himself from Congress


>   Having got special status for Bihar , Nitish has ceased to cozy-up


And now , to top it all , Congress workers ( motivated by Sheila Dikshit / JP Agarwal  ? ) , are demanding that Congress withdraw its " Outside Support " to AAP


For a " Re-born Reformist " Rahul ,  it is a classical case of ,


" Dammed  if I do , dammed if I don't "


If he agrees to withdraw support BEFORE the swearing - in ceremony  scheduled tomorrow , he will stand exposed as a fickle-minded and a foolish leader , who cannot be trusted , even by friends !


If he decides to withdraw support AFTER the swearing-in , ( by voting against the confidence vote , mandatory for a minority government ), people of Delhi would hold HIM responsible for bringing down AAP government


And that would make Arvind Kejriwal , a martyr  !


And further ensure that in a re-poll , AAP returns to power with a thumping majority and Congress loses , even those 8 seats  !


From the view-point of 2014 elections , such a total rout of Congress in Delhi , would be a dream-come-true for BJP  !


But I hope , Arvind - and his party men -  realize that :


>   Sinking of the Congress-Ship , is neither their objective , nor a priority

     Leave that job to BJP  !


>   Delivering on pro-poor reforms is their priority No ONE

>   To be able to deliver these reforms , it is necessary for AAP to assume
      power - then survive Confidence Vote to retain that power


>   To remain in power , they need continued support of Congress


>   For Rahul to quell his internal mutiny ( engineered by the sitting
     Congress MLAs who suffered at the hands of AAP candidates ) , AAP
     must not push him to the wall !


>   If AAP goes after the past corruption cases of defeated Congressmen
     ( - and women  ? ) with vengeance , Rahul will be left with no option
     but to withdraw support




DEAR   ARVIND



In a game of chess , you don't try to checkmate your opponent in the very first move  !


It has to be your FINAL / WINNING move  !


If need be , please re-read your Chanakya  !



*   hemen   parekh   (   25  Dec   2013  /  Mumbai  )




Monday 23 December 2013

Prophets of Doom ?



Since yesterday morning when Arvind Kejriwal announced that AAP will form a government in Delhi , prophets of doom have sprung into action everywhere - mostly on TV


They are saying :


>   AAP government cannot deliver on its impractical poll promises


>   AAP has sacrificed its principle of taking no support


>   AAP has betrayed the people of Delhi


>   AAP is lusting for power - like all other parties


>   AAP has no experience in running a government


>   People will soon get disillusioned with AAP...............etc


Then there are some who are not happy being mere dooms-dayer  !


They want to pro-actively  bring about the downfall of AAP by laying a carefully concealed trap for AAP to walk into  !


Take Dr Harshvardhan of BJP


He challenges AAP government to arrest / prosecute within next 30 days , those persons who were held guilty by the Shunglu Commission , in respect of CWG scam


Being a polite gentleman , he does not name names ( Sheila Dikshit ? )


He says , exposing and punishing the corrupt is an important poll promise of AAP


You would think Sheila Dikshit would get offended with Dr Harshvardhan


Oh , but No !


Quite the contrary


She too wants Arvind to walk into this trap  !


That would give her just the desired excuse to withdraw that " Outside Support " of Congress to bring down the AAP government


I hope Arvind is smart enough to see through these macabre machinations of mediocre minions , who want to lead AAP , up a garden path  !



DEAR  ARVIND ,



Exposing the corrupt is  " IMPORTANT - but not URGENT "


It is NOT your priority No 1


Delivering pro-poor reforms is both " IMPORTANT and URGENT "


Stay your course and watch out for the traps


Remaining honest in the days to come is far more important than exposing the corruption of the past




*    hemen   parekh   (  24   Dec   2013   /   Mumbai   )