Thursday, December 25, 2025

VK Singh to bring back mortal remains of 38 Indians killed by ISIS in Iraq

By
Tehelka Web Desk
-

Union Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh and other officials who left for Iraq on April 1will going to bring back the mortal remains of 38 Indians on April 2, who were abducted and then killed by ISIS. The remains of 39th Indian worker are still being identified and work on the same is in progress. Minister after reaching India will travel to Amritsar, Patna and Kolkata to personally hand over the coffins to the respective families with evidence.

Indian Minister Singh has said that he is going to Mosul to get the mortal remains of 38 Indians; they will not get one man’s remains as his case is still pending. Raju Yadav, a native from Bihar, has not yet been identified even though his family member’s DNA sample was taken almost 15 days ago.

As many as 40 victims (who were construction workers) were taken hostage in 2014 when ISIS took control of the Mosul, a city in Iraq. Out of 40, one of them escaped posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh and mortal remains of 38 workers were exhumed from a mass grave in Badoosh, a village northwest of Mosul in Iraq and one case is still pending. Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj had said in the Parliament that they had about 98 percent match for remains of 38 workers.

Of the 39 victims, 27 victims hailed from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh, six from Bihar, and rest of the two are from West Bengal.

Dalit groups call for Bharat bandh against SC/ST ruling

By
Tehelka Web Desk
-

IMG_20180402_121104Hundreds of security personnel have been deployed across Punjab on April 2 ahead of Bharat bandh called by Dalit groups, objecting to Supreme Court ruling diluting the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

Internet services have already been suspended in the state and schools and colleges will also be closed on April 2, as per reports. Shops and other establishments will also remain closed.

The final practical examinations of Class 10 and 12 of Punjab School Education Board has been postponed to April 11, as per reports.

Passengers will also face inconvenience as public transportation has been shut down in Punjab. While PRTC buses will not be plying from the Mohali bus stand, CTU buses too will not go to Mohali and other parts of Punjab, said CTU director Amit Talwar.

Mohali deputy commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra said, “I also request people not to pay heed to rumours. They should immediately inform police or administrative officials if they find anything suspicious.”

According to reports, around 2,000 cops will be on duty in Chandigarh and 1,000 in Panchkula. UT home secretary Anurag Aggarwal said the administration has decided not to suspend internet services or close schools and colleges, but adequate arrangements have been made in the wake of nationwide protests.

In another incident, some protesters in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut and Jharkhand’s capital city Ranchi turned violent. While, life in Mumbai remains undisturbed so far amid the nationwide Bharat bandh.

Bypolls: Signs of Opposition’s recovery

By
Anil Sinha
-

SP_BSPHow small events can initiate a big change could be seen in the aftereffects of by-elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Results of Phulpur, Gorakhpur in UP and Arariya in Bihar have cemented a much-needed unity among the Opposition parties. Till recently, it appeared to be a difficult proposition to have BSP Chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav under one umbrella to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Chanakya Amit Shah from repeating a 2014-like win in 2019. The results of the by-elections showed them the way. They have not only joined hands but also made it clear that they would be part of a larger alliance led by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress in opposing BJP and RSS to power in the 2019 general elections.

The BJP tried to outmanoeuvre the SP and BSP in Rajya Sabha polls held just after the bypolls. The party could engineer cross-voting and the BSP candidate supported by the SP was defeated. The BJP-supported media tried to portray the defeat as the failure of the new alliance of BSP and the SP. It started predicting a collapse of the alliance which was yet to start formally.

However, reacting to the success of BJP in defeating the BSP candidate for Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati said that if BJP thinks that failure of SP leader Akhilesh in ensuring the BSP candidate’s win will make her angry and she will snap the ties with the SP, the saffron party was wrong. She made it clear that the two parties would remain united to oust the BJP from power.

She also made it clear that she had good relations with the Congress and it would remain so. She reminded that her party had been helping out the UPA government during crises.

“The victory of the BJP on the ninth seat, contested by the saffron party with the help of money power, has given the SP an opportunity to expose the communal outfit’s anti-Dalit face. Because of the conspiracy hatched by the BJP against a Dalit getting elected, SP-BSP unity has got strengthened all the more for the Lok Sabha polls,” argued Akhilesh Yadav in an interview to a news agency.

Results in UP and Bihar are not only important for the larger opposition unity, but also for the two parties that have won the elections.  It was for the first time that Akhilesh Yadav and RJD’s Tejaswi Yadav fought on their own. For Akhilesh, it was a test case and he had to prove to his family that he could run the party without the support of seniors Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivapal Yadav. This time, uncle Ramgopal was also not much visible.

Tejaswi was not under any family pressure but he had to prove to the rank and file of the RJD and to the ruling alliance in Bihar led by Nitish Kumar that he is an appropriate replacement for his father Lalu Prasad, who is in jail after being convicted in several cases pertaining to the infamous fodder scam. He had to prove his mettle to the constituency which his father has nursed for over two and half decades. His mature responses after the win also added to the perception that he would make himself a good leader in due course of time.

Both the young leaders are going to play crucial roles in 2019. They have pledged an unconditional support to Congress in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

“My relations with the Congress are good and will remain so. It is a national party while we are strong here in the state. The preparations for stitching together an alliance are on. The leader will be decided later at an opportune time,“ the SP leader said in an interview with a news agency.

Tejaswi also echoed the same thing in his interview to a news channel. He referred the name of Rahul Gandhi among the probable candidates for the post of prime minister and reiterated his commitment to the broader alliance led by Congress against BJP.

Andhra_Protest-The two bypolls have affected the existing social equations in UP. If we take a look at the social equations in the state, it becomes clear that the results of bye-elections have shown a positive change in favour of the Opposition. The social engineering which the BJP had done in 2014 elections by taking advantage of the division among OBCs on the lines of Yadavs and non-Yadavs is now collapsing. In Gorakhpur, a non-Yadav OBC candidate has won on the ticket of Samajwadi Party. The Nishad community has sizable population in the area. It is for the first time in three decades that a non-BJP candidate has won the elections. The seat was held by Mahanth Awaidyanath of Gorakhnath Math and then by Yogi Adityanath, for over two and half decades.

The local factors that have played a part in elections are also important because they have statewide ramifications. Many children had died of Japanese Encephalitis last year and the Yogi government failed to rise to the occasion. He also did not take any action to meet the future challenges in the health sector which is plagued with infrastructural ills. His budget allocations also did not reflect any willingness to alter the situation in the state. Instead, he chose to prioritise the issues which are meant to consolidate Hindutva support base. He allocated liberally for cow-protection and other similar things.

BJP governments at the Centre and the state have failed to contain unemployment. Problem of unemployment combined with farmers’ distress has affected support base of the party and it has been reflected in the results of bypolls across the country. The same is true for UP.

Here, it is important to note that coming together of BSP and SP is not being properly interpreted. In Gorakhpur, Yogi has been winning elections by grabbing more than 50 per cent of votes. He was doing this in a situation where both SP and BSP were in the fray. So, simply coming together of these parties might not have defeated the BJP. Other reasons like people’s discontent must have played some role in defeating the BJP candidate.

Bypoll results also coincided with important developments in the Opposition camp and they indicate a better situation ahead for it. The meeting called by Sonia Gandhi was attended by most of the major opposition parties and opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar seem to have buried their differences with the Congress, at least for the 2019 elections. Though, the Congress fared very poorly in the bypolls of UP, none in the Opposition camp made it a point to criticize Rahul or his party. They also indicated that the results would not affect future arrangements. However, the results have made it difficult for the Congress to bargain for more seats. It is likely that the party will get seven to eight seats in UP . Majority of seats are likely to go to the BSP and the SP.

A sign of recovery has been spotted in the Left block as well. The CPM’s failure in Tripura had made them vulnerable to political irrelevance caused. The party seems to have taken up the challenge in the right spirit. The Long March of farmers from Nasik to Mumbai sent ripples through the sections of power and media which had started dismissing the left. The All India Kisan Sabha, the peasant front of CPM led this march. The front has successfully mobilized peasants of Rajasthan and forced the state government to announce concessions.

On the other hand, the ruling alliance is facing some deep problems within. The most important among them is the exit of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of Chandrababu Naidu. The party has not only made an exit but is splitting beans. The letter written to the party by BJP president Amit Shah has received a very harsh reply from Naidu. He has termed the letter as a “bundle of lies”.

The situation in Bihar is also not better. The Hindustan Awami Party led by former chief minister and Nitish Kumar aide Jitan Ram Manjhi has left the alliance. It has joined the Mahagathbandhan led by RJD. The party represents Musahar, the third largest block among Dalits. Lok Janshakti Party leader Ramvilas Paswan is feeling restless. The Lok Samata Party leader and a state minister in the Union cabinet, Upendra Kushwaha, is also not happy and he may join the Mahagathbandhan. He is an avowed opponent of Nitish Kumar and very unlikely to join him in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

The social equations forged by the BJP in two populous states, UP and Bihar, have started crumbling. So, the saffron party is back to its old card of Hindutva. Ram Navami rallies have created tensions in many parts of east and north India. The Hindu-Muslim tension is bound to accelerate in the coming months because PNB bank scam and other scams are eroding the support base of BJP among middle class and it has nothing except resorting to Hindutva. The issue of unemployment is also being raised by different organizations.

Other issues like so-called autonomy to 60 universities may also come up to the fore.

However, the response of the ruling BJP is not in tune with the country’s democratic traditions. The party has ensured that Parliament should not discuss bank scams. The government is in denial mode. It has done nothing to bring back fraudsters Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi to India. On the other hand, the CBI is being used to hound political opponents. Chandrababu Naidu’s son is the latest victim. Just a month ago, it was Karti Chidambaram. Lalu’s family has been a constant target.

However, Amit Shah is still talking of poll-mathematics. He is not ready to accept the ground reality that the promises have not been fulfilled.

“The BJP lost bypolls as the BSP and SP reached an alliance in the last hour,” he says.

letters@tehelka.com

Has Kejriwal’s AAP turned into Aam apology party?

By
Vipin Pubby
-

The Delhi High Court’s judgment quashing orders of the Election Commission on disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs has brought back smiles for the AAP leaders but they need to contemplate on the steeply declining public support and poor perception building up against the party.

Arvind Kejriwal at Golden Temple in Amritsar.AAP had come into existence riding the crest of a popular wave which had people from all walks of life joining hands to provide clean politics and dream for a better India. Hundreds of professionals, including from overseas, had resigned from their jobs or had taken long leave to help the new party. Thousands had worked hard at the grassroots level to build up a base and persuade voters to elect a “different kind of government”. Lakhs had voted for the party candidates in Delhi, the nucleus from which it was to spread its wings across the country.

Over the years, however, the party is hurtling from one crisis to another and has almost lost the goodwill that had attracted voters to its commitment of ushering a revolution in governance. In fact the party has turned out to be the same, if not worse, than the other traditional parties. The decision of party supremo Arvind Kejriwal to tender unqualified apologies to several top politicians from the BJP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal, among others, has shattered the image of an honest, sincere, responsible and mature party.

The argument given by the party leadership for the series of equivocal apologies to various leaders is that Kejriwal was facing over 30 defamation cases across 21 states and that it was leading to “wastage of time” due to frequent court appearances. He also said that governance was suffering due to his frequent travels across the country for attending court cases.

However, what the unqualified apologies also prove is that he had been levelling false, unfounded and baseless allegations against all and sundry. Absolutely no effort was made by him or his advisers to cross check allegations. In other words, it showed complete irresponsibility on the part of Kejriwal and his advisers or supporters. The leaders or persons against whom such serious charges were levelled, and who must have felt humiliated in public and personal life, were made to suffer for no fault of theirs.

And now that Kejriwal has tendered apologies does it not amount to cheating the voters? Many of them would have voted for the party candidates in the firm belief that what Kejriwal and other leaders had been saying was factually correct. They were thus apparently misled for the sole objective of gaining political power. Does this not call for an apology to the voters. Is it not the moral responsibility for Kejriwal and other MLAs to tender their resignation and contest elections again?

In the run up to the Punjab elections, the AAP had made drug menace as a major election issue. It had been openly alleging that there was a nexus between top politicians and drug traffickers. There was hardly any pubic speech in which Kejriwal had not named former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, brother-in-law of then deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Majithia, who belongs to a well-to-do family, had been firm in denying the charges but a public perception was indeed created around his name.

Not just that, its elected MLAs have been vocal in demanding ‘action’ against Majithia and have often raised the issue both inside and outside the Assembly. They have also been getting support from a section of Congress legislators even though they belong to the rival camp.

No wonder the state unit of the party reacted sharply to the sudden announcement regarding Kejriwal’s apology to Majithia. The behind-the-scene negotiations and formalities were kept hidden from the entire state unit of the party. The MLAs came to know about the deal only when Majithia held a press conference and displayed the letter of apology. It was a moral victory for Majithia but it came as a tight slap on the AAP’s face.

There was talk of a split in the party and formation of a new party. This proposal was shelved for the time being due to two factors. One, that the amended Act for a split in political parties had made it very difficult for parties to split within and outside the House. Within the House it can be possible only if the split unit merges with one of the parties. A merger was ruled out with both the Congress and the BJP. It could have merged with its alliance partner, Lok Insaf Party, but it was too small a party to merge with.

The second important reason which ruled out a split was the political uncertainty. It had been just one year since the election and none of the AAP MLAs could afford to take any risk and contest a fresh election.

In the meantime, Kejriwal and his associates were able to convince half of the MLAs on why it was necessary to end litigation even though it involved apology to political rivals. Though most party leaders do not endorse Kejriwal’s apology, they have little chance except to reconcile to the developments.

But it is not just in Punjab that the party is facing a serious crisis, it is finding itself in a mess even in its stronghold of Delhi. The relief provided by the Delhi High Court may turn out to be a temporary relief. The High Court has set aside the disqualification of 20 MLAs from the Delhi Assembly by the Election Commission but has asked them to again approach the Commission again for fresh hearing.

There is no doubt that the action of the Commission in disqualifying the MLAs was not above board. The legislators were not given any chance to defend their case. The order was passed just two days before the retirement of Chief Election Commissioner A K Jyoti who had earlier served as chief secretary in the Modi government in Gujarat. The expeditious acceptance of EC’s recommendations by the President and the ordering of disqualification had led to doubts over the intentions behind the disqualifications.

The High Court has not adjudicated merits or otherwise of the case. It has simply asked the Commission to hear the case again. In case the Commission sticks to its earlier verdict, the legislators concerned can again challenge the orders. Given the political sensitivity of the case it is expected to carry on and end only with the verdict of the Supreme Court.

Besides these developments, the internal crisis within the party involving sacking of stalwarts like Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, suspension of two of the four party MPs, slapping of criminal charges against over a dozen of its legislators and nomination of moneybags to Rajya Sabha overlooking the claims of leaders like Kumar Vishwas has severely dented the party’s image. It shall take quite an effort and a lot of introspection for the party leadership to restore its credibility and faith among the common people.

letters@tehelka.com

Bracing for an epic battle Mahabharata 2019

By
Charanjit Ahuja
-

congress plenary session (1)

The Congress plenary session, with a fiery speech of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, gave clear indications of an epic battle ahead. By likening the BJP to Kauravas and the Congress to Pandavas, Rahul sought to set the agenda for the next election. The analogy from the Mahabharata conveyed that the forthcoming general election would be like the fight between Kauravas and Pandavas. The latter were small in number but on the right side. Rahul Gandhi was aggressive, mocked at the BJP’s role in the freedom struggle, ridiculed the alleged crony capitalism and the corrupt with references from Hindu mythology and compared the BJP’s ‘arrogance’ with that of the Kauravas and called himself a Pandava.
Fierce fights ahead
This also showed that we are headed for one of the fiercest and most bitter electoral battles. Earlier when Sonia Gandhi laid table for Opposition parties’ dinner, it had all the ingredients for Congress’ revival under Rahul Gandhi when she said that the contest will be over the ‘Idea of India’ and the style of the present government. Would India make peace with the culture of fear and intimidation, vigilante mobs, and the mocking of scientific temper? She questioned much to the discomfiture of the BJP after losses in the recent by-polls. Now, Rahul Gandhi is positioning himself as the Prime Minister’s primary challenger with the support of like-minded parties. Personal attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah make it clear that Congress will run a relentless campaign and try to put the Modi government on the defensive on various issues.

BJP’s invincibility under Modi
All said, much would depend on the outcome of the verdict in states going to the polls this year — Karnataka first and Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh later this year. The invincibility of the BJP has come under the scanner in the recent by-elections in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress Plenary Session took place at a time when efforts were underway to forge a third front of parties opposed to BJP as also the Congress. When Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao mooted a non-BJP and non-Congress front, he found immediate support from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but it also showed its vulnerability because it is not the coming together of all like-minded parties. Mamata’s Trinamool Congress and Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) of course have little in common, other than an antipathy to the BJP and the Congress. This leaves good space for the Congress to engage with all anti-BJP parties and for Rahul to emerge as a natural leader targeting BJP’s 2014 pith of “acche din”. So has Rahul Gandhi now truly come of age? Or is he still a prisoner of fabled Congress party’s dynastic legacy? Or an evolved politician keen to change India by involving the young in politics? The recently concluded Congress Plenary Session after his one-man show in Gujarat gave enough indications that he has been able to successfully shed the tag of an elitist leader and ‘cameo activist’.

His recent forays show that Rahul Gandhi, the president of the grand 132-year-old party, is trying to capture the imagination of the masses and possible allies. At the plenary session, he was able to define Congress’ strategy for the next general election showing need for a joint front. The new leadership’s plans to harness political creativity, connect to the digitally conscious and create greater inner party inclusivity were there for every one to see. The Congress party’s battle plans seem to be forging alliance with parties sans their ideological differences to exploit the BJP’s shrinking base of allies. The most defining moments of Rahul Gandhi’s political career came when he shed his reticence and came out of his mother Sonia Gandhi’s shadows making her observe: “He is now my boss too. Let there be no doubt about that”. It was a strategic statement to galvanize party workers to make them rally around Rahul Gandhi.

On his part at the plenary session, Rahul made a significant statement that the Congress had failed to rise to the expectations of the people and might have committed mistakes. The idea was to underline the humility of the new boss pitted against Prime Minister Modi and the BJP. The Congress made a strenuous effort to energise its workers for the electoral battles ahead at the party plenary pitching itself as the real alternative to BJP while also expressing its willingness to cooperate with like-minded parties to unseat the Modi government in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

To his party workers, Rahul Gandhi has promised to address their complaints that well-connected leaders often “parachute” down at the time of ticket allocation at the cost of genuine, dedicated workers. He wants to make party leaders more accessible to workers by breaking the ‘walls’ and giving more tickets to the youth. It is a fact that the Congress Party’s many state units are plagued by factionalism with leaders owing allegiances to the old order. Rahul had to indicate that he would enforce discipline so that the party’s effort at winning elections was not weakened in any way.

Another change that one could notice was that the “worker-centric” gathering was held in a different format with Rahul saying he had kept the stage empty for talented youth from within the party and outside. Only those delivering speeches went up to the stage to do so from the podium.

Forging alliances
Under Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party’s political resolution talked of adopting a pragmatic approach for cooperation with all like-minded parties and evolving a common workable programme to defeat the BJP-RSS in the next general election to reverse the BJP’s economic policies. The party’s four resolutions — political, economic, foreign affairs and on ‘agriculture, unemployment and poverty alleviation’ sought to address concerns of various sections of society. The party president, in his concluding speech, focused on youth and farmers — two sections that are perceived to be getting disenchanted with the Modi government and represent a vast section of the population.

That Rahul Gandhi is in full command was visible, as he has also started building his new team. Resignations have begun in the party. There were reports that actor-politician Raj Babbar has been asked to continue on his post till the party elects a new state unit chief.

Babbar’s case points to this nervousness in the old guard of the party after Rahul formally took over as Congress chief. Congress party’s worst performance in the recent Lok Sabha by-polls to Gorakhpur earlier represented by chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Phulpur, represented by his deputy, has reportedly irked the party president. Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki is also believed to have tendered his resignation to the central leadership of the party. Reports suggest that several top leaders of the party may quit in the days to come. Earlier, Goa Congress president Shantaram Naik resigned from his post, saying he was “inspired” by Rahul Gandhi’s speech at the party plenary about making way for younger leaders. Naik, 71, is the first senior Congress leader to resign after Rahul Gandhi announced in his concluding speech that he wants to give the younger generation a chance to come forward and lead the party. Naik sent his resignation to the All India Congress Committee, ending his stint as Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president since July 8, 2017, when he had replaced senior party leader Luizinho Faleiro. Naik was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1984 from North Goa constituency and twice to Rajya Sabha later. All this comes days after Rahul Gandhi was authorised to nominate the Congress Working Committee (CWC). It is learnt that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegates had raised their hands to unanimously authorise Gandhi to
reconstitute the CWC.

congress plenary session (5)Rahul maturing like wine
The plenary session highlighted Rahul Gandhi’s coming of age and maturing like wine. His top moments in 2017-18 began with a speech at University of Berkeley. His candid admission that a “certain amount of arrogance” had crept into the Congress midway through UPA II and that the vision of the UPA government formed in 2004 had a ‘sell-by date’ of only 10 years, were trending topics. Rahul also realised the importance of social media and his social media team has made it sure that social posts from @TheOfficeofRG are noticed. His sarcasm was at its best when he introduced his followers to his dog, tweeting: “Ppl have been asking who tweets for this guy..It’s me..Pidi. I am way (cooler) than him. Look what I can do with a tweet..oops..treat!”

After “suit-boot ki sarkar” that showed he could bite with reference to the PM’s monogrammed suit, the new jingle for “Gabbar Singh Tax” referring to the Centre’s ‘flawed and hasty implementation’ of the tax regime, coined just before the Gujarat elections, made the government bring down the GST rates of 200 items and pruning the top tax slab of 28 per cent to just 50 items. He also slammed demonetisation decision at a time of agrarian distress. His single-handed election campaign and strategy of involving local leaders of other outfits forced the BJP to bring out its big guns, finding that the ground had started slipping in its fortress of 22 years. Modi, who was the state’s chief minister for 12 years, was forced to address as many as 34 election rallies in his home state. His unusual decision to visit a number of temples sent the message across that he is a “devotee of Lord Shiva”. This strategy went a long way in influencing the traditional Hindu voters of Gujarat. As a strategic move, he consciously avoided mentioning Muslims specifically during his election campaigns fully well knowing that they would any way support the Congress party. However, the deft move helped in dispelling the popular notion that the Congress works for the “appeasement of Muslims”. He has already shown glimpses of how he will run the party when veteran leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was removed from primary membership after he called PM Modi a “neech kisam ka aadmi”.

When needed, Rahul Gandhi takes on a more aggressive note and his tone becomes vitriolic when attacking the BJP for its divisive ideology and its failings on the governance front. He has contrasted the BJP’s commitment to an organisation with the Congress’s voice for the entire nation. If the economic resolution took the middle path, the political resolution was open-ended with a call for a “pragmatic approach of working with like-minded parties and evolving a common workable programme”.

congress plenary session (4)Rahul Gandhi may not be the best of speakers, he is neither fiery nor dramatic but is simple and to the point. There is lack of articulation in Rahul Gandhi and Modi has to watch out for this. Though hitting out, he loves to play as a nice humble person who is being targeted by bullies. He knows that the Congress had failed to connect with the people when BJP took over the entire social media while Congress was caught in a slumber. Congress under Rahul has become aggressive on social media, countering the BJP forcefully.

Rahul Gandhi himself is no more the “Pappu” who Modi and BJP made fun of and made the country believe he was a clown. Now, he is a totally transformed person, confident, witty and friendly. The old doubts about his leadership qualities that had been exploited by his opponents are slowly fading in the background. Ironically, the BJP had tried to hijack the Congress legacy of the freedom struggle but Rahul Gandhi has shown the zeal to fight back. He is reinventing himself and making the Congress party as a party of the future that can take on the might of the BJP in the epic battle called next general election né Mahabharata 2019!

letters@tehelka.com

The big data leak: A wake up call for India for a robust law

By
Charanjit Ahuja
-

markThe recent controversy coming on the heels of the brouhaha over Aadhaar, about the data leak by Cambridge Analytica, has set off a storm with allegations of how some Indian political parties had deployed this to tilt the elections in their favour. It is now proved that Cambridge Analytica used the data of 50 million Facebook users to feed strategies such as ‘behavioural microtargeting’ and ‘psychographic messaging’.

The union government has conveyed to Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg its displeasure over attempts to interfere with elections in India. The BJP has accused the Congress of using the now-notorious Cambridge Analytica in elections and the Congress has hit back with the same charge. There are bound to be allegations and counter allegations with perhaps no conclusive results. However, one thing is sure that in the not-too-distant future, Artificial Intelligence would determine strategies and data concerning information about individuals would be used as fodder. Some unethical tech-based bodies are busy in having their hold over people’s lives as much as possible and the day may not be far when entities may know your pulse rate in real time.

Important data leaks can lead to serious damage to personal integrity. We use Facebook and other social media platforms to connect with long lost friends, to share our thoughts and ideologies, to share personal tidings without realising that someone is keeping a hawk’s eye, watching, analysing our preferences, our personality traits and storing them all in a data bank for use by interested parties. Though Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tendered an apology, it is time to reframe laws to safeguard personal data. Millions of people share data knowingly or unknowingly, unaware of the implications.

Technology is evolving at a neck break speed leading to fear of data misuse. Individuals own their personal data and they have a right to know how and where governments, political parties or corporates are going to use that data. Whosoever controls data is obliged to protect it. All stake holders need to collaborate to bring a strong, robust law that is in conformity with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation that will come into effect from May 25.

The good news is that amidst a raging political battle over data leak, former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for a standalone law on protection of privacy with latter assuring him of intervention.

This big data leak is a big wake-up call for India.

Transportation gets costlier for Delhi residents

By
Tehelka Web Desk
-

CNG price hikeResidents of Delhi will now be forced to shelve more money on transportation. While diesel prices touched an all-time high of Rs. 64.58 per litre, petrol prices hit a four-year high of Rs. 73.73 a litre.

CNG prices in Delhi have also been revised from April 2, and increased to Rs. 40.61 per kg, while the PNG prices have been hiked to Rs. 27.14 per scm (including VAT), media reports said.

The jump in CNG/PNG prices, however, would have a marginal impact on the per km running cost of vehicles.

For autos, the increase would be 2 paise per km, for taxi it would be 4 paise per km and in case of buses, the increase would be 26 paise per km, reported ANI.

State-owned oil firms, which have been since June last year revising auto fuel prices daily, today raised petrol and diesel rates by 18 paise per litre each in Delhi, according to a price notification.

The Oil Ministry had earlier this year sought a reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion the impact rising international oil rates but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget presented on February 1 ignored those calls, the reports said.

India has the highest retail prices of petrol and diesel among South Asian nations as taxes account for half of the pump rates, a PTI report highlighted.

Jaitley had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by ₹2 a litre.

Subsequent to that excise duty reduction, the Centre had asked states to also lower VAT but just four of them—Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh—reduced rates while others including BJP-ruled ones ignored the call.

The central government had cut excise duty by ₹2 per litre in October 2017, when petrol price reached ₹70.88 per litre in Delhi and diesel ₹59.14. Because of the reduction in excise duty, diesel prices had on October 4, 2017 come down to ₹56.89 per litre and petrol to ₹68.38 per litre.

However, a global rally in crude prices pushed domestic fuel prices far higher than those levels, reported PTI.

The October 2017 excise duty cut cost the government ₹26,000 crore in annual revenue and about ₹13,000 crore during the remaining part of the current fiscal year.

The government had between November 2014 and January 2016 raised excise duty on petrol and diesel on nine occasions to take away gains arising from plummeting global oil prices.

In all, duty on petrol rate was hiked by ₹11.77 per litre and that on diesel by ₹13.47 a litre in those 15 months that helped government’s excise mop up more than double to ₹242,000 crore in 2016–17 from ₹99,000 crore in 2014–15, media reports pointed out.

Education: The Primary Means of Empowering Women

By
Komal Amit Gera
-

Right to Education (RTE) StoryThe annual athletic meet at my son’s school is a congregation of the elite, carrying an air of sophistication, flaunting their trendy outfits and greeting each other with a pleasant demeanour. For a person like me who spends more time in polishing the mind and cares less for the exterior, there is little inclination to hobnob with fellow spectators. But this year,

the annual event was unusual, extraordinary and inspiring. Not because of the sports and cultural extravaganza, but a chance meeting with a women of substance.

The untold story of this spirited woman having only basic education and scarce means but above all a strong determination, stirred my mind with a million thoughts of hope for a better future of girls in our country.

I occupied a corner seat in the last row in the stands of the school stadium with the seat next to mine being vacant. A young woman dressed up in a glittering saree turned up and after slight hesitation settled next to me. As she smiled coyly at me, I was charmed by her modesty. At the same time, I was intrigued by the thought of cultural dissimilarities, financial and educational divide she must be facing to pull on in a school based on the model of global learning methods.

Many questions cropped up in my mind. I could not resist. I initiated a conversation with her and learnt that her daughter happened to be my son’s classmate. I was curious to know what concessions are actually offered to the students classified under EWS (Economically Weaker Section) category. The humble lady told me that they get full fee concession on tuition fee but no relaxation on other expenses. Though the tuition fee is totally exempted, she pays through her nose the fat expenses of books, uniform, sports day dress, bus fee and sundry expenses.

Saying so, she was beaming proudly to see her girl in the midst of the ‘creamy layer’ of society. “My daughter wishes to emulate her peers and demands fancy accessories like school bag, lunch-box and water bottle, and lunch in the school cafe. Sometimes I am able to meet her demands, sometimes I have to pacify her,” the lady told me.

She said she has three daughters and all of them are studying in top-rung schools of the city. The two elder daughters are in a missionary school. The youngest wanted to study in this school and “I am trying my best to give my daughters as much as I can”, she said.

The family, with a poor economic base, also provides for the tuitions of their daughters as they are not educated enough to help them with their home assignments.

This is incredible. An uneducated young woman understands the value of girls’ education. With her limited means, she is investing in the education and learning of her daughters without giving a

second thought to saving for her old age. Not only education, but aspirations of her daughters are also important to her and she chose to put them in schools with focus on holistic development of children.

I was deeply touched to know her thoughts. Authors generally use a quote: ‘If you educate a man, you educate an individual but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation’, and this woman to my mind has put the words into practice by educating our daughters. Will she or a woman like her not be more appropriate to promote the schemes rolled out for girls’ education and women empowerment? Are these real-life heroes less than celebrity stars who are roped in at hefty fees to publicise girls’ education?

The government’s ‘Beti Padhao Beti Bachao’ programme would have got more wings if such women were associated with the promotion of the scheme who can connect with the masses with their true achievements in protecting and educating daughters.

By educating girls, we reduce poverty, improve maternal and child health, prevent HIV-AIDS, and raise the standard of living of everyone. Despite an overwhelming evidence of gains of educating a girl child, millions of school-age girls in the country are out of class. As per the 2011 census, the female literacy rate is 65.46 per cent and male literacy rate is 82.14 per cent. As per government data, the literacy rate of women in year 1951 was 8.9 per cent that reached 57 per cent in 2004. It is a significant milestone reached post-independence. But India is ranked 109 amongst 128 countries in its education index for women; this indicates that a lot more needs to be done.

The statistics on gross enrolment rate of women show that more sincere efforts need to be made to bring girls into classrooms. The number of girls per hundred boys upto class eight is 80 per cent. This declines to 70 per cent in secondary level. There is drastic fall in gross enrolment ratio for women in secondary education that is estimated at 35.8 per cent and is alarmingly low at 9.4 per cent in higher education as per a government report of 2008.

In case of preferred professional-level medical and engineering courses, women constituted only 25.1 per cent and 7 per cent of total enrolled candidates, says a UNNESCO report of 1991. The concentration of women in stereotype non-engineering, non-technical programmes such as nursing (97%), primary teaching (91%), pharmacy (28%) and secretarial practice (19%) shows the preferences of Indian society.

Indian women are expected to do household chores simultaneously with their professional responsibilities ignoring their physical and mental health. This also curtails their desire to pursue challenging professions for which they have an equal, or sometime better intellect and smartness than men. Whether organised or unorganised sector, women in India burn their candle at both the ends to give out light. Very few organisations follow the norms laid down to provide child-care facilities for employees. As the productive and reproductive years of women coincide, many women have to take career breaks to take care of babies. Many end up leaving lucrative jobs in the absence of a support system.

Those engaged in the unorganised sector can’t afford to take a break due to their economic compulsions. Constantly facing disparity of wages across sectors, women have to face many hardships at the workplace to prove themselves. While government now provides many benefits along with maternity and childcare leave of two years that can be availed over a period till the child attains the age of 18 years, these have not been incorporated by the private sector.

“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contribution of half of its citizens,” Michelle Obama has said. The time has come to introspect about the fruits of women empowerment.

Educated and financially empowered women can bring desired change in the outlook of the entire nation towards prevailing social prejudices and cultural bigotry. Education of the women is the only way to elevate the women.

letters@tehelka.com

Exam leak: Student protest continues, Sec 144 imposed near HRD minister's house

By
Tehelka Web Desk
-

Examination-Hall-1728x800The protest by hundreds of students and teachers demanding the cancellation of re-examination of class 10 Mathematics and class 12 Economics papers has entered the second day on March 30.

Students are agitated since the CBSE announced re-examination of two exams after the alleged paper leaks. While students marched in front of CBSE office, the Opposition has been demanding to sack CBSE chief Anita Kanwal for the alleged leak.

Meanwhile, in light of the ongoing protests Section 144 (which prohibits the gathering of a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace) has been also been imposed outside HRD minister Prakash Javadekar’s Kushak Road residence in Delhi. Section 144 has been imposed near Prakash Javadekar’s residence on Kushak Road. Pupils are questioning the system and the negligence by the authorities saying they are being made to pay for the failure of the CBSE and its examination system.

According to reports, students affected by the CBSE re-examination decision held protests Uttar Pradesh, Ludhiana, Punjab, Kanpur.

Missing DU student killed by man he met through dating app

By
Tehelka Web Desk
-

ayush-nautiyal-du-student-kidnapped-and-killedAyush Nautiyal, a 21-year-old Delhi College student who was allegedly kidnapped on March 22 was found dead on 29 March. Police revealed that accused Ishtiaq Ali confessed to the abduction and killing of Nautiyal following an altercation with the deceased whom he met through a dating app. The body of the deceased student was found in a drain in Dwarka area.

“Ishtiaq Ali works as a sampling manager for various export houses and is an ex-student of a fashion institute. He confessed to killing Ayush Nautiyal, a B.com Honours student from a South Campus college after an altercation,” said Ajay Chaudhary, Joint Commissioner of Police.

Nautiyal went missing on March 22, his family members tried to reach him but they failed. After some time they approached the Palam Village police station and informed that a message was sent to Nautiyal father’s mobile phone asking for a sum of Rs. 50 lakh against his release.

Police investigation further revealed that Nautiyal had gone to a restaurant in Dwarka Sector 14 with another man on March 22. With the help of CCTV footage and Nautiyal’s phone records, the police found that the man accompanying Nautiyal in the restaurant was a former fashion designer student. The accused was nabbed from Uttam Nagar on March 29 following surveillance by 30 police teams in plain clothes.

Ali also told police that he disposed off the body the next day with the help of a friend. The vehicle they used to dispose off the body has also been recovered by police. A manhunt is on to nab the other person involved in the crime.

The police also said that Nautiyal was a regular user of dating apps and used to meet strangers frequently.

1...1,5031,5041,505...1,606Page 1,504 of 1,606

MOST POPULAR

Load more

HOT NEWS

Tehelka
TEHELKA is the fastest growing national news group for English & Hindi news magazines. The core value of the brand is to uphold the truth with a free, fair and fearless attitude. The company has a high standard of excellence in journalism and a commitment to assist in India’s fight against corruption. News is published in the maximum number of languages to maintain a stronger circulation base across the country.
Contact us: wecare@tehelka.com