Tag: Narendra Modi

Vote2019

#MyVote2019 – ‘Modi Backers Get Violent’

By LokMarg Publishing


Modiji is a hard-working man but does he realise that his supporters are a violent lot. And his coming to power has given them a licence to target Muslims. I will give you a recent example. There was an election rally of (former) chief minister Shivraj Singh two months back in Morena. Young men came roaring on bikes, raised slogans of Modi jindabad and created an atmosphere of fear among us street vendors. This happens each time there is a BJP-VHP function.

Police also becomes helpless when these men come in large groups, with BJP flags on their bikes, and cause trouble. All kind of men come to my stall for snacks. Many of them are passionate about Modi’s leadership. They just cannot listen anything against him. This kind of unconditional passion can easily turn into fanatical behaviour. Is Modiji not aware of this, I doubt. Now that elections are approaching, I worry if political groups will stir up communal sentiments once again.

I have two sons and a daughter. I want them to study and get a good position in society. This is what every father of any faith would want – a peaceful and respectful life for his children. But every time I see media reports of lynching and violence over cow slaughter, I fear for the safety of my own family. Modiji is the topmost leader of the country, shouldn’t he spare a thought about our fears and concerns? Rahulji abhi young hain (Rahul Gandhi is still young).

He carries no malice but he will take more time to challenge Modi in terms of vote catching. Politics is full of shrewd and cunning people. If you want to survive in this field, Rahulji will have to learn their tricks. Last time I went to vote, they said my name was not on the rolls. I showed them my election card, they said the ward does not carry my name.

My entire family’s name wasn’t there. I returned without casting my vote. We are poor people, we are not like service people who get an off from work on polling day. We have to make preparations for the evening for our daily bread. We cannot spend long hours for inclusion of our names on the rolls. Mostly, this work is done by political volunteers.

Hopefully, I will be able to cast my vote this time. Part of my family lives in Itawah, Uttar Pradesh. They are traditional supporters of Samajwadi Party. But here, they have no presence. So the choice falls back on the Congress. I pray for the well-being of my country and for this I do not think that the BJP is the right choice to be elected to power.

Vote2019

#MyVote2019 – 'Modi Made Govt Staff Work'

By LokMarg Publishing


  I have been in government service for a decade and half. I have witnessed the callous attitude of state employees, rampant corruption and indiscipline very closely. One thing that I can tell you with conviction that the (Narendra) Modi government has genuinely tried to bring about a change in sarkari work culture during its (nearly) five years of rule.

In my own department, I would notice the lower level staff never came on time and left at their own will. During winter, the offices will go empty after barely an hour of work, as most of the staff, from Section Officer to Chaprasi (peon), will spread out on the lawns under the sun. Those associated with employees’ welfare groups were the worst to handle with. I remember some of them would dare even IAS-level officers to take any action against them.

Things gradually began to change after Modi Sarkar came to power and in October, 2104 our office was equipped with biometric attendance machines. Last year, even the state government offices followed this practice after Yogi (Adityanath) became UP chief minister. I guess more than the machine, it was the message – Modi means business – that went down at every level. Har dawa kadvi hoti hai par asar karti hai (medicinal pill may be bitter, but gives positive results in the long term).

Initially, a lot of babus were skeptical in our office too. They said this will not last. But many of us, including me, welcomed it. I am not saying our department performance has improved drastically but earlier the errant moved without any fear of action. They were shameless. I saw people asking for chadava (bribe money) as if they were demanding legitimate wages. Now, babus have been advised to even follow social media to ensure that any negative feedback does not reach the higher-ups.

Every time, our family finds some work stuck in a government office, my son advises me to put the name of department and official concerned on Twitter. So, in a way, the machinery is becoming responsive. Today, the work-shirker know they are on the wrong and may get penalized. There has been inquiry ordered against several babus I know. Now, the bribe is asked in hush tones. The corrupt has fear of government in mind.

This is no mean achievement, in my opinion. And I give Modi ji 100 per cent credit for this. Another change is the cleanliness in our offices. When I had joined work, we used to carry our own dusting cloths with us to clean our chairs and tables. The safai staff would just not budge. Swachh Bharat mission has given us a big relief.

There are random ‘safai audit’ and the errant staff is warned. Besides, there is a behavioural change among the staff about cleanliness and hygiene. I know it will take several decades for our government employees to come clean. The system will not change with just one Modi. But at least there has been a step towards that direction. My vote goes to Modi ji. He definitely deserves a second term.

Vote2019

#MyVote2019 – ‘Modi Can Steer Well'

By LokMarg


I am a self-taught person like him. And I continue to learn new tricks of the trade with each passing year. I feel our PM is a go-getter too. However, I feel he needs to be clearer about the goals he wants to achieve. If he gets a second term as our prime minister, he should focus on the development of one sector at a time and not open too many fronts simultaneously. I don’t think there’s another leader of his calibre in the political field today.

Rahul Gandhi or any other leader from BJP or the Congress, are not even close. Modiji also knows how to communicate and connect with the masses. Rahulji seems to be a nice person, but he does not have a powerful presence. And in a country as huge as India, where people with a million viewpoints reside, one should be smart enough to appeal to all viewpoints at least a little.

Ab market me Modiji ka sikka chal gaya hai, toh unko hatane ke liye Opposition ko apne me bahut parivartan lana padega (Modi has gained currency in Indian market. The Opposition not only needs to be confident, but also appear confident before the masses). Modiji should tone down his confidence just that little bit. That he was confident about demonetization is okay, but that he sprang a surprise on people was not okay. During demonetisation I had to go completely hungry for one and a half day.

Truck drivers are most of the times driving their vehicles to unknown places and during such tough times (like demonetization) strangers aren’t very helpful. I would not like to go through such a surprise ever again, no matter how much I respect the PM. We need a leader who has both good intentions and is also smart enough to make good strategies to execute those intentions.

The rise in petrol prices has been a difficult one to bear for most people and the government should definitely look into it. Though the petrol prices don’t affect me directly as the owner pays for the petrol and other overhead expenses, yet it does affect the rest of my family of 11 members. I don’t have much idea about GST, but I soon need to learn about it because I want to start my own business in a couple of years. I am with Modiji on all his policy decisions and want him to repeat the term in 2019 as well.]]>

GST

‘We Can Survive GST, Not Hate Politics’

By LokMarg


However, since 2014, the main issues related to good governance like health, education and development have been pushed to the background while identity politics has been brought to the forefront. You only have to browse through social media platform to witness this rising phenomenon. Now, our religious identity has taken over our national identity.

A lot of people find it easy to openly generalise/stereotype an entire community based on the act of an individual from the community.  Aren’t there black sheep in every group, every collective? Knowing each person individually takes a lot of courage, persistence, openness and compassion while judging others is easy.

The ruling party is using technology brilliantly to propagate this judgemental attitude and I believe that the Opposition can stake a claim to power in 2019 only if they also use technology in equal measure to propagate the good values and counter BJP. I want the Opposition, especially Congress, to be proactive rather than reactive. I want them to make their own policies, forge their own path rather than taking actions based on the actions of the BJP.

I believe people take all that Congress has done for granted. Apart from the physical infrastructure to the education infrastructure to development policies for the poor and the marginalized, the Congress has managed to give direction to such a huge country. They are not perfect, they made mistakes and they should own up to it.

The very technology that Modiji and his party are putting to such good use today was also brought in by Congress – remember Sam Pitroda during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure. Let’s not live under an illusion, ultimately when no one is left to hate, it turns inwards and also starts affecting the people who started hating other people first.

We are Indians, and it is a beautiful feeling to perceive poetry, food, music, literature, fashion and psychology and philosophy the way we do. No matter who comes to power, love should be number one on their manifesto. Things like demonetisation, rise in petrol prices, the confusion over GST, we can live with. What we can live is disharmony in society. We all want peace and love. I hope we all make a sensible decision in 2019.

Vote2019

#MyVote2019 – ‘I Will Press NOTA Button'

By LokMarg


st century.

I even travelled to Uttar Pradesh to attend one of his rallies in March 2014. Mesmerised by the response he drew from the crowd, I felt he was the destiny’s child who would change the way we live in India. I even fought with my parents, who are Congress supporters for generations. But sadly, even with Shivraj Singh in the state and Modi at the Centre, little changed for the common man in my region; I am sure the story is same everywhere in the country.

Worse, we are now lynching people for cows, organizing crowds for Ram Temple and building statutes. Whatever happened to the development model! Since March 2014, I have learnt a lot about how politicians of all hues, be it Congress or BJP, thrive on sweet words and golden dreams. In the last five years I have been searching for a respectable job.

I can speak fluent English, I have done MBA too. But where are the jobs Modiji promised? In the last four years, I have taken numerous examinations for a sarkari naukri, I have applied in every company from Dilli, Mumbai to Bengaluru that was looking for fresh graduates. Every day I would check my email for a positive response.

Finally, look what I am doing here – he points to the ladle and dishes he is carrying – serving daal baati choorma. We own some farm land but the people managing it tell us that the yield is only falling while the cost of seeds and fertilisers are shooting up. For the past three years, there is no income from the land. My family’s favourite pastime is talking about our Bhadoria Rajput lineage.

I have begun to feel sick now listening to those stories. Politicians tell us false stories about the future, and voters like my family stay drunk in their false glorious past. The present remains bleak. I will give you my personal example. Several years ago, there was a buzz in my native town that the land near the highway would become costly and builders will be paying handsome money for it.

There was euphoria among land-owners. They kept counting their chicken before they hatched. Till date, there are no other takers to those tracts of land. Few understand that real estate business is in poor shape. But people are living in the hope of selling it one day and make good money.

This is how politicians keep the voter on the hook – with hope of a better future. This is the lesson I have learnt which no university will ever teach you. I am happy that there is NOTA (none of the above) in the voting machine now. That is where I plan to press my finger.

Vote2019

#MyVote2019 – ‘BJP Did Well in Healthcare’

By LokMarg


In this regard, I hold Modi regime has performed well. The revision of stent prices was a revolutionary decision taken by the government. I have seen patients giving blessings to Modi. Earlier, stents were dubiously priced high and beyond the reach of the poor and lower middle class patients. Things drastically changed when the Centre standardized the stent prices.

Even people from low income groups are able to opt for a stent placement. I would like to share the story of Shanti Singh, a patient from Varanasi who came to Lucknow for treatment. When she came here, the price of one stent was about Rs 1.5 lakh. After we gave her an estimate, she quietly went back home. However, after the prices were revised, Shanti came back to us and this time the entire cost of her treatment –which included installing two stents in her coronary arteries, medicines and hospital stay — totaled just Rs 70,000.

Next, the Ayushmaan Bharat health scheme is a revolutionary step towards providing comprehensive healthcare services to this country’s citizens. A majority of the beneficiaries under this scheme are able to get themselves treated at private hospitals, which are bound to entertain them without any excuse. This takes the load off government hospitals to a great extent.

And we can improve our performance. Private hospitals did have initial objections, but now they have no other choice. A friend of mine who runs a private hospital in the neighboring district was forced to allocate a sizeable number of beds for the beneficiaries of this scheme.

He was rather perturbed by this but gradually he had to get accustomed to it. Also putting most of the life-saving drugs under direct price control and opening of Jan Aushadhi Kendras at government hospitals will surely be another feather on the cap for the BJP government. I will undoubtedly support a repeat term for the Narendra Modi government.

Vote2019

#MyVote2019 – ‘No Vote For Gau Rakshaks’

By LokMarg

Akhir Ali, proprietor, Bharat Sports, Morena Sim Bazaar, Madhya Pradesh

I am 71 now. I have been selling sports goods for more than five decades. We have a shop, Bharat Sports, in Sim Bazaar (Morena, MP) but our main income comes from fairs at small towns. My work therefore requires me to travel to Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. (Narendra) Modi may be a great leader, but his supporters are a violent lot. Buraai bardashth nahi (Modi’s criticism is unacceptable to them).

We keep reading about gau rakshaks ganging up against innocent Muslims. TV channels often report about lynch mobs targeting the minority community. Each time there is a mention of the word Modi, in a train, bus or public place, you will find people intensely defending all his actions. I stay away from such debates or discussions.

This wasn’t the case earlier. At the fairs, or during travel, we openly discussed politics. Today, it is not advisable to disclose your political views, especially if they are not in favour of the Yogi-Modi brand of leadership. ‘Mahaul bahut kharaab hai (Bad times have befallen).’ No matter what hardships you faced during note-bandi (demonetization), you must bear it silently.

In mid-November, 2016, several marriages in our village and nearby area were postponed. For the ones which could not be postponed, families gave written oaths to return money once things normalized. My business suffered. There were no crowds at the fairs where I had brought the stalls. Those were tough times. But no, you cannot say a word against note-bandi. Or you will be called gaddar (traitor).

It is doubly difficult for a Muslim, you understand. My vote is reserved for the Congress party. Only Congress can keep Modi in check. Anywhere the BJP comes to power, it lets loose idle youth branding swords and sticks in rallies. There was one Bajrang Dal procession here too some time back. These men with saffron bandanas kept shouting ugly slogans and looked at us threateningly.

I have advised my family to keep their gaze low whenever they faces such aggression. Good men are in each party. Shivraj Chauhan (former Madhya Pradesh chief minister) is a good man. The former BJP MLA Rustom (Tomar) phool wala is a good man. He even sanctioned Rs 8 lakh for the graveyard in Morena. We never had any complaint from him. But how can we vote for him? His party wily-nily patronises gau rakshaks, after all.

Vote2019

#MyVote2019 – ‘I Want Modi As PM, But…’

By LokMarg


All economic/ national interest reasoning aside, the fuel cost still pinches on a personal level. I have to cut corners from the money that I earn by giving tuitions as well as the pocket money given by my family, so that I can manage petrol for my bike. I admit that on many counts I am happy with the current government. Modi ji is making a genuine effort to clean up the politics from the top. But he is often ill-advised when it comes to implementing certain avoidable decisions.

Demonetisation, in my opinion, was a total failure.  Where’s the black money which Modi ji promised to bring back? Will he answer these questions when he comes here to ask for votes in 2019? I want to advise Modi ji to think twice before taking any big decision or making big promises in election rallies. I would like to see him become the PM again, but this time with certain checks and balances in place. I know right now there is nobody in our politics who deserves to be prime minister more than Modi ji.

But he better choose a good cabinet and then use his time to take important decisions after getting an in-depth understanding of their impact on people’s lives. The Opposition needs to pull up their socks. They can beat many BJP leaders but they still have a long way to go to challenge Modi ji’s stature. They need to build a personality of their own and not one that is built in contrast to Modi ji’s personality.

Uniform Woe

Uniform Woe: ‘Modi’s OROP is a betrayal'

By LokMarg Publishing


Four years into the Modi government, and some promises remain unfulfilled. The equalisation of pensions of soldiers of same rank and same length of service, or OROP, remains one, according to a section of ex-servicemen who have been protesting against the NDA government’s version of its own campaign promise.

Lokmarg met Major General Satbir Singh, SM (Retd) to find out what these soldiers are so upset about:  Major General Satbir Singh is a disappointed man. But he is far from being dispirited. “We have been betrayed by the Modi government,” the 73-year-old thunders, moustache bristling as his usually gentle voice turbocharges instantly to an intensity that could reverberate across a parade ground. Or a battlefield. Because battle has been joined.

The motto of the Indian Army’s Artillery arm that the general was commissioned into is ‘Sarvatra Izzat o Iqbal’—Everywhere Honour and Glory. That is the objective. “We have been thoroughly let down by the people we trusted and supported,” the retired officer reiterates in the office at his home in one of Gurgaon’s tony residential sectors.

There’s a heatwave on, and his part of the millennium city is experiencing yet another power cut, but there’s no stifling this man, now the leader of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM). The general has cause, for he was there, on stage at a massive rally in Rewari with the great challenger Narendra Modi. This was on September 15, 2013.

Three hundred thousand ex-servicemen were there too, cheering, as the man who would be Prime Minister promised to sort out their pension mess. OROP—One Rank, One Pension— was the catchword that made it to the headlines and the national consciousness in that campaign.

What is OROP?

  • OROP means one rank, one pension; it follows from the officially accepted definition, that uniform pension be paid to Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in rates of pension to be automatically passed on to past pensioners.
  • OROP existed since Independence in 1947 till it was ended in 1973 by the Indira Gandhi government.
  • Ex-servicemen and their kin account for about five crore votes; the Congress-led UPA tried to implement OROP in February 2014 but that went into cold storage as soon as elections were announced in March that year.
  •  In November 2015, when the NDA government released OROP, it fell short of what ex-servicemen had been demanding. According to Maj Gen Singh, the OROP announced by the Modi government is essentially a one-time increase in pension and violates the basic premise of the accepted definition. Besides, he says it has a cascading effect on future pensions and will not do away with the fundamental defect in military pensions.
  • The anomalies in the Modi government’s OROP are: using 2013, and not 2014, as base year for refixing pensions, the refixing of pensions according to an average figure for rank and service and not the highest, revision of pensions every five years instead of every year, and payment of revised pensions from July 1 2014 instead of April 1 2014.

Almost five years later and four years of Modi government after, there’s been an OROP, but not in the way it was sought, and not in the way it was incorporated into the covenant of achhe din that the Bharatiya Janata Party made again and again with crores of citizens. What did happen was, first, an inordinate delay in announcement of OROP by the Modi government.

The government was sworn in on May 26, 2014 and approved OROP in the budget that followed that July. As late as December that year, Rao Inderjit Singh, junior minister of defence, reiterated the accepted definition of OROP in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. Despite this, the government continued hemming and hawing, and ex-servicemen began their protest at Jantar Mantar on June 15, 2015.

On August 14, a day before Independence Day, Delhi Police cited security reasons and tried to evict the protesters, including old retirees and ex-servicemen’s widows. The action generated severe criticism from ex-servicemen countrywide, including a letter to the President from four former service chiefs who called it a “dismal spectacle”. The next day, Modi spoke from Red Fort, saying in his speech that the OROP issue was “pending”.

It still took the government till November that year to implement its OROP scheme that was unacceptable to the retired soldiers — simply because it did not conform with the government’s own stated definition. “We have been systematically degraded and ill-treated, starting with the action of the Indira Gandhi government in 1973 to drastically reduce pensions of retired soldiers.

Since then, the men who have served their country in the best possible way have been given the worst treatment and denigrated vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts who continue to keep their nests well-lined,” says the general. The movement continued to prick the government. In October last year, there was another attempt to clear the ex-servicemen from Jantar Mantar, a National Green Tribunal order prohibiting protests at the monument the pretext this time.

Lathis were used freely; many of the women were pushed around. Senior officers like Major General Singh—who called the action a “surgical strike” at the time— were among those manhandled. In what could have been the ultimate insult to such a proud Sikh, his turban almost got dislodged in the melee unleashed on the peacefully protesting ex-servicemen and their kin. It’s not just about pensions, the veteran points out.

“OROP is only one of our four basic demands. The other three are establishment of a commission for ex-servicemen, creation of options for a second career because soldiers retire much earlier than civilians, and a war memorial at India Gate.” The OROP protest may have gone missing from the mainstream media and excitement-craving TV channels. But it’s not over.

“Our struggle for honour and our rights will continue. If I die, there are others who will step into my place. We have second, third, fourth ranks,” declares Major General Singh, who’s added the recent decision of opening up cantonment roads for civilian transit to his campaign for honour. Considering the number of ex-servicemen across the country and the local impact they have, these are ominous words indeed for the BJP-led government one year before the next general elections.