SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2019 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU daily Excelsior Established 1965 Rahul's Wayanad excursion Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra Amulya Ganguli interpretation of his decision to his time and attention away from es given up hopes about the forth- ing the humiliating drubbing in ers such as Sharad Pawar and contest is that he is fighting more Amethi and other areas where he coming elections and is prepar- 2014. Instead, it regards the oth- Chandrababu Naidu tried to ven by the Congress's against the Left than the BJP. So is virtually the only leader who is ing for 2024 by building up the er parties, including the BJP, as bring about a rapprochement Threat to Surinsar, standards, two false steps much for the idea of a gathband- carrying the entire burden of the organization. If so, it does not interlopers which have entered between the Congress and the Ein a single day can be con- han. opposition's campaign on his speak well of its stamina or the corridors of power by chance Aam Admi Party (AAP), it was sidered odd. The party usually In any event, Rahul's choice shoulders. The Wayanad excur- resilience or fighting spirit. In and will soon be out as the elec- to no avail apparently because Mansar aquatic life misses its footing once in a while. of Wayanad is odd since his sion will, therefore, be a point- fact, it denotes a defeatist out- torate realizes its mistake. Sheila Dixit hasn't forgiven the But perhaps the proximity of the opponent in Amethi can hardly less distraction. look. Aresounding defeat cannot It is this habitual arrogance AAP for her crushing defeat in sually, it is only when things slip out of elections has blurred its focus. be regarded as a formidable which made Ghulam Nabi Azad 2015. So, as in U.P., a three-cor- Hence, the mistakes. politician. Instead, Smriti Irani is announce that his party will con- nered fight between the AAP, the hands that the Government and its con- The most egregious of them cerned agencies wake up to sort out a a former star in a trashy (though test all the 80 seats in U.P. as soon BJP and the Congress in Delhi U was also one which was uncalled popular) soap opera, and a for- as it became evident that there would be a godsend for the saf- problem and when it is the question of two famous for. There was no need for Rahul mer human resource develop- will be no understanding fron outfit. lakes of Surinsar and Mansar , the continuous Gandhi to contest from two seats ment minister whose inadequate between the Congress and the It is obvious that Rahul is yet when there isn't a ghost of a deterioration in the quality of water has now start- educational qualifications made SP-BSP-RLD combine in the to understand the need for chance that he will lose in Ame- her eminently unsuitable for the state. advances and retreats in political ed damaging the aquatic life therein. The irony is thi, one of the Congress's baili- post. To give such a person the Given the Congress's present negotiations and for reaching out that the inhabitants of adjoining areas which ought wicks. opportunity to say that the She- weakened condition in U.P., the persistently as Amit Shah did to to have been like watchdogs of these God given Now, however, when he has hzada has run away is a blunder. boastful declaration made little bring Uddhav Thackeray, Nitish shown that he is not fully confi- boons to prevent any of such acts , direct or indi- The explanation given by the political sense. Fortunately, the Kumar and Ramvilas Paswan on dent about his chances, there may Congress's spokespersons that Congress subsequently back- board following signs of discon- rect and are themselves watching helplessly these be a measure of resentment Rahul's decision was a riposte to tracked, but not enough to pre- tent. lakes being violated in many ways including the among a section of voters in the the BJP's attempts to create a vent a three-cornered fight Having clawed its way up to constituency over the Congress North-South divide does not hold between the SP-BSP-RLD, the the top from two seats in the Lok uncontrolled flow of effluents from their areas into president's decision to look for these lakes. water in view of the BJP's mini- Congress and the BJP. There is Sabha in 1984, the BJPhas appar- another "safe" seat when Ame- mal influence in the south, except little doubt that the latter will be ently learnt the art of politicking How locals and those of the adjoining areas can thishould have been deemed safe in Karnataka. The party may be pleased. the hard way. The Congress, on play a yeoman's role in saving these natural lega- enough. trying to exploit the Sabarimala The Congress's attitude can the other hand, has had it much Nor is Wayanad very safe issue to secure a foothold in Ker- seem all the more haughty in the too easy, so much so that its cies can be learnt from the noted "Chipko considering that both Kerala Movement" which started from Rajasthan and ala. But the move has only con- context of the surprisingly admirers like H.D. chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan firmed its essentially communal accommodative initiatives of the Kumaraswamy, M.K. Stalin and emulated on a large scale by the natives of and former CPI(M) general sec- and pseudo-religious outlook. The Congress's other mistake be a good omen for 2024. BJP, notwithstanding the reputa- Tejasvi Yadav can believe that Uttrakhand to save the trees by practically hug- retary, the Stalinist Prakash Rahul's southern venture will is to go it alone in Delhi. The However, it is also possible tion of both Narendra Modi and Rahul can be the PM even when Karat, have let it be known that ging them and remaining steadfast in that position serve hardly any purpose, there- decision, however, is seemingly that the Congress hasn't shed its Amit Shah as being cold and there are doubts that the Con- they will try their best to defeat fore, to counter an already weak in keeping with the belief that the inborn hauteur even after the immodest. gress can reach the three-figure to prevent their felling. They coined a slogan Rahul since their dialectical BJP in Kerala and will only take party has for all practical purpos- recent electoral setbacks, includ- Although several senior lead- mark in this election. (IPA) "Ecology is the permanent economy" . Chipko liter- ally means to stick to or hug something. It may Anil Anand is contesting from his father's sound slightly out of core context but is loaded constituency. he writing was on the The trigger currently is Sha- and brimming with the message that it is the peo- wall which perhaps the BJP's transitional pangs trughan Sinha as he has been BJP veterans now mem- ple alone who have to rise, voice, preserve and T former Finance and External pared the next generation of independent candidates to third highest civilian award. He more vocal out of the disgrun- bers of the 'Marghdarshak tled lot. Till recently Yashwant guard natural sources. Sources of water like lakes Mandal' refused to read. Veter- Affairs Minister Yashwant Sin- leaders including those who are protest against the highhanded- is the luckier one among the which besides providing us water, are home to dif- ha is already out of BJP and so currently ruling the country ness and humiliation meted out veterans as his desire to replace Sinha was also acting in a sim- ans such as L K Advani, Dr ilar fashion but he seems to have ferent types of fish and water birds, fowls and other Murli Manohar Joshi, Mr Shan- is editor turned politician Arun would take any drastic action at to them, "Yes I strongly feel him by his son from the same Shourie, cine-star turned politi- the twilight of his political they should do that...... " and he constituency was fulfilled. controlled his diatribe against vertebrate and invertebrate life, water bugs, frogs, ta and others thought the storm Modi-Shah duo after his son would be over soon but little did cian Shatrughan Sinha after career and life. However, the left it at that without clarifying In the same vein octogenar- turtles, herons, plants etc and need constant vigil denial of mandate has joined roughshod manner in which he whether he had broached this ian tribal MP from Jharkhand and Union Minister Jayant Sin- they realise the changing cir- ha was again fielded from Haz- and measures to keep them unharmed. Not only cumstances and that the BJP, Congress and set to contest was conveyed the party's deci- issue with Advani or Joshi. Kariya Munda has also been elections from Patna Sahab and sion to declare his intention of Besides Advani, Shanta sidelined despite his wish to aribagh, Jharkhand. Owing to are their mere sight or a glimpse providing a sooth- the party which they had this reason he is learnt to have painstakingly nurtured, has both External Affairs Minister not contesting elections, is the Kumar (85), Kalraj Mishra contest the election this time ing touch to our eyes but are also helping boost Sushma Swaraj and saffron root cause of his hurt and a sim- (77), Bhagat Singh Koshyari also. He too first entered the dropped his plans to contest the economy by serving as favourite tourist spots. ushered into a changed culture election from any other party or hitherto unknown. clad former Minister Uma ilar feeling has been expressed (77) Bhuvan Chandra Khan- Lok Sabha in 1977 from Khunti They provide directly and indirectly employment Bharati have already opted out by others. duri (76) and Bijoya Chakra- and since 1989, he has been rep- as an independent supported by The prevailing situation in other opposition parties as he opportunities to many people especially the locals BJP with respect to the side- of the poll process. But would he be able to stop vorty (76) will not be contest- resenting the seat continuously It seems that Lok Sabha others from taking drastic steps ing the Lok Sabha polls. Murli till 2014, barring only once in wishes to devote more time to hence the paramount need to maintain, preserve lined veterans could be attrib- ensure his son's victory. But that uted to the generational shift speaker Sumitra Mahajan is as done by Shatrughan Sinha? Manohar Joshi, who represents 2004 when he lost to Congress's and conserve such natural sources. heading towards the same fate The answer is no. But that does Kanpur Lok Sabha constituen- Sushila Kerkata. does not mean any reconcilia- that the party saw after Prime tion with the BJP leadership. What, again, has the State Government done Minister Narendra Modi and its and denial of mandate to her not suggest that efforts were not cy which he had won by over The stranger story is that of about saving these lakes from slowly plunging into from Indore is likely. on to persuade him into break- two lakh votes in 2014, has also Ramesh Bais who is credited Ever since he fell out with chief Amit Shah started domi- the current leadership of the nating the organisation. Ordi- As the process of candidate ing his silence at least and speak been left out. In 2014, he was with strengthening BJP in a stage of decay, deterioration, withering and ulti- selection is almost over in BJP on the party matter at least. shifted to Kanpur after the par- Chattisgarh. He is a seven time BJP precisely Prime Minister mate putrefaction, less said the better. Sewage narily a generational change is Narendra Modi and BJP presi- a natural process for any polit- and Prime Minister Modi has Some indication of this was ty decided to field Narendra MP from the state's capital treatment plants, decided to be set up are nowhere already hit the campaign trail available from a recent inter- Modi in Varanasi. Raipur and was also minister in dent Amit Shah, cine star turned ical party and more so for BJP, politician Shatrughan, the orig- in sight. As per experts' reports, dissolved oxygen however, if it amounts to humil- for the seven-phase elections view of Shatrughan to a TV It goes to the credit of Shan- the Vajpayee Government. with full might, it will be inter- channel, after he met Congress ta Kumar that he built the par- Considered close to Sushma inal Bihari Babu, has been per- level in Surinsar and Mansar lakes is less than 4 iation and embarrassment to sistent and unrelenting in vent- those responsible for its growth esting to see if these veterans president Rahul Gandhi in New ty network in Himachal Swaraj he has been denied tick- mg/litre as against 6 mg/litre as per the national and not so veterans (who do not Delhi as a precursor to joining Pradesh, has been representing et this time despite not falling ing is angst. His protestations and that too if it happens in the grew louder as the cream of the environment standards. There can be no two opin- run up to or during the Lok Sab- fall in the 75+ age cut off date the party. He admitted that he Kangra constituency in the hill in the 75+ age bracket as he is ions about adequate dissolved oxygen level being fixed by Modi-Shah duo for and others such as Yashwant state and had been a multi-time 71 year old. He has been very almost defunct 'Marghdarshak ha elections, it is bound to raise Mandal' led by Modi, fell on the fundamental not only for good water quality of a the heckles. denial of tickets), would with- Sinha were in regular touch former chief minister also. vocal about omissions and er away silently or still have the with Advani and others. "I met Mishra, the BJP's prominent commissions of the current BJP wayside not only because the lake but a prerequisite for the sustenance of its Beginning with the BJP body set up primarily to side- patriarch Advani who along potential to make their presence him few weeks back and I was Brahmin face in Uttar Pradesh, leadership and was said to have aquatic life. Likewise, bio-chemical oxygen felt. The two possible ways due to meet him before my call- represented Deoria in the cur- been penalised for the same rea- line and dump these veteran with late Prime Minister Atal leaders could not hold even an demand should be almost zero while in respect of Bihari Vajpayee has been cred- would be to revolt and contest ing on Rahul Gandhi along with rent Lok Sabha after previous- son. elections either as independent Yashwantji but it did not hap- ly being a Rajya Sabha mem- Koshyari, a former chief inaugural meeting but for the these two lakes, it is more than 6 mg/litre which ited with carrying the party fact that all these veterans after from 2 seats in Lok Sabha to candidates or on the ticket of pen as Yashwantji had sprained ber. He was inducted into the minister of Uttarakhand and means a severe threat to the aquatic life. It is note- some other political party, as his ankle. So I will be meeting Modi cabinet as micro, small Minister in the Vajpayee Gov- continuous humiliation have worthy that the State Pollution Control Board is current 282, the list includes yet been conveyed point- blank to another veteran Murli Manohar done by Shatrughan Sinha, or him soon to seek his blessings and medium enterprises minis- ernment, currently represents reported to be at regular intervals conducting tests become a rallying point within before joining Congress," he ter and had faced some tough Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar stay away from Lok Sabha elec- Joshi, who has also adequately tions. Meaning thereby end of of the water of these two lakes only to find contin- contributed in building the the BJP. remarked. moments before being dropped constituency. He also served as Would they or would not More interestingly Sha- later on age grounds. a Rajya Sabha MP. He is now the road for them so far as elec- uous deterioration in the standard and the quality organisation, Shanta Kumar, toral politics is concerned or Kalraj Mishra, Ramesh Bais, B they adopt any of this course? trughan was forthcoming when Hukmdev Narayan Yadav, out of reckoning along with thereof. It is admitted that the Board must be shar- It is unlikely that Advani asked if Advani, Joshi and who represents Madhubani in another sitting MP from the that the days of Advani-Joshi C Khanduri, Rajen Gohain, era are over. ing such information with the concerned State Bijoya Chakraborty and con- (91) who has nurtured the par- Shanta Kumar and others Bihar, is the recent recipient of state Khanduri. The latter's son [email protected] authorities and hence the Government, which tinues expanding. Firebrand ty and along with Vajpayee pre- should contest elections as the Padma Bhushan, India's has since joined Congress and appears to be doing nothing in the matter, to start with addressing seriously the problem of effluents Avinash Goria training methods, consistent con- solation preliminaries and com- flowing into these lakes. n this developing fever for Rs 2 crore grant - a miscued shot at goal petitions for all ages is the path We only wish all stakeholders to realise the the football as of late in forward. By providing these India, subsequent to facili- threat to these two lakes and feel concerned about I receiving." ? Santosh Kalwar the different State Administra- salaries. All these Govt. claimed Infrastructure, professional facilities, it winds up less tating the FIFA U-16 World Cup Real Kashmir FC being a private tion Offices like J&K State Road teams felt cheated and agitated coaching academies, structured how the problem was addressed and resolved in a demanding to distinguish the where once described as "the club claimed by Shamim Mehraj Transport Corporation by this grant by the SAC to the training sessions, stringent correct ability from a more exten- planned way but as early as possible to prevent sleeping giants of the world Foot- and Sandeep Chattoo with 5 for- coaching techniques, constant sive pool and furthermore make these two lakes to meet the same fate as of the ball" and as of late closed FIFA eign players and a foreign coach To raise and promote the football brand in encouragement trials, tourna- a domain to take a stab at these World Cup, Neeta Ambani's and two famous lakes of Dal and the Wullar in Kashmir and out of nothing deliberated ments, grounds, supporting staff, youths. Grassroots football is the Hero ISL's image of "Let's foot- upon with the shower of such big the nation, the grants should have been fitness material and so forth. division which have since entered the "precarious beginning of a kid's first prologue ball" is on for a roller coaster ride sum isn't exactly uplifting news. disbursed frequently to these Govt. To raise and promote the foot- to the "beautiful game." condition" in respect of pollution and encroach- in the diverse parts of the nation There is another perspective to ball brand in the nation, the Moreover, in the State of including the territory of Jammu ment. We earnestly want the state administration this story. After the dismal show- Department Teams first to support their grants should have been dis- J&K, such grants can do wonder and Kashmir. The Real Kashmir case of the Indian Football Team bursed frequently to these Govt. with the brand of the "beautiful under the Governor to take a call in the matter and football club from Kashmir is in the Asian Cup and with an livelihood and to build up the grassroot Department Teams first to sup- game" notwithstanding job of concretize the decisions taken in the meeting of performing up to the mark in the untimely exit from the Tourna- port their livelihoods and to build these Govt. department Teams I-league so far. Additionally, the level football which is the unparalleled January 22, 2019 which was chaired by the ment, this idea of raising the up the grassroot level football employees who buckle down to grant of Rs. 2 crore annually for Advisor to Governor , K. Vijay Kumar and evolve a dimension of the football in India method to observe Indian National which is the unparalleled method elevate the brand of football and three years is conferred upon the and in various parts of the nation to observe Indian National Foot- concrete and result oriented plan. to acquire the livelihood for their team by the State Administrative by acquiring these outside play- ball Team playing in the greatest Football Team playing in the greatest families. Eventually, the "beauti- Council (SAC), J&K under the ers and paying them overwhelm- Football competitions including ful game" ought to stay beautiful ITBP in Ladakh chairmanship of the Governor of ing wages appears in peril. The Football competitions including the the FIFA World Cup. The ISL and yet with this type of miscue shots e are conscious of the perceptible threat the state, Satya Pal Malik. It State of J&K where earning the I-League Brand of football by FIFA World Cup. at objective, future in football from and the perpetual build up of the appears to be a fantasy circum- livelihood has turned into a acquiring the Foreigners to ele- stance, however, no, it isn't at all. appears anything other than Chinese military strength in the region. gigantic hindrance for the youth vate the dimension of the football W Wouldn't you say so? If not, and to dispense such grants to a (JKSRTC), J&K Police (JKP), privately sponsored team like in the nation appear to be a long bleak and disheartening. At last, There are various measures taken by the examine this. privately sponsored team like J&K Forest, J&K State Power Real Kashmir FC when all Govt. way from effective. Appropriate as Miami Fusion manager Ray Government to address the issue , one of which is "The problem is that rich are Real Kashmir FC involving out- Development Corporation Department teams and their Infrastructure, proficient Hudson once said, "I've got noth- ing to say. Any questions?" the recently taken step to post and operationalize getting richer by not giving and siders is injustice to the Football (SPDC), etc on contractual cum employees are already suffering instructing institutes, organized poor and getting poorer by not [email protected] the command of the Indo- Tibetan Border Police players (employees) playing for consolidated basis with meagre with the lack of wages, proper instructional meetings, stringent (ITBP) in Leh- Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the first day of this RTI implementation in J&K month. The force was moved here from Chandigarh Sir, and given the task to keep a vigil of and guard This refers to article "Decade of RTI " by Dr Raja Muzaffar published in Daily Excelsior on April Regional Councils Sir, 3488 - km long Sino-India border in peace times. 3. I believe that implementation and awareness of RTI Act has declined from last 3 to 4 years. As the author has said more than 2500 Government officers were trained by Government in 75 RTI workshops Refer news item ' Dr Karan Singh for empowered Regional Councils to end discrimination' pub- The force is otherwise well acclimatized with the between 2011 to 2014, but unfortunately this has come down to mere 75 officers being trained during region and is headed by an Inspector General of lished in Daily Excelsior sometime back. 2014- 2018. People are also not well aware about the provisions of RTI Act. PIOs who were trained in He while addressing rallies in Udhampur on 01/04/2019, gave idea for empowered Regional Coun- Police rank officer equivalent to a Major General in 2011 to 2015 have either retired or have been promoted. 70 percent of the existing PIOs especially cils and said, this will end discrimination with all three regions for which Congress has been working Under Secretaries , BDOs , Tehsildars are not aware about their role under RTI Act. Similarly the 1st the Army. The force has a chequered history in its for all these decades. But the fact is, it is completely false. During Congress rule, every institution or Appellate authorities under RTI Act are also not well versed with JK RTI Act 2009. Inspite of High other infrastructure has been given to Kashmir (only or first), except for rail connectivity. And this hap- operational dexterity having been raised in 1962 in Court directions Govt is not implementing RTI Act in letter and spirit. pened because rail line could not be taken to Kashmir first by-passing Jammu. Regarding Ladakh, Zan- the wake of Chinese attack on our borders. It is a Raashed Ashraf Rather Kralpora, Srinagar skar tunnel linking Ladakh with country through all weather road was sanctioned by Vajpayee Gov- superbly well trained force and can deal with any ernment but didn't see the light of the day(no mention of this) during UPA rule. Then time to time, to eventuality with special performance in disaster II end discrimination, commissions were appointed but no action on their reports to whatever they rec- management including biological, nuclear and It is quite dismaying that the successive State Governments did not attach much importance to RTI ommended for Jammu & Ladakh. Srinagar had a good airport since decades, which got replaced by chemical disasters. The force has won laurels dur- Act that was implemented in the State with much fanfare and expectations. two new airports, while tourism in Kashmir is almost dead for last 3 decades. While Jammu airport till In the beginning the Act evoked much enthusiasm among public and the authorities who were sup- ing its deployment abroad in UN Peace Keeping few years back looked like a bus-stand. posed to deal with its provisions, took it seriously and responded to public queries promptly. After its Then he talked of action of Indian Government in 1971 regarding liberation of Bangladesh for which Mission. However, the new ITBP frontier will have dilution by the NC Government it lost much of its sheen. The RTI Act became a tootless tiger whom all credit goes to Indira Government but while talking about Balakote air strike on 28th February, cred- everybody now looks with disdain. command of about a dozen battalions deployed it goes to only armed forces. It will be a great setback to RTI movement in the State in case Government does not come to its along the Chinese border which runs along rescue RTI has empowered the commonman to have access to babudom, and seek answers from them And now Congress party manifesto on 2nd April talks of only Kashmir(no mention of Jammu & Jammu and Kashmir. for various queries. Hope new dispensation will restore its sanctity. Ladakh) in chapter on J&K. This clearly negates what Dr. Karan Singh was talking a day before. Pawan Gupta Surinder Gupta Samba on e-mail