Kejirwal’s Populism on Power Tarriff May Plunge Delhi into Darkness

In a rush to fulfill promises that are not only unreasonable but also not possible to implement, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is changing stance with each passing day. First, he announced few days ago that all those consumers of Delhi who refused to pay electricity bills in 2012 at the behest of Kejriwal’s agitation against private power distribution companies- DISCOMS would get waivers on payment of dues running into several lakhs of rupees. The decision of the Aam Admi Party government was against all the ethics and norms of administration since such move would encourage more people to break laws and default on payment in future. What about those who paid their electricity bills honestly. If the Discoms were serving inflated bills and overcharging consumers, the least the government can do now is to inquire into the billing system and wait for the audit report.

After having realized his follies, Kejriwal now says tha no decision has been taken to waive the arrears of power consumers who had not paid their bills when Kejriwal as a political activist was agitating in Delhi. The chief minister says that the matter will be examined before any such decision is taken. It is likely that the previous government headed by Shiela Dixit might have favoured Discoms by allowing the companies to increase power tariff from Rs. 1.42 paise per unit in 2005 to Rs. 5.45 paise in 2013. There were serious allegations then against the Congress government of making a deal with the Discoms. Surprisingly Arvind Kejriwal is silent on this issue.

The Aam Admi Party government and its leaders are not talking now about serious charges of corruption against the Shiela Dixit government nor is there any mention of the CWG scams and its beneficiaries that included the previous government ministers and officials including the former chief minister.

During the electioneering in Delhi, Kejriwal had promised to bring down the power tariff by half if the AAP was voted to power. But look what it says. The AAP government in Delhi has put the upper limit of consumption only up to 400 units of power to avail the reduced rate. And the government now says that it would provide subsidies to distribute power at reduced rate to the low power consumers. People in Delhi including the service class that lives on their honest means expected relief from the AAP government on power tariff. But all consumers who consume more than 400 units would have to pay full charge and there is no hope of rates coming down. Already, Discoms have written to the Delhi Government asking for an immediate upward revision of power due to increase in the cost of power that the companies purchase from generating units including the NTPC.

Power distribution in Delhi was privatized in the year 2002. Discoms now claim that the cost of power per unit that they purchase for distribution has risen by 300% and there is deficit of Rs. 8000 crores that the companies would have to bear.

It is highly unlikely that the Kejriwal government would accept the demands of the Discoms which may lead to severe power crisis in the national capital plunging Delhi into darkness. Already power outages have increased in the capital as the people are experience long power cuts in this winter. Summer of 2014 will be more grueling with irregular power supply.

~R. K. Sinha

New Neros of Uttar Pradesh

The human civilization might have changed over centuries but certain human traits seem to have not changed at all. It was in 37 A.D. when Nero was crowned King of Rome at the age of 17.  People revolted against the monarchy. When Rome was burning Nero was fiddling- this adage is as popular as it was when first used to describe apathy of man towards miseries of people.

In Sefai, the village of Samajvadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his chief minister son Akhilesh Yadav had dance, song and music extravaganza on 8 January 2014 while the riot victims still living in relief camps at sub-zero degree Celsius temperature battled for life. They modern days Neros.

I am surprised and aghast to see such behavior from a seasoned politician like Mulayam Singh who is product of Ram Manohar Lohia and Acharya Narenddra Deo school of socialist movement in India. Even if the programme was scheduled earlier, the government and the leaders could have cancelled the show knowing well that the entire state of Uttar Pradesh is in distress; be it lawlessness, lack of security and rampant corruption. The Samajvadi Party rode on the goodwill of young Akhilesh who won the support of the people of the state for giving them good governance. Instead of that, the chief minister failed to contain the criminals and lawbreakers who continue to inflict injuries and attack people at will. He has squandered the goodwill of the people in less than two years.

It is said that Mulayam Singh hired half a dozen chartered planes to ferry film stars including Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan from Mumbai to Sefai. A few crores of rupees were spent only on hiring charted planes. Dozens of dancers, singers and musicians performed at the stage including Dixit and Khan. People have raised fingers at the attitude and conduct of film stars who are available to perform even at wedding parties if paid money. For money they could go to asny extent. Was it proper for the rich stars to perform for money, knowing well that scores of people are living a wretched life in relief camps in Muzaffarnagar. Questions are also being raised about funding of the show. From where the organizers got the money in crores of rupees to spend on such vulgar show of dance and music, people now ask.

As Mulayam and his chief minister son along with host of ministers, legislators, MPs and bureacrats were relishing the filmy extravaganza in Sefai, 17 UP MLAs including Ministers like Azam Khan and Raja Bhaiyya flew down to Istanbul on a seven nation tour at the expense of public money. The so called study tour of the Commonwealth Nations was sanctioned by the Speaker of the U P Assembly. But six out of the seven nations are not Commonwealth countries.

Such insensitive will cost the Samajvadi Party heavily in the general elections to Lok Sabha in  a few months for now. A man who considers himself as a potential candidate for the post of Prime Minister of India should reconsider his stature. A man who is so insensitive to human sufferings; a man who splurges money on vulgar stage show, is not fit to become Prime Minister of our country, Communist leaders better change or opinion.

~R. K. Sinha

Kashmir Issue is Not Aam Baat

PRASHANT  BHUSHAN, LEADER, AAP

YASIN MALIK, CHAIRMAN, JKLF

UMAR ABDULLAH, CM, J&K

Governance is not the other name of politics of agitation.  It is hardly 10 days when the Aam Admi Party formed government in Delhi and it has decided to embark on national politics by deciding not only to contest the Lok Sabha elections but also to project Arvind Kejriwal as the Party’s Prime Ministerial Candidate. For record, Kejriwal has said that he will not contest Lok Sabha elections. But the AAP, seems to be in a hurry to take the centre stage of Indian politics.

Driven by the success and favourable response of the people on ‘fighting corruption’ Prashant Bhushan, a senior leader of the Aam Admi Party has asked for a referendum in Jammu & Kashmir on the issue of deployment of Armed forces in the troubled state; a plebiscite. Such statement will only reinforce the cry of the pro-Pakistan separatists in the valley who have been demanding and agitating against the presence of the Armed forces in the valley. The National Conference chef minister Omar Abdullah, in fact, is fighting for the repeal of AFSA- the Armed Forces Special Power Act in Jammu & Kashmir.

 Prashant Bhusan’s statement will also give a boost to the Pakistani rulers to further indulge in anti-India propaganda of human rights violations in Kashmir by the Indian Armed Forces. Mr. Prashant Bhushan, may I ask you if you and your Party would strike alliance with the separatist leaders of the Hurriyat Conference. Or is it that the Aam Admi Party is greatly influenced by Washington?

One can safely assume that an eminent lawyer, social activist and now a politician, Prashant Bhsuhan is not aware of ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir or he does not know the role of Pakistan in fomenting trouble and encouraging anti-national elements in the valley by supplying arms, ammunition and providing funds to create trouble in the state.

More than 10,000 jawans and officers of the Indian Army and other para-military forces have laid their lives fighting militants and separatists in the valley. Does the Aam Admi Party want to say that the sacrifice of our men has no relevance in so far as it serves the populism of Arvind Kejriwal and his fellow travelers. Fighting corruption in Delhi Jal Board is one thing and handling national issues like territorial integrity of the country is entirely different thing.

What is surprising is the muted reaction of the Congress Party and its leaders on Kashmir issue. The Congress can go to any extent even comprising on national security if a policy serves its interests of keeping the BJP away from power. I wrote in my earlier blog that there is a tacit understanding between the Congress and the Aam Admi Party in Delhi elections to hit the BJP. The statements and election speeches of Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders against the Congress and its then chief minister Shiela Dixit was just a cover to keep the impression afloat that the AAP was fighting the Congress as well.

Although Kejrival has tried to distance himself from the Kashmir statement of Prashant Bhushan, the chief minister has not made the stand of his Party clear on the trouble in J & K nor has the Aam Admi Party spelt its policy on Pakistan.

As of now, Kejriwal and his team are up to contest Lok Sabha elections so that they may help the Congress’ political agenda of keeping the BJP under check in getting absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and form the government with Narendra Modi as next Prime Minister of the country.

~R. K. Sinha

2014 a Year of Change in Political Scenario

I took a short break from my hectic schedule last week. When I returned after my brief vacation two developments struck me. First, the minority government of Arvind Kejriwal won the trust vote on the floor of Delhi assembly yesterday with the help of the Congress Party and the second important development was a rare Press conference of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today in New Delhi. The Aam Admi Party Government is going to last at least till the Lok Sabha elections are over and Manmohan Singh is out of race for the office of Prime Minister.

The 90 minute televised Press conference was hardly exciting or revealing. It was the same old clichés and repetition that he made while answering questions from reporters. Only one thing that he said was that he was not in the race for power. “I will pass on the baton to a new Prime Minister even when UPA is voted back to power again”, Singh said.

The people of the country and a majority of his own party men believe and rightly so that the defeat of the Congress in recently held assembly polls and a looming prospect of facing massive defeat in the next general elections to the Lok Sabha is due to massive corruption of the UPA government. Soaring prices of all items including food, milk and vegetables are also held as second factor for the rout of the Congress Party.

But Manmohan Singh does not think it is so. Prime Minister offers ridiculous argument to defend his role. According to him, all major cases like 2G scam, Coal scam and Common Wealth Games scam involving massive corruption of Ministers and MPs took place during the first term of the UPA I that was between 2004 and 2009, granted. Prime Minister says despite all these corruption cases, the people of the country voted the Congress led UPA ack to power in 2009. This, according to Prime Minister, was reposing faith in his leadership by the people of the country. Prime Minister forgets that the massive loot of public money came into light only after the 2009 elections were over. There were news and information coming out in small way and Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues were shamelessly denying any scam in these deals. It was only after the intervention of the Supreme Court that the CBI pursued the investigation resulting in filing of charge sheet against A Raja, Suresh Kalmadi and others. Manmohan Singh always defended A. Raja and Kalmadi openly and shamelessly.

There was a question by a reporter at the Press conference that Prime Minister seldom opened his mouth on major corruption charges. To this Manmohan Singh replied that it was not correct to say that he did not open his mouth. “I always spoke my mind on key issues at party forum”, Singh said. What does this mean? Is it that Manmohan  Singh spoke in favour of removing A Raja from Union Cabinet, instituting inquiry against Suresh Kalmadi and Shiela Dixit at the core committee meetings of the Congress where Sonia Gandhi along with her key advisors were also present. And the Congress leadership turned down Prime Minister’s views on taking action against the corrupt ministers and MPs. If that was the case least Manmohan Singh could have done was to resign as Prime Minister. But he did not do so; apparently he did not want to quit the office of Prime Minister even at the face of criticism. Not only that when Rahul Gandhi described the Government’s ordnance to protect tainted MPs and MLAs as “nonsense’ adding that the ordinance deserved to be torn and thrown away, Manmohan Singh bore the insult with disgrace and continues in office after withdrawing the ordinance as desired by Rahul Gandhi.

Coming back to Arvind Kejriwal, after winning the trial of strength in the assembly, will the AAP Government initiate move to probe charges of corruption against the former chief minister Shiela Dixit. It is unlikely since Kejriwal would not antagonize the Congress till he thinks it is the time to hit; may be shortly before the general elections.

~R. K. Sinha