We The State - Issue 6 Vol 2

We NOVEMBER 04 TO NOVEMBER 10, 2013 POSTAL REGD. MP/BHOPAL/4-323/2013-15

RNI NO. MPENG\2012\46415

Online edition available at wethestate.com and wethestate.blogspot.in

Anushka Sharma turnsproducer with NH 10

Kejriwal’s party makinginroads in middle class votes

S. MANI

Email: [email protected]

NEW DELHI

Opinion polls and feedback from interest

groups indicates that AAP could be

poised to attract a 15%-20% vote share,

which can ensure a shift of votes away from Con-

gress, does not translate into matching gains for

main rival BJP.

Estimates about AAP's capacity to win seats

vary widely, but Arvind Kejriwal's outfit is sud-

denly looking more than a mere spoiler, not only

worsening Congress's woes but threatening to trip

BJP's bid to regain power in Delhi after 15 years.

BJP's poll messages fail to sufficiently address

key voter groups like youths, professionals, unau-

thorized colony residents and women, allowing

AAP to get away an audacious claim to being a

contender for power and setting the stage for a

hung Assembly.

AAP has made steady inroads not only in the

middle class vote but also tapped the discontent

that runs deep in Delhi's vast slums, jhuggi jhopri

clusters and unauthorized colonies, spinning an

alluring tale of deliverance. AAP's success in tar-

geting BJP as a paler version of Congress rests on

its aggressive campaign that the debutant party is

the true agent of change and voting for the main

Opposition will mean pretty much business as

usual.

Incessant infighting and delayed declaration of

a chief ministerial candidate - Kejriwal claimed

credit for the declaration too - hampered BJP from

keeping an eye on its flanks as t he AAP campaign

crept up step by step.

Its preoccupations distracted BJP from success-

fully melding the Centre and state incumbencies

to its benefit despite the "badlenge Dilli, badlenge

Bharat (change Delhi, change India)" slogan as it

has not come across as a unified focused force.

BJP will hope its national mascot Narendra

Modi can charge the campaign, but the party has

not been able to convincingly argue how winning

Delhi is a vital step towards a pro-BJP mandate in

the 2014 Lok Sabha poll.

Fusing the Centre's vulnerabilities over a string

of scams with potent issues like price rise and

poor governance can help BJP pin down Delhi

chief minister Sheila Dikshit who has been nim-

ble footed in avoiding the debris from the Com-

monwealth Games.

BJP's "shasak nahin, sevak hain (not a ruler, but

servant)" slogan is adequately humble but does

not reflect a resolve to deliver purposeful gover-

nance that seems to be a strong element in the

public expectation in the election.

AAP's defiant pronouncement that it will not

ally with either BJP or Congress in forming a gov-

ernment was swiftly seized by Dikshit who

sketched a scary scenario of political instability

in Delhi. BJP leaders have been less effective in at-

tacking AAP and urging voters not to waste their

support on a maverick with no stakes in the sys-

tem.

Vol-02. Issue-6. Bhopal. Monday Page-12. Price- 5/-

he State

Sachin Tendulkar: Looking forward

to good cricket versus West Indies

How WE look it

Cartoon by K G OJHA

kgojha@rediffmail com

WE THE STATECapital2 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Cong first list in MP has all sitting MLAs, 15 new facesBHOPAL

Repeating all the sitting legisla-

tors, All India Congress Commit-

tee (AICC) on Friday released its

first list of 115 candidates for the No-

vember 25 Assembly elections in Mad-

hya Pradesh. The much-awaited list of

the Congress candidates was declared

just a day after the ruling BJP in Mad-

hya Pradesh announced its first list of

147 candidates on Thursday. It is be-

lieved that the Congress was also ready

with its list, but waiting for the BJP to

open its cards first. Sources claimed

that after the BJP’s list was out, the Con-

gress high command made some minor

changes in the list and made the an-

nouncement.

Besides repeating all the sitting MLAs,

the Congress also expressed confidence

on most of the leaders who got defeated

in the previous 2008 Assembly elections.

Only one seat of sitting MLA Bala

Bachchan- Pan Semal, has been

changed to Rajpur. Besides, 15 new faces

have been introduced in several places

including Bhopal. In Bhopal, Govind

Goyal has been fielded from Govindpu-

ra constituency of Bhopal against nine-

term BJP legislator and UAD Minister

Babulal Gaur. Goyal is a senior leader of

the party in Bhopal, but he is a new face

because he has never contested any elec-

tion till date. Even on the Bhopal’s

South-West constituency, the Congress

has fielded Sanjeev Saxena against

Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta.

Sanjeev, who runs a series of technical

colleges in Bhopal, had contested As-

sembly polls in 2008 on Bahujan Samaj

party (BSP) ticket.

Now, after the first list of both the par-

ties is out, on 115 constituencies, the

campaigning of both the parties has

commenced. The Congress sources be-

lieve that even for declaring the second

list, it would wait for the ruling party’s

list. However, the BJP has already

claimed that it would declare next list

after Diwali.

BJP’s first list reflects dominance of Chauhan,Tomar; several ‘shehzadas’ obliged

BHOPAL

The first list of candidates an-

nounced by the BJP for assembly

elections 2013 reflects the domi-

nance of chief minister Shivraj

Singh Chauhan and state president

Narendra Tomar. The list also in-

cludes the kin of influential leaders

in the party, which appears to be an

attempt to keep the latter in good

humour.

BJP played it safe while releasing

the list, taking care not to rock the

boat with too many changes of

seats and faces. Only two ministers

of state have been dropped while all

other ministers of the Shivraj

Singh government have found

themselves fielded from the con-

stituencies they represented over

the past five years and more. In

2008, many of these ministers won

with slim margins with less than a

1000 votes, but the party thought it

better to retain them.

BJP’s first list includes as many as

24 such candidates, who had lost the

last assembly elections. The list

also shows that the party has de-

nied ticket to 20 sitting MLAs this

time.

While projecting Chauhan as a

farmer's son keeping in mind the

70.9 per cent agrarian population of

the state, the BJP has taken steps to

counter the "maharaja of Gwalior''

Jyotiraditya Scindia effect in the

state. Two prime candidates have

been fielded in the Gwalior-Cham-

bal areas (known to be the domain

of the Scindias) that would lessen

the Congress advantage of project-

ing the young Scindia face as a

chief minister probable.

Narendra Modi might be attacking

Congress for promoting dynastic

politics and terming its national

vice-president Rahul Gandhi as ‘

Shehzada’ but the BJP in its first

list appears to have obliged several

‘Shehzadas’ in the party.

Ticket to Surendra Patwa, nephew

of former chief minister Sunderlal

Patwa, Deepak Joshi, son of

Kailash Joshi, Omprakash Sack-

lecha, son of Virendra Sacklecha,

Rahul Singh, nephew of Uma Bhar-

ti, Vishwas Sarang, son of senior

leader Kailash Sarang, Rajendra

Pandey, son of former MP Laxmi-

narayan Pandey and Neena Verma,

wife of Vikram Verma, is a testimo-

ny to this fact.

Former Lok Sabha MP Jaibhan

Singh Pavaiyya has been fielded

from Gwalior city, the centre of

Scindia royalty power. Pavaiyya

had nearly defeated Jyotiraditya's

father late Congress stalwart Mad-

havrao Scindia in Lok Sabha elec-

tions in 1998.

It was the increasing popularity of

Pavaiyya in Gwalior city that made

Madhavrao to change his con-

stituency to Guna-Shivpuri in Lok

Sabha 1999. Jyotiraditya's aunt and

sitting MP from Gwalior Yashod-

hara Raje will contest from neigh-

bouring Shivpuri. So, while the

Congress flaunts the young face of

Jyotiraditya, the BJP will remind

voters that his aunt is contesting for

Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The BJP organisational pre-poll

survey had indicated a serious anti-

incumbency against sitting minis-

ters and MLAs. Ministers, who

were sitting on the fence voluntari-

ly asked for change of constituen-

cies - among them were the top cab-

inet ministers, including Kailash

Vijayavargiya, Jayant Malaiyya

and Narottam Mishra. Only two of

the 10 ministers seeking change

have been given a different seat.

Despite his best efforts and power

equations Vijayavargiya failed to

return to Indore, the city he repre-

sented as mayor and MLA for many

terms. Mishra will remain in Datia

and Malaiyya, who won in 2008

from Damoh with just 171 votes,

will have to do better from the same

seat. Speaker Ishwardas Rohani

will contest yet again from Ja-

balpur Cantt, home minister Uma

Shankar Gupta from Bhopal

(South) and octogenarian Babulal

Gaur will contest for his tenth term

from Govindpura seat in Bhopal.

Anoop Mishra, minister for med-

ical education and nephew of BJP

patriarch Atal Behari Vajpayee, has

been shifted from Gwalior (north)

to Bhitarwar. Minister for agricul-

tural development Ramkrishna

Kusmariya, under whom MP be-

came the highest food producing

state in 2011-12, has been shifted

from his 2008 constituency

Pathariya in Damoh district to Raj-

nagar in Chhattarpur.

Former BJP ministers of the 2003-

2008 government, who lost the last

assembly polls, have also been given

tickets. Former minister for women

and child welfare Kusum Mehdele

will run from Panna and former

home minister Rustam Singh will

contest from Morena.

The two ministers of state

dropped from the list are Ram Day-

al Ahirwar and Dev Singh Saiyyam.

Eighteen women have been given

tickets and 24 candidates are aged

below 40 years.

Apart from Yashodhara Scindia,

two other sitting MPs have been

fielded for the assembly polls. KD

Deshmukh, the MP from Balaghat

constituency has been fielded from

Katangi assembly seat and Sagar

MP Bhupendra Singh from Khurai.

WE THE STATEEditorial3 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

ASTROLOGY

06-11-2013- Wednesday - Kartik

Mah Shuklapaksh-Tritiya

Positive directions - North and East

Bad time - 12:55 pm to 2:24 pm

Good time - 6:44 am to 8:41 am

and 2:24 pm to 5:30 pm

07-10-2013-Thursday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Chaturthi (Panchami

Tithi Kshay)

Positive directions - East and North



and 10:08 am to 2:24 pm and 3:54

pm to 5:30 pm

08-11-2013- Friday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Shashthi

Positive directions - East and

South

Bad time - 10:08 am to 12:55 pm


and 12:55 pm to 2:24 pm and 3:54

pm to 5:30 pm

09-11-2013- Saturday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Saptmi

Positive directions - East and

South

Bad time - 8:41 am to 10:08 am


and 12:55 pm to 3:54 pm

10-11-2013- Sunday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Amavasya Ashatmi

Positive directions - West and

South


Good time - 7:12 am to 12:55 pm

and 2:24 pm to 3:54 pm

11-11-2013- Monday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Navami

Positive directions- West and

South

Bad time - 7:12 am to 8:41 am


and 8:41 am to 10:08 am and 2:24

pm to 5:30 pm

12-11-2013- Tuesday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh -Dashami

Positive directions- West and

South


Good time - 8:41 am to 2:24 pm

By AACHARYA SARVESH

E-Mail: [email protected]

Mobile: 9826609192

VASTU TIPS FOR SHOPS

• The seating arrangement of the

owner should be done in such a

manner, that he/she faces East

or North d irection, while

carrying out his/her activities.

• Square or rectangular shaped

shop is auspicious.

• Irregularly shaped showrooms

are likely to cause loss to

business.

• You can keep the heavy items in

the South-West side of the shop.

SC verdict to insulate bureaucracyfrom undue political interference

The recent Supreme Court ruling direct-

ing civil servants not to act on verbal or-

ders by politicians is meant to insulate

governance from excessive political inter-

ference. Also, the direction by the two-

member bench headed by Justice K S Rad-

hakrishnan, for the setting up separate

civil services boards at the centre and in

the states for the management of trans-

fers, postings, inquiries, promotions, dis-

ciplinary action, etc., too is meant to end

undue interference in bureaucracy.

Given the fact that politicians use the

weapon of postings and transfers to favour

those who are willing to do their bidding,

right or wrong, and to penalise those who

are upright, the court’s direction seemed

unexceptionable. In recent weeks, there

have been a couple of high–profile cases of

flagrant misuse of the power of transfer

and postings by ruling politicians. In

Haryana, the Congress government has

sought to penalise the upright IAS officer,

Ashok Khemka, of the 1991 batch, who had

incurred its wrath after he exposed the

get-rich-quick land dealings of Robert

Vadra, Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law. Khemka

was not only transferred to an insignifi-

cant post but, worse, he has been slapped

with several show-cause notices and in-

quiries for alleged wrongdoing.

In the neighbouring state of UP, the case

of Durga Sakthi Nagpal, an IAS officer of

2009 batch, is equally well-known. The

point is that ruling politicians browbeat

public servants, civil and police, to do

their unlawful bidding by dangling the

sword of transfers over their heads. There-

fore, the SC directive for taking political

whims and fancies out of these transfers

and postings is well-intentioned. Even the

directive that there should be fixed

tenures for various posts stems from the

same objective of insulating bureaucracy

from undue political interference.

Where the apex court has broken new

ground is in its directive that the Govern-

ment must establish a Civil Services

Board which will advise the executive on

transfers and postings of bureaucrats. Al-

though a clutch of petitioners (retired sen-

ior civil servants) in the apex court, who

have been crusading for a free bureaucra-

cy, had demanded a CSB comprising ‘inde-

pendent' members, the court turned down

the plea and settled for the proposed body

to be manned by serving officers. Still, it's

an improvement over the present system

where the executive is free to transfer and

post officers on its whims and fancies. The

CSB, coupled with fixed tenures for bu-

reaucrats — a directive from which the ex-

ecutive can deviate only under exception-

al and clearly identified and legitimate cir-

cumstances — together have the potential

to dramatically overhaul the functioning

of the bureaucracy. One hopes that the

Union Government will embrace the

court's initiative and not seek to challenge

it on frivolous grounds.

Domestic workers susceptible to harassment and exploitationFollowing horrific reports of teenage

maids being tortured and brutalised by

their employers, the spotlight is once

again on India's vast but almost invisi-

ble workforce of domestic helps. Clean-

ers, cooks, nannies and drivers may be

integral parts of the average Indian

household, yet they function almost en-

tirely outside of the purview of the law.

This not only makes them susceptible to

harassment and exploitation at the

workplace but also allows them only

limited recourse to justice. Moreover,

their impoverished background means

that domestic helps are either unaware

of their rights or so short on money (of-

ten, they are both) they believe they

have no other option but to quietly ac-

cept abuse.

Put together, these factors have bred a

culture of impunity that makes it okay

for employers to treat their domestic

helps, not as professionals offering serv-

ices for a fee, but as individuals in a

state of servitude. The first response to

this problem has to come from the state

machinery, in the form of comprehen-

sive laws designed for domestic work-

ers. Yes, some existing laws can also be

used but they are hardly adequate. Do-

mestic workers, for instance, are includ-

ed in the Unorganised Workers' Social

Security Act, 2008 but only nominally

so. Instead, the Domestic Workers Wel-

fare and Social Security Act, 2010,

which has been in cold storage, offers a

better template. Drafted by the National

Commission for Women, it lays the

framework for a decent work environ-

ment starting with a registered employ-

ment contract, pre-defined working

hours, paid holidays and protection

against harassment. State Governments

must also set minimum wages for do-

mestic workers — presently, this is done

in only a handful of places.

Additionally, Parliament should ratify

India's support for the Domestic Work-

ers Convention, adopted by the Interna-

tional Labour Organisation in 2011 and

notify the National Policy on Domestic

Workers formulated by the Labour Min-

istry.

But while each of these measures

should help put in place a legal frame-

work for the protection of the rights of

domestic workers, it will have little ef-

fect if not enforced by the Government.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at

Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal) Act, 2013, that includes do-

mestic workers, for instance, has made

almost no impact; much like the 2006

ban on employment of children under

14 in households, roadside eateries and

hotels is observed in the breach. Simi-

larly, the Government's efforts to bring

domestic workers under the Rashtriya

Swasthya Bima Yojana have also fallen

flat. Ultimately, it is the employers — ed-

ucated professionals themselves — who

have to change their mindset. And one

does not need laws to be humane.

(Share your views at editor

@wethestate .com)

WE THE STATEPolitics4 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Vijayvargiya keen tocontest from

Indore-III, not Mhow Indore: Industries Minister Kailash

Vijavargiya has become the talk of the town es-

pecially in the political arena regarding his can-

didature in the ensuing Assembly elections.

With the present situation quite volatile and un-

certain, national leadership of the BJP is also

taking interest in the matter.

Everybody, right from leaders of the Congress

to the BJP, all are waiting with baited breath re-

garding Kailash’s candidature. It is noteworthy

that at present, Kailash is a sitting MLA of

Mhow but in

this assembly

elections, he

does not look in-

terested in con-

testing election

from here.

Rather, he wants

to contest from

Indore- III. How-

ever, it is worth

mentioning that

senior leaders

of the state BJP,

including state

president

Narendra Singh

Tomar and

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, are in-

terested in fielding Kailash from Mhow only

and not from Indore- III. Since the matter is

quite important for the BJP, its national presi-

dent Rajnath Singh held several rounds of meet-

ings with Vijayvargiya, MP Sumitra Mahajan,

Tomar and Chauhan.

This clearly exhibits national leadership’s in-

terest in State politics and that too in Kailash’s

candidature. The situation further gets compli-

cated because of the stand taken by MP and Lok

Sabha leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.

She is supporting Gopi Neema from Indore- III.

This issue is so important for her that she even

discussed the matter with senior leaders like

Tomar and Chauhan.

On the other hand, State Election Committee

of the BJP had prepared a list of candidates and

their recommended constituencies. Recently,

Chauhan had taken this list to B JP national of-

fice at Delhi.

The state committee has recommended two

names from constituency Indore- III and these

names do not include that of Vijayvergiya’s.

The names that are recommended include Gopi

Neema and Indore Municipal Corporation May-

or KM Moghe.

Neema had lost previous election from this

constituency only by 400 votes while Moghe is

receiving support from Tomar and the Chief

Minister for contesting election from this con-

stituency. However, for Mhow, the BJP state

committee has recommended name of Vijay-

vargiya only with no other alternate candidate.

This might be a setback to his aspirations as

he desires to contest election from Indore- III

and not from Mhow. If Kailash doesn’t contest

election from this constituency, then three con-

tenders might be in the run for nomination

from the BJP including Kanchan Singh

Chauhan, Patidar and Radheshyam adav.

The first round meetings of BJP all India elec-

tion committee would take place in Delhi on

Thursday. Some concrete decisions are expected

to come out of the meeting that might settle the

clouds of uncertainty over the final nomination

of candidates from various constituencies in

district Indore.

Raghavji urges Chauhan to give ticket to her daughter

BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh

Chauhan, is facing a catch- 22 situation vis

a vis the Vidisha as sembly constituency.

Chauhan had represented Vidisha Lok

Sabha constituency for many years.

Amidst a state of confusion over Vidisha

seat, Chauhan invited former finance min-

ister, Raghavji, who is facing sodomy

charges, at his place for discussion.

Raghavji, accompanied by his daughter

Jyoti Shah, urged Chauhan to give her the

ticket from Vidisha or Shamshabad seat. In

the meeting of state election committee re-

cently, the names of Mukesh Tandon and

Sukhpreet Kaur were forwarded for

Vidisha seat. Chauhan is interested in giv-

ing ticket to Tandon while leader of oppo-

sition and Vidisha MP, Sushma Swaraj is

in favour of Kaur.

While Raghavji was discussing the issue

with Chauhan, Tandon was waiting

outside the room to meet the CM. Chauhan

took initiative to persuade Raghavji, as lat-

ter’s dissatisfaction over not giving his

daughter ticket from Vidisha might have

negative impact on party’s prospects.

Raghavji said he has put up his demand

of ticket for her daughter before Chauhan.

He said his daughter will contest assembly

elections only if she gets ticket from the

BJP. He also said that he is not going to con-

test elections.

MP Kailash Joshi, at the meeting of the

state election committee, had pleaded for

ticket for Raghavji’s daughter but other

members did not agree. Chauhan in his

meeting with Raghavji, discussed the situ-

ation on other seats as well, namely

Shamshabad, Kurwai and Ganjbasoda and

took feedback from him. Chauhan is keen

on getting ticket to Tandon and he does not

want any impedime nts in his victory.

Sources said Tandon also met Sushwa

Swaraj two days back. Chauhan has

started his attempts to pacify Raghavji.

Raghavji on Tuesday met Sushma Swaraj

and other leaders of the party to put up his

proposal.

Patna blasts deepen political divisions in Bihar

Narendra Modi’s recent ‘Hunkar’

rally in Patna has unleashed new

strands in the bitter BJP-Congress

high-stakes battle to control the levers of

power in New Delhi after the 2014 general

elections. That the series of blasts at

Gandhi Maidan prior to the rally were evi-

dently a direct result of police negligence in

a state in which the ruling Janata Dal (U) is

hostile to its erstwhile ally, the BJP, has

deepened political divisions and fuelled

even greater animosity in an already deeply

divided political milieu.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who

broke a 17-year-old electoral understanding

with the BJP because of Narendra Modi,

maintained that there was no security lapse

on the part of the Patna police. But there

are clear signs that the failure of the state

police was stark and appalling.

Reports indicate that security was so lax

that there was no bomb disposal squad at

the rally venue or at Patna Railway Station.

There were no ambulances to rush the in-

jured to hospitals, so they had to be trans-

ported on bikes. Considering that Modi’s

rallies across the country have evoked mas-

sive response and there were clear indica-

tions that the Patna rally would be extreme-

ly well-attended, the police indifference was

not understandable.

While it would be wrong to see in this a

sinister JD (U) design, Nitish Kumar cannot

escape flak for such shocking lack of prepa-

rations for the rally. Significantly, this was

not the first such neglect of basic security

in the state. Even when the Bodh Gaya

blasts took place sometime ago, it is on

record that it was only when the Union

Home Secretary called a senior state official

to check if there was a blast at the Buddhist

site that the state police awoke to the reali-

ty.

It is also on record that some officers of

the Gujarat police, who had gone to Patna to

supervise the security arrangements, had

advised Narendra Modi just as he landed in

Patna not to go to Gandhi Maidan for the

rally, since there had been blasts at the ven-

ue. Had Modi heeded the advice, it would

have not only hit his own credibility, and

that of the BJP, but it would have, pre-

dictably also triggered violence in the BJP

and RSS cadres, who had gathered at Gand-

hi Maidan in large numbers.

It is to Modi’s credit that he ignored the ad-

vice and went ahead with the rally as

though nothing had happened. That he did

not even mention the bomb blasts in his ral-

ly speech is a sign of his political wisdom. It

was only after the rally that he tweeted

about the blasts.

As for Nitish Kumar, after the snapping of

his alliance with the BJP, he has become un-

duly conscious of the Muslim vote-bank. In

the first instance, it was his eye on this vote-

bank that had led him to distance himself

from Narendra Modi, which finally led to

the parting of ways with the BJP. His gov-

ernment had in August refused to take cus-

tody of Indian Mujahideen operative,

Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal,

even though the Bihar police had played a

big role in the arrest of this dreaded terror-

ist in Nepal.

Electorally, Bihar is far crucial for Naren-

dra Modi if his dream of donning the prime

ministerial mantle is to be realised. If any-

thing, the Patna rally would enhance his

popularity and lower that of Nitish Kumar.

While the Congress does not count in Bihar,

Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD could win some

sympathy votes, for his being behind bars in

the fodder scam case.

With Muslims being a sizable minority in

Bihar (about 18 per cent of the total popula-

tion), and with his poor record of support

among them due to the Gujarat riots of 2002,

Modi needed to extend an olive branch to

the community. By calling upon them to join

with the Hindus to fight the common enemy

of poverty rather than fighting each other,

he held out the carrot of prosperity before

the Muslims, citing how the Muslim-domi-

nated Bharuch and Kutch districts in Gu-

jarat were thriving.

WE THE STATEPolitics5 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Rebellion in Ujjain BJP unit over ticketsUjjain: ‘Disclosure’ of list of BJP candidates

for 7 Assembly segments of the district has

triggered a rebellion in the local party lead-

ers and their supporters.

The list of ‘ probable’ candidates though

have 3 candidates from OBC, 2 candidates

from SC and one each from Rajput and Jain

communities, none of Brahmin ticket aspi-

rant has been given space in the list.

According to unconfirmed reports, the

State Election Committee (SEC) of the BJP,

which met for two days in Bhopal under the

chairmanship of the national general secre-

tary and Madhya Pradesh in- charge Anan-

tha Kumar, cleared single names from six

constituencies of the district. It included Uj-

jain North, Ujjain South, Barnagar, Mahid-

pur, Nagda- Khachrod (all unreserved seats)

and Ghattiya ( SC reserved). Whispers are

doing the rounds that the Minister for Food

and Civil Supply Paras Jain, State Tourism

Development Corporation chairman Mohan

adav, sitting MLA Shantilal Dhabai, former

MLA Bahadur Singh Chauhan and Dilip

Singh Shekhawat have been made candi-

dates from these five constituencies, respec-

tively. Name of Dr Prabhulal Jatwa has been

reportedly finalised from Ghattiya con-

stituency. A panel was reportedly formed

from Tarana ( SC reserved) constituency

consisting the names of sitting MLA Rod-

mal Rathore, former MLA Tarachand Goyal

and Ujjain Development Authority vice-

chairman Anil Firojya.

According to political analysts, by tipping

the said five candidates from unreserved

seats, the BJP has compensated Jain, Rajput

and Other Backward Castes. Significantly,

three OBC candidates have been chosen

from Ujjain South, Barnagar and Mahidpur

constituencies. Mohan adav and Dhabai be-

long to Yadav community while Chauhan

belongs to Sondhiya

Rajput community: Jatwa belongs to Bair-

wa community while Rathore belongs to

Balai community. But, these developments

have erupted discontent among the general

category ticket aspirants as well as politi-

cians of the BJP. According to them, party

leadership has preferred the OBC candi-

dates against them. A functionary of the

Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Samaj, request-

ing anonymity, said that though the Brah-

mins have over 1.50 lakh voters in the dis-

trict, no candidate has been selected from

among them. During Assembly Elections-

2008, the BJP had given ticket to a Brahmin

candidate, Shivnarayan Jagirdar from Uj-

jain South constituency, who won the elec-

tion. He had also won the Assembly Elec-

tion- 2003.

According to dissatisfied leaders, they

have already made a representation on pre-

ferring OBC candidates and ignoring the

Brahmin candidates before the BJP high

command as well as the State president

Narendra Singh Tomar and Chief Minister

Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Meanwhile, reli-

able sources said that the first list of candi-

dates comprising more than 125 candidates

is likely to be released soon from Delhi after

the approval of the Central Parliamentary

Board. But, declaration on four seats of Uj-

jain district including Ujjain North, Ujj ain

South, Barnagar and Mahidpur may be de-

ferred till Diwali festival.

Spat between Congand Modi over SardarPatel is meaningless

Do anyone own a public figure? Are

public figures merely about a par-

ticular identity or do they repre-

sent ideas and symbolism? The answer is

that monopolising a public figure to serve

narrow ends is wrong and being loose with

facts is unacceptable. The ongoing spat be-

tween Congress and Narendra Modi over

Vallabhbhai Patel is petty and the cacophony

does not help anyone understand the rele-

vance of Patel's work. Patel belonged to a

generation that had to painstakingly build

the foundation of a nation and he opposed

bigotry.

Appropriating a public figure is a sign of

change. It is an indication that ideas which

were once difficult to come to terms with are

gradually gaining acceptance. Today,

Ambedkar has been appropriated by almost

all political parties on account of what he

symbolises: progress and a willingness to

battle status quo. They are not wrong in ap-

propriating Ambedkar, nor is it unfair on

their part to pick and choose what they want

from his ideas. Appropriation is useful when

there are lessons to be learnt and it can pro-

vide a guidepost for the future.

But there is a danger in the way India's po-

litical parties appropriate is that they dwell

only on the past. That is a historian's job, but

serves no purpose for the politicians engaged

in making and changing policies. When ap-

propriation is not used to provide sensible

lessons to meet contemporary challenges, it

runs the risk of prejudiced interpretations

of the past. In a heterogeneous society, twist-

ed interpretations of the past and imagined

glory or slights have been negative influ-

ences.

The current petty controversy over Patel

shows there is a disconnect between India's

political parties and rest of society. At the

end of the day, what matters is how today's

challenges are to be met in today's circum-

stances — problems of local inflation and

global growth slowdown, combined with In-

dia's unique demographics, with millions of

young people entering the job market every

year with their hopes and aspirations high.

Here, the past can only be a very limited

guide. Instead of going on endlessly about

what Patel had done, not done or would have

done, political parties should search for po-

tential Patels among today's 25-year-olds.

Advani has no choice but to toe the party lineN

arendra Modi must be a relieved

man. And so must be senior leaders

of the BJP, including its president

Rajnath Singh. Party patriarch LK Advani

finally seems to be warming up to the man

whom he once mentored, accepting the fact

that perhaps Modi is their best bet for 2014,

if they have to go all out and try to come

back to power at the Centre after a decade.

So, when recently, on Modi’s turf in

Ahmedabad, the senior BJP leader said that

he would be elated if Gujarat CM becomes

the next prime minister of India, it was a

clear signal of the change in Advani’s

stance. After all this was the first time that

he was commenting on Narendra Modi as

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for next

General Elections.

Adavni’s vehement opposition to the

anointment of his one time protégé as the

face of the BJP was something that had em-

barrassed the party to a great extent. After

Advani did not attend the BJP`s parliamen-

tary board meeting where the decision was

taken to go with Modi’s name for the next

Lok Sabha polls, BJP leaders were at a loss

of words to explain his absence. A reported-

ly sulking Advani also did not attend the

press meet when Rajnath Singh announced

Gujarat`s CM`s name as the party`s PM can-

didate for 2014. All other top party leaders

including Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma

Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley

were present on the occasion.

As is well known, Advani, along with Sush-

ma and Joshi wanted the decision on Modi

to be postponed till the end of the year, after

the Assembly elections in five states, due to

go to polls, were over. However, given the

clamour by BJP’s cadre, it was becoming dif-

ficult for Rajnath to leave the decision to an-

other date. Also, the RSS was keen that Modi

be named as BJP’s face for 2014 as soon as

possible so that they could get a head start

over the Congress.

Thus, it was obvious to all that Advani was

completely isolated on the matter and ulti-

mately his will was overruled and the party

took the decision to go ahead with Modi`s

name. This was not the first time that the

senior leader had made his objections re-

garding Modi more than evident. When the

Gujarat CM was appointed the party`s cam-

paign committee chief at the Goa conclave

in June this year, Advani had resigned from

all party posts in protest. It is another mat-

ter, that he took them back soon, after meet-

ing top RSS and BJP leaders, but the per-

ception that went out in the public realm

was not doing the party any good. If one is

attempting to overthrow a government

which has been at the helm for ten years,

then infighting and divisions within the

party are hardly the way to approach the

battlefield.

Anyway, now that Advani appears to be

coming around, the credit for it must also go

to the man of the moment, who has been

persistent in his efforts to woo the senior

leader. Modi made sure to send out messages

in his tweets and his rallies that the bless-

ings of Advani were important for him; he

went to meet the senior leader after he was

named the PM candidate in the national cap-

ital; he never failed to touch Advani’s feet

publicly, even when the response was frosty

by the party’s patriarch; and he made sure

that Advani got a grand welcome when he

was in Gu jarat recently. He co uld have

avoided all this as he had the support of the

rank and file of the party and the blessings

of the RSS, but in all probability, Modi did

not want to be seen as someone one who

does not care for the man who in many ways

was responsible for his rise in politics.

WE THE STATERajasthan6 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Rajputs losing ground

in Rajasthan polls

SANGEETA SHARMA

E-mail:

[email protected]

Historically, no party in Ra-

jasthan dared to change the

structure of caste politics as

the Hindu society has been a key fac-

tor in elections and inevitable when

it comes to plan a winning strategy.

But now, a line has been drawn be-

tween 'civil society' and 'political so-

ciety' and it meant that castes other

than the Hindus have been playing a

huge role in the political arena since

elections began in the state.

Ever since 1952 when the state for

the first time witnessed democracy

after having lived in feudal era for

centuries, the elections came to the

people as a surprising gift.

The princes and the feudal lords

were stunned by the loss of their

kingdoms and fiefdoms.

They thought that democracy and

Independence were a farce and

could regain their lost power

through ballots, much to their dis-

may.

In the first-ever elections, the old

principalities joined hands together

to take Congress by its horns. The

Rajputs annexed 51 out of the 160

seats which was the strength of the

first Vidhan Sabha.

Out of these, three Rajputs won on

Congress tickets. This number fell

short by just two for a two-third

strength of one community. The

Congress which fielded candidates

of all castes, included the STs and

SCs, in the general seats could col-

lectively get 82 members elected.

The rest were from the other par-

ties or Independents. Interestingly,

it was late chief minister Bhairon

Singh Shekhawat, who contested

from Jan Sangh and won.

Shekhawat never joined the feudal

lord's party Ram Rajya Parishad as

he was dubbed "Chhota Thakur" and

son of a poor farmer.

But the Rajputs found that they

were fast losing their clout and in

the second elections that took place

in 1957, the numbers of Rajput win-

ners dwindled from 51 to 26 and out

of them 15 were from Congress.

Thus, by the second Vidhan Sabha

poll, while the numbers of Rajputs

dwindled, the figure of the Jats in-

creased from 12 in 1952 to 23 in

1957.This was politically significant

as the Jats have started wresting

power from the Rajputs.

6 ST candi-dates were

elected fromgeneral seats

in 2008 inRajasthan

JAIPUR

Six candidates of tribalcommunities were elect-ed from general seats in

2008 over and above ST candi-dates' election from 25 re-

served constituencies in thestate, thanks to their sheerpresence in large numbers.

They were elected fromDausa, Mahua (Dausa dis-

trict), Deoli-Uniara (Tonk dis-trict), Jahazpur (Bhilwara dis-trict) Gangapur (Sawai Mad-hopur district) andManoharthana (Jhalawar)constituencies.

Murari Meena of BSP(Dausa), Shivji Ram Meena of BJP(Jahazpur), Golma Devi(Ind) wife of RJP leader KiroriLal Meena from Mahuva, cur-

rent deputy Speaker RamNarayan Meena (Deoli-Uniara), Kailash Meena of Congress (Manoharthana) andRamkesh Meena of BSP (Gan-

gapur) won these general seatsdefeating the general candi-dates in 2008 elections.

Murari Meena and RamkeshMeena later joined Congress togive stability to the Gehlot gov-

ernment which was in minori-ty and Golma Devi became aminister of state.

However, she later resignedbecause of her differences

with chief minister AshokGehlot.

In the last elections, Congressbenefited by winning as manyas 11 seats where tribal vote

share was from 13% to 28%.The Congress benefited be-cause of the rift betweenKirori Lal and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

Kirori resigned following his

differences with VasundharaRaje over the issue of reserva-tion to Gujjars. Meenas optedto vote for the candidates sup-ported by Kirori Lal.

Thus the BJP lost heavily inthese reserved seats and theCongress won18 out of the 25seats.

In the remaining seven re-

served seats, the JD (U) wonone and BJP could win onlythree, Samajwadi Party wonone and there were two Inde-pendents.

7 Glamour WE THE STATEBHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

MUMBAI

Anushka Sharma is the latest to join the bandwagon of

Bollywood actors turning producers with her upcom-

ing film ‘NH 10′, co-produced by Phantom. Anushka,

who plays the lead in Navdeep Singh’s ‘NH 10′, liked the script

so much that she has decided to co-produce it. At the age of 25,

Anushka is the youngest actor-producer on the block. “I am

thrilled to get a chance to do this so early on in my career. And

I couldn’t have found a better project than ‘NH-10′ to kick-start

this new phase in my film journey. This is my second film af-

ter ‘Bombay Velvet’ with Phantom.. its a blast working with

them,” Anushka said.

“It is going to be super-exciting working together again on

what promises to be an explosive film,” she said. Apart from

this, Anushka has two big films up for release — Rajkumar Hi-

rani’s ‘Peekay’ with Aamir Khan and Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Bom-

bay Velvet’ with Ranbir Kapoor. Film director Vikramaditya

Motwane of Phantom says, “We love to partner with the talent

we work with. It is extremely reassuring for us when the lead

actor wants to join hands, to back an outstanding script like

‘NH10′. We strongly believe in the script.” Navdeep Singh is set

to direct his second film post his critically acclaimed debut

‘Manorama six feet under’. The film is full with edge of the

seat action and thrills, when a road trip goes wrong. Being

shot this winter across the northern plains around Delhi, ‘NH

10′ will release on September 12 next year. Phantom Produc-

tion was floated by four filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Vikra-

maditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena.

Anushka Sharma turnsproducer with NH 10

Priyanka Chopra To Start

Feeling Like A Boxer Again

For Mary Kom Biopic

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra is on a roll

this year. She has gone beyond Bollywood with

her music career. She also entered the world of

Hollywood by being part of the film Planes. Mean-

while, back home she fetched herself a lot of praises

for her recent item number titled ‘Ram Chahe Leela'.

Two months ago, the actress was on a heavy workout

schedule as she was working on her upcoming Mary

Kom biopic. She then got a break from it for a while.

The latest news we have is that the 31-year-old ac-

tress is all set to hit the gym hard once again for the

second shooting schedule of the biopic. The biopic is

based on the life of Mary Kom, an Olympic medal

winning boxer. Priyanka is working very hard to fit

into the shoes of Mary Kom, who hails from Imphal.

Apart from the strict exercise regime Priyanka has

even visited Mary Kom's native place to get to know

her better, to see her boxing techniques. Looks like

Priyanka is doing a lot more than just acting in the

film, she is learning to box and learning to live the

life of another person. This isn't an easy job but we

know that Priyanka loves to challenge herself to

something that many may think is not possible. So

this comes as no surprise to us.

Aishwarya@40: 10 things you didn't know about her

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is 40 not out to-

day. As a birthday gift, we're listing

some little known facts that only a true

fan would know.

1. Aishwarya's first commercial was for Camlin

pencils when she was only in standard IX.

2. As a young model, Aishwarya once had a

close encounter with actress Rekha in a

Mumbai grocery store. Rekha recognized

Ash from her ads, tapped her on the

shoulder and wished her all the best.

3. Aishwarya's famous Pepsi ad co-starring

Aamir Khan was shot in a single night

during the Mumbai riots in 1992-93. Ash

and Aamir are the only celebrities to have

appeared in commercials for rival cola

giants Coke and Pepsi.

4. Aishwarya's favourite film is Casablanca,

starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart.

5. She collects watches and hates jewellery!

6. A limited edition range of Barbie dolls

inspired by Aishwarya was released in

Britain in 2005. The dolls were sold out

within minutes and are now considered

collectibles.

7. Aishwarya was once rejected for a TV serial

dubbing job before she became famous.

8. In 2005, Hugh Hefner tried and failed to

create an Indian, no-nudity version of

Playboy magazine featuring Aishwarya on

the first cover.

9. Aishwarya and Aamir were invited to lunch

with then US President George W Bush

when he visited in India in 2006. Ash could

not attend because she was filming Dhoom

2 in Brazil.

10. She once caused a day long traffic jam in Dubai

where she was filming a soap commercial.

Dubai's roads were blocked with fans who

wanted a glimpse of Ash.

WE THE STATEChhattisgarh8 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Many nomineesembroiled in criminalcases in Chhattisgarh RAIPUR:Candidates in Chhattisgarh are up

for a challenging contest this poll season.

Though they promise to provide safety to

voters, there are a few, who are e mbroiled in

criminal acts themselves. Six candidates

contesting in the first phase are facing seri-

ous criminal charges, including murder,

kidnapping, and crime against women,

while nine contestants have other charges

against them.

Association for Democratic Reforms and

National Election Watch study revealed that

among the 143 contestants, who have de-

clared self-sworn affidavits in 18 con-

stituencies, 15 such candidates have crimi-

nal and serious criminal charges against

them.

Party wise, two of the 18 candidates field-

ed by the Congress have criminal cases

against them, while three of 18 contestants

from BJP, two of 18 from Bahujan Samaj

Party and one of five candidates from SP

have criminal cases mentioned in their affi-

davits.

Mahesh Gagda of BJP in Bijapur con-

stituency is the only candidate, who is fac-

ing charges of murder against him, while

Madhu Maurya, a Samajwadi Party candi-

date in Bastar constituency faces charges of

causing death by negligence.

Paras Lal Ganghel from BSP in Khaira-

garh in Rajnandgaon has one charge related

to assault or criminal force to woman with

intent to outrage her modesty and another

related to wrongful restraint.

Others, who face similar charges are Raja

Ram Todam contesting from Jagdalpur,

Chhattisgarh Swabhiman Manch, along

with another charge related to acts by sev-

eral people in furtherance of common in-

tention. Similarly, Vikra Mandavi of Con-

gress contesting from Bijapur, faces both

the charges against him along with Manish

Kumjan, a senior leader of Communist Par-

ty of India (CPI) contesting from Konta.

Another candidate, who has maximum

number of charges against him, is Rajesh

Gupta of C hhattisgarh Swabhiman Manch

(CSM) contesting from Rajnandgaon is pit-

ted against chief minister Raman Singh.

The charges against him are related to kid-

napping/ abducting with intent to secretly

and wrongfully confine a person, for volun-

tarily causing hurt, for his involvement in

obscene acts and songs, for rioting, for

wrongful restraint, mischief causing dam-

age to the amount of Rs 50 of which, he was

convicted in two cases.

Charges of cheating and dishonestly in-

ducing delivery of property and forgery of

valuable security have been declared by

Madhukar Banjare of Congress in Raj-

nandgaon, which includes using forged doc-

uments.

Hemlal Markam of Gondwana Ganatantra

Party in Kanker faces similar charges, in-

cluding criminal intimidation and those

mentioned above.

Defamation charges are being faced by

three candidates, including Komal Janghel

of BJP in Rajnandgaon, Girwar Janghel of

Congress in Khairagarh and Arvind Kumar

Nandeshwar of BSP in Rajnandgaon.

As per the data the constituencies with

maximum registered criminal records is

Rajnandgaon district. With a motive to pro-

vide transparency to the voters so that they

choose the right candidate, their details are

being made public, said a member of ADR.

Anti-Maoist forces worried aboutnovice cops on poll duty in CGRAIPUR

When Chhattisgarh goes to

elections, a major job carved

out for the central armed po-

lice forces (CAPFs), besides ensuring

peaceful, free and fair elections, would

be to safeguard the police personnel

from various states who have been

asked to come to help them out.

Lacking experience in counter-insur-

gency operations and unaware of the

dangerous game being played on the

difficult terrain of Chhattisgarh, espe-

cially the south Bastar region, the po-

lice forces coming from the rather be-

nign states of Himachal Pradesh, Ut-

tarakhand, Kerala, Gujarat and Kar-

nataka can be sitting ducks, some

CRPF officials say.

Out of a total force deployment of 564

companies (about 22,500 personnel) in

Chhattisgarh, 93 companies (about

3,750 personnel) are from state police

forces who do not have any experience

of counter insurgency operations and

have never witnessed the war-like situ-

ation that prevails in Chhattisgarh.

The first phase of polls in Chhattis-

garh is on November 11 for 18 assembly

seats spread out in the vast hinterland

of Bastar region that begins south of

Raipur and ends up at confluence of

Andhra Pradesh and Odisha border.

“Though some of these police compa-

nies also come from Maoist-affected

states such as Bihar, Odisha, Maha-

rashtra, Jharkhand and West Bengal,

they do not have any clue of how to deal

with Maoist attacks in jungles. They do

not take precautions and follow orders.

We fear that Maoists would try to at-

tack these soft targets,” a senior police

officer said.

Even the 50 companies (2,000 person-

nel) of Rapid Action Force (RAF) are

not trained in the C-I ops and managing

Maoists attacks, they are good at han-

dling only riots and bigger agitations.

Here you need a mixture of Army’s

prowess and polices’ civility, another

CRPF officer on duty in Chhattisgarh

said.

Though CRPF director general Dilip

Trivedi agreed that Maoist would try to

launch targeted attacks on political

leaders, candidates, and even security

forces, he tried to allay these fears. “We

usually take precaution to put such

forces on poll duty in urban areas away

from the Maoist operational area. We

have done their induction and also giv-

en them some training,” he said.

However, officers on the ground have

a different view. “During the first phase

of elections in South Chhattisgarh, we

would need a large number of forces to

man every booth spread across a vast

area.

Agreed that in critical polling dis-

tricts only CRPF, BSF, ITBP will guard

the booths, the towns and urban cen-

tres in first phase are no less under

threat. The Centre should try not to in-

volve state police forces in places like

Chhattisgarh. It puts us under a lot of

pressure,” he said.

BJP questions Amit Jogi’s candidatureRAIPUR

State Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) spokesperson Sanjay Sri-

vastava has raised serious ques-

tion marks on former Chief Minister

Ajit Jogi’s son Amit Jogi’s candidature

for Marwahi Assembly seat in Chhat-

tisgarh.

Providing point-by-point details on

Amit Jogi’s background in a news con-

ference here, Srivastava said that the

former was the key accused acquitted

by the court while 29 others were sen-

tenced in the broad daylight murder of

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

Treasurer Ramavtar Jaggi in Raipur.

He said that the Congress party, while

bowing before the former Chief Minis-

ter Ajit Jogi, has offered the candida-

ture for the Marwahi Assembly seat to

Amit Jogi. Srivastava said that there

were questions raised on Amit Jogi be-

ing acquitted as key accused in the Ra-

mavtar Jaggi murder case.

Citing news report of a national daily,

the BJP Spokesperson said that Amit

Jogi had applied for Indian Citizenship

on December 15, 2001 through an appli-

cation in which his birthplace was

mentioned as Dallas, Texas, USA on

August 7, 1977. While on August 26,

2002, Amit’s father Ajit Jogi in his ap-

plication to acquire the former’s domi-

cile certificate mentioned his birth-

place as Bilaspur and birthdate of Au-

gust 7, 1978, he said.

This is not all, he said adding, “In one

place Amit Jogi provided an affidavit

on his birthplace as Pendra on the ba-

sis of which the Raipur District Collec-

tor had provided him the domicile cer-

tificate.”

As per the news report, Amit Jogi ap-

plied for acquiring the tribal caste cer-

tificate on August 24, 2007 in a pledge

letter in which his birth date was men-

tioned as August 7, 1977 at Gorela. With

his pledge letter, Amit Jogi also at-

tached a birth certificate issued by Pat-

wari in which his birthplace was men-

tioned at Sarbahara village in the Pen-

dra Road Tehsil, he said.

It may be mentioned that Amit Jogi is

contesting from a reserved ST seat of

the Marwahi Assembly constituency

and a case pertaining to caste concern-

ing his father Ajit Jogi is pending in

the court, he said. “If the matter relat-

ed to caste of the former Chief Minis-

ter Ajit Jogi is pending in the court,

how can his son get a caste certificate?”

Srivastava questioned. “The Election

Commission while taking cognizance

of the issue should reject the candida-

ture of Amit Jogi from Marwahi As-

sembly constituency,” he demanded.

WE THE STATECommerce9 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Is New RBI Bond as Good as Gold?I

ndia’s small investors will soon

have a new alternative to gold jew-

elry and coins to protect their sav-

ings from inflation.

When Reserve Bank of India Gover-

nor Raghuram Rajan unveiled anoth-

er inflation busting rake hike this

week, he also offered Indians a new

weapon to fight inflation: consumer-

inflation linked bonds.

Indian individuals, trusts and chari-

ties will soon have the option to invest

in government securities with re-

turns linked to consumer price index

inflation rates.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of In-

dia said it will issue the instruments,

which will have a ten-year tenure,

starting November or December.

The rate of interest on the bonds

will be a fixed rate plus inflation.

Although world over such bonds

have been used as a way to attract

small investor savings, India is only

now issuing them.

Mr. Rajan’s Diwali gift is more than

a kind gesture. It is squarely aimed at

weaning Indian investors from buy-

ing gold, which is traditionally

viewed as a safe hedge against infla-

tion.

India’s insatiable demand for gold

has inflated the country’s import bill,

leading to itschronic current account

deficit which has triggered a tumble

in the rupee.

The government started issuing 10-

year inflation-linked bonds earlier

this year with a coupon rate of 1.44%

above wholesale inflation. These were

offered only to institutional investors.

But these bonds haven’t been as pop-

ular as the government had hoped.

Critics say the returns on the WPI

linked bonds still aren’t attractive.

These bonds aim to beat wholesale in-

flation when investors are generally

more concerned about consumer in-

flation, which has historically run

much higher.

For instance, in the first nine

months of 2013, wholesale inflation

averaged 5.91% whereas consumer in-

flation averaged 9.96%. Even some

bank deposits offer returns similar to

these WPI-linked bonds.

The new consumer inflation linked

bonds aimed at retail investors may

also take a while to catch on.

Dhananjay Sinha, head of research

at Emkay Global Financial Services,

said investors still don’t completely

understand how they work.

“It could take some time for them to

gain confidence in such products,” he

said.

Others said the long tenure of the

bonds could also come in the way of

their popularity.

Nitesh Ranjan, an economist at

Union Bank of India, said only those

with very low risk appetites such as

retired people may invest in the bonds

unless there is an active secondary

market in which the inflation linked

securities can be bought and sold.

“Retail investors are quite savvy and

may not show too much interest un-

less the bonds are allowed to be easily

tradable,” he said.

(Source WSJ)

Ease of Doing Business in India SlipsD

oing business in India just got

harder, according to a World

Bank report that highlights the

perils for small and medium-sized com-

panies in the country.

India ranked 134 out of 189 countries

assessed for how easy it is to do busi-

ness, according to the report titled “Do-

ing Business 2014” released Tuesday.

Bangladesh, a country with a gross do-

mestic product of $115.6 billion com-

pared to India’s $1.8 trillion, finished

four places higher than India in the

rankings. The regional average for

South Asia was 121 in the report, which

is based on figures for the year ending

June 1, 2013.

Libya, Central African Republic and

Chad were the worst performers this

year.

In the 2013 report, India ranked 131.

“It’s not at all surprising,” said Madan

Sabnavis, chief economist at Care Rat-

ings in Mumbai. “In the last couple of

years there have been a number of ad-

ministrative, bureaucratic issues that

have come up which has made it diffi-

cult for local investors to invest,” he

added.

Singapore was most simple country in

which to carry out business, the report

said, followed by Hong Kong.

The World Bank ranks 189 countries

based on 10 indicators, such as permits

required to do business, access to elec-

tricity, protecting investors, paying tax-

es, enforcing contracts and the time,

cost and outcome of insolvency pro-

ceedings against a company.

India dropped on all of these indica-

tors, except on the administrative bur-

den of paying taxes and dealing with

construction permits. In each of those

categories, India improved its ranking

by one place from the previous report.

However the country still ranked 182

when it came to dealing with construc-

tion permits. The World Bankidentified

35 steps necessary for obtaining such a

permit in India, compared to an average

of 16 in South Asia and 13 in OECD

countries. China though was more ob-

structive in terms of construction per-

mits and ranked 185 in the report on this

measure.

In terms of enforcing contracts, an in-

dicator measuring the efficiency of the

judicial system in resolving commercial

disputes, India is among the worst per-

forming nations, with a rank of 186 out

of 189. There was no change in its rank-

ing by that metric compared with last

year. When it came to getting credit, In-

dia fell four places, the biggest dip in

any category compared to the 2013 rank-

ing.

At the state level, Ludhiana, in Punjab

in northern India, is the number one

city in India in terms of ease of doing

business, while Kolkata, the capital of

West Bengal state, is bottom. New Delhi

is the best city in India to start a new

business and sixth in terms of ease do-

ing business, according to the report.

To be sure, India’s fast growing mid-

dle-class population provides a growing

market for medium and large compa-

nies looking to expand their operations.

The government is also trying to boost

its ailing economy by allowing foreign

investors to start their operations in In-

dia. But persisting red tape has been a

serious deterrent.

India opened its multi-brand retail sec-

tor for foreign investors for the first

time in September last year. It also in-

creased the foreign investment caps on

cable and satellite TV operators to 74%

from 49%.

Still, big retailers including Wal-Mart

Inc.WMT -0.21% and Carrefour

SACA.FR +0.17% haven’t settled their

India plans. They demand more clarity

on the rules and regulations that are re-

quired to start operations in India. Re-

tailers also say that some of the man-

dates that dictate how foreign compa-

nies build and supply their stores are

too restrictive.

Some foreign companies have also

found themselves embroiled in a bitter

battle with the Indian government over

tax claims. Companies such as Vodafone

GroupVOD.LN +2.46%, Cadbury PLC,

Nokia Corp.NOK1V.HE +1.17%, General

Electric Co. and others have received

notices from Indian authorities asking

for additional tax payments.

World10 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013 WE THE STATE

Storm-battered Europe gets back to normalBERLIN

Countries in northern Europe lashed

by a storm that killed 16 people re-

cently were still struggling with pow-

er outages and travel disruptions a

day after the tempest.

After gusting winds and heavy rain,

Britain, France, the Netherlands,

Scandinavia and northern Germany

began weighing up the damage left in

the storm’s wake.

In Britain, where four people died,

61,000 households were still without

electricity, albeit down from the

600,000 who were cut off at some point

on Monday, according to Energy Net-

works Association.

While some trains were delayed or

cancelled, services were returning to

schedule. In Ger many, where seven

people died in the storms since Sun-

day, train operator Deutsche Bahn

warned that lines in the north of the

country could take time to resume

normal services.

The storm wreaked damage on rail

lines in the cities of Bremen and

Hamburg as well as Lower Saxony

and Schleswig-Holstein states, the

company said. Several schools in

Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s

northern most region between the

North Sea and Baltic, were due to re-

main closed today, local DPA news

agency reported.

Most train lines in southern Sweden

were operating again but about 60,000

homes were still without electricity

and some 35,000 phone customers are

without landlines. In some rural ar-

eas, it was expected to take several

days before electricity was back on.

Two people died in Denmark, where

national rail company DSB warned of

delays throughout the day.

And in the Netherlands, where two

people died, initial private sector

damage was estimated at 95 million

euros ($131 million), excluding public

buildings and agriculture, the Insur-

ers Association said. The storm also

claimed one life in France, where it

has been named Christian.

Nawaz Sharif gave no assurance to Obama on action against Saeed

WASHINGTON

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

gave “no assurance” to US President

Barack Obama when he was virtually

grilled by his host for not taking action

against the 26/11 mastermind Hafiz

Saeed.

After his meeting with Obama at the

White House on 23 October and before

he flew out of the Andrews Air Force

Base, Sharif is understood to have told

his close aides that he “stood his

ground” and “did not budge under pres-

sure” on the issue of Saeed, sources

said.

Another source, familiar with Sharif’s

meetings, said the Obama administra-

tion is aware of the difficulties the new

Prime Minister is facing with regard to

taking strong action against terrorists

like Saeed given their close proximity

with the military establishment. While

Obama himself is determined to bring

justice to the 26/11 perpetrators, given

that six of those killed were American

nationals, Sharif is believed to have re-

ceived the “benefit of doubt”, a third

source told PTI. Obama failed to yield

any “assurances” from the Pakistani

Prime Minister, despite the President

taking it very strongly with him, the

source added. Sharif, sources said, is be-

lieved to have referred to the fragile na-

ture of his government, in particular

his relationship with the military. Ac-

cording to source, Sharif “did not give

assurance” to the US on the issue of

Saeed because of the nature of support

and relationship with the fundamental-

ist outfits in Punjab including those re-

lated to Saeed, the head of Jamaat-ud

Dawah. Saeed is believed to be the mas-

termind of the 26/11 attack carried out

by Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-

e-Taiba.

He is on America’s list of most wanted

terrorists but roams freely in Pakistan.

The United States, sources said, is close-

ly monitoring the developments in Pak-

istan in particular those related to

Saeed’s movement and that of terrorist

outfits like LeT and Jamaaat-ud-Dawa.

WE THE STATESports11 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Sachin Tendulkar:Looking forward togood cricket versus

West Indies

In the fitness of things, Sachin Tendulkar

finished as the Man of the Match in his

final Ranji Trophy match at Lahli, near

Rohtak. Scoring just five runs in his first in-

nings, Tendulkar's 79 not out in the second

scripted a four-wicket win for the defending

Ranji Trophy champions against Haryana

on Wednesday. The Little Master was chaired

off by teammates as the sleepy town of Lahli

gave Tendulkar a standing ovation. However,

the master blaster's attention quickly shifted

to the upcoming series against the West In-

dies. The two Test-series will be Tendulkar's

swansong. Kolkata will host Tendulkar's

199th Test while Wankhede will host the

milestone 200th.

"West Indies are a good side and it will be a

good series. I hope it produces good cricket

and we live up to the expectations. I am look-

ing forward to the series as it will be my

last," the 40-year-old said.

The Haryana match was a good warm-up

for Tendulkar. In a rather low-scoring tie, the

wicket was not easy to bat in the fourth win-

ning of a match. "On paper, it looked like a

240-run target, but it was almost like scoring

280. It was a challenging match and I am hap-

py that we won in my last game for Mumbai,"

Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar said he enjoyed the "competi-

tive" flavor of the match. "This was the kind

of outing I was looking forward to and it was

fun. It was a good warm up before the Test se-

ries," Tendulkar said. Tendulkar has won

five Ranji Trophy titles with Mumbai. (Mum-

bai vs Haryana, as it happened)

The master blaster, who played his 38th

thanked the people of Lahli for a grand

farewell and said the match was "challeng-

ing" as scoring 240 was not an easy job on a

slow Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium wicket.

Tendulkar had made his Ranji debut ag ainst

Gujarat in December 1988.

Tendulkar thanked the people of Lahli for

a making his final Ranji game a "memorable

one." "The police did a wonderful job. The se-

curity was nice and I thank the organisers

for making my stay at Lahli comfortable," he

said.

Heroic Virat Kohli smashes ton to script stunning Indian win

Master of chases Virat Kohli

smashed a 61-ball century to fash-

ion an astonishing six-wicket Indi-

an victory after Shikhar Dhawan scored a

run-a-ball century in the sixth ODI against

Australia in Nagpur on Wednesday. En route,

Kohli scored his fifth half-century on-the-trot

as India levelled the seven-match series 2-2.

The Cuttack and Ranchi ODIs were aban-

doned due to rain. The final match of the se-

ries will be played in Bangalore on November

2. (Jadeja takes 100 ODI wickets)

Chasing 351 for a win, India rode an

opening stand of 178 runs between Dhawan

(100 with 11x4s) and Rohit Sharma (79) to set

up a scintillating chase. It was Kohli's heroics

(115 with 18 fours and a six) that gave the In-

dian innings the acceleration it needed in the

home stretch. Kohli scored his fifty off 31

balls, slamming eight boundaries and a six.

Kohli produced 56 runs with Dhawan off 39

balls. (Scorecard) (Kohli made batting look

easy: Dhoni)

India looked to be in good position when

Mitchell Johnson (2/72) struck a double blow

in the 43rd over to swing the game Australia's

way. Suresh Raina (16) got a dubious caught-

behind decision and Yuvraj Singh was

bowled for zero as the Indian innings sudden-

ly lose its rhythm. India needed 48 runs in the

last five overs and with Kohli and skipper

Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the middle,

victory wasn't impossible. Kohli was simply

unstoppable as he smashed the ball to all

parts of the park for his 17th ODI ton. With

Dhoni (25 not out off 23 balls), he produced 61

runs for the fifth wicket as India raced to a

stunning win with three balls to spare.

(Match Highlights | Match pics)

Dhawan, who missed out on a coveted cen-

tury by just five runs in the Jaipur ODI, was

not to be denied at Nagpur. The left-hander

struck his fourth ODI century after being

dropped by Glenn Maxwell off James

Faulkner on 19. Dhawan's 178-run stand with

Sharma bettered the previous record (176 at

Jaipur) of the highest opening partnership

for India against Australia in ODIs. (Dhawan

smashes 4th ODI ton)

Sharma and Dhawan started steadily but

soon runs began to flow as the pair made the

best use of the fielding restrictions. Once

Dhawan settled down, he began to play shots

all over the park. His appetite for big scores

is well known, particularly against

Australia, when he hit 187 on his Test debut

in Mohali. Dhawan also completed 1000 runs

in ODIs when he reached his hundred is his

24th ODI. It was the perfect response to the

big total set by the Aussies in what was a

must-win game for the home side. (Kohli

smashes 17th ODI ton)

Earlier, after India invited the Australians

to bat, Shane Watson and captain George Bai-

ley smashed scintillating centuries as Aus-

tralia put the listless Indian bowling attack

to the sword to post an imposing 350 for 6.

Burly Watson struck 13 fours and three sixes

in making 102 off 94 balls while the in-form

Bailey was equally impressive in scoring a

career-best 156, his second ODI ton, in 115

balls. His brilliant innings contained half a

dozen sixes and 13 fours. These two batsmen

also compiled the second-highest third-wick-

et stand of 168 in ODIs against India to help

the visitors record their fourth 300-plus total

in the series.

Agarkar retires from all cricketA

jit Agarkar, the former India seamer, has announced his re-

tirement from all competitive cricket. Agarkar had led Mum-

bai, for whom he played all his Ranji Trophy cricket, to the

domestic first-class title in the 2012-13 season. He played 110 first-class

games in all, taking 299 wickets at 30.69, as well as 270 List A games

and 62 T20s in a career that began in 1996-97.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Agarkar said, given how balanced the

Mumbai team is at the moment, he decided it was the right time to go.

"It was the right time for me. One more season was not going to

change much. It could only have meant I would have been around for

one more season and one of the youngsters would have been benched

for Mumbai.

"I don't have a chance to play for India [again], so I thought it was

the right time. Moreover, it's not a young [Mumbai] team anymore. It's

a well-balanced unit and I feel it was time to let the younger lot carry

the mantle."

Agarkar's decision caught everyone at the Mumbai Cricket Associ-

ation (MCA), including the selection panel, by surprise. Sudhir Naik,

Mumbai's chairman of selectors, said that he and his panel were set

to appoint Agarkar as the captain for the forthcoming domestic sea-

son. "It is a surprise to us. Today we had a selection committee meet-

ing where practically we had decided to appoint him as the captain,"

Naik said. "But before the meeting commenced, we were told he had

informed the MCA that he was retiring." Zaheer Khan was later

named the captain for Mumbai's Ranji season opener.

In the last few years Agarkar failed to play consistently as recurring

injuries force him to sit out. However when he was fit, Agarkar

played.

"He was a typical Mumbai player. He could bring out his best and

win the critical sessions," Pravin Amre, the former Mumbai coach,

said. According to Amre, one of Agarkar's finest hours was in Mysore

in 2009, when his aggressive burst of fast bowling denied Karnataka

the Ranji Trophy. It was one of the most thrilling first-class matches

in India's domestic cricket, when Karnataka nearly chased down 338.

Manish Pandey had completed an agg ressive and fluent century. Kar-

nataka were marching quickly towards th e title, backed by a vocifer-

ous home crowd. But a charged up Agarkar, angered by a verbal ex-

change with an opposition player, bowled with fierce intensity to

clinch a five-for and snatch control back for Mumbai.

"His five-for in the second innings was memorable. It was such a

tight game but he stood strong to snatch that final wicket," Amre said.

"A close appeal was not given but that really fired him up, and the rest

of the team which was behind him.

"He always valued the Mumbai cap. His intensity was always high

against a tough opponent."

WE THE STATENation12 BHOPAL November 04 to November 10, 2013

Owned Printed and Published by M.M.Baig.Printed at lucky, 267, Pragati Nagar, Shahanshah Garden, Bhopal (MP) and published from H.No.101, A-SECTOR INDRAPURI BHEL, WARD NO.63 DIST BHOPAL-462021, M.P.

Tele/FAX 0755-4292545,Mob.09425029901 [email protected] RNI No. MPENG\2012\46415 Editor: M.M. BAIG -Responsible for selection of News & Articles under PRB Act, Subject to Bhopal jurisdiction

Rahul’s attack on BJP may lead to polarizationNEW DELHI

As Rahul Gandhi stepped up his

attack on the BJP blaming it

squarely for communal vio-

lence, worry seems to be growing in

Congress whether it will contribute to

communal polarization that they feel

could work to the advantage of the saf-

fron outfit.

Rahul's speeches in Rajasthan and

Madhya Pradesh recently marked an

escalation in the attack on the BJP for

engineering communal violence for its

partisan purpose. Given that the Hin-

dutva outfit is Congress's main oppo-

nent in poll-bound Rajasthan, Madhya

Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, this

was only to be expected.

However, many in the party won-

dered whether he should have nu-

anced his remarks in order to deny

BJP an opening to hurl the "appease-

ment "charge at the Congress vice-

president.

Addressing election meetings in Ra-

jasthan and Madhya Pradesh over the

past 24 hours, Rahul not only blamed

the BJP for communal violence but

also said that the riots had rendered

Muslims vulnerable to be poached by

terrorists and the ISI.

"Even if the substance of what he

said about BJP's communal agenda is

correct, the formulation could have

been more cautious. There is a risk of

the remarks getting distorted by the

BJP allege that he was blaming only

one community," said a senior Con-

gress source.

BJP had sharply reacted to Rahul's

allegation about them being the chore-

ographer of communal conflagration

at Muzaffarnagar by saying that it

marked that Gandhi-Nehru family had

now directly joined the appeasement

game.

Congress has always been divided

over how to tackle the threat from BJP,

with a strong section feeling that the

party can afford to practice "muscu-

lar" secularism of the kind preferred

by Left or "secular" satraps like Lalu

Prasad and Mulayam Singh only at the

risk of alienating Hindus.

Some of Congress sources admitted

that Rahul's speech may appear to di-

verge from the calibrated line that the

party prefers.

Lotuses Make Indian Politician Blooming Mad

India’s ruling Congress party

has a new political rival: the lo-

tus plant. In a letter to the Elec-

tion Commission, party worker

Amarchand Babariya said all lotus

ponds in Madhya Pradesh should

be covered ahead of polls in the

central Indian state. He is worried

the plant will draw voters to the op-

position Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP, which is in power in

Madhya Pradesh, adopted the lotus

as its election symbol when it was

formed in 1980. The lotus is also In-

dia’s national flower.

“There are way too many lotuses

blossoming this year,” Mr.

Babariya told The Wall Street

Journal. “Because the flower is in-

creasingly becoming a common

sight in the state, some voters —

particularly those who are illiter-

ate – may subconsciously check the

lotus symbol on election day,” he

said.

Mr. Babariya, who is based in the

city of Jabalpur, alleged the BJP

had “mischievously planted” lotus

stems along tube wells and water

bodies in the city in a bid to woo

voters.

“Never in my life have I seen so

many lotuses in Jabalpur,” he said.

“It cannot be mere coincidence

that they’re blooming in such vol-

ume right before elections.”

S.S. Bansal, a senior Election

Commission official, rejected Mr.

Babariya’s claims.

“I think the Congress politician

has lost his mind. These demands

undermine the intelligence of vot-

ers in India,” he said.

Mr. Bansal said the commission

has “no intention of entertaining

such bizarre requests.” A formal

rejection of Mr. Babariya’s plea to

cover ponds is expected to be draft-

ed later this week, he added.

Some senior Congress leaders ap-

peared to distance themselves

from Mr. Babariya.

“This fellow is a very junior party

worker,” said Pramod Gugalia,

Congress party spokesman in Mad-

hya Pradesh. “His views don’t nec-

essarily reflect those of the entire

party.”

Following Mr. Babariya’s letter, a

BJP spokesman in the state sug-

gested that Congress party politi-

cians cover the palms of their

hands as elections approach, be-

cause the palm of a hand is the par-

ty’s symbol.

“All Congress members should

wear gloves or mittens,” Vishwas

Sarang said. “They should also be

forbidden to wave, shake hands

and salute.”

Mr. Sarang said Mr. Babariya’s de-

mands were “immature and fool-

ish,” and dismissed allegations

that his party workers had planted

lotus flowers in the state.

The covering of objects ahead of

elections isn’t unheard of in India,

where political parties adopt a

range of items as symbols, from

brooms and cupboards to electric

fans, television sets and cricket

bats.

Ahead of polls in Uttar Pradesh

last year, the Election Commission

ordered the northern state’s then

chief minister, Kumari Mayawati,

to cover statues of elephants in

state-run parks as the animal is the

symbol of her Bahujan Samaj Par-

ty.

Many political analysts criticized

the order, saying it was inconse-

quential.

Anurag Mittal, who works for the

Association for Democratic Re-

forms, a New Delhi-based group

lobbying for transparency in gov-

ernance, said he was disappointed

by the arguments over lotuses in

Madhya Pradesh.

“This is the time to discuss mani-

festoes and development plans. In-

stead, parties are wasting time nit-

picking and indulging in non-is-

sues,” he said. “This is such a let-

down.”

We The State - Issue 6 Vol 2

Documents