We The State - Issue 7 Vol 2

8/14/2019 We The State - Issue 7 Vol 2

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We NOVEMBER11TONOVEMBER17, 2013 POSTALREGD.MP/BHOPAL/4-323/2013-15RNINO.MPENG\2012\46415

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

Mallika Sherawat plans holidaywith her Mr Right Vijay

Ajay releases chargesheet against BJP govtBHOPAL

Congress has accused Shivraj Singh

Chouhan led BJP government of being in-

volvedin scams worth Rsone lakh46 thou-

sand crore in its charge-sheet.

Congress leader Ajay Singh, while releasing the

charge sheet, has alleged that Madhya Pradesh

Lokayukta had sought permission to take action

against 14 BJP ministers in corruption cases, but

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan did not

give the nod. To a question, he claimed Congress,

which had won 71 of the 230 seats in the state in

2008, would double its tally this time.

The charge sheet was issued in the presence of

Congress general secretary in-charge of Madhya

Pradesh Mohan Prakash and former Chief Minis-

ter Digvijay Singh, among others.The Chief Minister made several announce-

ments, but most of them remained only on paper,

the charge sheet alleged. Even senior BJP leaders

such as Uma Bharti had admitted that there was

corruption in Madhya Pradesh, it said.

Thecharge-sheetmentionsabout 17majorscams

and financial irregularities by various ministers

of Shivraj government. MNREGS scam of Rs 30

crores done by nephews of PWD minister Nagen-

dra Singh, buying electricity without tender scam

of Rs 32,109 crore, buying wheat at government

support price scam of Rs 3.25 crore, Rs 1031 crore

were recovered in raids conducted in last three

years by various anti-corruption agencies, Rs 20

crore scam in PWD department, scam of Rs 600

crore on name of eradicating malnutrition, Rs

50,000 crore was raised through illegal mining,

bungling in government treasury worth Rs 50,000

crore, Rs 65 crore scam in Deendayal Upchar Yoj-

na, Rs 500 crore scandal in medicine purchase in

health department, Rs108 crore scamin loanwaiv-

erschemefor farmers,RS 5000crorescamin water

resources departmentagainst allottingtenders,Rs

76 crore in CM's discretionary fund, Rs 5,250 crore

scam in allotting government land to Gammon In-

dia, Rs 25 crore economic offence in blackboard

painting and Devputra magazine scam in school

education department and Rs 260 crore in Tendu-

patta bonus distribution, are the major financial

scams done by this government till September 30,

said Ajay Singh.

Vol-02. Issue-7. Bhopal. M onday Page-12. Price-`5/-

he State

Why is Sonia detached from

campaigning process?

How WE look it !

...Cartoon by K G [email protected]

Allegations in charge sheetCongress charge sheet against BJP

government has many serious allegations.The main among them are:

The Shivraj Singh Chauhan-led BJP

government is responsible for scams

amounting to a mammoth Rs 1,46,000

crore over its five years in power

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and

his family, including his wife, Sadhna S ingh,

brother-in-law and brother are directly

involved in corruption

Mining ministers Laxmikant Sharma and

Rajendra Shukla are both responsible for

illegal mining on hundreds of thousands of

hectares of land

Senior BJP leaders, such as LK Advani, Uma

Bharti and other top ministers and MLAs,

have openly accused their own

government of corruption Madyha Pradesh leads in terms of crimes

against children, rape, malnutrition, infant

mortality. All talk of development is mere

eyewash

BJPs reply to charge sheet

Meanwhile, the BJP has replied to Congress charge sheet. The BJP, while denying all thecharges, accused Congress and UPA of massive corruption. The main points of BJPs reply are:

The amount of scams (Rs 1,46,000 crore) that the Congress has charged the government

with is roughly double of the state's entire budget. This amount has been derived from theCongress-led Union government's scams, including the 2G scam, Coalgate, CommonwealthGames scam and others

The courts have rejected all charges against the chief minister and hi s family. But Congressleaders continue levelling baseless allegations

Both Laxmikant Sharma and Rajendra Shukla have explained their positions and have alsofiled a defamation writ of Rs 10 crore against those leaders and newspapers which hadpublished the news without verifying the facts

Former chief minister Uma Bharti was in the opposition when she had accused thegovernment of corruption. The Congress has unnecessarily added LK Adavani and other BJP

leaders' statements to their charge sheet without first checking the real meaning of theirstatements

The Madhya Pradesh government has been given a total of 18 national awards by the

Centre for its development schemes. Congress leaders should first find out why none of thestates where their party is in power have won any of these prestigious national awards.


2/12

WE THE STATECapital2 BHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 2013

Unprecedented security at Ratangarh; 1000 cops deployedBHOPAL

Leaving nothing to chance and to avoid a

repeat of the tragedy at Ratangarh tem-

ple in Datia district the state government

has deployed nearly 1,000 police person-

nel, including 18 officers of the rank of

additional SP and deputy SP, to deal with

rush of devotees during a two-day fair at

the historical temple on bhai dooj on

Tuesday.

Fooproof security was arranged after

expected rush of 14 lakh pilgrims at the

temple, where more than 115 were killed

and nearly 200 injured during a stam-

pede triggered by a rumour on October

13. Inadequate security and crowd man-

agement arrangements triggered the

tragedy on the fateful day.

"With this force, we can manage crowds

at Kumbh also," said D K Arya, DIG

(Chambal range) said. Though people

have already started arriving, at least 10times as many devotees are expected to

visit the temple on Tuesday, he said.

Besides, 975 policemen, including 80 in-

spectors, have also been posted around

Ratangarh temple site. All heavy vehi-

cles - especially tractors that led to com-

motion on the bridge before stampede,

would be asked to stop 7 to 8 km before

the bridge leading to the Ratangarh tem-

ple, he said.

Eight separate parking arrangements

have been made, one for administration

and media at Basai Mallakh village,

close to the temple, second parking for

four-wheelers at Dulladev area and the

third one will be for heavy vehicles at

Marseni village, which is 8 km from the

bridge. The bridge will be separated us-

ing barricades for entry and exit, the

DIG said. Devotees, who visit the temple

in Seonda village of Datia, are mostly

landless and marginal farmers, who

come to the temple from afar - Chambal

region in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The arrangements have been made

keeping in view guidelines of National

Disaster Management Authority

(NDHA) laid down after a study conduct-

ed by Indian Institute of Management,

Ahmedabad ( IIM-A) on 'crowd manage-

ment at places of major rush.

Puar eyeing 6th straight winBHOPAL: The successful liver transplant seems to haverevived the political fortunes of ailing Tukoji Rao Puar,

the scion of Dewas royal family. Puar -- who underwent

liver transplant operation in Singapore in March this year

-- has once again got the ticket to contest the Assembly

election from Dewas, putting to rest the speculation that

his son will be given the ticket this time around. Puar has

been winning the Dewas seat continuously since 1990.

His was the only name proposed from Dewas by the BJP

workers during the survey and the short-listing process,

said a BJP leader who did not want to be named. Puar was

recently seen at a book launch function at Daly College

where he looked far healthier than his appearances dur-

ing the recent times.

Known for his fondness for alcohol, Puar has been ailing

for a long time and could not attend office as minister oftourism and sports for several months. In fact, he was

minister sans any portfolio earlier this year as ill health

kept him confined to his home.

When contacted by HT, Puar said, I am perfectly

healthy, and that's why I am contesting election. There is

no truth to the reports that my son was to be given the

ticket this time around. The burning issues during this

campaign will be a combination of the party's manifesto

and local issues but are too elaborate to be told over the

phone.

Puar is also no stranger to controversy. He has been ac-

cused by the Congress of being in an inebriated state

while attending a government function in Bhopal last

year. During that function he had addressed certain

women in the audience as tigress, which had triggered a

controversy.

Before the November 2008 assembly elections in the

state, he was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with a

woman returning officer. Puar was caught on camera hav-

ing a heated argument with the woman SDM and throw-

ing a bunch of papers at her. Born on November 17, 1963,

Tukojirao Puar is a descendant of the Puar dynasty of the

Marathas that ruled the erstwhile Dewas princely state.

As far as his electoral prospects are concerned, BJP lead-

ers are in no doubt that he will win for sixth time in a row.

6 BJP ministers given tickets from same constituenciesBHOPAL: Six incumbent ministers have been given tickets

from the same constituencies they represent. Minister for

women and child welfare Ranjana Baghel has been fielded from

Manawar in Dhar district, food minister Paras Chandra Jain

from Ujjain (North), minister of state Dashrath Lodhi from

Jabera in Damoh, minister of state for urban administration

Manohar Utwal from Agar in Shajapur, minister of state for

home affairs Narayan Singh Kushwah from Gwalior (South)

and minister of state for general administration Kanhaiya Lal

Agarwal from Bamori in Guna.

The party, however, wanted to field Ranjana Baghel from Kuk-

shi seat, currently held by her husband Hukum Singh Karara,

but she insisted on contesting from her original seat Manawar.

K L Agarwal also effectively managed to save his turf whichwas being sought by Gwalior MP Yashodhara Raje for her son

Akshaye Bhansali.

Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi, former Congress

deputy leader of Opposition who defected from the party dur-

ing the monsoon session this year, has been rewarded with a

seat for his brother. BJP has fielded Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi's

brother Mukesh Choudhary from Mehgaon constituency in

Bhind.

BJP's new upcoming OBC Lodhi community leader Prahlad

Patel has also been given a seat for his brother Zalim Singh Pa-

tel from the Narsinghpur seat. The party's prominent Lodhi

face Uma Bharati has also secured a ticket for her follower,

Rekha Yadav, from Bada Malehra in Chhattarpur. The seat was

formerly Bharati's constituency when she was chief minister

in 2004. But the state BJP was in two minds about fielding sit-

ting MLA Rekha Yadav who faced dissent in party ranks. Yadav

contested for Uma Bharati's Bharatiya Jan Shakti Party in the

2008 election and was one of the five BJSP MLAs who beat Con-

gress and BJP. After Bharati returned to BJP in 2011, Yadav be-

came a BJP legislator. Sitting BJP MLAs who have been denied

tickets to beat anti-incumbency against them include Tarana

MLA Rodmal Rathor, legislator from Ujjain (south), Shiv-

narayan Jagirdar, Shantilal Dhabai (Badnagar), Purushottam

Dangi (Biaorra), Bhagwan Singh Rajput (Udaypura) and Betul

MLA Alkesh Arya.

ROHANIS SON GIVEN TICKET

Aday after the sudden death of Speaker Ishwardas Rohani,

BJP declared his elder son, Ashok, as the candidate from

his father's Jabalpur Cantonment seat. Ashok Rohani, a

former corporator of the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation and

general secretary of the district BJP unit worked and

campaigned alongside his father, who was a four-time MLA from

this seat.

Members of the BJP national election committee were

unanimous in their decision to nominate Ashok from his father's

turf even as it declared its second list of 64 candidates on

Wednesday.

Tickets were given out to 14 Scheduled Caste members, 12

Scheduled Tribes and nine women. The Lodhi OBC community

represented by the Uma Bharati and Prahlad Patel factions took

away a chunk of seats. About 14 sitting MLAs have been denied

tickets.


3/12

WE THE STATEEditorial3 BHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 2013

ASTROLOGY

13-11-2013- Wednesday - Kartik

Mah Shuklapaksh-Ekadashi

Positive directions - North and West

Bad time - 12:08 pm to 1:30 pm

Good time - 6:43 am to 8:04 am

and 2:51 pm to 5:36 pm

14-10-2013-Thursday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Dwadashi(Pradoah)

Positive directions - West and North



and 10:46 am to 1:29 pm and 4:12

pm to 5:36 pm

15-11-2013- Friday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Trayodashi

Positive directions - East and North

Bad time - 10:46 am to 12:08 pm


and 12:09 pm to 1:30 pm and 4:12

pm to 5:36 pm

16-11-2013- Saturday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Chaturdashi

Positive directions - East and North

Bad time - 9:25 am to 10:46 am


and 12:08 pm to 4:12 pm

17-11-2013- Sunday - Kartik Mah

Shuklapaksh-Poornima

Positive directions - East and South


Good time - 8:05 am to 12:08 pm

and 1:30 pm to 2:51 pm

18-11-2013- Monday - Margshirsh

Mah Krishnapaksh-EkamPositive directions- East and South

Bad time - 8:05 am to 9:26 am


and 9:27 am to 10:47 am and 1:31

pm to 5:35 pm

19-11-2013- Tuesday -Margshirsh

Mah Shuklapaksh -Dwitiya

Positive directions- East and South


Good time - 9:25 am to 1:31 pm

By AACHARYA SARVESH

E-Mail: [email protected]: 9826609192

VASTU TIPS FOR CLINIC

A clinic's main entrance should

be in the North-East, East or

North. This will allow patients to

seek consultation without fear

and uncertainty. Other choices

for the entrance are South-East,

South or West.

The waiting area should be

placed in the North-East or

North. Placing this area in the

South-East, the fire quadrant,

would cause unhappiness.

Auspicious locations for the

doctor are the South-West,

South, and West. Facing North-

East when treating patients

enhances concentration. FacingEast is also allowed.

The doctor's chair should not be

black, grey or blue. These colors

are regarded as depressing and

negative in Vastu and should

also be avoided on the floor and

carpets.

Sharad Pawar creates flutter in ruling UPA

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

president and senior leader of the

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) II

Sharad Pawar surprised many by the NCPs

presence at a convention sponsored by Left

parties in Delhi.

It has created a flutter in ruling UPA but it

is one of the time-tested strategies adoptedby Pawar to keep his friends and foes guess-

ing about his next move. However, back

home, Congress leaders are cool claiming

that Pawar will not leave UPA and join the

proposed third front.

Whatever may be the perception of the Con-

gress leaders in Maharashtra, Pawar has

used the opportunity to once again hint that

he is open for political experimentation.

What is interesting is the fact that all those

regional leaders whom Pawar feels that

would play major role in post-election era in

2014 were present on the dais in Delhi along

with comrades.

He has killed two birds with one stone, he

has tried to put pressure on the Congress

which is reluctant to accept his demand for

sharing same number of seats it contested

last elections and at the same time indicated

to his third front leaders that in case they are

in a position to form the government, then

his party may reconsider its present posi-

tion.

NCP state spokesperson and former minis-

ter Nawab Malik has ruled out both possibil-

ities claiming that presence at the Delhi ral-

ly was token representation of the party

since it was not a political convention but sol-

idarity move by secularist parties. The NCP

at the state level is having tough time with

the state Congress to retain the number of

seats it contested last time for coming Lok

Sabha elections. However, the state Congressis not ready to accept the demand saying that

the NCP could win only 8 out of 22 seats it

contested. The state Congress wants the N CP

to fight only 19 seats so that it can contest

more seats this time.

Pawars decision to send an emissary to the

Delhi rally by left and other non-Congress

secular parties is considered as an effort to

put pressure on the Congress leadership to

retain old formula of 22-26 for seat sharing

out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is not

perturbed by the development as he thinks it

is a pressure tactics used by the NCP. Pawar

has also announced that he would not be con-

testing Lok Sabha elections and enter the

Parliament via Rajya Sabha in 2014 to give

more chance to younger generation in his

party. Over the last few years he has devel-

oped a host of new younger leaders in the

state by inducting them in the coalition gov-

ernment run in the state.

The Congress leaders here feel that Pawar

has not given up his hope of reaching the top

post of Prime Minister in case there is hung

Parliament after 2014 elections and his pres-

ence in Delhi meet was also part of that game

plan. However, Pawar says The NCP partic-

ipation in Delhi was an intention of keeping

the communal forces at bay. We are part of

UPA and will contest as an alliance. NCP

Union Minister for Heavy Industries Praful

Patel has made it clear that all options areopen for NCP since its alliance with the Con-

gress is only limited to two states, namely

Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The NCP claims that the political situation

in the country is fluid and it is always politi-

cally correct to keep in touch with like-mind-

ed parties. Even the Congress is not going to

get absolute majority on its own and we will

require garnering support from smaller like-

minded parties.

Why is Sonia detached from campaigning process?

Both the main political parties of the na-

tion are gearing up for the all-impor-

tant Lok Sabha elections next year.

And the Congress and the BJP have put forth

their best bets in the form of Rahul Gandhi

and Narendra Modi respectively.

For the Congress, 2014 is possibly the most

difficult polls that it is going to fight since the

Emergency in 1977 and it is a huge challenge

for the grand old party to s urvive in North In-

dia. The scourge of price rise and corruption

is petrifying the Congress and most of the par-

ty bigwigs, mired in credibility crisis, do not

seem to inspire much hope.

In such a scenario, it was necessary for Con-

gress president Sonia Gandhi to take the reins

of the party in her own hands and guide it indifficult times. However, Sonia is nowhere in

the scene. It is Rahul and only Rahul who is oc-

cupying the Congress posters although the

party has some strong actors like Sonia Gand-

hi and Manmohan Singh, whose credibility is

intact even now.

Thus, it is imperative to question why Sonia

Gandhi and Manmohan Singh are missing

from the entire election campaigning. One per-

ception about Manmohan Singh is that he is

just killi ng time. Even if UPA III forms the

government next year, Manmohan Singh in all

likelihood will not be the Prime Minister.

Moreover, Manmohan Singh is neither a bril-

liant orator nor does his second term in office

has accomplishments which he can flaunt.

Also, after his name was dragged in the coal

blocks allocation scam, many Congressmen

want to stay away from him.

But why is Sonia Gandhi detached from the

entire campaigning process? There may be

two reasons behind this. Sonia Gandhi is not

keeping well and her ill-health may not be al-

lowing her to play an active role in politics.

But a more probable explanation is that Sonia

has completely handed over the partys reins

to Rahul and having done that she does not

want to intervene in Rahuls strate gy.

In the culture of India, mothers are avid to

see their sons seated on the topmost echelon of

power. Many Indian mythological epics sub-

stantiate this notion. In many Italian families,

the mother-son bond runs deeper than that in

India. Sonia Gandhi is connected to both India

and Italy, and the tradition and culture of both

the countries are well known for putramoha.

So, is this putramoha the driving force be-

hind Sonias distance from the Congress and

her crowning Rahul as the partys all in all?

Rahul is taking important decisions without

hesitation and is talking in a free manner. But

Rahuls nonchalant demeanour and his re-

marks have been weakening the party in front

of the Opposition. The Election Commission

has even demanded an explanation from

Rahul on his ISI remarks at the Indore rally.

The Congress has its trump card in the form

of Sonia and Priyanka, who can play a big role

in election campaigning. In straight words,

they can confront the Narendra Modi wave. So,

isnt keeping Sonia and Priyanka away from

the election campaign a big political blunder

on part of the Congress?

Sonia Gandhi should come forward on be-

half of the Congress. She is an ideal mother,

but she is also the president of the oldest par-

ty in the country the Congress party, which

has had its own unique ideology and despite

talks of being cheated, people have been plac-

ing their trust in it. Congress secular image

and its pan-India presence have been the basis

of its existence.This is the first election in which Rahul

Gandhi is playing on the front foot. But, from

where will the Congress vice president bring

the experience that Sonia has? Sonias accept-

ability works as an adhesive within the UPA,

whereas Rahul is yet to prove himself on this

front. Today the buzz regarding the Third

Front has started to become stronger because

some components of the UPA are searching

their future in such a front.

Definitely, today, the Congress needs Sonia

the most. This is the time for the party to be-

come alert. Sonias advisors must ask her to

get active and understand the seriousness of

the situation before it gets too late. There must

be damage-control efforts coming from Sonia

before Assembly Elections in the country. For

this, Sonia must address at least two rallies -

One in Delhi and the second one in any other

big city of the country. After all, the battle

must be interesting. There are two big parties

of the country and the claims and promises of

both, should be placed before the public in the

proper manner.

Share your views at editor@wethestate .com


4/12

WE THE STATEPolitics4 BHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 2013

Rebellion not to dent fortunes of big playersBHOPAL

Rebellion in political parties leading to

vandalizing party offices, filing nomi-

nation as independents and even lead-

ing to suicide by Congress ticket aspirant is

likely to leave a deep impact on the political

landscape of the state. But poll pundits say

this is unlikely to hit poll prospects of the two

major parties.

As both BJP and Congress parties are facing

revolt and in absence of a strong third front,

it would not har m any party. Though they

may make some minor difference, the rebel-

lion will hardly dent the fortunes of big play-

ers.

BJP has a strength of 143 in the 230-member

state assembly followed by 71 of Congress.

Thus it is the ruling party that may be affect-

ed, pollsters say.

Dissent has its root in wealth, power, and

success that come with winning a seat- espe-

cially if the member is from the ruling party.

Any change in candidate is likely to affect the

ruling party badly, thus benefitting the oppo-

sition. The impact will not be limited to the

damage by the visible rebels, but those who

remain silent and work. The rebels who have

come out in open will try their best to damage

the party. But, the important factor is that it

would not be easy to keep rebellions in check.

Rebels would play spoilsport at the last mo-

ment by damaging from behind the curtain.

Besides, if the party candidate and rebels are

from the same community, it would have a

major impact on the prospects of a candidate.

The problem is more in BJP compared to Con-

gress.

Though if past history of rebels are taken

into account, most have hardly managed to

win but they certainly contribute to the

defeat of their opponents and at least they cut

the votes. Rebels definitely have a bearing on

the final result. Like in the case of Bhopal

Central a minority community candidate is

more likely to be impacted by rebel candi-

dates.

Some experts even feel that the rebels are

likely to have very low or no impact on the re-

sults of the elections. They say barring four

to five seats in the state, rebels hardly have

any impact as its remains a bipolar contest

between the BJP and Congress in most con-

stituencies.

Uma Bharati, a popular BJP face in MP,

formed her own party and eventually lost

badly. Voters in MP have a set mind set and

they vote either for BJP or Congress. Maxi-

mum a rebellion candidate could make his

party candidate loose but could not win elec-

tions.

BSP will emerge as a forceto reckon with: MayawatiLUCKNOW

Days after battling the bungalow contro-

versy, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief

Mayawati has ruled out an alliance with

any political party in the 2014 general

elections and said her party will emerge

as a force to reckon with in four of the

five states where assembly elections

will be held later this year and the Lok

Sabha polls.

We will not have any alliance withany political party, Mayawati told re-

porters here.

People in Uttar Pradesh are fed up

with Samajwadi Partys misrule and

are yearning for a change, the BSP

leader added.

On the upcoming state assembly elec-

tions in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,

Rajasthan and Delhi, Mayawati said her

party would emerge as a balance of

power and will be crucial in govern-

ment formations in all these states. As-

sembly elections will also be held in Mi-

zoram, where the BSP doesnt have a

presence.

She termed the Congress andBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as parties

that had grossly disappointed the aspi-

rations of the people of India.

Mayawati said the infighting in the

BJP will only help her party. Referring

to senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, prime

ministerial candidate Narendra Modi

and BJP chief Rajnath Singh, the BSP

leader said: The troika of Advani-

Modi-Rajnath are busy cutting each oth-

er and all this will reap rich dividends

for the BSP.

Mayawati hoped that with peoples

support, the BSP will emerge as the No.1

party in the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

She also accused the SP-BJP of having

an illicit understanding to fomentcommunal passions in Uttar Pradesh in

the run-up to the 2014 polls. As the elec-

tions draw closer, the evil designs of

these two parties will come to the fore,

she said. She reiterated her earlier de-

mand of imposition of presidents rule

in the state because of what she termed

as jungle raj (lawlessness).

Terming as dramatics the yatras or-

ganised by SP to include 17 backward

castes into Scheduled Caste, the BSP

supremo said like the VHP the party

should apologise to OBC community forissuing a government order in its previ-

ous regime which deprived them of

reservation facility.

She said that before Lok Sabha elec-

tions an attempt was being made to cre-

ate an atmosphere in the country that

there were no parties other than Con-

gress or BJP, which was not right. She

said that in reality both the parties were

not the main choice of the people as

they have tested them and felt disap-

pointed.

BJP people are making tall announce-

ments of resolving big problems before

the country in their rallies by assem-

bling crowd of ticket goers. Why didnt

they did so when the party was in powerfor six years, Mayawati said while tak-

ing a dig at the saffron brigade. She

claimed the people in UP were feeling

harassed by increasing crime and riots.

She said that until and unless peace is

not restored trade and industry could

not flourish and UP would continue to

remain a backward state.

Diggis old rival Pachaurifaces tough electoral battleBHOPAL: Former PCC President Suresh Pachauri has been pushed into an electoral battle.

He has been declared Congress candidate from the Bhojpur assembly constituency.

Pachauri is known to abhor direct elections. He prefers the safe sanctuary of Rajya Sabha.

Twice he tried to win popular elections once from Bhopal and on another occasion from

Hoshangabad and lost both the times. At Bhojpur, the odds are stacked against him. If he los-

es, he will lose his face as well. And if he wins, he will gain nothing.

The source of Pachauris predicament, sources say, is Congress heavyweight Digvijay Singh.

Diggi Raja may have announced that he will not recommend any names for tickets. But that is

not preventing him from settling scores with his old rivals.

And Pachauri is one of them. Digvijays close supporters have been denied tickets by the par-

ty. Manak Agarwal has resigned in protest; PC Shar ma is issuing threats while Vibha Patel is

sulking. Naturally, the Raja is unhappy. And he is using his for midable skills as an astute

player of the game of politics to humble his detractors.

The Diggi-Pachauri rivalry is an old one. In the 2008 Vidhan

Sabha elections, when Pachauri was the PCC President, Digvijay

Singh scrupulously kept away from electioneering and Pachauri

supporters say that he sabotaged the partys poll effort. Diggi

knew that if the Congress won, Pachauri would be the chief min-

ister something unacceptable to him.

It was Digvijay, it is said, who came in the way of Pachauri get-

ting a fifth consecutive term in the Rajya Sabha from the state.

Vijaylaxmi Sadho was returned to the Upper House in his place.

And now, apparently, it was at his insistence that Pachauri was

chosen to take on Surendra Patwa, the nephew of BJP veteran

Sunderlal Patwa from Bhojpur assembly constituency.

Bhojpur is a pocket borough of the senior Patwa, having re-

turned him four times. In the last polls, Surendra Patwa won

from there. Bhojpur is a part of the Vidisha Lok Sabha con-stituency, which had been returning Shivraj Singh Chauhan consistently, till he took over as

the Chief Minister in 2005. Now, the constituency is represented by leader of opposition in the

Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. Obviously, Pachauri will have to contend with the combined might

of Sunderlal Patwa, Chauhan and Sushma Swaraj a tall order for him, by any means.

Moreover, the constituency has a sizeable Kirar population.Vibha Patel, who was seeking

ticket from the constituency, cannot be expected to aid Pachauri and her brother- in- law Ra-

jkumar Patel has been thrown out of the Congress.

If and it is a big if Pachauri still manages to sail through. And if and again it is a big if

the Congress wins majority in the state, Digvijay can be expected to move heaven and the

earth to ensure that Pachauri is not anointed as the chief minister. On the other hand, if

Pachauri loses as is likely his prestige will suffer another blow.

Digvijay tried his level best to carry Congressmen of all factions with him. He included the

supporters of his arch factional rivals in his ministry. But all that seems to have changed now.

Diggi Raja is hardly interested in anyone except his immediate family.

He got party nomination for his son Jaywardhan Singh from his political bastion of yore

Raghogarh and to prevent any adversarial move by his rivals, got Jaywardhan to file his papers

even before the Congress had announced a single candidate from the state. His brother

Laxman Singh has been given important responsibilities in the PCC and Laxmans son is the

chairman of Raghogarh municipal committee both courtesy Digvijay Singh. He did not stop

at that. To eliminate the emergence of any future rivals of his son, he got the sitting MLAs

from Biaora Purushottam Dangi and from Rajgarh Hemraj Kalponi replaced by new candi-

dates.

On the other hand, Diggis loyal supporters have been sidelined. Vibha Patel, Ibrahim

Qureshi, PC Sharma all have been left high and dry. As for Govind Goyal, it is believed that he

secured ticket for himself through Ahmed Patel.


5/12

WE THE STATEPolitics5 BHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 2013

Disappointed aspirants of both Cong, BJP on rebellion pathBHOPAL

Infighting in both Congress and BJP has in-

tensified as supporters and opponents of

candidates for the November 25 Assembly

elections have resorted to picketing, burning

of effigies and vandalism.

Pradesh Congress Committee vice-presi-

dent Manak Agrawal has quit his post after

he was denied ticket to contest from

Hoshangabad. He accused senior leader

Suresh Pachouri, a nominee from Bhojpur,

of scuttling his candidature at the behest of

a company involved in sand-mining with al-

leged links to the family of Chief Minister

Shivraj Chouhan. Agrawal told reporters: I

had three illegal sand mines of the company

closed down at Nasrullahganj, so the compa-

ny paid a huge amount to Suresh Pachouri to

scuttle my nomination. I have strengthened

the party in Hoshangabad, but I have been

denied ticket. Pachouri is a leader who plays

politics of manipulation in Delhi. Had Pa-chouri not sold ticket in 2008, the Congress

would have won the elections, he said.

I am quitting my post but not the party. I

will neither join any other party, nor fight

the election as an independent. I believe that

justice will be done some day, he said.

Party spokesman JP Dhanopia said Agraw-

als resignation was being examined by the

leadership. There is no attempt to mollify

him as he has made serious allegations

against a senior leader.

In Agar, Congressman Narsingh Malviya

committed suicide after he failed to secure

nomination.

The PCC office witnessed protests by oppo-

nents of Harish Rathore, candidate from Se-

hore. They were joined by Congressmen

from Bhopal, who suspected that two lead-

ers, P.C. Sharma and Mahendra Chauhan,

might be denied nomination. Opponents of

Silwani candidate Devendra Patel a BJP

MLA who defected recently indulged in

vandalism at the PCC office.

The BJP also faced the same problem on

the issue of nominations, with its workers

burning effigies of senior leaders in Sha-

japur and Indore. In Ratlam, several BJP lo-

cal body representatives and office-bearers

resigned en masse and hundreds of workers

marched through the town to protest against

the nomination of State treasurer Chetan

Kashyap. The workers gathered around the

home of the former Home Minister, Himmat

Kothari, who agreed to contest as an Inde-

pendent.

Recently unidentified men attacked the

BJP headquarters and smashed the glass

doors at the entrance. This has not been

done by BJP workers, BJP assistant media

in-charge Sanjay Khoche said.

A police source, however, said the violence

was the result of internal party rivalries.

Last week, Minister Dev Singh Saiyam re-

signed after his Mandla seat was allotted to

district panchyat president Sampatia Uike.

Saiyam declared his support for the Gond-

wana Gantantra Party, though he remains a

BJP member.

BJP national vice-president and Rajya Sab-

ha member Prabhat Jha told The Hindu that

the rebels would be pacified and made to

work for the party. Dissent is normal when

people are not nominated. These are com-

mitted BJP cadre.

Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan, a

prominent face of the Rahul brigade, was

gheraoed in the District Congress Commit-

tee office at Neemuch by supporters of Ra-

jkumar Ahir, a disappointed aspirant. They

calmed down after I met them one by one and

told them that I would communicate their

grievances to the leadership. These are all

committed workers, she said.

Congress nominee for Shujalpur assembly

constituency, Mahendra Joshi, was attacked

by a rival faction of his own party when he

was on way to Shajapur. Joshi escaped with

minor injuries, but four other people accom-

panying him were badly injured and were

admitted to a Shajapur hospital for treat-

ment.

Sources said the attack on Joshi took place

allegedly by supporters of Yogendra Singh,

who was among the ticket aspirants.Incidentally, the dissent over ticket distri-

bution in the Congress is increasing day by

day. In Delhi, Rahul Gandhi met with the

party MPs from the State to assess the situa-

tion.

Political columnist Chandrakant Naidu at-

tributed the abnormally high levels of a g-

gression in this election to the hype around

the polls. This, in my memory, is the first

suicide for ticket in the State. The BJP, too, is

under pressure to win for a third time, and

there are leaders close to Gujarat Chief Min-

ister Narendra] Modi and others not fond of

Shivraj who are instigating dissent. A third

win for the party would definitely create a

national space for Shivraj, which many are

uncomfortable with, he said.

BJP MLA resigns, may defectto Cong over ticket denialNEW DELHI

BJP's four-time MLA, Harsharan Singh Balli, re-signed from the party after his seat Hari Nagar was

given to Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) for the assembly

polls. The former minister is now in negotiations with

Congress and is willing to contest polls on the rival

party's ticket.

"I have resigned from all posts in the party. BJP went

down on its knees to maintain its alliance with Akalis.

If my talks with Congress turn out fruitful, I may con-

test on the Congress ticket," Balli said. He further said

that senior BJP leaders had assured him that his tick-

et will not be cut at any cost.

Not just Balli, party leader and north Delhi mayor

Azad Singh also resigned from his post and member-

ship of the party to express his displeasure over not

getting a ticket, from Matiala seat.

BJP sources said Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel re-

jected both resignations and is holding talks with dis-sidents. "I am confident we will be able to persuade the

two leaders to take back their resignations. The con-

tributions made by both leaders very valuable to the

party," Goel said.

The party's former state secretary, Kamaljeet

Sehrawat, has also resigned. According to party

sources, more resignations from disgruntled leaders

are expected.

Meanwhile, protests continued outside BJP party of-

fices and residences of senior party leaders including

Nitin Gadkari and VK Malhotra for the second con-

secutive day. Supporters of Imran Ismail, a for mer

councillor who was seeking a ticket from Ballimaran,held a demonstration at the party's Pandit Pant Marg

office and gheraoed Goel.

A group of people protested outside the residence of

Gadkari demanding changes to the candidate list.

Supporters of other candidates who missed out on

tickets were seen making rounds of the offices and

homes of leaders including party president Rajnath

Singh and LK Advani.


6/12

WE THE STATERajasthan6 BHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 2013

BJP leaders in Rajasthan warn dissidentsSANGEETA SHARMA

E-mail: [email protected]

JAIPUR

With rising voices of dissent in

the party, BJP state leaders have

warned the dissidents and their

supporters of disciplinary action and

blamed other parties for the protests at its

state headquarters.

As hundreds of supporters of those who

were denied tickets thronged the state par-

ty headquarters, a senior leader claimed

that the protestors were not party mem-

bers. "These people who are creating a

ruckus and disturbing things here are not

members of the party. These protests and

mobs are supported by other political par-

ties,'' said Onkar Singh Lakhawat, party's

vice-president in the state.

Lakhawat, though, also had a warning

for the rebels, several of whom have

threatened to contest independently. "The

party is observing the developments close-

ly and disciplinary action would be initi-

ated against rebel candidates after No-

vember 16,'' he said.

Lakhawat along with a few of fice-bearers

have had to face the brunt of protesters for

the past two days. The party candidate on

over a dozen seats is expected to be facing

a rebel candidate in the elections. Though,

there are reports of opposition from more

than 20 seats, senior members anticipate

that only about 10-12 might actually con-

test elections as independent candidates

or join another party.

"Small groups in the respective areas are

protesting, which will have no impact on

any the results. The crowd will soon dis-

perse and only a handful of rebel candi-

dates will be left behind for the party to

deal with,'' said a senior leader.

Meanwhile, former minister Madan Di-

lawar and Manek Chand Surana have an-

nounced to contest independently. Four

other members, who had lost elections last

time, have also announced to do so. Over

400 members from across the state have

sent resignations to state headquarters.

While BJP legislator from Kathumar

Babulal Birwa has joined Rashtriya Jana-

ta Party, Khanpur legislator Anul Jain and

Baseri legislator Sukhram Koli have an-

nounced they would contest independent-

ly.

BJP candidates in Shekhawati, Tonk, Ka-

rauli, Bharatpur and Udaipur regions

among others are facing strong opposition

from party workers. On Thursday, sup-

porters of Manish Yadav, who was aspir-

ing for a ticket from Shahpura, broke

doors and furniture as the protest turned

violent. Yadav, a former student union

leader, found support of several young-

sters, who protested for a long time at the

state headquarters. The party has repeat-

ed sitting legislator Rao Rajendra Singh

from Shahpura.

Protests were also staged at the state par-

ty headquarters against party's candidates

Suresh Dhakar (Begun), Gautam Deg

(Badi Sadri), Surendra Parikh (Hawa Ma-

hal), Shankar Sharma (Dausa) and Phool

Chand Bhinda (Virat Nagar).

Meritorious students to motivatefirst time voters in Rajasthan

JAIPUR

The chief electoral office, Rajasthan, hascome up with a novel idea of appointing mer-

itorious college students as 'campus ambas-

sadors' to motivate first-time voters in an ap-

parent bid to increase the voting turnout in

assembly and parliamentary elections.

"This is a very unique way of sharing re-

sponsibility to attain a common goal-high

voting turnout. The commission wanted to

introduce it in all colleges but due to time

constraints, we have limited this concept to a

few colleges only. The concept will be effec -

tively introduced in all colleges once the as-

sembly elections are over," said Ashok Jain,

chief electoral officer, Rajasthan.

The campus ambassadors' job is to use cre-

ative endeavours to inform, encourage and

motivate students to register for the electoral

rolls and to vote. Notably, the registrations

for assembly elections were over on Novem-

ber 5. The commission is likely to reach out

to constituent colleges of Rajasthan Univer-

sity and those institutes which would like to

have such ambassadors in their colleges. The

higher education department has been roped

in for identifying colleges for the purpose.

The state has over 17 lakh first-time voters

registered against a total population of 27

lakh in the age group of 18-19 years. Most ofthe first timers are in colleges or in Class XII.

The poor voting turnout from among them

fail to achieve the desired result even after

the Election Commission's aggressive pub-

licity on social media platforms.

Earlier, the EC had appointed teachers as

nodal officers to motivate students to regis-

ter for voting.

The Election Commission has also roped in

both government and private schools via dis-

trict education officers to introduce a

'Sankalp Drive' to reach out to 50 lakh stu-

dents across the state. The district education

officers have issued directions to all schools

in this regard. The drive will begin on No-

vember 11.

"Students will be given a letter-cum-under-

taking stating that family members of 18

years and above to cast their vote. The idea is

to spread the message that when a student

reaches home and discusses about the un-

dertaking, he or she will motivate parents

and others to vote. Students have to submit

the later on November 14," a government of-

ficial said.

BJP repeats all sit-ting MLAs inJaipurJAIPUR: BJP's list of candidates has

given rest to all speculations about sit-

ting legislators from Jaipur con-

stituencies being dropped as the party

seniors showed confidence on all of

them.

As expected, the party has fielded

state vice-president Arun Chaturvedi

from Civil Lines while general secre-

tary will contest from Satish Punia.

Both the senior members, who share a

RSS background, are firsttime con-

tenders. Names of Chaturvedi and for-

mer Yuva Morcha president Ashok La-

hoty were doing the rounds as candi-

dates from Civil Lines but with Lahoty

losing out on the election ticket, his

supporters sent in their resignations

as a mark of protest late on Tuesday

night. Chaturvedi is fielded against

sitting MLA Pratap Singh Khachari-

awas, of the Congress and considered

a strong candidate.

The party has also shown confidence

on Surendra Parikh who will contest

from Hawa Mahal. He is fieldedagainst cabinet minister Brij Kishore

Sharma. The party continued to play

safe and tread the safe path in Jaipur,

repeating all its sitting legislators. Ini-

tial reports hinted that most of them

being replaced as they had not fared

well in the surveys conducted by the

party. Some of them were even report-

edly seeking tickets from elsewhere as

they faced opposition in their own con-

stituencies. However, the senior lead-

ers, as they had announced a week

ago, gave the sitting legislators a pref-

erence over the rest. Narpart Singh

Rajvi has been repeated from Vidyad-

har Nagar, Ashok Parnami from

Adarsh Nagar, Kalicharan Saraf, the

party's candidate from Malviya Nagar,

will contest his sixth election while

Ghanshyam Tiwari will represent the

party from Sanganer and Mohanlal

Gupta from Kishanpole. Rajpal Singh

Shekhawat will contest from Jhotwara

while Rao Rajendra Singh continues

to fight from Shahpura.

BJP facing the ireof disappointedsupporters of partyJAIPUR: Voices of protest grew shriller and

stronger as several supporters of different aspirants

marched to the state party headquarters. Among the

first to react were supporters of former yuva mor-

cha president Ashok Lahoty, who had contested from

Civil Lines in 2008. Lahoty was seeking a ticket again

this time but lost out to state vice-president Arun

Chaturvedi.

Supporters of Lahoty protested at the state head-

quarters. Party councillors from Civil Lines also

faxed their resignations to party president Rajnath

Singh. Supporters of another former yuva morcha

president Rishi Bansal called a two-hour bandh in

Roopwas in Bayana to oppose Bansal not being given

a ticket despite the sitting legislator Gyarsaram Koli

being dropped.

The entire team of the mahila morcha has threat-

ened to resign to protest against state president of

the morcha Suman Sharma not being given a

chance. The women's wing of the party is also upset

about morcha members not being included in the

list. "During the 2008 assembly elections, the party

had fielded 32 women candidates while this time of

the 176 only 20 are women. We were hoping that thenumber of women candidates would be more than

last assembly election but on the contrary, it is low-

er. Moreover, the sugg estions of the mahila morcha

have been completely ignored,'' said a senior mahila

morcha member of the city. Similarly, the state of-

fice-bearers of the party's minority cell are also up-

set about state president Amin Pathan not being giv-

en a chance.

Sitting legislators Kiran Maheshwari (Ra-

jsamand), Rajpal Singh Shekhawat (Jhotwara) and

Vasudev Devnani (Ajmer North) are also facing op-

position in their constituencies, with several party

members demanding they be replaced. Similarly,

party's candidate from Amber, Satish Poonia is fac-

ing opposition with locals refusing to accept an 'out-

sider' while Dausa candidate Shankar Sharma is fac-

ing opposition as he only recently had joint the par-

ty. Supporters of Promila Kundara, sitting legislator

from Chaksu who has been dropped, are protesting

against Laxmi Narayan Bairwa, whom the party has

fielded this time.

Support groups of several members staged a

protest at the state headquarters, raising slogans

against the candidates announced and demanding

they be replaced.


7/12

7 Glamour WE THE STATEBHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 2013

Mallika Sherawat plans holiday

with her Mr Right VijayDharamsala: After winninghearts in reel life, model Vi-jay Singh, winner of TheBachelorette India Mere Khay-

alon Ki Mallika, and Bollywood

actress Mallika Sherawat may

come here on a vacation together.

We are planning to spend some

time together off camera to un-

derstand each other, Singh, who

is from Dharamsala, told IANS.

They might take a holiday in this

picturesque Himalayan hill sta-

tion, which has lured hundreds ofthousands of from the West and

Hollywood stars like Richard

Gere since Tibetan spiritual

leader Dalai Lama settled here in

1960.

I am planning to return to my

hometown (Dharamsala) for a few

days Nov 14, Singh said over

phone from Pune. Mallikas

search of a soulmate came to an

end Friday in the dating reality

TV show The Bachelorette India

Mere Khayalon Ki Mallika,

aired on Life OK, after the ac-

tresses chose Singh as the king of

her heart. Singh, 24, the youngest

among seven siblings, said in thefinale episode of the show: From

now on I will always be there for

you. I will do whatever I can to

keep you happy. Singh, who be-

came Mallikas dream man after

defeating 29 contestants, said

Mallika is heading to Los Angeles

for a shooting schedule soon. Af-

ter her return to India, we are

likely to go for a holiday. It can be

of 10 days or more. Even during

the shooting of the show, we got

enough time to understand each

other, he said, adding she can

even come to Dharamsala for a

holiday break. But Singhs eldest

sister Usha, who is settled here,

said he is still too young to thinkabout taking this newfound rela-

tionship with Mallika to another

level. Choosing a soulmate at

this point in time is too immature.

That was in screen only, not in

real life. He still has miles to go,

she said on being asked about his

marriage plans. Before working

for this reality show, Singh, who

passed graduation from a local

college, was a TV anchor. Since

his school days, he has an interest

in modelling and fashion design-

ing. He prefers to spend most of

his time in a gym, she added.

Singh, whose father retired from

Himachal Pradeshs directorateof health, pipped Karan Sagoo, an

NRI restaurant owner from Lon-

don, in the final round of the TV

show.

Nicole Kidman bonds

with Katie Holmes?London: Actress Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, who were

both previously married to Hollywood star Tom Cruise, have re-portedly struck up a friendship. The 46-year-old actress, who di-vorced Cruise in 2001, sporadically shares a chat with Holmes,

reportedContactmu-

sic. "(Theyhad) a real-ly nice con-versation.They talked

a littleabout whatit was likebeing mar-ried to Tom

and havestayed in

touch eversince," asource said.

"They

haven`t discussed intimate issues and mostly chit chat abouttheir kids and what`s going on in their lives," the source added.Holmes separation to Cruise finalised last year and the `TopGun` actor has admitted that his controversial religion Scien-tology did play a part in his divorce with the actress.

Sunny Leones heavy duty action goes wrongNew Delhi: Jism 2 starlet Sunny Leone, whois shooting for her first full-fledged actionfilm Tina and Lolo, has injured herselfwhile performing some stunts for the movie.Sunny, who stars alongside actress Karishma

Tanna in the film, managed to escape with

bruised ribs. The doctor has asked her to restfor a few days to recover from the injury. Butinstead of heeding to her docs advice, Sunnyis diligently reporting for the shoot of thefilm in Mumbai.

"It was unfortunate that Sunny got hurt asutmost care is taken with both the girl`s safe-ty while they are doing action scenes. We allare glad that she wasn`t hurt badly and ad-mire her professionalism. Both the girls in-

sist on doing their own stunts and so we takeextra precautions with them," director De-vang Dholakia said to the reporters.

The action scene involved both the girls tojump over a car onto a group of villains who

were firing at them and bring them down thecar. While Sunny did her act right, she got

down inappropriately with her ribs gettinghurt because of the force of the other per-sons knee.

The actress, on her part, thanked her fans

for wishing her quick recovery on Twitter. Iam my biggest competitor&am always chal-lenging myself.sometimes I get hurt butthankfully it wasn't too bad.ill be more care-ful next time.


8/12

WE THE STATEMust Read8 BHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 2013

Work Smart, Not fast!

SWECHCHHA OJHA

E-mail: [email protected]

Do you remember how it sometimes happened in school exams

that you thought you were writing slowly and you were go-

ing to be unable to complete the exam in time? And then you

hurried everything up and finished the exam too early and had noth-

ing to do when everyone else was still writing! If you remember

something like this happening to you then you are probably not the

only one who felt very odd sitting idle in the exam room with every-

one silently writing their papers and you looking down for you have

nothing to do. And if you are feeling even more stupid thinking duh!

This happens to me even now!! Dont you worry, you are still not the

only one. Have you seen, sometimes in the kitchen, when the dish

you are preparing is ready to fast and you are very excited, get ready

and serve the dinner, and then theres a voice from out of the blue

Hey! The vegetable is a bit raw!! and all you can do is stand there

like someone took all your money as soon as you stepped out of the

ATM, and you do not even have money to get a taxi back to home. Oh

how I wish I would have checked the dish once before serving it! Yes!That is the point! If any work gets finished way too soon just check

it once, for you have all the time to make it better than it already is!

And who doesnt want to get appreciated for something they did to

be perfect

As soon as you understand the need of checking things once they

are done, you will understand as to how to make it perfectly organ-

ized and do it slowly so that you do not have to go through it again

and again and lose the chance to do other things in the remaining

time. Identifying how fast or slowly one should work, at home, at

school, at office or anywhere else, is a big technique as well as part

and parcel of an efficient person. No matter how hard you work it is

all ruined if you have worked in hurry and with a thought that you

are going to be late and so you must be faster. Something or the oth-

er will always be left out no matter how sure you are of what you

have done. For you are no super hero to work fast and not make a sin-

gle mistake and everyone will clap at how fast the work was done.You are a human and even though the line to err is human is fa-

mous, no one will think of it when you make a small mistake at

workplace while showing your super hero powers.

In the end the only thing that matters is that the work is done right,

after two months when your appraisal is being done no one will re-

member how fast you finished that file, all they will remember is

how you were seen thrice with the file correcting the mistakes and

looking for loopholes after you said you were done with it. No mat-

ter how many super powers you have got, if you make mistakes, you

will always be reminded of how many mistakes you made while act-

ing over smart. Just do what you want to do. No problem if you

cannot stop yourself from doing it fast, but also remember it is to be

done right. Will you like a taxi that runs super duper fast and prom-

ises to drop you to your destination within half the time other tax-

ies take, but just before reaching the destination it crashes because

of speed? It is clear by now that everybody likes speed but more

than that they like correctness and reliability more. It is just a mat-ter of proper planning as to how you distribute the extra time even-

ly between different responsibilities you need to fulfil. Some people

know how to do it, while some others keep all the extra time for the

end when everything is over and none is perfect. Sure, working fast

is a good thing, but working fast and spoiling things is not cool! For

when you work super fast you work even harder than required and

still are not happy with the result in the end. So, work smart, not

fast. Enjoy. Smile. Cheer up. Happy Monday!

Completing the first stage of what is

expected to be a long and arduous

mission, the successful launch of

Mangalyaan - India's first probe to Mars - isencouraging. The launch provisionally cat-

apults India into an elite club comprising

the US, the erstwhile Soviet Union and the

European Space Agency. Should Man-

galyaan successfully reach Mars, India

would become the first Asian nation to

make it to the red planet - earlier attempts

by China and Japan having failed. Over the

next 300 days, the 1,350 kg craft carrying five

instruments to study the Martian surface

should chart a steady course towards its

destination if all goes well.

That the Mangalyaan launch was achieved

within 15 months of government approval

and on a shoestring budget of just Rs 450

crore bears testimony to the Indian Space

Research Organisation's (Isro's) ambition.It's noteworthy that the Mars probe had to

be launched using a modified PSLV launch

vehicle instead of the high-performing

GSLV rocket, which is yet to achieve a reli-

able launch record. This is not ideal. But it

will highlight Isro's ability to make do with

available technology if the mission suc-

ceeds.

It's this aspect of the Indian space pro-

gramme that can be commercially exploited

on a large scale. Thanks to its growing rep-utation, Isro is looking to secure satellite

launch contracts from several countries in-

cluding Germany, Canada, France and In-

donesia. And with Nasa and other foreign

space agencies increasingly looking to out-

source space missions, Isro could compete

for these multibillion-dollar contracts. This

in turn would lead to the creation of a vi-

brant Indian space industry, generating a

large number of skilled jobs.

It's good that Isro has demonstrated ambi-

tion at a time when a large number of Indi-

an institutions, including political ones, are

oriented towards mediocrity. Clearly, there's

a lot riding on this mission. If it succeeds it

will serve as a technology demonstrator,

boosting Brand India as a whole at a timewhen the latter has taken some hard

knocks. Meanwhile, Mangalyaan's on-board

instruments are programmed to search for

traces of methane and water on Mars.

Should such finds be confirmed, they would

provide a huge boost to Mars missions all

over the world.

Mangalyaan launch could lead tocreation of vibrant Indian space industry


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WE THE STATENation12 BHOPAL November 11 to November 17, 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.

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Mismanagement in candidate selection forces Sonia to intervene

S. MANI

Email: [email protected]

New Delhi

The gross election mismanagement by Con-

gress vice-president Rahul Gandhis hand-

picked leaders in poll-bound states has fi-

nally compelledparty president Sonia Gandhito in-

tervene and bring back the old guards led by her

trusted political secretary Ahmed Patel to take thecommand.

General secretary Digvijay Singh is another sen-

ior leader asked by Sonia to clean the mess created

by twogeneralsecretaries Mohan Prakashwho is

incharge of the Madhya Pradesh affairs and Mad-

husudan Mistry, who was chairman of the screen-

ingcommitteefor selection of candidatesfor theas-

sembly election in the state.

Sonia summonedthe electionmanagers andlead-

ers of the party in the states of Madhya Pradesh,

RajasthanandChhattisgarhand chastisedthemfor

not getting their act together and playing politics

within the party instead of taking on the BJP unit-

edly.

Party sources said Sonia had left the poll man-

agement entirely to her son Rahul, but she decided

to step in after getting reports of the mismanage-

ment in the candidates selection, political man-

agement, coordination, campaignand crowdmobil-

isation.

Realisation dawned on her belatedly that things

have been messed up by the people who were given

crucial responsibilities by Rahul despite their in-

adequate experience in the poll management. She

decided to take matters in her hands and asked

Ahmed Patel, who had been totally ousted by the

Rahul brigadefrom theelection exercise, tooversee

the political management in the poll-bound states.

Sourcessay Soniasdecision totake controlof the

pollmanagement in herhands fromRahulcame af-

tershe wereanguishedovera ticket aspirant,Nars-inghMalviya, forthe Agarseat in Madhya Pradesh

committed suicide. She summoned all the senior

leaders of the state for an emergency meeting here

early thisweek, includingthe states inchargegen-

eral secretary Mohan Prakash and Mistry. Mohan

Prakash andMistry quietlyheeded to Ahmed Patel

and Digvijay Singh sitting together to review the

list of the Madhya Pradesh candidates and order

change of ten candidates who had made it in the

earlier lists.

The development comes on the heels of six MPs

from Madhya Pradesh barging into a screening

committeemeeting being heldhere underMistrys

chairmanship.They abusedand roughedup Mistry

over notconsultingthem whenhe triedto browbeat

them, asking them to go and complain to Rahul.

Not only these MPs but other senior leaders were

also angry with Mistry and Mohan Prakash short-

listing the candidates without consulting them.

They pointed out to Sonia that the candidates were

being selectedat theinstance of MohanPrakashde-

spitethe fact that itwaswrongselectionof thecan-

didatesby himin UttarPradesh Assembly elections

as the screening committee chairman that the par-

ty was routed in the state.

Sources said Sonia was also concerned over com-

paratively poor attendance in Rahuls rallies as

compared toBJP leaderNarendra Modisralliesat-

tracting huge crowds. She is also believed to have

advised Rahul not to limit his speeches to 10 to 15

minutes as that does not sway the masses. She wasparticularlyworried over no bigcrowdsin Rahuls

public meetings in Uttar Pradesh as s he reportedly

told Mistry, the general secretary incharge of the

state, to take help of the union ministers and MPs

for mobilising crowds if they want to continue

these rallies. A meeting was held here on Saturday

at 10 Janpath to discuss the issue of the crowd mo-

bilisation.

Odisha withstood cyclone butdevastated by massive floodingO

disha withstoodtheOctober12 cyclonesav-

ing many lives, but the flood that followed

has proved too much. A month after

Phailin, Odisha is looking at devastation and reha-

bilitation on the scale of 1999. Report and photo-

graphs by Debabrata Mohanty

It's been a month since Cyclone Phailin swept

Odisha. Just as the people were congratulating

themselves for surviving the cyclone, they were hit

by a wave of flooding that few had bargained for. It

isn'tthe supercyclone, butthe 2013storm nowlooks

to have lefta larger areadevastated in thestate,put-

tingpeople's lives backby at least 5-10years.Almost

to 1999, that is, for some.

Estimated losses in the floods are Rs 21,770 crore;

more than Odisha's Plan outlay for 2013-14

Phailin cut a neat arc of calamity through the dis-tricts of Ganjam, Puri and Balasore, dumping huge

amounts of rain in 18 of the 30 districts of the state

onthe night of October12. ButwhilePhailinand the

accompanyingrainwere badenough,it wasthe sec-

ondroundof floodinga weeklaterthathit thesedis-

tricts the hardest.

In mostof thevillages, thetree coveris gone, even

as thousands of acres of paddy fields lie covered in

mud or sand. Inside homes or what remains of

them, furniture and clothing are yet to lose their

moisture completely, and a dank smell hangs in the

air.

"The devastation may not be as intense as t he 1999

super cyclone, but it's widespread," admits Odisha

Chief SecretaryJugalKishore Mohapatra,who was

Revenue Secretary at the time of the 1999 super cy-

clone that saw close to 10,000 deaths.

"Unlikethe1999 cyclone, wherepeoplesuffered the

wrath of nature for a few days, 2013 has been one

long ordeal," adds Debabrata Patra, a senior official

of voluntary agency Action Aid, working in the cy-

clone-affected areas.

Hauntedby thefailures of 1999,Odishahad moved

morethana millionpeopleout of harm'swaybefore

Phailin bore down. As a result, the death toll this

time, from the affected 18 districts, stands at just 59.

In the second round of flooding though, Ganjam

alone saw 800 mm of rain instead of its usual 170-odd mm in October, swelling the rivers Rushikulya

and Bahuda beyond levels hardly ever seen before.

For many, polythene sheets are their only cover;

thoseluckierhavefoundshelterin schoolbuildings.

The government will give Rs 15,000 for a fully-dam-

aged kutcha house, but the amount is meagre. Pow-

er situation in the state is also grim. A total of 1,756

feeders, 42,753 substations, 36,885 km of low-tension

lines, 4,074 km of extra high-tension lines, 4.08 lakh

electric poles and 93 extra-high tension towers have

been affected. With power supply yet to be restored

to more than 65 per cent of the affected population

in Ganjam, people are managing with portable gen-

eratorsor kerosenelamps. Scepticsareworriedthat

despite the initial good work, the whole rehabilita-

tion process may slow down as administrative tar-

diness takes over. "It's difficult to maintain the tem-

po among subordinate officials over a long time,"

says Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP general secretary.

"OncePhailin becomesa distantmemory, officialap-

athy may become the norm."

Cong, BJP dissidents joining AAP

S. MANI

Email: [email protected]

NEW DELHI

Several Congress and BJP dissidents who

realized that they did not have a future

with these political outfits are now find-

inghomein theAam Aadmi Party. Of the54 can-

didates declared by the latter so far, there are 13

people whowere part of either Congressor BJP

andoneeachfromJanta DalandCPM.Two per-

sonscontested,and won,the lastelections as in-

dependent candidates.

While the party defends its choice saying an

exhaustive background-check was carried out

for each and they were selected through a dem-

ocratic process, another section believes that

someof themcould simply be opportunistswho

had no future in their parent party.

"Around six of these candidates have been as-

sociated with the Anna movement and were a

part of AAP when it was conceived. Each has

been disillusioned with their respective parties

and subscribe to AAP's agenda," said a source.

AnilKumarVajpayi, a candidatefrom Gandhi

Nagar, had been a member of the Congress for

25years beforehe quit thepartyto join AAP. He

claims to havefoughtcorruption in thepartyfor

years but his latest falling out with the chief

ministerhappenedover thehike in powertariff.

Rajesh Garg Rohiniwala joined the Congress

in August 1987 and left it on August 19 this year.

"I had no intention of leaving Congress, but I

was disillusioned with the people there. The

party never supported me when I raised the is-

sue of corruption. I filed a corruption case

against a media house in the Lokayukta, which

ishowArvindcameto know aboutme.Heasked

meto join AAP andstand forelections,"he said.

The Janata Dal'sall-India secretaryand chair-

man of its minority commission, Irfan Ullah

Khan, is AAP's candidate from Okhla. "I real-

ized this party has a worthwhile agenda," he

said.

We The State - Issue 7 Vol 2

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