16-31 Mar, 2010 - Bharatiya Janata Party

to the service of the people. He thoughtthat a politician should socialize hispolitics to turn it into a vehicle of serviceto the nation. He used to say that if wecontinue to exploit nature a time willcome when we will be on the verge ofdoom.He transformed his words intoaction. He quit active politics. Throughthe institution of Deendayal ShodhSansthan he devoted himself totransform Deendayalji’s ideology ofIntegral Humanism into a reality tousher in composite development of thevillage. He met with success despiteoccasional ups and downs. He strainedevery nerve to keep the society unitedand was the least dependant ongovernment agencies. Despite hisadvanced age, sitting over a wheel chair,falling eye sight and hearing capability,he devoted every moment of his life tocare as to how to make the society selfsufficientand self-dependant. If thevillage is prosperous, so will the country.He was a champion of agriculturaldevelopment and tradition of rishis.Nanaji conducted numerousinnovative experiments and used social,cultural and scientific knowledge tomake 500 villages in Chitrakoot selfreliant.From all over the world studentsand researchers thronged to studyNanaji’s unique experiment ofcomposite rural development. Herealized the dream of giving employmentto every villager, irrigation to every fieldand a shelter to everyone. He washonoured with the coveted nationalaward of Padma Vibhushan. He wasspecially nominated to the Rajya Sabhaby the President of India. He presenteda unique model of composite ruraldevelopment for the country and showedhow India could be self-reliant.He believed that whoever doesgood work in society gets full supportand cooperation from the society. Hesaid Deendayal Shodh Sansthan is theliving example. He said he had presenteda model for the nation. Rest is for thenation to take care of. He strongly feltthat if an individual was sincere andhonest about the social cause he wasundertaking, he can never fall short ofresources. When there is clarity aboutthe social work and its objectives, nopatriot will create hurdles in the way.Instead, he will devote his life to makesuch a project a success.Nanaji Deshmukh was the veteranwho worked in one political party butafter he attained sixty years of age, hecame to belong to every politicalorganization in the country. While hewas the President of India, Dr. AbdulKalam had made it a point to visitChitrakoot and see for himself the greatwork done there by the DeendayalShodh Sansthan. He spent more than 3-4 hours with Nanaji. He was astonishedto see that a person like Nanaji couldsingle-handedly do so much. GraduallyNanaji became a social transformer anda harbinger of social change. He raisedan army of social reformers under hisCertificate of Registrationpatronage. For all times to come he willcontinue to be the source of inspirationfor all who wish to devote their life tosocial service and social transformation.He showed the way even to thoseleaders who while in politics could donothing for the nation. He trailed apath to politicians to show that bycoming out of politics too one could doa lot for the nation and the society.Nanaji’s life itself provides amaterial for research for students whowish to undertake research on thosewho have achieved a lot in the serviceof the society. His death is a loss not foran individual but for the whole nation.On the loss of a person in one’s family,one says that one has lost one’s fatheror nana, but when Nanaji’s departed,we all said with one voice that we havelost our nana, the nana of the wholenation. Chitrakoot is known all overIndia for its association with the nameof Lord Rama, but now this place isalso known for its affinity with Nanaji.We pray to God to give us not one butnumerous such Nanajis, like this Nanajiof the nation. •Title of the Newspaper : KAMAL SANDESHRegistration Number of theNewspaper : DELENG/2006/16838Language/Languages in which itis published : EnglishPeriodicity of its publication andthe day/days/dates on which it ispublished : FortnightlyRetail selling price of theNewspaper : Rs.10Publisher's Name : Dr. Nandkishore GargNationality : IndianAddress : 11, Ashok Road, New Delhi-1Printer's Name : Dr. Nandkishore GargNationality : IndianAddress : 11, Ashok Road, New Delhi-1Editor's Name : Prabhat JhaNationality : IndianAddress : 11, Ashok Road, New Delhi-1True and precise account of the : Excel Printpremises where printing isC-36, F.F. Complex,conductedJhandewalan, New Delhi-55Place of publication : Dr. Mookerjee Smruti NyasPP-66, Subramanya BharatiMarg, New Delhi-03March 16-31, 2010 4

ShraddhanjaliNanaji passesawayNanaji Deshmukh, arenowned nationalist,karmayogi and sage, oneof the leading lights of JP movementand coalition politics who laterdevoted himself to social workbreathed his last on February 27 inevening at Uttar Pradesh’sChitrakoot district. He was 94. Hewas suffering from age related illnessfor long time. Nanaji was a keyarchitect of the Janata Partygovernment that had broken theuninterrupted Congress-rule at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee saidon his demise “We have lost adedicated social worker, fulltimepracharak of RSS, a seniorpolitician and a Karmayogisage. Shri L K Advani said that it wasmy personal loss. He added thatNanaji would be alwaysremembered as a inventor ofcoalition politics and also forvalue based politics. Shri Nitin Gadkari said “Nanajiwas a source of inspiration dueto his sacrifice and servicetowards Antyodaya”. Shri Rajnath Singh recalledhow Nanaji set an example byrefusing a ministerial berth inMorarji Desai’s government in1977. Shri Arun Jaitley said Nanajiwas an Organiser par excellence. Shri Narendra Modi said Nanaji“had the will to translate visioninto action”.Centre in 1977.Hailing from theRashtriya Swayam SevakSangh background, Nanajiwas also associated with theJan Sangh, Janta Party andthe Bharatiya Janata Party.He was born on October11, 1916 at Kaolin, a smalltown in Parbhani District ofMaharashtra and activelyparticipated in Bhoodan Movementstarted by Acharya Vinoba Bhave.Nanaji’s organising skillsduring the JP Movement and theEmergency brought him aministership offer at the Centre inthe Morarji Desai government buthe declined. Nanaji had entered theLok Sabha from Balrampurconstituency in Uttar Pradesh. Healso established ChitrakootGramodya Vishwavidyalaya inChitrakoot- India’s first ruraluniversity and went on to becomeits first Chancellor.He created an “alternativemodel of development based onDeendayal Upadhyay’s ideals ofIntegral Humanism” while workingin some 500 villages aroundChitrakoot (on Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh border). Hewished his body to be donated formedical research after his death.The body was kept at the RSSheadquarters in Delhi before it washanded over to AIIMS. Shri NanajiDeshmukh had bequeatted his bodyfor medical research as back as 1994.In his will be had desired that thisdonation of his body is the mostappropriate last rites for him. Awreath was laid on the body onbehalf of President Smt. PratibhaPatil.BJP's obeissanceAmong those present to paytheir last respects were NDAworking president Shri L K Advani,BJP President Shri Nitin Gadkari, LokSabha Deputy Speaker Shri KariaMunda, Leader of Opposition in LokSabha Smt. Sushma Swaraj, DeputyLeader of Opposition in RajyaSabha Shri Arun Jaitley, former partyPresident Shri Rajnath Singh,General Secretary (Organisation)Shri Ramlal, and senior leader andMP Shri Murli Manohar Joshi. RSSSarkaryawah Shri Bhaiyyaji Joshi,RSS Pracharak Parmaukh ShriMadan Das Devi and RSS Sah-Sarkaryawah Shri Suresh Soni werealso present.BJP Chief Ministers ShriNarendra Modi, Shri Raman Singhand Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishankspecially flew down to Delhi to paytheir last respects to Nanaji whileMadhya Pradesh Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhanaccompanied the body fromChitrakoot. Jharkhand Deputy ChiefMinister Shri Raghubar Das wasthere, and so was a representativeof the Karnataka government.•March 16-31, 2010 5

Kindling a movementBy Arun JaitleyNanaji Deshmukh was a tireless volunteer, till the veryend. Nanaji entered the Lok Sabha in 1977 but declinedPrime Minister Morarji Desai’s offer to be a cabinet minister.He wanted to work for the organisation. The failure of theJanata experiment substantially disheartened him.NANAJI Deshmukh died atthe age of 94. Till his deathhe was an RSS pracharak, afull timer. Very few have possessedthe kind of extroverted attitude anddynamism that Nanaji had. He hadtoured the length and breadth ofthe country. He was among thosewho established the Bharatiya JanaSangh.Most people with hisbackground remained confined to alimited group but Nanaji alwaysendeavored to step out.He was on first name terms withleaders of other political parties,industry, media, and civil societyactivists. He never hesitated tospeak his mind even ifthey were critical of thepolitical organisation ofwhich he was a member.He had the ability toraise his voice,unrestrained by partisanthinking and motivatedby the national interest.I first met Nanajiwhen I was a collegestudent. He used to livein a penthouse in theDeendayal ResearchInstitute. He was the keyorganisational functionary of theJana Sangh. He maintained a skeletalstaff and used his resourcefulnessto establish the institute. His ownMarch 16-31, 2010 6needs were limited. His home wasflooded with visitors. As a studentI used to visit him regularly duringthe 1973-75 period, before theEmergency. He had accompanied JPduring the massive demonstrationin Patna.He obstructed a lathi assaulton JP, injuring his own arm. He wasthe key person in the organisationof the JP movement. He enjoyed JP’sconfidence, worked in close contactwith JP’s associates in theSarvodaya movement and GandhiPeace Foundation. JP’s close friendslike Ramnath Goenka, Ganga SaranSingh and Nanaji guided themovement. Together they mobilizedHe had accompanied JP during the massivedemonstration in Patna. He obstructed a lathiassault on JP, injuring his own arm. He was thekey person in the organisation of the JPmovement. He enjoyed JP’s confidence, workedin close contact with JP’s associates in theSarvodaya movement and Gandhi PeaceFoundation. JP’s close friends like RamnathGoenka, Ganga Saran Singh and Nanaji guidedthe movement. Together they mobilized the entirenon-Communist Opposition in support of JP.the entire non-CommunistOpposition in support of JP.During the Emergency, he wasthe natural choice for secretary ofthe Sangharsh Samiti against theEmergency. He changed hisappearance beyond recognition. Hediscarded his customary kurta-dhotifor a bush shirt and trousers.He had acquired a moustache,a thick crop of dyed black hair onhis head and a different pair ofeyeglasses. He toured the entirecountry organising undergroundactivities. His stay in several houseswas organised by his politicalcolleagues. Well into theEmergency, he was staying at a safehouse in Delhi’s SafdarjungDevelopment Area. Even his hostdid not know as to who he was.Krishan Lal Sharma, then a PunjabBJP leader along with anothercolleague came to meet him.They were being trailed byofficers from Punjab stateintelligence. Delhi Policesearched the house whereNanaji stayed, in order toarrest Krishan Lal Sharmaand his colleague. Therethey found anothergentleman whom theycould not recognise. Hewas taken to the policestation where he confessedto his identity as NanajiDeshmukh. Photographs of Nanajiwould show a different man but thevoice revealed a similarity. Oncearrested he was brought to Tihar jailContinued on page 17

Nanaji, as I knew himBy S. GurumurthyHe was at the vortex of a powerful anti-Congress waveNANAJI”, which is howNana Deshmukh wasknown in the political andsocial circles he dominated foralmost six decades, is no more.Many, who were inspired by himin politics and outside, saw andknew him as a towering idealist;his admirers and friendsexperienced and rated him as agreat political strategist.Joining the RSS at a youngage and becoming its pracharak(full-time volunteer), he wasundoubtedly a great organiser. Hehad intimate friends in high placeseverywhere. He was acceptedfrom a very young age beyondhis organisational fraternity. Hewas equally at ease with both thenoble Bhoodan movement ofVinobha Bhave and the gutterpolitics of Delhi. He had friendseven in the garrisons of hisadversaries. When JawaharlalNehru had banned the RSS in1948, Nanaji Deshmukh, like manyRSS workers, began organisingthe underground movement. Fromwhere? Believe it or not, from thehouse of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, aminister in Pandit Nehru’sgovernment. It was publicknowledge that Nehru regarded RSSas his arch enemy and had evendeclared that he would not give aninch in India for the Bhagwa (theflag of the RSS) to fly. Still Kidwai,a great friend of Nehru and a ministerin his cabinet, had no issues keepingNanaji in his house and more —allowing him to organise undergroundactivities. This speaks ofMarch 16-31, 2010 7the magnetic personality of theyoung Nanaji, who must then havebeen in his twenties!My association with NanajiDeshmukh started with myIt was the Ramnathji-Nanaji duo that persuadedJayaprakash Narayan toagree to lead the Biharmovement in 1974, whichchanged the political pictureof the country. The Biharmovement was one of thegreatest movements in thehistory of free India.friendship with Ramnath Goenka.Ramnathji and Nanaji were not onlygreat friends, they both thought andfelt similarly about the country. Themutual trust and admiration thatthey had had was rooted wholly intheir love of the motherland, totallydevoid of any kind of personalinterest. The Nanaji-Ramnathjicombine had no goal other than whatthey thought was the nation’s good.Ramnath Goenka had shaped TheIndian Express not just as anewspaper, but an active partner withall nationalist forces in the cause ofthe country, setting the agenda forpolitical and social discourse.Ramnathji never knew what fearmeant. Nor did Nanaji. And thesetwo courageous persons couldeffortlessly inject many others ofhigh relevance, journalists orothers, with fearlessness. It wasthe Ramnathji-Nanaji duo thatpersuaded Jayaprakash Narayanto agree to lead the Biharmovement in 1974, which changedthe political picture of the country.The Bihar movement was one ofthe greatest movements in thehistory of free India.An incredible incident madeJayaprakash Narayan agree to theplea of Nanaji and Ramnathji tolead the movement against IndiraGandhi. I came to know of this inlate 1980s, when at a dinner in theExpress Towers in Bombay I askedNanaji and Ramnathji how theybrought JP into the movement.Nanaji described the thrilling andunbelievable episode. A historicmeeting of Ramnathji, Nanaji,Achyut Patwardhan, the hero of the1942 underground movement andRamdhari Singh Dinkar, a great Hindipoet, took place sometime in 1973 inThe Indian Express Guest House inBangalore. The four of them beganinsisting that JP should lead themovement as Indira Gandhi hadbecome highly autocratic and hadbegun destroying the institutionalframework of democracy, includingthe judiciary and bureaucracy.Incidentally, Dinkar was one of thegreatest friends of the Nehru family

and particularly of Indira Gandhiherself. But that did not detract himfrom doing what he thought was hisduty to the nation. JP was hesitantmainly because of his health. Hewas a diabetic and had acuteprostrate gland issues. He said thathe would not be able to live for longand his health did not permit him toundertake such an arduous task.Ramnathji assured him that hewould have his prostrate operationdone in Vellore, which he eventuallygot done later. But JP could still notmake up his mind. At that point,Ramnathji, a great and traditionalHindu believer, suggested that allof them should go to Tirupati, havedarshan and prayers and from there,go to Madras as it was known then,and continue the discussions. Andthey all left for Tirupati.During the darshan at Tirupati,Ramdhari Singh Dinkar openlyprayed to Lord Balaji, to the hearingof JP and the others, that whateverremaining years of life Dinkar hadthe Lord should give them to JP tohelp him serve the cause of themotherland.And they all returned to Madrasand to Ramnathji’s house in theExpress Estates in Mount Roadwhere the office of The IndianExpress was also situated. Withinhours, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar fellon the lap of Ramnath Goenka anddied — yes he died when JP, Nanajiand Achyut Patwardhan werearound. It was clear that Lord Balajihad answered Dinkar’s prayers. JP’sdecision to lead the movement camein no time.Despite my several requestsNanaji had refused to write about itin The Indian Express. When I askedhim how the people of India willknow about it, he said that he hadwritten it in his diary and he wouldlike it to be known after his death.Now that he is no more, I feltMarch 16-31, 2010 8free to write about it.The rest is known history. Afterhis prostrate operation JP began tolead one of the biggest massmovements against corruption infree India and that led to theimposition of the infamousEmergency on India, arrest of allnational opposition leaders and the~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~After his prostrateoperation JP began to leadone of the biggest massmovements againstcorruption in free Indiaand that led to theimposition of the infamousEmergency on India, arrestof all national oppositionleaders and the ban on theRSS. That was the bestperiod in the life of Nanaji.He was one of the initiatorsof the under- groundmovement that finallyexploded as the JanataWave when in 1977 IndiraGandhi, with a view tosecuring a mandate for herautocracy declaredelections to Parliament~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~ban on the RSS. That was the bestperiod in the life of Nanaji. He wasone of the initiators of the undergroundmovement that finallyexploded as the Janata Wave whenin 1977 Indira Gandhi, with a view tosecuring a mandate for her autocracydeclared elections to Parliament, notknowing that without herintelligence agencies having a whiffof it, the underground movementhad generated a political tornadoagainst her.Nanaji was the architect of theJanata Party. He contested electionsfor the first time and won. He refusedto join the ministry when MorarjiDesai insisted he should be in thecabinet.Later, when the Janata Partysplit and the Bharatiya Janata Partywas formed in 1980, Nanajiannounced that he would like toretire from active politics as he wasattaining the age of 65. A new role— that of a social worker —to liftmoral and spiritual values and topromote economic and socialwellbeing of the distanced peopleawaited him. He started his workfirst in the most backward districtsof Gonda in UP and next in theequally drought-prone and povertyriddenBead district in Maharashtraand finally settled to do a morecomprehensive work of socioeconomicprogress with moralvalues covering some 500 villagesin Chitrakoot district. The thenpresident,Dr Abdul Kalam visitedNanaji’s Chitrakoot project andpraised it as the most suitable toIndia, noting that almost 80 villagesin the district had be- comelitigation-free! That was his finalkarma bhoomi, even though thewhole country was his karmabhoomi.He once told me that when hewas a child he had nothing to eat formany days.But that did not turn him into aNaxalite. But his introduction to theRSS at the right age, and associationwith the right persons, had turnedhim into a great nationalist who livedfor his motherland’s glory andnothing else. •(The writer is co-convenor of theSwadeshi Jagaran Manch)(Courtesy: The Indian Express)

Rashtriya Ekta Rally in JammuBJP will not allow PoK based Kashmirimilitants into J&K : Nitin GadkariAddressing a huge RashtriyaEkta Rally in Jammu onFebruary 25 BJP NationalPresident Shri Nitin Gadkariquestioned the decision of theCongress led UPA government toresume dialogue with Pakistan. Hesaid there was no logic in resumingtalks with the government ofPakistan which had lost credibility.Shri Gadkari said, "Congress isadopting anti-national policies.They are encouraging terrorism.Boycott them and isolate them. Letthem understand those who wantto disintegrate the country areisolated". Lashing out at OmarAbdullah for mooting the surrenderpolicy, he said, "I compliment BJPleadership of Jammu and Kashmirfor protesting against HomeMinister P Chidambaram when hevisited the state recently."March 16-31, 2010 9The BJP President regrettingcontinued to support terrorists,opposed the resumption of dialoguewith Pakistan. He said after theMumbai attacks the governmenthad announced that no dialoguewould be held unless Pakistanstopped aiding and abettingterrorism. Neither our neighbour hadstopped facilitating militants norwound up training camps, but ourgovernment had resumed foreignsecretary-level dialogue with it.Shri Gadkari, while opposing theproposed surrender andrehabilitation policy for PoK basedKashmiri militants, vowed to takethe fight to the national level. Wewill not allow the Union governmentto welcome those who have beengetting training in terrorism acrossthe border, he said. He asserted theBJP had enough power to dislodgethe regime that tried to facilitate thenefarious designs of anti-nationalelements.He said those who have killedscores of people and later crossedover to Pakistan would not beallowed to get amnesty andrehabilitation. He asked thegovernment to first rehabilitatedisplaced Kashmiri Pandits in theirhomes before thinking aboutmilitants. It is the result of the weakpolicies beingpropagated by theCongress-led UPAregime that anti-nationalforces are gainingstrength with everypassing day," he said.D u b b i n grecommendations ofJustice Sagir Ahmed(Retd.) as anti-national,he said thosedemanding greaterautonomy for Jammu and Kashmirwere fooling people. Such demandshave been raised for politicalconsiderations, but the BJP wouldoppose such anti-national demands,he said. Assuring people of Jammu...continued on page 25

LOK SABHADiscussion on the Motion of Thankson the President's AddressWhen the Motion of Thanks on the Presidential Address came up for discussion in boththe Houses of Parliament BJP members took the UPA government to task for all its actsof omission and commission. Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha Chairman of BJPParliamentary Party Shri L K Advani launched the attack on the Congress led UPAgovernment for its misgovernance that led to terrorism, corruption and irrepressibleinflation. For the information of our readers we publish below the synopsis of the speechesmade by BJP leaders in both the Houses of Parliament. Full text of the speeches is beingpublished in a booklet separately.India’s sovereignty should not bediluted : L K AdvaniThis is the only motion which is moved by theruling side and does not face any oppositionbecause it is the motion of thanks. The policiesof the Government are criticized but the motion is notopposed and is passed unanimously. Sometimes wecarry on with certain practices just because we havebeen following them for long but we need to ponderover the idea to modify them if the need arises.President’s Address isprepared by the Cabinethence it is expected that itwould give credit to theGovernment rising above theparty politics. Six years ofVajpayeeji’s rule was markedby several achievements andthis process is still continuingtoday. As far possible weshould try to adopt anapproach furthering mutualharmony. We are inOpposition and it is our dutyto pinpoint shortcomings but this House needs todiscuss as to how Government works, the institutionand Government projects need to be named. ThePresidents’ Address has mentioned and applauded theAGNI-III. In this context, I would like to add that, evennow, to a large extent, our defence forces depend uponforeign weapon systems. We should take concrete stepsto bring about indigenisation in our weapon systems.We should involve private sector in our defencepreparedness. I would like to welcome the instructionsof the Ministry of Finance whereby it has authorizedthe Hon. Minister of Defence to take independentdecisions with regard to the defence projects worthRs.1,000 crore, but I would like to add that transparencyand accountability should not be diluted on account ofthis.In the last year a large number of service personnelhad actively campaigned for one rank one pension.Subsequently, Hon. Prime Minister had announced fromthe ramparts of the Red Fort that the Government hasaccepted the recommendations made by the committeeFor years together, I have been listeningthat there is a large amount of black moneyin our country and this black money getsdeposited in foreign banks. It would be betterif our country evinces interest in this matterand makes efforts to get that money back. Iwould like to press the demand for a WhitePaper to be tabled in the House showing allthe progress made in this matter.headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Not only this eventhe Minister of Finance had computed the expenditureon this item and had said that the Government will haveto shell out approximately Rs.2,100 crore for theirpension. The President’s Address has also mentionedthat her Government has devised a system with regardto the pension demands of the Ex-servicemen. I wouldlike to have categorical statement from the Governmentso that our jawans and officers should not have anygrievance.March 16-31, 2010 10

For years together, I have been listening that thereis a large amount of black money in our country and thisblack money gets deposited in foreign banks. It wouldbe better if our country evinces interest in this matterand makes efforts to get that money back. I would liketo press the demand for a White Paper to be tabled inthe House showing all the progress made in this matter.For the last five or seven days, rising prices ofessential commodities has generated a lot of agitationand concern among the people of our country. Thisinflation is not only due to the mismanagement of theeconomy but also due to the scandals relating to exportand import. So there should be a Joint ParliamentaryCommittee to look into this matter. We should notforget that in the year 2008 the Government gave reliefto the farmers and, in the same year, 16,196 farmerscommitted suicides.The Chief of Army Staff ofSince Agra talks, it was our consistent stand with regard to India is in the knowledge of largePakistan that terror and talks cannot go on hand-in-hand. It number of terrorists ready towas this stand of India which ensured the failure of Agra talks. infiltrate into country. What willIn 2004, exactly after three years past the Agra talks, General come out of the dialogue if weare in such a situation. We haveMusharraf publicly stated that Pakistan will not allow itsseen the Kashmir of pre-1953territory to be used for subversive activities against India. Now, when our President had no rightfollowing 26/11, the Hon. Minister for Home Affairs has himself on Kashmir. Mumbai was madekept on telling us that the validity of the dossiers, which we victim of such a dreadful attackgive to Pakistan, is questioned by them.on 26.11.2008 in which a numberof people were killed, even thenThe issue of electoral reforms is also very important. we are in constant touch with Pakistan.A number of Committees have been constituted for this Nothing would be achieved from remaining in suchpurpose which has given numerous recommendations. constant touch. I admit that this is a very serious issueOne of the recommendations given was that, as far as for me and I feel that the direction towards which thispossible the electoral expenses should be borne by the Government is going on and in this situation if anyGovernment. Now, a new issue in the form of paid news secret agreement is done we will have to face serioushas come up. The Election Commission should take consequences. We cannot repatriate the Punditscognizance of this issue. Secondly, we should ensure displaced from Kashmir.that the elections to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies All these things create serious concern. I wouldare held simultaneously after every five year. For this, submit that in his reply Hon. Prime Minister shouldwe will have to introduce an amendment to the disclose the facts discussed officially or unofficially inConstitution. It will benefit the governance as well as the dialogue held till date with regard to Kashmir. Newpolity of the country and the expenses too will come President of America also repeatedly reiterated duringdown.his election campaign that he will put his full strengthNow, I shall broach another important issue. Since in the resolution of Kashmir problem if he is electedAgra talks, it was our consistent stand with regard to whereas as per the policy of America, it would notPakistan that terror and talks cannot go on hand-inhand.It was this stand of India which ensured the and Pakistan. Therefore, I expect the Government to tellintervene until requested by both the countries Indiafailure of Agra talks. In 2004, exactly after three years us fully and frankly whatever has been discussed aboutpast the Agra talks, General Musharraf stated that Kashmir should be told in the House. I request with allPakistan will not allow its territory to be used for seriousness that India’s sovereignty should not besubversive activities against India. Now, following 26/ diluted.March 16-31, 2010 1111, the Hon. Minister for Home Affairs has himself kepton telling us that the validity of the dossiers, which wegive to Pakistan, is questioned by them. They say thatthis does not constitute any evidence and comes in therealm of literature. But it seems that there is no unanimitywithin the Government itself in this regard. It createsthe impression that the American pressure has led ourGovernment initiating the dialogue process withPakistan. We can change our history but notgeography. Interest of the country should be seen first.We all would like and everybody wants that Indiabefriend with Pakistan, harmony be evolved in betweenthem. It has been stated in the report of NationalIntelligence of USA that Pakistan is of the view that itwill take action against only those terrorist outfits whoare against Pakistan and they are not concerned withany others.

UPA failed comprehensivelyon all fronts: Dr. M M JoshiIhave listened the President’sAddress very attentively. Inher Address, delivered in2009 and, in this year also, sheaffirmed that her Governmentproposes to enact a new lawnamed the National FoodSecurity Bill. She also suggestedto rein in the prices of foodgrains. But, I have a feeling thatthis Government has failed toimplement and follow the directions given by thePresident. I have gone through the Budget provisionsmade in this regard. It has been mentioned that theGovernment would provide loans to those who constructcold storages or put together this type of other things.It has been said that the Government would provideagricultural credit up to Rs. 25 crore. I would like to askthe Government the number ofthose farmers who actually dofarming and have taken this muchamount as loan. This facility isbeing availed by industrialists inthe name of agricultural loans. Ithas also been said that the farmerscan raise loans for agriculture fromabroad. Who will raise this type ofloan? Certainly, the small farmerscannot. Only large corporationscan indulge in such activities.What type of agriculturaldevelopment will be brought about by these policies,which, arguably, have been framed to ensure foodsecurity.The Government has claimed times and gain thatthey have waived off loans of farmers worth Rs. 70,000crore. This has been done only once. But, how manytimes these types of concession have been given to thelarge corporations. The farmers are still committingsuicides. What is the way by which the Governmentintend to ensure food security? The Government wantsto enact a law for food security. But, first of all you haveto ascertain the exact number of poor people in thecountry.Your Government lack unanimity on this count.The Government has failed to define the Below PovertyMarch 16-31, 2010 12Line. Whatever work it has done, does not correspondwith the ground reality. The Government had constituteda Committee which said that the BPL people constitute50 per cent of our population. Some members of thisCommittee were of the view that this number, perhaps,will touch the 70-75 per cent mark. I have gone into thisReport deeply. Perhaps, there was a feeling lurking intheir minds that their findings should not trouble theGovernment. But, this matter concerns with the futureof our country. If we have to make arrangement for 80per cent of people, then there is no alternative to thatand we must have to do it. Even the food surpluscountries like Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, America makearrangement to feed their poor and hungry people. TheGovernment is committed to reduce the number ofhungry people by half by the year 2015. I would berather happy if the Government prepare a road map tothis effect. The whole House is with the Government onthis aspect. But I do not see much in the Governmentpolicies.The Government would be doing a favour to thepeople of the country if it reviews the very agreementwhich the Cabinet has approved and likely to beOur people are feeling insecure. Our defencepreparedness is Pakistan centric whereas there arethreats from other sides also. China is encircling Indiafrom all sides – North, West, East and South. Aksai Chinis under its control. Arunachal and Sikkim are its nexttargets. In this context, the House would like to have anassurance from the Hon. Prime Minister that Kashmirwould remain an integral part of our country.concluded with the USA. The American scientists areof no use to us.Second important issue is the internal and externalsecurity of the country. Our people are feeling insecure.Our defence preparedness is Pakistan centric whereasthere are threats from other sides also. China is encirclingIndia from all sides – North, West, East and South.Aksai Chin is under its control. Arunachal and Sikkimare its next targets. In this context, the House would liketo have an assurance from the Hon. Prime Minister thatKashmir would remain an integral part of our country.While concluding I would like to say that Hindi isthe official language of the Union and also of the House.Kindly do not deprecate it by associating it with thecowherds.

Senior BJP leader Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu initiated the debate in theRajya Sabha and launched an offensive against the UPA government for itswrong policies and all round failures. The following is the synopsis of thespeeches made by BJP leaders in the Upper Houses of Parliament.Union Govt. really runs out ofideas: M. Venkaiah NaiduThe country isdisappointed with the Hon’blePresident’s Address, becauseit did not contain any answersto the challenges being facedby the country. Somepromises are repeated onceagain in the Address. Thereare so many problemsincluding price-rise. TheGovernment has really runout of ideas. None of theHon’ble Ministers has explained about the price rise.This Government has failed to take any action. Priceriseis affecting the common people. On the one hand,purchasing power hasMarch 16-31, 2010 13Why is there sudden increase in the prices? Let us havea debate on this. When we were in power, we were ableto control the prices. You are blaming each other. Youare all equally responsible for all this The Congressleadership is also silent on this. Consumer Price Indexin India today is the highest amongst all the countriesof Asia Pacific. The price rise in India is the single mostimportant issue in India today. What has been done tocontain the prices? Then, the Finance Ministerannounced in the Budget that petroleum prices will behiked. The friends supporting the ruling Party are alsoconcerned about the price rise. The increase in theprices of petroleum products will have effect ontransport charges, vegetables, milk, dal, tel, coal, steel,etc. It seems the Government intends to increase theprice of petroleum products once again after the BudgetSession is over. We demand that a Joint ParliamentaryCommittee should be set up to enquire into the reasonsThe senior leaders of the ruling party are publically endorsingthe claims that action by the Delhi Police at Batla House was afake encounter. It is a great injustice to the memory of the personswho have laid down their lives fighting terrorists. As far as thesecurity of the country is concerned, we are one with you and areready to extend whatever help is needed from an opposition party.The Government must evolve a clear-cut policy to tackle terrorism.gone up according tothe President’sAddress and on theother the NSSOcontradicts the same.The UPA Governmenthas inherited a robusteconomy.One of the mainreasons for the pricerise is the corruption involved in the export and importof foodgrains. You exported at cheaper prices andimported at higher prices. You had enough time to laymore stress on those crops or those grains which werein shortage. But you did not do that. You are makingexcuses. During our regime, there were calamities. Wereleased around 40-60 lakhs tones of foodgrains todifferent States. You have not released foodgrains inthe market. A Joint Parliamentary Committee should beset up to inquire into the scam of export and import offoodgrains, including sugar. You ordered export of sugarand rice even though shortage was there in the country.RAJYA SABHAsuch as food inflation despite bumper crop, as told bythe Minister, last year and why 49 lakh tonnes of sugarwas exported in the year 2008-09 at Rs.12.50 and it wasnow imported at 36-40 rupees. The Government hasclaimed that it has taken new measures to strengthenthe situation to meet the challenges posed by terrorism.Then why has Pune incident happened? The RamPradhan Committee appointed by the MaharashtraGovernment said in a report that Pune will be the possibletarget. How do you explain this? The Intelligencesecurity in the country still remains fragile. Whateveradvisory notes are sent to the States are casual.

Generalise advisories are taken casually by the people.The policy of the Government seems to be ‘condolencefor the dead, compensation for the survival.’Not a single person has comeabove Poverty Line during UPAregime : Shanta KumarThe President’s Address contains a number ofthings as well as achievements.The people have beenbenefited and are beingbenefited. I appreciate for it. Butthere are lots of basic problemsof this country. Poverty isincreasing and what is yourachievement to eradicate it?Even not a single person hascome above the poverty line.Some people are very rich.There is no social justice. Iwould like to say that the concentration of propertyshould not be allowed. Besides, the crimes are onincrease in the country and one of the major factorsbehind this is economic inequality. The people are indistress. They are unemployed.Naxalism and Maoism are spreading their wings.No mention has been made on the rising population ofthe country. Global warming is being talked about butwhen the population would increase, the number ofhouses, roads, vehicles etc. would also increase. TheGovernment are not concerned to contain thepopulation. I would like to say that the Prime Ministershould take some initiative in this regard and formulatea National Population Policy.Nothing has been said about corruption in theAddress. It is the biggest problem and on account ofthis, today India has been included in the most corruptcountries of the world but the Government is not seriousto end corruption in the country. The power is controlledby Electricity Board and even then theft of power ofcrores of rupees is taking place in the country.Lokpal Bill is pending for forty years. UnitedNations is also concerned about the corruption andthey had formed a convention in 2003. Its objective wasthat if any wealth from a country by way of corruption,is put in another country then it has to be returned bythat country. 140 countries have signed on it and 120countries have ratified it but India has not ratified it sofar. It has been reported that about 60-65 lakh crores ofrupees are stashed in Swiss Banks which has beenearned by corrupt activities whereas the people in ourcountry are dying from hunger. I want to know thereasons for which India has not signed on thisconvention.Today, the polices of the Government are not beingimplemented on the basis of Antyodya. These policesare pro-rich. Government is making great efforts foreradicating Naxalism and there should not be any laxityin this. Poverty should be eradicated on war-footing.This is not being done at all. Government shouldformulate some new polices to eradicate poverty and itshould make efforts to bring back money deposited byIndians in foreign banks for stopping dishonesty andcorruption.Government should make a law that illegallydepositing money in foreign banks is a crime and itshould make provision for 20 years of rigorousimprisonment for it. Government is not serious to rootout corruption.Union govt. not serious towipe out poverty : BS KoshyariIt is pleasant to note that President quotes Pt.Nehru in the 74th Para of the Address about eradicationof poverty but the statisticsshow the huge populationof the country is underpoverty line. Now thequestion is whether we arereally thinking about them!Antyodaya like programmeswere launched by many ofour leaders in Rajasthan andHimachal Pradesh. Suchapproach should beadopted. The paperworkwithout concreteimplementation cannot eradicate poverty. The way theprices of sugar and other food items have gone up, thedifficulties of the poor have increased. There is adequatestock of sugar at the rate of Rs. 50/- per kg. but you donot have adequate stock at the rate of Rs. 25/- per kg.You must think about the poorest of the poor.Unfortunately, the corruption is so deep rooted todaythat so many scams have taken place and the ChiefJustice of a High Court and an Army officer to the rankof Lt. General are facing corruption charges. Somethingconcrete needed to be done to root out this evil. Howwill a disease get cured without diagnosing it? It requiresfirm actions.March 16-31, 2010 14

You have set up so many missions like NationalRural Health Mission, National Food Security Missionand National Education Mission etc. But all thesemissions can be successful only if you have committedpeople to implement these missions. I congratulate youfor continuing the planning of connecting every villagewith mettled road, which was launched by NDAGovernment. But many of these schemes are not beingcompleted.We should not talk about giving reservation in thename of religion for the sake of vote bank. Every poorirrespective of his religious affinity is entitled to beuplifted but not in the name of religion. The decision isbeing taken against the intentions of our foundingfathers of Constitution. They will never forgive you ifyou take such decision. We had taken a resolution tothis effect that we would evict every inch of land fromthe occupation of foreign invaders. As per the reportswe have and the officers deputed there even admit thatthe people came from the other side and put a red markon all stones erected thereon. But our Minister of ExternalAffairs and Minster of Defence issued the statementsthat nothing short of this happened there. Suchstatements were given during the decade of 1950 and1960 when India was invaded. China is deploying lakhof its army on our border because it has its goal toestablish its supremacy all over the world. Hon’blePrime Minster, Defence Minster and Minster of ExternalAffairs should definitely ponder over this as to howChina rushed to this extent and what action is beingtaken therein about this. The issue being raised by aMember of Parliament who is an ex-Chief Minster of aState is not being attended to and no action is beingtaken thereon. It means in clear terms that we aredefinitely not serous about this. I am of this view thatevery year on opening day of the House we shouldread that resolution so that we many remember ourgoal. Why the States of Uttarakhand and HimachalPradesh are not treated at par with North-Eastern statesand Jammu and Kashmir and why these states are notgiven uniform support. The Atal Bihari VajpayeeGovernment had given special industrial package toUttarakhand, which has been discontinued by thepresent Government. I want that industrial packageshould be restored for Himachal Pradesh andUttarakhand. We will have to sacrifice the way ourleader had made before 1947 to fulfill the dreams thathave been spelt out in the Address. •Continued from page 6where in Ward No. 17, I, along witha few detunes, was lodged at thetime. When he entered the ward, hedecided to play a prank on us.For the first few minutes he didnot disclose his identity. It took usa reasonable time after hearing hisvoice to realise that he was NanajiDeshmukh.In jail I found a wonderfulhuman being in him. He was relaxed,read extensively, analysed thepolitical situation.He became friendly with evensome Left-oriented detenus. He waseven sending words to hiscolleagues outside to lend financialsupport to the families of some Leftactivists who were lodged with usin jail. It was in jail that I discoveredhis passion for good food.Nanaji entered the Lok Sabhain 1977 but declined Prime MinisterMorarji Desai’s offer to be a cabinetminister. He wanted to work for theorganisation. He continued to be akey Organiser of the Janata Party.The failure of the Janata Partyexperiment and break up of theJanata Party substantiallydisheartened him. He wasdisillusioned. He then took the worldby surprise when he announcedthat was giving up politics at theage of sixty.Most others thought he wouldbe persuaded to reconsider hisdecision. He stuck to his decisionand never looked back at politicsfrom the day he turned sixty. Inaddition to Deendayal ResearchInstitute, he spent the next 34 yearsof his life creating institutions forrural reform, ideal villages,educational centres in Gonda,Balrampur and Chitrakoot. Heinspired many to contribute in thisendeavour.He impacted the life ofthousands in the area he worked. In1999, I watched him again for sixyears as a nominated member of theRajya Sabha.All his interventions were nonpartisanand statesman-like.Nanaji had an unusualdynamism. This was tempered witha sense of idealism. He practicedwhat he proclaimed. He cultivatedand nurtured many a relationshipthroughout his life. Even today thereare thousands of civil societyactivists, political workers,businesspersons, professionals,and industrialists who valued hisrelationship. His ability to endearhimself to people who looked up tohim for advice and guidance wasimmeasurable. Nanaji is no more.The institutions he created, thefriends and admirers he left behindwill continue to be inspired by him.•March 16-31, 2010 15

Discussion on Price RiseLOK SABHALeader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Smt. Sushma Swaraj kicked off the discussionon price rise under rule 193, in the Lower House of Parliament on February 25, 2010 andcriticized the Congress led UPA government for the unprecedented price rise. She hashighlighted the troubles caused by rise in prices of essential commodities and alsorevealed the plight of aam aadmi during the tenure of UPA govt. The following is thesynopsis of her speech in the Lok Sabha.Nation is facing unprecedentedprice rise underUPA regime : Sushma SwarajDuring the past five years,this is the ninth occasion whenwe are taking up discussion onthe issue of price rise under Rule193. Besides, we have taken upthis issue through CallingAttention and Special Mentions.We have been highlighting thetroubles and travails caused byprice rise in this Parliament thatthe prices are sky-rocketing. The basic food consumedby a common man comprises of flour, rice, pulses,mustard oil, tea, sugar, salt, spices and the vegetableswhich are getting beyondtheir reach. It is ironic thatthe poor are being deniedthe right of having twosquare meals.Her Excellency, thePresident, in her Addresshas referred to the burdenof price rise. The fourreasons attributed to theprice rise are stated to beshortfall in domesticproduction, the enhancedprices of rice, pulses andoil in the internationalmarket, payment ofincreased procurement prices to the farmers andincrease in the income in the rural areas. I think all thefour reasons are unfounded and beyond truth, sinceMarch 16-31, 2010 16the Agriculture Minister has himself stated whilespeaking in the Economic Editors’ Conference that theyear 2008-09 has been a good year for agriculture withthe agriculture production touching 233.38 milliontonnes of foodgrains. The P.I.B. has stated in its secondAdvanced Estimates for 2009-10, that we are going tohave agriculture production of approximately 217 milliontonnes this year and is it will be a little less than theaverage production. It may be mentioned that we werefaced with the shortage of 40 million tonnes of foodgrainsduring our term. Now, this Government seeks to escapefrom its responsibility under the cover of drought. Wehad to face cyclone in Orissa, earthquake in Gujarat,devastating floods and severe droughts during ourtenure. Though we had a shortfall of 40 million tonnesof foodgrains, however, we did not allow the prices torise in the market. We had opened the locks of ourThough we had a shortfall of 40 million tonnes of foodgrains,however, we did not allow the prices to rise in the market. Wehad opened the locks of our godowns. We had launched theFood for Work Programme. A new scheme, Annapurna, besideAntyodaya was also started whereby the quota of foodgrainswas raised from 10 kg to 35 kg to be sold at Rs. 2 and Rs. 3 perkg. This is the reason that during the tenure of our six years’rule, not a single discussion on price rise was taken up. Ourpriority was to bring down the prices by increasing foodgrainquota, whereas this Government is acting just opposite. Theyallow the prices to rise and cuts down foodgrain quota.godowns. We had launched the Food for WorkProgramme. A new scheme, Annapurna, besideAntyodaya was also started whereby the quota of

foodgrains was raised from 10 kg to 35 kg to be sold atRs. 2 and Rs. 3 per kg. This is the reason that duringthe tenure of our six years’ rule, not a single discussionon price rise was taken up. Our priority was to bringdown the prices by increasing foodgrain quota, whereasthis Government is acting just opposite. They allow theprices to rise and cuts down foodgrain quota. The firstreason for price rise is stated to be shortfall in domesticproduction which is not true. The second reason hasbeen attributed to the price rise of pulses, rice and oilin the international market, while in the internationalmarket, the price of wheat has come down from Rs. 11in December 2008 to Rs. 8.51 in February, 2010. Likewise,the price of rice came down fromRs. 14.59 in January, 2008 toRs. 14.45 in February, 2009.Hence, the prices have fallen inthe international market. Thethird reason is stated to be theenhanced payment of MinimumSupport Price to the farmers.As per the data available, TheMSP was Rs. 8.50 per kg. in2007-08, Rs. 10 per kg. in 2008-09 and Rs. 10.80 per kg in 2009-10. However, the consumersgot the flour at the rate of Rs.15 per kg. It was being sold atthe rate of Rs. 17 per kg whenthe MSP was Rs. 10. Similarly,it was being sold at the rate ofRs. 20 per kg when the MSPwas Rs. 10.80. The Governmentsays that the increase in MSPhas led to price rise. This pleacould be accepted if the marginbetween the MSP and themarket price has been Rs. 1.50to Rs. 2. However, there is norelation between the MSP beingpaid to the farmers and the retailprices prevailing in the market. So far as the farmers areconcerned, on one hand they are given relief, on theother hand the same is snatched from them. The increaseof Rs. 25 in Urea price is a recent instance. The pricesof all the inputs purchased by the farmers have goneup. The fourth reason advanced by the Government forthe price rise is stated to be the increased income of thepoor, as the Rural Development Programmes are statedto be implemented at an accelerated pace. Today, thelabour is doubly hit by the price rise as well as theMarch 16-31, 2010 17When there was recordproduction of sugar, anyforesighted Agriculture Ministercould think of creating thebuffer stock. But, buffer stockhad not been created and exportof sugar was allowed as a resultof which shortage of sugar wascreated in the country. But, wewere exporting sugar at the rateof Rs. 12.50 per kg andimporting it at the rate of Rs. 36per kg. In the process, the sugarmill owners have beenbenefitted. I demand from theGovernment that a JointParliamentary Committeeshould be constituted to enquireall the said scams.corruption. A labour gets Rs. 10,000 per annum if hegets the wages of Rs. 100 per day for hundred days ina year. This works out to be Rs. 850 per month. Now,the Government takes credit that the income of poorhas gone up.Here I would like to analyse and put forth the fourreasons of price rise which are the root-cause. Theseinclude wheat scam, the rice scam, the pulse scam andthe sugar scam. As far as wheat import scam isconcerned, in the year 2007-08 the MSP was Rs. 8.50 perkg while it was imported at the rate of Rs. 14.82 per kg.It means that the foreign farmers were paid Rs. 632 perquintal more. The second aspect of this scam is that thewheat export in 2007-08 wasbanned. However, the wheatwas allowed to be exported in2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10.Wheat was exported at the rateof Rs. 10.01 per kg in 2007.Likewise, it was exported at therate of Rs. 13.02 per kg. Whilethe flour in the country is beingsold at the rate of Rs. 20 per kgin 2009-10, it is being exportedat the rate of Rs. 12.51 per kg.Likewise, a scam has also takenplace in case of rice. It wasdecided that non-basmati ricewould not be exported in 2007-08. However, taking the peoplefor a ride, non-basmati rice wasexported under the cover ofbasmati rice.In the same manner, in thename of helping out the Africancountries, the export of nonbasmatirice was also allowed.But the consignment did notreach them and was divertedelsewhere. The third scamrelated to pulses. When theprices of pulses were sky-rocketing in the domesticmarket, the decision to import pulses was taken. But theimported pulses were kept lying at the ports. The traderswere ready to pay the demurrage but they did not liftthe stock in the hope of earning 3-4 times profit whenthe prices go up in the domestic market. The fourthscam relates to sugar. The whole sugar affairs arecontrolled by the Government. It is the Governmentwhich grants licenses to the open sugar mills, thenMSP is also decided by the Government, the levy sugar

is also procured by the Government and the price forthe same is fixed by it. The policy to import or exportsugar is also formulated by the Government itself. Thesugar production cycle spans over a period of threeyears. The year 2006-07 witnessed a record productionof sugar to the tune of 28.3 million metric tonne andprices of sugar came down as a result of which sugarcanegrowers got less price for their produce. When therewas record production of sugar, any foresightedAgriculture Minister could think of creating the bufferstock. But, buffer stock had not been created and exportof sugar was allowed as a result of which shortage ofsugar was created in the country. But, we were exportingsugar at the rate of Rs. 12.50 per kg and importing it atthe rate of Rs. 36 per kg. In theprocess, the sugar mill ownershave been benefitted. I demandfrom the Government that a JointParliamentary Committee shouldbe constituted to enquire all thesaid scams.Her Excellency, the Presidentmention that we will be able toensure our food security in thelong term only when wecontinuously endeavour toincrease agricultural productivity. It is also mentionedin the Address that the Government is committed toenact a law to ensure food security. Why are thegovernment compelling the President to make untruepromises? Last year, in the month of June, HerExcellency, the President had mentioned in her Addressthat her Government would bring a proposal to enactthe National Food Security Act. But today, they aresaying that the Government is committed to bring thisBill. There are four pillars to ensure Food Security andthe Government is undermining all these four pillars.The first pillar requires the accurate figures aboutpoverty, second elates to production, third is sufficientstorage and the fourth one is effective distributionsystem. Food security cannot be ensured if these pillarsare not strengthened. As far as the number of poor isconcerned, population of 2004-05 should be made thebasis for it. For this purpose, four committees havebeen constituted. As per Planning Commission, 25.7per cent people of the country are living below thepoverty line. According to the National Commission forEntrepreneurs in Unorganised Sector, 77 per cent peopleof this country are living below poverty line. Then,Suresh Tendulkar Committee was constituted. As perthis Committee, 37.2 per cent people are living belowMarch 16-31, 2010 18poverty line.Again, the Ministry of Rural Development hasconstituted N.C. Saxena committee. As per thisCommittee, 50 per cent people of rural India are livingbelow poverty line. Therefore, if the Government issincere to ensure food security, first of all the numberof poor people should be calculated accurately. But, tilldate, this Government is unable to determine neitherthe number of poor nor to fix the criteria of measurementof poverty. Second pillar is good production. Productioncan be increased only if cultivable land area is increased.But as per figures given by Ministry of Agriculture thisyear area under cultivation has declined by 8 per cent.According to the Standing Committee, the area underThe Government should emulate the model of theGujarat Government for increasing productivity. Theeconomy of Gujarat has never been dependent onagriculture but the growth rate of agriculture in Gujarathas increased to 9.6 per cent. The Government of Gujarathas provided irrigation facilities and road infrastructurein Saurashtra, Kuch, and North Gujarat as a result ofwhich agricultural productivity has increased in the State.foodgrain cultivation has declined by 8 per cent from680.99 lakh hectares in 2008-09 to 626.47 lakh hectaresin 2009-2010. If area under foodgrain continues to shrink,production will certainly come down. Not onlyproduction but productivity should also be increased.There is direct correlation between production andproductivity. The Government has not taken any stepto increase productivity.The Government should emulate the model of theGujarat Government for increasing productivity. Theeconomy of Gujarat has never been dependent onagriculture but the growth rate of agriculture in Gujarathas increased to 9.6 per cent. The Government of Gujarathas provided irrigation facilities and road infrastructurein Saurashtra, Kuch, and North Gujarat as a result ofwhich agricultural productivity has increased in theState. This pillar of food security is also crumblingbecause food production has declined. Productivityshould be increased to ensure food security. The thirdpillar of food security is adequate storage capacity. TheFood Corporation of India is the main food storageagency of the Government and it has 25.7 lakh metrictonne covered and 28 lakh metric tonne uncoveredstorage capacity. The foodgrains stored in the opengets spoiled. Handling of foodgrains in the country is

eing done manually whereas all over the world it isdone in a mechanized manner. The main differencebetween mechanized handling and manual handling isthat in the former, old sacks of foodgrains are replacedby fresh stock and in manual handling, fresh stock iscontinued to be stocked out whereas the old stock isspoiled. The fourth pillar of foodgrains management ispolicies of this Government. Hence, IWhat kind of policy manipulation taking place as far as want to ask the Government as to whensugar industry was concerned? On 15th February, 2010, you the policies of the Government will beallowed export of 10,000 tones of sugar to Europe when there set right.There is an inner conflict in theis scarcity in the market, because you have an internationalGovernment as to how to pass buckcommitment. You cancelled it because of interference byon one another. There is a greatmedia. It is said that almost 9 lakh tones of sugar is lying atdilemma between an economistKandla and other different ports and awaiting for processing. Manmohan Singh and the PrimeWill the Government bring that sugar in market in order to Minister Manmohan Singh. As per thebring down the prices?principle of economics, inflation is thesign of growth. However, when aseffective distribution system. Undoubtedly, food Prime Minister, he ponders over the situation, he is adistribution system is the responsibility of the State worried man. Then, new ideas are also getting coined.Governments but foodgrains for this system is provided Today, the gross domestic product does not give a trueby the Union Government. There is a huge difference picture. Now-a-days, gross national happiness hasbetween the figures with the States and the Centre. assumed relevance and this is what I want to bringThe Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has written home well this point to our Prime Minister, that the illeffectsof price rise are taking its toll on a large sectionto the Centre that there are 42 lakh poor people in theState but the Union Government says that as per their of the society whereas the fruits of growth are beingopinion, there are only 20 lakh poor people in the State. relished by a selected few. There is no coordinationWhen the Union Government provides half of the between the two. Hence, let us not talk in terms of GDP.requirement, the States have to distribute this allocation. The moment we start thinking in terms of GNH, the dayThe BJP ruled States have burdened their exchequer in we empathizes with the plight of poor, the policies oforder to strengthen their public distribution system. Government will be corrected and headed in the rightWheat and rice are being distributed at the rate of Rs. direction. The day this Government is moved by the2 per kg and Rs. 3 per kg respectively in Madhya plight and tears of poor, the price rise will be checkedPradesh. In Chattisgarh, rice is being distributed at the and the scams will cease to take place.March 16-31, 2010 19RAJYA SABHArate of Rs. 2 per kg to APL families and at the rate ofRs. 1 per kg to BPL families. On the one hand, poorpeople are suffering due to rising prices, on the otherhand the Minister of this Government is adding salt toinjury. The Hon. Minister says that he is not anastrologer to forecast as to when the prices will startcoming down. Prices are shooting up due to wrongLeader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Sh. Arun Jaitley initiated the debate in the Upper House ofParliament and criticited the UPA govt. for the price rise & economic mismanagement. The following is thesynopsis of his speech.Control inflation or quit : Arun JaitleyWe draw the attention of the Government to a complete inaction of the Governmenton the kind of misery being inflicted on the people of this country by this unprecedentedprice rise. If you look at the prices on the food front today, the situation seems to be farworse. Whether this Government is taking serious steps as a part of its larger economicmanagement, as far as this issue is concerned? There seems a ‘natural’ lack of coordinationas far as the Prime Minister’s Office is concerned and various Ministries of this Governmentare concerned, particularly in dealing with sensitive issues like price rise.

In a cabinet system, there is an element of collectiveresponsibility. The Prime Minister as the head of theCabinet is more responsible than his other distinguishedcolleague. When you are in a slowdown situation, pricesare bound to come down and world over we saw almostnegligible or negative rates of inflation. But even duringthe slowdown period, food inflation was one factor,which in India continued to rise. There were sectorswhere people were losing jobs, the manufacturers werenot able to sell their products and despite inadequateor reduced economic activity and less money in thepocket of the consumer, which should have essentiallyled to prices coming down, we still had food pricesgoing up. The food price inflation now moves betweenNow, we do find that we just cannot rely on onemeasure of inflation. The main reason is that the WPIdoes not have that much impact on food as the CPI has.The Government must seriously consider having oneprice index which actually gives the factual situation,rather than give us a fictional figure which tells theconsumer that prices have come down, but the factualsituation has worsened. The Government has to act. IfGovernments can’t act, the Governments must perish.17 and 19 per cent. Can’t this Government anticipateshortages if there is a supply side problem and takeaction or preemptive action in time? Or is thisGovernment primarily involved in the exercise of findingalibis for its own failures and finding some reason or theother why the prices are going up, and, therefore, theGovernment itself is not responsible? Or is thisGovernment merely adopting a ‘do nothing’ approach?We are facing a situation where the Government’sinability to control inflation is almost like unlegislatedtax on the people. A large part of your income today isbeing spent on account of this unprecedented pricerise. It has crossed a century as far as the dal prices areconcerned. It has crossed a half century as far as sugarprices are concerned. Is this the performance as far asthis Government is concerned?We are told that we had a drought this year and onaccount of drought this year we had 18 million tons lessof food production. Therefore, the drought situationaffected the prices. This is the first alibi which is beinggiven. Claim of this Government that we have adequatestocks is not true. We are now told that well there is alot of future trading which was started when the NDAwas in power. These are all experiments to be doneMarch 16-31, 2010 20when you are dealing with a surplus economy onfoodgrain. You can’t afford to have those experimentsof a surplus economy when you are in a scarcityeconomy and therefore, the Government should haveanticipated the scarcity and gone in for a policy changebecause circumstances now have changed.We should not start blaming the State Governmentsfor price rise and put the ball in the court of the ChiefMinisters. Suggestions were also made that non-UPAChief Ministers are not co-operating, you need tocrackdown as far as hoarding is concerned, etc. If yousee the data you will know that 83 per cent of the raidsand searches took place in States which have non-UPAGovernments and 17 per cent took place in States whichhave UPA Governments. You now, saythat the sugar industry is also in astrange kind of crisis of its own. Whatkind of policy manipulation taking placeas far as sugar industry was concerned?On 15th February, 2010, you allowedexport of 10,000 tones of sugar to Europewhen there is scarcity in the market,because you have an internationalcommitment. You cancelled it becauseinterference by media. It is said thatalmost 9 lakh tones of sugar is lying atKandla and other different ports andawaiting for processing. Will the Government bringthat sugar in market in order to bring down the prices?The MSP increases are intended to compensatethe farmers but the long-term impact of increase in MSPis not what the Government seems to be arguing. Itsays that immediate short-term an MSP increase maycontribute to an increase in prices. The Governmenthas run out of the ideas as to how to deal with thesituation, but it has also become a little insensitive. Yousay that consumption patterns have changed. Peopleare eating more. People are no longer starving. As faras the prices of oil are concerned, the Government hasimposed various kinds of duties contributing to inflation.The consumer is hit in two ways. He pays more for hispetrol, diesel and kerosene oil, and on the other hand,he pays more on account of various duties on petroleumproducts. The Government should say that it would notmake any unjust profiteering as far as the increase inthe price of oil is concerned. But the Governmentdoesn’t have that policy. Today the gulf between theConsumer Price Index and the Wholesale Price Index,has widened. Now, we do find that we just cannot relyon one measure of inflation. The main reason is that theWPI does not have that much impact on food as the CPI

has. The Government must seriously consider havingone price index which actually gives the factualsituation, rather than give us a fictional figure whichtells the consumer that prices have come down, but thefactual situation has worsened. The Government has toact. If Governments can’t act, the Governments mustperish.Increase agricultural productionto curb price rise : M. Rama JoisPrice rise is a very serious problem affecting thewhole nation. This has not happened at once. It hasbeen a cumulative effect ofwrong policies followed overthe years. India’s mainoccupation has beenagriculture. The importancethat should have been givento agriculture has not beengiven. In every village, therewas a prescription, in the earlierlaws that there should besufficient land reserved for Gomath for the pasture ofanimal, i.e. cattle wealth.Unfortunately, the Gomaths are disappearing. Ifwe had protected the cattle wealth, there would havebeen no occasion for spending so much on chemicalfertilizers. The share of cows in the GDP was 6.01 percent. But, allocation in the Budget for cows is 0.115 percent. Even though we derive so much of income fromcow, we are not investing for betterment of cattle wealth.We call cow as Gomata. Cow dung and cow urinals aretreated as pujya.Therefore, there is a directive under the DirectivePrinciple of State Policy under Article 48 that thereshould be a total ban on cow slaughter. Therefore, theneed of the hour is, we must not only reserve land forpasture of cattle but also made special agriculture zoneso that it can be used for agriculture. SupportersThere is exodus from villages. Lands are becomingfallow as they are not being cultivated. We must improvethe standard of living, health and all other things invillages so that villages do not leave villages and cometo towns. The cows are being slaughtered every yearand also, exported to Bangladesh. In such a situation,our agriculture cannot improve and we cannot havemore production also to enable the prices come down.•Fuel price hike unjustified economically and morally : JavadekarPress Statement issued by BJP National Spokesperson Shri Prakash Javadekar MPThe Prime Minister, Sh.Manmohan Singh’sstatement that fuel price hikewon’t be rolled back shows that heis oblivious to the pains andsufferings of the people, who arealready reeling under inflationarypressure.He is taking people for grantedas elections are behind them. Hisstatement that this “price hikeshould be absorbed by theeconomy”, is also downright breachof faith with the Aam Aadmi andsmacks of arrogance.BJP condemns Govt. attitudetowards rollback in the face of clearmajority of parliament, which hasalready protested this price hike. Itwas not only NDA but also Left andsupporting allies of UPA like SP,BSP and RJD, who walked outMarch 16-31, 2010 21spontaneously after thisprice hike was announcedin the house. Further, theUPA partners like TMCand DMK have alsoprotested the proposedhike and demanded arollback. Instead of beingsympathetic to thismajority view, the PrimeMinister chose to add salton the wounds.Petrol and Diesel price hike isneither economically nor morallyjustified.This hike is bound to havecascading effect and will furtherraise the prices of transport and allthe goods across the board. Govt.has also indicated that it willdismantle the administered pricemechanism and has authorizedpetroleum ministry todecide on therecommendations of theKirit Parikh Committee.This will definitely burdenpeople further with yetanother unbearable hike indays to come.BJP has already beenprotesting against the foodprice inflation and willintensify its agitation till Govt. takescredible action to tame the inflation.People were expecting relief inthe form of more subsidies in PDSso that they would get rice, wheat,edible oil, pulses and sugar atreasonable price. But the budget hasonly disappointed them. Instead ofrelief now they have got a shockerin the form of price hike and PM’sjustification of it.•

BJP on BudgetAam aadmi dumped by aam aadmi ’s govtBy Yashwant SinhaAgovernment that returns topower in the name of theaam aadmi cannotsuddenly become their enemy. Thisis exactly what the UPA governmenthas done through this budget.It spent recklessly in the lasttwo years to improve electoralprospects. It was like injecting sweetpoison in the body economic, whichthe economist-prime minister knewwould be fatal. Political compulsionsforced him to go along. The globalfinancial crisis came in handy todisguise this election-orientedexpenditure as a stimulus packagefor the economy. Exiting from thatsituation was bound to be painfulfor the government and the people.Companies are celebratingreduction in corporate taxsurcharge; economists are hailingthe cut in fiscal deficit; the market ischeering the roadmap on goods andservices tax and the direct tax code;business groupings are as usualtoeing the government line, but it isthe aam aadmi who has nothing tocelebrate.The increase in excise duty by2 percentage points and the increasein petrol and diesel prices is a doubleblow to the common man alreadybattling a 20-per cent food priceinflation. He was looking for relief,he has got the stick. The financeminister’s claim that the “budgetbelongs to the aam aadmi” is likerubbing salt on his wound.A revenue mobilisationthrough a hike in excise, customsand service tax of Rs 50,000 crore inone year is unprecedented. Sincewe still have the system of tax overtax, that along with the diesel pricehike will have a huge cascadingeffect and the burden ofthis tax mobilisation onthe aam aadmi is goingto be many times morethan Rs 50,000 crore.As for price rise,this will be like fat to fire.It is bound to have adampening effect ondomestic demand, whichhas been the drivingforce of the economy.The secret of India’s growth storyhas been the availability of cheapermoney and a huge domestic market.Inflation, to which this budget willadd, threatens both.I have for long felt that insteadof spreading its limited resourcestoo thinly, the government shouldconcentrate on a few priority areaslike agriculture, rural development,health, education and infrastructure.In each of these, there should be a100 per cent centrally-fundedscheme. If only 16 paise is reachingthe people out of the 100 that thegovernment spends, imagine therevolution it will bringabout if all 100 isdelivered.Improving thedelivery system, theminister said, is a toppriority, but he’s donenothing in this respect.He doesn’t evenindicate a roadmap forgovernance reforms.Every financeminister fudges figures in thebudget. I was a little surprised,therefore, to see that at variousplaces this fudging has gonebeyond acceptable limits. Forexample, the gross tax revenue isslated to increase next year by Rs1,14,000 crore. Given that theincrease was only Rs 33,000 crorethis year, there is nothing to suggestthe projection is in the realms ofpossibility. The Budget was eagerlyawaited, it has been hugelydisappointing. •(The writer is a former financeminister and BJP Lok Sabha MP)Lesser Central fund upset the BJPgovernment’s development plansThe 13th Finance Commission report has brought disappointmentfor Himachal Pradesh. The report has recommended lowest-everdevolution of Central funds. The increase is just 50 per cent as comparedto 126 per cent at all India level. This is likely to upset the BJPgovernment’s development plans, making it difficult to even meet itsexpenses in terms of monthly salaries. Another blow to the state is theCentre’s refusal to extend industrial package. There are apprehensionsthat more than Rs 40,000 crore investment projects in the pipeline maynot materialize. The decade-long package, as proposed by the NDAgovernment in 2003, was to end in 2013. The package was cut-shortfirst up to 2007, but later raised to 2010. There will be no special taxholidays for any new investment. “Himachal is paying the price forbeing a gentle state,” said Chief Minister Shri Prem Kumar Dhumal. •March 16-31, 2010 22

Anti Price rise agitationHimachal PradeshPrices promoting greaterpoverty in country : ShantaFrom Our CorrespondentFormer Himachal Chief Minister and BJP NationalVice-President Shri Shanta Kumar, Rajya SabhaMP while addressing a rally of BJP workers from allover Himachal at the state-level rally against price rise inShimla. He charged the UPA regime with failure to takeeffective steps to check price rise despite the fact thatthey had made this solemn promise during last year'selections to Lok Sabha."Either the UPA regime must check price rise or elsethey have no right to continue in power as people hadvirtually been pushed to the brink of starvation," heremarked.Addressing the rally, state BJP President Shri KhimiRam said despite price rise, the BJP regime in Himachalhad tried to give relief to every section of society so thatpeople would not reel under the impact of price rise.Later, all senior leaders, including Shri Shanta Kumar,Shri Satyapal Jain, Shri Khimi Ram, MPs Shri VirenderKashyap and Shri Anurag Thakur and senior partyfunctionaries marched to the Governor House in aprocession to hand over a memorandum addressed to thePresident of India to the Governor at Raj Bhawan. •U.P. BJP rally against price riseSeveral BJP workers were injured in a clash with the police when a dharnaand demonstration organised by the party in Lucknow on February 25 inprotest against “price rise and corruption” turned violent. Former BJPPresident Shri Rajnath Singh sustained minor injuries. Senior BJP leaders,including Dr. Singh, former Union Minister Shri Murli Manohar Joshi, PartyVice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and State BJP President RamapatiRam Tripathi were arrested along with hundreds of party workers. They werelater released. The rally was held at Jhule Lal Park on the banks of the Gomti.After the meeting, the party men were to march to the Vidhan Sabha, butthey were blocked by heavy barricades put up by a strong posse of policemenon Hanuman Setu. The police used water cannons and tear-gas to thwarttheir march. About three to four rubber bullets were fired by the policemen,who also baton-charged the party workers in a bid to disperse them. Thepolice flung stones at the party workers. The dharna was called off followingthe arrests and subsequent release. Addressing the rally, Shri Rajnath Singhhas charged the UPA Government at the Centre with misleading the peopleby making hollow claims and said it had failed to curb price rise. In contrast,he said, the NDA Government had successfully contained the prices. •Uttar PradeshBandh successfulagainst price riseFrom Our CorrespondentDespite police harassments in a few districtsin Uttar Pradesh BJP call for UP bandh on2 nd March against price rise received atremendous response from the people.State BJP president Shri Ramapati Ram Tripathisaid that the recent hike in prices of petrol anddiesel would fuel inflation. The move would resultin higher prices of essential commodities, he said.“The tremendous response of the people is anindication that the common man is fed up with theCongress-led UPA Government at the Centre andthe BSP regime in the State,” he added. Shri Tripathisaid the police manhandled party workers in Gonda,Sultanpur, Rampur, Basti, Ballia and Moradabad.“At a few places, workers were arrestedunnecessarily,” he said.Shri Tripathi claimed that the bandh was totalin Gorakhpur, Agra, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Kanpur,Jhansi, Etawah and several other districts.He congratulated party workers for holdingtheir ground despite the coercive measures adoptedby the police and the administration.•March 16-31, 2010 23

A post-budget discussion by CA CellEffect of Union Budget to behighly inflationary : JaitleyFrom Our CorrespondentChartered Accountants Cellof BJP organized a programon post budget discussion,at LTG Auditorium, New Delhi onMarch 3. The Leader of Oppositionin Rajya Sabha, Shri Arun Jatley wasthe chief guest and Shri P N Vijay(financial Analyst) the guestspeaker and the function waspresided over by CA Gopal kAgarwal national convener of theCell.Speaking on theoccasion Shri ArunJaitley said that, theUnion Budget 2010 –11would be highlyinflationary and theduty hikes in petroleumproducts and service taxproposals would furtherstoke food inflation. Hesaid the Budget had notmade an attempt toaddress the foodshortage India was likely to face asagriculture acreage shrinks andpopulation keeps growing.“The government is coming upwith sham arguments on how totackle food inflation,” he said. Theservice tax on rail freight will makeeverything costlier, which alone maygive Finance Minister PranabMukherjee more than Rs. 8,000crore. If crude prices go up, thegovernment will earn more from oilas the duties on oil are levied advalorem,” he said.Criticizing the sugar policy, ShriJaitley said India exported 4.8 milliontones sugar at Rs 12.5 a Kg andMarch 16-31, 2010 24bought back the commodity at Rs36 per kg. “The sugar policy can’tbe handled by someone who ownsor controls the largest number ofsugar mills in the country. It’s aclassic case of conflict of interest.”He also talked about the rampantcorruption in the governmentwhether it is spectrum sale or theimport and export of food items.CA Cell Convenor Shri Gopalk Agarwal in his remark’shighlighted that there is completeconfusion in the government,whether the budget document is apolicy statement or merelyaccounting statement ofgovernment giving its revenues andexpenses for the year. In the pastwhen Mr. Chidambaram the FinanceMinister he had said that the budgetis not a policy statement but ShriPranav Mukherjee now says that‘budget cannot be mere statementof government account, but mustalso impart vision’. The confusioncreates an uncertain environmentwhere long term planning isbecoming very difficult. Thisconfusion is clearly evident in mostof the provisions and will be muchclearer if we refer to provisions ofDirect Tax Code.Second misconception isregarding Inflation. For the currentbread of economist in thegovernment, Inflation is a sign ofeconomic development as it createsdemand and provides stimulus togrowth and they fail to see the plightof the common man caused byuncontrolled price riseparticularly for the fooditems, which is makinghis life miserable. Thebudget does not tackleInflation in the rightearnest. Its focus ismore towards KhaasAadmi rather than AamAadmi.The third concernwas the Fiscalconsolidation andmanagement of budgetary deficit.Though, budget talks of reducingrevenue deficit and gross fiscaldeficit but if we go in depth thetarget seems unachievable becausethere is unrealistic expectation ongrowth of revenue 5% to 15% andfall in non plan expenditure from 16%to 4%. In case of fiscal consolidationthe problem is of ratio of revenuedeficit to gross fiscal deficit whichis above 75%, meaning thereby thatthe government consumption isbeing financed through borrowingand borrowing is not being used forinvestment. The revenue deficit hasto be very low; otherwise the

BJP on Budgetcountry gets into a debt trap, althoughgross fiscal deficit can help instimulating growth sometimes.Shri P N Vijay said that this budgethas got positive response from thecapital markets and the corporatebecause they were expecting very harshmeasures and withdrawal of stimuluspackage which has been retained. Thereis huge deficit and the economyrequires fiscal consolidation. FinanceMinister should have been moreinnovative in the case of resourcemobilization. CA Anil Gupta expressedhis views on indirect taxes givingdetails with regard to inflationary effectof service tax on freight. CA AnilSharma spoke of the various provisionsof Direct Taxes. The program attendedby about 300 professionals wasconvened by CA Gopal Kedia. Amongthe prominent chartered accountantsfrom in and around Delhi, whoparticipated CA Piyush Goyal was alsopresent. An activity report of the Cellover the past three years was releasedby the national cell convener. At theend of the program a film showingrampant corruption in variousdepartments of the government andspecially Income tax department wasalso shown by CA Kailash Godukawho is the founder member ofParivartan. •Continued from page 9that the BJP would frustrate any evildesign of pro-Pakistan and prosecessionistforces, Shri Gadkariridiculed the NC for demandinggreater autonomy. Why the Jammuand Kashmir government notdemanding financial autonomy? heasked. Instead of acceleratingdevelopment activities, thesuccessive regimes in the state hadraked up such issues to hoodwinkgullible masses, he added.The state of Jammu andKashmir is solely dependent uponthe Centre, so there is a need toMarch 16-31, 2010 25Vishal Jan-Pradarshan against Price Riseand UPA Government's policies21st April 2010Delhi Chalo - Delhi ChaloRise against Price RiseFive Crore signatures15 Lakh people to Gherao the ParliamentStop Price Rise or Quit!New BJP office bearers in OdishaOdisha BJP President Shri Jual Oram on March 08 announced the namesof new BJP office bearers in the State. Vice-Presidents : Sarvshri BimbadharKuanr, Rudra Narayan Pani, Rajkishore Dash, Asit Bose, Aswini Kumar Patra,Ashok Sahu, Smt. Sanchita Mohanty, Smt. Gayatri Dash, Smt. Archana Nayakand Smt. Bijayalaxmi Mishra. General Secretaries : Sarvshri Panchanan Rout,general secretary (Organisation), Nayan Kishore Mohanty, Prithiviraj Harichandan,Basanta Panda and Murali Manohar Sharma. Shri Prahallad Khandelwal hasbeen nominated as treasurer of the party. Secretaries : Shri Golak PrasadMohapatra, Smt. Urmila Mohapatra, Shri Tushar Jena, Smt. Surama Satapathy,Shri Govinda Agrawal, Shri Ajay Das, Smt. Namitarani Sahoo, Shri DebanandaMohapatra, Shri Sukeshi Oram, and Smt. Kamalini Mohanty. • (FOC)generate economic resourcesinstead of raking up emotive issues,he said.Shri Gadkari said, "I promise tothe people of the country and Jammuthat BJP will support and back you.No one will dare to bring backPakistani people to Jammu andKashmir. We will not allow this tohappen". Shri Gadkari questionedthe proposal to bring back thosewho have killed hundreds of peopleand worked against the country.It is noteworthy that the Centrehad earlier backed the proposal ofChief Minister Omar Abdullah,saying it was ready to "welcome"Kashmiris who had gone toPakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) ifthey were ready to return after givingup militancy.Shri Gadkari further said BJPwill fight such policies in Parliament.It will launch an agitation fromKashmir to Kanyakumari and fightthem everywhere. We will not allowSonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singhto run the government if they wentahead with the policy of bringingback terrorists from Pakistan. •

Budget : States VoicesUnion Budget anti-poor, says DhumalHimachal Pradesh ChiefMinister Shri Prem Kumar Dhumalon February 26 has termed theUnion Budget for 2010-11 as antipoor,anti-common man and antifarmer.The proposed hike in petroland diesel prices would affect thecommon man in every sphere oflife and push up the prices of essential commodities, hesaid.Shri Dhumal has said that the Union Governmentonce again had discriminated against Himachal Pradeshby not extending the long-awaited industrial packagewhich had been given by the NDA Government till 2013originally and pushed back later to 2010 by the UPAGovernment. This, he said, would stop industrial growthin Himachal Pradesh.“The package was attracting a large number ofindustrial houses to the State,” he added.A hard blow to aam admi'saspirations : Shivraj SinghMadhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Shivraj SinghChauhan on February has hit outat the Union Budget, especiallythe Centre’s developmentpackage for Bundelkhand. Callingit a hard blow to the aspirationsof the aam admi, he said theBudget had made life worse forthe common man alreadystruggling with rising prices.He said the Centre hadalready increased the price of ureaby 10 per cent and the Budget further increases theprices of coal and fertilizers, making it difficult for farmersto survive. Shri Chauhan also condemned the hike inpetrol and fuel prices saying it would increasetransportation costs leading to a further rise in theprices of essential commodities.About Bundelkhand, the Chief Minister said theannounced package of Rs.1,200 crore was not evensufficient for the part of the region falling in MadhyaPradesh. The Centre had ignored his demand of Rs.2,400crore for the Madhya Pradesh part of Bundelkhand,along with financial assistance for the Vindhya andMahakaushal regions of the State.Budget against interests ofcommon man: Raman SinghChhattisgarh Chief MinisterShri Raman Singh has said thebudget for 2010-11 would onlybenefit corporate houses, not thecommon man.“It seems that the generalbudget was drafted to protect theinterests of corporate houses, notthe common man in the country,”Shri Singh, told media persons in Raipur.Shri Singh has claimed that “for past few years, theCongress-led central government has been presentingthe budget only to benefit the multi-national companies(MNCs) and big corporate houses”.“Decision to hike fuel prices can’t be justified, thecommon man is already facing tough time with risingprices of essential food items, and the fuel price hikewill put further burden on them” he added.UPA not fair with BJPruled-states : Narendra ModiGujarat Chief Minister ShriNarendra Modi, reacting budget,said “By increasing Centralexcise on manufacturing sector,the Central government hascreated a new problem for theindustries here. Gujarat’s textileindustry has been given a deathblow by the Centre in thisBudget.” He added, the Centralgovernment has decided to giveRs 200- crore special package to textile industry ofTirupur in Tamil Nadu which is a state ruled by UPA.While in the name of pollution the same Centralgovernment has decided not to give permission to setup 60 new units in Gujarat. “Central government’sdecision to increase Central import duty on gold andsilver will adversely impact gems and Jewellery businessin Gujarat” Shri Modi said.Reacting to discriminatory approach of Congressled UPA, he said “Government has given Rs 200-crorefor beach development in Goa, while Gujarat, which has1,600-kms-long coastline, has been totally ignored. Thisbudget is anti-Gujarat and it will adversely impactindustrial development of the state.”March 16-31, 2010 26

Cut in fertilizer subsidy to adversely impactagricultural growth : YeddyurappaReacting to Union Budget (2010-11)Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri B SYeddyurappa said “The 2010-11 budget isdisappointing. It will further burden poorand middle-class. The state’s requests fora waiver of farm loans in regions devastatedby floods last year, Rs 8500 crore forinfrastructure development in Bangaloreand Rs 8000 crore for redressal of regionalimbalance has not been considered.” “The cut in fertiliser subsidywould lead to increase in price of fertilizer, resulting in an adverseimpact on growth of agriculture” he said. He added “The Centrehas failed to come out with effective programmes to boostagriculture growth and to take effective steps to control inflation”.Union Budget ignoresBihar’s interests : Nitish KumarBihar Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar has termed the UnionBudget for 2010-11 as “extremely disappointing for Bihar”. He hasaccused the Centre of all but glossing over its promise to accord“Special Category” status to the State.Shri Kumar said, instead ofsoothing the concerns of commonpeople reeling under skyrocketingcommodity prices, it would only serveto “rub salt into their wounds” byincreasing inflation.“Despite the visits of so manyCentral teams and Ministers to the flood-afflicted belt, nothinghas been done to address the plight of the flood victims. Last year,while Bundelkhand had been given a special package to combatdrought, we did not receive anything. Does it imply that oursituation is any better?” he said.Alleging that the Budget does not hold out any promise toaddress regional imbalances, the Chief Minister remarked that theCentre had “deliberately chosen to ignore Bihar”.“So far, whatever achievement that we have accomplishedhas been without any help from the Centre,” he said, adding that“even the 13th Finance Commission’s recommendation for grantsto Bihar was inadequate as it would not meet the State’s financialrequirements,” he added. Blaming Union Finance Minister PranabMukherjee, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Modi saidthat while “Shri Mukherjee had granted Tamil Nadu and WestBengal packages for their water development works, andBundelkhand and Goa ‘Special Packages’ worth Rs. 1200 croreand Rs. 500 crore respectively for their development, Bihar hadbeen left out.”•The decision to reduce subsidy onfertilisers clearly shows the apathy of theUPA Government towards the plight of thefarmers who are already neck deep inagrarian crisis. Although the Governmenthas admitted in its latest Economic Surveyand in the Union Budget that the conditionof farmers is pitiable it is doing nothingmore than offering lip sympathy to mitigatethe problems afflicting the agrarian sector,’-Sh Rajnath Singh, Former BJP PresidentCompanies are celebrating reductionin corporate tax surcharge; economists arehailing the cut in fiscal deficit; the marketis cheering the roadmap on goods andservices tax and the direct tax code; businessgroupings are as usual toeing thegovernment line, but it is the aam aadmiwho has nothing to celebrate-Sh. Yashwant Sinha, Former Finance MinisterPeople had expected the exemption limitin income tax to be raised up to Rs 2.5 lakhper annum. But that did not happen. Theallocation for social sector has not increasedmuch keeping in view the inflation. Thebudget is anti-farmer.-Dr. M. M Joshi, Senior Leader BJPThe revenue measures taken by theGovernment in the budget are not just heavilyregressive but also suggest a lack of concernfor 95 per cent of the population. Direct taxpayers — the corporations and the less thanfive per cent of the population who even fileincome-tax returns, let alone pay such taxes— have been given a bonanza of taxreductions which will cost the exchequer anestimated Rs 26,000 crores (on top of benefitsin the current year that are pro- jected tohave cost about Rs 80,000 crores). Butindirect taxes have been raised across theboard, including for items of massconsumption, so that the common peoplewill now con- tribute disproportionately tothe additional Rs 60,000 crores that is beingraised.-Jayati Ghosh , Professor of Eco. JNU.Pranab Mukherjee, an expert at politicalneedlepoint, is brilliant enough to drawblood and justify it as the price of knittinga national tapestry- M.J Akbar, Eminent Journalist.March 16-31, 2010 27

State ReportsFrom Our CorrespondentsGUJARATNo impact of recessionin GujaratThe rest of the country might have reeled underthe impact of global recession but Gujarat seems tohave ducked the adverse effect. This has been conveyedby data of the socio-economic review released by theDirectorate of Economics and Statistics along withBudget papers presented in the State Assembly.Neither car sales nor two-wheeler ownerships norcell phone possessions, the basic indicators of highprofile middle class life-style have registered anydowntrend in Gujarat during 2009-10, compared to theprevious year (2008-09), when the recession took itstoll. At least 3.36 lakh two-wheelers were bought inGujarat during last year while the number of cars in theState went up from 9.52 lakh to 10.09 lakh. With 84.23lakh two-wheelers and another 10 lakh owning cars, thepeople of Gujarat should be the most mobile citizens inthe country. The State, with a population of 5.50 crore,has close to 2 crore mobile phone connections,according to the socio-economic survey.Total employment level in the State increased to19.04 lakh compared to 18.39 lakh in the previous year.Of this, 11.06 lakh jobs were in the private sector, upfrom 10.53 lakh previously. Total jobs in the Governmentsector rose from 7.86 lakh to 7.98 lakh, primarily due tonew opportunities opening up in the State civic bodies(2.86 lakh to 3.11 lakh) during this period.Collections of Central taxes from the State tooincreased substantially, though some rates have beenreduced. Corporate taxes received from Gujarat went upfrom Rs 6,284 crore to Rs 6,764 crore while income taxcollection rose from Rs 5,294 crore to Rs 5,881 crore.Other taxes collected from the State rose to Rs 12,694crore, from Rs 11,649 crore in previous year.MADHYA PRADESHBy 2013 State to beself-sufficient in powerThe Madhya Pradesh State Government says it ishopeful that the electricity crisis will become a thing ofthe past by 2013. Interacting with media persons inBhopal Energy Minister Shri Rajendra Shukla saidMadhya Pradesh is going to be self-sufficient in powergeneration by 2013. He claimed that the State’s installedpower generation capacity was around 3,000 MW in2003 during the Congress regime and after the BJP cameto power now it has gone up to 6,000 MW. He saidwhat the Congress could not do in 50 years, we havedone in just six years.He said in the next three years theState’s installed power generation capacity would goup by another 5,000 MW. “In 2013, the peak electricitydemand is expected to be 11,000 MW and our installedpower generation capacity will be the same,” he said.CHHATTISGARHState sets up owncommando unitChhattisgarh has created its own commando forcetrained in fighting urban terrorism and for anti-Maoistoperations. The State Government had, after the Mumbaiattacks last year, decided to create its own commandoforce on the lines of the Black Cat Commandos, to dealwith urban terrorism. Later, it was decided to also trainthem at the Kanker Jungle Warfare School ofChhattisgarh to make them capable of fighting theMaoists.The commandos were trained basically to deal withurban terrorism but they were trained in interventionand could be used in anti-Maoist operations, saidChhattisgarh Director General of Police. He said thecommandos will use sophisticated weapons of AK makeand up-to-date communication systems.Last year, the Amleshwar-based third battalion ofthe State armed forces was chosen for commandotraining. Personnel up to 30 years of age were selectedfor this. An Army of 250 commandos has been alreadytrained and posted at headquarters at Amleshwar, inDurg. The commandos will work for five years, afterwhich they will be sent back to their original postingwith the State armed forces, he said.A total of 800 commandos will be trained in theState. Official sources said only two companies ofcommandos had been created so far, given that theforce has been created by the State without any Centralresources.Though they have not fought any terrorism inChhattisgarh so far, sources said the commando forceswould fight against the Maoists. Already, some 20battalions comprising State and Central forces includingthe BSF and ITBP are involved in various operations inthe Naxal-hit areas of Bastar. •March 16-31, 2010 28

AppealAnanth Kumar, MPNational General SecretaryDear friendNamaskarMarch 16-31, 2010 29Nation-wide signature-campaignThe National Executive and the National Council of the Bharatiya Janata Party in their meetings held inIndore recently have decided to launch a massive campaign throughout the country against rising prices.In the first phase of the campaign, Her Excellency - the President of India would be presented a memorandumcontaining signatures of the citizens of entire country and requested to issue directive to the CentralGovernment led by the Congress Party to take effective measures to control the price-rise.During the course, the Bharatiya Janata Party workers would collect signatures from all Mohallas, roadcrossingsand corners. This campaign would run from March 1 to March 31. Collected signatures should reachstate party offices by April 10, 2010.April 21- March to Parliament HouseAs per the decision of the National Council, lacs of party workers from entire country in the second phaseof the campaign would 'Gherav' parliament house on April 21, 2010 protesting against the rising prices. Partyworkers and the public men from each village, tehsil and district should join this 'Gherav'. All state officebearersand public representatives should make prior preparations at all levels at massive scale.Holding of massive rallies in state capitals against the price-riseMassive rallies be held in capital town of each state against price rise. To make the campaign againstprice rise more impressive and to put Congress-led UPA government in the dock, lacs of leaflets, handbillsand other literature should be published in their respective states and respective languages and distributedamongst the people.Massive rally of all karyakartas of the state be held in capital towns of all states where the central officebearers would offer guidance to karyakartas."Signature Campaign" and "March to Parliament" should be the part of agitation format for which lacsof people should gather. Meetings, tours, press conferences, corner meetings should be organised at variouslevels through out states to make the programme more impressive and entire state unit of each state alongwithall public representatives should be thoroughly and extensively mobilised for this campaign.A comparative pictures of price rates of essential commodities during the tenure of Shri Vajpayee ledNDA government and to-day's soaring price-rise be placed before the public. Current price-rise is not the onlyfailure of the Congress government but this also is a massive scam. The party workers should project beforethe public the causes of sky-rocketing price-rise and the black deeds of the UPA government.The state units should get the memorandum to be presented to Her Excellency - the President of Indiatranslated in their respective regional languages and circulated extensively with this letter to run a massivesignature campaign.With regards,Yours,(Ananth Kumar)ConvenorAnti-Price-Rise CampaignPlease turn over for the proforma of nation-wide signature{ }campaign. Please sign and collect signatures and sendit to BJP Central Office 11, Ashok, New Delhi-110001. •

ProformaNation-wide signature campaign against price riseToHer ExcellencyThe President of IndiaDear Madam,Sub:- Appeal from public reeling under price-riseYou are aware that the people of this country areextremely suffering from unprecedented price-rise. Thesky-rocketing price-rise i.e. the rice at Rs. 40/- per kg,sugar at Rs. 45/- per kg, edible oil at Rs. 60-80/- per kg,pulse at Rs. 80-100/- per kg and tea at Rs. 250/- per kghave spoiled the budget of Aam Aadmi. The price-risehas reversed the life-style of people, increased malnutrition,decreased actual salary packet and made twosquaremeals to poor people a difficult proposition.Madam, the Central Government's current policieshave left the price-rise unchecked. The Governmenthas permitted Private businessmen and Multi-nationalcompanies to purchase grains from the Kisans directly.This brought lesser quantity of food grains togovernment godowns and the private companiesmanaged to hoard the food-grains unchecked. Thesupply of food-grains in the market decreased and pricesgot escalated. The poor men should get 35 kilo cerealin a month under Antyodaya Scheme but he gets onlyhalf of this quantity. Despite the full knowledge oflesser production of sugar-cane in the country, 48 lakhtonnes sugar was exported at the rate Rs. 12 per kgwhich is now being imported back @ Rs. 30 per kg. Thisis a great scam. Similar scam was also committed in riceexport.The Government of the day is not paying profitableprice to the kisans of the country as per therecommendations of the Swaminathan Commission. So,the kisans are facing crisis and large number of them areresorting to suicides. Thus, not only the kisans aredying but also consumers are being looted. TheGovernment policies are boosting future trading andbenefiting hoarders, profiteers and speculators. Lakhsand crores of rupees are being exchanged in futuretrading. The government has put no check on this malpractice.Public Distribution System stands destroyed. Thegovernment which refused to pay Rs. 800 to country'sfarmers, has now agreed to pay Rs. 1600 to foreignfarmers. The imported wheat was found sub-standard.10 lakh tonnes of pulse was imported this year out ofwhich around 8 lakh tonnes of pulse got damaged atvarious ports. Such wrong decisions and incapabilitiesof the Central Government has further propelled theprice-rise.In the circumstances, the government should havebrought large quantity of food-grains out of the bufferstock,future tradings stopped, kisans should have beenassured of remunerative prices, should have amendedEssential Commodities Act, 1955, essential commoditiesshould have been provided to the needy personsthrough Public Distribution System. Instead of initiatingall these measures, the Ministers of the government aremaking predictions of further price-rise. This has furtherworsened the situation.Now the water has gone over head. Madam, wehumbly request you to direct the government to acceptfollowing demands. Demands are as follows:-1. All Card-holders including APL card-holdersshould be provided adequate quantity of wheat,rice, sugar, pulse and edible oil, at reasonable ratethrough Public Distribution System by givingsubsidies.2. Future trading in food-grains should be bannedforth-with.3. A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) should beconstituted to make fair and impartial enquiry intothe great scams of future trading and export-importinvolving sugar, rice and wheat.4. The kisans should be assured of getting profitableprices by accepting Swaminathan Commissionformula.5. The Essential Commodities Act 1955 should beupdated to effectively contain hoarding.6. Adequate food-grains should be made available inmarkets to control price-rise. Financial reformsshould be adopted to contain price-rise. •S/No Name Address Signature/Thumb ImpressionMarch 16-31, 2010 30