15 June, 2013 (English) - Bharatiya Janata Party

CONTENTSJoint Statement : On four years of UPA-II............................. 6EditorFortnightly MagazinePrabhat Jha, MPExecutive EditorDr. Shiv Shakti BakshiEditorial TeamRam Prasad TripathyVikash AnandCreative EditorDharmendra KaushalVikas SainiSubscriptionAnnual Rs. 100/-For 3 years Rs. 250/-InterviewSh. Mangal Pandey, Bihar BJP President................................. 11ArticlesDid apex court belittle CBI or strengthen it?By Arun Jaitley.................................................................... 9Open the cage and let the parrot freeBy Joginder Singh............................................................... 13More thick-skinned than any pachydermBy A Surya Prakash .......................................................... 19India-China relations should go beyond diplomatic nicetiesBy Ram Prasad Tripathy ................................................... 21State ReportsChhattisgarh................................................................................... 25,28Himachal Pradesh.......................................................................... 27Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh....................................................... 28Punjab, Gujarat............................................................................... 29Cover : Joint press conference on four years of UPA-IIHISTORIC PICTUREContactPhone : +91(11) 23381428Fax : +91(11) 23387887Subscription : +91(11) 23005798e-mailkamalsandesh@yahoo.co.inPublisher and Printer : Printed byDr. Nandkishore Garg for Dr. MookerjeeSmruti Nyas, at Excelprints, C-36, F.F.Complex, Jhandewalan, New Delhi-55 andPublished by Dr. Mookerjee Smruti Nyas,PP-66, Subramanya Bharati Marg, NewDelhi-03. Editor : Prabhat Jha.Shri Guruji alongwith Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayeeperforming pooja at the foundation laying ceremonyof Deendayal Research Institute, DelhiJune 1-15, 2013 3

Four years ofdarkness and gloomEditorial...Four years of darkness. Four years of gloom. Four years of scams. Four years ofdeteriorating credibility. Four years of insecurity on boundary, border and in forces.Four years of hollow economy. Four years of bound less price rise. Four years ofunsuccessful foreign policy. Four years of ineffective law and order. Four years ofinsecurity of life and property. Four years of merry making of Dr. Manmohan Singh+SoniaGandhi+Rahul Gandhi+members of the ministry + leaders of coalition. Four years ofsinking boat of education and health. Four years of collapsing federal structure. Fouryears of suppression of the opposition leaders. Four years of demolition of constitutionalstructure. Four years of breaking of all the four pillars of democratic structure. Fouryears of looting the labourers in the name of MNREGA. Four years of cheating the farmersin the name of subsidy. Four years of worsening educational system. Four years ofinsecurity of helpless and hapless women. Four years of affecting judiciary in the nameof justice. Four years of government interference in the autonomous institutions. Fouryears of deprivation of poor and hungry people. Four years of monthly increasing pricesof petrol and kerosene and thereby ruining the crops and farmers’ fields. Four years ofassaulting the Swadeshi pride by FDI. Four years of increasing of railway fare. Four yearsof yielding destruction in the name of development. Four years of increasing pollutionin the name of environment. Four years of ruining Indian industry in the name ofinvestment. Four years of breaking of UPA coalition. Four years of opportunistic politicsof SP and BSP. Four years of puppet government of Dr. Manmohan Singh. Four years ofSoniaji’s bossism. Four years of corruption by the family. Four years of black deeds ofmother-in-law, son-in-law and son. Four years of misuse of Gandhi surname in the nameof Mahatma Gandhi. Four years of monopoly over Congress. Four years of wipe out fromUttar Pradesh and Bihar. Four lost years in making Rahul from General Secretary to VicePresident. May be the Congress feeling pride from these achievements but every Indian’shead is hanging with shame.The honour of tricolour has been undermined in the last four years of UPA rule.Question mark has been raised on the uniform of security forces. While the securityforces have been destabilised, the severing of head of the security forces is remains tobe avenged. Instead of acting on the CAG report, the CAG was sought to be placed in dock.Union minsters have fallen like dry leaves. UPA is the name of the government functioningin unconstitutional manner. In the parliament it has no numbers, no voice on the streetsand the PM is silent. What kind of irony is it? In parliament it runs away from debate,it doesn’t respond to the agitation on the street, has no faith in the federal structure,the days of UPA government which runs the country as its fiefdom are numbers. Thecountry which is standing on the threshold of change is mentally and economically fedup. They are waiting for the day when the dates of elections will be announced so thatthe people are able to take the country towards change. Only few months are left for themask of the UPA to be brought down, as its face tells the entire tale. Whatever theCongress led UPA may try to do but its removal from power is its destiny. People havemade up their minds. People will never like the attempt of the UPA to win the confidencewhile it has fallen in the eyes of the people. The coming Lok Sabha elections will be lessonto Soniaji and Rahulji. After the results of the elections, the ones writing history wouldwrite that one foreigner AO Hume had founded the Congress and another foreigner SoniaGandhi had taken initiative to speedily finish the Congress by converting it into dynasty.•June 1-15, 2013 5

Indian farmer continues to sufferfrom heavy indebtedness.Irrigation facilities are meagre.The agricultural growth rate inmost parts of the country isinadequate. Farmer suicidescontinue unabated. Theagricultural growth in thecountry is predominantly onaccount of the significant growthin States like Madhya Pradesh,Gujarat and Bihar.CorruptionThe single most factor whichhas destroyed image of the UPAgovernment is corruption. TheCommonwealth Games scamdestroyed the legitimacy of theprestigious international event.The 2G spectrum allocationscandal shook the conscience ofthe entire country. Ministers,bureaucrats and beneficiarieshad to be arrested. The PrimeMinister continues to defend thescandal till the very last. Eventhough the Supreme Court andthe CAG have made adverseobservations and charge-sheethas been filed by the CBI, the UPAhas attempted to subvert the JointParliamentary Committee byplaying down the corruption inthe 2G spectrum allocation scam.The Coal Block allocationscandal was a loot of thevaluable national resource. TheElectricity Act was enacted in2003 and was a major step inpower sector reforms. Today thishas resulted in scarcity of coalresources being available to mostpower plants. The UPA notdeterred by the magnitude of thescandal, the ministers of theCentral Government and thePrime Minister’s office havecontinued to interfere in the CBIinvestigation and doctored theCBI status report being presentedbefore the judicial institutions.June 1-15, 2013 7Instead of taking the correctiveaction, the UPA effort has beenthat the truth does not come out.The cash for job scandal of theRailways is the latest to hit theUPA. Senior posts in the RailwayBoard are being auctioned by theministerial proxies. Instead ofgoing to the root of the matterand taking action against theguilty, there is an air of go slowagainst the politicians who areprima facie liable.InstitutionsThe policy of the UPA hasbeen callous disregard of alldemocratic institutions. Thequality of appointments made toconstitutional and statutoryoffices establishes that the policyof the government is to subvertthese institutions. The UPA owesits survival to the CBI. The CBI’spolicy is to help the UPA as apliable investigating agency.Offences of the UPA and its’allies are covered up.Vindictiveness is showntowards the opponents of thegovernment. Parties like theSamajwadi Party and theBahujan Samaj are managedthrough a carrot and stick policyfollowed by the CBI. Be it theElection Commission, theNational Human RightsCommission or the CVC, some ofthe appointments that the UPAmade are highly questionable. Attimes the judiciary had tointervene for institutionalprotection.National SecurityA failure of the nationalsecurity is a hallmark of theUPA’s non performance. Therehave been periodic terroristattacks which keep reminding usthat India is still high up on theterror radar. The Maoist violencehas continued in several Statesunabated. The UPA has no clearcut policy on curtailing terrorand insurgency.Disturbed neighbourhoodNever has the relationshipwith our neighbours been soprecarious as it is today.Pakistan has been the bleedingground for a lot of terroristsactivities taking place in India.From cutting off the heads of theIndian soldiers, to killing Indianprisoners in Pakistani jails, thereare repeated provocations fromacross the border. The Chinesehave been increasinglyaggressive in dealing with India.Stapled visas, encroachment intoIndian territorial sovereignty,non-recognition of Line of ActualControl are a part of aggressiveChinese behaviour in the last fewyears. Construction of roads anddams around Indian Territoryadd to the provocation. Thegovernment is reluctant todisclose the behind the scenenegotiations and thecompromise which has takenplace recently in Ladakh. EvenMaldives continues to defy Indianotwithstanding its’ vitalposition in the Indian Ocean.Atrocities on WomenThe atrocities on womenhave peaked during the pastfew years. Rapes, Gang rapes,sexual assaults, acid attacksare a regular every daydevelopment. The popularprotests against atrocities havecompelled the government toamend the law but the groundsituation has not improved.The UPA’s journey in thepast four years is one ofdisappointment. TheBharatiya Janata Party shallcontinue to expose the populardisappointment with the UPAacross the country. •

Sushma Swaraj to boycottall meetings by Lok Sabha SpeakerLeader of Opposition Smt.Sushma Swaraj hasdecided to boycott allmeetings by Lok Sabha SpeakerSmt. Meira Kumar. The Speakerhad interrupted Swaraj as manyas 60 times during her short sixminute speech on 02 May 2013.Smt. Swaraj was allowed tomake a speech on the next daybefore walking out of the LokSabha to allow the Governmentto complete budgetary exercises,a constitutional necessity, as partof an agreement between allpolitical parties in a meetingcalled by the Speaker.Things were mostly peacefulfor the first three minutes of Smt.Swaraj’s speech but no soonerdid she start referring to severalscams during the UPA regime,Congress MPs were on their feet.When Smt. Susham Swaraj’sspeech entered into the fourthminute, the Speaker startedasking her to conclude.Incidentally it was agreed at theall-party meeting that half anhour time will be set aside forSmt. Swaraj and others whowould like to make a speech.Smt. Kumar’s repeated“Alright”, “Thank you”, “Okay”,“I have to proceed” and similarwords for at least 60 times duringthe next 120 seconds of Smt.Swaraj speech. She stopped onlyafter the Leader of Opposition inLok Sabha announced that shewas walking out.It is not for the first time thatthe Leader of Opposition in LokSabha and Speaker have comeface to face. It all started in 2011when the Speakerchose to overruleSmt. Swaraj’sobjection to herdecision ofallowing LokSabha secretarygeneral TKVishwanathan anextension of oneyear.In a letter toKumar then, theLeader ofOpposition in LokSabha had written that onlyofficers from the Lok Sabha cadreshould be considered for the postof the secretary general of theHouse. “There has beenconsiderable unease among LokSabha staff over the latest trendof brining in outsiders to headtheir department,” she hadwritten to the Speaker in August2011.Same month, Smt. Swarajand Shri LK Advani skipped atea party of the Speaker. The twoBJP leaders were agitated, asSmt. Kumar did not stopCongress MPs from disruptingShri Advani who was making aspeech on the cash-for-votescam.Two years back, Smt. Swarajhad also complained to theSpeaker for allowing Congressgeneral secretary Mr. RahulGandhi to make an a 10-minutelong “out of turn” speech onLokpal issue during Zero hourwhen other members who hadmoved notices were notallowed.•BJP National Executive meet to be heldon June 8-9 in GoaThe two-day BJP National Executivemeet will be held on June 8-9 in Goa and willbe preceded by a meeting of the party's officebearerson June 7. Mass mobilizationprogrammes against the Congress led UPAGovernment's multi-pronged failures, and ablueprint to keep the organization in a stateof high preparedness for the various electionsahead is said to be on the top of agenda forthe Goa National Executive.June 1-15, 2013 8

Did apex court belittle CBI or strengthen it?By Arun JaitleyDigvijay Singh is knownto speak out of turn. Hislatest comment on howJudges of the Supreme Courtshould conduct themselveswhile hearing a case was anunwarranted advice to thejudicial institution.It is permissible todiscuss on the correctness orotherwise of a SupremeCourt judgement.Judgements and orders canbe debated because courtscan go wrong. Criticism orcomment which is intendedto improve the functioningthe justice delivery systemis always welcome.However, the motivationbehind this criticism cannotbe the frustration of a loser.This regrettably appears tobe the impression thatDigvijay Singh hasconveyed.Should judges ever makeoral observations?The comment that judgesonly speak through writtenorders and not orally, can onlycome from a person unfamiliarwith the functioning of a court.Detailed oral arguments areaddressed in courts. Arguments,at times, convert themselves intoa debate. Questions andcomments emanating fromjudges indicate which way thejudicial mind is functioning.Lawyers have always preferredjudges who speak rather thanthose who never disclose theirmind. It is always possible tocorrect an erroneous impression,either on facts or law, emanatingJune 1-15, 2013 9from a Judge. The final view ofthe court is always morestructured.When a Government or aninvestigating agency is goingwrong, oral observations nudgethe agency into correction. Thefinal order expresses theconsidered opinion of the court.In a case like the coal blockallocation investigation acombination of oral observationscoupled with a detailed writtenorder blends judicial activismwith restraint andstatesmanship. The two togethercontribute to the administrationof justice.If judges ever heeded toDigvijay Singh’s ill-advisedsuggestion of not speaking incourt, hearings would becomedull and often lead to miscarriageof justice since an opportunity tocorrect erroneous impressionwould be lost.Did the Supreme Courtbelittle the CBI?Over the years the CBI hasbelittled itself. The Governmenthas actively contributed to thisprocess. The image of the CBI hastouched a rock bottom. CBIdirectors are appointed by theGovernment. The transfers andpostings of officers in the CBI arecontrolled by the Government.Sanctions for prosecution aregranted by the Government. Theagency has been misused againstpolitical rivals.The agency has been used topacify leaders of the SamajwadiParty and the BSP in order tocontribute to the longevity of theGovernment.The relationship betweenthe CBI, the Government and theruling party has become tooclose for comfort. Once a personbecomes a CBI director his abilityto negotiate post retirement jobshas been conclusivelyestablished.In the investigation relatingto the allocation of coal blocksthe judges got an impression thatthe agency was not being fair andhonest. Its status report to thecourt had been doctored. The‘heart’ of the report had beenaltered by the CBI. Sustainedgrilling and oral observationscompelled the CBI to admit thatthe Law Minister and theofficials of the PMO and CoalMinistry had made importantdeletions and changes in thereport. The changes weresignificant. Here was a pliableCBI quite content with theExecutive including the possiblesuspects altering the statusreport.The Vineet Narayancase was the first judicialattempt by the SupremeCourt to strengthen the CBI.Even though the SupremeCourt laid down certainguidelines the Governmentover the last 17 years foundout methods of bye-passingthose guidelines. The entiremovement for theenactment of a Lokpal and aliberated CBI has yet notsucceeded.At every stage theGovernment has been slow andreluctant. The CBI gets belittledwhen it bends before to political

pressure and conducts a pliableinvestigation. On the contrary,when the court discovered thispathetic plight of the CBI, itsinvestigation had to bemonitored.The delinquent minister hadto resign. The officials are stillstruggling for what reply to give.The Government is nervous. Theorder of the court has indicatedthat either the Governmentprepares a legislative plan toinsulate the CBI or the courtcould issue specific guidelines.An independent investigation isthe hallmark of our criminaljustice system. If the CBI is mademore independent, it does not getbelittled; on the contrary, it isstrengthened.It is the duty of the court toensure that investigations areindependent. In the 2002 riots inGujarat the investigation wasunder the State Police. The Courtfirst ordered an investigation byan SIT comprising of Policeofficers of the State. Not beingsatisfied with that investigationthe Supreme Court appointed itsown SIT comprising of officersfrom outside the State. It thenappointed an amicus curiae tooffer comments on thatinvestigation. The likes ofDigvijay Singh welcomed thatmonitoring.It is only when thecorruption of the UPAGovernment is beinginvestigated by the CBI andmonitored by the Supreme Courtthat monitoring of investigationis now being termed asconstitutionally unacceptable.Such arguments of conveniencehave very little place in ameaningful public discourse.(The writer is Leader ofOpposition in the Rajya Sabha)There should be no govt. prerogativein CVC, CAG appointments : Dr. JoshiFollowing the constitution of a Group of Ministers (GoM) tosuggest ways for enacting a law to make the Central BureauInvestigation (CBI) independent, former Bharatiya JanataParty National President Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi has said theappointments of the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC),Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the ElectionCommissioners should not be the government’s sole prerogative.Addressing a pressconference inHyderabad on May 15,2013 he recalled that asthe Public AccountsCommittee’s chairman,he had suggested earlierthat the CVC and theCAG should becompletely autonomous,especially in the matterof appointments. It wassuggested that aselection committee presided over by the Chief Justice of India withthe Prime Minister, Leaders of Opposition in both the Houses,Home Minister in case of CVC and Finance Minister in case of CAGshould be formed. But the government did not pay heed and nowthe Supreme Court gave a direction in connection with the CBI, headded.Dr. Joshi also wanted delinking of the CBI from the DelhiPolice Act and enactment of a separate law in dealing with the CBIin consultation with State governments.Welcoming the formation of a democratically-electedgovernment in Pakistan, he said the BJP believed in goodneighbourly relations with neighbouring countries. The formationof such a government would lead to stability in Pakistan andstressed that stability in the region was necessary for eliminatingpoverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease and unemployment. With thisview, former Prime Minister Shri A.B. Vajpayee took “bold andpractical steps” and the BJP wants to create the same atmospherewhich prevailed then.Referring to the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) withthe European Union, Dr. Joshi said the Congress led UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA) government had no moral right to signthe pact since it was in “total minority”. He said the pact wouldbe harmful to farmers, milk producers, small manufacturers andeven vendors. The Standing Committee of the Commerce Ministryhad already urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to proceedwith signing and finalising of the FTA. (FOC) •June 1-15, 2013 10

Coalition is not run with veto : Mangal PandeyBihar BJP President and Member of Bihar LegislativeCouncil Shri Mangal Pandey represents the face ofenergetic youth leadership of the state. In an interviewwith Editorial Team Member Shri Vikash Anand at Patnaon 17 May 2013, Shri Pandey discussed at lengthorganisational preparedness for coming Lok Sabhaelection and other political issues of the sate. Excerpts:You are the youngest president Bihar BJP everhad. What are the steps being taken by youto promote youth participation and womenparticipation?The history of our country has witnessed that youthhave always given direction to society.Be itSwami Vivekananda,SardarBhagat Singh,Chandra ShekharAzad or at present ourIndustry leader Cyrus Mistry, they haveshaped the minds of people.Youth has always played a commendablerole in achieving meaningful goal for thecountry in pre-independent and postIndependent era. Even today, role of youthis very important in the remaking of Bihar.Because, still Bihar has to go a long way inevery sector like education, industry, trade,politics etc. The 65% of Youth in the Statehas to play bigger role to make Bihar theleader in every sector. Bihar BJP has takenmany steps to accommodate more and moreyouth to make Bihar a developed and vibrantState. Women constitute 50% of totalpopulation. Bihar BJP is striving hard toincrease women participation in politics.What are the steps being taken by you to makethe organization stronger and more stable?Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party is working to formbooth committees for the State’s 56,000booths. The state BJP is ensuring that allmorcha and manch must work smoothly atblock and panchyat level. Wrong policies ofCentral Government , price rise, corruptionetc all these issues are being taken by theparty to village level to expose corruptCongress led UPA. In this way we aremobilizing people to dethrone UPA fromCenter. We are preparing to ensure that NDAcould win all 40 Lok sabha seats of Bihar.In the present scenario, how much BJP is strongand united?BJP in Bihar is fully organized and united. Withthe mantra of ‘Unity and Activity’ we arepreparing in the state for coming Lok Sabhaelection.The BJP Ministers are perceived to be doing anexcellent job which has helped in boostingthe image of the NDA government inBihar. But,there is a feeling that the entirecredit for this commendable job has beencornered by the JD (U). Do you think theBJP ministers have got due recognitioncommensurate to their work?Bihar has a coalition government. There is no doubtthat the BJP ministers in Bihar are performingwell.BJP has participated in the work ofgovernment. Root of every policy ofdevelopment is Deen Dayal Upadhyay’sAntyodya and Good Governance. Financialmanagement matters more in wholedevelopmental work. Bihar’s Deputy ChiefMinsiter Shri Sushil Kumar Modi hassignificant contribution as finance ministerin development .Former BJP President Shri Nitin Gadkari hadfixed the goal to increase 10 % in nationalvote share of BJP. How will Bihar BJP achivethis goal?June 1-15, 2013 11

BJP is continuously expanding its organizationsocially and geographically. I am Sure wewill achieve this goal.At present, are you satisified with BJP-JD(U)coalition?Coalition is running well. We want to makecoaltion stronger. But Coalition is not runwith veto or pressure. It is run with goodrelation,communication and coordination.Party which is part of coalition must takecare of these things.Is there any possibility of change in seat-sharingformula between JD(U)-BJP which wasadopted in the last Lok Sabha election?This issue will be considered during election.It is beng said that caste equation matters morein Bihar election. What do you want to sayon this?Now, people of Bihar have risen above the casteand creed and started mobilizing ondevelopmental issue. And we have takencare of all people across the religion, caste,and community. Therefore, BJP is enjoyingsupport of all sections of the society. Duringcoming elections class , creed will not be anissue but development of Bihar and centralleadership will take a centerstage.What is your say on special status demand by theBihar Government? Why should it be givenJune 1-15, 2013 12to Bihar?Bihar is a backward state. Per capita income isvery low. The state‘s infrastructure isundeveloped. Bihar remains always affectedby flood like natural calamity. The longestborder of the State is International borderwhich are undeveloped region. It isindustrially backward state. So Bihar needsspecial status. It will provide tax relaxationand more central aid.Two days (15 May, 2013) earlier, Lalu Yadavorganized Parivartan rally in Patna. Howdo you see this entire exercise?As far as parivartan rally is concerned, it isissueless rally. Price rise, scams of centralgovernment, step motherly treatment ofBihar by union government was notdiscussed in the rally. RJD did not told inthe rally what type of parivartan it wanted.The rally appeared like change of guard inRJD.Through this rally Laluji tried to imposehis sons on the party(RJD). RJD leadersshould have gone every corner of the state todiscuss issues of nation and state withpeople directly first through and tried togain their confidence and explain his misruleof fifteen years. Organizing a rally withoutany meaningfull purpose is nothing but awastage of money and resources. •BJP Bandh spontaneous in RajasthanRajasthan bandh called by the State BJP on 18 May against CBI’s chargesheeton the instructions of the ruling dispensation against Shri GulabChand Kataria, evoked a spontaneous response. Markets in all the major citiesremained close. The impact of the bandh was also seen in the smaller townsof the State. State BJP General Secretary Shri Satish Punia claimed that thebandh was complete as people wanted to show their resentment against the CBIand the Congress Government in the State. It also shows that people want tothrow out the Congress Government in the coming Assembly elections and tobring the BJP back to power, he said. The BJP only two days back had calledfor the Rajasthan bandh, but its leadership ensured that the bandh was successful. It had sent its senior partyleaders to the districts to work with local party unit for the bandh. In the State capital, Jaipur BJP teams ofworkers were seen moving in the walled city to persuade the shopkeepers to shut their business establishments.It was an interesting sight when the State BJP president and former Chief Minister Smt. Vasundhara Raje hada rickshaw ride from Chandpole to Bari Chopar in the walled city. She was accompanied by senior party leadersand a large group of party workers.Keeping in view the ongoing wedding season, the BJP had called the bandh till 4 pm so there should notbe any hardship for those who are having wedding celebrations in their families. At the same time, Ajmer waskept out of the bandh owing to annual Urs of Khawaja Moinduddin Chisti. The BJP also kept away essentialservices from the bandh. •

Open the cage and let the parrot freeBy Joginder SinghThe UPA Government hastaken an oath of loyalty tothe Constitution and isduty-bound to carry out thecourt’s orders. However, it hasbeen consistently dodgingdirectives on giving freedom toCBIAn affidavit filed on May 6by the Director of the CentralBureau of Investigation, MrRanjit Sinha, in response to adirective from the SupremeCourt, said that Mr AshwaniKumar, the then Union Ministerfor Law and Justice, along withofficials of the Prime Minister’sOffice and the Coal Ministry aswell as Attorney General GEVahanvati, had suggestedchanges in the status report filedon the coal scam.The CBI is currently probingalleged irregularities in theallocation of coal blocks whichreportedly cost the nationalexchequer a staggering Rs1.86lakh crore, according to theComptroller and Auditor-General. The very fact that thecountry’s apex investigatingagency had shared the reportwith the Law Minister and othertop Government functionarieshas provoked a furious responsefrom the Opposition.In his affidavit, Mr Sinhasays that on March 6, “LearnedAttorney General glancedthrough portions of two statusreports. He made certainobservations which wereexplained to him. He alsosuggested certain minor changesin one of the reports.”June 1-15, 2013 13In this, Mr Sinha contradictsMr Vahanvati’s statement beforethe Supreme Court on April 30in which the Attorney Generalsaid: “Since a lot of things havebeen said and a letter has beenleaked yesterday which refers tome, I am pained. I never had thecopy of the status report. I didnot have the copy even today andI have never asked for any statusreport.”The Attorney General’sstatement was in response to afour-page letter written to himby former Additional SolicitorGeneral Haren Rawal, whoaccused Mr Vahanvati of makinghim a scapegoat in the entirematter. But while the latter hasdenied having done anything ofthe sort, Mr Rawal’s allegationswere supported by Mr Sinha. In~~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~~The CBI is currently probingalleged irregularities in theallocation of coal blockswhich reportedly cost thenational exchequer astaggering Rs1.86 lakh crore,according to theComptroller and Auditor-General. The very fact thatthe country’s apexinvestigating agency hadshared the report with theLaw Minister and other topGovernment functionarieshas provoked a furiousresponse from theOpposition.~~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~~his affidavit, the CBI Directoralso admitted that certainchanges were made on thesuggestions of Mr Vahanvati, MrRawal and officials of the PrimeMinister’s Office and the CoalMinistry during the course ofthree meetings held on March 6— two days before the report wassubmitted to the apex court. Healso said that the changes made“neither altered the centraltheme of the report, nor shiftedthe focus of inquiries orinvestigations in any manner”and that “no names of suspectsor accused were removed... noaccused or suspects were let offin the process” and there was“no deletion of any evidence”against anyone.However, the SupremeCourt, with regard to the affidavitfiled by Mr Sinha, observed that‘significant’ changes were madein the ‘final’ status report on thecoal blocks allocation case, at thebehest of the then Union LawMinister. “The heart of the reportwas changed on suggestions ofGovernment officials”, theSupreme Court noted. It alsoexpressed strong displeasureover the Government’sinterference in the CBIinvestigation and said that theinvestigating agency was like a“caged parrot speaking in itsmaster’s voice”.Asking the Government tofree the CBI from its clutches, theapex court said that, if the agencyis not made independent, it willstep in. “The job of the CBI is notto interact with Government

officials but to interrogate to findthe truth”, the Supreme Courtsaid while adding that the agencymust also learn how to stand upto Government pressure.Now, let us examine thechanges that were reportedlymade in the draft report. The firstalteration was in relation to afailure by the screeningcommittee to prepare certaindocuments. “Tentative findingsabout non-preparation ofbroadsheet or chart by thescreening committee, to the best ofmy recollection, were deleted bythe Law Minister”, Mr Sinha saidin his affidavit. Further, he said,“deletion of a sentence about thescope of inquiry with respect toillegalities of allocation while theamendment to law was in processwas done by Law Minister.”Expressing concern that nosubstantial progress has beenmade in the probe into theallocation of coal blocks after~~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~~However, the Supreme Court,with regard to the affidavitfiled by Mr Sinha, observedthat ‘significant’ changes weremade in the ‘final’ statusreport on the coal blocksallocation case, at the behestof the then Union LawMinister. “The heart of thereport was changed onsuggestions of Governmentofficials”, the Supreme Courtnoted. It also expressedstrong displeasure over theGovernment’s interference inthe CBI investigation and saidthat the investigating agencywas like a “caged parrotspeaking in its master’svoice”.June 1-15, 2013 14registration of the case more thana year ago, the Supreme Courtbrought back an IPS officer whohad earlier headed the probe butwas transferred out. The courtalso made clear that the 33-member investigative teamshould not be disturbed. It askedthe Centre to ensure that the DIGlevelofficer, Mr Ravi Kant Mishra,is repatriated to the agency.The Supreme Court alsoasked the Centre why it hadn’tbeen informed about the change.“Such a move creates needlesssuspicion. We think we have torestore him back to the position.We want him to be part of theinvestigation”, the court said.A 1998-batch IPS officer ofthe Odisha cadre, Mr Mishra wasone of the four DIGs that wereheading the probe. Mr Mishrawas shifted to the IntelligenceBureau following his three-yeardeputation with the CBI. A CBIcounsel told the court that MrMishra had left the probe agencyof his own volition, as he wantedto join the IB for better careerprospects. He also added that MrMishra had earlier sought atransfer, which was stalled at theCBI Director’s behest for sixmonths. But after that he wassent to the IB according to hiswishes. But the Bench wasn’tconvinced, and indicated itwould much rather have himback at the helm of the crucialinvestigation.The Supreme Court’sobservations have given a newcharter of independence to theCBI which needs to be displayedin golden letters in every officefor future generations. The realproblem, however, will arise lateron, as no political party wouldlike to lose control of the CBI, oreven the police (which is part ofThe Supreme Court’sobservations have given anew charter of independenceto the CBI which needs to bedisplayed in golden letters inevery office for futuregenerations. The realproblem, however, will ariselater on, as no political partywould like to lose control ofthe CBI, or even the police(which is part of theGovernment) for that matter.~~~~~~~☯☯☯~~~~~~~the Government) for that matter.The Ministers have taken anoath of loyalty to the Constitutionand so they are duty-bound tocarry out the orders of the court.However, the Government hasconsistently been dodging theSupreme Court’s orders issuedwith regard to the CBI onSeptember 22, 2006.Not only should the CBI begiven constitutional status but itmust also have its own budget.The plethora of sanctions andpermissions needed to prosecutethe corrupt need to be removed.But the Government is onlymoving one step forward andtwo steps backward. Forinstance, the Union Cabinetpassed a resolution on May 1that shields retired bureaucrats.This in effect will only serve toprotect corrupt regime loyalists.India is one of the mostcorrupt countries in the world,and graft prevails at every level.To contain corruption, we needto strike hard at the root of it. TheGovernment must exhibitfirmness of purpose, as it is oneof the best instruments forsuccess. •(The writer is a former CBI Director)Courtesy : The Pioneer

BJP President appoints incharges ofStates and conveners of CellsBJP National President Shri Rajnath Singh has appointed In-charges, Co-incharges of States, Morchas andCells and Conveners & Co-conveners of different Cells on 19 May 2013. Following is the list :No. State In charge Co- In charge1 Uttar Pradesh Shri Amit ShahShri Trivendra Singh RawatShri Rameshwer ChaurasiyaShri Satyendra Kushwaha2 Madhya Pradesh Shri Ananth Kumar3 Gujarat Shri O P Mathur4 Rajasthan Shir Captan Singh ji5 Karnataka Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot6 Himachal Pradesh Shir Balbir Punj7 Punjab Shri Shanta Kumar Shri Shyam Jaju8 Chandigarh Smt. Aarti Mehra9 Haryana Shri Jagdish Mukhi Dr Anil Jain10 Uttarakhand Shri Radha Mohan Singh11 Chhattisgarh Shri J. P. Nadda12 Bihar Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Shri Vinod Pandey13 Jharkhand Dr. Ramapati Ram Tripathi14 Odisha Shri Chandan Mittra Shri Arun Singh15 Goa Smt. Smriti Irani16 Maharashtra Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy17 Andhra Pradesh Shri Prabhat Jha18 Tamilnadu Shri Murlidhar Rao19 Kerala Shri Bandaru Dattatray20 Pudducheri Shri Laxman21 Lakashy Dweep Shri P. Krishndas22 Andman & Nicobar Shir Ganeshan23 West Bangal Shri Varun Gandhi Shri Siddarath Nath Singh24 Assam Shri S S Ahluwaliya25 Meghalaya Shri Kiren Rijju ji26 Nagaland Shri Tapir Gao27 Arunachal Pradesh Smt. Bijyo Chakravarti28 Mizoram Shri Nalin Kohli29 Manipur Shri Tapir Gao30 Jammu & Kashmir Shri Avinash RaI Khanna Sardar R P SinghJune 1-15, 2013 15

Ex service manBrig BD MishraMedicalPrabhari- Shri C P Thakur Dr Mahesh SharmaSahyogSr. CitizenPrabhari - Shri Balram Das ji TandonAntyodaya Yojana (NGO)Prabhari- Lalita Kumar MangalamNorth-East India SamparakPrabhari– P.AachryaWater ManagementCow Develop mentPrabhari- Shri Radhey Shyam GuptaFishermen'sNon Conventional EnergyCAShri Suresh SrivastavaShri Arun JainShri Basant KumarShri Sunil DeodharShri Sriram VedireShri Mayankeshwar SinghDr. Prakash MalgaveShri M.K. Anna PatilShri Sunil VashishtCapt Karan Singh BhatiCapt ParamveerCapt vikas guptaDr N S TyagiShri Rahul MishraDr AdityaDr JeevannavarShri Mahesh ChaddaShri Navin SinhaDr. Ram Sagar SinghShri Jayanti Bhai BarotShri Jagdish MittalSmt. Medha SomayaShri Sanjay ChaturvediShri Jitendra MahajanShri Umesh ThakurShri Madhav BhandariShri GangappaShri Lalji MaidanShri Ram charitra NishadSri krishnan Kumar (Kumar Sahab)Shri Y.B. RamakrishanShri Alok BhargavaShri Sanjay KapoorShri Deen Dayal AggarwalShri Akhilesh JainShri G V KrishnaShri O P MishraExternal Affairs Shri Sheshadri Chari Prof. Shesh Giri RaoLegal and legislativePrabhari- Smt. Pinki AnandShri Raghvendra singhShri K Bala SubhramanyamShri Vivek GoyalShri Vivek ReddyShri Neeraj GuptaLiterature & publicationPrabhari- Shri Prabhat JhaWeaversShri Amba CharanShri vijay Kumar BharatiDr. Anupam AlokShri Mangal Singh KoriMohd Ali Azad AnsariJune 1-15, 2013 17

ArtisanShri VishwanathanShri Sunil JoshiShri Dharampal PrajapatiOverseas friends of BJP Shri Vijay JollyShri Amit ThakkarDr Rajni SareenRTI Shri Vivek Kr. Garg Shri Hariom AggarwalFriends of BJPShri Rajesh JainShri Manoj AroraShri Amit MalviyaShri Raghu RamJhuggi JhopriShri Arun dev jiShri Sunil Bharala,Madhya PradeshNaturopathy Shri Jaiprakash Aggarwal Surya Dr D N SharmaSamvad Shri Anupam Trivedi Shri Paritosh VyasMediaShri Shrikant SharmaShri K K SharmaShri Hans BhallaShri Shilp KumarEconomic Activity Shri C Rajshekhar Shri Amod AggarwalTeachers Narendra Singh Prof Raghuveer NandanGoo d governancePrabhari- Vinay SahastrabudheGanga SamgraPrahari - Sushri Uma BhartiSecurityPrabhari- Gen. N.S. MalikShri Ram NaikAnita SinghSh P Chandra ShekharSh Nitin PatelShri Joseph AlphonseSushri Shikha TyagiShri S K SinghAacharya HariomShri Subhash ChauhanIn charges & Co- In charges of MorchasMahila Morcha - Smt. Mridula SinhaYuva Morcha - Shri P Murlidhar RaoS. C. Morcha - Shri Satya Narayan JatiyaS.T. Morcha - Shri Joel OramKisan Morcha - Shri Purushotam RupalaMinority Morcha - Dr. J. K. JainCoordinator for All Morcha’s and Cells- Shri Mahendra PandeySangathak For Kisan Morcha,Panchayat Cell & Gau Vansh Vikash Prakoshtha –Shri Hriday Nath SinghSangathak For Sahyog, Sr. Citizen, Antyodaya Yojna, NGOCell – Shri Makhan SinghSangathak For SC Morcha, ST Morcha & Co-operative Cell – Shri Bhagwat Sharan MathurSangathak For Training & Sahyog Nidhi– Shri Ram Pyare PandeyJune 1-15, 2013 18

More thick-skinned than any pachydermBy A Surya PrakashThe Prime Minister pretendsas if he was neverinvolved. Most distressingof all, the Attorney General ofIndia and the officials whointerfered with the process ofjustice continue in office, as ifnothing has happenedThe brazenness with whichthe United Progressive Alliancehas interfered with the workingof the Central Bureau ofInvestigation’s probe intoCoalgate has left citizenswondering whether anyinstitution will remain intactwhen hopefully, someday, thisGovernment and its PrimeMinister bow out of office. Whilethe story of the interference ofthe Prime Minister’s Office, thethen Union Minister for Law andJustice, the Coal Ministry and theAttorney General in thepreparation of the CBI’s reportto the Supreme Court in thismatter is indeed shocking, thelies uttered by key players in thisepisode have shaken publicconfidence not just in theMinisters but for the first time inthe country’s law officers.How despicable the conductof these individuals has been canbe gauged from the followingfacts: The Government allocatedcoal blocks to its cronies in anirresponsible manner duringUPA1. The Comptroller andAuditor-General of Indiainvestigated these allocationsand said that by not adopting atransparent method of allocationto private parties throughmethods like competitivebidding, the Government’sactions had caused ahumongous loss of Rs 1,85,591crore up to March 31, 2011 to thepublic exchequer. This was farmore than the loss caused by theunscrupulous manner in whichthe Government sold 2GThe Prime Minister pretends as if he was never involved.Most distressing of all, the Attorney General of Indiaand the officials who interfered with the process ofjustice continue in office, as if nothing has happened.Spectrum to private telecomcompanies.When the CAG reportbecame public, Ministers in theGovernment hurled abuses at theCAG and sought to ridicule thefindings of the auditor.Thereafter, the matter camebefore the Supreme Court and thecourt directed the CBI toinvestigate the allocations andreport back to it. It was decidedthat the CBI would file its reportin a sealed cover. But, such wasthe respect that the UPA and itsformer Law Minister AshwaniKumar had for the court that theyinsisted on seeing the CBI’sreport before its submission.The CBI had said exactlywhat the CAG had said. Its reportspoke of the absence of clear cutnorms for allocation of coalblocks. Mr Kumar, who hadridiculed the CAG’s findingsearlier, had this inferenceremoved from the CBI report.Among those who were involvedin this exercise, which smacks ofcontempt for the highest court inthe country, were the then LawMinister, the Attorney General,the PMO and the Coal Ministry.The Minister summoned theDirector of the CBI and the lawofficer to his office to see thereport. Alongwith AttorneyGeneral GE Vahanvati,Additional Solicitor GeneralHarin Raval attended thismeeting. The Attorney Generallater summoned CBI officials tohis home office. Meanwhile,officials from the PMO and theCoal Ministry landed at the CBIheadquarters and asked thatthey be shown the report. All thecharacters in this dramasuggested changes of some kindor the other or approved the linetaken by the Minister.The CBI was expected tokeep its report confidentialbecause the status of theGovernment in this case is thatof a suspect or an accused in acriminal case. Have you evercome across an investigatingofficer being asked to show hisinvestigation report to anaccused before submission in acourt? Secondly, have you evercome across an investigatingofficer changing the contents ofthe charge-sheet on thesuggestions of the accused? Thisis common sense and very easilyunderstood by India’s 1.2 billionJune 1-15, 2013 19

people, but persons in the UnionGovernment are so drunk withpower that this simple logic wentover their head.But, the story does not endhere. When news of theGovernment’s interference in theCBI’s report came into the open,the persons involved resorted tooutright dishonesty. Shockingly,Attorney General Vahanvati, thecountry’s topmost law officer,claimed in the Supreme Courtthat he had not seen the CBIreport before it was presented tothe court. The then Law Ministerand his friends in Governmentresorted to a string of untruths toexplain what he had done. It wassaid that he did not call ameeting of the CBI Director andothers. Next, he said he hadmade only grammatical changesin the report, as if that is the jobof the Law Minister. Thereafter,it was said that he had not madeany “substantial changes” in thereport. Finally, in an attempt tobrazen it out, Mr Kumar and hisfriends argued that as LawMinister he had the right tooversee the legal side of the CBI’swork. As the scandalousconduct of the then LawMinister, the PMO and the lawofficers came to light, theSupreme Court directed CBIDirector Ranjit Sinha to file anaffidavit stating exactly who hadinterfered with the report andwhat changes were made at theirbehest and why the court wasmisled on this issue.Mr Sinha’s affidavitJune 1-15, 2013 20contradicted the claims made bythe then Law Minister and theAttorney General. He said theMinister made two significantdeletions in the report, called twomeetings in this connection inFebruary and March, and MrVahanvati was present at bothThe court has indicted the Government for its conduct andasked the CBI whether it is a “collaborator or investigator”.No Government has ever got such a tongue-lashing from theSupreme Court. This moment is one of the most shameful inthe history of the Union Government after independence.these meetings. Further, onMarch 6, Mr Vahanvati calledCBI officers to his home office,saw the report, made someobservations and suggestedsome changes. The PMO and theCoal Ministry had also interferedwith the status report — whichtells us a lot about the respectthat Prime Minister ManmohanSingh has for the Supreme Court.In addition, Mr Raval, in a letterto Mr Vahanvati, has alsoconfirmed that both the thenLaw Minister and the AttorneyGeneral directly interfered withthe contents of the CBI report. MrRaval, in addition, has exposedMr Vahanvati’s dishonestybefore the court. Mr Sinha’saffidavit and Mr Raval’s lettergives us an idea of the audacitywith which the key players liedto the court and the people abouttheir involvement in this case.In the light of these facts, thecourt has indicted theGovernment for its conduct andasked the CBI whether it is a“collaborator or investigator”.No Government has ever gotsuch a tongue-lashing from theSupreme Court. This moment isone of the most shameful in thehistory of the Union Governmentafter independence. Yet, the LawMinister was screaming andkicking when he demitted officeand he remains defiant to thisday. The Prime Minister pretendsas if he was never involved and,most distressing of all, theAttorney General and theofficials who interfered with theprocess of justice continue inoffice as if nothing hashappened. Never before have weseen so many thick-skinnedpersons in one Government.Where do we go from here? •(Courtesy: The Pioneer)Democratic transition in Pakistan awelcome development : Rajnath SinghOn the victory of Mr. Nawaz Sharif in the recently completed Pakistanpolls BJP National President Shri Rajnath Singh on 14 May 2013 saidthe democratic transition of government in Pakistan is a welcomedevelopment. The BJP congratulates Mr. Nawaz Sharif on his historicelectoral victory. He said Mr. Sharif’s statements on rebuilding relationswith India are a positive sign.He further said since Mr. Sharif has publicly stated to pick up thepieces of 1999 peace process we hope that the agenda for peace andstability in the region is not hijacked by vested interests operating fromPakistan. Keeping in view our past experiences with Pakistan, the BJPviews Mr. Sharif’s statements with cautious optimism. We hope Mr.Nawaz Sharif is able to walk the talk he said.

India-China relations should gobeyond diplomatic nicetiesBy Ram Prasad TripathyThe new Chinese Premier LiKeqiang arrived on athree-day visit to India on19 May for the first leg of hismaiden foreign trip since he tookoffice in March this year. Duringthe meeting with his Indiancounterpart, Premier LiKeqiang’s statements regardingIndia-China ties have been quitewarm and exude hope andconfidence. He said,“Cooperation between Chinaand India means that the twogreat civilizations can learn fromeach other, the two major marketscomplement each other, the twomajor emerging economies fulfillcommon development, and thetwo neighboring countriesachieve mutual benefit and winwinresults”.Li added China regardedIndia as an important partnerand friend and also expressedconfidence that his visit wouldstrengthen mutual trust, deepencooperation, expand commoninterests and consolidatebilateral friendship, whichwould inject new vigor into theChina-India strategiccooperative partnership forpeace and prosperity.Li also clearly stated that,“The purpose of his current visitto India is three fold — to increasemutual trust, to intensifycooperation and to face thefuture”. The two countries alsosigned a series of agreements oncooperation in trade, agriculture,environmental protection andculture.Prime Minister Dr. Singhwelcomed the statement of hiscounterpart and said it was thefirst meeting between them andthey would continue the highlevelexchanges to strengthen thebilateral ties. He said that, “Thenew Chinese leadership isserious to promote goodneighbourly relations and to findpractical and pragmaticsolutions to outstanding issuesbetween our two countries”.Notwithstanding thecamaraderie and diplomaticniceties from both sides, manyfundamental questions at theheart of the bilateral relationsbetween India and Chinaremained unanswered. Therewere no answers to the recentCourtesy : Asian Ageatmosphere of confusion on theborder and incursion in Ladakh.There earlier incidents of refusalof visa to our army commanderfrom Northern sector, stapledvisa to Indians from Arunachaland the Depsang wound too didnot evoke any convincinganswers from China. Canbilateral relations between thesetwo nations improve in anatmosphere of confusion? Aftera tense border standoff betweenChina and India just days beforethe Chinese premier’s visit toIndia and in the absence ofmutual trust between the twoneighbours, can peace andstability in the region become areality?Before going into the detailsto seek answers for the recentstandoff between the two AsianJune 1-15, 2013 21

giants it is important to knowthat there are many outstandingbilateral issues though Indiaand China are neighbors linkedby mountains and rivers.Dealing with an aggressiveChina has been a majorchallenge for improving bilateralrelations which has resulted inan atmosphere of mistrust andconflict between these twoancient nations. Border disputehas been a perennial problembetween India and China. 15rounds of border talks havetaken place till now but haven’tbore any fruit. India has alwaysraised the issue of illegaloccupation of 38,000 squarekilometers of its territory by Chinain the Aksai Chin region, whileChina continues to claim 90,000square kilometers in ArunachalPradesh of India. Recently,Chinese platoons erected tentedposts in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO)sector in eastern Ladakh causingtensions between the twocountries.Secondly, the other majorissue which has strainedbilateral relations with China isTibet. China has raised itsobjection to the presence ofTibetan spiritual leader DalaiLama and other 150,000 Tibetansin India. The Dalai Lamamaintains that he is seeking moreautonomy for Tibetans, whileChina accuses India and DalaiLama of conspiring and wantingto split Tibet off from the rest ofChina.Third point of conflict isPakistan. China’s unflinchingsupport to Pakistan also raisesthe temper between the twocountries. China is the largestarms supplier to Pakistan.Recently, Pakistan had handedover Gwadar Port operations toJune 1-15, 2013 22China. Earlier in 2012, Pakistanhad allowed China to build theKarakoram highway providingstrategic land link betweenXingjian and Pakistan.The growing tradeimbalance has also been anirritant between the twocountries. India maintains thattrade remains heavily skewed inChina’s favour. Indian PrimeMinister has pressed hiscounterpart Chinese Premier LiKeqiang to do more to redress atrade imbalance that has left a$29 billion deficit with China.Another major point ofconflict is the overpoweringnature of China in South-EastAsia region. China is trying tooverpower India by growing itsstrategic presence inneighbouring countries. Chinahas developed its naval facilitiesin Burma, Bangladesh, theSeychelles and Sri Lanka. Chinais also developing ports in EastAfrica, including Lamu in Kenyaand Bagamoyo in Tanzania.According to reports, China hasalso made inroads into Nepalrecently and has completed a 22-kilometre road connectingcentral Nepal with Kyirongdistrict in China. These are mainpoints of conflicts between Indiaand China in recent years.Instead of answering thesecritical questions China hadraised the issue of infrastructuredevelopment by the Indian sidealong the LAC. In fact theChinese troops intruded 19 kminto Ladakh during the recentstand-off in Depsang Valley andengaged in a face-off to make apoint about India’sinfrastructure developmentthere. Reality is India hasupgraded some airfieldsAnother major point of conflict is the overpowering nature ofChina in South-East Asia region. China is trying to overpowerIndia by growing its strategic presence in neighbouringcountries. China has developed its naval facilities in Burma,Bangladesh, the Seychelles and Sri Lanka. China is alsodeveloping ports in East Africa, including Lamu in Kenya andBagamoyo in Tanzania. According to reports, China has alsomade inroads into Nepal recently and has completed a 22-kilometre road connecting central Nepal with Kyirong district inChina. These are main points of conflicts between India andChina in recent years.including Daulat Beg Oldie(DBO), Nyoma and Phuckche inLadakh region in the last fewyears to maintain logistics for itstroops guarding the inaccessibleLAC. Most of the forward postsare air-maintained and theseairfields are the lifeline astransport planes land therecarrying supplies.Incidentally, DBO airfield isabout 30 km from the face-offpoint and about 150 km from theKarakoram Highway and theChinese had objected to it.Instead of stopping their activityon the Chinese side of theboarder Beijing asked India tostop its capability and capacitybuilding to counter Beijing’svastly superior infrastructureacross the LAC.On one hand China haspointed out that the choice of

India as the first stop of ChinesePM’s maiden foreign tourindicates the great importanceBeijing attaches to its relationswith India but on the other handChina has continued to indulgein activities targeting India withgreat impunity in recent times.Notwithstanding thediplomatic mistrust, the bilateraltrade between the two countrieshas grown manifold in recentyears to touch 66.5 billion U.S.dollars in 2012 making ChinaIndia’s second largest tradepartner. Even the goal set by thetwo countries’ to expandbilateral trade to 100 billiondollars by 2015 looks achievableif China realizes its pivotal rolein ensuring improved bilateralrelations with India. This cancreate a win-win situation forboth the emerging economies andbring prosperity to both the largeAsian neighbors.The principal oppositionParty of India, the BJP,welcoming the visit of Li hassaid that, “Premier Li’s visit mustbe a path-breaking initiativeaddressing issues of enhancingbilateral cooperation andfriendly ties, including moreyouth exchanges between Indiaand China, resolving the borderissue, resolving issues like theconstruction of dam on the riverBrahmaputra along with theborder, China’s military help toPakistan and correcting the tradeimbalance between India andChina”. It has also added thatthe trust levels between the twocountries must be improved fora sincere and long lastinghandshake. For a healthy SinoIndian relation, China mustunderstand the sensitivity ofthese issues and has to take theconcerns more seriously.June 1-15, 2013 23Even Chinese media like theGlobal Times, came out witheditorial, saying that “There aremany weaknesses in the Sino-India bilateral relationshipwhich can be exploited byoutsiders. Without mutualrespect, small frictions can beexaggerated,” it said, apparentlyreferring to the recent militarystandoff at the Daulat Beig Oldin Ladakh area after Chinesetroops intruded 19 km insideIndian territory.The paper further said,“However, China’s surroundingenvironment will suffer if India,a country which has theprospect of running neck-andneckwith China, becomesanother Japan or Philippines interms of its policies towardChina”. If China wants a goodbilateral relation with its biggestneighbour then the ChinesePremier has to listen to the voicesraised by its own mediacarefully, behave responsiblyand must show his commitmentto improve mechanisms to settlea long-running border disputewith India.No doubt, this is thesupreme need of this hour andin line with the fundamentalinterests of the two countries andthe two peoples that China andIndia maintain peaceful andfriendly relations and can be ablessing to Asia and the worldat large. Only after that the trustdeficit will change intocooperation, the two greatcivilizations can learn from eachother, the two major marketscomplement each other, the twomajor emerging economies fulfillcommon development, and thetwo neighboring countries canachieve mutual benefit and winwinresults.~~~~☯☯☯~~~~Protests againstChinese Premier’svisit to IndiaProtesters in Jammu andKashmir and New Delhitook to the streets anddemonstrated against thevisit of the Chinese premierLi Keqiang in India byshouting slogans and burningeffigy. The President ofJammu West AssemblyMovement, Sunil Dimplesaid that they did not wantany negotiations or redcarpet treatment for theChinese Premier butwanted the Prime Ministerof India to act strongly overthe recent Chinese incursioninto the country’s territory.Similarly, in Delhi, inspite ofthe heavy security deployedaround the Taj Palace hotelwhere Li Keqiang wasstaying, a group of Tibetanprotestors gathered outsidethe hotel premises andshouted slogans whileholding banners reading‘Free Tibet’. •~~~~☯☯☯~~~~

Yoga not only a way towards Rog Muktibut also towards Bhog Mukti : ModiOn 23rd May 2013 ShriNarendra Modiinaugurated theLakulish Yoga University inAhmedabad. He said, “The lawmay see this as a YogaUniversity. But, it is much more.It is a Yuga University. From herea new Yuga will be born thatwill work towards the benefit ofmankind.” Shri Modi recalledthat when he talked aboutGujarat having a YogaUniversity, there were skepticswho asked where the universityis but today this dream has beenrealized. Shri Modi expressedconfidence that this YogaUniversity will benefit not onlyGujarat and India but also theworld.Shri Modi talked at lengthabout the importance of Yoga inour lives. He described it as thesimplest way to work towardsthe good of the world. He said,“Many feel Yoga is a waytowards Rog Mukti (eradicationof diseases) but Yoga is not onlyabout Rog Mukti, it is also aboutBhog Mukti (desisting fromworldly greed).” Shri Modichallenged the conventionalbelief of some people that onlyperforming Asanas is Yoga. Heaffirmed, “Some think Asana isYoga. Some say we cannot bendproperly so we find Yoga tough.But ask yourselves- those whowork in circuses are very flexible.But, is every one of them a Yogi?If only doing Asanas was Yogathen everyone working in a circuscould be Yogi! But Yoga is muchmore. It is a blend of Gyan(knowledge), Karm (work) andBhakti (devotion) together.”Shri Modi opined thatanother definition of Yoga iswhat integrates. He said thatYoga is far beyond and moreimportant than convertingdollars and pounds into rupees.Quoting a poem by former PrimeMinister Shri Atal BihariVajpayee, Shri Modi affirmedthat it is possible to experienceYoga even in political life.The Chief Minister pointedout that Yoga gives theindividual the strength todetermine what the personwants to do in his or her life. Healso added that in the history ofour nation, there have beenvarious types of Yoga thathave been written about bygreat individuals and texts.He stated that time andagain, our land has beenhome to saints and seerswho have taken Yoga to theworld in an extremelyscientific manner. He alsoshared that someindividuals have made theeffort to make Yoga acollective exercise.In his speech, he alsolinked Yoga with stressmanagement. He said, “Stressmanagement is a big thing. A dayis not far when stressmanagement professionalexperts will assume immenseimportance. Earlier we had jointfamilies, which were naturalways of mitigating stress. Nowwe are in micro families arecommon, both parents areworking and stress amongchildren is increasing. That iswhy they are taking to guns.”Shri Modi went on to say, “Takechildren to a toy shop. Eight outof ten children will chose guns.If this goes on, how can we builda social fabric?” He also stressedon the need to create good Yogateachers and said that thisUniversity is a wonderful stepin this direction.(FOC) •June 1-15, 2013 24

Phase-II of Vikas Yatra in Chhattisgarh concludesPhase-II of BJP Vikas Yatra in Chhattisgarhculminates in RajnandgaonFrom Our CorrespondentAfter the commencement ofPhase-II of Vikas Yatraon 14 May 2013 inChhattisgarh, Chief Minister Dr.Raman Singh addressed severalmassive rallies in various placeson the rout. Speaking on thoserallies during the yatra ShriRaman Singh said the BJP ledState Government is successfullyimplementing the developmentschemes in Chhattisgarh. Thiswave of development hastouched every part of the State,right from the remote villages tothe big cities. Hardworkinglabourers, farmers and everyother section of society havedeveloped tremendousconfidence in themselves and inthe Government as well. Andthis confidence of public is thebiggest strength of StateGovernment, said the ChiefTwo things essential to take India ahead aredevelopment and trust : Narendra ModiOn the culmination ofsecond phase ofChhattisgarh ChiefMinister Dr. Raman Singh’sphase-ii Vikas Yatra Gujarat ChiefMinister Shri Narendra Modiaddressed a large public meetingin Rajnandgaon on 18, May 2013.Speaking on the occasion ShriModi side that the only wayahead is development and twothings are essential to take Indiaahead are development and trust.Shri Modi stated that thenation has seen years of votebankpolitics propagated by theCongress Party and they haveseen successive BJP Governments,be it of Dr. Raman Singh, ShriShivraj Singh Chouhan, Smt.Vasundhara Raje and in HimachalPradesh comprehensively rejectvotebank politics and embracepolitics of development. The ChiefMinister added that developmentpolitics is not easy, saying, “Thepath of development politics is noteasy. There is lot of hard work.Sometimes, a lot remains to bedone, people may have complaintstoo but when one embracesdevelopment politics, there is atrust in the minds of the people.”Contrasting the work andoutlook of the BJP Governmentswith that of the Congress, ShriModi pointed that a lack of trust isthe biggest thing affecting thiscountry. “Biggest crisis in India isa lack of trust. Whom totrust…does anyone have faith inthe Government in Delhi? Will youfeel safe when your daughter hasgone to Delhi alone?” he asked.The Chief Minister recalledformer Prime Minister Shri AtalBihari Vajpayee and affirmed,“The amount of times we praiseAtal ji, it is less. We have seenwhat all happened while creatingnew states. But, due to Vajpayeeji Chhattisgarh was born withoutany bloodshed. And now, whenChhattisgarh is scaling newheights of development that iswhen we remember Atal BihariVajpayee ji.”During his speech, Shri Modishowered immense praise on theleadership of Dr. Raman Singh. June 1-15, 2013 25

Minister.While addressing themassive gathering at Pandariaof Kabeerdham district on thesecond day of Vikas Yatra phase-II the Chief Minister said thatevery schemerelated to the basicnecessities ofpublic like roads,irrigation,drinking-watersupply, healthservices, ruraldevelopment,education andpower supply, arebeing implementedon expedited pace.On the occasion,Dr Raman Singhpresented 118construction works worth `87.39crores for development ofPandaria.This includes ‘bhumi-pujan’of 38 new works andinauguration of 80 completedworks. During the programme,the Chief Minister alsoinaugurated the distribution ofHe said that Dr. Raman Singhhas effectively carried forwardthe development of the state. Hedescribed Dr. Raman Singh asPranvaan, Tejasvi, Lokpriya andperson who is totally committedto the welfare of Chhattisgarh.Shri Modi praised Dr. RamanSingh for his unrelenting andcourageous fight againstNaxalism. He said that duringmeetings of the NationalDevelopment Council, everyonetakes Dr. Raman Singh’s viewsvery seriously but when he talksabout Naxalism, Congressmenbecome silent and they urge Dr.Raman Singh to talk on everythingbonus for paddy and sugarcaneto 10,851 farmers.Dr. Singh expressed hisgratitude to public for theoverwhelming response to VikasYatra despite the odd weatherconditions. He said that he wantsto personally interact with thefarmers and people of Stateduring the 45 days of VikasYatra, which will conclude onJune 20. He added that thisrelation with public will onlygrow stronger with time.Addressing a huge gatheringelse part from Naxalism. Shri Modiexpressed confidence that if Dr.Raman Singh gets five more yearsthen Chhattisgarh will go ahead ofeven Gujarat and that he would bevery proud if that happens.He declared that Chhattisgarhneeds development, security andtrust and that the BJP has tirelesslyworked towards that. Shri Modiwent on to say, “I am sure you willgive the BJP Government anotherchance. And if you are confused,think of the faces that ruinedChhattisgarh from 2000 to 2003and you will automatically getdrawn to Dr. Raman Singh.”Speaking on the occasion,in Kabeerdham, Dr. RamanSingh said the wave ofdevelopment also touchedKabeerdham district, bringingabout a positive change in thelives of people over here. Overthe years,sugarcanecultivation andother advancedmethods ofagriculture havedrawn interestof farmers.While, theSutiyapat andKarranalaIrrigationProjects inKabeerdhamdistrict areproviding betterirrigation facilities to the farmers.State Government is alsoimplementing Pradhan MantriGram Sadak Yojana andMukhyamantri Gram SadakYojana, with the goal ofconnecting each and everyvillage with all-weather roads hesaid. •Chhattisgarh CM Dr. Raman Singhtalked about the developmentinitiatives of his Government inthe last decade. He stated thatShri Modi is a person who hasdefeated the Congress by aninnings and said that this is thefirst time Shri Modi is visitingChhattisgarh after defeating theCongress.He praised Shri Modi for itsdevelopment initiatives andshared that Shri Modi has beenattached to Chhattisgarh evenbefore becoming the ChiefMinister, as the Prabhari of thestate. Several top BJP leaders werepresent on the occasion. •June 1-15, 2013 26

Himachal PradeshCongress Govt. failed to increase Special PlanAssistance in 2013-14 Annual Plan : DhumalThe former Chief Ministerof Himachal Pradesh ShriPrem Kumar Dhumal hascriticized the Congress ledHimachal Pradesh State Govt.for its failure to get increase inthe Special Plan Assistance inthe Annual Plan of 2013-14. Hesaid that the special Planassistance in the annual Plan2012-13 was Rs 1400 croreswhich has been reduced to Rs.1350 Cr in the next year’s AnnualPlan of 2013-14 by the PlanningCommission. In a PressStatement Shri Prem KumarDhumal said the HimachalPradesh Chief Minister hasfailed to present the case of theState before the PlanningCommission in the CM- DeputyChairman level meeting on 10 thApril, 2013. He said that theduring the BJP government theState got the Special Planassistance of Rs. 1400 Cr in theAnnual Plan of 2012-13 whichwas an increase of Rs. 400 Crover the Annual Plan of 2011-12.Shri Dhumal said that theSpecial Plan assistance hasalways been decreased duringthe Congress rule in the state.The Special Plan assistance wasRs. 524.75 Cr when BJP left theGovt. in 2002-03. The Planassistance was reduced to Rs.342 Cr in 2007-08 during theCongress rule. The CongressGovt. has always failed toprotect the financial interests ofthe people of Himachal Pradeshwhenever they came to power inthe state, he said.He said that during the BJPJune 1-15, 2013 27Shri Dhumal said that theSpecial Plan assistance hasalways been decreased duringthe Congress rule in the state.The Special Plan assistancewas Rs. 524.75 Cr when BJP leftthe Govt. in 2002-03. The Planassistance was reduced to Rs.342 Cr in 2007-08 during theCongress rule. The CongressGovt. has always failed toprotect the financial interests ofthe people of Himachal Pradeshwhenever they came to powerin the state, he said.Govt. the Special Plan Assistancewas increased to Rs. 450 Cr in2008-09 from Rs. 342 Cr whichwas an increase of Rs. 108 Cr.During the financial year 2009-10 the Special Plan Assistancewas increased to Rs. 500 Crwhich was an increase of Rs. 50Cr over the last Financial Year.The Special Plan Assistance wasincreased to Rs. 782 Cr in 2010-11 which was an increase of Rs.282 Cr over the last financialyear. The Special PlanAssistance was also increasedto Rs. 1000 Cr in 2011-12 by himafter strongly presenting the casebefore the Planning Commission.In the Last Financial year i.e.2012-13 the State got the SpecialPlan Assistance of Rs. 1400 Crfrom the Planning Commissionwhich was a record increase ofRs. 400 Cr in one year.He said it is very unfortunatethat Shri Virbhadra Singh haseven failed to maintain thepresent level of the Special PlanAssistance and agreed for a cutof Rs. 50 Cr in the Special PlanAssistance in the annual Plan of2013-14.He said, “During my speechon the budget 2013-14 I hadcategorically cautioned ChiefMinister to be very particular forthe increase in the Special PlanAssistance in the annual Plan of2013-14.” He said that theCongress Govt is raising loan ofRs. 2448 Cr during 2013-14 tofund the annual Plan of 2013-14. The Loan liability of the Statehas increased during theCongress Govts as they have noresource mobilization plan. TheCongress government raised theloan of Rs. 8032 Cr from 2002-03to 2007-08 and total loan liabilitywas Rs. 21241 Cr at the end2007-08.The BJP Govt has paid allthe arrears of the pay revision,pension and DA liabilities of theemployees and the total loan rosefrom 2008-09 to 2012-13 was Rs.7272 Cr. He said that the cut inthe Plan assistance will increasethe loan liability of the govt. •

State ReportsFrom Our CorrespondentsJHARKHAND‘BJP is sole solution to instabilityin Jharkhand’ : RajnathBJP National President Shri Rajnath Singh said allof its leaders were united and would put in theirmaximum efforts in the upcomingelections. He also stressed thatonly the BJP could possibly givea stable Government to the State.Shri Singh was speaking atthe BJP office in Ranchi during apersonal visit. “BothParliamentary as well asAssembly elections in the Stateare likely to take place soon, andboth the elections are challenge for the party.According to a recent survey conducted by someagencies, there will be a BJP-led Government at theCentre as well as in Jharkhand soon,” Shri Singhasserted. He said, “Jharkhand never had a stableGovernment due to the wrong policies of theCongress”. Accusing the Congress led UPA Governmentat the Centre for doing nothing to rein in price riseacross the country and to curb corruption; Shri Singhsaid it was high time the Government should dosomething, adding that the Prime Minister needed tointrospect. “There should be some moral benchmarkfor at least some posts in the country,” he added. •MADHYA PRADESHState Govt. fulfilled the dream of 24X7power supply : Shivraj Singh ChouhanMadhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shri ShivrajSingh Chouhan has said thatthe BJP led State Governmenthas fulfilled the dream of24X7 power supply as per itsresolve. He said that powergeneration is increasingconstantly in the State.Continuous power supply willchange the state’s image. It will no longer be amongsick states. He was launching Atal Jyoti Abhiyan in20th district Khandwa. On the occasion, the ChiefMinister also announced a medical college atKhandwa.Shri Chouhan said that earlier no one hadimagined that power will be supplied 24X7 hours inthe State. He said that the State Government fulfilledthis dream as per its resolve. He said that the StateGovernment has provisioned Rs. 25,000 crore forensuring 24-hour power supply in the State.The Chief Minister said that fixation of Rs. 1,500per quintal support price for wheat procurement hasresulted into competition among traders. It is due tothe Government policy that farmers are getting betterprice for their produce. For the first time, farmers areselling wheat at the rate of Rs. 1,700 and Rs. 1800 perquintal in the State. He said that poor persons will beprovided wheat and iodised salt at the rate of Re. 1per kg from next month.Shri Chouhan said that the poor have also equalright to live. For this, the State Government has decidedto provide them constructed houses in urban areas.The Chief Minister said that now only bungalows willnot be planned in cities, but houses for labourerswill also be planned. Now, houses costing upto Rs. 3lakh will be provided to them. For this, the StateGovernment will give subsidy worth Rs. 70,000 andbank loans will be provided to the beneficiaries. TheChief Minister said that families with upto Rs2 lakhper annum income in rural areas will also be coveredunder Mukhyamantri Grameen Aawas Yojana. •CHHATTISGARHState to be role model in healthsecurity also : Raman SinghLike food security,public health securityscheme of Chhattisgarh itwould also be a role modelfor the country, said ChiefMinister Dr. Raman Singh.The State Government hasbeen continuously makingefforts in a planned mannerin this direction, he added.The CM while expressingthis view at a programmeorganised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA)in Raipur said the State Government would not takerest till every citizen of Chhattisgarh are providedwith health security. School Education Minister ShriJune 1-15, 2013 28

Brijmohan Agrawal presided over the function. Dr.Raman Singh, who was the chief guest of theprogramme, congratulated the Indian MedicalAssociation for reaching to a solution to the obstaclewhile came under the Mukhyamantri Health InsuranceScheme (MSBY) in a cordial atmosphere.He said that it would be really a challenging taskbefore the State Government to make health facilitiesavailable to each and every citizen. IMA has comeforward to cooperate with the State Government inthis great work, he added. The Chief Minister saidthat there could be problems at the beginning of anynew scheme, but IMA, by taking decision in the interestof patients, had accepted the aspirations of the StateGovernment. This decision of the Association hasshowed the sensitivity of doctors toward patients, headded. He said that under the Sanjeevani Yojana, theState Government has decided to give financialassistance for the treatment of seventeen morediseases. For the treatment of these diseases, theywould get the benefits of Sanjeevani Yojana, alongwith the Chief Minister health insurance scheme.The review of the CM health insurance schemewould be done after a year and if the work was foundsatisfactory, the insurance amount would beincreased, he added. The Chief Minister further saidthat after the creation of the state, because of thewell-planned efforts of the State Government rapidimprovement has been taken place in the health indexof the State. The infant mortality rate (IMR) has comedown from 95 per 1000 to 51, whereas, the maternalmortality rate (MMR) has come down from 407 to269 he added. •PUNJABSAD-BJP alliance baggedcomfortable majority in all ZilaParishad and Panchayat SamitisThe people of Punjab have once again reposedfaith in the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and theBhartiya Janata Party (BJP) combine. On a victoryspree,the alliance has bagged a comfortable majorityin all the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samitis thatwent to the polls on 19 May 2013.In what could be termed a one-sided battle, thealliance swept six of the total 22 zila parishads and43 out of 146 block samitis, while maintaining arespectable lead in all most all the seats as per theresults and trends available.June 1-15, 2013 29Heading for a clean sweep, SAD-BJP combine hassecured clear majority in the zila parishads ofAmritsar, Bathinda, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Mohali andPatiala districts. While interacting with mediapersons SAD spokesman Dr. Daljeet Singh Cheemasaid eight hundred and fifty-one candidates of theSAD-BJP combine have already won their seats out ofa total of 2,732 seats in the state. Similarly, inFerozepur district, Kapurthala district, Mohalidistrict, Mukatsar district, Nawanshahr district andin Patiala, the alliance has swept the maximum seats.Dr. Cheema further added that as per the results andtrends, the alliance would have complete sweep ofthe polls. •GUJARATAhmedabad BRTS wins silver ratingfrom globally renowned committeeAhmedabad BRTS, known as Janmarg has addedyet another feather in its cap. It has received theSilver Rating from a BRT Standard technical committeecomprising of world renowned experts in the field ofBRT. This Technical Committee certifies corridors andrecommends revisions to the BRT Standard annually.The benefit of certifying a BRT corridor as gold, silver,bronze, or basic is that it sets an internationallyrecognized standard for the current best practice forBRT. The Committee in 2013 gave Silver rating forAhmedabad Janmarg.Ahmedabad started its BRT system in 2009. Sinceits inauguration in October 2009, Janmarg has beenaccepted as the first ‘complete’ BRTS in India and hasinfluenced planning and design choices in other cities– in India and abroad. The trans-vision of Ahmedabadis captioned as ‘Accessible Ahmedabad’. As part ofthis vision, the Ahmedabad BRTS is officially called‘Janmarg’ – the people’s way.The Ahmedabad BRTS has won numerous nationaland international awards in the past too. The PrimeMinister adjudged the BRTS as the best Mass RapidTransport System in the country. It also won the ‘BestNew Innovation Project’ award under JawaharlalNehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)for excellence in Urban Transport. It won theSustainable Urban Transport Award (2010) inWashington. The Central Government again lauded itwhen it won the National Award for ‘Best IntelligentTransport System – 2011’ at the 4th Annual UrbanMobility Conference, New Delhi. •

Golden Words from AadhyatmaThe future is full of potentialBy M M GangadebDid seers and savants ofthe past in the Indicregion foresee thepotential for evolutionarygrowth in the region? SwamiShivananda, who was then thepresident of the RamakrishnaMission and Math (1922) wasanswering queries posed by adevotee concerned about India’sfuture. Swami Shivananda saidthat the regeneration of the regionwas a certainty. He pointed outthat “India’s advance in art,science, philosophy andeducation – in every field,secular and spiritual – will be sogreat that it will astonish thewhole world. Compared with herfuture achievement, her gloriouspast will pale intoinsignificance”.However, in the race foreconomic growth we must notforget our cultural and spiritualheritage. The soul of India is itseternal values acquired by 5,000years of civilisation. Add to thisinputs from Islamic culture andEuropean knowledge in mattersof science, communication andliberal values. This then is ourcomposite culture.Where did we go wrong?According to Sri Aurobindo, aformer Bengal revolutionary, “Itwas because our public lifebecame most irreligious, egoistic,self-seeking and materialisticthat we fell.” By ‘religion’ SriAurobindo meant SanatanaDharma and not its bigoted form.Material wealth is essential. Noone should go hungry. The basicrequirements of people must beJune 1-15, 2013 30met. Poverty must be alleviated.But the essence of Indian thoughthas always maintained thatmaterial wealth should never bethe only aim. We must notneglect the moral and spiritualvalues that are the cornerstoneof our civilisation. In 1897,Swami Vivekananda hadpredicted the fate of Europe afterhaving travelled there and seenthe material advancements of theEuropean people. “Europe, thecentre of the manifestation ofmaterial energy, will crumblewithin 50 years, if she is notmindful to change her position,to shift her ground and makespirituality the basis of her life,”he said.German Indologist MaxMueller said, “If I were to lookover the whole world to find outthe country most richlyendowed with all wealth, powerand beauty that nature canbestow – in some parts a veryparadise on earth – I shouldpoint to India. If I were askedunder what sky the human mindhas most fully developed someof its choicest gifts, has mostdeeply pondered on the greatestproblems of life, and has foundsolutions to some of them whichwell deserved the attention evenof those who have studied Platoand Kant – I should point toIndia. And if I were to ask myselffrom what literature we, here inEurope, we who have beennurtured almost exclusively onthe thoughts of Greek, Romanand the Semitic may draw thatcorrective which is most wantedin order to make our inner lifemore perfect, morecomprehensive, more universal,in fact more truly human, a lifenot for this life only but atransfigured and eternal life –again I should point to India.”Emperor Ashoka’s andGandhiji’s principle of nonviolenceand Sri Ramakrishna’stestimony to the harmony ofreligions cannot be disputed,said Arnold Toynbee who stated,“Here we have an attitude andspirit that can make it possiblefor the human race to growtogether into a single family –and, in the Atomic Age, this isthe only alternative to destroyingourselves.”The world is looking to us toshow the way towards worldpeace. Didn’t SwamiVivekananda say, “This timeIndia is the centre”? Let ustherefore aim to be not merelythe richest country of the worldbut strive to be the greatest. •(Courtesy : Times of India)