02Cong will keep watch on functioning of BJP govt: Baghel We 03 Rahul bypassed regional leaders to discourage factionalism 05 AAP MP unit intensifies activities in state BHOPAL Published simultaneously from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Online edition available at wethestate.com and wethestate.blogspot.in POSTAL REGD. MP/BHOPAL/4-323/2013-15 Vol-02. Issue-18. Bhopal. Monday Page-12. Price-5/- he State JANUARY 27 TO FEBRUARY 2, 2014 Mayawati trying to broaden social base in UP, SP worried 06 Modi making inroads 12 into Samajwadi party’s land Sania Mirza-Horia Tecau in 08 Australian Open mixed doubles final NEWS MAX Pug marks of tiger seen in Mhow jungles INDORE: The forest officials have expressed the possibility that a tiger is prowling the jungles of Mhow in Indore district. Forest department officials said the department employees came across the pug mark of a tiger in the jungles of ChoralKalakund area which falls under compartment No 79 in Mhow. Officials are still trying to confirm if the pug mark is really of a tiger. They will subsequently try to find its location and take steps to ensure its safety. DFO, Mhow, Gaurav Choudhary said the department staff who have seen the pug mark have informed the pug mark is around six inches and usually the pug mark of a leopard is no more than four inches. So it is most likely the pug mark of a tiger. The cast of the pug mark has been made but it has not dried because of the rains. Once it has dried, the forest department officials would also be able to say whether the tiger is a male or a female. The forest department is undertaking a survey of animals in the forest areas.The exercise, which is held once in four years, started recently. Forest department officials said looking at the kills that have been discovered so far, there was the strong possibility that the kills could have been made by a tiger. Officials said there is a difference between the kill of a tiger and leopard. Also, after killing an animal, the leopard will eat the insides of the animal while the tiger will rarely eat the insides and start with eating the back legs. AAP leaders are better activists than administrators such political mobilisation on the streets. It is the first time when India has witnessed a CM on street protesting for demands. He was protesting to back Aam Aadmi Party’s law minister Somnath Bharti on his night raid against alleged drug and prostitution. The twoday sit-in was organised to demand the suspension of the police officers who refused to obey Law Minister Somnath Bharti’s orders to raid a house in Khirki Extension, following which Bharti and a group of activists nabbed some Ugandan women on charges of drugs and prostitution and forced them to undergo medical tests, which then came out to be clean. Many people compared it as a moral policing act. Even though the party released some videos online to prove the fairness of their actions, opposition parties are still mounting pressure on AAP to sack law minister Somnath Bharti. The sense of immunity and sense of impunity with which the Aam Aadmi Party has been functioning - from loose-talking to vigilantism to street protests despite being the ruling dispensation in the Capital - received a rude knock by the Supreme Court. Now, doubt persistswhether Kejriwal is going to plan a protest against Supreme Court for sending him notice? Now, winds of change on the social networking sites are growing anti-AAP sentiment. A new facebook page created by IIT students is decrying the policies of AAP .The page proclaims that it is "an honest effort by a group of IITians to stop misuse of the prestigious institution's name by a particular political party". We all agree that the system is rotten and needs to be cleansed. But under the garb of popular opinion we can’t allow it to be replaced with mob rule. T How WE look it ! ...Cartoon by K G OJHA kgojha@ rediffmail.com he man who has managed to bring politics out on the streets from the cushy rooms is now compared to item girl Rakhi Sawant. RSS chief Uddhav Thackeray has claimed that Rakhi Sawant can govern better than Kejriwal. Even a supporter like Chetan Bhagat felt ashamed of Kejriwal’s Rail Bhavan protest and termed AAP as an item girl, Shinde called him “mad” and NCP's DP Tripathi called them “saap”. Rakhi Sawant is believed to be a fame-hungry woman. She thanked Thackeray for saying that she can govern better than the Delhi CM. She believes if the Gujarat Chief Minister can run the country by selling tea, why can't she do being an item girl. It’s not about the political class who changed the opinion against Kejriwal. V Balakrishnan, Ex-CFO, Infosys, Meera Sanyal, Ex-Banker, KV Sridhar, Creative Head, Leo Burnett, and other members of the pro- BIPIN SASI fessional/new entrepreneurial class who are in the AAP have to rethink about their choice. All these entrepreneurs joined AAP for “intelligent reform” but the party seems to do a “Robinhood” and street justice act which may not augur well for India to develop. There is a clear difference between being an activist and governing a state with all the legislative powers. If memory serves me right, it was Arvind Kejriwal who said that as they could not achieve everything through activism, they were planning to enter politics. So where did that common sense that prevailed then go away now? Was it pure populist and has he also fallen trap to the political class and is now completely behaving as one? It's not a good sign and the corporates who have joined the party now need to really re-assess & rethink their plans and the party to which they want to get affiliated. Why Kejriwal never thought that he was leading a street side protest that could have snowballed into something ugly - as it often happens in India. These are genuine questions that every common man has within for Kejriwal. I am saying common man because intellectuals have a different set of questions and doubts. It is a fact that in Arvind Kejriwal's entire service of 20 years in Indian Revenue Service, he never served outside Delhi, even though the norms of the service are that all IRS officers serve a posting only for 3 years in a place. Kejriwal in the reply says that there were 276 such officers who were not transferred owing to shortage of the IRS officers in Delhi. It can be a mere fact. Coming back to his Rail Bhavan protest, he disrupted the life of people in Delhi for hours and he threatened to disrupt Republic day parade. ISI and the maoists have been trying to disrupt Republic day for years, then where is the difference between these groups and Aam Aadmi Party. Soldiers receive medals for bravery; children get awards for saving lives of people and Kejriwal calls Republic day a “drama”. Think of a situation if the Indian military start protesting against AAP. Is Kejriwal cleaning the system or damaging it further? India has never witnessed 02 Chhattisgarh Explore January 27 to February 2, 2014 (MP&CG) BJP govt neck deep in corruption, says Singhdeo RAIPUR: The Congress has accused the BJP government of Cong will keep watch on functioning of BJP govt: Baghel RAIPUR C hhattisgarh State Congress Committee president Bhupesh Baghel and leader of the opposition in the assembly TS Singhdeo have said the party leaders will not allow the BJP government to get away with corruption and the party will take up issues, particularly of corruption, to their logical conclusion. The party is trying to ward off the perception that the opposition is soft on government. Baghel said the party will constitute a shadow ministry to keep a close watch on the func- tioning of the Raman Singh government which has retained power for the third consecutive time. He said that the party was in the process of finalising a plan to constitute a shadow ministry and it would be implemented soon. The Congress plans to set up a committee, headed by a legislator, to keep a close watch on the activities on each and every department of the state government so that the opposition can effectively raise corruption and other issues pertaining before the general public, Baghel added. The Congress has been rais- ing issues of alleged corruption in centrally sponsored and other schemes, but the party could not corner the ruling party or any of the ministers during the 10-year BJP rule from December 2003 to December 2013. A section of Congress leaders smelt a rat in this opposition behaviour and the then leader of the opposition Ravindra Choubey often faced criticism that he was always soft on attacking chief minister Raman Singh. During the last ten years, state Congress remained dormant, except during a brief stint with Nandkumar Patel as PCC chief. Child marriages come down in Chhattisgarh RAIPUR being neck deep in corruption. Congress Legislative Party leader TS Singhdeo has said the party stands by the chargesheet that it had released before the election and would continue to highlight the scams to expose the government. Saying that the Congress had lost the polls by just 1 per cent less votes, Singhdeo said the government should release a white paper on the scams mentioned by the Congress in its charge-sheet. Singhdeo said the Raman Singh government should pass laws on the lines of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 in the ensuing budget session of the state assembly. Pointing out that allocation of coal blocks and other mines has been a potential source of corruption during the BJP regime, Singhdeo said there have been instances when companies, floated by people close to senior BJP leaders, were allotted mines without adopting a transparent procedure. Besides, a company with a paid up capital of just Rs one lakh was allotted iron ore mines though it was not entitled. Despite Chhattisgarh producing power at a cheaper cost, electricity is being sold to people of the state at a higher price, ultimately benefiting the independent power producers and industrialists, he added. Singhdeo said since the existing provisions in the state's Lokayukta had failed to curb the rampant corruption, it is imperative to have laws on the lines of the Act passed by the centre. He said if the chief minister really believed in "zero tolerance against corruption", as claimed by him, he should ensure that the changes in Lokayukta are brought about in the forthcoming budget session. The child marriages have come down marginally in Chhattisgarh. The latest annual Health Survey Report (201112) said 10.4% of males tie the knot before attaining 21 years, the legal age for marriage, as compared to 4.7% from opposite sex in the state. In last report, 11% male and 6% females married under the legal age. Though the decline is only marginal, Chhattisgarh can, however, draw solace from the fact that it has fared much better than its parent state of Madhya Pradesh where 18.3% male and 10.4% females are subjected to child marriage. Incidentally, Chhattisgarh fares much better in child marriages than most of the eight socio-economically backward states in the country -dubbed as Empowered Action Group (EAG) states. The re- port states Odisha and Uttrakhand fare better than Chhattisgarh, while the other EAG states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have a higher number of child marriages. A total of 16 districts were surveyed in Chhattisgarh including tribal dominated areas recorded a higher number of male child marriages vis-avis females. Kawardha reported 27.1% male child as against 8.7% females, Sarguja (21% to 9.3%), Koriya (18.1% and 9%) , Dantewada (15.1%; 5.1%), Jashpur (14.2%; 9.4%) of male and females respectively . Kawardha district in Chhattisgarh has the worst record with 27.1% males and 8.7% females getting married before the legal age of 21 and 18 years. Majority of child marriages still happen in tribal areas where traditions and rudimentary customs still prevail. Many still consider that marrying their son at the age of 20 makes no difference even if illegal. Attributing the decline in child marriages in the state to the increased levels of awareness among people due to extensive campaigns undertaken by the government, a senior official said more needs to be done as states of Odisha and Uttarakhand have a better track record. The figure of underage male and female weddings in Odisha is 5.4% and 4.6 % only . In Uttarakhand, only 5.5% males and 2.3% females got married under their legal age. Rodents damaging costly equipments at C’garh’s premier hospital ing havoc. While officials are not ready to comment insiders say that several expensive equipment including the probes of endoscopes have been damaged. A senior official admitted that the problem was grave and even the mortuary wasn't safe from the rodents' attacks. "Though luckily we haven't had any Jaipur like incident of rats nibbling on parts of dead bodies, the same cannot be ruled out here too", he said adding that things were never so bad. Medical Superintendent Dr Vivek Choudhary admitted that the problem was acute. He confirmed that this was the first time since the inception of the hospital in 1995 that such a pest control was being undertaken. He said the last day for receiving tenders in January 27 and so far they had received seven bids. Meanwhile, a proposal of Rs 30 crore has been sent to the State Government to convert the eye department in Dr BR Ambedkar Hospital to Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO). The move comes in order to attend to the growing number of patients in a better manner. An average of 150 patients walk-in to the eye department every day out of which several are operated upon. To provide better service, infrastructure, staff, machinery and other facilities will be introduced as soon as the proposal gets a nod from the Government. RAIPUR Rodents are causing extensive damage to costly medical equipments at the premier Dr BR Ambedkar Hospital here. According to information, rodents have bitten off wires of CCTV cameras, x-ray units and other lighting equipment. A hospital employee said even the laundry has holes in it. He said even the pantry, which feeds patients, could not be termed as rodent and cockroach free. Cockroaches have been seen in the ICU and operation theatres. The hospital has recently invited tenders for pest control, as rats and cockroaches are play- (MP&CG) January 27 to February 2, 2014 Bhopal 03 PM to be urged to change Food Security Act BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has said that he will urge the Prime Minister to change Food Security Act of the Union Government. Some provisions of the Act causing difficulties to businessmen should be removed. Chief Minister Chauhan was addressing a convention during “Aao Banayen Madhya Pradesh Yatra” at Dhar recently. On the occasion, he inaugurated and laid foundation stones for construction works costing Rs. 53 crore 23 lakh and distributed cheques and material worth Rs. 35 crore 31 lakh to 5,260 beneficiaries of various schemes. The Chief Minister said that districts’ development schemes will not be chalked out at Bhopal. They will be formulated after convening Panchayats at district-level. Apart from food, clothes and houses, people will also be provided free treatment and education. Necessary steps will also be initiated for media persons’ welfare. The Chief Minister said that a network of cottage and small industries is being laid throughout the state to give fillip to economic development and provide more employment to people. Trade Promotion Board has been constituted to promote business in the state. The Chief Minister said that Rs. 600 crore has been provisioned to give compensation to farmers against loss to their soybean crops due to hailstorm and other natural calamities. Chauhan directed to provide relief to farmers affected by recent hailstorm at Sardarpur in Dhar district. The Chief Minister said that all sections need to work in tandem to ensure all-round development of the state and give new dimension to Madhya Pradesh. He said that no new liquor factory or shop will be opened in the state. Illicit liquor sale will be effectively curbed. Employees with good performance will be rewarded and negligent ones punished. He urged people to plant saplings, use water and power judiciously, de-addict villages, send children to schools and respect women. He also administered pledge of “Aao Banayen Madhya Pradesh” to people. Rahul bypassed regional leaders to discourage factionalism BHOPAL Regional leaders were not given prominence during AICC vicepresident Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Bhopal. Even senior leaders like Digvijay Singh, Ajay Singh and Kantilal Bhuria, among others, received rather cold treatment from Rahul. Perhaps the party high command is cautious after the December assembly elections defeat. The national leaders know the extent of feudalism and groupism in the party that was responsible to a large extent for the party’s poor show. There are definite signs that the party high-command is in no mood to entertain factional feuds of regional leaders, which has been a major cause of the party's defeat in the state for three consecutive assembly polls. When Rahul visited Bhopal recently, there were only two Congress party leaders allowed into the terminal to receive himnewly inducted PCC president Arun Yadav and leader of opposition Satyadev Katare. No one else was permitted to go anywhere near the SPG security, leave alone Rahul Gandhi. Congress leaders, workers and their vehicles were not allowed to join the cavalcade which silently rushed out from a rear exit of the Raja Bhoj International Airport. It was perhaps for the first time when Rahul Gandhi reached Bhopal minus the Congress' show of strength- crowds, slogan shouting, flowers, garlands and the presence of the state Congress' stalwarts. The media was kept as far away as the Congress supporters. News channels were categorically told that an agency had been given the charge of covering the All India Mahila Congress function at the old assembly premises where nine cameras were put-up at the venue. Channels were told that the programme could be telecast live and given the bandwidth for video signal. All channels, therefore, had the same shots. Rahul Gandhi was the only male present on the venue at the Congress women's wing function. All other leaders including AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, former Union minister Suresh Pachauri, former PCC chief Kantilal Bhuria and senior leader Ajay Singh were asked to wait at the PCC office where three meetings were held with party office-bearers at different levels. It was not until after 4pm when Rahul Gandhi reached the PCC office that Congress leaders and office-bearers could be in proximity to raise the usual slogans. RTE meaningless without quality education, say academicians BHOPAL Academicians and activists have demanded concrete action by the government to improve state of school education in Madhya Pradesh. They said more funds are needed to improve the quality of education. Schools should have proper infrastructure and other facilities. Students have been given right to education under RTE Act, but it is meaningless without quality education, academicians feel. They said basic provisions of RTE Act are not being adhered to. They alleged they have been demanding for many years that proper school monitoring committee should be constituted as per provisions of RTE. Teachers are employed on contractual basis. But in a labour surplus economy , it is hard to improve quality unless the service is attractive. Students should receive quality education. Mere ensuring enrolment of students in schools is not enough, academicians opined. Meanwhile, the state government has said it will soon appoint area education officers across the state to ensure quality education. Area education officer will monitor at least 50 schools and keep vigil and work dedicatedly to ensure quality education in schools. The government is also going to introduce an online platform for knowledge sharing of teachers. For example, a teacher feels that his notes are better, he could share it with others of his fraternity . The government will also work to improve co-ordination between officials of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and School Education Department. Minister of state for school education Deepak Joshi said, "It is true that schools lack infrastructure. But we are committed to ensuring quality education for the children. For the purpose, we have devised several strategies.” Besides these we are also going to bring about more transparency, especially related to promotions of teachers so that they do not have to worry about their job prospects all the time and could concentrate more on teaching, the minister said. 04 Madhya Pradesh January 27 to February 2, 2014 (MP&CG) Over 11,000 health staff appointed this yr BHOPAL The state government is making constant efforts to provide quality health services to people. In pursuance of this, large-scale recruitment of technical and non-technical health staff is being made at every level through campaigns. So far, 11 thousand 398 posts have been filled against total 16,172 posts of various health cadre sanctioned for year 2013-14. Health Minister Dr. Narottam Mishra informed that in compliance with Chief Minister’s directive, the Health Department has chalked out 100-day action plan like other departments. Priority in the department’s action plan has been attached to fill vacan- cies in health institutions of various levels. Appointments on posts at various levels under National Health Mission are being made through MP Online for the last one year. Through this process, specialist doctors like gynaecologists, paediatricians & anaesthesiasts, staff nurses, ANM, lab technicians, AYUSH Medical Offi- cers, consultants, Assistant Programme Managers, assistant engineers, District Programme Managers, Divisional Programme Managers, data entry operators, Block Programme Officers, Block Community Mobilisers, Block Accounts Managers etc. have been appointed at state, division, district and development block levels. depict state’s development CM announces incentive money Tableaux and women’s empowerment for Panchayats elected unopposed house at a cost of Rs. 14 crore. He announced to open a college at Budhni from the current session. He said that ITI will also be upgraded. The Chief Minister said that development of villages is possible only through people’s cooperation. Moral campaigns should be launched in villages. It is necessary to rid villages from curses of open-air defecation and addiction. He said that efforts will be made to reach out irrigation water to tail-end farmers. Smart phones will be given to students taking admission in colleges. A number of institutions and individuals accorded grand receptions to Chauhan after arriving at Shahganj for the first time after becoming Chief Minister third time. The Chief Minister reached from helipad to Dussehra Maidan in an open jeep. Flower petals were showered on him all through the way . The city was bedecked like a bride. The Chief Minister was weighed against coconuts, fruits, laddoos and satrangi sweets at a number of places. Bhopal : Governor Shri Ram Naresh Yadav unfurled National Flag and took salute of parade at Republic Day state-level function at Lal Parade Ground here today. A number of departments took out tableaux depicting development and women’s empowerment on the occasion. Tableau of Tribal Welfare Department depicted multi-dimensional initiatives taken for tribal women’s empowerment. It showed Madhya Pradesh’s tribal women as economically, politically and socially capable and empowered. Tableau of Horticulture and Food Processing Department depicted unprecedented success achieved by women in self-employment and economic self-reliant through chilli production. Farmers’ Welfare and Agriculture Development Department’s tableau “Annapurna” depicted progressive women as a sign of rural women’s empowerment. Sports and Youth Welfare Department’s tableau focused on Maa Tujhe Pranaam and Veerangana Yojana. International medalist women players were also depicted on this tableau. Home Department’s tableau depicted efforts to check crimes against women through 1090 Helpline. Jail Department focused its tableau on the theme of women’s empowerment in jail, Bio-diversity and Bio-technology Department on “Dadi Ka Batua”, Narmada Valley Development Department on irrigation projects giving direction to women’s lives and Tourism Department focused its tableau on women’s empowerment through expansion and development of tourist facilities. The Animal Husbandry Department displayed increasing women’s participation in departmental schemes in its tableau. Tableau of Panchayats and Rural Development Department highlighted women’s participation in Samagra Swachhata Abhiyan. Women & Child Development Department’s tableau depicted women’s empowerment through Tejaswini Project and Shaurya Dal. Office of the Chief Electoral Officer depicted women’s participation in electoral process and their empowerment in its tableau. BHOPAL Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has said that efforts will be made to ensure that Panchayats are elected unopposed in next elections. Such Panchayats will be given incentive money of Rs. 5 lakh each. The Chief Minister announced this while responding to public reception accorded to him at Shahganj in Sehore district recently . Chauhan was accorded warm welcome at several places. The Chief Minister also laid foundation stone for Aurobindo Public School being constructed by Vardhman industrial (MP&CG) January 27 to February 2, 2014 Politics 05 AAP MP unit intensifies activities in state BHOPAL The AAP MP unit has intensified its activity in the state after it announced that it will contest Lok Sabha elections in the state, for which they are organising various events, awareness drives, door-to-door meetings, membership drives and rallies. The AAP's primary membership has reached around 4 lakh in the state. Till December 8, the membership was around only 80,000. Initially , the AAP had decided to organise Swaraj yatras simultaneously from five major cities of MP including Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa and Gwalior, but following Abhay Verma's illness, who was supposed to lead the yatra from Rewa, the yatra from Rewa was cancelled. According to AAP leaders, during the Swaraj yatras, they interacted with people in nearly 100 places and tried to cover as much ground as possible to reach out to people and understand the basic problems being faced by the people. AAP has so far received more than 100 online nominations from Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal itself has received nominations from around 18 candidates whereas Indore has received nominations from 15 candidates. This is in addition to around 300 applications sent to Delhi from various parts of MP. "The mood captured from the recently concluded Swaraj Yatra is indicating a tough fight for the traditional political parties from AAP. Strong and prominent personalities are joining hands with our party every day which is building a strong base for AAP in the state," said Akshay Hunka, state secretary of AAP. Numerous well-known personalities working for various social causes have not only joined hands with AAP but have also filed their names for the upcoming polls. When asked about the expected number of constituencies from which AAP will contest the election, Hunka said, "Right now, I cannot make a formal announcement on the number of seats AAP will be contesting but after receiving good response from all over the state, we are certain that we will be able to fight from all 29 constituencies of Madhya Pradesh." Cong leaves decision on field sitting MPs to high command BHOPAL he state screening committee of the Congress for Lok Sabha poll has decided to leave it to the high command whether or not to field sitting MPs again in Madhya Pradesh. In Indore and Hoshangabad parliamentary constituency, the party had decided to hold referendum of party workers to pick candidate for Lok Sabha polls. The committee in its first meeting recently only approved the guideline framed by AICC for the election tickets. The committee presided over by minister for railways Mallikarjun Khadge, met in Delhi. The party has decided not to field any sitting MLA in the LS polls and has suggested to give more tickets to youths. The Congress has recast its State Election Committee. The Congress changed the chairman of the committee. Arun Yadav was appointed the chairman of the committee while replacing Kantilal Bhuria. Deputy speaker Rajendra Singh and leader of opposition Satyadev Katare were appointed as committee’s members. Other members like former leader of opposition Ajay Singh, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, union ministers Kamalnath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and 18 others members who were appointed before Assembly election will continue on the post. Meanwhile, the party insiders said the party will be able to win only half of the seats it got in last Lok Sabha time. In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress bagged 12 out of 29 parliamentary seats in Madhya Pradesh. However, this time Congress may not get more than six or seven seats as party workers have lost hope and spirit to take on their rivals. T 06 Editorial January 27 to February 2, 2014 (MP&CG) ASTROLOGY 29-01-2014- Wednesday - Magh Mah Krishnapaksh-Trayodashi (Chaturdashi Tithi Kshay) Positive directions - South and East Bad time - 12:33 pm to 1:54 pm Good time - 7:09 am to 9:51 am and 3:15 pm to 5:57 pm 30-01-2014-Thursday - Magh Mah Krishnapaksh- Amavasya Positive directions - South and East Bad time - 1:54 pm to 3:15 pm Good time - 7:09 am to 8:38 am and 11:01 am to 1:53 pm and 4:36 pm to 5:57 pm 31-01-2014- Friday - Magh Mah Shuklapaksh- Ekam Positive direction - South Bad time - 11:12 am to 12:33 pm Good time - 7:09 am to 11:11 am and 1:54 pm to 3:15 pm and 4:36 pm to 5:57 pm 01-02-2014- Saturday -Magh Mah Shuklapaksh- Dwitiya Positive directions - West and South Bad time - 9:51 am to 11:15 am Good time - 8:30 am to 9:50 am and 12:33 pm to 4:36 pm 02-02-2014- Sunday - Magh Mah Krishnapaksh-Tritiya Positive directions - West and South Bad time - 4:36pm to 5:57 pm Good time - 8:30 am to 12:33 pm and 1:54 pm to 3:15 pm 03-02-2014- Monday -Magh Mah Shuklapaksh-Chaturthi Positive directions-West and North Bad time - 8:30 am to 9:51 am Good time - 7:09 am to 8:29 am and 9:52 am to 11:15 am and 1:54 pm to 5:57 pm 04-02-2014- Tuesday -Magh Mah Shuklapaksh - Basant Panchami Positive direction -North Bad time - 3:15 pm to 4:36 pm Good time - 9:51 am to 1:54 pm By AACHARYA SARVESH E-Mail:
[email protected] Mobile: 9826609192 VASTU TIPS FOR VEHICLE PARKING • Best place for vehicle parking area is in the NorthWest direction and the second option is the SouthEast of the plot. If the selection is NorthWest, then it involves lot of travelling that lead to your success and well-being and the vehicle remains in the parking area only for a very short time. North-East direction for the parking is not recommended because it is the direction for the heavenly forces and this should not be obstructed. Always park your vehicle with its front portion facing North or East. These are the preferable directions. Mayawati trying to broaden social base in UP, SP worried E ven a skilled tactician like Mayawati has to accept that social engineering may not be enough to trump the political changes India have witnessed in the past swayed by the AAP’s pro-poor, good-governance slogans and the broom symbol, and the pattern could repeat in Haryana too. Clearly Mayawati’s plan to replicate the BSP’s UP strategy — first consolidate Dalit votes, then enter into political alliances, finally create caste/social alliances — has slowed down in other states. A course correction — decentralising authority within the party, awarding tickets to clean candidates, and a socio-economic reforms agenda — has become inevitable for the political class; and autocrats like Mayawati are no exception. Meanwhile, Mayawati is aggressively courting the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh. This has increased the worries of the Samajwadi Party . To widen the BSP’s social base, Mayawati has offered tickets to Muslim candidates in 18 Lok Sabha constituencies. Well aware of the growing disenchantment with the Akhilesh Yadav government, Mayawati has used her phenomenally well-attended Lucknow rally to remind Muslims and other sections of her administration’s law and order record. In Akhilesh’s tenure, UP has been hit by a streak of communal rioting culminating in the devastating Muzaffarnagar-Shamli riots. But Mayawati’s attempts to create nostalgia for her rule cannot rest solely on Akhilesh’s failures. The allegations of amassing disproportionate assets, corruption in building of parks, legislators with criminal cases, and the multi-crore NHRM scam in which her ministers were implicated have done her much damage. Mayawati has to be candid about her mistakes and change her style of functioning. year. Already, the Aam Aadmi Party has hurt the BSP in Delhi where its vote-share plummeted from 14.5 per cent in 2008 to just five per cent in 2013. Delhi’s Dalits, were Rahul trying to distance himself from anti-incumbency ahul has been trying to distance himself from the anti-incumbency attached to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, by packaging himself as a rebel prince. The fierce gesticulations, the raising of the decibel level and the 12-cylinder drama at the AICC meeting were features of this positioning. Also important was his underlying assurance that despite the top job being reserved for a member of the first family, the Congress would promote dedicated grassroots workers and women to positions of importance. The announcement of the results of the four Assembly elections had led to profound demoralisation and a belief that defeat in the forthcoming general election was inevitable. What has compounded the problem was the quiet detachment of an influential body of the intellectual class from the Congress. Those pillars of the opinion-making industry the Congress had nurtured, promoted and patronised through bodies such as the National Advisory Council, the UGC and the ICSSR suddenly became intoxicated with the heady brew being served by the Aam Aadmi Party . The Congress, it was calculated, had become so flabby and outdated that it was in danger of giving Narendra Modi a clear walkover in the coming battle. The newly-energised AAP, it was believed, had the energy and the moral halo to appropriate some of the anti-es- R • • • tablishment thrust of Modi. The Congress may go on living in denial, but the political elite’s haughtiness and indifference is fast becoming an election issue. The unprovoked, but calculated outburst of Mani Shankar Aiyar that Modi was best suited to distributing tea at the AICC offices damaged the Congress instead of Modi. It was a suicidal statement. Aiyar epito- mises the arrogance of an elite that believes it is born to rule (through the Gandhis). Read along with Salman Khurshid’s remark about AAP comprising ‘third class’ individuals who ‘stink’, they suggest that the Congress edifice rests on two different architectures of entitlements: the sops for the poor and the comfort zones for the socially privileged. (MP&CG) January 27 to February 2, 2014 Feature 07 Think different, be different, Love yourself SWECHCHHA OJHA Email:
[email protected] he accusation of being different is the one of the biggest things that brings out the real person in you. The problem with people is that they start making fun of whatever new they see, and the problem with those who do the new is that they fail to ignore the negativity people have show. The loss that both incur because of what they do is that the people laughing at the new miss out on the real special thing that is being created, and the one who's being laughed up on misses out on the fun they can have being different by listening to the stupid comments. But what fun would there be in the world if nobody created something new and nobody laughed on others. Why do you think despite of all the negativity and differences the world always seems just right? Why do you T think everything that is imperfect is still perfect the way it is? It's because everything is meant to have both good and bad sides, every coin is meant to have two sides, every person needs to have both black and white colours. The problem arises when leaving aside black and white, a third colour appears, the grey colour, the mixture of black and white, something that is neither good nor bad, something to which one can neither say yes nor say no. What if everything loses its basic two colours and becomes a mix of both, a colour from which it's impossible to take out one specific answer to your question, and you finally sit down with just a question and confusion. Even the world around us has two colours of everything, there are people close to us and far from us, there are seas, there are shores, there are days, there are nights, there are good people, there are bad people, there is sweet and there is sour, there is earth and there is sky, there is water and there is fire, there is god and there is evil, there is right and there is wrong, whatever you think has an opposite side. And as much as I’ve seen and heard, a mixture of two opposites is always disastrous. And the absence of any one of them is even more disastrous. If there is creation, there is going to be destruction. If things only get created and not destroyed, they will take the form of never ending creations and begin to destroy other things, things that are meant to stay longer, things that are not meant to be destroyed. Whenever someone tells you you're different and asks you why, tell them you're different because they're all the same, and you don't prefer to be something that is common. I mean c'mon, why would I want to look like all the others on my wedding day? The flower girls look the same, the bridesmaids dress all the same, the bride looks different! Why be the bridesmaid? Be the bride. Why be the sheeps and not the shephard? Why be the same when we can be different and stand out and make an identity of our own? Why listen to those about being odd or weird from those who do not have the courage to do anything out of the line for good? Why not do what needs to be done, why not do it ourselves than waiting for someone else to do it. Be different and love yourself. For being different and getting afraid of looking different and odd is something anyone can do. The real thing is to be different and show it proudly! Everyone has got a life and the bare task of living life as it comes can be done by anyone. The real thing is when someone takes life as it comes, then changes it accordingly, adds some spices of fun and then lives it, king size. Have a happy Monday . Ciao! 08 Must Read January 27 to February 2, 2014 (MP&CG) Rahul didn’t endorse Shinde’s truce offer to Kejriwal ahul Gandhi, who is leading the Congress party's campaign for the national election, was reportedly upset with the compromise supplied by the Centre to Arvind Kejriwal, allowing the Delhi Chief Minister to call off his demonstration while claiming victory . Home Minister Sushil Ku- R NEW DELHI mar Shinde was one of the twin targets of Kejriwal’s protest. The other was the Delhi Police, which reports to Shinde. Rahul Gandhi reportedly made it clear to senior Congress leaders including Shinde that a compromise should not have been provided to Kejriwal. Sources say the Prime Minister, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul had not been consulted about the truce offered to Kejriwal by Shinde. For two consecutive days, Kejriwal’s sit-in at the heart of the capital created traffic nightmares and threatened to prevent the police from the security lockdown needed in central Delhi for Sunday's Republic Day . Kejriwal's protest, held in biting cold and rain, had not drawn large crowds. The fact that the city's highest elected official was holding it hostage triggered a wash of criticism. Critics felt his Aam Aadmi Party was looking for cover that would allow it to call off the demonstration. Shinde's offer filled the gap. The Congress is propping up Kejriwal's minority government in Delhi despite a sec- tion of the party making it clear that it does not agree with the alliance. Gandhi and other senior leaders, sources say, are determined not to withdraw support because that would allow Kejriwal to brand himself as a political upstart, taking on traditional and archaic parties who are incapable of placing the public's need for good governance above their hunger for power. (MP&CG) January 27 to February 2, 2014 Glamour/Sports 09 Sania Mirza-Horia Tecau in Australian Open mixed doubles final MELBOURNE Sania Mirza stands just one win away from clinching her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title after the Indian and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau entered the Australian Open final with a come-frombehind win on Friday. Sania and Tecau defeated the Australian pair of Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden 2-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a contest lasting an hour and 13 minutes. In a see-saw battle, Sania and Tecau were outplayed in the opening set, during which they failed to earn even a single break point. Gajdosova and Ebden were markedly better with their first serve to pocket the opener in 28 minutes. But Sania and Tecau roared back into the match in the second set. The Indo-Romanian pair held serve and converted the only break point they earned. They were also helped by the nine unforced errors, which their rivals committed, to stay afloat in the match. Sania and Tecau were immaculate in the decider and did not commit a single unforced error en route to outwitting the local favourites. Sania and Tecau will be up against the winners of the clash between Sino-American pair of Jie Zheng and Scott Lipsky and the French-Canadian combination of Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor. If Sania and Tecau win the summit clash, it would be the Indian's second Australian Open mixed doubles title. Sania had earlier won the trophy with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009. 3rd ODI: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran No competition Ashwin help India tie New Zealand with Alia, Sidharth: on the last ball of an innings built around Guptill's 111. Guptill and Kane Williamson featured in a 153-run stand for the second wicket and when it was broken in the 33rd over with the removal of Williamson (65) New Zealand felt confident enough to promote big-hitting Anderson up the order. But the move did not pay off. Anderson went for eight and was quickly followed by Guptill, then Brendon McCullum (nought) and New Zealand were 230 for five. Ross Taylor (17) and Luke Ronchi (38) staged a minor recovery but when Taylor was run out it sparked a collapse in which New Zealand lost four wickets over 18 runs. At 288-9 it was left to some lusty hitting by Tim Southee to get New Zealand over the 300 mark before he was run out on the last ball. India had a scare at the start of their reply when Rohit Sharma was dropped by Jesse Ryder at second slip before they comfortably progressed to 64 without loss after nine overs. However, the momentum switched with a bowling change which saw Anderson remove Shikhar Dhawan (28) and Sharma (39) while Hamish Bennett, back in the New Zealand side after a three-year absence, removed Virat Kohli for six. Suresh Raina (31) and Dhoni (50) carried India through to 184 at the start of the batting power play . With the removal of Dhoni there was reason for New Zealand to sense they were in command, but Jadeja with his 66 of 45 deliveries, including four sixes and five fours, kept India in the game. Varun Dhawan MUMBAI Young actor Varun Dhawan, who made his Bollywood debut with Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra in "Student Of the Year", says the trio has discussed competition but he believes their camaraderie goes beyond it. "We (Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra and I) have discussed competition, we do discuss these things but I think when you do your first film with someone, you form a bond and it's like (they are) family," Varun said here at the launch of the trailer of his second film "Main Tera Hero". "You are just bonded for life. So you overlook that (competition) thing. I just have lot of love in my heart for both of them," he added. In fact, he says that Alia and Sidharth "were more nervous for me than I am right now (for my film 'Main Tera Hero')". "That's how the relationship is," added the son of filmmaker David Dhawan. Karan Johar's directorial, "Student Of The avindra Jadeja kept India's one-day series against New Zealand alive as the tourists took 17 off the final over to tie an epic third match in the series at Eden Park Saturday . New Zealand were on the verge of sealing an historic series win over the world champions, after making 314 and then removing the cream of India's batting talent to have the tourists at 184-6 with less than 15 overs remaining. But Jadeja, who finished unbeaten on 66, and Ravi Ashwin who posted a career-best 65, ensured India stayed in the game. Between them they put on 85 runs in 55 balls for the seventh wicket before Ashwin fell to a spectacular catch by New Zealand century-maker Martin Guptill, leaving Jadeja to get India to the end as the tail-end batsmen fell around him. Despite Jadeja's heroics, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni felt his side wasted an opportunity to seal a victory. "You're supposed to pick situations where we could have closed the R game quite comprehensively. Those were the situations that we didn't grab and there were a few of our batsmen who could have done that so that's a bit disappointing," he said. "But (it's also a) good result because it keeps us alive in the series. We can't win it but we can go for a draw." New Zealand, who won the first two matches, need to win one more to claim the series victory, while India need to win the remaining two matches to draw. All-rounder Corey Anderson, who finished with five for 63, had the role of bowling the final over to India and could not contain Jadeja who belted two fours, a six and a single to go with two wides. Three overs from the end, New Zealand believed they had Jadeja caught behind but umpire Rod Tucker turned down the appeal even though replays indicated the ball touched the bat. New Zealand, who lost the toss for the third time, were sent into bat on a fast-paced wicket and were all out for 314 Year", released in 2012. It turned out to be a hit and set Alia, Sidharth and Varun's career on roll in the Hindi film industry. Varun is awaiting the release of "Main Tera Hero", while Alia is waiting for "Highway" to hit the screens and Sidharth is looking forward to "Hasee Toh Phasee". Varun has showered praises on the trailers of both the films and he has even urged the audience to go and watch them. "Sid (Sidharth Malhotra) and Alia's films are releasing in the same month (February) and mine (releases) in April. I have loved the promo of 'Hasee Toh Phasee' and 'Highway' and you all must go and watch the films," the 26year-old said. While "Hasee Toh Phasee" will hit the theatres Feb 7, "Highway" starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, will release Feb 21. Meanwhile, Varun-starrer "Main Tera Hero", directed by his father, is slated to release April 4. It also features Ileana D'Cruz and Nargis Fakhri as the female leads. 10 Commerce January 27 to February 2, 2014 (MP&CG) Chidambaram’s criticism of BJP for opposing FDI not sound Efforts on to establish MP as tourism friendly state MP improves its stand in financial inclusion BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh has improved its standing in financial inclusion, as measured by the CRISIL Inclusix index. For the year ended on March, 2012, the latest period for which data has been made available by the Reserve Bank of India for 638 districts across the country, the state improved its score over 2011 by 3.2% -- higher than the all-India improvement of 2.7%. However, at 33.1, it still lagged the all-India score of 42.8. Pawan Agrawal, senior director of CRISIL Ratings, said, "India's overall CRISIL Inclusix score has risen by 2.7% in fiscal 2012 -- the highest annual increase since 2009. Forty-seven out of 50 districts in Madhya Pradesh have seen an improvement in their score in 2012 over 2011." At the same time, at 42.8 on a scale of 100, the all-India CRISIL Inclusix score reflects underpenetration of formal banking in the country. Just one in two Indians have a savings account and one in seven has access to bank credit. There are wide disparities in access to financial services, too. While India's six largest cities have 10% of its bank branches, the bottom 50 districts have merely 2% of the bank branches. The improvement in 2012 over 2011 was predominantly driven by growth in the number of deposit accounts (18.1% on-year compared with an all-India growth of 12.6%). Growth in the number of credit accounts (10.8% on-year compared with an all-India growth of 8.3%) also helped. Credit accounts benefited from the high growth in agricultural credit accounts (29.3% on-year compared with an all-India growth of 11.1%). Though Madhya Pradesh's overall Inclusix score was constrained by its lower performance in Credit and Branch Penetration, it scored above average in Deposit Penetration. U nion Minister for Finance P Chidambaram has accused the BJP of opposing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail which would have generated employment. He was speaking at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. FDI in multi-brand retail has been a contentious issue in India, with as many experts believing that it would destroy domestic industry as those who feel that it would be good for the country's economy. It appears that the Finance Minister lacks material to substantiate his theory that the BJP does not have a positive policy for economic growth. On the contrary, there are many examples to demonstrate that the Congress, which has been heading the UPA Government at the Centre for close to 10 years now, has blundered on the economic front. The results are there for all to see. Growth as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product has fallen, employment opportunities have gone down, investors have been scurrying away — with even Indian businessmen preferring to expand and invest outside the country — prices of essential goods have been on the rise, and inflation has refused to go anywhere away from close to two digits. Icons of industry have been expressing their dismay at the state of affairs where the Union Government has lost the plot and the economy is on auto-mode. International credit rating agencies have been ruthless in their observation that the country's economic decline over the decade has been largely due to the lack of firm leadership and sound economic and fiscal policies of the Congress-led UPA regime. BHOPAL Maximum work has been done in tourism sector in Madhya Pradesh during last 9 years. Though MP has all the hues to attract tourists, the state failed to exploit the potential fully . But now the situation is that Madhya Pradesh has carved out its unique identity on the tourism map of not only in the country but abroad also. For establishing Madhya Pradesh as tourist-friendly state, efforts are underway to provide quality tourism facility with courteous behaviour by service providers. For this, training is being imparted at Hospitality Training Institute, Bhopal to employees working in dhabas/hotels, guides, porters, taxi drivers and rickshaw pullers. Number of tourists has increased considerably in recent years following improvement of tourism infrastructure in the state and campaigns conducted at national and international levels. Tourism Department’s budget was Rs. 15 crore in year 2004-05. It has now been increased to Rs. 154 crore. Satisfactory increase has also been registered in the income of Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Corporation. It was Rs. 16.25 crore in year 2003-04, which has increased to Rs. 96.25 crore in year 2012-13. Water sports facility is being developed to fully exploit tourism potential of vast reservoirs in the state. Nine years ago, Tourism Development Corporation had only one boat club at Upper Lake, Bhopal. It has now 9 boat clubs at Upper Lake Bhopal, Bargi Jabalpur, Tigra Gwalior, Halali boat club, Tawa Dam, Sankhaya Sagar Shivpuri, Orchha boat club, Pipaliya Pala Indore and Ujjain boat club. Boat clubs will also be started soon at Indira Sagar and Choral reservoirs. Neelam Boat Club will soon be started in Lower Lake at Bhopal. All existing boat clubs have been modernised. Earlier, there were only pedal boats. But now power boats, cruise boats, mini cruise boats, speed boats, banana rides, jets key water scooters and modern water sports equipments are also available there. Iran may not purchase soya oil from India BHOPAL The US and other world powers have eased the economic sanctions against Iran. Iran will now be able to buy soya oil from other countries. So far it was forced to buy the soya oil from India due to the trade restrictions imposed on it. However, now the monopoly of Indian soya meal export to Iran may end. The price of India’s soya oil is much more compared to several other countries. Iran was buying India’s soya oil despite being costlier as it was not allowed to trade with other countries. But now Iran may buy cheaper soya oil from other countries. At current rates, Indian soya meal is far more expensive than South American origin cargo and hence not workable in other export markets. Experts say higher price is one of the reasons for declining exports in the South East Asian markets while until now Iran had no other option but to purchase soya meal from India. India's exports of soya meal soared a whopping 400% to 886,776 tonnes during the financial year ended March 31, 2013, from the previous year. However, the soya meal exports to Iran dropped from 187,560 metric tonnes in November 2013 to 132,452 metric tonnes in December. Indore-based Soybean Processors' Association of India (SOPA) spokesperson Rajesh Agrawal said easing of sanctions is one factor and the other factor is India's high soya meal prices as compared to other exporting countries. At present, main importers of soya meal, besides Iran, is Japan, Korea and other South East Asian countries. Economic sanctions by the world powers had slashed Iran's oil exports by more than 50% and narrowed its options to export agriculture products to a small number of countries. As the recently hit agreement has relaxed many sanctions, rival suppliers such as Brazil will now be able to boost their trading with Iran. (MP&CG) January 27 to February 2, 2014 Region 11 BJP begins candidate selection process in MP Human trafficking alarming in Rajasthan BHOPAL BJP has started the process for selection of candidates in MP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. State BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar said the prospective candidates for the Parliament elections would be selected from among the leaders who were visible in their respective constituencies and winnability would be the main factor behind their selection. Tomar said the task of selecting candidates for Lok Sabha seats was comparatively easier as compared to selection of candidates for the state assembly elections given the number of seats and visibility of the candidates on a larger canvass. On a question if the candidates would be selected from among MLAs and ministers too he said this would be decided by the party's election committee. Tomar said the party would all out efforts to win Guna and Chhindwara seats being represented by union ministers Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Tomar also criticised Arvind Kejariwal for holding dharna in Delhi. He said Kejariwal should focus on his work for which he was given an opportunity to form the government. When asked if the state unit of BJP under him introduced 'Membership on missed phone call' facility on being impressed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s scheme he said this practice was already in the BJP for more than a year. The BJP leader also rejected the BJP national vice-president Uma Bharti's demand for a CBI inquiry into MPPEB exam scam while saying there was no need for a CBI inquiry into the scam. "If any leader has raised any demand for CBI inquiry it must be his or her personal opinion. The party has nothing to do with it", said Tomar. He said the state police were doing an excellent job in the investigation; hence there was no need for CBI inquiry . ALWAR/JAIPUR The history of human trafficking is extremely horrifying in the state of Rajasthan and the fact that the government and social organizations have not taken up any solid steps regarding the issue is more depressing. The women who have been targeted for the heinous crime of trafficking are either left to walk on the wrong path forever or are left to die a terrible death. The children of such women are also forced to get involved in the same line as there is no way out for these unfortunate children. There are several women in the states who were sold by their own families for little amount of money . Mostly women are brought to the place with the promise of marriage from different states such as West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Bihar, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradhesh. The women who are brought to the Alwar district and are sold fail to get any social status as they are not accepted by the society or even the family . There is not even a proper shelter home in the district for the victims of trafficking. A minor girl who was just 15 years old was given a promise of marriage and brought to Rajasthan so that she could be thrown in the business of prostitu- tion. The girl has been a resident of Pargana district, Kolkata. The accused who already had a wife and four children brought the minor girl on the promise of marrying her and tied her to prostitution. In another case, a minor girl of Guwahati, Assam, left for New Delhi to visit her mother after a little spat with her grandmother but before she could reach the place of her mother, a woman named Manju misled her and promised to take her to mother. She took her to her home instead. After keeping the minor girl in home for at least a month, she sold the girl to her brother-in-law. 12 NEWS IN BRIEF Nation January 27 to February 2, 2014 (MP&CG) Modi making inroads into Samajwadi party’s land RAJIV TIWARI Sonia saved Rahul from direct confrontation with Modi The decision not to nominate Rahul Gandhi as prime ministerial candidate was mainly a tactical one, aimed to insulate him from a presidential-style, head-to-head campaign against Narendra Modi. Sonia Gandhi said the decision had little significance because the party has not traditionally named prime ministerial candidates before elections. Modi, however, seems eager to campaign against Gandhi, casting himself as a self-made man and Gandhi as a privileged “shehzada,” or prince. Following Sonia’s announcement that Rahul won’t be projected as PM nominee, BJP leaders said Congress was afraid to thrust Gandhi into the ring with Modi. Neither Sonia nor Rahul has shown the courage for a direct confrontation with Modi. Sonia’s decision seems to be dictated more by maternal instincts rather than the political instincts of a seasoned leader. She would rather have her son shielded from a bruising BJP onslaught against the UPA government’s failures than egg him on into the heat of the political battle. Last May, the BJP was caught in a similar situation when the party’s rank-and-file demanded that the leadership announce Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its PM candidate. Overcoming the dissidence by party veteran LK Advani, the BJP rose to the occasion and ever since, its campaign for the 2014 general elections has moved into high gear. “The nervousness is palpable now,” Arun Jaitley, opposition party leader said.“Why puncture your card in an adverse political environment? There is no fire in the belly left to fight adversity.” Damaged by a series of corruption scandals and a flagging economy, Congress looks unlikely to retain control over the next Parliament, especially after poor results in four state assembly elections held in December. Sonia has learnt lessons from the 2012 UP assembly polls and the recent assembly elections which Rahul disastrously led from the front. But with the Congress staring at its biggest challenge in 2014, her decision will demoralise cadres who expected the party to counter the BJP’s elevation of Modi with a matching response. Holding Rahul back for 2019 seems to be the clearest indication till date that the Congress could be resigned to a drubbing at the Lok Sabha polls. From the party of the freedom struggle, to the party which faced repeated waves of popular anger in 1967, 1977, 1989 and 2013-14, the aura surrounding the Congress and the Gandhi-Nehrus has steadily depleted. Rahul faces a much tougher fight than his mother, father, and grandmother in restoring the Congress to a position of primacy. U LUCKNOW/BHOPAL ttar Pradesh holds the key when it comes to forming government in Delhi. BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi knows this fact fully well, and it seems his efforts to make inroads into Samajwadi Party's land are paying dividends. At the same time, Samajwadi Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is in no mood to let Modi make an impact in Uttar Pradesh. Going by the sheer size of the crowd, the recent rallies addressed by Modi and Mulayam could be termed very successful. ut, the fact that Modi is an outsider here, the crowd that cheered for Modi does not augur well for Mulayam. Modi was at his best, say many, and he directly attacked Samajwadi Pary for the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh. Mulayam too questioned Modi’s secular credential and growth model. In their direction to aggressively market the "Narendra Modi-for-PM" slogan across the country, BJP launched its 'Modi for PM' campaign in Madhya Pradesh, on the occasion of the 118th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan launched the campaign from Khargone. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and BJP Vice President Prabhat Jha started the campaign in the state capital. The party has set "Mission-29" (winning 29 Lok Sabha seats) for Madhya Pradesh and "Mission-272 Plus" for the nation to make Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, he BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi seems to have impressed rural voters throughout the country as the BJP is emerging as the most favoured party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. According to the poll surveys, the BJP is likely to bag highest ever seats crossing all its previous tallies. Kejriwal called off dharna due to dwindling support W hy Arvind Kejriwal called off its dharna and ended the stir so early and unexpectedly? Earlier, he appeared determined to continue his dharna indefinitely and even threatened to take his protest to Rajpath on January 26. However, various factors seemed to have played against the party, forcing a rethink. The party met with severe criticism for their mode of protest, especially among its middle class supporters. Social and news media alleged that the party was indulging in terror tactics. The party's strategy on the issue was also questioned as it posed a threat to the security of the capital ahead of the Republic Day . The violence that broke out at the protest site, initiated by AAP supporters, also forced party members to say that they would need to carry out dam- age control. The demand to suspend five policemen wasn’t strong enough to enthuse the broad AAP support base. This wasn't a kind of agitation, said many, to warrant a shutdown of the city . The crowd wasn't as large as the leadership expected. Kejriwal's health deteriorated after a night's exposure in Delhi's biting cold. The city's governance was going for a toss as the cabinet was on the streets. The agitation was attracting really bad press and, finally, it left AAP open to savage criticism from the other political parties. Interestingly, some of his own party members slammed Kejriwal's decision to stage a dharna and raised concerns over his form of governance. AAP member Capt G R Gopinath said Kejriwal and his Cabinet should govern from their offices and only his party workers should protest. "Demanding suspension of police personnel is making a scapegoat of hapless junior officers who are mere cogs in the wheel. It also runs the risk of losing the support of the educated middle class," he said. Former AAP member Santosh Hegde also expressed his concern over Kejriwal's tactics. If this wasn't enough, the weather was not at all conducive for an open-air jamboorie. And all of this combined, was making the AAP workers' shoulders droop. The closure of four Metro stations and massive curbs on movement in the area by Delhi Police had made it extremely difficult for people to reach the protest site. Many of those who turned up were hard core party supporters and the 'aam aadmi', who was out in hordes to support Kejriwal during his initial protests, were conspicuous by their miniscule numbers. Owned Printed and Published by M.M.Baig. Printed at lucky, 267, Pragati Nagar, Shahanshah Garden, Bhopal (MP) and published from H.No.101, A-SECTOR INDRAPURI BHEL, WARD NO.63 DIST BHOPAL-462021, M.P. Tele/FAX 0755-4292545,Mob.09425029901
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