Power Politics - independent voice for public good

Current Issue: July 2009

Short Takes

Banerjee Book

Those who have seen through the tricks of former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to benefit himself alone at the cost of the masses would not but congratulate his successor Mamata Banerjee for having wasted no time to abandon his pattern. Unlike her predecessor, she is not only ascetic in real life. She also means real business of welfare for the masses.

Some of the genuinely passenger-friendly decisions Banerjee has recently announced: include making 139 a

toll-free number ; doing away with the extra charge levied purchase of tickets for journeys other than for travel from the starting point; restoring the charges for buying 'tatkal' tickets to the earlier rates and confining such fares only between two points of travel (not the earlier entire distance, from the starting point to the point of termination of the train); and ensuring safety and security to passengers. Besides, she is reviewing a notification issued recently by Yadav allowing the complimentary pass facility to former Railway Ministers.

One hopes other ministers would take a leaf or two from the Benerjee book and not run their ministries as if they were their personal fiefdoms. Perhaps, new Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad may need to look into the pattern established by his predecessor Ambumani Ramdoss immediately. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have all along been stressing the need for an all-inclusive health care policy but some powerful bureaucrats close to Ramdoss in the Ministry of Health did not care. Ironically, journalists accredited to the Government of India had been their special target. Earlier such journalists were extended the Central Government Health Scheme on an annual basis. But after the infamous Ramdoss- Venugopal row so many ways were invented to delay and deny them the scheme. Unfortunately, the Ramdoss pattern still continues. There is so far no clear cut order from the Ministry on the matter.

Ordeals Unjust

One wonders how Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur and others accused in the Malegaon blast would be compensated for the ordeals they have already undergone. Investigative agencies had earlier claimed that the motorcycle used in the blast was of Thakur and the chasis and engine numbers thereof had been erased. The forensic (CFSL) report is, however, said to have found that the motor cycle once used by Thakur had already been sold by her. Besides, the chasis and engine numbers of her motor cycle do not match those found in the motor cycle used in the blast.

One hopes the government would take up the matter seriously and expose those who have invented the theory of 'Hindu terrorism' in order to dupe the minorities into believing that they are not safe in a country dominated by largely secular masses. Colonel Srikant Purohit's is a similar story. He is an accused in the Malegaon, Samjhauta Express, Ajmeer Sharif and Mecca Masjid blasts. The colonel has had an excellent record in his service, particularly in its Military Intelligence. Knowledgeable sources say this specific division in the Army has nothing to do with the RDX.

Rays Of Hope

At long last there are some rays of hope for the likes of Rajender Kachroo, whose son Amann lost his life after he was brutally ragged in a medical college in Himachal Pradesh. The Supreme Court has recently directed all State governments to constitute committees to look into such incidents. The Court has given directions on petitions relating to cases of ragging in Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Himachal Pradesh, and the Bapatla Agriculture Engineering College in Andhra Pradesh.

These two cases had been referred to the R.K. Raghavan Committee, which submitted its report to the court after an inquiry. The Bench has also

incorporated the suggestions given by Additional Solicitor- General Gopal Subramaniam, amicus curiae, and other counsel that an atmosphere be created in the educational institution to instill confidence in the minds of freshers . The Bench has agreed that the qualitative and quantitative psychological impact of ragging on young students should be examined, besides the psychological and sociological reasoning why seniors torment their juniors .The judgment should lead to the institution of independent monitoring and implementing mechanisms to ensure proper execution of the order.

Advantage EVMs

Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawala’s recent defence of Electronic Voting Machine is based on ground realities. The advantages of EVM over the traditional ballot paper/ballot box system are many indeed.

First, it eliminates the possibility of invalid and doubtful votes which, in many cases, are the root causes of controversies. Second, it makes the process of counting of votes much faster than the conventional system .

Third, it reduces, to a great extent, the quantity of paper used thus saving a large number of trees making the process eco-friendly. And fourth, it reduces the cost of printing almost to nil.

The programme that controls the functioning of its control unit is burnt into a microchip on a one time programmable basis. Once burnt, it cannot be read, copied out or altered.

The EVMs use dynamic coding to enhance security of data transmitted from ballot unit. The new EVMs have also got set time clock and data-time stamping facility to record the exact time and data. After the voting is completed and the close button is pressed the machine does not accept any data or record any vote. Through the press of "total" button the control unit can display the number of votes recorded till that time which can be crosschecked with the register of voters.

The display system of the record unit shows the total number of votes polled in a polling station and the candidate-wise votes polled in the machine when the "result' button is pressed by the counting staff in the presence of counting agents at the counting centre. The control unit can also detect any physical tampering made into the connecting cable and indicate the same in the display system.

Mind In Action

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Brazil-Russia- India-China summits on June 15- 16 serves as yet another indication that now he can apply his own mind on the matters before him. Before he started for Russia for the summits, some voices in the government are said to have suggested to the Prime Minister that he should not attend the SCO. The argument was that "India is merely an observer, not a full member" of the organization. This would set a bad precedent. If Dr Singh attended the SCO summit, tomorrow he might be invited to attend, say, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in 2010 wherein he could

subjected to a lot of criticism. Hence, as in the past, the ministerial level representation would be enough at the SCO. Besides, the voices argued, the Prime Minister should accommodate the sensitivities of the United States. The SCO was being viewed by the Americans as a counter-balance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Washington sees the SCO-Afghanistan contact group as directly challenging American 'monopoly' in solving the security issue of Afghanistan. Also, the US sees the SCO as antithetical to its interests in moving into Central Asia.

However, nothing prevailed over the Prime Minister. Knowledgeable sources say, his policy is one of honesty and straight-forwardness. He has seen three advantages of getting closer to the SCO. First, it gives New Delhi one more forum to engage Beijing and Moscow. Second, India may use this platform to have a dialogue for better access to the gas and oil reserves of the Central Asian region. And third, India, in partnership with the SCO, can fight terrorism better as both have more commonalities in this regard. Besides, the Prime Minister does not believe in any cold war logic. The world has changed fundamentally since the cold war years. America today is engaged with all important nations of the world. The major powers, including Russia and China, also know what American help, especially technological, means to them in the contemporary world.

Corporate Leaders

Navin Kaul is the new President - Operations of Quippo Telecom I n f r a s t r u c t u r e Limited (QTIL). He has joined as a key member of the leadership team to implement Quippo's vision and will play a pivotal role in driving the business objectives of the organization. He would strengthen the 'Cash to Cash cycle', a new concept, focusing on Asset Creation, Asset Maintenance, Revenue Assurance and Collection.

Kaul, a Post Graduate in Business Management, has been an absolute turnaround manager possessing excellent capabilities to develop and realize business objectives in 30 years of his cross functional experience in organizations including Spice Communication Ltd., Samsung SDS Infotech Pvt. Ltd., Modi Xerox Ltd. and Modi Telstra Ltd. His last stint was with Essar T e l e c o m Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. as its Chief Executive Officer.

A n o t h e r important person to watch in the company would be B i s w a r u p Goswami, its new Chief People's Officer. Goswami will play a pivotal role in facilitating the process of making the group as the "Most Valued Telecom Infra Company".

Goswami has an illustrious HR career spanning 23 years with two giant Indian industrial houses, Tata and Bharti and with two big MNC's The Timken Company and Philips Electronics. Prior to joining QTIL, he was with the Bharti group where he worked as Vice President- HR in Bharti Airtel and Realty. Earlier, he was with Philips as Director -HR (Lighting Division) looking after the HR Operations of India and Pakistan and was part of the HR Asia Pacific Management team.

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