Need for order and development

The cover story on the state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir in the July issue of your think tank magazine offers an accurate analysis of what went wrong with the alliance between Mehbooba Mufti- led Progressive Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party and why it finally ended in the fall of the coalition government in the state. It is good that the BJP has withdrawn support to the Mufti government in the state . She had of late been making highly objectionable demands. They included talks with Pakistan and separatists and the withdrawal of the cases against the stone throwers.
The Government in the state must now be tough to terrorists. At the same time it must focus on development in all regions of the State, including Jammu and Ladakh. There is a perception that not enough has so far been done to contain growing radicalisation and terrorism in the Valley. The Hurriyat has been acting highly irresponsibly.
This has led to the killing of innocent Kashmiris, including journalist Shujaat Bukhari .
Such an approach must end .
It is good to know that Dineshwar Sharma would continue as the Centre's Special Representative to "initiate and carry forward a dialogue with the elected representatives, various organisations and individuals concerned in the State of Jammu and Kashmir". The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed the services of B.V.R Subrahmanyam, a senior IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, at the disposal of the J&K government. He is now Chief Secretary of J&K.
Such officers are expected to contribute to improving the situation in the State. I am sure J&K governor NN Vora would make the best use of these officials.

K . J. Vishnu
Kochi

False claims

The Modi Government claims demonetisation has brought unaccounted money back into the legitimate economy. More than one crore taxpayers have registered under the GST. The number of income tax returns filed in 2017-18 rose to 6.84 crore, which is a jump of 80.5 per cent from FY 2013-14.
The government claims that 31.52 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened. Under the Prime Ministerinspired Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, over 7.25 crore toilets have been built, and over 3.6 lakh villages and over 17 States and Union Territories have been declared open defecation-free.
Close to 3.8 crore women have got LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana. The government is providing cash incentive of ₹ 6,000 to pregnant/lactating mothers. The Prime Minister's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign is showing fine results. The improving trends in sex ratio at birth are visible in 104 districts. Laws have been framed for crimes against girl children. The death penalty has been introduced for those who rape children under 12 years, and the minimum punishment for the rape of a girl under 16 years has increased from 10 years to 20 years.
Connectivity was a big issue in the Northeast. Now the region is fully integrated with the rest of India with the rail

To our Readers

Power Politics, as a think tank magazine, has carried on its venture at the price of Rs 25 per month for over the last ten years. It is being hard to continue our venture at its current price in the face of the ever- rising cost of printing, newsprint and infrastructural back-up . To keep us going, we are constrained to increase the price of our magazine from Rs 25 to Rs 50 per month . Hope our readers will appreciate our constraints. The revised rate is not applicable to our present patrons till their current subscription lasts.

network converted to broad gauge. Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram have emerged on India's rail map for the first time.
The emphasis of the government is on boosting and improving connectivity in other parts of the country too.
When the Modi government took charge, roads were being constructed at a speed of 12 km/day; now it is 27 km/day.
Under the UDAN scheme, 25 airports have been added since December 2016, and 106 additional inland waterways have been added since 2014.
The government also claims that it has been sensitive to the marginalised. Earlier, home loans were given up to ₹ 6 lakh at a subsidised rate of 6.5%. Now housing loans of up to ₹ 9 lakh and ₹ 12 lakh get interest subventions of 4% and 3%, respectively.
One, however, finds such claims are hardly real. Experts say that during the Modi regime oil prices came crashing from over $100 to less than $35. The fiscal bonanza the economy has enjoyed in terms of the fall in oil prices has not led to an increase in capital formation ratio.

Krishna Chatterjee
Kolkata

Bleak prospects

The outcome of the Lok Sabha by-elections in May shows if the Opposition parties came together, the prospects of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party forming government at the Centre after the upcoming General Election in 2019 may be bleak . In Maharashtra the party that gave the BJP the chase in the Palghar Lok Sabha seat was its own ally in government, the Shiv Sena. In Bhandara-Gondia, the Nationalist Congress Party wrested the seat from the BJP. The Assembly seat of Palus-Kadegaon was retained by the Congress.
The BJP won an Assembly by-election in Uttarakhand. The Janata Dal (United), the BJP's current ally in Bihar, lost to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, signalling some erosion in the support base of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Assembly seats in Punjab, Karnataka and Meghalaya went to the Congress. The Left Democratic Front retained its seat in Kerala. The JMM retained its two seats in Jharkhand, and the Trinamool held Maheshtala.

K C John
Kohima

Media a mirror

Free media is the fourth pillar of our democracy. Educating voters on the need for free and fair elections is one of the prime responsibilities of our media. This sacred duty has to be discharged impartially and honestly . All journalists must be aware that NOTA is an anti-democracy step . However, none of them gathered courage to criticize it and called upon voters to go out and vote to strengthen democracy. None of them urged the people against opting for NOTA.
The media must act as a mirror of our society.
Today we have many family-centred political parties. They are there for personal gains. Their presence would have devastating effects on the institutions of our democracy. This will encourage the emergence of AYA RAM – GAYA RAM parties across the country.
Our media should have educated the people of Karnataka during the recent Assembly elections to give a clear verdict for the formation of a new government in the state

COLONEL SK AGGARWAL( Retd)
Haryana



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT FRANKLY SPEAKING REALPOLITIK ISI WEB DRUG MENACE IN PUNJAB FARMERS' LOAN WINDOW ON M.P. HIMACHAL AGONY LOOKING BACK SIGNS OF THE TIMES PAKISTAN TODAY DRAGON DRILL IN TIBET MODI'S DIPLOMACY GLOBAL AFFAIRS REVIEW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HITS & MISSES DIARY BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR CHANGING TIMES THIRD SEX YOGA IN DAILY LIFE A SPRITUAL GURU ART OF LIVING Issue:August' 2018 Subscribe Now	EDITOR’S MAIL Need for order and development The cover story on the state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir in the July issue of your think tank magazine offers an accurate analysis of what went wrong with the alliance between Mehbooba Mufti- led Progressive Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party and why it finally ended in the fall of the coalition government in the state. It is good that the BJP has withdrawn support to the Mufti government in the state . She had of late been making highly objectionable demands. They included talks with Pakistan and separatists and the withdrawal of the cases against the stone throwers. The Government in the state must now be tough to terrorists. At the same time it must focus on development in all regions of the State, including Jammu and Ladakh. There is a perception that not enough has so far been done to contain growing radicalisation and terrorism in the Valley. The Hurriyat has been acting highly irresponsibly. This has led to the killing of innocent Kashmiris, including journalist Shujaat Bukhari . Such an approach must end . It is good to know that Dineshwar Sharma would continue as the Centre's Special Representative to "initiate and carry forward a dialogue with the elected representatives, various organisations and individuals concerned in the State of Jammu and Kashmir". The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed the services of B.V.R Subrahmanyam, a senior IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, at the disposal of the J&K government. He is now Chief Secretary of J&K. Such officers are expected to contribute to improving the situation in the State. I am sure J&K governor NN Vora would make the best use of these officials. K . J. Vishnu Kochi False claims The Modi Government claims demonetisation has brought unaccounted money back into the legitimate economy. More than one crore taxpayers have registered under the GST. The number of income tax returns filed in 2017-18 rose to 6.84 crore, which is a jump of 80.5 per cent from FY 2013-14. The government claims that 31.52 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened. Under the Prime Ministerinspired Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, over 7.25 crore toilets have been built, and over 3.6 lakh villages and over 17 States and Union Territories have been declared open defecation-free. Close to 3.8 crore women have got LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana. The government is providing cash incentive of ₹ 6,000 to pregnant/lactating mothers. The Prime Minister's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign is showing fine results. The improving trends in sex ratio at birth are visible in 104 districts. Laws have been framed for crimes against girl children. The death penalty has been introduced for those who rape children under 12 years, and the minimum punishment for the rape of a girl under 16 years has increased from 10 years to 20 years. Connectivity was a big issue in the Northeast. Now the region is fully integrated with the rest of India with the rail To our Readers Power Politics, as a think tank magazine, has carried on its venture at the price of Rs 25 per month for over the last ten years. It is being hard to continue our venture at its current price in the face of the ever- rising cost of printing, newsprint and infrastructural back-up . To keep us going, we are constrained to increase the price of our magazine from Rs 25 to Rs 50 per month . Hope our readers will appreciate our constraints. The revised rate is not applicable to our present patrons till their current subscription lasts. network converted to broad gauge. Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram have emerged on India's rail map for the first time. The emphasis of the government is on boosting and improving connectivity in other parts of the country too. When the Modi government took charge, roads were being constructed at a speed of 12 km/day; now it is 27 km/day. Under the UDAN scheme, 25 airports have been added since December 2016, and 106 additional inland waterways have been added since 2014. The government also claims that it has been sensitive to the marginalised. Earlier, home loans were given up to ₹ 6 lakh at a subsidised rate of 6.5%. Now housing loans of up to ₹ 9 lakh and ₹ 12 lakh get interest subventions of 4% and 3%, respectively. One, however, finds such claims are hardly real. Experts say that during the Modi regime oil prices came crashing from over $100 to less than $35. The fiscal bonanza the economy has enjoyed in terms of the fall in oil prices has not led to an increase in capital formation ratio. Krishna Chatterjee Kolkata Bleak prospects The outcome of the Lok Sabha by-elections in May shows if the Opposition parties came together, the prospects of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party forming government at the Centre after the upcoming General Election in 2019 may be bleak . In Maharashtra the party that gave the BJP the chase in the Palghar Lok Sabha seat was its own ally in government, the Shiv Sena. In Bhandara-Gondia, the Nationalist Congress Party wrested the seat from the BJP. The Assembly seat of Palus-Kadegaon was retained by the Congress. The BJP won an Assembly by-election in Uttarakhand. The Janata Dal (United), the BJP's current ally in Bihar, lost to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, signalling some erosion in the support base of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Assembly seats in Punjab, Karnataka and Meghalaya went to the Congress. The Left Democratic Front retained its seat in Kerala. The JMM retained its two seats in Jharkhand, and the Trinamool held Maheshtala. K C John Kohima Media a mirror Free media is the fourth pillar of our democracy. Educating voters on the need for free and fair elections is one of the prime responsibilities of our media. This sacred duty has to be discharged impartially and honestly . All journalists must be aware that NOTA is an anti-democracy step . However, none of them gathered courage to criticize it and called upon voters to go out and vote to strengthen democracy. None of them urged the people against opting for NOTA. The media must act as a mirror of our society. Today we have many family-centred political parties. They are there for personal gains. Their presence would have devastating effects on the institutions of our democracy. This will encourage the emergence of AYA RAM – GAYA RAM parties across the country. Our media should have educated the people of Karnataka during the recent Assembly elections to give a clear verdict for the formation of a new government in the state COLONEL SK AGGARWAL( Retd) Haryana