Maharashtra: Giving casual leave to ideologies

One notable feature of Indian political parties, including one leader, one family, regional ones, is that all of them are committed to lofty ideals and populist ideologies and policies, well drafted and copious; but when it comes to sharing power most of them with clashing ideologies and contradicting policies come together, forgetting the fiery campaign in which they had traded charges and abuses often lacking in literary hygiene as recent weeks have shown. Obviously the prime objective is power and not commitment to an ideology or implementing policies for the welfare of the people - not a healthy situation certainly in a civilized society.

The normal explanation presented to the public on such occasions is that these parties have decided to come together in spite of ideological differences to provide a stable government and to avoid another highly expensive election and burden on the state. To protect the interests of the state, the parties have worked out a Common Minimum Programme (CMP). In the process they try to justify the ideological compromises they make though by now the public has seen through these games once the post election manoeuvres begin, after failing to win the required number of seats in the House. People tolerate such conduct to avoid another election and also, by experience, they know that even if a party gets a majority in the House, the governance would not be very different.

A new situation has emerged after the Maharashtra election where an alliance comprising Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena, politically cohesive and committed to the Hindutva ideology, working together for a few decades, won the state assembly elections.  However, on the issue of who should be the next chief minister the alliance partners fell out.  They accused each other of misquoting and resorting to lies: a situation not normally seen. For if an alliance manages majority, they somehow or the other find a way to share power. Here the two took firm positions and in the process exchanged charges which crossed the border of decency. The net result has been that no government could be formed and the Governor recommended President’s rule keeping the assembly under animated suspension.

As the two alliance partners started pulling in different directions, the good old veteran of Maharashtra politics, Sharad Pawar, took his favourite position on the fence to have a ringside view of the fight casting sympathetic glances to Shiv Sena.  A shrewd observer of political moves since 1978, when he formed the Peoples Democratic Front, leaving the Congress and joining hands with the Janata Party, Pawar could judge in the beginning that parting of ways between the BJP and SS cannot be stopped as the interests of the two parties and ambitions of their leaders have reached a point of no return. Congress President Sonia Gandhi was informed about the scenario by Pawar, though the two strictly maintained in public that they have been given the role to sit in the opposition by the electorate.

As the situation worsened and an NDA government became difficult, parleys began between the leaders of NCP, Shiv Sena and the Congress, one time sworn enemies of each other. Later the NCP and the Congress chose to work together for political survival as a SS-BJP combine appeared a politically formidable entity as the 2019 state assembly election got nearer. In the campaign it was a no holds barred affair. Though it was a fight between NDA and UPA, there were numerous occasions when Shiv Sena leaders took on the NCP and INC veterans hurting them personally in the campaign. Above all the ideological differences between the SS and NCP-INC are of a longstanding nature.

But a few sittings with Pawar, a Chanakya in his own right, everyone could see the probability of power. In fact, imposition of President’s rule speeded up the process and to Shiv Sena it became clear that their fate is sealed and alliance between it and the BJP has ended. Some statements by RSS leaders and BJP President, Amit Shah left no one in doubt that the strong Saffron Alliance between the two strong Hindutva forces has ended.

The normal drama has now begun. The first scene is the MCP which has been more or less finalized, though there is still scope to add a few sentences or paragraphs or delete some references to satisfy all. In the process the Congress-NCP-SS have all given casual leave to their ideologies. Yes, at the moment it is casual leave as it is not clear how many days it will last. Ideological cohesion and the problem of distribution of portfolios apart, one cannot dismiss the tremendous mischief potential of BJP bosses. If this alliance lasts a few months, they may give a few months leave to ideologies. If it lasts longer, it may even be medical leave of a longer duration. Attractions and advantages of power as well as the compulsions to stick together for survival may make them carry on for a longer period.  All these only show that they may have to give leave to their ideologies and push political morality to the back burner for the sake of power and show how fragile ideologies have become today.

At the same time, one cannot fail to mention that the BJP could have been magnanimous and accommodated the demands of SS. Today the BJP is a party which wields enormous power throughout the country and sharing chief ministership for half a term would not have mattered much. At a time when some partners in Bihar and Jharkhand are showing signs of dissent, keeping an old political partner happy would have been advisable, particularly when it went out of the way to accommodate Dhushyant Chautala in Haryana. However to be fair, it is not clear why the politically shrewd Shah, known for accommodating alliance constituents going out of the way, decided to take such a strong step.

Be that as it may, what is disturbing is that in India even winning comfortably by an alliance does not ensure political stability. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to think twice before pursuing his one country, one election policy, when winning an election does not ensure ruling for a full term. The root cause is the weakening of the ideology and emergence of power at any cost getting stronger in the minds of leaders. Chances are that we may have to witness sanctioning leave to ideologies by political parties for some more time.  It all starts with giving casual leave to ideologies, in the first instance.

Maharashtra: ‘NCP approaching Governor on its own expedited process of imposition of President’s Rule’

There should be no hurdle about the three parties joining hands if they are sincere in their efforts. But I have doubts about the NCP, as it appears to be delaying the whole process,” Ambedkar told The Indian Express.

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Ambedkar said, “Any attempt to delay the process would work in favour of BJP. It would give an impression that any government without BJP would not work out in Maharashtra.” (File)

VANCHIT BAHUJAN Aghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar on Thursday alleged that NCP’s unilateral decision to approach Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, seeking more time to form the government, expedited the process of imposition of President’s Rule in the state. Also, it demonstrated that there was a lack of trust between allies NCP and Congress, he claimed.

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“Ideally, Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena should come together to keep the BJP away from power in Maharashtra. There should be no hurdle about the three parties joining hands if they are sincere in their efforts. But I have doubts about the NCP, as it appears to be delaying the whole process,” Ambedkar told The Indian Express.

“There is a lack of trust between Congress and NCP… I gathered from Congress leaders that they were not consulted by NCP before it wrote to the Governor at 11.30 am on Tuesday seeking more time to muster up the numbers. Indirectly, it worked in favour of BJP,” he added.

“Congress, NCP and Sena can easily form the government. They have 154 MLAs… But NCP made a big mistake by writing to the Governor on Tuesday… It should have waited till 8.30 pm, as was granted by the Governor. Also, it should have take Congress into confidence before seeking more time… The NCP’s haste resulted in the expedition of the process to impose President’s Rule in Maharashtra,” Ambedkar said.

It also denied the Congress an opportunity to be invited by Governor, he added.

Urging the Congress, NCP and Sena to form the government at the earliest, Ambedkar said, “Any attempt to delay the process would work in favour of BJP. It would give an impression that any government without BJP would not work out in Maharashtra.”

Also the delay in government formation would help the BJP in the long run, he claimed. “If there is instability for long, mid-term elections could be held.”

Ambedkar scotched the theory that there was a delay in the three parties coming together due to their ideological differences. “All critical issues can be settled within 24 hours if the high command gives a nod… 18 days have passed since the polls results were announced. Every party in state knew BJP and Sena’s differences were irreconciliable. Congress, NCP should have taken a decision faster,” he said.

Elgaar Parishad case probe biased, imaginary: Defence lawyer to court

Elgaar Parishad case probe biased, imaginary: Defence lawyer to court

 

Police have claimed that a letter seized from an accused mentions an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a ‘Rajiv Gandhi type incident’.

A defence lawyer representing two of the arrested accused in the Elgaar Parishad case — Rona Wilson and P Varavara Rao — on Thursday termed the investigation in the case ‘biased’ and ‘imaginary’.

While seeking bail for Wilson and Rao, defence lawyer Rohan Nahar argued before a special court that the letters, emails and communications purportedly collected during the course of the investigation suffered from several legal shortcomings.

He said the addressor and addressee of these letters were unknown and the investigation officer had no evidence to connect them with the accused.

Nahar cited a letter that the prosecution claimed to have recovered from Wilson’s laptop. The letter, dated January 2, 2018, was allegedly addressed to ‘Comrade Rona’ by ‘Com.M’. It purportedly stated, “…Com. Manglu, Com. Deepu have been coordinating the Koregaon programme since last two months with Com. Sudhir… they have been able to gather support from large sections of Dalits across the state. RDAA Com. Jignesh and Com. Umar are young fighters of our revolution, with strong support from Com. Prakash Ambedkar, we can foresee the outcome of their efforts in consolidating many Dalit struggles across the country within a few years. Last year, in July and August, the higher committee has provided two rounds of funds to Com. Sudhir for the task… The Bhima Koregaon agitation has been very effective… the unfortunate death of a youth must be exploited to prepare future agitations and propaganda material”.

Nahar argued that some persons mentioned in the letters were neither arrested nor questioned. He said according to the investigators, the person addressed as ‘Comrade Rona’ was Rona Wilson, and the person addressed as ‘Com.M’ was alleged to be Milind Teltumbde, but there was no evidence to substantiate this. The defence pointed out that according to the prosecution, the person addressed as ‘Com Prakash Ambedkar’ was not Prakash Ambedkar. Nahar sought to know the reasoning behind this.

Police have claimed that a letter seized from an accused mentions an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a ‘Rajiv Gandhi type incident’.

Nahar claimed that the content in many letters were imaginary and could be easily exposed. “No prudent man will scan the letters they receive and store them in their computers, if the content speaks about the assassination of the Prime Minister…. The allegation against the accused is that they work covertly for a banned Maoist group, using synonyms, which are not their real names… this is absurd, unbelievable,” he said.

The lawyer also argued that the prosecution had no evidence to link the Elgaar Parishad with the banned CPI-Maoist.

Meanwhile, advocate Rahul Deshmukh, representing accused Shoma Sen, argued that there was no evidence against his client. “There are four letters which, according to investigators, were seized from other accused and carry her name,” he said. Deshmukh said the letters were not firearms or contraband substance, and mere possession of them couldn’t be termed as crimes. He also argued that in the chargesheet against the accused, there was no evidence to show that speeches at Elgaar Parishad, held at Shaniwar Wada in Pune on December 31, 2017, had led to violence in Koregaon Bhima the next day, January 1, 2018.

The Pune City Police has so far booked 23 people in the case under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, alleging that they had active links with the banned CPI-Maoist. Of the nine activists and lawyers arrested last year, hearings on bail arguments filed by Wilson, P Varavara Rao, Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, lawyer Surendra Gadling and Mahesh Raut are being heard before Special Judge S R Navandar in Pune. The hearing will continue on October 17.

Three other arrested accused — Arun Ferriera, Vernon Gonsalves and Sudha Bharadwaj — have filed bail pleas before the Bombay High Court. The anticipatory bail plea of another accused, Anand Teltumbde, is pending before the high court. Accused Gautam Navlakha’s application seeking quashing of the FIR against him is pending before the Supreme Court.

IN Solapur : The Suspicious movement of EVMs ,

The VBA plans to lodge complaints against the suspicious incident

By : Jayali Wavhal : 12/8/2019

Credit : Sohan Londhe

Amid heavy flood situation across the western parts of Maharashtra, a Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) member has released two videos of EVM machines being suspiciously transported in two trucks, raising eyebrows just ahead of the assembly elections.

Sohan Londhe, a resident of Solapur was attending a VBA party meeting regarding upcoming elections, when he noticed two trucks parked outside the Solapur government rest house. Upon seeing the ‘Election Material Urgent’ label on each of the trucks, he immediately went live on his Facebook page. “I was curious what was this urgent material that needed to be transported right away. Upon inquiring here, it turns out that there are EVM machines inside. While the state struggles with heavy floods, does this seem like an attempt by BJP to tamper with the EVMs? This matter requires further investigation”, he said in his Facebook live video.

Londhe has informed that the machines in the truck were being guarded by two policemen who refused to give out any information for they feared losing their jobs. “There were two policemen guarding the boxes and when I asked them about the contents of the big plastic boxes in the trucks, they hinted the “urgent material” were in fact EVM machines. Unfortunately, they could not speak on camera. Even the police force is being used as puppets right now, instilling fear in them of getting suspended”, he said.

While the police were not able to speak on camera, Londhe did manage to film his conversation with the truck driver on his mobile phone. When Londhe questions Santram Yadav, the truck driver, about EVM machines being the “urgent material”, Yadav repeatedly says he has only been informed that there are plastic boxes inside and has no idea about the actual contents. “There are around 40 plastic boxes in my truck, I don’t know about the second truck. I also don’t know what is inside these boxes. We left from Bangalore to Hyderabad, and are now heading towards Jalgaon”, the driver replied.

However, Sohan Londhe claims that prior to speaking on the video, the driver had admitted to transporting EVMs in the large plastic boxes.  Additionally, number plates of both the trucks said that they belonged from Thane, but Londhe could not find out who had hired these trucks.

Earlier in May, political leaders from different parts of India had voiced their suspicions of EVMs being replaced to manipulate the Lok Sabha election results. Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia had tweeted screenshots of a news channel footage that claimed EVMs were being replaced at every polling booth while the Election Commission and media chose to ignore it. Similar such incidents were reported in various cities of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Bihar and Maharashtra.

Speaking about this turn of events, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan has said that while his party continues to search for strong evidences that prove EVMs are being tampered or hacked, this video isn’t one of them. He stated that, “The state is allowed to transport and exchange EVMs ahead of elections for various reasons. It is a very normal and common activity. This video isn’t a strong proof to claim EVMs are being tampered with and until there is no hardcore evidence, I cannot comment any further on this”.

According to a Maharashtra Election Commission official, EVMs are moved regularly from one city to another, especially ahead of elections to conduct mock polls. He further stated that the EVMS were likely being sent to Belgaum from Kolhapur, a normal route for this customary process. “If the usual route is Belgaum to Kolhapur, what was the truck doing in Solapur before heading to Jalgaon? It doesn’t add up. We also fail to understand why did the Election Commission could not wait until the flood situation was under control. Conducting mock polls or transporting EVMs for security checks is surely not important than the floods currently”, said another VBA member Pavan Mhaske.

Albeit Sujaat Ambedkar has seen the video and personally talked with Londhe, he has cited party protocols and refrained from commenting on the issue before the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi takes an official stand. However, sometime after midnight yesterday, VBA members had stopped the truck from leaving Solapur. After having a conversation with Prakash Ambedkar today, the party members lodged a police complaint and demanded a search investigation for both the trucks in the presence of the collector and other officials. “Though we demanded the search investigation, they did not do anything as Pune’s Collector officer sent a letter to police officials. The letter stated that the EVMs were being transported as a part of routine check and such actions will create obstacles for the government while it performs its duties”, informed Sohan Londhe.

An election official has also talked with one of the members stating the EVMs were being moved from Bangalore after they were sent to BEL company for maintenance check. “EVMs that were defective during the FLC (first level checking) were also transferred to Bangalore as a part of the customary process. However, floods delayed the process by 8 days. Such skepticism will erode the credibility of the election process”, the election official said further. 

VBA members have however questioned the timing of the EVM transportation and the heavy floods, besides the truck halting at Solapur prior to heading Jalgaon, which is nowhere on the regular route between Bangalore to Kolhapur.

Baldev Harpal Singh, Chief Election Officer for upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra has also dismissed this incident as a mere security process that all EVMs undergo. Speaking about the process of transporting EVMs, he said, “This is just an inter-state transportation as machines are procured from various places under escort. And about the change in route, about how the machines landed in Solapur if they were on a Bangalore-Kolhapur route – these details are finalised by the state officials and the security officials escorting the machines. No one needs to read too much into it”. He further added that EVMs cannot be replaced or tampered with and the public should trust the operations conducted by election officials.