NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the government had initiated action to bring back unaccounted money stashed away in banks abroad.
In a brief response to a question by Prakash Javadekar of the BJP on the Congress promise during the election campaign to get back the money within 100 days, Dr. Singh said that “action has already been started” by his government.
Dr. Singh referred to the statement of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday, while responding to the debate on the Finance Bill. The issue dominated the poll campaign, with both the Congress and the BJP taking a tough stand.
Mr. Mukherjee told the House action was taken within 100 days. The country, he said, was going to accept the code prescribed by the G-8 countries, by which the exchange of information would take place and the legal framework adopted for the avoidance of double taxation.
The Finance Minister said every country had its own set of rules and countries like Switzerland had their own banking secrecy rules. However, in the context of the financial crisis, Switzerland had agreed to share information provided there was a legal framework and proof that such information was needed for tax collection and not for any other purpose.
“Therefore, action to bring back the money, which has been stashed away, is also being taken,” the Minister said.

LUCKNOW: Demanding universalisation of public distribution system and subsidy in food grains, various Left wing organisations on Thursday slammed both the central and the state governments for not providing relief to the people from the steep price hike in the food grains witnessed in the country in last few months.

The basic argument put forward by these organisations was that when the state government can spend over Rs 25,000 crore on statues and memorials, why can't it subsidise food grains for poor as done in 10 other states. For example, Chhattisgarh government has sanctioned Rs 1,450 crore for providing food grains at Re 1 kg to tribals and at Rs 2 per kg under Antyodaya scheme. Similarly, the Andhra Pradesh government has allocated Rs 2,800 crore and Tamil Nadu Rs 3,000 crore for providing subsidised food grains to the below poverty line (BPL) families. But in UP, they added, Mayawati government has been indulging in blame game with the central government instead of taking concrete measures to help poor.

The organisations which included the All India Democratic Women's Association, Students Federation of India, All India Kisan Sabha and Democratic Youth Federation of India also lambasted Congress-led central government for price hike. Universalisation of public distribution system requires allocation of only 2% of GDP, which can be recovered by withdrawing tax benefits given to the private sector. The activist also blamed the Congress-led government for reducing the amount of food grains given under Antyodya scheme from 35 kg per month to 25 kg. This, they said, will save Rs 4,000 crore, indicating how people have been fooled by the government in the name of providing food security.

They also pointed out that as per Arjun Sengupta Commission, daily income of 77% of the people in the country is less than Rs 20, which by all standards is extremely low for the survival of a family. They said that according to government's definition, the families with daily income of Rs 11.80 in rural areas and Rs 17.80 in urban areas are considered to be BPL. As a result, 73% of the poor in UP have been deprived of subsidy benefits. They said that when prices of pulses have crossed Rs 90 per kg mark, such low BPL limits are atrocious.

New Delhi, July 30: Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi backed Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the issue of the Indo-Pak joint statement.

Addressing the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) here on Thursday, Sonia said, "The party fully supports and welcomes the Prime Minister's reply on the Indo-Pak joint statement."

"Talks with Pakistan can resume once it actually takes action on terror and not allow its soil to be used for anti-India activities," she added.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi support came a day after Dr. Singh addressed Parliament on the Indo-Pak joint statement issued in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, earlier this month.

Supporting the Prime Minister's statement, Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said: "The party had made its stand very clear on PM's reply. I don't think that after the Party President has spoken, there is any need for anyone to add or subtract from it."

Several parliamentarians complimented Dr. Singh for his convincing speech in the Parliament on the Indo-Pak joint statement, at the dinner hosted by Sonia Gandhi for the party MPs on Wednesday.

Party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi also praised Dr. Singh by describing his speech as convincing.

The speech was very good and the Prime Minister is always convincing, Rahul remarked in his speech.

Srinagar, July 29 (PTI) The CBI has informed the Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly that neither Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah nor Union Minister Farooq Abdullah figured in the investigations into the 2006 sex scandal.

Assembly Speaker Akbar Lone said he had received a communication from the CBI to this effect.

"Yes, I have received a letter from CBI Director (Ashwani Kumar) stating that neither the Chief Minister nor Farooq Abdullah were involved in the sex scandal," he said.

The allegations were levelled against Omar and his father by senior PDP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzzafar Hussain Beigh on the floor of the House yesterday triggering a political storm in the state that led to the resignation of the Chief Minister.

...It is clarified that nine chargesheets have been filed in connection with RC(S)2006/SCR/III in competent courts against 17 persons.

After the 2009 General Elections UP is seeing the struggle for Dalit votes. While Rahul Gandhi could make substantial inroads into UP, Mayawati was humbled quite a bit due to the election results. Before the elections there was a popular impression that BSP will romp home with bigger electoral percentage, after the elections this image stood shattered as Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to establish a rapport with dalits in particular looked to be working to the advantage of Congress. Infuriated by this Mayawati intensified her vitriol against Congress by saying that Rahul’s steps to identify with dalits at social level is all Natakbaji (drama) just for political purpose. She also dragged Mahatma Gandhi’s name and his work to connect up with dalits in the same category, a drama bereft of any substance or for real benefit of dalits.

Then came the unfortunate and condemnable statement from the state Congress Chief, Rita Bahuguna Joshi (July 2009) about the deteriorating law and order situation in UP, where the rampant atrocities, rape in particular, against dalit women are compensated by giving 25-50 thousands. She questioned if money is all what matters in such cases, then women have to ask Mayawati how she herself would feel if she was given a crore of rupees as a compensation of rape. The utter insensitivity, crudity and anti women nature of the remark deserves a severe reprimand coming from any body, more so from a woman, and that too holding such a high position in the hierarchy of the ruling party.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi-Mayawati Spat

What followed was also equally condemnable, she was arrested under the charges related to anti Dalit atrocities and her house was burnt. Mayawati asserted that it is an insult of dalits. Quite an opportunist twist to a highly condemnable remark! The remark is against the gender sensitivities, and Mayawati gave it an anti dalit twist to gain sympathy and to ensure that the dalit vote bank is retained-won back, from the inroads made by Congress.

One recalls that similar comments were made by Mayawati herself about the Mulayam Singh’s Government to pay compensation to rape victims. She had directed similar comments to female kin’s of Mulayam Singh. Unfortunately her comments did not come under the scanner of critical media and people’s gaze.

Rape has been an ugly and dangerous weapon of the male dominated society against the women, in forcing them to subjugation, to enforce the patriarchal aggression against women. Times and over again it has been used, in history and currently also it is being used with that purpose. Different social commentators have looked at it from their political angles. One recalls the incident when Kalyan Subedar’s daughter-in-law was brought to Shivaji as a gift. Shivaji returned her with full honors, something which is worth appreciating. To this incident Hindu Mahasabha leader and Hindutva ideologue Savarkar criticizes Shivaji, as to why he forgot that many Hindu women were molested by Muslim, rulers, why he did not follow the policy of retaliation in this case. Savarkar adopted similar attitude to the women victims of partition tragedy and said Pakistani women should be subjected to similar treatment, a policy of tit-for-tat should be adopted.

Communal ideology is the most concentrated expression of patriarchal norms of society. One is puzzled as to how come women themselves are indulging in such a language totally seeped in the male dominated language, patriarchal psychology?

At one level it is surprising, the insensitivity of some women to use such a language. One has to remember the transformation process of gender relations is not a linear one. During this phase of transition the political forces working for status quo, working for restoring the caste and gender hierarchy of feudal times, communalize the social space due to which such a language becomes the dominant language. The result is a section of women themselves become the victim of this mindset or such a language.

During the initial period of the rise of women’s movement, it had to break a popular myth that women themselves are the enemy of women. This was based on the observation of active participation of women relatives in the matters of dowry or bride burning. The dominant role of mother in law or sister in law in subjugating the position of daughter in law. There have been painful instances during communal violence in Mumbai 92-93 and Gujarat carnage when a section of women helped ‘their’ men in violating the modesty of women from other community! Especially Gujarat carnage is full of these tragic incidents when some Hindu women played this ugly role. Gujarat carnage will also be remembered for the absurd remark of BJP associate George Fernandes’ comment as to what is the big deal if rape is taking place in Gujarat; it is an old phenomenon anyway!



One can understand this from the point that the male dominated discourse is the dominant language of society and that’s how Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Mayawati despite being women themselves resort to such expressions in pursuance of their political agenda of coming to power or retaining the power. This also shows the state of affairs of law and order in UP, this also shows the communalized mind set of women themselves. Communal issue is not just an issue related to diverse religious communities. At core it is an attempt to suppress the rights of equality of women and dalits in society. Interestingly in case of Mayawati, both these hierarchies have mixed up and she is shifting form one to the other suppressed identity to pay back Bahuguna Joshi and is resorting to caste instead of gender, which is the issue in this case.

The issue of gender equality is the core issue, along with the annihilation of caste, which needs to be addressed by the social movements. The awareness of these issues needs to be broadened to different layers of society, including women themselves of course, to make the transition to a just society and to avoid such ugly repetitions of such a dirty language.

NEW DELHI — With the NDA making a dent into the Dalit vote bank in the just concluded elections to Parliament and total rout of Dalit politics champion Ramvilas Paswan, the LJP chief feels threatened because of his fast diminishing political clout and hence not ready to dump Lalu Prasad led RJD in the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar.
“What is required to take over the NDA in Bihar is a grand alliance having LJP, RJD and Congress and I am pressing for that,” Paswan said when asked about his party’s future plans for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Strategists in the Congress party, however, indicated to play a different game plan altogether. A section of Congress feels that it needs to completely marginalize Lalu Prasad if it has to make any inroads in this politically important state.
The Congress party plans to get Ramvilas Paswan led LJP in its fold to get a pie of the Dalit votes. A senior Congress leader in Bihar met Paswan a few days back with a proposal to contest Assembly polls in the state in a Congress-LJP alliance minus RJD, Sources said.
Paswan, however, is not too enthusiastic about Congress’ plan to dump friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Expressing apprehension and citing results of the recently held elections to the Legislative Council, Paswan said, “The ground situation in Bihar is such that any triangular contest will benefit the NDA.”
The ruling NDA had gained absolute majority in the state Legislative Council elections winning 13 of the 22 local authorities seats of the Upper House. Congress lost two seats it earlier held in the council while LJP won three of the six seats it contested this time. RJD could get only two seats.
He repeated his cliche saying, “All secular forces have to fight together to defeat the communal alliance in Bihar.”
“There is need for a realistic approach to make a viable alternative to replace the BJP-JD combine in Bihar,” Paswan said adding that “contesting Lok Sabha election in Bihar separately from Congress was an unfortunate development and lessons should be learnt from it”.
Paswan also charged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with deliberately trying to divide dalit community for their votes and threatened to launch a state-wide agitation against the alleged “discrimination”.
Paswan announced that a 3-day day national camp of the LJP commencing from August 12 at Bodh Gaya would draw up the poltical agenda of the party for the next two years.

The UP Congress chief, Ms Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s arrest and the subsequent drama have diverted attention from the fact that a woman Dalit chief minister has conveniently forgotten the Supreme Court directive to keep the identity of rape victims under wraps, says RASHEEDA BHAGAT.

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The UP Congress chief, Ms Rita Bahuguna Joshi… Caught in a political quagmire. There was never a doubt about how high the stakes are for appropriating political space in Uttar Pradesh. But that race has just got hotter and uglier after the arrest of the UP Congress chief, Ms Rita Bahuguna Joshi, for her unseemly remarks against the UP Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati. The latter seems to be operating on a one-point agenda when it comes to political rivals — nothing short of packing them off to the kali kothdi. And so Ms Joshi was jailed for her controversial and unsavoury remarks against Ms Mayawati in the context of the paltry compensation for Dalit women who had been raped.
In a rally in Moradabad, the Congress UP chief had scoffed at the paltry compensation of Rs 20,000 handed out to raped Dalit women. So far so good, but then, obviously carried away, she stepped into a political minefield and made a highly objectionable statement about Ms Mayawati.
Ms Joshi played straight into Ms Mayawati’s hands by her obnoxious comments; charges under Section 153 A (delivering inflammatory speeches) and Section 109 (using abusive language) of the IPC, as well as the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, were slapped against her for making derogatory remarks against a Dalit woman, and she was remanded to judicial custody.
Worse followed, her house was attacked and torched and despite its close vicinity to the high security zone of the State Secretariat, any security or police apparatus was mysteriously absent when hooligans shouted slogans against her and burnt the house. Conveniently enough, shortly before the attack, the police rounded up her personal staff such as driver, cook, etc and took them away to the police thana. Apparently, they were told that the police was acting thus to safeguard their own security!
High handed As expected, all hell broke loose and cutting across party lines most politicians condemned the language used by Ms Joshi and Ms Mayawati’s high-handed act in imprisoning her. Ms Mayawati’s bete noir, Samajwadi party chief, Mr Mulayam Singh, and the BJP MP, Ms Maneka Gandhi, whose son Varun, was imprisoned and the National Security Act slapped against him for his inflammatory speech against Muslims during his election campaign in Pilibhit, sought her dismissal. Other politicians, including those from the Left parties, have condemned Ms Joshi’s arrest, particularly the attack on her house, allegedly at the behest of Bahujan Samaj Party supporters. One of BSP’s MLAs, Mr Babloo Tiwari has been named in an FIR registered with the police; the charge is that he had led the mob that vandalised Ms Joshi’s house in Lucknow.
The Congress, of course, described the entire episode as one more example of “jungle raj” in UP and Mr Akhilesh Yadav, Mr Mulayam’s son, said the continuance of Ms Mayawati at the helm in UP was untenable and her government should be dismissed. “Law and order has gone for a toss in the State. In Uttar Pradesh, it is not the police but BSP leaders who decide what sections are to be imposed on a criminal,” he said.
But the reaction that everybody was waiting for was that of the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and Ms Mayawati was the first to point it out, wondering why Ms Sonia had remained a silent spectator. But soon enough Ms Gandhi did respond, expressed regret at the comments made by Ms Joshi but also condemned what had happened after that as extremely “high handed”.
Battle for UP But at the bottom of this acrimony and the violence displayed in vandalising Ms Joshi’s Lucknow residence, is the battle for UP, once again by bandying caste politics. After her spectacular victory in the last UP Assembly elections, Ms Mayawati’s hopes of heading a Third Party coalition government in Delhi after the Lok Sabha elections had gained ground. The squabbling between the SP and Congress over seat-sharing had only whetted her appetite. But her calculations that the BSP’s huge Assembly victory would naturally be transferred to a great showing in the Lok Sabha polls were dashed to the ground by the Congress General Secretary, Rahul Gandhi’s decision to go it alone in UP yielding surprisingly good results for the Congress.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the Amethi MP put his nose to the ground and dexterously ploughed his way through the quagmire of UP’s caste politics. Surpassing even the Congress’ own expectations, it won a whopping 21 seats in UP, and what must have really hurt the BSP supremo, who was expecting to win about 45 seats in UP, was that the Congress won an extra seat, compared to its 20! The SP’s share came tumbling down from its 36 in 2004 to only 23 seats in 2009.
The Congress’s sterling performance devastated both the UP chieftains — Mr Mulayam and Ms Mayawati; the last time the Congress had won more than 10 seats in UP was in 1989 when it got 15 seats; in 2004, it was able to manage a miserable nine seats.
To the astute politician in Ms Mayawati, this was a clear signal that after yielding a chunk of its political influence in the Hindi heartland to the regional parties and the BJP, the Congress is heading for a spirited fight to regain the State which has consistently returned Nehru-Gandhi family members to the Lok Sabha.
Obviously, she has realised that her ‘sarva samaj’ mantra that worked magic in the 2007 Assembly elections did not help in the Lok Sabha polls, and other parties such as the Congress had whittled away its Dalit vote-bank. Just as the severe action against Varun Gandhi was meant to show Muslims that she could be their saviour if only given a chance, Ms Joshi’s arrest and threatening noises on how she will be “punished” even if she gets bail, etc, is a clear signal from Ms Mayawati to the Dalits that she is their sole saviour.
Ms Joshi’s arrest and the drama that ensued have unfortunately diverted attention from the fact that a woman chief minister, and a Dalit to boot, seems to have conveniently forgotten the directive that has come from none less than the Supreme Court that it is obligatory on the part of the government, NGOs, as well as the media, to keep the identity of rape victims under wraps.
The central debate should have been on the lining up of rape victims to give government compensation, which could have been quietly reached to their homes. But, then, unpublicised largesse gives little opportunity to any political party to let not only the victims, but their entire community, know who their real saviour is. Thus are vote bank politics born, nurtured and fiercely guarded.
Rahul Gandhi has sent the right message when he recently asked Youth Congress workers to go to villages and work for the poor, irrespective of their caste and community. But if our politicians had half a chance they would fight tooth and nail to get the ‘poor’ notified as a different caste altogether!

Dinesh Singh - Rawat

NEW DELHI: The implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act seems to dance to the political tune of BSP chief Mayawati.

Her decision to revert to a strong dalit agenda after the Lok Sabha setback marks a strong return of the special law devised to safeguard dalits as seen in the action against Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

It is a break from two instructions issued by the Mayawati government to the police to ensure the law was not "used by dalits to harass upper castes". The directives on May 20 and October 29, 2007, diluted the law's implementation considerably. They even triggered criticism which went unheard as the BSP chief was riding high on `sarvjan'.

Joshi's fate rests on a police probe establishing that a case under the SC/ST Act is made out for her remarks against the CM while talking about rape. But the instructions from the state government are blamed for weakening the legal safeguards against the sexual crime, a move even protested by the National Commission for SCs (NCSC) headed by Buta Singh.

Just seven days after Mayawati rode to power on the `sarvjan' slogan, the state asked the police to file rape cases under SC/ST Act only after medical examinations proved the charge, and that the law be used only for heinous crimes like murder and rape.

To many, it turned the legal shield for dalits into a deterrent as even IPC does not require a medical probe to precede an FIR for rape.

Following protests from NCSC, UP amended its directives but appeared to further discourage SCs from filing cases under the special law.

The new order of October 29 asked the police to ensure that the law was not misused against innocent persons, adding, "If investigations found that a wrong case was lodged, action be taken under section 182 of IPC (providing false information)."

Even this move was resented as it was felt that the SC/STs victims would be reluctant to approach the police for fear of `a false or inconclusive probe' victimizing them twice. Many felt that a false case invites action anyway but its special reiteration in the context of the SC/ST Act would scare the poor away from police.

Observers feel if there appeared a refusal to undo a message that government was diluting the law, it was out of BSP's desire to assure non-dalits who weresceptical of it. Its strict implementation had triggered resentment in Mayawati's previous regimes, leading to flashpoints like in BSP-BJP coalition in 1998. No wonder, the two occasions where the Act has made an impact in the present BSP rule involves the CM -- cases against BKU leader Mahendra Singh Tikait and Joshi.

It is clear that the LS results turned the tide when the CM, intent to consolidate her SC base, directed the cops to display special sensitivity towards crimes against dalits. Many feel the law would again be implemented as in pre-sarvjan days.

he was on a daylong visit to the city to start his campaign ‘Aam Aadmi Ka Sipahi’ (AAKS – ‘common man’s soldier’) in Assam. The campaign aims to popularise the flagship programmes of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

“Rahul Gandhi interacted with the students for about 90 minutes and drove home two pertinent points — that people of the northeast should not feel alienated and that people from this region should go outside and get maximum exposure,” V.M. Thomas of the institute told IANS.
Speaking at a party meeting to launch the campaign, Gandhi highlighted the role of panchayats in listening to people and finding out problems they face.
“The sipahis should make people at the grassroots level aware of various flagship programmes of the UPA government. The idea is to bring about transparency in the functioning of the government,” Gandhi said.
There will be a group of three AAKS in each panchayat and they would work with the common people to ensure that the masses are able to derive the benefits of the policies launched by the Congress-led UPA Government.
“In particular, the Youth Congress through AAKS will focus on the NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), and ensure that the programme benefits, which have now been extended to the entire country, can reach the common man,” Gandhi said.

By SR Darapuri

During the Assembly elections 2007, the people of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) India and especially the Dalits voted Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to absolute majority. They expected that this time with a stable government she will be able to take U.P. out of the quagmire of underdevelopment and backwardness. They also hoped that now she will work out a development agenda for the State as well as for the Dalits and implement it faithfully. During her previous three stints as Chief Minister she took the plea that due to her dependence on other parties for support she could not act independently. As such she needed a government with majority to give her a free hand in running her government. But even this time Mayawati did not come up to the people’s expectations. Neither she neither worked out development agenda nor stopped wasting public money on installing statues, creating memorials and making parks.

If judged from the point of view of development, at present U.P. is the one of the most backward states of India. As per 2001 Census Repot it has the largest population (16.16 crores) which stands as 16.16 % of total population of India. According to development parameters the total literacy rate of U.P. is 56.30 % (Male 68.8 and Female 42.2 %) whereas at the national level it is 68.84 % (Male 75.26 and 53.67 %). The sex ratio of U.P. stands at 898 whereas the national ratio is 933. According to available statistics the per capita income in U.P. during 2005-06 was Rs. 13,316 which is the lowest in the country excepting Bihar (Rs. 7875) whereas at the national level it is Rs. 25,716. During this period the per capita power production and consumption in U.P. was 113 and 167 K.W.Hour as compared with 563 and 372 K.W.Hour at the national level.

From the Public Health angle the birth rate, death rate and child mortality rate for U.P. were 30.4, 8.7 and 73 respectively whereas the national rates were 23.8, 7.6 and 58 respectively. As per the findings of NFHS-III, 2005-06 the infant mortality (number of infant deaths per thousand live births in the last five years) rate at national level is 57 whereas for U.P. it is 73. In India, 46 per scent children under three yeas of age are underweight whereas in U.P. it is 47 percent. Almost 38 % children (under three years age) are stunted (too short for their age). In U.P. their percentage is 46. Almost 79 % of children (6-35 months) and 56 % of women in India are anemic. In U.P. the figures are 85 and 51 percent respectively. From the employment angle during 2001 in U.P. only 23.78 % of total workers were Main Workers and 66 % were engaged as Agriculture Labourers. At present 32 % of U.P. population is living below poverty line against the national average of 27.5 percent.

From the above details it is clear that from the development point of view U.P. is one of the most backward states of India. In such a situation, not only Mayawati but every government is expected to utilize all the resources of the State for the development of the people. But it has not happened for last many years. According to Sudha Pai “There is evidence that the conditions of the poorer sections in U.P. which include the major chunk of the Dalits have become worse during the 1990s. The National Human Development Report (NHDR) has pointed out the poor conditions of life in comparison with many other states. The State’s position in terms of Human Development Index was 29th in 1981 and has fallen to 31 out of 32 states (NHDR 2001:140-41). Similarly the Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure registered a fall in the State between 1993-94 and 1999-2000; that this is due to a drastic reduction in the consumption expenditure on food between two periods clearly suggest deterioration in the standard of living. This down slide took place when the B.S.P. supported by B.J.P. was in power in U.P. for the most part (National Herald, Lucknow May 1, 2002). Despite the fact that the BSP. had formed a government twice during the 1990s and was again in power with the support of the Bhartiya Janta Party, the conditions of Dalits have not improved according to the draft proposals of the Tenth Five Year Plan (Jha, 28 December, The Times of India, New Delhi-2002). The BSP did not put forward any policies for improving the socioeconomic conditions of the subaltern sections of the Dalits. The emphasis has been on political empowerment only.”

It is well known that Mayawati did not take up any development agenda during all her tenures of Chief Minister ship. During the elections BSP never came out with an election manifesto. This was done purposely. Because declaration of an agenda being about the responsibility of implementing it and failure to do so invites public wrath. Mr. Kanshi Ram, the mentor of Mayawati, attracted Dalits by promising to fulfill the incomplete mission of Dr. Ambedkar but cleverly he never defined it in writing. “First capture political power and then any work” was the promise given by BSP. In the beginning, Dalits were instigated against higher castes by raising emotional and non-material issues but later on all sorts of unprincipled and opportunistic alliances were made to get political power. All the principles of Ambedkarism were thrown to winds and dalits were exploited emotionally in the name of caste. Personal ambitions were pursued in place of Dalit issues. This unprincipled, non developmental and corrupt politics has resulted in poverty, unemployment and backwardness of the people of U.P. and the Dalits at large.

Now it will be pertinent to see on what items the budget money was spent during this period. It has been found that major part of budget was spent on non-development projects. It is noticeable that 90 % of Cultural Department and about 40 % of Public Works Department budget was spent on parks, memorials and statues. What ever money was spent on welfare programmes, a major apart of it was eaten away by corruption. As such the poor were deprived of any benefit there of. The main cause of it has been the personal greed and corruption of Mayawati which may land her in jail in the near future. She has spent a major portion of state budget on installing statues, making parks and creating memorials. Along with the statues of Dr. Ambedkar and some other Dalit icons she has installed her own statues along with her mentor Kanshi Ram. She seems to have taken inspiration from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Ill. She has made history by installing her own statues as a living person. According to available information she has spent more than 3,000 crores of Rupees on statutes and parks. These statues and memorials are so grand and costly which can put any king or queen to shame. According to one German scholar Maren Schempp, “Mayawati is building her own Rome.” Another scholar has labeled it as a criminal waste of public money.

Now Mayawati is ruling the State for the fourth time and she proclaims to be the savior of Dalits. In the face of this claim it will be proper to see what she has done to for the upliftment of Dalits of U.P. According to 2001 Census Report the population of Dalits in U.P. is 3.51 crores which is 21.2 % of State population and is the largest in whole of India. Ordinarily it is expected that in a state where a Dalit Chief Minister has occupied the chair for the fourth time, the Dalits of that state might have benefited much from her rule. But the ground reality is totally to the contrary. At present U.P. dalits are the most backward in whole of India leaving aside the Dalits of Orissa and Bihar. According to 2001 Census Report the Male- Female sex ratio of U.P. dalits is 900 whereas the national average of Dalits is 936. Similarly the literacy rate of U.P. Dalits is 46.3 % (Male 60.3 and Female 30.5 Percent) against the national average of 54.7 percent (Male 66.6 and Female 41.9 %). According to above Census report out of 1.33 crore children between the age of group 5-14 yeas only 58.3 lacs ( 56.4 % ) were going to school.

According to above census Report among total workers U.P. has got 42.5 % dalits working as Agriculture Labourers against the national average of 45.6 %. The percentage of U.P. dalits below poverty line is about 50 %. In U.P. Work Participation Rate of Dalits is 34.7 % which is lower than the national average. Being a dominantly agriculture based society land is an important source of production. In U.P. the number and size of land holdings with dalits is very small but land reforms have not been given proper priority in the State. What ever land was given to the landless, most of it is under illegal possession of higher castes and Mayawati cannot afford to annoy them as they form an important part of her Sarvjan (all included) followers.

On account of feudal social set up caste discrimination and practice of untouchability are the main factors behind atrocities against Dalits in U.P. Their number is highest in whole of India. A decrease in atrocities and prompt action against the offenders is the general expectation from Mayawati but the reality is totally otherwise. During 2001 Mayawati in order to keep her crime figures low issued a written order suspending the use of Scheduled Cases and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities ) Act but was forced to withdraw the same in 2003. This had a very adverse effect on dalits. The atrocities continued to be perpetrated but their cases were not being registered by police. Besides this, the practice of untouchability is quite prevalent in midday meals in Primary Schools, Anganwari Centres and government hospitals but very little action is taken at government level. Thus Dalits continue to suffer under Mayawati’s rule. They have not experienced any empowerment material or otherwise.

“The statues serve as a source of inspiration for dalits” is the argument put forward by Mayawati for justifying her idolization. But this argument is quite contrary to the philosophy of Dalit icons. Let us see what Dr. Ambedkar said in a letter published in Bombay Chronicle in 1916. Following the death, in 1915, of Pherozeshah Merwnjee Mehta, one of the founders of Indian National Congress, and of Gopal Krishana Gokhle, another Congress leader and founder of Servants of India society, Ambedkar notes: “The memorial for Gokhle is to take the form of establishing branches of Servants of India Society at various places, while that of Sir P.M. Mehta is to stand in the form of a statue before the Bombay Municipal Office.” While appreciating the memorial for Gokhle, Ambedkar records his dismay over a statue for Mehta being “very trivial and unbecoming.” He is “at pains to understand why this memorial cannot be in a form that will be “of permanent use to posterity.”. He suggests that the memorial should be a public library named after Mehta. Drawing from his experience at “one of the biggest universities in the U.S., Ambedkar laments how we have not yet “realized the value of the library as an institution in the growth and advancement of society.”

Later, Dr. Ambedkar acted on these principles when he had the opportunity. He was driven by the belief that education was the greatest weapon for advancement. He founded “People’s Education Society” in 1944; three branches of Siddharth College beginning 1946; and Milind Mahavidhyalya in 1950. With a view to benefit the maximum number of students he established colleges in Bombay and Marathwar which is the most backward area in Maharashtra.

It is true that statues serve as source of inspiration but this role is very limited. The lasting inspiration comes by following their ideals and propagating their philosophy. But Mayawati has done hardly any thing in this direction. If the money spent on statues had been spent in establishing educational institutions in the name of dalit icons, it would have brought a qualitative change in the society.

From the brief above discussion it transpires that the emancipation of dalits can be achieved not by installation of statues but by working out a Dalit development agenda and implementing it honestly. In stead of spending crores on the statues, establishing educational institutions, hospital, libraries and useful institutions in the name of Dalit icons will be a true honour and memorial to them.

SR Darapuri, is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer (former Inspector General (IG) of Police), Vice-President of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), UP, and also represents the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Lok Rajniti Manch (People's Politics Front). Email: srdarapuri@yahoo.co.in

Lucknow, July 16 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Thursday claimed that the monetary compensation being paid to a Dalit rape victim was strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Dalit Act and the amount had been determined by the Congress party when it was in power.
Speaking to mediapersons, she said: “Whatever we are paying to Dalit victims of rape was determined by none other than the Congress party, whose government was responsible for drafting the provisions of the Dalit Act.”
Mayawati was referring to the remarks made by state Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi on the payment of compensation to rape victims belonging to the Dalit community.
Flaying Mayawati for giving a paltry sum of Rs.25,000 to a rape victim, Joshi was alleged to have observed at a party meeting in Moradabad: “If Mayawati thinks that such an amount is fair compensation for the mental and physical trauma suffered by a rape victim, then I would be ready to offer her a compensation of Rs.1 crore.”
Joshi sought to highlight that while the state police chief was busy spending lakhs on helicopter rides to hand over the compensation to rape victims, the amount being offered to them was a pathetic Rs.25,000.
Joshi’s remark infuriated Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) party workers, who protested against the statement. Joshi’s house in Lucknow was ransacked, allegedly by BSP workers.
“Personally, I am not satisfied with the provisions for punishment under the law. Left to me I would recommend nothing short of life imprisonment or death sentence to a rapist, and that too irrespective of caste and creed,” the chief minister pointed out. “If the Congress is so much against the existing provisions, why doesn’t it change the law through suitable amendments or by bringing in a new enactment,” she asked.
However, Mayawati declined to state how much compensation was laid down in the Act.

Female Indian politician arrested for rape comment
NEW DELHI — A leading politician of India’s ruling Congress party was arrested Thursday and her house set on fire by activists after she suggested that a rival leader be raped so she can better understand the plight of rape victims.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the chief of the Congress party in northern Uttar Pradesh state, was placed under 14 days custody pending investigations for allegedly promoting social enmity, insulting a woman’s modesty and insulting a person of lower caste.
No charges have been filed yet, but the three offenses are punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
Joshi’s house in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow was set on fire on Wednesday night, hours after she made a speech criticizing state Chief Minister Mayawati, who uses only one name.
After being arrested, Joshi said her comments were taken out of context.
Joshi’s speech was about the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh and the increasing number of rapes in the state. She cited a few cases in which some women were paid 25,000 rupees ($520) compensation after being raped.
Joshi said simply compensating the women with money was not enough. Women who are raped should “throw the money at Mayawati’s face and tell her ‘you should also be raped and I will give you 10 million rupees ($210,000),’” she said in the speech, broadcast by several television networks.
On Thursday, Joshi said she was only trying to “expose a chief minister who has no sympathy for women.”
“I regret what I said in a fit of anger. If it is being misconstrued, if it’s being misinterpreted, it is being taken out of context, then I regret it,” she said.
“I am myself a woman and I should not have spoken these words … I really apologize,” she said.
Mayawati appealed to her supporters to maintain peace, saying Joshi’s “extremely objectionable and vulgar language” should not be used as a pretext for violence.
She said the torching of Joshi’s house was “unfortunate” but denied her party cadres were involved.
Mayawati belongs to the Bahujan Samaj Party, which draws its support from low-caste Hindus who for centuries have remained underprivileged in India’s deeply hierarchal society.
In recent years, members of low castes have achieved enormous political clout, which became evident when Mayawati took control of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, in May 2007.
The Bahujan Samaj Party is a bitter rival of the Congress, which runs the federal government and some of India’s 29 states.
Police have not arrested any of the people who set fire to Joshi’s house and four cars parked on the premises.
Suresh Kumar, a gardener at Joshi’s house, said eight to nine masked men, armed with bamboo sticks, poured kerosene and gasoline inside the house and set it alight.
The Congress party rallied around Joshi, but said her comments were “uncalled for.”
Congress leader Digvijay Singh accused Mayawati’s supporters of setting ablaze Joshi’s house on her directions.
Associated Press writer Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow contributed to this report.

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The UPA government is activelyconsidering appointing interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir, the Gorkhaland agitation and has decided to replace its Nagaland interlocutor K. Padamanabhaiah.

Sources said former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, who tackled the Charar-e-Sharif crisis in 1995 as Joint Secretary, is front-runner for the job of Centre’s Kashmir interlocutor, a post lying vacant since N N Vohra became Governor in June 2008. The new appointment may renew New Delhi’s political process with the separatists. The Cabinet Secretary will lead a team of Secretaries to Srinagar next month.

Former Home Secretary Padamanabhaiah, sources said, may not get an extension when his term expires. He was appointed by the Vajpayee government on July 28, 1999 and after a decade of engagement with the Naga leadership, New Delhi feels the ground situation has not changed much. Moreover, the Naga groups are also seen to be supporting other movements in the North-East.

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The Muivah-Swu group was involved in trouble in the Tirap-Changlang sector of Arunachal Pradesh and found to be encouraging groups in the North Cachar hills as well as Left wing extremists.

With the Gorkha Jagaran Manch, headed by Bimal Gurung, stoking fires in the strategically important chicken neck area across the Chumbi Valley in North West Bengal — an indefinite bandh has been called — the Centre’s decision to appoint an interlocutor is expected to set the negotiation process rolling.

NEW DELHI: BJP has said the party was "not at all apologetic" about the demolition of the "disputed structure" in Ayodhya in 1992.

"The party is not at all apologetic about the incident of demolition of a disputed structure as it had not committed any mistake," BJP president Rajnath Singh said in an interview with RSS mouthpiece Organiser.

Reiterating BJP's commitment towards building Ram Temple in Ayodhya, he said, "Whatever happened in Ayodhya was the outburst of sentiments of the masses. It is not apt to hurt the sentiments of the masses."

On media reports about indiscipline in the party, Singh said, "There may be indiscipline at the individual level, but there is no scope for indiscipline in the party."

When asked about questions being raised on BJP's ideology by leaders from outside party platform, he said, "Disciplinary action would be taken against those who are found to be not following the ideology of the party."

"They (party members) should have a strong binding of the party's ideology on them and adhere to the party ideology," he added.

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) The virginity tests conducted on brides before a mass wedding in Madhya Pradesh generated much heat in the Rajya Sabha Monday - not so much because they were conducted at all but for the manner in which the issue was being raised in the house.
As Santosh Bagrodia (Congress) raised the issue during zero hour by reading out from a newspaper report, opposition members were immediately on their feet, saying he was being selective in giving details of the incident.
“Why is he reading selectively? Why doesn’t he read out the government version?” shouted S.S. Ahluwalia of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while Bagrodia pleaded that he be allowed to continue.
Other members wondered why newspaper reports were being quoted, prompting Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan to retort: “Fifty percent of the issues raised during zero hour are based on newspaper reports.”
This didn’t satisfy Najma Heptullah, also of the BJP and herself a former deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
“(On another issue) Pranab babu (Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee) said ‘don’t go by newspaper reports’. Now he (Bagrodia) is going by newspaper reports,” she maintained.
After finally managing to restore order in the house, Khan called on Bagrodia to make his statement. On Bagrodia concluding it, the deputy chairman called on Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to associate with it but she refused to do so.
“I cannot associate with it in the manner in which it has been raised. It is a sensitive issue. It has been reduced to politics,” Karat contended.
At issue was the virginity and pregnancy tests ordered on 152 brides at a mass wedding in Madhya Pradesh last month. This happened when just before the ceremony was to begin, a would-be bride went into labour pains, shocking those present.
After the tests were over, 14 of the brides were found to be pregnant.
Later, 138 couples belonging to different religions tied the knot.
The incident occurred June 30 when the brides had assembled for a mass marriage at Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district, 350 km from state capital Bhopal.
The function was held under the “Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojna”, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s pet scheme aimed at helping girls from poor families tie the knot at government expense.
Marriages under the scheme are solemnised free of cost and all arrangements are made by the district administration. Every couple is also provided assistance in the form of household items worth Rs.5,000.
The state government has allotted Rs.25 crore in the budget for the Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana. The government has also increased the scheme’s grant amount from Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,500 from January 2009 payable to a girl after marriage.
According to the state’s Economic Survey (2008-09), 88,460 marriages were solemnised from April 2006 to March 2009 under the government scheme.

BJP Leader L.K. AdvaniNew Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said today that its leader L.K. Advani's admonition of senior colleagues was aimed at curbing dissidence in the party still stunned by its Lok Sabha defeat. BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Advani's comments this week followed unending infighting ever since the party lost the battle for power in May.
"After the Lok Sabha elections, some leaders in the party have been giving random statements to the media," Naqvi told media, explaining why Advani had gone public with what he said on Monday and Tuesday. "This portrays a wrong image of the party and spoils the reputation of some leaders. Therefore, to control this, Advani has come out with some suggestions," Naqvi added. Speaking at the birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on Monday, Advani complained that there were too many spokespersons in the BJP, seemingly eager to see their names in the media. Even as the BJP reeled under the impact of the statement, Advani told newly elected MPs the next day that they should stay out of corporate wars and not ask questions in the house on behalf of lobbyists. Advani, who was BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha polls, also advised them to check every document before putting their signatures. Warning that these were critical times when individuals and political parties were looking for opportunities to "show each other down", he asked MPs to thoroughly check the background of their private secretaries. BJP second leaders have been locked in an ugly war, criticising one another publicly, ever since the party won only 116 seats in this general election -- far below the 138 it got in 2004 and much below what it thought it could win this time. Since then, some party leaders have privately blamed Advani's leadership and the absence of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the poor showing. Other second rung leaders have blamed one another, shocking members and supporters of the supposedly regimented BJP. Some in the BJP feel that Advani's latest comments seek to reiterate his authority over the country's second largest political party.

Agartala, July 8 : Terming the budget of the central government as “anti-people”, the Left Front government in Tripura Tuesday said it has largely neglected the north-eastern region.
“Doing a grave injustice towards the north-east region, almost the same amount (of last fiscal) has been allocated to the region, which is economically weak,” said state Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury.

The central government’s Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Ministry, now headed by B.K. Handique of Assam, has been allocated Rs.1,475 crore, slightly more than last year’s allocation.

Similarly, the North Eastern Council, a regional planning agency, will receive Rs.544.5 crore, which is more or less the same as what it received last fiscal.

Chowdhury said the union budget also has mistreated the North Eastern Development Finance Corp, which finances industrial and business projects in the industry-starved region.

Chowdhury, also a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee, accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of not allocating adequate funds for the public distribution system, creation of jobs and for enhancing people’s income.

“People’s loan burden will increase, inflation will rise and poor people will suffer more,” the minister observed.

Added CPI-M spokesman Gautam Das: “The railway minister had not allocated any additional funds for ongoing railway projects in the northeast India. The finance minister has also allocated nothing.”

Das said in its election manifesto, “the Congress did not spare a single line for the northeast and the same attitude was shown in both railway and general budgets”.

Regional trade and industry were also disappointed, and said “there was nothing much for the region”.

“The service tax on transportation by railway and water will push up prices of everything, as the region imports practically everything from other states,” said R.S. Joshi, president of the Federation of Industries in North Eastern Region (FINER).

“If we look at the north-east specifically, except for a meagre allocation for the Assam gas cracker project in the budget, there was not much for the region,” Joshi told IANS over phone from Guwahati.

The party would look into whether he could be charged under the Anti-Defection law. "We have to consult our party leaders in New Delhi before expelling him," Mr. Chakraborty said.

NEW DELHI - The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) may wax eloquent about empowering the downtrodden, but in the last five years it has denied the Scheduled Castes (SCs) a whopping Rs.72,500 crore ($15.16 billion) that should have been earmarked for them under a special scheme.

This has been underlined by voluntary organisation National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) after a study of India’s budget documents.
Called the special component plan (SCP), the scheme was a strategy evolved way back in April 1975, envisaging that every central ministry must allocate funds from its annual plan for Dalits according to their population.
SCs today form 16.2 percent of India’s 1.1 billion population. Therefore, between 2005 and 2009, the Congress-led government should have set aside Rs.129,000 crore for Dalits. But as much as Rs.72,500 crore was not earmarked, the NCDHR has pointed out.
“The figures of allocation are a mute witness to the history of denial of exclusion. It is not only for the last five years; this trend is observed for the last 28 years since the inception of the special component plan in 1979-80,” states the NCDHR.
It points to the allocations in the interim budget of the UPA government in February.
“Out of 75 ministries and their departments, only 16 have allocated funds under the SCP. Out of these, nine ministries have allocated token amounts below five percent. Labour and employment, science & technology, bio-technology, panchayati raj and textiles are some of the examples,” says the study.
But the NCDHR concedes that human resource development, social justice and empowerment, rural development, women and child development and health ministries did make allocations according to the Dalit population.
The SCP came into being in 1979-80 and only Rs.433 crore had been spent on SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) together in the 30 years before that.
According to the Planning Commission guidelines, these funds cannot be diverted for any other purpose.
The ruling Congress and its UPA allies that spoke of the common man in the run up to elections allocated Rs.15,280 crore for SCs in its interim budget in February while it should have set aside Rs.34,413 crore for this fiscal, says NCDHR.
“This is even lower than last year’s allocation,” points out the study.
“While the total increase in the plan outlay is 15.74 percent, it is unacceptable that at this critical time of financial crisis, the amount for the socially and economically vulnerable sections is drastically reduced. The amount denied is 55 percent this year!”
As envisaged by the Planning Commission of India, the major objectives of the SCP are:
* Substantial reduction in poverty;
* Creation of productive assets in favour of SCs to sustain the growth likely to accrue through development efforts;
* Human resource development of the SCs by providing adequate educational and health service; and
* Provision of physical and financial security against all types of exploitation and oppression.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, while expressing serious concerns over the latest killing of Bihari migrant workers in Assam, appealed to the Central government to intervene in the matter and direct the Assamese government to check violence against Biharis in the state.

"The Center cannot remain a moot spectator when Biharis are systematically being assaulted and murdered in Assam. The Home Ministry must look into the matter to assure safety of the people of Bihar who have chosen to make Assam their home," Modi said at a press conference in Patna on Wednesday.

The Deputy Chief Minister also directed the Chief Secretary to contact his counterpart in Assam to review the situation in the northeast state.

Meanwhile, the state government announced a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh to the family members of the latest victims of violence in Assam.

The BJP in the northeast suffered a major blow in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections when both its sitting MPs in Arunachal Pradesh - Khiren Rijuju and Tapir Gao - lost the polls to the Congress.