ऐसी स्थिति कभी नहीं देखी, नोटबंदी के ख़िलाफ़ बोलने से लोगों को डर लग रहा है : रवीश कुमार

November 17, 2016

चांदनी चौक की तमाम गलियों में सन्नाटा पसरा है। ज़्यादातर दुकानें बंद हैं। जो खुली हैं उन पर इक्के-दुक्के ग्राहक हैं। सोना चांदी की भी कई दुकानें बंद नज़र आईं।

रंग-रसायन और मसाले के बाज़ार में भी दुकानों के शटर गिरे मिले। सत्तर से नब्बे फीसदी दुकानें बंद हैं।

मैं आराम से तेज़ी से चलता हुआ, इस गली से उस गली होता हुआ खारी बावली पहुंच गया। वहां कुछ ठेले पर सामान लदे हैं मगर ज्यादातर ठेलों पर मज़दूर ख़ाली बैठे हैं। किसी को समझ नहीं आ रहा है कि वो क्‍या कहें। इत्र से लेकर मसाले बेचने वालों की छोटी-छोटी दुकानें ख़ाली हैं। चाट-पकौड़ी की दुकाने भी बंद हैं। ऐसा लगता है कि आज कोई हड़ताल होगी लेकिन पता चला कि नगद की कमी और सेल्स टैक्स के छापे के डर से सबने बंद किया है। पैसा है नहीं तो ग्राहक नदारद हैं। खुदरा व्यापारी ने भी आना बंद कर दिया है। चांदनी चौक कुल मिलाकर ठप है।

मुझे देखते ही भीड़ साथ-साथ चलने लगती है। कई लोग करीब आकर बहुत कुछ कहना चाहते हैं मगर सबको एक दूसरे से डर लग रहा है। वो कहते-कहते चुप हो जाते हैं। यह बेहद भयावह है। इसमें न तो सरकार ठीक से जान सकती है कि समर्थन कितना है और न ही विपक्ष का विरोध कितना है। बात यह है कि कोई पूरी बात कहता ही नहीं। बहुत कम लोग साहस कर भावुक हो उठे कि चार दिन से कोई कमाई नहीं हुई है। खाने के पैसे नहीं है। जो पैसे हैं उसे बदलवाने के लिए बैंकों में पूरा दिन निकल गया। दो-दो बार लौट कर आया हूं। बनिया भी पैसे नहीं दे रहा है।

जैसे ही वो कहता है, बगल से आवाज़ आती है, मोदी ने जो किया, बहुत सही किया। सत्तर साल में किसी ने नहीं किया। सिर्फ एक आवाज़ पूरी भीड़ को डरा देती है। जो अपनी बात कह रहा होता है, वो फिर से टेप रिवाइंड करता है और उसी पंक्ति से शुरू करता है जिसे आप चैनलों पर बार-बार सुन चुके हैं। मोदी जी ने बहुत सही किया है। हम मानते हैं कि देश का भला होने वाला है लेकिन…. यही वो ‘लेकिन’ है जिसके सहारे वो अपने डर से आज़ाद होने की कोशिश करता है मगर हार जाता है। फिर वो पूरी तरह फैसले का स्वागत करने लगता है।

क्या जनता को जनता से ही डर लगने लगा है। क्या लोगों को यह लगता है कि कोई भेदिया आ जाएगा। ऐसी स्थिति मैंने कभी नहीं देखी। काला धन के ख़िलाफ़ कार्रवाई का कोई विरोध कैसे कर सकता है। वो अपने लिए मज़दूरी और कमाई की बात करना चाहता है। काला धन के निर्माण में उसका न तो कोई योगदान है न ही उसे तुरंत कोई फायदा होने वाला है। उसे क्यों इतनी तकलीफ हो रही है। चांदनी चौक में कारोबार ठप सा होने से बड़ी संख्या में मज़दूरों पर संकट आया है। वे असहाय हैं. सरकार और बीजेपी को समझना चाहिए कि ये परेशान लोग विपक्ष के नहीं हैं। उन्हीं के अपने हैं।

आखिर लोग इस बात के लिए किसे दोष दें, कि पैसे नहीं हैं। मज़दूरी नहीं मिल रही है। कब से मिलनी शुरू होगी, किसी को पता नहीं। उनका दर्द छलक नहीं पा रहा है क्योंकि जैसे ही छलकता है, कोई आकर कह देता है कि सरकार ने साहसिक फैसला लिया है। फिर वो भी कहने लगता है कि हम भी वही कह रहे हैं लेकिन….. अब इस लेकिन का इतना दबाव है कि कोई यह भी नहीं कह पाता कि भूखा है।

चांदनी चौक के व्यापारियों को सेल्स टैक्स और इनकम टैक्स के छापों ने डरा दिया है। कइयों ने कहा कि छापे के नाम पर हमें डरा दिया गया है ताकि खुलकर विरोध न कर सकें. व्यापारी कहते हैं कि हम तो बिल्कुल ही विरोध में नहीं हैं। लेकिन हम ये तो बोल सकते हैं न कि हमारा बिजनेस चौपट हो गया है। एक रुपये में एक पैसे का भी कारोबार नहीं बचा है। हमारे लिए कोई इंतज़ाम नहीं किया गया है। मज़दूर और व्यापारी दोनों बैंक की कतार में हैं। ग्राहक और खुदरा व्यापारी ने आना बंद कर दिया है। इसके बाद भी हम शादियों के मौसम में लोगों की मदद कर रहे हैं। उधार पर माल देकर हम भी योगदान कर रहे हैं।

नोटबंदी के फैसले के बाद मीडिया ने सदर बाज़ार की तरफ दौड़ लगाई थी। मैंने कई व्यापारी से पूछा कि आपकी छवि ऐसी क्यों हैं। आप सब की पहुंच सभी राजनीतिक दलों में है। फिर भी आप कब तक इस तरह की छवि को ढोते रहेंगे। प्रधानमंत्री ने भी ग़ाजीपुर में कहा था,” मेरा निर्णय ज़रा कड़क है। जब मैं छोटा था तो ग़रीब लोग होते थे वो मुझे खास कहते थे कि मोदी जी चाय ज़रा कड़क बनाना। ग़रीब को कड़क चाय ज़्यादा अच्छी लगती है। हमें तो बचपन से आदत है। तो निर्णय मैंने ज़रा कड़क लिया. अब ग़रीब को तो कड़क चाय ज़रा भाती है लेकिन अमीर का मूड बिगड़ जाता है।” प्रधानमंत्री ने यह भी कहा, ”इस फैसले से ग़रीब चैन से सो रहा है। अमीर नींद की गोली ख़रीदने के लिए बाज़ार के चक्कर लगा रहा है।

उनके इस बयान ने काले धन को लेकर समाज का एक तरह से बंटवारा कर दिया है। संदेश गया है कि ग़रीब चैन से है और अमीर चोर है। तमाम जनता के बीच अमीर तबका संदिग्ध हो गया है। व्यापारियों को भी अब अपनी इस छवि के बारे में सोचना चाहिए। उन्होंने अपनी कमाई से न जाने कितने दलों को सींचा है। अब वक्त आ गया है वे अपने धंधे को सींचे। उसे पहले से बेहतर करें और उस रास्ते पर चलें जिस पर कोई दल उनका आर्थिक और भावनात्मक दोहन करने के बाद उनका शोषण न करें। उन्हें लांछित न करे। आज़ादी के आंदोलन में व्यापारियों का योगदान ऐतिहासिक है। उन्हें राष्ट्रवादी मर्यादा के साथ देखा और सराहा गया। लेकिन इस बार के राष्ट्रवादी आंदोलन में उन्हें शक की निगाह से देखा जा रहा है। करोड़ों की कमाई हो और प्रतिष्ठा ऐसी, यह तो उसी वर्ग को तय करना है कि किस लिए और किसके लिए।

पूरे देश में तमाम वर्गों के साथ व्यापारी वर्ग भी शक के दायरे में है कि वही काले धन को सफेद करने में लगा है। चांदनी चौक के व्यापारी इस सवाल पर चुप हो जाते हैं। कहते हैं कि हमें बताइये कि हम कैसे अपना व्यापार करें। नगद हमारे कारोबार का हिस्सा रहा है। हम पक्के नोट का कारोबार करते हैं। सबके पास काला धन नहीं है। कितनी छोटी-छोटी दुकानें हैं। क्या सभी के पास काला धन है। क्या पांचों अंगुलियां बराबर हो सकती हैं। फिर भी हम तैयार हैं कि जो प्रक्रिया सरकार तय करे उस पर चलेंगे लेकिन क्या सरकारी विभाग हमसे रिश्वत लेना बंद कर देंगे। क्या कोई सरकार ये बंद करवा देगी।

बहरहाल चांदनी चौक के व्यापारी सरकारी डंडे से डरे हुए हैं। उन्हें सोचना चाहिए कि ऐसे वक्त में जब काला धन नष्ट करने का कथित रूप से राष्ट्रवादी अभियान चल रहा हो, उनका नाम सम्मानित स्वर में क्यों नहीं लिया जा रहा है। क्यों वे डरे-डरे से हैं. क्यों उनकी दुकानों के शटर गिरे हैं। क्या उन्होंने ईमानदार राजनीति का पोषण किया है। यह सवाल भी उन्हें अपने आप से पूछना चाहिए. जो कल की बात है वो कल की बात है। कल भी ये बात न रहे, चांदनी चौक के व्यापारियों को सोचना होगा. बताना होगा कि उनके धंधे का राज़ क्या है और उनके चंदे का राज़ क्या है। वर्ना जब भी यह बात सुनाई देगी कि अमीर नींद की गोलियां ख़रीदने के लिए चक्कर लगा रहे हैं, मीडिया चांदनी चौक के चक्कर लगाने लगेगा।

Courtesy: teesrijungnews.com

Sahara bribery papers: ‘Modi ji’/’CM Gujarat’ paid Rs 40.1 crore

November 17, 2016

Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, on Tuesday shook the corridors of power in the national capital with his sensational allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accepted crores of black money in bribe during his time as Gujarat chief minister.

Speaking during an emergency session of the Delhi assembly, Kejriwal said, “This is for the first time in independent India that a prime minister’s name has cropped up in the list of black money.”

Among the documents presented by Kejriwal to substantiate his allegations were the appraisal report of the Income Tax authorities, who had conducted raids at the offices of Aditya Birla Group and Sahara Group in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
According to the appraisal report, Aditya Birla Group had allegedly paid Modi a bribe of Rs 25 crore.

He said, “The Aditya Birla group was raided in October 2013. Income Tax department picks up all the documents… Shubhendu Amitabh was group executive of Birla group… his laptop, Blackberry was checked. One entry was found that stated Gujarat CM Rs 25 crore. Gujarat ke CM ke aage 25 crore and (in) brackets it was written that ‘12 done’ and rest? Gujarat CM kaun the us time…Narendra Modi ji 2012 mein (Who was the Gujarat CM that time, Narendra Modi).”

Meanwhile, renowned Supreme Court lawyer and the head of Swaraj Abhiyan, Prashant Bhushan, too moved the Supreme Court with an application in the apex court alleging a “cover-up” in the wake of raids conducted by the Income Tax Department against Aditya Birla Group companies in October 2013 and on the Sahara India Group premises in November 2014.

On 25 October, Bhushan sent his complaint to all investigating agencies including the Chief Vigilance Commissioner and the two retired judges heading the Special Investigating Team on black money.

Bhushan told Janta Ka Reporter that the details emerging out of the appraisal report on the raids at Sahara Group was far more incriminating against Modi and his party than what the tax authorities discovered during their raids against the Aditya Birla Group.

Documents accessed by Janta Ka Reporter found entries of several payments made to one ‘Modi ji’ and ‘CM Gujarat’ running in crores at several places in the appraisal report. (See images below).

On page 89, the report mentions at least eight payments made to ‘Modi ji’ in Ahmedabad via one Sahara employee, ‘Jaiswal ji.’

These payments, totalling Rs 40.10 crore, were made to ‘Modi ji’ by ‘Jaiswal ji’ between 30 October 2013 and 21 February 2014. By then Modi was already the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and had launched the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

On the same page, there are entries of others significant payments made to ‘CM MP,’ ‘CM Chhattisgarh’ and ‘CM Delhi.’

‘CM MP’ was paid Rs 10 crore in two installments through one ‘Neeraj Vashisht’ while payment of Rs 4 crore to ‘CM Chhattisgarh’ was made by ‘Nandi ji.’

‘CM Delhi’ received Rs 1 crore by same ‘Jaiswal’ who had made payment of Rs 40.1 crore to ‘Modi ji’ and ‘CM Gujarat’ on 23 September 2013.

On page 90 of the report, a list of similar payments are outlined, but here ‘Modi ji’ is stated as ‘CM Gujarat’ while the person, who made these payments remained ‘Jaiswal ji.’

On Page 91, other names include one ‘Shaina ji NC,’ who was paid through ‘Uday Ji.’ ‘Ms Shaina NC ji’ is stated to have been paid Rs 4 crore. According to the documents, ‘Shaina ji NC’ was paid Rs 4 crore in four installment between 28 August 2013 and 20 January 2014.

Page 92 has the list of several names, who are yet to be paid their promised amount. The sheet also has a line, which says, ‘Shania NC/Chief of BJP- ask her to help from A.(Advocate) General to withdrawal(close) Bombay case.’

Bhushan said that a senior Income Tax Department official called KB Chowdary was heading the investigation into the payment of black money to ‘Modi Ji’ and other recipients.

He said, “Same Chowdary was appointed to head the Chief Vigiliance Commission, a body that is expected to keep an eye even on the functioning of the CBI. I was informed that he was appointed for this post only because he helped the government to hush up the documents obtained from raids at the offices of Birla and Sahara. This is what prompted me to write to investigating agencies and the Supreme Court.”

All documents accessed by Janta Ka Reporter have four signatures, two being of the witnesses, one IT officer and the last being of the representative of the company, whose premises have been raided.

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter

India’s Groundwater Crisis: Water Levels Fall In 65% Wells In A Decade

November 17, 2016

The year 2014 marked the end of water woes for 56-year-old Mahaveer Singh, a fruit and vegetable farmer from Thumbo ka Golia, a village in Jalore district, in southwest Rajasthan. In 2015, Singh’s income grew 40% over his 2013 income, as he switched to growing vegetables and fruits from castor oil, helped by the bountiful monsoon which raised the water level in his well by 9.14 ft, almost double the rise in 2014–4.57 ft.

Madhavan Ramadas, 42, a banana and coconut farmer in district Thrissur, Kerala faced hardship every summer as his home open well would dry up. Across India, barely 3% wells registered a rise in water level exceeding 4 metres in the year ending January 2016. Only 35% of wells showed any rise in water level, indicating the scale of the problem

Singh’s well bucked a nationwide trend–across India, barely 3% wells registered a rise in water level exceeding 4 metres in the year ending January 2016, according to this 2016 Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) report. Only 35% of wells showed any rise in water level, which declined in 64% of wells. Average water levels in January 2016 were lower than the average water level between 2006 and 2015.

Source: Ground Water Scenario in India January 2016, Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water ResourcesWell depth in January 2016, as compared to decadal mean of January (2006-15)

Behind the trend of falling water levels is India’s 251 cubic kilometer (cu km) annual groundwater extraction rate–equivalent to 26 times the water stored in the Bhakra Dam–making India the world’s biggest consumer of groundwater, according to a 2012 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization report. With annual extraction rates of 112 cu km, China and the US tie at a distant second.

Source: Managing Water Under Uncertainty and Risk, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationData for 2010. Together, these countries account for 72% of the groundwater extracted annually.

Over nine-tenths of groundwater is extracted for irrigation, according to the Ground Water Year Book for 2014-15 released by the CGWB, underscoring India’s dependence on groundwater for irrigation–it provides water for 60% of the irrigated area, as IndiaSpendreported in October 2016. Over the last four decades—when India commissioned roughly halfof its 50 biggest dams—around 84% of the total addition to the net irrigated area has come from groundwater, according to this July 2016 report by a government committee.

Just like the rest of India, Singh depended on his well to irrigate his 15 bighas of farmed land. But unlike Singh, major farming states—Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana—are seeing water levels in wells fall instead of rise.

A well-recharging project implemented by the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF), a Jodhpur-based not-for-profit, enabled Singh to switch from growing only castor oil to chillies, vegetables and, of late, Thai apple ber; his income grew by 40% and could increase by 250% if the berries yield the return Singh expects. “Now my well yields the same water flow even in the summer months,” Singh told IndiaSpend over the phone. “Now the water is sweet, earlier it was salty,” he added, referring to the improved quality of water.

In 2015, Mahaveer Singh (left), 56, of Thumbo ka Goliya, southwest Rajasthan, saw water levels rise over 4 metres in his well when only 3% wells across India saw such a rise. A rainwater harvesting well recharging project implemented within 2 km of Singh’s 15 bighas of irrigated agricultural land has increased the availability of water in his well as well as improved the quality of water–earlier it was salty, now it is sweet. Switching from growing castor oil to vegetables increased farmer Singh’s income by 40%. With Thai variety apple ber (right), his latest crop, Singh expects to see his income grow 250%.

In contrast, the average farmer in Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana faces the prospect of having no groundwater left for irrigation by 2025.

Source: Ground Water Year Book for 2014-15, Dynamic Ground Water Resources of IndiaGroundwater development index is a measure of the groundwater consumed to the groundwater recharged through rainfall, canal seepage, return flows from irrigation and recharge from water bodies and conservation structures.

Too easily accessible groundwater is being exploited

The problem–and the advantage–with groundwater is its decentralised access. A licence is all you need to sink a well on owned land and extract water. Consequently, India has an estimated 30 million groundwater structures, according to the July 2016 government report.

In Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, groundwater abstraction exceeds the rate at which it is being replenished through rainfall, back flows from irrigation and seepage from canals, other water bodies and conservation structures. A licence does not prevent groundwater exploitation, and instead breeds corruption within the system, said Rajendra Singh, a water conservationist from Alwar, in Rajasthan.

“We cannot police 30 million groundwater structures through a licence quota-permit raj,” said the July 2016 government report, instead suggesting that groundwater be recognised as a “common pool resource”, which means that it be considered a community resource and not a resource belonging to the owner of the land. The report also suggested that the government promote “community-driven decentralised water management”.

Why should communities manage groundwater?

Local stakeholders are best positioned to police the use of water, and they are more likely to do so honestly because their lives depend on its availability.

“Community-driven decentralised water management was the norm in India until about 100 years ago, prior to the development of the modern canal-based flood irrigation system and extraction technology,” said Singh, the water conservationist.

Wells have also been inextricably entwined in the Indian cultural ethos for being more than a source of water, often with separate wells earmarked for the upper classes and for dalits—a gruesome reality until today.

Between 700 and 1900 AD, west India saw the creation of 3,000 wells, so complex that they came to be known as underground water buildings, or popularly, stepwells, according to the book Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells of India. Stepwells around Hampi, in Karnataka, in Delhi, and in Haryana also date back to this period. Without more community-driven initiatives to protect wells, this heritage of India might become “a past glory”, said Jos Raphael, director of Mazhapolima, a well-recharging initiative of the District RainWater Harvesting Mission in Thrissur, a district in Kerala.

Through his non-governmental organisation Tarun Bharat Sangh, Singh, the water conservationist, has actively promoted community-driven decentralised management of natural resources, including wells around the river Arvari in Rajasthan.

“We have created Neer Nari Panchayats to monitor well withdrawals. They don’t allow the water table to fall beyond a certain level, so that even the poorest people who rely on shallow wells are not disadvantaged,” he explained.

Harvesting rainwater could recharge India’s wells en masse

Mazhapolima, a community-driven project to recharge wells in district Thrissur, Kerala, has made life easier for thousands, including the family of Madhavan Ramadas, 42, a banana and coconut farmer.

Ramadas’s family–like 75% of Thrissur’s population–depends on about 4.5 lakh open wells for their water needs. Up until 2008, summers were a nightmare for the Ramadas family.

“Water shortages were the norm as our well used to run dry by April,” Ramadas told IndiaSpend over the phone. “Seventy percent of wells in Thrissur would dry up during summer.”

In 2008, Ramadas signed up for Mazhapolima, which involved setting up a system to harvest and channel rainwater to recharge his family’s open well. As a result, in 2009, the family had sufficient water to last through April. A year later, the well water lasted until May, and by 2010, summer water shortages were a thing of the past.

In Kerala, rooftop rainwater harvesting systems involving a pipe and gutter are being used to to recharge home open wells, under a community-driven project, Mazhapolima, which has increased the utilisable groundwater potential in a sample 7.6 sq km coastal area by 43.35 million litres as well as improved the quality of water.

Well-recharging has worked successfully, especially for coastal communities in the district of Thrissur, but hasn’t been as effective for those living in the mountains or in the plains, said Raphael.

Mazhapolima has increased the groundwater potential in a coastal area covering 7.6 sq km by 43.35 million litres, as well as improved the quality of water, he added.

Singh, the farmer in arid Rajasthan, has also benefited from water harvesting and well-recharging.

With the aid of non-governmental organisations and funds raised from the community, the JBF constructed a sand dam—a structure which slows down the flow of water thus increasing the amount that percolates underground—on the dry bed of a nala (stormwater drain), flowing 1.5 km away from Singh’s fields. The dam increased the water level of 103 wells, within a 4 km radius of the dam, according to Kanupriya Harish, executive director of the JBF.

The JBF plans to scale the sand dam water harvesting technology—an African invention—to six more districts in Rajasthan, with support from HSBC Bank, Excellent Development, a British not-for-profit, and local communities.

“In Thumbo ka Golia, the community contributed 18% of the Rs 17 lakh project cost,” said Harish. “Seeing the success, more communities are asking for help, and (are) ready to pay their share.”

(Bahri is a freelance writer and editor based in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.)

Courtesy: India Spend

BJP MLA का बड़ा खुलासा: PM मोदी ने अंबानी-अडानी को दे दी थी नोटबंदी की जानकारी

November 17, 2016

कोटा। प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने आठ नवंबर को 500 और 1000 के नोटों को रात 12 बजे से बंद करने की घोषणा की थी। बड़े नोटों के बंद होने से आम जनता को नकद पैसे की किल्लत का सामना करना पड़ रहा है। देश के विभिन्न हिस्सों में बैंकों और एटीएम के सामने लोगों की लंबी कतारे देखी जा रही हैं। आम लोगों पैसे पाने के लिए को कई घंटों तक लाइन में लगना पड़ रहा है। जिसके बाद विपक्ष मोदी सरकार पर हमलावर है।

विपक्ष के बाद अब बीजेपी के नेता भी मोदी सरकार पर हमलावर हो गए हैं। बयानों से चर्चा में रहने वाले राजस्थान के कोटा जिले के बीजेपी विधायक भवानी सिंह राजावत ने नोटबंदी पर अपनी ही पार्टी को कटघरे में खड़ा कर दिया है। बुधवार को भवानी सिंह राजावत का एक वीडियो वायरल हुआ है। इस वायरल हुए वीडियो में राजावत मोदी सरकार के नोटबंदी पर सवाल उठा रहे हैं। राजावत कह रहे हैं, "अंबानी-अडानी को नोटबंदी के बारे में पहले से ही पता था। इनको हिंट दे दी गई थी और इसके बाद उन्होंने अपना काम कर लिया।"

भवानी सिंह राजावत ने कथित तौर पर कहा है कि अंबानी और अडानी को 500 और 1000 के नोट बंद किए जाने के बारे में पहले से पता था। बुधवार को इंटरनेट पर रिलीज किए गए इस वीडियो में बीजेपी विधायक कथित तौर पर ऐसा कहते दिख रहे हैं।

यही नहीं नए नोटों की क्वालिटी के बारे में अपनी राय रखते हुए वीडियो में राजावत कह रहे हैं, "नए नोट की क्वालिटी थर्ड क्लास है, छूते ही लगता है कि नकली है। देश की आबादी के अनुपात में करंसी प्रिंट कराते, उसके बाद में कुछ करते। एक साथ पेट्रोल पंप की कीमतों की तरह कह दिया कि आज रात 12 बजे से 500-1000 के नोट बंद कर दिए जाएंगे। इसको ठहरकर कर सकते थे, एक महीने बाद हो जाएगा, 15 दिन बाद हो जाएगा, पहले यह होगा, फिर यह होगा।"

आपको बता दें यह वीडियो 33 सकेंड का है जिसमें विधायक बोलते नजर आ रहे हैं कि नए नोट की क्वालिटी थर्ड क्लास की है, लेते ही लगता है नोट नकली है। इसके बाद राजावत ने सफाई देते हुए कहा कि मैंने ऐसा कोई बयान नहीं दिया। वीडियो में कांट-छांट की गई है। यह सब एक षड्यंत्र के तहत किया गया है।

Courtesy: National Dastak

सबसे निचले स्तर पर पहुंचा नौकरियां पैदा करने का आंकड़ा, हालात देश में पैदा कर सकते हैं त्रासदी

November 17, 2016

राष्ट्रपति प्रणब मुखर्जी ने बुधवार को आगाह किया कि नौकरियों के अवसर पैदा करने के विपरीत हालात देश में त्रासदी पैदा कर सकते हैं।

शैक्षणिक संस्थानों के प्रमुखों के एक सम्मेलन को संबोधित करते हुए मुखर्जी ने कहा कि नौकरियां पैदा करने के आंकड़े पिछले सात वर्षों में सबसे निचले स्तर पर हैं और रोजगार के नए अवसर पैदा करना प्राथमिकता है।

संस्थानों में छात्रों के विरोध की घटनाओं का हवाला देते हुए राष्ट्रपति ने इस बात पर जोर दिया कि छात्रों को उच्च स्तर की पढ़ाई करने के लिए सद्भावपूर्ण और शांतिपूर्ण माहौल की जरूरत है।

उन्होंने संबंधित सरकारी विभागों से कहा कि वे इन शैक्षणिक नेतृत्वकर्ताओं की मदद करें। मुखर्जी ने कहा कि देश के संस्थानों को प्रतिभाओं के सहायक के तौर पर काम करना चाहिए।

उन्होंने कहा, ‘भारत में प्रतिभा की कोई कमी नहीं है। नौजवानों की सर्वाधिक आबादी होने से हमारे पास निम्न निर्भरता अनुपात का फायदा उठाने की पूरी गुंजाइश है। अगर देश में पर्याप्त नौकरियां होंगी जो संतुष्टि, दोहन और संपूर्णता होगी। इसके विपरीत का माहौल देश में त्रासदी ला सकता है।’

भाषा की खबर के अनुसार, राष्ट्रपति ने कहा, ‘युवाओं की नाराजगी और परेशानी अशांति और उथल-पुथल के रूप में सामने आती है। ऐसे हालात हमारे यहां पैदा नहीं होने दीजिए।

हमें बड़ी आबादी को अपनी ताकत में तब्दील करना होगा। इसके लिए रोजगार के अवसर पैदा किए जाने को प्राथकिमता है। साल 2015 में नौकरियां पैदा होने का आंकड़ा 1.5 लाख था जो पिछले सात वर्षों में सबसे कम है।’ उन्होंने कहा कि मशीनों के तेजी से चलन में आने के साथ हमें व्यापक बदलाव की ओर से ध्यान देना होगा।

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter

No, this isn’t the 1930s – but yes, this is fascism

November 17, 2016

The spread of fascism in the 1920s was significantly aided by the fact that liberals and mainstream conservatives failed to take it seriously. Instead, they accommodated and normalised it.

Image: PA/Roman Pilipey

The centre right is doing the same today. Brexit, Trump and the far right ascendant across Europe indicate that talk of a right-wing revolutionary moment is not exaggerated. And the French presidential election could be next on the calendar.

The shock felt by status-quo liberals and the anguish experienced on the left are matched only by the satisfaction of those on the extreme right that finally they are winning. The so-called “mature” liberal democracies have long managed to marginalise them. They have long seen themselves as vilified for speaking the common man’s unpalatable truths to out-of-touch elites. Now their champions are taking the political mainstream by storm.

The signs are there if you look for them. EPA

And amid the disbelief, heartbreak, and protest, centre-right politicians and commentators seek to normalise and reassure. They dismiss “whingers” and “moaners”. They tell us to “get over it” and brush off talk of a new fascism as unfounded scaremongering.

Even among historians, apparently – as the conservative British writer Niall Ferguson condescended to tell Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis – analogies with the 1930s are made only by the easily confused.

The circumstances of society, the economy and geopolitics are so different, we are told, that today’s right-wing populism cannot be called a fascistic revival. The mainstream centre right assures us that all will be well in the wake of Trump’s election. It did the same after the UK’s EU referendum, even as hate crime figures skyrocketed. Conservative politicians continue to insist that the real news is about the wonderful opportunities ahead.

But that is precisely where the real analogy with Europe in the 1920s and 1930s lies. The circumstances of 2016 are indeed very different to those against which militarised party shock troops fought street battles, and monarchists looked for a strong man to capture popular grievances and save them from Bolshevik revolution.

But historical circumstances, like individuals, are always unique and unrepeatable. The point of comparison is not to suggest that we are living though the 1930s redux. It is to recognise the very strong family resemblance in ideas shared by the early 20th century far right and its mimics today.

Mussolini in 1922. Wikimedia Commons

Discussion of fascism suffers from an excess of definition. That often, ironically, allows far-right groups and their apologists to disavow the label because of some tick-box characteristic which they can be said to lack. But just as we can usefully talk about socialism as a recognisable political tradition without assuming that all socialisms since the 1840s have been cut from one mould, so we can speak of a recognisably fascist style of politics in Europe, the US, Russia and elsewhere. It is united by its espousal of a set of core ideas.

The theatrical machismo, the man or woman “of the people” image, and the deliberately provocative, demagogic sloganeering that impatiently sweeps aside rational, evidence-based argument and the rule-bound negotiation of different perspectives – the substance of democracy, in other words – is only the outward form that this style of politics takes.

More important are its characteristic memes. Fascism brings a masculinist, xenophobic nationalism that claims to “put the people first” while turning them against one another. That is complemented by anti-cosmopolitanism and anti-intellectualism. It denounces global capitalism, blaming ordinary people’s woes on an alien “plutocracy” in a language that is both implicitly anti-Semitic and explicitly anti-immigrant, while offering no real alternative economics. In the US, that was perfectly exemplified in Trump’s closing campaign ad.

Trump’s view of the world.
A view of the world is presented that is centred on fears of “national suicide” and civilisational decline, in which whites are demographically overwhelmed by “inferior” peoples, minorities and immigrants. Today, this is the French far-right’s paranoid fantasy of le grand remplacement. Geopolitics are defined by latent religio-racial war. In the 1930s, this meant a death struggle with communism. Today, it looks to, and feeds abundantly on, Islamist extremism and Islamic State, abusively identified with “Islam” as a whole.

This is a new fascism, or at least near-fascism, and the centre right is dangerously underestimating its potential, exactly as it did 80 years ago. Then, it was conservative anti-communists who believed they could tame and control the extremist fringe. Now, it is mainstream conservatives, facing little electoral challenge from a left in disarray. They fear the drift of their own voters to more muscular, anti-immigrant demagogues on the right. They accordingly espouse the right’s priorities and accommodate its hate speech. They reassure everyone that they have things under control even as the post-Cold War neoliberal order, like the war-damaged bourgeois golden age last century, sinks under them.

The risk, at least for the West, is not a new world war, but merely a poisoned public life, a democracy reduced to the tyranny of tiny majorities who find emotional satisfaction in a violent, resentful rhetoric while their narrowly-elected leaders strip away their rights and persecute their neighbours. That might be quite bad enough.

This article was first published on The Conversation

Demonetisation: The grandest of blunders made by anyone in Indian political history?

November 17, 2016

Poorly planned and implemented it is likely to prove disastrous not only for the country’s economy but – ironically enough,– for the BJP’s own electoral fortune

The abrupt demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes by the Narendra Modi regime is a drastic move that is staggering in its scale, ambition and repurcussions. The only other figures in modern history one can think of, devious or stupid enough to attempt something similar, are the likes of Marcos, Suharto, Idi Amin and Pol Pot.

Artists protest against the demonetization of Rs 1000 and 500 notes through a street play in Kolkata. (Photo courtesy – PTI)

For all its audacity however, the decision could go down also as the grandest of blunders made by anyone in Indian political history. Poorly planned and implemented it is likely to prove disastrous not only for the country’s economy but – ironically enough,– for the BJP’s own electoral fortunes.

The abolition of the two currency notes – that make up 86% of all cash in circulation in the Indian economy – has affected almost every family in the second most populous nation on the planet. The harassment of the common citizen – particularly from the ranks of the urban and rural poor- through denial of access to income, savings and livelihood will not be forgotten anytime soon.

The Modi government’s supporters have termed demonetisation a ‘surgical strike’ against black money, calling it a ‘bold’ , ‘necessary’ and ‘well intentioned’ step. A more rabid section of his fans see all complaints as coming from those who benefited from black money, mainly the BJP’s political opponents. The Prime Minister himself has called upon the nation to ‘make sacrifices’ and put up with hardship for 50 days in this battle against corruption.

However, growing consensus among economists both within and outside the country is that demonetisation is a foolish measure and will hurt the Indian economy badly – especially farmers, small businesses, labour and anyone part of the country’s informal sector – and operates on a daily basis through cash transaction. The informal sector constitutes over 30 % of the Indian economy in value and 92% in terms of workforce employed[1].

Since the drastic policy was announced on November 8, all these have come to a complete standstill, leaving millions without livelihood or means to buy basic goods. As one respected economist has pointed out demonetisation may have permanently damaged India’s informal sector[2].

A severe deflation is predicted over the next six months to a year or even longer, as spending power disappears or goes down for millions of Indians and businesses shut down. There is also the concern that, with government issued currency losing credibility through demonetisation, more and more people will keep their money in unproductive but safe assets like gold and property.

So, why would the government take such a high risk step ? What was Mr Modi really trying to do when he announced a measure that directly affects almost every single family in the second most populous nation on the planet? Who are the real beneficiaries of this drastic policy? Will it really stop black money from circulating in the economy and end corruption from the country?

Despite all this propaganda it is quite clear now that demonetisation has nothing really to do with black money, that constitutes a sizeable 20 % of the Indian economy, of which only 6% is hoarded in cash, the rest being stashed away in gold, real estate and foreign accounts. If the government was serious about hurting the beneficiaries of black money they would have started by prosecuting those who keep such ill-gotten wealth in non-cash assets. Also, given the large-scale collusion of the Indian political class and bureaucracy in corruption the Modi regime should have first gone after its own ministers and government officials (particularly from the tax and revenue collection departments) to set a public example.

At its core, demonetisation is essentially an an attempt at economic and social engineering – on behalf of corporate banking and financial elites – the new paymasters Modi genuflects to after having ditched the small and medium mercantile lobbies the BJP represented for long. The Indian middle-classes, both real and aspirational, are rooting for the policy as they see a consolidation of their own power and future benefits in it.

With one stone, the policy’s architects have tried to slaughter many birds: recapitalise public banks burdened with bad loans; lend out new deposits to cronies in the corporate sector; enrich new entrants into the digital banking business, give the government extra funds to spend on its pet projects and steal a march over political rivals.

1.Rebooting troubled Indian banks: The bad loans or Non Performing Assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking sector, stood at nearly 6 lakh crore rupees by end of March 2016[3]. Over 90 per cent of this is on the books of public-sector banks, with the State Bank of India accounting for the highest amount. Even this sum, stunning as it may be, is considered a gross underestimation and if loans that face the risk of being declared NPAs are also taken into account, the overall stressed advances of Indian banks will double[4]. A bulk of the NPAs are in turn due to default on interest payments by the corporate sector, which has been milking the banking system through its political patrons.

The increase in deposits of banks expected due to the crackdown on black money is expected to help banks get into better health, lower interest rates and enable them to resume lending to Indian businesses again. In other words, demonetisation is a way of saving many Indian public sector banks while also providing corporates with fresh loans, a very dubious strategy given those in power seem to have no real will to recover money from their defaulter cronies.

2.Increasing the government’s cash flow: One of the justifications being given now for demonetisation is that an estimated Rs.16 lakh crores circulating in the Indian economy as cash, mostly in the form of 500 and 1000 rupee notes, will all get accounted for as they will be forced to go through the banking system. Assuming that a significant portion of the cash held in high denomination notes is ‘black money’ – it is argued that a significant percentage of this black money will not come back at all due to fear of penalties and prosecution and becomes useless. This will reduce the overall liability of the Researve Bank of India by anywhere between 2-4 lakh crore rupees, providing a windfall to the state exchequer. This calculation has been challenged by several economists but even if it were right, the moot question is what the government plans to spend all this extra money on, given its extremely poor record of spending on health, education and infrastructure for the welfare of the population? What is the guarantee that it will not all end up in the pockets of ruling party politicians and their businessmen friends?

3.Boosting the digital cash economy: In July this year a new study by Google and Boston Consulting Group[5] predicted an exponential increase in digital payments, estimated to grow by 10 times to touch US$500 billion by 2020 – or around 15% of the Indian GDP by that time. A bulk of these payments, the study said, will be micro-transactions, with over 50% of person-to-merchant business expected to be under 100.

The biggest barrier to this prediction coming true however is supposed to be the fact that a vast majority of Indians prefer to use cash over digital money. Cash, as a percentage of total consumer payments in India, is around 98%, compared with 55% in the US and 48% in the UK, according to report by Payments Council of India released in 2015[6].

In one sweeping stroke, the Modi regime has changed all that and through demonetisation is about to force millions of Indians into the waiting arms of around a dozen private ‘payment banks’ given licences to operate by the Reserve Bank of India in 2015. Among the big non-banking sector corporate grabbing these licenses are Reliance Industries, Airtel, Aditya Birla group, Vodafone, Paytm and Tech Mahindra. The fact that Paytm[7] saw more than five-fold rise in overall traffic in less than 18 hours of the demonetization is an indication that ‘achche din’ have really arrived for the BJP’s cronies in the new banking sector.

Ironically (or maybe not so ironically) the total black money stored in digital form in foreign banks and in benami names in domestic banks and in shares, bonds and other financial instruments is much bigger than that in hard cash. In the absence of a honest political ruling class, bureaucracy or police the shift to a digital economy will only make it easier to store black money while making companies in the banking sector rich.

4.Cutting political opponents to size: Apart from all these dubious motives behind demonetisation there seems to be something even more devious at work. There are serious allegations of a scam – that BJP insiders changed their hoards of black money into white in various ways in the run up to the new policy. While these charges need further investigation, the Indian media has already reported a suspicious surge in bank deposits in the months just prior to demonetisaion and even produced evidence of the BJP’s West Bengal unit depositing large sums of cash[8] into its account just hours before the announcement was made. Given the widespread use of black money in cash by all political parties during elections demonetisation is calculated to hit the BJP’s opponents in the upcoming Punjab and Uttar Pradesh elections. Public discontent over the policy could however negate any such gains.

Looking at the demonetisation policy from a more long-term political perspective the portents under the current regime are scary. What Narendra Modi is really proving is that he is capable of playing a very high-risk game in order to boost his own stature, ram through policies that benefit his corporate cronies and care two hoots for the welfare of the Indian masses (despite being a chaiwallah’s son himself!). It is a display of high confidence, even arrogance, on part of the BJP ‘strongman’ that is extraordinary even by his previous record and standards.

The other point to note is that the Indian right wing, represented by the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, is not at all hesitatnt about turning the entire country or even the Indian Constitution upside down in pursuit of whatever objectives they deem worthwhile. In that sense the idea of ‘revolution’ or overthrow of the state and current social order, rhetorically championed for long by leftists, is being implemented in practice by the right-wing. The Sangh Parivar has become the only effective insurrectionary force in the country today- with truly frightening possibilities in future, including a political emergency to accompany the financial one.

This is not to say at all they will necessarily succeed in their plans. Fortunately for Indian democracy, those espousing fascist control also seem to be cocksure and foolish – as undoubtedly Modi and his men have been with the demonetisation decision –a truly spectacular self-goal on their part.

With public anger against the policy growing steadily this is perhaps the right time for opponents of the Parivar’s various, draconian gameplans to get their act together and mobilise the Indian people. How seriously they carry out this mission will determine whether it is the Parivar or its opponents who finally go out of circulation – like the recently abolished currencies.

Satya Sagar is a journalist and public health worker who can be reached sagarnama@gmail.com

This article was first published on Kafila.online

[1] Indian Informal Sector: an Analysis Dr. Muna Kalyani. International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2016, PP 78-85. https://www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijmsr/v4-i1/9.pdf
[2] http://thewire.in/80564/modis-demonetisation-move-may-have-permanently-damaged-indias-informal-sector/
[3]http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/51078318.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[4] http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-indian-banks-stressed-loans-pile-set-to-top-rs-13-lakh-crore-2211890
[5] http://www.livemint.com/Industry/M6SPyd4vUcC7QIQRnjBqaO/Digital-payments-in-India-seen-touching-500-billion-by-2020.html
[6] https://www.saddahaq.com/digital-india-epayments-and-online-transactions-upset-the-traditional-paper-payment-apple-cart-incentives-for-epayments-could-be-offered-in-the-budget
[7] http://www.livemint.com/Companies/iHcFkPVVuATAjxCD5zK4QJ/Digital-payment-platforms-record-surge-in-transactions-after.html
[8] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bengal-bjp-deposits-money-just-hours-before-currency-ban-announcement-cpm-alleges-tip-off/articleshow/55372157.cms

Demonetisation: Another Failure of the Modi Government?

November 17, 2016

Amid woes of customers hit by cash crunch, 25 people have reportedly died while waiting in queue to exchange their currency notes. In Midst of this chaos, one needs to ask who this policy is really affecting. According to the income tax data, the demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes is unlikely to help the government suck out black money from the economy as hoarders keep a tiny portion of their ill-gotten wealth in hard cash. The end result that seems to be coming out, is that the corrupt are unaffected by this scheme while the poor suffer. While the Prime Minister romanticizes the entire situation, the common man starves on the road. Demonetization seems to have no silver lining.

Newclick spoke to C.P. Chandrasekhar, Professor CESP JNU. He talks about the concept of black wealth and how the people with most of the black wealth will not be affected by this scheme. He also speaks about the consequences of this move as it is economically not structured well. The introduction of 2000 rupee notes is useless as the smaller denomination notes are not available in the market. Watch the interview for more.

Interview with C.P. Chandrasekhar

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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Demonetisation: Another Failure of the Modi Government?

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