It seems like 2019 saw the worst of Islamophobic tweets but with the BJP in power at the centre for next 4 years and continuing its hate politics, this seems like just the beginning. Here are the 10 worst hate speeches of 2019:

1. After the terrorist attack on CRPF jawans in Pulwama, Kapil Mishra, an MLA from the Karawal Constituency in Delhi, made series of deeply disturbing tweets some of which were a virtual call to commit genocide. His worst quote being, “destroy the womb that gives birth to terrorists”. He was suspended from Aam Aadmi Party after this comment and he is now a member of BJP.

2. Raja Singh is not just any other BJP politician. He is a repeat offender when it comes to hate speech. He has a Facebook page whose banner reads, “Let us establish Hindu Rashtra by awakening Dharma and uniting Hindus under the guidance of Saints!”. In 2015 he said he was “ready to ‘kill or get killed’ to protect the ‘Gau Mata’ (cow)”. In a video he warns the Muslims of India “Till now there was the government of impotent people, now under Modiji’s government you can survive (only) by keeping quiet and obeying us. Otherwise, we’ll pull the carpet below your feet and you won’t even know.”

3. A former district judge, Syed Tauqeer from Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir landed in trouble by saying, “I have been told that the forest department is closing your roads. Now you have my permission, and if any of them (forest employees) comes again, chop their hands and feet and tell them that NC’s nominated candidate has given you the permission.” An FIR was filed against him for this inflammatory comment.

4. Feroze Khan, Samajwadi Party leader and close aid of Azam Khan, made series of sexist and derogatory comments against former Member of Parliament Jaya Prada for which he was issued a notice by the National Commission for Women (NCW). While responding to that fact that Jaya Prada was contesting against Azam Khan in Rampur, Feorze Khan said, “Nights would now become more colourful in Rampur.” He added that Jaya Prada would now enthral people with her ghungroos and thumkas. He seems to be following the footsteps of his master as Azam Khan had called her a nachne wali earlier.

5. BJP’s Mumbai Unit President Mangal Prabhat Lodha was pulled up by Election Commission for making a communally charged speech during election campaign in Mumbadevi area of Mumbai. Targeting Congress candidate and sitting MLA Amin Patel, Mr. Lodha called on the memories of riots and terror attacks, claiming that the bombs and bullets used in these incidents were manufactured “in lanes within 5 km”. Lodha did not name any locality, but it is common knowledge that the Dongri and Nagpada areas in the vicinity have a large Muslim population.

6. With an aim to ignite communal tension immediately before and after the Ayodhya verdict of the Supreme Court, news channels like Aaj Tak posted on their social media, a highly inflammatory statement full of othering. The post has an image of Lord Ram and it said, “Janmabhoomi hamari, Ram hamare, Masjid wale kaha se padhare” (The birthplace is ours, Ram is ours, where have these ‘mosque people’ come from?). CJP filed a complaint against this with the News Broadcasting Standard Authority and NBSA has issued a notice to that regard to the news channel.

7. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation was forced to issue a clarification to the Student Union of the London School of Economics (LSE) after he referred to a Muslim student in the institute as a ‘Proper Talibani’. The student union further rejected Jaggi Vasudev’s clarification where he claimed the word ‘Taliban’ was used in the context of ‘over-enthusiastic’ in India. He was at the institute to deliver a talk and later while having a discussion with Bilal Bin Saqib, a Muslim student, he called him a “Talibani”

8. Madhu Kishwar who brands herself as a human rights activist, has put out posts now and again against Muslims or Christians. One of the most problematic statements of hers include, “Thank you @asadowaisi for refusal to accept 5 acres of land decreed by Supreme Court. A masjid in Ayodhya would be an eye sore and keep alive bad memories”

9. Senior BJP leader and MLA from Karnataka, KS Eshwarappa, had said that Muslims won’t get the party ticket as they don’t trust the party. He said, “If (Iqbal) Ansari wants a BJP ticket, he should first join the BJP and sweep the office floor for at least ten years.” 

10. In the aftermath of the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) also came comments from the BJP leadership. Leela Ram Gurjar BJP MLA from Kaithal in Haryana, at a public meeting in support of CAA said, “It is the India of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah…through news and WhatsApp you have heard of people coming and threatening….Miya ji (Slur for Muslims) this is Narendra Modi’s India and we will wipe out within an hour if asked to.”

At a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest which Kapil Mishra, now part of BJP, was leading on Friday night in Delhi despite Section 144 being imposed there, he and his followers were heard chanting “shoot the traitors” as they marched on with their protest. This was an apparent reference to the people who were opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

Assam leadership did not stay far behind.  Mrinal Saikia, MLA from Khumtai in Upper Assam, while addressing a public meeting in Chabua in Dibrugarh, Assam, which was also a site of massive anti-CAA protests, he said,  “The BJP has become strong, you can be strong too. You all just have to come out…have tolerated enough. If someone comes to burn your house, you also burn down their houses. If they touch one worker of ours, do the same with 10 of their workers.”

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While the general public is still looking for ‘acche din’, they have already arrived for the state’s cabinet ministers. An analysis of their poll affidavits show that their cumulative assets have seen an average increase of Rs. 7.9 crore, and a total of Rs. 142.5 crore in the last five years.

The Times of India (TOI) analysed the affidavits of 18 cabinet ministers who contested again. Their total assets showed an 80% increase, from Rs. 179.8 crore last time to Rs. 322.5 crore currently.

The highest jump of Rs. 27.1 crore in assets came from Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Babanrao Lonikar, who was contesting from Partur. His assets rose from Rs. 2.3 crore in 2014 to Rs. 29.4 crore in 2019.

Not far behind him, the second highest increase in assets of Rs. 21.7 crore, was shown by Rural Development, Women and Children Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde whose assets rose from Rs. 13.7 crore in 2014 to Rs. 35.4 crore in 2019.Pankaja has declared her source of income to be farming and honorarium.

The other top gainers are Subhash Deshmukh of the BJP with an increase of Rs. 16.6 crore, Jaydatta Kshirsagar of the Shiv Sena with an increase of 13 crore, and Ashish Shelar of the BJP with an increase of Rs. 9.6 crore.

Social Justice Minister, Suresh Khade has been the lowest gainer with an increase of Rs. 6 lakh – His wealth grew to Rs. 4.94 crore in 2019 from Rs. 4.88 crore in 2014.

There has also been an increase in the wealth of the Shiv Sena leaders who are in the cabinet of Fanavis. The wealth of Eknath Shinde, Minister of Public Works (Enterprises) has also increased. Shinde, who has a wealth of Rs. 7.50 crore in the year 2014, now has assets worth Rs.11.60 crore.

(Source – meramumbai.com)

It is not just Maharashtra where the income of ministers has seen a manifold increase. Haryana cabinet minister Captain Abhimanyu’s, a BJP MLA from Narnaund constituency, wealth jumped by about 120 percent or Rs. 93 crore in the last five years, revealed an analysis of self-sworn election affidavits by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). This is the highest increase in total assets of any re-contesting MLA in absolute monetary terms.

In Haryana, the average assets of re-contesting MLAs have increased from Rs. 11.32 crore in 2014 to Rs. 14.94 crore in 2019, a surge of almost 32 percent.

The top five gainers among other re-contesting MLAs in Haryana are Naina Sahni of the JJP – an increase of Rs. 31.5 crore (52%), Kuldeep Bishnoi of Congress with Rs. 25.4 crore (32%), Abhay Singh Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) with an increase of 23 crore (53%), and Randeep Singh Surjewara of the Congress with Rs. 7.94 crore (173%).

The Richie Richs of Politics
A report by BOOM shows that a third of the candidates in the elections are crorepatis.

In Maharashtra, a total of 155 (96 per cent) out of 162 candidates, who have been analysed from the BJP, and 116 (94 per cent) out of 124 candidates from the Shiv Sena are crorepati.

The richest candidate, Parag Shah, belongs to the BJP and has declared assets worth Rs. 500 crore, followed by Mangal Prabhat Lodha with Rs. 441 crore. Six out of the ten richest candidates belong to the BJP. While the Samajwadi Party (SP) leads with highest average assets per candidate at Rs. 31 crore, BJP comes in second with Rs. 23 crore with average assets per candidate.

The ADR had earlier revealed that the total amount of corporate donations received by the BJP in FY 2016-17 and 2017-18 stood the highest at Rs. 915.596 crore, which formed 94% of the total amount of donations received in that period.
 
However, the number of crorepati candidates has gone down in this assembly election says the report by ADR. Out of the 3,112 candidates from the 2019 assembly polls analysed, 1,007 are crorepatis. In 2014, out of 2,336 candidates, the number of crorepati candidates was 1,095.

Related:
Yes, its BJP that received maximum corporate donations in 6 years: ADR report
Discrepancies in PAN details in Donor Details of National Parties: ADR
How 335 MPs Grew Rs 6-Crore Richer Between 2014 And 2019
Re-contesting MLAs see significant increase in average assets in 2019 Odisha assembly polls
 
 
 

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The Bombay High Court has dismissed writ petitions challenging the ‘morally incorrect’ induction of Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Jaydatta Kshirsagar and Avinash Mahatekar in the Maharashtra State Cabinet of Ministers.

Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, leader of Opposition in Maharashtra, quit Congress to join the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, while Jaydatta Kshirsagar (ex NCP Minister) declared his support for BJP from the Beed Lok Sabha constituency. Avinash Mahatekar had lost elections in 2014 on a Republican Party of India (RPI) ticket.

The petitions filed by Vijay Wadettiwar (MLA – Chandrapur) and Surinder Arora (President – Bharat Jan Adhaa Party) were heard by the Division bench of Justice SC Dharmadhikari and Justice GS Patel. They stated that these ministers being non-legislators were disqualified under the Constitution from holding a position of MLA or MLC.

The Court also observed that in the absence of the judgement by the Speaker on the alleged defection and disqualification of the ministers, it was not possible for the court to rule on it. The Court stated that if politicians were seen switching loyalties purely for political gains during the elections, it was the responsibility of the voters to teach these ‘defectors’ a lesson.

Submissions
On behalf of the petitioners, SB Talekar said that the Constitution never planned the induction of persons into the Cabinet or the Ministry who were not members of either House, and who could not continue in such ministerial berths for more than six months and who had no prospect of a re-election within six months.

He argued that the reason behind the purpose of these Consitutional Provisions was to ensure integrity in public administration and public affairs.

Talekar cited the example of Vikhe Patil who was the Opposition Leader and MLA for INC from the Shirdi constituency. He had secured a LS nomination by the BJP for his son from the Kopargaon constituency, thus making it clear that he desired to defect to the BJP.

Quoting the judgement of the Supreme Court in S R Chaudhuri v State of Punjab and Others and V R Kapoor v State of Tamil Nadu, he supported his arguments with articles 164 (4), 173, 191 (2) and the Tenth Schedule (Anti Defection Law) of the Indian Constitution.
Speaking on behalf of the State and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Senior Advocate VA Throrat said the Constitution could not be rewritten just by mere interpretation of certain articles. He also argued that there was no express bar or prohibition in inducting a non-legislator as a Minister only because the term of the House was coming to an end in less than six months.

Verdict
The bench took into account the apprehensions expressed by Advocate Talekar regarding this defection on the eve of elections.

Citing the apex court’s judgement in Manoj Narula v Union of India, Justice Dharmadhikari observed – “The judgment of the Hon’ble Mr Justice Madan B. Lokur, as His Lordship then was, shows us the path in holding that the Constitution cannot be interpreted in the manner suggested in that case as well as in the present case. We cannot re- write a Constitutional provision. In the garb of its interpretation it will not be possible to assume that there is something lacking or missing in the Constitution itself.”

Upon hearing the constituent assembly debates and relevant provisions, the Court dismissed the petitions. Yet, it asserted the importance of a democratic system and gave a word of advice to the voters. He urged the voters to take action against such Ministers as the majority of the power rested with the public. He was of the opinion that it is imperative for the citizens of the democratic country to raise their voice to get the rights they deserve.

“When we say ‘defections’, we are careful not to express any opinion on the facts and circumstances of the present case. However, it is understood by the common man as a switching of loyalties and shifting of one’s position frequently and for political gains.”

“It is abandoning a cause and embracing some other. That we are noticing such a trend in Maharashtra on the eve of the elections may be unfortunate. But that will not allow us to read into an Article something that is not there, and is wholly left out. Where political leaders and parties betray the constitutional trust, then such matters are best left to the judgment of the people. It is eventually the voters who have to take responsibility.”

“The world over, democracy comes at a price; and achieving it as a form of governance has required a monumental sacrifice. When we take pride in Indian democracy, we should note that we as Indians are equally observed world over for our responses and reactions to acts subversive of democracy. When we call ourselves a “civil society” it is our duty to ensure that there is probity in public life and the purity of the electoral process is maintained at all costs. Our votes are not on sale. The right to vote must be exercised in a manner befitting the trust and faith reposed in us. That has to be preserved at all costs.”

“If for pure political gains people are crossing over, then it is the bounden duty of the voters to take care of such a situation and teach these leaders or defectors a lesson. Ultimately, in every democracy real power rests with the people. Merely because one is in majority does not mean there is a license to strangulate the minority. In democracy there is an equal place, respect and regard for an opposition. It guides the majority in carrying out the administrative and governmental affairs properly and smoothly.”

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New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) wrote to the Vice-Chancellors of all universities on Wednesday to celebrate Surgical Strike Day on September 29 to mark the event along the Line of Control that day in 2016.
 
The letter also desired that students pledge their support for the armed forces in writing that day.
 
“All higher education institutions with NCC units shall organise a special parade on 29th September, after which the NCC commander shall address them on the modalities of protection of the borders,” says the UGC letter. “The university/colleges may organise a meeting, calling ex-servicemen who will sensitise the students about the sacrifices made by the armed forces in protecting the borders.”
 
The Centre’s decision to observe the “Surgical Strike Day” comes two years after it said the army had carried out an operation across the Line of Control. The government has told the University Grants Commission to ask the 900-odd universities and 38,000 colleges to celebrate the occasion in a fitting manner and upload accounts and visuals of the activities on the UGC website.
 
“A spokesperson of Jamia Milia Islamia said the university was closed for the next three days and officials will be able to comment on Monday. The September 2016 surgical strikes against terror pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were India’s direct military response to the killing 19 Indian soldiers in a terror attack in Uri, carried out by a suicide squad that came from Pakistan. The commission has suggested the students pledge their support to the armed forces by writing letters that may be produced in digital and physical format. “The letters and cards should be shared with PRO Defence and PIB for publicity across media,” the UGC said,” reported Hindustan Times.
 
“The NCC units of all universities should organise a special parade on September 29 after which the NCC commander shall address them on the modalities of protection of the borders. The varsities may organise a talk-session calling ex-serviceman to sensitise students about sacrifices made by the armed forces,” the UGC said in a communication to all Vice Chancellors.
 
“A multimedia exhibition will be organised around India Gate on September 29. Similar exhibitions may be organised in states, union territories, important towns and cantonments across the country. The institutions should encourage students and faculty members to visit these exhibitions,” the letter added.
 
In 2016, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC. The Army had said its special forces inflicted “significant casualties” on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

 
Politicians and academicians against UGC order, won’t observe the day
“Historian Aditya Mukherjee of JNU, co-author of the book India’s Struggle For Independence, disagreed with the idea of taking a pledge of nationalism from the people. “This is typically the BJP trying to project themselves as the nationalists. They have this great deficit of not being part of the national movement. Now they are trying to force it on people and militarise campuses. They wanted to install tanks in JNU and if we oppose it they will call us anti-national,” he told The Hindu. “We are not anti-army. But they want to push us through a nationalism test. Forcing people to prove their nationalism is no way to arouse nationalism. The way to arouse it is to create an idea of the nation that is appealing and inclusive,” in a report by The Hindu
 
“Panjab University Students For Society (SFS) on Thursday said it was opposed to the UGC decision to observe September 29 as “surgical strike day” and said it smacked of “aggressive pseudo-nationalism” while both the BJP-affiliated ABVP and Congress-affiliated NSUI lauded the move. The Left-leaning group, which won the president’s post at the Panjab University Students’ Council in the recent elections, stated that this was a “manipulation of students by the UGC to serve the interests of the government in power at the Centre” that wants to promote its own agenda,” reported The Indian Express
 
“SFS spokesperson Hassanpreet said, “The BJP government has used the armed forces, be it soldiers at Siachen, BSF, Kashmir forces to divert the masses from their corrupt scams and anti-people/student policies. By observing such a day, it is preparing the ground to propagate more hatred,” the report said.
 
“Eminent sociologist Andre Beteille, who said the government had no authority to instruct people on such matters, was described as a “Naxal sympathiser” by an RSS supporter. Asked about the order, Beteille said: “I look at it in a very negative light. The government has no authority to instruct people on these matters. The sacrifices of the army are appreciated. But this is not the way.” He said there are ways to encourage nationalism even though it is not “necessary for everyone to be a nationalist”. Beteille said: “One should be proud of belonging to the nation. But it is not necessary for everyone to be a nationalist,” reported the Telegraph.
 
West Bengal will not celebrate the day, state minister Partha Chatterjee said on Friday.
 
“The education minister criticised the BJP-led central government for trying to “malign and politicise” the Army. “This is an agenda of the BJP and it is trying to push this agenda by using the UGC ahead of elections. It is a matter of shame that they are using the UGC to achieve their political agenda,” Chatterjee said. He added, “We would have understood it had they asked us to observe the day in the name of sacrifices made by our soldiers. We have full respect for our soldiers and their sacrifices.” “The Indian Army has always been kept above politics and controversies. But now we are seeing that the BJP is trying to malign and politicise the Indian Army. This is not right and we won’t support it,” he said in a report by The Tribune.

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Of 9,960 people involved in the cases, 6,023 or 60% were private persons/citizens, 3,896 or 39% were public servants and 41 were politicians, data show.
 
Corruption cases registered increased by almost 10% from 617 in 2015 to 673 in 2016. As many as 339 cases were registered during the first six months of 2017.

 
Source: Rajya Sabha
 
As many as 2,303 people–almost three every day–were convicted for corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, over two-and-half years ending June 30, 2017. Of the persons convicted, 59% or 1,356 were public servants, 41% or 943 were private citizens and four politicians.
 

Source: Rajya Sabha
 
Cases that ended in convictions increased 16% from 434 in 2015 to 503 in 2016. During the first six months of 2017, 199 such cases ended in a conviction, data show.
 
As many as 6,414 corruption cases under trial were pending as of June 30, 2017, involving 35,770 people that includes 18,780 citizens, 16,875 public servants and 115 politicians. Pending cases have come down from 6,663 in 2015 to 6,414  as of June 30, 2017.
 
As many as 850 corruption cases are under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, of which 14 are “gathering dust for over five years”, the Central Vigilance Commission said, India Today reported on October 26, 2017.

 
India fares poorly on corruption perception index, ranks 79 of 176 countries
 
India was ranked 79 of 176 countries, scoring 40 on the “Corruption Perception Index 2016” released in January 2017, by Transparency International, a global advocacy on corruption.
 
Denmark and New Zealand topped the list scoring 90 each, followed by Finland. The global average score was 43.
 
India dropped three ranks in 2016 over 2015 from 76 of 167 countries in 2015 and 85 of 174 countries in 2014.
 
Among BRICS countries, South Africa performed better and was ranked 64 in 2016; India, China and Brazil were ranked 79, followed by Russia ranking the lowest (131).
 

Source: Transparency International
 
India’s poor performance is attributed to the inability to tackle small corruption cases as well as large scandals, the Transparency International report said. “The impact of corruption on poverty, illiteracy and police brutality shows that not only the economy is growing – but also inequality.”
 
(Mallapur is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend
 

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The court also wondered whether the EC's reluctance to give its "free view" was influenced by the Centre's stand against life ban on convicts from contesting polls. A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Naveen Sinha read out a portion of the EC's fresh affidavit that said it supported "the cause espoused by" petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, who has sought setting up of special courts for speedy trial of criminal cases faced by elected representatives. He also said those convicted should be "uniformly barred from the legislature, the executive and the judiciary".

Finding the EC affidavit supporting the "cause espoused by petitioner", the bench asked EC counsel Mohit Ram whether the commission supported the plea that convicts should be barred for life from contesting elections. "We are supporting the cause of decriminalisation of politics. But we have not said anything on life ban," said Ram.

When the EC failed to give a definite answer, the bench said, "Can the EC afford to remain silent when a voter comes to the SC and says elected representatives, if convicted, should be debarred for life from contesting elections?"

The Centre in its affidavit had said the prayer seeking life ban on convicted politicians could not be granted by the court. At present, the Representation of the People Act bars a convict from contesting elections for six years after release from prison.
 
When Ram said the EC was not the competent authority to comment on the "life ban" issue, the bench said, "If you denude your power of independent thinking then say so. If EC feels constrained by the view of the executive to the extent of giving up its free view, by all means say so. Feel free." The SC scheduled further hearing for July 18.
 
Upadhyay attempted to rub it in by saying that 30% of lawmakers were alleged law breakers. The EC in its affidavit said it had submitted a detailed proposal to the government on electoral reforms covering the fields decriminalisation of politics, making offence of bribery cognisable, amendment in provisions concerning election expenditure, prohibition of advertisements in print media 48 hours before the close of elections and prohibition of paid news. Upadhyay had also requested the court to direct the Centre to fix minimum educational qualification and maximum age for candidates.
 

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A political-science lecturer, Rai cannot move with his family to Pihani, a cluster of over 100 villages (called a kasba) in Hardoi district, with less than 40,000 families as per Census 2011. When he started working there in 2000, it lacked the basic public facilities–regular power supply, good roads, public transport and good medical services.
 
Pihani remains an economic backwater. In the ongoing assembly elections, UP’s incumbent and contesting politicians are still promising the basic facilities they did 16 years ago: Electricity, buses and jobs, along with laptops and free data for poor youth.
 
 
UP’s story parallels that of Pihani. The kasba’s population of 206,743 is serviced by four colleges–a government degree college, a state-run industrial training institute (ITI) and two private degree colleges–more than the Indian average of 27 colleges per 100,000 youth in the 18-23 age group, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2014-15. But it has been unable to produce talent to run local educational institutions, banks and medical centres.
 
UP has the highest number of colleges in any Indian state (6,026), according to AISHE 2014-15, but it has been unable to produce qualified workforce to drive development, as IndiaSpend reported on February 11, 2017.
 
UP is India’s most populous and youngest state–its median age is 23–and the flaws in its development model typified by Pihani explain why its towns and village clusters (blocks with a population of less than 250,000 in 2011) cannot cope with the aspirations of its people, especially with regard to education and employment.
 
Pihani’s dropout rate of 36% at elementary school level exceeds UP’s overall rate of 21%. Like other village clusters in the state, connections to bigger cities are limited because there are few railway links, hardly any feeder roads to highways or efficient public transport services. Less than half the houses in the villages have electricity.
 
UP has made higher education available everywhere, so why hasn’t the state become a hub for learning? Why doesn’t the state with the highest college enrollment in India–25% of men and women in the 18-23 age group–manage to create a pool of employable youth?
 
Some answers can be found in Pihani. The primary factor is the state’s disinterest in developing the basic infrastructure in its towns and villages that are now flush with schools and colleges.
 
Institutes have spread, so why hasn’t education?
 
Despite the large number of colleges in the district, Hardoi’s school education system is a mess. Only 64% of children in the district progress from primary to upper levels in school, according to data from the District Information for School Education surveys 2014-15. The all-India rate of transition from primary to upper primary level was 90%.
 
In a drive to push higher education in its backward pockets, many of UP’s colleges were set up in villages and kasbas. This growth was fuelled by both the government and private entrepreneurs. Hardoi district itself has 132 colleges, eight of them are government institutions–Pihani’s government degree college is one such–and 124 are private.
 
Over the years, the government degree college has acquired projectors, computers and generators but Pihani remains a backwater. This, according to Rai, is why the teachers at his college–and most employees in local banks, schools and hospitals–opt for long commutes from larger cities. They are what Rai describes as “reverse migrants”, working in villages and living in cities.
 
Pihani’s residents, it would appear, are not educated or skilled enough to fill in these jobs. The reason could lie in the quality of education.
 
“Government colleges are understaffed; usually, they work with one-third the required strength. This means that teachers are overworked,” said PC Joshi, a retired principal from a government degree college in UP.  
 
However, he pointed out, private colleges have an even bigger problem. “Government colleges appoint qualified staff and the recruitment processes is fair and transparent. But privately-owned or funded colleges are often under-resourced in terms of physical infrastructure. And their recruitments are mostly on paper; in practice, there is hardly any teaching. There isn’t enough assessment of whether students are being taught regularly and adequately,” he told IndiaSpend.
 
Also, 17 less-populous states and union territories have better enrollment rates in higher education than UP: The union territory of Chandigarh reports India’s highest enrollment at 56%, followed by Puducherry at 46%. Manipur, among the north-eastern states has a 36% enrolment ratio in colleges. Among larger states, Tamil Nadu has India’s highest student enrollment in higher education at 45%.
 
There are other problems. The quality of education offered in colleges across UP varies widely because of lack of infrastructure. It is not rare in UP to see a college with two rooms, a clerk, an odd-jobs man and two teachers.
 
Second, colleges do not offer functional education geared to employment. The Pihani government college offers 10 subjects and degrees in undergraduate courses that include humanities and commerce.
 
“Most students come from poor families and also work in farms so they are not able to fulfil college attendance requirements,” said Rai. “Life is hard for these youngsters and the curriculum does not provide much functional education.”
 
Other than the proliferation of colleges, little has improved in Pihani, keeping its cluster of villages poor, badly connected and with scanty power supply.
 
A UP kasba: 100% rural, 83% farm workers
 
A community development block in Hardoi district, north-west of Lucknow, Pihani is an agglomeration of over 100 small villages. This rural administrative division is called a taluk or tehsil in other states. UP has 901 such blocks administered by a block development officer.
 

Source: Census 2011
 
A third of Pihani’s population consists of people belonging to scheduled castes and tribes. Its literacy rate is 51%, and less than half its women (41%) are literate. Women in Pihani form about 14% of the workforce, nine percentage points less than the national average of 27% as IndiaSpend reported in April 2016.
 
The kasba’s child sex ratio is 905 females per 1,000 male children under age six–better than its overall sex ratio of 873, according to Census 2011. UP’s child sex ratio of 902 is lower than Pihani’s. The overall sex ratio of UP at 912 females per 1,000 males shows poorer health indicators for women in Pihani.
 
Agriculture employs 83% of Pihani’s working population but 41% of these farm workers are labourers on the field–mirroring the 59% of UP’s population that works on farms, 51% of them farm labour, according to Census 2011. Others work as small traders, bank employees and government servants such as teachers, medical and administrative staff.
 
Electricity still elusive: 53% of UP homes without power
 
Only 47% of homes are electrified in UP’s villages. This puts the state fourth on the rural electrification list from across India–only Jharkhand (39%), Bihar (45%) and Nagaland (45%) are worse off, according to data from the power ministry.
 
A third of voters in UP cited power cuts as the biggest election issue, according to a survey conducted by FourthLion Technologies, a data analytics and public opinion polling firm, for IndiaSpend.
 
Less than half the rural households (46%) in Hardoi district have electricity in their homes. And those who do get power supply only for six to eight hours a day.
 
“Running a diesel generator is the only alternative. It costs Rs 50 to run a generator to run for an hour to power just the essential requirements on the college,” says Rai.
 
State roads: 9% of national highways in UP, but few links to these
 
Pihani’s nearest railway station is at the district headquarter in Hardoi, 28 km away. And it takes a two-hour bus ride to get there with many short halts along the way. Often, you can see passengers making the dash from their home as the bus waits.
 
A one-way railway ticket from Lucknow to Hardoi costs Rs 65. There are 29 trains between Hardoi and Lucknow and they run through the day. “But unpredictable delays cause a lot of inconvenience to daily commuters,” said Rai.
 
All the buses are private, and they charge Rs 25 from Pihani to Hardoi.
 
UP has the largest share (9%) of India’s national highways which run for 8,483 km. And it is ranked seventh when it comes to state highways, with 7,543 km of constructed length, according to data from the ministry of road transport and highways.
 
No national highway passes through Hardoi district. Only state highways connect it to the bigger road networks. NH-24, or the Delhi-Bareilly-Lucknow highway, is the closest to Pihani, 40 km to its north-east.
 
Road connectivity is an impediment for the farmers as it limits their access to markets. It also affects Rai and others who commute to smaller towns and villages.
 
The education-job gap: why Pihani needs more employment-oriented courses
 
Seema Gupta (not her real name), 19, is a student at the Pihani government degree college. It helps her that the college is easily accessible from her village, but her bachelor in arts degree is unlikely to get her a job. She would like to work to work in a cyber cafe–these are still popular in mofussil areas. But she needs additional computer training for this that is not available in Pihani.
 
Gupta would have preferred the college in Hardoi which offers technical courses but her parents did not want her to travel that far. “Safety is a big concern for women in Pihani,” said Gupta. “Parents allow boys to study in better colleges outside the village, but girls can’t travel that far.”
 
Despite these factors, girls form 60-65% of the students enrolled in the Pihani government degree college, according to Rai.
 
The government offers scholarship to students from economically weaker sections and backward castes, and for Gupta and many others like her, the Rs 6,000 per annum is a big help.
 
“But I hope my students can be offered better technical courses so that they have greater employability,” said Rai.
 
(Tewari is a PhD Scholar at the School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and an IndiaSpend contributor.)
 

The post Pihani’s Story: Why Promises Of UP’s Politicians Rarely Changed Over 15 Years appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Navjot Singh Sidhu and other leaders of the Congress party during a campaign rally in the run-up to the recently concluded Punjab assembly election. About half (2,410) of India’s members of parliament and legislative assemblies declared household assets of more than Rs 2 crore, of which 38% declared family incomes of less than Rs 10 lakh

As many as 75% of MPs and MLAs nationwide declared annual incomes less than Rs 10 lakh, the analysis found. Around 35% of lawmakers said their annual income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh while 40% have declared annual income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. As many as 1,141 (24%) MPs and MLAs claimed exemption from income tax or have no income at all.

“We can conclude that we are largely a tax non-compliant society,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, sarcastically, during his budget speech on February 1, 2017.

Sharing income tax data, Jaitley said that of 37 million individuals who filed tax returns in 2015-16, 9.9 million (27%) declared annual incomes below the exemption limit of Rs 2.5 lakh; 19.5 million (53%) declared annual incomes between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, while 7.6 million (20%) declared annual incomes of more than Rs 5 lakh.

If the annual incomes of family (incomes of spouse and dependents, as declared in their respective tax returns) are added to the incomes of MPs and MLAs, 62% legislators’ households have an income less than Rs 10 lakh.

About half (2,410) of India’s MPs and MLAs have declared household assets (movable and immovable assets of the elected member, spouse and dependent/s) of more than Rs 2 crore, of which 912 (38% of 2,410) declared family incomes of less than Rs 10 lakh.

Of 1,843 MPs and MLAs with family incomes of more than Rs 10 lakh, 106 declared household assets of less than Rs 1 crore.

Only quarter of 4,848 MPs/MLAs declare income more than Rs 10 lakh

Only 25% (1,236 of 4,848) of MPs and MLAs declared in tax returns that their annual incomes were more than Rs 10 lakh;  35% (1,676 of 4,848) declared incomes less than Rs 2.5 lakh.

Among regional parties, 83% Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs and MLAs, 78% of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), 68% of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and 80% of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) lawmakers reported incomes of less than Rs 10 lakh.

For details on income ranges upto Rs 10 lakh, click here.

While 63% Lok Sabha MPs declared annual incomes of less than Rs 10 lakh, only 13% Rajya Sabha MPs declared annual incomes of less than Rs 10 lakh.

Among states, over 80% of MLAs in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha declared annual incomes less than Rs 10 lakh.

For details on income ranges upto Rs 10 lakh, click here.

24% legislators declared no income

As many as 1,676 (35%) elected representatives declared annual incomes less than Rs 2.5 lakh. Of these, 1,141 (24%) reported to the Election Commission that they were either exempt from income tax on various grounds, such as being a farmer, being from an area mentioned in the sixth schedule of the constitution–such as the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura–and so exempt from income tax, or have no income at all.
 

Total family income of MPs and MLAs

Only 38% (1,843 of 4848) legislators said they had annual family incomes (income of an MP or an MLA and incomes of family, such as spouse and dependents/s), more than Rs 10 lakh; 28% (1,343 of 4,848) declared family incomes less than Rs 2.5 lakh.
 

Half of all MPs/MLAs declared household assets of more than Rs 2 crore

Half of India’s elected representatives declared household assets of more than Rs 2 crore; 28% more than Rs 5 crore. As many as 70% of MPs and MLAs had assets more than Rs 1 crore.

Although assets are supposed to be declared by elected representatives at market price, immovable assets are grossly under valued, Indian Express reported in December 2013.

A former Election Commissioner said the law was not being used to value assets by lawmakers accurately and urged people to go to court to force lawful evaluations, Indian Express reported in December 2013.
 

The correlation between assets and incomes of MPs and MLAs

“How long will we overlook facts that stare us in the face?” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on December 31, 2016. “ I wish to share some information with you, which will either make you laugh, or make you angry. According to information available with the government, only 24 lakh people in India accept that their annual income is more than Rs 10 lakh.”

“If we look at any big city, it would have lakhs of people with annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh. Do you not feel that for the good of the country, this movement for honesty needs to be further strengthened?

”In some way, the Prime Minister drew a correlation between assets and income declared to tax authorities. We found a weak correlation existed between the assets and incomes of MPs and MLAs.

Income-Assets Correlation Of Lawmakers

1. 38% (912 of 2,410) legislators with assets more than Rs 2 crore declared family incomes of less than Rs 10 lakh.
2. Of 1,079 lawmakers with assets in the range of Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, only 44% (474) declared incomes more than Rs 10 lakh.
3. 22% (255 of 1,651) with assets between Rs 2 crore and Rs 10 crore declared incomes less than Rs 2.5 lakh.
4. 41% (891 of 2,155) with assets between Rs 2 crore and Rs 30 crore declared incomes less than Rs 10 lakh.
5. Of 156 lawmakers with household assets more than Rs 50 crore, 10 declared incomes less than Rs 10 lakh.
6. Of 75 legislators with assets more than Rs 100 crore, four reported incomes less than Rs 2.5 lakh.
7. 7% (106 out of 1,470) with assets less than Rs 1 crore declared annual incomes more than Rs 10 lakh.
8. As many as 2,410 elected representatives (MPs/MLAs) declared household assets of more than Rs 2 crore, of which 912 (out of 2410, 38%) disclosed family incomes less than Rs 10 lakh.

MPs/MLAs with incomes more than Rs 10 lakh

Of 1,843 (38% of 4,848) elected representatives who declared family annual incomes more than Rs 10 lakh, 345 (19% of 1,843) declared assets less than Rs 2 crore. As many as 903 MPs and MLAs declared family incomes between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh; 410 declared more than Rs 50 lakh.

Income-Assets Correlation Of Lawmakers With Annual Income Over Rs 10 Lakh

Note: All data sourced from affidavits filed by the MPs and MLAs with the Election Commission of India, and correspond to the year preceding their election.

Correction: The headline has been corrected to reflect that 24%, and not 21%, of India’s MPs and MLAs claimed exemption from income tax or have no income at all. We regret the error.

(Manoj K is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the founder of the Centre for Governance and Development. He has a special interest in transparency and accountability in governance and has spearheaded several projects on these subjects.)

This article was first Published on India Spend

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Mahesh Shah detained

Viewers of a regional news channel witnessed high drama on Saturday evening as Ahmedabad-based realtor Mahesh Shah who had vanished after disclosing Rs 13,800 crore in cash under the IDS — which ended on September 30 – reappeared in the studio to claim the astronomical sum which he had declared to the IT department was not actually his.

The black money sought to be surreptitiously laundered, he claimed, belonged to politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen who had offered him a hefty commission for his “services”. Shah added that he will disclose the names of those who sought to hide behind his name to the IT department.

Admitting that what he did was unlawful, Shah maintained that he did so out of compulsion and lure of the handsome compensation.

“Those whose money I disclosed backed out at the last moment, so I could not pay the first instalment of the tax due to the IT department as stipulated in the scheme”, said Shah.

During the hour-long interview he maintained that he now feared for his life and that was why he chose to make his disclosure on a news channel. Shah said he was in Mumbai for the past 10 days and had just returned to Ahmedabad.

The drama reached its climax when in response to a telephone call by the news channel, the police accompanied by IT officials barged into the studio and took him under custody live on television.

A possible cause for the last minute alleged backing out by politicians and bureaucrats could be the fallout of the government's demonetisation of high value notes notification coming as it did soon after the last date —  September 30 — for the voluntary income disclosure scheme.
  
 
 
 

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