we the state - issue 24 vol 2

8/12/2019 We The State - Issue 24 Vol 2

1/12

20 jawans killed

inNaxal attack

in Chhattis-garh;CM

calls emergency

meet

e-newspapers also toget political ads certifiedBHOPAL: The Election Commission has

clarified situation regarding paid news and

political advertisements on social media. As

per recent directive of the commission,Media Certification and Monitoring

Committees (MCMC) will be constituted Lok

Sabha constituency-wise. The committee

will comprise concerning constituency's

Returning Officer (R.O.) and A.R.O., who will

be not below the rank of SDM.

The commission has clarified that R.O. can

co-opt members in the committee from all

districts in the Lok Sabha constituency.This

will not only help elicit maximum

suggestions, but representation of all

districts will also be ensured. The

commission has also clarified regarding

political advertisement. Now certification of

political advertisements on social media has

also been made mandatory. Making

structure of district-level MCMC for

screening paid news, the commission has

made it clear that its members will include

district election officer (DEO), A.R.O. (not

below rank of SDM), an officer from

Information & Broadcasting Ministry (if

available in district), independent

citizen/journalist recommended by Press

Council of India (if not nominated by PCI)

and District Public Relations Officers/District

Information Officer will be its Member-

Secretary. Meanwhile, after receiving

suggestionsand reactionsof CEOsof various

states, Election Commission has changed

existing system of publicizing part-II of

affidavits filed with nomination forms of

candidates. At present, these affidavits are

displayed on the web site of Chief Electoral

Officer. Hard copies of affidavits are

displayed on the notice board of Returning

Officer. The commission has decided thatapartfromexistingplaces,part-IIof affidavits

should be displayed at 7 other public places.

These include collectorate, Zila Parishad

office, SDM office, Panchayat Samiti office

(i.e. Block office), offices of urban bodies in

the constituency, Tahsil/taluka office and

Panchayat office.

We MARCH 10 TO MARCH 16, 2014

Online edition available at wethestate.com and wethestate.blogspot.in

Vol-02. Issue-24. Bhopal. Monday Page-12. Price-05/-

heStatePublished simultaneously from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

POSTALREGD. MP/BHOPAL/4-323/2013-15

08

09

0502

e-governance

stategovt's

priority:CM

BothCongandBJPfacechallengesinCG

Withdrawremarks onRSSlinktoGandhikilling:Rajnath tellsRahul

AAP hasn't

lost its

appeal

in Delhi

KanganaRanaut,you

rock in

Queen:

AamirKhan

How WE look it !

...Cartoon by K G OJHAkgojha@rediffmail. com

03

Youth ready to play

decisive role in scriptingIndia of their dreams

T

he nine phase polling

schedule announce-

ment comes at a time

when the youth in the country

had demonstrated a visible in-

terest in the political process

coming out to vote in large

numbers in five state assembly

polls conducted late last year.

The young have traditionally

been rather indifferent to the

voting process, especially in

big cities of the country. How-

ever, this trend is now chang-

ing and the youth want to have

their share in the formation of

governments.

As the Election Commission

is pushing yet for fresh voter

registrations of those aged 18as of January 1, 2014, esti-

mates suggest that in overall

number terms, around 2.32

crore voters this time will be

between 18 and 19, accounting

for 24 per cent of the increase.

Those between the ages of 18

and 23 are estimated to be 4.87

crore.

Six states-Rajasthan, Chhat-

tisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,

West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh

and Assam-that account for 201

Lok Sabha constituencies, the

number of voters between 18

and 19 years of age per con-

stituency is higher than the

national average.

The recent assembly polls

saw an upsurge in youth par-

ticipation, especially in Delhi.

While it was still below the na-

tional voting average, which

by and large has been on the

rise, the 20 per cent enrolment

for the youth increased to al-

most 80 per cent in places like

Delhi, in other places 60 to 70

per cent in that age group.

The flair with which the

young have embraced the tech-

nology in the country shows

their penchant for quick re-

sults.

Therefore, waiting for the

outcome of an action for more

than a month or more (the

counting is on May 16), is

bound to tire out the interest

level. But the modern youth

doesn't want to passively

watch all that is happening in

the country.

Let there be hope that even a

nine phase poll would be en-

dured by the young as they

play a decisive role in scripting

India of their dreams.

04


2/12

Chhattisgarh BJP togive candidates' listto high commandon Mar 10Raipur/Bilaspur:The ruling BJP in

Chhattisgarh has finalised the list of its

candidates for Lok Sabha elections

and will submit it to the party's central

election committee in New Delhi on

March 10. The panel of the names of

contestants from Chhattisgarh will be

presented during the national election

committee meeting on March 10 and

party high command will take a final

call on it, Chief Minister Raman Singh

said today. Expressing confidence of

victory in all 11 parliamentary

constituencies of the state going to

polls next month, Singh said, "People

of the state ensured win for the party

in Assembly elections, which was a

semi-final." "Now, they will help us to

register a thumping victory in the final- Lok Sabha polls - to establish

Narendra Modi's government at the

Centre," he said.

"Congress' slogan is Congress ka

haath janta ke saath (hand of the

Congress is with people), but contrary

to this escalating prices are worrying

the people," Singh pointed out.

"Looking at the huge support of

people across the nation, it is evident

that BJP will form government at the

Centre with full m ajority," he claimed.

Notably, in 2009 Lok Sabha elections,

10 seats were won by BJP while

Congress had managed to secure only

one. This time again, the key contest

will be between ruling BJP and

Opposition Congress.

Minor girl gang-rapedby five youths in CGA 14-year-old tribal girl was allegedly

gang-raped by five youths, who also

attacked her cousin brother at

Ghoghardih village in Chhattisgarh's

Jashpur district. Three of the accused

have been arrested in the case, police

said. The minor school girl was gang-

raped by five youths- Shyam

Naagwanshi, Pintu Paikra, Munna

Kumar, Chakku Urao and Kanel at

Ghoghardih on March 2, Station HouseOfficer of Kansabel, Anita Prabha Minj

said. The incident took place when the

victim was returning to her native

place from the weekly market at

Kansabel along with her elder cousin.

The accused stopped them on the

way and when the victim's brother

tried to resist, they assaulted him

following which he fell unconscious.

He was later thrown in a pit, the SHO

said. They later dragged the girl to a

nearby secluded place where they

sexually assaulted her through the

night, the SHO said. Before letting her

go in the morning, the accused

threatened her with dire

consequences and asked her not to

reveal the incident to anyone.

However, the girl later narrated the

incident to her parents and lodged a

case against the accused, she said.

Three accused- Shyam, Munna and

Pintu were arrested on Monday, the

SHO said adding that efforts are on to

nab two others accused.

02 (MP&CG)March 10 to March 16, 2014Chhattisgarh Explore

Steep rise in number ofvoters in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh has witnessed

a steep rise in number of

voters, both male and fe-

male, compared to last Lok Sabha

polls in 2009. While there were

1,54,71,253 total voters last time,

this time 1,75,29,148 voters have al-

ready registered and the number is

expected to increase with more reg-

istrations in voters' list. Chhattis-

garh chief elect oral officer (CEO)

Sunil Kujur said that there are over

1.75 crore voters in 11 constituen-

cies of state of which more than 88

lakh are male, about 86 lakh fe-

males and 1,535 fall in 'others' cate-

gory.

Hence, there are 973 females on

the ratio of per thousand males.

"Kanker and Bastar are two re-

gions which have more female vot-

ers than males," he said adding that

registration of new voters is un-

derway. Those who want to add

names to voters' list and those who

have completed 18 years of age by

January 1, 2014 can also get their

names registered.

Kujur said that Chhattisgarh

would have three-phased elections

for 11 parliamentary constituen-

cies. Naxalism affected Bastar

would undergo polls on April 10.

Gazette notification for April 10

polling in state will be issued on

March 15, with filing of nomina-

tions beginning the same day while

last date for filing nominations will

be March 22 and scrutiny of the

nominations will be completed on

March 24. Contestants can with-

draw their name till March 26 be-

fore polling on April 10.

Likewise, notification for April 17

polling will be issued on March 19

with last date for filing nomina-

tions March 26 and for April 24

polling, the notification will be is-

sued on March 29.

On April 17, Mahasamund,

Kanker and Rajnandgaon con-

stituencies would witness polls

while rest seven constituencies of

Sarguja, Raigarh, Janjgir-Champa,

Raipur, Durg, Korba and Bilaspur

will undergo polls on April 24. Ku-

jur said that special arrangements

would be made at polling booths to

beat the heat. "Voters would be fa-

cilitated with shade, water, wash-

room facilities so that participation

doesn't get affected due to summer

and standing in long queues," he

said. All district election officers

have been directed about effective

implementation of model code of

conduct and that no photographs

of any political entity shall be dis-

played at government offices and

its premises in state.

20 jawans killed in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh; CM calls emergency meetRAIPURIn a major attack, Naxals Tuesday

ambushed a joint team of the Cen-

tral Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

and state police in Chhattisgarh's

Sukma district, killing at least 20

jawans and injuring several others.

Dipanshu Kabra, DIG, State Intel-

ligence Bureau told ANI that 20

jawans have been martyred in the

attack while three have been in-

jured.

A civilian was also reported killed

in the attack. Officials on the spot

say some Naxals may also have been

killed in firing, Kabra said.

It was an ambush. There are re-

ports of around 150 Naxals present

there, Kabra said further, making

clear the scale of the attack.

CRPF sources had earlier said that

15 of their personnel and five from

the state police may have been killed

in the ambush. An assistant com-

mandant rank officer of CRPF is be-

lieved to be among those feared

killed.

The attack took place in a dense

forest at Tahakwada between Ton-

gapal and Jeeram Ghati in Sukma

district.

Chhattisgarh Police ADG (Intelli-

gence) Mukesh Gupta informed that

a joint team of CRPF and state po-

lice was attacked by a large group of

Naxalites at the 'Jeeram Nullah' un-

der the Tongapal Police Station area

of the district.

Sources said a squad of 44 person-

nel, including 30 CRPF and 14 state

police, were out for an operation

when Naxals triggered landmine

blasts and firing leading to the

killings.

We are getting reports of blasts

and firing. For the time being the

firing has stopped. Reinforcements

have been sent, RK Vij, ADG (Nax-

al operations), said.

Exact situation will be assessed

once we reach the spot of en-

counter, he said further, adding,

Exact location of the ambush is be-

tween Tongapal and Jeeram; the

spot is 5 kilometres from Tongapal.

Following the attack, an encounter

broke out between the CRPF-police

personnel and Maoists. Reinforce-

ments have also been rushed to the

spot, where fierce firing was report-

ed between the two sides. The area

is reported to be 'heavily mined'.

Chhattisgarh Home Minister

Ramsewak Paikra confirmed the at-

tack, but did not specify the death

toll. Union Home Minister

Sushilkumar Shinde said they are

getting information, (but) cannot

say anything right now.

State Chief Minister Raman Singh

has called an emergency meeting of

the Chief Secretary, ACS Home,

DGP and other high ranking offi-

cers to asses the situation.

Police sources had earlier said

that the firefight started at around

10:30 am this morning, adding the

death toll is expected to rise.

The incident took place in the

same area where Naxalites had

killed 76 police personnel in April

2010.

2014 elections:Chhattisgarh

Police gear up totackle Naxal threatRaipur: Ahead of the Lok Sabha

elections, Chhattisgarh Police have

started chalking out strategies in

coordination with the adjoining

states to tackle Maoist threats in

inter-state border areas, officials

said on Saturday .

Top police officials of the Bastar

region, including the Inspector

General, SP and ASPs, held a high-

level meeting with their Odisha

counterparts yesterday and draft-

ed a plan to take on the rebels in

run-up to the election and on the

voting days, they said.

On the direction of Election Com-

mission a meeting was held with

police officials of Odisha for a well-coordinated effort to ensure peace-

ful polling in the Naxal-hit regions,

Bastar Superintendent of Police

Ajay Yadav told PTI.

Several districts of south Chhat-

tisgarh like Bastar, Kondagaon and

Sukma have links with the Naxal-

hit districts of Koraput and Malka-

ngiri in Odisha in terms of move-

ment of cadres, arms and ammuni-

tion. A coordination is necessary

to curb the activity of Maoist

cadres, he said.

"We have mutually (police offi-

cials of both states) identified

some sensitive pockets in the inter-

state border regions where there is

a need to focus more," the SP said.

"There are several areas on both

sides where mobile check posts re-

quire coordinated support from se-

curity personnel of the two States,"

he said.

Insurgency-hit Bastar and adjoin-

ing constituencies like Koraput,

Nabrangpur (Odisha) and Gadchi-

roli, Chimur and Chandrapur (Ma-

harashtra) will go to the polls on

April 10.


3/12

03(MP&CG) March 10 to March 16, 2014 Bhopal

Man killed over Rs300, 3 arrestedIndore:Three men were arrested on

Saturday on the charge of killing a

friend here after he refused to pay Rs

300 lost over a game of carom.

On February 27, the accused

mercilessly beat to death Prakash

Suryawanshi alias Munna after he

refused to pay the money betted

during a carom game, Superintendent

of Police OP Tripathi said. The accused

were identified as Pradeep

Suryawanshi (24), his brother Deepak

Suryawanshi (30) and Praveen Solanki

(19). They beat Prakash with a pipe

and later dumped him at his house

where he died. Then they absconded.

Acting on a tip-off, police traced and

nabbed them today. All the three

confessed to the crime during the

questioning, police claimed.

Rs 22 cr treasure found

in Lokayukta raid atPWD guard's houseIndore: In an eye-opening raid, a

chowkidaarwith the Public Works

Department here was found to be in

possession of disproportionate assets

worth over Rs 22 crores. As per

reports, Guru Kripal Singh's house at

Tilak Nagar was raided this morning

following a tip-off. Lokayukta officials,

who are still carrying out the raid, have

found cash, jewellery and several

property papers from the house.

Reports said cash worth 12 lakh 44

thousand was recovered, apart from

documents of Rs 35 lakh worth of

investments. Officials also seized three

four-wheelers, including Tata Safari

and Toyota Innova, as well as two two-

wheelers from the PWD guard. He

also has 14 houses and 11 agricultural

land totalling nearly 20 acres in his

name. The worth of Singh's immovable

property is estimated to be worth over

Rs 10 crores. Twenty bottles of

imported liquor were also seized from

his residence, while officials have also

found that he has a locker in a UCO

Bank which has yet to be opened.

Ironically, the guard's monthly salary is

mere Rs 22,000

Cong accuses BJP ofviolating model codein Madhya PradeshIndore:The opposition Congress

accused the ruling BJP in Madhya

Pradesh of violating the model code

of conduct by organising statewide

shut down. State Congress

spokesperson Narendra Saluja said

here today that BJP leaders organised

vehicle processions, demonstrations,

road blockades and rallies during the

strike, thus violating the model code

of conduct. Alleging that these actions

not only violated the model code of

conduct, but also the Criminal

Procedure Code, he demanded that

cases be registered against all BJP

leaders. Yesterday, the ruling BJP had

called a half-day strike demanding

that the Centre provide a Rs 5,000-

crore package for Madhya Pradesh's

farmers, who suffered crop damage

due to rains and hailstorms.

Model code of conduct strictly enforced in MP

BHOPAL

Model code of conduct is being

strictly enforced in Madhya

Pradesh to ensure free and fair Lok

Sabha election. On the second day

after announcement for Lok Sabhaelections, posters, banners, wall

paintings etc. were removed

promptly in cities and towns of the

state. Under the provisions of Pre-

vention of Defacement of Public

Property Act, 30 thousand 758 wall

paintings, posters, banners etc

have been removed from public and

private properties. As many as 28

thousand 502 posters, banners and

wall paintings have been removed

from public properties and 2256

publicity material from private

properties.

So far, 9 thousand 559 wall writ-

ings, 8 thousand 440 posters, 6 thou-sand 58 banners and 4 thousand 445

other materials have been removed

from public properties. During the

action, one case has also been reg-

istered. Similarly, 1376 wal l writ-

ings, 693 posters, 680 banners and

506 other materials have been re-

moved from public properties.

As many as 2 cases of misuse of

vehicles have come to the fore in

districts. Similarly, 2 cases have

been registered for holding of

meeting speeches without official

permission.

Action under Motor Vehicle Act

has been taken by SDM of Chan-

deri in Ashok Nagar district

against Union Minister of State for

Energy Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia

for violation of code of conduct.

Shri Scindia's video film-equipped

vehicle was being plied without

permission from RTO. In another

case, Bhopal Collector is investigat-

ing a complaint lodged by Indian

National Congress against Chief

Minister and others regarding vio-

lation of permission for dharna.

SDM Amarwada is enquiring into

complaint by Smt. Kamini Shah

(Congress) of Chhindwara alleging

that Amarwara's SDO Forest ShriBasant Kakre is posted since June

2011 and indulging into political ac-

tivities.

Meanwhile, printers and publish-

ers were asked to comply with pro-

visions of section 127A of Repre-

sentation of People Act 1951. Print-

line on general electioneering ma-

terials printed by printing presses

must carry names and addresses of

printer and publisher clearly. This

was directed recently during a

meeting with printers and publish-

ers at the office of the Chief Elec-

toral Officer in the context of Lok

Sabha elections.

Chief Electoral Officer Jaideep

Govind has apprised district collec-

tors about the commission's direc-

tives. They were informed that gen-

eral electioneering materials like

cardboards, badges, paper caps,

mobile stickers etc. and other relat-

ed materials must have names and

addresses of printer and publisher

as per the Act. Four printed copies

and one copy of publisher's agree-

ment should be sent to CEO's Of fice

or district election officer in the

district within 3 days after print-

ing.

Violation of Representation ofPeople Act will be taken seriously

and strict action will be taken

against the violator. In the Perfor-

ma under which 4 printed copies

and declaration form to be attached

with it must have printer's signa-

ture and seal. Joint Chief Electoral

Officer and other officers were

present on the occasion.

e-governance state govt's priority: CMBHOPAL

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh

Chauhan has said that good gover-

nance is priority of the state gov-

ernment. Its basis is e-Governance.

These days, charisma of informa-

tion technology is visible every-

where in the state. Chauhan was

addressing a function where Infor-

mation Technology Excellence

Awards were distributed. On the

occasion, he announced Rs. one

lakh award with citation for Secre-

tary Information Technology Hari

Ranjan Rao. He directed that Secre-

taries doing excellent work should

also be awarded. Farmers Welfare

and Agriculture Development Min-ister Gaurishankar Bisen was also

present on the occasion.

Chauhan said that e-Governance

is state government's priority. This

sector has immense potential. It

should be our goal that Madhya

Pradesh leaves behind Silicon Val-

ley in information technology. He

said that innovations in IT sector

have been made in Madhya

Pradesh. Complaints are being re-

dressed immediately through

Samadhan Online. Relief amounts

are being deposited directly in

farmers' accounts. Time and mon-

ey in administrative works are be-

ing saved through video-conferenc-

ing. Major IT infrastructure with

immense employment potential is

coming up in the state, he added.

The Chief Minister said that in-clusive culture is developing in the

state under which all including

farmers and employees stand side

by side in hour of crisis. He said

that employees in Madhya Pradesh

also stand by farmers in their cri-

sis. They are donating their one-

day salary for relief to them. He

said that state government is en-

suring welfare of all sections of so-

ciety. Economy has been strength-

ened. He said that state govern-

ment had given Rs. 600 crore relief

to farmers when their soybean

crops were affected in the past.

Now, Rs. 2000 crore has been provi-

sioned for relief to hailstorm-af-

fected farmers.

Transport and Information Tech-

nology Minister Bhupendra Singh

said that state government has un-

dertaken unprecedented works for

expansion of information technol-

ogy. Department's budget has been

increased to Rs. 190 crore, which

was Rs. 93 lakh in year 2003. He said

that Madhya Pradesh has emerged

as pioneer state in information

technology sector. Chief Secretary

Anthony de Sa said that atmos-

phere of IT has built up in the state.

It is perhaps the first state in the

world where innovation like virtu-al cadre in information has been

undertaken. He said that wide pub-

licity of innovations is also neces-

sary.

At the outset, Secretary IT Hari

Ranjan Rao delivered the welcome

address. Deputy Secretary O.P. Vas-

tava proposed a vote of thanks. The

programme was conducted by Sud-

hir Kochar. At the programme, the

Chief Minister distributed 23

awards for year 2012-13 in 9 cate-

gories including good governance,

empowerment and progress.

Notice to MP BJP unitfor non-complianceof RTI mechanismBhopal: Madhya Pradesh Informa-

tion Commission today directed is-

suance of notice to state BJP unit

for alleged non-compliance of RTI

mechanism at its office here.

The action came following a com-

plaint by RTI activist Ajay Dubey,

who approached the State Informa-

tion Commission (SIC) after he al-

legedly did not find any mechanism

by BJP here for facilitating RTI

queries from people. He had ap-

proached the SIC on the basis of

Central Information Commission's

(CIC) last year order which held that

six national political parties--Con-

gress, Bhartiya Janata Par ty, Com-munist Party of India (Marxist),

Communist Party of India(CPI), Na-

tionalist Congress Party (NCP) and

Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP)--come

under the ambit of Right To Infor-

mation Act.

While hearing D ubey's plea today,

the Commission directed that a no-

tice be issued to the state BJP unit

and it may be asked to file its re-

sponse before the transparency

watchdog on the next date of hear-

ing scheduled for April 4, officials

said. "I had gone to file RTI applica-

tion at BJP office in Bhopal. But

there was no mechanism in place

for it. I then went to State Informa-

tion Commission ag ainst BJP," said

Dubey. The CIC had in June last

year held that the six national par-

ties have been substantially funded

indirectly by the central govern-

ment and were required to appoint

public information officers for giv-

ing information under the RTI Act.

Bhopal: A five-year-old girl was al-

legedly raped by his 22-year-old

neighbour in Jehangirabad area

here on Saturday, police said.

Moon Bahadur, who lived near

the girl's house, lured the victim by

offering to buy her a toffee and

raped her at an isolated place, they

said.

The accused has been arrested

while the girl was admitted to a

hospital in a serious condition, po-

lice said.

A case of rape under the Indian

Penal Code and under the Protec-

tion of Child ren from Sexual Of-

fences Act (POCSO) was registered

against the accused, they said.

Five-year-oldgirl rapedin Bhopal


4/12

04 (MP&CG)March 10 to March 16, 2014Raipur Trail

Chhattisgarh to holdrecall vote for twomunicipal bodiesRaipur: An election for recalling

elected chairmen of two municipal

bodies will be held under 'Right to

Recall' in Chhattisgarh.

In accordance with the

Chhattisgarh Municipalities Act 1961

that gives a voter the 'right to recall',

the Chhattisgarh Election

Commission has initiated the process

to recall chairpersons of Saria

municipality in Raigarh district and

Vishrampuri municipality of

Kondagaon district, an official here

said. The State Elec tion Commission

has recommended the government

to conduct polling under the process,

he said. In this line, the process of

preparing voters' list in both

municipalities has been initiated. The

collectors of the concerned districts

have been directed to ensure the

completion of publicity ofpublication of voters list,

appointment of authorised

employees and their training,

providing format of voters list and

recall poll related information to MP,

MLAs and corporators by March 13.

The motion for right to recall against

Vishrampuri municipality chairperson

Suman Markam and Saria

municipality chairperson Kamla

Swarnkar, was passed recently for

their alleged under-performance. If

more than half the total number of

voters favour the recall, the elected

position of chairman will be nullified,

the official added

Rs 29 lakh cash,ammunition seizedfrom Naxal hideoutsRajnandgaon: In a major haul, a

whopping Rs 29 lakh were seized

from a Maoist dump in

Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district,

police said Tuesday. Besides,

ammunition and electronic gadgets

were also recovered from two

separate Naxal hideouts in the

region. "A joint squad of security

personnel busted two Naxal camps in

Sitagaon and Aundhi police stationlimits in the past two days and seized

cash, live cartridges and electronic

items," Inspector General of Police

(Durg Range) Pradeep Gupta told

reporters here. Cash worth Rs 28.95

lakh was recovered from a Naxal

hideout in Nideli village forests under

Aundhi police station limits last

evening, he said. The joint

contingent of Indo Tibetan Border

Police (ITBP), Border Security Force

(BSF) and local police team was on a

search operation along the border of

Rajnandgaon-Kanker district for past

several days. On Sunday, it unearthed

a Naxal dump in Pitemeta-Amakoda

forests under Sitagaon police station

limits and yesterday in Aundhi. The

other recovered material include 10

live cartridges of 9 MM pistol and 12

bore gun, a magazine of Insas rifle,

steel containers used in planting

landmines, three cellphones, data

cable, radio, batteries, Naxal literature

and other rela ted items, Gupta said.

Cases of assault on women overwitchcraft practices on rise

RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh witnesses frequent

cases of assault on women over

witchcraft practices, many of which

go unreported. Three major cases

have been reported in the state in

last one month.

Dr Dinesh Mishra, who is working

against superstition and blackmag-

ic, said psychology behind such ex-

treme step is usually to end the

cause, as just a suspicion on some-

one would not serve the purpose

and villagers' problem would re-

main intact. Hence, without giving

second thoughts, they either humil-

iate, assault or kill women under

suspicion. He said that it was high

time for administration to take a

call.

"Acting against accused and work-

ing according to prevention Act is

fine but there's an urgent need to

make people aware about how inno-

cents are being killed over ground-

less issues," he said. However statecommission for women said that

commission was working sans

chairperson as the former serving

Vibha Rao's tenure ended in Decem-

ber and no other official preferred

to comment. Subrat Sahu, secretary

department of women and child

said that cases of assault had come

down. "Consistent awareness pro-

grammes are going on in affected

areas which need to be intensified.

We would call for registered cases

and after conducting surveys, would

act swiftly against the issue."

In a latest incident a woman was

killed under suspicion of being a in-

volved in witchcraft practices in Up-

arwara village of Naya Raipur re-

cently. Police have arrested four per-

sons, all of whom are woman's im-

mediate relatives. It's a case similar

to one of Balrampur where a

woman was killed by her neigh-

bours when their kin was suffering

from prolonged disease.

Deceased Dulari Bai, 52, wasfarmer Hariram Sahu's wife and the

couple didn't have kids. Her hus-

band's brother Mehattar and his

family always accused her of being

a witch and used to beat her fre-

quently. Things turned worse when

Mehattar's daughter-in-law fell sick

and murmured Dulari's name in un-

conscious state, which enraged all

family members.

They suspected that Dulari was

working spells on the woman to

make her sick. Early on Wednesday,

Mehattar with his wife Rajwanti,

son Madan and another person

Manoj went to Dulari's house with

traditional weapons and beat her to

death. On complain of deputy

sarpanch of village, police acted

swiftly and arrested all four accused

under sections 302, 34 of the IPC

while after further investigations,

case would be registered under rele-

vant Sections of Witchcraft Preven-

tion Act 2005, police said.

Both Cong and BJP face challenges in CGRAIPUR

Both in assembly and Lok

Sabha polls, BJP has been

in control in Chhattisgarh

for over a decade. The Raman effect

that proved so effective during the

assembly elections and the Modi

factor, will work in BJP's favour.

The party is high on confidence

and has a strong organizational

network.

However, it will no t be a cakewalk

for BJP. The party f aces many chal-

lenges in the state. Retaining the

Lok Sabha seats the BJP won in

2004 and 2009 elections could be dif-

ficult, since the tribal areas are not

too happy with the party's regime.

The party has failed to connect

with the SC voters as well. Gover-

nance and corruption are still key

issues and the report cards of

many sitting MPs are not satisfac-

tory on those counts.

Meanwhile, the Congress is

emerging strong in three areas--

south Bastar, north Sarguja and Ra-

jnandgaon. It has gained the trib-

als' confidence in backward areas.

Anti-incumbency against the rul-

ing BJP might help if CM Raman

Singh fails to curb corruption.

No doubt the Congress faces

greater challenges in the state com-

pared to BJP.

The party still suffers from lack

of effective leadership. The organi-

zational set up is weak as well. Fac-

tionalism persists and poses a ma-

jor problem during ticket distribu-

tion. The party is held responsible

for the UPA's failure and weakness-

es at the Centre. It has failed to im-

press voters in urban areas.

So both Congress and BJP have

their strong and weak points in

Chhattisgarh. But the prospects of

BJP are certainly bright in the

state and Congress is unlikely to

gain too much from BJP's weak-

nesses mainly because of in-fight-

ing within the party.

The UPA government's scam-hit

tenure may reflect on the Congress

in the state. At the same time the

anti-incumbency against the state

BJP government may prove to be

beneficial for the Congress in

Chhattisgarh.

Villagers opposeJindal-promotedNSPL public hearing

RAIGARH

A public hearing organised to give

environmental clearance to the OP

Jindal Group-promoted Nalwa

Steel and Power Limited (NSPL)

for expansion of its capacity was

opposed by villagers who accused

the firm of short- changing them.

At the hearing held yesterday, the

villagers alleged the company was

utilising water without any per-

mission and has also not given jobs

to those affected by the project, Re-

gional Environment Officer John

Lakda said on Saturday.

He said nearly 3,000 people at-

tended the hearing, a requisite for

securing a green nod for expan-

sion of capacity.

During the hearing, most vil-

lagers alleged that the plant was

affecting environment and the

company is not using its CSR fund

for the affected areas, he said.

Lakda said the villagers also de-

manded that the hearing be

termed illegal and cancelled.Rajesh Tripathy of Jan Chetna

NGO, which is opposing the com-

pany's expansion plans, alleged

the public hearing was akin to vio-

lation of pol l code currently in

force.

Another agitator Radheshyam

Sharma alleged the company man-

agement was colluding with the

state government and tried to rig

the hearing by bringing people

from outside.

When contacted, Raigarh SP Pra-

ful Thakur said the public hearing

was by and large peaceful.

Meanwhile, the OP Jindal Group

dismissed reports of the project

facing opposition from villagers.

"On the contrary, villagers are

supporting us. The expansion of

capacity entails development of

this area," the company said in a

press statement.

The plant is located at Taraimal,

nearly 17 kms from here.


5/12

05(MP&CG) March 10 to March 16, 2014 Madhya Pradesh

Congress candidatein MP joins BJPBhopal: In a huge embarrassment

for the Congress, one of its Lok Sabha

candidates from Madhya Pradesh

joined the BJP Sunday.

A day after he was nominated in

the Congress' first list to contest the

Bhind (reserved) constituency,

Bhagirath Prasad joined the BJP at a

function at the party headquarters

here in the presence of its state chief

Narendra Singh Tomar.

"Happy to welcome Bhagirath

Prasad in the BJP," Madhya Pradesh

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

said on Twitter.

Prasad, a former Indian

Administrative Service (IAS) officer,

contested the last Lok Sabha

elections from Bhind on a Congress

ticket but lost. The Congress hadSaturday announced 22 candidates

for Madhya Pradesh, which has 29

Lok Sabha constituencies.

Cong LS nomineefrom Bhind BhagirathPrasad joins BJPIn a jolt to the Congress ahead of Lok

Sabha polls, retired IAS officer

Bhagirath Prasad, whom the party

had declared its candidate from

Bhind seat in Madhya Pradesh, on

Sunday joined the BJP. Prasad, who

was announced the Congress

candidate from Bhind seat only

yesterday, had unsuccessfully

contested the last Lok Sabha

elections on the party ticket from the

same seat. This time also Congress

relied on him and nominated him

from the same seat, but today he

switched over to the saffron party.

MP farmers' woes: CMembarks on fast againstCentre's apathyWith a firm eye on Lok Sabha polls,

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj

Singh Chouhan, along with his cabinet

colleagues on Thursday began his fasthere against the Centre's "apathetic"

attitude towards rain-hit farmers in

the state.

"The people of the state stood

behind farmers in their hour of crisis

and provided them all possible help to

deal with the calamity," the Chief

Minister said addressing the sit-in

protest scheduled to go on till 2 PM.

"We have already earmarked Rs 2,000

crore for providing relief to f armers

and this is just the beginning. We will

take all possible measures to provide

aid to the affected farmers," Chouhan

said. "BJP leaders and ministers are

observing fast to draw the attention of

the Central Government towards the

plight of farmers," he said. The ruling

BJP, which had demanded declaration

of extensive damage to crops by rain

and hailstorm in MP as a "national

calamity" has given a call to observe a

shut down until 2 pm today in order

to highlight the alleged apathy of the

Centre towards the state's farmers.

BRIEF

Siddique Hassan Talab: BMC yet to start surveyBHOPAL

The Bhopal's civic body hasn't done

the survey work of encroachments

on and around Siddique Hassan

Khan Talab. The National Green Tribunal

(NGT) had asked it to complete the survey

before Model Code of Conduct comes into

force. But the civic body kept delaying the

issue and now the survey is likely to be de-

layed further on account of code.

NGT has asked civic body not to ignore

dismal condition of lakes and its conserva-

tion work in a bid to improve their status.

Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is

yet to get on with survey of encroachments

at Siddique Hassan Khan Talab. Of the

11.99 acres of land of the talab, around 7

acres of land is under encroachment com-

prising around 159 houses, 14 hospitals, 20

shops and hotels. Also, the state govern-

ment hasn't yet drafted a rehabilitation pol-

icy for encroachers around the water body.

BMC has said it was unable to carry on

with the survey because of unavailability

of revenue records. Taking a serious view,

National Green Tribunal (NGT) central

zone bench ordered the BMC and the state

government to expedite work around the

talab.

NGT has said the delay is negligence of

the government and told the civic body

they should finish the task in two months.

After the survey, "Notices for removal of

encroachments and unauthorized con-

structions shall be served by the municipal

authorities and after affording reasonable

opportunities given to hear, the municipal

authorities shall proceed in accordance

with the high court's order. Earlier the high

court had also ordered the BMC to take all

necessary steps for removal of encroach-

ments. The case was later transferred to the

NGT for follow up action.

Withdraw remarks on RSS link toGandhi killing: Rajnath tells RahulINDORE

BJP president Rajnath Singh on

Monday asked Congress Vice-

President Rahul Gandhi to take

back his "baseless" allegation of

involvement of RSS in the assassi-

nation of Mahatma Gandhi.

"Rahul had levelled the allega-

tion against the world's largest so-

cio-cultural organisation sayingRSS men were behind the assassi-

nation of Mahatma Gandhi. The

fact is that the Kapoor Commis-

sion, which probed Gandhi's as-

sassination, had stated in its re-

port that the allegations against

RSS on the issue were totally base-

less," Rajnath said while address-

ing party workers at parliamen-

tary area meet on Dussehra

ground here.

Taking a dig, he asked Congress-

men to study history to know the

correct facts. "After the assassina-

tion of Mahatma Gandhi, the then

government had imposed a ban on

RSS but within six months Con-

gress admitted that RSS had no

role in the Mahatma's killing and

all allegations levelled against

RSS on the issue are baseless," he

said.

"I urge Congress leaders to re-

quest their Vice-President to take

back the baseless allegations lev-

elled by him against the RSS on

the issue," Rajnath said.

Addressing a rally in Thane dis-

trict of Maharashtra on March 6,

Rahul had said "RSS people killed

Gandhiji and today their people

(BJP) talk of him... They opposed

Sardar Patel and Gandhiji".

BJP has already moved the Elec-

tion Commission against Rahul

over his remarks. Meanwhile, Ra-

jnath also asked the Centre to

make public the report of the

Commission that probed the as-

sassination of then Prime Minis-

ter Indira Gandhi in 1984.

"I wanted to know under what

conditions this report was not

made public. I demand from the

Prime Minister and the Congress

leadership to make this report

public so that people will come to

know the circumstances behind

the assassination of Indira Gand-

hi," Rajnath said.

Rajnath charged Congress has

lost dignity and also control over

words. "Congress president Sonia

Gandhi's remark of zeher ki kheti

(sowing seeds of poison) is symp-

tomatic of state of depression in

Congress and because of this So-

nia sometimes terms BJP poison-

ous and sometimes a thief".

UPA Govt has no

respect for federalstructure: ChouhanIndore: Madhya Pradesh Chief

Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

today accused the UPA Govt of not

respecting the federal structure

and discriminating against the

BJP-ruled State in providing relief

to the farmers affected by recent

unseasonal rain and hailstorm. He

said the the Cong-led Govt at the

Centre has no regard for the coun-

try's federal structure. It is dis-

criminating against the hailstorm-

hit farmers of the State on the is-

sue of financial assistance due topolitical reasons. Chouhan was

speaking at a function of BJP

workers here where party Presi-

dent Rajnath Singh was also pres-

ent. "The UPA Govt fears that if it

provides relief to the Madhya

Pradesh farmers, the BJP may ben-

efit in the coming Lok Sabha elec-

tions," the CM said. The State Govt

has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore for

providing relief to the farmers and

if more fund is needed, that too

will be arranged, he said.

How long the people of Madhya

Pradesh will suffer this discrimi-

nation at the hands of the Cen-

tre,he sought to know and asked

the voters to decimate the Con-

gress in the elections to end this

trend. Referring to the condition

of Congress, he said the party is in

such a pathetic position that its

Lok Sabha candidate from Bhind,

Bhagirath Prasad, has refused to

contest, Chouhan claimed.


6/12

06 (MP&CG)March 10 to March 16, 2014Editorial

ASTROLOGY

12-03-2014- Wednesday - Falgun

Mah Shuklapaksh-Ekadashi

Positive directions - North and West

Bad time - 12:37 pm to 2:06

pm

Good time - 6:40 am to 9:38 amand 11:07am to 12:36 pm and 3:35

pm to 6:33 pm

13-03-2014-Thursday- Falgun Mah

Shuklapaksh-Dwadashi

Positive directions - North and West

Bad time - 2:06 pm to 3:35 pm

Good time - 6:39 am to 8:08

am and 11:07 am to 2:05 pm and

5:04 pm to 6:34 pm

14-03-2014- Friday -Falgun Mah

Shuklapaksh-Trayodashi (Pradosh)

Positive directions - East and North

Bad time - 11:06 am to 12:36

pmGood time - 6:38 am to 11:05

am and 12:37 pm to 2:06 pm and

5:05 pm to 6:34 pm

15-03-2014- Saturday -Falgun

Mah Shuklapaksh- Chaturdashi

Positive directions-North and East

Bad time - 9:36 am to

11:06am

Good time - 8:07 am to 9:35

am and 12:36 pm to 5:05 pm

16-03-2014- Sunday - Falgun Mah

Shuklapaksh- Poornima (Holi)

Positive directions - South and East


Good time - 8:06 am to 12:35pm and 2:05 pm to 3:35 pm

17-03-2014- Monday -Chaitra Mah

Krishnapaksh- Ekam

Positive directions- East and South

Bad time - 8:05 am to 9:35 am

Good time - 6:35 am to 8:04 am

and 9:36 am to 11:05 am and 2:05

pm to 6:35 pm

18-03-2014- Tuesday -Chaitra Mah

Krishnapaksh - Dwitiya

Positive directions-South


Good time - 9:34 am to 2:05 pm

By AACHARYA SARVESH

E-Mail: achar [email protected]

Mobile: 9826609192

VASTU TIPS FOR STORE ROOMS

Store rooms should be placed

in North-West portion of

building as it is beneficial in

terms of providing good

provision of storage with

minimal chances of shortage in

grains.

Things like oil, ghee, refined

and gas cylinder etc should be

stored in South-East corner of

storage. The windows in this room

should be made on Eastern or

Western sides.

The color chosen in store room

should be tints of white, yellow

or blue.

More bomb blasts in India than Afghanistan or SyriaW

ith war waging in Afghanistan

and news of bomb blasts in me-

dia reports almost daily, we in In-

dia must be inclined to think that nations

like Afghanistan are very dangerous and un-

safe to live compared to a peaceful country

like India. However, you will be surprised to

learn that India is one of the most dangerous

countries to live in. The information from

the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC)

states that you are more likely to die in a

bomb blast in Indian than in Afghanistan.

Surprisingly, a war-torn country like Syria

too is falling in a better place than India, as

far as bomb blasts are concerned.

Recent information from the NBDC says

that India suffered 212 bomb blasts in 2013,

which is nearly double than the figures from

Afghanistan which suffered 108 blasts in

2013. While Bangladesh faced 75 blasts, Syria

faced only 36 blasts - both owing to an inter-

nal strife than external forces responsible for

the same.

It is good news that the number of blaststhat occurred in India decreased from 241 in

2012 to 212 in 2013. At the same time, the num-

ber of deaths and casualties increased from

113 and 419 last year to 130 deaths and 446 in-

juries in 2013.

According to official data, over the past

decade, there have been an average of 298

blasts and 1337 casualties in India every year

between 2004 and 2013. This is again higher

than Afghanistan which in the past five

years witnessed a maximum of 209 such at-

tacks in 2010, according to the data.As far as the world figures are concerned,

India accounts for almost 75 per cent of

bomb blasts in the world along with Iraq and

Pakistan. Another finding for attacks within

India, of the official data says that its North

East region and Maoist areas have con-

tributed over 80 per cent of the IED attacks.

Amongst the North Eastern regions, Assam

and Manipur are the worst affected. Fur-

thermore, Jammu & Kashmir witnessed a 50

per cent rise in bomb blasts last year as com-

pared to 2012.Among the Indian states,Jharkhand, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Naga-

land, Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir

have witnessed a rise in the terrorist attacks

through blasts. On the other hand, 15 other

states witnessed a declining trend, some of

which include Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,

Tamil Nadu and Manipur.

India faces seriouschallenges in health sector

Healthcare is a major con-

cern for the governments

around the world. Global-

ization brings with it increasing

threats to health including SARS,

avian flu, HIV/ AIDS, humanitari-

an emergencies and bio-terrorism.

These and other threats to health

know no boundaries as in an age of

widespread global trade and travel,

new and existing diseases can cross

national borders and threaten our

collective security.

India has both substantial

achievements as well as a daunting

unfinished agenda in the healthsector. Longevity in the country has

more than doubled since Independ-

ence. However, these achievements

do not mask India's failures. Mal-

nutrition and rates of infant and

maternal deaths have not reduced

to the expected level during the last

decade. Although India accounts

for 16.5% of the global population,

it contributes to a fifth of the

world's share of diseases; a third of

the diarrhoeal diseases, TB, respi-

ratory and other infections and par-

asitic infestations, a fifth of nutri-

tional deficiencies, diabetes and the

second largest number of HIV/

AIDS cases after South Africa.

The public health system is over-

whelmed by the co-existence of

communicable and infectious dis-

eases alongside an emerging up-

surge of non-communicable dis-

eases. The number of HIV/AIDS

cases is rising continuously as the

prevalence level of TB cases. What

is also of concern is the expected

increase in India's disease burden

due to non-communicable diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases and dia-

betes will more than double, can-

cers will rise by 25% and mental

health incidences will affect about

6.5% of the populace in the years to

come.

These and other non-communica-

ble diseases are expensive to treat

and India's focus will be on adopt-

ing preventive strategies. Access to

clean water and sanitation services

and better hygienic practices like

hand-washing will reduce diar-rhoea. Likewise, increasing advoca-

cy and awareness efforts against to-

bacco use will reduce CVD, lung

and oral cancers drastically. Pro-

motion of exercise and yoga is in-

creasingly acknowledged to reduce

stress and obesity, diabetes and oth-

er lifestyle diseases.

The National Rural Health Mis-

sion is an attempt at building a sus-

tainable health system for the coun-

try. It attempts to address long

standing ailments of the health sys-

tem.

It is about decentralization and

empowering local communities be-

ginning at the village level to plan

for their own health care needs. The

Mission also attempts to fill critical

gaps in the system, systemic as well

as those relating to human re-

sources, finances, materials and

supplies and above all accountabil-

ity.

- (Editorial by Dilip Ojha)

Had Sanjay Gandhibeen alive ?

BIPIN SASI

Sanjay Gandhi was a controversial and polarizing figure.

At a political discussion an interesting remark came

from a Congresman , Had Sanjay Gandhi been alive there

would not have been threat of Narendra Modi. Does Congress

thinks that Rahul's image is not suf fice for handling NaMo Fac-

tor ? His son Varun is a BJP MP.

Wiki leaks cable reveals that Prime Ministers 30 year old Son,

Sanjay Gandhi abandoned back corridor politics to step into the

political limelight.

One thing is certain, had San-

jay's plane not crashed, he would

have become Indira Gandhi's

eventual successor

Sanjay was 'disowned' by Con-

gress Dynasty the day his widowwas thrown out of Indira's house.

Many people had doubts about

the reason for the plane crash

which killed Sanjay.

In June 1975 his mother, Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi, imposed

a state of Emergency. All opposi-

tion politicians were arrested,

and the press censored. Sanjay

himself quickly emerged as the second most powerful person in

India. Chief Ministers and Cabinet Ministers took orders from

him. According to sources , Sanjay had wanted the Nehru-Gand-

hi family to rule forever. He persuaded his mother to set up a 12-

member committee headed by Swaran Singh to draft a new c on-

stitution for India. The document under preparation apparent-

ly included a provision appointing Indira Gandhi as the Presi-

dent of India for life and conferring on her family the divine

right to uninterrupted rule. To push the process forward, San-

jay got the assemblies of Haryana, West Bengal and Punjab, all

ruled by his loyalists, to pass resolutions demanding a new Con-

stitution for the country. Fortunately, Emergency was lifted and

the Congress was voted out of power before his plans bore

fruition.

Today congress internally seems to miss a vibrant and PM

material like Sanjay Gandhi in the Nehru family.


7/12

07(MP&CG) March 10 to March 16, 2014 Politics

Clash in Delhi set AAP's cash boxes ringingNEW DELHI

The recent clash between the BJP

and the AAP might have led to

widespread criticism for Aam Aad-

mi Party but it has also set the par-

ty's cash boxes ringing.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers

fought pitched battles with BJP ac-

tivists in Lucknow and Delhi,

hours after Arvind Kejriwal was

detained briefly in Gujarat--shortly

after election dates were an-

nounced. The former Delhi chief

minister is in Narendra Modi's

state to verify claims of develop-

ment.

Moments after AAP supremo

Arvind Kejriwal was briefly de-

tained in Gujarat, his party's anger

spilled onto the streets and resulted

in violent clashes between AAP

workers and members of the saf-fron party. The incident is being

seen as a blow to Kejriwal's serious

image. If reports are to be believed

the showdown also helped AAP

garner massive sympathy in the

form of online donations. The do-

nations to the AAP peaked to 260

per cent, a day after clashes be-

tween BJP and AAP broke out in

the Capital and spread to other

states.

Compared to Rs. 6,67,852 received

from 377 people as donations online

a day before, the detention day saw

Rs. 24,05078 being donated from

1,544 people, a hike of 260%. The

amount received online was the

highest for AAP in the last three

weeks or so.

And it's not for the first time that

supporters have extended mone-

tary support in times of either cri-

sis or happy moments.

Hours after Union home minister

Sushilkumar Shinde said in No-

vember last year that donations

made to AAP were being looked

into, contributions peaked mani-

fold.

Also, wishing a "happy new year"

to the party, 2,476 supporters had on

January 1 donated Rs. 41 lakh. Last

time, AAP had seen such a spike in

donation was when Kejriwal had

resigned from the Delhi Chief Min-

ister's post.

Instant feedbackto votersthrough VVPATBHOPAL: Voter-verified paper audit

trail (VVPAT) is a method of providing

feedback to voters using a ballot less

voting system. VVPAT is intended as an

independent verification system for

electronic voting machines that allows

voters to verify that their votes are cast

as intended and can serve as an

additional barrier to changing or

destroying votes.

Under VVPAT, a printer-like apparatus

is linked to Electronic Voting Machine

(EVM). When a vote is cast, a receipt is

generated showing the serial number,

name and symbol of the candidate. It

confirms the vote and the voter can

verify the details. The receipt, once

viewed, goes inside a container linked

to the EVM and can only be accessed

by the election officers in rarest of rare

cases.The system allows a voter to

challenge his or her vote on basis of the

paper receipt for the first time. As per a

new rule, the booth presiding officer

will have to record the dissent of the

voter, which would have to be tak en

into account at time of counting. The

VVPAT system was not manufactured

due to doubts on the EVM, but was part

of the up gradation of the system.

For the first time Voter Verifiable

Paper Audit Trail (VV PAT) with

Electronic Voting Machines was used

for the Noksen Assembly seat in

Tuensang district of Nagaland in

September, 2013. In a ruling in October

2013, the Supreme Court (SC), in the

case of Subramanian Swamy vs Election

Commission of India (ECI), has held that

VVPAT ( Vote Verifiable Paper Audit Trial)

is "indispensable for free and fair

elections" and thus, directed the ECI to

equip Electronic Voting Machines

(EVMs) with VVPAT systems to "ensure

accuracy of the VVPAT system". The

Supreme Court directed the Election

Commission to introduce a paper trail

in EVMs, in a phased manner, for the

next general elections in 2014, saying it

will ensure free and fair polls. The apex

court also directed the Centre to

provide financial assistance for

introducing Vote Verifier Paper AuditTrail (VVPAT) system. In pursuance of

the Supreme Court order, the Election

Commission ordered VVPAT systems to

be used in the New Delhi assembly for

the upcoming assembly elections. The

pilot project was launched across 186

polling stations that will cater to

1,18,596 registered voters.

The Commission will need about 14

lakh VVPAT machines to introduce the

system in all 543 Lok Sabha

constituencies during forthcoming Lok

Sabha elections. However, the

Commission is apprehensive that so

many machines can be produced and

testing them in such a short duration of

time. The Commission feels that

covering all Parliamentary

constituencies may not be possible

before 2019 General Elec tions. The

Commission has stated that

approximately 1500 crore rupees would

be required for procuring VVPAT and

installing it at all polling booths across

the country.

Literature on Gujarat's development

and Modi now available in Hindi

RAIPUR

Senior BJP leaders here have said

that Gujarat had become the focal

point of attention in the run up to

the Lok Sabha polls in the country

due to candidature of its Chief

Minister Narendra Modi as BJP's

prime ministerial candidate. Par-

ty's units in other states are also de-

manding literature on Gujarat's de-

velopment and the Chief Minister

himself in Hindi.

More and more state level leaders

have been asking for Hindi lan-

guage literature on Narendra Modi

as it would be easy for them to tell

people in their region about the

party's prime ministerial candi-

date in rural pockets of the coun-

try, the source informed. This liter-

ature was so far available in Gu-

jarati but has now been transl ated

into Hindi. As a result, the grass-

roots level poll campaign teams of

BJP workers in Chhattisgarh aren't

finding it difficult to learn about

Modi and how he charted the path

for Gujarat's pace of development.

BJP Chhattisgarh unit got mas-

sive amount of literature printed

in Gujarati translated into Hindi

comprising stories on how Gujarat

developed under Narend Modi be-

sides also his own life sketch. A

huge lot of literature on the Gu-

jarat's development is available in

Gujarati language which is unique

in nature. The Gujarat unit of theparty is co-operating in every way

with other BJP units across the

country to provide the kind of in-

formation they need on Gujarat

and Chief Minister Narendra

Modi.

Party workers visiting door to

door in other states need to know

why Gujarat Chief Minister Naren-

dra Modi is the BJP's prime minis-

terial candidate during their poll

campaigns. In rural areas, many

people in other states may not

know how Gujarat emerged as a de-

veloped state of the country and

under whose leadership, he stated.

Meanwhile, in the Chhattisgarh

unit of the party, huge emphasis is

being paid on knowing about the

Gujarat Chief Minister and his

achievements for a clear and effec-

tive communication to the people

for campaigns which are hinged on

party's prime ministerial candi-

date Narendra Modi.

Ram Vilas Paswan's return hasramifications beyond Bihar

PATNA

Ram Vilas Paswan's return to the NDA is good for both his party and the

BJP. The LJP will get to contest seven Lok Sabha seats from Bihar, have

the backing of the formidable Sangh Parivar cadre, and cash in on both

the strong anti-Congress and anti-Nitish Kumar sentiments in the State -

- the latter having become especially pronounced after the State's Chief

Minister decided to walk out of the NDA against the wishes of a large sec-

tion of the people of Bihar. The BJP, in return, will benefit from the sup-

port of the Maha Dalits that form a chunk of Paswan's vote bank.

Paswan's return has ramifications that go beyond electoral numbers and

Bihar. It has punctured the propaganda that the Bharatiya Janata Party-

led alliance is an untouchable for the 'secularists'. The Lok Janshakti Par-

ty supremo had quit the coalition in the wake of the violence that had

erupted in Gujarat in 2002 and had, like several other anti-Narendra Modi

voices, held the State Government responsible for the incident. But now,after the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team has given

Modi a clean chit, and after it has become amply clear that the hate-Modi

campaign has been motivated more by cheap politics than facts on the

ground, Paswan's party has rightly taken the position that it would be in-

appropriate to continue holding the Gujarat Chief Minister and now the

BJP's prime ministerial candidate responsible for that violence.

The social engineering that will consequently result could herald seri-

ous trouble for Lalu Prasad's RJD as well as the JD(U). The Congress,

meanwhile, is irrelevant on its own. Given that Modi's personal culpabil-

ity remains not just non-established but also rejected through the apex

court-appointed probe agency, there was no cause for Paswan to remain

outside the NDA fold. After all, he had been part of the coalition during

Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure as Prime Minister, shared an excellent rap-

port with leaders of the BJP, and had even served as a Union Minister. Of

course, his return has also to do with the shabby treatment he has received

at the hands of the Rashtriya Janata Dal -- with whom he had an alliance

in the 2009 election -- and the Congress, on the issue of seat-sharing. As he

has observed, neither of the two parties was willing to deal with him with

the respect and consideration that he deserved. This humiliation, along

with the fact that Modi is legally clear of the 2002 taint, propelled his re-

turn to the N DA. Paswan's re-entry has also put paid to the hopes the BJP's

rivals have been nurturing that the NDA will not be able to grow substan-

tially beyond what it is today. Not only has the LJP joined the coalition but

also that many more are expected to join the alliance from across the coun-

try in the weeks to come.


8/12

08 (MP&CG)March 10 to March 16, 2014Politics

Meenakshiselected Cong

candidate fromMandsaur

BHOPAL

Sitting Congress MP from Mand-

saur in Madhya Pradesh,

Meenakshi Natarajan emerged as a

consensus candidate through the

primary, which is piloted by Con-

gress vice-president Rahul Gandhi,

to contest upcoming Lok Sabha

polls. Natarajan's victory came

against the backdrop of former

Neemuch district Congress presi-

dent and Lok Sabha aspirant

Surendra Sethi's allegation that

the primary was rigged. Sethi had

boycotted the election. The concept

of primary is aimed at decentrali-

sation of power and encouraging

inner-party democracy in Con-

gress. A total of 1,501 persons were

eligible to cast vote in the primary

election, which was held at hotel

Harsh Vilas in Mandsaur on Mon-

day. Natarajan secured 706 votesout of total of 781 votes cast, where-

as Sethi got 50 votes while 25 votes

were rejected.

Sethi had alleged at least 500 Con-

gress workers registered for voting

did not belong to either Neemuch

or Mandsaur, which according to

him has cast a serious doubt on au-

thenticity of the entire process. "It

is sad that Rahul's pilot project was

being sabotaged by those who

claim to be close to him," he had

said. Under the project being

steered by Rahul, nominees in 15

Lok Sabha constituencies across

the country will be chosen through

primaries or inner party elections

in a bid to strengthen democracy in

Congress. Natarajan, also AICC

secretary, was selected by Rahul for

contesting from Mandsaur in 2009

general elections, which she won

by over 30,000 votes defeating her

BJP opponent Laxmi Narayan

Pandey.

AAP hasn't lost its appeal in DelhiT

he AAP performed extreme-

ly well during the Delhi As-

sembly Elections. There are

mixed opinion about 49 days of

AAP government in Delhi. There

are some positive views and prais-

es for what Kejriwal's government

did in a short period. There are

many others who are critical about

how the AAP government per-

formed during its 49 days in gov-

ernment. Kejriwal's dharna, Som-

nath Bharati's mid night raid etc.

are some of the low points about

AAP's government as seen by the

people.

While these incidents have dam-

aged the image of the AAP, which

may result in their declining popu-

larity amongst Delhi's middle class.

However, the party has not lost its

appeal and its electoral supportamongst the lower and the poor

class. Large number of voters ap-

preciated the way government took

on the Delhi police. In Delhi the

AAP's popularity amongst voters

cutting across class remains more

or less intact, may even rise if Ke-

jriwal is able to convince the voters

that the Congress and BJP did not

allow him to fight corruption as he

wanted to do that by brining Lok

Pal Bill. The real question is what

kind of an impact can AAP make in

other states?

Whether AAP will be able to win

10 or15 or 20 or even more Lok Sab-ha seats is important , but also im-

portant is to note how much votes

party would be able to get. AAP is

likely to get reasonable percentage

of votes in many states, may not be

enough to convert those votes into

seats, but still enough to have its

national presence. Indian electoral

politics is heading for a scenario,

when post 2014 Lok Sabha elec-

tions, besides Congress and the

BJP the AAP may emerge as the

third party to have presence in

many states with their votes rang-

ing from 4-6 percent in many states.

If surveys are taken as a ther-mometer to assess AAP's populari-

ty, it is difficult is imagine that it

would be able to make a great im-

pact nationally. Going by the cur-

rent mood of the voters in Delhi, it

won't be surprising if the AAP

manage to win 5 or 6 of the total 7

Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The par-

ty's popularity is also on the rise in

the neighbouring states of

Haryana and Punjab. In Haryana

the AAP can pose a serious chal-

lenge to the ruling Congress both

in the Assembly election which are

due later this year and in Lok Sab-

ha election.

Since BJP is not very strong in

Haryana and Chautala's Indian Na-

tional Lok Dal (INLD) is much dis-

credited, it is much easier for the

AAP to expand its base in Haryana

compared to other states. Assembly

constituencies being smaller in

size both geographically and in

terms of number of voters, it may

be easy for the AAP to win assem-

bly seats, but party still needs to

cover a lot of ground, in order to

make an impact in the Lok Sabha

elections in Haryana. At best, the

AAP may be able to win couple of

Lok Sabha seats from Haryana. The

AAP's popularity is on the rise even

in Punjab, but it is still below the

threshold required for winningseats in the Lok Sabha elections.

If surveys estimate about 10-12

seats for AAP which state can AAP

manage to perform well? AAP is

not likely to perform well in any

other state except Delhi and to

some extent in Haryana. The party

may be able to pull victories in

some urban seats in states like Ma-

harashtra, Karnataka or even in

Punjab, but some of those victories

may be more due to the candidate

and less due to the party.

Infighting in Cong intensifiesahead of Lok Sabha polls

RAIPUR

The decision of the former chief

minister and senior Congress leader

Ajit Jogi to stay away from electoral

politics for a year is likely to prove

crucial for the coming Lok Sabha

polls as infighting has intensified

again in opposition Congress. Jogi

was a star campaigner of the party

in the assembly polls.

But now various party factions are

at loggerheads over organizational

matters, including granting party

membership to a leader who desert-

ed Chhattisgarh Swabhiman Manch

to embrace Congress. Swabhiman

Manch, which was floated by a for-

mer BJP MP, late Tara Chand Sahu,

had fielded its candidates in Novem-

ber assembly polls but could not

make any dent in state's bi-polar pol-

itics. Subsequently, the manch was

merged with BJP last month. One of

the manch leaders, Rajendra Sahu,

however, broke away and ap-

proached state Congress president

Bhupesh Baghel, who pushed his

case for granting primary member-

ship of party.

Rajendra Sahu had contested last

assembly poll as a CSM candidate

against Congress veteran and AICC

treasurer, Motilal Vora's son, Arun

Vora, who had won Durg city assem-

bly constituency. Vora camp raised

its voice against the move to induct

Rajendra Sahu and they stalled hisentry in Congress, arguing that he

had led an agitation against Vora

and burnt the veteran leader's effigy.

Arun Vora's supporters are al-

ready peeved at decisions being tak-

en by Baghel, who became the party

chief after Congress drubbing in

November assembly polls, replacing

Union minister of state for agricul-

ture and food processing, Charan

Das Mahant. Few days back, the new

PCC chief appointed a vice-presi-

dent and two general secretaries of

state Congress and entrusted the re-

sponsibility of in-charge general

secretary to newly appointed Girish

Dewangan. Thus, PCC shunted out

Subhash Sharma, a known Vora loy-

alist, from the post of in-charge gen-

eral secretary and annoyed support-

ers of the veteran leader. Besides,

party sources said, the new PCC

chief was gradually trying to side-

line office bearers appointed by his

predecessor Charan Das Mahant.

Poll promises: Partieswill have to tellrationale of financing

New Delhi:Lok Sabha polls 2014 for

16th Lok Sabha will be conducted

in 9 phases. The Election Commis-

sion on Wednesday announced the

schedule for the polls.

For the first time polling will be

held in nine phases, starting April

07 and the counting of votes will be

held on May 16. The term of the

current Lok Sabha expires on June

1 and the new House has to be con-

stituted by May 31.

Apart from the immense sus-pense over who will form the gov-

ernment, there are many interest-

ing 'firsts' that make this general

election unique.

EC has also issued guidelines to

political parties asking them to ex-

plain the rationale of financing the

promises they make in their elec-

tion manifestos.

Now, candidates in a parliamen-

tary constituency in bigger states

can spend up to Rs. 70 lakh on their

campaign, up from Rs. 40 lakh in

2011. In the 2009 elections, it was

Rs. 25 lakh.

Since the last general election

held in 2009, more than 10 crore

new voters have enrolled with the

election commission. In total, elec-

tions would see more than 81.4

crore voters exercise their ballot.

Introduction of "None of the

Above" (NOTA) option in voting for

the general elections has been in-

troduced this time.

LS campaign: Aggressionlevels turn highLok Sabha campaigning is official-

ly in full swing, with the aggres-

sion levels turned to high. This

much was evident from the recent

poll pitches of both Narendra Modi

and Rahul Gandhi who spoke in Ja-

graon, near Ludhiana in Punjab

and Dehradun, the capital of Ut-

tarakhand respectively. In what

was a clear poll pitch, Modi told the

people that if they made him the

PM, that he would act as a security

guard, and not allow the 'Panja' to

cast its shadow on the state treas-

ury. Modi heaped on the scorn onCong, slammed the 'one rank one

pension' initiative that was an-

nounced by finance minister P Chi-

dambaram, reportedly at the be-

hest of Rahul Gandhi, dismissing

the 'gesture' as nothing more than a

poll gimmick. Wondering aloud as

to why the govt did not bring this

proposal in previous budgets over

the last ten yrs, Modi said, The

speech was classic Modi. Dramatic,

hard hitting and full of scorn for

the Congress. Rahul Gandhi, who

launched a scathing attack on the

BJP, said Modi had the audacity to

talk about corruption even though

he never appointed a Lokayukta in

his state and did so only after a ju-

dicial order. Although this was not

the first time Rahul has aggres-

sively gone after the BJP, the man-

ner in which he took on the party

head on, gives some indication of

the tone of his speeches are likely

to take from this point on.


9/12

09(MP&CG) March 10 to March 16, 2014 Glamor

KanganaRanaut, you

rock in Queen:

Aamir Khan

MUMBAI

Receiving praises from Bolly-

wood's Mr Perfectionist Aamir

Khan is a big deal in B-Town as this

talented actor seldom appreciates

somebody's work. Recently, the su-

perstar admired Kangana Ranaut's

brilliant acting skill for her latest

released film "Queen".

The super Khan took to Twitter to

express his take on the film which

released on March 7.

Aamir tweeted, "What a film!!!

Guys you have to watch QUEEN !!!

Anyone who hasn't seen it please

go now and see it. Such an impor-

tant film for every girl, every

woman to watch... and in fact every

male to watch too! Thank you to

Vikas Bahl and his team which

made the film. And Kangana... you

rock!!! Love. a.(sic)."

The film that is receiving amaz-

ing reviews has managed Kangana

to regain her position in Bolly-

wood. Kangana's "Queen" has suc-

cessfully managed to attract more

audiences than Madhuri Dixit and

Juhi Chawla starrer "Gulaab

Gang".

Well, congratulations Kanganafor Queen and hope that your next

brings you the same success.

Prachi Desai: Its golden time for female actors in BollywoodMUMBAIAs female-centric Madhuri Dixit

starrer 'Gulab Gang' and Kangana

Ranaut's 'Queen' being highly

praised by the viewers, pretty

Prachi Desai feels that it is a great

time for the actresses in Bollywood

as today they are free to choose

what they wish to do.

Prachi Desai was last seen along

with Sanjay Dutt in 'Policegiri',

however, the film fell flat at the box-

office.

"For all the female actors, it's avery good phase because today you

don't have to worry about a project

that you really like," said the gor-

geous actress while talking to the

reporters at the sideline of launch-

ing of a clothing brand Central's

spring summer collection on Sun-

day.

"Maybe at any other point and

time, the girls would have thought

twice before taking up a project,

but today I guess you can do just

what you like," she added.

Since her Bollywood debut in 2008

with 'Rock On!!', Prachi has been in

news for her looks and acting

skills. She has acted in some of fan-tastic films like 'Once Upon A Time

in Mumbaai'.

MUMBAI

Wherever Salman Khan goes, one question follows him and it is

of course about his marriage but, it is apparent that soon

everyone would get an answer to it! Bollywoods one among the

top three Khans has hinted about his marriage to a girl which is not

an Indian native. Yes, you guess it right! We are here discussing

about Romanian beauty Iulia Vantur, who has become Da-

banggs favorite since a quite long time from now.

Opening his heart over being single at the last

evening of media Conclave 2014 Salman said, Now

Im in transit period and I like it. From the age of

15, I did not get a transit period. For the first time, I

have such a chance to sigh. I am sighing more since

it has been two-and-a-half years. Its time to stop

sighing because something soon will happen in my

life...

He added, My father is Pathan, mother is Hindu,

second mother is catholic, and brother-in-law is

Punjabi. Wife, I am thinking to bring from outside.This was enough from Salmans side to shift every-

ones focus to Iulia who, he is dating from quite long

time. Its not only about dating and spending time

with each other as Salman, as a much senior actor

in the industry, is helping Vantur to make her a

more polished actress.

Recently, Salman visited the sets of Oh Teri

where the Romanian beauty was shooting her song

titled Ummbakumm. Actor keenly watched her

performance and gave necessary tips to come out

more clean on reel. So, it is probable that countrys

most eligible bachelor Salman Khan may tie knot to

the very beautiful Iulia Vantur in 2014!!!

Salman Khan finds 'wife'in Iulia Vantur?

Manish Paul, Mohit Raina win most stylishpersonality award in presence of B'wood stars

MUMBAI

Gone are the days when only B-

Town celebs use to bag all

awards for good looks and act-

ing, nowadays small screen ac-

tors are also giving them a tough

competition. Recently at an

award function television actors

Mohit Raina and Manish Paul

sweeped most stylish personali-

ty award at Hindustan Times

stylish awards.

'Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev' fame

Mohit Raina, who looked eye

pleasing dressed in formals

bagged the most stylish televi-

sion personality in Hindustan

Times Stylish awards. Mohit re-

ceived the award by television

actor Tisca Chopra.

The second award during the

evening went to small screen's

popular host Manish Paul for

the most stylish emerging tal-

ent. The actor looked amazing

dressed up in a metallic suit.

The elated actor said, "It's an ho-

nour to be selected for such an

award. What else can I say?"

Manish was also the host for the

evening.

Television actors bagging this

awards were a surprise for all as

the event witnessed the pres-

ence of few very good-looking

and stylish celebs like Anil

Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra,

Deepika Padukone, Kajol, Mali-

aka Arora and cricketer Yuvraj

Singh among others.


10/12

10 (MP&CG)March 10 to March 16, 2014Commerce

No escapefrom middlemen

for farmers

The rising cost of food that has

hurt both Indian pockets and

politicians' electoral prospects

in the past year is often blamed on a

multi-layered system of middlemen

involved in the distribution of produce

from farm to fork.In late-December, Congress Vice

President Rahul Gandhi, was so

worried about the ballooning prices

that he asked all states where his party

is in power to remove fruits and

vegetables from the grip of the

middlemen-dominated agriculture

produce marketing committees by

Jan. 15.

Introduced in the 1960s, these

legally-enned committees prohibit

farmers from dealing directly with

buyers and require them to sell to

licensed middlemen. The aim was to

give India's huge farming community

a fair and consistent price for their

produce.

But over the years, the system has

created several layers of

intermediaries, lengthening the

supply chain and increasing the

opportunity for cartels to form, which

in turn drive prices down for farmers

and up for consumers.

Removing fruit and vegetables from

the control of these committees

would allow the produce to find its

true market value and damp down

inflation, according to analysts.

However, over a month after Gandhi's

deadline, little progress has been

made in this direction.

"The idea looks good. But, it can'thappen overnight," said Madan

Sabnavis, chief economist at Mumbai-

based Care Ratings.

A crop cultivated by a farmer in a far-

flung village goes through as many as

four intermediaries before reaching

the local vegetable market in a semi-

urban or urban area, according to

analysts. Many of these intermediaries

provide money in advance to the

farmers to cover cultivation costs and

recall their loan in the form of produce

after the harvesting. Unless the big

retailers decide to take the same

approac

we the state - issue 24 vol 2

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