Agusta Versus Rafale - National Political Mirror

RNINO.DELENG/2-13/52894
VOLUME : 5 ISSUE : 12, DECEMBER, 2018 RS. : 100
Agusta
Versus Rafale
Agusta
Versus Rafale
Vijay’s Political Moves
Irk Dravidian Majors
Biju Yuva Vahini - A
hole in the ship ?
Supreme Court -
Government’s new
friend in the town?
INDO-RUSSIA
Not just a deal it is
much more than that
www.nationalpoliticalmirror.com

| DECEMBER, 2018 |NATIONAL POLITICAL MIRROR| 3
T
o begin with, it is very hard to understand, disheartening to realise and
unbelievably difficult to pen that the situation where journalists jumping
their moral obligation and ethical values of the profession, continue to
blackmail persons in positions on flimsy grounds. What is all the more
alarming and shameful that they are neither punished nor hold respon-
sible despite having clinching evidence.
Dark activity like blackmailing by journalists to rich and powerful is not a new phe-
nomenon in India. Incidences are galore and for long also.
A case in point is, very recently, a Hindi news portal reported that industrialist Ab-
hishek Verma had paid about Rs 4 crore ($530,000) in bribe to the then CBI di-
rector Alok Verma to influence investigation officers and deliberately weakened
the case against him in Rheinmetall air defence bribe case.
Portal reported that because of CBI director, a special Central Bureau of Investi-
gation (CBI) court special judge Anju Bajaj Chandna quashed charges of bribing
officials to remove a German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall from a Defence Min-
istry blacklist against industrialist Verma in 2017.
The answer is that this is nothing but utter nonsense. Any sensible soul with little
understanding of facts and figures is not ready to digest the allegations against
both the Vermas. Thus, it can be safely concluded that this Hindi news portal is
just defaming both the Vermas and somehow its plan got sour, hence the story.
As said earlier this is not an case in isolation and will never be. In India there are
many cases against journalists (probably backed by their organisation) for black-
mailing people of stature for benefit accruing to cash and kind or both .
Here are some examples for readers discern. Umesh Kumar, CEO and Editor-in-
Chief of Samachar Plus was arrested on charges of conducting sting operation
by deliberately creating scenes to cause damage to Uttarakhand Chief Minister
Trivendra Singh Rawat and senior bureaucrat Om Prakash.
Ex-BBC journalist, Vinod Verma, was arrested on charges of allegedly blackmail-
ing BJP leader Prakash Bajaj in Chhattisgarh.
October 25, 2012, then Congress MP and Jindal Steel chairman Naveen Jindal
had said his company had made a formal police complaint against Zee News and
Zee Business for allegedly demanding Rs.100 crore worth of advertisements in
lieu of dropping negative stories.
Jindal alleged that Sudhir Chaudhary, editor of the group, had reported said his
team would continue to defame him.They had demand advertisements to the tune
of Rs 20 crores per year for dropping story.
The same year, owner of a garage in south Delhi had accused two television jour-
nalists (Bhumika Sharma, a correspondent with India TV, and Pradeep Srivastava,
a senior special correspondent with ABP News) and the head of an NGO were
trying to extort Rs 20 lakh from him after having secretly filmed him with women.
The owner of the garage claimed the women were nothing but prostitutes.
Lastly, the case of Sanjiv Sharma, a freelance journalist, was arrested in the Delhi
for allegedly extorting Rs. 8 lakhs from a Faridabad-based businessman Rajender
Singh Khattana, after secretly filming him in a compromising position with a
woman.
These are some of the shameful examples and a blot on the profession, which is
still looked at with regard by general public. Please go back to basics and remem-
ber the teachings of your parents and teachers and do not at least defame and
demean them by your wrong doings. Besides, bringing in disrepute to this noble
profession.
AN UNENDING BUSINESS OF BLACKMAILING
Editorial

VOLUME: 5 ISSUE: 12, DECEMBER 2018
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sanjeeb Kumar
CONSULTING EDITOR
Abhishek Verma
DIRECTOR
Deepshikha Singh
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Achyut Nath Jha
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Subhash Chandra Yadav - Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Anuj Tyagi - Western Uttar Pradesh
Raja Mohanty - Odisha
PRESIDENT
Nirmala Singh Rana
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Mohammad Aleem
Dipitiman Chakraborty
GUEST COLUMN
Major Gen. Anil Sengar
BUSINESS HEAD
Robin Khan
IT HEAD
Ritesh Kumar
SENIOR IT MANAGER
Umesh Chauhan
SENIOR PHOTO JOURNALIST
Hari Om Sharma
DESIGN HEAD
Ajay Kumar Sharma
LEGAL ADVISOR
Sumit Kumar Modi
———————————————
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Printed by Modest Graphic (P) Ltd, C: 52-53, DDA
Shades, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi-
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4 |DECEMBER, 2018 |NATIONAL POLITICAL MIRROR|
Agusta Versus Rafale "Proxy War of BJP and Congress"
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Biju Yuva Vahini - A Hole in the ship ?

Yameen was anti india & mese ‘puppet’ in chinese hands... Maldives foreign minister
Sushma's Swing of Surprise
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SNIPPETS
H
imachal Pradesh has become the
first state in the country to imple-
ment the Emergency Response
Support System as Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh launched
ERSS number 112 for the state.
Under this system, all emergency numbers like
100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulance
and disaster response have been integrated into
one number '112'.
Singh said the step will
provide a single emer-
gency response num-
ber across the country,
providing 24 hours and
7 days a week "efficient"
and "effective" response
system which can re-
ceive inputs from vari-
ous voice and data
services like voice call,
SMS, e-mail and panic
buttons in public trans-
port, to attend to citizens in distress.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was also present
on the occasion.
The Emergency Response Support System
(ERSS) can also identify the location of persons
in distress, connecting through voice or data, and
immediate assistance will be provided to the af-
fected.
The home minister also launched the website of
the ERSS. A documen-
tary on the project was
also screened on the
occasion.
Thakur said ERSS will
help in optimum utilisa-
tion of manpower and
prompt action on emer-
gency calls. In addition
to this, he said prob-
lems related to coordi-
nation will also be
simplified.
Himachal Pradesh becomes ﬁrst
state to implement ERSS
J
harkhand Chief
Minister Raghubar
Das said the gov-
ernment will provide
free mobile phones
to 28 lakh farmers and a sep-
arate electric feeder for them
for agriculture purpose.
The mobile phones will be
given to the farmers by
2019/2021 with an aim to
keep the middle men away
and also help farmers to
have greater information
about the market, he said
while speaking at the inaugu-
ral function of
the two-day
Agriculture &
Food Summit
here.
This will also
help them
( f a r m e r s )
know about
market rates
and other in-
formation re-
lating to
agriculture,
Das said.
Jharkhand to provide free mobile
phones to 28 lakh farmers

F
ormer Odisha cadre IAS officer Apara-
jita Sarangi joined the ruling BJP at
the residence of
party chief Amit
Shah here on
Tuesday. Sarangi, a 1994-
batch IAS officer, recently
opted for voluntary retire-
ment. She was working as
the joint secretary of the
Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guar-
antee Act (MGNREGA)
under the Ministry of Rural
Development.
Sarangi became quite pop-
ular in Bhubaneswar dur-
ing her tenure as the
commissioner of the city's municipal corporation.
Ex Odisha cadre IAS ofﬁcer joins BJP
M
aharashtra Assembly unanimously
passed a bill proposing 16 per cent
reservation for Marathas under so-
cially and educationally backward
category.
The bill provides for reservation of seats for ad-
missionin educational institutions and posts in
public services to Marathas whohave been de-
clared as socially and
educationally back-
ward class of citizens.
They are entitled to
reservation benefits
and advantages en-
shrined in the Articles
15(4) and 16(4) of the
Constitution, it said.
The panel had sug-
gested that looking at
exceptional circum-
stances and extra-or-
dinary situations
generated on declar-
ing Marathas as socially and educationally back-
ward and their consequential entitlement to reser-
vation benefits, the government may take
appropriate decision within constitutional provision
to address the emerging scenario in the state.
The Bill to provide for reservation of seats for ad-
mission in educational institutions and posts in
public services in the state was tabled thereafter.
The Maratha commu-
nity, which comprises
over 30 per cent of the
state's population, has
been seeking reserva-
tion in government jobs
and education for a long
time. Their stir for the
same in July and August
this year had taken a vi-
olent turn.
MAHARASHTRA PASSES BILL
PROPOSING 16% QUOTA FOR MARATHAS

SNIPPETS
B
ihar Chief
Minister Ni-
tish Kumar
has un-
veiled a 70-
feet tall statue of Lord
Buddha at Rajgir in Na-
landa district.
Kumar unveiled the
statue of Lord Buddha,
the second tallest
statue of Buddha in the
country, in the presence
of Mahabodhi temple's
chief monk Bhante
Chalinda amid the
chanting of hymns, an
official release
said.
The statue has
been installed
above a 16
metre radius
pedestal in the
middle of the
lake Ghora Ka-
tora and has
been made
from 45,000
cubic foot pink
sand stone, it
said.
Nitish Kumar unveils 70 ft tall
Buddha statue in Rajgir
O
penly batting for the party he
founded, Mulayam Singh Yadav
has asked Samajwadi Party work-
ers to create a situation in which no
government can be formed at the
Centre without its support.
The leader is often seen balancing his relations
with son Akhilesh Yadav who now heads the SP
and his brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, who has
floated a rival party.
Both parties organised separate events to mark
the patriarch's 79th birthday.
"I ask you to fix my programmes at the commis-
sionerate level, I will be there, he told SP office
bearers, hinting at his willingness to campaign
for the party. I ask you all to take a pledge that in
the days to come, besides form-
ing the government in UP, we
have to create such a situation in
Delhi that no government can be
formed without the SP.This is my
request to you," he said at the SP
headquarters where he also cut
a cake.
Asking SP workers to adopt the
habit of reading and writing, he
said, There is collection of my
speeches in Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha and as a defence
minister, and the workers should
read them."
MulayamSinghYadavtellsSPto‘aimbig’in2019onhisbirthday

T
he Union Cabi-
net chaired by
Prime Minister
of India Naren-
dra Modi has ap-
proved the setting up of
Medical College at Sil-
vassa in the Union Terri-
tory (UT) of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli.
Setting up of the medical
college at Silvassa, UT Ad-
ministration of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli at a capital
cost of Rs. 189 crore to be
incurred in two years, 2018-19 – Rs. 114 crore and
2019-20 – Rs. 75 crore with yearly intake of 150
students.
The project will be completed by 2019-20 and the
construction and capital
expenditure will be in-
curred as per the norms of
Medical Council of India
(MCI) norms and extant
guidelines of the Ministry
of Health & Family Wel-
fare.
The annual recurring ex-
penditure for the Medical
College shall be managed
within the budget provi-
sion for the UT.
Creation of 21 regular
posts of 14 (JS) level and
above (including teaching and non-teaching) out of
357 regular posts which were recommended by the
Committee on Establishment Expenditure (CEE).
PRIME MINISTER APPROVES MEDICAL
COLLEGE AT SILVASSA
I
n a dramatic development, the Jammu and
Kashmir Assembly was dissolved after
three mainstream parties came together to
stake claim to form a government that was
countered by Peoples Conference leader
Sajad Lone with the BJP's backing.
Governor Satya Pal Malik made a terse an-
nouncement, saying he was exercising powers
conferred on him by the Jammu and Kashmir
Constitution and dissolving the House which
had two more years to go.
The dissolution came shortly after the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP),
National Conference and
the Congress came to-
gether and staked claim
to form a government in a
bid to checkmate moves
by the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) to form a gov-
ernment with the support
of PDP rebels and Lone.
Interestingly, Governor
Malik had earlier this
month said that even if
the state was placed
under President's rule
next month, the state As-
sembly would not be dis-
solved.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly dissolved amid
claims for power, Governor’s role in question

SNIPPETS
R
aghuraj Pratap Singh, the contro-
versial politician who had op-
posed the "draconian" provisions
of the SC/ST Act, Friday floated a
new party which he said will fight
for "equality" among all castes.
The six-time independent legislator, also
known as Raja Bhaiya, said though he would
be labelled anti-Dalit, he is only talking about
equality.
On completion of his 25 years in politics, Singh
organised a rally at Ramabai Ambedkar
Maidan in Lucknow to announce his new party.
The former Uttar Pradesh minister, who now
represents Kunda Assembly constituency, said
the Election Commission has been ap-
proached for registration of his new party. He
has previously said the new party's name will
have 'Jansatta' (people's power) as its prefix.
At the rally, Singh said governments over the
years have made the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989 "complex" despite the Supreme Court on
March 20 providing safeguards against arrests
under the law.
A bill overturning the court order was unani-
mously passed by Lok Sabha on August 6, rul-
ing out any provision for anticipatory bail for a
person accused of atrocities against SCs and
STs.
He said he was opposed to the "draconian"
provisions of the now-amended SC/ST Act.
He also opposed reservation in promotion for
SC/ST employees, which he said should be
based on "the basis of capability".
"This is our clear stand," he said.
"In the days to come, I will be labelled anti-
Dalit. I want to tell you I am not anti-Dalit, I am
only talking about equality. Dalits are my broth-
ers," the politician said.
Singh, who has faced 48 cases, has been a
minister in state governments headed by
Akhilesh Yadav, Kalyan Singh and Rajnath
Singh.
He is believed to have a considerable influence
among the upper caste Thakur voters.
In November 2002, the Mayawati government
had slapped charges under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act (POTA) against him, but in 2003,
within minutes of the Mulayam Singh Yadav
taking over as the chief minister, all charges
against him were dropped.
Raja Bhaiya floats party,
vows 'ﬁght for equality'

T
he Goa government has announced a
ban on import of fish into the state for
six months. The move comes against
the backdrop of a scare in the coastal
state that formalin, a potential cancer-
causing chemical, was being used to preserved
fish.
Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane announced
the ban and added that its duration could be ex-
tended by another six months, if needed, till
measures to check the
quality of fish are in
place in the state.
"Till such measures are
in place (to test fish),
the import of fish into
Goa is banned for six
months with immediate
effect," Rane told..
The state government is
banning fish imports for
the second time this
year, the earlier one, for
fifteen days, having
been announced by
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in July.
The ban at the time was lifted after the govern-
ment introduced border checks for trucks bring-
ing fish into Goa.
Rane told that the state government would set
up testing laboratories with Central agencies like
Quality Council of India, Export Inspection Coun-
cil and Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India.
He accused fish-im-
porting traders of fail-
ing to comply with
guidelines laid down
by Goa Food and
Drugs Administration
(FDA).
The Goa unit of Shiv
Sena, meanwhile,
said the state govern-
ment was not provid-
ing people with clarity
on the issue of forma-
lin in fish.
Goa bans fish imports
F
ormer Congress
MP Mohammed
Azharuddin was
Friday appointed
working president
of the party in Telangana
days ahead of assembly
elections in the southern
state.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also cleared
some fresh appointments in the Telangana
Pradesh Congress, approving the names of two
vice presidents - B M Vinod Kumar and Jaffer
Javed, eight new general secretaries and four sec-
retaries in the state unit.
Azharuddin was a former captain of the Indian
cricket team. His cricket career came to an abrupt
end when he was implicated
in the infamous match-fixing
scandal in 2000 and was
banned by the BCCI for life.
However, the Andhra Pradesh
High Court in 2012 declared
the life ban on him as illegal.
Azharuddin was an MP from
Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh
in 2009, after he joined the Congress in the same
year. He again unsuccessfully contested the 2014
election from Rajasthan's Tonk-Sawai Madhopur
constituency in 2014. The former cricketer, who
hails from Hyderabad, is seeking to contest the
2019 Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad
constituency in Telangana.
Azharuddin is new Telangana
Congress working president

SNIPPETS
T
he Uttar Pradesh government has ap-
proved a fund of Rs 1,260 crore for
acquisition of land for the proposed
Jewar airport in Gautam Buddh
Nagar, according to an official docu-
ment.The amount, released for acquisition in the
first phase of airport construction, is to be spent
for land acquisition and payment to the farmers
concerned, the letter stated. A total of 5,000
hectare land is required
for the development of
the proposed Green-
field international air-
port and cost Rs 15,000
crore to Rs 20,000
crore, officials said.
For the first phase of the
airport- the second in
the National Capital Re-
gion (NCR) - 1,334
hectare land is required.
1,239 hectare land from
six villages (Rohi,
Dayanatpur, Parohi, Kishorpur, Ranhera and
Banwariwas).
On October 30, the state government had issued
a notification for the acquisition of land for the
greenfield project in the district under Section 11
(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Trans-
parency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act, 2013. The district administra-
tion had on October 17 completed the proceed-
ings at its level and sent
a proposal to the gov-
ernment for the acquisi-
tion of 1,239 hectare of
land from six villages in
Jewar.
The proposed airport,
which will be the sec-
ond in the NCR after
Delhi's Indira Gandhi
International Airport, is
expected to go opera-
tional by 2022-23.
Jewar International Airport : UP government
okays Rs 1,260 crore for land acquisition
I
T company Tech Mahindra said it has
bagged Rs 270 crore project from Coal
India to deploy modern technologies in the
state-owned company. “We have bagged a
Rs 270 crore project from Coal India. It will
span over period of five years,” Tech Mahindra
Sales Head for India Puneet Gupta told reporters
here.
The implementation of the project would be done
in phases. The phase 1 of the project includes
ERP software implementation in Coal India and
its two subsidiaries -- Mahanadi Coalfields and
Western Coalfields,
Gupta said.
The deal also includes
supply and implemen-
tation of Hospital Infor-
mation Management
System, across all
eight subsidiaries of
Coal India covering 21
hospitals, he said.
Tech Mahindra bags Rs 270 crore
deal from Coal India

S
martphone maker
Vivo India has
been allotted a
169-acre land
parcel by the Ya-
muna Expressway Industrial
Authority (YEIDA) to set up a
unit in Gautam Buddh Nagar
with an estimated investment
of Rs 3,500 crore, an official
said.
Vivo, headquartered in south-
ern China’s Dongguan city,
already operates from a 50-
acre rented set up in Greater
Noida where it manufactures 24 lakh mobile
phones annually, the Chief Executive Officer of
YEIDA, Arunvir Singh, said.
“The company had applied for land to expand its
base with a plan to take its
production capacity further
up. They have been allotted
169 acre of land. It would in-
vest Rs 3,500 crore in the first
phase of expansion, creating
25,000 jobs within one year.
30 per cent of the jobs would
be compulsorily given to lo-
cals but the skilled and quali-
fied locals would get
opportunities beyond that
also,” sais Singh..
He said the company would
require another 200 acre of
land during the second phase of expansion dur-
ing which it would again pump in around Rs
3,500 crore and in the process create about
15,000 jobs.
Yamuna Expressway Industrial Authority
allots land to Vivo for Rs 3,500cr unit
A
head of general elections, public sec-
tor oil companies plan to allot about
65,000 petrol pumps across the
country to nearly double the existing
retail network, officials said.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp
Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd
(HPCL) on Sunday issued advertisements for
setting up 55,649 petrol pumps across the coun-
try.“This does not include any sites in poll-bound
states,” HPCL’s state-level coordinator Vishal Ba-
jpai told reporters here.
Assembly elections are on in Ra-
jasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mi-
zoram and advertisement for
these would be issued after
polling is completed.
IOC, which already has 27,377
petrol pumps across the country,
has advertised for setting up
26,982 more in states that are
not going to polls. BPCL will add
15,802 outlets to its existing
strength of 14,592 and HPCL
would add 12,865 petrol pumps
to its existing tally of 15,287.
Oil PSUs to allot 65,000 petrol pumps
ahead of general elections

SNIPPETS
T
he Prime Minister of India Narendra
Modi has inaugurated the Kundli-
Manesar Section of the Kundli-Mane-
sar-Palwal (KMP) Western Peripheral
Expressway in Haryana's Sultanpur.
He also inaugurated the Ballabgarh-Mujesar
Metro Link and laid the foundation stone of Shri
Vishwakarma Skill University.
Addressing a huge gathering, Prime Minister
said that the Express-
way and metro connec-
tivity will usher in a
transportation revolu-
tion in Haryana.
He said that the youth of
the region would benefit
immensely from the
Shri Vishwakarma Skill
University.
The Prime Minister said
that the Union Govern-
ment had ensured that
KMP Expressway proj-
ect was finished on priority. He said that the Ex-
pressway would play a major role in reducing the
pollution in Delhi and surrounding areas.
He added that it will bring in 'Ease of Living',
along with environment friendly travelling.
Stressing on the importance of transport connec-
tivity, Prime Minister said that it is a medium for
prosperity, empowerment and accessibility.
He added that the ecosystem of highways, met-
ros and waterways that
are being built, will cre-
ate employment oppor-
tunities, especially
inmanufacturing, con-
struction and service
sectors.
He mentioned that 27
kilometres of highway
are being built everyday
at present, compared to
12 kilometres per day in
2014.
Prime Minister inaugurates KMP Expressway
and Ballabgarh-Mujesar Metro Link
T
he government has transferred over
Rs 1,600 crore to eligible mothers
under Pradhan
Mantri Matru
Vandana Yo-
jana through direct benefit
transfer till Friday, Centre
for Digital Financial Inclu-
sion (CDFI) that uses
technology for financial in-
clusion said.
“Rs 16,04,66,63,000
transferred through direct
benefit transfer to 48.5
lakh women,” CDFI said.
The non-profit organisa-
tion CDFI conceptualised, designed and imple-
mented the PMMVY-CAS (Common Application
Software) System
through which disburse-
ments were made.
The programme, which
became applicable from
January 1, 2017 pro-
vides a cash incentive
of Rs 5,000 in three in-
stalments to pregnant
women and lactating
mothers for the first
child through Direct
Benefits Transfer (DBT).
Govt Spends Rs 1,600 crore on 48.5 lakh
mothers under Matru Vandana Yojana

I
ndia and Rus-
sia have
signed a $500
million deal for
construction of
two warships in Goa
for the Indian Navy
under the technol-
ogy transfer model,
officials said.
They said the
agreement for the
project was signed
between defence
PSU Goa Shipyard
Ltd (GSL) and Rus-
sia’s state-run defence major Rosoboronexport
under the government-to-government frame-
work for defence cooperation.
Under the deal, Russia will provide design,
technology and
some materials
to GSL for con-
struction of the
ships in India.
“We have fi-
nalised a $500
million deal with
Russia for con-
struction of two
warships in
Goa,”said CMD
of GSL Shekhar
MitalI.
He said con-
struction of the
ships will begin in 2020 and the first one will be
ready for induction in 2026 while second one
will be ready by 2027.
India-Russia to jointly make warships for $500 mn
T
he country’s largest telecom operator
Vodafone Idea plans to invest
Rs27,000 crore in 2019-20, supported
by savings of around Rs14,000 crore
that it expects to come from synergis-
ing operations of merged entities, according to a
company’s document.
The debt-ridden company has advanced its tar-
get date to complete integration of Vodafone and
Idea Cellular business to financial year 2021
from fiscal 2023.
“Capex guidance of Rs270 bil-
lion in financial year 2019-20
supported by existing co-located
equipment to be redeployed,
spectrum consolidation, capex
avoidance and efficiencies,” the
document said.
The company expects advanc-
ing of synergy target by two
years will help it improve cash
flow to the tune of Rs8,400 crore
and re-deployment of co-located
equipments of Vodafone and
Idea will help it save Rs6,200
crore.
Vodafone Idea to invest Rs27, 000 crore afresh

COVER STORY
A
mid the high-
voltage drama,
at times when
a few of the
BJP-led states
are going for polls, to show
each other in the bad light,
the Congress and
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) have left no stone
unturned to woo public by
either showing the failures
of their rivals or highlighting their own success.
Amid the ongoing blame game, the BJP, this time,
has found itself in troubled waters owing to the
corruption charges in the purchase of Rafale jets
from France.
After VVIP AgustaWestland chopper deal, which
is touted as one of the biggest defence scams dur-
ing the rule of the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA), Rafale deal has raised the nation’s eye-
brows and has become a burning topic in India
nowadays as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
announced that country will buy 36 French-manu-
factured Rafale fighter jets off-the-shelf from Das-
sault, the French aircraft builder and integrator.
It is believed that Rafale deal is being regarded
as one of the biggest defence scam in the country
after the Bofors’ scam and VVIP AgustaWestland
chopper deal as Congress President Rahul
Gandhi’s direct attack on Prime Minister Modi’s
Rafale deal has alleged that not only is India over-
paying for the Rafale aircrafts, it is doing so to
benefit businessman Anil Ambani.
Though the idea of buying new aircraft has been
doing the rounds since 2001 after Indian Air
Force (IAF) sought additional fighter jets in 2001,
the actual process began in 2007. The Defence
Acquisition Council, headed by the then Defence
Minister A.K. Antony, approved the Request For
Proposal to buy 126 aircrafts in August 2007
which kick-started the bidding process.
The Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had
entered into a contract to acquire 126 Rafale air-
crafts — 18 of them in flyaway condition and the
remaining 108 aircrafts to be made in India by
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Ben-
galuru, under a transfer of technology agreement
with a French company, Dassault Aviation.
Six renowned aircraft manufacturers competed to
bag the contract of 126 fighter jets, which was
Agusta Versus Rafale
"Proxy War of BJP and
Congress"
By Abhishek Verma
PM Modi with ex President Hollande

touted to be the largest-ever defence procure-
ment deal of India.
The initial bidders were Lockheed Martin’s F-16s,
Boeing’s F/A-18s, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russia’s
MiG-35, Sweden’s Saab’s Gripen and Rafale.
All aircrafts were tested by the IAF, and two of
them — Eurofighter and Rafale — were short-
listed after careful analysis on the bids. Dassault
bagged the contract to provide 126 fighter jets, as
it was the lowest bidder, and the aircrafts were
said to be easy to maintain.
What Is Rafale Deal Controversy?
After the UPA was voted out in 2014 and the Na-
tional Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power,
Prime Minister Modi had announced a plan to
purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France when
Francois Hollande was the President.
The deal was signed in 2016. The UPA govern-
ment was earlier negotiating a deal to procure
126 Rafale jets.
Current Deal and Cost
In 2015, as disagreements over cost and war-
ranty for aircraft produced by HAL continued, the
then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that
Sukhoi Su-30MKI could be acquired as an alter-
native to Rafale.
But then Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha didn't
agree with defence minister saying that Su-30MKI
and Rafale had different capabilities and one
could not replace the other.
During an official visit to France in April 2015,
Prime Minister Modi announced that India would
acquire 36 fully-built Rafales citing ‘critical opera-
tional necessity’.
In July 2015, Defence Minister Parrikar informed
the Rajya Sabha that the tender for 126 aircrafts
had been withdrawn and negotiations for 36 air-
crafts had begun.
In January 2016, India and France signed a
memorandum of understanding for the acquisi-
tion of 36 aircrafts. In September 2016, India and
France signed an inter-governmental agreement
(IGA) for the acquisition of 36 off-the-shelf Das-
sault Rafale twin-engine fighters at a cost of
about Rs. 58,000 crore or 7.8 billion Euros.
How Many Rafales Are We Buying and Initial
Deal and the Cost?
The deal was initially estimated to be worth $10.2
billion (Rs. 54,000 crore). The plan included ac-
quiring 126 aircrafts, 18 of them in flyaway condi-
tion and the rest to be made in India at the HAL
facility under transfer of technology.
Rafale Won the Contract
After winning the contract, the Indian side and
Double Tweaks of
Hollande
Former French President Hollande has been
quoted by an article on a French Mediapart,
an online investigative and opinion journal, as
stating that the Indian government had asked
the French government to nominate Ambani's
Reliance Defence Ltd. as its India partner in
the Rafale deal. But later Hollande clarified it
on the sidelines of a meeting in Canada that
France ‘did not choose Reliance in any way’.

COVER STORY
Dassault started negotiations in 2012. While it is
usual for such negotiations to stretch to several
months, the Rafale negotiations continued for al-
most four years.Finally, the agreement was signed
only in 2016. In January 2012, when Rafale was
declared the winner, its price was quoted between
$60 and 65 million (Rs. 373—Rs. 400 crore). The
second bidder, Eurofighter, had quoted $80--85
million (Rs. 497--Rs. 528 crore).
Why the Deal Got Delayed?
Both India and France witnessed general elec-
tions and a change in government while the ne-
gotiations were under way. Pricing was another
factor. Even during the signing of the purchase
agreement, both the sides couldn’t reach a con-
clusion on the financial aspects. According to re-
ports, the price of an aircraft was about Rs. 740
crore, and India wanted them for at least 20%
lesser cost. Though the initial plan was to buy
126 jets, India scaled it down to 36, that too in
ready condition.
Importance of Deal for Both India and France
From the point of view of France, Rafale jets were
then being used mostly by France and also by
Egypt and Qatar. Dassault was hoping that ex-
port of Rafale jets will help the company meet its
revenue targets. India was the first country that
agreed to buy Rafale, after it was used in Libyan
Who is Christian Michel?
Michel, a British businessman, is one of three main middlemen — along with Guido Haschke and
Carlo Gerosa — who allegedly greased their way through the Indian bureaucracy and air force circles
to broker the deal.
On paper, Michel had a 18.2 million euros contract to buy back discarded WG 30 choppers from
India, a 6 million euros deal for servicing VVIP choppers and a 12 million euros contract to supply
spares and parts for naval choppers.
However, According to a report, Italian investigators named Michel as the key intermediary between
AgustaWestland and the Indian middlemen involved in the deal.
According to Italian court documents, Michel handled 18 million euros of the total kickback of 30 mil-
lion euros. An Italy court, hearing the matter also noted that the payments made to Michel were
grossly disproportionate to the work he promised to do for the company.
The report further reveals that although it was suggested that although it is suggested Michel got in-
volved in the deal towards the end of 2006, he had actually been working on it since 2002 when the
first global Request for Proposal (RFP) for choppers was issued (March 2002).
Michel was arrested in February 2017 by the UAE authorities and was facing prosecution there as
several investigations revealed that he rerouted bribes to India through his Dubai-based firm Global
Services. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation found that Michel made remittances
through Global Services to a media firm he floated in Delhi, along with two Indians. This money was
actually the funds he got from AgustaWestland to broker the deal.
Recently, the highest court in Dubai had dismissed a plea filed by the VVIP chopper deal middleman

airstrikes. If India would have inducted these jets
in its military fold, other nations would have ex-
pressed its willingness to buy Rafales.
From India’s point of view, the country chose Das-
sault over its traditional partner Russia’s MiG. It
also ignored USA’s Lockheed Martin, at a time
when India and the USA were aiming for closer
ties. Procurement of combat aircraft is long over-
due for the IAF. Further delay can only make
things worse.This deal is India’s biggest-ever pro-
curement. In the effectiveness of the Rafale deal
lies the future of other defence procurements.
Allegations
The day after the signing of an IGA between
France and India, Congress spokesperson Man-
ish Tewari asked for details of the agreement to
be made public and questioned if there was an
escalation of per-aircraft cost from Rs. 715 crore
to Rs. 1,600 crore.
In November 2017, Congress alleged that pro-
curement procedures were bypassed in acquisi-
tion of Rafale and questioned the presence of
Ambani in France during Modi's announcement
to acquire 36 fully-built aircrafts. Congress leader
Randeep Surjewala also alleged that HAL was
bypassed in Rafale contract and questioned if
there was an escalation of per-aircraft cost from
Rs. 526.1 crore to Rs. 1,570 crore.
Ambani's Reliance Defence Limited denied the
allegations and released a statement that he was
present as a member of Indo-French CEO forum.
Christian Michel against the lower court order to extradite him to India.
Michel has been accused by the ED of receiving about Euro 30 million (ap-
proximately Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland to influence the deal in its
favour. The ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are both probing
the case in which a chargesheet was filed against him in June 2016.
The Supreme Court of Dubai, in its order has said, the court decided to dis-
miss the two objections (No. 881 and 883 of 2018) and considered the pos-
sibility of extraditing Michel to the Indian authorities.
The investigating agencies have submitted evidence against Michel before
the Dubai authorities, based on which, the court has ordered in their favour.
a lower court had ruled against Michel’s appeal that he should not be extradited to India. The court
had ruled in favour of the Indian authorities.
Michel had objected to his extradition on the grounds that it was a political witch-hunt against him
and he has business interests in Dubai.
He had earlier alleged that CBI officers were forcing him to name UPA politicians.
It is still not clear that if Michel has any legal options available against the court order but sources do
indicate that the final call will be taken by the UAE government.
In its chargesheet, the ED had said that the three middlemen "managed to" influence the IAF officers
to reduce the service ceiling of these 12 helicopters from 6,000 metre to 4,500 metre in 2005, which
made AgustaWestland eligible for the deal. Michel also allegedly paid off influential people in India,
who helped swing the deal. He was allegedly also in touch with officials from the Prime Minister’s
Office, Special Protection Group, Central Vigilance Commission and the defence ministry.
Michel has now been extradited from Dubai to India.

COVER STORY
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also de-
nied the allegations of procedural wrongdoing
and said that an approval from the Cabinet Com-
mittee on Security had been obtained before
signing of IGA.
She added that the prices could not be compared
as the tender for 126 aircrafts and the agreement
for 36 aircrafts had different requirements. She
also said that transfer of technology to HAL would
not be economically feasible in a smaller contract
for 36 aircrafts.
Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa also
denied the allegations and said that the agree-
ment for 36 aircrafts was signed with better terms
than the one that was being negotiated under
Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA)
tender.
Former Chief of Air Staff Arup Raha said in an in-
terview that Defence Procurement Procedure al-
lows for government-to-government procurement
and there was no procedural bypass in signing of
the IGA.
He added that the agreement for 36 aircrafts was
cheaper than the previous proposal and had a
better maintenance and weapons package. He
said that most of the confusion over cost was due
to comparison of prices from different base years
and comparison of different deliverables. Elabo-
rating on the differences between the IGA and the
proposed acquisition under the MMRCA tender,
he said that the new agreement had provisions
for training, a better performance-based logistics
package and two aircraft maintenance and over-
haul facilities that were not present in the original
proposal.
In a controversy that has been ongoing for some
time, allegations in the controversy have even
forced the centre to face a no-confidence motion
debate on 21 July 2018.
The Prime Minister Modi dismissed the allega-
tions as the programme's interactions are be-
tween the governments of India and France,
without any middlemen. Both governments have
then officially refuted the charges.
The opposition parties have been alleging that
Ambani firm Reliance Defence was favoured in
the offset contract at the cost of state-owned HAL
despite the private firm having no prior experi-
ence in aerospace manufacturing.
When asked whether India had put pressure on
Reliance and Dassault to work together, Hollande
said he was unaware and ‘only Dassault can
comment on this’, as reported by AFP.
Contradicting Hollande's claim, the French gov-
ernment issued a statement mentioning that
French companies have the full freedom to select
Indian firms for the Rafale contract. Dassault also
clarified that Ambani was Dassault Aviation’s
choice.
Contradicting Hollande's claim, the French gov-
ernment issued a statement, which said: ‘The
French government is in no manner involved in
the choice of Indian industrial partners who have
been, are being or will be selected by French
companies’.
‘In accordance with India's acquisition procedure,
French companies have the full freedom to
choose their Indian partner companies that they

consider to be the most relevant, then present for
the Indian government's approval the offset proj-
ects that they wish to execute in India with these
local partners so as to fulfil their obligations in this
regard’, France said in a statement.
After the French government’s version, Dassault
Aviation also issued a statement, saying ‘This off-
sets contract is delivered in compliance with the
Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016
regulations. In this framework, and in accordance
with the policy of 'Make in India', Dassault Avia-
tion has decided to make a partnership with
India's Reliance Group. This is Dassault Avia-
tion's choice’.
Hollande’s statement has triggered an attack from
the Congress against the Modi government. Party
chief Gandhi alleged that the Rafale deal was
doctored ‘behind closed doors’ by Modi. He also
added that thanks to François Hollande, we now
know he personally delivered a deal worth billions
of dollars to a bankrupt.
The Defence Ministry, however, continues to
maintain that neither the government of India nor
the French government had any say in the com-
mercial decision.The government has repeatedly
stated it was Dassault that chose its India partner
for offsets and that the government had no say in
the deal. Following Hollande’s statement, the De-
fence Ministry said, ‘The report referring to fmr
French president Hollande's statement that GOI
insisted upon a particular firm as offset partner
for the Dassault Aviation in Rafale is being veri-
fied. It is reiterated that neither GoI nor French
Govt had any say in the commercial decision’.
Now Rafale in Court
In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India
agreed to hear the PIL petitions related to the
controversy over the Rafale deal. A bench com-
prising of the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi
and Justices U.U. Lalit and K.M. Joseph heard a
batch of petitions seeking a probe into the alleged
irregularities in the Rafale deal.
Anil Ambani’s Reliance ADAG Group also sent
defamation notices to media houses, opposition
leaders and others after the controversy over the
Rafale deal erupted.
As far as the amount of damages claimed is con-
cerned, news channel NDTV tops the list, with a
Rs. 10,000-crore defamation suit after it aired a
programme on Rafale.The Citizen, a news organ-
ization comes second with a defamation suit of
Rs. 7,000 crore filed against its founder-editor
Seema Mustafaa. In addition, Rs. 6,000 crore
defamation suit was filed against news portal The
Wire and Rs. 5000 crore against Congress-
owned National Herald.
Not Only India
Recently, a French legal organisation that exam-
ines illicit financial flows has filed a corruption
complaint over the controversial Rafale deal with
France’s national financial prosecutor’s office, ac-
cording to a report published in Mediapart.
AgustaWestland Chopper Deal
In February 2010, the Congress-led UPA govern-
ment had signed a contract with UK-based heli-S P Tyagi, former IAF Chief

COVER STORY
copter manufacturing company AgustaWestland
to purchase 12 AW101 helicopters for the IAF for
Rs 3,600 crore.
These choppers were supposed to be used for
flying the President of India, the Prime Minister
and other such VVIPs.
Why Was the Deal Dropped?
In February 2013, Italian police arrested
AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini and
Guiseppe Orsi, chairman of AgustaWestland's par-
ent company Finmeccanica, on charges of paying
bribes to win the VVIP chopper deal with the IAF.
This led the UPA government to put the deal on
hold, as the then Defence Minister A.K. Antony
ordered a CBI probe into the matter.
In 2014, the UPA government cancelled the deal
with AgustaWestland on grounds that the in-
tegrity pact was being violated. Most of the
money paid for the deal is said to have been re-
covered.
Who is S.P. Tyagi? What Is His connection to the
VVIP Chopper Deal? (Box Item)
Air Chief Marshal S.P.Tyagi, the former IAF chief,
was accused of having tweaked with the altitude
requirements in favour of AgustaWestland win-
ning the VVIP chopper deal.
Prior to Tyagi becoming the Air Force Chief, the
IAF is said to have opposed purchasing
AgustaWestland's AW101 as they were not ca-
pable of flying in high-altitude areas like Siachen
and Tiger Hill.
However, once Tyagi was appointed as the chief,
the IAF ‘conceded to reduce’ the altitude require-
ments, hence bringing AgustaWestland back into
the race for the chopper deal.
AgustaWestland Chopper Deal
In 2014, a case was registered, where it claimed
that nearly Rs. 423 crore was allegedly paid by
Michel, Gerosa and Haschke to swing the deal in
favour of AgustaWestland. Out of the total
amount, a bribe of about Rs. 7.68 crore was paid
to S.P. Tyagi by the alleged middlemen.
However, on the orders of the Prime Minister’s Of-
fice and to Tyagi’s relief, investigations later
showed that the technical specifications had been
changed prior to Tyagi becoming Chief and not
after. His name came under the scam because
he was the Chief when the height requirements
were lowered in favour of AgustaWestland.
Beside him, several Indian politicians and mili-
tary officials have been accused of accepting
bribes from AgustaWestland in order to win the
Rs 3,600 crore (US$500 million) Indian contract
for the supply of AgustaWestland AW101 heli-
copters.
Even an Italian court has in its judgement con-
victing AgustaWestland chopper company chief
Giuseppe Orsi described how the firm paid
bribes to top Congress leaders in India and lob-
bied with them to bag the deal.
The judgement said the political leaders ac-
cepted commission of 15 to 16 million Euros
(around Rs. 120 to 125 crore) in the controversial
purchase of the 12 VVIP choppers. It also stated
how the firm lobbied with Congress president
Sonia Gandhi and her close aides besides the
then National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan
and the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Why New Helicopters Were Required?
It was August of 1999 when the IAFIAF felt the
requirement of new helicopters for VVIPs.

Its fleet of Mi-8 VIP helicopters was completing
their total technical life, not being able to fly at
nights and at high altitudes (places beyond 2000
metres).
So, with the key requirement of flying high, the
IAF proposed the deal to buy new choppers to the
government for critical areas like Tiger Hill and
Siachen.
After all the formal procedures to buy new chop-
pers like calling tenders, field trials, technical
specifications, etc., the then Congress-led UPA
government narrowed down to UK-based
AgustaWestland in February of 2010. It signed a
contract to buy 12 of its AW101 model helicopters
for a whopping Rs. 3,600 crore for flying VVIPs.
What Does Sonia Gandhi Has to Do With It?
The probe by the Italian court also had the names
of Sonia Gandhi and senior Congressmen
Ahmed Patel, Oscar Fernandes, Manmohan
Singh and Pranab Mukherjee among the people
accused of being Indian middlemen.
The probed conversations between the middle-
men of Italy have mentions of ‘Mrs. Gandhi’ being
the ‘driving force behind the VIP’, and she and her
‘closest advisers’ (Ahmed Patel and Pranab
Mukherjee) being ‘the aim of the British high com-
missioner’.
In the recovered letter dated 15 March 2008, one
middleman Michel wrote to a Peter, ‘Dear Peter,
since Mrs Gandhi is the driving force behind the
VIP, she will no longer fly with MI8 … Mrs Gandhi
and her closest advisers are the aim of the High
Commissioner, senior adviser Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh obviously the main figure, then
there’s Ahmed Patel Secretary’.
And Happened to theThree Already Delivered
Choppers?
The IAF is the custodian of these tri-engine heli-
copters that were delivered to India before the
deal was scrapped. The choppers are parked at
the Palam airbase in Delhi. The pilots who were
trained to fly them have moved to other assign-
ments. Meanwhile, the IAF has drawn out six Mi-
17V5 helicopters for use by VVIPs.
The Current Proceedings
Currently, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate
(ED) probing the case had alleged that Michel re-
ceived 30 million Euro (around Rs. 225 crore) as
kickbacks from AgustaWestland to broker a deal
with Indian authorities. Names of around three
dozen individuals and companies, including Air
Chief Marshal (Retd.) Tyagi and his cousins, have
been mentioned in the case. Meanwhile, more re-
cently, names of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi,
former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Con-
gress leader Ahmed Patel were also dragged in.
However, Michel later claimed he was forced to
take Sonia and Manmohan's name by Indian in-
vestigative agencies.
The case, which dates back to the final years of
the 10-year-long UPA rule, had become a major
embarrassment for the Congress-led government
heading into elections under a cloud of corruption
scandals.
Indian voters have become oblivious to allega-
tions and mudslinging indulged by political parties
on account of defense deals. Whether Rafale or
AgustaWestland allegations would impact vote-
swing in the forthcoming parliamentary elections
in 2019 remains to be seen!
nnn

THE JUSTICE
A
s the nation
waits for the re-
sults concerning
the elections in
five states, semi-
final of the 2019 general
elections, poll drum for next
Lok Sabha polls has started
to reverberate. While the
Congress-led opposition is
gearing to make Rafale a
poll issue ahead of 2019
polls, the BJP is once again looking to fall back to
its traditional ‘Ram rant’. However, in this phase
of agenda setting, the BJP has found a new friend
which came to its aide - the apex court.
As he readies the BJP for the 2019 general elec-
tion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a new
ally, his strongest one yet – the Supreme Court of
India. In its timing to begin hearing politically-sen-
sitive cases such as Ayodhya early next year, the
top court may have unwittingly become part of the
BJP’s grand scheme to polarize the voters and
get their votes.
Similarly, the Supreme Court’s perceived urgency
on hearing the Rafale case could actually end up
working to the BJP’s advantage. Although it is dif-
ficult to guess the verdict in sensitive cases, if the
Supreme Court rules in the favour of the govern-
ment in the Rafale deal, it would make Rahul
Gandhi’s agenda to malign the BJP to attract
votes really ineffective. In a single stroke, the
Supreme Court can demolish the one big issue
on which the Congress hopes to pin down Modi
government ahead of the 2019 elections. A de-
layed case is further delayed while the fresh one
is hurried upon.
This perhaps explains why one of the most asked
questions in political and bureaucratic circles is,
‘Rafale par court kya karega’ (what will the
Supreme Court do on Rafale)?
While one doesn’t have the answer to this ques-
tion, I can say with some degree of certainty that
the honourable judges would be aware of the
deep impact their ruling in the case might have on
the outcome of the next year’s Lok Sabha elec-
tions.
The court will begin hearing the Ram Temple or
Ayodhya case from January in a politically-
charged environment. Everyone seems to have
conveniently forgotten that there’s a mosque
angle to the legal dispute too. As the Chief Jus-
tice-headed bench clarified, the bench will first
decide the date from which regular hearings in
the matter will begin.
Last week, the bench headed by new CJI Ranjan
Gogoi decided that the review petitions in the
Sabarimala case – the court’s earlier judgement
that all women, including those between the ages
Supreme Court - Government’s
New Friend in the Town?
Majority of recent episodes involving the most vital issues the nation faces
show as if the top court is emerging as a new friend of Modi sarkar.
By Subhash C.Yadav

of 10 and 50, have the right to enter and pray at
Kerala’s most famous temple is correct – will be
heard from 22 January 2019.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect for
the BJP. The Hindutva lobby is already critical of
the Supreme Court ever since the five-judge Con-
stitution bench allowed women of all ages to enter
the temple. Riding on Sabarimala, the saffron
party has significantly made inroads into interiors
of Kerala.
How can the court enter the religious domain of
the Hindus? Will it have the guts to pass a similar
order with regard to Christians or Muslims? These
are questions often asked at small meetings or-
ganized by Hindutva groups.
When it refused to stay its verdict on Sabarimala
and only agreed to hear the 48 petitions challeng-
ing the ruling, the Supreme Court inadvertently
gave more oxygen to the Hindutva cam-
paign.
Finding it difficult to handle intrigue
debates hivering around ‘vikas’,
the BJP and the RSS seem to
have decided to fight the next
elections on the ‘victim’ card
– one where every voting
Hindu will be repeatedly
told that despite being a
part of the majority, he/she
is deprived of his/her rights
as a Hindu. This, the BJP
hopes, will ensure that majority of Hindus will vote
as Hindus in the 2019 elections; what we call it as
a ‘block.’
As part of this game plan, the BJP and various
Sangh offshoots have already started asking the
voters why the Supreme Court is not ready to de-
cide the Ram Temple issue on priority despite
India being a Hindu majority Rashtra.
From mid-December, when the Supreme Court-
fixed deadline for filing of claims and objections
for inclusion of names in Assam’s National Reg-
ister of Citizens (NRC) ends, politics over the con-
tentious issue will also heat up.
And, there’s no guessing which party will reap
benefits by politicizing these issues.
With substantial numbers of die-hard Modi sup-
porters and BJP workers are not exactly enthused
with the performance of their government
in the last four and a half years,
they have certainly found a
good bet is the form of
Supreme Court.
Any favourable finding
by the court on Rafale
– even without hav-
ing a need to men-
tion the pricing of
Rafale or whether
the ‘due procedure’
was followed or not –
will help the Modi
government go to
town with a new mes-
sage. And Prime Minister
himself spearheading the
charged campaign.This will be
a big leg up for the BJP’s 2019
campaign.
As for Ayodhya and Sabarimala, the timing of the
hearing has ensured that the BJP will be in better
position to exploit the top court’s position.
We as the nation head towards the 17th general
elections. Democracy is an ever going experi-
ment. An independent and impartial judiciary is
sin qua non for it. But are we really heading to-
wards a democratic maturity? A martured and vi-
brant democracy is not just about elections, but
the period that exists between the two elections.
nnn

By NPM BUREAU
P
redicting anything in Chhattisgarh is
fraught with difficulties. Traditionally, it
has been a binary rivalry between the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the
Congress with the difference of vote
being only about 1% either way. The difficulty this
time is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)--Janata
Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) combination, led by
Mayawati and former congressman Ajit Jogi, that is
likely to upset all calculations.
n the absence of any strong wave, people of Chhat-
tisgarh have always voted conservatively and in line
with their moderate nature. But every time a national
wave rises, it does not crash on Chhattisgarh’s
shore. So few ground rules were visible in all the
constituencies. In Sakti, former Union Minister Cha-
ran Das Mahant appears comfortable as he is a big
name and people will rather have him than Sahu. In
neighbouring Rampur, former Home Minister Nanki-
ram Kanwar of the BJP is expected to win. In Korba,
sitting MLA of the Congress Jaisingh Agawal,
whose wife is also the mayor, is expected to sail
through. Even Vimal Chopra, the only independent
MLA in the state, is expected to retain Ma-
hasamund.
So as the state goes to vote, these are the dis-
cernible trends:
v There is no wave in anyone’s favour. No under-
currents either.
v The BJP is hopeful of a status quo, claiming an
incumbency factor in its favour.
v It is depending on a disruptive rather than a
constructive theory of election management
and on the inability of the opposition to prick
the balloon. Both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra
Modi have talked of everything from Rafale to
dynastic politics but not local issues including
MSP and corruption.
v The presence of a potent third party alliance
has not deterred either of the main contenders
from playing their own small games including
fixing or selling seats.
v The usual election issues like ‘bijli, pani, devel-
opment’ are a footnote.
It is either the lethargy of the electorate, inability of
the opposition to throw up a challenge, Raman
Singh’s luck or all three put together that the BJP,
riding on Chief Minister Raman Singh popularity,
has been in power in the state for last 15 years. But
despite the years in power, he has remained like-
able – a down-to-earth person that the Chhattis-
garhis love. Very few may claim to have seen him
angry or perturbed over anything. He has weath-
ered three elections, the elimination of entire oppo-
sition top brass by the Maoists and some feeble
challenges from within. His rating has remained
good after three terms and that in itself is a small
miracle for any incumbent chief minister.
The sad part though is that ennui has set in, prima-
rily the result of a long reign. Lack of new ideas and
an administration has become opaque and compla-
cent.The same people have been running the show
for past two decades and look visibly tired and
Jogi–Maya May Play
Kingmaker in Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh will probably go with Raman Singh or rest with a hung
assembly giving BSP-JCC to have their say in the next government as
Congress’ hopes have scaled down to 40 seats only probably.
POLITICS - CHHATTISGARH

bereft of ideas other than extolling the virtues of
their leader. Government servants never seem to re-
tire, party faces never change and even the cook,
gardener and drivers of the chief minister’s house
have become used to a pattern of life. It can’t be
good for democracy. It does not need chaos but cer-
tainly more vibrancy. The bottom line though is that
if there was no Raman Singh in the equation, then
it would have been a cake walk for the opposition.
Former Chief Minister Jogi’s strength is his ability to
come out winning of every hardship in life, an in-
domitable spirit and penchant to spring a surprise.
He worked hard on his relationship with Mayawati
when most expected him to work through his batch-
mate P.L. Puniya to reconcile with the Congress. He
did that too but having failed to break through the
Rahul coterie, he has thrown in the dice with
Mayawati. Jogi’s penchant for surprises, of course,
extends to his inability to retain the loyalty of those
who stand by him. After a proper name calling and
wrestling match between JCC treasurer Gajraj Pa-
gariya and another loyalist Vijay Nijhawan in Jogi’s
residence, the former resigned from the party two
days before polling.
Bhupesh Baghel’s belligerence is both his strength
and his weakness. He is the only Congressman who
has been able to stand up to both Jogi and Raman
Singh. A member of the Digvijay Singh cabinet of the
1990s in MP, he has his own circle of influence. And
that circle has been built very strongly on a pro-Kurmi
and anti-upper caste politics.He is a product of a time
when Shuklas ruled Chhattisgarh and was backed
by Arjun Singh and Digvijay who wanted to cut down
the Shukla influence. Along with Satyanarain
Sharma, Charandas and Nandkumar Patel, he was
part of a band of leaders who had held influential po-
sitions in undivided MP.While Charan got his chance
as PCC president last time after Patel was shot
down, Baghel benefited from the fact that Charandas
was seen as a mild leader who could not effectively
counter Jogi within the party and the BJP outside.
Thus, Baghel ascended the PCC throne and soon
proved to Rahul that he could counter Jogi who from
all accounts got the blame for the loss in 2013.
THE COUNT
That brings us to what is the actual count on the
ground. If we were to take all sure winners from both
parties – based on their record and present ability –
there is not much headway. From the Congress, all
senior leaders are expected to win. So is true of the
BJP. A seat-by-seat analysis indicates that both par-
ties are expected to win 27 seats each. That makes
it 54, so the contest will be for the remaining 36 seats.
It’s here where Jogi hopes to come into play. He is
hoping to stop both the parties short of the simple
majority mark of 46. So what are his chances? Real-
istically, the alliance can win Chandrapur, Jajaipur,
Marwahi, Kota, Akaltara, Pamgarh, Sarangarh and
Mungeli. It can hope to cause an upset in Kasdol,
Lormi, Khairagarh and Bhanupratappur. It can also
hope to finish second in Arang, Navagarh and Ahir-
wara. The best case scenario for the alliance is that
it may win eight seats. It will be desperately hoping
to stop the BJP and Congress at 40 and 42 seats,
respectively, so as to create an environment where
Jogi can negotiate with either party.
Will that happen? It may not since the BJP has been
continuously harping that Jogi is a friend much to
Mayawati’s consternation. Jogi had to ultimately call
a press conference and swear on religious texts that
he will not support the BJP.The plan of the BJP is to
impress upon the electorate that it is going to come
back to power with or without Jogi and that Congress
is out of the race.
The BJP apple cart might roll over in the plains where
its ministers are in the fray. Amar Agarwal from Bi-
laspur, Ajay Chandrakar from Kurud, Rajesh Mudat
from Raipur West, Prem Prakash Pandey from Bhi-
lai and Speaker Gaurishankar Agarwal from Kasdol
are all on weak wicket. If they lose, then the BJP
may get restricted to 40 to 42 seats.
The Congress thinks it has done very well in the first
round of polling on November 12 for 18 seats. It ex-
pects to win 14 of them improving upon its last first
phase tally of 12 out of 18. It’s also banking heavily
on its stalwarts to come through as well as an ennui
factor – more than the anti-incumbency. Ironically,
the anti-incumbency works more against the Con-
gress sitting MLAs than the BJP, but the party has
refused to learn its lessons which may be its undo-
ing.Two months ago, it was hoping to win 54 seats,
and 58 with BSP. Now, it has seen its fortunes de-
cline to 40s.
nnn

By NPM BUREAU
I
f the memoirs of a former Chief Minister of
Odisha is to be believed, an outfit called
Tathagata Intelligence Secret Service
Agency (TISSA) during the Emergency was
the reason for the ouster of the then Chief
Minister Nandini Satpathy in 1976.
And in 2018, political observers feel that a similar
outfit ‘Biju Yuva Vahini’ named after Biju Patnaik
and formed by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
Government seems to be going on TISSA way
and may turn the Naveen Patnaik-led government
down.
Nilamani Routray, former Chief Minister of
Odisha, in his autobiography ‘Smruti O’ Anubhuti’
recalls that Nandini Satpathy was heading the
Odisha Government during the time of ‘Emer-
gency’ proclaimed by the then Prime Minister In-
dira Gandhi. The state police had crossed all
limits during 1975. The state-run police depart-
ment was hand in glove with the outfit TISSA to
suppress the political opponents in Odisha.
The TISSA was floated and being organised by
Tathagata Satpathy, the younger son of Nandini
Satpathy and present Member of Parliament.The
outfit was formed to counter the Youth Congress
headed by Ram Chandra Rath (President - All
India Youth Congress). Rath was very close to
Sanjay Gandhi, the then Super Prime Minister
during ‘Emergency’.
Rath, who was a Union Minister with Independent
Charge, was at helm of affairs ofYouth Congress.
He, being a close political aide of Sanjay, was not
in good terms with Nandini and had a damn care
attitude towards her.
Routray recalls that hooliganism of TISSA had
peaked to such a level that political opponents of
Nandini stopped their ‘Morning Walks’ and pre-
ferred to remain at home in fear.
TISSA, unlike the Police Intelligence, was collect-
ing information about political leaders and their
activities. Such was the nexus that the police were
assisting the TISSA in training its members to op-
erate gun. The TISSA members, on the orders of
the then Police Inspector General, were collecting
guns and cartridges from the Police Treasury. In-
vestigations had revealed that ‘unaudited’ fund
meant for the Police Intelligence Services to col-
lect information was being spent for the TISSA
POLITICS - ODISHA
Biju Yuva Vahini - A
hole in the ship ?

operations.
Pipe guns, stain guns, revolvers and bombs were
being purchased in connivance with anti-socials
of Calcutta in order to smash the political oppo-
nents. Political opponents of Nandini had been
targeted and were attacked at many places like
Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Berham-
pur.
Nandini, with the muscle power and network of
TISSA, was apparently enjoying such power that
she was projecting herself as ‘Asiara Udit Surjya’
– the Rising Sun of Asia which was written on the
wall of the Odisha State Secretariat.
According to political grapevine, veteran Con-
gress leader Kanhu Charan Lenka had taken a
photo of the wall written ‘The Rising Sun of Asia-
Nandini’ and showed it to the then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi describing the activities of TISSA
across Odisha.
Subsequently, the then Minister of State for Home
Om Mehta, on the orders of Sanjay Gandhi, had
landed in Odisha and observed the ground reali-
ties. Consequently, it was decided to place Bi-
nayak Acharya as Chief Minister instead of
Nandini. As a result of which, Nandini, although
reluctant, had to resign and lost Chief Minister’s
chair on 16th December 1976.
The Border Security Force and the Central Armed
Police Force, keeping the activities of TISSA in
view, had reached Bhubaneswar through Airbus
and train. TISSA was neutralised. TISSA was a
parallel organisation of the State Police Intelli-
gence which was evident from the fact that the
residence of Nandini was raided.
Now, after four decades of Emergency, another
outfit on the lines of TISSA has emerged in the
state as political observers and opposition parties
allege that the current ‘BijuYuva Vahini’ formed by
the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD Government is just
the replica of the then TISSA.
Notably, the Naveen Patnaik government has
formed the BijuYuva Vahini with a view to develop
leadership qualities among the youth of the state
in order to engage them in social works.The State
Cabinet has approved the project on 14th March,
and the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has
been entrusted with the task of recruiting the
youth from Panchayat level. Young persons from
the age of 15 to 35 are being recruited for this out-
fit.
The Biju Yuva Vahini is being headed by former
Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik. It’s
quite similar as the then TISSA was allegedly op-
erated in connivance with an IG rank police offi-
cer.
However, the opposition parties like the Congress
and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were alleging
that the Biju Yuva Vahini was working for the BJD
as it has been formed by the government and is
being funded from the public exchequer. The
issue has become so important that opposition is
terming it as ‘Biju Goonda Vahini’.
Both the Congress and the BJP have also de-
manded the information from the Government in
relation to the following points: what is the source
of the fund, what is the amount of annual budget,
which department is allocating the fund, what is
the criteria of selection procedure and what steps
had been taken to supervise the expenditure and
to maintain transparency.
The opposition even demanded Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG)’s audit into the expendi-
ture of the Biju Yuva Vahini, but the Naveen Pat-
naik-led State Government has not divulged any
information to the CAG citing a reason of being
busy in organising the Odisha Hockey World Cup.
The failure in providing the information to CAG it-
self clearly shows that all is not well and the State
government is hiding the truth. As such, the polit-
ical critics predict the beginning of the collapse of
the BJD cart owing to the hooliganism by its outfit
in a way like the TISSA.
nnn
Nandini Satpathy Tathagata Satpathy

POLITICS - TELANGANA
By NPM BUREAU
I
n poll-bound Telangana, citing multiple rea-
sons, several Congress leaders have re-
signed and crossed over to rival political
parties in the last few days. Among the no-
table few who have left are Abid Rasool
Khan, former chairman of State Minorities Com-
mission and vice president of Telangana Con-
gress, and Khaleequr Rahman, the National
Coordinator of the All India Congress Committee
(Minority Department). Both joined rival Telan-
gana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the presence of
KCR’s son K.T. Rama Rao and Deputy Chief Min-
ister Mohammad Mahmood Ali.
According to media reports, former Congress MP
and cricketer Azharuddin is also likely to abandon
the party and join TRS. Moreover, Congress
leader Abdul Sattar has joined Hyderabad MP-
led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (MIM)
along with several supporters.
The primary reason for leaving Congress, many
have said, is the ‘injustice to the minorities in al-
lotment of seats’ in the current assembly election.
‘Congress is not giving tickets to deserving Mus-
lim candidates’, said Khan while talking to jour-
nalists at his residence here in the capital city.
According to him, the party is giving tickets to
those who have been defeated time and again,
people with criminal background and little social
standing. ‘Upright and deserving leaders have
been sidelined in the party only to promote those
who have criminal cases and are not committed
to the core ideology of the party’, added Khan.
He further accused Congress of behaving like the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when it came to giv-
ing tickets to Muslims. ‘Questions like winnability
of Muslim candidates, who will fund them and
why should we give tickets to Muslims if they are
not winning, show its anti-Muslim approach.
These are the same questions asked by BJP
leaders when I used to confront them on TV chan-
nels about why they not giving tickets to Muslim
candidates’, said Khan.
In his resignation letter to party president Rahul
Gandhi, disgruntled Khan wrote, ‘Sir, you are an
honest and secular leader but the party is con-
trolled by Sanghis wearing khakhi within the party,
which is to your knowledge’. Khan claimed that
before leaving Congress, he wrote several letters
to both state and national leaders, but they re-
mained unanswered.
Rahman, who joined TRS along with Khan, wrote
in his resignation letter to Gandhi:‘I have realised
that Muslims are becoming irrelevant in the party
and the party would like to utilise them as the vote
bank without giving them proper representation
and importance’.
According to these two aggrieved leaders, Con-
gress should have given at least 13--14 tickets to
Muslims. So far, the party has only given tickets
to seven Muslim candidates. Congress is contest-
ing on 94 seats out of 119 seats as part of a
grand alliance, Maha Kutami, which includes
Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party Telugu Desam
Party and Communist Party of India. What is in-
teresting to note is that TRS, the party in which
these disgruntled Muslim leaders have put their
faith, has allocated an even lesser number of
seats to Muslims. Out of 119 seats TRS is con-
Minority Holds Key in Telangana
Many Muslim leaders of
the Congress have defected
to rival parties citing
injustice to minorities, but
do they have a notable
base ?

testing, it has fielded just three Muslim candi-
dates.
Shaikh Abdullah Sohail, chairman of Telangana
Pradesh Congress Committee Minority Depart-
ment, rubbished allegations against Congress.
‘The party has given tickets to almost double the
number of Muslims in comparison of last assem-
bly election’, he told media persons in a tele-
phonic conversation. As per Sohail, while in the
last election – 2014 – the party had given a ticket
to only four Muslim candidates on 119 seats it
contested, this time around, it has given 7 out of
94.‘The party wanted to give one more ticket to a
Muslim (Mahboob Nagar seat) but could not be-
cause of the alliance’, he claimed. When asked
about Khan’s allegation that Sohail has been in-
volved in corruption and criminal activities, he re-
sponded: ‘If that is true, how come he had been
dining with me and attending my family functions
until he resigned from the party?’
‘Unlike him, I am not a page-3 political activist. I
have no political godfather’, Sohail said, adding ‘It
is true I am not an intellectual like him but what-
ever position I hold in the party today, that is be-
cause of my hard work over the years. I have
worked for the party almost on all the levels, right
from ward committee’.
When asked about Rahman, he said, ‘He is an
all-rounder. Even while being in Congress, he
used to hobnob with senior office bearers and
sympathisers of different political parties, from
TRS to BJP’. Sohail said Khan was asked by the
party to contest from Karwan constituency in the
Old City of Hyderabad against an incumbent MIM
MLA, but he refused. Khan confirmed to journal-
ists that he was indeed offered a ticket from Old
City area, but he did not take up the offer because
he felt that he was being made a scapegoat.‘I told
the party that I am ready to contest from the Old
City provided other big leaders like Mohammad
Ali Shabbir are also ready to contest from the
area’, he told media people, adding, ‘when it was
not done by the party, then I refused’.
Khan is widely believed to be a person with good
intention. Many people in an interview praised his
tenure (2013–17) as chairman of State Minorities
Commission. However, none of them said that he
had the capacity to win an election. A journalist
who has known him for two decades said on the
condition of anonymity, ‘He is a nice man but has
hardly any following in the community, forget
about winning an election’. S.Q. Masood, an ac-
tivist working among Muslims of Hyderabad,
echoed the journalist’s opinion. When asked
whether these resignations are going to affect
Congress’s Muslim vote, he said: ‘No, because
these leaders hardly have any mass following’.
Commenting on the lack of representation of
Muslims in Telangana assembly, senior journalist
Mir Ayub Ali Khan said, ‘The real problem lies out-
side Hyderabad while Muslim leadership is con-
centrated in Hyderabad’. According to him, there
are several constituencies outside the city where
a Muslim candidate can comfortably win, but over
there Muslim leadership is hardly promoted by
any party, including Congress.
‘What is needed is the promotion of local Muslim
leadership in those constituencies that are well-
connected with the masses. Only then the repre-
sentation will increase, otherwise, Muslims from
different political parties will be fighting on select
seats’, opined Ayub Ali. Hence, it will be interest-
ing to see who takes the advantage in this war of
accumulating maximum votes in order to come to
power.
nnn
K Chandrashekhar Rao

ECONOMY
By NPM BUREAU
W
hen Viral Acharya, RBI's out-
spoken Deputy Governor, bat-
ted for RBI's independence, he
made one mistake that only a
technocrat would: he warned
that governments that do not respect central bank
independence ‘incur the wrath of financial mar-
kets’.This made the RBI's critics ask the question
– is our central bank working for the people of
India – especially the 6.7 crore small businesses
which employ over 11 crore people – or just the
affluent 2% who invest in the markets? Why is the
RBI, which is loath to accept government control,
so unquestioning when it comes to accepting the
diktats of international finance?
Such questions have great political resonance,
especially at a time when India's micro, small,
and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are finding it
very tough to get loans. No wonder, RBI's biggest
critic, S. Gurumurthy – the political appointee on
its board – has publicly blamed the regulator's
tough prudential norms for the slowdown in
MSME credit.
RBI's own data shows that bank lending to
MSME sector has dropped from 4.2% of GDP in
2013–14 to just 2.8% of GDP in 2017–18. Small
businesses have had to turn to Non-Banking Fi-
nancial Companies (NBFCs) for funds. Since the
IL&FS crisis, even that has dried out, because
NBFCs themselves aren't being able to raise
funds.
In an election year, this can be disastrous for the
BJP, which has been steadfastly supported by
small entrepreneurs. In many cases, they form
the backbone of the party's local units. The Modi
government needs to quickly address their prob-
Economy in Mess?
Amidst reforms and experiments, Modi government wants
RBI to bail it out.
RBI governor with his team

lems.
After the recent marathon 9-hour board meet, the
RBI has capitulated on that key political issue –
recasting loans to small businesses. Loans given
to MSMEs up to 25 crore can now be restructured
which means MSMEs will find it easier to get
loans again. But why does small business need
their loans to be restructured? GDP data tells us
that India is the fastest-growing economy in the
world. Shouldn't such high growth have made it
easy for entrepreneurs to earn high profits and
pay back their loans on time? Clearly, whatever
our headline growth numbers might be saying,
things aren't good on the ground.
What caused this? Most
observers agree it was
because of the twin blows
of demonetization and
Goods and Services Tax
(GST).The Modi regime's
claim that millions of
small businesses have
got substantial Mudra
loans has also been
questioned by pundits
and critics. The govern-
ment, of course, has de-
nied this. But its de-facto
chief economist, S. Guru-
murthy – an ardent de-
fender of demonetization – admitted in a recent
speech, ‘It is the MSME sector which was hit by
both demonetization as well as GST. It is this sec-
tor which has been robbed of credit’.
Having engendered the crisis, the government
now wants the RBI to solve it. Its great resolve to
clean India's non-performing asset (NPA)-ridden
banking system has been put on the backburner
now that elections are just a few months away.
Admittedly, MSMEs account for less than 8% of
the 10.3 lakh crore of NPAs, but as of June 2018,
over 15% of loans given to MSMEs by public sec-
tor banks had gone bad. Easing norms could lead
to a new MSME-driven NPA crisis.
The Modi government knows giving relief to small
businesses will not be enough – it has to boost
public spending to improve farm incomes, write
off farmer loans and generate rural jobs.That will
be tough, given its fiscal deficit target. And that is
why the government is eyeing RBI's reserves.
India's central bank has about 9.6 lakh crore in
reserves. Raghuram Rajan, former RBI chief, had
claimed this level is necessary for the central
bank to manage money supply, balance India's
foreign currency needs and ring-fence itself in
case of an economic crisis.
Arvind Subramanian, the former Chief Economic
Advisor, however, repeatedly argued that RBI's
reserves are far higher than that of other coun-
tries. If the RBI were to bring down its reserves
as a percentage of its balance sheet to a number
closer to the global mean, it would be able to give
back 3.5 to 4 lakh crore to its sole shareholder –
the government of India. That would be a one-
time windfall, equal to about 15% of the total ex-
penditure estimated in
the budget for 2018–19.
It is 55–65% of the fiscal
deficit. It can fund one
year's MGNREGA 7–8
times. It can fund 11–12
National Health Mis-
sions and 20 Swachh
Bharat Missions. It can
generously recapitalize
India’s banks, without
them having to raise
funds from the markets.
But the trouble is that
most of RBI's reserves
are actually accounting
entries caused by the revaluation of its foreign
currency assets and gold reserves. As the rupee
value of foreign currency assets and gold has
gone up, the RBI has had to add to its foreign cur-
rency reserves to deal with another 2008-type
global financial crisis.The RBI's actual usable re-
serves – its contingency reserves – are just 2.3
lakh crore, an amount that has grown just 5% in
the past five years. Therefore, the RBI has very
little to give to the government without creating a
potentially unstable situation for itself.
India's central bank has often been made the
scapegoat when the economy has slowed down.
Successive governments have wanted the RBI to
stimulate the economy through easy money poli-
cies. We all know what easy credit flows during
the UPA years did to India's government banks.
Now, it seems that the Modi government also
wants to take this easy route.
nnn

NEIGHBOURHOOD
By NPM BUREAU
M
aldives Foreign Minister
Abdulla Shahid alleged
that former president
Abdulla Yameen had
tried to play India
against China as a "puppet master"
and said the new government was
looking into the deals made with
China to assess the debt accumula-
tion.
Maldives knows the importance of
India as it was an "important" partner,
said Shahid who was on his first visit
to India after assuming charge as the
foreign minister of Maldives.
The visit assumes significance as the
ties between both the countries were
severely strained under the previous
government in the island nation.
Maldivian Minister of Finance Ibrahim
Ameer, who is also part of a delega-
tion of minister visiting India, also said
the new government had identified a
number of projects undertaken with China that
were bought at an "inflated price" and it was in
the process of assessing how much debt was ac-
cumulated.
The remarks of both the foreign and finance min-
isters of Maldives as-
sume significance as
reports suggest that
China had been trying
to expand its influence
over the island nation.
Ameer said, "The Chi-
nese portion of invest-
ment is taking long in
assessment because
all these deals took
place in secrecy."
Shahid targeted for-
mer president Abdulla
Yameen, alleging he
tried to play India against China. "Former Maldi-
vian president Abdulla Yameen tried to play India
against China as a puppet master but we know
the importance of India as an ally which has al-
ways come to the aid of Maldives," he told re-
porters at a gathering of Foreign
Correspondents Club here.
He said Maldives considered India
such an "important partner" that new
Maldivian President Ibrahim Mo-
hamed Solih would be making his first
foreign visit to here on December 17.
Shahid, however, said that on the 'Belt
and Road Initiative', the country would
continue their cooperation with not
only China but with other countries
too.
Ameer said they have identified a
number of projects which were bought
at an "inflated price" from China.
These projects are China-Maldives
Yameen was anti india & mere ‘puppet’ in
chinese hands: Maldives Foreign Minister
PM Modi at President Soleh’s swearing in ceremony
Abdulla Shahid

Bridge, port development project and a proj-
ect involving construction of around 1,000
housing units, he said.
"We believe most of these projects have been
bought at an inflated price and we are looking
into them. But you have to understand that all
these projects are now completed and we
cannot renegotiate them.
"In going forward, our main objective would be
to reduce the cost of these infrastructure proj-
ects," Ameer told reporters.
Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Is-
mail said the island nation was trying to get
past instability that was witnessed in the last
couple of years.
"We are trying to put past last five years of in-
stability in the Maldives and we will try to re-
solve all differences between Maldivian and
Indian investors.
"In that regard, we are hoping to strengthen
our bilateral trade.We are hoping to enter into
a bilateral treaty with India on increasing in-
vestment," he said.
He also said they were planning to ease visa
norms so that Indian investors could travel to Mal-
dives for business. Ameer said Maldives was
mainly seeking budget support in healthcare proj-
ects among others. Shahid said Maldives had re-
quested India to give it a Dornier aircraft and the
External Affairs Ministry had "promised that it
would be delivered soon".
"During Yameen's time, Yameen ditched the
Dornier gifted by India to get aircraft from Pak-
istan as Pakistan was giving it as loan and they
prefer loan so they could get commission from it.
But we will prefer a gift and we want to continue
working with the Indian government," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the
swearing-in ceremony of Maldivian President
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on November 17 in Male.
Solih, as the opposition Maldivian Democratic
Party's candidate, had surprising victory over
strongman Abdulla Yameen in the presidential
election held on September 23. India-Maldives
ties had deteriorated significantly under Yameen
who was perceived to be close to China.
Some decisions byYameen, including imposition
of restrictions on work visas for Indians and sign-
ing of a new Free Trade Agreement with Beijing,
also did not go down well with New Delhi. Rela-
tions between India and the Maldives slumped
further after Yameen imposed emergency on
February 5 this year.
India had criticised his decision and asked his
government to restore the credibility of the elec-
toral and political process by releasing political
prisoners. The emergency lasted for 45 days.
nnn
Abdulla Yameen

NATIONAL INTEREST
T
he executive committee of the National
Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has
approved 10 projects worth Rs
1,573.28 crore, of which more than half
the amount has been earmarked for
Agra, the city of the iconic Taj Mahal, according
to an official statement..
Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are
the other states where works to prevent polluted
waters from reaching the Ganga, its tributaries
and sub-tributaries, have been sanc-
tioned.
it was decided that a compre-
hensive solution needed to
be worked out to address
theYamuna river’s pollu-
tion issues in Agra, an
official said.
The project for reha-
bilitation/renovation
of Agra Sewerage
Scheme (Interception
and Diversion Works)
has been conceived at
a total cost of Rs
857.26 crore.
The major components of
the project include tapping of
61 nalas/drains, construction of
three sewerage treatment plants
(STPs) of a total capacity of 166 MLD,
construction of 10 decentralised STPs of 9.38
MLD and renovation of two existing STPs, laying
of rising main of 17.61 km, and renovation of
sewage pumping station (SPS).
“These projects are expected to drastically reduce
pollution load from Agra city into the riverYamuna,
helping to save the Taj Mahal and leading to im-
provement of river water quality, ground water
quality and overall aesthetics of the area,” an
NMCG official said.
Interception & Diversion (I&D) works and an STP
at Kasganj costing Rs 76.73 crore were also ap-
proved by the executive committee. The project
envisages construction of 2 I&D structures, net-
work laying of the length of 2.8 kilometers and 15
MLD capacity STP. The cost of the project in-
cludes operation and maintenance for 15 years.
Currently, there is no sewerage system in Kas-
ganj, the waste water is discharged into open
drains that finally meet River Kali and contribute
to pollution of the river.
Under this project, all drains meeting Kali river,
the tributary of River Yamuna and sub-tributary of
the Ganga, will be tapped and the waste water
shall be carried out through pumping flow
to the proposed STP for treatment.
I&D and STP at Sultanpur, Uttar
Pradesh were approved at a
total project cost of Rs 64.76
crore.
Sultanpur is located on
the banks of Gomti River
and the waste of the
town is conveyed
through six drains in the
town.
“These drains outfall into
Gomti River resulting in
pollution in the river. It is
therefore necessary that
the drains are intercepted/di-
verted, treatment of
sewage/sludge and effluent with
permissible limits discharged into
Gomti River,” the statement said.
The committee also approved projects worth Rs
328.52 crore in Chhapra, Fatuha, Bakhtiyarpur
and Khagaria in Bihar. Sewerage scheme for
Paonta Town, Himachal Pradesh was approved at
a total project cost of Rs 11.57 crore and includes
new 1.72 MLD STP, minor repair and filter in ex-
isting 0.44 MLD STP (extended aeration) and 1
MLD (extended aeration). Paonta Town, home to
the renowned Paonta Sahib Gurudwara, is situ-
ated on the banks of the river Yamuna. The river
is the boundary between the states of Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
lug: National Growth
nnn
10 projects worth Rs 1,573 crore
approved for cleanup Ganga

T
he government has procured 16.51
million tonnes of rice so far in the cur-
rent 2018-19 marketing year and the
total quantity is likely to surpass the
target, a senior Food Ministry official
said.The rice procurement target set for this year
was 37 million tonnes.
The government had procured 38.18 million
tonnes during the last marketing year (October-
September), exceeding the target of 37.5 million
tonnes set for that year.
“Both state agencies and Food Corporation of
India (FCI) have procured about 16.51 million
tonnes of rice so far. The procurement definitely
will exceed the target this year too,” the official told
PTI.
There will not be any impact on procurement,
though crop in
Punjab,
Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh has been af-
fected by deficient rain during September-end, he
said.
Asked about private procurement, the official said
a pilot was to be taken up in Jharkhand but the
companies have not shown interest and not
placed any bids so far.
“Wheat is easier to procure. In case of rice, they
have to buy paddy and get it milled and stored.
Many issues have to be kept in mind...,” the offi-
cial added.
As per the latest data, rice procurement in Punjab
reached 10.86 million tonnes, Haryana at 3.88
million tonnes, Telangana at 9,96,779 tonnes,
Chhattishgarh at 3,02,319 tonnes and Uttrakhand
at 1,71,098 tonnes so far this marketing year.
Tamil Nadu has procured 1,10,771 tonnes of rice,
while in case of Kerala it stood at 49,813 tonnes
and Maharashtra at 17,880 tonnes in the said pe-
riod, the data showed.
Procurement is yet to begin in Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh and West Bengal.
The official said that Punjab and
Haryana have completed 60 per cent
of the their rice procurement. The
buying is underway in other states
like Chattishgarh. The paddy is
procured at the minimum support
price (MSP). State-run FCI and
state agencies undertake pro-
curement operation.
For the current year, the govern-
ment has fixed paddy MSP of
‘common’ grade variety at Rs
1,750 per quintal, while that of ‘A’
grade variety at Rs 1,770 per
quintal.
The government has pegged rice
output to be 99.21 million tonnes in
the kharif season of the 2018-19 crop
year (July-June), as against the actual
output of 97.50 million tonnes in the same
season last year.
nnn
Rice procurement at record 16.5
million tons; will exceed target

NATIONAL POLITICS
By NPM Bureau
A
lmost a year ago, Sushma Swaraj
met Narendra Modi with an unusual
request — to allow her not to contest
the 2019 Lok Sabha election. She
had undergone kidney transplant
surgery in December 2017 after being admitted
to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for
around a month.
Being a Minister of External Affairs for last four
years, she had the gained confidence and good-
will of the prime minister. On some occasions,
Modi had publicly lauded her work, particularly
in helping and evacuating
Indians faced with dis-
tressing situations
abroad. Her deci-
sion not to con-
test the next
election must
t h e r e f o r e
have sur-
prised him.
After convey-
ing her feel-
ings to the
prime minister,
she conveyed the
same to BJP Presi-
dent Amit Shah.
Her argument was twofold: First, her current
health situation did not allow her to take care of
the constituency as a serving MP ideally should.
A Lok Sabha MP has a whole lot of commit-
ments for people of her/his constituency, which
are not just related to taking care of develop-
mental work in the area. Fulfilling these commit-
ments requires a great personal connect with
people of the re-
gion. Due to her
health issues,
she had not
been able to do
it the way she
used to in pre-
ceding years
when she repre-
sented the South
Delhi parliamen-
tary constituency for
two terms and Vidisha in
Madhya Pradesh for last two
terms.
Second, if she contests in 2019, she would be
committing to that constituency for another five
years. Her contention was that she would be fail-
ing in her duty as a directly-elected public rep-
resentative if her health did not permit to be in
regular contact with people, which includes pay-
ing visits to her constituency.
Although party leadership initially tried to per-
suade her for taking a U turn on the decision,
she, however, succeeded in convincing them
about her decision.
Swaraj had also kept Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the loop.
Vidisha used to be Chouhan’s
parliamentary con-
stituency till he was
chosen by the lead-
ership to be chief
minister of the
state. She won
from Vidisha in
2009 and 2014.
It should be
noted that in 2009
Sushma's Swing of Surprise
Sushma Swaraj’s decision to not contest Lok Sabha polls doesn’t mean
she is retiring from the active politics. Is Rajya Sabha term on cards or
will the MEA spring more surprise?

when the then prime ministerial candidate L.K.
Advani had advised all senior leaders to contest
the Lok Sabha elections, and Swaraj made a
wish to contest from Bhopal. Senior leaders of
the party were of the same opinion until her
dreams were trashed by the then-sitting MP of
Bhopal Kailash Joshi who placed some tough
conditions (demands) before her. It is only after
that she moved to Vidisha, as offered by
Chouhan.
t's important to note here that she had an-
nounced not to fight Lok Sabha elections, but
not to quit politics, giving rise to speculation of
the other kind.
A union minister told, ‘She has only said she will
not contest the Lok Sabha election, she has not
said she won't enter Rajya Sabha.You all know
that she has served in the Rajya Sabha for three
terms.Who knows, next year she might be in the
Upper House to serve another term’. That
means if the BJP returns to power in 2019, she
might again be a top ranking minister. There
could be some other responsibilities, but those
are all within realm of ifs and buts.
Swaraj chose her timing adroitly for this impor-
tant announcement. She was in Madhya
Pradesh to campaign for the BJP. Due to her
health conditions, she had not visited the state
and her constituency for a long time. Her non-
availability could have caused some resentment
as well. In one deft stroke, she cleared her posi-
tion, something that will allow aspirants for the
seat to start nourishing the constituency.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Swaraj
has announced that she won't contest Lok
Sabha elections.Way back in 1998, she was re-
elected from the South Delhi parliamentary con-
stituency, and a "smear campaign" ran against
her in relation to a slogan that some enthusiastic
supporters had chanted in the run-up to the
elections, ‘Abki baari Atal Bihari, agli baari
behan hamari (This time it's Atal Bihari Vaj-
payee's turn, next time it's our sister's)’. Follow-
ing a negative comment about that slogan in a
closed-door meeting afterwards, she was so
upset that she announced to not contest the Lok
Sabha election again and proposed the name of
V.K. Malhotra for that constituency.
In that election for the 13th Lok Sabha, the Con-
gress fielded Manmohan Singh from the South
Delhi constituency and Malhotra was nominated
by the BJP. To everyone’s surprise, Malhotra
won and Singh lost. That was the only election
that Manmohan fought and lost.
When nominations were being filed, the Con-
gress sprang a surprise by making Sonia
Gandhi file her nomination from Bellary in Kar-
nataka as her second seat (besides Raebareli).
Swaraj was instructed by Vajpayee and Advani
to forget about her previous pledge (not to con-
test any more elections) and fly to Bellary to file
her nomination against Sonia. Although Swaraj
lost, she fought valiantly and polled around 3.5
lakh votes in a constituency that had been a
Congress stronghold.
Will 2019 see a repeat of 1999 for her or will it
be different? Nobody has an answer right now.
nnn

N
icholle Machiavelli
Chanankya, the
great Indian
strategist and
philosopher once
said, “there is some self-inter-
est behind every friendship.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Not just a deal; it is
much more than that
It is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.
By Raja Mohanty

Agusta Versus Rafale - National Political Mirror

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