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10 DEMOCRACY AT WORK
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MUMBAI | 3 JUNE 2018 1

DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?

CHATTERBOX

Battle for Andhra CHECKLIST

On the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) fourth anniversary, party General Secretary Ram
Madhav addressed workers in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. This was the biggest ever gath-
THE GREAT INDIAN VACATION: HOW POLITICIANS WERE FORCED OUT OF GOVT HOUSES
ering of the BJP after it parted ways with the ruling Telugu Desam Party. Madhav told 
Nearly 500 leaders have been forced out of their supporters and BKU activists demonstrated at Murad
workers that the BJP will come to power in the 2019 elections. He is also said to have Lutyens bungalows in the last four years, including Nagar water treatment plant that caters water to
suggested a pre-poll or post-poll alliance with other parties, most probably, Jagan’s YSR the sons of two former Prime Ministers. East Delhi’s Sonia Vihar plant against the
Congress or Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena. As Chief Minister and TDP chief, Chandrababu 
While 429 former ministers and MPs were sent disconnection of water and power connection to the
Naidu is expected to move closer to Congress and the Left and the BJP might join hands notices to vacate, only 44 complied. Eviction orders bungalow. However, he had to eventually vacate.
with other players, AP will be one of the most interesting elections to watch. had to be issued against 380 of them. 
Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was convicted in

However, a small group of 37 stayed put. They the fodder scam in September 2013 and automatically
To leave or not to leave included the sons of former Prime Ministers lost his Parliament seat. In November that year, the
Buoyed by by election victories, the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress Chandra Shekhar and Charan Singh. Neeraj Shekhar allocation of a bungalow was cancelled. But the
in Bihar claim to have sent emissaries to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to explore the and Ajit Singh had to be locked out of their houses, outgoing Congress-led government allowed him to
possibility of restoring the erstwhile “grand alliance” in the state. Sources in the Bihar their belongings emptied out on the lawns. retain the bungalow for a year from the date of
unit of the Congress also claim that back-channel talks are going on with Ram Vilas 
Ajit Singh convened a ‘Mahapanchayat’ at 12 cancellation. The BJP-led government issued an
Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Tughlaq Road, his government-allocated house, eviction order in November 2014. Prasad sought an
Party (RLSP), both allies of the BJP. These are said to have the endorsement of both and Jats from western Uttar Pradesh owing extension, citing health reasons such as the six-hour
Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav who want to cement an anti-BJP entente in the state "The BJP will definitely not come to power in allegiance to Rashtriya Lok Dal and Bharatiya Kisan cardiac surgery he had undergone. But that was to no
ahead of the General Elections. LJP and RLSP are reported to have said that they are 2019. The BJP forming government again is a Union were invited to join the meeting. The meeting avail and he had to vacate.
distant dream."
ready to talk, possibly conscious that seat-sharing will be in the BJP’s favour, should was specifically called to pass a resolution to declare 
Former Home Minister Buta Singh and others went
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in
they continue their alliance with them. However, the BJP is supremely confident that Vijayawada, inaugurating the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)'s 12 Tughlaq Road as a memorial in the name of to court against the direction to vacate their
Nitish Kumar will not stray. Their one sentence argument — “Where will he go?” annual conclave, May 27 Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. RLD residence but lost the case.

OPINION What does Hamro Sikkim stand for?

Hamro Sikkim stand for the welfare of people of
NARENDRA MODI Sikkim. Obviously it is very important to bal-
ance development with natural habitat but at the
moment I think the way the current govern-
schemes are only fueling the corrupt.
While the government paints a picture of
paradise to the outside world, the situation of
unemployment in Sikkim is appalling. One of
the smallest states, with just over six lakh peo-

Our goal is clean ment is selling away land… giving out big pow-
er projects — around 30 or 31…and land to 40 or
50 pharmaceutical companies… this is not
ple, Sikkim ranks the second highest in unem-
ployment. It also has the highest suicide rate
37.5 per lakh people — that’s more than triple

and sustainable healthy for a place like Sikkim. The state is earth-
quake prone.
the Indian average. The 25-year-old govern-
ment has done nothing to address this.
The government hides data — its shocking

development In Sikkim, the challenge is to

balance development and the
state’s natural habitat. How
but seven out of 10 teenagers
in Sikkim abuse pharmaceu-
tical drugs. One in every fam-
n India, the present is changing rapidly. A ‘New India’ is tak- do you propose to do that? ily is involved in substance

I ing shape. And, there are many reasons for it. One, Economic
reforms are taking place at a speed and a scale not known so
far. Over 10,000 measures by Central and state governments in
Development for a state like
Sikkim for which the USP is its
natural habitat, has to be very
abuse; and therefore every
family is. The youth are dying
and the future looks bleak.
the last two years have helped us move up 42 places in the Ease calculated and sustainable. You People are not allowed to
of Doing Business rankings. can’t just give everything away say what they want. They can’t
Over 1,400 out-dated laws have been repealed. India is among for the sake of development. raise their issues. There is a
the most open economies in the world. Foreign investors can go into You need to think about devel- BHAINCHUNG BHUTIA huge clampdown — especial-
almost all sectors, often with up to 100 per cent equity. Indeed, more opment, how you are going to Soccer player and founder,
ly on those who raise their
than 90 per cent of investments in India are through this route. do it without destroying Hamro Sikkim Party voice against corruption in the
Two, Tax regime has changed: Lower tax rates, increased sta- Sikkim’s air purity, its flora and state. The 2019 Sikkim
bility, faster resolution of tax disputes and electronic filing systems. fauna and its countryside. Assembly elections will be a
Goods and Services Tax is the biggest tax reform since independ- As I mentioned earlier, what fight between black money
ence It has unified the nation into a single market and increased worries me a lot is corruption. Development for a state and clean money. I would
the tax base. This was not an easy task. But, it was done successfully. ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA My party will address corrup- like Sikkim for which the urge Chief Minister Pawan
And, it has created new economic opportunities. Our personal tion, unemployment, high sui- USP is its natural habitat, Kumar Chamling allow an
income tax base has also expanded by nearly 20 million. Sikkim might be perceived as a paradise but there's a lot that is rotten in the state. Its newest cide rates, youngsters who are has to be very calculated enquiry by the CBI in the
Three, our infrastructure sector is expanding at record speed. politician, footballer Bhaichung Bhutia tells Aditi Phadnis what he dreams of achieving through the getting sucked into drugs/alco- and sustainable. You state. After all, if they (gov-
Last year, we built nearly 10 thousand kilometers of national high- Hamro Sikkim party he launched earlier this week. hol…because in my mind, all can’t just give everything ernment) are clean, they
ways — that is 27 kilometers daily, almost double the speed a few these things are related to each away for the sake of need to prove it.
years ago. Pace of rail track addition has doubled. Metro rails in sev- other. And lack of leadership in development. You need The CM is working on
eral cities, seven High Speed Rail Projects, dedicated freight corri-
dors, and modernisation of 400 railway stations will transform the
rail sector. Other projects include 10 green field airports; five new
major ports; 111 rivers designated as National Water-ways; and
over 30 logistics parks. We added over 80 thousand mega-watts of
‘If party wants, I’ll the state is a key issue for me.

The current Chief Minister of

Sikkim has made his mark as
the longest serving CM India
to think about
development, how you
dictatorial lines. He needs
to get out of this mindset. I
are going to do it without think people of Sikkim are
destroying Sikkim’s air now looking for a change
purity, its flora and fauna and hopefully with Hamro

power in just three years. And, in renewable energy, we have
become the sixth largest producer in the world. That is our com-
mitment to a green and sustainable future. Quite simply, the
biggest infrastructure story of the world is unfolding in India.
Four, our manufacturing sector is rebounding. There has been
a sharp rise in FDI in the past three years – from 36 billion U.S.dol-
lars in 2013-14 to 60 billion U.S.dollars in 2016-17. There is also spe-
cial focus on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Sector. We
have launched sector-specific modernisation and productivity
programmes, reduced corporate tax rate, and made tax benefits
more attractive and easier. The Indian Startup sector is flourishing,
and is now the third largest in the world. My favourite scheme is,
of course, the Mudra scheme that offers micro credit to the poor and
the excluded. Over the past three years, 128 million loans worth
more than 90 billion U.S. dollars have been extended — 74 per cent
of these have gone to women; yes, 74 per cent to women.
Five, we are strongly focussed on financial inclusion. In the
course of the past three years, we have opened 316 million bank
accounts for those who never had a bank account. Now, 99 per
cent of Indian house-holds have a bank account. It is a new
source of dignity and identity for every citizen, a remarkable sto-
ry of inclusion and empowerment More than 12 billion US dol-
lars have been deposited in these accounts. The government
benefits worth more than 50 billion US dollars have been trans-
ferred directly to the beneficiaries. They now have access to
affordable pensions and insurance — everything that was once
only a dream. Now here in the world has banking expansion
taken place on such a scale and at such speed.
Six, a digital revolution is sweeping through India. Through a bio-
metric identity for everyone, a mobile phone in almost every pock-
et, and a bank account in everyone’s reach, every Indian’s life is get-
contest elections’
You’ve been a sportsman. What gave you
the idea of joining politics?
The idea of joining politics while being a
sportsperson is nothing extraordinary. It is
politicians who make policy for sport and if
we have a sportsman thinking about these
policies as a politician, obviously it will
benefit sport.
Politics in India is looked down upon. It is
seen as being dirty, corrupt and politicians are
seen as untouchables. But actually, it is not so
bad. To change the world, you need good,
young, idealistic people to come into politics
and public life.
I am passionate about India and about
making it a better place. If young people keep
on complaining and saying it is all dirty so it
is better to stay away, then politics will never
improve. Young and good people should
come forward and join politics to clean it up.
We need to get into the system to really change
the system.
You contested an election as a member of
the Trinamool Congress…
I always saw myself as an ‘outsider’ in
Trinamool Congress, which I quit in February
this year. I did not agree with the party’s stand
on Gorkhaland statehood issue. I believe that
people of Darjeeling can have other options
(apart from remaining a part of West Bengal)
and I stick to this stand.
Would it be wrong to say that you are a
better sportsman than politician,
considering you have won many football
matches but not that many elections?
It is unfair to compare politics and my success
in sports because I think in politics until you
actually get into government and run it, your
performance cannot really be judged. Yes, it is
true that I narrowly missed winning elections.
But how I will perform as a politician can only
be judged after I have been elected, and people
can judge on my performance.
Till the time you get into a system or win an
election or are in government, it is hard to say
what kind of politician you will be.
has ever had. What gives you and its countryside. Sikkim Party that will have
the confidence that you can credible people, there will
dethrone him? be a change.
The current CM may be the longest serving CM There is another aspect of Sikkim’s social
in India but it is not about the number of years fabric. Nepali-speaking residents of the state
or the number of times he has been the CM. I have got a raw deal since the formation of the
think what he has done and what legacy he will state in 1975. My party will work for the
leave behind is more important. At the moment, Nepali-speaking Sikkimese. Two communi-
I believe his legacy is toxic and will be bad for ties of Sikkim — Limboo and Tamang —
Sikkim in the years to come. were notified as scheduled tribes way back in
Just look all around you. Despite having so 2003. They are still awaiting representation
many power projects, uninterrupted power in the State Assembly. A democracy must
supply has still not reached a large part of the give equal opportunity to everyone.
state. While we vouch for organic farming, agri-
cultural land is being taken away by pharma- Are you going to contest Lok Sabha
ceutical companies. Even today, a tarred road elections or just Assembly elections?
has not reached my village. Roads in Sikkim are Whether I contest Lok Sabha or Assembly, I
in a very pathetic condition. Drinking water is think it’s up to the party to decide. Once we
a problem. We demand the Central Bureau of form the party, we have our executive com-
Investigation (CBI) inquires into the misutili- mittee. This will have meetings and the par-
sation of central funds. Numerous centrally ty will decide. We have just launched the par-
sponsored schemes like National Rural Health ty (on May 31) and after that we will form our
Mission, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural decision-making bodies, elect officebearers.
Employment Guarantee Act, Pradhan Mantri So, whatever the party decides, as a member
Gram Sadak Yojana, have been running in of the party I will follow. They will direct me
Sikkim for years — however, on the ground about what elections we should fight.
the situation remains far from desirable; and in This is not my party. This is a party of the
fact, sordid. Only a central enquiry into the people of Sikkim. If my party wants, I will
fund utlisation will bring out the truth. These contest the elections.

The human and humane side of books

ting transformed. And, it is also transforming everything else in
India: Governance, public service, delivery of benefits to the poor, put-
ting banking and pension within the reach of the poorest. For exam-
ple, digital transactions are growing rapidly. In 2017, just the UPI-
based transactions grew seven thousand percent. In January, all
digital transactions were valued at 2 trillion U.S. dollars. We are
building broadband connectivity to two hundred and fifty thousand
village councils, and we are setting up common service centres in
each of those village councils. These will offer many digital serv-
ices and create thousands of rural jobs. Under Atal Innovation
Mission, we are opening 100 incubation centres and we have
opened 24 hundred tinkering labs across India for our children
to become innovators and job creators. One of the exhibitors
today is from one of these labs.
Seven, India will experience the largest wave of urbanisation in
the world over the next two decades. It is a challenge, but also a huge
responsibility and opportunity. We are working to transform 100
cities into Smart Cities, and 115 aspirational districts into new cen-
tres of progress. Mass transit, waste management, pollution con-
trol, sustainable habitat and affordable housing are programmes
of great priority for us.
Eight, we are investing in skills and raising the standards of
higher education to give a life of dignity and opportunity for our 800
million youth. With learning from Singapore, we are setting up
advanced Institutes of Skill Development. And, in this fiscal year, we
have launched a 15 billion US dollar programme, to further strength-
en our higher education system.
Nine, Agriculture sector is receiving a level of priority that it has
not since the Green Revolution decades ago. We aim to double the
income of farmers by 2022, when Independent India will be 75 and
a ‘New India’ will be born. For this, we are using technology, remote
sensing, internet, digital financial system, soft credit, insurance, soil
health improvement, irrigation, pricing and connectivity.
Ten, we want every citizen to enjoy what I call ‘Ease of Living’ by
2022. It means, for example, 50 million new houses so that there is
roof over every head in 2022. Last month, we reached a milestone.
Each one of our 600 thousand villages are now connected to a
power grid. We are also working to provide electric connection to
every household. We have launched this year AYUSHMAN Bharat,
the National Health Insurance Scheme. It will cover 100 million fam-
ilies or 500 million Indians with annual coverage of 8000 US dol-
lars. This is simply the largest healthcare scheme in the world.
Quality of life is also linked to clean and sustainable development.
That is one of our principal goals. It is rooted in our heritage and our
commitment to the planet’s future. And, it informs every aspect of pub-
lic policy and economic choices in India now. And, all these changes
are taking place because of one and only one reason: our people.
Edited excerpt from a speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a
business and community event in Singapore, May 31
A library that lets you borrow human beings, hear their stories, and dispel prejudices, writes Samali Basu Guha
oing to the library for a reading session talk about issues pertinent to the urban con-
G is normal. But have you ever thought of text. When you're in a one-on-one conversa-
going to the library and borrowing a tion, you tend to be more accepting of oppos-
“human” book? ing viewpoints, more willing to discuss rather
Now you can, in Indore, Hyderabad, than dismiss.”
Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and other places So how are the human books prepared for
across India. the event? “There are around 30 members in
With a tagline of “Don’t judge a book by the library. To begin with, we note down prej-
its cover,” the Human Library is a concept udices and identify people. Then we train
where instead of borrowing a book you can them in a certain way so that they are able to
borrow a human being for 20 minutes and talk about issues in a comfortable manner,”
hear their story and ask questions, thereby says Fad.
dispelling prejudices and leaving the partic- One can also fill up a form on the depot’s
ipants with a wider perspective. The library site and ask questions, and then take up the
takes into account certain pillars of preju- role of an organiser or a book, depending on
dices — race, sex, age, disability, sexual pref- preferences. People interested in taking up
erence, gender identity, class, the role of a depot manager need to
religion and belief and lifestyle apply for a licence to Ronni Abergel.
choices, among others. Profession is not a criterion. Singh
The first-ever Human Library runs a chain of schools in Haryana;
was started in Copenhagen, Fad is a community manager with BUILDING CONNECTIONS The first-ever Human Library was started in Copenhagen, Denmark
Denmark in 2000, to challenge Kahaniya.com. in 2000, to challenge prejudices against social contact among people
prejudices against social contact As far as books are concerned,
among people. Run by Ronni “one has to make sure that the subject were too deep to heal. “One of our books, titled Break the Silence on
Abergel, Asma Mouna, makes a positive impact,” adds Fad. “What matters is that we have choices. What Child Sexual Abuse told me that so many of
Christoffer Erichsen and Dany THE OTHER “It is a liberating experience for books we do and become in the end is our choice,” she her readers had gone through sexual abuse in
Abergel, the organisation is cur-
rently active in over 60 countries.
INDIA as well,” says Singh.
“A book from one of our events,
adds, a message she wants to get across to as
many people as possible.
their childhood, but were unable to open up
before their families. Taking to the ‘book’ was
The first event ran four days with who spoke about domestic violence, And Human Library is an effective way of a liberating experience,” adds Fad.
eight hours of conversations each told me after the event how she was doing so. “Books have limited number of “I knew a little about the concept. And I am
day. More than 1,000 readers took out a contemplating suicide earlier. But meeting so pages. Human Library is a genre where I can really shy talking to people I don't know. So
“human book”. many strangers and sharing her story changed share my story. It is real-time conversation,” when I heard about Human Library from a
“It is a conversation platform. Books are her perspective completely,” says Fad. says Zara, who now calls herself a public friend, I decided to check it out. I thought I
limited in their interactions. Human Library “You can inspire and feel good about your- speaker by profession. will get to meet new people and listen to their
takes it to the next level,” says Neha Singh, the self,” says Zara (name changed), a 25-year-old And what about readers? stories,” recalls Natasha Patel, a Delhi
Delhi Chapter’s book depot manager. “The human book. Having spent a troubled child- “Once there was this reader, a doctor by University student and one of the readers who
book and the reader do not know each other hood in Afghanistan, Zara travelled to Pakistan profession who was going through heartbreak. attended the event last year in Delhi.
socially and do not have a context to form bias- along with her family. A chance encounter with He wanted to leave everything behind and set- “I went there out of sheer curiosity. It
es. Hence it is easier to interact,” she adds. The the Talibans proved to be a nightmare — her tle in the Himalayas. Interaction with one of the turned out to be a totally new and unique
Delhi chapter was launched in March 2017. father was abducted and the family subject to books helped change his perspective com- experience. It opened a whole new world in
“People from all walks of life participate in torture. “We saw things probably no human pletely. He still wanted to go, but this time to front of my eyes. Since the ‘subject’ was
the event,” says Harshad Fad, book depot could ever dream of,” recalls Zara. Education help people access medical facilities in the far human, it sounded more real,” adds Oindrilla
manager of the Hyderabad chapter. “They proved to be the way forward, but the wounds away Ladakh,” says Singh. Dey, a software professional.