by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

BJP may pitch Ex-Chief Ministers in Lok Sabha polls

Even as the BJP is engaged in a bitter battle in five state assembly polls and fielding sitting MPs, its top leadership is toying with the idea of fielding some former Chief Ministers during the May 2024 Lok Sabha polls. If reports are to be believed, former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jairam Tahkur may be fielded from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. He has high credibility and is a trusted man of the RSS. He is being considered to be brought to national politics.  Similarly, former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai may also be brought to the national politics and may be fielded during the Lok Sabha polls. He is at loggerheads with powerful Lingayat leader B S Yediyurappa and the BJP has been unable to appoint a Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly due to this tussle.  Yediyurappa is insisting that his son be appointed as LoP.

There are reports that former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani may be asked to contest the Lok Sabha polls. The former Tripura CM Biplov Deb is also being considered for the same though currently he is a member of the Rajya Sabha. Both of them were removed prior to the Assembly polls due to reports of anti-incumbency against them. Assam's former Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal, Maharashtra's former CM Narayan Rane & Jharkhand's Arjun Munda are members of the Modi government at present. It is a different matter that a couple of the former CM s like Sadanand Gowda (Karnataka) and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (uttarakhand) were removed after being inducted in the Modi cabinet. A couple of them like Raghubar Das of Jharkhand and Anandi Ben Patel made it to Odisha and UP Raj Bhawans as Governors. There are indications that after the current round of assembly polls, a couple of them may be brought to the Centre.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Massive exercise to weed out bogus beneficiaries

Modi govt. wants to save Rs 40K crores

Subsidies cost exchequer Rs 4.55 lakh crores 

A massive exercise is going on in the Modi government to weed out fake beneficiaries of its welfare schemes involving cash and kind transfers. According to data collated from various ministries the number of beneficiaries jumped from 10.80 crores in 2013-14 to 93.7 crores in 2022-23.

According to official sources, the cash transfers of Rs 28000 crores were spent in 2013-14 under various schemes which jumped to more than Rs 2 lakh crores during 2022-23. The total subsidies and benefits ran into Rs 4,55,823 crores in cash & kind during 2022-23. The mega scheme of free food alone benefited 80 crores people costing over Rs 2 lakh crores. The Centre has extended this scheme until December 2023 and likely to be further extended beyond Lok Sabha polls in May 2024 too.

The exercise to weed out bogus beneficiaries is going on a war footing basis after several reports surfaced where misuse of funds detected by the Rural Development ministry. The PM-KISAN scheme scrutiny also revealed elimination of almost two crores bogus beneficiaries. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has also come under scrutiny after the claims from states were Rs 28000 crores than the Budget estimates of Rs 60,000 crores in 2023-24.

The Union Government hopes to save more than Rs 40,000 crores this fiscal by eliminating bogus beneficiaries of many of these schemes as high subsidies are pinching the government as the economy is not looking bright due to global factors. 

Under the Centre glare are beneficiaries of fertiliser subsidies, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). A significant number of duplicate or fake beneficiaries have already been removed from many of these schemes. The Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers has formed fertiliser squads to curb misuse. The government provides urea at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 266 per bag (45 kg) to farmers, incurring a subsidy of more than Rs 1.50 lakh crores.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly On the Wall

Lokpal's unending woes  

BJP Lok Sabha MP Nishi Kant Dubey may have sent his complaint against TMC MP Mahua Moitra to the Lokpal for indulging in corrupt practices. But Lokpal's past record of punishing high & mighty is very poor and failed to create a buzz considering the fact that it came into being in March 2019, nearly 72 years after Independence. A retired judge of the Supreme Court Pinaki Chandra Ghose was appointed as the first Lokpal of India with other members.

But it's more than four years since the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) under the PMO has yet to finalise the rules for the 'Babus” to declare their assets under the Lokpal law are yet to be notified. It was envisaged under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, every public servant was required to file asset details under Section 44 on March 31 every year or on or before July 31. Fresh rules to prescribe the form and format for filing details of assets and liabilities by central government employees under the Lokpal Act are yet to be notified, the DoPT said. The declaration under the Lokpal law is in addition to similar ones filed by the employees under various service rules. For 2014, the last date for filing the declaration was September 15. After several extensions, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) extended the deadline indefinitely on December 1, 2016, saying a new format and fresh set of rules were being finalised by the government in this regard.

Since then, it's been an endless wait for the rules. This was officially admitted by the DoPT in response to a query. All public servants will henceforth be required to file the declarations as may be prescribed by the fresh set of rules, the DoPT order added.

Lokpal's Long wait too

Not only rules but the Lokpal is working without a full time chairman and its full strength. It is surprising that the government did not take timely steps to fill vacancies at the top. The Chairman of the Lokpal, Justice Ghose retired in May and the Ambushman has been functioning without a full-time chairman for the past six months. In addition, there are only six members in the Lokpal against the sanctioned strength of eight. Two posts of judicial members have been lying vacant for over two years. A 10-member search committee under Press Council of India chairperson Justice Ranjana Desai was constituted in August 2023 and the process is continuing. One can only wonder how the Lokpal deal will deal with the Mahua Moitra case as the Ethics Committee of Parliament has already put it on a fast track and a decision may be out sooner than expected.

Pramod Mahajan's missing photo

Political circles were pleasantly surprised last week to find full page advertisements appearing across India the inauguration of Pramod Mahajan Gramin Kaushalya Vikas Kendra numbering 511 such kendras in one go. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest on the occasion with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's photo appearing in the advertisements. Though the scheme was launched in 2015 but nothing was done ostensibly about it and the state government woke up in 2023 to launch it in a big way giving the late BJP leader who built the party brick by brick in Maharashtra. But political analysts were surprised to see that the photo of the departed leaders was not carried along with the scheme launched after his name. Queries in this regard went unanswered and no one was willing to even discuss the issue. The supporters of the late leader were however thankful to the state government and the PM for giving Mahajan his due. 

Modi's new milestone

Prime Minister Modi has crossed another milestone when he broke his predecessor Manmohan Singh's record of foreign visits. If Manmohan Singh undertook 73 foreign visits during ten years, Prime Minister Modi did 74 visits in nine years & five months in office. Modi is set to undertake another half a dozen foreign tours during the remaining seven months of his second term.

If Manmohan Singh's first trip was to Thailand to attend the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit on July 29, 2004, Modi began his maiden foreign visit to Bhutan on June 15–16, 2014 after assuming office. If Singh concluded his final visit to Myanmar on March 3, 2014, Modi's last visit was to Indonesia, where he attended the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in September.

It also emerged that Modi has spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor (270 days versus Singh’s 306) and has traveled more extensively and actively than any other Indian PM. Singh undertook 35 visits abroad in his first term and 38 in his second. Modi embarked on 49 overseas visits in his first term, which dropped to 25 foreign visits in his second term which included two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Interestingly, Modi has visited Nepal five times, while Singh could not visit Kathmandu even once. Modi became the first PM with his visit to Israel in July 2017 and Palestine a year later.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly On the Wall

Rahul's New Gamble 

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has emerged a new champion of reservation for the Other Backward Castes (OBCs). Obviously, those watching the Congress for decades were surprised as the Congress had stoutly opposed reservations in jobs to the OBCs other than the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Rahul Gandhi did not stop at providing merely reservations for the OBCs but also advocated that reservations should be at per their population. This baffled even the age-old supporters of the Congress Party. But none of the senior leaders raised any voices considering the larger game plan of keeping the flocks of Mandal parties who are now part of I.N.D.I.A. Rahul Gandhi is well aware that most of the upper castes have already moved towards the BJP while Muslims have been voting for regional parties and OBCs for the Mandal parties. The Congress's vote bank is fast dwindling and confined to a few states. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi has joined the bandwagon of propounding the cause of the OBCs saying,”Jinti Abadi, Utna Haq”. But there is a trail behind Rahul Gandhi's new found love for the OBCs. The author is aware that Rahul Gandhi used to visit late Sharad Yadav frequently at his 7 Tughlaq Road residence even when he was in wilderness after parting company with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. When prodded, Yadav revealed that Rahul Gandhi has been visiting him to understand the caste-system in India and how the Dravidian movement in South changed the political landscape and how it traveled to North since the days of Ram Manohar Lohia to V P Singh. With Congress joining the Mandal bandwagon, it is argued that the OBCs and Muslims will change the political landscape in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

PM harping on “Garibi Hatao”

Strange it may sound but true that the BJP has not blasted Rahul Gandhi for advocating “Jitni Abadi Utna Haq” as vociferously as was expected. After initially criticizing Rahul Gandhi, the BJP went back into a shell. The BJP is aware that INDIA, a group of around 28 UN-homogeneous parties may be able to dent it in some of the states including UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh etc.

Prime Minister Modi, himself an OBC, has already hit the ground with his focus on Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs). He is strongly pitching on “Garibi Hatao” and those below the poverty line will be given the benefits. In addition, the BJP is focusing on women voters as a class with the reservation of 33% jobs. Historically, no party at the national level has won an election on the OBC plank. The Janata Dal under V P Singh considered as a messiah of the OBCs had to lick the dust in the 1991 Lok Sabha polls and the likes of Deve Gowda could not win votes outside Karnataka. It transpires that the Modi government is working on the Rohini Commission report and coming out with a new policy to give benefits to the poor among all the castes and create a new class. Modi may unfold his strategy either in the November's Winter or the Budget session.

Private Power play in Ministries

The Modi government is heavily banking on hiring talent from outside on a contract basis rather than relying on bureaucrats who came through stiff competition in government jobs. While some of the key positions in the financial sector had been handed over to non-Babus such as SEBI, PESB, CCI and other institutions. But it transpires that private companies are hired in a big way to handle publicity and image building campaigns of many ministries of the government. The trained staff at the Press Information Bureau (PIB) looks after the ministries as per their assignment. But the social media, publicity and strategy of more than a dozen ministries is being handled by private players. They have been hired on contract to come out with out-of-the-box thinking and plan campaigns to make a big impact. It is not immediately known whether these private companies have been hired through a competitive bidding or as per the likes of the powers that be. But the purpose is to come up with a strategy to popularize the Modi government's more than 100 welfare schemes on X (formerly twitter), FaceBook and other social media platforms.

Tailpiece: Raghav Chadha, AAP's Rajya Sabha MP, is facing tough times and that too immediately after he tied the knot last month. If on the one hand he is engaged in a bitter battle with the Rajya Sabha secretariat to retain his type VII house allotted to him by previous Chairman N Venkaiah Naidu, he is also in troubled waters due to liquor scam. Raghav Chadha, married to actress Parineeti Chopra, had to cancel the marriage reception planned in Delhi and Mumbai after the wedding in Udaipur. It transpires that the family members of Parineeti Chopra were not enthusiastic either about the marriage as cousin sister Priyanka Chopra, a global celebrity, missed the event though her mother Madhu Chopra was present.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

No Mega Probe Agency

If reports emanating from the Prime Minister's Office are any indication, a move to create a new post of Chief Investigating officer (CIO) to head a new oversight probe body has been put on the back burner. The new oversight body was to be created to oversee the investigation part of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the CBI. The stated objective to create this mega probe agency was to bring better coordination among them for all kinds of economic offenses. The current body- Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) – is considered a toothless wing under the Finance Ministry. It was felt that the new oversight body will replace the CEIB and will be given statutory powers. The government felt that there is a lot of overlap in the areas of investigation of the ED, CBI and other agencies and a CIO would bring better synergy among them. This will be on the lines of the post of the Chief of Defence Staff and the National Security Adviser.

It has been speculated that the post of the Chief Investigation Officer (CIO) in this new oversight body will go to Sanjay Mishra who was Director of the ED, had changed the face of this probe agency during his five years stint. Mishra's work at the ED was so outstanding that the current dispensation gave him one extension after the other even after his two years fixed tenure. The government even requested his continuance due to the ongoing review of the Financial Action Task Force, a global money laundering body in the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court kept prodding the government to relieve Mishra as he had been given several extensions and finally he was relieved of the post. It was in this background that the government planned to create the new oversight body and anoint Mishra as CIO. But the PMO is reported to have dragged its feet considering that it may have some adverse effect in an election year and create an avoidable controversy. The idea has been put on the back burner but not buried.

BJP's mounting problems

The BJP high command may have fallen back upon regional satraps in the key states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls by fielding Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh respectively. But it held back the name of Vasundhara Raje Scindia in Rajasthan for some strange reasons. The BJP high command had already told her that she will not be the face of the party for the post of Chief Minister. It is yet not clear whether she will be given a ticket or not. But some of her key supporters have already been denied the ticket in the first list. Even the Prime Minister while addressing a rally in a poll bound state had declared that the BJP's “Kamal” will be the face of the party and not anybody. Surprisingly, the PM refrained from prodding the crowd that they should have faith in him. On earlier occasions, the PM had been asking the crowds to vote for Modi and have faith in him. But during the current campaign, he is asking the people to vote for “Kamal Ka Phool”. It may be a tactical shift in his approach and shifting focus from an individual to the party.

There is considerable speculation in the BJP whether Vasundhara will accept this humiliation and take it lying down. She has not uttered a word in public and even her family members including four time Lok Sabha MP Dushyant Singh was heard saying, “We are all here because of her and justice must be done.” But one of her tweets indicated that the last word of her possible action has not been written. She wrote on “X”, “Just a day before yesterday I was on a tour of Barmer-Jaisalmer and even today the people of Malani and the public representatives have shown the same kind of affection, respect and hospitality towards me" with pictures of herself surrounded by crowds, hours after appearing to have been snubbed on Modi's stage at a rally in Jodhpur. Though she was given a place on the stage with the PM but did not address the meeting  and did not exchange a word throughout. However, she has not given up  and is traveling across the state and seeking blessings of prominent Hindu religious leaders. Will she give up? No one is sure.

BJP's unending LoP search

The BJP seems to be in serious trouble in Karnataka as well and facing its Waterloo even in defeat. After losing Assembly polls it has not been able to pick up its leader in the State Assembly even after six months. While the names of the former CM, Basavaraj Bommai, and those of R Ashoka and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal are doing the rounds for the post, the party has been struggling with infighting. Former Chief Minister B S Yediyurrapa is insisting that his son be nominated as the Leader of Opposition to retain the party's Lingayat base. But the high command is not yielding.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

BJP high command wants Scindia to Contest Assembly polls

There is considerable pressure on Union Cabinet Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to contest for the Assembly polls particularly after his aunt and four-time sitting MLA Yashodhara Raje Scindia opting out of the race. Ever since she had written to the BJP expressing her unwillingness to contest the upcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, citing pressing health reasons due to Covid, speculation about her nephew's Vidhan Sabha debut has gained ground.

Yashodhara Raje Scindia has been infected with COVID-19 four times since the pandemic began.

It transpires that the BJP high command wants that all heavyweights in Madhya Pradesh should contest the Assembly polls to ensure that the party gets a clear majority. The BJP has announced 136 candidates out of 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh so far. The list of 136 candidates include seven Members of Parliament including three Union Ministers like Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel. The high command wants Scindia to cintet either from his aunt's Shivpuri seat or any of the two other seats in Guna -- Bamori or Kolaras. These three assembly segments are part of Scindia's erstwhile Lok Sabha seat Guna, which he lost as sitting Congress MP to BJP's Dr KP Yadav in the 2019 general elections.

The BJP is putting its best foot forward as several internal surveys had predicted that the party is lagging behind the Congress. Though the AAP, BSP and GGP and other smaller parties are damaging the Congress in the Assembly polls. But BJP doesn't want to take any chances and may field more senior leaders in this bitter battle.

But Scindia is not keen as Congress is targeting him for bringing down the Kamal Nath government. The last list of the BJP's remaining candidates will be declared on October 15 say these sources.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Indian agencies on alert after Hamas attack on Israel

Indian security and intelligence agencies are on high alert after the terrorist attacks in Israel killing hundreds and wounding thousands of persons. While the unprecedented attacks on Israel by hundreds of Hamas armed soldiers is considered a massive intelligence failure of its agencies, it has made many countries across the globe to go into a huddle.

Since India is a strategic partner of Israel, it has all the more reason to be on alert as it has estranged neighbors across the borders.

India has also unequivocally condemned and denounced the terrorist attack and Prime Minister Modi was among the first to take to social media, posting on X (formerly Twitter) expressing solidarity with Israel.

It is learnt that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held discussions with heads of country's various security and intelligence agencies including RAW, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence, Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) and those handling anti-terror operations. The agencies are already on high alert due to Khalistani activists raising their heads in Canada, UK, Australia and other countries and the latest attack on Israel has sent shock waves across the globe. India has added reasons to be worried and doesn't want to be taken off-guard as Israel's Mossad is considered the world's super intelligence agency.

India is facing a similar situation in Jammu & Kashmir from across the border where militants from across the borders are infiltrating and involved in targeted killings. Though they were on the back foot and terror activities were decreased considerably. But lately, they are raising their heads again.

The Central and state armed Police forces are also being advised to take immediate steps to internal religious or regional conflicts in India and must step up their efforts to protect ethnic harmony.

With Pakistan and Afghanistan expressing their solidarity towards Palestine, urging for an immediate cessation of hostilities, India has reason to be worried too.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Clamour for caste survey grows in states

Even as the Prime Minister Modi accused the Opposition of playing with the “emotions of the poor and divided the country on caste lines” clamour is gaining ground in states to release caste surveys of the OBCs.

But the Congress is unruffled and moving fast to grab the opportunity and directed state leaders to act fast on the issue before the notification of elections is issued by the Commission.

The Odisha government headed by Naveen Patnaik has declared to release the findings of the Caste-Census. Though unofficially figures are already out. There is extreme pressure on the Karnataka government to release the Caste survey report conducted during the first stint of the Siddaramaiah tenure in 2013-2018.

In Madhya Pradesh, state Congress chief Kamal Nath said that his party will conduct a caste survey if it came to power. It was the Kamal Nath government which increased the OBC reservation quota from 14% to 27% in 2019. In Chhattisgarh, a similar survey of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) is being conducted.

The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) has started the process for a socio-economic and caste census in Maharashtra. The state assembly has approved a resolution in this regard.

The Kerala government has asked the State Commission for Economically Backward Classes to conduct a survey to find out the economic backwardness of the forward castes.

In Tamil Nadu, the reservation had touched 69% which includes OBCs far above the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, an OBC has supported a caste survey saying higher representation to OBCs as per their population in jobs and education. In Uttar Pradesh, there is silence in the ruling BJP but key allies including Union Minister Anupriya Patel have already supported the demand of Caste Survey in the state.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Who is the New Fall Guy 

After shutting the doors on Pakistan, Prime Minister Modi seems to have chosen Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the new fall guy. Modi has hardened his stand against Canada and there is no looking back at least in the near future. When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his allegation public saying that "Indian government agents" were involved in Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar declared in Washington that these allegations were not consistent with India's policy and termed charges as "absurd and motivated". He went on to blast Trudeau saying he had offered no evidence to support his allegation against India. Though Washington said that it was a shared intelligence information among Eye 5 nations alliance (US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and India should cooperate. But PM Modi seems to be in no mood to take this lying down. The Indian government went on to show the door to 41 Canadian diplomats in India to leave the country. India firmly conveyed to Canada and Washington that Canada has a "permissive attitude towards terrorists, extremists, and people who openly advocate violence against India '' and giving shelter to them. The lurking question is: why is Canada not making the evidence public against India? Reason: Canada cannot make any information public as under the Vienna convention, diplomats cannot be snooped by any country and they are exempted from any such action too. If Canada shares intelligence with India officially, it would establish that Canada or the US snooped on diplomats working in Canada  illegally. Such a disclosure will have far reaching consequences than the Nijjar killing. Perhaps, Trudeau had not realized that he is dealing with a different India. For PM Modi, Canada is a country where "organized crime from India mixed with trafficking in people, secessionism, violence, extortion and terrorism."

PM Modi firmly asked the Canadian PM to act on the list of anti-India terrorists freely operating there he had handed over to him in 2018. Modi reportedly remained tough with Trudeau when they had met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi. But Trudeau did nothing and Modi decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. It must be remembered that Modi had firmly told the US that India would continue to import Russian oil despite a blanket ban imposed by it. Modi told Washington that importing oil from Russia is part of its “oil security and national interest”. The US had to look the other way.

A big tactical shift

PM Modi made a major policy shift when he allowed the Indian forces to undertake surgical operations inside the PoK to destroy terror camps in Balakot in 2019. India had a declared policy that it will never cross the border to attack the enemy and would rather defend itself. But Balakot changed it all and Modi decided to launch a direct assault inside Pakistan. Those keeping a track of what our top intelligence agencies are doing world over say that Modi's hawkish approach is largely due to Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser (NSA) in the PMO for ten long years now. Doval had worked since the days of Indira Gandhi and is a Pakistan affairs expert. He was the one who plotted to pit a known terrorist gang to eliminate Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai in 2005. Doval was head of the Intelligence Bureau and had retired the same year in January. But he continued to assist the Indian agencies in their operations. It must be remembered that the government was headed by Dr Manmohan Singh then. It's a different matter that the operation failed due to the foolishness of Mumbai Police then. M K Narayanan, Dr Singh's NSA, joined the ranks of hawks after blasts took place in the Indian Embassy complex in Kabul, killing 58 people, including defence attaché Ravi Mehta and foreign service officer V. Venkateswara Rao in 2008. Narayanan declared to all Police chiefs' “the days of talks are over. It's for action.” Doval was in smiles as he had always maintained that “talk to Pakistan in its language” and “the doctrine of “offensive defence” should be the order of the day. If more than a dozen hardened terrorists in Pakistan, Italy and elsewhere have been eliminated in the recent past, one must remember that India has changed its policy under Modi. India has conveyed to the Western world, “ if we are giving our markets to you to make money, there is no free lunch. There is a cost and Canada must fall in line against terror.” The last word on Canada is yet to be written.

An unsung hero

An unsung hero of this new era is former Chief of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) Samant Goel, an IPS officer from Punjab cadre of 1984 who held the post for four years until June 2023. Most of the covert operations outside India can be attributed to the RAW under him. Of course, Doval was keeping his hawkish eye on what's happening around in these agencies. Samant Goel is cooling his heels after huge success making anti-India forces running for cover in Pakistan and taking shelter in 'Safe Houses' there. India's sleeper cells are active in Karachi, Lahore and PoK. The language of Pakistan has changed and public pressure is mounting for a peace deal with India.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Bitter Battle for OBC votes begins, Modi govt. may table Rohini Commission report

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may have bounced back after lying low for several weeks by releasing the report of Caste survey, the Modi government has the ace in its hands too. If sources in the government are to be believed, the Modi government may table the report of the Justice Rohini Commission regarding the sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as to how the benefits reach to the most backwards amongst the OBCs. The commission was established in 2017 and headed by retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, G Rohini to identify all Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and to formulate the method, basis, and criteria for a fair distribution of benefits among all the OBCs.

It is interesting that neither the Modi government nor the ruling BJP has officially commented on the caste survey released by the Bihar government. A senior BJP leader, on the condition of not being named, said that the Modi government's track record in giving representations to the OBCs has been far better than other governments at the Centre. In the present Union Council of Ministers, 27 Union Ministers belong to the OBC, 12 are Scheduled Castes and eight are Tribals. There are 85 Mps in the Lok Sabha out of 303 (27%). The trash-hold limit for OBCs in government jobs had been fixed at 27%. There is already a demand that the Supreme Court should review the ceiling of 50% for all kinds of reservations in jobs and benefits. Sources said that the Rohini Commission has suggested ways and means as to how the OBC quota policy include e sub-categorization and not to create a new hierarchy among OBCs.