by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fadnavis' trial balloon

The ruling BJP's face in Maharashtra and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is a master craftsman also. Recently, he fired a political balloon merely to test the waters and said that seat-sharing with the allies for the Lok Sabha elections has been clinched and the BJP will contest 26 seats out of 48. Obviously, the remaining 22 seats will go to the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. But all hell broke when allies signaled that no such decision had been taken. It was also claimed that no such discussion took place either. Sensing the mood, Fadnavis tried to calm down the tempers. But the fact remains that the NDA partners had reached an understanding that seats of all sitting Lok Sabha Mps of the alliance will go to the respective parties. The BJP had secured 23 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and one by its support to an Independent candidate. The other two NDA factions will contest 11 seats each on the basis of this formula. But their public comments may have put the issue in cold storage. But the BJP is determined to contest 26 seats in 2024.

Film stars to be fielded by the BJP

The Lok Sabha polls may be 6 months away. But the BJP leadership is busy selecting winnable candidates along with elections in five states. Reports emanating from the BJP headquarters suggest that it is looking for new faces from the film industry to be fielded in the Lok Sabha polls. Hema Malini has already crossed the age bar limit of 75 years, she may not be fielded from Mathura this time. Sunny Deol has also conveyed his unwillingness to contest and the BJP has to find a new face in Gurdaspur. The BJP is already facing a tough challenge in Punjab without an ally and searching for a new face. Similarly, Kiran Kher has not been keeping well for the past some time and the BJP will need a new face in Chandigarh. The names of popular Hindi cine stars Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut and Madhuri Dixit are being mentioned in this regard. Akshay Kumar has been close to the Prime Minister Modi and even became an anchor to take an interview of the PM before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It is said that he may be fielded from Delhi's Chandni Chowk seat. Kangana Ranaut has already expressed her desire to enter politics and may be pitched from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat against Congress' Pratibha Singh. Madhuri Dixit may also be fielded from either Mumbai North or Mathura. Three Bhojpuri actors; Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan and Dinesh Lal Yadav are already BJP MPs in addition to Locket Chatterjee (West Bengal) and Suman Lata, a Kannada film Star(Karnataka). The BJP wants some film stars from the South as well. Cricket star Virendra Sehwag's name is also doing the rounds to contest for Lok Sabha from Haryana.

Old Guards flexing Muscles !

The BJP leadership is facing a tough time as old guards in the party are reluctant to concede space. For them, Karnataka's powerful Lingayat leader B S Yediyurappa is a role model. The way BSY succeeded in ensuring that his son BY Vijayendra is installed as BJP president in Karnataka, has inspired leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vasundhararaje Scindia and others in many states. Some of the senior leaders, including the BJP national general-secretary (organisation), BL Santhosh, Union minister Prahlad Joshi and others skipped the event where  Vijayendra  assumed charge, sending a signal that the gulf is widening in states. BSY also ensured that his loyalist R.Ashoka was installed as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. But not many are happy with the alliance clinched with H D Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (S). However, it was conveyed to BSY that this alliance is only for the Lok Sabha polls and he should not worry too much. Insiders in the BJP say that many of the senior leaders, particularly those dropped from the Union Cabinet two years ago, are eagerly awaiting the results of the Assembly polls in five states. If the BJP does not fare well in these polls, the high command may face difficulties and may be forced to placate them to contain growing uneasiness.

Nitish gone into a shell

After his controversial speeches in the State Assembly and Legislative Council last month linking how women are asserting their right to contain population growth, Nitish Kumar was forced to tender an apology. Since then he has virtually gone into a shell. Even his staunch loyalists in the party and outside are wondering what has gone wrong with a shrewd leader like him. Bihar is abuzz with bizarre tales concerning how an absent-minded Nitish Kumar, went to the house of a Cabinet Minister twice for a cup of tea. He sipped the brew and went away only to return after some time asking for the tea again. Many say his style and manner has undergone a sea change and sudden outbursts over the past sometimes have risen. Once a darling of the media, Nitish Kumar has stopped inviting journalists to his Janata Durbars and other important functions and that his office no longer provides information about his daily schedule. Recently, he indicated to waiting journalists to go away with folded hands and bending forward thrice. A senior JD (U) leader said Nitish will speak only after the results of five assembly polls are out. His decision on OBC Census has already put the BJP on the back foot. It is clear that the OBC Census issue is catching up fast and PM Modi will have to find a way to deal with it.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Selective amnesia

An impression has gained ground that Governors appointed by the Modi government are on a warpath with the non-BJP governments in states. The Governors are making the lives of elected governments in states miserable. For example, Jagdeep Dhankhar as Governor of West Bengal was constantly involved in a bitter battle with TMC's Mamata Banerjee which gladdened the hearts of the Prime Minister which finally led him to the coveted post of Vice President. It is no secret that Kerala Governor  Arif Mohammad Khan was in the race for the top post and crossed swords with the Left Front government led by Pinarayi Vijayan on one issue or the other. Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has also been involved in a bitter battle with the M K Stalin government. The Supreme Court finally stepped in when the matter came to head over Governors sitting over files relating to bills sent by respective state governments for approval.  Lately, Banwarilal Purohit who was sent to Punjab, also did the same to Bhagwant Singh Mann government. But not all the governors crossed swords with Opposition-ruled states  and many of them enjoy cordial relations with them. For example, Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Governor of Karnataka and Congress Chief Minister Siddharamiah have extremely cordial relations so far. Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra is a good host to Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot though PM Modi bitterly accuses him of many scams and ED is also after his family members. 

 

Similarly, Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan is having a harmonious relationship with the Bhupesh Baghel government. The Telangana Governor, Tamilsai Soundararajan is another example of cordiality with the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao. Even her Andhra Pradesh counter-part Justice S. Abdul Nazeer has been maintaining extremely cordial relations with Jaganmohan Redy government. The same goes for the Odisha Governor, Raghubar Das. Even his predecessor Ganeshi Lal enjoyed good relations with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. There is no explanation as to why some states are witnessing this selective amnesia.

Tit For Tat 

The Congress may be flexing its muscles in the expectation of winning Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls and claiming to have an edge in Telangana as well over BRS' K Chandrashekhar Rao. The Congress refused to share any seat with any of its INDIA allies in the Assembly polls. The Congress’ argument was that  the INDIA alliance is for the Lok Sabha polls only. The allies are now waiting to give the Congress back in the same coin in the Lok Sabha polls. Be it JMM in Jharkhand, Samajwadi Party in UP or even RJD in Bihar, all are upset with the Congress and in no mood to allocate more Lok Sabha seats to Congress than it actually deserves in 2024. Of the 134 Lok Sabha seats in UP, Bihar & Jharkhand, the Congress could barely win three in the 2019 General Elections. Even these three seats were won by the Congress in alliance & adjustment with these parties. If the Samajwadi Party lent it’s helping hand in UP, the RJD was an ally in Bihar and the JMM was with the Congress in Jharkhand. The Congress contested nine seats in Jharkhand in alliance with RJD & JMM leaving only five for them but  could win one seat. In UP, the SP-BSP-RLD were in alliance and showed magnanimity by leaving two seats- RaeBareli and Amethi – for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi respectively. Yet, Rahul Gandhi lost the seat while Sonia Gandhi retained with a slander margin. In Bihar too, the Congress contested 11 seats out of 40 and could win one only. Therefore, angry allies may not share seats with the Congress liberally in 2024. The RJD has made it clear that it will share only 8 Lok Sabha seats and not 11 as was the case in 2019. It intends to give three seats to other smaller allies like the Vikasheel Insan Party, etc. In Jharkhand, the JMM is unwilling to give more than 7 seats. In UP, the SP may concede 5 seats only. A tit for tat indeed.

 Emergence of another Yogi

The BJP may have found going tough in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But pollsters are predicting an easy win for the BJP in Rajasthan as the faction-ridden party finally closed ranks. The front-runner Vasundhararaje Scindia was in all smiles as the high command accommodated in giving Assembly tickets to her supporters. However, the BJP fielded many Lok Sabha MPs in the Assembly polls including Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Diya Kumari. But the most surprising pick was Mahant Balak Nath who brands himself as ‘Rajasthan ka Yogi’. The Alwar MP Balak Nath is testing his electoral fortunes from the Tijara Assembly seat which the BJP won only once in five decades. The constituency is dominated by Yadavs, Muslims, and Dalits. The Mahant belongs to the Nath sect of Hinduism and was born into a Yadav family. If the BJP insiders are to be believed, Balak Nath could be a surprise pick for the top job. No one has a clue as to why he was picked as he hails from Haryana and fielded in the Lok Sabha from Rajasthan in 2019. Balak Nath was seen even touching the feet of Yogi Adityanath when he came to campaign for him. But many in the BJP say that Balak Nath is being groomed as a rival to Yogi Adityanath. The rise of Balak Nath has given jitters to many in the state as well. It transpires that the RSS was also in favour of grooming him as he is an OBC while Yogi Adityanath is a Rajput.

 

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

PM's Raths to be doubled to cover 2.55 lakh panchayats

 

In order to reach out to all 2.55 lakh panchayats covering 6.64 lakh villages across the country to promote the Prime Minister's welfare schemes, the number of Raths (buses) are to be doubled now. Earlier, it was decided that 1500 buses will be needed to complete the task within the next 70 days. But under the revised estimate, more than 2500 buses will be pressed into service. It also emerged that one Rath will not be able to cover three panchayats in a day but only two. One Nodal Officer is deployed and supporting manpower are traveling in each of the Rath to interact, resolve their problems on the spot and promote the PM's various welfare schemes. The PM launched the Rath Yatra Yatra on November 15 in Jharkhand and the process has to be completed on January 24 next year i.e. within 70 days. Effectively, there will be 55-60 working days available to each of the Rath under a Nodal Officer. It has been decided after a thorough review that more buses have to be deployed to meet the 70-day deadline.

A hi-tech monitoring room has been set up in the Rural Development ministry here which is connected to all these 1500 buses currently. This will be upgraded to connect to 2500 buses now. The government officials working directly under Amit Khare, Prime Minister's Adviser in the PMO, have to ensure that Nodal Officers enroll new beneficiaries if they have been left out of schemes and have to redress grievances on-the-spot. These raths are equipped with GPS and drones, these specially-designed Raths have LED display screens and pre-loaded audio-visual content to highlight major schemes. The objective is to create awareness about the benefits of welfare schemes like sanitation facilities, essential financial services, electricity connections, access to LPG cylinders, housing for the poor, food security, proper nutrition, reliable healthcare, clean drinking water, etc.

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

 

Modi fixing 2024 nuts & Bolts

 

Prime Minister Modi may have been addressing one rally after the other in four out of five poll bound states to bring fortunes to the BJP. But he has not lost sight of adding votes in his kitty for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as well. He has been traveling to non-poll bound states to woo tribal and other sections. Political analysts are baffled that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has suddenly gone silent against the Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren lately. This is despite the fact that Soren did not get any relief from courts against several summons issued by the ED and it was expected that Soren may be arrested anytime soon. But ED opted to stay quiet and no one has heard about the case for weeks together. The BJP leadership is also not attacking him as vociferously as it was doing in the past. His arch BJP rival and former Chief Minister Raghubar Das has been shunted out to Odisha as Governor. Is something cooking in Jharkhand? It seems the BJP is working on a plan to strengthen states where it is not in power to add Lok Sabha seats in its kitty. The "Operation Maharashtra" was also part of the same strategy where the BJP was worried about repeating its Lok Sabha performance in 2024. The operation in Karnataka is also underway and part of the same strategy where the BJP lost power to Congress.  The BJP has now tied up with the Janata Dal (S) leader H D Deve Gowda for the Lok Sabha polls to win all 28 Lok Sabha seats. It's a different matter that this led to the announcement by former Union Minister and Lok Sabha member, DV Sadananda Gowda to quit electoral politics. He belongs to the same Vokkaliga community to which HD Deve Gowda belongs. Though Sadanand Gowda is far below the cut off age of 75 years but he opted to call it a day. Clearly, the BJP has decided to bank on former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in the Lok Sabha polls to repeat its 2019 performance when it won 25 seats. There are reports that a plan to weaken the Congress government in the state will be operationalized after the Assembly polls.

 

 

It's BJP vs BJP in Madhya Pradesh

 

If you think that the BJP leadership in Madhya Pradesh is fighting with the Congress, you may be in for a surprise. The BJP's strategy to field four prominent central leaders; Narendra Singh Tomar, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Rakesh Singh and Prahlad Patel, is not paying rich dividends. The TV channels may be focusing on squabbles between Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh. But a close look will reveal that rival factions in the BJP are working at cross purposes to defeat some of these prominent leaders. No doubt, PM Modi and Amit Shah have been addressing a maximum number of rallies in Madhya Pradesh to retain the state and doled out one “Revadi after the other” to woo voters. But there is huge anti-incumbency against Shivraj Singh Chouhan. It is whispered in the BJP that if the party wins the state, it will be Prahlad Patel who will don the cap and not Chouhan. The surfacing of videos relating to Tomar's son is part of BJP's internal squabbles as no Congress leader has courage to run a fake video factory in the current era where the ruling party has arsenal like the ED, CBI & Income-Tax. The BJP is in a state of shock as not one but three videos have surfaced. It is no secret either that the Congress state leadership is gunning to defeat all candidates of Jyotiraditya Scindia who was instrumental in pulling down the Kamal Nath government. Some of the BJP leaders are indirectly assisting the Congress in this mission. There are wheels within wheels and the BJP's strategy to field central leaders in Assembly polls seems to be falling apart.

 

Rahul's knee problem

 

Rahul Gandhi's first phase of Bharat Jodo Yatra paid rich dividends personally and politically to him. The former Congress president was desperate to launch the second phase of his Bharat Jodo Yatra. But the announcement was delayed as he had knee-related issues while walking as part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra last year from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. He was admitted to the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala on July 21 and discharged after a week. Now the program for the second phase of yatra has been announced. But there is a catch; he won't be walking on the roads too much as he is not fully recovered and doctors have advised him to avoid walking on concrete roads or otherwise. He has been getting treatment from other experts as well but to no avail. Now it has been decided that he will use an open jeep, make-shift bus or other forms of traveling rather than walking on foot for more than one hour in a day. During the first phase of the Yatra he used to walk mostly on foot which led to damage to the knee.

Mahua's Bad patch

The TMC leadership may have given a key party post to Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra in her district. But her bad patch is far from over. There is no doubt that Ms Moitra will lose her Lok Sabha membership as per the recommendations of the Ethics Committee recommendation. Experts have opined that sharing her official login with an outsider itself is sufficient to initiate action. The other two aspects relating to gifts, renovation and favours in terms of kind and cash is a matter of further investigation. But in the process, Mahua Moitra also lost the membership of a prestigious club. She had applied for its membership and was invited for an interaction so that she could be given an out-of-turn opportunity. But luck didn't favour her.

 

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

India scouting for rare Lithium

 

A global war of sorts has begun for the vital mineral Lithium needed for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and India has joined the race  to promote green energy in the  transportation sector. If it is focusing on importing the vital mineral from more than 50 countries, it is also working to extract Lithium within India too.

 

India's import has taken a quantum jump from a mere NOS 12502 in 2011-12 to  72,375 NOS in 2019-20 of one variety. With regard to the high-end quality of Lithium, the import was 539,427 NOS in 2019-20, as per official data. The imports were from more than 50 countries including Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Israel, Singapore and smaller countries like Malta, Estonia etc.

Simultaneously, the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research has established 1600 tonnes (inferred category) Lithium resource in Karnataka. In addition, the Geological Survey of India has carried out a ‘preliminary exploration’ of Rare Earth Elements and Lithium in Salal Haimna areas of Reasi District, Jammu & Kashmir. The government has confirmed an inferred resource (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore in the state. The government is also exploring ways and means to auction the Lithium mineral block including private sector companies. A decision in this regard will be taken by the J&K government soon.

India is also entering the critical minerals fray to get Lithium to promote EV in a big way. It set up KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd), a joint venture of three PSUs (NALCO, HCL & MECL) on the pattern of ONGC Videsh (OVL), to secure India’s supplies of strategic minerals through global investments. The global production of lithium stood at 84,000 tons in 2021 and KABIL is trying hard to procure Lithium from abroad and also invest in mineral production in other countries.

 

 

 

 

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

58 Mps expelled from Parliament and counting

Mahua Moitra of the TMC may be the last in the series of Mps expelled by the Parliament and the number is rising by the year. Its a different matter many Mps staged a come back even after being expelled from the House. The recent disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha is a testimony of it when he was expelled and his membership was restored too. But Mahua Moitra's case is on a different footing as she may be expelled on the recommendation of the Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee. These expulsions or disqualifications are since 1951 onward.

The disqualification of these lawmakers have been on various grounds like changing political allegiances, for conduct unbecoming of a parliamentarian and after being convicted by a court for crimes that have a jail term of two years or more.

In recent times, six members of the BJP, two from BSP and one each from the Congress and RJD were expelled from the Lok Sabha in 2005 over the ‘cash for query’ scam. One Rajya Sabha member from BSP too was expelled from the House.

A majority of cases were under the anti-defection law and less for the violation of code of conduct falling under the Ethics committee or the privileges committee of the House. Some of the Mps were expelled as they were holding Office of Profit which included JMM's Shibu Soren and SP's Jaya Bachchan. Sonia Gandhi quit on her own for holding an office of profit of Chairperson of the National Advisory Council.

PM Indira Gandhi was expelled from the Lok Sabha in 1977 over obstruction, harassment and bringing false cases. But the motion of expulsion was later rescinded by the House.

Her arch critic Subramanian Swamy was expelled from the Rajya Sabha in 1976 for his derogatory conduct. HG Mudgal was a Lok Sabha member in 1951 and was expelled over accepting money for favours in Parliament.

Ten members of Lok Sabha including three from BJP were expelled in 2006 under cash for query scam. Vijay Mallya quit before he could be expelled from the Rajya Sabha for a Rs 9000 crores scam.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

BJP Hijacks  Rahul's OBC poll Pitch

The BJP may have been countering the 'Mandal' politics by its 'Kamandal' weapon all these years. But the on-going Assembly polls saw the BJP joining the race for the OBC votes (read Mandal). The BJP stayed away from caste politics and focused on Ram Temple and Hindu card to reap the poll harvest since 1991. But 2023 has turned out to be different when its top leadership has joined the race for OBC votes.

The PM himself promised to the voters in Telangana that if the BJP came to power, it will install an OBC as its Chief Minister. It's a different matter that the top BJP leadership is silent on bringing back its OBC leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan as Chief Minister if the party wins Madhya Pradesh. Modi also show-cased his OBC credentials saying, “You have blessed me, an OBC, to become PM and do the same for making a Backward Class leader as state CM.

 

The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah has also grabbed the OBC card saying that it was the BJP that had ordered the OBC Census in Bihar when it was in power along with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It has refrained from attacking Nitish Kumar for tabling the report of the OBC Census except for alleging that the report hides more rather than revealing true facts. Amit Shah went to the extent of saying that the BJP gave the country's first OBC Prime Minister and their welfare is fully protected under the party. It is clear that the BJP wants to hijack Rahul Gandhi's OBC Census poll pitch rather than seeking votes in the name of Ram Temple in these elections.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Modi Govt.'s Reforms go for a Toss

 

Irrespective of the outcome of the Assembly polls in five states, the reform process initiated by the Modi government itself during the past couple of years have come to a grinding halt. While the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed in 2019 as the biggest ever reform, the rules are yet to be notified. Under the act, Indian citizenship is to be granted to persecuted minorities who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. The Act does not mention Muslims. The Home Ministry has sought 8^th extension to make rules pertaining to this historic Act. The National Register of Indian Citizens (NRC) has also been put in the cold storage for the past four years. In the process, the first phase of Census 2021 was postponed due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid is behind but there are no signs of conducting Census in the country either. The delay in Census will also push back the process delimitation exercise though the Modi government is determined to undertake Census only after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Modi government has been unable to bring in any major electoral reform either though it is showcasing Electoral Bonds as a major weapon to eliminate black money in the polls. It's a different matter that recoveries made by the Election Commission of huge cash and kind in the on-going Assembly polls belies these claims. Until the other day PM Modi was telling the states and political parties not to encourage the culture of freebies as it will harm the economy. Now the BJP is in the fore-front of promising Revadis to woo the voters in Assembly polls leaving the rivals far behind.

 

 

Labour Laws on Back burner

 

 

The Modi government brought the biggest ever reforms in the Labour sector heralding a new era to accelerate industrial growth and bring a new work culture. The labour codes were made by the Labour Ministry way back in 2019-20. It's nearly four years but the labour codes have not been notified. The foreign investors have developed cold feet in setting up industrial production in the absence of these codes. The roll out of the four labour codes aimed at consolidating a complex web of 29 central labour laws, has been pushed back indefinitely. All trade unions including the RSS' affiliate BMS have termed these codes anti-worker. The Code is relating to Wages, Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions and Social Security.

 

Since labour is primarily a state subject, some of the states have begun to reform their legislation in a bid to boost economic growth to bring FDI in the manufacturing sector. One of the key amendments is that industrial establishments with 100 or more employees had to obtain government permission to lay off even a single worker, whether permanently or temporarily, or to close business units. However, the new Industrial Relations Code raises this threshold to 300 and allows states to set an even higher threshold than 300. The reforms will also remove the existing ban on employing people on fixed-term contracts.

Some of the states like Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh issued notifications to increase the maximum daily work hours for workers in their state to 12 hours. However, Rajasthan and UP subsequently withdrew their notifications. But Karnataka brought in labour laws allowing 12-hour shifts in factories and night working for women to bring in assembling of units pertaining to iPhones for Apple, such as Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. Now UP and TamilNadu are likely to make similar changes. But the Centre has gone into a shell.

 

 

Data Protection rules on a slow path

 

 

After a prolonged battle, the Modi government was able to pass the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. But clearing the rules of the most controversial Act is an equally Herculean task and the same may not be passed during Parliament's Winter session either. This is likely to further delay the implementation of the law enacted. Though the rules are ready, the government doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get the same passed. The government is toying with the idea of seeking public opinion on these rules as most of the companies are not ready to accept some of the provisions of the Act and want liberal approach. It is learnt that major players in the industry want a two year period to implement the DPDP rules after they are finalized.

 

The DPDP affects almost every Indian using the mobile phone, email account or any other form of the internet. There is a long process even after rules are notified as a Data Protection Board will be set up. As India's first-ever dedicated legislation for digital privacy, the DPDP Act provides broad principles of collection and processing of personal information in digital form. The Act is stringent in the sense that it prescribes monetary penalties of up to Rs 250 crore for each instance of a data breach and blocking of entities in case of repeated violations. The government is worried over the alarming rise in cases of data leaks of Aadhaar, bank accounts and other details. The hackers have even broken into the FaceBook account holders and made them vulnerable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall 

PM-Dhankhar rare bonhomie

The Vice Presidents are selected by the Prime Ministers of the day on the basis of their abilities and trust earned by them. At times, the selections are not necessarily due to close personal relations. In recent years, it is well known that Krishan Kant and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat were picked up by I K Gujral and Atal Behari Vajpayee respectively due to their personal friendship. Dr Hamid Ansari was not  personally close to the UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi and yet he  made the cut for ten long years as VP. Similarly, M Venkaiah Naidu was not close to Narendra Modi either and that's why he was neither promoted as the President and nor repeated like Dr Hamid Ansari as the VP. However, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's case is different. Modi personally picked him up due to his old association when he was a practicing Supreme Court lawyer and interacted with him on numerous occasions. When Dhankhar was appointed as Governor of West Bengal there was surprise in political circles. But Dhankhar earned Modi's confidence by his functioning as Governor. His extremely proactive approach in handling the mayhem after Mamata Banerjee's win in Assembly polls in 2021 gladdened Modi's heart. Dhankhar's promotion as VP was well-earned. Dhankhar continues to be extremely proactive in his role as VP over his numerous visits to Rajasthan and had a verbal duel with state Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue. 

  Insiders say that Dhankhar and PM Modi have developed an extremely close relationship and both of them meet more frequently than reported in the media and share their thoughts on issues of importance. Modi is extremely happy with Dhankhar the way he has handled the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha as Chairman. Dhankhar's selection as VP may have been attributed to placating the Jat community in Rajasthan and elsewhere. But insiders say that it had more to do with personal chemistry rather than vote bank politics.

How the Presidents are chosen 

The selection of the President is based on different parameters as per the prevailing political situation. Normally, the selections are done in consultation with allies if it's a coalition government and the top leadership of the ruling party is also consulted. History tells us that Presidents were not close confidants of the Prime Minister since Independence beginning with Dr Rajendra Prasad. The Prime Ministers always wanted to pick up their trusted loyalists for the top post for the smooth functioning of the government and preferred a “rubber stamp” person. Barring Giani Zail Singh or to some extent Pranab Mukherjee, none of the occupants of the chair chose their own path to the embarrassment of the party leadership. 

At times, the Presidents were selected due to setting an example too such as in the case of picking Dr APJ Abdul Kalam by Atal Behari Vajpayee. Even PM Modi picked up Ramnath Kovind and Droupadi Murmu for the President's post purely due to political considerations. Both of them were no Modi loyalists per se or his close confidants. They were picked to enhance the party's outreach in communities they belonged to.

BJP buckles under pressure

After a long time, the BJP high command has shown signs of buckling under pressure due to ground realities. If the rule of not giving tickets to leaders over and above 75 years old was broken, the high command also retracted from its hardened position against powerful regional satraps. It is no secret that the BJP high command and Vasundhara Raje Scindia (Rajasthan), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh) and Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh) were not on the same page. On the contrary, Ms Scindia and Raman Singh were completely sidelined for the past several years. Though Chouhan was inducted as Chief Minister, he was left to fend for himself. Even senior party MPs felt that they have been sidelined and a sword always hangs over their heads over tickets in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Lately, the high command showed signs of change and succumbed to the ground reality that without three regional Satraps, the party would be a divided house. Not only their tickets were cleared but their supporters were also accommodated. Political analysts were also surprised that the Maharashtra Governor, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were in the same frame at the Sai Temple pooja ceremony with the Prime Minister, Modi. Normally, the PM is not seen on such occasions in the company of other leaders. In Karnataka also, the BJP leadership has decided to go along with BS Yedyurappa. 

Congress losing grip in MP

Till about two months ago, the Congress was perceived to be racing ahead in the coming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. But the Bharatiya Janata Party is said to have narrowed the gap with most political pundits now saying that the election promises to be a close fight between the two parties. There is all-round agreement, endorsed privately by many Congress leaders, that state party chief Kamal Nath’s over-confidence could prove to be their undoing. There is a growing perception in the state that Kamal Nath and his immediate coterie is acting as if they are already in power. On the other hand, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is going out of his way to beat anti-incumbency though the BJP is hoping that its decision to field a record number of MPs in the high-stakes contest will help counter the fatigue factor against Mr Chouhan. This is evident from the memes and social media posts doing the rounds with one titled "Mama ka bidai nimantaran" showing Mr Chouhan being carried in a palanquin, giving December 3 as the date of the occasion and the chief minister’s residence as the venue.