by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Modi drawing a leaf out of Musk's book, Really !

Is Prime Minister Modi drawing a leaf out of US billionaire Elon Musk's book who has been tasked with trimming the size of the US government by Donald Trump. Certainly not! Ever since Modi came to power in 2014, he has been keen to trim the size of the Central Government and cut wasteful expenditure. He did not fill vacancies in the government for a long time and took some drastic steps to discipline the bureaucracy as well which sent the right signals. It is not that his predecessors did not focus on this aspect. The official data reveals that in 2012, the central government employed 8.5% of the organized workforce, down from 12.4% in 1994. Surely, under Modi the figure must have come down drastically. As per a reply given in Parliament, as of July 1, 2023, there were 48.67 lakh working employees and 67.95 lakh retired central government employees. Modi also did not succumb to the pressures to bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) though some of the BJP ruled state  governments reverted to the OPS under political compulsions.

Modi can't brag publicly that he will cut down the size of the government as is being witnessed in the US by President-elect Donald Trump and his team. It's a highly sensitive issue in India where population is massive and rising unemployment has a direct bearing on the stability of any government. The Modi government is dependent on two major allies after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and taking hard decisions rather quietly. He had set up a task force under the chairmanship of former Infosys CEO SD Shibu Lal in 2021 to implement his 'Karmyogi' vision in the bureaucracy to train the 'Babus' inthe fast changing technological world. He is also encouraging the system of bringing talent on contract basis from the private sector in a big way though it has not been successful. Reason! The bureaucracy is so entrenched in the system that an outsider finds it difficult to survive.

PSUs-  A Milking Cow Now

The PM's plan to turn PSUs into profitable ventures has borne fruits after 10 years of strenuous work. The appointment of Mallika Srinivasan who is the first private sector specialist to lead the all powerful Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) in 2021 signaled a new era. Srinivasan was Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Limited, a private sector company. Her leadership at the PESB has been instrumental in enhancing the transparency and efficiency of the selection process for key managerial positions. Modi is so pleased with her work that he extended her tenure for one more year until November 2025 beyond the age limit of 65 years and amended the rules. The PESB's task is to make key appointments of 300 plus PSUs under the Union government and a majority of them were running into huge losses. 

The Modi government may have been accused by the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, that it is working for capitalists like Ambani and Adani. But Modi has turned a majority of them into profit making companies and not selling them for a song as was the case earlier. The Opposition also charged the Modi government of privatizing 23 PSUs created by his predecessors including the biggest privatization of Air India which was bleeding it for two decades. The government kitty has swelled as shares were off-loaded in tranches at a huge price and earned it dividends too. It's a different matter that the government was unable to meet its disinvestment program in 2023-24  being it an election year. There are reports that the NITI Aayog recommended selling off the eight major public sector fertilizer companies in a gradual manner. But the government delayed it as it is re-opening some closed plants to increase domestic production. The government aims to reduce its reliance on imported fertilizers and make them self-sufficient before selling them. It hopes to cut urea imports by 30% sooner than expected. The fertilizer subsidy has already been reduced from Rs 1,88,894 crore in FY24 to Rs 1,64,000 crore in FY25.

Dual charge Galore Under Modi Govt.

The Modi government has resorted to another method to cut costs. It has started giving not only dual charge but even four departments, companies or even ministries to one bureaucrat or political leader. He is also keeping a large number of companies headless for a long time and giving additional charge to the same bureaucrat who is heading another department. If reports are to be believed, as many as more than three dozen bureaucrats are holding dual or triple charge. This compromises independence of the decision making process. The latest is the case of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which is a vital body to regulate quality and standards of food items. The chairman's post has been lying vacant for three years after former Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer, retired in November 2021. Now Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Secretary for Health & Family Welfare, is holding the additional charge. There has been utter confusion in the government over who shall be appointed as FSSAI Chairman, a bureaucrat or a scientist. The name of a retired IAS officer was recommended but top authorities wanted a scientist or a domain expert to head the FSSAI. The name of a scientist was also recommended and the ACC was expected to clear it but it did not happen. Before Ms Srivastava, Rajesh Bhushan who was Union Health Secretary was holding the additional charge of FSSAI. Apporva Chandra, another Health Secretary, also headed FSSAI.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

RSS Puts its might behind BJP in Maharashtra polls

Held 20k meetings, going door to door

The RSS leadership is understood to have conveyed to the BJP that the Mahayuti is gaining an edge in Maharashtra Assembly polls. The RSS had already held more than 20,00 group meetings and will attain the 50,000 mark before the polling on November 20. Its army of volunteers is knocking at every door in the majority of constituencies and establishing personal contacts. The RSS deputed its key functionaries, including its Joint general secretary Atul Limaya. The RSS and BJP decided to change the course of strategy and came up with the slogan of Hindu unity such as 'Batenge toh katenge' (If divided, we will perish) and 'Ek hain to Safe hain' (United and safe) to counter MVA's planks of 'caste census' etc. Secondly, the RSS launched its 'Sajag Raho' campaign to galvanise support through its all 65 frontal organizations.

Interestingly, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who raised the slogan “Batenge toh katenge,” gained traction among the voters in Maharashtra which did not witness religious divide earlier. The BJP leadership focus also remained on ‘Ek hai toh safe hai’ (We are safe if we are united).” Even the PM resonated it several times at the rallies. The BJP is amplifying this campaign based on the PM's slogans with front-page newspaper advertisements.

Though there is rural distress due to a variety of reasons and farmers are upset in the cotton, soybeans and onion belt. But there is also a realization among the people that with the PM, Narendra Modi at the Centre and Mahayuti in the state, they will have a better future. The RSS put its entire might behind the BJP after the two came together after the BJP got a huge drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. It was believed that the RSS did not work whole-heatedly in the LS polls and the BJP realized its folly. The gulf between the two was bridged and the two worked together in Haryana and now in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Justice Chandrachud as New NHRC Chairman?

The Capital is rife with reports that Justice D Y Chandrachud who retired as Chief Justice of India (CJI) may be appointed as the next Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Insiders in the Modi dispensation say that the top NHRC post had been kept vacant by the government ever since Justice Arun Mishra demitted it in June 2024. It is almost six months since the post has been lying vacant and speculation has gained grounds that Justice Chandrachud would be an ideal person for it. Currently, NHRC Member Vijaya Bharti Sayani has been holding the charge of Chairman after Justice Arun Mishra retired. Sayani was appointed as acting NHRC chairman on June 5, 2024.

If reports are to be believed the new Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna has recommended Chandrachud's name for the coveted post. It was already in the realm of possibility that Justice Chandrachud may be given some key role after his retirement. The recommendation has gone to the Law Ministry and the process of selection has been set in motion. As per the law, the chairman should be a retired or serving Chief Justice of a judge of the Supreme Court of India or the high court. Earlier, the law stipulated that NHRC chairman would be a retired Chief Justice of India only. But this created a problem as not many were available for the post. The Act was amended as ambit was widened. The Chairperson and Members of the Commission are appointed by the President on the recommendations of a Committee comprising the Prime Minister as the Chairperson, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, the Home Minister, the leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya.

Rahul has a role in NHRC Chairman's selection

All eyes are set on Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi as to what he will do in the selection of new NHRC chairman. Until now the Gandhis had been ruling the system by proxy and doing the back-seat driving. Rahul Gandhi even skipped the coveted responsibility to become the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament. As LoP, Rahul Gandhi has many responsibilities during this journey. But Rahul Gandhi chose to hand over the reins of PAC to his trusted lieutenant K C Venugopal. But as an LoP, he is part of the selection process of not only the Chairman of the NHRC but also selects Director, CBI, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Chief Election Commissioner, Central Information Commissioner, Chief and Members of the Lokpal and other institutions.

Rahul Gandhi will come face-to-face with PM Narendra Modi in such committees during the next few months as after the NHRC, the CEC Rajiv Kumar is also due to retire in early 2025. Gandhi has a Cabinet rank as LOP giving him first-ever Constitutional position but that comes with responsibility. One will have to see the outcome of the first encounter with the PM as the INDIA Bloc parties have already indirectly criticised Chandrachud for hosting the PM at his residence on the Diwali pooja.

How to fight Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi

The BJP, world's largest political party and India's oldest political party, the Congress are struggling for the past 11 years to dislodge Arvind Kejriwal from his Delhi citadel. The BJP has been extremely aggressive in dislodging Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly polls during February 2025 polls. The poll announcement will take place anytime December end. The BJP is hoping to end its 30-year long drought in the national Capital though it has been winning all seven Lok Sabha seats for the past three parliamentary polls. It is wooing all prominent leaders of the AAP and Congress and leaving nothing to chance. Recently, the Centre provided Y category security to Arvinder Singh Lovely who quit the Congress to join the BJP. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is determined to snatch the UT to prove his mettle in Delhi.

The Congress is also struggling to snatch back the power from Kejriwal after he dislodged Sheila Dixit in 2013 who ruled for 15 years. The efforts of some INDIA bloc leaders to bring AAP-Congress together in Delhi failed though Kejruiwal was amenable to the suggestion. It transpires that Rahul Gandhi's Man-Friday Ajay Maken torpedoed the move. The Congress leaders wonder why Rahul Gandhi gave him so much importance particularly when he lost his own deposit in the Assembly polls last time. Rahul Gandhi appointed him as chairman of the Screening committees in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Haryana. But the party lost all the states and no responsibility was fixed on him for these losses. Maken continues to be the blue-eyed boy of Rahul Gandhi.

Tailpiece: What's common between Assam & Jharkhand ! Not really but it's true during the elections. Jharkhand witnessed a battle within a battle. The Congress deputed its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, as a senior coordinator for the state polls while the BJP appointed Assam CM as its co-in-charge for Jharkhand, Himanta Biswa Sarma who has been wooing the Adivasi population in the state. The Congress hopes Gogoi will be able to counter Sarma’s plank by flagging the BJP’s unfulfilled promises for Assam’s tea tribes. It's a bitter battle between the two as there were bypolls in Assam too.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Mystery of Lawrence Bishnoi being holed up in Sabarmati Jail

The case of Lawrence Bishnoi being holed up in the Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat since August 28, 2023 continues to baffle Police & security forces of many states where the B-Gang kingpin is wanted in several criminal cases. In a mysterious move, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Gujarat police took the custody of Lawrence Bishnoi from Punjab Police in connection with a drug smuggling case. It was in September 2022, when 34 kg of heroin was seized from a Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast. Though it was a joint operation conducted by the Gujarat Police and the Indian Coast Guard, the case remained with the state police. Lawrence Bishnoi was taken for questioning about his possible links in connection with the drugs worth nearly Rs 195 crore, from a Pakistani fishing boat ‘Al- Tayassa’ in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast in September 2022. Six Pakistani nationals were arrested after the drugs were recovered from the boat. 

It was almost a year after the arrest of these accused, Bishnoi emerged as the person on whose instructions drugs were being smuggled from Pakistan to India. Interestingly, Lawrence Bishnoi had been operating in most of the North Indian states and Maharashtra also. But he had kept away from his extortion and criminal activities from Gujarat. In the instant case, Lawrence Bishnoi was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) (UAPA) Act and taken to Ahmedabad by air and produced before a court on remand. Later, he was shifted to high-security jail in Sabarmati in August 2023.

Bishnoi's Tihar to Sabarmati Yatra via Punjab

Earlier, Bishnoi was lodged in Delhi's infamous Tihar Jail where he was being interrogated in several cases of extortion and conspiracy to kill. It was from here that the Punjab Police took him to Bathinda and later, he was whisked away by the Gujarat ATS. The Gujarat Police linked Bishnoi to Bharat Bhushan alias Bhola Shooter who was a member of his gang. Bhola had died in Gujarat while being in jail in 2021 in the Morbi drug seizure case where he was running a drug network from inside the jail in Punjab. Though Bishnoi's name cropped up in the Morbi case as well, he hogged the limelight long after the Gujarat ATS linked him to the drugs seized from the Pakistani boat and remained in the safe confines of the Sabarmati  jail. The Mumbai Police's repeated attempts from June 2024 to gain Bishnoi's custody has only stumbled into legal roadblocks under Section 268(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibiting transfer of prisoners without the state government's approval. The Gujarat government has refused to transfer Bishnoi outside the state and even the access to interrogate him is also denied. The Union Home Ministry empowered the Gujarat Police under this section to refuse Bishnoi's transfer to any other state. There is also a mystery as to why the Gujarat ATS swung into action in the midst of Bishnoi's interrogation of Bishnoi in connection with threat to businessman Kunal Chhabra who had received an extortion call from the B-Gang. The gang wanted Rs 5 crores from him.

The Bishnoi gang video call to Chhabra dates back to 2023 demanding Rs 5 crores. It is learnt that Chhabra approached Nadir Shah in South Delhi who was also running his own gang. He wanted Nadir to help him and promised him Rs one crore to bail him out. Chhabra is allegedly running illegal call centers and based in Dubai. Nadir Shah did some fixing and an officer of Delhi Police told Bishnoi to back off Chhabra who is willing to pay Rs one crore. At this, Bishnoi told the officer that Chhabra will now have to pay Rs ten crores. Nadir Shah paid the price by losing his life later in a shooting incident.

Will Rahul's gamble pay off ?

After losing Haryana and Jammu, Rahul Gandhi decided to take the command of setting alliances and adjustments in his own hand rather than leaving it to the leadership of concerned states. Even state observers appointed to oversee the poll strategies and related issues by the AICC were virtually made powerless. The same had happened in Madhya Pradesh when Rahul sent observers like Randeep Singh Surjewala and others. But they were too junior to withstand Kamal Nath's aura and personality. Ultimately, the party and Rahul Gandhi paid the price. The same happened in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh too.

Rahul Gandhi changed tack and chose to appoint senior leaders as observers for Jharkhand, Maharashtra Assembly polls such as Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury there. Senior leaders were deputed region-wise. Gehlot and Karnataka Deputy CM G Parameshwara have been assigned Mumbai and Konkan region while Vidarbha region will be handled by former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi (Punjab) and Madhya Pradesh MLA and former minister Umang Singhar. Sachin Pilot and senior Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy have been deputed to Marathwada region while former Chhattisgarh Deputy CM T S Singhdeo and senior Karnataka Minister MB Patil have been assigned Western Maharashtra. Senior Rajya Sabha MP Syed Nasser Hussain and senior Telangana minister D Anasuya Seethakka have been asked to look after North Maharashtra. Senior leaders Mukul Wasnik and Avinash Pande have been appointed state election senior coordinators. The Congress and BJP are face-to-face in nearly 75 plus Assembly seats in Maharashtra and the fate of the next government hinges on the outcome, say observers.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Why Diwali is different in Lutyens' Delhi

The Diwali festival is celebrated in world Capitals including the White House in the USA for almost two decades. The Prime Ministers of UK, Australia, Canada and other countries also host guests at their official residences to celebrate Diwali. The Hindu festivals are celebrated with fervour across many western countries. Lately, this culture has started even in several Muslim countries where Diwali parties are held. This pattern started in the late 1990s in the US and the UK particularly after the arrival of PM Atal Behari Vajpayee on the scene. Vajpayee visited the US and held rallies of people of Indian origins and wooed them and took several initiatives to resolve their issues. Vajpayee was affable and jovial too and connected instantly with the people and was taken in high esteem. Diwali was a special festival for him when hundreds lined up to share the spirit of the festival with him in the PMO. He held regular parties with staff on Diwali day and even with other sections. His successor Dr Manmohan Singh who also held the office for ten years, believed in a quieter Diwali. It's a different matter that some Prime Ministers hold Iftar parties regularly. Even a few of the Presidents held Iftar parties at Rashtrapati Bhawan. But times have changed and Diwali or Iftar parties are almost a history. Of course, some of the ministers celebrate festivals they wish to at their official residences.

Modi wrote his own script

The Diwali Festival, most revered for the Hindus across the world, has never been the same in the Lutyens' Delhi after the advent of Modi as Prime Minister in 2014. He wrote his own script even in celebrating the Diwali festival instead of making it a mega event after creating history by winning a majority on his own in three decades by any party. He quietly moved out of the Capital on the day to be with soldiers on the borders. He began a new tradition and started celebrating Diwali with security forces in Siachen in 2014. “From the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier & with the brave Jawans & Officers of the Armed Forces, I wish all of you a Happy Diwali,” he had tweeted at the time. Next year, he chose to visit three memorials in Punjab to honour the successes of the Indian Army in the 1965 war.

In 2016, his Diwali destination was Himachal Pradesh to be with soldiers near the China border. He interacted with men from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Dogra Scouts and the Army at Sumdoh; and made an unplanned stop at a village, Chango. In 2017, Modi visited the Gurez sector in North Kashmir and chose to spend Diwali in Uttarakhand’s Harsil and the iconic Kedarnath Dham. It was the same story in subsequent years when he celebrated Diwali with soldiers in one state after the other. In 2022, he was with soldiers in Kargil and paid tribute to the Army personnel who lost their lives in the 1999 Kargil war and in Lepcha in Himachal Pradesh next year.

Perhaps, 2024 was different in the sense as he celebrated Diwali in the PMO itself on January 22, 2024 sharing photos on X with the caption "Ram Jyoti"; the lighting of diyas is meant to recreate how Ram's subjects welcomed his return after his 14-year exile. He lit the Diyas in the evening at his official residence to celebrate an early Diwali after he led the 'pran pratishtha' of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in UP in the morning.

Tombs and monuments up for the grab now

A lot more has undergone a change in Lutyens' Delhi; not the Diwali spirit alone. It transpires that India's heritage monuments are gradually being passed over to the private players. Look at the southern gateway of Humayun’s Tomb under the Ministry of Culture’s “Adopt a Heritage” scheme. It's under the monument’s makeover plan that you have not only a restaurant, a ‘vision document’ of the company entrusted with ‘adopting’ the 16th century complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site but also proposes a café atop the western entry gate. The restaurant and the café will be accessed by elevators installed abutting the historical structures. And there’s more: a gaudy sound and light show on the tomb’s western façade; and special events and private dining in the gardens.

When a private player with little experience in conservation came forward to “adopt” the Red Fort in 2018, it was claimed that it would change the entire culture. Since the founder of the company that was given the contract was closely associated with the powers that be, it became an added qualification. In March 2024, the group, an off-shoot of a foundation, was also given by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Humayun’s Tomb, but also the Purana Qila, Safdarjung’s Tomb, and the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The ASI has signed 19 MoUs with corporate entities, covering more than five dozen monuments across the country, including the Qutub Minar, the Elephanta Caves, and the Sun Temple of Konark. The idea was first floated by the Ministry of Culture scheme to put Delhi’s most renowned monuments in the care of a private foundation to save money from the government. But it ended up in making these monuments places of rich and fine dining clubs.