[dropcap]M[/dropcap]odi, Modi, Modi.., yes those exactly were the words I was enchanting when I voted him for the first time, then for the second time. A man of his words, his promises, a man of passion, excellence & performance, a man whom I always admired and wanted to be one, who gets supernatural with his excesses every time he makes his presence in the media. A man with a conviction to change India.
So, what has changed?
Is it the mindset, shift of focus, ignorance, arrogance what exactly it is?
How your attention shifted from a man leading by example last year to a man making his own country a living hell this year. This in turn shifted your image from the biggest motivator to the biggest violator of the Covid-19 norms. Yes sir, I want to question your loyalty to your political rallies, your religious congregation and your absolute denial of the severity and seriousness of the pandemic.
How did your attention shift from providing us with a world-class healthcare infrastructure to getting our hospitals run out of beds, oxygen, ventilators and other basic needs? Millions have died, are dying, will die. Mortuaries are so full that the last rites are being done on the streets, pavements, riverside or carcasses are laid to rot in the houses.
I never expected to run around for oxygen, to hustle for beds. I never expected to beg for medicines, vaccines among others, the list continues. What I was expected was to pay taxes which I did honestly and diligently.
I contributed to your Vikas and witnessed Vinash, why sir? I will remember, India will remember and goes without saying, you will remember.
It is easy to blame the state governments, common people, healthcare professionals, public utility services et al. But that’s exactly where we needed good governance, strong leadership, a person like Mr. Narendra Modi for whom I voted. To control even a class of 40 students, we need a class monitor so how can you ignore the world’s largest democracy?
I am angry.. because I blindly followed you, over expected from you.
I am angry.., because I trusted you.
I am angry.., because I lost my friends, relatives & loved ones.
I am angry.., because I am feeling helpless, I have seen not only humans but also humanity dying under your regime.
Kolkata: Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut’s account has been suspended permanently by Twitter. The PM has contacted the governor. Dilip Ghosh has been demanding for the oath ceremony to be postponed, while BJP has officially moved to the Apex court demanding for President’s rule in Bengal. All this has happened within 48 hours of the thumping victory of TMC in the recently concluded Bengal Assembly Polls.
Post-poll violence is not new to Bengal. The state has a history of such violence.
But what is alarming this time is the speed and timing of news or rather fake news (see the two collage in the story) related to post-poll violence being circulated on social media. Speaking about the issue, social activist and documentary maker Kasturi Basu, said, “We are against any form of political violence – be it pre or post-poll. We condemn such acts. The recently elected government, police and administration need to spring into action to contain such instances, which many big political leaders are trying to project as communal violence.”
She mentioned, “Also, I would like to question the Election Commission. Why is it quiet? The central forces are here, why are they being used to restore peace? Or is there an agenda?”
Hinting at the timing during which several posts related to post-poll violence in Bengal went viral she said, “I would like to question the political leaders who are tweeting them – have they cross-checked before posting? If not then why did they post? There have been instances of violence in which people from every party have been targeted. Instead of communalising it, every party should ask its cadres to refrain from such actions. People should be made accountable for not just inciting violence but also for sharing communally charged fake posts.”
In the past few hours, Pratik Sinha of Alt News has busted several fake posts, where either old photos or videos of mob violence had been used to depict violence in Bengal. He told to eNewsroom, “Debunking is still in progress. There is so much more. We have talked to police officers and have confirmed about the news being fake along with following our procedure to debunk such news.”
Another set of fake news debunked by fact-checkers
The Alt News Founder pointed out, “Based on the trend that we are seeing on posts related to post-election violence in Bengal, I can say that there is a definitive attempt to ignite emotion to create a divide by putting the Hindu majority in victim mode.”
On being asked what should a person who receives such posts do, he said, “Remember, this is a psychological game that is being played. So, don’t just check your emotions but also facts before hitting on the forward button.”
Basu added, “We need to be careful about sharing posts or forwards related to such violence, as we by now very well know how the BJP operates. They work in a swift, planned way. If you will check the timeline of the Twitter storm that took place concerning the post-poll violence, then you will notice that it began yesterday in the afternoon and ended at night and today they even reached the Apex Court demanding for President’s Rule.”
Another activist who didn’t want to be named, pointed out, “The governor of Bengal is tweeting about the violence, tagging the outgoing government, forgetting that he is the custodian of the state till the oath ceremony takes place. Why isn’t he doing something? What is he waiting for?”
Demanding action against fake news spreaders, Basu said, “Leaders like Kailash Vijayvargiya, Sambit Patra should be booked for spreading communally charged fake news. It’s quite interesting to see the same house that has been torched being shared by both BJP and CPI (M).
There has been political killing in Kerala too yesterday. I am not justifying what is happening here. All that I am saying is that all forms of violence should come to an end. I hope the party that has got such a huge majority just to keep out fascist forces pays heed and brings an end to it.”
When eNewsroom contacted TMC’s MP Saugato Roy, he said, “We are aware of what is happening and the fact that BJP has approached the Apex Court regarding President’s rule. Let them do so. We will do the needful once the oath ceremony is over.”
Kolkata: When the campaigning of Bengal Elections 2021 was taking place, this correspondent went to Nandigram twice. First when Kisan Andolan leaders like Rakesh Tikait, Medha Patekar and others conducted a rally there and next on the last day of campaigning.
On both occasions, with the acumen of a political journalism of almost two decades, I couldn’t help but notice that Mamata Banerjee has a big task at hand in Nandigram. Not just because it was a stronghold of Suvendhu Adhikari and his family, but the way Suvendhu, a former close aide of Mamata, and BJP were fighting against the TMC supremo.
Adhikari was using the Hindutva card and tried to polarize Nandigram. He not only gave communal speeches where he said that if Mamata wins Nandigram will become Mini Pakistan, BJP also put all its might behind Adhikari. For the Nandigram seat alone PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh CM Ajay Singh Bisht and film star Mithun Chakraborty, all the bigwigs, campaigned.
When this correspondent visited the battleground on the last day of campaigning, I noticed that a large number of flags from different Hindu organisation were put up all along the road supporting the Hinduvta agenda. This was an attempt to influence those who might not have fallen for BJP’s charms or might be miffed over an issue that lay unaddressed by the BJP government at the Centre.
A TMC supporter after Bengal election results | Courtesy: Reuters
So it was always a tough contest for the Bengal Chief Minister. But, the choice she made to fight against her former aide and not from another seat, had given a clear message to partymen across that this is an important election for the state and she is willing to take all risks.
The outcome is before us. The people of Bengal have given a clear mandate to the TMC, which is not only bigger in numbers than 2016 Assembly polls, but a message for BJP’s politics of hate, misuse of power and dirty campaigning tricks.
TMC has tasted this victory even after the cross over of its forty-something MLAs to the BJP. It’s noteworthy that they have been able to defeat some of the prominent faces of Bengal BJP including singer Babul Supriyo, Locket Chatterjee, Rahul Sinha and Swampan Dasgupta.
The 2021 Bengal Assembly polls will be remembered for the fight among unequals — the only (present) woman chief minister in India and a party which claims to be the largest one in the world, and one that didn’t hesitate to resort to all sorts of unethical practices to defeat its opponents.
No political pundit could have predicted that amid all this, TMC will be able to get more than 180 seats, leave alone crossing the figures achieved in 2016, where TMC won 211 seats.
This is such a resounding defeat for the BJP, and particularly for PM Modi and HM Amit Shah, that henceforth their claims of being able to win a certain number of seats in elections will now always be doubted.
Most importantly, the defeat in Bengal will make BJP defensive on its Farm Laws as the mandate has boosted the morale of farmers taking part in the four-month-long historic farm movement. Rakesh Tikait has tweeted the same and said that now Modi government should withdraw the laws immediately.
The mandate of 2021 Bengal Assembly polls has a larger message than Mamata’s personal win or loss. It’s been a landslide victory for the party she birthed and continues to helm. It goes without saying that she fought ferociously and sailed her party to historic victory.
Kolkata: By the afternoon of May 2, Trinamool Congress, the ruling party of West Bengal has taken a decisive lead in the historic Bengal Election Results 2021 by leading on 207 seats, while BJP trends on 82 seats out of 292 seats that went on the poll.
Significantly, the Left alliance is leading only on 2 seats.
According to the ABP news channel, which is showing a relatively quicker trend than any other channel and Election Commission of India portal, TMC crossed the 200 seat mark.
It is significant that Home Minister Amit Shah had always claimed that BJP would be getting more than 200 seats, but the trend is showing the reverse.
If the trend becomes a reality, it will have a great impact nationally.
Not only Election Commission conducted Bengal assembly polls in 8 phases, but because of active campaigning in Bengal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other cabinet ministers, the Modi government ignored the Covid-19 virus Tsunami in India. The number of infected cases per day touched 4 lakhs on April 30.
Significantly, by the 5th round TMC supremo, Mamata Banerjee was trailing behind BJP candidate and her former aide Suvendu Adhikari by 3800 votes.
Meanwhile, Bengal politics’ major BJP leaders are trailing including Babul Supriyo, Locket Chatterjee, Rahul Sinha.
As the Covid-19 second wave continues its ferocious surge, many cities in the country smell an unprecedented stench of death. For the last several days, the crematoriums have been inundated with Covid corpses. So much so that, with people taking a morbid interest in the happenings at a prominent cremation ground in the country, the authorities had to put up an opaque fence all around it to keep away the public!
In its second arrival, Covid-19 is treating India like how it devastated Italy, Brazil and Spain with the first wave. The cremation grounds across India are witness to unseemly hurry, thwarted by pile-ups of Covid-dead. The dead are being burned well past dusk, right up to and beyond the midnight hour. Similarly, burial grounds can’t locate space to bury the Covid-dead.
India now has almost 16 million cases, the second-most globally, as it struggles to provide enough shots for its 1.3 billion people despite being home to the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer. Lower vigilance around masks and social distancing have contributed to the resurgence, with large religious festivals and elections allowed to take place with few precautions.
Those capable to secure high-quality treatment facilities in the early stages might survive Covid-19 without much trouble. For instance, Bollywood actors or prominent people from other fields who post their Covid-19 statuses on Twitter and Instagram, move into the best of hospitals without a hitch. Not the common man, even the middle-class Twitterati. Only the lucky few among these lesser mortals are able to find a hospital bed and oxygen to beat the Coronavirus.
The other day there were reports of a national award-winning cyclist dying after two private hospitals in Pune refused to admit him and the third, a government institution, admitted him only to allegedly neglect him. He could manage to highlight his story in the media because he was a known face, but the common man, would pass away, vanish into a black hole on the other side of the Invisible line, no questions asked!
India’s second wave is all the more lethal after the country saw fewer fatalities than other developing nations earlier in the pandemic, puzzling experts. Covid-related deaths have jumped to more than 184,000, still trailing the U.S., Brazil and Mexico, according to Johns Hopkins data.
The outbreak threatens to derail the Indian economy, which had just begun to recover after a nationwide lockdown last year pushed it into a historic recession. A new virus variant with a double mutation has also been detected locally, and concerns are growing that it’s driving the new wave.
Now, by putting the brakes on the over-the-counter availability of Remdesivir, reports have surfaced about a roaring black market for the drug all across the country. It is pointed out that in Karnal, Haryana, a vial of Remdesivir @MRP 250 is selling at Rs 15,000-Rs18000 in the black market. That said, the shortage of ventilators is the biggest killer in the realm. Nobody’s sure whether Remdesivir is effective or not, but hundreds are suffocating for want of ventilators in hospitals. In Ahmedabad, where cremation grounds are crowded with the Covid dead bodies, the standstill caravan of ambulances outside hospitals tells another story – of acute shortage of hospital beds and oxygen.
Unfortunately, it took countless dead to bring home the basic truth. The majority of the population is getting infected and nobody knows for sure whether it’s the old aged who are succumbing more, or are the young too collapsing lifeless in big numbers? All one gets to hear and see on the media are cold lifeless statistics. While the general public is advised to observe Covid-appropriate behaviour, politicians of all hues address Covid-inappropriate public rallies with the least care about consequences. Aren’t politicians supposed to lead by setting an example for fellow beings?
The relatively slow pace of vaccinations is undoubtedly adding to the problem. India has administered more than 132 million vaccine doses, according to data from the health ministry. That’s enough to cover only about 4.8% of its population, according to studies conducted and will take 12 years to immunise the entire population or 8 years to attain herd immunity.
Unlike SARS, Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon. The severity of the second wave is proof that the novel Coronavirus has quietly adapted to earth conditions and is mutating to spread across geographies. There have been also reports of several cases of death of people after taking both doses of the vaccines.
The point is, everything about the novel Coronavirus, including the vaccines, is sort of fluid at this point. Just for reminders, India reported its highest number of Covid cases for the eighth time in nine days as per the information available this week. This is when China reported record economic growth as it rebounded from the pandemic slump. Should we take some Covid lessons from our neighbour?
India’s total Covid cases had raced to 14,074,564 and Covid deaths to 174,308. It’s disheartening that a novel Coronavirus comes out of nowhere and takes away lives in hundreds or thousands! For millions of Indians who sat through the first Covid wave, the second Covid wave is unnerving. And, for all we know, there’s a massive vaccine crisis in the making even as helpless and hopeless people despair. Lives can still be saved, with Covid-appropriate behaviour, proper planning, strategy and execution but not without responsible cooperation from each individual in complying with the guidelines laid down to fight the pandemic.
Manipur/Bhopal: “Our land was destroyed by the Ithai Barrage in the 1980s,” when Salam Joy, Secretary of Pumlen Pat Ngamee Sinmee Lup highlighted this line in his speech, an absolute silence gripped at Pumlen Pat – an integral part of Loktak Wetland Complex (LWC), a Ramasar site in Imphal, the state capital of Manipur.
Breaking away the calm distinctive sound settled on the wetland bed for the moment, Roy continued, for 40 long years the community has been eking out a living by nurturing small fishing zones, and that too without any support from the government.
He concluded by saying that the result of commissioning the Ithai Barrage across the Manipur River has been equivalent to pushing them into conditions of forced poverty.
Words of Roy were silently heard by a large number of anxious, angry and upset indigenous farming communities of Manipur, fisher unions who have assembled to commemorate the 2021 World Wetlands Day function.
Now, the land on which we farm and fish is also on the verge of being taken over for various infrastructure and mass tourism projects, he added.
Recalling how life was before the Ithai barrage, Nimai Keisham, President of Khoidum Lamjao Ngamee Sinmee Lup, said it is high time the fishers and the farmers get together before the government takes over their land and livelihood.
Both Roy and Nimai were referring to the proposed plan of the Manipur Government and Union Government that aims at a robust IWT [Inland Waterways Transport] system in Loktak Lake. The planned paper titled “Ecotourism project at Loktak Lake – 2020” and the “ Loktak Wetland Waterways Investment project -2019” involve massive investments in the February 2 function.
The project is expected to deliver growth in trade and increase commercial activity, boost ecotourism and livelihoods and is expected to create job opportunities, says the revised project proposal paper titled- Loktak Waterways Improvement Project, September 2019, prepared by the Loktak Development Authority, a Manipur Government undertaking.
The paper points: the development of inland waterways in Loktak Lake with modern facilities became the natural strategy for the socio-economic development of the State of Manipur.
Though the state government is taking up plans to reduce loading of pollutant particularly all the sewage flowing in from the upstream towns and cities, to control overgrowth of weeds and formation of Phumdi on a long term basis, technical feasibility studies revealed that removal of the existing weeds and Phumdi along the waterways is the only way to make IWT system in Loktak a grand success, the paper suggests. This can be easily achieved with the help of advanced machinery and equipment, available at a reasonable cost, to address the specific issues depending on the types of vegetation across the section of the designated water routes, it suggests.
The plan aims at deepening waterways as many shallow parts of the waterways near the shores often get exposed during the lean seasons. For it, Water Master, a multitasking machine suited for various offshore activities, will be engaged in deepening and widening of all the shallow parts of the waterways near the shore, the paper says.
Villagers of Loktak Wetland Complex (LWC), a Ramasar site in Imphal, Manipur holding a meeting (File Photo) | Courtesy- All Loktak Lake Areas Fishermen’s Assn, Manipur
In areas where it is difficult for Water Master to find it difficult to move in owing to adverse site conditions and lack of space, Long Boom Amphibious Excavator will perform the task, the paper reads.
The proposed plan aims to promote eco-tourism in Loktak, one of the most important touristic destinations in Manipur.
“Except for short boat rides in the marginal areas, most of the activities are confined to sightseeing as the visitors can never avail themselves the opportunities of taking a ferry ride across the lake and visit the islands such as Karang. The project will boost the prospect of eco-tourism providing greater access to various parts of the lake under a safe and organised IWT system,” the paper says.
The paper also claims that the IWT system will surely open up a wide range of opportunities as markets get integrated and bigger while ecotourism, as it grows, will surely contribute significantly to generating employment for the educated youths who are in a dilemma now.
The proposed plan justifies by saying that: Found in three varieties, these plants make their presence heavy and dense as the water level recedes with the departure of monsoon. While the traditional boats seem to have little problem gliding over the submerged vegetation, it had been troublesome or sometimes impossible even for the mechanised boats to move across the lake swamped with these submerged and various types of floating plants like water hyacinth. The problem is often worsened when large quantities of water hyacinth get amassed at various points and sometimes by large chunks of a tree floating Phumdi with the action of wind that blows over the lake as the day advances.
Unless removed regularly, the IWT route; will remain dysfunctional as more of these plants will get accumulated over a large area choking the routes and quite a large part of the lake. The paper reads that “the success of inland water transport in Loktak Lake now hinges on the management of these plants to keep the routes opened and well maintained at all times”.
In November 2019, the Union Government approved the development of the Loktak Inland Waterways Project in Manipur at an estimated cost of Rs 25.58 crore.
“Northeast is a beautiful region with stunning landscapes and holds a lot of opportunity for tourism purposes. The project will develop the inland water transport connectivity in northeast states and give a boost to tourism sector also,” it quoted Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya as saying.
However, the cohabitants of the Loktak, Pumlen, Ikop, Kharung, Khoidum Lamjao, Waithou, Ngakrapat, Biraharipat, Ungamelpat which are distinct yet interrelated wetlands formed by meandering flows of the Manipur river system and spread over 500 sq km, a region popularly referred to as the Loktak Wetland Complex (LWC) are upset with the proposed plan.
The fisherfolk inhabitants of the floating villages feel that due to the proposed plan, their socio-economic, cultural importance in Manipur and ecological and economic security will be affected.
They think Meitei fishing communities have worked here over centuries to evolve a lifestyle that helps harvest fish and wetland-based crops and vegetables which forms the backbone of food security of the wider Manipur area. In addition, their carbon neutral living, involving dugout canoes and Phum Shang – huts of bamboo and thatch built on floating biomass – phumdi, constitute a distinctive feature of Manipur’s living heritage, and the world as well.
“The need of the hour is to fight back against all such projects that will destroy the wetland along with the natural ancestral rights to the wetland system,” Oinam Rajen, who is a union worker and resident of Champu Khangpok Floating village said.
Nimai Keisham said it is high time the fishers and the farmers get together before the government takes over their land and livelihood.
Ratan Yumnam, the Secretary of Manipur Loumee Marup (Manipur Farmers Union), drew attention to the strong linkage between the ongoing farmers’ protest across the country and the struggle of the Loktak people. He said it is time the farmers and the fisherfolks of Loktak and the surrounding wetlands come together with those who are leading the movement against the repressive pro-capitalist system. He emphasised the importance of collectively fighting against undemocratic and oppressive projects that would certainly destroy wetlands and displacement of fishing and farming communities in Manipur.
Babloo Loitongbam, Director of Human Rights Alert, said the government policy and programs are antithetical to the conservation and livelihood of the people of the Loktak and the other wetlands. He told the audience that the right to life and livelihood are enshrined in the Constitution of India and the Government of Manipur cannot bypass any of the laws that seek to protect them.
The fisherfolk, farmer unions have launched a global petition [Global Campaign To Protect For Posterity The Unique Loktak Wetland Region In Manipur, India ] that asserts rights of local indigenous communities to continue to live in the Loktak region without being disturbed by destructive projects and draconian laws and State action. The petition calls on the international community to support the struggle of the fishing community of the Loktak Wetlands region and includes Wetlands International to withdraw its so-called ‘wise use’ plan.
Then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh observed in December 2014 — a few months after the NDA government took office for the first time — that a major change in the healthcare system of India was needed. The country, he said, was at present having a fragmented healthcare system which was not at all enough to cater to the needs of the people, particularly the poorer sections of the society.
Addressing the 10th convocation of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) at Lucknow, he said, ‘if the primary healthcare centres are strengthened, almost 85 per cent of the burden on the major institutes like All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and King George’s Medical University can be brought down.’ He added that the government of India was working to bring about this change.
However, in the very first Budget (2014-15) the Modi government slashed health services allocations by nearly 20 per cent; public spending on healthcare in India was already among the lowest in the world. A year later a Parliamentary panel report pointed out that in India there is just one government doctor for every 10,189 people, one government hospital bed for every 2,046 people and one State-run hospital for every 90,343 people ( most of these facilities concentrated in urban areas). With a doctor-patient population ratio worse than Vietnam, Algeria and Pakistan, the shortage of doctors is one of the biggest ailments afflicting the country’s health management system, the panel had noted.
The Union Budget for 2018-19 promised a National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), a publicly funded health insurance programme for half a billion (50 crore) citizens of the country. But no sufficient funds were allocated for what the Finance Minister had boasted would be the world’s largest government-funded healthcare programme. In the first phase, 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres were proposed to be set up across the country to provide comprehensive healthcare including free medicines and diagnostic services. But the Budget allocation for his was a mere Rs 1,200 crore. This worked out to about Rs 80,000 per centre. If a centre receives 100 patients on weekdays which will make 25,000 a year, the average allocation per patient would be a little over Rs 3 which is much too insufficient even to cover the medicines and diagnostic services, leave aside the overhead expenses on running a centre.
Add to the inadequacy of allocations the massive mismanagement and corruption at every level of the Government — and not only the central government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi started some health-improving projects, though not directly part of health services, such as Swachh Baharat Mission. For this he set up a Fund in October 2014, called Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK), which consisted of contributions received from Corporate Sector, philanthropists and individuals. Nothing has since been heard of this Kosh; how much money it had received and how that money was used.
How corruption eats up allocations for health services is best explained by what has been happening in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. When the Lokayukta police raided some years back the residence of then Director of Health Services Dr A N Mittal, he was simply stunned. But his wife Alka Mittal could not keep her cool and shouted at the raiding party: ‘why don’t you raid the house of the Minister (Narottam Mishra was then Health Minister) whom we give Rs one crore every month. You are only after small fries like us’. Before she could say something more, Dr Mittal rushed to her, put his hand on her mouth and dragged her inside a room. The Lokayukta/Income Tax raids on houses of Dr Mittal and two other Directors at other times had recovered currency notes packed in such places as quilts and washing machines, in addition to incriminating documents.
India is a vast country and a vast majority of its people are firm believers in destiny, always wrapped up in religio-superstitious mumbo-jumbo. Besides, they display a pathetic indifference to the government’s corruption and misdeeds unless they are directly affected by it. So the governments’ bungling of health services did not evince the vigorous, collective reaction among the people as it should have, virtually allowing the government to do what it is doing. The outbreak of Coronavirus has, however, changed all as the complacent, destiny-believing people find their relatives, friends and acquaintances infected by the virus and completely collapsed health services. People are dying by scores in urban areas for want of hospital beds, medicines and oxygen. There are queues of bodies at cremation/burial grounds. Such horrendous scenes have never been seen by those still living in this country. But the question is: will the people learn from this calamity and be more vigilant about what the government is promising and actually doing?
अमेरिका में पिछले साल नवंबर में राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए मतदान हुए थे, जिसमें चुनाव के दौरान तक कोरोना वायरस का कहर और जनता के स्वास्थ्य की उपेक्षा रिपब्लिक पार्टी के उम्मीदवार और तत्कालीन राष्ट्रपति डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प को भारी पड़ी थी और उन्हें इस चुनाव में डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी के उम्मीदवार जो बाइडन से हार का सामना करना पड़ा था। अमेरिका में हुए इस चुनाव में ट्रम्प ने बड़ी-बड़ी रैलियों का आयोजन किया था। उन्होंने कोरोना महामारी के बावजूद जिस तरीके से चुनाव प्रचार किया था उसकी वजह से यह माना गया कि अमेरिका के कई इलाकों में कोरोना फैला।
प्रश्न है कि यह सब देखने के बावजूद क्या भारत में विशेष तौर पर सत्तासीन नेताओं ने कोई सबक लिया और अपनी दूरदर्शिता दिखाई? उत्तर है- बिल्कुल नहीं। भारत में भी कोरोना का संकट नया नहीं है, लेकिन जिस तरह से इस समय देश के भीतर कोरोना के कारण तबाही मची हुई है, अस्पतालों में बिस्तर, दवा, इंजेक्शन, ऑक्सीजन, वेंटीलेटर और एम्बुलेंस की कमी दिखाई पड़ रही है, कई बड़े शहर शमशानों में बदलते हुए नजर आ रहे हैं और संक्रमण का प्रसार गांव-गांव तक पहुंच रहा है, वह कल्पना से अधिक भयावह और विचलित करने वाला है। उत्तर-प्रदेश की राजधानी लखनऊ में तो एक बड़े पत्रकार और एक बड़े इतिहासकार की असमय मृत्यु महज इसलिए हो गई कि समय रहते एक को ऑक्सीजन तो दूसरे को रेमडेसिविर इंजेक्शन नहीं मिला था। अमूमन यही हालात भोपाल, इंदौर, सूरत, अहमदाबाद, जयपुर, दिल्ली, पटना और अन्य तमाम शहरों में भी है जहां बुनियादी सुविधाओं के लिए मंत्री स्तर पर सिफारिशों के बावजूद कई कोविड मरीजों के लिए कोई व्यवस्था नहीं हो पा रही है और वे दम तोड़ रहे हैं।
दूसरी तरफ, कोरोना महामारी के इस दौर में बंगाल चुनाव को लेकर यदि बात करें तो कांग्रेस के नेता राहुल गांधी ने जब यह घोषणा की कि वे कोई रैली नहीं करेंगे तो भाजपा नेता कैलाश विजयवर्गीय ने उनका मजाक उड़ाते हुए कहा कि राहुल को सुनता कौन है! यदि यह मान भी लें कि राहुल गांधी को बहुत कम लोग सुनना चाहते हैं तब तो यह भाजपा और विशेषकर प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी को सोचना चाहिए कि उन्हें सुनने जुटाई जाने वाली भारी भीड़ से तो महामारी कितनी डरावनी और जटिल हो सकती है। केंद्रीय सत्ता में रहते और अपनी जवाबदेही समझते हुए तो प्रधानमंत्री को ही सबसे पहले यह पहल करनी चाहिए थी और यदि वे अपनी सारी रैलियों को निरस्त करते हुए बाकी दलों के नेताओं से भी रैलियों को निरस्त करने की अपील करते तो इसे राजनीतिक प्रतिबद्धताएं और मतभेद भुलाकर राष्ट्रहित में एक बड़ा कदम माना जाता। लेकिन, इसके उलट भारी दबाव में भाजपा ने बड़ी रैलियों की बजाय छोटी यानी कम भीड़ वाली रैलियां करने का निर्णय लेते हुए यह जता दिया है कि केंद्रीय सत्ता में रहने के बाद भी उसके लिए महामारी से अच्छी तरह निपटने से ज्यादा जरूरी है चुनाव जीतना।
हालांकि, कोरोना संकट में मार्क्सवादी कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी ने पहल करते हुए सबसे पहले यह कहा था कि पार्टी बड़ी रैलियों को करने की बजाय मतदाताओं के घर-घर जाकर दस्तक देगी और सोशल मीडिया के जरिए चुनाव अभियान चलाते हुए मतदाताओं से वोट मांगेगी। इसके बाद तृणमूल कांग्रेस की नेता और राज्य की मुख्यमंत्री ममता बनर्जी ने भी कह दिया कि वे भी प्रतीकात्मक सभाएं करेंगी। अंत में भाजपा को भी छोटी रैलियों की घोषणा करने के लिए मजबूर होना पड़ा। लेकिन, इसके बावजूद एक चैनल पर देश के गृहमंत्री व बीजेपी में नंबर दो के नेता कहे जाने वाले अमित शाह ने बड़ा अजीब बयान दे दिया। उन्होंने कहा कि कोरोना प्रसार के लिए चुनाव अभियान को कारण बताना गलत है। इसके पीछे उनकी दलील यह थी कि महाराष्ट्र में चुनावी रैलियां नहीं होने के बावजूद वहां कोरोना का संक्रमण तेजी से फैल रहा है।
प्रश्न है कि क्या रैलियों के बिना चुनाव संभव नहीं है? यूरोप के कई देशों में रैलियां नहीं होती हैं बल्कि उसकी बजाय कई जगह हॉल में चुनाव सम्मेलन आयोजित किए जाते हैं। इसी तरह, ब्रिटेन जैसे देशों में भी जहां कोरोना विस्फोट हुआ था वहां लॉकडाउन को उपचार नहीं समझा गया था, बल्कि लॉकडाउन के जरिए उन्होंने स्वास्थ्य सुविधाओं के मोर्चे पर कोविड से लड़ने और व्यापक स्तर पर टीकाकरण की तैयारी की थी। इसी क्रम में यदि देखें तो ब्रिटेन की तरह हमारी सरकार ने नागरिकों को उनकी जिम्मेदारी निभाने के मामले में अपेक्षित प्रयास नहीं किए। दरअसल, नागरिकों की तरफ से भी कोरोना प्रोटोकॉल का अच्छी तरह से पालन करने की उम्मीद तो तब बांधी जाती जब देश के प्रधानमंत्री, गृहमंत्री और मुख्यमंत्री कोरोना प्रोटोकॉल का अच्छी तरह से पालन कर रहे होते।
चुनावी रैलियों में कोरोना प्रोटोकॉल का पालन करना संभव नहीं होता है।
जब देश अभूतपूर्व संकट के दौर से गुजर रहा है तब भी सत्ता पक्ष द्वारा सर्वदलीय बैठक न बुलाए जाने की बात आश्चर्यजनक और दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण लगती है। यहां तक कि विपक्ष यदि सरकार के साथ कोई सरकारत्मक कदम उठाना चाहता है तो यह बात भी सरकार को रास नहीं आ रही है। उदाहरण के लिए, पिछले दिनों पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह ने प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी को पत्र लिखते हुए कोरोना नियंत्रण के लिए सरकार को पांच सुझाव दिए थे। इस पत्र का उत्तर देते हुए केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री हर्षवर्धन ने उल्टा कांग्रेस पर निशाना साधा और कहा कि कांग्रेस के नेता आपके (मनमोहन सिंह) बेशकीमती सुझावों का पालन करें और सहयोग बनाए रखें। इसी तरह, कुछ दिनों पहले महाराष्ट्र की पुलिस ने लगभग पांच करोड़ रुपए के रेमडेसिविर इंजेक्शन की कालाबाजारी को लेकर एक दवा कंपनी से पूछताछ की तो भाजपा के नेता व पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री देवेन्द्र फडणवीस खुद दवा कंपनी के बचाव में थाने पहुंच गए और उल्टा विरोधी दल के नेताओं पर मुकदमा दर्ज करने की मांग करने लगे। वहीं, महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री उद्धव ठाकरे का यह आरोप है कि ऑक्सीजन के मुद्दे पर जब उन्होंने प्रधानमंत्री मोदी से संपर्क करने की कोशिश की तो उन्होंने बताया गया कि प्रधानमंत्री पश्चिम बंगाल के विधानसभा चुनाव में व्यस्त हैं। देखा जाए तो प्रधानमंत्री का दायित्व और जवाबदेही पद की शपथ लेने भर से पूरी नहीं हो जाती, लेकिन प्रधानमंत्री के तौर पर नरेन्द्र मोदी के प्रचारक बनकर रह गए हैं जिन्हें हर चुनाव लड़ने और जीतने का नशा हो गया है। प्रश्न है कि ऐसे में यदि चुनाव बाद पश्चिम बंगाल में भी कोरोना मरीजों और उनकी मौतों की संख्या बढ़ी तो इनका जिम्मेदार कौन होगा।
दूसरी तरफ, प्रधानमंत्री मोदी पर चुनावी राजनीति में बहुसंख्यक मतों का इस सीमा तक दबाव है कि उन्हें कुंभ को रोकने के लिए कानूनी कार्रवाई करने की बजाय संतों से यह निवेदन करना पड़ रहा है कि वे पूरे आयोजन को प्रतीकात्मक बनाने के लिए विचार करें। वहीं, अब जिस तरह से एक-एक दिन में सरकारी आंकड़ों में लगभग तीन लाख तक करोना के मरीज सामने आ रहे हैं और रोजाना दो हजार से ज्यादा मरीज मर रहे हैं उससे लगता है कि बंगाल चुनाव के मतदान के लिए अगले सभी चरणों की बजाय एक ही चरण में कराने की घोषणा केंद्रीय चुनाव आयोग द्वारा 15-20 दिन पहले ही कर दी जानी चाहिए थी। लेकिन, इससे उलट आयोग उत्तर-प्रदेश में जिला पंचायत स्तर के चुनाव तक टालने की स्थिति में नजर नहीं आता है। पंचायत चुनावों के नतीजे आने के बाद कोरोना महामारी की स्थिति और भी विकराल हो सकती है कि पंचायत चुनाव के दौरान उम्मीदवार दूसरे राज्यों में काम करने वाले स्थानीय मतदाताओं को वोट डालने के लिए बुलाते हैं।
अंतिम प्रश्न यह है कि मौजूदा संकट में राजनीतिक दलों की स्थिति सार्वजनिक हो गई है, लेकिन केंद्रीय चुनाव आयोग क्या कर रहा है? कोरोना महामारी ने यह जता दिया है कि सरकार के आगे केंद्रीय चुनाव आयोग जैसी संवैधानिक संस्थाओं का कमजोर होना दरअसल महामारी बराबर ही चिंता का विषय है और पश्चिम बंगाल में हो रहीं चुनावी रैलियों को देख यह बात और अधिक पुष्ट होती है कि राजनेताओं पर कार्रवाई करने के मामले में आयोग पूरी तरह असहाय हो चुका है।
Delhi/Kolkata: The second wave of Covid-19 is now in India, and it is again forcing lockdowns in many parts of the country. Again migrants are out to return to their native places. When it had forced lockdown in the entire country in 2020, it had changed the lives of many people, from the suffering migrants to those who worked closely with them.
While the world hailed Bollywood actor Sonu Sood’s work during lockdown, many government officers and common people worked silently during the lockdown crisis last year.
Who worked on ground zero is Preeti Agrawal, a 2013 batch Indian Postal Service (IPoS) officer. Presently, Preeti is Under Secretary, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. Preeti is also Member Drafting Committee, IT Modernisation Project 2.0.
Preeti, not only worked for Bihar and Jharkhand migrants when they were going from Delhi during the lockdown, she also made and arranged food for them and distributed lakhs of masks among frontline workers. The situation of daily wagers in India had shocked her to the core.
The IPoS officer, who spent her entire savings, broke her fixed deposit (FD), further shares, “My team with the help of Gurudwara Saheb and vehicles of postal department distributed langars and provided food to thousands of migrants.”
During the lockdown providing masks to frontline workers was a bigger challenge. But coming from a merchant family, it helped Preeti. “Over the next 3 months (April-May-June 2020) my team produced and distributed 75,000 masks for free to frontline workers.”
The work by CPLO team during lockdown in a collage
“I realized that if daily wagers do not get a day’s wage, they would not have food to feed their kids. It was really troubling me. What we are doing as officers is just writing on files, but nothing much is reaching these needy people.”
Preeti who has closely worked among tribal women recalled, “I had a similar experience during my school days, when I was working among tribal people. And when I was working in Kolkata. If a thief steals their money, if it rains, they have nothing to eat and they sleep hungry at night.”
These experiences augmented Preeti’s zeal to understand the situation better so that workable solutions and policies can be implemented.
Preeti has a good academic background. She did MPhil in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics. “I want to study further and upgrade my skills in policymaking,” she said.
The public servant rued, “There is no policy which works for the informal section. So that became the background of my proposals.”
Wanting to do more for such daily wagers, especially for women, Preeti submitted her proposals for further studies in public policy programmes to the world’s top five universities including Harvard Kennedy School, University of Oxford and London School of Economics.
Another collage shows team CPLO’s work for migrants during lockdown
“I have received an admission offer letter from Harvard Kennedy School, USA for Mid Career MPA program/Mason Fellow along with a scholarship worth $73,641 which is the John F. Kennedy Fellowship & John K Galbraith Scholarship.”
She excitedly shared, “I am the only Indian civil servant to receive the scholarship this year.”
“I have also received offers from London School of Economics; University of Oxford; University of York from UK and Lee Kuantan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, for Masters in Public Policy for the year 2021.”
Preeti has also appeared for the Interview of Chevening Scholarship this year, the results of which are expected in June 2021.
Preeti hails from Madhya Pradesh, her sister Garima Agrawal is an IAS officer.
Preeti had used her connections across civil services, school friends, Indian diaspora abroad, NGOs, connection in media and Bollywood to raise funds to the tune of 1.6 million rupees to support people during the pandemic.
The IPoS officer did not forget to mention that it was not her sole efforts, “I will always be grateful to the Secretary CPLO (Central Postal Ladies Organisation) and colleagues, seniors as well family members for extending full support for all activities during the lockdown and helped me to sail through the grilling process of getting admission into these colleges.”
“I want to return to India and work in the government sector, but I wish to work at a higher level, at policy making level, maybe at Niti Ayog,” she signs off.
Raipur: When Naina was a teenager, she became confused about whether to stand in the boys’ or the girls’ queue in school.
“When I tried to join the boys’ queue, they pushed me towards the girls’ queue. By then, the girls made a chain firmly holding each other’s waist, leaving no space for me to join,” Naina , 25, a trans woman explains.
Upset with continuous victimisation and seemingly permanently sandwiched between the two queues, Naina reached Raipur – capital of India’s central eastern state Chhattisgarh – in a pair of slippers.
“More than discrimination, abuse and all form of harassment, I believed I had nothing and wanted to go in search for something. I didn’t know what I was looking for but I knew I should reach somewhere where there is not one to judge me in my new circle,” she says.
No-one would have guessed she would be part of the first trans recruits to the state police.
Still at this point presenting as male, she joined a large, closely-knit trans family headed by Nisha Yadav, in a two room flat within a slum house in the Bhatagaon locality. Here, in contrast to the regular discrimination and mocking of family members, friends and neighbours, they nurse each other through illness and provide mutual support through the difficult times.
Krishi Tandi, 24, spoke and pose at the Raipur Police Parade Ground on March 19, 2021. She is one among the 13 transgender who cleared Chattisgarh State Police Constable recruitment exam3 | Credit: Narendra Bangale
Naina began begging at signal lights, trains, bus stands and parks. But she was troubled by fundamental questions. “Why did I leave? What is my identity? And, most basic of all, what is my individuality?”
In 2017, when the Chhattisgarh Government invited trans people to apply for the state police constable recruitment examination, Naina was one of the 97 trans women who applied.
She was supported by her adopted family who prepared her a special breakfast of soaked black chickpeas to send her off strongly, a contrast from begging for food. She set off, leaving her glittering saris and makeup for another day.
The obstacles before the trans community in India are daunting. According to the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, trans people experience bullying and rejection at even higher rates than their LGBQ counterparts.
“I have no doubt in my mind that my family loves me but there was a point in time when they didn’t want me to exist. The time when they disliked some part[s] of my body”, Dipsha, 29, one of the thirteen trans people selected, says.
Nisha Yadav [left] shows a slap to Naina after she says she no longer wants to study. They live with 12 other trans people in a two room flat in a slum house in Bhatagaon locality of Raipur | Credit: Narendra BangaleAnother recruit who cleared the police exam, Krishi Tandi, 24, a trans woman who lives with her family in Raipur, initially found it difficult.
“To avoid embarrassment and due to societal pressure, parents, brothers and sisters build pressure to remain indoors and avoid playgrounds. Games and [the] playground are the first things that gets snatched if you are a TG [transgender],” Krishi explains.
“So, when we were told to attend a physical session, we found our body unfit. Our muscles, nerves and bones were not responding the way it [they] should be,” she adds.
Behind the often sad stories – of exploitation, the sex trade and risky castrations – there are those who support their peers. One such advocate is Vidya Rajput, who is transgender, a social activist and a member of the Chhattisgarh Transgender Welfare Board, and wanted to be present at the police parade ground that morning.
“I made it a point to reach the ground before them. I wanted to send a message what may come in, we have to accept the competition, face the challenge and excel,” Rajput says.
But on the training ground, nothing about how Naina, Krishi and Dipsha had been raised mattered at all.
“The moment I saw them waiting for me, I decided those standing on the ground are going to win and my duty is to organise them,” says Sarita Yadav, head constable, Chhattisgarh Police [CG] and trainer.
Lokesh Kumar Verma, constable and drill instructor Chhattisgarh Police has trained the transgenders to improve efficiency to appear in the physical test of police constable recruitment exam | Credit: Narendra Bangale
Helping them to build the strength to clear the five physical levels – a 100 metre and an 800 metre run, long and high jumps and shot put throws – of the exam, Lokesh Kumar Verma, CG police constable and drill instructor, found them to be tough candidates. “I am touched with their sportsman spirit. They are sharp listeners, honest and obey orders. I think it’s the discipline that worked a lot in favour of them,” Verma says.
Alongside the fitness preparation, the social welfare department offered accommodation for the applicants and preparation for the written exam.
“We made special arrangements for them. All transgender candidates were brought under one roof. Here, we provided them with a career counsellor and others to make them progress in the written test. They are remarkable. The success rate is much higher than what we expected,” says P Dayanand , Director of the Social Welfare Department.
Nearby is Nukkad – The Teafe, a café-restaurant run by Priyank Patel, with several “specially-abled” staff. Patel explains that he has actively recruited people among the team who happen to be deaf, speech-impaired and trans as he rates their work highly. “In less time they learn more. They easily mix-up with other co-workers, basically the specially-abled persons, I found them to be the most suitable employees, fit for the hospitality industry,” Patel says.
There’s a conventional narrative that trans people could be part of the mainstream and take up the challenge for a new and happier beginning. In many cases, experts say, the situation is significantly more complicated.
“It’s not [as] simple as being found and restarting [their] own life for the transgender. There are several hidden hurdles. It takes a lot of time and patience and understanding,” Vidya says.
For Naina, gaining a place on the scheme is transforming her life.
“Seeing the queue no longer frightens me. In fact, soon I will be standing in a queue and that too with an official position”.
This story was produced by eNewsroom India. It was written as part of a media skills development programme run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation supported by the Swedish Postcode Foundation. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.
