Jaipal Reddy was second Congress stalwart who passed away, after Mrs. Sheela Dixit, in quick succession. Jaipal Reddy was the loving son of Telangana, breathed his last, in the early hours of Sunday (yesterday), in a private hospital here. The country had lost another stalwart in Indian politics. The character of state Legislatures and parliament would see some change if the present-day politicians at least try to emulate him a little.

Mr. Reddy’s limited physical mobility due to polio never deterred him from achieving political heights. He was 5 term MP from Lok Sabha, 2 terms MP from Rajya Sabha, and 4 terms MLA from Kalvakurthi in united AP. Though the body politic has been sullied over the period by allegations of corruption, Mr. Reddy stood out untainted. This attribute is difficult for one to have when one has enormous power which could be converted into crores. His journey starting as students Union Leader at Osmania University to becoming a Union Minister, was truly remarkable. He held very important portfolios in IK Gujral, and Manmohan Singh cabinets, and was known for his oratorical skills. His admirers and critics used to get amazed with his fluency and vehemence in both English and Telugu, and his English was impeccable and robust. He once described Manmohan Singh as a democrat not only by conviction but also by temperament. His deft play of words amused listeners, and he was among the tallest leaders of Congress. Like PV, he was also a very staunch Integrationist, but later he extended his support to the separation movement for TS, under the changing circumstances in this belt. He was the man responsible for convincing Manmohan Singh, and UPA chairperson Sonia, for Bifurcation Of State.

We used to hear that he was one of the few Union Ministers who took on powerful Industry Figures, like Reliance ‘s Mukhesh Ambani, New Corp, Chairman, Rupert Murdoch. But later the buzz was that he has been shifted from Petroleum Ministry, at their insistence.  He was known to be very tough on Reliance to the extent of transferring officials who were considered to be soft on Reliance, out of Oil Ministry and levying fine of Rs 7000 crores on Reliance. His focus used to be on issues, be it in Janata Party, or Congress. His fight against Congress over Bofors scam was legendary. At one stage he went on to say that Rajiv, should be hanged in Bofors case. Similar was the case, where he didn’t mince words to comment on AP Assembly, when Dr. M ChennaReddy who was CM of AP, brought in Anti-Gunda Act. It seems, he told that if the Act had to be invoked, it should first be done against CM himself, since he had set several buses on fire, while Telangana Movement was in its peak.

He was a writer too and at the release of his book "10Idealogies” last year, he had the courtesy to invite my younger brother to Delhi, wherein he has defined how a democracy should be. He referred to Pericles who ruled over Athens in BC. That book was given to me by my brother, but it was not an interesting read for me as it was inundated with a lot of history which did not appeal to me.

If I am right, Mr. Reddy passed away with one unfulfilled ambition. He thought he could become CM of AP before Kiran Kumar Reddy took over. After the Bifurcation, it was expected that he would be made the CM of TS, but Congress lost the election. No great loss for him, he lived his life fully. May his soul rest in peace.

The fractured verdict of 2018, in Karnataka, robbed BJP as much as Congress of a clear cut mandate to rule. The Karnataka government now is shaky as the legislators who have quit have risen to 14 thus the 14 months old government of Kumaraswamy has brought to its knees. The reason for all this drama is the results of Lok Sabha Elections where BJP won 25 out of 28 seats in Karnataka. This has undoubtedly precipitated the upheaval. Though the script is familiar but the scale is more intense this time. The craze for power has become more brazen, and Mr. Yeddyurappa once having tasted the power is waiting like a wounded tiger to make a kill.
Today’s BJP is entirely different from what it was under Vajpayee Ji. While the Former sacrifice value for the sake of capturing power, by all means, the latter sacrificed power for the sake of protecting values. We all remember Vajpayee-led BJP demitted office upon failure to win confidence motion by 1 Vote, while, present dispensation throws values to the wind and all-out efforts will be made to capture power by hook or crook, state after state across the country. Operation Kamal is being simultaneously implemented in a systematic manner in many states. The Karnataka is struggling while in Goa it has been already achieved. In Andhra we have seen 4 RajyaSabha Members, very close confidants of CBN, have joined BJP, only yesterday one MLC Mr. Sateesh also resigned to join them, in Telangana Former TSRTC Chairman Ex MLA Ramgundam, Satyanarayana, quit the pink party and is joining the saffron party. Moreover, BJP has announced that its doors were open for anyone to join them.

while Congress and media allege that BJP was buying MLAs in Karnataka, BJP asserts that it is not responsible, and Defence Minister disowned it in parliament, but it is hard to buy the averments. One must be politically naive to believe that it has no hand in the resignations as it’s the game plan is to reduce the coalition strength less than its 105 in the Assembly. The chartered flight, and sponsored stay in 5-star Hotel, in Mumbai, and sighting of BJP leaders close Yediyurappa, are all indubitable proof of BJP’s hand in this crisis. The most disgusting thing was, when DK Shivakumara a Minister from Karnataka went to meet his own party MLAs in Mumbai’s hotel, police force has been used to prevent him from meeting them, Maharashtra being BJP ruled state, they got the help, but this is the democracy, where the highhandedness is at its peak.

Even if BJP forms the government through back-door, it will only be a government of defectors or for that matter, the ruling succeeds in appeasing the legislators, they can never be trusted. Now the so-called party with a difference has metamorphosed into a party of defectors, while the MLAs who are trying to crossover have betrayed the trust of the people

Perhaps the time has come to dissolve the house and seek the mandate afresh. Parties must think about dealing with horse trading in a serious manner. The existing anti-defection laws are ineffective and our great lawmakers find out the loopholes to escape disqualification. Those who vitiate democratic credibility must be debarred from accessing all benefits as elected representatives.

Last few days social media is flooded with various reactions to Rahul Gandhi's decision to resign as the president of Congress.
Some supported while some have made comments like running away from responsibilities, in the midst of the party’s rout etc. If he didn’t resign, they would have said that the dynasty wants to cling to the position, even after its disaster under his leadership. After resignation, everybody said it’s a drama, enacted by the family to save its skin, but will take back once formal requests were made by different sections of people. If he wanted to take back, he wouldn’t have waited for so many days after submission of the resignation. That shows his firmness. After that some said, he will appoint his own man and do the back seat driving.  He made it clear that he will not have any say in selection, as its improper. No appreciation for all these genuine observations, because of the biased mindset. I wonder how people will stoop down to any level in casting aspersions. One should have the courage to accept the truth, and people are expected to be genuine in making observations. In fact, submission of resignation, at his level, and with his background, is a rare instance, accepting responsibility for his party’s defeat. But in my view, it’s not a written off party as yet. As the party’s national vote share in the recent elections was 19%, which shows its relevance even today. However, Rahul has put all his bashers and talk of the dynasty to some rest now. And there is no reason why it can’t pick up steam again.

Rahul’s refusal to continue and his efforts to nominate his successor is reflective of his personality. Winning or losing election is a part of the political game. If coming back of the party to power didn’t happen it’s not all his failure, still, he took responsibility for the debacle and I'm sure, no leader or party could have done anything differently and more rewardingly in the face of the resurgence of religion. Let us accept the truth, Hinduism succeeded in playing Hindutva card in swaying the voters to BJPs favor. Sadhvi’s statement in Bhopal, who called Mahatma ‘s assassin a patriot, and won with a huge margin, is a glaring example in this regard.

Rahul’s resignation was a culmination of ruling party’s decade long strategy to discredit Nehru-Gandhi scion and project him as a non-serious politician with virtually no leadership qualities. This persistent, well-planned campaign to defame Rahul, and show up the Congress as a “family-owned enterprise” was essentially meant to weaken the grand old party as they know that this family is a glue that holds everything and everyone together. While Rahul being the main target of the attack, even they didn’t leave Sonia also and made sure that both are kept embroiled in cases of financial irregularities. BJP knows that in order to weaken Congress, the first thing is it has to weaken the first family and we have all seen the name and fame of the so-called central agencies(ECI, CBI, CVC,etc) in the present day context.

We have seen Indira lost 1977 election following Emergency, but made a strong come back in1980 by winning back people’s confidence. Rahul’s successor should take a leaf out of Mrs. Gandhi’s book, and fight. The party should stand for the principles of truth and non-violence. In fact, I would even suggest that the next president should strive to get back all the parties that got separated from Congress like Trinamool, NCP, YSRCP, etc and like-minded ones into its fold and consolidate its presence across the country. There is no mass leader like Rahul, in their party, and his plain and straightforward strategy didn’t work, but that’s no reason to give up. Now only a starting has been made to detach Congress with Gandhi family. It's for the seniors and youngsters to work together to steer the party to get back its old glory.

Indian Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitaraman will be presenting her maiden Union Budget on Friday. This Budget must have been prepared in the backdrop of a slowing economy, delayed monsoon, which undoubtedly reduces agricultural activities, in main Khareef season. The sluggish domestic growth is compounded by lackluster global growth, which in turn reduce the demand for our Exports.

As a retired PSU employee I'm more concerned about raising of Income-tax limit. As high inflation is continuing, it’s the right time now that the Income-tax exemption limit of Rs 2.5 Lakhs (3lakhs for senior citizens) is raised to Rs 8 lakhs to make it at par with the rule of recent reservation policy under 10% quota. This way all eligible persons under this reservation policy will automatically out of Income-tax net. Also, the ensuing budget must provide for lower rates of taxes as it results in a greater number of transactions in white, and black money is reduced, while economic activity increases and our Gross Domestic Production and revenue also increases.

In fact, I have a different approach to this matter--as the elections proved that majority have adored our PM,  for taking very bold decisions like GST, Demonetisation, So-called surgical strikes, fighting black money there are several problems like unemployment, black money stashed in foreign banks, corruption in the whole system, by just one more bold decision of abolition of Income Tax altogether. The whole black money will come out in the market. With the growth in production and consumption, the industries will employ more, so the educated youth will become busy because of employment thereby we can see a surprising decline in crime rate even.

Several countries do not impose Income Tax and this is the disease which keeps our people corrupt. Abolition of Income Tax will transform our society into a healthy nation. Problems in the nation are many and some times we the people of India feel hopeless.

Last Thursday will go down in history as one of the darkest days for our democracy. There could be nothing more shameful and deceitful than the proposal of merger of four Rajyasabha members of TDP with BJP. The question here is not switching loyalties, since “Ayaram, gayaram” concept is not new. Congress encouraged it and it appears BJP is taking it forward at a much faster pace. In what way is it a different or principled party, I don’t know. The question here is about ethics which BJP and its camaraderie boast about. This latest development of Thursday is nothing but a clear threat to democracy and its a big challenge to the Chairman, Venkaiah Naidu as well. No doubt it’s a big set back for CBN and TDP, but it’s a clear case of political opportunism for survival. Mr. Sujana Chowdhary and CM Ramesh both are facing very serious criminal cases, and it’s not that BJP is not aware of their dubious deals. But as I know this act of BJP may not be of much use as Ramesh and Chowdhury are industrialists, TG Venkatesh also is an industrialist but he must be having little political clout in his home district, while Garikapaty is a Telanganite. By admitting them they feel, they are out of being hounded by Central Agencies investigating into their deals, and the day is not far off, the agencies may come out with the plea that they don't have any evidence, and they may be freed.

The recent statements of the ruling dispensation, after assuming office, raised hopes of a refreshing new era. However, this crossover, confirms that political morality remains as low as ever. The BJPs dire need for a majority in the upper house is understandable but not at the cost of democratic principles. There is an immediate need to revisit the anti-defection law. People have very high expectations about the second innings of the present government, when there are core issues such as faltering economy, and agriculture, and I was under the impression that BJP will encourage healthy democratic practices. But I wonder what signal does the party want to give the nation by accepting highly tainted politicians. BJP has demeaned its image by itself. But as I understand, the party’s political priorities overrule, honour and decency in public life. All that matters to it, is the numbers game. And it doesn’t have it in Rajya Sabha to push its hidden agenda. And it doesn’t appear, that it is looking at “one nation one election, but it’s blatantly and outrageously pursuing “one nation and one party” theory. Earlier it used to say “congress mukth Bharat" but now it may be planning “opposition mukth BJP”

Does the world’s largest democracy really need so many elections? India consists of 29 states and 7 UTs of which 2 have assemblies. Therefore theoretically there could be 31 elections, in a span of 5 years, which essentially means the country will be doing little else except electioneering. This is what our Honourable PM and BJP say. But the political spectrum is divided over this issue.

The idea of simultaneous polls is not new. In 1951-52 the first General Election to the Lok Sabha was held simultaneously with State  Assemblies. This practice continued till the general election of 1967, after which it got disrupted due to premature dissolution of some state  Assemblies in 1968 and that of Lok Sabha in1970.

Simultaneous elections may call for prolonging or shortening the tenure of state or Centre as and when required, thus leading to a resultant turmoil which will be unimaginable with our current political system. The “one nation one election" idea may look good on paper but it’s against the federal spirit of our nation. As I said above, though concurrent elections were the norm in the past, I don’t think, there is any point in reopening it as it’s a closed chapter. Instead of this, the government should focus on many burning issues such as agrarian crisis, unemployment, water scarcity in Chennai and other places rather than pull a rabbit out of the hat. 

If it’s sincere, electoral reforms are the priority to some extent, because, the parties that are opposed to the idea feel that the saving on account of repeated polls wouldn’t be more than 5000 crores in five -year period. Again it is also felt that the present system has an advantage as they help in better decision making both at center and states. We have seen, Centre and States revised their policies midway on many occasions only because they were criticised during every election. GST is a major example, initially, it had many flaws but following repeated criticism during state elections, several corrections were made.

Another major issue that needs to be addressed is what if there is a fractured mandate in a state or at Centre? If such a government looses majority before the end of five years, will that government continue to exist without a numerical mandate for the remaining period? What if the government falls? Will there be a President’s rule for The remaining part of five years? 

When I have discussed with people who have in-depth knowledge in State Administration, they say that the purpose to prioritise such issues, is the best way to divide non-BJP parties and divert the attention of voters from real issues, as the debate for and against would continue without break until 2024, and the ruling party can use this issue with a claim that their government wanted to save not only money for the nation but wanted the voters to stand in queue only once in five years to form the government. As for as the proposal on the face of it ordinary people would say it's good one but it was because of opposition, it couldn’t be implemented.

A strong central government is welcome, but it shouldn’t have total control on finances to subdue alternate views of governance at the regional level. If the proposed idea is implemented, state issues will automatically be sidelined and it will weaken India’s federal structure. The priorities of States and Centre level governance are different and can be best addressed by the federal structure of the country and not by imposing from the “top” or the presidential form of administration.

Our community in Hyderabad is facing a severe water problem. Not only Hyderabad, but it may also be a nationwide phenomenon because of the severe drought conditions across some regions. With country staring at possibly longer heatwave spell, the situation might worsen. However today we stand at a crucial crossroads -- to survive using judiciousness or perish due to ignorance and recklessness. The current water crisis which has only been aggravated due to this unrelenting summer must have forced number of people to leave their homes, abandon their cattle and sheep since they do not have water to provide for them. My neighbour working for a software company has told me that their counterparts in Chennai, are given work from home facility because the employers do not have enough water to sustain operations. And some other firms have asked the employees to bring their own drinking water since employers cannot guarantee drinking water during the working hours. Surprisingly, when I was searching for some other details on this, I have come across some startling revelations, which might jolt one into action. It is mentioned that by the end of May, 43% of India was experiencing drought conditions. Furthermore, the country had witnessed a drought every year since 2015 (other than 2017). In terms of groundwater, the situation is even grim according to a report. The groundwater which serves 40%of India’s needs, is being depleted at a frightening unsustainable rate. The 2018 report of NITI-AYOG says that 21 Indian cities including Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad will run out of groundwater by 2020 and that 40% of India’s population will have no access to drinking water, by 2030. The year 2030 is less than 11 years away. This means that in little more than a decade, more than one in three people in the country will not have access to drinking water. To bring this point closer home, it’s likely that only two or three of us will essentially have access to drinking water by 2030. This is all due to the cumulative effect of poor water management and climate change. Meanwhile, the underground water has severely depleted in several regions creating an acute water shortage. The way forward is to introduce irrigation reforms, rejuvenation of rivers and well-planned transparency in urban water management to augment resources for sewerage and waste water treatment are essential. A comprehensive water policy that focuses on reusing waste water is the need hour. And another most important step would be increasing vegetation in urban and rural areas is a must (for better rainfall and better air quality etc).