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).

Yesterday was back to school day for most schools. I was standing outside my community and watching the hustle and bustle of kids trying to catch their school bus. But what caught my eye was heavy bags on their tiny shoulders. Those bags weighed more than the child's weight. 

I wonder, do schools and governments even care about them? 

 According to my knowledge, the Central government has advised the states, to lessen the burden of school bags for school going children and do away completely with homework for children studying first and second classes, which if it is true, it’s praiseworthy. I really hope the state governments should heed to the sensitive and wise advice immediately. 

In fact, schools can provide book-shelves to every student, and the government can also provide financial support for this. Schools can also change their academic schedule in such a manner that they divide weekdays according to the subjects so that instead of carrying all books every day, a student can use only 3/4books on a particular day. It was even suggested that the pages of textbooks and notebooks should be reduced to half or say 50 pages. Textbooks could be published topic wise or chapter wise. Now the existing system has been stealing all the enthusiasm, creativity, and the spirits of a child in the name of modern education. The elements of morals,  ethics, arts, and creative skills that help one’s overall development are gradually missing in primary education. The reform should start from the very beginning of school life. There should be an innovative solution or we might find schools being the place of least interest for the children of the next generation.