Raghunandan TR Diary: Saviors of Secularism and AAP Candidates

A diary from the wall of Raghunandan TR, former Joint Secretary at Govt of India. 

In Shanthinagar Constituency, over the past 3 months Renuka has been receiving a terrific response. We have grown from strength to strength and are now a serious challenger for the seat. The BJP has lost credibility because their candidate was last time the JDS candidate. And because one of his Competitors from the BJP did not get the seat, he overnight took a crash course in secularism and emerged as a JDS butterfly from a saffron cocoon! So he has also lost his credibility! The Congress candidate was not even sure about getting a seat till the last minute.

But now, a new bogey is making its rounds. Messages are going around that since secularism is in danger, the secular vote should not be split.

That is a commendable and self-evident sentiment. Any right-thinking individual who is concerned about preserving India’s secularism and multiculturalism would certainly not want the secular vote to be split.

So lets see who is the preserver of secularism, based on their recent track record.

It can’t be the BJP, right? Their spelling for it is ‘sickularism’. Our very talkative and emotional Prime Minister has generally remained silent about secularism in all his speeches.

The JDS? The last time the JDS was in power in Karnataka, they were supported by the BJP from outside. I suppose they will think its time to return the favour.

Now lets turn to the Congress. The Congress has been strongly making the point that they ought to be the natural choice for the protection of secular ideals.

What is their track record in recent years? Here are some case studies

Case study 1: Goa, 2017:
In Goa, even though the Congress was the largest party, they could not form the government. They were done in by Vijay Sardesai a Congress MLA who quit the party in 2012 when he was denied a Congress ticket and formed a new political formation, the Goa Forward Party along with his colleagues, Jayesh Salgoankar and Vinod Palekar, who were district leaders of Goa Congress. The GFP adopted an anti-BJP plank. The AICC also did not field candidates against these three to signal an electoral understanding. However, Goa PCC chief Luizinho Falerio, who has personal differences with Sardesai, unilaterally handed out a Congress nomination to a local leader to fight against Sardesai.

Sardesai won.

In revenge, the victorious Sardesai refused to back Falerio for CM and demanded that Pratapsinh Rane be made CM. But before the Congress could decide, the trio from the GFP crossed over to BJP and became ministers in Parikkar’s cabinet.

To rub salt into the Congress’s wounds, Rane’s legislator son, Viswajeet, quit the Congress promptly and became a minister in Parikkar’s BJP government.

Case study 2: Uttarakhand 2017: 
In Uttarakhand, 13 Congress ministers and MLAs defected to BJP to provide support in fighting against the Harish Rawat-led Congress. They included Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Yashpal Arya, Subodh Uniyal, Pratap Batra, Pranav Singh Champion, Rekha Arya, Shailesh Mohan Singh, Umesh Sharma, Kedar Singh Rawat and ex-CM Vijay Bahuguna’s son Saurabh. Of these, Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat Yashpal Arya and Rekha Arya were rewarded with Ministerships in the Ministry of CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, who incidentally, started his political career as a Swayamsevak of the RSS.

To keep the post brief, I will not go into other case studies. Only bullet points will suffice.

Manipur: 
Nongthombam Biren Singh. Former Deputy leader of the Congress party, now BJP Chief Minister. Congress had 28 seats, BJP 21, still BJP formed the government, tying up with other bitter political rivals. Also veteran Congress leader Yumkham Erabot joined the BJP.

Actually, no. Its going to take more space. So let me just reel off names. 
In UP, Rita Bahuguna. Dhirender Singh. 
In Gujarat, Shankarsinh Vaghela, Vitthal Radadiya, Poonam Madam, Devusinh Chauhan, Devij Fathepara, Lalisinh Vadodiya, Prabhu Vasava
In Delhi, Krishna Tirath, Arvinder Singh Lovely.
In Karnataka, S.M. Krishna.
In Tripura; entire Congress team migrates wholesale to BJP

And in Parliament, some of the Congress defectors who are now in the BJP are Rao Indrajit Singh, Om Prakash Yadav, Sushil Kumar Singh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Jagdambika Pal, Dharamvir Singh, Ajay Nishad, Santosh Kumar, Mehboob Ali Kaiser, Ashok Kumar Dohare, Vidyut Baran Mahato, Col Sonaram Choudhary, Ram Kripal Yadav, and Heena Gavit.

I must really stop. I’m not going to list out the locally powerful leaders, the ones with small but numerically significant numbers of followers in state after state, who have abandoned the Congress and joined the BJP from the congress in hundreds, usually after a big ceremonial procession to legitimize and draw attention to their ideological change of heart.

Half the reason for Congress-mukt bharat is the congress's own moth eaten rank and file.

So please don’t have any confidence that a party that allows corrupt and opportunistic people to join and grow within it, will have the courage and integrity to protect secularism.

Some well meaning people say that the fight against corruption can take a backseat in the fight against communalism.

Sorry folks, Corruption is the FOUNDATION of communalism.

Because, if you are corrupt, you are also opportunistic, because you want to preserve your ill gotten money. So two things happen. 

1. First, your secularism is for sale, as is amply shown by the case studies above.
2. Second, if you show any resistance to switching sides, then you can be blackmailed, because the other side knows everything about you. So if you do not succumb to temptation, you are threatened.

That is why every corrupt individual in the congress is vulnerable.

So, who are the people who have been able to defeat the BJP even in one state on their own strength? Which is the government that was able not only to thrash the BJP, but virtually humiliated the prime minister right under his nose? Who is still delivering good governance in spite of the daily harassments and obstructions that are spearheaded by the BJP with the Congress standing aside and applauding? Which party has had the maximum number of false criminal cases foisted against it, most of which have been thrown out and rejected by courts with strictures? Which party got an order passed by the President of India on disqualification of MLAs overturned in a court of law?

It is sad to see the 130 year old congress so scared of the 5 year old AAP. Because finally, a party has emerged that has the courage to actually stand up for constitutional ideals such as secularism. Don’t get me wrong, I am terribly sad to see this. Neither Renuka Viswanathan nor I would have joined politics if it were not for the congress being so corrupt. Both my sister and I have done enough and more of dedicated work for congress and JDS governments. Ask Siddaramaiah, if you wish. Ask Deve Gowda, if you wish.

I do not want to name all the individuals in the Congress standing for elections in Bangalore city, who have made fortunes from their corrupt dealings. But one thing is sure, if the time comes when secularism is in serious danger, they will not stand up for it. Some of the Congress people one hope will protect the interests of the minorities and Dalits, will surely fail the country. It is not a question of whether it will happen, but when.

As long as the minorities live in fear and they condone corruption as the price that they pay in order to get protection, they will be exploited by the congress. And their safety will be bartered.

Not a single one of Karnataka’s AAP candidates will barter away the rights and protections of anybody and particularly people from the minorities. The Constitution gives everybody in India the right to practice religion without fear and obstruction. We will give our lives and political careers for that. Period.

Invite us for an open debate, and then decide whether it is fair to ask the one party that is genuinely pursuing good and corruption free governance to concede space to a bunch of corrupt thugs who use the slogan of secularism to scare people into voting for them, so that they can make even more money.

And the last point, one could use the emotional line to tug at your hearts. But both Renuka and I do not want to bring in the details of our family background into this campaign. We are private persons and the privacy of our family members will be protected. Suffice to say that we are multicultural.

But more than that, we are people of integrity who have served the country and protected the Constitution.

Nobody can bribe us to give up our secular ideals.


Don’t split the secular vote. Vote for the AAP. 

Original post can be read here on Facebook. 

Social activist and actor Mona Ambegaonkar on crime against women, child welfare and environment

Mona Ambegaonkar, Bollywood, TV and theater actor is also a social activist. In recent years, Mona has been very active politically. She has also raised her voice for child welfare and animal protection. She doesn’t have an active career in electoral politics but she has been doing social work for 8 years with the Humsafar Trust. It is India’s oldest LGBTQ organization which does outreach work in gender awareness and sensitization of human rights and health issues primarily for LGBTQ communities. Mona also uses theatre of performing art as a tool to spread awareness. She works with villages, corporate entities and educational networks.  

The Movement: Mona has been a part of the attempt to stop the government from destroying the Aarey Milk Colony which is a forest buffer zone in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It is the only park in India which is within the city limits (Mumbai). The park is full of wildlife including tigers, leopards, jaguars etc. All these animals are grade A protected wildlife across the world. Destroying Aarey Milk Colony can generate a lot of revenue for the government but at what cost? Killing certain animal species which are endangered. Mona and her team are fighting with the government for the last 3 years. 

Plays: Mona’s work in cinema, television or theater is mostly aligned with social issues. Currently she is working on “Ek Madhav Baug” which is about homosexuality and acceptance of gay community. She is also working on “Vagina Monolog”. This award winning play fights for women rights (HT Article). The performance has been played in India for 16 years to create awareness about physical and mental assaults. In another play “Mahua” talks about tribal rights and protecting forests. Tribal people are pressured and their lands are snatched away for coal and wood. 

Mona Ambegaonkar with the team of Ek Madhav Baug (source) 

Crime Against Women: Recent rape incidents in India have made a lot of noise at national and international levels. Rapes and molestation incidents happen at regular intervals but due to high profile involvement, some recent cases have received major attention. Nirbhaya incident brought everyone together which not only contributed in government change but also forced the government to establish Nirbhaya fund. Four years later, the funds are still unused and rape/molestation incidents are still making headlines. In a recent development, POCSO act was amended allowing death penalty to those convicted of raping children upto the age of 12. According to 2005 data, a woman is molested every 20 minutes, raped every 30 minutes and killed every 90 minutes. With increasing population, these figures might have multiplied. The investigation and conviction process become complicated when the government represents and protects people involved in the crime against women. Some cases are withdrawn out of pressure and some other last decades. But the crime chart keeps on rising higher. 

Why do we have to protest everytime? Mona is also a fan of Swati Maliwal who was on hunger strike against child rape. After 10 days of her fast, government brought the ordinance and amended the POCSO act. With the opinion divided on the amendment, Mona pointed out government failure in introducing fast track courts and time bound judgements. She is skeptical about the outcomes of amendment but a bit relaxed that the government did something after all. An ideal day for a citizen would be when the government will be sensitive to every issue related to them. It is a shame for the government of any country if the people have to hit the streets every time there is an injustice. 

Will there be a march under Indian Flag for this child? @SwatiJaiHind fasts to make sure such #Rapist vermin are hung in 6 months. Join her. https://t.co/vyluEVD5Of

— Mona Ambegaonkar (@MonaAmbegaonkar) April 21, 2018

The Solution to Problems: Apart from increased crime against women, corruption, joblessness, inflation, there exists many other problems in India. Also the path to implementing solutions for each of these problems is not very straight all the time. These issues can be eradicated gradually by changing the people who rule India and educate the masses who vote in India. Replacing the authorities can be done in a short amount of time but making voters aware will require great efforts. People need to come forward and educate each other about their rights and duties. In the process, education plays a very important role. Even if we can't completely reform the mindset of current voters, we can certainly enlighten future voters by giving them the right education. And the disappointing part is that the right education policies are in the hands of ministers of the ruling party.

In short, if we teach each other our basic right and duties and vote for only the educated and deserving candidates, a positive change will not be very far.

AAP, a hope and Example: Ever since AAP government came into power, they are continuously working on improving education, health, infrastructure and environment. With quality education they are trying to develop a more aware future generation; better health services are providing a worry free environment; and a revised infrastructure is making sure the economy is growing with a sustainable environment. 

Keeping in mind the vision for a better India, please come forward to know your rights and vote for an educated and deserving candidates beyond the limitations of religion and caste politics.

AAP USA chapter organizes a weekly conference call every Sunday at noon 12:00PM EST. More details about the call and the guest can be found at @aapchat (https://twitter.com/aapchat).

Animated gifs of 2018 Fredericton spring flood

On April 26, 2018 everything was looking perfect in the city of Fredericton, NB and the traffic was running smoothly. There was a flood warning and the situation became difficult on the 27th of April. South bound traffic in the morning was operating as normal but the chaos initiated around noon when traffic started flowing towards the north. Due to closure of various roads, intersections and exits on Westmoreland bridge, every northbound route leading to north Westmoreland bridge was packed with cars. We witnessed it while driving from north to south. News channels have been reporting that this level of flood was last seen in 2008 and may get worse in coming days. Due to traffic jams (youtube video), we decided to stay on the south side until late evening. This also gave us the opportunity to roam around downtown looking for flooded areas, traffic jams and other people who came out to enjoy the beautiful day. It was a great weather for photography. I managed to capture the scenery of some flooded areas. When I arrived back home, I realized that I had some photos of downtown Fredericton when it was not flooded. So I merged some pics of flooded areas with their dry former selves.

View daily activities of 7 Delhi Cabinet Ministers on one page

Most of the elected representatives (MP, MLA and others) use social media. Their daily activities and views can be followed by visiting their profiles. As of now I'm only interested in Delhi Aam Aadmi Party Government and their ministers (more ministers from other governments will be included in future blogs). There are 7 cabinet ministers and each hold various portfolios. Following are Twitter feeds from AAP Delhi cabinet ministers.

1. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister 

Tweets by ArvindKejriwal

2. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister 

Portfolios: Tourism; Education; Finance; Planning; Land & Building; Vigilance; Services; Women and Child; Art, Culture & Languages; and all other Departments not specifically allotted to any Minister

Tweets by msisodia

3. Gopal Rai 

Portfolios: Employment; Development; Labour; General Administration Department; Irrigation and Flood Control

Tweets by AapKaGopalRai

4. Satyendar Jain 

Portfolios: Health; Industries; Public Work Department; Power; Home; Urban Development

Tweets by SatyendarJain

5. Imran Hussain 

Portfolios: Food & Supply; Environment and Forest; Election

Tweets by ImranHussaain

6. Rajendra Pal Gautam 

Portfolios: Gurudwara Elections; SC & ST; Social Welfare; Cooperative   

Tweets by AdvRajendraPal

7. Kailash Gahlot 

Portfolios: Administrative Reforms; Information &Technology; Law, Justice & Legislative Affairs;  Transport; Revenue

Tweets by kgahlot

Twitter profiles and contact details of all 70 Delhi MLAs are available here: Twitter Handles of Aam Aadmi Party Delhi MLAs
Bookmark this page to your browser. The tweets from ministers are live. 

Along the Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, Texas

Seawall Blvd, the final road touching Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas. Galveston is the last town if you continue driving on the highway 45S from Houston. This small island is popular among tourists and others who want some time off from Houston. After covering almost the entire eastern US, it was our first time in the South. We visited the area in summer 2016. We chose to visit Galveston because of two reasons. 

1. This was the farthest we could go in that direction 
2. It has Schlitterbahn Waterpark with the world's tallest water coaster 

Houston, one of the largest cities in the US has a lot to offer but a small island called Galveston was a pleasant surprise for us. It was calm and scenic. Many of the beautiful places were owned by private owners, but Seawall Blvd itself had many sites worth exploring with access to beaches, shore-drive, Ferris wheel (amusement park) and water park. Following are some photos around Galveston. 

Along the Seawall Blvd: While driving on the Seawall Blvd, you either look at beautiful houses facing Gulf of Mexico on one side or the Ocean on the opposite side; both the views are stunning. The area has lots of hangout places and people can be seen enjoying different activities. 

Schlitterbahn Water Park: The water park located in Galveston has many activities to offer including the world's tallest water coaster. Unfortunately I don't have much photos from the park as it was difficult to take photos while submerged in the water. The place was fantastic and full of excitement. 

Historic Pleasure Pier: Pleasure Pier was also located on the Seawall Blvd with a Ferris wheel on the ocean edge. We spent most of the day in water park so couldn't get a chance to go to the Pleasure Pier, but I can imagine the thrill of freely falling from top of the Ferris wheel right into the ocean. 

Around the Island: After we were done from the water park, we drove around Galveston chasing dead ends and meeting beachfronts. The view was magnificent. We also got a chance to see some high rise flood-proof houses (a rare sight for us). 

Beach Areas: In the evening, we walked and relaxed while watching birds flying around the beach. I also tried some high exposure night time photos of the on-road traffic.

This photo blog is the first part of a blog series based on our trip in Texas in 2016. More to come....!!

Volunteers of AAP: Meet Charanjeet Singh

Originally from Kurukshetra and after completing his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Charanjeet Singh moved to Delhi in Feb 2013. He met Arvind Kejriwal in his Kaushambi office. During that time, Charanjeet had few months to decide about his future and he asked Arvind if he can contribute to AAP for couple of months. He was introduced to Ankit Lal and assigned some IT work. Following his instincts, Charanjeet never looked back at his post-graduate entrance examinations (GATE) results for which he had appeared before he joined Arvind.  He is still volunteering at the same location.

The computer science graduate is helping Aam Aadmi Party with others in achieving its social media goals and securing its databases. Since the beginning, Charanjeet is involved in IT services, server management, application development, calling campaigns and other activities on social media. Few major projects where Charanjeet participated with other members are:

1. Mobile App Development: A mobile app was developed which was very helpful during Punjab elections. A survey of 25 - 30 lakhs people was conducted using the app
2. Calling Campaign: A web portal was designed to connect volunteers/supporters living in different parts of India and the world. The portal was designed in a way that on login a volunteer/supporter was directly connected to voters (via a phone call) to spread the AAP manifesto and talk about problems in their constituency
3. www.aamaadmiparty.org: Built www.aamaadmiparty.org from scratch and maintaining the website since then

The completely volunteer-run website is doing an extraordinary job in maintaining not only its look but also managing response to different queries. AAP website developed by Charanjeet is also the main source for online donations received. While cybersecurity is a big issue (many accounts of celebrities and even defense ministry website have been hacked), AAP website has been running successfully with all the latest security measures. In a recent update, donation via UPI were also integrated. 

Ankit Lal and Charanjeet Singh (Oct 2013) 

Challenges and Resources: Aam Aadmi Party social media campaigns and other activities on ground are completely depended on volunteers. There is no paid staff doing 9 to 5 jobs like other major parties. Volunteers join and leave based on their availability and commitments. As a result, team has to use the services of volunteers based on their schedule and assign tasks where they are needed the most. Many volunteers work remotely from different cities and their homes. With different skills and availability, it is also challenging to allocate works to different volunteers. And sometimes because of a limited pool of volunteers, finding participants for special projects is very challenging. Similar problems are also faced by the team working on ground level activities.

Information Accuracy: All AAP and other sympathisers get the party updates from different platforms on social media. With limited media coverage, information available on Facebook pages and Twitter handles is very critical. Many pages are run by volunteers using their individual capability and creativity. With the possibility (intentionally or unintentionally) of sharing fake information, user should only rely on information shared by verified pages. Even some of the Facebook pages are not officially associated with the party. There exists AAP official pages at the state and city level and many of them are verified. Information shared on these pages is reliable as it is first hand information coming from official sources. In case of third party sources, information is first verified then shared.

Developments and Requirements: After a break in 2015, newsletter distribution work has slowly started and soon will be sent at regular intervals. There are many projects under development but their execution is slow because of lack of volunteers and experts. Consequently, the project execution rely on certain number of volunteers who need to learn the technology before getting involved in a project. This process delays the project completion deadline. Either on ground or in a virtual world, volunteers are the mouthpiece of AAP. With several projects under development and many in queue, AAP is looking forward for more volunteers with special skills. Some of the skills required by the team are:

• .Net Development 
• Java Development 
• Android/iOS Development 
• Facebook App Development 
• Python Scripting 
• Wordpress Developments 

If Aam Aadmi Party is surviving today, it’s mainly because of the selfless work of volunteers. There might be many buyers ready to invest in AAP and provide all the resources party need. If this happens, AAP will not be any different than other parties because it will be forced to work for its bosses. Kudos to all the volunteers like Charanjeet who brought AAP this far and providing a challenge to old established parties. If you have any of the skills mentioned above and are able to spent couple of hours a week, please come forward and join the team by sending an email to AAP Overseas.

Read more stories of AAP Volunteers.

AAP USA chapter organizes a weekly conference call every Sunday at noon 12:00PM EST. More details about the call and the guest can be found at @aapchat (https://twitter.com/aapchat).

AAP Advisors are Pulled-over While on Their Quest to Make a Better Delhi

A term is almost going to be over for the ruling government at center but their fight with the Delhi govt does not look like it is going to stop any soon. After scandalous activities by the central ruling party such as horse trading MLAs, cancelling membership of 20 MLAs, threatening with police/FIRs, taking away powers, false claims against AAP members, lawsuits, returning/stopping bills, unnecessary delayed appointments, etc., it seems that declaring the Delhi election process as unconstitutional will be their last option. With all these hurdles and muscle powers via LG and MHA office, AAP government is still able to perform. Just imagine the performance without these conflicts.

April 17, 2018 when 9 advisors of Aam Aadmi Party were removed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These advisors were working with different ministries and shaping AAP policies. For example their achievements in Health and Education in Delhi are talked across the world, Delhi Budget, Water, Environment and Transportation initiatives have been making a significant difference in the capital as well. Advisors which were removed by the MHA are given below.

I am copying a paragraph from an article published by newslaundry. 

The question on everyone’s minds is: how can the central government sack an advisor to the Delhi government? The short answer is: Ever since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has come to power in Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government via a notification in 2015, took away the Services department from the elected government and transferred it to the LG. The absurdity of not having the power to appoint, post and transfer officials in one’s own government was forced on Arvind Kejriwal by a vindictive government to scuttle the AAP’s radical agenda to reform education, health, power and water sectors. In doing so, the BJP ensured that all of Delhi’s bureaucrats answered only to the LG and not to Delhi’s ministers, because there were absolutely no repercussions of insubordination. The Delhi government, with its wings clipped, relied on young, brilliant advisors to drive policy reform.

All the advisors were working on a token salary of Rs 1/month. Ragahv Chadda worked as an Advisor to Minister (Finance) for 75 days (Jan 15 - Mar 31 2016). During this time he helped the  Minister of Finance in preparing the Finance Budget 2016-17. This budget itself was well appreciated. One such feat was the "Outcome Budget" launched by Dy CM Manish Sisodia. Such ideas comes from a bright team. Here are letters from Raghav Chadda in response to the MHA decision. 

 

Another person who has done significant work in transforming Delhi's education system is Atishi Marlena. She worked as an Advisor to Dy CM Manish Sisodia. Delhi govt schools are quickly becoming model schools talked about in different parts of the world. In Feb, 2018, when I met Manish Sisodia in Boston during the India Conference, on multiple occasions Manish mentioned about Atishi and her hard work. Search Delhi Government School images on Google and all you will see are the transformed government schools with smart classrooms, swimming pools, state-of-the-art architecture, sport courts/grounds etc. It will be an injustice to Atishi if I don't mention that she is a Rhodes Scholar and an Oxford University graduate.

When it comes to students graduating from overseas universities, many people don't come back to India. Some of those who come back, opt to work for high-paying institutions. Atishi also taught in a private school after coming back to India for a while.  However, there are very few people who leave their career and work on  a token salary. 

It  is really socking to see when such a selfless qualified scholar is punished due to political revenge. Specially when Atishi is transforming basic education in Delhi (so India) and setting up new standards. Many people across the globe came forward in appreciation of Atishis' work and criticized the decision taken by the MHA. Here are some expressions from twitter users (originally shared by @AkshayMarathe).