Jayalalitha Convicted - at last, after 18 years.

Sept. 27: Jayalalithaa was today unseated as Tamil Nadu chief minister and faced a possible 10-year bar on contesting elections as a Bangalore court sent her to jail with a Rs 100-crore fine for amassing unexplained wealth two decades ago.

A lawyer unconnected with the case, who was in the courtroom inside a jail complex, said Jayalalithaa, 66, felt giddy and ill as judge John Michael D’Cunha passed the verdict and was allowed to step out briefly for fresh air.

Her four-year sentence means the AIADMK leader, the first serving chief minister to be convicted of corruption, must spend at least two days in her Bangalore prison cell as inmate No. 7402 before bail becomes a possibility.

THE FLAG GOES Jayalalithaa arrives at the court in Bangalore. As soon as she was convicted, the flag was taken off. (PTI)

Bail from the trial court was ruled out because the sentence was longer than three years. The high court next sits on Monday, giving Jayalalithaa a two-day window before it closes for the Dussehra holidays till October 5.

Her bigger worry will be the blow to her political career, and not just because conviction has automatically disqualified her as a lawmaker under a July 2013 Supreme Court ruling and ejected her as chief minister.

If she fails to secure a high court acquittal in the coming months, she will not just have to spend four years in jail but face a further six-year ban on voting or contesting elections — by when she will be 76.

As news of her conviction seeped out, an alert police officer was seen removing the national flag from Jayalalithaa’s Toyota, parked inside the court complex, in symbolic recognition of her ouster as chief minister.

Her party will meet tomorrow to choose a successor. The likeliest pick is finance minister O. Panneerselvam, a loyalist who had filled in for Jayalalithaa in 2001 too when the apex court unseated her because of a prior conviction over a corrupt land deal. Jayalalithaa had returned to her post after a few months, courtesy a high court acquittal.

Jail sources in Bangalore said Jayalalithaa had been lodged alone in a cell that has a ceiling fan and given a blanket, the authorities having rejected her demand for hospital admission after the mandatory medical check-up.

It’s not clear how Jayalalithaa will pay the Rs 100-crore fine: in her last election affidavit in 2011, she had declared assets worth just over Rs 50 crore.

The staggering fine comes on a week the Supreme Court slapped a compensation levy on companies while cancelling their coal block licences. The companies have been asked to pay Rs 295 for every tonne of coal they had mined. Some estimates put the cumulative blow to the companies at Rs 10,400 crore.

The 17-year-old case against Jaya related to Rs 66.65-crore worth of unaccounted wealth accumulated during her first term as chief minister between 1991 and 1996. She then drew a monthly salary of Re 1 and had no other regular source of income.

Judge D’Cunha handed a four-year term and a Rs 10-crore fine to each of her three co-conspirators: friend Sasikala and Sasikala’s sister-in-law Ilavarasi and nephew V.N. Sudhakaran, who happens to be Jayalalithaa’s estranged foster son.

Jayalalithaa has been convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act and two Indian Penal Code sections relating to abetment and criminal conspiracy.

The case, filed in Chennai in 1997, was shifted to Bangalore on a plea from Jayalalithaa’s political opponent DMK, which feared subversion after 72 witnesses turned hostile.

The trial was held at a court in central Bangalore but the verdict was delivered in the Gandhi Bhavan courthouse inside the Parappana Agrahara jail complex off the Bangalore-Hosur Road, where Jayalalithaa is now lodged. The venue shift came on an appeal from Jayalalithaa, who cited her Z-plus security.

She had made just one court appearance during the trial, for four days in 2011, after one of the 14 judges who heard the case put his foot down.

Our India judicial system is too slow.

It has taken 18 years since the case was filed and 23 years since the theft had occurred.

The 100 crore fine imposed on her is too meagre.

If you consider the 14 % interest on 66 crores charged by banks, the fine should have been 528 crores 

How money from this glittery mega IT Park built on public land will go into a company of Sharad Pawar’s son-in-law

• INVESTIGATION

by Ashish Khetan (khetan@gulail.com) - on 11/02/2014

Gulail in collaboration with an intrepid RTI activist from Pune, Ravi Bharate, has accessed hundreds of official documents revealing how a company associated with Sharad Pawar’s family was given over 19 lakh sq feet of public land in the heart of Pune city for a pittance. Ashish Khetan uncovers the massive land scam running into thousands of crores of rupees.

This author has in the past written about three major land scams involving Sharad Pawar’s family in Pune city  Now Gulail has dug up evidence of another scam involving the Pawars that is bigger than all the previous three put together.

Pawar Realty: The mega IT SEZ in Kharadi, Pune

In the heart of Pune city, in a locality called Kharadi, stands a glistening new Information Technology Park with four massive towers of glass and concrete already constructed and a few more that are under construction. The park is spread over 180,000 sq. meters or over 19 lakh sq. feet of land. On the surface it all seems perfectly alright, till you dig a little deeper and find that the land on which this structure stands was a public resource until a few years ago.

On 11 October 2004, Panchshil Premises Private Limited, one of the group companies of Panchshil Group, the Pune-based real estate conglomerate in which Sharad Pawar and his family have a substantial equity holding, approached the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), a government owned corporation for promoting industries, with an application seeking transfer of this massive piece of land to the company.

Within a month the Pune Collector assessed the premium at Rs 600 per sq. meter or Rs 55.74 per sq. feet for the period of 95 years. Another Rs 62,80,771 was charged as deprecated cost of the then existing structures on the land. Thus a total of Rs. 11,42,80,771 was charged for a period of 95 years for land measuring 19,37,520 sq. feet.

What's scandalous is that 50 percent of the premium eventually assessed by the MIDC was paid by Panchshil as earnest money along with the application. This shows that the entire process of allotment was done as per a pre-conceived plan.
Eventually the land was leased out for 95 years extendable by another 95 years at the end of the lease.

The company name was later changed from Panchshil Premises Pvt Lt to Eon Kharadi Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. The documents available with Gulail show that company has built 4 million sq. feet of built-up commercial area for commercial sale or lease.

The going market rate for commercial built up area is 22,000 sq feet hence the company stands to earn Rs 8,800 crores in revenue even while the government has received a mere 11.42 crores or Rs 55.74 per sq. feet for 95 years as premium. In addition the company pays Rs 1 (you read it right; it's Rupee One) to the government in rent every year.

The Panchshil-Sharad Pawar Connection

The website of Forbes magazine pegs the net worth of the Pune-based builders Atul Chordia and his brother Sagar Chordia at 635 million dollars and rank them as the 100th richest persons in India. Against the heading ˜Source of Wealth it reads Real Estate, Self Made. However, a more apt description would have been Real Estate, Sharad Pawar Made.

It is a rags to riches story for the Pune-based Chordias. The old residents of Pune would tell you that in the early 70s Ishwardas Chordia, the father of Atul and Sagar Chordia—was a small time sugar trader. He owned a gala or a small shop at Nana Chowk, a crowded wholesale market. But Ishwardas had one qualification that others lacked and it was enough to propel him and his family into the orbit of the super rich. He was a college friend of Sharad Pawar. Both had studied and graduated together from BMCC College in Pune.

Besides being a man of various talents, Pawar is a man with the Midas touch. The phenomenal riches earned by Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka the prime accused in the 2G scam case– after they came in touch with Pawar is part of folklore. The lesser known story of the Chordias falls in the same league.

Thorn in Pawar’s flesh: Pune based RTI activist Ravi Bharate has till now unearthed half a dozen land scams of the Pawar family.

In the 70s Sharad Pawar and Ishwar Das Chordia together floated a company by the name of Panchshil Hotels Ltd.

Documents with the RoC also reveal that as of September 2004, Pawar and his wife had 1.47 lakh and 1.45 lakh shares respectively in the company. In December 2009, Panchshil allotted 1:1 bonus shares to the duo. This raised Pawar and his wife’s holding in the company to 2.94 lakh and 2.90 lakh shares respectively.

Between them, the Chordia family and Pawar's daughter and son-in-law Supriya and Sadanand Sule all own substantial stakes in four mega IT Parks cum Commercial Hubs set up in the heart of Pune City. Eon Kharadi is one of them. All have been built on vast stretches of public land that was systematically transferred to Panchshil Group of companies.

Sharad Pawar's son-in-law Sadanand Sule has direct connection with Eon Kharadi Infrastructure. ROC records show that Premsagar Hotels is a holding company of Eon Kharadi Infrastructure. Sadanand Sule holds 2,50,000 shares in Premsagar Hotels.

How public land was transferred into private hands

It is illuminating to track down the history of the Kharadi land before it was transferred to companies linked with the Pawars.

A total of 36,46,000 sq. feet (36 hectares 46 r) land was acquired from farmers by the Pune Collector under the Urban Land Ceiling Act.

The Pune Collector declared the land as grazing land and handed it over into the possession of the Kharadi Gram Panchayat.

Laterthe Pune Collector took over the possession of the land for building residential schemes for economically weaker sections and a portion of the land was earmarked for industrial development. 18 lakh sq. feet was allocated to the MIDC. The land use was changed and development plan and town plan were accordingly amended.

On 8 January 1997, the MIDC wrote to Pune Collector wanting to relinquish the land and asked the government to take the possession back.

In 1998 the Maharashtra Government (Shiv Sena-BJP was in power at the time) laid down the Information Technology Policy. One of the main focus areas of the policy was to strengthen and expand human resource infrastructure in the state. The Industries Department mooted a proposal to set up a world class IT Software Engineering Institute on this same piece of Kharadi land. Discussions were also initiated with Carnegie Mellon Institute for a tie-up. Eminent business leaders like HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, Infosys Chairman Narayanan Murthy and then UTI Chairman P S Subramanium had give their consent to be part of the Governing Body of the proposed institute.

In October 2009 the NCP-Congress Alliance formed the government and the proposal was soon shelved. Five years later the land was given to the Panchshil Group for a pittance.

Gulail sent detailed questionnaires to Panchshil Group and MIDC. But till the time of publication of this story they had not responded.

That is why I have always maintained that Sharad Pawar is one of the most corrupt politicians. He knows how to switch sides so that he is always in power. Now he is alll ready to ditch the Congress and join the NDA.

Justice R S Sodhi supports Justice Lodha, says do not seek post retirement jobs

New Delhi, Sept.26 (ANI): Agreeing with Chief Justice of India R. M. Lodha's remark, retired Justice R S Sodhi on Friday said that the retired judges must learn how to exit gracefully without seeking any post retirement jobs.

"I welcome CJI's statement, re-employment of the retired judges was never a healthy precedent. I have been opposing any kind of post retirement appointments of the judges," Sodhi told ANI while reacting on CJI R.M. Lodha's statement that no judge should accept any constitutional or government post after retirement,.
"Retired judges must learn how to retire and must not seek these post retirement jobs because they appear to compromise with the independence of the judiciary," he added.
Earlier on Friday, the 41st Chief Justice of India, R.M. Lodha retired and said that no judge should accept any constitutional or government assignment after his or her retirement. (ANI)

I fully endorse Justice Sodhi and Justice R M Lodha.
Judges, if they start hankering for post retirement jobs will be clouding their judgement to support the government when they are in the SC. A recent case in example is the way Ex-Justice Sathasivam delivered his judgement in support of Modi so that he could be appointed Governor of Kerala or any other post which Modi may have found suitable to reward him.
Another, is the example of Justice Markandey, Chairman, Press Council of India. He has been issuing statements in favour of the government in power so that his post is safe. Earlier he supported the Congress and now he supports the BJP.
Ex judges should use their expertise in commissions of enquiry, if and when these are set up. Of course, these Commissions of Enquiry serve no purpose. They are just eye-wash to fool the people to show that the government appears to be taking action. Most of the the reports  find their way to the dustbin without any action being taken. The so called Action Taken reports are themselves a farce.

Deliberate mess created outside Red Fort for his photo-op

Sanitation workers became litterbugs on Thursday when they threw plastic bottles and crumpled pieces of paper outside the Red Fort so a Union Minister could get his photo-op while picking up the garbage.

This staged littering and cleanliness drive was organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Even as Minister of State (independent charge) for Culture and Tourism Shripad Naik was speaking at the event, safai karamcharis started littering the premises by throwing used mineral water bottles and waste paper on the road, which had earlier been swept clean.

As Mr. Naik wrapped up his speech, the cleaning staff were ordered to add more garbage as it didn’t look dirty enough. All the while officials associated with the event oversaw the organised littering.

After he had finished, Mr. Naik was promptly handed over a broom, which he wielded with aplomb to bring about a sweeping change in the area.

A casual employee of the ASI said the staff usually cleans the busy tourist spot thrice a day. “Today, we cleaned the area at 1 p.m. and were asked to keep the bottles and paper for the Minister’s visit at 4 p.m.,” said the sanitation worker who couldn’t help but smile at the irony.

The stage-managed littering seemed to work out with the Minister being mobbed by camerapersons and ordinary visitors, who were curious to see what the man dressed in a sparkling white kurta was up to. Culture and Tourism Ministry and ASI officials were unavailable for comment.

Sixteen-year-old Ravinder, who works at a souvenir shop at the fort, said visitors don’t listen to his appeals to not litter. “Now, we are hoping something will change,” said Ravinder, gesturing at the Minister with a broom in his hand.

German tourists, Johannes and Angela, said the lack of sanitation was not a problem for them, but they couldn’t imagine living in India. “For us, it’s not so bad as we are here for a month or two. But, for Indians it must be quite bad,” said Angela. Johannes added: “India has so many nice buildings and such great food, so it should be kept cleaner.”

Meanwhile, at the event a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry, the ASI and the Oil and Natural Gas Commission for the maintenance of monuments. Mr. Naik said the ONGC will maintain and improve visitor facilities at the Taj Mahal to begin with, and will take on more monuments in the future.

“We should be bringing in corporate houses and industries in our cleanliness campaign. Since the Ministry’s responsibility is towards tourist spots, we’re starting with our home, which are monuments,” said Mr. Naik.

The Narendra Modi Government’s cleanliness mission will be launched on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

So this is how Modi goes about creating "Swach Bharat"

As I have said earlier he does everything for the media.

A very hollow person

Clean India is best tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, says PM Modi

New Delhi, Sept. 25 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that a clean India was the best tribute that could be given to Mahatma Gandhi's memory, even as various ministries in the government kicked off their respective Swachh Bharat Abhiyan drives.

"I am sure you have heard time and again that cleanliness is next to Godliness. Alas, things are often different when it comes to putting this into practice. On October 2, we are launching the Swachh Bharat Mission, a massive mass movement that seeks to create a clean India," Prime Minister Modi said.

"Cleanliness was very close to Mahatma Gandhi's heart. A clean India is the best tribute we can pay to Bapu when we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. Mahatma Gandhi devoted his life so that India attains 'Swarajya'. Now the time has come to devote ourselves towards 'Swachchhata' (cleanliness) of our motherland," he added.

Urging the people to get involved in the cleanliness drives, Prime Minister Modi said, "I urge every one of you to devote at least hundred hours every year, that is two hours every week towards cleanliness. We can't let India remain unclean any longer. On October 2, I myself will set out with a broom and contribute towards this pious task."

The Prime Minister also urged leaders of various organisations to take part in the drive.

"I appeal to everyone, particularly political and religious leadership, mayors, sarpanchs and captains of industry to plan and wholeheartedly engage in the task of cleaning your homes, work places, villages, cities and surroundings. I request your active support and participation in our collective quest to make a Swachh Bharat," he said.

In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked of the Swachh Bharat campaign and called for India to be clean by October 2019, Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. (ANI)

2nd October is coming

Now the season has come to suddenly remember Mahatma Gandhi.

Why should Modi be left behind.

The whole year round, our politicians will do things which were anathema to the Mahatma. Corruption, rape, extortion, kidnapping and murder.

Come 2nd October and they will put a halo round their heads and claim the Mahatma would have done this.

Hoodlums, forked tongued, double faced, two headed snakes (do muhi sanp).

With people like Amit Shah, Yedyurappa, Nihal Chand , Kamalananda Bharati and Yogi Adityanath being allowed to run amock, do you believe Modi wants a clean India.

HC whack leaves Didi govt’s face redder than Red Planet

Calcutta, Sept. 24: Calcutta High Court today stunned the Mamata Banerjee government by handing over the Sagar Ghosh murder case to the CBI and declaring that the “high-profile political executive” was “giving a protective umbrella to the abettor of the offence”. Such an indictment of the executive has not been made in recent memory although the Mamata Banerjee government has been suffering one blow after the other in several cases. The verdict is especially damaging to chief minister Mamata Banerjee because she had gone out on a limb to support Anubrata Mondal, the Trinamul Birbhum district president whose inflammatory speech is blamed for the murder of Ghosh, the father of a rebel party candidate in the rural polls, last year. Seeking to brazen out the controversy, Mamata had described Anubrata as “khub bhalo chhele (very good boy)” and later shared a platform with him. The withering pronouncements make it virtually untenable for G.M.P. Reddy, the Bengal director-general of police who heads the special investigation team, to continue in his post. Against such a backdrop, the state government is expected to move a division bench to seek a stay. The judgment (excerpts on Page 6) calls into question the way the police administration is run in the state at a time the CBI probe into the Saradha scandal has brought out glaring omissions by another state-run special investigation team and controversy has plagued the police action in Jadavpur University. “The confidence entrusted upon the DGP has been shattered as his action during the investigation was all along influenced by the government. The entire investigation is tainted with the extraneous influence, more particularly, by high-profile political executive giving a protective umbrella to the abettor of the offence,” Justice Harish Tandon said in the judgment. The DGP was unavailable for comment today. At another point, the judgment said: “There is no hesitation to say that the investigation has been done one-sided; ignoring the vital and important revelation with the definite object to protect the said political leader.” Such an unequivocal statement deals a body blow to the government that had employed a battery of lawyers to avert the possibility of a CBI probe. Sagar, the father of Hriday Ghosh who rebelled against Trinamul and contested as an Independent in the panchayat elections in 2013, was shot dead by alleged Trinamul supporters at his home in Parui, Birbhum, on July 21 last year. The Ghosh family had accused Mondal and some of his aides as the murder took place a few days after he had asked party supporters to burn the houses of dissident candidates. Dissatisfied with the probe by Parui police station and later by the special investigating team — set up following the court’s instruction under the direct supervision of DGP Reddy — the family moved the high court seeking a CBI probe. A Trinamul leader said the party was worried about the judgment coinciding with growing public resentment against the ruling establishment — articulated by the turnout and mood at a rally organised by Jadavpur University students in Calcutta last Saturday. “The names of our leaders are coming up in the CBI investigations into the Saradha case. Students are hitting the streets against the government…. Now there is this verdict…. Difficult times for us,” the Trinamul leader said. However, the government cut a brave face. Partha Chatterjee, education minister and Trinamul secretary-general, said: “Many other cases were handed to the CBI. Has the agency been able to solve even one? The apex court had earlier called the CBI a caged parrot.” Sources in the Trinamul legal cell said that a team of lawyers was finishing the paperwork to challenge the order in a division bench. As the government’s prayer for an immediate stay was refused, an appeal has to be moved in “a day or two”, said a lawyer. Opposition leader Surjya Kanta Mishra expressed apprehension that the state government would try to block the CBI probe in the Parui case. “To prevent the CBI from probing the Saradha case, the government had spent Rs 11 crore from the state exchequer. Party members took the brief on behalf of the government. They will try this again but it is not going to help,” he said. BJP state president Rahul Sinha said the CBI probe and the observations of the judge made it clear that the role of the state administration was “partisan” in the case.

Calcutta High Court Orders FIR Against Trinamool MP Tapas Pal Who Threatened Rape

An FIR will have to be filed against actor turned Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal within the next 72 hours for his controversial "rape-murder" comments, the Calcutta High Court directed today. The CID will also investigate the hate speech he made in June at his constituency, Krishnanagar.
 
Early July, footage had emerged of Mr Pal addressing meetings of party workers and saying that if any of his workers were attacked, he would "set his boys" on women relatives of CPM workers and get them raped. 

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He had also said he owned a gun and would not hesitate to shoot dead CPM workers.
 
The rape-murder comments created outrage across the country but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had let him off after he sent the Trinamool leader a letter of apology.
 
A PIL was filed in the high court. A single bench judge, Justice Dipankar Dutta, had ruled that an FIR be filed against Mr Pal within 72 hours and that CID probe the speech.
 
However, within days, the state government and Mr Pal appealed against the order in a division bench. After extensive hearing, the bench delivered a split verdict. Justice Girish Gupta struck down the single bench order, while Justice T Chakraborty upheld it. The case was then sent to Justice Nishita Mahtre.
 
Justice Nishita Mahtre today upheld, almost entirely, the order of the single bench judge Justice Dutta in the case. The only element Justice Mahtre left out is court monitoring of the investigation. 
 
The Opposition is viewing today's order as a blow against the Mamata Banerjee government.

Knowing the Mamata Banerjee government, if the court does not monitor the investigations, the government will hijack it and nothing will come out of the FIR.

Conspiracy exposed – Victim was unaware that her FIR included Mayank Gandhi

In shocking developments it has come to light that some conspirators used a hapless victim to falsely accuse Mayank Gandhi and others from Aam Aadmi Party of totally baseless charges. It is becoming clear that those unable to fight fair political battles resort to slander and defamation to malign AAP leaders, Alka Lamba and Mayank Gandhi have been victimized through totally false and spurious charges.

In Mayank Gandhi’s case the complainant was totally unaware that his name was being mentioned as accused. She is a young lady AAP volunteer who was encouraged to file a police complaint by a certain group of people led by Sunil Shukla (they were AAP members but quit AAP on 18 September 2014). They did not tell the lady they quit AAP and took her on 19 September to file the complaint. She accused one Tarun Singh of harassment and mentioned in her statement that the moment she brought the matter to Mayank Gandhi he suspended the youth and initiated an inquiry.

The lady was totally unaware of how complaints are filed, never having visited a police station in her life. The conspirators assured her they knew the process. It took more than six hours for the police to record her statement and she was getting very late. The conspirators along with police made the poor lady sign blank FIR forms and assured her she could leave! She left without any copy of her statement or FIR.

In her absence they twisted her statement and added the names of AAP national leader Mayank Gandhi, AAP state leader Ruben Masacarenhas and AAP volunteer Vinay Mishra. The victim was shocked when she learned through social media that she has made a complaint against Mayank Gandhi and totally denied it - “I have made no complaint against Mayank Gandhi, Ruben Mascarenhas, and Vinay Mishra not of molestation, not of harassment, nor intimidation.”

She approached the seniors in the party and explained how she was misled totally and was distraught that she was being blamed for maligning the name of Mayank Gandhi. She asked party seniors to help her clarify her true position and they advised her to visit the Commissioner of Police and state the facts as she knew them. Today at noon she met the Joint Commissioner Law and Order and her statement is attached. AAP Maharashtra stands vindicated that no complaint whatsoever was filed by the complainant against Mayank Gandhi, Ruben Mascarenhas or Vinay Mishra.

Being fully seized of the matter now, AAP Maharashtra is remorseful that we thought that the complainant made false allegations but that was what appeared in the FIR page 1 which was widely circulated by the conspirators. We understand now that the young lady was used most shamelessly by the conspirators and AAP will ensure she faces no more harassment. We will fight for justice for her and we will take strong action against anyone who attempts to malign her. We request all the media to ensure that her identity is not exposed under any circumstances.

The BJP is afraid that the AAP is the main opposition so it uses every opportunity to implicate AAP people in false cases. But truth will prevail.

Modi's empire has been made on falsehood so it cannot last.

Having criminals like Amit Shah to guide his election campaign just shows Modi as what he is.

Mathew Lobo – Why he meant so much to us Goethalites.

The first time I saw sir was probably in the year 1960 or 61 when he used to come to Goethals with his Alsatian, I think, Judo was its name. Sir used to throw a ball to Judo and he would jump to catch it in his mouth. Sir used to hide and we used to be thrilled when Judo would search him out.

In 1962 he became our class teacher. Three years with Mrs. P. Roy and two years with Mr. McKenzie had made us cyphers in Math’s. It is with utmost pride, our whole class could say that sir, changed our entire outlook to Math’s. He taught us simple tricks like to remember the order of the mm – km table he made us remember a simple sentence – Manos Choudhury Drives Monkeys Down Hill Kurseong. The first letter of each word in the sentence helped us know the order of the table. Simple things like making cardboard pieces to explain triangles helped us remember the different types of triangles.

 Whereas earlier, we used to be scared of the Math’s, we could attack the sums without fear by the year end – thanks to him.

He used to bring The Statesman, the best newspaper at the time to the classroom and encouraged us to read it in our spare time from a drafting table he had placed, . I suppose my interest in the political happening in the country was nurtured by him.

He was very active on the sports field also and would mix and joke with all age group of boys. I remember on one occasion he brought Myrna to our classroom and introduced her to us. They were going steady or engaged at that time. When he introduced her to Manos Choudhury, he remarked jokingly “I hope you don’t steal her away from me”.

Unfortunately, our year with him was cut short by the Chinese aggression and we had to go one month early, i.e. the 1st week of November instead of the 1st week of December.

When we came back the following year in March, he had left Goethals and joined I think, St. Paul’s.

I next met him in 2007 at the Tourist Lodge in Kurseong when we went for the Centenary Celebrations. His memory was fantastic as he remembered all of us although he did have problems in the names. It just seemed we were continuing after 1962, without any gap.

During the centenary we were all busy and could hardly interact with him. However, he did give us his Cell No to contact when we returned to Kolkata after first going to Shillong where his sister lived.

I regularly kept contact with him in Shillong and when he returned, we, A K Roy, D K Roy and S P Chatterjee were at the airport to receive him. We brought him to our home and spent about three enjoyable hours, reminiscing. Arun Shroff also joined us at home.

He left in the evening but not before I extracted a promise from him to come and stay with us for a few days.

He kept his promise and after a few days he came again and spent three enjoyable days with us.

When we prayed, he prayed with us, sitting behind us and quietly watching us. He liked Chikoo (safeda) and I would bring them whenever available in the market. In the evenings, after dinner, we used to go for a walk in Bangur Avenue and he would take Pan (Beetle). He just loved them.

One evening after taking a bath he came and told me “see smell me, see how good I smell” like children.

My wife hardly speaks English and sir hardly spoke Hindi. It was fun watching them trying to make each other understand. He used to call her my little sister. He used to answer our greeting of “Hari Om” with a  “Hari om”

He was all praise for whatever she made and used to note down the recipe’. Nimbu Sikangi (Lime Juice) and Green Chili pickle were his favorite. One day we also went to St. Mary’s Orphanage and School and spent about three hours with Bro. Martin.

Even, after going back to Australia, he would call us either on New Year or on my birthday to wish us and enquire about the whole family taking special care to talk to my wife, she in Hindi and he in English. I also called him once after he was ill and had recovered slightly. It was always great talking to him.

Although his long illness after the detection of cancer forebode the worst but the actual news was shocking.

My wife just could not sleep last night, just thinking of the three days he spent with us.

I am sure; all of you who came in contact with him would have many happy memories which we would like you to share.

His nature was such that whether young or old, Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh, Bengali, Nepali or Marwari, language or religion was no barrier to him for he spoke the universal language of care and love.
His memories will always be with us.

Mr. Mathew Lobo Passes Away

Dear all,

 

This is to inform you that my beloved husband Matthew passed away peacefully this evening at 6.20pm.

 

I am surrounded by my beautiful family, and feel very comforted and loved.

 

Thank you....please no phone calls till further notice. Emails are welcome.

 

Kind Regards

 

Myrna

Chumar's Executive Councilor requests Government of India to review border situation

Leh, Sept. 18 (ANI): Expressing serious concern over repeated instances of Chinese incursions, Chumar's Executive Councilor Gurmet Dorje today requested the Central government to take stock of the situation on the border.

"There is a strong need of border forces at these areas. Chinese have already entered our land approximately 10 km in Chumar. I request the Ministry of Home and External Affairs to come to the border, and take stock of the situation," said Dorje.

Prime Minister Modi earlier called for immediate resolution of boundary issue between India and China, saying that clarity on the Line of Actual Control is essential for improving relations between the two countries.

"We agreed that peace and tranquility in the border region constitutes an essential foundation for mutual trust and confidence and for realizing the full potential of our relationship. This is an important understanding, which should be observed diligently," said Prime Minister Modi.

"While our border related agreements and confidence building measures have worked well, I also suggested that clarification of Line of Actual Control would greatly contribute to our efforts to maintain peace and tranquility and requested President Xi to resume the stalled process of clarifying the LAC," he added while addressing the media after holding delegation-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in New Delhi.

Responding to Prime Minister Modi's suggestion, the Chinese President said Beijing is determined to settle the border dispute with New Delhi.

President Xi added that China and India were capable enough to deal with the fallout from security incidents on the border.

The issue assumes importance in the backdrop of incursions by the Chinese side in Chumar area of Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)

Is India Prostituting herself to the Chinese for the $100 odd billions which China has promised?
While China is rapes us along our borders in Ladakh, we continue to hanker for their aid, as if "All is Well".
Don't you think China will use this aid itself to rape us further.
It is better we refuse all this aid as long as China violates our borders.

Is the SC trying to kill whistle-blowers?

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court order to reveal the identity of the whistleblower who disclosed CBI chief Ranjit Sinha visitors' logbook to lawyer Prashant Bhushan has outraged activists who feel the court's volte-face is unfortunate. Rights organizations have sought an investigation to probe the veracity of the visitors' logbook rather than disclosure of an individual's identity. 

National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) convener Anjali Bhardwaj said the order was a shock for rights' activists. "This is a huge setback because it was the Supreme Court that upheld the need for protection of whistleblowers in 2004. We thought it would have been an opportunity for the court to push the government to formulate rules protecting people who are making disclosures against corruption,'' she said. 

Bhardwaj added that the visitors' logbook suggested abuse of power and authority. "The person disclosing this information has done his duty. What will be gained from finding out who the person is? In fact, the court should have pressed for the authenticity of the record instead of finding the identity of the individual,'' she said. 

Former information commissioner in the Central Information Commission Shailesh Gandhi said the direction would send an "unfortunate signal'' to people not to uncover any wrongdoing. "The first priority should have been to ask the government to investigate the authenticity of the visitors' logbook but instead, the court has sought the identity of the person. A very serious charge has been laid on the chief of the lead investigating agency in the country but no priority is being given to probe that,'' Gandhi said. 

He added that it was not beyond imagination that a powerful person like the CBI chief could change evidence or coerce witnesses.

I am afraid this is but a sample of the change that the Modi government is trying to bring about in the Supreme Court, a committed judiciary, as wanted by Indira Gandhi. There is no justification for asking the name of the person who exposed the people who visited the CBI chief and yet the SC wants the name. What is the purpose? The SC can check whether the report is correct. By asking for the names, the SC is playing into the hands of the corrupt.

75 (83%) out of 90 winners won with less than 50% of the total votes polled in their constituency in the Haryana Assembly elections in 2009.

PRESS RELEASE

​​

​“Vote Share” and “Representativeness” of MLAs elected in 2009 Assembly Elections from

Haryana​

​Association for Democratic Reforms and Haryana Election Watch have analysed the percentage of votes won by the MLAs of Haryana in assembly elections, 2009 and their representativeness among the total number of registered voters. The data disclosed by the Election Commission of India on their website (http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/index.aspx) has been used for this report.

The percentage of representativeness was calculated by dividing the votes polled for the winner by the electorate i.e. the total number of registered voters. This value represents the percentage of votes won by the winning candidate among the total number of registered voters in the constituency.

​​

The percentage of vote share was calculated by dividing the votes polled for the winner by the total number of valid votes. This value represents the percentage of votes won by the winning candidate among the total number of valid votes polled.

​​

Summary and Highlights – Haryana

Vote Share

​​

Vote Share - Haryana, 2009
Percentage of Vote Share	Number of Winners	Percentage of Winners
Below 20%	2	2%
From 20% to 29%	10	11%
From 30% to 39%	36	40%
From 40% to 49%	27	30%
Equal or more than 50%	15	17%
Total	90	100%

• ​Average vote share of Winners: The Winners of the Haryana assembly elections, 2009 won by an average of 39% of total votes polled.
  
• Vote Share of less than 50%: 75 (83%) Winners had won with less than 50% of total votes polled in their constituency.
  
• Vote Share of less than 40%: 48 (53%) Winners had won with less than 40% of total votes polled in their constituency.
  
• Vote Share of less than 30%: 12 Winners had won with less than 30% of total votes polled in their constituency.​

​​

Five Winners from Haryana with the least vote share

S.No.	Winner Name	Party	District	Constituency	Total Votes Polled for Winner	Total Valid Votes	Vote Share (Total Votes Polled for Winner/Total Valid Votes)
1	Pt. Zile Ram Chochra	HJCBL	Karnal	Assandh	20266	128288	16%
2	Dharambir	INC	Gurgaon	Sohna	20443	114015	18%
3	Anita Yadav	INC	Mahendragarh	Ateli	24103	107466	22%
4	Mohammed Ilyas	INLD	Mewat	Punahana	18865	81252	23%
5	Om Prakash Jain	IND	Panipat	Panipat Rural	23770	96031	25%

​

• ​Party-wise vote share of less than 50%: Out of 40 Winners of INC, 31 (78%) had won with less than 50% of total votes polled in their constituency. 26 (84%) out of 31 Winners of INLD, all of the 4 Winners from BJP, all 6 HJCBL Winners and all the 7 Independent Winners won with less than 50% of total votes polled in their constituency.
  
• Winners with highest vote share: Bhupinder Singh of INC from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi Constituency had won with a vote share of 80% of total votes polled from his constituency. He was followed by Jaiveer of INC from Kharkhauda constituency with 64% of total votes polled and Geeta, also of INC from Jhajjarconstituency with 60% of total votes polled in the constituency.​

Representativeness

Representativeness - Haryana, 2009
Percentage of Representativeness	Number of Winners	Percentage of Winners
Below 20%	9	10%
From 20% to 29%	48	53%
From 30% to 39%	26	29%
From 40% to 49%	6	7%
Equal or more than 50%	1	1%
Total	90	100%

​

• ​Average representativeness of Winners: All the Winners of the Haryana Assembly elections, 2009 won with an average of 29% of the total registered voters. This implies that the Winners represent on an average, 29% of the total electorate.
  
• Winners with Representativeness of less than 40%: 83 (92%) Winners had won with less than 40% of total registered voters in their constituency.
  
• Winners with Representativeness of less than 30%: 57 (63%) Winners had won with less than 30% of total registered voters in their constituency.
  
• Winners with Representativeness of less than 20%: 9 (10%) candidates had won with less than 20% of total registered voters in their constituency.​

Five Winners with the Least Representativeness

S.No.	Winner Name	Party	District	Constituency	Votes Polled for the Winner	Total Registered Voters	Representativeness (Total Votes polled for Winner/Total Registered Voters)
1	Pt. Zile Ram Chochra	HJCBL	Karnal	Assandh	20266	170814	12%
2	Dharambir	INC	Gurgaon	Sohna	20443	153130	13%
3	Anita Yadav	INC	Mahendragarh	Ateli	24103	150113	16%
4	Mohammed Ilyas	INLD	Mewat	Punahana	18865	111551	17%
5	Sukhbeer	IND	Gurgaon	Gurgaon	41013	231340	18%

• ​Winners with Representativeness of more than 50%: Only 1 Winner, Bhupinder Singh of INC from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi Constituency won with 55% of the total registered voters in the constituency.
  
• Party-wise Representativeness of less than 40%: Out of 40 Winners of INC, 37 (93%) had won with less than 40% of total registered voters in their constituency. 28 (90%) out of 31 Winners of INLD, all of the 4 Winners from BJP, all 6 HJCBL Winners and all the 7 Independent Winners won with less than 40% of total registered voters in their constituency.​

Party-wise Vote Share and Representativeness

Party	No. of Winners	No. of Winners with Less than 50% Vote Share	No. of Winners with Less than 40% of Representativeness	% of Winners with less than 50% of Vote Share	% of Winners with less than 40% Representativeness
INC	40	31	37	78%	93%
INLD	31	26	28	84%	90%
IND	7	7	7	100%	100%
HJCBL	6	6	6	100%	100%
BJP	4	4	4	100%	100%
BSP	1	1	1	100%	100%
SAD	1	0	0	0%	0%
Total	90	75	83	83%	92%

Regards,

Media and Journalist Helpline +91 80103 94248 Email: adr@adrindia.org

Mr. Jaskirat Singh State Co-ordinator Haryana Election Watch +91-93160-84953 jaskirats@gmail.com

Maj.Gen. (Retd) Anil Verma Head National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms 011 4165 4200, +91 88264 79910 adr@adrIndia.org, anilverma@adrindia.org

Prof Jagdeep Chhokar IIM Ahmedabad (Retd.) Founder Member, National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms +91 99996 20944 jchhokar@gmail.com

Prof Trilochan Sastry IIM Bangalore Founder Member, National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms +91 94483 53285 trilochans@iimb.ernet.in

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