Election Commission से मेरा सवाल - क्या जनता को votes polled के numbers को जानने का हक़ नहीं?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=127jARHSGPc  May 12, 2024
In response to the Congress party President's letter the Election Commission explained that there was no delay or increase in the percentages of the votes polled data of phases 1-2 of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. EC also added that all political party agents get a copy of Form 17C after the polls are over and this Form mentions the absolute numbers of the votes polled at the polling station. So the political parties already have this data with them and EC need not have to provide them separately.
My question to the EC - aren't 'We, the People' of India have the right to know the absolute numbers of votes polled during the elections?
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EC's response -. https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FztfbUTpXSxLP8g7dpVrk7%2Fda%2BEbTiKk%2FXhgFE8uZCGZeI%2BvRMUfJwaLUTFJFPzhNVCSv%2B1yJkuMeCkTzY9fhBvw%3D%3D

‘Punched me 150-200 times’: Journalist beaten, ‘locked up’ at Amit Shah’s UP rally https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPU6viCtmPU May 12, 2024 #loksabhaelection2024 #amitshah
Raghav Trivedi, a reporter with digital outlet Molitics, was allegedly physically assaulted and “locked up” in a waiting room during Amit Shah’s address at his Rae Bareli rally in Uttar Pradesh.
Trivedi told Newslaundry, he was called “mullah (Muslim)” and “attanki (terrorist)” by the BJP workers, as they assaulted him over a “clip” about women being paid to attend the rally.

The journalist said he was first “held by the collar” and then “assaulted” after he asked BJP delegates about the women leaving the venue and saying they were “paid Rs 100 to attend it”. As the journalist told the party workers he had “clips” of these women, he was asked to “delete the videos”. Speaking to Newslaundry, Trivedi said as he told the workers the clip is with the cameraman who left the venue, two of them began assaulting him and the others joined in as they “dragged” the journalist to the media lobby. He said the mob continued to beat him, even with several journalists and “40-50 police personnel” in the vicinity. “I kept requesting people to stop. There were 40-50 police personnel too, but no one came to my rescue as they called me ‘mullah’ and ‘attanki’ and beat me.”

Trivedi was then allegedly taken to the stage and “locked up” in the waiting room. “I felt suffocated and was eventually let out. But after coming out I fainted and was then brought to the hospital.”

FIRA: the investigation agencies did not reach the main culprit and mastermind. The investigative agencies have failed to gather evidences regarding subsequent master mind Dr. Virendersinh Tawde, Adv. Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave. The system has succumbed to political pressure and that is why they are acquitted. In the future, FIRA will fight for our say in the people's court.

The investigation agencies have not yet reached the culprit and main mastermind of the murder series. Until then, the lives of many intellectuals as well as the activists of the rationalist movements are at risk

In the year 2013, Dr. Narendra Dabholkar was murdered, the then police did not take the murder case seriously, so the
investigation by the Pune police went astray. Then on 16 February 2015, Com. Govind Pansare was shot in the same
manner in Kolhapur. He died on 20 February 2015. On August 30, 2015, Prof M M Kalburgi and on September 5, 2017,
journalist Gauri Lankesh was murdered in the same manner. Had the investigation of Dabholkar murder case been
completed immediately and the killers were punished, the next three murders of rationalists would have been avoided.

Narendra Dabholkar murder: Pune Court convicts two, acquits three  https://www.barandbench.com/news/narendra-dabholkar-murder-pune-court-convicts-two-acquits-three 

Dabholkar Case: Court Pulls up Maharashtra Police, CBI for Shoddy Investigation  https://thewire.in/law/dabholkar-case-court-pulls-up-maharashtra-police-cbi-for-shoddy-investigation  Sukanya Shantha
the special CBI judge Prabhakar P. Jadhav, while acquitting the trio, categorically mentions that the acquittal was not because they didn’t play a role but because the investigating agency – first, the Maharashtra police and then the CBI, failed to do their job. The court passed the verdict on May 10 and the judgment copy was made available a day later, on May 11.

The special court criticised the investigating agency and the state authorities for procedural lapses in obtaining appropriate sanction orders for prosecution of the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. In the absence of these sanctions, the prosecution failed to prove that Dabholkar’s killing was an act of terror, a crucial aspect not just in this case but also in the killings of other rationalists and activists that followed.... Sanathan Sanstha, a far-right organisation implicated in many terror-related activities. is yet to be declared a terror outfit by the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

Supreme Court dismisses PIL against pension, benefits to former MPs  https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-dismisses-pil-against-pension-benefits-to-former-mps/article23555126.ece/amp/ 

The Centre had on March 7 told the apex court that the entitlement of former Members of Parliament (MPs) to get pension and other benefits was “justified” as their dignity has to be maintained even after they complete their tenure as parliamentarians.The Centre had told the bench about the Finance Bill 2018, which contains provisions regarding salary and pension of MPs and also about revision of their allowances after every five years starting from April 1, 2023, on the basis of cost inflation index. The apex court had in February directed the Centre to clarify its stand on setting up of an independent mechanism for determination of salaries and allowances of MPs after the government had said the issue was “under consideration“.  

'Contrary to Article 14'
An NGO ‘Lok Prahari’ has approached the apex court challenging the Allahabad High Court order dismissing its plea which had claimed that pension and other perks being given to MPs even after demitting office were contrary to Article 14 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution.

Petition Filed in Supreme Court Against Pension To Politicians

2018 Improvement Act
MPs should not get pension because politics is not a job or employment, but a free service. - Politics is an election under the Public Representation Act, there is no retirement, but they can be re-elected in the same situation again. (Currently they get pension, after 5 years of service).
One more disorder in this is that if a person has been a councilor first, then becomes a legislator and then becomes an MP, then he gets not one but three pensions.
This is a great betrayal with the citizens of the country who immediately have to ACT to stop this...
With the Central Pay Commission, salary allowance of MPs is being revised ....This should be brought under the income tax....
At present, MPs increase their salaries and allowances arbitrarily by voting for themselves and at that time all the parties are united.
MPs health care system should be discarded.. and health care like public health of India should take care of them like any other citizen.. Presently their treatment often is done abroad.. if they have to get it done abroad, they should get it done at their own expense.
All concessions to them, such as, electricity, water and phone bill should end. (They not only get many such concessions but they also increase them regularly) -
Criminals should be prevented from contesting elections, suspicious persons with punitive records, criminal charges and determination, past or present should be banned from the Parliament..
Financial losses caused by them, due to politicians in the office, should also be recovered from them, their nominees, properties - MPs should also follow the same rules applicable to common citizens.
No deduction on LPG gas subsidy by the citizens... unless the subsidies available to MPs and MLAs, & Other subsidies, including subsidized food in the Parliament canteen, are not withdrawn.
Serving in the Parliament is an honor, not a lucrative career for looting.
Free rail and airplane travel should stop.

Comments on WA: JD:  I feel that politicians should get pension, but only to the extent that their other income does not cover it. Also all perks must be against audited expenses done in public service. The public service expenses should be extended to the runner up in each constituency. However the audit must be strict. Transparent and disclosed. We want to facilitate genuine public service, not 'free' service.

SS "Politicians", per se, don't receive any pension.
Members of (most?) state legislatures and the national parliament so get subject to serving some minimum term.They also get regular salaries (?), allowances and perks.

JD: If the politics is important, then the payment for it should be linked to genuine public activity. All payment and perks including direct payments to the politician and parties should be transparently audited. And a minimum survival and services related.. on similar lines as the mp fund should be provided. I was not saying that this is the rule at present, not do I think it is practical at the moment.. what I was suggesting was a principle, which we need to put out there for discussion... Most honest people will never aspire to be politicians under the current logic that politicians should work free, or take underhand money.

We have to show that politics can also make you an honest buck!!!

Civil society activists urge Election Commission to curb poll malpractice https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/civil-society-activists-urge-election-commission-to-curb-poll-malpractice/amp_articleshow/110041447.cms  Bella Jaisinghani May 11, 2024  Civil society activists in Maharashtra met CEO S Chockalingam, demanding the EC 'Grow A Spine or Resign'. They raised concerns about MCC violations, voter data discrepancies, surrogate ads, campaign violations, and launched a postcard campaign.

This collective of organisations and individuals also undertook a postcard campaign in which hundreds of postcards were sent to ECI, Delhi, from various cities containing the image of a spine -- demanding that the Election Commission 'Grow A Spine or Resign'.

Participants included People’s Union for Civil Liberties, National Alliance for People's Movements, Bharat Bachao Andolan, All India Lawyers Association for Justice, Shramik Mukti Dal, Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy, Bombay Catholic Sabha and others.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1789285109943730579 
#GrowASpineOrResign a nationwide citizens' campaign across 11 cities on 11 May 2024 demanding @ECISVEEP
for accountability and free & fair elections.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/uddhav-master-of-india-blocs-vote-jihad-bjp/articleshow/110021201.cms City BJP chief Ashish Shelar on Friday said that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was “vote jihad’s aaka” (master) and alleged that the INDIA bloc had started a “vote jihad.” BJP minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said Mahayuti won’t allow Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas to do injustice to sons of the soil and they will not allow South Mumbai to turn into Malvani (in Malad).

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/shah-to-telangana-voters-its-vote-jihad-vs-vote-for-progress/articleshow/109994114.cms 

https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:2024_climate_change_fiction_webinars:index

Climate change fiction as a way of coming to terms with the reality of global warming and climate change.. imaginative responses have offered a significant critique of techno-science and the dominant development paradigm and opened out conceptual alternatives and pathways to transformation....

https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:2024_climate_change_fiction_webinars:01

Climate Change Fiction: The South Asia Experience
Antecedents to climate change fiction: Utopian and speculative narratives from South Asia
Marine ecosystems and climate fiction from South Asia
Climate Change Fiction: A Conversation with Amitav Ghosh 

The Decline of Foreign Banks in India: A Closer Look  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyN_WbUM-Fw

Moneylife News Bite

Why Foreign Firms Have Bit the Dust in the Financial Sector https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKko5oWZOBY   May 8, 2024
Foreign banks once thrived in India's financial sector, but now they're retreating. Citibank, a retail finance pioneer, recently sold its Indian business to Axis Bank, echoing a broader trend. Standard Chartered and HSBC have minimal presence compared to local giants like HDFC Bank. Similarly, foreign mutual funds struggle, with many, including Morgan Stanley and Fidelity, leaving. This shift marks a departure from optimistic projections of the 1990s. Mismanagement and global crises favoured Indian firms, which capitalised on trends like digital banking. Foreign companies' short-term perspectives led to their exit, while Indian firms thrived. Watch the video as Debashis Basu explains.

https://www.moneylife.in/article/why-foreign-firms-have-bit-the-dust-in-the-financial-sector/74103.html  While Indian entrepreneurs and managers have, indeed, shown tremendous talent and execution skills, the ‘Quit India’ policy for foreign financial companies has not happened by design, but by default. 

Quite frankly, all the assumptions made in the mid-1990s about the Indian middle class have turned out to be wrong. There was no smooth surge in middle-class prosperity for foreign businesses to tap into because the Indian economy continued to be mismanaged. Productivity remained poor, corruption and taxes stayed high, and crony capitalism undermined infrastructure growth in the mid-2000s, resulting in bad loans of Rs20 lakh crore in PSBs.

when disruptive opportunities like the digital on-boarding of customers happened, domestic banks were better placed to scale up. Similarly, when the stock market took off post-Covid-19, domestic mutual funds and broking firms grew rapidly.

While the financial sector threw up clear winners (Indians) and losers (foreigners), note the same has not happened in other sectors. For example, foreign companies in personal products have not quit. Their powerful presence continues. Indian companies have not made much headway in winning market shares from multinational companies like Colgate and Hindustan Lever.

The reason foreigners have lost out in the financial services business is because they have been impatient and had a short-term view—perhaps those traits come from the nature of the financial services business itself.

संदेशखाली पीड़िताओं ने कहा भाजपा ने ज़िंदगी नर्क बना दी  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMFjDfP1if0  । Navin Kumar  May 10, 2024 
क्या प्रधानमंत्री, रक्षा मंत्री और गृह मंत्री ने देश से झूठ बोला? पीड़िता बताकर उम्मीदवार बनाया अब जवाब देते नहीं बन रहा। बंगाल की राजनीति में मोदी की मिट्टी पलीद।