With rapid developments in the field of medical sciences, cure of various diseases is now possible. It is now possible to revive a patient from crisis situations and treat ailments which were earlier considered to be life threatening. 

With these advancements in medical profession, the cases of medical negligence have also increased.

Described as the noblest profession in the world, medical professionals at many a times are able to infuse a new lease of life into a patient but at times doubts also appear on the horizon and friends and relatives level charges of negligence on the doctors and surgeons. 

With the increasing awareness among the people about their rights, there is a rise in the number of civil suits and criminal complaints against the doctors who show negligence in their work. After the judgment of Supreme Court in Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Santhara, cases are also filed under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 seeking compensation for the negligent act allegedly committed by the doctor. 

Negligence is the breach of a duty caused by the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided by those considerations which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs would do, or doing something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do.Negligence is failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances.Negligence in simple terms is a careless conduct on the part of one person which results in damage to another.

In a case of negligence the action arises only after the plaintiff has suffered some damage and that damage is on account of breach of a duty committed by the defendant. Here the ‘duty’ is not merely a social or a moral duty but a legal duty.

In Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab, the Supreme Court pointed out the difference between civil and criminal liability,“for negligence to amount to an offence, the elements of mens rea must be shown to exist. For an act to amount to criminal negligence, the degree of negligence should be much higher i.e. gross or of a very high degree. Negligence which is neither gross nor of a higher degree may provide a ground for action in civil cases but cannot form the basis of prosecution.” 

A medical professional is a qualified doctor is fully committed to the ethical principles and values of medical profession. It is an occupation aimed at protecting, promoting and restoring good health with a focus on identifying, diagnosing and treating illness using scientific and highly specialized knowledge. 

An occupation where caring for the patients is the first concern and the following principles are applicable Scientific knowledge has to be instigated, used and transmitted, Permanent evaluation is used to improve service, knowledge gets used in an ethical and competent manner, Medical profession is always aimed at improving the health needs and providing well- being at communities and their individuals.

Medical professional in simple terms is person registered with respective medical field and having a license to practice in medicine.Medical negligence is when a doctor who has a duty of care towards his patients, commits a breach in that duty, resulting in damage to the patient. 

Medical negligence has become an issue of concern, though the cases of medical negligence were seen in the past also, but now these cases have increased due to the careless attitude of some doctors and also the hospitals which are now becoming corporate houses and whose primary aim is not to give health care facilities but to increase their profits, no matter if it is at the expense of a patient’s life. 

In Dr. LaxmanBalkrishnajoshi v. Dr. TrimbakBapuGodbole, the Supreme Court held that a person holding himself for giving a medical advice also impliedly holds forth that he is possessed of skill and knowledge for that purpose. Such a person when consulted by a patient owes certain duties of care in deciding whether to undertake the case, duty of care in deciding what treatment to give, duty of care in administration of that treatment. A breach of any of these duties gives rise to an action of negligence against him.

The standard of care required by a doctor is that of a reasonable prudent medical professional would exercise in like circumstances.

LIABILITY OF DOCTORS 

In India doctors are treated as God because of the noble profession they are in. A person gives his life in the hands of another person so that the person can revive his health back to normal with a consent that in the ongoing treatment if anything misshapen the responsibility would be on the person who so consented to that risk. 

The person who has so consented to undergo a medical risk has given the consent for all the acts which are necessary for the treatment but at the same time he has not consented for any sought of negligence committed by the doctor.

The field for the compensation and punishment for medical negligence was not developed in India, as it was in other countries; doctors were not punished even after doing a gross negligence taking name of God or blaming the destiny of the person, this made the doctors more careless in their attitude towards the patients but with the time and also when people became aware of their rights, this field has evolved and now people have started to report the cases of negligence of the doctors. Though the laws relating to doctors were available, but their enforcement was limited.

In Dr. Laxman Balkrishna Joshi v. Dr. Trimbak Bapu Godbole and anr, the Court laid down a few duties of a doctor namely — Duty in deciding whether to undertake the case, Duty in deciding what treatment to give, duty of administering the treatment. 

It was laid down that any breach of these duties by the medical practioner would result in the commission of negligence by him

In Poonamverma v. Ashwin Patel the defendant was a registered homeopathic doctor, prescribed the husband of the plaintiff allopathic drugs for the treatment of fever and then typhoid. As a result of these drugs the plaintiff’s husband died. The court in this case found the doctor to be negligent on the ground that doctor prescribed the drugs which he was not competent enough to administer.

In Sishir Rajan Saha v. The State of Tripura  the petitioner’s son, while riding on a scooter met with an accident. He was admitted to G.B. hospital in Agartala in the emergency ward. The Specialist Doctor did not attend him because he was busy attending his private patients. In this case, the court found the doctor to be negligent.

In Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab  the Supreme Court in detail explained that a doctor can only be held liable for gross negligence committed by him and also, a doctor has to be put on equal footing as any other professional while deciding the question as to negligence. A doctor is not liable for simple lack of care, accident or error of judgment, but on the other hand the doctor would be liable if he has the skill but he did not exercise his skill or that the doctor has exercised his skill in a manner that no other expert in similar situation would administer.

The very logic behind not making the doctor guilty even for a simple negligence is based on following considerations:- the act of performing a surgery or administering a treatment is inherently a risky job, there are a lot of complications attached to every surgery, the doctor would not be able to administer proper treatment to a patient when he is continuously under fear of legal consequences and the doctor would be under an impression to leave the patient on his destiny rather than to take the risk of prosecution. A doctor who is a specialist, has considerable amount of experience, and good will is expected to be more cautious in his approach, the degree of care expected from him more than what is expected from a new, less experienced or a general physician. The degree of care and expectation of lesser negligence is directly proportional to the experience and specialization of the doctor, more the doctor (a specialized) is the care expected from him. 

The cases against the medical negligence committed by the doctors can be filed under the civil laws as well as the criminal laws. Under the civil law (Consumer Protection Act, 1986) the plaintiff can ask for the compensation for the deficiency in services and thereby for the damage subsequent to such deficiency while under the criminal law (Indian Penal Code, 1860) the complainant can file a case against the doctor if punishment of the accused is sought.

In JasbirKaur v. State of Punjab , a newly born child went missing from a Government run hospital, after a considerable time the child was found with an eye gouged out. It was found that the child was attacked by a cat, the hospital was found to be guilty of negligence and the parents of the child were awarded compensation for the act.

In Haripada Sahav. State of Tripura the patient developed an infection during the operation but it was contended by the doctor that the infection was developed after the discharge. An expert committee was constituted which found the doctor guilty of negligence and thereby the plaintiff was awarded compensation

For making a doctor liable under the criminal law the degree of negligence required should be graver than under the civil law. A medical professional here under the criminal negligence cannot be held guilty for a simple negligence or error of judgment and so on. 

In Juggan Khan v. State of Madhya Pradesh the appellant who was a registered homeopathic doctor was charged under section 302 (causing murder) of the Indian Penal Code. In this case, the accused doctor had administered 24 drops of mother tincture stramonium and dhatura leafs for the treatment of guinea worm. The plaintiff died within 24 hours of the said administration. The lower convicted the appellant and High Court upheld the decision of the lower court. The Supreme Court in appeal considering the fact that dhatura leaves are not used in Homeopathic but they are used in Ayurvedic treatments in avery limited quantity held that though the doctor was guilty but the conviction under section 302 of the Code is not proper and hence convicted the doctor under section 304-A of the code. 

Consent 

Before undergoing any surgery starting from a root canal treatment to surgery of any body part the patient or his attendants as the case may be are required to sign a form giving consent to the surgery or the treatment and also this serves as an undertaking accepting the risk which is inherently attached to the surgery or treatment.  By signing this form the doctor is given the power to take appropriate decisions and in good faith regarding the surgery or the treatment. 

It is often misunderstood by the people that by giving consent to the treatment, the doctor have been relieved from all his liabilities. The consent form is just an undertaking to accept the complications which are connected to the treatment and it is not an undertaking to accept the negligent acts of the doctor.

 In this matter regarding the signing of the consent form, the doctor and patient are clearly not at the equal footing. The patient is forced to sign the form even if he does not want to because of the fact that his treatment will not be started till he signs the form and as a consequence he would not get relief from his pain and sufferings.

Doctors often misinterpret that by making the patient sign the consent form they have been completely made free from any liability and patient has waived his right to sue for medical negligence. 

It is true that there have been cases where the doctors have been proved to be negligent but the truth is there are number of doctors who are performing their duty in the most honest way they can, they are serving the people with open hands and helping them in the best possible way. On the other side, there are professionals who are disobeying their professional and ethical code of conduct.

The issue of medical negligence is a serious one,  even today a huge number of cases relating to medical negligence go unreported majorly because of the fact that people are less aware of their rights and also that people are scared of coming forward to report against the doctor. This has indeed led to the doctors becoming more lenient and careless in their approach towards the patient. It is a matter of a person’s life and personal safety which cannot in any manner be taken in a casual manner. The law related to medical negligence is still not properly enforced in the country, it may be worth considering to enact a separate law relating to medical negligence. 

(The writer is pursuing LLM at the National Law School of India University)

NEW DELHi : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed a second civil defamation suit of Rs 10 crore in the Delhi High Court against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the word “crook” used by his lawyer.

Jaitley sought Rs 10 crore as damages after Ram Jethmalani used objectionable words against the Union Minister in an open court.

This is a separate case from the ongoing DDCA defamation suit against the Chief Minister and five other Aam Aadmi Party leaders that Jaitley filed in 2015.

On May 17, Jaitley and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani clashed in the court with the Minister taking strong objection to the word “crook” used during cross examination in the earlier defamation case.

“I intend to show that this man (Jaitley) is a crook,” Jethmalani had said, prompting strong objection from the Minister.

Jaitley, who was being cross-examined, furiously asked Jethmalani whether the word “crook” used by him was in his personal capacity or as per the instruction of Kejriwal. 

To which, Jethmalani had said that it was used by him on instructions from his client (Kejriwal).

Jaitley then threatened to seek higher damages. 

“I will aggravate the charges against the defendants (Kejriwal)… There is a limit to personal malice,” he had said after Jethmalani said he wanted to prove his point that the Union Minister was a “crook”.

Jaitley’s counsel had objected to Jethmalani referring to the Minister as being “guilty of crime and crookery”.

Jaitley was being cross-examined by Jethmalani in connection with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) defamation case filed by the Minister.

In December 2015, Jaitley filed a civil defamation suit against Kejriwal and AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee, claiming that they made “false and defamatory” statements in the case involving the DDCA, thereby harming his reputation.

Jaitley had sought Rs 10 crore in damages from Kejriwal and other AAP leaders in the DDCA case as well.

He had claimed that the AAP leaders attacked him over alleged irregularities and financial bungling in Delhi’s cricket association, of which he was the President for about 13 years.

Doctors on Saturday said consumption of tobacco products such as smoking causes infertility in both males and females.

Fertility experts have said tobacco and other types of narcotics can also cause occurrence of early menopause in women.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), till 2015, India had 12 per cent of the world’s tobacco users with over 108 million smokers.

“One should avoid using tobacco (cigarettes) and marijuana. They reduce fertility, especially by reducing sperm counts. Smoking damages sperm, making them less likely to fertilize eggs. The embryos they create are less likely to survive,” said Arvind Vaid, an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Specialist at Delhi-based Indira IVF Hospital.

Studies have also revealed that compared to non-smokers, active smokers were 14 per cent more likely to be infertile and 26 per cent more likely to have early menopause.

Noting that while cigarettes do not necessarily cause infertility, Vaid said they can have an adverse effect on a couple’s ability to conceive.

“The problem exists in men as much as in females,” said Vaid.

Parbeen Mehta, a gynaecologist at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said human sperm cells carry two tiny, highly charged proteins called protamine 1 and protamine 2 which are in a perfectly balanced one-to-one relationship.

“However, sperms of the smokers carry very little protamine, which makes them highly vulnerable to DNA damage,” said Mehta.

She said passive smoking may also affect male fertility.

“Male smokers can suffer decreased sperm quality with lower mobility and it boots numbers of abnormally shaped sperms. Also, if one is a chain smoker then it might also decrease the sperm’s ability to fertilise eggs,” said Mehta.

According to Parth Joshi, another IVF expert, women who smoke tobacco, marijuana and several other narcotic products may have early menopause.

“Gradually, by the time a woman enters her 30s, her fertility starts declining which speeds up after she is 35 years and beyond. Tobacco can cause it early,” said Joshi.

(With Inputs from IANS)

It has been four years since Sachin Tendulkar retired from competitive cricket, but the game is so ingrained in his head that he only talks of his life and work in terms of innings. In his “second innings”, the master blaster says, he is focussed on doing whatever gives him satisfaction.

Whether it is about associating himself with events and activities involved in charities or supporting causes close to his heart — Sachin is looking to “give back”.

“The first innings of my life was in the middle of the field, constantly chasing targets set by the opposition. But my second innings is about satisfaction,” Sachin told IANS here as he opened up his emotional side.

“As long as there is a purpose behind doing something in life, that gives you satisfaction. And that you only get when the heart tells you that, ‘Okay, you’ve done something well,'” he said.

“That is another journey, another chapter that has started in my life. We all try our level best to do various things (for others) and these are things that give me satisfaction. And I’ll continue to do them because this is a longer journey,” added the 44-year-old as he delved into post-retirement life.

He feels he’s in a good space now. Sitting back and reflecting upon how life has played out for him, and how he has played it his way. Now he is going to share the journey with his fans worldwide with “Sachin: A Billion Dreams” — a documentary drama with real-time footage from his personal and professional highs and lows.

A billion hopes, perhaps, will be pinned on him — once again — when the movie releases on May 26. Sachin says he can feel the same edge-of-the-seat thrill and anticipation as he felt before he walked into a stadium full of people rooting “Sachin, Sachin” in unison.

“It’s good for people to have expectations… I felt that way even on the field. Can you imagine I am walking into the stadium and nobody from the stands is expecting anything from me? That would be a wrong place to walk out (from),” he said.

“Pre-match, I would tick all the boxes, and if I had done all those things, I could stand in front of the mirror and say, ‘Yes, I have prepared myself well.’ As for preparation for the film, you can say I’ve given 100 per cent. In cricketing terms, we have played the first innings and now you guys need to play it by watching it,” he said with a reassuring smile.

Emotions play a huge part in his life — evident when the star cricketer takes a long pause to reflect on the most emotional phases of his life.

“There were two moments, I would say. Since we’re discussing highs and lows… The lowest was when I had lost my father. That was an irreparable loss, and I knew whatever happens in my life post 1999, he won’t be there to share it. That was a huge loss,” he said.

“The highest point has to be the 2011 World Cup which we won,” said the young achiever, who has been feted with national honours like Bharat Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Arjuna Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.

As a child, he remembers being notorious, but recounted how his parents’ patient way of dealing with him, has been responsible for strengthening his “foundation”.

“They were very patient with my ‘masti’. My father and mother would never get angry despite my mischief, and that doesn’t mean they didn’t tell me anything. They told me, but they had a nice way to convey anything and everything in life. And they continue to do so… My mother lives with me, Sachin said.

“I grew up watching my father and I was like a sponge absorbing information. He didn’t always have to tell me everything. But I was watching him all the time as I wanted to become like him. And that continues…” he added.

Sachin says it is such pre-cricket and post-cricket facets of his life that he felt should be shared with his fans. In that sense, he hopes the audience has something significant to take back after they watch the film.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday chaired the first security review meeting with Chief Ministers of five states bordering China, and enhanced the Central Assistance for Border Area Development Programmes (BADP) from Rs 990 crore to Rs 1,100 crore.

Terming the India-China border undemarcated, extremely cold and with very difficult terrain, he said it it is all the more important that impetus should be given to boost up infrastructure and peace in the border areas.

Singh also brought up the issue of connectivity in border areas and stressed the need to overcome these challenges.

Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti (Jammu and Kashmir), Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh), Trivendra Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Pawan Kumar Chamling (Sikkim) and Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh) attended the meeting.

A Home Ministry official said the objective of the meeting was to strengthen coordination between the Ministry and the five states to improve overall border security.

Border infrastructure work undertaken by the Home Ministry, border area development programme, and coordination issues between the states and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police came up at the meeting.

The ITBP is responsible for the security of the 3,488 km India-China border stretching from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Home Minister said that the Ministry, in the first stage, is building 27 roads near the border which will be completed by 2019-20. “Approval is being given for 48 other roads.”

He also stressed the need to strengthen basic infrastructure in the border areas in view of “thinning population and migration” from the border and also advocated development of model villages in border districts, asking the states to send more proposals to the central government in this regard.

He said that the states should remove obstacles in border infrastructure development and that the problems pertaining to land acquisition and clearances need to be resolved.

He advised the Chief Ministers to send senior officers every six months to border areas in their respective states to review and implement the developmental work done in the villages.

Earlier in the day, the Home Minister visited Nathula Pass and an ITBP border post at Lachung, where he met troopers deployed on the Sino-Indian border.

Book               :  RAGE OF THE RIVER : The Untold Story of KEDARNATH DISASTER.

Author            :  Hridayesh Joshi.

Publisher        :  Penguin Books.

Pages               :  209.

Price                :  Rs 399/-.

The book — RAGE OF THE RIVER : The Untold Story of the KEDARNATH DISASTER — was waiting to happen in Uttarakhand. This calamitous and frightening reprisal on June 16/17, 2013 had been building for days because of torrential rains and when all hell broke loose the inept administrative machinery headed by a clueless the then chief minister Vijay Bahuguna remained a floundering lot at the height of the tourist season. 

Survivors stuck at considerable heights were left to fend for themselves without food or water for days. The heroism of the people helped save adequate number of people from drowning or being washed away. They made available cooked food for the starving pilgrims along with providing as much succour as they could in the trying circumstances. 

Thousands of people perished and lakhs lost their employment. The normally calm Mandakini came crashing down from the hills and destroyed everything in its path: houses, bridges, dams and the town of Kedarnath. 

The government continues to remain in denial. The Kedarnath valley continues to haunt us — though the temple has been restored, given its religious importance and centrality in the local economy. Woven into this haunting and nerve wrecking narrative of the travails of the people from the most remote parts of the state including areas cut off from the rest of the world. 

Author Hridayesh Joshi, senior editor, National Affairs in NDTV India was among the first to reach when disaster struck Kedarnath. He stayed there for weeks travelling the length and breadth of Uttarakhand covering the calamity. This is his first hand account of those caught in the middle of nature’s fury. The book has been written in Hindi and translated by Vandana R Singh, who is head, English language dissemination, in an organisation involved in skill development, capacity building and upscaling the employability quotient of youth. 

It was in the evening on June 17 that a captain of a private airline was asked by the union government to assess the situation in the Kedar valley. After seeing all the destruction from the air it become difficult for him to maintain his composure. From 9000 ft to 12000 the pilot informed a senior official of the civil aviation ministry that thousands of people were stuck. Many had been swept away by the river and countless were buried under the debris. 

The next few days saw many lives in balance. It was obvious that the biggest ever air rescue mission would be carried out at such a height for the first time in the history of the world.

Joshi and his colleagues were on a ” journey without a path” as the violent tributary of the Ganges had left a sorded saga of destruction which had already been scripted on the hills of Uttarakhand and signs of disaster could be seen all around. The last few days had seen Mandakini at its destructive worst right from its source to its confluence with Alaknanda. 

Massive chunks of the road to Kedarnath had been washed away. Even though H S Rawat as a minister in the then Bahuguna government took graphic pictures of the disaster during an aerial tour, it was shocking that despite a minister being aware of the extent of damage caused the state government was trying to cover up the tragedy. 

This was specially true regarding the number of casualties and people stuck or stranded. They heard in Srinagar town 36 hours after the tragedy that the administration tried to close the chapter by offering a princely sum of Rs 2700 as compensation to each affected family. The author saw that all the roads had been damaged and the mountains had been stripped bare by the repeated landslides. 

A priest and survivor in Kedarnath Ravindra Bhatt recalled on June 16 a huge sheet of water gushed down from the upper reaches and the area around Kedarnath was flooded. “Bhaiji, we were face to face with death–it was as though Yamraj was actually in our midst. We tried to calm down people saying have courage…this dark night will end…soon it will be morning…we will survive this,” Bhatt said. 

The next morning on June 17 morning Kedarnath was filled with water and dotted with huge boulders. “To save myself I had to jump into the swirling waters. I was in the water for nearly 15 minutes. And then miraculously the water deposited me on a side and I lay there for a long time. The next day rescue workers found me and brought me to safety,” Bhatt said.  

After hearing several first person accounts Joshi and his colleagues were convinced about the gravity of the situation. The first helipad that they came across was on the morning of June 21 belonging to a private airline five days after the disaster had struck. Pilots doing sorties to get people out of Kedarnath disclosed that there were at least 1000 people stuck there and it would take a whole day of clear weather to bring them all back. This kind of a rescue job required large helicopters like the ALH or the Mi 17 which remained conspicuously absent even four days after the tragedy. 

The pilots in their small helicopters showed tremendous grit and will power in ferrying the affected to safe places. This facilitated mediapersons to meet the stranded pilgrims and hear their harrowing tales. When an elderly person was approached he initially chocked with emotion but gathered courage to say….”twelve of my family members were swept away. My relatives, friends, children, wife…all are gone, I have no one left.” This story had shaken “each one of us to the core”, recalled the author. They needed a helicopter to go to Kedarnath. Ethics did not allow them as it would block two people from being rescued. 

They decided that at such a critical time they could not obstruct rescue work in any way. Every pilot involved in the rescue mission was angry that the attitude of the government was extremely lax and had it been more pro active, many more lives could have been saved. 

Finally on reaching Kedarnath Joshi found it in ruins. “It was hopelessly trapped in a deathly silence. Armed with pictures of death and destruction Joshi and and his team were on their way back to Delhi. We could not help wondering how terrifying that day of destruction must have been.” 

The government shamelessly spread lies and Joshi and his colleagues decided to counter it vociferously and expose those making such claims. What has come to the fore is the country’s unpreparedness to handle calamities of this scale. “We need to rise from our stupor,” stresses Joshi. 

The phenomenon of climate change can no longer be seen as a piece of fiction or fantasy anymore. There are clear indications of an increase in extreme weather events and this is going to have a very disastrous impact on society. “Time is running out. Can we begin the task of course correction immediately — before talking about our noble plans of adaptation, mitigation and disaster management” emphasises the author. A must read book unmasking the shameful role of the political busy bodies in Uttarakhand.  

The country’s oldest Congress party which was in the vanguard of the independence struggle is at the crossroads once again. Its image has taken a severe drubbing and heir apparent and party vice president Rahul Gandhi has failed to galvanise the slumbering giant. 

This is the youthful leader’s single biggest challenge. The party is in a shambles because of the leadership’s unimaginative and lack lustre approach apart from the intense factionalism causing a leadership vacuum in the states. 

The only saving grace for it since the last general elections in April-May 2014 has been the victory in Punjab, thanks largely to the anti-incumbency against the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine and in great measure to Capt Amarinder Singh being made the helmsman in the sensitive border state.  

The nonchalance and arrogance of the party’s central leadership has cost it dear with certain key leaders in the East and Northeast abandoning ship due to frustration for which the Congress has had to pay a heavy price. 

Assam in particular where a frustrated Hementa Biswal Sarma ditched the Congress to join the BJP succeeded in winning the assembly elections handsomely considered the gateway to the Northeast. This was a major breakthrough for the Lotus party. 

The party high command’s penchant for parachuting hand picked individuals loyal to the leadership to govern states has cost the old Lady of Bori Bunder dearly. This has led to a disquiet and the Congress being shorn of mass leaders in the states.

There is no doubt that the Congress has to undertake serious course corrections to put its house in order. Winning the confidence of the people requires thinking out of the box for building a rapport reminiscent of the late Indira Gandhi. 

Rahul Gandhi and all the opposition leaders including the regional satrapsenjoying their spheres of influence have failed to make any dent on the phenomenon called Modi who has bashed on regardless steamrolling the opposition. 

Modi will be completing three years in office next week on the 26th of May. Since the later half of 2013 when Narendra Modi led the campaign as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial nominee, it became evident there was no stopping him in occupying the seat of power in the majestic South Block on the Raisina Hill in the national capital. 

Single handedly a tireless Modi unleashed a campaign blitzkreig securng for the saffron brigade a majority for the first time in the Lok Sabha.The Hindi heartland voted overwhelmingly for Modi and the Lotus party in the April-May 2014 general elections. 

He continues to enjoy the top spot in the popularity ratings with no other leader anywhere close to him. He has emerged as the undisputed strongman of the BJP. 

Compared to this the Congress which has ruled the country for nearly six decades is literally in the dumps and at a loss how to revive the party along with infusing confidence among its die hard supporters. It desperately needs to reinvent itself to catch the imagination of the people sooner than later. 

BJP strategists particularly Modi and party president Amit Shah have managed to remain several steps ahead of the entire opposition. Their runaway victory in the recent assembly elections in the most crucial state of Uttar Pradesh has set the stage for the next general elections in 2019. 

Even as Shah is on a 95-day yatra all over the country in the runup to the 2019 elections, celebrations are afoot to highlight the achievements of the Modi government in the 36 months that he has been in office. 

President Pranab Mukherjee, a Congress veteran who completes his term in Rashtrapati Bhawan two months later on July 25, advised the young leader not to be unnerved by defeat but to act decisively. 

The first citizen was speaking last weekend at the release of a book — India’s Indira, A Centennial Tribute — with Rahul Gandhi all ears sitting on the podium. He recalled when the Congress was defeated in 1977, Indira Gandhi had told him: “Pranab, don’t get unnerved by defeat. This is the time to act.” 

Mukherjee recalled when the party split in 1978, Indira was elected President of the party and within 20 days she constituted the working committee, the parliamentary board, state committees and readied the party for polls in the states. She won decisively in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and emerged as the single largest party in Maharashtra, forming the government there too. 

He emphasised “she took decisions quickly and changed the fortunes of the party.” It was apparent the President felt concerned about the current state of affairs in the Congress and impressed upon Rahul to learn from his grandmother. 

Congress insiders attributed the current indecisiveness to the internal power tussle in the party. In the circumstances Sonia Gandhi remains the final authority which has been welcomed by the non-BJP parties. 

Mukherjee said Indira Gandhi would never hesitate and underlined the need for quick and bold decision making. That the Congress requires is a radical overhaul is not in doubt. It is in this context that Rahul Gandhi has begun consultations with state unit presidents and others from the organisation before unleashing a sweeping organisational revamp. 

The endeavour is to end the prevailing disunity and strive for consensus based decisions. He realises one of the factors keeping the Congress out of power in most of the states including Odisha is the bane of factionalism. 

Sources expressed confidence that restructuring in the states as well as the AICC will be completed within the next few months before Rahul Gandhi hopefully takes over the reigns of Congress president from his mother Sonia Gandhi. 

( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.) 

NEW DELHI: TOP DECISION MAKING BODY, THE DEFENCE ACQUISITION POLICY, MET ON SATURDAY UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF DEFENCE MINISTER ARUN JAITLEY AND FINALISED THE BROAD CONTOURS OF A POLICY WHICH AIMS AT ENGAGING PRIVATE SECTOR IN MANUFACTURE OF HIGH-TECH DEFENCE EQUIPMENT IN INDIA.   

THE DAC HELD COMPREHENSIVE DISCUSSION WHILE GIVING FINAL TOUCHES TO THE SHAPE OF THE NEW DEFENCE POLICY. 

“The policy is aimed at developing the defence industrial eco-system in the country through the involvement of both the major Indian corporates as well as the MSME sector,” a statement of the Defence Ministry said here. 

The policy, which was developed through extensive stakeholder consultations with Indian industry, envisages the establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with qualified Indian industry majors through a transparent and competitive process wherein the Indian industry partners would tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers and manufacturing know-how to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains.  

The policy will give a boost to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet ‘Make in India’ policy in the Defence sector and set Indian industry on the path to acquiring cutting-edge capabilities which will contribute to the building of self-reliance in the vital sector of national security requirements.

The policy is expected to be implemented in a few selected segments to begin with, namely, fighter aircraft, submarines and armoured vehicles.  In future, additional segments may be added. Appropriate institutional mechanisms will be set in place to implement the policy. 

NEW DELHI : Yet again seeking to demonstrate that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) cannot be tampered, the Election Commission on Saturday dismissed the possibility of manipulating the functioning of the machines either during manufacturing, polling and transportation stages or when they are stored.
Addressing a press conference after a public display of the functioning of the machines, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said those who had raised doubts about the functioning of the machines in the mind of the people have not been able to give any credible information that the machines can be hacked to support their claim. 
He said there is no chip or data stored in the machines that can be tampered with by any external device like mobile phone, bluetooth and external wireless, wi-fi and internet connection. 
The CEC then said that even the results cannot be changed through any coded signal. 
Zaidi said: “No tampering can be carried out by any Trojan horse malware in its software.”
He also ruled out any manipulation in the EVMs during its manufacturing stage. “There is no manipulation possible either during manufacturing stage nor can its security software be tampered with,” he said.
“There cannot be manipulation in a planned manner in the manufacturing stage in advance as the numbers of the candidates are not known to the manufacturers,” Zaidi said.
“Even the EC does not have these details in advance. It can’t be known about the candidates, their names or their numbers in advance,” he said. During counting of votes, he said no manipulation was possible. 
Zaidi then said that the EC has already announced that all future elections will be mandatorily held with VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) and orders have been issued for manufacturing these machines. 
“The manufacturer will start manufacturing the EVMs with the VVPAT in August this year and it will deliver the new machines to the commission in September 2018,” Zaidi said, adding that this would restore the faith of voters in transparent elections. 
He said all the safety measures along with other factors should put an end to all doubts about the possibility of manipulating or tampering with the EVMs. 

TEHRAN : Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has won a second term in office, state news agency reported on Saturday.

Rouhani defeated his conservative challenger Ebrahim Raisi in the Presidential election on Friday in a victory for the reformist camp in the predominantly Shia nation, IRNA reported.

Rouhani won 23,549,616 of the total 41,220,131 votes while Raeisi, a principlist candidate, received 15,786,449 ballots, said Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli.

Two other hopefuls — Mostafa Mirsalim and Mostafa Hashemi Tab — won 478,215 and 215,450 votes respectively.

Over 40 million people took part in the polls and Rouhani received more than half of those counted, with some areas still to declare, officials said.

“The National Media (IRINN) congratulate the victory of Hassan Rouhani in the Presidential election,” state media channel IRINN announced.

Rouhani, a moderate, was a key architect of the 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. He seeks to normalise ties with the West.

Rouhani’s rival Raisi complained about alleged voting irregularities and accused Rouhani’s supporters of hundreds of acts of propaganda at voting booths, banned under electoral law, the BBC reported.

Voting time was extended by five hours on Friday, until midnight, amid an unexpectedly high turnout of about 70 per cent.

Election officials said the extensions to voting hours were due to “requests” and the “enthusiastic participation of people”.

President Rouhani will now have a bigger mandate to push through his reforms, put an end to extremism, build bridges with the outside world and put the economy back on track, said the report.

Every incumbent President has been re-elected in Iran since 1985, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself won a second term, reported the BBC.