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All the excitement and wait in the first half of the 2016 for the 48 lakh employees and 55 lakh pensioners, over the implementation of the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Panel recommendations at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.02 lakh crore with 23.55 per cent hike in pay and allowances, has died down. The positive sentiments have now become negative with the employees threatening a full-fledged strike over the delay or impasse on the unsettled issues on allowances.

The Federation of the Central  Government employees and Pensioners now says it feels betrayed by NDA Govt. by breach of assurance given by Group of Cabinet Ministers including Rajnath Singh,  Arun Jaitely and Suresh Prabhu regarding increase in Minimum Pay and Fitment formula.

According to the Federation Secretary General M. Krishnan, this is the worst pay revision after 2nd CPC report in 1960. Government implemented the report without any modification suggested by Staff side (JCM). In 1960, the employees went on five days strike.

He maintains that the Central Government Pensioners and Family Pensioners betrayed by NDA Government by not implementing Option-I (parity) recommended by 7th CPC and accepted by Cabinet. He claims that three lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks of the Postal Department feel betrayed by NDA Government by not extending the benefits of 7th CPC to them and also by not publishing the separate one-man committee report already submitted to the Government.

In a call for the strike he has conveyed to the employees that thousands of casual, part-time, contingent employees, daily rated labourers and contract workers have been betrayed by the NDA Government by not regularizing their services and by not revising their wages on the principle of Ã¢Â€ÂœEqual Pay for Equal Work”.

7th CPC Submitted its report after 21 months on November 19, 2015. Even after 13 months, the NDA Government the issue related to allowances remains unresolved.

Mr. Krishnan has maintained that there is no negotiated settlement on Confederation’s 21 Point Charter of demands which includes increase in minimum pay, Fitment formula, no reduction of HRA rate, Revision of all allownaces, Restoration of abolished Advances, Option-1 for pensioners, Scrap New Pension System, Autonomous bodies wage revision, GDS Issues, Casual Labour issues, MACP promotional hierarchy and “Very good” bench mark, filling up of vacancies, removal of 5% compassionate appointment restriction, Five promotions, LDC/UDC pay upgradation, Parity in pay scales with Central Secretariat Staff, removal aof CCL adverse condition, equal pay for equal work.

According to him, on persistent demand of the staff side (JCM), the Group of Ministers assured that the issue of increase in the Minimum wage and Fitment formula will be referred to a High Level Committee and the Committee will submit its report to the Government within four months. Now six months are over but there is no high level Committee report.

The centre had set up a `Committee on Allowances’ which met last month under the chairmanship of Secretary, Finance (Expenditure) with representatives of the Central government unions. National Council/Joint Consultative Machinary for Central government employees say the unions are getting restive over several issues. “

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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said Opposition will wholeheartedly support Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his actions against corrupt people. Addressing a press conference in the national Capital  along with other opposition parties including TMC, RJD, and DMK, Mr Gandhi said along with fighting corruption, the Prime Minister should also answer allegations of personal corruption against him. 

He continued his criticism of the government on demonetization scheme saying it has failed in curbing blackmoney. Mr Gandhi said Prime Minister Modi should disclose the real reason for demonetisation, and answer who is responsible for sufferings of poor people. He said that December 30 is approaching but there is no improvement in the situation.

Sharing the platform with the Congress Vice President, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked whether Mr Modi will take responsibility and resign if things remain unresolved even after 50 days. She alleged that demonetisation is a mega scam and accused the Central government of destroying the federal structure of the country. Ms Banerjee also alleged that country is going through undeclared economic emergency.

The ruling BJP was quick to react, terming the Congress-led opposition meet against demonetisation as a flop show of Rahul Gandhi. The party said the bubble of opposition unity had burst before it could even take off. Only eight of the 16 parties which had joined hands in Parliament against the NDA government over note ban were present on Wednesday.Talking to reporters in New Delhi, senior BJP leader and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took potshots at Mr. Gandhi saying it was increasingly becoming clear that he lacked maturity. He said the opposition’s exercise was laughable as those who were behind scams like 2G spectrum and Saradha chit fund had come together to attack Prime Minister Modi.”

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The Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) has expressed `surprised and disappointment’ with the decision to include Drug Eluting Stents under Schedule 1 of Drug Price Control Order, 2013.

The industry has been working closely with the pricing authorities to bring transparency on the pricing issue and arrive at scientific methodology to differentiate among various value-added versions of Drug Eluting Stents. The decision disregards the innovative nature of the medical technology sector which has evolved over the last 20 years globally and is still evolving, a statement issued by MTaI has said.

MTaI is an association of research-based medical technology companies who have made investments by setting up large number of R&D centres and manufacturing plants in India. MTaI represents a wide spectrum of the medical device and equipment industry with global experience in innovation and manufacturing.

MTaI is also deeply concerned with the treatment implications on patients, who may need different and innovative products for their individual and evolving medical needs. Such a decision would not only take away a clinical choice from a physician, to use different products for different patient needs but also take away patient’s right to choose for their own medical care based on quality and innovation of a product.

Over the last 10 years, medical technology sector in India has been struggling to get a distinct identity with clear definition in Drugs and Cosmetics Act of India. Any decisions like this without resolving the fundamental issue on medical device regulation further complicates the matter for all stakeholders, the statement said.

“In fact, the industry has taken a number of steps to drive access of the advanced medical technologies for a large pool of patients with its voluntarily offer to provide one type of high-quality, FDA approved stent at a CGHS approved rate of Rs. 25,000 to the pricing authorities few months back. In addition, it is partnering with a number of state government reimbursement programs by providing world-class products at the lowest prices. Hence, to enable patient access without compromising patient health and quality of outcomes, we urge the pricing authority to use scientific rationale in the decision making instead of using broad-brush of drug rules on this small yet highly innovative and vital small yet highly innovative and vital life-saving sector. A non-scientific implementation may lead to major obstacles in the natural evolution of this sector and create implementation snags leading to morbidity and mortality traps,’’ it has said.

MTaI has asked the government to have a holistic view on the decision by involving all the concerned stakeholders i.e. hospitals, physicians, companies in the discussion on price regulations to arrive at a decision which is best for patient health. Also create a vibrant environment for the medical device sector to make innovative therapies accessible to patients and uphold & strengthen the state of healthcare already achieved in the country, it said.

MTaI looks to partner with Government of India in setting a roadmap for growth of medical devices sector by bringing in even bigger investments in this sector, through ‘Make in India and through technology upgradation and dissemination in the provider space.”

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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) rural Common Service Centre (CSC) network through its massive outreach campaign Ã¢Â€Â˜DigiDhan Abhiyan’ has enrolled over one crore rural citizens for digital payments since its launch earlier this month. 

Over 3 lakh merchants have started offering digital payment options to rural customers across various districts and blocks in rural India. Within a month of the launch of the campaign, the uptake of digital payments by rural Indians has already crossed 1 crore.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Electronics & Information Technology said, “The rapid pace at which rural citizens are adopting digital methods of payment demonstrates their support and enthusiasm to be a part of the Digital Transformation story of our country.”

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have recorded the highest number of enrolments with citizen enrolment crossing 15 lakh and 12.5 lakh rural citizens respectively. Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh have recorded the highest number of merchant enrolments crossing 60000 merchants each. Other States in the country like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra are also contributing to the high digital enrolment of citizens.

The Common Service Centres (CSC) and the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLE) have reached out to citizens innovatively to impart digital literacy. Gurdeep Singh, a Village Level Entrepreneur of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh has converted his van into a mobile training centre equipped with education material and has taken it to several villages in the district to educate people on Digital Payments and systems. Gurdeep Singh says, “The response from the citizens has been phenomenal. The ripple effect of the mobilization on ground to educate citizens through CSC’s has been a tremendous success story. Citizens have been mobilizing each other to proactively go digital in our outreach camps and this is a very encouraging sign of adoption of digital payments by all sections of Indians.”

The effectiveness of this campaign is demonstrated in the high levels of enrolment from the tribal village of Palnar, located in the naxal-hit region of Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. The Common Service Centre (CSC) along with a team of bankers, district officials and technical officials met the citizens of the village and trained them through various audio/ video material on digital transformation and benefits of digital adoption. The team also worked intensely with merchants and citizens to get them to practice digital transactions on a regular basis. The village has now gone digital with the use of e-Wallets, Cards, Point-of-Sale (PoS) machines etc.

Another success story comes from district Jashpur in Chhattisgarh, where a Gram Panchayat ‘Jariya’ Sarpanch led an active team and reached out to each villager to educate them on digital payments. The campaign was driven through hands-on training sessions, door-to-door outreach with a major focus on the merchants. The Gram Panchayat has now received a Certificate of 100% Aadhaar seeding of all bank accounts in the village.

The DigiDhan Abhiyan aims to cover 2 lakh Common Service Centres (CSC) across the rural areas and enable them to become Digital Financial Education centres. The CSCs will train people about the various digital financial solutions and also enable them to use various modes of Electronic Payment Systems (EPS). The campaign also aims to sensitize merchants and vendors on the use of EPS.

The campaign will look to provide people with a multitude of choices, so that they can choose the method basis its relevance and comfort for them. The focus will be on creating an enabling environment and identify solutions for all segments of the population who want to go digital. It will be a combination of physical outreach through the Common Service Centres (CSC) and Digital Tools.

“The DigiDhan Abhiyan outreach in rural India through the Common Service Centres reflects citizen’s willingness to go digital and the acceptance of new methods of digital transactions which are convenient and easy to access / use. We will continue to leverage newer teDea
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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s efforts at knitting the opposition together against the Narendra Modi government on the controversial demonetisation issue failed to set the Yamuna on fire. It lacked the political management of the grand old party which was in the vanguard of the freedom struggle. 

It became apparent more meetings and discussions were required to narrow down the differences among the non-BJP parties for greater participation. Most political parties feel strongly about the demonetisation lacking proper planning causing immense hardship to the people at large adversely affecting farmers, daily wage earners, the unorganised sector and the teeming poor. 

Rahul squandered away a great opportunity to push PM Modi on the back foot. The Congress should have liaised more closely with the other parties which share its ideology. Clearly, the requisite backroom work required was missing. 

In October-November last year, the assembly elections in Bihar were held in five phases after forming a Mahagatbandhan or grand alliance with Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial candidate. The idea clicked and the Mahagatbandhan won delivering a serious blow to the Lotus party. The Congress played a key part in encouraging the grand alliance. The unambiguous message is that the Old Lady of Bori Bunder needs to reach out to others rather than expect others to just fall in line. 

Like the Congress there are others keen to occupy the opposition space. These parties are opposed to the BJP’s Hindutva agenda set by its mentor, the RSS. Last Tuesday’s high decibel verbal duel between the Rahul-Mamata combine and the loner Modi saw the latter having a definite advantage. 

The splintered opposition with Rahul and Mamata in the vanguard failed to create any impact. Even as Rahul focussed on the bribery charges, Mamata bayed for Modi’s head over the notes in the wake of the surprise and shocking demonetisation on the eighth of November. 

The 50-day period sought by the Prime Minister to sort out problems aimed at easing the pain of the masses ended barely 24 hours back on Thursday. There is no denying that compared to the pain of withdrawing one’s own money by standing in serpertine queues evidenced for more than five weeks got compounded by the empty ATMs failing to deliver cash. 

Things have improved marginally on the ground and bankers assert that things continue to be bad. At the same time some glitches remain particularly in the country’s outback which the Reserve Bank of India and economists of Niti Ayog claim will be sorted out in another week or ten days time into the new year. 

The opposition conclave in the national capital on December 27 became a lack lustre Rahul-Mamata show with the latter recalling “”the Prime Minister said he could be punished if the situation did not improve in 50 days which ended on December 29. If the cash withdrawals are not lifted after December 30, Modi should take responsibility and resign. The government’s promise should have some sanctity,”” asserted the TMC chief. 

Despite the Congress initiative, several parties including the Left Front, Janata Dal (United), Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj party and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress party gave it a miss. Without being remorseful Rahul acknowledged that the parties which gave the meeting the miss had their own compulsions. It brought to the fore the serious differences of opinion particularly between Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) and Lalu’s RJD. 

Rahul stressed “”Modi’s words should carry weight. The shock he gave the nation was at his own initiative. This was the biggest arbitrary financial experiment ever made in the world and Modi will have to explain the objective.”” 

An unfazed and authoritative Modi stepped up the anti-graft rhetoric at a public rally in Dehra Dun earlier this week taking upon himself the role of a “”chowkidar (guard)”” as desired by the people. He emphasised that demonetisation was a “”cleansing drive”” and those who thought they could make their black money white through back door means were being caught now.

The demonetisation issue did far more than divide the opposition. They were confused on the approach against the Narendra Modi government. The could not fault the stated aims of demonetisation to curb black money, tackle counterfeit notes and curb terror funding. They could not attack the move in principle without being seen as backing the corrupt. Surprisingly, demonetisation seems to have driven apart parties that were in alliance.

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

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Can the sentence of life imprisonment be qualified by the word “rigorous”? The Supreme Court of India will decide this issue as a Bench comprising Justices PC Ghose and UU Lalit have issued a notice to the State of Chhattisgarh in a petition filed by Ram Kumar Sivare. Senior Advocate Parmanand Katara appeared for the petitioner.The petitioner, Ram Kumar Sivare was convicted for murder. He was awarded “rigorous” life imprisonment by the lower court which was confirmed by the Chhattisgarh High Court. The present appeal arises out of the judgment of Chhattisgarh High Court.

The petitioner has contended that penal laws do not empower courts to qualify life imprisonment with the term “rigorous” and hence the judgments awarding “rigorous” life imprisonment is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. When the matter came up for hearing on December 16, the Court issued notice on the limited issue of whether life imprisonment could be coupled with the condition that such imprisonment has to be rigorous while the rest of the contentions of the petitioner were dismissed.

“Let notice be issued in the matter limited to the question whether life imprisonment could be coupled with the condition that such imprisonment has to be rigorous imprisonment, returnable after four weeks. All other contentions of the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner are dismissed.”

Section 53 of the Indian Penal Code sets out kinds of punishments to which offenders are liable under the Code. Simple imprisonment and Rigorous imprisonment are discussed under the said Section. Rigorous imprisonment is termed as imprisonment with “hard labour”. However, what is noteworthy is that imprisonment for life is a separate category in itself as per Section 53 and it is not qualified by terms like “simple” or “rigorous”. Interestingly, another bench of Supreme Court had issued notice in a similar case from Maharashtra four years ago. Senior Advocate Parmanand Katara had appeared in that case too for the convict. That case is still pending as per the information available on the website of Supreme Court of India.”

“515mcGR0iL._SX322_BO1204203200_”” alt=””Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Societies – The Indian Experience”” />Managing ethnic diversity is a prime concern of almost every government in South Asia. When the danger of disintegration is looming ominously over multicultural countries, how does India record its success of maintaining and promoting diversities amid its manifold problems — poverty, illiteracy, regional disparities, social exclusion and ethnic conflicts. Amidst the complexities India’s enviable record of maintaining its integrity is exemplary not only in South Asia but the entire world. How does India do it? What are the strategies in operation? What is the key to India’s relative success? The book “”Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Societies — The Indian Experience”” by Jhumpa Mukherjee shows that a democratically designed decentralised system catering to the diverse ethnic needs of the population has served to integrate the country amidst divergent and periodic spells of ethnic movements and sought to rectify the neglect for institutionalisation of multiculturalism and add a novel dimension to decentralisation. The author critically examines the tribulations of ethno-regional diversity in a single political framework. Managing cultural diversities is one of the fundamental challenges of our times. Most of the states all over the world such as India, Nigeria, Mexico, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Britain and Spain are preoccupied with handling tribulations stemming from ethno-nationalism in their individual territories. In the post cold war period and recent social transformations cultural diversity has increasingly shaped the foundations of majority of social conflicts and political deliberations. And this quest for recognition of identity has led to severe identity assertion conflicts and movements throughout the globe. Expanding cultural freedom in the era of globalisation presents challenges and dilemmas. In the present era conflicts have become more complex and multi-dimensional that considerable interlinking of divergent factors and ethnic groups becoming more and more assertive of their rights. Democracy alone cannot sustain and promote diversity as it signifies power of the people. “”People”” in most cases implies the majorities who have access to the seats of political power often ruling by marginalising the minorities thus giving rise to exclusionary tendencies. Even if countries are not disintegrating, minorities are being marginalised. India battles her admirers by her veritable feast of peculiarities. She represents the world’s largest democracy with a huge range of complexities. Despite the problem of language, religion, tribes and more seriously questions of identity, yet the country has worked to stay united. Countries may face the risk of disintegration if conflicts within multicultural states are left unattended. Economically decentralisation is said to promote efficiency in the delivery of local services and public goods. Politically decentralisation is said to strengthen accountability and national integration. Decentralisation exercises the right to self determination. It is often seen as an aid to national integration and strengthening of democratic institutions. At the same time it cannot be said that decentralisation provides an answer to all ethnic conflicts. Decentralisation is the current buzzword in the discourse in Indian government and is increasingly seen as a tool to meet local needs and preferences. It is proposed as a way to promote a more democratic and participatory society. Political decentralisation by itself is not sufficient to recognise cultural claims coupled with the regional needs of the population. Political unity is highly volatile and has the tendency to degenerate into anarchy. Multicultural decentralisation plays an important role in accommodating the multifarious diversities. The sine qua non of such readjustments is that though each and every decentralised unit consists of certain proportions of minorities who may be majorities in other states and therefore they are not neglected. Ultimately differences should be accommodated and not simply managed. The Constitution of India which took two years, eleven months and 18 days in the making has crafted a text which provides “”space”” for the myriad and complex diversities. Instead of discouraging differences, the Constitution takes them for granted and offers adequate facilities for their expression and development. It may be recalled that the Bengali language imbroglio in Pakistan led to the disintegration of that country. As a consequence the monolingual state of Bangladesh was created. Similarly in Sri Lanka, the adoption of the policy of “”Sinhala only”” and being indifferent and adopting a non-accommodative stance towards the Tamils drew the country into a protracted civil war resulting in much turmoil in that Island state. The Constitution has ensured that the interests of different communities is well catered to. At the same time tensions are part of every multicultural society and are sure to settle down with conscious constitutional engineering. The British deliberately isolated the tribal community due to which they have been virtually untouched from the wave of nationalist current; more so the imperialist design of “”divide and rule”” failed to forge a common bond of unity between the tribals and non-tribals. The Indian National Congress also did not make any bold attempt to bring them into the national movement. This had a negative impact on the minds of the people. The Northeast represents a miniature India in itself. Recognising the unique character, the policy makers have created a web of interventions. As globalisation expands, conflicts amplify and fragmentation of multicultural states continues, it becomes crucial for states to develop the competence to meet the challenges. If left unmanaged or managed poorly, these struggles over cultural identity can soon become the greatest source of instability within — between states and in doing so it can trigger conflict that hinders development. Conflict resolution mechanisms need to be built in the political system through the process of power sharing and the distinct identities by providing different levels of autonomy. A single policy cannot be applied to all. This calls for flexibility in designing institutions. A case in point is Pakistan where there is pluralism and yet religious fanaticism replaces tolerance and the democratic temper is jeopardised. Even today the country is dotted with several movements. Jhumpa Mukherjee, who teaches political science at St Xavier’s college in Kolkata, emphasises that it is necessary to continuously devise new mechanisms of power sharing, multi-pronged and dynamic to respond effectively as the needs of these groups are not effectively tackled. Otherwise chaos, anarchy and disorder will prevail where ethnic conflict may easily spill over state boundaries.

TR

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator.)
”

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Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa took over as the 25th Chief of the Indian Air Force on Saturday. In his address to the IAF, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said: “I feel honoured and privileged to have been entrusted with the responsibility to lead one of the finest Air Forces in the world. I will certainly be inspired by the exceptional achievements and the leadership of so many of my illustrious predecessors.”

IAF is on a trajectory of modernisation and is transforming into a strategic aerospace power with full-spectrum capability. Accretion through new acquisitions, replacement of obsolete equipment with state-of-the-art inductions and upgrade of the vintage weapon platforms would bolster our capabilities. Forthcoming inductions of the Rafale aircraft, Attack Helicopters, Heavy Lift Helicopters, Force Enhancers, and Air Defence Radars hold great promise for the future. The first ‘Tejas’ squadron of the IAF was also ushered in. 

Simultaneously, Airfield Infrastructure Modernisation programme and upgradations in Communications Network have strengthened the support structure for effective operations. While undertaking its modernisation, the IAF has taken an active role in the “”Make in India”” plan, to take forward indigenous production of combat aircraft, helicopters, weapon sensors and systems, besides other aviation equipment. A vibrant and flourishing domestic capability would be an essential ingredient for the Nation to continue its glorious evolution.”

In his address, he also expressed his pride at the way India’s image worldwide has been showcased through the IAF’s strategic reach. He commended IAF’s role as first responders in HADR situations and aid to civil authority in rendering stability to volatile situations on many occasions, besides bringing succour to people in distress.

He stressed the requirement of training and equipping IAF to deter the sub-convetional threats. He reiterated need for focused approach to enhance aerospace safety and IAF’s commitment for better standard of living for its airwarriors. 

Commissioned into the Flying Branch of IAF as a fighter pilot in June 1978, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa is a Qualified Cat ‘A’ Flying Instructor and has more than 3000 hours of fighter flying under his belt with an immaculate flight safety record all along his distinguished career as a field commander. He is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, the National Defence Academy and the Defence Services Staff College,Wellington. 

The Air Chief has many laurels to his credit. As Commanding Officer of a frontline ground attack fighter squadron, equipped with MiG-21 aircraft, he led the IAF punch during the ‘limited war’ against Pakistan in 1999 to evict the enemy from their Ã¢Â€Â˜dug in’ defences in the icy heights of Kargil region. For his outstanding bravery and leadership during the conflict, he was awarded  Yudh Seva Medal (YSM). The Air Chief Marshal has held a number of significant staff appointments at operational Commands. 

The Air Chief has commanded the South Western Air Command. For his experience and professional excellence, he was handpicked to establish an ‘IAF Training Team’ abroad.

The Air Chief Marshal is also instrumental in developing the aerial targeting philosophy against the potential adversaries and transformed the concept of Air operations of the Indian Air Force to contemporary war fighting practices of Air Power. He is an avid reader and writer of issues pertaining to air power and joint operations.  Before taking over as the Chief of the Air Staff, he has been the Vice Chief of the Air Staff since June 2015.”

“The nomination of Sasikala Natarajan, a close confidant of the late J Jayalalithaa as the interim general secretary of the AIADMK on Thursday was along expected lines. It was smooth affair and the odd minor glitch, if any, did not cast a shadow on the Dravidian party’s general council proceedings in elevating Sasikala. What tilted the scales in her favour was her closeness to Amma as the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was known. Interestingly, present chief minister O Panneerselvam as the only other contender for the party post backed Sasikala or Chinnamma (younger mother). In a cult based party this was the only option to avoid a split which would have been disastrous. It is well known that Sasikala lacks popular appeal as evidenced in the case of Amma. Chinnamma dabbled in backroom politics even as Jayalalithaa refused to build a second line of leadership in the AIADMK. Sasikala was not given a party post by Jayalalithaa to keep in check another authority being developed. This facilitated Amma in keeping her cadres united. Sasikala gained confidence running the AIADMK in Jayalalithaa’s name when the supremo had to remain absent from public view because of spells in jail and hospital due to illness. Amma was also missing from public view during campaigning in April-May this year compelling Sasikala to convey her orders to the party rank and file. By doing so ensured Amma’s pre-eminence as the supremo of the AIADMK. Not just that no one dared to question her undisputed status of being the numero uno in the regional party. However, the fact that Sasikala lived in the sprawling Poes garden residence of Jayalaithaa gave her the authority. What cannot be lost sight of is that the party’s problems might have just begun. The authority of Panneerselvam as the chief minister might be undermined. It is no secret that several ministers and others have asked Sasikala to take over as the chief minister. Impartial observers believe the post might well be hers as most of the legislators are backing her and Panneerselvam is unlikely to offer resistance at least at this juncture. At the same time Sasikala is an accused in the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa and awaiting judgement in the Supreme Court after a conviction by the trial court. In the wake of the searches in the residential and office premises of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao by IncomeTax and Enforcement Directorate authorities, questions have arisen about the involvement of the higher ups in the AIADMK in corruption. Under these circumstances Sasikala can find herself on a sticky wicket if she makes an overambitious pitch for the chief ministership. She has never contested an election for public office so far. Interestingly she was not present at the AIADMK’s general council meeting and the decision taken there was conveyed to her by a group of ministers and other senior party leaders. According to Rule 20, Section 2 of the party bye laws stipulates that eligible candidates should have been a member of the party for at least five years. Sasikala who was expelled in 2011 rejoined the party in 2012. She has not completed the necessary five-year term.  This is for the first time in the history of the AIADMK that one person is not occupying both the posts of chief minister and general secretary. The void created by Jayalalithaa’s death is not easy to fill. In the circumstances it can trigger changes in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu.  What cannot be lost sight of is that there are already murmurs in the AIADMK about a section being opposed to Sasikala. Arch rival DMK views the churning going on in the AIADMK as an opportunity to make a comeback after losing out to Amma for two consecutive terms in 2011 and in 2016. In all this the BJP believes it has an opportunity to enlarge its presence not just in Tamil Nadu but generally in the country’s South contributing 130 seats in the Lok Sabha. ( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)”

“In constantly and fast changing developments that have plagued Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party over the past week, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has staged a coup in Lucknow by getting himself unanimously elected as the party’s national President replacing his ageing father and party Chief Mulayam Singh.
A resolution to this effect was presented by party general secretary and Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Ram Gopal Yadav in the Samajwadi Party’s national convention in Lucknow on Sunday which was passed with a voice vote.

In another resolution, Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal Yadav was removed from the post of state party chief and Amar Singh was expelled from the party with immediate effect.

Addressing the convention, Akhilesh Yadav said that he has highest regards and respect for his father, popularly addressed as `Netaji’ . He said that he will respect Netaji more than ever and if people are conspiring against his father it is his duty to act against them. The Chief Minister also said that a few persons in the party never wanted that Samajwadi party should come to power in the state.

Meanwhile, Mulayam Singh has termed the convention as totally unconstitutional. In a letter issued by the party head-quarters, Mulayam Singh, who abstained from the meeting, said strict action will be taken against those who attend the convention. The convention was held a day after Akhilesh and Ram Gopal Yadav were reinstated in the crisis-hit party following their expulsion for six years.

After the convention, it is clear that a new list of candidates will be issued under the stewardship of Akhilesh Yadav who has been at loggerheads with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav. .

Mulayam Singh has called an emergency national convention on January 5 to clear the air among common people. He also said that some persons are continuously humiliating the party founder who has put great toil to build the part from scratch.  

Senior party leader and MP Naresh Agrawal has said that Amar Singh is a BJP agent. Kiran Moy Nanda, another close ally of Mulayam Singh also supported Akhilesh Yadav saying now Netaji Mulayam Singh must accept the reality that public wants leadership in the hands of Akhilesh Yadav. He said that every worker of Samajwadi Party whole heartedly respects Mulayam Singh but we can not let the forthcoming election to be put to the risk. 

Akhilesh Yadav also appointed’ Naresh Uttam as Samajwadi Party’s UP unit chief, replacing Shivpal Singh Yadav. All eyes will remain on the developments in Samajwadi Party in the next few days and political scenario in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.”