VADRA TIMES

The controvesry surrounding Robert Vadra doesn't seem to die down. First it was bluff and buster of investigation, and then when BJP came to power one of the first things that Haryana government did was to form an enquiry committee to ferret out the truth.
After about two years now when  committee is almost ready with the report, and have asked for a six weeks extension of its term to scrutinize some newly found documents, Congress has raised a hue and cry.
In an almost parallel development Enforcement Directorate has summoned Vadra to question him on land deal irregularities in Bikaner.
Congress is crying itself hoarse over alleged witch hunt of Vadra, and Vadra is turning sentimental over twitter on his persecution.
Question naturally arises when will all this drama end. Will truth ever come out of investigation, or will the matter will remain a thorn in the flesh of Congress.

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

Prime Minister Narender Modi's educational degree has has become a national issue. It has blacked out all other news. Panama Papers, Kerala election campaigning, Augusta scandal all have taken a backseat. It seems that nothing is more important than Modi's degree. At least that's what the Aam Aadmi Party is trying to prove.
After a day of attack and counter attack between BJP and AAP the matter still hasn't come to rest, or rather, hasn't been allowed to rest. The AAP will now swoop in Delhi University to investigate the matter.
It seems that AAP has made its business to hog the headlines. There are quite a few veteran journalist in the party, and they know fully well what tickles the press. Right now they are using their journalistic experience to give the party extra mileage.
Kejriwal had already made his business to act as a scoop master. All along his path to glory this was the common thread. In the early days of the party, one after another press conferences were held and sheafs of 'incriminating ' doucuments were waved to the tv cameras and journalists to bring to fore some scam or the other. That habit has not died with time. It has taken a different hue.

The two thousand crore empire of Baba Ramdev is a success story which hard nosed business will envy. It's time blue blooded IIM and Harvard educated elite took note of the earthy commerce lessons that the yoga master has to give. From a small shop to a boutique product chain the story has unfolded without any big fanfare.

Today the Yoga Baron's empire is worth Rs. 2000 crore, and is giving other FMCG biggies sleepless nights. Ramdev is the face of the company, it's brand ambassador and promoter. The huge mass base he has developed in his avtaar as a yoga guru is getting converted to a consumer base, and is minting him money.

It's the era of new age living. Health and holistic living are the buzz words. Ancient healing sciences are being embraced by the people. Tradition is no longer treated with disdain. All these are helping the surge of Patanjali.

To top it all, Ramdev is following an aggressive pricing starategy. He is cutting prices of his products which is making similar products of other companies look expensive. These price cuts are so deep that it is giving the consumers no choice but to buy Patanjali.

The Patanjali franchise is growing in leaps and bounds. Patanjali has 5,000 franchisee stores. Retailers average gross turnover is Rs 25,000 every day. Profit margins for retailers are 10-20% across product categories. 

The game has barely begun. Ramdev has tied with two big advertising agencies to push his company. Plans are afoot to enter retail market in a big way. It won't be a surprise that in the times to come Patanjali's footprint gets across fast food, services and other sectors. It's trans national growth can't be belittled. Add this to the fact that Ramdev has political ambitions and then envision the force multiplier that the company will garner. 

WATERING DOWN OF IPL

The Bombay High Court has directed BCCI to hold all matches outside Maharashtra. After 30th of April all the matches wiil be played outside the state. This is view of the severe drought conditions prevailing in Maharashtra.

BCCI has now left with no option but to comply with the ruling. Watering of cricket pitches were a major concern. The amount of water sprayed is being seen as a criminal waste.

According to BCCI it has supplied 40 lakh litres of water per day to stadiums for IPL. Compare it with the amount of water being sent to Latur in trains.

Court has rightly reprimanded the BCCI. Cash rich BCCI should donate from its coffers to the drought hit region. It has been shirking from it's responsibily uptill now. Now is the time for BCCI chieftains to show their deshbhakti and commitment to nation.

DEJA VU RAHUL

Rahul Gandhi shrill diatribe against Modi is losing its sting. Think of any hot spot and you have the image of Rahul popping up. Whether it is Hyderabad Univesrity, JNU,Kerala Temple or Deonar dumping ground. All is happy playground of Rahul Baba. No visit of Rahul is complete without a billious haranague againt Modi and his policies.

Latest is Deonar dumping ground. Rahul arrived in his cavalcade, survey the dirt and took stance behind the TV cameras. What followed was not somethng new.A rant against Modi's Clean India campaign, and a direct attack against the state government. A few sympathetic utterances were made against the long suffering denizens too.

Are their no advisors in the grand old party to enlighten the young prince about the dangers of deja vu politics. Rahul has often been condemned for sounding repetitive, of lacking new ideas, of lacking vision.

By heeding none he has trod were angels fear to tread. Rahul has to know that he is pitched against a very innovative master of politics Narender Modi. A man brimming with novel ideas and a grand vision for India. Rahul has to match his wits with the best in the game. By sounding like a stuck gramaphone record he is putting his political career and that the future of Congress Party in peril.

POLITICS OF DROUGHT

Everyone likes a good drought. More so the politicians. This has been proven once more correct. Bundelkhand is getting scorched. Ponds and rivers have dried up. People's tears have also dried up. For their is no one to care.
Akhilesh government has suddenly woken up after four years of coma and has started distributing largesse. 2017 is near, and so is the time of reckoning. Fear of hustings has made the Samajwadi Party to loosen it's purse.
Modi government is not far behind in laxity. It has been made aware of its responsibility after a vitriolic reminder by the Supreme Court. After a lashing by the court the central government had released part of the due fund on account of MANREGA. The state of Uttar Pradesh is still to get its full payment on this front. So much so for concern of farmers.
Modi government is holding rallies. It is spouting concern for the downtrodden. But it's laxity towards the farmers is criminal. Will holding Kisan rallies bring relief to farmers, or will it bring votes for the Modi government ?.
Can Modi government fool all the farmers all the time. Time will tell.

GAME - NITISH

''JDU anoints Nitish Kumar as its new chief.''

This was an expected news headline, but it's subtext is not that simple. Constitution of JDU doesn't allow more than two consecutive tenure to its president. Hence it was clear that it was time for Sharad Yadav to take bow. But what could follow is more complex.

Sushasan Babu, Nitesh Kumar has stepped on a platform that gives him national hype. He can well position himself as a Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2019 hustings. The party would well want to do so. More so when chances of an umbrella front to emerge is strong.

JDU under Nitesh can change the political equation of Uttar Pradesh as well. Congress can side with JDU in the state. During Bihar elections Mulayam had distanced himself from the Third Front. Now JDU led Umbrella is all set to challenge Samajwadi Party in its own bastion. Ajit Singh led RLD can join hands with JDU. So could Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. Apna Dal of UP can also cosy up with JDU. This can lead to vote polarization.
JDU's entry may not directly affect major parties, but it can cut into thier votes and affect the final poll outcome. This can prove disastrous
But the biggest beneficiary will be Nitish Kumar. He will now have a wider canvas to paint his ambitions on.

GENTEEL RAIL BUDGET

Rail Budget 2015-16 is in line with most of Modi government policies. It is more of a vision doucument, an exercise in structural changes, than hard-core skeletal reform. It etches a rainbow of change. It tweaks something here, something there and tries to create a warmth of comfort.
The budget has laid stress on service. It has initiated creative reforms  in key areas of security, ticketing, catering, power generation practices and Make In India template.
The Rail Budget has also tried to tap into non-conventional financing sources like pension funds, multilateral banking and sponsored  rail coaches.
However, how such radical financing initiatives can mop up Rs. 8.50 lakh crore in five years is a moot point.
Rail Minister has prudently not taxed the common man by raising the passenger fare. But down the line it has hiked rail fare on commodities like grains, coal, oil, cement, coal, and LPG, This is bound to have a cascading effect on prices and will hit the aam aadmi. This is a spinoff that will hit harder than fare hikes. With declining disel prices how the government is going to defend its decision is yet to be seen. It sure will give grist to the opposition mill.
The budget should be seen in context of the last year's budget which sought to spin similar airy palaces on prosiac budget reams. How much it had attained ovet the period of one year is yet to be totalled and tallied. That the government has yet again undertaken such exercise is a question that needs an answer. It is also a measure of lack of policy chutzpah and funds crunch that underlies government's lack of bravado. Midterm is a good time to experiment with brave policies. If Modi government doesn't does it now, then it won't do it anytime in the coming years. It will always be hamstrung and at-odds. Should we take cue from this gentle and exploratory rail budget and rest assured about the theme and tenor of the general budget too ? 

MAY I HAVE SOME MORE, PLEASE ?

The first thing which AAP chief minister designate Arvind Kejriwal did after making a clean sweep at the Delhi  hustings was to meet Home Minsiter Rajnath Singh and Urban Development Minister Venkahiah Naidu. He made a few pertinent demands. Kejriwal asked for statehood for Delhi. He also appealed for land for new hospitals and schools which the party had promised the electorates.He is supposed to have made a few more demands to the Centre. The Centre has said that it will look into these demands without any political prejudice.
With AAP in power in Delhi, centre-state relations are in for an overhaul. Kejriwal is wont to keep asking that Dickensian Question- May I have some more, please ? Modi will have a tough and non-pliant customer in Kejriwal, that is for sure. How Modi handles Kejriwal's demands will form the template for future centre-state relations.
Modi had made better centre-state relations a cornerstone of his domestic policy. The soul of newly-formed Niti Aayog is a harmonious centre-state relationship.
If Modi's earlier utterance on this matter is anything to go by, better relations with federating states is one of his major concerns.
He himself was at the receiving end of a biased relationship with the centre when he was chief minister of Gujarat, or that's what he says.
The recently concluded Niti Aayog meet was a damp squib on this count. The non-BJP chief ministers didn't ask for much. They said they hadn't come prepared. Now they will have a leader in Kejriwal. One assumes that demands will now come up fast and strong. Modi will have lots on his plate in the coming months. Best of luck, Sir.

FUTURIST RAIL BUDGET

It's a futurist rail budget. They didn't mollycoddle you this time. No sops for the middle and lower classes. No Janta trains this time. No socialist fanfare to entice the masses. The fares and hikes came well before the budget. The budget itself was an exercise in financial and management initiative. It pushed the envelope just more further.
The vision is of a modern India. An international India. The selling point of the budget seems to be the bullet train. It builds the theme of the budget. There are talks of FDI and PPP. Railway stations which will look like Airport lounges. Online bookings for platform tickets and even general bogies asserts the aspirations of Hoi Polloi. Forget not, that the era of entitlement is over. Aspirations have been crowned the king.

HSGPC

The demand for seperate SGPC for Haryana Sikh community has become a tool for political parties to gain milage in the run for the state hustings. State Congress had espoused the cause for a sepearte committee. That had opened a veritable pandora box. Opposing Sikh factions are clashing on the issue.
Congress seks to divide and rule. It's strategy is to drive a wedge in the sikh vote bank and weaken the INLD mass base. It also seeks to undermine the Badal group's supremacy over the Haryana Committee. A seperate HSGPC will not only weaken BadalGroup's hold over Haryana sikhs. It will question its undiluted supremacy in Himachal and Punjab too. Haryana, Punjab and Himachal are the three states where Badal Group's writ runs supreme.