The poll battle continues to turn uglier day after day.On Thursday, Congress general secretaryMadhusudan Mistry, who is contesting against BJP primeministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Vadodara con-stituency, was arrested for trying to vandalise Modisposter on a streetlight pole. At the same time, Shiv Senacalled Sonia Gandhi fox and Shahi Imam wolf , whileCongress candidate for Saharanpur Imran Masood, whowas released on bail on Thursday, defended his hatespeech against Modi will chop Modi into pieces.

However, Mistrys heroic was certainly the highlightof the day. The trouble started after around 100 Congressworkers gathered on streets to protest allocation ofVadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) owned adver-tising billboards on streetlight poles to the BJP.

Banners of the BJP PM candidate feature on 1,000such poles in the city. Around a fortnight back, the saf-fron party booked these billboards at almost all the primelocations till the end of the election process. The Congressworkers are demanding that allocation of hoarding shouldbe made in equal numbers.

Management of these billboards has been given to pri-vate contractor, who showed other locations to the localCongress leaders. But Mistry and other leaders wantedhoardings in the area where BJP has already raised Modisposters. The Congress want 50 per cent of Modis bannerto be removed and given to them, said a senior official inVMC. Opposing the process of allocation, Mistry had alsofiled a complaint with the Election Commission and hadset a deadline of Wednesday to remove Modi banners.

On Thursday, around 11 am, Mistry and 100Congress workers assembled at Vadodara city office ofthe party in Dadiya Bazaar area. Subsequently, they start-ed shouting slogans and marched towards one of theadvertising billboard near the Congress office.

The 69-year-old Rajya Sabha member not onlyclimbed a ladder to reach the billboard but also attempt-ed to paste his own poster on the Gujarat ChiefMinisters banner.

Accusing the Narendra Modi Government of mis-using the State machinery, the Congress on Thursdayapproached the Election Commission, saying the admin-istration was denying its candidates an equal footing inpoll campaigning. Referring to the detention ofMadhusudan Mistry and other party workers for tear-ing Modis banners, a Congress delegation demanded ECto ensure that the State machinery is not used to bene-fit BJP. Vadodaras deputy commissioner of policeDipanker Trivedi informed that an FIR had beenlodged against the Congress candidate and 36 others.

Continued on Page 4

In a major relief to parents,the Delhi High Court onThursday lifted its stay onnursery admissions andordered its resumption withcertain directions, includingkids selected in draw of lotsunder neighbourhood criteriawill get admission.

A Bench headed by ActingChief Justice BD Ahmed,which heard two separate peti-tions for almost the whole day,passed its interim order in theevening saying, Appellants,who have 70 points under neighbourhood criteriaand were selected in the drawof lots, will not be disturbed. They will be giventhe admission.

It, however, clarified thosekids, who emerged winner inthe draw of lots in more thanone school, shall choose one

school and will have to relin-quish other seats on or beforeApril 9. Otherwise, they shalllose the right of admission inany of them.

The Bench, also compris-ing Justice Siddharth Mridul,asked the Directorate ofEducation (DoE) to collect thedata from all unaided recog-nised private schools aboutthe number of seats, which fellvacant and remained unfilled,and provide it to the court onnext date of hearing on April16. The court said on the nextdate, it will try to find a solu-tion by considering the num-ber of remaining seats and theclaim of the parents who wereinitially given 5 points under

inter-State transfer category.The Government later haddone away with the criteria.

Earlier, the court hadstayed the fresh draw of lotsbeing conducted for admissionin nursery classes in pursuanceof the March 6 order of the sin-gle judge Bench and hadordered that no further admis-sion will take place without itspermission. The single judgeBench had asked the DelhiGovernment to conduct a freshdraw of lots among similarlyplaced kids who had secured 70points on the basis of neigh-bourhood criteria. The presentdispute started after the LtGovernor had on February 27issued an order abolishing 5

points, out of 100, being award-ed to inter-State transfer cases.Maximum 70 points are beingawarded to kids who live with-in eight kilometres of a school.

The single judge foundfault with the order and said,However, this court is of theview that all equals have to betreated alike and all childrenwho have secured equal pointsshould participate in a singledraw of lots. The single judgehad directed that candidateshaving equal marks be consid-ered equally by conducting afresh draw of lots, wherevernecessary. An appeal was filedby guardians of 14 kids alleg-ing they were already declaredselected for nursery admis-sion after the draw of lots andwill have to undergo the sameprocess again in pursuance ofthe single judge bench order onthe issue. It had sought settingaside of the order.

The larger Bench was onThursday in agreement withthe plea and said the success-ful kids, having 70 neighbour-hood points, were not beforethe single judge bench whenthe order to conduct freshdraw of lots was passed andhence, their admission cannotbe stalled.

The BJP and its prime ministerial candidateNarendra Modi moved EC against UPAchairperson Sonia Gandhi for holding a meetingwith the Shahi Imam of Delhis Jama Masjid in abid to polarise Muslim votes. The ElectionCommission had earlier said that it would takecognisance if it received a complaint in this regard.

The BJP complained that Sonia Gandhisrequest to Jama Masjids Shahi Imam to ensure thatthe communitys votes did not get split was a vio-lation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) anddemanded stern action.

The BJP also alleged that such a meeting wasaimed at polarising elections and could lead to acommunal flare-up.

We are confident that the EC will take seri-ous note of these developments and initiate pre-ventive steps so that their efforts, as always, to con-duct free and fair elections are not frustrated bydetermined spoilers who are aiming at a com-munal conflagration, BJP said in a memorandumto the EC.

BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi andconvener ofelection cell RRamakrishnasaid as perpara 1 of theMCC, Thereshall be noappeal to casteor communalfeelings forsecuring votes.M o s q u e s ,churches, temples or other places of worship shallnot be used as forums for election propaganda.

The CEC had earlier said that the EC will takecognisance of any complaint in this regard, but ithad not got a complaint.

We generally, in such matters (Sonias meet-ing with Shahi Imam), will take cognisance on thereceipt of a complaint. We are awaiting that. Assoon as it is received, we will definitely examine and further action would be taken. ChiefElection Commissioner VS Sampath told reportersin Jammu. The BJP, on its part, sought the ECssuo motu intervention as the remarks were in pub-lic domain. The BJP also dubbed the Congress a pseudo secularist and accused it ofplaying communal politics.

Continued on Page 4Related report on P3

Narendra Modi on Thursday tar-geted Sonia Gandhis son-in-lawRobert Vadra, who is in the line of fireon his controversial land deals.

Moving on to Kurukshetra andGurgaon in Haryana, Modi targetedVadra while taunting Rahul Gandhi forhis chowkidar comment. He saidthat when he projected himself as achowkidar (watchman) of the country, Shehzada (Rahul) con-tended that there was need for all the125 crore people of the country to actas watchmen.

In a poser to Rahul, he said, Willyour brother-in-law (Vadra) also be achowkidar. Will he guard peoplesland?... Will those accused of stealing

coal also be the watchmen?.. Can a catbe entrusted with the responsibility ofkeeping a watch over milk?

Modi again apparently targetedVadra, saying, The country wants toknow, farmers of Haryana want toknow who is this baazigar(gambler) who grabbed

Continued on Page 4

The BJP will release its much-delayedmanifesto focusing on developmenton April 7, the day when the first phase ofpolling starts in North-East.

Ahead of the manifesto, the BJP will onFriday bring out its chargesheet against theUPA Government it would be a compi-lation of charges against the Congress-leddispensation at the Centre.

The chargesheet, running into 45 to 50pages, will set the tone for a Congress-MuktBharat campaign, said party spokespersonNirmala Seetharaman, who announcedthat the date of release of the much-await-ed manifesto of the party. The Congress hastaken a dig at the BJP over the delay inannouncing its election manifesto saying itreflects the deep personality clash within theparty. The manifesto is being re-done andpruned as per BJPs prime ministerial can-didate Narendra Modis directives.

The spokesperson said the top leadershave been campaigning across the countryand the party was working out a time whenall leaders were available together.

New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Thursday told Sahara chiefSubrata Roy that payment of10,000 crore was not a bailbond for his release but a part-payment of the total sum to bepaid to market regulator SEBI inorder to prove his bonafides.

While the argument wasstill underway, Roy came upwith a revised offer onThursday. His senior counselCA Sundaram reiterated theproposal to pay an upfrontamount of 2,500 crore andthe balance 2,500 crore with-in three weeks of his releasefrom jail.

Detailed report on P5

Manvendra Singh, the MLA son ofexpelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh, hasto choose between his party and his father.

The Rajasthan unit of the BJP onThursday stepped up pressure on sulkingManvendra to quit the party or face discipli-nary action and disqualification proceedingsfor alleged anti-party activities.

Manvendra Singh, who is campaigningagainst the official candidate of the party, SonaRam, in Barmer Lok Sabha seat should firstquit the party on moral grounds as it amountsto anti-party activities or face disciplinaryaction soon, State BJP vice-president OnkarSingh Lakhawat told reporters here.

Manvendra has been attending politicalmeetings of his father who is contesting theParliamentary elections as an Independentcandidate from Barmer. Jaswant was expelledfrom the party recently for contesting as arebel against the official candidate of the party.

The BJP is keeping all options open againstManvendra Singh. It will write to the AssemblySpeaker for his disqualification, or expel him

Continued on Page 4

Steering its maiden attempt in the LokSabha elections beginning in a couple ofdays, the Aam Aadmi Party, on Thursday,released its manifesto in the nationalCapital with focus on swaraj and a cor-ruption-free Government.

Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwalwho had rubbed Delhi Policethe wrong way during hisstint as Chief Minister ofDelhi also vowed to bringreforms in the police, health,education and the judiciary.

Attacking the Congressand the BJP, Kejriwal alsopromised to bring back blackmoney stashed in foreignbanks. Clearing the partysstand on FDI, he said theparty was not against it in

principle barring that in the retail sector.Elaborating on the partys goal of

swaraj, Kejriwal said his party woulddecentralise power, introduce the JanLokpal Bill and ensure time-bound deliv-ery of services apart from providinggood governance. However, the party hassoftened its stand on swaraj with the for-mer Delhi CM acknowledging that therewas a long way to go before that dreamcould be realised.

Continued on Page 4

The countrys first all-womenparty, the Bharatiya AwamParty, that is headed by aMuslim woman, is all set tosupport the BJPs prime min-isterial candidate NarendraModi in the upcoming LokSabha elections.

President of the BharatiyaAwam Party (BAP) NajmaParveen says they are confidentthat Modi will be effective as thePrime Minister and will workfor the betterment of all sectionsof society, including women.

Najma comes from a fam-ily of weavers and has done herMasters in Conflict

Management from the BHU.She says the prime aim offorming the party was to getmore women involved in thepolitical process.

If we look at the socialparameters, women are

trapped everywhere. They aretreated as vote banks and athome they are even told whothey have to vote for. Thisparty, which is Indias first all-women party aims to increaseparticipation of women in pol-

itics, said Najma.However, the party is all

inclusive and has a ten per centquota for men. But it has nointentions of entering the polit-ical arena this time round.

Incidentally, the party con-siders Netaji Subhash ChandraBose as its idol and was set upon January 23, 2013 to coincidewith the birthday of Netajiand registered on January 9,2014. They already have 35,000members, out of which morethan 2,500 are men.

We are supporting Modibecause we have high hopesfrom him. We are sure that hewill do something for the coun-try. He is going to work for theuplift of all sections of society,including women Najma said.

On being asked how awell-informed Muslim womanlike her could ignore the alle-gations Modi has faced in con-nection with the 2002

Gujarat riots, Najma said shenever thought in terms ofbelonging to any particularreligion or caste.

I have always believedthat there is a national religionand that we should end theconflict between Muslims andHindus. And as far as allega-tions are concerned, all political leaders areaccused of something or the other.Take the example of therecent riots inMuzaffarnagar where-in allegations havebeen made against theSamajwadi Party,Najma said.Continued on Page 4

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Amethi: The local administrationhas cancelled application of Congressvice-president and MP Rahul Gandhifor issuance of domicile certificate.

The application should havebeen made by Gandhi himself with his signature, which was not there. Theapplication was made by one RajendraSingh which is against law, district magistrate, Jagatraj Tripathi told PTI when asked about the cancellationof the application.

The papers needed with the appli-cation were also not there, he added.

Detailed report on P4

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The BJP candidate andBhojpuri star MANOJTIWARI is contesting fromNorth-East Delhi seat. Tiwari,who joined the BJP last year, isbanking on the support ofPurvanchali voters. Vowing tobring development in theregion, Tiwari said he was readyto curtail his film career anddevote more time in the con-stituency unlike previous MPs.The actor is confident to wrestthe elections and said he wouldcertainly facilitate the party toreach the magic figure of 272plus seats. In a candid conver-sation with RAJESH KUMAR,the BJP nominee said the coun-try is in dire need of a goodadministrator and BJPs primeministerial candidate NarendraModi fits the bill.

There are allegations thatyou are an outsider becauseyou dont belong to the area?

I am an Indian. How am Ian outsider? Moreover, I havehouses in Delhi in Saket andDwarka. The way people of myconstituency have been treatingme, is really encouraging. Iwas never treated like an out-sider. Such allegations againstme are being made by thosewho have become insecurewith my candidature.

What is your agendaand why should peoplevote for you?

People should vote for meto facilitate Narendra Modi tobecome the Prime Minister ofthe country. This countryneeds a good adminis-trator, not a PrimeMinister like Manmohan

Singh who had destroyed theeconomy of the country. Myagenda is to help Modi becomethe Prime Minister by con-tributing to one of his seats inthe 272 plus target. Secondly,North-East Delhi constituencyhas received stepmotherly treat-ment from the previousCongress leaders. I want todevelop this constituency andmake it a model one if I get elected.

But being an actor, how willyou devote time to your constituency?

Usually I do eight to 10films in a year, but I will reduceit to two-three. I will do fewerfilms and devote more time tothe people of this constituency.Moreover, I dont need to go toMumbai to do films. I dontwant to be called a villain fiveyears hence.

Why do you think peoplewill vote for you?

People of this country aresick and tired of corruption andinflation. They are fed up ofCongress. In every election, so-called secular parties raise thebogey of communalism todeprive the minority.

You had earlier joined theSamajwadi Party but finallyjoined the BJP. Why?

I had not joined SP formally but when Amar

Singh asked me tocontest. I couldnt

say no. Ithought my star-dom was an assetbut when I lost theelections, I realisedyou have to under-stand the pulse of thevoters. I joined BJPbecause of its devel-opmental agenda.

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Powerful political establish-ments, high-end shoppingdestinations, some of the mostexpensive residential address-es in the world and a numberof tourist attractions charac-terise the posh New Delhi par-liamentary constituency asmuch its villages, JJ coloniesand slums. Some of these slumsexist since Independence andare still craving for basic ameni-ties like potable water andpower connection. As many as17 resettlement camps exist inthe New Delhi Assembly con-stituency alone; two of themlocated behind Indias mostprominent residential address-es the Prime Ministers res-idence and the residence ofCongress vice-president RahulGandhi. Taking up these issuesis BJP candidate MeenakshiLekhi against two-time sittingMP Ajay Maken of theCongress. The two are beingchallenged by Aam AadmiPartys Ashish Khetan. Tillrecently, the New Delhi con-stituency had been the strong-hold of the BJP and theCongress but in the 2013Assembly polls, the debutantAAP trounced the two partieswinning seven seats while BJPcould manage to win onlythree seats.

The New Delhi constituen-cy, which boasts of severalpolitical heavyweights as itsrepresentative in theParliament, has failed to get ridof its miseries despiteseveral high profileleaders represent-ing the seat inthe Parliament.The prestigeinvolved withthe seat is evi-dent with thefact that almost all MPs fromNew Delhi have either made itto the Union Cabinet or wenton to become the PrimeMinister. However, the groundrealities are in stark contrast tothe cosmopolitan character ofthe constituency.

Stinking drains, narrowbylanes and unhygienic condi-tion speak volumes of thepitiable life the inhabitants ofthese slums are forced to livefor want of amenities. WhileTughlak Road Camp behindthe residence of Rahul Gandhihas nearly 500 jhuggis, theRace Course Camp behind thePM residence houses 3,000-4,000 jhuggis. The biggest JJcluster in the constituency isthe Kathputli Colony whereover 20,000 people have beenliving for the last 50 years. Theother prominent JJ colonies inthe New Delhi constituency arelocated in areas like RK Puram,

Naraina, Baljit Nagar,Inderpuri, Kirti Nagar

Industrial Area andJakhira Chara Mandi

among others.Kathputli Colonyis home to over20,000 peopleof nearly 3,200families whohave been in a

state of neglect for over fivedecades. Apart from thenational issues of corruption,price rise, women safety andnational security; water short-age, power and sanitationremains the local issues in theNew Delhi constituency. Asresidents of these coloniesrued, no public representativecared to address these issuesdespite making promises inevery election. We wereexpecting ownership of thepiece of land where we havebeen living for several years.The Government had promis-es us flats at the same placewhere jhuggis exist but not asingle flat has been allotted tous, said Ravinder, a residentof Tughlak Camp. Some oth-ers also complained that noeffort was ever made by anyleader or Government to pro-vide them with employment.

In addition to these slums,

the New Delhi constituency isalso dominated by over threedozen villages where inflatedwater and power tariff andabsence of water and sewagepipelines are major issues.These include Munirka,Mohammadpur, Jiya Sarai,Shahpur Jat, Zamrudpur, HauzRani, Masjid Moth, KhirkiVillage and Kotla Mubarakpur,among others. Besides, thereare 18 dhobi ghats in the areawhere the perennial issues ofsubsidy on water and powerremain the key issues. Theoccupants of these dhobi ghats

have also been demanding per-manent accommodation at thesame place. Some of thesedhobi ghats include ChamanGhat at Sunehri Bagh Road,Darbhanga Ghat near KrishnaMenon Marg, Munda Ghatand South Avenue Ghat,among others. The constituen-cy is dominated byGovernment employeesbelonging to various States,Punjabi migrants and middleclass voters. The constituencycomprises North and SouthBlocks, Janpath, NDMC areas,South Extension, LodhiColony, BK Dutt Colony,Safdarjung Enclave, RouseAvenue, President House,Chitragupta Road, GoleDakkhana, Connaught Place,Panchkuiyan Road, some partsof Minto Road, RBI quartersand Sarojini Nagar.

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As the stage is set for theworlds largest elec-toral extravaganza, onecannot help but won-der whether the gameis worth the expense, chaos andmanipulation. George BernardShaws definition that democracysubstitutes election by the incom-petent many for appointment bythe corrupt few might suggest wehave the worst of all worlds elec-tion by the incompetent many fol-lowed by appointment by the cor-rupt few. The problem, as someonepointed out, is that doubts aboutdemocracy disappear when youlook at the alternatives.

One alternative I came uponrecently in AG Nooranis magiste-rial tome, The Destruction ofHyderabad, was proposed by theBritish lawyer and politician,Walter Monckton, who was afriend of Edward VIII and SirWinston Churchill, and constitu-tional adviser to Mir Osman AliKhan, the last reigning Nizam ofHyderabad. It is a mistake toassume that the only satisfactorymethod of Government for thewhole of India is responsibleGovernment on the model ofWestern democracy he wrote in1946. Being a constitutional lawyer,Noorani mentions this in tonesdripping disapproval. ButMonckton felt the Nizams plan toinvolve Hindus and Muslims in hisexecutive council would give achance to build up a strong,democractic, predominantly elect-ed administrative machine fromthe bottom, from the village pan-chayats and the local and districtboards and taluqs. If vigorouslyencouraged, this particularlyIndian organisation could createa firm and reliable element ofinternal stability in the testingtimes that lay ahead forHyderabad and its ruler.

Of course, the Nizams attemptto promote panchayati raj wasdenounced as trampling on therights of the people. But when WestBengals Left Front Governmentintroduced the same grassrootsinstitutions, it was hailed as the sav-iour of the masses. A significantreason for this double standard isthat the London School ofEconomics philosophy which per-meates our thinking condemnsmonarchy as tyrannical and theLeft as representing the people. TheAmericans adopted a presidentialConstitution because they misin-terpreted the enormous powerGeorge III exercised through hiscronies during their War ofIndependence. They even original-ly planned to designate their chief

executive Lord High Protector ofthe United States of America.Thanks to the LSE, we knew bet-ter. When a Constituent Assemblymember suggested enumeratingthe Presidents rights and duties,Jawaharlal Nehru explained thatwould damage the dignity ofsomeone who was the equivalentof the British monarch. In theory,Indias President should enjoy allthe powers of the British king orqueen. In practice, he shouldrefrain from exercising them justlike Britains sovereign.

Well, that didnt last too long.Nehrus daughter thought it nec-essary to codify the Presidentspowers. Even so, Rajiv Gandhicomplained of the difficulty of con-vincing Zail Singh in Hindi that theconstitutional assertion that theGovernment held office duringthe pleasure of the President did-nt mean quite that.

Despite Indias pride in theworlds first democratic republic inVaishali, the parliamentary systemis an alien import. I have childhoodmemories of our servants asking asindependence approached whetherNehru or Gandhi would replaceGeorge VI as the new king. Voters

have become sophisticated sincethen, but as Bal Thackeray put it, InIndia, people dont cast their vote,they vote their caste. Had it notbeen so, the BJP would not havedenied Barmer to Mr JaswantSingh and given it to a turncoatCongressman, Mr Sona RamChaudhary, whose Jat communitydominates the constituency.

The internationally respectedMr Singh says Barmer is in thedesert where everyone is equallyaffected if there is a famine and noone thinks of sectarian divides. Thetragedy is that 67 years of electoralinteraction have strengthenedinstead of weakening the power ofancient loyalties. This was againevident in the recent spat betweenMs Yashodhara Raje Scindia,Madhya Pradeshs Minister forCommerce, Industries andEmployment, and Mr Jai BhanSingh Pawaiya, the BJP candidatefrom Guna, over Rani Lakshmi Baiof Jhansis death in 1857. Like caste,feudal loyalties are stronger thanmodern politics.

The issues that matter arenaturally different here fromEurope or America. IndiraGandhis historic defeat in 1977

was not because her Emergencydispensation abused theConstitution, trampled on humanrights or abridged Press freedom.The populace turned against herbecause of that one word nasban-di. It doesnt detract from thevalidity of our democratic processthat people respond to differentcalls. What does or can do is the suspicion that no matter whatthe electoral verdict, governanceremains in the hands of a smallelite. This is not uniquely Indian.President Dwight Eisenhowerdeplored the power that what hecalled the military-industrial com-plex exercised in the US. Everyonesave loyal Indians recognised thatin befriending Mahatma Gandhibefore Independence, GD Birlawas astutely buying insurance forthe post-independence years. It isno secret that the Governmentensured that Hindustan MotorsAmbassador car enjoyed a monop-oly for many years until SanjayGandhi came along.

Another industrial house issaid to be as powerful now as theBirlas were. It doesnt play themoral card as Birlas did withGandhiji, but it has vast wealth andhas repeatedly been singled out fortrying to influence the outcome ofelection after election. It is suspect-ed of persuading successiveGovernments to enact laws thatpromote its own business interestsand of backing business-friendlycandidates. Money power plays adecisive role. As Mr Atal BihariVajpayee told a parliamentaryinquiry committee, every IndianLegislator starts his career with thelie of the false election return hesubmits. No matter what the ceil-ing, candidates will spend more.

Singapores veteran leader LeeKuan Yew says he is not intellec-tually convinced that one-man-one-vote is the best form ofGovernment. We practise itbecause thats what the Britishbequeathed us. Its a historicalaccident for all Commonwealthcountries. But while many haveabolished or trimmed it, India hasretained it in almost originalform. It may not produce aGovernment which is honest,effective and efficient which isLees most important demand,but it does produce a Governmentthat people trust. And it does makefor consensual decisions. Bothare necessary for stability in amulti-polar country. Both willremain elusive if a tunnel visionfocuses only on caste and commu-nity instead of taking an inclusiveview of the reality of multi-cultur-al, multi-religious India.

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Iget the feeling that I am notthe only person to be expe-riencing a sense of dismaywatching the politicaldebates on the news chan-nels, now that the election cam-paign is in top gear. There is an ele-ment of predictable monotonyabout the responses.

One cannot realistically objectto the political slug-festing; afterall, that is the staple of the elec-toral process in a democraticstate. But what is disconcertingabout the whole process in thecurrent election is the bile and thevenom that is routinelyexchanged. Listening to the par-ticipants in the debates, mostwould wonder how these peoplemanaged to live in the samecountry at all! For the current lotof politicians, their opponents arethe repository of everything thatis not just venal, detestable androtten, but anti-national as well.I tend to notice more similaritiesthan differences.

It would be meaningless to dis-sect what is on offer; most dis-cerning individuals who share myunfortunate cynicism of the polit-ical process in India realise that itis not ideologically-driven andthat politicians can never be takenat their word. The question that onewould wish to put to them is some-what different.

Every political formation hasrepeatedly lamented over the non-functioning of Parliament. Moredays were lost because of repeatedadjournments in this Parliamentthan any previous one. That, every-one would agree, is the majorimpediment to any meaningful ser-vice to the people who voted theserepresentatives in the first place.

Would it be too much to askall the major political parties to puttheir heads together and work outa solution to this major impedi-ment to democracy? I have notheard any of the major anchors hosta programme on this most vexing

issue. Neither have I read in any ofthe major newspapers. And, sure-ly, without amelioration of thismajor problem we cannot expectany meaningful improvement fromthe status quo.

The main reason for this verysorry state of affairs is the absoluteinability of the presiding officersto exercise optimal control overthe proceedings. This has hap-pened in Parliament afterParliament in recent years. Andmy contention is that unless wecan bring about a change here, Ifear we are headed for the repeatperformance of the sorry state wehave witnessed over the last fiveyears perhaps even more.

It would be apposite to dwellon why is it that the presiding offi-cers, in particular the Speaker of theLok Sabha, has not been able toexercise the control needed forsmooth functioning of the lowerHouse. The answer is simple: Theoffice of the Speaker does not enjoythe confidence of the House the

way it should. And in the case ofthe Speaker, I would suggest that amere majority of members votingfor him/her is simply not enough.He/she has to have the total con-fidence of the house if not inform of a consensus then at leasttwo third majority. This is essen-tial to ensure that the rulingsappear to be totally above boardand impartial. I would plead thatthis matter be given urgent atten-tion. And this is an issue which canbe easily rectified provided thepolitical players demonstrate thatthey truly are committed to thesmooth functioning of the housewhich they all claim they do.

We have the example of aSpeakers office that is function-ing excellently in Parliament thathas been the prime inspiration forours the House of Westminsterin the United Kingdom. Whilethe context is somewhat different Britain does not have as manypolitical parties represented in theHouse we still would do well

to learn a few lessons from themin this regard.

There is a convention, not aconstitutional mandate, which theSpeakers would alternate fromeach of the two major parties andthis is adhered to religiously. Timeand again ruling parties with hugemajorities have consented to electSpeakers from the Opposition.During my time in the UK, aHouse with a huge Conservativemajority elected Ms BettyBoothroyd as its Speaker althoughshe was from the Labour Party.

At least in the UK, there isanother convention. The Speakerspost is generally allocated to verysenior politicians who are able tocommand cross-party respect andwho have no ambitions in activepolitics. In the last 100 years I amnot aware of any Speaker who hasafter relinquishing the post evervied for a ministerial position letalone a prime ministerial one.

The conventions in practice, asthe constitutional expert Norman

St John Stevas points out, are toensure smooth parliamentary func-tioning which makes sensewhen we examine another con-vention. The Speaker forgoes vot-ing privileges except when there isa tie; and then the Speaker is sup-posed to cast his vote with theGovernment irrespective of theshade of that particularGovernment to ensure that theGovernment doesnt fall.

When we begin to look at theSpeakers, the earlier ones were amodel of propriety and rectitude men of integrity and sense of pur-pose whose commitment toupholding the dignity of the Housewas total. GV Mavalankar, the firstSpeaker has acquired a hallowedplace. He even took on thePresident of the ConstituentAssembly once when he felt that theHouse was being seen as sub-servient to the ConstituentAssembly. His early successors fol-lowed in his footsteps and postretirement took on only constitu-tional positions like the Governor.In 1967, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy setanother very healthy precedent.After being elected Speaker heresigned from the active member-ship of the Congress in deferenceto the demand for impartiality.

It was after Reddy resigned in1969 to contest the presidential pollthat the Speakership was passed onto Gurdial Singh Dhillon, a light-weight and obscure politician withno credentials of note. Post-presi-dential poll he had sided withIndira Gandhi when the Congresssplit and that was his reward!And he debased it further whenGandhi in 1975, summoned himand asked him to relinquish thespeakership and accept a juniorCabinet post, which he did.

It would be wonderful if thepolitical formations were to decidethrough a consensus on a personwho enjoys cross-party support asa Speaker-designate and get thatperson to occupy the high office.

The four southern Stateswhich had always played acrucial role in the formationof the Government at the Centremay not give a decisive verdict infavour of the UPA or the NDA thistime, because of the shrinking ofboth the fronts. The Congressformed the UPA Government in2004 and 2009 with the blessingsof the south while the NDAGovernment too had its sharefrom the southern States.

Interestingly, both the nation-al parties are on the backfoot as faras their electoral fortunes are con-cerned in view of thestronghold of regional par-ties and the lack of arith-metic. The BJP is a minorplayer, except in Karnataka.The triumph of theCongress in the 2009 pollwas largely due to its victo-ry in Andhra Pradesh, theDMKs performance inTamil Nadu and the NDAsall-round losses due to anti-incumbency.

The 130 seats from thesouth are up for grabs.Andhra Pradesh has 42seats 17 in Telanganaand 25 in Andhra Pradesh.It had been the citadel ofthe Congress even at itsworst times. The rise of the TeluguDesam Party eclipsed the Congressfor some time, but the party wonthe State and contributed 29 seatsto the UPAs kitty in 2004 and 33seats in 2009, wiping out the TDP.But the party has squandered thegoodwill by the bifurcation of theState. Its calculations regarding themerger of the TRS with theCongress in Telangana has goneawry. The rise of the three new par-ties may also affect the Congresssprospects in Seemandhra.

The YSR Congress led by JaganMohan Reddy is ready to challengethe Congress. Congress Chief

Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, whoopposed the move, has launched hisown outfit after the bifurcation. TheTDP is making a desperate bid tocome back, and its alliance with theBJP is almost final. This should ben-efit both the parties.

In Tamil Nadu, the fight hasalways been between the twoDravidian parties the DMK andthe AIADMK and the Congress,since it lost power in 1967, used toride piggyback to power. But theCongress is isolated this time andmay not get any seat. With theDMK facing internal quarrels and

split in the party chief MKarunanidhis family, theAIADMK seems to be in a strongposition and is poised to get about25 to 30 seats. The AIADMK isfighting alone for the first timesince its inception. Its chief JJayalalithaa has announced manyfreebies in her party manifesto, andhas provided a good administra-tion so far. The BJP has forged analliance in Tamil Nadu with theDMDK, the PMK, the MDMK andtwo smaller regional outfits. Thisfront may get four to five seats.

The BJP had won Karnataka forthe first time in the south in 2008,

and Mr BS Yeddyurappa formed theGovernment. But he bowed outsoon due to corruption charges thatwas tainted with Although the BJPcompleted its term facing manycrises, it lost badly to the Congressin the 2013 Assembly poll. This isperhaps the only State in the southfrom where the BJP hopes to get 10to 15 seats after the return of MrYeddyurappa. The Aam AadmiParty has also fielded candidates inthe 28 constituencies.

Kerala is a politically-awareState and the Congress-led UDFand the CPI(M)-led LDF have

been alternating in power.The LDF seemed to havethe edge sometime back,but the ruling UDF appearsto have wrested the initia-tive for now because of theLefts internal squabbles. Asmooth seat-sharingprocess with its allies anda political coup engineeredby the UDF seems to haveswung the pendulum infavour of the Congress.Optimists expect 12 to 14seats for the party, whilethe rest may go to the LeftFront. The BJP, for manyyears now, has remained anelectoral non-entity andhas not won a single seat in

this southern State.All these go to show that the

Congress may at best get about 30to 35 seats from the south while theBJP may bag about 10 to 15 seats.The lack of arithmetic is gong to hurtboth the parties. Ms Jayalalithaamight play a prominent role if theAIADMK bags 30 seats. Smaller par-ties like the TRS, the YSR Congress,the DMK, the PMK, the MDMK,the DMDK and the Left front couldplay a crucial role depending on thenumber of seats they get. With thepossibility of a hung Parliament, allparties are keeping their optionsopen for a post-poll scenario.

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Nokia will launch fourLumia smartphones inIndia starting with its firstdual SIM handset Lumia 630in May for around 10,000excluding taxes.

It will also start sellinga low cost 4G smartphoneLumia 635 for about Rs11,300 plus taxes in July.

The Nokia Lumia 630 isexpected to roll out in May,b eginning with Asia ,India/Middle East, SouthAmerica and Europe, at $159 for the single-SIM vari-ant, and $169 for the dual-SIM variant before taxes andsubsidies, Nokia said in astatement.

Both the variants of Lumia630 support 3G SIM, built onlatest Windows platform, andhave 4.5 inch screen, 5megapixel auto focus camera,

8 GB internal memory andsupport for up to 128 GBexternal storage.

The configuration ofLumia 635 is almost similar tothat of Lumia 630 except beinga 4G phone. It will supportmobile internet speed of up to100 megabit per second.

Nokia will also start sell-ing its another 4G smartphoneLumia 930 from June in Indiafor about 36,000 plus taxes.

Most of the telecom oper-ators -- Airtel, Reliance Jio,Vodafone, Idea and Videoconare gearing up to provide 4Gservices in country.

Lumia 930 has 5 inchscreen, comes with 20megapixel PureView camera. Ithas a 1.2 megapixel front cam-era.

The phone has 2.2 GHzquad-core Qualcomm proces-sor, 32GB of internal storageand 2GB RAM.

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