SPEND TIME IN LIBRARY

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said legislators should develop a habit of visiting Assembly and Parliament libraries and also pressed that they should maintain decorum of the House. "It is very essential for the members of the House to visit Assembly library and read records of old debates on any issue which they wanted to raise on the floor of the House," Mahajan said, addressing the concluding programme of the two-day lecture here organised by the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. She said visiting library will help leaders attain knowledge of proper language (words) to be used and also raise issues effectively. An eight-time MP from Indore, Mahajan said an MLA is a bridge between his voters, Assembly and the government and has to solve the problems of the people. "Those who (MLAs) address people's problems ccessfully by coordinating with local officials, civic bodies and other institutions, become popular among voters," she said. The Speaker on the occasion also advised legislators to behave in a decent manner in the House, take part in Question Hour and attend committee meetings actively. "By merely raising any issue in a noisy manner won't serve the purpose. One has to be sincere in approach and I must tell you that sincerity always pays," Mahajan said. The Lok Sabha Speaker also praised Madhya Pradesh Assembly for its glorious historic past, specially for passing laws like Public Service Guarantee Act. In a reference to Mahajan's address, it could be noted that former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma had advised legislators to travel across the country and devote maximum time in reading. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker, Dr Sitasharan Sharma and Leader of Opposition, Satyadev Katare also spoke on the occasion. Katare also advised the legislators not to waste time of the House by stalling its proceedings.

LESSONS FROM EMERGENCY TAUGHT MORE

Terming the Emergency as the worst post-independence chapter of Indian democracy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it gave him the best political education of his life as it taught him that some compromises are "just not possible". The senior BJP leader, who was President of Delhi University Students Union when the Emergency was imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 and was detained for 19 months, also said that it displayed the weakness of the Indian constitutional order where press could be silenced and judiciary "made pliable". "For many like me who underwent Emergency experience in Delhi and successfully fought against it, this became a turning point in our lives. The Emergency was perhaps the best political education of my life. It taught me that some compromises were just not possible," he said, in an article on the 39th anniversary of the 1975-77 Emergency which falls tomorrow. Jaitley, who is also the Defence Minister, said June 26 marks the 39th anniversary of the Emergency whose oppressive phase lasted 19 months (excluding two months of election) and said "this monstrosity" is perhaps the "worst" post Independence chapter of the Indian democracy. Recalling some of his personal memories on the Emergency, he said he received a midnight knock at his residence past 2 AM when he escaped from the backdoor to a friend's house in the neighbourhood. Jaitley said with no newspapers and the entire opposition political leadership including Jai Prakash Narain, Morarji Desai, Choudhury Charan Singh, Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani arrested, he along with his co-ABVP workers organised a protest at Delhi University campus next morning. "This was the only protest against the Emergency which took place that day in the whole country...I requested my colleagues to quietly disappear since I had been surrounded by the police. I courted arrest. I was also taken to the Timarpur Police Station where I was handed over a detention order under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA)," he said.

Jaitley said he was taken to Tihar jail and lodged there for eight days before being transferred to Ambala Jail in Haryana where he was kept for about three months. "I had been detained for 19 months in prison under preventive detention. Needless to say I was deprived of my right to continue my education in Delhi," he said. Jaitley said Indira Gandhi began to rethink on Emergency after pressure of international opinion but "miscalculated" and decided to hold elections in which people vent out their anger against Emergency and Congress was trounced with both Gandhi and her son Sanjay defeated from Rae Bareli and Amethi. Critical of the Judiciary at the time, he said, "The Supreme Court in perhaps the worst amongst post independence judgments, in the habeas corpus case, ruled that even though political detainees have been illegally detained, they have no right to approach the court and seek the relief." Jaitley said High Courts in the country "showed some courage" in giving relief to the detainees, but the "extremely pliable Supreme Court overturned each and every favourable order of the High Court." He said the Representation of People Act was amended retrospectively to "legitimise and validate the invalid election" of Indira Gandhi. "The Constitution was amended to make the election of Prime Minister as non-justiciable. The proclamation of emergency was made non-justiciable," he said, adding that opposition party governments in states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu were dismissed and President's rule imposed.

PURSE IS EMPTY

After the drubbing in the recent general elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today proposed no new taxes in the budget for this year, but made no allocation for his pet schemes such as free laptops for students and allowances for the unemployed. Yadav, who holds the finance portfolio, presented a Rs 4,132 crore deficit budget for 2014-15 in the UP assembly. At Rs 2,74,705 crore, the budget is 24 per cent higher than the level of Rs 2,21,201 crore in the previous financial year. While no new taxes were proposed in the budget, no allocation was made for the ambitious free laptop scheme for students, kanya vidyadhan and unemployment allowance that were promised by the ruling Samajwadi Party in its manifesto during the assembly elections in 2012. The UP government has given a thrust to infrastructural facilities such as roads, bridges, irrigation and power, making a provision of Rs 49,108 crore, about 82 per cent higher than last time. The chief minister stated in his budget speech that in the first phase, the government had started programmes such as unemployment allowance, laptop distribution and kanya vidyadhan for the youth. He said in the second phase, the government would focus on providing basic facilities in rural areas and slums. Allocations have also been made to promote investment and increase employment opportunities. There is, however, a provision of Rs 2,424 crore for the government's ambitious Samajwadi Pension scheme that targets 40 lakh families and Rs 7,625 crore for agriculture and associated services, 15 per cent more than last time. While Rs 41,538 crore has been provided for education, the government increased the allocation for medical health and family welfare by 34 per cent to Rs 14,377 crore. Besides, a provision of Rs 25,522 crore has been made under the head of SC/ST, backward, handicapped and minorities welfare and Rs 50 crore for a rural road scheme named after the ruling party's late leader Ram Saran Das. The BJP boycotted the proceedings, saying a notice given earlier in the day was not considered.

CONGRATULATIONS CHANDRABABU

ANDHRA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER CHANDRABABU NAIDU OFFERING PRAYERS BEFORE ENTERING HIS NEWLY ESTABLISHED CAMP OFFICE

NO "DELAY" IN MODI's DICTIONARY

"Consider that the word 'delay' has been deleted." This was the message articulated today by Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Minister and Environment, as he sought to assure all concerned that the Narendra Modi government would ensure speedy implementation of tasks. Javadekar, while addressing a meeting of CEOs of Media and Entertainment industry, said that if earlier a file was kept pending for four months, in the new dispensation it will not be held back even for four weeks. After the meeting, he tweeted, "There is no word 'Delay'in our Government. 'Delay' is deleted".
The tweet by Javadekar, who is also holds the charge of the Environment and Forest ministry, assumes significance in the context of the industries complaining about delay in the grant of green clearances for infrastructure projects. At the meeting Javadekar told captains of the Media and Entertainment industry that the government would not be detrimental to the development but would be a partner in development and progress. He said that "a stable policy regime with transparency and time-bound mechanism is a priority of the government." Earlier, I&B secretary Bimal Julka said the ministry is making attempts to establish single window clearances for permissions. He said the security clearances for channels at times took 18 months to over two years and efforts are being made to make the process simpler. In another tweet after his interaction at the event, Javadekar also said that his government would attempt to make Doordarshan the most popular channel for viewers. "We will make Doordarshan be the first choice of the viewers in this competitive environment," he said.

AP ASSEMBLY SESSION FROM JUNE 19

The first session of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, after the creation of Telangana, will be held for five days beginning June 19.
It will have five working days from June 19 to 24, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu told reporters here today.
On the first day, the newly-elected members will be administered oath, while on the second day elections will be held for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
On June 21 -- Governor ESL Narasimhan will address the joint session. On June 23 and 24 there will be debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor's address.
Senior TDP leader and former Minister Pathivada Narayana Swamy Naidu is likely to be the Protem Speaker of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana came into existence as the 29th state of India on June 2 capping the decades-old struggle in the region for carving out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh.
The session will be held in the old Assembly building here.

SHAME SHAMEIS THIS THE TREATMENT FOR A FORMER CM?

IS THIS THE TREATMENT FOR A FORMER CM?