Dainik Bhaskar group: Makes crores, sacks in hordes from newspaper

One of the biggest media groups in India, the Dainik Bhaskar group has been increasing its readership by lakhs every year and its coffers are deep enough to face any meltdown or recession.

But the ruthless retrenchment of dozens of journalists has hit the image of the group. On one hand the group has for years appointed managers who get fat salaries and huge pay packages but on the other hand, it treats its journalits in a rather stranger manner.

Salaries are not in proportion and the journalists on whom the success of the paper rests, get raw deal. In comparison, managers and those who have connections get handsome packages. In Inore and Bhopal, it handed over pink slip to many employees, most of whom got salary in just four figures.

They call it rationalisation. Hindi news website B4M writes that the paper sacked two senior journalists of Bilaspur edition when they raised their voice agains this attitude of the management. It is sad that journalists who raise the voice of others, are unable to have anybody speak for them.

They can't write their own story as they don't own the papers. The owners' treatment is far from satisfactory. Long back the Bhaskar group was earning Rs 1000 crore annually. Now they have multiple businesses and paper is published from the whole North India.

We expect a group like Bhaskar to be sensitive and true to journalists who have made it successful. As outsiders, we have no say but we appeal to them to stop the job cuts. Though there are reports that the owners now plan to stop the retrenchments. Those who have been sacked, should also be taken back.

Discontent among senior BJP MLAs in Madhya Pradesh

The senior BJP MLAs are a discontented lot due to the recent cabinet expansion after the BJP came to power in Madhya Pradesh for the second time in succession.

The supporters of senior BJP leader Sartaj Singh who was once again ignored, created scene at the swearing-in function.

Other senior leaders like former Vidhan Sabha speaker Ishwardas Rohani also dashed off to Jabalpur in a hurry because he was equally disturbed.

Narottam Mishra, Kamal Patel and Ajay Vishnoi were also not considered for the cabinet berth. This has angered these ministers because Tukojirao Pawar was made minister.

Pawar has been a controversial minister and during the elections, he was also charged of misbehaviour with a woman official.

On the surface everything looks fine. Shivraj Singh Chauhan is comfortable and stronger but the discontent is brewing within the party.

Shivraj leads BJP to victory in Madhya Pradesh, Suresh Pachauri fails to turn tables for Congress

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has again captured Madhya Pradesh. It managed to win (142 seats)despite the anti-incumbency and the anger against corrupt ministers.

But more than BJP's victory, it is Shivraj Singh Chouhan's success and the failure of Congress to capitalise on the weakness of BJP. Shivraj's down-to-earth approach and the schemes like Ladli Laxmi and government-sponsored mass marriages for poor, helped him connect to the common man.

In contrast, Congress was a divided house where satraps wanted to ensure the victory for their candidates and sabotaged the chances of other fellow party candidates. Kamal Nath, Suresh Pachori, Arjun Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijay Singh were big names but they worked against each other.

While Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) cut into the vote of Congress as it came second in 20constituencies, Bharatiya Janashakti Party (BJSP) couldn't hurt the BJP much. Uma Bharti lost the election from Tikamgarh.

Pachauri's arrogant style and attitude angered party workers. Though a seasoned politician, he has never won and election but was still made the Congress party president before elections. He failed to keep the flock together.

Kailsh Vijayargiya, Babulal Gaur, Anup Mishra, Narottam Mishra, tainted ministers Kamal Patel, Ajay Vishnoi and Vikram Vemra won but Himmat Kothari, Gauri Shankar Shejwar, Rustam Singh and Jaibhan Singh Pavaiya lost.

For Congress Subhash Yadav was the most notable leader who lost. Satyadev Katare, Hajarilal Raghuvanshi and Shriniwas Tiwari also lost. The Samajwadi Party's performance was poor.

In capital Bhopal, BJP candidates Umashankar Gupta, Vinod Daga, Brahmanand Ratnakar, Babulal Gaur, Vishwas Sarang and Dhruv Narayan Singh won. Only BJP's Alok Sharma lost to Arif Aqueel.

The surprise loss was that of Mayor Sunil Sood to Sarang in Narela constituency and Daga's victory from Hujoor. Congress did badly but improved its tally and has 70 members in the Assembly now.

Siddhu forgets it's election, not laughter show

Former cricketer-turn-comedian Navjot Singh Siddhu is also a politician who is campaigning for BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

But he forgets that he is not sitting with Shekhar Suman. His slips of tongue are now costing the BJP. He first created controversy at an election meeting in Narsinghpur where he told the gathering that if they vote for another candidate, it will be like eating 'gau-maans' (beef).

An FIR was registered against Siddhu for hurting religious sentiments. Election Commission (EC) has also issued him notice. He is also accused of luring voters by objectionable speech focusing on 'paap' (sin). Siddhu otherwise draws crowd wherever he goes.

Is it BJP winning or Congress losing in Madhya Pradesh?

With just a week to go for the state elections, both the parties are making claims of win in the elections but the million dollar question is which party seems in a better position.

Unfortunately there are no clear answers as there is no wave in this election. Congress had the initial advantage when it announced the candidates but the lists that came out later had names of candidates who stand no chance of winning.

The Congress could have cashed in on the anti-incumbency but poor selection of contestants will do it in. Take a loot at Bhopal where it almost threw away its chances by selection of weak candidates.

Nasir Islam had lost the municipal corporation election from the ward and was given ticket against Dhruv Narayan Singh. A forgotten man, Deepchand Yadav, was made to contest against Umashankar Gupta. In Huzur, it first named Makhmal Meena as candidate and then put up his brother.

The only strong candidate is Sunil Sood against BJP's Vishwas Sarang. Vibha Patel is also finding it tough against former Chief Minister Babulal Gaur. The candidate for the Berasia seat is also not a big name.

In Bhopal, there was anger against Umashankar Gupta, Babulal Guar and controversy over Jitendra Daga's name but the Congress failed to make the most of it. This is the story in many other seats outside Bhopal and it may cost Congress dearly.

Bichhu.com launches Hindi newspaper, predicts hung Assembly in Madhya Pradesh

For a state of the size of Madhya Pradesh, that has a population of 6 crore, there are hardly any fortnightly or weekly papers. This is more surprising because almost the entire state speaks a single language but the periodicals fail to survive for long.

Now with elections in sight, veteran journalist Awadhesh Bajaj has launched the newsaper Bichhu dot Com. Almost a year back he had started the website of the same name. Bajaj is a seasoned journalist who has edited many papers and is capable of resisting political and bureaucratic pressures but bringing out a regular paper is no easy task.

Sometime back the MBD group took out a weekly paper that later became a magazine but failed to survive. The first issue published on high quality glazed paper (all papers start with glazed ones and after a few issues go to recycled paper).

The current newspaper issue has hard-hitting news stories and predicts that the state will have a hung Assembly. It gives nearly 105 seats of BJP, 85-90 to Congress and 17 to BSP. The gossip and semi-nude photographs of models are the other attraction of this paper. The newspaper is priced at Rs 5.

Avadhesh Bajaj is a seasoned journalist but is known for his temperament. Time will tell if the paper completes even a year, given the history of such publications in Madhya Pradesh. Still, best wishes to Bajaj and Bichhu.com team for the success of the newspaper.

The conduct of Hindi newspapers in Madhya Pradesh

First the contestant is approached and asked for money, straightaway. If he refuses to pay the amount, negative reports are published.

Each day the candidate is targeted until he gets disturbed by the negative coverage and decides to pay. An evening newspaper 'Sandhya Prakash' is doing it every day.

But other Hindi newspapers are not far behind. In some major newspapers, it is time to make money. The marketing teams are busy and seeking full packages for 'entire coverage, photos, positive news'.

The highest circulated Hindi paper of Bhopal didn't publish report of flop meeting of BJP president Rajnath Singh. It didn't publish the news or the photo of empty ground. Was it because there was already a deal?

Misbehaving minister face the law

Minister for Tourism and Sports Tukoji Rao Pawar was arrested and sent to jail for misbehaving with a government official Sanjana Jain.

Though such an action was impossible under the normal circumstances, the model code of conduct ensured that the misbehaving didn't get away with his action. The BJP candidate from Dewas had threated Jain, the returning officer and the entire scene was recorded.

Pawar was accompanied by another BJP leader, Phool Chand Verma, who is contesting from Sonkutch. Election Commission took prompt note of the threat after TV channels reported the news.

The case was registered on Jain's complaint and after his arrest, Pawar was sent to jail. He had reached the officer demanding rejection of the nomination papers of a Congress candidate.

Will BJP lose due to poor candidate selection in MP?

The discontent is already on the street. BJP workers staged a protest at the party office in Bhopal.

With weak candidates like Dhruv Narayan Singh, Jitendra Daga and Vishwas Sarang, the party has already lost it, in the capital of Madhya Pradesh, even before a fight. Dhurvnarayan doesn't have a standing and is considered a sociate, rather than a politician. Alok Sharma, who is contesting from Bhopal North is also not a strong candidate compared to his rival Arif Aqueel.

Jitendra Daga got ticket just because of his closeness with Sushma Swaraj. Sarang is still considered a junior. One can say that BJP has handed over these seats of Congress.

Are Dhruvnarayan, Vishwas Sarang, Jitendra Daga winnable candidates?

Besides, several sitting MLAs that were unpopular have been again fielded. Despite poor performance, State Minister Kamal Patel (Harda) and many other MLAs who are all set to lose due to anger against them in their constituencies, but they have been given tickets.

Already, Uma Bharati's Bharatiya Janshakti is giving sleepless nights to Shivraj Singh Chouhan. But repeating candidates like Kamal Patel, Narottam Mishra, Anup Mishra and iving ticket to losers like Surendra Patwa, the party seems to have dug its own grave. Now, it's interesting to see whether the Congress is able to make use of the opportunity.

BJP accepts Malegaon blast accused is party worker

The Madhya Pradesh BJP has accepted that Shyamlal Sahu, an Indore resident, who was arrested for blasts in Malegaon and Modasa, with Sadhwi Pragya Bharati, was a party leader.

PWD Minister and BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya went to the house of Sahu. He also said that the BJP worker was framed. This is a sudden change from the earlier stand when the party was not willing to accept any links with the blast accused.

But the BJP had no other option. Uma Bharati is speaking on behalf of the blast accused and this has caused anger among BJP workers who feel that they party abandons them when they are caught.

With elections just a month away from now, the party can't afford its cadre getting angry and restless. Already, BJP rebel MLAs are joining the Bharatiya Janashakti Party and BJP can't afford more trouble. Thus even a blast accused is now being defended. Time will tell if this strategy pays off.

MP connection to Malegaon blasts

The role of Hindu Jagran Manch in the blasts in Modasa and Malegaon has brought focus to activities of these organisations in Madhya Pradesh.

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, also known as Purna Chetnanand Giri was arrested and during interrogation she confessed the role of Vande Mataram Jan Kalyan Samiti in the bomb blasts.

Indore-resident Ramji Kalsangra is said to be mastermind of the blasts. His brother Shiv Narayan has also been arrested from Indore along with Shyam Sahu and some other persons.

Pragya is mainly from Bhind. She was earlier close to RSS and was a member of Durga Vahini. She was also associated with ABVP. Dilip Nahar is also arrested from Indore. The other accused Shyam Sahu has a cell phone repair shop.

The bike used for plating bombs was bought in the name of Sadhwi. Gujarat and Mumbai police teams are coming to Indore to investigate the role of HJM and other organisations.

Bhopal journalists beaten up at Airport

Electronic media cameramen and reporters were beaten up when they went to the airport to cover the visit of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.

India TV stringer Anurag Upadhyay was hit with canes. Some others were also hospitalized. But the journalists are getting beaten up every now and then. In fact, electronic media journalists have themselves to be blamed for their devaulation.

When Amar Singh was coming to Bhopal for a press conference, what was the need to go to Airport to receive him. Is he George Bush or Amartya Sen? He has to speak at press conference and attend functions. You can ask questions to him there. What scoop would they have achieved at the airport? Is he RAW or IB chief?

Why need to go to airport to welcome him like a party member? The journalists also want to show their face to the high and mighty and secure privilieges later. Earlier also they got beaten.
When CISF pushed them back, one journalist abused the security man.

After this they took the lathis and lashed journalists. Then the same electronic media journalists demanded an inquiry and action from police. It was more foolish act, as CISF comes under the Centre and any inquiry by state police, will not hold water and there won't be any action. If they want respect, they should stop chasing everybody like papparazzi, else accept this treatment. Don't cry like kids.

Saint Lal Sai sexually abused women: Sex scandal in Bhopal

Saint Lal Bulchandani who was known as Lal Sai was sexually abusing women in Bhopal for four years.

The police have registered a case against him. Sai's ashram in Bairagarh is now being searched and his disciples have run away. After women devotees complaint that he even raped minor girls, the police took action.

Sai had become a powerful man. Hundreds of women visited his Ashram. Now it has been disclosed that he asked them to perform meditation and gave medicines under the impact of which they were raped.

Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran published the report. It has also printed the allegations against the Sant. After this was disclosed, some persons tried to settle the matter and there was political pressure but at last he was exposed.

The Jagran report on newspaper's website

Will Uma Bharti cause BJP's defeat in Madhya Pradesh?

Fire-brand Bharatiya Janshakti Leader Uma Bharti is the biggest obstacle for Shiv Raj Singh Chouhan in the way of his second coronation as Chief Minister.

Uma Bharti has burnt her bridges with the BJP and the party leaders don't want her back without realising that it was her popularity that had given the party an overwhelming majority in the Assembly.

Now Uma is all set to take revenge. The Sadhvi is hurt as she feels it was the mandate for Uma Bharati and not the BJP but the party later dumped her. With her aggressive campaigning, it is clear that she is going to harm the prospects of BJP.

In rural Madhya Pradesh and Bundelkhand region, she is still revered. With reports of Samajwadi Party and BSP having a secret pact with her in different regions of the state and Congress also supporting her, it is clear that Shivraj will not find it easy to come back to power again in the Assembly elections to be held in November.

Pro-Ravana tribals desecrate Hindu religious text

Tension spread in Amarwara in Chhindwara when a group of tribals set fire to Ramayana.

The tribals were angry with the burning of Ravana effigy at the time of Dussehra and later in retaliation, committed the act of torching the holy religious book on the main road.

The clash occurred between the Deharia community and native Gond tribals. The police force reached the area and was stationed around to prevent any untoward incident.

The tribals were unhappy that Ravana's effigy was burnt and the Deharias were celebrating. Five persons responsible for the desecration Dayali, Antar Singh, Budh Ram, Shiv and others were arrested.

Burhanpur communal riot claims 10 lives

The number of persons who died in the communal violence in Burhanpur has gone up to ten even as curfew is clamped and shoot-at-sight orders are issued in the City.

The communal riot has brought to focus the absolute failure of the district administration and police in anticipating the situation. A provocative song that was played in the religious procession (rath yatra), caused tension.

This incident occurred on Thursday. But there was still tension in the City and the district officials failed to apprehend that until an incident of stone pelting led to riot, the very next day. Large-scale arson and rioting was witnessed.

The police fired at the mobs, which resulted in the death of three persons. Later reports said that the figure of the dead went up to six. But recovery of three more bodies from a village near the City and the death of two other persons in hospital, raised the toll to 10. Burhanpur is a sensitive town with Muslims accounting for more than 50% of the population.

With elections in Madhya Pradesh drawing nearer, communal incidents have seen a rise. Still, the failure of the government and the administration in tackling the situation, puts a question mark on the functioning of police.

The report of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has recently indicted the Indore administration for the riot early this year.

AIDS Girl in Indore: Youths scared of HIV

Many youths in Indore are said to have got HIV virus from a woman suffering from AIDS. The girl asked some youths to have fun with her and later they found that some of them had got infected.

Local media has named her 'Vishkanya'. Earlier it was felt that the news was a mere rumour but a doctor in Indore has confirmed that he receieved youths who told the same story of a 'broad minded girl'.

Girl giving sexual favours to them and later they found that she was taking a revenge on them, as she had got the infection from a male. It is also said that she is a psycho. India TV also showed a special programme on her.

A youth who was part of a group that spent time with the girl, told his story to the news channel. Though she is not identified, the police have prepared sketch of the woman. Latest reports said that she has left Indore and is living in Bhopal.

Minister's nephew attempted rape!

The daughter of liquor king Ratan Kedia was thrown from a flat in Indore. Her father said that the nephew of a minister tried to rape her.

The girl was thrown from Royal Heights building in Manormaganj. It was said that forest minister Vijay Shah owns flat in this building. The girl's father Ratan Kediya told Dainik Bhaskar that his daughter was forced to drink liquor and an attempt to rape her was made by the youths in the flat.

(Above: A paragraph of Patrika, Indore that published the news)

The girl is a minor. But the police haven't made any arrest. It is felt that due to the influence of the minister, the case was not registered. But the party is worred that in the election year, it can become an issue.

BJP leader uncorks liquor bottle, lands in controversy

The BJP leader Prakash Javdekar wouldn't have thought that holding a liquor bottle would cause such a major controversy in Indore.

Used to the party culture in Delhi and Mumbai, Javadekar had no hesitation when he was handed over the bottle.

But the next day newspapers splashed the photograph on front page, hurting the image of the leader and the 'party with the difference'. But he should have known the difference between Delhi and Indore.

No wonder that Jawadekar is not much visible on the small screen these days and the BJP media in-charge are shying from giving a version on the incident. He must be cursing his stars now. The party is also embarrassed and unable to justify such an act.

Butchers of Bhopal: Cutting 1,000 trees for CBD in TT Nagar

The lush greenery in New Bhopal will be a thing of past. The government has given a go-ahead to Gammon India for cutting nearly 1,000 trees for the Central Business District (CBD) that will come up in TT Nagar.

The State government and the bureaucrats have once again bared their intentions: Killing this beautiful City of Lakes and Gardens. The citizens must rise in protest. They also have a responsibility.

Has a single citizen yet decided to file a PIL against this upcoming ecological disaster. The Dainik Bhaskar today published a report but unfortunately it was also a party and when it lost the bid and the land was given to Gammon India, it has joined the protestors.

The need of the hour is to take a firm stand against the irresponsible act of felling such a great number of trees. Indore has already been turned into a desert. Soon Bhopal will also become a similar urban mass of concrete sans any greenery.

It's a fraud to cut trees and say that development comes at a price. How can the act of injecting poison in green trees to kill them, be tolerated by us? Give a thought to future. Time to wake up and protest.

Do whatever you can do. Send emails, write letters to editors of newspapers, create awareness and try to instill a feeling among your friends to stop such nonsensical projects and force govt to take back its decision.

Why Nai Dunia can't succeed even in its new avatar

The Indore-based Nai Dunia group is desperately trying to hold its base in Malwa and also increase circulation in Bhopal where it has re-launched itself as Nav Dunia but it has failed to create an impact.

Even a paper like Patrika that came from Rajasthan has managed to get a good circulation in Bhopal, but not Nav Dunia that was running its edition from Bhopal for decades and had bureaus in other cities of the state.

For the last week Indore was witnessing violence and the town was in curfew but the front page editorials by Umesh Trivedi and Abhay Chhajlani proved why the paper can't strike a chord with readers in the present era.

Front page editorials are written under special circumstances and the readers expect a unique perspective and incisive coverage. But the paper failed miserable though it has a huge editorial team in Indore and is considered the flagship paper of Indore.

In the frontpage editorials, Umesh Trivedi and Chhajlani were both shedding fake tears about the worsening law-and-order situation of Indore and the erosion of composite culture in the City. It was simply a rant.

They didn't write a line about who engineered the riots, failed to name the local leaders who were involved and gain from such situations. Even the Bajrang Dal and VHP were not named in the editorials.

Then, how can one expect the editors to expose the hypocrisy of the leaders who are involved in scams, real estate business and still claim to be champions of harmony. When you can't write truth and don't have the courage to write the obvious which everybody knows, your journal and your journalism is exposed.

[It is not that Dainik Bhaskar is doing the job either. Shravan Garg's front page article was no good either as it gave no reasons and no names, just a web of words weaved to fill a couple of columns.]

Newspapers are not just used for dissemination of news but they are also supposed to be conscience keepers of the times. They have a duty to inform the readers. But when they fail badly nobody takes them seriously.

Today these papers are simply tools of the administration and have no guts to publish scathing articles. Gone are the days when papers took on mighty leaders. Today they succumb to minor politicians and everybody who has got money--from business barons to brokers.

That's the reason Nai Dunia (or Nav Dunia) has no future and this newspaper is bound to be doomed. They better dump the catchline 'Vishwas ki Parampara'.

Unwilling government, inept officials responsible for Indore riot

The responsibility of throwing Indore into flames clearly falls on the State government. With violence flaring up in Indore and spreading to neighbouring Ujjain, it is clearly the failure of government.


Ever since the BJP has come to power, Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh has become a communal cauldron. Does the government intend to turn it into Gujarat? Riots have become a regular feature and the administration appears indifferent to violence and deaths.

The inefficient Collector and SP who give a bad name to 'promotee' officers also have to share the blame. If they couldn't gauge the gravity of situation in a City like Indore, they don't have the moral right to be in their place.

SP RK Chaudhary, who is a relative of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and got the posting just because of his relation, failed to take any steps. To refresh the memory of readers, Chaudhari was the SP at Dewas when the Dharaji tragedy had taken place.

Over 50 persons were washed away in the Narmada when the dam water was suddenly released and the pilgrims had met watery grave. He was removed and his increment was stopped for the mishandling of the situation.

That's the reason officers of State cadre who become Collector and SP, don't get the respect which IAS and IPS officials get. Their mishandling of tough situations like communal riots and their subservience to political masters prove the point. The Collector Rakesh Shrivastava also proved to be a big letdown.

The local Hindi daily Raj Express on its front page reported how the the banquet was held in the CM House on Friday night. The dinner was not cancelled though Indore was still burning and many other cities had seen violence.

But when BJP leaders ranging from Narendra Singh Tomar to Kailash Vijayvergiya and Himmat Kothari blame the SIMI for the riots and forget Bajrang Dal, VHP and RSS, does the administration has any chance ?

MP government spends Rs 50 lakh to promote Advani's book

The recent event to launch the Hindi edition of LK Advani's book 'My country, My life' cost the people of the state Rs 50 lakh.

The State governmnt spent the huge amount on organising the function. Personalities like Yoga Guru Baba Ram Dev, Art of Living exponent Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and BJP leaders attended the programme in Bhopal.

People's money was spent irresponsible in this Five Star launch. Advani, was upset with the poor sales of the book and that's the reason the Hindi edition was brought out and now in all the Hindi speaking states, particularly those ruled by BJP, the launch functions would be held.

Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the series. Of course, LK Advani wanted the function and Shivraj Singh Chouahan was more than happy to oblige with such a grand ceremony. The deliberations on the pre-poll strategy was just an excuse for the leaders.

The main purpose was to promote the book and still the sale hasn't gone up much. The use of official machinery and huge expenditure on the book release, however, puts the BJP and the celebrity Swayamsevak LK Advani in a poor light.

Media War in Bhopal: Bhaskar Besieged

For the first time in many years, Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar appears besieged. The Agarwals are forced to start DB Star and Business Bhaskar to counter Rajasthan Patrika that has now launched its edition from Madhya Pradesh.

But it serves the Agarwals right. Dainik Bhaskar is never known for great journalism. Due to their monopoly they were able to dictate terms. During the recent raid at the premises of Raj Express owner Arun Sahlot, the paper was again exposed when it didn't publish his name. Though he was their bete noire until now.

Last year when Income Tax authorities conducted raids at the house of a minor official KK Singh Chouhan, this flagbearer of Hindi journalism blacked out the news. It was shameful. But Agrawals have always run the newspaper in this manner.

The officer was neither an IAS officer nor a SAS, rather a minnow in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation who had clout due to his political connections. KK Singh Chauhan had helped Bhaskar in their shoddy deals and the paper cheated its readers when it didn't publish the news about the raid.

And that was just one of the incidents. At least, with Patrika's arrival Bhaskar will be forced to publish news, as it is no longer the sole mass circulation Hindi daily in Bhopal. Just to recount another incident:

A journalist who had joined DNA (Mumbai) and within days of joining decided to switch to another paper, was told by Sudhir Agarwal, 'I will destroy you'. That's not the way big newspapers grow.

That's the reason that though they may be the owner of India's largest selling paper but the Agawals can never command the respect which other publications get. Once you sell millions of copies, you should behave gracefully, don't you!

"My father is minister....shall I fix you?"

Ramdayal Ahirwar became Minister of State for Home in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday and the next day his power-drunk son called on the police inspector asking him to fix electricity at his residence in Chhatarpur.

"Fix the electicity connection or I will fix you", said Laxmichand Ahirwar, to the Inspector HR Pandey of Maharajpur police station on phone.

When Pandey said that it was basically the job of Electricity Board to correct the fault but he was still sending a police constable to the minister's residence, Ahirwar got angry.

With his friends the Minister's son reached Pandey's house, broke open the door, damaged the government vehicle and tried to attack Pandey, who took out his revolver to save himself from the youths.

Ahirwar had all reasons to be angry, as father was made minister for home and transport just a day back. He must have thought that with father being minister he can call the shots and treat every policeman as a domestic employee.

Love live our democracy!!!

(Photograph of Minister, Ramdayal Ahirwar)

Health minister Ajay Vishnoi goes after 'unhealthy' term

Health Minister Ajay Vishnoi, whose tenure would be remembered for allegations of corruption and scams in the Health department, had to resign under pressure from the party leadership and organisation.

During his term the Health department received huge funds but most of the funds were gobbled by corrupt officials. The scandal in which patients were given injections meant for animals is just one of the instance. Those responsible were suspended and then soon reinstated. Outside Bhopal, the situation became even worse.

Either it is the scam involving outdated streptomycin medicine purchased for TB patients or the hundreds of crores under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) that never reached the poor, it all happened in his regime.

Such was the level of shamelessness that hundreds of crores that were allocated for buying medicines, were siphoned off. Dr Yogiraj Sharma turned out to be a millionare. Such a 'historic' term came to an end on Monday.

Workers of a party blackened his face in a hoarding and the police took action against them. Vishnoi was still not ready to submit resignation. Even if Vishnoi claims he was not part of the rackets involved in corruption and the CBI raid at his brother's residence yielded nothing, he should have resigned owning moral responsibility.

'Gharibon ki davaai tak khaa gaye'. Such are the officials of his department. He could have owned up. But one has to have values for morality. Alas, most of our politicians are bereft of any morality. Vishnoi's 'historic' term at last ended.