Transparency in governance is a fundamental mantra of the Modi Government and for this, from time to time, BJP-ruled state governments are encouraged. In the same regard, a new software ‘Priya’ has come to light with efforts of the Central Government as an attempt to eliminate corruption from Panchayats.
Generally, a trend has been observed the fund government allocates to the Panchayats, is usually misused on many levels and rather than reaching the right schemes, it lands into the pockets of officials and elected representatives of Panchayats.
One of the major features of Priya is the money is released from banks only when the vouchers of actual works are updated in computers through this software.
The software was implemented as a pilot in Yamunanagar district of Haryana. The results were visible to the public. With this, the heads of the districts and the Sarpanchs suddenly rebuked a rebellion. They did not like this method of government control. The rebellion scaled to the level that the matter reached the CM’s court. Although the image of Manohar Lal Khattar is that of an honest CM, keeping in mind the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Khattar withdrew this order, and once again the Yamuna of corruptions flows in Yamunanagar.

Come March, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) Akhil Bharatiya representatives meet is on the cards in Nagpur. Sources reveal the meet may consider giving a new face to the Sangh. In 2025, the Sangh is going to complete its 100 years of establishment and to celebrate the centenary year across the world with joy and enthusiasm, the meet will also consider the formation of a Core Committee. But the most important decision from this meet might be on the future of Sangh’s general secretary and BJP relations coordinator Ramlal.
There have been speculations on the election of Ramlal’s successor for a long time now, but the union and BJP have been unable to agree on any one name so far. Sources say that Sangh’s number three man, Dattatreya Hosabale – who is handling the coordination with the Modi government – has himself talked to Narendra Modi about this. It is said that amid conversations, Sanjay Joshi’s name has also been suggested whom the Sangh now seems to be favouring to trust with a great responsibility in the BJP. It is said that Modi’s resentment towards Joshi has also reduced slightly.
The Sangh might also consider a new representative of the house in this meet and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s International Executive President Pravin Togadia’s alternative can also be elected. As a substitute for Togadia, former Himachal governor B S Konkana is being considered, while Dattatreya Hosabole is being considered for the new representative of the house by the Sangh.

The biggest challenge facing UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the maintenance of law and order in the state. Apparently, in the recent days, he clashed directly with the PMO for the appointment of his favourite officer Om Prakash Singh as the new Director General of Police.
OP Singh was the DIG of CISF when Yogi announced to make him the state’s next DG. Following this, the Home Ministry and PMO interrupted his decision and instead asked to consider another person – Anjani Kumar Singh – for the post. But Yogi did not bow down. He directly spoke to the PM on the matter and green-signalled the name of OP Singh.
Now the atmosphere in UP is such that the ill-fated criminals are afraid of bails and not being in jails. Sources reveal that at least 700 criminals who have been languishing in various jails in UP have cancelled their bail pleas, as they are afraid of stepping out. According to sources, within a period of nine months of Yogi government, around 1000 criminals were encountered. The trend is continuing as the Yogi administration first wants to curb big criminals in the state.

The off-notes of Digital India track are disturbing the general public on many levels. The extensive use of plastic money brings along with it various hidden dangers of misuse. Cybercrime too is spreading across the lengths and breadths of India. Let alone the general public, even the celebrities are getting trapped in these frauds.
Eminent writer Taslima Nasrin had recently visited an African country to deliver a lecture. Here, her State Bank Debit Card was cloned. By the time she reached India, an amount of more than Rs two lakh was debited from her account. She rushed to the Parliament Street branch of the bank in New Delhi and blocked her card. The incident was also reported to the police. But after many attempts, when cyber cell failed to catch the fraudster, the State Bank transferred the case to the SOP (Standard Operative Process) Committee, and after the recommendation of the committee, the bank compensated Taslima with the stolen amount.

Can the 2019 general elections be held before its scheduled term? It is being speculated that the Modi-Shah duo seems to be determined to make possible the next General Elections ahead of time. In January 2019, the tenure of state governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is going to be completed. It is also being speculated that after the month of September (since Chief Justice Deepak Mishra retires in October), a major decision will be taken by the Supreme Court on Ram temple. Perhaps this is the reason why Modi-Shah duo, riding on the Ram-Mandir Agenda, is working on strategies to come to power in 2019 once again.

BJP’s ‘Chanakya’, Amit Shah, once again seems to have switched on the election mode. Amit Shah’s favourite agency ‘Association of Brilliant Minds’ is seemingly active in many states simultaneously. The agency has begun working on various states of the south, including states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from this, the election work has already begun in Haryana. Indicatively, BJP President Shah will start with his election campaign in full throttle from February itself.
The head of Brilliant Minds, Sunil Kanugolu, used to work for McKenzie. But when Prashant Kishor took over the BJP’s work, Sunil joined him. When Prashant was shown a way out, then Gujarat’s industrialist Deepak Bhai Patel introduced Sunil to Modi and Shah. After that Shah put the agency on work as his in-house agency.
This agency had a very important role in registering a bumper victory for the BJP in the recent UP assembly elections. Most importantly, even after nearly a year of UP elections, a big crunch of the agency is still active in UP, which reports the accounts of BJP legislators and MPs to Shah. Sources reveal that the agency has identified 17 Parliamentary Areas of UP where people are very resentful about their local BJP MPs. So it is a high possibility that in view with the anti-incumbency, Shah might turn down the ticket of those MPs, and instead introduce a few new faces on the ground.
According to sources, the agency also strives on reading the public’s pulse and, from time to time, also gives necessary suggestions to the party president. The debt exemption of UP farmers is said to be a brain-child of this agency.
In Haryana, the agency has suggested the Party President to buy 1100 motorcycles for 90 assembly seats here. Party MLAs and MPs have been asked to identify dedicated party workers in their respective areas to whom these bikes can be given, after which they could ride around villages and boast of the achievements of Modi and the Khattar government. The agency has huge offices in Gurgaon and Lucknow. Shah has strictly instructed the agency workers to stay low-profile and maintain a distance from the media.

The Prime Minister’s ambitious ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ seems to be turning into ‘Sarvnash Bharat’ (Disastrous India) scheme even in the areas neighbouring his own constituency. Researchers of the Institute for Compassionate Economics, a reputed American agency, are carrying an extensive research related to Swachh Bharat in many areas of UP. The agency believes that such campaigns will reduce down to mere slogans unless the cleanliness mindset of the common Indians changes.
The researchers found in their survey that the conditions of the toilets in rural areas are the worst. On one hand, government agencies showcase big figures under ODF (open defecation free India.). Whereas, in reality, not even half that number of toilets are constructed. Referring to a village in UP, the agency says that government papers have claimed that 576 toilets have been constructed till October, but on the contrary, it has been found in the investigation that only 26 toilets, i.e., 4.5 per cent of those were operational. 79 toilets are claimed to be swept off in the flood.
And don’t even start on the quality of these toilets constructed by contractors. The agency claims a sack of cement, and poor quality bricks are put together to merely increase the official figures. 30% of the surveyed toilets didn’t even have the commodes. About 90 to 95 per cent of the restrooms were either locked or broken or people were using them as a warehouse. In many schools, there were shocking malfunctions – where the girls’ washrooms had men urinals installed in them. The school administration said it was so because the girls did not use toilets made in schools as they were dirty. And the school administration isn’t quite keen to bother to provide that cleanliness.

BJP top echelon had to stand by its promise to former Gujarat chief minister Anandi Ben Patel, and ultimately the party has announced her appointment as the new governor of Madhya Pradesh. Prior to this, a long-run battle was on between Anandi Ben and the top leadership of BJP. From ticket distribution in the Gujarat elections to division of ministry, Anandi Ben’s resentment was visibly at its apex. When Nitin Patel, who is associated with the Patel community and maintains close terms with Anandi Ben, elevated the flag of revolt on being allotted a ministry of lesser importance, he obviously got the blessings of Ben. After this, Hardik Patel dialled Nitin Patel, who asked him to ring him up on WhatsApp call. Hardik said that there is nothing to hide in it. The world (Modi-Shah) should know that despite such adverse circumstances, the Patels unite as one. Sources reveal that after this an important meeting of Patel MLAs was hosted by Anandi Ben, in which 17 Patel MLAs participated. After this, Shah dialled Anandi Ben asking, “Why are you doing this?” Sources tell that to this Anandi Ben responded, “You did not stand by your promise, you are anti-Patel. You have not given a ticket to my son, and gave the ticket to my seat to my opponent.” It is said that after that, the supremo – Modi – had to himself take over the issue in his own hands, only after which Ben quit on the fight and has been rewarded for the same now.

Congress wants to put in its full strength for the two Lok Sabha constituencies of Rajasthan, Ajmer and Alwar. Enthused by his new elevation, Rahul Gandhi is also very active for the two by polls. From the beginning of it, Rahul has been wanting that the state Congress President Sachin Pilot should be contested in Ajmer, where he would have to battle against the son of Late MP Sanwar Lal Jat. But understanding the fragility of the matter, Sachin thought it is better to exit the battle field. He could sense that the entire by poll will surf on the waves of sympathy. Sachin cleverly stepped aside saying that he would push the heel peak to help Congress win at Ajmer and Alwar, while at the same time his aides revealed that he was afraid if he lost the battle of Ajmer, then he would have to simultaneously give up on his dream of becoming the next CM. At the same time, Rahul’s aide Bhanwar Jitendra Singh has also refused to join the electoral battle, because the BJP has fielded Minister Jaswant Yadav of the outgoing Raje-government from Alwar. Being a Yadav constituency seat, Bhanwar felt that he could face difficulty competing here, and instead pitched for 71-year-old Karan Singh Yadav.

Vishva Hindu Parishad President Pravin Togadia, who seems really troubled in front of the media, has been consistent in his measures to do away with the ‘faults’ in his stars for the last two-and-a-half years. For the residents of Vasant Vihar area of Delhi, Togadia was a regular sight around 5:30 am on Tuesdays and Saturdays at the Malai Mandir in the past two and a half years. He would first climb up the stairs to the main temple and offer prayers to lord Karthik. After that, he would climb downstairs and orbit nine times around the ‘Navagraha’. Togadia used to visit the temple within a full-fledged security. But from the last week of December, Togadia suddenly disappeared from the radar. The continuous absence of Togadia from the Malai temple raised many questions. The country is now well aware of what happened after that and it is being said that those like Togadia and Sanjay Joshi, who brought harm to the BJP in the Gujarat elections, there is a complete preparation to teach them a lesson.