National
Khattar and his ‘good governance’ fails Haryana yet again (News Analysis)
By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, Aug 26 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has once again failed the state.
Blame it on his lack of experience in political life and administration or his utter lack of grip on the government that he heads, Khattar has come a cropper when it comes to dealing with law and order situations, especially the ones that put the life and property of the common people in Haryana to risk.
The mayhem and arson by Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) followers in Panchkula town on Friday, just minutes after the sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted for the rape and sexual exploitation of two female disciples in 2002, which left 31 people dead and nearly 250 others injured, has put Khattar in a politically precarious position on holding on to his chair.
Khattar’s name has virtually become synonymous with inept handling of tough situations — be it the violent Jat agitation that left 30 people dead and over 200 injured in February 2016, or the action against self-styled godman Rampal, who remained elusive from the law and even raised an armed private army to defend himself at his ashram near Barwala town in Haryana’s Hisar district in November 2014.
Not only the opposition Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), senior BJP leaders within the ruling party, including some of his ministers too are gunning for his scalp after the DSS mayhem.
Even the Punjab and Haryana High Court has come down heavily on the Khattar government for mishandling the situation. The high court is annoyed with the government over the violence during the Jat agitation too.
In nearly three years in power, Khattar has hardly done anything remarkable for the state, even though he recently made big claims on completing 1,000 days in office.
Khattar’s biggest claim, so far, has been on a “corruption-free government” and “good governance”.
While corruption can be seen as a relative term given the scams that the previous Congress government (2005-2014) led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda faced, “good governance” has been non-existent in his handling of the DSS violence, the Jat agitation or the Rampal episode.
In the state administration and the police, frequent transfers of senior bureaucrats and police officers in the last 34 months have become a kind of a joke. Even within the Chief Minister’s own office, Khattar has changed his principal secretaries, the most important bureaucrats in the set-up, several times.
Khattar, who has visited a few countries — the from United States and Canada to China, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, to seek investment for Haryana, the repeated major incidents of violence, which bring the state to a standstill, are hardly going to inspire anyone to park their money in the state.
“Happening Haryana”, as the state’s investment slogan goes, is making national and international news for all the wrong and violent reasons.
In February last year, rampaging mobs of Jat youths laid siege to Rohtak town for days and forced the Haryana government to call in the army in 10 districts. At several places, the army could not even enter initially.
Even the house of Haryana Finance Minister Abhimanyu and a school owned by his family was set on fire. Several government buildings were damaged and torched by protestors.
When he became the Chief Minister on October 26, 2014, Khattar, a former Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) pracharak, was a political greenhorn. He had never even been a legislator, let alone being a minister or having any administrative experience. Even after three years in office, the BJP central leadership must be thinking of either giving him another chance or finding someone to at least govern the state.
(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.