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Tag: Dr Manmohan Singh

  • A message from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the passing away of Khushwant Singh

    A man the likes of whom we will not see again: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

    A message from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the passing away of Khushwant Singh:

     

    “I am deeply saddened to learn that my dear friend, Sardar Khushwant Singh, is no more.

     

    Throughout his life, Khushwant Singh worked hard to make it easier for the rest of us to understand and come to terms with the major social, economic and political changes that our country and the world witnessed. His writings, whether as a journalist, editor, historian, author or provocative raconteur, never failed to shed light on the human condition. That he did this unfailingly and candidly for more than half a century, while also managing to be humourous and witty, reflects on the enormous talent that he had for holding up a mirror to society. There was hardly an aspect of public life that escaped his attention and none that was not the better for it.

     

    Khushwant’s passing marks the end of an era and while I join you and countless others around the world in mourning his loss, I am sure that he himself would want us also to celebrate – to celebrate a rich and full life that was devoted to the pursuit of truth and justice. Indeed, Khushwant was a man the likes of whom we will not see again.

  • The Minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, V Narayanasamy, on Tuesday said the country "is going down" because of the ballyhoo about corruption created by media "which itself is corrupt"

    Media is corrupt… govt will rein in if media doesn’t self-regulate, says PMO minister V Narayanasamy

    By Vikas Dhoot

     

    Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, V Narayanasamy, on Tuesday said the country “is going down” because of the ballyhoo about corruption created by media “which itself is corrupt”, the CBI which has “no corporate knowledge” but hounds even honest industrialists, and the judiciary which gets swayed by media trials and doesn’t want public perceptions to go against it.

     

    Issuing a terse warning to media houses, Mr Narayanasamy said that media currently enjoys self-regulation, but the government would be compelled to rein it in, if status quo continues. “If self-regulation isn’t followed, some kind of regulation will be brought by the government. We will take a call ultimately,” he said.

     

    The junior minister in Dr Manmohan Singh’s office said corporate India was the worst affected due to the current situation of interrogations, trial and punishment by the news media and the lack of understanding about technical issues among those “passing judgements and decisions.”

     

    “Even honest and upright people from corporate houses that invested money are being harassed, not by the government but by the system,” Mr Narayanasamy said, referring to India’s “vibrant” media and online platforms like Facebook and Twitter, where “all information and disinformation” can be put up.

     

    “The corporate houses are the worst affected, even honest and sincere corporate houses are being framed. Because the people who are sitting for the purpose of deciding the matter, I don’t want to name them, they have no corporate knowledge and they are giving the decision… the judgment,” the minister said at a conference on governance, moral leadership and transparency held in the Capital on Tuesday.

     

    Though he didn’t directly name the Comptroller Auditor General’s office, which has been slammed by several Cabinet ministers for wrecking investor sentiment and economic growth, Narayanasamy challenged the auditor’s loss calculations on the 2G spectrum scam.

     

    “As many as 122 circles have been auctioned (for spectrum) – the government got only 20,000 crore. But the whole world was saying it is 1.76 lakh crore. Who is to be blamed? he asked.

     

    “If I say something about the judiciary, then I will be hauled up for contempt. Someone can file a petition against me,” the minister added as a virtual disclaimer.

     

    “Unfortunately, people who have nothing to do with administration, who have not seen the public, who are not elected, who are not in the bureaucracy or corporate houses – are taking a view on crime. Ultimately, the result is the country is going down,” he lamented. Turning the scanner on the news media, the minister said media is not corruption-free, as is evident from the scourge of sting operations and paid news. “No media house follows the self regulation. They come to the streets to fight against the government that our rights are being taken away,” the minister said, reminding news organisations that their duty is to give people a correct picture of what is happening and not engage in media trials.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Time to move on, Sir. Please start lobbying for the post of President. You are a nice, honest, good man, so no one will mind supporting your candidature

    Anil Thakraney: MMS for Prez! Puhleez!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I implore all the political parties to do at least one good deed for the nation. Please send Dr Manmohan Singh to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, with all the accompanying pomp and gaiety. The man needs to retire ASAP, and what better old age home than the grandiose Bhavan?

     

    No, I am not suggesting this because MMS needs to be rewarded, but because the gentleman needs to be immediately ejected from the Prime Minister’s office. Don’t think anyone, not even Ms Rabri Devi, can do worse than him. Everyone adores MMS because he’s reputed to be a ‘nice guy’ and an ‘honest man’. Is this qualification enough to run such a huge, complicated, scandal-infested country? Would you hire a CEO based only on this yardstick? Heck, would you marry your daughter to a man based on this qualification alone?

     

    Let’s examine Mr Nice Guy’s scintillating resume. The nuclear deal, over which he staked his job and promised truckloads of energy and dosh to the nation, is all forgotten. The proposal of FDI in multi-brand retail was quickly scuttled at the first shout from the opposition leaders in the Parliament. The PM’s allowed his retro finance mantri to come up with that hare-brained scheme called Retrospective Tax, which has made global investors become very wary of India. The mother of all scams, the famed 2G scam, happened right under the watchful eye of Dr Singh. And the man keeps getting blackmailed by his allies, and is unable to deal with them. Worse, it’s hard to imagine MMS ran the RBI once, and brought economic reforms to India. Today, he has no idea how to stop the rupee from sliding down the hill, and petrol prices have been increasing as regularly as sixes get hit in the IPL. And these are just some of Mr Nice Guy’s achievements.

     

    No, we simply cannot afford to have this incompetent man hang around for another two years in office. The nation can deal with only so many failures. Time to move on, Sir. Please start lobbying for the post of President. You are a nice, honest, good man, so no one will mind supporting your candidature. Not even if you later get busy collecting frequent flyer miles, a la Ms Pratibha Patil.

     

    Please move on! It’s been rather nice knowing you.

     

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    PS: Must read for all creative people. Some powerful advice on how to keep the fires burning, and not let life’s set backs (petrol prices!) come in the way of creativity. It’s applicable to creators in all walks of life.

     

    Link: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/05/22/neil-gaiman-commencement-address/