Demonetization - Real and Fake Opinions

Demonetization - Real & Fake Opinions

Opinions about Demonetization are formed by two types of people: those with Real reasons & those with Fake ones. There are two types of real reasoners and two more using fake reasoning. 

All 4 have different views of the same fact!

DeMon(etization) might have been done with good intention, but it was horribly executed, causing lots of pain and agony. On its First Anniversary, it turned out to be a futile exercise, without any penalization or arrests. Where did the Black Money go?

The Real-Citizen

I belong to the first of the 4 types, part of 124+ Crore Indians, who didn't have black money. We were forced to stand in ques for exchanging Notes, that were rationed to certain amount per week. The amount was gradually increased, till they believed all black money was out or destroyed.

Most were angry due to painful process of exchanging notes, even for their daily needs. Those with Credit/Debit cards managed, but real poor did face hell, especially the daily wagers. They were crushed from two sides.

Many daily workers lost jobs, as cash dried up. Some jobs were postponed that lead to slowdown. Even those with cash savings, split working days between visiting banks for exchanging notes and going to work for earning. Many died in the bank ques, some due to hunger others due to health issues.

Every small traders & genuine businessmen faced cash shortage and suffered losses due to loss of business or opportunity.These were the same people who declined jobs to daily workers due to cash shortage

Economies are well oiled machines, demonetization drained the oil.

This was the story of real India, the 99% who suffered!


The Rich-Citizen

They are the Maharajas of their Industry or Constituency, or their Chamchas.

Despite being less than 1% of Indian population, they cause maximum agony to the rest 99%. They own more of India, than the rest of us and then exploit us to own some more. 

DeMon was aimed at them, but most escaped through Shell companies or using their servant's bank accounts. Expert in organized looting, they used the same tricks: organized money exchange through Bank Babus and Goons, who stood in ques.

Not all rich are bad, but the people whom DeMon was aimed at, didn't get caught so far.


The Social Minority

These either belong to minority community or support them for political or ideological reasons.

Instead of finding real flaws of DeMon, they abused Modi and the BJP/RSS combine. They did get their logic right sometimes, but mostly ended up abusing Modi & called him names. 

Their real pain was not DeMon, but insecurity for being at the receiving end of Hindutva forces. As religious sentiments were used to judge DeMon, real pains didn't get addressed.

It may be true that many small traders do belong to minority communities, but Jains and Sikhs didn't complain as much. Pain of DeMon can be addressed only when focus is on real pain points, not religious bias.

DeMon effects are yet to get over, but some businesses have become nonviable due to cash limits.


The Political Opponents

They are the most Vocal in misguiding Indians, as they were the most affected!

Politicians believe Demon was done to snuff out election cash from Political parties, before UP & Punjab elections. That may have some merit, as most vocal parties were those who were contesting there, like SP, BSP, Congress & even AAP. 

Strangely NDA partners were totally silent on Demon, barring a few leaders. Unfortunately for India, most elected representatives, speak only for their party and not for the people who elect them. 

Predictably, apart from arming us with some information (& misinformation), their opinions mattered only as much as their intention to serve the voters.

Being Maharajas of their constituency, most got away by exchanging through known bankers or paid goons. Heard that some "Hawala Traders ki Hawa nikal gayii". 


Overall Effect

The economy did suffer, as entire machinery got effected due to cash shortage. 

The businesses that were run mostly on cash faced the brunt. While the owners suffered monetary losses, workers lost their livelihood. DeMon did help increase cashless transactions, but due to lack of proper infrastructure (internet / Bank a/c), the poor went through maximum pain.

While most industry are back to business, few may never recover, like Jewellery and Real-estate. Thankfully, that is a good news to common man, as it would make them feel richer, when prices of Gold & Land goes down. Unfortunately, both have people with deep pockets, who may take some time to relent.

Real-estate being mostly Bank-loan dependent, can trigger a Mortgage Crisis leading to unpredictable consequences. The Bullion is much more robust and will come out mostly unscathed.

Overall, the economy has been affected, but like any long term investment, DeMon did have some good results, especially increasing bank account holders and tax payees.



The Loose Ends


DeMon may be an ongoing project, but questions gets raised in terms of achievements, after so much brouhaha of recovering black money.

Why no Black Money was unearthed? Why none got punished so far?

Here are a few questions that went unanswered:

1. What did Demon achieve, after making 125 Crore Indians suffer.
2. If 99% of notes got exchanged, where is the Black Money?
3. Where are the Fake Notes, which were circulated by neighboring enemies of India?
4. Why did the Govt ban old notes, without having enough supplies of new ones?
5. Why was no action taken against Shell Company owners, who exchanged thousands of Crores through benami accounts?
6. Why didn't Govt disclose names of culprits to Indian Public, who suffered the most?
7. Is it possible to get 99% of notes back, without Bank Employees helping influential people? How many of them were punished ?

Conclusion


While everyone may have their own opinion about DeMonetization, most agree that it was done with good intention to weed out black money. But the way it was implemented, it  defeated the whole purpose. It could be an issue with improper planning or bad execution. 

As they say "A great plan is only as good as its execution!"

Despite being an ongoing project, DeMon can be summed up in just one line:

Lake was emptied to catch Crocodiles, they fled to land, but all fishes died.

Swaraj through Ward Committeess

Swaraj through Ward Committees

We all have come across exorbitantly expensive projects that we know are just excuses to transfer Tax payer's money into Swiss-Bank accounts of politicians. All we end up doing is cursing our system for corruption & move on.

We can stop that now, at-least in Bengaluru!

While Indian Constitution gave us Ward level Swaraj via 74th Amendment 25 years back, Govt of Karnataka amended KMC act in 2011. The act mandates BBMP to form Ward Committees (WC) comprising of 10 Voters, who can Decide Developmental works and Funds utilization in their wards.

As expected, the Political class is resisting, especially the Corporators, as their freedom to splurge our money at their whims and fancies, will be curbed.

The High Court Order:

Hon'ble High court has ordered BBMP to form Ward Committees. 

However, BBMP was unable to complete the task in all 198 wards and had asked for 2 more weeks. It has to do the needful before the next hearing that is on June 28 2017.

Mrs. Kathyayini Chamraj, who has been fighting for it for almost 2 decades, had alerted the Court, about Corporators naming their own cronies & party workers in WCs, defeating the very purpose of Self-Governance.

High Court has ordered BBMP to Consider Names of Applicants for WC Memberships.

The Role of BBMP:

A team of Civic & Bribe-Free Karnataka members met the Mayor on May 16 2017 with 
list of Honest Applicants and were promised to be considered.

We also spoke to BBMP commissioner and met Zonal Joint Commissioners, most of whom promised us their co-operation in forming Ward Committees comprising of Honest Socials workers.The top Brass including many JCs are convinced that it is good for BBMP also.

They were informed that it is the BBMP who forms the Ward Committees and Corporators can only suggest names.

While some were happy that they can now curb some powers of Corporators, most were worried about reluctance of Corporators in co-operating. Some also talked about the political pressures that will be used to thwart or influence the whole exercise.

Apathy of some officials:

A Joint Commissioner directed an Applicant to the Corporator, for WC membership.

That was because some officials, especially the Nodal officers at ward levels, are either not aware of their powers of forming WCs or are sure to follow the local Corporator's diktat fearing transfers.

Some find it convenient in maintaining status quo as they too are in cahoots with politicians.

Regardless of the outcome, it is sure that things won't be the same at Ward Levels, especially on developmental activities.

The Public Pressure:

The only way to break this "Neta-Babu Nexus" is to apply public pressure!

As more and more people get to know about their constitutional rights of being part of decision making process at ward level, more the pressure they can exert on Crooked Politicians and Corrupt Officials in forcing them to abide by rules.

Lack of awareness was evident when only 250 applications were received for 1980 posts of WCs. This was brought to the notice of Hon'ble High Court at the hearing on June 1st.

Generating Awareness:

Leaders of Civic & Bribe-Free Karnataka, held a Press Meet, requesting the media in spreading awareness, inviting people to apply for WC membership.

FM Radio Channels too were contacted by BFK team requesting them for awareness generation to their listeners. Press Articles were published in Kannada, English, Hindi and Urdu dailies making readers aware about their rights. A Few FM Radio Channels also supported by airing it on their shows.

Announcements were made at a few Churches & Mosques making community members aware about the opportunity of Participatory Democracy, also asking them to spread awareness among their Friends and Family too.

Few more citizen groups like Citizens for Bengaluru & CAFWA too have pitched in with their support. BPac too has asked its Civic leader to apply also generate awareness.

While all these may sound a lot, we still need to reach out to thousands of Honest Social Workers and invite them to participate in making ward level decisions.
 
The Legal Options:

We have filed RTIs for List of Names that Corporators propose and also the list that BBMP submits to the HC.

We shall analyze the Lists for each Ward & inform the Court about wrong doings if any. This has been informed to all the JCs with request for them to select candidates with honest background.

All we can do now is to await for BBMP actions and hope they will ensure a clean & corruption free Ward Committees for better Bengaluru.

Helping you Apply:

We have created a Facebook group "BBMP-Ward-Committee", with Application forms and various Information related to WCs.

All you need to do is follow these steps:

1. Download application Form by at bit.ly/wcapply
2. Fill the form (2 Copies) with your Name, Address, Ward No details and Submit it at BBMP Commissioner's office. Don't forget to take Acknowledgement on one of them.
3. Send us above details for us to follow through the BBMP or submit them to the HC court if the need be.

We are also have a WhatsApp Group, that you can become part of, for quick resolution of doubts. Please send a message to 95133 87205 to be added.


Conclusion:


Time has come when instead of cursing the Corrupt, we did our bit in ensuring WCs comprising of Honest Citizens get constituted, where it's we the residents who decided how much money is going be to spent on what developmental Works!

Please do share this document to your friends and family for them to spread the word of Swaraj everywhere. There are 10 more Cities in Karnataka that can Get Swaraj through WCs..

Salvaging AAP from Modi, Media & Madness

Salvaging AAP from Modi, Media & Madness

AAP got yet another blow, this time from voters of Delhi. Despite predictions, it was shocking to see a party that Wiped off two National Parties in Assembly Elections, struggling to win even as many Seats in MCD.

The defeat might have come now, but its seeds were sown much earlier. There are three main reasons for this Modi, Media and Madness.
 

All these factors are result of a churn that India is going through, as far as aspirations of Voters is concerned.

Modi Factor:

No point standing in front of a speeding train was my advised to the State Leaders in 2014.

After huge success of Anna Movement, everyone thought AAP would benefit from it, but it was Modi who swept LokSabha elections. Voters Trusted Modi for Talking about his track record, while AAP could show only Promises.

As a smart political start-up, AAP created its own “Blue Ocean” by reaching out to voters directly with promises of corruption free governance. They swept Delhi with 67/70, thanks to thousands of Volunteers who could win voters trust.

Now, instead of working on delivering promises, they started dreaming of winning more states. To get support of Minority communities and also to bring themselves on par with BJP, they started attacking Modi.

That backfired, as by now Modi had accumulated considerable amount of mind share of Indian Voters, despite his promises turning out to be Jhoomlas.

Emerging as the most popular Indian PM across the globe, he went on to win many more state elections. Whatever may be the reason for his popularity, attacking him invited ire of millions of Voters, who retaliated on social media, breaking state boundaries.

That created negative sentiments against AAP, which was too difficult to overcome.
 

War of Perceptions, can never be won by cutting opponents short, but by growing yourself.

Course Correction:

Contrary to popular belief, Modi wave that swept 2014 elections was created by frustrations of Voters. People were furious with Minority appeasement, Caste base agendas, lack of development and above all highly corrupt practices. Modi didn’t create the wave; he just rode it to victory (regardless of Jhoomla or not).

All that AAP needs to do is focus on delivering promises in Delhi and showcase that as their achievements. AAP should learn lesson from 2014 debacle; it just doesn’t have the bandwidth.

Instead of bad mouthing Modi & his policies, they should focus on adding more bandwidth by finding & developing new leaders, across India. That is the only way to fight brand Modi.

Media Flip-Flop:

Those who live by the Media; Die by it.

Here we are talking about two types of Media: Traditional (Print / TV) & Social (Facebook / WhatsApp). While the traditional Media has boundaries like Editions & Channels, the Social media is universal with global impact.

AAP was born after hugely successful Anna Hazare Campaign at Ramlila Maidan. It got overnight success thanks to huge media coverage that sensationalized its promises of providing a Corruption Free Governance. Delhi Voters elected them, expecting reduction in pain & prices of essential services like Power & Water. But, with success, Arrogance & Ambitions set in.

The governance of AAP in Delhi was not as spectacular as splashed by the Media before elections. They did fulfil promises, but Media wanted more Sensational Actions for its TRP.
Instead of showing actions taken, Media was showing AAP’s Jung with Lt. Governor & Central Govt. A lot of negativity was broadcasted by national news Channels, which slowly reflected on Social Media too.

But, that is just one part of the story!

Prestitutes?

Due to its capacity to influence voters, all political parties try to control TV & Print Media. In India too news channels belonging to Marans, Roys, Ambani & Adani have shown biased programs, benefiting their political masters, rightly earning the name Presstitutes!
 

This got verified with Indian Media Ranked 136 off 180 Nations, on Freedom Index. Media in an African country (Zimbabwe) run by a dictator gets more freedom than India. Uganda & Afghanistan rank higher than India in the media freedom index.

Social Media!

Social Media came as great relief to counter false propaganda created by biased Media Houses. Anyone can post countering Audio/Video/Pictures evidences and reduce impact of false propaganda. Having come from known sources, they are perceived as more trustworthy.

It was AAP, a party of intellectuals that gained substantial ground thanks to Social Media. This was made possible by its large army of online Volunteers, across India, especially Bangalore.

BJP however, hired substantial number of trollers to attack its opponents on Social Media. The attacks were so ferocious, that one of the victims (Swati) authored a book explaining their modus operandi and names of attackers. In her book, “I am a Troll”, she lists out Trollers who target and abuse Journalists opposing Modi. Some of these Tweeters are followed by Modi.

Course Correction:

Despite BJP’s digital army, AAP had a very positive image on Social Media thanks to dedicated Volunteers who countered every instance of false propaganda, till frustration with AAP set in.

While most Bhakts in BJP’s digital army just add up as soldiers taking orders, most AAP Volunteers are more effective as logical warriors. It was just the numbers on AAP’s side that has been dwindling due to lack of enthusiasm, thanks to infighting & volunteer apathy.

All that AAP Needs to do to win Social Media War is setup a decent Grievance Redressal Mechanism and provide Sincere Volunteers some pride to fight for. That will help lots of Volunteers to return, at least virtually and fight from its side.

Like Modi countered hostile media in Gujrat with on the Ground Supporters & Digital Army, AAP too can Win Traditional & Social Media battles provided its Army of Volunteers fight .
 

Unless AAP sorts out its internal Squabble and provides a decent Judiciary to its Volunteers, fighting any battle with BJP either physically or virtually is impossible.

The Madness:

Someone asked Lord Vishnu, “What do you eat?” He said my food is “Ahankaar”.

It’s shear madness, that a party so popular, growing at such scorching speed, doing the right things, making the right promises, giving enormous hopes to Indian Voters, went down as fast as it rose.

Most crucial reason for AAP to lose its momentum is not Modi or Media; it’s their inability to manage growth of popularity & people.

Enough has been written about their madness along with advises, both on Traditional & Social Media. But for all those to work they have to do just One most important correction!

Stop fooling Yourself, Volunteers & Voters! In that order.

Course Correction:

AK may be feeling like on a “Sher Ki Sawari”, fearing for his life as soon as he gets down. But, things are not as bad as they look from there. Political Opponents are not for his life, they want to see him defeated not killed. Common sense will prevail as soon as Paranoia is gone.

Barring a few Crooks, they are a smart & dedicated team of people. They have got the party so far and can take it to much more heights. All they need to do is get Honest and avoid brushing things under the carpet.

Once serious about salvaging their future, the first thing they need to do is set up a working Grievance redressal system. No organization survives without internal Judiciary. Volunteers are your eyes & ears, without their inputs, you will lose direction. Don’t take them for granted.

Reluctance of AK in talking to anyone with Grievance is the weakest link of his leadership. There were numerous instances of State Leaders being thrown out, without giving a hearing by AK. He can’t wash off his hands off unpleasant situations, as most people have joined AAP for Arvind and none else. It’s the Volunteers who can complete the crucial Feedback loop.

Volunteers:

Can you run an organization without people? If not, shouldn’t you create an environment, for people to stay, more so when they work for free.

Wasn’t it madness to let arrogant leaders chase away sincere volunteers and replace them with their Chamchas? Why didn’t AAP allow those with grievances to reach out to Delhi?

Why does a leader tell unhappy Volunteers that he owns the place because he is a founder member of the party? How do such leaders manage to appoint their Chamchas as heads of Disciplinary Cell? What solutions do such judicial bodies provide? Unless all this stops, 

Volunteers won’t return.

Teams of Maharashtra & Karnataka were chased away by an arrogant leader from Delhi, without any hearing from the National Grievance Cell. What do thousands of Volunteers tell the new recruits about such occurrences? Will they sacrifice their time & money to be 

dropped at whims & fancies of an arrogant leader?

AAP needs Volunteers more than otherwise. It’s they who can counter Modi on Street and Media on Internet. Unless Volunteers are given respect, slide of AAP will continue.

Voters:

Social Media revolution has caused a churn in global political system, thanks to a more informed and well connected Voter. Arab spring has brought down many dictators and voter polarization in many countries (including India & US) has given shocking lessons to the entire political class.

It was people associated with AAP who raised Voter’s expectation at Ramlila Maidan along with Anna Hazare. They promised to provide a Non-Corrupt Governance to people of India and were given overwhelming majority in Delhi. All they had to do is perform & showcase that to people.

Instead of commoditizing of Vote Banks, by insisting on fighting only winnable elections, they abandoned a golden opportunity of organic growth. Despite getting donations from across India they didn’t realize that the same Volunteers can help them fight Modi & Media via Social Media.

Dreaming Big is good, but winning small battles does help in a prolonged war in Indian Politics. Had they approached Voters for Municipal Elections across Indian Cities, they would have grown despite defeats.

They should focus on “Changing the Political System”, instead of “winning elections”, as promised.

Conclusion:

Instead of fighting Modi & Blaming Media, they should focus on Satisfying Voters and Respecting Volunteers. AAP needs Volunteers to convince Voters about their ability to provide Corruption Free Development.

As for fighting the False Propaganda, that won’t be needed if Voters & Volunteers are with you.

Why Modi Lost Bihar !
 
Why AAP Lost Punjab & Goa !
 

Earning Political Currency !
 
Political Currency! MLM Vs Ponzi !
 

Why AAP Lost Punjab & Goa

Why AAP lost Punjab & Goa

Aapians are a disappointed lot today, loss of Punjab has shocked all Current & Ex Volunteers. Not much was expected from Goa, with kind of leaders involved, but loss of Punjab was shocking indeed.

There are two main reasons for this. Not living up to our Brand Perception & Ignored Local Sentiments.

Sometime in mid 2016, a posse of 20 AAP Karnataka Volunteers met Most Senior leaders in Delhi, barring Kejriwal. Apart from returning disappointed, they felt insulted for being taken for a ride. That was their last try, as Karnataka leader had already refused to sort their issues. Hundreds of Volunteers left AAP & formed Lancha-Mukta-Karnataka along with Mr. Ravi Krishna Reddy.

A major Trust Barrier got broken, AAP didn't deliver what they promised. Most Volunteers got attracted to AAP ideology of Swaraj & Corruption-Free India. They spend a lot of time & energy in convincing people around them, but mostly Moneybags or celebrities get tickets. The Candidates do not look like those who can live up to the Brand that the Volunteers create around their neighborhood. The plan for Failure gets completed when Volunteers refuse to campaign such candidates.

Volunteers who raise their voice are silenced, suspended or expelled. That creates a Rebel force seen across States, Delhi, Punjab, Maharashtra, Goa or Karnataka. These very rebels cause loss of enthusiasm among existing Volunteers & stop new ones from joining.

The story has been repeated time & again in many states many times. One Senior Delhi leader has single-handedly wiped off Volunteer base from Maharashtra, Karnataka & Goa. Meritocracy is ignored, Chamchas get all the Power & Responsibility. Leaders do bet on wrong horses, but his one was betting on donkeys.

As written in one of my blogs, even Hundred Donkeys can never win a horse-race !

Ignoring Local Sentiments was the main reason why Modi lost Bihar, but AAP didn't seem to learn this important lessons. Loss of Punjab was predicted by few knowledgeable ones when few Delhi Leaders tried bossing-over Locals in Punjab. It was supposedly sorted out, but looks like it killed the enthusiasm of most Sincere Volunteers, resulting in the shocking loss of a lifetime opportunity of forming AAP Govt in Punjab.

The Rebels have also affected results for SP in UP & BJP in Goa, but maximum loss has been in Punjab.

We are not that much disappointed with loss of Punjab, but because people will now question sustainability of Clean Politics that AAP was an icon for. We all still believe in Clean Politics, but saddened by the fact that a gang of Crooks hijacked our agenda for their vested interests.

We still hope Arvind will get rid of his coterie and start interacting with genuine Volunteers across States, that was long time due.

However surprising results are, from what politicians have been projecting, the voters have refused to be taken for a ride. They have rejected those who gave false promises and elected those who looked trustworthy.

Cheers for Intelligent Indian Voters!
  
Why Modi Lost Bihar !