Friends, today we experienced the Election Commission taking an extraordinary step of postponement of the election in Rajarajeshwari assembly constituency in Bengaluru, Karnataka, because specific instances of corrupt electoral practices and attempts at bribery were detected by the Election Commission and their special observers. This clearly demonstrates a desperate Congress resorting to the most unethical practices to rig the elections.

The Congress seems to have completely given up any hope of winning this election and they could see the writing of the wall more than one month before the election, when evidence suggests they started these type of unethical activities, because of which – and I quote from the Election Commission’s order of today – “It is necessary for the Election Commission to take an extraordinary step.” This is written in the Election Commission order.

The Election Commission has stated that this seizure of 9,564 EPIC card details, EPIC card copies, photo voter slips, laptops and other materials, and I quote “is clearly an attempt to induce voters in a systematic and planned manner and thereby vitiate the process of election in the said assembly constituency, which itself is a corrupt practice and attracted provisions under Section 120B, 171E, 171F, 188, read with section 34 of the IPC and several Sections of the Representation of Person’s Act, 1951. The very act of illegal collection of thousands of electoral photo identity cards from voters in the vulnerable community seems to be a deliberate and systematic attempt to make large scale voters captive to the collecting persons and/or candidates either to vote with inducement for them or coerce them not to vote at all.”

There cannot be a clearer indictment of the Congress party than the fact that an FIR has been lodged against the Congress candidate from Rajarajeshwari Nagar, and the Election Commission has said, “This illegal collection of EPIC cards is likely to significantly affect the conduct of free and fair election in this constituency.”

In fact, as has been pointed out to me, the Election Commission has described in great detail how this whole process was started nearly more than one month ago of giving out a water can based on which the people were asked to give their EPIC cards. And I once again quote from the order of the Election Commission – “Police recorded the statements of the concerned voters which revealed that EPICs were taken a month before in exchange of water cans and promised cookers, etc at a later stage. Water cans were seized from these houses, these seized water cans bear the photo and text of the INC candidate from 154 Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly constituency.”

मैं समझता हूँ इतना घोर अपराध शायद ही मैंने पहले इतने वर्षों में भारतीय राजनीति में देखा होगा  – where the concerned party and candidate have used a survey form to carry out a detailed survey of the voters in the area, which included photograph of the house, of the particular voters, along with his details of caste, gender, contact number and passport size photographs. All of this to leading to a deliberate attempt to vitiate the free and fair election and possibly the laptop and the printers that were found there suggest an effort to create fake voter identity cards. It has been proven that they have tried to bribe the voters to vote for a particular party and a particular candidate and a large number of cases have been lodged against various accused persons, including the candidate of the Congress, concerning seizures of material related to the ongoing election.

Because of all these findings, the Election Commission has said that this seems to suggest a design to induce the voters in a particular manner at the level of parties. The Congress party has not done this in one isolated incident, in fact, now it has come to light in another neighbouring constituency called Yeshwantpur. We don’t know how far this malaise has spread in the Karnataka election and it clearly shows the desperate Congress trying to rig the election, bribe the voters, resort to corrupt electoral practices.

And, the Election Commission has said, ‘such bribery at elections is also a corrupt practices under Section 123(1) of the RP Act, which can result in the election of the candidate being declared void and the candidate found guilty of commission of such corrupt practices.’

Friends from the media, today the Bhartiya Janta Party would like to appreciate the prompt corrective action taken by the honourable Election Commission to save the purity and sanctity of the electoral process. And by taking this extraordinary step, they have saved the country and the people of Karnataka from an organised and sinister criminal conspiracy to deprive free and fair elections by the Congress party.

Such instances having been found in other places, today the BJP has requested the honourable Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners in Delhi and the Chief Electoral Officer in Karnataka to insist that voters, particularly, new voters in the supplementary lists or first time voters be asked to furnish a second proof of identity when they go to cast their vote, a second proof going beyond the EPIC card with the proof of address, so that fake voters do not get a chance to cast their vote.

We have also requested that advertisements be placed in all the leading newspapers and television channels and radio stations in Karnataka, warning voters that they should not be induced, or should not get carried away by any attempt to induce them through bribery or corrupt practices and should follow honest and free and fair electoral practices.

It is very unfortunate that the desperate Congress has resorted to the worst form of bribery and corrupt electoral practices. I do hope the people of India who are watching this naked show of money power and attempt to vitiate the free and fair election process will understand the evil designs of the Congress party and will certainly take note of the desperation that has come into the Congress to not allow honest, free and fair voting.

And as the Election Commission has said, they have focused particularly on certain sections of society to try and tarnish the honest and free and fair elections that India has been having.

Thank you very much

 

Q&A

Answer : आज बहुत ही दुखद घटना घटी है जिसका संज्ञान एक extraordinary step के रूप में इलेक्शन कमीशन को लेना पड़ा, उन्होंने यह अपने लिखित आदेश में दिया है कि कर्नाटक की राजा राजेश्वरी assembly constituency जो बेंगलुरु में पड़ती है उसमें किस प्रकार से हज़ारों की संख्या में EPIC cards, photo voter slips, laptop और बाकी आदि सामान मिला और आप जानते हैं यह छोटे-छोटे पैकेट में बना हुआ था, एक-एक कांग्रेस के कार्यकर्ता का नाम और नंबर उसपर लिखा हुआ था | और पुलिस की छानबीन में पता चला इलेक्शन कमीशन के ऑर्डर के अनुसार कि एक महीने पहले से यह षड्यंत्र रचा गया, लोगों के घरों में जाकर पानी का कैन दिया गया जिसमें कांग्रेस कैंडिडेट की फोटो और निशानी थी और उनको कहा गया कि आप यह वाटर कैन रखो, आपका EPIC card हमें दे दो, बाद में हम आपके पास प्रेशर कुकर आदि देंगे |

और आप समझ सकते हैं कि यह जो भ्रष्टाचार किया गया है Cash-for-Votes के तरीके से जिस प्रकार से यह bribe किया गया है वोटर्स को, attempt किया गया है bribe करने के लिए इसके ऊपर यह घोर अपराध है | इसके ऊपर कानूनन Indian Penal Code और Representation of Persons Act के दोनों के कई प्रावधान इलेक्शन कमीशन ने cite किये हैं और उन्होंने कहा है कि एक vulnerable society, एक specific community को टारगेट किया गया है जिसके ऊपर एक deliberate, जानबूझकर और बड़े योजना के हिसाब से, systematic attempt, जिससे इन सब वोटर्स की वोटिंग को प्रभावित किया जाये और या तो इनको induce किया जाये एक particular उमीदवार और पार्टी को वोट देने के लिए या वोट ना देने के लिए |

यह EPIC cards को कलेक्ट करना अपने आप में अपराध है | It is an illegal act. और इससे free and fair election ख़राब होने की स्थिति पैदा हो गयी है और यह सिर्फ राजा राजेश्वरी नगर नहीं, यशवंतपुर में भी पाया गया है | हमें पता नहीं और कहाँ-कहाँ पर कांग्रेस ने इस प्रकार के गति-विरोध किये हैं और इसलिए हमने आज इलेक्शन कमीशन को दरख्वास्त की है कि एक तो वह सभी नए वोटर, क्योंकि हज़ारों की संख्या में काउंटर-फॉइल पाए गए नए वोटर के रजिस्ट्रेशन के | तो हमें पता नहीं कि कितने फेक वोटर्स को भी कांग्रेस ने यहाँ पर दर्ज किया गया वोटर लिस्ट में | तो सभी फर्स्ट-टाइम और नए वोटर्स से इलेक्शन कमीशन इश्तिहार देके, ऐड्वर्टाइज़ करके रिक्वेस्ट करे कि वह EPIC card के साथ अपने घर के पता का और कोई एडिशनल प्रूफ, चाहे वह राशन कार्ड हो, चाहे इनकम टैक्स का पैन नंबर हो, आधार कार्ड हो, अलग-अलग प्रकार से कुछ और प्रूफ लेकर आयें जिससे यह सुनिश्चित हो सके कि यह सही वोटर हैं और फ्री एंड फेयर इलेक्शन कर्नाटक में किये जाये सकें |

Answer : The BJP has also complained to the Chief Electoral Officer in Badami about large scale effort to distribute money and an official complaint has been registered by the BJP candidate and his election agent to the Chief Electoral Officer there. It is really shameful that such practices are being resorted to by the Chief Minister, sitting incumbent Chief Minister himself in the second constituency, where he ran from the first constituency, realizing that he has no chance of winning in his first constituency, ran to a second constituency. And then also when he saw Mr Amit Shah’s huge rally, he realized that he has no chance of winning the election and is resorting to distributing money for which the Bhartiya Janta Party has filed a complaint against the Congress Candidate Shri Siddaramaiah there.

We are given to understand that 20 lakhs were recovered from the place where Mr Siddaramaiah was staying just a few hours before the seizure by the income tax officials. Information has come to light that a large scale effort was done to distribute amounts across the Badamai constituency far in excess of the amount permitted for any candidate to spend. These are serious violations of the Indian Penal Code, the income tax laws and the electoral laws and it is incumbent on the Election Commission to take the strictest of measures to act against the illegal activities of such candidates and of the Congress party.

And we appeal to the voters not to get influenced by any of these attempts of the Congress and their candidates at bribery and corrupt practices and to vote in a free and fair manner as advised by the Election Commission.

Answer : Well, it is a known fact that certain political parties indulge in dividing society. They look at certain sections of society merely as vote banks and this is only proof that they are willing, a desperate Congress is willing to go to any extent to save the last big state that they have under the Congress government. It is an extremely sad day for Indian democracy that such corrupt practices are being resorted to and I am confident that the people of Karnataka will vote wisely in the interest of protecting democracy, in the interest of protecting the secular fabric of India and not allow anybody to divide the Indian society on caste or religion or on any other parameters.

Answer : I am sure the Election Commission would have taken note of all such reports in this regard.

Absolutely, it is a crystal clear order leaving no scope whatsoever for any doubt about the attempt by the candidate of the Congress in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, which has come to light. We don’t know how far widespread this malaise is, which other constituencies are suffering from similar attempts by the Congress to vitiate the free and fair election. And the remarks of the Election Commission are themselves vindication of the Bhartiya Janta Party’s complaints that the Congress party is influencing the voters by the use of money power.

And I quote from para 9 of the Election Commission order – ‘Apart from the above, the law of the country also frowns on the role of role and influence of big money in the electoral process.’ It is a clear indictment of the Congress party, its candidate. This could be the tip of the iceberg. We don’t know how far widespread it is. And, therefore, the Election Commission should issue advertisements and ensure that only the correct and genuine voters are allowed to cast their vote and a full-fledged investigation should be carried out across the state of Karnataka to find out where all the Congress party has attempted to bribe voters, attempted to induce voting behavioral pattern and attempted corrupt electoral practices as has been highlighted in the Election Commission order today. Thank you.

Answer : We have talked to the Election Commission in Karnataka and I am sure the Election Commission will take a sanguine decision wherever such instances have come to light. But we have full faith in the voters of Karnataka who are very wise and will ensure that they do not get carried away by any of this inducement or corrupt practice, but will vote wisely to save and protect Indian democracy.

Thank you.

Mr Amit Shah will be addressing the media and the people of Karnataka later this evening after he completes his campaign. As you all aware, he is at Badami today where he will be meeting the people of Badami, who have made up their mind to defeat Mr. Siddaramaiah and the corrupt Congress regime that this state has suffered for the last five years. Mr. Amit Shah will be laying out our perspective of the campaign. The issues before the people of Karnataka and our plans to create a prosperous future for all the people of Karnataka, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”.

Today, we also heard a presser by Shri Rahul Gandhi and we heard the Congress President offering a hollow end to an empty rhetoric filled election campaign. I was trying to make a statement of what we should respond to but I was amazed that here was a press conference that seemed only to have been called to try and address the issue of internal dissent and discontent in the Congress party, about which all of us are well aware. It seems that the press conference was a desperate attempt to convey that the leaders of the Congress are united and there are no divisions within the party, because other than that, I found no specific issue related to Karnataka being addressed in the entire press conference.

We have yet to know the views of the Congress President on the Mahadayi for instance, whether the Congress party in Goa is opposing the resolution agreed by both the governments. In fact, you are all well aware that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi Ji has categorically opposed Karnataka’s interests by saying in Goa that not a single drop of water will be released for Karnataka. We still do not have a response to the failed effort to divide the Lingayats of Karnataka so as to stop a Lingayat from becoming the Chief Minister. He did not tell us his solutions to the collapse of Bengaluru’s infrastructure under the Congress’s highly corrupt regime.

He did not say anything about the performance of the Congress government in five years. The corruption of Siddaramaiah and his Ministers, he was not able to tell the people of Karnataka who is responsible for the highest number of farmer suicides in Karnataka. When he is talking of Inamdan, he did not respond to where the Hublot watch came from, and why it was given to the Chief Minister. He did not talk about the amount of cash found in Badami where the Chief Minister himself is trying to save the embarrassment of not even being elected as an MLA, forget becoming Chief Minister. He did not answer about the communal divide that the Congress is trying to create, when the Congress candidates are going to seek votes in the name of religion with the support of a terror organization.

I think the Congress party, the Congress President and the failed and corrupt Siddaramaiah government have no answers and other than deflecting questions, we did not get any specific responses which affect the people of Karnataka. It almost looked like a tutored press conference because many press persons I am given to understand, as I saw on some television channels, were not even allowed to ask questions. And whenever a question was probably not asked as per script, an effort was made to paraphrase the question.

I think this was a press conference more focused on China and Pakistan without responding to the straight questions of the local Karnataka people’s issues, about which the corrupt Siddaramaiah government has no answers to offer. The vague responses in the press conference in effect remind me of his other epic interaction that ranged from connecting MRIs around the country to solve the health sector problems of India, and the even more epic Jupiter escape velocity statements that Mr Rahul Gandhi has made in the past.

A desperate last minute press conference that gave us nothing new about how and what they will do for the people of Karnataka. A failed press conference that did not give us any clue or any answer to the number of questions that have been raised by the people of Karnataka of the Siddaramaiah government’s utterly dismal performance.

Thank you

Q&A:

Q: सर राहुल गाँधी ने भाजपा पर आरोप लगाया इनका चुनाव प्रचार कर्नाटक के मुद्दे पर नहीं बल्कि केवल personal attacks पर रहा?

A: मैं समझता हूँ हर एक कर्नाटक के मुद्दे पर हमारी campaign में हमने specific solutions और specific भविष्य लोगों को दिखाया है |

Q: Sir the question on SDPI, Rahul directly said no, so what do you…?

A: Well, it is all evidence that is there in public domain. He has to disprove that evidence. He has to show us that the Congress leaders were not campaigning with the SDPI to garner votes in the name of religion. He skirted every single question that was put to him today. You can see the press conference again, you will not find an answer to a single question, straight answer. Probably, it was a press conference more to show a desperate attempt to try and save the divisions of the Congress coming out into the open, where we all know the President of the Congress, the Chief Minister, senior Ministers, working Presidents, all are working at cross purposes, which will result, obviously, in a crushing defeat of the Congress in the election day after tomorrow.

Q: सर उन्होंने यह भी कहा भाषण में राफेल जो हवाई जहाज़ जो खरीदी…?

A: उसके बारे में कोई वह स्पष्ट जानकारी या कुछ विषय बता नहीं पाए हैं, सिर्फ हवाई बातें करने से मैं समझता हूँ कोई विषय नहीं बनता है | जो आजकी परिस्थिति है उसमें कोल गेट में लोग जेल में जा रहे हैं, आज की परिस्थिति में स्कैम के बाद स्कैम जो कांग्रेस की गवर्नमेंट का था उसका आज तक किसी को उन्होंने जवाब नहीं दिया है | और मैं समझता हूँ यह diversionary tactic कि देश की सुरक्षा को भी compromise करने के लिए कांग्रेस पार्टी तैयार है और आज जब देश की सुरक्षा के लिए हमारे सेनानी तट पर हैं, दिन और रात देश की सुरक्षा में जुटे हुए हैं उनके साथ जो व्यवहार कांग्रेस पार्टी ने अपने बयानों से किया है मैं समझता हूँ वह एकदम ही निंदनीय है |

Thank you

My colleague and senior leader of the BJP, Member of Parliament, Shri Mahesh Poddarji; all the distinguished officials, officer bearers and business leaders of Bengaluru, ladies and gentlemen.

At the outset, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to meet and interact with you. I have been meaning to come and meet all of you for quite some time, your delegation met me on more occasion than one, both in Bengaluru and in Delhi and I had promised that I will come and spend some time and understand what are the issues before your team, before the business and industry circles in Bengaluru. But a number of very-very important and transformational initiatives that we tried to start in the railways over the last eight months that I have been in office as a Minister of Railways, have not allowed me to spend too much time interacting with chambers, with business persons. More so, because I have been focused on trying to change the mindset of the Indian railways which I inherited after 160 years of working in a particular fashion.

And I believe that the success or failure of any organisation, it could be a chamber of commerce, it could be a private enterprise, it can be a public sector organisation or even a government department like the railways, is more dependent not on the nature of ownership, it doesn’t matter who owns it, but it depends on what vision you provide to the organisation and what leadership you provide. And this has been my belief for years and years, for decades now that the success of any venture, the success of any effort will always be in the leadership and vision that you provide, not necessarily who owns or how the ownership structure is.

So you have so many organisations in the government sector which are doing a fabulous job, and you have so many organisations even in the private sector which are unable to do a good job. And in that sense, I believe that we have great opportunities. Mahesh ji was very kind in his words; we have been able to achieve some good successes in the power sector, in the coal sector, very good success in the renewable energy sector. We have been able to initiate transparent mechanism to encash the best value for the natural resources of the country. In the mining sector, different types of mines are now being auctioned in a very transparent manner, including coal mines, generating potentially lakhs of crores of rupees revenue for the state governments, none of that money goes to the centre. In fact, centre only acts like a catalyst, a supporter. We just help to ensure a free and transparent mechanism and an equal opportunity for all to participate in that. But the revenue goes fully to the states to help them in their social welfare measures.

And that same effort I am now trying to put into the railways to change the mindset of that 160-year old organisation to think contemporary, to think modern, to connect with the world of tomorrow, to start engaging with – and in that sense, our engagement with Bengaluru is going to be truly transformational, because I believe this is the centre of innovation, this is going to be the future of new technologies, particularly, robotics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, all the new-age, next generation technologies.

I think Bengaluru is the place which will lead the initiative and efforts across the nation in making all of this a reality, particularly, in a sector like railways, where interventions of this sort can really transform the way the railways works.

Of course, I just heard Mr Ravi talk about this chamber having been started, one of the oldest chambers in the country, being started by Sir M. Visvesvaraya. It’s truly a remarkable honour for all of us. Don’t worry, I won’t have to struggle with the pronunciation of our very-very renowned forefathers who have left us such a wonderful legacy, not only in terms of what they have brought to Indian industry, but also the fact that they have left such a wonderful chamber to work for the causes of industry.

And Sir Visvesvaraya actually is one of those pioneers who was far ahead of his times. He became an engineer, and he was the Diwan of Mysore if I am not mistaken. And he had foresight, in a way, if I may use a small anecdote to explain the foresight that Sir Visvesvaraya had, the way he propagated, let’s take a simple thing like Mysore Pak. You know that Mysore Pak that we eat in the restaurants everywhere as a sweet dish, as a desert. It was his foresight that it is as sweet dish. It is a desert. It is eaten in our homes, it will be eaten in other homes, it will be eaten across the world some day. But when you give it an identity, that’s what will make it a marketable product which will go across the world. And as Mysore Pak becomes famous all over the world, so will Mysore become famous, so will Karnataka become famous. That is the level of foresight that Sir Visvesvaraya had.

And in so many ways Bengaluru continues that tradition. We are very proud of the achievements of Bengaluru. रवि जी ज़रा नाम ठीक से बोलिए अगली बार से | It is not anymore Bangalore, it was the old name of Bangalore. And we have to be proud of our heritage. After all, all our forefathers, when you introduced FKCCI, you spoke about Sir Visvesvaraya, because we are proud of our heritage. We are proud of our forefathers. Just because some foreigners came in and they could not pronounce our names or our cities’ names or our people’s names properly, it doesn’t mean that we will change our names. So getting back Bengaluru is the pride of Bengaluru.

But I just hope people stop messing around with the names of all our saints and seers and senior leaders of Bengaluru in Karnataka in the future. Lot of things can be said and done about the way this government has changed or transformed the thinking in the country. As we move into this phase of a smart economy, and I am sure you are all aware the IMF has once again today declared India to be the fastest growing large economy in the world at 7.4%, for which I must thank all of you business leaders.

It is your sheer effort, your hard work that helps the economy grow, that helps government manage its finances, its resources better, and then serve the poor of India with the resources that are generated by the economic activity that you all carry out.

And as Prime Minister Modi had once said, we may have a million problems, but then we have a billion minds to solve those problems and that is the true strength of India. Today, of course, is also a very important day, 9^th May, because it also is the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap – a leader about whom we are all very-very proud. But then if you look at Rana Pratap’s history, you will find that along with Maharana Pratap, you had Bhama Shah. And Bhama Shah was the person who funded Maharana Pratap in his campaigns to protect the boundaries and the national territory.

So, when Prime Minister Modi has embarked on this journey to change the way Indian business works, to change the way India and Indians think and work to bring about a corruption-free society in this country, to transform the lives of the people of India, to ensure that we can have a corruption-free good governance in this country, then all of the Bhama Shahs sitting over here have a very important role to play for success in our mission.

Because as they say, corruption happens when there are two sides to the story, somebody has to give for somebody to take a bribe. And I think it’s time that all of us in business, and I say this because until 4 years ago I myself was sitting on the other side of the table along with all of you and listening to other leaders speak. But I do believe that when all of us make up our mind that we are going to work together to bring about change, to transform the way business is conducted and run in India, we can truly leave behind for the next generation, and I see a lot of youngsters in this room, it’s enjoined, it’s our fundamental duty of all of us, particularly, the relatively greying and greyed persons of our age, my age and Ravi our age that we leave behind a better world for the next generation, a world in which they don’t have to do the type of things we were forced to do.

Of course, in the railways we are trying to do several things to transform, of course, passenger amenities, the railway stations, modernise the railway stations, make the trains, the toilets, the stations, even the railway tracks much cleaner, introduce better catering services, better passenger amenities. In fact, one service that I am trying to expand very rapidly, and I think the Bengaluru station also has the advantage of Wi-Fi now. And several stations all across Karnataka and all across India are now having the benefit of free Wi-Fi service, which the Indian railways is providing.

My aim is that across the Indian railways network, over 7000 stations will have the benefit of free Wi-Fi services over the next one year. That is the speed with which we are working to make this available for the citizens.

In fact, very recently, one gentleman Shrinath K. who is a high school pass out, working as a coolie at Ernakulam junction in Kerala cleared the written test of Kerala Public Service Commission. The interview is yet to be done but the written test he has cleared, and when the press asked him, you know, you were working as a coolie, how did you manage to get such accolades? His answer was that I used the free railway Wi-Fi and got the knowledge to prepare for the exam. And when we are doing free Wi-Fi across the Indian railways you will appreciate that the rich people nowadays travel more by air, it is the common man and the poor man who travels by train more often than not. And I want this Wi-Fi to be available to the poor of India, so that they can benefit and be connected with the rest of the world.

In fact, in my scheme of things I am also thinking that the railways should set up this facility and then engage with local business, local industry to maintain it, to provide free training classes to the local poor, to make the farmers, women and all get the ability to work on internet at the railway station free of charge. And many people asked me, even in my railway department, sir but the station is in such a remote area, there are hardly any passengers who come there, why are we providing Wi-Fi? I said we are providing Wi-Fi, because this is not going to be used only by the passengers on the railway. The 50-100 villages around the station we will invite all the women from there, we will invite all the children from there to come and use this Wi-Fi free of charge, to connect to the rest of the world, to explore the rest of the world.

And I am sure that as these youth from these remote areas get a chance to know what is happening in the rest of the world, you will find a million more entrepreneurs, a million more techies, a million more brains who will solve those problems that the country is facing.

I don’t know how many of you saw the movie, ‘Padman.’ Have you seen that, some of you? Now if you recall the movie, and it’s based on a real life story of a person in Tamil Nadu whose angst was that his wife could not get the benefit of hygienic sanitary care, and who understood the detrimental effects that could have on his wife’s health. But when he was trying to explore a solution, two things deterred him, one was the mindset, the local problems in the village that he faced when he tried to introduce that product, and two, was the cost.

The mindset he was able to change over a period of time through sheer dint of perseverance. And, of course, once he became a celebrity, he was recognised all across the country and the world, then the people in his village also started understanding that what he was doing was good for the village and the people in the village. But for the cost, he used his native imagination and brain and to help him – if you recall, anybody recalls the story – he literally worked as a domestic help in a professor’s house in an engineering college and that professor’s young child helped him surf the internet and through that he was able to locate that there is a technology by which he can make a low-cost sanitary pad which can be made available to the poor in his village at affordable prices.

So, the mindset change and engaging with technology, which Bengaluru has done extremely well, when you bring about both together, when the catalyst of technology works with the changed mindset of the people of India, you can truly bring about a revolution in this country. And we are not resting, we are just taking Wi-Fi to the remotest corners of the country. I am hoping to also set up a Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi store under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana, which is also a gift of Bengaluru, which has been introduced by Shri Anant Kumarji, your honourable MP, and now there are thousands of stores all over the country.

This country will eternally be grateful to Bengaluru also for this new concept of providing generic medicines at such low cost across the country for the poor of India who cannot afford very high, costly, branded medicines. But these generic medicines can do the same solution which these very costly branded medicines will do to help a person come out of illness.

We will take these tours to remote parts of the country. I am also thinking that across the country we provide a small place where entrepreneur start-ups, and particularly women entrepreneurs I hope, can set up a small unit which can manufacture low-cost but extremely hygienic and good quality sanitary pads and market it in the villages around the station, so that they can be made available for one rupee or one and a quarter rupee as low a price as possible.

And ladies and gentlemen, I assure you that any doubt you may have that it’s because of GST of 12% that these pads are costly is complete nonsense. Because some of these large multinational companies want to import sanitary pads into India and brand them, they want to get the benefit of high set off of taxes and charge our consumers. That is why they are promoting this campaign that GST rates should be reduced, so that they can get the set off and keep it to themselves.

But all these small self-help groups who are manufacturing sanitary pads are not required to pay any GST. They all come under the exempt category. If they become slightly larger, even then they get into the composition scheme up to one and a half crores, on which they don’t have to pay the tax. This tax is paid only by the large multinationals, and I am sure the large multinationals better pay some taxes which can go to serve the poor of India and help maybe some poor person get a free electricity connection under Soubhagya scheme of the government of India or get a free LPG connection under Ujjwala Scheme of the government of India. And half that tax comes to the state government which then carries out welfare measure for the people also.

So, what I was only trying to say was there is a changing mindset in the country, which we are trying to bring into different aspects of government, laying the foundation of a new India and the principles of that new India will be principles of transparency, principles of participative governance, the principle of equal opportunity for all, the principle of encouraging free trade where everybody competes on an equal footing and the honest are not put to a disadvantage when they have to be in business and somebody else is cheating and evading taxes.

The principle of prioritizing what is most necessary for this country, the principle of doing a root cause analysis and solving problems through policy and procedural improvements and not by giving out favours to individual companies or individuals. The principle by which the nation’s resources are used to first serve the poorest of the poor who has a right on the nation’s resources, the principles of leaving a good environment for the people of the country to enjoy, unlike what we are seeing in Bengaluru where there is a rapid deterioration of the environment with no concern for climate change.

And these bold steps to end corruption, to bring about good governance, to bring about a transformational change in the lives of the people of India, more particularly, the marginalized sections of society who have been deprived of a high quality life, I am sure will receive the support and blessings of all good-meaning people, all right-meaning people like all of you. I am sure our efforts to promote a digital economy which is being supported very much by your chamber will help us bring about a more transparent and honest method of paying taxes, method of collecting government revenues, method of transacting business.

I am sure the Swachhta Abhiyan will receive the support of all of you so that Bengaluru can also vie to be one of the cleanest cities in the country, like Indore and Bhopal, the first number 1 and number 2 in the country in Swachhta rankings. And when the citizens participate wholeheartedly and the state and central government work in tandem to ensure the success of every programme, one can get transformational results.

And ladies and gentlemen, I am sure the people of Bengaluru, who are a very conscious, very enlightened set of people, will make sure that we prepare Bengaluru to become not only the IT capital which it is today, but to become the capital of the next generation of technology, the capital of artificial intelligence, the capital of the future, of Internet of Things, the capital of robotics. And we provide under the Make in India initiative technology, goods, services to the rest of the world through our sheer intelligence, through our sheer innovation and becoming the innovation capital of India I am sure will help Bengaluru lead the march towards a new India, a new Karnataka and a new Bengaluru.

Thank you very much.

Question and answer

Q: Many railway links still pending since independence, from last four years I made many submissions particularly as my President said about Chamarajanagar to Sathyamangalam, which connect three states, and all the three districts also in the state is most backward area. In the 2013 and 2014, then government has sanctioned about 1380 crores from Bengaluru to Chamarajanagar, but still it is pending. My other one is how railways is making digitalization of the railways. Now another one sir, railway cross lines, over-bridge and below roads still is pending?

Q: Hello sir, Kodagu, I mean Virajpet is very near to Kodagu district and it is one of the most tourist destinations of India, I mean people come but still we do not have railway access to Virajpet. People still have to go to Mysore and then take road travel to Virajpet?

Q: Good evening sir, I have a very particular question regarding the catering systems in railways. If you go in Shatabdi from Bengaluru to Chennai, the food is not eatable at all, very-very bad food is given and it has to be taken care of. I congratulate you, the very good hygiene which I saw recently in railway stations, but please look into it.

Q: Sir, you rightly said that the Bengaluru is going to be the innovation capital and for all the new things Bengaluru is going to be the important centre. Now I could even go a little further to say that Bengaluru will be the true gateway for India. We deserve and we request you to provide speed trains from Bengaluru to every nearby destination within 300 kilometres. I need not detail the cities’ names that’s one thing. And I request you to provide two-way tunnel trains from Bengaluru to Mangalore.

Q: We are talking about Wi-Fi in all the stations which is an excellent move, but recently we saw one unmanned level crossing accident where lot of children of a marriage party lost their lives. Sir, can you take this a priority and convert all the unmanned level crossings in the country to manned level crossing, so that this basic thing which has been pending for the last 70-75 years can be taken care of. I think the priority for the government and the railway, this should be number one.

Q: The way I look at it is every railway shed, platform shed, every rooftop of the train, I see it as an opportunity for us to convert solar power using solar panels, how do you look at that considering the vast areas of land railway has? Thank you.

Q: बैंगलोर के बारे में सब कुछ सुना, बहुत अच्छा आपका आईडिया बताया, और रेलवे के बारे में चार बरस में कितना इम्प्रूवमेंट हो गया यह कर्नाटक के लिए कितना एक्स्ट्रा एनडीए गवर्नमेंट से इधर आ गया, कितना एक्स्ट्रा क्वालिटी वर्क इधर पहुँच गया, इतना तो जानना चाहता हूँ | यह ज्यादा एक्स्ट्रा कोई नया लाइन और कुछ स्पेशलिटी उसके अन्दर खाने का पीने का वगैरा इसमें सब कुछ….?

Q: Just for the benefit of the industry of Karnataka, can we have RDSO office in Bengaluru?

Q: सर रेलवे देश को नहीं दिलों को भी जोड़ता है लेकिन जो मध्यम वर्ग, 70% of the middle class family which travels in trains throughout India, their safety is much more important, where the Railway Protection Force is ineligible to give them, because lot of thefts and including in Bengaluru when the weekends IT people go there are thefts of the laptops, I think the railway protection has to take care of this?

A: Thank you, this is a fairly good set of questions. I have to answer 10 questions already. Fairly good round up of questions, maybe some of my answers may answer your question also hopefully. First of all, let me address the one about the unmanned level crossing. I became a Minister on 4^th September, 2016, the first meeting I had after taking the review of what-what had been happening was on 7^th September on safety. I think that meeting lasted some 12-14 hours.

And one of the decisions taken in that meeting was that we will further expedite, in the last four years before I became a Minister, Mr Sadanand Gowda, your own MP and then Mr Suresh Prabhu had already embarked on a mission to eliminate all unmanned level crossings. And the number of unmanned level crossings that have been eliminated in our four years are far-far-far more than ever before in the history of Indian railways. There were over 20,000 of them which they used to eliminate at a small speed, right now they are being eliminated at such a transformational speed that I am happy to share with you that I had set a target on 7^th September that by 30^th September, 2017 that is only one year, including tendering process, including process of adding people because you have to man many of the level crossings, including the process of creating underpasses or over-bridges, I said one way or the other we must eliminate the unmanned level crossing and have them either manned or underpass or over-bridge or diversion in one year’s time.

And here we are talking of a legacy of nearly seven decades of independent India, of 160 years of Indian railways. But we took the bold decision on that day, and but then, as I said earlier, we work on principles. Should we not? And would you not as business people prioritize? You will obviously do the golden quadrilateral first, the main golden diagonal we call it, the golden route and the diagonals, which is about 10-12,000 kms. You will be happy to know, these are called ABC routes, where 80% of the railway traffic moves. Only 58 unmanned level crossings were there in the ABC routes which carry 80% of railway traffic on the date that unfortunate accident took place – only 58, in the whole country.

Now that accident unfortunately took place in a route which was not in the ABC route, which also we are eliminating. As I said, I have set this target 30^th September, but we were going systematically. All the A-category routes first, because they are the busiest, then B, C. Now that particular accident unfortunately which happened in Padrauna in Uttar Pradesh recently – Kushinagar – the driver was wearing headphones and merrily talking or driving the car. We had a Gate Mitra over there, a person who had been kept there that when the train comes to stop the traffic, the cars traffic, vehicular traffic.

The Gate Mitra, as has been reported, I also saw in television, the children were saying ‘अंकल, गाड़ी रोको, अंकल रुको, ट्रेन आ रही है’, but he had earphones and the unfortunate incident happened. My heart goes out to those families who had to suffer for the misdemeanor of this sort, but I can assure all of you we are on track to eliminate these unmanned level crossings on all the broad gauge network through one of these means that I just mentioned, either we man them or we put an underpass, where still about, I took a review on the day of that accident again, which is when I came to know that ABC is nearly eliminated, only 58 left. Now we are working on the rest of the routes.

And even in the meter gauge and narrow gauge what we have decided is we will stop all night trains and only in the day run them at a slow speed, so that should there be any truck or car passing on the track, it can be stopped. So, we are ensuring that safety is paramount and I can assure all of you that is the highest priority that the Indian railways has and is working on.

You spoke about the railway link, some lady there also spoke about connectivity and all. Sadly, in the past, the governments used to announce in the railway budget hundreds of schemes and hundreds of new tracks but no money to really do anything about it, no land in our possession. Which is why we have hundreds of projects with lakhs of crores of cost overrun, but will never see the light of the day because we don’t have land in our hand.

There is a project in West Bengal which started somewhere in the 70s, 50 years it has not got completed, 40-45 years and there is no land only to make that project. The cost overrun is more than 10 times already. Take your own state of Karnataka, the earlier regime you are very proudly saying that some money was allocated to the project, find out what was spent on any project in Karnataka. This government has allocated nearly 4000 or 4,500 crores this year for the various projects of Karnataka. All these figures are on the website. I have not come prepared for a railway debate here, but I can in a minute get you the details.

Modi government has expanded the investment in Karnataka by 600%, the average expenditure that we are doing for capital investment in Karnataka railways – 500-600% growth, after we came into government. Where it used to be 600-700 crores average a year, this year we provided 4,500 crores. So, I wish you would ask that question to the real persons, even Railway Ministers from your state in the past why they did not do this for Karnataka for so many years.

And, of course, the state government has to provide land, get the forest clearance for that Mysore project and once the land and forest clearances and all are done, railways is most anxious to complete all these projects.

So, I hope, as they say in the railway story, if you put a double engine to work, then the train moves faster. So, you have an opportunity that your path of development of the rail infrastructure also gets a double engine in the next few days.

Of course, catering system leaves a lot to be desired, since you are from that industry, please give me some good suggestions. I have been having interaction with all these contractors and all of these are old contractors. I have been appealing to people that if you find the railway catering of poor quality, please let me know, so that I can take action on those contractors. Ultimately, in government, just by hearsay I can’t take action. So when you complain I can take action on them and throw out bad contractors and get some good contractors. So, I will appeal to all of you that ultimately your participation will help me perform better, and please do let me know if you find any such instances.

Of course, speed trains from all over Bengaluru is a very good question and you must hear the answer because that is something which is a matter of shame for India and for the past governments. You will be amazed that Mumbai to Bengaluru, Mumbai to Chennai, Mumbai to Hyderabad, these are such critical rail links; 160-year old rail network even now, as we speak, I inherited single line sections on these important routes. That is the shame of Indian governments of the past before Mr Modi came in.

It’s Mr Modi who decided that all these critical main lines should all be double line. And now the pace of new lines, doubling, tripling of lines is more than 100% than ever before. Electrification – there was no concern for climate change in the past. Diesel engines are coming into Bengaluru every day, because large parts of the tracks are not electrified. It is Mr Modi’s government which is electrifying the entire Indian railways to ensure that climate is protected, the environment is protected, we don’t have to import diesel and precious foreign exchange goes away, the rupee value gets deteriorated because of these imports and the people of Bengaluru have to suffer diesel smoke for every train that comes in.

So, sir as we double the lines, as more and more lines get added – and by the way, you are all, many of you are engineers or business people, a single line vs a double line, you don’t double the capacity, you probably quadruple or increase it by 7 or 8 times, which is a matter of anybody to calculate. Speed also goes up, but more importantly, right now the train goes one way and then comes back. When there is a double line, you can have one after the other trains going both sides. So, you don’t double the capacity, it could be 4 times, 5 times, in certain route 8 times. But this little elementary thinking, your Railway Minister from Karnataka before 2014 could not possibly do, which Prime Minister Modi has done after he came in.

Sir you spoke about solar, when I was Renewable Energy Minister, Prime Minister Modi gave me the direction that we should promote solar in a big way in the country. Of course, we promoted solar all across the country, in your state solar also became a method for some more things, about which you and industry know better than me. But hopefully, things will change in the next few days.

On the railway stations, we are putting up solar equipment across the country which we can harness the electricity and use for the railways, but on the trains we experimented. I experimented on the trains also, but since trains don’t work all the time, the cost of that power was becoming phenomenally high. So, on the trains it does not work, but on the rooftop of stations it is going to be implemented and it has already started. You may recall Prime Minister inaugurated in Katra and Vaishno Devi, and many other, in Delhi it is being done in a big way. I think even in Karnataka in many stations they have put up solar, but that data would be available on the website.

Somebody asked me very boldly, ‘कर्नाटक को क्या मिला?’ कर्नाटक को 6 गुना पैसा मिला, कर्नाटक में डबलिंग हो रही हैं लाइन्स, ट्रिपलिंग हो रही हैं लाइन्स, कर्नाटक में रेलवे स्टेशन को सुधार हो रहा है, लगभग हर एक स्टेशन में वाई-फाई लगाया जायेगा कर्नाटक में, कर्नाटक की रेल व्यवस्थाओं को और सुरक्षित बनाया जायेगा और इस सबके लिए पैसा केंद्र सरकार दे रही है | बेंगलुरु में जो ट्रैफिक की समस्या है उसके लिए सालों से हम मांग रहे थे कि… अनंत कुमार जी ने बोला ’94 से मैं सबअर्बन रेलवे मांग रहा हूँ | कर्नाटक सरकार और केंद्र सरकार झगड़ती रही मोदी जी ने आने के बाद हम सबको निर्देश दिया कि बेंगलुरु के मेरे नागरिकों की सुविधा बढ़ानी पड़ेगी और अब जो हमने सोचा है आखिर क्यों नहीं बन पा रही थी? क्योंकि कर्नाटक सरकार पैसे की सुविधा नहीं दे रही थी, एक व्यवस्था थी जो पिछली सरकार ने ही तय की थी 80-20, कि 80% राज्य सरकार देगी 20% केंद्र सरकार देगी | हम उसको बदलकर अब 50-50 कर रहे हैं, केंद्र सरकार 20 के बदले 50% देगी |

और उसके लिए थोड़ा एक्स्ट्रा एफएसआई राज्य सरकार को देना पड़ेगा जो मुझे लगता है कि राज्य सरकार को कोई तकलीफ नहीं है उसमें, उससे मोनिटाइज करके हम पैसा खड़ा कर सकेंगे जिससे यह प्रोजेक्ट्स तेज़ गति से बनें | और यह सबअर्बन रेलवे इतने वर्षों में नहीं बनने का एक कारण यह था कि ज़मीन नहीं थी और आप तो बेंगलुरु की ज़मीन की कीमतें जानते हो, वह ज़मीन खरीदते-खरीदते पूरा रेल मंत्रालय शायद कंगाल हो जाता वह रेलवे लाइन लगाने के लिए |

पर हमने उसमें अक्ल  लगाई, कैसे अक्ल लगाई? 24 सितम्बर को मैं पहली बार कर्नाटक आया था, मुझे जब चुनाव के प्रभारी के रूप में माननीय अमित शाह जी, हमारे राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष ने नियुक्त किया तो मैं 24 सितम्बर को यहाँ आया था उसकी बैठक के लिए तो पहले मैं रेलवे स्टेशन गया क्योंकि मेरा दायित्व है कि अपने विभाग का काम भी देखूं उसकी प्राथमिकता है | तो मैं रेलवे स्टेशन गया, तो जब हम हवाई अड्डे से आ रहे थे तो अनंत कुमार जी मेरे साथ गाड़ी में थे, उन्होंने कहा पीयूष मैं 1994 से इसके पीछे पड़ा हूँ, सदानंद गौड़ा और सुरेश प्रभु जी ने इसको धक्का दिया तो यह गाड़ी आगे बढ़ी है अब तुम इसको अंतिम अंजाम दो |

तो मैं सीधा रेलवे स्टेशन गया, अधिकारियों को ऑर्डर किया कि एक महीने के अन्दर, 30 days I gave them, मुझे इसकी pre-feasibility report और तब मैंने उनको यह आईडिया दिया कि ज़मीन न खरीदनी पड़े, आप एलिवेटेड ट्रैक प्लान करो | और आपको जानकर ख़ुशी होगी कि यह जो 17,000 करोड़ का बेंगलुरु में हमने सबअर्बन नेटवर्क जो मंजूरी केंद्र सरकार ने दी है पिछले बजट में, यह 17,000 करोड़ में 160 किलोमीटर की लाइनें लगेंगी और 160 किलोमीटर में 92 या 98 किलोमीटर ज़मीन पर होगी जहाँ-जहाँ हमारे पास ज़मीन है और बाकी 92 किलोमीटर ज़मीन पर और 68 किलोमीटर जहाँ ज़मीन नहीं थी उस सबको हम एलिवेटेड ट्रैक बनाएंगे जिससे बिना ज़मीन ख़रीदे आपको कम समय में हम एक अच्छी सुविधा दे सकें सबअर्बन रेलवे की जिस सुविधा में लगभग 15 लाख यात्री ट्रेवल कर सकें | और मेरे मन में कल्पना है कि यहाँ मैं शुरू से ही एयरकंडीशन ट्रेन लगाऊंगा | मेट्रो के जैसे एयरकंडीशन ट्रेन्स तेज़ गति से जाएँगी | भाई आखिर राज्य सरकार ने मंजूरी देनी चाहिए कि 50% वह भी देंगे |

और मुझे येदियुरप्पा जी ने ज़रूर आश्वस्त किया कि वह इसको तुरंत मंज़ूरी देंगे अगर आप लोगों का आशीर्वाद उनके साथ रहा और लगभग हमें जो अनुमान मिल रहा है सब जगह मुझे लगता है जनता ने अपना मन बना लिया है, कर्नाटक की जनता ने अपना मन बना लिया है | और पूरे 17,000 में जो ज़मीन खरीदना पड़ेगा वह चंद हेक्टेयर की ज़मीन रह गयी है, कुछ हज़ार करोड़ के करीब बस | जो नॉर्मल कोर्स में अगर हम ज़मीन पर बनाने जाते तो पहली बात तो 30-40 साल लगता ही नहीं और ज़मीन खरीदने की आप जानते हैं कितनी तकलीफ होती है और हज़ारों-हज़ारों करोड़ की शायद ज़मीन ही लग जाती उसमें, फिर आप सोचिये कितना महंगा हो जाता आपको उसमें ट्रेवल करना |

और यह इलेक्ट्रीफाइड होगा पूरा जिससे आपका पर्यावरण भी ख़राब नहीं हो और इससे लाखों गाड़ियाँ जो आज सड़क पर चलती हैं उसके बदले आप आराम से एयरकंडीशन की सुविधा में ट्रेन में जा सकेंगे और आप सबको अपने दूरदराज़ – अभी आज वाइटफील्ड जाना है, इधर उधर अलग-अलग जगह आपको सुविधा मिल जाएगी |

और आखिरी प्रश्न था ‘देश नहीं, दिलों को जोड़ता है’, मुझे बहुत अच्छा लगा| मुझे लगता है अगर कोई पिक्चरें देखें और हर भाषा की पिक्चर चाहे वह कन्नड़ हो, तेलुगु हो, मलयालम हो, हिंदी हो, अंग्रेजी हो, हर भाषा की पिक्चरें देखें तो सबसे ज्यादा अगर कोई प्रेम के गीत किसी में होंगे तो रेल गाड़ी के सफ़र में होंगे | पीछे तो मुझे पता चला किसी ने अपनी शादी भी रचाई रेल गाड़ी के अन्दर | और मैं समझता हूँ यहीं बैठे हुए कई लोग होंगे जिन्होंने हनीमून अपना किया होगा रेल गाड़ी में जाकर |

पर मैं आपको आश्वस्त करता हूँ, आपकी सुरक्षा, महिलाओं की सुरक्षा, बच्चों की सुरक्षा हमारे लिए प्राथमिकता है और मैं जल्द ही एक योजना ला रहा हूँ जिससे सभी रेलवा स्टेशन और आगे चलकर हर एक ट्रेन में सीसीटीवी कैमरा लगाऊंगा जिससे आप सबको सुरक्षित ट्रेवल करने को मिले |

बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद |

Panel: I have no words to express at this moment, but the last five months, we have been requesting Shri Piyush Goyal ji to come and address. He was so busy because he has got two important portfolios, both are very important, one is Coal and one is Railways. Sir, first of all, let me thank you for the big-big gift for Bengaluru, the Suburban Railway system sir. I was there with Piyush Goyal ji, Shri Anant Kumar ji, PC Mohan ji… when the press conference was held in Bengaluru city railway station I was hearing him announcing the suburban railway system. Thank you so much sir.

Second is sir, for the industry, we need one bypass line from Bidni to Nelamangala, towards New Mangalore port. If this happens, lot of time will save, because Bangalore is congested. Second is Hubli-Ankola line, is very important because it connects east coast with west coast, so it is stuck up.

A: See, I can’t make any new announcements, because the model code of conduct is there. So, I suggest all these things please put on a piece of paper on your letter head and send it to me. I have to go for an urgent meeting. And even the CCTV thing which I mentioned, let me clarify to all of you, it’s not that I am going to do it in the future. It’s already a decision, taken on file, on which work has started to convert all the railway stations with the full mapping of CCTV and to take CCTV on all the coaches. So, because of model code I cannot tell you so many of the new things that I have in my mind, except talk about what has already been decided on the file.

Panel: Thank you sir. Thank you very much for coming here.

Sreenath takes advantage of the free WiFi Internet service available at Ernakulam station to learn. The WiFi service, launched in 2016 as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative, provides free Internet to passengers under Railwire, the retail broadband distribution model of RailTel Corporation of India Limited.

Being surrounded by books is a matter of routine for civil services aspirants, but Sreenath K, a coolie who cleared the written test of the Kerala Public Service Commission, the preparation is just about his phone and earphones as he goes about his job.

Sreenath has been earning his livelihood carrying heavy luggage at Ernakulam Junction in Kerala for the past five years.

Unlike his colleagues, he deftly balances the luggage on his shoulders and listens to his digital coursework at the same time – his teachers speaking to him through the earphones.

A high school pass-out, he takes advantage of the free WiFi Internet service available at Ernakulam station to learn.

“I have appeared thrice for the exam and this is the first time I used the WiFi at the station. What I do is put on my earphones and listen to the study material as I carry the luggage or solve questionnaires in my mind. This way I can study while I work. I revise all my work at night when I get free time,” Sreenath told PTI over phone.

The WiFi service, launched in 2016 as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative, provides free Internet to passengers under Railwire, the retail broadband distribution model of RailTel Corporation of India Limited.

As of May 2018, at least 685 railway stations have been equipped with WiFi technology across the country, with the Indian Railways setting a target of providing this facility at all 8,500 stations by March 2019 at a cost of Rs 700 crore.

Sreenath hails from Munnar, a town in the Western Ghats mountain range. The name Munnar is believed to mean “three rivers”, referring to its location at the confluence of Mudhirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly rivers.

Ernakulam is the nearest major railway station from Munnar.

He said the free WiFi service at the station opened up opportunities for him he never thought were available in the first place – reams of practice question papers, downloadable at a speed of 20-40 mbps, easy access to online examination forms, and above everything else, he saves money on books.

If he qualifies for KPSC after interview, he is likely to be a village field assistant under the land revenue department.

“I will keep studying. While I work as a coolie because I have the pressure of running my house, I will keep studying and appearing for exams. If I appear for enough exams, I am bound to get a good job,” Sreenath said.

He has also applied for exams advertised recently by the railways for 62,000 Group D posts of trackman, cabinman, leverman, pointsman, gangman and others.

“What is my ideal job? A person of some authority to change things in my village maybe,” he said.

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/really-inspiring-coolie-clears-civil-services-written-test-and-modis-digital-india-played-a-big-role-in-his-dream-success/1160019/

Q&A:

Q: Minister Goyal, first of all, good evening and welcome to Karnataka Next, the Conclave on Newx and Newsx Kannada. Winding up this day, I know you have been also on the campaign trail, how has it been? How is it going?

A: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk to your viewers. And my compliments to you for starting this new Karnataka Desh Channel. Kannada is a beautiful language and the people of Karnataka are extremely nice, so I am sure the NewX initiative in Karnataka, in Kannada, will get a very good response. I wish you all the best.

Q: Thank you very much sir. How has your campaign trail been?

A: It’s been a very exciting campaign. It’s been a campaign where the heat and dust has picked up quiet early on that the Parivartan Rashtriya had done 4 or 5 months ago which really generated a lot of enthusiasm across the state for change, change from the government of corruption, change from a government who could not focus on development, change from the lethargy that people had seen the old government into. And over the last 6 months, as we have reached out to more and more sections of society to people across the length and breadth of Karnataka, we are clearly seeing a huge amount of angst against this government.

The people are unhappy about a government that was steeped in corruption, a government that did not focus on progress of the common man, did not focus on the welfare of the farmers, which led this beautiful city of Bengaluru go into despair, go into complete breakdown of law and order. And, to my mind, the people of Karnataka are wanting change and the next government in Karnataka is clearly going to be a government which the Bhartiya Janta Party leader, Shri BS Yeddyurappa, will lead, a government with an absolute majority, a government which will provide good governance, progress, development, and will work for the welfare of every section of society.

Q: Can’t dispute your confidence, but the question is if the people are unhappy with what’s happening and you say they are happy to see you in turn, what has the BJP at the centre, for example, and let’s take a larger perspective, what has the government done for young people here in Karnataka, for example?

A: Well, I think this has been a government in the centre, which has been focused towards the young, towards the youth of India, which has been focused for the welfare of the women of India, which has ensured all-round development of infrastructure across the country and Karnataka more particularly.

Let me take a simple example of the highway sector or the railway sector, the amount of investments that have gone into strengthening the national highway network in Karnataka has never been heard of before. The speed at which projects in Karnataka have been started or are being commissioned in Karnataka in the railways is nearly 6 times what was done in the 4 years before this government came in.

Q: But the Congress has been arguing look, you made this 17,000 crore semi-urban railway announcement, but the Congress says only one crore has been given to them so far?

A: Well, this shows the complete lack of understanding of government that the Congress has displayed, and if that is what they have commented or criticized, it only goes to show the complete hollowness and why this country is in a state of such despair across the nation, wherever the Congress was in government before we came in. Obviously, when a new project is initiated, there is a thing called a ‘line item’ in the budget, you initiate a project, when you approve the project, it’s right now at a stage where the final DPR has not been made. So you just create a line item in the budget where you say this is now an approved project for 17,000 crores, and you may even provide one rupee in that.

It’s basically you are creating a project approval. It’s a technical thing that I thought all those people who have run governments will know, but if Congress is raising that point, it shows the complete lack of understanding of government.

Q: Now, criticism that we see repeated ad nauseam, Rahul Gandhi was saying it today, Randeep Surjewala was here earlier in the day. It is that this BJP is this Yeddy-Reddy tainted party, that this ‘na khaunga-na khane dunga’, this entire notion is gone. How do you respond to that?

A: Well, I really don’t need to respond to a non-issue. Mr Yeddyurappa has no cases pending against him. In fact, I would urge you to research some of the judgments that have come in favour of Mr Yeddyurappa for all the false allegations and false politically motivated cases that the Congress had put against him. And the judgments are stinging attacks, stinging in the criticism of the then congress government.

Actually, the high court judge has called it a politically motivated case. And none of our candidates has been indicted for any criminal activities. It’s unfortunate that in Karnataka, the congress tried to fix all the senior leaders of the BJP, but fortunately, we have a very robust judicial machinery in this country which has given justice to Mr Yeddyurappa.

There is no case against any of the candidates; anybody who has cases has not been made a candidate of the party.

Q: Okay, there’s been ….. today, Rahul Gandhi has said today that this is Vasava. This is Indira’s Congress vs the RSS and BJP. Randeep Surjewala said that Rahul Gandhi will die defending the founding principles of India. Is this still an ideological war sir?

A: Well, first of all, I wish Mr Rahul Gandhi a long life and I do hope he will serve the country well as a political leader, as a President of party, which we oppose. I believe political parties should oppose each other, should criticize each other’s policies wherever they are wrong. But the kind of low-level of politics that Rahul Gandhiji and Siddaramaiah have stooped to is truly very sad for the people of Karnataka, is truly very sad for the future of Karnataka.

But I am very surprised that Rahul Gandhi today chose to invoke his late grandmother, particularly, in a situation where they already are fighting this election with their back to the wall – in some sense, showing that what Salman Khurshid, a senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament and former Minister has said, is possibly correct. It’s a failed leadership that the Congress has today, and Salman Khurshid has rightly advised the current leadership of the Congress they should get back Soniaji to come and campaign. I am given to understand that she may be coming tomorrow probably, but it’s a good idea to get her back because the current leadership of Congress is a complete failed leadership, talking, making false allegations on a daily basis, making tweaks which are complete falsehoods and irrelevant. I think the days of the Congress as the Prime Minister has rightly pointed out are restricted to a Puducherry-Punjab parivar Congress.

Q: Okay, but some issues matter, and as you said, some issues are perciptorial, perhaps a communication on that and one of the issues that the Congress is raking up is high petrol prices. You saw Rahul Gandhi on a bicycle today; it’s a fact that India has the highest record petrol prices. How do we explain that?

A: Well, first of all the petrol price and this is a thing which has been debated, a issue which has been debated very often, is a function of international prices, and also a function of the high taxes that the states also put up. After all, today for every litre of petrol or diesel you have a huge state tax, we have been talking to the states in the GST Council to bring it within the ambit of GST. And I do hope the Congress’s few governments which are left and the other states like West Bengal and Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra, Telangana, will support our effort to bring petrol and diesel into the GST regime. Having said that, I would urge Mr Rahul Gandhi not to do a mockery of cycling, but rather to start using less petrol guzzlers or diesel guzzlers and those high value cars which he is using on a regular basis, on which he also goes speed racing on the streets of Delhi very often and answer to the people of India that how whether these high prices are hitting him at all when he goes speed racing.

Q: Alright. I asked this question to another one of your cabinet colleagues earlier in the day. The BJP had 21 states and counting, 15 Chief Ministers, several deputy Chief Ministers in alliance at the centre hoping for a second term at the centre, how much power is too much power Piyush Goyal?

A: I think when the power is used for good work to serve the people of India, it’s always good. This has been a government that in Delhi and in several of the states today which has been working for the poorest of the poor, which is bringing out the ideology of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in action, where Panditji had taught us that the first right on a nation’s resources is of the person who is at the bottom of the pyramid. This has been a government that has focused all its energies and used every power in its command to clean up the system, to rid India of corruption, to bring all the years of misgovernance to an end, to take welfare measures to the poorest of the poor, to serve the farmers of India, to help the youth of India stand on their own, become self-reliant, become creators of wealth, creators of the national economy rather than just having a country which works on doles, something which the Congress had mastered and left behind over years of bad governance.

Q: Okay, now in the past year when the electoral victories have certainly gone your way sir, there has been the talk of moral victories from the Congress. And at the central level, one of the Congress leaders today sitting here on this Conclave was pointing out that in the by-elections where the BJP began with 282, 10 by-elections they haven’t won anything. What’s happened? Isn’t that important to you?

A: Well, of course, every election is important to us, but by-elections are fought at the local level, they are not fought to form a government in Delhi, and, of course, the centre doesn’t get involved in each of these by-elections. We should be concerned. We should do a course correction in the states wherever there have been issues where we did not fare well in the by-election, nobody can deny that.

But governments are formed when a state election or a national election is done, and in every state, and state after state, we have won elections. In local bodies across the country, be it in Gujarat, be it in Maharashtra, be it in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, we have been sweeping elections. And to my mind, the country today stands solidly behind Prime Minister Modi and that has been demonstrated time and again.

Q: Okay, let me take you to a trending topic. And it’s happened once again, the Chief Minister over here, Siddaramaiah has once again come out and dared BS Yeddyurappa for a 15 minute debate. We have seen Prime Minister Modi mention it and, of course, Rahul Gandhi had made this demand. Should it happen, should there be a debate?

A: Well, we are always ready for a debate, and I think I would love to have a debate with whether Mr Siddaramaiah or Mr Rahul Gandhi or even with Ms Sonia Gandhi, even though I may have a little difficulty in understanding what she is able to say. I am not so conversant with that accent. But with Mr Rahul Gandhi at any time of his choice, on any channel of his choice, on any medium of his choice, I can have a debate with him, Amit Shahji can have a debate with him, all of us are ready.

Q: Let me take you to what Manmohan Singh has been doing campaigning today in Karnataka and he has pointed out once again Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi….

A: I think he only did a press conference. There was no campaigning, so let’s set the record straight. And I was trying to search channels; I couldn’t even find that press conference on any channel.

Q: So let me tell you what he said, he’s mentioned Nirav Modi, he’s mentioned Lalit Modi..?

A: I saw the first 2-3 sentences, and I don’t know why none of the media takes him seriously. Nobody carried it, I don’t know why.

Q: It’s just not him. They are happy to use this Nirav, Lalit surname to good use, is it an issue? Is it something that you worry about?

A: Well, it’s no good use, because just because they have a surname, it’s not going to become an issue. The people of India are super smart. They know what’s good for them, who’s good for them and they have been therefore electing us election after election. Where did this legacy of Nirav Modi start? It’s a UPA inheritance to us. We got it from the UPA. Who gave them all of these indiscriminate loans? All the bad loans and you can look up every bad loan that we are going after are loans given in the UPA regime. It was the UPA which was putting these loans under the carpet. It was the UPA which was evergreening and showing a false picture to the people of the banking sector. We did not allow the banking sector to do that. …. gave us an honest picture. The Reserve Bank of India did an asset quality review and brought the truth out, and the truth clearly shows that it was under the UPA when loans almost tripled in a short tenure of 10 years. This country has not grown in such a level that you can triple credit growth, so you can clearly see the stamp of misgovernance of the Congress party and its leaders which we are suffering, the nation is suffering.

Q: Minister Goyal, he’s also come out, Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister. He said that his successes or his tenure’s successes on the economy have been reversed in the past 4 years?

A: Absolutely, his success on coal gate and the huge 1,86,000 crore scam, I have turned it around. I have stopped that scam. That success of Manmohan Singh, he should answer to the people of India. Was I right in turning down his method of giving coal blocks free of charge to friends, relatives, Members of Parliament of his party, relatives of his Ministers, was that what he was referring to? Or was it the commonwealth scam that he very well managed in his government, or was he referring to Devas-Antrix scam or was he referring to Adarsh scam, or was he referring to giving out spectrum to a select few at very low rates?

I don’t know what policies of his he wants us to continue. I think I am happier to have brought down LED prices which Mr Manmohan Singh’s government was buying at Rs 310 plus taxes. We brought it down to Rs 38 plus taxes. I was doing a small calculation the 30 crore LED bulbs that this government bought at a saving as much as 85 to 87% per bulb has saved the nation 20,000 crores, just the government purchases of LED bulbs and which is resulting in 40,000 crore saving for the citizens of India in their electricity bills every year – 40,000 crore saved every year is a huge saving.

Q: Okay, let’s just change track sir…

A: No, no, why change track? You must ask Mr Manmohan Singh the next time he does a press conference to answer which policy he wants us to follow – coal gate, 2G, commonwealth, Devas-Antrix, Adarsh, and I can keep going on and on.

Q: So, I want to change track back into the political realm. Would you at least say that in the past one year Rahul Gandhi is more of a challenge than he was 18 months ago?

A: We actually got worried because he was not coming enough. Thank God that he is here for the next 2 days.

Q: Is it a stratagem sir, why give Rahul Gandhi if you think he is a soft candidate, why give him the stature of having your party leaders take him on one on one?

A: Well, because we respect the fact that he is the president of our principal opposition party. I just hope they continue to maintain that position because the speed at which things are changing in national politics, I just hope the next time around the principal opposition party also may not be somebody else. So, I personally feel that it’s a grace that we are showing to… and we show that grace to all our senior leaders of all political parties. So, when Ms Mamta Banerjee, the chief of the Trinamool Congress seeks time with me to discuss issues relating to coal and railways.

Well, we give all the respect to them.  When Deve Gowda ji wants to meet me as Railway Minister, I don’t tell him yes, now I am a Minister, so you come and meet me in my office. I seek out his time and I go and meet him at his house and discuss railway related issues that he has. When Akhilesh Yadav as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh would want to discuss something and I was in UP, I would go to his office and give him the full protocol and respect that is due to a Chief Minister and the president of Samajwadi party.

So I believe हमको तो शिष्टाचार सिखाया गया है बचपन से |  We have been taught respect your elders. We have been taught respect your peers. We have been taught respect leaders of other parties. I just hope that we would receive the same grace from the other side.

Q: Grace respect! I know you are short on time. I wonder if you want to take a couple of questions from the audience, a few people have questions. Alright, who has a question? Can you get a mike out there please?

Q: Piyushji, you addressed the question of Rahul Gandhi earlier, but you know, there is a feeling that Rahul Gandhi, you people gave him the Pappu image. He was destroyed by the BJP, but now the remaking, the relaunching of Rahul Gandhi has also been because people are fed up of the BJP. They are looking for an alternative and Rahul looks good. So, have you also created and rebranded Rahul Gandhi, because when we ask him, he says, I am not saying anything different I was saying 4 years ago, suddenly, people are seeing me differently?

A: Well, there is no harm in that. That’s very good. They saw him in Uttar Pradesh also. They saw him campaigning day and night. What was that Hindi song parody ‘यह साथ पसंद है’. Of course, I feel it was very unfortunate, whereas the original song is very vulgar. Then probably the people also didn’t like this parody here. They saw him in other parts. So, I think it’s very good. There should be a very healthy contest between two principal parties and we very much welcome that. And, well, if at all there is any resurrection it’s probably a moral resurrection.

Q: Does it suit you to have Rahul as the face of the opposition, rather than say someone like Mamta Banerjee. So is the BJP actually abetting this?

A: We don’t think so far ahead. But we wouldn’t mind any of them in the opposition leader’s role, the speed with which the Congress is diminishing, and if you really put in after the Karnataka elections, once we have got our absolute majority, and it looks like the people of Karnataka seem to have made up their mind. They do want a change here. Actually, if you will see, the states left with the Congress will not add up even to West Bengal.

Q: Well, you are in Karnataka for some time. You have been coming on and off and very important junction here. Between the two, Siddaramaiah and Yeddyurappa, Yeddyurappa is perceived as a weak leader against Siddaramaiah. It’s perceived that Siddaramaiah has got more elbow room with the high command than Yeddyurappa. The recent incidents of his son not getting ticket in Varuna constituency is one of them, and has Yeddyurappa become a baggage, a liability?

A: Not at all. Mr Yeddyurappa is the tallest leader today in Karnataka. We in fact believe that he is going to sweep the kind of love and affection he is getting from the farmers, from the rural parts of Karnataka, from the residents of Bengaluru who are sick and tired of the kind of environmental degradation that Bengaluru has seen.

To my mind, Yeddyurappa is a simple person. He is a very-very soft-spoken, kind hearted person. Just by being boisterous like the incumbent Chief Minister is, you don’t necessarily become strong. I think Yeddyurappaji is a humble person. He is liked by the people. A lot of negativity was tried to be spread about him and a perception was tried to be created, but fortunately the people of Karnataka have seen through the Congress game. And to my mind, the fact that he did not insist or demand a seat for his son in Varuna shows that in the Bhartiya Janta Party it’s not a dynastic rule, it’s the people who will work. He is a young boy. He is General Secretary of our youth wing. He has to work for many more years and chances will keep coming and going.

And I worked for 24 years before I got my first chance in legislature, or in the parliament – after 24 years of working – not that I had any less of family background. So, in our party you have to work. यहाँ पर सिर्फ कामगार का काम है, जो नामदार होते हैं उनको भी काम करना पड़ता | ऐसा नहीं है कि you come from a big surname and you are bound to get a high position. So, I am really delighted that Yeddyurappaji showed maturity and grace that his son has to work for more years before he will come into electoral politics.

Q: Piyushji, there has been a lot of concern amongst Bangaloreans regarding the suburban rail. We have seen this going on for a few years. The SPV got formed a couple of years back, at least the announcement came. Now the news coming in that there is just one crore allocation from the Union government. Can you assure Bangaloreans today on what is realistic deadline?

A: I just replied to that but I will clarify to you again. This is a demand that the honorable MP Shri Anant Kumarji has been making for the last 24 years, this demand for a suburban rail network. The suburban rail network the biggest challenge was land, because you all are aware that in Bengaluru land is so expensive and would be almost impossible to get land. Also, the suburban rail policy, that’s been going on for now more than 6 or 7 years, well before I came in, was that 80% of the money has to be put in by the state government, 20% by the Indian railways.

So, the system was we put in 20% equity, state government puts in 20% equity and 60% state government borrows and puts it in, at their guarantee and their risk and cost. So, 80-20 was the model at which though an SPV was formed, the Karnataka government was not willing to agree to any investment. So, they kept writing letters that no, we cannot invest, that 60% should also be split between both the railway and the state government.

When I became the Railway Minister, 24^th September, and that date is etched in my mind. I was visiting Bengaluru and I visited all the railway stations and discussed the plans. That day Anant Kumarji and I drove from the airport to the town and he said look at the situation, look at the traffic, look at the problems my Bangaloreans have to go through, but the state government is not accepting to fund this project.

I immediately got my team cracking. I said look, let’s forget the ability to get land in Bengaluru. Prepare for an elevated rail, wherever we have land, we will go on the ground, wherever we don’t have land we will elevate. Let’s not try and buy land in Bengaluru, for the next 50 years we will never be able to do it. And compliments to the Indian railway team, they worked day and night and within 30 days they prepared a first cut prefeasibility report in which 68 kms in elevated, 92 kms is at grade, on ground, wherever we have land. And the entire project will mean we will have to acquire barely a 1000 crore rupees worth of land of just a few hectares where it’s completely essential. And now we have also agreed on a 50-50 framework, so that we put in 50%, they put in 50%, in view of which they allow us a higher development index, floor space index so that we can monetize the land around the stations to raise resources to put in our 50%.

So I have solved both the problems. 80-20 I have made 50-50, I have solved the problem of land availability and therefore I can assure the people of Bengaluru that this project will finally see the light of day. 15 lakh commuters will travel every day on that suburban and I am going to give air-conditioned coaches to the people of Bengaluru.

Q: Piyush bhai, one set of Bellary Brothers are in BJP and another set of Bellary miner brothers… one set of brothers are in BJP and two of them have got ticket and even Sriramulu has got ticket and Anil Lad, Mr Nageshwar and Anand Singh has got support of Congress. So we can say safely now that in Karnataka election corruption is dead, it’s a non issue?

A: Not at all, the Modi government will ensure that in this country no state can be run on the basis of corruption, which is why even in states which may not be run by the BJP we keep a watchful eye. And that is clearly the reason why I can see angst in the people of Karnataka against the Siddaramaiah government.

By the way, your analogy seems to be slightly wrong. Sriramulu has nothing to do with any of this, I mean just because you have some distant relative who does some wrongdoing and is facing charges, I am sure you will not take that responsibility on yourself. And nobody with a criminal background is in the Bhartiya Janta Party that has been made very clear. The candidates of the BJP have no cases against them. Sriramulu has nothing to do with any of these issues at all, दूर-दूर से उसका कोई लेना-देना नहीं है |

Whereas Anand who is a candidate I think of the Congress, Lad, these are people who have been indicted, I wouldn’t say indicted but who have been charged with a lot of wrongdoings and probably issues are still pending. So, anybody who had issues with them is not the BJP candidate, is only a Congress candidate.

Q: Okay, I think we are absolutely out of time. I see a few hands still raised, but Minister Goyal thank you so much for your time and from all of us on behalf including the Karnataka Next Conclave, thank you very much.

Source: https://youtu.be/h7-Twbz9V1E

On an epic rail journey, our writer joins 800 Hindu devotees and, thanks to their kindness and friendship, enjoys life on board as much as visits to spectacular temples

Don’t worry, she’s lighter than a feather,” said the man as he tried to pass his aged mother to me – in the train – up from the tracks. She eyed me suspiciously, decided I wasn’t a safe pair of hands and vaulted up the last couple of steps, pushed past me and hobbled down the carriage.

The son shrugged and gestured down the line where swarms of people, bored of waiting for the train to pull into a platform, were clambering across the tracks to reach it. A resourceful, determined character your average Indian pilgrim. And I was one of them, sort of.

Indian Railways’ tourism arm runs dozens of Bharat Darshan tours across India each year – lasting from a few days to a couple of weeks – aimed at the country’s hundreds of millions of devout Hindus, taking them to the most important religious sites.

Transport, accommodation on the train or in basic hostels, vegetarian food and endless cups of chai are all included. And the cost? About 1,000 rupees a day, around £11. A bargain for a westerner, just-about-affordable for a retired Indian teacher and a once-in-a-lifetime act of devotion for a farmer.

My seven-day trip started near Hyderabad and would take me south to Tamil Nadu and its famously colourful temples. Hopefully I would also get a glimpse of India and Hinduism through locals’ eyes.

But I was slightly nervous as I waited on the platform at midnight. I’ve done a few Indian overnight train journeys but in air-conditioned carriages and only for a night at a time. Here I would be in the most basic sleeper coach (something’s got to give for £11) for a week with more than 800 devotees with whom I might not be able to communicate. And I had no idea how I was going to wash. My girlfriend had given me two packs of wet wipes, only half in jest. In Hyderabad I had bought a small bucket (hopefully just for showering), plus a sheet, pillowcase and fleecy blanket.

I had expected a scrum when the train arrived but only a few people boarded. I had the carriage to myself, I think, because there was no power and I stumbled to my assigned berth in darkness. Half an hour later, with the train on its way and me cosy under my blanket, I was asleep.

I woke to shouts, laughter and bright lights at 4am and peered blearily out from my covers. The coach was packed with people and bags, so many bags. My neighbours had joined south of Hyderabad and were visibly startled to see my pasty white face. We nodded hellos and I rolled over and dozed as they noisily devoured snacks.

There would be plenty of time to become best friends because the first stop on our itinerary was Tiruchirapalli, nearly 1,000km away. A chai boy woke me at six and thrust a scalding hot plastic cup into my hands. The coach was loosely divided into sections of eight bunks and I had one of the upper ones, my favourite, because you could sit on a lower seat during the day, watch the scenery and chat, or climb up to your place to read or snooze.

 

Introductions were made over a breakfast of chapatis, rice and dhal ladled onto metal plates from giant vats dragged down the aisle. I hadn’t brought a plate, a schoolboy error, so was given a flimsy paper one which made the whole business of balancing it on my knees while eating a sloppy meal with my right hand (I’m left-handed) on a bouncy train just that little bit more difficult. I also had an audience. My neighbours, a boisterous 13-strong extended family, watched my every clumsy mouthful with horror and hilarity.

Head of the family was MV Koteswara, a lawyer who spoke good English and quickly decided I was hopeless. “Keep close to us, do what I tell you and it’ll be OK,” he said. But he couldn’t do anything about delays and we arrived the next morning at Tiruchirapalli many hours late, dangerously late to be able to complete the first darshan of the trip.

I’d got the impression that we were on a bit of a holiday jaunt, a coach tour of the Lake District, but I was wrong. Darshan was taken very seriously. To complete darshan the believer must behold a deity (often in the form of a statue), holy person or sacred object and receive a blessing. Darshan is only possible at certain times of the day and people often queue for hours to get just a few seconds in front of the deity, so a late train was bad news.

A fleet of very tired buses took us a few miles to the river island of Srirangam and its vast temple complex devoted to Ranganatha, a form of Vishnu. My neighbours raced to join the darshan queue but as a non-Hindu I was not allowed in the inner sanctum (some temples allow non-Hindus, some don’t) so explored the complex’s many courtyards, towers and shrines. A couple of hours later the pilgrims emerged successful, chatting excitedly and back on the buses women led gentle devotional chanting.

Meeting an earnest young student, Yakanna, forcefully illustrated the importance of darshan. His parents were farmers and had taken out a bank loan so he could go on this trip. “It’s a lot of money for them,” he explained, “but they know it’s something that means so much to me and are happy for me.”

The pattern was set for the next few days: pretty comfortable nights, food cooked in the “pantry car” and pepped up with homemade pickles produced by my neighbours, washing in buckets of cold water in the surprisingly clean bathrooms (although many men took advantage of lengthy stops to strip to their undies on the tracks and wash) and some amazing temples.

The most extraordinary was a further 230km south at Ramanathaswamy on Rameswaram island where darshan started with a bathe in the sea, then continued into the temple itself for pilgrims to visit 22 separate theerthams (tanks and wells) where buckets of water were thrown over them. Thousands of people crowded, dripping wet, small children shivering, through the dark complex. It was an incredibly moving scene. The mood on the train that night was particularly high, at least once clothes hung out of carriage windows had finally dried.

I was the only westerner on the train and my presence was met with everything from indifference to incredulity but always friendliness. I never got very far wandering through the train because I would be invited to sit for a chat (Google Translate made a good stab at Telugu, most passengers’ first language) every few metres. Life on tour did have its challenges. There was no personal space, physical or emotional, but that’s India and I confess I did sneak off once or twice for a quiet beer and a chicken masala.

I had a great time, met some wonderful people, learned about Hinduism and came away with a bit more understanding of Indian life – and two unopened packs of wet wipes.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/may/04/india-rail-trains-pilgrimmage-tamil-nadu-kerala?CMP=share_btn_tw

The Ballarshah andChandrapur railway stations in Maharashtra have been adjudged winners of the national transporter’s in-house station beautification contest, a statement from the ministry said on Wednesday.

The Nagpur Division of Central Railway has beautified the two stations with paintings, sculptures and murals based on wildlife at the Tadoda National Park and local tribal art.

The number two slot has gone to Bihar’s Madhubani station, which features stunning artwork by local artists, and Tamil Nadu’s Madurai station, which also depicts popular scenes from local culture on its walls, the statement said.

The third prize has gone jointly to three stations – Gandhidham in Gujarat, Kota in Rajasthan and Secunderabad in Telengana.

The first prize winners will get Rs 10 lakh, second prize winners Rs 5 lakh and the third prize winners Rs 3 lakh.

A total of 62 entries from across 11 railway zones were received by the railway board for the best stations where beautification work had been done by local artistes.

A committee of senior officials reviewed the entries and chose the winners.

The idea behind the beautification project is to make railway stations look more inviting and attractive. In many zones, schoolchildren, local NGOs and even corporate houses came forward to paint them, donate paintings or sponsor particular sites for beautification.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ballarshah-and-chandrapur-railway-stations-bag-top-honours-in-beautification-contest/story-Pm6aKaeZcHMkaUC5g4rYdI.html

To ensure substantial savings for Indian Railways, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has advocated implementation of electronic reverse auction (ERA) for all high value procurements which will result in a 10 percent saving in costs and a total saving of up to Rs. 20,000 crores in procurement.

Keen to ensure transparency, ease of doing business and prevent monopolisation by cartels in the Indian Railways through ERA, this fresh initiative is expected to secure substantial savings for the sector. Currently, Indian Railways has an annual total capex of Rs.1, 50, 000 crore.

Additionally, Indian Railways procures goods worth Rs 50,000 crores annually for the production and maintenance of rolling stock, passenger and goods, services and other safety related works.

The implementation of ERA for all high value procurement including the supply of goods, services as well as projects and works, is expected to improve transparency and competitive bidding. Electronic Reverse Auction will also provide a level playing field to the industry engaged in supply of goods, services and works.

Another advantage is Ease of Doing Business as it will eliminate human intervention and will provide paperless transactions. This will also offer more competitive bids for Railways’ supply items and for Works and Services.

Buyers will also save time and money as all the bids arrive in the same format, which simplifies comparison. Lastly, EPA will prevent the formation of cartels, thus preventing the alteration of prices.

CRIS, the IT wing of Indian Railways has developed a new software for adoption. The software will be easy to operate by all without charging any fee. It will also cover Government of India Policy initiatives such as “Make in India Policy” and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

Earlier, in a bid to reduce expenditure on procurement, the Ministry of Railways has issued a new set of guidelines for electronic auction/reverse auction for works, services and earnings tenders.

As per Railway Board guidelines, purchase through reverse auction (RA) shall be the preferred method for procurement of stores tenders valued at more than Rs.10 crores, and for works and services for tenders valued higher than Rs. 50 crores in each case. However, it notified that the process would be followed only when at least three approved vendors or three proven/likely competitive sources would be present and financial bids are undertaken in single currency/parameter.

The new guidelines state that each tender should clearly specify essential technical and commercial parameters in a transparent manner. The Board said the convener of the tender committee constituted for the purpose will ascertain the initial electronic RA period (e-RA), auto-extension period and minimum decrement in percentage value of the last successful bid.

After submission of the initial bid, the ministry said tenderers would not be allowed to revise taxes and other levies. It further noted that during the auction period, identities of the participating tenderers would not be disclosed

On the other hand, bidders will be required to electronically submit a technical and commercial bid and initial price offer (IPO). Once the last offer is made, bidders will not be permitted to withdraw the same.

Once the bids are submitted, the Tender Committee will undertake technical and commercial evaluation of the same, as per guidelines, delegation and estimated value of tender. IPO of those bidders categorized as ‘Qualified for Award of Contract’, the Ministry said, would be assesses separately.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/railways-reverse-auction-will-save-rs-20-000-crore-annually-118050200421_1.html