Mudda (debate show)
“Varanasi development has been slow”
Panellists feel the BJP has done well in prime minister’s constituency but expectations were much higher
Celebrating his 68th birthday in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his government is trying hard for the overall development of Varanasi to make it the gateway to Eastern India. He said that the Central Government is going to develop BHU as the medical hub of eastern India. Has the PM started his poll campaign already? APN’s popular program Mudda discussed the issue. Anchorperson Anant posed questions to panelists including Congress’s Dr Umashanker Pandey, BJP’s Dinesh Singh, BHU Professor Dr TP Singh, SP’s Jagdev Singh Yadav and APN consultant Govind Pant Raju.
Dinesh Singh said: “The PM is responsible for the region and its development programmes. He has gone to Varanasi several times but the problem is that people see a political motive in everything.”
Dr Pandey said: “It was the PM’s poll campaign tour. Why didn’t PM do Bhagwan Ram’s darshan earlier? He spent the day with school kids, but the situation on the ground is far different from the way he projects. Ganga water is worse off today. What has this government done? When the PM says that before him no development work was undertaken in Varanasi, he’s forgetting that Manohar Joshi was also elected from Varanasi.”
Yadav said: “Look at the hidden agenda which was the main thing. The visit was just a populist move. The excuse was his birthday. Crores have gone down the drain in the name of cleaning up Ganga. Now after 4.5 years, what’s the point in visiting Varanasi? What new thing has been done in these 4.5 years?”
TP Singh said: “There have been a lot of expectations from Modi. I would not deny that development has not taken place at all, but a lot more needs to be done.”
Raju said:” I too agree that it’s not that nothing has been done. Modi is PM and MP from Benares as well. He certainly has to tell the people of Benares what all he has done. By saying that it was a politically motivated visit, we are making a useless allegation.”
Anant asked about governance in the town.
Dinesh Singh said: “Implementation of programmes is not up to Modi, change has been there though not at the expected speed. At least our PM does not run to Bangkok on his birthday .Gadkari has said till March 90 percent Ganga water will be clean. Such things can’t be done overnight. Look at the situation of the railway station and airport now, as well as the problem of hanging wires in the thin bylanes of Benares. The change for the better can be seen, though we are still not there hundred percent.”
TP Singh said: “Underground electrification work is being done, digging is tough in the small lanes but most of the work is done. Work is stuck only where it has hot some practical problems. Infrastructure projects take time anywhere in the world.”
Dr Pandey said: “Had there been any real development, PM would have got the certificate from the people.”
Raju said:”The promises made were huge. Look at the local conditions, the problems and the huge population. PM’s promises were definitely geared to win poll mileage, which the BJP eventually got. If all MPs do this kind of development everywhere, certainly great progress will be made in the country.”
Dinesh Singh said: “No one earlier gave any thought to Purvanchal developmemt. We are looking at allover development of UP. All How many tiomes have Sonia and Rahul visited their constituencies? Soon Ganga water will be worth drinking and washing both.”
Yadav said: “This government does not give the previous government its due, and spreads falsities. It can only take useless credit.”
When the issue of comparison with Kyoto arose, TP Singh said: “Let’s not compare Benares with Kyoto. Both are very different through both are heritage cities. We can’t compare the progress of Varanasi with that of Kyoto or Paris.”
Dr Pandey said: “This is a jumle ki sarkar and looks for excuses . Is this development? Certainly not!”
—Compiled by Niti Singh Bhandari
Mudda (debate show)
“Too much politics happening over corona in Delhi”
The Delhi chief minister’s decision was irresponsible, so it was overturned by the Lt Governor. Delhi belongs to everyone and such discrimination as Kejriwal proposed will not work. People know Kejriwal more for his wrong decisions than for any good work done by him
Even as Covid-19 cases in the country have crossed over 2.5 lakh, a petty spat has erupted over the issue of hospital beds. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriewal said non-Delhi residents will not be able to access Delhi government healthcare for Covid-19, and Lt Governor Anil Baijal overruled the decision and ordered Delhi government hospitals to treat all patients. APN’s popular debate Mudda discussed the issue with BJP’s Anand Sahu, Congress’s Ajay Arora, AAP’s Vanshraj Dubey, political expert Niranjan Poddar and APN Editor Ajay Kaul.
Sahu said: “The Delhi chief minister’s decision was irresponsible, so it was overturned by the Lt Governor. Delhi belongs to everyone and such discrimination as Kejriwal proposed will not work. People know Kejriwal more for his wrong decisions than for any good work done by him.”
Vanshraj Dubey: “It was an expert team that had advised the Delhi CM in view of the likelihood of cases rising in the capital. Kejriwal has not taken any decision against the Centre’s orders.”
Arora said: “We are fighting a pandemic, the biggest battle-ever. These people are not bothered about Covid, they are looking at their vote-banks. They only want to enjoy power. BJP and AAP have turned Delhi into a football match, and the common man is getting ignored.”
Poddar said: “People get to see everything, and this petty politics has upset the people. All people want is safety and that their livelihoods and health should remain protected. Covid is spreading more in urban areas and not so much in rural areas. Delhi has around 2 crore people and therefore the number of Covid positive patients are rising. I don’t see anything wrong in Kejriwal’s decision to protect facilities for the people of Delhi. Politics is happening over Covid.”
Kaul said: “Discrimination of any kind is not good at all. Will a patient get his Aadhaar card, or should he look for relief when he comes to hospital?”
Dubey said: “Healthcare is free for the people of Delhi. In case there’s a serious case, the CM had already said he/she will not be denied government healthcare. Private hospitals are getting into black marketing of hospital beds.”
Kaul said: “Then Kejriwal should have made it all clear.”
Dubey said: “See if Delhi people do not get healthcare in Delhi, will they run to Ghaziabad? And will the UP government take such patients?”
Sahu said: “People will drive out AAP from Delhi.”
Arora said: “I agree with Kaul that the issue is why should people get discriminated for treatment. What if the child is a Delhi resident and parents are from Bihar? How will such a child get treatment for his patents in Delhi? Too much politics is happening over corona in Delhi.”
Dubey said: “See if patients want to take treatment in Delhi, there is nothing wrong in that. We have not challenged the Lt Governor’s decision. Problems arise when beds are scarce. Delhi will have its own budget, just like Haryana and UP also have.”
Poddar said: “Delhi has Delhi government hospitals, private hospitals and central government hospitals. Right now, inter-state traffic is limited. There are central government hospitals also where people can reach for healthcare. I am of the opinion there is nothing wrong in Delhi saving its facilities for its own people. Ambulances know where to take people.”
Mudda (debate show)
“Economy should be opened only gradually”
Economy will repair itself in time. But once lives are lost, they will not come back. Labour has gone back, so what good will we achieve by unlocking?”
On the one hand, coronavirus cases are rising and on the other, the country is now on unclock mode. After 75 days, temples, restaurants and malls have opened at various places. APN’s popular debate Mudda discussed the issue with medical experts Dr Rahul Bharadwaj, Dr Yash Gulati, Dr AK Shukla and Dr Ankit Kumar Sinha, economist Dr Ashok Kaithal and APN Editor, Ajay Kaul.
Bharadwaj said: “Every day, corona cases are rising. We shall soon overtake the US. We need to ensure strict discipline at containment zones. What’s the rationale behind opening of temples and gurudwaras? Economy will repair itself in time. But once lives are lost, they will not come back. Labour has gone back, so what good will we achieve by unlocking?”
Dr Kaithal said: “We have not seen the desired result of the lockdown. Once lives are saved, economy will be saved. World economy is in bad shape, and can be opened only gradually, and slowly. Economy will be revived only after the manufacturing sector is opened.”
Dr Sinha said: “We have unlocked when the cases are rising. Over 50 to 70 percent patients are unable to access healthcare. We cannot stop corona. The government is more concerned about concealing the correct picture.”
Kaul said: “Economic activity has to be resumed. By having a further lockdown, corona will vanish. Till when can we suspend economic activity? Lockdown was supposed to put infrastructure in place, like PPEs, masks, hospital beds and so on. Opening of religious places is irrelevant, as that will not impact economy. Healthcare has failed India. Private hospitals are admitting patients selectively.”
Dr Bhargava said: “Lockdown was meant to ensure that the facilities match the demand, that we had enough beds and ventilators for the patients, because in the eventuality of an outburst, we cannot match the kind of healthcare strength that is needed. Lockdown was meant to flatten the curve. Corona is a pandemic. See, cancer patients will die if we do not have sufficient beds. Why was testing stopped in private labs? Did we visualize this kind of life that we will leave our old to die? Is this what we want? Where will middle-class people go?”
Dr Gulati said: “We are a poor country, and it’s important to focus our economy now. Corona cases are bound to rise. Luckily, our mortality rate is controlled. We cannot be left to die of hunger.”
Dr Kaithal said: “Cases are going up and the situation is frightening. We should revive the economy only gradually. Social distancing should be strictly enforced. Purchasing power of people needs to go up.”
Dr Sinha said: “I agree that we need to look into the economy now, but we should also focus on testing and contact tracing.”
Kaul said: “Lockdown was meant to strengthen the infrastructure. AIIMS chief Dr Guleria had said that in June cases are expected to peak, then why were we not prepared for that?”
Dr Shukla said: “It’s a respiratory virus. All will be affected in some way or the other. Use of masks and hand hygiene is important. It’s good that the economy has been opened but we must not take the precautionary measures lightly.”
Mudda (debate show)
“We need to focus on survival and revival”
The government has approved the road map for implementing the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), farmer and street vendor package that was announced earlier as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus to restart the economy. APN’s popular debate Mudda discussed the issue with economic experts Mukesh Mohan Gupta and Ajay Prakash, and UP Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana.
Gupta said: “Challenges are being faced by all sectors, the reason being the global coronavirus pandemic. The new definition of MSME has broadened its scope. Moody’s has downgraded India’s rating, but that’s the same story with many other countries. In the US, there is unprecedented rioting happening, so that;’s no better. Manufacturing has been impacted here, so the rating will go down.”
Mahana said: “The Rs 20 lakh crore package is geared to instill confidence among the labour and industry stakeholders. See, the world is in the grip of an economic crisis, but PM Modi has been taking decisive steps. Unlock 1 will help to revive economic activities, and for that the consumer has to come in the market. No one can say how long Coronavirus will last. Under MNREGA, help has been reached out to the vulnerable sections… the effort is to go in for strong handholding. We have to focus on survival and revival. You just can’t look at industry for revival, agriculture also needs to be boosted, cash inflow has to be looked into. We are mapping the skills of the labour, and helping in matchmaking skills with needs. We will not leave any stone unturned in the interest of industry and the workers. Modi has been forward-looking and transparent, there is no room for corruption. We are looking at the opportunity behind the challenge. US is in the grip of a crisis. But a dialogue has been started with other countries. “Advantage UP” is being looked into in the fields of milk production, surface water, infrastructure, etc. We are focusing on Advantage UP and UP will be preferred state for investing in the country with ease of doing business. See, we are in a strong position, but the economic crisis is being faced globally, so how can we talk about our country alone? We have to focus on how to get out of the crisis.”
Prakash said: “India has huge numbers, but with no earning, demand has been low. We have been told 80 percent units have started work, but they are on 25 percent capacity. We are unable to utilize the capacity to the fullest because labour is away.”
Gupta said: “When sick, we can’t run, so how can we expect our economy to be normal. Demand is low, rating will be down. Cases are going up.”
Prakash said: “The Five Is pointed out by the PM– Intent, Inclusion, Investment, Infrastructure and Innovation are very important. Only the top 1 percent has been getting richer, now we need to broaden the base.”
Gupta said: “We need to think of local products to remain healthy.”
Prakash said: “We have the opportunity, but we need to act fast, we need labour reforms, tax systems, satisfaction has to be provided to the foreign investor. The desire is there to attract foreign investment but we have not been as fast as we should have been. At first, we need to get labour back, and restore the supply chain and value system, and check out competitor countries like Korea and some other south east Asian countries, we need to strengthen the base.”
-
Cricket news24 hours ago
IPL 2024: Marcus Stoinis hits first IPL century as Lucknow Super Giants beat Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets
-
2024 Lok Sabha Elections16 hours ago
Mallikarjun Kharge vows to continue politics till his last breath to defeat BJP
-
2024 Lok Sabha Elections23 hours ago
Rahul Gandhi clarifies on wealth survey remark, says aim is to identify injustice
-
2024 Lok Sabha Elections19 hours ago
PM Narendra Modi slams Congress over Sam Pitroda’s inheritance tax remarks, accuses Congress of intending to impose higher taxes
-
India News22 hours ago
Ramdev, Balkrishna publish bigger apology in newspapers after Supreme Court’s rap
-
2024 Lok Sabha Elections17 hours ago
Nitin Gadkari says he’s better now after collapsing at election rally in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal
-
Trending21 hours ago
A waiter’s life: Social media users go emotional on watching viral video
-
Entertainment18 hours ago
Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor recreate Dil To Pagal Hai dance battle on Dance Deewane