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'Modi can be finished only in the political arena'

[email protected] (Amit Baruah for Open )
December 11, 2012

bhatt-modi

Autorickshaw drivers know the way to Sanjiv Bhatt's house in Memnagar, Ahmedabad. It currently resembles a campaign office as Shweta Bhatt, the IPS officer's wife, gears up for electoral battle against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Outside, a motley group of cops shuffles about with no obvious purpose. Inside, between many phone calls, the man who has taken on Modi, tells Amit Baruah that he has gone beyond thinking about the personal consequences of his actions. Excerpts from the conversation

Q Everybody likes their cushy, middle-class existence. You had a good job in the police. How come you decided to take on a man like Narendra Modi?

Sanjiv Bhatt: You join the Service with a purpose, with passion to do something for the country. You are looking for a job that gives you purpose and action. That is why I chose the police [service]. Now, when you are trained to uphold the Constitution of the land and you see it being subverted completely...

Q Many others see the same, but people react in different ways.

SB: People do react in different ways. People change with time. For me, 2002 (a reference to the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat after the Godhra train killings) was a very different experience. I saw the values I had stood for all my life, the basic tenets of policing, being turned on their head in one go.

Q What changed you after 2002 that made you take a course of action seeking justice for victims of the riots?

SB: Nothing changed me. I decided this was something that should never be allowed to happen anywhere in the country, this kind of systemic subversion of the police, a kind of complete breakdown of the police machinery. Just to forward someone's agenda, that too an agenda that involves killing people and destroying property. That cannot be allowed.

Q It has been 10 years since the killings of 2002. If you were to do a cost-benefit analysis, where would you stand?

SB: I have gained so much by way of satisfaction. And, yes, I have been doing what I always wanted to do. I still have the same passion, the same fire in the belly as when I joined the police. And I am grateful to God that I have a family that supports me through everything.

Q You have been talking about Narendra Modi's 'complicity' in the riots time and again. But the legal process hasn't touched him in 10 years.

SB: Not yet.

Q You think there is any material that points to his complicity?

SB: Absolutely. He will not be able to escape the consequences of his actions or inactions. It will take time, yes.

Q Modi has national ambitions. Do you think he will succeed in moving to national politics?

SB: Modi is a very ambitious man. That's good for him. But I don't feel his ambitions of leading this nation will ever be realised. I do believe there are a set of secular people in this country who will go the whole hog to ensure he never becomes Prime Minister and gets a chance to subvert the Constitution of this country.

He has the mindset, intentions, conviction and the wherewithal. Yes, he also has the motivation. If he gets a chance, he can definitely do that.

Q So you think he will make a serious bid for the Prime Minister's job?

SB: He is already. Modi has to go from Gujarat for the simple reason that the chickens are coming home to roost. He has fooled the people of Gujarat for 10 long years and now the skeletons are coming out.He needs to go somewhere, where he can protect himself from the wrongdoings of so many years. That is possible either if he is in the central government or he is kingmaker at the Centre. If he can't become the king, he will bid to become kingmaker.

Q Many people believe that the BJP talks about Modi as Prime Minister before an Assembly election to help him beat anti-incumbency. Is that the case?

SB: That's a very smart strategy of deflecting and giving a subliminal kind of message that being Chief Minister is a cakewalk and we are [now] looking at the Prime Minister's job. Otherwise, he would have had to answer questions about his 10 years of governance here.

Q I heard you say in a television interview that you were ready to take the political plunge, if necessary.

SB: Tomorrow, if such a situation arises, if I have to take the plunge, I will do that. It doesn't bother me at all. Nothing bothers me. I don't think of the consequences of my actions now.

Q But how is that possible. Everyone thinks of consequences.

SB: It sounds a little difficult but it's not. You do what needs to be done.

Q You could be dismissed from service.

SB: I know. I don't care much, actually. I will be 49 on December 21. I've lived my life, put in 24 years of service already. I'm financially in a comfort zone, where I don't have to worry about the next five to seven years. I have savings... the moment I give up the [police] job, I will be able to earn for myself.

Q You are being criticised a lot for putting your wife in the electoral fray against Modi.

SB: I don't need to put her forward; Shweta is a woman with a mind of her own. She's far more intelligent than me. The evening I was arrested last year, my house was raided twice. My mom's house and in-laws' place were also raided. Just to try and terrorise everyone. They thought they could scare us.

Till that day, Shweta had seen the police as an officer's wife. Now, all of a sudden, she saw the police as agents of coercion. As long as [Modi's] enmity was with me, it was fine... I knew it then that he'd taken on the wrong person. What I felt then has come true now (with Shweta contesting against Modi).

Q Earlier, you were seen as an independent person, now it appears you were acting at the behest of the Congress since your wife is contesting on a Congress ticket.

SB: That is a very real risk, which I have taken because Modi is a political creature. A creature of politics has to be finished politically. Whatever other [government] officers and I do, we can just slow him down, bog him down in the legal arena.

Ultimately, it's in the political arena that you have to pin him and finish off his ideology, his politics of hatred. This is the next logical level of the battle.

I was clear that if at all [Shweta] took the plunge, it should be as an Independent. I was being sounded out by many parties because I have friends across the board. First, it was, 'Will you contest?'; then, 'Will Shweta contest?'

Keshubhai [Patel, chief of the Gujarat Parivartan Party] was very keen, but I wanted her to contest as an Independent because of these allegations (that Bhatt was acting at the behest of the Congress). But the Congress is an old party and they might have [felt] if they didn't field a candidate against Modi, it would raise questions that they had given up without a fight. According to Shweta, the Congress was best suited.

Tomorrow, if required, the battleground might shift. Why Maninagar? Because [Modi] chose Maninagar. In life, you choose your battles, you don't choose your battlegrounds.

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(Amit Baruah is an independent, Delhi-based journalist)

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Agencies
July 25,2020

In a study conducted in 117 countries, researchers have found that the world is experiencing the most dramatic reduction in the seismic noise (the hum of vibrations in the planet's crust) in recorded history due to global COVID-19 lockdowns.

Measured by instruments called seismometers, seismic noise is caused by vibrations within the Earth, which travel like waves and the waves can be triggered by earthquakes, volcanoes, and bombs - but also by daily human activity like travel and industry.

This quiet period was likely caused by the total global effect of social distancing measures, closure of services and industry, and drops in tourism and travel, the study published in the journal Science, reported.

The new research, led by the Royal Observatory of Belgium and five other institutions around the world including Imperial College London (ICL), showed that the dampening of 'seismic noise' caused by humans was more pronounced in more densely populated areas.

"Our study uniquely highlights just how much human activities impact the solid Earth, and could let us see more clearly than ever what differentiates human and natural noise," said study co-author Stephen Hicks from ICL in the UK.

For the findings, the research team looked at seismic data from a global network of 268 seismic stations in 117 countries and found significant noise reductions compared to before any lockdown at 185 of those stations.

Researchers tracked the 'wave' of quietening between March and May as worldwide lockdown measures took hold.

The largest drops in vibrations were seen in the most densely populated areas, like Singapore and New York City, but drops were also seen in remote areas like Germany's the Black Forest and Rundu in Namibia.

Citizen-owned seismometers, which tend to measure more localised noise, noted large drops around universities and schools around Cornwall, UK and Boston, US - a drop in noise 20 per cent larger than seen during school holidays.

The findings showed that countries like Barbados, where lockdown coincided with the tourist season, saw a 50 per cent decrease in noise.

"The changes have also given us the opportunity to listen in to the Earth's natural vibrations without the distortions of human input," the study authors wrote.

Earlier in April, a study published in the journal Nature, reported at least a 30 per cent reduction in that amount of ambient human noise since lockdown began in Belgium.

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Agencies
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Vodafone Idea on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it has incurred Rs 1 lakh crore losses as it insisted it is not in a position to furnish bank guarantees.

A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, S. Abdul Nazeer, and M.R. Shah, taking up the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter through video conferencing, directed the telecom companies to submit their financial documents and books for the last 10 years.

Asking Vodafone if it was a foreign company, the bench said that how can the company say it would not furnish any bank guarantee.

"What if you fly away overnight in future without paying anything?" it asked.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Vodafone Idea, denied his client is a completely foreign firm and cited before the bench its tie-ups and investments.

Vodafone owes over Rs 58,000 crore as AGR dues and so far, has paid close to Rs 7,000 crore.

Rohatgi contended before the court that the telecom company is in a tough situation, and cannot furnish any fresh bank guarantee, as profits have eluded the company in past many quarters. He submitted before the bench that Rs 15,000 crore bank guarantees are lying with the government, and his client's losses are over Rs 1 lakh crore.

"I cannot offer any more surety," he informed the bench.

Justice Mishra noted that this is public money and these dues should be recovered. "Do not tell us that you will pay if you were to make profits... the money must come," he noted.

Justice Shah observed that the telecom industry is the only industry which earned during the Covid-19 pandemic. "After all, this money will be used for public welfare", he said.

Rohatgi argued that his client would have to fold up if orders were issued to clear dues tomorrow. "11,000 employees will have to go without notice, as we cannot pay them," he added.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Bharti Airtel, contended before the court that out of Rs 21,000 crore AGR dues, the company has already deposited a sum of Rs 18,000 crore.

He argued that his client has given a bank guarantee, in excess of demand, to DoT, and supported the proposal for phased repayment of remaining AGR dues. He insisted that the company needs to sit down with the government and calculate the dues. Airtel owes Rs 25,976 crore after paying Rs 18,000 crore, as per the government.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing Tata Telecom, informed the bench that his client has paid Rs 6,504 crore in AGR dues so far, and furnishing a bank guarantee may adversely impact investments in the sector.

The total AGR dues are close to Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

The top court will now take up the matter in the third week of July.

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Agencies
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Witnessing azure skies and breathable air for the last three months, Delhi on Monday recorded deterioration in its air quality, with particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 and 10 microns -- too small to be filtered out of the human body -- standing at 52 and 297 micrograms per cubic respectively.

Gufran Beig, Project Director of System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said that the sudden spike in air pollution is due to a mild dust storm blowing from Rajasthan.

"Since the wind direction is changing and moist air is coming in, the air quality in Delhi will become better by tomorrow," Beig told IANS.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed that the overall air quality near Delhi Technical University (DTU) area stood at 326 micrograms per cubic, followed by 308 at Narela and 307 at Mundka.

Out of 36 stations, the AQI in as many as 30 stations was above 200 micrograms per cubic till 1 pm on Monday.

The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research categorises air quality in the 0-50 range as good, 51-100 as satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor, and above 400 as severe.

According to SAFAR's website, "PM 10 (coarser dust particle) is the lead pollutant. AQI is likely to improve to moderate category by tomorrow, and further improvement is expected by July 1."

Researchers indicated that PM 10 and PM 2.5 will be 170 and 47 micrograms per cubic on Tuesday.

With no vehicles plying on the roads or industries shut due to the lockdown since March 25, Delhi's air quality had improved drastically.

According to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, if the low levels of air pollution reached during the lockdown period are maintained, India's annual death toll could reduce by 6.5 lakh.

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