December 7, 2025 • 31 mins
First, The Indian Express' Shubhangi Khapre speaks about why the local body elections in Maharashtra have become contentious, and what they say about the current political landscape.
Next, we speak to The Indian Express' Sohini Ghosh, who discusses a new study that questions official claims about the reduction of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana. (13:40)
In the end, we take a look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on the Hindu rate of growth. (25:15)
Hosted by Ichha Sharma
Produced and written by Shashank Bhargava, Niharika Nanda, and Ichha Sharma
Edited and mixed by Suresh
Next, we speak to The Indian Express' Sohini Ghosh, who discusses a new study that questions official claims about the reduction of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana. (13:40)
In the end, we take a look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on the Hindu rate of growth. (25:15)
Hosted by Ichha Sharma
Produced and written by Shashank Bhargava, Niharika Nanda, and Ichha Sharma
Edited and mixed by Suresh
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode, we take a look at a new
study that questions official claims about the reduction of farm
fires in Punjab and Haryana. We also discuss Prime Minister
and arrangement. More these remarks on the Hindu rate of growth,
But we begin today by talking about why the local
body elections in Maharashtra have become contentious and what they
(00:21):
say about the current political landscape. Hi a Michasharma and
you're listening to three things the ini An Express new show.
Maharashtra's local body elections, which were supposed to be a
routine three phase exercise after the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls,
(00:44):
have suddenly turned into a politically charged contest, with tensions
over campaign conduct, the use of development funds and a
wave of unopposed victories. These elections cover municipal councils, nagar panchayats,
Zillah Parashads and municipal corporations and at the heart of
the controversy is what happened in the very first phase
(01:05):
last week, when around one hundred seats for the municipal
councils and other panchayats were decided without a single vote
being cast, with most of those seats going unopposed to
candidates from the ruling bjpsh of Senna n CP alliance and.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
There are various reasons for that.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
This is the Indian Express of Shubhangi Kapre who reported
the story for the newspaper.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
From BJB point.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Of view, they alleged that you know, they have not
stopped anybody from contesting elections. If the opposition wanted, they
should have stood in the fray and they should have contested.
And BJB claims in any case, we are candidate was
powerful enough, they would have won the seat. As far
as opposition is concerned, the opposition believes the allegations made
(01:49):
by opposition parties that is Mahavika Sagari which constitutes three
parties shif Sena Yubt led by Udav Takari, Congress Party
and NCP is.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Being led by share power.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Now their party, especially the Shifsena Ubiti without a coreatus
party and Congress Party. They have alleged that in several
places in such seats where the elections was uncontested or unopposed,
the BGP candidate correlective. They probably misuse the power. Now,
the opposition believes the BJP tried to intimidate the candidates.
(02:21):
They alleged that the candidates were learned with different kind
of you know, developmental funds, or there were other tactics used.
But the whole point here is the opposition has not
filed any case against any BJP activist or local leader
or state leader, you know, to substantiate that, yes, such
(02:42):
things have happened. So it's being played out politically. Why
it has become controversialists because of the number one hundreds
such seats where there was absolutely no contest. Now somebody
that also shows that the opposition seems to have given
up and or the other could be like the way
they should have aggressively pursued this election. That's not happening
(03:05):
in the local body elections, at least in the first phase.
We can say that yes.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Now such polls are important because these local governing bodies
control local infrastructure, welfare schemes and development spending. Moreover, these
elections are taking place after a year in which voters
have already elected forty eight looks of MPs and two
hundred and eighty eight MLAs from the state. Subhangi also
(03:30):
tells us that the controversy surrounding these poles has deepened
based on what took place during the campaigning phase. The
unprecedented thing that we witness in this election is the
members from the ruling parties, the.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
BHP, the schiefs are led by a Deputy Chief Mister,
Ignatcinde and Ajitpowerd who's the Deputy Chief Mister as well
as Finance Minister of State and who is a partly
president of MCP. Now, if you look at this style
of campaign, they're very aggresive, no doubt about it. Secondly,
the number of rallies they're holding is again unprecedented. And
(04:05):
the third thing is you know, when it's a code
of conduct for any elections, whether it's lukes about state
semi elections or local body elections, there's a very strict
code of conduct which is enforced by the Election Commission,
the state Election Commission. In this case, now there are
certain dos and don'ts and one is expected, you know,
irrespective of which you a party you belong to or
(04:26):
you in opposition, the code of conduct is very sacrosanct. Now,
what we're witnessing in these elections local body elections is
the top leadership of the ruling parties, you know, be
it BGP or NCB, of shipser they're blatantly, brazenly going
to the people, to the voters and saying that if
you vote us, we will bring development funds to your area.
(04:51):
If you get our party elected, our candidates elected, then
we will bring a lot of development to your place.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
We will ensure the large amount of.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Funds are released. Now, when they're talking about the funds,
these are developmental funds. It's not like they are just
promising money blatantly. It's not that what they're talking about
is development funds. But the point here is, even whether
the people vote for you or don't vote for you
as a ruling party, as a government, it's your fundamental
duty and the fundamental rights of the people that they
(05:21):
should get the development.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Now, the catch is here, you know, when.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
A ruling party, when a leader of a ruling party
says that if you vote us, then we will bring
development funds. If you don't vote us, then we will
also think about it, you know, whether to kind of
bring the development fund or not. Now, that kind of barter,
that kind of a bargain is absolutely wrong, and I
think the Election Commission, the state election Commission should have
taken note of it because in some way you're, you know,
(05:47):
trying to exercise your authority using the development funds to
get support of the voters, which is not correct. Ajitpawer,
who's a finance minister, who's a very very experienced politician,
is worked under various chief ministers and administatively, yes, a
very efficient person. Also, one can say we are not
going on the merit of his overall conduct. But then
(06:09):
when a leader of his nature goes to a place
like Malaga, you know, for campaigning, and there he says
that you know, if you cross me, then iven, I'll
cross you. If you vote for me, then irols of
rink development funds in your blaze. I think that's kind
of a very openly kind of you know, soliciting support
of the voters in exchange of promise of a development fund.
(06:30):
And I think that is absolutely a violation of code
of conduct.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
But now the controversy here is not limited to questions
of pressure or inducements. The opposition is also accusing the
BJP of engaging in dynastic politics, pointing to the fact
that several of the unapposed winners are relatives of top
BJP leaders.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, a local body elections. The argument given by the
BGP is that you know, oh, this is a local
body elections. I mean, it's not like the dynasty politics
as seen in say Congress or NCIP led by Shad
Pava's party or Davdakris party. But the point is BJP
has always been in the forefront opposing dynasty and especially
(07:14):
hitting out at the Gandhi family for decades now. If
you look at the last assimilar elections, also the looks
of by elections also and now in the local bodies elections,
there are several such instances that show that you know,
the sons, the daughters, the wives or husbands of the
same family, you know, are being given tickets in their
(07:34):
local body elections.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And some of them are ministers.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
They say, Girishmahajan, who's a Motter Resources minister in Padnavis government,
is a senior BJP leader as well as minister his
wife and she's been in politics for several years and
no doubt about it. But yes, then these are the
instances we can point out to substantiate that, yes, even
BJP is no different and it also is pursuing the
dynasty politics. Or if you take an example of the
(08:00):
district Kaldhara, we're a candidate of kan Taluka, a candidate
of Chief Minister Devin refad Navis. His cousin was fielded
in that and he won unopposed. So then yes, there
are several such instances, a dozen or more such instances,
you know, where the members of the ruling party and
more specifically the BJP has also kind of industy in
(08:21):
this kind of politics of nepotism and dynasty politics.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yes, they are so.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
In that sense, the BJP cannot claim that the party
with difference, which they would very proudly say it in
successive elections in the last ten, fifteen, twenty forty years.
You know, they've been using this dynasty politics as a
weapon to hit out at the Gandhi Pariva. Especially the
Congress somewhere has exposed this myth. You know that the
(08:47):
BGP is always giving tickets to its grass toot workers.
He is there are grass toot workers also that tickets
are given on merit. But yes, at the same time
there are elements of dynasty politics which is here to
stay in BJP.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Also we can say that.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Now Shubahangi tells us that the BJP's counter is twofold. First,
it says these relatives have their own local base and
experience and that they were chosen on merit. Second, it
argues that the real asymmetry in this election is not
dynastic advantage but organizational effort.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
So what they're pointing to, like, look at the election process,
you know, the first phase of elections. None of the
senior opposition leaders we're seeing campaigning. So their argument is
that whether it's Shaat Pawar or where they it's should
say in a U b T leader, Pudav Takar or
even for that matter, the Generation Next leader or Superasule
(09:41):
for that matter.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
I mean, you don't see them aggressively.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Kind of campaigning across the state where elections are happening.
Maybe each one is focusing in their respective areas, respective distics.
Maybe they have divided the work that way. But yeah,
the top leadership of these opposition leaders or that holds
two the Communist also apart from the state party president
Hushwelle subcult, none of the star campaigners they've drawn a
(10:06):
long list of for three star campaigners, but none of
them are very aggressively or very proactively pursuing these elections.
The ruling party, the BHP, is questioning them. Sure, we
have a chief minister who's holding five rallies to six
rallies every day. He's trying to cover all five regions
across Maharashtra, and you know he's going to the grassroot levels,
at taluka levels to kind of reach out to the voters,
(10:29):
reach out to the people with his vision, with his agenda,
with his ten years plan, five years plan. Whereas where
is the opposition? But the least they could have done
is they should have just at least kind of gone
under the ground level and campaign for the candidates. And
if the top leaders are so reluctant us, then the
question is how can the candidate who's contesting such a
(10:52):
powerful and such upbeat party, who's got a landslide victory
in assembly elections. Obviously they are going to be demortilized
this argument the BGP leaders are giving or the political
managers are analyzing this way. But the point here is
that the ruling parties are very aggressively in the field.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
We can see it like each party.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
If you talk of BJP, there are more than forty
star campaigners who are working around the.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Clock and the Chief Minister himself is leading from the front,
so in comparison, the opposition is not seen in the
ground at all.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Meanwhile, the timing of the results also added another layer
of fiction. On the day of the first phase polling itself,
the Knakpur Bench of the Bombay High Court ordered that
the counting of the votes, which was originally scheduled for
the very next day, be postponed to the twenty first
of December.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
So this division of the results for the first phase
is definitely with keeping in mind that you know, these
elections of first phase should not influence the subsequent elections
that will happen in zilla parishads and the vincible corporations.
So I think that decision somewhere the quote has taken
now and that has clearly upset the BHP. The Chief
(12:03):
Minister himself is very, very disappointed. He has today speaking
to the media said that you know what he feels
is in his career of twenty five years in politics,
has never seen the cootes or the election State Election
Commission kind of he didn't use the word ad hoc,
but saying that, you know, the last minute decisions to
defer it or to kind of reschedule the whole process
(12:25):
of counting is something unprecedented, and he also says that
in local body elections.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
It doesn't happen.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And he also saying that you know, if this has
happened due to the systemic failure or the process laps
of the process, then the state Election Commission should look
into this matter because ultimately what he feels is if
the early schedule was that result should have been declared
December third, they should have gone with help with the
same time table. And another interesting point we saw is
(12:52):
still in a state election commission deferred elections in some places,
you know, like twenty four minicible councils they deferred and
one film four seats also and another seventy three municipal councils.
So that decision has clearly disappointed the BGP because they
feel the decision was taking just fourty eight hours before
the polling took place. And their argument is the Chief
(13:15):
Minister himself let the disappointment know to their state Election
Commission and in public by saying that you know, what
happens to the entire campaign process, the hard work the
candidate has put in it is unfair to the candidates.
So these are the kind of issues raised by the
state ruling party itself.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
And next we take a look at a new study
that questions official claims about falling farm fires and what
that means for the pollution debate. Over the past few years,
rising AQI levels have become an annual concern in and
around the capital and across the Northern states.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
And one issue that always comes up in this regard
is farm fires and paddi stubble burning, which is often
cited as a major contributor to the pollution spike and
which coincides with the winter months when air quality versins now.
Over the time, the government has claimed that it has
managed to significantly reduce farm fires and even the official
(14:18):
data seems to reflect that.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
So the government claims that they have reduced farm fires
during the paddi stubble burning season by ninety percent in
Punjab and Hariana in three years time.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
That's the Indian Express is Suhinigosh.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
The paddi burning time they count from September fifteen to
November thirteen, and this they have said that from it,
around eighty three thousand odd events in twenty twenty, it
has come down to five thousand this year and similarly
(15:00):
it has reduced in Haryana as well.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Now, while official data shows a steady decline in such
incidents in both Punjab and Haryana, a recent study by
isroe's Space Application Center suggests something different that the number
of farm fires haven't actually gone down, they just aren't
being recorded properly. So to learn more about the study
and its findings regarding farm fire frequency, Michaelagaharakananda speaks to
(15:28):
Sohny in the segment Sony.
Speaker 6 (15:31):
Tell us what was the objective of this study and
what have been some of its key findings.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
So there was a study published in Current Science Journal
in late November and the study was by scientists from
Space Application Center of Histro and Abdabad and with an
objective of basically capturing data of farm fire events over Punjabanana,
(16:00):
but through geostationary satellites and not the polar orbiting satellites
which is basically used in the official government data recording
that they use. They use data from polar orbiting satellites.
So the basic objective was just looking for fire incidents.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
And following the.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
Study, what the paper has found is basically your fire
incidents in Punjab and Haryana have not gone down in
terms of numbers. It's more or less the same, in
fact a slight increasing even but farmers have basically perhaps
(16:43):
they have shifted the time of stubble burning from afternoon
to late in the evening or late afternoon.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
Okay, so this decline in farm fires that we see
in the official data is actually not real correct.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
So basically, see what the scientists dad was. They took
data from European geostationary satellites, although India does have its
own geostationary satellite which is your INSID series, and from
these geostationary satellite data that the scientists took, it basically
(17:21):
allows you to monitor over a specific area continuously. So
what you can imagine it as is, for example, you
have a truck in the middle of the road and
it's stationed and there's a CCTV camera fixed on it.
So the CCTV camera would be capturing everything that's going
(17:41):
on continuously for.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
As long as it's on.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
And from this data, what they found was your farm
fire incidents in terms of the number of events taking place,
these have not reduced but because of the continuous monitoring
the capture that the incidents frequency are at a different
(18:05):
time than what it used to be.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
But Sony, why could the polar orbiting satellite not catch this?
How come they missed what was captured by the European
geostationary satellite.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
Now, what polar orbiting satellites too, is they are basically
moving around the Earth's orbit, so it's passing through a
specific point on Earth a specific times. It's not getting
a look of that spot continuously. So because of that,
the polar orbiting satellites they usually go over Punjab and
(18:41):
Haryana at ten thirty am and again ten thirty pm
and one thirty pm to one thirty am. Similarlier, third
one goes at around two thirty pm and two thirty am.
So we have basically these limited times of surveillance over
this spot. So what the data now suggests, which is
(19:05):
published in the paper, is earlier the fire events would
be happening at say around one one thirty pm in
the afternoon. That has now moved to sometime around five
to six pm. And based on the times that I
mentioned for the polar orbiting satellites, you practically have a
(19:26):
free window of no monitoring by the polar orbiting satellites
from around two thirty pm in the afternoon until about
say ten thirty pm at night. So farmers are basically
utilizing that shift. They have shifted their stubble burning times
based on that window. And this, the paper suggests, is
(19:51):
kind of it hints at the fact that they have
simply shifted the timing to evade the surveillance and not
actually brought down the numbers of arm fires that are happening.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
And according to the ISRO study, when did this transition
sort of begin?
Speaker 5 (20:10):
So the study covers from twenty twenty one to twenty
twenty four, so they haven't really looked at the data
before twenty twenty one here, at least not in this paper.
And we also don't have the data for this year,
but I mean, the season just got over on November thirtieth,
(20:31):
so the data is for three years, but it shows
it was happening. The peak used to be at around
one thirty PM for stubble burning even until twenty twenty,
even to an extent until twenty twenty one. We see
a drastic shift happening from twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
In the paper's.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
Analysis, and that is also the time when the Supreme
Court really started taking up this issue on a very
route basis, the issue of air pollution. But again this
paper makes no allusion to the fact of its correlation
with air pollution.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
It has strictly stuck to.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
The aspect of farm fires and the number of events.
But yeah, we are seeing that shift from twenty twenty two.
Speaker 6 (21:22):
And so you know, you write that the issue had
raised concerns with the Commission of Air Quality Management the CEQM,
saying that the polar orbiting satellite data on farm fires
may not be fully accurate. Did the EAQM take any
action after that?
Speaker 5 (21:39):
So in terms of action, there was a direction from
the Supreme Court to the state governments to see what
can be done here, because this came up before the
Supreme Court in November twenty twenty four when there was
a lot of charter on social media about the numbers
not being accurate and there were open source satellite images
(22:02):
being shared which would show that this same assertion that
the paper goes on to establish, which is that your
numbers are not decreasing, it's just the timings have shifted.
So using those taking note of such reports and discussion.
The CQM was told that, you know, this is a possibility,
(22:24):
which in turn was told to the Supreme Court. Following that,
there was a direction to the state governments to see
if something can be if there can be a shift
to taking data from geostationary satellites, but there really hasn't
been that shift yet and for the most part obviously
(22:46):
now CQM, I think last week they have written that,
you know, they've kind of acknowledged that the satellite data
being used by the government is probably not accurately representing
the situation on the ground. But there really hasn't been
any concrete action on.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
This right And what have the Punjab and Haryana government
said regarding this? Have they taken any steps.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
So here to the government officials, they say that they
are aware of this kind of how this is being bypassed,
and to that effect, they have said that they've deployed
more officials. They have arranged for late evening patrols and
basically putting out a lot of manpower for around the
(23:35):
clock monitoring and enforcement, also flying squads. They also have
a dedicated Parali Protection force which is supposed to identify
and report such incidents that might be escaping detection by satellites.
CPCB also is supplementing with manpower.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
So there have been a slew.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
Of acts in this regard and it remains to be
seen how much of it actually prohibits the action altogether.
Speaker 6 (24:09):
Right and Sueni, is there any action being taken against
the farmers who are found to be involved in these
swamp fires.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
So there are provisions of penalty and also there are
offenses under the BNS that they can be slapped with.
So under the revised Environmental compensation structure, the penalty for
double burning is five thousand per incident for if you
are doing this on a land of up to two
(24:38):
acres in size, ten thousand for those between two to
five acres. So they have a graded fine system based
on your land holding, and this was increased this year.
Last year this used to be twenty five hundred and
fifteen thousand, respectively. There have been fires that have been
(24:59):
registered under BNS, and there is also environmental compensation that
is slapped on violators, which is monetary payment.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
So there has been action to that effect.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
And in the end we discuss Prime Minister and arrange
Remodi's remarks on.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
The Hindu rate of growth.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi,
Prime Minister Arranged Remodi yesterday criticized the use of the
term Hindu rate of growth and linked it to what
he described as a lingering slave mentality that, in his view,
has held back India's development.
Speaker 7 (25:42):
Ard Barak page growth.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
Jak kapaka heaper upress suna Hindu rate of growth kahaga
jabbarat both in persently, Gay.
Speaker 9 (26:06):
We see this key economic growth, Goajorak, And I asked you.
Speaker 7 (26:20):
GENII.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Previously on the show, we spoke to the Indian expresses
Udit Misra about this term and he explained to us
where exactly it comes from.
Speaker 10 (26:31):
So you know, the Hindu rate of growth is a
term in economic literature now because it was first used
by an Indian economist, Raj Krishna. And he used it,
I think in nineteen eighty two, and he had been
sort of following the Indian economy, working in different capacities,
and he was actually considered to be a right.
Speaker 7 (26:51):
Winger in that time.
Speaker 10 (26:53):
He was quite against the Congress government in terms of
policy recommendations and stuff, and he had used this phrase
Hindu rate of growth in a polemical manner.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
You know.
Speaker 10 (27:05):
It was to attract attention to the fact that India
had not grown fast enough over the first three four decades.
So that's where it came from. And I was reading
the New Oxford Companion to Indian Economy, which talks about
origins or the reasons why this phrase was used, and
let me just quote something from that. The Hindu rate
of growth was a polemical device used by Raj Krishner
(27:29):
intended to draw attention to the meager three point five
percent growth rate experienced by India over the long run.
What we're talking about the long run is roughly, you know,
the fifties, sixties and seventies. And the fact that this
growth rate sort of remained steady right through that period
despite the change in governments, wars, famines and many other
(27:50):
crisis that made him feel that this was an inherently
cultural phenomenon. And he was a right winger and he
thought like that, and he designated it as a a
Hindu rate of growth and this has to be now.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
In his address, the Prime Minister said that India is
now seen as one of the fastest growing economies and
referred to the eight point two growth recorded in the
second quarter of the current financial year. He described the
present phase as one in which India is moving towards
high growth with relatively low inflation, and said the country
(28:22):
is viewed as a contributor to global growth. More they
stated that India's current trajectory is not only about economic development,
but also about a change in mindset. He said that
a long period of colonial rule had weakened India's self
confidence and its slave mentality remains an obstacle in the
effort to build a wixed Bharath. He called for this
(28:44):
mentality to be removed over the next ten years, noting
that twenty thirty five will mark two hundred years since
McCauley's policies, which he said had entrenched such thinking.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
So much.
Speaker 7 (29:00):
Parako unproductivitka.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
Yanagaya, kibara amari Hindu subeta or Hindu Sanskriti or her.
Speaker 7 (29:19):
Beg here her man her man ko Hindu rate of
growth may s y term.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
The Prime Minister also highlighted what he called key.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Reforms in recent years, including the next gen GSD and
changes to the direct tax system such as ZEO tax
on income up to twelve lakh rupees. He also pointed
to initiatives like the Juan Vishwas Act and a campaign
to locate rightful owners of seventy eight thousand kuro rupees
lying unclaimed in various institutions, saying that returning these funds
(30:05):
to citizens is part of building trust between the state
and the public. More they concluded by saying that India
is now seeking to tap the potential of regions and
sectors that were previously underutilized, including the northeast, smallest cities,
women's participation, the use of ocean and coastal resources and space.
(30:29):
You were listening to Three Things by the Indian Express.
Today's show was edited and mixed by Sesh Bawar and
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(30:51):
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Indian Express dot com.
In this episode, we take a look at a new
study that questions official claims about the reduction of farm
fires in Punjab and Haryana. We also discuss Prime Minister
and arrangement. More these remarks on the Hindu rate of growth,
But we begin today by talking about why the local
body elections in Maharashtra have become contentious and what they
(00:21):
say about the current political landscape. Hi a Michasharma and
you're listening to three things the ini An Express new show.
Maharashtra's local body elections, which were supposed to be a
routine three phase exercise after the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls,
(00:44):
have suddenly turned into a politically charged contest, with tensions
over campaign conduct, the use of development funds and a
wave of unopposed victories. These elections cover municipal councils, nagar panchayats,
Zillah Parashads and municipal corporations and at the heart of
the controversy is what happened in the very first phase
(01:05):
last week, when around one hundred seats for the municipal
councils and other panchayats were decided without a single vote
being cast, with most of those seats going unopposed to
candidates from the ruling bjpsh of Senna n CP alliance and.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
There are various reasons for that.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
This is the Indian Express of Shubhangi Kapre who reported
the story for the newspaper.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
From BJB point.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Of view, they alleged that you know, they have not
stopped anybody from contesting elections. If the opposition wanted, they
should have stood in the fray and they should have contested.
And BJB claims in any case, we are candidate was
powerful enough, they would have won the seat. As far
as opposition is concerned, the opposition believes the allegations made
(01:49):
by opposition parties that is Mahavika Sagari which constitutes three
parties shif Sena Yubt led by Udav Takari, Congress Party
and NCP is.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Being led by share power.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Now their party, especially the Shifsena Ubiti without a coreatus
party and Congress Party. They have alleged that in several
places in such seats where the elections was uncontested or unopposed,
the BGP candidate correlective. They probably misuse the power. Now,
the opposition believes the BJP tried to intimidate the candidates.
(02:21):
They alleged that the candidates were learned with different kind
of you know, developmental funds, or there were other tactics used.
But the whole point here is the opposition has not
filed any case against any BJP activist or local leader
or state leader, you know, to substantiate that, yes, such
(02:42):
things have happened. So it's being played out politically. Why
it has become controversialists because of the number one hundreds
such seats where there was absolutely no contest. Now somebody
that also shows that the opposition seems to have given
up and or the other could be like the way
they should have aggressively pursued this election. That's not happening
(03:05):
in the local body elections, at least in the first phase.
We can say that yes.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Now such polls are important because these local governing bodies
control local infrastructure, welfare schemes and development spending. Moreover, these
elections are taking place after a year in which voters
have already elected forty eight looks of MPs and two
hundred and eighty eight MLAs from the state. Subhangi also
(03:30):
tells us that the controversy surrounding these poles has deepened
based on what took place during the campaigning phase. The
unprecedented thing that we witness in this election is the
members from the ruling parties, the.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
BHP, the schiefs are led by a Deputy Chief Mister,
Ignatcinde and Ajitpowerd who's the Deputy Chief Mister as well
as Finance Minister of State and who is a partly
president of MCP. Now, if you look at this style
of campaign, they're very aggresive, no doubt about it. Secondly,
the number of rallies they're holding is again unprecedented. And
(04:05):
the third thing is you know, when it's a code
of conduct for any elections, whether it's lukes about state
semi elections or local body elections, there's a very strict
code of conduct which is enforced by the Election Commission,
the state Election Commission. In this case, now there are
certain dos and don'ts and one is expected, you know,
irrespective of which you a party you belong to or
(04:26):
you in opposition, the code of conduct is very sacrosanct. Now,
what we're witnessing in these elections local body elections is
the top leadership of the ruling parties, you know, be
it BGP or NCB, of shipser they're blatantly, brazenly going
to the people, to the voters and saying that if
you vote us, we will bring development funds to your area.
(04:51):
If you get our party elected, our candidates elected, then
we will bring a lot of development to your place.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
We will ensure the large amount of.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Funds are released. Now, when they're talking about the funds,
these are developmental funds. It's not like they are just
promising money blatantly. It's not that what they're talking about
is development funds. But the point here is, even whether
the people vote for you or don't vote for you
as a ruling party, as a government, it's your fundamental
duty and the fundamental rights of the people that they
(05:21):
should get the development.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Now, the catch is here, you know, when.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
A ruling party, when a leader of a ruling party
says that if you vote us, then we will bring
development funds. If you don't vote us, then we will
also think about it, you know, whether to kind of
bring the development fund or not. Now, that kind of barter,
that kind of a bargain is absolutely wrong, and I
think the Election Commission, the state election Commission should have
taken note of it because in some way you're, you know,
(05:47):
trying to exercise your authority using the development funds to
get support of the voters, which is not correct. Ajitpawer,
who's a finance minister, who's a very very experienced politician,
is worked under various chief ministers and administatively, yes, a
very efficient person. Also, one can say we are not
going on the merit of his overall conduct. But then
(06:09):
when a leader of his nature goes to a place
like Malaga, you know, for campaigning, and there he says
that you know, if you cross me, then iven, I'll
cross you. If you vote for me, then irols of
rink development funds in your blaze. I think that's kind
of a very openly kind of you know, soliciting support
of the voters in exchange of promise of a development fund.
(06:30):
And I think that is absolutely a violation of code
of conduct.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
But now the controversy here is not limited to questions
of pressure or inducements. The opposition is also accusing the
BJP of engaging in dynastic politics, pointing to the fact
that several of the unapposed winners are relatives of top
BJP leaders.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, a local body elections. The argument given by the
BGP is that you know, oh, this is a local
body elections. I mean, it's not like the dynasty politics
as seen in say Congress or NCIP led by Shad
Pava's party or Davdakris party. But the point is BJP
has always been in the forefront opposing dynasty and especially
(07:14):
hitting out at the Gandhi family for decades now. If
you look at the last assimilar elections, also the looks
of by elections also and now in the local bodies elections,
there are several such instances that show that you know,
the sons, the daughters, the wives or husbands of the
same family, you know, are being given tickets in their
(07:34):
local body elections.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And some of them are ministers.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
They say, Girishmahajan, who's a Motter Resources minister in Padnavis government,
is a senior BJP leader as well as minister his
wife and she's been in politics for several years and
no doubt about it. But yes, then these are the
instances we can point out to substantiate that, yes, even
BJP is no different and it also is pursuing the
dynasty politics. Or if you take an example of the
(08:00):
district Kaldhara, we're a candidate of kan Taluka, a candidate
of Chief Minister Devin refad Navis. His cousin was fielded
in that and he won unopposed. So then yes, there
are several such instances, a dozen or more such instances,
you know, where the members of the ruling party and
more specifically the BJP has also kind of industy in
(08:21):
this kind of politics of nepotism and dynasty politics.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yes, they are so.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
In that sense, the BJP cannot claim that the party
with difference, which they would very proudly say it in
successive elections in the last ten, fifteen, twenty forty years.
You know, they've been using this dynasty politics as a
weapon to hit out at the Gandhi Pariva. Especially the
Congress somewhere has exposed this myth. You know that the
(08:47):
BGP is always giving tickets to its grass toot workers.
He is there are grass toot workers also that tickets
are given on merit. But yes, at the same time
there are elements of dynasty politics which is here to
stay in BJP.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Also we can say that.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Now Shubahangi tells us that the BJP's counter is twofold. First,
it says these relatives have their own local base and
experience and that they were chosen on merit. Second, it
argues that the real asymmetry in this election is not
dynastic advantage but organizational effort.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
So what they're pointing to, like, look at the election process,
you know, the first phase of elections. None of the
senior opposition leaders we're seeing campaigning. So their argument is
that whether it's Shaat Pawar or where they it's should
say in a U b T leader, Pudav Takar or
even for that matter, the Generation Next leader or Superasule
(09:41):
for that matter.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
I mean, you don't see them aggressively.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Kind of campaigning across the state where elections are happening.
Maybe each one is focusing in their respective areas, respective distics.
Maybe they have divided the work that way. But yeah,
the top leadership of these opposition leaders or that holds
two the Communist also apart from the state party president
Hushwelle subcult, none of the star campaigners they've drawn a
(10:06):
long list of for three star campaigners, but none of
them are very aggressively or very proactively pursuing these elections.
The ruling party, the BHP, is questioning them. Sure, we
have a chief minister who's holding five rallies to six
rallies every day. He's trying to cover all five regions
across Maharashtra, and you know he's going to the grassroot levels,
at taluka levels to kind of reach out to the voters,
(10:29):
reach out to the people with his vision, with his agenda,
with his ten years plan, five years plan. Whereas where
is the opposition? But the least they could have done
is they should have just at least kind of gone
under the ground level and campaign for the candidates. And
if the top leaders are so reluctant us, then the
question is how can the candidate who's contesting such a
(10:52):
powerful and such upbeat party, who's got a landslide victory
in assembly elections. Obviously they are going to be demortilized
this argument the BGP leaders are giving or the political
managers are analyzing this way. But the point here is
that the ruling parties are very aggressively in the field.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
We can see it like each party.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
If you talk of BJP, there are more than forty
star campaigners who are working around the.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Clock and the Chief Minister himself is leading from the front,
so in comparison, the opposition is not seen in the
ground at all.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Meanwhile, the timing of the results also added another layer
of fiction. On the day of the first phase polling itself,
the Knakpur Bench of the Bombay High Court ordered that
the counting of the votes, which was originally scheduled for
the very next day, be postponed to the twenty first
of December.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
So this division of the results for the first phase
is definitely with keeping in mind that you know, these
elections of first phase should not influence the subsequent elections
that will happen in zilla parishads and the vincible corporations.
So I think that decision somewhere the quote has taken
now and that has clearly upset the BHP. The Chief
(12:03):
Minister himself is very, very disappointed. He has today speaking
to the media said that you know what he feels
is in his career of twenty five years in politics,
has never seen the cootes or the election State Election
Commission kind of he didn't use the word ad hoc,
but saying that, you know, the last minute decisions to
defer it or to kind of reschedule the whole process
(12:25):
of counting is something unprecedented, and he also says that
in local body elections.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
It doesn't happen.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And he also saying that you know, if this has
happened due to the systemic failure or the process laps
of the process, then the state Election Commission should look
into this matter because ultimately what he feels is if
the early schedule was that result should have been declared
December third, they should have gone with help with the
same time table. And another interesting point we saw is
(12:52):
still in a state election commission deferred elections in some places,
you know, like twenty four minicible councils they deferred and
one film four seats also and another seventy three municipal councils.
So that decision has clearly disappointed the BGP because they
feel the decision was taking just fourty eight hours before
the polling took place. And their argument is the Chief
(13:15):
Minister himself let the disappointment know to their state Election
Commission and in public by saying that you know, what
happens to the entire campaign process, the hard work the
candidate has put in it is unfair to the candidates.
So these are the kind of issues raised by the
state ruling party itself.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
And next we take a look at a new study
that questions official claims about falling farm fires and what
that means for the pollution debate. Over the past few years,
rising AQI levels have become an annual concern in and
around the capital and across the Northern states.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
And one issue that always comes up in this regard
is farm fires and paddi stubble burning, which is often
cited as a major contributor to the pollution spike and
which coincides with the winter months when air quality versins now.
Over the time, the government has claimed that it has
managed to significantly reduce farm fires and even the official
(14:18):
data seems to reflect that.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
So the government claims that they have reduced farm fires
during the paddi stubble burning season by ninety percent in
Punjab and Hariana in three years time.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
That's the Indian Express is Suhinigosh.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
The paddi burning time they count from September fifteen to
November thirteen, and this they have said that from it,
around eighty three thousand odd events in twenty twenty, it
has come down to five thousand this year and similarly
(15:00):
it has reduced in Haryana as well.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Now, while official data shows a steady decline in such
incidents in both Punjab and Haryana, a recent study by
isroe's Space Application Center suggests something different that the number
of farm fires haven't actually gone down, they just aren't
being recorded properly. So to learn more about the study
and its findings regarding farm fire frequency, Michaelagaharakananda speaks to
(15:28):
Sohny in the segment Sony.
Speaker 6 (15:31):
Tell us what was the objective of this study and
what have been some of its key findings.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
So there was a study published in Current Science Journal
in late November and the study was by scientists from
Space Application Center of Histro and Abdabad and with an
objective of basically capturing data of farm fire events over Punjabanana,
(16:00):
but through geostationary satellites and not the polar orbiting satellites
which is basically used in the official government data recording
that they use. They use data from polar orbiting satellites.
So the basic objective was just looking for fire incidents.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
And following the.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
Study, what the paper has found is basically your fire
incidents in Punjab and Haryana have not gone down in
terms of numbers. It's more or less the same, in
fact a slight increasing even but farmers have basically perhaps
(16:43):
they have shifted the time of stubble burning from afternoon
to late in the evening or late afternoon.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
Okay, so this decline in farm fires that we see
in the official data is actually not real correct.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
So basically, see what the scientists dad was. They took
data from European geostationary satellites, although India does have its
own geostationary satellite which is your INSID series, and from
these geostationary satellite data that the scientists took, it basically
(17:21):
allows you to monitor over a specific area continuously. So
what you can imagine it as is, for example, you
have a truck in the middle of the road and
it's stationed and there's a CCTV camera fixed on it.
So the CCTV camera would be capturing everything that's going
(17:41):
on continuously for.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
As long as it's on.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
And from this data, what they found was your farm
fire incidents in terms of the number of events taking place,
these have not reduced but because of the continuous monitoring
the capture that the incidents frequency are at a different
(18:05):
time than what it used to be.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
But Sony, why could the polar orbiting satellite not catch this?
How come they missed what was captured by the European
geostationary satellite.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
Now, what polar orbiting satellites too, is they are basically
moving around the Earth's orbit, so it's passing through a
specific point on Earth a specific times. It's not getting
a look of that spot continuously. So because of that,
the polar orbiting satellites they usually go over Punjab and
(18:41):
Haryana at ten thirty am and again ten thirty pm
and one thirty pm to one thirty am. Similarlier, third
one goes at around two thirty pm and two thirty am.
So we have basically these limited times of surveillance over
this spot. So what the data now suggests, which is
(19:05):
published in the paper, is earlier the fire events would
be happening at say around one one thirty pm in
the afternoon. That has now moved to sometime around five
to six pm. And based on the times that I
mentioned for the polar orbiting satellites, you practically have a
(19:26):
free window of no monitoring by the polar orbiting satellites
from around two thirty pm in the afternoon until about
say ten thirty pm at night. So farmers are basically
utilizing that shift. They have shifted their stubble burning times
based on that window. And this, the paper suggests, is
(19:51):
kind of it hints at the fact that they have
simply shifted the timing to evade the surveillance and not
actually brought down the numbers of arm fires that are happening.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
And according to the ISRO study, when did this transition
sort of begin?
Speaker 5 (20:10):
So the study covers from twenty twenty one to twenty
twenty four, so they haven't really looked at the data
before twenty twenty one here, at least not in this paper.
And we also don't have the data for this year,
but I mean, the season just got over on November thirtieth,
(20:31):
so the data is for three years, but it shows
it was happening. The peak used to be at around
one thirty PM for stubble burning even until twenty twenty,
even to an extent until twenty twenty one. We see
a drastic shift happening from twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
In the paper's.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
Analysis, and that is also the time when the Supreme
Court really started taking up this issue on a very
route basis, the issue of air pollution. But again this
paper makes no allusion to the fact of its correlation
with air pollution.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
It has strictly stuck to.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
The aspect of farm fires and the number of events.
But yeah, we are seeing that shift from twenty twenty two.
Speaker 6 (21:22):
And so you know, you write that the issue had
raised concerns with the Commission of Air Quality Management the CEQM,
saying that the polar orbiting satellite data on farm fires
may not be fully accurate. Did the EAQM take any
action after that?
Speaker 5 (21:39):
So in terms of action, there was a direction from
the Supreme Court to the state governments to see what
can be done here, because this came up before the
Supreme Court in November twenty twenty four when there was
a lot of charter on social media about the numbers
not being accurate and there were open source satellite images
(22:02):
being shared which would show that this same assertion that
the paper goes on to establish, which is that your
numbers are not decreasing, it's just the timings have shifted.
So using those taking note of such reports and discussion.
The CQM was told that, you know, this is a possibility,
(22:24):
which in turn was told to the Supreme Court. Following that,
there was a direction to the state governments to see
if something can be if there can be a shift
to taking data from geostationary satellites, but there really hasn't
been that shift yet and for the most part obviously
(22:46):
now CQM, I think last week they have written that,
you know, they've kind of acknowledged that the satellite data
being used by the government is probably not accurately representing
the situation on the ground. But there really hasn't been
any concrete action on.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
This right And what have the Punjab and Haryana government
said regarding this? Have they taken any steps.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
So here to the government officials, they say that they
are aware of this kind of how this is being bypassed,
and to that effect, they have said that they've deployed
more officials. They have arranged for late evening patrols and
basically putting out a lot of manpower for around the
(23:35):
clock monitoring and enforcement, also flying squads. They also have
a dedicated Parali Protection force which is supposed to identify
and report such incidents that might be escaping detection by satellites.
CPCB also is supplementing with manpower.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
So there have been a slew.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
Of acts in this regard and it remains to be
seen how much of it actually prohibits the action altogether.
Speaker 6 (24:09):
Right and Sueni, is there any action being taken against
the farmers who are found to be involved in these
swamp fires.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
So there are provisions of penalty and also there are
offenses under the BNS that they can be slapped with.
So under the revised Environmental compensation structure, the penalty for
double burning is five thousand per incident for if you
are doing this on a land of up to two
(24:38):
acres in size, ten thousand for those between two to
five acres. So they have a graded fine system based
on your land holding, and this was increased this year.
Last year this used to be twenty five hundred and
fifteen thousand, respectively. There have been fires that have been
(24:59):
registered under BNS, and there is also environmental compensation that
is slapped on violators, which is monetary payment.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
So there has been action to that effect.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
And in the end we discuss Prime Minister and arrange
Remodi's remarks on.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
The Hindu rate of growth.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi,
Prime Minister Arranged Remodi yesterday criticized the use of the
term Hindu rate of growth and linked it to what
he described as a lingering slave mentality that, in his view,
has held back India's development.
Speaker 7 (25:42):
Ard Barak page growth.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
Jak kapaka heaper upress suna Hindu rate of growth kahaga
jabbarat both in persently, Gay.
Speaker 9 (26:06):
We see this key economic growth, Goajorak, And I asked you.
Speaker 7 (26:20):
GENII.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Previously on the show, we spoke to the Indian expresses
Udit Misra about this term and he explained to us
where exactly it comes from.
Speaker 10 (26:31):
So you know, the Hindu rate of growth is a
term in economic literature now because it was first used
by an Indian economist, Raj Krishna. And he used it,
I think in nineteen eighty two, and he had been
sort of following the Indian economy, working in different capacities,
and he was actually considered to be a right.
Speaker 7 (26:51):
Winger in that time.
Speaker 10 (26:53):
He was quite against the Congress government in terms of
policy recommendations and stuff, and he had used this phrase
Hindu rate of growth in a polemical manner.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
You know.
Speaker 10 (27:05):
It was to attract attention to the fact that India
had not grown fast enough over the first three four decades.
So that's where it came from. And I was reading
the New Oxford Companion to Indian Economy, which talks about
origins or the reasons why this phrase was used, and
let me just quote something from that. The Hindu rate
of growth was a polemical device used by Raj Krishner
(27:29):
intended to draw attention to the meager three point five
percent growth rate experienced by India over the long run.
What we're talking about the long run is roughly, you know,
the fifties, sixties and seventies. And the fact that this
growth rate sort of remained steady right through that period
despite the change in governments, wars, famines and many other
(27:50):
crisis that made him feel that this was an inherently
cultural phenomenon. And he was a right winger and he
thought like that, and he designated it as a a
Hindu rate of growth and this has to be now.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
In his address, the Prime Minister said that India is
now seen as one of the fastest growing economies and
referred to the eight point two growth recorded in the
second quarter of the current financial year. He described the
present phase as one in which India is moving towards
high growth with relatively low inflation, and said the country
(28:22):
is viewed as a contributor to global growth. More they
stated that India's current trajectory is not only about economic development,
but also about a change in mindset. He said that
a long period of colonial rule had weakened India's self
confidence and its slave mentality remains an obstacle in the
effort to build a wixed Bharath. He called for this
(28:44):
mentality to be removed over the next ten years, noting
that twenty thirty five will mark two hundred years since
McCauley's policies, which he said had entrenched such thinking.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
So much.
Speaker 7 (29:00):
Parako unproductivitka.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
Yanagaya, kibara amari Hindu subeta or Hindu Sanskriti or her.
Speaker 7 (29:19):
Beg here her man her man ko Hindu rate of
growth may s y term.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
The Prime Minister also highlighted what he called key.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Reforms in recent years, including the next gen GSD and
changes to the direct tax system such as ZEO tax
on income up to twelve lakh rupees. He also pointed
to initiatives like the Juan Vishwas Act and a campaign
to locate rightful owners of seventy eight thousand kuro rupees
lying unclaimed in various institutions, saying that returning these funds
(30:05):
to citizens is part of building trust between the state
and the public. More they concluded by saying that India
is now seeking to tap the potential of regions and
sectors that were previously underutilized, including the northeast, smallest cities,
women's participation, the use of ocean and coastal resources and space.
(30:29):
You were listening to Three Things by the Indian Express.
Today's show was edited and mixed by Sesh Bawar and
produced by Shishang Bargav, Nihara Kananda and me Ichasharma. If
you like the show, do subscribe to us wherever you
get your podcasts. You can also recommend it to someone
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your family. This is the best way for people to
get to know about us. You can also tweet us
(30:51):
at Express podcast or write to us at podcast at
Indian Express dot com.
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The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.