Union Budget 2014: Plan Outlay could be Hiked by 2 Per Cent

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley is likely to hike the Plan expenditure on rural employment and health schemes in the Budget for 2014- 15 over what his predecessor P. Chidmabaram had allocated in the Interim Budget for the year.

According to sources, while Jaitley will be doing a tight rope-walk due to the poor state of finances inherited from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, he is likely to allocate and additional Rs 11,000 crore for Plan expenditure. This would be about two per cent higher than the Rs 5,55, 322 crore provided by Chidambaram in the Interim Budget.

However, this would make the proposed plan spending for the fiscal year higher by about Rs 90,790 crore, or 19 per cent over the revised estimates for 2013- 14.

The plan expenditure, or GBS (gross budgetary support), is the government spending on social sector schemes such as Bharat Nirman, Rural Employment Guarantee and National Rural Health Mission.

Senior officials said that there is little scope to increase the Plan spending over the last Budget as the government is required to keep the fiscal deficit in check.

According to the latest government data, the fiscal deficit in 2013- 14 stood at 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), lower than 4.6 per cent projected in the revised estimate mainly on account of curbs on government expenditure.

The fiscal deficit, the gap between government's expenditure and revenue, in actual terms was at Rs 5.08 lakh crore as against Rs 5.24 lakh crore projected in the revised estimates. The UPA government had cut the total Plan expenditure to Rs 4,75,532 crore for 2013- 14 compared to the Budget estimates of Rs 5,55,322 crore in what was seen as a sleigh of hand to show a lower a fiscal deficit purely for accounting purposes.

It was for second year in a row that the previous government cut Plan spending substantially to keep fiscal deficit under control.

After assuming office in 2004, the UPA government in its regular Budget had pegged the total Plan expenditure at Rs 1,45,590 crore as compared to Rs 1,35,071 crore provided in the Interim Budget for 2004-05.

Source: BusinessToday

Workshop for BJP MPs: Modi, Rajnath to Impart Training

NEW DELHI: A two-day orientation programme starting on Saturday has been organized to impart training to the newly-elected BJP MPs on enhancing their parliamentary and public conduct.

The workshop, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will take place at Surjakund.

Modi will deliver the inaugural address on Saturday morning, and along with home minister Rajnath Singh will also try and inspire the new legislators to emulate best practices, party sources said.

Around 180 newly-elected BJP MPs, including 162 from the Lok Sabha and 18 from Rajya Sabha will attend the training workshop which will give them tips on improving their performance as an MP as well as on their conduct.

There are around 40 MPs from among the SCs/STs while another 30 are women first-time members.

Top BJP leaders and old-time parliamentarians will impart training to the first-time MPs on how to utilize their services best in the interest of public good.

They will also be told on how to spend their MPLAD fund in the best public interest.

Party leaders say the workshop will impart training to them on how to put good questions in Parliament and what kind of urgent public matters to raise during Zero Hour debates in both the Houses.

The workshop will also stress upon them to improve their attendance in Parliament and strengthen their skills by reflecting on problems of their constituencies and mitigate public suffering by helping to find solutions for them.

The MPs will also be given some lessons on their public conduct.

The workshop comes ahead of the Budget session of Parliament starting July 7.

The new MPs will also be asked to remain in touch with public through social media.

Party patriarch L K Advani is likely to deliver the valedictory address on Sunday while other senior leaders including former BJP presidents and Union minister Venkaiah Naidu besides finance minister Arun Jaitley and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will also share their Parliamentary experience with them.

Source: TOI

Union Budget 2014-15 likely to be Presented on 10-July

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to present the Union Budget for 2014-2015 in Parliament on July 10 as per sources.

The budget session of Parliament is likely to be convened from July 07 while the Rail Budget will be presented on July 08, sources told Zee Media.

Both the budgets have to be cleared before July-end as the Votes-on Account taken before Lok Sabha elections will expire by July-end.

It will be the maiden Budget of Arun Jaitley. It will also be the first major policy document of the Narendra Modi government and will spell out the direction for the economy.

Jaitley has already started pre-budget consultations with different interest groups. He faces several challenges on the economic front, like rising prices, subdued growth and the need to move ahead on the path of fiscal consolidation.

Among other things, he will also have to focus on streamlining subsidies which consume a major potion of government expenditure.

Source: ZEENews

Source: NitiCentral.com

Rise of Hindi in the Reign of Narendra Modi

Rise of Hindi in the Reign of Modi

The Narendra Modi-led government is slowly bringing Hindi into vogue in power centres. The prime minister himself has taken strident steps in this regard: Whether it is a courtesy call or Cabinet meeting, an interaction with a chief minister or even a bilateral discussion, he prefers Hindi.

It is not that Modi is incapable of conversing in English but he prefers Hindi or Gujarati for the “free flow” of ideas and thoughts, said his aides.

They argue that Modi is comfortable with English by citing that he does not need interpreters for translating English to Hindi. He chooses interpreters when he wants a foreign dignitary to understand his expression better, they said.

Modi also manages a mix of Hindi and English to talk with those leaders coming from beyond the Hindi belt. So far, his visitors have not complained of a language barrier.

English, however, has its moments. Delegations led by chief ministers (especially southern and eastern states) prefer English to communicate their cases to the prime minister. Similar is the case when a non-Hindi speaking chief minister or political leader meets Modi. On such occasions, Modi does not mind switching to English, his aides say.

However, bureaucrats who are not so fluent in Hindi find the task daunting. If the prime minister writes in Hindi to a secretary, the secretary has no other option but to reply in Hindi.

More importantly, under the Official Languages Act, 1963, it is mandatory for central government ministries/departments to use Hindi along with English in files, documents and all official correspondences. Modi’s love for Hindi could see the rule being enforced, much to the inconvenience of those who are not proficient in Hindi.

In a circular dated June 10, the department of official languages has reminded ministries to ensure that responses to letters sent in Hindi should be in that language only. It also wants officials to use Hindi in the social media. Modi supporters insist that the prime minister does not wear his Hindi on his sleeves.

BJP leaders see former prime minister A B Vajpayee’s zeal in Modi and are happy that Hindi has been accorded its pride of place.

As foreign minister, Vajpayee became the first person to deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi in 1977. During his tenure as prime minister between 1998 and 2004, he addressed several international gatherings in Hindi.

Source: DeccanHerald

PMO Mulls Creation of a Real-Time System to Keep Track of Prices

PMO Mulls Real-Time System for Prices Tracking

NEW DELHI: With inflation resurging as a headache after the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) spiked to 6% in May, its highest level in five months, the Narendra Modi government is considering a proposal to create a real-time data monitoring system to keep track of food production, stocks and prices across the country.

The Prime Minister's Office ( PMO) is mulling such a system as it could help coordinate more effectively with official agencies and state governments to try and balance supplies and moderate prices on a proactive basis.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday blamed hoarders and the poor monsoon for the spike in wholesale price inflation to over 6% in May, inviting criticism from the Congress which said the same arguments were made by UPA ministers to explain why inflation was difficult to tame. Inflation, along with corruption, was one of the biggest planks of the recent Lok Sabha campaign, with the BJP flagging the UPA government's inability to curb price rise over the past decade.

The Modi government has said "containing food inflation will be its top-most priority."

The prime minister has said it is time for tough decisions to revive the economy, but high inflation could limit the space for some of the difficult policy choices to be made such as rationalising subsidies. With wholesale prices touching a five-month high in May and a below-normal monsoon on the cards - a 'business-as-usual' approach may not be enough to tackle the price rise monster.

"Good timely data is critical for the government to mitigate food inflation and for that, a better price monitoring system is imperative. Though some agencies like the price monitoring unit in the consumer affairs ministry monitor prices on a daily basis, it only involves 22 commodities and the data is not robust," said a senior official aware of the development.

Under the present system, nine different official agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB), track price data with each using a different methodology and reporting format.

The IB tracks retail prices, as does the price monitoring cell in the consumer affairs ministry and the directorate of economics and statistics (DES) in the department of agriculture and cooperation. The consumer affairs ministry cell tracks wholesale and retail prices of 22 essential food items, spot and future prices of eight commodities traded on the exchanges, and weekly mandi prices of 20 items.

The DES in the agriculture ministry collects wholesale and retail prices along with production, area coverage and weather forecast on a weekly basis. It collects prices from state marketing boards with an intent to provide advance assessments regarding demand-supply gaps to the Centre. Besides, the DES also tracks farm gate prices, which do not include transport and storage costs and publishes them at an interval of three to four years.

"Almost all the price data received by government suffers from a huge time lag. Though the price monitoring cell gets retail and wholesale prices on the same day, the data is often not accurate as states don't update their inputs in earnestness," the official said. Separately, the directorate of marketing and inspection under the same ministry collects wholesale prices of farm products on a daily basis, with prices uploaded online by APMCs.

Capturing price trends into a headline measure of inflation is done by three other departments. For instance, the WPI is generated by the economic adviser in the department of industrial policy and promotion. The index is used for macroeconomic policies and monetary policies.

To capture price movements at the ground level, which citizens are concerned about, the Labour Bureau under the labour and employment ministry, generates consumer price indices for industrial workers, farm and rural labourers, separately. The Central Statistical Organisation also compiles consumer price indices for urban and rural areas with the purpose of providing a general measure of inflation encompassing all sections of the population.

Source: EconomicTimes

Modi Government Holds Appointment of UPA-era Staff for Rajnath, Others

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office has put on hold the appointments of private secretaries to ministers including Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani.

Sources say the PM's Office is debating whether to retain staff that have worked for ministers in the previous Congress-led regime, and will clear these appointments only after scrutiny.

The decision is likely to impact at least eight appointments. Rajnath Singh reportedly wanted Alok Singh, an IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh, as his personal secretary. Mr Singh had previously worked for former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

Smriti Irani, Venkaiah Naidu, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Kiran Rijiju and Najma Heptulla may also have to let go of their personal secretaries, if the government decides against retaining officials who worked for the previous regime.

A minister's personal staff has direct access to important files and policy decisions of the government.

Sources said all such appointments were on hold; if some officials were asked to go, "it won't be a reflection on their competence." Government sources also cite a rule passed by the earlier UPA government that said a minister's personal staff should not be on deputation for over five years.

The move raised speculation about the Modi government's reluctance to trust officials who worked for UPA ministers.

Source: NDTV.com

PM Narendra Modi slams Manmohan Singh govt, says Nothing 'Left-Behind' by UPA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today warned of "tough decisions" over the next couple of years to improve the country's financial health, which he said may not go down well with some sections, and attacked the way the previous Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had handled the Indian economy.

"Taking tough decisions and strong measures in the coming one or two years are needed to bring financial discipline which will restore and boost the country's self-confidence", he said addressing BJP workers here.

This is the first occasion in less than three weeks since taking over reins of power that Narendra Modi has made sharply critical comments on the previous PM government's performance.

"I have taken over the reins of the country in circumstances when there is nothing left behind by the previous government. They left everything empty. The country's financial health has hit the bottom," Modi said.

However, in the short run, such measures may not go down well with everybody, he said.

"I am well aware that my steps may dent the immense love that the country has given to me. But when my countrymen would realise that these steps would result in getting the financial health back, then I will regain that love," said the Prime Minister.

On the other hand, if these tough measures were not taken, the financial situation would not improve, he said, adding "we need to take action wherever required".

"We won't be helping the country by praising Modi and praising BJP. There is no guarantee that just singing praise of Modi would improve the situation. We need to take harsh measures to improve the financial situation," he said.

Shortly later, Modi tweeted that "time has come to take tough decisions in the interest of the nation. Whatever decisions we take will be solely guided by national interest".

The Prime Minister said it was a misconception that people in government are not willing to work for the country.

"In a government set-up, most officials would like to do something for the country. They are ready to work. This is what I can say from my experience as the Prime Minister in the last fifteen days," Modi said.

Referring to this year's Lok Sabha elections,

Source: FinancialExpress

PM Narendra Modi’s Gift: No Income Tax likely up to Rs. 3 Lakh

India Budget 2014-2015 | No Income Tax likely up to Rs. 3 Lakh

Finance minister Arun Jaitley may have some good news for the salaried class in the budget for 2014-15.

The government is learnt to be gearing up for an overhaul of India’s tax regime by considering a restructuring of tax slabs and increasing the income tax exemption limit from the existing Rs. 200,000 to more than Rs. 300,000 — a move that would leave more money in the hands of people.

A rejig in income tax slabs is also on the cards, the details of which are being currently examined.

At present, there are three tax slabs. Those with an income of less than Rs. 2 lakh a year are exempt from paying taxes. Those earning between R2 lakh and R5 lakh annually are taxed at 10%, those between R5 lakh and R10 lakh at 20% while anybody earning more than R10 lakh pays a tax of 30%.

In addition, in last year’s budget ( 2013-14) the then finance minister P Chidambaram, for the first time, introduced an additional surcharge of 10% on “Relatively prosperous" persons with a taxable income of more than R1 crore — and there were supposedly only 42,800 of them in India

A rejig in tax slabs along with a hike in exemption limits will enhance people’s disposable income, which, in turn will boost consumption spending as well as savings.

The government is negotiating through a maze of thorny issues ahead of this year’s budget amid faltering demand and rising prices that have hit growth in the broader economy.

The government is examining whether some of the proposals of the draft Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill 2013 including a tax on “super-rich” can be introduced in this year’s budget, likely to presented in the second week of July, sources said.

The draft DTC Bill had proposed a higher 35% tax for the super-rich for those who earn more than Rs. 10 crore a year, and a wealth tax on host of assets such as expensive paintings.

The draft had also proposed to reduce the age for tax exemption for senior citizens to 60 years from 65 years.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance that had examined the DTC Bill of 2010 had recommended raising the income tax exemption limit to Rs. 3 lakh.

Source: HindustanTimes

Narendra Modi Cabinet Expansion likely by June-end; BJP to Get a New Party President

Modi-Govt. Cabinet Expansion likely by June-end

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may accommodate some more NDA allies in his Cabinet expansion — likely to take place in the last week of June — and give more representation to Maharashtra and Bihar where polls are due in a few months as well as states like Bengal where the party is trying to make further inroads.

BJP sources said the twin issues of choosing a new party president and Cabinet expansion may get Modi's undivided attention after his two-day visit to Bhutan from June 15.

However, both are likely to take place around June 25, the sources said. "The Cabinet expansion and election of new BJP president is likely to be completed before the budget session begins," a party leader said.

Among the allies, RPI leader Ramdas Athavale may get a portfolio in Modi sarkar. With polls in Maharashtra due in October, Athavale can play a crucial role in getting Dalit votes to the coalition. After Gopinath Munde's death, Modi is likely to induct another BJP leader to keep the region's quota intact.

The number of leaders likely to be inducted into the council of ministers is being pegged at 20. From Bihar, Rajiv Pratap Rudy may get a slot, sources said. In Bengal, Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia may be given a Cabinet berth. With Rajasthan having only one MoS, one more leader could be included in the council of ministers. Some minority leaders may also get a chance.

BJP is also set to get a new party chief with Rajnath Singh joining the government. Party General Secretary JP Nadda is still the frontrunner for the post. Though Amit Shah is also said to be in the reckoning for the post of BJP chief, there is a feeling in the Sangh and the party that having the PM and the president from Gujarat would not go down well among the cadre.

"Due to the good working relationship between Nadda and Shah, and with both being close confidants of Modi — the latter will continue to hold sway in decision-making even if Nadda becomes the chief," a party leader said.

Source: EconomicTimes

Economic Data likely to Offer New PM Modi Some Cheer

(Reuters) - Indian economic data on Thursday is likely to offer some cheer for new Prime Minister Narendra Modi by showing a pick-up in industrial activity and easing inflation.

Modi has listed fighting inflation, particularly food inflation, as his topmost priority. He aims to win the battle by improving supplies of food and clamping down on "hoarders".

Output from mines, utilities and factories is expected to have expanded 1.9 percent in April from a year earlier after falling 0.5 percent the previous month, according to a Reuters poll of economists, because of a recovery in the infrastructure sector Modi sees as key to a wider revival.

Cooler food prices probably helped ease consumer price inflation to 8.4 percent in May from a three-month high of 8.59 percent April, the poll showed.

The statistics ministry is due to release industrial production and consumer inflation data at 5:30 p.m.

Consumer inflation has been averaging nearly 10 percent for the past two years even though economic growth has been stuck below five percent, marking the longest slowdown in more than a quarter of a century.

Promises to break the spell of weak growth and high inflation helped Modi to a victory last month that gave his party the strongest parliamentary majority in 30 years.

A slumping industrial performance is at the heart of India's growth struggle. Output contracted 0.1 percent in the fiscal year that ended in March. It has eased in four of the past six months.

Radhika Rao, economist at DBS Bank, said a revival in manufacturing and investment would have broad multiplier effects across the economy, but cautioned that an expected shortfall in monsoon rains could impact both demand and inflation.

"In the short term, the likelihood of a weak southwest monsoon is an important risk for growth this year and likely an initial challenge for the new administration," Rao said.

INFRASTRUCTURE DRIVE

Modi's government is looking to revive the economy through higher investment in infrastructure, which it hopes will boost demand in sectors such as cement, steel and power.

He is also aiming to simplify approvals for projects to kick-start capital investments.

The economic slowdown is taking a toll on public finances. The federal tax-to-GDP ratio has slipped to 10.2 percent from a peak of 12.5 percent in 2007/08, leaving the government having to resort to more rupee bond sales to fund spending commitments.

Higher investment spending without adjustments in wasteful public expenditure would make it tougher to trim the fiscal deficit to a targeted 4.1 percent of GDP this fiscal year, resulting in a heavy bond supply and increased cost of credit for corporates.

This could worsen India's struggle with persistently high inflation - on top of the forecasts of below-average monsoon rains.

The poll showed wholesale price inflation rose to 5.4 percent last month, 0.2 percentage points higher than in April. The data is due on June 16 at 8:30 a.m.

The government has stockpiled staples such as rice, wheat and sugar from bumper harvests in the last few years but it has limited means to control jumps in the cost of fruits and vegetables that have the largest impact on food inflation.

Expectations of an economic turnaround after Modi's victory, however, have brought in copious capital inflows, sending the total value of the Indian stock market over $1.5 trillion for the first time.

Other recent data also gives some hope for a revival. Merchandise exports posted their fastest growth in six months in May. The services sector expanded for the first time in nearly a year last month.

Improving consumer sentiment helped car sales post their first annual growth in three months in May.

Source: In.reuters.com

PM Modi Scraps 4 Cabinet Panels including One on UIDAI

[Earlier, Modi had abolished all the 30 Groups of Ministers (GOMs) and Empowered Groups of Ministers (EGoMs) and told ministries and departments to take decisions on pending matters.]

Sending out yet another loud and clear signal of his intent for "more governance, less government", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday scrapped four Standing Committees of Cabinet. The Committees were on Management of Natural Calamities, Prices, World Trade Organisation Matters and UIDAI Aadhaar.

Aadhaar was one of the pet projects of the Congress-led UPA government to check corruption and bring transparency in governance. Earlier, Modi had abolished all the 30 Groups of Ministers (GOMs) and Empowered Groups of Ministers (EGoMs) and told ministries and departments to take decisions on pending matters.

The Congress had attacked Modi over his decision saying it was "symptomatic of autocratic regime" and noted that "no single person can be repository of all wisdom".

Here is the full text of the release by Press Information Bureau, Government of India PM discontinues four Standing Committees of Cabinet The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has decided to discontinue the following four Standing Committees of the Cabinet:

1. Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities: The functions of this Committee will be handled by the Committee under the Cabinet Secretary whenever natural calamities occur.

2. Cabinet Committee on Prices: The functions of this Committee will be handled by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

3. Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters: The functions of this Committee will be handled by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and, whenever necessary, by the full Cabinet.

4. Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India related issues: Major decisions in this area have already been taken and the remaining issues will be brought to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The Prime Minister will be re-constituting the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Security.

Source: MoneyControl.com

Narendra Modi Government's 5-year Plan: 2-years to Repair, 3 for Growth

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government will take a series of steps to rebuild investor confidence while keeping fiscal consolidation firmly in sight as part of its plan to mend the economy in the next two years and then make an aggressive push for growth in the remaining three years of its term.

Insiders say the government will shun populism and quick fixes and instead focus on a concrete plan to fix the struggling economy it has inherited with two consecutive years of growth below 5% and no fiscal or monetary lever to stimulate economic expansion.

The broad programme will be outlined in the upcoming Presidential address to the joint session of Parliament and followed by detailed steps in the budget that's expected in the first week of July.

Modi-Govt. Prepared for Tough Grind

The finance ministry will work out the details of the budget under the overall direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government is prepared for a tough grind in the next two years to build a base for rapid expansion in the following three years.

"Fiscal deficit has to follow the downward trajectory... Addressing inflation is a priority, so growth has to be revived without compromising on the fisc," the person, privy to deliberations, told ET.

Quality fiscal consolidation will be the underlying theme and the target for next year's deficit will be narrower than the 4.5% of GDP achieved last year. However, the government does not want the burden of this to be excessive and is not likely to increase any taxes in the name of fiscal consolidation. On the other hand, there may be some small relief for taxpayers.

Additional spending will be met from the room created by the abolition of the diesel subsidy through monthly increases in the retail price and the restructuring of social sector schemes. A monthly price increase mechanism for cooking gas could also be introduced.

Detailed deliberations have begun in the government on how to deal with the schemes put in place by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government that did not focus on asset creation, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

"MGNREGS could be used to build toilets," the person said, offering an instance of merging two schemes to divert government spending to more productive use and creating utilities and public assets. "The mandate means that you can announce bold steps and also carry them out," the person said.

To ensure faster clearances and timely implementation, the Centre is likely to rope in state governments for large projects in the initial stages itself, since that's where the actual implementation takes place. The Project Management Group in the Cabinet secretariat could be reoriented toward this end.

Revival of manufacturing has been identified as a key priority area and the government could look at creating new dedicated hubs as the special economic zones tend to have turned more into tax shelters for IT. There is a feeling that UPA focused too much on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor to revive manufacturing whereas a wider national outreach is needed and the reforms planned by the Modi government need to make factories cost competitive.

The first budget of the new government, which will be keenly watched by global analysts and investors, would also clearly spell an end to retrospective taxation that played a large role in undermining business sentiment.

Meanwhile, the induction of a number of new ministers in key economic ministries is expected to lead to the generation of new ideas and fresh thinking besides infusing the energy needed for implementation while reducing the turf battles that bedeviled the UPA government. "Economy is facing acute challenges of high inflation and poor government finances... Focus clearly needs to be on consolidation for the next two years and then take it forward... All efforts would be driven to turn the business sentiment with concrete measures," said a top government functionary.

Source: EconomicTimes

Gopinath Munde Dies in a Road Accident in Delhi

New Delhi: Union Minister Gopinath Munde died in a road accident in Delhi on Tuesday morning when he was on his way to the airport. He was rushed to the AIIMS trauma centre after the accident where he was declared dead. He will be cremated on Wednesday.

The accident took place when Munde was on his way to the Indira Gandhi International airport to fly to Mumbai. It took place when when Munde's car was moving from Lodhi Road towards the Aurobindo Chowk.

Munde had a victory rally scheduled in Beed and Parali. He had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Beed constituency. He was the Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the accident took place at 6.30 am on Tuesday morning and was declared dead at AIIMS. "There was no breathing, no pulse, no cardiac function when Mr Munde was brought to the hospital. Despite efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 7.20 am," said AIIMS spokesperson Dr Amit Gupta.

Munde's Ambassador car was reportedly hit by an Indica. The driver of the Indica has been arrested.

A driver and Munde's security guard, who were with Munde in his car at the time of the accident, are reportedly safe.

Gadkari said that there are reports that Munde suffered a heart attack after the accident that lead to his death but the party is waiting for the post-mortem to know the exact cause of his death. Gadkari also said that Munde suffered several head injuries.

"Munde's body will be taken to the party headquarters at 12.30 pm on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been informed about the accident," Gadkari added.

Expressing grief over Munde's tragic death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. "Extremely saddened & shocked by the demise of my friend & colleague Gopinath Munde ji. His demise is a major loss for the Nation & the Govt. Gopinath Munde ji was a true mass leader. Hailing from backward sections of society, he rose to great heights & tirelessly served people. My tributes to a dynamic leader whose premature demise leaves a void hard to fill. Condolences to Munde ji's family. We stand by them in this hour of grief."

Gopinath Munde was the brother-in-law of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. He had married Mahajan's younger sister. After Mahajan's death, Munde was the guardian of the Mahajan family. Munde was a very big OBC leader from Maharashtra. He was very accessible and had a huge following. He wanted to reform and modernize the Rural development ministry.

Source: IBNLive

No Remote Controls: Why RSS will Give Narendra Modi a Free Run

On the day Narendra Modi was being sworn in as the prime minister along with his council of ministers, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was conducting a two-day conference for junior volunteers in Bhopal. He was monitoring the preparations for a national brainstorming session for the Sangh pracharaks to be held in the town from 30 July to 2 August. The Sangh, sources say, is expected discuss strategies on the implementation of the Sangh agenda on Ram Temple, Uniform Civil Code and revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Bhagwat’s absence from Modi’s grand inauguration did not come as a surprise. The Sangh had given ample hints about this after the results were announced. Now that the elections are over the party, the government and the Sangh must go back to their respective jobs, said a functionary of the RSS. The message being sent out is that the government is not remote-controlled. Volunteers have been told not to expect personal benefits from the party they have just installed in power.

More importantly, Bhagwat has conveyed he would be the Sangh’s sole interlocutor with the prime minister on organisational issues. The carte blanche to Modi is apparently extended for a year.

The RSS and the BJP, through years in power at the Centre and in some states, have realised the need to draw some lines after the Sangh representatives into the party turned into power centres and developed vested interests. Suresh Soni, who was the RSS point person to deal with BJP-ruled governments, had to be removed after allegations of fuelling factionalism. Bhagwat’s deputy Bhaiyyaji Joshi was then assigned the job. Now with Modi as prime minister Bhagwat has decided to be the bridge between the prime minister and the Sangh.

The changing equations between the Sangh and its political arm make an interesting study.

In the 1920s two qualified doctors Narayan Subbarao Hardikar and Keshav Baliram Hedgewar -- both active and promising members of the Indian National Congress-- founded two parallel organisations-- the Sewa Dal and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The RSS went on to mother another national party— Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951 (now the BJP) while the Sewa Dal has for long remained a neglected offspring of the Congress.

Jan Sangh founder Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who was arrested in Kashmir in 1953 and subsequently died in jail, had partly visualised his party’s future when he found an able aide in Deendayal Upadhyay. As national general secretary Upadhyay impressed Dr Mukherjee. "If I had two Deendayals, I could transform the political face of India," Mukherjee once said. In 15 years, Upadhyay built the Jan Sangh by raising a band of dedicated workers drawn largely from the RSS.

Upadhyay believed an independent and historic nation like India can do without Western concepts of socialism, democracy, communism or capitalism. "We are pledged to the service not of any particular community or section but of the entire nation. Every countryman is blood of our blood and flesh of our flesh." he had said.

The Jan Sangh hardly ever challenged the Congress. But, it did groom leaders like, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Sunder Singh Bhandari and LK Advani who convincingly represented it when it turned into a constituent of the Janata Party government in 1977. From just being a rallying point for the forces opposed to the Congress the BJP, founded in 1980 on its divorce from the Janata Party, has come a long way to displace the Congress. The Congress which represents a broader vision of the nation could boast of Indira Gandhi when it bounced back in 1980 a couple of years after being swept out of power. With little likelihood of a similar leadership emerging soon the Congress is in for a long haul.

The RSS has not been averse to the party importing a big chunk of candidates for the recent Lok Sabha elections from the Congress and other parties that it targeted for various reasons. When the Aam Aadmi Party awakened the voter against the conventional parties and politicians the Sangh had warned its volunteers and the BJP members against complacency. Even the members who have had no RSS background acknowledge the advantages of the party’s Sangh moorings.

The Sangh and BJP know that mandate for Modi government is for five years and not five months. The noises on issues like Article 370, or Uniform Civil Code or the Ram Temple are apparently to keep the cadre engaged and votes polarised for the forthcoming assembly elections in some states.

Source: FirstPost