My  journey from New Delhi to Gorakhpur and then to Chhapra showed the poor performance of the railways. I started at 2000 hours on 2nd from New Delhi for Gorakhpur to attend the BSNLEU/UF convention. The train was scheduled to reach Gorakhpur by 1000 hours on 3rd January, but it reached there at 1430 hours, four hours late. Heavy fog was one reason. But it was not the only reason. The train was being stopped at all stations for a very long time, reason not known.

Since the meeting at Gorakhpur was to start at 1100 hours, from the railway station I was taken directly to the meeting. After welcome etc. I spoke for about one hour and had a press meet. I had to rush to the railway station by 1700 to catch the intercity express to Chhapra. We reached the station at 1700 hours, but the train was late by half an hour. And it reached at Chhapra at 2300 hours, late by one and half hours. Any way, our comrades were waiting in the chilly night to receive me.

How many people are suffering daily due to undue delay of the trains!

UP(E) Circle is determined to get majority and number one position in the circle in the coming verification. The massive meeting held at Gorakhpur on 3rd January 2011 has declared that BSNLEU/United Forum will reach 60% of votes in the ensuing verification. The meeting was addressed by V.A.N.Namboodiri, President, BSNLEU K.R.Yadav, Vice-President, R.K.Mishra, Circle Secretary and leaders of the United Forum. Detailed report will be placed later.

The Poster for the Membership Verification to be held on 1st February is ready and put on the BSNLEU website. The Circle Secretaries are requested to download the same, translate in to local languages, print and supply. The CHQ of course will be sending a few copies to district unions, but that may not be sufficient. Propaganda materials are also put on the website. Time is short; Let us proceed quickly so that we will be able to reach each and every worker.

In the latest book on the Congress History ” Congress and the making of the Indian Nation” the role of Sanjay Gandhi has been belittled in the 1980 elections in which Congress came back to power. And he has been rightly indicted in the Emergency excesses. But controversies are raised by many after the publication of the book. Anyway a discussion will arise on  the subject. The remark of the Supreme Court also has come in the middle.

The fog is becoming the spoil sport again. Whether it is the flight or the train, it is creating a lot of problems. Yesterday ( 2nd January) I got in to the train at 2000 hours to proceed to Gorakhpur to attend a membership verification meeting arranged by the UP (East) Circle and was to reach there by 10.00 hours on 3rd January. But the train is late for 4 hours due to heavy fog. It is more than 5 hours late. Whether I will be able to reach there in time to attend the meeting at all. I have to proceed from there to Patna at 1700 hours. Whether I will be able to proceed to Patna if this train is again delayed. OK. This is what happens in the heavy winter. You have to adjust yourself in advance for such contingencies.

I will be on verification tour of UP(E) and Bihar on 3rd and 4th January 2010.  I shall attend a meeting at Gorakhpur on 3rd January and at Patna on 4th. I will be available at Delhi on 5th January 2011.

United Forum and BSNLEU have started its membership verification campaign in right earnest. President, General Secretary, Dy. General Secretary and all the CHQ office bearers of BSNLEU are on the campaign trail touring all the circles and SSAs. The General Secretaries and office-bearers of other constituents of UF are also on verification campaign.

The United Forum has released its wall poster with the photos of all the General Secretaries of the constituent Unions. Propaganda materials are also being released. View the website of BSNLEU for all the details. With the target of getting 60% votes, the workers are also meting each and every worker.

Victory is ours. BSNLEU will win with good majority.

The Communications & IT Minister Kapil Sibal asserted that hefty penalty up to Rs. 2.50 lakhs will be impsoed on telemarketteers for unsolicited telemarketing calls from 1st Febraury onwards. These calls are disturbing the subscribers and in many cases they are charged for these also. The government has been extending the date for penalty due to pressure from the telcos. The Govenment should ensure that no further extension should be given.

Out of the Rs.219 crore penalty imposed by the DOT on those new telecom companies which have not rolled out services within one year of getting the licences, only Rs. 73.73 crore has been received so far according to Communications MinisterKapil Sibal. The question of cancelling the licences will be considered only if the roll out is not done within 52 weeks.

Many of these companies have been making windfall profits by selling their shares to MNCs. The 2G scam issue has focussed all these and the government is compelled to take action against the erring companies.Why wait for 52 weeks again, since the telcos have not rolled out services even after one year?

Of course, the government can not antagonise the India Inc!

Communications & IT Minister Kapil Sibal has stated yesterday ( 1st January 2011 ) that  a New Telecom Policy 2011 will be formulated which will evolve a clear and transparent telecom regime covering licensing, spectrum allocation, tariffs/pricing, flexibility within licences, spectrum sharing, spectrum trading and merger & acquisitions. Before that within 100 days consultations will be held with key stakeholders. He also stated that the matters of security, including that of 3G and Blackberry will be resolved soon.

He also stated that three factors have to be kept in mind while framing the policy – reasonable revenue for the government, affordable service to the users and robust growth of the telecom sector.

So far good. But who are the stakeholders? The private telcos are of course there. But what about BSNL and MTNL ? What about the employees and their unions? Are they stake holders according to the Minister ? Because nothing is stated about the telecom PSUs and their employees. We know that the concerns of the big business and MNCs and their profits will be safeguarded. But what about the financial viability of BSNL / MTNL and the issues of the workers in these two PSUs?

We can not depend upon anybody’s charity. We have to raise our voice so that while evolving the New Telecom Policy, these are also considered. Let us be vigilant.