Source 1: https://www.thehinducentre.com/the-arena/current-issues/article25188707.ece
"During the freedom struggle, JP was the frontline foot soldier of Mahatma Gandhi. He never sought power and did not enjoy it even for a day. Well before Indira Gandhi was anywhere near politics, JP had been offered the posts of Union cabinet minister, prime minister and President of India in quick succession and he turned down each one of them. Though considered the natural successor to Nehru as prime minister, JP chose to withdraw from power politics to engage in the more enduring struggle against poverty, social evils and violence. JP was an iconoclast with compassion and a product of the Magadha legacy which "not only produced relentless fighters and exterminators of kings" but "hearkened at the same time to the devout teachings of Vardhamana Mahavira and Gautama Buddha"."
Source 2: https://www.deccanherald.com/content/228519/if-only-jp-had-accepted.html
"Gopal Krishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, on Sunday said India would have taken a different course had the late Jaya Prakash Narayan accepted the erstwhile prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s offer to join his Cabinet.
“Had JP accepted Nehru’s proposal, history would have been different,” said Gandhi, who had served former president R Venkataraman as his private secretary.
It is widely believed that after Sardar Patel’s demise, Nehru had offered Narayan the post of deputy prime minister, which the veteran Socialist politely declined."
Source 3: https://theprint.in/opinion/nehru-wanted-jayaprakash-narayan-as-his-political-successor-not-indira-gandhi/429326/
"Nehru was keen on Jayaprakash Narayan, or JP (born 1902) to succeed him, in view of JP’s amazing organisational abilities which were exhibited during the Freedom struggle. The intellectual in Nehru admired JP’s modern education in the US.
Nehru often remarked that he was not infallible. He was also aware that many of his cabinet colleagues were too scared of him to voice their differences. In fact, Nehru had this contempt for many of his cabinet colleagues: they were men of straw who lacked the courage to frankly disagree with him. This had also been observed by Mahatma Gandhi.
After his massive victory in the 1952 Lok Sabha elections, Nehru invited JP to join his government as his deputy, to be his conscience keeper, and to counsel him whenever he felt Nehru was wrong. In fact, Nehru even proposed a merger betw
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Source: his facebook profile :/
Solid foundations for economic growth – but there are glaring omissions - Jayaprakash Narayan
While welcoming Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s initiatives to revive the derailed economy and fulfill people’s aspirations, Loksatta Party national President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said the Union finance budget is short on specifics in some matters and outright deficient in some others.
Addressing a media conference here today, Dr. JP pointed out that there is welcome continuity in following the previous Government’s road map for reining in fiscal and revenue deficits. The budget has sought to promote manufacturing and improve infrastructure by offering customs duty, excise and income tax incentives. It has outlined measures to attract investments in a number of sectors and plans to expedite introduction of GST (goods and services tax). It has provided income tax relief by raising the exemption limit. There are added incentives for savings. All these are positive steps which will stimulate the economy, build infrastructure and promote jobs.
He noted the Union Finance Minister has clearly stated that the assurances to both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States will be honored and announced opening of certain educational institutions.
The Union budget, Dr. JP said, is however vague in certain matters. Mr. Arun Jaitley has not specified how he is going to reduce the nearly Rs.3 lakh crore subsidies on food, fuel and fertilizers. He has chosen to appoint an expenditure management commission. He has not spelt out how he is going to rein in the fiscal deficit and seems to be banking on a nearly 20 percent increase in tax revenue, unfazed by the anemic economy. He has not outlined how Rs.2.40 lakh crore will be raised to meet the capital adequacy norms of public sector banks or how public sector undertakings will invest Rs.2.48 lakh crore.
Dr. JP said the budget has failed to address problems in the agriculture, education and healthcare sectors. Fifty percent of the country’s population continues to depend on agriculture although its contribution to GDP is only 14 percent. The budget ought to have contained measures to boost, for instance, production of oil seeds and pulses by imposing duties on imports, and offering production incentives to farmers. Instead, the Government is resorting to knee jerk reactions like banning export of produce like onions and potato and bringing them under the purview of the Essential Commoditi
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