Central Assembly Bombing by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt - [April 8, 1929] This Day in History

08 April 1929

Central Assembly bombing case               

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What happened?

On 8 April, 1929, revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs at the Central Legislative Assembly at Delhi.

Central Assembly Bombing Case

• At about 12:30 PM on 8^th April, 1929, as the President of the Central Assembly (akin to today’s Lok Sabha Speaker) Vithalbhai Patel began to give his ruling on the Trade Disputes Bill at the Assembly, an explosion occurred and the hall began to be filled with smoke.
• There were slogans raised by young men from the Visitors’ Gallery, stating ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, ‘Workers of the world unite’, and ‘Down with imperialism’. The voices belonged to two young revolutionary freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt (also called B K Dutt). They also threw pamphlets into the hall.
• Both the men did not flee the scene or try to evade arrest after the act. They willingly courted arrest.
• Both of them were members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. Their motive, as stated by them, was not to kill or injure people, but to ‘make the deaf hear’.
• Bhagat Singh, who masterminded the attack, was inspired by the French anarchist Auguste Vaillant who had bombed the French Chamber of Deputies in the year 1893. Vaillant was executed for the act.
• In the 1929 attack, nobody was killed and only a few people had sustained minor injuries.
• In fact, the revolutionaries only wanted to spread their ideas of revolution and inspire Indians to fight British imperialism, apart from protesting the unpopular bills that were being enacted in the assembly that day.
• Among those present in the Hall were Motilal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya, John Simon (of the Simon Commission) and others.
• Both Singh and Dutt courted arrest even though both the bombs were thrown by Singh alone.
• The trial started in May 1929. Lawyer Asaf Ali represented Dutt while Singh defended himself during the trial.
• In June, the verdict was pronounced and both Singh and Dutt were sentenced to ‘transportation for life’.
• In the meantime, the case of the murder of ASP John Saunders was linked to Bhagat Singh who was then charged in that case as well. He, along with Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, was executed for the murder case on 23 March 1931.
• Dutt took part in the freedom movement after his release from incarceration. He died in 1965 after a prolonged illness. He neither received any recognition from the Indian government nor financial support despite being a part of one of the most illustrious chapters of the freedom struggle.

Also on this day


1894: Death of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, writer and poet who composed 
the Vande Mataram.

Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)

 

The Local Area Development Scheme known as MPLADS is a government scheme launched on 23rd December 1993. This central sector scheme was developed as an initiative to enable the parliament members to recommend developmental work in their constituencies based on locally felt needs. These developmental works mainly focused on the areas of national priorities such as drinking water, education, public health, sanitation, roads, etc. 

The scheme, Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) was started by the late Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. This scheme is now administered by the Ministry of Statistics and Implementation but was initially administered by the Ministry of Rural Development.

Key Features of MPLADS

In addition to the regular State Government departments and the three levels of Panchayats, the rural areas of many districts are also being serviced by Area Development Authorities/Rural Development Boards. These organizations receive sizeable grants from both the Union and the State Governments for schematic expenditure in their jurisdiction with emphasis on crop improvement, creation of minor irrigation facilities, up-gradation of local infrastructure and other area-specific needs. 

Government schemes are an important part of the UPSC syllabus. Aspirants must be thorough with the objectives and the activities of these major schemes for the IAS exam.

Some of the key features of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) are:

• It is a government-funded scheme where the annual fund provided to each MP constituency is Rs. 5 crores.
• The initial assistance under the MPLAD scheme was Rs. 5 lakh / MP. From 1998-99 onwards, this amount has been increased to Rs. 2 crore / MP and the amount currently available under this scheme has been increased to Rs. 5 crore rupees.
• Recommendation by the MPs should be done annually with works costing at least 15 percent of the MPLADS entitlement for areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste population and 7.5 percent for areas inhabited by the S.T. population. 
• A sum of Rs. 75 lakhs is provided for building assets by trusts and societies as per the scheme guidelines to encourage the trusts and societies for the betterment of tribal people.
• Lok Sabha Members can recommend works within their Constituencies and Elected Members of Rajya Sabha can recommend works within the State of Election. Nominated Members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the country.

Implementation of MPLADS

• An MP is required to provide his/her choice of the nodal district to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in a prescribed format. A copy of the same should be given to the State Government and the District Magistrate of the chosen district. 
• The government of India releases an annual entitlement of Rs. 5 crores in two equal installments. This amount is given to the District Authority of the Nodal District selected by the concerned MP.
• The Implementing Agency should be identified by the District Authority. The Implementing Agency should have the capability to execute the eligible work qualitatively, timely and satisfactorily. 
• All the recommended works must be sanctioned within 75 days from the date of receipt of the recommendation after the completion of all formalities. If any work is not sanctioned within the prescribed time period, the District Authority shall, however, may inform the MPs regarding the rejection of the work within 45 days from the date of receipt of recommendations.
• The scheme can also be converted into individual/stand-alone projects under the Central and State Government schemes provided they meet the eligibility conditions of MPLADS. 
• Funds from local bodies can be similarly pooled with MPLADS works but the funds provided by other scheme sources should be used first. MPLADS funds should be released later for the successful completion of the project. As soon as a work under the Scheme is completed, it should be put to public use.