Solid Achievement should win Elections Comfortably for Modi

After 5 years of Modi Rule, India has

99% of Homes Electrified

97% of Homes have Toilets

87% of Homes have Cooking Gas

100% of Homes have Bank Accounts

One can argue that not all of this done was by Modi. But more than 30% of the remaining difficult terrains was covered by Modi Government during 5 years. And this is what previous Congress Governments couldn't do in 60 years. 

This final push required determination, dedication and planning & operational excellence.

Add to this Implementation of GST, Raise in the IT Exemption Limit, Mudra Loans, Better Road Connectivity, Improved Rail Services, Innovative Waterways and a rejuvenated Army.

And a PM who is dedicated to Serve the nation, without being Corrupt, 24x7.

If this doesn' win Modi the elections with a bigger margin, we have to conclude that Indians dont deserve such a person.

But indications at the end of Phase IV is that BJP is headed for 300+ seats on its own, and 350+ along with Allies.

Bharat Matha ki Jai!

India turning in to an Aspirational Society

We have become an 'Aspirational Society' post Modi becoming the Prime Minister.

We had aspirations before, and the upper and middle class tried to realize it by going abroad. And the poor, condemned to live on doles, were told by the Congress that they had no right to aspire. For them Electricity, Toilet, Gas Connection, Bank Account, Internet, Potable water, Drainage etc remained only in dreams.

In Five years, Modi has revolutionized the life of the poor. It is not perfect by any means, but he has recognized their basic needs, fulfilled them and is prodding them to push further.

100% of houses with Electricity, Toilets, LPG Connection, Bank Accounts has changed the landscape and mindset of the rural population. Add to this Mudra Loans, better connectivity, and the proposal to connect all villages with Optic Fibre, the future looks bright.

I have written before how a few villagers stopped their vehicle on seeing my father, who was leading a retired life, rushed to him and thanked him profusely for electrifying their villages, though he was only doing his duty as an Executive Engineer in Kerala State Electricity Board. They went on to tell him proudly that their children have been able to get admission into top colleges because of availability of electricity at night.

And this was in Kerala in 1980s, which was on the forefront of education and infrastructure in 1980s. 

Imagine then the change that will be seen in remote Northern and Eastern States now. The impact of Modi's rural developmental agenda will be felt years or decades down the line.

Our youngsters from Rural Area can now freely aspire to become whatever they want. The world is at their finger tips.

The Urban and NRI youngsters will take more time to come to grips with the changes in our Country, and what it means for them.

Recently, a young Class XII Indian student in Muscat asked me whether she should pursue her studies and career in US, UK or Germany.

I told her to put India at the top of the list, and told her why, as one of the very few fastest growing economies, she will stand to benefit more by working in India, than in the stagnant economies of US, UK or Germany.

Being brought up in Oman, she didn't quite understand the significance of what I said, but it made her think.

I wanted to tell her 'Janani Janma Bhumicha Swargatha Pigareeyasi', but did'nt, as she wouldn't have understood, having been brain washed by her Church, Parents, Friends and the School, which did its best to demean India and Indians.

I am sure after another term or two of Modi, I wont have to even offer such advises, as awareness would have kicked in among the youth about the greatness of our Country

Karma is a Bitch

I have no love lost for the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. 

He crossed the Lakshman Rekha when he ganged up with 3 other SC Judges to hold a Press Conference against the then CJI Deepak Mishra.

And he is now been alleged of sexual misconduct by an Ex-Junior Staff.

When he held the Press Conference then, he diminished the dignity of the Court, and cast aspersions against his own honest Chief Justice. A man of his intelligence was definitely aware that he was being used by a Cabal, who were acting on behalf of Congress Party and a few other anti nationals like Lawyer Indira Jaisingh and Journalist tShekhar Gupta, to delay the Ram Janmabhoomi case. When the Government refused to bite and take action against the four judges, the ploy fell flat, and a mockery of impeachment action was initiated against Deepak Mishra. To some extend the entire drama achieved its objective. Deepak Mishra tried to be too even handed that he handed down a few questionable judgements and delayed the Ram Janmabhoomi case till elections are over.

Modi was gracious enough to overlook the misdemeanour of Ranjan Gogoi, and made him the CJI. Other judges got away scot free. It was a mistake. This was an opportunity for Modi to put Supreme Court, which was over reaching, in its place.

Ranjan Gogoi has his roots in Congress. His father was a Congress Politician and Minister. He was supposed to churn out judgments favouring the Congress Party and Dynasty. But he surprised many by being very independent and has done a good job overall. 

The Dynasty and Eco System dont like this. And they have their own way of getting back. 

The trigger was the SC taking a dim view of Rahul Gandhi shouting all over the place that SCs decision to admit certain documents pertaining to Rafaele Deal as part of a review petition amounted to confirming that Government was indulging in Corruption, when it was not so. SC asked Rahul Gandhi to explain his conduct, which is coming up for hearing this week. Also, the Ram Janmabhoomi case, the National Herald case are all cases where the Dynasty has huge stakes.  

Hence, typical mafiaso style they trumped up a false case of sexual harassment against the Ranjan Gogoi. I am fairly certain this is a fake case, but in any case this needs to be investigated and the culprits exposed.

But what is to be noted that the accused, Ranjan Gogoi, was part of the Bench (though he did not write the orders) which took up this case. There is a clear conflict of interest here, which should have been avoided. This is exactly the same situation when the SC heard the case against itself on the NJAC, and passed a judgment in its favour, rather than appointing an impartial Arbitrator.

But strange are the ways of the SC. One hopes that SC will be shown its place in Modi's second term.

To Ranjan Gogoi, one can only remind him that 'Karma is a Bitch'

Cryptic Takeaways after Phases 1 & 2 of Polling

Key Cryptic Takeaways from the Election Campaign so far;

• Narendra Modi stands head and shoulder above all the leaders, and is leading a Presidential type Campaign this time too, but with a difference. He has solid achievements to back him, and this is being appreciated by people across the country.
• The much hyped Opposition 'Mahaghatbandhan' is in shambles. The leaders have been exposed as dynastic with their interest limited to pushing their sons, nephews, grandsons, wives apart from minting money from prospective candidates
• The Opposition has not been able to show a road map for India's development, and has the limited agenda of Modi bashing to seek votes. Voters don't see the benefit of voting for them
• Bengal under Mamata Bannerjee has slipped to a complete lawless State with hooliganism, whimsical fascist decision making by Mamata, and Election Commission has turned a blind eye to the lack of free and fair polling in the State. Any future election should be conducted, only after dismissing the incumbent Government with the State under Presidents rule. Even election this time should be countermanded.
• Arvind Kejriwal has been exposed for the charlatan that he is. The anti corruption crusader begging corrupt Congress to ally with him, has destroyed his image once and for all. Refreshingly, there is hardly a soundbite from him, and gone are the days when he hogged the media, who projected him as an alternative to BJP. He is reduced to be a non entity now.
• As expected, Priyanka Vadra is a damp squib, despite Media hyping her as the next great thing. She will fade into oblivion post elections.
• Rahul Gandhi continues to flaunt his idiocy, but worryingly he is showing psychopathic tendencies, and a high level of immaturity. He cant go around calling everyone 'Thief' without an iota of evidence. 
• The Main Stream Media has become irrelevant, exposed for the charlatans they are. They are anti-hindu, anti-bjp, anti-Modi and even anti-National. They have lost all sense of balance. Every single lie propounded by them has been shot down within hours by the Social Media Warriors, who are seen to be more credible. At least the Social Media Warriors dont hide their bias, political inclination and try to fool the people. 
• The South, except Karnataka, has become a cesspool of minoritysm. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, AP and Telengana has been taken over by Christians and Muslims. It is disheartening to see the youngsters being blatantly anti-Modi. I have no issues with people having different political leanings. The issue is when blind hatred for one man clouds their judgment totally. I am afraid these States will be neglected over a period of time. Already all of them have severe financial and governance issues, and cant survive without support from Central Government. It is almost like cutting the branch one is sitting on.
• The Election Commission has become stupidity personified. Their taking up irrelevant issues and banning leaders, prompted by the opaque Supreme Court, is undermining their credibility. Added to this is them not taking cognizance of the blatant malpractices and violence unleashed by Trinamul Goons in West Bengal, which has made free and fair poll impossible. The whole idea of phasing out the polls across 40 days is to ensure free and fair poll. If that is not possible, we can as well have a single day polling across the country. Same is the case with Tamil Nadu, where money was distributed widely,  especially in Sivaganga Constituency. But EC, who were quick to take action against Private Citizen for asking to vote for Modi in his Wedding Invitation, has not lifted a finger against Karti Chidambaram and his rowdies. The Kerala EC has become a laughing stock for asking Parties not to rake up the Sabarimala issue.  Once hopes Modi and Shah takes EC and SC head on and show them their place in their Second Term.

At end of Phase 2 of Polling, Modi is well on his way to Winning Again by a bigger margin!

South Indian Cesspool of Minority Politics - A major threat to Hindus

South India has become a cesspool of Minority appeasement. The social structure is changing and this is not good news for the Hindus.

When Politicians brazenly takes a pro minority (read Christian and Muslim) stand during campaigning, it is time for Hindus to sit up and take serious note.

In Kerala, Hindu population barely crosses 50%. It is why the Communist Government decided to work against the Hindu sentiments in the Sabarimala issue, while pussyfooting on the implementation of Supreme Court judgment on the Yokoba - Orthodox case, and also not showing any inclination to ban the loudspeakers as mandated by Supreme Court prior to Namaz. The Christians and Muslims vote en bloc, and it is why Rahul Gandhi had to come all the way down to Wayanad, as the Constituency has 60% minority population, out of which 45% are muslims, who support Congress led UDF. 

The Dravida Kazhakam politics of DK and DMK has ensured mass conversion of Hindu population to Christians in most parts of Tamil Nadu, especially the Southern part. The anti national protests against Koodankulam Nuclear Plant and the forced Closure of the Sterlite Plant are all Church sponsored. DMK under Karunanidhi at least showed a pretense of supporting Hindus, though not Brahmins. The Brahmins were hounded out of Tamil Nadu long ago. In addition, there are big pockets of Muslim dominated areas, funded by money from Gulf and Malaysia, where even the Police dare not enter. The Ghetto in Ukkadam, from where the plan for bombing Advanis rally in late 1990s were planned is a classic example. When Police finally entered the area, they were amazed to see the stockpiles of weapons and bombs. The area still is a flashpoint. Post Karunanidhi, Stalin and team has not only started exhibiting blatant minority appeasement, but have started abusing Hinduism and its rituals in every available forum. AIADMK under Jayalalitha, was reasonably pro hindu, but would do nothing to antagonize the Muslim Vote Bank, and allowed the threat to grow.

The erstwhile Andhra Pradesh under YSR, who was a converted Christian himself, aggressively supported mass conversion, and this policy of Christian appeasement is followed by his son Jagmohan Reddy. To counter this Chandrababu Naidu is dangerously courting Muslim Vote Bank, and has promised to have a Muslim as Dy CM if elected to power again. Hindus in the divided AP is left in the lurch. 

The Splinter Telengana, was indeed formed based on demand by the Muslims, who are a powerful vote bank. KCR is quite open about pampering the Muslims to the detriment of everyone else.

Only Karnataka has buckled the trend, though the Mangalore area is quite sensitive with frequent Hindu Muslim clashes. The State has not returned a Muslim MP since 2004.

We are seeing a massive Hindu consolidation in Kerala, and it is my guess that BJP will occupy the space of the Communists, like they did in Tripura, in another 10 years or so. BJP, standing alone, has 15% Vote Share and is not able to attract allies, who have formed two groups UDF and LDF. But once BJP cross 20%, the game will change permanently, as apart from CPM and Muslim League, no other party can hope to get 10% vote share on their own. 

Modi and Amit Shah has lot of work to do to reclaim South India, like they did in East India. They need to consolidate, and get power in Karnataka (Yeduriappa need to be replaced by a dynamic youngster). This has to be followed by working at the ground level in Kerala and targeting the younger generation. NCN is on his way out in AP. Instead of piggy backing Jagmohan Reddy, BJP should try to occupy that space, with an eye on the future. In TN, BJP missed a trick by not brokering the peace between EPS led AIADMK and Dinakaran led AIADMK. This, along with others like PMK, DMDK would have thrown the anti hindu DMK led alliance to the Bay of Bengal. 

BJPs communication strategy is defensive both in Kerala and Tamilnadu. This has to change. And they need to identify a pan South Indian leader who will be the glue. Can they?

T-20 Cricket - Pros and Cons - 3 - Batting

T 20 is designed to be a Batsmen's game. Every single rule favours the Batsmen. Bowler has to always bowl in the hitting zone of the Batsman, he cant bowl bouncers at will, Boundaries are ridiculously short, there are normally no close in fielders to snaffle up the edges, no restrictions on the bat means even mishits get hit for sixes..... the list is endless.

On the pro side, Batsmen are trained now to look for runs, which has had a positive influence on Test Cricket, and even ODIs. They score at a much faster pace in Test Cricket, making the matches more exciting. I remember once in 1981, travelling for 2 days in  Train from Palghat to Delhi to watch India play England at Feroz Shah Kotla in a Test Match. England won the toss, and Boycott and Tavare batted the whole day and England ended up with 186 for 1!. Those days are gone.

The Batsmen are very innovative, and aggressive. Improvisations galore. Reverse Sweep, Steering late to third man, scoop over wicket keepers head and the ability of batsmen to find the gaps are definite advantages. The running between the wickets have improved and it is a pleasure to watch athletic batsmen like Virat Kohli, A B Devilliers etc run like hares between wickets, converting ones to twos. A couple of days ago, David Warner and Bairstow ran RCB ragged with fantastic running between the wickets. 

Batsmen are not afraid to loft the ball, a far cry from the old school of batting. I remember having to run two laps as a punishment for lofting the ball while batting in the nets in 1980s. The Coach was furious, as we were taught only to drive the ball along the ground.

On the con side, sound technique, especially defensive techniques have totally disappeared. In Test Cricket more batsmen get out nibbling the ball outside the off stump, a carry over from their T 20 matches, where they can get away with it. Today's Test Teams cant play out 3 sessions on the final day to save a Test Match, though there are have been one or two exceptions. 

Batsmen are losing the ability to play the short ball. T 20 expects them to plonk the left foot forward and towards mid wicket to hoick an ugly cross batted swipe. This creates a major issue when the ball is bowled short, and we see more batsmen getting hit. With the batsmen getting to play in flat surfaces in T 20 all the time, they are found wanting when the pitch offers something for either the fast bowlers or turns for the slow bowlers. There is a marked deterioration in the skill sets of the batsmen overall. Loose technique, coupled with over arching aggression, enhanced risk taking have led to shorter stays at the crease across the formats. Once, not long ago, good Batsmen used to put a price on their wicket. Not any more. It almost appears Batsmen dont mind getting out, as it happens frequently in T 20s.

Saddest part is that Batsmen feel an entitled lot, having all the rules framed in their favour.