Let us find out whether the award returnees have real balls!

Much has been written about the farce of the so called 'famous' writers and film makers returning their awards, citing lack of Freedom and rising intolerance in the Country, under BJP rule.

Though the social media has panned all these hypocrites, and exposed them for the charlatans they are, the Government has been muted in its response, except for some hard hitting speeches by Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu.

I was surprised to see Rajnath Singh asking these 'worthies' to engage in a dialogue with the Government! Pray why?

It is noteworthy that the Congress party which orchestrated this award return drama, did not bother to stand by them.

Why didn't Sonia or Rahul not return the Bharat Ratnas awarded to Nehru, Indira and Rahul? We would have gladly accepted them, for they were all unworthy of getting the highest honour of the nation, in any case.

How I wish the Government had called the bluff of these writers and film makers!

They should have given them one weeks time to return the Citation, the Cash award with interest accrued till date, the cost of translating and printing their books by Sahitya Academy in many languages, and the Royalty paid to them so far. If they refused to do so, then cases should be filed against them under IPC 420 for cheating the public.

Now, THAT would have set the cat amongst the pigeons and we would have found out how many of these commie left pseudo liberals have real balls!

A Few Unasked Questions in Indian Politics - 1

Aravind Kejriwal pulled out of the Coalition Government with Congress after 49 days, citing Congress not backing him to get the majority for passing the Jan Lokpal Bill. Now that he has a 67/70 majority for the past 7 months, why is he not even talking about Jan Lokpal?

Why is everyone giving so much importance to AAP, when it rules only Delhi, which is a truncated State at worst, and a glorified Municipality at worst?

Similarly, why is so much space given to Congress party, which has only 44 members in the Lok Sabha?

Communist Party of India, whether Marxist or not, is virtually wiped out in India. But still they have a say in everything which is tom tomed by the Media. Why should be suffer non entities like Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat or Prakash Karat who cannot influence even 1% of the national voters?

We have followed the British system of Parliam

entary Democracy. Why have we not adopted their system of having primaries to elect candidates to stand for election in a Constituency?

We used to have a single days polling 30 years ago, and prior to the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines, and results announced the very next day. Why should we have the elections spread over 2 months, and counting done only 3-5 days after the last day of polling?

Why are we not taxing Agriculture income? There are farmers who are multi millionaires who get away without paying tax. Why?

What is the true meaning of Secularism?

Why do we talk of only Muslims and Christians when we mention Minorities? What about the true Minorities - the Parsis, Jains, Sikhs etc? Why should we have only a Muslim Minister for the post of Minister of Minority Affairs always?

Why are we not modernizing the Judiciary? Why are there so many vacancies in various Courts? When will we get to see a Case being tried in less than 3 years?

Why should Supreme Court which should focus on only mainly high level Appeals interfering in simple domestic violence case like that of Somnath Bharthi or giving anticipatory bail to Teesta Setalvad, thereby wasting their precious time?.....................to be contd............

A Judge is a 'Honourable' Man, So they are all 'Honourable' Men

For a long time now the Judiciary in India has been encroaching into the domain of the Executive. This started during the 10 year of UPA rule, when a weak Prime Minister was only too happy to allow the Judiciary to set policies as he did not want a confrontation with his dominant Alliance Partners.

The scenario is similar in various State Capitals. In Kerala, the UDF Government virtually drags the Court into any major policy initiative - be it the Liquor Policy or Division of Wards in the Local Body Election or even in routine Corruption Cases.

This is cowardly as it sets a dangerous precedent. It is akin to allowing Auditors to manage a Company, which is just not on. The Judiciary's role is to ensure whether the laws are followed, and not to make laws or to even make suggestions in this regard.

While I am second to none with respect to my appreciation of the Indian Judiciary (despite rotten apples, the poorly paid Judges do a tremendous job mostly), we need to be objective.

There have been far too many instances of over reach by the Judiciary. The trigger to this article is a directive by the Allahabad HC that the children of all Government Servants and Policy Makers should study only in Government School. This, the Judge feels, will make the Officials and Lawmakers more sensitive to the needs of Public Schools. It is no ones case that Government Schools are neglected and the students who are from the under privileged section of the society suffer a lot. But the Judge should have known that his Activism Judgment, while scoring high in dramatics, will not stand the test of law even in a Law School mock court.

We have seen the Court make caustic comments about the lack of progress in the Ganga Cleaning Project, or in the running of Railways or even the Government. But have we ever heard the Honourable Judges make one critical comment against themselves or the Judiciary? Our Judiciary's inefficiency in completing cases in a reasonable time frame is the biggest hurdle that stands in the way of the Country achieving greater heights. In today's scenario anyone with money or political backing can break laws with impunity knowing fully well that punishment, if it is handed out at all, is down the road 20-30 years down the line. This is with respect to Criminal Cases. Forget about Civil Cases. If I file a case for breach of Agreement, I cannot hope to get a verdict either way in my life time or next. The Judiciary, that makes such a hue and cry over the inefficiencies in others, is studiously silent when it comes to reforming itself.

I can site a few instances to demonstrate my point. It would have been hilarious, were it not that it is so tragic.

Take the case of Yakub Memon. It is bad enough that the Judiciary took nearly 20 years to execute him. The case dragged on for years for no reason whatsoever. It took 6 years for the appeals to be disposed off (he was sentenced to death by the lower court in 2007 and was upheld by SC in 2013). The comedy started after the President refused to commute his death sentence. One would have thought that once SC upholds the verdict, and disposes of the Review petition the Court should say firmly that its role has ended. Clemency by President is the last option. But in India, it is a No. The SC again opened its door to hear whether Presidents decision was correct, whether its decision was correct. Then we saw the convict appealing to the State Governor for Clemency (as if he is above the President!), then again to the President and finally the comical scene of the CJ ordering a hearing at 2 am in the morning on another petition by so called 'eminent' lawyers. It must have assuaged the bloated ego of our SC Judges no end, but in the end all they did was to make the Judiciary look ridiculous.

We have another case of the blatantly anti national Teesta Setalvad's lawyer being given permission to break the hearing by a SC Judge to plead for her anticipatory bail over video conferencing and it being given on priority!!

The less said about convicts Lalu Prasad Yadav and Salman Khan roaming around free after all these years is a testament to the 'Efficiency' of our Judiciary. And what happened to the Coal Scam cases or the 2G Scandal which rocked the country 4 years ago?

We saw the SC turning a blind eye to the blatant misuse of power and wealth accumulation by one of its on Chief Justice. It refused to even look into the case.

Finally, we have a stranger situation. The Supreme Court is hearing a Case where it is the aggrieved party!!. I am talking about National Judicial Appointment Commission Act case. This is a fight between the Government and the Supreme Court, where the SC is apparently the aggrieved party (by SC means SC judges). By any logic, this should not be heard by the SC, as there is a clear Conflict of Interest. It should  have been heard by an impartial Third Party.

But who will bell the cat?

Let the Honourable Judges not forget the famous word play of Mark Antony and how he used the word Honourable to rouse the crowd.

Let us not hope what befell Brutus and Cassius after Antony's 'Honourable Men' usage, doesn't fall on our Judges	

The Anti National Mother and Son Isolated

Parliament being not allowed to function by the Opposition defies logic!

There is more to it than meets the eye.

Congress, or more specifically Sonia and Rahul, have taken the lead in sabotaging the session.

And it has nothing to do with the upcoming Bihar Election, for Congress is not a significant player there.

Many in Congress are reluctant participants in this sham protest. And other opposition parties mute spectators only because this was the first instance, they thought, they can beat Modi and NDA with something.

Frankly the issue they chose, of Sushma helping out Lalit Modi, is at best an impropriety and not corruption by any means.

And that too for Sonia and Rahul to lead the stalling antics from the front is rare. Normally they let their henchmen, Congress MPs, to do the dirty work.

So why did they expose themselves to the point of being ridiculed?

Many have opined that the mother and son couldn't stand losing power. But this is too simple an answer.

There is lot of discontent within the party. Amarinder Singh was conspicuous by his absence, and he is the Deputy Leader of the party in the House. Shashi Tharoor was openly critical of the disruptive strategy and most of the veterans are unhappy with Rahul's brigade dictating the affairs of the party.

Sonia or rather Rahul thought (well, cant say he thought, as he is incapable of any thought process. So rather his dumb advisers thought) that  by attacking Sushma Swaraj, they can keep the flock together.

Also, this could be a pre emptive strike, as the enquiry on Vadras land deal, the National Herald Case and the Black Money bill could prove to be detrimental to the family in the near term.

They know Modi is no Vajpayee. Vajpayee was too soft on Sonia, and should have finished her off 17 years ago, but didn't and India has to pay the price. Modi is made of different stuff. He is tough, ruthless and has a history of finishing off his political rivals. He decimated the entire Congress leadership in Gujarat, and has totally neutralized trouble makers like Advani, Joshi and even upstarts like Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh, within the party.

He has been overtly polite to all his political opponents after becoming the PM to build consensus, be it Mufti Muhammed Sayid, or Mulayam Singh Yadav,  Lalu, Sharad Pawar and the Mercurial Mamta Bannerjee. Jayalalitha is of course an old friend of his. He has been courteous to Sonia and Rahul whenever they meet, though Sonia rebuffed him when he went to greet her in Parliament recently.

It looks like Modi reaching out to other leaders, which is as it should be (One can oppose politically but can/should have a good personal rapport with all), is being taken as a sign of weakness by Sonia. And she is making a big mistake and is likely to regret in leisure.

Modi quietly tolerated the nonsense in the hope of getting the GST bill passed somehow. Now that this has not happened, wait for him to lower the boom.

And then the anti national Mother and Son would be running for cover. As of now, by the end of Parliament session, they are friendless. The whole country is against them. The industrial houses wont give them a rupee as donation, as they are seething. 

Modi has managed to turn the tide against Sonia and Rahul and have isolated them.

As on date, Sonia and Rahul don't even have a single friend left standing, with the exception of Sitaram Yechury, whose party itself is a pariah to all and sundry.

Well Begun is Half Done

I have a very sensitive nature. I cannot see anything that is in the making or unfinished. It jars my sensibilities.

My father, when he was alive, constructed a house for himself, and oversaw the construction of two houses for my sister. Whenever I came home, he will ask me to visit the construction site and give my opinion. I used to evade his request, or rather make a cursory visit without showing much interest. I couldn't make any sense out of the foundation or the semi finished house.

When the house is completed, I will be in my elements. Looking at everything wholistically, and critically, I will come up with suggestions for amendments or tell him where he has gone wrong ( he was a down to earth practical guy, with hardly any aesthetic sense, whereas I was just the opposite ).

This will drive him mad, and he would chide me for not telling this to him early, though he would try to incorporate, if he can, my suggestions, even if it means redoing the civil work.

I was reminded of this when I see articles after articles chiding Modi for not making drastic visible changes. Most of the Indians are like me. They would like to see the finished article only, but cant appreciate the work in progress. And once it is finished, they criticize with all their might.

But if you look back over the past 14 months, Modi has been busy rebuilding the Country brick by brick. To his credit, he hasn't been dogmatic. Has embraced good things from the previous government i.e GST and even the UID scheme. The ideas was to fix things not broken totally rather than reinvent the wheel. Can't blame him on this.

If we look deeply, we will see the foundation being laid for many initiatives that will change the fortune of the nation.

His foreign sojourn has led to India's prestige restored in the World Arena.

The Defense is happy with him, as he has backed them to the hilt, unlike his predecessor who dilly dallied on any reprisal. Duval has worked wonders - be it repatriating stranded Indians from strife torn areas, or taking the attack to the enemy in Myanmar, or signing the peace deal with Naga rebels. We are much safer as a country knowing Duval is keeping an eye on things.

The opening of Bank Accounts for all, will reduce diversion of subsidies and ensure the benefit reaches the ultimate  beneficiary. No mean achievement

True, Modi has been very luck with lower oil prices. But it has helped him to improve the financial position, which was in a bad state following the scorched earth policy legacy of the UPA's wasteful government.

Swatch Bharath and Digital India are the baby steps in creating a cleaner modern society. As are the Smart Cities and the AMRUT programs. 5 years down the line these initiatives, along with those regarding connectivity - roads, port and railways - will make a huge difference

Make in India is at its base stage. We need to see how it progresses before commenting on it.

Our Education system is totally broken. We are yet to see any major initiative to set it right. It just cannot be tinkered any more. This is a once in a life time opportunity to fix it. We owe it to our future generation.

One year is not a long time when one wants to fix an economy and correct decades of rot and decay.

As the saying goes, 'Well begun is half done'

Modern Day Nero

 
 
 
 

"When Rome was burning, Nero was Fiddling!" ( though technically he as not fiddling but playing harp. we will let that by)









So what is the Modern Day Nero doing when his party and State he heads are burning?








How the 'Mighty' has been exposed!!!

What is common between Modi and Rahul?

At last, we have a leader in Modi! and let us be thankful for that, after being handled ( I wont use the word 'led') by a series of pathetic rulers - both in the front seat and back seat.

 

He has smashed the caste and religion based polarization, putting the agenda of development on the forefront, as it should be. Never mind what the media says. They have a vested interest in projecting Modi as a Hindu icon.But in truth, he never polarized during the elections. It was his enemies who moved heaven and earth to divide people based on religion and caste.

 

He enthused voters across the country. The young, fed on a diet of entitlement based policies of Congress, were seething and found in Modi someone who understood their aspirations and talked their language. The rural folk related with his specific agricultural policies that were tried and tested in Gujarat, but were alien to them. People started to 'HOPE' again. And the hope turned into dreams by the time votes were cast. And therein lies the success of Modi.The BJP poster on the left says it all. This is not Modi, but this is THE OPPORTUNITY. And people were not willing to let go of the opportunity, which has come their way after decades.

 

I wrote about youngsters who travelled hundreds of kilometers to just cast their vote. Even school kids, who have no voting rights, debated and discussed the election process. After an era, when voters had become apathetic to the elections, 2014 signifies the resurgence of our democracy, thanks to Modi. This is no mean achievement.

 

A teenager accosted me and asked ' Can you tell me one similarity between Modi and Rahul?'. I told him I am not stupid to compare cheese and chalk ('Well! even chalk has some use', my young friend commented). But he had the last laugh, "Uncle, wherever Modi or Rahul addresses an election meeting, BJP gets One Hundred Thousand votes extra!!!"

 

That, my readers, sums up Election 2014

Winds of Change in the Southern States

I spent a week in Kerala and Tamil Nadu recently. There is a surprise lack of buzz on the electioneering front, even on the last day of campaigning in Kerala. Perhaps it is due to the curb on election expenditure set by the Election Commission.

Kerala has always been strongly polarized between the Congress led UDF and the Communist led LDF. BJP has a good share of votes, but since they stand alone, and their voters are not concentrated, they were not able to win any seats so far in the State. LDF and UDF have tactically transferred votes in the past to keep BJP out in some of the seats in the past, which may happen again in Trivandrum and Kasargode this time around too.

But I detected a small undercurrent of change in Kerala. This could be due to the excitement generated by Modi, or could be due to the utter disgust of the electorate towards the antics of UDF and LDF.

On election day, couple of Engineering Students studying in Coimbatore, travelled all the way to Kunnamkulam ( 130 kms away) to exercise their franchise. What was remarkable was that they took this trouble to vote for BJP in a seat where BJP doesn't have a ghost of a chance of winning. When queried why they did this, they replied that 'they were making a statement, irrespective of who won'. If this is any indication, then we might see a consolidation of neutral votes behind BJP. They may still not win a seat (for that matter, it would be nice to have an election where all the parties stand on their own in Kerala, and then see where each one of them stand. Most of them are riding on the votes of their alliance partners)

Tamil Nadu case is a little different. A state that has seen none other than AIADMK or DMK or their alliance partners winning, could see for the first time a genuine 3rd front winning 4-5 seats - this is the alliance of BJP, MDMK, DMDK, PMK. With DMK likely to be decimated, and Congress not expected to even retain deposit, this front could move into the vacant space.

With BJP tying up with TDP in AP, slowly but surely BJP is getting a foot hold in the major Southern States.

This augurs well for the future for BJP, provided Modi delivers what he promises - Development

Modi to the fore

I have always been a politically sensitive person. Maybe it has to do with the kind of political awareness we had when we were brought up in an era that was in turmoil - Emergency, Post Emergency Turmoil, Indira Gandhi Assassination.......................all these were defining moments in the history of India, and happened when we were impressionable. Unlike the modern day students we were not apathetic to politics, but debated about issues concerning the country amongst ourselves. We were a group of 17 - a bunch that had KSU, SFI, ABVP, AISF supporters and a few neutrals. We had party based elections in College and even at School. Today's generation studying in CBSE Schools and Private Colleges miss out this experience, which really shaped our thinking.

 

I have followed all the elections in the past 40 years, and there is an element of excitement with the current one. After a long time, we smell change in the air. We have as a candidate who has demonstrated, both leadership and governance, qualities. Modi is a man with a mission, and one sincerely hopes he wins big and wont have to compromise with smaller parties to implement his agenda.

 

Gone under the barrage of criticism of Modi by the Media, are a few facts that stand out.

 

Modi has proved to be a master organizer. He identified rightly that UP is where he will win or lose the battle for Delhi, and sent his right hand man Amit Shah 18 months in advance to prepare the state for BJP. And how well Amit Shah has performed. If BJP is optimistic of getting more than 45 seats in UP today, it is solely due to Amit Shah. It has also led to a situation where Modi is willing to fight in Varanasi, despite Murli Manohar Joshi winning that seat by a mere 17,000 votes last time around. If Varanasi, with its symbolism, is considered to be a safe seat now (otherwise Modi wont fight there), it is no mean achievement. Amit Shah, has single handedly, sidelined spoilers like Uma Bharati, Kalyan Singh, MM Joshi and even Rajnath Singh, who have done enough to queer the pitch for BJP in UP in the past.

 

One of the reasons why BJP almost degenerated to being considered to be the Congress replica is the functioning style of L K Advani, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and Sushma Swaraj. There was hardly any differentiation in their functioning with respect to Congress. But these people, who lived on past glory, like Yuvraj Singh in Indian team now, were proving to be a drag. To their credit RSS and BJP identified this bogey well in advance and anointed Modi as the PM Candidate well in advance, giving him the time and space to have his own team and agenda in place. It was on the cards that the above mentioned will try to put a spanner in Modi's rise at some stage or other. That is precisely what happened. But one by one they were cut to size. While media might scream about disrespect shown to senior leaders, one can go back to panchatantra to find the logic behind this act - 'One can sacrifice an individual for the sake of a house/village'. Modi took a stand that if some people had to be shown the place, or cut to size for the greater good of the party and the country, so be it. Advani was forced to accept Gandhinagar, Yashwant Sinha is not even contesting, MM Joshi was denied his Varanasi seat, Jaswant Singh refused his choice of seat and Sushma Swaraj's opinion on various issues have been contemptuously dismissed. And all these were done using the party apparatus. The party is run by a team of dedicated people, who are there to strengthen the arms of Modi, and they are doing a good job. Once the above 4-5 are put in their place, dissent down the line will die down naturally, which augurs well for BJP.

 

And nothing succeeds like success, or rather, nothing attracts like a person who is about to triumph. Parties and individuals are lining up to align with BJP - be it Paswan, Pawan Kalyan, Raj Thackeray, TDP, TRS and even DMK, PDP, NCP. Modi is no longer untouchable. But I sincerely hope, BJP gets 272 seats on its own, and wont have to depend on the whims and fancies of the turncoats.

Momentum is with Modi

It is a Winter of Discontent for the Congress Party. The message from the electorate is loud and clear. "We have had enough of you and your antics. In the name of god, GO". Not since 1977, the party has suffered such a whitewash. What everyone in the Main Stream Media conveniently forgets are the massive victories in Madhya Pradesh, where BJP got 2/3 rd majority in its third term, and Rajastan, where it got more than 75% of the sears and where traditionally the margin of victory is narrow, even during the times of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the doyen of Indian Politics. Even in Delhi and Chattisgarh, the Modi effect pulled BJP through in tough fights.

 

Everyone is going ga-ga over the Aam Aadmi Party. While their performance is quite credible, it has got more to do with the massive anti-congress sentiment in Delhi, post the Commonwealth Games mess, the response or lack of on the Rape Case and finally the ham handed way in which the Congress Government handled the Anna Hazare agitation. Kejriwal benefitted from the Anna Hazare movement, but can he repeat it in the next election, when the curiosity or let us just try feeling withers off. I doubt. If the elections were to be held, couple of years down the line, I have a feeling AAP will not even touch double digits.

 

The Congress leadership (sic) of the mother and son, has lost all credibility. The crushing defeat will have a fallout that is unimaginable. For one, this will embolden the Andhra MPs and MLAs who will spike the Telengana bill. This will ensure congress losing out in both Seemandhara and in Telengana areas. The former will see Congress as a betrayer, while the latter will see it as a non performer. It is heads I lose, tails you win situation. No one wants to part of a sinking ship. They will jump at the first opportunity. NCP will flex its muscles. Even Nitish will see Congress as a liability. DMK may be forced to align with it in TN because of the TINA factor, but if Yercaud bye election result is any indication, AIADMK is on a strong wicket. With Yeduriappa likely to be back in Karnataka BJP fold, Congress cant expect more than 50% of the seats there. In Kerala it will be thrashed. I just cant see where Congress is to get a substantial chunk of seats in the Parliamentary elections.

 

The momentum is with Modi. People have seen him, and they have liked what they saw. You can see Regional parties queuing up to join NDA. I will wager a bet now that the expanded NDA will win more than 300 seats in the General Elections? Any takers?

C-Company

The old adage " A person is known by the Company he keeps" is very true, more so in the case of those who govern/rule us.

 

Take the case of Duryodhana. Though he had access to extremely sane council in the forms of Bheeshma, Drona, Kripa and Vidura, he chose to surround himself with Sakuni, Karna, Jayadradha, Dussasana et al. which ultimately led to his doom.

 

We can find a similarity in Ramayana. Ravana chose to ignore the wisdom of his younger brother Vibheeshana, but rather opted to listen to many others who were either psychophants or scared of him to tell the truth. We all know what happened to him.

 

Indira Gandhi, who was an extremely insecure lady, listened more to her 'Kitchen Cabinet' comprising of her good for nothing son Sanjay, R K Dhawan, Sidharth Sankar Ray, than some of the eminent members of her Advisors, who were either being ignored or shunted out. This led to the imposition of Emergency and the rest is history. Perhaps the downfall of Congress, and India started then.

 

The current Congress leadership and Government takes the cake in this regard. One of the reasons the country is in such a mess. Sonia has a non constitutional body to advise her called NAC, which comprises of some first class idiots and anti nationals. Any Prime Minister who continues to bank on the advise of a moron like Montek Singh Ahluwalia (of the Rs 32 per day poverty definition infamy) dont deserve to even me a Panchayat head. Congress also took care to have an absolute non entity and chamcha named Pratibha Patil as President. It was only because of opposition parties support that the Presidency was saved with the installation of Pranab Mukherjee, who was the last person Sonia wanted as President. This was the same Government that appointed the super corrupt K G Balakrishnan as SC Chief Justice and had the notorious Navin Chawla as the Chief Election Commissioner. Can any PM worth his salt afford to have grade one idiots like Shivraj Patil and Sushil Kumar Shinde as Home Ministers or a good for nothing Meera Kumar as Speaker of Loksabha? And we are not yet talking about Ministers from Coalition partners yet. Food Prices are spiralling, and we have a disaster called Sharad Pawar as Agricultural Minister for nearly a decade. The less said about the ability of the 'future PM' the better. The guy is plain 'dumbo' and has already started having an influence on all major decisions, without any accountability, just like his mother.

 

Our only hope is that Congress dont change their ways to ensure they are kicked out for good during the next general elections.

 

Closing a hole with darkness

I am sure I will be pillored for writing this.

 

Recently, Supreme Court passed a 'verdict' barring convicted lawmakers from continuing in Parliament or State Assemblies. This has been welcomed by almost all, except those politicians who face imminent conviction.

 

Much water has flown since. First the ruling party, under pressure from Lalu and Rashee Masood and a handful of others, decided to introduce a bill in the Loksabha to overturn the verdict. But it proved to be non-starter. Then the Government, ill advised, tried to take the Ordinance route. This was scuttled, first by BJP and Left, then by the President before 'Dumbo' entered the picture with his irresponsible press conference.

 

The subsequent events should not cover up the root cause. The Supreme Court was wrong in pronouncing the judgement.

 

We have a legal system which states that every person is 'innocent till proved guilty' (It is another matter that we have a mobocracy, led by TV Anchors and Media, that pronounces everyone 'guilty even if proved innocent'). Take the example of Laloo Prasad Yaday- He has been convicted by the CBI court in the Fodder Scam (well and good, though it took them 16 years to arrive at this verdict,during which he enjoyed all the perks of office and more). But this is only a lower court. He is free to appeal in the higher courts, including the Supreme Court, and he can even go scot free. If he that happens (after 10 years or so) then all of us would have been unfair to him. Right?

 

Supreme Court is reluctant to attack the Root Cause - the inordinate time it takes to arrive at a verdict. Why verdict, even the first trial date is more than a decade after a case comes to the court. Add to this, the shoddy job done  by the Police across the country, resulting in 90% of the people getting acquitted for want of evidence. Is there any wonder people are becoming more arrogant?

 

Take the case of P Chidambaram's election from Sivaganga, that is being challenged. It is obvious to everyone, except our Courts, that a fraud was committed and results were manipulated. It is almost 4 1/4 years since the election, but the case has not even come up for hearing!!!. And PC has worked as Home Minister and then Finance Minister during this period. If his election was null abinitio, then whatever decisions taken by him during the past 4 1/4 years are null and void. But......?

 

This is true of most of the cases. Also, the accused are denied of their right to clear their name and are permanently under suspicion, which is unfair.

 

Supreme Court has not come up with any concrete plans to speed up the justice system, and various Police Reform suggestions are gathering dust.

 

The current Supreme Court verdict on disqualification of politicians on being convicted, while popular, is a grave mistake and akin to closing a hole with darkness.

 

 

You can Fool..................................

I wish someone would tell to the Dumbest Guy bar None in India the following quote from Abraham Lincoln;

 

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and

some of the people all the time, but

you cannot fool all the people all the time"

 

Two months ago, the Supreme Court comes down heavily on MPs and MLA's who are convicted but continues to enjoy holding their position. Instead of using this as an opportunity to cleanse the political system, the Government comes up immediately with the idea of a law to circumvent the SC verdict. The speed with which the Government moved is astonishing. If only the Government took decisions that fast pertaining to so many issues pertaining to the common man!.

 

The proposed law runs into rough weather in the Parliament and it was left to be debated by a Parliament Select Committee, as it should be. There is no hope of this law getting passed before the next elections, as things stand.

 

With Laloo Prasad Yadav's and Rasheed Masood's verdicts due by the end of the month, the Government (read Congress) takes the Ordinance route. Any Ordinance has to be passed by the Parliament in 6 months time. But by then Laloo and Rasheed would have been safe, and it would be left to the new Government to take a call on this. In all likelihood the ordinance would have lapsed.

 

BJP and Left had serious reservations (more as a political strategy- they have nothing to lose by opposing the ordinance). They meet the President, who himself had more or less made up his mind to return the Ordinance for reconsideration, once MMS was back from US. He didnt want to embarrass the PM of the Country while abroad, and rightly so.

 

Return of the Ordinance after the Opposition had met the President would have been a body blow for the Congress and the UPA. And the purpose for which the Ordinance was issued, viz. to save Laloo and Rasheed, would not have served, as the Government has to be seen to be reconsidering the Ordinance, Cabinet has to approve and then again it has to be resent to the President, who cannot refuse to sign the second time around, but can sit on it. The Ordinance was anyway doomed.

To save face, Congress scripted the comedy of Rahul Gandhi, attending a Press Conference hosted to 'support the Ordinance', make a cavalier statement denouncing it, embarassing the PM while he was abroad, and walks off without waiting to take any follow up questions. He didnt want some smart alec reporter (and there are still some with a bit of back bone) to ask the obvious questions - "What the hell were you doing these last 2 months when the whole issue was being debated in the political circles? Why didnt you raise your objection then? and Can you guarantee not giving seats to Criminals in the next Elections?"

 

Sonia and Rahul have done irreparable damage to the office of the PM. They have demeaned it to such an extend that if MMS had even an iota of Self Respect, he would put in his papers on his return. There was a big hue and cry when Rajiv Gandhi, insulted the then Foreign Secretary A P Venkateswaran, in a Public Meeting. But our media is silent on Rahul Gandhis immature, irresponsible outburst. Here is a guy who is dumb, drunk with power, has absolutely no accountability, refuses to take any responsibility, and doesnt care a fig for the people. He is also not in India for majority of the time, and God only knows what he is doing when he is abroad. How long do Congress think they can fool the people?

 

'Consequences' for our PM

Naval guards issue: "If Italy does not keep its word, there will be consequences", PM says

I visualized the scenario of our 'brave' PM talking tough to Italians

MMS - "You better send the Marines back"

Italians - "What will you do if we dont?"

MMS- "I will do what I did to the Americans, Pakistanis"

Italians- "And what did you do to them?"

MMS- "You dont know?"

Italians- "No we dont"

MMS- "So you dont know what we did to the Pakistanis who killed our soldiers and people?"

Italians- (Yawn) "No. Please enlighten us"

MMS - "I am warning you. Dont make me do it again"

Italians - (Silence)

MMS - "I am warning you one final time. Dont force my hand"

Italians- (Silence)

MMS- "My Government will do everything which is in its power to bring the Marines back"

MMS- "We will not accept this insult"

MMS-"We will not take it lying down"

MMS- "We will, We will, ..........................errr..........."

(Ring........Ring.........Mobile rings)

MMS- "Yes Ma'am, No Ma'am, But Ma'am, .......Ok Ma'am, I will Ma'am. Whatever you say Ma'am. I will handle the job personally Ma'am. I am fully aware of the 'consequences' if I don't do your bidding Ma'am. Sorry Ma'am"

(Disconnects the phone and talks to his team)

MMS- "Let us teach the Italians a lesson. Let us do to them what we did to Quotrochi and Warren Anderson, and also sign 3 Defence deals with the Italians"

It is simple, stupid

Indians have a habit of complicating simple things. I have hardly seen an Agreement from an Indian firm that is direct and to the point. And Indians, of late, have developed another trait. They see a conspiracy where none exists.

And so it is in the case of Afzal Guru.

Whether I am for or against Death penalty has no relevance here. Nor should any one else's be.

Our Law has the provision for Death Penalty in the rarest of rare cases, and that should be respected by all, till they are changed.

The Conspiracy to blow up the Parliament and death of the Security Personnel should definitely fall under the rarest of rare cases.

The other apology that is given is that Afzal Guru did not get a fair trial, and evidence against him were flimsy. This is pure humbug. The same trial acquitted Geelani and gave a 10 year RI for another accused, but found sufficient evidence to prove Afzal Guru guilty. The track record of our Supreme Court clearly indicates that they are not trigger happy when it comes to sentencing someone to death. In fact, it could be accused of being too liberal.

If at all the Human Rights activists and others have anything to complain, it should be about the inordinate delay in disposing the mercy petition of Afzal Guru. A guy confined to the death chamber dies every day. Read John Grisham's Chamber to better understand the psyche of such a convict.

The final objection pertains to his execution being conducted in utmost secrecy. Considering the possible fall out in Kashmir and elsewhere, this was the best possible course of action, to avoid  unwanted deaths and riots. The relative calm across the country after the hanging justifies the secrecy.

Would converting the death sentence of Afzal Guru led to lasting peace in Kashmir? His hanging was delayed by 8 years? Did it lead to permanent peace in Kashmir? It didnt. The North Eastern States have more grievances against India than the much pampered Kashmir. But they abide by our Constitution and law of the land, dont they? Then why cant Kashmir, who has so much special privileges vested on it? The per capita expenditure on Kashmir by the Central Government is one of the highest. Still they nurse a sense of victimhood. Repeal Article 370, bring the Uniform Civil Code and develop the concept of Nationhood. No special privileges for anyone or any State beyond a stipulated years, so that at least by 2030 we have a Nation where everyone is equal.

‘You can sacrifice an individual for a family, family for a village, village for the welfare of a nation' - This quote from Panchatantra is suffice as any justification, if any is required.

In the case of Afzal Guru, it is not even a sacrifice. He got what he deserved, as per the Supreme Court. And that is enough for me and should be for all of us

Pearls of Wisdom

Here are some gems from the 'future' (God help) PM of India;

Congress is not a party, it's a family. The Congress is called the party, but it is actually a family. In fact, it is the world's biggest family - It has to be the biggest family alright,  if one were to consider the womanizing of Nehru, Sanjay and himself.

Five years from now, we need to prepare 40 to 50 politicians, who will be in a position to run loot the country. If someone asks us what does the Congress do, our reply should be that we prepare leaders who will take care of  spoil India's future."   

We will champion the voice of every Indian: In 1947, India was liberated not by arms but by non-violence and through the voice of the people. The Congress said we will use non-violence and sent the British home. Gandhiji's successors ensured democracy was the bedrock of our Constitution. Every Indian is going to be supported by the Congress, no matter what caste, religion. The Green Revolution restored the voice of the farmer (who is committing suicides by droves now); the IT revolution literally gave people the voice (Voice chat?).  Manmohan Singhji unleashed the voice of thousands by giving entrepreneurial rights (which has turned into a howl of anguish after 2 decades).Voices of thousands are telling us that India's governmental system is stuck in the past and is a system that dis-empowers. Why is our youth angry? (Because we are ruled by Assholes like you) Because they are alienated as the powerful drive around in cars with red beacons (So do you, and your esteemed Brother in Law AH). The corrupt stand up and talk about eradicating corruption (As you are doing now). Those who disrespect women every day talk about women's rights ( Is it because there was a rape case against you, that you didnt talk about Women's rights?). We will champion the voice of every single Indian.- And you will do this by enacting the Right to Voice Act 2013

Last night everyone congratulated me. But last night, my mother came to my room and she sat with me and she cried. ( She cried thinking the misfortune of having a dumb idiot like you as son) She cried cause she can see that the power can be poison (and she wants to give you that, so that you can drink and die ASAP). She can see it because she is not attached to it (Nope she is not attached to it, she is just embdedded to it). Don't chase power (Chase only girls in Columbia or Dubai or Italy or wherever you fly off to every week) for the attribute of power but use it to empower the world.

Omerta broken at last

Massive and unimaginable levels of corruption is the single most talking point in India these days. It is gnawing at the very foundations of Indian Economy, taking the country backwards, and as one infamous son-in-law remarked recently 'has made the country a "Banana Republic". One would expect any Prime Minister, who has at least a semblence of decency left in him, to provide at least lip service to the cause of fighting corruption. Instead, what we have from the moron is that 'Graft Charges bad for India's Image'. Note the meaning;  Graft is not bad for the Country, but Charges made of Graft are bad!!

For a long while, all the political parties have followed the old Italian principle of 'Omerta'. Silence about each others corruption (even if it is brought out for political purposes, a sham enquiry would be ordered and the whole issue dragged for ever till no one cares about it - remember Bofors, Harshad Mehta, 2G Spectrum, CWG? In Kerala, an Ex-Minister was convicted with a sentence of 1 Year RI, for graft after nearly 2 decades! And he was pardoned by the State Government after a few days in the Jail, of which 90% was spent on a 5 Star hospital for imaginable diseases. The guy has not gone near a doctor for the past one year since he has been released!!!) was the rule, as everyone was corrupt, and no one wanted to be compromised. It  was a win-win situation for the political leaders, with the only loser being the people of the country. It is also why, the opposition parties kept mum on Robert Vadra dealings, despite having evidence on their hands for more than a couple of years, and it is also why the massive corruption of Sonia and her family is not even mentioned casually.

But Aravind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan has broken the Omerta by taking on Robert Vadra head on. The panic reactions of Congress shows that they have much to fear about the next arrow hitting where it hurts most - Sonia herself. The beauty of Omerta being broken is that now all opposition parties will be forced to compete with each other in bringing out corruption deals of the First Family and Congress Ministers, or else they will be ridiculed by the common man. Watch out for more fun in the days to come.

Mid term polls in January -February 2013???

Few apparently unconnected incidents/policy decisions indicate Mid-Term Poll in India.

The Coal Scam in which the PM is heavily indicted. Sonia asking Congressment to be aggressive in taking on the opposition (Because the Scam hits close to home???). BJP has upped the ante and has not allowed the parliament to function till MMS resigns, not will it the next session too.

Mulayam Singh Yadav questioning Rahul Gandhi's credentials and announcing the decision to go alone in the next Parliamentary elections, thereby scuttling Congress's plan to form an alliance in UP. Also, the disasterous performance of Akhilesh Yadav's government means every day delay in SP pulling the plug on the UPA Government means loss of seats for SP, reducing its bargaining power in the post poll scenario.

Government deciding to hike the diesel price by Rs 5 and putting a cap on subsidised LPG cylinder to 6 a year. UPA is sure this policy decision will force some of its allies to withdraw support as it is so blatantly anti aam admi. Trinamool Congress and NCP have already made their displeasure known, and both are itching to walk out of UPA.

Now the final nail in the coffin.By allowing 51% FDI in retail, broadcasting and aviation, Congress has left SP, TMC, BSP with hardly any room for manouvre. Their opposition to FDI in retail is well known. They just cannot take this humiliation any more, which means they have to walk out.

Congress knows it will get less than 50 seats if it waits till 2014, knowing how discredited the current regime is. Better to get 100 odd seats now, and hope to support a third front from outside than be irrelevant in 2 years time. And they can take the high moral ground of having been forced to go to the people because of SP, BJP, TMC, BSP claiming they were victims of being reformist, after destroying the economy for 8 long years.

I will stick my neck out and predict that the General Election will be held in January- February 2013, so that Congress can confine Modi to Gujarat, whose Assembly election will also have to be held with it, rather than losing Gujarat now badly, and then having to face a stronger Modi in 2014.

Watch out for January-February 2013!!

Wanted - Non performers, with ability to swindle to head important posts with the Government of India

I know I have been quiet on this blog for a while.

When the Government lurches from one crisis to another or from one colossal stupidity to another then words fail, because of the futility of it all.

We have a tragic situation today. But for the fact that it takes India to abysmal depths, not seen even during the worst days of 1990's, one can even laugh at the absurdity of what is unfolding in front of us.

We have a Planning Commission, that has planned for 60 years and ensured that 60% of India's population still defecates in the open (forget about the health hazards, just imagine the indignity of having to defecate in the open - but who cares), spends RS 35 lakhs for 2 toilets in its headquarters. Even taking in the argument that these toilets shall have 20 seats in total, it still works out to a whopping Rs 1.75 lakhs per seat!!!. And this at a time, when the nation has been asked to tighten its belt. Instead of pulling the Dy Chairman up, our Cabinet found time to joke about it, with a Cabinet Minister requesting Montek to allow him to use the toilet, and Montek, with a smirk, telling him that he has to wait, as there is a big queue!!. And everyone having a good laugh over it.

"What did the Prime Minister say when the news about Planning Commission Toilet Scandal reached him?"

"Oh! Shit"

That is the same response of Indians these days when they hear their Ministers open their mouth.

There is a saying that 'No news is good news'. These days Indians wake up with a prayer that no Minister opens his mouth about a policy issue, for it is sure to hit the common man below the belt - whether it is Petrol prices, diesel prices, airline, railways, inflation, rupee devaluation etc etc......

We have a PM who has been a spectacular failure on all fronts.............And everyone wants him to be shifted to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

We have a FM who has taken the economy to depths..............He wants to become the President.

We have a Defence Minister who ensured our Army is unprepared and under whose watch a honest Army Chief was harassed to no end. The less said about the loot in defence procurement, the better.............and the powers that be in Congress wants him to be the President.

We have a Speaker, who travelled to 42 countries since 2009..........why a Lok Sabha Speaker should travel to 42 countries is beyond me............and she wont mind being the President.

We have a undercooked, juveline, low IQ, escapist idiot who lead Congress to spectacular defeats in Bihar, UP and all the elections it fought under him..............and Congress wants him to be the PM

We have a Home Minister, who blatantly rigged the polls last time around, and used his legal skills to ensure the case didnt come up for trial for the past 3 years (and thus seeing to it that it wont affect his tenure as HM). An added qualification is that he facilitated lakhs and lakhs of crores of loot through 2G Scam, Maxis Deal and what not.....................and he just wont resign and go owning moral authority.

We have a Railway Minister who is not even bothered to attend Cabinet Meetings............and our nincompoop of a PM cant even make him attend one.............and Rail accidents after rail accidents happen.

We have a Planning Commission Dy Chairman who feels it is alright for a family to earn Rs 28-32 per day and he is no longer poor............. and our PM wants him to be the FM

We have Rangarajan, Chairman of PMs Economic Advisory Council, who shamelessly tells the media, at the height of protests about Petrol hike, that Government should increase Diesel and LPG prices too...........and the PM is pushing for him to be the next FM, in case he cant get Montek through.....

And above all, there is the Super PM, who is not accountable to anyone, but who enjoys so much clout that even the Monarch despots in some of the oil rich countries pale in comparison to the powers she has..........and she uses the powers, not for common good, but to ensure she moves up from being the 4th richest politician to the first..............and she doesnt even earn a salary other than the MP salary!!!

And the person who is supposed to be the guardian of our constitution........the President...........is a disgrace..................she is busy travelling to all the exotic places in the world like Mauritius, Seychelles............at taxpayers expense, without any remorse, on the guise that these trips will improve bilateral relationship and bring aid to our country....................it is fine as long as it doesnt bring AIDS to the country!!

Rise of the Local Chieftains

Prior to Independence, India was a collection of Kingdoms and States, administered separately, and having their own Kings, Ministers, or Administrative heads. In a way, the British unified India, though the real credit for bringing together all the States goes to Sardar Vallabhai Patel, who using a mixture of Sama Dana Bheda Dhandam tactics, managed to cajole, threaten everyone to create a larger India.

Thus we can safely assume that the Federal character of India was in existence even a century ago, and is nothing new. The British, first tried to gather all the power at the Centre, which was duplicated by Jawaharlal Nehru during his decade and a half tenure as PM. To be fair to Nehru, he was not an Authoritarian, but a liberal, who allowed the local State leaders to flourish. We had some real towering leaders at the State level like Panth, Chavan, EMS, Kamaraj, Nijalingappa to name a few. A highly insecure Indira Gandhi, who had strong autocratic inclinations, concentrated the power in the Centre, and the concept of all powerful Central Government, dwarfing over State Governments took roots during her tenure. But since her death, the power of the Centre started diminishing rapidly and has eroded to such an extend during the past decade, that no one takes Central Government and its leadership seriously any more. 

During this period, we have seen the National Parties like Congress and BJP, being marginalized, and not even a force in any of the major States. In Tamil Nadu, the Dravidian Parties - AIADMK and DMK hold sway, in Karnataka, though BJP is in power, it is more due to the power held by lingayats headed by Yeduriyappa, the Congress is all but broken in AP, with TRS and Jagans regional outfit expect to decimate it in the next elections. This not taking into account TDP ruling for nearly two decades, before their ouster. Shiv Sena is a power to reckon with in Maharashtra,  Akali Dal in Punjab, Mamata in West Bengal, Navin Patnaik in Orissa, Nitish in Bihar, and NC/PDP in Kashmir. BSP/SP in UP has muscled out both the national parties. Only major states where the Congress and BJP hold fort are Rajasthan and MP. 

Thus, in a way, we are back to the era of powerless Centre and powerful local chieftains. And situation is likely to remain like this. The two party dominant political arena is a thing of the past, and remains more in the thoughts of political commentators, who are fed by Congress Party, than anyone else.

There are indications that the powerful State Chieftains will create a ginger group to exert pressure on the Centre to have their own way in the future. We have already seen the FDI in retail being scrapped and the Counter Terrorism Bill on hold.

The changes in the Economy post reforms has got something to do with the demise of the strong Centre concept. With Government ceasing to be the main driver of the economy (the economy is on autopilot and self-functioning), people no longer look upto Central Government, as its decision has relatively less impact on the aam admi. What they need is solutions to their day to day problems, which they feel can be done only by a party who is local and apparently sensitive to their needs.

In such a scenario, it is amusing to see Congress (BJP is better in this regard, as they have many strong local leaders like Modi, Chauhan, Uma Bharathi, Yeduriappa, Vasundhare Raja Scindia etc) going back to the victorian era of imperialistic dynasty based politics, where even a senior State Leader like Kamat of Goa, or Oomen Chandy of Kerala, or Gehlot of Rajastan has to ask for the first family's permission to open their mouth. 

The days of a strong Central leader ruling India is over. Any leader who can network well, take the aspirations of the State leaders in his stride is likely to do well - ideally someone like A B Vajpayee. 

It is also why Rahul Gandhi or even Narendra Modi (who is a loner) will find it difficult to be a great PM.

We are in for a long period of collective, disparage leadership to guide India.

And it might not be a bad thing after all.