Modi, Not BJP Versus Congress In 2014

After Narendra Modi’s promotion, people said that Modi is an idea whose time has come. I beg to differ with them. Modi is an idea whose time was in 2009. He should have been the PM candidate back then instead of Advani. BJP WOULD HAVE won. But I bicker. I am happy the way things are turning out to be and dismayed by the nautanki that is LK Advani. Now Advani is an old time politician. He should have seen the writing on the wall. I did. I knew that Modi was going to be our guy when Amit Shah became in charge of UP (read my post below) and I am not a politician (however, I have won as many Lok Sabha elections as Manmohan Singh). Advani should have resigned to his fate and bowed out gracefully. But typical of a desi politician (or cricketers), he will not resign but go out kicking and screaming like a petulant child.

In my opinion, Advani was BJP’s Mamta Bannerjee (well not that bad but I am angry right now). He did well to put BJP on the map by his yatra (which was organized by Narendra Modi). SO he proved himself to be a street level fighter but as a Home minister, the man was a big flop. I can cite examples of his incompetence but I will repeat myself. Instead read what NV Subramanian (who is a man in the know) writes:

To an extent, Advani did try to play the strong man in the mould of Sardar Patel to counter the soft image of Vajpayee. He hoped that as home minister, he would make a mark like Patel and even surpass him. That was the reason he chose home. But as home minister, Advani was lacklustre. India has never had a home minister as capable as Patel and it won’t in the future. But Advani brought nothing to the home ministry. No plan. No vision. He simply let the bureaucrats run the show.

Advani never appeared to have a mind of his own in matters of administration and governance. Whether this was a result of having remained in the shadows of Vajpayee is hard to tell, but it seems the most likely reason. By the time he had had enough of being Vajpayee’s number two, he had acquired limited skill sets. His expertise of organizing the street was no longer needed. His knowledge of Indian constitutional law and parliamentary procedures was handy but didn’t equip him in any serious way for prime-ministership.

I am sure what NVS had in mind was the Coimbatore bombing and the way Advani dealt with SIMI in its aftermath. During his tenure, we got bullied by Bangla Desh rifles who returned or murdered jawans, trussed up like animals. Advani being in charge of the security set up must shoulder a big part of the blame for the Kandahar fiasco. It was his responsibility to set up a security infrastructure where in case of an emergency (like hijacking) there are no turf wars between IAS babus and security personnel. But he failed. And despite of repeated failures, he still felt entitled for the top job. Amazingly, no one opposed him. It is because in India, merit always loses to entitlement. One of the biggest complaints about Modi is that he is creating a personality cult where the man becomes bigger than the party. The reason why this is such a problem (in the minds of politicos) is that incompetent leaders who hang around long enough know that collectively they will be in charge. On the other hand, individually, they will be exposed and lose their position. Advani wanted to become the PM based on seniority and not ability. He is not alone in BJP which is why it is in such a mess. That is why we lost badly in 2009 even though it was a winnable election.

What we now have is the first real opportunity to win the next election. Even if you ignore polls, it is clear that the kind of support Modi enjoys are unprecedented. All you have to go and talk to people out there who are independent voters with no pseudo-secular baggage. A lot of them say that they will vote for Modi but are not sure about BJP. A whole generation of new voters who has no memory of Advani’s rath yatra have seen Modi take Gujarat from strength to strength are willing to take a chance even though they are not politically inclined and have no Hindutva allegiance.

Consider the following data points written in an extremely good article by Shashi Shekhar in Niticentral:

- In 2004, the BJP either won or came second in a total of 271 seats.

- In 1999, that number stood at 294 seats.

- There are about 286 Lok Sabha seats that the BJP has won at least once between 1996 and 2004.

- In 2009, there were 113 Lok Sabha seats where the margin of victory was less than 3 per cent.

While the above is no assurance that the path to 272 is realistic, it provides the statistical basis to aspire for 272 as a wildly important goal rather than allow for complacency to set in with a much lower and easily achievable target.

These are real numbers not polls and provide us with a feel for the number of party faithful voters. Now if you add potential independent votes to this then you have a winning formula. Barak Obama’s two campaigns provide a blueprint for that. If you observe the way Modi has won in Gujarat and the way potential youth voters reacted to him tells you that the only man in BJP who can capture this ever eluding independent votes is Narendra Modi. As we have said on this blog that it is evident to the voters and now the media that Modi has changed the way India does politics. The BJP would be well advised to treat the next election as a presidential election, support and work for Modi and let him do his thing. We need proven winners, not seniors whose only skill is survival.

It is going to be between Congress and Narendra Modi. On one hand you have a man who is a performer, honest and incorruptible. A man of vision with energy to bring it to fruition. He has no baggage that the party has (Reddy brothers etc.). On the other hand we have Congress and the voters know who they are and what they do. If you give the voters that choice then even the most biased will be forced to look upon it objectively. That approach will win BJP the next election.

PS: By the time this article was finished, Advani come to his senses but the points made about him still stand.

The NVS article can be read at:http://newsinsight.net/Advani’stragedy.aspx#page=page-1

The Shashi Shekhar article can be read at:http://www.niticentral.com/2013/06/10/modi-will-reach-for-magic-number-272-87768.html

Are Indians Weak Or Forgiving?

It is said that if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything. Of course standing for something requires conviction, moral fortitude, commitment, energy and willingness to sacrifice. It may seem a lot but path to righteousness is not an easy one and certainly not for the weak. Why do I raise a topic of this nature? I may seem to ramble but I do have a point. I want to look into the mirror and hope that you would do the same.

Until two days ago, if anyone read the newspapers, they would get an idea that the biggest problem facing the biggest democracy and one of the oldest civilizations was corruption in Cricket. All other problems were brushed aside and Srinivasan, Jagdale, Shirke, Meiyappan, Dalmia and other men who should be ignored at the least and sent to prison at best, dominated the headlines. This left me breathless. These men and the scandal they represent, is in a GAME. It is a stupid British game which we have raised to the level of religion. A whole generation of youngsters is being raised on a steady diet of instant gratification, skimpily clad cheerleaders, and news about rave parties and orgies. Should we have any realistic expectation from these kids who are supposed to be the future of this nation of ours? But what can we do, you ask? STOP WATCHING THE BLOODY GAME. No TRP, no advertisement monies, no money to be made by greedy industrialists, netas and Bollywood crooks. Problem will be solved.

Out of the last nine years of Congress misrule, it is only of late that we (not the BJP supporters but the regular voter) have started to question the honesty and integrity of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. Instead of trying to inform themselves of the truth, the lemming like Indian voter was willing to believe whatever the media pimps were ready to peddle. They are ready to believe the worst about Narendra Modi and willing to give any benefit of the doubt to Manmohan Singh and the Gandhi family. Blindly following the regional politicians and media has brought us to this pass. In fact, in the name of regionalism and secularism, we are willing to forgive and forget any and all scams. Incredible, isn’t it? Of course solution to this problem is rather obvious.

We have been humiliated by the Chinese on a routine basis. We have been attacked by paki terrorists on a regular basis. The man on the street can voice their dissent by the power of their wallet. Stop buying Chinese shit. Even if you have to pay twenty rupees more or walk a kilometer extra to buy an Indian made article then do it. If enough people do it then it will get noticed. We all know about boycotts from our history lessons and our fight against the Brits but are we willing to make a little sacrifice and do the right thing?

Why do we forgive a felonious filmstar and keep watching their movies and make them rich instead of boycotting them and forcing them to rectify their behavior? Is forgoing a movie that big a sacrifice?

My point is that we have the power right in our hands or our minds or our wallet but we do not use it. Are we forgiving or are we weak? Is cricket and cricketers more important than problems of the common man? Who does the IPL benefit? In fact if the latest is true then one of the biggest beneficiaries in Dawood Ibrahim, i.e. Pakistani terror. And yet, people out there are loudly proclaiming that they will not stop watching the game.

So I ask you again. Are we forgiving or weak or ignorant or lazy (intellectually and physically)? Of course I am also guilty of some or all of it sometimes but I do try.

Amit Shah In UP: Is All Well?

There are leaders and organizers like Arun Jaitley who look good on TV and win sometimes. Then you have people like Sanjay Joshi with (allegedly) a lot of organizational capability but with precious little to show for. In fact Joshi was shoved down the gullet of the BJP workers trying to win the all important state of UP by the Nitin Gadkari (with RSS pulling the strings and trying to cut Modi down to size). The result was nothing short of a disaster.

And then you have someone like Amit Shah who may not have a lot of the backing of the BJP brass or the RSS or may not cut a dashing picture or speak well (like Sushmaji) but has the Midas touch when it comes to winning elections. He has been credited with winning the Gujarat state elections for the BJP (of course the job is slightly easy when you are selling Narendra Modi to the voters) under extremely difficult conditions and that too three times. The very fact that he has been targeted by the Congress as viciously as Modi himself tells you how he is valued by Modi and feared by Congress.

Shah by no means could have been an easy sell to the BJP old timers. The reason why Modi is feared by the so called New Delhi establishment is because he is constantly changing the rules of the game. When he reaches New Delhi, NV Subramanian said, “Modi sabki chutti kar dega”. If Modi is a tall leader then Shah is the shadow he casts. Bringing up Shah to the national scene implies one thing only. Business as usual is not going to happen anymore. Shah’s sole aim is to ensure his boss’ victory on the national scene and he will do whatever it takes including the shakeup BJP to its core. This cannot be sitting well with established fat cats.

Since even the political novices know that the road to New Delhi goes through UP, the significance of Shah’s appointment as the BJP in-charge of the 2014 elections cannot be lost on anyone. The fact that he has been appointed despite of a stiff opposition from non-performing leaders in UP and Delhi tells you one thing clearly which is Bhai Narendra Damodardas Modi is going to be BJP’s nominee for the PM candidate. You can take that to the bank. The moment my friend Swami Thambi told me about this appointment, I told him that he can now rest easy. Modi is going to be our man in the ring. Wow. How long I have waited to write that and I write it with a cautious optimism in my heart and a tear of joy in my eye.

The politics in UP is nasty, no more than politics anywhere else but the size of the prize (eighty MPs) makes it worse. Politicians are willing to cut any Faustian pact to win this prize. Akhilesh Yadav is trying to get reservation for Muslims despite of the fact that his tenure has seen almost one Hindu-Muslim riot every month. The state gets divided into castes and then into subcastes. Everything that is wrong with our society gets magnified many-fold in UP because of the size of the prize. Sleazy deals, SOPs, bribing the voters, economy destroying social programs are all part of the game. All the new BJP administration (Bravo Mr. Rajnath Singh) has done is to send Amitbhai Shah to UP. It’s like Hanumanji being sent to Lanka.

If you needed a sign of what Shah is going to do then look no further than his first order of business. He along with Mukhtar A Naqvi and Lakshmikant Bajpayi are going to court arrest in Rampur which is anything but. Rampur actually is the modern day Lanka because it epitomizes the worst of UP politics. By taking the fight into the enemy territory, Shah has sounded the war-shankh. He is telling the Yadavs and Khans that the BJP under him is willing and able to fight them on their turf. As a BJP supporter, I say it is high-bloody time that these guys are given a fight of their lives.

The path is long and treacherous for Shah but if Narendra Bhai has faith in him then so should we. He will have to weed out the non-performers no matter how established and bring up the capable leaders toiling in anonymity. He will have to acclimatize himself with the caste politics of UP and play the game accordingly. I am sure the man who along with Bhai Narendra took on the entire Congress party (with CBI, NGOs and the media) and still won in Gujarat is capable of dealing with the cesspool we know as UP. Clearly, Shah has Modi and Rajnath Singh in his corner. I sincerely hope that the UP leaders throw their weight behind this man rather than sabotaging him. After Shah’s appointment, one UP BJP leader said that why should he work if the credit is going to go west. To that clown I say this “ If by performing you mean like you did in the last state election then please fold your tent, wrap up your lungi and get the hell out of town. This is a man’s game and has no room for village idiots”.

Appointment of Amit Shah tells me that all is well in UP. That is the happy me. The real me tells me that this is as best as we can do in UP. With Amit Shah in charge under Modi’s guidance, I say it is pretty good.

The following is a fantastic analysis by Praveen Patil

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/05/24/uttar-pradesh-is-narendra-modis-new-frontier-81253.html

With Netas Like Sonia, Manmohan, Why Blame Sreesanth?

We are living in an era of guilt-free, responsibility-free pursuit of wealth and pleasure. The real leader of the Indian government has no post in the government and yet is the most powerful person in the country. She has access to all the national secrets, gets to meet visiting leaders, decide on major issues, use national resources of private purposes, enrich her family members (scams are too many to mention), is as opaque as cast iron plate, has no qualification other than marrying into the right family, garners all kinds of praise from the leftist brigade for sacrifices made, running the economy into the ground (even with a so called economist at the helm, we are either running bankrupting social programs or redefining poverty) and yet gets referred to as a hero by some in the media. Despite all her faults, sins and crimes, she enjoys all the power and is not accountable to any one. No one has the balls to say that the emperor has no clothes. When face with issues, crises, scams and problems, Sonia and Rahul retreat in the background and leave the stooge PM holding the bag. OF course the PM himself is the kind of person who has signed a Faustian pact for his chair.

Our netas have committed every crime or sin there is and invented a few of their own. Worse that African dictators (our children are worse fed than some sub-Saharan countries), these guys are talking about making new laws to curb spot fixing or fraud in betting on IPL. WOW. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Kapil Sibal who has done his part in the 2G coverup is now the law minister and is talking about tough laws to fix betting in IPL. Well, Mr. Sibal, illegal betting in IPL is not the biggest problem facing India. As far as scams go, this is way smaller than what Indian politicos are involved in. Introspection would be a good first baby step for our netas.

Think about it. Dawood Ibrahim and his cronies in India are making money by illegal betting. Cricketers are making money (in lakhs and thus chump change). Bookies, team owners, gangsters and most probably some politicians are making money. Indian viewers who are addicted to cricket and cannot think of boycotting as tool or protest will continue to watch it (we still watch Salman Khan movies even with his crimes). The only losers are the gamblers who are stupid enough to bet through these bookies. But if there is no IPL, then these losers are going to find some other way of squandering their family fortunes. At the end of the day, the Ram Chandra Bhartiya is no better or worse than before. This is why, I am aghast that there seems to be more of an outrage over Sreesanth than Sonia Gandhi. Our priorities are really really misplaced. If our netas who are supposed to be caretakers of the future of the country cannot stand up and be accountable and do the right thing, why should some guy who is playing a stupid game (no matter how entertaining) be expected to do so?

Advani And Swaraj Are Destroying BJP

Non governance and corruption are crippling India. The Congress would have you believe that their ministers are corrupt but Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi / la famiglia are not. As far as Singh is concerned, almost all the fig leaves are blown away by the rail and coal scams. This power hungry man has no honor or shame (Lal Bahadur Shastri, a Congressman, resigned from his post because of a train accident. Compare him to Bansal and Singh). As far as La Famiglia (The Family translated to Italian) is concerned, no matter how many layers they hide behind, no one except truly gullible are fooled. The latest example (from a huge list of others) of their corruption and hypocrisy is the Sarkari Damaad, Robert Vadra who is as crooked as they come, was given a free pass by the Rajmata. Now the Congress would like you to believe that only after Rajmata’s intervention, did these two corrupt ministers resign and thus is a paragon of sacrifice and virtue! Buy this explanation at your own peril!

But why am I talking about Singh and Rajmata in this blog? It is because to some extent, Advani and Swaraj are guilty of the same sins. Of course no one can match Congress’ crimes so Advani-Swaraj sins are nothing. However, while Congress was, is and will be crooked, the BJP was supposed to be a party of difference. While their hands were tied (thanks to unscrupulous friends like Chandrababu Naidu) BJP regime still did a lot of good. If they had not bungled up the Kandahar hijacking episode and ran a sensible campaign (rather than the arrogant campaign run by Pramod Mahajan and other Advani followers) they may have won in 2004 and continued on their India repair (rather than India shining) campaign. After Atalji retired all we saw was missed opportunities and political blunders from Advani and friends. Even Congress was surprised when they won in 2009. Even at state level, petty egos and mishandling of affairs caused nothing but ruin. An excellent columnist, Mr. Virendra Kapoor writes the following:

However, this is not to suggest that the Karnataka outcome was not on the expected lines. It was. The BJP did not leave the voter with any option. It did everything in its power to court unpopularity. Its drubbing was well-deserved. Early evidence of factionalism in the state unit was accentuated further by groupism at the central level. If Sushma Swaraj patronised the infamous Reddy brothers, L.K. Advani played godfather to Ananth Kumar. The two together never allowed a moment of peace to B.S. Yeddyurappa. And now the Advani-Sushma duo is engaged in denying the BJP the only credible chance it has of dislodging the corrupt and non-performing UPA by blocking the graduation of Narendra Modi from Gandhinagar to Delhi.

No one could have captured the truth better. What makes this whole thing even more galling is that they are not seeing the writing on the wall. Not only is their way of doing business unacceptable to the voter but how the voter is reacting to Narendra Modi. Of course the eleventh hour campaign by Modi did not bear any fruits for the BJP (or did it? Could things have been worse for the BJP in the urban centers without Modi?), his speeches and ideas were received very well. Modi was given a rock star treatment not just the voters and the cadre but also other leaders like Venkaiah Naidu (while Sonia and Singh stared at empty chairs) by the voters. So why did they shy away from voting for the BJP?

There are enough examples, anecdotes and hearsays about voters agreeing to vote for Modi but not BJP. These are not the staunch BJP supporters like me but independent voters. They have stopped to see the BJP as a party of difference but see Modi as an honest, able, performing and inspiring leader. These independent voters are the ones who will decide the next election. Voters in Karnataka know that no matter what Modi says, he will not govern their state. Maybe they are astute enough to differentiate between state politics and national politics. Modi and only Modi has the capability of enthusing and inspiring the BJP cadre and middle level leadership. He is the only one capable of changing the nature of political discourse and thus leading from the front. He is the only man in BJP who can unite the party and bring independent voters in the fold. In short, he is the only chance we have of winning the next general elections and changing the fortunes of our motherland. We can ride his coattails into the central government and beyond.

However, by all accounts, Advani and Swaraj are doing all they can to stop his forward march. Advani has had two chances of winning the general elections and he has blown it. He needs to step aside, give his blessings (growing less important by the minute) to Modi but like Manmohan Singh, he is trying his best to worm his way into another race and IMHO, ruining it for the party. Swaraj screwed it up in Karnantaka and has miserably failed to expand her own political base outside of New Delhi (even there she is no force. Hint: Two Sheila Dixit terms). Even then, she is nursing some perverted ambition of becoming a national leader by creating a nasty atmosphere and placing herself for the spoils.

So we see that instead of accepting their limitations and doing the right thing these two are acting as spoiled brats hell bent on “my way or we ruin the party” trip. Modi should be preparing to unite the party, bring new alliances and draw up strategies to fight the next elections. Instead he will have to deal with these two miserable human beings. You can see that by the refusal of Modi to attend the recent BJP parliamentary committee.

Swaraj has no legacy other than being a proficient orator (even there, she is no match for Modi) so she will be forgotten with ease. However, we would like to remember Advani for all the good he did to lay the ground work for the current day BJP. But now he has become a liability. It is up to him now. Does he want us to remember him as the party founder and pray for him or remember him as a frustrated spoiler and pray for him to disappear one way or another. The choice is his.

The Kapoor article can be read at: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/corruption-is-an-issue-believe-it-or-not

BJP In Karnataka: Crisis And Opportunity

This is what one analysis says about the recent election:

The big story of the election is the three-way split in the BJP (B. Sriramulu’s BSR Congress, or BSRC, being the other breakaway faction), which hit it really hard. Our calculations show that had the BJP, the KJP and the BSRC fought the polls as one party, the combine would have secured 87 seats while the Congress would have got only 91 seats—leading to a hung assembly. The three-way split of the BJP helped secure for the Congress nearly 30 additional seats.

Would that have been better than the big loss? NO. I will try to explain.

Really poor governance and petty egos of men past their prime have brought the BJP to their ruin in Karnataka. Staunch BJP supporters like us are licking their wounds and listening to Congressmen of abysmally low character crow. People who stole from the handicapped have taken it upon themselves to pass judgment on an honest performer like Modi. All we can do is put up with it and take it on the chin. However, there is one thing we can do. Remember, every crisis presents an opportunity. I am going to put my thoughts down as best as I can (I am still very upset):

1.BSY did not perform and stole. It is immaterial that his theft is nothing compared to what Congressmen and their cronies have stolen. Theft is theft. BJP was supposed to be the party of difference. People do not see them as such. Poor performance and cronyism in the state was there for all to see. The rapists of Bellary, the Reddy brothers, their obscene display of opulence and their proximity to Sushmaji was also there for all to see. I would have had difficulty voting for these guys.

2.Caste politics in Karnataka is as bad as it is in the rest of the country. BJP leaders knew that while kicking BSY out. Especially seasoned veterans like Advani. While Advani and Swaraj have done things in the name of realpolitik, they decided to adopt the high road when it came to BSY. I believe Ananth Kumar was also in the mix of leaders who got BSY kicked out. Didn’t they calculate the power of Lingayat votes? They clearly overestimated Shettar’s ability to consolidate the Lingayat votes. This was a blunder and these three have to answer for it.

3.Bringing Modi in late was like trying to put band-aid on a severed artery. Man is brilliant but even he has limits. Because of Advani / Swaraj / Kumar’s arrogance and mistakes, Modi has to face heat.

4.Loosing this badly was better than losing slightly. With 80 to 90 seats, Advani / Swaraj / Kumar could have come up with any number of excuses (Advani has already started to crow that if they had followed his advice and fired BSY before, this would not have happened. It is clear that he still does not get it). But with only 40 seats, the only honorable thing for them to do is to accept their mistake and step aside. As it is, Advani is a liability. If he does not leave quickly I and a whole lot of others are going to start hoping that he is removed from the scene by nature. Swaraj is a good speaker but a lousy vote getter. She is not even a force in Delhi. Ananth Kumar needs to be fired from the party. With the fat-man Gadkari gone (the damage that buffoon did to the party is incalculable), the party would be better off without these three.

5.It is clear that BJP needs to clean house. They need to either bring back BSY or completely destroy him so he does not divide any more of the BJP votes. Since the latter is not possible, I suggest that Bhai Narendra step up and bring him back into the fold. Uma Bharatiji has already made gestures. I am sure that BSY also realizes that he needs BJP and vice versa. He needs to swallow his pride. If Advani / Swaraj / Kumar are removed / sidelined then no one in the BJP has to swallow pride and thus will be easy to bring BSY home. Winning the general elections is a whole lot more important than a state election. This exercise in diplomacy will also give the new BJP leadership an important lesson, which they can then use elsewhere like in Assam (where a pre-poll alliance with AGP would have defeated Congress) or UP (where they need to get Kalyan Singh and others like him to recreate the old magic) or Bihar (where they have to decide soon if they want to go it alone or keep tied to Nitish) or Andhra (same concern as Bihar) etc.

6.Since Bhai Narendra is our candidate (barring some huge setback) he needs to evaluate his own tactics. Clearly his speeches in Karnataka, while wildly popular, did not translate into votes. Is it possible that the so called internet Hindus who feel brave and dedicated while sitting on their computers, feel too lazy to go out in the sun and back their talk? I hope that is not the case. After all these guys helped the BJP in Gujarat. Be that as it may, Modi needs to re-evaluate his tactics. He has been fantastic in his speeches and has brilliantly tailored them to the audiences concerns. He needs to do more of that and hit the road in battle ground states like UP, Maharashtra, Andhra, Karnataka, Bihar etc.

7.We do not have much time left. The win in Karnataka notwithstanding, the Congress is in deep trouble. Even their pet media dogs have started to ditch them. General elections are going to be declared soon. BJP need to get the leadership issue resolved sooner than later. The foot soldiers need to know who their leader is. Judging by the reaction to his speeches even in a devastated state of Karnataka (BJP-wise), Modi commands respect from all levels of BJP. They need to declare him as the PM candidate so he can start drawing the war plans. This is a time to show a very united party where we do not have eighty five year old senile leaders who have had their chances, muddling up the waters. This the BJP’s election to lose. In fact if they lose because of leadership issues, I am going to have to re-evaluate my support to this party.

The analysis was taken from the following:http://www.livemint.com/Politics/dnbRQfEz0k4pIJRgBBVvAI/Split-BJP-hands-over-Karnataka-to-Congress.html

China, Pakistan: What A Neighborhood!

I just read that Sarabjit Singh has succumbed to injuries sustained in the beating he took in the prison. Well, Pakistanis have shown us the right way. Imagine. Of course when it comes to killing, Pakistanis can teach anyone a few tricks. Now if we had done the same to Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Maulana Masood Azhar and did what was done to Sarabjit in their jail, then we would not have had the Kandahar hijacking, BJP government’s weakness would not have been exposed, Daniel Pearl would still be alive. Since any Pakistani in India is a potential terrorist or a spy, we should arrest then and solve the problem in pakistani style. And why not? Pakis love to live by the sword or should I say Saif ul Islam. Let them die by it as well.

However knowing the brave leaders we have elected especially the current PM, NOTHING will happen. It falls on us, the aam aadmi. We need to be aware of the paki bastardry and boycott everything and everyone coming from that shithole of a nation. However, I have some good news on that account. No matter what we do to them will always pale in comparison to what the pakis are doing to themselves. Arsla Jawaid writes the following:

According to estimates from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, close to 2,284 people were killed in violent attacks in Karachi in 2012. By some media estimates, targeted killings and a string of deadly bomb blasts cost the lives of 500 people in 72 days of this year alone. Victims range from civilians to policemen, the paramilitary Rangers to development workers, journalists to lawyers.

Considering that it was just one part of Pakistan, it is a pretty impressive kill rate. Read the following from the same article:

In one of the most recent cases of violence, unidentified assassins shot a prominent Karachi social worker, Parveen Rehman, inside her car at a traffic intersection. Rehman was the director of the Orangi Pilot Project, and dedicated her life to working for the vulnerable and disadvantaged in Karachi's Orangi slum. While no particular group has claimed responsibility, suspicion has fallen on Karachi's ruthless land mafia, against whom she remained a vocal critic. Shortly after her death, students and media outlets paid homage to the courageous worker, hailing her as the "Mother of Karachi."

How many of you think that the aforementioned land mafia is unconnected to Dawood Ibrahim? After all he is the biggest gangster/terrorist (a two for one combo) under the protection of paki authorities. Makes sense that he will have a finger in the land pie. If he is involved, then I say keep him. He can continue to screw up Karachi to his heart’s content. So you see, we just have to wait it out and pakis will certainly implode. It is a criminal enterprise, not a country.

                  Beijing air on a 2005 day after rain (left) and a sunny but Smoggy day (right)

We have a bigger problem with the snake-pit up north though. The Chinese have intruded on our land again. Our response: NOTHING. Again. This is becoming unbearable. The current brave leaders are not even willing to put up a token fight. After all this Salman “will not do a scam for Rs 71 lakh” Khurshid is still going to China. In fact if you look at it from the Chinese point of view, why not do it. If I were a Chinese general, I would continue to intrude and build roads, rails etc on Indian land and not worry about repercussions. After all, what the hell is the Indian government do except roll over and play dead.

Again, since the brave men and women we elect are not going to do anything other than twiddle their thumbs, we may as well take it upon ourselves. BOYCOTT EVERYTHING THAT SAYS – “MADE IN CHINA”. What else can the helpless Indian voter do?

However, once again, nature has a way of balancing things out. In a mad dash to get rich, the Chinese have raped their land. As bad as pollution is in India, it is China which is referred to as the sick man of Asia. The pollution problems of China are too many to mention. More than 80% of their water cannot be used for drinking. Cancer and renal failure are the leading cause of death. That should tell you something. This is nothing to celebrate because the Chinese are going to go to war with their eighteen neighbors for resources especially water. But that nation is paying for its sins.

Another sign of trouble in China is the latest aggression against India (and Japan to some extent over the Senkaku Islands). Whenever dictators are in trouble then foment problems on their borders to unify the country. The Chinese are facing daily problems in Xinqiang and Tibet from two different ethnic minorities. Then they are facing problems from their workers. As far as corruption is concerned, they will give us a tough fight any day. Meanwhile there was a change in leadership. The new leader Xi Jinping is trying to consolidate power by using the military and the saber rattling that comes with it. It is a valid fear, not only for us that he may have unleashed forces which he may not be able to contain. Japan and the US are equally interested parties for their own reasons. In a rather revealing article, the following was revealed:

To many observers, however, his speech seemed to confirm that China's provocations against Japan were in fact "evidence of profound domestic insecurity rather than rational policy,"

Then, too, there is the very real risk that if China or Japan miscalculates over the Senkaku Islands and actually does spark a war, China may lose. That, at least, is the assessment of several military analysts with whom I spoke, who believe Japan's disciplined, professional forces would prevail even without direct U.S. intervention. More broadly, I have heard growing doubts about China's actual fighting capabilities in some sections of the Chinese military, foreign diplomatic corps, and U.S. academia, many of whose members are revising their views on the PLA. "Our assessment is they are nowhere near as effective as they think they are," a Beijing-based defense attaché from a NATO country told me.

What if the recent drums of war are a sign of China's weakness and not its impressive new strength? "When Xi tells his troops to be ready for war, it's really an admission that they're in disarray," says the defense attaché.

What is clear is that China is not as strong as they would like us to believe. To deal with that kind of bluff, we need a strong leader as PM. Manmohan Singh is not that leader. We really do need to elect a real leader with enough majority in the Loksabha that real decisions, tactical and strategic can be made with only national interests as the driving force. That is the task before the Indian voters.

The article on pakistan can be read at: http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/09/failed_city_karachis_violent_spiral

An idea about the pollution that China is facing can be read at: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution_in_China

The article on the Chinese military capabilities and adventurism can be read at: 
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/29/xis_war_drums Xi's War Drums

Rapes In India: A Criminal And A Social Problem

I clearly remember the first time I held my four hour old daughter and she grabbed my finger and held on to it. A bond had been formed. Bholenath had bestowed upon me a gift beyond value and I and had to love and protect her. That was twelve years ago. Even today her tears completely break my heart. If I could, I would fall sick or get injured in her place. I am sure that most fathers out there empathize with me.

So when I read about all these rapes of young girls, some as young as five, I do not know what to think. In fact I cannot think clearly about it because it confuses and angers me greatly. I don’t know what those fathers must think or feel. There is no cure for that kind of pain even if these fathers were allowed to torture and kill the rapists.
But as part of a civilized society, we must find a way to protect our children. I don’t know if such cases are on the rise or people are no longer willing to keep such heinous acts under wraps for honor purposes but a pattern seems to be developing here and that has to be dealt with a great deal of urgency. Now as much as I enjoy seeing Congress and their minions getting squeezed, I don’t think that the police can protect each and every child out there. Much like the lone wolf terrorist cannot be stopped; these sick perverts who keep their proclivities hidden cannot be stopped. Law and order can only bring the criminals to justice but cannot prevent them from committing the act. Those of you who read our blog know that we feel very strongly about it. For the new readers we will try to give links to earlier blogs on the same topic.

I think that this problem is a social problem. Pedophiles are not your usual criminals or perverts. A guy getting drunk and raping a girl is one kind of rape. A guy who seeks victims and rapes then is a serial offender and thus a different kind of rapist. He is the one with psychological problems (not that the date rape guy is sane but we are talking semantics here). However, these guys who are going around raping children are criminally insane and thus need to be caught and removed from the society permanently.

So why is this social problem? It is because these diseased creatures do not and cannot exist in vacuum. They have a support system and often people in that support system choose to ignore their sickness. Moreover, these guys were not born this way. Most of them were abused themselves by people around them. Most pedophiles were abused children themselves. However, once created, these victim turned monsters need to be stopped. One of the rapists who raped and nearly killed that five year old girl (the doctors had to remove foreign objects from her insides – imagine that level of perversity) is married to a girl he had raped. Clearly his parent knew about it and colluded with others in the society to deal with that crime by marrying this guy to her like some medieval Islamic society. If those parent and others who knew about the rape had reported that or at least sought professional help may have saved this child (and her family) from going through hell. Now this guy will certainly get death or worse (killed by inmates) and they lose their son in a worse way.

If people know or hear of someone with a problem of this kind, if a wife knows about her husband who has this kind of proclivity or a parent who knows something about their son then it is their responsibility to God and society to deal with the problem by either reporting it to law or seek psychiatric help. That way, they will save future victims as well as their loved ones. Of course this is easier said than done but short of something like this, I do not know what to think.

We as a society are clearly moving away from the spiritual and towards the material and instant gratification. I gotta have it and have it now or I am special or the world owes me something for being born or I am a guy so submit to me kind of attitudes are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. Greed and shameless / false sense of superiority are turning women into objects and girls into liabilities. Until the Indian society accepts their foibles and start to work towards a solution, unless we treat women and girls with the same degree as we do our devis, unless we move closer to the Hindu tenets of life and away from selfish materialistic pursuits, we should prepare ourselves for more news of this kind.

Our posts on this and similar topics are as follows:

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2012/12/delhi-gangrape-and-congress-cruel.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2012/11/khap-panchayats-and-rapes-in-india.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/06/worship-durga-ma-kill-girls.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/12/evil-in-our-midst.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/01/domestic-violence-and-future-of-indian.html

http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2010/09/dowry-and-divorce-banes-of-indian.html

Leftist Hatred For Modi Cannot Stay Hidden

There are two leftist written biographies of Modi out there. The first one is Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay (referred to as L1 in the rest of the post) and the other is Kingshuk Nag (L2). L1 is described as Based in Delhi for most of his professional career, he is known for his biting analysis on contemporary Indian politics with specialization on 'Hindu politics' in India. L2 is the editor of the Hyderabad edition of TOI (a tabloid pretending to be a newspaper in my humble opinion). Since they have not been able to bring Modi down, they are trying something subtle just like green snakes in the grass. They are claiming to have written fair and balanced biographies but their disdain comes through loud and clear. In my opinion, L1 should focus on political luminaries from his home state and leave the wretched Hindu nationalists alone. He can sing paeans to Communist stalwarts and Mamata Bannerjee but alas, as he also knows, no one will buy it. Ditto for L2 who is even less of a journalist than L1. Both of them have written these books to make money and besmirch a tall leader by innuendos knowing full well that Modi will not step outside to dispute any of their claims. If he does, then they get even more publicity and they win again.

I have not read either books and do not plan to but true to their nature, these two cannot keep their unsanitary traps and have been giving interviews all over the place. L2 has said the following:

It can be safely predicted that the last of this matter has not been heard. The ghosts of Gujarat 2002 are likely to haunt Narendra Modi till his last days.

L1 on the other hand has made some whoppers here:

He has pre-fixed views on the issue of religious minorities and believes that minorities need to adhere with the beliefs and value systems of the majority community.

Of course he will change the face of India. My only problem is that the new face will not be to my liking.

On an impertinent note, I will say Modi likes people agreeing with him and dislikes if they do not.
Modi fears losing power and the spectre of defeat and political isolation makes him nervous. But he is a hard fighter and does not give up in moments of adversity.

Modi devolves specific tasks to different people. Barring him, no one has a complete knowledge and vision of what he is doing.

In a sentence -- the belief in his abilities, the confidence he exudes and the power he exhibits. People like a strong-willed and decisive political leader like they once plugged for Indira Gandhi.

Now most of Modi’s criticisms can be applied to any politician. Any man who claims that he is qualified to lead a country has to have a streak of megalomania. People with self doubts have no room at the top. Criticizing him for ambition is akin to criticizing a movie star for narcissistic tendencies. In order to make this a “balanced book”, he has had to compliment him. While he has been effusive in his criticism, clearly L1 has had to get creative with words when it came to grudgingly accept anything positive.. Instead of calling Modi honest, this man says the following:

I did not find evidence of Modi amassing personal wealth.

All this from a guy who claims that his book does not come with any ideological baggage. The hypocrisy is staggering. But should we expect anything but puerility from hacks of this kind? NO. So why am I upset? It is the claim the Mukhopadhyay makes when he says:

There is also a consensus in the view that the events of 2002 benefited Modi politically and he became what he is today because of the fallout of the Godhra carnage.

I have said earlier and will repeat: If it had not been for Godhra, Modi would have been history because the BJP in all likelihood would have lost the polls in 200 when they were due.

In one fell swoop this rotten human being has managed to insult a swath of Indian population. This man is no better than Shakeel Ahmad who claimed that the bombing in Bangluru will help the BJP (insinuating that there exist a chance that the BJP themselves blew up that bomb). Modi has won three terms because of his performance and no other reason. If Hindutva were the only reason for winning elections, Advani would be the PM and Katiyar the Home Minister. Insulting the sage voters of Gujarat (as opposed to the voters of UP and West Bengal who repeatedly vote against their own interests because of decades of brain washing) L2 is insinuating the worst. I would like to tell this jerk that Godhra is a baggage that Modi has been carrying around. It is not a trophy.

In fact if it were not for Godhra we would be only be talking of Modi’s performance. If it were not for Godhra, secularism would still be a western term, used to separate church and state rather than becoming an invective to be used for Hindus by the leftists. If it were not for Godhra, the entire left wing of the Indian polity and journalism will not a stick to wave around. Modi did not benefit from Godhra. The entire left wing of India benefitted from Godhra. If it were not for Godhra, this entire anti Modi cottage industry would not exist. Without Godhra, Modi would still be here talking of development but people like Mukhopadhyay and Teesta Setalvad would have to slither under their rocks.

I am surprised that Modi let this jerk near him. In fact L2 is equally surprised. He says the following:

The fact that despite having written so critically of him in the past, he allowed me to write the biography, gave access to himself, agreed with the manuscript not being shown before publication and made no effort to prevent it despite knowing that several parts of it would be critical of him.

This is what you get for trusting a leftist around you. I dare this guy to write a similar biography of Mamata Bannerjee or any of the commies and then promote it in West Bengal.

As I have said before, this is going to get uglier and uglier because these guys are not going to let up. What Modi, BJP and the voters need to do is to tune these guys out and let them blab. We have a bigger mission i.e. to see Modi as PM and enable him to take India into her rightful place. Of course Mukhopadhyay won’t like that vision because then he and his ilk become irrelevant.

The articles about the two biographies can be read at:
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-modi-is-considered-either-a-mass-murderer-or-a-messiah/20130412.htm
http://www.firstpost.com/living/the-ghosts-of-gujarat-2002-will-haunt-modi-till-his-last-days-706296.html

Rahul Gandhi: Hero Or An Item Song

Salman Khurshid said the following in an interview: As far as the criticism goes -- that he did not address crucial issues -- remember, Gandhi is the Congress vice-president, and not the prime minister. Within the party, he gives us his views... But for public statements, he chooses what to speak and the platform where to speak from. He is addressing important issues on specific public occasions.

This is a loaded statement. He is trying to defend Gandhi’s limp performance as it is being compared with that of Narendra Modi. He is also trying to tell people that Rahul is not Congress’ PM candidate so he cannot be compared with Modi as the media has been doing.

In a typical Indian political party which Congress is, the most powerful person is the MP candidate. Look at Modi. He is the most qualified man for the job but since he does not have the power to influence the core of the party or RSS, he is going through an agnipareeksha on a daily basis. On the other hand, power of Rahul Gandhi in Congress in undeniable. The family was brought back from a self imposed hiatus at the end of 1990s to save Congress. The really did rally Congress and took credit for bringing Congress back to power. Ever since then, Rahul Gandhi has been the crown prince which was obvious to all but the blind and the ignorant. He was their star campaigner, vote-getter (or so they thought) and the magnet that drew the media and voters alike. I don’t remember Congress mandarins like Khurshid and others making statements of this kind when the media was lapping ever word this guy was uttering and capturing every gesture and gushing over his enthusiasm and youth. Congress was only too happy to see their rajkumar be given the treatment fit for rajmata’s son.

Successive defeats at state levels and various gaffes later, the sheen started to wear off. Rahul began to look positively human and a plebian one at that. Still, he was the crown prince. Sonia Gandhi’s big dream is to see him the PM’s chair. Why else would a decade long campaign was undertaken to put him in that position? If we are wrong then why wasn’t any other young leader (Pilot or Scindia) groomed for this job? Congress spokespersons (Jayanti “landscam” Natrajan, Abhishek “sex for judgeship” Singhvi or Manish “we don’t know yet” Tiwari) have gone hoarse defending this guy. Defending incompetence is a thankless job. The Congress wants to benefit from Gandhi’s so called charisma and win an election riding his coattails and when he bungles up, they want to hide him, making excuses.

The media has done the right thing for wrong reasons. IT IS A MODI VERSUS GANDHI RACE. There are no doubts about it. Media has started the comparison not because they are fans of Modi or his performances but because it makes for good TV thus TRP ratings. This maybe the first presidential style election for us (where the race is between two people rather than two parties) and thus direct comparisons between Modi and Gandhi should be made. Congress cannot have it both ways. They cannot hide him when he falters but hope to benefit from the false image they have created for him.

The BJP seems to have decided that Narendra Modi is the leading man of their movie. Now it is up to Congress to decide whether Rahul Gandhi is their hero or an item song.

The Salman Khurshid interview can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-rahuls-critics-must-know-hes-cong-vp-not-indias-pm-khurshid/20130414.htm

West Bengal Has Surrendered To Islamic Terror

Recently Delwar Hossain Syeedi of Bangla Desh and an ardent follower of the religion of peace was charged with crimes against humanity for his role during the 1971 genocide in that country. Even after 40 years they managed enough charges (imagine the ones they could not find witnesses to) to get him the death sentence. There are no crimes that this sweetheart of a man did not commit. This is what Wikipedia says about him:

The tribunal charged him with twenty counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and arson, during the liberation war. Some of the charges are

(a) passing secret information on the gathering of people behind the Madhya Masimpur bus-stand to the Pakistan Army, and leading the Army there, where 20 unnamed people were killed by shooting;

(b) abducting and killing of government officials

(c) identifying and looting the houses and shops of people belonging to the Awami League, Hindu community, and supporters of the Liberation War

(d) leading an operation, accompanied by Pakistan Army, to burn 25 houses of the Hindu community at Umedpur village

(e) leading the group who abducted three women from the house of Gouranga Saha of Parerhat Bandar and handed them over to the Pakistan army for raping.

Sultan Ahmed Howlader, the fourth prosecution witness in the trial, testified that, during the liberation war, Sayeedi and his associate Moshleuddin confined Bipod Shaha's daughter Vanu Shaha at Parerhat, Pirojpur district and regularly raped her.

Even after committing all these and definitely more crimes, he went on to become something of a hero in Bangladesh. The following are some of the quotes attributed to him. Especially read the one about Hindus fleeing Bangladesh.

"Dhaka the city of mosques has become the city of Hindu temples."

"Why should we feel sad when the Hindu brothers choose to leave our country? Do we mourn when we have indigestion and materials leave our bodies?"

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi recently called for banning Professor Humayun Azad's books under the
Blasphemy Law.[Author & Professor Humayun Azad was later stabbed multiple times by unknown assailants in an attack alleged to be inspired by Sayeedi's hate speech. Azad later died in Germany.]

Of course none of this surprises me. I would not expect any less from someone like him. Hell, in Saudi Arabian law, crimes against a Hindu are the least of the crimes. For a true blue Muslim, we are the lowest form of life (worse than Jews because at least they are “hum kitaab” i.e. share a book). The only Hindus who do not realize this are the ganja smoking leftists or the booze swilling pseudo-secular elites. I don’t care what Muslims in other countries think of Hindus. Cannot help it so why bother?

However what is really disheartening is the show of strength of Syeedi’s fans and followers in West Bengal (which I believe is still in India). Apparently, sixteen Islamic organizations came together at the second largest public ground in Kolkata in protest against ongoing trials against war crimes, against Shahbag sit ins and in support of Syeedi. Yes. The aforementioned gem of a human being has supporters in India and a lot of them at that. A frustrated Begali, Dr. Anirban Ganguly writes the following in his touching article:

But most shocking was their brazen support for Sayeedi, a known vocal anti-India preacher, a rabid anti-Hindu who has been active in organising pogroms against minorities in Bangladesh over the years and one of the most avid collaborators in Pakistan’s genocide against fellow Muslims. They openly declared their support for Sayeedi saying that a death sentence for Sayeedi in effect meant a death sentence for the Koran and Islam. These speakers chose to ignore the fact that Sayeedi was being tried for killing in cold blood their fellow religionists. It was for the first time that such a mobilisation took place in Kolkata and it simply reinforced an emerging mindset which has begun trying to consolidate a pan-Bengal Islamic identity.

Of course there was no outrage in India save a smattering of articles written by helpless conservatives. Mamata Bannerjee who is never at a loss of words did not say anything about this. The leftist traitors who supported illegal immigration to fatten up their votebanks and are thus responsible for this abomination were characteristically quiet. None of the Karats or Yechury or anyone was seen opening their unsanitary traps about this. Of course, the media which is slave to pro-Muslim liberal causes did not see any merit in reporting this. But should any of this surprise me? I guess not.

What can people of Bengal do? The Hindus there like Hindus elsewhere are peace loving people (as a rule not exceptions) and are thus not ready to oppose terror with force. I can understand that. But why do they behave as if they only have the Communists or Mamata Bannerjee to choose from? When they are alone in the voting booth, who is threatening them? Who is stopping them from voting for the Hindu Conservative party, i.e. BJP? In the last elections, Mamata won but the communists were not too far behind in vote percentage. If the Bengalis deliberately ignore the third option then they are responsible for Islamists running wild in their state. Right now the Muslims are burning small communities of Hindus. What is next?

The Ganguly article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/column/a-rally-for-war-criminals-why-are-tmc-left-silent/20130403.htm
The Wikipedia information can be read at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delwar_Hossain_Sayeedi

Dynastic Rule = Incompetence And Corruption

The most shocking thing about the Rajiv Gandhi revelation (as a weapons middle man) is the lack of shock in the Indian media. In fact Modi’s speech was the bigger news (not to nitpick). We have become completely numb to incompetence and corruption. Everything goes. All this can be attributed in large part to the dynastic rule. I will try to build my case here.

Those of us who read about American politics are aware of the way George Bush won the 2000 elections. His so called victory was due to a Supreme Court ruling where the Republican nominated judges voted in his favor. Two of these judges were nominated when Bush’s father was the VP and two when he was the president. The latest is that Bush’s younger brother will run for the office in 2016. Power of the family put a decidedly less competent George Bush in the White House. Similar thing was observed in the 1960’s When John F Kennedy’s father used every dirty trick in the book to ensure a victory. If Al Gore were the president maybe he would not have gone into an unnecessary war with Iraq. World may be a different place right now. Margaret Thatcher’s son was involved in an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. Thank god this jerk did not enter politics.

Of course as with everything else (especially criminal or negative in nature), we Indians take it to the next level. When it comes to the dynastic politics, Loksabha has essentially become a “Zamindaari” where the seats are given to family members. Patrick French writes the following:

- A shocking 100% of Indian MPs under the age of 30 are hereditary

- Two-thirds of Indian MPs under the age of 40 are from political families

- Less than 10% of MPs over the age of 70 are hereditary

- 27 MPs are classified as ‘hyperhereditary’, and 19 of them are in the Congress party.

By hyperhereditary, we mean that they have multiple family connections, and several family members who have made a career out of politics.

This is a serious problem because the real talent gets left behind while incompetent sons and daughters take the lead. If Narendra Modi were in Congress, he will never ever get to achieve anything because he is an outsider who can outshine the incompetent sons and daughters. In regional parties it is worse than it is in Congress. Look at DMK and the soap opera that is Karunanidhi’s family. It would be funny if Tamilnadu’s well being was not at stake.

The bigger problem is that this also leads to extreme corruption. Why do you think Saab Scania approached Rajiv Gandhi to play middleman to get the deal? It is because when you have a dynastic rule, you may as well paint a sign over the scion’s head “please deposit bribes here”. For the dynasty to grow they need money. To get money they need power. To keep power they need to institutionalize the corruption. NV Subramanian writes well when he says:

But the dynastic impulses of the Congress party are a two-way process. For exalting the Nehru-Gandhis, saving and insulating them from harm, the Congress leaders get to enjoy power and the forbidden fruits it brings, especially in the form of corruption. The nine years of Manmohan Singh have been the most corrupt in India’s history. How did that happen? Manmohan Singh’s reputation for personal honesty gave cover to the corrupt. And the Nehru-Gandhis used their name to get the corrupt to power twice. So why would the corrupt Congress have it differently?

Is there a way out of this? Of course. The voters have to become less selfish (think of the state and then nation rather than their own caste or worse) more mature in their choices. We cannot repeat the whole “India is Indira and Indira is India” kind of stupidity.

The Patrick French article can be read at: http://www.theindiasite.com/family-politics/family-politics-how-nepotistic-is-the-indian-parliament/
NV Subramanian can be read at: http://newsinsight.net/CorruptionAndtheCongress.aspx#page=page-1

Narendra Modi: What Is Next?

Judging by the noise coming out of UP (Mulayam and Advani bonhomie) and the recent statement by Vijay Goel who is the Delhi BJP chief (he said that Advani will form the next government), it has become clear that LK Advani has become the kind of pain that does not go away easily. It is also clear despite of the recent reorganization of the BJP that there still exist pockets of resistance to Narendra Modi’s ascension to the national stage. All these are minor irritants and will be dealt with by Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah. Modi needs to ignore this.

A lot is being made of the recent speech made by Rahul Gandhi. I am sure that everyone has heard or read about it by now. Comparisons are being made between Rahul’s speech and the two speeches made by Modi. Comparing Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi is akin to comparing an alley cat and a lion. Clearly they both belong to the same biological family of cats (because they are both politicians). But that is where the comparison ends. Modi needs to ignore all this and tune the cacophony out.

So far Narendra Modi has addressed a college campus in New Delhi and invited guests at a conclave. While important, these are still small steps. What he needs to do is to get out and start addressing crowds in the states that BJP must win like UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra and other such states. In my opinion, the most important speeches of Modi’s political career are going to be made at campuses in Lucknow, Allahabad, Agra, Aligarh and other cities in UP. The reason for this is that he needs the youth of UP to hear of his vision first hand and not through the media’s biased eyes. They need to feel the power of the man. They need to hear a different kind of speech – one where action is emphasized over rhetoric. Once the youth get energized, they will be able to convince people around them. It seems that energized youth voters in the US convinced their grandparents to vote for Barak Obama which was amazing. Modi is already shaping this to be a campaign in the mold of a presidential election. He needs to take pages out of the Obama’s hand book who won despite of obvious prejudices and difficulties. Under George Bush, economy had become so bad that people were clamoring for change. It was up to Obama to use exploit that sentiment and win despite of his race.

There exists a similar situation in India. No one outside of a Congress meeting thinks that things are alright in the country. Manmohan Singh may say that he is open to a third term (which may still happen if the Indian voters do not unite) but it is clear to all that this man has been a total disaster. Anything that Congress is trying to offer is a rehash of their disastrous policies. India is waiting for something new. That is what Modi’s biggest advantage is. He already has established himself to be a performer. He does not need to convince the entrepreneurs and the business class. They are aware of his prowess. What he needs to do is to step outside of Gujarat and address the youth and the women of India and convince them that he can duplicate the Gujarat experience for the entire country. Women of India need to hear how he is going to make it easy for them to run their households. Youth of India needs to hear about how their future is going to be made safe by actionable policies and good governance. And of course by youth and women I do not mean people from New Delhi or Mumbai. I mean regular voters from the bylanes of Lucknow and galis of Varanasi. Voters form dusty tehsils and parched farmlands. Voters from riot prone areas and forgotten areas from the Maoist / naxalite belt. Hopeless Hindu voters from West Bengal and Kerala and Muslim voters from UP who have been victimized by the pseudo-secular votebank politicians of SP and BSP. Those are the people who need to hear Modi . There is no use trying to convince idiots from JNU and other leftist outpost of our misfortune. The next election is about India and her sons and daughter of the soil. Those are the people who need to hear Modi and become aware of existence of such a politician.

It gladdens my heart that steps are being taken to do just that. Fellow conservative Shashi Shekhar writes the following about the BJP Foundation Day speeches in Gujarat:

First the speeches signalled that the BJP is now in campaign mode and that it will not shy away from pulling punches. Second, that the BJP is no longer trapped in the negativist mindset of the past many years with even Rajnath Singh speaking a new language, floating a Big Idea on “radical devolution of power to the States”. Third, that while the BJP may be concentrated in a few States its main leadership has its sights set on even marginal States like Kerala and West Bengal with the hope of breaking new ground. Fourth, that the BJP will take the Congress head-on over its abuse of institutions for political leverage. Last, that Narendra Modi has assumed the mantle of not just being the de facto ‘first among equals’ leader but also that of the Chief Motivator for the rank and file of his party.

That is what I call as good news. It is a long road but as the saying goes - A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

The first step has been taken. Knowing the kind of warrior Modi is, I am sure that he has this thing planned out. It is up to his supporters outside of Gujarat to get out and campaign for him.

Shashi Shekhar's article can be read at: http://www.niticentral.com/2013/04/06/modi-signals-gloves-are-off-62753.html