Andhra Pradesh: Congress’ Cash Cow

When it comes to bribing politicians, it is a prudent policy to bribe both sides. So to think that the Reddy brothers were sharing their loot with the BJP brass in Karnataka is completely wrong. Some of the money had to have gone to the other side. It turns out that a lot of money was given to YSR Reddy. His son is getting investigated for very large amount of money which was given to the family by Reddy brothers.

If you look at the richest MPs in India, most of them come from Andhra and all of them belong to Congress. Most of them are in real estate. It smells, don’t you think? Don’t you think these guys do contribute to the Congress coffers? After all, the Congress spent over 400 crores in the 2009 general elections. That amount of money cannot be anyone’s hard earned cash. For the Congress, Andhra has been a state which gives them the most MPs and money. A true cash cow indeed!

Wikipedia cables showed that the corruption in Andhra during YSR’s days was higher than the rest of the country. That, folks, should tell you something. YSR, Jagan and Vijayamma, with Hindu sounding names, tilak on the forehead, saffron string (known by various names in different states) on their wrists while displaying obscenely large cross on their obscenely expensive home have been taking the Andhra aam aadmi for a ride all these years. They would still be enjoying their loot if they had toed the Gandhi family line. After all they were a source of money and are Christians. Who would wish them ill in Congress. Yet, some boneheaded moves later, Jagan is finding himself on the defensive. Right thing is happening for the wrong reason. I hope the Andhra voters are watching this closely and will reject these criminal demagogues.

In case of his arrest, Jagan has Plan B ready!
Jagan has told his party workers that in case he is arrested, they should ensure that a large number of Congress MLAs defect to his party. His mother Vijayamma will lead the party in his absence. Vijayamma has a personal connection with many Congress MLAs dating back to the days when her husband, the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy , was leading the party. Vijayamma's presence at the helm of affairs may prompt as many as 20 YSR loyalists to leave the Congress and join Jagan's party. These candidates were handpicked by YSR and he had campaigned extensively for them before the polls. Vijayamma had been present at her husband's side during these campaigns and she shares a special bond with them.
The article can be read at:http://www.rediff.com/news/report/in-case-of-his-arrest-jagan-has-plan-b-ready!/20111104.htm

Graft during YSR rule in AP was above norm in India: US cableShare
A leaked diplomatic cable dispatched by the US consul general in Chennai in 2007 had nailed the then Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, headed by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, for "widespread corruption that was beyond the pale" even for India. In the name of social programmes targeted at common man, the YSR government had engaged in corruption 'beyond the norm for India,' Wikileaks said, quoting the cable. The YSR government's 'flagship programmes' – construction of irrigation projects and houses for weaker sections – were beset with corruption even as Rajasekhara Reddy used the populist spending programmes to great political effect, the cable said.
"Typically, five to seven per cent is lost to corruption, but in Reddy's irrigation programme that figure is more like 15 to 20 per cent," he said. While the housing programme will cost $4 to 6 billion, the irrigation programme costs more than $11 billion over five years on 26 major irrigation projects, the US cable said.
The article can be read at : http://www.indianexpress.com/news/graft-during-ysr-rule-in-ap-was-above-norm-in-india-us-cable/846643/0

What If Narendra Modi Says “Sky Is Blue”?

Normally we do not refer to other blogs but one of them caught my eye which flummoxed me. The author seems to suggest that Mamta Banerjee needs to learn from Jayalalitha. The article has been written in the wake of a large number of infant moralities in Poschim Bongo hospitals. The author says the following:

One wonders whether Mamata can learn a tip or two from Jayalalithaa — at least when it come to governance. When children die in Bengal hospitals, Mamata can’t think of anything but blame the Marxists! But look at Jayalalithaa. Her politics of putting down her political rivals, the DMK, also includes creating better hospital care in Tamil Nadu!
Jayalalithaa on November2 announced that the modern Anna centenary library in Chennai, a multi-crore project of the earlier DMK government, will be converted into a super speciality paediatric hospital. The library would shift to a new integrated intellectual park to be housed in an alternative site in the city.

The is giving way too much credit to Jayalalitha. After all who has forgotten her own financial transgressions. She is not an honest person. Of course compared to the DMK crew, she is a light weight, thus lesser of the two evils and hence elected. When it comes to Mamta B, we have repeatedly written on this blog that she is great in an opposition position but not in the ruling seat. She is a rabble rouser who thrives on blaming others. All of her administrative moves have not shown any initiative, imagination or decisiveness. She is good at blackmailing the UPA into giving her state money and state run projects for job creation. She can blame the Commies now but soon she will have to own up to the status quo in the state.

Coming back to Jayalalitha and her so called good governance, she is no statesperson or even a leader. She is as corrupt as any of the politicians and as vain as Mayawati. But she does know what works and what will get her re-elected. She is taking pages out of Nitish Kumar’s books. But to her credit, she is unabashedly emulating Bhai Narendra Modi. She does not shy away from associating herself with him as opposed to the pseudo secular crowd who would treat the plague better than they would Modi. Mamta Banerjee should learn from Modi just like Jayalalitha. The blogger who wrote the article in question seems to have overlooked that.

So what if Narendra Modi said that the sky was blue? Will the pseudo secular crowd dispute that? The point is, our religion and culture encourages adopting wisdom no matter what the source. Modi is doing a lot of good things for his state. Don’t t bring the man down. Study his methods. Adopt his methods. Adopt his policies. Emulate his work ethics. Put your own state on a path to success. People of India deserve that. What they do not deserve is dealing with petty egos of corrupt politicians.

One would have thought that all the education that our PM has had, he would be above the usual Congress / regional party / liberal churlishness. But an article by the intrepid Kanchan Gupta suggests otherwise. It seems that Modi was the head of the Working Group on Consumer Affairs with the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as other members. As Mr. Gupta says:

The committee was set up in April 2010 to suggest ways and means of holding the price line for essential commodities. By early this year, the report was finalised and it has been gathering dust in some corner of the Prime Minister’s Office for the past six months. It’s not a voluminous report crammed with senseless data and meaningless jargon. That’s not Mr Modi’s style. It’s a slim report which lists 20 recommendations with 64 detailed actionable points for their expeditious implementation.

If you read Mr. Gupta’s article, you will realize that the suggestions are eminently possible to adopt and implement. However, because it comes from Modi, it has been cast aside. Probably thrown in trash. Food prices have gone up so much that one cannot even make jokes about it. Forget the much talked Indian prosperity trickling down to the aam aadmi. Let them at least get one proper meal a day. How about a little heart and compassion? People making Rs 32 are not even being considered poor. Being a poor in India is worse than being a criminal because life has become a punishment.

Mr. PM, if implementing Mr. Modi’s suggestions can alleviate some of that pain, please – in the name of all things good, adopt them. Alleviating hunger would make for a better legacy than chasing the mirage of a friendship with the Pakistanis.

The blog about Mamta B and Jayalalitha can be read at:http://blogs.rediff.com/dillichaat/2011/11/02/why-cant-mamata-learn-from-jayalalithaa/

KanchanGupta’s op-ed can be read at:http://www.dailypioneer.com/component/content/article/400-coffee-break/16472-namo-proposes-pm-disposes.html

Indian F1 Circuit and Bhagwan Buddh

Leave it to the BBC and foreigners to lament Indian poverty and pose this question: How will the Grand Prix change India? We leave it to them because it is too painful for us to search for an honest answer. I will step forward with my two paisas and say that it will change nothing for the aam aadmi. The cost of this abomination is $400 million dollars. It was made on land which was taken from landowners who were compensated well. However, the poor landless farmers who used to work on that land are now out of a job. The last race is over. Indian glitterati have had their fun. Bharat Ratnas like Sachin Tendulkar (who recently moved into a modest 70 crore house) was there as well. Metallica, Lady Gaga and Shahrukh Khan had a ball. But now what?

The car circuit was made under Behenji Mayawati’s care. She named it after Bhagwan Buddh. Yes. The same guy who was of the opinion that:

“Greed is one of the Three Poisons that lead to evil (akusala) and that bind us to suffering (dukkha). It also is one of the Five Hindrances to enlightenment.”

Is it not ironic that such a testament to greed and ego was named after a man whose teachings are an exact opposite. But what can we expect from a woman who has a private road to office, has seven cooks, two tasters, shoes flown in on private planes and an obscene amount of wealth. We have a park costing hundreds of crores opened in the name of dalit pride and a car racing circuit in the name of divine man of peace and extreme enlightenment. One could choke on this kind of irony.

While something of this sort is expected from our politicians, what does it say about the people who paid Rs 2500 to watch cars burn fossil fuel at an extremely high rate. If the foreigners can see the dichotomy of having an F1 circuit and poverty outside why can we not see it? Have we become numb to it? Have we accepted it as part of our lives and national landscape? Because if we have then the solution to this problem will elude us and it will continue to grow until it engulfs us all.

How will the Grand Prix change India?
By Andrew North BBC South Asia Correspondent, Delhi
Proof, says Vijay Mallya, the billionaire co-owner of India's F1 team, of the growing disposable income of India's "aspirational middle class".The private Indian company, Jaypee International, has been trumpeting its success in getting the new Buddh International Circuit, as it is known, outside Delhi, ready on time. Jaypee chairman Jaiprakash Gaur predicts the Grand Prix will banish "the shameful memories" of the chaos and corruption that marred last year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi. "The world's perception of India is going to change after the Grand Prix," he promises. Critics fear it is just another sign of India's wealthy elite getting ever further ahead of the rest. "This is polo for the new generation," says Ashis Nandy, an academic and social commentator, describing the millions being spent on the Grand Prix race as an "utter waste" and "totally insensitive" - with the majority of Indians living on less than a dollar a day."Why does the international media keep focusing on the poor part of India," complains Formula 1 team owner Vijay Mallya.

We Are Falling For Old Pakistani Tricks

An Indian chopper strays into Pakistan and they return it along with the senior officials in it without much problems. Pakistan opens up a temple in Peshawar. Pakistan allows their Hindus to celebrate Diwali. Hints were dropped about Pakistan granting India the “most favored nation” treatment (as if our economy depends upon the paki trade!). News like this is catnip to the liberal pseudo secular crowd in India. They along with the south block have already started to chill the champagne. Have these idiots ever thought of why all this is happening? Why are these people who would rather see us roasted alive in a closed train compartment, started to have a change of heart? I will tell you why?

This is because the US is putting extraordinary pressure on Pakistan from the western borders with incessant drone attacks, forces build up and diplomatic. Pakistanis are incapable of dealing with pressure from two sides that is why they have decided to keep the Indians at bay by being nice to them. The wily pakis know that the Indian pseudo secular lobby always falls for their pseudo overtures like Pavlovian dogs. The pakis are going to say all the right things and ensure that we are not attacked by their terrorists while they are dealing with the Americans. Of course after that pressure has been dealt with (US forces out of Afghanistan), they will resume bleeding us. We are falling for such obvious tricks for the umpteenth time. Shame on us!!
In fact now is the time to bring some more pressure on the pakis and then negotiate (if at all). But that is a move which requires guts and foresight, somethings our leaders lack sorely. That compounded with votebank politics and an inexplicable love for the pakis, leads us to make disastrous foreign policy decisions. When it comes to pakis, we hope that the problems will go away on their own, somehow the paki army and terrorists will abandon hate for India and we will then descend on a Bollywood movie set and sing “Kumbaya” or “Chammak Challo”. Yes all our foreign policy towards pakis is based on hope and nothing else. At least with China we have a Look East policy even though for the most part we take the cowards way out by sweeping the Chinese transgressions under our collective “khatiyas”.

In an e-conversation with an obviously angry friend of the blog Vidur Sarthi I got the following from him. I am sure that you will agree with him.

There is something in MEA that makes the whole establishment subtly and sometimes overtly anti US as the heritage of NAM and Nehruvian influence of socialist utopia. the real evil lies with the congress party that has of late sees in the Muslim vote bank the key issue of survival. in addition , i have NEVER figured out what is India's foreign policy - we are not friends even with our tiny SAARC neighbours with the Chinese controlling them.... ! sometimes I wonder if it is in our Hindu genes - we never go beyond the four V's - vichar , vimarshan , vishlayshan and vimochan !! our entire pak policy is reactive - with Pakistan always setting the agenda including the latest report of condi rice in which it was the pakis who set the agenda by putting the scare and the rumor of India attacking ! just imagine the entire NATO and the US buying into the Paki fear of encirclement by India and Afghanistan !
Frankly speaking I cannot believe that the Paks have again got away following Mullen outburst ! as my pak friend says , you Hindus are nice guys , you always let us get away even though you catch us pants down just as in Kargil and in 1971 -- we then feared that India would capture certain portion in the west and would vacate if we gave up claims on POK !!
And the BJP is another myopic party that does not know how to capitalize for fear of being called a radical party and losing out on the Muslim votes not realizing that they get nothing anyway! By pretending and presenting as modestly moderate , they lose even those votes that would go to them if they showed some strongly calibrated aggression - but there is no spine - how can there be if it is still letting the 80 plus year man to do their Ratha Yatra !

Clearly and overhaul of our policies is needed. That will not happen on the watch of such Paki-philes as Manmohan Singh.

An excellent article on the subject by Mr. G Parthasarthy can be read at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/edit/15995-pakistan-plays-a-double-game.html

UPA, Team Anna and Other Sad Spectacles

1. Team Anna’s self-righteous; “holier than thou” attitude is going to destroy the work of Anna and all of us who stood by him this summer. They set out to attack the wicked with skeletons in their own closets. Agnivesh turned out to be a Congress pimp. Bhushan turned out to be a traitorous leftist. If that was not bad enough, we have Kejriwal in IT dragnet and Kiran Bedi in the expenditure padding cases. Bhushan and Agnivesh are bad seeds. The case against Kejriwal stinks. If the man was greedy for money, there were other ways to make it. He has a B Tech from IIT Kharagpur. He could have joined the IAS / IPS / IFS or any of the provincial services and made crores. The accusations against him reek of Digvijay Singh and Co. But Kiran Bedi has really sullied her name and for what? The path of the self-righteous is fraught with perils. When all you have is truth on your side in a war against the evil then you better have your closet clean and your integrity intact. Between petty greed, leftist agendas and Congress dirty tricks, Anna Hazare’s sacrifices are bound to fail. It sure is a sorry spectacle.

2. For someone who is denying being a candidate, Advaniji is not fooling anyone. He is hoping against hope that somehow the UPA government will fall this year or near enough which will then give him the chance to crawl up to the top seat. This is a sad picture and is not gaining any traction anywhere. His selfish desires are going to ruin the BJPs chances in the next elections. Instead of playing advisor to capable men like Narendra Modi, he has decided to usurp the top job himself. Sad spectacle indeed.

3. Is there a sadder spectacle than the man currently in the PM’s seat? What about Congress and Co. in recent by-elections? What about the Rajkumar? I thought that Rajmata’s return was the panacea for all of Congress’ ills. All the lower level Congress supporters and their voters really do cut a sorry and sad picture.

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL OUR READERS!!

NGOs Can Make A Difference In India!!

You have got NGOs and then you have got NGOs. And then you have one that is run by a guy who seems to really want to make a difference. No socialites or leftists agendas or padded bills etc. Seems like an NGO called “Sarhad” run by Sanjay Nahar who brings children from troubled parts of India to the safe havens in Maharashtra (thankfully Raj Thakray has kept his trap shut about this), houses them and gets them enrolled in local schools. He did that for children in Punjab back in the day. Now he has turned his focus on a state that has been screwed royally by Pakistani terrorists, local criminal demagogues and Congress led inept leaders i.e. J&K. Now from the footage of the youth we get to see are the stone pelting desi intifada guys. I was glad to hear that all this does not influence a whole lot of Muslim children from the state. In fact the ones in question are normal kids with normal worries and interests like careers, safety, Amitabh Bachchan, politics even joining the Indian defence forces. Yes. A girl wants to join the IAF while the terrorist leaders would have you believe that all the Indian Defence personnel do there is kill and rape. A lot of these kids want to stay back in Maharashtra and become professionals. It really is heart warming. I tip my hat to Sanjay Nahar. I will find a way to contribute to this guys NGO.

However, what he is doing should have been the Government of India policy. Using the NGOs or social welfare departments, they should have been identifying children who want better things from life than joining the terrorists under some pipe dream of unifying with a failed terrorist outfit called Pakistan. After doing that, these children should have been brought over to other parts of the country, then housed and educated. These kids should be allowed to see the real India. Not the India they get to hear from their paki paid leaders. I am not talking about population dilution like the Chinese have done in their minority areas. I am talking about genuinely winning the hearts and minds of J&K Muslims (Yes. Even forgetting all the atrocity they have inflicted on hapless Hindus). That is the only way to win this war.

How ill we pay for all this? You see, the amount of taxpayer money spent in J&K is (proportionately) far more than most other states. Some of that money could be held back for educating J&K youth provided they come and study in any of the other states. Some of these kids have liked their new surroundings so much that they do not want to go back.
With information and exposure, we need these kids to realize that their real future is with India not with the failed terrorist state of Pakistan, a country which is having trouble retaining their own talented people.

Kashmir's children chase their dreams
Misa Afzal is only 9 years old but already knows what she wants to do in life. She wants to become an engineer and work in Pune. Misa has left her family -- parents and grandparents -- behind in Kashmir. Misa's sister Rubina, who studies in standard 6, dreams of becoming a doctor and working in Pune.

The article and a related one can be read at the following:

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-miles-away-from-home-kashmirs-children-chase-their-dreams/20111019.htm

http://outlookindia.com/mad.asp?fname=Making&synopsis=&subsubsec=Pune&fodname=20041011&personname=Sanjay+Nahar

Mayawati, Rahul and UP Ka Bhagya

It is hard to remember when UP had decent governance. I guess the downfall began after VP Singh became the UP CM back in 1980. After that there was a brief period where Kalyan Singh provided some semblance of governance. Since then BJP has had a couple of chances but those terms were disasters with the Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh failing to consolidate and build on their wins. Since 1980, most of the rule has been shared by Mulayam Singh and Mayawati. In that, UP has been as bad as Bihar and Bengal (those two states especially Bihar have since redeemed themselves). However, just like a woman suffering from an Abused Spouse Syndrome”, the UP voters keep electing one or the other. Fortunately for the voters, SP is now in tatters. That leaves Mayawati on top of this rotten heap of politicians jockeying for a slice of the UP pie.

Why is UP politics dirtier than other places? It is because UP is the biggest prize in Loksabha elections with more than 80 MP’s. No trick is dirty or sleazy enough to win this prize. In other states it often comes down to powerful communities but in UP it is pared down to the barest and ugliest form politics i.e. caste politics. Votebank politics is practiced in its lowest forms. Thanks to Mulayam Yadav and Samajwadi Party, some towns in western UP may as well be practicing the Sharia. Sleazy Muslim businessmen / crimelords (they either have slaughterhouses, selling meat to the middle east or tanneries turning the UP rivers and bodies of waters into a toxic brew. With large amounts of money, they have ensured status quo by any and all means. Politicians and their relatives are behaving like bad Bollywood movie villains.

Having lived in both UP and Gujarat, I know that the population in both the states is equally smart (Raj Thakrey can go and suck an egg). However, people of Gujarat did one thing right. They elected Narendra Modi. People of UP have been on a slippery slope, electing exact opposites of Narendra Modi. You go to Gujarat, You will see greenery, prosperity, hope but no pictures of Narendra Modi. You go to UP you will see desperation, poverty, crime and pictures of Mayawati everywhere. She is an egomaniac of the highest order who has food tasters, shoes flown in on private planes, private roads, immense amount of illegal wealth and reminders of her power and hold over UP’s fortunes everywhere. Only in the rule of someone like her can there be parks worth hundreds of crore rupees and paltry sums being doled out to fight disease epidemics. That park which is supposed to be a monument to dalit power is actually a thinly veiled monument to Kanshiram and Mayawati. I am sure that the dalits of UP would rather have those crores spent on economic opportunities or better infrastructure or hunger alleviation or anything that will have an impact on their quality of life. I fail to see how can you console a family saying “you may not have any hope or job or food or clothes or a place to live but you have a park celebrating the accomplishments of your fellow dalits. It would be ridiculous if it were not so cruel.

So why do we still have her around? Mayawati has mastered the art of social engineering. She has Dalits, Muslims and Brahmins. A curious collection indeed but she has them all fooled. Her group of MLAs is nothing short of who’s who of UP crime. All this is due to our own faults. Everywhere in India, I went, people would ask me my name. When I only told them my first name (which is clearly a Hindu name), they would insist on my last name. They are trying to figure out my caste or my home state. This is why Mayawati continues to rule UP. It is as if being Hindu is not enough.

Now Congress which has been wiped out from UP is trying to get back in and reclaim what used to be their votebank i.e. Dalits, Muslims and Brahmins. Rahul took padyatras, ate at farmer’s houses made claims about police atrocities in Bhatta Rasul and other stuff. When none of them worked, his handlers came up with another idea. Image makeover. This story is so ridiculous that it could only happen in India.

Accompanied by UP Congress President Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Union Minister of state for Rural Development Pradeep Jain , who himself hails from Bundelkhand, Rahul was passing through Mohda block of Hamirpur district when he intercepted a tractor-trolly loaded with DAP fertiliser. "No sooner the trio confronted the driver with certain queries, he confessed that the fertilizer was fake," UP congress spokesman Subodh Srivastava told mediapersons. He said, "Finding himself cornered the tractor driver ran away from the scene, abandoning the vehicle with 150 bags of DAP fertiliser, that was handed over to the police.

WOW!! The scion of the Indian raj-gharana happened to be near a truck with fake fertilizer. Where were the body guards / police / Congress workers who were protecting the Rajkumar? Did they just let him accost the miscreant on his own. Did the Rajkumar smell the fake fertilizer? Does he have a portable gas-chromatograph or better yet, X-Ray vision? Yes. UP Congress bigwigs would have you believe that our Rajkumar is actually a crime fighter (like Batman or Spiderman) disguised as a powerful politician. Please read the article and see if you can read it with a straight face.

What can be done to stop the criminal and ridiculous activities to win in UP? Instead of dividing Andhra Pradesh and creating a Muslim dominated Telangana, they should divide UP so that we get two states with about 40 MPs each and thus will be lesser prizes. Thanks to disastrous SP and BSP politics, western UP’s culture has become entirely different from eastern UP anyway. So may as well split it. There won’t be any fight over Lucknow as there will be over Hyderabad.

Uttar Pradesh: 685 crore for a park, 18 crore for encephalitis
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati will inaugurate a Rs. 685-crore park in Noida today with an impressive posse of 2500 policemen and about 40,000 BSP workers in attendance. From about 750 km away in the same state come some more sombre statistics: More than 400 children have died in and around Gorakhpur in eastern UP this year of the deadly Japanese encephalitis, and the Mayawati government has sanctioned Rs. 18 crore to combat the menace.
The article can be read at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/uttar-pradesh-685-crore-for-a-park-18-crore-for-encephalitis-141178&cp

The Rahul Gandhi superhero exploits can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/rahul-detects-fake-fertiliser-on-bundelkhand-tour/20111012.htm

LK Advani: Bheeshma Pitamah or Arjun?

The always on the money and connected NV Subramanian in his latest analyses the by-poll debacle of the Congress. He lays the complete blame on the top tier leadership of Congress i.e. Sonia Gandhi. That her only qualification is marrying the right guy is only obvious to non Congress voters and workers. Expecting her to lead a country as complex as ours is asking for the moon. There are many interesting points made in the article. One is that Congress is that internal party reports about forthcoming elections in UP are gloomy. Another one is that Digvijay Singh has already started to distance himself from the Gandhi family (he has denied being close to Rahul). But we all know this man is a rat and a political survivor. However the most important thing in the article which really caught my eye is the following statement:

The BJP showed the way of coming to power by forging a coalition. The Congress mimicked it and clawed its way back to government. As such, there was no innovation on the part of the Congress leadership to win power. Top ranking ministers like Pranab Mukherjee considered the 2004 victory a fluke. The 2009 win was a bigger surprise.

Think about it. 2004 victory as per Mukherjee was a fluke and 2009 was even a bigger surprise. What this really means is that Congress was never really expecting to win either of the two elections. By implication, both of them were for the BJP to lose! Taking a step further we can safely say that people who were in charge of the BJP during those elections are to be blamed for the BJP losses and sadly for India, for the Congress wins. We all know that during those days, the BJP was divided into two camps – Advani camp and Atalji camp. Atalji was on his way out due to age so Advaniji was the crown prince (only in Indian politics and Arab monarchies can seventy plus year old men are can be referred to as crown prince). He and his coterie planned the disastrous India Shining campaign. The BJP lost big time.
In 2009, UPA had shown themselves to be failures on multiple fronts. Advaniji, Sudheendra Kulkarni and others were in charge. Beating Congress should have been easy. Even the Congress were expecting to lose. As seems to have become their habit, the BJP snatched defeat from the jaws for victory. That is two major losses. Advaniji must shoulder the blame for the losses.

Now that UPA is in deeper trouble and early elections are a distinct possibility, Advaniji is smelling the PM kursi again. He has taken a rathyatra at the age of 84. It is nothing but a very transparent attempt at the top job. Let us say there are early elections. Let us look at the possible voters. The BJP is definitely going to get the votes of their faithfuls (or fat fools. It is beginning to feel like that) but that will not be enough to put us over the top. We will need the Hindu middle class who seems to be sitting on the fence. If they did not vote for then septuagenarian Advani why do we expect them to vote for an octogenarian Advani. Those voters may not vote for Congress but they may go an vote for the regional parties which is worse (can you imagine Karunanidhi as a king maker again?). So to attract those independent voters we have to have proven and younger leadership. Someone who can attract the older middle class voters who are worried about the country. Someone who can attract the younger voters who are worried about their future. Advaniji does not fit the bill.

In a conversation with a friend who is an educated liberal I found out that he would vote for Narendra Modi because he is very impressed with Modi’s way of doing business and the continued success of Gujarat. This friend is by no means beholden to Hindu nationalism and yet for the first time he would consider voting for Modi. Will he vote for Advani? That is the crore rupee question.

As I have said on this blog, the BJP owes a huge debt of gratitude to Advaniji for putting us on the map with his first rathyatra. But that was then and this is now. His time is past and he needs to understand that fact. Ambition cannot overcome the effects of age. In the last month or so, he has send out mixed signals about his desires. On one hand he hints that he has no interests but he has never stopped his chamchas from making noise about it. He needs to come out and categorically say that he is not a candidate instead of hoping that somehow the title of PM gets attached to his name. That sounds too much like Chaudhary Charan Singh who is one of the most reviled names in Indian politics.

Advaniji has to decide if he wants to become Professor Emeritus or take on the grueling task of day to day decision making. He needs to decide if he wants to accept the vaan-prastha ashram or go back in time. He really needs to decide if he want to be Bheeshma Pitamah or fight the war like Arjun. He has to decide all this for the party and the country. We cannot afford another Congress or some sort of a third party rule in the nation (how does Prime Minister Mayawati sound?).

The NV Subramanian article can be read at: http://newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=2208

Digvijay Divides Team Anna

When Arvind Kejriwal was in Hissar campaigning against the Congress asking the voters not to vote for Congress and Prashant Bhushan was making statements supporting plebiscite in J&K Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's saw an opportunity. In Hissar, It was a double jeopardy situation. Not only was team Anna inflicting severe damage to Congress image for opposing the Lokpal bill but their campaign against Congress was unwillingly supporting the BJP candidate. However, that leftist idiot Prashant Bhushan gave him the perfect weapon in the hands of Digvijay Singh to cause a rift in Team Anna. Not the one to take this assault on Congress lying down, Digvijay Singh did the following to split the Team Anna.

a) He was openly opining in the media that Anna Hazare is being misled by Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal. This caused Anna to backtrack because he did not want to politicize his anti corruption campaign.

b) He wrote open letters to Anna Hazare to that effect lodging his protest and brought it to the public through releasing it to the media.

c) He then came with the open allegation in the media that RSS is supporting Anna's movement and he has proof of that.

d) He released the letters to the media that were written by RSS chiefs to Anna supporting his movement and proved his criticism while the team Anna continued to vigorously oppose it. Singh is aware of the revulsion that the leftists in team Anna have for all things RSS and BJP. Myopic team Anna instead of accepting the all encompassing support for this movement (i.e. the anti corruption movement belongs to all Indians, liberal and conservative alike) went on the defensive. They ended up repudiating the RSS support. This of course upset a significant population who thinks that just because RSS says the sky is blue does not change the color of the sky. Corruption hurts Indians from all walks of life and everyone has equal right to criticize it even joining hands with their ideological enemies against it. Team Anna failed to recognize it thereby playing into the hands of the wily Congressman.

If that were not enough, Bhushan gave him more fodder to divide the Team Anna. However a few noteworthy things indicate a more sinister plot. No sooner did the attack on Bhushan take place than Digvijay Singh had letters from written by the attackers to members of the BJP. He also was in possession of proof of the membership of the attackers in the BJP youth wing. How did Digvijay get his paws on these incriminating documents. Did Digvijay know about the attack? I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theory nut but is it possible that he arranged this attack? After all, the BJP / RSS combine is facing major elections in the next two years. By attacking leftists like Bhushan, they stand to lose the most. On the other hand, in spirit of “Cui Bono?” i.e. “Who Benefits?” it is Congress which benefits the most from this attack.

Now it may be a bloody coincidence that Singh got those documents so quickly. A BJP insider may have helped him for money. However, know Digvijay Singh, I would not put anything past him.
Nevertheless, selfish leftist agenda and loss of focus of Team Anna is threatening to undo Anna Hazare’s sacrifice. If Kejriwal thinks that he can deal with snakes in politics they he is a fool who is bringing a knife to a gunfight. The way to deal with the UPA is what Anna did – Satyagrah and public opinion. Instead his team after winning the first battle, decided to unleash their own selfish agenda. Now they are going to lose the war. For this I congratulate Digvijay Singh. He truly is the master of filthy politics.

Team Anna could have avoided all this only if they had stayed focused on the anti-corruption movement and boldly/openly agreed to RSS/BJP support. Anna should have then challenged all those groups/parties/organizations religious or not, to support his movement as corruption transcends color, creed, caste, religion, faith etc, etc.....

Unfortunate But True Colors Of Team Anna

An expert on the subject, Mr. G Parthasarthy says the following: “Pretentious intellectuals and bleeding heart liberals in India continue to push the ridiculous idea that talks can reduce the ISI’s animosity towards this country”. Here is what we, the Hindu nationalists know. We understand the nature of hatred because we live in the real world. We understand the extent of the hatred that the Pakistanis have for us. We understand that they want to balkanize India. We understand that the Pakistani army is nothing more than a group of terrorists wearing the uniform. We understand that the current leadership in J&K are nothing more than Pakistani stooges. We understand that the intifada style stone throwing youngsters did that for money paid by the Pakis. We understand how the J&K Hindus have been reduced to live like refugees in their own country and how their belongings were usurped by the Muslims. We understand that to quell the violence in J&K, many innocent Muslims have been gravely harmed. We understand how important J&K is to our national security and that loss of that state will make us vulnerable to Pakistan and China who would like nothing less that total destruction of the nation. We understand the importance of winning the hearts and minds of residents of that state but we also understand that the price has to be right.

Unfortunately, the knee jerk liberals live in a dream world which is akin to the paradise described in Bible and Quran. They would do anything to impose their vision of India down the throats of the rest of us. To achieve that they will resort to any trick. We have seen the cheap and criminal tactics used by them to bring down a democratically elected government in Gujarat. The latest trick they are using is to use a selfless patriot like Anna Hazare, his new found support and his demand for the Lokpal bill as a weapon. We always suspected that Team Anna is nothing more than a bunch of leftists who are using the anti corruption movement for their own end. We have written many time on that subject on this blog. The latest brazen attempt is by this delusional leftist Prashant Bhushan who said the following in an exchange with a CNN-IBN scribe:

Rajdeep Sardesai: Okay, hold on Prashant Bhushan let me tell you the exact statement that you made that has led to all this apparently. You said in Varanasi, “my belief is that we should try to normalise the situation in Kashmir, remove the army, get rid of AFSPA and should try and win the hearts and minds of the Kashmiri people.” So far, so good. Then you go on to say, “If even then they continue to say they want to be separated, then we should allow a plebiscite and if that comes out and they still want to separate, then we should allow them to separate.” On a sensitive issue like Jammu and Kashmir, do you have any regrets about making this statement?

Prashant Bhushan: You see, I had made it very clear that I am giving my personal views and these are not the views of Anna or Team Anna. But this Kashmir issue is an issue which needs to be settled and which needs to be amicably settled, politically settled soon. If it is allowed to fester, it is leading to enormous alienation among the people of Kashmir, which will have all kinds of frightful consequences in the future.

This plebiscite suggesting traitor says that this is his view and not that of Team Anna. My question to this man is that if you were not on Team Anna, who would listen to you? This insignificant guy who belongs in the leftist trash bin, is using the popularity of Anna Hazare to push his own agenda. This man is hijacking the anti corruption movement which belongs to all of us and is now using that to further his own anti-national agenda. You see, people want Anna Hazare to fight corruption. That is what is expected from his team. That is why we supported them. Team Anna speaks for Anna Hazare. If they speak their own mind then they should be fired from that team like that pimp Agnivesh. Prashant Bhushan is NOTHING without Anna Hazare. So I what want to tell Bhushan is – SHUT UP OR GET OUT!

But this has happened and will not change. These leftists are an arrogant breed and will not listen to reason. This raises two scary scenarios. One is that if and when the Lokpal bill gets passed, people like Bhushan and Kejriwal are going to become very powerful, answerable to none. They WILL use it as a weapon to further their own agenda. We all know who the targets are going to be. Second is that when people realise that they have been had by these leftists, the anti corruption movement will get divided between their liberal and conservative supporters. The winner will then be the corrupt politicians. Already the inflammatory statement made by Bhushan has incited violence where he was the victim and is now trying to portray him as a victim of some sort of fascism. Now I want to support Anna Hazare’s anti corruption movement but I cannot let his team go around making anti-national statements. For that I am going to hold Anna Hazare responsible because he is the leader. Now you can see how the anti corruption movement will get diluted because of idiots like Bhushan.

I am afraid that in the end the aam aadmi will be the loser. Corrupt politicians will win. Leftists would have enjoyed their fifteen minutes and we will be left with the status quo.

The Parthasarthy article can be read at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/edit/12882-rogues-who-run-pakistan.html

The Bhushan interview can be read at:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bhushan-stands-by-his-kashmir-plebiscite-remark/192758-3.html

An Appeal To the RSS and Advaniji

From the looks of it, the BJP is setting themselves for another loss in 2014 despite of the best efforts of Congress to surrender the power. Snatching defeats from the jaws of victory seems to have become a habit. Many things have happened in the recent past which tell us that not all is well in BJP.
Narendra Modi, who is widely acknowledged as a the most effective leader in the nation. He essentially went against the party and did his upvas and effectively announced his desire for the top post. Why would the most accomplished BJP leader would do that? It is clear that he found out that despite all his accomplishments, the decision makers were going to hang him out to dry. I am certain that it has got nothing to do with the Muslim votes because they are not going to vote for the BJP NO MATTER WHAT! So it must be his personality.

Now when it comes to making major decisions in the BJP, RSS has a big say. Ideological and personnel overlap are the primary reasons. RSS is one of the most admirable organizations in the nation. They are dedicated patriots and true sons and daughters of the motherland. But they are an ideology driven organization. If they want to treat the BJP as their political arm then so be it. However, the RSS bigwigs need to understand that ideology and politics are two different beasts. They need to provide moral and personnel support to the BJP but they need to let the BJP cadre decide the leadership issues. They should not and cannot (intra-party democracy is a BJP forte unlike the Congress where The Family rules) anoint leaders based on servile attitudes of leaders. Nitin Gadkari maybe a tremendous behind the scenes leader but cuts a sorry picture as a national leader. He may have gotten the Bariatric Surgery to reduce weight but his existing weight indicates an undisciplined man. He also has a propensity to shoot his mouth off which is a major liability for a national leader. So why are there reports that he is being propped up by the RSS bigwigs for PM post? Why are ineffective leaders like Sanjay Joshi who are Modi haters being given prominence and made in charge of UP elections especially when Joshi has no idea of the cesspool that is UP. Is it because unlike Modi he dances to the tunes of the RSS leaders? Is the RSS trying to punish Modi because he has committed what the Mughals used to refer to as “ Na-farma-bardaari”? Modi himself is an ex RSS worker but he is his own person and a very strong personality. It may be a weakness but it has not stopped the juggernaut called Gujarat. Slowly but surely, people in India are beginning to accept that despite all the baggage (most of it is the liberal NGO / media created), Modi is the best option we have to run the country. But because he does not accept the RSS diktats, he is being sidelined.

Modi is a political survivor and a tremendous achiever. Despite of the best attempts of Congress, liberals and the entire media he has won elections after elections. This shows that the man knows politics. However, how many victories can the RSS chalk up in their column. They have been around much longer than most of us. Despite of all their greatness, it wasn’t until a proficient politician like Atalji took over the reins. After him the RSS / BJP combine ruined every chance that the BJP had to return to power at national and state levels. That the BJP has been wiped out from UP is something that falls squarely on the shoulders of the existing decisions makers of the BJP / RSS combine. They have repeatedly bungled up most of the state elections in the last twenty years. Even today, the shining star in the BJP kitty is the one ruled by Modi. I dare say that it is because of any RSS decision. My humble appeal to the RSS leaders is that please accept your limitations. You are all people whom we should aspire to be. But you are not perfect. You do not have the political gumption. Leave it to the democratic machinations of the party. Let there be fair elections within the party for leaders. If Gadkari wins such an elections then we all will mobilize behind him. However, if Bhai Narendra Modi wins, you have to promise that you will stand behind him and help him win the election. You have to do it for the nation. Modi is not bigger than BJP/RSS but the BJP/RSS are not bigger than the nation. The nation cannot deal with more UPA rule.

My appeal to Advaniji is that you had your chance. If you are undertaking this yatra to improve the party presence in UP and Bihar that Bholenath may bless you. If you are doing it for any desire you may still nurse to become the leader, you must understand. As a Hindu you have come to the vaan-prastha ashram stage. This hunger for power does not behoove a true Hindu like you. Curb your ambition and let other shining stars have their moment. The nation cannot afford another debacle like 2009.

The articles mentioned in the blog can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-will-bjp-and-gadkari-thwart-modis-bid-for-pm-post/20111008.htm

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/lk-advani-could-have-won-the-race-by-sitting-out-column/20111011.htm

Stand Up To The Chinese

A report came out which has extensively quoted a “source” in the government. This means the South Block i.e. MEA. These guys are responsible for our foreign policy. The gist of it is that media and people who speak against Chinese misbehaviors are doing a great disservice to India and hampering Indo-China relations. This source wants us to calm down so as to not disturb the delicate Chinese constitution. Yes. China which is a godless nation only answerable to oneself or the party. China where the government killed thousands of students in one day (in case you have forgotten- Tiananmen square). God forbid their feelings should get hurt in anyway. Boo Hoo!!

Of course the world of diplomacy demands finesse and a tiny bit of what this “source” is saying is true. Demonization of the Chinese makes it difficult to sit across from them and talk business. However I think that this source, what the hell, let’s just say GoI are trying to suppress Chinese mischief from getting out in the public. That way they do not have to react to the Chinese crimes. The alternative is an ugly one – taking a decision. This is akin to hiding all the garbage in a closet to keep the house clean. It is wrong.

The Indian people need to know every one of the Chinese misadventures. The Chinese should know that we know. They should also know that we can do something about it. Otherwise there can never be a discussion fair to India. Chinese are bullies – plain and simple. Their entire foreign policy in towards South Asia is one of keeping India mired in Pakistan created problems. Pakistan is the mad dog the Chinese use to keep India in a corner. Pakistanis are too stupid to see that. They are not intellectually stupid but their visceral hatred for Indians makes them that way. Nevertheless, it is the aam aadmi who has to pay for all that. The Chinese have kept the Pakistanis propped up only to keep India down.

The sixty billion dollar Indo-Chinese trade that the GoI harps on, is useless from our point of view. They sell us manufactured goods (thereby destroying our nascent manufacturing sector) and buy raw materials from us ( a lot of it illegally thanks to criminals in Karnataka, Goa and elsewhere). Is this the kind of trade India needs? The GoI is lying to the entire country about the importance of Indo-China trade. We have brought the Chinese into our telecom sector where they can do real damage (the PLA has a cyber warfare division which actively hunts weak spots of their enemies). Yes, we can and should do without this kind of trade. We just have to provide infrastructure to our own manufacturing sector.

So here are some of the things that the Chinese have done or are doing that the GoI does not want us to even think about:

1. Unfair trade which will ruin our manufacturing sector.

2. Propping up the Pakistanis as a foil to undermine India’s growth. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and delivary systems thanks to the Chinese help. That itself should be reason enough to speak against the Chinese.

3. Hurting our interests in SE Asia. GoI denials about the INS Airavat issue ring hollow. China bullies everyone in the South China seas. That is not friendly behavior.

4. Constant needling us over VISA issues for people from J&K and Arunachal Pradesh.

5. Enabling anti India sections of the government of Bangladesh. The string of pearls to surround India is not a figment of the Indian imagination.

6. Damning of Bramhaputra, construction India specific infrastructure in the border areas, arming the Nepal government / Maoists.

7. Selling spurious drugs in Africa with “Made in India” labels on them.

8. Constantly work against Indian interests in the UNSC (completely ignoring the fact that if it was not for Nehru’s myopia they would not be even in the UNSC) including those of Pakistani terror outfits.

9. Repeated incursions into the Indian territories.

I am sure that I am forgetting a whole bunch or crimes. We are not even going to talk about stuff that happened in the past. The “source” says the following:

The sources explained that China is "the most important and most sensitive relation" for India. While accepting the fact that there are divergences between both countries, the sources added, "It does not serve any purpose to gloss over positives between India and China." After all, China is the second largest economy in world and in less than a decade it will be $ 6 trillion economy. "China's rise is the reality" said sources, before advising the media that, "It does not help our interests to have an antagonistic attitude."

Well, China is still not as big as the USA and we have always spoken against them. We have voted constantly against the US in UN. The Congress has always blamed the CIA for all kinds of Indian problems. So the size of economy is a non issue. As far as proximity is concerned, the US has a naval base in the southern part of Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia). So it is something else.

As I said before, the world of diplomacy sometimes demands finesse and even taking a step back. However sometimes you have to force an issue as well. Vietnamese have constantly repelled Chinese bullying. Why should not we? If anything else, it may show the Pakistanis the futility of their ways.

The picture and a related article are at: http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/sep/18/slide-show-1-truth-behind-chinas-border-misadventure.htm

The article discussed in this blog can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/india-china-relations-are-very-complex-and-very-sensitive/20111005.htm

Rahul, Sonia and a Desperate Congress

There are two reports on the mess created during Sonia Gandhi’s absence. One of them shows the failure of the four person committee to control the fight between Chidambaran and Pranab Mukherjee. The head of said committee was the future PM of India Rahul Gandhi. This report implies that Rahul Gandhi failed and cried Mommy who came rushing back to bail out her son. Very non-complimentary articles. You would think that such an article was published in an RSS magazine or Daily Pioneer. You would be wrong. It was in India Today which is a veritable mouthpiece of the Congress. It must really be getting bad because even the faithful (or shall I say fat fools) are turning on their masters.

That Rahul Gandhi has failed once again comes as no surprise to anyone with half a sense. However, the dependence of the Congress on the Gandhi family has reached become a malignant disease. It is pathetic. I will try to explain what I mean by that.

In a typical Indian family, fathers think they are the most powerful person but it is the mother who wields all the power. He only depends on her for advice. If the son in the family or anyone else tells him the color of the sky is blue, he will not believe it until the mother tells him that. People of a certain age and stature only believe or get their differences adjudicated by someone they respect / take seriously, either out of choice or by force. That is the premise of my argument.

Indian political parties are like families where the elders do not cede power until they are dead or handicapped. For someone young to come to power means that he will have to show strength and charisma backed by even more strength and threat. It is obvious that the elders in the Congress have scant respect for Rahul Gandhi. That is the only reason for the mess created in Sonia’s absence. She had to come back to solve the problem. It seems that she has solved the problem (at least from the Congress point of view). Does that speak of her abilities as a diplomat and a politician? Hardly. We all know her qualifications. The rudderless Congress of the late 1990s decided to make her the Goddess whom everyone in the party will worship without questioning. That action followed by a dictatorial coterie of chamchas has ensured the concentration of power. What is amazing is that the four man committee had three of the biggest chamchas from the Sonia Gandhi circle – Ahmad Patel, Janardhan Dwivedi and AK Antony. Even with her blessing, this gang of four could not handle the feuding elders in Congress. She was needed in person to solve this.

Does this look like a good system to you? The entire party is only functioning (if we can call the current government functioning) because of a perceived threat from a woman who nothing more than an anointed “goddess” by a desperate party. Hardly a picture of stability, the kind which India needs badly. Presence of Rahul and Sonia at the top of Congress tells me that this party has no internal democracy / system, ideological strength, character and unity. Even the despicable Communists in India are better that these guys. Congress is a house of cards. I hope the Indian voters are watching all this. Our country’s future is at stake here.

The India Today Articles can be read at:

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rahul-gandhi-congress-sonia-gandhi/1/153853.html

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sonia-gandhi-cancer-surgery-in-us-upa-2g-scam-manmohan-and-rahul-gandhi-lurch-into-crisis/1/153246.html

Don’t Ignore the Indian Black Money Abroad!

Normally Mr. TVR Shenoy writes tremendous pieces. But his latest seems to be in the “sky is blue” category. Very obvious. Congress has thrown all non Congress UPA allies under the bus when they were found to embroiled in a scam (too many to be specific). However when it comes to their own people, they become defensive and dig their heels even in the face of most damning evidences (letter from the Finance Ministry in the 2G scam). Mr. Contends that Chidambaran is being defended to protect Manmohan Singh. This of course assumes that the decision making responsibility for something (2G project) involving so much money lies with him. That is a fallacy. The last domino is not Manmohan Singh. It is the Congress president because she is the one with all the power. It is there that the buck should stop. Pawns gets sacrificed to protect the important pieces. Raja and Kanimozhi were just that. More important pieces get sacrificed to protect the King and the queen. We all know who is whom in this Shakespearean tragedy.

All the talks of scams is diverting attention from the 800 lb gorilla in the room i.e. the trillion dollar black money in foreign banks. In fact some conspiracy theory aficionado suggested that Anna Hazare was helping the Congress in taking out Baba Ramdev from the protests because he was primarily protesting against the black money abroad. Farfetched as it may be, but the underlying fact cannot be denied which is that no one wants to deal with it. They are finding one way or the other to ignore / avoid it even though those safe haven countries have offered their help in the matter. Even the BJP during their tenure did precious little to get our money back (Yes. It is our i.e. taxpayers money!). Prof. Vaidyanathan of IIM Bangluru has been vociferous on the topic. He has written often and well on the subject. Some point he raises are pretty alarming. If the tax haven countries know about the names of the account holders then foreign secret services can also find it out (How difficult it really is for some outfit like the CIA?). That would make any number of politicians and businessmen susceptible to blackmail. Decisions made by such people could prove to be disastrous for our nation.

In his excellent article on the matter he raises four points about why the black money abroad is bad for our security.

Every two-bit expert on the Indian stock markets knows that our markets are moved by external flows – both inflows and outflows. Such flows may be the ill-gotten wealth of Indians kept abroad in tax havens or domestic funds sent out and brought back to facilitate these activities.

In other words, the destabilisation of our stock markets can be done using the black money in tax havens. The movement of the Sensex may not be related to the performance of our economy but to the actions of these black money holders.

The second concern is: are we adequately sterilised in terms of know your customer (KYC)? This is in the context of the concern expressed by our former National Security Advisor (MK Narayanan) regarding the possibility of terror funds coming through the financial markets.

Third, there is a question-mark about our ability to formulate policies without being blackmailed by foreign governments. For instance, many may not know that De La Rue Giori – the owner of more than 90 percent of the world’s currency printing business in Switzerland – was one of the passengers in the Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar. (Time magazine, 17 January 2000). It is easy to imagine the type of pressure that could have been applied by the Swiss on our government at the time of the hijack.

The fourth issue is about getting arm-twisted in our economic and foreign policy formulations. It is pertinent to note that if the CIA knows about our leaders holding black money in tax havens, then there is a strong possibility that the ISI can also have that data. This is the danger faced by our republic. Our national policies may not be formulated in Delhi, but in Washington or Islamabad – if they have the data and can use it to pressure our leaders.

His third point illustrates how the government’s decision making gets affected by this knowledge. If a party with some semblance of integrity can do what they did under pressure, one can only imagine what a corrupt government like the UPA would do. The implications are far too serious to be ignored. Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev and all those people in whom the aam aadmi has placed his trust need to set aside their differences and egos and strive to solve one of the greatest dangers facing the nation. The Indian press and all the left wing intelligentsia should focus on this topic rather than chasing ghosts in Gujarat.

Prof. Vaidyanathan’s article can be read at:http://www.firstpost.com/politics/who-is-govt-shielding-in-hsbc-liechtenstein-tax-haven-lists-97183.html

The Shenoy article can be read at:http://www.rediff.com/news/column/why-is-the-congress-aggressively-defending-chidambaram/20110929.htm