Jan Chetna Yatra for GOOD GOVERNANCE and CLEAN POLITICS by Shri L K Advani

The veteran BJP leader Shri L.K. Advani will lead a Jan Chetna Yatra for good governance and clean politics from Oct. 11, 2011 from Sitab Diara in Bihar the birth place of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain.

Detailed schedule of the Yatra was finalized at a meeting chaired by the BJP president Shri Nitin Gadkari here today. The meeting was attented by several BJP leaders from different states.

The entire party organization has been galvanized to make the Yatra a great success.

Shri Nitin Gadkari has appointed party general secretary Shri Anant Kumar as Chief Convener. Party general secretary Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad along with two party secretaries Shri Murlidhar Rao and Shri Shyam Jaju will be co-conveners of this Yatra.

Main objective of the Jan Chetna Yatra will be to create awareness among the people about the need to establish an accountable, transparent democratic system which is sensitive to the problems facing the common man and is free from corruption.

The country is deeply distressed and disgusted with the series of scams causing massive loot of public money in the UPA regime.

Rule of law, transparency in administration and people’s participation will also be the principle themes of this Yatra.

The Jan Chetna yatra will also focus on the need to educate the masses about the details of the monumental corruption scandals of the Congress government at the centre going beyond the rhetoric of media headlines.

The Yatra will also address the wider issues of reforming the entire system.

An important role of the Yatra will be to initiate a debate in the society on reforms in four significant sectors: Administrative reforms; Electoral reforms; judicial reforms and Political reforms.

The Yatra will also apprise the people of the BJP’s approach on the vital issues of good governance and clean politics as well as the multi-pronged strategies adopted by the party in this regard, inside and outside the parliament.

Along with public meetings during the Yatra, the party also plans to organize joint meetings with various social organizations.

All the elected representatives of the BJP will be asked to hold conferences at different places during the Yatra.

An Open Letter to the Mamata Banerjee from Rahul Sinha, State President

BJP not to field any candidate against Mamata

Kolkata, Aug 29 (PTI) The BJP today said it would not field any candidate against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who will contest from Bhowanipore Assembly constituency on September 25, saying it was a political gesture and appealed to other parties to follow suit."It is only due to political decorum and gesture that our party will not contest against the Trinamool Congress chief who has come to power with a massive mandate," BJP's West Bengal unit president Rahul Sinha said.Sinha also appealed to all other political parties not to put up any candidate against Banerjee in order to allow her to work as chief minister as she has received "an enormous mandate to run the state". Meanwhile, CPI-M sources said the party's Kolkata district committee would take a decision on selection of a candidate against Banerjee.The Committee decision will be ratified by the state secretariat likely at its next meeting, the sources said.TMC state president and state PWD Minister Subrata Bakshi has resigned his Bhowanipore seat to pave way for Banerjee to contest as per the statutory rules to get elected to the Assembly within six months.BJP is a former electoral ally of TMC.

BJP in agreement with most points of Jan Lokpal

This is details of 26th August:

NEW DELHI: On a day Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi expressed his differences with Anna Hazare's idea of Lokpal, BJP and Left parties appeared to be converging on salient points, including bringing the Prime Minister's Office under its ambit with safeguards.

Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on Friday moved resolutions for debate and vote in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on their recommendations on the bill. "Discussions with civil society groups and non-UPA political parties are converging towards the same position," Jaitley told reporters. Anna Hazare's team had meetings with senior BJP leaders on Thursday night and the Left parties on Friday morning.

The BJP exuded confidence that its resolution on setting up an independent Lokpal, if passed in the House, would end the deadlock over the bill. According to it, the law should have the widest coverage, including the Prime Minister, with the exception of his national security and public order functions. The resolution said it should create an appointment mechanism for appointing Lokpals independent of government domination and also provide for an independent and autonomous CBI.

BJP ‘farms’ rice on potholed roads as protest

Kolkata, Aug 25 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday ‘planted’ rice saplings and fish eggs in pot holes on a road here to highlight the poor condition of roads across West Bengal.

Groups of slogan-shouting BJP workers carrying party flags joined the protest, with state BJP president Rahul Sinha leading the agitation at the busy Eastern Metropolitan Bypass here.

‘The condition of the roads across the state is poor, to say the least. Some craters in the road are as wide as paddy fields while the others are deep enough to be fish ponds. We are doing this to attract the attention of the government which has turned a blind eye to the state of roads,’ said Sinha.

Sinha accused the Mamata Banerjee-led state government of being insensitive to the issue and the plight of the people.

‘Travelling on roads is important as this (EM bypass) is a nightmare. Often accidents happen because of craters, claiming precious lives. This is true for all roads across the state. The government is just doing nothing.’

Shri Gadkari emphasised the following points on corruption in his press conference on 16th August

• The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemns the most reprehensible and high handed manner in which the UPA government has been trying to stifle the voice of democratic forces and gagging the fundamental rights of those fighting against corruption. 
• The UPA Govt. resorted to brutal attack on Baba Ramdev and his followers in Ram Lila Maidan. This was followed by brutal Lathi Charge on BJP Yuva Morcha workers demonstrating at Parliament. Now it has resorted to gag the voice of Anna Hazare, whose agitation against corruption and for strong Lokpal totally non-violent. 
• The BJP cannot remain a mute spectator to the strong arm tactics of the Congress government in crushing peaceful and democratic agitations against the monumental scandals of the Manmohan Singh regime. 
• The central government is trying to create an atmosphere of terror and intimidation reminiscent of the days of emergency and we must mobilize people against such dictatorial behavior. 
• In so far as crime against democracy is concerned, the Congress is number one perpetrator and hence people will have to be prepared for a long drawn battle to save democracy. 
• The BJP has been on the vanguard of the ongoing crusade against corruption inside parliament and among the public. We mobilized public opinion on the issue of Commonwealth Games scandal, the 2G Spectrum case, Adarsh society and other multi-million crore scandals. 
• The party has decided to launch a nationwide “BHRASHTACHAR MITAO, LOKTANTRA BACHAO” agitation against the authoritarian behavior of this most corrupt and ineffective government since independence. 
• A beginning will be made with a silent protest march in Delhi and other places this evening. 
• Tomorrow onwards, the BJP units in each district will organize sit-in protests / silent march/ conch blowing and THALI-NAD at a suitable public place and/or near Mahatma Gandhi statues to expose the central government’s fascist tendencies. 
• The BJP appeals to the people to join the party’s peaceful agitation against corruption and strengthen our resolve to expose the culprits and punish the guilty.

BJP to launch country-wide protest against Hazare's arrest

August 16, 2011, PTI | New Delhi: Dubbing the arrest of Anna Hazare as a "plan" to impose Emergency in the country, BJP today said it will launch a "peaceful" country-wide agitation from tomorrow to protest UPA's "dictatorship".

Demanding immediate release of Hazare and his associates, BJP President Nitin Gadkari said that party workers with muffled mouths will take out silent marches, hold dharnas and take out torchlight processions to protest the "dictatorship of UPA, to save democracy and to root out corruption from the country".

Without fixing any timeframe for the agitation, he said it will "continue" and much would depend on the circumstances unfolding.

"Anna Hazare and his associates should be freed immediately and be allowed to carry on with their agitation. Stopping them from protesting like this is against the traditions in this country.

"By doing away with the traditions of the Congress, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, a plan to impose Emergency in the country is being brought. It is a danger to the democracy," Gadkari told a press conference here.

Taking a jibe at the Centre, he said if the government was "so sensitive" to protests, then the Prime Minister should bring out a law by which none should be allowed to speak out against the UPA or the Congress.

Police unleash violence on BJP youth brigade

After a long time, the Opposition BJP workers put on an impressive show of street protest in the national Capital on Tuesday. Cocking a snook at the heavy security bandobast and braving lathicharge and bursts from water-cannon, BJP workers managed to reach Gate No. 1 of Parliament House facing Vijay Chowk.

With hundreds of BJP workers shouting slogans at the gate and trying to enter, the Parliament’s security machinery pulled out all resources at its command and an unsavoury situation was averted. Senior officers rushed to the spot as CRPF personnel posted within premises trained their weapons on BJP activists.

Delhi Police registered a case of rioting and damage to public property at Parliament Street police station.

Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Dharmender Kumar said all those who indulged in violence and broke the security cordon were being identified. “We have video recordings and penal action will follow,” he added.

Several thousands of workers of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, were lathi-charged at Jantar Mantar while they were leading a protest towards the Parliament against corruption and black money.

At least 40 BJP workers were injured, with seven reportedly critical. Those hurt were rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where senior BJP leaders — including LK Advani, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari — visited them later in the evening. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, senior party leader Anant Kumar, Shahnawaz Husain, Rajya Sabha MP Venkaiah Naidu, and Delhi BJP chief Vijendra Gupta also met the injured. Naidu to reporters that many were injured in the clash, with several suffering leg fractures.

Earlier, a few party workers managed to breach security cordons and reached Patel Chowk roundabout, however, police personnel positioned there dispersed them.

When the police failed to deter charged up BJP workers proceeding further with water cannon after they breached first layer of barricading at Sansad Marg, security personnel also lobbed teargas shells.

Later, police had to wield baton to disperse irrepressible crowd.

A few policemen were also got injured as the protesters pelted stones at police party. BJYM president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur who was leading the protest march against corruption and black money claimed police party picked up several party workers and beat them up in the Parliament Street Police Station.

“Nearly 15 party workers are injured in the lathicharge have been sent to the hospital so far. It is totally injustice that police beat people who protest peacefully. They (police) pick them, bring in the police station and then beat them mercilessly. We are not allowed to speak in the Parliament now the Government is trying to suppress our voice on the streets also,” said Thakur.

In the afternoon, nearly 25, 000 members of BJP’s youth morcha left from Ramlila Maidan for ‘Sansad Gherao’ though large number of them could not reach Jantar Mantar as they were stopped by the police in between.

Special CP Kumar said BJP workers violated the written undertaking that would abide by the Supreme Court’s directions to maintain peace and obey lawful directions of the police. Kumar said BJYM activists had sought permission to hold a rally at Ramlila Maidan and thereafter hold a protest march to Parliament Street in the afternoon. Permission was granted to them only after they agreed to abide for a peaceful protest.

However, despite the written undertaking and assurances given by their leaders during the meetings held with police, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activists became violent on reaching Parliament Street, damaged the stage erected for speeches, climbed on to the police barricades and indulged in heavy stone pelting which resulted in injuries to at least 23 police personnel. Two policemen sustained grievous injuries, Kumar said.

Delhi Police was forced to use water cannon and 15 tear gas shells were lobbed to disperse the crowd that turned violent.

Kumar said, the police exercised maximum restraint and tried to persuade them to disperse for about 45 minutes. Kumar denied that a lathi charge was ordered. However, when heavy stone pelting started, a case of rioting and damage to public property has been registered vide FIR No. 146/2011 at Police Station Parliament Street. Around 38 activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha have reported at RML Hospital for minor injuries received during the melee at the time of dispersal, Kumar added.

The Daily Pioneer August 10, 2011, New Delhi (Reporters : Pramod Kumar Singh/ Parvaiz Sultan)

End of A Nightmare - Whither BJP?

By Tathagata Roy
At the end of long 34 years, Left Rule in West Bengal has finally ended. And the person who brought it about, almost singly, is a frail little lady called Mamata Banerjee. The people are agog, the media is bursting with compliments and businessmen are falling over one another to be photographed with her. As a Leftism-hater (not just a Left Front hater like Mamata) I am overwhelmed. I did not think I’d live to see this day. Long live the frail lady for what she has achieved.

Having said that, I have also to say that I’m far from happy. I am a BJP activist, and my party drew a blank. Why? A lot of people want to know. Even I wan to know. Hence this blog.

First let’s take a look at how badly the BJP has done. Detailed, constituency-wise results can be obtained from eciresults.nic.in, and they are not encouraging. The BJP, as is well known, has failed to get a single seat, though at different times they were leading at Madarihat, Jorasanko and Baharampur. Their vote share has also come down to four-something per cent, down from the usual 5-6%. rather a dismal picture.

However, there is a different way of looking at it, and we’ll see if that can give us a better or brighter picture of things. Take a look at the table above.

Now we know (whether our detractors believe us or not is not relevant) why we had fielded candidates practically in all 294 seats. We wanted our workers and karyakartas (functionaries) to wake up, have some work to do, and bring the name of the party to the forefront to the extent possible. We never expected to do well (forget winning or keeping our deposits) in any of these, and that is why we spent only a very modest amount, much, much less than what the Election Commission allows, on most of these constituencies. Our concentration was on some 15 seats, to which brought our central readers, did a high-pressure campaign and worked really hard. These seats are marked with an asterisk in the table. In addition to these there was a seat called Hingalgunj where we did not do too well, got below 10,000 votes.

What does all this indicate? To explain, I must first state the logic behind BJP’s fighting nearly all seats in the state. This logic I know as a BJP insider, but it is not difficult for an astute political watcher to figure all this out. There were principally four objectives, and I state our performance against each one of them:

First, we wanted to stir up whatever organization we have in every constituency. We also wanted the staunch supporters of BJP to have a candidate that they could vote for. This has, of course happened, but it was anyway bound to happen.

Secondly, we wanted the vote percentage of BJP to increase. This, unfortunately, has not happened.

Thirdly we wanted to make a mark in at least fifteen or so selected constituencies which we had zeroed in on and on which which had spent some money in campaigning and also extra effort (e.g. getting senior all-India leaders to speak there) . As the table will show, we have had good success in this objective, and have shown good results in such unlikely constituencies as Baharampur, Baishnab Nagar, Rampur Hat and a few others where we did not have much organizational strength.

Fourthly, we wanted to make an entry into the Assembly. In this we have failed again.

Now what?

All but the totally politically naive will know that the results of this election were principally a triumph against the CPI(M) and for the excellent conduct of the elections by the Election Commission. Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress were simply the vehicle for the people’s verdict against the CPI(M). This is not to belittle her achievements– no one at the present juncture could have been that vehicle — but just to place things in proper perspective. Positive votes are cast in the hope of getting something, like good administration, lower taxes, etc. Negative votes are cast in the hope ofrejecting something. Here there was no question of getting anything, because Mamata had promised (let alone showed) practically nothing concrete except the return of the 400 acres of Singur land to the unwilling farmers. Her manifesto of 64 pages contained 22 pages on the Railways which are irrelevant, and in the rest there were vague, sometimes meaningless (like creating an ‘employment bank’– what does it mean?) promises.

In particular she neither announced, nor does she have, a roadmap for solving the following burning problems of the state:

(a) Unemployment
(b) Financial Bankruptcy
(c) Reputation of being industry-unfriendly
(d) A totally anti-development and inert bureaucracy

(a), (c) and (d) are intimately connected, in the sense that in order to solve unemployment a state needs industry, and to lure industry it has to have a good reputation and a responsive bureaucracy. financial Bankruptcy is a different and altogether separate problem.

Now, Mamata drove away Tata Motors. Shorn of verbiage, that is the long and short of it. She has also repeatedly said that she will NEVER acquire land by force. In that case how will the industry wanting to be set up get land? And she will have to build Power plants, because the power shortage in West Bengal right now remains eclipsed because of lack of industries. Where will she get land for Power plants? Land for Power Plants is required to be near a perennial source of water, and that means fertile, multi-crop land. No farmer, certainly not after Singur, will readily agree to part with such land.

When faced with such hard decisions, Mamata will, almost always and instinctively err on the side of populism. And by doing that she will not be able to maintain her image.

Also, in the runup to the 2011 elections Mamata has reached the limit in pandering to Muslim sentiment, even fundamentalist sentiment (like humouring the highly obscurantist Peer of Furfura Sharif). Even before the elections Haji Nurul Islam, one of her MPs, had engineered a riot in Deganga, District North 24-Paraganas. While the bulk of Bengali Muslims and most of the Urdu-speaking Muslims in the state are peace-loving and wish to live in peace with their Hindu brethren, there is no denying that there is a militant, fundamentalist fringe among them who will try to take advantage of the situation and foment trouble. the result is bound to be polarization on religious lines.

Now, the only party that would protest against the wrongdoings of this fundamentalist fringe is the BJP, as it did at Deganga and Gobra in park Circus area of Kolkata and at Panchla, District Howrah. The other parties would never take the risk of angering their Muslim vote bank — it is only the BJP which has the courage to say that a crime is a crime, whether committed by a Hindu or a Muslim.

And in respect of the other problems, like industrialisation, the necessity of land acquisition and taking the bureaucracy by the horns, on which Mamata will never be able to take a proper decision and will thus push the state into economic uncertainty, BJP must come out with a bold, clear policy. A policy that will say brave new things, not the usual Left-populist garbage. Only thus, in my view, will BJP be able to step into the vacuum that is bound to arise as a result of Mamata’s populism.

And in any case, if the CPI(M) is finally eclipsed (it is a big ‘if‘, though), and the Congress and Trinamool remain in coalition who is going to form the principal opposition? It can only be the BJP!

If the BJP can factor in all these political eventualities into its political programme over the next one or two years and play its cards deftly, and build up its organization, its future should be bright in West Bengal.

"Anna"ther One

By Varun Gandhi, BJP MP

It is unfortunate that a pro-India initiative led by Shri Anna Hazare is being treated with hostility. The refusal of permission for a public demonstration in the capital is indicative of an elected government's readiness to wage war with its own electorate over the Lokpal institution.

Perhaps it needs reminding that the elected are responsible to those who have elected them. Parliamentarians and the government represent the people not rule them. Public policy is required to evolve from public participation and be open to public scrutiny, not be imposed by force and shielded by secrecy.

In a democracy, peaceful protest is not stifled and peaceful protestors are not assaulted or intimidated, legitimate demands that enjoy public support are not ignored , ridiculed and rejected. Is our official approach to our voters more reflective of an autocracy than a democracy?

In the current corruption-ridden climate which indicts the government daily, what is the popular yearning? We want an accountable system. An objective , independent authority vested with the power to examine and punish corruption at every level is one step towards this. It does not challenge democracy, it challenges criminality and strengthens democracy. If the Prime Minister’s post carries the greatest weight, it is only natural that it be subject to the severest scrutiny.

Current institutions like the CBI have been corroded by misuse. We have ceased to be shocked by scams running into 170,000 crores. We see denials and Committees that come and go without offenders being punished or any money being returned to the public coffer.

It is time for change. Today we have the opportunity to create a strong, meaningful institution, or yet another self serving farce. Here we have the Jan Lokpal Bill which seeks accountability at the Centre from the Prime Minister downwards, a uniform set of principles for all the States, and insulates the office from political pulls and pressures. On the other hand, we have the official Lokpal Bill that not only excludes the most powerful from its purview, does not lay down a uniform moral code for the whole country, but also threatens greater action against the accuser than the accused!

Anna Hazare is not just a man, he is a movement, a way towards honesty and accountability, a way towards a clean and prosperous India. To the young people of this nation and to my fellow parliamentarians, I say it is time to stand up and be counted.

If the government does not offer a public place for Shri Anna Hazare's fast, I am proud to offer him my house and official residence as MP and I hope he will avail of the offer.

http://varungandhi.net.in

An open letter to the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from BJP

Karnataka minesgate - Things media won't tell you!

Ballary Mines. Image from Deccan Herald

By Kiran K S
In less than 24 hours the Lokayukta (Ombudsmen) Justice Santosh Hegde will officially release the Karnataka Illegal Mining report. Anything can happen in the state as well as national politics after that. Speculations are abound. The English 'mainstream' TV media should be salivating for *breaking news*, to take the focus away from the *heart-breaking news* of scams of the other party, for which there seems to be a cushy soft corner.
To help you kill some time during this period, some interesting points and questions.
B.S.Yedyurappa, in short BSY, has built BJP and its earlier avatars, meticulously in Karnataka from ground up for nearly 4 decades. He achieved something impossible to even imagine just 25 years back.. a majority government headed by a 'north Indian' BJP, in a south Indian state! Kudos to him as well as the marvelous list of achievements his government has pulled off over the past three years.
You can listen to a very long list of achievements of Yedyurappa government, from the horse's mouth itself here: http://yeddyurappa.in/news-and-events/three-years-of-bountiful-development/
Since, I am not writing this to present Global Investor's meet, or 20-point implementation or the dozens of awards the state won on development efforts, lets get back to the mining part. If you followed Delhi based 'national' media, you might have only heard of 3 things: a) land scams. b) illegal mining. c) why isn't he resigning. :)
Here we go with some thought provoking questions, not in any particular order, while leaving the conclusion to you...
How many channels screaming Karnataka,Karnataka, told you that Sonia Gandhi won from the same mine district Ballary? Has anyone bothered to investigate who supported on the ground with manpower and finances?After all mining in Ballary didn't start yesterday.... even in 1999, Ballary had nearly 25% of India's iron ore deposit and all political parties had close mine connections.
Did NDTV or Times Now inform that Karnataka Lokayukta might be indicting Anil Lad, based on leaked portions of the reports? Anil became a RS MP with Sonia's blessing. If never heard of Lad family, please check this out from Congress4India website.
Amazing NDTV! They talk about politicians mining Ballary - But Sonia Gandhi, who became an MP from the same Ballary, isn't even mentioned :) How 'neutral'!
It's so funny that media channels talk about BJP's double standards on corruption, while they ignore Delhi Lokayukta's damning reports against a sitting CM and her government. We will cover that a bit later right here.
What Times Now or NDTV wouldn't tell is that, Hegde's report might show Rs.20000 crores of loss (per leaked reports) since the year 2000. In that Yedyurappa government's tally during the past 14 months might be Rs.1827 crores. Simple maths tells me that Congress and Janata Dal Secular's portions might be as high as 90% in that case. Why aren't they being slammed on national channels? You guess..
If Yedyurappa has to resign, don't you bet that he should take Deve Gowda family MPs, Congress MP Dharam Singh, UPA minister SM Krishna? By the way where is that Rameshwar Thakur who allowed plenty of mining licenses as a governor during president's rule? Hmn... I don't know if any other 'Presidents' rule ever allocated so many licenses, so 'urgently' :)
Now you want some numbers? Here we are: Mining licenses recommend by CMs versus granted by Government of India: Dharam Singh (CON): 43/33; HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) 47/22; UPA government headed by Sonia Gandhi (during President's Rule) 22/14; and Yedyurappa (BJP) 22/2. What? So Yedyurappa, the big bad boy, only got two mining licenses in the entire decades of super busy mining industry of Karnataka? Numbers are making a bit more interesting now.

Ballary Mines. Image from Deccan Herald
Now to some very thorough & hard reading exercise: The same Karnataka Lokayukta, Santosh Hegde, had published his first report in December 2008. See Page 161 from that very detailed original report copy, for which the link was just provided. Congress CM Dharam Singh was held responsible for causing a big loss of Rs.23,22,11,850to the exchequer. Nice... I didn't see any 'national' TV channels going ballistic on Dharam Singh even today, while he is prettily sitting as a Lok Sabha MP in the parliament!
Getting unnerved by numbers? Don't worry, here's is a short, but very factual summary of what Karnataka illegal mining saga is all about. Must read if you didn't get a full flow of what's happening till now - by a self professed 'vertebrate' journalist, Vicky Nanjappa.
Are we missing a big fish over here, while focusing too much on the 'evil' BJP government? Let's see.. In May 2008, BJP came to power on its own. Right after 3 months, in August of 2008, Karnataka High Court quashes 36 mine licenses sanctioned by a 'former' Chief Minister from 2003. So who could that 'former' CM be? Even Mr. Hegde skipped the one and only one, Mr. S.M. Krishna :)
How could Hegde not have ONE mention of SM Krishna's name in 2008 or 2011 mining reports (per leaked info), when High Court quashed 36 Krishna sanctioned licenses? Aha.. now you are asking the questions..
I wanted to ask at this point: Dear Mr. Hegde, 128 out of 152 Karnataka mining lease recommendationswere sent by SM Krishna, HD Kumaraswamy, Dharam Singh and Governor Thakur. Were they all 100% "pristine" & law-abiding in terms of execution? We know you might name one or two of them, but why not ALL?
Are we forgetting someone else? Let's see.. Oh yeah, in fact, it was then mining minister V Muniyappa under SM Krishna's government in 2003, who allowed quarryingeven in forest areas! Jairam Ramesh would have tore his hair in the public if it was in 2010:)
You thought that was extreme? You have more fun, just in Karnataka: It's not just in 2003, but much earlier in 2000, the same Muniyappa and SM Krishna combo had allowed private parties mine in forest areas! Hello Mr.Jairam Ramesh :)
Now that you have heard about some 'partners in crime', how many told you that Yedyurappa was the first CM of India who banned iron ore exports? (Incidentally, it was the Congress Rajya Sabha MP & Spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was the lawyer for anti-ban teams!) Also, it was him, who ordered the Lokayukta investigation to go beyond the year 2008 duration? I guess not many.. Oh.. did you at least know, that when Karnataka banned ore export from 9 ports under its control, Manmohan Singh's UPA government didn't bother to ban the 10th port, under central control, even after repeated pleading?
After 15 questions, your head might be spinning.. So we were told that Yedyurappa was the 'baddest' guy occupying a CM's seat in India by the English media. Let's see how does the same media treat others?
First, our dearest Sheila Dikshit. The other side of Indian media immediately pops up. Four months after the Shunglu report, protests, arrests, this Delhi Congress CM is 'Surf Excel' clean :)
Not just that, do you know that even an ordinary minister of this Congress CM has guts to hit back at a hapless Lokayukta? You must be wondering by now, why is Karnataka Lokayukta is 'special' for media, while that hapless Delhi Lokayukta never comes to prime time TV shows to hit at his state's CM?
Not just corruption, but do read Kanchan Gupta's blog on how the same Sheila Dikshit & her MP son, shamefully washed hands off 66 deaths:
Aha.. is it dawning to you by now that if you are in the good book of 'some' dynasty, even the President of India will give you a clean chit herself, no matter what the Lokayukta screams!
That's enough on Delhi's CM and that state's Lokayukta. How about a couple of other cases, specifically focusing on illegal mining? It has been one year since the lateCongress CM YSR's son-in-law & brother-in-law's huge illegal mining issue in AP came up in the state assembly. Has the 'national' media done even one prime time show on this?
If I have to start writing on the *famous* Reddy brothers of Ballary, where they came from in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh, what was their connection for a long number of years with the then Congress strongman YSR, I might need another blog for itself.. For this blog, its enough to mention that, Karnataka politics knew for long time who might have shielded Reddy brothers, from the other side of the border!
Even as late as 2008, large scale illegal mining was happening in Haryana, despite the ban. Did the media bother to do any investigation by itself?
Here's the most notable thing: While a big portion of Indian media's efforts were to lose sleep on why Yedyurappa hasn't resigned, Time magazine published a list of the worst abuse of power in the entire world, cutting across generations. Surprise.. surprise.. Sonia Gandhi's greatest achievement as the chairperson of UPA, just happened to be 'crowned' the all time 2nd WORST abuse of power in the world!- TIME: Top 10 Abuses of Power : India's Telecoms Scandal - By Ishaan Tharoor Tuesday, May 17, 2011 . Ironically, that page was written by none other than Kerala Congress MP's Shashi Tharoor's son, Ishaan :)
So, are you still wondering if Yedyurappa will resign ? Will he? Should he? Should he alone, while the others mentioned above, roam free?
Your guess is as good as mine.

This post first appeared on @kiranks's blog.

BJYM to “Sansad Gherao” on August 9, Asks corrupt UPA government to Quit

New Delhi, June 22: BJYM National President & M.P. Shri Anurag Thakur on Wednesday announced that lakhs of young volunteers of the youth wing of the Bhartiya Janata Party will march to the Parliament on August 9 to voice their protest against rising corruption and collapse of institutional democracy in the country. In a protest symbolically coinciding with the commencement of the Quit India Movement by Mahatma Gandhi against the British Empire on August 9, the BJYM has decided to launch a nation-wide campaign to expose the congress led UPA government.

“We are astonished at the inaction and insensitivity of the congress-led UPA government over the plethora of corruption cases that have surfaced in recent past,” said Shri Thakur. He further added that for the first time in the history of modern India, the nation is witnessing such unprecedented levels of corruption. The Congress-led UPA government has no moral right to remain in government at the Centre.

“The people of the country, and especially the youth are in a state of shock and surprise at the colossal loss of institutional democracy in the country. They desperately want an explanation for the kind of corruption that has surfaced in this regime. We demand the government to own moral responsibility for this collapse,” said Shri Thakur at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

Under the UPA government many scams and corruption cases have surfaced including but not limited to the CWG scam, 2G Scam, Adarsh Housing Society scam and S Band deal scam. In spite of the hue and cry created by the media and civil society, the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson have maintained a silence and this has led the country to an emergency like situation.

The BJYM has created awareness all over the country in regards to the corruption and black money scams of the congress led UPA government by undertaking youth marches and marathons against corruption. These kind of programs were organised all over the country, mobilising lakhs of youth against corruption.

The country and especially its youth are aghast at this eerie silence of this unresponsive government and strongly demand answers to the queries that arise in people’s minds. “The government has lost its moral credibility to remain in power and we want the government to quit, much like the ineffectual British, who ruined the social and political fabric of the nation,” Shri Thakur said.

BJYM has given a call of “Chalo Delhi” to protest against such ineffective governance. Youths from all parts of the country will converge on the national Capital on August 9 to exhibit their anger and anguish at the corrupt governance in the country.

“We take a vow to expose the UPA government and shall fight tooth and nail to ensure this corrupt government is shown the door,” slammed the BJYM President.

BJP feels Agreement lacks transparency

The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday criticised the West Bengal government for the alleged lack of transparency in the signing of the tripartite accord at Sukna in Darjeeling district for the setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

The State BJP leadership compared the signing of the accord with the previous Left Front government's agreement with the Tata Motors Limited for setting up a small car factory unit at Singur — alleging that the contents of both the agreements were not made public and lacked transparency.

“In spite of being such a sensitive issue, the contents of the agreement have not been made public yet. This indicates a complete absence of transparency in the signing process. The BJP will wait for a copy of the agreement and if the contents are found to be against the interests of the State, will hit the streets in protest,” Rahul Sinha, BJP's State president, said at a press conference.

The BJP also objected to the name of the newly set up administrative body — Gorkhaland Territorial Administration — stating that inclusion of the word ‘Gorkhaland' itself would stoke separatist sentiments in the region.

“Even in the 1988 Gorkha Hill Council Agreement, the word ‘Gorkhaland' was dropped and replaced by Gorkha following widespread protests,” Mr. Sinha said.

Sushil Modi elected new chief of Empowered Committee on GST

Roll-out of GST regime delayed due to opposition by BJP-ruled States

In a tactical victory of sorts for Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi was on Monday elected Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST (Goods and Services Tax) in place of the former West Bengal Finance Minister, Asim Dasgupta, who had to bow out following his defeat in the Assembly elections.

At the meeting convened by Mr. Mukherjee after a gap of nearly five months, the name of Mr. Modi (who also holds the Finance portfolio in Bihar) as chairman of the empowered panel was proposed by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and seconded by Orissa Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai.

Speaking to the media after Mr. Modi's election in which he was also present, Mr. Mukherjee said: “The substantive business of today's meeting was the election of the chairman. Sushil Modi, the Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Bihar, has been elected unanimously as the chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers.”

The roll-out of the GST regime has been much delayed mainly owing to the opposition by BJP-ruled States such as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, their prime concern being that the new indirect tax regime would infringe on the States' autonomy in levying taxes. Interestingly, however, Bihar is in favour of introducing the GST even though the BJP is a part of the NDA coalition in power in that State.

Perhaps, it was with this in view that the Union Finance Minister sounded out Mr. Modi in late May for chairmanship of the empowered committee whose task is to spearhead implementation of the new tax regime. However, Mr. Modi had then declined the offer owing to his preoccupation with affairs of the State.

Now that persuasion appears to have prevailed, it is being viewed as a development that would brighten the prospects of reaching a consensus among all the States on the proposed GST regime. Interacting with the media after his election, Mr. Modi advised the Centre to be flexible in its approach and take the concerns of States on board. “If the Centre is not flexible, implementation would be difficult. The States' concerns must be addressed,” he said.

Mr. Modi said that a Constitution Amendment Bill on GST was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the budget session, which was then referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. “There are many issues on which there were differences of views. Now it is the onus of the Standing Committee to resolve them,” he said.

Most of the contentious issues surrounding the GST, Mr. Modi said, were State-centric and were related to revenue losses that States would be incurring on account of the new tax regime. He said the empowered group would meet again in mid-August and discuss the issues relating to compensation package for phasing out Central Sales Tax for fiscal 2010-11.

Pointing out that it was not a political issue, Mr. Modi said: “GST implementation has got nothing to do with the BJP or the Congress. The Centre has still not announced the Central sales tax package. In the next meeting of State FMs, we will be discussing all these issues.”

“We are all very positive that under the leadership of Modi, all the issues which have been pending between the Centre and States... relating to VAT and GST will be amicably solved,” Gujarat's Finance Minister Finance Minister Saurabhbhai Patel said.

BJP set to block multi-brand retail FDI Bill

PNS | New Delhi
Manmohan Singh Government’s move to open up multi-brand retail for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will face a major challenge from the Opposition with the BJP on Wednesday expressing its reservation to the proposal being actively considered by the Centre.

BJP’s decision will come as major setback for the Government, which was pinning its hope on possible support from the principal Opposition party against the backdrop of the Left objection to FDI in multi-brand retail.

“We are opposed to FDI in multi-brand retail. This is going to kill self-employment opportunities, which is the single largest creator of jobs. This will also hit the manufacturing sector in a big way, which would eventually lead to job losses,” Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told The Pioneer here on Wednesday.

Jaitley said the Government should give a rethink to find out if the Indian economy was in a state to allow FDI in such a key sector at this point of time.

Sources claimed that with the Left’s known opposition to FDI in this sector, the Government had attempted to reach out to the principal Opposition seeking its support to a related Bill that it intends to introduce in the next session of Parliament.

The Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth is meeting here on July 22 to prepare a blueprint for allowing FDI in multi-brand retail and to resolve inter-ministerial differences on issues like cap on the foreign investment and regulatory frameworks.

While the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is in favour of allowing 51 per cent FDI in the sector, the Department of Consumer Affairs wants to cap the foreign direct investment at 49 per cent. The Government feels FDI in retail would help bring down prices in the long run.

“With rising prices of real estate in metro cities, the multinationals would venture into smaller cities, thereby squeezing self-employment opportunities and dealing death blows to small shopkeepers. Moreover, with their strong network across globe, the multinationals would also hit the manufacturing sector by importing their products from across the world,” Jaitley said.

The former Commerce Minister also feared the agenda of multinationals would be to buy cheap and sell at higher prices after they eliminate competition from market by initially offering products at a price cheaper than the market rate.

The Cabinet is expected to take a call on the issue before the forthcoming Monsoon session. However, with the BJP and the Left getting on the same page, the Bill is unlikely to be cleared in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling alliance is in minority.
(Source: The Pioneer)

BJP condemns Mumbai blasts

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday strongly condemned the Mumbai blasts and said it hoped that the government would take a clear stand on the issue of ending terror infrastructure.

"No words can ably express the anguish over these dastardly attacks. We condemn them in strongest possible words. We share the sorrow of the victims," party president Nitin Gadkari said in a statement.

"We hope the government will move beyond reacting from one blast to another and take a clear stand on issues like effective deterrence infrastructure. These blasts are a reminder of the facts that cases like Afzal Guru continue to wait for final action and government dithers from not talking to Pakistan," the statement added.

Three bomb blasts in Dadar in central Mumbai, and Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House in south Mumbai Wednesday evening claimed at least 20 lives and injured over 100 people.

Shyama Prasad’s death still a mystery: L K Advani

Shri L K Advani, Leader in Opposition, India, visiting the permanent
exhibition on Shyamaprasad Mookherjee  at Mookherjee Nivas ,
Bhwanipore, Kolkata on his 110 the birth anniversary. 

Kolkata, July 10 (IANS) Stating that no inquiry was conducted into the ‘tragic death’ of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday said his death was still a mystery.

‘The shocking news came to us on June 23 (1953) that Shyama Prasadji is no more. How it happened no one knows even till date. It is a mystery,’ Advani told reporters after paying homage to Mukherjee on the occasion of his 110th birth anniversary here.

The BJP leader Sunday visited the residence of Mukherjee in south Kolkata.

‘He (Mukherjee) did fall ill, it is true, but what was the treatment given to him, how it happened, we do not know. There was correspondence between Dr. B.C. Roy (the then West Bengal chief minister) and Pandit Nehru (the then prime minister), but nothing came out of it. There was not even an inquiry constituted that how the tragic death of the great leader took place,’ Advani said.

Mukherjee was arrested on entering Kashmir in May 1953. Thereafter, he was jailed in a house. His death in custody raised wide suspicion across the country and demands for ‘independent enquiry’ were raised.

In Kolkata, Uma Bharati prays Mamata will 'destroy' Congress

Kolkata 11th July: Claiming that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has a "knack of ruining her allies", Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti on Monday "wished and prayed" that the West Bengal chief minister did the same to her current alliance partner Congress.

"She (Banerjee) has a special knack. She ensures the destruction of whichever party supports her or becomes an ally. She has destroyed the BJP in Bengal... I wish and pray that she does the same to her latest ally, the Congress," said Uma Bharti, who was in the city to spread awareness about the need for cleansing the river Ganga.

Uma Bharti, who recently returned to the BJP after being expelled in 2005 for defying the party's central leadership, said it was in the interest of the country that the Congress is wiped out.

Welcoming the regime change in West Bengal, she said Banerjee should remember that the same people who had brought in the communist government in the state caused its demise. "She must therefore work for them or she too will face the same fate."

Uma Bharti, however, refused to judge Banerjee's stint, saying it was too early to say anything.

About her "Save Ganga" campaign, Uma Bharti said it was "foolish" of some people to link the river with Hindutva and give it a communal colour.

She demanded constitution of a board of experts to look after the purification of the river.

"We demand constitution of a board comprising experts that would ensure the river is cleansed and is free from all hazards. We also demand enactment of a law in this regard."

Observing that the power and the mining mafia were gradually causing the demise of the river, Uma Bharti said it was high time the central government paid heed to the demands, as the purification of the Ganga was a must-do.

She also said that if the demands were not met, a human chain will be formed from the Gangotri from where the river originates to Gangasagar, where it flows into the Bay of Bengal, demanding the restoration of the river to its original glory.
Source: http://www.ndtv.com

Advani congratulates Mamata, hopes change will augur well

Sri L.K. Advani, Dr. Raman Singh (CM of Chattisgarh), and others
were presented in 110 Birthday Ceremony of Dr. Shyamaprasad Mukherjee
in Kolkataon 10th July, 2011 in the Calcutta University Institute Hall

Kolkata, Jul 10 (PTI) Senior BJP leader L K Advani today congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her party''s victory in the Assembly elections and expressed hope that the change of regime would augur well for the state.

"I congratulate Mamata Banerjee. I am confident that she has opened a new chapter in West Bengal politics. I hope the change in the state will be for the better," Advani said while speaking at a function to mark the 110th birth anniversary of Jan Sangh leader Shyama Parasad Mookerjee.

On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh''s proposed visit to Bangladesh in which Banerjee is scheduled to accompany, Advani said, "It is good that the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister are going to Bangladesh. But among other things, they should see that the lives and property of the Hindus there are protected and the illegal Bangladeshi migration is stopped.

Both the governments should see to this." PTI SBR AMR NIK

Chidambaram as much involved in 2G scam as Raja: BJP

New Delhi, July 9 : Stepping up its demand for the removal of P Chidambaram from the Union Cabinet, BJP today said as Finance Minister he was as much involved in the 2G spectrum scam as then Telecom Minister A Raja and insisted that he should also be incarcerated for his complicity.

BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay maintained that it has now been "proved beyond doubt" that Chidambaram had connived with Raja in the 2G scam and the cover-up exercise that followed was done after taking the former into confidence. "Chidambaram is as much responsible and culpable for this scam as Raja. His place is not where he is today (in the union cabinet) but where Raja is today," Vijay told reporters. The opposition demanded that not only should Chidambaram, who is now Home Minister in UPA-II, be sacked but also sent to jail like Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi.

He claimed to have a copy of the letter written by Raja to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 7, 2008 in which the former has reportedly stated that he was acting on the advice of Chidambaram. "Raja acted on Chidambaram's advice like a nursery-class student. Later as an obedient student, he informed the Prime Minister about the whole thing," Vijay said. He alleged that these ministers have "looted the wealth" of the country when they were given the mandate to protect its interest. .

"These ministers are acting like a sort of gang or mafia. Etisalat DB, which has connections with the Dawood Ibrahim gang, has been fined Rs 7,000 crore for FEMA violations. Unlike the colonial rulers who took the wealth outside India, these people are born Indians but have become a party in the loot of India," Vijay said. The BJP maintained that this fine under FEMA is a clear indictment of Chidambaram as Finance Minister and he should face the law.

SC verdict on Naxalism setback to national Security – BJP’s fears

SC statements on Salva Judum have shocked many citizens

New Delhi, (News Bharati) Jul 6 : BJP today termed as a "setback to national security" the Supreme Court judgement on Naxalism, that restrained the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre from appointing and arming tribals as Special Police Officers.

"While the BJP is studying the Supreme Court judgement on Naxalism, it is a setback to national security," said BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain.

Hussain said, "Naxalism is a big threat to national security and the morale of naxals was high, of late. The nation is worried over naxalism and terrorism."

The BJP leader said, "Naxals were not just against the state government, but against India as a whole. They just had their headquarters based in Chhattisgarh, as it suited them geographically."

The Apex Court had yesterday restrained the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre from appointing tribals as Special Police Officers and arming them to counter Maoists, and termed the step of appointing tribal youths as SPOs as "unconstitutional".

Hussain said the Government is fighting a battle against them in six states in cooperation with the state governments and there was no politics played on the issue of naxalism.

Varun pips Rahul in MP fund spend

LUCKNOW: It's a battle of brothers. And younger cousin Varun Gandhi appears to have the upper hand, at least when it comes to funding the development of his constituency. Spending nearly 78% of his MP local area development scheme (MPLADS) funds for Pilibhit, Gandhi has emerged the highest spender among MPs from UP.

In contrast, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi was able to utilise less than 6% of funds allocated to him for development of Amethi under MPLADS.

Even Varun's mother Maneka Gandhi pips her sister-in-law Sonia Gandhi on this count. Although Rae Bareli MP has done much better than her son with 41.78% utilisation of funds, she is much behind Maneka, the Aonla MP, who spent 71.5% of her fund. Fund utilization under MPLADS is not all that was found wanting. In Uttar Pradesh, MPs also seemed to have been ineffective in getting sanctioned works completed.

In Amethi, for instance, though Rahul Gandhi recommended 11 projects in 2009-10, not a single of them could be completed by February 2010. In Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi fared a little better. He recommended 39 works, of which 33 were sanctioned. However, only one project could be completed by the end of January 2010.

Is it a crime to talk against black money & corruption? – Gadkari asks PM

Nitin Gadkari wedged a severe attack on Manmohan Sing
over his statements during the meet with select editors

New Delhi, June 29 (News Bharati) : The BJP president Gadkari today launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the views aired by him during his interaction with select editors, terming him as “failed” economist. Taking strong objection to the PM’s remarks on Baba Ramdev & Ramleela ground incident, he asked the PM, “is it a crime in India to talk against black money & corruption?” Also referring to the fuel price hike, he quipped that the congress government does not want the common man to live.

The BJP president, reacting to the Prime Ministers select press meet on Tuesday, said that the quandary the government is currently in, is of its own making.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Nitin Gadkari took strong exception to PM’s allegation that the Opposition is ‘not cooperating’ and instead alleged that the government did not consult them before starting parleys with the civil society over Lokpal bill.

He said, “We were not taken into confidence and now when they are in a fix, they remember us and accuse us of noncooperation.”

Gadkari said that the BJP will take a stand (on the Lokpal Bill) after it is tabled in Parliament.

Referring to PM’s statement that the Ramdev episode was unfortunate but unavoidable, Gadkari said, “Is it a crime to talk against black money and corruption? When the people, by and large, had not taken single stone in their hands, then why did the police attack them? Is this good for democracy?”

He quipped further, “The PM should explain why such an action was taken. Government ministers go to the airport to escort Ramdev and within four days your people call him thug? Now they say that same will happen with Anna Hazare. The Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi should explain what type of democracy they want in the country,” the BJP president added.

On the issue of the government’s perceived failure to check rise on prices of essential commodities, Gadkari said, “The economist PM has failed in the examination.”

Referring the recent fuel price hike, Gadkari said the move was unwarranted for, and could have been avoided. He said that the LPG prices should not have been hiked as the prices are exorbitant & are going out of reach of the common man.

He opined that inflation is high because of wrong economic policies of the government. “Rs 70 thousand crores worth of food grain is rotting. Why can’t the government distribute it to the poor?” he asked.

(Readers can access the official transcript of Prime Minister's talk with the select editors by clicking here.)

Fuel price hike to manage fiscal deficit

New Delhi: Opposition BJP on Monday alleged that though oil companies were making profits, the government had increased the prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene to keep in check its fiscal deficit which is “going awry due to high corruption and faulty economic policies”.

“The government has reasoned that these prices were increased as international crude prices were increased, due to which Indian oil companies were losing money and the loss due to subsidy was becoming unbearable.... But the tax collected last year by the petroleum sector was . 1,35,000 crore and the total subsidy is only . 40,430 crore,” senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said.

Joshi argued that even after the tax share of states — which roughly amounts to . 55,000 crore — is factored in, the government would still be saving . 40,000 crore and hence the contention that it is suffering a loss is “incorrect”.

The senior BJP leader, who is also chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said decreasing Customs duty — announced by the UPA government along with the last hike — has nothing to do with crude oil prices as it is determined by the formula of 80% of import price and 20% of domestic price.

He said the government did not want its fiscal deficit — pegged at 4.6% — to go up and so was increasing petroleum prices to prevent any impact on total tax collection.

Source: TNN 28th June 2011

PM's post should not become fiefdom of a family: Advani

New Delhi, June 26 - Terming it 'sad' that the Congress has become the 'fiefdom of a single family', Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday said the office of prime minister is 'reserved' for a 'nominee' or a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

'Prime ministership of a great democracy like India should not be allowed to become the jagirdari of a family,' Advani said in his blog.

'Sadly, the Congress today has become the fiefdom of a single family. The office of prime minister is reserved either for the nominee or a member of the Nehru family,' he added.

'India is paying a heavy price because of a prime minister nominated by the Congress president,' he added.

'And now the demand has arisen from within the Congress Party that a scion of the Nehru family should take over the prime ministership,' Advani, a former deputy prime minister, said.

He was referring to voices in the Congress once again saying that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi fits the bill as the next prime minister of India.'Our country cannot afford continuation of the misrule that UPA represents,' he added.

Source: News Bharati

Remembering Emergency days

On 25 June 1975 President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties.

RSS which were seen close to opposition leaders, and with its large organizational base was seen potential for organizing protests against the Government, was also banned along with the others. Police clamped down on the organization and thousands of its workers were imprisoned.

The RSS defied the ban and thousands participated in Satyagraha (peaceful protests) against the ban and against the curtailment of fundamental rights. Later, when there was no letup, the volunteers of the RSS formed underground movements for the restoration of democracy. Literature that was censored in the media was clandestinely published and distributed on a large scale and funds were collected for the movement. Networks were established between leaders of different political parties in the jail and outside for the coordination of the movement.

'The Economist', London, described the movement as "the only non-left revolutionary force in the world". It said that the movement was "dominated by tens of thousands of RSS cadres, though more and more young recruits are coming". Talking about its objectives it said "its platform at the moment has only one plank: to bring democracy back to India".

During the Emergency, Police clamped down on the organizations and thousands of their workers were imprisoned, many opposition leaders were jailed, freedom of press was suspended and powers of the judiciary were curtailed.

Opponents had long made allegations that Indira's party, Congress, had practiced electoral fraud to win the 1971 elections. The Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan had been agitating in Bihar for a change in provincial government, and increasingly sought to direct popular action against the Central Government through satyagrahas.

Narayan and his supporters sought to unify students, peasants, and labour organisations in a 'Total Revolution' to nonviolently transform Indian society. Indira's party was defeated in Gujarat by a coalition of parties calling itself the Janata Party (People's Party), and even faced an all-party, no-confidence motion in Parliament.

The Government used police forces across the country to arrest thousands of protestors and strike leaders. J.P. Narayan, Raj Narain, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Jivatram Kripalani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, Satyendra Narayan Sinha and other protest leaders were immediately arrested.

Kashmir problem : Nehru family's special gift to the nation

New Delhi : Terming the Kashmir issue as a 'gift of the Nehru family', the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday warned the Congress-led central government of a nationwide agitation if any 'compromise' was made on the issue.
Speaking here on a day when the two-day foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan began in Islamabad, BJP leader L.K. Advani said the party had information that the government was in a mood to make a compromise on the Kashmir dispute.
'We also get information time to time that an unofficial agreement has been done. The BJP is spread across the country, if any type of compromise on Kashmir is done and they try to turn the clock back to the situation before 1953, a nationwide agitation will take place which no one can imagine,' Advani said.
Advani blamed former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for creating the 'Kashmir problem'.'Our countrymen should know that the Kashmir problem is Nehru family's special gift to the nation,' he said.
'Our country has paid an incalculable price for Nehruji's failure to settle the Kashmir issue once and for all in India's favour at the time of partition. Nehruji's blunder was totally avoidable,' he added.
Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that Pakistan needed to convince India that it was against terrorism. 'Pakistan needs to convince us that they are earnest about controlling cross-border terrorism. They are also not giving us enough reasons to believe that they will bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice,' Sitharaman said.
'As a result, having a composite dialogue with Pakistan itself is worrying and to have to avoid terrorism in total as part of agenda of their talks is very worrying. What is that they are trying to achieve through the process of this dialogue,' she asked.
The BJP spokesperson also said that it will be 'talk for talk's sake' unless terrorism features on the agenda. Two-day talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir began in Islamabad Thursday.
The two top diplomats held discussions on peace and security and confidence building measures (CBMs) across the Line of Control in Kashmir. The second and third round of talks on Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges will take place Friday.
Source: News Bharati, 24 June 2011

Compromise on Kashmir will spark nationwide stir: BJP

IANS | New Delhi June 23, 2011: Terming the Kashmir issue as a "gift of the Nehru family", the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday warned the Congress-led central government of a nationwide agitation if any "compromise" was made on the issue.

Speaking here on a day when the two-day foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan began in Islamabad, BJP leader L.K. Advani said the party had information that the government was in a mood to make a compromise on the Kashmir dispute.

"We also get information time to time that an unofficial agreement has been done. The BJP is spread across the country, if any type of compromise on Kashmir is done and they try to turn the clock back to the situation before 1953, a nationwide agitation will take place which no one can imagine," Advani said.

Advani blamed former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for creating the "Kashmir problem".

"Our countrymen should know that the Kashmir problem is Nehru family's special gift to the nation," he said.

"Our country has paid an incalculable price for Nehruji's failure to settle the Kashmir issue once and for all in India's favour at the time of partition. Nehruji's blunder was totally avoidable," he added.

Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that Pakistan needed to convince India that it was against terrorism.

"Pakistan needs to convince us that they are earnest about controlling cross-border terrorism. They are also not giving us enough reasons to believe that they will bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice," Sitharaman said.

"As a result, having a composite dialogue with Pakistan itself is worrying and to have to avoid terrorism in total as part of agenda of their talks is very worrying. What is that they are trying to achieve through the process of this dialogue," she asked.

The BJP spokesperson also said that it will be "talk for talk's sake" unless terrorism features on the agenda.

Two-day talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir began in Islamabad Thursday.

The two top diplomats held discussions on peace and security and confidence building measures (CBMs) across the Line of Control in Kashmir. The second and third round of talks on Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges will take place Friday.

Dr Mookerjee sacrificed life for nation: BJP

Jammu, Jun 23 PTI, 23rd June: Paying tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 58th death anniversary, state BJP today said that he sacrificed his life in Jammu and Kashmir for the cause of nation.

"We pay tributes to Dr. Mookerjee today. He was leader instrumental in abolition of permit system in Jammu and Kashmir and sacrificed his life in the state for the cause of nation," BJP state president Shamhser Singh Manhas said while addressing a function today.

After independence, while citizens could visit any part of the country, Jammu and Kashmir had a permit system, he said. "Any one willing to visit this state had to obtain a permit from the administration. Dr Mookherjee launched an agitation against this and declared to enter J&K without permit," he said.

In 1953, he along with other nationalist leaders, entered the state and was arrested, he said adding that, after a few days of his arrest, Dr Mookherjee died under mysterious circumstances at Srinagar.

Trust gone, UPA’s doom in next poll is inevitable

By GVL Narasimha Rao
IN the life cycle of elected governments, a time comes when the public support decisively swings from one of enjoying inherent trust to one in which people have lost implicit trust. In case of some governments, this happens very rapidly and in some others, it takes a very long time as was the case with the Left Front in West Bengal which had an uninterrupted reign of 34 years.

Usually, a major decision or action precipitates this dramatic shift of public perceptions about an elected government. In Left ruled West Bengal, the agitation in Singur provided the stimulus. In the case of the UPA government, the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s supporters – after meekly acquiescing to him and rolling out the red carpet at Delhi airport – has provided that spark.

I have been keeping tabs on public opinion for several months now and the extensive ground level feedback that we have gathered shows that the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s fast was the turning point and turned the supporting masses against the Congress led government at the Centre.

Admittedly, it has taken many years in office and many scams in its wake to pierce the credibility of the Congress led government at the Centre. And, once the credibility of a regime is eroded, it is impossible to regain it. Rajiv Gandhi government never recovered from the Bofors scandal that broke out just two years after he won a landslide victory in 1984 and faced a humiliating defeat in 1989. Similarly, PV Narasimha Rao’s government never recovered from a series of scandals – securities scam, JMM scandal, Sukhram’s telecom scam, Urea scam, etc. –that led to its devastating poll defeat in 1996.

It is instructive to study how the governments in the past tried to recover ground when they were confronted with extremely adverse situations. Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in 1975 following Allahabad High Court’s verdict declaring her election to Lok Sabha as void; Rajiv Gandhi’s associates forged documents purporting to show that his principal challenger VP Singh had a secret bank account in a foreign bank in St Kitts; VP Singh himself unleashed the anti-quota stir by implementing the Mandal Commission recommendations in 1990; PV Narasimha Rao raked up years old Hawala scandal to fix political rivals in 1995 etc.

Circa 2011, the Congress party facing an unprecedented crisis over corruption charges can be expected to do all that the past governments have done and much more to survive politically. But the UPA presently has a serious problem at hand.

First, it faces a multitude of scams and myriad issues like black money, corruption, price rise etc. With every passing week, new scams are coming out of the closet. Undoubtedly, 2G is one scam that has damaged the UPA government the most. The scale of the loot and its brazen manner has had a devastating impact on the public. Curiously, the 2G scam which has claimed many top leaders of the DMK hasn’t yet reached the Congress’s doorstep. The manner in which the Congress Party stymied the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) probe led by the BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi and the tardy functioning of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G scam have aroused suspicions about the Congress Party’s motives and involvement.

Second, unlike in the past when governments faced one major scam and a clearly identified political rival, the Congress Party is faced with a barrage of attacks from an active judiciary, a demanding civil society led by popular Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, a rejuvenated opposition, vigilant media and statutory institutions like the CAG. Despite the Sonia Gandhi led Congress party’s best attempts to emasculate high offices of the Prime Minister, President by appointing pliable individuals to these venerable institutions, the Congress Party has not been able to avoid public scrutiny as other institutions of the government have turned their heat on the government.

True to its habit, the Congress Party will attempt some drastic actions to regain its lost credibility. It will unleash vendetta against opposition leaders and attempt to show that all those arraigned against the Congress are corrupt. It will create and exploit every opportunity to rake up non-issues to divert public attention.

It may even resort to dividing the electorate on caste, communal or some other lines to minimise the electoral damage. This may actually backfire on the Congress Party that traditionally has had a wide appeal across various caste and other groups. Yet, a desperate Congress Party may make some cynical moves to get out of the corruption rut. Attempts to link activists like Anna Hazare with the RSS are a part of this cynical strategy.

Take my word: Nothing will help restore the present government’s credibility. Let me explain this from my experience as a poll analyst for two decades. When a government enjoys public trust, all its actions are generally seen from a positive perspective. And, when a government is seen to be inherently untrustworthy, all its actions become suspect. All actions of the Manmohan Singh government will henceforth be viewed from a negative perspective due to the credibility crisis that envelopes it.

The Manmohan Singh government, despite enjoying a parliamentary majority is a lame duck government. Whether it lasts the full term or dies a premature death will depend on its political survival strategies. For sure, in the public mind, it has already lost its mandate. Its defeat at polls, whenever they are held, is an inevitability that stares it in its face.

The moot question is who will benefit from a declining Congress. In the absence of a single national icon in the political arena leading the movement against corruption, the electoral gains will be distributed among various parties. A past master in vilifying its opponents, the Congress Party has mounted a counter attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it is difficult to refute that it has dented the BJP’s public image to some extent. When Vajpayee and Advani led the BJP in the 90s, there was a yearning among people for change and the BJP filled that vacuum. That space is now occupied by apolitical Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev. To reclaim that space and to capitalise on the mood for change, the BJP needs to project an image and a leadership that elevates the party among the public.

And, at a time when the Congress Party is playing a rabidly communal card to woo Muslim voters resulting in a nationwide anger among Hindus, the BJP’s election campaign has to be led by credible leadership from within the BJP and not by co-opting “secular” leaders from the coalition or popular activists from the civil society. After many years, the electoral situation is ripe for the BJP to return to power at the Centre with renewed strength and if it makes the right moves, the BJP’s rise will be as sharp as the Congress’s free fall.

(The writer is a noted poll analyst)

Half of money stashed abroad belongs to Congress: Maneka Gandhi

Bareilly, PTI: BJP MP Maneka Gandhi has alleged that half of India's black money stashed in Swiss banks belonged to ministers, leaders and supporters of the Congress party.
The BJP leader, while talking to reporters last night, also alleged that the Congress had kept CBI in its locker and used the agency as and when it required.
She also slammed the Congress party's attitude towards Baba Ramdev and social activist Anna Hazare, calling it "undignified."
"As money of Congress leaders is stashed in Swiss banks, therefore the party wants to curb every voice being raised against it," Maneka alleged.
Terming Anna Hazare's proposed agitation from August 16 as a "struggle for economic freedom," she said that whatever her party decided at the all-party meet on Lokpal bill, likely to be held next month, would be acceptable.