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.