Really, Mr. Khurshid? Also, build apartments for our MPs

Our External Affairs Minister had a "courtesy meeting" with the visiting Pakistan Prime Minister, Raja Pervez. No terrorism-related issues were discussed as this was a personal visit. So why did the External Affairs Minister meet him? And this after the recent blasts in Hyderabad!

"Abhyaagatah swayam Vishnuh" is an ancient saying of this land. We believe in treating our guests as divine beings. Apparently the Pak PM prayed for peace in his country. We hope that Mr. Khurshid prayed for some sense to come into the Pakistani leadership - I do believe the people want friendly ties. It is the ruling class that needs to change.

Another thought came to my mind recently. The area in Delhi which is designated as Lutyens' Delhi is a property gold mine. Why should our "public representatives" live in luxurious bungalows? The present moment, when the economy is down, is the right time for our MPs to show their public service credentials. Imagine that we build a set of apartments, okay luxurious apartments for our MPs. Imagine what can be done with the land that can be freed up. There will be vociferous objections on the grounds of security. But seriously, if that is indeed the case our rulers' faith in our security forces will be apparent.

Another objection that would come up would be that this is a protected area heritage wise. Is this the heritage we want to preserve? If the government does not want to demolish the existing buildings let them designate them for different purposes. Throw these open to the public, develop these as parks, educational centres, science centres etc. The possibilities are many. What is needed is will.

Is Digvijay Singh serious?

First of all I have a doubt. Unless I am wrong I believe that it is legally wrong to suppress truth about a crime when you know a crime has taken place. Look at this article. Digvijay Singh says that family should not be attacked. He claims to have evidence against Vajpayee's son-in-law but does not want to mention it. Can someone from the police department please question this man? This person says his party has never attacked family members. If my memory serves me right, some time before Vajpayee became the PM there was a comment either from Sonia Gandhi or (most probably) Ghulam Nabi Azad. The quote was to the effect that Vajpayee is a bachelor. So how come he has a daughter? Vajpayee retorted that he had never seen that kind of character assassination in politics. I am not a career politician. Digvijay Singh is. I believe he should get his facts right before he goes onto national press or television.

Also if I am not mistaken in many cases it is the relatives and family members of politicians who help in hoarding unaccounted-for wealth. So I believe Digvijay Singh wants all politicians to go scot free. They should only remember to keep their black money with family members, no questions asked!

He is said to be the political guru of Rahul Gandhi. There is a tale by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Apparently he came across a big frog being swallowed by one variety of snake. The frog was too big for the snake. However it was not willing to let the frog go. Thus both were suffering. Had it been a cobra it would have long since consumed the frog. Sri Ramakrishna says that this was like the relationship between an unfit guru and his disciple. If the guru is not proper both have to suffer. Is this the reason why in spite of all his "efforts"Rahul Gandhi does not seem to be making any headway anywhere (apart from maybe in the Congress and in some select foreign holiday destinations)?

Further what is it with Beni Prasad Verma? This man is bent on shoving his foot into his mouth whenever he opens it. Unfortunately I do not remember his previous gems. Detractors of Salman Khurshid must have been cackling with laughter when they heard his remarks - that 71 lakhs was too small an amount for a central minister to embezzle. True, in this day of 2G and coalgate when the scams are in hundreds if not thousands, sorry thousands if not lakhs of crores 71 lakhs is too small an amount!

There was a report in today's paper that Mamata was in the know about the Railway Minister's recent decision to hike fares (even if it was nominal). This came after all the hungama about the increase in fares and Mamata's public posturing about the PM needing to sack Dinesh Trivedi. Apparently even opposition leaders were in the know and it was thought that the hike was unavoidable, given the present condition of the Indian Railways. 

Why are our politicians afraid of coming out into the open about something that they secretly acknowledge is for the greater good? Are they afraid that people (read voters) will see them to be anti-poor, anti-middle class and anti-everything in general? As soon as Mamata started making noises one of the ideas doing the rounds was that Mamata privately agreed to the hike but was publicly raising a cry to maintain her pro-aam aadmi image. If this is not true then Mamata is indeed turning out to be a populist demagogue of the most dangerous kind. Our politicians should not shy away from public debate on issues like FDI in retail, deregulation of petrol prices and such issues. They should stop thinking that the aam aadmi cannot understand such issues. If that is the perception they should strive to educate them and then take executive decisions which are in the interest of the country.

Take FDI in retail for instance. Granted, there might be a community of shopkeepers who might get adversely affected at least in the short term. However the middle class (which also includes these shopkeepers) would stand to gain from reduced prices and greater efficiencies in the supply chain. Why does the government not highlight such issues?

Moving on, the Gujarat Congress is up in arms against two articles published recently in the US. One was by TIME magazine and the other by the Brookings Institution. These seem to have praised Modi for developing Gujarat into what it is today. This seems to be a very good example of sour grapes. India is a free country where we have an independent Election Commission. Modi is still winning support of the people. The riots constitute an ugly blot on our democracy. However till date no court has found Modi to be guilty of anything with regard to the riots. So does the Congress not believe in our courts? Is it not contempt of court to pre-judge the guilt of Modi? Naveen Patnaik is a person who has been facing spectacular success in Odisha (I do not like imposing one's language on others, I prefer Orissa) has a personally clean image and is said to be working for the development of the state. Today more and more the Indian voter seems to be voting for development rather than for anything else. The Congress however seems intent on tarring Modi with the communal brush at every available turn. Its leaders insist on minority appeasement (remember Salman Khurshid's claim about Sonia Gandhi shedding tears about the Batla House encounter? I believe his wife, Louise lost the election).Salman Rushdie targeted young leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. He pointed out how minority appeasement failed. Our politicians should realize this and develop more guts as far as national interest is concerned.

What's up, EC?

Is the Election Commission (EC) getting biased? Consider the following points.

1. Remember all the controversy over veiling of elephant statues in UP? One could probably say the EC was getting over zealous in this regard. This was with respect to the BSP.

2. Salman Khurshid took on the EC, issued a regret remark (I don't think he even apologized) and he got off

3. Beni Prasad Verma did the same, the EC has issued a showcause notice. Even before this Verma said this was a slip of tongue.

4. Robert Vadra is making not-so-subtle if not blatantly in-your-face remarks which indicate he is itching to get into politics. His "coming out" occasion was a motorcycle rally he held in UP. An IAS officer stopped the rally as the number of motorcycles was above the permitted number (maybe we see over zealousness again). This officer was transferred out and his transfer was only stopped after a hue and cry was raised.

So do we see the EC going soft on the Congress? Is it not enough that we already have a government and party in power which seem intent on suppressing free speech in this country? Do they seriously need more ammunition? Apparently some remarks critical of the government, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are being quietly removed by service providers like Twitter. Verma has to reply by tomorrow to the EC's notice. For once I wish the EC would show some spine and actually take some action. As all leaders should be aware, ignorance of the law is not an excuse for violation of law. It is probably time to remember the days of Seshan who put the fear of God into our "representatives".

Further the President's son was caught with one crore in cash during the course of the recently concluded civic polls in Mumbai. His excuse - the money was to be distributed among poor candidates - seems as ridiculous and poor as the one given by a BJP minister in Karnataka when he was caught watching porn in the state assembly. He was issued a notice by the EC. What is the status of this case?

Moving on, there was a piece of news that got me thinking. The centre will file a review petition against the Supreme Court's recent order in the Vodafone tax case. This will apparently be heard by the same bench which delivered the verdict. Remember the Army Chief vs the govt showdown that happened recently? The Supreme Court had initially pulled up the govt over "vitiated procedure" as the Attorney General was involved at two different hearings of the General's plea. Now do different rules apply to the executive and judicial wings? Would the Vodafone verdict encourage more companies to opt for tax havens to conclude deals for assets based in India? I wonder...