How Rahul Gandhi can help the BJP increase its membership

The readers of my posts would have gathered by now that I have a distinct right wing tilt. Some of my family members have been associated with the RSS for decades. My studies till class 10 were in a school run by an organization which is part of the overall RSS umbrella.

However, till date, I have never been a member of the RSS or the BJP. I attended a few shakhas, but always because someone took me there, and not out of my own volition. However, today I took the decision to become a formal member of the BJP. I in fact paid money to become a formal member. Not that I will become politically active or participate in dharnas etc. It was a knee-jerk reaction, my personal way of protest when I saw Rahul Gandhi's press conference today.

I do not want to go into the morality or legality of whatever has transpired after the latest assembly elections in Karnataka. I do confess that I wanted a BJP government to come to power, though in retrospect, it looks as if the BJP would have been better off sitting on the sidelines, and let the drama play out.

What pushed me towards my symbolic protest was the sheer entitlement that was oozing from Rahul Gandhi. According to him, the Congress would have "let" the BJP come to power had they won the majority on their own. Let? Does this guy think he owns the country, its Constitution, its institutions (which he claims are being decimated and/or hijacked by Modi and team) and its citizens? Does he think all of them exist to serve at his pleasure? Let us look at what all he did during these elections. He campaigned, in multiple constituencies. I understand that the Congress lost most if not all the seats where he campaigned. He in fact queered the pitch for an INC-JD(S) tie-up by calling the JD(S) a B-team of the BJP (he apparently apologised later to Deve Gowda). Imagine, the party president apologised due to his goof-up. The team which ran to the Supreme Court, and also handled the situation on the ground in Karnataka was not his team. It was managed by Sonia Gandhi, who seems to have been forced to enter the arena.

As soon as it became apparent the Congress was losing, there were obvious attempts to shield him. He was in hiding all the time, from counting till recently. Suddenly, one saw him with a smug smile, delivering a sanctimonious lecture after the events of today. And my God, the sense of entitlement! The way he seemed to insist that the RSS and BJP were destroying "institutions" without any regard. If one were to point out the falsehoods that were peddled by the Congress about the "murder of democracy", the text would possibly run into pages. On top of that were congratulations pouring in from various quarters. The AP CM, who till recently, was part of the NDA, and suddenly started claiming that nothing was being done for the state was one. Another was Mamata. In the recently concluded Panchayat elections in Bengal there have been multiple reports of booth capturing, rigging, rapes, murders etc. which were not even covered in the mainstream media. I understand that in many seats, the election was unanimous as there was no competition to the TMC candidate. After all this, the lady has the gall to lecture about how she believes in democracy.

As many people pointed out, the coming elections in 2019 seem to be clearly demarcated as competition between Modi and the rest of the media and political parties, who seem to be unanimously against him. The BJP has various points in its favour due to whatever it has done till date. Possibly, for the first time, a bankruptcy case has been successfully settled via the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). There are scores of Modi supporters on social media who provide points against the competition. In parallel with whatever populist/welfare schemes are being taken up by the central government, the success of the BJP will also depend upon how Modi and team explain to the population, what they see as injustice being meted out to the country because of the current opposition. Modi and team, do not have a strong ecosystem to convey their view. The Congress does. Hence, if Modi wants to retain power, it all depends on how effectively his work is conveyed to the people, and also on how effectively the opposition's version is countered. This is one reason I titled the post the way I did.

Also, interestingly, there were howls of protests when Yeddyurappa was given two weeks to prove his strength. Now Kumaraswamy has been given the same time. Everything is silent, no protests any more. 

As for Bengaluru and Karnataka, assuming the INC-JD(S) government lasts for some time, one must hope that lakes continue to be rejuvenated, something is done to reduce the traffic congestion, and the white-topping of roads, which I believe was halted before the elections, restarts and finishes. It would also be interesting to see how long the government would last.

A Matter of Self Respect

The agitation in Seemandhra begs the question, too little, too late? A possible explanation is that the people were waiting for the politicians to oppose bifurcation of the state. When they were not forthcoming the unions and people decided to take things into their own hands. One thing seems quite clear. For whatever reason, the Seemandhra politicians lack the drive that their Telangana counterparts had. Even after the bifurcation was announced formally there was dithering in their ranks as to what to do next.

Added to this situation is a Chief Minister who, has made it quite clear where his sympathies lie. On the whole we had the pro-Telangana camp which was quite clear as to what they wanted. It is the pro-United Andhra camp that seems confused. If the Congress is to be believed both YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had supported the decision to carve out a separate Telangana earlier. There was a volte-face once the public reaction in Seemandhra became apparent. Even now Chandrababu Naidu seems more opposed to the manner in which the state was bifurcated than to the actual bifurcation itself.

The agitating government employees seem to be losing steam. What else can one expect from a salaried class which is striking without pay? They justifiedly want the politicians to take over. However at least the Congress ones seem to be waiting for the powers-that-be to reject their resignations before they proceed further. The Congress for one seems to be playing a game of attrition, where it is not doing anything hoping the agitation will die down. It has formed another committee to look into the present situation. What is this if not a delaying tactic? Where is the attempt to gather all stakeholders in one place and reach (an impossible?) consensus?

Moving to the actual topic of this post, till date I feel irritated when someone refers to me as a Madrasi. Also when I say I am a south Indian typically one of the first questions is potentially whether I am a Tamilian. It was actually because of Andhra Pradesh and the likes of Potti Sriramulu that today we have states based on languages. Nehru was not very warm to the idea as he felt it would further divide the country. The state as it is today was formed in1956. However it is said that the people of Andhra got an identity only after NT Rama Rao emerged onto the scene. Look at Andhra Pradesh today. A foreign visitor can be forgiven for thinking that the Nehru-Gandhi family was from the state. Most major institutions, buildings and schemes are named after members of this family. For instance

1. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport - Hyderabad

2. Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station - Hyderabad

3. Nehru Zoological Park - Hyderabad

4. Indira Gandhi Zoological Park -Visakhapatnam

5. Rajiv Swagruha

I myself did not know that Tanguturi Prakasam was the first Chief Minister of Andhra State and that Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (formed after Telangana was integrated). Where are institutions that bear these names? PV Narasimha Rao was a scholar and a polyglot. There is a expressway named after him in Hyderabad. 

Therefore it is not surprising to see politicians waiting for indications on what to do next from the "High Command" in a state which has forgotten its leaders and heros. What will happen next? The government is  mulling imposition of ESMA. If this is done the only possible alternative to capitulation would be for the entire government workforce to follow the path of civil disobedience and non cooperation. How many will the government arrest? However we must not forget the cost to the society and the average citizen in all of this. Care must be taken to ensure that at least hospitals and such critical institutions are not affected. One more thing. As long as the agitation is restricted to Seemandhra the government will happily sit and not do anything as the suffering would be limited to the average citizen there. When the impact spreads like it has - stoppage of water to Chennai, decreased power production affecting the entire southern grid - the government sits up and takes notice. This is when the threat of action like invoking ESMA looms. This is when the mettle of the protestors will be put to the test.

Where is Sonia Gandhi?

The Italian Job has been in the news of late. It is quite possible that the Supreme Court will hold the Italian Ambassador guilty of contempt of court tomorrow. Does this mean the diplomat will be jailed? He certainly cannot be let off lightly. He has given an undertaking to the highest court in the land and broke his word. Even if it is his government which is responsible, he as its representative is to be held responsible. Amidst all of this the Congress leadership seems to be strangely silent. One would like to know the reaction of the Congress President to the entire incident.

Further in the name of increasing compliance and security the government seems intent on framing laws that can be very well abused. The arrests made in the name of the IT Act are well known. Now even possession of laundered money, irrespective of the value is being made punishable. For e.g. if a father launders money via his daughter's account she can be arrested. I got this information from today's Economic Times. Why is the government intent on framing such laws? Why this hunger for power?

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!

A Manmohan encore? Unlikely

Manmohan Singh (MMS) has taken responsibility of the Finance Ministry (FM), probably leaving P Chidambaram (PC) one disappointed guy. There are many who expect MMS to do an encore of his 1991 act when he shook the Indian economy out of its slumber. However this seems hardly likely this time round. There are multiple commentators who have expressed the view that this time round MMS does not have a PV Narasimha Rao to back him up. He has Sonia Gandhi who is the power behind the throne. Sonia Gandhi's NAC for instance seems to be acting as a separate cabinet. There were some points made with respect to the proposed legislation on land acquisition and rehabilitation by a Parliamentary Standing Committee. It seems that post these there were discussions internal to the NAC and with Rahul Gandhi. What is the sanctity of the Standing Committee in this scenario? Had the proposals been rejected by the Cabinet it would have been one matter. However here we have a body which is unelected and extra-constitutional. Sonia Gandhi seems more interested in maintaining all subsidies and her pet projects like the MGNREGA and the Food Security Act, irrespective of the impact on our economy. India today is facing its highest current account deficit (CAD) in 20 years. India has not been able to fully capitalize on the weak Rupee to boost exports. One reason is probably the weak external demand due to sluggish growth or contraction abroad. The CAD is also being affected as a weak Rupee also increases the cost of our imports. 

It is time that the government woke up and did something before we face another 1991-like situation. The government keeps making all the right noises about reforms and requirements of the economy - whether it be FDI in infrastructure or in the retail sector. However when the PM is not the actual decision maker implementing anything becomes difficult. We have ministers booing the international rating agencies (the fact that their credibility is under question post the sub-prime crisis is a different story). We have a minister asking Lakshmi Mittal  not to defame India abroad. We have Pranab Mukherjee, who by the way seems all set to become the next President, who has been saying that the government will take steps. We never get to know what these steps exactly are. 

Moving on, India seems to be making some progress in investigating various terrorist attacks. Jundal or Zabiuddin or whatever his name is has been brought back to India. Now another operative called Fasih will probably be brought back soon. However the media seems to be getting overly zealous in reporting. In fact Jundal's arrest was supposed to have been kept a secret. Also everyday we seem to be getting updates about the investigation. Do the media personnel realize that these are matters related to national security? That their reports will serve to alert other operatives and can potentially give them enough prior notice to escape the law? There should be some self-restraint that has to be practised by our media. Also the government should investigate who it is that is leaking these reports to the media. Further we know Pakistan is a slippery customer as it is. Give them proof of their complicity and they will give 10 reasons to escape responsibility however hollow they might sound. Hence secrecy becomes all the more important.

I will tell Mommy!

Ajay Maken, our Sports Minister had a good thought. A lot of sports bodies receive crores of rupees, so why not get them under greater public scrutiny? Even though the BCCI does not receive government funding directly, it deals with hundreds of crores and as reported on the NDTV website, it is under investigation for foreign exchange violations during the IPL. The BCCI is a private organization but claims to select India's "national" cricket team. So it makes perfect sense to bring it under public scrutiny. Further logically speaking if there are no skeletons to hide the organization then there should ideally be no panic reaction to Maken's proposal.

Did the cabinet agree to this proposal? Well, there are no prizes for guessing the answer. Farooq Abdullah among others opposed an upper age limit clause. He said by that yardstick he should not have been a cabinet minister too (hmm, is that such a bad idea?). If the esteemed minister uses his good judgement it would be perfectly obvious that for a minister's post age can actually be advantageous because of the experience carried with it. For sports on the other hand, I do not think most would agree that the younger the administrator and the more related to that sport the administrator is the better it is.

Another clause seeks to restricts terms to 2. For as long as I remember, Kalmadi has been the head of the IOA. See where he is today (and where for that matter our Olympic performance is). Apparently a very significant portion of sports bodies are headed by politicians. This is not restricted to any one party, but is common across the political spectrum.

Thus in my humble opinion it makes perfect sense to have some government oversight on our sports bodies and to bring all of them under the RTI. However if members of the cabinet already hold positions on sports bodies does it make sense to expect the cabinet to come to an impartial and objective conclusion? Sharad Pawar, our Agriculture Minister actually asked the Prime Minister to reduce his work load so that he could spend more time on cricket! Is it any wonder that food inflation is so high and Indian agriculture is said to have stagnated in its growth? Now coming to the title. Sharad Pawar is reported to have said in the cabinet discussion that if the bill was approved by the cabinet he would take up the issue with Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the UPA. Keeping aside the practicality of this when she is supposed to be recovering from surgery, doesn't this sound childish? It is like two kids fighting, one kids hits the other, and the hurt kid bawls, "I am going to tell mummy!"

Dear people, this is the Indian government!

Vindicated?

I wrote a post commenting upon the non-transparent funding of our political parties. Coincidentally, two Congress members have been caught on camera discussing funding for an upcoming rally. The CM has apparently given 2 crores for buses for the rally. From where is this money coming? The CM said there is nothing wrong in this as the ex-President of the BJP was caught on camera accepting money.

Does the guy realize what nonsense he is spouting? Do two wrongs make a right? Is he justifying his actions on the basis that someone else has done something similar? Is there no moral thought left in politics today?