History will not judge Manmohan Singh kindly

Saswat Panigrahi

Lies, lies and more lies! This is what defines Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ‘rare’ Press conference held last Friday.

This was Manmohan’s third Press conference in his nine-and-half years long tenure where he declared that he won’t seek third term and would transfer the baton to a new person after the general election.

In any case, it is not like he has a choice. The next Prime Minister however, will not be from the UPA. He will be from the BJP-led NDA as the nation is waiting to vote out the corrupt Congress.

But the Prime Minister is sanguine about another term for the UPA. “I have full confidence that the next Prime Minister will be from the UPA,” he said.

Rampant corruption is the most striking features of UPA’s governance. Manmohan Singh’s Government has gifted the country a series of scams ranging from the 2G spectrum scam to the Commonwealth Games loot, from Railgate to Coalgate and from Steelgate to Choppergate.

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Modi remains unblemished despite Congress’s spinmills

Saswat Panigrahi

It was a witch-hunt destined to fail. The Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court has rejected the protest petition filed by Zakia Jafri against the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT)’s clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 58 others in the 2002 Gulberg Society riot case.

Zakia Jafri is the wife of Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was among the 69 people killed by a mob during the 2002 Gujarat violence that followed the Sabarmati Express carnage. The SIT closure report had noted that it was Ehsan Jafri who fired at the mob outside the Gulberg Housing Society and ‘the provoked mob stormed the society and set it on fire’.

Zakia Jafri contends that Narendra Modi and others should be tried for ‘their role in the conspiracy which facilitated the State-wide violence’. “No conspiracy can be proved against the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet as they showed alacrity in requisitioning the Army and took necessary steps to control the situation”, said Metropolitan Magistrate BJ Ganatra while pronouncing the verdict in the open court.

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Assembly election results prove Congress’s days are numbered

Saswat Panigrahi

BJP’s 4/0 drubbing to the Congress in the Assembly election semi-finals in the run-up to the 2014 finals, sends one message loud and clear — an anti-Congress wave is sweeping the country and people are looking forward to the BJP’s coming to power.

In Madhya Pradesh, the country’s second largest State, it was Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s good governance which won the election. Shivraj steered BJP to a record third straight win delivering a crushing defeat upon the Congress. By winning a whopping 165 seats, the BJP secured a two-thirds majority in the 230-member Assembly. The Congress was finished with 58. The extent of the Congress’s rout was such that the party drew a blank in as many as 17 districts of the State.

In Chhattisgarh again, it was Raman Singh’s good governance that came out victorious dismissing the anti-incumbency factor. Like his Madhya Pradesh counterpart, Raman Singh led the BJP to a record third straight win. This dashed the Congress’s wild hopes of wresting back power, which mainly cashed in on the sympathy factor in the aftermath of the deadly Maoist attack in Sukhma that eliminated a section of its frontline leadership in the State. The BJP had a comfortable win securing 49 seats in the 90-member Assembly, while the Congress managed to win only 39 seats.

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End of Sheila ki kahani, but arrogance persists

Saswat Panigrahi

Of the Assembly elections in four States, the verdict in Delhi is the most interesting one.

The Sheila Dikshit-led Congress faced a complete rout in the Assembly election with her party dipping to third position and its tally reduced to a measly 8, thanks to the anti-incumbency factor, coupled with corruption and price rise.

The BJP, which got 32 seats — including one seat won by its ally Akali Dal — emerged as the single largest party in the 70-member Assembly. But the party still falls short of the half-way mark to form the Government.

What is more interesting is that newcomer Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made an impressive debut in electoral politics of the national capital. The party managed to win a whopping 28 seats.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit lost her citadel New Delhi constituency to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 22,000 votes. Sheila has maintained status quo along with her party and was consequently reduced to the third position. BJP’s Vijender Gupta came second.

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AAP is mere noise and of no real worth

The lies of Arvind Kejriwal-floated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have finally gone bust. Two exposes in recent days have put the Kejriwal-led party in a tight spot.

A sting operation conducted by a website named Media Sarkar on nine different members of AAP, including the party’s senior leaders Shazia Ilmi and Kumar Vishwas, suggest that the AAP is raising funds through illegal means.

Similarly, an expose done by the news channel India News suggests that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party sold Delhi’s Badarpur Assembly seat for a whopping Rs 2 crore.

AAP, which is an offshoot of the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement, entered politics promising to fight corruption. But now, the party itself is turning into a den of corruption.

It was the witty Arvind Kejriwal and his ilk in Team Anna who hijacked Hazare’s Jan Lokpal movement. They used the funds collected for the Lokpal movement to launch and establish AAP. Moreover, Kejriwal and company raised funds for the party using Anna’s name. Not just funds, team Kejriwal has thoroughly misused Anna’s good name to satiate their narrow political agenda.

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Five issues on which Rajasthan will vote

Rajasthan is going for poll on December 1 to elect a new Assembly. Almost all the opinion polls predicted a victory for the resurgent BJP and a defeat for the ruling Congress. Following are the issues which will drive the Rajasthan election:

Bad governance in Ghelot regime

Ashok Gehlot’s regime is marked with corruption and bad governance. Under Gehlot’s rule, development has come to a standstill in the State. Scams, sex scandals, riots, lawlessness and violence against women have become the key features of Ghelot’s five-year rule.

Scams in Ghelot Government

There are as many as hundred scams which took place during the tenure of Ashok Gehlot. These include scam in DLF-Robert Vadra land deals in Bikaner, rampant illegal mining by Gehlot’s relatives in Jodhpur, Jal Mahal land scam, scam in Kalisindh dam project and massive irregularities in clearance for construction of five-star hotels in Udaisagar lake in Udaipur. All roads to the scam go straight to the Chief Minister’s Ashok Gehlot’s office.

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Strip Congress of its right to govern

Mumbai Congress president Janardan Chandurkar has made it to the headlines by making a statement that artists who are showing support to political leaders should be stripped of their awards and honours.

“Artists who are exhibiting support to political leaders should give up their civilian awards or else the Government should strip them of their awards,” Chandurkar said addressing a rally in south Mumbai. This was a clear reference to Lata Mangeshkar for his endorsement of Narendra Modi for Prime Minister.

Though the Congress has officially distanced itself from the statement saying it respects the freedom of expression, many say Chandurkar was simply pronouncing his party’s stand.

The Congress leader’s statement makes two clear points. One, Chandurkar’s statement suggests that Congress gives away civilian awards on the basis of party considerations. Second, the statement speaks volumes of the feudal mindset of the Congress which thinks that anyone who is bestowed with a civilian award should remain grateful to the Congress.

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Nitish Kumar’s Bihar a crucible for Islamists

A series of explosions rocked Bihar’s capital city Patna last Sunday, during BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s Hunkar Rally, killing six people and leaving 66 injured.

One bomb went off at the Patna Railway Station, four other blasts occurred in the vicinity of Gandhi Maidan, the venue for the Hunkar Rally. Another blast took place inside the rally ground, and a live bomb found under Modi’s dais.

Even as the Bihar Chief Minister maintained that there was no intelligence alert about the terror strike in Patna, it is learnt that three days before the blasts the Intelligence Bureau had sent a specific alert suggesting a possible attack on Narendra Modi’s Hunkar Rally.

In the letter dated October 23 , numbered v-111/PA/2013 (3) sent to Bihar Police, the Intelligence Bureau clearly stated that Indian Mujahideen modules could organise strikes during the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate’s rally in Patna. But Nitish Government chose not to pay heed to the intelligence inputs. Why?

There were serious lapses in security measures for Narendra Modi’s Hunkar Rally. First, the rally ground was not sanitised. Second, the anti-sabotage checking, mandatory for any public rally, was not done properly. Third, Advance Security Liaison (ASL), a common practice during the visit of a Chief Minister of another State, was not carried out properly. Why?

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Modi’s charm makes Nitish, Congress run for cover

After 1970s, I am sure neither Bihar nor this country has seen such a massive rally. A sea of humanity thronged the historic Gandhi Maidan of Patna to listen to Narendra Modi, the mascot of development and icon of good governance.

Hours ahead of the Hunkar Rally, a series of explosions rocked Bihar’s capital Patna, leaving at least five dead and 66 injured. One bomb went off at the Patna railway station and five other blasts occurred in the vicinity of Gandhi Maidan. One live bomb was also found under Modi’s dais. This speaks volumes about how the law & order situation of Bihar has gone for a toss under Nitish rule. But who was behind the blasts? That is now a matter of investigation.

Coming back to Narendra Modi’s speech at Gandhi Maidan, the first thing which comes to my mind is his ability to connect with the masses. Modi spoke in Hindi, interspersing his speech with Bhojpuri, Maithli and Magehi — the three main dialects of the State – there by struck a chord with the audience.

It was in this very Gandhi Maidan that Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan kick started the Sampoorna Kranti Movement (Total Revolution Movement).

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India sees hope in Modi

Saswat Panigrahi

The ‘secular parties’ had never expected such a mammoth crowd presence at BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s Vijay Shankhanad rally at Kanpur.

This at a time when the BJP (though officially) is at a low ebb in the State. But the sea of humanity who came to listen to their favourite leader signaled it otherwise.

It is said that the road to Delhi goes through UP. The unprecedented crowd presence at Budha Park in UP’s industrial city Kanpur gave clear signal to that effect.

Time now to face the truth. The troika of Congress-SP-BSP has virtually backstabbed people’s faith and that anger have converted into a huge support base in favour of the BJP in UP. It is time the political punditry in Delhi reads that very fact.

What is more significant was the fact that the way Modi directly connected himself with the audience. The way he created a dialogue between himself and the audience during his speech is indeed commendable. Modi was asking questions and the proactive audience was simply responding. Many say with this model speech, Modi has formally kicked off the BJP’s campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

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Odisha 1999: A super cyclone remembered

Saswat Panigrahi

I was barely 19 when the devastating super cyclone of 1999 hit Odisha. I was in my second year of graduation at the prestigious Bhadrak Autonomous College, the largest college of Odisha.

I remember how the cyclone 05B battered and bruised Odisha’s coast on October 29. It was the deadliest Indian storm since 1971. As many as six coastal districts — Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Puri and Ganjam were among the worst-hit. Erasama of Jagatsinghpur district was ground zero for the disaster. The cyclone claimed at least 8,000 people died there.

The devastating super cyclone ravaged Odisha’s coast for 30 hours with winds blowing up to 300 kilometres per hour and claimed at least 15,000 lives.

After the storm blew over, many others died of starvation and disease since rescue efforts could not reach them at the right time. Besides, the storm was followed by massive floods. Property worth crores was damaged.

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UPA Government is well past its sell-by date

Saswat Panigrahi

The Manmohan Singh Cabinet last week gave an unceremonious burial to the controversial Ordinance as well as a related Bill meant to protect the convicted lawmakers. A shameless Congress, which had sought to provide immunity to convicted lawmakers, may take high moral ground on the overturn of the Cabinet decision. But the fact of the matter is both the Congress and the Government were caught red handed with their pants down. They had no choice but to withdraw the said Ordinance and the Bill.

The overturning of the Cabinet decision came in the face of mounting pressure from the Opposition parties, especially the BJP, and a growing public opinion against the unconstitutional and morally wrong measure. The Supreme Court in its July 10 judgement had held that lawmakers convicted in criminal cases, with imprisonment of two years or more, would face immediate disqualification. To subvert the Supreme Court judgement, the Government had introduced the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013 in Rajya Sabha.

The intent of the Congress Government was quite clear. It was trying to protect the likes of Rashid Masood and Lalu Prasad Yadav. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee of Parliament. Even though, the Bill was pending before the Standing Committee, the Government in an utter haste issued an Ordinance. It was approved by the Congress core committee headed by Sonia Gandhi and cleared by the Manmohan Singh Cabinet after much deliberation. Then it was forwarded for the assent of the President.

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