The Indian Panorama

Tag: Indian Politics

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  • Indian Prime Minister Modi on 3 day visit to UK to strengthen bilateral ties

    Indian Prime Minister Modi on 3 day visit to UK to strengthen bilateral ties

    LONDON (TIP): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in London, November 12 on his three-day maiden visit to the United Kingdom. “My visit to UK is the first Prime Ministerial visit in almost a decade. I have had the opportunity to meet Prime Minister David Cameron at various international forums and our meetings have been productive. Prime Minister Cameron is a good friend of India’s, and we in India have had the privilege of welcoming him thrice during his first term as Prime Minister,” Modi had written in a Facebook post ahead of the visit.

    At the start of Modi’s visit, Cameron promised to “set this relationship free” from its colonial past, referring to the complex ties between the two nations dating back to Britain’s time as colonial ruler until the mid- 20th century. Cameron said relations between the two countries, once “imprisoned by the past,” were now a “modern, dynamic partnership” between the world’s fifth-largest economy – Britain – and India, which could soon rank third. Cameron said he wanted to create “a stronger economic partnership, a stronger defense partnership and a stronger global partnership.”

    Cameron said the two countries were expected to sign 9 billion pounds ($14 billion, 12.7 billion euros) worth of deals during the visit, including a plan for London’s financial district to become a center of offshore rupee bonds. Other agreements expected to be signed during the visit covered financing for Indian infrastructure, cooperation in nuclear energy, and joint research in new technology.

    Hailing billions in new business deals and investments between the India and the UK, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to modernize India, the world’s largest democracy. Modi remarked that the visit was “a huge moment for our two great nations.”

    Putting economic engagement at the centrestage of their relations, India and the United Kingdom said Thursday that they will sign commercial deals of 9.2 billion pounds over the next three days as Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the first bilateral visit to the country by an Indian prime minister since 2006. New Delhi promised a new “fast-track mechanism” as the two sides firmed up at least 27 deals, covering sectors ranging from banking to energy, skill development to environment. The UK said it plans to invest in three Indian smart cities and the two sides also announced the signing of a civilian nuclear agreement.

    Modi’s three-day trip is not an official state visit since Modi is not a head of state, but he was nevertheless welcomed with great honors, including a fly-past by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows and a lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 13, 2015 arrived at the Buckingham Palace where he was received by Queen Elizabeth II for lunch on the second day of his three-day visit to Britain.

    “Her Majesty The Queen with PM
    @narendramodi at Buckingham Palace,” PMO India tweeted.

    “Building on the bonds of history. PM
    @narendra Modi calls on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” tweeted Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs.

    After his lunch with the Queen, Mr Modi was shown a collection of items from the palace’s stores including a shawl given to the Queen by Mahatma Gandhi in 1947 as a wedding present.

    In an exchange of gifts, Mr Modi gave the Queen photographs of her visit to India in 1961 and a gift box including Darjeeling tea from West Bengal and silk Tanchoi scarves from his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi.

    In return, Mr Modi was presented with a silver dish and signed photos.

    Earlier, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced they would go on tour of India next spring.

    Prior to this, Modi, along with British Prime Minister David Cameron, attended a meeting of the UK-India CEO Forum at Lancaster House. The two countries have sealed £9bn worth of commercial deals in the retail, logistics, energy, finance, IT, education and health sectors, which No 10 said had created or safeguarded 1,900 jobs.

    Speaking at an event marking the Indian diaspora’s contribution to the UK, he said it was “a historic day for a great partnership between two great nations”.

    He had been greeted by huge cheers from the 60,000-strong crowd as he arrived on stage with UK PM David Cameron.

    At the start of his speech in London, Mr Modi said: “I would like to ensure you that the dreams you have dreamt – and the dreams every Indian has dreamt – India is capable of fulfilling these dreams. There is no reason for India to remain a poor country.” He also mentioned the need for FDI in India and equated it as FDI = First Develop India.

    Mr Cameron introduced his Indian counterpart to the stage, he said the UK-India relationship was “about our potential”, and said both countries were “united by the scale of our ambition”.

    “Team India, team UK – together we are a winning combination,” he added.

    The crowds applauded when he said it would not be long before there was a British Indian prime minister in Downing Street.

    Asserting that Narendra Modi has proved his critics wrong, British Prime Minister David Cameron today said that his Indian counterpart has worked tremendously after forming the government in New Delhi and said ‘acche din zaroor aayega’.

    Cameron, who was addressing the Indian diaspora at the Wembley stadium here, said that Modi had rightly said ‘acche din aane wale hain’ prior to the elections in the country.

    “They said a ‘chai wala’ would never govern the largest democracy, but he proved them wrong. He rightly said ‘acche din aane wale hain’. But with his energy, with his vision, with his ambition. I will go on further and say ‘ acche din zaroor aayega’,” he said amid a thumping applause from the crowd.

    Mr Modi, who greeted the gathered crowd with a “Namaste”, gave his speech mainly in Hindi, aside from a short welcoming opening in English.

    It is worth noting that Modi  has spent one in every eight days overseas since his election last year.

  • BJP VETERANS REVOLT AGAINST MODI, SHAH AFTER BIHAR ELECTION DEBACLE

    NEW DELHI (TIP): n the first major political repercussion from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) debacle in the Bihar assembly election, a quartet of veteran party stalwarts came out openly against the BJP leadership on Tuesday, calling for a “thorough review” of the influence being wielded by what they called “a handful”.

    Former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, former education minister Murli Manohar Joshi, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar said the Bihar election result showed that no lesson has been learnt from the “fiasco in Delhi”—a reference to the February Delhi assembly election, where the BJP won only three out of 70 seats.

    The statement, which named no names, was clearly directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah who led the party’s campaign in Bihar. Advani, Joshi and Sinha have in the past, too, been critical of the party leadership.

    “To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat in Bihar is to ensure that no one is held responsible. It shows that those who would have appropriated credit if the Party had won are bent on shrugging off responsibility for the disastrous showing in Bihar,” the four leaders said in a letter circulated to the press.

    The four leaders said the main reason for the Bihar drubbing “is the way the Party has been emasculated in the last year”.

    “A thorough review must be done of the reasons for the defeat as well as of the way the Party is being forced to kow-tow to a handful, and how its consensual character has been destroyed.”

    Without naming anyone, they said, “This review must not be done by the very persons who have managed and who have been responsible for the campaign in Bihar.”

    Sinha signed the letter on behalf of the four.

    The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance managed to win only 53 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly, as the Grand Alliance of the Janata Dal United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress party swept to a two-thirds majority. Following the defeat, Bihar BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha complained that the BJP’s election campaign sought to exclude local leaders like him.

    Throughout the campaign, the BJP failed to name its chief ministerial candidate, leaving Prime Minister Modi to lead the campaign. The Prime Minister addressed no less than 30 election rallies and BJP president Amit Shah 76 in the course of the campaign.

  • For years Britain shunned Narendra Modi. So why roll out the red carpet now?

    For years Britain shunned Narendra Modi. So why roll out the red carpet now?

    London is set to play host to one of the most dangerous politicians on the planet this week. Not that you’ll hear any such thing when Narendra Modi arrives. Instead, we’ll be reminded that India’s prime minister is the leader of a giant and dynamic economy. That he’s taking tea with the Queen and buddying up to David Cameron. There’ll be fun Modi facts too: how he once sold chai at railway stations; how, aged 65, he boasts of having a 56-inch chest.

    How can someone so Technicolor be so dangerous? Well, imagine any national leader – Cameron, Merkel, Obama – spending a large chunk of his or her life working for a gang of religious fascists – one thatrenowned academics compare to Islamic State. Chuck in a long personal history of inciting religious hostility, a track record of cosying up to big business, and a reputation for ruthlessness towards enemies. Now put this extremist in charge of a nuclear state. Worried yet?

    That, in a nutshell, is the man who will be jetting into Britain. As a boy Modi joined the far-right Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose objective is to turn India -which gave the world Jainism and Buddhism and Sikhism, and which has the world’s third-largest Muslim population – into a Hindu superpower. Among its alumni is Nathuram Godse, the fanatic who gunned down Mahatma Gandhi.

    Religious extremism is not some long-faded part of Modi’s past. In 2002, while he was chief minister for Gujarat, a train carriage carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire in the state. Within hours, without a scrap of evidence, Modi blamed the 58 deaths on the Pakistani secret services, then paraded the charred corpses through the state capital of Ahmedabad.

    His Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) called a three-day strike. There then followed one of the bloodiest anti-Muslim pogroms in modern history. Mobs of men dragged wives and daughters on to the streets to be raped. One ringleader later boasted of slitting open the womb of a pregnant woman. Between 1,000 and 2,000 people were killed – the vast majority Muslim.

    Try as they might, BJP supporters cannot erase the history of these shameful killings or absolve their leader of responsibility. This version of events is not contested by any serious analyst – and at the very least it shows up Modi as a master of hate speech. Asked three years ago whether he felt any regret over the deaths of so many innocent people, the BJP leader replied that he felt the same pain as a passenger in a car that has just run over a puppy.

    But this is all about to be consigned to the past. For years after the massacres Britain. But this week it will roll out the red carpet, even as the atmosphere of thuggish intolerance and violence around Modi grows thicker.

    In September he took his cabinet to meet RSS leaders for a three-day summit, where ministers reported on their progress. The RSS has been having meetings with the education ministry to gain greater influence over the curriculum. In Modi’s home state of Gujarat, schoolchildren are already given textbooks written by RSS affiliates.

    Primary and secondary pupils are taught that, while television “was invented by a priest from Scotland called John Logie Baird”, it was actually pioneered thousands of years ago, by Hindu royalty in ancient India. So, for that matter, was the motor car. And so was stem-cell research. These textbooks carry praising endorsements from Modi himself. It is as if the dad off Goodness Gracious Me – who claimed everything was invented in India – has been put in charge of an entire nation’s syllabus.

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    The sad oddity of all this is that India can be genuinely proud of its traditional hospitality towards dissent. A subcontinent of a billion people, of glaciers and deserts, is naturally pluralistic. “There is not a thought that is being thought in the west or the east that is not active in some Indian mind,” wrote.

    Yet Hindu extremists now force major publishers to pulp books they deem offensive. Campaign groups such as the Ford Foundation and Amnesty, whose work on human rights and the environment needle Modi’s officials, are put under so much scrutiny that they can barely continue. An environmentalist invited by British MPs to testify on abuse by mining firms was yanked from her London flight just before take-off. And last Friday the Indian arm of Greenpeace was ordered by the authorities to shut down, on the flimsiest of pretexts.

    Just as with the Gujarat pogrom, the prime minister has no direct part to play in any of this – rather he fosters the environment that makes it all possible. One incident from this September is typical. A Muslim villager is accused by a Hindu mob of eating beef and lynched. The issue of beef slaughter is one that Modi campaigned on before his election. Now he keeps  mum – even while his party colleagues issue justifications. Finally, an interview is given in which Modi voices the most watery regret.

    By his rise to power, by his strategic silences, by his smirking apologies, Modi gives succor to the gathering mob. He was voted in on a ticket of reviving a moribund economy. Supporters pointed to the apparent success story of Gujarat. They didn’t read the auditors’ reports that showed how the development success of Gujarat lay in giving more money to the urban rich, in handing land and soft loans to the business houses.

    Now that Modi is failing to turn around India, he and his generals fall back on the old trick of hunting for an enemy: Pakistan, religious minorities, pseudo-seculars. An environment now exists in which scholars who criticize Hindu idol worship receive death threats, and are then murdered. An intellectual who invites a former Pakistani minister to give a talk in Mumbai is nabbed by Hindu zealots and smeared with ink. Writers, academics and scientists return their national honors to Delhi in protest at the officially sponsored thuggishness.

    Cash-strapped Cameron will never raise these issues with his guest. The permanent secretary at the Foreign Office admitted to MPs just a few weeks ago that human rights no longer count as a “top priority”, and come below the government’s “prosperity agenda”.

    Meanwhile, India’s new leader hugs Mark Zuckerberg; he’ll play to the proud Indian diaspora at Wembley Stadium this week; and rules with a giant mandate and an opposition in disarray. “This is the most dangerous leader India has had in 30 years,” says one of the country’s most acute observers, Mihir Sharma. “He reminds me of Putin: appealing to a glorious past, friend to the oligarchs and to a state religion, clamping down on dissent.”

    This is what real danger looks like nowadays: wearing a business suit and clutching trade deals – while silencing those who disagree.

  • RSS chief Bhagwat prepared the ground for BJP veterans’ revolt against Modi, Shah?

    RSS chief Bhagwat prepared the ground for BJP veterans’ revolt against Modi, Shah?

    modi amit shah rssIt isn’t official yet, but time has started running out for Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah, whose term comes up for renewal in January. The attempt to remove him from the party’s top post, which was said to have been initiated by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat when the BJP’s rout in Bihar started becoming apparent, gained massive traction late on Tuesday when four party veterans demanded accountability for the poll debacle.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, is said to be adamant about securing another term for his closest aide, according to a senior BJP leader who is said to be close to both Modi and Shah.

    “Amitji’s contribution to the party cannot be forgotten by defeat in one state,” the BJP leader told Scroll.in soon after LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar issued a statement on the eve of Diwali obviously aimed at Modi and Shah. “Modiji is aware of this. There is no question of Modiji deserting Amitji.”

    Reservations debate

    However, before the veterans raised their flag, the ground is said to have been laid by Bhagwat, who was under attack from a section of the BJP leaders for throwing the party’s campaign off the rails by seeking a review of the reservations policy in jobs and educational institutions for people from marginal groups on September 21.

    In the end, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won only 58 seats in the 243-member house.

    Things are said to have been set in motion on November 8, while the counting was still in progress, when Bhagwat indicated during a meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that the party must start the process of finding a successor to Shah, according to a senior office-bearer of the RSS.

    For his part, Shah did try to address Bhagwat’s grievances. During an hour-long meeting with Bhagwat on November 9, the BJP president clarified that it was not his controversial reservation remark that led to the polarisation of backward caste voters against the BJP, but the party’s failure to present a credible backward leader in Bihar.

    Sangh’s grievances 

    It is no longer a secret that Bhagwat is upset with being blamed for the BJP’s defeat. “The Sangh is obviously hurt by the attempts to shift the blame for the defeat on Bhagwatji,” said the RSS office-bearer. “But what is even more alarming is the fact that the party has for the first time been put on an individual-centric track. That is not the culture of the Sangh.”

    This concern was echoed in the statement issued by the BJP veterans. “The principal reason for the Bihar defeat is the way the party has been emasculated in the last year,” the statement said. It called for a review that should “cover the way the party is forced to kow-tow to a handful and how its consensual character has been destroyed”.

    It added: “The review [of the Bihar debacle] must not be done by the very persons who have managed and have been responsible for the campaign in Bihar. To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat is to ensure that no one is held responsible.”

    Quick response

    On its part, the party leadership was quick to put up a brave face and to issue a counter statement. “The party has been very fortunate to have been led by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Shri L.K. Advani for decades,” said the statement issued on behalf of Amit Shah and signed by Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari. “They had set a healthy precedent of the Party collectively taking up responsibility for victories and defeats. The Party would certainly welcome any guidance and suggestion of our seniors in this regard.”

    Despite a quick counter to the veterans’ statement, the BJP leaders fear that the revolt, which has the backing of the RSS, will embolden more leaders from across the country, particularly from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, to speak out against Modi and Shah.

    This is more so in the face of the hardening of positions between Modi and Bhagwat on the question of renewing Shah’s term as the party president. The new battle lines in the Sangh Parivar will decide not just the fate of Amit Shah but also whether the BJP remains totally subservient to Modi.

  • BJP MPs lash out at Modi for Bihar assembly elections defeat

    BJP MPs lash out at Modi for Bihar assembly elections defeat

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “undignified” language during the Bihar campaign was responsible for the party’s electoral debate, a BJP parliamentarian from the state said on November 10, joining a growing list of local leaders who have blamed the defeat on the national leadership.

    Bhola Singh, the saffron party MP from Begusarai, said the BJP paid the price for Modi deviating from the development narrative and blamed the PM for walking into RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s “trap”, two days after a three-party Grand Alliance led by Nitish Kumar trounced the NDA.

    “The BJP was not defeated in Bihar, it committed suicide. Lalu made Modi speak his language. How can a prime minister use ‘amaryadit’ (undignified) language and take names of the sons and daughters of a rival?” the two-time MP asked, after the NDA lost all seven assembly seats in Begusarai.

    Singh also praised Nitish Kumar for maintaining poise and was critical of the statements made by Modi and other top leaders, particularly before the last phase.

    “The core development issues – roti, kapada and makaan – took the backseat. Raising issues such as beef and saying Pakistan would celebrate with firecrackers if the BJP loses were illogical and in bad taste, leading to our defeat,” he said.

    “He (Nitish) behaved like a statesman. He did not downgrade himself. BJP could not provide an alternative to him.”

    Former Lok Sabha deputy speaker Karia Munda agreed, saying the Bihar drubbing was the result of controversial statements by Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, and the neglect of local leaders.

    “Had the cooperation of local leaders been taken, the party would not have suffered a defeat,” Khunti MP Munda said.

    He warned the BJP of a similar fate in Jharkhand if the workers, government and the party organisation did not work in tandem.

    Singh, an eight-time MLA from Bihar, is the first senior leader from the state to lash out at Modi but several other party MPs –Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Saheb), Hukumdeo Narain Singh (Madhubani), RK Singh (Ara) and Ashwani Kumar Choubey (Buxar) — have blamed the national leadership and the RSS for the drubbing .

    But the party dismissed Singh’s dissent, saying his outburst was due to the party denying a ticket to his relative. A party leader said the BJP had forced him to move against his wishes to Begusarai from Nawada for Giriraj Singh in last year’s Lok Sabha elections.

    The BJP has been left stunned by its massive defeat in Bihar at the hands of the Rashtriya Janata Dal – Janata Dal (United) -Congress coalition. The saffron coalition banked on PM Modi’s personal popularity and didn’t project a chief ministerial candidate but the strategy appeared to have backfired with the BJP doing poorly even in its former strongholds.

  • ‘Hello Namaste’ – New Song launched in UK to Greet PM Modi

    ‘Hello Namaste’ – New Song launched in UK to Greet PM Modi

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be greeted on his maiden visit to the UK by a peppy new song by popular Bollywood playback singer Kanika Kapoor which will highlight the friendship between the two countries.

    ‘Hello Namaste’ has been described as a “festive upbeat Hinglish” number which highlights the UK-India friendship.

    Keerti Mathur, the song’s music producer, said: “Easy to sing along, this retro feel song with a nostalgic ‘Ye Dosti’ (Sholay) start and an upbeat Bhangra end will be performed by Kanika Kapoor live at Wembley Stadium next week and is a perfect way to mark this iconic moment which will go down in history.”

    The singer shot to fame by singing Baby Doll for Sunny Leone in Ragini MMS 2, last year.

    “The song celebrates the unbeatable combination between the UK and India and a new relationship between the two counties. Marking the biggest community reception for any foreign elected leader on British soil, and themed ‘two great nations, one glorious future’,” organisers Europe India Forum (EIF) said in a statement.

    The song was unveiled at a “Hi Chai!” event in central London yesterday, one of nearly 35 such promotional events being held over high tea up and down the UK in the lead up to Modi’s arrival.

  • Mahagathbandhan stuns BJP with landslide victory

    Mahagathbandhan stuns BJP with landslide victory

    Dealing a body blow to BJP led alliance NDA, and  denting the image of PM Modi as election winner, the Mahagatbandhan of JDU-RJD-Congress scored an unimagined and unprecedented  landslide victory with  a clear two-thirds majority to give Nitish Kumar a third term in power. The Mahagatbandhan  won 178 of the 243 seats while BJP led NDA was restricted to a paltry 58. CPI-M won 3 and Independents got 4.

    Here is the final tally.

    Mahagathbandhan: 178. RJD:80; JDU: 71; Congress: 27.

    BJP led NDA: 58. BJP: 53; LJP: 2; RLSP:2; HAM: 1.

    RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday rose like the proverbial phoenix from his ashes as he helped script a resounding victory for the Grand Alliance in Bihar and revived the fortunes of his moribund party.

    Ousted in 2005 after a 15-year stint in power, RJD was on the verge of being written off after the 2010 Assembly polls when it was restricted to a humiliating 22 seats in the 243-member Bihar House, Mr. Prasad pulled off an emphatic victory for the RJD, which was all set to emerge as the table topper.

    RJD contributed nearly half the tally of the Grand Alliance,  confirming that in addition to admiring development, Bihari voters vote their caste . The results give Congress, the third party in the partnership, cause for a celebration that has become all too rare: it is on track to 27 seats, almost 7seven times its 2010 tally of four.

    Final Scorecard

    Party Wise

     

    Movers & Shakers

    Top Losers & Winners

     

    Gender Break up

    BJP in Shock | Bihar stunner: Unmaking of Narendra Modi’s aura confirmed

    The strong caste combination that came together in the form of Mahagathbandhan, intolerance debate, lack of local leadership may all have contributed to the slide in BJP’s fortunes in the do-or-die battle.

    BJP top brass were left wondering what went wrong. Party president Amit Shah had camped in Patna, Modi had put the affairs of the nation on a backburner to  address close to 30 rallies (with good turnout) but the party lost miserably.

    As the Grand Alliance surged ahead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Mr. Kumar to congratulate him on the poll victory.

    The focus of BJP’s campaign that started on development agenda shifted to issues of beef, the occult  and reservation and were a part of Modi’s  speeches at rallies.

    It is too early to analyze the reasons for the failure of BJP in Bihar. But then there are some factors which are quite obvious and identifiable.

    Lack of leadership

    After BJP’s formulae to announce chief ministerial candidate failed miserably in Delhi Assembly elections, the party went behind the Prime Minister in the 243-member Assembly election. The lack of leadership on the ground and infighting over the seat distribution led to the BJP’s loss. BJP President Amit Shah alluded to bickerings among NDA constituents. Perhaps he knew the consequences. This is also explained by his refusal to comment on election outcome before results came out on November8.

    From Sushil Kumar Modi to Nand Kishore Yadav to Prem Kumar, the Bihar BJP has leaders who have emerged from the grassroots and enjoy a solid political clout, but the party failed to use their strength.

    Ignoring the popular Bihari leader Shatrughan Sinha also cost the party dearly.

    The party, instead, called the brigade from Delhi to campaign in the state in the last one month and tell people about various policies of the government.

    Negative campaigning

    The BJP repeated the same mistake that it had committed in campaigning in Delhi  when it  indulged in negative campaigning and name calling. From his earlier rallies in the state, Modi called RJD ‘Rojana Jungle raj ka Darr’, JDU ‘Janata Ka Daman aur Utpidan’.

    He later on made Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s meeting with occulist as his poll agenda and took potshots at him. On the other hand, Nitish stuck to his development politics and countered the claims of BJP good governance (sushasan)  as sham by  referring to incidents of violence against women and  opponents of BJP in Gujarat, and  poverty in the state which is home to many of the richest businessmen.

    BJP President Amit Shah’s remark that  if BJP loses in Bihar t firecrackers will be burst in Pakistan al;so did not go down well with the voters.

    Price Rise

    The price of basic commodities spiraled in the last few months and the BJP had to face the ire of the common man. The price of pulses rose manifold and opposition did not miss any chance to hit out at the Modi government.

    The Modi government’s failure to fulfill Lok Sabha poll promises, particularly, the one of bringing in to country black money and giving  Rs 15 lakh to every citizen backfired at the party with people raising questions about the credibility of  the government.

    Retail toor dal prices shot up to Rs 200 per kg despite the government’s steps to boost supply and check prices. Urad too retailed high at Rs 170 per kg.

    Beef campaign

    The bizarre and outlandish statements by BJP over beef did not go down well with the voters. After a 50-year-old Muslim man was killed over alleged rumors of consuming beef in Uttar Pradesh’s  Dadri, it became a poll issue. Just a day before the fifth phase of polls, the BJP even came out with an advertisement on statements made on beef and cow.

    Even after the BJP cracked the whip on its party men, they continued to stir controversy and gave a tough competition to each other by making such statements.

    DNA barb

    After Modi made the infamous DNA remark, Nitish started ‘Shabd Wapsi’ (take back your words) campaign. On July 25, while addressing the first election rally, Modi had said, “There seems to be some problem in his DNA because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In democracy you respect even your political rivals.”

    In return, Nitish wrote an open letter to Modi saying it was deemed as “an insult by a large section of the people of the state and beyond” and asked him to withdraw it.

    Around 50 lakh DNA samples (nails and hair) of people from Bihar were collected and dispatched to PM Modi.

    Rebel trouble

    With so many aspirants for the BJP ticket, trouble mounted for the party and d it led to infighting. Situation turned for worse and Amit Shah had to step in and even threatened the squabbling leaders.

    No CM candidate

    Failure of BJP to name a candidate for Chief Minister’s position cost the party dearly.

    With Modi aggressively campaigning in the state, the election seemed to be a contest between a chief minister and a prime minister and the BJP paid a heavy price for it.

    Alliance trouble

    The BJP contested elections in alliance with Lok Janshakti Party, Hindustan Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party but the allies were reportedly unhappy with the seat sharing. Even though the BJP gave in more seats to allies, the latter remained dissatisfied. The allies were also unhappy over the candidate selection and made their displeasure public. LJP MP Chirag Paswan was vocal in his views that ticket should not be given to certain candidates.

    Reservation

    The statement by Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on reservation came at a wrong time and did play a major role in marring the prospects of the BJP-led NDA.

    And PM Modi’s initial silence on the issue provided ammunition to Nitish-led Mahagathbandhan. The Bihar Chief Minister upped the ante claiming that Modi’s silence on the issue during his rallies suggested that the Union government was in sync with the RSS chief on the issue, evoking a fear of an end of reservation. And Nitish and Lau did not fail to take advantage of the situation.

    Though the Prime Minister later made attempt to reach out to voters on the issue and claimed that it was not NDA, but the JDU that wanted to end a chunk of reservation to benefit the “other community”, it failed to convince the voters, who reposed faith in Nitish Kumar.

    Sidelining of senior leaders

    The BJP sidelined its senior leaders and did not let ‘Bihari Babu’ Shatrughan Sinha, veterans LK Advani and MM Joshi campaign in the polls. Sinha showed his displeasure on Twitter and appealed to voters to vote for the right person.

    “Not a question of Bihari vs Bahari..but of how your own Bihari (Babu) has been treated by own people for no fault…,” Sinha had tweeted.

     

  • Modi on Track to Cripple India

    Modi on Track to Cripple India

    If Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India does not speak up on the issues that are tearing the nation apart, and if he fails to restore freedom to speak, eat, drink, wear and believe what India’s constitution guarantees, and if he fails to warn the extremists in his party from destroying the social fabric of India, he will cripple the nation, making it a Langda India as we call it in Hindi.

    For India to succeed as a nation, it has to stand on its own two firm feet; prosperity and social cohesion. The two are dependent on each other; one will not happen without the other. Indeed, prosperity will be short-lived if the social structure crumbles.

    Bringing prosperity comes through raising income levels of all the sons and daughters of India; pulling the ones in ditches onto a level playing field to build a larger middle class and to expand the consumer base, whose consumption will create jobs, builds up the economy, and raise the standards of living. The more people do well, the better the nation does. Modi is talking big about it, and we can give him two full years to produce results.

    Social cohesion on the other hand is like the cohesion in the human body, where the heart, brain, kidneys, liver, lungs, digestive track and all parts of the body need to function cohesively to live a normal life.

    Failure of one organ can cause dysfunction in others. If you think the discharge part of the body is less important, wait till it stops, it will give headaches and will affect how we function. Likewise, all people in a society have to function cohesively, and it is in the interest of the body that it makes up for deficiencies in our part through a system of integration. As humans, and as Indians we have to meet those deficiencies in fellow Indians for the common good, and our own security and well being.

    Remember, I cannot be safe if people around me are not, and if I threaten others, I am equally frightened at my vulnerable moments. No one will be safe, including Hindus who may not think much of the situation in India now, but eventually they will get hit too.

    Those of you who are blinded by the love for Mr. Modi, I appeal to you to look for greater love for the nation. Modis will come and go, but the Nation will continue. I am challenging your patriotism; none of us want India to go down, so let our loyalty be to India and not Modi, until he proves that he can keep these two functions in shape, I will hold my praise for him, will you?

    We have to be truthful and brutally honest. For the sake of the long term security of each one of us, we have to learn to openly express and listen to it with civility. We need to criticize the inept government and cut them down to pieces. Indeed, that is our patriotic duty to prevent our nation from falling apart.

    I can never forget Indira Gandhi’s emergency rule. Her goons got away with sordid acts of blackmailing, harassment and vandalizing. Now, I see a replication of the same under Modi. He lives in a bubble surrounded by Chamchas (sycophants) who say everything is alright… but everything is not alright.

    I cannot thank Ramnath Goenka of Indian Express and others who went to jail instead of pandering to Indira. I cannot thank enough Mahatma Gandhi and the freedom fighters that took the beatings and went to jail for disobeying and criticizing the British colonial governments. God bless them!  Because of them we have that freedom, and I thank all those men and women who are protesting and standing up against the goons.

    Nehrus, Indiras and Modis will come and go, but India will continue and we have an obligation to save India. Indeed, by doing so, we are protecting the future of every Indian.

    Do you remember the song? 

    Sikander bhi aaye, khalandar bhi aaye, No koi raha hai, na koi rahega;
    Mera desh azaad hoke rahega,
    Mera desh azaad hoke rahega.
    Those of you cheering for Modi now, will come to regret it, unless Modi gets his act together. All that prosperity will go down the tube if no one feels secure. When injustice waxes to the extreme, it will tear the nation apart; the rich will run out of the country for safety, and ugly communism may run in under the banner of redistribution of wealth and equalizing inequality.

    It is time to wake up!  Remember: Modi had given terrorists three days to finish their slaughter during the Gujarat Riots, and now he has probably given three years to finish freedom in India. Possibly the process has begun.

    Thank God for the conscience of Indians!They are speaking up against bad governance. Modi better not mess with Narayan Murthy, Raghuram Rajan and Siddaramaiah, – if he does, or does not stop inciting his goons, the whole nation could revolt.

    I don’t want my India to be a Langda India, do you? If we all wake up and criticize Mr. Modi, guess what will happen?He will be compelled to do the right thing. Don’t you want that?

    WHAT DO WE WANT?

    Mr. Modi to speak up! That is it.

    He can address the nation this way; “I am the Prime Minister of all Indians. I will get blamed for the bad things that happen in India, and I am not going to put up with that.  From this moment, everyone who messes with their fellow Indians will be punished severely, and if they have staged acts like the one in Dadri, everyone involved will be punished severely.  This is my last warning and action will follow.”

    “Furthermore, I declare that no one will compel or tell other Indians what to read, write, eat, drink, wear or believe.”

    This is all we want.

    Arise! Awake! and stop not till the goal is reached.

    Swami Vivekananda must have meant this for Indians in 2015.

  • Gujarat HC rejects plea against Modi for alleged poll code breach

    AHMEDABAD (TIP): The Gujarat High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court order rejecting a petition filed by an AAP worker against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged poll code breach in 2014, saying that the magistrate had done so in an appropriate manner.

    Justice JB Pardiwala while upholding the lower court order rejected admission of the petition, saying, “I am not impressed with your submission that the magistrate did not follow proper procedure while dismissing your petition.”

    He said, “As per my interpretation, the magistrate has power to reject and it was done in an appropriate manner, so I hereby reject it (petition).”

    The petition was filed by Aam Aadmi Party worker Nishant Verma against the verdict of the local court, which in May this year had dismissed his plea seeking legal action against Modi for allegedly breaching the poll code last year.

  • Moody’s to PM Modi: Rein in party members or risk losing global credibility

    Moody’s to PM Modi: Rein in party members or risk losing global credibility

    Rising religious intolerance in India got the world’s attention with Moody’s Analytics’s report — a division of Moody’s Corporation — as it called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep his party members “in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility.”

    In a report titled India Outlook: Searching for Potential, Moody’s Analytics said for the country to reach its growth potential it has to deliver the promised reforms.

    BJP does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha and such incidents may very well derail its economic agenda in the upper house where it needs support of other parties to pass legislation.

    “While Modi has largely distanced himself from the nationalist gibes, the belligerent provocation of various Indian minorities has raised ethnic tensions. Along with a possible increase in violence, the government will face stiffer opposition in the Upper House as debate turns away from economic policy. Modi must keep his members in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility,” said Moody’s Analytics.

    “Overall, it’s unclear whether India can deliver the promised reforms and hit its growth potential. Undoubtedly, numerous political outcomes will dictate the extent of success,” said the report.

    Bihar Elections : Stating that the ruling coalition does not have a majority in the upper house to pass crucial reforms, the report also pointed out the importance of the ongoing elections in Bihar where BJP is not the incumbent and a victory there for the party will help secure a majority in the upper house which is critical for passing important legislation. “The state election in Bihar—one of India’s largest and poorest states—could prove pivotal to Modi’s leadership. The BJP is not the incumbent, so a win here would help secure an upper house majority,” said the report adding that better political outcomes could help India achieve reforms.
    Since 2004, Moody’s has rated India at ‘Baa3’ which is the lowest investment grade.

    Here are several other instances where Moody’s pointed out downgradation of Indian economy.

    1. Hitting out at Modi government:  In June, Moody’s lashed out at Modi government by flagging subdued rural economy as a ‘credit negative’ for India’s sovereign rating.

    The agency said there are growing concerns about risk of policy stagnation and ‘some diappointment’ was pointed out over the pace of reforms under the Modi government.

    2. Banking system: Moody’s had said earlier that the weak asset quality of banking system poses sovereign credit because of the banking sector’s role in financial growth. It said, “In the absence of any improvement in banking-system metrics over the coming months, India’s sovereign credit profile will remain constrained.”

    3. Moody’s downgraded India’s GDP growth projection: Citing a ‘drier than average monsoon’ Moody’s revised its GDP growth projection to 7% from 7.5% in August.

    The agency had maintained India’s growth forecast of 7.5% for the year 2016 which was revised later.

    “Our polling results pointed to some disappointment amongst the audience with regard to the pace of reform under the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and increasing concerns about the risk of policy stagnation,” Moody’s had said in June in a report titled ‘Inside India’.

    4. Moody’s downgraded banks: In other instances, Moody’s has also downgraded banks like Bank of India, Canara Bank, to ba3 from ba2 on account of rise in NPA. It downgraded ratings for Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank’s local and foreign currency deposits from ‘Baa3’ to ‘Ba1’. The reason being differentiating between public sector banks when distributing capital.

    The government indicated further that efficient banks will receive capital from the government of India.

    Moody’s has also downgraded local currency bank deposit ratings of major banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

    “The downgrade is driven by the change in Moody’s view that the capacity for government support is limited to a government’s bond rating, rather than Moody’s previous expectation that banks in India could benefit from additional support through other policy tools,” it said in a note.

    5. When Moody’s thought India would give an indecisive mandate: The agency has pointed out that political and policy uncertainty ahead of 2014 general elections has been the cause of macro-economic imbalance between 2011 and 2013.

    However, Moody’s said, “We rank India’s institutional strength as moderate (-) relative to all other countries in the Moody’s-rated universe.”

    (With Agencies)

  • Sonia Gandhi Meets President raises the ‘Tolerance’ Issue

    Sonia Gandhi Meets President raises the ‘Tolerance’ Issue

    New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday, November 2, met President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and, reportedly, raised concerns about “rising intolerance” in a 40-minute one-on-one meeting.

    Ironically, the meeting comes hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi taunted the party on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and said it should “stop lecturing on tolerance.”

    Mrs Gandhi will also lead a delegation of Congress parliamentarians to the President’s House tomorrow to raise the pitch on a subject that is being debated following incidents like attacks on rationalists and mob killings on the suspicion of beef-eating or cow slaughter.

    “Organisations and people of a particular ideology are spreading it to divide people. We are under no illusion that it is an accident. The hate, violence and petty mindedness is being unleashed as part of a pre-determined plan. We will not allow such a diabolical design to succeed… It will shake country’s foundations… We are ready to fight the battle,” Sonia Gandhi had said earlier on October 31.

    Earlier today, the Congress reacted sharply to PM Modi raising the 1984 riots to attack the party, while addressing a rally in Bihar.

    “Doob maro (drown in shame)… Try to remember that day in 1984 when Sikhs were being massacred in Delhi and all over India two-three days after Indira Gandhi was killed. There were serious charges against the Congress party and Congress leaders…,” PM Modi said, referring to the mob killings of Sikhs in the days after the assassination of the former Prime Minister on October 31 that year.

    “And today on November 2, Congress party is lecturing on tolerance,” the PM said.

    The Congress hit back raising the 2002 riots in Gujarat, the state that Mr Modi ruled for 13 years till he took charge as prime minister last year.

    “Like in 2002, Modi has forgotten Raj Dharma in 2015,” said Congress spokesman Anand Sharma, invoking the phrase used by then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

    Alleging that the Prime Minister was an “endorser of intolerance by his studied silence,” Mr Sharma said: “The Prime Minister cannot be given the certificate of excellence on this front….He is all-powerful and not that helpless.”

    The “intolerance debate” has intensified over the past few weeks as writers, artists and filmmakers have returned their awards to express anger over what they believe is PM Modi’s inadequate response to attacks on freedom of speech.

    In more than one speech last month, the President sent out a strong message stressing on  India’s core values of tolerance and diversity.

  • Edhi Foundation refuses Modi’s Rs-10 mln donation

    Edhi Foundation refuses Modi’s Rs-10 mln donation

    Pakistan’s noted humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi of Edhi Foundation has refused to accept Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s donation of Rs 1 crore to his charity for returning 15-year old deaf and mute girl Geeta to the country.

    Faisal Edhi said that it is against Edhi Foundation’s policy to accept donations from governments. He also said that he will present the organization’s stand in front of the media soon.

    Earlier, Indian PM Modi had thanked Edhi Foundation for their efforts in returning Geeta to the country and had announced contribution of Rs. 1 crore to their foundation.

    “I don’t think any amount of words are enough to thank the Edhi family for taking care of Geeta. They are apostles of kindness and compassion,” Modi tweeted on Monday.

    “What the Edhi family has done is too priceless to be measured but I am happy to announce a contribution of Rs 10 million for their foundation,” said another tweet from PM Modi.

    The Edhi Foundation is a non-profit social welfare NGO in Pakistan, founded by Abdul Sattar Edhi in 1951. He is popularly known as Pakistan’s “Father Teresa”.

    Former Indian Minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had likened Bilqees Edhi to the real-life “Bajrangi Bhaijaan’.

    “Abdul Sattar Edhi has thanked PM Modi and politely declined to accept his announced financial help,” Edhi Foundation spokesman Anwar Kazmi was quoted as saying by ‘Dawn’ news.

  • PM Modi lays foundation stone for Andhra’s new capital

    PM Modi lays foundation stone for Andhra’s new capital

    AMARAVATI  (TIP): Amid fanfare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 22 laid the foundation stone of Andhra Pradesh’s new capital Amaravati at Uddandarayunipalem village in Guntur district.

    Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Nirmala Sitaraman, AP and Telangana Governor E S L Narasimhan and Chief Ministers of AP and Telangana N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao, respectively, were among those present on the occasion of ‘shila nyas’ in the village, about 40 kms from Vijayawada, the commercial hub of the state.

    Modi went around ‘Amaravati Pavilion’, a walk through showcasing evolution of Amaravati, a place of immense historical, mythological and cultural significance, its present and future.

    Amaravati was once the seat of power of Satavahana rulers. As per a call given by Chandrababu Naidu, soil and water from 16,000 villages in the state and prominent pilgrim centres in the country have been brought to the capital region to be used in the construction of the capital city.

    The idea is to promote a sense of belongingness among the people, officials said. Singapore government agencies have prepared the master plans for the three-layered capital –seed capital, capital city and capital region.

  • Sad, not desirable, but what is Centre’s role: PM Modi on Dadri, Ghulam Ali

    Sad, not desirable, but what is Centre’s role: PM Modi on Dadri, Ghulam Ali

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described as “unfortunate and unwarranted” the lynching of a man in Dadri over rumours of storing and eating beef and opposition to Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali’s concert. He was speaking to the Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika.

    “The Dadri incident or the opposition to Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali are sad and undesirable. But what is the role of the central government in these incidents?” Modi told the daily in an echo of what a clutch of central ministers have been telling newspapers over the last few days.

    “This controversy has arisen in the past too. The BJP has always opposed fake secularism (meki dhormoniropekkhota). Today, in the face of this sad social ailment
    (dukkhojonok shaamajik byadhi), this controversy has arisen again. This dispute can be resolved through consultations (Aalaap-alochonar madhyom-e ei bitorker niroshon shombhob),” he said.

    BJP’s official stand is that these are law and order issues in the remit of the state. The prime minister had during an election speech in Bihar some days back decried incidents of violence between Muslims and Hindus but this is the first time he has talked specifically about the Dadri lynching incident.

    While his statement would widely be viewed as his finally succumbing to increasing pressure from opposition and academics – who have been on an award returning spree, from Sahitya Akademi to Padmashree – Modi has in his brief interaction with the largest circulated Bengali daily, hit right back at his opponents accusing them of polarisation. “BJP does not support such incidents. By bringing them to the fore, the opposition it trying to accuse BJP of communal politics. But don’t these attempts show that they are the only ones practicing the politics of polarisation?”

    He has said that such attempts are being made only by those parties who have always treated minorities like vote-banks and do not want these groups to see real development.

    “Such controversies have happened in the past too. BJP has always opposed pseudo-secularism. Today when we are faced with such an unfortunate social malady the same debate has resurfaced. This can only be resolved through discussions.” Modi said.

    But ally Shiv Sena, which opposed Ghulam Ali’s concert, raked up Modi’s past by referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was the Chief Minister.

    Sena MP Sanjay Raut told reporters in Mumbai: “The world knows Narendra Modi due to Godhra and Ahmedabad and we respect him for the same reason. If the same Narendra Modi has called the controversy surrounding Ghulam Ali and (former Pakistan minister) Khurshid Kasuri unfortunate, then it is indeed unfortunate for all of us.”

    The Congress was quick to hit back at Modi. Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said: “Modi is suffering from selective amnesia. He has forgotten that he is prime minister of the entire country, the safety and protecting lives of 125 crore citizens of India is his responsibility.”

    JD(U) president Sharad Yadav also criticised the Prime Minister saying while he is quick to speak on the victories of the cricket team, he was speaking on the Dadri incident after much delay.

  • SUPREME COURT DISMISSES PLEA AGAINST PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI

    SUPREME COURT DISMISSES PLEA AGAINST PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Supreme Court on October 15 dismissed a petition seeking initiation of proceedings against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly concealing information about his marital status during 2012 assembly polls.

    A bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar did not find merit in the plea filed by Ahmadabad resident Nishant Varma who moved SC after the Gujarat HC order refused to entertain his plea to proceed against Modi.

    The complaint was filed in April 2014 when Modi while filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections had mentioned the name of his spouse in the affidavit.

    After a brief hearing, the apex court asked how a man could be punished for disclosing the name of his spouse at a later stage.

    The petitioner alleged that in 2012, Modi, contesting the state assembly election from Maninagar constituency, had left the space of spouse blank, which amounted to concealing information and hence action should be taken against him under the provisions of Representation of People (RP) Act.

    Soon after Modi’s affidavit in the 2014 general election, Verma had filed a criminal complaint in a magisterial court demanding an FIR be lodged against Modi and P K Jadeja, the election officer.

    The court rejected the complaint while stating that though an offence has been committed but cognizance can’t be taken since the complaint was lodged after a delay of one year and four months. He then approached the HC which also refused to entertain the plea.

  • Modi bats for timely, transparent, trouble-free RTI replies

    Modi bats for timely, transparent, trouble-free RTI replies

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked government departments to keep in mind three ‘T’s — timeliness, transparency and trouble-free approach — while replying to RTI applications as that would help in reducing errors in governance.

    Addressing the 10th anniversary of Central Information Commission, the Prime Minister said more openness in governance will help citizens as there is no need for secrecy in this day and age.

    “RTI replies should be timely, transparency and trouble-free. It will help in reducing possibilities of errors,” he said at the function which was boycotted by leading RTI activists, including Aruna Roy, after authorities restricted the invitations to some activists citing security reasons.

    Modi said right to information is not only about the right to know but also the right to question as this will increase faith in democracy.

  • PM Modi heaps praise on Dr Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary

    PM Modi heaps praise on Dr Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary

    CHENNAI (TIP): Recalling that Dr A P J Abdul Kalam wished to be remembered as a teacher, Prime Minister Narendra Modi  said the former President was well-aware of the importance of nurturing future generations. Modi mentioned several vital sectors where innovation was essential, including cyber-security, housing for all, river-linking, enhancing agricultural productivity, blue economy, and zero-defect, zero-effect manufacturing. “Kalam had not only risen from humble beginnings to the highest office in India, but had also built great institutions, virtually from scratch. All of us should draw inspiration from his example,” said Modi.

    A memorial would be constructed for Dr Kalam at Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu where he was buried, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function in DRDO Bhavan in New Delhi held to commemorate the former President’s birth anniversary.

    A committee of Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Manohar Parrikar and Pon Radhakrishnan and former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswamy will work out the details of the memorial. Land has already been acquired for this at Rameswaram, said urban development minister Naidu in an official release.

    Soon after Kalam’s death on July 27, the state government had also identified a piece of land close to Rameswaram for a memorial.

    “A memorial for Kalam would be built at Rameswaram to inspire future generations,” said Modi. “While most people look for opportunities in life, Kalam always sought fresh challenges to overcome,” said Modi. The Prime Minister recalled how he worked closely with Kalam during the post- earthquake reconstruction work in Kutch area of Gujarat. A commemorative postal stamp on Kalam was released to mark the occasion and the Prime Minister unveiled a statue of the former President at the Bhavan. He inaugurated a photo exhibition titled “A Celebration of Kalam’s Life.”

    Meanwhile, IIM-Shillong, where Kalam gave his last lecture before fainting, said a 2,000sqft auditorium with capacity to seat 200 students would be set up in Kalam’s name and his bust would be placed there.

    Across Tamil Nadu, Kalam’s birth anniversary was observed by politicians, students and various cross sections of the people as youth resurgence day as announced by chief minister J Jayalalithaa soon after his death. DMK treasurer M K Stalin who is on a state-wide tour said in a Facebook post that the Centre and state government must consider distributing calipers developed by Kalam to the disabled.

    The Centre also included Rameswaram in the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for providing basic urban infrastructure in the pilgrim town. This was announced by Naidu. With its inclusion, Rameswaram would be the 498th town to be brought under the Amrut scheme and Tamil Nadu would have 32 cities and towns under the Atal mission, said the release.

  • What All the pre-poll surveys say about Bihar elections

    What All the pre-poll surveys say about Bihar elections

    NEW DELHI (TIP): In exactly a month’s time it will become clear who will rule Bihar for the next five years. The five-phase voting in the state starts from October 12 and ends on November 5 followed by counting on 8.

    Screen Shot 2015-10-11 at 3.48.18 PMWhile much is at stake for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which won a massive mandate in Lok Sabha election, to prove its mettle in the state Assembly polls, it is a do or die battle for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United.

    To take on the BJP, the JDU, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress are jointly contesting the polls as the ‘Mahagatbandhan’.

    In the run up to the elections, here is the list of all opinion polls by different newspapers and channels that have been conducted for Bihar till now. While other have also given the seats, CSDS only came out with the vote share.

  • Modi breaks his silence on Dadri, says fight poverty, not each other

    Modi breaks his silence on Dadri, says fight poverty, not each other

    NAWADA/BEGUSARAI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8 broke his silence on the murder of a Muslim man in Dadri, near Delhi, over rumours that his family was consuming beef, by delivering a strong message against communalism and communal violence.

    He chose an election rally in Nawada to clarify his position, saying: “In a democracy everyone has the right to speak their mind. But Hindus must decide whether they want to fight Muslims or poverty. Muslims must decide whether they want to fight Hindus or poverty.”

    Reminding the crowd of his speech at Patna Gandhi Maidan during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign, Modi said, “In the midst of bomb explosions I had said poor Muslims and Hindus had a common enemy in poverty.”

    Modi has been criticized for keeping silent on the Dadri murder even though his ministers, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh, have condemned the killing. The fact that BJP party radicals have sought to minimize the mob’s guilt by calling it an “accident” or by focusing on the “sin” of cow slaughter, created an impression that the party was speaking in two voices.

    The PM sought to set doubts to rest by citing President Pranab Mukherjee’s statement on Wednesday warning people against any dilution in India’s core values of diversity and tolerance.

    “The Rashtrapati has shown us the way. There is no bigger inspiration than him, let’s follow his path,” Modi said.

    After his first two meetings in Bihar’s Samastipur and Begusarai, chief minister Nitish Kumar had tweeted wondering why the PM was silent on the Dadri issue.

    In Yadav-dominated Samastipur, Modi launched a strident attack on RJD chief Lalu Prasad for first saying Hindus too eat beef and later backtracking on it. Speaking before a mammoth crowd, Modi said he can’t even utter the words which Lalu said the other day.

    “Lalu says it was the devil which made him utter such words. People of Bihar should find out why the devil chose him. There are crores of people all over the globe but the devil chose Lalu,” Modi said.

    “It (Lalu’s beef remark) is an insult to Yaduvanshis and pains me the most since I hail from the city of Dwarka and the land where the white revolution started,” Modi said later at Begusarai.

    Modi asked the people to choose between “jungle raj” and “vikas raj”. He said, “Bihar has two very important assets — ‘paani’ and ‘jawaani’. Previous governments failed to utilize them. I will be ensure maximum utilization of water and job opportunities.”

    At a mammoth rally in Begusarai, Modi responded to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that his government works only for the rich, saying that the rich do not need government for health, education and transport.

    “Governments work for the poor and they are bound to fulfil the basic needs of the people.”

    In Munger and Nawada, Modi said described the Mahagathbandhan of JD(U), RJD and Congress as “swarthbandhan”. He added, “Though the three parties have ruled Bihar for 60 years, they have a zero account on development. Roj subah ek ki kaam hai. Dictionary khol ke sab baith jaate hain aur sabse bade shabd dhoondhte hai ki aaj PM ko kaun si gaali di jaaye.”

  • Angela Merkel signs key business deals with India’s Narendra Modi

    Angela Merkel signs key business deals with India’s Narendra Modi

    India and Germany have signed agreements for furthering cooperation in the field of Science & Technology. The Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the German Federal Minister for Education and Research Ms. Johanna Wanka signed the main agreement and witnessed signing of another agreement by the officials for the purpose after mutual discussions in New Delhi today.

    The deal was agreed during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the opening day of her visit to India.

    Mr Modi visited Germany in April where he sought to convince more industries to begin manufacturing in India.

    Last year, he launched the “Make in India” campaign to boost manufacturing at home and create millions of jobs.

    Chancellor Merkel, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and senior officials, arrived in the Indian capital on Sunday night and was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace on Monday morning, Sep 05.

    At the meeting held before the 3rd Indo-German Consultative meeting, both the Ministers expressed their satisfaction on the level of Indo-German Science & Technology cooperation which is now recognised as one of the strategic pillars in the overall bilateral relationship.

    It was reiterated by both sides that they would continue to support and strengthen the basic research component of collaboration which will underpin future technology developments.

    India is investing approximately 14 million euro for the construction of an additional beam line and access to the synchrotron facility at PETRA-III in DESY at Hamburg. Similarly, India is equity share holder with investment of 36 million euro in the construction of the international “Facility for Antiproton-Ion Research” (FAIR) at Darmstadt. Both these state of art facilities will further enable our scientists to conduct high impact and frontier research in material science, nuclear and high energy physics. On the same model, Dr. Harsh Vardhan offered Germany to participate in some of the future mega science projects, which India will be embarking upon.

    A major highlight of the meeting was the agreement on both sides to extend the bi-national Indo-German Science & Technology Center (IGSTC) beyond 2017 with increase in funding from 2 million euro to 4 million euro every year. This was a reflection of the common endeavour on both sides to support industrially relevant R&D projects that have potential to generate novel technologies and new intellectual property in sectors such as advance manufacturing, embedded systems & ICT for automobiles, renewable energy, food security, clean water and health care technologies- all of which are in tune with present national missions of the government of India. India is the only country with whom Germany has such a bilateral R&D Centre dedicated to promote applied and industrial R&D. The Centre is already supporting 15 joint projects and pro-types of some new technologies have been co-developed in solar-thermal energy, stress tolerant chic-pea variety, and high altitude cold resistance plants etc.

    Dr. Harsh Vardhan expressed confidence that the extended tenure of Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) until 2022 along with doubling its financial resources will enable us to co-develop affordable technologies that can contribute to the knowledge economy of both our countries.

    Both the Ministers reiterated the need for concerted effort to promote exchanges of young scientists and student researchers. To this end DST through a Letter of Intent agreed to continue the support for participation of 25 Indian science and medical students to the annual Nobel Laureate meet in Lindau.

    Both the Ministers echoed that the future cooperation should focus on programs to promote innovation and techno-entrepreneurship by linking the SME and Start-up enterprises of both the countries in order to make meaningful contribution to the knowledge economy and use the tools of science and technology to address socially relevant challenges. New areas such as anti-microbial resistance and regenerative medicine, earth science system including monsoon studies and marine sciences required to understand the climate change process was emphasised by the Indian side that needs to be addressed together.

  • Angela Merkel in India, Modi welcomes with ‘Namaste’ Tweet

    Angela Merkel in India, Modi welcomes with ‘Namaste’ Tweet

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is on a visit to India got a digital welcome with Minister Narendra Modi tweeting “Namaste” in welcome as German Chancellor Angela Merkel landed in New Delhi on Sunday night, Oct 04, on a three-day visit. A wide range of issues including security and defence, with special focus on boosting trade ties are to be discussed between the two G-4 member states.

     

    Germany is the only country with which India conducts these bi-annual joint cabinet meetings. 

    Merkel is accompanied by a large delegation comprising six cabinet ministers, and businesspersons, and will also be visiting Bengaluru on Oct 06 before heading back. Modi will also travel to Bengaluru.

    India-Germany bilateral trade is currently pegged at around $18 billion

    This is Ms Merkel’s first visit to India since the Narenda Modi government came to power. The leaders met in April when PM Modi visited Germany, where he sought to draw more investment towards his “Make in India” campaign. Both leaders are also likely to exchange views on regional and global issues including climate change.

    “The prime minister has a very ambitious economic development program for India and Germany intends to contribute to it and support it,” Merkel said, mentioning agriculture, economy, defense and internal security as some of the areas in which the two countries could cooperate.

    Germany is India’s largest trading partner in the European Union and the seventh-largest foreign investor in India.

    But for Germany, Europe’s largest economy, India last year ranked just 25th on the list of countries with which it does business.

  • Somnath Bharti Denied Bail & surrenders

    Somnath Bharti Denied Bail & surrenders

    New Delhi, Sept 28 (TIP): AAP Leader & Former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti turned himself in at the Dwarka North police station here tonight, hours after the Supreme Court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail in the Domestic Violence & Attempt to murder case alleged by his wife.

    Bharti remained elusive and was untraceable since September 22 when the high court refused anticipatory bail in a case of attempted murder, assault, intimidation and attempted forced miscarriage filed by his estranged wife Lipika Mitra.

    “I have come to surrender as per the court’s command. I was only exercising all my legal options and was waiting for the Supreme Court’s verdict,” said the AAP Leader to the media at the Dwarka Police station while flashing a copy of the Constitution. “Is it written anywhere in this book that says what I have done is wrong?” he added.

    Denying the plea for anticipatory bail, Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy had ordered him to “surrender before appropriate jurisdiction of the police by this evening”.

    Bharti’s father Sitaram, who belonged to Bihar’s Hisua, left the family when the AAP leader was very young. He and his two siblings were brought up by their mother Manorama. Bharti’s father is reportedly an ascetic.

    After the Supreme Court hearing this morning, several Aam Aadmi Party leaders publicly chided Bharti for avoiding arrest. “After SC order Somnath should immediately surrender/cooperate in investigation. Party had requested him earlier and requesting him again,” party spokesman Ashutosh tweeted.

    Delhi Commission of Women chairperson Swati Maliwal joined in: “Welcome move by SC. Somnath Bharti denied bail, reprimanded and told to surrender by evening. This bound to end his hide and seek with law.”

    Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted last week: “Somnath shud surrender. Why is he running away? Why is he so scared of gng to jail? Now he is becoming embarrassment for party n his family” (sic).

    Troubles continue for Aam Aadmi Party : Bharti is the fourth party MLA to be arrested. Former law minister Jitender Tomar and MLAs Manoj Kumar and Surinder Singh are out on bail in forgery, land grab and assault cases respectively.

     

  • Rahul Gandhi found in Aspen: Its time to switch off Television debates

    Rahul Gandhi found in Aspen: Its time to switch off Television debates

    As it turns out Mr. Gandhi is in Aspen and is attending a conference ‘Weekend with Charlie Rose’.

    Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday tweeted a picture of his attending the Aspen conference in the US, in a bid to end speculations about his whereabouts. (tweet embedded below)

    Congress leader Milind Deora also tweeted out a couple of pictures of Gandhi, one with the President of Iceland, from the conference. He wrote that the conference concerned ‘new media and international affairs’.

    Local Aspen newspaper Aspen Times reported, that ‘Rose and others are back in Aspen this weekend for the conference, which started Thursday (24 September) and ends Monday (28 September)’. That Gandhi’s participation in the conference was not publicly known is unsurprising.

    The details of the event are generally so hush-hush that locals only realised it was taking place last year ‘Vice President Joe Biden’s 40-vehicle motorcade forced motorists to be rerouted’, the newspaper adds.

    The BJP had been debating the disappearance of Rahul Gandhi across the television channels. BJP’s spokesperson Sambit Patra had termed it a ‘forced vacation’.

    It will be difficult for the media to justify the claims made by some of the Journalists which confirmed that there is no such conference called the ‘Weekend with Charlie Rose’ currently planned in Aspen.

  • Narendra Modi’s Digital India push

    Narendra Modi’s Digital India push

    ‘Digital India’ is an enterprise to transform India in a scale unmatched anywhere in the world and it has the potential to make development truly inclusive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday (September 27).

    “Digital India is an enterprise for India’s transformation on a scale that is, perhaps, unmatched in human history,” Modi said while speaking about his ambitious Digital India initiative before a gathering of Silicon Valley CEOs. Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Silicon Valley in more than three decades, said his government wants paperless transactions.

    “After MyGov.in, we have just launched the Narendra Modi Mobile App. They are helping me stay in close touch with people,” he said amidst applause from the audience.

    “I want our 1.25 billion citizens to be digitally connected,” Modi said, describing the steps taken by his government towards broadband connectivity.

    “I see technology as a means to empower and as a tool that bridges the distance between hope and opportunity,” the Prime Minister added.

    “California is one of the last places in the world to see the sun set. But, it is here that new ideas see the first light of the day,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to a thunderous applause, at a gathering of CEOs from Silicon Valley on Saturday night. The Prime Minister said the India-US partnership was one of the defining partnerships of the time, one that converges in California.

    Sundar Pichai of Google, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, John Chambers of Cisco and Shantanu Narayan of Adobe flanked the Prime Minister on the stage. The ballroom at Fairmont Hotel was choc-a-bloc with top executives of Silicon valley companies. The event started with a presentation on Digital India.

    Modi said the vision was to connect all schools and colleges with broadband. He announced a plan to expand WiFi coverage across 500 railway stations across India in collaboration with Google. “In this digital age, we have an opportunity to transform lives of people in ways that was hard to imagine just a couple of decades ago. I see technology as a means to empower and as a tool that bridges the distance between hope and opportunity,” he said.

     

  • Modi’s US Visit: Financial and Technological concerns to the Fore

    Modi’s US Visit: Financial and Technological concerns to the Fore

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign in the U.S. to attract investment in  the country and boost his ‘Make in India’ initiative kicked off with a meeting with eight influential figures in the key financial hub of the world on Thursday, September 24.

    Organized  by Jamie Dimon, CEO and president of JP Morgan, the participants at the roundtable  included Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman, Warburg Pincus’ Charles Kaye, KKR Co-CEO Henry Kravis, General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford, AIG Insurance CEO Peter Hancock, Tiger Global Managing Partner Chase Coleman, and NY State Common Retirement Fund’s Vicki Fuller. “They control billions of dollars of investment and the opportunity to interact directly with the Prime Minister has given them further confidence in India,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said after the meeting.

    Mr. Swarup said the Prime Minister took on board the concerns raised by the investors and promised speedy resolution to them. “The PM told the investment community that the massive scale of India’s development ambitions held forth the best opportunity for them in the world,” Mr. Swarup said, adding that Mr. Modi mentioned development targets such as building metro rails in 50 cities, complete rural electrification and housing for all among initiatives that would provide attractive investment opportunities.

    Financial sector leaders flagged red tape, slow pace of deregulation, and unpredictable tax regimes, as their main concerns.

    A senior executive of one of the firms, who has been involved with similar meetings with earlier prime ministers also, said, “The difference that we see is that Mr. Modi not merely understands the issues, but responds when they are raised and promises action. That is reassuring.” Mr. Swarup said all the leaders were bullish about India and “appreciated the PM’s bold measures in improving the ease of doing business and the fact that financial sector reforms have now begun.”

    Continuing with the same pitch, Mr. Modi is scheduled to host a dinner for Fortune 500 companies and interact in a roundtable format with 15 leaders of the media industry, assembled by NewsCorp head Rupert Murdoch. Mr. Modi also has a separate meeting with Marillyn A Hewson, CEO of U.S. defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corporation, even as both countries are hoping to enhance bilateral cooperation in the sector. While the CEO dinner will again be focused on the Indian manufacturing sector, the media sector interaction would focus on using communication technologies to assist India’s developmental initiatives. On September 26 and 27, the PM will travel to the Silicon Valley, the hub of the global technology industry, with a special emphasis on promoting a start-up culture in India.

    Mr. Modi will meet Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook individually and interact with many more in a group. He is also scheduled to visit Facebook and meet Mark Zuckerberg.

    Earlier, on September 23, Modi was given  a warm reception on his arrival at the airport, A group of enthusiastic PM supporters  gathered outside Hotel Waldorf Astoria to welcome Modi and chanted lustily “Modi, Modi” when the Prime  Minister  arrived. A number of community leaders met him and had a photo op with him.