Tag: Indian Politics

NEW DELHI (TIP): The BJP on September 13 chose to ignore L K Advani’s tenacious resistance and declared Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. It’s a decision that not only signals a decisive victory for Modi in the protracted power struggle in BJP but marks the end of the old order and emergence of a new one. On a day of high political drama as Advani vacillated between attending or keeping away from the crucial meeting of the BJP parliamentary board, party president Rajnath Singh decided to take the plunge and end the suspense over Modi’s candidature even as the veteran decided to stay away.

Modi’s ascension is expected to set the stage for a presidential-style Lok Sabha election with him being pitted against Rahul Gandhi. Although the latter hasn’t yet been projected as the Congress candidate, recentlyManmohan Singh said that the Gandhi scion was ready for the top job. On Friday, however, the focus was on the BJP’s power struggle. While sticking to his stance that Modi’s projection at this stage would polarize the electorate, Advani had indicated to Rajnath and Nitin Gadkari on Thursday evening that he would attend the meeting, though only to submit his note of dissent. However, at 3.30 pm on Friday, he told Rajnath Singh that he will not attend, and followed that up by shooting off a letter complaining about party chief’s style of functioning. The letter was conspicuously silent about the party’s move to project Modi as its PM candidate.

Senior leaders had rushed to Advani when he lodged a similar complaint in public after Modi was appointed the head of the national campaign committee in June. The show of dissidence, however, attracted indifference this time. In fact, if his absence once again advertized the rift in the party, it also spared Advani the isolation he would have faced if he had attended the meeting. In the end, expectations of Modi’s opponents finding support proved wrong. Sushma Swaraj reiterated her objections in the afternoon – mainly that Modi’s projection at this time would be premature and work to Congress’s advantage — but ended saying she would go by the party’s decision. Other leaders with reservations about Modi, like M M Joshi and Ananth Kumar, did not demur and endorsed Rajnath Singh’s view that Modi’s nomination reflected the collective wishes of BJP rank and file and the Sangh parivar as a whole.

The formalization of Modi’s candidature may not spell an end to factional troubles in BJP, but it puts him clearly ahead of his peers and decisively turns the page on the Vajpayee-Advani era. Modi responded to his elevation by thanking leaders and colleagues. He even went to Advani’s residence as a goodwill gesture. “I will spare no effort to ensure that the BJP wins in 2014 elections and I measure up to the expectations and aspirations of common citizen and workers and sympathizers of the BJP,” said Modi in his acceptance speech as he recalled his rise from an ordinary worker “of humble origin from a nondescript place”. He also unveiled his campaign plank by seeking the support of people to help BJP steer the country out of the “current crisis”, created by mismanagement and corruption, by ushering in good governance and development.

The rise of Modi, who enjoys impressive ratings as an administrator, but is seen as a polarizing figure struggling to leave behind the accusation of complicity in 2002 riots, marks the emergence of a new kind of right-wing politics which unabashedly celebrates development and economic growth. He is set to run an intense campaign to challenge Congress, and is expected to hit the ground running by bringing back rebels like B S Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu in Karnataka, and Babulal Marandi in Jharkhand. He is also expected to initiate poll alliance talks with AGP in Assam, and Om Prakash Chautala and Kuldeep Bishnoi in Haryana, besides exploring the possibility of a grand saffron alliance comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray in Maharashtra. The two NDA allies, Shiv Sena and Akali Dal, readily extended their support. The speed of Sena’s decision was significant , considering that Udhav Thackeray appeared to be uneasy with Modi and would often take digs at the leader.

NEW DELHI (TIP): Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on September 5 surprised his critics and loyalists alike, declaring he intended to serve the people of his state till 2017. His statement, part of a broader reply to a child’s question, came amid the clamour within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ranks to declare him the party’s prime ministerial pick ahead of the 2014 polls. Modi’s critics were quick to read his remark as a sign that he was adopting a “tactical strategy” to show apparent disinterest in being declared as the BJP’s choice for the top post, especially when the declaration is expected to be made shortly. The critics of the Gujarat strongman, who is consistently dogged by accusations of inaction and even complicity in the 2002 religious riots in the state, said he also hoped to nullify the impact of a “damaging” resignation letter by jailed IPS officer DG Vanzara.

The encounter killings-accused Indian Police Service officer has urged Modi that he should “not forget to repay the debt which he owes to jailed police officers” in the “hurry of marching towards Delhi”. Modi’s supporters in the BJP, however, saw in his statement elements of his typical style. His line that one should aspire to do “something” and not “become someone” was also an old one. What would please Modi’s political rivals is insiders in the BJP admitted Vanzara’s letter, dated September 1 (it came to light two days later), continued to rankle him. Vanzara has accused Modi and his key aide Amit Shah of ditching the policemen and reaping rich political benefits from the encounter cases. Modi loyalists, however, dismissed the letter as a conspiracy building up against him because the BJP was about to name him as its PM pick. Several BJP insiders saw Modi’s latest stand as significant in the context of the September 1 meeting that senior party leaders LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj had with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) deputy chief Bhaiyya Joshi. The RSS is seen as the ideological and spiritual guide of the BJP. According to the insiders, Advani and Swaraj conveyed to Joshi their continued opposition to declaring Modi’s name for the top post ahead of the assembly polls in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh in November. BJP chief Rajnath Singh and Modi’s backers apparently want the declaration done earlier. Advani and Swaraj held Modi’s elevation would obfuscate local issues, benefiting the Congress.

AHMEDABAD (TIP): The shadow of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has hovered on Bollywood in the past. Many film-makers like Nandita Das and Rahul Dholakia even ruffled feathers with their depiction of the tragic Gujarat riots of 2002. As Modi marches towards a bigger role in national politics, Bollywood is betting on one of the most forceful politicians ever to hit the Indian political scene. There are talks about at least two films being made on Modi. One is being planned by noted actor Paresh Rawal. Rawal, who played Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in ‘Sardar’, a 1993 biopic on the Iron Man of India, will portray the character of Modi who likes to be known as ‘Chhote Sardar’.

The upcoming movie will also be produced by Rawal, who hails from Visnagar, the twin town of Vadnagar where Modi was born. While there are other producers lining up to cash in on Modi’s nationwide popularity ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Rawal says his will be a hardcore, big-budget commercial film. “It will be a bio-pic of Modi, the man who may become our prime minister,” says Rawal, who idolizes the Gujarat CM. Rawal had even campaigned for Modi during the 2012 assembly elections. “The details are being worked out. But, this project is high on my priority list,” said Rawal, who last coproduced ‘Oh My God!’ a low-budget film which clocked Rs 100 crore at the box-office.

BHUJ (GUJARAT) (TIP): Even as BJP dithers on when to declare him as its PM candidate, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi on Thursday staked claim to the top job by delivering an Independence Day speech aimed at rivalling incumbent Manmohan Singh’s address from Delhi’s Red Fort and softening a hardline saffron image. Breaking the restraint that political opponents have traditionally exercised in critiquing the PM’s August 15 address, Modi had no qualms in turning the grounds of Lalan College here into a parallel pulpit as he attacked Singh’s speech, daring the PM to a debate on development.

The speech, populist as well as partisan, reflected the Modi camp’s desire to turn the 2014 Lok Sabha elections into a presidential race, with the Gujarat CM fully harnessing his oratorical skills. He looked to exploit UPA’s weaknesses — inflation, corruption, gloom over the economy as well as an alleged weak stance towards Pakistan and China. Modi used his advantage of rhetoric also to play to his strengths: perception of having delivered on development front as a decisive leader and being tough on national security, and the fact that he has not been tested on the national arena.

August 14 speech was strongly defined by an ambitious attempt by Modi to desectarianize himself. “Governments should have one religion, that of putting India first. They should follow the Constitution as their only scripture, while treating the entire population of 1.25 billion as their strength. They should take all 1.25 billion Indians along and earn their trust as a matter of faith,” Modi said.

The chief minister was careful to avoid any references such as “burqa of secularism” that had given his critics an opportunity to reiterate their misgivings over him being a divisive leader. The 50-minute speech saw Modi savaging the PM and Congress, projecting himself a man who has the vision which departs from weather-beaten and worn out approaches and can help the country actualize its potential and help the youth realize their aspirations.

“We need freedom from the status quoist mindset, We need to have a new vision and a fresh enthusiasm,” Modi said, the punch line echoing the “nayi soch, nayi umang” theme that BJP has unveiled to mark his pre-eminence. Emphasizing Congress has run out of ideas, Modi said, “The PM has listed the same problems that the first prime minister Pandit Nehru would enumerate in his Independence Day speeches. This shows we have not achieved much and underscores the need for us to liberate ourselves from old ways of doing things.”

NEW DELHI (TIP): As Narendra Modi turned I-Day into a showdown with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress slammed the Gujarat chief minister for indulging in “petty politics” for personal projection. Accusing Modi of being overeager, foreign minister Salman Khurshid said the leader’s tone suggested he was “so restless to become something big in the country” that he forgot it was a day when parties sink political differences.

The angry reaction summed up the mood in Congress but the condemnation of Modi hinged on grounds of propriety while the challenger’s unorthodox style dominated TV coverage and social media, amplifying issues of corruption and leadership that BJP has identified as its ammunition against UPA in 2014. Congress leaders felt Modi’s political speech barely dressed as an I-Day address came across as arrogant and desperate. “We don’t think it will go down well with the masses,” a senior leader said.

Congress spokespersons shunned TV studios. “We don’t want to stoop to his level on this special day. This has never happened,” a strategist said. AICC general secretary Ajay Maken said, “I appeal to members of fellow political parties that they unitedly uphold the sanctity of the day so that the generations to come continue seeing 15th August as a template of freedom and unity rather than an opportunity for selfseeking.” Minister of state for information and broadcasting Manish Tewari added, “I think the chief minister should withdraw his remarks about the PM.”

The moral stance, however, skirts the question posed by Modi’s preparedness to adopt unconventional tactics and if such fine lines matter with public opinion influenced by negatives like corruption, inflation and unemployment. The challenge for Congress lies in countering the Gujarat leader who is not hobbled by traditional concerns like bipartisanship on I-Day and who makes barbs of “saas, bahu aur damaad” to refer to allegations of malfeasance against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra.

If Parliament witnesses prolonged clashes on Vadra and the economy, Congress’s arguments may come across as stonewalling while the rival hammers home his perceived advantage. Given the risk, Congress is sticking to its strategy of what is to be done to retain its sway over the rural poor.

The push for the food security act seems aimed in that direction, with concerns that urban centres and middle classes may be a challenge in 2014 unlike the last time when they swept the cities of Delhi and Mumbai. Foreign minister Khurshid slammed Modi’s hallenge to PM for a debate as “pompous” and called him a “villain” to counter his “saas, bahu” barb.

NEW DELHI (TIP): BJP leader L K Advani praised Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the same breath saying the two Chief Ministers have provided good governance in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The remarks were significant as Advani, who is not on the best of terms with Modi and had even resigned from all party posts after he was made the poll campaign head, on Thursday skipped a crucial meeting of party with RSS in the national capital though the BJP said it was because of his prior commitments.

The BJP leader said states where BJP was in power, be it the Narendra Modi-led government in Gujarat or Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh–were doing good. He said the party will go the people in the coming Lok Sabha polls on the plank of good governance. Advani said be it Modi government or Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s or Raman Singh’s, they were giving good governance. He asked the people to compare all the goverments and think who can give honest governance and people oriented and efficient governance.

“The six-year NDA rule will outbeat UPA hands down,” he claimed. Moreover, there is no comparision to the governments of Modi and Chouhan, who were doing good job, he said. Advani said he was keenly following the UPA rule for the last three years and since the Commonwealth games, two issues have come to the fore that of inflation and corruption. The party will go to the people and ask them to compare the NDA rule and BJP-led governments in the states with UPA govt in the coming elections, he said.

Advani was participating in a condolence meeting for the party’s Tamil Nadu BJP general secretary V Ramesh who was murdered on July 19. He said he looked forward to a spectacular results in the coming assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls in hundred days and 200 days respectively. Advani had on Thursday skipped a crucial meeting of RSS and BJP leaders in Delhi post his public fall-out over elevation of Modi as head of party campaign committee for the 2014 polls.

BJP President Rajnath Singh said Advani was not present at the Delhi meeting due to prior commitments. Earlier, Advani, who was received by party’s Tamil Nadu leaders Ela Ganesan and Pon Radhakrishnan, visited Ramesh’s house at Maravaneri and consoled his wife, brother and son. He paid floral tributes at the photo of the leader. Police had made tight security arrangements in view of his visit.

NEW DELHI (TIP): Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra’s demand for stripping economist Amartya Sen of the Bharat Ratna on July 25 triggered a slugfest with the Congress attacking the BJP. However, an unfazed Dr. Sen stuck to his views that he did not want Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and said he would not “surrender his right to speak his mind” as an individual just because he was a Bharat Ratna.

He said his reservations were over Gujarat Chief Minister and not the BJP. “Do I regret my views on Modi.? No. By getting Bharat Ratna, I do not lose my right to speak my views as an individual. It is my right to speak up. I thought it was my duty to stand and speak up for the majority. I got Bharat Ratna but…,” the noted economist said as a controversy raged on Mr. Mitra’s demand that the NDA, which conferred Bharat Ratna on him, should take it away if it was voted to power. “Bharat Ratna is a jewel of the whole country.

No BR should speak for or against any party or leader. Sen should join Congress political team,” Mr. Mitra had said on Twitter. BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Bharat Ratna debate was unfortunate. She and another senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi said it was Mr. Mitra’s personal opinion. Another leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said Dr. Sen’s views on Modi were not acceptable.

The Congress attacked the BJP for its “fascist mentality“. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari hit out at the BJP for its attack on Dr. Sen saying it was .“regrettable” that the BJP resorted not only to the “ignominy” of asking Dr. Sen to return the Bharat Ratna, something that happened for the first time, but some of its spokespersons also sought return of his Nobel prize. “What kind of mentality is this.? What is this if not fascism.? That either you are with us or against us and if you are against us, return the Bharat Ratna.

What wrong Amartya Sen has done? Does the BJP believe in the freedom of expression?. This is a big blow to the right to express, write and speak,” Tewari said. He said while Gujarat Chief Minister gave statements daily and the party defends defended his right to speak, “they think the voice of others should be muzzled.”. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde also disapproved of the demand and said Dr. Sen’s views on Modi were “correct”. Dr. Sen said it was unfortunate that such a demand had come forth and termed it as a “personal” view of Mr. Mitra. “Chandan Mitra may not know that the Bharat Ratna was given to me by the BJP-led government and was handed to me by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

If Mr Vajpayee wants me to return it, I will certainly return it,” he said.He added that during the NDA rule, he has had a lot of discussion with leaders like L.K. Advani, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and Arun Jaitley. Sen said he believed in individual liberty and minority rights. “Protection of minority rights and individual liberty depends on support of the majority. It is the duty of the majority to make sure violations do not take place. I am making a simple point. It would be unfortunate if a Prime Minister has to carry a load,” he said in an apparent reference to Mr. Modi’s handling 2002 riots.

NEW DELHI (TIP): A controversy broke out on July 24 over a letter, said to have been written to the United States President Barack Obama by 64 Members of Parliament, urging him to adhere to the current policy of denying visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Many parliamentarians claim that their signatures on the letter were forged. For instance, M.P. Achutan, a CPI MP, and Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) have denied signing any letter to the U.S. President.

The letter is being seen as an instrument to blunt the effort of BJP president Rajnath Singh, who is now in the U.S., to persuade Washington to lift the ban on Mr. Modi’s travel there. The U.S. has denied Modi a visa, citing “the violation of religious freedoms’’ in the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat during his first term as Chief Minister.While BJP MP from Jharkhand, Sudarshan Bhagat, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, seeking a probe into alleged forgery of signatures, the main Opposition party found fault with the Congress, accusing it to be behind the entire “letter affair’’ and demanded a probe.

However, Independent MP Mohammad Adeeb, who is stated to have taken the initiative for the anti-Modi campaign, has vouched for the authenticity of the letter. Stating that he welcomed an inquiry, he said, “Anyone found guilty of cheating colleagues should be punished and removed from Parliament.’’ Adeeb maintained that by re-sending the letter to the White House, he hoped to stultify the effort of the BJP chief to lobby for an end to the ban on Modi’s travel to America.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said since many MPs denied writing such a letter, it was important to catch those who forged signatures. Denial by some MPs of having written to Mr. Obama showed that this was a “clear conspiracy of the dirty tricks department of the Congress.’’ He demanded a thorough probe.

VARANASI (TIP): Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Thursday said he was supporting Gujarat chief minister NarendraModi for prime minister, and not the BJP. Describing Modi as “the only politician capable of freeing the country from Congress misrule”, he alleged that the Congress had “put democratic structure and credibility of investigating agencies at stake for political gains”. “People have great expectations from Modi.

I, too, feel only he can bring black money back and check corruption. Modi’s rising popularity has frustrated Congressmen. By misinterpreting Modi’s statements, the Congress has tried to insult Muslims for which they should seek explanation from the ruling party,” said Ramdev. “Sonia Gandhi has forced the Congress-led UPA to destroy the credibility of NIA, CBI and IB,” he added, claiming that senior officials of these agencies had told him that terrorists were moving freely in the country but they were unable to take action.

“If yuvraj (Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi) is so much in love with the minority and dalits that he visits their houses and shares their food, why doesn’t he marry a girl from the community?” he said, adding that the Gandhi family had cheated the country for the past six decades with no faith in Gandhism. He lamented that the birth places of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna and the Kashi Vishwanath temples were considered disputed.

“These are political issues and would not play any major role in the LS elections,” he said. Later, while addressing the convention of his Bharatiya Swabhiman Manch workers from 25 districts of east UP, Ramdev said “a parallel organization, Yuva Bharat, is being formed to ensure participation of youth in poll related exercises”.

NEW DELHI (TIP): Yoga guru, Baba Ramdev and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Ram Jethmalani on Thursday backed Gujarat chief Minister, Narendra Modi for the post of Prime Minister. Speaking to media, after meeting Jethmalani, Baba Ramdev said Modi is the only person who can fight the demons of the Congress Party.

“All these demons that are currently in the Congress Party, and, only one man has the guts and willpower to fight them, and that man is Narendra Modi. That is why we will work towards the victory of Modi and the people of this country will make him the Prime Minister,” said Baba Ramdev. Jethmalani, who was recently expelled from the BJP, also voiced support for Modi.

“I have always said this that it is in the interest of this country that Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister and the reason for that being that I believe that he is the final solution of the country’s problems,” said Jethmalani. Modi is praised by both corporate India and a majority of voters in Gujarat for presiding over years of fast growth and clean governance in his state, but his record has been harmed by Godhra riots eleven years ago.

In December 2012, he won a fourth consecutive term in office, and since then, many in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have called for him to lead the party in the 2014 general elections.

AHMEDABAD (TIP): The CBI has for the first time submitted before a court that it is investigating “relevant points” of the allegations about the role allegedly played by chief minister Narendra Modi, former minister Amit Shah and top IB police officer Rajinder Kumar in the Sadiq Jamal Mehtar fake encounter case. Sadiq was killed near Galaxy cinema in Naroda in January 2003. After the encounter, the city crime branch had dubbed him a terrorist out on a mission to kill Modi and other saffron leaders to avenge the 2002 Gujarat riots.

On Thursday the probe agency also submitted before a special CBI court that it was looking into the conduct of officers of the subsidiary Intelligence Bureau in Mumbai and those who had projected the Bhavnagar youth as a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative. The CBI said it was probing further into the conduct of Mumbai-based journalist Ketan Tirodkar and ‘encounter specialist’ police officer Daya Nayak. The agency made these submissions in response to the special court’s notice over the demand for further investigation made by Shabbir, Sadiq’s brother.

Shabbir had claimed the CBI had gone silent after chargesheeting eight policemen last December, though the probe report showed the murder was part of a larger conspiracy and various agencies were involved in it. Shabbir’s application said the roles of top police officers such as D G Vanzara and P P Pande had not been investigated yet.

He had demanded a probe into “the role played by then home minister and the chief minister in the entire conspiracy and (directions to) the CBI to file a supplementary chargesheet and take such further necessary actions required under the law.” Special CBI judge V K Vyas posted the case for further hearing on July 3. Justice M R Shah of the Gujarat high court had handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI in 2011.

PATNA (TIP): After dumping ally BJP, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar comfortably won a vote of confidence in the Bihar Assembly amid signals of a new political alignment as the Congress backed the motion. Nitish also dismissed the so-called wave in favour of Narendra Modi as one created by corporate houses.

A total of 126 votes, including four of the Congress and one of the CPI,were cast in favour of the confidence motion while 24, including 22 of Lalu Prasad-led RJD, voted against the motion as BJP members staged a walkout before the vote. Those who voted in favour of the motion included ruling JD(U)’s 117 and four Independents. The RJD’s 22 MLAs, two Independents also opposed the motion. Significantly, the Congress support for the government comes two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Kumar as secular and indicated that his party could do business with the JD(U).

The Central Government had already enhanced development assistance to Bihar as a backward state recently, setting off speculation that the two parties could come together in future elections. In his speech in the Assembly, Kumar without taking the name of Modi said the main reason for breaking the alliance with the BJP was the elevation of the Gujarat Chief Minister in his party. He said the slogan shouting by BJP MLAs hailing Modi went to buttress JD(U)’s point, an apparent reference to the possibility of the BJP making him the PM candidate.

NEW DELHI (TIP): Three days of rough political weather did not just wreck a 17-year-old BJP-JD(U) alliance, it also all but sealed the debate over Modi’s ascendancy in the BJP. Barely had Nitish Kumar finished a speech replete with derisive references to Modi on Sunday that the BJP brass was bombarded with messages and phone calls from the party rank and file. The message from below was unambiguous: The insult to the Gujarat CM shouldn’t be tolerated. A few senior leaders who demurred over the need to respond immediately felt the cadre’s pressure. The mismatch in moods was glaringly evident when at least two of the leaders, who are part of the grandly sounding “high command”, tried to reach out to Kumar just when the party rank and file was clamouring for a strong retaliation.

The tide was tough to hold off. Eventually, a statement vehemently debunking the charges leveled against Modi was considered by leaders gathered at Advani’s residence and BJP chief Rajnath Singh quickly ordered its release. Apart from consolidating the support for Modi in the sangh parivar, the Nitish Kumar episode also brought out the cracks in the BJP leadership over Modi. For, what happened over the weekend has implications for leaders like L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi, each seen by his or her admirers as having strong credentials for leading the BJP into the 2014 race. The BJP parliamentary board, which theoretically takes the final call on whom to project as PM candidate, appeared split over the issue. How serious is the split? Not so serious as to jeopardise Modi’s candidature, it would seem. Some senior leaders are uncomfortable with the prospect of being overtaken by the Gujarat CM, and to that extent the resistance to Modi has not disappeared, but they risk every possibility of getting overwhelmed by the counter tide. RSS, initially not so enamoured of Modi, seems to be fast coming around to align itself with the mood of the party workers.

The RSS chief hurt himself by seeking a second term for Nitin Gadkari even though the allegations against Gadkari were making him somewhat of a political liability. The weakening of the RSS boss’s authority has resulted in a decentralization of power within the Sangh and has created space for figures like Suresh Soni who are backing Modi. And seniors like Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha in the BJP, who appear ambiguous about Gujarat CM or are opposed to him, risk being sidelined by the current pro-Modi mood. The BJP seems aware that fighting the polls under Modi is not without risks — loss of allies, consolidation of Muslim vote against the party, hostility of liberal intelligentsia, and a ruthless scrutiny of the Gujarat model, to list the main ones. However, it is banking on his energetic espousal of effective governance, swift economic growth, jobs and a development-oriented agenda to attract middle India that BJP had lost to the Congress in 2004.

The task is not easy as BJP needs to cover a lot of ground and is hampered by geographical and social limits. As of now, BJP does not have a single MP from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Apart from Assam, the party has drawn a blank in the north east.

In states like Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh, BJP’s numbers are already high. It can only look to improve in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Uttarakhand. It needs new partners in Haryana and Jharkhand. Karnataka seems a lost bastion while the Shiv Sena infighting has made Maharashtra shaky. Yet, the party cadre and now an increasing number of leaders are getting in a mood to swim or sink with Modi. After angry exchanges with JD(U), BJP leaders are looking to assess options, preparing for the inevitable break with JD(U). Bihar leaders who met BJP chief Rajnath Singh on Monday set the tone by congratulating him for the party’s stern rejoinder to Kumar.

Discussions are on to build an audacious campaign built around Modi who is poised to emerge as the clear successor to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-L K Advani era. Powering BJP to 160 plus Lok Sabha seats will have to be followed by acquiring regional allies to take NDA past the 272 majority mark. Covering the last mile is not going to be easy. Yet, on balance, BJP finds Modi its best bet. Going to the polls under Modi may be risky but it is a risk worth taking because another dispiriting sub-par performance will put a serious question over the party’s future.

RAJKOT (TIP): Yoga guru Baba Ramdev yesterday slammed Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi, while calling Narendra Modi the only “trustworthy” leader in the country. “Congress ship will sink in 2014 general election because its leader, Rahul, has no development vision.” “The Congress-led UPA government has failed on all fronts and it will suffer its worst defeat in 2014 elections,” Ramdev said, talking to reporters here. Rahul was being promoted only because he belonged to Gandhi family, he added. Praising Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, he said Modi was the “only trustworthy political leader in the country”. “He will become Prime Minister of the country with the blessings of senior BJP leader L K Advani,” Ramdev said.

NEW DELHI (TIP): Continuing to rile Narendra Modi, JD(U) on April 5 mocked Gujarat CM for his comment that after having served Gujarat he was ready to pay his debt to the country. A day after Modi’s comment at a book launch event in Ahmedabad was widely interpreted as his desire to take a shy at prime ministership, JD(U) MP Shivanand Tiwari said that Modi’s expression of gratitude to the country was just a cloak for his ambition to move to national stage. The outspoken JD(U) leader rubbed it in by saying that Modi’s ambitions may go unfulfilled. “What does he mean? Isn’t serving Gujarat same as serving India? If a man serves his village, he serves India. Nitish Kumar is serving Bihar and by that virtue alone he is serving the country.When a political leader says that, it only reflects his national ambitions.

But only 2014 will decide who will sit in Delhi?” said Tiwari. He added, “It is the duty of every child to repay the debt he owes to Mother India. Not only Modi, every child and citizen owes a debt to Mother India…it is his duty to repay the debt whenever an opportunity arises.” Significantly, BJP did not react to the attack even though all available indications point to the party fast coming around to let Modi play the central role in its campaign for 2014 polls.

This was the second provocation from JD(U). The NDA partner, which has been chaffing at the prospect of BJP projecting Modi as its PM candidate, had earlier attacked him for the Lokayukta Bill. Tiwari’s colleague Ali Anwar has called the Gujarat legislation on ombudsman “toothless”, echoing the criticism of Modi’s arch rival, Congress. The BJP had ignored previous anti- Modi swipe as well. JD(U), which is eyeing the sizeable Muslim vote in Bihar, has consistently expressed its reservations about Modi’s elevation in BJP’s scheme of things for 2014, and has threatened to walk out of the NDA if its views were not heeded by the saffron outfit.

AHMEDABAD (TIP): A high-level 24- member business delegation from the United States led by three members of the House of Representatives called on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar today and discussed various issues for closer ties between the US and Gujarat. An official spokesmanclaimed that the delegation was “highly impressed” with Gujarat’s development journey carved by Modi’s progressive leadership for economic emancipation of the people of the state. The three US lawmakers – all Republican – in the delegation were Aaron Schock from Illinois, Cynthia Lummis representing Wyoming and Cathy Rodgers from Washington. Schock had congratulated Modi on the floor of the House of Representatives on his third consecutive electoral victory in December last year.

The pro-Modi camp claimed that the visiting US lawmakers “invited” Modi to visit the US and that it was a “victory of sorts” for the Gujarat Chief Minister who had been denied a diplomatic visa on the grounds of alleged human rights violations during the 2002 communal riots in the state. The official spokesman, however, did not say if the delegation issued any formal “invitation” to Modi at any stage, but some members of the delegation later told mediapersons that the three lawmakers have promised to take up the issue with the US administration.

The official spokesman claimed that during the meeting with Modi, Schock told the Chief Minister that the people in the US were “keen to work with Gujarat” as they were impressed with how Gujarat had facilitated investment and that there was “enormous potential” for closer ties between the US and Gujarat.

Rodgers complimented Modi for “bringing about a change in people’s lives” in the state and stated that she was looking forward to working together with Gujarat. Lummis commented that workers were “valued” in Gujarat which had become a “desirable place to live in” under Modi’s leadership. Modi, while pointing out that the US was the oldest and India the largest democracy in the world, said the two countries should have even closer ties to strengthen democracy for the larger good of the people.

The chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi’s hyped video address reflected a narrow vision of a small time politician surrounded by equally small-minded people who don’t understand the national character of India. Modi began his speech that was telecast live in USA and India reminding the listeners that he was speaking on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivaratri, the great Hindu festival when people revered Lord Shiva.

Then he picked up a progressive topic of global warming expressing his concern over the deterioration of the environment we live in. He said that Hindu deities were associated with a plant or an animal.

At this point the listeners got very confused. What was the message Modi wanted to give? Will he build one temple for each of 84 crore gods and goddesses to reduce pollution? Does he understand that development of renewable energy was the only viable way to reduce global warming? Modi didn’t delve into the issue, may be because he is too busy allowing big industries to open plants in his state without any oversight. No wonder some industrial house, which might have been favored by him, withdrew their support to Wharton India Economic Forum because WIFF refused to invite Modi as a keynote speaker. Modi was jubilant about winning the state election for the fourth time. “After a few years doing the same job one gets used to it”, he commented in his address then quickly diverted to claiming that his heart bleeds when he sees a poor man and he feels depressed when a girl child is deprived of education in rural Gujarat. Then he pointed out that development was the only answer to all problems. Modi is hooked to the word ‘development’ so much that he forgot to add another word, ‘sustainable’. Someone should ask him if building highrise buildings were the proof of real development? Or handing over government land to big industrialist at throwaway prices or keeping the labor cost cheap in the state were the real proof ? One recalls him saying that he ensured that manufacturing plants continued to produce during recession. He made it possible by making sure that workers’ wages didn’t rise. In fact ‘Development at a social cost’, is the Modi Mantra.

He is the guardian of the rich who pays lip service to the poor. Modi picked up the provision of Rs 1000 crore in the union budget of India for skill development for the youth and tried to prove that the Congress led government didn’t care about the younger Indians who made the bulk of India’s population.

To prove his point Modi said that he had earmarked Rs 800 crore for the same purpose in the state of Gujarat. Modi can’t fool the world about a variety of provisions for the youth and women in the union budget presented by India’s finance minister, Mr. Chidambaram. Some of which are as follows:

1. In addition to allocating Rs. 1,000 crore for training youth to boost their employability and productivity, National Skill Development Corporation will be asked to set the curriculum and standards for training different skills. Trained youth who pass a test at the end of training will get a monetary reward of Rs.10000 on an average. This initiative is likely to motivate 10 lakh youth.

2. To provide greater support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the refinancing capability of SIDBI is proposed to be enhanced from Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 10,000 crore per year. SIDBI will also be provided a corpus of Rs 500 crore to set up a Credit Guarantee Fund for factoring.

3. It is proposal to set up India’s first Women’s Bank as a public sector bank.

Other than reiterating his development mantra all that Modi could do was to ask for ‘forgiveness for his mistakes’. He said, “People are very forgiving. If you do good work they will forget your mistakes.” What mistakes he was referring to? We don’t wish to go into his past, which is well known.

He should realize that some scars are not erased by plastic surgery. Modi seems to believe that he was the unchallenged leader of tomorrow. Well, he is yet to be accepted by the hawks of his own party. Secondly, he needs to look outside his shell and see the diversity of the huge nation called India. Modi paid tribute to leaders like Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel apparently wishing to gain wider popularity. He talked about ‘Nation First’ but he is not able to develop his vision beyond Gujarat.

He forgets that Gandhi toured the entire nation before plunging into politics and Patel traveled to far-flung states to unite India. It is not comprehensible for Modi to understand the democratic and complex nature of India, which is a kaleidoscope of diverse ethnicities and cultures.

People have double standards in America especially the Muslims; if they really care about human rights of Muslims why no one has never protested for the on going genocide of Palestinian Muslim by Israeli Leaders and Military. They should have protested on numerous visits of Israeli Prime Ministers like Olmert & Netanyahu to USA who gets a Hero’s welcome in both houses of US Congress.

It is a universal truth all Israeli Prime Ministers including Netanyahu is directly responsible for giving orders to Israeli Military to kill unarmed Palestinian children, women, aged and young every day in their own country. I am not an admirer of Modi or BJP; slave to Zionist/Israeli’s and have mortgaged their integrity and brains to them. But Modi is not involved in killing of any minority on day to day basis.

2002 was an unfortunate year for both Muslims and Hindus of Gujarat and unfortunately there were more Muslim casualties. To blame Modi directly for that is not right because he never ordered like Netanyahu or Prime Ministers before him to kill Muslims. More over after this incident no incident of similar nature has taken place under Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat .

Modi is democratically elected Leader of Gujarat and represents more than 60 million people and Muslims account for more then 6 million which is more than the 1.85 million Muslim population of Israel. If Israeli Leaders like Netanyahu responsible for killing Palestinian Muslims on day to day basis can visit USA freely why can’t Modi who is not killing any one on day to basis; can visit USA or be a key note speaker in a University via Satellite? People should know USA use all kind of leaders to their advantage.

It was President Reagan who introduced Mujahedin’s in White House Lawns to the Media by saying, “Gentlemen these are the moral equivalent of our founding fathers.” Later when Russians were thrown out of Afghanistan by Mujahideen forces America turned against them. If American’s can give Hero’s welcome to mass murderers like Netanyahu involved in state sponsored Terrorism then no one should have any objections to the US visit of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi or his being a key note speaker via satellite in a US University.