The Jan Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare, and Baba Ramdev II

[vijayk]

http://politicsparty.com/SONIA_ALIVE.php

Meanwhile, no one ever saw Sonia publicly... PP guy wonders if she is alive?

[Theo_Fidel]

WSJ:The Race Course Road meeting “cleared the first list of the names of 73 party candidates for the UP elections,” the article said. “While a total of 98 names were discussed at the meeting on Thursday, only about 70 were finally cleared.”

This 'selection' of candidates is one of the most revolting aspect of Indian society. Reading that line nauseated me. That we don't rail against it shows that we are still not fully free of the of feudal systems. If there is one thing AH focuses on and forces reform on it should be this. Internal party democracy is the only thing that will destroy the Vampiric hold of the Nehru progeny on the Congress party.

[nakul]

WSJ:The Race Course Road meeting “cleared the first list of the names of 73 party candidates for the UP elections,” the article said. “While a total of 98 names were discussed at the meeting on Thursday, only about 70 were finally cleared.”

This 'selection' of candidates is one of the most revolting aspect of Indian society. Reading that line nauseated me. That we don't rail against it shows that we are still not fully free of the of feudal systems. If there is one thing AH focuses on and forces reform on it should be this. Internal party democracy is the only thing that will destroy the Vampiric hold of the Nehru progeny on the Congress party.

There is a lot happening on this front. AH is focussing precisely on this aspect. His recent agitation brought this issue to the forefront. In a recent interview, he said that the present government structure is based on electing a representative to the parliament. From that point on, he is expected to follow the orders of the party high-command. This keeps the power in the hands of a few. It is harsly representative of the wishes of the people.

He intends to do away with this way of functioning. In his endeavor to awaken people, he is pushing this message to people of different regions. In effect, he wants to see a true democracy take shape.

[harbans]

Dunno, but part of what makes NM attractive is that the west in general has limited or almost no leverage over him

Sort of in disagreement here. Khan respects those that stand by a particular value system and perform. NM has shown possibly an aberration. But he clearly is positioning himself a champion of the very values that Khan considers close to his. Firmness, openness, inclusiveness of communities and economic development. They are also beginning to see he is not the rabid fundamentalist he is made out to be. An arrogant Boss maybe, but they can deal with that. NM has evolved in his own eyes too. NM has grown in stature by showing that he can do, that he can evolve and develop using the same value systems that Khan feels proud of. Khan is beginning to appreciate that. Khan will respect NM more any day than he will RG.

Fact is if Khan can bring about NM to understand they represent similar value systems..pluralist society+ development, we'll see a remarkable leverage the West will have with NM too and vice versa. For good not otherwise. Khan senses and knows that. Just stating what he feels a bit in public..through think tanks and like.

[prahaar]

@Harbansji, which values are you talking about that Khan bothers? Where are those values in SA, China, ... I can go on with the list. Khan gets more credit than due, the biggest credit that is due for Khan, is that he is pragmatic and thinks in short term (And acts decisively for the short term cycle). Inclusive et all is just BS, not borne out by the allies Khan has.

[Theo_Fidel]

This is kinda old but some simple ideas on the source of our corruption problems. IMO must agree that even the Indian Ego needs reform to end corruption!

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011 ... reaucracy/

It is the whole army of section officers, stenographers, peons, typists, clerks or, for that matter, even senior officials, and their recruitment, transfer and termination policies that need to be changed. The present recruitment and promotion policies reward tenure, not good work; complex policies ensure that corruption breeds for a long time before we wake up to it; and finally, the bureaucratic system of paperwork delays the amount of time it takes to get permits and licenses and also spurs corruption.

I am quite sure that few of our so-called policy thinkers, activists and middle-class protesters have had the harrowing experience of trying to get, say, a “minority certificate” for a school application (to show you belong to a minority religious group), or have seen what a poor person in a city goes through to get a plot of land to which they are entitled.

If they had, they would see why bribes come in and why despite hundreds of thousands of government officials, delays happen in clearing paperwork. And while it is easy to blame the babu, it is the system that makes things confusing for him and for any of us.

So now we are caught in a strange situation where you don’t get land if you don’t have certificates and you don’t get certificates if you don’t have land. What next? One, perhaps bribes can be paid to get the certificate, or two, owing to the delay in the paperwork, the community can file a case with the upcoming Lokpal saying they were not given the certificate on time, and hope to get recourse that way.

But what really is needed here is clarity and reform: clarity on the rules of obtaining land in an urban area, and if the rules are archaic, then reform. After that, these rules need to be well publicized so that both officials and the public are aware of them. Another serious problem in the bureaucracy is that there is not a single official in the government who is aware of all the complexities of one issue, thanks to arbitrary and constant transfers.

You might be an official in the Department of Tourism for two years, then with Education for two years, and then you might suddenly be appointed head of the Silk Board or even sent to a different district as collector. And this is true not just for the IAS officer, but for every service. In a scenario like this, understanding and mastering work in one department is difficult.

We normally see linear progression in an industry – a call center worker becomes a team leader, then a project manager, and perhaps eventually manages an entire branch. In the case of a civil servant, by the time he or she has managed to understand the department and how to design policies to improve it, the transfer order comes. And what happens to all the ideas? It’s a classic case of ego-driven decision making.

If I liked the official before me, I may discuss the previous policies and continue with them. If not, I will change them to suit me, even though, having a degree in History and having worked in the revenue department for two years, I may have absolutely no idea what works best for sanitation and health.

If you ask me, we need a bill to reform the civil service introduced into Parliament even before the Lokpal Bill. For all you know, it might just be easier and less controversial to pass.

[sum]

A poll survey commissioned by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh (UP) shows that the Rahul Gandhi card has turned its fortunes in the state. The survey results also serve to lay a lot speculation to rest after it predicts that the Congress would win 172 seats in the 404-member House, thanks to 12 per cent swing in its favour.

Hope that the INC believe this and get into self-patting mode and propping up RG as the reason etc even before the results... and then the results should give such a jhapad that baba will go into hibernation for next 10 years..

[harbans]

@Harbansji, which values are you talking about that Khan bothers? Where are those values in SA, China, ... I can go on with the list. Khan gets more credit than due, the biggest credit that is due for Khan, is that he is pragmatic and thinks in short term (And acts decisively for the short term cycle). Inclusive et all is just BS, not borne out by the allies Khan has.

Prahar Ji, you've surely not given it enough thought. Yes you will find enough examples. But if you tell me Khan will allow communism or Islamist ideology to run through his nation or neighbourhood...that he stands for nothing at all i'll call your BS. Khan was prepared to face off the SU with nukes to prevent the spread of communism. It will do so with Islamism too. Khan confronts China in more sphere's than India does. It even irks China in Myanmar 15000 kms away. India does not confront China in Tibet or Myanmar or within our territory itself. Don't underestimate Khans biggest strength: His capacity to stand by the value systems on what his country was founded one. You'll be making your biggest mistake in your analysis right there if you do.

[prahaar]

We are not talking about values to be applied IN the US, it was about making allies. And on the topic of making allies, Khan has a similar track record as our neighbor on the west. SU made a grave mistake of trying to bite more than its capacity and paid dearly. I never stated that Khan does not have the power to carbonize India, but you can imagine it is not so stupid as it is powerful.

So your examples do not match up when discussing about whether Khan can live with NM (note: I am not saying Modi is guilty, our discussion was about acceptability as a US ally). Let us agree to disagree on this.

[pradeepe]

Internal party democracy is the only thing that will destroy the Vampiric hold of the Nehru progeny on the Congress party.

Sometimes I think we over assess the grip the family has on the congress party. Bottomline: I think it is what it is because the "family" gets them the votes. Today, be it the name, the lady, the skin, RGs dimple whatever, they (the congress politicos) believe the aam voters are generally sold on these and boy do they sell them big. Once hoisted to the skies anyone would find it rather easy to talk down and rule with an iron hand. The fact that politicos and their cadre behave in such a self depracating way is simply the extent to which they will go to hold on to power. If tomorrow they believe the family doesnt sell, they would discard the current hoisted lot in a flash . Yes a few odd ones so caught up in the whole thing will cry out a river, but the rest will move on desparately searching for the next sellable thing. I think thats all there is to it in the end. Politics as usual.

[vishvak]

Prahar Ji, you've surely not given it enough thought. Yes you will find enough examples. But if you tell me Khan will allow communism or Islamist ideology to run through his nation or neighbourhood...that he stands for nothing at all i'll call your BS. Khan was prepared to face off the SU with nukes to prevent the spread of communism. It will do so with Islamism too. Khan confronts China in more sphere's than India does. It even irks China in Myanmar 15000 kms away. India does not confront China in Tibet or Myanmar or within our territory itself. Don't underestimate Khans biggest strength: His capacity to stand by the value systems on what his country was founded one. You'll be making your biggest mistake in your analysis right there if you do.

I understand the reasoning. Even for nuclear agreements pre 74 tests, Khans have gone out of the way to not prevent alternate fuel for civil reactors.

However, the tone of discussion here is different.

Khan does not mind getting its hand dirty and going knee deep in the dead zone. There are perhaps 10 examples I can list here,that effect India the most, and indicate that values of Khan are not universal, but just for his own national interest.
1) Ignoring nuke proliferation from china to pakis and then on, directly hitting India as an irresponsible world power.
2) War in Iraq, that reduced oil security of India from friends in AQ-paki-opposing Iraq, most significantly Saddam H.
3) Breaking of USSR, our long term friend.
4) Cornering India on numerous occasion in UN such as liberation of Goa for stretching colonial times, on Kashmir, etc.
5) Doing its part in corrupting Indian polity and Industries by restrictions/bribes etc.
6) Giving all out favors to EJs and allowing wild unaccounted funding of missionaries all over India, irrespective of its effect on India where many religions have lives in harmony for thousands of years.
7) Giving pakis all the fillip, including hard cash, military hardware, diplomatic strength, etc thus adding to pakis anti-India capacity
Sanctions on industries doing sensitive work, such as nuclear/missile etc while at the same times ignoring proliferation elsewhere thus creating uneven situations.
9) Mismanaging world economy on the face for decades and creating the highest debt in history to which the world is addicted.
10) Completely missing a basic understanding that a multireligious-multicultural etc Indian society that doesn't trouble others and has to face troubles in the neighborhood as a natural fact, and adding to India's long list of woes from its side.

Where are the values here for Khans in these.

[harbans]

We are not talking about values to be applied IN the US

Primarily you should be looking into that. Events that the US shapes are affecting our neighborhood. US is far away, yet without doubt US is trying it's best to get a slice of how it thinks projected far and wide. It is in the process of dissemination of it's thinking. How it allies and with whom as i mentioned earlier is subject to lots of variables and exceptions to the rule to prove a particular strand of thought are bound to emerge. But to understand what Uncle stands for..just imagine what he will tolerate within his own neighborhood or his own boundaries. Contrast that with what Indian politicians really stand for. You'll realize why US commands the respect it does in the international arena..because many deep inside know the US has the balls to stand up for what it says. Exceptions apart..people deep inside know the truth.

[prahaar]

@Harbansji: My last post, but you as you see SA is a close ally since multiple decades. I do not need to explain the value system in SA (as a sample example). Although US has balls to stand up for what it says, it says things that it knows it can deliver. It never says, NK will get an ultimatum . US values are over-rated especially when it comes to FP, within US is a different matter and it is of no concern to us. If Pak can become MNNA, what else remains to be explained?

-------------------
Added leater: Sorry for OT, no more about this from me in this thread

[vishvak]

Dunno, but part of what makes NM attractive is that the west in general has limited or almost no leverage over him - no relatives studying there, no exposure to the cool life there in youth or later, no great attachment to the west in ideological or cultural terms, no moving around in circles that are beholden to the west, no corrupt monbies stashed away in tax havens abroad that can be seized and balls squeezed...whew! And add to that his vision, will, character, record, mass appeal, the whole 9 yards.....This man NM is the ideal desi neta material ....whatta package!

Also this

From http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-new ... itics.html

This headline is completely blanked out by pseudos:

‘All can progress in harmony without appeasement of any community’

So a heathen/pagan elected chief, with no background in politics, low caste still as Hindu as any other and facing no inter-caste hustle from within Hinduism as viewed world-wide, and no "international aid/understanding", can run a good Govt, while facing all the bricks from all over - own state to international bogus media campaigns, is something that is an anathema to those who would rather have it otherwise.

The Chief Minister said he did not pay any heed to criticism by all and sundry in the last 10 years but instead remained determined to choose the path of growth, which benefitted every section of people in Gujarat.

“People pelted stones at me for 10 years, I collected and stored them all and built stairs to the path of progress with them,” Modi said.
...
Citing the Gujarat Government’s programmes like 100 per cent school enrolment for girls and ‘Garib Kalyan Melas,’ Modi said these are finest examples of harmony as benefits from these have accrued to all sections of people irrespective of caste, creed or community.

[AkshayM]

Secular terrorists have no recourse anymore. NaMo has fundamental public support that cannot be influenced. The regurgitating of the past will not yield media, Rahul and Sonia Gandhi and other sundry vultures anything anymore.

[AkshayM]

By the way, Khan likes what it sees in NaMo. Not only capable administrator but strong leader. That is key, NaMo has core principles and does not yield to pressures. Khan has probably concluded that upa2 is a goner and preparing for who is coming in.

[Pranav]

NY Times on UP Health dept murders:

Health Officials at Risk as India’s Graft Thrives
By LYDIA POLGREEN

LUCKNOW, India — The first doctor to die, a senior government health administrator, was shot on his morning walk last October by two men on a motorbike. Six months later, his successor, a cardiologist, was shot to death while out on a predawn stroll. A third government doctor, accused of conspiring to murder the first two, was found dead in jail in June, lying in a pool of blood with deep cuts all over his body.

The one thing the doctors had in common? All three had at one point been in charge of spending this city’s portion of the nearly $2 billion that has flowed to Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, as part of a nationwide push to improve the health of India’s poorest citizens.

The state’s health infrastructure remains abysmal, and officials say they now suspect that the murders resulted from a virulent combination of fast money, scant oversight and a notoriously graft-addled state political leadership. The last doctor to die, relatives say, was preparing to name names in a widening scandal. The central government has stepped in to investigate.

“When this much money is given to a government that is basically a criminal enterprise, violence cannot be ruled out,” said Kamini Jaiswal, a prominent lawyer who has filed several lawsuits in the case.

The recent hunger strike by the social activist Anna Hazare has drawn attention to the everyday corruption that has infuriated India’s middle class — the large and small bribes people must pay to evade the annoyances and harassments of an overbearing and inept state.

But in places like Uttar Pradesh, the price of corruption can be far higher, witnessed not just in the deaths of the doctors but in the toll it takes on the health of India’s most vulnerable people.

Uttar Pradesh is by almost any measure one of the most corrupt states in the nation. It also has some of the worst health statistics anywhere, including rates of infant and child mortality and malnutrition to rival sub-Saharan Africa. If Uttar Pradesh were independent, its 200 million people would make it the world’s fifth-largest nation, more populous than Brazil, a country with 35 times the land mass.

In 2005, the government, led by the Congress Party, created the National Rural Health Mission, which sought to overhaul the delivery of health care to the rural poor by building hundreds of thousands of new clinics and hiring millions of health workers.

Because of India’s federal structure, most of the work was carried out by state governments like the one here, run by a lower-caste leader, Mayawati, who once accepted a garland of 1,000-rupee notes from supporters worth about $36,000. Not all of the states were prepared to handle it, and here, at least, much of the money never fulfilled its promise.

Some states fared much better, using the money effectively. Supporters of Mr. Hazare say that his demand for the creation of an ombudsman in every state could help stem corruption and protect whistle-blowers.

The central government handed over the cash to Uttar Pradesh with virtually no oversight.

Only after the doctors were killed did a review by the central government’s investigators find that contracts worth millions of dollars were granted without competitive bidding, and millions more was paid in full to contractors who did not complete the work they were required to do, leaving health centers in ruins and without vital equipment. The government failed to make its investigative report public; The New York Times acquired a copy from The Indian Express, a leading newspaper that broke the story about the scandal.

Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Uttar Pradesh’s health minister, said that the state had asked for the central government’s inquiry. Asked for more details, he hung up the phone. Two state ministers have been forced to resign.

It is hard to see where the money went. Two years ago state officials approved a plan to build a 30-bed health clinic in the village of Kurebhar, a three-hour drive from Lucknow. The new clinic would replace a four-bed site, which was straining to provide decent health services for 74 villages. More than $700,000 was budgeted for the project.

The building was supposed to be ready last December. Nearly eight months past that deadline, the health center was still a skeleton of red brick.

“We are trying to push them to do the work faster,” said J. L. Mishra, the chief medical officer in the Sultanpur district. But the government had already paid all the construction fees in advance, leaving almost no leverage.

There is little evidence of the influx of cash in the health center. “We sometimes don’t even have soap for our hands,” said P. N. Tiwari, the center’s vaccination officer. “Meanwhile, they are looting like monkeys,” a reference, he said, to politicians, bureaucrats and contractors.

Half a dozen babies are born in the clinic daily, but the water tank is broken, so deliveries are performed without running water. The center has an ambulance, but it, too, is broken. Repairs would cost only about $30, but there is no cash to pay for it.

Crucial medical supplies, like oral rehydration salts for children with diarrhea, have been out of stock for months. Mr. Tiwari said that the money to fuel the generator ran out, leaving workers scrambling to keep vaccines cold.

Mr. Tiwari, a 30-year veteran of the government health system, said he was among those who believed that the vast increase in health funds with so little oversight had led to murder.

“Because of this money two doctors were killed,” he said. “A huge amount of money is involved, so a huge amount of crime is taking place.”

Doctors started dying in Lucknow last October. When the first to die, Vinod Kumar Arya, was shot, the case was treated as a puzzling mystery: why would anyone kill a mild-mannered government doctor?

The government did not immediately replace Dr. Arya, who had been the chief medical officer for the city, installing as interim chief a more junior officer, Dr. Y. S. Sachan. It was an important position that included responsibility for spending millions of dollars in rural health money from the central government.

In February, a cardiologist, B. P. Singh, was named chief medical officer. He had accepted the job in March under pressure, relatives said, and felt a great deal of strain in the post.

“He used to say there was a lot of corruption,” said a cousin, Inder Pratap Singh, a lawyer at Lucknow’s high court. Dr. Singh had begun keeping a diary of improprieties, Mr. Singh said, and complained that he was being pressured to approve false expenditures worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On April 2, Dr. Singh was killed by two gunmen. A police investigation later concluded that the same weapon had been used in the killing of Dr. Arya.

Suspicion fell on Dr. Sachan, a politically connected bureaucrat who had worked in the city’s health department for years. He was an associate of the minister who managed the health funds, Babu Singh Kushwaha, a close ally of Ms. Mayawati, the state’s chief minister. Dr. Sachan was arrested, but few people believed that a relatively junior bureaucrat would have carried out the murders on his own.

Dr. Sachan’s wife, Malti, who is also a physician, said that her husband had been sacrificed to protect more powerful people.

“He told me, ‘I am being framed in this case,’ ” she said.

Dr. Sachan had told his wife that he feared someone would kill him and felt safer in jail. He had decided to reveal who had directed him to steal money from the health department, relatives said, in a court appearance.

But the day before he was to appear he was found dead. Initially, officials ruled his death a suicide, but an autopsy revealed that he had bled to death from deep wounds that could not have been self-inflicted.

“The intention was very clear,” said R. K. Sachan, Dr. Sachan’s brother. “He was going to disclose the involvement of senior politicians in the scam. That is why he was silenced.”

The families of the dead doctors hope for justice, but they have kept their expectations low.

“If he had been corrupt, he would have survived,” said Mr. Singh, Dr. Singh’s cousin. “Never will a senior bureaucrat or politician be convicted. Some small fish will suffer, but never the big ones.”

Hari Kumar contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/world ... nted=print

This particular scam seems to be a joint INC-BSP project.

[shravan]

Navjot Singh Siddhu's speech at Narendra Modi's Sadbhavana mission fast venue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOjAxvx ... r_embedded

[devesh]

Massa's overtures to Modi are not an "admission of guilt" or some such nonsense. they are testing to see if they infiltrate the Modi camp. in the future, more signals will be sent with lucrative offers to "make friends" and be happy.

Massa is very likely to launch a campaign of deep penetration into Guj business interests and politico-commercial networks to infiltrate those sections which have consistently supported Modi.

I fear for Modi/BJP and Bharat now. b/c there is a very good possibility that key sections of Modi's power base will be bought off to put pressure on Modi.

[vijayk]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Centre-lo ... 47277.aspx



The CON DIEnasty will not give up so easily. They will destroy India b4 they give up power.

The government is likely to consider reservation for Muslims in government jobs and education, law and minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid has said.

"We may have to make some changes in the law regarding giving reservation to Muslims in government jobs and institutions," the minister told reporters in Hyderabad on Sunday.

The Centre would follow the Andhra Pradesh model for the affirmative action, he said. The southern state has provided 4% reservation for socially and economically backward Muslims in jobs and education.

The Supreme Court while allowing the quota has referred the matter to a constitutional bench. Indian Constitution doesn't allow for reservation along religious lines.

"The Commission for Other Backward Classes will have some role... to determine the percentage of reservation," Khurshid said.

The minister indicated that the process would take some time as different aspects had to be looked into.

"There will be separate reservations… It is not necessary to have another bill. It may be done through government notification," he said.

[prahaar]

@Devesh, I believe global business interests have already established themselves in Gujarat. Entry of so many foreign companies to set up base would not happen without handshake. Do you feel heavy industry investment would be done without prior commitments? Ambanis are known to have linkages with global financial networks. Is it a co-incidence that GM/TATA/RIL/ADAG/Adani all have ended up in Gujarat? (Only Mittal is missing and that too due to location or mines). The real question about Modi's freedom of action arises if/when he moves to center. Since being a CM, FP issues are not his prerogative and his actions against EJs has already earned him a visa-denial.

Can you indicate why do you think Massa is making overtures in addition to CRS report? If Massa really was making overtures, the attack dogs would have mellowed to some extent?

[devesh]

^^^
Anglo strategy: have a leg in both camps. anti-Modi cottage industry will not mellow. the deracination of those who are a part of it, is too strong for them to stop. and every now and then these people will get the required "favors" from various corners which keeps them motivated to keep going.

[skumar]

<snip>I fear for Modi/BJP and Bharat now. b/c there is a very good possibility that key sections of Modi's power base will be bought off to put pressure on Modi.

The concerning part is that Modi himself is waving this communication like a schoolboy with some sort of pat on the back from a favourite teacher, this to the people who denied him a visa. It would have been better if he had completely ignored it.

[Singha]

Indraprastha - seat of the Galactic Federation. riven with fights among patricians, granary and treasury eaten out by korrupt nobles, a breakdown of The Covenant that kept the peace among various warlords, disruption in supplies of hashish from the northern grasslands, a uneasy citizenry who are kept on a diet of bread and circus to prevent riots. A weak and useless King, a imbecile heir.

to the west on the coast in Dwaraka and in the east the ancient kingdom of Magadha, new Powers are stirring.....armies are on the march....new alliances are being sought and old alliances reaffirmed.....at night the beat of the hammer on the anvil forging swords and shields resounds across the countryside for miles....

game of thrones...."the dothraki shall follow only a Khal who is strong"

in the Dark Tower, across the snowy wastes of the north, The Lizard feasts on the flesh of his enemies and mulls the idea of striking out with his horde down south, for fresh plunder, for when Indraprastha is weak, the Gates are unguarded.

the Eagle King, safe across the Two Oceans and guarded by his vast fleet of warships and magic sticks tosses fitfully in his sleep, and sends emissaries bearing gifts to both camps.

the markets and dark souks buzz with tales of palace intrigues, of dark creatures and ancient evils seen after aeons..alive again outside the walls, tales of people disappearing in the woods with no trace, ... a phoenician trader in a drunken moment of unguard lets slip about the 45,000 horsemen speaking a unknown tongue he has seen camped at attock after disgorging from the Khyber....

wise men sell their holdings and stay liquid in gold nuggets....others march south to seek shelter in the forested realm of blue hills..the nil-giris...

[Jarita]

In the meantime

UPA mulls quota for OBC Muslims

The UPA government has decided to give 8% reservation to OBC Muslims from within the 27% Other Backward Classes quota. This, it hopes, will refurbish its image especially among Muslims ahead of next year's Assembly elections. The UPA is under pressure from the Muslim community to give reservations to the entire community, but that is not possible because of Constitutional impediments. Shakeeluzaman Ansari of the Congress, who was recently made a member of the National OBC Commission, has been pushing the OBC demand. The Commission has also recommended the raising of the annual salary bar of the creamy layer from Rs 4.5 lakh to about Rs 10 lakh.

http://www.sunday-guardian.com/buzzword

[Pranav]

Wow, UPA is already behaving like Communist Party of China. They have now cracked down on the citizens' freedom to send SMSs!

100 sms a day? Let us decide

Resentment is growing against the government’s decision to limit the number of SMSes people can send in a day. The regulation announced by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) comes into effect on September 27 and sets the cap at 100 SMSes a day. A number many feel is too low and takes away their freedom to decide their own limits.

“We have written to TRAI against this many times. We feel it infringes on the right of speech of consumers. It will give them a tough time, especially during festive occasions such as Diwali, when people send out several hundred wishes in a day,” says Rajan S Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

“As long as we pay for the SMS, it should not be a problem with anyone how many we send. Aren’t we a democratic country?” says Manoj Arora, 25. “It is our right to choose whether to send 10 messages or 100. Texting is so much cheaper and we can even do so while we’re in class,” says Akshit Tuteja, 21. 23-year-old Shalini Seth says, “Bulk SMSes played a key role in campaigns such Anna Hazare’s protest. Besides, what if I cross my 100 mark one day and need to send an urgent message? What happens then?”

However, there are many in favour of the limit as well. “If this blocks the hundreds of promotional SMS we get in a day, it’s a great idea” says Swati Bhalla, 25. “It’s the age of smart phones and most of us use Whatsapp and BBM anyway, so what’s the big deal?” says Ritika Sareen, 21.

Talking on condition of anonymity, a source from a telecom company says, “People will now opt for smart phones and internet packages on their phones, so, in a way, our business will not be affected at all.”

Why TRAI?
As per TRAI’s ‘Per Day Per Sim’ (PDPS) rule, which comes into effect on September 27, service providers cannot allow customers to send more than 100 SMSes a day. The decision comes to keep a check on the large number of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (promotional SMSes and calls) sent out daily.

Talk to us
Do you think there should be a limit on the number of SMSes one can send? Tell us at htcity@hindustantimes.com
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage ... 47219.aspx
© Copyright © 2011 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.

[Pranav]

Another good example of INC-BJP collaboration: Former Supreme Court Judge Shivraj Patil who was used by Kapil Sibal for a hatchet job report on the 2G scam was appointed by the BJP as the new Lok Ayukta in Karnataka. Now it seems skeletons are tumbling out of his closet -

Tainted babus also demand swalpa adjust maadi formula - http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.as ... 932b895632

[chetak]

Another good example of INC-BJP collaboration: Former Supreme Court Judge who was used by Kapil Sibal for a hatchet job report on the 2G scam was appointed by the BJP as the new Lok Ayukta in Karnataka. Now it seems skeletons are tumbling out of his closet -

Tainted babus also demand swalpa adjust maadi formula - http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.as ... 932b895632

It's not actually as bad as is being made out.

His wife got a plot in a private colony, there is no bar against this.

But still, caesars wife must be above suspicion, no?

[Hari Seldon]

Indraprastha - seat of the Galactic Federation. riven with fights among patricians, granary and treasury eaten out by korrupt nobles, a breakdown of The Covenant that kept the peace among various warlords, disruption in supplies of hashish from the northern grasslands, a uneasy citizenry who are kept on a diet of bread and circus to prevent riots. A weak and useless King, a imbecile heir.

to the west on the coast in Dwaraka and in the east the ancient kingdom of Magadha, new Powers are stirring.....armies are on the march....new alliances are being sought and old alliances reaffirmed.....at night the beat of the hammer on the anvil forging swords and shields resounds across the countryside for miles....

...

in the Dark Tower, across the snowy wastes of the north, The Lizard feasts on the flesh of his enemies and mulls the idea of striking out with his horde down south, for fresh plunder, for when Indraprastha is weak, the Gates are unguarded.

the Eagle King, safe across the Two Oceans and guarded by his vast fleet of warships and magic sticks tosses fitfully in his sleep, and sends emissaries bearing gifts to both camps.

Niiiice. moi contribution...

Meanwhile in the western mountains, the Orcs multiply. Their foul minds corrupted beyond redemption centuries ago breed a natural hatred for the world of humankind to their east- its possessions, its potential, its dormant prosperity and its sleeping power ....

Further west in the great deserts where alone the spice is found....rumors of disturbance abound, of chaos, of topplings and of a possible disruption in spice-supply....

[sum]

Something suspicious if Congress props like MNS are supporting NaMo:
Will support Modi for Prime Minster’s job: Raj Thackeray

[Singha]

the King of Dwaraka if he is rushed into a rash attack on Indraprastha can be set upon by the hellhounds of Media, a craven kingdom of looters, moral failures and assassins who will work for the highest bidder and often work as auxiliaries and skirmishers for the Indraprastha lords...perhaps that is the intent , make him show his hand and go on a fruitless march before he is truly ready.

so far the posture of the Queen of Mahabalipuram with her powerful horde is not certain. she has no love for Indraprastha but no real synergy with Dwaraka or Magadha either , other than a common desire to uproot the korrupt nobles who bring ruin and shame upon the land.

a three pronged attack by the combined field armies of all three is needed, with the climactic battle in the ancient field of Kuruskhetra. aided by a mobile force of hill-warriors marching down from uttaranchal.

[Pranav]

Another good example of INC-BJP collaboration: Former Supreme Court Judge Shivraj Patil who was used by Kapil Sibal for a hatchet job report on the 2G scam was appointed by the BJP as the new Lok Ayukta in Karnataka. Now it seems skeletons are tumbling out of his closet -

Tainted babus also demand swalpa adjust maadi formula - http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.as ... 932b895632

Only hole in this theory is this:
The Governor appoints the Lok Ayukta, not the State Govt.

On the advice of the CM ... see http://www.kar.nic.in/lokayukta/karnata ... alokayukta

[shiv]

Shivraj Patil is known as Yediyurappa's man.

[Aditya_V]

Shivraj Patil is known as Yediyurappa's man.

SO why is Bharadwaj who has done everything to bring down his Government appoint a Yeddy man?

[vijayk]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 041346.cms
Cash-for-vote: Jethmalani says money came from Ahmed Patel

Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh's counsel Ram Jethmalani on Monday made a u-turn and named before a Delhi court Congress leader Ahmed Patel as the source for the money in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam. Arguing for the bail to former Samajwadi Party leader, the senior advocate named Patel,

changing his earlier statement that the money could have come from BJP since LK Advani had said that his party had conducted a sting operation.

Jethmalani told special judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal that the bribe was paid at the Le Meridien Hotel here.

"The place of receipt of the bribe was not Amar Singh's home, but Le Meridien Hotel. The person to pay the bribe was not Mr Amar Singh but obviously Mr Ahmad Patel, an MP and a very influential member of the party whose government was to be saved," said Jethmalani.

[chaanakya]

Karnataka Lokayukta Patil quits over housing controversy

BANGALORE: Bowing to pressure from various quarters Karnataka Shivaraj Virupanna Patil on Monday announced his resignation from the post following his family owning residential plots in Bangalore, allegedly in violation of rules.

Justice Patil, who was probing several high profile land scam charges, including some against former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, said "This malicious campaign has deeply hurt and pained me. In this uncongenial atmosphere I have deemed it appropriate to submit my resignation. I am giving up this office yielding to the malicious campaign of a few and letting down the hopes of many who had reposed their faith in me," Patil said after tendering resignation to governor HR Bhardwaj.

Before this Justice Patil called on governor at Raj Bhavan and held discussion for more than an hour. Patil, who entered through main gate of Raj Bhavan, left using back gate to avoid media glare after meeting

[hnair]

An Al-qaida #3 has more career longevity than Lok Ayuktas in Bangalore

[Theo_Fidel]

^^^
So is he giving back the plots or not? I don't buy this tried to give it back but they won't accept business... Why is he being allowed to slink off to enjoy his (illgotten?) wealth.

There are no clean people anymore!

[Y I Patel]

Regarding the reservations for Muslims, I have a story to tell from Gujarat.

It's all about coalition politics. In the '80s, Congress in Gujarat had a strong hold with the Patel/Farmers lobby. They expanded to coalition to the Kshatriya-Harijan-Adivasi-Muslim communities, their famous KHAM strategy. A part of this was the decision by the Madhavsinh Solanki government to sharply increase reservation quotas for OBCs around 1985. That broke the camel's back. The urban backlash started in Ahmedabad, and was led by the Patel owner of Gujarat Samachar. Congress responded with its usual bag of dirty tricks, including burning down the Gujarat Samachar building in Ahmedabad and later introducing a communal element to the rioting. But the riots metastasized, and Solanki had to go. He was replaced by? Keshubhai Patel of BJP.

Thereafter, of course, Congress tried hard to heal the breach - first by buying off hardcore RSS pracharak Shankarsinh Vaghela and splitting Keshubhai's government, and later through the second coming of Patel stalwart Chimanbhai. But Humpty Dumpty could not be put together again, and the result is the BJP/Saffron dominance of Gujarat that we see today. The moral is that Gujarat was lost because Congress overplayed its hand and lost vital core support. BJP capitalized on this initial urban middle class discontent, and later expanded on it to come up with a new right of center urban-rural coalition that now dominates Gujarat.

If Congress has any smarts, they will learn from their own past disasters. Gross pandering by introducing reservations for muslim can be highly injurious to their long term health. What I would worry about, having lived through the peak of that turmoil in Gujarat, is the human and economic toll that a policy like that would cause before all the consequences fully play out.

[prahaar]

@YIPatel, was this the time when many were given mass promotion in schools/colleges? I remember as a kg student, going to school and coming back, exams postponed etc. I recall from my parents it was a horrible time, there were constant protests and subsequent violence (at least in Surat, may be more in Ahmedabad). 92 broke Chimanbhai and his cartel of Latif gang, that was a backlash of business class in Surat against the Latif/Dawood mafia in South Gujarat. In my memory that was the first and last major communal flare up in Surat (Baroda Ahmedabad were curfew cities for Surtis).

Basically, business interests in Gujarat are not always timid (as was once suggested by DDM - effeminate Gujaratis BS).