The Jan Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare, and Baba Ramdev

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 15 Aug 2011 18:25

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?731337

Confrontation between Anna Hazare and Government escalated today with police denying permission to the Gandhian for holding a fast from tomorrow to press for a strong Lokpal Bill and his team declaring that they would go ahead with the planned stir and court arrest if prevented.
Delhi Police's refusal of permission coincided with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's strong remarks in his Independence Day speech that hunger strikes and fasts-unto-death do not help address the problem of corruption and Parliament is the only body to form legislations to curb the menace.

The Hazare team said they have given an undertaking leaving six out of the 22 conditions laid by police. "We have not accepted six conditions as they are unconstitutional," activists Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi said.

The city police did not give its nod to hold the protest at Jai Prakash Narain Park near Ferozeshah Kotla stadium saying that the organisers have refused to give an undertaking restricting the number of days of protests to three and protesters to 5,000, besides four other conditions.

Delhi Police today deployed a large contingent, including women personnel, around Jai Prakash Narain Park where Anna Hazare and his supporters propose to court arrest tomorrow.

Sources said prohibitory orders are likely to be clamped soon around the park near Ferozshah Kotla stadium to ensure that no untoward incident happens after police denied permission to Hazare to hold a fast on Lokpal Bill issue there.

They said Delhi Police will also be deploying a large number of women personnel around the park.

Informal talks were also being held with the Hazare team to convince them not to go ahead with the proposed fast, the sources said.

Terming the decision as "unconstitutional and undemocratic", Prashant Bhushan said the police acted against the democratic rights of the citizens by denying permission to undertake peaceful protest.

"We will knock the doors of the court," he told reporters.

Bhushan said that the democracy under the present government was turning to autocracy and it reminded of Emergency in the 1970s.

The activists said Hazare would go to the venue and court arrest if he and his supporters were not allowed to enter the park. "We will court arrest tomorrow. The conditions laid by the Delhi Police are unconstitutional. Unfortunately they are under directions," Bedi said.

Kejriwal alleged that the denial of permission showed the "dictatorial and arbitrary attitude" of government and that it was creating an Emergency-like situation.

The conditions that were not accepted by the Hazare team were:

1. Capping the agitation to three days
2. The number of protesters to be below 5,000
3. Government doctors to check on Hazare,
4. Ban on use of loudspeakers after 9 PM,
5. Limiting the number of vehicles to 50 cars and 50 motorcycles in parking and
6. Not erecting tents.

Government, meanwhile, justified the police action with regard to Hazare's fast. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said the law of the land is the same for all and that everybody will have to take permission to carry out any protest.

A senior police official said they had been "very accommodating" and had gone out of the way to help the Hazare team. He said they would be forced to take action against them if they forcibly enter the park tomorrow.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 15 Aug 2011 18:33

http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?278027

Divide And Rule
The communal games of the 'secular' Congress to divide and derail the anti- corruption movement are likely to boomerang on the party in the long run
MADHU PURNIMA KISHWAR

Today, on August 15, India’s Independence Day, Congress spokespersons have denied Anna Hazare the permission to start his indefinite fast starting August 16 using the specious plea that "dangerous" forces, such as the BJP and RSS are behind his movement. Even those of us, who may not wholly agree with each and every aspect of the Jan Lokpal Bill and Anna’s penchant for fixing unrealistic deadlines for its enactment, are getting deeply perturbed by the sinister game being played by Congress leaders. They are acting on the mistaken assumption that by alleging that the RSS/BJP are supporting the movement, all “secular” and decent citizens will condemn and treat Anna Hazare and Ramdev as closet fascists and, therefore, stop lending support to the anti- corruption movement. The truth is BJP leaders are even more nervous than the Congress Party by the threat posed by a strong anti- corruption legislation because their track record in this regard is no better than that of Congress leaders. It is noteworthy that neither Anna nor Baba Ramdev ever used communal appeals in mobilizing support for the Lokpal Bill. Both at Jantar Mantar and Ramlila Maidan, the gatherings were multi- caste, multi- religious and cut across regional and caste divides. Even when Ramdev’s followers were attacked on the night of June 4, and Baba himself fled like a coward, he never called it an attack on Hindus or attack on Sadhu Sants. But the supposedly "secular" Congress has continued to inject communal poison in the movement. Their conduct is not very different from what Indira Gandhi did to the farmers’ movement in Punjab during the 1980’s—propped up Bhindranwale to crush the farmers movement and destroy the moderate leadership of Akali Dal. The 1984 massacre of the Sikhs was likewise presented by Congress leaders as an inevitable manifestation of "Hindu" anger at the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards when it was a clear- cut case of Congress leaders using hired mobs to carry out the pogroms.

One of the most ludicrous arguments used by Digvijay Singh to Team Anna as an RSS instigated group was that the stage on which Anna Hazare sat on his fast had a portrait of Bharat Mata (Mother India) in the backdrop and that slogans such as Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Matram were repeatedly used in the Jantar Mantar protest rally. Mother India was the popularly accepted presiding deity of the freedom movement. Almost every Congress leader, including Nehru and Gandhi, used the image of Mother India to convey the message that just as a mother loves all her children equally and does not discriminate between her children, so also Mother India bestows equal love and care on all her children--be they Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, higher or lower caste. Mother India or Bharat Mata thus became a symbol of inclusive nationalism, of equality and brotherhood. As per this worldview, each community is supposed to have the same claim on Mother India thus striking a deep emotional chord and providing cultural sanctity to the Fundamental Right to Equality promised in the Indian constitution. Similarly, Vande Matram was as much a slogan of the freedom movement as Jai Hind. A.R. Rehman was inspired by that historic legacy, when he composed his inspirational song: Maa Tujhe Salaam -- an Urdu version of Vande Matram.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 15 Aug 2011 18:47

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14525149

Video-clip on BBC - India's Anna Hazare: 'It's do or die' on anti-corruption fight

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 15 Aug 2011 19:10

Anna Hazare - Live from Constitution Club (getting very lively)

http://live.indiatimes.com/default.cms?timesnow=1

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 15 Aug 2011 19:29

Digvijay Singh is a Xtian crusader. He will find any symbol of non Judeo Xtian tradition as a threat, just like Rahul Gandhi's statement on 'Hindu terror'.

ManishH · Post by **ManishH** » 15 Aug 2011 19:40

RSS supports Anna Hazare fast

Mixed feelings for BJP here. One hand discomfiture of INC is cause for joy. On the other hand, inability of BJP to mobilize public opinion on such a burning issue tells badly on it's support base. Perhaps time for BJP to turn back to principled politics of 90s and move away from short-term gains of "pragmatic" politics.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 15 Aug 2011 20:04

Our house is in black out now for an hour. Demonstrations all over the place already. Each lane is organizing a protest, two times a day from tomorrow.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Aug 2011 20:20

NVS in Newsinsight.net

LINK

Lost Kauravas
Backed by the middle class, Anna Hazare will be victorious, says N.V.Subramanian.

15 August 2011: The Manmohan Singh government has seriously underestimated the appetite of the middle class for experimentation and change. It will persist with experimentation and change till the process ends in success or failure. That's what shows in the middle class's backing for its two previous heroes, V.P.Singh and Manmohan Singh, and is further indicated in its present endearment for Anna Hazare.

The UPA and its clever lawyers can do their damnedest to break Anna Hazare. But the middle class will ride him to glory till he achieves his mission. After which, if he is sensible and has a notion of history, which he has, Anna Hazare will fade away.

V.P.Singh was an unlikely middle class hero. Of his personal integrity, there was never any doubt like Manmohan Singh. But he was loyal to the Gandhis much as the PM is today. Even when he broke up with Rajiv Gandhi over the Bofors scandal, he kept a picture of Indira Gandhi in his office and worshipped her.

Why did the middle class go for this Gandhi loyalist? The middle class has always loathed the dynastic Gandhis, and would instinctively back any person against them. {Note Inder Malhotra's ire (written in his Ind Express article) at a semi-literate girl who said 15 August was Nehruji's coronation day!} Circumstances turned V.P.Singh against Rajiv Gandhi, and his anti-corruption campaign appealed to the middle class. A wave generated in North India to back him.

What happened thereafter is well-known. Rajiv Gandhi trapped himself deeper and deeper in the Bofors morass, surrounding himself with opportunistic and worthless advisers. It is very reminiscent of how UPA-2 is painting itself into a corner in the 2G, CWG and other scams. Then V.P.Singh had a political veteran called Devi Lal as his ally alongwith the Left and Right.

The middle class ensured that V.P.Singh became PM. But when he took up the cause of Mandal reservations to counter Devi Lal & Co and to stay in power, the middle class split with him. When a youth during the anti-reservation stir immolated himself in Central Delhi, it ruptured the middle class from V.P.Singh. V.P.Singh had to go.

There are similarities between V.P.Singh and Manmohan Singh as observed in the earlier paragraphs. But Manmohan Singh came to power courtesy the Gandhis. The fine print to his prime-ministership said that he would vacate it when the Gandhi scion, Rahul, was ready to take over.

The middle class tolerated this arrangement beguiled by the fact that Manmohan Singh was a technocrat and honest. At least the dynasts were not directly in power. The middle class was on Manmohan Singh's side against the Left that opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal (the middle class has since realized how terrible the deal is). It backed him to a bigger victory in the 2009 election.

But when the middle class realized that Manmohan Singh was not about to change the order, that his personal honesty could co-exist perfectly and without qualms with the most corrupt government since Independence, relations between the two sides soured. Add to unbridled corruption runaway inflation, incompetence and a sense of impending doom -- and the middle class had had enough.

In April this year, Anna Hazare happened in Jantar Mantar. The middle class has swung to his support unconditionally. The middle class hates politicians. It was mislead to think Manmohan Singh was not a politician. In Anna Hazare, the middle class sees no politician but an upstanding war veteran who has only the good of the country at heart. His goodness and his idealism also move the youth, the biggest backers of Anna Hazare today.

So whatever happens tonight and tomorrow, Anna Hazare and the middle class will win. In the worst case that Anna and his team are arrested, it will still mean victory against the corrupt and venal UPA-2. In his Independence Day speech, Manmohan Singh said fasting would not remove corruption. In his cynicism and authoritarianism, he forgot that fasting and satyagraha won this country's Independence.

The second independence from corruption is not far. The UPA can employ all the executive hard power it has, but the game is over. Unlike V.P.Singh and Manmohan Singh, Anna Hazare is true to his cause. 'Thrice is he armed,' wrote Shakespeare, 'that hath his quarrel just.' The middle class is finally backing a winner who won't cheat it.

The battle is joined.

The heroes and villains have been marked out.

The Kauravas will lose.

Wow, quite a hard hitting article!

As the rising economy lifts more into the middle class expect demands for better governance.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 15 Aug 2011 20:30

yes indeed, even those not supportive of the NDA for a variety of reasons are pretty fed up with UPA korruption and dynasty worshipping. corruption affects all and denies opportunity to all.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 15 Aug 2011 20:35

NVS sneaks in a very subtle, but striking for some, comment on the Indo-Nuclear deal

If it is a bad deal, then it should be openly attributed to INC. Like "2G, CWG, Indo-US Nuclear deals and other scams". Is it comparable to Bofors?

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 15 Aug 2011 20:42

A word of caution.

The MPs people elect and the MPs in parliament are different. Janta elected >300 non INC MPs in 2009, but INC got >300 MPs' support. That is our democracy.

There is no guarantee that this cannot be repeated in 2014. Bharatiyas has to give BJP >272 MPs in 2014 to topple INC from power completely. Only then we can think of a possible 3rd national alternative.

SwamyG garu, it is comparable to Bofors. Bofors guns helped the soldiers win the Kargil war, but the scam held up our mil-modernization. Similarly Nuke-deal might have given some international leverage but it will hold all our future geopolitical alliances, IMHO.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 15 Aug 2011 21:32

If that is the case, then people who list all the scams of UPA-2, should list that one too.

krithivas · Post by **krithivas** » 15 Aug 2011 21:32

I'm hoping that the physical security of AH has been properly taken care off - If Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati can be bumped off for doing something good, It is not far fetched to image disgruntled UPA element attempting the same.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 15 Aug 2011 21:40

Naaa. SLS was reverting people back to Hinduism, means permanent affect - as they remain hindus for many generations to come. AH's influence will be short term; maximum one election.

The root cause of corruption is how people expect to safeguard their Artha and Kama. Govt policies (Dharma) must be congruent to that fundamental need for 'security = bhadrata" and assurance that wrong-doers are identified and punished without favoritism and remource. Once that is assured, corruption will wane out. That would be a more longer term solution.

Vikas · Post by **Vikas** » 15 Aug 2011 22:08

The govt and its various paid spokespersons have to some extent successfully diverted debate from Corruption and incompetence to AH's fast and sec-144 and other trivial issue.

I learn everyday from these politicians..

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 16 Aug 2011 01:34

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 615987.cms

And so it begins...

Reminds one of British tactics against India's freedom fighters... The Brown Sahibs are now doing to Indians what the White Sahibs once did... So be it!

Seems these Brown Sahibs have totally forgotten history, irony being that today is Independence Day...

At least 50 supporters of Anna Hazare were tonight detained by Delhi police at Jai Prakash Narain Park, the venue of the anti-graft crusader's planned fast from tomorrow, for defying prohibitory orders clamped in the area.

The supporters of the Gandhian were taken in a police bus to a nearby police station, police said. Hazare has been denied permission by Delhi police to hold his fast at JPN park.

They had gathered ahead of Hazare's fast for a strong Lokpal bill to express solidarity with him.

Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in some areas of Daryaganj and IP police stations in Central Delhi, which include Jai Prakash Narain Park and Shaheed Park, were clamped this evening. The section prohibits the assembly of five or more people in one place.

The areas where prohibitory orders have been imposed include Shantivan to Rajghat, Rajghat to Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg to JLN Marg, Delhi Gate to Tilak Marg on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 16 Aug 2011 01:38

The oddest thing is MMS saying hunger strikes don't bring any solutions.

The irony is he is speaking on Indian Independence Day.

I guess Mahatma Gandhi didnt do anything with his hunger strikes.

sourab_c · Post by **sourab_c** » 16 Aug 2011 01:45

At least 50 supporters of Anna Hazare were tonight detained by Delhi police at Jai Prakash Narain Park, the venue of the anti-graft crusader's planned fast from tomorrow, for defying prohibitory orders clamped in the area.

This is a tactical mistake by the government and I hope Anna plays his cards right. All he has to do now is announce a "JAIL BHARO!" campaign and watch the UPA brown their pants.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 16 Aug 2011 01:46

^ he doesnt remember satyagraha but does remember the contributions of British to Indian development. Must be related to anceeta-bibi ...

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 16 Aug 2011 01:58

sourab_c wrote:
At least 50 supporters of Anna Hazare were tonight detained by Delhi police at Jai Prakash Narain Park, the venue of the anti-graft crusader's planned fast from tomorrow, for defying prohibitory orders clamped in the area.
This is a tactical mistake by the government and I hope Anna plays his cards right. All he has to do now is announce a "JAIL BHARO!" campaign and watch the UPA brown their pants.

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?731399

Anna Hazare is all set for a full blown confrontation with the government on the Lokpal bill, giving a call to his supporters to fill up jails across the country if he is arrested tomorrow after being denied permission to hold fast here and prohibitory orders clamped.

Addressing a press conference today after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slammed him for resorting to fast as a protest when Parliament was seized of the Lokpal bill, the Gandhian said he will go to J P park tomorrow, the venue of his fast despite Delhi police imposing prohibitory orders.

"I come to understand that I will be refused permission. We will go there. If I am arrested, I will continue my hunger strike in the jail. If I am released, I will go back to the venue and this circle will continue," he said at a 30-minute press conference that came to an end to coincide with his "lights-off" call throughout the country from 8 pm.

He said once he is arrested, people should fill up the jails in every village across the country. "Going to jail for the country is no crime...It is a decoration," he said.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 16 Aug 2011 01:59

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 614877.cms

Delhi government tonight decided to allow use of Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town in North Delhi for keeping the supporters of Anna Hazare in the event of their arrest during his protest on Tuesday.

"We have decided that people of Anna Hazare team and his followers will be kept in the Chhatrasal stadium in case they are arrested," Delhi home secretary Arvind Ray said.

The stadium belongs to Delhi Government. Delhi chief secretary P K Tripathi held a meeting with top officials this evening to deal with the situation that may arise following team Anna's arrest if they go ahead with the protest despite Delhi police refusal of permission to the Gandhian to hold his fast at Jai Prakash Narayan Park.

Ray said Delhi government received a communication from Delhi police to deploy magistrates along with police to tackle any untoward incident.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 16 Aug 2011 02:03

It is interesting. Delhi police cannot give permission to AH hunger strike on security reasons (parm in session etc) but have the ability to hold them in custody. Wah wah Delhi Police!

Why can't they make that stadium the venue for AH's fast?

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 16 Aug 2011 02:51

It is time for MMS to go.If Congress leadership want to revive genuinely politics and country, they should ask MMS, Pranab and a few others to give chances for others so that someone who can make some positive decisions can come for the leadership. Our country needs growth - but an inclusive and transparent growth. MMS has become incapable of doing or leading such growth in this country. The present leadership should think even without them this country will grow and if they cannot bring changes someone else will bring changes because people want to get rid of corruption and poverty.

Twenty years have passed since Dr Singh came to be recognized as the architect of the economic reform story in India but the challenge of either the goal of removal of poverty or development for all is far from over. The challenge has actually become bigger, tougher, and more complex, with no easy solutions in hand.

Ironic as it is, nobody is celebrating the 20 years of reforms era including Dr Singh himself. This is because the ground reality today is that the reform story, despite its many successes, faces the biggest credibility test: the ever growing chasm between the haves and have-nots.

It is a throwback to either the regulatory powers reigning supreme or a total policy paralysis for fear of being caught in the twin spin of judicial and media activism, a space created due to the total governance failure in the second stint of Dr Singh at the top job.

Dr Singh's supporters are out to trot some numbers but the significance of these is lost on the fast gaining view that the poor became poorer and rich became richer during the last 20 years. This has pitch-forked Dr Singh and his reform policy as the villain.

http://news.in.msn.com/specials/gandhia ... id=5331568

one of the comments says he is in power without doing anything!

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 16 Aug 2011 02:59

joshvajohn wrote:It is time for MMS to go.If Congress leadership want to revive genuinely politics and country, they should ask MMS, Pranab and a few others to give chances for others so that someone who can make some positive decisions can come for the leadership. Our country needs growth - but an inclusive and transparent growth. MMS has become incapable of doing or leading such growth in this country. The present leadership should think even without them this country will grow and if they cannot bring changes someone else will bring changes because people want to get rid of corruption and poverty.

replace MMS with who?? with RG

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 16 Aug 2011 03:00

^ it all started with how he got to become FM during 1991 crisis. Earning so much trust from SG is not due to his honesty alone.

Even RG will be a better choice than MMS, as he can be made responsible for his actions and decisions.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 16 Aug 2011 05:42

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 617001.cms

Fissures within Congress on how to contain Anna Hazare??

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday seemed to be taking charge of Congress's counter-offensive against Anna Hazare by holding a huddle with senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The rare initiative came just after the flag-hoisting ceremony at Congress headquarters, and was at variance with the perception that Singh, with the exception of his insistence on pushing the Indo-US nuclear deal through, has been content following the party's lead.

Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni and general secretary Janardan Dwivedi were part of the deliberations which, among other things, focused on assessing how the confrontation with civil society might play out in the media.

The unusual display of leadership on a political issue came against the backdrop of the assessment in Congress about the divide between PMO and party brass on how to tackle the challenge from Anna's camp.

The remarkable feature of the impromptu conclave was the exclusion of two of Sonia Gandhi's most trusted aides - defence minister A K Antony and the Congress chief's political secretary Ahmed Patel. Both Antony and Patel were present at the AICC when Singh started the consultations. The duo could not get out of the premises because of the security bandobast SPG had put in place for the PM and had to wait in social justice minister Mukul Wasnik's room till Singh and his chosen few ended the deliberations.

The composition of what was instantly termed the PM's own "core group" stunned AICC watchers.

Antony is a member of the elite bodies - Cabinet committees on political affairs, and security. Significantly, his name featured on the top of the 'group of four' named by Sonia to look after organizational affairs in her absence.

The PM's initiative is significant against the growing backdrop of growing perception in AICC circles about a disconnect between the PMO and Congress leadership on how to deal with Anna's campaign. Ministers like Kapil Sibal, who are considered to be advising the PM, are for an aggressive response, whereas significant sections in the party favour a politically calibrated approach.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 16 Aug 2011 05:49

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 617869.cms

The CPM chimes in...

CPM on Monday criticized the Delhi Police for refusing permission to Anna Hazare's fast and said it was "highly undemocratic" to say that one cannot protest against a bill if it has reached Parliament.

CPM leader Brinda Karat said though her party has differences with certain provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill and the "weak" government Lokpal bill, no one can question the right to protest even if you do not agree with the demands of the agitator. "The point here is, one may not agree with the form of protest or with all the demands being raised by Hazare. However, his right to protest cannot be questioned. Saying once a bill is in Parliament, there can be no protest in this country is highly undemocratic," she said.

"The Congress has forgotten when it was in Opposition and when it is in Opposition. Even in the states there are so many occasions they do not agree with a bill and they have staged a protest," Karat said.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 16 Aug 2011 05:52

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 618077.cms

The Delhi Police tactics to contain Anna Hazare - Part II

Stung by criticism of being a brutal force after the midnight swoop on the Ramdev camp at the Ramlila Maidan, the police are now trying to redeem themselves. The force is bracing itself for Anna Hazare's protest near the Kotla grounds, but the orders from the police headquarters are clear - the cops won't wield the baton or wear riot gear.

"We will not place constables at the periphery. Officers from the rank of ASI to ACPs will man the main entrance. Police at the extreme rear will only be armed with small arms,'' said an officer.

According to the initial plan, police said detentions near the venue will take place only after the protestors reach the Nehru stadium petrol pump. Sources said, besides police buses, several DTC buses will also be deployed to detain protesters. "We will be imposing Section 144 in the area and the detentions will be for violating that order,'' said a police officer.

Police sources also said though water cannons will be deployed, they may not use them. "We have co-operated with Anna's team when they protested at Jantar Mantar and Rajghat. We hope Anna will do the same," said a cop.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 16 Aug 2011 06:14

One thing that seems to have developed - Anna Hazare has captured the imagination of the substantial sections of India. If he starts a political party he amy win all the seats of Delhi and suburbs (into UP and Haryana), Mumbai and other urban centers.

The only thing that is remaining is somehow Anna starting a political party (he is denying/opposing). That will be an accidental masterstroke or a blessing in disguise to kill BJP forever. Anna and Ramdev types are like MNS and Chiru at national level as these folks are not like JP who can bring the entire Indian opposition on one thread.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 16 Aug 2011 06:51

Muppalla wrote:One thing that seems to have developed - Anna Hazare has captured the imagination of the substantial sections of India. If he starts a political party he amy win all the seats of Delhi and suburbs (into UP and Haryana), Mumbai and other urban centers.

The only thing that is remaining is somehow Anna starting a political party (he is denying/opposing). That will be an accidental masterstroke or a blessing in disguise to kill BJP forever. Anna and Ramdev types are like MNS and Chiru at national level as these folks are not like JP who can bring the entire Indian opposition on one thread.

In fact, that is their most likely envisioned role to bring the opposition together. AH is 74 and in no position to start a political party at this age. The best thing for these men to do is to publish a charter and bring all opposition parties under that charter and start an active political campaign.

AH and BR with all their popularity, on their own, are unlikely to sweep even cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Electoral politics is messy, you know this area only too well.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 16 Aug 2011 07:02

joshvajohn wrote:It is time for MMS to go.
...
one of the comments says he is in power without doing anything!

MMS is hanging to the throne only to protect his skin, not for any other reason. If he steps down now, he knows that the same INC will put him behind bars for rest of his life after dumping all the scams since 2004 on his head.

And he IS in power without do in anything. How come he could claim better economic-performance under PVNR admin than his own Admin?

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 16 Aug 2011 07:28

ShauryaT wrote:AH and BR with all their popularity, on their own, are unlikely to sweep even cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Electoral politics is messy, you know this area only too well.

Messy is the boon for congress party. Anna may be doing it honestly. However, you never know about Harsh Manders and the Bhushans, Patkars behind him. They are the ones who drive this movement. However, with a substantial commoners support Anna movement is one that cannot be taken lightly anymore. Imagine it is allowed to be as popular for another six months and later it will be Obama type effect. "Yes we can" with Anna as JP type will kill the opposition effectively.

One thing is BR seems to have moved out of political party stuff. INC thought it is too hot to handle as they did not see a chance of infiltrating it post popularity and hence it may have killed the idea. The brutal stuff agains BR is what made Anna more popular today. Anna via common man is again probably taking care of India's political future after JP and VP Singh waves.

By the way per latest news, BJP preempted the Modi Vs Other contest by declaring a no-PM candidate for either BJP or NDA in 2014. It is going to be an election post polls by NDA.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 16 Aug 2011 07:32

Per latest tweet, Anna is detained.

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 16 Aug 2011 07:37

is the parliament in session??

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 16 Aug 2011 08:19

Hassan Ali Khan granted bail - http://www.rediff.com/business/report/h ... 110812.htm

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 16 Aug 2011 08:24

Muppalla wrote: The only thing that is remaining is somehow Anna starting a political party (he is denying/opposing). That will be an accidental masterstroke or a blessing in disguise to kill BJP forever. Anna and Ramdev types are like MNS and Chiru at national level as these folks are not like JP who can bring the entire Indian opposition on one thread.

Anyway, BJP (esp Advani coterie) and Sonia Gandhi are on the same side. I don't much value in anything that the BJP central leadership has done that can justify their continued survival.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 16 Aug 2011 08:27

NDTV-Hindu was reporting even Chennai had pocket protests in support of AH. He indeed has captured the public imagination, if he has support in such areas as Chennai.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 16 Aug 2011 08:34

Pranav wrote: Anyway, BJP (esp Advani coterie) and Sonia Gandhi are on the same side. I don't much value in anything that the BJP central leadership has done that can justify their continued survival.

That is after infiltration into BJP. Now we have a movement that is packaged before it can become a political entity to be that way. In case of BJP, the coterie is being dethroned/sidelined slowly but surely.

In anycase India cannot wish away Anna at this stage. If you want to discuss BJP let us take it to OT thread as this thread will get disrupted.

chackojoseph · Post by **chackojoseph** » 16 Aug 2011 09:03

"We are wrong, but what can we do?" says Delhi Police during Anna arrest

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 16 Aug 2011 09:08

Anna is arrested and Hasan Ali gets the bail !!
India is truely democratic, secular and free country under Congressi rule.
ONlee thing left is to make Soina President, RG PM Tiwari defence minister and Diggy Home Minister. Hasan Ali can now be promoted to become finance Minister. And 99% corrupion will cease.