Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 22 Jun 2013 07:09

He is not taking a film maker on the next day to the site, right?

sudarshan · Post by **sudarshan** » 22 Jun 2013 07:13

Somebody's got to do it. SHQ was telling about desperate, heart-breaking phone calls from the area, saying "we have no food left, we're all starving." What's the state govt. doing about it? At least Modi cares about his countrymen, and it's not like he's got a dedicated press outlet to tom-tom what he's doing. Whatever publicity he's getting is not of his making.

Arjun · Post by **Arjun** » 22 Jun 2013 07:13

SwamyG wrote:BTW. Modi in Uttarakhand is political gimmick. It is not his state, he should just stay away; and not utilize this opportunity to advance his political aspirations. INC gives plenty of other opportunities. The visit leaves a bad taste in mouth. He has come down a notch in my mind.

This is among the worst natural disasters witnessed in India in several decades....also this is not purely an intra-state issue since Kedarnath is one of the holiest of Hindu shrines and there are thousands of visitors from other states affected. Gujaratis missing alone number in thousands.

Btw, there is also a delegation from Gujarat INC that is in Uttarakhand to assist.

Modi is scheduled to start campaigning in Punjab tomorrow - and I would have been disappointed had he NOT visited Uttarakhand prior to it.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 22 Jun 2013 07:19

Arjun wrote:
SwamyG wrote:BTW. Modi in Uttarakhand is political gimmick. It is not his state, he should just stay away; and not utilize this opportunity to advance his political aspirations. INC gives plenty of other opportunities. The visit leaves a bad taste in mouth. He has come down a notch in my mind.
This is among the worst natural disasters witnessed in India in several decades....also this is not purely an intra-state issue since Kedarnath is one of the holiest of Hindu shrines and there are thousands of visitors from other states affected. Gujaratis missing alone number in thousands.

Btw, there is also a delegation from Gujarat INC that is in Uttarakhand to assist.

Modi is scheduled to start campaigning in Punjab tomorrow - and I would have been disappointed had he NOT visited Uttarakhand prior to it.

here is a sample. Don't watch of you are faint hearted.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 22 Jun 2013 07:45

Sushupti wrote:
here is a sample. Don't watch of you are faint hearted.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

IIRC that was a flash flood in Madhya Pradesh in the 2012 monsoon.

ashashi · Post by **ashashi** » 22 Jun 2013 08:07

SwamyG wrote:BTW. Modi in Uttarakhand is political gimmick. It is not his state, he should just stay away; and not utilize this opportunity to advance his political aspirations. INC gives plenty of other opportunities. The visit leaves a bad taste in mouth. He has come down a notch in my mind.

Modi did not go to Uttarakhand as a CM of Gujarat. He is there as a national politician running for national office. People will remember his presence on the ground and absence of pappu.

johneeG · Post by **johneeG** » 22 Jun 2013 08:08

SwamyG wrote:BTW. Modi in Uttarakhand is political gimmick. It is not his state, he should just stay away; and not utilize this opportunity to advance his political aspirations. INC gives plenty of other opportunities. The visit leaves a bad taste in mouth. He has come down a notch in my mind.

Saar,
this thought crossed my mind. But then, it is just a reflection of how we are thinking. One has already assumed that politics is all about posturing, propaganda and publicity. And based on this assumption, one sees every act of politician.

But, is it what politics is supposed to be? Is this what a politicians should do?
A politician's primary duty is to solve the people's problems.
(Kshatath trayate ithi kshatriyah)
Posturing, propaganda and publicity are secondary.

You are assuming that the primary motivation of Modi's visit is publicity. That is the first flaw. Maybe, he genuinely wants to help the victims. And it is times like these, when people really look to politicians/state for help. And it is really times like these when wheat gets separated from chaff.

If Modi had not done anything here and continued with his regular programming, that would have been the real failure. It is not about publicity or propaganda or posturing. It is about helping the people in need when you have the power to do it.

One has gotten used to a thinking that power is for looting the wealth and wealth is for acquiring power. And both power and wealth are used to create hagiography by sycophants. Power is to help the people. This fundamental basic principle is forgotten and that is the reason for all the muddled thinking among people and politicians.

Anyway, it seems Modi has the history of reacting to problems faced by people or nation.

During the Kargil War, Shri Modi had visited the area as a mark of solidarity with our brave soldiers. Here we share some memories of the same.

Link

Also, it seem others states are also sending their guys. From AP, 2 ministers have gone to uttarakhand to help the people of AP. This is a huge calamity. So, many have died and many are injured. Many people are still not rescued. Any and every help will be crucial at this hour of crisis. Most importantly, the victims on ground will appreciate the help regardless of what others think.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 22 Jun 2013 08:13

Pranav wrote:
Sushupti wrote:
here is a sample. Don't watch of you are faint hearted.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... =2&theater
IIRC that was a flash flood in Madhya Pradesh in the 2012 monsoon.

If true credit goes to Tejinder Bagga.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 22 Jun 2013 08:19

Scary if true.

Advani may have been persuaded to withdraw his resignations — significantly the only post he did not resign from was that of the chairman of the NDA — but an elaborate camp warfare is underway within the BJP.

Everyday a smattering of small-arms fire can be heard across the line of control that separates the pro-Modi factions from those opposed to him.

Traditional equations have been turned upside down. Former party president, Nitin Gadkari, ousted by a shrewd Advani plan to pitch Yashwant Sinha against him is now back on the side of his recent nemesis.

Gadkari had his own run-ins with the Gujarat CM before a tenuous patch-up. His patronage of Modi’s bête noire Sanjay
Joshi created a war of nerves between the two politicians.

At the worst point in their relationship, he and Modi did not even communicate directly. Even as party president, he once told me that he would talk to Modi through the mediatory efforts of another BJP leader, Balbir Punj.

Now Gadkari has been using his proximity to the RSS to open a line of communication between Nagpur and Advani, seemingly forgiving of the palace coup that toppled him.

Other Advani protégés are lying low and being politically correct for the media. But privately, several of them are candid about their fears.

The cult of personality, they say — from the Modi masks at election rallies to the photographs on children’s school bags — will devour the space for any other individual ambitions.

Under-confident about their own ability to take on a man whose support is clearly derived from the party base, they are quite happy to shoot from Advani’s shoulder, and duck quickly from the counter-shelling.

As Advani insists on a “collective leadership” to steer the BJP into the warzone of electoral conflict, the fight is being positioned as an ideological one. But it really is an intensely political one — a story of competing ambitions whose script is being written by the intensely complicated logic of my enemy’s enemy is my friend.

It’s no coincidence that Advani’s long-time aide Sudheendra Kulkarni has gone public with his description of Modi as an “autocrat” and the party president as “foxy.”

It’s clear that there are those in the BJP who think the Gujarat CM will shore up the numbers only to be rejected by prospective allies. So they are backing him for now in the hope that this will bring them back into the game at a later stage.

Contrary to what his social media evangelists like to propagate, Narendra Modi’s biggest opposition is not from the liberal (or as they like to say ‘sickular’) media or even from the Congress. Before he jumps those hurdles, he has to fight friendly fire. His real battle is at home.

Barkha Dutt is Group Editor, NDTV
The views expressed by the author are personal
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed ... 80243.aspx

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 22 Jun 2013 08:45

the schemers trying to detonate the party from within need to be incised from the organization.
their links to the party completely cut off. it can only happen under some level of autocratic leadership.
otherwise, BJP is looking at spending the next several months tearing itself apart.
they can't let this continue for long.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 22 Jun 2013 08:47

Since picture == 1000 words and all, here's a pic from india today where each dot reps 1 LS seat in the current LS for the 'national parties'.

Can clearly see some areas of gain for BJP under NM (Guj for instance, also Punjab, Delhi, UKD, parts of MP) and areas of concern (K'taka and Bihar)

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 22 Jun 2013 08:50

Barka bibi is upto her usual paid media mischief. I seriously doubt the RSS at this stage will align in anyway with LKA to curb NM's rise. What's in it for them? Another 5 yrs of UPA raj will seriously hurt the nation and that is something the Nagpur-walas actually care about unlike the party HQs of our 'national parties' such as they are.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 22 Jun 2013 08:55

^+1 We should stop posting what these "people" vomit as news. It is the worst sort of propaganda there is, one that could be mistaken for the the truth.

Arjun · Post by **Arjun** » 22 Jun 2013 09:26

Advani and team represent those who want to build the NDA+ through coalitions. Modi and team represent those who want to maximize BJP seats first. Rather than see this is a clash of personalities - would be better to institutionalize a long-term solution to this problem.

Should it be the coalition-builders or the vote-enhancers who should lead the party ? There is also a conflict of interest here, in that each side is looking for the other side to fail so that their own position within the party is enhanced.

This is a serious problem only in highly-fragmented democracies like India where the multi-party system exists in an extreme form. There is probably no other country in the world where the vote-share is so fragmented...

My feeling, it makes sense for the BJP to publicly announce the following policy for current and all future elections:

[1] Alliance strategy would be broadly oriented towards post-poll alliances - other than parties the BJP is highly comfortable with

[2] In cases where irreconcilable differences develop with alliance partners, BJP would not try to dissuade any breakup of pre-poll alliance beyond a point

[3] Leadership of party during elections to vest with vote-enhancer rather than coalition-builder..All coalition-builders to be closely monitored to ensure they are not trying to sabotage the vote-enhancers during elections

[4] Decision to be taken post election-results, to determine if any change of leadership is required in order to build NDA+ coalition for government

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 22 Jun 2013 09:31

It is from Burkha didi - How dare you to question it. She must have heard it from her frind Nera Radia.

BJP will never grow in many states if it allows so called allies to rule. They all will backstab it sooner or later. It much reach of position wherein it can contest effectively in each and evey place. Contesting elections is a must for that. I personally would like to see BJP contesting in all the MP seats except the pre-poll allies like SS, SAD, RPI etc.

KJo · Post by **KJo** » 22 Jun 2013 09:37

LK Advani reminds me of Kapil Dev from 1992-1994. Way past his prime, huffing and puffing, begging and pleading, moping and hoping to reach the pinnacle of a career.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 22 Jun 2013 09:58

ramana wrote:Well not really. The victims are Hindus on pilgrimage to holy sites in Rudraparyag district and from many states in India.

By being in the ground he shows his care.

He is not taking an aerial view without getting dirty.

Yes he cares about publicity. There are times when one works from the back and one leads from the front. This is a time where he should step away from limelight and push things from the behind. Victims are victims, religion should not matter from the perspective of government.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 22 Jun 2013 10:02

Gus wrote:You would not say that if a candidate in US visits a disaster hit area in another state, would you?

As a PM aspirant - he has both rights and responsibility to visit. This is called politics and this is what politicians do.

Yes, I would not say about a US politician because I care about Modi. I do not scold my neighbor's child, but my sons when they do something wrong. And this is precisely what I do not want my favorite politician to do, sure he has rights. But why shove the onus of responsibility. Modi does not have to be omnipresent.

Arjun · Post by **Arjun** » 22 Jun 2013 10:49

I guess SwamyG prefers his PM candidate to be like this

: At time of crisis, Rahul Gandhi does disappearing act

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 22 Jun 2013 10:53

rajiv (jandial) 13 mins ago
baccha hai! paani mein jayega toh bheeg jayega, sardi ho hayegi! Aap bhi...

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 22 Jun 2013 11:09

Arjun wrote:I guess SwamyG prefers his PM candidate to be like this : At time of crisis, Rahul Gandhi does disappearing act

I don't prefer Rahul as a candidate nor the PM. But I do prefer all leaders do not make this a photo-ops session. The Army is doing, once again, a brilliant job. Evacuating 1000s from such inaccessible regions that it is mind boggling. As one reads the names of the places from maps, one almost is pushed into the realm of Puranas - such hoary names and sites. It is as if the rishi munis are alive in those places. And 550+ have died, and with more than 50,000 still stranded. I prefer no beeline of politicians, from any party or state. Let the state and rescue personnels do their jobs.

Neela · Post by **Neela** » 22 Jun 2013 11:19

SwamyG wrote: I don't prefer Rahul as a candidate nor the PM. But I do prefer all leaders do not make this a photo-ops session. The Army is doing, once again, a brilliant job. Evacuating 1000s from such inaccessible regions that it is mind boggling. As one reads the names of the places from maps, one almost is pushed into the realm of Puranas - such hoary names and sites. It is as if the rishi munis are alive in those places. And 550+ have died, and with more than 50,000 still stranded. I prefer no beeline of politicians, from any party or state. Let the state and rescue personnels do their jobs.

Did you see a beeline?
This is a immense tragedy and everyone is going out there to help people. As a leader Modi can muster far more resources and there are 1000s waiting to be helped.
And all you can see is politics? My opinion of you just came down a few notches!

PS: See...everything can be described to suit ones perception.
Let go....people need help. MOdi is going there and helping . The end.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 22 Jun 2013 11:33

BJP prepares blueprint to take on JD-U in Bihar, aims to break Nitish Kumar's caste arithmetic

Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain revealed that the party plans to mobilise its cadres in the 141 seats which it had not been contesting due to its alliance with the JD-U.

The heavier the odds, the sweeter the victory (Natwest 2002 anybody?).... go for it, I say.

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 22 Jun 2013 12:03

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1851418/r ... s-post-jdu

SS Didi now.

Sri · Post by **Sri** » 22 Jun 2013 12:34

SwamyG wrote: I don't prefer Rahul as a candidate nor the PM. But I do prefer all leaders do not make this a photo-ops session. The Army is doing, once again, a brilliant job. Evacuating 1000s from such inaccessible regions that it is mind boggling. As one reads the names of the places from maps, one almost is pushed into the realm of Puranas - such hoary names and sites. It is as if the rishi munis are alive in those places. And 550+ have died, and with more than 50,000 still stranded. I prefer no beeline of politicians, from any party or state. Let the state and rescue personnels do their jobs.

Since politicians have the ultimate responsibility I think they should be hands on and see for themselves and check the response efforts. They should directly interact with the personnel on the ground and take first hand reports.

CM of any state has huge resources on their disposal and can take decisions on the spot. I have seen this personally during Tsunami in TN when one CM of a northeastern state along with some ministers of other northeastern state (they were jointly sharing a pvt plane for visit) visited a village 45 KM from Chennai. He on the spot called some more CMs in NE states and arranged a huge consignment of Bamboos and cooking utensils. I could see the relief in eyes of the NGO working there. They couldn't believe their luck. Later I heard reliably that as promised the bamboos were delivered by railways. One smaller NE state minister had on the spot volunteered to pay for all the railways cost for any relief material coming from Assam to TN, I don't know whether he did it in personal capacity of on behalf of his state.

I strongly believe that CMs of all state should visit such areas.

1) to see for themselves what happens in these situations
2) To learn
3) to provide targeted relief which their administrations can easily muster (center and other states might not have such information with them readily)
4) Charismatic leader's presence reassures people, motivates NGOs, and Army

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 22 Jun 2013 13:58

^+1 It is just that we have become so cynical, we cannot see anything related to politics without it.

Murugan · Post by **Murugan** » 22 Jun 2013 14:02

Modi is in Uttarakhand not to be in limelight. It is proactive move, his state's politicians have started making noises about his inaction for not doing enough for chardham pilgrims.

a significantly large number of gujratis visit chardham every year. Equalled by Sikhs for Hemkund Saheb Yatra. He is in Uttarakhand for reason. Whatever he has pledged is 6 crore gujaratis' wish.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 22 Jun 2013 15:06

^^ The more I know of Modi, the more I am amazed only. Truly, Guj has accumulated a great store of +ve karma to have merited a leader of such cailbre only...

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 22 Jun 2013 18:53

Meanwhile in the south...
'Bring back Yeddyurappa' shrill gets louder in BJP (Deccan Herald)

Somehow, I doubt Yeddy will return to BJP. A KJP-BJP alliance is the best that can be hoped for.

ashashi · Post by **ashashi** » 22 Jun 2013 19:07

Hari Seldon wrote:Meanwhile in the south...
'Bring back Yeddyurappa' shrill gets louder in BJP (Deccan Herald)

Somehow, I doubt Yeddy will return to BJP. A KJP-BJP alliance is the best that can be hoped for.

In the last election, Yeddy succeeded is splitting the BJP vote. He needs to raise to the next level of winning the seats on his own, which he failed to do. He does not have a future without BJP. He would be allowed to rejoin BJP but not an alliance. As an ally, he will try to dictate terms with 15 seats like Nitesh.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 22 Jun 2013 19:29

What Modi wants his BJP team to deliver by 2014

His staunch supporters in the BJP may be confident of a popular wave in his favour throwing the Congress out of power, but Narendra Modi, a quintessential organiser, is well mindful of the challenges that lie ahead and is already pushing party leaders to focus on various issues.

He may be riding high in surveys and may be the most talked about politician, but Modi knowswinning the parliamentary elections requires sound strategy and organisational preparedness. Beyond rhetoric, the BJP so far hasn't bothered with a coherent plan to defeat the Congress and the Gujarat Chief Minister hascautioned his colleagues not to be "overconfident", and instead get down to some hard work.

A senior party leader told Firstpost that in the first strategy meet that Modi held with general secretaries earlier this week, there were two issues he focussed on.

Oh, read it all only.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 22 Jun 2013 19:42

sudarshan wrote:
Sushupti wrote:This prudent Indian guy has history of being 100% correct.

Sushupti wrote:

As predicted above something is expected by Friday.
Any updates on the above, sir?

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 22 Jun 2013 20:41

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 22 Jun 2013 21:01

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXahv3tjoXE

Hilarious

Devendra · Post by **Devendra** » 22 Jun 2013 21:35

S. Swami "Modi offered 24 helicopters to accelerate rescue operations but State Congress government refused to accept. Perhaps, for them, it's better to let the pilgrims die a 'secular death' than let them have a communal survival"

ashashi · Post by **ashashi** » 22 Jun 2013 21:41

Sushupti wrote:

So, I dont follow Prudent indian. What happened to us "unpadhs".

Devendra · Post by **Devendra** » 22 Jun 2013 21:46

Sushupti wrote:

Some Congress men were commenting on the amount of money donated by Gujarat Gov...Well we don't know how the donated money will be spent by the Corrupt CONGRESS governments. Now this is the better way of ensuring that the donated money is spent properly...."A Hindu temple by Hindu Hraday Samrat"

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 22 Jun 2013 22:25

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 22 Jun 2013 22:51

UnReal Times: Sonia Gandhi’s unhappiness scales news heights, she refuses to eat at restaurant during happy hours

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s unhappiness scaled new heights today as she refused to eat lunch at a posh restaurant during its happy hours. The news was confirmed by Sonia Gandhi’s secretary Ahmed Patel, who told journalists of several news organizations, “I have never seen madamji this upset. The rupee plunge, the Uttarakhand floods, Karadashian and Kayne naming their baby North West, a mosquito dying at home yesterday – too many things were happening and all this was more than enough to make the beautiful, smiling face of madamji very sad. I knew she was sad, but only today, I realized how depressed she was, when she refused to eat lunch with me, citing that the restaurant was in its happy hours.”

News of Mrs.Gandhi’s sadness was also confirmed by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who said, “I saw madamji crying over the Uttarakhand floods. I’m sure she cried! Also, she covered her face with her palms when I told the raging Ganga river, ‘Tum Uttarakhand aa to gaye, lekin vaapas kaise jaaoge? ‘ So I’m pretty positive that she burst into tears at the tragic happenings. But I want her to stop crying. I will even die for her, if that’s what it takes to stop her tears.”

Adding to the chorus was Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Charandas Mahant, who said, “Let her cry her heart out. I am always ready to sweep her tears off the floor if she asks me to.”

In the wake of Mrs.Gandhi’s unhappiness, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari has reportedly appealed to bars and restaurants across the country to scrap the “happy hours” system and instead introduce “holistic hours” during the day.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 22 Jun 2013 23:06

WoW!!