Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

[gakakkad]

Columbia Econ don Sri Arvind Panagariya turns communal. Punctures the "Gujarat always grown faster" story with data....

Arvind Panagariya: Narendra Modi's real report card (Biz Std)

Boor mihir sarma, also of BS, must be firefighting with a constipational crisis, who knows...

this article should be archived....not that he said anything new...but he summarises Modi's growth story and essentially expunges contrarian views on modi...

posting in full

With the bid by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the office of the prime minister of India in full swing, attacks on the Gujarat story have intensified. Given the narrowing of the contest to one between Mr Modi and the Congress, one would expect the critics to compare the accomplishments of the former in Gujarat to the latter's nationally. But no critic would hazard such a comparison.

The data leave little room for anyone to credibly question the superior performance of Gujarat in industrialisation, agricultural development and overall growth. Therefore, critics have invented the argument that thanks to its long-standing entrepreneurial tradition, Gujarat has always grown fast. But if so, why is Rajasthan not a growth powerhouse despite its legendary Marwari entrepreneurs? Attracted by the superior business environment, those entrepreneurs have in fact migrated to Gujarat.

The claim that Gujarat has always grown fast also turns out to be false. A recent study by economists Archana Dholakia and Ravindra Dholakia shows that the trend growth rate in Gujarat was below the national average in the 1960s, above it in the 1970s and below it yet again in the 1980s. Far from always growing the fastest in the nation, Gujarat has not even grown faster, always, than the national average.

Christophe Jaffrelot has questioned Gujarat's record on poverty. But he relies on dated evidence and faulty analysis. Between 2004-05 and 2011-12, overall poverty in Gujarat fell by 15.2 percentage points compared with 15.3 percentage points nationally. Given that the poverty ratio in Gujarat in 2004-05 was already 5.4 percentage points below the national average, this progress is nothing to scoff at. Else, we would berate even more the 12.7 percentage point decline in Kerala over the same period.

Gujarat also deserves applause for the large cuts in poverty among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Muslims. In a recent paper, Vishal More and I show that poverty among the former fell 21.8 percentage points between 2004-05 and 2011-12. For SCs, poverty is now only 1.4 percentage points higher than that in the general population. Nationally, the gap is much larger.

At 7.7 per cent, Gujarat now boasts the lowest poverty ratio for Muslims in rural areas (Click for chart). The state also counts among the seven states with lower poverty ratio for Muslims than Hindus in rural and urban areas combined. It has achieved this distinction by cutting poverty among Muslims by 23.3 percentage points in rural areas and 27.7 percentage points in urban areas since 2004-05.

Gujarat has been widely admonished for its poor achievements in the area of child malnutrition. But the criticisms rely predominantly on the National Family Health Survey data that end in 2005-06. Estimates based on the more up-to-date data from the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) paint a very different picture. Cited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in a 2012 report, these estimates show that Gujarat cut the proportion of underweight children between 2006-07 and 2010-11 by a gigantic 32 percentage points. The corresponding reduction was nine percentage points at the national level and just two percentage points in Kerala. According to Gujarat state officials, quoted in a media report this month, the state has achieved an additional reduction of 14 percentage points in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The Gujarat government can be accused of failing to identify problems, but not of failing to act once a problem is identified. Thus, soon after the 2001 census brought to light the sharp decline in the female-to-male-child ratio, the Gujarat government launched the "Save the Girl Child Campaign". Subsequently, the ratio has seen a steady improvement. According to a recent Sample Registration System report, it rose from 865 per thousand during 2004-06 to 903 during 2008-10. The corresponding increase at the national level was much smaller, from 892 to 905.

Likewise, anticipating the damage that the huge emphasis on input norms in the Right to Education (RTE) Act could do to elementary education, Gujarat has adopted the most innovative implementation rules. These rules limit the requirements for the recognition of as yet unrecognised schools to eight square feet of area per student plus 60 square feet for the teacher in each classroom. Much more importantly, continued recognition is based on a formula that assigns 30 per cent of the weight to the level of learning outcomes and an additional 40 per cent to the improvement in those outcomes. The formula assigns input norms just 15 per cent weight. Thus, whereas many states are using onerous input norms in the RTE Act to shut down low-budget private schools with superior learning outcomes but inferior facilities, Gujarat has chosen to reward schools that deliver superior learning outcomes.

To be sure, in terms of levels of most social indicators, Kerala beats all states. But this largely reflects its historical lead. It is also true that Tamil Nadu often leads in improvements in the indicators. But this hardly detracts from the impressive progress Gujarat has made in improving literacy and many health indicators. The critics want to turn the best into the enemy of the good to give a walkover to the bad, but that won't work.

Finally, critics argue that state-level experience is irrelevant to governing a nation. But this is incorrect for two reasons. First, Gujarat is not a banana republic: it is approximately equivalent to the United Kingdom in population and area. Second, a chief minister brings with him valuable grassroots knowledge that modern-day national leaders often lack. The success of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was in no small measure due to his on-the-ground knowledge acquired as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Closer to my present home, the most recent US presidents who have been successful - including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W Bush - have been state governors with no prior experience at the national level. Ironically, it is Barack Obama, a former US senator with no experience as state governor, who has overseen some of the worst logjams in the United States Congress.

while all these points have been discussed time and again on brfite,the above summarises it all.. the last paragraph is especially important..

[ramana]

The PP guy's analysis is BS about the blasts.

[Singha]

and the crowning glory atop the ice cream cone is yuvaraj himself - no experience at state level, and no experience at central level either, never held down a real job in his life

in short - the ideal candidate for dynastic role.

[Rahul M]

Every district in India has a Central Intelligence Officer from IB. They are all from IPS cadre seconded to IB.

Its possible Patna dt CIO is from a different state.

but is not.

[Sushupti]

Cong to play on Modi’s Hindutva image
Subodh Ghildiyal TNN

New Delhi: Narendra Modi may have held out an olive branch to Muslims to dim his “communal” image but Congress is subtly working to keep his Hindutva edge in focus without resorting to any aggression that can boomerang.
The ruling camp has decided to bill the Lok Sabha elections as a contest between the Congress and the RSS, a description that would come into full flow closer to the election campaign.
For a party which has lost three successive elections in Gujarat, it remains amystery on how to deal with the leader who has milked the rival aggression on “communalism” to his advantage.
While the Congress is cautious that it should not err in its zealousness to box Modi as a “communal” leader, there is also a realization that he cannot be allowed to play down his Hindutva image.
Congress is eyeing the vast Muslim vote base that should drift naturally to its kitty and that of the “secular” bloc with Modi at the helm of BJP’s campaign. However, the risk of minority polarization triggering off a counter consolidation is a risk to be avoided.
The party seems to have decided that dubbing Modi as the RSS candidate is a relatively risk-free way of conveying the message.
That Modi has started to engage Muslims – with some clerics speaking in favour of the Gujarat leader while he made an overt appeal to minorities in Patna – threatens to complicate matters.
Realizing that the 2014 elections would be a tough affair with 10 years of accumulated incumbency and a strong figure leading the rival charge, Congress is seeking to check a post-poll division in “secular” bloc with the “Congress vs RSS” description.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/ ... wMode=HTML

[Rahul Mehta]

(By MNC-owners or US-elitemen, I mean British-elitemen before 1947 and US\Euro-elitemen after 1947)

nageshks:

1. Secondly, I would still rate most of South East Asia, including predominantly Muslim Indonesia, to be Indic still.

2. Finally, the loss of Pakistan and Bangladesh had nothing to do with MNCs or missionaries, which is the point we were discussing. Pakistan and Bangladesh did not split away because they were led there by MNCs or missionaries.

1. Malaysia and Indonesia are 50% lost if not 100%. Philippines is now almost 100% lost. Thailand, Vietnam are etc Buddhists and they are not lost, but Christianity is spreading very
rapidly there.

2. British elitemen had helped Islamists a lot in regaining strength that Sikhs had finished in Pakistan area. Anyway, who-so-ever who did it, fact is that Hindus were cleansed out from Pakistan and BD. Hence "our civilization is strong enough to withstand attack" is a false statement. We have been losing inch by inch since Alex came and then Arabs came in 700 AD , and never recovered an inch back except for brief period of Sikhism. Even Maratha could not dare to have Hindu emperor in Delhi, and instead installed a Muslim !! Why not? So even when it was one step forward, next year it was two steps backward.

You can compare Sikh\Maratha Reconquista with "Spanish Reconquista". You will notice a wide wide gaps.

nageshks: Missionaries and MNCs during the heydays of colonialism were far more entwined than they are today. Have you tried reading the accounts of how colonialism worked in Africa (just see how Rhodes and the missionaries worked together in Southern Africa - from the Cape to the Zembezi, or how Belgian missionaries operated in Zaire with the full backing of the rubber and lumber barons of their native country), or the French at work in today's Vietnam, or British in Sarawak. Today, the MNC bosses are often more wedded to profits than to any religious organisations. Given a choice between profits and religion, they will choose profit *every time*.

After 1860s, British-elitemen stopped helping Missionaries in India en-masse. eg In 1850, British-elitemen added pig-tallow and cow-tallow in bullets to help Missionaries convert Indian soldiers. It stopped in 1860. The British-elitemen didnt allow local Indian soldiers to practice their religion in barracks. They were allowed after 1860. The powers of British Magistrates were reduced and given some to Indian local Juries. With that, favors that Fathers used to get from Magistrates reduced. All in all, in countries where people were weak, like Africa, MNC-owners let Missionaries run wild. But in countries where serious backlash was feared, like India, MNC-owners did not let Missionaries do all that they wanted.

Between profits and religion, MNC-owners prefer profit. But then, there are windfall profits in religion. And religion is very important to protect loyal political setup and damage unloyal political setup. And political setup is important to protect economic monopolies and weakening education of other country. So MNC-owners have always paid due attention in finishing other religions and promoting their own.

nageshks: Coming to the intra-Christian and Christian-Jew confrontations, none of them have been resolved. In Uganda, the Catholics and the Protestants have turned the machine guns on each other. In fact, the Jews are today more worried than ever about missionaries. Just take a look at what the Jews think of `Jews for Jesus' (an organisation devoted to converting Jews to Christianity). In Israel, they have appeared on the doorsteps of the homes of dead Jewish soldiers, offering cash and other goodies if the families will convert to Christianity. The Christian right is trying appropriate Jewish religious symbols and absorb Judaism into itself. The Jewish alliance with the Christian right in the US is all about political convenience. Just scratch beneath the surface, and you will find that they loathe each other.

I said "resolved" i.e. in Europe\USA, they are resolved. In Europe\USA, they are at peace -- no violence anymore. eg kind of anti-Jeweish sentiments and violence which were there in Europe\USA in 1800-1950 are no longer there. The kind of conflicts and riots Catholics\Protestents had in Europe till 1800 are no longer there in USA\Europe.

You will find lots of facts if you study SoKo. eg in SoKo, till 1980s, MNC-owners didnt discriminate between Christians and Buddhists. But once they dominated SoKo economy, they started prefering Christians for promotions over Buddhists. There are lot of articles on web on how Missionaries succeed in SokO without firing a bullet.

nageshks:

1. I have made no claims about Modi's actions regarding religious matters. It is you who is making the claim that Modi will invite all MNCs and missionaries to convert Hindus (without an ounce of evidence, in fact). Devalayas have been weaker in the past, and we still have not suffered any great number of conversions. And you are speaking like a politician - all claims, no facts, and certainly no answers to questions.

2. I asked you why you believe that Hindus are weak and easily converted by missionaries, when history suggests the opposite. You have not answered it.

1. So what is YOUR take on what would be NaMo's policies towards MNC-owners and Missionaries? Would he try to block\expel them and if yes how? Or would NaMo open all gates for MNC-owners and Missionaries?

2a. As of now, Hindus\Indians are very very weak. Thats because USA\Europe has far far better laws . eg Labor dispute in USA gets resolved in 2-4 weeks in a way that most citizens in USA find it "fair" and "least unfair in world". While in India it takes 3 years minimum and most citizens find it inhumanly unfair. And so engineering in USA\Europe is far better than India. So USA\Europe has more goods = money and better weapons. With better weapons, USA has looted all oil-wells of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq , Libya and Iran is next. The profits of oil and other goods is invested in buying mediamen across world including India and this increases USA's control over politicians across world including India . And these MNC-owners give money as well political help to Missionaries. eg MNC-owners ensures that Ministers, judges etc who are MNC-agents work for Missionaries or at least wont demand laws that would expose/damage them. All this makes Indians\Hindus weak. And each passing day, the strength ratio is worsening.

2b. Unless laws in India improve, "engineering in India by Indians" will never improve. "Engineering in India by foreigners i.e. FDI" may improve and raise GDP numbers and prosperity. But 'engineering in India by foreigners" will not add any strength to Indians in their final war against Americans. So IMO, unless we fix laws, there is no hope. And while NaMo will be surely far far less bad than Congress, hoping that he can fix core courtroom laws is unrealistic. Because NaMo is now too too dependent on MNC-owners' paid-mediamen, that he can never create laws that he can never promote core engineering and "weapon manufacturing in India by Indians , not foreigners" .

========

johneeG:

1. I was impressed by NaMo's speech. It was a very good speech. ....

2. My bro's theory (no inside info, just airy fairy theory):

My bro It seems NaMo was asked by the potential allies to not raise the issue of Ram Mandhir. They may have asked for some face saver. So, NaMo may have decided not to raise it. Notice that from the time TDP tilted towards Lotus, Lotus seems to have stopped raising Ram mandhir issue. May be CBN asked for this and in return promised to bring more allies...

Me: So, if NaMo compromises even before he gets to power, then he may do so after he gets the power also...

My bro: Once, he gets to power, he will have lot of power at his disposal. But the critical thing is the number of seats that he can get. If he gets 200 on his own, then he will set the agenda, otherwise there will be some compromises. Anyway, NaMo can be trusted to do whats right when the time comes, regardless of what he has to say to get the votes. He can say whatever he wants to get to power, but he must deliver once he comes to power.

No. Once he becomes PM, his dependence on MNC-owners for investments will worsen. So MNC-owners will make him do more and more compromises. So he will have more "power" over Indian administration, but no power over MNC-owners. MNC-owners also have lots of power in India - judges, paid-media , coming 7 Lokpals, Indian elitemen are under deep deep dollar debt, Govt of India is under huge dollar debt etc. So NaMo has no levers against MNC-owners.

=====

Pranav : Jaitley is quite smart, very well handled press briefing. Not many people can be so well-organized and clear, and answer questions with such poise. So he is an asset, but one should also keep a sharp eye on him.

Yes Jaitley is very smart and very cunning. When he was law-minister, he raised juvenile age from 16 years to 18 years in year 2001 AD. Because of this , violent crimes against women doubled, and biggest beneficiaries were love-jehadies. Very cunning fellow indeed.

====

nageshks: What interests me is the opinion of all these Muslim clerics wrt NaMo. Two years ago, all of them were collectively baying for his blood. Not a single Muslim leader could be found to defend NaMo. Now, some of them are quietly slipping to his side. The question is why. If anyone believes that these clerics appreciate NaMo's administrative skills, I have a bridge to sell him. We can rule that out. So why now? is it because they can read the writing on the wall, and would rather not be on the wrong side of the power equations? ....

[/quote]

The reasons is NaMo's dumping Tridevalaya issue. It is quid-pro-quo. And is it is NOT muslim vote bank. This whole muslim vote bank is 82 > 15 maths, that only someone with 4 digit IQ can understand. The reason is saud funded media and saud funding. I have explained it here at "303:055: Leaders are NOT after muslim votes, but are after Saudi money, Saud funded tv-channels; Solution? RTR-Doordarshan-CEO" at https://facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10151576497521922

The Saudi-funded channel give positive or less-negative or quasi-negative-but-effectively-positive coverage etc when you do a favor to saudi agenda. That was the reason why LKA worshipped Jinha - not muslim votes but Saudi money.

The positive approval form some Mullah's for NaMo or less negative opposition means that news-media associated with will now give support to NaMo.

===

The next agenda item on Saud as well as Missionary is

1. giving reservation benefits to SC who convert to Islam and Christianity

2. not canceling reservation of ST who convert to Islam

3. not canceling reservation of certain Muslim OBCs

4. giving reservation for muslims

And lets see what stand NaMo takes on these issues. He wont fall for (4). But he may agree to conitinue (2) and (3). And lets see how (1) goes.

Let me explain. As of today, if a Hindu SC\OBC converts to Islam/Christianity, then he loses reservation benefits. But if an ST converts to Islam/Christianity, he continues to get reservation benefits !! And certain OCBs get reservation benefits. The RSS-apex and BJP-apex have kep defeaning silence on this. But bigots like me are asking all activists of India including RSS\VHP\BDal\BJP-activists to pull collars of their leaders in public and demand cancellation of reservation to all non-Hindu SC\CT\OBC. (Hindu = Hindu + Sikh + Jain + Buddhists). We abuse RSS etc activists big time when they dont make this demand before their leaders in public. Dhimmi is one of the most polite words we use for them. And btw, demand is NOT new. It has been in my manifesto since 2003 , ever since I came to know about it !!

Sharad Yadav had moved a law-draft in Rajya Sabha to extend reservation benefits to SC\OBC who convert. BJP had opposed it then and so bill lied low. Now lets see what NaMo does.

[Sushupti]

[rajithn]

what do you mean 'the IB officer in bihar' ? bihar hardly has one IB officer. if you are talking of the person in charge of IB's bihar unit he is not from gujarat cadre.

I should've completed that sentence. The IB officer who was with the Guj cops advising NaMo not to attend the rally is a guj cadre IPS officer. And he is posted in Bihar.

[SaiK]

me dha pat kar raha hai modi ko!

Social activist Medha Patkar has attacked Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for "illegally" pursuing his agenda of raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) by making false claims /Toilet

[Dilbu]

I switched on the TV when Modi started his speech. He was looking a bit nervous in the beginning. Sweating profusely, drinking water from a glass frequently and stopping his speech now and then. It was very uncharacteristic of Modi whose speeches are usually free flowing and very relaxed. Then I noticed the scrolling news about the blast near the venue. It turns out that he was told not to get on the dais by his security team as live bombs were still present. I would probably be shitting in my pants if I was in similar situation.

Given the circumstances I must say it took a lot of courage to do what Modi did. Some would say he took a lot of risk than necessary but I am only talking about the mental toughness of the man. Awesome!

[kmkraoind]

I think Pranab Mukherjee needs to dismiss Nithish Kumar govt for negligence.
He has been negligent ifor whatever reasons and but for grace of God, it could have been worse with repercussions all the way to Delhi

Queen Bee went with her complete entourage to CG and was furious and arrogantly said "we will dismiss your govt in minutes" with Raman Singh after naxal attack. But she and her DumbPutra are completely silent on Patna attack. Does they stung by Secular bug or what?

[prahaar]

I switched on the TV when Modi started his speech. He was looking a bit nervous in the beginning. Sweating profusely, drinking water from a glass frequently and stopping his speech now and then. It was very uncharacteristic of Modi whose speeches are usually free flowing and very relaxed. Then I noticed the scrolling news about the blast near the venue. It turns out that he was told not to get on the dais by his security team as live bombs were still present. I would probably be shitting in my pants if I was in similar situation.

Given the circumstances I must say it took a lot of courage to do what Modi did. Some would say he took a lot of risk than necessary but I am only talking about the mental toughness of the man. Awesome!

It was uncharacteristic of him to shuffle a lot of notes, probably explains the point raised by some here that he was changing his speech on the spot. He was skipping certain talking points and speaking extempore for those points.

[Yagnasri]

The aim is to avoid any tension or forceful speech. Further they are terrified of possibility of a stampede which would have resulted in thousands of deaths. Had it been normal person he would have died of tension. This perhaps his greatest deed till date. His ability to keep controlling the people and of himself saved the day.

I was fortunate to see Indira very closely in a meeting wherein she was shocked by non attendance of people and was seriously upset. She almost fell while getting down from stairs and to be cought by the District Magistrate. Modi has better control and much more tougher than her.

[niran]

No one can dismiss a state gobermound just like that, else NaMo would have been dismissed a million times at least, one has to prove beyond any reasonable doubt nitish coomar was negiligent that needs proper investigation in the first place,how many of ye folks here think there is going to be 100% proper investigation and how many thinks it will be 400%? hainji? see, got the answer, yes?

[Lilo]

State govt dismissal is a waste so near elections and will lead to dissipation of anger . public is angry and anger has to churn without outlet till the ballot box day.
There in lies the skill of the challenger.

[kapilrdave]

Maybe we should wait for 686 pages?

Seriously if (IF or When?) we get close to the elections we should consider moving this to strat forum for lurkers to get hope!

So good to see this coming from a mod. I have no idea why this thread is under hijab. If NM can stand his ground against the death threat, if 10L Biharis can stand their ground when bombs are exploding in front of their eyes, why can't we do our own little duty by spreading the message under hidden identity? Whom are we afraid of?

^^The problem is that the attendance at future rallies will suffer because people will be scared of more attacks.

So far everything dynasty has tried has fizzle out. We will see people coming in with more josh in upcoming rallies. The only problem I foresee is that attendees will be harassed in the name of security in unfriendly states.

I switched on the TV when Modi started his speech. He was looking a bit nervous in the beginning. Sweating profusely, drinking water from a glass frequently and stopping his speech now and then. It was very uncharacteristic of Modi whose speeches are usually free flowing and very relaxed. Then I noticed the scrolling news about the blast near the venue. It turns out that he was told not to get on the dais by his security team as live bombs were still present. I would probably be shitting in my pants if I was in similar situation.

Given the circumstances I must say it took a lot of courage to do what Modi did. Some would say he took a lot of risk than necessary but I am only talking about the mental toughness of the man. Awesome!

About bolded part, most likely the fan on his right was off. During the speech he kept glancing to his right with somewhat displeasure few times. After some time he stopped and told someone "zara bijli wale ko bulana (please call the electrician)". This is my guess only. Apart from that, during the speech people stopped responding him couple of times. It looked like something was going on on the ground and NM was trying hard to shift their focus from that. He would call people to respond couple of times without a big response. But from third time onwards he would get response from the mass. This was noticeable for couple of times.

[Comer]

Not clued into Bihar politics but one Shivanand Tiwari praised NaMo in JD(U) meeting and a section of crowd supporting him. The look on NiKu was priceless!

[Singha]

if the cards fall right for bjp, JD(U) could be taken apart permanently post elections. the state BJP could absorb most of them leaving a die hard janissari corps surrounding the palace of the sultan. nobody wants to stick with a loser.

home minister was at this function..featuring the lovely kangana ranaut
http://im.rediff.com/news/2013/oct/29shinde.jpg

[gakakkad]

Not clued into Bihar politics but one Shivanand Tiwari praised NaMo in JD(U) meeting and a section of crowd supporting him. The look on NiKu was priceless!

this is big news..the guy is a party general secretary and spokesman ...looks like NaMo has infiltrated jdu bigtime..

other funny aspect is that congi politicians are directly blaming Nitish..were not they supposed to form an alliance ? bomb blasts seem to be a botched attempt..

[Neela]

No one can dismiss a state gobermound just like that, else NaMo would have been dismissed a million times at least, one has to prove beyond any reasonable doubt nitish coomar was negiligent that needs proper investigation in the first place,how many of ye folks here think there is going to be 100% proper investigation and how many thinks it will be 400%? hainji? see, got the answer, yes?

It is time for a SIT no?
Raghavan Committee Part Deux .
Teesta Setalvad , Suzi Madam, Medha PAtkar should be out there with Biharis to show solidarity!

[Sanku]

Not clued into Bihar politics but one Shivanand Tiwari praised NaMo in JD(U) meeting and a section of crowd supporting him. The look on NiKu was priceless!

Shivanand Tiwari was a big time Modi basher, JD(U) was routing all its anti Modi diatribe through him before the plug was pulled. Although it could be that he was only doing his job as spokesman.

Perhaps his UC kin have told him in no uncertain terms that his hukka-pani will be band if he carries on doing his "job"

[Paul]

AFter shock tremors of the Hunkaar rally. The rats will start deserting the ship in full force once the December polls get over.

[chaanakya]

Diversionary tactics

For Kan pur Rally
No hidden treasure in Unnao, ASI stops excavation: Report

NEW DELHI: The Archaeological Survey of India has stopped digging for gold treasure at the fort of Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh in Unnao.

According to ASI officials, excavations have confirmed that there was no gold at the fort, Times Now reported.

Some pottery pieces from Buddhist era have been found from the site.

The excavation had begun on October 18 after a seer, Shobhan Sarkar, saw in his dreams that 1,000 tonnes of gold was supposed to be buried under the ruins of the 19th century fort.

And for Patna Rally

Centre alerted Bihar about terror attack in Patna: Shinde

He was replying to a question whether the Central government had alerted the Bihar government beforehand about possible terror attack on Modi's rally. Multiple blasts rocked in and around the rally venue in Patna on Sunday claiming six lives and injuring more than 80 people. "We give input saying you could be attacked in 2-3 days or so and so day. We keep doing that. We also give specific input," he said on the sidelines of a function organized on the occasion of the 74th raising day of CRPF.

So every trick is being tried out to stop the Juggernaut of Tsunamo and his stock is building up day by day. He will be peaking early and stay peaked for next 20 years. Congis should fear that.

[Pratyush]

Hard choices, grim facts for Muslims in 2014 elections

Shahid Siddiqui is editor, Nai Duniya, an Urdu weekly and a former Rajya Sabha MP

Quoting from the article

At the moment, there are, broadly speaking, five views among Muslims. The first is the traditional view that Muslims have no option but to vote for the Congress in order to stop the BJP from coming to power. This view holds that only the Congress can protect the minorities.

The second view is that, in the name of secularism, Muslims have been taken for a ride for too long. Muslims want secularism but they also want jobs, education and security. Therefore, they should look for an alternative to these parties. Since there cannot be a national alternative, they will have to look for state-wise alternatives like the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the BSP in Uttar Pradesh or the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi.

The third view is that Muslims should get out of this vote-bank syndrome and vote for individual candidates. In any constituency, a good, relatively honest and secular candidate, whichever party he or she may belong to, should be identified and voted for. This was the view earlier espoused by leaders like Syed Shahabuddin.

The fourth view is that Muslims should form a Muslim Democratic Alliance — a confederation of Muslim and minority parties. They should work for the consolidation of the Muslim vote, BSP style, and then bargain with other groups and parties for an alliance. This alliance should be secular and nationalistic in outlook but should focus on the problems of minorities. The common masses are eager to see this coming together of all Muslim parties.

The fifth view is that Muslims should get out of this secular-communal divide and try the BJP for a change. A small but growing section of Muslims argues that in reality there is no difference among all these parties. They believe that ‘secular’ parties will also take them seriously only when they start voting for a national political alternative, which can only be the NDA, as even the Left doesn’t take the talk of a third alternative seriously.

It is good to see that voting for BJP has become one of the options. Whether it is exercised or not only time will tell.

[Chandragupta]

Re: the fourth option. Jinnah/Pakistan redux?

[Pratyush]

^^^

Yes, but then that will further polarize Hindus. Which in turn creates a self fulfilling prophecy for the Muslims. Which may in turn result in total destruction of the nation and a large section of Muslim population.

[manju]

I was speaking with a person in Gujarat (on phone) who is close to Narendra Modi. Our conversation shifted to Karnataka and he asked me about public perception of BJP there.

When I said that generally BJP supporters feel that Anant Kumar is disliked by most and feel that he is more pain and is a liability. I think this is the general perception here on BR as well (I am taking the liberty to generalize here).

He said that if general public communicates this to the BJP leadership in the state and the national level by writing to them, the party senior leadership would like to hear about it. This may help bring about change.

I think we should write to the BJP state and national leadership and express our views.

Email:
1. [email protected]
2. [email protected] (Rajnath Singh)
3. [email protected] (Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dy Ldr Rajya Sabha)
4. Karnataka BJP EMAIL: [email protected]
5. Karnataka BJP President: [email protected] (Prahlad Joshi)
5. Could not find email for Modi

you can copy paste all emails from here

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]


If you want to write to Anant Kumar
His website is http://ananth.org/
He has no email

[rohitv]

Does anyone have transcript of Modi's Patna Speech? I suspect that the "factual errors" as mentioned by NiKu while countering Modi's speech in his chintan shivir were twisted/half-truths.

[krishnan]

dont put emails directly , use - at , [at] instead of at or some other way to confuse the bots

[Dilbu]

I thought NaMo said 'Chandragupta Maurya' in his speech. Anyway there is nothing much to read into NiKu's words. He is asking why Modi was sweating. Bloody bugger had not provided security in the first place and has no shame in asking such questions. I would like to see him face a similar situation on dias when bombs are going off all around him. മയിരൻ!

[sum]

Rahul polarising speeches not going down well with Sonia

Another useless Madam-G not happy/weeping about state of affairs article but what caught my eye :

Here, Team Rahul has clearly been influenced by US President Barack Obama’s deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter who had spent time with Rahul and his spin doctors when she visited India some months ago.

Writing about this interaction in his updated book 24 Akbar Road author Rasheed Kidwai recounts that Cutter told Rahul and his team members how she had served as a one-woman attack squad in the presidential re-election in 2012 and that instead of becoming a popular figure, she became “a polarising face of the campaign, its chief messenger and a loyal soldier who said things that the leader could not or would not say.”

If Rahul’s speeches are anything to go by, it would appear that he has taken Cutter’s remarks very seriously. But instead of leaving the task of playing messenger to his colleagues, the Congress vice-president has taken it upon himself to emerge as a polarising figure.

[rohitv]

Nitish Kumar lies in todays's chintan shivir:
http://www.india272.com/2013/10/29/nitish-kumar/

Code: Select all

Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U Leader Nitish Kumar today spent an inordinate part of his address to his Party’s Chintan Shibir to focus on Narendra Modi and his recent speech in Patna during the Hunkar Rally. Going by the amount of time Niitish spent obsessing on Narendra Modi it made one wonder if this was a JD-U Chintan Shibir or a Modi Chinta Shibir ?

A quick fact check on the points raised by Nitish Kumar reveal how badly he tripped in his speech.

    Juvenile Attempt by Nitish Kumar at attempting to score some speech points – problem for Nitish though his points are at variance with Truth

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

    Nitish Kumar Claims Narendra Modi said Chandragupta Maurya belonged to Gupta Dynasty. Modi said no such thing. The speech is clear.

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

    Narendra Modi says when we are reminded of the Gupta Dynasty we are reminded of Chandragupta's rajneeti

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

    Nitish Kumar Claims Narendra Modi has referred to Takshashila as being Bihar. Modi said no such thing. The speech is quite clear.

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

    Narendra Modi says when we are reminded of the Gyaan Yug we remember Nalanda and Takshashila. Makes no reference to Bihar in that sentence.

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

    Nitish Kumar claims Narendra Modi said that Nitish was his guest in Gujarat. Modi said no such thing in the speech.

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

    Narendra Modi in his speech clearly states that he too was a guest at the wedding to which Nitish was invited.

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

    Nitish Kumar's juvenile attempt at scoring speech points unfortunately falls flat on its face, only shows how much he is obsessed with Modi

    — Mission272+ for BJP (@India272) October 29, 2013

[Dilbu]

Arvind Panagariya: Narendra Modi's real report card
The author compares Mr Modi in Gujarat to the Congress in India. Good read.

[harbans]

INC/ JDU/ NYT Secularist lies smashed:

[anmol]

After this I guess even NiKu will start praising NaMo(I am not joking):-

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new ... 44804.aspx

Nitish aide Shivanand Tiwari praises Modi at JD-U's Rajgir convention
hindustantimes.com | Oct 29th 2013

In what has come as an embarrassment to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, senior Janata Dal (United) leader Shivanand Tiwari on Tuesday praised his bête noire Narendra Modi at a party convention in Rajgir. Kumar was present at the convention when the incident happened.

“I am an admirer of Modi. Coming from a poor background, he has worked hard to reach where he has today,” Tiwari said from the dais.

Kumar severed ties with the BJP a few months ago to protest Modi's elevation in the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Bihar CM had questioned Modi's secular credentials and suggested he could exacerbate communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India.

In an apparent dig at Kumar, Tiwari said that he could not reach the CM's chair because he has always valued loyalty. He added that the idea to ask for a special package for Bihar from the Centre, which Kumar demanded, was originally his idea.

In July this year, Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav had dropped Shivanand Tiwari as its spokesman and appointed KC Tyagi in his place.

At a rally in Patna on Sunday, Modi had slammed Kumar and said that he had betrayed people of Bihar by severing ties with the BJP. He had asked people to punish the "backstabber".

Excerpts from Nitish's speech at Rajgir convention:

• I noticed Modi was wiping his face. Why was he sweating? A man who aspires to India's highest post should be patient.

• BJP has amazing grasp of history. They should know Chandragupta was of Maurya dynasty, not of Gupta dynasty.

• Security agencies and Bihar administration are answerable for security at BJP's Patna rally.

• My ex-friends once praised me and now they are finding faults with me.

• My ex-friends of BJP accuse me of failing in security for BJP Patna rally. All security was made.

• I condemn the terrorist incidents in Patna 2 days ago.

• Special status for Bihar will be JD-U's main issue in 2014 polls.

• Bihar isn't begging for special status. It's our right.

• We are fighting for Bihar but some people are creating hurdles for us.

• Nobody can beat our rally in Patna last year, that was for Biharis and not for an individual.

• BJP is responsible for the alliance between the two parties breaking.

• JD-U will connect with voters, demand the legitimate rights of Bihar.

• JD-U will organise 12 sankalp rallies to contact with voters.

• Janata-Dal United's signature campaign forced Centre to set up panel to consider special status for Bihar.

• Bihar demanded Rs. 20,000 cr from centre and got Rs. 12,000 cr. Our fight goes on.

• Janata Dal United convention in Rajgir was successful. We have gained strength.

• Nitish Kumar addresses Janata Dal-United meeting in Rajgir after senior party leader Shivanand Tiwari praised Narendra Modi.

[Singha]

footage of the funeral of sardar patel. you can see JLN and Rajendra prasad with another unknown gentleman at one point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O5hDycWjYA

[Karan M]

Re: the fourth option. Jinnah/Pakistan redux?

Its good if that happens. The rot of the communalism on the IM side will be out in the open. See, so far all the INC supporters have used wink-nod-nudge for all their appeasement tactics, saying otherwise apres moi, le deluge (after me the deluge).

Once these muslim groups become open about their communal mobilization, everything is out in the open and it will be fun to see how they get the 'secular' muslim votes, or whether that entity even exists so as to vote for truly secular issues (in significant numbers so as to make a difference).

And if they are open, the average Hindu dhimmi, always ready to turn the other cheek, and a vociferous, rabid proponent that all the other "barbaric", "uncivilized", "communal", "fascist" hindus also need to do so... well that creature will suddenly see the reality of what all the appeasement antics till date have lead to. Some might even rediscover sanity, out of pure self survival (after all, shariah compliance means no party-sharty, strictures on dress code etc).

[anmol]

Rahul polarising speeches not going down well with Sonia

So the rumors on twitter about a team of Americans helping Cong campaign is true:-

indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rahul-gandhi-nonsense-remark-stephanie-cutter-former-deputy-campaign-manager/1/313193.html

Is Rahul's nonsense remark a borrowing from Obama's former deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter?
indiatoday.intoday.in | Oct 14th 2013
Even Stephanie Cutter, former deputy campaign manager to Barack Obama, who visited India in mid-March this year, must be surprised at the impact she has had. She had advised Rahul to do some out-of-the-box thinking in sync with public sentiment. The "nonsense" remark may well be her contribution.
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I am sure they met at Google's Big Tent Activate Summit. Clearly this is part of global project by Democrats+State Department+CFR+Google :-

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... e#p1519722

[kapilrdave]

^^ He he. They have tried to teach us aping everything west. Now they are getting the taste of their own medicine.

[Gus]

Tedulkar decides to campaign for congress as predicted by brf members

http://news.oneindia.in/mumbai/sachin-t ... 32414.html