Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2014 12:11

true. the gloves need to come off, incl for the hallowed dynasty. they have been trying to jail him and crush him and amit shah for 13 years now. the compliements need to be returned with interest.

sum · Post by **sum** » 13 May 2014 12:12

^^The Mirror series also is a true new-trader category. IIRC, they are the ones who had fuelled the church attack and Muthalik drama with hysterical headlines:

Mumbai Mirror ducks elections, sticks to positioning

This morning, as all the newspapers see their front pages dominated by the exit polls and the likelihood of Modi becoming prime minister in an NDA-led government, Mirror steadfastly sticks to the positioning and definition as a city paper.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/india/mumbai-m ... ef_article

Pune Mirror has a story on the University of Pune and two ads, including what is looking like a mandatory ad: the Times Now – Arnab Goswami one. Mandatory? No. Ahmedabad Mirror leads with a study by MICA, has a pointer to a George Clooney story and a single ad – not one for Times Now. In Mumbai Mirror, the Lok Sabha elections are allotted just two pages, pages 13 and 14, in a 38 page edition. The reference to Modi is in a story headlined “Exit polls show BJP scraping majority.” The story is accompanied by a photo of Modi. Bangalore Mirror also allots two pages to the elections, pages 9 and 10, with no Modi photo. Pune Mirror has the same on pages 10 and 11. And Ahmedabad Mirror? This one will go to town, you think. It doesn’t. The election stories are on pages 11 and 12 – with no photograph of Modi and no mention of him in the headlines.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/india/mumbai-m ... ef_article

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 13 May 2014 12:53

RIP Congress? Why you shouldn't write off India's grand old party yet
Sandipan Sharma, Hindustan Times May 13, 2014

Exit polls suggest the Congress has been ejected from the pilot's seat without a parachute. It is now in free fall and nobody knows to what depth it would crash.......A humiliating defeat, the lowest-ever tally, a sharp decline in vote share and the inability to reach double figures in any Indian state indicate Narendra Modi's dream of a Congress-mukt Bharat has been achieved.

One, it is notorious for its inability to rise after a serious beating.

Its record after the electoral reversals in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar and even Uttar Pradesh conclusively proves that once the Congress is pinned to the mat, it stays there.

This election has once again established what has been known for years: Rahul is a failure.

Three, the Congress leadership in the states has been wiped out. Forget Delhi, look at the states. The BJP has Shivraj Chouhan, Raman Singh, Manohar Parrikar, Vasundhara Raje and many other powerful satraps. There isn't a single Congress leader around who is acceptable to the masses in the major states. In a country where politics is getting increasingly centred on personalities, the lack of charismatic leaders on the ground is a fatal handicap.

Four, its current rival is not a genteel statesman like Atal Behari Vajpayee but a street-fighter like Modi. If the bitter, personalised 2014 campaign is an indicator, the BJP leader will ensure that the Congress and the dynasty don't get a single opportunity to make a comeback.

He will try everything to turn it into a replica of the Congress in Gujarat - a meek, marginalized, leaderless rubble.

Why? The answer is simple. In a democracy, dominance of a single party doesn't last for long. Promises are broken, hopes are betrayed, heroes turn into villains – Manmohan Singh, for instance, was a middle class icon in 2009-and leaders lose their charm and sheen.

History shows that India can start whining the moment it realises that it is not shining.

And when voters change their mind, every past sin of a political party is forgotten and forgiven. They find hidden virtues even in its failed leaders.

The 2014 elections have ensured that all major parties share the fate of the Congress. The Congress has been defeated, but it has been supplanted by the BJP, not a regional party. When the wheels of democracy turn, and turn they will after some time, voters will have just one option: the Congress.

That the Congress will bounce back is certain. The only question is how long it would take to rise from the dust of 2014. The answer is simple: rebirth of the Congress will coincide with the demise of the idea of Modi

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 13 May 2014 13:02

chaanakya wrote: 7RCR is getting makeover in anticipation of new PM moving in shortly.

I seriously feel that he should change the official residence.

+1. I think 10 Janpath would make a stately home for the new prime minister...

Lisa · Post by **Lisa** » 13 May 2014 13:03

Please God let Rahul lead congress in the next election, please!

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 13 May 2014 13:07

sum wrote:^^ From rediff:

The thought of 'Prime Minister' Modi fills some outgoing ministers with dread.

Some ministers in the outgoing Manmohan Singh Cabinet are in touch with Team Narendra Modi, pleading that there should be no "political witch-hunt" by the new regime.

These ministers, whose acts of omission and commission led to controversies, have found "friends" who are considered close to Modi.

Assurances are reportedly being given, but those who know Modi's mind feel such 'assurances' have little weight or meaning.

Who has been doling out said assurances? If I didn't know better, I'd say Arun Jaitley. Sussma has been too quiet even for her own comfort. Hope she is made ambassdoor to kyrghizstan. LKA can finally relax. Whatever dirt 10JP had on him, is now safe.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 13 May 2014 13:25

For information of Members Election results and trends will be available on ECI website on 16th

http://eciresults.nic.in

This will give you first hand info and realtime result dissemination will happen from Gnensys software which collects data from all counting centres and displays the results to this website. Of course there would be lot more info on genesys but that is not open to public.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 13 May 2014 13:27

sum wrote:^^ +1.

Hope NaMo does this kraantikaari job. Painful to see British era unifrom clad man-servants walking around behind these governers with a British relic staff in their hand. Too feudal onlee

Nitpick -- please do note that this is not a British practice, but a Indian practice (from older princes and governors) adopted by the British.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 13 May 2014 13:40

Problem is that we are not able to see beyond British rule in Past.
We had first Planned urban civilisation too. But we will credit it to European citis ,no.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 13 May 2014 14:09

Doggy sing not to marry Amrita Rai

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/di ... html[quote]

According to the websites of a news channel and a few regional newspapers, the Congress general secretary recently met his spiritual guru Shankaracharya Swami Shree Swaroopananda Saraswati ji to seek blessings for his second marriage.

However, the Shankracharaya refused to give his nod to Singh's second marriage with Rai.[/quote]

So now Doggy committed Statutory Rape , having sex with false promise of marriage and of course Adultery. Punishable by Life Imprisonment.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 13 May 2014 15:33

So the Congress Shankracharya trying to save Diggy's treasure! LoL indeed!

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 13 May 2014 15:48

I wonder if in Satta Bazar, many Seculars ended up placing the BJP tally much lower, and possibly now on May 16th are going to get a double shock of their lives.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2014 15:53

NDTV

New Delhi: Amid predictions of a rout for the ruling Congress, one of its key allies today set off speculation on whether it could be contemplating jumping ship. Union minister Praful Patel, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), today said his party preferred a "stable government" and if the BJP emerges as the single largest party, the mandate should be respected.

"We have been a part of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance), but the real issue is that the country needs a stable government," Mr Patel told reporters today.

His comments come a day after most exit polls showed that the BJP and its allies will win the national election that ended yesterday.

Mr Patel, whose NCP has partnered the Congress since 1999 and co-governs Maharashtra with it, also remarked, "The question is whether they reach a majority. Only time will tell if they need other parties. But it is clear that the government should be stable."

But he refused to comment on whether that support could come from his party. "Don't draw us into conjecture. We have been a UPA ally but the real issue is that the country should get a stable government. As far as we are concerned, NCP has always acted as a responsible political party," Mr Patel said.

On Monday, Mr Modi had in a blog post appeared to reach out to potential allies. "Yes, as political parties and candidates we have differing ideologies but our goal is one - to work for India and to fulfill the aspirations of our youth," he said.

"Let's place people over politics, hope over despair, healing over hurting, inclusion over exclusion and development over divisiveness. It is natural for the spirit of bi-partisanship to get temporarily lost in the midst of an election campaign but now is the time to resurrect it."

The NCP has repeatedly denied reports of overtures towards the BJP-led coalition, which first started after its chief, Sharad Pawar, said in February that there was no need for a debate on Mr Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots when the courts had ruled on it.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2014 15:54

NDTV

New Delhi: BJP leader Nitin Gadkari met party president Rajnath Singh and veteran leader LK Advani in Delhi today reportedly as part of a series of meetings he is holding to lobby for a comeback as BJP chief.

Mr Gadkari had also met the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Ahemdabad last evening after voting ended in the mammoth nine-phase general election and exit polls predicted a big win for the BJP. (Modi-led BJP Set For Victory, Exit Polls Show)

He is armed with a clean chit from Maharashtra's Income Tax department, which has clarified that "there is no enquiry/investigation presently pending" against Mr Gadkari, whose bid to make history as the first BJP president to get a second straight term was scuttled when an investigation was initiated into allegations of malpractice in his businesses.

Mr Advani was at the forefront of the effort last year to ensure that Mr Gadkari was not renominated as BJP president after his term ended, arguing that the charges of corruption against him would hurt the party's prospects in the general elections, then a little over a year away. (Also Read: LK Advani backs Nitin Gadkari over Narendra Modi, say sources)

The BJP's ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, which had wanted its man Mr Gadkari to continue, eventually picked Rajnath Singh as the party chief who would lead the BJP into the elections.

Mr Gadkari has continued to be part of the BJP's top decision-making panels and contested the elections from Nagpur. He also played an important part in placating Mr Advani when the latter repeatedly objected to Mr Modi's elevation in the party.

Now, he reportedly wants the job of party president back if Rajnath Singh is inducted into a Narendra Modi government at the Centre, should the BJP-led national alliance NDA manage a majority in Parliament. (Won't Be Part of a Narendra Modi Government: Rajnath Singh)

Votes will be counted for the general election on Friday, May 16. Most Exit Polls have predicted that the NDA will get to the 272-seat majority mark.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 13 May 2014 15:56

प्रणव से मिले भाजपा नेता रविशंकर, सरकार के एजेंडे पर मोदी का थिंक टैंक सक्रिय
Ravishankar Prasad of BJP meets Pranab Da , Think tank of BJP active on Govt Agenda.

भाजपा नेता रविशंकर प्रसाद ने मंगलवार को राष्‍ट्रपति प्रणव मुखर्जी से मुलाकात की। बंद कमरे में 15 मिनट चली इस मुलाकात को शिष्‍टाचार भेंट बताया गया। इस दौरान क्‍या बातचीत हुई, इसे लेकर कोई आधिकारिक जानकारी सामने नहीं आई है।

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 13 May 2014 16:07

Going by Pranab Da's asking people to vote for a strong, stable leadership, I believe he is solidly behind Modi. Nobody else comes close to fitting the bill.

member_25682 · Post by **member_25682** » 13 May 2014 16:13

Lisa wrote:Please God let Rahul lead congress in the next election, please!

Tweeted with #Namo2019 tag

arminius · Post by **arminius** » 13 May 2014 16:18

@sisir_gupta ·
UP Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani was interrogated for 2 days by CBI in Coalgate and yet he is Cab Sec material. Strange yardstrick for merit?

Moreover, he was responsible for the mess in the last kumbh at Prayag. Mr. Modi might as well continue with Pulok Chatterjee as Principal Secretary.
MSM at it's best.

kvjayan · Post by **kvjayan** » 13 May 2014 16:20

To become the PM of India, an Indian citizen doesn't need a US visa. QED.

Hope the US State Dept. and our own Angrezi media got the point, at least now.

chaanakya wrote:Obama looking forward to work with new Indian government

US President Barack Obama is looking forward to the formation of a new government in India, once the election results are announced and is pledged to work closely with New Delhi.

“We look forward to the formation of a new government once election results are announced and to working closely with India’s next administration to make the coming years equally transformative,” said Obama in a statement on Monday.

Congratulating the people of India on the successful completion of elections, Obama said, “I congratulate the people of India on concluding their national elections. India has set an example for the world in holding the largest democratic election in history, a vibrant demonstration of our shared values of diversity and freedom”.

In his statement, Obama also referred to the strong friendship that the two countries have developed over the last decades, cutting across party lines.

“The United States and India have developed a strong friendship and comprehensive partnership over the last two decades, which has made our citizens safer and more prosperous and which has enhanced our ability to work together to solve global challenges,” said Obama.

More than 500 million eligible Indian voters exercised their right to franchise to elect some 543 members of Parliament, results for which are scheduled to be announced on May 16.

James B · Post by **James B** » 13 May 2014 16:27

Hard hitting article by R Jagannathan against Dyansty & the ecosystem it created.

Posting in full for posterity

If exit polls prove true, can the Gandhi Dynasty survive?

With almost all polls predicting the worst drubbing for the Congress party this time, a key question being asked is: can the Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty survive this unprecedented political slapdown?

The answer is yes and no. Yes, because the Dynasty stays in power not because the voter wants it, but because it serves the various vested interests which make a living in its name.

No, because the Dynasty has actually lost power - but we are unwilling to see it. What we are seeing is not a real Dynasty, but its empty shell.

The real reason why Dynasty survives all defeats is the ecosystem that got created around it. It will not give up its perks that easily. From institutions of patronage in academia to residences in Lutyens’ Delhi to various loud-talking NGOs to people put in positions of power by the Dynasty and to key media personalities, the Dynasty is no longer about a family, but the ecosystem it created. The Dynasty faithful continue to battle on its behalf: witness the haste with which the UPA wants to appoint an Army Chief when the current one retires only on 31 July – two-and-a-half months away.

It is this ecosystem that has been constantly drumming up scare stories about Narendra Modi and the coming disaster. It fears for its future. (To get a glimpse of how this ecosystem works in practice in the limited sphere of media, you could read this piece published by Firstpost about a year ago).

The ecosystem is powerful for the simple reason that it has gathered more beneficiaries over the 67 years we have been a free country. Between 1947 and 2014, we have had only two periods (1977-1980 and 1998-2004) when Dynasty was out of the power equation. (Even when the Congress was not in power in 1989-1991, and in 1996-98), Congress-wallas and Gandhi-family loyalists were very much in government or supporting it from outside.)

The survival and expansion of this ecosystem was more the result of chance than true creativity. Sanjaya Baru called Manmohan Singh an Accidental Prime Minister; but it would be more appropriate to call the Gandhi family inheritors Accidental Dynasts. Each one of them, including Indira Gandhi herself, was created by an accident of history. Indira Gandhi was not the Congress party’s choice for PM after Nehru. It took Lal Bahadur Shastri’s unexpected death in Tashkent after the 1965 war with Pakistan to bring her to power.

As Ramchandra Guha points out in his book Patriots and Partisans, if Shastri had been alive a few more years, the Dynasty may never have gotten a chance to grow. At Shastri’s untimely death, the party’s bosses could not agree on a successor, and thought Indira, the “ghungi gudiya”, would be putty in their hands. But she proved to be a tough nut to crack.

After Indira, accidents, assassinations included, brought Rajiv Gandhi and his spouse to power at various points in Congress history. They came not from merit, but merely because the Congress vested interests saw them as the route to exercising illegitimate power indirectly. Where would the Ahmed Patels, Janardhan Dwivedis and Digvijaya Singhs derive their power from if they didn’t play the Dynasty song?

In the past, the Gandhi family has often gotten back into the picture because the Congress power-broking system tends to neutralise itself and finally brings in the family as the tipping factor for a movement forward. This is what rescued Sonia Gandhi herself from the sidelines Narasimha Rao had banished her to after 1991. After the 1996 defeat, when Sitaram Kesari briefly tried to commandeer the party, the party went back to the Gandhis.

The power-brokers and the couriers are central to this dynastic survival. Just as temple priests jealously play middlemen between deity and devotees and control access, the Gandhi family praetorian guard and their media counter-parts have always drawn protective veils around the Dynasty in order to enhance their own powers.

Put simply: it is not the Dynasty that has power, but the power brokers, a sycophantic media and general hangers-on who keep putting the Dynasty back into the reckoning. The Emperor or Empress may have no clothes, but it is important for the Congress song-writers to sing hosannas to their good taste in clothes and high fashion sense.

So, after the 2014 defeat, the Dynasty and its supporters will lie low for a while before coming out with this discovery: Priyanka is the new saviour. With Rahul Gandhi having proven his utter incompetence as a leader, he will be eulogised as a saint and his sister the new Joan of Arc, the one invested with god-given political savvy. Already, comparisons are being drawn between her and Indira Gandhi, and her off-the-cuff remarks on the Amethi campaign trail are being extolled as evidence of great political spirit and insight.

Headlines Today’s star anchor Karan Thapar, who normally does not suffer fools on his show, nevertheless managed to bring up this mushy piece on Priyanka. He wrote in the Hindustan Times: “It’s probably too late to turn the tide in this election. But Priyanka’s performance has, unintendedly, suggested an alternative for the future when - and I’m not saying if - the Congress crashes to defeat. Priyanka stepped in to provide a safety net, break the free fall and ensure the final result was not as bad as some feared. She’s done it so successfully that many might prefer her as a permanent alternative rather than an emergency measure…. I think we’re going to see a lot more of Priyanka and I, for one, welcome it.”

One wonders what Thapar saw in Priyanka in those few brief moments of TV soundbyte occasions that he has already declared her a success in this election.

What has Priyanka really said that has been of note in this election? That her father has been “insulted” by Modi, that BJP people are like “rats” who ran away when they sighted her (when did that happen, one wonders?), and how her hubby Robert Vadra is being attacked for no reason at all (Oh, really?), and how the more she is attacked the stronger she will get. She claims to have taken this line from Indira Gandhi, but Modi has been saying much the same thing about being targeted and getting stronger from it.

Priyanka may be a gutsy person, but one cannot spot any signs of any kind of political ideology beyond the family-patented line of being on the side of the aam aadmi, and bringing the family’s martyrdom into focus whenever she is attacked. But the point is this: when Congressmen and the media want it, they will invent a Priyanka halo. My prediction is that in future all good political moves by the Congress – whenever that happens – will be attributed to her acute political mind. The Dynasty will be reinvented. This is how Sonia Gandhi’s own mystique was created – by the media attributing things to her that she never formally ever said.

What is really surprising is the level of media forbearance the Dynasty has received. Till UPA-2 started falling apart, one heard only about the Dynasty’s concerns for the poor and soft-hearted nature. All scams were meticulously diverted to other actors, and nothing ever touched the core family itself.

The Vadra land-grab proves this point. Around the time the media was talking about Robert Vadra’s ability to buy huge properties in Haryana and Rajasthan with almost nothing in the bank, the Congress party gave free takeover financing for a property worth Rs 1,600 crore to a private trust of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi – but the media has strangely gone silent on that even while Vadra rages on.

As we noted in a 2012 story, Sonia and Rahul took over all the properties of Associated Journals Ltd, publisher of the defunct National Herald, through a private non-profit. The deal was entirely financed by a Congress party loan to the mother-and-son duo, and it was originally exposed by the irrepressible Subramanian Swamy. Even though the media has chosen to bury the scandal, the fact is Sonia and Rahul, through a Section 25 company called Young Indian, now own a controlling 76 percent interest in Associated Journals which owns at least Rs 1,600 crore worth of property.

But now, the media is maintaining complete radio silence on this.

Clearly, even after the 2014 electoral performance, the media is likely to remain coy about talking negatively about the Dynasty.

The reality is that the ecosystem created by decades of dynastic rule – the chamchas, the party hacks, the media faithful, the business cronies, the Congress-Left political patronage system in educational and other institutions –will not allow the Dynasty to die a quite death. They have too much invested in Dynasty to allow it walk off into the sunset. The Dynasty may have created them, but now they own the Dynasty.

It may take years – maybe 10-15 years – of Dynasty-mukt Bharat to really start consigning the Dynastic support system to the flames. But we can’t see the Dynasty disappearing anytime soon.

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/if-ex ... 21291.html

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 13 May 2014 17:04

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 13 May 2014 17:10

Apart from UP the biggest headline will come from Bihar

"RJD and JDU wiped out in blockbuster tally for BJP."

Family of Jail ke Panchi would be trounced and in due time RJD will become rump party with Laloo safely back in Jail once his bail is cancelled and next set of verdict is pronounced. Due shortly.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 13 May 2014 17:25

Hari Seldon wrote:
chaanakya wrote: 7RCR is getting makeover in anticipation of new PM moving in shortly.

I seriously feel that he should change the official residence.
+1. I think 10 Janpath would make a stately home for the new prime minister...

According to this article, 10 Janpath is jinxed, means, it needs a balidan from every family that moves into this house, so NaMo should keep from it. He can move to TeenMurthi Bhavan or to 7RCR (after renaming it). If possible lets give 10 Janpath to newly appointed opposition leader of Congress.

Vaastu, beliefs keep many VVIP houses in Delhi jinxed

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 13 May 2014 17:43

TeenMurthi , it should be. Else NaMo should find some other place than 10Sampath or 7HorseTradingRoad.

Anantha · Post by **Anantha** » 13 May 2014 17:48

chaanakya wrote:Doggy sing not to marry Amrita Rai

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/di ... html[quote]

According to the websites of a news channel and a few regional newspapers, the Congress general secretary recently met his spiritual guru Shankaracharya Swami Shree Swaroopananda Saraswati ji to seek blessings for his second marriage.

However, the Shankracharaya refused to give his nod to Singh's second marriage with Rai.

So now Doggy committed Statutory Rape , having sex with false promise of marriage and of course Adultery. Punishable by Life Imprisonment.[/quote]

He 1st called Shankaracharya to issue that statement, now he will say what to do I cant marry Amrita Rai. After the leak in photos by Rai and no Congi Govt, Miss Rai can hope she will not be suicided like Sunanda

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2014 18:03

teen murthi bhavan houses the nehru library, a ASI structure of firoz shah tughlaq days , even a planetarium..my sister who has visited it says the grounds are very well kept and beautiful. if all these complications can be managed why not. its a residence fit for a RajaRaja Chola.

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 13 May 2014 18:18

Anantha wrote: Miss Rai can hope she will not be suicided like Sunanda

Smart lady took out an insurance policy by announcing she is pregnant so not so easy. Doggy is capable of doing deals though.

member_28025 · Post by **member_28025** » 13 May 2014 18:23

Victor wrote:
Anantha wrote: Miss Rai can hope she will not be suicided like Sunanda
Smart lady took out an insurance policy by announcing she is pregnant so not so easy. Doggy is capable of doing deals though.

I hope the baby resembles her and not Diggy. How could this lady fall for him? Was it power and position that attracted her?

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 13 May 2014 18:25

Put simply: it is not the Dynasty that has power, but the power brokers, a sycophantic media and general hangers-on who keep putting the Dynasty back into the reckoning.

R Jagannathan hit the nail bang on the head. This is what i have said before and what many do not yet understand. The ecosystem is such that power brokers, sycophants have a huge stake in protecting the dynasty. The more moronic the head the better. These power brokers are the most ruthless and dangerous and will not hesitate in culling any emerging power center within. The Dynastic morons will not even probably be aware of the machinations behind the scene of this machine.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 13 May 2014 18:25

Hari Seldon wrote:Who has been doling out said assurances? If I didn't know better, I'd say Arun Jaitley. Sussma has been too quiet even for her own comfort. Hope she is made ambassdoor to kyrghizstan. LKA can finally relax. Whatever dirt 10JP had on him, is now safe.

Arun Jaitley and Swapan Dasgupta - don't trust either of them - both appear to be too compromised by existing networks to the delhi media-intellectual-left cabal. OTOH, that Mughal turd Dalyrymple calls Jaitley the "dark legal advisor" to Modi, so Jaitley might be a plus after all.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 13 May 2014 18:26

Victor wrote:
Anantha wrote: Miss Rai can hope she will not be suicided like Sunanda
Smart lady took out an insurance policy by announcing she is pregnant so not so easy. Doggy is capable of doing deals though.

One hopes that if the Congress is not in power, she will be safer. Otherwise, another Pushkar case.

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 13 May 2014 18:32

BTW, it is MRS Rai as she is technically a married woman. Adultery is punishable under IPC.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 13 May 2014 18:46

“I Will Break the Delhi Cabal of Status Quoists”

Abhijit · Post by **Abhijit** » 13 May 2014 19:10

Why are people giving any credence to a far tickle in rediff? Pl. do not believe any of the media jokers (about upa ministers being spared jail) NaMo has a long memory and moreover he cannot establish the supremacy of law if he spares the biggest fraudsters. So relax. Justice is coming.

SanjayC · Post by **SanjayC** » 13 May 2014 19:11

^^^^ Expectations are being set up through these type of articles for EVM magic to restrict NDA to around 250 so that Modi doesn't become PM. Before they do EVM fraud, they release articles like these so that the manipulated numbers appear natural

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2014 19:13

and while we shiver and cower here....the BJP in MH seems to have placed a advance order for ladoos...2 tons of it.

http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/e ... topstories

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 May 2014 19:14

I want to keep repeating this article till I feel there is enough heads nodding for this:

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/12/11/w ... 67614.html
Why Delhi’s elite detest Modi’s 3D vision

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The home page of the India International Centre (IIC) website declares: “Considered one of the country’s premier cultural institutions, the India International Centre is a non-Government institution widely regarded as a place where statesmen, diplomats, policy-makers, intellectuals, scientists, jurists, writers, artists and members of civil society meet to initiate the exchange of new ideas and knowledge in the spirit of international cooperation.”

Founded way back in 1959, one is unsure of the contribution of IIC in promoting culture to this day. What is the “new idea and knowledge” that IIC has discussed or promoted since its inception in 1959? Of course the mother of all questions remains — which culture? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Nevertheless, sanctimoniously IIC claims that it is India’s “premier” cultural institution.

And on top of this diffused identity, IIC claims to model itself in the “spirit of international cooperation.” Given the state of international affairs, I for one, am stumped to define, describe or recognise this “spirit,” much less fashion an organisation based on such nebulous idea.

Is it loose usage of English language or is it a classic case of using phrases deliberately chosen with utmost care to bamboozle the reader or is this a perfect case of self exaggeration? Again, your guess is as good as mine.

Whatever be it, the fact remains that it is a gossip corner at best and booze joint at worst. Located in the centre of Delhi for the privileged class – the elites of Delhi — membership to IIC defines your place in the pecking order of influence.

Interestingly, a leader of the BJP, after worming his way in 2002-2003 into the office of the Prime Minister yearned for the exclusive and elusive membership of IIC. Much as he tried, he could not succeed. And according to popular Delhi folklore, it required the intervention and introduction and one Manmohan Singh to help him become its member.

Put pithily, if you do not belong to this group, (and even if you are part of the coveted PMO) one is not recognised as a statesman, diplomat, policy-maker, intellectual, writer or whatever!

IIC, in more ways than one, provides a context to the discussion on hand. Let us not forget that Delhi is dotted with several institutions that are modelled on IIC. These in turn are controlled by elites of Delhi who in turn manipulate every thought, idea and design about India. And members of this cabal, cutting across party lines, enjoy an incestuous relationship, serving each other’s interests.

No wonder, despite the apparent cacophony visible in India’s democracy, India is a stable democracy.

Unassailable group

Given this paradigm, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial Candidate Narendra Modi fingered this cabal where it hurts them most. He is reported to have stated in Delhi, “I am not from the elite class and, therefore, Delhi’s elite class does not accept Modi who is from a poor family. Yet, I have been able to do what these third-generation elites could not.” (Source: Indian Express, Nov 24, 2013).

Naturally, questions arise – Is this all mere positioning by Modi? Or is this a usual attempt of an Indian politician to endear himself to the in the run-up to elections? Or is there a larger subtext to this posturing by Modi?

The answer to these questions requires a greater understanding of why these institutions were created and how they operated. IIC and other such institutions that dot Delhi are mostly colonial. In the alternative they are modelled on colonial ideas. Importantly, this cabal continues to fashion the “idea of India” from such alien structures occupied and controlled by the British.

Depending on for who they lobby, these privileged lot who have come to occupy such alienated institutions post-independence have attempted to convince us of nationalisation at one point in time and privatisation at another, of the need for capital punishments in one case and the need for abolishing it altogether in another, of supporting emergency or its withdrawal, of the efficacy of Keynesian economics or its redundancy, of the benefits of joining WTO and also putting forth the argument of profiting by quitting it!

It is these section – call them progressive, liberals or Leftists – who will certify whether one is secular or communal; morally right or wrong, ethically correct or not. In short, it is they who shape, de-shape and re-shape the collective conscience of our establishment.

In the process, one should never question their inconsistency, working or their own moral standards. Remember, should you fail to toe their ever-shifting line; it is their absolute prerogative to hurt you!

Worse, a change in Government does not matter for such people. How could it, when most in every political party, secretly or otherwise, aspire to be a part of this cabal? As explained above, entry into this cabal is strictly restricted and requires sanction of one within. And such approvals do not come easily unless loyalty to this club is demonstrably demonstrated.

That is not all. The grand idea of this influential section has been to keep India poor and Indians perennially deprived. This in turn drives ordinary Indians to these very people for distributing meagre resources, rationing during shortages, and arbitrating disputes.

In short, a centrally-controlled India is a growth-deprived India. And a growth-deprived India disproportionately makes the elites, especially of Delhi, relevant.

Modi’s 3D vision – develop, decentralise and decontrol

Naturally, when Modi talks of development, this cabal is aghast. After all, they have successfully subjugated vast sections of our population by simply subjecting them to perennial poverty. Modi’s idea of development for the entire country dynamites this assiduously built model of poverty and depravity.

A prosperous India could also mean re-establishment of global order – one that could render many within the group jobless. Remember that most of them are in the payroll of foreign forces. In the alternative, they genuinely believe that emergence of India in the geo-political order is inimical to India’s interest!

Likewise, if one disaggregates Modi’s speeches over the past few months on the idea of governance, decentralisation is a recurrent theme. Decentralisation in turn shifts power from Delhi to the State capitals and from State capitals to Panchayats. Despite the Constitution being three-tiered, the fact of the matter is that Part IX A of the Constitution, which deals with Panchayat Raj, is at best an ornamental piece of legislation.

For instance, under our Constitution, the Supreme Court need not function only out of Delhi. But even after 60 years of our Independence, we have a Delhi-centric Supreme Court. And to this date, there is no talk of setting benches of Supreme Court in different parts of India. This has made justice physically inaccessible for our countrymen hailing from remote corners.

But who are the beneficiaries of this centralised system? Obviously, the senior counsels of Supreme Court. From Constitutional Law to environmental law, from criminal to company law, they — a dozen or two of our senior counsels – again the elites of Delhi — are gateways to law and justice for a billion plus people! Naturally, decentralisation defangs this group, makes them powerless and reduces their importance.

The third dimension of Modi’s vision of de-control was provided when he addressed a gathering in Chennai not so long ago. Pointing out the need to reach out to the Indian diaspora worldwide, Modi advocated the need to make good use of them, involve them and also stand by them in building relationship with foreign countries.

Further, Modi indicated the need for a greater role for States in devising India’s foreign policy by outlining a unique model. He suggested that every State should be made responsible for diplomatic relations with one country and that, he said, would ensure better relations. “That way we will have at least 34 friends in the world and no one will be able to browbeat us,” he envisioned.

Naturally, the 3D vision – Develop, Decentralise and Decontrol, has left our Delhi elites flummoxed. That, substantially if not wholly, explains their antipathy to Modi’s spectacular rise.

This, let me hasten to add, is not an issue merely between Modi and his political adversaries. Rather, it is involves the influential class within his own party. To that extent, political experts fear that his ascendency will increasingly be questioned by this cabal in the days to come.

And that explicates his views on the subject quoted above. Modi knows that he derives his power from the people of India. Equally, he is aware that he needs to tackle this system at the outset that favours the elites to effectuate a systemic change. And if he fails, he is equally aware his ascendency can at best be a regime change – one where Tweedleedee replaces Tweedleedum.

Surely, Modi is not an incremental in his approach in the Vajpayee mould. He is a technology disruptor that makes all others obsolete. That implies that his ascendency guarantees a systemic change – much to the chagrin of the elites in Delhi – one where such privileged class of India are marginalised and ordinary Indian placed at the centre of policy-making.

(The author is a Chennai-based Chartered Accountant. He can be contacted at mrv@mrv.net.in)

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 13 May 2014 19:15

SanjayC wrote:^^^^ Expectations are being set up through these type of articles for EVM magic to restrict

Oh please when the average of the MSM ALL OVER THE PLACE is 272 who in hells name is going to fall for one or two articles.

This EVM dhoti shivering has to stop.

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 13 May 2014 19:16

Teen Murti Bhavan was meant to be the PM's residence originally. But after Nehru's death, his hagiographers turned it into a museum for him

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2014 19:25

IIC is the most elitist place along with delhi gymkhana club. unless you have PMO level backing you would not get in.

but there is also a massive IHC (A sifarish from delhi CM or senior minister is enough to get in), where a lot of sickulars hang out. the amphitheater in IHC was where a batch of concerned sickulars held a baithak to denounce Namo.

http://communalism.blogspot.in/2014/04/ ... s-and.html
Hum Dekhenge
Looking Back, Looking Forward
On Sunday 6th April 2014, 5-8 pm

Amphitheatre, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

Elections 2014 for the 16th Lok Sabha is creating incessant talk of a mood for change, promising to make this the most contentious electoral battle in recent memory. In the hype and din, many basic concerns of economics, politics and human rights are being glossed over, and in many cases, wiped out.

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