Statewide and National runup to 2014 General elections

[Virendra]

God bless you Arnab Goswami. Respect from the bottom of my heart.
Those of you who had a tense day, thank me in advance for the hearty laugh. Here goes .... #RahulSpeaksToArnab !!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starts with a falsity "Congress didn't name a PM candidate in 2009".

The inevitable Rahul Counter Q to the PM Q:
Why did you become a journalist?? #SomeThingsNeverChange

There is global energy which wants to bring manufacturing to India"
[-- ... ehh what?? --]

Our system is unfair, our energy is trapped, says Rahul Gandhi.
[-- Who made it unfair? Who trapped the energy?--]

"We will defeat the BJP .... I believe in RTI."

Arnab: How is Narendra Modi to be blamed for 2002 after SIT gave clean chit?
Rahul Gandhi: We believe in empowering women.

Arnab: But your party continues to blame Modi.
Rahul Gandhi: The real issue is empowering women.

Arnab: Do you acknowledge the role of Congress in 1984 massacre of Sikhs?
Rahul: Some Congressmen were probably involved.

Arnab: Do you believe Congressmen were involved.
Rahul: Innocent people died.

Arnab: How did Congressmen do what they did if Govt was trying to stop 1984?
Rahul: There is due process of law.

Arnab: Explain Gujarat Govt aiding the riots.
Rahul: I am not saying this, people are saying it.

Arnab: Courts have cleared Modi and the government in 2002 riots. How then do you accuse Modi?
Rahul: Your colleagues told me.

Rahul: Laws are passed by Parliament. We have to pass a law (to bring parties under RTI).
[--Rahul's Parliament attendance 43%. Spoke twice totally--]

Arnab: What do you think of Ind NZ series-
Rahul: See you have to understand that we have to follow the process. We have to empower the team.

Arnab: Should parties be under RTI?
Rahul: The central question is who chooses candidates.

Arnab: Why are you still protecting Ashok Chavan?
Rahul: I have made my position clear. We brought RTI.

Arnab: Why are bureaucrats punished, not politicians in Adarsh case.
Rahul: There are 6 Bill sitting in Parliament.

Arnab: Are you willing to take action on Ashok Chavan and Virbhadra Singh?
Rahul: There is a legal process.

Arnab: Is it appropriate of Virbhadra Singh to take money...
Rahul: We have passed Lokpal.

Arnab: Why didn't you speak up on 2G, CWG, Coalgate.
Rahul: I report to the Prime Minister. Whatever I felt I told the Prime Minister.

Arnab: Do you feel you should have spoken up on corruption earlier?
Rahul: I don't hear discussion on how we are choosing a candidate

Arnab: Will you make compromise on Lalu Prasad Yadav?
Rahul: These decisions are made by senior leaders. Our alliance is with idea not party
[--Lalu is an idea .. like poverty is a state of mind --]

Arnab: What about inflation?
Rahul Gandhi: Women are the backbone of the countr

Arnab: Will you do something on prices?
Rahul: I am working with PM. Our State Govts have lowered vegetable prices.

Arnab: What about AAP?
Rahul: The real strength of the Congress is the dept of the organisation.

Arnab: Wise to give support to AAP?
Rahul: AAP won an election so we thought we would help them...

Arnab: BJP got more seats than AAP...
Rahul: I want to revive manufacturing industry.

Arnab: Are you using AAP to stop Modi?
Rahul: You're underestimating Congress. Even if it wanted to, Congress couldn't do it.

Arnab: Are you using AAP to stop Modi?
Rahul: We will win this election. Arnab: If you lose? Rahul: I am responsible.

Arnab: Are you a vote-catcher?
Rahul: If we lose elections, I am blamed. We have to change the system.

Arnab: Why do you keep invoking family name?
Rahul: I didn't choose to be born in this family. I didn't sign up for this family.

Rahul: You haven't asked me one question how to improve India. You are not interested in that.
Arnab: I'm not interested in a Rahul speech. This is NOT a Rahul Gandhi speech but a Rahul Gandhi interview

Arnab: Swamy raises questions about your degrees.
Rahul: I am being attacked because I am thinking deeply.

Arnab: How can you have your head in sand.
Rahul: Crux is how we choose candidates. You don't like discussing it. I'm a serious politician.

Arnab: What about Priyanka ...
Rahul: I want to help use energy of this country. I want to get away from issues and get deeper into issues.
[--Read the last line again --]

Arnab: When will you marry?
Rahul: For this you have to know my past.I saw my granny & father die, because of the system. I want to change the system.

Arnab: Do you think watching p-o-r-n in the assembly is wrong Mr.Gandhi?
Rahul: We need more women in the system.

Arnab: Your 'power is poison' comment reinforces image of you as reluctant prince.
Rahul: Regardless of what I do I don't like unfairness.

Arnab: Had you not been a Gandhi would you be in politics?
Rahul: Maybe you find me strange. Arnab: No I don't find you strange.

Rahul: In many ways I am an anomaly in the environment. Power is poison remark I tell my sister and my sister tells my mother.

Arnob: "Why is Khemka being hounded for Vadra's land deals in Haryana?";
Rahul: "We must empower women & give RTI to people"

Rahul: I am not interested in power. I want to reduce pain because of predatory system.

Arnab: Were you angry with Shinde for giving facesaver to Kejriwal.
Rahul: We have structure.

Arnab: Were you upset with Shinde?
Rahul: You are going back.
Arnab: What do you mean.
Rahul: It is superficiality.
Arnab: Of course not.

Arnab: Will you have a debate with Modi?
Rahul: You start the debate. The real issue is doing this stuff.
Arnab: What do you mean?
Rahul: We have to empower women.

Arnab: But investors don't want to invest in India. You get my point.
Rahul: Yes I get your point. Actually RTI has changed the game.

Arnab: How are you different? Why no change at the top?
Rahul: Abracadabra won't change system. I am doing revolutionary work.

Arnab: Will you be open to debate with Modi.
Rahul: We believe in panchayati raj.

Arnab: Most opinion polls are saying Congress will lose this election, score lowest.
Rahul: This country will do well if people are involved

Arnab: Modi tells people you have given Congress 60 years, give me 60 months.
Rahul: We have given Aadhar.
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Regards,
Virendra

[manish]

Wow I'm really stunned to see MD Pai bashing Tipu Sultan left, right & center. He seems to be somewhat cured of secularitis.

Don't know about his general outlook, but in Coastal KA where Pai has his roots, there's little love for Tipu amongst both Hindus as well as Catholics.

Anyone who has visited the famous Madhur Siddhi Vinayaka temple in Kasaragod (Kerala) across the border from Mangalore would probably remember the carefully preserved damage from Tipu's sword on one of the temple structures with inscription describing the origins of the damage .

He also destroyed some of the holiest sites of local Roman Catholics in the region (the Shrine of St Lawrence at Attur) and also imprisoned, tortured and tried to convert a whole lot of them at the time.

These are definitely passed on from generation to generation without fail - no amount of 'secular' white-washing of textbooks can erase these imprints from local's minds. The region of course continues to be a 'communally sensitive' one to this day per the 'secular' classifications of our sarkar.

[Muppalla]

GSR Survey

Overall UP
BJP 30%
BSP 23%
SP 22%
INC 14%
RLD 2%
AAP 4%

Overall Bihar
BJP 35%
RJD+LJP+INC 28%
JDU 24%
AAP 2%

Looks like the csds survey on bihar matches these results, just that csds gave 39 to bjp and 20 to jdu

The UP nos are not good. BH so-so.

come on, the numbers are extremely good from BJP's support perspective. You don't get miracles in just a month. This is a huge gain even before candidates are declared. As we reach to poll dates with candidates and local seat level adjustments, things will change. There is an opportunity to screwup as well like BJP did in 2009. But this is as good as it can come at this juncture.

[Avarachan]

A few posters have suggested that India's Christians can be divided into those who proselytize and those who don't. I would suggest a different division--between groups which are foreign-funded and foreign-manned, and those which are Indian.

Practically speaking, aren't these divisions pretty much the same thing ? Foreign funds are not coming in due to the "goodness of the heart" of the Xtian organizations in the West. They expect and measure payback in terms of the number of souls harvested.

KLP Dubey, thanks for your response. I would recommend the foreign-Indian distinction because most everyone can understand why the government would have legitimate national-security concerns regarding this. Regarding the issue of proselytism and conversion, I recommend that the government not get deeply involved in regulating this. For instance, I know many Hindus who keep a picture of Jesus in their pooja stands. I asked a friend of mine why she did this, and she said that she prayed to Jesus once, and she feels that he answered her prayers. No one gave her money, no one put pressure on her--she just made a personal decision regarding her own spiritual practices.

I'm not going to comment extensively on this at BRF, because I don't want to get drawn into a religious discussion. All I'll say is that many Indians (regardless of their religious beliefs) would not want the Indian government to interfere in personal spiritual matters like this. In my opinion, the Indian government should ensure that foreign intelligence services and political agents stay out, that no financial or political inducements are offered in connection with religious activities, that India's cultural heritage is respected, and that Indian citizens give their political allegiance to India first and foremost. Beyond that, I don't think the Indian government should get involved in religious matters. If Hindu organizations want to promote the wisdom and goodness present in Hinduism, I don't have a problem with that. However, I don't think that *any* religious group should be allowed to use the coercive power of the state to further its particular agenda. (If someone really wants to discuss this further, he/she can email me. I don't want to get into a religious discussion on an Internet forum.)

If the BJP wants to win votes from both Hindus and Christians in Kerala, I recommend that they recruit military veterans. Many Keralite Christians and Hindus were infuriated by how V.S. Achuthanandan insulted the family of Maj. Sandeep Unnikrishnan after 26/11. There are many Orthodox Christians who serve valiantly in the military. For instance, Col. Jojan Thomas, who was killed in J&K in 2008, was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 323656.ece

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/05/12/stor ... 460400.htm

"Beena (right) wife of Col. Jojan Thomas having a last glimpse of her husband in Bangalore on Monday."

[Muppalla]

A few posters have suggested that India's Christians can be divided into those who proselytize and those who don't. I would suggest a different division--between groups which are foreign-funded and foreign-manned, and those which are Indian. I can't write a long post about this, because I have no desire to get into a forum flame-war. However, without foreign funding and foreign staffing, the loony fringe of Indian Christianity would die out on its own. Its theology and cultural life is shallow, and can't survive an extended philosophical encounter with a sophisticated opponent.

Furthermore, there is a legitimate national-security interest in barring foreign meddling in India's religious affairs: just look at what's been done to Syria. There is precedent from other countries in how to do this: most countries (including Russia, France, Turkey, and Indonesia) monitor and regulate religious activity by foreigners.

Thanks for the good post.

Does the indic-Christians come forward with an anti-conversion law on the lines that Orissa has passed when it was ruled by congress led by JB Patnaik? It is purely about banning foreign missionary activities. I will bet they will not in spite being indic. That is where the intellectual dishonesty comes into picture. This is also one of the reasons for being maintaining a distance from BJP. Hope there will be some traction to close the gaps in thought processes.

[ManjaM]

God bless you Arnab Goswami. Respect from the bottom of my heart.
Those of you who had a tense day, thank me in advance for the hearty laugh. Here goes .... #RahulSpeaksToArnab !!!
.
.
Regards,
Virendra

Oh man, someone give this guy a evening gown and tiara, we can call him Miss South Carolina.

[Suraj]

Muppalla: Sticking just to the political aspects of the matter, I think Avarachan makes a very good point. I don't really think it is a matter of intellectual dishonesty. Their religion does not prohibit conversion. However, unlike the new evangelicals and new Catholics, the older Christians are not really driven by the rapacious drive to increase their ranks. Rather, it focuses more maintaining the sophistication and historical heritage within a close knit community, that they are proud of. They don't really appreciate every superficial Tom Dick and Harry walking in and dunking their heads in water and praying to Jesus, and instead expect the adherents to show they want to be Orthodox if they do convert. In that regard they are more like Reformed Jews than evangelicals who are happy to dip your face into the nearest glass of nimbu pani and state that you're now one of them.

The focus on foreign money ensures that the focus is primarily upon the new evangelicals and jihadis, whose fervor is driven by the money backing them. They are the real target. An anti-conversion law is a blunt tool that does not target them properly, and instead causes the collateral damage of alienating a community of old Christians and other groups whose religion doesn't proscribe conversion, but doesn't make it an overwhelming imperative to do so either.

If the new evangelicals and jihadis are targeted by laws targeting foreign money and political interference, will the conversions to orthodox Christianity happen ? Sure it will still. But so will conversions/reconversions by Hindu sects who enable it, and the overall numerical superiority ensures that long term equilibrium will be more easily maintained, while simultaneously politically co-opting these older Christians into the BJP fold, because they feel safe from their more aggressive brethren and also from the BJP targeting them through such a blunt edged anti-conversion law. Such a law may be an imperative in Orissa where the issue is specifically only foreign-money driven evangelicals. In Kerala, there's also a large group of older Christians who are not functionally in the same category, and therefore, it's a better option to use laws that target foreign money.

From a practical political perspective, it's better to leave them alone to do their thing in their own limited space, than alienate them when they otherwise serve as a very valuable ally within the BJP's vote base. Understandings can be made with their church elders not to resort to anything beyond conversions made entirely voluntarily. But beyond that, it's important to differentiate the very different compulsions of various Christian groups and attempt to encourage the ones who pose little long term threat into the BJP fold, while addressing the problem posed by the evangelical/jehadi types who actually present a clear and present danger.

[Saral]

God bless you Arnab Goswami. Respect from the bottom of my heart.
Those of you who had a tense day, thank me in advance for the hearty laugh. Here goes .... #RahulSpeaksToArnab !!!Virendra

It shouldn't be too difficult to create a @rahulbot much like the @redscarebot.. probably a lot easier as @redscarebot is somewhat clever and takes some work to trigger it.

[Avarachan]

If the new evangelicals and jihadis are targeted by laws targeting foreign money and political interference, will the conversions to orthodox Christianity happen ? Sure it will still. But so will conversions/reconversions by Hindu sects who enable it, and the overall numerical superiority ensures that long term equilibrium will be more easily maintained, while simultaneously politically co-opting these older Christians into the BJP fold, because they feel safe from their more aggressive brethren and also from the BJP targeting them through such a blunt edged anti-conversion law.

Suraj, this is a sensible post. Are there Hindus who convert and become Indian Orthodox Christians? Yes. However, there are also Indian Orthodox Christians (and Mar Thomites, etc.) who convert to Hinduism. There have been a few high-profile conversions of Malayali Christian actresses to Hinduism recently.

Nayantara (nee Diana Mariam Kurian)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayantara

Dhanya Mary Varghese
http://www.ukmalayalee.com/latest-news/ ... d=MjU4NQ==

Now, to be honest, their Christian relatives weren't thrilled about this, but most Orthodox priests will say that if an Orthodox Christian wants to leave Christianity, he/she should be free to do so. That is only fair and honest.

Getting back to politics, it would help NaMo to be photographed with a smile on his face, surrounded by small children. Most photos of him are taken from rallies, where he's looking intense, almost angry. That makes people nervous, because it makes them wonder if NaMo really is a Hindu fascist the way the MSM portrays him to be. He should relax and smile more often. That sounds dumb, but I think it really would make a difference, especially for women and non-Hindus.

[Raja Bose]

Pappu gets his diapers ripped off by Arnab Goswami

[Avarachan]

Will [email you] over the coming weekend, would you be able to wait till then? Am snowed under at work.

Sure, no problem. Thanks.

[ramana]

Avarachan, Are you from Cochin? Reason I ask is my ex-roomate in RECW was from there and his father was Reverend.

[Avarachan]

Ramana, thanks for your message. All I would like to say on a public forum is that both my parents were born and raised in Kerala. I'm not being paranoid, but Kerala is really being overrun by jihadist thugs. And, as you know, the forum is closely monitored by all kinds of people.

[SwamyG]

Without getting into the discussion of the term Indic, we have had countless threads on that. One should not bracket proselytizing religious groups as Indic or non-Indic. It is a slippery slope, as the so-called Indic religions themselves relied on proselytism over thousands of years to spread their ideas, culture and ways of worship.

Are you implying that proselytizing Christians (or say even Muslims) have not been valuable part of the state or the country.

You misunderstand. I personally have no problem calling them all Indic; it is they who'd respond negatively to the association and would not associate politically with the BJP. That does not apply to those like the older Orthodox Christian folks who happily associate with the native folks without any effort to denigrate the faith or culture of the people who welcomed them here, and on the same token would readily be not just BJP but Modi supporters if he gave them the very reasonable and mutually beneficial support they seek. See Avarachan's post in the Stateswide elections thread. I'm sure he can also mention more about their attitude towards non-Christians compared to that of the older Orthodox types.

Moving from the other political dhaaga.

1. Growing up in Madras, I have had Malayalee and tamilian friends who were Christians and Muslims. Maybe because it was 30years ago when the global impact on them was different, or maybe it was the southern cultural milieu, to me they appeared and behaved like an average Hindu - except their gods were different. So the general engagement was very cordial and skirmishes and differences were unheard. Or maybe it was the Madras environment.

2. My point was with respect to proselytism. A country ought to give a free hand for conversion (and reconversion) within the realms of reason. As long as there is no foreign hand or money involved in the conversion - because conversions cause friction and with foreign money and hand the friction magnitude can increase that a state cannot easily manage. In addition, foreigners might have less than noble intentions.

3. As far as the Indicness goes, some of the friends, of Christian and Muslim faith, from Kerala and Tamil Nadu indeed valued their mallu or tamil identity equally if not more than their religious identities. Some people like Rajiv Malhotra have looked at this from a different perspective without much understanding of the local culture/environment.

[SaiK]

let me put it the other way.. no country should force conversion or fund conversion or allow conversion agenda culture.

otoh, if people are willing to convert on their own efforts, provide full freedom!!

[Anantha]

Virendra
Did you make that Arnab-RG 1 on 1 up, or was was real (I am serious)? TOIlet and Congressi Times have something else as stories. If real, RG is the Dalai Lama of Morons, Murkha Shigamani of this planet.

[Shanmukh]

Folks - looks like PMK falls in line.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 466846.cms

If PMK agrees to the alliance, the BJP alliance in TN is now
BJP+PMK+MDMK+IJK

This leaves two potential allies
DMDK and KMK.
Did I miss anyone else?

Need to watch for what they will do.

[Abhijit]

^^^ Anantha, the real one was even more hilarious than what Virendra put there.

[Raja Bose]

Virendra
Did you make that Arnab-RG 1 on 1 up, or was was real (I am serious)? TOIlet and Congressi Times have something else as stories. If real, RG is the Dalai Lama of Morons, Murkha Shigamani of this planet.

Watch the entire video yourself (posted on the previous page). Rahul Gandhi is like Pakistan - reality is funnier than anything you can make up

[Muppalla]

^^^
The benis thread looks pale when compared

[vic]

If the interview of Arnab With Rahul baba as actually posted by Virendra happened then it seems that Rahul got cavity searched and no brain found!

Somebody is sabotaging dumbo, why did he go for interview to Arnab, why not a fawning pro congress interviewer?


A few more interviews like this and BJP will majority on it's own.

[Avarachan]

SwamyG, thanks for your comment. Keeping in mind the topic of this thread, I will only discuss how, in general, India's Orthodox Christians approach Indian politics.

1) It is true that Orthodox Christians are comfortable with their Hindu neighbors (and Hindu rulers) in a way that other Christians are not. For many centuries, the Orthodox Christians of the region lived peacefully under the Hindu rulers. The Christians loyally served in the military (etc.), and the Hindu kings left them alone. All that changed with the arrival of the Portuguese Catholics. One of the chief goals of the Goan Inquisition was the crushing of the Indian Orthodox Church. This was authorized by the Roman Catholic Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor) in 1599. I'm not going to go into the details here, but India's Orthodox Christians have never forgotten that their Hindu neighbors left them alone for centuries, but their "Christian brothers" from the West terrorized them as soon as they were able. (http://www.koonankurishu.com) By the way, Indian Orthodox are not shocked by the current Western-sponsored jihad in Syria. The West has a long history of doing this.

2) Culturally, India's Orthodox Christians are quite Hindu. For instance, if an Orthodox Christian layman kept all of the church fasts, he would fast from all animal products (i.e., live as a vegan) for about 50% of the year. Now, a lot of people don't keep the fasts strictly. However, the fasting rules create a point of cultural contact between Orthodox Christians and their Hindu neighbors. I've noticed that many Western Protestants view Indian vegetarianism as weird. (One thinks of that charming woman, Mrs. May. I'm being sarcastic, of course.) Indian Orthodox Christians do not view it as weird. Orthodox monks never eat meat, and Orthodox laymen don't eat meat half of the year. At least, they shouldn't. (http://malankaraorthodoxchurch.in/index ... Itemid=250) This creates interesting possibilities for political compromises.

3) Theologically, India's Orthodox Christians have a different understanding of salvation than other Christians. Again, I'm not going to get into a detailed theological exposition here, but Orthodox Christians place a great emphasis on Jesus's words in Matthew 7:21: "'Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.'" This is why the Orthodox disagree with the evangelicals' approach to preaching. Salvation is not a matter of mouthing a magic formula which will unlock the gates of heaven. A person can say the right words--"Lord, Lord"--but unless he's lived a righteous life, it's of no use.

Also, as a human being, I do not have the authority to claim that I've lived a righteous life. I certainly don't have the authority to judge and say that someone else *hasn't* lived a righteous life. Only God can judge, which He will do at the Final Judgement. On an everyday level, this means that Orthodox Christians are much less aggressive and strident than evangelicals. (See, for example, this article from the Indian Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christians from other countries would probably be more assertive, but the Indian Church has jurisdiction over India. http://malankaraorthodoxchurch.in/index ... Itemid=234)

I don't mean to paint a false picture. There are definitely areas of disagreement and possible tension between Orthodox Christians and Hindus. However, it is also true that Hindus and India's Orthodox Christians have lived together quite peacefully for many centuries.

[krishnan]

let me put it the other way.. no country should force conversion or fund conversion or allow conversion agenda culture.

otoh, if people are willing to convert on their own efforts, provide full freedom!!

problem is people esp low income group are being brain washed into it. When i was in 9th, that is some 20 years back they tried it with me , and i still see xtians do that to slum kids,

[svenkat]

Christians and mohammedans are minorities.They are peripheral to Indian history.Most christians in India are rice christians.The big elephant in the room is Hindu diversity-caste and language.

Congress is a rainbow coalition.But brahmanas have deserted Congress in large measure.The binding glue of Hindu civilisation is no more in Congress.It is primarily because of democracy,social and economic change which is inevitable.

BJP faces the same issues as Congress but is pretending Hindu culture will be the glue.Without a brahiminical core,BJP will flounder.Also BJP has little support among linguistic minorities,dominant peasant castes(reddys,marathas,jats,thevars,gounders,kapus).There is incredible ethnic/linguistic/social diversity at middle level and Congress has incredible advantage as the original Hindu nationalist party which realised the limitations of mobilisation on a purely pan-indian nationalism.

Christianity and Islam are footnotes in Indian history.

[Aditya_V]

BS Brahminical core, it i the OBC's/SC/St who have much more to hold this country. Most so called Brahims have been at the top of INC for many years, they have been out tna out sell outs.

[Victor]

Rather than be entertained by the RG video, it is painful to realize that this guy could easily have become the PM of India if Namo didn't arrive on the scene. How did that happen and what are we to have allowed it to happen.

[svenkat]

Aditya_Vji,
I understand where you come from.
Its about respect for diversity within the Hindu world while having faith in the larger unity.

I fully agree that its the 'OBCs,dominant castes',erstwhile dalits who 'have much more' to hold the country together.But a significant number in importnt positions will come from the forward castes too.We are living in a transition age wherein many of these overlapping groups are 'evenly matched' and competing for power and a lot of important positions are being held as some sort of 'place holders'.

[kmkraoind]

Breaking News:
@ANI_news 1m: We will not ally with Congress or any other party : M Karunanidhi.

It means fight in TN is semi-bipolar with ADMK as a big one and BJP led coalition as an opponent. If Captain smells victory, he might join BJP coalition.

[krishnan]

hmmm, DMK going all alone is very interesting , maybe they will give outside support to the majority , is DMK doing what cong is doing , giving up before the fight has started

BTW regarding aligiri suspension

"Alagiri came to my house on January 24 and complained regarding Stalin and troubled me and used harsh words. Alagiri told me Stalin will die in three months. No father can tolerate such words against his son," Karunanidhi said, explaining.

dunno how true

[RajeshA]

IBTL has projected 4 seats for AAP in UP and 3 in MH.

Would have to see this to believe it!

[SanjayC]

IBTL has projected 4 seats for AAP in UP and 3 in MH.

Would have to see this to believe it!

As we come nearer to elections, seats of Cong and AAP will mysteriously begin to increase and that of BJP begin to decrease. Mark my words.

[BhairavP]

3 in MH? Hahhaha. No chance!

[anmol]

If the interview of Arnab With Rahul baba as actually posted by Virendra happened then it seems that Rahul got cavity searched and no brain found!

Somebody is sabotaging dumbo, why did he go for interview to Arnab, why not a fawning pro congress interviewer?


A few more interviews like this and BJP will majority on it's own.

Keeping Rahul in the headlines
hindustantimes.com | Jan 28th 2014

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s decision to give his first major television interview to Times Now was driven by the perception in the Congress top-rung that the channel had the highest TRPs in the English-language news segment. The decision to pick the channel over its rival NDTV, which was earlier promised the first interview, was taken at a meeting last week, attended by key members
of Gandhi’s core group, including his sister Priyanka.

The interview, aired on Monday, is part of a strategy to keep Gandhi in the headlines and use the media to ‘market’ the party’s achievements in the run-up to the polls.

“The turning point was December 8 and the rout in the state assembly elections. Instead of shielding him from the media, there was a need to expose him to it,” said a party source involved in the campaign. In his interview on Monday, when asked about the reluctance to engage with the media, Gandhi said that he had held press conferences before, and dismissed the suggestion that he wanted to avoid difficult, tough issues. In the last 45 days, Gandhi spoke briefly on the assembly results, issued a statement outlining his stance on the Section 377 judgement, pushed for the Lokpal bill at a party presser, and took along a reporter to relief camps in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar. He also held off-the-record talks with senior editors, bureau chiefs and beat reporters.

But the big change has been his willingness to give formal interviews. As part of this shift, Gandhi spoke to Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar, which has a substantial reach in the Hindi heartland. His second was to Times Now, which has a sizeable middle-class viewership. NDTV sources confirmed that the Congress was in talks with the channel, and the interview had been locked in on two occasions. But ‘scheduling issues’ were cited to call it off. Times Now was then picked because of its higher TRPs.

A party source said, “We gathered that the channel had wider viewership, and also wanted to send out a message that our leader was willing to take on an aggressive questioner. But we have told other media houses they can put in their requests and we will consider it.”

[anmol]

Bhavku Unghad back in BJP fold
by Newest, timesofindia.indiatimes.com
January 28th 2014

AHMEDABAD: Congress legislator from Lathi assembly constituency in Amreli, Bavku Undhad resigned as MLA and from the primary membership of the party and join back the BJP.

Undhad had left BJP just before the 2007 assembly elections alleging that chief minister Narendra Modi was running the party in a dictatorial manner. After joining the BJP he said, "The country is in need of Narendra Modi's leadership." The MLA said he was returning to BJP which gave him footing in politics. "I have joined BJP today with my supporters and party workers.

Seeing the current situation our country is in, it is important that Modi becomes the prime minister of India," Undhad said. The MLA said he was returning to BJP which gave him footing in politics. He contested on Congress ticket in 2007 and 2012 Assembly elections and emerged victorious.

"I have joined BJP today with my supporters and party workers. Seeing the current situation our country is in, it is important that Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister of India", Undhad said.

State BJP president R C Faldu, outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Purshottam Rupala and former agriculture minister Dileep Sanghani were present on the occasion. Earlier, in the day he submitted his resignation to Assembly speaker Vajubhi Vala, which was accepted.

On quitting Congress at this juncture, Undhad said, "I have joined BJP after holding several discussions and deliberations with my supporters and party leaders.However Congress did no injustice to me".

[RajeshA]

let me put it the other way.. no country should force conversion or fund conversion or allow conversion agenda culture.

otoh, if people are willing to convert on their own efforts, provide full freedom!!

I disagree!

My post on that: "Curbing Religious Proselytization"

[Avarachan]

let me put it the other way.. no country should force conversion or fund conversion or allow conversion agenda culture.

otoh, if people are willing to convert on their own efforts, provide full freedom!!

I disagree!

My post on that: "Curbing Religious Proselytization"

Hi RajeshA, I just read your linked post. I'm familiar with this argument, but I disagree with it. Please keep in mind that the Oriental Orthodox Churches (of which the Indian Orthodox Church is one) have a different view of church-state relations that many other Christians. The Oriental Orthodox sharply disagree with the Protestants and Catholics, and we even disagree with the Eastern Orthodox regarding church-state relations. The Egyptian/Coptic Oriental Orthodox and the Syriac Oriental Orthodox deeply resented Byzantine imperial rule over them. The Copts and the Syriacs said that the church should not get entangled with the affairs of the state. This is not some 20th-century development: the Copts and the Syriacs were saying that back in the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. It was one of the factors in the Oriental-Eastern Orthodox split in 451 A.D., at the Council of Chalcedon.

I'm not going to get into a religious discussion here on BRF, but I did want to respond to your post regarding religion and politics. Anyway, I'll be busy with work for the next several days, so this will be the last post from me regarding this topic. Cheers! By the way, your posts regarding the AAP are very good.

[SwamyG]

Breaking News:
@ANI_news 1m: We will not ally with Congress or any other party : M Karunanidhi.

It means fight in TN is semi-bipolar with ADMK as a big one and BJP led coalition as an opponent. If Captain smells victory, he might join BJP coalition.

In order for him to smell, he needs to be sober. He drinks heavily so the rumor flies. TN is truly a messed up state as far as the politicians are concerned. It is a miracle how in spite of all these politicians, TN has marched well and consistently stayed at the top of the pack.

[Vikas]

Why was there so much stress on the assassination of 'Grandmother' and 'Father' as if he is the only family that has lost parent and grand parent. By same token we all should be voting for Varun Gandhi. Atleast he comes across as well read articulate young person.
As much as we sympathies with RG, This will not fetch him any votes simple because majority of young voters don't really know who IG or RG were. Too young to find any connect. Moreover if their assassinations hurt him so much, what has he or his party done to protect others from these Paki and Chinese inspired terror deaths.

When terrorists were roaming naked in Mumbai, our guy was partying somewhere. When people were being killed, His CM coolely maro a dialogue from DDLJ.
No my friend, We may sympathize with you, but you will not get our votes on the basis of someone in your family getting killed 25 years ago.

[bhargava]

ZeeNews poll gives

NDA 217
INC 105
Others 220

TN looks like a lost cause ( from the poll numbers )

[Supratik]

kindly post the state nos or link.