States News and Discussions

[Muppalla]

I don't know where to post. This is when Rahul visited Gujarat. a school girl's reaction. Don't be too bothered about Gujarati language in the initial portion of the video. It is extremely easy to understand.



It tells me that even small kids are getting irritated with the Modi as Mao or some riot-man. It seems that a lot of videos are not allowed out as kids have asked certain questions and the yuvraj has no answers.

Added later:
Here is the link

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... z16SNd1jGl

[arjunm]

Even this little Girl has better understanding to communicate publicly an issue than the retarded Rahul Gandhi.

[Raghavendra]

I don't know where to post. This is when Rahul visited Gujarat. a school girl's reaction. Don't be too bothered about Gujarati language in the initial portion of the video. It is extremely easy to understand.



It tells me that even small kids are getting irritated with the Modi as Mao or some riot-man. It seems that a lot of videos are not allowed out as kids have asked certain questions and the yuvraj has no answers.

Added later:
Here is the link

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... z16SNd1jGl

Little girl pawns youth leader rahul gandhi

[Raghavendra]

For Nitish, law & order continues to be a priority
http://www.zeenews.com/news670885.html

'Lalu Prasad Yadav has scripted his own fall'
http://www.zeenews.com/news670869.html

New Delhi: With Lalu Prasad facing an unprecedented drubbing in the Bihar Assembly polls, his former close aides are rejoicing, saying the RJD chief had scripted his own fall by focussing on his family at the cost of colleagues and common people.

[putnanja]

US, Russsian cos join fray for Gujarat's Rs 10K cr GMDC project

AHMDEDABAD: The Expression of Interest (EoI) for the Rs 10,000 crore alumina refinery and aluminium smelter by state PSU Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) turned global when global players US based AluChem Inc , Russia based UC RUSAL and Dubai based Dubai Aluminium Limited (DUBAL) entered the fray. The day also witnessed local giants Adani Enterprice and Aditya Birla group jumping the ring.

Earlier, national players like National Aluminium Company (NALCO), JSW steel and Jaiprakash Industries had already responded to the (EoI), which is a part of GMDC's recent policy of adding value to minerals before it is transported out of the state's boundries. The project is to come up in Kutch district of the state.
..
...
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Earlier in November 2009, the state government came out with a policy of adding value to raw minerals within the state instead of exporting them in raw form. As a part of this policy GMDC was given sweeping rights over the mines in the state.
...
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If only Karnataka had a similar policy on its iron ores, it would have generated more jobs, investment and revenue for the state! It would also end the blatant corruption in ore industry in Karnataka.

[Airavat]

The Enforcement Directorate has decided to probe money laundering charges and foreign exchange violations in the multi-crore Uttar Pradesh foodgrain scam. The Rs 35,000 crore scam, whereby grains meant for the poor were allegedly diverted to other states and sold in retail market.

Also, since it is believed that the grains made its way to neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, the government's apex agency for money laundering and foreign exchange violations cases, will also look into possible contraventions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The CBI had on November 3, 2008 registered nine cases in connection with the scam relating to diversion of foodgrains meant for the poor. However, the CBI has now been directed by the Court to proceed with further inquiry not only with regard to Ballia, Lakhimpur and Sitapur but also with regard to Varanasi, Gonda and Lucknow districts. Besides fair price shops, many senior officers and some leading businessmen of West Bengal and even across the border were involved in the scam, sources said.

Outlook magazine.

[arjunm]

UNRAVELING OF ROMAN EMPIRE

In a frontal attack on Ms Sonia Gandhi, Jaganmohan alleged that some state leaders called press conferences to malign the late YSR after personally meeting her. YSR’s photographs disappeared from party programmes and government functions. Jaganmohan needled the high command by alleging that many persons had doubts about the helicopter crash in which his father died. He rubbed it in by defending the Sakshi Channel diatribe against the leadership on the occasion of the party’s 125th anniversary, as also its coverage of the Bihar elections!

Jaganmohan Reddy’s revolt against Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s refusal to anoint him as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh signals the end of her personal hegemony within the party and undermines the Nehruvian edifice upon which this family’s domination of the polity rests. This will have an escalating impact, especially in states where leaders do not need party high command endorsement for legitimacy and support.

This is evident from the manner in which Jaganmohan Reddy’s supporters went on the rampage all over the state after he quit the Congress on Nov. 29, and vandalized the party office in Kadapa and renamed it YSR Bhavan, from Indira Bhavan. Citizens long perturbed over the manner in which public roads, government buildings, welfare schemes, et al have been named after scions of the Nehru-Gandhi family, could never have imagined the denouement would begin within the Congress party.

So incensed were young Reddy’s supporters that they torched and locked up several party offices across the state, defaced and burnt posters of Sonia Gandhi, and even burnt her effigies in some places.

Jaganmohan’s exit was expected after his television channel, Sakshi, launched a vituperative attack against Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress, which virtually coincided with the rout in the Bihar elections. This salvo followed a year-long battle of wits with the high command which disapproved of his ‘Odarpu Yatra’ to ostensibly condole families whose members allegedly died of shock or committed suicide after the accidental death of chief minister YSR Reddy in September 2009; it was widely seen as Jaganmohan’s attempt to stake claim to the chief minister’s office.

Congress asked chief minister K. Rosaiah step down, but installed Kirankumar Reddy instead, and incensed Jaganmohan by luring Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy (brother of YSR) to Delhi. Cornered, he wrote a five-page resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, claiming to have borne humiliation for fourteen months while a malicious campaign was unleashed against him, his family, and his late father. The last straw was the conspiracy to vertically split the family of the leader who twice gave Congress victory in Andhra Pradesh by offering a cabinet berth to YSR’s brother.

In a dig at Ms Gandhi, who used a praetorian guard to takeover the Congress and became president by physically throwing the incumbent Sitaram Kesari out of his office room and having her own nameplate pasted on the door, Jaganmohan said that though 150 MLAs supported his elevation after YSR’s death, he obeyed her instructions and supported Shri K. Rosaiah. Thereafter, he helped in the smooth election of N. Kirankumar Reddy.
On his controversial Odarpu Yatra, Jaganmohan insisted it was his duty to visit the families of those afflicted with grief after his father’s death. He twice postponed the Yatra, but finally took off and was attacked from several quarters after he drew overwhelming public adulation. He felt the party high command was behind efforts to erase the memory of his late father from the hearts of the people. Matters did not improve when YSR’s widow, Vijayalakshmi, tried to mediate, and it took the family a month to gain an audience with Ms Sonia Gandhi.

News reports suggest that Ms Gandhi lost her temper with Vijayalakshmi and demanded that the Yatra be cancelled, or reformatted as meetings in district party offices, thus scuttling Jaganmohan’s ambitions to emerge as the next mass leader after his father. Jaganmohan was reportedly infuriated at his mother’s humiliation, a feeling aggravated by sponsored opposition to the installation of YSR statues in many villages.
In a frontal attack on Ms Sonia Gandhi, Jaganmohan alleged that some state leaders called press conferences to malign the late YSR after personally meeting her. YSR’s photographs disappeared from party programmes and government functions. Jaganmohan needled the high command by alleging that many persons had doubts about the helicopter crash in which his father died. He rubbed it in by defending the Sakshi Channel diatribe against the leadership on the occasion of the party’s 125th anniversary, as also its coverage of the Bihar elections!

Claiming he could not bear the daily humiliations, Jaganmohan said he and his mother were resigning their positions as MP and MLA respectively, and leaving the party. As a parting shot, he said that despite the malicious campaign that he was conspiring to bring down the Andhra government, he would not take the coup route taken by N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party.
Yet there is little doubt that this is precisely the revenge Jaganmohan will wreak on Congress. But he will move with caution. As of now, he is said to have the unstinted support of 20-25 MLAs, but if he moves prematurely to split the party, Congress could make up its numbers with 18 MLAs from cine star Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party.
Hence, for now, he has asked his supporters not to quit the Congress, though he is reputedly finalizing plans to launch a new party - Youth Sramik Ryot (YSR) Congress - from Kadapa, his erstwhile Lok Sabha constituency.

Jaganmohan is waiting for the right opportunity, and that may come sooner, rather than later. The fledgling Kirankumar government is already in trouble, with ministers Vatti Vasantha Kumar and Komatireddi Venkat Reddy resigning on Dec. 2 itself, following allocation of portfolios after the swearing-in ceremony, though the former has since returned. The aggrieved ministers claimed that all ‘plum’ (revenue earning) portfolios were cornered by the powerful Reddy community, which received 14 berths in the new cabinet, while backward classes received ‘dry’ portfolios and only 10 cabinet posts – a shocking imbalance of caste equations in a party once noted for social engineering. At least five other ministers, including a Reddy, are ripe for revolt, so clearly we have not heard the last of this saga.

Suddenly the Nehruvian norm of top-down leadership and rootless satraps for states is under challenge. Simultaneously, Sonia Gandhi, once perceived as de facto queen-empress, poised to install her son and heir as prime minister at an opportune moment, came unstuck at the first attempt to nudge Dr Manmohan Singh. If he seemed a pushover when the Supreme Court made the startling demand for an affidavit on his role in the 2G scam, he soon proved immovable. The Supreme Court blinked and virtually apologized, and the Bihar elections shattered Rahul Gandhi’s prime ministerial ambitions. Sonia Gandhi retreated, defending Manmohan Singh’s spotless character...

The author is Editor, http://www.vijayvaani.com

http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisp ... px?id=1530

[joshvajohn]

Indian state “biggest culprit” for rampant corruption: think tank
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/08/stories ... 561500.htm

[Raghavendra]

Indian state “biggest culprit” for rampant corruption: think tank
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/08/stories ... 561500.htm

Now India is blamed for the corruption institutionalized into governance system by congress party

All that congress brings to india is shame and disaster, congress cant protect people since its busy protecting its corrupt party members neither can it provide good governance

Time to disband to congress party

[arjunm]

This article is another rare gem about the glorious tolerant past of Gujrat. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said to President Pratibha Patil during his visit to India in September this year and conveyed his deepest gratitude for giving shelter of hundreds of Polish children about 70 years ago, in the princely state of Nawanagar in the Kathiawar region of present-day Gujarat during World War II -

Little Warsaw Of Kathiawar

“When others were killing our children, you were able to save them.” Emotional statements are not the stuff of formal interactions between high dignitaries, but this is precisely what Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said to President Pratibha Patil during his visit to India in September this year. It was a clear indication that nearly 70 years on, the heartwarming story of hundreds of Polish children who found sanctuary in the princely state of Nawanagar in the Kathiawar region of present-day Gujarat during World War II is still remembered with gratitude in their homeland.

The celebrated ‘Kindertransport’ project, in which the UK rescued thousands of children from Nazi Germany and occupied Europe in 1938, finds an echo in the noble decision by Digvijaysinhji, the maharaja, or ‘Jam Saheb’, of Nawanagar to take in Polish children from war-torn, occupied Poland and Soviet prison camps. The Jam Saheb took personal risks to make the arrangements at a time when the world was at war, and when the exhausted refugees were denied entry at all ports. Digvijaysinhji, son of the legendary cricketer-prince Ranjitsinhji, built a camp for them in a place called Balachadi beside his summer palace, 25 km from his capital, Jamnagar, and made them feel at home. The Jam Saheb’s gesture is said to have paved the way for thousands of Polish refugees to be received in other parts of the world, including some other places in India.


Roman Gutowski, a Balachadi boy, in front of the Maharaja Jam Saheb School, Warsaw, in 2004. (Photograph by Anuradha Bhattacharya)

Nearly 68 years after the children arrived in Jamnagar and 64 years after their repatriation, there is renewed interest in the story in Poland, possibly triggered by a desire to ensure that this valued slice of memory passes on to a younger generation of Poles. As part of this commemorative effort, a square or an important street in Warsaw is likely to be named after the Jam Saheb. (A prestigious higher secondary school in the Polish capital has been named after him.)

Plans are afoot to honour this “Indian Schindler” with a posthumous award, and make a feature film on the subject. Meanwhile, Indian historian Anuradha Bhattacharya’s book on this humane encounter will be released in 2011.

Prof Piotr Klodkowski, Poland’s ambassador to India, told Outlook that distant though the historical event is, it still stirs emotions in Poland. “This is a true and captivating story for the ‘aam admi’ in both India and Poland. It is a story hidden like a precious stone in history. We are not satisfied with the common man’s knowledge of this story and intend to popularise it and retell it in various forms,” he said.

Commenting on the significance of retelling the story, M. Krzysztof Byrski, Indologist and former Polish ambassador to India, said: “Each event in the history of our relations that exemplifies disinterested generosity should be remembered. After the nightmare of their morbid experience in the limitless, frosty wastes of Siberia, these children found a safe haven in India, which for them appeared like heaven.”
Polish children at Balachadi celebrate the St Nicholas day festival with a traditional dance. (Photo Courtesy: Sainik School, Jamnagar)

So, what is the story? A warning before we dive into it: there is more than one version. Due to the loss or destruction of archival material in Jamnagar, it has largely been corroborated from material available in London and through the narratives of aged survivors. Inevitably, these contain discrepancies about how the decision was taken to allow the children on Indian soil; how the project was funded and what route (land or sea) the kids took to reach the shores of Nawanagar. The reconstruction one hears in Jamnagar has the benign flavour of mythology. It is a heroic tale, lacking in complications, and resting on one man’s generosity, courage and ‘word of honour’; by contrast, the historian’s version is far more intricately woven. However, in both versions, the Jam Saheb comes through as the moving spirit behind the mission.

When Delhi objected to him sheltering the Poles, Jam Saheb produced an adoption certificate, saying they were family.
The Jam Saheb’s children Harshad Kumari and Shatrushalyasinhji say, on the basis of conversations with their father, that there were nearly 600 children and 40 women at the camp; and that all of them came directly from Poland, after the Wehrmacht attacked it. Hiding from the invaders, they were rescued and put on small ships that travelled from port to port—in Scotland, Ireland, Africa—but were barred from entering. Finally, they arrived in Bombay, where the British governor also refused entry (saying he did not have permission from the home office in London, and that they came from enemy territory). Enter the Jam Saheb, then an Indian representative on the imperial war cabinet in London chaired by Winston Churchill. Hearing of the children’s plight from the Polish prime minister-in-exile, he flew immediately to Bombay. He first went to the ships, saw the dreadful condition of the kids, spoke to the captains and went to meet the governor. “Our father tried to convince him, but when he failed, he was so frustrated, he went back to the ships and asked them to move to Nawanagar’s Rosi port. He took them all off and put them in tented accommodation for a few months before the Balachadi camp came up,” the siblings recall.

Another extraordinary detail recounted by the siblings is that when the viceregal office in Delhi objected to him taking in foreigners, he said they were part of his family, and even produced an adoption certificate. “Our father politically adopted them,” says Harshad Kumari, adding that he bankrolled the project from his personal funds.

Harshad Kumari, now in her 70s, but aged six when the children arrived, remembers being at parties with them: “They came to our Christmas parties and mingled with 45 of us cousins. A huge shamiana was put up in an open area. Once they came for my Bapu’s birthday and once for my brother’s birthday.” She also remembers attending a festival at the camp, with the kids dancing and singing in full skirts and dark velveteen shorts: “They made a costume each for my brother and myself. Mine is still lying somewhere in my trunks.”


Harshad Kumari, daughter of the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar. (Photographer by Apoorva Salkade)

The narrative of events pieced together by Bhattacharya, and the more-or-less matching version provided by Wieslaw Stypula, a ‘Balachadian’ who wrote about his stay in a commemorative volume, Poles in India 1942-1948, differs in significant ways from the siblings’ account. While corroborating the fact that the princely state of Nawanagar was the first to offer sanctuary to the children, the historian says they were evacuated out of the Soviet Union (they were Polish refugees deported to the USSR and interned in camps after their country was invaded by the Red Army in 1939)—first by road—in 1942 and, according to archival documents, maintained out of charitable funds raised in India (Rs 6,00,000 between 1942-48), subscribed to by several Indian princes.

Stypula, in his account, says: “After the Maharaja’s offer...a Polish Children’s Fund was opened with a Rs 50,000 grant from the viceroy of India, and Rs 8,500 collected by the Polish Red Cross.” He narrates a moving tale about the condition of the children who reached Ashkabad, Turkmenistan, the assembly point for them in the then Soviet Union: “A seven-year-old boy, after the death of his parents from typhus, was left with his 18-year-old sister—alone on the Uzbek farm. When news reached him that evacuations were being organised somewhere in town, the boy set out on a dozen-kilometre journey to Samarkand, with his sister on his back....”

The family’s account differs from that of historians. But they agree on one point: the Jam Saheb’s generosity.
Discrepancies in the narratives, Bhattacharya says, may be explained by the fact that many batches of children and refugees arrived in India, including a batch of 200 Polish children who arrived by ship and a Jewish group that came to Bombay after being denied permission to land at various ports. The historian suggests there might be a “memory overlap” between the stories of the various batches landing up in Balachadi, and regrets the lack of conclusive palace documents. “However,” she says, “there is no denying that the Jam Saheb’s generosity is unparalleled. It was the cornerstone for other Polish people to get sanctuary in India.” That they found refuge here also, Bhattacharya says, “speaks volumes about the national movement, which was not xenophobic, and about the Indian people who showed no antagonism to the presence of the Polish children in a year of severe drought and famine.”

In an interview in the November 25, 1942, issue of Polska, a weekly Polish magazine, the Jam Saheb spoke of his decision to welcome the Polish kids: “Maybe there, in the beautiful hills beside the seashore, the children will be able to recover their health and to forget the ordeal they went through.... I sympathise with the Polish nation and its relentless struggle against oppression.”

The Jam Saheb’s extraordinary dedication to the cause of the Polish children is evident from Stypula’s account of their departure, after a United Nations-assisted repatriation began in 1946: “Farewell—good man from the good land. ‘Polish’ Maharajah Jam Saheb. Your tears and your voice trembling with deep emotion, when you spoke to us for the last time at the station in Jamnagar, said it all.” It is only right that Poland today wants posterity to remember him.

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268578

[RamaY]

This article is another rare gem about the glorious tolerant past of Gujrat.

Yet they cannot tolerate a single anti-nationalistic dhimmi DDM or EJ-sponsored leftist-NGO under Sri Modi.

Shame on you Gujaratis

[Airavat]

Manipur paid rich tributes to women freedom fighters who took part in the first and second Nupee Lal (women’s war) against the Britishers by organising various events yesterday

[Airavat]

Himachal village elects all-woman panchayat

The panchayat of Kamru in Kalpa block of Kinnaur district, having 1,100 voters, mostly tribals, have unanimously decided to elect an all-woman panchayat. It was the decision of the voters that women are more sensitive to the local issues. Himachal and Tripura are among few pioneer states in the country which have already reserved 50 per cent seats for women in all Panchayati Raj institutions.

[Raghavendra]

Why can't Maharashtra emulate Gujarat? Asks Pawar
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/why-c ... ar/726419/

Becoz Maharashtra is ruled by congress party,
Congress gobbles all the money earmarked for development and fattens their swiss bank accounts creating disaffection among masses
When the disaffection reaches a critical point and explodes, congress calls them hindu terrorists and goes kaan baroing of foreign ambassadors stationed in delhi
Maharashtra will never progress unless congress party is kicked out of power
Congress never had development program for Maharashtra or India for that matter, it only knows how to win rigged elections and loot money
See the educational level of congress leaders, Congress president sonia gandhi studied to be a waitress while duffer rahul failed his studies, Napass Gandhi

[ramana]

The real rot started in the 1956 elections itself. In South the INC chose its candidates based on caste and groups in order to win and entrenched feudalism into the party. INC became a feudal party with a facade of democracy. Once the Privy purses etc were abolished thus ending real Princes, the party feudals continued swearing fealty to the Nehru-Gandhi family. Thus a democratic party became a feudal entity.

[svenkat]

Ramanaji,
The Congress had to contend with the pre-independence mobilisation on caste lines and even more importantly our history.Nobody gets to start on a clean slate.There is something called 'Anaadi Avidya'.The Congress represented a coalition which had many pulls and pressures.We are like that onlee.

How could it have been any different given the nature of Hindu polity and society.The Congress would bring 'change' with minimum friction in the framework of political unity.Even today,where is the alternative to Con-gress?While BJP's contributions in its six years were crucial,yet it could not come back to power.The Congress has accelerated growth and the cohesion of Indian society is stronger than ever inspite of social engineering in politics,education etc.

[RamaY]

I am reading this politicsparty guy on Kerala situation...

He says V.S Achyutanandan is 100% honest and non-corrupt. Since INC is allied with christian Kerala-congress and Muslim (what is this party?) to form UDF {some secularism here}; the Kerala hindus want to support V.S.A to bring LDF to power in 2010 state elections.

Why cant BJP make roads into such states? or any new nationalistic regional parties come into picture?

[vina]

he real rot started in the 1956 elections itself. In South the INC chose its candidates based on caste and groups in order to win and entrenched feudalism into the party.

Now you know why the Congress is still strong in the south (Karnataka, Kerala , Andhra and can play the decider in TN), while it was wiped out in UP and Bihar.

Yes, Congress rode social change/ empowerment of backward castes/classes in the south and retains a strong social coalition. In UP and Bihar it was run into the ground by some upper caste chauvinists and oligarchs whose "climax" in terms of performance seems to be more in the bedroom (think N.D Tiwari old UP congressman and former CM , also regard the other old coots now pensioned off as governors and other plum posts now) than in actual governance, development and any positive growth.

I think Congress got it's just desserts in UP and Bihar. From what I hear, despite everything , governance under Mayawati seems not bad (compared to the Mulayam regime) and Bihar is on its way to mending after the rapacious depredation of the Lalloo gang and the earlier Congress rules (Jagannath Mishra et al).

[vina]

While BJP's contributions in its six years were crucial,yet it could not come back to power..

There is no Vajpayee anymore in the BJP. Without him, the BJP has absolutely zero chance of coming anywhere close to power.

Yeah, the BJP is better off getting Nitish Kumar as the Prime Ministerial candidate and put him as the head of the NDA coalition to run for PM.

There are no leaders of note within the BJP. Oh, in Karnataka, they have been shown up as a bunch of thieves in the same mould of worthies such as 'umble farmer (think Katta Subrahmanya's kids, Yeddy's kids..).. Party with a difference , aye ? The only thing that is different is overt hate for a section of the citizenry.

[Raghavendra]

Just the utterance of the word BJP is enough to cause gastric trouble for some congressis

Why are you worried about vajapayee, his innings is over and new players are ready to take his place, you worry abt congress party which has nobody but duffer rahul, waitresses sonia and terrorist digivijay to lead it.

BJP Karnataka has enough leaders, Eshwarappa, Ananth Kumar and many others like them to take care, congress chamchas dont need to tax their puny minds worrying abt BJP. They need to worry abt congress which has no leaders, recently Bangrappa quit congress and joined JDS, Bangrappa was once congress CM of karnataka. How abt that congress, even your main leaders are saying you good bye. This is happening all over india, watch how YSR son also said good bye and is now preparing grave of congress party in andra. This is the future of congress.

Finally your propaganda comment abt BJP being against muslims is false
Watch this even muslims vote BJP, your lies FAIL you congress


Congress has nothing to give to the people, No development agenda only policy divide and rule, fearmongering and election rigging using EVMs.

[Sachin]

He says V.S Achyutanandan is 100% honest and non-corrupt.

I dont know how much of PoliticsParty analysis and prediction would hold true this time. VS Achuthanandan (the current CM) is generally considered to be honest and non-corrupt. He is one of those last remenants of communism which spread in Kerala during 1940s etc. Most of his comrades have already left this world, so he is now like a "one man Army". How ever Achu has his short comings in that he is rigid, and not adaptible to new ideas.

Since INC is allied with christian Kerala-congress and Muslim (what is this party?) to form UDF {some secularism here}

Could be the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) which has such stalwarts PK Kunjahlikutty et.al. To counter this the commies had tried to rope in another proud son of Kerala , Abdul Nasser Mahdani and his PDP during the last elections.

the Kerala hindus want to support V.S.A to bring LDF to power in 2010 state elections.

LDF would have to really work hard for that. First of all VS Achu is facing enough problems from his comrades itself. The new generation communist leaders have their own intepretations of communism, and generally they dont get well with VS Achu. There is clearly a coterie of communist leaders from Kannur (North Kerala) region who pretty much run the show all by themselves. And their antics and rowdy attitude is very well known to the folks of Kerala. Keeping all this in mind, I really doubt if people would vote for LDF thinking only about VS Achu remaining the CM.

Also in Kerala the trend has always been the incumbent party losing out and the opponents coming in.

Why cant BJP make roads into such states?

In Kerala at least they dont have good crowd puller leaders. Most of them are ex-communist party cadres themselves. And many of the BJP policies which would get votes else where may not have any effect in Kerala. For example, fat chance if some one comes up with an idea to ban beef when they come to power (BJP has not said that, but I give it as an example).

[RamaY]

^ Thanks Sachin-ji!

[svenkat]

Raghavendra,
I know BJP has a strong constituency in Karnataka and there are compelling reasons for people in Karnataka to vote BJP.But what about the mining scam? And Anant Kumar is in bed with Nira.The Congress and BJP come from the same milieu in most parts.Should we all not have a little bit more of humility with greater concern for the larger interests of our very diverse nation.

[munna]

Raghavendra,
Should we all not have a little bit more of humility with greater concern for the larger interests of our very diverse nation.

But first the name calling has to stop! People will not be allowed to get away by calling names and then putting forth wise counsel. If journos deciding the cabinet portfolios is a done deal and RSS can be called Nazi (duly debunked by Israel) then the other side will also go ballistic and ruthless. If it comes to that any dissenting view of the nation will lead to dehumanisation and persecution then so be it. Let these modern Aurangzebs think that they lord over a subdued population. Mughal empire was at its peak when he ruled and imposed jaziya, history bears witness it led to only one thing...downfall of the empire.

[arjunm]

Raghavendra,
I know BJP has a strong constituency in Karnataka and there are compelling reasons for people in Karnataka to vote BJP.But what about the mining scam? And Anant Kumar is in bed with Nira.The Congress and BJP come from the same milieu in most parts.Should we all not have a little bit more of humility with greater concern for the larger interests of our very diverse nation.

Stop painting BJP and congress with same brash on Corruption, Congress ruled the country for almost 55 years and we have seen the level of scams and misrule and then using the highest office , media to put every thing under carpet while the" aam admi" suffers. Their strategist focuses only how to exploit the diversity weaknesses in their favour to fragment the society further just to hold on to power.(RG's reckless verbiage to US ambassador is one such attempt). On the contrary BJP's 6 years rule brought back the focus on to the real issues relating to national interests.In spite of rigid economic sanctions after the nuke tests, they not only survive they excels in most of their objectives under very short period of their rules.Congress under these Sonia & co. has thoroughly rigged the system, and with no direction in governance, as most of states CM's are pick & choose by Madam's cronies, indulges such unbelievable of corruptions, be it CWG, Adarsh housing, food scams, and the mother of all scam the 2G spectrum. It is laughable when people talk about corruption in the same breath mentioning BJP.

[Airavat]

NDTV
Gujjars have stepped up their agitation and plan to choke major rail and road links a day after the Rajasthan High Court kept on hold the state government's Reservation Act giving five per cent extra quota for Gujjars in government jobs and educational institutes.

The court has directed the state government to carry out an exercise within a year to establish the backwardness of Gujjars (farmers/cattle/buffalo herders), Raikas (camel herders), Raibari (goat/camel herders) and Gadiya Lohar (blacksmiths) communities in the fields of education and government employment.

[Sachin]

In Kerala...
Congress veteran Karunakaran dead
K.Karunakaran was one of the stalwart leaders of Congress in Kerala. What ever negative stories are there about him, his skills in administration and ruling the state is legendary. Two facets of his life which people would always remember is him being a person always ready to go to any extent to support his sub-ordinates/juniors and also his devotion to Sri Guruvayurappan (as Lord Krishna is worshipped in Guruvayur temple).

[Hari Seldon]

Heard a wag mouth off today this gem:

Well, one karuna (karan) is gone, wonder when the next karuna (nidhi) may go....

only.

[Airavat]

Gujjars threaten to shut down Delhi on Dec 29

[Airavat]

UKD breaks alliance with ruling BJP in Uttarakhand, Govt. safe:

Many UKD leaders, especially office bearers, had been vociferously opposing the state government on many issues and pressing for resumption of work on many mega hydel projects and making Gairsain, the state capital, among other issues, and had threatened to withdraw support many times in recent months.

The decision, however, would not have any effect on the stability of Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank's Government, with the BJP having 34 legislators in the 70-member Assembly and the support of at least two independents. The Congress has 20, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 8 and the UKD 3, while there are three independents, one of whom is a cabinet member. One of the MLAs is a nominated member of Anglo-Indian community.

[Aditya_V]

Raghavendra,
I know BJP has a strong constituency in Karnataka and there are compelling reasons for people in Karnataka to vote BJP.But what about the mining scam? And Anant Kumar is in bed with Nira.The Congress and BJP come from the same milieu in most parts.Should we all not have a little bit more of humility with greater concern for the larger interests of our very diverse nation.

Her ex partner- who is now could possibly go to jail if CBI (a very neutral agency) deceides suddenly deceides to make claims against BJP is incontrable proof. Regarding illegal mining in Karnataka AP Border, it all began under SM Krishna in 2004 and YSR, JM Reddy have also been partners in this, But total silence regarding this. What about Illegal Mining going on in Maharastra, TN and Goa?

ANd besides Illegal mining cannot go on until Central Government concerence is there. When one party has the SUpport of leftists, giving up Kashmir and supports anyone who wants to split the country.

Shouldn't we in this time of great need (even considering that there is some corruption in BJP) unite to wipe out these anti national forces and then slowly clean the system.

Please don't compare a lighter shade of grey with the drak shade. The Delhi-JNU cliche with heavy douse of Media activists in the Government is costing us dear.

[ramana]

What are the poll prospects in TN as elections are scheduled in 2011? can we spend some effort on this? Whats the impact of the 2G scam?

[ramana]

Any updates on West Bengal? What is behind the flurry of letters from MHA to CM?

[krisna]

^^^^
war of letters between 2 bhadraloks.
What does harmad mean? Delhi hunts

By evening, some half-a-dozen meanings of “harmad” had been collected by officials, who are perplexed by the angry reactions from Bengal to the use of the word in P. Chidambaram’s letter to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
“It means goons, antisocial elements, armed cadres, etc,” said an official who, like most others in North Block, was not familiar with Bengali. When one more “meaning” — mercenary — was offered, it was promptly noted for reference to the minister.

Why did Chidambaram use the word? Officials said they wouldn’t know because it was a “political issue” — a hint about a political component to the letter’s drafting.

The Portuguese brought the word to Bengal three centuries ago, when its distorted form harmad was used to refer to Portuguese pirates and slave traders, notorious for their brutality. In recent years, it entered Calcutta’s street language when Mamata Banerjee began using it to refer to CPM cadres.

There is a deficit of Bengalis in the ministry, at least in its higher echelons. None of Chidambaram’s personal secretaries is a Bengali, nor his officer on special duty or home secretary G.K. Pillai. What the ministry could have been done, though, is check the word’s meaning — which it began doing only today.
Perhaps Chidambaram, a lawyer, may now point out that in Spanish and Portuguese, armada can be an adjective meaning “armed” and, in Czech and Slovak, refers to the armed forces. And, he might add, he was referring to armed cadres.

They could have called Mamtadi who would have offered her services for free.

The government today blamed the delay in the delivery of Chidambaram’s letter on the post office. After being sent via speed post on December 22, it reached the Calcutta GPO at 6am on December 24 and could have been delivered that morning, a release said. The home ministry leaked the letter later in the day. It reached Bhattacharjee on Monday. “Alok Sharma, General Manager, India Post... has apologised,” the release said.

Chidambaram letter in sack, 7 postal staff get hauled up

Home minister P Chidambaram's harmad vahini' letter that triggered so much furore in Bengal because no one knew where it was between December 24 and 27 was tucked away with dozens others in an unopened sack. Seven postal department employees, including an assistant director, were chargesheeted on Friday for this "lapse".

The New Year's Eve "action" came as a shock to the unionized postal staff. Shouting slogans and waving placards, employees affiliated to Intuc and the autonomous All-India Postal Employees' Union (AIPEU) went on strike at GPO after 6am on Friday.

Hand in hand, behind letters ‘Harmad’, forces co-exist peacefully

Out of range of the fusillade of letters flying between Calcutta and Delhi, P. Chidambaram’s security forces and the CPM’s “harmad vahini” appear to have found common ground for “peaceful co-existence” in Lalgarh.
The local CPM leadership makes no bones about the collaboration that has helped the joint forces beat back Maoists from several areas in Lalgarh and is somewhat bemused by the hubbub around “the letter war” between the Union home minister and the Bengal chief minister.

Having tasted blood by “recapturing” areas overrun by the Maoists, CPM cadres and local leaders are getting more defiant. At the rally yesterday, CPM cadres openly flaunted their weapons and taunted the home minister.
“Yes, of course, we are the harmad bahini,” a cadre said and, turning to his comrades gathered around him, added: “Hear, hear! The Union home minister has finally discovered our identity. This has come as a shot in the arm for us. Can his forces fend off the Maoists without our support?”

[Theo_Fidel]

In TN it is going to come down to Thalapathi Ayyathurai and how the DMK projects him. In a straight fight between him and JJ, Amma would be creamed. And she knows it. More on this later. Even now Thalapathi's rating's are in the 70% range. Unheard of in TN, where even KK would struggle to get there.

The complication is Azhagiri. All accounts are that he is quite the 'Nayakan', generous to his friends and thuggish with his enemies. His lack of 'polish' costs him dearly in the cities. TN is 55%+ Urban so the urban electorate is everything, unusually for India. JJ's base is the rural country which has lost a lot of population over the years and hence caused a structural decline in her electorate. Amma's salavation lies in dividing the DMK. This why she had a huge meeting in Madurai. Azhagiri's territory where he is regarded/feared relatively well. This set off Azhagiri passions and he is not making wise decisions at the moment. He is likely to do something to drive the electorate away from the DMK in this region, if he has not already with the 'Thanthi' incident. Note the lack of polish mentioned earlier. TN folk don't take kindly to such political violence. They much prefer stabbing in the back, leaving for family/illness reasons, even the occasional delayed police response...

The Maran brothers are a complication but they work very well with Ayyathurai and will likely back him to the hilt, under any circumstance. They are after the second position in the DMK which is also what Azhagiri truly covets.

While India might think the 2G scam should disqualify the DMK, the people of TN remember it is Amma who waits in the wings. The Cities, Esp. Chennai, Madurai, Tirichi and Salem have not forgiven her for her past 'exploits' in these regions. These are business oriented communities and JJ is bad for business. In many areas the fear of Amma is most palpable.

Which is particularly why Talapathi Ayyathurai has targeted Kongu Nadu. This is really the only major Urban bastion for the AIADMK. Which is also why JJ had her next major conclave in the region. Talapathi countered by staging the World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore where Rs 400 crore was spent. Never accuse TN of lacking money or a will to squander it. It apparently went over really well in a region that felt over run by Keralaites recently. A little language chauvinism goes a long way in TN. If the DMK can even capture 1/2 of the seats in this area, Amma is done. Her goose is cooked. Of course her arrogance is such that she is ignoring the desperate communications from the regional leaders from here to do some thing to shore up her base.

Remains to be seen how voter moods swing. The voter mood in TN was very comfortable till recently. They didn't have to even think about it, the DMK was a shoo in.. ..now the scams have prompted a second look. They don't like all they see but the options really stink.. TN voters are an emotional bunch and tend to swing overwhelmingly one way or the other. There is not enough at the moment for an AIADMK wave, which assuredly JJ needs to win.

Maybe KK will step aside earlier than the June 2011 he has stated. In which case Talapathi will take over and cream JJ.. or.. ..who knows.. ..But that 4 months is an eternity in politics...

[krisna]

Not sure this is the right thread about corruption-- about bofors.(we have CWG and 2g scam threads, but this is blast from the past)
this issue brought an end to cong dominance.
Bofors case: Ex-CBI chief adds to Cong's worries
'Quattrocchi, Win got Bofors money'

[krisna]

25 films that our 25 news makers must watch
Good collection.

1. B.S. Yediyurappa: Do bheega zameen

2. Manmohan Singh: Silence of the Lambs

3. A. Raja: Shree 420

4. Suresh Kalmadi: The Great Train Robbery/ Ocean’s XI

5. Sonia Gandhi: Chuppaa Rustum

6. V.V.S. Laxman: Mission Impossible

7. Reddy Brothers: SSLC nanna makkalu

8. Barkha Dutt: Chor machaaye shor

9. Vir Sanghvi: Bawarchi

10. Katta Subramanya Naidu: Makmal topi

11. Ratan Tata: Honour thy Father

12. Shobha Karandlaje: Chickpete Sachagalu

13. M. Karunanidhi: Naan avan illai

14. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar: Oru CBI Diary Kurippu

15. H.R. Bharadwaj: Aaptharakshaka

16. Hartaalu Halappa: Rama Shama Bhama

17. Deve Gowda & Sons: The Sicilian Clan

18. Sharad Pawar: The Onion Field

19. Omar Abdullah: Mujhe jeene do

20. Bal and Aditya Thackeray: Two of a kind

21. Digvijay Singh: Mad Max

22. Shashi Tharoor: Dubai Seenu

23. Niira Radia: Dial M for Murder / The Matrix

24. Ashok Chavan: The Apartment

25. Rahul Gandhi: Waiting for the Moon

[manish]

In Karnataka, ZP/TP election results are beginning to trickle in. Early leads point to a BJP victory, with Cong in second.
BJP takes early lead in Karnataka district polls

BANGALORE: Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday took early leads in polls to the local governing councils, the winning of which is crucial for Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to stay in office.

Of the 30 zila (district) panchayats, the BJP was leading in 14, the Congress in seven and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in four - after two hours of counting that began at 171 centres across the state at 8 a.m.

In the 176 taluka (sub-district) panchayats, the BJP was ahead in 20, the Congress in 10 and the JD-S in seven.

[vina]

In Karnataka, ZP/TP election results are beginning to trickle in. Early leads point to a BJP victory, with Cong in second.
BJP takes early lead in Karnataka district polls

Dang. How I wish the people had voted heavily against the BJP govt led by Yeddy. It has zero accomplishments against it's name an already huge list of scams by the children and leading lights of the govt. When disaster struck N. Karnataka, all Yeddy did was weep on TV. I dint see anything else happen . Have they even rebuilt the damage, or is it like a Pakistani response to the floods with people still living out in the open.

Shedding tears and doing a Kannada cinema like tear jerk actseems to be the standard tactic and response to everything from corruption to floods to dissidence to everything.

[Raghavendra]

^Stupid comment, confesses not knowing anything about the massive relief work undertaken by BJP but calls them names. The congress party gave millions for pakistani flood victims even after they killed our people but congress party gave karnataka flood victims nothing.

Typical congressi moron dont sit on your brain while typing, use it