The Great Indian Rope Trick – Election 2009
TweetUpdated: For people that want to understand the manifestos of the key parties, this single page PDF from The Hindu is a good source. Some people on Twitter seem to think we didn’t read the manifestos.
The biggest circus of 2009 – the Indian Parliamentary Election – has ended. The decisive mandate has left many stunned & speechless. I measure my feelings by the Richter scale – so I’m – devastated. We are inundated by claims from Talking Heads that Indians have voted for Stability, Secularity or Pro-Nuclear Deal. All that bunkum has left me slightly nauseous.
To my utter consternation, Sukumar Rajagopal is pleased as punch. Since our reactions are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, in the true spirit of democracy, we had a discussion to understand each other’s perspective. For Parliament literally means, “Speak Your Mind”.
Priya: I’m extremely depressed by the election results. But inexplicably, you’re as happy as a sun-bathing cat.
Sukumar: This is a positive vote for Stability. It allows the Congress to pursue their policies without being hobbled by the Left. What bothers you so much?
Priya: Well, I expected a change. So many things are hopelessly wrong today. And now, tomorrow won’t be any different. Doesn’t corruption bother people any more? Billions of $$ were gobbled up by the DMK goons in Spectrum Allocation. Congress let Quattrochi escape – and here’s the cropper – our Prime Minister almost apologized for putting him through “all the trouble”.
Sukumar: I agree, corruption is an endemic problem in the Indian system. I wonder if anyone can clean it up. As for Quattrochi, what did the BJP do when they were in power for 5 years? They could have easily put all the Bofors scamsters behind bars. What prevented them from doing it?
Priya: So, nothing will clean up India – short of a miracle? I don’t know, I think there are clean leaders in India, that can make a difference. Such as Modi or Nitish Kumar. How about Homeland Security? Terrorists attack us with impunity. Take the ghastly attacks in Mumbai, the nerve center of India. I think Congress – while not exactly soft – isn’t hard enough on terror.
Sukumar:Terrorism is an international scourge. There’s no easy solution. What did BJP do during Kandahar, Babri Masjid or the Godra riots? That doesn’t inspire confidence, at least not mine. Will wonders never cease? You – of all people – are rooting for Modi? Talk about a volte face!
Priya: About Kandahar – BJP freed some terrorists to save 184 passengers. What would you have them do, let a bunch of innocent people die? I don’t have to be a trident wielding, saffron clad Hindutva activist, to appreciate Modi’s administrative prowess. He has indeed reduced corruption in Gujarat. As an honest person that longs for a cleaner government, its hard not to appreciate Narendra Modi for that. But yes, I’m unable to shake the bad taste in my mouth that the Godra riots have created.
Why do you support Congress? What have they done?
Sukumar: If Modi is loved in Gujarat, how did Congress win more seats in this election than in 2004? Even the margins of victory for BJP have come down in Gujarat!
You have to remember, Congress came to power on the Aam Aadmi plank. Their NREGA is a damn good program, that guarantees employment for the rural poor. But what is more heartening to me is – they continued Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan – BJP’s well-thought out education program.
Priya: Now that you mention it, Praful Patel has performed stupendously by privatizing airports. Laloo Yadav turned the creaking, groaning, inefficient Indian Railways around.
Sukumar: Patel did that in the face of severe opposition! Turning around Railways was thought to be an impossible task. Almost, a Labor of Hercules!
Priya: Still, they had strange bed-fellows. They made CBI their hand-maiden, so that murderers like Shibu Soren could go scot-free. And how about the two-faced Communists. According to them, supporting the United States is unpatriotic. But, they’ll readily sell us to China! “Isms” of all shades disgust me. Not to mention the despicable DMK. Congress never even let out a squeak when Karunanidhi insulted the sentiments of the Hindu majority, by stating that Ram & Sita were siblings. Just so a DMK minister could execute the Sethu Samudram project & line DMK pockets. But, no one was taken to task.
Sukumar: Yes, DMK shouldn’t have done that. You & me, we are non-believers, but we respect the beliefs of others. But, DMK? They are just hypocrites who wouldn’t dare question the beliefs of the minority. I’m certainly glad that they don’t trample on the sentiments of at least some pockets of the society!
Communists were the fly in the ointment for the Nuclear Deal. That’s another achievement of the Congress-led UPA. They resisted all attempts by the Left to sabotage the deal. They stood their ground.
Priya: I still have some grievances around River Water Sharing. Mainly, Cauvery Water. They couldn’t enforce the Supreme Court’s order on Karnataka. They were impotent even when SM Krishna’s Congress government was in power in Karnataka. What’s the use of a National party, if it won’t abandon petty regional interests?
Sukumar: Could BJP make it happen, when it was in power? No one wants to jeopardize their vote banks. I’m happier with a moderately competent government, that is peace-loving & non-threatening to communal harmony. Rather than a potentially competent – yet, rabidly communal government! The latter can cause severe harm to India’s stability as a society.
Priya: Let’s cut the bull, Sukumar. The lower strata of the society voted in droves. When I spoke to some of them, they didn’t even realize that voting for the Parliament (Center) & the Assembly (State) were different. None of them knew about the Nuclear Deal. Most didn’t care about corruption. So how did BJP botch this election? They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory!
Sukumar: I don’t think the Common Men & Women are too disillusioned with Congress. BJP mismanaged their campaign. Advani never proposed good schemes. He didn’t attack the astronomical prices of essential commodities – even though their prices have gone up by 30-40% or even 100-200%, thanks to galloping inflation. That’s a hot button issue for the lower strata. BJP never addressed such basic concerns. Instead, they reopened Ram Janma Bhoomi! Clueless of them.
Priya: I guess you’re right about the Center. But, what about the state? Why didn’t people reject the puke-worthy DMK? I’m shocked that they didn’t face a stronger anti-incumbency wave. Their blatant, shameless promotion of their family members is scary. When Azhagiri’s faction reportedly burnt down the Dinakaran (Newspaper) office, 3 innocent people died. No action has been taken so far – Diddly Squat.
Sukumar: Yes, that is indeed deeply troubling. However, there has been a significant swing of 15% against DMK. Unfortunately 10% of that went to DMDK, Vijayakanth’s party – whose sole reason for existence seems to be to split the ADMK vote! What was Jayalalitha thinking, when she gave so many seats to PMK, MDMK & the Left? Had ADMK contested on those constituencies, it might have changed the outcome of this election, at least in Tamil Nadu.
Priya: I’m grief stricken that the anti-incumbency vote in Tamil Nadu was only 15%. Law & Order has gone to the dogs. DMK distributed money openly to buy votes. Electricity or lack of it in Tamil Nadu, has been nothing short of a disaster! So many small industries went bankrupt thanks to the inept handling by Arcot Veerasamy, the Electricity Minister. How did people forgive DMK?
And while we suffered from Inflation, Terrorism, Rowdyism & Shortage of Electricity, the DMK Supremo fasted for foreigners – Srilankan Tamils. I’ve never felt more insulted before.
Sukumar: IMHO, the most important reason for ADMK’s failure is Jayalalitha’s inability to propose solutions that provide hope. Right now, she merely criticizes DMK on every single thing under the sun. I would accuse BJP of the same foible. Neither parties had a proposal that could galvanize people to rally around them & vote for them.
Priya: When will this change? Are we doomed to put up with Congress & DMK?
Sukumar: BJP & ADMK have their work cut out for them. They have to understand the pulse of the Common People, think of Bold Policies to energize the masses. BJP has the unenviable task of finding a replacement for Advani. Will it be Modi? They better get cracking on cleaning up his “Minority Baiter” image. Not that Advani has a clean image either, what was he – an innocent bystander when Babri Masjid was destroyed?
Readers – What do you think? We’ve reached an impasse. Is there any hope for India? Is BJP our ticket for better governance? Or is it the Secular Congress? Tell us! We’d love to hear from you.
I dont think we indians give much importance to elections and we mostly discuss politics for timepass and to make talk. Worst of all, the educated folks like us talk a lot in blogs and gatherings about politics but dont even bother to cast our vote. Apart from the bored people who work on computers nobody ever analyses about society’s problems much and they just vote based on the facts that come to their mind at that point.
India has reached such a great level in corruption that people are not able to see that wat they do is wrong. A municipal councilor spends lakhs for his election , obviously a MLA or MP cant be expected to be a reformer. Unless it becomes a scandal, corruption cannot become an issue for a long long time to come. DMK and Congress are corrupt to the core compared to other parties, but they are atleast able to focus on issues of the society better. I am really happy that the communal parties(BSP,BJP) and opportunists(PMK,RJD,Left) lost for good.
Ultimately we can only choose the better devil 🙂
Ananth – Thanks for the additional info on NREGA. I was also impressed to see the amount of info available on NREGA. So, YSR takes rural development very seriously. Good for him! How is it Andhra generates good CMs & neighboring TN can’t? Granted, Jayalalitha starts good programs when she’s in power, but still!
I’m so glad to know about the mode of payment & how there is almost no corruption – probably because, payment & work are segregated.
We should thank you for digging up so much info on NREGA. Yes, work does seem basic – but now that YSR will continue in power, we can hope for bigger & better stuff from Congress in AP.
Senthil – I don’t think the media is the mouth-piece of Congress. You seem to think that this is a unique phenomenon in India, but it happens all over the world. Most of the people in the Media/Entertainment Industry are progressive & liberal. It is but natural that they dislike the right wing, which stands for everything they think is wrong.
You underestimate the readers of this blog. Most of them are mature people who refer various sources of information, before coming to a conclusion. You may disagree with their opinion, but that doesn’t automatically make them naive & ill-informed.
I find your remark on Varun funny. Why did he make the speech? Of course, the media had a field day. You want the Media to keep quiet when a BJP candidate shoots him/herself in the foot? What kind of logic is that? Would you take this stance if Sonia had made a derogatory speech, filled with hate for Hindus? Or if a Muslim candidate had slammed Kashmiri Pundits? End of this discussion, I think.
I see that you don’t want a solution – which would be right wing media – but you’re satisfied with slamming vested interests/leanings in Media. This is another favorite topic of yours. I have nothing more to say.
Senthil – Yes, its possible that the NREGA scheme needs more focus & accountability. If administered well, NREGA can be a pretty decent program.
The govt tries to help the lowest strata of the society – those that are in abject poverty. Its their biggest vote bank, if we want to look at it pragmatically. But that’s besides the point. As long as much needed work is done thru NREGA – please look at Ananth’s 2nd comment – we can’t blame the govt for paying the laborers more than farming or other rural industries.
I’m not in favor of the govt focusing exclusively on freebies like housing & facilities. If it spends money, at least once in a while it should create assets for people. Such as roads or de-silted lakes etc. This is what Roosevelt did during the Great Depression.
Keeping the wages of laborers depressed artificially isn’t the best way – the poor people will simply move to the nearest city & deplete the labor pool anyway.
Thanks for your analysis on farming. Perhaps the govt can sincerely work with the farmers to figure out what their problems are & see how it can be addressed. Some NGOs do great work in Africa to make the lives of farmers easier, increase their yield etc. Time we did something to make agriculture more profitable for the farmers.
Priya,
What’s your opinion about the Sivaganga debacle in this election?
And the previous CEC Gopalasway, sent a detailed report on how Naveen Chawla had been biased to congress, and that he should NOT be made as CEC.. The president rejected this, and also refused to divulge the report sent by gopalaswami.
What’s your opinion on the above?
/** The govt tries to help the lowest strata of the society – those that are in abject poverty. **/
Will the poverty be gone, if the government helped in this way?
Senthil – Why, what other opinion could there be? Are you looking for points of disagreement? 😉
From what I know, I think Naveen Chawla is biased towards Congress. I like Gopalswamy. As far as I know, he behaved in a dignified manner befitting his office. CEC, in addition to CBI, may become Congress’s hand-maiden. After Seshan, CEC had real power, now who knows.
I was stunned to hear that – all of a sudden – P.Chidambaram had won Sivaganga. Thru out the day, media reported that he was trailing. At 1 point, I even heard that they were ready to announce that another candidate had won. What PC’s win means, how that happened – is an open secret I think.
News in dinamalar on how chidambaram won..
http://www.dinamalar.com//Arasiyalnewsdetail.asp?News_id=11069&ncat=TN
Priya.. in that case, why those media were completely silent on this?
Why no one of us discussed this earlier in this post, about this subversion of democracy?
If congress is going to make him the Home minister, where is the justice? Is it not the worst crime? And are this respected learned people of this sastwingees community ignore this, because none of the media wrote about it?
There are many other questions that arise out of this single episode..
/** From what I know, I think Naveen Chawla is biased towards Congress. I like Gopalswamy. As far as I know, he behaved in a dignified manner befitting his office. CEC, in addition to CBI, may become Congress’s hand-maiden. After Seshan, CEC had real power, now who knows.
**/
Priya.. thanks for summing up what i wanted to say..
There are many implications in this.. First, the president of india exposed its partisan and biased attitude, by outrightly rejecting CEC gopalasami’s report..
Second, they have mis-used their power, by NOT making the CEC report on Navin Chawla, public.. From what gopalaswami told in some interviews, he had summed up all the incidents, where Navin Chawla behaved as a congress stooge..
Now consider this point.. Congress already subverting CBI.. They made the president of india, a person with criminal background.. They appointed a CEC, whose credibility is very poor just because he does what the congress says..
ARe you going to consider all those above as smart move by congress, or a subversion of major institutions of this country?
Priya.. earlier in one of the comment you told that Sonia’s ethnicity doesnt really matters.. but consider the following points..
Quatrochi, an italian business men, escaped from Indian Law, by subverting the CBI, through his links with sonia gandhi.. If an ordinary business men could do it, will it be that much difficult for a western spy agencies, to penetrate to indian establishment, by using the sonia’s ethnicity?
In the Nepal Crisis, the Hindu King had been effectively dislodged by Vatican, using the ethnicity of Sonia.. India, instead of considering its own cultural and political ties, sided with vatican, all because of sonia gandhi..
In this election, two things are to be noted..
1. The churches in Mangalore, open worked against BJP, by asking its followers to vote for congress. Serious effort was taken to make each and every christian to enroll in the voterlist, and providing all infrastructures so that they come to voting booth and voted.
2. In Kanyakumari district, the church was successful in consolidating its christian votes, to defeat the BJP candidate.
The above two instances are examples of how Conversions had an ulterior agenda to capture political power.. While the Hindus are largely dis-united, and divided, the churches get lot of concession in the name of minority, and hold their masses as a votebank.
Now coming to the case of Andrapradesh.. There are already 15% Muslims, and the church has a target of increasing the christian people to 10-15%.
With the combined vote block of Christians & Muslims they will be always able to capture the power, and the past history of the church will repeat again in india.. (it has to be noted that the vatican openly declared that christianisation of asia was their agenda for this 21st century)..
Now with Samuel Rajasekara reddy announced subsidy to Pilgrimage to jerusalem, which no other country gives. Now again coming to power, there will be heavy conversion going on in andra, and by altering the demographics of the region, they will again retain the power, and this will ultimately lead to complete christianisation of andra.. Already half of temple lands are sold out, while lot of grants to construct churches are given..
The same case will be replicated in an all india manner, with tamilnadu and kerala being the next target.
Just i came across the following link, on how media manipulates public opinion..
http://www.apfn.org/thewinds/arc_features/media/disinfo9-97.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Maran-Azhagiri-and-Raja-set-to-join-Cabinet/articleshow/4572772.cms
The man who architected the 60,000 crore spectrum scandal, is now again the minister..
And the worst thing now happened.. Azhagiri also became a minister..
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India-buys-US-debts-worth-38-billion-/articleshow/4573196.cms
While other countries are seriously considering the risks in the american debt securities, (China started moving away its Forex to gold), india (MM singh government) is increasing its exposure to them..
A starting proof that a nation controlled by foreigner will cater more to the needs of the relevant countries, than India..
More mortgage of india’s interest to western nations will happen in the coming months..
Rajesh – Thanks for your comment.
Your point about educated folks is well taken – Mumbai registered just 25% of votes, for e.g. I still think discussing political views, performance of our leaders & what needs improvement in our society etc is good stuff. It promotes awareness on issues. That’s a start.
I disagree with you that people voted without due thinking. When I spoke to voters, especially from the lower strata of the society, they had a clear grasp of what their Top-3 problems were. Of course when I spoke to the young, urban educated people, I got some bull – people told me what they thought was expected out of them. Quiet a few of the lower strata voted for “their” party, but that’s probably because they don’t know how to select a candidate. Not because they don’t know the issues. Which is why I think Manifestos should be about real issues.
Yep, mostly our choices are between the Devil & the Deep Sea. Can’t blame people for becoming apathetic.
Senthil, why are you surprised about AP people’s intelligence in voting? Can you please elaborate?
Also, for your other points
1) India exposing it’s debt securities. Is it possible for you to suggest some stable alternatives other than US securities or Gold. Also hope you heard “Buy low Sell High” in market paralance.
2) What is the risk of Church or other minorities consolidating their opinion? Do you think they have the right share of political, economical and social power that is in proportion to their population? Why do you think they are doing it now rather than earlier? What is stopping Hindu organizations from preventing the Hindus not convert in a peaceful manner. You seem to be too much worried about YSR. He has negligible effect on conversions. Voting – yes. But if you think hordes of people convert because YSR is a christian, that seems far fetched. He mentions his religion much much less frequently than Advani talks about Ram or Hinduism. So, dont make silly comments.
3) Sonia controlling Dr.MMS. Hope you know that she is ruling party president and ruling coalition convener. I think she is constitutionally right if she discusses with the PM on matters of policy and suggests what should be done with the right she has. And he is equally right if he discusses with her any important policy decision. That is in fact much better than political sharks like Arjun Singh who opened up the reservations issue and caused the embarrassment for the government. Politics are more consensus based and less I-do-what-I-believe type. And the way Dr.MMS stuck to his guns regarding Nuclear deal speaks volumes of his persistence when it is needed.
4) Importantly, you seem to misinterpret my words. For example “But Sonia to her credit, allowed Mr Singh much more freedom than Sangh Pariwaar had given BJP coalation”. This does NOT mean “Vamsi agreed, that Manmohan singh was controlled by Sonia (alias antonio maino), and that he did only what she allowed”. Far from it. Please read it again.
I can understand your anguish that BJP which you support did not win. It is time to introspect and form proper strategy. Or else, BJP is in the path of self destruction.
For me it is a double victory, a non-BJP govt with no Left support. Hope they run the govt well. I also hope Left and BJP offer strong and constructive criticism to the Govt. We do need that balancing act.
Sukumar/Priya,
I would like to compliment the two of you for choosing the format of a dialogue in expressing your views especially with
a sense of humour/satire. Congratulations on the form of the post. It has come out very well. As regards the content/views, unto each their own very much like the votes in the election, the topic discussed. 🙂
Priya,
You might have considered adding a link to your twin posts on democracy last year as elections are an integral part of that experience and process.
Politics and I::Sahara and Antarctica. I don’t trust any of the parties, I don’t trust most of the politicians and I am not sure I’ll ever be able to understand who is really up to do some good for the country. I am fascinated by this debate and the amount of ‘knowledge’ all you folks seem to have about who’s up to what and who means what. I know all this ‘knowledge’ is damn important so you know who to vote for so our country can get better…but is there really a clear choice? Do you see a light at the end of the tunnel? I am an eternal optimist on most issues, but I think politics is an exception. Should we really debate about parties or rather debate about individual politicians? But can individual politicians who don’t belong to winning parties make any difference? The only logical thing to do seems to be to not let any party enjoy continuous power (power corrupts!) and give everyone a chance and generally choose the one who seems to be ‘good’ at that point of time. It’s a stinking mess….I see very few good eggs and – no offense – wonder why people spend so much of their energy and intelligence in analyzing it (even though I understand the implications and consequences of voting the wrong person/party to power – once again, is there a clear choice and can we really prevent dirty politics?)… 😐
PS: Despite not spending any time on studying and understanding politics, I get to know what’s important for me to know….like who are the politicians who are really worth it…and, for now, I am happy with just that much knowledge. 😉
Check this out… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124279208675238197.html
Nice link Nimmy on ‘India’s Greatest Failure’ – Thanks
Nimmy.. the party which is responsible for that “India’s Greatest Failure, has now again came to power (albeit with lot of riggings.. see P.Chidambaram’s controversial win) “.. what can we say? are we again failing further?
/** Senthil, why are you surprised about AP people’s intelligence in voting? Can you please elaborate? **/
Vamsi.. normally people vote for parties, whether its central or state elections.. and when state and central elections come at the same time, people tend to vote the same party at both the places.. But in AP election, TDP got around 105 seats, which comes to 17 MP seats. But it got only 9 MP seats, which is very surprising.. even if we consider a tolerance level of -3 seats, still it comes to 14 seats..
There are lot of reasons to believe that a massive election rigging had happened in AP too, just as it happened in tamilnadu..
/** India exposing it’s debt securities. Is it possible for you to suggest some stable alternatives other than US securities or Gold. Also hope you heard “Buy low Sell High” in market paralance.
**/
Vamsi.. please read below the concerns raised by china over US currency..
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aVq1dGC2ozoY
US securities are NOT like share market.. they are even worse.. that’s why india had always desisted from investing heavily in to it in the past.. But now, as soon as MM singh got back to power, they are approving such large sums in a highly risky american securities..
Its clearly a sign that US is manipulating india, to its own interest..
/** What is the risk of Church or other minorities consolidating their opinion? Do you think they have the right share of political, economical and social power that is in proportion to their population? Why do you think they are doing it now rather than earlier?
**/
Vamsi.. Most of the conversions in india are funded by large amount of Foreign money.. Most of the churches in india, is under the command and control of the Foreign missionaries.. (Vatican, evangelical etc)..
The church consolidates its head count and use it as votebank.. with an unorganised majority, they will be able to win a seat, or influence a particular seat or party.. By this, the church acquires a political power..
Using the political power, it gets concession to its members, depriving the Non-christian Majority.. This will further fuel more conversion, and the church getting more followers and more consolidated votes..
(Also pleas remember the POPE’s assertion in 2000, that he want to convert the whole of asia to christianity)
As i said earlier, most of the churches are under the control of their foreign donors.. Do you get the point here?
Dont you see a danger (NOT just risk), in allowing a powerful entity, that owes its authority, command and control to a foreign institution, getting political clout in india, unfairly against a unorganised Hindu Majority? Wont they be a tool for foreign countries to subvert india?
Democracy is a process in which each individual votes according to his conscience, without any external influence or pressure. When a church, uses its religion, to influence its followers to vote for particular party in the name of god, is it NOT a violation of Democratic process itself?
When you are opposed to caste politics, how is that you dont see any thing wrong in religious politics of the minorities? And when you could oppose a politics in the name of Hinduism, how is it fair for you to support a christianisation and islamisation of politics?
At this present context, i could only give you the example of East Timor, which fought for independance, just because it is a christian majority.. and also please remember the secessionist movement in North East, just because it is a christian majority region..
——————–
/** What is stopping Hindu organizations from preventing the Hindus not convert in a peaceful manner. **/
There is only one answer.. Please compare the budget of Hindu Organisations and the Christian Missionaries.. you can understand the reason..
Please see the following videos about how indirect violence and fear is unleashed in Cauvery Layout, Bangalore… ( I hope, those who are in bangalore, can take some pains to visit that cauvery layout and verify themselves..)
part-1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8woHykQgB8
part-2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICWHHOcYPVw&feature=related
part-3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5v0IGoa10k&feature=related
part-4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmeE_2SDhSw&feature=related
When conversion itself is conducted in a violent manner, how can you accuse the opposition to be peaceful?
The kandhamal is caused by the Killing of Swamy Lakshmananda. The mangalore issue is caused by Sathya Darshini
Violence by the Hindu Organisations are the outburst of anger and suppression done by missionaries from all quarters? The Violence by Hindu organisations had always been the retaliation to certain attacks by christian missionaries..
There is always a cause and effect here, and if the effect is to be avoided, the root cause has to be rectified..
Senthil,
You still did not answer the question. If India wants to diversify it’s national assets in various global assets, which is the most reliable and stable bond? Is there any instance that US did not honor a treasury bill or bond. China’s fears are genuine. Are you suggesting that we should not buy the US T-bills at all.
Regarding rigging in AP – Hope you heard that AP CEO IV Subba Rao and the praise he got from all quarters? Also if someone is rigging, can they not do for both ballot boxes? Rigging being local phenomenon, why would somebody not do that for Assembly ballots rather than Lok Sabha ones? Doesnt seem to be logical? So, let us give the credit that voting is fair (to large extent) and people are smart. In Assembly level, PRP took 15% vote share and Communists and TRS screwed in a big way. Lok Sabha, as far as AP is concerned, nobody thought BJP as a viable party. So voted for UPA/ Congress.
Thanks
Vamsi
Vamsi,
I am not an economic expert to suggest best ways.. but to my knowledge and comprehension, i could understand that american securities are highly unstable, and unpredictable in the future, and hence risky to invest.. From some sources, i heard that america is now printing more dollars, and due to that, the value of dollar will decrease at international level, due to over supply.. that’s why china is concerned over its large investment in dollars..
And if you accept, china’s fears as genuine, it naturally applies to us also..
Regarding election rigging, please see the latest news below.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/comment/reply/35720
One more link, on why EVM’s cannot be trusted in secret balloting..
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Dangers+of+trusting+them+too+much&artid=h35XNrmrJrg=&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=
Advani’s probe for inquiry in to 26/11 rejected..
http://www.thehindu.com/holnus/000200902010308.htm
Educated people should question, why such demand is rejected.. It should have been done long back..
Kasab is going another Afzal guru, and he would not be hanged in the near future..
Earlier, CEC’s recommendation to remove Navin chawla outrightly rejected without any reason..
Demand for releasing CEC’s report on Navin Chawla also rejected by president, and this report is kept out or RTI reach.
And see the attitude of the media, projecting advani in negative tone..
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians-car-torched-in-Oz-cops-claim-no-racial-motive/articleshow/4627026.cms
The racial attacks is happening continuously in australia, and we are seeing how pathetic the present government is..
Yet another example, why we need a nationalistic government in india.. the present government is spineless to demand anything concrete from the australians.
Such issues needs special care from the highest offices, and its questionable, why MM singh is quiet on this, and his master still further quiet..
Vamsi.. For your kind info, i am sharing the following election details in Andhra pradesh..
Karimnagar and Nizamabad are well known backward districts of Andhra Pradesh. Each district have 2 seats each for center and all 4 are won by Congress. Now, in both districts combined out of 22 state assembly seats, only 4 assembly seats (out of 22) are won by Congress. How can it be possible the uneducated class of people would distinguish which party they would give their vote between state and Center?
In Palacole constituency (West Godavari) it is believed to be constituted by 80% of Kapu Vote which should go in a big way
for Mr. Chiranjeevi but he lost that election. Is it a big conspiracy against chiranjeevi?
There are every possibility that EVM’s are tampered.. and the fraud winning of P.Chidambaram is never discussed anywhere, eventhough it was a known secret, that his result was twisted..
Are Electronic Voting machines tamper proof?
An article in The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/17/stories/2009061755160900.htm
/** BJP has the unenviable task of finding a replacement for Advani. Will it be Modi? They better get cracking on cleaning up his “Minority Baiter” image.
**/
Why Modi? the following link, is a best example, how gujarat has set as a role model for the entire country.. In terms of employment generation, their achievement is astonishing..
http://www.slideshare.net/www.narendramodi.in/gujarat-no-1-in-employment-training
Btw, Modi as minority baiter is NOT a BJP’s problem.. it was media’s creation.. the sachar commitee report has proved that muslims are most well off in gujarat, than the so called people’s party ruling WB and kerala..
I missed this important accusation that sukumar made..
/** I’m happier with a moderately competent government, that is peace-loving & non-threatening to communal harmony. Rather than a potentially competent – yet, rabidly communal government! The latter can cause severe harm to India’s stability as a society.
**/
This is a blatant accusation without proof, repeated often in this blog.. THe following simple statistics shows, that the above statement is false to the core..
*Sikh separatism was result of indira gandhi (which undermined the integrity of india)
*kashmir compromised by Indira gandhi in 1971 war.
*Kashmir ethnic cleansing – result of indira gandhi’s polarisation of muslim votes..
*Sikh massacre of 1984 – congress’s genocide, which later Rajiv Gandhi justified as “Big Tree falling”
*Babri Masjid demolition – Under a congress government at the centre, tactically supported by Narasimha Rao..
*Recent Gujjar agitation fuelled by Congress
*Dera sacha issue in punjab fuelled by congress, immediately after akali dal won
*2002 is not the only riots that gujarat faced. In 1967 (under congress rule), 2500 people killed in a communal violence.
On a comparative note, BJP ruled for 6 years, and except for 2002 , they had maintained communal harmony and peace, even at the cost of Ram Janma Boomi..
The BJP had handled the Gujarat Riots, efficiently, more than any other congress regime..
The following website, clears many of the myths of gujarat riots, and how Modi called on the army on the second day of the riot.
http://www.gujaratriots.com/
After reading, one would understand, why Modi could not be touched by congress, even after 5 years of their rule.. Most of the accusation against him is false and malicious..
Its also a wonder, that the 56 men, women and children, who were burnt by the muslim mobs, were never mentioned anywhere.. are their lives not worth even mentioning?
Forgot to mention the bagalpur riots of Bihar under congress rule, where more than 1400 people are killed..
List of riots in ahmedabad right from 1700s..
http://www.hvk.org/articles/0302/131.html
Nice debate Sukumar and Priya.
I don’t really care if Congress won or BJP lost but the worrying thing is a non-performing govt for the most part apart from one or two successes can afford to win. Whether it is because there was no better alternative or whether it was because they had the media in their pocket – either way it really stinks. Elections in India are for the most part 26 state elections in parallel. So I wouldn’t really count vote in Karnataka as a vote for Advani nor a vote in TN as a vote for Manmohan. No state in India barring probably Delhi (even there it is Sheila) votes on national issues even in national elections. So if there are reasonably popular/performing governments in states, they win (read Karnataka-popular at the moment, Delhi, Chattisgarh, Gujarat etc.). Here are my reasons as to why it really is not so great a national vote.
1. The worst surprise for me was election in Maharashtra where by splitting anti-incumbency votes, the ruling combine managed to win despite probably being the worst state government in India since independence – failing on every front. And we call them harmonious (Cong+NCP), give me a break. If the BJP openly espouses disharmony, Congress does it behind the door. No wonder, they let Raj Thackeray loose initially as his votes would only benefit them. Congress quite simply follows their predecessor – British in divide and rule. There are several examples to this tune. I would rather handle a visible enemy than one that is hidden.
2. Some of the policies quite simply are plain appeasement. It is empowerment which helps people grow and not appeasement. Just read the Congress manifesto – you can ask me why one would want to do that, but that’s a diff question altogether 🙂
3. The Indian media is a very funny animal and sometimes I don’t understand how they just put in their perspective as the news. If only, one watched some of our mainstream (read neutral- I would never call them that) news channels closely, people would understand. From calling opportunism as open-heartedness (read the Rahul episode when he wanted to tie-up with everybody under the Sun :-))
/** The Indian media is a very funny animal and sometimes I don’t understand how they just put in their perspective as the news. **/
Very true.. But its a sad fact, that the same funny animal is controlling most of the urban english educated people..
Latest Update:
Election rigging has been demonstrated by a senior IAS.. Inquiry ordered..
http://ia.rediff.com/www/news/2009/jul/04was-election-2009-rigged.htm
But, the credibility of navin chawla is questionable, and so as his order of inquiry..
Union Minister influences Madras HC Judge..
http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090630/808/tnl-madras-hc-judge-threatens-to-write-t.html
And the union minister is nothing but popular spectram scandal Raja.. Ofcourse, this is not relevant, as long as MM singh maintains his minority appeasement AKA secularism..
India was sold out by MM singh in egypt.. the lives of the 26/11 are conveniently forgotten…
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/15317/its-sellout.html
a perfect example, how a puppet PM, could never take ownership, as the authority lies somewhere else..
Yet another sell out of our defence by the UPA .. no self respecting nations can accept this.. where is our dignity?
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_us-may-get-to-check-indian-military-bases_1276191
“US inspectors would be given access to Indian military bases to inspect American military systems in service with the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, under the text of the end-use monitoring agreement agreed upon by the two sides on Monday during US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s visit to India.
India does not have such an agreement with any other country
”
UPA ignores kargil heroes, but goes on to recommend honour for enemy.. this is an insult to our kargil heroes..
http://ibnlive.in.com/printpage.php?id=97858§ion_id=3
An excellent article by a former army major on strategic blunders of india..
http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=729
Not to mention that it is the same congress party which undermined our army, lost tibet, gave away one third of kashmir, inspite of 92000 captured POWs, lost to china..
Is there any rational in supporting such a party, inspite of the above.. And more importantly we are seeing that UPA has never been answerable either to parliament or to the people, both in the last term, and also in the current one.
MM singh has boldly misleaded parliament in the last term by telling a blatant lie about Nuclear Deal..
Now, he is never apologetic about selling away our national cause, by accepting Balochistan in the egypt agreement..
Senthil,
I missed these comments. I don’t know what your purpose is? Every political party makes its share of mistakes. If i spend 10 min, i can dig up enough dirt about BJP and its ilk. If you don’t like Congress, that is fine. It is okay to keep that opinion. Please don’t think that you can convince others by dishing dirt/mud slinging on the Congress party and its leadership. Congress has its flaws like every other party. If you don’t like it, don’t vote for it. And for your information, just in case, you don’t follow, the people of India have spoken, Congress has won. Please try your luck in the next election. So long.
Sukumar,
i am surprised at your comment.. hope, you wont dismiss the following as simple mistake..
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/centre-decides-to-withdraw-case-against-quattorocchi/522852/0
The indian government had decided to withdraw case against quotrochi..
Another spectacular example to prove, that antonia maino, alias sonia gandhi, had abused indian government machinery to save her italian family friend..
I think, priya had gone to the extent of equating such a person with kannagi somewhere in the earlier comments..
just because i support the Congress does not mean i agree with everything they do.
Why didn’t the BJP pursue the Bofors case when they were in power?
Sukumar,
Just now saw your above comment..
Its not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing. Its a matter of grave national security and national dignity. The truth that we infer from this incident is that an italian businessman could use the links of the italian wife of Indian PM, to bribe indian officials, take commission, and then when detected, again use the same italian link (NOW the head of ruling party), to subvert the CBI of India, and escape from indian judiciary, and then finally, use the same link, to dissolve the case against him..
ie, when even a normal businessmen could do this, its pretty imaginable, that the foreign intelligence wing would have much more penetrated in to indian administration..
This incident is a proof of how indian media protects nehru dynasty by distracting public opinion, and also indicates how dangerous it is to have a foreign born person at the residence of india’s PM..
Today, the same italian history is repeated once again thru the rahul baba in the form of a columbian girl, who is residing without public knowledge in 10, janpath…
Now, an important video by subramanya swamy below..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mjdFujlVwo
Hope, from what happened on quotrochi issue, swamy’s claims could not be discounted..
Priya and others.. after around a year, i had a chance to take a photograph of the NREGA work, and i have made it as a post in my blog.
http://psenthilraja.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/nrega-national-rural-destruction-programme/
For those defenders of NREGA, here is a person who is giving a direct account of this flawed programme, with a direct evidence.
What do you all say about this? Do you still support this ill-conceived policy?
Some more evidences in my accusation that sonia gandhi is an antique smuggler, and also received money from KGB
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/indian-muslims-have-hindu-ancestry-swamy/175660-3.html
Relevant Excerpts from above:
———————————–
Karan Thapar: You also claim that she is also involved in export of antiquities. In fact you have been saying that if I recall correctly for decades. What proof do you have of this illegal export?
Subramanian Swamy: Well I have given evidence of that, I can tell you that she and Naveen Chawla’s wife, they were actively involved in it.
Karan Thapar: You just named someone else.
Subramanian Swamy: Yes I did.
Karan Thapar: Are you sure that is not liable?
Subramanian Swamy: Please prosecute me, I will be happy. I enjoy going to the court to defend these things.
And in another article by indian intelligence, given below, much more facts has been revealed..
http://indianintelligence2009.blogspot.com/2009/09/playing-with-nations-choices.html
As per the above article, Sonia is part of vatican intelligence wing, and her marriage to rajiv was a calculated move.. after her marriage, all obstacles towards her reaching power is eliminated one by one.. First, Sanjay Gandhi, then Indira Gandhi, and then Rajiv Gandhi – All within same family..
The author of the above article chose to be anonymous, but he says, he was part of the 5 member team which analysed intelligence reports after Rajiv’s assasination which was called as “Rajiv Briefs” ..
My Take on it:
—————
While some could outrightly reject it, my take on it would be as below..
Vatican is a country, and hence entitled to have its own intelligence wing.. vatican is seat of christianity and goal of christianity is WORLD Christendom before the second coming of jesus.. india is one of major non-christian countries (particularly country of idolators), that has to be brought under jesus..
So it is logical, that a christian state had put its intelligence wing towards its ultimate goal.. the events so far re-impose this reasoning..
And for the past 10 years, where Sonia is controlling india, more than 12000 crores of foreign funding had flow in to india, virtually unchecked and uncontrolled.. so many churches rose up, even in remote corners, on unprecedented scale..