In a worrying development, the Islamic State (ISIS) has issued a statement claiming to have established its province in India. The announcement was made through its Amaq News Agency on Friday confirming the presence of ‘Wilayah of Hind’.
According to a report published in India Today, the terror group responsible for recent serial blasts in Sri Lanka, declared its presence after a clash erupted between terrorists and security forces in Kashmir. During this clash, one terrorist with alleged ties to the group was shot dead.
In its statement ISIS, a designated terrorist group by the United Nations also claimed responsibility for inflicting casualties on the Indian army soldiers in Amshipora, a town in the Shopian district of Kashmir region. The statement issued by this terror organization corroborates the Indian police statement confirming the death of terrorist Ishfaq Ahmad Sofi in the Shopian encounter.
This announcement is seen as a morale-boosting exercise by ISIS after being dethroned from its self-styled “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in April. At one point, the terror group controlled thousands of miles of territory in the region. ISIS has now increased its hit-and-run raids and suicide attacks including the recent Sri Lanka easter bombings that killed at least 253 people.
“The establishment of a ‘province’ in a region where it has nothing resembling actual governance is absurd, but it should not be written off,” said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intel Group that tracks Islamic extremists.
“The world may roll its eyes at these developments, but to jihadists in these vulnerable regions, these are significant gestures to help lay the groundwork in rebuilding the map of the ISIS ‘caliphate’.”
According to a military official on Saturday, Sofi was involved with several terrorist groups in Kashmir for more than a decade before pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State. Sofi had earlier confirmed the same in an interview given to a Srinagar-based magazine sympathetic to ISIS. Police and military records suggest that he was also suspected of several grenade attacks on security forces in the region.
“It was a clean operation and no collateral damage took place during the exchange of fire,” a police spokesman said in the statement on Friday’s encounter. The military official, however, expressed the possibility that Sofi might have been the only terrorist left in Kashmir associated with ISIS.
Islamist terrorists have for decades fought an armed conflict against India in Kashmir. Pakistan has been fighting a proxy war with India for decades. The relationship between both the countries came to a standstill post the Pulawama attack wherein JeM, a Pakistan based terror outfit, had claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that martyred at least 40 paramilitary personnel in Pulwama.
There is no official confirmation from the Home Ministery yet on this matter.
We had reported earlier that the success of Balakot airstrikes in retaliation to Pulwama suicide attack has rattled Pakistan. Since the Pulwama attack, a total of 31 Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists have been shot dead.
On the 10th of March, the Election Commission declared the dates for the 2019 General Elections. The Elections are to be held in 7 phases, like the previous elections, and results will be declared on the 23rd of May.
It is a good time perhaps to look back towards some of the earlier General Elections that have been contested in the country. General Elections have always been a raucous affair and all of them had their own flavour of chaos and enigma, highs and lows.
1. The Second General Elections (1957)
5 years after Jawaharlal Nehru became the first democratically elected Prime Minister of independent India, the country went to polls for the second time. In recent times, it has become the norm that votes are counted only after all phases of the elections are completed. However, in 1957, as in the earlier General Elections, the votes were counted in every constituency as soon as it was possible. Normally, it was done straightaway after the ballots were cast or once all the ballots in the particular state had been cast.
The Congress party was the comprehensive winner, winning 371 seats and a vote-share of 47.8% which was five times more than its closest competitor. Nehru again became the Prime Minister of India. Moreover, in this election, the independent candidates won a whopping 42 seats and over 19% of the votes, the highest for any General Election.
The elections were held from the 24th February to the 9th June, taking a much longer time to complete than current elections. Also, it was the last election which had the provisions for multi-seat constituencies. Of the 403 constituencies, 91 elected two members while the remaining elected one each. The provision for multi-seats for constituencies was abolished before the next elections. In the second General elections, the seats in the Lower House of the Parliament were increased by 5 from the first time around to 494.
1957 General Elections
2. The Fourth General Elections (1967)
The 1967 General Elections saw a further increase in the number of Parliamentary constituencies. From 494, the number went up to 520 in 1967. Like the third General Elections (1962), which was completed between 19-25 February, this one covered an extremely short period of time as well. The 1967 General Elections were completed between the 17th of February and 21.
Also, this was the first General Elections that were conducted after the Delimitation Commission Act of 1962 was enacted by Parliament. It was in this Act that it was mandated that every Assembly Constituency should fall wholly within one Parliamentary Constituency or “each parliamentary constituency should comprise an integral number of assembly constituencies.” It was also this Act that mandated that seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes be located in different parts of the state, and “as far as practicable”, in areas where their population compared to the total was largest.
Although the Congress party won over 40% of the votes, it suffered a loss of about 4% in terms of its vote-share from its previous elections. The loss in vote-share translated to a loss in seats as well. While it had won 361/494 seats in the previous elections, it was reduced to 283 in 1967. Moreover, the Swatantra Party, which had formed as a consequence of an anti-Congress sentiment and was in certain ways a predecessor of the BJP, increased its seats tally to 44. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh, on the other hand, won 35.
The 1967 was the first General Elections which the Congress fought under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. Many things are blamed for the losses it suffered, including the two wars which India fought in the previous 5 years contributed to an economic slowdown. Moreover, the Congress’ brightest leaders, Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri had both passed away which led to a leadership crisis at the highest echelons of the party. A rivalry had developed between Indira and Morarji Desai which further contributed to her loss.
1967 General Elections
3. The Fifth General Elections (1971)
The 1971 Lok Sabha Elections was unique in its own ways. The Congress party has suffered a split as a consequence of the infighting between Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai. In 1969, Indira was expelled from the party and she responded with a rebellion against the party establishment that resulted in a split. Most of the Congress leaders and grassroots worker joined their ranks with Indira and as a consequence, the Election Commission recognized Indira’s INC(R) as the lawful successor to the erstwhile Congress party. Thus, technically speaking, the Congress party of today is not the Congress party of Independence. The same dynasty may continue to hold power over the party but the nature of it has changed remarkably. It has undergone too many splits and divisions to really be comparable to the party of old.
The elections were called prematurely after the President dissolved the Lok Sabha 15 months ahead of schedule on the advice of the Prime Minister. In 1971, the Monarchial psyche of the Indian populace was again emphasized. Although the Congress had suffered a split, the charismatic leadership of Indira propelled the party from 283 in 1967 to 352. The Congress party had also managed to increase its vote-share by almost 3 percentage points. The number of seats in the Lok Sabha, too, was increased to 545 in 1971, a number that has held stable since then.
The dissident faction of the Congress, INC(O), suffered a thorough beating at the hands of Indira Gandhi. The INC(O) formed a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ of sorts with Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), Praja Socialist Party (PSP), Swatantra party and Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) to defeat INC(R) but the coalition received a thrashing as sound as any.
The 1971 Elections also sowed the seeds for one of the darkest periods of Indian Democracy. On the 12th of June, 1975, the Allahabad High Court invalidated the results of Gandhi’s constituency citing electoral malpractices. Instead of resigning, Gandhi called an emergency that lasted two years. The decision to enforce the Emergency and the atrocities that followed could be construed as one of the nails in the coffin of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty but the seeds of it were laid in the 1971 General Elections. It was for this election that Indira Gandhi coined her famous ‘Garibi Hatao’ slogan, words that are echoed by her Grandson Rahul Gandhi to this day.
1971 General Elections
4. The Sixth General Elections (1977)
The 1977 Lok Sabha Elections were historic in many aspects. It was the first time in the history of Independent India that Congress was voted out of power. Morarji Desai became India’s first non-Congress Prime Minister after the Janata Party stormed into power winning 298 of the 545 seats.
Consistent with the short duration of previous elections, the General Elections in 1977 were completed within 4 days from the 16th of March to the 19th. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called off the Emergency on the 21st and on 24th, Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of the country.
Indira Gandhi paid for her dictatorial tendencies and the numerous atrocities she inflicted on the country’s population. ‘Nasbandi’ (Sterilization through vasectomy) was one of the many grievances that people had, regressive tendencies of her policies were not lost on anyone and the Opposition was able to seize the initiative effectively. The rampant corruption played a major part as well. Infighting within the party and a lack of enthusiasm amidst the ranks so to speak played its part as well.
The 1977 Elections also witnessed the utter decimation of the Swatantra Party and the Jana Sangh. Intriguingly enough, the Communist parties of India found themselves in opposite camps. While the CPI(M) sided with the Janata Party, the CPI went with Indira Gandhi.
1977 General Elections
5. The Seventh General Elections (1980)
While it is true that the Congress party suffered a terrible blow in the 1977 Lok Sabha Elections, an ecosystem that has entrenched itself so deeply in the fabric of the country cannot be struck down in one blow. The nature of the political entity that achieved such a feat has to be borne in mind as well. The Janata Alliance was, in its true sense, a motley crew of strong leaders and unfortunate as it may be, great conquerors are not guaranteed to be great leaders. And thus it happened, due to internal rivalry and the inherent unstable nature of the coalition, the Janata Party collapsed before long and the country was again faced with the prospect of General Elections.
Indira Gandhi was again confronted with a plethora of leaders aligned against her but as it happened, the lack of unity among her Opposition strengthened her position considerably. And thus, in 1980, Indira Gandhi secured a thumping majority in the Elections, not as great as the Congress party of yore but a great majority nonetheless. She won 353 seats and returned to rule as Prime Minister again. The Janata Party was reduced to 31 seats and the split faction, Janata Party (Secular) won 41 seats.
In the years that followed, the Janata Party continued to split and ultimately lost all influence in national politics. But they had changed the nature of Indian politics fundamentally. While at the national level, there wasn’t any party left to challenge the Congress, various regional satraps had developed which would significantly undermine the Congress in the years to come.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, the regional parties in the Southern States, the Shiv Sena, the National Conference in Jammu & Kashmir, all of these parties had established themselves in Indian polity during this period and in the years to come, they would significantly reduce Congress’ influence in national politics.
1980 General Elections
6. The Eighth General Elections (1984)
The assassination of Indira Gandhi precipitated the need for General Elections in 1984. After his grandfather and mother, now it was Rajiv Gandhi’s turn to assume the leadership of the Congress party. Riding on the sympathy wave created by the death of his mother, Rajiv Gandhi secured one of Congress party’s largest majorities in the Lok Sabha. The Congress party won 426 seats in the absence of any significant opposing national party.
The Congress party had thus, rolled back the years and regained every seat they had lost and then gained some more. Although the 426 seats are extremely flattering, Congress’s decline was almost fated to be as regional satraps continued to rise.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won 30 seats, the CPI(M) and CPI won 23 and 6 respectively, the Akali Dal won 7, the AIADMK won 12 and the Asom Gana Parishad won 7 among others. As much as it was a story of Congress of dominance, it was also a story of the continued rise of regional satraps. The Janata Party had won a paltry 16 seats and was now in a state of terminal decline.
Most significantly, however, 1984 marked the entry of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Indian polity. They managed to win a modest 2 seats. However, in the years to come, the party would go on to redefine politics in the country and in many ways, the meaning of India as a country.
1984 General Elections
7. The 10th General Elections (1991)
The 1991 Lok Sabha Elections were one of the most polarized elections in the history of the country, so much so that it came to be referred to as the ‘Mandal-Mandir’ elections. Hindu nationalist organizations had started flexing their muscles on the Ram Mandir front in the 1980s. In 1986, the movement received a major boost as the gates of the ‘disputed site’ were opened to Hindu through a Court order.
Naturally, religiousity made its presence felt in national politics as well. And in 1989, the BJP secured 89 seats in the Lok Sabha Elections. Shri Rama became the focal point for Hindu politics and BJP, which was borne of the womb of Hindutva, increased its tally by 87 seats in the span of 5 years. Ultimately, V.P. Singh formed the second non-Congress government at the Centre with the help of the BJP and Left parties. But as it happened, the government again collapsed soon after.
The Mandir gambit of the BJP, which led to an unprecedented consolidation of Hindu votes, was countered by the Mandal Commission. The Commission, which recommended 27% reservations to OBCs, fractured the Hindu consolidation that the Hindutva organizations were trying to achieve.
Ultimately, the Congress won 244 seats in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections although the BJP managed to increase its tally to 120. The Congress party formed a government with an alliance with the Left parties.
1991 also marked the death of Rajiv Gandhi when he was assassinated while campaigning for his party. With the absence of eligible successors, one of the architects of modern India, P.V. Narasimha Rao took the reigns of the party and became the first non-Gandhi person to complete his tenure as Prime Minister of the country.
The 10th Lok Sabha Elections were significant in the sense that it further marginalized the hold of the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar in Indian politics. The last time the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar had been removed from the corridors of power in 1977, they had returned soon enough. But now, there was an absence of eligible successors and Rajiv Gandhi’s children were still too young and had no experience in politics. Therefore, it would take some time before the Parivar could regain their power.
1991 General Elections
8. The 13th General Elections (1999)
The 1999 Lok Sabha Elections were probably the most historic in Independent India. For the first time ever, a non-Gandhi non-Congress politician succeeded in completing his tenure as the Prime Minister of the Country. It did not come easy for Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Earlier, he had lost a no-confidence motion in the floor of the Parliament when he became the Prime Minister for the first time.
The period between 1996-1999 was chaotic for Indian Polity. 3 General Elections were held in 4 years. And 1998 marked the first time in Indian history when the Congress party failed to emerge as the single largest party for two consecutive elections. The chaos was natural as it signified a tectonic shift in Indian politics.
The mantle of the single largest party had been passed to the Bharatiya Janata Party from the Congress, regional satraps with significant political power had proliferated and the age of a single party dominance had ended, the era of Coalition Politics was upon us.
The BJP won 180 seats in 1999, it’s highest ever tally thus far. The Congress was reduced to 114. Regional satraps such as the Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena, the BSP and the Southern parties won a significant share of seats as well. Thus, what began with the Janata Party in 1977 had ended with the decimation of single-party dominance at the Centre. While the Congress party continued to remain a significant player, it’s dominance had been crushed.
1999 General Elections
9. The 14th General Elections (2004)
Again, the General Elections of 2004 were extremely significant in their own ways. It was the first time that EVMs were used in all the constituencies. Ballot boxes had become a thing of the past.
More than that, 2004 marked the return of the Gandhi Parivar in the corridors of power. While Sonia Gandhi could not seize power overtly as her predecessors had, it is known that she continued to pull the strings from behind while installing Manmohan Singh as the puppet Prime Minister.
It was extremely significant as well as it marked the first time in Indian history that alliances were formed along ideological lines. Although the Congress won 145 seats and the BJP won 138, the BJP was destined to lose as its allies hadn’t secured the requisite number of seats necessary and among the parties that had remained neutral, the appeal of an alliance with a ‘Hindutva’ Party was non-existent. Thus, ‘India Shining’ had failed and the Congress party returned to power with support from its allies.
2004 General Elections
10. The 16th General Elections (2014)
814 million people were eligible to vote in the General Elections of 2014, a whopping 100 million more than the previous General Elections. It was even touted to be the biggest election in world history. It was for the time in Indian elections that NOTA was recognized as a legitimate option. In stark contrast to the times when the General Elections were concluded within 4 days, the 2014 General Elections were conducted in 9 phases from the 7th of April to the 12th of May.
The 2014 General Elections perhaps was the most historic of them all. The Congress party secured its lowest ever tally in General Elections, winning only 44 seats in the Lower House of the Parliament. It was the first time since Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress in 1984 that a party had secured a simple majority on its own in the Parliament.
More than that, the era of Coalition Politics that began in 1989 had suffered a serious setback as Narendra Modi and his traditional allies secured a thumping majority. For the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar, it was the final nail in the coffin. The current head of the Dynasty has proven to be an utterly incompetent politician. Even if Narendra Modi somehow loses the 2019 elections, the Congress party will in no manner and shape to continue to enjoy power as it did during 2004-14, let alone in the days of Rajiv and Indira.
The first parties to attempt to wrest away power from the Congress were the Jana Sangh and the Swatantra Party. They failed. The Janata Party succeeded in 1977 but could not complete the tenure of their government. After much duress, Atal Bihari Vajpayee succeeded in completing his tenure as Prime Minister becoming the first non-Congress politician to do so. But he could not succeed in getting reelected. if Narendra Modi is reelected as Prime Minister for a second term, he could become the first non-Congress politician to complete two consecutive tenures as Prime Minister.
2014 General Elections
11. The 17th General Elections (2019)
The 2019 Lok Sabha Elections has great significance for the future of the country. It’s importance has been exalted by politicians all across the spectrum. While BJP President Amit Shah has likened it to the Third Battle of Panipat, the Opposition calls it the battle for the soul of India.
In political terms, 2014 was the first time in over two decades that a single party won a majority in the Lower House of the Parliament. A repeat this time around could very well mean the death of coalition politics in India and a return to the times when a single party enjoyed an overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha.
Narendra Modi is bidding to become the first non-Congress non-Gandhi Prime Minister to complete to successive terms as Prime Minister. While his first term shifted the Overton Window of Indian Politics firmly towards Hindutva, another term would consolidate the shift and cement Hindutva as the new normal of the Indian political scene.
There are other unique features as well. The 2019 elections is poised to surpass the previous General Elections to record the highest voter turnout ever in Lok Sabha Elections. It indicates that the principles of Democracy have entrenched itself in the psyche of the Indian populace.
For the first time, inflation and corruption isn’t an issue in elections. It is being fought on ideology, on the vision for the future, on the basis of personalities and development. Regardless of the result, the implications of this year’s elections will be felt for years and years to come.
This is a Congress’ season of apologies. Rahul Gandhi has apology forced out of his mouth by an unwavering Supreme Court and it may still not be enough. Sam Pitroda has spit out the dreaded word for Rahul Gandhi didn’t want to take any chance in Delhi and Punjab elections on Sunday, May 12.
Make no mistake though that apology doesn’t come any easy to Congress leaders. Indira Gandhi apologized for the Emergency by blaming others for its excesses! Addressing a public rally in Yavatmal, Maharashtra on January 24, 1978, Mrs Gandhi lamented those responsible for the mistakes and excesses were not willing to own up and thus she takes the “entire responsibility for the same.” However, her heart still lay in the necessity of the Emergency for she said: “It (Emergency) was a dose of medicine to cure the disease.”
Congress loyalists though still have difficulty in owning up and feeling sorry for the Emergency. Salman Khurshid, a former External Affairs minister like his father (Khurshed Alam Khan) and maternal grandson of Zakir Hussain (ex-president of India) has still not been brought to account for his inflammatory words on the Emergency. In Hyderabad, on July 12, 2015, Khurshid remarked thus: “Why should we (Congress) apologise? Why should we discuss Emergency? Certain things happened (Hua to Hua in Pitroda’s words)…if we have to apologize, then people of India will also have to apologize…why did they elect her (again)?”
It’s worth reminding readers that none of Congress stalwarts in the 1970s ever apologized for the Emergency. There are a few big names which instantly come to my mind: Bansi Lal, Sardar Swaran Singh, Kamlapati Tripathi, Uma Shankar Dikshit, Inder Kumar Gujral, Vidya Charan Shukla etc. Jagjivan Ram indeed supported the Emergency (his daughter Meira Kumar, who was opposition candidate against Ram Kovind for presidential elections in 2017, can still apologize on behalf of his father). Truth to tell, no Congress leader till recently ever did.
Then there are those Congress leaders who drum up weird logic to defend the indefensible. Anand Sharma has a bulldog’s boorishness yet the delusion of a suave debater. He once credited Indira Gandhi for “lifting the Emergency.” Imagine: A killer being hailed for making sure the victim’s eyes were spared. Yes, he is the same Anand Sharma who now defends Rajiv Gandhi and his family holiday on INS Viraat as what does Modi know about a family and a vacation? I mean could somebody tell the man of the spectacle he is making of himself in public.
But then Anand Sharma is only following his party’s tradition of creating absurd logic in order to avoid a simple word: Sorry. Sam Pitroda says he is sorry because his Hindi is not very good. It’s the same logic Mani Shankar Aiyer gave in defence of his “neech” remark against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And how do you think Sonia Gandhi has reacted to the mass killing of Sikhs on the streets of Capital in 1984?
The Congress matriarch’s mention of 1984 Sikh killings came in Chandigarh during one of her election rallies in 1998. Sonia Gandhi had then said she “could understand the pain of Sikhs as she herself has experienced it, losing her Rajiv and her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi that way.
“There is no use recalling what we have collectively lost. No words can balm that pain. Consolation from others always somehow sound hollow,” she had said.
Does it sound an apology to you? Does it sound an apology to Rahul Gandhi who thumped his chest in public on Friday saying her mother Sonia Gandhi had apologized for the 1984 Sikh killings? This is what he thinks is an apology? It seems not just the Hindi but even English of Congress leaders is bad. As far as I could understand Sonia Gandhi simply mentioned tit-for-tat. “I lost mine, you lost yours – so what (hua to hua, in other words).” Shouldn’t Rahul Gandhi apologize again attributing false apology to her mother?
Now listen to what former PM Manmohan Singh said as an apology to 1984 Sikh killings which Rahul Gandhi is trumpeting around. In 2005, a good 21 years later, Manmohan Singh’s conscience came out of coma and uttered that the killings of Sikhs was “shameful” but equally shameful was the “killing” of Indira Gandhi. Does it sound a sincere apology to you? To me, it appears “whataboutery” of which the Left-Liberal-Sickular media is so fond of uttering.
The delicious irony is that it was virulent Sanjay Nirupam who once had to apologize. “Congress Darshan”, the party’s mouthpiece, once criticized Pt. Nehru for the present state of affairs in Kashmir and Tibet which could’ve been set aright if Sardar Patel had been put in charge. The mouthpiece also let out that Sonia Gandhi’s father was a fascist soldier. Nirupam lost little time in putting his tail between his legs and expressed “apology” for the outrage.
While I am on the “Hall of Apologies,” I can’t resist bringing on Arvind Kejriwal and his litany of shameless apologies. He once apologized not once, twice but three times to three different individuals for bringing disrepute to their names. One was Kapil Sibal’s son Amit, the second was SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia and finally the mother of all apologies, to Union minister and BJP leader Nitin Gadkari.
This is the same Arvind Kejriwal and his party AAP which brought a resolution in the Delhi assembly for the return of “Bharat Ratna” award to Rajiv Gandhi for 1984 Sikh killings. And this is the same Congress which nearly tied up—and could still tie-up post-2019 elections—in Delhi.
In essence, these charlatan politicians and their apologies are not worth a grain of salt. We suffer them day in and day out and unfortunately actually pay for it by buying the newspapers which serve as their propaganda boardroom bulletins.
Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of The Wire and a US citizen himself, opined on Friday that Prime Minister Modi greeting people with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ at his rallies is a ‘corrupt practice’. While it would be utter naivete to expect anything else from The Wire’s founding editor, it appears Modi’s detractors are clutching at straws at this point.
He went a step further and claimed that it was dishonest to claim that a Gujarati politician using a ‘UP greeting’ for a Bengali audience was not appealing to Hindu identity.
Modi saying ‘Jai Shri Ram’ at a rally in Jhargram is a corrupt practice. “…religion… would not be allowed to play any role in the electoral process and should an appeal be made on any of those considerations, same would constitute a corrupt practice.” https://t.co/zSRXVDU22m
Ya, so you are saying a Gujarati politician is using a UP greeting for a Bengali audience and not appealing to their Hindu identity! At least be honest to yourself!
Varadarajan’s words are problematic and troubling at various levels. Although an American citizen cannot be expected to appreciate the subtleties of Hindu Dharma, a self-proclaimed journalist ought to know better.
First of all, we ought to celebrate the fact that the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is bringing Indians of all hues together. If a slogan can unite Indians and bring them under one banner while infusing in them with inspiration to work for the betterment of the country, then we ought to appreciate the slogan for its ability to bring people together.
Secondly, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is a manner of greeting as Varadarajan himself admits, then how can a form of greeting be considered an appeal for people to vote in the name of religion? Greeting people with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ does not implore people to vote in the name of religion, it does not make any attempt to polarize people in the name of religion, then how can it be a corrupt practice? Is greeting people a corrupt practice now?
Moreover, quite clearly, the people at Narendra Modi’s rallies do not mind being greeted with chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. In fact, they have wholeheartedly embraced it. In Bengal, the slogan has turned into a “Bidrohor Chitkar” (Cry of Protest) among Bengalis who are sick and tired of the tyrannical conduct of the Mamata Banerjee government. Then why should a US citizen take offence? It wasn’t him Narendra Modi was greeting with that slogan. Do such people expect the Election Commission to now dictate how people greet each other? Are we going to fall so low?
As I have mentioned in an earlier article, Shri Rama is revered by Hindus from all communities. Bengalis love Shri Rama just like people from any other region. Therefore, as a Bengali myself, I hardly have any issues with being greeted by that slogan. In fact, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is how one of my Odiya friends and myself greet each other. In West Bengal, it is extremely common, especially since recent times, to see people greeting each other with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the streets. Does it become a ‘corrupt practice’ merely because the Prime Minister is doing it? Narendra Modi drinks water as well, will Varadarajan label that a corrupt practice and quit drinking water himself?
It is quite astounding that all the while as liberals sing paeans for unity and harmony, they try every trick under the Sun to keep Hindus divided. If Hindus of all hues find common ground under Shri Rama, then its unity that is the problem according to liberals.
It’s quite evident that at the heart of the matter is the Hinduphobia that is extremely entrenched in liberal circles. The Hinduphobia runs so deep that liberals consider the slightest overt display of Hinduism to be a ‘corrupt practice’. And they are troubled greatly by Hindus coming under one banner. And it is a matter of great concern to them that Hindus are uniting under the banner of Shri Rama.
Further evidence of their colour blindness is the fact that liberals see no issues with political parties with names such as ‘All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen’ and ‘Indian Union Muslim League’. Liberals have no problems with such political parties and do not think that such parties ask for votes in the name of religion. But a Hindu Prime Minister greeting the attendees of his rallies with ‘Jai Shri Ram’, a traditional manner of greeting people among Hindus, is a ‘corrupt practice’ according to the same people.
Of all Hindu Gods, it’s quite clear that liberals have a problem with Rama the most. And it’s not hard to imagine why. Shri Rama has become the vessel for the political unity of Hindus transcending the barriers of caste, class, creed, region and language. Thus, it’s no wonder that liberals are trying desperately to disparage anything and everything associated with Rama.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been hit by the shocking allegations made by the son of their Lok Sabha candidate from West Delhi Balbir Jakhar, a just day before the National Capital goes to polls.
Jakhar’s son Uday made a sensational allegation before media that his father paid an amount of Rs 6 crore to the AAP chief and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in exchange for the Lok Sabha ticket. He also said that his father assured to get 1984 anti-Sikh riots accused Sajjan Kumar out on bail.
#TNExclusive Hours before Delhi votes, cash for ticket controversy that hits AAP. West Delhi AAP candidate’s son has made a huge claim. He has said his father paid 6 crore rupees to Arvind Kejriwal for a Lok Sabha ticket while speaking to TIMES NOW’s @parv05 | #May23WithTimesNowpic.twitter.com/SdVhVQnz1W
Clarifying that he did not belong to any political ideology Uday said, ” I am not with any political party. I don’t align with the right wing or the left wing ideology. I am just telling you the truth right now”.
Uday said that his father was never a part of AAP or the Anna Hazare movement. But about 3 months ago, he was told by his father that he is getting a ticket from AAP in exchange for Rs 6 crore. He has also stated that his father had refused to help him when he had asked for money to fund his education. Uday alleged that his father Balbir Jhakar had said that he will use the money to launch his own political career.
He said that he warned his father not to align with the “so-called Tukde Tukde gang”. Attacking Arvind Kejriwal, Uday said that he (Kejriwal) who portrayed his clean image sold out West Delhi for 6 crores. Uday also says that he has credible evidence to prove that his father paid the 6 crore bribe to Kejriwal for the Lok Sabha ticket.
Slamming his own father who is a lawyer and also the President of Delhi Bar Association, Uday said that a person who claims to bail out a “mass murderer” like Sajjan Kumar should not be given a ticket by any party. ” A candidate who says that he is ready to bail out Sajjan Kumar. He is ready to bail out one of the worst mass-murderers that we have had in the history of this country, he should not have a seat from any political party”, said Uday.
When questioned about the timing of his allegations, he said that it took him some time to make arrangements to hold the press conference and that it was irrelevant if it was one day, one hour or a month before the election.
“So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly rise and make them miserable.” – Wrote Aldus Huxley.
After the relentless attack on the current Prime Minister and political opponent Narendra Modi by the Congress led by the scion of the first family, the descendant of Nehru, on the unfounded allegations about corruption in the Rafale deal, Prime Minister Modi hit back bringing the corruption and other allegations against Rajiv Gandhi into the political discourse.
Suddenly those who were gleefully watching the Congress attack confessed by Rahul Gandhi to be solely for the purpose of causing damage to the image of Narendra Modi as a corruption-free leader, jumped in disbelief, with their mouths open and elite aquiline noses turned upwards. That the current elected PM was called all kinds of names on the basis of a supposedly fake corruption charge, rejected by Courts and discounted by the top auditor of the country, has been largely ignored by those who have suddenly woken up to the necessity maintaining decorum in public discourse.
Having made the mistake of attacking an honest man, viciously not only as elected Prime minister, earlier as elected CM as well when they even wrote to foreign powers to deny him of Visa; they have brought this misery on themselves where the sins of the dynasty are coming back to hound them from the graves. It is true that a conspiracy of burning Hindus hatched by local leaders including some of Congress in Godhra resulted in riots in Gujarat when Modi was chief Minister.
The fact remains that Modi as CM went around asking for administrative help from neighbouring Congress-ruled states of Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra, a day after violence broke in Gujarat and got no help. The then MP CM, Digvijay Singh could even respond a refusal two weeks after the request was made. There were reports of Congress leaders being a part of the riots. As per the official records, around 800 Muslims and 300 Hindus lost their lives during Gujarat riots. This did not stop the Congress first family from going after Modi, globally maligning an elected Chief Minister of a state who did his best to contain a riot caused evidently by evil conspiracy.
Congress has so many skeletons in their cupboard that they should rather have gone a one-off retort by the PM Modi after years of harassment. But then, for Congress and sycophants, the family is always bigger than the party. It has nothing to do with their respect of history and sense of humble honour towards the departed greats. The current leadership of Congress could not remember the anniversary of Tilak, the founding father of the Congress or even Feroze Gandhi, the grandfather of Rahul Gandhi. They know well that by raking the mud, they are only going to create murkier battlegrounds in the last leg of elections. But then, they will do what is good for the family, not what is good for the Party.
So now that the skeletons of the past are erected in the battlefield, Congress cannot avoid the stench the dead will bring as they are exhumed out of their grave. Sam Pitroda is enjoying possibly his first stint as a mass leader and providing ample absurdities on a daily basis. When Congress continues to harp on Modi’s statement on Rajiv Gandhi, it is inevitable that people again begin analyzing what Rajiv Gandhi did as a PM of India (and did it merit a Bharat Ratna).
Comparisons will be made about 700 and 300 people of both the parties under conflict in Gujarat during 2002 riots which brought Modi under so much of Indian and Global censure, possibly under the influence of some nefarious global forces, with 1984 Rajiv Gandhi monitored Sikh riots in which around 3000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and around 8000, all across the country. Unlike 2002 which was a riot, where rioting groups go back and forth and the state intervenes to protect the minorities as is evident from 300 deaths of Hindus in Gujarat, which is an overwhelmingly Hindu state (88.6 % Hindus and around 9 % Muslims); 1984 was a state-sponsored genocide where only Sikhs died. Congress could have gotten away counting on short public memory, but then they decided to go after Modi. Such skewed was the system and such absolute was the silence that the compensation in Sikh riots to the kins of the dead was mere 10,000 Rupees. The stranglehold that the Congress held over the press was so absolute that there were not many questions raised over shoddy state response to the most heinous riots in the history of independent India.
Another infamous genocide which happened under Rajiv Gandhi’s watch was Bhopal gas tragedy. The death toll here again was as high as around 3700 people. The chief of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson was arrested immediately but was as quickly escorted out of India. On being questioned about his whereabouts, the Indian government feigned ignorance. The mysterious, midnight escape of Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson is said to be quid-pro-quo for the release of Adil Shahryar, the son of Mohammad Yunus and a friend of Sanjay Gandhi, sentenced to 35 years of imprisonment for grave charges like fraud, attempt to plant an explosive on the ship, manufacture of firearms. Vinod Mehta in his book “The Sanjay Story- From Anand Bhavan to Amethi” mentions incidents of reckless youth, when Sanjay Gandhi and Adil Shahryar used to steal cars for joy rides in Delhi.
While Adil Shahryar link to Warren Anderson’s release, marching over the corpses of 3000 dead Indians is not established, the fact remains that the instructions to release Anderson came from higher-ups. Swaraj Puri, the SP of Bhopal in 1984 claimed that Anderson was arrested on a written order, but was released on oral orders. It is also interesting that the log book which contained the details of the transfer of Warren Anderson from Bhopal to Delhi are no longer in India, sold to a company owned by the son of Kamal Nath in 1998.
Swayed by the Rahul Gandhi’s rhetoric of being anti-corporate, one might be tempted to forget these matters as blunders of past, but then the fact remains that even after all these years, the Congress has been the mother of Crony Capitalism. The loan defaulters whose escape from India has been one of the bases of Congress’ attack on Modi government, were all given these favours under UPA. By bringing Rajiv Gandhi into focus, Congress has put the family before the party as the political repercussions of harping over Rajiv Gandhi’s good name will only hurt their political purpose opening old wounds. Since the first family considers acknowledgement of mistakes and apologizing for them beneath them, and will have Darbaris like Sam Pitroda nonchalantly throwing a “So-what” at the unwashed masses; they totally count on short public memory.
They expect people to forget Nehru’s scams, Indira’s tyranny and Rajiv’s corruption. The argument is not that Rajiv wasn’t corrupt. Their argument is that Rajiv Gandhi is dead. So is Savarkar. It did not prevent Rahul Gandhi from badmouthing Savarkar. Rajiv Gandhi’s death while tragic, no way qualifies for martyrdom. He was assassinated when he was out of power and not a Prime Minister. The Chandrashekhar Government at the centre ran with his support. The Jain Commission clearly indicted DMK for supporting LTTE in the assassination.
It is the same DMK which is a coalition partner to Sonia –led Congress in Tamil Nadu. The insistence of Congress to keep the war over the role of Rajiv Gandhi in Indian politics raises a lot many questions on the role of Sonia Gandhi in Indian politics. It also opens the myth of greatness which has been diligently tailored around Rajiv Gandhi, with his Bharat Ratna. It brings him down his pedestal and opens him for public scrutiny like any ordinary politician, struggling from one mistake to another, from 1984 to Bhopal, from Ram Mandir to Shah Bano. It re-kindles the short memory of the people of India. It puts the question to them if they can trust those who are allegedly responsible for two broad massacres in independent India with the future. They will not like the answer. I have found a great message for Rahul Gandhi from the French poet, Alfred De Vigny if he would like to read:
“I have a private theory, Sir, that there are no heroes and no monsters in this world. Only children should be allowed to use these words.”
Lashing out at the Congress government in Rajasthan, BSP supremo Mayawati has alleged that the Congress administration and the police in the state repressed the Alwar rape case until the elections got over in that constituency. Mayawati has asked the apex court to intervene and announce the strictest punishment against them.
In addition, Mayawati has also said that this case is not just related to Dalits but all women. She further expressed her lament saying that the Election Commission has failed to take concrete action against politicians who have made derogatory remarks against women.
Taking a strong stand over the issue, Mayawati stated that the culprits should be hanged and the SC should act against the Congress government and the state police in Rajasthan.
A Dalit woman was gang-raped in Rajasthan’s Alwar on April 26, 2019. A clip of the rape was circulated by her attackers which provoked outrage and protest across the state. The police were informed of the rape on April 30. Her husband has alleged that the police didn’t file an FIR on April 30 but delayed it till May 7, 2019, after the elections in the state got over on May 6, 2019.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has asked for a criminal case against the police officers who allegedly delayed acting on the woman’s complaint. The Commission’s vice chairman L Murgan has asked the negligent police officers be booked under Section 4 of the SC/ST Act and charge-sheet be filed within 15 days. The police, in their defence, claim that they have arrested all 6 culprits involved in the gang-rape.
It is notable here that Mayawati had given her support to Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after the assembly elections in December 2018. However, she had stated that she does not support the ideologies of Congress but is extending her support only to keep the BJP out of power.
Opinions have been divided over the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor ever since the demolition drive began. While most people have come around to believing it’s a great initiative, after scores of ancient Temples were rediscovered in the process, certain people like Ravish Kumar and members of the Muslim community still don’t approve.
While Muslims are nervous that the corridor could pave the way for the demolition of the Gyanvapi, Ravish Kumar is worried about the loss of ‘heritage’. In an interview with The Quint, Ravish claimed that Varanasi doesn’t feel like Varanasi anymore.
Ravish said, “I was arguing with some people, they were telling me it doesn’t matter that 200-250 houses were demolished for the corridor.” He seemed rather offended by that as he embarked upon a mission to claim that cultural heritage was being destroyed, ignoring entirely the scores of ancient Temples that have been recovered.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-fG22kOC5g]
Throughout the interview, Ravish maintained that the corridor project was misguided. At one point, he went to the extent of saying that even if the people whose houses were demolished, for which they received adequate compensation, say that the corridor is for the betterment of Varanasi, he won’t agree that it was a good thing.
He said, “The 250 people would have taken their compensation and walked away. They could have been paid more but the wisdom that could be gained through that argument, could you buy that? I am telling you what’s happening is not right. You listen to me, you don’t, it’s up to you but I am telling you it’s not okay.”
“Every place has its own traditions, suddenly you demolish everything and build a 4-lane highway across the Mandir, then what can I say? I will say even then that it’s not correct. You can drive your car through this 4-lane highway at 180 km/hr if you have bought one but this place had a life of its own,” he added.
Ravish Kumar appears to have made it a point to disagree with the popular public perception regardless of the matter in question. When asked about the cleanliness of the Ganga, he answered with a question of his own, “Do you think the Ganga is getting cleaner?” When it was pointed out that people agreed that the Ganga was indeed getting cleaner, his response was, “So what if people say?”
That the hygiene of the Ganga has improved is generally not considered a matter of debate. When millions of devotees arrived at Kumbh and did the Ganga Snan, including high profile politicians, it was considered enough evidence that the hygiene of the sacred river had indeed improved since not too long ago, foreign dignitaries could not so due to the poor quality of the water. However, Ravish the Compulsive Contrarian chooses to disagree with observable facts.
His primary grouse appears to be with something else entirely. According to Ravish, people used to vote for Congress and BJP earlier as well but it’s only that politics has really become an issue. His opinions stem from an incident where people saw him at Kashi and called him Modi’s opponent. “I went to the Hotel and someone said, ‘Look. Modi-virodhi has come’. This is not Varanasi.” He appeared quite bitter while saying that.
Looking at his track record, it’s easy to see why people may consider him Modi’s opposition. Recently, he was seen on the stage of an SP-BSP rally in Uttar Pradesh. Although Ravish claimed he was only covering their campaign when questioned about it in the interview. Last year at an event moderated by Kumar, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav had said that he regretted not killing a journalist who had criticized him.
In the past, he has also insinuated that the BJP was trying to divide the Army along religious lines while showering praises on a media portal that attempted to sow discord within the Army on the basis of caste. He also spread fake news about martyr status to CRPF Jawans to malign the NDA government.
With over a lakh South Indian voters who call the national capital their home, the BJP has come up with a unique voter outreach as the national capital gears up to vote on May 12. While the voter percentage of Purvanchalis is far greater than that of the South Indians, BJP has taken its campaign a step further to be all inclusive in voter outreach.
BJP Karnataka MLA Arvind Limbavali was made the election in-charge for the campaign of reaching out to Kannadigas in the national capital. “Since the Kannadigas are away from their native state we wanted them to know that as a party we would stand by them at any point of time. Kannadigas have always been the front runners in the nation’s progress. Hence it is important to make them feel included in our run to achieve new India,” Limbavali said.
Limbavali reached out to the people across the national capital and presented the agenda. “Since the core ideology of BJP is to be inclusive while moving towards development the party decided to address this while the other parties like Congress haven’t taken any initiatives nor JDS has its presence here,” he added.
Limbavali visited the Raghavendra Swamy Mutt in RK Puram area of Delhi and the Adichunchanagiri Shakha Mutt in Noida where he reached out to influential Kannadiga voters to gather support for PM Modi. There are about 15,000 Kannadigas in Delhi and about 4,000 in Gurugram. In spite of the fact that the voter base is not that significant in the city which has over 1.3 crore voters the BJP has reached out to the voters which show that for the BJP, Delhi is more than just the Purvanchalis and the Punjabis.
About 40 per cent of the population in West, North West, North East and South Delhi is from Purvanchal, which comprises of the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh and western part of Bihar. Aam Aadmi Party, in its desperation to garner some votes had resorted to fear-mongering where Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that the BJP has been driving the ‘purvanchalis’ out of Delhi as they have done in Mumbai. Similarly, Punjabis, too, form a significant voter base, comprising of over 35% of the voter base.
Even as Congress struggles to stay relevant in the political landscape, the Aam Aadmi Party has driven the political discourse to a new low with its shameful antics. From indulging in fear-mongering by obtaining phone numbers of Delhi residents and calling them to ‘inform’ them that their names have been removed from the voters list by the BJP on behest of Narendra Modi, to accusing opponents of publishing and distributing obscene and derogatory pamphlets about their own candidate, AAP has reached a new low in politics.
As the campaigning ends for the sixth phase of elections, adrenaline has started flowing for the 23rd May when India gets the leader it deserves.
On 8th May 2019, a short video clip went viral on Social Media where a man was seen taking a selfie with actress Swara Bhaskar. In the clip, while taking a selfie, the man, with a cocky smile says to Swara Bhaskar, ‘par ma’am aayega to Modi hi’.
The viral video became a rage among netizens with several memes of the video cropping up. While Modi supporters were extremely supportive of the video and couldn’t get enough if it, Swara Bhaskar lashed out and said that when a guy asked her for a selfie at the airport, she obliged “because she doesn’t discriminate people who want selfies based on their politics”. She said he “sneakily shot a video”. In her iniminable spiteful and hateful style, she said underhand and tacky tactics are the trademarks of ‘bhakts’.
A guy asks for a selfie @ airport; I oblige ‘coz I don’t discriminate people who want selfies based on their politics. He sneakily shoots a video. Tacky & underhand tactics r trademarks of bhakts. I’m unsurprised. But always glad 2 make bhakts feel like their lives are worthwhile https://t.co/bKyFEOKZQh
OpIndia decided to reach out to the man in the video, who was identified as V Ranjha, a Punjabi singer to understand what his version of the entire event was.
V Ranjha said that he had asked Swara Bhaskar for a snap story which has audio and video both. He lashed out at Swara saying that if she didn’t like it, she should have asked him to delete it right then and there. He said he wouldn’t want to impugn motives to Swara and maybe she didn’t hear him properly over all the Airport noise when he asked her for a snap story.
He said after he said ‘aayega to Modi hi’, Swara Bhaskar simply said that ‘we shall see on 23rd May’ and walked away. If she had a problem with the snap story, she should have demanded that he delete it instead of retweeting it and ensuring that it reaches more people.
In fact, V Ranjha said that he was a fan of Swara Bhaskar as an actress, though as a politician, he would like to see Prime Minister Modi return to power since there is truly no other leader of his calibre in the country right now.
When asked why he took exception to Swara Bhaskar’s political views, he said that he, or anybody for that matter, did not have an issue with her politics but her stand on issues when it comes to the Indian army and Pakistan. He said he took exception to her tweet about Major Leetul Gogoi who had tied a stone pelter to his jeep to ensure the safe passage of poll officials who were stuck amidst a stone pelting mob.
When asked which statement regarding Maj Gogoi he took exception to, he said he wouldn’t want to repeat the abusive word used by Swara Bhaskar but its there on record. When we looked, we presumed he was talking about the following tweet that has raised a severe backlash on Twitter.
I dont agree with Sadhguru. Liberals are more than Fanatics. They are Anti National. They are Anti Army.
Here I fixed your tweet. pic.twitter.com/U8o14gmyV1
Eventhough Swara had claimed that she was talking about the Una incident, nobody believed her because she had criticised Major Leetul Gogoi’s last ditch effort to save officials extensively.
Swara Bhaskar’s leanings towards Pakistan are also quite apparent and have been spoken about extensively from time to time. In a video, she had praised Pakistan extensively while saying that she wanted to use ‘decent words’ since she was in Pakistan.
She had also credited Taliban Khan with the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan recently, when clearly, the events had pointed towards severe pressure put on Pakistan by the Modi government that led to her release. In fact, Abhinandan was mentally and physically assaulted when he was in Pakistan.
Pakistan has done the right thing in releasing Wing Cmdr #Abhinandan We welcome this move by @ImranKhanPTI Delighted this brave dignified son of India, our hero will return home soon. India has done the right thing in sending Pak a message that terror will no longer be tolerated
When asked about what he thought of Swara Bhaskar campaigning for Kanhaiya Kumar, V Ranjha said that if she wants to campaign for someone who wants ‘tukde tukde’ of the country, then that’s her choice.
Ranjha also said that he did what he did because he wanted to share it with some of his friends and had no idea it would go this viral. He didn’t want “publicity” as he already has worked with T-Series and has a song with over 3 million views on YouTube.
After a lady journalist took the interview of Swara Bhaskar, she posted on her Facebook page saying thought she had a great time interviewing her, but ‘aayega to Modi hi’.
