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Modi government’s surgical strike(s) on Black Money: A multi-pronged, systematic approach that has been cleansing corruption effectively

Anant Chetan
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Modi government’s surgical strike(s) on Black Money: A multi-pronged, systematic approach that has been cleansing corruption effectively

“Everybody was so focused on magician’s right hand, that no one noticed him slipping the coin in his pocket with his left hand. He did it right in front of our eyes and in broad daylight, but still, we had no clue how the coin disappeared and reached his left pocket.”

This exactly is the case with black money and politicians. Whenever we start talking about black money, Swiss Banks are almost immediately brought into the conversation. Recently, the news was aired in mainstream media that the money parked by Indians in Swiss Banks increased by 50% to INR 7000 Crores. However, nobody knows how much of that money is black.

For instance, a person like me who lives and works in Germany gets his salary credited in a German bank and so are the savings, in the same bank. However, one of my friends from university lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. His salary and savings are in a Swiss bank. Now, in those 7000 Crores did they include his savings and salary? Is he the only Indian Engineer or to say Indian working there? No! There are thousands like him.

Moreover, there are Indians who have their big or small businesses in the country. Was their money included in those 7000 crores? Yes, it was and the interim Finance Minister Mr. Piyush Goel tried to explain the very same thing.

In fact, if you look at the stats, India stands at the 73rd position in terms of money parked in Swiss Banks by Indian Citizens. The total money parked by Indians there is only CHF 1 Billion i.e. 0.07% of the total money parked in Swiss Banks. The UK stands at the first place with  CHF 403 billion i.e. 27% of the total money parked. The USA comes next in second place with CHF 166 billion. Germany also manages a place in the top ten.

Do you think all these countries are corrupt and their citizens are parking their black money in Swiss Banks? I don’t think so. Even when we compare BRICS, India comes last. China at 20th place (CHF 160 billion), Russia at 23rd (CHF 135 billion), Brazil 61st (CHF 1.9 billion) and South Africa 67th (CHF 1.5 billion). All the money in Swiss banks is not black money, in fact, only a very small fraction of Indian black money is there. As you continue reading further, you would know where most of the black money is.

Never the less, Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) has now been implemented between India and Switzerland. The two countries signed a joined declaration on Nov 22, 2016. At least now each and every conversation about Black Money would not end with Swiss Banks. With this process in place the following pieces of information would be shared regularly:

AEOI
Image courtesy: Federal Department of Finance, Switzerland

Coming back to the elephant in the room. If most of the black money is not in Swiss Banks where is the black money?

Do our political parties (both INC and BJP) know where the black money is? Did our government (current or the previous) had any clue about it what so ever?

Yes, they knew exactly where the money was. But they did not think it was important for us to know that.

Three financial institutes, Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad conducted a research and concluded that proportion of total black money lying within India is much higher than outside the country. Up to 97 percent of the total black money lies within India.

Did Congress know about this? Yes, it did!! Because the research was commissioned in 2009-10 and the report was submitted in 2013 when UPA was in power. The coalition government dominated by INC did what they do best, bury the report. The report did not see the public domain. They chickened out when the time came to take a strict decision. And when in opposition, they mocked the Modi government when it took the steps that should have been taken earlier like demonetization. The people who still support INC should at least ask them why the report was not made available to the public?

Not only did they mock, but they also mislead the nation by spreading incomplete information. For example, they claimed that 99.3% of the total currency (₹15,417.93 lakh crore) was returned leaving merely 0.7% undisclosed. First, this .7% comes out to be INR 16000 crore. Even if we consider all the money in Swiss money as black i.e. INR 7000 Crore. This even by opposition’s claim means Demonetization killed black money of worth more than twice of what is deposited in Swiss Banks.

Second and more importantly who said the total currency in circulation was ₹15,417.93 lakh crore? This could have been the currency printed by the official mints, but this could not be the actual value of the currency in circulation.

Simply because the Reserve Bank of India has no way to determine the exact amount of fake bills in circulation, they have already accepted this. They can only detect the ones that reach the bank. For example, back in 2010, the bank detected fake currency worth INR 3200 Crores, and that would just be a small fraction of the actual number of fake currency in circulation, as not all bills reach the bank. There can only be approximations.

fake bills
image courtesy: Times Of India

In addition to this, from 2008-09 to 2010-11, RBI received more bills than the ones printed by the mints. The RBI had no answer to this question, except every time they would say that some of the bills were in transit. However, even if the data for consecutive years was taken, the numbers did not add up.

Between 1999-00 and 2010-11 RBI received approximately 339 million notes more than what was actually printed. RBI along with the UPA government(s)1&2 kept a lid on this fake currency issue. And now for a change, when somebody, did do something in this regard, highly educated people like Raghuram Rajan have something to complain about. Where was his voice when the mess was being created? Was he not allowed to speak then? Or was he involved in all these scams?

The thing is, neither you nor me or nor anyone else knows for sure as to how much currency was in circulation in India before Demonetization. Can you think of ways where you or any government would know for sure as to how much fake currency is in circulation? If you know, please let me know through your comments. I would be grateful. But with all these pieces of information readily available on the internet in the form of various reports, it could easily be said that currency in circulation was way more than ₹15,417.93 lakh crores.

To tackle black money, demonetization was a mandatory step but not the only step. It was coupled with the steps like Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, or the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana or Income declaration scheme (which was mocked as Modi’s fair and lovely scheme by Rahul Gandhi), etc. Have a look at the table which shows the amount collected by the government with the help of these schemes.

bmsc
Image courtesy: Business Today

Moreover, the number of taxpayers in India increased by almost 80% from 2013-14 to 2016-17. In 2013-14, there were only 3.79 crore taxpayers in India, which increased to 4.07 crore in 2015-16 and 6.84 crores in 2017-18. A clear cut increase of more than 3 crore taxpayers in the first three years. Now, either it is that the government generated 3 crore new jobs in first three years that people were able to pay taxes or those people by not paying taxes were generating black money for all the previous years.

You could choose to believe either of the options. If you have any third reason as to how the number of taxpayers increased, please do mention in the comments. If the Modi government had killed millions of jobs as claimed by the opposition, the number of taxpayers should have reduced and not increased. Do you agree? Unemployed don’t pay taxes, do they?

These are not the only actions undertaken by the Modi government. Modi government has tried to cut the source of black money in the first place. “Prevention is better than cure.” Had the right measures be taken at the right time,  black money would not be such a big problem today. The previous governments let it happen. They could have nipped it right in the bud.

Shell companies have been de-registered in lakhs. Shell companies are those companies that exist only on paper but have no office or employees. For example, the corporate affairs ministry shut down 226,000 shell companies in 2017-18 and was planning to shut 250,000 the next year.

Back in 2013, the Delhi High Court claimed that 99% of NGOs are fraud and money-making devices. The Modi government has shut down more than 10,000 fraud NGOs in the first 3 years of its tenure. Approximately 20,000 FCRA licenses were cancelled and 13,000 licenses were not renewed.

On one side is the Modi government, that has tried to kill the source of Black money and on the other side is the Indian National Congress, which not only turned a blind eye towards black money but also created ways to generate more black money.

For example, CSR (corporate social responsibility) which came into existence by the companies act, 2013. It is a mandatory 2% contribution from some of the companies towards social issues and India is the only country in this world to have this mandatory condition. How did it or will it promote black money? Some of the companies donate their 2% to charitable trusts, who return the money back to the owners in different forms from the back door after deducting their commissions. And you could guess who are the people controlling charitable trusts.

In short, this extra 2% tax or extortion gives a reason for the Corporates to look for “different” ways to avoid this. So much for the ease of doing business.

Modi government since its first day behaved as an extremely responsible and professional government. The government worked with a blueprint to kill black money. For the first two years, the government opened Jan Dhan accounts for free. The PM himself called for people to declare their undisclosed income several times, he launched several other schemes as well. They had the Benami transaction act, Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 already in place. And only then did they hit black money hoarders with Demonetization.

Demonetization was not a whim of one person, it was perfectly planned move. When on November 8, 2016, at 20:00 hrs, PM Modi announced demonetisation, people with black money knew they were in trouble. Unlike Congress, BJP did not leave a clever loophole in the design so that somebody could exploit that. All the doors were shut at the same time and this is the biggest reason they cried foul. The loud noise we saw after demonetization was the corrupt crying. Corrupt people/politicians/parties don’t carry a mark on their head. They look like everyone else. 

The only sad part is that PM Modi had not started his #MainBhiChaowkidar campaign till then if he would have done so, a lot of people would have refused to help a certain few in getting their currencies converted. This is the reason why we all need to do our parts, and cannot just wait for Modi to wield a magic wand and wipe all the problems off.

Congress uses photograph of police officer killed by Muslim mob as example of Hindu lynch mob victim

OpIndia Staff
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Congress uses photograph of police officer killed by Muslim mob as example of Hindu lynch mob victim

Apart from the promise of a highly questionable and unrealistic minimum income guarantee scheme, the Congress party’s campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha election is revolving around negative campaigning. The party is attacking the BJP and prime minister Narendra Modi non-stop as part of its election strategy. Congress has released several videos attacking the government.

As a part of that, Congress party is producing a video series titled Bhakt Charitra, which means the character of Bhakt. Today the party released the ‘anthem’ for the series, a rap song in Hindi. The song is filled with Hinduphobic narrative, projecting saffron clad Hindus as murderous mobs. The song mentions the narrative being spread by media for that last five years, that hate crimes by Hindu lynch mobs increased many times during the Modi government. They have used photographs of some people that became victims of hate crime, with a caption saying “all killed by lynch mobs”.

Five photographs of lynch mob victims used in the song including one police officer, and on close scrutiny, it can be seen that the police officer is Muhammad Ayub Pandith, who was the Deputy Inspector of Jammu and Kashmir Police. And although his photo has been used a victim of Hindu lynch mob, the fact is that the police officer was killed by a mob of Muslims who were shouting slogans in support of Pakistan as well as Islamic terror organisations.

Snapshot from the video released by Congress party

Muhammad Ayub Pandith was killed by a mob on 22nd June in 2017 outside Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, where he was posted as part of security for the devotees coming to the mosque. He was stripped and stoned to death by the mob, and it was reported that Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Sajid Ahmad Gilkar played a key role in this attack.

File photo of Muhammad Ayub Pandith

Therefore, the Congress party used the image of the police officer killed by an Islamic terror supporting mob to push the propaganda of Hindu lynch. Earlier too, several cases of mob violence where the victims are Muslims have been attributed to communal violence by Hindus to spread the narrative of Hindu lynch mobs, when the incidents happened due to other reasons and the religion of victim was related to the crimes, or even when the attackers themselves were not Hindus.

Notre Dame deserves to be mourned, but spare a thought for India’s own temples that bore the onslaught of invaders

Anand Walunjkar
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Notre Dame deserves to be mourned, but spare a thought for India’s own temples that bore the onslaught of invaders

The world is abuzz with viral pictures, videos and articles on the devastating fire that engulfed and destroyed Notre Dame in Paris. Although, it is claimed by the authorities that the main structures have been preserved, yet it has been a severe blow to the history of France, as the structure stood witness to 850 years of all what happened to France. When a historical monument is harmed, it is not just the damage to the structure, but a massive blow to the culture, heritage and sometimes to even the civilization.

India is no exception to many of historical monuments loss, by accident or for wars. Below are listed a few of the structures within present India which have undergone massive destructions. While Notre Dame is being mourned by the world, these structures and the travesty heaped upon them has been conveniently forgotten by most:

  • Somnath Temple in Gujarat has been desecrated and rebuilt multiple times in history, most notably by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1024 AD who looted and plundered the wealth, killing thousands of people. After reconstruction by Kumarapala, it was ransacked again by Alauddin Khilji’s army led by Ulugh Khan. Zafar Khan during Delhi Sultanate in 1395, Portuguese in 1546 and Aurangzeb in 1665 destroyed the temple and was finally reconstructed in its present state in independent India under the orders of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
  • Martand Temple in Kashmir with its beautiful Kashmiri architecture was built in the 8th century and was completely destroyed on the orders of Sikandar Butshikan in the early 15th century. The invasion not only destroyed the structure but also paved way for the cultural and demographical obliteration of Hindus there. The present day ruins were the background sets of the song ‘Bismil’ in the Bollywood movie ‘Haider’.
  • Shaniwar Wada in Pune which was the seat of the Maratha power in India in the 17th century caught fire in 1828 under British rule. The conflagration destroyed all the rich cultural heritage of the Peshwas rule that included Juna Arsa Mahal, Mastani Mahal and a thousand jet fountain in the shape of Lotus. What now remains is just the plinth structure and the main gate known as Dilli Darwaza.
  • Warangal Fort in present Telanganain its days of glory stood witness to the prosperity of Kakatiya dynasty but was raided by Malik Kafur, and subsequently by Muhammad bin Tughluq. There is nothing left now but ruins. The seized Koh-i-Noor passed on to rulers and is now the most magnificent jewel on the crown of the British Queen.
  • Nalanda University in Bihar attracted scholars from as a far as China and Korea during Magadha dynasty rule. But the whole university was raided and millions of books were burnt by Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. The ruined university which produced legends as Aryabhatta, Dharmapala and Nagarjuna were later excavated during British rule. But with the University gone, we lost vast reserves of knowledge and wisdom accumulated in centuries. One can never predict the scientific advancement India would have achieved had this University allowed to function.
  • Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was demolished several times by various rulers and raiders in the history notably by Qutub-ud-din Aibak in 1194, Sikandar Lodhi and by Aurangzeb in 1669 who replaced it with Gyanvapi Mosque which still stands and is a testimony to the brutal assault to the holy religious site. It was in 1780 that Ahilyabai Holkar from Indore constructed the present day temple at land adjacent to the mosque.
  • Gauda in Bengalis now a ruined city on India Bangladesh boundary which stood out for its unique architectural design and rich cultural heritage of Pala and Sena dynasty. Being sacked by Sher Shah in 1539 and Akbar in 1575 subsequently led to the complete devastation of the city. Since then it has been an almost overgrown jungle and the rich cultural heritage was lost.

These are just some of the structures that have been desecrated in Indian history and there have been many more. A country is what its history, art and culture depict and cultivates; and in the events of monumental destructions, the future generations run a risk of forgetting its roots and the vast source of knowledge its ancestors possessed. Nations and citizens must therefore take great care in the preserving these historic monuments, for they are not just places of tourism but channels of wisdom for our future.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated

After 26/11 Congress was focused more on linking the attack with Hindus than punishing Pakistan: PM Modi

OpIndia Staff
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After 26/11 Congress was focused more on linking the attack with Hindus than punishing Pakistan: PM Modi

Prime Minister Modi while speaking at a rally in Araria, Bihar, lashed out at the Congress Party today for concocting the ‘Hindu terror’ theory instead of taking action against terrorists.


Accusing the Congress Party of doing vote bank politics, the Prime Minister said that after the 26/11 terror attacks, the Congress government did not allow the Indian Army to take action against Pakistan. “Remember what the Congress government and its allies did after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai? Indian Armed forces had sought the permission to take revenge by attacking Pakistan but the government did not grant the permission for the sake of vote bank politics”, he said.


PM Modi said that everyone knew that the terrorists were Pakistani and yet the Congress government was focused on conspiring to link the terror attack with Hindus instead of punishing Pakistan.

Recently speaking on Times Now, PM Modi termed the fielding of Sadhvi Pragya from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency against Congress leader Digvijay Singh, as a reply to the those who tried to malign the Hindu civilisation by linking it with terrorism.

India’s ‘Constantine moment’: Our choice now will decide the fate of our civilisation

Jai Menon
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India’s ‘Constantine moment’: Our choice now will decide the fate of our civilisation

First, a bit of history:

Almost exactly 1,700 years ago, the Roman Emperor of Britain & Gaul (France), Flavius Valerius Constantinus, is said to have had a vision while on the road with his army – of a cross over the sun, and next to it the words “in this sign conquer” (in hoc signo vinces). In a different version, a writer of the time says this came to Constantinus in a dream. No one is sure what the sign referred to in the dream/vision was, but it was a Christian symbol of the time – probably not the cross we are all quite familiar with today.

The very next day, at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantinus, and his forces routed the army of Roman Emperor Maxentius and the gates of Rome, the seat of the Roman Empire, were laid open to him. Constantinus, better known as Constantine the Great, became a Christian as a result of that vision or dream. It came to be seen as a capstone moment in world history.

The earliest version of the battle had no mention of a vision or a dream. But this was the 4th century CE, and such things as visions and dreams were much more saleable to the general public then. It was no doubt also convenient for Christian history-writers in the centuries after, as they worked to impose on diverse peoples monotheistic absolutism across what is now Europe, West Asia, and Northern Africa.

Constantine’s victory on Oct 28, 312 CE was a landmark moment in history. It resulted in the complete and utter destruction of the European civilization of that time over the following centuries. The period roughly between the 5th and the 11th century used to be known as the Dark Ages of Europe. That usage has fallen out of fashion of late, for obvious reasons. It is a story of incredible violence, and of the use of law to crush all existing forms of worship, rituals, customs and practices – and also in some cases the digested transformation of some of these rituals and customs.

To make matters worse for the old gods of Europe and Western Asia, in the early 7th century, a new monotheistic religion erupted out of Arabia: Islam – which had been forged on the caravan routes between Arabia and the Levant, where Christianity was born. This set the stage for a clash of absolutism, which persists to this day. But, caught in the crossfire, the polytheists of the area were defenseless. Their practices were rendered illegal and often the penalty of non-conversion was sub-citizen status or death. The legislative pen and the divine sword were used in the service of the expanding monotheisms.

In any case, you will be hard pressed to find a temple to Apollo or any of the Greco-Roman gods built in the last 15 centuries, anywhere in the regions where the Greco-Roman and the Judaic civilizations used to thrive. The Jewish people, monotheists themselves and in many ways the source of both Christianity and Islam, have just about managed to cling on, and are still on an existential cliff-hanger. Their predicament, in this writer’s view, can be whittled down to a single predominant factor: The Jews did not actively proselytize and try to increase their numbers.

Now, on to the present day, and India:

We are at a similar inflexion point. What India got in 1947 was independence only from British rule, not from its influence. The first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, is on record as saying that he was himself only an Indian “by accident of birth”. In fact, he was a product of the British education system for its own elites, which looked upon the denizens of their colonies with a certain compassionate contempt.

Though a well-meaning man, Nehru started a dynasty that has since evolved into a byzantine monstrosity Constantine himself would have been proud of. That is to say a kleptocratic, opportunistic and cynical group of individuals (with a matriarch born in Italy, ironically enough). For 70 years, this dynasty has been – by commission and omission – undermining the Dharmic civilizational base of India, and promoting what they call the “Idea of India” as if there is only one.

Their idea of India is basically a summary of Nehru’s book “Discovery of India”, i.e. a sanitized and sterile India that the anglicized remnants of empire can live with, and more importantly, explain to their friends and acquaintances in the West, with the above-mentioned compassionate contempt, well-honed in British and American universities.

So here we are, seven odd decades later, poised to choose, yet again between a pseudo-Gandhi and a salt-of-the-earth Indian politician, Narendra Modi. Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear: a victory in which Rahul Gandhi ends up as Prime Minister of India will result in a vicious backlash against anything to do with the Dharmic civilization that is closely identified with the BJP and the RSS. “Hindutva” is actually just a euphemism for Hindu, a legitimized derogation.

Leading acolytes of the family, like Kapil Sibal, Randeep Surjewala, Sanjay Jha and Abhishek Manu Singhvi have gone on record warning about what is in store for those who get to close to the BJP and its leader Narendra Modi. They would not have said these things without approval. Three of them are lawyers. Edicts and laws are much more effective than violence in forcing change on a people because they carry the implicit threat of violence by the state. And that violence is regarded by the general public as worthy, exemplary and legitimate – because it has a state behind it.

That is how Christianity spread through Europe after Constantine, through edicts and laws which steadily and incrementally legitimized violence by the state against all who believed in other gods. (For more detail, read this book, the latest in a small list – The Darkening Age, by Catherine Nixey)

While everyone knows about the persecution of Christians between 200-400 CE (mainly), few know about the violent suppression of the “pagan” gods in the 15 or so centuries thereafter. This is why no one even bothers to ask “why were no temples to Apollo, Jupiter, or Athena built in the last millennium?” Faiths that sustained civilizations have been rendered museum memories, often with their heads, hands, noses chopped off. Sounds familiar? And while we, along with the world, mourn at the fiery collapse of the Church of Notre Dame in Paris, a monumentally beautiful edifice, let us also remember that underneath it was a temple to many gods, including Jupiter, Mercury, Castor and Pollux, and Vulcan, the old Roman god of fire.

The scrubbing out of civilizations was not just in Europe, but in the Americas, in Australia, Africa and parts of Asia. Wounds of the Goan Inquisition are still raw, and the ancient temples converted to churches may be far between, but not few. The impulse of the Abrahamic faith systems to gain access to legislative power is powerful, pragmatic and persistent. At the time of Constantine, Christianity was no more than 10% of the total population. It was political power, followed by edicts, laws and subtle amendments over decades that changed the world.

Although the people of the Dharmic civilization has been at similar inflexion points in the past – and have held fast to the Sanathana Dharma despite severe structural damage – the start of the third millennium presents us with an existential choice. And it is made at the press of a button. Vote wisely, choose well.

The Dharma cannot afford another millennium, or even another century, of suppression. It must survive or the last of the old gods of the world face a great suppression and then forgetting – as in Europe. Rescue is in your hands. Literally at your fingertip.

Rahul Gandhi’s Congress’ blatant Hinduphobia: Tripundra, Bhagwa Dhvaj and Shri Rama shown as symbols of religious bigotry

K Bhattacharjee
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Rahul Gandhi’s Congress’ blatant Hinduphobia: Tripundra, Bhagwa Dhvaj and Shri Rama shown as symbols of religious bigotry

The Congress party, on Saturday, shared a video through its official Twitter handle which can only be described as vitriolic Hinduphobic propaganda. The lyrics of the song in the video, which is in the form of a rap, says, “Farzi hai, nakli hai, yeh Bhakt Charitra.” The imagery of the video reeks of propaganda that is tailor-made to hurt Hindu sentiments and demonize public display of Hindu faith.


In the video, people dressed in traditional Hindu saffron garb are depicted as malicious, hateful and bigoted. It gives one the impression that people dressed in saffron attire are evil and Rakshasas in the guise of men. The rapper, himself, is dressed in western casuals. It appears, for the Congress party, the colour of one’s clothes is evidence of underlying political opinions and the surest way to fight bigotry is by donning western clothes and singing lyrics which make extremely little sense.

The song begins with the words, “Yeh Kaisa Bhakt Charitra hai?” Since the advent of Narendra Modi in national politics, a concerted effort has been made by the Congress ecosystem to demonize the word ‘Bhakt’. In Hinduism, the word has a very pious meaning. It denotes a person who is consumed by his devotion towards the Gods. That liberals have been working in overdrive to demonize the word only reveals their disdain for the cultural ethos of the country.

‘Bhakt’ does not have any political connotations. But the Congress party and its minions have tainted it with political partisanship and malice. They have attributed bigotry, evil, hatred and numerous other negative aspects to the word when it only signifies a Hindu who has great love and devotion towards the Gods. By questioning the ‘Charitra’ (Character) of Bhakts, they have not questioned the character of supporters of Narendra Modi but every Hindu who is a devotee of the Devas.

The video appears to suggest that Hindus are the driving force behind religious fundamentalism. The 2 minutes 16-second video does not make a single mention of the Hindu victims of Islamic fundamentalism in the past 5 years. Throughout the video,  religious bigotry has a colour and the colour is saffron.

Numerous leaders from the BJP make an appearance in the video. Yogi Adityanath, Vinay Katiyar, Maneka Gandhi are shown making controversial remarks. Images from communal riots are shown as well and in every instance, Hindus are depicted as aggressors and Muslims as victims.

One particular line stands out for its rabid Hinduphobia. The rapper says, “Dhongi hai, Dikhava hai yeh astitva (This existence is an imposturous, pretentious.” One wonders exactly what the Congress party means when it says such a thing. Given the context of the song, it appears that according to the Congress party, a Bhakt’s existence is imposturous and pretentious.

Why is the existence of someone who worships the Gods and is completely devoted to Them imposturous? Why is it pretentious? It’s a grave insult to the faith of millions and millions of Hindus but given the history of the Congress party, it appears hardly surprising.

The symbolism of the video is particularly distasteful. Towards the end of the video, the Tripundra and the Bhagwa Dhvaj are shown with ‘Bhakt Charitra’ emblazoned on the screen. For devout Hindus, these are sacred symbols which represent the very ethos of our great civilization.

The Bhagwa Dhvaj is the colour of our civilization. It’s the banner under which our great ancestors fought for to rid our great land of foreign-born pestilence. It’s the banner under which Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj dreamt of his vision if Hindavi Swaraj, it’s the banner under our ancestors marched for justice, vengeance and Dharma. Associating the Bhagwa Dhvaj with bigotry and religious fundamentalism is a grave insult to the sacrifices made by our ancestors on the battlefield and the hardships they had to endure so that we could live as free men and women.

The Tripundra, which the Congress party has associated with fanaticism, is a sacred ritualistic Tilak integral to Hinduism associated with Shiva. Once upon a time, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had called himself a Shiv-Bhakt and here he is, associating the Tripundra with bigotry and fanaticism.

The Congress party cannot get away with saying that the video is intended to target the Bharatiya Janata Party and its workers. The Tripundra and the Bhagwa Dhvaj are not associated with the BJP. The Tripundra is a symbol of our devotion towards our Gods and the Bhagwa Dhvaj is as much a symbol of the serenity of our Hindu civilization as it is that of our resistance to invaders. They are the heritage of every single Hindu, maligning them is attacking our Hindu faith, not the BJP. But for the Congress party, it seems they are one and the same thing.

Shri Rama, too, was not spared by the Congress party. Rama appears in the video quite randomly, the scene doesn’t appear to be from any riots or communal violence. From the picture it appears that the scene is either from Ram Navami or Dussehra although it’s impossible to say with certainty where it’s actually from. But what can be said for certain is that the image doesn’t seem to depict any religious intolerance. Thus, it appears, for the Congress party, the King of Ayodhya Himself has become a symbol of intolerance.

The video comes across as less of political propaganda against a political opponent and more of laying the framework for the re-ignition of the Hindu Terror theory should the Congress party return to power. It’s quite clear that the Congress considers the Tripundra, the Bhagwa Dhvaj and Shri Rama as symbols of intolerance. Such hatred has very little to do with politics, it only shows the hatred that the Congress party has in its heart for Hinduism and the culture of our land.

Institutional respect by the Modi Govt and Institutional contempt by Congress: Two contrasting approaches

Jain Amitanshu
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Institutional respect by the Modi Govt and Institutional contempt by Congress: Two contrasting approaches

If one carefully observes, there’s been one common plot deployed by opposition parties especially Congress in the past 5 years. As soon as Congress sensed that the Modi government is delivering good results under any program/scheme or some potential event may damage the credibility of opposition, they started aggressive false propaganda to pull down/discredit the Schemes/People/Institutions/Systems/Reforms.

Apart from trying to save themselves from accountability for wrong deeds in the past, the aim has also been to reduce/nullify any political benefit that might accrue to BJP/NDA. All this was done even if it meant institutional contempt or working against national interest. In fact, Congress’s recent behaviour of attributing its own comments on PM Modi to Hon. SC proves that now Congress and Opposition are in a space where they can go to literally any extent.

On the top of all this, to camouflage its own doings, its been accusing BJP of institutional contempt and disregard to Constitution. Quite contrary to the propaganda by the opposition and a section of media, this article looks at, with logic/facts, how Modi government has worked tirelessly to strengthen Institutions. In fact, its the Congress/Opposition that is guilty of institutional contempt. Needless to mention that when they could do all this being in opposition, one can’t imagine the destruction while they were in power.

This article attempts to evaluate the Modi government’s and the opposition’s approach in different situations while dealing with important Institutions. The article is broken into 7 parts looking at different situations involving different institutions. Throughout the article, a scorecard is kept for Institutional Respect or Contempt and by whom.

Courts and Investigating Agencies

While in power, Congress’s track record in using investigative institutions for its own agenda is nothing new. A very recent example is the 2G case in which investigations were completed during the UPA period, leading to the acquittal of the accused. It’s important to highlight what the Hon. The court said in its verdict “it was a well-choreographed charge sheet, containing incorrect facts and they were entitled to be set free”.

“I may also add that for the last about seven years, on all working days, summer vacation included, I religiously sat in the open Court from 10 am to 5 pm, waiting for someone with some legally admissible evidence in his possession, but all in vain”

The Modi government had to appeal to reopen 2G scam case. In fact, from day one, the Modi government’s harsh stand and stringent action on corruption were clear to everyone.

Congress sensed very early that past skeletons (corrupt deals, phone banked loan NPAs etc) are likely to come out of the closet, prominent leaders may go to Jail and NDA government may get major political credit for acting on corrupt. To nullify the impact of any such event, Congress has created fake stories of corruption by prominent BJP leaders throughout the past 5 years.

However, to the contrary, the Modi government empowered institutions to tackle corruption and economic offences;

  1. Empowered NCLT (an important Institution) by passing a law in the form of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and resolved a few major NPA accounts without forgiving single rupee. This institutional approach in dealing with NPAs is in complete contrast to UPA’s vague policy of hiding NPAs under the disguise of restructuring,
  2. Brought fugitives economic offenders bill, empowering institutions of the country to deal with fugitives more effectively. Post this, all assets (including foreign assets) of fugitives like Nirav Modi, Choksi, Mallya and others have been attached. Modi government has relentlessly pursued the extradition of fugitives and has made meaningful progress.

After it realized that Modi government is hell-bent on curbing corruption and investigating past wrongdoings, Congress threatened Bureaucrats (a form of Institutional Contempt) by openly saying investigating officers should remember Congress will come to power in some time and there may be consequences.

(Score: Modi +1, Opposition -1)

However, the government’s strong will and a free hand was given to agencies in dealing with criminals and corrupt, has shown good results, as follows;

  1. For the first time in history, 18 fugitives (Incl. defence middlemen Christian Michelle, Rajiv Saxena, Deepak Talwar) have been brought back to India in the past 5 years. Partially, it is the result of Institutional Independence.
  2. Investigations in corruption cases have continued incl. against Gandhis, Vadra, Yadavs, Chidambarams etc.
  3. Courts sent Lalu Yadav to jail for multiple scams.
  4. Delhi HC in its judgement concluded that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi cheated the country in National Herald case. In another case, both are out on Bail. Also, Gandhis have been found evading a large amount of taxes and now asked by courts to deposit.

(Note – in the above case, SC has recently stayed HC order. See if you want to change the language etc.)

5. Some of the Haryana Land deals related to Robert Vadra has been cancelled. Cases on Vadra are progressing with ED’s rigorous questioning.

Some big names are getting investigated honestly which should strengthen the institution of law and create a deterrent for corruption in future.

(Score: Modi +2, Opposition -1)

After failing to intimidate investigating officers, Congress/Opposition resorted to creating internal fights in important institutions. Through CBI/SC internal fight, an attempt was made to discredit institutions openly in public eyes and blame it on Modi government Also, ED/CAG/CVC was discredited and blame put on Modi government. This was being done to camouflage its own hidden agenda of destroying the credibility of these institutions to legally/politically nullify any adverse revelations (by ED), orders (by courts) or reports (on Rafale by CAG, on CBI by CVC).

(Score: Modi +2, Opposition -6)

To Congress’s surprise, the Modi government showcased great composure and respected institutions while handling crisis situations. In the case of Hon. SC’s four judges press conference, Modi government allowed the crisis to be resolved internally, respecting Judicial institutional independence. However, when there was a need for interference, it didn’t shy away from as in the case of CBI, because finally government. is accountable to people and not bureaucracy. In the end, the Modi government was proven right as Alok Verma’s removal got SC approval. The corruption charges on CBI directors and internal fight may have led to credibility loss but approach of Modi government post that has conveyed a clear and strong message that institutions are bigger than Individuals and wrongdoings won’t be tolerated at any level. This has created strong deterrence for the future, making the institution stronger.

In recent times after Vadra/Chidambaram questioning and Kolkata Police commissioner episode, opposition and a section in media have been propagating that CBI/ED is working on Modi government’s orders. But, they fail to apply one simple logic, if CBI was working under orders, then Modi government would never have been able to fire CBI director as easily because he would have provided many pieces of evidence of so-called motivated investigations.

(Score: Modi +4, Opposition -6)

Once it saw a few cases going against it, Congress indirectly threatened Courts to deliver judgements in its favour, as follows;

  1. Pressurised courts to handover Judge Loya case to Judges of opposition’s choice
  2. Impeachment motion,
  3. Congress lawyers threatened boycotts/walkouts in courtrooms if particular stand not accepted

While hearing Ram Mandir Case in 2017, Hon. CJI, SC reprimanded Congress/supported lawyers (Sibal, Dave & Dhawan) and said “when lawyers argue in a manner, not in tune with the constitutional language, we will tolerate it but for how long? If the Bar does not regulate itself, we will be compelled to regulate”

Similarly, in Judge Loya case, Hon. SC’s comment on lawyer Dushyant Dave – “The attempt of the petitioners is to create prejudice and to malign the dignity of the judges”.

Despite the above tactics by Congress, there were no hasty actions/reactions by Government. Given the wrongdoings of opposition or false cases against NDA, Courts delivered judgements which were not in opposition’s favour (Judge Loya, Rafale, CBI, Sadhvi Pragya, Swami Aseemanand etc) and listed some important matters like Ram Mandir for day to day hearings.

It’s important to note that post bail in 2017, Sadhvi Pragya said that after her arrest during UPA, “I was brutally beaten by male officers with a broad expeller belt, day and night for 24 days in custody. My arms and legs were swollen, which were then immersed in salty warm water, and the beatings resumed. In custody, the officers used to hurl filthy abuses at me and forced me to hear objectionable CDs. They wanted to forcibly extract a confession from me in order to implicate senior RSS leaders”

(Score: Modi +4, Opposition -7) 

Congress used every trick to delay Ram Mandir case, hoping for Modi government taking some legally challengeable steps while hearings underway in SC. Through this, they somehow wanted to create an impression that the Modi government doesn’t respect Constitution/Judiciary. Also, the aim was to create some sort of unrest in the country to disturb the Modi government’s past 4.5 year’s track record of peace in the country.

While Congress has been successful in delaying the Ram Mandir case but again Modi government showed great restraint and respect for Constitution/Judiciary and Congress’s wish of unrest wasn’t fulfilled.

(Score: Modi +5, Opposition -7) 

Then, Congress indirectly tried for some sort of provocation by motivated groups announcing Ram Mandir construction start date. The aim was again to create some sort of unrest to disturb the peace and then blame it on Modi government This was in complete constitutional disregard. This too was handled very well by Modi/Yogi government.

Congress’s recent behaviour of attributing its own comments on PM Modi to Hon. SC proves that now Congress and Opposition are in a space where they can go to literally any extent.

(Score: Modi +5, Opposition -8) 

The Election Commission

Post-2014, BJP/NDA victories continued election after election and Congress/Opposition sensed that their political existence is in doubt. They started discrediting Election Commission and EVMs, thereby trying to create doubts in the voter’s mind about the voting process. However, in the eyes of most people, this propaganda never struck any chord and whatever was left of it got shattered after Congress won Rajasthan/MP/CG. However, Congress/opposition continues false propaganda against EVMs despite several Courts including Hon. SC has dismissed opposition’s petitions at different times. Excerpts from Gujarat HC judgement a few days back:

“We are assured that the firm conviction about the integrity and non-tamperability and credibility of the EVMs and the confidence in the robustness of the procedural safeguards”

(Score: Modi +5, Opposition -9) 

Parliament

PM Modi started his Lok Sabha Journey by bowing down to Parliament and strictly asking MPs/bureaucrats to ensure highest productivity and accountability. This clearly showed the utmost respect for people’s mandate and the Parliament as an Institution. Congress/Opposition tried every trick to disrupt Parliament proceedings. Yet, 16th Lok Sabha was the most productive one.

(Score: Modi +6, Opposition -10) 

Armed Forces

Modi government has worked well to strengthen the institution of armed forces, through many measures like;

  1. Freehand to forces,
  2. Procurement of Rafale, S400 and other requirements like bullet-proof jackets etc.
  3. OROP,
  4. The PM personally celebrating Diwali with them

Congress/Opposition tried every trick to portray Modi government not doing anything for armed forces and also tried to lower the morale of armed forces, through;

  1. Rahul Gandhi/most opposition parties standing with Tukde Gang in JNU when they shouted slogans against India and Armed Forces.
  2. Calling Army Chief ‘Sadak Ka Gunda’
  3. Asking for proof of Surgical/Air Strikes
  4. Praising enemy nation and its prime minister
  5. Promoting motivated reports of Human Rights violations in Kashmir
  6. Supporting false propaganda on India’s defence expenses reducing
  7. Trying everything to cancel Rafale Procurement
  8. Accusing Modi government of using armed forces for the political benefit (indirectly saying that armed forces are happily supporting the same)

But, given the freedom and improved morale, armed forces delivered unprecedented results in times of adversity.

  1. First time conducting Surgical/Air Strikes by crossing into enemy territory,
  2. Eliminating terrorists within our borders (Kashmir, Naxals and terror suspects in other states).

Intelligence agencies have also been strengthened under Modi government preventing countless attempts of terror across the country. As a result, India has not seen any major terror attack in the past 5 years, except Kashmir.

Also, as regards defence expenditure, its well-known fact that major part earlier used to go to middlemen, politicians etc. Now, since there are no middlemen, lot of money is saved. In any case, even adversaries agree that PM Modi will not let National Security get compromised for want of funds.

Modi government has also strengthened ISRO and DRDO meaningfully. Results have been that India is now ASAT capable and is in the Top 4 nations. Also by launching 104 satellites at one go, it created a World record.

(Score: Modi +10, Opposition -12)

National Statistical Organizations

Modi government’s approach from the beginning has been to launch holistic large scale schemes/programs through inspiring people’s movement (For example – Swachh Bharat, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao etc). This was a refreshing and correct approach to achieve something big in a short period of time, esp. in a country like India with a large diverse population. Also, PM Modi had the vision and capability to inspire people’s movement.

Given a completely new approach to what governments have been doing in past ~65 years, Congress sensed this very late that Modi government programs will be much more successful vs. previous governments. Therefore, initially, most of the opposition made fun of the schemes. For example, Swachh Bharat was initially made fun of when PM Modi and his team used to post pictures/videos of cleaning, to inspire people. However, once they realized the large scale success of most schemes, they started criticizing successful schemes by saying everything is on paper, nothing happening on the ground. But then, most statistics coming out supported Modi government’s claims about GDP Growth, Jobs creation, Electricity coverage, Sanitation, LPG coverage and many other achievements on large scale. The opposition started discrediting National Statistical Commission (NSC) and started building a narrative that India’s statistics are not reliable under the Modi government.

But then, Globally renowned organizations upgraded India on various parameters – Credit rating, Ease of Doing Business, Electricity Accessibility and most other parameters. FDI and FIIs continued showing faith by investing record amounts in the past 5 years (indirectly certifying the statistics and work done by Modi government). There have been many instances where the World has taken note of and recognized India’s rise under the Modi Government.

Then came a moment when opposition itself busted its own propaganda when they started denigrating some of the recognized global institutions for praising India.

(Score: Modi +10, Opposition -13)

Been unsuccessful elsewhere, but successful in discrediting ‘Opposition’ as an Institution

In the process of trying to discredit and denigrate institutions, what has actually happened is opposition as an institution has lost respect and credibility. Now, its helpless and continues to adopt shoot-and-scoot policy propagating whatever lies it can, about NDA destroying institutions, Constitution in danger, EVMs, Rafale etc.

So, without going into the history of past Congress government’s, I have highlighted many instances of Congress/Opposition destroying institutions and showing disregard for the constitution. If you think that’s it, then here are some more recent specific instances of opposition’s disregard for the Constitution, Courts, Laws and Institutions;

1) Mamta Banerjee sitting on Dharna along with police commissioner, clearly suggesting police works for TMC and not for the State,

2) Mamta Banerjee not letting opposition leaders campaign in the State, showing complete disregard for the Constitution,

3) Akhilesh Yadav indirectly asking journalists to write something good on him and get payments when they form the government.

4) Karnataka Police arresting a techie for chanting ‘Modi’,

5) Many opposition states (West Bengal, Andhra, Chhattisgarh) banning CBI investigation,

6) Many opposition leaders occupying government Bungalows even after no eligibility and in some cases even after court orders

7) Congress openly supporting Tukde Gang who are calling to break India, supporting terrorists openly by terming Afzal Guru as a victim of Judicial Execution.

8) Rahul Gandhi openly tried to pitch a Public Sector Unit (HAL) against the ruling government.

9) Navjot Sidhu went to Pakistan and without any authority held talks on sensitive issues.

10) Many times we have heard in the past 5 years, how the opposition has been trying to paint a picture of PSU Banks going bust and no cash at ATMs, trying to create panic.

(Score: Modi +10, Opposition -25) 

Can you find any specific instances of PM Modi/Amit Shah disregarding Institutions?

I tried to search a lot but couldn’t find any statement made or action taken by PM Modi which destroys institutions or disregards Constitution.

Some are saying what Amit Shah said in Kerala on Sabarimala is in disregard to Hon. SC. In fact to the contrary, what he said was to avoid any disregard in future by anyone. The harsh truth is that there are SC orders which have not been implemented for the past several years. If that’s the case, the credibility of the SC orders goes down and it becomes easy for others to disregard future orders. It will only add to its credibility if SC, before delivering judgement, starts reflecting on the feasibility of implementation of some of its contentious orders unless of course, the issue is of urgent National Interest.

Also on allegations of Modi government using armed forces for political benefit, we need to ask ourselves just one question. And that is what is it that armed forces did which shouldn’t have been done?

Surgical Strikes? Air Strikes? Killing Terrorists within India and preventing Terror attacks?

I bet you won’t find one single action by armed forces which shouldn’t have happened. If that’s the case then how is it that Armed forces are being used politically. They are simply doing what is best for the country. And if someone thinks that Modi government is benefitting politically because of these actions then its foolishness. Obviously, the government which took hard decisions will benefit politically because god forbid if something went wrong the blame also would have been on the Government.

So, if one thinks rationally, it is hard to find any action of the Modi government disrespecting Constitution/Institutions.

Now, try and find some more instances of Constitution disregard and Institutional contempt by opposition leaders. You will find many and if you go slightly into past Government’s history, then even weeks won’t be enough to note down all of them.

Final Score: Modi +10 and counting, Opposition -25 and counting

As an Indian, one should be rest assured that Constitution and Institutions both are very well protected under Modi government.

ISIS module case: NIA conducts raids in Telangana and Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
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ISIS module case: NIA conducts raids in Telangana and Maharashtra

NIA conducted fresh raids at several places in the country in a case related to the ISIS module case that was busted last year in which the agency had arrested two alleged ISIS sympathisers -Mohammed Abdullah Basith and Mohd Abdul Qhadeer, from the city. The agency conducted raids at three locations in Hyderabad and one in Wardha, Maharashtra. This was done as a part of its larger investigation into Indian youth being radicalised to carry out attacks on the command of the International terror outfit.

“The recent raids were being carried out in connection with this module after a supplementary charge sheet was filed against them in February this year and based on new inputs,” police said. A senior police official of the Cyberabad Police Commisonerate told PTI, “NIA is conducting raids at two places in Hyderabad in the case related to the ISIS module.”

In August 2018, the NIA had arrested two persons for purportedly scheming to execute the terror group’s activities in India. Abdullah Basith and Mohammed Abdul Qhadeer were also actively seeking to recruit people into the terror group. In 2014, Basith was arrested and again he was arrested in 2015 for attempting to travel to Syria from India.

The agency officials believe that he was “planning to increase the foothold of IS (and) carry out terrorist acts in India”. He was also suspected to have been in constant touch with the chief Islamic State recruiter Adnan Hassan Damudi, who had been deported from Dubai in 2016.

Read details: Rahul Gandhi lands in a soup over his Amethi nomination, scrutiny postponed after questions raised on his British citizenship

OpIndia Staff
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Read details: Rahul Gandhi lands in a soup over his Amethi nomination, scrutiny postponed after questions raised on his British citizenship

Ahead of scrutiny of nomination papers submitted by Rahul Gandhi from Amethi constituency, objections have been raised against his nomination. Four separate objections were raised citing discrepancies in nomination papers submitted by Rahul Gandhi in various Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi’s nomination paper was to be scrutinised today, but that has been postponed to 22th April following the objections. Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer Rahul Kaushik sought time from the Returning Officer of Amethi to counter the objections.

One of the persons to file objections is Dhruv Lal, an independent candidate from Amethi. In the petition submitted with the returning officer, he states that in the 2004 nomination paper, Rahul Gandhi had stated that he had done Senior Secondary from CBSE in 1989, and M.Phil from Trinity College in 1995. But his affidavits for the subsequent elections state that he had done BA from Rollins College in Florida in 1994 also, apart from the two qualifications mentioned in 2004 affidavit.

He also mentions that the subject of Rahul Gandhi’s M.Phil has been mentioned as “Development Economics” and “Development Studies” in different affidavits, thereby the candidate has made purposefully false Declaration. The petitioner asks that Rahul Gandhi should be asked to produce his original certificate.

The petition also states that all the affidavits by Rahul Gandhi say that he passed M.Phil from Trinity College, Cambridge University in the Year 1995. Claiming that it is false a declaration the petitioner says that the candidate has claimed to have passed M. Phil in the year 2004-2005, and copy of Certificate issued by the University of Cambridge as available in public domain.

The petition filed by Dhruv Lal alleges that Rahul Gandhi has made false declaration about his identity, as the Bachelor of Arts certificate issued by Rollins College and M.Phil certificates issued by University of Cambridge (Trinity College) describe the person as “Raul Vinci” and not “Rahul Gandhi”. Therefore, either Rahul Gandhi did not obtain the educational qualifications mentioned in his affidavits, or his name is Raul Vinci and not Rahul Gandhi. And in either case, the nomination should be rejected, the petitioner states.

 

One of the annexures with the petition showing Rahul Gandhi’s UK address

The petitioner also alleges that Rahul Gandhi has made a false declaration about his nationality. It states that Rahul Gandhi held shares in a company named Backops Limited, Britain. The Memorandum of Association and Annual Return of the company in the year 2005 had mentioned Rahul Gandhi’s nationality as “British” and his UK address was mentioned. As the candidate is not a citizen of India, his nomination deserves to be rejected, the petition says.

The petitioner adds that Rahul Gandhi has concealed information regarding ownership of property in UK and profits earned from Backops Limited.

Following the objections, the scrutiny of Rahul Gandhi’s nomination paper has been rescheduled for 10:30 AM on 22nd April, which was originally scheduled for 10:30 AM on 20th April.

PM Modi concedes that the BJP-PDP alliance was a ‘mahamilavat’, but was the need of the hour

Jinit Jain
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PM Modi concedes that the BJP-PDP alliance was a ‘mahamilavat’, but was the need of the hour

In an interview with Timesnow, PM Narendra Modi had admitted that the BJP and PDP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir was a mahamilavat. However, he also commented on the situation in the state under the previous two governments and suggested that the situation is somewhat better under Mufti Muhammad Saeed.

PM Modi asserted that the alliance was the only option since neither of the party had got the required number of seats to form a government. He said, “I concede that such mahamilawat (alliances) have short lives. It was the need of the hour and we went ahead with it.”

Talking about governance under Mufti Mohammed, PM Modi said, “The developmental work was given priority under Mufti government. The construction of hospitals, roads and schools picked up the pace under his governance. We thought other issues could be kept aside and the work for the common people should not halt.”

After Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s demise in January 2016, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti became the chief minister of the state. Speaking about the issue what might be one of the reasons for the rift between BJP and PDP, Modi asserted that Mehbooba was not in favour to have Panchayat elections that were needed for the development of the state. “We had a firm belief that if the state has to progress, it was necessary to empower panchayats. They will have to be allocated funds directly from the centre. We would have to trust them with the responsibility of carrying out development work at their level. She was unwilling to give in,” PM Modi said.

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