Home Blog Page 6512

Karti Chidambaram who is facing probe by CBI and ED, fielded by Congress from Shivganga, Tamil Nadu

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karti Chidambaram who is facing probe by CBI and ED, fielded by Congress from Shivganga, Tamil Nadu

Congress released the list of 10 candidates today which included the name of Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram. Karti Chidambaram will be contesting from Shivganga in Tamil Nadu.


Chidambaram who is contesting elections for a second time said that he firmly believed in the strength of the party.


The Chidambarams have been facing investigation in a number of cases including money laundering and having undisclosed foreign assets. Karti Chidambaram has been charged in cases like INX Media case and Aircel Maxis case. P Chidambarams has also been facing an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Aircel Maxis case.

Karti’s wife Sunidhi and mother Nalini who have complaints registered against them under the Black money Act are facing allegations of having undisclosed foreign assets in which chargesheet has been by the Income Tax Department. Karti’s mother Nalini has her name involved in the infamous Saradha Chit Fund scam.

Karti Chidambaram was questioned last month by the ED in relation to the INX Media case.

It is thus interesting, that the Congress party would field a candidate who is being investigated for several scams while Congress President Rahul Gandhi chants ‘chowkidaar chor hai’.

Congress communication cell head posts maliciously edited video of BJP leader Kalraj Mishra’s speech to distort his comments

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress communication cell head posts maliciously edited video of BJP leader Kalraj Mishra’s speech to distort his comments

Congress leader and communications in-charge of the party Randeep Singh Surjewala has been caught maliciously editing a video to attribute a quote to Kalraj Mishra to malign the BJP leader. On 24th March, Surjewala posted a video clip claiming that Kalraj Mishra had said, ‘if this was my state, I would have got down from the stage and fired bullets at such persons who create such disturbances’. Surjewala added in his tweet, ‘is this the message of BJP, get bullets if you ask questions’.


In the video posted by Surjewala, BJP leader Kalraj Mishra is seen giving a speech at an election rally, and although it can be heard that he said ‘if this was my state’, the rest of his comments are not clear.

But soon it became clear that the veteran BJP leader didn’t make any such comment. The speech was live streamed on the Facebook of Kalraj Mishra, and his comments are clearly audible in that video. In the video of the live stream, it can be clearly head that he said, ‘if this was my state, I would have got down from the stage and talked there itself’, he didn’t say anything about firing bullets.


Kalraj Mishra was addressing an election rally at Faridabad on 24th March, and during that rally, some party workers were protesting against current BJP MP Krishan Pal Gurjar and raising slogans against him. Reacting to this, Mishra is heard saying, ‘I would not let this happen here, if someone wants to create disturbance here, I pray them to go away from here. We all are seeing who are creating disturbances. People who create disturbances in a meeting, and call themselves supporters of Modi are liars.’

He added by giving his own example, ‘party decided that people over 75 years of age should consider not contesting the election, I am over 80 so I decided that I would not contest. Contesting election is not the sole benchmark. I felt very bad. If this was my state, I would have got down and talk there itself’. His comments can be heard at the beginning of his speech.

From the live video of the speech, it is clear that Kalraj Mishra was speaking about talking to people, not firing at them. But the Congress leader maliciously twisted his remarks, and also posted an edited video where the audio is not clear so that people can’t hear the actual comment.


Reacting to the tweet of Surjewala, Haryana BJP tweeted the link to the full video of the speech and asked him to indicate where did Mishra said anything about bullets. They also demanded that Surjewala should apologise for his false claim and delete his tweet.

Kalraj Mishra himself also reacted to the tweet of Surjewala, saying this is a fresh example of Congress trying to fool people.


He clarified that he said he would have talked to people there itself if it was his state. Faridabad MP Krishnan Pal Gurjar also tweeted to refute the allegations of the Congress leader. He said that there should be limits in lying. But now so much white lies are being spread in the daylight that people have become experts in telling lies, Gurjar added.

One Army soldier killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch sector

OpIndia Staff
-
0
One Army soldier killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch sector

Pakistan has been indulging in repeated ceasefire violations along the LoC. In another such unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch sector yesterday in Jammu and Kashmir, an Army jawan got critically injured and later succumbed to his injuries. Army  Jawan Hari Bhakar who hailed from Rajasthan was shifted to the Army Hospital after he received serious injuries in the ceasefire violation.


Grenadier Hari Bhakar

Grenadier Hari Bhakar had received sniper fire from across the border when he was deployed around LoC in Shahpur Area in Poonch district, and later succumbed to his injuries. Bhakar was part of the 4 Grenadiers Regiment. Mortal remains of Waker was airlifted to Jaipur, and from there taken to his native village in Nagaur by road. His last rites will be performed on Monday.


Pakistan had violated the ceasefire in Sundarbani sector in J&K on Friday as well. However, the Indian Army effectively retaliated the ceasefire violation killing 12 Pakistani soldiers and two Pak Army officials. Pakistan had violated the ceasefire along the LoC a day before also in J&K’s Rajouri district, which had claimed the life of one Army personnel.

Pakistan has been targeting Army posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control despite Indian Army’s warning not to target civilian areas. Earlier this month Pakistani Army employed heavy artillery to target civilian areas in Krishna Ghati and Sundarbani sectors which was strongly retaliated by the Indian Army.

Multiple unprovoked ceasefire violations have been carried out by Pakistan since the Balakot air strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force on the Jaish-e-Mohammad training camps after the Pulwama terror attack.

Our fight is against illegal Muslims coming from Bangladesh, not indigenous Muslims: Himanta Biswa Sarma

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Our fight is against illegal Muslims coming from Bangladesh, not indigenous Muslims: Himanta Biswa Sarma

The architect of Bhartiya Janta Party’s rise in north-east and Assam’s state finance and PWD minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in an interview with Indian Express, has said that BJP’s fight in the state is not against indigenous Muslims, but Muslims coming from Bangladesh.

“We should not have any grievances against Muslims who are part of India, who have equal rights as me or any other Indian citizen. I have a secular mindset. Though I understand secularism in my own way, I have full respect for Muslims in general.” Sarma said in the interview. He added that the fight with Bangladeshi Muslims is based on ethnic lines and not religious.

Sarma also defended his previous remark that without Citizenship Amendment Bill, many assembly seats in Assam will go to Muslims, and in future Hindus will lose their right to appoint their own CM.

“I strongly believe that if this bill is not passed, Assamese Hindus will become the minority in just next five years. That will be advantageous for those elements who want Assam to be another Kashmir” He had earlier said.

Sarma said in the interview that it is a hard fact even acknowledged by the Supreme Court, who had called influx of Bangladeshi Muslims post-1971 ‘external aggression’, and emphasised on the need of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, was passed in the Lok Sabha on 8th January but could not be tabled in the Rajya Sabha and is therefore set to lapse, seeks an amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, to provide citizenship to the persecuted minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains, and Christians) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It had met with severe opposition, even from BJP allies in Northeast, citing threat to indigenous cultures.

Sarma said that party is travelling across the Northeast and talking about the Bill and assuring people that it is no way a threat to local culture.

“The opinion on the Bill may be divided, but when it comes to the Northeast and the development that has taken place under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There has been no ‘for’ and ‘against’. People feel they have been given a fair deal.” Sarma said.

On the question of dilution of Assamese culture by non-muslim Bangladeshis through Citizenship Amendment Bill, Sarma said that Assamese identity is part of Indian culture, and Hindus, Sikhs, Jains cannot be a threat to its identity. But, he added, Muslim migrants do not share Assamese identity and are a great threat to its existence.

On the comment of Home Minister Rajnath Singh that he gave in Dhaka, Bangladesh that no person from India will be deported back to Bangladesh, Sarma said that indeed government will not deport anyone it considers its citizens. He added that it is our duty that Bangladeshi Muslims do not encroach upon the local culture, but it is also our responsibility to provide them with health and education.

“India has a long tradition of respecting human rights and you cannot deal with anybody, Hindu or Muslim, inhumanely. But, at the same time, you cannot allow them to encroach upon your society. So, until Bangladesh accepts them as their citizens, one should not push them inhumanely across the border. You cannot put them in a train and send them away.” Sarma remarked. He added that the idea of detaining illegal migrants in detention camps is not theirs but it is an order of High Court, and both court and government are trying to humanize conditions.

On the issue of clause 6 of Assam Accords, Sarma said that it was Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that had forced Assam leaders during Assam agitation, to put the cut-off date for entry of legal migrants in the state to 1971, while in other states it was 1951.

He added that this put an additional burden of 30 lakh people in the state, who posed a threat to indigenous culture. According to Sarma, this was the reason that PM Rajiv had to incorporate clause 6 in the Assam accords, which seeks to “protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”. Although present in the Assam Accord signed in 1985, clause 6 was never implemented. The Modi government has started the process of implementing the same recently. Government jobs, as well as assembly seats, will be reserved for indigenous people under this clause, which will ensure that illegal immigrants can’t occupy power in the state.

“Now we are trying to implement that, which is a protection against people who have been regularised between 1951-71. It’s an acceptable clause.” Sarma added.

Amethi praises Smriti Irani for working despite 2014 loss, talk about rail electrification, WiFi for Kalikan Dham devotees and more

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Amethi praises Smriti Irani for working despite 2014 loss, talk about rail electrification, WiFi for Kalikan Dham devotees and more

As per a Times of India exclusive report, the citizens of Amethi have expressed their gratitude for Smriti Irani’s contribution to the town despite losing the elections in 2014. The citizens of Amethi recount how even after losing the elections, Union Minister Smriti Irani maintained personal contact with the people of the town and ensured that their problems are solved in a speedy and efficient manner.


A house identified by the BJP karyakartas in the town is currently being touched up where Smriti Irani will be staying amidst the people of the city. The iconic Alok Dhaba will serve as a war room for Irani where she along with her team will be preparing for the campaign strategy going into the Lok Sabha elections. Gyan Pratap, owner of the Dhabha says, “No candidate returned to Amethi after the loss. Will ensure Didi wins this time.”


Not only the Dhaba owner, but even the residents of Amethi also echo similar sentiments. They credit Smriti Irani for a host of developmental work in their town. Citing Soil lab, urea racks, Reservation counter, Sainik School etc, they say all this has been possible because of Smriti Irani’s commitment to the city. Smriti Irani is also credited for Utretia to Varanasi rail electrification via Amethi, linking Amethi-Rae Bareli to NH and WiFI for devotees at Kalikan Dham. “She has beaten Congress MP Rahul Gandhi number of times in visiting Amethi and fixing things up for the people here,” BJP Amethi President Durgesh Tripathi said.

Due to such popularity of Smriti Irani in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency, the Congress party is already worried about its fate in the elections, and the party is looking for a safe seat from where the party president can contest the Lok Sabha elections.

State units of the party from several south Indian states have requested Rahul Gandhi to contest from their states apart from Amethi, and there is a strong possibility that the party will choose a safe seat from him so that he can return to Lok Sabha even if he losses Amethi to Smriti Irani.

Trouble for Congress in Maharashtra: Ashok Chavan caught on tape wanting to quit because his views not respected

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Trouble for Congress in Maharashtra: Ashok Chavan caught on tape wanting to quit because his views not respected

An audio tape carrying the laments of former chief minister Ashok Chavan and a fellow Congress party worker has gone viral. In the tape, Chavan can be allegedly heard expressing his frustration over the Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat row.


In the unverified audio tape, Chavan expresses his desire to quit the Congress party as his views are no longer been respected by the party. Nanded MP Chavan was allegedly talking to a Congress worker from Chandrapur who was displeased with party’s chosen candidate to contest from the said constituency.

According to reports, Congress chose Vinayak Bhangade over Suresh Dhanorkar, a Shiv Sena legislator who recently switched over, for Chandrapur. This happened despite Chavan’s word to Dhanorkar that he would be fielded from the constituency.

When contacted, Chavan neither denied nor confirmed if it was his voice on the tapes. He claimed there was a genuine discontent among the Congress cadres over ticket distribution, particularly for the Chandrapur constituency. In 2014, Congress field a total of 26 candidates in Maharashtra, out of which only 2 could manage to win, one of them being Ashok Chavan from Nanded Lok Sabha seat.

Chavan further said that these are all internal issues and should not be given as much importance as it is accorded. “It is internal communication between party workers and it’s my responsibility to listen to my party members’ grievances,” he said.

Of late, Maharashtra Congress has been festered with several defections and dissent by its once loyal leaders. After his son Sujay Patil joined BJP, Radhakrishna Patil quit as Leader of Opposition. Now, with dissent being raised by a senior Congress leader like Ashok Chavan, it hints that All is not well for Congress and the state unit might be on the verge of collapse.

Embarrassment for Congress: Sapna Chowdhury says she never joined Congress, picture with Priyanka Gandhi old

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Embarrassment for Congress: Sapna Chowdhury says she never joined Congress, picture with Priyanka Gandhi old

Social Media was abuzz with the reports that singer Sapna Chaudhary has joined Congress and may well get a Congress ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, dispelling the reports, today Sapna Chaudhary came forward claiming that she has not joined Congress and the photos in circulation on the Internet are, in fact, the old ones. The photographs show her with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.


Yesterday several media houses had reported that Sapna Chaudhary has joined the Congress party. It was reported that she was inducted into the party at the residence of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Raj Babbar at Ashoka Road in Delhi. UP Congress’s organizational secretary Narendra Rathi had told media that Chaudhary had joined the party in his presence in Delhi.

But denying these reports, Sapna Chaudhary has clarified that she has no intentions of fighting the elections and the news of her joining Congress is absolutely misleading and untruthful. Adding that her photo with Priyanka Vadra was old, she said that she is not joining any political parties for campaigning.

But now the Congress party has responded to this denial by publishing a document which they claim is the copy of Congress Membership Form with Sapna Chaudhary’s name and signature on it.


Along with the form, the party also released the copy of the receipt for membership fee paid by the artist. UP Congress secretary Narendra Rathi claimed that Sapna Chaudhary came and filled the membership form herself. It may be noted that photographs of Sapna Chaudhary signing some document in the presence of Rathi was published by media yesterday. Although she claimed that the photo with Priyanka Vadra is old, she had not commented on her photographs with Narendra Rathi.

Adding more confusion to the matter, some discrepancies are also seen in the form released by the Congress party which has led to some people questioning the authenticity of Congress claim that she joined yesterday.

The form mentions that the membership is being granted for a period of five years from 2011 to 2015, which means the membership has already expired. Moreover, the age of Sapna Chaudhary is mentioned as 23 years on the form, but according to publicly available information, she is 28 years old at present.


Therefore, There is a possibility that Sapna Chaudhary had joined the Congress party sometime in the past, and Congress is releasing that old form now. Or perhaps, the artist indeed joined the party yesterday but the party was using old stationery for the documentation. Although that will explain why it mentions 2011 to 2015, it will not explain the mismatch in age.

This denial and counter-claim by both sides and the discrepancies in the form have become a source of confusion. Because if Sapna Chaudhary indeed joined the Congress party by completing the documentation yesterday, why would she deny the report the very next day? Under such circumstances, it is her word against the Congress party’s word, which is not possible to be judged by others at present. This points towards many possibilities in terms of what might have happened, which should be clear in the near future. Only a full disclosure of facts by both the sides will reveal who is telling the truth who is taking a potential u-turn.

BJP questions Rahul Gandhi’s dubious source of income, says he and Robert Vadra are synonyms

OpIndia Staff
-
0
BJP questions Rahul Gandhi’s dubious source of income, says he and Robert Vadra are synonyms

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Sunday addressed a press conference and raised questions about Rahul Gandhi’s source of income. In a recent report, OpIndia had revealed Rahul’s seemingly dubious dealings and his rapidly increasing assets.

Speaking to the media, Sambit Patra asked questions regarding Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s suspected source of income earned through dubious deals involving scam accused companies. Mentioning it to as ‘Assets of a Non-Performing Asset’, Sambit Patra referred to the OpIndia report and asked how his income increased from Rs 55,38,123 in 2004, to over Rs. 2 crores in 2009 and finally, over Rs 9 crores in 2014.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pfmzL1IH0Q]

“The people and the BJP party will keep a telescopic view on the nomination filed by the Congress President Rahul Gandhi as his income has constantly increased since 2004. Rahul Gandhi has increased his assets using four different ways, first through HL Pahwa, secondly through his farmhouse, third with the help of 2G scam accused Unitech and lastly Rahul Gandhi using a London based firm to increase his assets,” said Sambit Patra.

Sambit Patra further accused that Rahul Gandhi has increased his assets from profiteering from scams, dubious land deals, links with arms dealers and hiding facts from election affidavits. Rahul Gandhi is not a professional, the only way Rahul Gandhi earns is through the salary that he draws as a Member of Parliament, said Patra while questioning Rahul Gandhi on his the source of income.

Patra also mentioned that Rahul Gandhi had escaped incomes of Rs. 155 crores through AJL for which, the IT department had slapped Rs. 100 crores tax notice on Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

Sambit Patra added the Rahul Gandhi had dubious deals with HL Pahwa and purchased the land at a measly price of Rs. 26,47,000. He mentioned that the land purchase was mentioned in his election affidavit of 2009, while HL Pahwa himself has several dubious connections. OpIndia had broken the story of Rahul Gandhi’s dubious land deal with HL Pahwa, the saga of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra purchasing land for Pahwa and then selling it back to him at an inflated price, and Rahul’s links to arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

Patra said that the second source of income was from Gandhi Parivar’s links to FTIL, a company that was at the heart of the NSEL scam. “Gandhi Parivar is the only parivar in the country which does not do anything but earns several crores of money,” alleged Patra.

The OpIndia report had mentioned about irregularities in renting out this farmhouse to NSEL scam accused Financial Technologies (India) Ltd. (FTIL), which had paid an interest-free deposit of Rs 40.20 lakh vide two separate cheques of Rs 20.10 lakh each respectively to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.

Sambit Patra went on to accuse Rahul Gandhi of suspicious possession of two commercial properties in October 2010, one worth Rs. 1.44 crores and the other Rs. 5.36 crores, owned by 2G scam accused company Unitech.

Patra mentioned exact allegations reported by OpIndia and mentioned that Rahul Gandhi had bought a property worth 7 crores but had only made an advance payment of a little over 4 crores while also receiving interest income during Financial Year 2010-11 to Financial Year 2014-15 on the deposit with Unitech Ltd.

“In an affidavit filed for the Lok Sabha Elections in 2004, Rahul Gandhi mentions a property he owned of Backops Limited and three of its European accounts, two of which were with HSBC-UK. The firm was reportedly dissolved in 2009,” added Patra.

Patra also mentioned OpIndia report stating, “According to the affidavit, the Congress President also owned 83% in Backops Services. It was registered at the Registrar of Companies, New Delhi. According to a Data Services website, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul’s sister, was one of the directors in the firm. The firm last filed its balance sheet on the 31st of March, 2010. Intriguingly, although the firm is mentioned in his 2004 affidavit, it doesn’t find any mention in his 2009 election affidavit. Therefore, the question arises, what happened to the 83% stake that Rahul Gandhi had in the firm?”

The BJP party further said that Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra are synonyms as both operate with same operanda of dubious land deals, lies in election affidavits. Robert Vadra has learnt this art from Congress President Rahul Gandhi itself, accused the BJP.

Modi government exceeds disinvestment target for the second time in a row, completes first-ever sale of ‘enemy shares’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Modi government exceeds disinvestment target for the second time in a row, completes first-ever sale of ‘enemy shares’

The sale of ‘enemy shares’ and the buybacks of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have together generated a sum of Rs 11,300 crore for the government, thus helping the exchequer mop up Rs 85,000 crore from disinvestment in the current financial year. This is being considered the second highest receipt ever.

After the Cabinet’s go-ahead to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to sell such shares held in companies, in November 2018, the government has, through the first-ever sale of ‘enemy shares’, collected an amount of Rs 700 crore. Besides, over Rs 10,600 crore has come in the form of buyback of government shares by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).

‘Enemy property’ refers to the assets left behind by people who migrated to Pakistan or China and are no longer citizens of India.

In the fiscal year 2018-19, the government for the second time in a row exceeded the disinvestment target by collecting Rs 85,000 crore as against the budget estimate of Rs 80,000 crore. Similarly, in 2017-18, the government had mopped up a record over Rs 1 lakh crore, against the target of Rs 72,500 crore.

During the current financial year, the share sale through the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) has garnered the highest amount of Rs 45,729 crore, followed by Rs 14,500 crore acquired through government’s 52.63 per cent stake in REC (Rural Electrification Corporation) by the state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC).

Additionally, the government has also received Rs 1,929 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) of five companies, namely, MSTC, RITES, Ircon, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Midhani.

Furthermore, the central government has collected Rs 5,218 crore from the offer for sale (OFS) of Coal India, and another Rs 5,379 crore from sale of SUUTI stake in Axis Bank.

Moreover, the companies which helped the government gather over Rs 10,600 crore through buybacks include, ONGC, IOC, Coal India, Oil India and NLC.

Viewing the accomplishments the government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 90,000 crore for the next fiscal.

‘If current generation dynast lacks charisma, crowd around family gets frustrated. Is Congress witnessing that?’: Arun Jaitley

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘If current generation dynast lacks charisma, crowd around family gets frustrated. Is Congress witnessing that?’: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley published a blog on Facebook about the current state of the Congress party and their frustration that perhaps arises from a failed dynast. The blog has been reproduced below: 

I have consistently held the view that dynasties owning political parties is an unfortunate phenomenon which has accelerated in the last three decades. Congress was the original creator of this concept. Dynasties demolish organisational structures. They are unable to attract leaders of talent or mass following. Since the democratic structure of a dynastic party gets diminished, they become a crowd around a family. Chaudhary Charan Singh had very appropriately said that world over parties elect leaders. In India, leaders create parties. Wherever the leader goes, the party travels with him.

Dynastic parties have one major drawback. If the current generation of the party is competent, charismatic and enjoys popular confidence, the dynast can pull-off major victories. There is an incentive in the party to rally behind him. However, if the current generation dynast is lacking in charisma, understanding and popular confidence, the crowd around the family gets increasingly frustrated. Is the Congress Party witnessing that?

The state of the Congress

The Congress Party has been out of power for five years. Its leaders and workers are accustomed to existing with the frills of office. They stare at another possible defeat. They have to live with their leader not relying on political advisors but on some from ‘non-conventional’ ones who are out of sync with the Congress leaders. Since the last word on any issue belongs to the leader, there is an element of unpredictability.

For those familiar with the Congress leaders, some generic statements are frequently heard. A few illustrative ones are mentioned here:

  • “What can I do? He just doesn’t listen.”
  • “Wait for the 24th of May, our politics will begin thereafter.”
  • “I feel like quitting”
  • “Our campaign planning is lagging behind. I am told Uncle Sam has come to take care of it.”
  • “Let’s prepare 2024”

The above reflects what one generation of the dynasty can do to a dynastic party. There are three prominent non-dynastic parties in India. The BJP has elected, over the last few decades, leaders of the calibre of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shri L.K. Advani, and Shri Narendra Modi as its front rank leaders. When the new generation of the Left took over, their dominant faces were men like Shri Prakash Karat and Shri Sitaram Yechury. Despite the limited impact of the Left, they had decades of experience and ideological clarity. After a series of splits and mergers, the Janata Dal (United), another non-dynastic party, elected Shri Nitish Kumar, who will shortly be completing his third term in his office as Chief Minister. It goes to his credit that he changed the governance culture of Bihar.

When leaders wrongly assess their own capacity

Dynasties impose leaders. These leaders don’t become great – greatness is thrust on them. Some suffer from what psychologists now regard as the ‘Dunning-Kruger effect.’ Social psychologists Dr David Dunning and Justin Kruger have given an apt description. They believe that those who suffer from this effect have a bias of illusory superiority which comes from the inability of low-ability people to recognise their lack of ability. Without the self-awareness of their limitations, such low ability people cannot objectively evaluate their own competence or incompetence. This leads to their miscalculation in their assessment of the calibre of highly incompetent ones. They suggest that poor performers are not in a position to recognise their shortcomings and consequently are insecure and biased against the more competent ones. There is little place for men of high calibre in dynastic parties. An insecure leader is scared of the shadow of more talented people.

Is this the reason for the current mood within the Congress Party? Or is it also the reason which persuades the Congress President to cross the line of decency and dignity when he refers to the Prime Minister.

This should suffice as a lesson for the dynastic parties. They succeed on the strength of some generations of the dynasty. They sink with the others.

1...6,5116,5126,513...7,607Page 6,512 of 7,607