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Comparing manifestos, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019: Some promises that Congress made for decades but never fulfilled

OpIndia Staff
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Comparing manifestos, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019: Some promises that Congress made for decades but never fulfilled

Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha, the Congress party on Tuesday has revealed their election manifesto titled “Congress Will Deliver” to fight the incumbent NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress party has made various obscure policies including foolhardy NYAY scheme which according to economists will not only put pressure on the country’s fiscal policies but also wreck the Indian economy. Interestingly, Congress party has been trying to depict the promises made in its manifesto as a new set of policy ideas. However, the Congress party has attempted to fool the voters by repeatedly asserting that they have fulfilled all of their their past promises. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Here are the promises that have been promised by the Congress party since one decade in their election manifesto:

Women’s Reservation Bill:

2009: The Indian National Congress will ensure that the Bill for reserving 33% of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the State legislatures is passed in the 15th Lok Sabha and
that the elections to the 16th Lok Sabha are held on the basis of one-third
reservation for women.

2014: We will ensure the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.

2019: Congress promises to pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill to provide for reservation of 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha.

Health:

2004: In 2004, the Congress had promised to provide health insurance for families living below the poverty line.

2009: We will guarantee health security for all: The Indian National Congress pledges that every family living below the poverty line will be covered by the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana over the next three years

2014: Right to Health: The Indian National Congress will increase health expenditure to 3% of GDP and provide universal and quality health care for all Indians.

2019: Congress promises that the total government expenditure on healthcare will be doubled to 3 per cent of GDP by the year 2023-24. Congress promises to enact the Right to Healthcare Act that will guarantee to every citizen the right to healthcare services, including free diagnostics, out-patient care, medicines and
hospitalisation through a network of public hospitals and enlisted private hospitals.

Rural development and Panchayat Raj:

2009: The Congress party had promised to connect every village to a broadband network within three years.

2014: We will ensure that all our towns and Gram Panchayats are connected with high-speed broadband connectivity within 18 months.

2019:  Congress promises to connect all villages and habitations with a population of 250 with a road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Broadband connectivity will be provided to all village Panchayats by the year 2021.

Goods and Service Tax:

2009: The Indian National Congress now pledges to take the next decisive step and introduce a moderate goods and services tax (GST). Once GST is implemented, all other central and state-level indirect taxes such as VAT, excise duty, service tax, entertainment tax, luxury tax, etc. will stand abolished and bring substantial relief to the aam aadmi.

2014: Introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bills in Parliament and ensure they are enacted within 1 year. GST is likely to increase the aggregate revenue which will be used to fund the extra investment in infrastructure, health and education.

2019: Congress promises to review and replace the current GST laws with the GST 2.0 regime that will truly reflect the intent and purpose of a non-cascading, value-added, indirect tax. The GST 2.0 regime will be based on a single, moderate, standard rate of tax on all goods and services.

Power:

2004: Congress will launch a special programme to ensure each household will have access to reliable power in the next three to five years.

2009: The Congress party had started and achieved considerable progress on the ambitious Bharat Nirman programme to transform rural India by expanding and providing irrigation, all-weather roads, houses for the poor, drinking water, electricity for all poor families and phone connectivity in all villages.

2014: We will work to ensure greater access to electricity; 100% access in urban from current 94% and 90% access in rural areas from current 67.3% under the Raj Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY).

2019: Congress promises to enhance availability of, and access to, electricity in rural areas by encouraging investment in off-grid renewable power generation with ownership and revenues vesting in local bodies.

National Security:

2004: The UPA Government will ensure that all delays in the modernisation of the armed forces are eliminated and that all funds earmarked for modernisation are spent fully at the earliest.

2009: In the last five years, modernisation of our defence forces has resumed substantially. This will continue at a rapid pace. The Indian National Congress also pledges to make India’s defence forces technology-enabled and equipped with modern weapons, aircraft, ships and delivery systems to repel any threat from land, sea or air.

2014: The Indian National Congress believes modernisation of our defence forces is imperative. The Indian National Congress shall ensure that the process of procuring the finest, and most state-of-the-art equipment is carried out efficiently and transparently while ensuring rapid development of our domestic defence industry.

2019: Congress will reverse the trend of declining defence spending under the NDA government, and will ensure that defence spending is increased to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces. We will expedite all modernisation programmes of the armed forces in a transparent manner.

Interestingly, there are few other promises which are made by the Congress party for over 10 years have been fulfilled by the present Narendra Modi led NDA government. This includes Direct Income to farmers, providing electricity to each household, bank accounts through Jan Dan Yojana, One Rank One Pension, Goods and Service Tax, High Growth with Low Inflation, Health Security through Ayushman Bharat, Reservations to Economically Weaker Sections.

The NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully implemented most of the above commitments that had been promised by the UPA government from 2004 to 2014. There are few other reforms and promises which have been initiated by the present government like GST and defence modernisation as these reformative projects have long gestation periods.

The 2019 Congress party manifesto indicates that they seem to have a history of repeating their old promises in their subsequent election manifesto. The Congress party which has failed in delivering governance since 2004 has once again come out with their stale promises without any remorse that they failed to deliver the same promises despite being power for over a decade.

Data released by CBI shows its probe led to 1,468 convictions in graft cases in 2018

OpIndia Staff
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Data released by CBI shows its probe led to 1,468 convictions in graft cases in 2018

The data released by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on its 57th annual day shows that its probe has led to 1,468 people being convicted last year in graft cases investigated by the agency, according to reports.

The data shows that the anti-graft agency had filed 8,999 cases and preliminary enquiries through 2018, out of which it achieved conviction in 544 cases. As many as 209 of these cases were taken up on the direction of courts.

The agency claims that it had laid 156 trap operations for detection of bribery allegations and also registered 211 cases pertaining to bank frauds.

A CBI spokesperson confirmed that convictions were achieved in several sensitive cases as well, “The CBI successfully used the technology of Percentage Matching of DNA and Lineage Match for the first time in India while investigating the case of rape and murder of a minor girl in Shimla (Himachal Pradesh),” he added.

In fact, CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla has awarded 14 investigating officers, six law officers, 46 executive & ministerial staff and two technical officers with the Director CBI’s Commendation Certificate and cash rewards for their exemplary work.

He went on to say “The CBI enjoys the trust of the people, Parliament, the judiciary and the government. Whenever there is a major offence or a credible investigation is required, there is always a demand for a CBI investigation,” he added.

In his address to CBI officers, Shukla also emphasised on the importance of grievance redressal and referred to the ‘Open Door Policy’ for all officials of the organisation in this regard.

Shukla said the CBI has evolved from an anti-corruption agency into a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary central police law enforcement body with capability, credibility and legal mandate to investigate and prosecute offences across the country.

Recently, an appointment committee, comprising of PM Modi, CJI Rajan Gogoi and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge approved the appointment of IPS Rishi Kumar Shukla as the new CBI Director for a period of two years.

The post of the CBI Chief had been lying vacant since January 10, after ousted CBI director Alok Verma resigned from the post following serious charges of corruption. M Nageswara Rao has been working as the interim CBI chief after Verma’s ouster.

This accomplishment assumes significance especially because of the recent crisis in the agency. After the appointment of Shukla, the agency, which was going through a rough time, returned to normalcy.

The appointment of Shukla, who was ousted from his post as the DIG in Madhya Pradesh by the newly elected Congress government and which had sparked a war of words between the government and the opposition, preceded the turf war between his predecessor Alok Verma and former deputy chief of the agency Rakesh Asthana.

Both the officers levelled serious allegations of corruption against each other with the reputation of the agency taking a serious hit.

Radical Left Congress: Where treason and ‘bharat tere tukde honge’ is acceptable, but free speech on Social Media is not

K Bhattacharjee
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Radical Left Congress: Where treason and ‘bharat tere tukde honge’ is acceptable, but free speech on Social Media is not

The Congress party in its manifesto, released earlier today, has promised a crackdown on social media. After hinting at Communal Violence Bill 2.0, the manifesto also hints at the possible return of Section 66A, only stronger.

Reading through the entire length of the manifesto, one gets the distinct impression that the Congress President has been watching too many videos of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez on Youtube, far more than what can deemed healthy. Rahul Gandhi could never be accused of great intellect but displaying remarkable similarities with the likes of Cortez is a fall far too low, even for him.

The Manifesto promises to “Pass regulations to stop the spread of fake news and hate speech and punish those who misuse digital and social media.” The last time the Congress made an attempt to regulate social media, we got 66A. It is naive to assume that we will get anything different this time around.

The Congress manifesto makes it abundantly clear that the party is attempting to replicate the social engineering that Liberals in the West have succeeded in. People in other parts of the world have already traveled this road before and we know where it ends. It’s not somewhere pretty.

We have seen time and again that attempts to curb ‘hate speech’ are always directed towards stifling mainstream dissenting opinions. The ambiguity of the terms ‘hate speech’ provides ample scope for political parties to crackdown on those who refuse to toe the party line. Because at the crux of the matter is riddled with ambiguity. After all, who exactly defines what ‘hate speech’ is? Who defines what ‘misuse’ of social media is?

The Left worldwide has demonstrated repeatedly that it’s primary objective is to accumulate power, attaching themselves to noble pursuits is only the means towards that end. The transformation of the party under Rahul Gandhi has been such that now it’s essentially impossible to distinguish between the Congress and Radical Democrats in the US like Cortez.

The Left has recognized that social media has been instrumental in propagating rightwing ideas and is actively trying to regulate it. Donald Trump is touted to be the first President to be ‘memed’ into the Presidency. In India, the Bharatiya Janata Party has used social media very effectively to secure its rise to power. Under such circumstances, Rahul Gandhi’s promise to regulate social media appears to be motivated by political concerns hiding under the cloak of ‘hate speech’ and ‘fake news’.

It’s also necessary to emphasize here exactly what the Left considers ‘rightwing’ political opinion. According to Democrats like Cortez, and now it appears Rahul Gandhi, anyone to the Right of Pol Pot, Mao and Stalin are ‘rightwingers’. Therefore, objectively speaking, a great number of these so-called ‘rightwingers’ are really liberals themselves. That the Congress party is taking leaves out of the Radical Left playbook in the West speaks volumes of the lack of wisdom on Rahul Gandhi’s part and, of course, on the part of his advisers.

It’s also consistent with the interests of the mainstream media to have social media regulated as it has irreparably damaged their reputation. In the US, the mainstream media acts as the propaganda wing of the Democrat party while in India, they render their services to the Congress. People have seen through their partisanship and as a consequence, their reputation has suffered horribly. Therefore, as the mainstream media in the US cheer for a crackdown on social media, so have their counterparts in India. It’s basic quid pro quo.

Further evidence of the fact that the promise to regulate social media is a direct threat to dissenters is the Congress party’s promise to revoke the sedition law. The manifesto promises to “Omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (that defines the offence of ‘sedition’) that has been misused and, in any event, has become redundant because of subsequent laws.”

Thus, the Congress, which can only be described now as a radical Left party, is offering its acquiescence to slogans such as “Bharat tere tukde honge” while potentially criminalizing dissenting mainstream opinions that does not align with radical Left inclinations.

The Congress President’s concept of ‘Hate Speech’ is bewildering as well. When those anti-India slogans were raised at JNU, he was the first to rush to the University in solidarity with the ‘students’. However, suddenly, he has woken up to the necessity of cracking down on hate speech. Oh! Advocating violent revolution against the Indian state is fine but dissenting opinions on social media? Rahul Gandhi has no tolerance for that.

The promise to regulate ‘Fake News’ on social media is just as problematic. The mainstream media, undoubtedly, has been the greatest purveyor of Fake News across the world. Will Rahul Gandhi act against his friends in the media who diligently peddle his propaganda day in and day out and relaunch his political career every few years? Of course not.

In the US, the mainstream media pulled off the greatest hoax in US history with remarkable efficiency for three years without suffering any consequences. I am, of course, referring to the Russian Collusion hoax. Has there been any shred of accountability? None. Will there be in India? ‘Extremely unlikely’ is a major understatement.

It was the Congress party itself which pulled off the greatest hoax in independent India, the Hindu Terror theory. A certain leader of theirs even attended the launch of a book which blamed the RSS for the Mumbai Attacks. Has the Congress party taken any action against the leader or those who propagated the distasteful Fake News about Hindu Terror? Of course not.

The issue of ‘Fake News’ and ‘Hate Speech’ is further polarized by the fact that people across the political spectrum now disagree on fundamental ontological positions regarding what constitutes the two. According to Radical Left organizations such as the Congress party and mainstream media, even maintaining that there are only two genders is ‘Hate Speech’. Therefore, will people who emphasize on the biological basis of gender be punished as well under the new law? There have been instances in the West where they have been. It appears that the malaise is coming to India should AOC fanboy Rahul Gandhi become the Prime Minister of the country.

At the end of the day, it’s the ordinary citizen who will suffer, regardless of any political affiliation. Because it will give people more scope to take unethical advantage of the law and unethical people can be found across both ends of the political spectrum. For instance, there is a certain Babu on social media who goes around threatening common people who use social media effectively to spread knowledge and truth by abusing his authority. The consequence of the Congress party’s harebrained idea would be empowering such people to harass ordinary citizens.

The law will also give political leaders immeasurable power to hunt down dissenters. It’s something that has happened in the past when section 66A was enforced. And it was the Congress party who was responsible for that.

Only a couple of days earlier, Times of India had published a ‘Fact Check‘ where it informed its readers that Chris Gayle aka Krishna Goyal had not joined the BJP. Whoever wrote that article could not differentiate between Fake News and a Meme, what’s the guarantee that the government appointed regulators will be able to? Will memers be punished, most of whom are creative young people, because people much older than them can’t understand humour?

That the Congress party’s real intentions behind the law is to go after dissenters is further confirmed by its history which is littered with instances where it has clamped down on free speech to preserve its political interests. It’s the party of The Emergency, it’s the party of Section 66A. That it has included the return of Section 66A in its manifesto only shows how deadly serious the party is about preserving its political interests. But most importantly, it remains the party of Fake News, the party which propagated the myth of Hindu Terror.

A charter to weaken India: Arun Jaitley on Congress manifesto

OpIndia Staff
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A charter to weaken India: Arun Jaitley on Congress manifesto

Reacting strongly to Congress’ 2019 election manifesto, Union Minister Arun Jaitley today took to Facebook to express his views on the manifesto. In a post, he dissected the manifesto point-by-point and explained how Congress is a disaster waiting to happen.

We have republished his blog in its entirety below:

Sitting in Opposition from 2004-14, I used to listen to the tall promises in the Congress Budgets. An early lesson that I gave to myself was “Don’t go by what is said, the devil is always in the details”. In the little time available, I have read the 53 pages of the Congress Manifesto. My worst fears have come true.

The tukde-tukde Manifesto

At point No.30, at page 35, otherwise an innocuous entry which deals with review of laws, rules and regulations. It repeals Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which defines and then punishes an accused in sedition. Even for terrorists and hardcore criminals, it underlines the principles “bail is the rule and jail is the exception.” It seeks to dilute the provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) . After having been spurned on various occasions to have a dialogue with the separatists, who want to settle for nothing other than cessation from India, it promised to have a continuous dialogue with them. It promises to dilute the presence of the Armed Forces in the Valley.

The Congress is the principal creator of the Jammu and Kashmir problem. It created a special status; it unconstitutionally brought in Article 35A. It rigged the 1957, 1962, 1967 as also the 1988 Assembly elections. This eroded the confidence of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and now its Manifesto only brings smiles on the faces of the separatists and the terrorists. A reference to “Kashmiri Pandits’ and their ethnic cleansing from the Valley is conspicuously absent in the Manifesto.

The Congress has always been soft on terror. Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi introduced TADA. Later the Congress revoked it. It revoked POTA. Now it wants to go further soft on separatism and terrorism.

There is only a lip sympathy in the assault required on Maoists violence, which Dr. Manmohan Singh had described as the greatest threat to India. In the recent elections, as also in the case of JNU and urban Maoists, Congress and Congressmen have always flirted with the Maoists as fellow travellers.

Nyay bluff

Most economists have already rubbished the Congress Party’s Nyay. Between the Centre and the States, we are already giving to the poorest 20 per cent much more than what Nyay promises. As the economy expands to depleting poverty, further amounts can also be increased. To my initial query whether it will be reworking of the existing schemes or over and above the existing, the Congress Spokesman boasted that it will be over and above. I went through the detailed paragraphs in point No.9 at page 19-20. It contains the following statements:

  1. Fiscal prudence will be maintained.
  2. There will be pilots and testing phases.
  3. It will be implemented in phases.
  4. On how it will be funded, the Congress says that it will be funded from the future expansion of the economy.

Nyay, in the Manifesto, has now become a joint scheme of Central and the State Governments thereby diluting the initial announcement. The State Governments may well suggest that these existing subsidies are more than what Congress promises? To the vexed question of what happens to the existing subsidies, the manifesto says that ‘only merit based subsidies will continue’. So the Centre will retain the power to say that some subsides can be subsumed, diluted or abolished since they are non-merit based while in others the number of beneficiaries reduced since with every passing year many people are moving out of poverty.

Farm loan waivers

The Congress does not commit to the loan waiver but says that it has done so in several States. If you look at the track record of Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, a miniscule effort has not even been put. Even the PM-KISAN is on hold in Congress States.

Public Health

It is extremely desirable that public health institutions be strengthened. The Congress is only giving slogans on healthcare. Shri Narendra Modi has implemented the Ayushman Bharat where 50 crore people get hospital treatment free.

Women’s reservation in legislatures

In 2010, as the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, I was instrumental in having the Constitution Amendment Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha where the Congress brought it. In the next four years, it did not press for it in the Lok Sabha. How can its track record be believed?

The GST

The Manifesto repeats that the Congress will try for Single Rate GST. Today most food items are taxed at zero. Aam Aadmi items are taxed at 5 per cent. The 28 per cent slab is almost over. In the next round, the two standard rates of 12% and 18% will be merged into a mid rate. Thus you will have, besides the non-merit goods, goods and services, taxed at zero, 5% and at about 15%. The Congress says irrespective of the product and the category of consumers using it, there will be one single rate. This effectively means that electronic goods, air-conditioners, television sets, washing machines should be taxed at the same rate as food items, chappals and coarse cloth. Rahul Gandhi got this wisdom from Singapore which does not have poverty. Both rice and Mercedes car in Singapore are taxed at 7 per cent.

The Manifesto compromises national security and has sham and bluff promises with little detailed understanding of the subjects involved. It is an irresponsible document which has never to be implemented since Congress looks a certain loser.

‘Neutral’ blogger Dhruv Rathee gets satirical video deleted which shows him “exposing” Arvind Kejriwal

OpIndia Staff
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‘Neutral’ blogger Dhruv Rathee gets satirical video deleted which shows him “exposing” Arvind Kejriwal

On January 19 this year, pro-AAP propaganda video blogger Dhruv Rathee had uploaded a video on his Youtube channel to explain how politicians circumvent difficult questions asked in TV debates. To explain this behaviour of politicians, he had one person with him performing the role of a politician. This actor had a large saffron tilak on his forehead, and a beads necklace around the neck which looks like rudraksha. The appearance of the actor leaves nothing to the imagination which politicians are targeted by Dhruv Rathee while explaining the logical fallacies of politicians, and the ‘politician’ is a big Modi supporter named Andh Bhakt Banerjee. Several clips of the interview of the ‘sanghi’ politician taken by ‘journalist’ Dhruva Rathee were inserted in a monologue by Rahtee who explains various logical fallacies of politicians. The interview clips were used as examples of what Rathee is explaining.

Politicians of all ideologies and parties use the logical fallacies like strawman argument, slippery slope, circular argument, red herring etc, but the video implied that only BJP politicians indulge in such tactics.

To drive home the point that such tactics are used by politicians from other parties also, another Youtube channel edited the video and uploaded the same on Youtube. In this video, the monologue by Dhruv Rathee was retained but the fake interview used in the video as examples of the fallacies were removed, and they were replaced with actual interviews and speeches of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Although the clips were replaced, it didn’t change the narrative of the video, the clips of Kejriwal exactly matched with the arguments made by Dhruv Rathee in his video. The clips used in the edited video shows Kejriwal using the same tactics which were presented in the video as used by only BJP leaders.

The edited video made it look like that Dhruv Rathee was exposing the AAP supremo while explaining logical fallacies, and as Dhruv is known for his pro-AAP stand, it came as a big embarrassment for him. Hence he has got the video deleted from YouTube citing copyright violations, which had more than 50 thousand views before deletion.


The owner of the channel also informed that the channel was suspended by Youtube for getting a copyright violation strike. Hence he has uploaded the video on other websites. The video can be seen below.

[googleapps domain=”drive” dir=”file/d/1DMlQN42eDjeDCRbsQ4uQCNoYOYKrP5S8/preview” query=”” width=”640″ height=”480″ /]

It can be seen that the video was edited as satire to make a point, to prove that Arvind Keirwal also uses the same tactics as explained in the original video. The edited video actually proved Dhruv Rathee correct, as there were real-life examples of his explanations. Moreover, the use of original work for analysis, review or satirical purposes is not illegal, but he still got the video deleted.

Read also: Dhruv Rathee speaks the same language as the terrorist who killed 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama attack

2019 General Election in Odisha: A round up and analysis of 21 parliamentary constituencies

Sambit Nayak
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2019 General Election in Odisha: A round up and analysis of 21 parliamentary constituencies

Odisha is among the 4 states going for simultaneous assembly and general elections on April 11, along with Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunanchal Pradesh. Hence, the general elections hold special significance here as voting pattern will be an amalgamation of local as well as national issues. After the coalition between BJP and BJD broke in 2009, BJD has been quite sturdy in holding their fort. At peak Modi wave in 2014, which saw a single party passing the simple majority mark after 30 years, Naveen’s charisma and electoral acumen totally steamrolled all competition and anti incumbency whatsoever. BJD won 20 out of 21 seats and the only seat that BJP’s Jual Oram won saw a slender margin of 18,829 votes.

After Modi government came to power, they have been trying to gain grounds in Odisha and West Bengal which can make up for seats they may lose elsewhere in North and Western India. With both parties claiming the Lion’s share in the upcoming general elections in Odisha, we have tried to provide you a constituency wise ring side view.

South And Central Odisha

Nabrangpur

Nabarangpur possibly can be one constituency where Congress may have a little edge. Traditionally a Congress stronghold, it went to BJP in 1999 and 2004. It came back to Congress’s Pradeep Majhi in 2009. Incumbent, Balabhadra Majhi won by a margin of a meagre 2042 votes against Pradeep in 2014. However, Balabhadra Majhi was denied a ticket by BJD this time.

He resigned from the party and joined BJP. He is contesting on a BJP ticket. Pradeep is said to be close to central leadership and Rahul Gandhi. It is rumoured that, Pradeep is the one calling the shots on party ticket distribution in South Odisha. Many party biggies including veteran and MLA from Jeypore, Taraprasad Bahinipati are not happy with Pradeep for alleged unfairness in ticket distribution.

Koraput

Koraput has the distinction of having its ex-MP, Giridhar Gamango, winning 9 Lok Sabha election on Congress ticket. In 1999, Hema Gamango, wife of Giridhar Gamango won on a BJD ticket. However, the Congress strongman has now shifted his camp to BJP, though he isn’t contesting the election.

Last time, he lost to BJD candidate Jhina Hikaka by 20,000 votes. BJD has given ticket to incumbent Jhina Hikaka’s wife Kaushalya Hikaka. Congress’s candidate is former Rayagada MLA Late Rama Chandra Ulaka’s son Saptagiri Ulaka. BJP has brought in disgruntled ex BJD MP Jairam Pangi who represented Koraput between 2009-14, with active support from Gamango.

Kalahandi

Kalahandi PC has been an equal opportunity provider in terms of triangular contest that Odisha sees. It was a BJP stronghold during the times of Bikram Keshari Deo, royal and father of incumbent Arka Keshari Deo. In 2009, it went to Congress’s Bhakta Charan Das. After the death of Bikram Keshari, son Arka joined BJD and won in 2014. He has been denied a ticket this time.

BJD has brought in Dharamgarh MLA and royal Pushpendra Singh Deo. BJP has reposed faith in state president Basanta Panda while Congress has put up its old warhorse Bhakta Charan Das.

Kandhamal

This PC is going to see an interesting battle. Achyuta Samanta, educationist, philanthropist, current Rajya Sabha MP and social worker – I just stopped from naming Toni Stark – has been propped up by BJD. BJP has brought in 3 times MP from coastal district up North Balasore who was a former Indian Railways officer. Swain fell out with BJP in 2010, formed his own party “Utkala Bharata”, and joined back BJP as recently as last week. Achyuta Samanta is the chairman of the largest private deemed university in Odisha which also runs Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). It’s a free schooling and boarding facility for 25,000 underprivileged tribal kids; runs a mega kitchen, which was featured in a Nat Geo series with the same name; provides free food and boarding to the students.

He recently courted controversy by announcing to open a Christian only school in Kandhamal. Kandhamal is the hotbed of missionary activities in Odisha. in 2009, missionary activists killed Swami Achyutananda Saraswati, who was working against conversion. This started  wide spread riots. Sangh has been quite active in this region working against rampant conversion. Kharabela’s nomination has Green signal from Sangh as well as Jalaspeta Ashram, which was established by Swami Achyutananda.

Aska

CM’s home turf. BJD’s stronghold since 1998. Naveen Patnaik himself was MP from Aska for 3 terms before he became CM. Incumbent Late Ladu Kishore Swain died of a Kidney ailment in February this year. BJD has sprung a surprise by nominating Pramila Bisoi, a women Self Help Group worker as its candidate.

This also cements BJD’s position on 33% women quota. BJP’s Anita Subhadarshini is also making her election debut; however, she isn’t new to politics. She hails from a political family being daughter of Rama Krushna Patnaik, ex minister and MLA. Congress has not decided on any candidate till now.

Berhampur

Geographically, next to Aska. In fact both belong to Ganjam district. The only district in Odisha to have 2 parliamentary constituencies. BJD denied ticket to its 2 time MP actor-turned-politician, Siddhant Mahapatra. BJD’s Chandra Shekhar Sahu was ex Congress MP in 2004. BJP’s state secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra, who is also ex MLA of Jeypore has been given the party ticket from Berhampur. 

West and North Odisha

Balangir

Battle Royale. BJP’s Sangeeta Singh Deo is Kalikesh’s sister-in-law. She won Balangir PC in 1998, 1999 and 2004. Since then, it has been Kalikesh’s fiefdom. Her husband KV Singh Deo is ex BJP state chief and a party senior while Kalikesh’s father AU Singhdeo is a BJD stalwart. Incidentally, Kalikesh is the only sitting MP of BJD from Western and Souther Odisha who has been given ticket in 2019.

Bargarh

Prasanna Acharya is a BJD veteran. Won Sambalpur Lok Sabha PC in 1998 and 1999. Bargarh PC didn’t exist then. Was elected to Odisha assembly from Redhakhol which comes under Sambalpur PC, in 2009. Is part of RS since 2016. His nephew is contesting Bargarh assembly seat this time. CM Naveen Patnaik is contesting Bijepur AC which comes under Bargarh PC. BJP did spring a surprise in Bargarh and Sambalpur, which some term as a disastrous move. VHP long timer Subash Chauhan, who lost Bargarh on BJP ticket in 2014, had the narrowest margin among all BJP candidates in Odisha. Polled 33.12% vote and lost by a mere 11,178 votes.

In fact, he polled maximum votes among all BJP candidates in Odisha, more than the only BJP candidate who won, Jual Oram. However, BJP decided to field Suresh Pujari, who contested from Sambalpur in 2014 from Bargarh this time. He is a national secretary of BJP. Subash Chauhan has since joined BJD and has took 9 zilla parishad chairman along with him. One reason political observers are attributing behind this surprising move is, Sambalpur AC candidate Jay Narayan Mishra and Suresh Pujari don’t gel very well. To avoid any possible infighting, BJP decided to shift Suresh Pujari to Bargarh. May 23 will tell us if this precautionary move will backfire or not.

Sambalpur

Nalini Kanta Pradhan is a ex Secretary, works department, who joined BJD in 1st week of March. He is attributed with some of the major infrastructure work BJD government has undertaken including 2 bridges over Mahanadi river in Sambalpur district. He also drew flak for the inordinate delay in Bomikhal over bridge in Bhubaneswar which caused couple of deaths due to poor workmanship.

BJP has moved Deogarh royal and incumbent MLA Nitesh Gang Deb to Sambalpur PC. He was earlier with Congress and had moved to BJP before 2014 general elections. He is considered to be very popular in Deogarh and adjacent areas. Polled around 50% votes in 2014 assembly elections.

Sundargarh

This seat is going to see a triangular contest. While BJD true to its 33% women reservation plank has given ticket to Congress strong man and former CM Hemanand Biswal’s daughter Sunita Biswal, Congress has brought in Birmitrapur MLA George Tirkey. George, earlier an independent who also contested from Samata Kranti Dal, recently joined Congress. He has major influence over Christian votes. BJP has again reposed faith in union minister Jual Oram. While Jual is strong in Bonai and Talasara, George will influence Birmitrapur. Sunita’s father Hemanand is a Sundargara town local and enjoys popular support there.

The 2 urban constituencies in Rourkela city, Rourkela and Raghunathpali can well be the decider in this hotly contested PC which incidentally is the only PC which BJP won in 2014. BJP MLA from Rourkela, Dilip Ray resigning from the party on non fulfilment of promises made by PM himself on super speciality medical college and hospital and Brahmani Bridge upgradation are issues that may play spoiler to BJP’s plan in Rourkela. Dilip’s recent visit to Naveen Nivas has set the rumour mills spinning.

Keonjhar

Mineral rich constituency where the most affluent MLAs of Odisha come from. In fact, during mining boom, 3 of India’s top 4 tax payers where from Keonjhar. Even with so much money in play, the district has not seen any major turnaround in its fortune. Last time, BJD surprised everyone by announcing Shakuntala Laguri as its candidate at the last moment who went on to win this seat for her party.

BJP still reposes faith in Anant Nayak who won Keonjhar in 1999 and 2004 but has not seen any political success since then though he continues to contest election from the same seat. BJD is still undecided and holds its card close to its chest though it’s rumoured that Champua MLA Sanatan Mahakud has convinced Naveen Patnaik to field Chandrani Murmu. She is the grand daughter of Congress ex-MP from Keonjhar Harihar Soren.

Mayurbhanj

Scam tainted BJD MP Rama Chandra Hansdah, who spent several months in jail after he was arrested by CBI in 2014 for the chit fund scam has been dropped. BJD has brought in Dr. Debasish Marandi, who joined BJD in 2017 after quitting NALCO as senior medical officer. BJP has named RSS activist Bisweswar Tudu as its candidate.

Coastal Odisha

Baleswar

The northern most coastal district of Odisha which shares its boundary with Bengal. BJP has again fielded long time RSS man and twice Nilagiri MLA Pratap Sarangi, widely seen as a very honest and upright man. BJD, despite facing anti incumbency has gone ahead with Rabindra Jena. Congress has fielded state president Niranjan Patnaik’s son Nabajyoti Patnaik after ex MP Shrikant Jena was dismissed from the party.

Bhadrak

BJD has fielded a new face in Bhadrak this time, Smt Manjulata Mandal. After 6 time MP  and one of the founding member of BJD, who worked closely with Biju Patnaik, Arjun Sethi was denied to meet CM at Naveen Nivas, he in a scathing letter, submitted his resignation from the party. Hours later, he joined BJP and the party rewarded him by fielding his son Abhimanyu Sethi from Bhadrak.

This is going to be a battle between BJD’s organisational power with a new comer vs a disgruntled 6 times MP who is now with BJP. The equation has changed considerably in last few days after BJP’s announcement.

Jajpur

Jajpur always had a BJD MP since the party’s inception in 1997 and most of party’s stalwarts including current generation of MLAs who call the shots within the party are from Jajpur. Rita Tarai, current MP from BJD has been denied ticket and a new face Sharmistha Sethi has been nominated. Ex-MP Mohan Jena, who was expecting a ticket has quit BJD alleging irregularity in ticket distribution. BJP’s Amiya Mallick, who came 3rd in 2014 has been asked to contest from Jajpur again.

Kendrapara

One of the most interesting battle of Odisha that has the nation’s eye set on it. The fall out of Baijayant Panda with Naveen Patnaik grabbed massive media limelight. After 9 months of delay, Jay Panda joined BJP and was appointed national vice president as well as national spokesperson. Baijayant Panda has been touring the district extensively through out his tenure. His joining of BJP was followed by induction of some senior disgruntled BJD party members. Naveen being as vindictive as he is known to be, will definitely try to obliterate Panda’s political career. He has brought in current Rajya Sabha MP and a very popular actor across the state, Anubhav Mohanty to contest against Panda.

Though, some say the battle is not evenly poised as Anubhav has never contested a direct election and has no base in Kendrapara, knowing Naveen, he must have given it a lot of thought before fielding him. Also, star powers have done wonders in Indian elections before and can not be overlooked. Senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra, a local strongman, who recently left BJP has rejoined after much cajoling from Panda and adds to his firepower.

Jagatsinghpur

Sitting MP Kulamani Samal has been denied party ticket as BJD, sticking to its 33% women’s quota, has fielded Tirtol MLA Dr. Rajashree Mallick from Jagatsinghpur. Jagatsinghpur is also a Congress stronghold where the Biswal brothers duo, Ranjib Biswal and Chiranjib Biswal, son of ex Dy CM Basanta Biswal have entrenched their roots. This remains the only constituency where BJP is yet to announce their candidate.

Dhenkanal

After current MP Tathagata Satapathy resigned from the party and announced that he won’t be contesting elections henceforth, BJD is still undecided on Dhenkanal. BJP is depending on ex Rajya Sabha MP Rudra Narayan Pani while Congress has brought in its old war horse, ex MP and former union minister KP Singh Deo. It will be interesting to see how the 2nd innings in Deo’s political career plays out.

Cuttack

One of the most prestigious seat of Odisha. BJD, after an inordinate delay, has reposed faith on 5 times MP Bhartuhari Mahatab. BJP has deployed former IPS and Odisha DG Prakash Mishra. Mishra shares an interesting history with Naveen Patnaik. While serving as Odisha Police DG, he was all set to be CBI’s chief after Ranjit Sinha’s retirement when Naveen’s government filed a vigilance case against him.

Mishra moved to HC against this and HC gave government a severe dressing down to Naveen’s government to have harassed officer of Mishra’s stature without any prima facie evidence. But by then, it was too late and Mishra missed the bus. He was appointed CRPF DG later before he retired. Prakash Mishra enjoys a clean image while Bhartuhari is a long timer and experienced politician.

Bhubaneswar

This is going to be a face off between ex bureaucrats. BJD has fielded former IPS and Mumbai top cop Arup Patnaik, who joined BJD last year and has been given the charge of Biju Yuva Vahini, BJD’s “Youth Volunteer” programme. BJP has brought in former IAS Aparajita Sarangi, a well known face in Bhubaneswar urban household.

Before moving to central cadre, known as a no-nonsense officer, she brought in some visible change in public sphere while serving in different roles as BMC commissioner, secretary of mass education department and director of mission Shakti, BJD’s government’s flagship scheme for women emancipation.

Puri

Apart from Kendrapara, this is another PC in Odisha, which is getting some national attention, courtesy, BJP national spokesperson and a familiar face on TV, Dr. Sambit Patra is contesting against BJD’s Pinaki Mishra, senior advocate in SC and 2 times MP from Puri. Congress has fielded ex-journalist and anchor Satya Nayak. Among all ACs, BJP is weakest in Puri and Pipili. Yesterday’s assembly ticket announcement from BJD cemented that further when BJD yet again gave ticket to Pipili strongman Pradip Maharathi despite some serious allegations against him for which he had to resign from his minister post. Maheswar Mohanty, MLA from Puri enjoys good popularity among the Jagannath sevayat community and the Telugu fisher folks.

Jayanta Sarangi, ex-chairman of Puri municipality and BJD party member, has joined BJP and may be able to salvage some pride for BJP in Puri town. The other 5 ACs are equally poised. If Lalitendu Mahapatra and Pratyusha Rajeswari can tilt the game in favour of BJP from Bramhagiri and Nayagarh, Puri might be a close contest.

With leaders from both BJP and BJD going all guns blazing, a hot, humid and long summer awaits Odisha’s electorate who will decide the fate of 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Vidhan Sabha seats between 11th to 29th April. We wish all the candidates all the luck and more importantly good health who are going to campaign in the blistering heat for the next 1 month.

Actress who played Sonia Gandhi in Bollywood movie was ‘checked’ by Facebook for political content

OpIndia Staff
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Actress who played Sonia Gandhi in Bollywood movie was ‘checked’ by Facebook for political content

Suzanne Bernert, the actress who played the role of Sonia Gandhi in the film The Accidental Prime Minister, today has revealed that Facebook had ‘checked’ her Facebook account for ‘political content’.


Bernert was responding to MyNation Editor Abhijit Majumder who was voicing his protest against Facebook for taking down MyNation Facebook page with over a million followers in what could be seen as one of the biggest purges the social networking giant has undertaken just ahead of the 2019 General Elections.

Bernert said that someone from Facebook physically went to meet her and verify her address despite her writing to them that she is just an actress. She had played the role of Sonia Gandhi in the film ‘The Accidental Prime Minister‘ which was released earlier this year which took the audience through the ten-year journey of the UPA era.

While Bernert’s account was not taken down, MyNation’s account was, even though it was a verified page for the media outlet. In his tweets, Majumder mentioned that MyNation’s Facebook account was verified just two weeks prior and asked if the page was violating any rules, how come it was not flagged back then itself.


He added how the purging which comes just days before the general elections along the Cambridge Analytica baggage Facebook carries with itself and the political ideology it follows, raises quite a few questions.

Yesterday, Facebook had announced that it had brought down hundreds of pages for alleged violation of policies by engaging in ‘coordinated inauthentic behaviour’ and ‘spam’ from India and Pakistan. Various pages and groups were removed which violated Facebook policies and rules. Among them, MyNation Facebook page was also brought down without notice or trial.

Bigger bindi on forehead means frequently changing husbands: Congress ally’s vile remarks against Smriti Irani

OpIndia Staff
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Bigger bindi on forehead means frequently changing husbands: Congress ally’s vile remarks against Smriti Irani

As Smriti Irani is all set to take on Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party and its allies have already begun to abuse her with crass sexist slurs.

This time it is Congress-ally Jaydeep Kawade of the People Republican Party, who has now resorted to a deplorable sexist remark against Smriti Irani.

“Smriti Irani sits next to Nitin Gadkari in the Parliament and says that they will change the Constitution. Let me tell you something about her. I have heard that the bindi gets bigger as she changes husbands” said Jaydeep Kawade.

The rant reportedly continued as Kawade added that changing Ambedkar’s constitution is not as easy as changing husbands.

Jaydeep Kawade s the son of People’s Republican party president Jogendra Kawade. Kawade’s PRP is part of the anti-BJP grand alliance in Maharashtra, which includes the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress and Peasants and Workers Party of India.

However, Smriti Irani is not a new victim of such personal abuse as it appears that the political rise of Smriti Irani in recent times has given a scare to the opposition parties, especially the Congress. As soon as she announced that she would be contesting against Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party and their ecosystem have been targetting her.

The Telegraph, a controversial leftist media organisation had in the past tried to defame Smriti Irani by deliberately misinterpreting statements made by her against Congress President Rahul Gandhi and had claimed that Smriti Irani had actually questioned the Congress party’s ‘manhood’.

Last year, Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh had shockingly resorted to a sexist slur against Union Minister Smriti Irani by calling her “Hatti-Katti gai” (a well-built cow).

Sensing a defeat in his bastion of Amethi, Uttar Pradesh from Union Minister Smriti Irani, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has decided to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a backup plan.

The speculations of Rahul Gandhi contesting from a minority dominated constituency was on the cards as some of the senior Congress leaders had hinted that Rahul Gandhi might find it hard to secure a victory in Hindu majority constituency like Amethi. The Congress president was reportedly looking for a safe seat for that reason. Hence, Congress Party is on a contingency plan to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, which has 29% Muslim votes and another 21% Christian votes.

Communal Violence Bill 2.0? Congress promises new law for ‘hate crimes’ in manifesto

OpIndia Staff
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Communal Violence Bill 2.0? Congress promises new law for ‘hate crimes’ in manifesto

In recent times, a concerted effort has been launched by the ‘intellectual elite’ to paint Hindus as aggressors and Muslims as victims of hate crimes even if the crime was not motivated by religion. IndiaSpend’s faulty ‘hate tracker‘ is one such initiative. The MASUKA was another.

Speculations have been made that ‘civil society’ was laying down the foundations for Communal Violence Bill 2.0. The Congress manifesto, it appears, confirms such speculations.

It says on page 42:

“We will pass a new law in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha to prevent and punish hate crimes such as mob-engineered stripping, burning and lynching. The law will contain provisions to compensate the victims and to hold accountable the police and district administration for proven negligence.”

Although the manifesto does not make any references to religion, the past conduct of the Congress party in this regard is abundant confirmation of where it’s heading. Considering the extremely anti-Hindu nature of the Communal Violence Bill, it appears almost certain that any Violence Bill proposed by the Congress will follow along the same lines.

The MASUKA is a draft legislation that was created to address exactly the issues mentioned in the Congress manifesto. It casts a wide net to cover offences under such Acts, including defining victims as those who have suffered even ‘mental and psychological harm’, the goal is to make it extremely tough to even protect oneself from actual crimes in these scenarios. An excellent critique of MASUKA has been made here.

Considering the fact that the Congress party charged a group of individuals from foreign funded NGOs to draft the Communal Violence Bill and that the grounds for new legislation on the specific issues were laid by these same sections of ‘Civil Society’, it appears certain that the new law will have the same anti-Hindu slant as the previously touted Bill. Moreover, the Congress party has also laid strong emphasis on strengthening ‘Civil Society’ in its manifesto.

Most significantly, the victims of ‘hate crimes’ invariably turn out to be members of the minority community according to ‘civil society‘ even when the motivations aren’t religious. Similarly, Hindus are not called victims of hate crimes even when the motivations are religious.

SC declines urgent hearing of Hardik Patel’s plea against conviction, 2 days left for nomination filing deadline

OpIndia Staff
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SC declines urgent hearing of Hardik Patel’s plea against conviction, 2 days left for nomination filing deadline

In yet another jolt to the political career for the newly inducted member of the Congress party and Patidar leader, Hardik Patel, the Supreme court has declined a plea seeking an urgent hearing on his conviction in a riot case Tuesday.

On March 29, the Congress leader had received a major blow from the Gujarat High court, which, by declining his plea seeking the suspension of his conviction in a rioting case in 2015 had put his political aspirations in jeopardy.

Patel had sought the suspension as due to his conviction he is barred under the Representation of People Act, 1951, from contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

Now, with barely two days left for the last date of nomination filing, the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear his plea leaves Hardik Patel in a tight spot. He may have to give up his hopes of contesting from the Jamnagar Lok Sabha seat.

The last day to file nominations before the country goes in for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is April 4.

Patel had moved the Supreme Court on April 1, challenging the Gujarat High Court order rejecting his plea to stay his conviction so that he could contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra.

“If the conviction is not stayed, the petitioner may lose the right to contest upcoming Lok Sabha elections of 2019,” Patel had reportedly contended in his petition.

The bench comprising justices M M Shantanagoudar and Navin Sinha told the counsel appearing for Patel that there was no urgency in hearing the matter as the High Court order was passed in August last year.

With this Supreme Court order, Patel, who had started preparing to contest from Jamnagar on a Congress ticket after joining the party on March 12, may not be able to file his nomination before the last date.

Patel had applied for a stay on his conviction in the rioting case earlier this month. He had led the Patidar agitation in Gujarat in 2015 bringing the State to a standstill to demand reservation for Patidars. Around 9 people had lost their lives in the ensuing violence and the Army had to be deployed to take control of the situation.

Last year, a Sessions Court in Visnagar had found Patel guilty of causing a riot in Mehasana and sentenced him to 2 years in prison. He was convicted of offences of arson and creating ruckus at the office of BJP MLA Rushikesh Patel. Out of 17 accused, only three were found guilty by the court including Hardik Patel. Apart from the jail term, they were also fined Rs 50,000 each. But the court had granted them bail against bonds of Rs 15,000.

Other than the riot case where he has been convicted, Hardik Patel is also facing a sedition case in Gujarat which carries the maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The case was filed after he had called for ‘killing cops’ in 2015. A case of insulting the national flag was also leveled against him, which was later withdrawn.

Soon after the dates for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were announced, Patel had joined the Congress Party to “serve 125 crore, people of the country”, as claimed by him.

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