Uncategorized
Prediction true on RSS’s Mega Plan
Nov 18th
When I first wrote this article (Modi’s Fast: The RSS Mega Plan) on the 20th September, many did not believe what I had written. There were doubts, arguments, counter-arguments questioning the perception. Some said that whatever said, it’s Narendra Modi who will be BJP’s next choice as the Prime Ministerial candidate, if the party wins the 2014 elections. Others said, Advani is too old and doesn’t have the charisma or energy left to occupy the top job.
However, most of them did not have an answer to this question — why did Advani suddenly become active? How did he, from nowhere, emerge to announce another yatra, this time to highlight black money and corruption? The rise of Advani from the ashes was part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s mega plan to give the BJP’s political campaign a face ahead of the 2014 Parliamentary elections and in the absence of a powerful alternative, Advani has now become the most suitable choice.
In the article (Read: Modi’s Fast: The RSS Mega Plan), I had explicitly stated why and how Advani figured in the RSS’s Mega politico-electoral plan. Today all that seems to be coming true. The perception seems to stand vindicated with developments in the Bharatiya Janata Party over the past few days suggesting that what we predicted that day seems to be turning into a reality fast.
First it was Rajnath Singh on Advani’s birthday, and now Jaswant Singh. Both have declared that Advani would be the “natural choice” for the top job if the BJP wins the next Parliamentary polls. The subtle projection of Advani is directly linked to the absence of an undisputed second-rung leader in the party. The RSS knows that if they start exploring a younger leader for the top job, they would face not just a lack of options, but also infighting, with ambitious Young Turks in their ranks.
Modi would be fighting his third elections as the Chief Minister of Gujarat next year and the Assembly polls would be crucial for him. While RSS and the BJP have build on Modi’s acceptability factor, Advani would be expected to captain the BJP ship for a few more years, provided ofcourse he remains in good health. The next two elections — the assembly polls in Gujarat in 2012 and Lok Sabha elections in 2014 — is crucial for the two mass leaders of the BJP. Advani would clearly be vying for the top job for one last time; Modi on his part would be keen to turn the page, and reinvent himself.
Party insiders insist that in the presence of Advani, there’s no question of projecting any other leader for the Prime Ministership. But they all know that there’s actually no one that the party can rely upon at the national stage. Be it Sushma Swaraj or Arun Jaitley or even party president Nitin Gadkari, no one can actually has the gravitas. Also, their stature would not help keep the allies together, or even make new ones. Jaitley would find it extremely difficult to convince Nitish, similarly Gadkari would have his hands full if he were to cultivate the Thackerays, and Sushma will find it hard to bat with the Akalis.
Sushma, Jaitley or Nitin Gadkari would not be acceptable to the allies as their unquestioned leader. So, Advani clearly wins the race since he is not just acceptable to all the allies due to his experience and age, but has over the years also tried to cultivate a ‘’secular” image.
The battle for 2014 is still three years away. Several articles would be written on the subject till then, but for now, we stand vindicated on what we said on the 20th September.
26/11 Victims Are Still Crying
Nov 11th
Tears in their eyes haven’t dried up yet. Victims of 26/11 terror tragedy are still crying. Their pain is unimaginable and it can’t be forgotten. This government needs to be reminded that it announced a zero-tolerance against terror and ‘no-talks’ with Pakistan until the perpetrators of 26/11 are brought to book. Not sure if those in this government, including Dr Manmohan Singh, remember this and still feels the pain of 26/11 victims. The Prime Minister after all termed his Pakistani counterpart ‘a man of peace’, he seems to have forgotten that dark day in Mumbai. The sacrifice and tragedy lost its significance in a single stroke. The question is, who can we trust now?
Can a man so far found wanting on his commitment to fight terror deliver on his promise? Suddenly PM Manmohan Singh declares his counterpart a man of peace. India must stand up and take notice. We require a clear and unambiguous stand on the issue of terror, especially post-26/11. Don’t forget Dr Singh it’s your government that made a commitment to bring all the culprits of 26/11 to book and till then ruled out dealing with Pakistan.
What’s has changed since then? As far as India’s public opinion is concerned, nothing has changed. But this government seems to have its own notion. Out of nowhere, the Dr Singh stands with Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani at Addu Atoll in Maldives and announces that the past can be forgotten. Yes, its that easy! 26/11 can be forgotten because what’s important is talks with Pakistan. If this is so, then Dr Singh’s own decision of scrapping all links with Pakistan and putting the dialogue on hold should be questioned. Is he not contradicting himself, and almost attempting to describe himself as a man of peace himself?
The government needs to answer to the victims of terror, not just of 26/11, but all the other cases where Pakistan is allegedly involved. Many would argue that life doesn’t teach you to keep your wounds open but allows them to heal. However, the stark reality of life is that this applies only to those who are on the other side of the fence. What about those who are suffering? Go to them, and you would get an answer on what this government should be doing.
The first responsibility of this government should be towards its citizens. If they are in pain, how can you smile?
The pain, sadness and sufferings of these families is getting sidelined — not sure if under duress or by choice. If under duress, then have we lost the courage and commitment to argue our position and stick to what we say. But if this is all happening by choice, then obviously one would ask what about those promises that were made to 26/11 victims. We went all out to declare a war on terror but never had the guts and courage to put our foot down in front of the United States, international community or even Pakistan.
We must stand up and face it. This doesn’t augur well for any government or regime as it shows that with time we have a habit of going back and often give the impression that ”we are a soft state”. India has face several terror attacks, but never ever have we stood up to give a befitting reply — militarily or diplomatically. One can understand that militarily there is a sort of hesitation considering the changed scenario, but diplomatically?
There’s no argument that this government can put forth to justify its decision to extend its arms of friendship at this stage with nothing in hand. Why lose face even in front of those who believed your words and went along with your commitment. The cost of the pain and agony that the victims of terror, especially 26/11, are going through for years should never be forgotten.
People and their feelings should take precedence over any diplomacy because the scar of terror can never be wiped out.
Stand firm and let the world realise that what we say makes sense and we care about our people. Let Pakistan fall in line and then we will talk.
This blow hot, blow cold policy doesn’t take us anywhere because history would prove that one more terror attack and the government’s perception vis-a-vis Pakistan would be back to square one. Let’s at least care for the tears of the victims of 26/11, they have not dried up yet Dr Manmohan Singh.
Laloo Prasad Yadav’s Lost Glory
Nov 4th
He was a man of many parts. He had his unique style. And he made people stand up and take notice. He was called the Management Guru for scripting the revival of Indian Railways. He brought the Railways out of slumber to make it a success story. He was credited with bringing the novel idea of ”Charbaha Vidyalaya” – school for animal grazers. He was called the master politician for ensuring a government in Bihar for 15 long years for his party. And then he was also called ”Kingmaker” for helping the Congress form its government in 2004.
Yes I am talking about Laloo Prasad Yadav, the man who doesn’t need any introduction in Indian politics. It’s his distinct style which made you always believe that ”you can hate him, love him, but you just can’t ignore him”. That was the kind of magic that Laloo created in Indian polity. There was a time when whatever Laloo did hit the headlines. From cooking in kitchen, to milching his cows, he did every thing possible to catch the eyeballs. In a short time he became the darling of the Indian media. Laloo and his style of ”Kurtaphaad (Kurta-tearing) Holi” became a phenomen. It was the most talked about Holi celebrations post-Raj Kapoor’s star-studded Holi in the RK Studios. Thousands would queue up at Laloo’s residence in Patna or Delhi (wherever he stayed) from early in the morning to see their clothes getting torn at the hands of their beloved leader. It gave them a kick and they went out of Laloo’s house elated. I wonder if they celebrated the festival of colour with their leader this time.
Laloo the showman was once unstoppable, he made Chhath popular across the country. His 1, Anay Marg residence in Patna would be abuzz with activities for three days. His wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi would be the centre of attraction as she would hold fast for three days praying for her politician husband. From the time the celebrations would begin on the first day and till they came to an end on the third, no one who came would move out of Anay Marg.
Laloo would cancel all his appointments and stay put in Patna to be alongside his fasting wife. Initially, Laloo and Rabri would go to the bank of the Ganges to worship the Sun – the god of light. Even though the story in the state was very different – light was nowhere to be seen and people would be forced to manage with Lantern, the symbol of Laloo’s political party the Rashtriya Janta Dal. You could call it ironic or a brilliant strategy, while Laloo prayed to the Sun god for light in his life, he kept his state in the shadow of darkness, quite literally.
However, the number of participants in Laloo’s Chhath celebrations grew every year and the master politician had to shift the celebrations to his official residence, creating a makeshift pond to allow Rabri Devi to take the holy dip.
This continued for the next several years when Laloo and then his wife were in power. The story, however, changed thereafter. The Laloo magic started waning. As the years passed, Laloo’s charisma diminished and so did the crowd at his residence — even during Chhath celebrations. ‘Light’ was brought back into the life of people of Bihar with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar purchasing electricity from other states, and again quite ironically the ‘lantern’ in Laloo’s life began to flicker, and switched off. He stopped going to the banks of the Ganges to seek light in his life. He now celebrates the festival from wherever he is! The queue is gone and his loyalists have ditched him.
This time Laloo was in Delhi to celebrate the festival with his fasting wife. The media was there, but the magic was missing. He did not make headlines. Not too many came to turn it into a grand event. However, Laloo can take consolation from the fact that Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit came to wish Rabri and got a picture clicked with the couple, and fortunately it figured in a couple of newspapers. For a man fighting hard to find political space again, this was not a bad deal.
The festival came and went – with people trying to figure out if this was the same Laloo Prasad Yadav who at his peak made news channels and newspapers dance to his tunes. Today, there are no flashbulbs and celebrations have lost colour. The style is gone, and the flamboyance is missing. The man who was once the so called kingmaker, today he is a virtual political outcast, trying hard to revive his old magic . The glory of Laloo Prasad Yadav seems to have been lost forever…
Team Anna: Shedding Saffron Taint!
Oct 14th
With Anna Hazare and his team taking on the Congress openly, speculation was rife whether the team was working to further the political interests of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. First the BJP took the lead in supporting the cause of Anna Hazare and then RSS backed it. After this, Anna himself hit out against the Congress. And finally, the RSS chief joined the bandwagon emphasizing that the Sangh was involved in the anti-corruption campaign of Anna Hazare. If that was not enough, in the Hissar bypoll Team Anna openly campaigned against the Congress. Not just this, Team Anna members camped in Hissar till the elections to goad the electorate to vote against the Congress.
Anna’s fight against the Congress has somehow created an impression that he and his team are hand-in-glove with the Sangh to further the interests of the BJP. This has deeply worried Team Anna as it really doesn’t want to shed the impression of being a secular front fighting against corruption. Team Anna was quick to dispel any doubts over their agenda clearly stating that they had nothing to do with the BJP or the RSS. In fact, Team Anna was quick to point out why it opposed the Congress – ”it is a principled stand that since Congress is the ruling party, the onus of getting the Jan Lokpal Bill passed lies with it. By not being able to do so, it deserved to be blamed and to be voted out.” Members of Team Anna have been heard saying this during the campaign for Hissar Lok Sabha bypoll.
The message hit home, especially after the recent attack on Advocate Prashant Bhushan, a key member of Team Anna. The attack on him has helped Team Anna to justify its stance that they are not with the Saffron brigade, as some political parties believe. Rather, they are being targeted for their open remarks and views on corruption and Jan Lokpal Bill which is their primary agenda.
The attack on Prashant Bhushan by Ram Sene, which claims to have links with the RSS has helped Team Anna to establish their credentials of not being soft towards the Saffron Brigade. The attack on Prashant Bhushan’s supporters yesterday has probably firmly established this perception beyond doubt. Anna Hazare was quick to put this out as he completely denied having associated with the RSS during his anti-corruption movement at Ramlila Ground or at Jantar Mantar. He termed the RSS stand as their figment of imagination.
Anna knows that his statements in the past month have been quite contradictory, atleast politically (read my blog ”Mr Anna Hazare: Be Consistent). So it was imperative for him to clarify his stand, rather then be a fence-sitter. Also, Anna was almost forced to make his stand clear in view of the growing offensive from Congress leaders like Digvijay Singh who openly charged him with acting at the behest of the RSS.
The attacks – first on Prashant Bhushan and then on his supporters – which is being interpreted as an attack on free speech and on our democratic, constitutional set-up could not have come at a more appropriate time for Team Anna when it is facing the threat of being branded as a saffron branch of the BJP. The attacks would do wonders for Team Anna in re-establishing the perception that they are ‘’secular” and not a part of the saffron brigade.
So, are the attacks a boon for Team Anna? Some would still insist that there’s more to it than meets the eye…
