Archive for the ‘Political’ Category
Jaitely and Shah: Not the best person to defend Modi
Modi degree issue not seems to be ending anytime soon. With Kejriwal attaching the issue with Agusta, BJP has gone all out to defend Modi. In a press conference, Shah and Jaitely came out with what they called the real BA/MA degrees of Modi.
As per my earlier position, it doesn’t matter to me whether Modi has/does not have degree. But this press conference from Shah and Jaitley was not a well thought one. No two worse people could have come out in defense of PM Modi. Come’on, you couldn’t get any better people than pretentious Jaitely and Power Broker Shah?
I understand after yesterdays rally by AAP alleging match fixing between BJP and Congress for Degree-Agusta issue, there was a need for BJP to defend itself. But these were not the right people to do it. Both of them are not liked even by Modi supporters. Jaitley and Shah are looked upon as all that is wrong with the Govt and the Party. Fronting these two people? What more I can say.
It is just like what Congress used to do. Remember the times when Kapil Sibbal used to hold such press conferences. He used to defend UPA in 2G/CWG/Coal and what not. The only credibility he had was when he stood in front of the mirror. For public at large he was arrogant Lutyens Delhi power elite. His defense hurt Congress more than it helped. BJP is doing the same. Jaitley and Shah are not the right people to have come out in Modi’s defense.
Modi should know better. For me I don’t need any justification from Modi. And certainly not from people like Jaitley and Shah!
Liberal Extremism and The Guilt Syndrome
Oxford dictionary defines a Liberal as “Willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own”. By the sound of it liberal sounds better than conservative. Who wouldn’t like to be called a liberal in light of the above definition, Right?
Well the reality is a bit strange. If you are willing to accept different opinion you are a liberal. Things were fine till then. Liberals stood for equal rights to women, minorities, same-sex marriages and other such issues you can think of. They respected the views of other persons. There was a time in history when liberal movement grew across the world and wiped out the extreme people who called themselves conservatives. Well almost!
Slowly the liberals hard grained into their own “liberal” beliefs. So much so that didn’t realize when they became extremists. They stopped respecting views different from theirs. They started hooliganism in the name of liberty. If you differ, you will be dealt with. How dare you differ?
The rise of liberal extremism is scarier than conservative extremism. I’ll tell you why. Liberal extremists are like unknown foes. They confuse people that they are not extreme by attaching liberal to it. They trick people. With Conservative extreme, you already know what you getting into. There is no trickery. A friend of mine once said, “You have to be careful with your friends. With your enemy you know he will hurt you and you are vigilant. It’s the friends you have to be more careful with as you don’t expect”.
Same goes for liberal extremists. They disguise themselves as liberals when in reality they are extremists.
Now about the Guilt syndrome. This is the perfect weapon of liberals. Shame someone to the point of guilt for getting their way. To them anyone who is against illegal immigration is a racist; anyone who values religion is a fanatic; anyone who says anything against women, even if true, is a sexist. They go to extremes and then shame the person often into submission. If that doesn’t work, they don’t hesitate getting violent. The Guilt Syndrome works mostly. Character assassination by liberals is a common phenomenon these days.
I would any day take conservative extremism as it is a known and I will be cautious. With Liberal extremism I know they will dagger me in the back one fine day.
Modi Degree issue and underlying hypocrisy
Let me make my position clear on the Degree issue of PM Modi before going into the critique of the situation. I don’t think degree holds any weightage for becoming a PM/CM or any elected official. Unless public education becomes free, State can’t put any weightage on formal education at least for election purposes. Informal education which comes from hardships of life does not make anyone less human. First the society makes education out of the reach of poor people and then wants to put bar on people for the lack of it. This can’t work. Although no one is barred in India but I have seen a trend brewing.
For me if Modi has or doesn’t have a degree, it doesn’t make him any less qualified to lead our nation.
Getting that out of the way let me come to the current issue. This is not primarily about PM’s qualification but about the disclosures made in election affidavits. Here comes the hypocrisy part. For me anyone is free to enquire about PM’s degree disclosed in the affidavit and has every right to file an RTI demanding the same. But I see a lot of people taking exception to it. “How dare someone ask for Modi’s degree?” is the sentiment. I feel it is utterly wrong.
When Sonia’s qualifications are questioned, When Smriti’s qualifications are questioned, When Tomar’s qualifications are questioned, When Lalu Yadav’s son’s qualifications are questioned, one should keep some parity. We react as per our liking of the leader in question. Sonia degree issue crops up and BJP slams her to be a liar. Tomar’s degree issue and he spent few nights in jail and had to resign as a Minister. But when Smriti Irani and Modi are questioned, it is sacrilege.
Same I will say about Congress and other opposition parties. When their leaders are questioned its witch hunting but when you question the other side, it’s your right?
I feel enquiring Modi’s degree via RTI is okay. Anyone has the right. No one should cry foul. If you do then you have to address all the past positions taken by you. And if you don’t address them, it will expose your hypocrisy. Fun part is I haven’t seen Modi himself complaining, just the new breed of sycophants shouting their lungs out.
Hillary vs Obama
Now that it is evident that Hillary and Trump will clash off this Nov to be the leader of the free world, the analysis have started. With #NeverTrump and #NeverHillary doing rounds and un-favorability ratings of both candidates huge, this is going to be an election beyond compare. Today I want to concentrate on Hillary. Let’s try and see how 2008 and 2016 are different for Democrats.
Just like 2016, 2008 too was an uprising against the status quo. Higher unemployment, never ending wars and crippled economy motivated voters to choose an outsider. While Obama was the disruptor, McCain represented the continuum.
Coming to the 2008 Democrat primaries, initially the super delegates were with the Hillary, just like this time. Obama channeled the young voters and forced the party to toe the line. Eventually his 4% margin in primaries forced super delegates to jump the ship.
This time round the youth is with Bernie. Hillary has benefitted with initial momentum and lack of early awareness about Bernie. As months have passed more and more people have come to know Bernie and things have changed for him. However Hillary has been supported by African Americans and Latinos big time. But the main problem is youth. They are not with Hillary.
This is what makes 2008 different from 2016. Last time young voters propelled Obama and party fell in line. This time party has propelled Hillary and it wants young voters to fall in line. I am not trying to take away anything from the lead Clinton has across other voter categories. It’s just that youth represent the future of any movement. Also youth are the ones which resulted in huge voter turnout in 2008. Going by Democrat primaries, there is a question mark over quantum of Democrat voter participation in Nov 2016.
While Trump is plagued with issues of his own making, Hillary is plagued with the magic of Bernie. How the General Election pans out is anybody’s guess. One thing is clear, Hillary is no Obama.
Why media got Trump prediction wrong?
Since Trump started topping polls and started winning primaries, media pundits are having a hard time explaining why they got predictions so wrong. It’s not an easy thing to introspect about ones failures. Most in media are passing through the same phase. They are blaming Trump voters, calling them angry, bigots and every name under the sun. Few have admitted they were wrong in their analysis. Still they are not ready to admit as to why they went wrong. Let me do it for them.
They were wrong as they were not impartial. They were wrong as they analyzed from studios. They were wrong as they were disconnected from public. They were wrong as their fat paychecks plugged their ears from the pain of the common man. They were wrong as they had a secure job, nice house and were paid for by those in power. They were wrong as the media houses they worked for and swore allegiance to, are owned by same elites who own politicians via campaign funds. More importantly they were wrong as they reported what they wanted to be true, not what was indeed true.
When polls started coming late last year, many in media knew that Trump had a solid chance. But they wrote otherwise. They wrote what they wished to be true. They wished Trump was not the nominee. Had they done unbiased analysis, they would have known the Truth, which was so evident.
Most of the Pundits are paid for by big business houses. Anything coming out of their mouths is thus tainted. They never say what they feel, they say what pays. Hence the disconnect.
Whether Trump will be a good nominee or a bad nominee, only time will tell. But to have said that he had no chance just coz they wanted him not to be a nominee, is where media went wrong. It’s time for biasness in media to go away or else people will force the exiting media to go away.
Agusta Scam: BJP, Congress, Media all culprits
AgustaWestland scam which was relegated to the sidelines by BJP, Congress and Media for last few years is back in news. Courtesy Italian Court which handed sentences to bribers and named prominent Congress leaders.
BJP has been quick to condemn Congress leaders to come clean. Wait what? Yes you heard it right. BJP is asking the thugs of Congress to come clean. Has any thug ever come clean voluntarily? Never! Let’s be every clear, it was gullible on our part that BJP wants to nab the corrupt. Nobody wants to do that. This was just a charade. Even now the posturing against Congress will continue till media flashes the story. No more. Ah! Yes, also during elections.
Media, which has also proven to be a commodity which was bought by these middlemen, will also sooner or later drop the headlines; either by getting paid off or in lieu of breaking news.
To me, more than the scams of Congress, what hurts is the inaction of BJP. Coz I had so high hopes of Modi. Maybe I was naïve.
Two years on, Vadra is still out. Vadra which whose name made many Indians’ blood boil; whose corruption was poll plank of BJP. He is still out of jail. What can we expect of other such promises? We should come to realize that nothing is going to happen to these bigshots. The best that will happen is they might not be allowed to do more of corruption. We should start feeling content with this.
I seriously hope, soon a national party, alternate to BJP and Congress emerges at the National Scene, with less history and lesser baggage. These seasoned politicians have done us in.
Free Land to Hema Malini for Dance Academy: Public Service. Really!
Recently the issue of free plot (almost) allotted to Hema Malini was in news. That she was a BJP MP, made things murkier. That the plot was in plush area of Mumbai made the deal sweet. Sometimes I wonder why these people want freebies. Then the realization, who doesn’t like freebies? Would I not like to get a free piece of land, if I can bend the system to my advantage?
The mere explanation we get is that these artists have earned it by their hard work. In this case, she will build a Dance Academy. Earlier there was a case of acting school of Subhash Ghai with same reasons. Ok fine, I can understand Govt must promote such endeavors but at what cost?
Will Hema Malini teach there for free? Has she given in writing that students won’t be charged? Of course not. Is Subhash Ghai not charging fees? Of Course not. This issue is age old. Most of the private schools are given land almost for free across India. They promise to take certain percentage of Economic Weaker students for free every year. But we all know what they do. Rich parents don’t want their wards to sit with poor people. Hence to maintain status, schools grease some palms and voila! No more poor students.
Apart from AAP Govt in Delhi, I haven’t seen any other state taking steps to see that EWS get through and that these people keep their word.
I have an admission to make. I have standing serious issues with Hema Malini. She is MP from a constituency of Mathura, which is next to my hometown Agra. I for one know that she has done nothing for Mathura. She got elected on back of Modi wave. She hardly spends any time in Mathura. Now I know why. She is busy grabbing land in Mumbai. It takes a lot of time lobbying anyways.
Thanks to RTI such people are getting exposed. Otherwise all these years, they grabbed land and no one knew. I am just venting out. Nothing else I can do. Hopefully things will change. But I suspect not.
Modi’s Pakistan Policy
Only Modi could have allowed Pakistan JIT to visit India. No other leader/party has political wherewithal to survive such a suicidal decision. BJP would have taken Congress’s anti-nationalism to town by now, had UPA would have done the same post 26/11. But that’s every party would have done owing to demands of ‘electoral democracy’.
I would count this as ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking by Modi, something which is required to deal with a contentious issue. Just imagine how a weak step of 1947 on Kashmir has plagued the nation this long. If Pakistan were non-nuclear, force was the best option, but Nuclear weapons make things tricky. We have tried every other approach with Pakistan over last 70 years to no avail. Now is a time for a new approach and that is what Modi is doing.
There are 99% chances that this will fail, but all other approaches have failed 100%. Pakistan has an ally in China at the UNSC who is ready to go the extra mile. India lacks such an ally. US change its policy with successive elections, just like India. Thus is never a serious ally. To put into perspective, what China is to Pakistan is what US has been to Israel. Blind support!
So we lack an ally at the big table. We have a nuclear armed enemy who is not ashamed of sending terrorists; an enemy whose army can replace Govt. any fine day; an army apparatus which is loathed in anger at India for being thrashed in successive wars over the years. What can Indian Govt. do?
We have a Pak PM Sharif, who is ready to risk as much as PM Modi in going that extra mile. Last time India came close to solving the issue was during Musharraf-Vajpayee era as both were strong leaders. Congress consortium could not have done anything anyways. Now again we have Modi-Sharif who are trying to workout Mano-2-Mano. And that is the only way forward I see; via personalities. Diplomacy at any other level does not hold much credence.
This is one problem where I fall short of suggesting a solution. I can find solace in the fact that even the experts fail too. Since I know Modi has good intentions in what he is doing, I will lend my support to him completely. When all else has failed, maybe he will succeed. Even if he failed, he would have failed trying his best.
NIT (Non-Indian Institute of Technology?)
What the hell is going on in Srinagar? I can empathize with the students. They are a selected lot of people who qualified to study at NIT. But I cannot say the same about the inefficient and biased administration.
I studied at IIT Guwahati. The region was considered insurgent and there were apprehensions enrolling. But what we experienced was fabulous. The locals were very supportive, helpful. They prided in having an Institute of National importance in the region. And never did we ever felt any problem.
But Srinagar problem seems to be out of bound. And the core issue is anti-India feelings in Kashmir. I won’t like to hold back here under the garb of political niceties. What is happening is shameful. And what is more appalling is silence of people like Nayantara Sehgal and her ilk. Where are the awards to be returned? They are hiding today. You know why? Coz supporting nationalistic cause does not get them recognition and moolah across the world. The world celebrates learned people from other countries who are ready to badmouth and malign their motherland. And such intellectuals revel in it; raking in the blood money.
And the insinuation that students are doing this to get transfers to other NITs is pathetic. They are selected top brains who have passed one of the toughest exams and just want to study.
I was against police action at JNU and I am against it in NIT. But what makes me angrier today is, at JNU police action was demonized against people who said, ‘Death to India’. Same opportunists are silent when and at Srinagar it is done to students who said, ‘Long live India’.
My take: What was done to outstation students at Srinagar was akin to racial profiling. They were beaten by local police to teach them a lesson. How dare they raise Indian Tri color? What this will do is damage the NIT Srinagar brand. Check the admission rankings next year. Not the brightest will opt to enroll.
Fighting for Freedom of Speech by Trampling others FoS
Both, worlds’ oldest and biggest democracies are gripped with discussion around Freedom of Speech (FoS). From JNU to Chicago, people have been made to sit up and take sides. Right wing is always blamed for rhetoric of dividing the society. Liberals and Lefts are the ones insinuating. But I see some issue here.
If liberals and lefts preach FoS they should honor the FoS of Right wing too. What we are seeing now and over the years, Left Liberals trying to Trample FoS of whoever disagrees with them. When Baba Ramdev is invited, JNU people scuttled his FoS. He is not allowed to speak. When Trump does a rally, protestors disguise themselves among his supporters and disrupt the proceedings, provoke supporters. Both sides have their right. JNU should have let Ramdev speak; same for Chicago protestors. They could have shown black flags and symbolically protested outside the venues.
I don’t have any issues with protests as such. I advocate FoS. But I don’t like to see other people’s FoS stifled under the garb of defending own FoS. Moreover I despise people trying to take moral high ground and being felicitated for it. AAP did it by giving ticket to the guy who threw shoe at Chidambaram. Liberal media did it by giving ample airtime to person who tried to attack Trump in one of his rally. If Kejriwal or Clinton was attacked the same way, Left Liberals would have raised a lot of hue and cry.
Let’s be consistent is all I ask.
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