By K Raveendran

Sushil Kutty

Sushil Kutty, who passed away on Sunday night, lived and wrote like a man apart — a loner in every sense, and yet deeply connected to the world through the force of his words. A regular columnist for the India Press Agency for the last ten years, Sushil was that rare journalist whose writing transcended political lines, winning admiration from across the ideological spectrum. He belonged to no camp, pledged loyalty to no doctrine, but carried within him a fierce and personal sense of politics — one shaped less by theory and more by life’s raw encounters.

To call him a ‘new generation’ writer would be to state the obvious, though in truth, he was one long before the term was coined. His prose was fluid, fearless, and unfailingly original — an effortless blend of precision and passion. Every Sushil Kutty piece had a certain rhythm, a conversational energy that drew readers in and left them richer, wiser, sometimes unsettled, but never bored. Few among his peers could match his range or his fluency. Whether dissecting political hypocrisy, recounting a tragedy, or describing a fashion show with unselfconscious curiosity, his pen moved with the same agility.

It was as a reporter that Sushil first made his mark. His coverage of the Meerut riots for The Indian Express in the turbulent eighties remains a benchmark in fearless reporting — a time when journalism was more about courage than convenience. Working in a communally charged atmosphere, he produced dispatches that were not only balanced and humane but also deeply insightful, capturing the fraught essence of those days.

But Sushil was never one to be confined by geography or genre. From the dusty lanes of Delhi, he moved to the gleaming city of Dubai, where he proved that even in tightly controlled spaces, journalism could still breathe. As a city reporter for Khaleej Times and later as Editor of UAE Digest, the Emirates’ only current affairs magazine then, he continued to write with honesty and verve. In an environment where many journalists walked on eggshells, he managed to produce stories that were both readable and real — a quiet rebellion against the idea that press freedom must bow to authority.

His professional journey also took him through some of India’s most respected publications — DNA, The Free Press Journal, and The Indian Express among them — leaving behind a body of work that spoke for itself, unlabelled and unembellished.

Sushil’s politics, like his prose, was intensely personal. He was never religious, yet he would not renounce the faith he was born into — a decision that cost him dearly. His refusal to convert to Islam while working in Dubai, despite the legal requirement that would have allowed him to live with his Muslim wife, became a defining moment. It marked the end of his family life, but not of his conviction. He chose integrity over comfort, solitude over compromise — choices that summed up the man he was.

Behind his easy humour and quick wit, Sushil carried a melancholy that only solitude could nurture. He was a man of few close companions but plenty of followers, a writer who understood that loneliness could be both burden and muse. In a profession increasingly crowded with noise and posturing, he remained disarmingly quiet — his rebellion was in the clarity of his thought, his refusal to bend, his insistence on writing as he saw, not as he was told to see.

Sushil Kutty’s passing leaves a silence that words can’t quite fill. He lived without pretence, wrote without fear, and walked his path alone — not because he wanted to be different, but because he could not be otherwise.

In the end, perhaps that was his greatest statement: that truth, when told in one’s own voice, is the only companionship a writer ever truly needs. (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

Rare minerals included lots of ores, this was something we were taught in school and we learned about stone age, copper age and iron age, the last of which remains to this day the most basic of minerals, out of which was born steel and the term steely strength, like in ‘Superman the man of steel’. There are also alloys and when the pressure cooker lets off steam, it could be from an aluminium vessel.

Now, there is a group of stones (what else?) called ‘rare earth’ hidden in the belly of Earth, buried in the innards of what Edgar Rice Burroughs called Pellucidar, the centre of Earth’.

Rare earth, which has far and wide applications, those which set hierarchies of nations and transitioned countries to economic and military powers, ranking them from unipolar to multi-polar.

Those with rare earths are head and shoulders above. Is it a coincidence that China has the most rare earths and that China is knocking on the No.1 country’s door?

And will China then be in a position to knock the United States of the pedestal? True, the United States is still hard to catch-up with, but isn’t the perception there that rare earths will make all the difference?

And United States President Donald Trump knows this better than earlier presidents who even if they had an inkling of did not dwell deep. Rare earths must not have struck them. President Trump is no orange-head, he has a clear head on his shoulders and he stands upright despite his swollen feet.

The United States always took Pakistan for a strategic and geopolitical asset, a “do more”. crony, but Trump caught on to Pakistan’s true value. Now there are geopolitical analysts who are talking of Washington’s changed relationship with Pakistan and why Pakistan is suddenly on a “solid footing” with the United States, exporting the “first consignment of minerals purportedly containing rare earths to the US”.

The Pakistan government called it a “weekend sale”, a “historic milestone for bilateral cooperation.” The first batch of enriched rare earth elements and critical minerals” to US Strategic Metals (USSM), which has a $500 million partnership.

Pakistani politicians and Pakistani media are on Cloud 9. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and self-designated Field Marshal Asim Munir possibly on Cloud 10. It does not bother them; they have brushed aside China, which has the most rare earths, the veins must run deep under Pakistan, too.

There are people unhappy with the Trump-Munir-Shehbaz deal in Pakistan but they’re behind bars and Trump will not let them take a hand in the high-stakes deal. The backlash is containable. So long as Trump is President; Trump’s older sons get their crypto-dreams fulfilled in Pakistan and China remains tied in the periphery.

The Pakistani rare export deal was struck during President Trump’s meeting with Sharif and Munir at the White House. China has a near monopoly over rare earth elements export, a requirement for industries such as automobiles and rocketry to advanced computing.

“Today, Pakistan steps forward as a credible and trusted partner in building secure and diversified supply chains for the future of our two nations.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said. The Pakistani lobby in the United States considers it as a success and a failure for the much vaunted India lobby.

President Trump has upended India’s supremacy in South Asia. Pakistan has started calling itself as a “regional superpower” and the United States sees a lot coming out of the US-Pakistan anti-India nexus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not anticipate what was coming out of a second Trump.

So much so, Modi seems to have no legs to stand on. A poor cousin to Shehbaz Sharif. “In this first shipment, Pakistan has indigenously sourced and prepared: Antimony, Copper concentrate; and rare earth elements with neodymium and praseodymium,” said a statement.

Neodymium and praseodymium are present in the form of compounds, never as pure, free metals. It takes years to separate, and refine rare earth elements. Even the US does not have full self-sufficiency in the rare earth supply chain.

Things came to a head with the Trump tariffs and China cut of supply of rare earths to the USA, which for USA will take 10-20 years, what’s called “mine-to-magnet” domestic supply chain.

The Pakistan statement talked of the “strategic and economic significance” for Pakistan. Sharif and Munir can siphon off millions of dollars and so can Pakistan earn billions and billions in revenue, large-scale employment generation.

Pakistan’s natural resources are estimated at around $6 Trillion, making it one of world leaders in metals and rare earth minerals. The US-Pakistan rare earth deal is being touted as a strategic safeguard against external monopolies.”We see this as the first step in our exciting journey together with the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) of Pakistan, to provide critical minerals to the United States and bolster economic trade and friendship between our two countries,” an American rare earths expert said.

How these developments will impact India and India happens to be the arch enemy of Pakistan and because Chanakya warned centuries ago A’s enemy is B and if B is also friend of C, A cannot be C’s friend. Kind of convoluted but not easy to decipher. The Chinese have a monopoly in rare earths, the Pakistanis have tonnes of the elements and the United States has a conduit courtesy Pakistan, where does that leave India? (IPA Service)

The article Pakistan Is The Dearest To Trump In Asia As Islamabad Exports Rare Earth Minerals appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

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By Sushil Kutty

There’s this theory going around that the Congress, wherever it has fought elections in recent years, from Haryana to Maharashtra, and now Bihar in the offing, it fought with its INDIA bloc allies more than with the BJP, the party to beat if the INDIA Bloc has to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power, which is what’s indispensable.

What formula is this, is this strategy or tactic? Why suddenly send signals that Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal is equally an opponent as the BJP/JDU and ChiragPaswan’s fledgling outfit? The Congress should be counting its blessings that it has friends in the right place, meaning Bihar, the electorate of the state had for all purposes, given up on the Grand Old Party.

It’s been a losing time since the Congress ruled the roost in Bihar and it’s about time the party showed signs of revival, which it can do with help from allies, especially The Rashtriya Janata Dal, Everybody knows Lalu Prasad Yadav practically eats out of the hands of the ‘Gandhi Family’ and has sworn that his goal is to make Rahul Gandhi Prime Minister.

Yet, there appears to be a reluctance in the Gandhi Parivar which is reflected in the “reversal in its attitude towards both foes and friends,” says one political analyst of the rightwing bent of mind . He cites Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar as a success but insists that it left Congress allies disappointed.

For them, the yatra was only that of the Congress to own and fete. Rahul Gandhi’s refusal to endorse Tejashwi Yadav for Chief Minister is apparent. Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan was a given, why was Rahul Gandhi acting like he did not agree. Tejashwi Yadav wasn’t opposing Rahul Gandhi’s ambition.

Does the Congress fear supporting Tejashwi Yadav for ‘Chief Minister’ might harm its own chances in garnering votes, perhaps dent its own performance among certain castes/votebanks? Maybe the Congress is targeting a bigger and varied umbrella of votes. How about the upper-caste vote bank?

Besides, there is Tejashwi Yadav’s image. He is an accused in 35 cases, which reminds of the fodder scam and Lalu Prasad Yadav. The Congress has enough such problems to saddle more. For the entire Mahagathbandhan to be termed a criminal enterprise isn’t going to help either party.

How many seats is the Congress expecting from the coalition? Grapevine says the Congress expects at least 70 seats. The RJD, however, won’t spare as many and believes the assembly elections are not the same as a general election.

Also, there is a communication gap between the Congress and the RJD. If one is elitist in both outlook and within, the other is castebound and vastly more grassroots. At least that is the perception. The castes of the RJD had long ago junked the Congress.

The communication gap has ensured neither Tejashwi Yadav nor Rahul Gandhi get to come down to real-time negotiations. The ends are not tied. And if the RJD considers itself “senior partner”, the same is not appreciated by the “junior partner”.

There’s also talk that the Congress wanted the expansion of the Mahagathbandhan, a tug of war which it lost, actually a “survival tool” as seen by the party high-command. The Mahagathbandhan resisted and “other coalition partners on board” was a non-starter.

The RJD-Congress alliance is 25 years old ally. Yet Lalu Yadav’s RJD is in direct contest with the Congress in several assembly constituencies and there’s been a continuous tussle between the two parties for the coveted Muslim vote bank. For the 2025 assembly elections at least this is something that stands in the way of smooth relations.

After so long in political wilderness, Bharat’s grand old party is hungry to return to power at the Centre and for that to happen, the party has to build up in all parts for the sum of the parts is what makes up the whole. The Congress can give no party the edge, neither foe nor friend, it would amount to committing harakiri.

Final thought, this may be the reason why the Congress appeared to have been fighting the BJP in Haryana, Maharashtra and seemingly so in Bihar, too, but was also not fully in cahoots with allies in the INDIA bloc. The Congress cannot but decide its ties with other opposition parties as time is running out and if Bihar is lost, that will be one less nail available to drive into the pine box. (IPA Service)

The article Congress Should Go The Whole Hog With Its Ally RJD In Coming Bihar Polls appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

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By Sushil Kutty

Ahead of the expansion of SIR to the rest of the Union of States, the Election Commission of India has rejected Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s fresh charge on Thursday against CEC Gyanesh Kumar as ‘baseless’. “Allegations made by Shri Rahul Gandhi are incorrect and baseless. No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public,” the ECI spoke for itself.

Does constitutional bodies have the power and option to clear charges leveled against them by anybody? The Election Commission of India (EC) on Thursday dismissed as “incorrect and baseless” Rahul’s allegations against CEC Gyanesh Kumar that he was shielding people involved in voter deletions from electoral rolls of poll-bound states, widely referred to as “Vote Chori.:

The Leader of Opposition in tis allegations of “Vote Chori” from numerous forums including from pressers and rallies. In fact, “Vote Chori” is now all across India even as the ECI is preparing the ground for the imposition of its special intensive drive (SIR) in other states. Poll-bound West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are in the list. Preparations are also under way in Uttar Pradesh, which is BJP-ruled.

Rahul Gandhi has been repeating his charge against the CEC again and again and the ECI had given him an ultimatum to retract and apologise within so many days. But there was no retraction nor an apology. If anything, there was no ECI action taken either, till this rebuttal that CEC Gyaneswar Kumar is innocent of all charges, go figure!

The ECI said the contention that deletion of any vote can be done online by anybody is “misconceived”. It went on to say that “no voter can be removed from the rolls without due process and no deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person”, something which cannot be taken at face value as the country is full of “affected persons” crying to be “heard”, including among them thousands of the long dead.

On Gandhi’s allegation on Karnataka’s Aland constituency, the ECI admitted attempts were made in 2023 to illegally delete voters but covered up by saying that the attempts were unsuccessful and that an FIR was filed by the ECI for a probe. It gave a clean-chit to the elections in Aland and that it was a “fair outcome”; that the BJP’s Subhadh Guttedar was winner by all counts.

But none of ECI’s clarifications satisfy Gandhi, who had accused Gyanesh Kumar of protecting and giving cover to “vote chors”, stating that those “destroying Indian democracy” must be exposed and held to account, Fact is opposition leaders had gone to the extent of tracing their whereabouts even if they had retired and punished.

Rahul Gandhi had alleged voter deletions were carried out systematically, using automated software. He cited Karnataka’s Aland and Maharashtra’s Rajura constituencies. Gandhi claimed Karnataka CID had written 18 times to the ECI in the past 18 months, all in vain. “EC knows who is doing this. They are defending the murderers of democracy,” he said.

Gandhi spoke of “atom bomb” and “hydrogen bomb” revelations of “vote chori”. Next, will Rahul Gandhi approach court with his vote theft allegations? Apparently, Rahul’s team has help “from within” the ECI. And on Thursday Rahul Gandhi shot back at CEC Gyanesh Kumar, doubling down on the vote theft allegations.

This time Gandhi has claimed that votes are still being systematically deleted. The LoP asked Gyanesh Kumar to answer to Karnataka’s CID about vote deletion allegations and giving the CEC a week to answer.

“We are presenting criminality in front of you. Our job is to present the truth in front of you. Institutions other than the EC, judicial system needs to look into this. We have conclusively shown that the same force is deleting and adding voters,” Rahul said.

Where is all this going? The ECI-Rahul Gandhi saga is not going to end anytime soon. How far will Rahul Gandhi take the war is a no-brainer. The Election Commission’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls has moved to other states apart from Bihar. Rahul Gandhi’s claim of “same force” manipulating voter lists across states cannot be set aside as just another of the LoP’s imaginations. The ball continues to remain in the CEC’s court.

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday announced that preparations were on to implement SIR in the state and Tamil Nadu happens to be an opposition ruled state with the Congress as a ruling partner. Chief Minister MK Stalin was recently in Bihar where he made a point to refer to vote-theft. (IPA Service)

The article CEC Officially Refutes Fresh Allegations By Rahul Gandhi Against Him On Vote Chori appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on IPA Newspack.

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By Sushil Kutty

Nepal burned and continues to simmer. Next, France is in turmoil. French citizens have invaded streets and roads blocking all that stands in their way, from roads and buildings and commercial establishments. The agitators are calling it ‘Block #verything Movement’, which is not only telling, prophetic and on the dot but is working, too.

The protestors couldn’t have asked for a more non-violent method of protesting than blocking everything in sight. In other words, bring the country to a halt. It is working. Much of France is on the road and violence very much part of the process.

Like they say, the process is the punishment and recent rulers have erred enough to keep France burning. It beats thinking that French President Emmanuel Macron still hasn’t got a grip on how to run a multi-faceted country like France which has a tendency to run in every which way but the desired.

So, the world is going crazy. The United States overnight lunged into debacle and defiance after the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, one of very few who had a direct line to the Oval Office. Kirk has been assassinated and the American flag all round the planet is on half-mast.

The ‘Star Spangled’ will remain stuck at half-mast till Sunday, a rare honour for an American who held no position of power in government or the Trump administration. But Charlie was perhaps the single most close aide and unlike the likes of Elon Musk.

Charlie spun the web for President Donald Trump and he did this with a spontaneous effort, bringing to the MAGA fold ever increasing numbers of floating Americans. Charlie and his ‘Turning Point…’ campaigned for Trump’s 2024 presidential run and Trump has got a body-blow with Kirk’s assassination.

Kirk has left behind him a huge and unfillable hiatus. If there eerie similarities between Kirk’s assassination and the failed assassination attempt on President Trump in 2024, the only link is the two shared the same conservative platform except that Kirk was born to the manor and Trump wasn’t.

Trump wound up on the Republican idea of the aisle for purely political ambitions. Kirk on the other hand was the natural-born American, somebody who reflected on conservative values and wore those values as a badge of honour.

Charlie Kirk’s assassination is part of the current rightwing-leftwing narrative. The Trump administration is considered rightwing and Europe is packed to the brim with rightwing regimes. France maybe yes, maybe not. But there definitely is a veer to the right.

Is the ‘Block Everything’ movement left-liberal? To some the “Stir is not entirely dissimilar to that in Nepal, where groups of young people with no clear leader held massive protests”. Extreme rightwing is behind the one after another unrests.

What could be other reasons? The immediate reasons differ. Analysts are speaking of a “fractured polity” as a common thread. It is a war of two worlds. The rise of the extreme right and the resultant blowback. Macron inducted his third Prime minister just last week.

The widespread protests in countries worldwide, the violence, arson and now assassination, too. President Macron’s “centrist regime” is under tremendous stress. Can newly appointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu stem the rot spilling out? There is the “combative rightwing and the raging leftists”.

This is not entirely dissimilar to what happened and is happening in Nepal, where regime change is ongoing though there is no clear leader. Nepal today is running on empty. Political stability is a far cry. The last Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is nowhere to be seen. A rapper and a former Chief Justice of Nepal are being touted his successor. Nepal, for all purposes, has to be ready for a long political uncertainty.

As for Franc e, the rightwing is driving the government from behind But there’s this grassroots movement called ‘Let’s Block Everything’ that has thrown a spoke in Macron’s wheel and there are growing cries for Macron’s resignation who is holding on to power on a diet of ‘adamant stubborn’. France today is a picture of disrupted schools, trains, airline and factories. There’s a nationwide strike called for September 18.

From Nepal to France and now assassination of a Trump loyalist in USA, it is anger all over- the issues may vary from nation to nation. The global turbulence sees no ending in sight starting with Ukraine war, the genocide in Gaza and lately Poland’s attack on Russian planes in its skies. India is still safe, but for how long? (IPA Service)

The article From Nepal To France And Now Political Assassination In US—The Globe Is Burning appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Nobody can beat the Prime Minister in breathing fire at adversaries. Especially, when his ire is directed at Pakistan. The Pakistanis, they can be irritating, damn! But Pakistani newspapers would have spent much of May 22 reworking their scripts after Prime Minister Modi went all out against the Pak Army and the Pakistan government, Pakistanis in general.

Modi does not like Pakistan. And Pakistanis do not like Modi. The lack of a fan club is mutual. Modi is lucky he returned home to New Delhi after he took that detour to Lahore. By the skin of his teeth, said one of those grammarly sorts. “You never know.” But then, IAF officer Abhinandan was “returned”.

PM Modi was in Bikaner Thursday, not far from the International Border and not too far from the Rahim Yar Khan airbase in Pakistan, which Modi said “is in the ICU” following India’s airstrikes at Pakistan’s airbases. At one point in his fiery address, Modi spoke of ‘Sindoor turns into barood’, clearly not in a mood to give quarter to Pakistan.

India’s “swift response brought Pakistan to its knees,” Modi said. Absolutely, but who will convince Pakistan, which continues to assert that Pakistan won the “War” and Pakistan won fair and square.

Pakistan is immune to India’s precision strikes. Pakistan has refused to accept Modi’s “new normal” set for Pakistan: One more terror attack and it will be an all-out war, forget the diplomatic nuances!

Bikaner was in the crosshairs of Pakistan’s Turkiye and Chinese drones from May 7 to 9. “After the airstrike, I came to Churu and said, ‘I swear on this soil, I will not let my country be destroyed, I will not let my country bow down’. Today, from the soil of Rajasthan, I want to tell the countrymen, those who had set out to wipe off the vermilion have been reduced to dust.

“Those who were proud of their weapons are buried under a pile of rubble today…we destroyed 9 major terrorist hideouts in just 22 minutes… The enemies of the nation and the world have now seen what happens when vermilion turns into gunpowder.”

Pakistan can never win in a direct one-on-one fight with India. “Therefore, it uses terrorism as a weapon. Pakistan spread terrorism, killed innocent people, and created an environment of terror…”

But, said Modi, going to third-person for emphasis, “Now the servant of Mother India, Modi is standing here with pride. Modi’s mind is cold, but his blood is hot. In Modi’s veins, not blood, but hot Sindoor runs!”

With that said and the air turning hot like Modi’s blood, Modi went on to breathe fire at Pakistan: “If Pakistan continues to export terrorists, it will be left begging for every penny. Pakistan will not get a single drop of water…This is India’s resolve, and no power in the world can deter us from this commitment.”

Prime Minister Modi taunted and threatened Pakistan with the worst- “No trade, no talks with Pakistan and if talks take place, they will focus on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.” So much for Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s confidence that “talks will be held in Saudi Arabia.”

If PM Modi’s big message goes home, into the quivering hearts of Pakistanis, Pakistan’s newspapers would be more cautious when referring to Modi as sharing Hitler’s mantle along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Modi in Bikaner made it plain that there wouldn’t be “any talks” but Shehbaz Sharif says Saudi Arabia would be “neutral venue” for India-Pakistan talks on critical issues including Kashmir. Somebody should tell Shehbaz Sharif high expectations can kill!

Pakistan’s situation right now is serious like cancer! Pakistan’s newly anointed Field Marshal believes United States President Donald Trump will walk the talk and Shehbaz is also banking on President Trump.

But Modi says “no power on earth”, which leaves Trump out in the cold. And Pakistan is not helping by charging India with the terrorist attack on a school bus in Balochistan. A defence expert of Pakistan asked, “India attacked after Pahalgam, what will Pakistan do now, nothing?”

The defence expert, who fancies his word carries weight in Pakistan, says India has set its “new normal”, but Pakistan will not, almost apologetic but resigned to Pakistan’s “new normal”.

That being said, not everybody in Pakistan is a dove. Not after Gen. Asim Munir became a ‘5-star Field Marshal’. One report says Pakistan promoted Gen. Munir to Field Marshal after he led a team of Pak Army officers and soldiers “50 km into Indian Occupied Kashmir during the recent war.”

Shehbaz Sharif says he consulted Nawaz Sharif before Gen. Munir was “promoted.” Pakistan blames India for the Balochistan school bus attack and still expects India to hold talks with it at a neutral venue.

Pakistan says Prime Minister Modi is “Hitler” but Pakistan is looking forward to holding talks with India confident that Bilawal Bhutto will beat Shashi Tharoor in diplomacy.

Pakistan says “defeat” has left India powerless and weak. Also isolated! “To its chagrin, India finds itself isolated…PM Modi extended his battlefront into international waters. His military prowess having been tested and found wanting, he has fallen back on a cheaper war — diplomacy… Some have opted out of his jamboree, but not the publicity ravenous Congressman Shashi Tharoor.”

Shehbaz Sharif says “Kashmir, water, trade and terrorism will figure in the talks with India. Shehbaz is 100% sure the talks will take place and that Pakistan’s NSA will lead for Pakistan. Sharif is banking on President Donald Trump to ensure the dialogue takes place. (IPA Service)

The article Amidst PM’s Fierce Speech Against Pak Terror, Sharif Says That India-Pak Talks Are Due In Saudi Arabia appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The western Press is egging United States President Donald Trump to press India for third-party mediation in the Kashmir imbroglio roiling India-Pakistan relations, while at the same time asserting that Trump has put India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a “tight spot”. Prime Minister Modi wasn’t asked for his opinion and is Trump capable of putting India in a “tight spot”, if at all!

The western media have little or no respect for India. They would rather romance Pakistan’s generals. “President Donald Trump wore a blue suit,” one western media reported. “And he has very light hair!” This is the western media we have to reckon with. And this is the ‘Trump’ who “helped broker” the alleged ceasefire in return for sweet trade deals!

President Trump thinks trade and tariffs will do for diplomacy, especially between nuclear-armed neighbours. Trump concluded that India and Pakistan would end hostilities if offered a leaf each from his dog-eared bestseller, the ‘Art of The Deal’. Talk of whims and fancies.

Prime Minister Modi responded with an “Address to the Nation” and rejected Trump’s Kashmir mediation offer as well as the “ceasefire”, with Modi’s officials saying there was only an “understanding”, while reminding Trump and Pakistan that ‘Operation Sindoor’ hadn’t been called off, only paused.

Modi’s ultimatums to both Pakistan and the United States are non-negotiable. Modi said ‘Operation Sindoor’ was the “new normal” and Kashmir remained an “integral part” of India, also non-negotiable. Trump can take his mediation dreams to bed, Trump’s rewards to Pakistan wouldn’t make a difference to India.

Besides, what can a “big fat bully” do? Does Trump take India for Ukraine, or Pakistan? It doesn’t matter who is Prime Minister of India, no United States President could dictate to India or speak for India, Trump’s trade and tariffs can go down the chute for all that India cared.

The Western media says Trump’s Kashmir pronouncement has broken the “taboo” associated with Kashmir, effectively stating that Pakistan’s claim on Kashmir is legit. How about Mexico’s claim on California? Will Trump take a leaf out of Pakistan’s Kashmir playbook and let India be the third party mediator?

India has not let any US President meddle in India’s internal affairs and Trump is not special. As for Pakistan, as far as India is concerned, the long-running dispute is done and dusted with, after the abrogation of Article 370. The only sore thumb standing is the return of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

The western Press should know that President Trump’s slipstream is littered with diplomatic garbage, from his forays into North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un’s inscrutable mind to his stingray attacks on Chinese President Xi Jinping; now with love-hate relationship with Ukraine President Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The only diplomacy that Trump does is yak-yak-yak. More often than not, he ends up playing bully. He did it with Canada, he tried it with Mexico, he got into it with Denmark over Greenland, with the European Union over NATO. Trump also attempted to intimidate the United Nations. The western media and President Trump must be daft to think that a “much, much stronger India” will succumb to pressure when a “much, much weaker India” did not!

First things first, the world should take away the ‘Truth Social’ button from Trump’s hands. It is like the nuclear button and Pak Army Chief Asim Munir. Both Trump and Munir can’t be trusted with buttons. Trump gets on to Truth Social with his impossible pronouncements and Munir’s nuclear doctrine is suicidal.

Right now Trump has his spirits up, but nobody in India asked him to broker a “full and immediate ceasefire”. In fact, Trump had no business butting into India’s affairs; more to the point in India’s internal affairs.

“I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at, concerning Kashmir,” said the real-estate consultant-turned-POTUS. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only himself to blame for this outrage. Modi gave Trump too long a rope to indulge and patronize India. Trump should be told to “get off” his high horse.

Trump might have delusions, but Trump is not the Sheriff of planet earth. And the USA isn’t without its own troubles. Prime Modi, in his address to the nation, said India will not succumb to “nuclear blackmail” and the message wasn’t only to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif but also to United States President Donald Trump.

US mediators, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, should take care not to get lost in the rhetoric of “President Trump’s offer has put Delhi in a tight spot.” There are tighter spots India will be in if Prime Minister Modi succumbs to the United States’ “nuclear blackmail.” Americans and Pakistanis are the biggest liars in the diplomatic arena.

Pakistan has all along wanted “third-party mediation” and after the “four day war”, and Trump’s outrageous remarks, Islamabad cannot stop talking of Trump’s comments. “We also appreciate President Trump’s expressed willingness to support efforts aimed at the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” Pakistan said. “The issue has serious implications for peace and security in South Asia and beyond.”

Thing is, President Trump is not a serious candidate for mediator, whether it is for Kashmir or with regards to ending the Russia-Ukraine War. Trump’s outlandish claim to end the Israeli-Hamas conflict and turn Gaza into a riviera was proof Trump can’t be a fruit seller, forget peace negotiator. India should condemn Trump’s attempts to “internationalise” Kashmir.

The Congress party has sought an explanation from the Modi government, and an all-party meeting on the Trump-engineered ceasefire. Have the doors to third-party mediation been opened and have diplomatic channels between India and Pakistan reopened?

Secretary of State Rubio’s statement that the “two countries” have also agreed “to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site” needs explanation. Final question, has President Donald Trump put India in a “tight spot” by internationalizing Kashmir without even a “May I?”

The US is India’s largest trading partner — $130 billion in 2024. Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday hiked certain tariffs in a tit for tat targeting the USA. All Indians should know of Trump’s self-serving demeanour. Give Trump a finger, and he will take the whole arm! Qatar offered President Trump to fly in a $400 million deluxe Qatari aircraft and Trump dumped his own Air Force One! That’s Trump. (IPA Service)

The article Narendra Modi Must Tell Trump That Kashmir Is A Bilateral Issue Needing No Mediator appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is adamant that nobody (does “nobody” include Congress?) can “change the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar” and that nobody “can finish reservation” either. The question then boils down to can anybody give Muslims reservation, i.e., reservation on the basis of religion?

The Constitution says ‘no’. The Congress leaves everything to a guessing game, knowing well that religious reservation will require changes to the Constitution. Does Kharge need to rethink? Perhaps, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shiv Kumar knows far more about the Constitution than Kharge.

The reality is Muslim reservation has become a bone thanks to Shiv Kumar’s casual remarks. The row is now full blown and eating into the innards of Parliament. MPs of both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party couldn’t wait to lunge at each other’s throats.

Ask the Muslim if he wants Muslim reservation? The answer will be, ask the secular parties and they wouldn’t risk alienating Muslims. The Congress is as if it has staked all its political fortunes on Muslim reservation. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi does not shy away from saying the Congress is pro-Muslim.

The Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party battle on Muslim reservation is being fought in the Rajya Sabha, which keeps getting adjourned. Rajya Sabha proceedings don’t count for much for most Rajya Sabha MPs and, come to think of it, the elders create more din than MPs of the Lower House.

There used to be days when parliament reporters gave the Rajya Sabha a miss for the “dull” proceedings in the Upper House. Nowadays, after the BJP took over duties as the power centre, the Rajya Sabha is where all the fun and excitement comes to a head.

On March 25, Rajya Sabha was adjourned in the pre-lunch session itself. No business was transacted. Both treasury and opposition benches shouted and screamed their reservations on the issue of Muslim reservation with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge delivering his piece de’ resistance.

“Nobody can change the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Nobody can finish the reservation. To protect it, we did the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. They (NDA MPs) break India,” said Kharge, raising the ire of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

“Raising the issue of Muslim reservation, Congress has sullied the prestige of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution. If you have guts, demand the resignation of Deputy CM (DK Shiv Kumar) today itself,” said Rijiju. “They want to give reservation to the Muslim community by changing the Constitution…the Muslim representation and reservation issue was rejected in 1947…Our Constitution is secular; there can be reservation (only) on the basis of economic and social criteria.”

Whoever thought the day will come when the BJP will charge the Congress with being “communal”? Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav said the Constitution doesn’t allow reservation on religious lines. How can the Samajwadi Party let the Congress run away with the Muslim votes?

Does that make amendment of the Constitution to enforce Muslim reservation more difficult? To answer the question with a question, can the Congress and/or the rest of the opposition parties, which make up the INDIA bloc, win elections banking solely on the Muslim vote-bank?

The answer is a big ‘no’, politics has gone topsy-turvy in recent times and the scale of Hindu votes consolidation has overturned all the political calculations of the opposition parties which depend on slices of the Muslim vote-bank to stay in the hunt for power.

Recent assembly elections prove the trend. There cannot be any ifs and buts about it. A 4% reservation for Muslims will not halt the trend. The Muslim vote-bank is no match for the consolidated Hindu vote-bank. The oft-reported saying “Ab Hindu jaag gaya hai” is a reality nobody can dismiss outright.

The clamour for Muslim reservation has further consolidated the Hindu vote-bank in the BJP’s favour. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is a past-master in playing one vote-bank against another vote-bank. To believe, watch and hear BJP’s spokespersons at work in the TV talk-shows reserved solely for Modi’s “Mahima-Mandal”.

The reality is, the most of the Hindus are now almost convinced that the Congress is a “Muslim party”. The Congress is, in fact, on a suicidal mission and the Samajwadi Party, too. Both these secular parties did their best to woo the Muslim and alienate the Hindu.

It is not that the Congress will find its “Eureka moment” with Muslim reservation, it is just that the BJP found its ‘Mahakumbh” with Yogi Adityanath’s slogan “Batenge toh katenge”. And from then on, it had become very difficult for the Congress to come within smelling distance of power.

A series of Hindu-centric events and happenings have contributed to this. LoP Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was only one of the reasons that brought Hindus together. Mallikarjun Kharge read it dangerously wrong when he mentioned Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and linked it to Muslim reservation, which to the Hindu is nothing but more “Muslim appeasement!” (IPA Service)

The article Reservation Issue Becomes The Focus Of Political Fight Between BJP And Congress appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar never seems to finish his thoughts. People might mistake him to be a hesitant hacker. But that isn’t the case. EAM Jaishankar is the second longest serving foreign minister after Jawaharlal Nehru, who kept the external affairs portfolio with him, for the entirety of his tenure as the Prime Minister of India.

“It would suggest that there are activities which have a certain objective out there, to push a narrative or a viewpoint,” Jaishankar said on the USAID row. “USAID Was Allowed Here In Good Faith.” The $21 million “Voter Turnout Fund” earmarked for India was scrapped by Trump’s DOGE led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.

President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE has disrupted the workings of the United States and Trump’s got the title ‘Disruptor-in-Chief’. Guess what, a Harvard poll says the majority of American voters are more satisfied with President Trump than they were with President Joe Biden.

President Trump’s approval rating stood at 52% as 58% of voters are “more satisfied” with Trump, says the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll. And 72% are “supportive” of having a government agency such as DOGE, which is “focused on efficiency initiatives.”

So much for President Trump and ‘Disrupter-in-Chief.’ Americans who voted for Trump are solidly behind him as he goes about draining the Washington Swamp, a poll-promise going back nearly 10 years. Americans who voted for Trump are happy, even those who voted for Kamala Harris are willing to give Trump time to settle in his job.

Indian detractors can take a hike and stop hyperventilating like their trousers were on fire! Trump is only doing his job, fulfilling the mandate given to him by American voters. Trump garnered over 76 million votes on promises he made to his constituency of diehard MAGA voters and other Americans who wanted zilch to do with President Joe Biden and Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.

Biden and Harris have moved on but Indians of a certain bent are mad at President Trump for daring to disrupt global politics. These Indian interlocutors of President Trump are as if they had voted Donald Trump to power to pursue their goals and were now being denied their pound of flesh.

It is under such circumstances that EAM Jaishankar is the USAID the benefit of doubt. Subramanyam Jaishankar has been a fixture in India’s foreign affairs apparatus through the decades when USAID operated in India with impunity and no questions asked. In fact, Jaishankar would know a whole lot more about USAID than most others in the Modi government.

And President Trump is point-blank blaming USAID for splurging US taxpayer money to line pockets in places around the world including in India. Trump wants USAID out of the gated-community. He is angry USAID had been bleeding American dollars, asking Trump-esque questions for which answers are taking their own sweet time coming.

President Donald Trump is not like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EAM S. Jaishankar must know this better and plainer than the average Indian Foreign Service officer. President Trump will keep disrupting Prime Minister Modi and EAM Jaishankar questioning them about what they did with the info on the $21 million he excised from USAID grants.

President Trump will disrupt and disrupt, keep disrupting till his goals are met. Trump met Prime Minister Modi and told him in good faith that there were forces out there to “replace him” and the $21 million was intended to fund the effort. The question is, has the revelation sounded the alarm in the Modi government?

“Your security can be threatened without you leaving your house… I think some information has been put out there by the Trump administration people and obviously that is concerning…It would suggest that there are activities which have a certain objective out there, to push a narrative or a viewpoint,” Jaishankar told a bunch of Delhi University students, suggesting that the Modi government was looking into Trump’s revelation and that his “sense” was that the facts would come out.

When? The question has been roiling media and common folk even as President Donald Trump kept repeating his thoughts on the USAID grant and his allegation that Prime Minister Modi was in the crosshairs. So will the facts come tumbling out, will Prime Minister Modi order time-bound action, will the “crooks” who profited from USAID largesse be named and shamed?

The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), perhaps the most revolutionary of President Trump’s executive actions, has put out a list of “cancelled US taxpayer-funded initiatives”, including the $21 million set aside for boosting “voter turnout” in India.

But the ice-cool S. Jaishankar isn’t alarmed, shocked or surprised, a mite angry or betrayed, perhaps. “Now, I read saying so-and-so dealt with USAID or so-and-so. Look, it’s not a question of do you deal with USAID or not. USAID was allowed – has been here historically. But USAID was allowed here in good faith, to do good faith activities. Suggestions are (now) being made out of America that there are activities which are in bad faith. So, it surely warrants a look.”

The problem is, Jaishankar is only thinking, not resolving, “I think the country should know who are the people involved in the bad faith activities.” So, the question remains, does the Modi government and the BJP want the names of the “crooks” revealed? All that is heard is that the “Bharatiya Janata Party itself” was seeking a probe.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has called the fund “kickbacks” and that might be worrying for the Modi administration. “Kickbacks” can be devastating for everybody concerned. The Trump administration wants to lead the Modi government by the nose for the ace in the hole but the Modi-friendly mainstream Indian media are making all the noise leading to nowhere and to no one except to “deep state assets” of the USA.

In other words, Joe Biden’s “deep state” is still active and President Trump should be thinking of himself instead of worrying about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Trump called the now nixed USAID grant of $21 million a “kickback scheme”.

One Indian media outlet, running contrary to the flow, linked the $29 million USAID grant to Bangladesh to the $21 million grant to India saying Trump fumbled, but there was a separate USAID grant of $29 million, which too now stands obliterated. The question is, how widespread is that part of the scam which relates to USAID and Indian journalists?

Reports are that the Enforcement Directorate and other Modi government agencies have started probing USAID’s tentacles in India and identifying Indian entities and individuals who took USAID funds to peddle influence in India. Reports say those being investigated include non-profits, social workers, media firms and individual journalists, all of them in violation of anti-money laundering laws. A section of the media have labeled them traitors and “name the crooks” has become a war-cry. (IPA Service)

The article USAID In India Issue Is Turning Bizarre With Every Passing Day appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

It isn’t funny, the Supreme Court choosing to “slam” Ranveer Allahbadia and simultaneously giving him relief against more FIRs. This interim protection, however, comes even as the bench hinted at more trouble for Allahbadia’s incestuous thoughts. For Ranveer Allahbadia, the future looks bleak unless his parents come to his rescue hoping he doesn’t jump into their bed.

This man has dirt in his mind but he is sound of brain. No, he isn’t a threat to public peace, the top court wouldn’t tell but if there’s any wrestler planning to squash the life out of him, Allahbadia has the option to seek police help, barring those posted at the Cyber Cell of the Mumbai Police with whom the ‘Beer Bicep’ Ranveer Allahbadia is playing ‘Hide-n-Seek’.

The police of Mumbai, Jaipur and Assam are after Ranveer’s hide, the last lot the most scary for the chocolate-faced hero of ‘India has got Latent’, the Youtube show that put paid to Ranveer Allahbadia latent desire to get into bed with his progenitors and “finish everything once and all.”

The Supreme Court thought this the worst thought one could have. It’s not a dog’s life! If at all, there’s a sea change in bed-behaviour, India is not Europe or America. The top court hinted of more trouble in store for Ranveer Allahbadia. That being said, the top court missed the woods for the tree. It got the identity of the real culprit wrong. The scourge-in-chief is that fellow Samay Raina, the Kashmiri Pandit who produces ‘India has got Latent’, the mind with more dirt in it than there is in the Sangam riverbed.

Samay Raina fled the stable long before the Supreme Court shut the door on ‘India has got Latent’. Last heard, Raina was in the United States enjoying his ‘samay’ in New York or some place in the fire-ravaged California. Samay Raina is no chocolate-face and if he does resurface in India it will be at a ‘Samay’ of his own choosing!

Allahbadia, poor boy with the ‘Beer Biceps’, is no match for Samay Raina, cunning Kashmiri Pandit and for a long time now a KP migrant of funny means of making money. Samay is a troll-excellence and an usual suspect when it comes to making fun of helpless people who need protection more than Allahbadia does at this moment.

Allahbadia is in hiding and the mother who bore him and the father who sired him are also unfoundable though allegations abound of his mother being trolled at her Mumbai clinic by faceless “rightwing trolls.” Ranveer’s parents are believed to be well-off and Ranveer himself is hardly lacking in cash-loads of money.

It is a rich family, it is a beautiful family even if the heir of the family has a mind full of dirt. The Supreme Court doesn’t think Ranveer can be reformed and, therefore , it is unlikely Ranveer Allahbadia would be sent for a stint behind bars. His parents must do their duty to the son and summon the will to jump to the rescue of the son whose thoughts border on a ‘Streetcar Named Desire!’

The Supreme Court departed from tradition and called Ranveer Allahbadia names and “near names” before granting him interim protection from arrest, which is the least it could do and the most it would do for somebody who laughs his head off when talking of mother and father. There must be lakhs of men and boys who think the same incestuous thoughts but only a rare few in the open and that with widespread laughter.

Don’t forget the esteemed justices of the Supreme Court are from the same population pool. And we are all a bunch of prudes. We can’t take a joke. We can’t laugh like the crowd at the ‘India has got Latent’ show. The justices of the Supreme Court can’t be any less “prude.” The Supreme Court bench couldn’t divorce themselves from taking a hard stance. Allahbadia is destined for the metaphorical gallows come the day of Judgement!

Believe you me, the moment will come and “podcaster-influencer RanveerAllahbadia” will rue his incestuous side. What about YouTube, the real streetcar in this case. The Supreme Court broke from established tradition. It barred Allahbadia from “airing any show” till further orders. If this is a taste of things to come, imagine the extent to which the Supreme Court could and would go.

There are many hearts that have gone out to Ranveer Allahbadia. Samay Raina is the real villain of the piece. The brain behind the dirty mind. But it is Ranveer Allahbadia who is in the dock. More than likely he spoke from a written script. The Supreme Court might consider this aspect, too. Ranveer Allahbadia is reportedly getting death threats and a 6’8” retired WWE wrestler is waiting in the wings “to crush the lights out of him.”

The hearts of the right honourable but outraged justices of the topmost court of the land have a task in hand. Ranveer Allahbadia wasn’t in the court but his lawyer was there. Samay Raina, foul-mouthed Apporva Mikhija and a couple of other unmentionables weren’t.

The Supreme Court summed it up: “There is something that is dirty in his mind that has been vomited by way of this programme… The words you have chosen, parents will feel ashamed, daughters and sisters will feel ashamed, brothers will feel ashamed, entire society will feel ashamed, the pervert mind and the perversion you and your henchmen have exhibited.”

The important question came later, at another hearing which came the same bench’s way. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati was asked an additional but difficult question: “Does the government intend to do something about obscenity in social media content?” If so, the court wants to hear from the government. The court directed the presence of the Attorney General and the Solicitor General at the case’s next hearing.

The reverberations are being heard everywhere, especially on prime-time TV shows, where there is new hope that, finally, the hated YouTube channels will be reigned in or fully laid to rest. News Television channels like the Republic, the T-Now, the India-Tak, and many, many more, all of them going down the tube, desperately want the Modi government to silence and blind Google’s YouTube with the heaviest of penalties.

Ranveer Allahbadia’s incestuous mindset has come to the rescue of the news television channels like the Republic and India-Tak! That is the obscenity which is behind the plague which Samay Raina brought to the fore with ‘India has got Latent.’ For records sake, the names of the unmentionables include Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh and Approva Mikhija, the last one a lady! They are all content creators, people from decent backgrounds. Final words: Incest in jest is dirt in the mind and comes with a heavy penalty. (IPA Service)

The article Incest Even In Jest Is Dirt In The Mind And Comes For A Heavy Price appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

In a special gesture Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday and received the Amir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. And in another special gesture, because the Amir is extraordinarily tall, security personnel assigned to stand at guard at the foot of the plane’s air-stairs were also picked for their extraordinary height.

Bottom-line, appeasement comes in different heights and the Modi dispensation knows this better than its predecessors. Prime Minister Modi has been only 10 years at the helm but the Modi-brand of appeasement went international quite early during his reign. Also, there is no denying the fact that this is paying dividends.

Having said that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a special “something” for Qatar; courtesy which Qatar enjoys ‘stardom’ with Indian Muslims, who also cotton to the fact that Qatar stands firm with the Palestinian cause and Qatar is a safe haven for the Hamas leadership.

That Qatar’s most celebrated TV news network keeps slamming Modi’s India for various infractions is besides the point. The Modi regime dotes on Qatar and slights are forgotten, and forgiven. When Qatar sentenced eight retired Indian Navy personnel to death for “spying”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to “take a knee.”

The Qatar Amir pardoned those on the death row. It was a close shave with death. The Modi ecosystem gloated “Modi hai toh mumkin hai”, which is Standard practice. But there was also the Nupur Sharma case when Qatar targeted India’s trade with Qatar and India’s perishables lay rotting at Qatar’s gateways.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not bear the Qatar coldshoulder. How could this be happening, Modi’s officials bemoaned and Nupur Sharma felt the cold-edge of Modi’s steely resolve? Appeasement called for Nupur Sharma’s condemnation: Nupur was declared “fringe” and pushed under the Qatar-LNG propelled BJP bus.

Nupur Sharma didn’t know of the “special something” Prime Minister Modi harbours for Qatar. For a while, the Qatar non-response rattled Prime Minister Modi. To this day, the Modi dispensation refuses to call Qatar’s despicable treatment of India “blackmail.”

The fact is, the Modi government is queasy when it comes to Gulf Cooperation Council countries; both the Modi Government and Prime Minister Modi reveal their true colours. The long and short is, there is a coquettishness associated with Modi’s treatment of Hindus. Modi has been flirting with the Hindu community for a decade and more. Modi has been working according to a plan, depending on when the next election would be?

The plan is grounded in mollycoddling the Hindu vote-bank till the elections are over. But Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ will have to fight with “other Bharats.” Importantly, the BJP/RSS plan requires Prime Minister Modi not to keep his promises. Modi’s fidelity doesn’t matter. The Prime Minister treats his Hindu vote-bank with disdain.

And the BJP knows Hindu pusillanimity. Also, Prime Minister Modi is a slave of habit. It didn’t scrap the Wakf Board Act for a decade. Now it has made a move to amend the Act. The promise to scrap the Act — lock, stock and apparel — is water under the bridge!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want to rock the applecart till a couple of personal goals are achieved. Prime Minister Modi is too much under the RSS thumb and busy carrying out the RSS plan of “Viksit Bharat” by 1947. In the meantime, Muslims will hopefully come around and vote for the BJP. Chances are the BJP’s Hindu vote-bank will move away if the Narendra Modi government doesn’t keep its promises?

Like what are the Modi government’s plans for the Places of Worship Act, 1991? The Supreme Court has been hearing the case and wanted the Modi government to take a stand? But the Modi government continues to play truant. The latest is, the Modi government will not come out. It wants the Places of Worship Act, 1991 to continue as it is. Unlike Qatar, the ‘Sahishnu’ Hindu vote-bank of the BJP can’t and won’t do a thing. The BJP’s Hindu vote-bank has nothing to bargain with.

“Went to the airport to welcome my brother, Amir of Qatar H.H. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Wishing him a fruitful stay in India and looking forward to our meeting tomorrow,” wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ‘X’. Modi is as shrewd as they come. Modi knows full well what the Amir of Qatar stands for and how he should be treated? Also, Prime Minister Modi knows what the BJP’s Hindu vote-bank amounts to and is capable of doing? (IPA Service)

The article Narendra Modi’s Special Gesture To Amir Of Qatar Has Political Significance appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The only time Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost his equilibrium at the joint press conference with President Donald Trump was when a journalist asked Modi if “Adani” had come up for discussion in the talks with President Trump. Visibly disturbed, Prime Minister told the journalist tersely that when two countries held talks, private individuals do not become subjects for discussion— not in so many words but somewhat in that fashion.

Prime Minister Modi, for all his negotiating skills, as asserted by President Trump, is not used to fielding awkward questions. And Gautam Adani happens to be one of those “private individuals” who upsets Modi’s applecart. The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) was already on to the controversial topic and Modi shouldn’t have lost his bonhomie.

But often times, Prime Minister Modi does give the impression that democratic to and fro does leave him up the creek without a paddle. Maybe, the question should have been asked of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who was in Munich when Modi was in Washington.

Jaishankar was at a panel discussion on ‘Live to Vote Another Day: Fortifying Democratic Resilience’, at which the EAM took the fortifying defence that the West should stop treating democracy as a “Western characteristic.”

As far as Jaishankar was concerned, India had more democracy at the tip of its small digit than the West ever had on its thumb. Said more or less in the same vein. Other luminaries at the Munich Security Conference included Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, US Senator Elissa Slotkin and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowsk.

And EAM Jaishankar differed with the other panelists, asserting that democracy wasn’t in “trouble globally”, citing India as a case study. Democracy thrived in India. “This, the mark you see on my nail, is a mark of a person who has just voted. We just had an election in my state (Delhi). Last year, we had a national election. In Indian elections, roughly two-thirds of the eligible voters vote. At the national elections, (out of) the electorate of about 900 million, about 700 million voted. We count the votes in a single day.”

EAM Jaishankar was in Munich and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington DC with democracy on the anvil at both places. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not Press-friendly even in the best of times, even at the best of places. The USA is touted to a beacon of democracy, even at in those times when power, it is said, goes into somebody like President Trump’s head.

“From the time we started voting in the modern era, 20 percent of more people vote today than they did decades ago. So, the first message is that somehow democracy is in trouble globally, worldwide, I am sorry, I have to differ with it. I mean, right now, we are living well. We are voting well. We are optimistic about the direction of our democracy and for us democracy is actually delivered,” S. Jaishankar said, adding significantly that “nobody disputes” the poll results.

O! Yeah? Most everybody distrusts the Electronic Voting Machine. And India’s Opposition cannot stop haranguing the EVM for all the ills of democracy. Which world is EAM S Jaishankar living in? Besides, holding elections isn’t the end-all of democracy.

American Senator Slotkin diverted to “democracy doesn’t put food on your table” and Jaishankar countered with “actually, in my part of the world, it does because we are a democratic society, we give nutrition support, and food to 800 million people and for whom that is a matter of how healthy they are and how full their stomachs are. The point I want to make is look different parts of the world are going through different conversations. Please do not assume that this is a kind of universal phenomenon, it is not.”

Quite frankly, democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s watch is “800 million people getting nutrition support”, a new definition…we think of democracy as a universal aspiration, ideally a reality, but at least an aspiration, in large part because India chose a democratic model after independence and it chose a democratic model because we had fundamentally a consultative pluralistic society.”

Holding forth on the West “treating democracy as a Western characteristic”, EAM Jaishankar insisted that India, even with all the challenges had stayed true to the democratic model. “When you look at our part of the world, we are pretty much the only country that has done that. So, I think this is something the West should look at because if you do want democracy eventually to prevail, it (is) important the West also embraces the successful models outside the West.”

The difference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is that while Prime Minister Modi specializes conveying through acronyms, expecting people to break the alphabet soups up and understand them threadbare, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar dwells deep and then, with all the punctuation marks at his command, gets down to explain the nitty-gritty.

Ultimately, at the end of the day, the super-diplomat would not have been rattled by the Adani question thrown at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was clearly rattled, unlike President Donald Trump who replied to an awkward question with the answer that the “accent stumped him!” Final statement: Democracy for India’s Great Unwashed is using his vote to elect his government and democracy for the chosen few like Gautam Adani is to reap the liberties and riches afforded by democracy. (IPA Service)

The article Why Did The Prime Minister Loose His Cool When Asked A Question About Adani? appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Voting is on February 5. Results will be declared on February 8. The BJP put out a poster within minutes of the announcement that Delhi will have a BJP Chief Minister by mid-February. But the BJP was beaten to the claim by AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar who asserted, even before the Election Commission announced the dates, that Delhi’s voters will vote to make Arvind Kejriwal Chief Minister for the fourth time, no worries.

The good thing going for this Priyanka is that Ramesh Bidhuri won’t be calling her names. The Election Commission warned that those casting slurs against women candidates and women in general will be held to account and put behind bars. Cases will be lodged against the Bidhuris of this world. Yes, what they call “Zero Tolerance”. For sure, tin-pot misogynists like Bidhuri will keep his oats shut in tin cans. Bidhuri just survived getting lynched by a couple of days.

Else, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Congress’ Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would have been celebrating Bidhuri’s punishment. The Election Commission warned male candidates and political parties to mind their language when talking about women. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said this, his face stern after an initial bout of ‘shero-shayari’ that, if it did regale voters, would be known only on February 5.

Delhi has a total voter strength of 1 crore 55 lakh, of which male voters account for 83.89 lakh and female voters number around 71.74 lakh. There has been an increase of 1.70m lakh voters from the last election. But there are complaints, allegations actually, that as many as 5 lakh new voters have been added to the electoral list. If that is true, there was mischief afoot and if the BJP wins, Modi and Shah will have hell to pay.

The AAP and AAP’s “loyal team of political analysts” are the source of these estimates. One thing is for certain, the EVM will have stiff competition from voter-list fraud if what’s been said is gospel. God forbid, if Arvind Kejriwal loses, which is not far-fetched. Delhi’s dust is not worth taking a bite from.

The intriguing question is will Ramesh Bidhuri be the BJP Chief Minister? Beating Delhi Chief Minister Atishi will be qualification enough. Bidhuri can always claim he had never changed his father! But Bidhuri doesn’t stand a chance. He is sick to the gills. Ramesh Bidhuri is the sort who will never let his better-half pose a question or come up with an answer. The Election Commission should have warned Ramesh Bidhuri by name, and said in no uncertain terms that the likes of Bidhuri will be banished from the electoral arena.

Call it the ‘Bidhuri Effect’. The media has got a talking point. Come evening, there will be debates on the Bidhuri Effect! The man should have got a tongue-lashing from the Prime Minister himself, for falling woefully short on language and etiquette, but the Prime Minister doesn’t waste breath on such issues. The Prime Minister has better things to do, like free flats to the jhuggi-jhopri residents.

Housing is a big issue, not just in India, Delhi, but also in Canada, when Justin Trudeau had to get off his high horse and quit being Prime Minister because he couldn’t provide housing to all the Canadians on the voters list. Prime Minister Modi if he was Canadian PM would not have lasted two full terms.

That is a guess, but if the BJP thinks handing out free flats would get for it Delhi to rule, think again. Freebies are under scrutiny and freebies don’t gel with the dream of ‘Viksit Bharat’. To think that Modi is being hailed as ‘Mahamanav’ and all he has to show are free flats doled out to slum-dwellers. The slums are taking their time going away; one set of slum-dwellers get their free flats, another set take its place in the slums.

It is never ending, whether it is free flats or five kilogram of aata, dal and chawal. Modi’s route to ‘Viksit Bharat’ isn’t by lifting people out of poverty done in the right proper time-tested manner the worldover. There should be a debate on this in the Modi TV channels, but which journo in Delhi has the guts to ask Modi about his poverty-alleviation formula?

Come most evenings, it is lying-time a.k.a primetime, that hour or two hours also called news-hour by some tv channels, which balances time between anchors to present a variety of faces than content. And big-time liars take part in these debates; fibbers and bluffers adept at sounding honest and true to the viewer even when blatantly spouting white lies through the teeth.

It is the same with everyone. From the man who runs and owns the Republic. To the fellow who is here today and tomorrow, too. The Republic fellow claims to have spoken back to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the only journalist to have done so. And when Manmohan Singh departed this universe to another, he ran down the soft-spoken Sikh with repeated renderings of the same story, of Manmohan speechless!

The others are no better. The one thing common between them is their fealty to the one and only One! Who went straight from Chief Minister to Prime Minister! You guessed it, part of the reason why the media lies and fibs and bluffs and gets away with two-timing the viewer and the reader is this man.

It is up to Arvind Kejriwal now. And AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar who jumped the gun and beat both the BJP and the Congress with the next Delhi Chief Minister’s name. So, what if he happens to be her boss Arvind Kejriwal? Kakkar is a regular in TV debates and she will be there this evening and tomorrow, too, lending decibels to the fibbers and bluffers, some of whom also get paid for taking viewers for a ride into Alice’s Wonderland.

In her ‘box’ in the Idiot Box, Kakkar never wavers in training guns at the BJP; these days also at the Congress, and she said she expected a fair election and a level playing field. Looks like the Election Commission heard her and asserted there indeed will be a level playing field for a fair election. Let’s hope the Election body doesn’t give Priyanka Kakkar reason to retort “Sharam nahi aati”, which is her usual response to promises made and not kept. Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar doesn’t leave anything to the imagination.

Arraying against other parties’ spokespersons, AAP’s Priyanka Kakkar holds her own and quite often beats them in going off on tangents when answering questions. This Priyanka’s job is to criticize the ruling party and she does it daily at the newshour. What is surprising is Priyanka Kakkar expressing “confidence in a fair election.”

Her prediction about Kejriwal’s re-election and a fourth term for Kejriwal may not come true for as long as he adheres to the bail conditions imposed on him by the Supreme Court but Kakkar wasn’t willing to be denied her say on the matter. The AAP had won 62 out of 70 seats in the 2020 assembly elections with the BJP securing eight. Will February 8 tell a different story? (IPA Service)

The article For AAP And BJP, The Final Battle For Delhi Is Set For February 5 appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Another Nehru-Gandhi made her presence felt in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament on November 28. — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, with her mother Sonia Gandhi and her brother Rahul Gandhi, also Members of Parliament, she makes up the Gandhi trio, a rare constellation, except that Sonia Gandhi is a Rajya Sabha MP and Rahul and Priyanka are members of the Lok Sabha.

Priyanka Gandhi made her debut in Parliament and people say she could have made it to Parliament, should have made her debut, years ago instead of waiting for the fag-end of 2024. But then, there is a reason for that, too. You see, contrary to what people may think or believe, there is a hierarchy in the Gandhi family, too, and if anybody calls the shots in the family, it is Rahul Gandhi though he bows to mother Sonia when there is no escape from that prospect or need.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had to wait for her chance and wait on Rahul Gandhi, at that. If one thought she would have become Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli or Amethi in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, they probably never thought Rahul Gandhi would vacate Wayanad in Kerala and pick Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.

When it is Rahul Gandhi, nothing comes pat. For the hoi polloi, Rahul Gandhi is a mystery and will continue to be a mystery. Chances are Rahul Gandhi must be a mystery even to mum Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. So stop the dissection of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s late entry into the lower house of the people, the aam aadmi!

Don’t let that mean Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is one of the Great Unwashed; on the contrary, Priyanka would give an inferiority complex to the most elegant and illustrious of women just by dint of belonging to the ultra-famous, historically-acclaimed Nehru-Gandhi family, which to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is dynasty and family rule perpetrated and should be done away with.

But that is easier said than done. Member of Parliament Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her parliamentary debut wearing the iconic Kerala ‘Kasavu’ saree. The Wayanad MP chose right and chose fine, the Kasavusaree is the Malayali woman’s traditional attire, the one which she wears on special occasions, when there is joy in the air, spring in the step and also spring in the air, like when it is Onam, Kerala’s festival of bounty.

The Kerala Kasavusaree is all about Kerala’s culture, craftsmanship, and elegance. Every Kerala woman would love to add a Kasavusaree to her wardrobe, doesn’t matter how poor or how rich. The Important thing is, the Kerala Kasavusaree never goes out of fashion. And Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has won herself pride of place in the Kerala community by choosing to wear the Kerala Kasavusaree!

Not that everybody in Kerala has an affinity to this brand of saree. And this because, the Kasavusaree is basically a “Hindu saree” and Wayanad, which Priyanka Gandhi Vadra represents in the Lok Sabha, is predominantly Muslim. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra perhaps must have wounded the pride of many a “Leaguey” with her choice of Kerala attire.

There are people in Kerala who refuse to celebrate ‘Onam’. You see, Kerala is no different from any other state of the Union despite talk to the contrary. Which brings us to the importance of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. First and foremost, Priyanka is Gandhi who descended from a Nehru. Two, she is the great-granddaughter of a Prime Minister, she is also the granddaughter of a Prime Minister and the daughter of a Prime Minister. On top of that she is also the daughter of Sonia Gandhi, who was for the longest of time Congress President and could have become Prime Minister if she wanted to, so goes the story!

The point being made is, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has vintage and history on her side. And if Rahul Gandhi is slotted to become Prime Minister of India one day, which is the natural order of things when it comes to the Congress and the Gandhi family, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also slotted to become Prime Minister in due course if circumstances so dictate. In other words, Priyanka Gandhi is also born with the ‘Sengol’!

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s importance is not only relative to India, her importance is also because she sits at the high table of the Indian National Congress. She is a secretary of the All India Congress Committee, a member of the Congress Working Committee and a Congress General-Secretary to boot. She wields power and now that she is MP, she will wield even more power in the days to come.

Besides, she takes after Indira Gandhi, in looks and, perhaps, in how she delivers her speech, both of which places her at advantage over Rahul Gandhi, who looks like his father Rajiv Gandhi but doesn’t behave like Rajiv Gandhi. The day Wayanad voted, hoardings and posters featuring Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had come up all over Lucknow with the legend ‘INDIRA IS BACK!’ Only those who know Priyanka Gandhi Vadra well will be able to tell if Priyanka Gandhi is as tough as Indira Gandhi was. In conclusion, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s debut in the Lok Sabha is a Malayali moment! (IPA Service)

The article The Rise And Rise Of Another Dynast Priyanka Gandhi Vadra In Indian Politics appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The Bharatiya Janata Party lost the Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections. The National Conference-Congress alliance romped home victorious. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced Omar Abdullah will be the next Chief Minister. The Valley had voted enormously for the NC-Congress alliance. Almost as if there’s no tomorrow. Jammu’s Hindus gave the BJP a face-saver. But not to the extent the BJP expected. The Congress could have improved the NC-Congress tally in the Jammu region.

As many as 873 candidates had vied for the 90 seats in the J&K Assembly. The People’s Democratic Party conceded defeat. Important thing is, with the NC-Congress alliance victory lots of things are bound to change in Jammu & Kashmir. For one, the BJP’s wings have been clipped. The Lt. Governor will no longer be ‘King’ and Union Home Minister Amit Shah ‘Emperor’.

Importantly, it wasn’t luck that favoured the National Conference. The NC-Congress tally climbed beyond brute majority on the back of the people’s mandate, mostly in favour of the National Congress. In fact, the Congress sailed through hanging to the NC’s coattails. So much so, even Engg. Rashid, who had defeated Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla constituency in the Lok Sabha elections, couldn’t make a difference to the NC’s scintillating performance.

Compared to the National Conference, the PDP was routed. It was as if Kashmir’s voters wanted a clear winner from the Kashmir region and not a split verdict giving neither regional winners a chance at solving their problems including the one posed by the abrogation of Article 370. Kashmiri Muslims are no different from Muslims in the rest of India. They too aren’t overly grateful to the Centre for making life less of a hell than when terrorists killed and ducked. When stone-throwing was a daily occurrence.

Independent candidates, on whom the BJP had set stock on, were also routed. National Conference/Congress candidates defeated PDP candidates in many constituencies but that didn’t stop the Abdullahs from extending a friendly hand to Mehbooba. In victory, generosity! The results were almost as if the PDP hadn’t contested. Iltija Mufti lost from the Mufti family pocket-borough of Bijbehara.

That said, these assembly elections were Jammu & Kashmir’s first since 2014. Also, the first after J&K was declared a Union Territory. Importantly, the first after the abrogation of Article 370. The exit polls had predicted a hung house, but it turned out J&K’s electorate had a different notion altogether. Counting of votes started at 8 am sharp.

There were no incidents of violence reported as if the so-called “militants” were also waiting to see who the results favoured. A new government was to be elected after a gap of six years. The PDP-BJP regime collapse happened on June 20, 2018. The abrogation of Article 370 followed. J&K’s millions were waiting for these elections. Also, all of J&K wasn’t bowled over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vaunted “developmental works.”

There is also the Supreme Court deadline to return J&K to its ‘State-status’. The deadline has to be kept. Excuses won’t be tolerated. Jammu & Kashmir continues to be two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. There are muted reports that Ladakh wouldn’t mind returning to the J&K fold.

The Congress-National Conference alliance will see to it that the apex court’s deadline is kept. The INDI-Alliance, of which National Conference is also a constituent, will also weigh in.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah had said Monday that the NC was open to collaborating with Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP, which is no longer required. Abdullah said the Lt Governor had no business to nominate random people to the five reserved seats. The NC-Congress alliance plans to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. The five nominated members would increase the strength of the Assembly to 95 and push up the majority mark to 48.

The assembly elections were held in three phases. On September 18, September 25 and October 1. And to everybody’s relief, the elections went off peacefully. In fact, a feather in the Centre’s cap. Counting was conducted with a three-tier security arrangement at all counting centres. There is no saying when Kashmir would explode.

Pakistan is an interested party in the Jammu & Kashmir elections. Terrorism, insurgency, and cross-border infiltration are all thanks to this “friendly neighbour”. The thing is, how will the return of a civilian government in Jammu & Kashmir affect the ties, official or otherwise, with Pakistan? Both National Conference and Congress want Indo-Pak talks to resume.

The Modi-led NDA Government is dead-set against having any truck with Pakistan, for the time being, at least. There is bound to be friction between the Centre and the J&K government on this count. People of the state will protest, those of the Valley. Separatists might resurface with a vengeance, with their own set of demands and their own style of protests.

Article 370 will be in the crossfire of the NC-Congress alliance government. Of course, nothing can be done unless the INDI-Alliance comes to power. For that to happen, the return of Article 370, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu would have to be convinced to revolt against Modi Rule in India! (IPA Service)

The article Stage Is Set For Change In Jammu & Kashmir With NC-Congress’s Poll Win appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be in Prayagraj on October 6 with the stage set for the next explosive episode of ‘Hindu-Muslim’. Prayagraj is anticipating a monstrous ‘Maha Kumbh’ in 2025 and preparations are in swing. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will announce the dates for the major “baths”, which is what the ‘Kumbh Mela’ has been all about for centuries.

The sheer size of the ‘Kumbh’ cannot be imagined. The last ‘Maha Kumbh’ saw 20 crore devotees. Double that number will get their underclothes drenched in the 2025 ‘Maha Kumbh’. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hold a meeting with seers of 13 “akharas” and release the logo of the Maha Kumbh.

The Chief Minister will also be requested to remove Urdu words like ‘Shahi’ and ‘Peshwai’ from the Kumbh lexicon. ‘Shahi’ and ‘Peshwai’ had crept into the Kumbh language during the time of the Mughals. After 2014 there were requests to get rid of them, but the Modi and Yogi governments were doing their brand of Muslim appeasement and it was only after the 2024 “half-defeat” that “courage” returned.

The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, which runs the ‘Maha Kumbh’, split in two. But these are extraordinary times and calls for “unity” have brought them together. The spectre of Islamic challenge to the Sanatana Dharma could not be ignored. Hindu seers are at the forefront of the Hindus’ return challenge. The contamination of Tirupati laddus and the “thook jihad” and “urine jihad” have together put the fear of the devil in the hearts of Hindus.

Therefore, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be asked to guarantee “purity” of the ‘Kumbh Mela’ by keeping people of Abrahamic faiths out of the ‘Maha Kumbh’. Muslims and Christians will be prevented from entering the limits of the ‘Kumbh Fair’. State government officials tasked with running the arrangements for the ‘Maha Kumbh’ must also be “Hindu”.

If that isn’t a breach of fundamental rights, what is? Muslim panelists invited to a fiery debate on the ‘Maha Kumbh’ swore not to take things lying down. They have warned such diktats do not apply to secular India. They’re alleging economic boycott of Muslims.

Thousands of state government officials are expected to be posted in Prayagraj for the duration of the ‘Maha Kumbh’. Will the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government agree to the Hindu seers’ demand? Gorakhpur’s mahant Yogi’s ‘secular’ status will be questioned. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is not divorced from his ‘monk identity’.

Does Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wear a secular choga? The answer is ‘no’. But the Chief Minister swore on the Constitution. That is what counts. He is duty-bound to stick to the law of the land, and play fair and square. There should not be a dilemma, no Hamlet to cloud his decision-making prowess.

That being said, there is nothing that prohibits the Yogi Adityanath administration from “taking precautions”. What if the sight of skull caps leads to a stampede, as is being argued? So, everything, from the “settlement of akharas in the fair area, their arrangements, their needs, and possible construction”, all of these should be in the hands of sanatanis. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath must post only Sanatanis in the fairground, goes the text.

Indian Muslims who are aware of the “proposal”, aren’t mincing words. Repartees like “Yeh Desh Hamara Bhi Hai” are doing the rounds. No, none of them will convert to take a “holy dip” in the Sangam. They practice their own ‘cancel culture’, but get offended when they themselves get cancelled.

No use telling them that Holy Mecca keeps non-Muslims out of the perimeter. “Oh, that”, is the answer. The problem is, with smartphones and instant dissemination of “reels”, the much-maligned “Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb” has taken hits. And with “thook” on chapatis, and “peshaab” in fruit-juice, also animal fat in the ‘Tirupati laddu’, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will not need much convincing.

What’s troubling is the sheer amounts of food that will have to be made for the Hindu-hordes. Hunger will be the driving force of the ‘Maha Kumbh’. So what if it galls some Indians if they’re not allowed to participate in the ‘Hunger Games’? CAA was also not for Muslims.

The ‘Maha Kumbh’ logo will feature images of seers, a temple, a Kalash, and the Ganga. The message on the logo will convey the grandeur of the ‘Maha Kumbh’. Will Christian and Muslim journalists, photographers and videographers also be barred from entering the ‘fair’ to capture the grandeur?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overseas reputation, including what the world knows as Modi’s ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’, will take a hit if the Chief Minister bows to ‘Akhara pressure’ and bars Abrahamic faithful from entering the fairground. But if he relents to Modi and Muslim pressure, the Hindu backlash will drown the ‘Maha Kumbh’ in the ‘Sangam’. Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has already told the world what awaits people doing harm to Sanatana Dharma. (IPA Service)

The article Yogi Adityanath Planning A ‘Maha Kumbh’ With 2027 Elections In Mind appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The NDA government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed its first 100 days on September 17 with Modi as third term Prime Minister. How did he fare was the topic of the day, which was also his birthday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 74 on Tuesday and the celebrations were rather muted. The “half-victory” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections remains smug in the mind to rankle and give pause.

Prime Minister Modi’s first 100 days fared “poor”, wrote the French newspaper Le Monde. Prime Minister Modi faces a string of other electoral tests before this year is history. There’s the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections along with the 10 UP assembly bypolls. There is also the Jharkhand assembly elections and, for the first time in a decade, Modi appeared poll-tired.

Has the Modi-Shah election juggernaut lost steam? On September 18, J&K voters cast their votes for Phase-1 of the J&K assembly elections. Reports have been incessantly holding forth that these J&K elections, the first proper ones in 10 years, will see the rebirth of Article 370 and 35 if the National Conference comes to power.

The big test for Union Home Minister Amit Shah is to see that Article 370 remains abrogated. Modi and Shah do not want the “Abdullahs winning.” The National Conference and the Congress are fighting these elections in alliance and LoP Rahul Gandhi was in the Valley talking of “Mohabbat Ki Dukaan”, and reinstating statehood for J&K

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first 100 days did not dwell on J&K too much. The NC-Congress alliance promised to resume trade with Pakistan through multiple avenues even as the Indian Army was hard-pressed fighting Pakistan-trained terrorists, battle-hardened hordes moved from Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan in the west to the LoC in the east.

Soldiers and officers of the Indian Army are regularly getting killed and maimed in Jammu. It’s an old story but Modi’s first 100 days saw frequent deaths of Indian soldiers in the Jammu area. The feeling one got was that Modi’s NDA government wasn’t interested in taking the Pak Army head on or resuming talks with the enemy Pakistan.

The Modi government’s near-lack of a Pakistan policy has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s doing. Thanks to the machinations of the Pak Army, Pakistan-trained terrorists never stopped infiltrating into J&K and it never crossed the newly-installed BJP-led NDA government to act hard and fast.

Pakistan should have been taught a lesson at the earliest, at least now, right in the middle of Modi’s first 100 days. It galls that the Pakistan-trained terrorists know the terrain in Jammu far better than the Indian Army does.

“Pakistan” never crossed the Modi government’s mind in its first two terms and not now, during the first 100 days of Modi’s third term. Modi appears locked in with the Ukraine-Russia war and casualties of Indian Army troops in the forests of Jammu does not rock him into action. The Pakistani-trained terrorists and the Pak Army ensured that the Kashmir Valley got a much-needed break, while Jammu bled soldiers. The enemy across the border wants a regime-change in J&K.

What happens if the NC-Congress alliance wins the state. Then, statehood will be top of the agenda for the new government. What about Article 370 and ’35’? Can a state government abrogate Shah’s abrogation of Article 370, aren’t such constitutional matters the preserve of the Central government? Will J&K return to stone-pelting and will the Modi government at least now clarify its stand?

The BJP has been rather sketchy about its plans for Jammu & Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Rahul Gandhi did not mention Article 370 during his visit to the Valley, limiting himself to the promise of restoring statehood for Jammu & Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in J&K after Rahul Gandhi came and went and Modi spoke as if the BJP will win J&K without breaking much sweat?

As for the French, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoy a rare camaraderie. So much so, Modi and Macron, both got only “half-victories” in elections held in both countries. Also, Macron faces a bleak future and Modi could also end up in hot waters if the BJP loses the upcoming assembly elections and the UP bypolls.

Modi’s “half-victory” in the Lok Sabha elections brought the Bharatiya Janata Party to its knees, forcing Prime Minister Modi to cut a sorry figure. Modi’s alliance partners, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, have ‘fickle’ for their middle names and they’re “unpredictable regional leaders.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “next 100-days” will be under the radar and Modi requires victories on the national and international stage to survive. Can the BJP scrape through in Haryana, and win Maharashtra? Will Modi and Shah manage electoral victory in Jammu & Kashmir to prevent the return of Article 370?

The problem is, the NDA government’s continuation depends on the whims and fancies of Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party. Modi’s first 100 days were marked by several U-turns. Going forward the  Wakf Board Amendment Bill 2024 and the ‘Secular Civil Code’ will be major challenges. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is walking a very tight tightrope and his second 100 days will either make him, or break him. Which will it be? (IPA Service)

The article Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s First 100 Days In Third Term Passed With Little Hoopla appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

It is Atishi and it will be Atishi who will be the next Delhi Chief Minister, to succeed Arvind Kejriwal. The ‘Marlena’ surname she dropped in 2019 when contesting the Lok Sabha election from East Delhi. Point to note, however, is Atishi will be Chief Minister only till the next assembly elections, till Arvind Kejriwal returns with another resounding mandate to rule Delhi. Till then, Atishi will be Ramayana’s ‘Bharat’ to Kejriwal’s ‘Ram’. And if ‘Modi bhakts’ shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’, they would be glorifying ‘Hanuman-bhakt’ Arvind Kejriwal.

Atishi spoke after her name for Chief Minister was announced by AAP minister Gopal Rai, and Atishi thanked “my guru Arvind Kejriwal for the huge responsibility” given to her, adding that she will be Chief Minister for the duration it will take for Arvind Kejriwal to return as Chief Minister. Atishi spoke of happiness, in the same breath as she expressed her sadness at Arvind Kejriwal quitting the post.

The spotlight would remain on Arvind Kejriwal. Atishi made this clear as she affirmed that Arvind Kejriwal would be “forever Chief Minister of Delhi.” Atishi is the only Chief Minister-elect to allude that she would be puppet Chief Minister, temporary Chief Minister and dummy Chief Minister. Her honesty and transparency shone through. Atishi will be the second woman who will be Delhi Chief Minister, after Sheila Dikshit, who ruled Delhi for 15 years.

Atishi will be Chief Minister at the most till February 2025 when the Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled to be held. The AAP wants the elections advanced to October-November this year. The AAP wants Arvind Kejriwal to return as Chief Minister of Delhi the quickest he can. AAP does not want to miss out on sympathy votes for Arvind Kejriwal, which will have an expiry date.

Atishi spoke of Arvind Kejriwal making a “big sacrifice”, and she took her status of “Caretaker CM” seriously. The tone and tenor of Atishi post-being named Chief Minister-elect was cautious. Atishi did not want to step on any landmine before she took the oath of office. Atishi called the BJP all the names she could get away with even as she painted Arvind Kejriwal as a victim of the machinations of a sly Prime Minister.

Atishi has been given the task of keeping Arvind Kejriwal’s chair warm till Arvind Kejriwal regains the Delhi aam aadmi’s trust and becomes Chief Minister again. She will also vouch for Arvind Kejriwal’s integrity and there won’t be a day gone when she will not project Arvind Kejriwal as an epitome of sacrifice, when she will not allude to the countdown for Kejriwal’s return.

“I am telling the people of Delhi not to congratulate me, don’t garland me,” Atishi said. “It is Arvind Kejriwal who made me, the daughter of an ordinary family and a first-time politician, Chief Minister!” Atishi appeared like she had her speech by rote the previous evening itself. Arvind Kejriwal is not the sort of man who waits for the legislative party to meet and come to a conclusion on who will take his place.

But the AAP legislature party met at Kejriwal’s residence to build a consensus on Atishi’s name even if nothing moves in AAP unless Kejriwal gives it a push. AAP MLAs walked out of the legislative party meeting and they weren’t doing somersaults! There was a sombre air about them, all of them praising Arvind Kejriwal and Arvind Kejriwal alone.

Whether the rest of top AAP leaders liked it or not, Atishi was Arvind Kejriwal’s choice. Atishi will be the face of the Delhi Chief Minister, but Arvind will be the soul. Atishi has her plus points, though. One, she is a hardcore Arvind Kejriwal loyalist. Two, Atishi’s gender is important to get women voters on AAP’s side. Three, Atishi has loads of ministerial experience with the multiple portfolios she managed after Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was jailed.

People talk of how Manish Sisodia “practically groomed” Atishi. Also, unlike Rabri Devi, Atishi is highly educated, and Oxford degree and a Rhodes Scholar. Her allegiance to Arvind Kejriwal is her biggest asset. Her mandate is to hold the Chief Minister’s chair till Arvind Kejriwal leads AAP to yet another poll victory. The AAP can’t wait for Arvind Kejriwal to make a comeback.

“Jab tak chunav nahi hota, Atishiji Chief Minister rehenge,” was on every AAP MLA’s lips. So Atishi will be watched and weighed day in and day out on the scales of “unka vyavhar”. Will that make Atishi a remote-controlled Chief Minister? Will it make her an easy target for BJP’s attacks? BJP leaders are already talking of the “communist who became Delhi CM.” How long before the media starts calling her “Puppet CM”? The stop-gap status of whoever took Arvind Kejriwal’s place was never in doubt.

In fact, Atishi herself spoke of how nobody could replace Arvind Kejriwal as the “people’s mandate was for Arvind Kejriwal, for Arvind Kejriwal alone.” Top AAP leaders were consoling themselves for not being considered for the top post with the fervent wish to see Arvind Kejriwal returning to his ‘Sheeshmahal’. The day before, Arvind Kejriwal had held one-on-one meetings with the top AAP leaders about who will take his place? AAP’s Political Affairs Committee also discussed the issue. Atishi won their confidence partly because she was the face of the AAP government, carrying out the AAP’s mandate and public duties, when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal chose to “rule Delhi from Tihar.”

In hindsight, Kejriwal couldn’t have chosen his wife Sunitha Kejriwal, because Kejriwal wants the Delhi assembly elections done and dusted with ASAP to facilitate his return and put a full-stop to the BJP’s obnoxious crosstalk, which was a daily affair. After Kejriwal’s arrest-cum-jail by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI, there was nothing left except to go to the people. There were other candidates for Kejriwal’s replacement, like Kailash Gahlot, but it was Atishi who made the cut.

Atishi is 1981-born daughter of Delhi University professors Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi. She graduated in History from St Stephen’s College and attended Oxford University in the United Kingdom. For a while she taught History and English at the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh before joining politics.

‘Chief Minister’ Atishi’s fight will be with Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena, who had rejected Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s decision that Atishi should hoist the tricolour on I-Day.

In 2019, Atishi fought the Lok Sabha election, which she lost to BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir by a margin of 4.77 lakh votes. Atishi has been with the AAP right from its foundation. (IPA Service)

The article Atishi Will Be Stop-Gap Delhi Chief Minister Till Arvind Kejriwal’s Return After Polls appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The Maharashtra assembly polls are slated later this year along with Jharkhand. Also the bypolls in 10 UP assembly seats, which will put Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to test, are due. The thing to watch, however, is whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come out of his post-June 4 shell and campaign? Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir poll results will be out on October 8.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to recover from the setbacks of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Modi could do with a leg-up the snakes and ladder game that elections have become. The snake in the grass for Modi, however, is LoP Rahul Gandhi, who needs no introduction. Counsel for all Congress leaders, Abhishek Manu Singhvi says Rahul Gandhi will be Prime Minister after Prime Minister Narendra Modi retires in disgrace.

Before that, the assembly elections. Haryana and Jharkhand, of course, have their value. The prize catch will be Maharashtra, which everybody knows has Mumbai at its heart, India’s commercial and financial whirlpool that everybody wants to jump into.

Which party/alliance will get Mumbai in its pocket? As of now, it is the Mahayuti alliance led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. So, there is the Mahayuti. And there is the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Which of the two alliances is best-placed to win the assembly?

Take a break. Predicting victors and losers is a dubious game. In the United States one presidential debate can decide the outcome. Ask President Joe Biden! Kamala Harris could be next unless she pulls up her socks and socks Republican rival Donald Trump out of the race.

Donald Trump is Modi’s friend and Modi had foretold once, “Abki baar Trump!” Now, with his own “abki baar” lost to the fog in his mind, Prime Minister Modi has to recoup. The assembly elections will be fought with no quarter given or sought. The important thing is whether Modi will campaign like he did for the Lok Sabha elections.

If people feel sorry for Modi, know that nobody can help the man whose plight is in the mind. Modi has to fight and conquer the gremlins in his mind. He has to step out of the post-polls shell he has taken shelter in and stop walking as if on eggshells.

Confidence is the name of the game. Can Modi roar like the tiger he used to be? Is Narendra Modi confident enough to mount another election campaign in the land of Shivaji Maharaj? If Modi doesn’t, when the time beckons, it will be Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde against Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and Sharad Pawar along with Rahul Gandhi.

Uddhav Thackeray has gotten over Eknath Shinde’s betrayal and has been looking increasingly confident. For Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is a robber-baron of the kind that roamed Maharashtra in the long forgotten days of thuggery. A pre-election survey commissioned by the MVA said the MVA could win as many as 165 seats.

The MVA tally of 31 seats in the Lok Sabha polls bolstered the survey’s result. The MVA would do especially well in Nagpur, Amravati, Marathwada, and Western Maharashtra regions, the survey said. Problem areas would be Mumbai, Konkan, and North Maharashtra, where the Mahayuti is stronger.

“We won 31 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls. It is around 65 percent of the total 48 (Lok Sabha) seats. Ideally, we would like to maintain the same average in the assembly elections, which would get us around 188 seats. Our preliminary assessment suggests that we will be winning around 165 seats,” said a senior Congress leader.

The cut-off mark to form a government is 144 seats. The MVA, which includes the Congress, NCP (SCP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), hopes to replicate its Lok Sabha performance in the assembly polls, which are expected to be held before Diwali. The MVA was still talking strategy when last contacted.

The MVA alliance has divided Maharashtra into seven regions for working out a winning strategy. The MVA believes it has an upper-hand in Nagpur, Amravati, Marathwada and western Maharashtra regions. The Congress is expected to do well in Nagpur and Amravati regions. The Shiv Sena (UBT) in Marathwada.

In Western Maharashtra, the MVA is banking on NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). The MVA survey says the Mahayuti is dominant in the Mumbai, Konkan and north Maharashtra regions. The Mahayuti parties, BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, continue to be in dominant positions in these three regions.

The MVA’s poor showing in Konkan region is worrying for the alliance. The BJP and Shiv Sena are a big challenge in the Mumbai region. North Maharashtra is another region where the MVA is weak. The MVA’s problem is there is little time left to make amends. Going into the assembly polls with these weaknesses is a fait accompli.

Maharashtra Assembly has 288 seats and elections are slated to be held in October. NCP strongman Sharad Pawar said the MVA will win the elections with a tally of over 225 seats. People take Sharad Pawar seriously.

Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar with his faction of the NCP is part of the ruling Mahayuti. Sharad Pawar, who groomed Ajit Pawar to political adulthood, is building up his daughter Supriye Sule to be his heir apparent, and successor, which hasn’t gone down well with nephew Ajit Pawar.

Sharad Pawar says Maharashtra is in the hands of the wrong people. Recent political developments include that of a number of NCP (Ajit Pawar) MLAs returning to Sharad Pawar’s NCP. “When the assembly election of Maharashtra takes place in October, of the 288 seats, I see that we can win over 225 seats,” said Sharad Pawar, who sees a regime change in Maharashtra.

The MVA expects to do better than the Mahayuti because the Lok Sabha election results went in favour of the MVA. The BJP-led Mahayuti is running on Hindutva and has been campaigning based on that premise. Pawar’s NCP contested 10 Lok Sabha seats and won in eight. The Mahayuti has to do far better in the assembly polls than it did in the Lok Sabha elections.

But not to be taken lightly, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said there will be only one alliance celebrating Diwali and that will be Mahayuti, which did extremely well in the recently held MLC elections. Both alliances will contest the assembly elections as two single blocs. The MVA election resolution is: “Make Maharashtra Great Again!”

The BJP, the single largest party in the assembly, says it would contest from 180 seats, while the Ajit Pawar NCP and CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena would contest 80 and 100 seats respectively. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde says post-assembly elections, the Mahayuti will form a new government. The Mahayuti is yet to work out a seat-sharing arrangement. But the key-question is will Prime Minister Narendra Modi be one of the star-campaigners for the Mahayuti? (IPA Service)

The article Narendra Modi Faces Another Political Test In Assembly Polls appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Lynching over the ‘gaumata’ is back in currency and poll-bound Haryana is where it has returned with a vengeance. In one incident, a Class 12 student was mistaken for a cow-smuggler and shot dead by a group of gau-rakshaks. In another incident a Muslim migrant from West Bengal was brutally lynched in a Haryana village for allegedly consuming beef. Now, his fellow travellers haven’t stirred outdoors. They want to return to the safety of West Bengal ASAP.

Rag-picker Sabir Malik’s lynching set other Muslims in the village in CharkhiDadri thinking. “It could have been me if I hadn’t been in the police lock-up,” said one of them. The irony isn’t lost. The police locked Muslims up as behind the bars was a safer option than being a free-bird under the open sky.

Sabir wasn’t in the lock-up. He and a friend were lured to a bus-stand and set upon. Gau-rakshaks are notoriously ill-informed and more often than not innocent people are lynched. Sabir’s mistake was he went to the bus-stop. It is hard to believe he was killed on the suspicion he had consumed beef.

How the killers came to determine he had consumed beef is lost on even the police, who arrived long after Malik was no more. Getting KIA on the battlefield is an honour but to be killed by gau-rakshaks is a tragic waste of precious human life.

Could it be that Haryana is poised for assembly elections and during elections, anything and everything is fair? The story doing the rounds is that rag-picker Sabir Malik and his friend were told to come to a scrap-shop near the bus stand. The friend escaped the vigilante, but Sabir couldn’t. The lynching was pre-meditated cold-blooded murder.

The killing fields of Charkhi-Dadri have many migrant workers from Assam and West Bengal. Police have increased security in the area. The politically-charged atmosphere is to blame. The police are also keeping an eye on social media. Cow politics is rampant in Haryana where vegetarians outnumber non-vegetarians, especially the Jat community.

Sabir Malik went without thinking. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. There are lots of unemployed youth in Haryana with nothing to do except loiter the streets. And protecting the gaumata is an honourable pursuit. The most number of gau-rakshaks in India are in Haryana with Rajasthan a close second.

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi is a protector of black-bucks and has actor Salman Khan in the crosshairs. There is talk that young men in Haryana are going around on foot, asking people what their food preferences are? And they quote chapter and verse from the cow protection law, which also comes in handy when getting the police on their side.

That the Bharatiya Janata Party has to consolidate Hindu votes to win the upcoming elections also tells a story though Modi’s party makes sure lynching is not taken as a BJP-pastime. Fact remains that pollsters have predicted a tough election for the BJP and reports say Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not welcome.

Haryana has a cow protection law, the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan (HGSG) Act, which bans “cow trafficking, slaughter, and beef possession and consumption.” It was enacted in 2015 by the then Manohar Lal Khattar government, a year after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister.

Today, with Chief Minister Nayab Saini at the helm and elections looming, there is renewed focus on cow protection. The Haryanvi is peculiarly reverent towards the cow. Youth who take up cow protection, forming gau-rakshakdals, are feted and honoured. Gau-rakshaks like Monu Manesar and Bittoo Bajrangi, both of whom gained folklore notoriety for their exploits, are local heroes.

The Khattar government made a great show of arresting them but not before they attained near-cult status. Today, Chief Minister Nayab Saini is downplaying the lynchings and talking more about how the gaumata should be protected at all costs. Police said eight people were arrested and one of them jailed. Two juveniles are in the child correction centre while five remain in police custody.

Malik’s friends haven’t stirred out of their shanties since Malik was lynched. Courage has fled the shanties. The meat Malik and his friend bought that fateful day on August 25 was “not cow meat, it was buffalo.” Police stood mute spectators when gangs of youth barged into shanties asking to inspect the food the residents of the shanties had prepared for dinner.

“Are you Bangladeshi?” was the refrain and Aadhaar cards were inspected. Haryana, on its way to elections, is a dangerous place for Muslims. What people ate or planned to eat hasn’t yet become an election issue but police took away some of the meat from the shanties and sent it for testing.

The fact remains that elections are just round the corner and incidents of lynching have become frequent. The unemployed Hindu youth have nothing else to do and cow protection is thought of as a noble calling. Cows stand a better chance than human beings of certain faith in election-bound Haryana. The Class 12 student whose car was chased by ‘gaurakshaks’ was killed by shots to the neck and chest. He wasn’t Muslim but collateral. Also, there were women in the car. (IPA Service)

The article Gau-Rakshaks On A Killing Rampage In Poll-Bound Haryana appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

So India is a “big country” with a “big influence” on the Russian economy and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants India and Indians to “change their attitude” towards Russia. For then, there will be peace as Russian President Vladimir Putin will then end the war. Apparently, Zelenskiy doesn’t like Modi’s crude oil deals with President Vladimir Putin.

President Zelenskiy does not like India’s “record breaking” deals for oil from Russia. India’s energy purchases from Russia figured in the discussions and Zelenskiy was told about the energy market scenario and the need for prices to remain “reasonable and stable”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ukraine visit came a month after he went to Moscow and lots of people were upset when he and Putin shared a warm embrace. Also, the same day a number of Ukrainian targets were hit by Russian strikes including a children’s hospital in Kyiv.  To cap it all, India overtook China as the biggest importer of Russian crude oil on that very day.

Also, to date, India hasn’t condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are questions galore: Does India favour Russia over Ukraine? Did Modi find it difficult to convince President Zelenskiy that India was non-aligned? Did Prime Minister Modi envisage a “personal role” for himself in the “pursuit of peace?”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit was “historic” as he was the first Indian prime minister since 1992 to visit Ukraine. Modi started his tour of two countries from Poland, from where he took a special train to Kyiv, where he met members of the Indian community and was taken to a multimedia exposition on children who had lost their lives in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.

President Zelenskiy was by Modi’s side when Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed a “soft toy” at the shrine to the children killed in the war so far. Perhaps Ukraine did not want Modi to forget, or forgive. Modi also met Ukrainian students studying Hindi in Kyiv and he paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi by bowing to a statue of Bapu in Kyiv.

Modi apparently told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he will personally intervene to bring peace between Ukraine and Russia. Modi won across the spectrum praise for his offer and the notoriously famous ‘Godi Media’ couldn’t stop celebrating Modi’s international success.

Of course, Modi also embraced Zelenskiy. The question coalesces to will Russian President Vladimir Putin give Modi the chance to broker peace? Diplomacy is not the break one can expect from President Vlaidmir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who isn’t a Modi fan like President Vladimir Putin is.

Modi’s warm hug to Putin in July was criticised by Zelenskiy, who at the time was swearing vengeance on Moscow for a series of deadly Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets, including one on Kyiv’s biggest children’s hospital. Whether Modi remembered or not, to expect Zelenskiy to forget and forgive on Modi’s bidding is a little too rich.

Modi has told President Putin a couple of times that today’s era was of no wars and Putin should embrace peace; that the battlefield is no place for friends. “Both sides will have to sit together and look for ways to come out of this crisis,” Modi told Zelenskiy on Friday.

Prime Minister Modi was also the “first international leader to visit since Ukrainian forces crossed into Russia’s Kursk region.” Ukraine grabbed more than 1,250 sq km of Russian territory and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expects Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy to talk peace. Friday, the optics from Kyiv weren’t all that encouraging for brokering peace; the “smiles were few and far between”.

The awkward hug between the two leaders went unnoticed by the Indian contingent as also the diplomatic tightrope for both Modi and Zelenskiy following recent happenings on the battlefield. The 40-killed  in Russian strikes on Ukraine on the day Modi hugged Putin in Moscow. The strike on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.

On Friday, Modi said he was overwhelmed with “grief” when he placed a “soft toy” at the shrine for the children. Also, an image of Modi, with his arm around Zelenskiy’s shoulder, found its way to Modi’s social media with the message that his heart went out to the families of the children killed in the Russian strike. It was after this that Modi offered to “personally initiate peace talks” between Russia and Ukraine. As expected Indian media reacted with “Modi’s dialogue and diplomacy would end the fighting.”

Modi’s big talk included the emphasis on “we have never been neutral in the war, right from the first day our side was Peace.” And, of course, the well-beaten – “we are from the land of Mahatma Gandhi.” How many times has this horse been flogged to death? Modi is not the first Indian leader to mouth this inanity, and he won’t be the last!

Modi, however, hasn’t so far – not once – condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, Modi made sure “Moscow’s war economy” was kept well-oiled! Which media favourable to Modi hasn’t applauded New Delhi for becoming the biggest importer of Russian oil? Modi’s middle finger to Western sanctions on Russia is the stuff of Russian legend.

On August 23, Prime Minister Modi and President Zelenskiy discussed Ukraine’s latest incursion into Russian territory. The exact conversation is not available, but India was at the Ukraine-led peace summit in Switzerland in June this year, where Russia was not there. In Kyiv on Friday, Zelenskiy and Modi gave a joint call for “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of all countries. The world has appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s offer to mediate and bring about permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine. Will Modi get the chance he craves for? (IPA Service)

The article Modi Has Shown Fine Diplomatic Acumen In Dealing With Zelenskiy appeared first on Arabian Post.

CAN THE CENTRE ENSURE PEACEFUL POLLING WITH GOOD VOTER TURNOUT?

By Sushil Kutty

The Model code of Conduct is in force in Jammu & Kashmir. Also Article 370 stays abrogated. Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have no complaints. The two are happy that finally elections to the 90-strong J&K assembly elections will be held. CEC Rajiv Kumar announced the decision in New Delhi on August 16 and repercussions were felt in Srinagar.

Of course, like all BJP leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is beholden to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi will get the accolades for holding the J&K assembly elections. People forget Modi was prime mover for the abrogation of Article 370. But for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J&K wouldn’t have been divided into three and elections wouldn’t have been a once in a 10-year blue moon!

Modi’s mandarins have been ruling Jammu & Kashmir since mid-2019 and it hasn’t been a happy ruling. More like a confinement zone with politicians trapped and common people bombarded with propaganda. Do Kashmiris trust these elections? The vast majority of Kashmiris are waiting, waiting…and they wouldn’t be any different from the Muslims of the plains.

At least, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tells it straight, batting on the front foot. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah never come clean. Modi and Shah now believe they tamed Abdullah and Mufti. Such misconceptions have been the norm in J&K.

Once Modi and Shah are banished from Delhi, for which the BJP will have to be defeated in 2029, Article 370 will be back in the statute book and J&K and Ladakh will become one again. Till then every little bit counts and J&K assembly election is welcome. Modi and Shah can take all the accolades for the short-term; the long-term will not be to their liking.

The BJP has already got a whiff of its impending doom. One more push and the entire edifice will tilt and fall. The J&K assembly polls will be held in three phases, beginning from September 18. Counting will take place on October 4. CEC Rajiv Kumar announced the dates the day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on India’s 78^th Independence Day.

CEC Rajiv Kumar had nothing to say on PM Modi’s ‘One Nation- One Election’ demand. He left it to the media to question Modi. The Model Code of Conduct came into effect with his announcement of J&K and Haryana assembly election dates. Rajiv Kumar said the Election Commission was “committed to inclusive and accessible elections.”

The first phase will be held on September 18, the second on September 25 and the third and last on October 1, 2024, the day before October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, when around 87 lakh electors of the Union Territory would have cast their votes – democracy in action!

Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti cannot thank CEC Rajiv Kumar enough. Both dynasts have been out of power for over a decade. The last time the J&K assembly elections were held was in May of 2014. J&K’s electorate has been under central-rule since then. Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes J&K people are happy.

CEC Rajiv Kumar is another one who is in happy spirits. Kumar says the scenario in J&K has vastly changed for the better in 10 years, especially after the abrogation of Article 370. Kumar says the 2024 Lok Sabha polls strengthened “layers of democracy”, and J&K’s people were full of enthusiasm.

Rajiv Kumar, speaking like a BJP politician, said that the long queues at polling booths in the Lok Sabha elections were proof that “people not only wanted change but also wanted to raise their voices by becoming a part of that change.”

The message Rajiv Kumar conveyed was that “people of J&K chose ballot over bullet.” Kumar is prone to playing to the gallery and is not different from many election commissioners who tilt at the windmills. A high voter participation is expected. Kumar also promises “complete impartiality” and a level playing field.

That said, these elections will be held under a canopy of unprecedented terrorist attacks on security forces. The belief is that the “terrorists”, who have infiltrated into forest areas of Jammu are Pakistani army commandos. Some of these imposters have been neutralized, but not all. Security will be provided to politicians, but will the electorate step out and vote under a canopy of guns? (IPA Service)

The article J&K ASSEMBLY ELECTION IS A BIG TEST FOR THE MODI GOVERNMENT appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

All banks have a savings account product with minimum balance requirements. If the minimum account balance (MAB) is not maintained, a fee is charged. However, in the interest of financial inclusion, the RBI mandated that all banks should also offer a no-fee zero account balance basic savings bank deposit account (BSBDA). But most banks cheat with a simple con – by converting the zero balance account into a regular savings account by resorting to what is called “implicit consent” and not an “explicit consent”, from the word go.

The implicit consent could be a single SMS sent to the applicant/new customer; enough to impose all sorts of penalties/charges on the targeted BSBDA account. The zero balance account holder/applicant finds he is a “slave” of the bank and has to follow dictates in the form of SMS and Whatsapp messages, failing which a penalty is imposed.

In fact, banks have played around with Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts, which are also zero balance accounts, concept to extort. As on November 29, 2023, as many as 51.04 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts had been opened with a deposit balance of Rs. 2,08,855 crore. It was mandated to provide universal access to banking facilities and a basic bank account to every unbanked adult.

The zero balance PMJDY account does not require maintaining any minimum account. This is the same spiel given by commercial banks of various alphabet soups when soliciting customers for their zero balance accounts, banks such as SBI, HDFC, IDFC, ICICI, etcetera, etcetera. The banks violate their own rules and promises by openly harassing customers, who are lured into applying for these no-frills accounts only to find themselves victims of a scam that saps them financially as well as mentally and physically.

Take the story of Chinmaya Mund, who opened a zero balance 3-in-1 account with the ICICI Bank. After a year, the bank turned the account into a privileged account. The bank said that Chinmaya had sent a “SMS” and requested for the change. Then, after a month, Chinmaya got an email which said his MAB was Rs 1,50,000 and that he will have to pay for “not maintaining MAB.”

Chinmaya is not alone. There are tens of thousands of such victims. Zero balance account holders, who refuse to convert to MAB (minimum account balance), are harassed and coerced into “following the rules”. To close the account requires a personal visit to a bank branch and harassment of another level. “Sadly I wrote to them again and now I am closing my account with them. I got cheated. Dangerous bank,” wrote Chinmaya.

But this is a story after a customer opened a no-frills account; what about “AAK, who only applied for opening a no-frills account, a zero-balance account with the HDFC bank, which after hearing that HDFC would ask for a high minimum balance, decided not to pursue the application? AAK’s KYC details are with the bank and HDFC is coercing AAK to “complete the KYC” and pay the “minimum balance of Rs 10,000.”

Millions face daily harassment from banks which use the concept of no-frills account and zero balance account to lure people into applying for opening bank accounts and then using those accounts to extorting money from the “customers” by insisting that they will have to maintain a minimum balance of extraordinary amounts to avoid paying penalties running into thousands of rupees.

It is said that the zero balance account changed the face of banking in India. A clone of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which encouraged millions of faceless Indians to participate in the India growth story by opening bank accounts, the no-frills account is the PMJDY concept hijacked to serve the banks. Conversion of zero-balance to minimum required balance is at the press of a button.

But the consequences for the account holder or zero balance account applicant could range from phone calls at odd hours of the day and night, physical visits to home and office by dubious characters going by the description “loan recovery agents”, verbal and physical altercations with relatives of the “account holder” and demands made on them, banks could go about this with relentless pursuit.

In one word, it is ‘Extortion’ and woe betide the individual who does not make the required minimum account balance payment and maintain it till hell freezes.

Any help forthcoming? Forget it. If RBI is the last resort, the RBI’s right hand doesn’t know what its left hand is upto. In 2018, the RBI led a SMS and advertisement campaign to promote no-frills accounts, totally unaware of the harassment — either by conversion of zero balance accounts into regular minimum balance accounts or by freezing zero balance accounts after four transactions are made.

A study of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), found that banks were quietly converting BSBDA to fee-based regular accounts with high minimum balance requirements or charging a penalty if the customer makes a fifth digital payment transaction in a given month. What customers don’t realize is that the account remains “converted as a regular savings account” thereafter and will have to maintain a minimum balance amount in the account for all time. What angers customers is the Modi government’s total inaction.

Millions upon millions of bank customers were hit when banks cloned PMJDY and extorted money from unwitting customers. The ease in digital transactions was their waterloo. The State Bank of India alone debarred 13 crore BSBDAs from making more than four transactions in a month. With millions of such accounts under BSBDA and PMJDY, talk of digital financial inclusion was a joke.

Customers have to be forever on their toes, wary of not making more than four transactions in a month even as the banks were converting BSBDA into minimum balance savings accounts after a fifth transaction per month. For the account to be charged a recurring penalty every month thereafter is a fait accompli. The fees charged every month for non-maintenance of minimum balance that the customer was not told about at the time of entering into a relationship with the bank is criminal, but is allowed to proliferate.

Customers like Chinmaya Mund and AAK are harassed and punished for no fault of theirs. The customers are not given an “explicit option” at the time of applying for a zero balance account. Banks cannot put a bar on more than four free debit transactions in a month. A recurring charge in the name of maintaining a high minimum balance requirement is rank exploitation. The whole thing about taking “implicit consent” instead of “explicit consent” from the zero balance account holder is to the bank’s advantage. Banks consider an implicit consent enough to convert a BSBDA to a regular account – the implicit consent in the form of an SMS. Such a cavalier approach is highly dubious, and unethical to boot. (IPA Service)

The article Modi Govt’s Financial Inclusion Spiel Turns Banks Into Loan Sharks appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

India didn’t know what was cooking in its backyard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, vaunted vishwaguru – supposedly the only leader with the charisma to talk Russia out of the war with Ukraine – was caught off-guard when a coup forced Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take a clandestine flight to India, leaving Bangladesh to the mob!

Was India’s powerful NSA Ajit Doval also caught off-guard? When “unknown men” were killing “known” Pakistani blackguards, talk was Doval and R&AW had let loose Indian ‘jasooz’ in Pakistan. Now, it appears, Pakistan’s ISI was in cahoots with Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami all along. On August 7, Muslim fundamentalists declared that Bangladesh will be henceforth ‘Islamic and Sharia-compliant. How come Doval and his official could not get a whiff of Jamaat’s plans?

The Jamait couldn’t have pulled it off without the ISI in cahoots, and the American “deep state” on Pakistan’s side. After Hasina flew to safety, ISI sleeper cells in Bangladesh were fully awake.

Also, student protestors don’t go around hanging bodies from railway over-bridges. That is the handiwork of terror cells and religious sidewinders.

The Modi government has a lot to answer. NSA Ajit Doval is long past his utility. And Foreign Minister S Jaishankar had no idea what was happening in India’s backward, forget what was cooking in the United States vis-à-vis India and Bangladesh?

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar got away with a statement in Parliament and another to the All-Party Meet. Jaishankar lost the game completely as far as Bangladesh was concerned. But the External Affairs Ministry got away with dusting the base of its pants for all the concern it caused.

Modi, Doval and Jaishankar, the three of them failed India on the foreign stage. If Bangladeshi Hindus are being killed in that country, the blame lies squarely on the trio. Will Modi have the guts to try and rescue men and women of his faith?

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was in New Delhi at Modi’s third-term inauguration and Modi didn’t know Shaikh Hasina’s dire straits. Hasina went to China and made an enemy of Beijing, yet Modi/Doval/Shah/Jaishankar had no inkling of what could happen to Hasina?

What was Modi’s intelligence apparatus doing? Doval should provide answers; ditto EAM S Jaishankar. Also Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The isolation of India in South Asia is complete. India has been stunned into inaction. Forget Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has nowhere and nobody to reach out to. Is Modi really the “Vishwaguru” the world looks upto and listens to, the sole world leader capable of ending the Russia-Ukraine War with his mere intervention and a word with Russian President Vladimir Putin?

Sheikh Hasina is out of the game. And Prime Minister Narendra Modi is out on a limb. India’s R&AW has been out manoeuvred. And India’s foreign ministry simply wasn’t thinking of Bangladesh. S Jaishankar couldn’t take his mind off “happenings” in Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States. He was left to chasing red-herrings and he didn’t even know.

Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, should provide answers? Point to ponder is, was India the only “power” totally unaware of what was cooking under her own nose and in her backyard? Question to ask is, what benefit the killings of “known Pakistani terrorists”, at the cost of losing Bangladesh as a trusted ally? Does Prime Minister Narendra Modi have an answer? What was his foreign ministry doing, what was National Security Advisor Ajit Doval doing?

When Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka, the Bangladesh Army was in control but had left “protestors” to roam the streets and engage in killings; bodies were strung high from the iron-rafters of railway overbridges. Homes were burned and temples became targets of arsonists. Targets were Hindus and Awami League workers. The Bangladesh Army stood looking.

In hindsight, it has become clear that the army pushed Sheikh Hasina to flee the country. The Army knew it wouldn’t be attacked, the protestors had already marked their targets and among them Hindus. ISKON temples were attacked and people fled towards the border with India. An influx of “refugees” is expected, but this time it wouldn’t be to liberate a country.

The Bangladesh Army Chief is behaving like a “human-being” and he has promised to the people that troops would not open fire on them or enforce curfew like Hasina demanded. Retired Army generals were spotted leading the protestors. There are lots of Bangladeshis who see a future for themselves under a new regime. Sheikh Hasina had lost Army support soon after she won the elections and took charge for another reign.

Thanks to the Modi government’s failure to read the signs and act, India is now surrounded by hostile countries and it would be a long time before India regains a toehold in the country which was created because India’s rulers of 1971 were on the ball from the word go and were ready to punish Pakistan to stop mayhem and madness on India’s borders. The Modi government got diverted by “unknown men” killing “known men”, was that a diversion created by the ISI so that Operation Hasina went ahead the way Pakistan wanted. (IPA Service)

The article Modi, Doval, Jaishankar Out-Manoeuvred In Bangladesh By Pakistani Players appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Does AlphabetGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai, have a pronounced Harris bias? Kamala Harris of Indian-Jamaican origin is up against Republican former President Donald Trump, close pal of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But India-born Sundar Pichai is a left-leaning head honcho now charged with anti-Trumpism. This, as Indian-Americans across the USA have been energized after President Joe Biden left the stage and asked Kamala Harris to take his place.

Estimates put the number of Indian-Americans at 5 million and growing. Sundar Pichai is one of the 5 million and has thrown his weight behind Democrat Kamala Harris. Does the charge against Pichai stick? Of course, without an iota of doubt. If Sundar Pichai is left-liberal, Kamala Harris is ultra-left and the two rock. That apart, Kamala is part-Indian and Sundar Pichai is Indian to his very hair-roots.

Interesting thing is, if Sundar Pichai is up to his neck in Harris-o-mania, the Trumpists have ‘X’ owner Elon Musk showing his bias for the 45th President. Musk is seriously in pursuit of setting up his electric vehicle shop in India and his Bromance with Modi is strikingly familiar with his calf-love for Trump. Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk want their “chosen one” in the White House and are prepared to go to any extent.

Even otherwise, nearly 70 percent of Indian-Americans have their fingers locked with Kamala Harris while around 29 percent have struck it cozy with Donald Trump, and want him back in the White House come January 2025.

Both Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk have been charged with “election interference”. While Pichai traded flak with Trumpists for “Google’s autocomplete” not showing the assassination attempt on Trump, Elon Musk made fun of Kamala with a parody on a Harris campaign ad, didn’t matter it was altered and played around with.

The fact is, President Joe Biden’s exit from the Presidential race opened the sluice gates for Indian-American voters and with Kamala Harris poised to be the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, Indians backing Candidate Kamala Harris are above Cloud 9! Nobody thought Kamala would be taking on Donald Trump and now that it has happened, Kamala has their back.

Call it bias. Call it love or like. With Kamala Harris talking, Indian-Americans aren’t lagging. The political profile of Indian-Americans has risen multifold since the Democratic-baton was passed on to Indian-Jamaican Harris. The pulsation and the subdued excitement! Indian-Americans say they are in a win-win position. An Indian-origin Second Lady if Trump wins and an Indian-origin President if Kamala Harris becomes the 47th.

Kamala Harris’ rising profile has galvanized Indian-Americans across the spectrum. Even as Indian-origin Trumpists haven’t given up on Trump, who still tops Harris in the polls and wouldn’t be easy to dislodge unless there is a presidential debate and a second old man bites dust.

How quickly the mental acuity tables turn will be the story!

Kamala is the first female presidential nominee of colour. The fervour around her is electric. She shares a Tamil Nadu-connect with Sundar Pichai, who studied in a Chennai college. Kamala’s mother is ‘Madrasi’ while her father is Jamaican. If that sounds like a mix of Reggae and Carnatic, then she’s truly Jamaican-Indian.

But even if Kamala wasn’t Indian-Jamaican, Pichai would still have been charged with Democratic-bias. It has to do with ideology. Indian-Americans have always sided with the Kennedys, and the Clintons, the Obamas and the Bidens. Besides, Sundar Pichai is on record, like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that “Muslims and minority communities should get all the help.”

Point is, Donald Trump is emphatic that “ultra-liberal Kamala Harris will deliver crime, chaos, mayhem and death to US” and the Trumpists have marked Harris as “worse than Joe Biden.” Could it be that Kamala Harris gives the heebie-jeebies to Trumpists? The explosive start after Biden opted out Kamala got can scare the toughest bloke in the block!

Come to think of it, the number of Indians with political leanings in recent news cycles is stunning, starting from Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy to Kamala Harris and Usha Vance, wife of Trump’s Vice Presidential pick JD Vance. Indian Americans are kicking the can ahead as if there would be no tomorrow, or perhaps knowing that there will be many more tomorrows for Indian-Americans going ahead!

The problem is Indian-Americans haven’t yet got a finger on how much of a political-heft they have. They have a chance to prove. The Indian-American cannot just sit in cozy nooks and corners with luscious paychecks. They have to get out of the corners and position themselves centre-stage. As to whether Sundar Pichai has a bias or not, that is his beautiful mind. It must not be for nothing that his parents named him, ‘Sundar’! (IPA Service)

The article Google Pitches For Kamala, Omits Donald Trump Out Of The Search appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Prominent voices in Pakistan have realized that diplomatic engagement between India and Pakistan is a Pakistani pipedream. The multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to be held in Islamabad in October holds promise but Pakistanis know Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unbending. The setback to Modi in Lok Sabha elections 2024 hasn’t helped. Modi would rather strengthen his ties with Russia and the United States than get in the India-Pakistan quagmire.

Will Modi participate in the Islamabad SCO meet? The seven-member regional grouping has heard Modi speaking against “war” in a previous SCO meeting but Pakistan has off late been lamenting about Modi’s “jingoism” and how this doesn’t help thaw the soured ties between the two countries. The SCO meeting is, therefore, not seen as an opportunity for “bilateral re-engagement”.

The disappointment in Pakistan is palpable and Pakistani diplomats are now talking of how “sports” could help pave the way for diplomatic talks. Sports helped in the past but Prime Minister Narendra Modi depends on “no talks with Pakistan” to shore up his popularity at home. The “Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party” had always benefited from keeping Pakistan cornered and cowering.

Modi’s “Ghar Mei Ghus Ke Maarenge” draws its message from belittling Pakistan and Pakistan hasn’t found an antidote — not in the 10 years since Modi hit Delhi in 2014 with the then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif witnessing the transition, which he didn’t know at the time was the beginning of the end of any meaningful India-Pakistan diplomatic engagement. Prime Minister Modi’s second term was due largely to Pakistani villainy and “Ghar Mei Ghus Ke Maarenge” was on every Indian child’s lips.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a clear-cut majority in 2019, 303 Lok Sabha seats out of 543. Nothing of the sort happened in the just-concluded 2024 general elections. There wasn’t a ‘Pulwama’ and there wasn’t a ‘Balakote’. Modi’s “no talks with terror” continued to cripple any chances of India coming to the table. BJP supporters marvelled.

Now, left with no hope, Pakistan is looking at cricket to break the ice, melt Modi’s hard heart. Pakistan will be hosting the ICC Champions Trophy between February and March, 2025 and maybe bat and ball will bring an Indian delegation of diplomats to the India-Pakistan matches. BCCI secretary Jay Shah might have a taste for biryani diplomacy!

But chances are the Indian cricket team will not travel to Pakistan. The “strained relations” is like an LBW, and Pakistan’s every effort is a “no-ball” so far. India will be asking the ICC to hold “all India matches” in Dubai or Sri Lanka. The Pakistan team wouldn’t mind playing in Dubai, for their “wives”. Life is so much more glitzy in Dubai. For that matter, even the “touristy” Sri Lanka with its beaches and palm trees.

What dims Pakistani hearts is Prime Minister Narendra Modi dashing ordinary Pakistanis’ hope of seeing Pakistan clobbering India with a stadium full of Pakistanis watching India brought to its knees. In September 2023, the Indian team hadn’t come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. Narendra Modi just doesn’t seem to understand defeating India on Pakistani soil is every Pakistan’s dream come true –Virat Kohli losing to Babar Azam.

There is no need to win a war; just Pakistan clobbering India on their side of the Wagah will do! For that Modi and the Indian cricket board should have a big heart. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the one man who stands in the way of normalizing India-Pakistan ties. He did away with Article 370 and keeps talking of “Ghar Mei Ghus Ke Maarenge”.

Pakistan says Modi’s “jingoism” has made Modi a pygmy in the eyes of Pakistanis. This after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sent a congratulatory message to Modi on his re-election and Modi sent back a terse reply, dressed in language that will break a chirping sparrow’s heart. There are no doves allowed in India-Pakistan ties.

Like one Pakistani diplomat wrote, “the reply was wrapped in security language expressing Modi’s commitment to the security and safety of Indian citizens.” It hurt the Pakistanis that Maldives President and the Bangladesh Prime Minister were invited to Modi’s swearing-in but not the Pakistani Prime Minister.

After all, Shehbaz Sharif is Nawaz Sharif’s brother and Modi and Nawaz were buddies! What really pissed off Pakistan was Modi lambasting Pakistan on “Kargil Divas”, calling Pakistan “masters of terror” and stating in no uncertain terms that “Pakistan has not learned anything from its history.” India’s EAM Minister S. Jaishankar is no less a beast! Jaishankar will not set foot on Pakistani soil, not until Modi asks him to, which is not going to happen anytime soon. (IPA Service)

The article SCO Meet May Be Held In Islamabad In October With Narendra Modi Not Attending appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Who benefits from blaming Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the BJP’s poor Lok Sabha polls performance in Uttar Pradesh? As things have moved, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is the dark horse though Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also talked about as somebody who gains from a downgraded Yogi. OBC heavyweight Keshav Prasad Maurya has long held a grudge that Yogi Adityanath walked away with the Chief Minister’s post after he, Keshav Prasad Maurya, won the state for the BJP in 2017. The saffron-clad Yogi came out of the blue and became Chief Minister, when Maurya was the head of the UP unit of the BJP.

Since then, Keshav Prasad Maurya was waiting for the right time, which came after the recent Lok Sabha elections with the BJP unable to match its 2019 performance. There have been allegations that the “disconnect between the BJP cadre and the Yogi-led government” led to the 2024 UP debacle. The dismal performance, compared to that of the Samajwadi Party, exposed the soft underbelly of the ruling party in the state and at the Centre. It has also been alleged that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been resorting to startling measures to regain his primacy and popularity among Hindu voters.

The way the BJP top-brass is behaving, the BJP’s sub-par showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has dealt Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a bigger jolt than to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had kept up the refrain “Modi ki guarantee” and “abki baar 400 paar” throughout the BJP’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh and other states. And now the hammer has fallen not on Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah but on the ascetic who holds the state in his fist, undoubtedly the most powerful politician in Uttar Pradesh. There is a widespread view that in terms of popularity, the Yogi beats Modi hands down.

Does that make Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath rivals? What role does Union Home Minister Amit Shah have in the UP turmoil? Apparently, Shah has a soft corner for Keshav Prasad Maurya and Maurya is in the eye of the cyclone now skimming over Yogi Adityanath’s clean-shaven head. Throughout the current turmoil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been lackadaisical and seemingly uninterested, unmindful of what befell Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath even as this attitude compelled Yogi Adityanath to go on the offensive.

The Yogi’s strategy revolves around meetings with current and former MLAs, MPs and MLCs and making himself more popular with the BJP’s Hindu votebank, which was in two minds when voting for or not voting for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. The Yogi’s meetings with MLAs and MPs haven’t cleared the air. The next assembly elections are in 2027 and what could happen now is a change of guard, which could mean only one thing – Yogi Adityanath making way to Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is being told of the many innovative ways he could become Chief Minister.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav’s “Monsoon Offer” to Keshav Prasad Maurya, asking him to “Sau Lao Sarkar Banao” is right up Maurya’s alley. But the Deputy Chief Minister is staying put with the BJP; perhaps, with the assurance that the strategy to wear down Yogi Adityanath will work for him. How long can the Chief Minister hang on with his resolve? The “feedback” from MLAs/MPs/MLCs hasn’t helped. The accusing finger, more often than not, is found pointing to Yogi Adityanath, which could be part of a strategy to oust him with the least resistance. Meanwhile, a “future roadmap” can be held at bay.

In the 2022 assembly elections, Yogi Adityanath had proved himself by winning 255 of the 403 assembly seats against Akhilesh Yadav’s tally of 111 and the Congress’ two. Then, there was no move to replace him as there was no Lok Sabha elections in 2022. Things turned to “turmoil” in 2024 only because there were Lok Sabha elections and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was asking for votes in his name, but failed to get “abki baar 400 paar”. There wouldn’t have been the Uttar Pradesh turmoil if Narendra Modi hadn’t lost face along with tonnes of votes. The critical eye had to shift from Modi to Yogi, a scapegoat had to be found to save the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)! (IPA Service)

The article Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath May Be The Sacrificial Goat To Protect Narendra Modi appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is still to recover from defections of NCP (Ajit Pawar) leaders to the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction of Ajit Pawar’s uncle Sharad Pawar. Four Pune-based NCP (Ajit Pawar) leaders resigned and rejoined Sharad Pawar’s NCP and a week later the faction led by Ajit Pawar is still sweating.

Among the four Pune leaders who quit and joined NCP (Sharad Pawar) included Ajit Gavhane, NCP’s former Pimpri-Chinchwad chief, who has a sound hold in the region. The three others who left Ajit Pawar orphaned and impatient were Rahul Bhosale, Pankaj Bhalekar, and Yash Sane, all of them influential politicians in the Pimpri-Chinchwad region.

It is not suddenly that these leaders switched over to the Sharadchandra faction of the NCP, the Lok Sabha election results decided for them. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) did exceedingly well in the Lok Sabha polls, winning 8 out of 10 seats contested, compared to the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP which won one seat and lost from three other seats. Clearly the voters had told their preference between uncle and nephew. The senior Pawar was without doubt the people’s favourite. And the state polls are just months away.

One view is that Sharad Pawar is making a comeback; the party he founded in 1999 had been split into two a year ago, and that by his favourite nephew, who did the unpardonable and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as a Deputy Chief Minister. To compound the “unpardonable”, Sharad Pawar was also divested of the party name and party symbol by Ajit Pawar in a replay of what had happened to former Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, when Eknath Shinde walked off with more than 40 Sena MLAs. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi along with the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP.

The MVA is one big whole and UBT Sena and NCP (Sharad Pawar) haven’t broken up so far though BJP leaders often spread the canard that they have parted way. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to know why NCP (Ajit Pawar) leaders are switching to NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). The Lok Sabha results in favour of Sharad Pawar’s NCP did the trick. NCP (Ajit Pawar) leaders expect NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) to repeat its stellar performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the upcoming assembly elections, too.

And NCP (Ajit Pawar) politicians want to be on the winning side in the assembly elections and the view holds that the MVA is a better bet compared to the Mahayuti, of which the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP is a part of. Also, which of the two Pawars contributed more to the development of key regions of the state counted?

The Pawars, both uncle and nephew, worked hard for the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad but the BJP runs the municipal corporation of Pimpri-Chinchwad and development has been hit under the BJP’s watch. Corruption is also a big issue. Locals believe Sharad Pawar is best for them even if Ajit Pawar has his set of diehard supporters. Sharad Pawar’s daughter and four-time Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, however, backs her 83-year-old father against her 64-year-old cousin.

Sule says people have “faith in Pawar sahab”, which is why many politicians in the opposition (Mahayuti) are joining him. Will one of them be Ajit Pawar? Speculation is rife that Ajit Pawar will also be back, one day! Asked of chances Ajit Pawar might return, Sharad Pawar said such decisions cannot be that of one man alone. “My colleagues who stood by me during the crisis will have to be asked first.”

That must be disappointing for Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. That is, even if he returns and joins his uncle, there will be a new hierarchy he will be answering to. Two, the Lok Sabha performance of NCP (Ajit Pawar) was a big blow to the Eknath Shinde-led government – a Deputy Chief Minister whose party won only one out of four Lok Sabha seats it contested. Talk in the Mahayuti is that the likelihood of poor showing by the NCP (Ajit Pawar) faction could hurt the Mahayuti’s prospects in the assembly elections.

The fact is, Ajit Pawar faces a big challenge in the assembly elections. Ajit Pawar is ambitious and he wants to be Chief Minister and with assembly elections slated for October this year, Pawar is setting the stage to his liking. Towards that end, he has asked the Bharatiya Janata Party to part with 80-90 assembly seats with the warning that the deal must be done and dusted with ASAP, no lingering…

Ajit Pawar is in a hurry to seal the deal. With too many cooks to spoil the broth, there cannot be a delay. Therefore, Ajit Pawar and his cohorts getting into a huddle. This was expected after several top NCP (Ajit Pawar) leaders ditched Ajit Pawar and returned to the NCP led by Sharad Pawar, fuelling talk that even Ajit Pawar was mulling a switch though that is more talk than reality. Ajit Pawar is waiting for the BJP to act on his instructions, his terms! (IPA Service)

The article Defection-Hit Ajit Pawar Is In Sticky Wicket In Maharashtra Politics appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Changing names is a national pursuit. Shopkeepers and restaurateurs have been routinely using certain namesakes for their businesses to make a killing during key seasons. At another level, the romantics have been faking monikers for the easy access it gave them into lonely hearts. That this pursuit has been called ‘Love Jihad’ is hotly contested as the central government says it doesn’t recognize ‘Love Jihad’, the same central government that is run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier called the “Modi Government” but now with the name-changed out of coalition-compulsion into “NDA Government”. Some UP politicians even  spoke of “Vote Jihad” right now, politics is being played in the name of ‘Naam Batao’ in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

They say ‘Jihad’ goes on in the name of land, love, vote and what have you not! IAS probationer Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar’s ‘jihad’ against the UPSC made an idiot of the UPSC. Puja Khedkar not only faked names of key figures, she gave false mobile numbers, fake addresses, fake email-ids, faked mother’s name, faked father’s name and forged signatures of important officials/officers.

Puja Khedkar is now persona non-grata in the eyes of the Union Public Service Commission, which on July 20 took action and debarred Puja from sitting UPSC exams from now on. The Delhi Police lodged a criminal case and if anybody is under the false impression that Puja is crying her heart out, outside the UPSC headquarters on Shahjahan Road in Lutyen’s Delhi, that person should not be under that totally false impression.

Puja Khedkar with the Audi is made of tougher skin. Asked about the action taken against her by the UPSC, Puja said in the casual manner of accomplished con artists, “The law will take its own course.” Yup, Puja makes young women her age wonder what makes them miss the bus! Puja Khedkar’s casual reply is not false bravado, Puja was speaking from learning. Run-ins with law enforcement runs in Puja Khedkar’s family.

Puja’s mother was taken into police custody on July 19 for possession of, and pointing a gun at a police officer. The mother was hiding in a lodge under the false name of ‘Indubai’. Puja’s father is no less controversial —“Papa Khedkar” is always on the wrong side of the government which employs him. Like mother like daughter; like daughter like father — the UPSC show cause to Puja Khedkar says Puja is no longer an IAS probationer. But Puja Khedkar couldn’t have made a mockery of the system, without frauds in the UPSC in the know. The ‘inside job’ applies to Puja Khedkar and the UPSC was hand-in-hand.

Puja is the answer to the question, what’s in a name? Puja’s mother ‘Indubai’ and Puja’s father will promptly provide Puja a list of names she could use in the pursuit of happiness. Puja Khedkar sat for the ICS exam multiple times — more times than UPSC rules allowed — using her skill in falsifying names to outwit the dense UPSC. Puja even faked her photograph. She was a con artist and could have easily become a career-criminal.

“The UPSC initiated a series of actions against her, including criminal prosecution by filing a First Information Report (FIR) with the police authorities and has issued a show cause notice for cancellation of her candidature of the Civil Services Examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations, selections, in accordance with the rules of the Civil Services Examination-2022,” the boxed-in examination-hub said in a statement.

The Delhi Police booked Puja for cheating, fraudulence and forgery. The UPSC gave itself a clean chit. The UPSC said it conducted examinations with “due diligence with utmost fairness”. The UPSC said it had “deservedly earned trust and credibility.” Puja Khedkar is living proof that the UPSC is shooting out of its 17-gallon hat. True story is, Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar took the UPSC for a ride — again and again; and then, again and again!

Puja Khedkar cleared the examination using all the foul means available, and then she cleared the interview. She became an IAS probationer and her criminal acts wouldn’t have been caught if she hadn’t been driving an Audi around Pune with an amber beacon atop it. She also wouldn’t have caught the eye of a senior officer, if she hadn’t trespassed into his office! The UPSC made an ass of itself and then it swears it acted with due diligence!  The fact is, India is a playground for bureaucrats and politicians to make “dupes” out of dumb citizens. “Ye Public Hai Jo Sab Jaan-ti Hai” is ballooney and hot air. The ‘kanwar yatris’ were being made fools of with the use of false names and successive police and civilian authorities were aware of the 2006 law Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had brought in to address the fakery going on in the name of names!

Under this law, every food outlet had to post names of owner and employees, irrespective of religion. How come Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath did not use the ‘Fssai law’ in the previous year and in the years before the previous year? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 2006 law would have settled the case for the ‘Kanwars’ and Muslim dhabas once and for all. Then, the Congress wouldn’t be giving ultimatums and behaving as if it wasn’t aware of its own Prime Minister’s ‘Fssai law’. And Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wouldn’t be setting the menu for the ‘Kanwars’ if Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya hadn’t cornered him in a Game of Thrones. It is hard to digest that Yogi Adityanath’s love for ‘Kanwar’ is what made him pick on certain names! Whether it is Puja Khedkar or that of ‘Kanwar Khana’, both boil down to ‘Namesake’. (IPA Service)

The article The Case Of Puja Khedkar Is Becoming Curiouser And Curiouser With Every Passing Day appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Any lingering doubts on who is in control in Uttar Pradesh went out the window the minute Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath disregarded all opposition to the restrictions placed on eateries along Kanwar Yatra routes, including the objections from NDA allies JD-U and the RLD, and ordered that the advisory asking eateries along ‘Kanwar routes’ to display name-plates with “true names” has been extended to the entire state of Uttar Pradesh. No sooner this was announced, neighbouring BJP-ruled Uttarakhand also followed suit!

“The ‘Nameplate’ will have to be put on the food shops on the Kanwar routes across UP. The decision was taken to maintain the purity of the faith of Kanwar pilgrims. Action will also be taken against those selling products with Halal certification,” the CMO of Uttar Pradesh issued his own advisory.

So, who is in control in Uttar Pradesh is pretty much settled. The answer is Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is free to take up Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav’s “Monsoon offer” and defect to the SP if a 100 MLAs are ready to jump ship with him.

Two, there is no doubt that the BJP’s situation on the eve of the bypolls in 10 UP assembly constituencies is a matter of concern for the saffron party. Therefore, the extreme steps to appease the Hindu votebank. Yogi Adityanath is desperate.

On July 19, the Yogi doubled down on the state government’s earlier “farman” that business establishments, particularly eateries and general merchants selling food and confectioneries, should mention prominently the “true names of owners and employees”. Issued by the Muzaffarnagar Police, the advisory was a matter of necessity and one that brooked no opposition.

But opposition was inevitable. Yogi Adityanath was called all sorts of names including “communal” and “Hitler”. AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi said “Hitler’s soul has entered Yogi Adityanath” with Akhilesh Yadav, and spokespersons of the Congress and other INDI-Alliance partners questioning the BJP’s motives.

Not just INDI-Alliance parties, even NDA allies, have come down heavily on the BJP and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, flaying his intentions. The JD-U has spoken against the Yogi and Union minister Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD has also voiced its utter disgust. Muzaffarnagar falls in the influence-shetra of the RLD and Jayant’s party is disappointed.

But who cares? Not the BJP, and definitely not Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The monk is fighting an intense battle that aims to unseat him; he has enemies within the state unit of the BJP also, notably in the form of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who thinks he will make a better Chief Minister than a saffron-clad ascetic, and possibly Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Maurya has an open invitation from SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav to dump the BJP and join forces with the Samajwadi Party to form a government to replace Yogi Adityanath’s outfit at the helm of Uttar Pradesh. Like said, the Yogi is hard-up for choice and he will go to any extent to disregard the writing on the wall, if at all there is a writing on the wall.

The opposition hasn’t stopped haranguing the Yogi government and the BJP for fanning the “Hindu-Muslim narrative” in the name of “true and false names”. What is wrong if a Muslim runs a dhaba/restaurant and christens the joint “Shiva Hotel” or “Laxmi Dhaba”? Why should the Muslim man who sells fruits from his handcart have to display his name in big bold letters, why cannot he “just sell” and go home?

Well, it is ‘Kanwar’ season and the 240 km stretch is their route to nirvana. Their devotion to Lord Shiva entails restrictions including in the matter of food habits. Just like the Muslim will insist on “Halal”, the ‘Kanwar’ should be given his ‘Satvik diet”. Also, there are reels/videos in the public domain of Muslim vendors/dhaba workers “spitting on roti, dal and anything in between”.

The Muzaffarnagar Police says the advisory is to ensure that no situation is created for violent altercations to break out between ‘Kanwar’ and Muslim-owned eateries run with the nameplate proclaiming they were “Hindu joints”. This is not imagination but reality. Muslim eatery owners run their establishment with fake Hindu names and there have been innumerable run-ins between ‘Kanwars’ and dhaba owners.

The halal/satwik argument falls on deaf ears, neither side willing to give an inch. Fact is, the police have to intervene whenever differences spill out on the roads and then it is a free for all, with the Muslims alleging that their very existence was under threat. What will their children eat when they cannot earn because of a “Hindu boycott” of Muslim commercial establishments?

For the political parties and their surrogates and proxies it doesn’t matter who is suffering and who is the victim and who is the perpetrator? With elections as frequent as they’re in a bustling electoral democracy, political parties are forever looking for issues to divide and polarize the electorate. The Hindu-Muslim narrative fits both sides in the tussle for votes.

The ‘Kanwar’ will trudge the 240 kilometre on the highway and they will be on the road for a month at least. For the BJP, they’re vote-bank. Ditto on the other side of the electoral highway, the Muslim vote-banks of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party; the Bahujan Samaj Party and the RLD, as also of the JD-U of Nitish Kumar, all of them surviving on the largesse of the Muslims who are forced to hide their real names and use fake Hindu names to eke out a living.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is with his back to the wall. Elements within his own party are gunning for him along with powerful adversaries in the Opposition. Defeat in the 10 bypolls will end with the epitaph, “He Went With the Kanwar Yatra!” So, what does the under siege Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh do? Yogi Adityanath refused to listen to cries of secular outrage; to Owaisi calling him “Hitler” and to the JD-U and RLD’s opposition; to disregarding the BJP’s ex-Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who said the state government was practicing “untouchability” and religious ostracism in the name of ‘Kanwar Yatra”. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has his back to the wall. (IPA Service)

The article Yogi Adityanath Shows Who Is In Real Control Of Uttar Pradesh In 2024 appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The architect of the abrogation of Article 370 is MIA, say the detractors of Amit Shah, the No.2 in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Four Indian Army soldiers were killed in a terror attack in Doda on July 16, including an officer, and the Modi-led NDA government heavyweight is not to be heard or seen. It broke the heart when the officer’s mother told a TV news channel, “Ab who wapas nahi ayega?”

It is not that Amit Shah is not unaware that Indian army men are sitting ducks for terrorists. On June 16, 2024, Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting to discuss terror attacks in J&K. Since then terrorists have been attacking Indian Army soldiers with a vengeance. Ambushed and killed on a daily basis. A new terror outfit, Kashmir Tigers, a Jaish-e-Mohammed affiliate, has been taking credit for martyring Indian soldiers.

The “high-level meeting” did not help much except lulling the security apparatus in J&K into complacency even as the terrorists upped their ante and went about killing Indian Army soldiers as if on a 9 to 5 day in office. Indian Army soldiers continue to be ambushed and killed.

The “Doda terror attack” has prompted more people to ask, “Where is Amit Shah?” Indian citizens volunteer to join the Army. Amit Shah knows this but it can be assumed without much ado that the Union Home Ministry has been rather lackadaisical on terror attacks in the period since ‘June 16’ and after the high-level meeting which he chaired.

The killings of Indian Army soldiers in these terror attacks are casting a shadow on the Agnipath scheme, which is already under the scanner with the opposition INDI-Alliance going after it, all-guns blazing. Agnipath has the assent of the Indian Army top brass and Amit Shah is India’s Union Home Minister and not of Doda and Kathua.

If the terrorists have moved into the forest areas of Jammu they must be tackled there by the Indian Army. Terrorists, homegrown as well as foreign-trained, have their own strategies and cannot be second-guessed. The Army can only launch a cordon and search operation. After the Doda attack, it was in the Desa forests. Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of the J&K Police were involved.

So, asking for Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s exact whereabouts after a terror attack is pointless; more important is to ask what went wrong with the government’s J&K policy? The June 16 high-level meeting outlined a number of steps to be taken to bring to a halt the terrorist attacks. The places most hit by terror attacks are Jammu, Doda and Reasi. Amit Shah spoke of “area domination” and “zero-terror” in the Jammu division like in Kashmir.

Whatever happened to both in the fight against terror in Jammu? Recent incidents of terror attacks speak of a degree of failure though the government says terror has “shrunk” in recent months and that terrorism will be rooted out soon. “Amit Shah emphasised seamless coordination amongst the security agencies, identifying vulnerable areas and addressing the security concerns of such areas,” a Home Ministry statement said.

The Kathua terror attack, which lasted all of two hours, does not support the statement. Soldiers fired 5000 rounds and repelling the terror attack cost not only lives, it also put a dent on resources including use of choppers to locate the terrorists and their forest hideouts.

What angers common folks, however, are tweets such as “J&K: The Indian Army uses a helicopter to carry out a search operation in the forests of Doda as the hunt for terrorists in the region is on. Four Indian Army personnel including an Officer have been killed in action during an encounter with terrorists in Doda.”

There is something diabolically clinical and abrupt in such messaging.

They, however, also ask questions of such luminaries like the Union Home Minister, how did the high-level meeting chaired by him help? What is his reply to the martyred officer’s mother Nobody is questioning the Modi government’s commitment to India’s security, but accountability at several levels has to be fixed, including at the ministry level.

In less than a month’s time, the Modi-led NDA government will be celebrating yet another anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and there will be much bonhomie and congratulatory pats, but did the abrogation of Article 370 secure Jammu & Kashmir from terror attacks? Did it help the Indian Army in fighting terror, within the state and on the Line of Control?

Off and on we hear of “Army withdrawal” from J&K, suggesting that the abrogation of Article 370 had worked. But Army withdrawal does not gel with rising terror attacks. It does strengthen doubts that the LoC is not secure even after the abrogation of Article 370. Terrorists are slipping into India at an alarming rate. What happened to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ghar Mei Ghuske Maarenge”?

The surgical strike and the Balakote airstrikes are vague memories. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gumption is lost and his confidence has evaporated. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is no longer a terrorist-slayer of the first order. Prime Minister Narendra Modi retained Amit Shah as Union Home Minister only to dispel growing public concern that Shah had lost his touch and had failed to put J&K in order.

The relatively poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections was another setback to the BJP/Modi government that is yet to wear off. It has put a target on the NDA government’s back. BJP’s NDA allies have nothing to worry about. The ‘Defence’ portfolio and the ‘Home’ portfolio were retained by the BJP ministers who had held them before.

Shah had said on June 16 that the fight against terrorism in J&K was in its decisive phase and had stressed that “we are determined to root it out as well.” Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a meeting and had asked officials to deploy the “full spectrum of counter-terror capabilities” in Jammu & Kashmir.

Modi and Shah have been talking tough, using words like “need for robust security cover” and “deliver strong response” besides “prevent resurgence at any cost” with “Area Domination Plan and Zero Terror Plan” in Jammu. Question is, does the security situation in J&K allow for holding elections, how can terror and elections go together, just like how terror and talks cannot go together. (IPA Service)

The article Terror Killings In Reasi, Kathua, Doda – What Is Home Minister Doing? appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The stage is decked for a massive political fight. NGO All India Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has taken upon itself the task of using everything in its quiver to compel the Supreme Court to overturn its verdict on maintenance to divorced Muslim women. The board met on Sunday and ruled that the top court had no business interfering in marriages and divorces of Muslim men and women.

The AIMPLB’s intransigence on such personal laws intrinsic to Muslims is the envy of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis, who wouldn’t dare to read the riot act to the topmost court of the land. For Muslims, though, it is routine and mostly they are given the right of “my way or the highway”. No wonder, the verdict on maintenance for Muslim women delivered by justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih is so startling to the Muslim ear.

For sure, the Supreme Court’s potency will be on test. How the NDA government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi handles this open defiance of the top court will be keenly watched. It is no secret that Muslims are a force unto themselves. Especially, when the issue is a tinderbox and potentially an IED! AIMPLB will ask for a larger SC bench.

Almost the entire Muslim community believes CJI DY Chandrachud will uphold Sharia. Divorced Muslim women’s maintenance is a sensitive issue. Sharia allows Muslim men the luxury of four wives at a time. This entitlement, however, could leave behind a string of ex-wives! If each of those ex-wives have to be given maintenance, imagine the financial burden on the ex-husband? Even beg, borrow or steal will not save him his present, and his future.

But in real life things never deteriorate to such a sorry pass. The Sharia is “kavach”, which even the Muslim divorced woman has to abide by. Most important, the AIMPLB is defender and protector of Sharia, a role it takes very seriously. The depredatory instincts of the “majoritarian” ideology has to be kept in mind.

The AIMPLB is last resort and history is witness to how far the Congress will go to maintain status quo on the vexatious issue of maintenance for divorced Muslim women. Imagine a Muslim male with two marriages intact and another two divorced. The divorced are “ajnabi” — total strangers to the ex-husband. If there was one ex-wife asking for maintenance, it wouldn’t be penury. But what happens, if there are two, three, four ex-wives? The Muslim male will have to hock his socks. The Sharia anticipated such a situation and came to the rescue of the Muslim male hundreds of years ago.

Like everybody else, the Muslim male also looks for his convenience and a string of ex-wives and their offspring should be far from his untroubled thoughts. Only then will Sharia prevail, both in letter, and in spirit. The AIMPLB has, therefore, rejected the Supreme Court’s ruling on Section 125 CrPC for Muslim women. On Sunday, AIMPLB authorized itself to challenge the SC verdict.

Mohd. Abdul Samad’s appeal to the top court must not be dismissed at any cost. Sharia is divine law and Supreme Court justices are mere mortals. The AIMPLB has ruled that Samad does not have to pay alimony ordered by the family court and upheld by the Telangana High Court — Indian judiciary’s writ does not run against the all-powerful Sharia.

The Supreme Court has no option but to bow to the AIMPLB’s ruling. Of course, the Constitution of India is supreme, no doubt about that. But, hey, “it is India’s secular Constitution which says most emphatically that Sharia cannot be touched.” The AIMPLB also ruled that the UCC in Uttarakhand wasn’t for Muslims. Neither changes to Waqf properties. Instead stop the mob lynching. And uphold the Places of Worship Act, speak against Israel’s depredations in Gaza, and “what’s this about the Sunehri Masjid’s demolition we’re hearing.

In short, AIMPLB doesn’t recognize the Supreme Court verdict on maintenance to divorced Muslim women, which is on its way to become an election issue. None of the political parties are supporting the Muslim male and the AIMPLB openly. But the writing on the wall is pretty clear: Muslim women are not in cohesion or coordination. They are a divided lot. Millions of Muslim women recognize their plight but are unwilling and scared to speak up against Sharia and the Muslim male’s hegemony.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi went ahead and used his majority in Parliament to overturn the Supreme Court ruling in the Shah Bano case. Muslim men are now banking on Rahul Gandhi. As long as there is the RSS, and the BJP, Muslim women will not get their due. The BJP went all out to appease Muslim women by removing triple-talaq, but did the Muslim women vote for the BJP in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls?

Absolutely not. The number of BJP leaders coming out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Muslim appeasement slogan ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is increasing by the day. More and more NDA politicians are openly speaking against appeasement of Muslims with “roti, dal and makaan”. The murmurs are getting louder by the day and pressure is mounting on the NDA.

Bowing down to the AIMPLB’s Sharia diktat to the Supreme Court of India will be used to polarize and “Hindu-Muslim” will reverberate in state after state going to polls. This is the first time, Muslims in India have come out so strongly against the Supreme Court, pitting the Constitution of India against the “Holy Quran”. Till now Muslims had limited themselves to saying “Quran Comes First” only in TV debates. This is the first time the cry is being heard everywhere — perhaps, one day from tree- and rooftops, too.

The AIMPLB diktat had come after the Supreme Court said “maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the CrPC is religion neutral” and applicable to all married women irrespective of their religion. (IPA Service)

The article Massive Political Fight Awaits Maintenance For Muslim Divorced Women appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

BJP leader Narendra Modi in his first term as NDA Prime Minister of India shouldn’t have forgotten how to kowtow, and kowtow to whom? Why he went to Russia before kowtowing to the United States is a mistake. Why he went and hugged Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bigger mistake. Modi’s hugging habit is working against India’s interests. Also, Modi might have forgotten his Chanakya, but the Americans have their Sun Tzu correct: An enemy’s friend is an enemy.

With relations strained, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had a telephonic talk with US counterpart Jake Sullivan on July 12. They discussed a range of issues in the growing shadow of Modi and Putin clinched in a bear-hug. Jake and Ajit found the strain unbearable is the verdict of foreign policy wonks. The high-level engagements under the Quad framework would be impacted.

Truth is, Prime Minister Modi has been under the weather ever since his third shot at becoming third-time BJP Prime Minister of India was rudely cut short by a surging opposition. NSAs Jake and Ajit are now trying to salvage whatever is left of cordial ties. A sterile MEA readout, smelling of diplomatic anaesthesia, is available: “The NSAs agreed to work closely to further advance India-US relations, which are built on shared values and common strategic and security interests,” the readout said, stressing on the need to address global challenges to peace and security, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had put at risk with his gay abandon with President Putin! There is concern that the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership is more or less dead.

The fact is, the massive strain is impinging India-US ties. The fault lies squarely on India, with Modi trying to make a triangle of the binary! Did Modi underestimate the United States? It is still a unipolar world with the United States the sole superpower. Modi in his first term as NDA Prime Minister appears to have forgotten the cardinal points that govern US ties with lesser nations.

The thought that he’s “Vishwaguru” seems to have gotten to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s head. He wants to single-handedly bring peace between Putin and Zelensky. The Nobel Peace Prize is waiting. But with the US sidelined, will Modi ever realize get to hold his dream? Also, Narendra Modi may or may not last in the high office even till November of this year when the United States will elect its next President.

Right now, the Biden administration has had enough of the ‘Hugging-Modi’ who will regret he isn’t the ‘Smiling Buddha’. NSA Jake Sullivan hinted at this when he said China and not Russia was the better bet for India after Modi spoke of “Yuddha” and “Buddha” and how the twain shall never meet as long as he was around.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi starts speaking in poorly conceived riddles is when India should start worrying. The way things have panned out, Moscow has gotten its angle right, but the United States is aghast at how Modi is angling for global attention at the cost of US friendship. The obtuse angle Modi has taken vis a vis the United States is sureshot hara-kiri.

After Modi’s return from the Russia-Vienna tour, the realization has struck New Delhi that Modi in his first term as NDA Prime Minister has forgotten all that he learned in his two terms as BJP Prime Minister. The tremendous strain on India-United States relations is the talk of the US town. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow must be rated highly disastrous for India-US ties by any reckoning.

For sure, NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not get an invitation to address the US Congress again unless, perhaps, if Donald Trump makes himself a fixture in the White House with Melania and Barron Trump for four more years. Jake Sullivan and Ajit Doval have the hard job to correct the strained bilateral ties again, but with Prime Minister Narendra Modi bent on winning the Nobel Peace Prize, chances are India-US ties will not be any better than they are today.

NSAs Jake Sullivan and Ajit Doval have agreed to “work closely” and advance bilateral ties including addressing matters related to the Quad. There is the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers meeting and then a summit of the Quad leaders to be held later this year. It is at such meets that Prime Minister Narendra Modi revels in. If the Quad disintegrates, Prime Minister Modi will lose the will to live!

The United States is not humoured. Under the diplomatic camouflage, the Americans are really pissed off. India’s ties with Russia go back to the Soviet-era and the US administration isn’t happy Modi is taking them to greater heights. Modi has been warned to hold back the raging testosterone, but who is listening?

Before the Modi-Putin hug, there was the “conversation” between US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra. Also, State Department officials had been talking with India’s acting Ambassador to the United States. And US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti cautioned the NDA government of Modi that the United States should not be “taken for granted”. Jake Sullivan mentioned India’s “bad bet” on Russia, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an ear only for the Russian! The global diplomatic community is missing something. Modi is no ‘Vishwaguru’! He hardly understands the importance of global parleys with everyone taken into confidence. (IPA Service)

The article Prime Minister Narendra Modi Leaves India-US Ties At A Moscow Crossroad appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

‘No’, President Joe Biden is in no mood to step away from the race. Not for the sake of Vice President Kamala Harris nor for making the “Vice President Donald J Trump” gaffe. President Joe Biden mixed up names and titles at the Nato presser in Washington DC, where he answered tricky questions and defended his mental acuity. One skeptical journalist wrote that President Joe Biden “dropped the Ming vase” and then spent the rest of the presser putting it back in shape.

If the Biden-Trump debate left Democrats in panic, after the Nato display, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin wouldn’t want President Joe Biden to be replaced at the top of the Democrat ticket. In any case, Biden says there is no way he will quit the race. But Biden’s friend, George Clooney, the ‘Ocean Eleven’ actor, says Biden is all at sea and should call it a day.

Clooney penned an op-ed in the New York Times to catch Biden’s attention which is firmly fixed on becoming the “47th”. But Clooney and half the Democratic line-up appearing on Fox, CNN, ABC and NBC, not to mention CBS and MSNBC, want President Joe Biden to take Clooney’s hint and get the hell out.

The evening prime-time also is concerned about President Joe Biden’s cognitive ability to negotiate the slippery slope ahead. Republican Party rival and candidate Donald Trump watched Joe’s presser on TV and didn’t mind Joe demoting him to “Vice President”. Also, Kamala Harris will be excused if she sues President Biden for mistakenly mentioning her as “Vice President Donald Trump”.

Reports say Vice President Kamala Harris is being “secretly tested” to find out if she would be a fit replacement for “Candidate Biden”. Will the test be carried out at the Democratic National Convention? President Joe Biden will face the test of his life and Kamala Harris wouldn’t mind if she’s the centre of attention. “President Harris” sounds fine to all manner of tongues, Ukrainian or Pidgin Mandarin.

At the Nato Summit presser, President Joe Biden ruled out any surprises at the Democratic convention. But then, Joe Biden placed himself in danger’s reach when he introduced Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky with the words: “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin!” President Joe Biden’s forgetfulness will one day lead him to the brink’s edge.

Fact is, if President Joe Biden answered questions at the Nato Summit without slipping off-stage, it didn’t mean he wasn’t on the brink. Biden corrected himself after the Putin slip-up, but Biden was living up to his gaffe-prone age – 81 going on 82! Was his performance up to expectations? Perhaps Hunter or Jill Biden would be able to answer better except that both have a conflict of interest.

The truth is, the Joe with “vim and vigour” is a thing of the past. And but for the calamitous June 27 debate, Democrats wouldn’t be in the ‘Panic Room’. A defiant Joe Biden is no panacea for the Democrats’ troubles. Also, President Joe Biden has heard so much about Vice-President Kamala Harris replacing him at the top of the ticket that he’s beyond embarrassment.

“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice-President Trump to be Vice President if I didn’t think she was qualified to be president,” Joe replied, leaving everybody in the room in consternation. Thankfully, Vice President Harris was made of sterner stuff. Mistaking the “59-year-old Black woman” for the “78-year-old orange-man” was akin to blasphemy but in the “pin drop”, the only person unaware of the gaffe was the gaffe-prone President of the United States.

Also, downtown Washington gave President Biden slack. Joe’s friends say he should quit the race while he still can walk! After all, what are friends for? One reporter wrote of the “frog in Joe’s throat” and didn’t find Joe’s “whispering habit” bad-wear! At one point, President Biden said, “I’m following the advice of my commander-in-chief.” Nobody flinched. Not even when he settled for an “anyway” and left it hanging.

‘Ocean’s Eleven’ star George Clooney should have been on stage to rescue Biden though Biden wasn’t all at sea all the time. His decades-long experience in diplomacy, going back to the time of Golda Meir, stood by his stead all through the presser. And he had a good grasp of almost all the international issues dogging the United States.

Trump will have to steal talking points from Biden’s presser to beat Biden in the game. Will Trump be able to best Biden? Biden was asked if he was “damaging America’s standing in the world?” and Biden laughed. “Did you see any damage to our standing in my leading this conference? Have you seen a more successful conference? Find me a world leader who didn’t think it was.”

Once bitten by the presidential bug, President Joe Biden is not twice shy. His hunger to be President for a second time is stronger than all the cries demanding he step down for the sake of party and country, not “putting his own interests ahead of the nation.” It is hard to believe but President Biden says he starts at 7 am and is up till midnight. “I’m not in this for my legacy, I am in this to complete the job I started.”

So, what’s the job he started? Nato, China, Israel, Russia and also ‘India’. Biden takes pride he rebuilt alliances and he enjoys the near-total harmony he has with leaders of the world. There were 11 reporters at the Nato presser. Will President Joe Biden, like Danny Ocean in ‘Ocean’s Eleven’, make a getaway with the biggest political heist in years? (IPA Service)

The article Prez Biden Makes Gaffes Galore And Still Remains In The Race appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent two days in Russia hugging and talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin amidst speculation that Modi has been asked by the United States to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine; that Prime Minister Modi is the only world leader with the influence and clout to put an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Perhaps, for the Indian Prime Minister, Indian Army soldiers killed by terrorists and militants transgressing into Jammu &Kashmir isn’t war by a thousand cuts.

Actually, Indian army soldiers killed in terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir is almost daily occurrence. Five army men were killed on July 8, announced with the usual statements containing words like condolence and brave-heart. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi hardly ever takes note; he tweets on cricket and if some filmstar falls ill, but never to condole a soldier’s killing in an attack on India. Ditto Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh? Manoj Sinha, J&K’s Lt. Gov? What’s common, however, is India’s ‘Who’s Who’ promising to avenge the killings.

People laugh. Here’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia talking big with Russian President Vladimir Putin, talking of bringing an end to the Russia-Ukraine War in that far off land when at home terrorists are killing Indian Army soldiers with an impunity that comes with practice. Whatever happened to Article 370 and the second Modi government’s boast that abrogating Article 370 was the last nail in the cross-border terrorism coffin!

Does Modi’s writ run in J&K? The abrogation of Article 370 was all in vain. Terrorists and militants aren’t scared of the soldiers anymore. Could be the terror modules are getting tougher training at the launching pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Common Indians have always wondered whether the ISI is a better outfit than India’s RAW? The myth of NSA Ajit Doval, supposed to be the top spy in the subcontinent, the one who came in from the cold, stands busted.

Indians were fooled into believing the exotic stories of how Doval remained undercover in Lahore’s streets, talking Punjabi with a local Lahori accent, undiscovered and completely assimilated with the Lahori punjabi denizen. For a long time common aam aadmi Indians were in awe of the spy-grandmaster handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself to India’s NSA!

Ajit Doval remains NSA in Modi’s third term and we are told nothing fazes the super-spy. Does that include the frequent killings of Indian Army soldiers by ISI-trained Pakistani terrorists and their proxies in Jammu & Kashmir? Intelligence is a casualty under Doval’s watch and there’s nobody to pin accountability on. What is NSA Doval doing other than not fielding questions on how his son is alleged beneficiary of papa’s position and power? Jay Shah isn’t the only odd man out thriving on dynasty.

Going back to avenging the killings of Indian Army soldiers, Modi’s tall talk has been cut to size. The Kathua killings of five army men will not go unavenged, said Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane. India is sending a “strong message” to the enemy laced with “grief on the loss of five bravehearts”. And their “sacrifice will not go unavenged.” One of the slain soldiers was a Junior Commissioned Officer. The terrorists vanished in the thick foliage.

Responsibility for the attack has been taken by an outfit called “Kashmir Tigers”, which has links with the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). Monday’s attack on Indian troops was the second in two days. Islamist terrorists are enjoying themselves in J&K and India’s counter terrorist operations aren’t succeeding. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is busy massaging Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ego. Putin is a dictator and Prime Minister Narendra Modi risks being alluded to as a dictator’s sidekick.

At home, PM Narendra Modi is not effective. Witness what’s happening in J&K, and what is happening in Manipur? How will India, Modi, Shah and Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh avenge the frequent killings of Indian troops? Surgical strikes, airstrikes like Balakote? Modi doesn’t appear to be partial to “Ghar Me Ghuske Maarenge” any more. That was a one-off strike and not to be resorted to again. Modi’s earlier two terms often raised “PoK” and there are reports that the “recapture of PoK” will be the next big step waiting to happen in Modi’s third term.

Election 2024 hit hard Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s legacy. At the end of Modi’s third term, Modi’s 2014 and 2019 victories will not be spoken about as much as BJP’s slide to minority status under Modi’s watch, with his boundless arrogance to blame.

The “Recapture of PoK” is there, right at the top, in Modi’s third-term priorities. If Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru lost the territory to Pakistan, Modi has to recapture the lost territory. Modi’s Nehru obsession will follow Modi to the grave. Till then, Indian Army soldiers will keep getting killed at the LoC, and ambushed in the dense forests of Jammu. It ain’t Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fault that he has to put an end to the Russia-Ukraine War, after all that is the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first priority. Indian soldiers getting killed in Jammu & Kashmir is common place. Russian and Ukrainian getting killed in Ukraine is top priority, must be stopped at all costs. Till then everything stops, from Manipur to J&K. (IPA Service)

The article <div>Terrorist Killing In J&K Continuing As Narendra Modi Talks Of Peace In Moscow</div> appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

A 2012 government note said that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is the “Shadow Prime Minister of India”. Does Raebareli Congress MP Rahul Gandhi know he is the “Shadow Prime Minister of India”? Modi has been Rahul Gandhi’s target inside and outside Parliament ever since June 4. So much so, after Rahul Gandhi became LoP, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had been forced to defend Prime Minister Narendra Modi from repeated Rahul attacks.

Rahul Gandhi must know that with great power comes great responsibility and the LoP of the 18th Lok Sabha is no exception. The LoP has the rank of a cabinet minister. The LoP’s role is to oppose the government’s questionable policies. But he cannot obstruct. Rahul Gandhi was seen goading opposition MPs to indulge in sloganeering and invade the “Well”.

Rahul Gandhi should ensure accountability of the government. He should come up with alternatives to government policies. He should facilitate “smooth functioning” of the House. Does Rahul Gandhi know the LoP should always be ready to take charge of India if the Congress-led alliance secures a majority or Modi’s NDA government resigns or is defeated?

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav says Modi’s NDA government will fall in August, in which case, is Rahul Gandhi ready and equipped to form government? The 2012 government note says the LoP should by his actions and words act like he is the Prime Minister of India. The open and shut question is, does LoP Rahul Gandhi measure his words? Are his actions above board and does he act with a sense of responsibility?

From what we have seen of Rahul Gandhi in action as LoP, the man has not covered himself with glory and propriety. Rahul Gandhi was seen goading Opposition MPs to invade the Well of Lok Sabha when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was calling Rahul Gandhi “Balakbuddhi”. Like they say “one wrong does not invite another”. Rahul Gandhi should ensure he behaves. Perhaps Rahul Gandhi will learn “on the job”.

Second, the LoP should not do or say anything that demoralizes the armed forces serving the country. Even if he thinks the government’s defence policies are dangerous. Rahul Gandhi’s comments on Agniveer could be said out of earshot of the “common people”. The Defence policy should not be politically weaponized. The LoP can raise them in appropriate parliamentary committees.

“And in times of grave national crisis, the Leader of the Opposition usually underlines the unity of the nation on a particular issue by openly identifying himself with the Government policy,” says the government note. Most importantly, the LoP will not raise sensitive India-specific matters when abroad. The LoP is also the “official spokesperson” of the minorities, a department in which Rahul Gandhi does not need lessons.

Fact is, Rahul Gandhi has been more active in the Lok Sabha than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi’s “antics” have kept both Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker on edge. There has never been a LoP quite like Rahul Gandhi. Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi were also LoP and so was Indira Gandhi, but never such a livewire.

Again, the 16th and 17th Lok Sabhas did not have a LoP. Both times none of the opposition parties could muster the 55 Lok Sabha seats necessary for the LoP position. Rahul Gandhi commands 99 Lok Sabha seats. The Opposition total is 235 MPs. The BJP alone has 240, but the manner in which Rahul Gandhi marshalled “his resources”, it was as if the Congress was the “ruling party”! Prime Minister Narendra Modi was left lurching on his feet on many occasions.

Parliament closed and Rahul Gandhi took the offensive outside. From New Delhi to Gujarat and from the Prime Minister’s home-state to Manipur. Do Manipur’s Meitei and Kuki know that LoP Rahul Gandhi is deemed “Shadow Prime Minister of India”, directing opposition fire on the ruling alliance? BJP spokespersons think the LoP position has gone to Rahul Gandhi’s head. One gets the impression Rahul Gandhi is Prime Minister minus the paraphernalia!

Congress has more than 10 percent of seats in the Lok Sabha. It is a moral victory, say Congress supporters.

Rahul Gandhi won with the Constitution is the second accomplishment of the Gandhi scion. And Rahul Gandhi took the MP’s oath on the Constitution of India. The 18th Lok Sabha will be remembered for Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is just an adjunct.

Rahul Gandhi made BJP Lok Sabha MPs nervous when his biting words, linking Hindus to violence and ‘a-satya’, brought a Prime Minister to his feet! This hadn’t happened in 75-plus years. What else is in store for the BJP from a LoP bent on stamping his authority on the narrative? What happens when he gets to ask questions in key decision-making committees? Key appointments will need the LoP’s assent — for the appointment of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner, and that of the CBI. Rahul Gandhi as LoP will make things very difficult for the NDA government.

Rahul Gandhi has now warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will defeat the BJP in Gujarat. In the same manner in which the INDI-Alliance took away Ayodhya. “And with that INDI-Alliance ended the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Movement,” Rahul Gandhi bragged in Ahmedabad, his attacks on Hinduism and Hindus unabated despite Muslims India-wide by now favouring the Congress.

What is Rahul Gandhi’s game-plan? Does Rahul Gandhi actually think the Congress can defeat the BJP in Gujarat? The Congress got 99 seats out of 543 in election 2024 and Rahul Gandhi is still patting himself on the back. The Congress won one Lok Sabha seat against the BJP’s 25 in Gujarat and Rahul Gandhi says the Congress will defeat the BJP in Gujarat! How, and what makes Rahul Gandhi the all-conquering LoP?

Rahul Gandhi is drawing parallels with Ayodhya. But Ayodhya was won on the back of slogans such as “BJP with 400 paar will finish off reservations”, and “BJP will rewrite the Constitution”. To paraphrase, the electorate cannot be fooled all the time. Besides, Gujarat is not Faizabad. The Hindu vote consolidation in Gujarat is impossible to break even with Muslim votes consolidation or with a Caste Census. Gujarati pride and a Gujarati Prime Minister are hard to beat.

Rahul told Gujaratis in Ahmedabad, “The movement which was started by Advani Ji, whose centre was Ayodhya, INDIA Alliance has defeated that movement in Ayodhya…” Rahul Gandhi also “claimed” Prime Minister Narendra Modi “wanted to contest from Ayodhya, but his surveyors advised him against doing so saying he will be defeated and his political career will end.” The thing is just like a Prime Minister cannot lie or fool all the people all the time, a ‘Shadow Prime Minister’ also cannot lie and fool all the people all the time. (IPA Service)

The article As Leader Of The Opposition, Rahul Gandhi Has To Abide By Norms In Lok Sabha appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, founded by former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, transformed to Bharat Rashtra Samithi, a change brought about because KCR wanted a national role for the party and the Prime Minister’s post for himself. KCR proved to be overambitious and BRS couldn’t make the cut in 2023. It lost Telangana to the Congress in the last assembly polls. Lok Sabha 2024 wasn’t any better for the lanky leader.

Now, KCR says no one can dismantle the BRS even as a number of leaders are deserting BRS like the odd wife abandons all pretence and deserts her legally-wedded hubby who frequently goes astray. When KCR mentioned “dismantle”, he was indirectly talking of the Congress Chief Minister of Telangana, A. Revanth Reddy.

And when he spoke of “unwavering confidence” in his party returning to power after losing to Revanth Reddy, he was relying on his own prophecy. For, like all leaders, KCR was pumping up his party cadre who were showing signs of restlessness. Ten years after the formation of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, party morale was at its lowest.

In December 2023, KCR spoke of temporary setbacks and asserted “we will bounce back.” Also, KCR was the first politician to take note of “Congress’ success is due to false promises”, whether that be in the Karnataka Assembly elections or in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has mastered the art of convincing voters with bundles of promises made off the cuff. Women voters know the pitfalls of falling for slick talk.

The BRS lost the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections last year by a slender margin of 1.8 percent votes. For months thereafter, the future of BRS looked bleak and KCR’s family was caught in the doldrums. KCR’s daughter K Kavitha is in Tihar, giving company to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyender Jain. Father KCR is at his wits end as Kavitha stares at the blank Tihar walls.

Nobody can talk of the future of the BRS better than KCR and he says BRS has a great future. In fact, ask KCR and he says “the future belongs to BRS”. K Chandrasekhar Rao goes to the extent of predicting a “bright future”. KCR says BRS will return to power in Telangana, and “stay in power for 15 years”. KCR has all of a sudden become very active, addressing meetings here, there and meeting party leaders everywhere.

Chandrashekar Rao has reasons to hope for a bright future. The party is in the rut and things can only get better. The BRS Chief is being challenged. The morale in the party has to be revived. Party leaders and party cadre haven’t as yet reconciled to the defeat at the hands of the Congress in 2023. The Assembly election defeat, the Lok Sabha polls humiliation and now party MLAs joining the Congress in droves.

KCR is creating a new set of leaders in the BRS. And he reminisces of the good old days. He dreams of the party growing stronger all over again. He is raising issues that concern the people and he is asking why the same officers who worked in his regime are now unable to resolve the state’s power and drinking water supply problems? Why is the Revanth Reddy regime unable to stop the “crime wave”? KCR says Revanth’s Congress government is “inefficient”.

“The Congress has a habit. It has a revolting behaviour. The Revanth Reddy government will fall on its own. We saw this after the TD lost power in unified AP, and Congress came to power. We should not dwell on those who left the party after enjoying power for a long time in the BRS. We should be patient, and we will come back to power,” he said.

But patience doesn’t pay when there are those who are impatient. In the latest, six BRS members of the legislative council deserted and crossed over to the Congress with Revanth Reddy himself receiving the BRS turncoats into the grand old party. What can the BRS Chief do, except wring hands?

The 40-member Telangana Legislative Council has 25 BRS members, four Congress MLCs, four nominated MLCs, two AIMIM members and one each of the BJP, PRTU, and one independent MLC. Two seats are vacant. But with the six BRS MLCs shifting allegiance, the Congress number has gone up to 10. Apparently, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is all set for a cabinet expansion.

Revanth Reddy is feeling threatened in the Congress and he is resorting to strengthening himself within the party by luring BRS leaders to join the Congress. Latest BRS recruits to the Congress include Rajya Sabha MP K Kesava Rao, making him the seventh leader from the KCR-led party to join the Congress. Fact is, Revanth Reddy is strengthening himself by weakening KCR.

Revanth Reddy’s rise in the Congress is resented by many Congress leaders of bygone vintage. Revanth, who holds the dual posts of Chief Minister and state unit chief, is set to give up the post of state unit chief and he wants to have a say in who replaces him. Revanth joined the Congress in 2017 and within a matter of just six years he was the TPCC Chief, sidelining heavyweights in the party who have been in leadership roles in the Congress from long ago.

The irony is KCR is paying for Revanth Reddy’s rise and the fall of those old heavyweights. KCR and BRS will have to think out of the box to regain previous glory. For now, KCR can only give pep talks and hold up cadre morale. Established BRS leaders cannot be trusted. (IPA Service)

The article Revanth Reddy’s Rise Is K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s Fall appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

“Joe and Jill went up the hill…

For Joe to get a second term…

Joe fell down and broke his crown…

And Jill came tumbling after…”

But no, President Joe Biden’s wife Dr Jill Biden isn’t ready to come “tumbling after”. On the contrary, Joe has Jill’s back and there is no way Jill will even attempt to convince Joe to give up the broken crown. As far as Jill is concerned, those who are clamouring for Joe’s towel in the ring, post the debate debacle on June 27, they can go take a dunk in cold water.

More and more democrats are calling on Joe Biden to get off his high-horse. Quite a few are betting on Vice President Kamala Harris. Indian-American Nikki Haley says ‘God Save the USA’ if Harris takes the crown. Haley is a closet RINO – ‘Republican in Name Only’. And Haley watched the Trump-Biden debate from her South Carolina home, perhaps praying Biden beats the living daylights out of Donald Trump.

Then, Nikki would have willy-nilly got another shot at being the Republican nominee. But Trump knocked Biden out of the park and Haley is now offering unsolicited advice to both Biden and Trump. She told Trump to be ready to face a “younger democrat”, but Biden won the primaries and all the delegates thereof. Biden will remain the Democratic nominee unless he quits on his own. Nikki Haley’s obituary for Biden hardly counts in the democratic party..

There are bigger and more legit persuaders trying to convince President Joe Biden to let go of the ‘American Sengol’. But Joe has a dislike for honourable exit. He also has former President Barack Obama’s back. Obama’s faith in Biden’s ability to beat forgetfulness and a tendency to wander off-stage is touching. People forget that Joe Biden was Barack Obama’s Vice President for the full eight years.

Now, Biden doesn’t want to be robbed of his “eight years”. Two presidential terms is the limit and Biden wants his quota of eight. But whoever thought Joe would flunk the debate test and ‘Liar Don’ would walk away with the kudos. The Biden White House is convinced Donald Trump doesn’t deserve another four years in the Oval Room. And despite a Democratic Party in panic, Joe isn’t relenting. Instead, the Biden White House is doubling down on Joe’s resolve to stick around till all hell freezes or the heavens come down.

President Joe Biden has a devoted bunch of diehard backers. But it is Dr. Jill Biden, whose faith in her husband’s capabilities runs deep, who is his bulwark. Jill has been by Joe’s side for 47 years and the two can communicate with their eyebrows! Jill Biden is dead against anybody deciding for Joe. As far as Jill knows Joe, his mental acuity is of top quality and his trepidatious walk doesn’t need a debate to jump to judgment.

Reports say the Biden household sat down for a reckoning and the decision was President Joe Biden should not and will not abdicate. And but for the fact that Dr. Jill Biden is a non-violent person, there would have been hell to pay, all around. The advisor role in Joe’s life is open only for Biden family members — Jill Biden, son Hunter Biden and Hunter’s sister, Valerie Biden. Of them, Hunter Biden is the most adamant President Joe Biden doesn’t bow to pressure.

Among President Joe Biden’s critics are a bunch of newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, even elements in CNN, which had held the “disastrous” debate, and an array of influential media personalities. Off late, after their advice to Biden went begging for a response, the media have painted a target on Dr. Jill Biden’s back.

“Jill Biden and her potential power are suddenly being thrust into the spotlight like never before,” a website wrote in an editorial. And Jill’s involvement in Joe’s campaign and his decisions is being questioned. The 81-year-old Biden couldn’t have stumbled at a more inopportune time. Very prominent people are asking for Joe Biden’s scalp.

But, says Jill Biden, “Joe isn’t just the right person for the job. He’s the only person for the job.” And then, she told Vogue magazine, “We will continue to fight…Will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been President.” In response, the New York Post featured Joe in an unflattering photo with the caption “Vague.”

People are not blaming Biden anymore, they’re going all out after Jill Biden. One billionaire investor and donor said this of Jill Biden, “The first lady becomes irrelevant the moment her husband is no longer president.” Another media outlet had this to headline Joe’s wife Jill, “Cruel Jill clings to power.” Cruel. Savage. Merciless. (IPA Service)

The article Bizarre Developments In Democratic Party Over Joe Biden’s Sticking To Candidacy appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his reply to the motion of thanks to the President’s address to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after a day of holding forth in the Lok Sabha. The opposition sought to drown Modi’s voice in the din of constant sloganeering. The Prime Minister did not let the noise get under his skin – allow the unending interruptions to spoil his day out in the Rajya Sabha.

The Opposition on its part refused to let parliamentary decorum come in the way of the Congress’ quest to derail Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s train of thought. Underlying the Opposition’s quest was to deny the ruling party the pleasure of labeling Rahul Gandhi ‘Pappu’ – after having flogged to death this premise.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rechristened Rahul Gandhi “Balak buddhi”, which translates to “childish behavior”. Modi takes his leader’s role seriously, but does not think that Rahul Gandhi also has the right to take his LoP role with the same seriousness.

This much was apparent on July 2 when Narendra Modi spoke in defence of the President’s address. When Rahul Gandhi delivered his maiden LoP speech and then asked journalists, “What do you think of my maiden speech, it was good, right?”

Rahul Gandhi was incredibly impressed by his own speech and perhaps Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took note that this politician wasn’t just a PM-in-waiting. On July 1, Modi was a grim figure as Rahul
Gandhi went about dismantling Hinduism brick by brick. Modi on July 2, congratulated “new BJP MPs” for a great job done. Now, after Rahul Gandhi riling Hindus with some important home truths, the BJP is working on discrediting LoP Rahul Gandhi with the obnoxious Hindu-hater tag.

Rahul Gandhi had identified BJP/RSS with ‘violence and hate’ Gandhi erred when he thoughtlessly zeroed in on Hindus as the source of all the violence visited on “the minority”. This led to protests everywhere and there are people “who call themselves Hindu”.

Modi stood up and stressed that “calling the entire Hindu society violent was a serious matter.” As long as Narendra Modi remains Prime Minister and the NDA government doesn’t topple, ‘Hindu-Muslim’ would not be going anywhere. LoP Rahul Gandhi has seen to that. This will be because, the Congress now wants to reclaim its Hindu votebank which the BJP usurped after the coming of Narendra Modi.

Rahul Gandhi does not only want the Muslim vote bank, he is also wooing the Hindu vote bank of the Bharatiya Janata Party. One might label this a little premature as 2029 is months and years ahead, but don’t forget Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra would be going to polls shortly and having the Hindus on your side is half the battle won.

Prime Minister Modi has been hitting the Congress without pause and he knows the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra had gone woefully wrong for the BJP. The Hindu votebank had deserted the BJP with Modi himself criticized for taking “Hindus for granted”. Modi has forgotten that the Hindu is basically “violent, violent and violent’ like the LoP in the Lok Sabha said. Especially after Narendra Modi took charge of India.

Modi should know that the poll verdict went against the BJP only because all of a sudden, especially after Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, Modi was seen as a wek Prime Minister and Rahul on a rugged path was by far more aggressive – the phata-phat leader who doesn’t let his party workers down as the BJP did in the aftermath of the West Bengal assembly elections.

The Hindu is always looking for a violent resolution of contentious issues. And off late, confidence in Modi has plummeted. As long as there was Pulwama and Balakote, Modi got the votes and the verdict in his favour. But no Pulwama and Balakote and Modi is no longer “Modi hai toh mumkin hai”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t the Superman he used to be; he who the Hindus admire. If the Hindus don’t forgive him for overlooking them while appeasing Pasmanda Muslims, the BJP will find it very hard in Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Then there is the big one – Uttar Pradesh in 2027.
(IPA Service)

The article Modi fears Rahul Gandhi is taking away BJP’s Hindu vote bank appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was slated to reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address at 4 pm on Tuesday. PM Modi must have spent the previous hours prepping for the reply which came nearly 24 hours after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had set ablaze the Lok Sabha with his maiden speech as LoP. Some say the Prime Minister must have burned midnight oil overnight drafting the reply in his head. Rahul Gandhi did not leave him any option with a fiery address which brought both Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to their feet at different points in time, compelled to break the spell cast by the newly anointed LoP.

Earlier in the day on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi learned that several portions of his speech had been expunged by Speaker Om Birla. The expunged excerpts pertained to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on NEET, Agniveer and his comments on Hinduism which brought Modi and Shah to their feet. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were in the visitor’s gallery when he took to task Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP besides the entire lot of Hindus “who call themselves Hindu”. In Rahul’s book, there are also Hindus “who do not call themselves Hindu” and this second lot is harmless, and not seething in anger looking for revenge.

So, Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced an uphill task. He must have burned midnight oil to give a befitting reply to the LoP, who has made a burning impression with his Motion of Thanks to the President’s address. The Prime Minister was the last one to speak and the question troubling the BJP was how would the Prime Minister counter the LoP who had come armed to take on Modi straight on. Including material, like posters of Lord Shiva, Jesus Christ and Guru Nanak. Of course, Rahul Gandhi raised “Hindu-Muslim” and praised Prophet Muhammad for being the epitome of “Peace”, but played safe by not alluding to an image of the Prophet.

The LoP touched on all the raw nerves of the BJP, capping his narrative with a comparative analysis of the religions practiced in India. In the process, Rahul Gandhi pronounced the BJP godless without a religion of its own to practice, only calling themselves Hindu. PM Modi’s all-encompassing slogan ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ couldn’t have been given more summary burial. LoP Rahul Gandhi got the chance and reason to zero in on a religion to make an example of it.

Rahul Gandhi garnered cheers and Modi had to settle for jeers. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was compelled to defend the Hindu after the Prime Minister became the first casualty of Rahul’s fiery address. Like always, with “those who called themselves Hindu”, the BJP was reduced to defending the supposedly indefensible, a lesson which they haven’t learned in a 1000 years of subjugation. The Hindu has had a target on his back and Rahul Gandhi is not the first leader to make an example of the Hindu. Rahul Gandhi held up Lord Shiva and Rahul Gandhi is a “Shiv bhakt”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to counter “Rahul’s Scathing Attack Against the BJP”. Truly, the Prime Minister couldn’t have been in a bigger fix, his oratorical skills were put to the test by a first-time LoP. Modi had the onerous task to undo the damage done to him and his party? He was up against Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that Hinduism is “not about spreading fear, hatred and falsehoods”. Did Modi’s party and his government spread fear, hatred and falsehoods? Modi did not have the option to say “No LoP, you are wrong.” Those “who call themselves Hindu” were hard-up for alternatives. At least half of India call themselves ‘Hindu’, but Modi had worked himself into a corner and was not in a position to defend Hindus.

Then, there were the LoP’s accusations that the BJP had launched “systematic attacks on the Constitution” and the “fundamental idea of India”. It was very difficult for the Prime Minister to deny and destroy these two accusations. The LoP’s fight with the Prime Minister continued throughout Rahul’s speech and Rahul Gandhi managed to get under the skins of both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. At one time even the Raksha Mantri stood up to deflect and refute the LoP. The LoP’s claim that “those who call themselves Hindus” were engaged in “violence and hate” was an opening the BJP grabbed with open hands with Modi calling it a “serious matter”.

But then, that was the LoP’s intention, to turn everything against the Bharatiya Janata Party into a “serious matter”, requiring urgent intervention. Prime Minister Modi and the hordes of BJP MPs had been watching Rahul Gandhi for 10 long years and the assessment was “this guy is not a threat”. Rahul Gandhi kept his place in the third row of the Opposition benches and he spoke very little. On occasion he used to even nod off. Then, there were days when he didn’t turn up at all, which had become a butt of BJP jokes.

So, this was the MP who became LoP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah didn’t think Rahul Gandhi would be a threat or a challenge to the BJP and the Modi-led NDA government. But LoP Rahul Gandhi gave both Modi and Shah a jolt as he took the sledgehammer to the BJP and 10 years of Modi-rule with a vengeance and severity not seen in the 75-plus years of parliamentary democracy and if that required doing “Hindu-Muslim”, so be it.

LoP Rahul Gandhi came ready to attack. The slim red copy of the Constitution of India took a backseat as he brought all the gods upfront, those who could be seen, and into the Lok Sabha, where they became part of the campaign to discredit the Modi regime. Modi and Shah should have known what was coming. Who sneaked in the portraits of lord Shiva, Guru Nanak and Jesus Christ is not known, but the gods were on Rahul Gandhi’s side as he went about dismantling “those who call themselves Hindu”. With the Constitution of India put to bed, the battle lines were clearly drawn. Rahul Gandhi chose to do a comparative analysis of religions and gave a clean chit to all except to “those who call themselves Hindu” and “indulge in violence, violence, and more violence.” (IPA Service)

The article Rahul Gandhi Has Finally Emerged As The Fiery Leader Of Opposition appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

The INDI-Alliance is fighting to stay united in Parliament, at least, matching wits with not just the treasury benches and the NDA government but also with the presiding officers of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, the Constitution held high, which is making everybody in the NDA nervous. In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker Om Birla is the bigger adversary of the INDI-Alliance than the NDA Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

So, Samajwadi Party and Congress stick together and the 3-member AAP MP team also answers to the INDI-Alliance call for unity. But the same AAP and Congress are bent on pulling each other down in Delhi where heavy rains and water-logging has led to a running battle between the two. It’s as if water entered both the ears of both the parties. The AAP the other day mocked the Congress with the disparaging ‘Couldn’t open account in past two elections’, the derision cutting deep.

The rivalry often breaks out in the open. A couple of days ago, after heavy rains, the Congress charged the AAP government with deserting Delhi to the elements. Stung to the quick, Delhi health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj attacked Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav. But AAP also advocated unity among opposition parties, aware that jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal needed allies rather than enemies.

Notably, Bharadwaj spoke of carrying on with the fight “for the Constitution”. The Opposition has been holding up the Constitution to corner the government on a host of issues including the Modi government’s handling of NEET/NET that ruined the budding careers of lakhs of students. The need for opposition unity has never been more important than at the present time.

The Janata Dal-U and the Telugu Desam Party have to be shamed into deserting the BJP; coerced to quit the NDA , else face criticism and possible electoral reverses. This mission requires unity. The Congress and the AAP must bury the hatchet if the INDI-Alliance wants to steamroll the NDA when it is at its most vulnerable.

But the BJP-led NDA government must not be allowed the luxury to settle down. The opposition parties’ “fight for the Constitution” is producing results and the fight for the Constitution should continue in both houses of Parliament, even if the constituents of the INDI-Alliance keep contesting each other outside Parliament.

“Opposition parties in the nation are fighting to save the constitution…Division among the opposition parties is not good. The local leadership in different states have the right to express their views,” AAP’s Bhardwaj said.

Waterlogged Delhi did wreak havoc. Three labourers died in a wall collapse. And, as if it was the fault of the Congress, AAP said that the Congress couldn’t open its “account in the past two Delhi assembly elections”, adding, “Devender Yadav is himself losing elections but on the national level, we all are a part of alliance and we don’t want to engage in unnecessary arguments at the local level.”

INC Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor tweeted a video: “This is the corner just outside my home in Lutyens’ Delhi. Woke up to find my entire home under a foot of water — every room. Carpets and furniture, indeed anything on the ground, ruined. Apparently the storm water drains in the neighbourhood are all clogged so the water had no place to go. And they switched off the electricity since 6 am for fear of electrocuting people. Warned my Parliament colleagues that I might not make it there without a boat. But the city managed to pump water out of the roads and I did arrive in time!”

Good for Tharoor and good for Parliament.

So, who controls the city and who saved Tharoor’s day? Cannot be Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Jail is not the place for altruism. Kejriwal continues to be Chief Minister as he rules Delhi from within the walls of the Tihar and the State PWD and MCD are run by Minister Atishi Marlena who was yet to recover from the ill-effects of her indefinite fast for water.

Marlena did not bargain for the deluge. Lutyen’s Delhi is the NDMC’s bailiwick and Tharoor should make a ruckus in the Lok Sabha. Tharoor’s prized collection of books was saved but he should take the sledgehammer to whichever municipal body’s job it was to prevent water-logging in Lutyen’s Delhi. Anything to hold up the Constitution and corner the NDA government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The NDMC area is home to India’s power elite, the crème de la crème. Rashtrapati Bhavan stands on a hill, else President Droupadi Murmu would have been complaining of ‘waterlogging’. Everyone with an axe to grind is complaining and the complaining shouldn’t stop so long as it makes the Centre nervous. The government shouldn’t get the respite it seeks to get the chance to escape accountability, and possible dethroning. (IPA Service)

The article AAP And Congress Are At Odds In Dealing With The Woes Of Rain-Hit Delhi appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

United States Vice President Kamala Harris admitted President Joe Biden could have won the CNN presidential debate on June 27. “Yes, there was a slow start,” she told a top CNN anchor. Yet Harris will not replace Biden on top of the Democratic ticket in case President Biden is persuaded to step off the presidential election stage. It was a possibility discussed widely post the disastrous Biden performance. The debate saw a fumbling Biden get hammered by a forceful Donald Trump.

That said, Trump walked away with the brickbats and the bouquets. America’s dominant left-liberal media wasn’t forgiving Trump though media outlets across the United States acknowledged Biden was the loser and the former President clear winner by more than a mile and a half. The debate was brutal in an understated manner. The moderators gave the two candidates the chance to clobber each other without imposing themselves on the two combatants and from what was on show Trump took full advantage.

The Democrats’ worries about Biden’s age and mental agility, which is different from mental acuity, largely came true. President Joe Biden’s descent into incoherence spelled doom. The President’s mind, more than once, meandered and wandered as if with a mind of its own, unable to stay on path. Apparently, the “preparations” at Camp David, the presidential retreat, left Biden more like a zombie, an answering machine, rather than as a sharp as nails super-duper debater.

President Joe Biden’s age stayed with him throughout the 90-minute debate. In contrast, former President Trump raced through with his answer to the same question without old age casting a shadow on his mental acuity. Trump said he had “aced” not one but “two cognitive tests” even as the CNN Presidential Debate was getting closer and closer. At least one Democrat strategist remarked that President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will be missing “Air Force One” come November.

Meaning, it is only in the United States of America that the Presidential Stage can be dismantled for one candidate by a debate with both candidates at each other’s throat. Americans look forward to and pay attention to the candidates’ views and plans for the country spelled out in the debates. The debates lay bare the candidates’ inner makings. And with a skilled moderator asking the questions, there is no escaping public scrutiny. Victory in even one Presidential debate can make or break a potential White House residency.

Debates won’t work in India. It is unimaginable in China and Russia. Presidential debates are “Only in America” like the saying goes. Some media are going with the “trading insults” narrative with this CNN Presidential Debate with Donald Trump getting more flak than President Joe Biden, who unfortunately had to fight an overnight cold and a “raspy voice”. What went wrong for the media was that Trump kept his cool and refused to grab Biden by the scruff of his neck.

In fact, to tell the truth, Trump actually could succeed in keeping President Biden in check because of the rules of the debate set by CNN. Moderators Tapper and Bash faced flak, later after the debate, for being lacklustre like the Dodo. CNN might have got unprecedented viewing numbers but the moderators could have at least pasted smiles on their “mugs”. It was ironic that Trump who had taken CNN to the Russian cleaners got away with the accusation “Russia, Russia, Russia” twice during the debate.

So what’s in store? Among takeaways there is talk of Democrats panicking and President Joe Biden giving them the creeps by saying “We won the debate” and “We have to defeat this guy, which we can if you are with me”. Most Democratic strategists have given up on Joe Biden. They should blame themselves for waiting till after the debate to conclude that Biden wasn’t the world-beater they had made him into. The manner in which Biden struggled through the first debate has put a question mark on the second one to be held in September.

That second debate is history even as the first one made history. And one newspaper wrote the epitaph — “Bye Bye Biden”. President Biden’s chances for a second term were dashed – that is the thinking – by his meandering, mumbling and fumbling. Question is whether Biden will be replaced with a more mentally alert Democrat at the top of the Democrat ticket? Talk of Michelle Obama entices the Democrats though she isn’t willing. There is also California Gov Gavin Newsom but Newsom doesn’t want to hurt Biden’s debilitating mental acuity. And Kamala Harris is playing coy.

The debate questions touched abortion, inflation, climate change, foreign affairs and immigration. Trump stole with “confident and forceful” though the media later hit him for misleading with falsehoods. For millions of Democrats, it was painful watching President Joe Biden go down the tube in full public view of a TV audience that must have included the almost entire United States of America — Biden’s halting voice, eyes closed, brow knitted, pupils the size of saucers versus Trump’s assertive diction including the frequent use of “greatest” for himself and the “worst” for Biden.

The number of times President Joe Biden stumbled on his words, he shouldn’t have been standing on his own two feet at the end of the debate, but the President walked off the stage full of oats and brimming with confidence. Appears like Biden is not going out of the Democratic spotlight and Democrats have something to hang on to, after all. There is always the chance of a slip between the cup and the lip. Best of all, Kamala Harris might beat all the odds. (IPA Service)

The article Trump Silences Raspy Voiced President Joe Biden In First Debate appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

President Droupadi Murmu must have known the moment she woke up that she would be mentioning “my government” again and again when she addresses the joint session of Parliament. It is another presidential chore — addressing joint sessions of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, reading out aloud the speech written for her by the government of the day which she did on June 27.

The President of India is restricted in choices. Addressing joint sessions of Parliament and speaking on behalf of “my government” is part of the deal. The President of India, even if she wants to, cannot speak her mind. The “my government” this time was the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That is to say, the “my government” could have been a Rahul Gandhi-led INDI-Alliance government.

But it wasn’t and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NDA government got a chance to stamp BJP’s agenda all over the President’s Address as the President adjusted to the flow of the script given to her. She spoke of the upcoming budget, which if it would be different from earlier Sitharaman budgets, would be scintillating.

Some of the words in the address reminded people of Modi wanting to “change the Constitution”. It also struck people that President Droupadi Murmu’s address had been weaponized to take on the suddenly empowered Opposition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s frustration at not getting “abki baar 400 paar” has been on most everybody’s lips since June 4, election results day, and Modi’s alleged designs on the Constitution of India was cited as one of the more prominent reasons why Prime Minister Narendra Modi got “reduced to minority”.

Realizing the hole he was in, the BJP picked on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s “tanashahi 1975 Emergency” to hit back at the Congress. In both the narratives, the government and the opposition’s, the Constitution of India is the common factor. But the BJP had to go back in time, 49 years to be exact, and resurrect Indira Gandhi to accuse the Congress of doing the greatest harm to the Constitution, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a sitting duck right here and now.

If there was one thing which every opposition MP carried to Parliament in this 18th Lok Sabha, it was a slim hardcover of the Constitution of India. The majority of the opposition MPs took the oath on the statute book, except AIMIM’s Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi who couldn’t get hold of a copy of the Constitution of Palestine.

Of course, President Murmu highlighted the Budget and the many historic steps in the offing, both economic and social, in her address. She spoke of the “speed of the reforms” and the “aspirations of people”.

She urged “healthy competition between states” — with what she called “the spirit of competitive-cooperative federalism”, repeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favourite line that “India has become the world’s fifth-largest economy.”

President Murmu spoke all that the NDA government wrote for her, which was basically Prime Minister Modi’s achievements during the 10 years of BJP rule when he was at the helm. It was about Modi 1:0 and Modi 2:0. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had nothing to gloat about in the President’s Address. Their time will come next year if the NDA government is still around a year from today.

The “average 8 percent growth in the last 10 years” came in for mention in the President’s address as also the little nugget that this growth rate was achieved despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the international conflicts. “India alone is contributing 15 percent to global growth,” President Murmu told the joint session.

And when she spoke of the NEET, she couldn’t do anything else other than promising exemplary punishment to those behind the paper leak. With the Narendra Modi-led NDA government both tongue-tied and hog-tied, President Droupadi Murmu had to “my government” with a great deal less enthusiasm when she spoke on NEET.

The NEET UG-2024 mess and the controversy surrounding the Constitution of India, allegations that the BJP-led NDA government continued to be a threat to BR Ambedkar’s vision for India, left Prime Minister Narendra Modi little leeway to come up with a more uplifting Presidential Address for President Murmu to read aloud.

Whether the Modi government succeeded in mitigating his government’s role in the NEET paper leak will be known when the results for Jharkhand, Haryana and Maharashtra assembly election results are announced. Till then, the BJP will be on tenterhook. That the BJP is against government recruitments is known far and wide.

President Murmu served the Modi Government’s purpose when she raised the “imposition of Emergency in 1975”, noting that it was “the “biggest and darkest chapter” of Indian parliamentary history, what she referred to as “direct attack on the Constitution.” For the Modi government, this was sweet revenge. The INDI-Alliance’s continued attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged designs on the Constitution had left the Prime Minister looking bloodless and pale. The “Constitution War” between the BJP and the INDIA bloc is not going to end anytime soon. (IPA Service)

The article President Droupadi Murmu Braves The Pitfalls In Modi-Govt’s Narrative appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the oath of Member of Parliament on June 24 days after he was sworn in as India’s Prime Minister for the third time. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party doesn’t have a majority but Modi heads the coalition NDA, a pre-poll arrangement which is the Modi government’s claim for legitimacy. Will Modi’s NDA government complete its five-year term? The Opposition is not betting on it, but Sonia Gandhi’s UPA coalition government was run by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for two five-year terms. If Manmohan Singh could do it, so can Narendra Modi even if Modi’s 56” chest has considerably shrunk in the 18th Lok Sabha.

Modi’s arrogance stands sliced, diced and cut to size by a rejuvenated Congress Party and a determined Samajwadi Party. The BJP can only take solace in the belief that under Modi’s leadership, the NDA government will run for its full five years. Rightwing analysts believe Modi will be able to do it if allies like the Janata Dal-U and Telugu Desam Party stay on course.

Modi is walking a tightrope. Don’t forget, Modi has a Masters in Political Science. And he has experience dealing with political friends and foes. But his 2024 election strategy was beaten hollow. Samajwadi Party and the Congress together wiped the smile off Modi’s face. Muslim voters on the one side and Hindu voters on the other, both appeared to have Modi’s number sized up. But for Modi’s NDA allies, he wouldn’t have been third time Prime Minister — equalling Jawaharlal Nehru’s record.

Modi’s wings have been clipped and he lost face. But the BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha and NDA allies don’t mind supporting Hindutva if it suits their politics. That said, Modi will not be in a position to ramrod controversial policies and programmes like the Uniform Civil Code through Parliament. Pro-Congress social media influencers have been warning Modi to be “scared, be very scared”. Janata Dal-U Chief Nitish Kumar and TDP Supremo Chandrababu Naidu have told Modi, he has nothing to worry.

For the time being Modi appears confident. Unlike Manmohan Singh, Modi isn’t facing coalition compulsions. Not when Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu want Centre’s resources to kick-start development of their respective states, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, both of which are poor and in dire need of finances. Modi has sold them the idea of “Viksit Bharat” and has done a good job of it.

Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu might hold the puppet strings, but Modi holds the purse-strings. If Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are at all worried, it’s not the NDA government folding. Their concern is the upcoming Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. These are elections the BJP can ill-afford to lose. If defeated, the NDA government might be looking at amputation and Modi could end up mulling retirement.

But as long as Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu do not pull the plug, Modi will remain in power. Besides, it will be naïve to believe that Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will give up their long-term Hindu nationalistic agenda. The “temporary setback” will be offset with a different governance model. Also, ‘Operation Lotus’ hasn’t been laid to rest. Modi’s campaign-time promise that his third-term will be for “dealing punishment” still rings loud and clear. All that Modi has to do is tweak his strategy — dump the all-encompassing “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”, which the Muslims took advantage of, and replace it with “Jo Saath Usika Vikaas”.

Notably, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched a “Family Card” for all UP citizens. The idea is to identify all those who benefited from Modi’s welfare schemes, who all got houses under PM Awaas Yojana and compare with votes cast for BJP, which constituencies BJP lost. The message is loud and clear, no more PM AwaasYojana and gas connections for Muslims.

Appeasement will shift to Hindus. Akhilesh Yadav’s PDA and Rahul Gandhi’s promise of a Caste Census along with fear-mongering that Modi will change the Constitution and do away with reservations if Modi returns to power with a brute “abki baar 400 paar” curtailed Modi in his tracks. The BJP is determined to get its Hindutva votebank restored. It has dawned on Modi that Muslims, Pasmanda or Ashraf, will take all his welfare schemes but will never-never ever vote for the BJP.

The Congress and Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh got 92 percent of the Muslim votes and the Dalit were told of what awaited reservation if “dictator” Modi becomes Prime Minister for a third time. Rahul Gandhi invested in a slim copy of the Constitution of India which he flourished at all his rallies. When it came to diversions, the Congress was way ahead and Rahul Gandhi ran circles around a clueless Narendra Modi, who emerged shell-shocked from the experience.

Winning back the BJP’s Hindu votebank is the biggest challenge for Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is on a mission. The Yogi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma are at the vanguard of “no more welfare schemes for Muslims”. The question is, will Prime Minister Narendra Modi be upto challenging his own Muslim appeasement policies? The Hindutva don’t trust Narendra Modi fully anymore. That is the unalloyed fact coming out of election 2024. (IPA Service)

The article Third Time PM Narendra Modi Has To Govern As A Leader Of The Coalition appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Ajit Pawar’s waxing and waning is a matter of research. In the battle between two Pawars, Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar, Ajit is the loser. His clout in the Mahayuti has been waning. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP performed the worst among the Mahayuti in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, getting only one seat out of the four it contested. Ajit’s wife Sunetra lost from Baramati against Supriya Sule, who is Sharad Pawar’s daughter and Ajit’s cousin. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra and Ajit’s son Parth Pawar got defeated from Maval parliamentary constituency by the Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne.

Those days both the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party were “undivided” unlike now when they were split wide open when the two Senas and two NCPs entered the fray and Ajit Pawar’s NCP received a drubbing which is hard to forget. Consequently, Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar faces challenges galore. Not just in diminishing clout within the Mahayuti but also the likelihood of NCP (Ajit Pawar) leaders making a beeline for NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Ajit Pawar is particularly worried whether he will be able to retain the Baramati assembly constituency, which he represented in the Maharashtra Assembly for a record seven times in a row. The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha polls is next and the ultimate victory for NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) would be engineering Ajit Pawar’s defeat from the constituency, which along with the Baramati parliamentary constituency has been a Pawar family pocket-borough. Uncle Sharad Pawar isn’t one to forget political slights, especially one which was intended to hurt the political future of daughter Supriye Sule.

After the “epic” fight for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, it will be “epic” fight for the Baramati assembly seat. And this time, Ajit Pawar will be the defender and not the challenger. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) will be riding on the victory it notched in the parliamentary election and Ajit Pawar will be wishing he hadn’t split from his uncle and challenged Supriye Sule. The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha polls are round the corner and approaching fast.

As it is, the tussle for the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency had sapped NCP (Ajit Pawar)’s energy. The defeat ensured Ajit Pawar would doubt his own abilities. Post the loss in the Baramati parliamentary constituency, Ajit Pawar is no longer the emperor of all that he surveys in Baramati. He is Deputy Chief Minister, but that’s all, in the battle of two NCPs, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) is clear victor with the highest strike rate in the Maharashtra Lok Sabha polls. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won eight of the 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested. Sunetra Pawar must have wept in private, but she had kept a very high-profile presence throughout the campaigning, banking on husband’s high profile.

Now, Sunetra wants to take the Rajya Sabha route to Parliament and this time the Pawar family is expected to unite. Humiliating Sunetra twice in a row would have long lasting effects on the family. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) will cooperate with NCP (Ajit Pawar) though chances are NCP (Ajit Pawar) might dissolve and merge with NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot condemn and fight “family rule” in all its myriad avatars.

But going forward, Ajit Pawar has to win the Baramati assembly seat. Secondly, he has to keep his flock together with him. All politicians are fickle by nature and right now, the grass looks greener on the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) side. Besides, nobody feels sorry for Ajit Pawar, he took a risk and “winner keeps all” is the rule. Unfortunately, Ajit isn’t the winner. Not when juxtaposed with NCP (SP) and not when aligned with coalition partner, the Shiv Sena of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had always taken Ajit Pawar and the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar more as an adversary than as an ally. This rivalry continued into the Lok Sabha elections with NCP (Ajit Pawar) losing clout in the Mahayuti following his poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls. Just like Uddhav Thackeray, Ajit Pawar had committed the mortal sin of aligning with a Hindutva party, unlike Sharad Pawar who stood firm with his secular credentials.

Ajit Pawar was no friend of the Shiv Sena ever, but was quite okay with the BJP, which shared with the Shiv Sena the Hindutva ideology. Ajit Pawar tolerated the Shiv Sena only when Uddhav Thackeray broke from the Hindutva ideology and joined the Maha Vikas Aghadi. However, Eknath Shinde was always wary of the uncle-nephew duo of Sharad and Ajit Pawar, especially their intentions. The suspicion and distrust hasn’t waned in the time both have become partners in government.

It is said that the BJP is forever cementing the frayed ties between the NCP (Ajit Pawar) and the Shinde Shiv Sena. Apparently, the Shinde Shiv Sena believes it made a mistake by agreeing to admit NCP (Ajit Pawar) into the Mahayuti. The Shinde Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP haven’t stopped fighting even as the assembly elections close in. The differences and the fighting are now out in the open. The important thing is, circumstances are against Ajit Pawar and he will have to take a decision sooner than later on his plan of action. Sharad Pawar will wait and watch. (IPA Service)

The article Ajit Pawar On The Cusp As His Clout Within Mahayuti Wanes appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Raebareli will remain Gandhi family bastion so long as Rahul Gandhi is keen on continuing in politics. So long live Rahul Gandhi, long live the dynasty. That being said, Wayanad is the new go-to parliamentary constituency for the Gandhi family. Amethi lost its sheen for the family when Smriti Irani beat Rahul Gandhi in 2019. Irani’s tryst, however, was curtailed by a caretaker candidate. Amethi will never have a ‘Gandhi’ testing the electorate in any near future.

Raebareli stays and Amethi goes. Fifty years on, there could be a ‘Gandhi’, perhaps a ‘Vadra’ going with the ‘Gandhi’, laying claim to the Wayanad seat. By vacating Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi set the stage for a ‘Vadra’, even if Priyanka still sports ‘Gandhi’. This is the second time when the family has had a surname switch. The first was when ‘Nehru’ was cast aside and replaced with ‘Gandhi’. Now, there is another surname switch even if the first family of the Congress planned to keep ‘Gandhi’, irrespective of the politically-inclined Robert Vadra.

Let’s get used to knowing that there are two new ‘Gandhi’ waiting in the wings – Rehan Rajiv Gandhi and Miraya Indira Gandhi, children of Robert and Priyanka Vadra Gandhi. On the face of it, there cannot be any objections. The concept of ‘middle names’ is firmly entrenched in the West. But it’s the missing ‘Vadra’ in the surname column which makes the transition questionable. In one case, the son-in-law’s surname got preference. In the other case, the son-in-law’s surname is taboo.

The shift from Nehru to Gandhi was smooth, and nothing out of place in the Indian context. Married Indian women are expected to take on the surnames of their husbands. And “Mrs. Gandhi” was spoken aloud on AIR and in DD news bulletins. It was only after the BJP took centre-stage that the ‘Gandhi’ surname began to be questioned. Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned “parivarvaad’ into an election issue. Modi’s diatribes on ‘dynasty’ targeted the opposition parties in general, from Nehru’s Congress to Lalu Prasad’s RJD, Mulayam Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and MK Stalin’s DMK.

What irks the anti-parivarvaadi is the Congress not letting go of the Gandhi family after all the Modi machinations. When 23 Congress leaders set up a separate tent, there was a feeling the Gandhi family’s hegemony over the Congress was over. But it turned out different and, today, the Congress cannot be faulted for holding on to the Gandhi family for dear life. So much so, the Congress leads the opposition INDI-Alliance and Rahul Gandhi is perhaps the most comfortably placed among opposition INDIA bloc leaders.

Even the BJP cannot think of an Opposition front without Rahul Gandhi leading it. Modi’s party is now more or less resigned to Rahul Gandhi appointed as the LoP in the Lok Sabha. While 99 Lok Sabha seats is way less than the BJP’s 240, they are more than enough for the LoP. The Congress resurgence is going hand-in-hand with the Gandhi family’s rejuvenation after sliding from the pinnacle in 2014. Today, there’s not a squeak from Modi on Priyanka Vadra Gandhi and ‘parivarvaad’ is MIA from Modi’s vocabulary.

The odd Kerala BJP leader has commented on Priyanka Vadra Gandhi’s entry into electoral politics, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is as if tongue-tied, shorn of vowels and consonants. Wayanad is Priyanka Gandhi’s launching pad and the Modi government was a destroyer of launching pads. Is there a surgical strategy to defeat Priyanka Vadra Gandhi in Wayanad?

Modi’s ‘parivarvaad’ allegation will hit him on the face when two Gandhis, brother and sister, will stare him down from the Opposition benches. The presence of “three Gandhis” in Parliament will keep reminding Modi of “parivarvaad” and how his campaign against family rule fell by the Wayanad and Raebareli wayside.

Wayanad is quite happy with Priyanka Vadra Gandhi replacing Rahul Gandhi. She possesses what is being called “star value”. She is making her parliamentary debut from Wayanad. Unlike Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra Gandhi is by far more expressive. Her attempts at making the ‘Kerala Dosa’ were not lost on Kerala voters. Most of all, the Muslim/Christian electorate of Kerala/Wayanad would be showering votes on her like they didn’t on Rahul Gandhi, who is not as ebullient as Priyanka Vadra Gandhi is.

So, the Congress’ dynasty is in good hands. Four hands instead of a pair. One Gandhi is representing the ‘North’. The other Gandhi will be speaking for the ‘South’ in addition to Sonia Gandhi in the Upper House. Also, Priyanka Vadra Gandhi cannot be defeated in Wayanad. The demography makes her unbeatable though voices have risen with a clutch of reasons on why she won’t last long. One of them is, Malayalis will soon get tired of Priyanka’s novelty as they were getting tired of Rahul Gandhi’s absences, also whose winning margin dipped in the 2024 elections.

Will Priyanka devote half her time in the Lok Sabha travelling and touring her high-profile constituency? The Left Front will not sit on its haunches just because she has “star value”. Annie Raja, CPI’s candidate against Rahul Gandhi, is still smarting. And the BJP’s candidate against Rahul Gandhi is also making uncomfortable noises: Why did the Congress assume that Wayanad should go to a Gandhi/Vadra Gandhi only? The Left Democratic Front has made a review of its reverses in Lok Sabha polls. The CPI is opting for a massive campaign to get the Wayanad seat.

It was okay when as Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi vacationed in the Lakshadweep, but to make a Gandhi family bastion out of a Kerala constituency is way too much ‘Gandhi’ even for a Muslim-dominated Wayanad. So goes the argument against Priyanka Vadra Gandhi, the latest Gandhi family addition to national politics. The burgeoning strength of the Gandhi/Vadra Gandhi family is testing the limits of Modi’s ‘parivarvaad’ diatribes. Now, it is left to make another ‘Gandhi’ Prime Minister even if it is one with the “silent” surname ‘Vadra’. (IPA Service)

The article Priyanka Gandhi’s Debut From Wayanad Is A New Signal For Congress appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has five years to create a capital city out of Amaravati. This is because elections play funny games and one of them is dashing the hopes of sitting governments dreaming of continuity. Who knows Jagan Mohan Reddy might be back with a vengeance after five years of Chandrababu and ‘Amaravati’ not yet Andhra Pradesh capital? Whoever thought Jagan Mohan Reddy would win in 2024 was feeding his bias, just like the supporters of Naveen Patnaik in Odisha and those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the BJP headquarters.

Such are the vagaries of politics and elections. The “public hai jo sab jaanti hai” is always taking on different meanings at different places in different elections. So, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets his party’s backside kicked in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, even as Naveen Patnaik’s BJD found itself become the butt of jokes in Odisha. Chandrababu Naidu found nirvana in Andhra Pradesh which encouraged Amaravati farmers to call off their more than four-year-long protest against Jagan Mohan Reddy’s three capitals’ initiative.

Point being made is, those who expected continuity to prevail were given short-shrift by the electorate. The farmers of Amaravati couldn’t do a thing as long as Jagan Mohan Reddy was bossing Andhra Pradesh, but with Chandrababu Naidu at the driver’s wheel, the Amaravati farmer is gung ho and Amaravati for state capital is fait accompli. As if Jagan Mohan Reddy will never make a return. The thought doesn’t strike that they had thought the same about Chandrababu Naidu, too.

How wrong were they? If the YSR Congress can be defeated, so can the TDP. Chandrababu Naidu cannot sit on his laurels. The farmers’ protests are off and the protest-camps in the villages have been dismantled. The protest lasted 1,631 days. Since December 2019, the farmers have been fighting for developing Amaravati as the Andhra capital. But YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wanted not one but three state capitals – Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital and Amaravati as the legislative capital.

Jagan Mohan Reddy’s mistake was that he sat on his laurels. Even otherwise, Jagan’s three-capitals idea never took off in earnest, raising doubts if Jagan Mohan Reddy was ever “in earnest”. Five years after the Amaravati farmers began their protests, there’s nothing much to show of the three-capitals. Hence, Amaravati gets another chance and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has only five years to get Amaravati in to capital form.

The farmers have a stake. Farmers of 29 villages gave 33,000 acres of their land for developing Amaravati as the Andhra Pradesh capital. This was accomplished under a “land pooling system” at the time when Chandrababu was in power and the farmers had flooded the streets, demanding Amaravati be made the Andhra Pradesh capital. This time, with CBN back in power, it is an election promise of the TDP and Chandrababu Naidu is the self-appointed architect.

The protest, for as long as it lasted, was in different forms. From padyatras to slogan-shouting and sit-in strikes. Last week, the farmers watched the live telecast of Naidu’s swearing-in ceremony and at a meeting of the newly-elected MLAs, Naidu announced that Amaravati would be the one and only state capital though Visakhapatnam will be developed as a “financial capital” and Kurnool will also be developed in all manners possible.

TDP allies BJP and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena are supporting Chandrababu Naidu’s call to make Amaravati the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh and people forget that Amaravati-for-capital’s foundation stone was laid in 2015 by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Then, too, the TDP was part of the BJP-led NDA.

The master-plan for the capital city Amaravati came from Singapore. Less than a decade later, talk of “Amaravati for Andhra Pradesh’s sole capital” is back in currency. And while the Naidu government, with an unassailable majority, faces no danger of falling before the end of term, Modi’s NDA coalition hangs by the Amaravati thread apart from a couple of other threads.

The reality is, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also cannot sit on his failures. He has to contribute a packet for the development of Andhra Pradesh into a model state, and help turn Amaravati into a model capital. There is no guarantee Modi will remain Prime Minister six months from now and Chandrababu will remain Chief Minister after the next assembly elections come around. For Modi this time, too, it was a close shave. The fates of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amaravati are closely linked. Amaravati played a role in the TDP-JSP-BJP coalition winning the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NDA coalition hangs in the balance if Amaravati doesn’t make it to ‘Capital’ status. (IPA Service)

The article Hanging In Balance, Fates Of Naidu’s Amaravati And Narendra Modi appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Sushil Kutty

Narendra Modi will likely start his third term as Prime Minister with an onslaught against him. That is if Raebareli MP Rahul Gandhi keeps faith with his charge that Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, had with their prediction of a post-election stock market rally, guided tens of thousands of gullible ‘bhakts’, and common folks, up the garden path and into financial ruin, with unsolicited investment advice. Rahul Gandhi has demanded a JPC probe to nail Modi and Shah to the charge.

Rahul Gandhi has been exacting revenge ever since notching victory from the long time family bastion of Raebareli. The other day, Rahul taunted NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi should consider himself lucky Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did not contest from Modi’s constituency Varanasi, or else Modi wouldn’t have had a third term to talk of. The burning ghats of Varanasi would have claimed Modi’s ambition, turning it into ashes to be consigned to the Ganga.

What are the chances of Modi getting hauled over the coals on day 1 of Parliament? If Rahul Gandhi is not the forgiving kind, Modi would be in the Congress crosshairs from the word ‘go’ of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. Not just Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but also Amit Shah, who is back as ‘Union Home Minister’ in Modi’s NDA government. The question is: But for Modi’s “popularity”, would people have taken him and Amit Shah seriously and found merit in their “investment advice”?

According to the Congress, tens of thousands of investors and traders would have “made very different investment choices” if Modi and Shah hadn’t spoken of the bonanza awaiting them post-poll. It is another matter that lakhs and lakhs of voters ditched Modi and voted INDI-Alliance. But lakhs others fell for the smooth talk and tried their luck in the stock market. Rahul Gandhi is confident a JPC probe will nail Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah to the silver tongue that persuaded common folk to invest their hard-earned money in stock.

Modi spoke of a stock market surge for them and a thumping majority for himself, both in the same breath, and both fell through the holes, Modi as well as gullible investor and trader. Modi didn’t get “abki baar 400 paar” and the investor and trader didn’t get the financial bonanza the amateur investment gurus had predicted about. The BJP fell short of majority and Modi was compelled to look at the NDA for making a getaway.

Apparently, on May 19, then BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi in interview mode said the stock market would hit the roof on June 4, the election results day. Modi traded in high hopes for high hopes, speaking of a clear mandate in his favour and a windfall at the stock market for people with hard-earned money. It was Modi’s word against the vagaries of the stock market. And you know who will win? Of course, the oracle – Narendra Modi, who, according to Modi himself, was all set for “abki baar 400 paar”. What a fall it turned out to be.

Now, Rahul Gandhi has asked for a JPC probe. It was revealed that Amit Shah had in a TV interview said, “I suggest you buy (shares) before June 4. It will shoot up.” And this from a man who recently introduced a new set of criminal laws. Both the Modi and Shah comments sounded like “exhorting people to buy stocks”. Then came the exit polls, predicting BJP will get a thumping majority and the NDA “400 paar”, exactly what Modi had predicted. By then, Modi had also told TV anchors he had “divine” on his side. Now Modi stands discredited and Rahul Gandhi wants a JPC probe to expose NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the gods.

Will Rahul Gandhi get his wish? More importantly, will the NDA government agree to a JPC probe? Will whoever is appointed/elected Speaker of the House concede to the Congress request for JPC probe? On June 3, benchmark indices had closed at record highs. Investors fell over each other to bet against the odds that Modi and Shah couldn’t go wrong. Indians and foreigners both believed in Modi and Shah. Also in stock market continuity. According to one estimate, equities worth Rs 6,851 crore were bought.

But the exit polls did not pan out as expected. The BJP did not get a majority. The NDA never saw “400 paar”. Modi trailed in Varanasi and then won by a disappointing margin. The man was no “Son of God”. Instead, NDA allies became Modi’s gods with names like Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar, Chirag Paswan and Jayant Chaudhary. Foreign investors dumped billions of Indian shares and domestic investors also sold. Disasters and calamities dog Modi like a shadow — earthquakes, terror strikes, stock market busts. Seems like Modi himself is asking for a JPC probe, and people in general can’t wait to get to the bottom of that. (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

Narendra Modi is now Prime Minister of India for the third time. He took the oath of office Sunday evening at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. As many as 30 cabinet ministers, 36 ministers of state (MoS) and 5 MoS (independent charge) were also sworn in along with Narendra Modi, who seemed unusually accommodating while choosing his Council of Ministers. Among them are old suspects like Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S. Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman. Key BJP allies Janata Dal-United and the Telugu Desam Party also got representation in Modi’s Council of Ministers.

This is Modi’s first coalition government. Modi 1:0 and Modi 2:0 had seen Modi being cast as a divisive and authoritarian figure. The biggest takeaway from the Modi inauguration on Sunday was that Modi 3:0 will have to be a mellower version of Modi 1:0 and Modi 2:0. Prime Minister Modi appears to have been tamed by circumstances which overtook him and the party he leads. Over 8,500 people, including MCD garbage collectors and heads of state of neighbouring countries, watched Modi taking the oath at the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt.

A second takeaway from the Modi inauguration was that the INDIA bloc, the Congress in particular, continued to look askance at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his “NDA coalition government”.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge attended Modi’s coronation but said he wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for set tradition. The Congress has sworn to replace the NDA government with an INDIA bloc dispensation as quickly as things pan out. The feeling one got was that the quicker this replacement is accomplished, the better it would be for all.

There are a number of thorny issues that could muck up things for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term. The ‘Agniveer’ scheme, for instance. Not just the INDIA bloc, but even the BJP’s NDA allies TDP and JD-U have objections to Agniveer. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t stand down on Agniveer, relations could sour to breaking point.

One got a fairly good idea from Modi’s coronation about what all could haul Modi over the coals in his third term. Modi cannot wish away objections to Agniveer and the Uniform Civil Code, also the CAA, which Amit Shah says will be rolled out across India. Also, ‘Muslim Reservation’ is a contentious issue the NDA government will have to lock horns with.

One of the biggest takeaways from the Modi inauguration was that Modi isn’t the ‘Boss’ that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had called him. The voter clipped Modi’s wings and Modi is no longer the high-flyer of Modi 1:0 and Modi 2:0. But Modi’s third outing as Prime Minister equalled Jawaharlal Nehru’s record of three in a row affirming the view that once Modi sets a goal, he achieves it.

One also distinctly gets the feeling that Modi likes familiar faces around him. Therefore, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal, apart from a lot of others from Modi 1:0 and Modi 2:0. Another takeaway is that henceforth, the reins of the BJP will be in another safe pair of hands. Jagat Prakash Nadda has joined Modi’s Council of Ministers and somebody else would take up the mantle of BJP President.

One also gets the feeling that nobody would be blamed for the electoral losses the BJP suffered. Those who had to be punished have already been taken to task. Like Smriti Irani and Anurag Thakur, who didn’t figure in the Modi 3:0 Council of Ministers. The spell cast on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Smriti Irani and Anurag Thakur appears to have broken. Modi has learned from the electoral setbacks that sycophancy doesn’t help him nor does it help the incorrigible and inveterate sycophant.

Irani and Thakur had made boot-licking a fine art and Modi couldn’t distinguish. To the point where he gave them a free rein and look what happened? Anurag Thakur and BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya just couldn’t see the manner in which the SP-Congress combine had outmanoeuvred the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The Rajputs ditched the BJP and so did the Dalit Jatavs. In Amethi Smriti Irani continued to behave like royalty and Modi’s “400 paar” paid the price.

Finally, Malayalam film actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, who is the first BJP MP from Kerala, took the oath in English and it wasn’t the Malayalam-accented English we’re all accustomed to and a pleasant departure from the English spoken and heard in God’s Own Country. (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

It is the same old story. The boringly repetitive drama of Congress leaders imploring Rahul Gandhi to take on a plum post – this time that of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The two sides never tire of the game. On one side, Congress leaders and on the other side, the Gandhi scion. The last time Rahul Gandhi played hard to get was for the Congress President’s post, which finally went to Mallikarjun Kharge.

On Saturday, the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution requesting Rahul Gandhi to take up the post. “Rahulji is the best person to lead this campaign inside the Parliament,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said. But has Rahul Gandhi said ‘yes’ to the “request”? No, all that the Congress general secretary admitted was “he would take a decision very soon.” Another CWC member said Rahul Gandhi was the best person for LoP because “he is fearless and courageous”.

Rahul Gandhi in his latest avatar is being congratulated for winning the Congress 99 Lok Sabha seats, up from 52 in 2019. Congress leaders are now falling over each other to foist Rahul Gandhi on the INDI-Alliance parties as the LoP. But like every time, whenever the Congress wanted Rahul Gandhi to take on a responsible role, Rahul Gandhi would play possum, reluctant to step forward and accept responsibility.

Something always holds back this Gandhi and his critics have time and again jumped on this aspect of his character to cast doubts on his confidence in himself. The last Congress LoP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury lost from Berhampore in West Bengal. It is no quirk of fate that Rahul Gandhi happens to be ready to take his place.

It is just a matter of convincing Rahul Gandhi that he’s better than Prime Minister Narendra Modi in every which manner. Not that Rahul Gandhi needs convincing that he is the better man vis a vis Modi. Rahul Gandhi also has more parliament experience compared to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides, after Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s election defeat, there is a vacancy. And like Stalin’s KGB Chief said, “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” Also, the LoP is equivalent to a cabinet rank, joint-second to the Speaker of the House. Most importantly, the 54-year-old wouldn’t need to walk across and give Prime Minister Narendra Modi a hug once he is LoP in the Lok Sabha. The only time he did it, he had to do it with a wink.

The ‘Rahul Gandhi Wink’ spawned a 1000 memes and is worthy of a patent. Positioned next to grave busts of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi’s wink will launch a 1000 Congress MPs in the Lok Sabhas yet to come. So, the clamour to see Rahul Gandhi as LoP Lok Sabha isn’t for nothing. Rahul’s Congress colleagues wanted the “appointment done and dusted” ASAP, before Narendra Modi is sworn in Prime Minister of India.

The Congress is adamant Modi doesn’t have the mandate to be Prime Minister of India. If anything, Narendra Modi should be greeted with another ‘Rahul Gandhi Wink’. For the Congress, there is no better person currently to be Prime Minister of India than Rahul Gandhi even if the post of LoP Lok Sabha should do for the time being, till a Nitish Kumar or a Chandrababu Naidu pulls the rug from under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clay feet.

Before that Rahul Gandhi has to make a decision, whether to be the MP from Wayanad or the MP from Raebareli. Last heard Uttar Pradesh will have the last word, call it the last laugh. Choosing to contest from a constituency in the “north” gave the “less informed north Indian voter” to prove he was as election-savvy as his south Indian cousin. Rahul’s misunderstanding on that score will stand settled for once and for all.

Rahul Gandhi has already started behaving like the LoP, holding meetings with the newly-elected Congress MPs, giving them pep-talks and advising them on how to take victory and loss in the right tight spirit, not feel down and under at seeing Narendra Modi as Prime Minister once again. Swallowing the bitter pill is old hat for the Congress under Rahul Gandhi.

Important thing is, the Congress always has a Gandhi to lean on, rest its case with, and on. Who in the Congress will dispute that Rahul Gandhi won for the Congress 99 seats in the Lok Sabha? Who in the Congress will dispute that Rahul Gandhi owns the ‘Mohabbat Ka Dukan’ – lock, stock and barrel? Who in the Congress will dispute that with Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul Gandhi ensured BJP got less than majority and the Congress doubled its tally? It is another matter that the Gandhi family owns the Congress – lock, stock and barrel.

Congressmen say the “two yatras” did the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in, made all the difference between Narendra Modi’s “defeat” and Rahul Gandhi’s “victory”. The CWC will meet and review the results. The CPP will elect its chairperson, the post reserved for Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi will be LoP, with the caveat “if he accepts this role”. In case, Rahul Gandhi does the Congress the favour, he will be LoP of 234 INDIA bloc Lok Sabha MPs.

The Congress harbours the hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dependence on Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar will cut short NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reign. Both Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu will in time show their true colours. Nitish and Babu in the company of Rahul Gandhi will follow the “coalition dharma”, but won’t in the company of Narendra Modi. So the INDIA bloc will wait and watch as Narendra Modi won’t last the course. The INDIA bloc has 234 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP tally is 240. The Congress leadership believes as LoP, Rahul Gandhi will give NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi a run for the Lok Sabha’s money. (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

Nothing odd, but reports speak of unrest in the ranks of the Shinde Shiv Sena. The Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena looks the better bet. Amidst this, the crowning of Narendra Damodardas Modi as the leader of the NDA parliamentary party. Were the Shinde Sena MPs present in the Central Hall of the Old Parliament when Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi held forth on what the prospects of an NDA government at the Centre holds for the states?

Reports speak of the BJP central leadership sending feelers to Uddhav Thackeray. The Sena UBT continues to stand with the INDIA bloc, but there is no telling what awaits the INDI-Alliance and parties like UBT Shiv Sena in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 2024 election result gave Modi the chance to establish himself as a coalition leader and this isn’t lost on the regional parties which are part of the Modi coalition.

Both Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar have sworn allegiance to the NDA government and are aware that the Modi name brought both TDP and Janata Dal-U votes. The message that has gone out is that Prime Minister Narendra has effortlessly slipped into the role of the NDA coalition head with a message to all regional parties: The Modi-led NDA government will run its five-year course and Modi has vowed all NDA components in the coalition will be treated equally.

What does that tell Uddhav Thackeray? It tells Uddhav Thackeray that joining the NDA government brings with it advantages. The UBT Shiv Sena has been out of the reckoning for two and a half years and the MVA will have to win the Assembly to get back into reckoning. Meanwhile, newly elected UBT Shiv Sena MPs will be fair game for poaching. Isn’t Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray tired of losing MPs to poaching? Clearly, at this juncture, TDP President Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seem to be savvier than Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray.

Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar have sworn allegiance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi knowing that the NDA government at the Centre will run its course of five years. Also, the TDP and the Janata Dal-U will have fabulous representation in the Modi cabinet. The churning in national and Maharashtra politics is pregnant with tantalizing possibilities. The BJP’s ‘Mission 45’ for Maharashtra didn’t happen, but Modi wants to undo the damage done.

The BJP in Maharashtra slid to 10 seats. The BJP’s alliance with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP did not seem to work. The BJP’s vote share in Maharashtra dipped from 27.84 percent to 26.45 percent and this translated to a loss of ten seats. The UBT Shiv Sena can, if it wants, exploit the fluid situation to its benefit. What happens after the Assembly polls and the Local Bodies’ polls, slated for the end of this year, will be crucial.

The BJP has been single-largest party in the Maharashtra assembly for 10 years. Will the party maintain its rank after the Assembly elections? The first indication of the churning came with the resignation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who took responsibility for the party’s Lok Sabha losses. The BJP is wary of the “Lok Sabha trend” continuing into the upcoming Assembly and Local Bodies’ polls.

The BJP appears ready to make a climb-down and accommodate the aspirations of parties like the UBT Shiv Sena. The split in Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena did not finish off the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction. Meanwhile, the BJP is beset with problems. The party’s OBC voter base is slipping away. The Mahayuti government’s decision favouring Marathas in the quota battle also did not go down well. There are also the unhappy farmers queering the pitch.

BJP’s Maharashtra performance is partly responsible for Modi losing his majority in the Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected a sweep in Maharashtra. But the BJP underperformed in Vidarbha, and in western Maharashtra. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should take the blame. Post-polls and post-results, the Shinde Shiv Sena is the worst hit. Shinde batted for Maratha quota and Devendra Fadnavis is getting flak.

The BJP is trying it best convince its rank and file that splits engineered by the BJP in Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party were not to blame for the party’s poor showing in the Lok Sabha polls. Also, the state BJP leadership wanted to change a few of the sitting MPs but Modi and Shah wouldn’t listen. This is the same story as in Uttar Pradesh, where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wanted a big chunk of sitting MPs dropped but Modi’s favourite Amit Shah wouldn’t listen to reason.

The BJP’s poor performance in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra reduced Modi to coalition Prime Minister. Devendra Fadnavis and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are being blamed for the mistakes of the “two Gujjus”, who will continue to call the shots in the NDA government at the Centre. The thought foremost in the mind is what might happen to Yogi Adityanath? Modi and Shah are looking for closure.

In fact, everybody is looking for closure including Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, and Devendra Fadnavis. Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar. What will happen in Maharashtra will be closely linked to the upcoming Assembly and Local Bodies’ elections and to whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi does with his NDA Government in the next few weeks and months. (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

Fact-checker Muhammed Zubair checked and declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not speak the truth. Modi did indeed do ‘Hindu-Muslim’ as he went about drumming support from Hindus. But Zubair stopped short of asking Modi to “quit public life” as Modi said he would if he ever did ‘Hindu-Muslim’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the TV anchor “I have never done Hindu-Muslim and will quit public life if I ever will.”

Question is, what was the compelling factor in Modi’s compulsion? Truth is, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did speak ill of Muslims and he did it loudly. He spoke the ‘M-word’ and he did it with impunity much to the thrill of the BJP’s Hindu vote-bank.  At the time, Modi’s Hindu supporters couldn’t believe their ears. Finally, after 10 years of dillydallying, Modi was not hiding behind ‘Sabka saath, Sabka vikas’.

But then, after four phases of polling and right at the time of filing nomination for yet another contest from Varanasi, Modi was back to “appeasing Muslims”, much to the disgust of Modi’s blind Hindu followers. Modi’s captive vote-bank felt cheated, the déjà vu hitting them in the solar plexus. Modi continues to be the flip-flop, and unreliable.

What made Modi flip-flop this time? Did EAM S. Jaishankar tell him of the global impact of his anti-Muslim rants? Don’t forget Modi wasn’t loath to push BJP firebrand Nupur Sharma under the bus to suck up to Qatar. Modi’s Gulf policy has no room for anti-Islamism.

If that is not the reason for the Modi flip-flop, could it be that Modi still harbours hope that islands of Muslim voters will vote BJP and every vote counted for “abkibaar 400 paar”, even those scavenged from Muslim ghettos. The BJP has to get 370 seats and the NDA 400-plus and Modi can’t risk losing his own bet. There are people  waiting for Modi to come up short. Come what may, Narendra Modi has to make it to the Promised Land.

But if this, too, isn’t reason, then what? Why did the Prime Minister panic and invite a television anchor – a Muslim television personality with a track record of assured Modi devotion – to ask him questions that would give him chance to set the record straight on key issues concerning the Muslim? Could it be because the Muslim matter is now with the Election Commission and Modi faces action?

The ECI isn’t expected to choke Modi, but it is election season and the climate could change? So Prime Minister Narendra Modi did a somersault and his “lie” is caught on tape. Millions watched him on live TV denying doing ‘Hindu-Muslim’, the anchor too eager to give the Prime Minister not only a platform but also the question for the convenient answer.

The Election Commission of India isn’t going to punish Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nobody in the three-member poll panel has the guts. Not even a rap on the wrist. What matters is, Prime Minister Modi backed off. Modi ate crow and it was filling for the Muslim. For the time being, at least, there wouldn’t be ‘Hindu-Muslim’ from the Prime Minister.

There must be other ways to consolidate Hindu votes – like, for example, promulgating the Uniform Civil Code or scrapping the Places of Worship Act. Maybe lifting the “untouchable clause” from the Waqf Board Act. Then again, perhaps, there is no more need for needling the Muslim; not if Modi believes BJP is first past the post.

With four phases of polling done and dusted with, there wasn’t the need to do ‘Hindu-Muslim’ anymore. The BJP had crossed the Rubicon. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that with the fourth phase, voting in 380 parliamentary constituencies was over and the BJP had “won” over 270 of the 380 seats, however contentious the claim.

Meaning, Modi didn’t need to “do Hindu-Muslim” anymore even if it made Modi’s Hindu vote-bank rue their luck for the nth time in more than two decades. Here was Mr. Dilly-Dally once again doing exactly what he was known for: flip-flopping like a fish out of water. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told another TV anchor that Rahul Gandhi will not win Raebareli because Raebarelians “now know there is an alternative to the Gandhi family.” The question is, “When will Modi’s Hindu vote-bank know there is an alternative to Narendra Modi?”

The story is, Modi has made sure there is no alternative to Modi. In the 10 years Modi has been ruling the roost, Modi made sure he was the only “Man” standing in the Bharatiya Janata Party.  Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda are all figureheads and if Roads and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari was emerging as an alternative, he has been sidelined.

But this time, with a third term at stake, for the first time in a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi buckled and had to pick on Muslims to rouse up Hindu votes. It should be fact-checked if Modi lived in a Muslim neighbourhood when growing up; did a young Narendra Modi “walk under the Taaziya”, whether it is true Modi had “more Muslim friends” than Hindu pals and if  on EID, Modi’s Muslim neighbours did all the cooking and the Modi family, all the eating?

These were claims made by Modi in his interview and it is one of those mysteries no media had ever got down to finding the truth about Modi in these small things in his life. Modi’s “infiltrators” and “those with many children” remarks fell in the category of ‘Hindu-Muslim’, but what can one do if the Prime Minister straight out denies and says it is not in his upbringing to stoke communal passions and communal divisions. Not when he spent his childhood and boyhood in the laps of his Muslim neighbours. (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

If the newspapers had Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman missing from the line-up on stage of BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, displaying the party’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ that shouldn’t be construed as where women might end up in the “Viksit Bharat” of Modi’s dreams. Sitharaman was there in flesh and blood, but pushed to the margins by the male-heavy BJP top.

The BJP released its 2024 manifesto for the general elections after BJP President JP Nadda introduced the stage to people present. Did the “entire country wait for the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra”? The Prime Minister asked the question to select BJP ‘karyakartas’, among them random Modi ministers, many of whom are strangers to the aam public even today. The Prime Minister claimed Indians everywhere were eagerly awaiting the BJP ‘Sankalp Patra’, and the reason for the eagerness — the Modi government had in the one decade in power implemented every one of the promises made in BJP manifestos.

“As a guarantee on the ground. This ‘Sankalp Patra’ empowers all the 4 pillars of developed India — Youth, women, poor and farmers,” Modi told the captive audience, who sat out the five-yearly charade and left as meekly as they had sat through it. For some reason, there wasn’t a centimetre of enthusiasm among the yards-long stretches of chairs. It was a dead show played live on TV. What people across India thought of BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ will be known on June 4, when EVMs will spill out the “untruth” as reported by people spreading the “truth”.

Life is full of surprises. But the ‘Modi ki guarantee Sankalp Patra’ for some reason didn’t have any or many. The one about 70-plus geriatrics getting Ayushman Bharat “free of charge” did pleasantly shock, but that even the “upper rich middle class” will qualify was the real shocker. Many of these rich dudes don’t wait for ‘Modi ki guarantee’ in a medical emergency. Modi should visit central government-run hospitals in Delhi and he will find serpentine queues of the chronically poor waiting endlessly at the “Ayushman Bharat” counters with no Rs 5 lakh in sight.

Modi has no idea what is dished out at these Ayushman Bharat counters and the Godi Media doesn’t care. Even the ‘Sankalp’  about India bidding for Olympics 2036 didn’t shock. Modi will live upto 100 is a guarantee, and also that India will be “third largest economy” and an economic superpower.

The question is, will it be the New Delhi Olympics? Mumbai Olympics, Kolkata Olympics, how about Chennai Olympics? Chances are it could even be Kutch Olympics, if not Ahmedabad Olympics, but none of the aforementioned. Even Gandhinagar Olympics, if Amit Shah has his say, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi will see to it that Gujarat gets to host India’s first Olympics, period.

Don’t forget the Gujaratis have taken over the Lakshadweep archipelago and locals are in danger of losing their centuries old folksy traditions. The BJP ‘Sankalp Patra mentions India’s Olympics bid in 2036. The venue should not be “dry Gujarat”, but some wetland far away.

That said, most other promises in the ‘Sankalp Patra’ is old wine in a 2024 bottle; wine aged a little more. Take the one about Mudra loans, with limits raised from Rs 10 lakh to 20 lakh. Even the Ayushman Bharat scheme, now raised to people who are 70-plus. Point is, the 70-plus, were they barred earlier? If so, the scheme was a hoax and should be probed.

Also, does a government have to reaffirm that it will “speed up infrastructural development along the China border”? It is an old promise and shouldn’t be used to garner votes again and again, election after election. But what’s “fencing smarter” mentioned in the ‘Sankalp Patra’ is something to watch out for if the BJP returns to power on June 4.

The PLA of China will be wondering about “fencing smarter” even as India votes, thinking whether it was Modi’s manner of fighting China’s name-calling of regions and places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. “We’ll introduce technological solutions on fenced portions to make fencing smarter” is worth waiting for even if legions wouldn’t vote for Modi.

The Modi government has been harping about India becoming the third largest economic power for nearly half a decade. That is okay and the Modi government is serious about its goal. Ultimately, India will be the third largest economic power, one day, some day. But “when exactly?” might not be easy to be left to a guess. The 5th to 3rd journey took a decade. There is no guarantee Modi might not lose his moorings and his successor will not miss the forest for the tree?

Point being made is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ is based on many variables. As most manifestoes are. For example, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Nyay Patra’. There is  no guarantee, the Congress will turn India into Jinnah and Muslim League’s Pakistan. But Modi is talking as if India will have Sharia in the streets and there will be cow slaughter on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg. The fear mongering is all over Bharat, even outside Bharat.

The BJP Sankalp Patra’ talks about “right policies, focussed execution and meticulous planning” over its decade-long governance. The BJP planned CAA and then failed miserably in executing. One old woman made the Union Home Ministry bend to her will. Similarly, the BJP-led government failed utterly with the three farm laws. The farmers made Prime Minister Narendra Modi bite dust and eat crow. Third, the Modi government used all the resources at its command to get the Muslims on its side, but then had to settle for “talk to them even if they will never vote for the BJP, ever”.

Bottom-line, if getting the electorate to vote for another Modi term is the purpose of the BJP ‘Sankalp Patra’, the long list of promises made in the manifesto could fall miserably short in achieving its goal. A decade after 2014, with one massive mandate in between, the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have nothing exceptional to sell in 2024 except for old ‘ghoshnas’ dressed up in ‘sankalp’ gear; who is fooling whom? (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi dreams of “400 paar”, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have made their final pitches, hoping to strike pay-dirt, i.e., Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his Waterloo come June 4, 2024. Congress released its bombshell manifesto and AAP trained guns on the BJP, claiming that the BJP and not AAP was behind the ‘Dilli Sharab Ghotala’.

Strangely, with that the AAP acknowledged that the Delhi Liquor Policy Scam wasn’t somebody’s figment of intoxicated imagination. The majority of Delhi’s citizenry has now got an answer, but the culprit is the BJP, not the AAP. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should be released from Tihar. Why isn’t AAP approaching the Supreme Court to get “acting Chief Minister” Sunitha Kejriwal’s “Bhagat Singh” released from jail?

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh is the main “sutradaar” of “BJP is behind the Dilli Sharab Ghotala” claim. Singh was released from jail on bail a few days ago, with conditions attached, including that he will refrain from talking about the Delhi excise policy scam while out on bail. Singh signed on the dotted line, but is talking “Dilli sharab ghotala” all the time, and placing the blame squarely on the BJP.

Singh claims his release from jail as a victory for AAP, and proof that Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, are all innocent, and that the Enforcement Directorate had caught the wrong guys. Sanjay Singh is pledge-bound to not flout the bail conditions, but nobody seems to care, not even the Enforcement Directorate.

On Friday, Sanjay Singh claimed that the BJP’s top leadership was behind the “conspiracy to arrest” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and that the BJP was responsible for the “Dilli Sharab Ghotala”. Speaking of the “big conspiracy” to put Arvind Kejriwal in jail, Singh said senior BJP leaders planned the liquor policy scam and carried it out, from start to finish. Sanjay Singh fully expects the majority of the Delhi electorate to believe his story and vote for the Aam Aadmi Party.

Singh spun this hardly believable yarn at an AAP press conference in Delhi. Shockingly, the media did not question Singh’s “theory”. Sanjay Singh appears to be heading the party of “anarchists” for the time being, ever since his release from jail, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s incarceration. Ministers Atishi Marlena and Saurav Bharadwaj are suddenly more second-rung than they were when Arvind Kejriwal was CM operating from outside Tihar. With the BJP unable to defend itself from AAP attacks, Sanjay Singh is leading the AAP “fight-back”.

Sanjay Singh did not linger at the Tihar gates. He strode out, all guns blazing and the Bharatiya Janata Party is since then trading fire with the Aam Aadmi Party as if Arvind Kejriwal is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Adversary No.1’. Going by television debates over the past fortnight, this is the conclusion staring everybody in the face.

Chances are the AAP will be going into the 2024 general elections pitching Arvind Kejriwal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi one-on-one. That, or maybe, AAP is in panic and is blabbering gibberish as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s comeuppance could be coming any day. A stroll through Delhi in any direction shows that the AAP is no longer the No.1 choice of the majority of Delhi’s electorate.

It is hard to believe that the AAP-Congress alliance will sweep Delhi’s seven parliamentary seats. But the Congress is not so much thinking of AAP’s problems and solutions than of its strategy to dethrone Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The grand old party, led by the Nehru-Gandhi Family, on Friday released its multipronged manifesto for Lok Sabha elections 2024. Party President Mallikarjun Kharge did the honours along with former party presidents, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

It is the Congress’s final pitch to make the cut to take on the BJP. The manifesto calls itself ‘Nyay Patra’ and its five commitments, ‘Yuva Nyay’, ‘Naari Nyay’, ‘Kisaan Nyay’, ‘Shramik Nyay’, and ‘Hissedari Nyay’. Everything that Rahul Gandhi does has ‘Nyay’ at its roots. ‘Nyay’ was at the centre of his second Bharat jodoyatra, the Bharat Jodo ‘Nyay’ Yatra. The Congress party’s electoral guarantees can be kept only by Rahul Gandhi.

As it is, the party has cut the manifesto release date a little too fine. April 19 will be the first phase of the elections and getting the manifesto offerings through to the electorate is the big challenge. Journalist Arnab Goswami, speaking for the Modi government and the BJP, rubbished “the Vadra Congress’s manifesto”, but the fact remains, if elected to power, the Congress will undertake a nationwide Caste Census, dismantle the Agniveer scheme, and ride roughshod over the 50 percent cap on reservations for SC, ST, and the OBC.

There is other stuff in the Congress manifesto including a set of very alluring poll promises made solely to serve the interests of India’s second largest majority, the Muslims. Not surprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Congress manifesto reminded him of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s ‘Qaid-e-Azam’. The fact remains that the BJP faces a determined Opposition and cannot be altogether sure about Modi’s “abki baar 400 paar”.  (IPA Service)

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By Sushil Kutty

Acting US Deputy Ambassador Gloria Berbena was at the receiving end of New Delhi’s ire after the US State Department spoke its mind on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Both the US State Department and Gloria Berbena gave Modi’s millions a chance to thump their “56” chests” as India’s Ministry of External Affairs expressed its “strong displeasure” at the United States’ affront to interfere in India’s internal affairs. But, if Kejriwal is granted bail by the Delhi High Court, will it be termed “foreign interference in India’s internal affairs”?

The MEA told the US State Department to mind its business and respect India’s sovereignty and that India’s legal process has its sanctity. Modi bots clutched at this straw. The Modi government’s “strong objection” buttresses his claim to his “vishwaguru image” though Germany, earlier last week, and the United States, this week, has blunted that image.

But the INDI-Alliance, if not the AAP, would rather have foreign governments stop poking their nose into India’s affairs, especially in matters that involve India’s opposition parties, on the eve of India’s general elections. The BJP gets an opportunity to paint the opposition parties into a corner using phrases like “foreign interference” and “internal affairs”. AAP might draw succour from Germany and the United States speaking for its Chief Minister, but the BJP spins this to its advantage.

The remarks of the US State Department about India’s judiciary couldn’t have come at a more crucial time and it does not help Kejriwal in any manner. On the contrary, India’s “independent judiciary” will become all the more independent and set an even more healthy precedent.

The German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi was summoned on March 23 and the Acting US Deputy Ambassador on March 27. Both had nothing positive to convey to their bosses other than India’s strong protests, which vast sections of common Indians love to hear, like “India is a vibrant and robust democracy with the rule of law” and “who are the Germans to take note of India’s affairs?”

That said, the Biden government cautioning the Modi government against going alpha on Arvind Kejriwal and the German Foreign Office asking the Modi government to behave nice with Kejriwal clearly shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot rest on his international laurels, specifically those garnered in India’s immediate neighbourhood, alone. The West is too democratic for the current state of the world’s largest democracy a-k-a the “Mother of Democracy”.

And, contrary to belief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not all that trusted in foreign climes; and by world leaders with whom Modi appears to be on first-name basis. Now, it dawns, that “fair” and “impartial” and “transparent” don’t seem to apply to the Hindu nationalist BJP government, which is why western democracies love to brazenly and blatantly interfere in India’s vulnerable “internal affairs”.

So, Germany in its mild manner insisted that “like any other Indian citizen facing charges, Kejriwal also deserved a fair and impartial trial.” Mind you, this when Kejriwal hadn’t complained, when Kejriwal’s wife Sunitha Kejriwal hadn’t raised Cain and neither did his son nor his daughter. Both Germany and the United States blatantly interfered and this is what India is getting after a decade of Modi rule. Modi can only turn to Netanyahu for camaraderie and commiseration. Maybe Russian President Vladimir Putin, too?

“We assume and expect that standards relating to independence of judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case,” a German government spokesperson said. India called it “blatant interference”. The German envoy was summoned and told to stop meddling in India’s “internal matters”, especially in “our judicial process”. Now, the USA has interfered with its “Biased and unwarranted assumptions.”

Germany got a prompt repartee, and the US State Department, too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s masterly External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has master-cards up his sleeve. Jaishankar is no spring-chicken in handling big powers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wouldn’t cow down at this juncture when Indians are making up their minds on who to cast their precious votes for. The tussle between Modi’s BJP and Kejriwal’s AAP is being keenly watched, both nationally and internationally.

The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Kejriwal and there were dramatic scenes outside his residence and dramatic circumstances inside the Delhi court where Kejriwal was presented and remanded in ED custody for six days. Now, much to the Modi government’s outrage, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is ruling Delhi from within an Enforcement Directorate lock-up and AAP ministers are taking their orders from the Chief Minister and loving it.

It is like Che Gueverra had descended on Delhi and let loose guerilla warfare. Shots are being fired and the entrenched establishment doesn’t know where the shots are coming from. If one day, it’s about water, the next day, it’s got to do with “mohalla clinics”. The citizens of Delhi are getting the full Kejriwal-treatment, which they are used to and which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also used to even if he has a load of complaints.

The BJP and the Modi government don’t like it one bit. Calls for the dismissal of the AAP government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are being made by the hour. A PIL has been filed in the Delhi High Court. And Kejriwal’s appeal for release on bail was heard in the High Court Wednesday. If the high court grants Kejriwal bail, the BJP might feel the impact in the seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi. (IPA Service)

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