Barackface: Indian National Congress

Showing posts with label Indian National Congress. Show all posts

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Modi Praises Shashi Tharoor Oxford Speech

Shashi Tharoor gets praise from PM Narendra Modi after Sonia Gandhi’s rebuke

A day after he got a reprimand from his party chief Sonia Gandhi, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday received handsome praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his debating skills, creating flutters in political circles about the timing of his remarks. ....... "What Shashi ji said (at the Oxford debate recently) has now gone viral on YouTube," the PM said praising the passionate argument in Oxford put forward by Tharoor in demanding reparation payments from the UK to India for 200 years of its colonial rule. ........ Tharoor's speech gelled with the feelings of patriotic Indians on the issue and also shows what impression one can leave with effective arguments by saying the right things at the right place, Modi said. ...... Seated in the front row, Tharoor, who was pulled up by Gandhi on Wednesday for leaking his remarks against Congress' stalling tactics in Parliament on the issue of scams, acknowledged the Prime Minister's praise for him with a smile.

India’s Modi praises MP for reparations speech at Oxford

The 15-minute video of his speech to the Union has more than 1.2 million hits on YouTube and has been shared hundreds of times on Twitter and Facebook....... “India’s share of the world economy when Britain arrived on its shores was 23 percent. By the time the British left it was down to below four percent,” Tharoor said in the May 28 debate. ..... “Why? Simply because India had been governed for the benefit of Britain. Britain’s rise for 200 years was financed by its depredations in India,” he said. ..... Tharoor added that Indians had “literally paid for our own oppression,” as by the end of the 19th century they were the world’s biggest purchasers of British goods as well as providing employment for highly paid civil servants. ..... Tharoor has often faced flak from Congress president Sonia Gandhi for praising Modi and his initiatives, and was removed as a party spokesman last October........ “I am very touched and grateful,” the 59-year-old said after the compliments on his oratory skills.

Shashi Tharoor: Impressive Speech At Oxford

The curious thing is, the only way the Congress party can get competitive again in the next 20 year timeframe is if Shashi Tharoor runs for and becomes Congress party president. His state right now feels like the last Congress stronghold.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Indian Farmers And The Land Bill

English: Daytime scene showing the pre-monsoon air over India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If Modi were to ditch the land bill, that would not have any impact on an unfriendly monsoon, that would not have any impact on the unfavorable global conditions. The land bill impacts less than 1% of the land owned by Indian farmers, maybe 0.1%. But Modi's land bill is bearing the brunt of what is happening to all the land held by all Indian farmers. Farmers are 60% of India, and India is a democracy. The Chinese Communist Party never had to pass any land bill. They took what they needed, as they needed them.

The Indian farmers' concerns need to be addressed, even though they are largely independent of the land bill. They are legitimate voters with legitimate concerns. There is very little to do on the monsoon front in the immediate term, but major irrigation projects must be in the offing for the long term, there is not much that can be done to bring the global markets in favor. So what to do?

Communication is key. They have to feel the empathy. This is where leadership comes into play. Modi's megaphone comes handy here. So far the attempt has been to say the land bill is not anti-farmer. Well, what is the opposition to the land bill is only a symptom. The real issue is the farmers do have genuine concerns. Modi could do well to talk about the monsoon and the global markets.

Even on the land bill, the talk has been about infrastructure and industry. Irrigation has to be talked about in the same breath. Indian farmers understand irrigation even more than they understand rural infrastructure. Irrigation also speaks to the monsoon woes.

When Gandhi asked the Indian people to come forward, he did not offer lollipops. He asked for sacrifice. Modi can also ask people for sacrifice. If you want a better future for your children, this land bill needs to be passed. The next generation can not be as dependent on agriculture as this one. Usi mein bhalai hai. People will understand.

But talking about the next generation is not enough. Farmers are not going away any time soon. They have concerns just like the industrialists and anyone else. They are also voters. They are also consumers. The government in Delhi has to make its very best attempts to do right by them. In the immediate term. There is no skipping that part. They voted for you with expectations. Those expectations have to be met.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

India's Goal: $50 Trillion

Say Modi becomes Prime Minister and he does well for 10 years. Even then he will have taken India only to maybe six trillion dollars. Who will take India to the next level after that? These first 10 years are crucial. The system will produce the next leader, no doubt. But the goal is clear: 50 trillion dollars.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Laloo Should Be Brought Back As Railway Minister

Image via Wikipedia

Lalu Prasad Yadav - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laloo is never going to be Prime Minister. Now we know that. It is Manmohan, and then it will be Rahul's turn after Manmohan is done with it. And granted Laloo has only four MPs under his belt now from the 24 he used to have. But he was the best railway minister in the world. And he should be brought back as railway minister. And the UPA does not garner a majority on its own. And if ever the Congress might need to reach out to the Left down the line, Laloo would be the best middle man they could find. It was Laloo Yadav who saved the Manmohan Singh government when the Left threatened to pull away on the nuclear deal issue.

Laloo should be brought back as railway minister primarily for his stellar performance over the past five years as railway minister. That is the number one reason. But it also makes parliamentary arithmetic sense.

If Manmohan Singh was among the top five heads of state in the world over the last five years, Laloo was the very best railway minister in the world. That is reason enough to bring him back.

The BJP is still the Congress Party's number one rival, and there is no bigger opponent than Laloo that the BJP has. Noone else plays the game better.

Manmohan Gave China Like Growth To India

Coalition	Total	Party	Seats
United Progressive Alliance	262	Indian National Congress	206
		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	18
		Nationalist Congress Party	9
		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha	2
		All India Trinamool Congress	19
		Republican Party of India (Athvale)	0
		Jammu and Kashmir National Conference	3
		Assam United Democratic Front	1
		Kerala Congress (M)	1
		Muslim League Kerala State Committee	2
		All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen	1
National Democratic Alliance	158	Bharatiya Janata Party	116
		Janata Dal (United)	20
		Shiv Sena	11
		Shiromani Akali Dal	4
		Indian National Lok Dal	0
		Asam Gana Parishad	1
		Rashtriya Lok Dal	5
		Nagaland People's Front	1
Third Front	76	Communist Party of India	4
		Communist Party of India (Marxist)	16
		Revolutionary Socialist Party	2
		All India Forward Bloc	2
		Bahujan Samaj Party	21
		AIADMK	9
		Biju Janata Dal	14
		Telugu Desam Party	6
		Telangana Rashtra Samithi	2
Fourth Front	27	Samajwadi Party	23
		Rashtriya Janata Dal	4
		Lok Jan Shakti Party	0
		Praja Rajyam Party	0
Main Other Parties	5	Pattali Makkal Katchi	0
		Janata Dal (Secular)	3
		Haryana Janahit Party	1
		Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	1
		Janhit Congress Party	0