Showing posts with label Sonia Gandhi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sonia Gandhi. Show all posts

Thursday, January 09, 2020

Modi's Self-Destructive Behavior

Modi traveled the world. It felt like he was always on a plane to somewhere. When he landed in Delhi, it was for a few days of rest before he took off again. He held monstrous rallies of Indians around the world. Donald Trump never held a bigger rally inside the United States. And all that exposure added to India's soft power. Modi became the most popular politician in the world. After long decades India again had one party that could get a majority in the parliament on its own. Ideology aside, that means some stability. He even took action on Ease Of Doing Business, and India rose up in the ranks. FDI was on the uptick.

I have tried very hard to see the good in Modi. His rise from his humble background to the top office in India is noteworthy. I bought into what I thought was his laser focus on development issues when he ran in 2014. I do think he is personally incorruptible. But then that was also true of his predecessor, Dr. Manmohan Singh. Singh was never accused of having taken any bribes. Personally, he was not. His cabinet was another story. In Modi's case, he seems to have an iron grip on his cabinet, and the anti-corruption aura extends beyond him.

The jury is still out on demonetization. And the implementation of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) has seen much criticism. Done right, that was supposed to unify the Indian market. I don't have enough data on what actually happened.

Even before he made his Kashmir move, I am on record at this very blog saying the key to peace between India and Pakistan is to have two Kashmirs, just like there are two Punjabs. There is a Punjab in India. There is a Punjab in Pakistan. Turn the Line Of Control (LOC) into the permanent border and open up trade. So, obviously, I am not opposed to the idea of turning Kashmir into just another state in India. But I say, what a lost opportunity. If this move would have been made after summit meetings between Imran Khan and Narendra Modi, the region would have seen peace instead of the turmoil we are now seeing.

Article 370 I don't want to comment on too much. What did bother me a lot was that Kashmir was turned into an open-air prison in the aftermath. I was in disbelief.

And now this. India is convulsing. The country has been shaken to its roots. The citizenship amendment act is poorly worded, harshly implemented. And the entire world is watching. All the soft power Modi earned for India through his years of travels has evaporated, and it will show in the FDI numbers. And the tanking economy is not helping either. Modi has already had a very bad year politically. He has lost state after state. He lost Maharashtra where he lost his biggest and oldest ally, the Shiv Sena. I think that is what he is looking at in 2024. The non-BJP parties will come together to throw up a non-Congress prime minister.

Just like Kashmir done right would have given South Asia lasting peace and a major regional trade boost, granting citizenship to refugees is how a large, generous democracy enhances its soft power around the world. How about starting with the Rohingya! They just might be the most talked-about refugees in the world right now.

Modi and his team have been proving his critics right. Imran Khan has been shouting like a mad man accusing the BJP and the RSS of 1930s style fascism. And to Imran Modi gives the citizenship amendment act and the national registry of citizens. That is straight from the Nazi party book in the 1930s. The Nazis also sought to "protect" German minorities in neighboring countries. They also put together a "national registry of citizens."

Modi has squandered his impressive electoral mandate. It is all downhill from here for Modi, especially since there seems to be no hint of course correction.

I hope Prashant Kishor is the next Prime Minister of India.

The ABC (Anti BJP Coalition) already has 62% of the votes in the country, it just needs a proper organizational structure. By joining the coalition, a party agrees to one post one candidate at all levels, and it agrees to the decisions of a steering committee in which each party's strength is the number of MPs it has. There is no lack of money, there is no lack of votes, there is no lack of vision, there is no lack of strategy. Only this structure is missing. Sonia Gandhi can be Convenor.



India: Democracy Itself Is At Stake
India At A Turning Point
Arundhati Roy On India
Indian Citizenship Bill Protests: The Distrust Is Wide And Deep
India Citizenship Bill Debate (2)
India Citizenship Bill Debate
Biometric ID And Citizenship Solutions
India's Contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill
Has India Gone Crazy?
Step By Step To Solving The Big Problems
History In Fast Forward Motion Right Now
Kashmir Deserves Normalcy
News: Modi, Trump, Andrew Yang, Iran, Kamala Harris
Indian Democracy: Maharashtra Edition
India's Massive Unemployment Problem: China Actually Knows
Formula For Peace Between Israel And Palestine
The Stupidity Of The Ayodhya Dispute
Saudi-Iran: Imran Is The Only One Who Can
Can't Stop Water To Pakistan
New Capitalism Is Techno Capitalism, Hello Marc
The Nation State In Peril
Imran's Peace Gamble In Afghanistan
South Asians Working In The Gulf

I think something like this is possible for 2024.

2024: Possible Lok Sabha Composition

BJP: 150

Anti-BJP Coalition (ABC):
Congress: 60
JD (U): 50 (25 in Bihar, 25 outside Bihar)
Trianmool Congress: 40
Shiv Sena: 20
LJP (Paswan): 6
RJD: 10
AIADMK: 20
DMK: 15
YSR Congress: 20
BJD: 20
BSP: 30
SP: 30
NCP: 10
CPI (M): 10
TRS: 10
TDP: 5
AAP: 4
Total: 360
Others: 33

























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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Rajiv Gandhi










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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.


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Friday, May 15, 2015

Indian Farmers Going Through A Downturn


The land bill, even if passed, will impact a very small part of land held by the farmers in India. But a bad monsoon or an unfavorable global market, neither of which are the doings of the government, can drag the government down, because India is a democracy, and one of the ways voters vent their anger is by voting one way or the other. The farmers of India are going through a downturn right now, and the land bill has become the punchbag for it.

For Modi's year-old government, storm brewing in rural India
From the start of the crop season last October through March, India's farm exports have fallen more than 11 percent to $15 billion, as the impact of the global commodities glut has been sharpened by events like Iran's nuclear talks and a currency dip in Brazil......... The fall in exports has depressed domestic farmgate prices just as unseasonal rain damaged winter crops such as wheat, potato, chickpea and rapeseed. Farmers have little money now to buy seeds for the summer sowing, and meteorologists have predicted the annual June-October monsoon will be below par, which means the next crop may also fail. ..... some of the events that have led to the crisis are beyond the government's control....... Until last year, for example, Iran paid a premium for Indian sugar, soymeal, barley and basmati rice. Now, with the easing of some Western sanctions, Iran is looking to buy elsewhere........ Cotton exports have been hit by China's decision to abandon a stockpiling plan, while non-basmati rice shipments face headwinds after Thailand decided to run down its stockpiles....... On the other side of the world, a decline in the Brazilian real following a scandal at oil giant Petrobras last year has weighed on sugar prices, making Indian exports uncompetitive......... Meanwhile, the fall in global crude oil prices has depressed prices of grains and oilseeds used for biofuels. It also trimmed freight rates, making imports of commodities such as corn and soymeal from South America cheaper for Asian buyers........ A strong rupee - despite a fall last week - has further made India's farm exports uncompetitive and imports cheaper......... A major commodities trader has said the decline in agricultural exports could be as much as $5 billion, or nearly 20 percent, for the crop year to September, which would be the steepest on record....... In the villages, farmers struggle to understand why they are earning less. "How come prices of all crops are going down?" asked Anil Sathe, a farmer in Kamargaon who said he has had to start working as a part-time labourer to make ends meet........

Farming accounts for only 15 percent of India's $2 trillion economy but provides a livelihood to 60 percent of its 1.25 billion people. A crisis in the countryside would have severe political impact.

India's powerful farming lobby turns on Modi
Farmer Tarachand Mathur was one of millions of Indians who voted Narendra Modi into power last year, but the government's push to make it easier for big business to forcibly acquire land means he won't be backing the premier again. .... "The rain gods don't hear us and Modi has also turned deaf to our cries.".... "We thought Modi's government would address our problems, that is why we voted for him. But look what he is doing. We will not back him again," said the 70-year-old as he smoked a hookah pipe.
Rahul Gandhi asks ‘visiting’ PM to meet farmers
"Our PM is on a tour of India right now. He has come here for some days. ..... The insinuation that Modi was jet-setting around the globe while farmers were committing suicides forms part of Rahul's now-familiar attacks at the PM in his post-sabbatical avatar.
Land bill: I live for the poor, says PM Modi
Talking in the context of the government's affordable housing scheme and that land acquired under the new law would benefit the poor, Modi asked, "Who is going to live in them? Are industrialists going to stay there... will Mukesh Ambani live there?" ...... "the US President (Barack Obama) as also the head of the World Bank and IMF all accept that India is the fastest growing economy of the world".

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Monday, May 18, 2009

Laloo Should Be Brought Back As Railway Minister

Manmohan Singh, current prime minister of India.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
Manmohan Singh of Indian National Congress		 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
LK Advani of the BJP		 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
Prakash Karat of Communist Party of India (Marxist)		 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
Mulayam Singh Yadav, of Samajwadi Party		 27 Samajwadi Party 23
Rashtriya Janata Dal 4
Lok Jan Shakti Party 0
Praja Rajyam Party 0
Main Other Parties
Deve Gowda of Janata Dal (Secular)		 5 Pattali Makkal Katchi 0
Janata Dal (Secular) 3
Haryana Janahit Party 1
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 1
Janhit Congress Party 0
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Saturday, May 16, 2009

Manmohan Gave China Like Growth To India




Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, addre...Image by London Summit via Flickr

And got rightly rewarded. This soft-spoken, unassuming man has done wonders as Prime Minister of India. Good governance delivers. Good governance is good politics. That is what he has proven.

Manmohan Singh is a Sikh. An American equivalent would be if an Asian, and Indian, someone like Bobby Jindal became President of the United States. (Independent For Bloomberg)

But Rahul Gandhi has emerged the biggest story out of this election. Suddenly he comes across as the person who will succeed Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minsiter of India.

Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and now Rahul Gandhi. That is one for the world history books. Which family has ruled a country as large as India for four generations? And that too in a rumbunctious democracy?

In The News

India's Congress Sweeps to Biggest Poll Win Since '91 Bloomberg
Rahul Gandhi Urged to Join India's Cabinet After Forging Election Victory “Rahul Gandhi has a shot at running this country for the next 15 years with the decimation of the BJP” ....... He addressed 120 rallies, compared with 68 for his mother and 21 for Singh..... Gandhi outdistanced all Indian politicians in campaign travel, flying 87,000 kilometers (54,000 miles) around the country to attend rallies...... Sonia Gandhi turned down the position of prime minister in 2004 ..... “We have won the elections under the visionary leadership of Sonia Gandhi and the youthful leadership of Rahul Gandhi,” Singh said, flanked by 62-year-old Sonia. ...... Uttar Pradesh, which elects 80 of the 543 members of parliament, Congress was on course to win 22 seats, up from nine...... Gandhi’s push over the past year to rebuild the party’s state and local organizations, and to urge greater internal democracy, helped win voters
India's Left Loses in Strongholds Wall Street Journal
White House says India's voting bolsters democracy The Associated Press
For India's Rupee, a New Identity Washington Post, United States
India's National Election Spreads Billions Around New York Times, United States
India's Bharti sees users doubling to 200 mln in 3 yrs Reuters
US senators ask India to reduce troops on Pak border Daily Times, Pakistan
Congress coalition wins overwhelming majority in Indian elections Daily Mail, UK
BJP routed in Rajasthan, Cong bags 19 seats Hindu, India
A Global Election, a Global Victory for India Wall Street Journal
Congress central body to meet on Sunday Economic Times, India
UPA won most seats from states of Third Front partners Economic Times, India
Rahul's magic floors UP for Congress Hindustan Times, India
Congress to stick to allies for government formation Economic Times, India
President skips legal consultations as UPA emerges on top Economic Times, India
UPA beats anti-incumbency factor, bounces back to power Hindustan Times, India
Singh, India's cerebral PM, glides to victory again AFP
Congress Win Sparks Reforms Hope Wall Street Journal
Cong, SP together would have wiped out BSP in UP: Amar Livemint, India
Congress comeback in Uttar Pradesh that no one predicted Economic Times, India

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