Rahul Gandhi-Change Agent-lost in the woods

Rahul Gandhi-the Change Agent.

In the process of his being a change agent Rahul Gandhi has exposed himself. At the age of 40 he still seems unsure not only of himself but of what he aims to achieve- because he has already the highest Executive post just waiting for him. Of course being a Prime Minister is not the only job states RG but then what other job is he at?

The evolution of Rahul Gandhi as a change agent is three dimensional:

1- The son of Rajiv Gandhi and Mrs Sonia Gandhi-has half Indian and half Italian blood coursing through his veins. He has everything he wants and that naturally creates a psychological vacuum so he wants to do something. He is taken up by the cheering and the red carpet rolled out to him wherever he goes. He must be amazed at the media coverage and his sound bytes which make headlines in the media. This has stimulated him and given him a skewed image of himself and his capabilities. He believes that he can change. This change agent with his dimpled cheeks-scrubby chin and starry eyes targets the youth. It somehow got into him that since more than 40 percent of the population of India is below 40 years he needs to target this segment because he is just 40 and has not achieved anything so far.

And what is the change he first signaled- inner democracy. What he means by inner democracy one is not sure. His mother re-elected the fourth time as Congress president was always a fait accompli. He glides to the uppermost echelon of the Congress power hierarchy and is made the General Secretary. Yet he speaks of an inner democracy. Forgetting that there is no democracy as far as the Congress party is concerned-not only within its party but in its operation with in the country.

2-Towards this change and towards the target group Rahul Gandhi zig zags round the country. Travel is no problem for him and security is well taken care of. But the problem with RG is his focus-is only at the non Congress ruled States. Does it mean that all Congress ruled States the Youth are with the Congress? To get at the youth he then targets the universities. RG breezed through his academic career .Did he sit down and study? That’s a big mystery. Through the Sports quota he got into St Stephens and there he could not last one semester. He was too clever for the dons or he was unable to grasp what the whole academics were about. After all he did not have to procure a formal education to secure a job to earn his livelihood. So academics took a back bench, but then why does he target students? Does he think that they don’t have to secure a job-that they do not have a family to maintain. The man who at 40 thinks that PM is not the only job available to him forgets that no youth can be so cocksure of what job awaits them in a cut throat competitive world. Here is the big question of the whole perception of RG and the youth power-all hazy-fudged and unclear.

What if other politicians also target the university students? Are universities the fora for politicians? Can they make these hot beds of politics? This does not mean that RG cannot target students-he can, by organizing meetings outside the campus and not walk within the campuses to canteens to interact with students. No Vice Chancellor can and should give permission for politicians to address the students within the university campus. And RG is only a politician. There are the roads and the grounds outside the university where anyone is free to canvass and propound one’s theory of politics.

It is bad sense and surely ill-advised to walk within the university campuses as a politician to interact with students. If RG can, then why not the Sena leaders-why not the BJP leaders why not the CPI(M) leaders spread out into the university campus teach, propagate their political thoughts and enlist students. Why the special exception given to Rahul Gandhi? This again is the strategy of a man who vows to change and wants  to cleanse the system.

3- Another big blunder the change agent RG has committed in his mission.-an analysis of the content and the sound bytes of Rahul Gandhi exposes his bankruptcy of ideas. .It has already been stated that within the Congress there is no inner democracy and if things need to change then RG needs to step down and start at the very beginning to climb the political hierarchical ladder. What is not good for you cannot be held out as good for others? The dynasty rule needs to be changed. Why hold on to it and talk of change-what change can there be when the dynasty straitjackets every democratic process and demeans democratic norms,supercedes democratic institutions and sets up extra constitutions structures like the National Advisory Council which side tracks the Parliament-which out sources its functions. It also takes on the role of the cabinet to advise the Prime Minister. Is this democracy? Why then Parliament? This is the change RG aims at when he talks of inner democracy.

At one of the meetings he asked the youth; ‘Who won us freedom”? Pat came the reply ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ ‘No’ claimed RG, ‘people of India’.  Ridiculous to ask such a basic question, Does RG perceive the youth as primary class students; and then propounded such a philosophical answer? If RG really believes in it and places such significance on the people of India then why is it that except the garbage bins and the drains-everything are  named after the Nehru Gandhi family? Be it airports, roads, bridges-the totality of the infra structures across the country-all the national programs launched by the Centre with the  tax payers money have the family seal on them as though these are the Congress Party’s schemes-making the gullible people think that they are.Then the National Days-Children’s Day, Integration Day, Youth days et al. Does this happen in any other country? And here Rahul Gandhi asserts that it is the people of India who won the freedom for the country.

When he was questioned on the Reservation in Education he simply asks the youth to go to the villages and see for themselves.60 years of reservation and the villages have not come out of its poverty-yet RG sees Reservation as a lever to pull up the villages from the rut.

Rahul Gandhi speaks of two Indias-the Poor India and the Rich India. Had he stopped with differentiation one will not fault him, but he quietly added that he belongs to the poor India. If RG belongs to the Poor India then what is the problem and why is his mother so  bogged down with her pet scheme ‘Food Security’? RG had joined the ranks of the rich who find power in poverty and slums, some find humor in slums and hence the birthday cake must represent the slums-others make money by the poverty in the slums as in Slumdog. Poor India has become a joke and comes in handy for all purpose. So RG does not hesitate to claim that he belongs to poor India. Does not matter if his birthday bash is held in the UK, if he holidays in Europe, imitate the Dandi March walking in Gucci shoes, cocoons in Kumarakon-all indications and signs of poor India-Poor Rahul Gandhi.-the scion of the Gandhi family-the waiting Prime Minister is at his other jobs….

His latest utterance on Ayodhya: ‘There are more Fundamental issues like infrastructure, education, and technology that are much more important than the Ayodhya dispute’. This reveals his utter void when it comes to understanding India-its ethos and its civilization. It was his father Rajiv Gandhi who brought Ayodhya into the picture of petty politics by vowing to establish Ram Rajya and getting the locks of the doors of Babri Masjid broken.That was contempt of Supreme Court and he had got away with it. because the Nehru Gandhi family is infallible. That’s another matter. Rahul Gandhi does not believe in faith/belief. His mother could explain to him the context and the relevance of ‘Man does not live on bread alone’ a biblical quote. It is faith that cements this vast nation, it is faith in the country that enables people to carry on in spite of the looting and the plundering indulged by the politicians, it is faith that keeps the half starved still looking forward. This faith is expressed in Ramjanmabhoomi.It is not the decrepit national monument which matters but faith that Rama was born at that place. It is this faith which is the Cruz of the Ayodhya dispute. RG cannot simply brush it aside It has already achieved much because it has become a unified vortex of the Hindus.And RG  as a politician should know the power of vote bank.Well Ayodhya issue is one such factor.Yet at 40 RG brushes it aside. These ultra moderns think that faith is old fashioned-yet his friend and MP Sachin Pilot attended the Khap panchayat and empathized with it. A jinx of paradoxes and contradictions cannot be the perception of a change agent.

One was told that Rahul Gandhi wants to clean up the system-what system one is not sure. May be the political system, but leave himself and his mother untouched. Well not a bad thing he sounded keen and people thought something will come out of it.But look at the way the 125 year old Party is functioning-Rahul Gandhi does not hesitate to be seen in the company of Maqsood Khan –the Youth Congress President of the East zone-UP who has several cases against him and has been booked under the Gangster Act. He had no qualms to share the dais with Lovely Anand wife of Mohan Singh Anand, and Ranjeeta Ranjan-Pappu Yadva’s wife. This change agent inducts Mohammed Rafiq against whom there are several criminal cases. So what is it he is aiming at changing and at what level? He wants to cleanse the system? But he seems to abet the criminalization of the political system. Till date he has not condemned corruption. When a question on corruption was raised ‘it is a problem and has to be tackled’ was his simple response.

He thinks that there are greater fundamental issues than Ayodhya but has not raised his voice against the Common Wealth Games which has not only wasted lakhs of crores of people’ money but has brought disgrace and shame to the nation. It is a blot on India. Is this a fundamental cause? RG’s fundamental issues like infrastructures, technology and education and even his mother’s Food Security could have easily been covered by the amount spent on the CWG. Why is he silent?

On Kashmir he advises patience for his friend Omar –that is youth power-give more time to make it messier.

It is small wonder that he was shown black flags at Dibrugarh. The vice chancellor made a mistake in granting permission for Rahul Gandhi’s visit. As a section of the student community protested and rightly so, that Rahul Gandhi is neither a minister nor an academician but a politician and was politicizing the campus. RG is doing a great injustice to the student community and to the cause of education. If he wants to address students he could call for a meeting outside the campus. His office can make all the arrangements but no university campus must be turned into a political platform. He is 40 and does not seem to know his way-though he claims that he wants to change-change what and in what direction? Rahul Gandhi is lost in the woods- the great Change Agent- must find his way out….

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja

Vadodara

“look Homeward”,Mr Chidambaram

Dear Mr Chidambaram,
Are you so myopic that in your address to the police chiefs you cautioned them to be alert on ‘saffron’ terror? By making that deliberate statement you threw to the winds the reality. India has been plagued by ‘green’ terror or Jihad terrorists. It is not as though you are ignorant of them. You will have the lists of jihad terror attacks and the details-yet you wanted to brush these aside and pick at the periphery. Why so? Is it because you have bartered away your obligation and duty to safeguard and uphold security for your vote bank concern? It is true that you are jittery when it comes to facing the electorate –remember you had won by fluke or freak after the third round count. You need to be ever grateful to Navin Chawla. He served well the purpose for which he was made the CEC.
Now the latest attack at Jama Masjid is traced to the Indian Mujahideen. Is this ‘saffron’ terror Mr Chidambaram? Can one holding a portfolio as Home Minister afford to be self centered at the cost of national security? How are you going to reckon to the innocent bloodletting and innocent lives lost. Are you justified to just holding out an apology-blaming systemic failure or even on intelligence failure to get round to your vote bank politics. There is a day in everybody’s life called the Reckoning Day and I wonder how you will face that Day.

And the deepest cut was to color terror as ‘saffron’ terror was cruel-untrue, unjustifiable. Loud claims and counter claims were made by you when Jihadis attacked-then you and your party proclaimed from house tops that ‘terror knows no religion’-this when you are well aware that Islam is the only religion which abets and sanctions terror attacks. Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims. A few exceptions will not make the rule as one sparrow does not make the summer. Unless we face squarely the reality how can we take up the challenge? You are not a naturalized Indian not to be full versed in saffron and what that color stands for. When six years ago on Sept 11th the jihadis rammed into the World Trade Centre -and brought it down tumbling along with hundreds of innocent people way back in 1893 same day-Sept 11th the great Indian monk Swami Vivekananda stood tall and majestic in saffron robes to address the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago and gave the bulge call for Unity. Sants and saints-ancients and holy men- all donned the saffron as an affirmation and a testimony to godliness and god centeredness and above all to Dharma. Saffron is power-is holy is sacred. It is this which gave saffron a place in our tricolor. It is not that you are ignorant of all this and yet you deliberately chose to pick at ‘saffron’ and tagged it on to terror.

Your son is one of the temple trustees in your home town of Sivaganga. And every year for the temple feast the flag which is hoisted is saffron in color. Does it mean that the temple in your town signals terror and terrorists? All this you are fully aware of and yet you purposely chose to castigate ‘saffron’ as the color of terror. Why did you stoop so low? Glib talk will not stand you in good stead when it comes to facing your Creator? Truth cannot be sold for votes. You have a high stake Mr Chidambaram and your office is one which is obliged to protect and provide security to this country and its people. You are under oath to uphold this.

The same kind of mode you are when you agreed to talk to ‘separatists’ in J&K. Can murderers, traitors and secessionists be parties with the government of India to chalk out a solution for the State? Why is the GOI so weak-kneed and jittery? Can vote bank politics take the GOI to the extent of even betraying our armed forces and making it the scape goat for all that ails J&K? Then what else remains for this country? Honor lost, territory lost and Truth the biggest casualty. Pray, Mr Chidambaram is not Kashmir a white elephant-a constant irritant and its anti Indian stand in spite of the tax payers pouring in their hard-earned money to maintain it and its development, a cause of alarm and for hard thinking and action? Why are the youth on the streets and not in schools and colleges? Had they been within these premises and the CRPF and State cops trespassed then they could have been faulted for firing and for lathi charge.

A survey by India Today (Sept 13th 2010) gives some startling and disturbing data on the financial affairs of J&K. The State government generates only 25 percent of its own expenditure. The CAG has castigated it for the excess expenditure of Rs 71,088 crore between 1980 and 2008.Where has this money gone? If a non Congress government comes under scrutiny and the CAG makes such allegations the Congress is up in arms. If out of the 23 Public sector undertakings in J&K only four makes profit-then why not disinvest. Why this special treatment for J&K –Yet they burn the Indian flag, shout anti-Indian slogans and the youth is on the roads instead of being in schools and colleges-pelting stones at the cops. We treat them with a velvet glove-something is seriously amiss. In spite of this you are leading the GOI party to talk of development-justice, honor etc. Whose honor are you trying to uphold Mr Chidambaram?
Unless truth is upheld and vote bank politics discarded there will be no honor for this country-be it Kashmir problem, terror, corruption, development, the one third hunger Indians and the fattening of rodents and rats issue-that honor the Hon’bles in the power echelons of this country had long lost.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja
Vadodara

Call a spade a spade

The CNN-IBN   telecasted a program on the 16^th September ‘Because my name is Khan’.The Copra sting operation had revealed that the Muslims are discriminated against when it comes to renting out houses to them-‘Urban India shutting the doors to Muslims’, ‘Metros suffering from Muslim phobia’ et al. There is too much of an exaggeration. When it comes to discrimination in renting out houses Hindus, Muslims, Christians are all victims of discrimination at some point or other. After all in this vast country with its teeming billions one can pick what one wants to project and make it look that the Muslims alone are discriminated against. This is far from the true. But given the population breakup ration the proportion of discrimination against the Muslims in actual numbers may be less-compared to the other communities. This is because of the population spread and of the ownership pattern. So one can pick and chose and find what one wants to find. This is unscientific like the Sachar survey.

Now to comment on the cobra sting-:It must be granted that Muslims themselves prefer to live in their own ghettos. If there is so much of discrimination against them where are the Muslim film personalities living? Everyone cannot get land, house of one’s choice. But let us face the reality

First it must be conceded that a house owner is free to sell/not to sell, rent/ not to rent his land or house.One cannot immediately conclude that it is discrimination against a community.The reasons for refusal to Muslims are varied. When Sadhvi Pragya motor bike was sold to someone and that bike was involved in serial blast incident look at the harassment and torture inflicted on Pragya. Similarly we must concede that most of the terrorists are Muslims and what happens if one rents out one’s house and some terrorists occupy it or frequent it? Will not the owner  also be put to harassment?

Second- even non-vegetarian Hindus and Christians find it difficult at times to get houses and doors are shut at times. But they understand the problem. No one cries foul that it is discrimination. The sentiments –both social and religious of the owner must be also respected.

Third- Muslims do not rent their houses to Hindus even Christians. This from my own experience I can vouch. They like to live among their own. This is not an offence.

Fourth I like to narrate my own experience. I had rented my upstairs when I lived in Chennai to Salim(name changed). He agreed on a whole lot of things-like not parking his car within the compound during the day ,with a month’s notice he would quit etc. Salim unfortunately did not abide with any of conditions in the agreement. Payment was not a problem. But when I decided to sell the house Salim refused to quit in spite of giving him two months notice. He point blank told me to go to court. I even tried looking out for a house for Salim but could not tell the prospective leasers that he was reliable. Would anyone point a finger at me and accuse me of being anti Muslim?

There was a high-rise structure of 16 flats on the same street where I lived and when we wanted to rent  one of the flats for a niece of ours the answer was that the 16 flats will be given only to Muslims. Though it took time for occupancy the vacant ones remain closed for a long time.

So it is not true that Muslims alone are discriminated against. They discriminate others. Vegetarians will not like to rent out their houses to non vegetarians. This is understandable. It is not the religion but the social customs and eating habits. For example: opposite my house were a couple of Muslims houses and when they purchase fish the vendor cleans and cuts it outside their gates. The crows pick up the waste and flies all over the place looking for a safe perch to eat! When this was pointed out to the Muslim neighbors and suggested that they get the fish cleaned within their compounds and see that the waste is put in a plastic bag and discarded, they were simply furious and did not heed. These may be simple things but which cause a lot of ill feeling.

For one of the feasts the goat is slaughtered and the blood smeared on the compound posts. This surely is unhygienic, revolting and offends the religious sentiments of others It is not true that Muslims alone are discriminated against in Metros. It is question of habits and a phobia which the Muslims suffer also. It is not as though only the Muslims have religious sentiments which cannot/ should not be hurt; the others too have religious practices and sentiments which need to be respected. It is natural that they protect themselves from being hurt. What is wrong in this?

After all Indians cannot be blamed-The separatist mindset is Islamic-did the Muslim leaders  not want a separate land of their own for the simple reason that they found it impossible to integrated with the Hindu population? So now why this great hue and cry that Metros shut the door at the Muslims. They rejected this very country and got a part of it. Now to forced themselves on others and seek the acceptance of the others to their kind of eating habits and social and religious customs is not fair. The electronic media cannot make it look that the Muslims are the victims of discrimination. The Muslims are equally to be blames for they too discriminate the Hindus and Christians. One must learn to call a spade a spade. The media must be balanced in telecasting such views and resist the temptation of giving a one sided picture.

‘The doors shut on the Muslims’: is the sob story but when the Kashmiri pundits were driven out of their homes and hearths what did it indicate-just indiscrimination or a mind set of intolerance. Where the media was then and even now the Kashmiri pundits are refugees in their own county. How is it justifiable? Why this ultra sensitivity when it comes to Muslims and their hurt sentiments. But stoic silence when Hindus are driven out of their own? What kind of mindset does it reflect?

Finally individual freedom is a Constitution right – to whom one rents/not rent one’s house is one’s individual freedom and it shall upheld. Call this what you may like-one has one own likes and dislikes based not on just a make-believe world or on appeasement policy but on reality and experience. One cannot barter it away to join the bandwagon of pseudo-secularists or for the sake of appeasement. Is it an offence? The media needs to be vigilant and not fall a prey of discrimination on the basis of religion to which it is often a perpetrator.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja

Vadodara.

In Defense of Prof TJ.Joseph

In Defense of Prof TJ.Joseph The case of Prof Joseph has been widely reported but not sufficiently defended and the media somehow has hurriedly tried to take leave of this blatant injustice leaving the victim to cope and to grapple with this double punishment inflicted on him .What is the gross injustice wrought on Prof Joseph by the Newman College of Thodupuza(Kerala)-a minority catholic college in Kerala? This is the main cruz of the whole issue which needs be scrutinized. It is natural justice of law that one cannot be punished twice for the same offence. The offence here is that Prof Joseph had hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslims. For this offence his right hand was chopped by the Muslim fundamentalists. It was a gruesome criminal act. One wonders if the criminals have been arrested and an FIR slapped on them for this criminal violence on the person of Prof Joseph. No one can take law into one’s hands. If Prof Joseph had hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslims it is for the offended to file a case against him. They could have also approached the college to take action against him. It is also pertinent to raise the question if Prof Joseph had the Freedom of Expression guaranteed by the Constitution? On the other hand the Muslim fundamentalists took law into their own hands and punished Prof Joseph. This is against the laws of the country. So the perpetrators cannot go scot free for this criminal act. How has the Minority managed Newman College dealt with those whose religious sentiments were hurt by Prof Joseph and hence indulged in the gruesome chopping of his hand? It looks that the Minority College stood by the perpetrators of this criminal act and added to Prof Joseph’s woes by dismissing him. Has the management done justice? Is the management right in his dismissal? Has the management nothing to say about one of its teachers being physically attacked and his right hand chopped? Was there a condemnation at least of this? Has the police arrested the criminals? Had the management taken cognizance of Prof Joseph’s offence of hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslims then it should have take action before the chopping of his hand. Even in such a case the offence does not warranty dismissal. Procedures should be followed. He should have been given a show cause notice to explain-and if the explanation given by him is not satisfactory then some punitive action could have been initiated like suspension-or apology etc. But certainly it does not call for a dismissal. Why had the Newman College taken such a drastic step and slapped an out of proportion punishment on Prof Joseph denying him his livelihood? Why had it resorted to a one-sided offensive action? Why had it not followed procedures? The simple answer to all these is that it is a Minority managed institution. The Minority institutions have a wrong assumption that the Minority Rights guaranteed by the Constitution give them sweeping powers of dictatorship and arbitrariness which is completely wrong. First and foremost Minority Rights of Art 30 confer a collective right on the community. It is from the thousands of Josephs and Thomases that the minority rights flow from. It is a community right and to use that right against the same community which has to be safeguarded and protected is unjust. The assumption of Minority managements is that the Minority rights are absolute. They forget that individual rights cannot be subsumed within the Minority Rights.It is a travesty of justice to think that Minority Rights are topmost in the hierarchy of Rights enshrined in the Constitution.All Rights have to be read together and there is no hierarchy of Rights. The right to manage and administer cannot include mismanagement and maladministration. The protection of services of the teachers is stipulated by the Kerala Education Bill. The State can intervene in gross injustices like dismissal from services if the management has not referred the case to a competent authority prior to dismissal. The salaries of the teachers come from the State and in case a college does not follow the rules then Aid to that college can be stopped. This had been upheld by the Supreme Court in 1957 when it made permissible of the clauses 10, 11 and 12 of the Kerala Bill. Prof Joseph is thinking of going to court to seek justice. This is at his present physical condition going to be a tortuous proposal. Remedy must be found within the Minority community and the Minority institution. The University of Kerala cannot be overlooked by the Newman College and the churches cannot use their pulpits to give a one sided version-namely only that of the Managements. This is often resorted to by Minority education institutions to canvass the opinion of the ‘flock’ in their favor and misuse the pulpits. Here is a case when a minority management institution misuses the Minority rights. It is a wake up call to the Minority community to realize that the Minority rights have been time and again misused against them-from refusal of admissions to heaping of injustices, from poor service conditions to termination of services of the same minority community members. The Minority managements have abused this right by the denial of Fundamental Rights to individuals and make it look as though the Constitution is only about Minority Rights. Individual Freedom of speech and Expression-Equality are bulldozed in the process of the mismanagement and maladministration of the Minority Rights. A relevant question to the above incident- The Newman College seems to be ultra sensitive to the hurting of the religious sentiments of the Muslim community-or is it equally sensitive to anyone hurting the religious sentiments of any other religious community? If so I have not seen or heard a word uttered by this Newman College against M.F.Hussain’s painting – depicting hindu gods and goddesses in offensive and obscene postures. In that case the drum of Freedom of Expression was beaten loud and long by the media and others. So the management of Newman College seems to be biased and is not all that sensitive to such offence of hurting another’s religious sentiments. There seem to be an ulterior motive to the whole episode apart from the gross injustice of the Newman Minority college of Kerala-in God’s own country. Dr Hilda Raja M.A.Ph.D., Vadodara.

Towards Truth and Justice

The past couple of days saw two news items flashed and these stand out as headers for the media providing it with grist to grind for daysThe past couple of days saw two news items flashed and these stand out as headers for the media providing it with grist to grind for days to come. The coronation of Mrs Sonia Gandhi as the President of the Congress for the fourth consecutive term: It is no small matter and goes to show her complete hold over the party as well as the party’s complete loyalty towards her. A deeper analysis will also prove the Congress’ bankruptcy of leadership-its complete dependence on the Nehru-Gandhi family to survive. This is certainly no good sign of a party which calls itself the oldest political party and yet cannot throw up leaders capable of guiding and leading the party. It is no great credit to the Congress party to abet family and feudalistic/ dynastic regime. Some may think and say that there is nothing wrong. Everything is wrong in fostering such because it negates democracy and the democratic spirit.  A party which does not have inner democracy cannot give the country a vibrant democracy and nurture a robust democracy- a system of governance which we the people had opted and deliberately choose and on which the Constitution of India is anchored.

The second news item-‘Modi is in the dock’ announces the media gleefully: But the media had put Modi in the dock long ago and the CBI was laboring for years to fix guilt on him. Towards this it looked that the CBI has only one State and one person to devote all its energies and its strategies-turning witnesses into approvers, suddenly reopening cases-grilling and recalling persons. Making it amply evident the motive and the goal towards which the CBI was working for. So actually it is no big news that ‘Modi is in the dock’. Now that the former junior Minister for Home Zadaphia had told the Special Investigation Team(SIT) that the chief minister Modi was in complete control of the goings-on in the State after the Godhra train burning on Feb 27th 2002.It is relevant to note that Zadaphia also told the SIT that he had met Mukul Sinha-the advocate of the Jan Sangharsh Manch- who advised him that he could bring down the Modi government single handed! So that’s the motive to bring down the Modi government come what be. It is towards this that the CBI is laboring on. Modi for that matter was put on trial by the media much earlier and also found guilty by it. The Godhra riots is all due to Modi.

A cursory view of the whole system of governance will go to prove that there is a hierarchy and it is not always that the topmost person gives the order. Granted that Modi ordered the 59 charred bodies to be brought to Ahmedabad at that point of time is it a crime to view the 59 as martyrs-these were poor devotees whose only crime was that they happened to be kar sevaks .Should the families not get at least that consolation of giving these ‘forgotton 59’ a fitting last journey and last rites? So what was the alternative-to depose of these bodies in secret and allow the families to weep their eyes dry with absolutely no consolation from the government- This led to the riots is the conclusion and hence Modi is guilt of the riots. Result is that Modi must resign-his government must be pulled down. It is towards this that the CBI was huffing and puffing.

Let us hypothetically concede this. But then jurisprudence cannot be changed and twisted and justice cannot be one for Modi and another for others. Compare this to the 1984 riots in which at least 3000 minority people was massacred. Was there a government at N.Delhi when the massacre and the rapes were ongoing for two days? We do not need an empowered Go M to dig out records. It is obvious that Rajiv Gandhi was at the helm of affairs and his government simply and callously watched the massacre of a minority community and even went to the extent of justifying it. Should not that government be put in the dock? The Congress which allowed such genocide is guilty and stands indicted. But the media suddenly looses its volume and there is stunning silence. Why? In another heart rending case-13000 die and hundreds are still wheezing and breathless-others are crippled and handicapped. These are the poor victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy-the biggest global industrial disaster. But how coolly we view it-no sense of righteous anger at the way the government went about it. So after some hue and cry the case was reopened. Mind you the Congress which was in power at the Centre and the State has not been named and put in the dock. Arjun Singh breaks his silence and wheels into the Rajya Sabha to tell the House of elders and the nation how helpless he was and now how angry and outraged he is and how he is keen on bringing Warren Andherson to justice! Is that not adding insult to injury? A GoM is appointed (this is the mantra to buy time and to negate justice) to look into the records which it naturally cannot find and no telephone transcript is found to nail Rajiv Gandhi. This is the result of the GoM’s findings-so RG is innocent of all the happenings. Is that not grave mis-governance and a violation of constitutional accountability? The solemn pledge taken at the time of assuming office to safeguard and act without fear or favor is thrown to the winds? So the man at the helm of affairs is soundly and innocently unaware of this global industrial disaster under his regime which took hundreds of lives and left lives broken permanently? Is it not a grave violation to allow a foreigner to safe transit-he was escorted by government officials and given even a government plane to Delhi from where he safely flies out of India as though after a picnic in this country. And poor Rajiv Gandhi is unaware of all this and hence proved innocent by his own party men. What a great travesty of justice. PV.Narasimha Roa becomes the scape goat. He does not belong to a dynastic ruling family and hence it is convenient in making him the culprit. But that does not absolve the Congress-it is part of its baggage.

Again such a horrendous crime which shook the world we have to believe that Rajiv Gandhi was unaware of Warren Andherson’s free and safe transit out of the country sounds ridiculous to say the least. The media once again soft pedals the whole issue but for some noise of compensation. And justice in Bhopal gas tragedy still evades it because the Congress and Rajiv Gandhi are involved. It is unthinkable to put Rajiv Gandhi in the dock posthumously. Towards this Justice becomes the casualty. Is there a general Amnesty or infallibility when it comes to the commissions and omissions of the Nehru-Gandhi family? These are not for narration as P.Chidambaram indulged in the Lok Sabha giving us the details of the time and date of the Bhopal gas tragedy sequence of events. But these are of the tragic loss of human lives-disposing them so casually as though it is of no consequence. The main thrust being that Rajiv Gandhi is innocent. Who then was at the helm of affairs? Was RG then a mere puppet-unaware of the happenings of such human catastrophe? Still the Congress cannot absolve itself as a party both at the Centre and the State it was in power. The baggage of the Congress party becomes heavier of lives lost, families broken and victims tales of woes. But they are all poor and are easily dispensable. Yet we are told that the cause of Food Security for the aam admis will be fought religiously by Mrs Sonia Gandhi-that’s her pet scheme. Crumbs for justice…. In both the cases Rajiv Gandhi was innocent asserts the Congress and the UPA2 government-then the same can be applied to Modi too. If there is no probe for those two cases to fix the culprits-where is the need for a CBI probe in the Gujarat/Godhra riots? We do not need a CBI to dig and dig and spent all its time and energies in this State chasing the wild goose. If in both those cases Rajiv Gandhi can be exonerated and proved to be innocent though in power- then why not apply the same yardstick to Modi? He is innocent of the Godhra riots. Things happened beyond his control-It was a natural backlash. He cannot be put in the dock and the CBI cannot be so outrageously used by the Centre to finish off Modi.

In the final analysis what is being put forth is that there should not be double standards-two yard sticks and Justice need be upheld irrespective of the party and the person. That is what our Constitution is all about and that is what this country stands for. Truth and Justice must be the hall marks of governance and let it not be felt and seen that injustice is being carried out in the name of Justice. The media has a great responsibility in this regard and must be the watchdog and not a partisan to petty party politics.

-Dr Mrs Hilda Raja, Vadodara

On the leaking UPA2

How long will you abuse our patience, Oh Chidambaram!

‘One begins to wonder: is this government serious about reforming the revenue’ (a leading paper in its editorial on 1st Sept.) But it is not just in the revenue area, in all areas from Sports and Games, Cricket, Security, Army, Police, Black money stashing, Illegal Mining, Education, Judiciary-every single area of governance the UPA 2 is not serious in reforming. It does not have the political will nor the integrity to plug the loop holes, to streamline to reform. This is a leaking government – a government which seeks power without responsibility and like a leech sucks the blood of the people. The people are held prisoners-helpless with no democratic weapon to fight back. Jug Suraiya so vividly and pointedly stated in his article, ‘Whose boycott?’(TOI-1st Sept) because you can’t boycott someone or something that has already boycotted you’. He is right-the UPA2 has boycotted the people-the farmers, the aam admis, the tribals, and as he says ‘it is becoming increasing clear that our present day- powers -that -be have boycotted us long before we could boycott them, or any of their projects’. The UPA2 headed by the Congress is thoroughly corrupt. It is a government of the corrupt for the corrupt by the corrupt. Look at the blatant way in which it functions.

To retain power it yields to its allies-so A.Raja stays, Suresh Kalmadi stays, Pawar stays even when the poor starves while the rats fatten themselves. Does he not know the difference between a Supreme Court order and a suggestion? Should not Pawar be held guilty of contempt of Court? These high and mighty people are above the law-everything and everyone simply continues as though nothing has happened. There is no public probity and minimum grace to at least apologize. Take P.Chidambaram’s ‘saffron’ terror-surely it is politically, linguistically, culturally and religiously wrong-yet neither he nor the PM had thought it appropriate to apologize. What does that indicate? Either the Congress purposely used ‘saffron’ terror to appease the Muslims or to give the impression that the Hindus are also involved in terrorism. Chidambaram’s statement was not a slip of the tongue. He was addressing the police chiefs and cautioning them to be vigil on ‘saffron’ terror. Chidambaram is one who thinks that he can simply talk his way through. No wonder one of the Congress leaders accused him of ‘intellectual arrogance’. But it looks that he is just not that but one who also indulges in petty politics. To gain votes he is being untruthful. When Chidambaram’s son- who is one of the trustees of the temple in Siva Ganga will hoist the temple ‘saffron’ flag then Chidambaram must realize that his statement is directed against all temples with the saffron flags-are the centers of terrorists’ activities. So his son is a leader of such activities? Chidambaram has abused and insulted all our sants and swamijis by that reference to ‘saffron’ terror. Without any fuss and with some humility he should apologize. Instead both he and the PM are silent and trying to ignore this. Does it mean that only votes count? Does it mean that consciences do not exist? Then where is integrity and truth? Can these be bartered off for votes? How can one always refer to the PM as a man of integrity and honesty? To abet dishonesty and corruption is equal to be dishonest and corrupt.

Chidambaram’s great bravado-that he stands by ‘saffron terror’ goes to reveal not only his intellectual arrogance but his intellectual dishonesty. To barter away truth for votes is a clear sign of lack of integrity-How many saffron terrors can PC enumerate. On the other hand what about the ‘green’ terror what about the Islamists patent for jihadi terrorism. PC as Home minister is fully equipped with this intelligence input. But he dare not state the truth because it will irk the Muslims and that may lead to vote bank erosion. So right or wrong-truth and untruth all get blurred in the vote bank politics. And as he claims ‘it has served its purpose’. Can he elaborate on that? What purpose has it served? He as HM has a great responsibility and not juggle with words and phases to serve a purpose. Well if it has served a purpose then why not withdraw it. A sign of greatness is the ability to display grace and humility-these two virtues are not assets of the Home Minister and so his party mate tagging him as intellectually arrogant is apt. But unfortunately that arrogance has blurred truth and judicious probity in public life. Where does the PM stand on these? The UPA 2 is a wrapper government with no governance-it is panels/commissions/committees Raj which means enormous finance expenditure. Still the MPs demanded a 300 percent salary hike to which the Finance minister yielded. What a shame and a free fall of the MPs under this regime. They who call themselves as People’s representatives were bargaining for a salary one rupee higher than the babus. The babus have a minimum qualification, and training. What qualification has the MPs? A babu’s peon even has a stipulated minimum qualification and if he was charged or involved in murder, nay even in cheating he will not be appointed. But look at our MPs their qualifications, their lack of training, their crores and crores and many of them involved directly and/ or indirectly with murder, cheating and corruption. For them we- the aam admis have to pay a salary. Can there be a greater injustice?

All this and more under the UPA2.No wonder it is aptly said that the government has boycotted the people. Self servers, with vested interested persons-they can do anything, say anything and get away. The money meant for the SCs/STs have been diverted for the Congress Wealth Games -accepts Chidambaram-So what, we will bring it back! It is as simple as that. But it is an unconstitutional act, the HM must know, and how glibly he stated that this unconstitutional diversion was done. Shows the depths to which this Congress led UPA 2 have fallen. Constitutional norms are given the go by and very arrogantly asserted in Parliament that it is so. It will not serve the Congress to take the people for a ride all the time. Like a smoking volcano the aam admis built up resentment and anger will erupt then woe to the Congress and its intellectually arrogant and intellectually dishonest Home Minister P.Chidambaram they will be washed away by the lava of justice and truth –spewed by –We the People.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja Vadodara