Sushma Swaraj blames Congress for engineering Blasts

[Desi Cartman]

In the wake of the bribery allegations in Parliament, there have been concerns about the levels to which political discourse in India has fallen. It touched a new low on Monday when BJP leader Sushma Swaraj suggested that the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad were engineered to divert attention from the bribery charges against the government. She even said that these were not “off-the-cuff” remarks. This is as bad as it gets. At a time when the nation is under siege from terrorists, we would have expected a leader of Swaraj’s stature not to indulge in loose and dangerous talk. If someone on the fringes of national politics had spoken these words, we could have ignored it. Coming as it did from a senior leader and a former Union minister, it must be condemned in the strongest terms. But why blame Swaraj alone? Since she made her statement, none of her party colleagues have come forward to criticise Swaraj. Their silence is baffling. For a party that keeps harping about national interest, letting a senior leader say things that divert from what should be the government’s primary task — fighting terrorism — is scandalous. In no other mature democracy would a senior opposition leader attack the government with nebulous conspiracy theories in the midst of a national crisis. It has been left to other members of the NDA to distance themselves from Swaraj’s outrageous remarks. The BJP’s record in the opposition hasn’t been encouraging. Beginning with its perverse opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal — which, unlike the Left, it had no ideological truck against — the BJP has come across as a party without direction. During the debates preceding the trust vote in Parliament, the BJP showed scant regard for parliamentary norms. While their leaders were allowed to complete their speeches, BJP MPs insisted on repeatedly disrupting speakers from the government. Even the act of dramatically waving bundles of notes in the House — irrespective of whether they were paid as bribe — was a subversion of parliamentary norms. Following the trust vote, the BJP has outlined a policy of obstructing every government initiative. It has even suggested to its allies in the NDA the idea of a no-confidence motion against the government as well as mass resignations from Parliament. Other members of the NDA have wisely rejected these proposals. In the context of Indian democracy, it might be too much to expect the opposition to play a constructive role as it does, for instance, in the UK. But at a time when India faces a serious threat from terrorists, the BJP should think twice about raising issues that undermine the country’s national interests.

Do you agree that Congress can do such a thing ?

[Desi Cartman]

Modi visits Surat, another live bomb found

NEW DELHI: As Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi visited Surat on Wednesday, yet another live bomb has been found in the city. The bomb was spotted by a shopkeeper in the Baroda prestige locality in Varacha, which houses the 70-crore diamond polishing market. On Tuesday, at least 18 low-intensity bombs were found and defused by the police. Recovery of yet another bomb has created panic among the people of Surat. Schools, colleges, shopping malls, parks and public places here have been asked to remain close on Wednesday by city Police Commissioner RMS Brar as a precautionary measure. The recovery comes close on the heels of the July 26 serial blasts in Ahmedabad where 49 people were killed. Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday visited the places from where live bombs were found in the city and reviewed the situation. Modi is accompanied by food and civil supplies minister Narottam Patel and state police chief PC Pande. The chief minister after visiting the sites held a meeting with top police officials of the city. The government believes the bombs found in Surat were an attempt to distract attention from probe into the Ahmedabad blasts, a top state government functionary meanwhile said. On Sunday, the police had recovered two explosive-laden cars, stolen from near Mumbai, in Surat. We are fighting a proxy war: Modi After reviewing the situation, Modi said that terrorism is a proxy war and the nation has to come together to fight against it. He said, "We are fighting a proxy war and people, government, media, opinion makers, etc should come together to create awareness and build unity to battle this war. There are certain rules of a war and if we do not fight, then terrorists will continue to attack us". On the on-going terrorist attacks in different parts of the country, Modi said that the entire nation is on terror tenterhooks. He added, "In the past two years, there have been twelve major terrorist acts in different pockets of the nation. Irrespective of the modus operandi, it looks like the terrorist outfits are aiming at cities, which drive the nation's economy, like Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat etc." Modi harped on the fact that the public needs to remain alert and provide vital information to the police authorities enabling them to ensure tight vigil. He said, "For those who give any kind of vital and correct information, the government will reward an amount of Rs 21,000. For anyone who provides information on the core terrorist network, Rs 51 lakhs will be awarded. We also assure that the identity of the persons will not be revealed." Assuring the people that the state government has taken the matter seriously and is leaving no stone unturned to track down those reponsible for these attacks, Modi added, "We will hunt these terrorists and ensure that the police take strict action against them. I have seen how the people have assisted the police in the past few days, and I can say with confidence that there is no place for hoax, if every responsible citizen remains alert." Eighteen live bombs were found on Tuesday from Varacha area, which houses maximum number of diamond units. All of them were defused. Modi was accompanied by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Narottam Patel and state police chief P C Pande. After visiting the sites, the CM held a meeting with the top police officials of the city.

How many live bombs are out there... :nervous:

[beetle]

Sushma swaraj is an idiot who was just putting party interests above the nations. Bloody politicians!

[THX_1138]

For someone whose daughter was my classmate and i met a number of times... she is sounding like a broken record. first the deal with the hix placed on her and now this... conspiracy theorist embodies a politician!

[Guest dada_rocks]

Sushmaji sathiya gai hain.. shusham swaraj and Digvijay singh both of these leaders need to be sent to mental sylum... both of these clowns have lost the sense

[Lurker]

And to think I thought of her, once upon a time, as one of those leaders that would lead India into the next century.

[Guest dada_rocks]

Do you agree that Congress can do such a thing ?

To answer the question no congress can't directly do that but their policies do give rise to this act... In certain cases they shamelessly even court these criminals.. T

[beetle]

And to think I thought of her' date=' once upon a time, as one of those leaders that would lead India into the next century.[/quote'] So true.....such a disappointment.

[Guest dada_rocks]

Lurker she comes of as smart when she is not sucummbing to this sort of outburst.. i still remember how she tackled all the aggresisve crowd of pakistan media in pakistan extempore and came of with flying colors.. She has this tendency of going with outbursts.. too bad for her since she comes from BJPO media plays it too often and exposes her.. OTOH people like Digvijaya Singh's simialr idiotic comments don't get that kind of attention.. I think she should have learnt by now that she doesn;t have luxusy of her congress counterparts so be little more judicious..