The Narendra Modi thread

[ravishingravi]

Does George Galloway qualify as secular ?

[ravishingravi]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/an-outsider-in-a-private-club/1156563/1 Like I keep saying, Central BJP is compromised.

Couldn't agree more. There is nothing unique or more disturbing about Gujarat riots than any other riots apart from the fact that it was more intensely probed into by the SC. Modi represent an outsiders who doesn't care about the rules as conveyed by our predecessors. This is problem for elderly BJP leaders and Congress. Truly speaking, first anti nehruvian leader who is ruffling some feathers.

[randomGuy]

^^ Yeah. Non-conformist, fearless, super-confident, maverick and ambitious are some adjectives that apply on him nicely.

[diga]

An outsider in a private club .

Better to bring in an outsider as CEO for a sinking ship when it desperately needs a change in direction...

[diga]

Why is it a ghatiya term? Applying your neta's logic if you use the Internet and are a Hindu' date=' then you are an Internet Hindu. :dontknow:[/quote'] Arre pitamah.. online boorishness is not the exclusive preserve of only Hindus. The net provides certain anonymity and there are a lot of specimens out there taking advantage of this to post a lot of crap. I am sure all of us have been guilty of that including S=G.

[saneindian]

Does George Galloway qualify as secular ?

He represents Bradford and is a MP of the Respect Party (which poudly proclaims its Islamist leanings). supports Palestine, opposed Afghanistan and Iraq wars, called Bush, Blair and a few other world leader mass murderes in public interviews, blames Christina Fundamentalists and zionist forces for a lot of world problems. Jemima Khan made some interesting remarks about him. Perfectly secular. And now to he's got the best certificate required for a secular, he opposes Modi.

[gattaca]

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/congress-expels-sadhu-yadav-for-praising-gujarat-cm-narendra-modi/415543-37.html hard facts for congress but true. Congress expels Sadhu Yadav for praising Gujarat CM Narendra Modi New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's estranged brother-in-law and Bihar Congress leader Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav has been expelled from the Congress Party on Monday. The move comes after Yadav had met Narendra Modi on Friday and praised him saying that the BJP strongman has better qualities to become Prime Minister than Rahul Gandhi. "In comparison with Rahul Gandhi, I strongly believe that Narendra Modi has much better qualities to become Prime Minister of our country," Yadav had said after his meeting with Modi at his Gandhinagar office. "Narendra Modi is a powerful leader and today our country needs a powerful leader like Modi as Prime Minister," he had said. "If you compare Modi with Rahul Gandhi, I think Modi ji is much better because he will come to your help immediately when you ask whereas you have to wait for three years for the appointment of Rahul Gandhi," Yadav added. "This country is being run by Manmohan Singh and tell me how many people know that Manmohan Singh is our Prime Minister. Whereas every child in our country knows Narendra Modi," he claimed. Terming the visit with Modi as only a courtesy visit, Yadav had said that he had nothing to be afraid of with regard to the reaction from Congress over his meeting with Modi. "I am not at all afraid of disciplinary action from Congress Party. Let them take action against me at their own peril. "If party takes action against me then do you think I will sit idly with my hands tied ?" he retorted. Sadhu Yadav, who had left Lalu's RJD before last Lok Sabha elections in 2009 to join Congress party, unsuccessfully contested from Bettiah Lok Sabha seat.

[ravishingravi]

"Hard political reality is that Narendra Modi cannot become PM Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, chose Independence Day, August 15, to launch his campaign to become prime minister. He is not formally the BJP's official candidate, but makes no bones about his ambition. Even as Manmohan Singh made one more tepid Independence Day speech from the Red Fort, Modi lambasted him in a rival speech that had his cohorts cheering wildly. Modi declared contemptuously that Singh was so busy acting as a servant to the Gandhi family that he had forgotten about serving 1.2 billion Indians. He attacked Singh for being soft on Pakistan, for the crash of the rupee, for inflation and unemployment and misgovernance. He challenged Singh to a one-on-one debate on how to run the country. Given his oratorical skills and Singh's lack of them, it would be a one-sided contest. The BJP party cadres love Modi, and are delighted with his offensive. The media are agog with Modi's speech. Many are analysing the next election as a Modi versus Rahul Gandhi affair. Sorry, but such talk is idle rubbish. Prime ministers in India are not chosen after a gladiatorial contest between two armed combatants. They are not chosen directly by the people at all, as in the US. Rather, Indian voters choose only a single Member of Parliament from each constituency. Once in a while a national wave can drown local issues (as after Indira Gandhi's death), but typically elections in each constituency focus intensely on local issues and the abilities of individual local candidates. National politics can look very remote at the grassroots level. To see every local contest as a Modiversus-Rahul battle is pure fantasy. These decentralised battles decide who gets elected to Parliament. Whether Modi beats Rahul Gandhi in opinion polls, or defeats Manmohan Singh in debates, is irrelevant. What matters is how many seats the NDA can get in the election, and how many additional allies it can garner after the elections produce a hung Parliament. The answer has already come in several opinion polls. All show that a Modi-led BJP has no chance of heading the next government. One typical poll, co-sponsored by Times Now, showed the UPA getting 136 seats, the NDA getting 156 seats, and other parties getting the balance of 251 seats. Voters may be totally disillusioned with Manomhan Singh, but they are not enthused by a Modi-led BJP either. Is there any way an NDA with 156 seats can get additional post-election allies holding another 117 seats, enough for a bare majority? Almost impossible. It might be remotely possible if the NDA is led by somebody with wide appeal, who can charm and win friends rather than raise hackles. Atal Behari Vajpayee was such a person. Narendra Modi emphatically is not. He is unquestionably a strong and efficient administrator. Gujarat has prospered under him, and given him three successive terms of office. But he is known as a man who tolerates no opposition, cuts all colleagues to size, and rules with an iron fist. Such a person will fail miserably as prime minister of a disparate coalition that can be brought down by any of several minor partners. Under Vajpayee, the BJP was able to attract regional leaders like Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee. Vajpayee assured them that the BJP would not pursue any of its traditional communal policies while in office. He had the flexibility and credibility to deliver. Modi has neither the same flexibility nor credibility. He prides himself on Hindutva. He can't even bear to wear the traditional Muslim cap or scarf offered by Muslim well wishers. Indian Muslims hate him for complicity in the killing of over 1,000 Muslims in the 2002 Gujarat riots. They do not believe the leopard will change its spots as Prime Minister. So, regional leaders like Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik and Chandrababu Naidu treat Modi as poison. They did business with Vajpayee. They refuse to do business with Modi. Let nobody think that these regional leaders have high moral principles. No, they are cynical opportunists. But as opportunists, they have made a simple calculation: will extra Hindu votes brought in by Modi compensate for the loss of Muslim votes? The answer is an overwhelming "no". And that's that. Modi may grab the headlines with his driving ambition and rousing speeches. He may greatly enthuse his RSS cadres. But for all his ambition and energy, the hard political reality is that he cannot become prime minister. As Katrina Kaif said in a different context, in her item number Sheela ki jawani... "I know you wanna get it But you're never gonna get it, Tere haath kabhi na aani."" http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/swaminathan/s/a/aiyar/Hard-political-reality-is-that-Narendra-Modi-cannot-become-PM/articleshow/21891076.cms Great article by Swaminathan Aiyar. Hard truth.

[Detonator]

lets not derail the thread..if u have criticized a leader' date='u should have the guts/courage to take back some criticism from the janta having opposing views..no need to refrain from posting,its just a thread after all :agree:[/quote'] it's much confortable to refrain :dontknow: Secularism is to ignore the un-answerable questions :giggle:

[adi B]

Muslim women send Rakhi to Narendra Modi and pray for his well-being

VARANASI: Gujarat chief minister NarendraModi will soon get a Rakhi sent by Muslim sisters from Varanasi. They themselves prepared the big-sized Rakhi for their Gujarati brother wishing him to lead the nation. Marking the holy month of Ramzan, a group of local Muslim women prayed for the well-being of Modi at a brief programme held in Lallapura locality on Sunday afternoon. The burqa-clad women associated with Muslim Mahila Foundation (MMF) hailed Modi, describing him as a charismatic leader."We want to see Narendra Modi leading the nation as he is a responsible politician with a vision of development," said Nazneen Ansari, the president of MMF, which is a newly formed organization with a membership of about 1000 women. Ansari, a master's degree holder in conflict management from Banaras Hindu University, has been working for the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity and upliftment of Muslim women. She has also translated Hindu religious texts like Ramcharit Manas and Hanuman Chalisa into Urdu. "We also want to see Modi contesting the 2014 parliamentary election from Varanasi," she said, adding that he (Modi) had shown the path of development in Gujarat, which should be replicated in the whole country. The MMF members believe that the country could get rid of all kind of evils under the leadership of Modi.

mashallah!

[saneindian]

Swaminathan S A Aiyar and his flip flops on Modi 21 Dec 2002 - Narendra Modi, future PM

I see Narendra Modi as a future Prime Minister of India, possibly even the next one. The prospect does not fill me with joy, but analysis is not about joyfulness. Just look around for young politicians who can move the masses, who can be more than regional leaders and make a national impact. I see no new faces, in or outside the BJP, to match Modi. .... ... Which means that we can expect constant new jehadi attacks on Indian temples and state institutions. Every time that happens, Narendra Modi will begin to look a prophet and crusader, and secular forces will find it difficult to gain the initiative. That is why I view him as a future Prime Minister.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-12-21/all-that-matters/27303792_1_narendra-modi-gujarat-victory-bjp-claims 16 Dec 2012 - Modi as PM will be at the mercy of allies

The Congress Party is in poor shape, dogged by high inflation, slowing economic growth and widespread accusations of corruption. This could conceivably enable the BJP to come to power once again at the head of a wide-ranging coalition, as in 1998 and1999. And that could mean that Modi becomes Prime Minister. This prospect fills many analysts with horror. Here is one example, in a column by TK Arun in The Economic Times: "Narendra Modi should not become the Prime Minister because that would destroy the idea of India as a nation that celebrates unity in diversity, where multiple identities prosper in harmony and dignity. Equally, democracy and the rule of law would be casualties under Modi. For the BJP, Modi's ascent to the top would mean a hasty end to any hope of evolving into a centre-right party minus a Hindu majoritarian agenda." I cannot disagree more with this line of thinking. It sounds to me like fear of Modi translating into mistaken, unwarranted panic.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/entry/modi-as-pm-will-be-at-the-mercy-of-allies And 5 days later on Dec 21, 2012 - Don't expect Modi to be BJP's next PM candidate: Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar And now his latest article. The way I see it, too many flip flops Mr. Aiyar.

[Sachin=GOD]

Swaminathan S A Aiyar and his flip flops on Modi And now his latest article. The way I see it, too many flip flops Mr. Aiyar.

I didn't want to post in this thread unless there was some interesting news but you forced me :D Question for you - did you even read the article or you just saw the name of the writer and started digging previous articles to show a history of flip-flop on the subject of Modi? I'm asking this because if you had read the article then you would have seen that he says this about Modi - "He is unquestionably a strong and efficient administrator. Gujarat has prospered under him, and given him three successive terms of office" and then he points out the stark reality i.e. Modi has neither the flexibility nor the credibility to attract/maintain relations with fickle allies so he cannot manage a coalition Govt. IMHO this is a pretty good summery of the whole "Modi for PM" situation.

[Yoda-esque]

I didn't want to post in this thread unless there was some interesting news but you forced me :D Question for you - did you even read the article or you just saw the name of the writer and started digging previous articles to show a history of flip-flop on the subject of Modi? I'm asking this because if you had read the article then you would have seen that he says this about Modi - "He is unquestionably a strong and efficient administrator. Gujarat has prospered under him, and given him three successive terms of office" and then he points out the stark reality i.e. Modi has neither the flexibility nor the credibility to attract/maintain relations with fickle allies so he cannot manage a coalition Govt. IMHO this is a pretty good summery of the whole "Modi for PM" situation.

Doesn't matter.He has changed his tune within 8 months. Perhaps he has good reason to do so, but the fact is that he seems to be capricious with his views.

[Sachin=GOD]

Doesn't matter.He has changed his tune within 8 months. Perhaps he has good reason to do so, but the fact is that he seems to be capricious with his views.

the article makes sense - thats the most important part for me, not who the author is.

[saneindian]

I didn't want to post in this thread unless there was some interesting news but you forced me :D Question for you - did you even read the article or you just saw the name of the writer and started digging previous articles to show a history of flip-flop on the subject of Modi? I'm asking this because if you had read the article then you would have seen that he says this about Modi - "He is unquestionably a strong and efficient administrator. Gujarat has prospered under him, and given him three successive terms of office" and then he points out the stark reality i.e. Modi has neither the flexibility nor the credibility to attract/maintain relations with fickle allies so he cannot manage a coalition Govt. IMHO this is a pretty good summery of the whole "Modi for PM" situation.

Nahi bhai. Why will I do that? Ham to bas headline padhte hain aur shoot karte hain. And no, that doesn't absolve Mr Aiyar of his flip flops, the list of which is quite long (not just on Modi issue but on various other topics like writing off UPA in one column and saying exactly the reverse in another, ). I would not even go into the merits or demerits of points he's made as his article is based on an opinion poll showing NDA ending with 156 seats! Doesn't take a genius to know that if BJP ends with anything less than 165-170 seats (and current NDA with less than 190-195), Modi will not be the PM. In fact with 156 seats for NDA (BJP with 131 seats), forget Modi, BJP itself will not be in a position to form the govt. Also, what Mr Aiyar didn't point out was that even with 161 seats for BJP (187 for NDA) in 1996, the flexibility and credibility of Vajpayee saw him being isolated on the floor of the house during his 13 day govt in 1996. None of the Naveen Patnaiks, Chandra Babu Naidus or Mamta Bannerjees supported the right man in wrong party back then. They only had Nitish Kumar who was himself struggling for identity post a drubbing in 1995 Bihar assembly polls

[ravishingravi]

Poke Me: Don't write Narendra Modi off yet This week's "Poke Me", invites your comments on why one can't write off Narendra Modi yet. The feature will be reproduced on the edit page of the Saturday edition of the newspaper with a pick of readers' best comments. So be poked and fire in your comments to us right away. Comments reproduced in the paper will be the ones that support or oppose the views expressed here intelligently. Feel free to add reference links etc., in support of your comments. My sincere apologies to cricket commentators. I am going to borrow a few of your pet (read tired) cliches for the 'Will Narendra Modi be PM' debate. Here comes one - It's not over till the last ball is bowled. I don't profess to know where the Indian voter will finally press the button. But, since politics can be as full of 'glorious uncertainties' (note history of ousted governments - NDA 2004 prime example) as cricket, the final outcome will be known when it is known. Till then, all arguments pointing to why he cannot be PM have equally strong counter-arguments. And since the arguments have been laid out, it's only fair that counter arguments be given a chance too. People can choose what to believe as per their respective biases One of the primary assumptions in many arguments is that Narendra Modi has jumped into this without a plan. He may be many things but even his worst enemies will concede the man can think. Now, here is a man who has battled the most hostile political attack in independent India's history for over 10 years (note: I am not going into the validity of the attack). He has managed to fight that battle and reposition himself to become a front-runner for the topmost position in a party which itself did not anticipate his rise. For him, if the rewards of success are bountiful (PM's post & dominance), failure will be catastrophic. His own party will bury his political career forever, leave alone all the 'secular' cases that will come back to hunt him down. He is human & so has no magical control over outcomes, but it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume he must have a workable enough plan to get himself to 7, Race Course. Wouldn't it be fair to wait for the final stages of electioneering before writing him off and to know if his plan was good enough? Even with its limited footprint, a BJP campaign focused on its strong areas & the yet to be conquered Uttar Pradesh, can get it enough numbers for a good bargain. It's easier said than done, but not impossible. It was a far more limited BJP which got 183 seats earlier. Oh, but SP/BSP will still push the BJP around in UP say some. Yes, they probably will. But, there are also indications that UP wants a credible alternative to them. That Narendra Modi can appeal to UP voters is also in the realm of possibility. Isn't it? Another counter argument is that Muslims will view Modi as communal and not vote for BJP. This argument is sought to be strengthened further by arguing - as Nitish Kumar is fond of doing- that Narendra Modi even refuses to wear a skull cap. Now, that's a heads-I win-tails-you-lose argument. If he does wear the skull cap, the same set of people will dismiss it as a gimmick for votes - remember the famous 'mukhauta' of BJP, not even today's 'acceptable' Vajpayee was spared. Plus, no matter who the leader, BJP is unlikely to get too many minority votes. So many motions against the UPA have fallen through in Parliament because other parties didn't want to gang up with a 'communal' party like BJP even though it was being led by a now secular L K Advani. So, while minority votes would be welcome, they can't be BJP's main plank. But, a leader other than Modi will make the NDA more acceptable, say many. That's another facile argument. If BJP does manage to get a reasonable figure by itself, the rank opportunists masquerading as secularists are likely to work out a face-saver in 'national interest' & to prevent another election. Plus, people can transition from being communal to being secular. The unacceptable, communal Advani of 1996-99, is now the acceptable 'secular' leader of 2013-14 to the same set of 'secular' parties. Some 'common minimum program' type of charades can always be handy when it comes to 'protecting national interest'. But India is not a presidential election is another argument and a valid one at that too. It indeed is an aggregation of constituencies. But, if that's the case then why does the Congress stick to the Nehru-Gandhi family & the SP to the Yadavs? By the same logic, Sonia & Rahul shouldn't be important in a disaggregated election. But, they are. There is no reason why Modi can't be like them. He is today one of the most recognised faces (for good or bad) across India. He may not win the election on his name alone, but he can be central force of the BJP's campaign. TV opinion polls? Oh well, they do pick the straws in the wind but can anyone say they are definitive? I don't see too many TV opinion polls considering the possibility of different voting patterns for centre & state level elections. Asking voters if Modi is communal is gamed to get a certain response. What if channels ask if all politicians in this country play communal politics? The answer to this question, as the view from my armchair goes, would be a resounding yes. The 'sab chor hain' argument (with due credit to Mr Kejriwal) could also extend to 'sab communal hain ji'. Having said all this, it would be foolish to assume BJP or Modi will have a cakewalk. While the loss (if it happens) will be conveniently blamed on Narendra Modi, the real cause will be the party's lack of purpose over the last nine years. It is inexplicable that a party sits in opposition for NINE long years but doesn't work on its biggest weakness of limited geographical reach or a focused consolidation of areas it was strong in. How can it ignore the biggest contributor UP for such a long period of time? It perhaps deserves to lose for this callousness alone. It's only now, with rallies & with public outreach is BJP attempting to change the 'narrative', forcing the Congress to rethink how it will meet the 2014 challenge. We don't know yet if it's too late, but it may be. Finally, BJP needs to watch out for generous UPA give-aways - those can be fatal. To cut the long story short & come back to cricket, Modi can, on his day, turn the match around. That alone will make 2014 interesting. And, we will know in that year if what Narendra Modi hit, stayed hit. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/poke-me/poke-me-dont-write-narendra-modi-off-yet/articleshow/21954725.cms

[beetle]

An outsider in a private club Tavleen Singh : Wed Aug 21 2013, 17:06 hrs Had Rahul Gandhi made the speech Narendra Modi did last week, he would have been hailed as India's shining white hope. Had Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made this speech from the Red Fort, instead of the dreary one he did, it may have swept away the sense of gloom and doom that permeates the economy. Had any other chief minister made the speech, us political pundit types would have sat up and taken notice. But, since it was Modi, he had to be reviled. What he said was unexceptionable. So he had to be attacked on other grounds. Why did he need to steal the Prime Minister's show by making this speech on Independence Day? The truth is that August 15 lost its magic long ago and has been reduced to ceremonial tokenism of the worst kind. We need political leaders to make meaningful speeches on this day, but that this idea should have occurred to Modi is intolerable. So much so that even his former mentor, the tireless Shri Lal Krishna Advani, made an immediate veiled attack on him by saying that Independence Day should be an occasion when political leaders should refrain from criticising each other. Why? Shri Advani then trotted off to Rashtrapati Bhavan and was seen cozying up to Sonia Gandhi at the President's Independence Day tea party. I found this particular detail interesting because of my conviction that the reason why us denizens of Lutyens's Delhi hate Modi so much is because he is a rank outsider. He comes from the wrong class and caste. He speaks little English. He dares to criticise the Dynasty we revere. And he exhibits a marked disdain for socialism and secularism. These two ideas are sacrosanct for those who have privileged access to that most exclusive of Indian private clubs: Lutyens's Delhi. Not everyone who reaches Parliament or high levels of political power has automatic access to the club. You have to come from an important political family and you have to have attended the right kind of English-medium school. The heirs of important political leaders have easy access for these reasons. Not every bureaucrat has access but those of the right class are life members. High-flying hacks are always welcome and quickly learn the rules. You have to express political opinions that are 'secular' and 'liberal' and you have to make sure that you do not say bad things about the Dynasty. This is considered especially bad form. This is why, despite the obviously deleterious effects of dynastic democracy, you see few stories on the subject in the media. Once you become a member of the club you find yourself invited on almost a daily basis to exclusive dinner parties in grand houses and fine hotels. At these events you will see politicians of different parties greet each other like old school friends, despite what they may have said to each other publicly that day in Parliament. And it is at these events that you will see famous media personalities included in conversations that are always 'off the record'. If you break the rules, as I love to, then you risk being abused on national television by Gandhi family devotees like the unpleasantly loudmouthed Mani Shankar Aiyar. But, that is another story and I am digressing. In a column of this size, it is really possible to make only one point and the one I want to make this week is that it is not what Modi says that gets him into trouble. It is not what he did in 2002 that evokes such shivers of revulsion in Lutyens's Delhi. Rajiv Gandhi remained totally acceptable after 1984. It is who Narendra Modi is that is the problem. He represents an India that has so far been carefully kept outside the closed doors of the Lutyens's Delhi club. A rough, angry, passionate new India that does not recognise private clubs or their rules and that threatens to tear down the walls that conceal the colonised elite, bred by the British Raj, that continues to control all the levers of political power in India. Incredible though this may sound, the entire machinery of the Congress party is currently geared to finding ways of keeping Modi out of national politics. This endeavour has the complicit support of senior BJP leaders and this is why you now so often hear the Congress party's spokesmen publicly praise Mr Advani as a 'moderate' when till just the other day he was considered the man responsible for demolishing the Babri Masjid. The truth is that everyone, perhaps even Mr Advani himself, knows that a BJP campaign led yet again by him will almost certainly keep this party in opposition for another five years. But, at least this would prevent Narendra Modi from smashing down the gates of Lutyens's Delhi. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/an-outsider-in-a-private-club/1156563/3 Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ tavleen_singh

[The Outsider]

Internet Hindus strike again! :yay: This time impersonating Amitabh Bachchan in his support for Modi.

[The Outsider]

Meanwhile the VHP continues to whip up communal frenzy in UP with the Chauraasi Kos yatra under the aashirwaad of Amit Shah and Modi.

[Crookbond]

Internet Hindus strike again! :yay: This time impersonating Amitabh Bachchan in his support for Modi.

Feckularism >>>>> secularism Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk