The Narendra Modi thread

[Khalpat]

Gujarat’s disaster management model more comprehensive than central Act, emulate it: Report

NEW DELHI: Gujarat's disaster management law should be emulated nationally as it was superior to the Central Disaster Management Act, 2005, a task force appointed by the Home Ministry has said in a recent report. BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and his party may use the report to portray him as an effective administrator. The Task Force of five bureaucrats castigated the Central Act, saying some of its provisions created implementation problems. "Not surprisingly, much of what the Act mandates is yet to be realized," it said, pointing out that the National Disaster Management Authority with nine full-time members was unwieldy and recommended scrapping of the National Executive Committee which hardly met since 2005. "NDMA's structure is not conducive for carrying out tasks it has been mandated to perform under the Act. NEC, which was assigned crucial and multifarious activities under the Act, has failed to deliver. Even central ministries, including the Home Ministry, have not been able to fulfill the mandate given to them by the Act," the report has said. The task force which prepared the report was headed by retired IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, PK Mishra. Mishra had retired as Union Agriculture Secretary in 2008, and headed the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission till this August. The report says the definition of disaster in it is far wider than in the Central act. "...Sections 28 to 31 of the Gujarat Act are worth emulating...," the report says. It adds that the specific roles of a District Collector and other functionaries should be clearly articulated in the Central Act.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-10-12/news/42968457_1_ndma-task-force-recent-report

[Sachin=GOD]

WHY MODI SHOULDN’T BE PM Narendra Modi without doubt has become a sensation in many sections of society. A phenomenon fuelled by a section of news media. After nine years of Manmohan Singh’s meek rule, Modi’s impassioned speeches, skillful use of rhetoric, assertiveness and showmanship make him look like a rock star. To some extent, his style and language can be compared to that of Raj Thackeray’s. But Modi is more than that. His promises on the development front have led a sizeable population of our country to believe he can get us out of the mess we are in – and must therefore become Prime Minister of India. Does Modi have the ability and intent of taking India forward, away from the many crises we face today? I think not. Modi has been selling the idea that attracting investment to a state amounts to “development”. By providing low interest rates, cheap rentals and waiving stamp duty, his government claims to persuade big corporates to invest in Gujarat. For instance, to lure the Tatas to set up their Nano plant in Sanand, the Gujarat government waived stamp duty on the land sale and gave other concessions to the tune of over Rs 30,000 crore. Why did the government give these sops to Tata? Some say it was for “employment generation”. However, the state government policy of ensuring 85 per cent recruitment for locals was waived for this project. There was no gain in terms of revenue and very little employment generation. The tax waivers mean that the people of Gujarat are directly or indirectly subsidising each Nano sold by the Tatas – this is a criminal misuse of authority by the government. The people of Sanand voted the Bharatiya Janata Party out in the 2012 Assembly elections – perhaps a sign of disenchantment with Modi’s policies? The corporates get a sweet deal and, in return, endorse Modi for the Prime Minister’s job. You scratch my back, I scratch yours? Something like the model Manmohan Singh followed in the early years of UPA 1. The fact that Modi’s policies bring investment into Gujarat cannot be denied. The important question that needs to be asked is – who are the beneficiaries of this investment? A state that has seen high growth rates for the last 20 years is expected to have generated revenue to work for the human development of the people of that state. According to the Planning Commission, Gujarat’s rank in poverty alleviation is extremely poor. In fact, the tribal population (17 per cent of the total) in the state has actually seen an increase in poverty over the last decade and malnutrition is very severe among Gujarat’s children and women. It is no surprise that in a recent study by United Nation’s Development Programme, Gujarat ranked 8th among major Indian states in human development. This suggests that the economic growth that Gujarat has seen is concentrated within a small percentage of the state’s population. Edward Abbey had once said, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell”. If the growth is not reaching the poor majority, what good is the growth? India is a country suffering from widespread poverty, hunger and malnourishment. A widening economic chasm is hardly an achievement in such an environment. With such a backdrop, is this the kind of development model we need today? Modi is often described as a non-corrupt and incorruptible leader. In this limited definition of honesty one can draw parallels with Dr Manmohan Singh. So he may be clean himself, but he turns a blind eye to his Ministers’ plundering resources. Sitting at the top, overseeing, even if not participating in corrupt practices. Babu Bokhariya, a Cabinet minister of the Gujarat government, was convicted in an illegal mining case earlier this year and has been on trial since 2006, but Modi refused to act against his Minister. Then in 2011, while the nation stood up and demanded a strong Lokpal bill, Modi was occupied in delaying a Lokayukta in his own state. Finally, in 2013, we find his government has enacted a law which is more toothless than the UPA government’s Lokpal. After a CAG report indicting the Modi government for corruption was leaked recently, Times of India reported the following (April 3, 2013): With all but four Congress MLAs suspended from the House, there could be no debate on the damning CAG reports. As soon as the house began functioning on Friday, MLAs Rajendrasinh Parmar, Paranjayadityasinhji Parmar, Jodhaji Thakore and Amit Chavda sought discussion on CAG report, which the speaker Ganpar Vasava disallowed. The quartet rushed to the well carrying banners on CAG. They were suspended, quite predictably, and escorted out by the security staff. A clear sign that opposition is not tolerated in Modi’s Gujarat. In many ways, he reminds one of the Emergency-period Indira Gandhi. It is interesting to note that Modi rarely attends the Gujarat Assembly proceedings, let alone make statements on the floor. On the one hand, he can address massive rallies with great charisma. On the other, he has a habit of walking away from interviews when cornered with tough questions. A Prime Minister is the voice of the nation. He must engage the people of his country in a dialogue. How can Modi not be accountable to the media or the legislative body, and still flash his “democratic” credentials? Does democracy have no meaning beyond elections? In this day and age, it is impossible to overturn democracy as brazenly as Indira Gandhi did in the 1970s, but does Modi have those tendencies? Absolutely. Modi is trapped in an environment in which he cannot make a difference even if he wants to, owing to the kind of politics he represents. If he does become Prime Minister, the MPs who will support Modi for the job will in all likelihood have won the Lok Sabha elections after investing crores of rupees of black money (as Gopinath Munde recently admitted). If he becomes Prime Minister, will he stop his MPs from seeking returns on those investments? And will they continue to support him if he does? The current political system of “money through power and power through money” is such that neither Modi nor Rahul Gandhi (his closest competitor) can possibly make our lives better. If corruption funds these political parties, who will be their priority: the aam aadmi or the donors? When Modi addresses a rally at Hyderabad, giving the clarion call for a “Congress-mukt Bharat”, he shares the stage with former President of the BJP, Bangaru Laxman, who has been convicted in a corruption case. By identifying the Congress party as the “problem”, Modi is misleading voters. There is no difference today, between the Congress and the BJP. Modi had the opportunity to show that he does not represent the “mai-baap” culture of the political class of this country in the Vitthal Radadiya drama. He failed. Radadiya, a Congress MP from Porbandar was caught last year on camera, pointing a gun at a tollbooth attendant because he was asked to pay toll. However, instead of taking action against Radadiya, Modi offered him protection and lured him into the BJP – welcoming him with a grand ceremony. Great orators have often swayed India’s electorate. We need to understand that oratory and machismo can never work when the politics is criminal. And I haven’t even mentioned 2002. http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/09/why-modi-shouldnt-be-pm/

[Yoda-esque]

How many times will the same article get posted? Or have the negative articles dried up?

[FischerTal]

^ this was already posted by DM :giggle:

[bulbul]

Nobody untouchable in politics, Sharad Pawar says

NAGPUR: Attending a function where former BJP president Nitin Gadkari rolled out business plan of his Purti Group, NCP president and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said "there are no untouchables in politics". "There should be no untouchables in politics as well as social work," Pawar said in his address at Gadkari's function held here on Saturday night.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nobody-untouchable-in-politics-Sharad-Pawar-says/articleshow/24089000.cms ...................What about secularity :hmmmm2:

[bulbul]

The Modi debate worth having

Whether it's economic growth or social development, the Gujarat CM's record is not as black and white as either his critics or fans make it out to be. Milan Vaishnav does a performance review Narendra Modi has dominated India's political conversations ever since he orchestrated his party's re-election in Gujarat's December 2012 vote. The effort earned the chief minister a fourth consecutive term in office and a steady influx of commentary about his character and credentials. As the official prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, Modi will now lead India's largest opposition party into national elections slated for spring 2014. While his candidacy offers the tantalizing possibility of a substantive debate about how India should be governed, the Modi discussion to date has frankly disappointed. The rough contours of Modi's candidacy are, by now, well known. Many within the BJP's rank and file ardently support Modi as the man who can save India's opposition from its decade-long doldrums and the Indian economy from its own slumber. Others find ideological common cause with Modi thanks to his nearly lifelong dedication to the Hindu nationalist ideology of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. To his detractors, Modi's reputation is indelibly tarnished by the violence that surrounds his time in office, most obviously the gruesome communal rioting of 2002. Yet, beyond the specter of 2002, Modi's critics are also moved by what they claim are shortcomings related to more mundane matters of governance . They have raised three persistent doubts about his record: that he inherited, rather than built, a dynamic state economy; that he has failed to translate that growth into social welfare gains; and that he has championed a ruthless, authoritarian management style. This criticism and the debate it can provoke offer India a unique opportunity to strengthen its democracy. For the first time in the country's post-independence history, an Indian leader is staking a claim to the country's top job on the basis of his merits as the chief executive of a state. Unfortunately , the debate over Modi's governance record has been deeply disappointing. For those who revile him, as well as those who revere him, it has been far more convenient to speak about Modi's record in black-and-white terms rather than dive into the messy details of a debate more appropriately colored in shades of gray.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/stoi/deep-focus/The-Modi-debate-worth-having/articleshow/24072469.cms Excellent article :two_thumbs_up:

[ravishingravi]

How many times will the same article get posted? Or have the negative articles dried up?

I guess some get up in the morning and first thing they google Modi + bad man + 2002 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

[diga]

While Congress is trying hard to build a momentum against BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind chief has hit hard on the ruling party, saying it is raising fears about the Gujarat Chief Minister only to secure support of Muslims. Speaking at a conference on the demand for reservation for Muslims at Jaipur's Birla Auditorium on Sunday, Syed Mehmood Madani said there was no need for Muslims to unnecessarily fear Modi. "The Muslim community should not be scared. Secularism is deep-rooted in the country and communal forces can never win over the hearts of general public," Madani, a former Rajya Sabha MP, was quoted as saying. Asking his community members not to be scared of the hardline BJP leader, Madani also warned the Congress of backlash from Muslims in the upcoming Assembly elections in five states. "Congress should not try to get Muslim votes by creating fear about somebody. The party should look at possibilities of community welfare which they have not done so far," he said. The Jamiat leader strongly criticised Congress, which is in power in Rajasthan, and the Samajwadi Party, which rules Uttar Pradesh, of failing to protect Muslims. "Muslims were at the receiving end during the riots at Muzaffarnagar in UP and Gopalgarh in Rajasthan. The respective governments failed to read the communal undercurrents and act," Madani added. The reaction from the Jamiat leader comes nearly two years after Maulana Ghulam Ahmed Vastanvi was forced to quit as Darul Uloom Deoband vice-chancellor over his comments about the positive impact of Gujarat's development's on the state's Muslims. Vastanvi's remarks were largely seen as praise for Modi, who is widely believed to have played a role in the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Godhra. Madani and supporters were believed to have orchestrated the campaign against Vastanvi, the first Gujarati to be nominated for the post, as they feared his elevation could weaken the family's traditional hold over the influential western Uttar Pradesh seminary. Madani also came down heavily on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and said his regime has been unfriendly to Muslims as five years of his tenure witnessed several incidents of atrocities in places like Gopalgarh, Surval (Sawai Madhopur) and Tonk. During his speech, Madani also raised the issue of Ajmer Dargah blast and criticized investigative agencies for slow pace of probe.

Src: Zee news

[bulbul]

Sad day for seculars :((

[Detonator]

Src: Zee news

For a long time congress is trying to get Muslim votes by Modi-scare ala Red Scare. It's just officially confirmed now. :giggle:

[randomGuy]

Sad day for seculars :((

For a long time congress is trying to get Musm votes by Modi-scare ala Red Scare. It's just officially confirmed now. :giggle:

Hope that the few posters on icf realize this blatant strategy by the con party. Nothings gonna happen (riots,communal tension etc) when modi comes campaigning in UP.

[Zanjeer]

Bal Thackeray would have reached higher posts had he not promoted Marathi cause and if he was bit inclusive in his approach. Mahatma Modi is clever in his approach.

[bulbul]

Looks like haterz are not finding enough articles,let me contribute somehting on behalf of them...here we go

Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday hit out at Gujarat Chief Minister and the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by calling him a bubble. In an interview to Reuters, Sibal said, "All bubble burst, this bubble will also burst. I am sure it will burst before elections." He hit out at Modi for selling Gujarat model of growth. He said, "Number of statement made by this gentlemen are far from truth, what is Gujrat model of growth. You cannot sell a product which you don't have. Every claim made by him is far from truth. I see him just as a another contender." ALSO SEE Parties spreading fears about Modi to get votes, says Muslim cleric On his presence in the cyberspace, he said Modi has bombarded the cyberspace with misinformation. "If you employ an army, have money, bombard cyberspace with misinformation, innocent people tend to buy it. The system has been manipulated in Gujarat by the Chief Minister."

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sibal-calls-modi-a-bubble-says-it-will-burst-before-polls/428572-37-64.html?utm_source=ref_article

[Detonator]

All bubble bust, this bubble also burst. Moral: Life is a bubble , not baloon. :hatsoff:

[bulbul]

Now, Australia invites Narendra Modi

AHMEDABAD: Close on the heels of British MPs inviting him to address their Parliament, Australia on Friday extended an invitation to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to visit that country. Australian high commissioner to India Patrick Suckling met Modi in Gandhinagar and invited him to visit Australia, a statement from the Gujarat government said. "India has been on the top in Australia's foreign policy owing to smooth relations and parallels between both the countries. Developing relations with Gujarat has been on the top priority since last 10 years," Suckling told Modi. They discussed about the possible ties between both the regions in different sectors such as education, sports, agriculture, dairy technology, water management and infrastructural facilities, among others.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Now-Australia-invites-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/21866239.cms ... Australia joined list of communal countries :omg:

[diga]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Now-Australia-invites-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/21866239.cms ... Australia joined list of communal countries :omg:

Australia is a racist country if you did not know that already

[bulbul]

Ahmedabad: Finally, the endorsement has come. The BJP patriarch LK Advani who lost the race to BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi praised him in the public. He said, "He will be happy, if Modi becomes the Prime Minister. Advani had been sulking after the party preferred him over Modi as it's PM nominee, if the BJP comes to power at the Centre in the coming Lok Sabha polls. This is for the first time that the BJP veteran has endorsed Modi publicly for the PM candidature.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ill-be-happy-if-narendra-modi-becomes-pm-says-lk-advani/428755-37-64.html Finally better sense prevailed, better late than never :hatsoff: [Hope people who considered him secular yesterday won't make him a communal tomorrow ]

[ravishingravi]

'We don't need a Narendra Modi, we need a Shahid' http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-we-dont-need-a-narendra-modi-we-need-a-shahid/20131017.htm Something to jee up the secularists who have gone quiet.

[bulbul]

Enough of negative news , let us think positively for a change

Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday made a pitch for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and appealed to the people to give the BJP a chance. Speaking in Gandhinagar while inaugurating the Inclusive Urban Development Summit, Modi once again touted the Gujarat model of development. "If people give us an opportunity to work for five years, we should prove to bring a change, the change that people remember and appreciate," Modi said. Earlier on Wednesday, BJP patriarch LK Advani, who lost the race to BJP's PM candidate to Narendra Modi, praised him in the public. He said, "I will be happy if Modi becomes the Prime Minister."

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/give-bjp-5-years-to-work-well-bring-about-a-change-narendra-modi/428851-3-238.html

[bulbul]

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has picked up support since naming Narendra Modi as its candidate for prime minister last month, but would need new allies to form the next government, an opinion poll showed on Wednesday.

The survey, conducted by pollsters Team Cvoter for two television networks, forecasts the BJP will pick up 162 seats. The last Cvoter survey conducted in August, before Modi was named, forecast the party would get 130 seats, up from the 116 it holds now.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/narendra-modi-as-pm-candidate-boosts-bjp-s-chances-poll-433386 25% jump in BJP seat tally after Modi is elected as PM candidate :omg: :hatsoff: