by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Asim Khan,
New Delhi : On the 13th day of the Mahabharata war, Dronacharya organised the Kaurava army into a “chakravyuh” formation to challenge the Pandavas.
With the great warrior Arjuna away, there was none among the Pandavas who could counter this. Then came Abhimanyu, Arjuna’s son who knew how to break the “chakravyuh” (labyrinth) and sought permission from Yudhishthira to lead the battle.
Abhimanyu entered the chakravyuh by defeating seven great warriors on the Kaurava side, guarding the seven fronts of the formation. He killed several princes and kings, besides a large number of Kaurava soldiers, sending jitters down the enemy lines. Then flouting all rules of war, a number of great warriors, including Karna, Drona, Jayadrath, Ashwathama and Kripacharya, attacked Abhimanyu together.
Abhimanyu fell but not before upsetting the Kauravas’ plans to wipe out the Pandava army.
Circa 2017: In the Gujarat Assembly elections, it was not a battle between the newly-elected Congress President Rahul Gandhi versus Prime Minister Narendra Modi — it was Rahul versus the entire government machinery and more.
The entire Modi cabinet camped in the state and Union ministers conducted door-to-door campaign.
The Congress could not boast of any star campaigner besides Rahul Gandhi. After Shankarsinh Vaghela deserted the party, there was no leader of stature whom the party could project as its face. It was an unequal battle from the time the election schedule was announced.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ruling in the state for 22 long years, can rightfully boast of a strong cadre on the ground and at the booth level, in a state that is called the “Hindutva lab”. The Congress cannot match it.
Then, the Election Commission (EC) did what many called an “unprecedented” act of withholding announcing dates for Gujarat elections while declaring details of Himachal Pradesh’s polls. Thus the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) did not come into force in the state as it did in Himachal.
Chief Election Commissioner A.K. Joti could not give a credible explanation for this and mostly resorted to technicalities in response to a volley of questions from a surprised media.
Joti cited flood relief as one reason for delaying the Gujarat polls. But in 2014, when Jammu and Kashmir had not recovered, even partly, from the devastating floods, the same poll panel did not hold that relief work would be affected by elections.
The opposition’s allegations and media’s scepticism over the EC’s neutrality gained currency as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced sops for Gujarat worth hundreds of crores of rupees, including a Ro-Ro ferry service in the 15-odd day window the state got before the model code came into force.
However, some people also attributed Joti’s concern for Gujarat to the fact that he had worked in the state for a long time in several key positions, including as the chief secretary, when Modi was Chief Minister.
It cannot be discounted that Modi hails from Gujarat and hence the people of the state have an emotional connect with him. Besides, Rahul Gandhi, comparably a political novice if not an amateur, who has held no position ever in a government, is no match for Modi’s oratorical skills that can make huge crowds sway to his tune.
But during the election campaign, in rally after rally and speech after speech, Gandhi emerged as an evolved politician — a far cry from the “Pappu” (a colloquial meaning dumb kid), as his detractors repeatedly called him. Even its ally Shiv Sena asked the BJP to stop calling Rahul by the disparaging moniker and to take him seriously.
Gandhi studiedly avoided any contentious topic and personal jibes against Modi, such as “Maut ka saudagar” (merchant of death) and the like that his mother, Sonia Gandhi, had used in a previous election. He focused on issues and attacked Modi and his government on these alone.
Against all odds and in spite of the ruling BJP’s full might — which did not fight shy of using religiously divisive language to the hilt — the Congress showed a marked improvement in both its tally and vote percentage, at the BJP’s expense.
Of course, there was also a strategy in place on the ground from ticket distribution to synchronising with dynamic caste equations — spearheaded by Congress’ old fox, Ashok Gehlot. And, of course, there was anti-incumbency feeling against the BJP, with palpable disenchantment among the masses, especially in rural areas. But it was not easy to translate this into votes for the Congress.
Gandhi, through his visibly mature demeanour and careful selection of words, successfully tapped this anger to a considerable extent. Despite repeated insinuations, he did not utter a single contentious word against Modi.
In one rally he declared: “No matter what they call me, I will not speak any derogatory language. This is Congress culture handed down to us by the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardal Patel… We will defeat Modiji with love.”
In the Mahabharta, the Pandavas could not match the mighty Kauravas’ onslaught on chakravyuh day and suffered heavily. Abhimanyu, despite knowing fully well that he would not be able to come out of the chakravyuh, fulfilled his dharma of fighting till he fell.
The Congress showed a remarkable improvement as compared to the 2012 election. Its seat count climbed to around 80 from 61 in 2012 and its vote share rose to around 42 per cent from 39 per cent, within striking distance of the Gujarat throne. Modi would do well to heed this rejuventated Abhimanyu of the Grand Old Party. The battle may have been lost, but the war is on.
(Asim Khan can be contacted on mohd.a@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Sonia Gandhi, the longest serving Congress president who handed over the mantle to her son Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, had steered the party through turbulent times, taking over at a time when it appeared there was not a whiff of a chance of Congress coming to power and leading it to victory at the peak of Vajpayee era in BJP in 2004.
The legacy she bequeathes to her son is no different from the circumstances when she ascended to the chair in 1998, as the Congress wrestles with multiple challenges and is far reduced from its position as the preeminent pole of politics in the country.
A reluctant entrant into politics, Sonia also did the unexpected — of renouncing power when it was for her asking in 2004, a rare feat in politics in India.
Sonia Gandhi took over as party chief in 1998, a year after she became a primary member of the party and has braved setbacks, learnt from her mistakes, steadied the large faction-ridden party with her even-handed approach and created the image of a sincere, forthright and well-meaning politician.
Born in Italy, Sonia Gandhi, 71, overcame difficulties in her grasp of Hindi – the language of politics in vast parts of the country – with her hard work and determination, and her stature and acceptability grew among masses as she campaigned in different parts of the country.
She continues to be the foremost campaigner of the party though restricted by concerns about health.
Sonia Gandhi steered the Congress and the ruling coalition at the Centre for 10 years from 2004 and showed determination in fostering a pro-people agenda with a rights-based approach that paid electoral dividends.
She did not allow the BJP to make a big issue of her foreign origins and nominated Manmohan Singh for the post of Prime Minister even though she was elected the leader of the Congress Parliamentary party after the 2004 general elections.
Her first steps in politics were tentative but she learnt the art of forging alliances and was largely responsible for stitching up partnerships that unexpectedly put the BJP-led alliance out of power in 2004.
While Congress has been in power as the head of coalition in 10 of over 19 years with her as chief, Sonia Gandhi’s tenure also saw the party seeing its worst-ever electoral performance in Lok Sabha polls, getting only 44 seats in 2014. The party has since been on a downslide, suffering defeats in every big state except Punjab.
There has been apparent delay in Sonia Gandhi engendering a leadership change in the party due to perceived reluctance of her son Rahul Gandhi to step into the role earlier when conditions were evidently more propitious for him and the party.
The BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its chief Amit Shah have been quick to seize on the apparent weakness in the Congress and have won several elections successively.
In her last speech as President on Saturday, Gandhi admitted that her hands shook when she delivered her first address as party President and she faced a “formidable and onerous task”.
The initial period also saw Sharad Pawar, Tariq Anwar and P.A. Sangma raking up her foreign origin, inviting expulsion from the party. But she kept the party united even as she faced electoral challenge.
Sonia Gandhi has managed transitions smoothly, and her marriage in 1968 to Rajiv Gandhi, son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was another big change in her life.
Born on December 9, 1946 in a village Lusiana in Italy, Sonia Gandhi attended a foreign language school where she studied English, French and Russian. She met Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge where she was doing an English language course.
Sonia Gandhi spent most of her married life largely as a private citizen looking after her family. She was a companion to her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, during many of her official duties and frequently acted as her hostess.
Between 1984 and 1991, when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister and then briefly leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, she accompanied him on his tours in the country and abroad. She also looked after his parliamentary constituency, Amethi, carrying out healthcare camps and other welfare activities.
After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991, there were demands for her to assume leadership of the party and she finally took the primary membership of the party in 1997. She entered public life in response to widespread demands from the Congress rank and file before the Lok Sabha elections in 1998.
Into her fourth term as a Lok Sabha MP, Sonia Gandhi has represented both the traditional family constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli.
She resigned from Lok Sabha seat in 2006 as also the chairperson of National Advisory Committee after a controversy broke out over office of profit. She was re-elected with an even greater margin.
Sonia Gandhi is interested in issues related to the environment, empowerment of the disadvantaged and welfare of children and has been named as one of the most powerful women in the world by different publications.
She has authored two books on her husband and has edited two volumes of letters exchanged between Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Her interests also include reading, Indian art, handloom and handicrafts and classical music. She has a diploma in conservation of oil paintings from the National Museum in New Delhi.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Banking, Economy, News, Politics
New Delhi : The Congress on Thursday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his charge that banks were forced to give loans to select industrialists during UPA rule, saying bad loans increased in his regime.
The Congress also demanded a probe by independent agencies into the issue.
“Yesterday (Wednesday) Modiji said that NPA is the biggest scam. We agree with it but we want to know who gave birth to it,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.
Attacking the Modi government, Surjewala said: “When the Congress lost power in 2014, as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gross NPA of public sector banks in 2013-14 was Rs 2,27,264 crore.
“And as per PIB (Press Information Bureau) press release dated October 24, 2017, this has increased in June 2017 to Rs 7,33,137 crore,” he said. “The NPA in 42 months of Modi government increased by Rs 5,05,873 crore.”
He said the gross NPAs of scheduled commercial banks in 2013-14 was Rs 2,63,372 crore.
“And as per the rating agency CARE, gross NPAs of scheduled commercial banks has increased to Rs 8,29,338 crore. Thus, in 42 months of Modi government, it has increased by 5,65,966 crore,” he said.
Surjewala also said that under Modi government, a total of Rs 1,88,287 crore loans of the industrialists were waived off.
“In 2014-15, the NDA government waived loans of Rs 49,018 crore, in 2015-16 it waived off Rs 57,586 crore of loans and in 2016-17 it waived off Rs 81,683 crore loans of industrialists,” he said.
“If he described NPA as the biggest scam, he should then answer why is such a big scam happening under his nose?” the Congress leader asked.
“The Prime Minister must also tell as to why has his government waived loans of wilful defaulters worth Rs 1,88,287 crore in the last three years?”
He dared the government to order a probe by independent agencies into the same.
On Wednesday, Modi attacked his predecessor Manmohan Singh and the UPA government, saying some of its “people” had forced banks to lend to some industrialists, which he described as the “biggest scam”, bigger than the 2G, coal and Commonwealth Games scams.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Ashok Gehlot
By Brajendra Nath Singh,
Ahmedabad : Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, who played a major role in social engineering by roping in Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mewani on the side of Congress in Gujarat, wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attack the party and Rahul Gandhi even more so that it will “ensure a Congress victory”.
As the campaign in the state reaches feverish pitch, Gehlot accused Modi of speaking “only untruths” and making “false promises”. Modi has now been “exposed” and people are not going to believe him or come under his “illusion”, says the former Rajasthan Chief Minister.
He maintains the Prime Minister is becoming “furious” as he senses defeat in the Assembly polls, which is the reason for his “disgraceful” attacks on Congress and its legends like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
“We want him to attack us more. We want him to abuse our legendary leaders. We will be benefiting as much as he attacks us,” Gehlot told IANS in an interview.
Claiming that the party will win the Gujarat polls with a clear majority, he also attacked the Prime Minister for describing Rahul Gandhi’s impending elevation as party chief as “Aurangzeb raj”.
“We will win this election with a comfortable majority. There is an undercurrent in favour of Congress. See how Modiji is attacking Congress and even its internal elections. A figure like the Prime Minister is attacking Rahul’s elevation, and that too by taking the name of a person who is not a Congress member,” Gehlot said, referring to Shehzad Poonawala. He said it goes to show how the Prime Minister and the entire BJP is “scared”.
“In fear of defeat he is saying anything in order to get the election agenda diverted from his model of development. He is mocking Congress’ internal democracy, but everyone knows that in the BJP the RSS decides who will be Prime Minister, President and Chief Minister. And you are talking about Congress,” he said.
Gehlot was referring to Modi’s charge that Nehru was not in favour of reconstructing the Somnath temple and his accusation that Indira Gandhi covered her nose with a handkerchief to avoid the stench when she visited Morbi in 1979 after the Machhu dam flood tragedy.
“It was under Indira Gandhi’s leadership that Pakistan was divided. It was one of the world’s historic events. There are many more such events with which the new generation is not familiar. They (BJP) are in the habit of misguiding people,” he said.
“They (PM and BJP) are raising these issues as they have become furious (baukhla gaye hai). Who cares about all this? They may hatch conspiracies to win elections but we don’t care. This is all because defeat is at their doorsteps. People of Gujarat are with us. Rahulji (Gandhi) is getting people’s love, affection and blessings.”
Continuing his attack on Modi, he said the Prime Minister has “lost his charisma” and this is seen during his election rallies too.
“Modiji has fooled people in the name of Vibrant Gujarat. Go to the villages of Gujarat and you will find the reality of development called ‘Modi model’. He has been exposed. Which class of society is happy with him? From farmers to labourers and from youths to business class, all are unhappy. Now people of Gujarat are not going to believe him. They are not going to come under his fake claims.
“You can see this on the ground. Earlier crowds used to chant ‘Modi, Modi’ in his rallies. Now what is happening? Chairs remain vacant. Where have they gone – those who used to chant his name?” he asked.
“His graph is shrinking. Now people have acknowledged their (BJP) lie. They speak only untruth and make false promises. People still remember the promises of bringing back black money, two crore employment every year and getting Rs 15 lakh into their bank accounts.”
The Congress General Secretary in charge of Gujarat said that Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to the party President’s post will impact the country’s politics a lot and youth would come forward under his leadership.
“I believe the young generation will come forward under his leadership. We were also youth. I became MP at an age of 28 and then became PCC President, General Secretary, Union Minister and Chief Minister. Today there are four General Secretaries in AICC, who were youths during Indira Gandhi’s regime. This is the speciality of the Congress that it gives opportunities to the new generation.
“Rahulji will do the same. He will take benefit from the experience of senior leaders and will move ahead with the youth,” he said.
Describing BJP as a party of “hypocrites” he said that they are “embracing Gandhiji, whom they killed”.
“Sardar Patel banned RSS and now they are claiming their birth right on him. After being humiliated by public throughout their journey from Jan Sangh to Janata Party and now BJP, they are doing divisive politics in the name of Congress.
“In the early years they did politics in the name of cow and its protection. They then raked up the issue of Ram temple. And now when they are in power they are again doing politics in the name of cow and trying to divide the country,” he said.
On Rahul Gandhi’s temple visits, he said that there was nothing new in this as Sonia Gandhi also began her election campaign in 2007 from Ambaji temple.
“She used to campaign by helicopter and temples don’t exist in air. Rahulji is travelling through roads and he goes to temples on the way,” he said.
(Brajendra Nath Singh can be contacted at brajendra.n@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Amit Shah
Ahmedabad : Latching on to Kapil Sibal’s statement in the Supreme Court for deferring hearing in the Ramjanambhoomi dispute till after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday asked Rahul Gandhi to clear the Congress stand on the Ram temple issue.
He accused the Congress of having “double standards” on the contentious issue and said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the other hand wanted an end to the matter as soon as possible.
“I appeal to the future Congress President — please clear your stand on the issue,” he said.
“On the one hand, temples are being visited (by Rahul Gandhi) ahead of elections. On the other hand, they are trying to delay hearing of the Ramjanmabhoomi case (in the Supreme Court). The Congress has double standards on the issue. They should clarify their stand,” Shah said.
He alleged that the Congress did not want the issue of the proposed Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh to be resolved soon.
“The BJP demands that the case should be heard as soon as possible. The Supreme Court should give a judgment and a grand Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya,” Shah said.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, who is representing the Sunni Waqf Board in the Ayodhya case, asked the apex court to hear the matter only in July 2019.
The Supreme Court will commence on February 8, 2018, the hearing on a batch of petitions which challenged a 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit that divided the disputed Babri Masjid site between the Nirmohi Akhara, Lord Ram deity, and the Sunni Waqf Board.
—IANS
