The current political scenario in India is
baffling and astonishing. This is the first time, likely around the World, that
almost everyone, who is not a part of the main opposition party, despite the so
called strong 10 year long anti-incumbancy wave, that everyone from the ruling
party to supporters to new and old political outfits, media, Indian and foreign
and many of their supporters are working day and night to ensure that the
principle opposition does not come to power. It is really baffling that this
feeling is further pronounced after declaration of Mr. Narendra Modi as the
opposition’s Prime Ministerial Candidate. Polarizing figure he is,
for sure, but he has polarized all the politicians more than the public.
The question is why? What is the reason, and
I have no answers to this. That’s why I am astonished and fascinated, mostly in
favour of Mr. Modi…
To Mr. Modi’s bad luck, he is showered with
umpteen attempts to portray him in the bad light by targeting him single
handedly for the Riots that took place in Gujarat in 2002. So much so that one
of the major news channels, NDTV which is also fighting a case of money
laundering, together with the current Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram
always, and without exception, nearly always in all media reports online adds a
paragraph, when Mr. Modi is mentioned, as a kind of
disclaimer that his detractors hold him responsible for not doing enough to
prevent the Gujarat Riots. Those who have faced
riots, would know, that like acts of terrorism, rioters too have no religion,
because acts against humanity is not taught in any religion.
Lets go back to the timeline then, I intend
to only outlay the events without adding my comments or adding comments from
hearsay in this chronology, no why and how, because that is what I leave to
everyone’s personal interpretation.
Born
on 17September 1950, he was the third of six children. Worked through tea
stalls and canteens to become a RSS pracharak. The RSS assigned Modi to the BJP in 1985. While Shankar Singh Vaghela and Keshubhai Patel were the
established names in the Gujarat BJP at that time, Modi is said to have risen
to prominence after organising Murli
Manohar Joshi's Ekta yatra. His electoral strategy is said to have
been central to BJP's victory in the 1995 state elections.
Modi became the General Secretary of the BJP and
was transferred to New Delhi where he was assigned responsibility
for the party's activities in Haryana and Himachal
Pradesh. Vaghela, who had
threatened to break away from BJP in 1995, defected from the BJP after he lost
the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, Modi was promoted to the
post of National Secretary of the BJP in 1998. While selecting candidates for the 1998 state
elections in Gujarat, it is said that Modi favoured loyal people to Patel over
those loyal to Vaghela, helping to put an end to the factional divisions within
the party. His strategies were credited as being key to winning the 1998
elections.
Narendra Modi himself took oath of office, as the
CM of Gujarat on the 07th October 2001, after being away from
Gujarat for nearly 6 years, as a part of politics to keep him out of Gujarat,
for whatever reasons, some people felt he was becoming too powerful, he ended
up spending time in Chandigarh & Gujarat. A lot had changed, Mr. Vaghela had
aligned with Congress to form a short time Government and Mr. Patel was
replaced by him after loosing a series of local body elections for BJP. How and
why he happened to be the CM is all hearsay, depending upon which perspective
you want to understand, but I see it only that it is very likely that he had
ambition and I feel there is nothing wrong in having one.
The timing of this oath-taking
was very close to the WTC bombings, by coincidence, and the World had suddenly
woken up to defining and going overboard on terrorism. Al Qaeda and supporting terrorist groups across the
World suddenly found mention across the political tables of the World and
Secularism was over-defined on either visualizing all terrorists as Muslims
(even though everyone acknowledges that in practice a terrorist does not
subscribe to any religion) or the people who became sudden protectors of
Muslims, mostly in the name of votes. Same day US dropped bombs in Afghanistan,
killing plenty, but no one accused them for mass murders.
On 27th February 2002, about 8 AM
a train, with several hundred passengers, largely said to be Hindus returning
to Gujarat were burnt to death near Godhra. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2256789.cms or
27th February 2002, 0945 AM,
Gujarat administration orders “shoot at sight” orders in Godhra and imposes
curfew. Same day, GJ Government requested Central Forces http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2002-02-28/news/27362130_1_sabarmati-exp-godhra-railway-station-police-officers
Frequent cases of violence were reported across
Gujarat right on the 27th February, due to which Gujarat Government
had the entire police on High Alert across the state. VHP called for Bandh.
On 28th February 2002 the riots had
started, primarily against Muslims across Gujarat, some smaller ones with
feelings of hatred, across the country. In all about 30-40 deaths in police
firing in Ahmedabad alone.
On 28th February by 06:30 PM Gujarat
government / Modi formally requested for Army.
On 01st of March 2002 11:30 Army was
staging a flag march in Ahmedabad. (For
those who may be slow to catch up, February in 2002 had only 28 days).
And to add,
all this, Modi became villain for everyone. Please do read this two page report
from India Today of March 2002.
I would suggest people, who claim Modi’s
favouritism to a few Industrial houses should know, why Mr. Bajaj and Mr.
Godrej even today is not comfortable with Mr. Modi, because this is what he
told them in 2003 at a CII meeting, where these people insulted him on stage
after inviting him as a guest :
“You and your pseudo-secular friends,” Modi roared at the leaders of
Indian industry, “can come to Gujarat if you want an answer. Talk to my people.
Gujarat is the most peaceful state in the country.” Tension filled the room.
Modi continued, turning to Godrej and Bajaj: “Others have vested interest in
maligning Gujarat. What is your interest?”
The mobs who ran wild in the
streets of Gujarat did not confine their rage to local Muslims: more than 1,000
trucks were set afire, and the torching of a shipment of Opel Astra cars from a
General Motors factory made international headlines. One estimate suggested
that industry in Gujarat had lost R20 billion ($409 million) in the riots. The
spectre of communal violence made international investors jittery—new foreign
direct investment inflows had all but dried up by September 2002—while Indian
industrialists openly feared further chaos in what was, even before Modi’s
arrival, one of the most critical states for their business operations.
After his misadventure with CII. Within a few days, a group of
Gujarati businessmen close to Modi—including Gautam Adani of Adani Group,
Indravadan Modi of Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Karsan Patel of Nirma Group, and
Anil Bakeri of Bakeri Engineers—had established a rival organisation, which
they called the Resurgent Group of Gujarat (RGG), all of whose members
threatened to withdraw from the CII on the grounds that it had humiliated and
insulted Modi and all Gujaratis. The RGG issued a press statement swearing by
the pride of Gujaratis, and demanded that the Gujarat chapter of the CII resign
for “failing to protect the interests of the state”.
The deal to bring the Nano factory to Sanand attracted
worldwide attention, and within weeks of the plant’s inauguration in June 2010,
both Ford and Peugeot approached Gujarat, seeking plots to build their own
factories. The GIDC had acquired a total of 2,200 acres, and handed over
sizable plots to Ford and Peugeot (along with a substantial package of
financial incentives, similar to what Tata was offered). The initial resistance
from the farmers around Sanand quickly crumbled as the proposed compensation
grew. Landholders were paid more than 10 times the market value for their
property. Before Tata arrived, the price for one acre was only Rs.300,000; the
GIDC paid at least Rs.3 million per acre, and issued cheques to the sellers
within a week.
In 2003,
the government allotted 700 acres of public land in Mahuva to one of Gujarat’s
largest industrial companies, Nirma, for a cement plant. (Karsan Patel, Nirma’s
founder and chairman, was one of the leaders of the Resurgent Group of Gujarat,
which rallied behind Modi against the CII that same year.) But the plot granted
to Nirma included some 300 acres of wetlands and reservoirs, which were said to
be used by local farmers for irrigation and animal husbandry. The farmers
objected to the deal and the protest gathered momentum and publicity when Dr
Kanubhai Kalsaria, the BJP MLA for Mahuva, led an agitation against his own
chief minister.
Nirma and
the state of Gujarat claimed that the affected area was a wasteland, but after
the farmers appealed to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (controlled by
none other than Congress at Centre), it ruled in their favour and cancelled the
plant’s environmental clearance. The farmers hailed it as a rare victory
against the state’s top-down development agenda. Kalsaria has become a
spokesman for Gujarati farmers who accuse Modi’s government of lavishing money
and land on corporates at the expense of citizens. In 2012 he
left BJP and now is a AAP leader in Gujarat.
Successive BJP governments under Patel
and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of infrastructure
projects for conservation of groundwater. Gujarat has improved its agricultural output substantially, in large
part due to projects relating to improvement of groundwater supplies in Saurashtra, Kachchh and the north, as well as efforts to
increase the use of micro-irrigation and to provide more efficient power
supply to farms.
Nearly 500,000 structures have been constructed, of
which about 1/4th are check
dams. While most check dams remained empty during the pre-monsoon season, they helped recharge the aquifers that lie beneath them. 60 of the 112 Tehsils which were found to have
over–exploited the groundwater
table in 2004 had regained their
normal groundwater level by 2010, meaning that Gujarat had managed
to increase its groundwater levels at a time when they were falling in all
other Indian states. As a result, production of genetically-modified Bt cotton, which could now be
irrigated using tube wells,
increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and
utilization of semi–arid land saw
the agriculture growth rate of Gujarat increase to 9.6% in the period
2001–2007. Though
public irrigation measures in the central and southern areas, such as the Sardar Sarovar Project, have not been
as successful in achieving their aims, for the decade 2001–2010,
Gujarat recorded a compound annual growth rate of 10.97%, the highest among all Indian states.
The system of supplying power to rural areas has
been changed radically and has had a greater impact on agriculture than the
irrigation works. While states such as Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu provided free electricity to farms,
and most other states provided subsidised power, the Gujarat government between
2003–2006 reacted to concerns that such measures result in waste of power and
groundwater. With the Jyotigram
Yojana scheme, based on ideas
developed by the International Water Management
Institute, the agricultural
electricity supply was rewired to separate it from other rural power supplies.
Then, the electricity used by farms was rationed to fit scheduled demand for
irrigation, which consequently reduced the cost of the subsidy. At first, the
farmers objected to this, but came to realise that the supply suffered less
from interruption, was more consistent in voltage and was available when they most
needed it for irrigation purposes. Other states have since begun to adopt
similar, although not identical, strategies.
In
doing this, Modi dropped many of his Hindutva-wadi friends, after the riots hit
Gujarat, like Praveen Togadia of VHP. Possibly a few others with Skeletons, as
he also demolished many temples for development related projects.
But
now I question this, to people with a brain as well as a heart, who can put
themselves in Mr. Modi’s position first and then honestly answer these
questions –
1. Without
any direct administrative / governance experience and no past experience with
controlling bureaucrats, you become a CM, and 4 months later you face riots in
your state, where you had not stepped in for last 6 years. What kind of control
will you do? Will you run around yourself in the “Nayak (Anil Kapoor)” Fashion
to stop them, across the state, or you will issue orders and appeals?
2. Why
do you think, Modi today has such good grip on the state’s police, bureaucrats
amongst others? One man, against so many, how is it possible for a bad man to
ensure this, assuming you are that bad man?
3. If,
after the riots, every industrial house, every foreign investor, everyone who
were the money bags stand against you, and accuse you to have personally killed
thousands of people, do everything but assist you by investing, what would you
do?
4. Would
you feel grateful to those few who stood by you or not, when everyone else
shuns you?
5. If
you have a piece of land, in say an off beaten place, nowhere near a city /
town, what price do you expect for it? Also, what price do you expect for a
land near to a developed place? So who pays for the development costs? Do you
believe in eating the roti without having to roll it?
6. You’ve
never benefited monetarily nor your family did, by virtue of being a CM. You’ve
not amassed property either. The gifts you get are given to charity. Are you a
corrupt man?
7. An
oft repeated claim against Modi is brought around by Mrs. Zakia Jafri, the
widow of Ehsaan Jafri who was brutally murdered during the riots, that he
called Modi several times but the help never came. I am sure, the call records
would be available from the mobile phone operators or landline phone companies.
Why is it that all the so called detractors of Mr. Modi have never shown this
up so far? And assuming, even if it was true, why would you particularly want
to save one man, just because he happens to have your phone number and has been
an MP, while neglecting numerous others, with just a 4-6000 strong Police force
at your disposal in all of Ahmedabad?
8. India
had seen a worse riot in Gujarat in 1969, in which it is said approx. 5000
people were killed. Congress Government in power. To this date, not heard of a
single conviction in that one. The riots lasted over 5-6 days. On this
occasion, the riots were controlled on the 3rd day, convictions have
happened in approx. 10 years, and still on, many have been arrested too. But
everyone blames you for being a “mass murderer”, despite you being the only
Chief Minister in history to have been subjected to an enquiry commission / SIT
probing you for hours. How do you feel about it.
9. If
you were the CM of Gujarat, and such a thing would have happened, would you
have said “sorry” and if yes, what do you actually mean by that “apology”?
Would you really think that a true politician, who knows, he is guilty would
say sorry or not? I think, he will keep saying it a hundred times, but mean
nothing.
10. What
do you think is governance? Is it running the buses and trains for you,
supplying you with power or water, or do you think, it is about ensuring that
you actually get these services efficiently? That you get, what you pay your
taxes for, good roads, good services, grievance redressal system and a chance
to feel beautiful for your surroundings too?
11. Do
you think, getting subsidies is your right or getting education and a job is
your right?
12. Do
you think getting free food is your right, or being able to buy and cook them
is your right?
13. If
you call yourself an Indian Nationalist, and you are a Hindu, can you think it
as being a Hindustani, rather than reading it as a communal comment?
14. If
you talk of India’s glorious history, ever in the past 1000 years, 2000 years,
3000 years, do you think, your forefathers were receiving alms and subsidies at
that time from the king or a respectful ability to earn your livelihood?
India & China :
Modi has been a key factor in
promoting cordial relations with China and the Chinese Government too
appreciates him. In fact he is reputed to have been instrumental in securing
release of a few diamond merchants from China during his visit there. He uses
Chinese ideas and some technologies in Gujarat too. So, now we also have an old
issue suddenly released just few days before the elections, the India-China war
report. Reminding people again of the bitterness, but in fact, it is nothing
else but to keep the mistrust alive in the hearts of Indians and Chinese too.
Every country which has a complete
Ecosystem can survive on its own. Both India and China have ample natural
resources, manpower, both in terms of hands and brains and a self sufficiency
is possible. If these two countries align together, the rest of the World will
be only looking for alms from them. So it scares the present powers, and such
reports and news items are released and kept on in the media with a new report
or analysis of the report creeping up every day. Do you really think, normal
Indians or Chinese care? But if politicians want, they can use it. So the
report is released now.
Think, can one man really be as
dangerous as he is being projected to you, that too, when he is now 64 years
old, with no family, no children of his own, and who has not built his palaces
until now?
What makes you fear him? Your
mistrust in him or your mistrust in your own power as a common man?
What is it that you cannot undo in
the next 5 years? Well, one thing you can, the feeling of being slave for sure,
yes you can! Shift outside your inhibitions and get polarized, because until
you do, you’ll keep on playing in the hands of the internal rulers.
One question from Delhi wallahs
too. When you were fighting for justice in the rape case, where were your
elected representatives? If the Delhi Police is governed by the Central
Government, what was the stand of your MPs at the time? Did you ever think that
even if the state Government doesn’t control Delhi Police, through your MPs you
do? So did you try to question them? If not, question Mr. Kapil Sibal and his
likes now.
In respect of Aaaaaam Aadmi Party –
please remember, keeping a name as Aaam AAdmi or using a broom as your party
symbol doesn’t give you the right to portray everyone else, who is not your
member as bad.
If you want to change India, first
you need to change Indians, you need to bring in positivity of hope, not spread
despair. You need to bring in that feeling in every man, that they should
respect Women, every other man, irrespective of Religion, Caste, Creed. We don’t
need you to go and stand with the offended, we need you to go offensive on the
accused. We don’t need you to play politics, we’ve already seen that for last
many years now; instead we want to see you upholding good values of truth,
honesty and clarity. Please remember we’ve not given you a license to fight for
us that you can use our name and claim that every person who is not with you is
bad.
Lastly, to the Indian,
irrespective of religion, caste, creed and not aligned to any political party,
also the young Indians or Hindustanis, if you have been directly affected and
wronged by any act of Mr. Modi, please don’t vote for him. But if you have not,
for once, stop paying attention to hearsay and use your brains. Ask questions
first to yourself whether you trust yourself or not. You’ll get the answers to
all your confusing thoughts. Is your idea of solving the problems of India
creating another political party?
India already has hundreds of
political parties. At national level we have 6 now and atleast 60 at state
levels.
In order to qualify to be called a
national recognized party you need to fulfill at least one of the following
conditions :
1. The party wins 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha
(11 seats) from at least 3 different States.
2. At a General Election to Lok Sabha or
Legislative Assembly, the party polls 6% of votes in four States and in
addition it wins 4 Lok Sabha seats.
3. A party gets recognition as State Party in
four or more States.
In order to be a recognized state
party you need to fulfill at least one of the following conditions :
1. At General Elections or Legislative Assembly
elections, the party has won 3% of seats in the legislative assembly of the
State ( subject to a minimum of 3 seats).
2. At a Lok Sabha General Elections, the party
has won 1 Lok sabha seat for every 25 Lok Sabha seat allotted for the State.
3. At a General Election to Lok Sabha or
Legislative Assembly , the party has polled minimum of 6% of votes in a State
and in addition it has won 1 Lok Sabha or 2 Legislative Assembly seats.
4. At a General Election to Lok Sabha or
Legislative Assembly, the party has polled 8% of votes in a State.
Both national and state parties have to fulfill these conditions for all
subsequent Lokshabha or State elections. Else, they lose their status.
So choose wisely and trust your own instincts, not your fears.
