Marriyum Aurangzeb called Imran Khan a ‘spineless, insecure coward’, who has no guts or grounds to confront or respond to the truth about his failed budget being exposed by Shehbaz…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb has lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan for “shamelessly” misusing state institutions against party president Shehbaz Sharif to “vent his desperation and frustration”.
In a statement on Tuesday, the party spokesperson said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) must have mistakenly sent a notice to Shehbaz which “must have been sent to Imran Khan”, reported The News International.
Marriyum said that it was the Pakistani premier who had signed all decisions regarding the export of sugar against the advice of the relevant authority that led to shortage and escalation of prices.
“It was Imran who signed the permission for the import of sugar that led to billions worth of corruption… It was Imran who caused the shortage to benefit his ATMs and loot Rs 450 billion from the nation’s pockets… It was Imran who allowed the price of sugar to skyrocket from Rs 52 per kilogram to Rs 120. With all this on the record issuance of a notice to Shehbaz Sharif is an open proof of Imran abusing his power to save himself and victimise his political opponents,” she said.
She further called Imran Khan a ‘spineless, insecure coward’, who has no guts or grounds to confront or respond to the truth about his failed budget being exposed by Shehbaz, according to The News International.
“This is why, like always, he is hiding behind state institutions and abusing them to persecute Shehbaz. The real reason for this FIA notice against Shehbaz is that Imran could not even stand two sentences by Shehbaz Sharif and became so angry that he took his desperation out through the FIA notice,” she added.
The PML-N spokesperson asked the Prime Minister to stop this spectacle, as the notice has already been exposed in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and rejected in Lahore High Court.
Meanwhile, the sitting of the Pakistan National Assembly (NA) was adjourned till Wednesday after the Opposition parties attacked the Imran Khan government’s budget proposals saying that it had failed to provide relief to the masses from unemployment and inflation.
During the NA sitting, members of the treasury created chaos on the floor and started making noise and abusing each other. The lawmakers were seen fighting and throwing copies of the budget.
In a viral video on Twitter, Pakistan NA member, Ali Nawaz Awan was seen using derogatory words after an argument on a certain topic began. Federal minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was standing by his seat. The chaos broke out after Shehbaz addressed the house. (ANI)
Despite the charges swirling over him, off and on there has been talk of his becoming a second edition of the Manmohan Singh phenomenon, writes Prof. Madhav Nalapat
P. Chidambaram, the urbane leader from Tamil Nadu of the Congress Party, has been in the headlines since the 1980s, during his steady rise that began from his stint translating Rajiv Gandhi’s speeches from English to Tamil. Thereafter, he went on to ministerial status in multiple administrations. Thrice Union Minister for Finance, Chidambaram has also been through 106 days of incarceration during NDA II, although the police officials responsible for this later appear to have been sidelined. Both in the INX case and in the Aircel Maxis matter, efforts have been made by his detractors to make him a “state guest” once again, this time for a longer period. Thus far, such efforts do not seem to have gained much traction. Chidambaram has in the meantime emerged as among the most prominent voices in the Opposition, excoriating the Narendra Modi government on its handling of the economy in particular. His relationship with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul appears to continue to be on strong foundations, as does his connect with many of those prominent in the Opposition. It needs to be added that Chidambaram shared a longstanding friendship with some of the top leaders of the BJP, although this list has shrunk, especially since Modi 2.0.
Despite the charges swirling over him and the reality of him not conforming to the backslapping, tactile type of politician in the manner that his party colleague Digvijaya Singh is, off and on there has been talk of his becoming a second edition of the Manmohan Singh phenomenon. The saga of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began in 2004, when the mild-mannered, scholarly economist was pitchforked into the most important job in the country by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Since the debacle of rival political formations at the hands of Modi and the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, there has been a lull in activity seeking to generate a second 2004 upset of a BJP-led government. Since the later months of 2020, the effects on lives and livelihoods caused by SARS2, especially the unexpected second wave in 2021, have lifted the expectations of key elements of the Opposition that a repeat of 2004 in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is indeed possible. They see the key to this as the economy, buffeted as it has been by the turbulence caused by the pandemic.
GLOBAL GROUP BEHIND PLAN
A group of High Net Income individuals based in New York, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Kuala Lumpur, along with associates in India, has begun work on promoting the prospects of Congress leader P. Chidambaram to emerge in 2023 as the consensus choice of the Opposition for the Prime Ministership in the 2024 polls. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party he leads, the BJP, continue to maintain a commanding national lead over any challenger in the electoral ring, this group (which may be termed the Group of Nine, signifying the number of its key members) believes that the economic and societal shocks caused by the SARS2 pandemic on India will continue for two years more, if not more. In other words, that absence of significant recovery from the income and job losses caused by the pandemic will remain into the period just before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. This, they believe, will have a significant impact on PM Modi’s USP, which is that he is far and away the best hope for economic progress in India. The BJP has based its majority primarily on its electoral clout in the Hindi belt. The calculation of the Group of Nine is that the BJP will suffer major declines in the Hindi belt before 2024, falls caused by job and income losses that will override the party’s appeal on other issues. The economic and societal consequences of SARS2 would, in their view, cause a snowballing effect on national politics, leading to the assembling (by the close of 2023) and the formation after the 2024 polls of a coalition government led by Opposition parties.
That the economy has been the focus of several opposition attacks on the BJP has been evident since the close of 2017, with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi being the most vociferous. While there seemed to be a substantial impact of the economic factor in 2018 on BJP fortunes, as seen in the byelection results of that year, the Balakot strike in February 2019 and the announcement that Rahul Gandhi would be the Congress candidate for the Prime Ministership gave sufficient oxygen to the BJP to enable that party to secure an even bigger Lok Sabha majority than in 2014. In the public mind, images of Balakot and the belief that Narendra Modi was a far more reliable pair of hands at the helm of the nation than Rahul Gandhi swung the tide in favour of the BJP. Next time around, given that the economic situation in 2020-21 is far worse than it was in 2018-19 (and it is expected by Modi’s detractors that this situation will continue), they believe that a similar turnaround in the public mood through the factor of emotion in favour of the BJP is unlikely.
THE CALCULATIONS MADE BY GROUP
The Group of Nine regards it as mandatory that an individual gets anointed in 2023 itself as a safe pair of hands, and who would therefore be the consensus choice of the Opposition for the Prime Ministership. Given the hold that the party retains despite its reverses, they believe that (1) the Congress must lead such a coalition at the national level, and (2) the candidate for the Prime Ministership must not be from the Nehru family. The Group of Nine believes that the Congress Party leadership as an entirety understands the risk in once again promoting Rahul Gandhi as the party’s face in the 2024 polls. In their view, the best option would be to showcase three-time Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram as the Prime Ministerial face of the Congress Party and work to get him accepted so as to form a joint opposition front to take on the BJP.
Apart from what may be their personal connect with Chidambaram or some of those close to him, this calculation is based on:
(a) Chidambaram not being a threat to any regional leader, including Stalin in Tamil Nadu, given his hands-off approach towards the building up of the backslapping camaraderie required for the purpose.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and A.K. Antony during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting (IANS)
(b) The South is likely to be an important determinant in which combination next gets a Lok Sabha majority in what is expected to be a close contest in 2024. Hence the need to choose a leader from that region, especially in a context where the BJP has been gaining ground in each of the southern states, to the shock of those who have long dismissed the party as a “Hindi-belt” outfit. It may be pointed out that Hindi-speaking states are very accepting and moderate in their approach to other languages, with several Hindi-speaking citizens eager for example to learn English, a language that successive governments have since 1947 effectively kept out of the reach of the poor and those in rural areas. Bollywood has disseminated a knowledge and love of Hindi in a manner far more effective than numerous attempts by successive Central governments to spread Hindi among states speaking other languages, through making it obligatory in schools and in other ways. While Chidambaram makes no secret of his lack of skill in speaking Hindi, he has for decades worked smoothly with Hindi-belt politicians, unlike other leaders from Tamil Nadu.
(c) The economy looms large in the public mind as a consequences of SARS2 ravaging tens of millions of individuals. In the view of the Group of Nine, Chidambaram is the politician best placed in the Opposition space to campaign on what they expect will be an economy still feeling the aftershocks of the pandemic. His party has made him the spokesman for talking about the economic effects of the pandemic (which the Congress Party places entirely on the shoulders of PM Modi), and his barbs at the Central government have increased over the years. At the same time, they believe that neither Mamata Banerjee nor Arvind Kejriwal carries the potential public benefit of the experience of Chidambaram in handling economic matters. This is so despite the skills exhibited by them in besting the BJP electorally in their home states.
(d) Chidambaram has built extensive linkages within SE Asia, China, the US and Europe thanks to his tenure as Finance Minister, and these are to be showcased to offer an alternative to Modi, a leader who has not been seriously challenged since 2013. Whether in London, Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai, Chidambaram has an extensive network of friends and contacts. As indeed is the case in the bureaucracy as well, and not just among retired officials. Such contacts can be used to present the narrative of him as a viable alternative to Prime Minister Modi in a way that others in the opposition space may not be able to.
CHIDAMBARAM PUSHED ‘HINDU TERROR’ SMEAR
The Group of Nine is aware of other charges hurled at Chidambaram. These include the fact that the chimera of “Hindu terror” was artificially created during his 2008-13 tenure as the Union Home Minister. The excuse they offer is that he was made to do this by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. The latter is reported as being on record that “Hindu radicals are a bigger threat than LeT”. The leakage of his conversation and the comparison made in it with US ambassador Timothy Roemer has yet to be contradicted by Rahul Gandhi. That ministers had to bend to the will of the “High Command” or lose their jobs was no secret, and it is such a defence that supporters of the “Chidambaram for PM” move aim to use when he comes under attack for highlighting the concept of “Hindu terror”. A month after Rahul Gandhi’s comments to Roemer, in August 2010, at a conference of police officials, Home Minister Chidambaram claimed that “Hindu terrorists” were behind many of the bomb blasts taking place at the time. Both former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai and Under-Secretary R.V.S. Mani have spoken of how “the focus of Chidambaram during his tenure as Home Minister was to strengthen the non-existent Hindu terror threat by any means possible”. Those behind the smear on a community in excess of a billion people worked overtime to churn out variants of the “Hindu terror” disinformation virus, but the spread of the virus within the general population was almost non-existent, to the disappointment of its originators. A counter that is being put up by backers of Chidambaram is to point out that both G.K. Pillai as well as R.V.S. Mani have been ignored by the present government, even though several officials known to be close to the UPA have been given attractive postings since 2014. If what R.V.S. Mani and G.K. Pillai said about the then Home Minister had been correct, the Group of Nine argues, surely the present government, no friend of the Congress Party First Family or Chidambaram, would have recognized them better for speaking out in the manner they did.
ACTION ABSENT ON KEY ALLEGATIONS
Another set of charges relate to allegations of financial impropriety by Chidambaram while he served as the Finance Minister during the two terms of the UPA. The claim of his detractors is that there are a collection of bankers, security market analysts, officials and corporates said to be closely associated with Chidambaram who protected his interests. Details of such a hypothesis have been provided in “Market Mafia”, a book by business journalist Palak Shah. This outlines a chain of market manipulations that the author claims took place in plain sight of regulatory agencies. Another set of revelations has come from a book by the globally renowned team of Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu, “Absolute Power”, which is mainly about the National Stock Exchange. This has long been alleged to have had the patronage of the UPA-era Finance Minister. It has been claimed that his decisions and even live broadcast of parliamentary speeches during market hours had an immediate impact on the market, from which several lost while a few gained. The Colo (co-location) imbroglio has been cited in theirs and in several other reports. The Dalal-Basu book has been having record sales. The Group of Nine however points out that, as with Palak Shah’s book, no significant action on the part of the government seems to have been initiated on the basis of the conclusions of Dalal, Basu and Shah. According to the Group of Nine, given the public reputation for integrity of the Modi government, such lack of governmental follow-up will be a sign to the voters that the charges made in the two books and in multiple other reports are not accepted as actionable by the official machinery.
MARKET MELTDOWN SOUGHT BEFORE POLLS
Sources known to be credible have warned that the “market mafia” is looking to engineer a stock exchange meltdown close to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Their intention is to blight the chances of a hat-trick by Prime Minister Modi through his winning the 2024 elections. Should such a stock exchange crisis occur in the manner of the earlier Rao-era Harshad Mehta or Vajpayee-era LIC imbroglios, Chidambaram’s voter appeal as a crisis manager would rise. Such a development would be ironic in the eyes of those who believe those close to the former Finance Minister are at the heart of much of the market manipulations. The Group of Nine points to the fact that both the governments that were in office during the Harshad Mehta and LIC scams got defeated in the subsequent Lok Sabha polls. This is the “hat-trick” that they are planning to achieve in 2024, given the electoral importance of the tens of millions of retail investors in both urban as well as in rural areas, not to mention deposits in various non-banking finance companies, which too would be affected as a consequence of stock market manipulations caused by insufficient accountability and oversight.
The Group of Nine points out that the charges made of facilitating insider trades by Chidambaram while he was Finance Minister would have been extensively investigated by investigative and regulatory agencies since 2014. In case conclusive evidence had been found against Chidambaram and others named in accounts such as those presented in the books mentioned earlier, those guilty would have been proceeded against in view of PM Modi’s policy of Zero Tolerance for corruption, especially at the higher levels. Neither SEBI nor the RBI nor North Block has, it is pointed out, thus far found that the charges made against Chidambaram and others presumed to be connected to him warrant more than relatively small fines and penalties on a few who have been discovered as being involved. If the charges were truly as significant as detractors of Chidambaram claim, by now several existing and retired top officials would be facing prosecution as a consequence of action by the Government of India, they point out. The Group of Nine points to the fact that several of the office-holders repeatedly named by detractors of Chidambaram have not only been retained but promoted. This, in their view, carries its own message to voters as to the truth or otherwise of such charges. Prime Minister Modi is known for his attention to detail and his administrative skills, not to mention commitment towards establishing a corruption-free governance system.
ECONOMY AS OPPOSITION FOCUS
“Dilli door ast”, as are the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Whether Sonia Gandhi or powerful state leaders such as Stalin, Mamata or Kejriwal would accept Chidambaram as the Prime Ministerial face of the Opposition remains unproven. The Group of Nine acknowledges this, but say that they will press ahead with their mission of positioning P. Chidambaram as the Prime Ministerial face of the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He can then go head to head against the formidable appeal of Narendra Modi as an administrator and manager of the economy. What is clear is that planning for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls has begun in earnest in more than one location, and in more than one country. And that as of now, the odds-on favourite to win a hat-trick in 2024 remains PM Modi.
Black flags were also raised from some homes as the protests rent the air….reports Asian Lite News
Across Lakshadweep, Monday was observed as a day of protest by islanders, who dressed in black and shouted slogans of “go back” from their homes as Union Territory Administrator Praful Khoda Patel landed there around 2.30 p.m.
Black flags were also raised from some homes as the protests rent the air. Meanwhile, police officials taking the videos of the protest, and also of homes from where black flags were flying
This is his seventh visit by Patel after taking over as the new Administrator. He is slated to stay there for a week.
For a while now, Kerala’s Congress and the ruling Left here have been up in arms and have expressed solidarity with the islanders, who are on a protest mode after new measures and accusing Patel of trying to implement the “Sangh parivar agenda”.
Earlier in the day, Patel on Monday ducked his travel to the island through the Cochin airport, said Congress MPs from Kerala.
Hibi Eden and T.N. Prathapan had arrived in the VVIP lounge of the airport here after getting information that Patel is arriving here on a special flight to fly onward to Lakshwadeep.
“We had information that Patel would land here on a special flight and from here, would take a scheduled Air India ATR flight to the island. But after we reached here, we found out that he is not landing here and instead is flying from Daman and Diu,” said Eden.
“All know that we (Congress) are on a protest against the ‘reforms’ of the administrator, which are against the interests of the islanders. We came to meet him to request him to allow a delegation of Congress MPs to visit the island and also to see that no new rules should be enacted which do not have the concurrence of the islanders,” added Eden, who represents the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency, where Lakshadweep has a full-fledged office.
The LJP was founded by Chirag Paswan’s father Ram VIlas Paswan, who passed away in October last year….reports Asian Lite News
High political drama unfolded on Monday after Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) President Chirag Paswan was unseated as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras.
The LJP was founded by Chirag Paswan’s father Ram VIlas Paswan, who passed away in October last year.
Five out of the six LJP MPs in the Lok Sabha went against Chirag Paswan, leaving him isolated in his own party, which was formed by his father 21 years ago.
Chirag Paswan had taken over the reins of the party after the demise of his father ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections last year.
Speaking to reporters in the national capital, Pashupati Kumar Paras said, “There are six MPs in our party. It was the desire of five MPs to save our party. So I have not split the party, I have saved it.”
Commenting on the role of Chirag Paswan in the party, Paras, who is the youngest brother of Ram Vilas Paswan, said, “Chirag is my nephew as well as the party’s national president. I have no issues with him.”
Paras also praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said, “Nitish Kumar is a good leader and Vikas Purush (development man).”
He further stated that the LJP will be with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as it was the wish of his late brother.
Paras also urged the leaders who had left the party after the demise of his elder brother to return to LJP, alleging that some people had “overtaken” the party after the death of Ram Vilas Paswan.
Besides Paras, Chirag’s cousin Prince Raj, Mahmood Ali Kaiser, Veena Devi and Chandan Singh are among the rebel MPs.
Following the drama, Chirag drove to his uncle’s house for talks, but stayed in his car. Even Paras did not come out to greet him either. He came out of the house an hour later.
Chirag had decided to contest the Bihar elections without any alliance. After the decision, the ruling Janata Dal-United in Bihar received a massive blow as it lost on several seats due to the triangular contests.
Chirag had led an aggressive campaign in Bihar and had questioned Nitish Kumar’s governance model in the state.
This came after the new coalition government, headed by Bennett and Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid (Future) party, was approved by the parliament, or Knesset…reports Asian Lite News
Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina (United Right) party, was sworn in as new Israeli prime minister on Sunday night, sending Benjamin Netanyahu to the opposition after a record 12-year rule.
This came after the new coalition government, headed by Bennett and Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid (Future) party, was approved by the parliament, or Knesset, in a vote of confidence, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the vote of confidence held in the parliament earlier, 60 lawmakers of the 120-member chamber voted in favour of the new government while 59 voted against it.
TV footages of the parliament session showed Bennett and Lapid taking their new seats at the coalition seats in the parliament, while Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, moved to the back seats of the opposition.
At the same time, the 27 new ministers of the new governing coalition were also sworn in.
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) June 13, 2021
Bennett and Lapid will rotate as the prime minister on a two-year base, with Bennett going first. Lapid will serve as Israel’s alternate prime minister and foreign minister.
Israel’s parliament on Sunday night also elected Mickey Levy, a lawmaker with Yesh Atid, as its new speaker.
The new coalition includes eight parties, including the Islamist Ra’am party, the first Arab faction to be included in a governing coalition in Israel.
Thousands of Israelis gathered on Rabin Square in central Tel Aviv on Sunday night to celebrate the end of Netanyahu’s rule.
The forming of the new coalition government has ended a political crisis in Israeli, that has seen four elections in two years.
The list of international references that gave the country a high-level classification in tolerance and coexistence indicators included the IMD Business School…reports Asian Lite News
The UAE was ranked among the top 20 countries in the world in eight indexes of competitiveness related to tolerance and coexistence during 2020, according to data issued by three of the major international references specialised in competitiveness.
This means that the country has succeeded in achieving global leadership levels in this field, exceeding the targets set in the “UAE Vision 2021”.
The list of international references that gave the country a high-level classification in tolerance and coexistence indicators included the IMD Business School, the Legatum Institute, and INSEAD, according to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.
In the annual reports for 2020, the UAE ranked fourth in the tolerance with foreigners index according to the report of the Global Talent Competitiveness Index issues by INSEAD, while it was ranked ninth in the same index in Legatum Prosperity Index.
The UAE was ranked fifth globally in the Globalisation Attitudes Index in both the IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking and in the World Competitiveness Yearbook.
The UAE ranked seventh in the Social Cohesion Index according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook and 11th in the Tolerance of Minorities Index according to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index report. The World Competitiveness Yearbook also ranked it 11th in the Resilience and Adaptation Index.
On the state’s social responsibility towards citizens and residents, the UAE ranked 12th in the world according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook.
In July 2015, a decree was issued to combat discrimination and hatred aimed at enriching global tolerance and confronting manifestations of discrimination and racism of whatever nature, ethnic, religious or cultural.
In 2016, the UAE Cabinet approved the National Tolerance Programme, which aims to enrich the culture of tolerance and confront manifestations of discrimination and racism through a solid legal system for an environment of coexistence, acceptance and tolerance.
Over the past years, the UAE has achieved a pioneering network of international partnerships in tolerance and coexistence aimed at building capacities, preventing violence and combating terrorism and crime, and has strengthened it with platforms for international dialogue between religions and cultures.
According to the prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh as cited by the media, the documents could not be passed to the defence due to third party privacy concerns….reports Asian Lite News
The prosecution counsel in the corruption trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been criticised by the Jerusalem District Court for not passing case files to the defence counsel, the Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.
According to the prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh as cited by the media, the documents could not be passed to the defence due to third party privacy concerns. However, Judge Rivkah Friedman-Feldman found the justification insufficient and said the prosecution had lost the defence’s confidence in its vetting process.
Meanwhile, the defence counsel needs the requested documents to prove that Walla communications CEO Ilan Yeshua intervened with news coverage to support other politicians and power-brokers, and not just to clear Netanyahu of corruption allegations.
Netanyahu has been under investigation on suspicion of using government powers to manipulate media coverage and taking expensive gifts from billionaire friends.
In the court proceedings, several disputes have ensued between the prosecution and defence counsel over the transfer of necessary documents. Last year, the state prosecution turned over six new documents to Netanyahu’s defence team, claiming that it previously didn’t know the documents existed. (ANI/Sputnik)
J.P. Nadda needs to ensure that members of his party do not proceed to the police station but reach out for a conversation with individuals with whose views they disagree, writes Prof. Madhav Nalapat
Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao initiated the “Look East” policy in 1991, which anticipated the quantum increases in trade that occurred afterwards. Not just for India but for the world, the Indo-Pacific became the focal point of global growth, overtaking the Atlantic. Despite, or perhaps because of his skill in navigating India away from the Brezhnevite economic policies of the past, those who most destructively targeted Rao were from his own party, who functioned in the cool shade of approval of Sonia Gandhi, who soon grew to dislike the Prime Minister for reasons that must await an accurate biography of the lady who occupied the centre-stage of Indian politics for nearly two decades without holding any position within the Government of India.
The civil war within the Congress Party between those who favoured Rao and the others who thought Sonia should replace him ensured the defeat of the party in the 1996 Lok Sabha polls and the rise to the front rank of the BJP. It must be said about Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he never forgot the debt owed to Sonia for helping to ensure the end of the years of Congress Party Lok Sabha majorities, and was unfailingly kind to her. The “Look East” policy gained some traction, but sniping from an unsympathetic President Clinton and the reality of the size of the Indian economy being puny at the time stood in the way of any diplomatic or commercial breakthrough with Southeast Asia. Soon after he came to power as the head of the first government to have a BJP majority in the Lok Sabha in 2014, Narendra Modi conceptualised and carried into effect the “Act East” policy. At the same time, relations with the Middle East and the US were also made a priority.
“Act East” is an idea that was overdue. India and Indonesia, for example, are natural partners, and the MEA needs to take the initiative in getting the Quad to expand to Quad Plus, with the addition of Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. This will not be possible at first, but security agreements similar to those entered into between Washington and Delhi could be worked out individually with the three as a prelude to their coming on board in a Quad Plus. While the Quad will remain limited to four, the “Plus” would in time include France, Germany and the UK as well, thereby putting in place an alliance designed not to provoke a war but to prevent adventurous and expansionist powers from launching a conflict against any smaller country in the neighbourhood.
While the US will remain by far the bigger economy for a long period, India is unlikely to be replaced from its perch as the world’s most populous democracy. Universal suffrage was followed from the start, including the essentiality of equal rights to women. There have been significant transitions from a government to the other, and all have taken place peacefully, including in 1977, when a 2-year hiatus in democracy ended with the declaration of Lok Sabha polls. The result was less a reflection of the economic performance of the government headed by Indira Gandhi than it was a reaction to the denial of freedoms.
The people of India are proud of democracy and loyal to its concepts. Hence such judgments of the Supreme Court as the striking down of Victorian-era laws on lifestyles or diluting the draconian nature of the Information Technology Act that from its inception during the Vajpayee period began the period of reversal of the spectacular global growth of the industry in the period when everyday laws (which themselves are more than sufficient in numbers) and not special legislation was applied to the IT sector. To take another example, if the draconian legislation passed by the UPA after the Nirbhaya horror (where a perpetrator escaped a severe sentence on a technicality in a manner that would not have been possible in the US or many other countries) has worked in curbing such barbarism against women, the same is not evident. Such crimes remain, as does alcoholism in states that have enforced Prohibition in the belief that liquor or even dietary preferences can be altered through legislation speedily passed rather than through the slower but organic process of conscientisation.
The time will soon come when there will be more vegetarians in the US than in India, and not because of laws regulating diet either. Prime Minister Modi acted not a moment too soon in decriminalising some of what is legally criminal in India that is regarded as a civil dispute in other mature democracies. The late Ram Jethmalani as Law Minister sought to carry such a process forward, but soon afterwards, lost his portfolio in a reshuffle. It is time to complete the work that Ram initiated.
There has been enormous unflattering coverage of India in global media. It is understandable that media in the PRC trash the situation in the country, as the Chinese Communist Party seeks to show that democracy does not work, especially in a country of 1.4 billion people. What is unfortunate is that the mainstream press in democratic countries that are potential and existing allies of India are sometimes even more harsh in their assessments than even Chinese media. At their most charitable, the subtext of what they say in their columns is that India may look like a democracy, but does not act as a democracy.
That a friend for decades, Vinod Dua, had to go to the Supreme Court to get relief from the incomprehensible charge that he is guilty of “sedition” is what drives misperceptions causing the demonization of a democracy that is an essential partner in the battle against the global alliance between Extremism and Authoritarianism. The BJP has a capable and affable President in J.P. Nadda, and he needs to ensure that members of his party do not proceed to the police station but reach out for a conversation with individuals with whose views they disagree. A battle of opinions, of ideas, is normal and indeed central in a democracy. The rise of Narendra Modi from CM to PM was not stopped or even slowed down but was made certain by the barrage of ugly personal attacks made on him during each of his 13 years in the job. There is a lesson in this for the BJP.
Congress veteran K. Sudhakaran was on Tuesday appointed as the party’s new Kerala unit President.
“Rahul Gandhi called up and conveyed the news,” a beaming Sudhakaran told the media here.
“I see this as a huge responsibility and I accept the challenge and that is to bring back the Congress party in a big way. For this, I will seek the help and cooperation of all the leaders in our party and am sure I will be able to get their help and support,” he said.
Incumbent Mullapally Ramachandran had put in his papers after the party’s debacle in the April 6 Assembly polls.
Reacting to the news, senior leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said now that the decision has been made, all the Congress leaders and workers will abide by the high command’s decision and will work together with Sudhakaran.
The 73-year-old Sudhakaran has been a four-time legislator and is presently in his second term as Lok Sabha member from Kannur — the citadel of the CPI-M, and home of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
Known for his tirades against the CPI-M, he is seen as a Congress leader that the CPI-M dreads.
His battle with the CPI-M has become a byword in Kannur and the scene gets enlivened when the well-built Sudhakaran arrives at any place where there is a commotion between CPI-M and Congress cadres. There are also plenty of videos showing him taking on the police force.
Known for keeping himself fit, Sudhakaran daily spends more than an hour working out at his personal gym.
Meanwhile, a Congress statement in Delhi said that Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi had appointed Sudhakaran as state chief and MP K. Suresh and MLAs P.T. Thomas and T. Siddique as Working Presidents.
The changes comes after the party panel, set to analyse the party’s debacle in recently-concluded elections in five states, submitted its report to the Congress President, highlighting infighting, factionalism and flaws in candidate selection were the main reasons for the party’s defeat.
The committee, headed by Ashok Chavan and members including Salman Khurshid, Manish Tewari, Vincent Pala and Jothi Mani, said said that no state was untouched with the infighting while Kerala was the top, with two groups led by Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala at loggerheads
A media critic, speaking on condition of anonymity, contended that said under normal circumstances, Sudhakaran might be a wrong choice to lead the otherwise sober grand old party.
“But today the situation is different, as the party is at its lowest ebb and when Congressmen across the state were expecting to ride to victory in the April 6 Assembly polls, the party ended at the receiving end, humbled by Vijayan, who wrote himself into record books by retaining power.
“The party is passing through its worst times and the grassroots of the party appears to have vanished. If the party has to at least put up a fight, then there is none better than Sudhakaran, who can really pump in the much needed adrenalin to motivate the cadres. He is the one person who has taken the battle into the CPI-M camp for long and that in itself is his advantage and disadvantage because, if he does not maintain calm at crucial situations, he might be a liability more than an asset,” said the critic.
One reason why the party high command, despite knowing what stuff Sudhakaran is made of, decided to go for him is that they have realised that the formidable factions in the party led by Chandy and Chennithala have to be reined in. Even after Chennithala was seen as the first choice for a second term as Leader of Opposition, the leadership brought in V.D. Satheesan and hence, it was more or less clear that Sudhakaran might get the nod.
If Sudhakaran’s battlefield was hitherto Kannur, the scene is all set for a change as he moves to the state capital to take on his arch rival, the all powerful Chief Minister Vijayan, who very well knows that Sudhakaran is no push-over.
As part of rebuilding the Congress by bringing in new faces, the high command first brought in Satheesan, and now Sudhakaran. Now, all eyes are on to see who the new UDF Convenor will be. While no-nonsense veteran Congress legislator Thomas was a contender, he has been named a Working President.
The two candidates were essentially tied, with polls giving Fujimori the narrowest of leads with 50.3 per cent to Castillo’s 49.7 per cent…reports Asian Lite News
Marxist village schoolteacher Pedro Castillo and right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori were neck-and-neck in second round of Peru’s presidential election, according to exit polls.
The two candidates were essentially tied, with polls giving Fujimori the narrowest of leads with 50.3 per cent to Castillo’s 49.7 per cent, the newspaper El Comercio reported, highlighting that the exit polls by Ipsos had a 3 per-cent margin of error.
After casting her vote on Sunday , Fujimori tweeted that she had “a lot of hope and belief that we can make it”, reports dpa news agency
More than 25 million Peruvians were called on to vote in the election.
Castillo wants to build a socialist state, tighten control of the media and abolish the constitutional court if he wins.
Fujimori, who in case of victory plans to pardon her father, former authoritarian President Alberto Fujimori, stands for a neo-liberal economic policy and a hard-line security strategy.
In recent years, she has been remanded in custody several times and could face a long prison sentence in an ongoing corruption trial.
Alberto Fujimori is serving a 25-year prison sentence for serious human rights violations.
During his 10 years in office, he had security forces take rigorous action against leftist and allegedly subversive forces, and Parliament was stripped of its power.
Tens of thousands of indigenous women were also forcibly sterilised.
Although Castillo and Fujimori represent opposite extremes on the political scale, they are not far apart in their socio-political views.
Both represent a conservative image of the family and are against same-sex marriage and abortion, as well as focus on the exploitation of natural resources and do not attach great importance to the protection of the environment and human rights.
Whoever wins will face enormous challenges.
Peru is suffering particularly badly from the coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the countries with the highest mortality rate in the world, and its economy also collapsed by 12.9 per cent last year.
In addition, splinter groups of the guerrilla organization Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) are still active in the country’s interior.
Two weeks ago, rebels killed 16 people and called for a boycott of the election. However, according to the electoral office, things initially remained quiet on Sunday.
Political turmoil has also marked the past year, as the Congress was locked in a bitter conflict with the government.
Parliamentarians first forced president Martin Vizcarra out of office, and then his successor, Manuel Merino, threw in the towel after fierce protests.
Interim President Francisco Sagasti has been in charge meanwhile.
