Kejriwal’s battle for Varanasi is to oppose Modi, defeat Congress

By Jai Mrug

As the media followed the ink attack on Kejriwal in Varanasi, it again looked like a fight between David and Goliath. Even by the most optimistic estimates David might not win this battle. So why the contest ? Why should Kerjriwal spend his time in a contest in Varanasi when he has so much to be gained by campaigning across the country and the AAP seems challenged in its home base of Delhi. Often you have to lose a battle to win the war, and that is exactly what Kejriwal is doing. So the battle is for Varanasi , the war is not.

Flashback to November 2013 - the battle between Sheila Dikshit and Arving Kejriwal. By positioning himself as an opponent "itching for a combat" with Sheila Dikshit, he eventually positioned himself as the other pillar of Delhi politics, giving the BJP a run for its money. So what does Kejriwal seek to obtain out of the battle in Varanasi ? Does he hope to displace the BJP completely now? Not quite. The actual competition is to occupy the space that the Congress is soon vacating. In 2014 the Congress is expected to sink to a historically low tally. The shrinking footprint of the Congress may soon incapacitate it from emerging even as a strong regional alternative to the BJP. So for an opponent of the Congress the key lies in how he accelerates this decline or positions himself to make the most of a historic meltdown. It can be done by taking away some of the most committed voters of the party, that can push the party in a state of terminal decline. In this case the most committed voters of the Congress have been minorities, and Kejriwal needs to signal to them. The battle is not therefore to give Modi a fight but to ensure that the most entrenched Congress voter knows he is the next best suitor for them.

And so does that mean, Kejriwal has nothing to gain in this election from this contest? Quite the opposite. The anti- Modi qualifier has quite the possibility of pushing many minorities into the arms of the AAP, and a sizeable movement on the ground already seems to have started. In UP, the AAP has worked hard to wean away minority voters. To cite a couple of examples it has fielded a MPLB (Muslim Personal Law board) member, Maulana Kalbe Rushaid, from Amroha, a veteran leader, Mahmood Husain Rehmani, an eye surgeon from Kanpur, and a veteran contestant (Dabre Alam) from Padrauna. Not to mention of Shazia Ilmi from Ghaziabad. A groundswell of minority support across these and other seats could produce a windfall for the AAP and that is what Kejriwal seeks. Arvind Kejriwal is not fighting a battle to win Varanasi, but to ensure this windfall , not just in Uttar Pradesh but outside too. Apart from this election, such gains will help accelerate the movement of other social blocs towards the AAP post election.

Arvind Kejriwal during his visit to Varansi. PTI

Reports from the ground now suggest a movement of minorities towards the AAP in cities like Mumbai and smaller towns like Jaipur, a movement through which the AAP can ensure long term and sustainable damage to the Congress. In Mumbai North-East, Medha Patkar has quite made the fight triangular by weaning away minorities from the Congress support base. Mumbai South, from where Meera Sanyal is testing the waters, has two assembly segments that are minority dominant. Minorities in this seat could be a game changer as much as they could be in Mumbai North-West where Mayank Gandhi of AAP is trying his luck.

The AAP ideologically can seek to displace only the Congress and occupy the space that is being vacated by the Left and Left of Centre forces. Its techniques of fasting and non-violence are the very same techniques that were deployed by Mahatma Gandhi to harness the anti- establishment sentiment. However coincidental it may sound, Kejriwal is a practitioner of Vippasana, that has its roots in Buddhism. The Theosophical Society, the ideological predecessor of the Congress, was seen as a quasi Buddhist movement in the 19th Century, preaching tenets of universal brotherhood like Buddhism. It is therefore in some way not a surprise that the two seek to occupy the same constituency. As the Congress vacates the Left of Centre space , the AAP seeks to quickly occupy the same.

What is unique about the Aam Admi Party is that it is seeking to dismember the Congress base by poaching on one of its most fundamental constituents – the minorities, something no other party with a national foot print has worked on in a way as systematic as the Aam Admi Party. Close to a quarter of the AAP candidates in UP are Muslims.

The Battle for Varanasi is thus not the fight against Modi. The subtext is the AAP readying its long term strategy to ultimately replace the Congress as the other pole in Indian politics. Strange as it may sound, it does not need to take pot shots at the Congress for the same.

If elected, BJP may adopt the Gujarat farm model

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would, if elected, roll out a programme to boost farm efficiency that its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, has championed in his home state of Gujarat.

India's main opposition party, which opinion polls show winning the most seats in a general election, is pushing a range of market reforms to differentiate it from the Congress-led government's focus on subsidies.

Narendra Modi. AFP.

"A market-centric policy would make the promotion of self-reliance a top priority," said one senior source in the BJP, which hopes to win the five-week election starting on 7 April after a decade in opposition.

A national roll out of a policy based on Gujarat's Soil Health Card scheme could be a centerpiece of policies aimed at improving farming practices and boosting productivity in a sector that accounts for 14 percent of economic output.

While no decisions have been taken, a BJP-led government may also review the possibility of allowing genetically modified crops into the food chain. Under Modi, Gujarat has promoted the cultivation of Bt cotton, a genetically modified strain developed by Monsanto that produces its own insecticide.

India has achieved self-sufficiency in grain production, with the introduction of high-yielding Mexican wheat varieties helping to bring about the Green Revolution of the late 1960s.

But low productivity continues to be a major barrier to growth for farming in India, a leading producer of rice, wheat, sugar, soybeans and cotton.

The source also said the party would not aggressively seek foreign investment, but rather promote so-called public-private partnerships in areas such as irrigation and the construction of storage facilities.

India's monsoon-dependent economy lacks irrigation on more than half of its arable land, while warehousing shortages have resulted in huge wastage of wheat surpluses produced in recent bumper harvests.

Gujarat Model

The BJP has trumpeted Modi's record as chief minister in Gujarat, where farm output has grown on average at an annual rate of 6 percent over the past three years - about a percentage point higher than the national average.

"The new regime may replicate the successful Soil Health Card scheme of the Gujarat government on the national canvas," said Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, the head of the BJP's Good Governance Cell, a policy unit.

As the chief minister of Gujarat, Modi led a drive to issue soil health cards in order to ensure that farmers use proper methods.

The cards are issued after the soil is tested for properties such as productivity, mineral mix, water capacity and salinity.

They also contain information on what types of pesticides, fertilisers and seeds, and how much water should be used to improve productivity, said Sudhir Panwar, president of Kishan Jagriti Manch, a farmers' lobby group.

Panwar said these cards better guide a tiller to adopt new practices on the basis of soil conditions.

"The soil card will promote opportunities for integrated input manufacturers to sell fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides to growers," said YK Alagh, former chairman of the Institute of Rural Management.

Reuters

How caste equations could undo Rajnath Singh in Lucknow

While prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi picked Varanasi as his constituency, party president Rajnath Singh picked the equally symbolic seat of Lucknow for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However he could face a somewhat uphill battle if a caste alliance backing him wavers.

Singh, from the Thakur community, is someone the Brahmin community in Uttar Pradesh reportedly isn't taking too kindly to, especially given the fear that he may be the compromise prime ministerial candidate in the event that Modi is deemed unacceptable to potential alliance partners.

While the Thakur community dismisses this as conjecture, a Business Standard report quoted unnamed political observers as saying that distrust from the Brahmin community could make Lucknow a closer contest than Singh would like.

Rajnath Singh with Lalji Tandon in Lucknow. PTI

Singh has traditionally never enjoyed the backing of the Brahmin community in the state ever since he was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and at the time faced attempts by community leaders to unseat him.

BJP officials have also claimed in the past that Singh has been increasing the number of Thakur community members in the party, particularly former bureaucrats and leaders, in order to increase his influence. Among them include former Army chief VK Singh, ex-home secretary RK Singh and former Congress leader Jadambika Pal.

The Brahmin community is widely expected to stand behind the BJP and constitutes around 15 percent of the population in Uttar Pradesh. But the fact that the Muslim community constitutes around 30 percent in the seat, and he isn't certain of their vote, means Singh would need to ensure the Brahmin community stands firmly behind him during the poll.

It doesn't help that all his major opponents, from the Congress and BSP, are from the Brahmin community and the Samajwadi Party also strengthened its candidate from the seat to make his path to the Lok Sabha tougher. The Samajwadi Party changed its candidate to Akhilesh Mishra, an aide of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, in order to present Singh a stronger challenge.

The law of averages isn't in favour of the BJP president either. A Times of India report points out that a non-Brahmin candidate has won only during three elections in all the elections since 1951.

Singh brought up the legacy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a  five time MP from the city, multiple times while announcing his candidature from Lucknow but the BJP stalwart was also from the Brahmin community.

The man he displaced to contest from the constituency, Lalji Tandon, is one of just three non-Brahmin candidates to win from the seat and was seen as being closer to Vajpayee than Singh is.

Expectedly, despite having a relatively secure seat, Singh isn't backing on the traditional vote bank to take him to victory. As a Firstpost report pointed out, Singh is also reaching out backward castes and the Muslim community to secure his victory not only for him but other seats in the state as well.

"It is not only in Lucknow but in at least a dozen seats that this combination can affect the result," a former Lucknow president of the BJP had told Firstpost. 

If it all falls in place, Rajnath Singh may not only ensure a better tally for the BJP but could also cement his position as the second in line after the party's prime ministerial candidate.

Foul language on Modi started with Sonia’s Maut Ka Saudagar: Jaitley

New Delhi: BJP leader Arun Jaitley Friday accused the Congress of using inappropriate language, saying that it started with Sonia Gandhi's "Maut Ka Saudagar" comment on prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Jaitley said this in his blog after Imran Masood, the Congress candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat, said Modi will be chopped into pieces.

Arun Jaitley. PTI

"This is not an isolated case of an unacceptable attack on Narendra Modi. Sonia Gandhi, Lalu Prasad, Digvijaya Singh, Mani Shankar Aiyar have all led attacks on Modi in improper language. It started with Sonia Gandhi's words 'Maut Ka Saudagar'," Jaitley said.

"The mindset behind these attacks being made in unacceptable language is that an abuse on Modi is an expression of aggressive secularism.

"Abuse on Modi has now graduated to intimidation. Those who indulged in these tactics were rejected in Gujarat. The Congress has got desperate at the centre in anticipation of defeat. Such tactics are not likely to work," he said.

Masood was seen saying in a video, "I will chop Modi into small pieces", which has gone viral online.

IANS

LS polls: Won’t minimise importance of AAP, says Deve Gowda

Bangalore: Former Prime Minister and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda today said he will not minimise the importance of Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"I'm not going to minimise the importance of Aam Aadmi Party, whether they are going to win ten seats, five seats, twenty seats...," Gowda told reporters here in response to a question on CP1-M leader Sitaram Yechury's comment regarding AAP joining the third front.

HD Deve Gowda. AFP

He said "Aam Aadmi Party has come up with young leaders who want to fight against corruption in the Parliament, their voice will be there..."

Stating that no government can suppress the voice of those fighting against corruption, he said, "corruption is a major issue, if you even take a unanimous decision to throw them out of the house- the people outside, specially youngsters will come together to fight it out."

Yechury had on Wednesday said it was up to AAP to decide whether it would join the Left and other secular forces, but it could be decided only after the elections.

Speaking about BJP and Congress Gowda said, "...as far as Karnataka is concerned, BJP leaders have come to the conclusion that only Narendra Modi's charm will bring them about 23 seats; on the other side, Chief Minister is also claiming that he will not allow even a single seat for JDS."

" ...people of this country including the state of Karnataka are watching all these, they have political maturity, and they will give their verdict. Please wait till May 16 until counting is over to see what will happen," he added.

PTI

Amarinder Singh has foot in mouth problem: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: After Capt Amarinder Singh's "160-member club" jibe at him, BJP leader Arun Jaitley hit back, saying Congress may be reduced to a club of 75 after the elections and the former Punjab Chief Minister "certainly" will not be a part of it.

The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Singh are facing each other in Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency and have been involved in a verbal duel since Congress decided to field the former Punjab Chief Minister against Jaitley.

Arun Jaitley. AFP

"The Captain has a foot in mouth problem. The Captain is a disgruntled member of the Congress... Concern yourself at your own depleting fortunes. The Congress may be reduced to a club of 75 in the next Lok Sabha. You certainly will not be a part of that Club-75," Jaitley wrote on his blog.

Singh had accused Jaitley of secretly nursing the ambition of becoming the Prime Minister, claiming that he was working to keep BJP within the tally of 160 seats to queer the pitch for prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Taking a jibe, Jaitley said Singh is concerned about people in BJP being anti-Narendra Modi. "Thank you, Captain sahib for your concern for Modi," he said, asking him to keep his concerns for his party.

PTI

The NYT’s Modiphobia: bias masquerading as fact

By Sandeep Balakrishna

As several commentators have observed, the campaign for the 2014 general elections began almost immediately after Narendra Modi's 2012 third consecutive electoral victory in Gujarat. With it, the media coverage on Modi only intensified. And that includes international media as well.

For the most part since India attained independence, it has not been really an object of high interest in the western media – and especially the American media. And when there was some interest, the coverage was mostly perfunctory, if not slightly biased. One cannot discount the possibility that Nehru's conscious rebuffing of at least two US presidents had a role to play in strengthening this disinterest/bias. And then Indira Gandhi took this rebuffing to a new level, which led to a near-closure of access to western journalists reporting on India. Besides, interest in India waned significantly after the country consciously chose socialism and made all the wrong economic choices.

Associated Press

By the mid-1980s, as Koenraad Elst mentions in his seminal Decolonizing the Hindu Mind, an India stint was not really high on the list of any western media major's journalists. At one time, an India stint was the equivalent of a "punishment posting". Western journalists posted here would typically spend most of their time in Delhi and undertake little field work even on crucial, burning issues. They would content themselves with inputs from their Indian counterparts who themselves belonged to a power elite and had their own blind-spots.

There's really no other way of putting this. Most of our Delhi-based journalists have had a track record of fawning over these "punishment posting" western journalists. Perhaps the elevation of William Dalrymple to some sort of a cult status in Indian journalistic and writing circles best exemplifies this phenomenon, as explained so powerfully by Hartosh Singh Bal. Foreign reporters stationed here churned out reportage and analyses based precisely on such biased inputs with predictable consequences: a distorted coverage of India in the West, which in turn influences the perception of India in their respective countries. Of course, this phenomenon has been on the decline in recent years with greater penetration of the Internet, both in India and abroad, but it still persists.

Today, in a vastly changed geopolitical situation, Western – more, specifically, America's - interest in India has noticeably increased. Yet a few things have remained the same. The same biased reportage still exists among Indian media houses, with our English TV channels leading the charge. And the same fawning-over-western-journalists syndrome continues to persist. And here's where we get to notice that there's another side to western reportage of India.

Enter the New York Times.

Of all the adjectives one could apply to the NYT, "venerable" is certainly not one of them. "Veteran" maybe. "Liberal," definitely, as NYT public editor Margaret Sullivan confessed last year, qualifying that her paper's liberalism was "nuanced." So it is worth examining exactly how well it has adhered to its self-confessed nuanced liberalism. But, more fundamentally, how well has it adhered to what we can consider reasonable standards by which one can judge the NYT - or any media house: factuality, fairness, and objectivity?

A survey of 11 pieces covering mostly political themes - both reportage and opeds - reveals the fact that they are characterised by an undisguised undertone of what in India has become infamous as the 'pseudo-secularist discourse.

A 2011 piece by Manu Joseph doesn't even make any pretense at objectivity: it is a straight out personal attack on Sri Sri Ravishankar and even Rabindranath Tagore, for good measure. It is nobody's case that anybody should be above scrutiny but that scrutiny must be based purely on facts, not personal likes or dislikes.

An even older report by Somini Sengupta claims that Hindu outfits' opposition to missionary conversions was what led to Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati's murder in Kandhamal. However, she omits mentioning the social and cultural havoc that conversions in the tribal areas of Odisha have caused. More crucially, she fails to mention the evangelism-caused horrors set out in vast detail in the Niyogi Commission Report on conversions, a government document. Also, Arun Shourie's 1999 investigative essay provides the complete picture of the kind of consequences that unbridled conversions have wreaked in that tribal state.

This then is a mere sample of NYT's India reportage. But it gets interesting when we examine its record of covering the BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi. Here, the NYT seems to have adopted a template: nothing that Modi says or does should be shown for what it is except in a negative light. And so this templated approach to Modi coverage is hinged on one or several or all of these:

-          Accused of presiding over the 2002 communal riots which left more than 1,000 killed, majority of them Muslims

-          The Supreme Court appointed SIT has cleared him of all charges but...

-          His popularity has risen over the years but he remains a polarising and deeply divisive figure

-          Muslims don't trust him

-          He is authoritarian, is described as a fascist, and thrives on hate

-          His model of Gujarat's economic development is flawed

-          He encourages only big industrialists and has largely ignored the SME sector

Of the 11 stories surveyed, pick any of the seven pieces (linked above) dedicated to covering Modi: these are the common threads around which the coverage is woven. Of course, a leader who is eyeing the Prime Minister's chair needs to be deeply, ruthlessly and critically scrutinised. His/her flaws along with the good points need to be examined and exposed, and Modi should be no exception to this. But, has the NYT done this?

Worse, the author of most of these pieces, Gardiner Harris, has gone on to make what can only call wild accusations. In at least two pieces, he claims that Modi has been "linked with a secret police assassination squad" that "mostly" targets Muslims. This is not journalism by any standard - to put it bluntly, it is the journalistic equivalent of a hit job.

And if that was not enough, the NYT has fudged facts not once but thrice. A 2013 editorial had claimed that Muslims were poorer in Gujarat compared to elsewhere in India, a lie that several people in social media quickly called out, forcing the NYT to publish a corrigendum.

The self-same Gardiner Harris had also claimed that the Muzaffarnagar riots were triggered after Modi was announced as the PM candidate whereas the riots had begun much earlier than 13 September 2013. In yet another piece by Gardiner Harris again, the NYT issued yet another corrigendum for overstating "what is known about a 2002 train fire in Gujarat state."

Once is a mistake. Twice raises doubts about competence. Thrice raises suspicions about integrity. It is impossible to believe that a global media giant like the NYT can consistently get facts available in the public domain wrong three times. And this, apart from that secret police assassination squad bit.

And our own journalists too must partake in the sin of journalism of this sort because these pieces acknowledge the contributed reporting from their Indian counterparts. These counterparts, who could have pointed out what I have done, once they'd seen the final copy.

Among others, it was the New York Times which had once led a campaign against what it termed was yellow journalism practised by Hearst's New York Journal. An apocryphal instruction that Hearst gave his artist, Remington goes "you furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war." The NYT of today seems to have followed the textual equivalent of this instruction in the case of Narendra Modi.

In the end, this is much less about Narendra Modi than about the New York Times, which seems to be on a single-minded mission to demonise him even if that means throwing some simple journalistic ethics to the wind. The NYT is certainly entitled to be biased against Narendra Modi but it needs to at least keep up the pretence of fairness in exercising its bias.

And so, one is forced to conclude that at the root of it, it's really not bias at work here but an irrational fear of Narendra Modi. Modiphobia, in short.

Uma Bharti won’t contest against Sonia in Rae Bareli, says BJP

New Delhi: BJP on Friday put an end to speculation that Uma Bharti could be fielded against Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli after the firebrand leader asserted that she "cannot leave my Jhansi" from where she has already been nominated.

"As far as Uma Bharti is concerned, she will contest from Jhansi," BJP spokesman Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

Uma Bharti. PTI

Trivedi said candidates for Rae Bareli as well as Amethi, where Rahul Gandhi is contesting, are yet to be finalised.

There was speculation that the party was considering fielding Bharti, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, from Rae Bareli against Gandhi. The speculation gathered momentum after Yoga guru Ramdev suggested it two days back.

The party cleared the air after Bharti herself asserted that she would not leave Jhansi where she has begun campaigning.

"I am thankful to Baba Ramdev for the proposal. But I cannot leave my Jhansi," Bharti said. She conveyed the decision to party chief Rajnath Singh.

At the same time, she said she was ready to respect the party decision and contest from Rae Bareli in addition to Jhansi if the leadership wanted.

"If party says I will constest from Rae Bareli also," she said.

PTI

Cong candidate in UP Imran Masood threatens to ‘chop Modi into pieces’

Saharnapur/New Delhi: Saharanpur Congress candidate Imran Masood has stirred up a controversy by threatening to "chop Narendra Modi into pieces", inviting sharp criticism from BJP which termed the remark as "inflammatory" and sought strict action by the Election Commission.

The video, which has gone viral on the web, shows Masood attacking the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate during an election rally in Saharanpur, saying he will "chop him into pieces".

As the matter came to light, a case has been registered against Masood at Devbad police station in the district.

Congress candidate Imran Masood. YouTube screengrab.

"If Modi tries to make Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat, then we will chop him into tiny pieces...I am not scared of getting killed or attacking someone. I will fight against Modi. He thinks UP is Gujarat. Only 4 percent Muslims are there in Gujarat while there are 42 percent Muslims in UP," he said.

However, he later apologised for his remarks, saying "I should have been more cautious with my words" and that the same were said in the heat of electioneering.

Saharanpur District Magistrate as well as District Election Officer Sandhya Tiwari said a CD with the recordings of Masood's statement had been received by them which has been forwarded to the Election Commission.

Masood has been booked under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, district authorities said.

BJP condemned Masood's remarks and asked the Election Commission to take strict note of it while also ensuring the safety and security of all its leaders including Modi.

BJP will make an official complaint with the EC on Saturday and a high-level delegation of the party will meet top poll officials in Delhi seeking strong action against Masood's remarks that it says vitiates the atmosphere.

"BJP strongly condemns Imran Masood's statement and we are going to approach the Election Commission by lodging a formal complaint with it," BJP Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters in New Delhi.

BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged that political secularism is being converted into "Talibani secularism" and the kind of language used by Congress leaders is vitiating the atmosphere of elections.

"The Election Commission should take immediate note of it and instruct the state and central governments regarding the serious threat to Modi and other BJP leaders," he said, adding that Congress leaders are indulging in such inflammatory speeches in view of the clear defeat facing them.

He said a high-level delegation of BJP will meet the EC and ask for strong action against the use of such type of language that disturbs communal harmony.

Trivedi said such types of statements not just vitiate the atmosphere but are also against the Model Code of Conduct.

"Election time is very sensitive time. The Centre has a crucial role to play in ensuring safety and security of all candidates, including Narendra Modi," he said.

Naqvi said this is not the first time Congress leaders are indulging in use of such language as they indulge in giving such type of inflammatory speeches in every election to disturb the peaceful atmosphere and add poison to it.

PTI

AAP names 35 candidates; totals 385 for 545 seats in the Lok Sabha

The AAP Friday named 35 more people contesting the Lok Sabha polls, fielding former BJP leader Kanubhai Kalasariya from Bhavnagar in Gujarat.

AAP supporters. AFP.

The Aam Aadmi Party said nine of the candidates will contest in Andhra Pradesh, four in Bihar, eight in Gujarat, three in Punjab, two in Rajasthan and nine in Rajasthan.

With the release of its 12th list, the AAP has so far announced a total of 385 candidates for the 545-seat Lok Sabha.

The party had recently declared 26 candidates for 10 states and one union territory — Bihar (6), Tamil Nadu (8), Uttar Pradesh (4),and one each for Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The list included Anti-nuclear activist SP Udayakumar who will be the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)candidate from Kanyakumari. A prior list included former CNN journalist Anita Pratap.

Khurshid hits out at Uttar Pradesh police over poll code violation case

Farukhabad (UP): Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday attacked Uttar Pradesh police for lodging a case of violation of model code of conduct against him, saying he would have taken the police team "hostage" as it had entered the premises without any warrant.

Congress leader Salman Khurshid. PTI

"Had I been present in the hospital, I would have got the policemen hostage for entering there without warrant," Khurshid told reporters in Farukhabad last night.

Khurshid said he was in Netherlands for Nuclear Security Summit when he received the information about the case and claimed that foreigners after seeing the news on Internet laughed at him.

"Police does not know the meaning of model code of conduct violation... It comes to force when election is effected... This case is example of autocratic attitude of police. The officers should tell whether there is rule of law in the country or not," he added.

The Union minister said he would register his complaint with the Election Commission against the attitude of the officers and alleged that all this was being done by them due to political pressure.

An FIR was registered here on 23 March against Khurshid and his two supporters after a vehicle, loaded with solar lights and some other material purportedly meant for distribution among villagers was caught.

On suspicion that the equipments were being brought here for distribution among the villagers, a case was lodged against Khurshid and his supporters Jaan Mohammad and Bablu.

It has also been mentioned in the FIR that some tricycles were recovered from a godown of a hospital in Nawabganj area which were meant for distribution.

Khurshid maintained that the distribution of tricycles was a routine exercise and not related to elections.

Asked to react on Khurshid's comments, Kanpur DIG RK Chaturvedi said, "No one is above law. We will prepare a CD about the statements of the minister against officer and take appropriate action".

Chaturvedi said that he would also inquire into similar cases registered against Khurshid and others in 2009 on which final report was filed.

The minister had yesterday also said that the registration of poll code violation case against him was "part of a conspiracy" and that he will challenge it in Supreme Court.

PTI

LS polls: District admin asks state for intelligence inputs, security

Varanasi: The district administration has requested the state government for Intelligence inputs and additional security forces in view of the sensitive nature of this VVIP parliamentary constituency.

"Since Varanasi is a sensitive area, we have requested the state government to share Intelligence inputs during the elections. It is not only a sacred religious centre for Hindus, but also for Buddhists. Sarnath also falls in Varansai and so does Jain shrines. We don't want to take any kind of risk," District Magistrate Pranjal Yadav, who is also the Electoral Officer here, told PTI.

Representational image. Reuters

The city also has a considerable Muslim population.

Currently, the district only has one Intelligence officer of a Deputy Superintendent rank in the state police. However, there is one IB office headed by a DIG rank officer here.

With high-profile leaders like Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal in the fray, security has become a major concern for authorities here. Incidentally, Uttar Pradesh Police nabbed two suspected Indian Mujahideen members possibly planning to strike at Modi's rallies.

"We have would need extra personnel for the elections. According to norms, one assembly segment gets five companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary or central forces. We have eight assembly segments. However, we would require more personnel during the elections.

"We have also demanded for door frame metal detectors from the state government and other security apparatus," Yadav said.

PTI

Cong candidate Imran Masood threatens to ‘chop Modi into pieces’

Saharnapur/New Delhi: Saharanpur Congress candidate Imran Masood has stirred up a controversy by threatening to "chop Narendra Modi into pieces", inviting sharp criticism from BJP which termed the remark as "inflammatory" and sought strict action by the Election Commission.

The video, which has gone viral on the web, shows Masood attacking the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate during an election rally in Saharanpur, saying he will "chop him into pieces".

As the matter came to light, a case has been registered against Masood at Devbad police station in the district.

Congress candidate Imran Masood. YouTube screengrab.

"If Modi tries to make Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat, then we will chop him into tiny pieces...I am not scared of getting killed or attacking someone. I will fight against Modi. He thinks UP is Gujarat. Only 4 percent Muslims are there in Gujarat while there are 42 percent Muslims in UP," he said.

However, he later apologised for his remarks, saying "I should have been more cautious with my words" and that the same were said in the heat of electioneering.

Saharanpur District Magistrate as well as District Election Officer Sandhya Tiwari said a CD with the recordings of Masood's statement had been received by them which has been forwarded to the Election Commission.

Masood has been booked under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, district authorities said.

BJP condemned Masood's remarks and asked the Election Commission to take strict note of it while also ensuring the safety and security of all its leaders including Modi.

BJP will make an official complaint with the EC on Saturday and a high-level delegation of the party will meet top poll officials in Delhi seeking strong action against Masood's remarks that it says vitiates the atmosphere.

"BJP strongly condemns Imran Masood's statement and we are going to approach the Election Commission by lodging a formal complaint with it," BJP Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters in New Delhi.

BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged that political secularism is being converted into "Talibani secularism" and the kind of language used by Congress leaders is vitiating the atmosphere of elections.

"The Election Commission should take immediate note of it and instruct the state and central governments regarding the serious threat to Modi and other BJP leaders," he said, adding that Congress leaders are indulging in such inflammatory speeches in view of the clear defeat facing them.

He said a high-level delegation of BJP will meet the EC and ask for strong action against the use of such type of language that disturbs communal harmony.

Trivedi said such types of statements not just vitiate the atmosphere but are also against the Model Code of Conduct.

"Election time is very sensitive time. The Centre has a crucial role to play in ensuring safety and security of all candidates, including Narendra Modi," he said.

Naqvi said this is not the first time Congress leaders are indulging in use of such language as they indulge in giving such type of inflammatory speeches in every election to disturb the peaceful atmosphere and add poison to it.

PTI

Plenty of entertainment but no Kollywood stars on campaign trail in TN

By Sreedhar Pillai

It's widely known how in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh star power can swing the voters. In both the states, politics and cinema have been hand in hand from the time of the legendary MGR and NTR. In fact, Tamil Nadu has been ruled by film-stars and persons connected with the Tamil film industry since the late 1960s.

So far, Tamil films have given five chief ministers to the state. The most famous of the lot is MG Ramachandran (MGR), a superstar who effortlessly crossed over from the big screen to politics. He ruled for 10 years without a break till his death in 1987.

The party is currently led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, a former movie star who acted with MGR in many films and inherited his legacy. DMK leader M Karunanidhi, a former scriptwriter and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa have taken turns to rule the state since 1989.

The new entrant to Tamil Nadu politics is the DMDK led by Vijayakanth. Vijayakanth and his party contested in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls in all 39 constituencies in the state, winning no seats, but got nearly 10 percent of the popular vote. The DMDK won 29 seats in the 2011 assembly election and became the official opposition party with Vijayakanth as the opposition leader. The action hero-turned-politician calls himself "black MGR" and is popularly known as "Captain".

Actor-politician Sharathkumar campaigns for the AIADMK. Firstpost image

For the Lok Sabha elections 2014, those fighting to get the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu are AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK chief M Karunanidhi and DMDK leader Vijayakanth - all from the Tamil film industry. So, it is only natural for many stars in Tamil cinema to have political ambitions. Popular stars draw crowds during election campaign, with some of them entertaining people with their fiery oratory and mimicry.

However, this time around, Kollywood is keeping an extremely low profile. No big star wants to rub Jayalalithaa the wrong way. Superstar Rajinikanth who had publicly asked his fans to vote out the then Jayalalithaa government in 1996, is keeping quiet. Today his film Kochadaiiyaan's satellite rights has been purchased by Jaya TV, and he will be doing promotions for the film on that channel. There was a buzz that Rajni will lend his voice in support of Narendra Modi, as they share a great rapport and have known each other for years. Now Rajinikanth himself has made it clear to his fans that he will not be supporting any party or candidate and will remain neutral during 2014 elections.

Kamal Haasan who ran into trouble last year when his Vishwaroopam was banned by the Jayalalithaa government, has always maintained that he is not interested in the rough and tumble of politics. In fact, the Tamil Nadu Election Commission (EC) has roped in the actor to campaign against cash for votes.

In a video made by EC, Kamal Haasan tells the voters: "Don't vote by comparing which leader is paying more. Think about in whose hands you are resting your future and vote for the deserving leader. Don't sell your future and self-respect for a pittance."

The current popular mass hero, Vijay, also ran into trouble last year with the state government at the time of release of his film Thalaivaa. Today he is shooting for his new action film Kaththi directed by AR Murgadoss in Hyderabad. Vijay has asked his fans, who had floated a semi political outfit Makkal Iyakkam, not to do anything that will rub political parties the wrong way.

It is clear that top actors are keeping away from active politics and are refusing to campaign or endorse any party in Tamil Nadu. Three years back during 2011 state assembly elections, the then top comedian Vadivel closely identified himself with DMK and campaigned for the party, which was routed.

After AIADMK came to power, the comedian, who then was at the peak of his career, found himself in the wilderness. Overnight, Vadivel found that no producer was willing to sign him up and he had to remain at home for nearly two years. Now the comedy star is trying to make a comeback to movies with Jagajala Pujabala Tenaliraman, after making it clear that he will not dabble in politics again.

In a star-push to its 2014 poll campaign, the ruling AIADMK has roped in an assortment of film and television personalities, who will tour Tamil Nadu and speak in support of the party in public meetings. The list included comedians Senthil, Gundu Kalyanam, Manobala, Ponnambalam, 'Vennira Aadai' Nirmala Vindhya, Kuyili, and Anandraj among others. However, none of them are A-listers.

Popular star Sarathkumar, MLA and president of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi, is also chief of the powerful South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He has started his state-wide campaign for AIADMK.

Meanwhile DMK's star campaigner Kushboo is yet to hit the campaign trail. She drew record crowds in 2011 assembly election, and was the party's spokesperson on English channels. As Kushboo's name didn't figure in the list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, it was said that she was unhappy with party top brass.

The buzz is that she is not in the good books of Stalin and has been kept away. However the actor tweeted: "I have highest regards 4 my Thalaivar @kalaignar89 ,#Perasariyar n @mkstalin n loads of respect 4 other party members, nothing can break us" . Later the DMK announced that Kushboo will start her campaign from 5 April and would tour the entire state.

The Tamil Nadu election campaign needs that extra bit of glamour to bring in the crowds. It is business as usual for look-alikes of yesteryear popular stars like MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. They stand beside the candidates when they go in their open jeeps and sing and dance to the tunes of old MGR hits. It is entertainment, entertainment and more entertainment for the crowds who throng election meetings in Tamil Nadu.

BJP will field strong candidates against Sonia, Rahul: Rajnath Singh

Lucknow: BJP National President Rajnath Singh today said his party would field strong candidates against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh.

"The party will field strong candidates against Sonia and Rahul. Party is discussing about many strong candidates to be fielded from Amethi and Raebareli," Singh said.

Rajnath Singh. Reuters

Asked about Congress Saharanpur candidate Imran Masood's statement against Narendra Modi, Singh said his statement showed his disappointment due to Modi's popularity.

"The statement shows disappointment of the Congress candidate as popularity of Modi is rising day by day," Singh said.

Singh, when asked about change in SP candidate from Lucknow, said "just wait and watch how the political party would changed its candidates from other places too".

Stating that he had always done politics of "humanity" and "justice", Singh said that due to this he always got support from every quarter.

PTI

Fear of Amma keeps Kollywood stars away from campaign trail in TN

By Sreedhar Pillai

It's widely known how in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh star power can swing the voters. In both the states, politics and cinema have been hand in hand from the time of the legendary MGR and NTR. In fact, Tamil Nadu has been ruled by film-stars and persons connected with the Tamil film industry since the late 1960s.

So far, Tamil films have given five chief ministers to the state. The most famous of the lot is MG Ramachandran (MGR), a superstar who effortlessly crossed over from the big screen to politics. He ruled for 10 years without a break till his death in 1987.

The party is currently led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, a former movie star who acted with MGR in many films and inherited his legacy. DMK leader M Karunanidhi, a former scriptwriter and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa have taken turns to rule the state since 1989.

The new entrant to Tamil Nadu politics is the DMDK led by Vijayakanth. Vijayakanth and his party contested in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls in all 39 constituencies in the state, winning no seats, but got nearly 10 percent of the popular vote. The DMDK won 29 seats in the 2011 assembly election and became the official opposition party with Vijayakanth as the opposition leader. The action hero-turned-politician calls himself "black MGR" and is popularly known as "Captain".

Actor-politician Sharathkumar campaigns for the AIADMK. Firstpost image

For the Lok Sabha elections 2014, those fighting to get the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu are AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK chief M Karunanidhi and DMDK leader Vijayakanth - all from the Tamil film industry. So, it is only natural for many stars in Tamil cinema to have political ambitions. Popular stars draw crowds during election campaign, with some of them entertaining people with their fiery oratory and mimicry.

However, this time around, Kollywood is keeping an extremely low profile. No big star wants to rub Jayalalithaa the wrong way. Superstar Rajinikanth who had publicly asked his fans to vote out the then Jayalalithaa government in 1996, is keeping quiet. Today his film Kochadaiiyaan's satellite rights has been purchased by Jaya TV, and he will be doing promotions for the film on that channel. There was a buzz that Rajni will lend his voice in support of Narendra Modi, as they share a great rapport and have known each other for years. Now Rajinikanth himself has made it clear to his fans that he will not be supporting any party or candidate and will remain neutral during 2014 elections.

Kamal Haasan who ran into trouble last year when his Vishwaroopam was banned by the Jayalalithaa government, has always maintained that he is not interested in the rough and tumble of politics. In fact, the Tamil Nadu Election Commission (EC) has roped in the actor to campaign against cash for votes.

In a video made by EC, Kamal Haasan tells the voters: "Don't vote by comparing which leader is paying more. Think about in whose hands you are resting your future and vote for the deserving leader. Don't sell your future and self-respect for a pittance."

The current popular mass hero, Vijay, also ran into trouble last year with the state government at the time of release of his film Thalaivaa. Today he is shooting for his new action film Kaththi directed by AR Murgadoss in Hyderabad. Vijay has asked his fans, who had floated a semi political outfit Makkal Iyakkam, not to do anything that will rub political parties the wrong way.

It is clear that top actors are keeping away from active politics and are refusing to campaign or endorse any party in Tamil Nadu. Three years back during 2011 state assembly elections, the then top comedian Vadivel closely identified himself with DMK and campaigned for the party, which was routed.

After AIADMK came to power, the comedian, who then was at the peak of his career, found himself in the wilderness. Overnight, Vadivel found that no producer was willing to sign him up and he had to remain at home for nearly two years. Now the comedy star is trying to make a comeback to movies with Jagajala Pujabala Tenaliraman, after making it clear that he will not dabble in politics again.

In a star-push to its 2014 poll campaign, the ruling AIADMK has roped in an assortment of film and television personalities, who will tour Tamil Nadu and speak in support of the party in public meetings. The list included comedians Senthil, Gundu Kalyanam, Manobala, Ponnambalam, 'Vennira Aadai' Nirmala Vindhya, Kuyili, and Anandraj among others. However, none of them are A-listers.

Popular star Sarathkumar, MLA and president of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi, is also chief of the powerful South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He has started his state-wide campaign for AIADMK.

Meanwhile DMK's star campaigner Kushboo is yet to hit the campaign trail. She drew record crowds in 2011 assembly election, and was the party's spokesperson on English channels. As Kushboo's name didn't figure in the list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, it was said that she was unhappy with party top brass.

The buzz is that she is not in the good books of Stalin and has been kept away. However the actor tweeted: "I have highest regards 4 my Thalaivar @kalaignar89 ,#Perasariyar n @mkstalin n loads of respect 4 other party members, nothing can break us" . Later the DMK announced that Kushboo will start her campaign from 5 April and would tour the entire state.

The Tamil Nadu election campaign needs that extra bit of glamour to bring in the crowds. It is business as usual for look-alikes of yesteryear popular stars like MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. They stand beside the candidates when they go in their open jeeps and sing and dance to the tunes of old MGR hits. It is entertainment, entertainment and more entertainment for the crowds who throng election meetings in Tamil Nadu.

His silence is golden: Everyone wants a piece of Atal Bihari Vajpayee

And to our dear friend Banquo whom we miss;
Would he were here! To all, and him, we thirst,
And all to all.

Like Shakespeare's Banquo's ghost, Atal Bihari Vajpayee sits at our election table, a silent almost spectral presence, invoked by all, sometimes in lamentation, sometimes in accusation, and sometimes as inspiration. Whereas his deputy LK Advani has with age calcified into a grumpy King Lear complaining of thankless children, Vajpayee's illness-enforced silence makes him the ideal campaign prop.

Everyone, irrespective of party colours, can take Vajpayee's name and not fear that the old man will contradict them with a statement, post a blog, or just refuse to play along. His silence is golden and his party hopes will be their Midas touch.

File photo of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. AFP

For the BJP, Vajpayee, the only non-Congress prime minister who completed five years in office, is the obvious exemplar. Of course the irony is Vajpayee also led his party to defeat in 2004 in an election he had been widely predicted to win. But that's an inconvenient truth to be glossed over. It also does not matter whether this current incarnation of the BJP is a party Vajpayee would have approved of.

When Narendra Modi had a rally in Lucknow the party decided to crank up the Atal Bihari nostalgia. "Since Lucknow is the karmbhoomi of Atalji, the stage will be dedicated to him and we will have his photograph in the backdrop," Rajeev Mishra, the BJP's Awadh region secretary and in-charge for state preparation told Indian Express.

Rajnath Singh, the BJP candidate from Lucknow is invoking Vajpayee's name like a magic charm. The Daily Bhaskar reports that when he kicked off his electoral campaign in Lucknow, Singh took Vajpayee's name eleven times. He positioned himself as the man to fulfil Vajpayee's dreams.

"Atalji had dreamt of linking all the rivers and if elected from Lucknow, I would make efforts for linking Gomti and Sharda rivers for ensuring a cleaner Gomti," he told the crowd. To add to the Yesterday-Once-More-feeling, Singh took along for good measure, Vajpayee's aide of four decades, Shiv Kumar.

Radhika Ramaseshan's report in The Telegraph that Singh is trying to evoke comparisons with Vajpayee by his "manao aur jodo" (mollify and unite) line as he tries to hold all the bruised egos in the BJP together. But Ramaseshan points out that the gentle Vajpayee being trotted out by all sides is also an airbrushed version of a canny politician with a long innings.

Vajpayee was a pugnancious fighter. In his first election in 1957 he ran from three constituencies – won Balrampur, came runner-up in Lucknow and forfeited his deposit in Mathura. And when push came to shove he could be quite ruthless.

Ramaseshan writes:
In 1998, in a surgical manoeuvre he had ordered that K.N. Govindacharya, a former ideologue and an RSS favourite, be thrown out of the BJP because he had described Vajpayee as a "mask" and L.K. Advani as the "real power" in a conversation with a diplomat. Govindacharya disappeared into near-oblivion.

But the real Vajpayee and his complexities is not convenient for electioneering. Instead there is a sort of golden mythologized Vajpayee who has become the object of a rather unprecedented tug-o-war where everyone wants a piece of him.

The BJP's opposition invokes Vajpayee's name as admonition to Modi. He, rather than Rahul Gandhi, is the un-Modi. Mamata Banerjee excuses her NDA stint as being all about the "imandar" Atal-ji rather than BJP though she caused him plenty of headaches. Sharad Pawar tells a rally that Atal-ji never asked votes for himself but for the party which he always held supreme, whereas Modi as a leader is all out to break the country. Vajpayee's own niece, Karuna Shukla joins the Congress complaining "The kind of degradation that has happened in the BJP since last 7-8 years is unparalleled. After Atal Bihari Vajpayee fell sick, a group has in a way captured the BJP." The Congress gleefully exhibits her as their prized catch in the race to be more Vajpayee-than-thou.

Not to be outdone, Modi is also dropping Vajpayee's name more and more. DNA reports that at a rally in Jammu, Modi said if the Vajpayee government had got another five years, it would have changed the face of Kashmir and problems would have ended. When Modi's comments in Silchar about minorities in Bangladesh ruffled feathers, BJP MP Tarun Vijay quickly pulled out the magical Vajpayee stain-remover.
"Of course, Modi is a great follower of Vajpayee. The government will be tolerant, will follow the Vajpayee legacy and make all our neighbours happy," he said according to the Times of India.

The real Atal Bihari Vajpayee meanwhile sits in his wheelchair at his home in Delhi firmly out of sight. The Times of India's Akshay Mukul had a poignant glimpse into the life of the BJP's Miracle Man rendered silent by a stroke, watching snatches of television, passing his days in a blur of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.

Mukul writes:
Unlike the good old days, no one comes calling on him with complaints about the party or to listen to his poetry. The only regular visitors are NM Ghatate, Vajpayee's friend of nearly six decades, LK Advani and BC Khanduri (the general-turned-politician who was chief minister of Uttarakhand), who come to sit by his side or ask daughter Namita about his health… He understands everything but cannot have a conversation.

There is one other person who makes regular enquiries about Vajpayee's health, Ghatate tells Mukul. That person is the current prime minister, Manmohan Singh.

Amidst the sound and fury of an election, surrounded by the head-splitting cacophony of bombastic politicians, there is something rather touching about that image of a prime minister silenced by illness joined in quiet companionship in his twilight years with a prime minister often derided for being silent.

Prithee, see there. Behold! Look! Lo!
How say you?
Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too.

Modi divisive, will break the country if he becomes PM: Lalu

Patna: Slamming the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for being a "divisive" leader, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said that the former's dream to become PM would never be fulfilled.

"Modi is a divisive leader and he will break the country after becoming Prime Minister," Prasad told reporters here.

Lalu Prasad Yadav. PTI

The people of the country would never allow Modi's dream to become the Prime Minister at all costs in the larger national interests, he said.

Even 'Lord Shiva' of Varanasi would not forgive theGujarat Chief Minister for pursuing divisive agenda endangering the unity and integrity of the country, he said referring to Modi's candidature from the temple town of Uttar Pradesh.

PTI

Kerala: Is the Left gaining from the anti-Congress wave driven by Modi?

Sometime late evening on Thursday, an aghast Sadanand Dhume, tweeted out NDTV's opinion poll findings which declared that 52 percent of the people they surveyed in Kerala wanted Rahul Gandhi as their Prime Minister.

Only @NDTV could find a way to stick this headline on a poll that predicts a UPA rout. #India pic.twitter.com/AKh2FPNdwH

— Sadanand Dhume (@dhume) March 27, 2014

Representational image. AFP.

Hansa research, which conducted the survey on behalf of NDTV, however found that BJP and the NDA, is predictably might be leading the seat count and vote share in the upcoming polls. It found that among the urban voters, the BJP/NDA has a distinct edge compared to the Congress and its allies.

Thirty two percent of the urban respondents in the opinion polls said that they prefer a government led by the BJP while 27 percent said that they choose Congress.

While Sonia Gandhi's party did manage to close the gap a bit in the rural voting sector, it still lagged behind by two percent. Twenty six percent respondents preferred Congress while 28 percent wanted BJP or NDA.

In Kerala especially, a Congress stronghold, the party seemed to be on a decline. The survey said compared to its last survey conducted a month ago, the Congress-led UDF is down by three seats while the Left is gaining ground and has gained by three seats. The poll predicts 10 seats of the 20 to the UDF, while the Left has 10 seats too.

In the 2009 polls, the UDF had won 16 seats and the Left just 4.

A lout, a slap and Nagma: She owed it to women to act tougher

It has been three days since actor-turned-politician Nagma was shown on television slapping away the hand of a man, reportedly Congress MLA from Uttar Pradesh Gaj Raj Singh, as he walked up from behind her amid a large crowd, grabbed her face and appeared to either plant a kiss on her cheek or say something into her ear. Head covered with her saree, you can see the Congress candidate from Meerut whip away his hand immediately but she seems to not say anything to the offender, who falls back into the crowd as she enters a campaign vehicle, a thick crowd still milling around.

Between that incident and Thursday evening's video footage where the actor appears to slap a man who apparently got too close for comfort as she walks in a large crowd of men, nobody from the Congress party has said anything about MLA Gaj Raj Singh.

Actress and Congress candidate Nagma. AFP

Not the spokespersons who speak on women's issues on television, not senior party leaders and not Nagma herself, who actually reportedly denied that anything had been amiss.

Instead, a local Congressman who spoke out against Singh was reportedly expelled.

Nagma joins millions of other women who face sexual violence and violation of their bodies and personal space every day, but in her case, there are more reasons than ever to be outraged.

The harassment — regardless of what the actor herself claims, the footage proves otherwise — comes just alongside Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's repeated exhortations to women to place their trust in the UPA. The Congress party believes in empowering women, that women are a major workforce, that national progress is impossible unless the lot of our women improves, he has been repeating. He's reportedly walked among women workers collecting tendu leaves, extolled the virtues of reservation for women and prevailed upon the manifesto committee to throw in some gender-sensitive election ideas.

Really, now is the time to walk his talk and act against Meerut's Congressmen, their behaviour described mildly by local party leaders as overenthusiastic supporters of Nagma.

Of course, Congress rally-goers are not the only thugs in election season. The BJP actually has to make separate enclosures for women at some of its multi-crore Modi rallies.

This is also not the first time that a Congress leader is in the eye of a controversy over manhandling a woman. In October-November 2013, actor Malayalam actor Shwetha Menon told police that a Congress MP from Kerala had repeatedly touched her inappropriately during a public function. She would later mysteriously withdraw her complaint.

Firstpost wrote that several power centres had worked overtime in persuading Menon to withdraw her charges, "including through direct threats by politicians in the media". The message was that she would have to pay a huge price for her complaint.

In that instance, a local Congressman had reportedly said of Menon that a woman who allows herself to be filmed giving birth to child has no right to play victim in the incident she had described to the police. Ever.

It's not difficult to see that ugly logic applied to Nagma -- an actor with a personal life that does not conform to any pattern has got to be fair game, right?

That women politicians do not speak out more openly is inexplicable.

Just why didn't Nagma follow the example set by Smriti Iraani, who decided to pursue her legal options when a Congress MP called her a thumkewaali?

A slap, brave as it might seem on television, is a poor example to set for millions of women who gather at political rallies and in front of television screens to find leaders to put their faith in.

A slap is no deterrent, the offender probably wears his punishment as his badge of honour. Men who paw women are not waiting to be chastised, they are committing a crime that's viewed seriously by the law of the land. And who better than my aspiring Parliamentarian to drive home the point that the law is sensitive to women?

It would have been spunkier by far to drag her "overenthusiastic supporter" to the nearest police station and then return to her campaign with a new message of zero-tolerance for sexual predators, roadside Romeos, peeping toms, elbowers and assorted louts.

Alagiri runs into Chidambaram at Chennai airport

Madurai: Expelled DMK leader MK Alagiri met Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram at the airport here today, but refused to clarify what they discussed.

"We have been in the government for nine years. We discussed a lot of things (of common interest)," he told reporters after the meeting, without elaborating.

Ever since his suspension and dismissal from the party, Alagiri has been meeting leaders from parties in the NDA and Congress.

Alagiri has been meeting leaders of various parties since he was expelled. Firstpost

While Alagiri returned here from Chennai, Chidambaram was here en route to Sivaganga to campaign for his son Karti.

Alagiri had yesterday called on his half-sister and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi in Chennai, setting off speculation on the purpose of the meeting as their supporters have been sidelined in selection of candidates for the LS polls, while Stalin's loyalists found place in the list of nominees without fail.

The DMK had on Tuesday expelled a defiant Alagiri, son of party patriarch M Karunanidhi, for refusing to abide by the party discipline.

PTI

Miffed Aamir Khan writes to EC, says he’s not backing any party

Aamir Khan is upset after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recently used his photo in a promotional poster for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The actor has written to the Election Commission (EC) about the issue, after the poster was brought to his notice.

Aamir has associated himself with the EC, urging citizens to vote: AFP

According to a Hindustan Times piece, a source said, "Aamir has written to the EC, marking officials from the AAP, clarifying that he is not endorsing any particular political party. Lots of supporters of the AAP have used Twitter and Facebook to put up images of Aamir as a supporter of the party. He isn't pleased at all as this campaign makes it seem as if he is endorsing the party."

The report further states that the actor has recently associated himself with the EC to encourage people to vote this election. He has been vocal about the fact that he will not associate himself with a political party in particular.

Hindustan Times contacted Aamir's spokeperson, who confirmed the news. He said, "From day one, Aamir Khan has made it clear that he will not be endorsing a particular political party. He is not supporting or campaigning for any party."

Modi in rush to take over PM’s post, says Sharad Pawar

Nashik: Firing a salvo against BJP's Prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has alleged that the senior BJP leader is in a rush to take over the country's top post.

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar. Reuters

"He (Modi) appears to be in a hurry to grab the PM's post and the power and hence BJP is posing him as a PM candidate. No party has announced a PM candidate in advance in our representative democracy," Pawar said addressing a joint workers' rally of Congress and NCP here last evening.

Slamming Modi's developmental assertions, he said the "claims of Gujarat as model of progress and development are all false as statistics indicate otherwise."

Stating that the UPA government has stood by its people, Pawar said that through the years the government has supported the farmers during every calamity.

On the occasion, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said marketing techniques and media were being used to create an illusion that the BJP is an alternative to the Congress-led UPA.

"They are trying to misguide people of the nation. I challenge the Chief Minister of Gujarat to compare the progress of Maharashtra and Gujarat over the years," he said.

People should not elect a candidate whose personality appears to be dictatorial, he said.

"He (Modi) seems to have hijacked his own party and is on a spree of insulting its senior leaders," Chavan alleged.

Meanwhile, Pawar said he chose senior NCP leader and state PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal to contest the Lok Sabha election from Nashik as he wants the latter to fill up his place in the Parliament's Lower House.

"I have moved to Rajya Sabha. Bhujbal is senior and the party needs a senior representative to take my place. I have hence asked Bhujbal to contest for Lok Sabha," the Union Agriculture minister said.

Those present at the rally included Chhagan Bhujbal, LS candidate from Dindori (ST) seat Dr Bharati Pawar, state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat.

PTI

LS polls: Why nobody speaks against BJP in Tamil Nadu

In his inaugural election speech on Wednesday, DMK chief M Karunanidhi spoke about his commitment to secularism by offering a post-poll alliance chance with the Congress if it kept away from communal elements, but chose not to attack the BJP or the NDA.

AFP

Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, who is fighting all alone, scrupulously avoided an alliance with the BJP, but spared the party in her speeches.

The leaders of the third political formation, the DMDK and the MDMK, Vijayakanth and Vaiko respectively, hailed Narendra Modi and wanted him as the prime minister of India. Even otherwise, they wouldn't speak against the BJP because they are fighting the elections together.

The Congress is more or less voiceless and we really don't know if it's picking on the BJP. Possibly we will never hear its voice because it's so marginalised.

So, in a nutshell, nobody speaks ill of the BJP or Narendra Modi in Tamil Nadu which is probably unique. Is it electoral strategy, opportunism or a combination of both, viz. opportunistic-strategy?

The answer obviously is the third. Jayalalithaa doesn't want any business with the BJP for political reasons before or during the elections. But after the elections, most probably her numbers will decide the possibility and future of a BJP-led government. More over, she has never spoken against Modi as the prime minister of India and why should she now? Reportedly they are in good terms as well.

For Vijayakanth, if the front that he leads - the DMDK-BJP-MDMK-PMK- gets some useful seats, he too will throw in his lot with the BJP and be part of the next government. If he doesn't make enough numbers, by being un-inimical to the party, he can be a fellow-traveller and get some fringe benefits. Who knows how the situation turns out to be?

The same situation goes for Vaiko as well. By being in the BJP camp and hailing Modi, he can be a friend too. It's always useful to have a friendly national government when you have nothing else to cling on to. Even if the MDMK, which has been in political wilderness far too long, doesn't win a single seat, he will still emerge with some advantage if the BJP forms the next government.

So, in the final analysis, everybody wants a BJP government at the Centre or nobody wants to speak against the BJP and Modi, lest the BJP forms the next government.

This is the closet than one can get to a consensus national government. And everybody will be secular too.

N Srinivasan must resign, says Digvijaya Singh

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh on Friday said those involved in the IPL match fixing and betting case must be punished but the teams should not be suspended and the show must go on.

Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh. AFP

"IPL has helped cricket and cricketers. Those involved in fixing must be punished but shouldn't suspend teams. BCCI President N Srinivasan must resign", Singh said on Twitter.

In another tweet, the Congress leader said, "Office bearers of BCCI must be debarred from owning IPL teams to avoid conflict of interest but the show must go on!".

The Supreme Court in its order on Friday said that Sunil Gavaskar will be the interim President of BCCI for managing affairs of IPL.

The Supreme Court had earlier asked the BCCI chief to step down from his post in order to let a fair probe run in the match fixing and betting case.

"In our opinion, Srinivasan has to step down if proper probe is to be done in the case. We don't like to damage people's reputation but unless the BCCI president steps down, no fair investigation can be down," the apex court had said.

On 10 February this year, the Mudgal Committee which went into the issue submitted two reports to the top court.

The first report asked the court to decide the future course of action because the probe committee did not have the power to impose punishment.

PTI