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So it was independence day, once again. Like all independence days I tuned in to hear what our PM had to say today. But I need not have because his speech was so boring, repetitive and ridiculous that I nearly fell asleep. And it was only eight in the morning. In fact this speech was quite appropriate for the last year, the year before that, the year before before that year and quite likely for the next year, the next to next year and may be even for next to next to next year.
According to Manish Tewari, spokesperson of Congress party, I’m an unpatriotic person because I believe that Rajiv Gandhi indeed had a lot to do with Warren Anderson’s release and subsequent escape from India. Well, if calling a spade a spade is being unpatriotic, I am indeed unpatriotic. For that matter, I’m sure quite a few Indians would be unpatriotic by that analogy. And here’s the irony. While I’m unpatriotic for believing that Anderson could not have escaped without Rajiv Gandhi’s knowledge or quite possibly orders, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, another spokesperson of Congress who fought on behalf of Dow Chemicals to absolve the company from all legal and moral responsibilities towards Bhopal gas victims, is a patriotic person. Well, of course he is. Anyone and everyone from Congress is patriotic.
In view of all the facts all I’d say is that Supriya Sule and Sharad Pawar are lying through their teeth about the bid for Pune IPL team. And that is a foregone conclusion. Thankfully, the bid was inconsequential, though it remains a matter of ethics and truthfulness. And if that be the case, didn’t Shashi Tharoor resign for the same reasons- ethics and honesty? And he resigned despite there being no direct proof of the fact that Sunanda Pushkar was being paid Rs 75 crores on his behalf. Well, if Mr Tharoor still had to resign on those counts by the same yardstick so should Mr Sharad Pawar. And that seems to be the whole game plan- of CONGRESS.
I cannot but help sympathize with the people of West Bengal. They are stuck between the devil and the deep sea, with CPM being the deep sea. Whenever Mamata comes to power I’m dead sure that she will not allow any security operations against Maoists to take place in West Bengal implying that whenever operations against them are launched from other states the Maoists will seek refuge in this state. And that can mean only one thing for India in general and West Bengal in particular- DANGER. And that’s the reason why I call CPM the deep sea and Mamata the devil. Another implication of this very foreseeable future is that full scale operations against Maoists need to start right now and that too from the direction of West Bengal to wipe out each and every member and sympathizer of Maoists in this state before the assembly polls are held there.
How many times in a life does it happen that your Prime Minister has wasted your time? I don’t know about you but it happened with me today. He wasted two good hours of my day when I could’ve done something more worthwhile like washing my dishes. At least that way something meaningful would’ve been achieved. If you find that statement too blunt and demeaning try answering this one. Why does anyone hold a press conference? More importantly, why does a Prime Minister of a country hold a press conference? Is it to commemorate an occasion like completion of one year in office? Or is it to answer questions from the media on important issues, which are numerous, at the last count? Or is it done to make an announcement? Or worse, is it just to play safe? Unfortunately, Dr Manmohan Singh did the last. He only played safe. Neither did he commemorate his last one year in office because there is hardly anything to commemorate. Nor did he give a satisfactory answer to any question and he most definitely did not make an announcement unless being a fairly satisfied man is counted as one.
Indians are quite amused at the way British parliamentary elections have turned out. While Indians have learnt to live with a hung parliament the Britishers who were supposed to be our role models in parliamentary democracy are only now realizing the perils and merits of multi party system. After 1974 when Conservatives under Edward Heath lost to Labour in a hung parliament this was the first time that neither Tories nor Labour have got a clear majority. Liberal Democrats, as expected, have upset the apple cart and are now very nicely placed to determine who should be the next PM. Unfortunately, they do not have people like Amar Singh who could’ve been a big help in such situations. And I don’t know for sure if he has been called to help them or not.
On the face of it there may be a lot of people who may say that it is time for us to move on and let bygones be bygones. After all she didn’t really kill Rajiv Gandhi herself. She was just the back up. Also, for her sins she has already spent 18 years in prison so far. Moreover, she’s a mother now. Even Gandhi family has effectively forgiven her for her sins. It’s said that when Priyanka Gandhi met her in prison in Mar 08 they even exchanged gifts and notes on their respective kids. And therefore there may not be any valid reason for her to continue to be held in jail anymore. But tell you what? That would be a big mistake, if you ask me.
I was not planning to write this today as I was busy working on an article on BJP and it’s future but I happened to check the webpage of Hindustan Times and was shocked to read that Abhishek was sidelined by Shiela Dixit’s govt in Delhi for the Earth Hour function last evening at Rajpath and was asked not to come. Now Abhishek was appointed the brand ambassador for Earth Day by World Wildlife Federation and has been involved in this campaign for some time now. His name was being splashed all over with promos and what have you but he was unceremoniously dropped at the last moment. No prizes for guessing who is responsible for this.
Nearly fifty years ago when Shiv Sena came into being it was on Marathi Manoos plank, basically directed at South Indians within Mumbai at that time. That the agenda has not changed in the last fifty years, though the target has, shows the lack of growth within the party both intellectually and physically. And this despite the fact that they have been in power in the state. Another indicator of their lack of their growth are their strained relations with RSS and BJP, who have quite categorically said that Mumbai belongs to India and not just Mumbaikars. A couple of years ago this would have been unthinkable. Also, it is rather ironical that Shiv Sena is desperately trying to spread it’s base into other parts of the country as well. With the kind of approach they have vis-a-vis Mumbai are they implying that their own members who are from outside Maharashtra are not welcome in Mumbai? I mean, wouldn’t that be a shame?
Some people like Rahul Gandhi matured pretty early in life. Some people like Bakhtiyar Irani and Rahul Mahajan of Bigg Boss fame promise that they never will and yet there are some others like Akhilesh Yadav of SP who threaten to mature but do exactly the opposite. When SP lost miserably in by elections of UP it was maturity on his part to have accepted the verdict but he went absolutely bonkers when he took it so personally and went ahead and challenged Rahul Gandhi for the next battle in UP. And it helps him score brownie points with her too who must be feeling dejected after this loss. Though theoretically speaking there is one more possibility. Dimple Yadav may have told Akhilesh to take on Rahul Gandhi in a direct one to one challenge. Quite possible, theoretically at least.
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