A 100 years Stand-off ?

Only yesterday , our PM Man Mohan Singh declared in the UN General Assembly ,

Ø  State of “ Jammu and Kashmir “ is an integral part of India

Ø  There will be no compromise with the territorial integrity of India

Ø  The only basis for negotiations is Simla Agreement

Ø  India does not recognize earlier UN resolutions as a basis

On earlier day , Pak PM Nawaz Sharif had raised the Kashmir issue in the General Assembly during his speech ( I presume repeating earlier UN resolution re conducting a plebiscite ! )

Over the past 65 years , following opinions have been expressed ,

Ø  Various Indian Prime Ministers :

Ditto as Man Mohan Singh

Ø  Various Pak Prime Ministers :

Ditto as Nawaz Sharif

Ø  Right Wing political parties on both sides :

Let us invade the enemy country ( ala Israel ? ) and re-occupy our lost territory

Ø  Separatists on both the sides :

We want an independent country of Kashmir

Ø  Farooq Abdullah :

We must resolve Kashmir issue thru dialogue with Pakistan

Ø  Omar Abdullah :

Kashmir only “ Acceded “ to India. It has never “Merged” with India

Ø  Vasant Sathe :

The only workable solution is to convert existing LoC to an International Border between India and Pakistan

Ø  Sundry ordinary citizens :

Make both parts of Kashmir , a UN governed territory , where people of both India and Pakistan can travel freely ( without passports ) as “ Tourists “ – and get a warm welcome by people of Kashmir 

Rhetoric ( meant for public consumption ) apart , one thing ought to be clear to people – and politicians - of both the countries that any attempt to re-occupy the territory “ lost “ to the enemy ( ? ) country thru an armed invasion , would result in an all-out Nuclear War , which will,

Ø  Kill millions of innocent citizens

Ø  Get halted by American / Russian / Chinese intervention

I hope this realization looms large when Sharif / Singh meet today in New York

Vasant Sathe’s suggestion may prove to be the only practical – and peaceful , solution

It appears to me that only other Indian with a moral courage to translate this suggestion into pragmatic action , is Rahul Gandhi !

Or else , prepare for a 100 years stand-off !

·          hemen  parekh  (  29  Sept  2013  ) 

Glad Day ?

Yesterday , I wrote about “ Sad Day / Bad Day / Mad Day “ , not knowing that by evening , it will turn into a “ Glad  Day “ !

“ Glad  Day “ for 2 reasons :

Ø  Late in the afternoon , in a press-meet , Rahul Gandhi said,

“ My opinion on the ordinance is that it is completely nonsense and it should be torn up and thrown out. I personally feel , that what our Government has done as far as this ordinance is concerned, is wrong “

Ø  Supreme Court said,

“ The voter has the right to negative voting by rejecting all the candidates in the fray by exercising the option of ‘ none of the above ‘ in the EVMs and ballot papers “

Now only if the politicians ( whether clean or tainted )

Ø  dare to meet the people of their constituencies

Ø  care to ask them what are their further “ Expectations “

voters will tell them , ( Citizen's Charter of Demand ? ) ,

Ø  Scrap the ordinance / bill pending in the Standing Committee. Based on Supreme Court verdict , prevent convicted MPs / MLAs from attending Lok Sabha / State Legislatures

Ø  Scrap amendment to RTI Act , which keeps the political parties outside its purview

Ø  Accept all donations / contributions to a political party by cheque only ( irrespective of the amount ) and display these on your web sites , along with quarterly statement of all expenditures

Ø  Display on your web site complete declaration ( financial as well as criminal ) of each candidate / elected MP / MLA , filed with Election Commission – and every year , if elected

Ø  Pass the Jan-LokPal bill ( Anna Hazare version ) before the 2014 elections

By owning-up the “ mistake “ committed by UPA Government ( as far as the Ordinance is concerned ) , not only Rahul Gandhi showed unprecedented courage ( could be political hara-kiri ? ) , he has silenced / disarmed his critics and won over millions of young admirers

If only he continues to display similar “ Courage “ in respect of what I have listed above , I have no doubt , on its own , Congress will win 300+ seats in the 2014 National Elections

Rahul,

Remember , your " Pre-poll Actions " on the ground , will send a very powerful " Message of Hope " to the disillusioned / frustrated youth of India 

Neither Narendra Modi , nor Arvind Kejriwal will be able to match such a challenge !

·          hemen  parekh  ( 28  Sept  2013 )

Sad Day / Bad Day / Mad Day

Sad  Day

Ø    If – and when – President Pranab Mukherjee succumbs to “ His Master’s Voice “ and signs the Ordinance , nullifying Supreme Court verdict on “ convicted “ MPs / MLA s

Bad  Day

Ø    Despite protests / walkouts by BJP and Left parties , if and when , Lok Sabha converts that ordinance into a law in next 2 months

Mad  Day

Ø    If , we the voters , decide to vote back to power  once again , Congress & Co , in 2014 national elections ( and in the State Elections , later this year ) and choose to suffer in silence , the rape of our Motherland for the next 5 years , at the hands of the criminals

Die Democracy , die slowly but surely !

 We the people , deserve the Brown Sahibs we elect to rule our destiny !

·          hemen  parekh  (  27  Sept  2013  )

A Tale of Two Countries

  

China

Ø  Bo Xilai was a member of Central Politburo of the Chinese Government ( equal to a Central Cabinet Minister in India )

Ø He was arrested a year back and tried for corruption / taking bribes / misusing official position. Not granted bail ( unheard of in China )

Ø Trial lasted 5 days – at the end of which , he was convicted , and punished for 20 years of con-current prison terms

Ø He can appeal but in China , there is no precedence of a higher court setting aside , an order of a lower court !

India  

Ø Of our 4500 MPs / MLAs , approx 1500 ( 30 % ) , have criminal cases pending against them

Ø Of these , some 600 have , “ Serious Criminal Cases “ ( murder / rape etc ) pending against them

Ø A few hundred are already “ Convicted “ and have appealed in higher courts

Ø All are out on bail and attending Lok Sabha / State Legislatures

Ø Our Supreme Court considered this ( freedom ) as “ Unconstitutional / Illegal “ and passed an order that MPs / MLAs , who have received punishments of 2 years or more , cannot be granted bail ( even if they have appealed ) and must stay in jail. Neither can they vote , nor contest an election

Ø Central Government filed a “ Review Petition “ in Supreme Court , which refused to change its earlier ruling

Ø So , as expected , Central Government decided to bring out an Ordinance to nullify Supreme Court verdict !

What  Next  ?

Ø Within 2 months , Ordinance must be converted into a proper law , by passing it in Lok Sabha

Ø Since ALL parties have  “ Criminal “  MPs / MLAs , you bet , the law will be passed unanimously !

Voters  of  India

The only political party which is not a party to this heinous conspiracy against Democracy and therefore against the People of India , is the Aam Admi Party ( not having a single MP / MLA so far ? )

Let us vote it to power . That is the only way to test their promise of a corruption-free government

May be we can still stop this rape of our Motherland !

·          hemen  parekh  ( 25  Sept  2013  )

Why can’t they say ?

When our politicians – and other sundry celebrities – get questioned about their opinion on everything happening in the remotest corner of our country , why can’t they say ,

“  I have no opinion , no views , no comments about that event or that statement by my opponent , because ,

·         I don’t have enough genuine , firsthand , true information about “ what “ was said or happened , nor about the “ Why “ and “ Who “ of it

  OR

·         I am not an expert on that subject (eg: What causes foreign exchange fluctuations or creation of Higgs-Boson particle )

 

 All that I can say is that if someone , anyone has broken the law of the land , then he must be booked , proved guilty and punished – even if he is my son or my party man . Period .

In today’s India of 1200 million people , do not expect me  to know who is doing what , when, why and where

Unlike God , I am neither Omnipresent , nor Omnipotent , nor Omniscient

And with ever-changing moral standards , what I might have considered “ Wrong “ just 10 years back , may have come to be accepted as “ Right “ today by the society !

So , please allow me to remain silent “

Dear Politician,

You don’t have to have an opinion about everything !

Try this . You will earn people’s respect for being honest

·          hemen  parekh ( 24  Sept  2013 )

Silence the Critics / Disarm Them !

Why does any mention of Gujarat Model of development , immediately invites a lot of critics ?

Why does it create an allergic reaction , even amongst other BJP-ruled states ? And certainly amongst BJP leaders from other states ?

Such allergy and criticism from Congress and its allies is quite understandable , but nothing to worry about

What Narendra Modi – and his staunch supporters , must ask themselves is :

“ By making too much noise about Gujarat Model , are we rubbing it in too hard ?

Are we projecting ourselves as “ holier – than – thou “ ?

By endless repetition of Gujarat story are we alienating , even our ardent admirers ? “

An emphatic answer is , “ YES “ !

And this attitude spells bad – very bad – omen for NaMo and his campaign , over the weeks and months to come

It is high time NaMo and his team start declaring publicly :

“  Gujarat Model is NOT perfect 

Like any other state , we , in Gujarat too, have corruption / scams / murders / dowry-deaths / suicides of farmers and the jobless / land mafias / illegal mining / malnourished children / school drop-outs / communal tensions , etc

All that we are saying is that , we have less of these now than what we had 10 years ago – and , in many cases , less than in other states

We even know that we may never succeed in eliminating these problems completely

All that we are saying is that , we are acutely conscious of our limitations / shortcomings .

We are ashamed of what we do have , and are working very hard to reduce these problems still further

We are open to any constructive criticism , while admitting that we are bound to have slipped-up , here and there

We welcome – from friends and foes – sharply-worded specific suggestions as to what we need to do going forward

We are eager to learn from experiences of other states in tackling the problems of governance – even from currently UPA-ruled states !      “

I believe , only such candidness on part of NaMo team can win friends and silence the critics

You need to win over millions of fence-sitters who are suspicious of your tall claims – even fed up of your trumpeting it endlessly !

Only way you can do so is by giving up your “ High Moral Ground “ ! 

By placing NaMo on a very tall pedestal , you will make it almost impossible for him to live up to the expectations that you are raising !

What is so terrible to admit that even Gods have feet of clay ?

A generous dash of humility will earn you , people’s respect – and their votes

·      *    hemen  parekh  ( 22 Sept. 2013 )

Reach - Out Time ?

Narendra Modi claims that the Muslims of Gujarat have buried the ghost of Godhra and a great majority of them voted for BJP in the recent State election

There have been many communal ( anti-minority or anti-majority ) riots in most of the States of India since independence

It does not serve any purpose to keep doing post-mortem , again and again

It is obvious that the new generation ( including the descendents of the victims ) want to close the chapter and move on to a better / peaceful life

If , development of Muslims brought about a harmonious communal relations in Gujarat , surely it could be replicated on a national scale , all over the country

Narendra Modi has a fantastic opportunity to drive across this message by incorporating the following ACTIONS in BJP’s 2014 Election Manifesto :

Ø  Resettling of riot victims ( belonging to any community and residing in any state ) , in Government-built houses , within one year of coming to power

Ø  Simultaneous dismantling of , so-called “ Minority Ghettos “ , thru dispersal of minorities throughout the cities , for better integration within a city’s majority population

Ø  Granting Cabinet Minister status to the Chiefs of Minority Commission / Women’s Commission / Human Rights Commission

Ø  Providing for greater representation in the Central Cabinet to the people of the North-Eastern States and the Naxal affected areas

Ø   

Ø  Up gradation of the educational institutions belonging to the minorities

Ø  Greater representation to Minority Youth in “ Skills Development Program “ under NSDC

Ø  At the disputed Ayodhya site , creation of a “ World Peace Complex “ comprising of :

·         Ram Temple    ( for Hindus )

·         Mosque          ( for Muslims )

·         Church          ( for Christians )

·         Temple          ( for Buddhists )

·         Synagogue     ( for Jews  )

·         Akshar-Dham  ( for Jains )

*         Gurudwara     (  for  Shikhs  )

·         University for Comparative Studies of World Religions

·         Hospitals ( like Netralaya / Hridayalaya )

·         India Heritage / History Museum

·         Business Convention-cum-Industry Exhibition Centre

·       *        Tourist Complex

      

·              And right in the center of the complex , a giant statue of the “ Father of the Nation “

I invite readers to add to this list

Even if for all the wrong reasons [ viz; 2014 Elections ], let BJP not miss this opportunity to initiate steps for integration of the minorities into the mainstream of political / economical / social development of our country

It is about time to exhibit , BJP’s  truly “ Secular “ nature ( non-UPA  variety ? )

It is time to stop mere Congress-bashing ( with which , people are fed-up ) and promise some genuine positive actions to the minorities

And of all the leaders of BJP , who is better placed for such “ Pro-Activism “ than Narendrabhai ?

Carpe Diem ( Seize the Day ! )

·         hemen  parekh ( 21  Sept  2013 )

Needed - your Declaration of Intent - NOW !

A few months back , Planning Commission had prepared a scheme to distribute free smart phones to 71 million poor families

Recently , Kapil Sibal has submitted a scheme to distribute ( of course , free ) to children studying in Government schools ,

Ø  25 million smart phones

Ø  9  million tablets ( computers )

That would cost , somewhere between Rs 7,000 Crores to Rs 10,000 Crores

Earlier this week , a group called Smartnamo , has announced two models ( Safron 1 / Safron 2 ), of smart phones in honor of Narendra Modi

I believe top brass of BJP are considering to distribute 20 crore of these phones to youth between the age of 18 to 25 – free of cost , of course !

At Rs 1,000 per phone , BJP would need to raise Rs 20,000 Crore for this project

No problem !

India’s “ Businesses / Industry “ would oblige , since 75 % of industry-leaders want Narendra Modi to become the next PM

And these phones are believed to come pre-installed with a mobile app , ( called , VotesApp ? ) which will enable the young owner/voters to vote in 2014 National Elections , by simply touching the VOTE button , having finger-print recognition ( ala , Apple’s iPhone 5C )

Now , here is the most likely “ political specification “ of these phones :

Irrespective of , whether the owner / voter is residing and registered in Kashmir or Kanyakumari or anywhere else , the vote will get cast in favor of the local BJP candidate !

That would be one way to garner 275 seats in the Lok Sabha !

More seriously speaking , BJP will miserably fail to deliver on its corruption-free , Good-Governance promise , if it gets voted to power with less than 275 seats .

Secret behind NaMo’s  success story in Gujarat , is BJP majority in local assembly. No relying on corrupt coalition partners to carry out any reform !

And to get that kind of “ Absolute Majority “ , BJP must stop promising freebies and publish its  ACTION PLAN  for the first 100 days in power

TV opinion polls notwithstanding , even NaMo  euphoria  will fade away , if BJP continues to shy away from publishing , before October-end , its  “ Declaration of Intent “

·          Hemen  parekh [ 19 Sept 2013 ]

What exactly / precisely , will you do ?

Expected has come to pass

Narendrabhai Modi has been declared as the PM candidate of BJP

On TV channels , experts are offering advice to BJP / NaMo , on how they should conduct themselves  PRIOR  to 2014 national elections

For the voters , what matters is :

“ If BJP were to be voted to power , how will it conduct itself ,  AFTER  the elections ? After NaMo becomes PM ? “

All that we have been hearing from NaMo and other BJP leaders , over the last one year is :

Ø  Congress is corrupt

Ø  UPA 2 is incompetent

Ø  All of their policies are wrong , leading to price-rise , inflation , economic downturn etc

Ø  They failed to do THIS and THAT

But not a word so far of what exactly / precisely , BJP / NaMo would do , if voted to power !

I certainly don’t mean distribution of free laptops , tablets , mobiles , cycles ! Forget the manifesto !

As a citizen , I would like them to declare  NOW , their unambiguous stand on :

Ø  Dis-allowing “ convicted “ persons from contesting elections

Ø  Bringing political parties within the ambit of RTI

Ø  Appointment of a Lok Ayukt in Gujarat and passing of Jan Lok Pal Bill within 100 days of coming to power

Ø  Make CBI independent of Government

Ø  Passing Women’s Equal Representation Bill, pending for 40 years

Ø  Electoral Reforms incorporating , “ Negative Voting / Right to Recall “

Ø  Passing of Delivery of Services Act

Ø  Bringing out Black Money ( both , foreign and local ) for investment in Infrastructure / Health Services / Education / Housing for the poor  etc , thru suitable “ No Questions Asked “ Amnesty Schemes

Ø  Above all , creating 15 million jobs every year

These are , just a few of the people’s expections

Are BJP / NaMo willing to treat these as voters’  “  Charter of Demands “ ?

We have had enough of rhetoric oratory

People are asking :

“ Forget what UPA failed to do . We know that.

  What will YOU do , and WHEN ?

·          hemen  parekh [ 14 Sept 2013 ]