Issues Vs Non - Issues

For the forthcoming elections ( State + Central ) , what are the " Issues " for the contesting politicians ?

If that is your question , here is a partial list  :

>   Labeling of Opponents

     (  Shehzada / Sahebzada / Chor / Terrorist / Murderer / Criminal ..etc )

>   Blaming the Incumbent Governments

     (  Riots / Phone-tapping / Illegal Surveillance / Not awarding Bharat

      Ratna / Misuse of CBI ....etc )

>    Running down of Opposite Political Parties

      (  Foreign funding / Lack of transparency  / Freebies in Manifesto /

        Dynasty  /  Giving tickets to sons - daughters  / Opinion Polls...etc )

>    Complaining to the Election Commission

      (  Over-spending / Use of foul language / Paid advertisements /

       Breaking Model Code of Conduct / Religion-Caste based canvassing / Distribution of currency notes. etc )

Do they have any insignificant / trivial issues which are not worth debating ?

I mean , "  Non - Issues  " ?

You bet they have !

 A partial list follows :

>   TB killing 1,000 people per day

>   Starvation killing 6,000 children ( under 5 ) per day

>   20,000 farmers committing suicide per year

>   48,660 malaria-induced deaths per year

>   620,000 pre-mature deaths per year due to air - pollution

>   13,000 new cancer cases per year

>   1,100 people dying in accidents every day

>   8,233 dowry deaths per year ( One every hour )

I can go on and on

But who has time to debate such " Non - Issues "  ?

Because , if you do , you will be asked ,

"  How do you plan to solve these ? "

Why rake up a hornet's nest ?  Let sleeping dogs lie / die !

Mud - slinging is so much easier !

You can speak without thinking  !

*    hemen  parekh  (  19   Nov   2013  )

To Hell with History !

Are voters bothered whether ,

>   Alexander reached Ganga or Godavari  ?

>   Taxila was in Bihar or Bengal  ?

>   Chandragupta was a Gupta or a Gandhi  ?

>   The patriot who died in London was Shyamji Verma or Shamaprasad

      Mukherjee  ?

>    China spends on education, 3% or 30 % of its GDP  ?

In case our political leaders have failed to grasp the truth , even after 66 years of Independence , the simple answer is :

No  ! They are just not bothered  !

Voters couldn't care less for such high level intellectual pronouncements - and rebuttals - on either history or on geography  !

They are telling the politicians  :

"  To hell with history  !

   Do you have answers / solutions to our following current problems  ?

   *  My graduate son is jobless , even 3 years after graduation

   *  My daughter cannot get admission in any college in my city

   *  I have no money to buy medicines for my ailing parents

   *  I must commit suicide because my crop is destroyed without water

   *  Municipality is demolishing my hut to hand-over land to builder mafia

   *  If my 5 year old child does not beg on street , she will die of starvation

  Before we decide which party to vote for , tell us exact date by which you will solve our CURRENT problems

For God's sake , don't waste your time - and ours too - discussing , what " wrong things " long dead people did or what " right things " they failed to do  !

To hell with someone else's long-lost - and now useless -  HISTORY

 

We are only concerned with useful solutions to our own immediate FUTURE  "

*   hemen   parekh   (  18  Nov   2013  )

  

Pied Piper of Gujarat !

Naresh Agrawal ( Samajwadi Party ) says,

"  Any Madaari can attract crowds  /  A tea-vendor cannot have perspective of national issues  / Even if a Sipahi becomes a Kaptan , his thinking will continue to be that of a Sipahi "

May be Agrawal does not consider Tea-Vendor  /  Madaari  /  Sipahi to be respectable professions  !

Apparently , he believes that a tea-vendor's son must continue with his father's profession only  !

How dare he aspire to become  the Prime Minister of India ?

But Narendra Modi is playing a haunting tune

"  Congress hatao , Surajya lao  "

And millions of voters are coming out of their homes to listen to him , making the likes of Agrawal squirm

There is a good chance that voters will follow NaMo to the polling booths and kiss the lotus  !

Why should that happen ?

>   People attending the rallies of NaMo belong to hundreds of "respectable"

      professions such as ,

      *   Welder  /  Carpenter  /  Mason  / Electrician  /  Plumber

      *   Vegetable vendor  /  Dudhwala  /  Paperwala  /  Courier-boy

      *   Delivery boy  /  Bus Conductor  /  Sales Girl /  Receptionist

      *   Panbidi shop owner  /  Tyre Repairer  /  Boot-polish boy

      Endless others . And all earning an honest livelihood

>    These professionals feel terribly offended / insulted by Agrawal running

      down their trades / skills / vocations

>    They are all fed-up of corrupt / criminal / power hungry politicians

>    Forthcoming elections ( State / National ) are their only chance to prove

      Agrawal wrong and re-write their own future

Obviously , likes of Agrawal feel haunted by the tune of the Pied Piper of Gujarat and feel doomed to oblivion  !

*    hemen   parekh   (  15   Nov   2013  )  

Freedom of Speech ?

Today , on Nehru's birthday , I am reminded of his following speeches :

>    Our tryst with destiny

>    A light has gone out of our lives

Then there were other memorable speeches in the distant past, viz:

>    Mahatma Gandhi     (  Quit India  )

>    Martin Luther King   (  I have a dream  )

>    Abraham Lincoln       (  Of the people / by the people / for the people  )

>    Winston Churchill     (  Never have so many owed so much to so few  )

>    Brutus                     (  but Caesar is an honorable man  )

Then I end up comparing some " famous " recent speeches , viz:,

>    Sonia Gandhi           (  Maut ka Saudaagar  )

>    Narendra Modi         (   Khooni  Panjaa  )

>    Rahul Gandhi           (  ISI  )

>    Kapil Sibal                (  No loss in 2G scam  )

>    Manish Tewari           (  Anna is most corrupt  )

>    Ranjeet Sinha            (  Enjoy rape  )


>    Naresh Agarwal         ( a tea-vendor cannot become PM  / even Madari collects crowds  )

No doubt , amongst the living politicians , " Freedom of Speech " has totally different connotations  !

For them , apparently , it means,

"  License to Kill ( - if words can kill  !  ) "

Obviously , Gandhian Anna Hazare  is pained

In his TV interview with Rajat Sharma yesterday , he expressed his anguish at the lowly depths to which , political mud-slinging has descended during current election campaign

Whether he / she is a leader of any political party , all politicians are talking the same language , the language of ,

PHP   =   Power Hungry Politicians

Who cares for ,

C = Civility / Code of Conduct / Courtesy  ?

I  miss T N Sheshan   !

*    hemen   parekh   (  14   Nov   2013  )

Whose Bapu ?

There was a time

When you were our Bapu,

A Mahatma ;

For a life-time long

A tortured Atma ;

To wash away the sins of your children

You died a martyr's death ;

Now those very children

Have opened-up a shop

To sell " Gandhi-ism " ;

They are even maintaining

Two separate books of accounts,

One for income from " Unknown Sources ",

Strictly as required by the law !

Even out of curiosity

Do not venture

Anywhere near ;

No one will recognize you

Without your NSG / Z+ bodyguards  !

And children from city slums

Will chase you , shouting ,

" Ben Kingsley , Ben Kingsley ",

And when they ask you for your autograph ,

Do not sign,

" Mo Ka Gandhi "  !

Just pretend that you are Ben Kingsley,

TV cameras , Reporters , Anchors

Will  follow in your footsteps ;

Just forget that

You were our Bapu  !

-----------------------------------------------------------

Free translation from my Gujarati poem , dated 30, Jan 1984

-----------------------------------------------------------

*    hemen  parekh   (  13   Nov   2013  )

Thank You , Mr Shinde !

Thank you for ordering a probe into the source of funds received by Aam Aadmi Party  (  AAP  )

Arvind Kejriwal must be thinking ,

"   What a stroke of luck !

    The support of Delhi citizens which we could not garner thru our 3 months

    of campaigning , Mr Shinde has managed for us within minutes , by

    ordering this probe  "

Before the probe , AAP was expecting to win somewhere around 40+ seats in Delhi Assembly Elections

Now , thru his usual bungling , exposing his " Himalayan Hypocrisy " , Mr Shinde has assured that AAP ends up with 50+ seats  !

Why ?  What makes me think so  ?

>    At the end of the probe , AAP will come out clean

>    If , AAP managed to receive Rs 9 Crores in Oct , it may receive Rs 19

      crores in Nov  !

>    Mr Shinde won't have the courage to order similar probes into the   

      sources of funding of Congress  /  BJP  /  NCP  /  BSP  /  SP  /  CPI etc,

      who have , between them , collected approx Rs 4,900 Crores between

      2004-2011 , of which , 75 % donations are from,

                                    "    Sources  Unknown  "

       (  -  read , own black money re-routed  thru hawaala route  !  )

>    Over the next few weeks , our alert media ( God bless the TV anchors )

      will continue to demand that the political parties offer themselves for

      coverage by RTI Act , as held by CIC , ordered by Supreme Court and

      confirmed by the Attorney General

>    725 million voters , who are fed-up of the corruption and hypocrisy of

      Congress , will vote to power ( in 2014 ) , BJP , which , they look upon

      as , "  lesser of the evils  " (  between deep sea and devil  ?  )

>    Upon coming to power , NDA will be forced to amend the Foreign Contri-

      bution Regulations  /  Electoral Reforms Bill / Representation of Peoples

      Act  /  Jan Lokpal Bill etc

Never since our independence , the Nation has owed so much "  thanks  " ,

to one person for his single act of " political suicide "  !

Thank You , once again , Mr Shinde  !

*    hemen   parekh   (   12  Nov   2013  )

  

Politics of Polarization

In the election speeches , soft-spoken Congress leaders are blaming hard-hitting BJP leaders of trying to " polarize " the voters along community lines , viz:

>   Hindu      Vs      Muslim

But polarization has been around since the birth of the Earth - even before

Take a look at the following " Poles "  :

>     Matter     Vs     Anti-matter

>     Mass       Vs      Energy

>     Day        Vs       Night

>     Earth      Vs       Sky

>     Male       Vs       Female

>     Old         Vs       Young

>     Rich        Vs       Poor

>     Classes    Vs      Masses

>     Dieting    Vs       Starving

>     Employed   Vs    Jobless

>     Educated  Vs     Illiterate

>     Healthy     Vs     Diseased

>     Dictators   Vs     Democrats

>     Developed   Vs    Deprived

>     Skilled       Vs     Unskilled...............  etc

And none of these " poles " are likely to disappear anytime soon

In fact , ' polarization " is ,

>       Anaadi         (  without a beginning  )

>       Anant           (  without an end   )

>       Avinaashi      (  Non - Destructible  )

( which also happens to be the only way to define God    )

Ancient Indian philosophers called this phenomenon , " Dwait - Waad "

The eternal cosmic dance of " Twin-ism "

Narendra Modi does not deserve " Credit " for inventing something that has always existed  - and will continue to exist even when Congress and BJP cease to exist !

But then , " polarization " makes for a nice topic for TV anchors to ask sundry experts , their opinions  !

*    hemen   parekh   (  11   Nov   2013  )

         

Who is confused ?

Who is more confused ?

Is it CBI , Central Government or the Supreme Court ?

Yesterday , Supreme Court granted a stay to the Guahati High Court order declaring CBI unconstitutional / illegal

Reason ?

Chief Justice of India , P Sathasivam said ,

"  Many people are seeking stay of their trials based on HC verdict ..... We are concerned about all other cases "

SC will now hear the case on 6th Dec

Till then , CBI can continue with its 9,000 trials and 1,000 cases under investigation

And , Department of Personnel and Training ( DoPT ) will get ready with its defense by :

>     Removing entire reference about CBI from the Lokpal bill , already

       passed in the Lok Sabha on Dec 27, 2011

>     Cancelling proposed amendments to DSPE Act(1946), regarding

       procedure for the appointment of the CBI Chief

>     Delinking amendments in DPSE Act from the Lokpal Bill and move these

       separately in Rajya Sabha

>     Amend the DSPE Act with fresh provisions and explanations related

       to CBI's functioning

>     Providing for a fixed tenure of not less than 2 years and for the

       prosecution of CBI Director

>     Providing legal backing to commitments given by the Government

       to SC , on financial autonomy and non-interference in cases being

       probed by CBI

If SC accepts DoPT proposals on 6 Dec, CBI may continue to exist but confusion will only get confounded  !

But then Governments , Courts and the lawyers thrive on keeping laws complex and people confused  ! Their survival depend upon that  !

The UPA - 2  government seems to be telling the citizens :

"  When we are doing all the thinking for you , why do you wish to exercise  your little brains ?

In our Poll Manifesto , we have clearly stated that , if you vote us to power in the forthcoming elections , you will never need to think again  !

Why trouble your little brains , thinking about

>    Roti  /  Kapda  /  Makan  /  Pani  /  Sadak  /  Bijlee

>    Rapes  /  Murders  /  Suicides  / Dowry deaths / Honor Killings

>    Dengue  /  TB  /  Polio /  Malaria

>    Garbage / Open Gutters / Dirty Drinking Water / Air Pollution

>    Poverty  /  Starvation /  Unemployment

>    Land Mafias  /  Scams  /  Floods  / Droughts

Why  ?  Why  ?  Why  ?

If you must think , then think about the heavenly Nirvana under UPA-3  "

*     hemen  parekh   (  10  Nov  2013  )

Supreme in Soup !

Two days back , Guwahati High Court said ,

"  CBI is illegal "

And placed Supreme Court in a soup - along with the Central Government and the CBI ( - in that order )

Today , Central Government will appeal to Supreme Court for a stay against HC order

V. Narayanswamy , Minister of State for Personnel ( to whom CBI reports ) will argue :

" CBI has been around for last 50 years. So it should be allowed to continue. This will affect its functioning "

But thousands who have been investigated , arrested , tried by CBI Courts and sent behind bars , will counter-argue :

" Immediately release us , cancel all cases against us and compensate us for your ' Illegal ' actions of past 50 years "

Irony is :

In 2G and Coalgate scams , Supreme Court itself ,

>    Directed CBI to investigate

>    Submit regular Status Reports ( without showing to Ministers )

>    Arrest the suspects and chargesheet them

So , to save its own face , Supreme Court will , no doubt , grant a stay

But , simultaneously , it must direct the Central Government as follows :

>    Today , there are 3 wings of the government , viz: Legislative / Judiciary

       / Administrative. Amend the Constitution to create a 4th wing , called

      AUDIT WING

>    Make it an independent / autonomous wing under LokPal

>    Make CBI - CAG - CVC - CIC , report to LokPal

>    Make LokPal report to the President of India

>    Under this AUDIT WING Act , retrospectively , validate / legalise , all  

      actions taken by CBI since 1963

>    Empower central LokPal to appoint State Lok-Ayukts , without refering

       to the State Governments (  ala , appointments of State Governors  )

In any case , Rahul Gandhi wanted to grant LokPal , the status of a Constitutional Body ( remember his brief speech in Lok Sabha ? )

He can save UPA - 2 , a lot of embarassment by announcing above-mentioned points in a hurriedly called Press Conference !

And silence the Opposition Leaders who keep repeating that CBI is ,

>      A " Caged Parrot "

>      Hand-maid of the Government

>      Implements " His Master's Voice "

Forget 1000 tons of Unnao gold

Start digging the Constitutional Gold , to reverse all Opinion Polls findings !

*   hemen   parekh   (  09  Nov  2013 / 9 am )