Of Democracy and Hindu Demoncracy
Sid Harth
Mumbai, Dec. 17: Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Sunday hit out at
all political parties for their “appeasement of the minorities” and
called for “defranchising of Muslims to negate the vote-bank politics.”
“It might be the BJP’s stance to appease Muslims but I have not
accepted it,” he said. Claiming that vote-bank politics was responsible
for wooing the minorities, he said, “Take away the right of franchise
of Muslims. Then all political outfits will become pro-Hindutva”.
He, however, softened his stance towards Vajpayee saying, “Lack of
numerical strength in the Lok Sabha has made Vajpayee to adopt a
moderate stance. If Vajpayee remains moderate even after his party
comes to power on its own, then I will not spare him,” he said.
http://www.deccan.com/itop3.htm
CM threatens to withdraw support over paddy issue
Hyderabad, Dec. 17: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday
indicated his party may withdraw support to the NDA government if it
didn;’t get the FCI to buy more paddy and rice from the State.An angry
Naidu told TD Ministers and MPs in a teleconference to think about
withdrawing support and “get back to him’’.
Apparently, the TD chief felt the Centre was ignoring repeated pleas to
bail the State out on the issue and he had to take the “ultimate step’’
if it came to it. “We have been begging for two months on the
procurement issue but all we got was a humiliating reply.
How long can we bear this This (withdrawal of support) is a matter to
be discussed seriously,” Naidu is learnt to have said.Naidu asked MPs
to stall Parliament proceedings and carry on the agitation till the
Centre conceded their demand. He asked Agriculture Minister Vadde
Sobhanadreeshwara Rao and Civil Supplies Minister N Janardhan Reddy to
leave for Delhi and talk to the Centre.
Sources said Naidu was serious this time, after bailing out the Prime
Minister on the masjid issue over the last few days. Further
developments could be expected after the Centre’s reaction, they
said.The CM held a high-level meeting and dashed off another strongly-
worded letter to Vajpayee seeking his immediate intervention.
He also called Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Shanta Kumar to
protest. In his letter, Naidu charged the Centre with indifference on
the farmers plight who were not paid even the MSP. He said the same
farmers had supplied rice to the FCI when there was a food scarcity in
the country.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/front_pa.htm#head2
MAMATA TO KEEP BJP ON TOES
BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Calcutta, Dec. 16:
A day after the BJP announced that there was no going back on its stand
on constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya, ally Mamata Banerjee made it
clear that her party will continue protesting against Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee’s statements if they deviate from the NDA’s agenda
for governance.
“We want Vajpayeeji to strictly follow the NDA agenda and not his
party’s hidden one,” Mamata said after at an iftar attended by 5,000
Muslims. “I will be the last person to tolerate any deviation from the
NDA agenda.”
Today’s party, held at Park Circus maidan, was organised by Congress
MLA-turned-Trinamul leader Sultan Ahmed.
Mamata said all NDA partners should be consulted before the government
takes a final decision on the temple. “We should stick to the NDA
agenda and any violation will cost the government,” she warned.
Asked about Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi’s threat to pull
out of the NDA if the government continued to digress, Mamata said: “He
(Karunanidhi) did not raise his voice at the NDA meeting when the
Ayodhya issue came up for discussion. We are the only ones to have
protested Vajpayeeji’s remarks.”
Mamata, however, skirted queries on whether the Trinamul would toe
Karunanidhi’s line. “We are keeping a watch on the developments. We
will protest if attempts are made to destroy the secular fabric of the
country,” she said.
Mamata earned applause from the people at the gathering for promising
to work for the minorities’ welfare. Observers said Mamata’s stand on
safeguarding the interest of Muslims will help her consolidate the
minority votebank in the state.
Earlier, the Trinamul leader charged chief minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee with playing a “dual role” by promising the ousted people
of Midnapore a safe passage back home and at the same time provoking
CPM workers to assault them immediately after their return.
Ruling out any meeting with Bhattacharjee in the near future, Mamata
said: “We will rather go to the people to bring back peace in places
where the CPM cadre have unleashed terror.”
She visited the nursing home where a Trinamul worker, whose tongue was
slashed allegedly by CPM activists, is undergoing treatment. “This is
the state of affairs in Bengal where supporters of Opposition parties
are being gagged this way,” Mamata said.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec17/ayod.htm
Advani takes a pot-shot at PM
From Deepak K Upreti
DH News Service
NEW DELHI, Dec 16
Who is in the firing range of Union Home Minister L K Advani? A day
after the political storm involving the chargesheeted ministerial trio,
including Mr Advani, in Babri Majid demolition case retreated
temporarily, the home minister came out with a highly loaded comment
which sought to question the integrity of the country's premier
investigating agency - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In the first scrutiny, Mr Advani's comment on CBI appears to be a
direct aspersion on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who is in
charge of the agency. The suo motu statement of the home minister is
particularly significant as Mr Vajpayee had in this week categorically
maintained that his comments on Ayodhya issue would in no way influence
the CBI investigation into the Babri Majid demolition case. To avoid
any misgivings in the light of his rejection of Opposition demand for
the resignation of Mr Advani, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Ms Uma Bharti
in the Babri masjid demolition case, Mr Vajpayee had stressed that the
CBI was under him and hence there was no question of any one putting
pressure to change the course of investigations.
By casting doubt on the credibility of CBI, Mr Advani is apparently
also trying to initiate a debate on the very basis of chargesheets
filed by the agency in 1993 against him, Mr Joshi and Ms Bharti.
When I saw the contents of the CBI chargesheet (on Babri masjid
demolition case) I began to wonder at the way it functions,Mr Advani
said in an informal chat with newspersons at a luncheon on Friday and
in the same breath made a suggestive comment to another chargesheeted
minister, Ms Bharti, saying, Uma may be you should take a look at the
way it is handling the cases in your ministry(an oblique reference to
the cricket match-fixing case). As if waiting for Mr Advani's lead, Ms
Bharti doubted whether CBI's report on match-fixing was not without
faults. Jadeja maintains he is innocent , perhaps he is innocent... I
am having second thoughts on the CBI report on cricket match-
fixing,said the sports and youth affairs minister.
Answering a question relating to the CBI case on RJD President Laloo
Prasad Yadav, Ms Bharti had almost cast doubts on Mr Yadav's
involvement in the fodder scam.
After International Cricket Council and several cricket boards of
various international cricket playing nations have lauded CBI's report
on match-fixing and BCCI Vigilance Commissioner K Madhavan has
concurred with the CBI report, the home minister and the sports
minister of the country seek to re-writeCBI's character certificate.
Bofors, JMM bribery case, St Kitts forgery, and a host of other high
profile political cases handled by CBI never raised eyebrows of the
likes of Mr Advani and Ms Bharti. Is it not a case of selective
amnesia? Both the ministers are suffering from Ayodhya syndromein being
critical of CBI as they fear that Mr Vajpayee who controls the agency
may not extend the helping hand when they actually happen to cross the
Ayodhya bridge.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec17/pm.htm
Let us leave Ayodhya behind: Vajpayee
NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (DHNS)
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today made an appeal that the
controversy arising out of his recent remarks on the Ayodhya issue
should be put behind and once again focus should be on economic
development of the country.
I hope the needless political diversion (over the Ayodhya issue) of
last week is over. It is time now for all of us to refocus our
attention on the most important agenda before the nation namely,
development,he said while inaugurating the two-day 73rd Annual session
of the FICCI here.
There is need for faster, more balanced and more equitable
development,he told captains of Indian industry.
Your (FICCI) annual general meeting comes at an opportune moment. The
economy continues to show a mixed picture, which is why both the
government and industry need to introspect,Mr Vajpayee said in his
opening remarks.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/171200/detnat07.asp
All eyes on Vajpayee’s Iftar party
Saroj Nagi
(New Delhi, December 16)
AFTER THE storm Prime Minister Vajpayee created with his Ayodhya
remarks, all eyes are now focused on his Iftar party.
The Ifta, at Ashoka Hotel's Convention Hall on Dec 19, would be
monitored on two counts-whether Vajpayee has managed to contain the
controversy and how many ‘non-partisan’ Muslims turn up so that it is
not seen as an Iftar of only “sarkari Muslims”.
Interestingly, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid has already appealed to
Muslims to boycott Iftars hosted by BJP leaders.
Although Vajpayee on Saturday said that the “unnecessary political
controversy” should be put behind, the Ayodhya issue continues to
simmer. This is already being reflected in the Sangh’s vigorous
campaign on the temple, the BJP's aggressive talk on the issue and the
anguish of the BJP's allies.
They do not seem to be satisfied with the PM’s “clarification” in the
Lok Sabha.
In fact, Vajpayee's assurance that the government would abide by the
national agenda and the court verdict on the Ayodhya issue came in
response to desperate interventions from the Trinamul, the TDP and the
DMK.
To add to the allies' confusion, even while they were trying to assess
the implications of Vajpayee's statements, BJP president Bangaru Laxman
claimed that the defeat of the censure motion in the Lok Sabha was an
endorsement for constructing the temple at the disputed site.
Stung by this “wrong” interpretation, TDP parliamentary party leader
K.Y. Naidu today criticised Laxman for saying that the temple existing
at the disputed site could not be removed even if the court verdict was
in favour of mosque.
While Laxman claimed he was quoted out of context, Naidu declared that
the TDP would not “spare” the government if it deviated from the
secular agenda.
In Calcutta, Ms Mamata Bannerjee also emphasised that “if anyone tries
to deviate from the NDA agenda, the Trinamul will be the last to
tolerate it.”
She disagreed with the PM's statement that the temple issue was an
expression of “national sentiment” and said that her party favoured a
status quo on the masjid issue.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/171200/detNAT10.asp
TDP slams BJP president’s remark on censure motion
HTC and Agencies
(New Delhi/ Hyderabad, Dec 16)
The TDP, a key constituent in the NDA, on Saturday attacked BJP
president Bangaru Laxman for his statement that the Lok Sabha rejection
of the censure motion was an endorsement of the movement for Ram temple
construction.
TDP parliamentary party leader K Yerrannaidu also criticised Laxman's
interviews on Friday in which he said the temple existing at the
disputed site could not be removed even if courts decided in favour of
the mosque.
"It was highly improper to interpret the Lok Sabha verdict on the
Congress motion which only related to the resignation of the three
union ministers as an endorsement for building Ram mandir on the
disputed site", he said.
Meanwhile, Congress Working Committee member and former Chief Minister
K. Vijayabhaskar Reddy today urged the TDP to withdraw support to the
NDA government over its failure to come to the rescue of Andhra
farmers.
"Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is raving and ranting about Centre's
apathy towards the farmers. When the NDA government is dependent on the
TDP for its survival, he should threaten to withdraw support in a bid
to secure a better deal for the farmers in the state," Reddy said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/171200/detOPI02.asp
ErraticA: Kabab Mein Vajpayee
Bachi J Karkaria
“A rolling dome gathers no mosque,” said the PM-ji. He then marched to
an iftar party, vowing, “Biryani wahin banaenge!”
In this holy month of fasting, there’s been a feast of mandir-masjid
mania. Listening to the political quibbling, the cynic may well
sigh, ‘Aya Ram-zan, Gaya Ram-zan !’
Delhi’s political classes have had their hands, and their social
diaries, quite full. When they haven’t been holding up parliamentary
proceedings, they’ve been holding up plates at iftar parties. The
Ayodhya temple controversy has erupted bang in the middle of Ramzan,
and the irony of this resounds louder than the amplified call of the
muezzin — or that of the maha-arati.
By now the entire country, its wife and Outlook magazine knows every
little detail about how — if not why — the once-liberal Prime Minister
succumbed to the fundamentalists’ demand on the Ram Mandir. Whether you
think his volte face made him save face or lose it depends on whether
you are a champion of Hindutva, or whether you are just a secular dim-
ocrat.
Yet, whatever their stand on whether the Ram temple should be built on
the site of the demolished Babri Masjid/disputed structure’, our
nattily dressed netas continue to show up at the nightly iftar parties
in the capital.
These have become Delhi’s most-happening December event, so much so
that the political class which flocks to them could well be labeled the
iftarati. Cutlery is provided, but you are allowed to bring your own
chamchas.
In simpler times, the ending of the day’s roza was marked by the eating
of a few dates and the breaking of bread. In our more politically
sophisticated age, the tradition is to eat bread, and break whatever
dates you had with Supreme Court directives or the Liberhan Commission.
In much the same way that Lord Ram has little to do with the politics
embroiling his janambhomi, holding a Delhi iftar party has little to do
with being a Muslim. These jamborees can as easily be hosted by a Roman
Catholic Italian .
The guest list is therefore even less sacred. In fact it’s almost
profane. Mostly, it is a case of `Hindu-Muslim chai-chai’ . There’s
nothing Chori Chori Chupke Chupke about the attendance. Instead,
politicians from the majority community openly declare, ‘Khullam khulla
iftar karenge hum dono.’
Everybody wants to be part of the iftarati. So naturally, those who
aren’t invited try to muscle their way in. Some of the more blatant do
so by clambering over the walls of the Lutyens bungalows while
shouting, ‘Ek dhakka aur do, iftar gate-crash kar do.’
The first political iftar party of this holy month of Ramzan was held
by the socialite Samajwadi , Amar Singh. It had so much of the
Bollywood glitterati in attendance that you might be forgiven for
thinking you’d strayed into the muharrat of the Akshay-Twinkle wedding.
Indeed there were more Bachchans than Khans in evidence.
The Delhi iftarati flits smoothly from party to party (a skill they’re
professionally equipped with anyway). The dress code poses no problem.
All they need is a simple white prayer cap and a smartly cut hypocrisy.
You are certainly not obliged to have fasted before the partaking of
iftari. On the contrary, most of this year’s attendees arrive after
having feasted all day on their political opponents, including those
who uphold Muslim sentiments.
While tradition has been slaughtered like a qurbani ka bakra on several
matters in Dilli’s iftar parties, some conventions happily remain. The
menu, as far as we can see, does not reflect the current gastronomical
genuflections of GK I & II. Semiyaan has not been replaced by sushi or
the typical Nizamuddin naan by Tex-Mex nachos. Indeed, the traditional
biryani and kababs combine seems to have held out longer than any
political alliance in recent memory.
This could be because the so-called secular iftarati doesn’t want to
let go of this chance to gorge on great Muslim food without having to
wait for a wedding in Lucknow or worry about the internal or intestinal
security at Karim’s.
There may be other reasons as well. For instance, politicians have a
natural affinity with seekh kababs since they’re used to a diet of char-
grilled opponents. And, in less belligerent moods too, even the
Hindutvites feel quite at home with the traditional main course of the
iftar party. After all, the presiding flavour of both the biryani and
the BJP is saffron.
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