Congress Undemocratic Ideology - 4

[Guest]

[url="http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/op-ed/sonia-gandhi-and-the-hidden-trail/233507.html"]Sonia Gandhi and the hidden trail[/url]

Meanwhile, all roads seem to lead to Sonia Gandhi: she is the first Lady of India, although she is a simple MP like hundreds of others, the ultimate arbiter, and nothing of importance is decided without her caveat. The immense power she wields within the Congress cannot be only due to her charisma, of her having the Gandhi name or having brought cohesion in the Congress.



It is also, and perhaps mainly, because she holds the purse strings of tremendous amounts of money. These party funds are overt: all the foundations, Rajiv, Indira, Nehru, etc, which store thousands of crores; and covert, starting with the Bofors scam. Where are the secret bank accounts where the scam money is stored? Under whose names are they operated? How is the money brought back to India? Who will answer all these questions?

[dhu]

[url="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cong-hedges-nac-comes-out-binayak-verdict-is-a-disgrace/729389/0"]Cong hedges, NAC comes out: Binayak verdict is a disgrace[/url]

The Congress may have been guarded in its response to the sentencing of Binayak Sen to life imprisonment on charges of sedition but key members of the powerful Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council have lambasted the Chhattisgarh trial court ruling calling it a “crime,” a “disgrace” to democracy, a politically motivated “kangaroo trial”.

[dhu]

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/304656/Overconfident-Cong.html"]Congress after 125 years[/url]



A Surya Prakash

The Congress we see today is vastly different from the Congress that was formed in 1885. Earlier it valued democracy. Today it worships dynasty



The Indian National Congress, the country’s grand old party, which took birth in Mumbai on December 28, 1885 has just concluded its 125th anniversary celebrations. Though this ought to be party time for all its members, the Congress leadership and the cadre are aware that the year that was has been so scam-tainted that the anniversary will in all probability be remembered for all the wrong reasons. So, far from celebrations, the focus at this anniversary ought to be on introspection and even penitence over all the unfulfilled promises.



As everyone is aware, the party has come a long way since its formation. When it pitched for ‘Poorna Swaraj’, it drew lakhs of idealistic men and women into its ranks. Many of them gave up their professions and ploughed all their wealth and resources into the struggle. Since it was built on the blood, sweat and sacrifices of lakhs of workers, the party came to symbolise the very essence of patriotism and freedom. It came to represent a political force that adopted a ‘nation first’ policy; stood for democracy in its truest sense; believed in equity and equality in every sphere; had a secular, liberal outlook; and, valued probity in public life.



We need to see where this party now is, on each of these counts. Taking the last point first because of its topicality, it must be said that the spirit of sacrifice began evaporating after 1947. In the initial years after independence, the Congress had no challengers either at the national or regional levels and members of the party began to relish the loaves and fishes of office.



Side by side, the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru’s dalliance with socialism resulted in the pernicious licence-permit-quota raj which became the breeding ground of corruption. Initially, industrialists offered bribes by way of ‘party funds’ to bag licences. Later, Ministers began pocketing something for themselves. That was the starting point of corruption in New Delhi and in the States. Later, corruption became institutionalised during Mrs Indira Gandhi’s era after the great Congress split of 1969.



Let us now examine the Congress’s commitment to democracy. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel and BR Ambedkar ensured that we got a democratic Constitution which guaranteed equity and equality. But, as we began working this Constitution, the dominance of the Nehru-Gandhi family became a reality. The emergence of such a political dynasty ran contrary to our Constitutional ideals, but party members encouraged this trend because they saw the party’s first family as the ticket to power.



Motilal Nehru (Congress president in 1928), started it all when he ensured that his son Jawaharlal succeeded him as Congress president in 1929. Jawaharlal Nehru continued the tradition by ensuring that his daughter Indira Gandhi became president of the Congress in 1959 when he was Prime Minister. Mrs Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966 and split the party in 1969. Since then the party has virtually become a private limited company that is owned and controlled by the Nehru-Gandhis.



Mrs Indira Gandhi first promoted Sanjay Gandhi in the 1970s. Later, she promoted Rajiv Gandhi after Sanjay’s death. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Ms Sonia Gandhi took charge of the party and now Mr Rahul Gandhi is being groomed for the Prime Minister’s job. He is already a general secretary of the Congress.



The basic principle is that if you are a Nehru-Gandhi, you are a natural claimant to political office. You need no other qualification. Since 1885, members of this family have been presidents of the party for 39 years. Motilal Nehru was president for two years, Jawaharlal Nehru for nine years, Mrs Indira Gandhi for eight years and Rajiv Gandhi for seven years. Ms Sonia Gandhi holds the record both within the dynasty and within the party by having the longest, unbroken tenure of 13 years and is still going strong.



Because of the stranglehold of one family on the Congress, many stalwarts have moved away from it, resulting in a substantial decline in the party’s popularity. Among those who broke away were Jagjivan Ram, Devaraj Urs, Ramakrishna Hegde, Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Purno Sangma and even Mr Chandrababu Naidu. Many others like Veerendra Patil, Mr AK Antony, K Karunakaran and Mr S Jaipal Reddy, have been in and out of the party.



This has eroded the party’s vote share substantially. Since the first general election in 1952, the party, on an average, had a 45 per cent share of the national vote, which translated to about 65 to 70 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. However, this has dropped by about 15 to 20 per cent in the last two decades.



The Congress’s worst performance was in 1999 when it secured 25.82 per cent of the national vote and just 114 seats in the Lok Sabha. It has since recovered and got over 200 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha election but its vote share remains at around 28 per cent. The party has never got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha since 1984.



The bigger problem is that the Congress’s support base has suffered terrible erosion in several big States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar since then. Therefore, despite Mr Rahul Gandhi’s strenuous campaigning, the party’s vote share crashed to just eight per cent in Uttar Pradesh in 2007 and in Bihar in 2010.



Apart from parivarvaad, there is yet another issue — the Emergency of 1975-77 — that has damaged the party’s democratic credentials. The stamp of approval that the party gave to the fascist regime that Mrs Indira Gandhi presided over during the dreaded Emergency remains a big blot on its image.



Finally, let us examine the Congress’s commitment to equity and equality. During the years when Mrs Indira Gandhi was in power, the party played a cruel joke on the poor when it incorporated ‘Socialism’ in the Preamble to the Constitution and raised the slogan of “Garibi Hatao” from every public platform. This was a well-conceived plan to garner the votes of the poor. But the party had no clear plan to tackle poverty. Four decades after Mrs Indira Gandhi’s ‘Garibi Hatao ’ campaign, India has 300 million people living below the poverty line.



Yet, we cannot wish away the Congress. It will be around for a long time to come because the people are far more worried about the alternative that is available to them at the national level — the Bharatiya Janata Party. But, that is another story. So, in the meanwhile, let us not deny the Congress the right to celebrate the glory of the past and the good fortune of the present. Congress Jai Ho!

[Guest]

[url="http://sunday-guardian.com/a/1821"]Pawar games[/url]

SEEMA MUSTAFA New Delhi | 2nd Jan



Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, quite unperturbed about spiralling prices and farmers' suicides, is busy building bridges with Congress detractors. Fishing in troubled UPA waters, Pawar is currently stoking disgruntled allies to form a pressure group within the government with a view to garnering support as an interim Prime Minister if Dr Manmohan Singh is compelled to resign in the New Year.



Pawar, who was on a shaky wicket when UPA 2 came to power as he did not get the expected number of MPs from Maharashtra, has survived the IPL controversy to emerge as a contender for the top post. Buoyed by a troubled Parliament and a stronger Opposition, the Agriculture Minister has doubled efforts to bring the UPA allies and other parties to his side. His meeting with rebel Jagan Reddy in New Delhi has caused concern within Congress circles that see it as part of the "Pawar ploy" to give support to Congress detractors.



Sharad Pawar was close to Jagan's father, the late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy. Congress leaders have always suspected him of supporting Jagan's rebellion, with the recent 45-minute meeting being seen by the party as a confirmation of this. It might be recalled that Jagan Reddy's has been spearheading a campaign against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and has emerged as a recognizable political force in Andhra Pradesh. Congress members point to the fact that Pawar had earlier made common cause with party rebels like V.C. Shukla and K. Karunakaran and was "only acting in pattern".



Pawar, who has a good rapport with Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mamata Banerjee has been strengthening lines of communication with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, a powerful ally in government. The two jointly addressed an Agriculture Conference in Tamil Nadu where the DMK leader was full of praise for Pawar and said that he had been personally invited by the Union Agriculture Minister. Sources pointed out that both leaders are now in "close contact".



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unable to tame the Agriculture Minister or make him accountable for food supplies and prices. He has managed to evade responsibility and the Congress is not able to confront him on these issues as Pawar's support has become indispensable for the party to survive in Maharashtra, the only other major state it controls now besides Andhra Pradesh. In the latter too Pawar, sources said, is busy fomenting dissent, with the Congress particularly perturbed as several of its legislators are hovering around Jagan Reddy.



An emboldened Pawar has now launched a frontal attack against Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on the Lavasa Lake City project near Pune, for proposing action against it. Defending the project Pawar has said that the Environment Minister "should have consulted my ministry". There has been no immediate reaction from a stunned government. The Agriculture Minister has also come out, once again, in strong defence of industrialist Ratan Tata embroiled in the Niira Radia tapes controversy. He is the only Union minister to take this position.



As a senior Congress leader who has known Sharad Pawar for a long time said, "Pawar is able to sense trouble before it actually hits government, and obviously he is preparing the ground for himself." The 2G scam has weakened the Congress in Parliament, and the Opposition insistence not to back off from its demand for a JPC probe heralds prospects of a troubled Parliament through 2011.

[ramana]

Dhu, I was reading a book on Italy(From Caeser to the Mafia) and am struck at how the INC has become a Mafia entity and not just because of Sonia Gandhi. The seeds were from Motilal Nehru time. he fostered the family as the core of the INC.





At the core of the mafia systems is the family and its extended members. These include the immediate members and their relatives and kindered spirts in society. Usually around ~ 600 to a 1000. It then extends patronage to vast numbers in the society. With scarce resources constraint, people need favors: a transfer here, a job or posting etc. It thus captures government which the Sicilians call the biggest mafia of all.



INC has mafiaed the Indian polity since just before Independence and it continues. The JNU system, the UPSC, the power to appoint judiciary and control official postings all ensure the mafia hold of the INC.



Early after Independence, people with virtue and merit could hope to raise to the top. However gradually power and wealth to acquire power became the criterion and hence all these scams by engineered by the family.

[Guest]

S.Gurumurthy's article [url="http://expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=236261"]Zero Tolerance, Secret Billions[/url] on Rajiv and the Dynasty's corrupt past and present.

[dhu]

05.05.2006



http://www.janataparty.org/pressdetail.asp?rowid=46

PRESS RELEASE



I condemn the utterly shocking staging of a lewd dance performance by the Congress Party in Bachrawan Assembly segment of the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constitutency yesterday. The vulgar dialogue and sexually explicit dances were staged to attract crowds for a public meeting for the Congress candidate in the by-election, Ms.Sonia Gandhi. Ms.Gandhi later addressed the meeting with the pimps and dancing girls in attendance. According to the Sify.com website, the Congress leaders did not deny the lewd exhibitionism but defended it as done by 'folk artistes'. It has been my as-yet-undenied charge that Ms.Gandhi spent 5 years in London[1963-68] not studying in the University of Cambridge as she had claimed in an affidavit earlier, but working in Lady Jane's Lovelies-- after a month learning English--speaking at a shop called Lennox Cook School now closed] in the city of Cambridge. It is the dubious culture that she learnt at Lady Jane's Lovelies which made her overturn the Maharashtra government's ban on bar girls from Bangladesh performing in Mumbai and also sanction the disgusting display in her constituency. India's civilisation is under threat from Ms.Sonia Gandhi and her Italian ex-Nazi fascist family. The voters of Rae Bareli should thus save India on May 8th.

[Guest]

[url="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Relative-quits-Congress-pressure-builds-on-ex-CJI/H1-Article1-646588.aspx"]Relative quits Congress, pressure builds on ex-CJI[/url]

Following a series of expose by the Hindustan Times P V Sreenijan, former Chief Justice and [color="#FF0000"]NHRC chairman K G Balakrishanan[/color]'s son-in-law, has resigned from the primary membership of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC). HT had reported that Sreenijan's wealth grew at least 130 times in four years. A Congress candidate in 2006 assembly elections from Ernakulam district he had a meager bank balance (Rs 25,000) and owned no land but he went on to amass property worth crores of rupees in next four years.



The quick action against Sreenjian, who is yet to respond to serious charges, clearly shows that Congress is slowly distancing away from the controversial leader.



Sreenijan's wealth reportedly shot up from Rs 25,000 to Rs 7 crore in four years. Kerala chief minister VS Achuthanandan on Monday directed home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan to appoint a senior bureaucrat to start a vigilance probe the charges against Sreenijan, a Congress candidate in 2006 assembly elections from Ernakulam district.



Another son-in-law of Balakrishan, M J Benny, has allegedly been found to have amassed disproportionate assets.



HT has access to records at Maradu Panchayat on the outskirts of Kochi city, showing that Benny had purchased 96.5 cents of land (100 cents make an acre) between 2008 and 2010 for Rs 81.50 lakh, while the actual cost of the land was at least ten times higher.

He is still NHRC chairman. I can bet he will come up out with his Dalit card.

[Guest]

What is in a label. Sometimes Dalit, sometimes Christian.....A perfect example of "cypto christian".



http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=12982

[Guest]

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/308940/SC/ST-body-alleges-conspiracy-behind-KGB-charges.html"]SC/ST body alleges conspiracy behind KGB charges[/url]



As expected Dalit Card came out. <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> These guys never disappoints.

[Guest]

[quote name='Mudy' date='08 January 2011 - 02:09 AM' timestamp='1294432317' post='110178']

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/308940/SC/ST-body-alleges-conspiracy-behind-KGB-charges.html"]SC/ST body alleges conspiracy behind KGB charges[/url]



As expected Dalit Card came out. <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> These guys never disappoints.

[/quote]



The so called Dalit organizations and their leaders do not really represent the Harijans. These vocalists are the half Christians, half Muslims who wants to claim Dalit status because the Congress Govt. has divided the Hindu community on caste basis so people can be at each others' throat and not unite. This they did by the reservation schemes without which the caste division/politics would not survive. The half Christians/Muslims were deprived of their share of the pie because they got converted so they are clamouring for their cut regardless of conversion. If their demand is conceded then how would they defend their conversion except for the inducement they received in conversion from the proselytizers?



So basically they are corrupt from the beginning and no wonder they want to defend corruption of their compatriots!



Hindu Harijans have nothing to do with Dalit politics and so we should zealously protect their rights from eroded by those who abandoned Hinduism for pittance.

[Capt M Kumar]

He said the BJP was degrading the quality of public life, as 'certain standards have to be maintained in public life.'



"Does BJP want an investigation into allegations leveled against its leaders from time to time by the very persons who were at some point of time close to them? No body knows who will stand where if fingers are raised on the top leadership of any party by linking distant relations," said Dwivedi while speaking about the manner in which the BJP was attacking the Congress.



He also advised the opposition party to 'mend its language and the style of politics' saying this will do a great deal of good to the country as 'larger parties also have larger responsibilities in a democracy.' http://www.rediff.com/news/report/bjp-pe...110111.htm

[ramana]

Is MMS doing a counter coup on INC?

Montek push mirrors divide



SANJAY K. JHA

New Delhi, Jan. 11: The Prime Minister has again expressed a desire to bring Montek Singh Ahluwalia into the cabinet, a Congress insider said. The proposal reflects the differences between the government and the party, which so far has had the support of Sonia Gandhi.



Several Congress leaders see the Planning Commission deputy chairman as “pro-US and pro-reforms” and feel that he is indifferent to the Congress’s left-of-centre ideology.



They think Ahluwalia’s inclusion in the cabinet will not send the right signal at a time the government and the party are trying to make their pro-poor agenda their signature tune.



Congress sources claimed that Sonia appreciated the reasons for the opposition to Montek, whom Manmohan Singh had tried to bring into the cabinet in the past, too.



That Montek is not a politician is seen as an added disqualification by many veteran Congress leaders, who conveniently overlook that Singh, too, had been a bureaucrat before he became finance minister.



If the party agrees to have Montek in the government, he is likely to be considered for the finance ministry, now held by Pranab Mukherjee.



Party sources said the Prime Minister was planning to shift Mukherjee to home affairs. Both the party and Singh favour P. Chidambaram’s exit from the home ministry.



However, no consensus seems to have emerged yet on the rejig, expected anytime after January 14. Sonia and Singh have met once to formally discuss the changes, and a few more meetings will take place soon.



While one party lobby feels Singh should be given a free hand to pick his cabinet, another wants Sonia to make a “meaningful intervention”.



Some Sonia loyalists also want Rahul Gandhi to join the government. They contend that only such a “decisive step” can bring about the “drastic makeover needed in this hour of crisis”.



“If Rahulji joins the cabinet, he will automatically become the centre of attraction and the focus will shift from Manmohan. Besides, he should start learning the intricacies of governance instead of wasting his time with the (party student wing) NSUI and Youth Congress,” a senior leader said. He suggested that the rural development ministry was ideal for Rahul at this stage.



However, some others in the party believe that Rahul should keep away from the government at a time it is enmeshed in controversies.



But after the poll setback in Bihar, and with the prospects looking grim in Uttar Pradesh, the number of leaders who want Rahul in the government has increased.



The Prime Minister’s plan to overhaul the infrastructure-related ministries, too, could emerge as a point of conflict because that would entail shuffling senior Congress leaders around.



The country may get a new human resource development minister with Kapil Sibal transferred to telecom, and efforts are on to bring a more dynamic minister into the foreign office.

[Guest]

Why they are kicking out Chidambaram?

Now they want Sibal to loot?

[Guest]

Chidu will have to go as he is way out of touch with what INC wants. Pranab da keeps the interests of Old gaurd in INC. The crony capitalism is dominating the scene. 2G are not able to replace MMS because of dictums from uncle. Montek is another uncle's buddy and MMS is introducing a potential and acceptable replacement of the future. If MMS succeed in promoting Montek, we may even see Montek as PM one day.

[Guest]

MMS will place Montek as PM and that will be right puppet for US.

Montek's wife Isher Judge is very intelligent and smart woman.

[ramana]

Politics Party guy wakes up!



http://www.politicsparty.com/manmohan_macbeth.php



I think the 2G scam has weakened 2gs so much that, uncle is pushing their own guy and they are forced to swallow.



however lets decode his angst. essentiall y he has been tipped of that counter-counter coup will be in place.



Corrupt Mumbai businessman who benefits from oil price rise is Mukesh

[Guest]

BJP, Shiv Sena predict fall of UPA soon

January 14, 2011 10:20:23 AM

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/310364/BJP-Shiv-Sena-predict-fall-of-UPA-soon.html"] link[/url]

IANS | Mumbai



The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena here Thursday said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) would collapse soon as "its 100 sins are over".



"This government will collapse any time now... its 100 sins are over," former Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi, a senior Shiv Sena leader, told reporters referring to the tussle between Congress and NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) following the remarks of Congress scion Rahul Gandhi.



Former Lok Sabha MP and senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya sought answers from Rahul Gandhi on the rampant corruption and what the government was doing to investigate these scams.



"Nearly Rs.4 lakh crore has been lost across the country because of various scams and this is leading to inflation... this is fuelling the price rise. What is the government doing about this? Instead, the Congress is making contradictory statements," he said, three days ahead of the NDA anti-corruption rally scheduled here Sunday.

Shishu Pal vadh. <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />

[Guest]

[size="4"][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiNstP82UrA&feature=related"]Subramanian Swamy's underground life during the Emergency[/url][/size]

[ramana]

UPA II cabinet reshuffle musings/rumors!



http://sunday-guardian.com/b