<!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> Poll Code Violation
CM gets EC rap
Tribune News Service
Shimla, November 13
The Election Commission today issued notice to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for allegedly threatening and intimidating election officials and violating the model code of conduct with regard to the use of vehicles, beacons and sirens during campaigning in the Kinnaur constituency.
After seeking reports on the complaints received in this regard, the commission found that Yashpal, DSP, CMâs security, arrived at Kinnaur with two vehicles, including a state police pilot vehicle fitted with a beacon and two sirens, a Mahindra Scorpio (HP 07 B 1400) having a red light atop for which no permission had been obtained from the authorities concerned, for use in the election campaign.
The commission concluded that bringing a private vehicle for campaign from Shimla without the permission of the CEO was in violation of the instructions of the commission. It also received a report that the vehicles were used as pilot vehicles during the campaign on November 11 and 12 even after the district administrationâs action.
Moreover, during a meeting with observers, the Chief Minister said detaining the vehicles fitted with red lights was illegal and cautioned the DC and the SP to âbehave properlyâ. He was also reported to have said that the âmodel code of conduct is not a law and I know what the law isâ.
The commission considered the issue and came to the conclusion that it was a case of interference in the election process and amounted to threatening and intimidating officials involved in the election process.
It asked the Chief Minister to file a reply by November 15 (11 am).
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Modi for creating pool of 'rapid fire' campaigners </b>
Pioneer.com
Kumar Uttam | New DelhiÂ
... for first phase of Gujarat poll on Dec 11
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi plans to kick off the campaign in all 87 Assembly segments that are going to the polls in the first phase on December 11 simultaneously.
To take his opponents by surprise, <b>Modi is learnt to have suggested to the party's "election managers" to create a pool of around 30 campaigners who could be engaged in a "rapid fire" campaign on a single day. On Sunday, Modi had surprised his rivals by dropping more than 50 per cent of the candidates the BJP had filed in Gujarat in the 2002 Assembly elections.</b>
A senior BJP leader told The Pioneer, "Modi wants central leadership of the party to identify the leaders who would campaign for the candidates during elections. If 30 of them are picked up, each of them would separately address three rallies each to cover the entire 87 Assembly segments on a single given day.
The leader contended it would not be much problem for the BJP to find out such a large number of campaigners available on a single day. The party believes in case there was any shortage of campaigners at the national level, it would be fulfilled bringing in Chief Ministers and leaders from the States.
"Modi wants the campaign to be kicked off either on November 27 or 29. That means all BJP's campaigner must be available on that date," the party leader added.
However, that the Parliament Session is going on and most of BJP's star campaigners are member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, party's campaign managers are trying to find out a suitable date to kick off the campaign so that all its MPs were available.
<b>Leader of the Opposition LK Advani, BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh, Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar, Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and others are expected to campaign for the party in the polls. Party MPs like Hema Malini, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna and others might also be roped in</b>.
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Modi, inept pragmatist
Swapan DasguptaPosted online: Saturday, November 24, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print EmailGujaratâs CM is Indiaâs only genuine right-winger. Heâs a moderniser and that, ironically, has led to his difficulties.
Swapan Dasgupta
Related Stories BJP, seek donât Hyde
BJPâs Pratibha Patil
For the past few years the language of secularist outrage has become predictable. Last week, angered by the CPMâs high- handedness in Nandigram, historian Sumit Sarkar showered on West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee the ultimate abusive epithet: he equated him with Narendra Modi.
No Indian public figure in living memory has been subjected to as much vilification as has the chief minister of Gujarat. From being routinely called âfascistâ and âmass murdererâ to being dubbed a four-letter word by a leading magazine, Modi has been projected as the epitome of ugliness. The anger is centred on his alleged acts of commission and omission during the post-Godhra violence of 2002. According to a parliamentary reply given by the Union minister of state for home affairs on May 11, 2005, a total of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in what has been variously described as a âpogromâ, âgenocideâ and, by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as another âHolocaustâ.
Given the persistence of shrillness, there was an expectation that the matter would have been brought once again to the court of democracy next month. Yet, as the subdued reactions to TV footage of sundry goons bragging about their murderous ways suggest, Gujarat is reluctant to revisit the gory past. Godhra and its fallout was the theme of the December 2002 election, and the political class is anxious to avoid an action replay. Righteous victimhood will at best form a silent sub-text of the campaign.
On the surface, the December poll appears a ânormalâ election. Despite the towering omnipresence of Modi, the themes at play â personal enmities, governance, caste, local grievances, campaign imagery, etc â hardly mark Gujarat out from other routine celebrations of democracy. At the same time, everyone agrees that the Gujarat verdict will have a profound bearing on future politics. Is the importance being attached to the Gujarat verdict, therefore, merely a consequence of Modiâs involvement? If identity politics isnât at the heart of this election, is the future of Modi just an academic issue?
The Gujarat election is a ânormalâ election if sectarian tensions are taken as the sole index of abnormality. However, in terms of establishing new benchmarks in governance and political management, how Gujarat votes will contain important lessons. In what may yet turn out to be a referendum on the past five years of Modiâs administration, the verdict may help redefine what can and cannot be achieved in the political sphere.
The real tragedy of Modi is that his audacious bid to reshape the rules of governance and politics has been overshadowed on the national stage by an obsessive preoccupation with Hindu-Muslim issues. In Gujarat, however, the agenda has been set by Modiâs strategy for rapid economic growth and an approach to political management that has produced tensions between him and a section of the RSS parivar.
Modi has presided over a period of double-digit economic growth in Gujarat. It has won him the lavish appreciation of industry and made Gujarat the most favoured destination of private investment. Yet, what has been insufficiently highlighted is that the success of Gujarat owes a great deal to Modiâs success in demolishing many of the ideological obstacles to market-oriented economics. Some of his more notable successes include: statutory curbs on government fiscal profligacy; curbing wasteful expenditure through a 9 per cent cut in non-plan expenditure over five years; carrying out radical reforms in the power sector that has led to profits for the âunbundledâ power companies and ensured generous power supply to rural Gujarat; and, most important, amending the draconian Industrial Disputes Act to make labour laws in the special economic zones receptive to market conditions.
Modi has been one of Indiaâs foremost modernisers. He has transformed Gujarat into an entrepreneur-friendly state and given India a foretaste of the potential benefits that can accrue from a government committed to economic freedom. His critics are right: Modi is Indiaâs only genuine right-winger.
Ironically, Modiâs difficulties have arisen from this unwavering commitment to efficiency as a principle of governance: âMinimum government and maximum governanceâ. The political culture of India, cutting across parties, is rooted in patronage and self-gratification. In defying these pressures â an important example is resisting political interference in Gujaratâs hugely successful public sector units â the chief minister has been portrayed as arrogant and insensitive to political compulsions. Both MLAs and pracharaks have turned their guns on him for repudiating the politics of âadjustmentâ, a euphemism for cronyism and discretionary irregularities.
Modi is an inept pragmatist. He could easily have bought peace for himself by making expedient compromises, as politicians are expected to do. In being fanatically uncompromising and, at the same time, maintaining the highest standards of personal integrity, he has shown the possibilities of an alternative approach to politics.
In challenging the âpower brokersâ (what Rajiv Gandhi tried and failed in the first years of his rule), Modi has taken a stupendous risk. There are many in the BJP who are fearful that his no-nonsense reputation, embellished by a show of machismo, may prove contagious and unsettle their little cosy arrangements. The fears are not unfounded. Modi has attempted to strike a direct rapport with the electorate bypassing intermediaries who call themselves âkaryakartasâ. In a parliamentary system this is always difficult, but he has tried to negotiate the problem by banking on a fierce personality cult around himself.
Conventional wisdom, particularly after the failure of India shining in 2004, shows there is no alternative to vote bank populism. The political class has also come to believe that exercising hard options is politically hazardous and can best be done by stealth and subterfuge. Modi has challenged these axioms robustly. The outcome of the assembly poll will show whether his faith in populist idealism is electorally tenable or not.
If Modi wins, there is a future for a refreshing brand of politics. If he is defeated, the political class will have taken its revenge on an interloper.
11-28-2007, 04:18 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-28-2007, 06:05 PM by Bodhi.)
From Taslima Nasreen thread :
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi has announced in Bhavnagar during a election rally that the Bangladeshi writer is welcome to stay in Gujarat. He has also promised her full State protection.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Taslima-ben (sister) is what he called her.
He also invited Pasta-ben (Sonia Gandhi) <!--emo& --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
One TV channel (Sahara Samay or EenaduTV) showed the ancestral place of Narendra Modi, and that he came from a very humble backgroud. His father ran a tea shop in a small town.
ibn showed a clip where a congressi leader AICC general secretary B K Hari Prasad said :
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->âHow can he say anything against Sonia Gandhi? <span style='color:red'>People know Modi was born in a gutter. He doesnât even know his fatherâs name,â said Hari Prasad, who is in charge of Gujarat.</span>
http://www.nazariya.com/2007/10/19/modi-bo...me-cong-leader/
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no channel picked it up. ibn also did not repeat the mistake of showing the clip a second time.
So can we now discuss Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's family?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>Modi declares assets worth Rs 40 lakh to EC</b>Posted online: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 12:00:00
Updated: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 07:18:24Â
Ahmedabad, November 28: A 57-year-old bachelor, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has assets worth Rs 40 lakh, does not own any vehicle and has no cases against him, according to an affidavit he filed before the Election Commission.
Modi, who submitted his nominations papers from city's Maninagar Assembly Constituency, has stated in the affidavit that he is a resident of Ranip in Ahmedabad and has no farm or commercial land.
However, he owned a house in Sector-I area of Gandhinagar built on an area measuring 326.22 square metres.<b> It was bought for about Rs 1.30 lakh and its current market value was Rs 30 lakhs.</b>
The Chief Minister also declared that he did not own any vehicle but had Rs 8 lakhs in bank deposits at SBI's Gandhinagar Sachivalaya branch. In the same branch, his <b>savings bank account had an amount of Rs 55,000</b>.
<b>Modi declared that he possesses Rs 11,200 in cash and had three gold rings worth Rs 50,000</b>.
He has not invested in bonds, shares or debentures of any companies and had not availed of any bank loan either. He, however, held National Saving Certificates worth Rs 3.39 lakhs.
Modi, a post graduate in political science from Gujarat University, stated that he has no court cases against him and he has filed his income tax returns till 2007-08.
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Compare him with any Commie or DMK or PMK or Mayawati or Yadavs or Pawan or Gandhis.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Karnataka assembly dissolved</b>
Vicky Nanjappa in Bangalore | November 29, 2007 01:18 IST
rediff
Sources told rediff.com that the President signed a proclamation dissolving the Karnataka Legislative Assembly late on Wednesday night, following an approval given by the Parliament.
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<b>Uma withdraws her candidates</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ahmedabad, Nov. 28: In a major blow to dissidents in Gujarat, Ms Uma Bharti has decided that her Bharatiya Janshakti Party will not contest elections in Gujarat. Dissidents have accused Ms Bharti of "patching up with Mr Modi for personal interests".
Ms Uma Bharti, who had dubbed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the biggest pseudo Hindu on Sunday backtracked on Wednesday and asked her partyâs Gujarat unit to withdraw all the candidates from the fray. As many as 60 candidates were contesting on the BJS ticket. Most of them were BJP rebels. Their contesting the election was a big boon for the Congress since they were expected to dent into the traditional BJP votebank. Ms Uma Bhartiâs agenda was to "expose Mr Modi and his pseudo Hindutva".
Ms Bhartiâs decision of withdrawing from the electoral fray in Gujarat has come after her spiritual guru Vishvesha Tirtha of Pejawar mutt asked her again to take steps to "consolidate Hindu forces" in Gujarat by withdrawing her partyâs nominees.
In a letter to Gujarat unit chief Chaitanya Shambu Maharaj, she said the Bharatiya Janshakti will have to repent if "anti-national forces" benefit in the state because of its presence in the race.
The situation in Gujarat is entirely different from the rest of the country, said Ms Bharti, who has been blowing hot and cold over the issue of withdrawal of candidates in favour of the BJP.
Mr Vishvesha Tirtha, on the other hand, said he had detailed talks with many prominent sanyasins on the political situation in Gujarat and it was felt that for "Hindu consolidation" it will be better that "division of Hindu forces is avoided".
"I have instructed my disciple Uma Bharti that it will be advisable for her to consolidate Hindu forces by withdrawing the candidates and thereby clearing confusion in the minds of Hindu society," he said in a statement. Tirtha said he will continue to have dialogue with the saints in Gujarat to find solutions to their problems. "I have advised Uma Bharti to address to Hindu society for consolidation and solution to their problems," agency reports from Delhi said.
Meanwhile in Gujarat, there is buzz that the saffron sadhvi has struck a compromise and would return to the BJP fold and even stake her claim for MP chiefministership.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Finally, anti Hindu media is helping Hindus to join hand. Tehalka tapes and COngress nonsense did just reverse.
Karnataka polls in April
30 Nov, 2007, 0414 hrs IST,Bharti Jain, TNN
NEW DELHI: With the dissolution of the Karnataka assembly late on Wednesday night, the stage is set for an early poll in April next. While January 3 is the date for publication of the updated rolls for the year 2008, the possibility of delays in an effort to perfect the Karnataka rolls ahead of the snap poll is not being ruled out. Also, with school examinations taking up the second half of February and March, April may be the earliest that the assembly poll can be scheduled.
The dissolution has already sparked off hectic political activity among the three main contenders for the power pie in the state. While the BJP has hit the streets, rallying people against the JD(S)âs âbetrayal,â the latter is headed for a split, with a significant section headed by former minister M P Prakash revolting against H D Deve Gowdaâs arbitrary and dictatorial style of functioning. The Congress too has started planning its electoral strategy.
The Presidential notification of the dissolution of the assembly was issued on Wednesday night, leaving the field clear for the Election Commission to step in and work on a schedule for conduct of polls in the state. The EC faces two options; either to hold the polls before February 15 or wait until April, given the fact that the intervening examinations during February-March and the consequent non-availability of teachers/schools for poll infrastructure would make it impossible to hold the assembly election during this period.
The pre-February 15 option appears extremely difficult, even though the revised rolls would be out by first week of January. According to a senior EC official, it is normal for a poll-bound state to delay the publication as it has to accommodate a much higher number of objections at the last minute. Since election dates are usually announced only after the final rolls are published, any delay would leave EC little time to hold polls before the start of examinations.
There is usually a 45-day gap between announcement of the poll and the polling day. Given that a February poll looks unlikely, the announcement of the poll could come sometime in February and the actual polling, which could be more than in one phase, sometime in April.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><span style='color:red'>Muslims in Sikka prefer BJP</span>
Joydeep Ray
Friday, November 30, 2007 (Jamnagar)
Gujarat's Sikka constituency in Jamnagar district is being flaunted by Narendra Modi as a model to woo Muslim voters in other parts of the state.
The economic prosperity, enjoyed by the predominantly Muslim population, has clearly tilted the scales in favour of Modi.
The Congress, which is caught between the need to woo Hindu voters and not lose the Muslim vote, is hoping the Sikka model will not prove to be Modi's trump card.
Sikka, the port town, has about is about 70 per cent Muslim population and almost everyone is behind the BJP. All 19 seats of Sikka municipality are held by the BJP and 14 of them are Muslim members.
Economic freedom appears to have blunted the blow of the 2002 riots. Both Reliance and Indian Oil Corporation have refineries here and recently Reliance doubled its capacity.
So, jobs are in plenty, development is real and the Congress is feeling the heat.
''Yes, there were communal problems in 2002, but in last five years, there is not a single such incident, our community leaders have now become BJP leaders here. The party has accommodated them. We have reasons to support BJP and Modi,'' said A T Attarwala, industrialist and a resident of Sikka.
Changing perception
The voters say that the Congress party did not do enough for the region and that they are not anti-BJP.
''For 40 years we were voting for Congress but no development in our town. They have cheated us. It's not necessary that Muslims are anti-BJP. We look forward to development which is here all over now in the last five years. We are happy with this government,'' said Mahmood Musa Sumbhadiya, Chairman, Sikka Municipality.
The BJP's strategy is to use Sikka as an example to woo Muslim voters in other parts of the state. The Congress, of course, believes it won't work.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story...%208:27:00%20AM
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Muslims in Sikka prefer BJP<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
We will know only after voting. Previously, lot of Muslins joined BJP only to quit just after election, but in polling booth they voted for SP/BSP.
Can't be trusted.
<!--emo&:thumbsup--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbup.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbup.gif' /><!--endemo--> Yeddyurappa mulls to drag JD(S) to court
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Agencies
Posted online: Sunday , December 02, 2007 at 12:00:00
Updated: Sunday , December 02, 2007 at 11:57:05 Print Email To Editor Post Comments
Bangalore, December 1: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa said he was thinking of filing a suit in the Supreme Court against the JD(S) for toppling his Government after pledging support through sworn affidavits.
"I am thinking of approaching the Supreme Court against the JD(S) as it went back on its promise of support even after pledging unconditional support by filing sworn affidavits of its MLAs," he said addressing a convention organised to facilitate BJP members elected from the Urban Local Bodies.
Yeddyurappa, whose week-old Government collapsed on the floor of the state Assembly on November 19 following a whip issued by the JD(S) to vote against it, asked his partymen to expose the acts of "betrayal" by the former coalition partner, with which the BJP shared power for 20 months.
He said BJP would contest all the 224 seats in the coming Assembly elections and ruled out any truck with any political outfit, including the Janata Dal (United).
BJP had fought the 1999 Assembly election on seat sharing basis with the JD(U) and the experience had proved disastrous for both the parties.
Yeddyurappa came down heavily on a section of dissidents in the party and asked them to shun anti-party activities.
A compact disc on JD(S)' refusal to transfer power to BJP and bringing down of its government was released on the occasion as a campaign material in the run up to the assembly elections.
BJP national general secretary H N Anantkumar, state unit president D V Sadananda Gowda and others also spoke on the occasion.
(In fact, all those who signed the affidavits should be debarred from contesting elections.{My pers views.})
Congress has defamed Gujarat: BJP
Press Trust of India
Monday, December 03, 2007
BJP President Rajnath Singh has charged the Congress with defaming Gujarat nationally and internationally by calling its Chief Minister Narendra Modi as "merchant of death".
<b>The Congress has been continuously hurting the self-esteem of the people of the state, he said, addressing a public meeting in Ahmedabad on Sunday.</b>
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in her election meetings in Gujarat on Saturday, had described Modi as "dishonest" and "merchant of death".
<b>During the Congress-led UPA Government's rule, inflation has been rising constantly, but if at all anything has become cheaper then it is the human life, Singh said.
The number of terrorists attacks during the UPA Government has been many, claiming the lives of hundreds of people in different parts of the country, he said.
Singh said there has been no terrorist attack in Gujarat in the last five years because the state's BJP government has been alert to the problem.</b>
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We need a Modi like PM to handle the security situation in India.
Today there is IB alert about a possible terror attack in Delhi by HuJI and LeT terrorists.
<b> Gujarat village powered by NRIs</b>
Saturday, December 01, 2007
The Akhaj village in Mehsana has 3,000 voters and their average age is 60-plus.
But the senior citizens of this village are not helpless since they have dollar power. Every third person there is an NRI, but while some are legal, most of them are not but they all send a lot of money back home.
"The government gives us Rs 10 lakh a year. NRIs send us Rs one crore, so we don't care who comes to power at all," said Vishu Bhai Patel, Member, Panchayat.
Akhaj is a picture of prosperity but no thanks to the government.
There's a primary school, a high school, the hospital and this spanking new temple, which cost over a crore.
It's all built with NRI money and donated to the panchayat. Hard currency has ensured even smooth roads.
"Yes, my son sends the money so I gave it to these people to build pucca roads here," said a local.
The people of Akhaj have no demands from the state. They are not too bothered about who comes to power but they have one lament.
"During festivals, we miss some young energy. There are no young people," said the deputy sarpanch.
Ideologically, the village is inclined towards the BJP. After all, Narendra Modi is from this district but when politicians come asking for votes, their attitude is - who cares? They have got visa power.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Today there is IB alert about a possible terror attack in Delhi by HuJI and LeT terrorists. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It is due to Red Fort case stay. IB is busy spying opposition parties, they are clueless of any Internal danger by Indian Muslim jihadism and external danger from rest of Muslim world.
<b>BJPâs 80 rallies subdue Cong</b>
link
Ahmedabad, Dec 2 The BJP seems to have turned the tables on the Congress by stringing together 80 poll rallies across the state to steal Sonia Gandhiâs âNew-age Gujaratâ thunder on Sunday. The 80 rallies appeared more than enough to overcast the release of the Congressâ election manifesto that promised among other things free ration for the Gujaratâs poor
In contrast, the Congress seems to have a ground soil. The Congress manifesto doesnât make Godhra the main poll issue. âIf the Congress comes to power the party will give 25 kg wheat, 10 kg rice, 4 kg dal, 5 kg sugar and 15 litre of kerosene free of cost to 20% of the poorest of poor every month,â GPCC president Bharat Solanki said. The manifesto also promises to develop the economic status of the minorities.
<b>Story of 2 Rs. Coin that has become Modi's election issue</b>
December 3, 2007
Gujarat: Shri. Narendra Modi Said, "Congress is a pseudo-secular party. Look at the Rs 2 coin-it had a map of India earlier but now it has been replaced by a cross. Sonia (Sonia Gandhi), tell us why are you doing this..."
"I had gone to the Landmark book shop on Nungambakkam High Road Monday evening. When, I got a new 2 Rupee Coin minted in 2006 as loose change towards the balance that was payable to me, I was shell-shocked to note that on one side of this coin was the usual and familiar Ashokan Lion Capitol in miniature size (! ?) with the constitutionally approved and administratively established inscription of Sathyameva Jayathe (Truth Alone Triumphs) deliberately smudged/omitted with pseudo-secular sinister intentions. On the reverse of the same coin, I could clearly see the inscription of a Christian Cross which had replaced the map of India. I asked myself a highly saffronised and communal question: Are we living in a Catholic country like Italy or Spain or Portugal where Roman Catholicism is the religion of the State and the people?
Sonia's calling an elected CM 'merchant of death' - if this tag was to be applied to her family, they could own a bazaar of death itself. Shows their desperation.
Here's a stunt from MK's book: Cong offers free TV in Gujarat
Of course, if Modi hadn't provide electricity to every village, they'd have promised electricity too, like they did in Maharashtra last time. And we know how they renegade on that after elections.
<!--emo&:grenade--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/grenade.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='grenade.gif' /><!--endemo--> Congress defaming Hindus of Gujarat: Narendra Modi
5 Dec 2007, 1757 hrs IST,PTI
GODHRA: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday charged the Congress with defaming Hindus of the state by calling them terrorists (antakwadis), a day after he justified the encounter of Sohrabbudin.
"The Congress was defaming Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by calling Hindus of Gujarat terrorists (antakwadis)," he said in an election meeting at Godhra, the sensitive town where the attack on Sabarmati Express train on February 27, 2002 leading to the worst-ever communal riots in the history of the state.
Modi was referring to Congress leader Digvijay Singh's statement here on Sunday in which the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister had said that there was Hindu extremism in Gujarat.
To make the crowd responsive to his plank, Modi asked them whether they were 'Hindus' to which the chorus was 'yes'. When he asked, if it was 'antakwadi' as the Congress says, they shouted 'no'.
He also touched the 'Ram Setu' issue. Modi asked the crowd whether it believed that Lord Ram was born, the answer was 'yes'. He asked again if it believed that 'Ram Setu' was built, the reply was 'yes'.
But Congress-led UPA government in an affidavit in the Supreme Court had said that neither Lord Ram was born nor the 'Ram Setu' was built, he said, asking it to be proud of the fact that they were Hindus.
The affidavit was later withdrawn.
I read in the Telegraph that due to the negative campaigning by some dissidents Modi is forced to go on the offensive instead of emphasizing development.
I think he knows the lessons of 2004 India shining campaign and is sticking to basics.
Also INC and the whole secular brigade is making provocative charges and gets a free pass and he gets tarnished when he replies.
Reminds me of Shiv's former Dhimmi and dhimmi dialogue.
From:
Narendra D. Modi
Gandhinagar.
To
The Election Commission of India
Nirvachan Sadan,
Ashoka Road,
New Delhi.110001.
Subject: Your Notice dated 6th December 2007 to Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat State.
Sir,
I am in receipt of your notice dated 6th December 2007 wherein on the basis of the media reports and a complaint dated 5th December 2007 filed by Teesta Setalvad, I am alleged to have made an open exhortation to violence and misused of religion for political ends. The Election Commission has further stated that by linking the name of Sohrabuddin to terrorism in my speech amounts to indulging in activity which may aggravate existing differences, creating mutual hatred and causing tension between different communities. I deny this charge in its entirety.
1. The Commission has acted on the basis of a complaint which alleges that my stand is contrary to what the State of Gujarat has stated in its affidavit before the Supreme Court. The basis of the complaint appears to be a report dated 5th December 2007 of the Times of India by one Shri Prashant Dayal. The relevant extract in the Times of India reads as under:
Modiâ¦â¦.you tell what should be done to Sohrabuddin?
People at the rally: Kill him, kill him.
Modi: Well, that is what I did. And I did what was necessary."
The last sentence of the report of the Times of India has generated controversy in the whole nation. Television Channels and News Papers have made comments to the effect that I have stated that 'Sohrabuddin got what he deserved', or that 'it is a confessional statement by me' or that 'Modi has justified a murder'. All other news papers cuttings which the Commission has taken into account are dated 6th December 2007, which do not report my speech delivered on 4th December, 2007 but are comments inspired by false imputation in the Times of India. This last sentence is not reflected in the CD as having been used by me.
2. 'The Statesman' dated 6th December 2007 quoted me as having said â
"he (Sohrabuddin) has got what he deserved": The Hindustan Times of 6th December quoted me as saying "Well then, that's it." I had on 6th December 2007, immediately after receiving Election Commission's notice requested that I may be supplied copy of the CD of the speech and also various inputs which have influenced the issuance of the notice. I have since received the copy of CD on the evening of 7th December 2007 at 5.45 p.m. I find none of the above statements are contained in my speech as recorded in the CD. The E.C. notice is issued on the basis of unverified and false media reports.
3 As I am also involved in a campaign I am sending this as a preliminary reply, which I am sure would satisfy the Election Commission with regard to the contents of my speech. Before I answer specifics raised in the notice and the complaint, I wish to state that India is governed by Rule of law and Constitution. I am entitled to my right of free speech. Free and fair election involves a debate on the political issues in the market place of politics. When statements are made by political opponents, others are entitled to reply to them. The tone and content of the statement must necessarily adhere to the Model Code of Conduct. I wish to categorically state that I regard the Election Commission as a constitutional authority under an obligation to ensure free and fair election which will also defend my right of free speech against those who have started hate campaign against me.
4. On 1st December 2007, AICC President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi visited Gujarat and referred to me by suggesting those who are ruling Gujarat are "liars, dishonest and merchants of fear and death (Maut-ke-Soudagar)." On 3rd December 2007, AICC General Secretary Mr. Digvijay Singh visited Gujarat and referred to it as a State which has unleashed "Hindu terrorism." The newspapers reported these statements extensively. Separate complaints with regard to the violation of the Code of Conduct were sent to the Election Commission by the Gujarat Unit of BJP. No action has been taken against those responsible for these statements by the Election Commission. I am sure the Election Commission would at least now proceed to take action on those reports.
5. One of the critical issues in our country is the problem of terrorism. India has lost the lives almost 90,000 of innocent citizens and security personnel in the last 17 years to terror. In the last four years, 5,619 innocents have been killed by the terrorist. The Government of Gujarat has a strong policy against terrorism. I believe that UPA and Congress party is indulging in Vote Bank politics and have sent soft signals on terrorism. My party and I have repeatedly made these charges against the Congress Party. In Gujarat only one life has been lost in the last four years through terror. This is a result of our strong policy against terrorism. The Nation and the people of Gujarat are entitled to witness a fair debate on terrorism. If any of the view point is censored or not permitted it will be interference in the right of free speech. Our Constitution and the election commission's obligation to conduct free and fair election will not extend to preventing me from expressing my strong views against terrorism..
6 My speech, therefore, has to be read entirely in this context. It was a political response to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi referring to me as those who rule the Gujarat as a 'Mout-ke-saudagar'. Surely it cannot be policy of the Election commission first to ignore the violation of the Code of Conduct in her statement and then censor my political response to that statement. I have gone through my speech on the CD supplied. It is merely a response to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi calling me "Mout-ka-Saudagar".
7. This part of my speech was entirely against terrorism. I criticized the Congress President for calling me a 'Maut Ka Saudagar´. I responded that the "Maut Ka Saudagar" are all those who attacked parliament. It is the Congress party which is delaying the execution of the guilty accused. I have made a reference to the Sohrabuddin's case and mentioned the allegations against him. I have accused the Congress of suggesting that I have engineered a fake encounter. I said that I am open for any action on this count. At no point of time I have either justified the specific encounter of Sohrabuddin's case, nor have I used the specific inculpatery sentences used in the Times of India Report. It is clear that my comment is a part of my speech where on several occasions I have put questions to the audience which the audience has answered. It is my political response to Smt. Gandhi's allegation that I am Maut-ka-Sodagar. I have replied back alleging that the Congress party is helping those who have spread terrorism in the country. It is clear that Times of India's article which began this controversy, invented my comment to the effect "Modi: Well that is what I did. And I did what was necessary". The CD clearly indicates that this sentence was an invention of author and not the orator. The comments in the media that 'Modi justified murder' or that 'he made confessional statement' as being privy to murder or that Modi declared in the meeting that 'Sohrabuddin got what he deserved' do not find a mention in the CD. These are journalistic inventions intended to engineer a 'Hate Modi' campaign and not evidenced in the CD supplied by the Election Commission. My criticism in the media was concocted and engineered by this 'Hate Modi' Campaign. No where in my speech have I explicitly referred to the religion of any person. I have spoken against terrorism. It is not my speech but the complaint which assumes terrorism is linked to a religion.
8. Am I to be prevented from giving my point that terrorism will not be allowed on the soil of Gujarat or that Congress is soft on the terrors and thereby helping "Maut-ka-Sodagar" If Election Commission imposes any such regulation, it would offend our constitutional values and my right of free speech. At no stage I have controverted the affidavit filed by the Gujarat Government in the Supreme Court of India. I have already clarified my position that I do not support fake encounters. Encounters can occur but there should be no fake encounters. I have nowhere tried to prejudice any pending litigation. I am fully committed to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct by the Election Commission and shall comply with it. I believe that the Election Commission should not be misled by motivated media reports which are based on falsehood.
I, therefore, request the Election Commission to withdraw this notice.
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(Narendra Modi)
Date. 8.12.2007.
http://bjp.org/Press/dec_2007/dec_0807_p.htm
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