Rahul takes on Modi, says incentives only for Nano not the poor

Surat (PTI): Irked by advertisements blaming the Centre for the plight of diamond industry, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a frontal attack on Narendra Modi Government, accusing it of providing incentives worth crores of rupees to Tata's Nano project while turning away from workers affected by recession.

Advertisements had appeared in the local newspapers of Surat on Saturday coinciding with Rahul's visit saying that the Central Government has done nothing for the diamond industry which has over the years earned the government crore of rupees.

The advertisements issued in the name of unemployed diamond workers pointing figures at Rahul Gandhi, who was scheduled to meet diamond workers in the city, had said that those coming from Delhi should stop the show of " false sympathy" to the diamond workers and do something for them.

Gandhi who is on a three-day visit to Gujarat reacted sharply to the advertisements after meeting the diamond workers. "It is one thing to give an advertisement and totally different thing to do some work for them", Rahul told reporters.

"On the one hand Gujarat Government has provided incentives of crores of rupees for Nano project but it has turned away from the diamond workers. It seems state government is not ready to spend money on poor," Rahul said.

Eagle's Eye: It's Moditva and not Hindutva

BJP would be in trouble if it shuts its eyes on the attacks on members of Christian community in Orissa, opines RK Kutty `Sonia provoked me' so said Narendra Modi when he was called by the EC to explain his position on his remarks over Sohrabbuddin's killing recently. Sohrabuddin was done to death by the Gujarat police in an encounter and the case is in the Supreme Court. Celebrated lawyer in Supreme Court KTS Tulsi was defending the state of Gujarat in this case. The very day Modi thundered in an election rally, justifying the killing of Sohrabuddin, KTS Tulsi told the electronic media that he would withdraw from the case.

Narendra Modi, despite many odds stalked against him, has pulled up his third consecutive victory in Gujarat and will be on saddle for a good 5 years. Now, he also emerges the unquestionable authority in the BJP, a party which was already facing rough weather both internally as well as externally. The party was desperately hoping for a comeback and for that one more victory in Gujarat was absolutely necessary. The party leadership therefore gave a free hand to Narendra Modi in the elections in Gujarat. He works like an autocrat. There are only his men at all levels, committed, loyal Sanghis who brief and update him always on latest positions. It works almost like the committed cadre based party- the CPM of West Bengal. Modi might have taken a leaf out of Jyoti Babu's success story of leading the state consecutively four times. And the business/ industry community in Gujarat is more than happy, as Modi's power means a riot-free Gujarat.

When the election campaign started, Modi was giving more thrust on various developments the State had achieved during the BJP rule. People too were praising and glorifying him all along. But then what made him to shift the track and came up with the communal agenda was unclear. On the contrary, the Congress party too was campaigning vigorously. Earlier, some of its State level leaders were making tough verbatim against Modi. But soon it died down as many leaders started campaign, including the UPA Chairperson Ms Sonia Gandhi. Lately, Sonia Gandhi from the Congress side and Narendra from the BJP side were the two hot pursuants. Ever since Modi uttered his remarks on Sohrab killing which was in contravention of the RPA on which a petition was filed with the EC by social activist Teesta Setalvad, Modi perhaps felt the heat and turned for his defence, accusing Sonia Gandhi for provoking him. This clearly shows that Modi is a split personality. It seems exactly as a leading national daily published in its frontline photo feature `One man, two faces' (a sober, pious outward Modi and a red hot, robust inner Modi). Later on, the BJP's national leadership too came in defence of Modi, accusing Sonia for using words like `Maut ka Saudagar' in her election speech. Another accusation of some of the BJP stalwarts against Sonia was that she is anti-Hindu. It seems the BJP cannot think big and come out of its petty, narrow fundamentalist agendas, even after it learned hard lessons from its 2004 defeat on the same ground. Most of the allies of the BJP, like the TDP, DMK, TMC, National Conference & the JD (U) thereafter deserted the party only because of the errant ways of Modi. Now, except JD(U), which itself is a divided house (acrimonies are going on between the party's stalwarts -George Fernandes, Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar), no other party opened its cards in support of LK Advani who is being projected as the PM candidate should the NDA (united as hitherto fore) face the 2009 election. The BJP national leadership must note that the victory of Modi in the latest Assembly polls is the victory of `Moditva' and not `Hindutva'. They would be inviting further trouble for them at the national level, if they shut their eyes on the terror/mayhem now unleashed by its fringe elements like Bajrangdal and VHP in Orissa where members of the innocent Christian community are targeted. About 10-15 Churches have been burnt/destroyed and couple of people too lost their lives. Naveen Patnaik, an ally of the BJP, handles things so casually when the VHP marauders were taking law into their own hands. LK Advani is maintaining his stoic silence over the attack on Christians in Orissa. And that exactly would be the reason Indian electorates would never allow another comeback to the fundamentalist ideologues at the Centre.

Narendra Modi, future PM

Too many journalists have proved guilty of projecting wishful thinking as analysis. Despite widespread media criticism, Narendra Modi won a landslide victory in Gujarat. Many journalists are now trying to explain lamely why they were wrong, and some hope he will be tamed or diminished in his second term.
I see things differently. I see Narendra Modi as a future Prime Minister of India, possibly even the next one. The prospect does not fill me with joy, but analysis is not about joyfulness. Just look around for young politicians who can move the masses, who can be more than regional leaders and make a national impact. I see no new faces, in or outside the BJP, to match Modi.Atal Behari Vajpayee is in poor health, and some believe LK Advani will soon take over from him, maybe in the next general elections in 2004. But Vajpayee might not step down. He might outlive Advani: there is little difference in their ages. Nobody can say who will pass away first.
By contrast, at 52 Narendra Modi is has many decades ahead of him. After his Gujarat victory he is obviously the star vote-getter of the party, leaving far behind older aspirants like Murali Manohar Joshi. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat may have some rival claims, but is an aged gentleman that has been kicked upstairs already. Besides, Shekhawat constantly needed help from others to form coalition governments. By contrast Modi won with a crushing two-thirds majority in Gujarat. You may hate him, but you cannot deny his vote-getting power.
Expect Modi to be a leading campaigner for the BJP in coming elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and expect the BJP to win. Drought and fiscal bankruptcy caused by the Pay Commission award have made Congress governments in these two states very vulnerable anyway. Expect this weakness to be exacerbated by communalism, spearheaded by Modi.
The BJP no longer has to incite communal riots to inflame passions. Jehadi elements are doing it anyway, and handing over public sentiment on a platter to the BJP. Witnesse temple attacks in Jammu and Akshadharm. Expect more such attacks, and not on temples alone. Expect each attack to strengthen the BJP and weaken its rivals.A paradigm shift has taken place in Indian elections. The old aphorism, that all politics is local, now rings hollow.
International Islamic militancy, with or without Pakistani support, has suddenly become a major issue, whether secularists like it or not. Nobody knows who the temple attackers in Gujarat and Jammu were. A half-competent police would have stunned the militants with some device, captured them alive, and used interrogation to unearth the underlying plot. But our incompetent police killed them. The BJP claims they were Pakistani agents, and this is widely believed.
I have no doubt that the temple attacks greatly aided Modi's victory in Gujarat, just as the Pakistani attack on Kargil ensured Vajpayee's victory in the general election of 1999. In India, the quality of governance is so indifferent that incumbent governments tend to be voted out. But when a major security threat arises, when the state seems under attack by foreign forces, the incumbent is suddenly in a strong position to rally support provided it sends out an appropriately jingoistic message. The BJP is fully capable of this. The Congress is not. The Marxists are not. And so secular forces are losing out, while communal ones are gaining credibility. International Islamic militancy has taken root in our neighbourhood. The Taliban may have been ousted in Afghanistan, yet the city of Khost is being bombarded by al-Qaeda forces located in the autonomous tribal regions of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
President Musharraf has lined up behind the USA, but Pakistan contains strong pockets of support for jehadi groups. Al-Qaeda is believed to have a major operation going in Karachi. Islamic militants have bombed churches and killed foreign businessmen, diplomats and local politicians. President Musharraf is trying to hunt with the hounds and run with the hares. He seeks to crush al-Qaeda and other extremists who want to assassinate him, yet he wishes to feed the militancy in Kashmir.I do not know who will win the internal struggle in Pakistan. But clearly the struggle will be long and bloody. Which means that we can expect constant new jehadi attacks on Indian temples and state institutions. Every time that happens, Narendra Modi will begin to look a prophet and crusader, and secular forces will find it difficult to gain the initiative. That is why I view him as a future Prime Minister.
Let me not exaggerate. India is a large, complex land with many social and economic problems that have nothing to do with militancy or Pakistan. Many of these other issues will dominate from time to time, which is why I do not expect the BJP to have a monopoly of power at the Centre or the states. Others will win from time to time. But unquestionably the jehadi phenomenon has created a bright future for the BJP, and for Narendra Modi.