Vir Sanghvi - In Defense Of The Corrupt

By Ram Valmiki

It’s very important to know the personal opinions of journalists as that is what influences how they report events or news.  There are many in Indian MSM who are incapable of reporting without their personal biases. Vir Sanghvi is just one of them. It is not a big secret, at least among netizens or as they put it “Internet Hindus” that VS is biased towards Congress and Government. In his recent posts on his blog titled “Don’t blame media, Mr. Kejriwal” and “How the govt lost its way, and its face” he so openly defends the corrupt government and tries to peddle the lie that it’s actually the government that brought out the scams into public. The title chosen for his second post is very misleading.

“I am prepared to agree with Kejriwal when he says that the Shanti Bhushan CD was part of a conspiracy. We know now that the CD was faked and the refusal of the Delhi Police to recognise that it was a cut-and-paste job suggests a certain level of official complicity even if the CD itself was made by non-governmental sources”

Yes Mr VS, it does suggest government conspiracy but how many from your MSM has really taken on government about this issue. The very idea that there exists possibility that a government can conspire against the citizens is disturbing. VS and MSM should have concentrated on this area rather than going behind the Team Anna. Just because CD was made by non-governmental sources does not in any way lessen the sin if those sources were prompted to do so by government?

“ Unless Arvind Kejriwal can somehow convince us that the government hypnotised Kiran Bedi into filing fake reimbursement claims, it is hard to see how this is part of an official conspiracy. The most he can suggest is that official agencies helped in unearthing the evidence. But if this is proof of a government conspiracy then surely he is also a co-conspirator with the government when he makes statements based on reports issued by such government bodies as the CAG. Just because the government digs up accurate information – as the CAG did in the telecom scam – and this information is used by the media and concerned citizens it does not follow that there is any conspiracy”

I could have never imagined an experienced editor and journalist would be able to dole out crap logic ever if I had not come across these posts. It’s really amazing that though “official agencies helped in unearthing the evidence”, what is more surprising is these “official agencies”  one fine day had a dream and then went on to dig stuff of selected people who happen to be criticizing the government.  I am not aware of any complaint against Bedi that led to “official agencies” to investigate and dig up the mess of Bedi. If VS is aware of any such complaint, I would like to know because it’s really frightening to know that “official agencies” can unearth evidences just to please the political masters.  In lay man’s language that would be termed “witch hunting”.

CAG providing his report is NOT similar to “official agencies unearthing evidence” in case of Bedi. It’s the duty of the CAG to audit and provide report of government expenditure. CAG did his routine job and fortunately for India, CAG is a very honest and upright gentleman unlike MMS. Comparing CAG’s job with “official agencies” is totally out of context. As per the law “official agencies” require governmental permission or formal complaint or court order to “unearth evidences”. In Bedi’s case media has not reported any complaint or court order that prompted “unearthing” exercise and hence we have no choice but to believe the government conspired.  CAG does not take orders from executive branch of the government (ministers) where as “official agencies” do.

VS continues his new found CAG argument in his next post as well. We will look into that but before that, let’s just LOL at the statement by him: “On the other hand, you could argue that in the UPA’s second term, the scandals that have emerged have all been uncovered only as a result of the government’s own efforts.” Either VS thinks all his readers have no IQ or VS thinks by vomiting such crap will make him an intellectual journalist.  I mean, how in the holy god of secularism’s name he concludes that a government involved in scandals will uncover its own corruption. On second thoughts, has govt promised him Padma Bhushan next year?

“Let’s take 2G. The scandal only broke as a result of a report by the CAG. You may or may not agree with the CAG’s computation of the loss caused to the exchequer (and it is now clear that even within the CAG’s office, there were disagreements), but you cannot dispute that if there had been no CAG report, there would be no 2G scandal.” This is such a blatant lie that VS is trying to sell here. The scandal was in public even before the CAG report. PILs were filed and Subramanian Swamy moved SC long before the CAG report was tabled. If anything, the CAG report only confirmed the monstrous size of the scandal.  Here is the list of events and timeline as per Wikipedia. Yes Wikipedia is authentic reference, as it constructs the time line based on media reports.

…May 4, 2009: An NGO Telecom Watchdog files complaint to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on the illegalities in the spectrum allocation to Loop Telecom.

….May 19, 2009: Another complaint was filed to the CVC by Arun Agarwal, highlighting grant of spectrum to Swan Telecom at throwaway prices.

….May, 2010: NGO Centre for Public Interest litigation moves the Delhi High Court seeking investigation into the scam by SIT or CBI.

….Sept 13, 2010: SC asks government, Raja to reply within 10 days to three petitions filed by CPIL and others alleging there was a Rs 70,000 crore scam in the grant of telecom licences in 2008

….Sept 24, 2010: Swamy moves SC seeking direction to the PM to sanction prosecution of Raja.

The SC has numerous times pulled up CBI for shoddy investigation. If not for active role of SC and petitioners like Swamy, the scandal would have been easily buried by the government. Saying government uncovered the scandals is nothing but a joke. “The current CAG, an honest and upright bureaucrat called Vinod Rai, got the job because the UPA Cabinet chose him. His candidacy was strongly pushed by the former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram who knew Rai from his career in the finance ministry.” Justice Santosh Hegde was appointed by the government headed by Yedurappa. This is similar to Vinod Rai being appointed by the UPA government. Fortunately both of them have done justice to their assigned duties. This in no means absolves the governments of their sins. How would have VS responded if BJP claimed that it was their government that uncovered mining scam? It cannot get funnier than that. “So it is with the arrests. Who would have thought it possible that Spectrum King A. Raja would spend so many months in jail. Who would have imagined that the CBI would have the guts to arrest the daughter of M. Karunanidhi, an important Congress ally at a time when the government depended on the DMK’s support for its survival?”

CBI had no choice after being pulled up by SC. With various petitions that Swamy filed with documents he possessed, CBI had to act. Let us ask counter question. If Swamy did not really have possession of documents he claims he has, is he insane to move SC to seek permission to prosecute Chidambaram and also showing intention of even inducting MMS? “In the end, all of the uncovering of the scandal, all of the investigating and all of the arresting has been done by branches of the government. And yet, nobody believes that this government has any interest in uncovering the truth or in fighting corruption. The credit is given to the courts (who can only act once the CBI brings cases to them), to the media and to the opposition. The government itself gets no credit at all.” I don’t understand why VS is so hell bent on using illogical arguments in proving government is anti-corrupt. Is not this the most corrupt government yet? A government that indulges in corruption can no way uncover its own corruption. VS is either acting innocent or its time he took sanyas. I would prefer second option for him for his own good as well as the country.

 “So here’s what the truth is. No, this is not the most corrupt government is history. It is headed by a decent and honest man. And his government has uncovered most of the corruption cases we read about. But this is a government without a visible leader. The Prime Minister has made the mistake of sitting back and watching while his allies have made money. And now, while he should be associating himself with the clean-up, he cowers silently at Race Course Road.”

Well yeah you are right VS. Seriously, if PM was silent when his allies made money, he is as much responsible. That only means for him more than national interests, saving government was important. It’s not surprising though. We are already aware that to save itself, congress can indulge in horse trading. It is an art it has mastered. Cash for votes scam is another hot topic now.

With the title of his second post he misleads the reader to believe he is criticizing the government whereas all he does is mindlessly defend the government. Then he ends with questioning leadership of the government. It is clear where he is heading with his arguments. With Clown Prince rumoured to be made party president and Diggy already announcing in public that it’s high time sycophants like him are ruled by Clown Prince, it’s an attempt to create grounds for MMS to exit and Clown to claim Gaddi. After all, it’s not surprising if Congress realizes that they may not return to power in 2014 and Clown prince would have to wait god knows how many more years to sit on gaddi.

Chidambaram - The Unartful Dodger

September 24, 2011 Update: Following the case against him by Subramanian Swamy and recent revelations on the 2G scam PC simply has to quit. The man who simply romanced power all these years has reached his nadir. The sooner he leaves in grace the better for him.. That's all I have to say!

All the years of carefully cultivated poise, smooth-talking and intelligence can be brought down in a few minutes of insanity. P. Chidambaram is now feeling the heat from the fire he had hoped would never come to singe him. Congress spokespersons have repeatedly dismissed A. Raja’s allegations against PC and the PM as those of a man accused of a crime and cannot be taken seriously. So what should we take seriously? The utterances of people like Digivijay Singh and P. Chidambaram? Wait, Raja didn’t make these statements to NDTV, CNN-IBN or Headlines Today whose everlasting love for both DS and PC is unflinching. He made those statements in a court of law in his defence.  The court is not a place for allegations but a place where facts would count. If it were a media courtroom PC would have been already declared not guilty. Raja may be crooked and that implies he is smart enough to know what he is throwing around. The bad news for PC is that Raja also happens to be a lawyer himself and should know what perjury means. This is the same Raja that the PM had so strongly defended for a long time.

So what is PC's response? He finally gets the inspiration from his one-time adversary Digvijay and delivers the answer that would make DS proud. He invokes ‘saffron terror’! So after almost a year PC pulls the ‘saffron terror cheap trick’ again.

"I think they know that there is no connection to the so called scam in 2G. I think they are targeting selected ministers for other reasons in this case. What I suspect is that we have quickened the investigations into a number of bomb blast cases where right-wing fundamentalist organisations are involved. We have quickened....we have persuaded the court to hear two Ayodhya cases on a more or less day-to-day basis" he said. Oh yeah, we can all, of course, see the very clear connection between the 2G scam and right-wing terror cases. Don't we? His statement to Times Now some days back was delivered in quite an agitated tone. The artful dodger finally ran out of artful defences and smooth-talk. This was now the unartful dodger at work.

Did we know all this before? Many have written about it but the mainstream cacophony media circle believed in continuously glorifying a man who kept building his own grave. Where do we begin? Let’s start with Radiagate itself.

In the post Radia Tapes, PhoneTapping - Chidambaram Must Come Clean (December 2010) I have quoted Subramanian Swamy’s serious allegations against PC. Any other man with any self-respect would have dragged Swamy to courts over these allegations. Response from PC – nothing! That post also mentioned: “Spectrum shares being resold to a mid-east company called Etisalat should have raised the eyebrows of anyone concerned with national security. But any word ever from PC? Not to my knowledge. I am confident some story about Etisalat will soon be out in the open.”

There is still no case or charge sheet against Nira Radia. I wonder why not. Let’s go back again to another post UPAGovt. May Not Have A Case Against Nira Radia ... (December 2010) This is what that post stated: “…..The phone tapping was started precisely for that reason – spying…..one can safely assume the complaint to the then Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, on the basis of which the phone tapping commenced might as well be fabricated. Else, Chidambaram can and should reveal who the complainant was. That is neither a matter of national secrecy nor a matter of grave danger. I wonder if the complaint was signed by anyone or was an anonymous one.” Well, the media still isn’t asking that all important question – who filed the complaint based on which the phone tapping was ordered? PC can surely tell us if it was a person, an organisation or an anonymous complaint. That little piece of information may well hold great secrets.

What next? In an alarming revelation Subramanian Swamy has now alleged PC has received 5000 crores in an interview with Asian Tribune (July 26). “I think he got Rs. Five thousand crores as a cut from Mr. Raja.” said Swamy. (In another 2G related development, the Enforcement Directorate has slapped a Rs 7,000-crore penalty on Etisalat-DB for alleged FEMA violations.) PC sent a legal notice to Reliance for remarks made by K R Raja (RIL employee) to corporate lobbyist Nira Radia which suggested that Chidambaram was a beneficiary in the 2G spectrum scam. RIL promptly apologised. Being a business unit RIL would hardly like to cross swords with the Home Minister or his government. Quite understandable! But the allegation by Swamy is similar and even puts a number to it and is far more serious. No response yet from PC. Wait and watch!

In another case concerning Intelligence Bureau, although unrelated, R.N. Kulkarni, who served in the IB for over three decades and retired as joint assistant director, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court questioning the agency’s legitimacy. Outlook magazine reports on that development that the IB, RAW and other Intelligence agencies are not accountable to parliament. They’re practically extra-constitutional. Not surprisingly politicians use these organisations for political purposes. I didn’t say that. That these agencies are being used for spying on political rivals comes from none other than former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai (IndiaToday). Guess who is in charge of the intelligence agencies? And make another wild guess what our intelligence sleuths might be overburdened with rather than crime and security issues.

In the worst pasting anyone would have recently given PC, Ram Jethmalani writes a mini biography of the man. In a piece in The Sunday Guardian titled “Friend, father & philosopher of black money is Chidambaram” Jethmalani showers an honour on PC that no politician would ever want. After chronicling what would appear to be a political career tainted throughout, Jethmalani ends on the following note:

“Chidambaram's record as Home Minister has been disastrous. Neither has he made any impact on internal security, with the worst massacres of his own paramilitary forces taking place in his time, nor on terrorism, which carries on in complete complacency because there are neither effective preventive or punitive systems in place, nor political will and national legislation to combat terrorism…….What a laughing stock we must be before the world. It is almost as if India is determined that it shall not combat terrorism, shall not have enabling legislation as enacted by the US, such as the Homeland Security Act 2002, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 of UK and similar legislations in European governments. India is determined not to have an effective national agency on the lines of the Homeland Security Department of the US. The ramshackle National Investigation Agency showed itself as a complete failure during the recent Mumbai attacks. Understandable, because its only mandate appears to be to investigate "Hindu terror", the last refuge for failed and hopeless Congressmen like Chidambaram. The CCTNS, JIC, ARC, NTRO (presently in another scam), and NCTC remain effete, scattered and unmonitorable, even by the Home Ministry. With such an unequivocal determination by the UPA government not to address terrorism effectively, I can only grieve for my country.”

I’m too optimistic to grieve for my country yet. But I do grieve having such a former Finance and now Home Minister. He’s been reduced to an ‘unartful’ dodger.

Terror Is Not The Enemy, Wilful Blindness Is

I suppose it will take something really terrible, something even worse than 26/11 to wake up our government. Maybe something as dramatic as 9/11 attack with thousands dying might stand a better chance, although I can’t be so sure anymore. Nothing else can explain the pussyfooting on terrorism by the Congress. Let me first warn you – those who say “don’t politicise terror, terror has no religion, nation must unite, we will not succumb” are the ones most misleading the nation. The worst of these has to be “bombs don’t know who they kill”. These pearls of wisdom have been so drilled into our minds that people in charge and in the media have even stopped asking the right questions. A larger war is being confused for terrorism. A larger master-plan is being cleverly cloaked by frequently invoking Hindu terror by politicians and the media. The term ‘Islamic Jihad’ has even disappeared from the lexicon of the media and government. Instead, the media wilfully sings the same song as the Congress to spread a fear of Saffron terror. Rahul Gandhi even sets the agenda by suggesting Hindu Terror is more dangerous than LeT. His mentor, Digvijay Singh, takes many steps forward by clouding every terror incident by pointing fingers at Hindu terrorists.

War on terror? Even the media keeps harping - War on terror! Hmmm! You cannot win or wage a war if you don’t even know who your enemy is or refuse to acknowledge the reality of the enemy. And that is Jihad.

In response to the 7/9 Delhi blast the PM stated “it’s a cowardly act”! Seriously, it’s not the jihadis who are cowards anymore. The cowards are those who are wilfully blind to Jihad.  The jihadis are willing to die for their cause just as a soldier in uniform is willing to die for the nation. The Jihadis go back and report to their masters another successful battle. What do our ministers report? They send out messages to the people that are becoming increasingly unbearable to tolerate for us as their bosses. The people, unfortunately, have to tolerate both – the jihadis and an incompetent govt. It’s a lose-lose proposition for all citizens.

For the sake of argument let’s assume Hindu terror is a bigger threat as Rahul Gandhi, Digvijay Singh and P. Chidambaram would have the nation believe. What exactly is the objective of Hindu terrorists? Do they want to conquer India? Do they want to over throw a democratically elected government? At worst, these could be revenge-thirsty elements of the Hindu fringe. In contrast the Jihadis have a long term plan. And terrorism is just one part of their entire plan of action. I repeat, terrorism is just one part of their overall plan.

There are pockets in India like Deganga (Bengal) where Hindus and their temples are being repeatedly attacked and they are being forced out of town. There are places like Miraj (Maha) and Adoni (AP) where Ganesh pandals are frequently attacked. There are places like Ahmedabad where Rath Yatras are frequently stoned. Sure, let’s dismiss all this as mere communal incidents. There is a news item today which reports the Muthoot group, a finance company, which has ordered dress codes and banned wearing of ‘bindis’. How do you explain that? There are pockets in Kerala which administer Sharia justice by chopping off arms. In response to the Batla house encounter some years back there were those who smeared brave police officers. One prominent media favourite even went to suggest muslims are like jews under the Nazis. So on hand you have the politician-media nexus which covers up the jihadi truth and then you have pockets where you have creeping sharia. Why? The motivation is vote bank politics.

It is weird and even absolutely idiotic to think that every nook and corner of a vast country like India can be secured by policing and technology. It is impossible. Security at strategic locations is a must but you don’t win wars by defending. You win wars by taking the offensive to the enemy. It’s as simple as that. So who is the enemy? Terror is a strategy, it is not the enemy by itself. Col. Allen West of the US army (now a Congressman) put it brilliantly when he asked – “How intelligent would it be during second world war if we identified Blitzkreig as the enemy”? Blitzkreig was a strategy, the enemy was Hitler’s Nazi. Similarly, terror is a strategy. You cannot wage a silly war on terror, you have to wage it against the enemy. The enemy here is the Jihadi. And this is where the govt is wilfully blind and repeatedly fools the nation.

Strangely the PM again made a silly statement: “Terrorists are using loopholes in our security”. What the hell is that supposed to mean? That one day you will eliminate all loopholes? Is that even possible? And the media can’t stop screaming that every terror attack is a wake up call that we need ‘fool-proof’ security. Is there really anything like fool-proof security? The dunderheads that the media assembles after every terror attack do more damage to the morale of the nation than reassuring it. “The objective of terrorists is to strike fear” says HM P.Chidambaram. And you didn’t get that in over 20 years of terrorism?

The truth of the matter is that the seeds of the Jihad were sown when the 1971 war ended. Bhutto had then declared a 1000-year holy war against India. What you’re seeing now is that war being prosecuted by the Jihadists. Terror is one of their tools. The jihad started 40 years ago. The one person who has correctly identified this enemy in the media is prominent journalist M.J. Akbar. In July 2010 he wrote an article titled “Only 960 years left”. That’s right, of the 1000-year holy Jihad 960 are left to go. That is when terror will end. When the Jihadists might manage to finally overthrow India’s democracy and establish India as an Islamic Republic. The PM did say “it will be a long war”! It is just that he doesn’t know who the war is against. Terror is not the enemy. Jihadists are.

At the foundation of the 1000 year jihad is Pakistan. One of the finer security experts in the media, Maroof Raza, has correctly analysed our dealings with Pakistan as the cause of the mayhem that is continuing and will continue. There cannot be any peace, any aman (As TOI preaches) with a country that is hell bent on destroying India. You have the violent strategy of terror executed by some warriors. The non-violent warriors are executing things like ‘Love-Jihad’ in Kerala. The govt fears revealing or even dealing with the truth due to electoral concerns. So is terrorism going away soon? Forget it. Someday it might be your turn and mine.

It is a strange irony that the first major security response to the Delhi blast has been to enhance the security of P. Chidambaram. The pussyfooting of the govt over issues of security and terror is best brought out by former CBI Director, Joginder Singh. In his article “The silent invasion of India” he states “Illegal immigration from Pakistan and Bangladesh poses a serious threat to our internal security. Thanks to vote-bank politics, our politicians are indifferent.” That illegal population may have many enemies within. The multiple strategy of the Jihadis – terror, demographics, cultural terror, electoral badgering and playing victim. Before you know  it, these illegals may well be regularised by the UID scheme of the govt. Brilliant strategy! Of these, terror gets the most attention because it is violent, causes death and is dramatic for the media. The other not so visible parts of this Jihad is not so visible on your screens all the time. That is a war that is being prosecuted covertly.

The govt appoints NIA and other such outlets which have been used more to spread the canard of saffron terror. We are yet to see at least 3 visible and result-oriented actions by the govt. It can start by conducting a massive combing to flush out illegals, cutting off all dialogue with Pakistan no matter what the compulsion and declaring an official war against the Jihadis. The war against terror is as much bullshit entertainer as your usual saas-bahu soaps on TV. And most of all, Congress should get rid of a monumental nation-divider like Digvijay Singh. It takes patriots to fight wars, not communal nation-dividers like Digvijay.

If all that is not enough you have a bunch of specially appointed interlocutors for Kashmir who want to restore the state to pre-1953 status. Well, that is precisely what the Jihadis want too, don’t they? They want to restore India centuries back to Islamic rule. Many citizens have woken up to this reality. It is our govt and the compliant media that continues to suppress the reality of the war.

The first step to winning a war is identifying the enemy. The govt and the media will repeatedly carry us through the maze of nonsense like more CCTVs, more beat cops, police reforms, technology … all of that can only be of moderate defence. You don’t need “intelligence” anymore to tell you Islamic Jihadists are your enemy. They have been so for over two decades. Going after them is the only answer. Will the govt do so? I doubt, and so many more will die and acts of terrorism will continue.

The Congress and the govt seem to exist not to serve the nation but the care-taking of the dynasty and to concote election-winning populist measures and vote-banks. The secrecy of Sonia Gandhi’s illness, protecting her from any criticism, protecting Rahul Gandhi from every failure. If that is the chosen agenda where will the govt find the time to even start to fight the terrorists. Tavleen Singh writes: “Dynastic democracy has so derailed democratic processes that we have been ruled by an unelected prime minister since 2004. He was appointed by a lady whose own entry into public life was based wholly on marrying into the right dynasty. In recent weeks, it became blindingly clear that what India needed most was a real prime minister…”.

Strategy expert Brahma Chellaney  tweets: "When a nation fails to execute for years a man sentenced to death for attacking its Parliament, it will only make its courts a terror target." Those are targets they managed to hit. Many others may very well be on their table.

Terror is not the enemy. It’s a strategic tactic, the Jihadists are the enemies. Will the govt have the courage to acknowledge that and begin the real war? If they don’t, we will just have to grow up or die! 

You Are Only One Percent Dead

So it appears on the day after Mumbai serial blasts on July 13 the investigators haven’t found too many clues about the perpetrators. Our media had a terrific time covering the attacks as usual. The rains added additional natural effect to the reporting. Once in a while your prayers are answered. I am referring to the prayer in the post titled “Indian Media’s Top 5 Prayers”

Well Barkha Dutt (NDTV) was there in a black jacket and wet hair, Arunoday Mukherjee (CNN-IBN) was there with an umbrella and then there was Sreenivasan Jain (NDTV) narrating the story of Tushar and Asghar, both victims of the blasts, both unconnected and how “their paths never crossed”. Jain’s narrative sounded more like “communal harmony” during distress. Almost all of them gave us a history lesson on Zaveri bazar. I guess that helps. This time around the panellists on various shows, especially those from Mumbai, were simply angry. Very very angry!

And for comic relief the duo of Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh were quick to enlighten us. DS mentioned we were better off than Pakistan when it came to terror attacks. Be grateful. RG, with his usual intellectual insight, came up with 99% attacks prevented and how 1% attack might get through. You’re lucky, you’re only 1% dead. How he came up with such silly statistics is anybody’s guess.

There is simply a marked unwillingness on the part of the Central government to take proactive measures to prevent such acts. P. Chidambaram seems to talk a lot after each attack but appears to have done precious little to strengthen internal security. The inaction is explained quite well in an article in Outlook magazine, “Four questions for the home minister”. I guess it is now time to separate the home ministry from the responsibility of internal security and have a completely new ministry for Internal Security. Who knows we might even need a ‘ministry for terror’ if this situation continues. For consolation PC repeatedly mentioned that this Mumbai attack came after 31 months. There are reports on various intelligence agencies, like the NIA (National Investigation Agency) lacking trained staff or Counter terrorism policy not in place. Even if the national intelligence agencies were to be networked well I wonder how many people in those agencies can even solve a Crossword puzzle.

The media couldn’t help patting itself for conducting itself differently from the past or even patting the government for being calm and not panicking. Some tweets sent in by regular reader Free_Verse are truly amazing:

Rajdeep Sardesai: a word of praise for the maha cm prithvi chavan. was calm, composed and clear. not like the vilasrao-rr duo last time.
Barkha Dutt:- Some lessons have been learnt. Mumbai cops sent sms messages across city asking people to remain indoors and calm, updating on blasts
- Information flow out of both state and central govt so much better compared to 26/11. Chief Minister sounds controlled and measured.

Nikhil Wagle:Thanks to prithviraj chavan who acted swiftly n reminded us of sharad pawar after 93 blasts.
Rahul Kanwal:Must acknowledge govt's response much better than 26-11. Constant flow of information. Quick emergency response. No undue panic
Pallavi Ghosh:This time handling of post blast situation much better thn 26/11..regular briefings, pmo updating, chidam going to mumbai asap..

You’d have thought that all the calmness meant carefully calibrated action after the attack. You might even think all these journalists had done a careful analysis of Prithviraj Chauhan or the government at close quarters. It is fair for the media not to bash the CM or the government at such a time but praise is certainly uncalled for till the full story of the events have unfolded.

Seriously, this is what the Indian Express reports on the emergency response: “Bleeding victims put into taxis, trucks and private vehicles were the first to reach the hospitals, much before any ambulance, government or private, could reach the site of the terror attack… And it needed yet another terror attack to expose the gaping hole in the city’s emergency response system.” Well, for all the back-patting that the TV media gave the CM and the Maharashtra government, truth is that emergency systems aren’t really working as they should. There is a difference between staying calm and not panicking and being calm and fighting fire in an emergency. In times of distress calmness can only be half a virtue.

The CM himself confirmed on CNN-IBN today that for 15 minutes after the blasts the communication had completely broken down. Take that for the prompt and coordinated response. And the best note also comes from Chidambaram himself: "whoever has perpetrated the attacks has worked in a very clandestine manner". Really? Alright, in future are we going to expect terrorists to act in 'open' manner? Someone in the media surely needs to pull up PC and tell him that terrorists are expected to indeed act in "clandestine" ways. PC delivers that great piece of silly wisdom as an explanation which the media faithfully reports without question.

For good measure, the man who is forever lost for words had this to say: “I cannot find words to condemn the barbaric acts of terror that resulted in the senseless killing and injuring of innocent people in Mumbai yesterday…” The Prime Minister also stated the perpetrators of the terror attack would be found and brought to justice. More words! We are yet to see justice for past acts of terror. Kasab and Guru are living at the cost of taxpayer money. And the silly question some media pundits ask is if their hanging would prevent terror attacks. Well, not carrying out sentences passed on them doesn’t exactly send a great signal to future terrorists, does it? And keeping them alive and in luxury does send a message to the terrorists. "Go ahead, nothing will happen"!

We may not be able to do everything that the US does in pursuit of terrorists but the unwillingness to act is quite extreme. The government does not even declare a huge bounty/reward for informants who will lead to the terrorists. Surely, that is possible and better than spending crores on maintaining convicted terrorists in luxury. In an emergency a visit by a VVIP now is the biggest distraction and hindrance to relief work. Last evening someone on Twitter summed it up nicely:

Anushree Kothari : “So Sonia Gandhi passed by Worli Sea Face with an entourage of 56 cars! Police at every 10 steps all thru the way, both sides!”

“An ambulance was stopped (on the opp side of the road) to facilitate Sonia Gandhi's entourage! #*&^*&TheCongress !”

That is exactly what angers the victims and citizens even more. The government spends precious resources chasing a Ramdev or a Balkrishna and other individuals on frivolous grounds. It has the guts to attack and forcefully evict peaceful protesters while sleeping at night. That is your government’s will to fight terror. Strangely, a report that clearly establishes links between politicians and underworld is never being discussed. This article inOutlook will hardly encourage anyone’s belief in the government’s willingness to pursue justice. With corruption and politicians busy grabbing wealth, real estate or sports bodies one has to wonder when they even find time to discuss security.

You are lucky,  you are only 1% dead.

Jayalalithaa Goes Fishing..

J. Jayalalithaa, TN Chief Minister, was in New Delhi today for a meeting with the Prime Minister. A charter of demands for TN may be the apparent reason for the meeting. However, our media, alert as ever, had all kinds of headlines including this one from Times Now – “Jaya Storms Delhi’. You would have thought JJ had launched an attack similar to the midnight one at Ramlila Maidan. And all the channels and sites reported “DMK watches closely”. I don’t think that is completely true. DMK may not have bothered much considering Sonia Gandhi is in Switzerland along with Rahul Baby, according to Subramanian Swamy.

Post her meeting she addressed the media and there was this routine demand for Dayanidhi Maran’s exit and other mundane utterances. There is one statement she made that stands out though (From NDTV website):

Home Minister P Chidambaram "has not won the parliamentary election. In fact he lost the election...he has played a fraud on the nation." According to official records, Chidambaram defeated his AIADMK opponent by 3,354 votes. The Chief Minister said that in the general elections in May 2009, the data entry operator in the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu transferred votes won by her candidate Raja Kannappan to Mr Chidambaram.

PC has reacted by stating that it is “contempt of court”! So what are you gonna do, PC? JJ had dared to say out loud what many in the opposition and media had long avoided touching upon. As far back as I can remember, PC was trailing in that 2009 LS election and was declared defeated, even in the media, but some hours later was declared the winner. A lot has since been written about the EVM being tampered or not being fool-proof. That is a topic for the election commission and the Madras High Court, where a case is pending on that election outcome.

Politics is not the normal business of this blog but in this case I will make an exception. Jayalalithaa has won the recent TN elections against the DMK on issues of corruption. The UPA and the Congress are parties to the extraordinary saga of corruption all around. If JJ is hobnobbing with the Congress it will be another foolish mistake from this lady who has always been an opportunist and a terrible alliance partner. If she has learnt her lessons from past mistakes and respects the verdict of her electorate she will stay clear of the Congress. On the other hand she may also be well aware that she is getting on in years and the only thing of interest to her may be staying in power one way or another. Well, that is true for any politician, isn’t it?

Let’s get back on track with her comments on P.Chidambaram though. The news channels that covered her press conference mentioned various topics touched upon in the post-presser analysis but none of them touched upon the statement she made about PC’s election being fraudulent. A few Hindi channels started mentioning it as did some websites so now all of them are back to talking about this.

Unlike a Laloo or a Digvijay Singh who frequently shoot their mouths off or utter some nonsense regularly (Less by Laloo lately for obvious reasons), PC is a skilful and smooth talker. Regardless, there is a lot that PC has to answer for and some of these questions were raised in previous posts I had made.

Ravi Shankar Kapoor not so long authored a book 'How India'sIntellectuals Spread Lies'. Prominently featured among the lie-mongers were Jawaharlal Nehru, Suzanne Arundhati Roy, Mani Shankar Aiyar and of course P. Chidambaram…I wrote that in my post “Saffron Terror: Chidambaram's Cheap Trick” In case you haven’t read the book by Kapoor, I recommend reading it. (You can read a chapter at his blog.)

I also recommend browsing through these previous posts on this blog:

Radia Tapes, Phone Tapping - Chidambaram Must Come Clean

Radia Tapes Leak: Needle Of Suspicion Closer To Chidambaram?

I believe there is a lot that PC has to answer for. To start with, after all the drama about Nira Radia and phone tapping there is yet to be a case filed against her. For two years her phones were being tapped for many reasons and it is hard to believe that the government couldn’t come up with a case against her. Well, we will wait and watch.

There is something very intriguing. Many have wondered and even alleged that PC may be the brain behind the Ramlila atrocity on the night of June 4. There was all-round condemnation of that action by non-UPA political parties, even by the detractors of Ramdev and those who were opposed to the ‘civil society’ movement. There was something missing.

I may not be the best informed person but I have not found any news report on any channel, newspaper or website reporting Jayalalithaa having condemned the Ramlila attack. I would like to be corrected, but it makes me wonder what she’s fishing for!

Arm Aadmi

Take a look at the pic on the left. If you were showing this to a young school-student he or she would be very impressed and would probably be inspired to join the National Cadet Corp (NCC) or the Indian Defence Academy. Why not! And so, the Baba Ramdev satyagraha chugs along, with a new addition. He has now called for raising an ‘army’ of 11000 to protect citizens or his followers from state atrocities. So that’s your new ‘arm aadmi’ movement. The brutal attack on peaceful, sleeping men, women and children was bound to provoke even a weirdo to think up such actions and Ramdev is hardly one.

A regular reader of this blog (TaMoGhNa) had this to say: “ I don’t see anything wrong with Ramdev's call for arming the protestors to save themselves. US constitution gives this right for every ordinary citizen to own the firearms in case the government turns into tyranny and help them safegaurd themselves from the government that has become rogue..” I have quoted a part of the US Second Amendment before but will quote the explanation again:

From ‘Sense & Senility’: The second amendment of the US constitution allows people to bear arms. The words in that amendment have been interpreted in many forms but here is a very common interpretation: “The Constitution aside, bearing arms is a fundamental human right. It is the only means the American people have to reclaim control of their government, should it one day become irredeemably corrupt”. Arms aside, it is the duty of the unelected to reclaim their government should it become irredeemably corrupt….” The 2^nd Amendment was also meant to ensure ordinary Americans had adequate defence against a tyrannical government. Is the Indian government corrupt and tyrannical? Make a wild guess! The attack on protesters last Saturday in the middle of the night is the sign of a government desperate and clueless. It was nothing but a sheer act of tyranny. This government does not have the moral right to continue.

The 2^nd Amendment was made in the 18^th century and in modern times one wouldn’t expect a US President to declare an emergency, overthrow the constitution and usurp all military powers. Can you say the same about this Congress government? The Emergency, after all, happened not so long ago.

Sure enough, P. Chidambaram warned Ramdev against his ‘arm aadmi’ call. He then goes on to repeatedly assert what others in the Congress have been screaming so far. ‘Ramdev’s agitation is backed by RSS, VHP’. So what? The government refuses to acknowledge that it’s not WHO is agitating, but WHAT they are agitating for that should concern them. So in response name-calling and even going to the extent of calling Ramdev a thug is the kind of dog-barking that will reflect political maturity. There are more gems from P. Chidambaram:  (From Firstpost.com)

“I think sections of the media, for reasons which I can’t spell out, are engaged in competitive populist coverage of these movements. This undermines parliamentary democracy….But I don’t support elected representatives yielding their obligations and responsibilities to civil society representatives. Let us remember that the foundation of this country is parliamentary democracy..” he said. Really? So which assholes conceded the demands of Anna Hazare for a joint bill drafting committee? The Congress should have listened to the demands of the Hazare team, talked to political parties and should have formed a committee consisting of minsters and maybe even the opposition party heads. Instead, they take on the civil society members in the group and then complain. As for the media, the words I quoted were spoken by PC to Doordarshan. I think he ought to also know that much of the media is a Congress puppet and he should be grateful and not grumble about them.

It never occurs to the corrupt government that they were indeed the ones who started this corrupt practice of letting unelected people into the law-making system. How do you explain the members of the NAC, some with dubious backgrounds, drafting laws? Are they not civil society members, most of them with an anti-BJP agenda? The Congress even has the dubious record of ‘selecting’ an unelected man as prime minister of this country. Those who have already surrendered the supremacy of the parliament to the whims of one person are likely to repeat that mistake over and over again. They will crash in the same car.

That said, I do not support Ramdev’s call for a defence force of 11000. This can then slowly turn into an armed struggle. Even if the government is to blame for this consequence it is not a healthy move. We already have a whole bunch of militias at various places in the form of Maoists. We don’t need the danger of creating more.

In case you are still wondering about the pic at the start of this post. It is almost the militia cadre of the Popular Front Of India, a muslim party in Kerala that has regularly organised such marches of their cadre. The same party whose members chopped off a professor’s arm. (Here come the pious!) Since 2008 the PFI has been organising such parades. Where was the UPA then? If the government continues its corrupt ways and tyranny there will be more calls to ‘arm aadmi’ to use their ‘hand’ to slap the Congress back!