WIKILEAKS, US-India Cables: Congress neither secular nor courageous; BJP opportunistic and exploitative!

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WikiLeaks / ibnlive.in.com / Posted on Aug 26, 2011 at 01:06pm IST.

SUBJECT: AUTHOR TASLIMA NASREEN: PAWN IN POLITICAL WEB

REF: A. KOLKATA 359 / B. KOLKATA 356

1. (SBU) Summary: Claiming that the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPM) pushed her to leave Kolkata (ref A), controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen finally settled in a "safe place" in Delhi under the security of the Indian central government. Her flight from Kolkata sparked a political firestorm, with the BJP offering her sanctuary and the CPM, ironically, being seen as anti-secular. After a pounding in the media and the opposition for initially looking the other way during Nasreen's flight, the UPA finally agreed on November 28 to provide her safe shelter in India provided she not engage in political activities. Congress and the CPM continued to snipe at each other while searching for a solution that does not offend their all-important Muslim vote bank. The CPM is being accused by some of manufacturing the controversy in order to drive Nandigram out of the front pages. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed the secular high ground calling for Nasreen to receive a permanent visa. Adding a farcical tinge to the controversy, noted Muslim-bashing Gujarat BJP Chief Minister Narendra Modi has even jumped on the bandwagon, offering Nasreen protection in his state.

2. (SBU) While on the defensive, the CPM believes this is an easier issue to handle in Parliament than Nandigram, and is probably quietly relieved that her case has pushed the Nandigram massacres from the front page. The Congress wants to push the issue under the rug. The BJP holds the upper hand and will milk the controversy dry. As for the author, she has said Kolkata is her home and she would prefer to live there, but the CPM, it seems, despite its high-minded rhetoric about looking after the little guy, has no space in that teeming city for a female author fleeing an unjust fatwa and threats to her life in Bangladesh. In the end, this episode further exposes the CPM for the hypocritical authoritarians that they really are. End Summary

Intolerance Rears its Ugly Head

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3. (U) The storm surrounding controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen began on November 21, a few days after the Nandigram killings (ref B). Nasreen and Nandigram became linked after All India Minorities Forum president Idris Ali led a protest against CPM's actions in Nandigram and demanded Nasreen's Indian visa be revoked for what he claimed were her anti-Islamic writings. Protesters fought a pitched battle with Kolkata police causing numerous injuries but no fatalities. To quell the violence, the CPM government of West Bengal (GOWB) called for Nasreen to "leave the state." (Note: Nasreen, who travels on a Swedish passport, faces death threats from fundamentalists in Bangladesh, her country of birth, for her writings. Her Indian visa expires February 17, 2008).

The CPM Abandons Her to Her Fate

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"CAT ON THE WALL": BJP to wait and watch discussion on Lokpal!

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Press Trust Of India / ibnlive.in.com / Posted on Aug 25, 2011 at 10:43pm IST.

New Delhi: BJP on Thursday kept the cards close to its chest on the proposed debate on Lokpal issue in Parliament on Friday, saying it will wait and see in which form the government holds the discussion and then take a call on the matter.

BJP Central Core Group discussed the situation arising out of the Anna Hazare agitation on Lokpal Bill and the stand the party should take during the debate on the issue in Parliament.

Though informal channels of communications between the government and opposition are active, BJP is waiting for a concrete and final word on which clause will be used to hold the debate, sources said.

"We are not aware as to the form in which the discussions will take place.  As and when the Government conveys to us, we would devise our strategy accordingly," BJP Chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He said BJP wants that the fundamental premise of passing an effective Lokpal Bill in accordance with the sentiments expressed in Jan Lokpal Bill should be respected.

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INTERVIEW-Dharmendra Pradhan: ‘Karnataka episode had embarrassed the BJP’!

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zeenews.india.com / Last Updated: Tuesday, August 23, 2011, 22:24.

Observers say Karnataka is BJP’s raw nerve. It has now been a month since Karnataka got a new Chief Minister ending yet another crisis for the BJP after frantic efforts by party top brass. But trouble in the Karnataka unit of BJP is refusing to die down. Saswat Panigrahi of Zeenews.com caught up with BJP national general secretary and party’s key trouble shooter, who micromanages the party affairs in Karnataka.

Saswat: Crisis and Karnataka BJP go hand in hand. Sometime, it is ‘Reddy-made’, sometime it is ‘Bharadwaj-made’ and sometime it is ‘Yeddy-made’. After you became the Prabhari, you must be having a tough time in steering the Karnataka unit out of troubles.

Dharmendra: There is no trouble as such. In the recent past, the party has faced certain political developments and tackled those quite effectively. By taking everything into consideration, the party has taken a stand. Now, the new Chief Minister has taken up his task. The party and legislative party, both are behind the new leadership. Things are gradually limping back to normalcy.

The party has made promises to the people of Karnataka. For the last three years, we have been fulfilling those promises and we will continue to fulfil them.

Saswat: Initially there were demands about Yeddyurappa’s removal. The Governor also recommended the same. But with the leaked Lokayukta report, BJP finally replaced him. What actually led to his removal?

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Yashwant Sinha upset with BJP's 'soft stand' on Lokpal Bill!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: August 24, 2011 12:05 IST.

New Delhi:  Senior BJP leader and MP Yashwant Sinha has said he will resign from the Lok Sabha if his party does not take a stronger stand on the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill.

Mr Sinha attacked his party at a meeting this morning of its MPs.  He said the BJP's current position on the Bill is tough to justify in public.

Mr Sinha's comments come hours before an all-party meeting on the Lokpal Bill.  Anna Hazare is on the ninth day of his hunger strike.  The 74-year-old Gandhian wants his activists' version of the Bill to be introduced in Parliament. Team Anna says the government's version of the Bill, which was introduced a few days ago in Parliament, must be withdrawn.  

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LOK PAL BILL: BJP rips apart PM's statement on Anna Hazare!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: August 17, 2011 12:40 IST.

New Delhi:  After the PM made a statement in Parliament on the arrest of activist Anna Hazare, the Opposition produced a strong comeback, accusing the government of lacking the will to fight corruption, and warning that "your arrogance will be your downfall." 

Dr Manmohan Singh told first the Lok Sabha and then the Rajya Sabha that the Delhi Police was forced to arrest Mr Hazare yesterday because he planned to defy prohibitory orders and proceed with his planned fast in the capital. The demonstration was meant to protest against corruption and the new Lokpal Bill introduced by the government that is aimed at checking venality. 

The PM's statement "does not only disappoint us but does not add to information," said the BJP's Arun Jaitley in Parliament. Adding that "we reject this thesis of police action and power", Mr Jaitley said that the government "can't impose conditions which render a protest redundant."

Mr Jaitey, through his speech, stressed repeatedly that while it does not necessarily support Mr Hazare's version of the Lokpal Bill - one developed by his team of activists - it is his emphasis on corruption that is striking a huge chord across a country and that the government must see this "as a wake-up call to set your house in order."

Mr Jaitley also made it clear that it does not believe that Mr Hazare's planned demonstration undermines the exclusive right of the Parliament to handle legislation. In his statement, the PM had said, "When some sections of society deliberately challenge the authority of the Government and the prerogative of Parliament, it is the bounden duty of the Government to maintain peace and tranquility."  

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BJP to launch nationwide protest from tomorrow!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 16, 2011.

Nitin Gadkari addressing a meeting in New Delhi recently. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar.

Dubbing the arrest of Anna Hazare as a “plan” to impose Emergency in the country, the BJP on Tuesday said it will launch a “peaceful” country-wide agitation from Wednesday to protest UPA’s “dictatorship”.

Demanding immediate release of Mr. Hazare and his associates, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said that party workers with muffled mouths will take out silent marches, hold dharnas and take out torchlight processions to protest the “dictatorship of UPA, to save democracy and to root out corruption from the country”.

Without fixing any timeframe for the agitation, he said it will “continue” and much would depend on the circumstances unfolding.

“Anna Hazare and his associates should be freed immediately and be allowed to carry on with their agitation.

Stopping them from protesting like this is against the traditions in this country.

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KARNATAKA POLITICS: Loyalists seethe, turncoats take cake!

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Anil Gejji, Express News Service / Last Updated : 12 Aug 2011 10:26:06 AM IST.

BANGALORE: In the first-ever BJP government in the south, it is the “outsiders” who are reaping rich dividends whereas the “aborigines” who worked hard to build the party over the years are being shooed away from power.

The Thursday’s Cabinet expansion was a telling example of this fact. While turncoats Balachandra Jarkiholi, Anand Asnotikar, Raju Gowda—earlier all JD(S) MLAs—C P Yogeshwar (a Congress MLA), who were all part of the Operation Lotus, and Varthur Prakash, an independent MLA who supported the government in its hour of need when BJP MLAs rebelled against the then chief minister, were inducted in the Cabinet.

Yeddyurappa had promised Prakash a Cabinet berth then. Prakash was one of the six independent MLAs who supported the minority Yeddyurappa government, which was short of the three seats, to get a simple majority (113) in the 225-member House. After being denied the ministerial berth by Yeddyurappa, he turned hostile to the BJP government and went around the state accusing the BJP government of being the most corrupt in the country. Jarkiholi, Asnotikar and Gowda were among the group of legislators who revolted against Yeddyurappa and almost threatened to throw the government out of power in October 2010.

Though Gowda later returned to the BJP fold after allegedly being promised a Cabinet berth by Yeddyurappa, Jarkiholi and Asnotikar, along with 14 other MLAs, were disqualified by Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah. They returned to the party fold again after the Supreme Court quashed the Speaker’s decision.

When Yeddyurappa was forced to exit following an indictment by the Lokayukta report, Asnotikar, Jarkiholi and Prakash identified with party general secretary H N Ananth Kumar and now got Cabinet berths under their group quota—both Yeddyurappa and Kumar groups have agreed to equally share the 35 Cabinet berths.   

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BJP for review of nuclear power projects!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 9, 2011.

TV grab of Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj speaking in the Lok Sabha. File photo - PTI.

Concerned over the Fukushima disaster, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday joined other opposition parties in seeking a review of the country’s total civil nuclear energy programme including the proposed Jaitapur project in Maharashtra.

“There should be a review of the total civil nuclear energy programme and till such time there should be a halt to all ongoing projects,” Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said in the Lok Sabha.

She said this while associating with Shiv Sena’s demand for scrapping of the Jaitapur nuclear power project in the Konkan region of Maharashtra.

Raising the issue, Shiv Sena leader Anant Geete said people from Jaitapur area have come to Delhi to protest against the project.

He alleged that the project would be a disaster for the Konkan region including from the angle of security.

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2339790.ece

CWG SCAM: War of words in Lok Sabha over CAG report!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 9, 2011.

File photo of BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. During a debate in Lok Sabha on Tuesday on CWG irregularities, Mr. Sinha criticised Congress for passing the blame on NDA - PTI.

The CAG report on the Commonwealth Games mess led to a slugfest in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday with the Opposition alleging involvement of the PMO, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the Congress casting doubts on the role and authority of the government auditor.

Who appointed Kalmadi?

A special discussion on the issue saw CPI (M) leader Basudeb Acharia also pinpointing the blame on the PMO and Ms. Dikshit, maintaining that they cannot go scot free.

Disputing the government’s claim that the appointment of Mr. Kalmadi as Chairman of the CWG Organising Committee was made during the NDA rule, Mr. Acharia wondered whether there was no way out for the UPA government to change the decision.

“If there was no way out except to make Kalmadi the Chairman of the Organising Committee (OC), then how come the Prime Minister also opined that Kalmadi be made the Chairman of the OC,” he posed.

Mr. Acharia questioned whether the appointment of Mr. Kalmadi was binding on the government.

Why is CAG looking into policy decisions?

The occasion was utilised by Manish Tewari (Congress) who opened the debate on behalf of the Congress to target the CAG questioning its right to go into the policy decisions of the government, including key appointments.

Why was the PM silent?

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01) Mr. Yashwant Sinha in Lok Sabha and Mr. Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha have demolished the hitherto weak and specious defence of UPA Government absolving itself of any wrong-doing in CWG Scam called the National Loot of Thousands of Crores of tax payers money!

02) But, Dr. Manmohan Singh has become too thick-skinned that he no more is sensitive to the allegations of corruption!!

03)  He also wouldn't make Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit who has been repeatedly indicted by Shunglu Committee and CAG, lest his own complicity in the largescale corruption in the name of conducting Common Wealth Games would be exposed!!!

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Sri Lanka: BJP’s Tamil cause fizzles out!

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August 8, 2011 / Correspondent, DC, Chennai.

The Eelam war might have ended on the northern beaches of Sri Lanka but across the Palk Strait, the island’s Tamil conflict continues to gather heat across Tamil Nadu amid scores of concerned politicians, human rights activists and youth. Not a day passes without at least one demonstration in some part of the state and the protesters demanding war crimes trial against the rulers in Colombo and speedy resettlement for war survivors.

The BJP is a recent player in the Eelam theatre. Keen on grabbing a bit of the Dravidian political space, the saffron party has been carrying out campaigns in support of the Lankan Tamils. And on Sunday, the lotus flags descended on Rameswaram with a large contingent led by national general secretary Muralidhara Rao and Pon Radhakrishnan threatening to cross over to the disputed Katchatheevu island to press for the fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen in the Palk Strait. With no local fishermen willing to lend their boats, the BJP protesters gave up their programme after some slogan-shouting.

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http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/south/bjp%E2%80%99s-tamil-cause-fizzles-out-263

KARNATAKA POLITICS: Jagadish Shettar's price: Two deputies!

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August 6, 2011 / DC, Bengaluru.

With the Ananth Kumar-Jagadish Shettar camp refusing to back down over demands for the posts of two deputy chief ministers as well as 18-22 portfolios including finance, the BJP government under its new chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda continues to be in crisis.

A party source said they believed the Ananth Kumar camp was using the demand for the Deputy CMs posts for R Ashok and Shettar as a bargaining ploy and that their main aim was to wrest the finance and industry portfolios for their camp, adding “they knew very well that the high command will not accept the demand for DCM posts.”

However highly placed sources in the party said the rival B.S. Yeddyurappa camp had now stepped up attempts to break the Kumar-Shettar camp.

Former minister, M.P. Renukacharya, has reportedly sent feelers to some 20 MLAs including the 10 rebel MLAs, reinstated in the aftermath of the Supreme Court order. The sources also said that party senior leaders in New Delhi discouraged Mr. Shettar from coming to Delhi, telling him to sort out differences in Bengaluru.

The former chief minister said to be formulating his own list of nominees, strongly opposed the proposal by the Reddy brothers to induct their associates as proxies in the cabinet.

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MONSOON SESSION: If this is growth, please skip it: BJP in price rise debate!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: August 03, 2011 17:30 IST.

New Delhi:  The Opposition got down to business today, challenging the government to explain why it has not been able to control rising prices.  
A debate on the issue in the Lok Sabha will be followed by a vote. The discussion was initiated today by the BJP's Yashwant Sinha, who delivered a series of body blows. "We do  not agree that growth is related to prices. If growth means a rise in prices, then we do not want such growth," he said. Then he pulled out the C-stick that the Opposition wants to beat the government with in this parliament session.


"Corruption is the biggest cause of price rise,"  Mr Sinha said.  He  pointed out that food grain is rotting in warehouses instead of being distributed to the poor

Mr Sinha said  his party "urges the government to overcome its inertia" to introduce a comprehensive food pricing and management policy. "This will not only bring relief to the common man but will also serve as an antidote for the growing economic imbalances in the country."

The BJP also offered some advice to the government.  "When I was Foreign Minister," Mr Sinha added, "I would move around the world, my photos would get published. But when I went to a remote village in my constituency, asking for votes, an old lady asked me 'What's the price of kerosene?' I had no answers. And we lost the elections. You will meet the same fate," he warned

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