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Sunday,
April 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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A VIEWPOINT ON RECORD COMMENTARY |
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COLUMN Vajpayee’s five-year rule: a passport to progress and prosperity I. D. Swami MR Atal Bihari Vajpayee assumed the office of the Prime Minister of India at a time of great perplexity. The country was then beset with problems of socio-economic, political, and industrial import. The Congress was assiduously spreading a false notion that it alone can provide a stable government. This relentless fabrication of falsehood almost made coalition government synonymous with instability in the Indian political context.
The real
meaning of power
India’s
unofficial envoy in Baghdad
Iraq:
desi vs phoren coverage
The
Iraqi spirit of nationalism intact
I’m
not engaged to Yuvraj, says Shilpa
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A VIEWPOINT THE Supreme Court ruling on March 13, 2003 assumes a very special significance not only for those in active politics but also for the masses. The widespread interest this three-Bench judgement has generated may be measured by the fact that no national newspaper missed to report it promptly in its front-page headline. The Tribune, however, took the lead with the incorporation of an editorial, "Landmark judgment" (March 14, 2003). To put the issue in proper perspective, one needs to recapitulate that in response to a writ petition, the Supreme Court ruled on May 2, 2002, that every candidate contesting an election will have to declare his\her educational qualifications, assets and liabilities, and the criminal antecedents, if any, at the time of filing the nomination papers. For ensuring compliance of the court’s order, the Election Commission subsequently issued a directive on June 28, 2002 to the Chief Electoral Officers of all the states and Union Territories. However, the value of the Supreme Court’s order was drastically diluted when all the political parties met in unison to enact the impugned Ordinance of 2002. Even the President’s intervention did not make much meaning with the government and the assent was given. On October 28, 2002, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002, along with a copy of the Conduct of Elections (Amendment) Rules, 2002 was sent by the Election Commission to all the electoral officers concerned for compliance. One of the pungent provisions incorporated in Section 33B was that “notwithstanding anything contained in any judgement of any court or any order of the Election Commission, no candidate shall be liable to disclose or furnish any such information, in respect of his election, which is not required to be disclosed or furnished under this Act or rules made thereunder.” This single Section nullified by just one stroke all that what the May 2, 2002 order of the Supreme Court aspired to accomplish! It also set the stage for confrontation between the legislature and the judiciary, which is not only unwarranted but also unconstitutional. The use of the non-obstant clause in Section 33B, that too, in relation to the constitutional instrumentalities, namely the courts in general, and the Supreme Court (by innuendo) and the Election Commission in particular is, to say the least, ill-advised. It instantly undermines their independence, which is so zealously guarded by the Constitution. The legislative “firman”, “notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment of any court”, flies directly into the face of the Constitution that commends to all concerned, including the legislature, that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India (Article 141). The clear implication is that conflict issues are resolved by the court and in their resolution, “the law” is what the Supreme Court says it is. In view of this clearly understood constitutional position, the Supreme Court in its order of March 13 has rightly held that Section 33B was beyond the legislative competency, in as much as it imposed a blanket ban on the information to be given to the voters. Under the amended law, for instance, only the elected candidates were required to give details of their assets and liabilities to the Speaker of the House. It was like “putting the cart before the horse”! By declaring Section 33B unconstitutional, the May 2, 2002 order of the Supreme Court has attained finality. Accordingly, all candidates contesting the elections will have to furnish information on oath before or at the time of filing their nominations. It would be obligatory for them to disclose the details of their status — financial, educational, and criminal, if any. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s verdict on March 13, 2003, we do hear rumblings of rescinding the same. Though almost all the political parties publically proclaim that there is need for “checking criminalisation of politics” and “bringing transparency in electoral politics”, they do not seem to agree about the control mechanism. If the call for an “all-party meet” given by the government is an index, the underlying assertion appears to be that the power of “cleansing” lies with the legislature — the Lok Sabha — the elected representatives, and not with the judiciary including the Supreme Court. There is a constitutional flaw in this assertion. The Supreme Court did not deny the power of the legislature to change the law declared by it with retrospective effect that formed the basis of a judicial decision. But, then, this power can be exercised only subject to the provisions of the Constitution. Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution guarantees to all citizens the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. The casting of vote, as Mr Justice P.V. Reddi put it judicially, marked the accomplishment of the right to freedom of expression of the voter. Any curtailment of the free flow of information about the antecedents of the candidates would violate the fundamental right of voters. Thus, the right to vote is a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right, and not just a statutory right conferred by the legislature. And the Supreme Court is the custodian of this constitutional right. Hypothetically, Parliament could arrogate this right to itself but only by abrogating Article 19 (1) (a) in the exercise of the constituent power. In this respect, however, there is one misgiving that often keeps on creeping. Parliament cannot adversely amend the fundamental rights because these are the part of the basic structure of the Constitution. This view is erroneous, else the right to property under 189 (1) (a) could not have be omitted from the domain of fundamental rights by the 44th Constitutional Amendment. Having thus clarified, it needs to be emphasised that the last word on any constitutional amendment still vests with the judiciary under the doctrine of basis structure, and it will continue to be so till the 13-judge bench decision of the Supreme court in the Kesavananda Bharati remains resolute. The writer is UGC Emeritus Fellow, Department of Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh |
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ON RECORD Q:
As a prolonged war in Iraq appears imminent, how will you assess its
impact on India’s oil sector? A: The war is taking place in a
land which is far away but its impact was being felt before the war
actually started. The price of oil which was about $20 per barrel last
March had shot up to $35 per barrel. The impact is felt more in
developing countries including India. Since we import 70 per cent of our
total crude oil requirements, the increase in price from $20 to more
than $30 a barrel makes a substantial difference in our oil import bill.
When the war started, the market feeling, maybe because of the US
propaganda, was that it would be a short one and, therefore, initially
the prices went down from $34 to $25 a barrel. Now since the war is
prolonging, the prices may go up. Q: As India imported 3.8 million
tonnes of crude oil from Iraq in 2001-02, what alternative sources and
routes is the government thinking about? A: Though the prices have
gone up, we have ensured that there is enough supplies. To ensure
uninterrupted supplies of crude oil, we have made alternate
arrangements. The name of the countries cannot be divulged at this point
of time because of security considerations. But the point is that we
have made arrangements. Q: Currently, the total crude oil capacity
in Indian refineries is of 5.7 million tonnes (roughly for 60 days). Is
this sufficient in the context of the war? A: Yes. India is
self-sufficient in refining. With the amount of crude lying with us as
also other petroleum products, we can comfortably continue for a period
of two months. Q: If the war prolongs beyond two months? A: Only
last month we have finalised the Sudan deal. This gives us an additional
supply of three million tonnes. We are a 25-per cent partner there.
China holds 40 per cent, Malaysia 30 per cent and the remaining 5 per
cent is held by the Sudanese government. Presently, this oil field
produces 12 million metric tonnes per annum. China and Malaysia, under
normal circumstances, do not transport back the crude to their countries
but prefer to sell it in the international market. Since we are their
partners, we will try to get access to additional crude produced in the
Sudanese oil field. Thus, in a way, oil security has been further
strengthened by the Sudan deal. Q: Will the alternative sources of
crude oil offset the supply losses emanating from the conflict zone? A:
Yes. The world over there is no shortage of crude oil. The OPEC
countries have also said that they will produce enough. Q: Shipping
lines have started charging high war insurance premium. For a country
like India which imports 70 per cent of crude oil requirements, won’t
this lead to a very high retail prices of fuel? A: If you compare
today’s situation with that of the 1991 war, in the former case we had
problems of supplies as well as of foreign exchange. The forex reserves
during the 1991 war was $1 billion while today the forex reserves are
close to $75 billion. Though we are required to pay higher prices, we
have adequate foreign exchange reserves to pay for them. But the retail
prices could increase. Q: One year has passed since the dismantling
of the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM). And the retail prices of
fuel have increase manifold since then. A: Prices have gone up. But
when the prices of crude had gone down in the international market, we
have reduced prices of fuel thrice. Once by Re 1, then by 75 paise and
another time by 60 paise. This had never happened earlier. So an
objective observer must give due credit to the dismantling of APM. The
common man also understands that poor Ram Naik cannot do much if the
prices in the international market go up from $20 to $35 a barrel. Q:
It is feared that the Bathinda refinery project could be left midway if
the HPCL management is passed on to private hands after divestment. A: The
concern about the Bathinda refinery project is present in the minds of
all. But there are some interests who do not want more refineries to
come up in India. They have their refineries in other foreign countries
which are not working to their full capacity. So they are interested in
operating their own refineries to full capacity and exporting to
India. The government has taken due note of the concerns regarding
Bathinda refinery. At the time of finalising the Cabinet decision on
HPCL and BPCL disinvestment, we decided that the Bathinda refinery will
come up. It might form the condition for the party that wants to
purchase HPCL. Similarly for BPCL which has a refinery coming up in Bina
in MP. |
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COMMENTARY CHAOS is the primal condition of the universe. But life cannot survive in chaos. It calls for order. The United Nations was founded to establish order. Order calls for regulation. But America is allergic to regulation. It is for chaos, for freedom of action. So, the UN was doomed from the start. Was the world aware of the congenital contradiction? Perhaps not. It relied upon numbers — on majority vote. But numbers count for nothing when power and force are the decisive factors in international life. America is innocent of the philosophical implications of these primal problems. It objects to a regulated and orderly world because it leaves little freedom to it to manoeuvre — to have its arbitrary ways. With the demise of the colonial empires and the emergence of independent countries, America lost its automatic majority in the UN. Soon, there was demand for an orderly world — a world of peace, security and development. American calculations naturally went awry. The UN system, by the sheer exigencies of circumstances, grew into a world management system, touching upon all aspects of human life. In other words, the UN took on the character of a world planning body — an anathema in the eyes of those wedded to freedom of enterprise and the “market” philosophy. This process continued throughout the 60’s, and when, in the early 70’s, the poor demanded the creation of a “new international economic order” under UN aegis, it became clear that the UN was destined to become world management organisation to promote peace, security, international law, economic development, trade, finance and currency, culture, information and so on. In short, it became obvious to the ruling elite of the West that the UN was emerging as a major challenge to Western hegemony. This was certainly not what the West had in mind when it agreed to set up the UN and its agencies. So, from the 70’s, America was engaged in undermining the UN and its agencies. This was encouraged by the major European powers by their silence. The agencies which were in the forefront of the struggle for a new world order — UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO and UNCTAD — came first under attack. Perhaps, it was the UN effort to work out a code of conduct for the MNCs which was the last straw on the major powers. Here was package of interventions being worked out by the UN to regulate the activities of the transnationals which affected national sovereignty, employment and working conditions, technology transfer, consumer and environmental and protection and others. It became clear to the West that the UN system had outlived its usefulness to the West. It, therefore, became the policy of the West, more so the USA, to destroy the UN agencies. America has paralysed the work of UNESCO, UNCTAD, WHO and UNICEF by starving them of funds. As for trade, it was decided to create a new body — WTO — outside the framework of the UN. In the meantime, IMF and World Bank have been increasingly divested of their responsibility as global financial and monetary management agencies and asked to promise globalisation and the “market” philosophy. To gain control of currencies, “floating exchanges” were introduced. This was in keeping with the new approach. They can be manipulated. And with the free movement of capital, “development aid”, the main underpinning of orderly global economic development, has almost been abolished. The poor of the world go today to the capricious bankers of the world. And as the economy has entered a long period of recession, the “beggar-thy-neighbour” policy of the 30’s is back with us. With every crisis, American power has grown — economic and political — and the poor were always at the door of the rich for “more” aid. Gone are the days when the poor talked of their “right”. With globalisation, political and economic sovereignty got devalued. Over the years, US anger against this voting system turned into an obsession. But there was no way to change it. It was then that America decided to cut its contribution to the UN budget and to withhold payments. But America has been able to recover, unlike other countries, much of its funding. How? Because the UN spends 70-75 per cent of the UN budget in America itself. US citizens also get preference in UN recruitment and UN-backed industrial and other projects are mostly given to US companies. But this made no difference to the US attitude. It was determined to dismantle the entire system. It began to ignore the UN, even the Security Council. Issues were taken outside the UN. Two instances must be mentioned: NATO intervention in the Balkans and the present intervention in Iraq. It is time to recognise that the world needs a regulating authority; the scope of regulation should be determined by the world community. The UN can play this role. America will not cooperate because unilatralism and UN regulation cannot go together. Consequently, those who see the need for a regulatory global authority must rally to the defence of the UN. The issue in question is clear: while America stands for unilateralism (arbitrariness), we stand for multilateralism (democracy). America is bound to undo what remains of the UN system. This must be opposed. Happily, the European nations oppose America’s unilateralism. The US is bound to oppose this line of thinking. Apparently, there is a need to de-frock the US of its international status that Breton Woods conferred on it years ago. Where will the money come from, are may ask. Well, it is not beyond the ingenuity of the human race to find an answer to this question. |
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GUEST COLUMN MR Atal Bihari Vajpayee assumed the office of the Prime Minister of India at a time of great perplexity. The country was then beset with problems of socio-economic, political, and industrial import. The Congress was assiduously spreading a false notion that it alone can provide a stable government. This relentless fabrication of falsehood almost made coalition government synonymous with instability in the Indian political context. Although the BJP failed to get a clear mandate for ruling the country, it formed a coalition government without faltering or swerving from the path of national righteousness. The Vajpayee government not only proved the TINA (There is no alternative) myth hollow but also established that the best alternative exists in NDA (BAEINDA) and that multi-party rule is viable, stable and better. He provided a healthy and efficient alternative harmonising the regional aspirations. He developed a national consensus on all major issues confronting the nation while safeguarding the nation’s economic interests. Now, there is a definite school of thought in the country that believes that a coalition government is a blessing that can provide stable governance. Having buried the TINA factor, Mr Vajpayee stands as the tallest leader with the greatest acceptance rate. He will surely remain a standard whereby all past and future Prime Ministers of this country will be measured and appraised. In the past, whenever alternative to the Congress emerged, the Congress resorted to politics of destabilisation without being in a position of forming one. Mr Vajpayee himself was victim of that vicious joke in 1998. Ms Sonia Gandhi went to the President staking claim to form the government without having the requisite numbers. In fact, the entire Opposition had no agenda except to bring down the government in the name of secularism. The first government of Mr Vajpayee was allowed to live only 13 days in 1996, the next 13 months till 1998. Then it was viciously defeated in Parliament by one vote. Strangely, as the devil quoting the scriptures, the Congress, responsible for bringing down three governments, began discourses on stability. Twice bitten but never shy, Mr Vajpayee has gone for a six, the third time and after seeing the dusk of a century and millennium and the dawn of new ones. His government fulfilled several promises made in the 1998 election manifesto. His government brought down the rate of inflation from the previous double digit to around 2 to 3 per cent; the lowest ever rate which is no mean achievement. He also went on to accomplish a whole array of structural reforms in the areas of trade, industry, power, economy, energy, taxation, road, telecom, information technology etc, and led the country into a new millennium. Under his leadership, India doubled its exports from $1,800 to 3,600 crore in 2000. In 2001-02, exports had touched $4,400 crore and the foreign exchange reserves rose to a record high. The nation witnessed, for the first time, revolutionary transformation in many sectors. India’s achievements have amazed many nations. International institutions and renowned world leaders termed India as an emerging giant. Former President Bill Clinton said “If India continues to grow economically and get beyond some of its own difficult issues, there is no question that you will be a giant among all nations in the 21st century”. Today, the Indian economic scenario stands transformed and India emerged as the preferred location of discerning global investors. None of the previous governments in India can take pride for having achieved such remarkable accomplishment in a short span. A significant measure taken by the BJP-led NDA government in 1999 is the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act ,1999. This was a major milestone in India’s ongoing economic liberalisation process as it allowed the private sector in the insurance business. The NDA government has achieved significant success in national security related issues fulfilling yet another election promise. We made India a nuclear weapons state, established a National Security Council, a National Security Advisory Board and framed draft nuclear doctrines. This is the first government that has created national security awareness and built up international opinion that there can be no stability in the subcontinent till Pakistan is tamed. Pakistan not only got a severe drubbing in Kargil but also on the diplomatic front. This government has taken firm steps to tackle militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and operationalisation of the Rs.560.47-crore action plan, which includes curbing infiltration, countering militancy in the hinterland, protection of minorities, greater interaction with the border population, enhancing intelligence capabilities, countering secessionist over ground base within J&K and greater functional integration. Steps have been initiated to strengthen the Village Development Councils in the State by providing arms and communication systems. The North-Eastern region received special attention of this government. In the industrial policy for the North East, the Government has exempted certain goods from payment of excise/ additional duty of excise in Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal
Pradesh. The peace talks with the NSCN (IM) have been continuing. The threat of global terrorism received very important and unequivocal attention of this government. India took a clear stand and told world leaders that there can be no double standards in dealing with this scourge and terrorism cannot be called “freedom struggle”. There can be no justification for terrorism on political, ideological, religious or ethnic or any other grounds. This government has been the first one to realise that national security is more important than petty vote bank politics and therefore adopted a no-nonsense approach towards illegal migrants. However, pseudo secularists even in this matter of national security adopt an appeasing attitude to a particular community and such attitudes consolidate the majority votes against them for which the BJP should not be accused. The government is determined to find practical solution to this seemingly worst scenario. Today, India is a major player in the IT sector — the fastest growing foreign exchange earner for the country. This government can certainly take credit for getting many US and European companies locating their back office operations in Bangalore, Chennai, and Pune. Such steps have created job opportunities in Indian cities. The Indian software industry has clearly emerged as a major export earner for the country, contributing to 8 per cent of total merchandise exports. Having realised that road transport forms the backbone of the Indian economy, this government focussed on building roads. The completion of Golden Quadrilateral will alone result in saving of Rs.8,000 crore per year besides generating 18 crore man-days of employment. For the first time in the nation’s history, this government has put in place an ambitious plan to link India’s major river systems with canals stretching 10,000 km. The plan would redirect water from flood-prone areas to some of the drought-prone areas thus irrigating more land. That will boost agricultural output by 4 per cent yearly. The
Vajpayee government’s focused attention on information technology has helped India emerge as a software super power. It has evolved a well-planned policy on telecommunications and information technology, which together constitute the information infrastructure. This government adopted a healthy policy for the promotion of sports and games. We have fulfilled most of our promises, but have a long way to go. Five years is not a long enough period in a nation’s life, but we have convincingly proved that all round progress can be achieved within a short period. The Vajpayee government will find solutions to all big and small vexing problems plaguing the country for long. The writer is Union Minister of State for Home Affairs |
The real meaning of power NOW living in a Western part of the world and witnessing some naked “Natarajs”of power, I deeply ponder for myself, what is the real meaning of power today. Is it moral, is it physical, is it mental, or what is it ?And which of these components is becoming paramount in the world of today? And do we really understand and grasp this as lay people, especially when we are coming from another part of the world? Which is almost the other end of it, at least, geographically? And as I observe around and remain sensitive to the new surroundings, this is how I seem to be seeking while trying to figure out for myself. Well it’s not something that necessarily has to happen to me personally. But what I see unfolding I relate, appreciate, and absorb. I am fully conscious that any interpretation, which is not research based and can be considered biased or prejudiced, as I do believe. Therefore what I am proposing to share here is simply my personal impression as I see and as I feel, on whatever I do get to. To me the word ‘power’ appears to stand for the following meanings, namely: ‘P’ in the word ‘Power’ stands for ‘person/s’ and not ‘people’ all the time. We may no doubt, when it suits the situation, say, persons representing people speak for the people. But the big unanswered question always is, ‘when do they’ and ‘when do they not’? And how does one tell the concerned? And what if it does not register? The word ‘P’also stands for position/s the concerned persons hold. The more central the position, the greater the hold and control. ‘O’ for me stands for Operational Power. How capable ethically or otherwise is the person/s capable to operate. This implies, who does he (for there are no shees’) have around and how does he move /use them around. Also what does matter a great deal is, the money/ muscle/ moral/ power the said person/s is deploying to harness to use or rely on. ‘O’ also today stands for the Oil power, though it does not stand alone. It could as well be a liability today. ‘W’ stands for the ‘Wherewithal’ said person/s has. This implies the capability of operational power. Whether it is wisdom or vice driven. The difference in this makes the qualitative change. And in today’s world being ‘White,’ is power. The whites dominate almost completely in hardware, which includes hard currency. It’s the world of ‘Green Bags’ the Yen and the Euro. As the saying goes, it’s ‘the money honey’. ‘E’ stands for English. If one does not know it, one is seriously weakened. Of course education is very important but skirt able depending on one’s resources and operational capability. ‘R’ stands for the ‘Region’ one comes from. The world is visibly divided between the haves and the have-nots? The receivers and givers? The North and the South. There are regions in the world, which are completely balkanised. It’s a visible relationship of givers and receivers. The more a country receives the more enslaved it becomes. The more a country gives the more it dictates. Hence power as I see today is with person/s with organisational/ political power in key positions in powerful white regions of the world predominantly English speaking. And it is all male power here. There is no visible women power anywhere that is clearly assertive and threatening to entrenched interests. Power is not numbers, not ethics, not history, not culture, not creativity, not degrees, not women, not looks but white colour, English language, political position, the region one is born in, oil rich, donor country with surplus budgets and preferably men who were once combatants. Do we as numbers approve of this elucidation of the concept of power as I see? No I say to myself. Is this changeable, I ask myself? No, not in given scene, but yes in the near future. By beginning with the first P, which stood for Person/s. If we the numbers/ receivers/ exploited/ non-English/ women and side-lined men/ all regions/ non-oil/ decide not to be cattle but be organised persistently on issues of humanity and sanity. The world may well have a hope now and tomorrow. |
India’s unofficial envoy in Baghdad
This was not for the first time that Saleh looked after the Indian mission and safeguarded the interests of Indians who remained in the Iraqi capital when everybody left. He was entrusted with the reins of the embassy in 1991 gulf war too and he did a commendable job. Saleh can speak fluent Hindi and his rapport with local Indian community has been excellent. As the war rages around Baghdad, all contacts with the Indian mission has been snapped but the scrappy reports suggest that a few Indian families still left there have been extended the much-needed help by Saleh and his local staff. They include 14 families doing odd jobs and eight working at the holy shrines in Karbala. In addition, there are nuns from Kerala working at a destitute home in Baghdad and three Indian students of Islamic studies who choose to stay back at Najaf when the war broke. Saleh was employed by the Indian embassy about 40 years ago. He stood by the mission through thick and thin having seen the grueling days of Iraq-Iran war and felt the heat of Operation of Desert Storm. The year 2001 was a traumatic year for him. The then Ambassador R.Dayakar thought it was time that Saleh should hang up his boots and decided to retire him. Peeved, as he was, at snapping of his life-long ties with the Indian mission, Saleh quietly left without even collecting his dues. The matter came to the notice of the then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh. He brought back Saleh with honour and even provided employment to his son, Hadi, in the mission. Also at a special function, Saleh was given a cheque of $5,000 as gratuity and a letter of commendation from the Minister. Saleh’s association with Indians started when he was a child. Then Indian soldiers fought under the Union Jack along the Shat-al-Arab waterway in Kurdistan and even in Baghdad. He used to help India soldiers and, in the process, picked up Hindustani. The lingo proved a great asset years after the Indian mission hired him as a messenger. Saleh is now India’s unofficial envoy in the Iraqi capital and hoists the tricolour till the war is over. |
Iraq: desi vs phoren coverage
Waiting for Godot Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerejee, who had taken a tough stand against creation of more Railway zones, has since mellowed down a lot and has been waiting for her re-entry into the Government. She was promised that during the parliamentary recess, ending on Monday, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would expand his council of ministers. She was also told by Vajpayee’s confidants that this time the Cabinet expansion would be NDA-specific. But what has jolted her is that there is not even
speculation in the media about her reinduction into the Cabinet. Does that remind you of Samuel Becket’s “Waiting for Godot”? Helicopter and not the Metro Rail, is the latest mode of transportation in the Capital. Surprised? That’s what Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani plans to use to travel within and around Delhi. The justification he is giving is that it would help students write the class X and XII board examination to reach their examination centres right on time. This week Advani took off in a chopper to attend a function in the outskirts of the city. One only wonders how many buildings in Delhi have helipad and what if other ministers follow suit. Toughspeak Of late the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders have been attacking the BJP for not taking adequate steps for construction of Ayodhya temple. The spitting of venom against the BJP has grown further since March 31 when the Supreme Court rejected the Central Government’s plea for handing over of the “undisputed land” in Ayodhya to VHP. The VHP’s firebrand leader Praveen Togadia, who is known for his explosive speeches, attacked the BJP in his own typical way. He said: “BJP NDA ki sasural mein hai aur sasural ka purdah hota hai. Ya to woh (meaning BJP) sasural ka purdah hatane ki himmat rakhein ya sasural ko chhodne ki himmat kare. Dono cheez nahin kar sakte to gaddi chhodne ki taiyari karein.” (BJP is in the in-laws’ house of the NDA and the in-laws’ house has a tradition of purdah. Either the BJP should have the guts to do away with this tradition or it should come out of the inlaws’ house. If it can’t do either of these then it should get prepared for coming out of the government). Congress circles Making circles, it seems, comes naturally to Congressmen. Not merely in terms of making rounds of 10 Janpath but in formulating party policies as well. So thirty years after it captured the imagination of the middle class with the slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao,’ the Congress has decided to go back to its mantra of the past. The Congress ruled the country for more than 20 of the past 30 years and would have taken steps to remove poverty. But all that is clearly not enough. The Congress perhaps also feels that poverty has again assumed gigantic proportions in the past five years of NDA rule and it needs to intervene. The latest slogan ‘Congress ka haath, Garibon ke saath’ is meant to re-emphasise party’s
commitment to the poor. The slogan, however, is yet to click with the masses. It remains to be seen if the Congress will now change its stance towards liberalisation also. Najma’s Trip Contributed by T V Lakshminarayan, Satish Misra, R Suryamurthy, Prashant Sood, S Satyanarayan and Rajeev Sharma |
The Iraqi spirit of nationalism intact AS reports of the US-UK-led war on Iraq brought in further shots of a more horrifying kind, I went down to the Iraqi embassy here. The mood seemed upbeat and that spirit of nationalism of which I wrote about last week, was more than intact. The Delhi-based Indo-Iraq Friendship Society has just brought out a booklet on this war of aggression. Edited and published by
R. N. Anil, it has the who's who giving their reasons for vetoing this war of blatant aggression. Gandhian and peace activist Nirmala Deshpande has compiled some hard-hitting facts on the double standards of the US. Each one of us in the developing countries ought to know that the cowboy’s whip could get cracking on us in the years to come. Here are some facts put together by Nirmala: Percentage of the US population in the world — 6 per cent. Percentage of the world’s wealth that the US has — 50 per cent. The country having the largest oil reserves — Iraq. Any proven links between Iraq and 9/11? — No. How many countries are known to have nuclear weapons — eight. Number of nuclear warheads that Iraq has got — Nil. And how many the US has got — 6,144. The estimated cost of US’ National Missile Defense System by 2015 — $48.8 billion. How much is spent on military budgets a year — $ 900 billion. How much of this is spent by the US — 50 per cent. The new danger And for us here, there’s the danger of US dictates being followed by the establishment. No, beating (around the) bush but it’s said that former Iraqi Ambassador to India Salah Al-Mukhtar was last month actually asked to leave the country because his name was said to be linked to a terrorist outfit (No, not by the name of Bush & Allies). The US administration tried its best to hound Mukhtar even from Vietnam, the country where he went as Ambassador-designate. Fortunately, the Vietnam government could not be bullied by American dictates and last week issued a statement to the effect that they have done their probe and cleared his name, after finding that those allegations were false. Why is the US wary of Mukhtar? Mukhtar, who has been the editor-in-chief of Iraq's leading newspaper before he was appointed by President Saddam Hussein as Ambassador to India about three years back, is one of the most vocal Iraqis. He has all facts lined up. He has been writing and speaking rather too blatantly on the objectives of America wanting to take over Iraq. As Mukhtar says, “We should admit that without invading the two areas, Iraq and Central Asia, the USA will never succeed in transforming its wishful thinking of building a world dictatorship, and, perhaps, this fact is self-evident to prove that the US’ priorities under the so-called “war against terrorism” has started with Afghanistan and followed by building military and intelligence bases in Central Asian nations. It has selected Iraq to be the next target after Afghanistan. What is apparent now after the collapse of the Taliban government is the fact that the US has stopped finding Osama Bin Laden or Mullah Omar as top priority. Also the US is rejecting to help build a strong state in Afghanistan simply because the objective of controlling all major approaches of Central Asia such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and so on cannot be guaranteed unless the US claims that there is unrest, strife and terrorism there, which has to be fought by keeping American military in that region...” |
I’m not
engaged to Yuvraj, says Shilpa THAT she is engaged to cricketer Yuvraj Singh is news to actress
Shilpa Shetty! The tall and beautiful Shilpa laughed away the rumour in
an interview with IANS, preferring instead to dwell on the way her
Bollywood career has shaped up in 10 years. Excerpts: Q:
Congrats on your engagement to Yuvraj. A: Wow what fun! I wish it
were true. There’s nothing going on between Yuvraj and me. He’s a
very dear friend of mine. There cannot be any romantic involvement
between us. For one, he’s much younger. I just hope love happens one
fine day. Better sooner than later. Q: Why so little from you? A: Because
there’re very few films happening in Bollywood. For me at this point
of time it’s important to concentrate on a few quality films rather
than do everything that comes my way. I’m doing Puneet Issar’s
"Sanghar’’, a cops film with Salman Khan. We shot for it in
Pune. Then there’s an interesting Ram Gopal Varma production "Darna
Manaa Hai" where like everyone else I’ve just a week’s work. It’s
an episodic horror film. It’s a new genre and I wanted to try it out.
Then there’s Mahmud Sipra’s international project for which they’ve
approached Akshay Kumar to play the lead. Otherwise there’s a major
recession in the industry. Q: Are you playing a pivotal part in
"Sanghar"? A: Well I’m not part of the police force.
But I’m not a decoration doll either. By the way I have another film,
"Dil Churake Chal Diye", with Salman Khan ready for release.
"Dil Churake..." is directed by Adhiyaman who made "Hum
Tumhare Hain Sanam". I loved that film. It was so real and funny. Q:
What did you feel about being nominated as a comic actress for your role
in "Rishtey"? A: A nomination is a nomination. So it does
feel good especially when your work has been neglected for 10 years. In
fact I was the only female nominee. But the comic nomination was unfair
to the role. Q: Do you think the body-beautiful image has come in
the way? A: Not any longer. It has taken me a long time. But now I’m
taken seriously as an actress. I can feel the change. Earlier I was
complimented for my dances and my body. Now I actually get noticed for
my performances. In fact I’m now being acknowledged for my performance
in Dharamesh Darshan’s "Dhadkan" after four years! IANS |
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PETROLEUM Minister Ram Naik is confident that the Atal Behari
Vajpayee government is well prepared to weather any crisis that could
arise from operation "Iraqi Freedom." He spoke to The Tribune
in New Delhi on a range of issues covering the war, disinvestment and
the dismantled administered pricing mechanism (APM). Excerpts:
BOMBS and missiles may be raining in Baghdad but the tricolour still flutters atop the Indian Embassy building. Reports from Baghdad say, the Presidential palace was hit the other day by a bomb and damaged but the Indian mission remained unaffected. The man who keeps the tricolour flying is a Kurd, a local employee of the mission, having association with Indians for over four decades. When India’s Ambassador to Iraq,
B. B. Tyagi, was temporarily relocated to Jordan, he handed over the embassy’s keys to trusted Saleh Ramadan. One prays that the 70-year-old Kurd survives the onslaught of US bombing.
GULF War II has opened up newer dimensions of television reporting. Gulf War I had brought a military conflict to the drawing rooms all over the world courtesy CNN. It was a birth with a bang for the CNN. This time around the ‘phoren’ channels have done it again and introduced a new concept: “embedded” journalism. War is being telecast virtually live now. Against this backdrop, the Indian channels may seem to be paling into insignificance, but Doordarshan, it must be said, did whatever it could to bring a comprehensive coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom. DD Director General S Y Qureshi thinks DD’s war coverage has been a watershed in the live reporting operations of the national broadcaster. DD had meticulously drawn up its news coverage plans when war became a distinct possibility and quickly implemented these plans when the war actually broke out. DD has in place a network of its correspondents in the region, including Satish Jacob, the only Indian who is in Baghdad itself. DD has its teams in countries like Jordan, Kuwait and Turkey and some of these are going to be shifted to countries like Israel and Afghanistan for different perspectives on the war.
Copter vs Metro
Najma Heptullah conducts the Rajya Sabha exceedingly well. Even her detractors would grant her this much. But the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson could not apparently manage her visit to the United States well. She had to cool her heels in the US capital for days after she landed in Washington on Monday as no one of consequence had time for her. She went ahead with her US visit despite a contrary advice from the Indian diplomatic mission in the USA. Indian mission’s contention was that since most of the Senators and members of the House of Representatives were busy with the war in Iraq and President George W.Bush’s budget for the next year, she should postpone her trip. Even Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali had postponed his visit last week and Canadian Premier John Chretien had also called off his scheduled visit.