Hum Bolega To Bologe Ki Bolta Hai, is that what Narendra Modi thinks!

As a prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh often came under attack for either not speaking or speaking too less even when there were issues aplenty to address. However, he silenced the opposition by his famous address in Parliament about three years ago when he invoked an Urdu couplet to hit back at his critics.

"Hazaron jawabon se achchi hai khamoshi meri, na jaane kitne sawalon ki aabru rakhi (My silence is better than a thousand answers, it keeps intact the honour of innumerable questions)," Singh said in August 2012 in his statement during the discussion on coal block allocation scam.

PM Narendra Modi

The incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a leader who is known for speaking, and speaking a lot. He would often criticise Manmohan Singh for not speaking whenever it was required.

But that was when he happened to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat as he aspired to rule the nation. He still speaks, but not when the opposition parties attack him over any issue. He takes time and reacts only when either the matter snowballs into a major controversy or, many a times, just dies down.

The ruling BJP is under attack once again. This time, over favouring former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi, who has been facing an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe, procure documents from the UK to travel to Portugal.

The opposition first attacked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who even admitted to helping the other Modi by speaking to British Labour MP Keith Vaz. As the matter persisted, the opposition stepped up the attack and even dragged the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) into the controversy. Now many parties have been seeking the prime minister’s reply on the issue.

But Modi, who has of late restrained himself from frequent public speaking, probably after knowing the sanctity of the post he holds, has been silent.

I wonder what Mr Prime Minister must be thinking while he is attacked by the opposition parties. Probably Kishore Kumar’s famous song from 1974 Hindi hit “Kasauti” -- Hum Bolega To Bologe Ki Bolta Hai (If I speak up, you will say I speak too much), picturised on megastar Amitabh Bachchan -- would aptly describe the situation of the prime minister.

Delhi Goes Broom-Broom

For a change, it’s broom-broom, not vroom-vroom on Delhi roads (obviously not all) these days as theme cleanliness makes its way back to the national capital.

It all started from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachch Bharat Abhiyan” last year, when social media was abuzz with comments of his “masterstroke” that saw both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) virtually conceding their election symbols – hand or palm and broom respectively – to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

AAP's Safai Abhiyan in Delhi on June 13.
AAP/Twitter

Modi’s campaign became a big hit with the prime minister himself nominating celebrities from different walks of life for his #SwachchBharatAbhiyan. The opposition, however, rubbished it saying it was only a photo op for Modi and his party colleagues.

Somehow, Delhi’s cleanliness war has revived. In fact, it has not just revived, but has intensified. The fight is not restricted between the ruling AAP and its key challenger BJP, but even now insignificant Congress has also jumped into the fray.

A day after Delhi's sanitation workers called off their strike over their unpaid salaries, it was a battle for broom-upmanship when leaders of both the BJP and the AAP took to cleaning the streets as they also threw dirt at each other blaming for the garbage crisis in the city.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia led the AAP campaign on the city roads along with the party leaders Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh and Alka Lamba on Saturday morning.

Delhi BJP's Safai Abhiyan on June 13.
BJP/Twitter

It was then the turn of BJP to wield the broom as the party’s Delhi chief Satish Upadhyay also got into the cleanliness mode. As he led the cleanliness drive, Upadhyay blamed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the stinking mess, accusing him of only doing politics rather than focusing on governance.

Congress too is not sitting idle all this while. And, the party’s charge was led by none other than the party’s heir apparent Rahul Gandhi. The party launched a dual attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre and AAP's state government over the garbage crisis in the city after some sanitation workers visited the Congress vice-president to thank him for his support.

The Congress claimed that it was after Rahul Gandhi's meeting with the agitating workers that the matter was resolved and nearly 15,000 sanitation workers ended their 12-day strike.

Rahul Gandhi with Delhi Safai Karmcharis during their agitation on June 12.
@OfficeOfRG/Twitter

"Now when the strike has ended, those belonging to the party of PM Narendra Modi and AAP have come out on the streets for a photo op in the name of clearing the garbage. Neither AAP nor those belonging to Modiji's party spare any opportunity of photo-up," senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed said.

Whoever gets the credit for any good that happens in Delhi, let the city and its people benefit. Let the broom fight go on so that Delhi gets rid of that stink it has remained notorious for. Hope these Safai Abhiyans do not just end up as photo ops for these parties!

Who is a better diplomat, Sushma Swaraj or Narendra Modi?

She was once seen as a future prime minister as she impressed not just her own party leaders, or the people of India who would often see her on their TV screens strongly pitching against the then UPA government whenever there was a need, but even by the Congress-led alliance for being articulate and keeping the point of view of the majority of India.

The BJP largely banked on its two leaders – Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley – as they efficiently played the roles of Leader of Opposition in both the Houses of parliament. There were occasions when Swaraj actually proved herself a stronger leader than the most of her party colleagues, including Jaitley.

But the surge of Narendra Modi literally wiped the BJP top order, and Swaraj was no exception. The then chief minister of Gujarat suddenly shrouded the mass appeals of veterans like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh and also Swaraj to a great extent.

Nevertheless, Swaraj did find a place in the NDA government's cabinet. Though the ministry of external affairs was not considered such an important portfolio when compared to the likes of ministry of home affairs and ministry of finance, the MEA did face some big challenges given the state of affairs involving India's bully neighbours and the friendly countries turning neutral.

However, it was not really the external affairs which kept Swaraj on her toes all the time, the bigger challenge was posed by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. From the day one, Modi kept on challenging Swaraj by taking diplomacy in his own hands as he invited all the heads of SAARC nations to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his council of ministers.

A year down the line, Swaraj is being admired as a minister more than any of her colleagues. Away from the media, she always preferred to work silently. Apart from addressing media on some rare occasions, like the hostage crisis in Iraq and Syria, she preferred to stay away from the limelight.

Swaraj hogged the limelight on Sunday as she addressed a mega press conference marking the completion of the NDA government's one year in office. As usual, Pakistan stole the show yet again as the minister ruled out cricket diplomacy with the country or talks with it until the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi who was released from a jail recently, were acted against.

The minister did not restrict her address to her ministry. In fact she started elaborating Modi government's key achievements in the first year in office. She then answered the queries of journalists, without any hesitation or gaffe, unlike her ministerial colleague Rajnath Singh who had recently committed a faux pas at his press conference in the national capital. Singh had said that India had entered into an agreement with France to make nuclear weapons as part of Modi's pet "Make in India" campaign.

Apparently, her political strategy makes Swaraj different from the rest in the cabinet as she never moaned about her portfolio or even more than obvious interference by none other than Modi. Modi, who is often credited with India's bold outlook towards the West or even criticised for staying away from India for too long rather than visiting the Indian poor, always shadowed Swaraj as the external affairs minister and she let that happen.

There is no real failure on the part of her ministry. It has been rather appreciated for its efforts, including the major rescue operation in Syria wherein citizens of many other countries were also taken out of the war-torn nation along with the thousands of stranded Indians.

Call it her political strategy or her diplomatic prowess, Sushma Swaraj has time and again proved why she is the most efficient minister in the Modi government.

'Great Wall of Tibet' separates China and India

Chinese President Xi Jinping must have returned home with some unique (if not fond) memories, as well as some bitter, after his three-day India visit.

The trip, which started amid media speculations that Jinping would outdo Japanese regime’s commitment for investment to the tune of $38 billion in India, began in Ahmedabad with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ignoring protocols to welcome arguably the world’s most powerful leader in traditional Gujarati way in the land of Mahatma Gandhi. All through the Chinese leader’s visit, there were protests by Tibetans, who have been living in India as refugees for years. A group could achieve some success by breaching the security cordon as it tried to barge into the Hyderabad House in New Delhi while the one-to-one and delegation level talks were on.

Demanding independence is their right. But why at the cost of India, which has been sheltering over 150,000 Tibetans in exile for decades?

Even as the border disputes in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are often seen as the immediate provocation for the escalation in tension, diplomatic experts agree that Tibetans residing in India is the key reason behind the bitterness of its relationship with China.

The protests hogged the limelight despite the fact that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama called Jinping an open-minded and realistic.

The Dalai Lama

Shouldn’t the 79-year-old Buddhist monk, who has been honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize 25 years ago, have appealed to his followers not to resort to the tactics that they did?

I have great respect for the Dalai Lama and sympathy towards the Tibetans who have been struggling for independence. But a visit to Dharamsala town in Himachal Pradesh, which is very much a part of India (and there is no boundary dispute over it with China or Tibet), a few years ago was an eye-opener to me.

Dharamsala is considered one of the biggest refuges for the Tibetans in exile in India with the 14th Dalai Lama himself having his abode in the McLeod Ganj suburb. But it was shocking to find that the Tibetan eateries or road side vendors would rather prefer not to entertain Indian customers as they looked forward to foreigners who might be the potential high spenders.

My experience reminded me of an Amitabh Bachchan blockbuster in which the villain says "dogs and Indians are not allowed" inside a club.
Had it been outside India, probably it wouldn't have hurt me so badly, but discrimination in India for being an Indian was a rude shock to me and the fellow visitors.
Coming back to the Tibetan agitation and about 70-year-old movement, the protesters shouted slogans against the Chinese president and urged the host prime minister not to hold talks with the former.
The protests, which were witnessed in various parts of the Indian capital, especially the areas dominated by Tibetans and the places visited by Jinping, do not conform to the comparatively softer stand taken be the Dalai Lama.
It is time India should make it clear that no community should take undue advantage of its liberal behaviour and cause it an irreparable loss.
Of course we still stand by our age old tradition of "atithi devo bhaw (a guest is like a god), but that doesn't allow the guests freedom to dent the host's own interests.

Floods achhe hain!

National disaster is becoming an annual phenomenon for the world's largest democracy, it seems. Last year it was Uttarakhand flash floods and this year the nation is battling, what is being labelled as "the hell in the heaven", a massive flood fury in Jammu and Kashmir.
But the calamity, which has simultaneously marooned many places in Kashmir Valley across the Line of Control (LoC), reminds of a punch line from a detergent ad: "daag achhe hain (stains are good)".
No calamity can be good for a country or its people. And, the flood in Kashmir Valley - the northern most state's worst disaster since Independence - is no different.

A temple inundated by the overflowing Tawi in Jammu earlier this week

But the calamity in case also has some positive facets. Despite it claiming nearly 300 lives so far and causing a loss of worth billions of rupees to public and private property, the Kashmir deluge has united India. Money and relief materials are pouring in from across the country.
Only a couple of years ago the valley was battling the menace of stone pelting and the ensuing firing by security forces. But the situation has totally changed. Lakhs of people have been stranded in various districts as swollen rivers have inundated the paradise.
People laud army
Leading from the front, the Indian Army has been rescuing people trapped in their houses, offices, community buildings and other elevated areas. Nearly 1 lakh people have already been moved to safer places by the teams of armed forces and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
The armed forces are indeed bringing smile back to people's faces. Locals have been thanking soldiers for their service. Social media has been abuzz with lavish praises for the security forces as people narrate stories of rescue of their near and dear ones in various parts of the valley.
It is a known fact that army columns were not rushed to Kashmir Valley from other states in the eventuality of the disaster, as it happens normally. They were already stationed in the state given the situation of terrorism and militancy in the state.
The army's role becomes even more significant given its opposition, particularly over the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The state government has for a long been asking the Centre to repeal AFSPA, which has been in force since 1990 to tackle militancy in the valley.
However, the army stay put insisting it was still not the right time to move out of the valley handing over its security to the state police.
Not surprisingly, Kashmiri separatist leaders have been silent all these days, not making statement to the media about the flood situation in the state or army's efforts.
PM's 'cross-border heroism'
Realising the seriousness of the disaster, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a sudden visit to the state on Monday and announced a Rs 1,000 crore relief package. His prompt move compelled even his strong critics, including senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, praising and thanking the PM.
Modi's gesture did not stop at this side of the Line of Control (LoC). Despite India itself struggling, he was quick to offer relief to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The move saw his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif expressing gratitude.
Social media saw it as "cross-border heroism" of Modi in response to "cross-border terrorism", backed by Pakistan state factors.
That left the mastermind of 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai - chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba's front Jamaat-ud-Dawah Hafiz Saeed - with no option but to blame India for the floods in PoK.
Such expressions of solidarity - both by the army and the central government - would compel the people of Kashmir, especially those whose thinking might be influenced by separatists, feel that they too are Indians and those living across the border might see India as a friendly neighbour.
If that happens, 'floods achhe hain'!

Is BJP wary of Delhi's floating vote bank?

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has certainly mastered the art of sting operation, which it often uses to nail its political rivals or big corporate houses.
Genuine or not is a matter of investigation, but such sting operations do keep the humble Arvind Kejriwal and his young outfit in news.

A grab from AAP sting on BJP's Sher Singh Dagar (left)

The genuineness of the latest AAP 'Stinger' - purportedly showing Delhi BJP vice-president Sher Singh Dagar offering Rs 4 crore to MLA from Sangam Vihar Dinesh Mohania to abstain from voting in the eventuality of a trust vote in the House - remains to be seen.
The BJP not standing by Dagar strongly indicates the party might ultimately distance itself from the leader. Media reports quoting sources even suggested that the veteran leader might be shown the door, signifying the allegation against him could be true.
Dagar's expulsion from the party might reduce the impact AAP would have desired from the latest operation.
Nevertheless, the BJP seems to playing to a larger game plan. Going by a series of statements from its leaders at national and state levels, the party doesn't really look keen on forming government through horse-trading, as repeatedly alleged by the AAP.
The BJP actually seems to be buying time, an opportune time when it can confidently face the electorate.
Till a few weeks ago, there was no reason for the saffron party to worry as far as its position in Delhi is concerned. It would have probably secured seats beyond its expectation had the assembly polls been conducted with the General Elections.
No doubt Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team are working hard to achieve their promise of "ache din". It has even started showing in some areas.
But the key issues - corruption and inflation - remain largely unaddressed. Moreover, India's recovering economy is largely the outcome of sentiments based on NDA's promises and some steps taken by the UPA government in its last few months, coupled with the stern measures of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Having lost its government in 1998 owing to high onion prices, BJP knows that inflation, particularly of food items, might force a retreat of its floating vote bank, which helped it win all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital.
The last few years' trends suggest food prices are bound to ease to some extent after the end of monsoon season. It may take a few more weeks to make food prices a non-issue for the assembly polls.
The BJP apparently wants to wait for the arrival of achhe din before going for polls in Delhi along with the other election-bound states. After all, it can't afford to lose Delhi this time!

Maoists on forced induction spree, children flee Jharkhand’s tribal villages

Doanti (name changed), aged around 16, has been making desperate calls to her cousin sister Kalawati (not the one who shot to fame after Congress heir apparent Rahul Gandhi made a surprise visit to her house in Maharashtra about a decade ago).

The tribal girl, who so far was proud of her independent life in her sleepy village tucked away in dense forests of Chotanagpur Plateau, just wants to run away from the place now. Not that Doanti is in love with a boy with whom her parents would not allow a nuptial tie or she is being forced to earn a living as a condition to continue in their house. The red terror, locally dreaded as “party”, has forced her to look for avenues away from home to lead a decent life.

The teen is among the hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys and girls – aged between five and 18 – who are being driven by the extremists of Communist Party of India (Maoist) in herds to force them into their training camps as “comrades”.

“The situation was not that bad till a few months ago as the area commanders would only seek volunteers to join their outlawed outfit, asking each household to part with one young family member or would even spare them after having getting little contributions in cash, food or shelter. But the villagers aren’t given a choice these days,” says Mayanti, who also hails from Jharkhand and works as a domestic help in Gurgaon, after the telephonic conversation of her friend Kalawati with the latter’s cousin.

Probably Maoism is not a movement anymore, as it happened to be when it was still recognised as Naxalism, which fought for social equality, not through democratic means but with guns.

Though Prakash Jha’s Chakravyuh painted Maoists as ideologists, who even compelled Kabir (Abhay Deol) – planted by Nandighat SP Adil Khan (Arjun Rampal) as an informer – convert into Azad for locals’ cause to resist government-sponsored land grabbing leading to mass displacement, the reality seems to be far from the movie. Doanti, a resident of Jharkhand’s Latehar district, requested Kalawati find her a job of domestic help as she wants to run away from her village (name withheld) fearing she might be forced to become a Maoist cadre.

Doanti, who happens to be the daughter of Kalawati’s stepfather’s elder brother and dropped out of school after spending early years in state capital Ranchi, hopes to be rescued by her cousin.

Many other girls her age, who were saved from the tentacles of child traffickers so far, now want to be employed as domestic helps or labourers in brick kiln from this tribal-dominated state out of the Maoists’ fear.

The creation of Jharkhand has certainly not helped these people of remote area which have been under the influence of red terror. Things have rather aggravated. It would be an irony if the Narendra Modi government, which came to the power after a thumping victory on the promise of security and respectable life to women and girls, doesn’t take note of the disturbing trend in Jharkhand and other similar tribal-dominated states.