Sunday, October 16, 2011

RSS Exposed


RSS is an organisation :


1. That is not registered under the Registration of Societies Act.


2. That does not pay even Rs. 1/- in tax of any kind (Central + Taxes) inspite of having 53 branches and thousands of institutions.


3. Does not recognise the Constitution of India.


4. Does not recognise the National Anthem of India.


5. Openly claims to overthrow the State (The Union of India) by dis-mantling the structure based on the Constitution of India.


6. Maintains an extra-constitutional Armed Army (Mafia) to unleash communal riots as and when politically expedient.


7. RSS Sarsangchalak says "No Violence in RSS"., but everyone knows that from Hegdewar to Mohan Bhagwat., all Sarsangchalaks (Hegdewar-Golwalkar-Deoras-Sudarshan-Raju Bhaiyya-and so on); have successfully planned, executed and supervised communal riots (and subsequently covered them up successfully, buried the truth under the safforn carpet, i.e.).


8. Instigating the common man (Aam Aadmi) to overthrow the State of the Union of India openly. 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

THE LEGAL TRUTH ABOUT THE LIES OF GODHRA


The prosecution’s conspiracy theory against Godhra Muslims rested primarily on five sets of witnesses


1. Nine BJPmen who claimed to be eyewitnesses to the carnage
These men accused 41 Muslims who spent nine years in jail. A TEHELKA sting caught two of these BJP men admitting on camera they were actually at home that day and the police fabricated their statements. They went along to “serve the cause of Hindutva”. The judge has now discarded all nine testimonies

2. Ajay Baria, a Hindu vendor, forced into the plot; saw it all
Judge Patel has relied hugely on Baria’s account. But why would Muslim conspirators pick a Hindu man at the last minute to help load the petrol and burn the train? TEHELKA tried to track him but failed. His mother said he had been coerced into becoming a police witness and lived under constant police surveillance.

3. Two petrol pump attendants who claim they sold 140 litres of fuel to some Muslims on 26 Feb
Ranjitsinh and Pratapsinh Patel had first told the police that they had not sold any loose petrol that crucial night. In a shocking turnaround, six months later, they changed their version. However, TEHELKA caught Ranjitsinh admitting on camera that he and Pratap had been bribed Rs. 50,000 by police officer Noel Parmar to do that. He also tutored them to identify particular Muslims in court as being the buyers

4. Jabir Bahera, a petty criminal, who first named Maulvi Umarji as a mastermind
Bahera claimed it was Umarji who picked coach S-6 as the target, but also said Umarji was not at any conspiracy meetings. He later retracted everything

5. Sikandar Siddique, another petty criminal, said he had pulled the chain the second time Siddique is an obvious unreliable witness. Besides Umarji, he had said Maulvi Punjabi had incited the mob. But Punjabi was not even in the country that day

Friday, October 14, 2011

Saffron in Uniform - Indian Army RSS Link

READ FULL ARTICLE

Has the politics of manipulation breached the last bastion of our secular being—the armed forces?

Conspiracy of Silence



READ FULL ARTICLE

Hindu terror is a reality, yet India refuses to utter its name



Malegaon Blasts-I
September 8, 2006
37 dead

  • Initial arrests: Arrested include Salman Farsi, Farooq Iqbal Makhdoomi, Raees Ahmed, Noorul Huda Samsudoha and Shabbir Batterywala.
  • Later revelation: Suspicion now rests on Hindu terrorists because of the 2008 blasts.

Samjhauta Express Blasts
February 18, 2007
68 dead, mostly Pakistanis

  • Initial suspicion: LeT and JeM were blamed. Those arrested included Pakistani national Azmat Ali.
  • Later revelation: Police have seen the evidence trail lead to right-wing Hindu activists. Investigators claim the triggering mechanism for the Mecca masjid blast three months later was similar to the one used here. Police are looking for RSS pracharaks Sandeep Dange and Ramji.

Mecca Masjid Blast
May 18, 2007
14 dead

  • Initial arrests: Around 80 Muslims detained for questioning and 25 arrested. Several have now been acquitted, including Ibrahim Junaid, Shoaib Jagirdar, Imran Khan and Mohammed Adul Kaleem.
  • Later revelation: In June 2010 the CBI announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for information on the two accused, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra. Lokesh Sharma arrested.

Ajmer Sharif Blast
October 11, 2007
3 dead

  • Initial arrests: HuJI, LeT blamed. Those arrested include  Abdul Hafiz Shamim, Khushibur Rahman, Imran Ali.
  • Later revelation: In 2010, Rajasthan ATS arrests Devendra Gupta, Chandrashekhar and Vishnu Prasad Patidar. Accused Sunil Joshi, who was killed weeks before the blast, is believed to have been a key planner.

Thane Cinema Blast
June 4, 2008

  • Affiliated to Hindu Janjagruti Samiti and Sanathan Sanstha,  Ramesh Hanumant Gadkari and Mangesh Dinkar Nikam arrested. Blast planned to oppose the screening of Jodhaa Akbar.

Kanpur And Nanded Bomb Mishaps
August 2008

  • Two members of Bajrang Dal—Rajiv Mishra and Bhupinder Singh—were killed while assembling bombs in Kanpur. In April 2006, N. Rajkondwar and H. Panse from the same outfit died under similar circumstances in a bomb-making workshop in Nanded.

Malegaon Blasts II
September 29, 2008
7 dead

  • Initial suspicion: Groups like Indian Mujahideen involved
  • Later revelation: Abhinav Bharat and Rashtriya Jagaran Manch accused of involvement. Arrested include Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Srikant Purohit and Swami Amritanand Dev Tirth, also known as Dayanand Pandey.

Goa Blasts
October 16, 2009

  • 2 dead Both accused are members of the Sanathan Sanstha. Malgonda Patil and Yogesh Naik were riding a scooter laden with explosives, which accidentally went off.


By Smruti Koppikar with Debarshi Dasgupta and Snigdha Hasan

    Indian Army-Sangh Parivar terrorists’ nexus: Sinister Facist plans



    READ FULL ARTICLE

    Links of Indian military with Hindutva organizations are no secret now. Most of organizations are working in Indian society since ages like Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal etc have long history of having links with military establishment at different level. The root of this cooperation is decades-old appeal: "India is for Hindus only". This is nothing new but there is something new and that is the growing influence of this ideology among Indian military and elements that are now not in control of Indian military or Indian government but they are on their own agenda of Hindutva, a name given to same old appeal of race and religion regarding India.

    A Brief Outline of Saffron Terrorism by RSS and Sangh Pariwar



    As an organization, the RSS is elusive and shadowy—it is only open to Hindu males – primarily upper caste; it maintains no membership records; it has resisted being registered with the Government of India as a public/charitable trust; it has no bank accounts and pays no income tax. 

    The Videshi Fascist Roots of RSS with Mussolini

    For detailed report click here



    Meeting with Mussolini (Source Wikipedia)

    Dr. Moonje had a personal audience with Mussolini on March 19, 1931 at 3 p.m., in Palazzo Venezia, then headquarters of the Italian government. The meeting has been recorded in the diary on March 20 in the following words: "I shook hands with him saying that I am Dr Moonje. He knew everything about me and appeared to be closely, following the events of the Indian struggle for freedom…Signor Mussolini asked me if I have visited the University. I said I am interested in the military training of boys and have been visiting the Military Schools of England, France and Germany. I have now come to Italy for the same purpose and I am very grateful to say that the Foreign Office and the War Office have made good arrangements for my visiting these schools. I just saw this morning and afternoon the Balilla and the Fascist Organisations and I was much impressed. Italy needs them for her development and prosperity. I do not see anything objectionable though I have been frequently reading in the newspapers not very friendly criticisms about them and about your Excellency also. ‘Signor Mussolini: What is your opinion about them?’ ‘Dr Moonje: Your Excellency, I am much impressed. Every aspiring and growing Nation needs such organisations.’ ‘Signor Mussolini – who appeared very pleased – said – Thanks but yours is an uphill task. However I wish you every success in return.’ Saying this he got up and I also got up to take his leave."

    Thursday, October 13, 2011

    In God's Name... We Kill.. RSS VHP Terrorism in Orissa



    Sep.2008

    Malati Digaro, a Christian convert sobs as she looks at what remains of her home. "This is all that is left of my house. It took us four years to build this and look at what has happened to it," she adds with tear-filled eyes.

    Today, The Indian state of Orissa - along with other parts of India - is engulfed in flames of 'hatred'. A prominent Brahmo-fascist Hindu leader was assassinated recently by, as yet, unknown assailants - leading to the Christian community being scapegoated for the murder. Thus hundreds (reports suggest over 800 churches), countless villages, thousands of homes and unreported amount of lives were hurt, damaged or simply destroyed by the radical Hindu mobs that set out to wreck havoc on Christian communities.

    This systematic elimination of Christian community in Orissa is neither an isolated event, nor something new. It is a state sponsored act by the Indian state of Orissa [as has become the norm in other Indian states as well] - where the radical Hindu party called BJP (RSS/VHP/BajrangDal being its sister organizations) is in power. The state of Orissa has refused to take any major action to stop this genocide aganist Christians.

    Now the Indian Supreme Court has ordered troops to be sent into Orissa to stop the Hindu extremist thugs. The Court also ordered the state government of Orissa to turn in evidence of whatever steps (if any) they have taken to stop the violence.

    Anti-Conversion act of Orissa:
    http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/02/stories/2008090255770500.htm

    Hindu Pogrom against Christians:
    http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&dos=124&size=A

    Persecution Rising:
    http://www.worthynews.com/christian/orissa-violence-continues-to-escalate-aga...

    Christian Attacks Exploding:
    http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?A...

    Christians BURNED ALIVE! (GRAPHIC!!)
    http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-70024

    Bajrang Dal Saffron Terrorism EXPOSED



    Another news piece in a series of evidence collected by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of India against the rising tide of Hindu Terrorism throughout India - carried out mostly by groups such as Bajrang Dal, Abhinav Bharat, etc - all terrorist wings of bigger ideological organizations such as the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad), BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party) and their affiliates. These organizations run thousands of Hindu-religious schools called 'shakhas' across India numbering over 50,000 where children as young as 3yrs old are embarked up on a rigorous diet of propaganda.

    Their education includes, praise of all things Hindu, ridiculing & learning to hate anything Islamic or Christian - both Muslims & Christians depicted as 'outsiders' who need to be 'cleansed' off of India to purify 'Hindu' India and brief military style training drills so that the footsoldier cadres can be mobilized to attack minorities at will given a moment's notice by their superiors.

    Some of the major attacks carried out by Hindu terrorists of the Bajrang Dal/RSS/VHP include Babri Mosque attack & destruction (1992), Christian massacres & burning of hundreds of Churches in the Indian North East in winter 2007/08 repeated around Xmas 2008/09.

    Courtesy: CNN-IBN

    Saffron Terrorism by RSS VHP Bajrang Dal in Orissa





    Gujarat Genocide is not the only case, RSS have done it before during the 1984 Sikh Riots, planning to do the same in UP and now here. These terror organisations have links to the Police force, Indian Army, Politicians and almost every sector. Their sole motto is to get India rid of the minorities and cleanse it - "Hindi Hindu Hindustan "

    RSS VHP Bajrang Dal spreading terrorism by working under the pretext and twisting the ideology of our great freedom fighters and religious leaders for their personal agenda. There is a rise in Indian Saffro-Nazis with fascist organizations like RSS VHP Bajrang Dal Shiv Shena radicalizing the youth with their propaganda of ethnic cleansing and a clean race.

    Saffron Terrorism - Radicalization of Hinduism in UP



    This is a chilling documentary on the pogrom of a section of Hindus, lead by Yogi Adityanath of Gorakhpur, to radicalize Hindus in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The land of Buddha, Kabir and Baba Gorakh who preached and practiced compassion and unity, has been turned into a training ground for saffron terrorism while the problems of the basic needs of the common masses is conveniently suppressed. The result -- even the dalits, oppressed by high caste Hindus for many millennia, are buying into the Hindutva agenda while the extremist section of the Muslim community get an excuse for their extremism. The Hindus who believe in this nonsense must be the dumbest people on earth, who despite being in majority, fear a minority community fuelled as they are by opportunists yogis and mahants hungry for power, finding ways and means for violence against them, not realizing how it will hit them back, worse, the entire nation. There is enough evidence in this video to charge cases of sedition and war against the nation against many of these fanatical Hindu religious leaders. It's time the administration, police and the courts of India act against Hindutva terrorism before UP turns to another Gujarat and India is consumed by a civil war.

    The film is directed by Rajeev Yadav, Shahnawaz Alam and Lakshaman Prasad. For inquiries contact them at: +91 9415254919, +91 9452800752 or write at warsaffron@gmail.com.

    Role of BJP and RSS in 1984 Sikh riots


    The role of BJP & RSS is very clear in 1984 riots, still Akali Dal is making statements against congress in the name of Sikh justice whereas remains quite about the FIRs against BJP & RSS members during 1984 riots.





    Hinduization of Sikh Faith and History by RSS





    A disgusting depiction of the Gurus by the RSS



    Based on “Tabai Roas Jagio” by Dr. Sukhpreet Singh Udokay

    The recent announcement by the VHP of putting portraits of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in Hindu Mandirs has shocked Sikhs worldwide. The fact is that attacks on the Sikh faith and history have been ongoing for years in order to show Sikhs to be a part of Hinduism.

    Hinduization of Sikh Faith By RSS - Sikh History



    A 25-Point of Attack

    The RSS has 25 points with which it hopes to attack the Sikh faith and lead to its eventual assimilation. All 25 points are very easily refuted but lack of education and knowledge coupled with the RSS’s organized attack make this a serious danger.
    These points are already being incorporated into school text books and taught as real history. This skewed history is already taught in many areas.



     
    1) Sikhs are an inseparable part of Hindu society.
    2) If Hinduism is a tree, Sikhism is a fruit on that tree.
    3) Gurbani is like the Ganga, it emerges from the Gangotri of the Vedas
    4) The Khalsa was crated to protect Hinduism and Hindustan
    5) Japji Sahib is a summary of the Gita
    6) The Failure of the 1857 “War of Independence” [in reality an unorganized uprising by Poorbiya soldiers who 8 years earlier helped the British conquer Punjab] was defeated only by the Sikhs
    7) Banda Singh Bahadur was really Veer Banda Bairagi
    8) The Sikh Gurus worshipped the cow
    9) Condemning Sikh scholars Bhai Kanh Singh Nabha and Bhai Veer Singh
    10) Use examples from Trumpp and other anti-Sikh western scholars
    11) The Sikh Gurus used Vedic ceremonies
    12) Guru Gobind Singh worshipped the Goddess Durga
    13) Guru Sahib was from the family or Ram and his devotee
    14) Sikhs are from Lav-Kush
    15) Baba Ram Singh was the legitimate Guru of the Sikhs
    16) Create posters which challenge Sikh principles but appear to be pro-Sikh
    17) Insist on using the Bikrami calendar and share Hindu festivals
    18) Call Bhai Hakeekat Singh, Hakeekat Rai and illustrate him as a clean shaven Hindu
    19) Claim [with no historical basis] that Guru Gobind Singh sent his army to liberate Ram Janam Bhumi in Ayodhya from the Mughals
    20) To create the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh seeked blessing from the gods and goddesses and used Hindu mantras. The Kakaars were also blessings from the gods.
    21) Equate ek-oan-kaar with “OM”
    22) Call Bhai Mati Das “Guru Mati Das Sharma”
    23) To do parkash of Sree Guru Granth Sahib in Mandirs and put pictures of Hindu Gods in Sikh Gurdwaras
    24) Project Guru Gobind Singh as having taken a different ideology from Guru Nanak and to make him into a Patriotic Hero of India.
    25) Make all of Sikh history take a Hindu tint.



    This video shows how the RSS Hindutva Forces in an effort to absord Sikhism into Hinduism to make a superstate of Hindutva a pure Hindu race Hindi,Hindu,Hindustan inspried by Hitler are twisting and changing Sikh History to suite their evil plans to wipe out a while nation.
    See here for more info:

    http://www.panthic.org/news/129/ARTICLE/1524/2005-07-10.html

    SIGN HERE TO BAN THE RSS http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bantherss/

    RSS's Operation Shudi Karan Rape Sikh Girls 1984








    Small video showing a small insight into operation shudhee karan (Rape Sikh Girls )carried out by Indian forces on Sikh women across Panjab.This is how Hindu INDIA OPPRESSES Sikhs,with the backing of Govts,and Right Wing Extremist Genocidal groups more info





    This video was shown to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Switzerland on the 13th of March 2008

    Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8439888881&ref=ts




    Outline of Shudi Karan

    Operation Shudi Karan was carried out to convert Sikh Girls into the Hindu faith,Shudi Karan means conversion,it was used a an interogation tool to find the where abouts of Sikh Freedom Fighters,it was used physcologically to instill fear within the Sikh Panth so that they would ultimately be demoralised and would give up their fight for freedom,the horror and sheer terror of Shudi Karan was designed to finish of any Sikh Movement that was left,army officers at times for fun would carry out 'Shudi Karan' rape at their urge just to satisfy themselves,it was used as a metaphor to tell Sikhs that they will be finished off and that their offspring will not be Sikhs but children born out of Shudi Karan as Hindus.This was the way it was used to instill fear and demoralise Sikhs so that they would bow down to the tyrants of Delhi who were raping their girls and killing their children and blowing up their places of worship

    AFTER SHUDI KARAN AN OPERATION CALLED OPERATION SHAANTI WAS PLANNED WHICH INVOLVED CARPET BOMBING OF THE PANJAB TO FINISH OF SIKHS
    MORE INFO BELOW

    http://frontlinepunjabiyouth.blogspot.com/2007/12/what-was-operation-shanti.html

    Concerned citizens demand ban on RSS




    By TCN News,

    New Delhi: Concerned citizens affiliated to various groups have demanded immediate ban on RSS for its involvement in terror activities in the country. They also demanded an urgent and impartial time-bound enquiry in all the terror bomb blast cases to bring the fundamentalist Hindutva forces to book.

    “Banned several times earlier, and accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, their [RSS’s] sinister fronts and masterminds have been behind innumerable tragic events, violence and massacres which have rocked the country: from a series of communal riots, to Babri Masjid demolition and the riots thereafter, to the State sponsored Sangh Parivar carnage in Gujarat 2002, to the series of organised terror bomb blasts which killed hundreds across the Indian landscape in recent times… We, the undersigned, demand an immediate ban on the RSS and all its front organisations and wings,” they said in a joint statement today.

    They also condemned the recent attack by RSS workers on the office of news channels Aaj Tak and Headlines Today in New Delhi following the channel’s broadcast of sting operation exposing the hand of RSS leaders in terror conspiracy.

    “We strongly condemn the recent attack by hundreds of RSS goons on the office cum studio of leading news channels Aaj Tak and Headlines Today. This vicious sequence was supplemented by yet another attack on another TV network in Mumbai by yet another lawless mob of the Shiv Sena. There have been many cases earlier, though none as big as the recent attack, when various RSS outfits have attacked the media violently, in a planned moved to terrorise and intimidate,” the citizens said.

    It is widely known that the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), which claims to be a cultural outfit, is the umbrella organisation of the entire Sangh Parivar, and the political vanguard of the family. It appoints and dismisses BJP presidents. It even decides chief ministers and cabinet ministers of BJP governments. Most BJP leaders are confirmed RSS members. It is aligned symbiotically with VHP/Bajrang Dal and a network of similar lumpen organisations. It has thousands of branches which have been at the forefront of not just spreading communalised-hate propaganda but also in carrying out various kinds of systematic and underground terror and violent activities especially through Abhinav Bharat, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal.

    “The sting operation executed by Headlines Today/Aaj Tak and stories covered by other media houses show that he RSS think-tank connived in the bomb blast at Ajmer Shrief shrine on October 11, 2007. Some of the cases where the sinister hands and minds of the Hindutva forces are being explicitly talked about are: Nanded/ April 6, 2006, Delhi/ April 14, 2006, Malegaon (Maharashtra)/ September 8, 2006, Samjhauta Express (Haryana)/ February 18, 2007, Mecca Masjid (Hyderabad)/ October 18, 2007, Kanpur/ August 24, 2008, Delhi/ September 27, 2008, Malegaon and Modasa (Gujarat)/ September 29, 2008, Grace church at Margao in South Goa/ October 16, 2009.”

    ANHAD as well many other civil society organisations and several media publications/ channels have raised the question about the organised and penetrative involvement of Sangh in terror activities many a times during the past five years in the media as well as with various political parties and the government.

    Ban The RSS(Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)




    SIGN HERE  to Ban The RSS(Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) from gathering funds from UK

    http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bantherss/

    This petition has been created to urge the UK Home Office/Govt to ban the RSS
    (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh),in The UK along with its associates and splinter groups under the Home Office as a proscirbed terror group.

    This will help stop the RSS from gathering funds from the UK in the name of charity and goodwill of the British people.When in reality this money goes in to use for genocidal activities within India agianst minorites - Sikhs,Muslims,Christians,Dalits and other.We demand from the Home Office that this group which promotes itself on the ideals of Hitler and believes in his pure race ideology in the form of Hindutva - Hindu Hindi Hindustan be banned from a democaracy such as the UK,this petition aims to air the voice of the UK various peacelovng communities who do not want Britain or its terrortories used by the RSS for any reason.

    (RSS UK funds in detail)

    Wednesday, October 12, 2011

    The Rise of India's Saffro-Nazis

          

    Written by Sankar Ray

    A year before his death in 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru remarked that "The danger to India, mark you, is not Communism. It is Hindu right-wing communalism." Today a wave of Hindu terrorism is raising fears that the country's first prime minister could be right.

    Recently, for instance, a young 'sadhvi,' or Hindu woman monk, Pragya Singh Thakur, who rechristened herself as Sadhvi Purnachetnagiri, was arrested by Maharashtra anti-terrorism police in connection with the killing of six and injuring of six at a mosque on September 29 at Malegaon, 280 miles from Mumbai.  She was alleged to be a frontline leader of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and, according to the anti-terrorism chief, owned the motorcycle used in the blasts, which took place at Bhikku Chowk in central Malegaon, just outside the sealed office of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India.

    There are also disturbing signs that the Hindu militants have connections to India's military. Anti-terrorism interrogators rounded up half a dozen army officers including Lt. Col. Shrikant Prasat Purohit, who is believed to have confessed that he was aware of logistics and explosives to be used for the attack at Malegaon. Purohit was apparently posted at the Army Education Corps Training College and Center of Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, an adjacent central Indian state, although he was actually assigned to military intelligence along India’s borders.

    Purohit is said to have been one of the founders of the radical Hindu group Abhinav Bharat at Malegaon and his cellphone memory allegedly contained several conversations with Ramesh Upadhyay, a retired Army major also suspected of being involved in the blast. In one of the conversation, Purohit asked Upadhyay to change his mobile number, presumably to confuse interrogators. Anti-terrorist interrogators have sought permission to question an Army major general and two colonels, and three more commissioned officers below Purohit have been identified with linkages to militants in Kashmir in connection with procurement of RDX explosives.

    According to police, the sadhvi was a member of Jai Vande Mataram Jan Kalyan Samiti, another openly anti-Muslim and anti-Christian Hindu terrorist group based in Surat in the adjacent state of Gujarat, which has yet to recover from one of the bloodiest communal riots ever, in 2002. She allegedly also had links with the radical Hindu Jagran Manch in Madhya Pradesh. Both states are under BJP rule and have been accused of torturing non-Hindus.

    Although the two organizations issued denials that she was working with them, security forces intercepted 400 minutes of phone calls between them. Two others were arrested and accused of helping to plant the bomb. Two more who were detained are believed to have divulged the names of collaborators.

    What is being dubbed “reverse terrorism” by Hindus seeking to get even with earlier blasts perpetrated by Islamists is a worrisome escalation in the cycle of revenge that began with the Gujarat riots, a spasm of communal violence in which as many as 2000 people died and 150,000 were displaced from their homes. But the increasing use of more sophisticated mechanical and electronics devices in detonations against Muslims and Christians is a recent phenomenon.

    “Federal security personnel have been struggling to find out where and who taught the activists bomb-making amid unconfirmed reports that training camps have been created along patterns set by the Taliban or al Qaeda,'' said a senior officer of Maharashtra Police.

    Bal Keshav Thackeray, the chief of Shiv Sena, an openly anti-Muslim political party and an ally of the BJP, issued a statement defending Sadhvi and the other suspects, ridiculing the BJP and other organizations for disowning the woman.

    In a high-pitched editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Samna, Thackeray condemned terrorism that "weakens the country and we regret the loss of life in the Malegaon incident."  But he went on to write that “Every day Islamic terrorists are planting bombs to kill Hindus in India. The latest blasts in Assam too were engineered by Bangladeshi migrants.” The Malegaon suspects, he said,“cannot be blamed, adding that "The arrests of cultured and educated individuals in connection with the Malegaon blasts is an effort to crush Hindus to please Muslim fanatics in the country."

    Ominously, Malegaon may well be the dress rehearsal for 'reverse terrorism'. But it is not the only spot for such experiments.  Another activist affiliate, the Bajrang Dal, whose members had been identified as being directly involved in the Gujarat riots, is believed to have been involved in bombings at Nanded in Maharastra, terrorizing  inhabitants near mosques.

    The distinctive  feature of militant Hindu phenomenon is gang rape, which was widespread during the Gujarat riot. After the nationwide communal frenzy following the destruction of Babri Masjid in December of 1992 in Uttar Pradesh, Muslim women were gang-raped openly under floodlights in the suburbs of Mumbai, according to a fact-finding report by a citizens' initiative.

    The late Professor  I K Shukla, a tireless worker against communalism from all sides, coined the term "saffro-Nazis” to describe the saffron-clad Hindu rightists as a growing threat.

    ‘"I am glad that sociologists like Sharit Bhowmik (head of labor studies at the Tata Institute of  Social Sciences) saw through the game  plan of the saffro- Nazis functioning under various names,” he wrote in an email to Asia Sentinel prior to his death. “Maharashtra is, in effect, still run by the Shiv Sena both in mufti and khaki uniform. The terrorism sponsored by the Hindu Taliban is ‘cultural nationalism,’ while others' retaliatory bid for justice and dignity is ‘Islamofascism.’"

    Modi most communal, ready to defend Bhatt: Shanti Bhushan



    Source

    Key Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan on Tuesday called Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi “the most communal person” and said he was willing to appear for “persecuted” IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in the Supreme Court if the latter approached him. Not long ago, Anna Hazare had praised Modi for his development initiatives in rural areas of Gujarat which opened himself to criticism that he was soft on the BJP.

    The Bhushan senior, when asked about the BJP’s anti-corruption campaign, also said “there are lots of leaders in the BJP who are corrupt and had taken advantage of corruption”. He referred to Karnataka and asserted that the BJP could not take a high moral ground.

    His other team members — Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia — are working over time to ensure the defeat of the Congress in Hisar byelection which could ironically benefit the BJP.

    On a day Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh claimed the Bhushans were always opposed to the Congress, Bhushan said nobody could say he and his son Prashant were supporters of the BJP. “Everyday we are arguing in the court against (Narendra) Modi and against Hindutva ideology of RSS.”

    Elaborating, he said, “Modi is the most communal person and he was responsible for the killing of a large number of Muslims.” The Bhushan senior alleged that Bhatt was being persecuted by Modi and said “we are supporting him”. Asked how he planned to support Bhatt, he said “if the matter comes to the Supreme Court, then we would be quite willing to appear for him if he approaches us”.

    “I had represented Teesta Setalvad earlier. So, therefore, let us see how the situation develops.... We can’t, of course, solicit his brief. That will be professional misconduct. But if he approaches us, we will certainly appear for him,” he said. Bhushan said Bhatt was being persecuted only because he had filed an affidavit against Modi.

    When pointed out that Hazare had earlier praised Modi, he said Anna had clarified after visiting Gujarat. “He was initially informed that some good development work is happening in Gujarat’s rural areas. When he visited Gujarat, he understood it was only a propaganda. He had then said liquor flows more than milk in Gujarat and had commented about non-appointment of Lokayukta.”

    Significantly, Bhushan said “we are not against the Congress”. In his words, “we are against the Congress’s act of not supporting, not making a commitment to support the Jan Lokpal Bill”. “Therefore, we are telling the electorate that you must punish them so that they learn a lesson and revise their thinking and start quickly enacting the Bill if they don’t want to be defeated in UP elections also.”

    While Nitin Gadkari has given in writing that his party supports the Jan Lokpal Bill, Bhushan said the assurance given by the BJP chief had been taken at the face value. “But if he goes back on his word and doesn’t support (the Bill) in the winter session, then we will campaign against them and we will ask the people to defeat them in the elections.”

    Monday, October 10, 2011

    Split verdict by Gujarat HC in Lokayukta case : Setback for Modi



    Ahmedabad/ New Delhi: The Gujarat High Court on Monday delivered a split verdict on upholding the appointment of the state Lokayukta by Governor Kamla Beniwal.

    The two-judge bench hearing the case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Narendra Modi against the Governor's order appointing Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta of the state was a split one. While Justice Akil Qureshi upheld the appointment of the Lokayukta by the Governor, Justice Sonia Gokani disagreed with Justice Qureshi.

    The matter will now be referred to a larger bench headed the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.

    While upholding Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal's appointment order, Justice Qureshi observed that any advice by council of ministers in the case would have been unconstitutional.

    Governor Kamla Beniwal had appointed Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta without consulting the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, which led to accusations and counter-accusations among the BJP and the Congress.

    The BJP had moved the High Court against the Governor's decision and challenged Justice Mehta's appointment as the state Lokayukta.

    A BJP delegation, led by veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani, had also met President Pratibha Patil demanding recall of the Gujarat Governor. Modi had also written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that the Governor be recalled.

    Gujarat has been without a Lokayukta for nearly eight years now.

    'VIBRANT' GUJARAT Lies, Half-Truths and Illusions


    FR. CEDRIC PRAKASH SJ delves deep into the facts to prove that that Gujarat as a State is not Vibrant but Violent, Intolerant, Bluffing, Revengeful, Arrogant, Negligent and Terror-filled.

    It is January 14, 2009 – Makarsakranti, the only feast of the Indian calendar which is not observed on a particular day of the Lunar month. It is generally believed that on this day, the sun enters the constellation of Makar (crocodile) and begins to move towards the north. In Gujarat, it is known as Uttarayan, the day on which thousands of kites dot the skies in order to, as they say, propitiate the Sun-God. The newspapers today (as those of yesterday) are filled with stories of ‘Vibrant Gujarat’... of how the biggest industrialists of the country have “promised” to invest thousands of crores (millions of dollars!) in Gujarat. Overnight, the problems of the State seem to have been solved! Some have decided that Gujarat can now take on China and a couple of industrialists have even anointed the CM of the State as the next Prime Minister of India!

    Visitors and dignitaries who came to Ahmedabad were welcomed by posters and banners, by floodlights and illuminations, with newly paved roads and a city which was cosmetically spruced up for the “mother of all events” to flaunt what is termed in Government propaganda, as “Vibrant Gujarat”.

    The local (and some national) media went “gaga” showcasing how Gujarat is more than India, how the “whole world” had come to invest in this one State during the two-day affair known as ‘Vibrant Gujarat Investors’ Summit’. The Government and their cronies flag-waved all over – it’s the Number One State in the Country! The hype put forward by the well-oiled propaganda machinery was so compelling that even the most diehard critics of Gujarat fell into the trap, and joined the chorus that “all is well”.

    Very few dare ask uncomfortable questions. Everybody knows the truth about who is doing the “flag-waving !”. There are voices who say that the “emperor” has no clothes on!, but at this moment, there are not too many listening. The plain truth is that the cosmetic has stifled the reality. If one scratches the surface a little, the bubble of euphoria will surely burst. Let’s look into how “Vibrant” Gujarat is.


    VIOLENT

    For a State that should have had ‘Ahimsa’ as its cornerstone, violence has in fact become institutionalised. The State presided over the killing of hundreds of Muslims during the carnage of 2002. Trigger-happy policemen have eliminated several Muslim youth in ‘encounters’. (One high-ranking police officer is now in jail for such an ‘encounter’.) Innocent boys are killed in an ashram of a well-known guru, and, no one can do anything about it! Young girls studying to be teachers are raped in government hostels by their teachers for the sake of better grades. Female foeticide is rampant. One only has to skim through the daily newspapers to realise how violence has become a perfected art in the State.


    INTOLERANT

    There is sophistication in the way intolerance has been mainstreamed. One can experience it in the chaotic traffic on the roads. If one is a Muslim, one is denied the right to buy a house or a shop in the up-market areas of Ahmedabad, Surat and other cities. One is forced to live on the periphery of many villages. The Freedom of Religion Law prevents one from embracing another religion, without permission from the civil authority. Couples in love, are forcibly prevented from marrying if the partner belongs to a different religion or caste. Movies like Parzania and Fanaa are not allowed to be screened in the State – one, because it exposes the truth, and the other, because the lead actor asks that the tribals who were dispossessed because of the Narmada Dam be justly rehabilitated.


    BLUFFING

    The art of lying seems to have taken a new meaning in Gujarat. This is obvious when even a sheer Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is regarded as “Mission accomplished!”. This bluff was called, when recently, under an RTI query, the Government of Gujarat admitted that just about 25% of the MoUs of the last three years were actually in the pipeline! The water of the Narmada Dam is being utilised by the rich and powerful of Ahmedabad. The parched lands of North Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch still harbour illusions of the water reaching them! State Government advertisements highlight projects and programmes which are in fact undertaken and executed by the Central Government, like the expressway, the airport, the railway system and the 108 ambulance services.


    REVENGEFUL

    In Gujarat today, anyone standing up for Truth and Justice is at the receiving end. The Government pulls out all stops (to stop School Grants, to impound Passports) to ensure that voices of dissent are silenced. A few months ago, when the Times of India did an expose on the Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad, sedition charges were filed against some of those who ran the newspaper. Honest and objective police officials and bureaucrats are transferred to insignificant postings; Government agencies like the Collectorate, the Police, the Charity Commissioner are used to intimidate and harass individuals and groups that work for the betterment of the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised. Prominent citizens are kept under constant surveillance and many live under the veil of fear.


    ARROGANT

    A sense of arrogance seems to have puffed up the chests of a few who try to control the lives and destinies of others. Such arrogance was very visible in the heyday of Nazism when Hitler brutally trampled on those who were “not like him”. Key people in the State roam about with immunity and impunity and are also elected to positions of power. The underlying message that is conveyed is that “no one can touch them”. One needs to look at the judgments that are given from the Lower Courts and the High Court of Gujarat, in order to experience the subjectivity and partiality that has permeated the system.


    NEGLIGENT

    Large sections of society in Gujarat are totally neglected. Systematic efforts are made to snatch the forests from the hands of the Adivasis. A recent study says that more than thirty-five thousand families will be displaced from the banks of the River Sabarmati because of the Sabarmati River Front Development Project. Development-induced displacement is also the lot of several poor and marginalised farmers and others. Fisher-folk along Gujarat’s vast coastline, continues to be marginalised. Dalits are at the receiving end and many of them continue to live in inhuman conditions. The status of women in Gujarat is way down in comparison to several other States of the country. Children are denied their rights: a large percentage of them constitute the labour force; the textbooks dished out by the Gujarat State Secondary School Board is a clear violation of the rights of children – full of errors, inaccuracies, myths and distortions; only about 59.6% of the rural children of Gujarat can read Std. I text as against the All-India average of 66.6%. The Indian Express of December 21, 2008, has this to say: According to International Food Policy Research Institute’s 2008 Global Hunger Index, Gujarat is ranked 69th along with Haiti, the nation infamous for food riots. The State is placed in the ‘alarming’ category.


    TERROR-FILLED

    Gujarat State is truly terror-filled! For almost seven years now, the principles of democracy have been thrown to the wind. Right-wing Hindu groups can put up bill boards almost anywhere proclaiming a “Hindu Rashtra”. Places of worship have sprung up on public space and they are given full protection by the law and order mechanism. The Constitutional rights and freedoms of an ordinary citizen are not safeguarded. In fact, in several cases, when a victim approaches the system for help, he / she is made the perpetrator of the crime! The diversity which has been characteristic of this State, has been totally decimated as communities are forced into ghettoisation. There is palpable fear all over.

    What “Vibrant Gujarat” then, does one talk about? The truth is that Gujarat as a State is “Violent,” “Intolerant,” “Bluffing,” “Revengeful,” “Arrogant,” “Negligent” and “Terror-filled”.

    Let’s not live in lies, half-truths and illusions.

    Gujarat , wake up, before it is too late !

    [Fr. Cedric Prakash sj is the Director of “Prashant”, the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace]

    Invoking India's Fuhrer : Fascist Narendra Modi



    By: RAM PUNIYANI

    RAM PUNIYANI comments on some industrialists call for Narendra Modi to be the next Prime Minister and finds that big capitalists are fond of Modi as he is acting as their agent to siphon off public money into their coffers all in the name of development!

    Read full article here

    Gujarat Genocide: The Passage to Fascism



    The process of fascisation has entered a new phase. The Gujarat genocide has crystallized the reorganization of BJP state policy. Two political principles that fundamentally alter the Indian state have been articulated and legitimized as a state policy. First, the minority community is to be held responsible for every action of an individual, group or political trend within the community. Second, the representatives of the dominant Hindu community have the right to retaliate against and exact retribution from the minority community without due process of law. The acceptance of this principle by the BJP Government in Gujarat, and the NDA Government at the centre, along with the failure of the Indian polity to oust the Modi Government has sanctioned this ideological orientation, howsoever incompatible it is with constitutional norms. Narendra Modi personifies this orientation and he is the pivot of the reorganization of the fascist forces into a new phase. The political defeat of Modi can arrest this process momentarily.

    Our main contention is that the Gujarat genocide is no ordinary political event or even one of the many increasingly vicious and brutal communal riots that have engulfed Indian society in the last decade with the rise of BJP. It is a decisive step by the Sangh Parivar to push the state system into a qualitative different and higher phase of fascisation of the state. No doubt this change of phase was precipitated by the recent electoral debacle which reflected the peoples opposition — ranging from militant struggle to wide discomfort — to liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, which has been induced by the imperialist restructuring of the global economy, and which has led to the erosion of support for the BJP.

    The compulsion of imperialism is evident, but it does not explain the more than willing acquiescing character of the BJP which led to the loss of focus on economic policy that could serve the possible, limited national interest and the ability to sustain economic growth. Even that Indian big bourgeoisie that accepts dependency on imperialism expects the state to craft a policy that would enable it to accumulate capital so as to negotiate a better position for itself in the hierarchical global capital structure.

    If earlier, it grew under state led capitalism now it needs a stable political formation with an orientation of market driven capitalism, ruthlessness in the privatization of the public sector and the negotiating ability to gain a greater access to global capital, technology and markets. The big bourgeoisie found such a right-wing oriented government with the wide social base to fulfil its need in the BJP-led NDA government. Now, that the BJP is increasingly failing in these tasks, the clamour of its general incompetence and bad governance is being expressed loud and clear. Add to this the large-scale communal unrest that does not allow a peaceful transition period of production and economic transaction for restructuring business, and the call is out for heads to roll.

    Read full article here

    Gujarat as another country: the making and reality of a fascist realm



    By Prashant Jha

    At a time when a progressive patina is being painted over the rule of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a reporter visiting Gujarat four years and six months after the pogroms finds a state where Muslims are being thrust forcibly into ghettos. The trauma of the butchery is as raw as ever. The active participation of the Hindu middle class in Modi’s agenda, and the silence of the few who think otherwise, will guarantee the social and moral poverty of all Gujarat, even as it secedes from the rest of Indian society. Meanwhile, the wilful turn of the communal wheel will deliver radicalised militants and, thereby, a further marginalisation of Muslims. The Gujarat of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has become unrecognisable. Nothing short of a massive social movement is required to cleanse the state of Gujarat.

    Read full article here

    Sunday, October 9, 2011

    Tech-heavy war: 4 IIT brains gunning for Modi




    Source

    AHMEDABAD: It looks like a tech-heavy fight against chief minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat as four IITians are lined-up against him. Advocate Dr Mukul Sinha, senior IPS officers Satish Varma, Rahul Sharma and Sanjiv Bhatt, who have been behind the bad press that Modi has been getting of late, are all IIT graduates.

    Sinha is a plasma physicist from IIT-Kanpur, who later worked at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, before becoming a lawyer. Among clients he represents is Rahul Sharma, also a graduate from IIT-Kanpur, who recently filed an affidavit exposing the nexus between police officials and politicians during the 2002 riots. Incidentally, the phone CDs, giving call records of key politicians and police officials during the riots, was also analyzed by Sinha who runs the Jan Sangharsh Manch.

    Be it the riots, fake encounters or the Lokayukta matter, Sinha has been consistent in taking the lead on matters which put the Modi government at unease. He is also fighting to ensure that the Nanavati Commission, which is probing the riots, gets all the evidence necessary to nail the government. Among his other clients is Rajneesh Rai, another police officer who went on the offensive against the government.

    That IITians are tech-savvy was evident from the manner in which Rahul Sharma used his abilities to collect phone call data of the riot period and also make a copy of it before he handed over charge. While the original CDs are nowhere to be found today, Sharma's copies are before various investigating agencies. This was a rare case in Indian legal history where valuable evidence was recorded on CD, an act which has invited a charge-sheet against him for violation of Official Secrets Act.

    Satish Varma, an IIT-Delhi graduate, is a key member of the SIT in Ishrat Jahan encounter case. He took a courageous stand in the high court by accusing his seniors in the SIT of trying to derail the probe. Even on Friday, he told the court that psycho-analysis tests should be done on all those witnesses who retracted in this case. But for him, the Ishrat Jahan case would have gone astray. Varma too has suffered as a charge-sheet was issued against him earlier this year in a ten-year-old case.

    Completing this quartet is Bhatt, an IIT-Bombay graduate, who came out after ten years to say that he was present at the CM's residence on February 27, 2002, where Modi allegedly told the officials to go soft on the Hindu mobs after the Godhra train burning. Bhatt, who claims he has also got leads into Haren Pandya's murder, was arrested by the Ahmedabad police last week and is in jail.

    Cartoonist jailed for Narendra Modi caricature



    Indore: A cartoonist of a leading city-based eveninger was arrested on the charges of "fanning communal sentiments" through a cartoon perceived to be based on a controversy surrounding Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's fast and his move to allegedly refuse wearing a skull cap, police said today.

    39-year-old Harish Yadav alias Mussveer was arrested from his residence in Malharganj area last night, they said.

    "Yadav has been booked under section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of IPC for the cartoon published in 'PrabhatKiran' on September 20," Malharganj police station in-charge Suresh Saijwar told PTI here.

    The FIR was lodged by one Javed and the offence is non-bailable and he (Yadav) would be produced before a court later, he said.

    Meanwhile, defending the freedom of expression, Prabhatkiran editor Prakash Purohit said,"the cartoon was drawn in the backdrop of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's fast and a skull-cap offered (to him) by a religious person from minority community which he refused to wear. There was nothing objectionable in the cartoon on which the newspaper employee was picked up forcefully by the police".

    "The cartoon was very well-convincing and appreciated by readers. It appears that the saffron party wants to crush freedom of expression of journalists through its minority wing," Purohit alleged.

    Sanjeev Bhatt’s Facebook page buzzing with supporting messages



    Mumbai: Not only citizens’ groups, policitcal parties and NGOs but common man has also come out in support of IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt, a crucial witness in several cases in which Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other senior functionaries of the Gujarat government are accused of conspiring to commit mass crimes, destroying evidence and subverting the course of justice.

    “I Support Sanjiv Bhatt, Do You?”. “Every hour, every minute and every second of the day we are praying for you.” Such emotional and supportive messages of common people can be found on the Facebook page of Sanjeev Bhatt who was arrested on 30th September.

    Today is Dusshera, a religious festival where Hindus celebrate the victory of Lord Ram over Ravana -- the day is also known for the victory of Good over Evil. The messages related to Dusshera is also pouring in.

    “DASERA THYA HAJU RAVAN MARATO NATHI.?KEM” which means Today is Dusshera why Ravan does not die? The other message is to condone Shweta, wife of Sanjeev Bhatt. “The entire nation trusting truth is with you madum Shewtha Bhatt, take it as a challenge, the goddess kali will make evil Modi's destruction. This is the age of fast track - each sin of evil persons will result in swift reactions. The sin committed by modi in arresting truth will result in bad situations for modi. That is truth Jai Mahakali.”

    Some messages have complaints against the inaction or insufficient action of the Central Government and also urge the civil society to support the upright officers like him. A message reads, “Why the whole nation has closed their eyes against the arrest of an Upright officer.” It also suggests the intervention of the Central government to provide security to his family.

    Faiz Ahmed Faiz, famous Urdu Poet is also quoted. “Bol k lab aazaad hain tere, bol zabaan ab tak terii hai , teraa sutawaan jism hai teraa, bol ki jaan ab tak terii hai , bol ye thodaa waqt bahot hai jism-o-zabaa.N kii maut se pahale, bol ki sach zindaa hai ab tak ,bol jo kuchh kahna hai kah le.

    Social activist Shabnam Hashmi, social activist and TV anchor Adil Mohammed, Dalit scholar and activist Prasad Chacko, are some of the prominent personalities who have posted their supportive messages on Sanjeev Bhatt’s wall.

    Link:
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/sanjeevbhatt/

    People of Gujarat unite in support of Sanjiv Bhatt

    Saturday, October 8, 2011

    Gujarat Genocide in their own words

    Haresh Bhatt - 'We made a complete rocket launcher here'





    Babu Bajrangi - 'After Killing Them, I Felt Like Maharana Pratap'





    Arvind Pandya - 'KG Shah Is Our Man. Nanavati Is Only After Money'





    Bharat Bhatt - I Never Took Money From The Accused'





    Ramesh Dave - 'I Got A Call Saying, What's This? All Of Gujarat Is Sleeping?

    Narendra Modi governance No. 1 in corruption

    Click on image to enlarge


    TRUTH behind the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report




    The latest report on India for U.S. lawmakers rating the administration of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and some of his counterparts in other States higher on a scale of efficiency is being interpreted by Mr. Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party as a trophy of sorts, but the assessment should be looked at in the proper perspective.

    The guarded interpretation in the latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) report should not be taken to be the voice of either the bicameral U.S. Congress or the Federal government.

    While political parties and leaders who find positive references in it can claim these to be an endorsement by Capitol Hill, it is in no way a Congressional determination.

    While it may suit political parties to amplify observations made in the report for the consumption of the domestic audience, in reality the CRS report is essentially based on published reports and is not an assessment based on some classified documents available with the U.S. State Department or its intelligence agencies.

    Interestingly, while the news report based on the CRS document has become a great hit in cyberspace and has caught the imagination of some news television networks at home, the document also notes that a few years ago Mr. Modi had been denied visa to visit the United States, and makes other not so complimentary references.

    To place the development in context, it must be known that CRS reports are scholarly analyses of an issue or set of issues. These reports are not intended to serve as a position that the U.S. Congress has taken or may be taking.

    These reports are intended to give several hundred Congressional staffers, some of whom may be working on an issue for the first time, a solid base to completely understand what they are dealing with.

    It is necessary since it not unusual for members of Congress — 435 representatives in the House and 100 Senators — to take up an issue that could find reflection in his or her constituency.
    Professional staff working in the offices of the Congressmen/Senators or for various Congressional committees rely regularly on CRS reports as a ready reference material on issues they may be handling for the first time.

    The reports place issues in context and are updated periodically to bring on board any development connected with the topic of study. The staffers take these as base papers and also rely on other ingredients, including interactions with subject experts in the CRS and other think-tanks, as well as on advocacy groups and lobbyists.

    The CRS is a body of professionals equipped with qualified research staff and academic assistants engaged in year-round research. As a matter of routine they go through documents and periodicals on the subject area from the country/region, on open sources, and also draw upon the huge reservoir of books available at the unparalleled Library of Congress.

    For instance, in the realm of foreign policy, the CRS portfolio is broadly divided into international policy concerns, U.S. relations with different regions and strategic issues; with each of these categories having several sub-groups.

    The topics of concern keep changing depending on the CRS assessment of what are likely to be ‘hot-button issues' for the Congress during the year. Depending on the assessment, the CRS works on the new topics while the process of periodic updating of existing categories continues simultaneously.

    Interestingly, these papers do not contain any internal assessment of the State Department or classified dossiers of intelligence wings, and only at times do Members of Congress like those serving on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee or Committee on Homeland Security get closed-door briefings from such agencies. Here, too, access to such briefings is restricted to select staffers.

    (The writer spent a year as American Political Science Association-U.S. Congressional Fulbright Fellow during 2007-08 in Washington D.C. in the office of Jim McDermott, who represents the 7th District of Washington State.)

    17 'scams' that Narendra Modi doesn’t want Lok Ayukta to probe


    Source


    Earlier this year, Gujarat Congress had submitted to the Governor Dr Kamla and the president a detailed list of '17 scams' that had allegedly taken place under the Modi government. Itdemanded probe by an independent agency. Last week, when it was getting apparent that a Lok Ayukta for the state was close, the state government set up an enquiry commission to be headed by retired Justice MB Shah. The following is the list of alleged scams submitted by the Congress to the Gujarat governor and the president:

    Land for Nano plant at low rate
    The state government allotted 1100 acres of land to Tata Motors Ltd (TML) to set up the Nano plant near Sanand. The land was allotted allegedly at Rs900 per square metre while its market rate was around Rs10,000 per square metre. Simply put, the government gave Tata Motors total monetary benefit of Rs33,000 crore.

    Land sold cheap to Adani Group
    Land was allotted to Adani Group for the Mundra Port & Mundra Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Re1 per square metre. This is grossly lower than the market rate.

    Cheap land for ind, not for airforce
    The Gujarat government allotted 3,76,561 square metre of land to real estate developer K Raheja at Rs470 per square metre, while the South-West Air Command (SWAC) was asked to pay Rs1100 per square metre for 4,04,700 square metre land.

    Agricultuure University land allotted for hotel
    State government allotted 65,000 square metres of land belonging to Navsari Agriculture University in Surat to Chatrala Indian Hotel Group for a hotel project despite objection from the institute. This deal was allegedly brokered by the chief minister through his office causing a loss of Rs426 crore.

    Border land for chemical firmsA huge plot of land near the Pakistan border was allotted to salt chemical companies said to be close to BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu.

    Essar Group's encroachmentState government has allotted 2.08 lakh square metres of land to Essar Steel. Part of the disputed land is CRZ and forest land that cannot be allotted as per Supreme Court guidelines.

    Land given to Bharat HotelPrime land was allotted to Bharat Hotels without auction on Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway in Ahmedabad. The company has been allotted 25,724 square metre land.

    Corruption in allotment of lakes
    State government, in 2008, awarded contracts for fishing activities in 38 lakes without inviting any tenders; bidders were ready to pay Rs25 lakh per lake.

    Land given to L&T
    Larson & Toubro (L&T) was allotted 80 hectare land at Hazira at the rate of Re1 per square metre.

    Land allotted to other industries
    Instead of auctioning prime land in the major cities of the state, the Gujarat government had allotted the land to some industries and industrialists who had signed MoUs in the five editions of VGGIS.

    Cattle feed fraud
    The Gujarat government had purchased cattle feed from a blacklisted company at Rs240 per 5 kg whereas the market rate is just Rs120 to Rs140 per 5 kg.

    Scam in Anganwadi centres
    Two bidders apparently formed a cartel and bid for supplying supplementary Nutrition Extruded Fortified Blended Food (EFBF) to Anganwadi centres of the state. One company bid for three zones, while the other for only two. Guidelines were violated, causing the state exchequer a loss of Rs92 crore.

    GSPC
    Despite an investment of Rs4933.50 crore, GSPC has been able to earn only Rs290 crore from the 13 out of 51 blocks of oil and gas discovered by the company. Contractual relations of Geo-Global and GSPC deserve investigation since Geo-Global is to be hired for a higher fee, above profit-sharing.

    Luxury aircraft used by CM
    Instead of using commercial flights or state-owned aircraft and helicopter, chief minister Narendra Modi had used private luxury aircraft for around 200 trips in five years. The cost had been borne by the beneficiary industries.

    Rs500 crore SSY scam
    The Rs6237.33 crore Sujalam Sufalam Yojana (SSY) announced in 2003 was to be completed by 2005 but it is still not completed. Public accounts committee of Gujarat assembly unanimously prepared a report indicating a scam of overRs500 crore which was not tabled.

    Indigold Refinery land scam
    Around 36.25 acre farmland in Kutch district was purchased and sold in violation of all norms by Indigold Refinery Ltd.

    Swan Energy
    49% of the shares of Pipavav Power Station of GSPC were sold to Swan Energy without inviting any tenders.

    STOP MODI, STOP HATE




    The SIT found Modi guilty on many counts: a communal mindset, inflammatory speeches, destruction of crucial records,
    appointment of Sangh members as public prosecutors, illegal positioning of ministers in police control rooms during the riots, and persecution of neutral officers.

    Is there a right-thinking citizen who would say that these are the attributes of a model chief minister?
    Are efficiency and ability to attract investments the only qualities we seek in our leaders?