What was Maya Kodnani’s fault? She may have been the foot soldier who indulged in gruesome acts of violence in Naroda Patiya. But she could hardly have acted alone. Here was an “efficient” CM who must have been directing the state police machinery to supposedly control the violence. Surely he could have instructed his partymen to maintain calm and peace. If Kodnani had been told that, would she have still continued with her misdeeds? No way. On the contrary, Kodnani was brazen in the way she wielded a sword and attacked poor and helpless muslims in her constituency. Clearly, she had the “blessings” of her CM.
For her to be now junked by Modi in this way must hurt. Modi is driven by his own interests. In his desire to be seen as secular, he must have found merit in junking his colleague. After all, this will give him the talking points to neutralize those who accuse him of shielding the perpetrated of the crime. It will to some extent blunt Nitish Kumar’s charge against him. Modi supporters can be expected on TV panels tonight, promoting Modi’s cause of being “impartial”, and punishing “all those who are guilty”, irrespective of whether they belong to his party or not. Except of course for himself. For Modi, Kodnani is a mere “pawn” in the elaborate battle that is being fought. Kodnani is a sacrifice worth being made. In the larger battle, Kodnani is an irritant. Even an irritant offers an opportunity to the savvy politician. Modi always realized that. Kodnani is only now realizing it.
Ditto the other man who calls himself Bajrangi. Even his colorful and suggestive name couldn’t give him protection from the aspirations of Modi. The man – for whom no one should have sympathy but who deserves better than this – will now repent having sided with Modi. Like Haren Pandya’s family does. And like Advani and Kodnani no doubt do too.
The more the spotlight shines on Modi, the more we get to see his true colors. Modi is desperate to change the dialogue, and talk of development. Already, he is being countered there, being branded “feku” (gas bag). Modi’s PR driven push for PMship is putting off not only the party’s allies (the relationship with JD(U) is all but over), but also upsetting many in his own party. Advani and Sushma Swaraj are keeping quiet for now; but this to me, looks like the proverbial calm before the storm. The Congress needn’t worry about Modi. His own party and allies will finish him off.
The real truth is that Modi is untrustworthy as a friend. Even dangerous. Haren Pandya, Advani and now Maya Kodnani have all experienced what it means to be Modi’s friend. Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley could well be next in line. Let time pass. The truth – the real truth – will become well established….
The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has urged Indians to return BN its two-thirds majority in the forthcoming general election.
In pledging full support for the ruling coalition, Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy said that all Indians must start spreading the word that their welfare will only be taken care off by BN.
He was speaking during an event in Brickfields today which saw BN chairperson Najib Razak signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hindraf to implement the BN-Hindraf five-year blueprint for the Indian community.
It covers four main areas – the upliftment of displaced estate workers, resolving the issue of statelessness, the provision of both education and business opportunities.
However, the Hindraf-BN agreement apparently did not address a number of key areas of the movement’s blueprint, especially racism and deaths in police custody.
According to the agreement, should BN retain federal power, it would set up a new unit under the Prime Minister’s Office to implement the details of the MOU.
Waythamoorthy said that change must not only take place in terms of “faces that leads the country” but the changes must take place in the lives of Malaysian, especially the Indian poor.
Pakatan ignored us
Gujarat cop Sanjeev Bhatt’s revelations, contained in his affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, may come as a surprise to many. But for all those who lived in Gujarat during those fateful days and were in the thick of things, the contents only provide substantiation of what they had heard then. A top police officer of the state told me a couple of days after the riots started how director general of poice K Chakravarthy was uncomfortable on being told by Narendra Modi at a meeting to allow Hindus to vent their feelings.Though perturbed, Chakravarthy, a naturally timid person, could not muster the guts to stand up to his boss. So, instead he lamented to top police officers like the person to whom I had spoken. Or at least that is what the officer told me It was also being speculated that not only had “Hindus” been allowed to vent their feelings, they had been given “three days” to do this. Then defence minister George Fernandes who had been sent to Ahmedabad by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also knew of this “three days” and I personally can vouch for this. With a view to figure out what he was up to, I had called on Fernandes on Saturday, March 2, 2002, in Circuit House in Ahmedabad. Initially, I had some apprehension about how much time the minister would give me because he was on a mission and the riots were on full blast. But I was pleasantly surprised that he had all the time in the world for me. Very soon I could figure out the purpose Fernandes was so keen to engage me in conversation: he wanted to cross-check the facts of the riots that he had heard. It was a long three-hour meeting. At one point the chief secretary, G Subba Rao, and additional chief secretary Ashok Narain, along with a senior army officer, came into the room. They had been confabulating with the minister before I dropped in. Leaving them behind, Fernandes took me to his room. Now the officials wanted to know if they should wait or could leave. The minister asked them to leave and resumed his conversation with me. Fernandes spoke about a whole lot of things, how Ahmedabad had changed, how he had come to the city when there was a massive riot in 1969, how he had walked to the Governor Shriman Narayan’s house from the airport at that time, etc. With the evening advancing and the need for me to go back to the office, I excused myself. Fernandes persisted but I went out. As I climbed down the stairs, the defence minister beckoned me once again from the top of the stairs and said that I should have dinner with him. In the end, I retraced my path. While having an early dinner, Fernandes who was beating around the bush for so long suddenly let it out: “ I have heard that the rioters have been allowed three days time before any action is taken?” I shot back: “ Ya, I have also heard it.” The minister said: “Humm. I see.” We continued on the dinner silently. I must admit that there was no talk about the Modi meet about which Sanjiv Bhatt has now filed an affidavit. But very soon our meeting was broken. Harin Pathak, the minister of state for defence and the BJP MP from Ahmedabad and a hardliner himself, walked into the room with decisive steps and plonked himself on the sofa. In the manner that he walked in it seemed that Pathak was aware that we were having a long meeting and wanted to be privy to the conversation. Immediately after the dinner, I left the place.
A couple of months later, the Outook magazine ran an exclusive report on a serving minister of the Gujarat government having deposed before a citizens’ commission about the Modi meeting on the evening of January 27 where the chief minister had talked about allowing the Hindu reaction. The minister was not named but I instinctively knew that it was Haren Pandya. So I called Pandya and said: “So you tendered evidence before the commission?” Pandya demanded: “How do you know?” I said: “I can make out because you have told me this before. Though I am not sure about others because there is some speculation that it is Suresh Mehta ( another minister). But I am sure your boss Modi can make out too.” The minister said in a dismissive tone: “Who cares about him.” Then I told Pandya: “But your testimony is second hand. Why don’t you get me somebody who attended the meeting and confirm this to me?” Pandya thought for a moment and replied: “Chakravarthi (director general of police ) can.” I told him: “I don’t know him. But since you were close to him and once were his boss as home minister, why don’t you set up a meeting.” Pandya said: “Let me get back to you.” He was back on the line in 10 minutes. “I have spoken with him. Here is his cell number. You have to ask him the questions but he will answer only in yes or no. He is not willing to go any further.” OK, I said and kept down the phone. In the event I did not call up Chakravarthi. The reason: I had written an article for the edit page about the guilty men of Gujarat and had named Chakravarthi and this was going to appear in the paper the next day. I did not think it morally right to get information from a source one day and next day publish an article that would put him on the mat. Moreover, the prospect on a yes or no answer did not appeal to me.
A few months later when I came to know of the names of officers who were present at that fateful meeting, I asked one of them about what had transpired. The officer, Anil Mukim, then private secretary to Modi and now a joint secretary to GOI told me: “Not while I was there.” My specific query was: “Did Modi say that a Hindu reaction be allowed?”. I noted from media reports recently that this is also exactly what Mukim told the SIT on the Gujarat riots. If I recollect correctly Ashok Narayan, the additional chief secretary (home) who had attended the meeting told the Nanavati Commission that there were instructions that the bodies of all those perished in the Godhra train carnage be allowed to be brought to Ahmedabad. This is what Sanjiv Bhatt has also said as part of his affadavit about what had transpired at the meeting.
Incidentally, it seems that on the evening of February 27 there were two meetings that had been convened by Modi. The first one was a law and order meeting with top cops and secretaries, which Sanjiv Bhatt is supposed to have attended. The other was a meeting of ministers. Haren Pandya had told me that at this meeting some of the ministers said that the bodies of those who died in the Godhra carnage be brought to Ahmedabad. Haren said that he resisted because he felt that this could lead to an outpouring of sentiments leading to a serious law and order situation. Pandya said that he was outshouted at the meeting and mentioned a minister (I am withholding the name, but it was not Modi) who said that this is what we want. “Our party strength is in Ahmedabad. We want everything to happen here. It will help our party.”
Haren Pandya was murdered under mysterious circumstances in early 2003, so he cannot come back to life to testify whatever is attributed to him by me. I am acutely aware of this. I am also aware that George Fernandes is suffering from Alzhiemer’s, a disease that robs its patients of all his memoriesreadmore.
Of all the things that are impacting the Indians in Malaysia, this low life uneducated corrupt bastards is fighting for a tamil movie…just don’t know what to say…
If this fools game plan is to use the movie sentiment to gather Indian support then he is showing how dumb he is…another symptom of panic becoming sidelined and loosing everything in the next GE or he is now the mouthpiece of our dear architect Tun…don’t worry Vella Pariah, you are already irrelevant as much as Indians are concerned…go back to spending your dad’s ill earned money and duduk diam lah…
In case there are any Hindus who read this article, I have good news for you! You can get saved and know it. Here is how:
1. Realize that you are guilty and deserve hell because of your sins:
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Read more
It is for this reason that many persons with criminal background have often been elected. Democracy was never meant to be run in this manner, and this has blocked our progress. Hence fundamental social and political changes are now required. not feudal, society. But the intention of our founding fathers, was that democracy and other … Read more MICS’ DEATH WISH IN GI3 THE ULTIMATE DEBATE DON’T BE SHORT-CHANGED!
Emraan Hashmi accused a housing society in Bandra of “religious discrimination” DNA The stampede at Allahabad Railway station that killed 36 (and counting) pilgrims last evening is sad, but anyone who expresses surprise that it happened is not in sync with ground realities. In a country that is insensitive … Read more
The stampede at Allahabad Railway station that killed 36 (and counting) pilgrims last evening is sad, but anyone who expresses surprise that it happened is not in sync with ground realities. In a country that is insensitive to the hilt when it comes to crowd management, where common man is herded around like cattle, claims to great organisation notwithstanding, the only surprise is that at events of the magnitude of Kumbh, so few accidents take place.
“They said there will be a meeting, but none of the leaders showed up,” he said, adding that Pakatan had “insulted” Hindraf.
“I thought of them as friends,” he added.
He admitted that there will be criticism over this deal, and acknowledged that some might accuse the movement of “selling out”.
“But I hope the prime minister will prove all of them wrong by seeing through with this agreement,” he said.
He claimed that 1.5 million Indians stand to benefit from this new arrangement.
Najib inks ‘new deal’ with Hindraf
He also took dig at the opposition, saying that Hindraf had “begged” Pakatan Rakyat to endorse its blueprint even after five years of non-delivery towards Indians in Pakatan-administered states.AS MY FEET WALK THRU DRY AND BARREN PLACES AND MY SOUL HAS FELT NO RAIN FOR A WHILE BUT I BELIEVE IN THE WIDOWS EMPTY BARRELS SHE HAD FAITH ENOUGH TO BRING A VAST SUPPLY AND IM HUNGARY FOR ANOTHER WAVE OF GLORY ITS A FRESH TOUCH YOU HAVE PROMISED COULD BE MINE, I …Read more
“Even after they failed to deliver in five states, I told them we can do it right this time, in this election. Until few days ago, I was still begging them.
