Sunday, November 30, 2008

The ‘Modi’ mantra!


 

 

The leader and the people are the two sides of the coin.

The goals and the attitude with which to achieve the goals

must be in matching wavelength between these two sets.

 

The people of India have reached their elastic limit

that enough is enough.

The exasperation expressed by the Angry Young Man

of the olden years on the Silver screen,

Mr Amitabh Bhacchan

showcases the feeling of every right thinking Indian.

(published below).

The answer for this exasperation must come from

a matching political leadership.

 

The need of the hour is a Leader

who not only knows what to deliver but also delivers.

Our people have all the capability to turn this nation into a happy place to live in.

But the political leadership that we have experienced so far

has just nothing of a sort in it to call itself a leader.

 

We need a strong man,

a man who is capable of calling a spade a spade

and treat every man as an Indian

and work through every issue

from the prism of development of India as a whole.

The one in sight is of course  Mr Modi

who has a proven record of ensuring prosperity in the face of terrible odds.

 

Just take a look at what this man has said.

 

May this hour of crisis open up a new leaf in the history of India

that will be administered by leaders

who are professional in approach,

patriotic in spirit and

treat all Indians as Indians

not as vote banks.

 

Jai Hind!

 

 

-jayasree

 

*************************************************

 

 

Modi moves centrestage, tells India what it wants to hear

 

Deepal Trivedi

 

 

http://www.dc-epaper.com/DC/DCC/2008/11/29/ArticleHtmls/29_11_2008_009_009.shtml?Mode=0#

 

 

 

TAKE ONE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his trademark blue turban, face weary from many hours of hectic work, addressed a hurting nation on television. He condemned the Mumbai terror attacks and the assault on the country. Characteristically soft-spoken and affable, his clichéd language and jaded manner, complete with never-ending pauses, were more irritating than soothing.

 

Stay calm, he advised us. Don't believe rumours, he sermonised, as he briefly talked about national unity to tackle terrorism and make the perpetrators pay for their barbaric acts. TAKE TWO: He wanted to rush to Mumbai the very same day, but was reportedly advised against it by the Congress government in Maharashtra. The next day, he somehow managed. He was not allowed entry, for security reasons, at sensitive locations.

But still Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, with his characteristic aggressiveness, condemned the terrorist attack in a manner that touched many hearts. Standing outside the Trident Oberoi, he clearly spelt out Pakistan's role in the latest attacks and said what all Indians desperately wanted to hear:

Enough. Mumbai, you cannot, and will not, suffer alone. This attack is not on Mumbai alone but on the faith of the people of India.

A POLITICIAN is supposed to have a grip on the people's pulse. For 36 hours before Mr Modi spoke, there was no one to give the nation any hope. As terrorists continued to hold the entire world to ransom, using India as their base, leaving Indians traumatised and feeling absolutely helpless, Mr Modi became the first politician in the world's largest democracy to voice the people's concerns and echo the feelings of a majority of Indians in a tone and tenor that the country could identify with.

Mark this change as well: a majority of Indians, not a majority of Hindus.

On Friday, unlike in the past, Mr Modi decisively, and perhaps intuitively, stayed away from divisive language. He spoke of India, he spoke of the nation and, most importantly, he spoke as a national leader — something which even his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has not yet acknowledged formally.

 

Mr Modi's Friday politics will get him many supporters, even some from the "secular" category who now coyly admit that his stance on terror in Mumbai was much better than the Prime Minister's. Needless to say, terrorism will be the plank for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and trust me when I say, nobody will dwell more emotionally on this than Mr Modi.

After his speech the Internet was flooded with mails from concerned Indians, and several foreigners from across the globe, lauding his "raw" politics. "Put Modi in charge… Replace the Prime Minister of India for a year," many wrote, appreciating that Mr Modi had spoken to them in their language.

 

His carefully chosen nuances clearly conveyed his stand: Zero tolerance towards terrorism. Mr Modi's message was that terrorism cannot be allowed to win. It's unfortunate that this basic message, aimed at instilling confidence and hope in a wounded nation, a message the nation so desperately needed, did not come from the powers that are ruling and governing the nation. It, instead, came from the chief minister of a state.

 

Politics is about packaging and populism, and denying this would be naive. Mr Modi's speech and stand on Mumbai terror is a clear signal of the bigger national role he aspires to.

 

Soon after Mr Modi's visit, his detractors, mostly at the Centre, cried foul. They derided him for dragging politics into a war on terror. They accused him of indulging in politics of populism. He broke the truce, they screamed. But many applauded him for calling a spade a spade.

 

Even Congressmen have spoken out, albeit only off the record, of how uninspiring and demotivating Dr Singh was in his crucial national address. That is further credit to Mr Modi.

 

Yes, Mr Modi's Mumbai visit and speech were carefully calculated to consolidate his position as a strong entrant into national politics, and he indulged in what the Congress dubs "populist tactics". But Mr Modi has earned himself the tag of being the "voice of India". Because when he spoke to harried Indians, he sounded more like a nationalist than a state chief minister or a politician. Diplomatically, but assertively, he touched on Islamabad violating international norms and how serious it was that Pakistan's territory was used by terrorists.

 

Strangely, all that Mr Modi said, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani repeated a few hours later, also in Mumbai.

 

There is always a first-mover advantage, and that seems to have firmly established Mr Modi's position in pan-India politics as a leader of substance.

 

The Gujarat chief minister, who has been persistently demanding a stringent law to curb terrorist activities in Gujarat through special legislation that the Centre has been consistently rejecting (the Bill cleared by the Modi government needs the Centre's clearance before it becomes a law), was savvy enough not to utter a word about it in Mumbai. Politics is all about right timing. So why rake up a Gujarat matter when he could talk about international terrorism and Pakistan?

 

The international community has already noted that the Congress-led UPA had scrapped Pota, a federal anti-terrorism law which strengthened witness protection and enhanced police powers. A Wall Street Journal article recently said, "…it was a Congress government that kowtowed to fundamentalist pressure and made India the first country to ban Mumbai-born Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses in 1988". And its editorial on Mumbai terror attacks said, "...the Congress party has stalled similar state-level legislation in Gujarat, which is ruled by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party." Is there anybody out there who does not know Mr Narendra Modi now and his stance towards terrorism?

 

But it did require a Narendra Modi to tell us that the Prime Minister was disappointing in his address and attitude towards terrorism. This is Mr Modi's uncanny ability of blending populism with pragmatism. He has made India believe that the UPA government's cluelessness about national security starts right from the top. And this is, perhaps, how Mr Modi's journey to the top begins.

 

********************************************************

 

Amitabh in his blog

Posted on: November 30, 2008 - 2:08 am

http://bigb.bigadda.com/2008/11/30/day-220/

 

I lament the way in which friends and close well wishers urge the people of this country to stand up and show solidarity by lighting a candle in our windows; by showing strength of revolt in collecting in the evening hours at the Gateway of India, in showing a body of co operation and togetherness.

NO !! Excuse me ! I will not do that !

Had they not been friends, I would have been ruder.

This is no time to demonstrate gesture. This is the time for me to listen to a leader that shall strongly assure me of what needs to be done and will do it ! This is the time for each citizen of this country to act and behave in a dictated disciplined profile. This is the time for those that lead, to educate us all in a common curriculum bearing a common code of conduct. A code that shall bind us all as one collective strength. If the invader has been psychologically brain washed into believing that what he is doing to us is ordained through divine intervention, then let him face 1.2 billion brains that have been ordained in unison to 'teach' him how horribly wrong he is.

 

For too long we have remained the servile submissive nation. There has been no strong adjective to describe our character. When you meet an Indian abroad and when you ask where he is from he invariably states the State he comes from, not the country. A motorist on a street in Mumbai will willingly open the door of his car and decorate the road with his colorful mucus lined spit. Same motorist in Singapore will not dare to perform similar feat. A cyclist at 2 in the morning on a deserted street in London shall respect the red light at a signal and wait for it to turn green before crossing it. He not only depicts discipline, he reflects the character of his country. Here even in the busiest moments of the day, the red light at a crossing is an indicator to 'GO' !!




1 comment:

Jayasree Saranathan said...

From

http://deshgujarat.com/2008/11/28/narendra-modi-is-correct-mrvilasaraopms-address-was-disappointing/


In reaction to Narendra Modi’s statement at Mumbai that the Prime Minister’s national address after Mumbai terror attack was disappointing, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said “No one should do politics at such time.”

Reading Vilasrao’s this statement I was amused that wow here is a Chief Minister who is now judging when to do what and what to do when but this same Page3 Chief Minister at the time of farmers suicides in his state could be seen present in the Film premiers and Bollywood award nights.

So Mr. Vilasrao, when your party’s leaders were visiting house of Ahmedabad blasts accused in Uttar Pradesh just after his arrest, didn’t you feel that your party was doing politics at wrong time? When MCOCA was okayed for Maharashtra and even after Ahmedabad blasts Gujarat’s plea to approve matching GUJCOC law was turned down, didn’t you think your party was doing politics at wrong time? When Rajeev Gandhi bypassed Supreme Court order in Shahbano case or when Congress government was not ready to hang Afzal even after repeated terror acts across the nation, never ever you thought your party was doing politics at wrong time? Forget about right time and wrong time to do politics Mr. Deshmukh, but please answer that actually who is doing politics? And because of whose politics we are facing terror attacks? Because of whose politics we are considered to be a weak nation? Because of whose politics Mr. Deshmukh?

Mr. Deshmukh, The Mumbai attack was performed via coastal route. Gujarat is a coastal state touching to Pakistan. Important coastal installments are located on the Gujarat coast. The Mudra Port, Kandla Port, Dwarkadhish temple, Somnath temple, Surat’s Hajira industrial area, Dahej Chemical Port are only some examples. Coastal security falls under national government’s jurisdiction. Gujarat has time and again presented coastal security related proposals to the central government but has always received pathetic response.

Just before some months Gujarat’s member of parliaments led by LK Advani met the Prime Minister on Gujarat’s security related issues. Coastal security was part of this discussion. Soon after that, Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi too met the Prime Minister in August on the same issues. The MPs and the Chief Minister had taken up following points to the Prime Minister related to Gujarat’s coastal security:

-The government of Gujarat, which has the longest coastal line in the country, had sent a comprehensive scheme to the Centre in 2005 on coastal security, which included setting up of 51 coastal police stations in 11 coastal districts of the state. Only ten police stations had so far been sanctioned. Similarly, against the proposal of 70 outposts, only 46 have been sanctioned.

-Against the Rs 392.47 crore perspective plan submitted by the state government only Rs 58.42 crore had been approved.

-In view of the large-scale requirements of border security and also in view of challenges posed by terrorists and infiltrators, both in terms of their reach and skills, it is beyond any state government’s capacity to handle the security issues without proper administrative and financial support by the Central Government.

-The financial and logistic support from the Centre to Gujarat for modernization of its police force had been reduced without assigning any understandable reasons.

-The proposals of the state government to introduce camel patrolling system and erect 90 watch towers for the border security have also not been approved.

Three months have passed but sadly nothing has been done in this regard by the Prime Minister’s office. Now even after Mumbai attack that was performed using a coastal route, the Prime Minister in his address to the nation has failed to deliver any positive sign on approval of Gujarat’s demands purely related to crucial coastal security. Gujarat is a bordering state just next to the land of Pakistan and Gujarat Chief Minister obviously is the most worried person as Pakistan based terrorist groups have now started using coastal rout for attacks in India. Forget Gujarat, in Manmohan Singh’s speech nothing related to coastal security if India was mentioned.

If Modi being a Chief Minister of coastal bordering state Gujarat in the backdrop of Gujarat’s coastal security related issues found the Prime Minister’s speech disappointing and expressed this feeling the next day, why Vilasrao should see politics in it? Modi is not taking a political advantage of the situation Mr. Deshmukh, but he is raising right issue at the right time to publicize it and pressurize the central government that has lethargic approach towards security issues. This is for the nation’s good Mr. Deshmukh, not for political good. Politics is anyway in favor of right people.

Modi in his briefing to the media outside the Oberoi Hotel today said that he had raised the issue in the national security meet one-year ago that Pakistan’s marine security agency confiscate boats of Gujarat’s fishermen. “Earlier the Pakistan authorities would return their boats but off late they have stopped doing so. And these boats would be misused by them against the Indian interest,”Modi said.

What Modi said before a year was a correct judgment. In the backdrop of Mumbai attack now the facts are emerging that Pakistani terrorists used Gujarat’s fishing boat, they killed five fishermen inside the boat and used it for journey to Mumbai to perform terror attacks.