Living in Gurgaon, Haryana, I voted for Narendra Modi last week. I am no diehard BJP supporter or Modi fan, ideologue, Hindutva advocate or Pracharak. But, I do weigh my vote carefully every five years. I usually look at two aspects, one nationalistic, other selfish — whether the party (or person who sets the agenda…
Tag: Sonia Gandhi
An interview with Rahul Gandhi
(Re-posting a piece I had written in March last year in the context of the Congress party deciding that Rahul Gandhi will not be PM candidate for 2014 elections) The following is an imagined, though candid and freewheeling, interview of Rahul Gandhi, by yours truly, following the Congress leader’s categorical statement that he neither wants…
Nothing to be gay about
Vikram Seth has spoken eloquently about gay rights; Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have spoken about need to legalize consensual sex among same sex adults, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP’s) Rajnath Singh, not surprisingly, has clarified that homosexuality is unnatural and alien to India’s ethos, culture and society. The TV channels, meanwhile, have devoted prime time…
Analyzing India’s assembly elections
The results of the recent assembly elections in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan underline strong indicators for future. Political parties that ignore these will be upstaged, as the Congress found out the hard way. Thinly spread welfare measures are no good without addressing and understanding the real aspirations of the people. The Aaam Aadmi…
The case of Durga Shakti Nagpal (IAS)
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal as she dared to take on the sand mafia operating under her jurisdiction. Inspired by her, there are going to be some doubly divinely named daughters born hereon, though I am not sure parents would encourage them to study hard for a career…
Indias food security sham
The food security bill that aims to feed 800 million Indians is a sham hammered into existence by the Congress party eyeing the poor as a big vote base. Blinded by the greed of narrow political gains the ordinance is just symbolic and also anachronistic. I have no doubt billions of tax money will be…
A disaster code for India
The floods in Uttarakhand have destroyed lives, devastated homes and local populations for generations ahead. Our armed forces have once again stood out for their valor, gallantry and sacrifice like they did during the Kargil war or later the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, both orchestrated from Pakistan. The integrity and rapid response of our jawans and…
Modi versus Advani
The Congress government under Manmohan Singh has scored so many self-goals that it has lost credibility – there are allegations of massive corruption in telecom and coal block allocations to private companies, while growth has dipped due to lack of economic reforms. The de facto Prime Minister of India Sonia Gandhi is on a quixotic…
Dont Let Pawar Pee
There are many problems in India, including drought. Ajit Pawar’s crass pee remark to fill up empty dams in Maharashtra is unacceptable. The state faces large scale farmer suicides due to crop failure brought about by drought and lack of irrigation facilities. Pawar probably thought he did a Jaspal Bhatti or a Navjot Singh Sidhu…
Enduring Indian Gossip
Some relationships seem to be forever under scrutiny. In politics, there is the one between Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Despite the analysis and speculation, Manmohan-Sonia plane of operation is clear – do as she says or don’t do anything at all. Given such sound understanding that has stood the test of two uneventful tenures…
Siddharth Srivastava 