Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sam Pitroda – they are all trying to help the BJP with communal polarisation.
Even the most rabid religious...
One has to be incredibly credulous to buy BJP spin masters’ argument that the government got rid of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for harmonious relationship with the judiciary.
Modi government had also made numerous efforts to establish peace with Pakistan but has now adopted a different path, militarily, to establish peace, adds defence minister.
As Narendra Modi becomes India’s second-longest consecutively serving Prime Minister, we look at how he compares with Indira Gandhi across four key dimensions.
1. No one says that Congress party is for Muslims; it is definitely a party for everyone. However, it is necessary to find out how discussion on ‘Congress is a party of Muslims’ started. It was based on a report in an Urdu daily which was published, I believe, after Rahul Gandhi, Congress President, had invited Muslim Intellectuals for a chat. It is another matter that nothing much will be achieved from such interactions with Muslim intellectuals, who I believe have insignificant influence over Muslim masses. 2. Is unbiased discussion on subject of place of Muslims in our society and plight of majority of Muslims possible? Would we accept that during last six decades politicians who sought votes of uneducated, poor Muslims did nothing for them? Majority of Muslims have remained uneducated and poor. For this state of affairs leaders of the Muslim community as also leaders of so-called secular political parties are solely responsible. 3. It is time we accept that many of our politicians use or misuse religion in a clandestine manner. I think it is necessary to accept past mistakes and make efforts to introduce a vast majority of poor Muslims, particularly women, to formal education. We have to implement policies and programmes for creation of job opportunities for poor Muslims so that feeling of isolation will vanish. 5. Incidental question is: why is it a situation has arisen that Congress President has to issue a clarification and to defend secular credentials of his party?
Keeping the next general election all about the incumbent’s Report Card is the opposition’s best bet. Of course, as the column notes, they should have some good answers to how they would do a better job managing the economy. A few temple visits to correct an impression – completely false, for the Congress has ruled a predominantly Hindu nation for more than fifty years – that the party is anti Hindu or is overdoing secularism is okay, but by now that point has been made and noted by all. 2. Siddaramiah’s clever tweets did not win Karnataka. Shashi Tharoor’s glib talk might cause real damage, as Mani Shankar Aiyer has done. The next battle will be fought in slush filled trenches, bayonet to bayonet. Not a debate on the ills of colonialism in faraway Oxford.
1. No one says that Congress party is for Muslims; it is definitely a party for everyone. However, it is necessary to find out how discussion on ‘Congress is a party of Muslims’ started. It was based on a report in an Urdu daily which was published, I believe, after Rahul Gandhi, Congress President, had invited Muslim Intellectuals for a chat. It is another matter that nothing much will be achieved from such interactions with Muslim intellectuals, who I believe have insignificant influence over Muslim masses. 2. Is unbiased discussion on subject of place of Muslims in our society and plight of majority of Muslims possible? Would we accept that during last six decades politicians who sought votes of uneducated, poor Muslims did nothing for them? Majority of Muslims have remained uneducated and poor. For this state of affairs leaders of the Muslim community as also leaders of so-called secular political parties are solely responsible. 3. It is time we accept that many of our politicians use or misuse religion in a clandestine manner. I think it is necessary to accept past mistakes and make efforts to introduce a vast majority of poor Muslims, particularly women, to formal education. We have to implement policies and programmes for creation of job opportunities for poor Muslims so that feeling of isolation will vanish. 5. Incidental question is: why is it a situation has arisen that Congress President has to issue a clarification and to defend secular credentials of his party?
Keeping the next general election all about the incumbent’s Report Card is the opposition’s best bet. Of course, as the column notes, they should have some good answers to how they would do a better job managing the economy. A few temple visits to correct an impression – completely false, for the Congress has ruled a predominantly Hindu nation for more than fifty years – that the party is anti Hindu or is overdoing secularism is okay, but by now that point has been made and noted by all. 2. Siddaramiah’s clever tweets did not win Karnataka. Shashi Tharoor’s glib talk might cause real damage, as Mani Shankar Aiyer has done. The next battle will be fought in slush filled trenches, bayonet to bayonet. Not a debate on the ills of colonialism in faraway Oxford.