Not Watchdogs Anymore, Just Poodles...

This is an update to the post "CEC: Media As Friend & Ally In Elections" of March appended below:

It would be dishonest and unfair to tar the entire community of journalists as corrupt. It is just safe to say that a huge majority of news outlets are corrupt and cannot be called a watchdog anymore. I have personally been witness to newspapers blackmailing business houses with planting fake stories or exposes if they didn’t get their share of ad business as a rival newspaper. In wanting to avoid confrontation or wastage of time most businesses oblige, some do stand up. It is in this light that latest developments of the ‘paid news’ syndrome has to be viewed.

It would also be naïve to imagine that the money trail for ‘paid news’ can be traced. Obviously these transactions aren’t made through cheques. That’s what explains a total election expense of 7/- lakhs within the then limit of 10/- lakhs. This is what P. Sainath writes in The Hindu:

“Mr. Chavan's accounts are a delight. A kind of Gandhian manual on poll austerity. Read them and you know that Bhokar, Nanded is where you want to settle post-retirement. Things are so cheap. Mr. Chavan wrapped up his newspaper advertising within a frugal Rs.5,379. His entire poll campaign cost less than Rs.7 lakh. (The limit for an assembly constituency in Maharashtra that year was Rs.10 lakh). This included two public meetings where he brought down Bollywood megastar Salman Khan as the main attraction, drawing thousands of people. The first meeting cost a piffling Rs.4,440 and the second even less, only Rs.4,300. In both cases the main cost, more than a third of the total, was on the public address system. (But even Steve Jobs could not have got the audio done in Rs.1,500). The pandal top cost just Rs.200, hired sofas cost the same and Mr. Chavan spent no more than Rs.1,000 on setting up the stage”.

The PCI’s paid news report was watered down to around 12 pages, from the original 71, on protests by the worst offenders involved in the syndrome. Each time the issue of accountability is raised with the MSM the endless fountain of screams about “freedom of press” or “self-regulation” flow as a torrent. It is, therefore, amazing that the CEC or any sensible body rely on the media to report violations or instances of paid news. Oh yeah, they will depending on which side of the political spectrum they are on.

Apart from the paid news syndrome, Radiagate has exposed beyond any doubt that MSM is into far greater misdeeds than just paid news. It is actively involved in political power broking, planting stories on the whims of such brokers. It’s not news and analysis anymore. The last Sunday (Oct 9) edition of ‘We the poodles’ on NDTV ran a debate on the Telengana issue. Among others, one of the key elements of the discussion was what “muslims want”! More than politicians it is the media crooks who are constantly immersed in discussions deciding what is secular, what is communal, what is hate-speech and what is justice or miscarriage of it. The media divides society a lot more than politicians do. The media is far more corrupt than the politicians we keep rapping for it. It is hard to imagine how a company like NDTV still operates despite consistent losses over the years. Since the issue, its share price has constantly gone down. I imagine the financial intrigues of many other media outlets would make sorry reading if thoroughly investigated. And that is good reason to bring the media too under the RTI and the Lokpal.

The slant and biased reporting is now becoming more obvious to people at large thanks to social networks. Can’t call them watchdogs anymore, just Poodles would do!

CEC: Media As Friend & Ally In Elections - March 11,2011

What is wrong with other people? Don’t they matter? The people are your biggest eyes and ears if ever you needed a watchdog. Across the world people are now realising that the mainstream media is a self-serving lapdog and is not a watchdog for anyone. Just as an honest politician is hard to find these days, it is just as hard to find honest media outfits or honest journalists. The honest are the rare exceptions. Here’s what Chief Election Commissioner, S.M. Quraishi, is reported to have said:

....and they can watch over elections?

From the WSJ: India’s Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi on Tuesday asked the media to play the role of watchdog by reporting any violation of the code of the conduct by political parties or candidates in upcoming state assembly elections. Five states – Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal... “We see the media as our ally and friend in the elections. We will see through your eyes.” Mr. Quraishi said that media reports about malpractice and violations would be treated as formal complaints and would be taken up by the Election Commission. But while giving the media the responsibility of ensuring fair conduct during the polls, the Election Commission has also tried to ensure that the phenomenon of “paid news” – one that escalates during election time – is curbed. It has called for the setting up of “district-level media watch committees” comprising “a senior journalist nominated by the Press Council of India” to monitor any instances where the media charge candidates or parties for favorable coverage or for avoiding unfavorable coverage. So while the media will be watching the elections, it will also be watching itself. The debate around “paid news” caused a furore during the national elections in 2009. The Press Council of India later issued a report on regulating and curbing paid news. The council oversees media practices and strives to improve media standards. The report, made public in August 2010, had also recommended amending the electoral laws to make “paid news a punishable electoral malpractice.” The Election Commission has now also said that candidates or parties found paying for news will be punished and will have to bear the cost of the paid news in their election expenditure. But the phenomenon is one that has been difficult to weed out.

Just as it is unfair to tarnish all politicians with the same brush it is equally unfair to tarnish the entire media as well. There are still many honest journalists and mediapersons. Just who will get to pick the ‘district-level media watch committees’? In case the CEC is unaware or has forgotten,  in states like Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala the politicians themselves own the TV channels and much of the print media. The DMK’s TV channel is currently embroiled in links to various scams. So who will be the ‘district-level’ watchdogs? Say, someone like Kashmir interlocutor Dileep Padgaonkar? Or a Barkha Dutt? A Prannoy Roy maybe, or even a Vinod Sharma? As for the Press Council’s report on ‘paid news’ one of the authors, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, himself is on record stating that the report was ‘watered-down’. The media today is not ‘independent’ as we knew it. The corporate media should not be treated as the ‘Press’ anymore but just as any other business entity. Therefore, Mr.CEC, this is what you need to do:

1.   Appoint a body of people from various walks of life with impeccable credibility and integrity to act as the watchdogs. Avoid including any media person.

2.   You can even hire reputed firms who regularly conduct surveys of all kinds (like Nielsen, Gallup for example) to take an ‘audit-like’ approach to keeping a watch on malpractices.

3.   Put up a page on your website where people themselves can lodge complaints about mal-practices. Sure, you are likely to have plenty of complaints but your auditors can do the job of scrutinising these.

Recent events have only helped to consolidate the suspicion of the media being a lapdog. Till such time there are serious rules that deliver punishment to erring media entities and persons they cannot be anybody’s watchdog. The Press Councils and the Advertising Councils and Editors’ Guilds are all coffee-shop organisations with neither power nor the willingness to reform themselves. People don’t trust the media Mr.CEC, why should you? With all the resources at your disposal I am sure you can find better watchdogs.

Social Scientologist Dipankar Gupta's Advice For Gujarat Congress

This seems to be the season for celebrities to shower advice on the Congress party. In my previous post I tried understanding why ‘Shekhar Gupta is doctoring and nursing the Congress’. Rajdeep Sardesai in an article, “Insider, Outsider” laments  on Pranab Mukherjee never getting his due from the Congress because others have to be kept at bay. Another one, “Telling the wrong story” is what catches my attention though. It is written by Social Scientologist Dipankar Gupta. Alright, let me explain. This Gupta, a former professor with JNU, the coffee shop of communists, is supposedly a social scientist. My understanding was that social scientists do a lot of work on the ground with people on various issues to arrive at conclusions. But Social Scientologists in India are now a cult group that simply work on a pre-set body of beliefs and rituals created by fiction and fantasy. The supposed religion of Scientology is described as a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard. It would have been unheard of but for prominent celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta being its followers. Scientology is also a very very secretive cult. Therefore, rather than being referred to as scientists who deal with facts, the term scientologists is more appropriate for people like Dipankar Gupta who write largely with no first hand research. After all, FAITH, is the key.

So Dipankar Gupta (DG) is his article in TOI “Telling the wrong story” (Quotes in blue) wonders why the Congress isn’t telling the right story. He writes: “Is the Congress afraid of winning in Gujarat? Nothing else explains why it lets Narendra Modi tom-tom development when it should have been the Congress banging the drums. The economic achievements of governments before Modi's read like an award citation, but too much secularism has since led the Congress astray. Instead of showcasing its past performance to regain Gujarat, it is obsessed with nailing Modi as a communalist-in-chief. Naturally, it is not getting anywhere fast”. Interesting, “too much secularism”? I give that much to DG, secularism has almost become synonymous with anti-development. It has come to represent pandering and appeasement and nothing more.

After those opening lines DG then goes on to reel off a healthy dose of statistics to reveal why Gujarat was a poster-boy for development even before Modi. I quite agree and have always maintained that Gujarat has been economically progressive historically and traditionally. As a state it has done far better on most fronts than a huge majority of states in India even before Modi. DG only fails in his reasoning why Congress is unable to counter NaMo. That is because he fails to understand the people of Gujarat. The most important ingredient in political and electoral battles is the public. As a social scientologist DG has completely failed to read the minds of the Gujjus. That’s the reason all the statistics and economic indexes he uses become academic nonsense for a Congress revival.

The story of Congress in Gujarat cannot be written without a mention of its divisive politics in the state. The one theory that most epitomises its deeply divisive tactic that meant to divide a ‘secular’ society has to be the one by former CM Madhavsinh Solanki. His KHAM theory is as much a Secular laboratory as the Hindutva laboratory that Gujarat is often called. KHAM stands for Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi & Muslim. The Congress believed creating and strengthening such vote-banks would keep them in power for good. Well, vote-bank politics is a traditional tactic for the Congress. To support that tactic the Congress also sprinkled its strategy with an abundance of reservations and subsidies. Surprised? Well that is still the strategy in most states for the ‘secular’ parties. DG perhaps overlooks an important turning point in the history of Gujarat.

In 1985 the Madhavsinh Solanki announced reservation policies which resulted in agitations and riots throughout the state. These went on for months and then suddenly turned into communal riots. A majority of people believe that the Congress turned it into communal riots to deflect the reservations issue. The Hindus in Gujarat believed they were at the receiving end of all social mishaps. Reservations, communal riots, subsidies etc. These are emotive issues and not the statistical nonsense that DG reduces the discussion to. And he’s supposed to be a social scientologist!  If one Congress leader can be held singularly responsible for the party’s sinking in Gujarat, it has to be Madhavsinh Solanki. And what’s his reward? He gets to be a minister in the Central Govt. later on.

Now, having all along fought their elections on fake ‘secularism’, garibi-hatao, aam-aadmi, reservations, caste and community divisions, minorities appeasement, subsidies and so on can the Congress suddenly jump to ‘Development’ as an electoral strategy? I am surprised someone as educated as DG cannot see the irony. By his own logic Gujarat was already on a development path, what the Gujaratis didn’t want was the other nonsense that the Congress party fought elections on. Get that DG?

DG goes on to write: “Now that Gujarat's economy is all grown up and good-looking, the Congress should admit its responsibility and submit to a paternity test. What is there to hide? Hefty anti-saffron helpings, on their own, will not do. With a stomach full of that stuff, the Congress can hardly catch up with Modi. In fact, Jawaharlal Nehru taught us that secularism does not win elections, development does. Why then is the Congress doing its best to come second-best by gagging its record of the 1990s? In politics, as in sports, winning is not everything, it is the only thing”. Well DG you and other colleagues of yours in the social club and the media are the ones who brought the Congress to such a miserable shape. Peddling lies only helps so much. Fighting elections by calling Modi a mass murderer, calling him communal and anti-muslim does not resonate with Gujaratis. The Congress hoped to benefit by permanently tagging Modi with the 2002 riots and with the support of corrupt NGOs, social clubbers and the media hoped to win elections. A first start would be to admit that this strategy has failed.Another first would be to admit that Jawaharlal Nehru did to India what Congress has mostly done to Gujarat.

Another important aspect in politics and society is not just about being a minister, winning elections or about the Chief Minister. It is about leadership. I repeat what I wrote in a previous post: "What a leader does for followers is..turn anxiety into confidence. They’ve always done that throughout time and in every different society and situation. When leaders lead well, it’s because they’re able to rally people to a better future and make people spirited when they were previously anxious." This is what NaMo provided to a state in a time of severe strife and anxiety brought about by the 2001 earthquake followed by the 2002 riots. Maybe yes, he would have played a communal card since he is and will remain a politician. So why did the secular card repeatedly fail then?

Another important issue that DG overlooks is that the Congress now wants to campaign against NaMo on issues of corruption for the 2012 elections. Would you believe that DG? Where’s your advice on that? You might find a lot to hurl at Modi but corruption can be related to Modi as much as Sarah Palin sees Russia from her lawns. An issue that DG does not acknowledge is that if Gujarat managed to make giant strides under Modi it is actually because of absence of or negligible corruption in the system and elimination of the red tape.

Another wrong example that DG draws on is that of Dhirubhai Ambani: “Most recently, Mukesh Ambani praised Narendra Modi for putting Gujarat on the world map. He seems to have forgotten that his father, and Reliance, prospered in Gujarat well before Modi properly entered politics”. Dhirubhai’s success is in no way connected with Congress rule in Gujarat before Modi. Dhirubhai was a Gujju and his first venture in textiles was when Gujarat was still the Manchester of India. It is state where labour unrest was minimal. DG might like to know that once public giant IPCL used to proudly put up a sign at its entrance that said to the effect “Since inception no strikes at IPCL”.  Reliance is now a stake-holder in IPCL and it still doesn’t see strikes. If the Sardar Sarovar project was started much before Modi he is credited with speeding up the canals and bringing the Narmada water to various parts of Gujarat, including Ahmedabad. The dam is only half the achievement, bringing water to the parched cities and villages counts for a lot more. Much of Gujarat was drought-prone, that’s a situation laid to rest in a very large measure.

While his sympathy for the Congress may not be misplaced, social scientologists like DG sometimes use the most spurious arguments as logic. In a discussion with Rajdeep Sardesai on Subramanian Swamy’s controversial article in DNA and the subsequent petition for his dismissal by some Harvard constituents, this is what DG had to say: “If anybody goes to teach summer school in Harvard he is obviously not top of the pops”! Well, I reserve my opinion on the professors of JNU but if DG really wants to revive the Congress in Gujarat he must sacrifice scientology and embrace facts.

Shekhar Gupta - Doctoring & Nursing The Congress

The title might seem a bit harsh on Shekhar Gupta. Well, there are many sporting events and matches which are inspiring. There are individual and team performances that simply stun and overawe us as a miracle. Above all, there is nothing more enjoyable than an underdog turning the tables on a favourite. That is how Shekhar Gupta analyses UPA-2 in his article ‘Decide on the Doctor’ in IE, October 1. It sounds like Gupta wants to nurse the UPA back to health. Hmmm, playing nurse, eh?

Okay, so he starts with an analogy and theory of Test Cricket with a team following-on and facing defeat. Miraculously the team following-on wins, and that’s the probability that Gupta applies to UPA2 to put it back together. So here’s his honest theory (Quotes in blue):

“A recovery is not impossible. Some of the most stirring fightbacks in cricket history have come after follow-ons. But team managements and captains have to do something bravely different to make that happen. Like, for example, changing the batting order. Or threatening some irresponsible batsmen with the sack. Is the UPA (or rather Congress) management capable of doing that?”

I completely agree with Gupta there. But first, let me bring him up on some facts about Cricket. As of date, there have been over 2000 test matches played. A team following on has won only on 3 occasions. Alright, so if you think that is not a fair look into the facts then here’s more: there are over 290 matches where follow-on has been enforced and the number of victories by the team following-on still remains 3. So while the possibility cannot be denied, Gupta doesn’t  really examine the theory of probability or past experience in any way.

Two of the greatest victories after follow-on were in 1981 and 2001. In the first, Eng V Aus, an out of form Ian Botham had been removed from captaincy in an on-going series and in the first innings had scored a fluent 50 while his team crumbled. After follow on, even when his team was slipping he scored an amazing 149. In the second match at Eden Gardens, India V Aus, V.V.S. Laxman scored a fluent 50 and then went on to score 281 in the second after following on.  That is as much for statistics. Now let’s really examine how his theories pan out.

One of the most brilliant minds of our times has to be the scientist, Richard Feynman and here’s what he had to say:  “In general we look for a new law by the following process. First we guess it. Then we compute the consequences of the guess to see what would be implied if this law that we guessed is right. Then we compare the result of the computation to nature, with experiment or experience, compare it directly with observation, to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It does not make any difference how beautiful your guess is. It does not make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is - if it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. That is all there is to it.” That was said in quite a different context but can fairly be applied to any major theory like the one of Gupta. It is not ‘decide on the doctor’.. In fact Gupta IS playing the “doctor” himself.

“First of all, the Congress has to decide whether it wants to continue with Manmohan Singh as its prime minister.” Aha! So who exactly does Gupta mean by Congress? The party? The CWC? The Congress parliamentary party? Shekhar Gupta feigns ignorance of the basic qualification required to be a Congress PM, and WHO decides it! The unwillingness or inability to identify the exact person/captain who must make the decision is the first flaw in his theory. Of course, that is easier in Cricket, isn’t it?

“Next, tell Chidambaram, who has been keen to get back to Finance, to wait just a bit, that he will move sideways into his preferred half in North Block as Pranab moves into Rashtrapati Bhavan. That will settle the issue with — and between — these big two.”  So Dr.Gupta’s advice is to gently get rid of Pranab and get the unartful Chidambaram back into finance. Well, this clearly reflects the concern not of a journalist opining but that of a politician playing games. Hmmm! It is exceptionally dishonest not to admit that PC not only needs to be kicked out but also faces serious trouble with the SC sword hanging over him on 2G and a court case on election fraud. Even discounting those issues PC has simply failed as a performer both as a Finance minister and as a Home minister. It has to take an extraordinarily bad captain to retain him unless the merit is ‘loyalty and protecting family jewels’! Ambitious as he may be Pranab is still the one who has fought many battles for the Congress successfully on many fronts. Even L.K. Advani is on record stating in the parliament that he wouldn’t know how Congress would face all its troubles without Pranabda. No mean compliment that! No matter how thorny he might be, only a bad captain would throw him to the Rashtrapati Bhavan just yet. But Dr. Gupta would.

“Who will then replace Chidambaram in Home? Start now, by bringing Sheila Dikshit into the cabinet. S.M. Krishna, one of the nicest, most gracious people you’d meet in politics, has to be most respectfully offered a Raj Bhavan. Sheila Dikshit’s induction will achieve several things. One, you will bring an experienced, true-blue Uttar Pradesh politician, with experience and thick skin, in the cabinet. See how skilfully she handled the CAG report on CWG compared to how many other Congressmen blundered. She would be the first woman in the Cabinet Committee on Security since the passing away of Indira Gandhi, and she would also be the first member from the Hindi heartland in this most powerful body in UPA 2. By next year, she can be a deserving replacement for Chidambaram in Home. Of course, the second benefit would be the end of blood-letting between her and Ajay Maken, provided he is appointed Delhi chief minister. The challenge of winning Delhi for the fourth time in 2013 will keep him busy and quiet."

Okay, I was already under the impression that Krishna was brought into the cabinet from a Raj Bhavan and Gupta wants to send him back to one. Reason? Unclear! So I have to assume that of all in the cabinet he has been singled out as a non-performer and should be rewarded with the Raj Bhavan. Pretty much Congress style isn’t it? And cleverly, Sheila Dikshit must be promoted because she has handled the taints of CAG and CWG smartly. And that itself is supposed to have cleared her of all the taint. Bravo, Dr. Gupta! And no matter what, Chidambaram must return to the ‘old boys club’ as Finance Minister. He has failed as Home Minister and wanting PC as Finance Minister is like asking a bad wicket-keeper to open the bowling.

The rest of Gupta’s article is dedicated to how these shuffles and foot work might help win the general elections in 2014 or 2012, whenever they happen. This is where Dr.Gupta’s analogy with the cricket follow-on fails miserably. He forgets, the follow-on happens in a ‘current’ match and winning it and not about winning or losing the next match. A strong political leader recently said in a rousing speech that most political parties on coming to power get busy with how to win the next election instead of focussing on good governance. I wonder if Gupta heard that speech. I suppose not, but he falls into the same category of politicians who is very concerned about the next election and not the current match on hand. The current match is about returning to good governance, punishing the corrupt and getting rid of the tainted and accused. The one thing Gupta doesn’t dare to question or answer is – should Manmohan Singh remain or not. He leaves that to the ‘party’.  He has recommendations for all others. That’s the perfect doctor prescribing shoulder surgeries for brain tumours.

If you carefully go through his whole article the names of Sonia and Rahul are mentioned only once. That is in reference to the CWC as their being LS members. This is servantile journalism at its best. Dr.Gupta does not dare to even estimate what should be the new role for Sonia or what decisions she must take. He does not dare to question or decide whether Rahul Gandhi should be in the team or the water-boy. Frankly, any discussion on changes, shuffles and foot work in Congress is at best disingenuous if it does not include a discussion on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Rahul has, by his own stupidity, proved beyond doubt that he is no PM material. Dr. Gupta won’t recognise that or even deal with the question who should be the PM if not MMS. As for Sonia Gandhi, she is untouchable and out of bounds for him. So for all that his ‘doctoring’ is worth his article only yearns to see Congress remain in power. Politics maybe a game, Dr. Gupta, good governance and country are not.

Bidwai's Unadulterated Bullshit

By Ram Valmiki

There is a particular pattern in the way Hate Engineers spread their ill-conceived opinions and manufactured lies as real facts. They have mastered the art of pushing across their propaganda as “analysis” or “news reporting”. Be it in print media or in MSM, be it “sickular” activist champions of secularism or panelists, all of them spare no effort in misguiding the gullible audience/readers.

It is very important for us to understand the modus-operandi of these Hate Engineers so as to gauge the kind of damage they do to national interests. Since Narendra Modi is flavor of the season and every “sickular” worth their salt has been writing on his fast, I will attempt to breakdown the language of Hate Engineers by taking one recent article of Praful Bidwai as an example.  I would like to inform the readers that this is the same way how the Marxists/communist historians operate and misrepresent the historical events. Bidwai's rant is titled: 'Modi's nasty fast politics - Shifting the BJP rightwards'.

Praful Bidwai is supposed to be political analyst/commentator and “peace activist”. It is expected of him to provide just the analysis and not pass judgments. It is for his readers to draw the conclusions and his duty to provide unbiased analysis. But it is not surprising that so much like many other “sikculars”, he exhibits intellectual dishonesty.

“Through his contrived sadbhavana mission and outlandish three-day fast, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra 'Milosevic' Modi staged a grotesquely fraudulent act in ugly political theatre, which he hoped would catapult him to the apex of the Bharatiya Janata Party and make him the topmost contender as the prime ministerial nominee of the National Democratic Alliance”

The very first line in his lengthy article starts by asserting that Modi is Indian version of Milosevic.  This only shows how prejudiced Praful Bidwai is. Even before Praful starts analyzing the “fast”, he passes on judgment that Modi is as dangerous as Milosevic for the country.  Praful Bidwai seems to have great powers at mind reading. He seems to know what is on Modi’s mind.  Actually, it’s the fear of  Modi gaining national acceptance and may be even becoming the PM that forces the “sickulars” to try and derail something that does not exist. Its Modi Phobia. Internet is abuzz with the growing popularity of Modi at national level and he is no more limited to State of Gujarat as “sickulars” want us to believe. Modi is already national leader and a prospective PM candidate. That is hard to digest by Hate Engineers.

“Modi's shenanigans will certainly do nothing to make him acceptable to the Muslims, who suffered Independent India's worst state-organised butchery under him in 2002. The presence of skull-capped men and burqa-clad women at his fast means nothing.” The riot cases are in court. Supreme Court constituted SIT did not find any evidence against Modi. The case is back in trial court and Modi is not listed as accused. But that does not mean anything to the Hate Engineers. They go ahead and make such a bold statement as calling the riots as “sate-organized”. This is not allegation, not even accusation but blatant way of presenting manufactured lie as a FACT.  As in my previous post have stated, delinking Godhra with Gujarat riots would lead to wrong conclusions. It is well known that riots were started as a reaction to Godhra carnage. The local newspapers carried rumors and it ignited the suppressed anger. Does Praful Bidwai suggest here that Modi planned the train burning? It does not need great intelligence to imagine what the death toll would be if a state actually planned and decided to something as heinous as riots. This also undermines the Indian Judicial system.

For people who are not aware, Gujarat has had history of riots before 2002. Based on Praful Bidwai’s logic, we should blame all previous Congress governments for those riots. The intended suggestion of Praful Bidwai may be that the Muslims present at the fast are not real Muslims and it shows in the way he likes to term them just as “skull-capped men and burq-clad women”. Probably that’s why he sees no meaning it their presence. For Hate Engineers any Muslim not willing to accept “victimhood” bestowed upon them by “sickulars” are not real Muslims. Remember Vastanvi incident?

“Modi didn't express remorse at the violence or signal moderation. He came through as an arrogant, duplicitous and hubris-driven politician bent on further humiliating Muslims. His fast wasn't about sadbhavana (goodwill or harmony), but about hyping himself up as a politician” Modi was clear that his fast is about “Sadhbhavana”. It is Hate Engineers who linked it to riots. Why would Modi express remorse for something he has been saying he is not guilty of? Let the courts decide.  And I fail to understand how the hell it becomes humiliating to Muslims if he goes on fast? This is the way Hate Engineers try to create “victim” syndrome and suggest “humiliation” and “insult” to Muslims. This is naked way of poisoning the Muslim readers with perceived “insult”.  I guess only Hate Engieers saw the arrogance in Modi which does not surprise me anyways.

“ He even belittled his former mentor L K Advani by making him sit in a smaller chair than his own at the venue of the fast, thus symbolically challenging conservative notions of hierarchy.”

Filled by hate towards Modi, Praful Bidwai finds hidden meanings in travail things. Was not Modi the one who was undertaking the fast and is he not the CM of the state? Why should Advani be given bigger chair? Oh sorry! I understand Mr Praful Bidwai. May be it is difficult for you to accept challenge to “conservative notions of hierarchy” due to your loyalty to a dynastic political party.

“However, the Supreme Court by no means exonerated Modi or the Special Investigation Team's report which holds that there is no prosecutable evidence against him and 61 others named by Jafri. Although the court sent the case to a trial court in Gujarat, it directed it to examine that report, as well as the comments made on it by amicus curiae (friend of the court) Raju Ramachandran, and to give the petitioners a hearing.”

One should focus on the word “prosecutable”. Praful Bidwai suggests though Modi is guilty, as per his earlier assertions in the article, there are no “prosecutable” evidences. This is an attempt to present Modi in media and public as “Guilty” and also part acceptance that Modi may come out clean in courts. Hence an attempt to brush aside any Judicial clean chit in future as just lack of “prosecutable” evidences. We already know that former IPS officer is alleging that Gujarat government destroyed the evidences.

“Of course, how the court acts within Gujarat's vitiated political climate remains an open question, but it cannot simply bury the case or accept a closure report without hearing the petitioners, and summoning witnesses if necessary.” Here comes the expected. This is the attempt to cast doubts on fairness of Trial Court should the court verdict go against Hate Engineers expectations. This is also suggesting to the readers that justice is doubtful in the state of Gujarat. Well hate mongers' definition of justice is– Hang Modi.

“Meanwhile, Modi's credibility has been further damaged by the disclosure by dancer-activist Mallika Sarabhai, based on an affidavit filed by former top police official R B Sreekumar, that his government tried to scuttle her writ petition for prosecuting him for the violence by paying a Rs 10-lakh bribe to her lawyer. This showed that the Modi regime could stoop to the rock bottom to suppress efforts to bring the culprits of the 2002 communal violence to book.”

This is half-truth. Praful Bidwai posted his article on 23^rd Sep 2011. But long before that, the lawyers had called Mallika Sarabhai as liar and denied any bribe was offered or taken. It serves good for Praful Bidwai not to mention this fact as it would put question mark on the credibility of Sarabai. The fake petitions of Teesta Stelvad have dented her credibility but Praful Bidwai would not acknowledge the level his “Brigade Brothers/Sisters” would stoop to in their hate towards Modi.  Sarabhai had option to go to court and accuse her lawyers. What stops her from taking the path of Judicial Process?

“Modi hasn't overcome even an iota of the stigma he earned by presiding over the anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002. It is of course utterly shameful that he hasn't been criminally prosecuted, and worse, even politically punished, for his role in falsely communalising the Godhra train fire, and systematically organising and colluding in the ensuing violence.” Praful Bidwai finally expresses his frustration. All “sickulars” have their own definition of “Justice”. Anything that does not satisfy their definition is by default wrong. “Sickulars” way of thinking is “my way or highway”. If a muslim supports Modi, he is not a muslim. If a court does not make Modi accused, court’s ability for fair trial is doubtful. Modi does not lose the elections, people live in fear. They fail to accept that the very facts that Modi has been elected by a democratic process by the people of Gujrat is itself the evidence that people have accepted him and rejected the lies spread by Hate Engineers. The fact that court has no evidences to make Modi as accused is itself evidence that Hate Engineers stand defeated.

But they will present it a shame and instill doubts in Muslim readers that they have been denied Justice.  These “sickulars” are greatest threat to India. There cannot be any better example of selective propagation of views as stated in my previous post other than the way Praful Bidwai makes a statement  - falsely communalizing the Godhra train fire. Excuse me Mr Bidwai, it was not just any other train fire. It was not accident. It was preplanned gruesome murder of 57 kar sevaks that included women and children. I suggest you update yourself on the reports on Godhra carnage. Secondly, what do you mean by “falsely communalizing?”. If a crowd of hundreds of Muslims with previously stored petrol cans and weapons burning a train coach full of Hindu kar sevaks is not communal, what else is? These are the same sikculars who call genocide of Kashmiri pandits as freedom fight and not communal. 

“Arguably, had the secular opposition, including the Congress's Sonia Gandhi, the Communist parties' Harkrishan Singh Surjit, Jyoti Basu and A B Bardhan, and centrist leaders like Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh Yadav and others, insisted on its dismissal through a sustained agitation, the NDA might have had no choice but to impose President's Rule.” Now we know what definition of secularism Praful Bidwai follows. We call it in our language as just appeasement politics.“His presence has been poisonous, not just in Gujarat. No one has brought as much international disrepute to India. No other Indian chief minister has been denied a visa in numerous countries for complicity in gross human right violations.”

Praful Bidwai again indulges in half truths.. But would Praful Bidwai care to tell the readers how much lobbying the “sickulars” did? Would he please let the readers know how false stories were planted in western media? While we are at it, does Praful Bidwai know that recent report on Modi by USA think tank? They do not agree that Modi was poisonous to Gujarat.

“The BJP could soon find that Modi, with his insufferable arrogance, megalomania and obnoxious ultra-individualism, is more a liability than an asset both for itself and its allies. It stands warned

Mr Praful Bidwai, I would like to thank you for providing this article so that I could present the modus operandi of Hate Engineers to spread half-truths, ill-conceived opinions as facts. The time for all the “sickulars” and “Hate Engineers” to pack their bags and shut down their shops is nearing as more and more people are realizing the crooked ways they operate in. Before it’s too late and they lose any bit of credibility left, they should express remorse. They stand warned.