"Don't Worry, Relax"! Rahul G Understands Terror

"I understand terrorism... it has killed my father, my grandmother. I am no stranger to it." That’s what Rahul Gandhi stated at Gorakhpur on July 21 as reported by NDTV.

I must admit when Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister I was a big admirer of his. His “clean” image held out a great promise. All that came to nothing when he first killed the SC’s Shah Bano judgement and then Bofors brought him down. Bofors coupled with the Italian connections in the background brought Rajiv down. Rajiv’s Italian connections destroyed him through Bofors. Now the Italian connection is destroying India itself. In contrast Rahul Gandhi, at an older age, neither comes across as “clean” nor half as bright as his father. I do recall the funeral of Rajiv Gandhi and watching Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul, I had nothing but sympathy for them apart from the anger at seeing a former and would-be PM being assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber. The killing of Indira Gandhi was worse because I saw it as an attack on our nation. She was in office and was killed by people she trusted her life with, her own bodyguards. In both cases these were highly protected individuals unlike the helpless and unprotected innocent ones who are slaughtered in terrorist attacks. Can you tell the difference, RG?

So I can sense Rahul Gandhi’s loss. It’s our nation’s loss too. But does that mean he really understands terrorism? For a start there are certain features to terrorism that are different from pre-meditated murder of a person or targeted assassination of a political leader. Can RG tell the difference? In case of Indira Gandhi the Sikh bodyguards were kept on despite advice to the contrary by security heads. Indira, as a right-thinking PM, didn’t discriminate against the Sikh guards. Rajiv Gandhi, despite advice from his security personnel, allowed the lone suicide bomber to get close and kneel in front of him out of respect. The outcome was a national tragedy. Lately, is Rahul Gandhi not accused of flouting security norms frequently? In both cases the incidents are different from “terrorism” as we know it. Someone should tell Rahul Gandhi that.

Anyway, RG has done a discover India tour but it doesn’t look like he reads too much or understands history. That is why I doubt he really understands anything other than making populist statements or tutored statements, let alone understand something as complex and serious as terrorism.

I wonder if Rahul Gandhi has ever read the Jain Commission report. This commission was set up to inquire into the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The inquiry was started in 1991 and the report submitted in 1997. Some of its contents reported in November 1997 by India Today, here and here, may help in educating Rahul Gandhi. Here are some excerpts from India Today (in blue):

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and his DMK responsible for abetting Rajiv Gandhi's murderers. Also blamed are two former prime ministers, V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar, for their laxity in assessing the threat to Rajiv

The report has made uncharitable remarks about Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, criticising him for supping with the devil in the cause of political expediency.

The report is replete with examples of the DMK's proximity to the leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), whose cadres killed Rajiv…..

"They (LTTE) sent personal emissaries to Karunanidhi for seeking his active support in their battle against the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). These overtures of the LTTE towards the DMK started a chain of events which led to LTTE's survival and growth in Tamil Nadu even after the attitude of the Government of India had changed towards the LTTE after the hostilities between the IPKF and LTTE in Sri Lanka.'' The Jain report also concludes that the LTTE "was getting its supplies, including arms, ammunition, explosives, fuel and other essential items for its war against the IPKF from Tamil Nadu.

The report emphasises the political antagonism between the DMK government in the state and the Rajiv Gandhi government at the Centre. Karunanidhi took over as chief minister in January 1989 after his party's decisive victory over the Congress and the AIADMK. According to the report, 1989 signified "the perpetuation of the general political trend of indulging the Tamil militants on Indian soil and tolerance of their wide-ranging criminal and anti-national activities ... LTTE activities of arms smuggling, abduction of Indian citizens and officials and intimidation of the law enforcement machinery were tolerated". Citing the brutal murder of EPRLF leader K. Padmanabha, along with 15 others in Madras on June 19, 1990, Jain has resurrected memories of "the impunity with which the LTTE could operate in India"

For example, Kasi Anandan, a senior member of the 10-member central committee of the LTTE's political wing, admitted in his deposition on September 11, 1996, that "the LTTE had very friendly relations with Karunanidhi. In the days of Karunanidhi as CM, movement of LTTE was more free. Local administration was also friendly in Tamil Nadu"

The evidence against the Karunanidhi Government appears to be quite damning, particularly since the commission has been rather dismissive of the DMK's protestations of innocence. Deposing before the commission on January 17 this year, Karunanidhi asserted: "I had supported the LTTE along with other parties, but after the murder of Padmanabha, I withdrew my support." Jain is, however, disinclined to accept this denial: "It cannot be found that after June 19, 1990, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu gave no support to the LTTE."

Given Sonia Gandhi's divine status in the party, it is certain Congressmen will delight in competitive DMK-bashing, if only to impress 10 Janpath. There is the possibility that G.K. Moopanar's Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) will see the report as an excuse to detach itself from the DMK. Even so, the TMC will have to suffer the embarrassment of Jain's strictures against Chidambaram.

It may be stated that Chidambaram was there in the government of P.V. Narasimha Rao and besides that, he was also given additional charge relating to matters connected with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi ... It was expected from P. Chidambaram that he would place all material and adduce all ... evidence with regard to the facts and accusations mentioned and levelled by him in his speech ... on 25.2.1991 ... Why he did not choose to act, is best known to him.

Congress functionaries, including the local Lok Sabha candidate Maragatham Chandrashekhar, had, said Verma, been party to a security lapse. The Congress workers "exhibited a total lack of awareness of their obligation to co-operate with the police force ... and their intransigence created impediments in effective access control, necessary for Rajiv's security". The Congress ignored recommendations to initiate disciplinary action against them.

It’s a pretty damning report against the DMK and also against P. Chidambaram. What is amazing is that the report suggests that the then DMK government had actually supported LTTE against our own forces (IPKF). Now, the same DMK is a coalition partner with Congress. The very same P. Chidambaram is the Home Minister. How do you explain that Rahul Gandhi? Understanding terror also requires a strong principled policy and stand against it. In the case of Rajiv Gandhi, despite the Jain Commission report,  not a single person from DMK or any other political LTTE-sympathiser has been prosecuted. Thirteen years later the DMK as Congress partner was rewarded with key ministries. The outcome? Outrageous loot of the nation through various scams, particularly in the telecom sector. Well, shall we say “coalition compulsions” can wipe out even the deadliest sins?

So by all evidence RG not only doesn’t really understand terrorism but the report at NDTV further states:  The Congress General Secretary referred to December 1999 when the BJP was in power and freed three terrorists in exchange for 178 passengers who had been taken hostage on flight IC-814 from Kathmandu to Delhi. Among those released from prison was Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Mazood Azhar. "They released the terrorists. With folded hands, they freed the biggest terrorists in our prison……That man then went on to plan 26/11. And these people are trying to teach us about how to tackle terrorism. We don't bow down before anyone." Well, someone has to tell RG that the more he opens his mouth the more ignorance he displays. The 26/11 attacks are attributed to LeT and other individuals and not the ones released in 1999. But never mind that, there is something more important.

I would like to hear from Rahul Gandhi, or any Congress member who keep harping on the Kandahar issue, what exactly he would have done if he were PM and were handling the Kandahar hijack. If RG really comes up with an answer to that question then it would reflect his policy thinking on terrorism and show us how much he really understands terrorism. You never know, given our "intelligence", it could happen all over again. Of course, our friendly-fire media, will never ask RG that question. Till then we will have to contend with the bullshit of “intelligence” by the Home Minister, RG’s crap about “99%”  and using Kandahar as a defence and excuse for an absence of policy or action on prevention of terrorism. Innocent men, women and children being killed through acts of terrorism are quite different from targeted political assassinations.

The security personnel around Rajiv Gandhi advised him against allowing that LTTE woman close to garland him. Rajiv’s famous last words were “Don’t worry, relax”! He paid with his life for it. Now his son is saying he “understands” terror almost telling the whole nation don’t worry, relax!

Sunetra Choudhury & NDTV's Honour

In January 2011 NDTV carried a recruitment ad in newspapers - Train with the best. The line below the picture reads: "Train with those who have made the news for 22 years. Enroll as an apprentice with the NDTV Broadcast Training Programme."

Train with the best! The more I think of that line it makes me laugh and wonder if there are any journalistic principles left at NDTV at all. What does one say of a TV channel one of whose prominent journalists goes around writing articles in some newspaper grieving over her experience at the hands of a UPA politician who seems to have insulted her modesty with sexual comments.  I am not one to dictate what NDTV should report but ideally a report on the issue should have read like this from NDTV itself:

“NDTV is shocked to report the behaviour of UPA’s Mr. Perv who had the audacity to insult the modesty of one its female journalists with sexual comments. We consider this behaviour outrageous and have filed a complaint with the NCW and the Ministry of I&B and have demanded strong action. We choose not to disclose the name of the journalist to protect her privacy and self-respect but will not rest till this politician is arrested and prosecuted. We would like viewers to know that this politician has a history of such behaviour and it’s time to put such people out of business”. But sorry, that was never heard on that channel.

Instead, Sunetra Choudhury, the NDTV journalist involved in the incident had to write an article in DNA (July 10) newspaper about her plight called  “Pervy Politician needs to get his act together”. One can sympathise with her plight but once again it is the victim whose identity is in the open while the offender remains shrouded in secrecy and open to guess work. Not that it requires too much of smart guess work either. Prior to the DNA article she had already tweeted about her long wait to meet this politician and how the babus around were busy watching Rakhee Sawant on TV. The article received some tweets and comments in response and Choudhury went on leave. But here’s an interesting excerpt from her article:

“Now, unlike many other journalists, I am not on back-slapping terms with any politician, least of all this one. I had heard that this one liked the ladies, but had never experienced his glad eye. I don’t know whether I was too focussed on getting my interview, or whether I was so relieved that I wouldn’t have to hear my editor banging on about not getting it, that I actually laughed at this comment, noticing in the midst of this giggle, that my colleague’s eyebrows had touched his receding hairline. I got my interview and was also regaled by the pervy politician’s other stories — how he would go to an unsavoury politician’s party because he got lots of women to show their legs and cleavage, how some woman danced the kamasutra dance for him and other lascivious tales…”

I have to assume that Barkha Dutt, as group editor of NDTV, would be Sunetra’s boss. Sort of explains the relief she talks about. Next, read the line closely where she says “unlike many other journalists, I am not on back-slapping terms with any politician”. There’s your probable reason why neither NDTV nor any other prominent journalist has stood up for her or backed her to have the culprit named and punished. I have good reason to believe that the line also talks about journalistic culture at NDTV since Sunetra would clearly know more about the equations of her own peers at NDTV with politicians rather than other journalists at other channels. I am sure if Sunetra reads this line of hers again she will realise she has unwittingly exposed most media celebrities and the doctored news they peddle or how they crawl up to their political bosses. Her article seems to contain a few hints that could identify the offender.

She further writes about another colleague of hers:  “Isn’t that why my colleague was stalked with text messages from a cabinet minister and still felt hesitant to complain?” And yes, in case you forgot NDTV’s tagline, it is “Experience Truth, first”

In contrast Sunetra’s boss, Barkha, couldn’t stomach even strong and fair criticism by a blogger. (“Shoddy Journalism” by Chaitanya Kunte on Barkha Dutt’s 26/11 coverage). NDTV initiated legal action against the blogger to pull that article and render an apology. Again, when Radiagate broke with Barkha Dutt accused of involvement in power-broking she and NDTV threatened “appropriate action” against Manu Joseph’s Open magazine. Ever since it has been downhill for NDTV and I am surprised this channel even survives. I believe any other journalist in Barkha’s place would have been fired. Train with the best! Indeed!

People were just about starting to get past the incident when Sunetra Choudhury put out another article after two weeks in DNA (July 24). This time it is some sort of justification for “Why I did not name ‘Mr Pervy Politician”. But though she’s a victim the points in her second article make sorry reading. She may have had many responses from people but her justification seems somewhat unjustified. Here are some points she makes:

“I realised from the overwhelming response how it wasn’t about me but about lakhs of people who form half of our workforce…” For a start, I don’t think many of those lakhs of people are really in as powerful a position as a journalist from a TV channel is. I doubt DNA or any other newspaper would give those people an inch to write about their experience.  I am a bit surprised Sunetra cannot see this difference. There is a reason those lakhs of people are expecting a different response from her.

“I didn’t know how to tell all of them that this ‘Pervy Politician’ was just one of the many I had encountered, and so I felt it was a bit unfair that I should out just him. I didn’t know how to tell them that some of the others had been much worse, and I was lucky that I didn’t feel too scarred by any of them, but I knew many women who probably were, and didn’t have the space to express themselves..” That doesn’t seem to be sound logic. That it would be unfair to previous offenders she had encountered if she had outed this man. Go ahead, out them all. Furthermore, it hardly does anything for the many other women who she implies were ‘scarred’ by such experiences. And the worst part is, it also clearly indicates that this wasn’t her first experience and she has suffered this silently all this while. Here’s the dangerous part – by logic and implication it also indicates that she may take future incidents of this nature in her stride too. Why is NDTV silent on all of this? Is this some private matter of their journalist and not something she encountered in her line of duty?

Sunetra then talks about a sexual harassment panel for such experiences. “My organisation does have one of those, as a matter of fact, and it is a fairly active panel as well…..I just want to point out that I didn’t even take this ‘Pervy Politician’ issue to my editors and they would have read about it like everybody else did. I wasn’t hiding anything, it’s just that, at the time, I was too busy doing my work to report anything else”. These are really stunning revelations. NDTV has a sexual harassment panel but she couldn’t or didn’t take it up with them? And that her editors would have heard of the incident just like everybody else from her DNA article? What is amazing is that for an incident that rankles so much she even says she was too busy doing her work to report anything else. Well, if a few days later if it was worth taking up and writing in DNA why not take it up with the NDTV panel as well?

Alright, she says she didn’t take it up with her editors. Well, after her first article on July 10 did her editors call her and ask her about the incident? Did they say they are going to take some action? One can safely presume there might have been a discussion on it between NDTV and Sunetra. My expectations of NDTV are very low, but surely, even at NDTV editors can’t be that dumb to notice a sensational article by one of their journalists and simply not even talk about it. Was that the case? She says even politicians called her and offered help. Nobody from NDTV or the NDTV sexual harassment panel called up? Surely, if not the name of the offender, Sunetra must reveal how her organisation responded. Else this saga of working in one media outlet and complaining in another can be seen from many different angles.

Sunetra doesn’t want to name the offender but at the end of the article she leaves you with what looks like another hint: “I should mention that I’m probably going to be bumping into the perv soon. It’s inevitable with me being a political journalist, isn’t it? There’s a planned public event where he’s slotted to appear and I admit, that there’s a part of me that’s very scared about meeting him again. But then I remind myself, I have done nothing wrong and if anything, it’s the perv who should be hiding, not me”. Well, if that perv is going about public events like a routine it doesn’t seem like he’s hiding or even about to hide. Sunetra is currently on holiday since her first article in DNA. If and when she returns let’s see what happens to this whole episode. If she is scared of meeting this politician again as she has stated it is clearly time NDTV realised what they are putting their journalist through.

And what can I say about NDTV? Train with the best? Experience truth, first? Perversion of truth? In her latest article on Hindustan Times website Barkha Dutt quotes The Gita line “dishonour is worse than death”! NDTV should know all about dishonour, I suppose.

Fai-re Fighting - Padgaonkar Must Go

The names of many people who attended various conferences of ISI backed Ghulam Nabi Fai are now coming out in bits and pieces. Frankly, it is not a crime or sin to have attended Fai’s conferences. We have been having conferences with seditious speeches right in the heart of Delhi. Most of these prominent personalities have claimed not to have known Fai’s ISI links when they accepted his invitations on sponsored trips to these conferences. However, the writings and statements of some of the participants in the public domain will now come under scrutiny. If, for some reason, the FBI has managed to nail him only now it is obvious Fai wouldn’t go around advertising his real sponsors. At the same time it is just as hard to believe that these participants were naïve enough to not know Fai’s anti-India position on the Kashmir issue. Fai had also selected Indians whose views matched or supported his agenda in some ways. It is also strange that seasoned journalists and others who were in the Fai network never ever wondered how he got his funding and never bothered to ask. There is one particular journalist who was a participant and is currently playing an important role in the Kashmir issue: Dileep Padgaonkar.

"We are here to look for a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue...but a permanent solution is not possible without the involvement of Pakistan." That was the statement Dileep Padgaonkar made immediately after being appointed interlocutor for Kashmir. That statement had created quite some controversy but it will now be viewed in the light of the Fai revelations. From reports it also appears that his Fai connection has created some unease among other interlocutors.

It is worth reading the excerpt below from a news article:

“Fai, by contrast, was quiet, conservative, but well-heeled, which was bit of a mystery because he was not technically employed by the Pakistani government or its embassy (we know only now from the FBI that he was bankrolled by ISI through phony Pakistani-American donations)…….. He was a pleasant man, but he had shady written all over him.

I had a just one encounter with Fai early on, and it did not go well. He lectured me on Kashmiri history and hectored me on the atrocities by Indian forces. With collegiate insouciance, I told him I've much to learn about the history of Kashmir, but he could start by telling me origin of the name Kashmir and Srinagar. He got the point, turned red in the face, changed the subject, and collared me on the plebiscite issue. I asked if he thought Pakistan would abide by the terms of the UN Resolution (which required withdrawal of its forces from PoK and allowed India to keep minimum number of troops to maintain order). And would Pakistan be able to get back the areas of Kashmir it had ceded to China? And how about restoring the demographics of that time (ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri pundits was already underway), not to speak of the relative harmony that existed at that time? I was never invited to another Fai event…….I don't particularly share the current lynch mob perspective in India over the dozen or so eminence grise from India who attended Fai's gigs, and perhaps enjoyed his hospitality. You had to be daft not to realize that he peddled the Pakistani line on the Kashmir issue but it would have required extraordinary acuity to discern he was an ISI stooge.”

That was Chidanand Rajghatta writing in the Times of India. Rajghatta writes for the same journal that DP once headed as editor. Now, if he could sense something shady about Fai in one single encounter surely people like Padgaonkar aren’t so dumb as to not see something fishy about the guy.

There are other reports that the Indian foreign office was aware of Fai’s ISI connections for two decades now. Strange that many of the Indians who participated in his programs would have never spoken to the foreign office or the Indian embassy in the US. Prior to his emails it seems he used to send out hate-filled faxes and the Indian embassy in Washington had coined the term ‘fax-terrorism’ for him. Sounds funnier when you learn he was arrested in Fairfax, Virginia.

There are others like Rajinder Sachar, former judge and ‘Sachar Committee’ author of the ‘minority muslims’ report. Clearly, that report will now be suspect and for good reasons too. One of the best defences of the Fai connections came from Gautam Navlakha. On being asked about the junkets sponsored by Fai, Navlakha clarified that the travel was not by ‘business’ class but by ‘economy’ class. A long term enemy without cannot succeed much if we do not have enemies within. It is often referred to as ‘The fifth column’. Knowingly or unknowingly some Indians have indeed played the role of the fifth column. Some of Fai’s Indians may also have been paid for their speeches. Time will tell.

Padgaonkar’s utterances immediately on taking over as Kashmir interlocutor were already suspect. The Fai revelations have only added fuel to speculation about his “usefulness”! Given these events his position as an interlocutor in Kashmir is untenable. Padgaonkar must quit that post immediately.

The Gita - Modi Untouchable, Let's Get Yeddy!

Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who headed the Manhattan Project that created the Atomic Bomb, kept the Bhagwad Gita by his side throughout the project. On being asked if this was the first ever atomic explosion he had replied “Yes, in modern times”. His response was interpreted to suggest that such a test may have been already carried out in Vedic times. Following the test he remarked later that he was reminded of Krishna’s words to Arjun to take up the just war: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of the worlds”. In a figurative sense the secularists will use that line against Hindus themselves. And they have willing partners too. You don’t need to do a google search to find the identity of these ‘useful idiots’. They are all around you.

Not surprisingly, many early westerners who trashed Hindu culture eventually embraced the profound spirit and wisdom that the Bhagwad Gita enshrines. Even modern day scientists, like the late astronomer Carl Sagan, have found inspiration, truth and scientific accuracy in the Vedas. Philosophers through the centuries relied on the Gita for inspiration and solace. It is only in modern day India that those who call themselves ‘secular’ find a volcano of joy in trashing Hinduism and dragging this spiritual guide into an avoidable cacophony of controversies. Yes, I am referring to the Karnataka (non)controversy of teaching Gita in schools.

Who else to lead the brigade against the Karnataka government but NDTV, with its secular cheerleader Barkha Dutt? She, who has come to unwittingly represent the worst of Indian news media. Creating a controversy where there was none. All this because some minister’s statements which supported teaching of the Gita in schools. Before you could say ‘Allah’ there were reports all over that a circular has been issued by the Karnataka government to mandate teaching of the Gita in schools. I am yet to see the actual circular or the actual text of it. Christians and Muslims in the public responded with righteous anger but why should the news media fuel the nonsense? Well, don’t be misled by the media’s Gita delusions. The blog Offstumped has pretty much chronicled it neatly and I don’t find the need to repeat. It would be fair to say that in the current context of Indian politics and media ‘Secularism’ means and must involve Hinduism-bashing. It is not an untruth to state that Christianity, Islam, Judaism are foreign religions. India has absorbed these as her own and we should be proud of our culture of absorbing other religions and cultures. But this is not about religion or about the Bhagwad Gita.

The plan is much bigger than that. It’s a secular strategy.

For almost a decade the Congress and other ‘secular’ parties along with media channels like NDTV, CNN-IBN, Star News and many more have tried to demonise Narendra Modi. To destroy him politically. To join this gang of secular brigade there were those from the Scotch circuit and so-called humanitarians and activists. You will lately find some of these humanitarians on the invite list of Ghulam Nabi Fai. They called him a mass murderer, threw fictitious affidavits at him, produced false stories and even outright lies. Didn’t work! They called him fascist, compared him to Hitler, tarnished those who associated with him. Didn’t work! Anyone praising Modi was a lamb ready for slaughter. Remember Amitabh Bachchan? Remember Ghulam Vastanvi? Remember Anna Hazare? Watch out, soon Narayana Murthy who has accepted an assignment in Gujarat will be consigned to the trash bin. Murthy’s career which has been praised and has been an inspiration to many will now be peppered with controversies, accusations of corruption, nepotism and a lot more. The secular dirty tricks department will be activated to throw mud at Murthy. He better watch out. But none in the ‘secular’ spectrum, not even gutter-mouth Digvijay Singh has been able to bring down Narendra Modi. He has simply proved to be untouchable!

So, what do we do now? Ever since the unmasking of Digvijay Singh by a saffron-clad Uma Bharati he has gone colour-blind. He has tried every trick to tarnish the RSS, BJP and through that Hindus themselves. The Congress, Sonia Gandhi, the media collectively failed to poison the minds of Gujaratis against Narendra Modi. NaMo could not be accused of corruption, of nepotism or of non-performance. In contrast, B.S. Yedyurappa, CM of Karnataka presents a much easier target. From the governor Bharadwaj to the Congress to the media there has been a consistent and concerted orchestration of mud-slinging and skulduggery. CNN-IBN has already accused him of corruption in the mining scandal when the Lokayukta has simply asked the CM should be probed for involvement in mining contracts. In contrast you won’t find much noise about Shiela Dikshit’s indictment by the Delhi Lokayukta. Previously the JD (Secular) and Congress connived to bring down the BJP led government in Karnataka. To their utter shock and dismay the people voted the BJP back to power with a clear majority.

Unlike Modi, Yedyurappa has a large family and the temptation to dish out favours will always exist. And, yes, he must be probed and if corruption is established he must be removed. But the manner in which he and his government or ministers are being loudly discussed on TV channels indicate only one thing. He is a safer and easier target when compared to Narendra Modi. And the other threat is that the BJP is increasingly becoming popular in Karnataka if one were to go by the results of the last few by-elections. For the secular brigade that is the serious threat that must be averted at any cost. Even if it takes dragging the Bhagwad Gita into it.

If all that is not enough, target some Hindu activists and leaders in terror cases and equate them with Al-Qaeeda and LeT. Drag the Shakaracharya and file murder cases against him. Enter temples with impunity. Attempt to seize the wealth of temples. You go figure.

To a smaller extent the media has already started raising volumes over the BJP CM of Uttarakhand on mining scandals. But Karnataka is always a bigger catch and therefore higher the temptation to bring down the BJP government there. The Gita controversy should be viewed in the light of that effort and not as a religion issue. Imagine the kind of gains the secular brigade would make if Muslims and Christians are told about the threat that their religion is in danger under a BJP government. And the ever willing NDTV is always there to expand the discourse on the threat to minorities. Tempting, isn’t it? The JD(S), the Congress and the media have only stopped short of saying “Islam is under threat” or “Christianity is under threat”! But make no mistake, that is exactly what they wish to imply.

They aren’t done yet. The job is to manufacture hate and outrage against BJP governments. It’s not finished yet. Await more mud-slinging. Yes, Narendra Modi has proved to be untouchable. Let’s get Yeddy!