AAP and me

Addiction to twitter has kept me away from this space that I so loved. This was where I used to pen my thoughts which would seldom fit within 140 words. Twitter is different; there is more cacophony. It is easy to lose yourself in it if one is not careful. Anyway, here I am once more with no guarantee that I shall return soon!


The success of AAP has many implications/conclusions in our so called democratic nation. Thought I would pen down few that came to my mind after the not so bad victory of the Aam Aadmy party.


1- It proves beyond doubt that democracy is still alive and can function well within the existing frameworks. Compare this to nations where people have given up voting due to various reasons.

2- For poll victory, the nation need not have a party claiming years of experience or certain ideologies.

3- That the nation is thirsting for a drastic change which the current political parties may not suffice or they fail to give such a hope to the voter.

4- That each citizen craves for clean governance and nothing more.


Arvind Kejrival's speech echoes the thoughts that goes through the mind of every well meaning citizen. Do listen to it without prejudice. His Delhi Assembly speech has been compiled here: Know 42 Facts from Arvind Kejriwal Speech in Delhi Assembly.


It is a fact that the victory of AAP has disturbed the Congress, BJP and the Communist party. It was amusing to see the Communist party trying to claim AAP as one of their own while the media did the same for Congress and mainly Rahul! BJP at least showed the sense not to do so knowing well that it will not be bought.

The commentary said that the virtues that AAP claims for itself - a clean image, incorruptibility, denial of perks and privileges of power and funding based on people's contributions - “are all part of the style and practice of the communists from the outset”.Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/aap-is-like-left-but-it-must-reveal-its-economic-policies-karat-1319547.html?utm_source=ref_article

http://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rahul-gandhi-the-arvind-kejriwal-of-congress-tries-to-inject-aam-aadmi-blood-into-a-decrepit-party/articleshow/msid-27370665.cmsRahul is talking about "transformation" of "traditional" politics, "embedding" people's voice in the party and pushing "aggressively" for change of the kind we "cannot imagine" whereas Sonia is happy to "rectify" the party's "mistakes" and "way of functioning". If that is not political maturity let's have some more of Rahul's political naivete because soon all political parties will be forced to respond to the challenge called Arvind Kejriwal. The Congress is lucky. It will not have to work too hard because Rahul is their Kejriwal, the outlier within.

But a skeptic I am, let me wait and watch how AAP will govern now that power is in their hands. They may not sound realistic at times and may even falter under pressure since the old dogs in the system will be up to their usual tricks. But if the intentions of AAP is right, then I see no reason why it should not succeed. The voters may not be hoping for utopia but they will sense very quickly if there is even a hint of  insincerity.

And if it does not succeed, let me at least hope that it will change the current political parties in the way they function. Maybe even a kill a few in the process!

Conflict of Interest

Why did one have to wait so long to know that Mukesh Ambani is one amongst the list of black money dealers?

Guess it is conflict of interest and this afflicts not just the major parties: Congress and BJP but the media and even the voters!

One can understand the reluctance of the Congress since the list would have contained their favourites, but why did the BJP not make it public? Did they not have an access to it?

I remember how only 6 names were offered to be revealed and the promise that the rest would be revealed once a case is registered. I did wonder in my blog how they selected the 6!

http://under-the-tree-of-tranquility.blogspot.com/2011/04/now-you-may-have-6.html

Yesterday, the government has offered to reveal 6 names, while they have yet again given the same old excuse for not revealing the rest.

The Centre has assured the Supreme Court that it would reveal the names of persons who have stashed black money in foreign banks after registering a formal case against them.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, appearing before a bench headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy, said the government has issued show cause notices against the persons accused of having black money in foreign banks and once a case is registered against them, their names will be made public.

In case of the media, Reliance now has its own media mouth. All they have to do is either twist the facts or suppress the facts. Not that other national media is devoid of corporate or party interests.

http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article2772487.ece
Reliance makes a major foray into media sector

Reliance Industries, India's biggest listed company, is expanding its footprint in the media sector, with a major investment in the TV18 group which will effectively fund a consolidation with the Eenadu TV media group.

In return, the Reliance will get preferential access to content from TV18, which runs television channels and websites including CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18 and Colors. This content can then be distributed through Reliance subsidiary firm Infotel, which is setting up a 4G wireless broadband network across the country.

With Tuesday's deal, the Reliance, controlled by billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani, will have a major stake in a cross-media enterprise, spanning digital divides to encompass print publications, news and entertainment broadcasting, consumer Internet, film production and e-commerce.

As for the voters, at least a major chunk of the middle class is heavily invested with Reliance and its likes. I am sure most of them were painfully looking at the stock market when Arwind Kejriwal made the expose twice. If there is someone looting, one might as well share the loot!

But to BJP’s credit, it did make an attempt to give more attention to the black money. In fact Adwani promised the voters that if BJP comes to power at the center, they will pursue the same seriously. But unfortunately the voters did not take BJP seriously. Or was there a vote rigging. These days one is not sure of anything!

http://under-the-tree-of-tranquility.blogspot.com/2009/04/vote-for-bjp.html
Why am I saying that?

Did it suddenly dawn on me that BJP is better than Congress? (2 main National parties).
Frankly speaking it hasn’t. Sitting far away from the election heat and die hard voters who may influence my opinion, it was easy to watch both parties impartially. And none of them scored better until I picked up just this from Adwani.

"If NDA returns to power then we’ll force Indian citizens to bring back their wealth to India and use the money here.”

 Even before Kejriwal’s revelation, reliance was already under scanner but nothing further happened.

http://under-the-tree-of-tranquility.blogspot.com/2011/06/cost-of-being-richest.html

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has come down hard on Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), suggesting the company grossly overstated its development costs in India's largest gas field, possibly causing "significant" financial losses to the exchequer.

As the production-sharing contract involves profit-sharing with the government, a higher capital expenditure results in the profit being lower for the government than it would be otherwise, which the CAG has explained in its 200-page June 7 report to the petroleum ministry.
The CAG report has revealed severe irregularities and violations on part of private operators and government departments and ministries.

And now the government is seriously trying to gag the CAG!

New Delhi, November 11: Battered by various CAG reports on alleged scams, government says it is "actively" considering a proposal to make the official auditor a multi-member body. Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy says Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has become "more impatient" and he wants that all constitutional bodies to work within their parameters. "It (making CAG a multi-member body) is under active consideration. The government is actively considering it," he told PTI in an interview.

Will this conflict of interest ever be resolved? I think not in a democracy!

Vote for BJP!

Why am I saying that?

Did it suddenly dawn on me that BJP is better than Congress? (2 main National parties).

Frankly speaking it hasn’t. Sitting far away from the election heat and die hard voters who may influence my opinion, it was easy to watch both parties impartially. And none of them scored better until I picked up just this from Adwani.

"If NDA returns to power then we’ll force Indian citizens to bring back their wealth to India and use the money here.”

Earlier I did read email forwards on this “Swiss money” but kept wondering if it could be really true. But then the cynic in me told that every political party and their benefactors would have their share. If money can be so easily stashed away by ruling parties then BJP just did not have enough time to siphon it!

But now they have a chance to prove that they are different. If this is not just an election rhetoric and if Advani really has the nation’s interest at heart then he needs to keep no other promise. This money is more than enough to take India on the onward road to glory that it truly deserves.

And today I read this article from S Gurumurthy. His articles have always been thought provoking and at times provocative too. But then truth sometimes hurts.


Secret wealth abroad

02 Apr 2009 08:11:30 AM IST

Switzerland has been accused of giving shelter to black money and there has been a lot of inflow of such wealth from India and other countries of the world.” This is not L K Advani, on election mode, speaking last Sunday, but the Swiss ambassador to India briefing the media in Delhi last year.


The occasion was the 60th anniversary of Indo-Swiss Friendship Treaty. Admitting that Indian black money gets hoarded in his country, he added that the new law in Switzerland would, not stop it, but control it “up to a certain limit”.