BJP chief Amit Shah chargesheeted for alleged hate speech in Muzaffarnagar

In what may spell trouble for the ruling BJP, its national president Amit Shah was on Wednesday chargesheeted for a hate speech made by him in the run-up to the General Elections by the local police in Muzaffarnagar, which was hit by communal violence last year.

According to reports, the BJP chief has been booked by the UP police on the basis of a video clip of his alleged hate speech, which he delivered there in April.
Addressing a rally in Muzaffarnagar, Shah had reportedly said that "this election is about voting out the government that protects and gives compensation to those who killed Jats. It is about 'badla' (revenge) and protecting 'izzat' (honour)".
He was accompanied by BJP legislator Suresh Rana, who was an accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots in which over 60 people, mostly Muslims, had died, while thousands were rendered homeless.
Attacking Shah for his "provocative hate speech", several parties, including the Congress had complained to the Election Commission and sought action against him.

The Congress sought his arrest and asked the panel to ban him from campaigning for "creating animosity between communities" in western Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress party also demanded "stern action" against the BJP and Narendra Modi, including de-recognition of the party, for the alleged violation of the model code of conduct.
The party said Amit Shah committed an offence under section 125 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, which calls for the immediate registration of an FIR and his arrest.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also went to the poll panel, seeking action against the former Gujarat minister for spreading communal hatred.
A complaint to the poll panel and minorities commission was also filed by Delhi-based lawyer and activist Shehzad Poonawalla.

Arvind Kejriwal ups the ante, says in touch with Congress to stop BJP from forming govt in Delhi

 

Sharpening his attack on Bharatiya Janata Party, former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday dared the former to contest polls in Delhi.

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal slammed Lt Governor Najeeb Jung of favouring BJP. “The Lt Governor needs to revise his letter to the President and tell him that BJP shouldn't be invited to form government in Delhi after the sting,” the AAP chief said.

Kejriwal said that AAP will send a copy of the sting CD to President Pranab Mukherjee and appeal to him not to heed to Jung's advice. Kejrwial also said that AAP would expose many such wrongdoings by the BJP at an appropriate time.

While asking the BJP to contest polls, Kejriwal said, “Why is BJP afraid of contesting elections in Delhi when it has its own government at the Centre and also won all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital.”
The ex-Delhi CM said that his party would protest against BJP and show people the sting operation and make them see the double face of the party.

In a bid to checkmate BJP, AAP said it is in contact with Congress, JD(U) and some "honest" BJP legislators to prevent the saffron party from forming government in Delhi through "ill means".

Kejriwal claimed that the BJP was in touch with 15 AAP MLAs and he will come out with "more sting tapes if the need arises".

"I want to make it very clear that AAP is in touch with all the parties...With (independent MLA from Mundka) Rambeer Shokeen, (JDU MLA) Shoaib Iqbal, (expelled AAP MLA Vinod Kumar) Binny, the Congress and even some honest MLAs from the BJP.
"By saying this we make it clear that we are not aiming to form the government, but we want to stop the BJP from forming the government through dishonest means. We are in favour of elections," Kejriwal said.

Meanwhile, reacting to Kejriwal's comments, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that it is appalling and the AAP leader has always ridiculed constitutional posts.
Another BJP leader Delhi unit incharge Prabhat Jha said Kejriwal has an identity crisis and he is doing all this for media coverage.
The AAP on Monday released a video showing a BJP leader offering money to one of its legislators, inducing him to quit the Assembly to improve the BJP's chances of forming a government in Delhi.
The grainy video shot covertly shows Delhi unit vice-president Sher Singh Dagar making the bribe offer to AAP's Dinesh Mohaniya if he resigned so as to bring down the effective strength of the hung Delhi Assembly.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to apprise it by October 10 about the outcome of political process initiated by Lt Governor by writing a letter to the President on exploring the possibility of government formation in Delhi.
A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Justice HL Dattu, said that it is not going to keep this matter pending for a longer period of time and asked the Centre to inform it about the decision to be taken by the President of India on the LG's letter. The apex court granted four weeks time to the Centre and directed it to file its response by October 10.
Last week, Jung sent a report to President seeking permission to call the single largest party to take a shot at power though it is well short of majority in the Assembly.
In his report, Jung gave a detailed analysis of the political situation in the city and underlined the need to have an elected government in the city which is under President's rule since February 17 following resignation of the Aam Aadmi Party government which was in power for 49 days.
The Lt Governor said though no party has staked claim to form government in Delhi, the BJP could be invited to take the reins as it is the single largest party in the Assembly.

The apex court had earlier asked the Centre to take a decision on holding assembly elections in Delhi in response to the AAP's petition asking for the dissolution of the Assembly and fresh polls.
Both AAP and Congress have been demanding immediate dissolution of the Assembly, saying keeping it in suspended animation will encourage horse-trading.
In the 2012 Delhi polls, while BJP had won 31 seats in the 70-member house, AAP had won 28 seats and Congress managed to bag only 8.

BJP, the single party has 28 MLAs in a House of 70. Its ally Akali Dal has one MLA. BJP had won 31 seats but three party legislators Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma were elected to Lok Sabha and had to resign their Assembly seats.
Delhi has been under President's rule since February 17 following resignation of Arvind Kejriwal-led-AAP government which was in power for 49 days.
The government led by Kejriwal had resigned on February 14 after the party's pet project, the Janlokpal Bill, could not be passed due to opposition from BJP and Congress.
President's Rule was imposed in Delhi on February 17. The Lt Governor had not favoured dissolution of the Delhi Assembly as recommended by the Council of Ministers headed by Kejriwal and kept the Assembly in suspended animation.

Narendra Modi’s transition from CM to PM

A hundred days or a little over three months may be too less a time to judge how the prime minister of a billion plus people has fared and whether he has come good on the promises that he has made to his fellow countrymen. But that's not the case when it comes to the man who became the Prime Minister of India after leading his party to an unprecedented victory in General Elections on the promise of good governance and development.

And there is a reason for it. While he was on his extraordinary and energised campaign trial, cutting across length and breadth of the country, Modi promised hope to the people. Hope for jobs, reduction in prices, clean politics and eradication of corruption amongst other things. People who thronged to his rallies and who were fed up with 10 years of Congress-led UPA government’s rule marred by policy paralysis, rising inflation and numerous scams, believed in him and voted him to power.
And herein lies the test for Modi. In rallies after rallies he did promise the people of India that if voted to power he would make their states developed and progressive just like he had done in Gujarat, though not necessarily replicating the same model. And now that he is in power all eyes are on him to see whether he can walk the talk.

Gujarat may not be perfect state but it had an exceptional economic growth under Modi between 2004 and 2012 when the state grew at 10.1 percent, much more than the national average of 7.6 percent, even though it had shortcomings in public health and education and did not have a good record in areas like infant mortality rate and women's literacy. Gujarat also witnessed success in infrastructure, roads and electricity supply with schemes like Jyotigram Yojana.

Focus on investment and e-governance schemes, which is said to have cut red tape at the ground level, were also areas which Modi gave importance to. The speed with which the Tatas set up the Nano factory in Gujarat after the bitter experience in West Bengal is an example of this.

Now as PM, the question to be asked is whether Modi can replicate all of the above and more in Delhi. The answer as of now seems to be in the affirmative.

E-governance is as important to him now as was then and so is investment. Digital India project which was launched recently to ensure that government services are available to citizens electronically amongst other things and his emphasis on defence production in India, about which he talked on August 15, are indicative of these.

Modi was also known to work closely and directly with bureaucrats, with his ministers often not being in his scheme of things, when he was the chief minister. Many feel that his initial style of working in Delhi has already revealed that as the PM too he is more comfortable working directly with babus. The fact that bureaucrats have been encouraged to share their big ideas with him and the grapevine that his ministers are not allowed to keep even their private secretaries without his consent allude to this point.

Like in Gujarat, his priority as the PM seems to be structural reorientation and systematic change of the government. Cutting the flab of government machinery, merging smaller ministries and doing away with the Planning Commission all seem to be part of this agenda.

In his time in Gujarat, Modi was often dubbed as authoritarian and one who believed in the centralisation of power. In all likelihood, this is a streak that is likely to continue. The fact that he managed to successfully make his Man Friday Amit Shah the BJP president does show that he wanted total hold over the party, just like he had over the government.

There is another aspect of Modi which defined his persona as the CM of Gujarat and that was being hailed as a mascot of Hindutava by the so-called ‘parivar’. So when he became PM a certain section feared that India would go through ‘saffronisation’ of sorts. However, there has been no reason so far to believe that this will happen, but at the same time his silence on the assertions from RSS about what Hinduism is and who a Hindu has been questioned.

It will also be interesting to watch as to how the relationship between the RSS and Modi pans out. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat did tick him off recently when Modi hailed Shah as the man of the match of Lok sabha polls at the BJP national council meet.
Thus, there may be the reflection of CM Modi in PM Modi and that was something that was always going to be but the flip side of it is that he is also increasingly being seen as someone who is surprisingly and refreshingly different in many ways from what he was perceived to be when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

It is clear from his speeches and his posturing that as the prime minister of a billion plus people, Modi wants to strike the right chord. No more the belligerent and aggressive man witnessed during the General Elections campaign. Once Modi achieved what he had set out to achieve, the bitterness of the election campaign has gone and the man who was considered as divisive and polarising by his opponents was seen reaching out to his detractors and appearing conciliatory.

Right from his first speech in Parliament, where to the surprise of many, he showed an emotional side of his, to his first Independence Day address when he called himself a ‘pradhan sewak’, Modi has time and again underlined the point that he wants to take everyone along in his journey as PM and has often urged politicians cutting across party lines to close ranks and work for the collective good of the country.
He has talked about humility and the lessons that victory teaches. No wonder then, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor made the comment that the PM may have evolved into ‘Modi 2.0’ and wondered if the man was “a very different figure in government from the ogre some had feared and demonised for years”.

He has also been a busy man as far as foreign affairs are concerned. As the CM of Gujarat he was seen as a Pakistan baiter and even used terms like ‘Mian Musharaff’ during Assembly election campaigns. However, he surprised many when he invited heads of all SAARC nations for his swearing in ceremony and that included Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif.
And though he may have minced no words when he accused India’s neighbour of indulging in ‘proxy war’, it is clear from his repeated jargon of peace and friendship especially amongst South Asian nations that regional cooperation is important to his international strategy and he wants his presence felt at the world stage.

There is still a lot of time left in his tenure to pass a judgement on Modi’s performance as the Prime Minister but for now it can be safely said that when the present times are chronicled in history, the man amongst other things, will be surely written as someone who had an ability to surprise. It can also be said that while the path ahead for Modi may be fraught with challenges as he attempts to fulfil the assurances that he has given to millions of Indians; as of now he definitely seems to be enjoying being the PM of the world’s largest democracy, with the glory it brings.

Kumar Vishwas praises PM Narendra Modi, says ready to quit AAP if there is option

In a major embarrassment for the Aam AadmiParty's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is trying to woo voters in the poll-bound capital city, Kumar Vishwas on Tuesday openly praised Narendra Modi, saying that if “PM does well, I have the right to praise him.”      

Speaking to an English news channel on Tuesday, senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas said, "Narendra Modi is a comparatively better PM than Manmohan Singh."
Asked whether he finds Modi proactive, Vishwas said, "Yes definitely, the Modi government has come out of the policy paralysis of the previous government and doing a few things, but when it comes to delivering on promises like bringing back black money that has not happened..."
Further criticising Arvind Kejriwal's decision to quit as Chief Minister of Delhi, Vishwas added, "Not many discussions were held. We should have spoken to people about the decision." ​ Vishwas also admitted that AAP has behaved like a 'typical political party' at many instances in the past.
Asked about incidents, which he did not like personally, he said, "What was the need to throw stones at the BJP headquarters if your leader was attacked there (Gujarat). Whoever took that decision was wrong and whoever went there was wrong."

 

Talking about Modi's recent visit to Japan, Vishwas said, "The day Modi went to Japan, I tweeted that this is a welcome move." "He (Modi) has been made a PM, so we have to give him a chance," added Vishwas.

Praising PM Modi's recent visit to Kashmir, Vishwas added, "People in J&K felt like the PM is ours."
Further defending his decision to perform at an event in Surat to commemorate Narendra Modi's birthday, Vishwas said "It's a poetry session" and he has been participating in that event for years and does not find it strange to participate at an event honouring his "political rival". The AAP leader also confirmed that that he will perform at the event.
Narendra Modi's birthday is on September 17.
"I don't understand political rivalry. Modi is the Prime Minister of the country. He is standing on one end of politics and we on another. Today, if he is PM, then he is my PM, even if I have not voted for him. If he governs well, I will praise him and if he doesn't, I will criticise him," he added.
However, Vishwas ruled out the possibility of his joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. "I may come out of AAP but will definately not join BJP” Vishwas said.
The shocking statements made by Vishwas came at a time when AAP and BJP are in a big tussle to form government in Delhi. This has given fresh ammunitions to Congress.
Reacting sharply over Vishwas' comments, Congress said, “AAP leader Vishwas sending clear overtures to BJP that he is keen to join the party.”
 Earlier, on August 30, Vishwas had claimed that a BJP MP had offered that he would be made the Chief Minister of Delhi if he joined the party to help it form government.
"On August 19, a BJP MP, who happens to be a good friend, visited me along with other party leaders. During talks he made an offer that I switch to BJP and in return I would be made the Chief Minister and that the higher-ups were aware of the move,” Vishwas had said, PTI reported.

Al Qaeda forms India wing: IB issues alert, PMO briefed; authenticity of Zawahri's video not verified yet

In the wake of al Qaeda's announcement of the formation of a wing of the militant group in India and its neighbourhood, New Delhi on Thursday ordered several states to be on increased alert.
In a video posted online on Wednesday, al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahri promised to spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the "Indian subcontinent".
Home Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the intelligence agencies over the issue. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was present at the meeting.

Afterwards, Singh said the PMO has been briefed on the issue. He added that the authenticity of the video is still to be verified by the Intelligence Bureau.

However, a news agency quoted an official, who attended the security briefing in which the video was discussed with the Home Minister, as saying that the government believes it is authentic and has warned local governments. "This matter has been taken very seriously," the official told a news agency. "An alert has been sounded."

Until now there has been no evidence that al Qaeda has a presence in India.
The timing and content of the video suggests rivalry between al Qaeda and its more vigorous rival in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State, which anecdotal evidence suggests is gathering support in South Asia. According to media reports, Islamic State pamphlets have been distributed in Pakistan in recent days.
Zawahri`s announcement also made two references to Gujarat, the home state of new Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Notably, over 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, had died in Gujarat riots in 2002 when Modi was the state's chief minister.
Zawahri described the formation of "Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" as glad tidings for Muslims "in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir" and said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression.
Ahmedabad is the main city in Gujarat, which borders India`s arch-rival, Pakistan.
In Assam, religious tensions are high after massacres of Muslims by tribal populations in the past two years. A senior intelligence officer in the state said security forces there were "well prepared" to face any threats.
Kashmir is the disputed territory between India and Pakistan, and has long attracted foreign mujahideen fighters as well as home-grown separatist militants.
In June, al Qaeda had released a video urging young radicals in Kashmir to draw inspiration from militants in Syria and Iraq and join the "global jihad".
Intelligence sources in Kashmir told a news agency today that they had so far detected no traces of al Qaeda in the Himalayan region that borders Pakistan and China.
The appearance of Islamic State flags at recent protest rallies in Kashmir was the work of an individual and did not point to any involvement of the group there, one said.
In a 55-minute video posted online on Wednesday, Zawahri also renewed a longstanding vow of loyalty to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in an apparent snub to the Islamic State armed group challenging al Qaeda for leadership of transnational Islamist militancy.
Counter-terrorism experts say al Qaeda`s ageing leaders are struggling to compete for recruits with Islamic State, which has galvanised young followers around the world by carving out tracts of territory across the Iraq-Syria border.
Islamic State leader Abu Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calls himself a "caliph" or head of state and has demanded the loyalty of all Muslims.
The group fell out with Zawahri in 2013 over its expansion into Syria, where Baghdadi`s followers have carried out beheadings, crucifixions, and mass executions.
However, while al Qaeda is very much at home in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, due to influential contacts and a long presence there, it is a minnow compared to local militant groups in terms of manpower and regional knowledge.
Zawahri called for unity among militants and criticised "discord" - echoing a common al Qaeda complaint against Islamic State`s record of clashing with rival Islamist groups in Syria.
The statement also warned al Qaeda`s new wing against oppressing local populations - another complaint levelled against Islamic State by critics in Iraq and Syria.
"If you said that you are doing jihad to defend the sanctities of the Muslims, then you must not transgress against them or their money or honour, and not even transgress your mujahideen brothers by word and action," he said.
"Discord is a curse and torment, and disgrace for the believers and glory for the disbelievers," he said. "If you say that by your jihad you do not want but the pleasure of Allah, then you must not race for governance and leadership at the first opportunity."
Earlier this year, intelligence agencies had said that a handful of Indian men had joined the militancy in the Levant, among the first known cases of Indians joining foreign jihad.
Muslims account for 15 percent of Indians but, numbering an estimated 175 million, theirs is the third-largest Muslim population in the world.

BJP's Manoj Tiwari asked Kumar Vishwas to join BJP, offered him Delhi CM's post: AAP leader

 

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas has made serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party saying that a BJP MP asked him to join the party and help it win Delhi elections.
Vishwas, who lost the parliamentary elections from Amethi constituency made the startling claims while speaking to a leading newspaper.
The AAP leader, considered to be a close confidante of his party convenor Arvind Kejriwal said that a BJP MP had met him on May 19 at his residence and persuaded him to join the party. “The MP claimed he was meeting me at the behest of top BJP leaders and offered him the chief minister's post,” Vishwas said.
While speaking to ANI, Vishwas questioned BJP's reluctance to contest polls in Delhi, while the latter is ready for polls in Haryana and Maharashtra.
Surprisingly, the activist-turned politician refused to name the BJP politician citing personal relations.

 

Laying credentials to Vishwas' claims, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that BJP MP and Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari had met his party colleague on 19th May and said that if he could bring 18 MLAs along with him, the BJP will make him the CM.

Another AAP leader Somnath Bharti said whatever Vishwas is saying is true and accused the BJP of betraying the people with false promises.
Meanwhile, the BJP has reacted strongly to Vishwas' claims. Party MP Satish Upadhyay said, it seems Kejriwal has written a new script for Vishwas and dared him to reveal the name of the BJP leader who approached him.
Congress has also ridiculed Vishwas assertions and said AAP leaders are making such allegations to stay politically relevant. Party leader Barkha Shukla accused AAP members of being greedy for power.
Delhi has been under the President's rule since February 17 this year after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal resigned as the Chief Minister in protest against the Lieutenant Governor's refusal to allow the introduction of the 'Janlokpal Bill' in the Assembly.
The Supreme Court had earlier this month asked the Centre to take a decision on holding the Delhi Assembly elections following a petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party asking for the dissolution of the Assembly and fresh polls.