Fly on the wall July 22 |Secret of Modi-Pawar bonhomie

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Secret of Modi-Pawar bonhomie

What is the secret behind PM Modi-Sharad Pawar continuing bonhomie? Not many are aware that it goes back to the UPA era when Modi was facing the ire of Central agencies during the UPA era and Congress Party’s ‘hawks’ were seeking Modi’s custodial interrogation. Sharad Pawar is reported to have opposed it at the highest level in the government any such move on the ground that political battles be better fought in electoral arena rather than through agencies. Modi did face CBI’s grilling but the UPA did not go to the extent of arresting him. Modi also got one relief after the other from courts. This apart, the personal rapport also developed when Gujarat cadre IAS officer P K Mishra had been promoted to the rank of Secretary at the Centre but no Union Minister was willing to take him in his ministry. It was at this juncture that Modi reported to have called up Pawar to help Mishra as he was holding many portfolios. Pawar got Mishra appointed as Agriculture Secretary under him in 2006. Modi also used to consult Pawar on many issues from time to time. Therefore, political deal or not, both have perfect rapport and mutual respect.

The Clock ticks after 27 years

There is a long list of politicians, officers and journalists paying the price for being dirty with Modi during the Gujarat riots. The latest in the series is R B Sreekumar who was Add. DGP Gujarat Police and led a unit when riots broke out in Godhara. He retired in 2007 and the CBI may book him anytime. But this action has nothing to do with Gujarat. The CBI has re-opened a probe in falsely implicating ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and others way back in November 1994 in Kerala. Sreekumar was Deputy Director, Intelligence Bureau, Kerala then. It was on the basis of his “top secret” report that the Kerala Police arrested Nambi, two Maldivian women and others in the infamous “ISRO Spy Ring". Nambi Narayanan was ISRO's rising star and working on critical cryogenic technology. Though CBI gave Nambi a clean chit in December 1994 itself and filed a closure report acquitting all. The SC upheld the closure report terming it malicious and based on "notions of fancy". Nambi was given a compensation of Rs 1.9 crore from various agencies including the Kerala government in 2018. But Sreekumar escaped any penalty and the case has now been re-opened by the CBI after SC’s special permission for Sreekumar for his dubious fake IB report which caused immense damage. The CBI may not have re-opened Sreekumar's case 27 years later had he not committed the hara-kiri in Godhara. He ostensibly filed a false affidavit and statements before the Nanavati-Mehta Commission and J M Lyngdoh committee about the dubious role of law and order authorities under Modi. The SC, however, found all such claims to be false. But the ghost of ISRO case is now haunting Sreekumar as the CBI may act any time.

Hidden Talent of Ashwini Vaishnav

Many theories are doing the rounds as to why Modi developed a fancy for Ashwini Vaishnav to the extent that he telephoned BJD chief & Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik for a Rajya Sabha seat for Ashwini Vaishnav. The BJD could have won all three RS seats but spared one for BJP in 2019. What was Modi's connection with Vaishnav? One theory is that Vaishnav gave vital tips to Modi when he was working in the PMO under Vajpayee as deputy secretary in 2003. But insiders discount this saying Vaishnav had no access to Vajpayee at any point of time. Even when he was attached with Vajpayee as his PS as per protocol given to ex-PMs, he was not ex-PM’s Man-Friday. Within two years, he moved to Goa as deputy chairman of Mormugao Port Trust, went on study leave to Wharton in 2008 and finally quit IAS in 2010 to join an MNC. He landed in Gujarat in 2012 as an entrepreneur and came in contact with Modi again. It is said that Modi was looking for a pool of bright boys like Vaishnav who have multiple experiences. Vaishnav knew Gujarati fluently, an Odia, risked quitting IAS and knew P K Mishra who also hailed from Odisha. Mishra and Vaishnav have caste connections too. Modi found virtues in Vaishnav and he worked as Modi’s backroom boy in his 2014 War Room like many such high-skilled persons. But Vaishnav certainly had more hidden talent to reach where he is today.

Fly on the wall - PM’s olive branch to Azad

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

PM’s olive branch to Azad

Whether it was an emotional gesture or deep politics, no one can vouchsafe. But it was the rarest of the rare moment in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday last when PM Modi told Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Aazad, “Do not feel like you are no longer in the House. I would not let you retire, I will continue taking your advice. My doors are always open for you.” Azad is bidding adieu to his 41 year long parliamentary career. It transpires that the Gandhis were upset with him for something and hence he was not re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha and left high & dry. It is in this backdrop that Modi made this offer stunning everybody. Modi has never made such an offer in public to any Opposition leader. On his part, Ghulam Nabi Azad made no secret of his chemistry with Modi saying, “Two people always greeted me during festivals and my birthday for many years - Congress president Sonia Gandhi and PM Modi." Aren’t bells ringing!!! The BJP doesn’t have a tall Muslim leader and those in its kitty are hardly of any stature. Ghulam Nabi may be of use for Modi’s international brotherhood outreach having huge experience behind him.

Pawar & Cong disconnected!

There is a long history of love-hate relationship between the Congress and NCP since 1999. They buried the hatchet to form the MVA government. But all is not well these days and gone are the days of Sharad Pawar-Rahul Gandhi bon-homie. Pawar is unhappy because the Congress torpedoed his plans to make him UPA co-chairman and now he is on his own trip. He is stitching alliances with TMC, SP, YSR-Congress, TRS, BJD, Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and others. Rahul is content with the DMK, Left, IUML etc. Even the RJD is cool towards Rahul Gandhi these days. The Congress was left in the lurch when the delegation of 10 Opposition parties went to meet farmers on Delhi borders consisting of Supriya Sule and others. The appointment of Nana Patole as Maharashtra PCC Chief turned out to be the last straw in Camel’s back. Pawar’s reluctance to give the Speaker's post to Congress is part of NCP’s plan, say insiders. Is something cooking??? Watch out!!

Cooking Golden goose

When the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme was launched by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in November 1951, had not imagined that it would become a tool in the hands of the rich to cook golden goose. It was to help employees in the public and private sector with employers contributing their 12% share in their accounts. There was no limit for employees to deposit money in their accounts. The interest income is tax-free without limit. For 70 years, the rich employees raked in mullahs. But they did not realize that PM Modi has the uncanny knack of tracking those making a killing. Interestingly, top bureaucrats who are big beneficiaries of this scheme never pointed it out to successive Finance Ministers about rich employees making a killing. The PM sought a detailed report and was shocked to learn that the largest single deposit in the account of one employee in EPF was over Rs 100 crores. It was also noticed that such employees earned tax-free interest income of more than Rs 50-60 lakhs year after year. The number of such huge beneficiaries is 1.20 lakhs employees and they put a staggering Rs 62,500 crores in their EPF accounts. There are 5 crores EPF account holders. The EPF has a corpus of Rs. Seven lakh crores as on February 1, 2021. The scheme was for employees earning Rs 15000 or more a month. The Union Budget has capped interest free income at Rs 2.50 lakhs per year now, down from Rs 50 lakhs earlier. Another loot and scoot stopped!

Biden, So near & so far

When US President Joe Biden nominated 20 Indian-Americans to key positions in his administration, it was hailed as a big win for India and Modi's leadership. But analysts pointed out that Biden excluded those who are considered close to the RSS-BJP like Sonal Shah and Amit Jani. Sonal Shah’s father was the president of Overseas Friends of BJP-USA and is the founder of RSS-run Ekal Vidyalaya. The suspicions of Biden’s not-so-friendly attitude came correct when many close to the Biden administration lent their support to agitating farmers in India including the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar has a tough task in hand.

Triple Talaq Bill in Rajya Sabha

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Exclusive report

Triple Talaq Bill in Rajya Sabha

Modi spoke to opponents to seek support

Many non-NDA parties fell in line

Some did not issue the whip

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, July 30

The BJP moved heaven & earth to muster support from parties which are not even part of the NDA for the Triple Talaq Bill. It was introduced this morning in the Rajya Sabha after being sent by the Lok Sabha. Since the BJP/NDA doesn't have numbers to get the controversial bill passed, the leadership decided to muster majority by using every weapon in its armoury.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi personally telephoned Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to seek support of the Bju Janata Dal (BJD) which has seven MPs. The PM also spoke to the AIADMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to direct its MPs in the Rajya Sabha to walk out of the House at the time of voting if not support. The 11-member AIADMK opposed the Bill while talking about it. But when it came to voting, they did what was told to them. The PM even spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to pesruade Janata Dal (U) MPs in the Rajya Sabha to walk out of the house if they can't support. The Nationalist Congress Party did not issue whip to its 4 Rajya Sabha MPs on the bill. Interestingly, the Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandra Babu Naidu was also spoken to by a top leader of the BJP not to oppose the Bill. Though TDP is at loggerheads with the BJP as it broke the party in Rajya Sabha and took away four MPs. The remaining two MP did the summersault too when it came to the voting. So much so that the lone member of the Janata Dal (S) was conveyed to stay away from the voting whose government was dislodged in Karnataka.

The BJP also did a coup of sort when it won over a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha, Dr Sanjay Singh to resign from the house itself and join the BJP today. This brought down the Congress strength to 47. The SP MP Neeraj Shekhar had done the same thing last week when he quit the party and the Rajya Sabha. Many MPs like Ram Jethmalani and four others.

It is now clear that the very strength of the Rajya Sabha fell down steeply from 240 making the task of the BJP easier.

BJP wooing two PDP MP s in Rajya Sabha now

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

BJP wooing two PDP MP s in Rajya Sabha now 

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, July 3

After breaking TDP in Rajya Sabha and walking away with four of the six MP s and winning over lone INLD MP, the BJP is eyeing the two MP s of the PDP in the Upper House. The BJP's own strength in the Rajya Sabha has gone up to 76 while NDA's support base touched 112. With the BJD and other friendly parties lending their helping hand, it has already gained a working majority in a House of 236. But the BJP is on the prawl to add in its kitty more MP s in the Rajya Sabha and hence eyeing the two PDP members.

If reports are to be believed, efforts to soften the two MP s in Rajya Sabha have been revived by the ruling party. If the speeches made by the two PDP Mps in the Rajya Sabha on Monday last is any indication, something is cooking in the pot.

Both the PDP MP s; Nazir Ahmed and Mir Mohammed Faiyaz spoke in the Rajya Sabha when the resolution for extending the President's rule in Jammu & Kashmir was brought by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The chair gave special permission to them to speak though under the rule only one MP is allowed to express his views. Both Mps refrained from criticising the Modi government rather Nazir Ahmed said, “Amit Shah's visit to the Valley has raised a new hope in the state and its time wounds be healed.” Mir Mohad Fayaz also expressed similar sentiments and went a step further saying that mistakes of the past 70 years be not committted.

It is learnt that the two MP s also met the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Dr Jitendra Singh who is a Lok Sabha MP from J&K. What transpired between the two is not known.

It may be mentioned that the BJP and the PDP parted company two years ago leading to the fall of the Mehbooba Mufti government. However, the Lok Sabha polls this year saw the BJP winning three seats in Jammu and Ladakh region while JK National Conference of Dr Farooq Abdullah winning all the three seats in the Valley leaving PDP high & dry. Even Mehbooba Mufti lost her Lok Sabha seat. Now the PDP is left with two MP s in the Rajya Sabha. There are already talks that the Congress and JKNC will enter into an alliance leaving PDP high & dry. Therefore, the BJP wants a toy hold in the Valley without a formal alliance.

Ends 

Kovind to get more than 6 lakh votes, says BJP war room

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

exclusive copy 

Kovind to get more than 6 lakh votes, says BJP war room

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, June 19 

Tantrums thrown by Shiv Sena notwithstanding, the BJP presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind is set to win hands down as NDA has the support of more than six lakh popular votes.

Of the 10,98,882 votes, a winning candidate needs 5,49 442 votes to win the presidential poll slated for July 17. The BJP and its committed allies already have 5,06,834 votes in its kitty minus Shiv Sena’s 25,893 votes. Sena has 63 MLAs and 21 MPs in Parliament. An MP carries 708 votes each while an MLA carries votes according to the strength of the Assembly and population of the state.

The BJP  has also been extended support by the TRS, YSR Congress and AIADMK. They together have 98120 popular votes. Assuming Shiv Sena remains defiant, the BJP candidate will poll 6,04,954.

There are other non-UPA parties like the TMC, BSP, BJD and INLD who have not opened their cards as yet. The Janata Dal U has already welcomed the move by the BJP to field Kovind. In this scenario, the victory of Kovind is a foregone conclusion, say BJP sources sitting the war room calculating every vote.

Ends 

BJP Norwester

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

What area elections? In fact what is representation politics all about? What important is the outcome of an election to the destiny of parties concerned? 

For those of us who grew up in the profession in the ‘Mandal’ era of politics, with so many caste and community groups, elections were always a hair-trigger experience as no one would know which group would have a change of mind at the last moment. So it was a bit like betting big-time in the so-called Z-category shares, though recent SBI reforms have somewhat reduced their deadly volatility.

BJP and its unrelenting efforts to stabilise India’s electoral outcomes have produced stupendous results. If there is an election in the mainline Hindi-speaking states (39% of population) there is no percentage in guessing who has the ace. Off-mainland, the non-BJP states are still nestling with their traditional protectors, like Bengal with the Trinamool Congress, Odisha under the wings of the Biju Janata Dal of Naveen Patnaik Tamil Nadu under the twin Dravidian parties by rotation or Andhra Pradesh under regional satrap Chandrababu Naidu and a couple of more smaller states.  The Congress is struggling to retain its last bastion in Karnataka. Elsewhere things are running riots.

In Uttarakhand, twice from Congress, former judge Vijay Bahuguna made it to the success pole in his state, yet fell short chief ministership in Dehra dun, a post that gracefully went to Trivendra Singh Rawat, an RSS old-timer. If at all, it proved that the parry’s ‘kremlin’, the troika of Amit Shah-Narendra Modi-RSS, would not deviate from their ideological fealty if possible. However, for Bahuguna, it was not unrelieved gloom as his sister, Rita Bahugna, once a determined spokesperson of the Congress is now minister in Yogi Adityanath ministry.  

Despite this strict choice of class and caste, BJP kept its window remarkably open way back the days of Nitin Gadkari’s presidentship. Courtesy Gadkari and later Rajnath Singh with the blessings of the RSS, nearly 100 of the 282 Lok Sabha MPs (in 2014) did not belong to the BJP, or for that matter, had little o do with the party and its ‘lotus’ culture. Birendra Singh and Rao Inderjit  Singh, both powerful ministers are iron men transported from Congress; one before the Lok Sabha polls and the other on the eve of Haryana Assembly elections. The BJP was always like a second fiddle to Devi Lal & Chautala and could hardly grew in the state. Therefore, the troika took a conscious decision to import talent lock, stock & barrel and give them ministerial berths too. Entry of Suresh Prabhu from Shiv Sena, a party that had little respect for his talent after his founder’s demise, and being inducted straightaway into the Railway Ministry. S.S. Ahluwalia, a ‘man for all seasons’, represent an elite induction hardly seen ever. The computer wiz kid of Rajiv Gandhi fell out with the Gandhis after he joined P V Narasimha Rao. He was the first major catch of the BJP as he knew inside out of the Congress and helped Atal-Advani team to nail the then ruling Congress. To a very large extent, it gave a party of Jai Shree Ram-chanting a degree of administrative gravitas it had toward the very end Vajpyee’s regime. 

And the elite flow is unchecked. In Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma was a prize catch that not only brought the party to win in Assam, a first for a saffron flag to unfurl on the Brahmaputra bank. The Biswa Sarma effect has paralysed the Congress in the entire north eastern region. It was the Congress which won most seats in Manipur yet it failed to get the support of just three MLAs to form government. The BJP proved its skill once again in garnering support from six Congress MLAs who have joined the party. The resigning MLAs must resign from the assembly and say they are happy to seek reselection under the BJP. But their confidence is not an issue.  Biswa Sarma is like a Simon Bolivar. He has announced that he’d soon grab the two states of Tripura and Meghalaya, one a surviving citadel of the CPI(M) and the other an old liege of the Congress when Purno Sangma was the liege lord. No one can tell what will happen in Tripura, but, those who have visited the state say northwester winds are blowing. It is very difficult to imagine the state’s ‘comrades’ not to wake up the roaring call of Amit Shah’s change. 

Goa’s is a classic example where Congress lost power because the leadership was unable to decide within the first 12 hours of results as to who should be its chief ministerial candidate. Digvijay Singh is being flogged for all the wrong reasons.

The country is in a state of political stupor, with old ideas and action calls becoming thoroughly ineffective and the people have shown little interest in more of the old stuff. The old fear about the BJP, that its a party of too much polarization, is somehow getting sublimated in a new fusion of acceptance. Something that Gadkari said is the ‘genius’ of his party that turned Ratnakar, the dacoit into the poet of poets. He said in Pune when confronted how could his party go on admitting all & sundry including criminals of the Congress, SP, BSP into the BJP, “If criminals enter the party, we lessen their faults and increase their merits…In our party, criminals change for good, in the same way in which Valya, a robber, turned into Valmiki…” The hunt for talent has not ended. The new troika of Modi-Shah-RSS is on hunt of hidden talent across the country. The BJP have taken 180 degree turn.

But there is definitely a point about hardcore public life changing people’s behaviour, something that is hard to find in a like Congress with total control clamped on independent thinking. 

AIADMK to support BJP’s presidential candidate

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

A Lokmat Exclusive report

AIADMK to support BJP’s presidential candidate

Modi gets shot in the arm;  Dy Speaker Thambidurai key negotiator

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, April 24

The BJP is set to get a shot in its arm as the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has signaled its support to NDA’s presidential nominee.

Irrespective of infighting within the two AIADMK camps and current negotiations to resolve the crisis, the ruling dispensation has communicated to the BJP that it will support its candidate in the Presidential polls to be held in July this year.

  

The AIADMK’s signal of support has given the BJP big comfort as the ruling NDA is still short of 25000 popular votes to get its own candidate elected. Though Opposition parties are fragmented and still working out modalities to come together to filed a common candidate. But they have to get the support of several regional ruling parties in states including AIADMK, TRS, BJD, TMC etc. Amongst these non-BJP parties, the AIADM is crucial as it has 135 MLAs and 50 MPs in parliament constituting almost 60,000 popular votes. The electorate for presidential polls comprises of 11 lakh plus votes and the NDA has 5.25 lakh votes. Therefore, the complete support for the NDA will give a big boost to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

  

It transpires that Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha M Thambidurai had a meeting with the Prime Minister and the BJP Amit Shah as well. Unconfirmed report suggested that he conveyed to the BJP leaders that the ruling AIADMK KPS camp having the support of 123 MLAs and 50 MPs in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha will support the NDA’s presidential candidate. The AIADMK (OPS) having 12 MLAs is already backing the BJP. The AIADMK is rather keen to formally join the NDA, these sources say. After the death of Jayalalitha, there is no leader worth a salt in the AIADMK who has national ambitions. The OPS camp is already close to the Centre and the ruling KPS camp wants a patch up to get the two leaves symbol de-frozen.

However, the BJP leadership is in no hurry to admit the AIADMK despite pressure from M Thambidurai. The AIADMK MPs have virtually no role despite having the biggest contingent in parliament. The AIADMK leaders are keen to join the Modi government and share power. It is learnt that formal announcement by the AIADMK will be made sometime next month once formula is worked out.