Assembly election result: Arvind Kejriwal sweeps Sheila Dikshit out in Delhi

Day 1 of Gujarat road-show bumpy for Arvind Kejriwal, convoy attacked

Arvind Kejriwal’s welcome to Gujarat was loaded with hostility. He was detained briefly at a police station this afternoon. In the evening, his car was attacked leaving its windshield broken as the convoy passed through Kutch.

Mr Kejriwal said his detention at a police station in the western town of Radhanpur, 170 kms from Ahmedabad, was payback from Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, who has centre-pieced the development of Gujarat in his campaign. Mr Kejriwal, a former tax inspector, has dedicated his Gujarat trip to auditing that much-lauded modernization.

“We are exposing all claims of development and clean governance,” said the 45-year-old.

In the evening, riots erupted in Delhi and Lucknow where his party workers clashed with those from the BJP. In the capital, the violence spanned the evening rush hour. AAP leaders said chairs and bricks were thrown at them from within the BJP office. The BJP countered that it had acted in self-defense. As the ugly street battles played out on national television, Mr Kejriwal tweeted an appeal for calm to his supporters. (See pics | Read)

HN Thakkar, the collector of Pathan in Gujarat, said Mr Kejriwal had been stopped to explain why he had not taken prior police permission for his road-show, a requirement of the election code of conduct that is now in place because national elections have been announced. The official later said that he accepted Mr Kejriwal had not violated election rules and that his convoy consisted largely of media vehicles and was not a political procession.

Mr Kejriwal resigned last month after a two-month stint as Delhi’s Chief Minister. His Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has suggested he will contest Mr Modi if the BJP leader runs for Parliament from anywhere outside of Gujarat. Opinion polls predict that the BJP, led by Mr Modi, will emerge as the largest party but will fall short of a majority in the general election that begins on April 7.

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The Developed Gujarat

What did the video show? He is clarifying that he did not want to go into detail on a point because he will be misconstrued as anti privatization by middle class. But even there if you notice he doesn’t say “hum bhi satta mein aakar private se commision lenge”. The reporter talks about 80% of people being the main vote bank and he agrees. Did he refer to Muslims or Dalits or some specific vote bank? Does he say anything bad like yeh 80% ****iye hai or something? After the interview he is asking how was it. The reporter says it was very Krantikaari. Yes Arvind is asking the reporter to play the middle class part. Now the channel obviously will air clips to advertise their interview. Asking them to air a specific part is bad? He will obviously want the best part of his interview to be shown/highlighted. Is he saying “Don’t show that part as I messed it up” or something? Is he offering the reporter any money to do that? Lastly some BJP/Modi supporters are bashing Arvind saying he is exploiting Bhagat Singh’s name. If you watch the video Arvind doesn’t mention Bhagat Singh’s name. Its the reporter who mentions Bhagat Singh and he is just walking out nodding along. There is nothing illegal in that video.

Now what’s funny is that people who are outraged at this video and who think that video conclusively nails that Arvind is corrupt and bad dismiss off those videos where Babu Bajrangi one of the main accused who was convicted in the Gujarat riots talks about Modi supporting/helping them. The video was the basis of his conviction and was not found to be doctored. Their defense is that he is just exaggerating. If some criminal says on video that Arvind helped/supported them what would be the reaction? The hypocrisy is mind boggling. When Snoopgate (Link) came out showing that Modi was using state machinery to snoop on a woman these BJP supporters used the defense that the girl’s father wanted her snooped. It can’t get any more WTF than this. Apparently the CM of Gujarat just uses the state machinery to snoop on some women if any father asks for it. And again Modi is not guilty of anything to this hypocritical BJP/Modi supporters.

Anyways here is Babu Bajrangi talking about Modi.

Kiron Kher is the BJP Candidate from Chandigarh. So its Gul Panag vs Kiron Kher. The Congress candidate is Pavan Bansal who was involved in the Railway bribery scam. Link

Narendra Modi angry with AAP and Kejriwal – the famous Hitler parody video.

According to this riots accused and BJP candidate the victims should not be allowed to vote.

Don’t let Muzaffarnagar riot refugees vote, BJP nominee says
Mar 20, 2014, 04.13AM IST TNN[ ERAM AGHA ]

ALIGARH: BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Kairana Hukum Singh, one of the four party MLAs named in an FIR for inciting mobs to violence during the Muzaffarnagar riots, on Wednesday stoked more controversy demanding the riot victims, mostly living in refugee camps, be barred from voting because they didn’t have permanent addresses.

“The riot victims living away from their homes are not eligible to vote,” said Singh, who was also briefly under arrest for his hate speech last year. “These people (the riot victims) are living on government land. In fact, the state government has even ordered them to leave. But they don’t. They are trespassers. How can they be qualified to vote?” Singh told TOI.

Singh’s comment came even as the Muzaffarnagar district administration, with help of a few NGOs, succeeded in giving voting cards to around 25 victims a fortnight ago, promising another 3,200 would be able to vote by month-end. Most victims had lost their voting cards and other relevant documents as they fled from their homes.

Reacting to Singh’s statement, ADM (Muzaffarnagar) Inder Mani Tripathi said, “There are three norms for the right to vote and the riot victims fulfill all of these. One, they should be citizens of the country; two, he or she should be 18 years of age at the time of voting; and, three, resident of any place in the country. Even a man sleeping under a tree is eligible to vote. The riot victims have been away from their villages for six months and have settled in different areas. They are eligible to vote.” Kairana is barely an hour’s drive from Muzaffarnagar where around 60 people were killed during two months of rioting. The only time this seat went to the BJP was in 1999 when Virendra Verma won. In the last three elections, Kairana has gone to RLD twice, with BSP’s Tabassum Begum being the current MP.

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The problems with the so called clean chit by SIT. Read this.

“Assuming we all believe in NaMo’s economic talent (debatable but out of scope for this piece) there can be only two reasons why you think it is OK to elect him as Prime Minister.

Reason 1
You don’t believe that there are enough red flags,or that they amount to any consequence. This is an easy problem to solve. I’ve tried to condense most of the relevant ones here. Read on and find more online.What you cannot do after reading this piece is deny the presence of a plethora of red flags.

OR

Reason 2

You don’t believe this person is any threat to you because his alleged murderous rage has been only directed at a sub-sect of your country, and you are fortunate enough to have been a race-winning sperm incubated in the testicle of a man from outside that sect. You’re safe. 15% of your countrymen are not, but you could care less, or worse, it actually gives you a kick.

If you subscribe to reason 2, there is nothing I can or anyone else can say to you to change your mind. You my friend suffer from bigotry, irrespective of how you may have justified it to yourself (they deserve it, they started it, their ancestors killed so many Hindus in the 1600 and 1700s, why don’t they move to Pakistan…). It’s best you stop reading this article cause nothing I say here even attempts to address bigotry. That’s your battle to fight, or not.

After the Godhra train incident in which 59 Hindu pilgrims were killed, Modi is accused of sanctioning a state sponsored pogrom targeting Muslims. Specifically, he is alleged to have asked the state police machinery to stand down and allow the Hindus to vent their anger. He is accused of sending his henchmen to lead the massacres first hand and then providing support in subverting the judicial process when they were arrested and prosecuted. VHP, BD, RSS, and BJP cadre led mobs collectively massacred over a thousand Muslims over two days while being supported by the police and administrators. Almost all of them including Modi have stayed safe from convictions, thanks likely to the most massive cover up operation in our lifetimes.

This piece is focused on laying out the red flags that are most egregious and hoping that those that are leaning his way because of reason 1, have a chance to re-evaluate. I make no claims about the certainty of his guilt. Perhaps he is innocent and this is a massive conspiracy. But any reasonable observer, having researched all the red flags, cannot but walk away with enough doubt of his innocence. That in and of itself should be a disqualification against Modi’s candidacy.

Red Flag 1: Haren Pandya, murdered BJP minister who was going to testify against Modi

If you believe NaMo is innocent, surely you have evaluated the gargantuan red flag that is the murder of Haren Pandya, ex-revenue minister of Gujrat and part of NaMo’s government in 2002? Going by anecdotal evidence, I’m guessing many haven’t even heard of him and that in and of itself is a testament to the successful cover-up game orchestrated here. Haren Pandya was a senior BJP politician and in 2002 was Gujarat’s minister of revenue serving under Modi. 2 months after the riot, Pandya deposed before a retired Supreme Court Judge PB Sawant and a retired Bombay High court judge Hosbert Suresh, on the condition of anonymity, stating that Modi held a meeting on Feb 27th and asked the police to stand down and let the Hindus vent their anger. This is noted by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on page 18 of their report. This was the smoking gun if there ever was one. Pandya was ready to testify when the case came to trial and this testimony alone could have nailed Modi. Sadly, he never got to. He was mysteriously murdered less than year after he confided in the two judges. Since his deposition was never recorded, it is now hearsay since it was made before“retired” judges and not sitting judges. NaMo will have you believe that this is a clean chit. In fact, this is straight out of a Bollywood 80s movie. No evidence to convict, but does this look anything like a clean chit to you?

Red flag 2 – Mayaben Kodnani, life sentence serving convicted mass murderer and Modi’s minister.

Dr. Mayaben Kodnani, ex BJP MLA from Gujarat, a trained gynecologist, was part of NaMo’s ruling BJP government in 2002, and was subsequently elevated by him to Minister for Women and Child development for Gujarat in 2007. The testimonies against her started pouring in soon after the 2002 riots. It was alleged that she directly led a mob, handed out swords, shot a gun, and marshaled a 5,000 strong Hindu mob into massacring 100+ Muslims. The violence she led in Naroda Patiya lasted over 10 hours, during which Muslims were raped, shot, stabbed, and burned alive. Naroda Patiya was an abjectly poor slum-like society comprising of mainly day-laborers. Many were hacked to death and about 70 were chased into a large pit where kerosene was poured on them and the group burned alive in a macabre mass-extermination. Images of charred families clinging to one another in desperate hope are the kind that haunt you long after you see them.

Consider this:

Do we really think that a BJP MLA carried out this genocide in defiance to her boss, or without his knowledge? In a country where hierarchy and approval pervades all walks of life from school to corporate offices, and is never more stark than in politics, is it really possible that Mayaben got off her couch,wore battle fatigues, consulted no one in her leadership and went out on the streets and picked up 5,000 men along the way? If you believe that, do you also believe that Kim Jong Un is a boy scout with the misfortune of being surrounded by evil administrators? Of course her actions were blessed up and down the food-chain.

Despite the myriad voices calling Mayaben a murderer, Modi rewarded her in 2007 with a ministerial position in his government. What can a reasonable person make of that other than the fact that Modi liked her record? Most importantly, in 2012 Mayaben was convicted for her role in the 2002 riots, and sentenced to 28 years in prison. While the facts were validated by the court in 2012, do we really think Modi didn’t know these facts in 2007? Is Mayaben’s power such that she could keep her boss in the dark for 10 years about the details of an action that took 5,000 men, countless phone calls, and countless witnesses in orchestrating? Surely, if Modi was innocent as he claims, and if he had his heart in the right place as he claims,he would have made a few phone calls and found out the truth about Mayaben in a matter of days after the riots. The fact that he rewarded her in 2007 is a strong indication that he approved of her actions. Again, this line of reasoning is probably not enough to convict, but does it look like a clean chit to you?

Red Flag 3 – Babu Bajrangi, convicted murderer and Bajrang Dal leader implicates Modi on camera

Another one of the convicted murderers, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi was in lock step with Mayaben in Naroda Patiya. He has left us with probably the most chilling and damning evidence against Modi on tape, thanks to the fearless journalist Ashish Khetan. Worth noting here that on the behest of the NHRC, the CBI has examined all the tehelka tapes and declared them genuine. The SIT didn’t think they had the evidentiary value needed to convict in court, but again, miles from the Clean Chit Modi will have you believe. Key points made by Bajrangi in his sting tape:

Narendrabhai made it all possible. If he hadn’t controlled the police, they would have fucked us. For two days he was in control and then pressure from the center came.
Narendrabhai came to the places where we had rioted and showed his support
When the police was trying to arrest me, Narendrabhai hid me in Gujarat Bhavan in mount abu.
Narendrabhai changed judges 5 times to help me.

Red flag 4 – Arvind Pandya, Modi’s Government counsel to the Nanavati Commission

One of the most telling Tehelka stings was against Modi’s lawyer to the Nanavati Commission, Arvind Pandya. Gist of what he said:

This would have never happened with a congress government. They pander to the muslims. We are fortunate to have a strong leader who let us take revenge.
Modi gave the orders to the police to stand down
When Modi first heard of the train incident, his blood was boiling. He wanted revenge. If he was not Chief Minister, he would have burst bombs with us in Juhapura.

Red flag 5 – BJP MLA and Bajrang Dal leader Haresh Bhatt

Another stellar sting. Here’s what he said on camera:

Modi gave us three days to do what we want. Then he told us to stop and we did.
He has done what no chief minister can do.

Video link to all these sting operations and more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsfgqb8972g

Red flag 6: DIG Sanjeev Bhatt, intrepid whistle blower.

Against the tide of yes-men feigning loss of memory of the meeting Modi held on 27th Feb 2002, Sanjeev Bhatt has displayed exemplary courage in speaking the truth. He was the ranking Intelligence Bureau officer in Gujarat at the time (Deputy Commissioner). He has stated several times that Modi unequivocally asked the police to stand down in that meeting. In front of the SIT he said that he will testify his position in court if the need arose. The BJP has tried to paint him as a congress crony and unreliable. He was even framed and arrested on false charges. The Supreme court recently dismissed those charges against him. Now it is possible that this man was fame hungry and a sensationalist but point me to one incident in his past that would indicate that he was prone to such reckless grandiose. His family and he have been subjected to relentless threats and have round the clock security protecting them. Does that sound like the kind of life someone would willingly pick just to fabricate a story and get famous? The reasonable observer can only draw the conclusion that Bhatt chose to swim upstream and has had the kitchen sink of retribution thrown at him. Clean chit indeed.

Red flag 7: Police Commissioner Sreekumar, another fearless whistle blower.

SB Sreekumar took over as top cop of the Intelligence Bureau post Godhra. He immediately began digging around and created a mountain of complaints and concerns against Modi and the BJP. Among his complaints:

Modi gave him a verbal order to illegally tap phones of several politicians including Haren Pandya who was murdered a few months later.
Modi gave him verbal orders to eliminate certain Muslims.
Modi and his team tried to coach him into giving false testimony to the Nanavati commission.
Many members of the police force were intimidating witnesses to not testify against Modi and BJP.
The rank and file of the police force was taking orders directly from the BJP government and disobeying their own leaders including him.

Sreekumar was transferred out within four months of joining. Another case of a grandeur driven megalomaniac taking on the innocent Modi, or another brave soul who was crushed? Sreekumar was transferred to inconsequential roles and his post-retirement benefits held back due to a technicality. He only recently got relief from the Supreme court in terms of retirement benefits. What kind of petty mentality stoops to blocking pension due to a police officer?

Red flag 8: VHP/RSS appointed public prosecutors

The SIT observes in its report that an unusual amount of VHP/RSS affiliated public prosecutors were assigned to cases against those accused of conducting the riots. Understandably, most of the accused were acquitted scot-free given that the ones tasked with convicting them were actually their drinking buddies. This is text book subversion of the law by the government and yet the BJP will have us believe that the accused got a clean chit.

On page 157, the SIT report records that a pro-VHP advocate named Raghuvir Pandya was appointed as government pleader in the Vadodara District and Sessions Court in 2002. Pandya conducted the trial of the infamous Best Bakery case which resulted in the acquittal of all the accused. The SIT further writes that the “Supreme Court of India had passed serious strictures on the role played by Pandya in this trial which deserves to be brought to the notice of the Bar Association for suitable action as deemed fit.” SIT lists five more instances of VHP or RSS leaders being appointed as public prosecutors. The report mentions that ‘political consideration and affiliation of the advocates weighed heavily with the government’ in these appointments. Then it contradicts itself by saying that ‘no specific allegation of professional misconduct on the part of any of the public prosecutors has come to light.’

Red flag 9 – Plum postings for police officers accused of abetting the riots.

MK Tandon, joint commissioner responsible for the Gulberg Society area and Naroda Patiya, was found to have “deliberately not responded to distress calls” by the SIT. Instead the SIT observes, he registered bogus cases in other neighborhoods to justify his presence there. The SIT has also found that Tandon was in telephonic contact with Jaideep Patel and Mayaben Kodnani — the architect of massacres at Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya. How was this police officer treated by Modi post Godhra? He was double promoted in short time and given super powerful posts up until he retired. Given that the complaints against him started right away, and given that the SIT found evidence of his complicity, do we really believe that Modi was oblivious of his guilt when he promoted him twice? Like Tandon, there are at least 20 other officers and bureaucrats with suspicious promotions as noted by the SIT.Obviously hard to prove a crime here, especially against Modi, but surely an observer unburdened by the legal standard of “beyond reasonable doubt” will harbor enough doubt to disqualify this man from the top post?

Red flag 10 – Swift punishment for police officers that did dare to stand up

Per the SIT report: SP Rahul Sharma protected a mosque full of people from a marauding mob. He was given transfer orders to an inconsequential far away post 3 days after that incident. 3 days! Surely transferring police officers during a communal riot cannot be blamed on standard protocol, can it? SP Vivek Srivastava arrested a BJP leader for assaulting a muslim family. Right after the arrest he got calls from the chief minister’s office probing him about the evidence in the case. One month later, he got transfer orders to become a glorified mall cop for practical purposes. The SIT notes four other cases of police officers getting suspicious and unusual transfers after combating the riots.Routine? Clean chit?

Red flag 11 – Modi’s henchmen illegally in the police control room

During the thick of the riots, against all acceptable protocol, two of Modi’s cabinet ministers were stationed inside the police control room, monitoring all deployments and police action. It can be argued that they were there to help in the crisis. Two problems with that argument–first, they held portfolios of health and housing between them so were hardly the right men for the job, and second, they were also ex-RSS and ex-Sangh members. Natural choices to aid the police during riots? Add to that the fact that police didn’t respond to repeated calls for help. What’s more likely – police did not react despite the presence of two well-intentioned ministers, or that the police did not react because of the presence of two ill-intentioned ministers there to do their master’s bidding? Making the story even fishier is the fact that initially the top cops denied their presence in the control room till it was proven out by other interviews and finally a confession from the ministers. What was the need to deny their presence initially if they were really helping?”

“Red flag 14 – Complete destruction of police records from the riots

On page 13 of its report, the SIT says “The Gujarat government has reportedly destroyed the police wireless communication of the period pertaining to the riots.” It adds, “No records, documentations or minutes of the crucial law and order meetings held by the government during the riots had been kept.” Sudden urge to recycle paper and save the planet or massive cover-up?

There’s more than this baker’s dozen plus one of red flags. I’ve heard people try and explain away one or two of these flags, and that’s reasonable. Can you really explain away all of them? Can you really look at all this evidence, and turn the other way finding solace in the“not enough evidence to prosecute” position the SIT has taken? Is that the going standard for a Prime Minister today? Another author summed it up well when he said that India will cross the moral boundary of no return should they decide to elect Modi as PM knowing in their hearts that he could be guilty. If you support him, really your only excuse should be that you truly believe that all of this is a major conspiracy and you’re certain that he is innocent. If not, you just destroyed the fundamental value system any decent society is established on. The argument that it is somehow OK to accept the likelihood of Modi’s guilt and still elect him because the incumbents ran a few scams and because Modi has led economic growth defies all standards of humanity.”

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