Narendra Modi targets government on Maoists, black money

New Delhi, Feb 1: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement about a decrease in Maoist violence during 2010, saying it was "nothing to be proud of" as now more security personnel and civilians were being killed. Speaking on the sidelines of the chief ministers meet on internal security here, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the prime minister's remarks during the meeting that there had been a reduction in incidents of Maoist violence last year was "nothing to be proud of". "Earlier, many Maoists and terrorists were killed. Now, many security force personnel and citizens are being killed. The capability of Maoists has increased. "They (Maoists) have more armaments and networks to strike. They can get better results with less action. This is not a matter to be proud of," Modi said. Attacking the United Progressive Alliance government on the issue of black money, Modi said while the central government had asked states to "take serious action in cases of money-laundering, it was terming cases of black money of Indians in Swiss banks as just tax-evasion". He said the central government should also take responsibility for curbing black money in the same way it had instructed the states. He demanded that the central government should blacklist Germany and Austria as the two countries had refused to supply weapons to Orissa and Punjab for fear of misuse. Chidambaram, speaking to mediapersons later, denied the allegations levelled by Modi. The home minister said the prime minister was "absolutely right" when he said there was a decrease in incidents of left-wing extremism. Chidambaram said he had said in his speech too that there was a kind of stalemate in the fight against Maoists in 2010. Quoting from his own speech, Chidambaram said that the Maoist-violence affected states cannot claim any major advances but it also cannot be concluded that Maoists had gained an upper hand. The worst Maoist-affected states are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Chidamabram said, adding that concerns on Maoist violence should be addressed to chief ministers of all these states and not to the central government alone. Chidambaram said Germany and Austria have denied manufacturers licence for exporting arms to some states, including Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Orissa. He said because export licence was denied, the central government wrote a "helpful letter" that the concerned states may approach Turkey, Russia, Italy, the US and some other countries. "There was no picking on Gujarat," he said. To Modi's charge that the central government was not doing enough in cases of money-laundering, Chidambaram said "money laundering was not part of the agenda" of the chief ministers' conference. To chief ministers belonging to National Democratic Alliance (NDA-ruled states blaming corruption and price rise as "factors undermining internal security", Chidambaram said "it was an extraordinary conclusion". In his speech, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh of the BJP said the states should not be asked to pay for the deployment of central forces to battle Maoists. "We are surprised that in this joint battle against Maoists, the states should be asked to pay for the deployment of central para-military forces. No state in the country has financial resources to make these payments," Singh added. (IANS)

Narendra Modi's book JyotiPunj follows Advani's My Country, My Life

After Opposition leader L K Advani’s memoirs, My Country, My Life, it’s now the turn of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s new book Jyotipunj to create a controversy.

Narendra Modi’s 200-page book will be launched by Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh General Secretary Mohanrao Bhagavat in Hyderabad on April 15, 2008.

In JyotiPunj, what we hear is that Narendra Modi would attempt to communicate his persona, thinking and principles - and attribute them to the years he spent in the Sangh.

Advani’s book had attracted severe criticism from other political parties and has been instrumental for political debate all over the country because of his comments on certain events and personalities. My Country, My Life was attributed as a move to increase Advani’s image as a future Prime Minister. In the autobiography, he had admitted that the Babri Masjid demolition was a big mistake. Though the Babri Masjid demolition helped the Bharatiya Janata Party to grab power at the Centre, the event had a strong bearing on the secular history of India, he admitted in the book.

The book by the ambitious Prime Ministerial candidate of India has attracted mixed reactions from different political corners. Some of his party colleagues have felt annoyed by his narration of events during the National Progressive Alliance rule. Advani has also started an ideological discourse by challenging its policies on minorities, cultural nationalism and security issues. He has even questioned the commitment of the Congress party to national security. The ruling Congress Party on the other hand criticized the book as one-sided account of modern India’s history.

However, the book has attracted flak for his less-than-full account of some of the events under his watch. The other controversy was over his remark that he was unaware of then Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh had personally flown with the four terrorists who were set free during the hijack of the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi by Pakistani terrorists. Advani was the Home Minister then. The hijackers had forced the plane to land in Kandahar in Afghanistan and demanded the release of four of their comrades held in Indian prisons in exchange of the hostages. Within a few days, George Fernandes, who was the then Defence Minister in the NDA government contradicted Advani’s remarks.

My Country, My Life has sold more than one lakh copies within few days.

However Narendra Modi’s new book is more focused on several known and unknown RSS leaders, who have shaped the Gujarat Chief Minister’s thinking. Modi wants to use the book to convey his commitment as strong Sangh man to the cadres. The book also contains some justifications for the Gujarat carnage.

Narendra Modi involvement in godhra riots lacks evidence

Narendra Modi involvement in godhra riots lacks evidence

Tehelka-CNN-IBN has decided to approach Supreme Court to look into the matter of godhra riots. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been asked several questions in the supreme Court for his involvement during the 2002 post godhra riots.

SIT report has been filed in the apex court which doubts Modi but does not have enough evidences against him.

There were many charges against Modi’s Administration during the riots and 600 page report said, that even though Muslims have faced terrible attacks in Gulburg Society and Naroda Patiya, the government has not reacted in the manner which would have been expected by anyone.

Regardless of taking an appropriate action in Gulburg Society and Naroda Patiya, the chief minister rather tried to downhill the importance of the situation and said that every action has equal and opposite reaction.

Pro-VHP advocates were appointed by Modi as Public prosecutors in the riot cases.

The report further said that government has destroyed all the wireless records of police conversation of the day and even though Modi was present at Godhra on February 27, 2002 but he did not visit riot affected areas. The report also claims that his cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats play a critical role in the post riots situation.