Inside BJP: Can Modi Lose Gujarat And Hope To Win India?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The BJP in Gujarat is tottering on Anandiben Patel’s watch. Modi knows that the 2017 Assembly elections in Gujarat will impact his chances in Delhi in 2019.

The recent speculation on a possible replacement for the Gujarat chief minister, ironically, comes at a times as Anandiben Patel completes two years on the job on May 22.

Terror Tactics: Why 'Saffron Terror' Is Not A Myth?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

By shielding Hindu terror suspects, the Modi government is making a big mistake. It should learn from Pakistan’s blunders.

The National Investigation Agency recently decided to drop all terror related charges against the 2008 Malegaon blast accused, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. The decision of the NIA to overlook earlier findings of investigative agencies against Singh has been along predicted lines under the Narendra Modi regime.

As Modi Govt Completes Two Years In Office, More Voices Of Dissent Emerge Within The BJP

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

In the recently concluded Budget session of Parliament, three BJP MPs spoke out openly against the government.

Last May, around the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed one year in office, a hitherto-undistinguished Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament, Bharat Singh, shot to fame by standing up in a weekly meeting of the party’s parliamentarians and, in the presence of Modi, questioned the functioning of the government. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu, who was coordinating the meeting, had no option but to intervene and stop it abruptly.

The lone voice of dissent, which seemed feeble back then, has become louder as the BJP completes the second year in office. The wall of silence that appeared impregnable until it was breached by Bharat Singh, the BJP MP from UP’s Ballia constituency last year, seems to have weakened.

Not only have BJP MPs stopped taking Modi’s instructions in the parliamentary party meetings seriously, many of them have started expressing their rebellious voices on the floor of Parliament, embarrassing the government in full public view.

The just-concluded Budget session of Parliament was most striking in that sense, as three BJP MPs spoke out openly against the government. The most embarrassing moment for the government came just before the end of the Budget session when party MP Bhola Singh declared in the Lok Sabha on May 11 that “while eastern India lacks development, it has brains. Western India has development but lacks brains”.

Modi, who hails from Gujarat in western India, was present in the House when the remark was made. Many party MPs were seen suppressing giggles. Singh also hit out at Modi government’s flagship smart city project, saying it would only help the developed cities to make further progress and increase regional imbalances.

On May 2, Singh also had another awkward question. “With regard to Reliance, the policy of the previous government and in some instances the present government remains the same," he said. "I want to know what is the compulsion of the government in resolving the dispute clearly and firmly with the company?” As Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan sought to defend the government, many party members were seen congratulating Singh.

Open dissent:
Modi was left even more embarrassed on May 3 when two party MPs put the government in the dock while many other BJP parliamentarians thumped their desks.

Hukum Singh created a flutter in the Lok Sabha when he expressed his unhappiness with Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. “You have given a very elaborate reply but the problem remains as it is," he said. "The price of pulses is not coming down and that of onions is not going up.”

Moments later another BJP MP, RK Singh, rose to contradict his party’s government. After Home Minister Rajnath Singh denied that there was ever a provision for housing in the Centre’s police modernisation scheme, the BJP MP from Ara in Bihar said, “I just want to clarify one fact. There was a provision for housing in the police modernisation scheme… It has been stopped since the Centre has increased the share of taxes to the states.” Embarrassed, the Home Minister sat down, without contesting his party MP.

These statements on May 3 came merely an hour after Modi gave to his party’s parliamentarians a pep talk, listing his government’s achievements and asking them – as he has been doing in almost every other parliamentary party meeting – to take these to the people.

Cracks in the fiefdom?
Some BJP MPs are uncertain what message they should carry. “What should we tell the people?” a party MP from Bihar asked Scroll.in. “That we are trying to make the country clean and that we have started the process of creating some smart cities at some distant places? Or should we tell them that a few years from now there would be a bullet train running between Mumbai and Ahmedabad? What about the widespread unemployment and the unusual rise in prices of food items after Modiji became the Prime Minister?”

In many situations, such dissent would be construed as a good thing. It is a sign of intra-party vibrancy in a democratic set up. But in the case of Modi, such expressions are the sign of a big problem. Modi is known to run the government and the party in an autocratic manner, and the sudden emergence of autonomous voices from within may well be construed as a threat to his authority.

THE BIG STORY: Terror As Farce - Malegaon Acquittals Shows How Easy To Charge Muslims With False Terror Cases?

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

In 2006, terror attacked the Muslim-dominated town of Malegaon in Maharashtra. A bomb blast near the town’s Hamidia mosque killed 37 people and severely injured 100.

Investigations by the National Investigative Agency strongly pointed to a Hindu terror angle behind the bombing of the mosque. The shadowy Abhinav Bharat group was seen to have carried out the blasts and was also the prime accused in the bombings that followed in the town two years later, in 2008.

Kapus In Andhra Are Agitating For Reservations Can Their Leaders Really Help Them?

By SHALINI REDDY | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT Unlike the Patel agitation in Gujarat, the projected leaders of Kapus in Andhra are spent forces who have already betrayed their cause years ago.

Eerily resembling the Patel agitation for Backward Class (BC) status in Gujarat, a massive stir has been created with the same demand by the Kapus in Andhra Pradesh. Though there are similarities between the two demands, the socio-political differences are aplenty. While Patels are well-entrenched in the political class and have independently led the state of Gujarat, for the Kapus, the political throne in Andhra has remained out of reach.

Commentary: Is Congress Adopting ‘Soft Hindutva’ To Woo Back Majority Community From BJP?

By KAJOL SINGH | INNLIVE

Rahul Gandhi’s frequent temple visits, and his colleagues’ statements, are fuelling the perception that the Congress is taking a leaf out of the BJP's playbook.

Shortly after he returned from his mysterious sabbatical five months ago, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi proceeded on a trek to the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand. Since then he has been periodically spotted doing darshan at Hindu temples.

Meet Hardik Patel, Patidar Poster Boy, An Unplanned Man

By LIKHA VEER | INNLIVE

Nothing prepares you for the disappointment of meeting Hardik Patel, the 22-year-old leader of the Patidar reservation movement.

You go to meet him expecting an anti-reservation crusader, a fiery orator who plans to unite "27 crore" Patidars under his leadership and an ideologue keen to dismantle the existing caste-based quota system and replace it with a new idiom of social justice.

Patel Agitation In Gujarat Making Quotas 'Zero-Sum Game'

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The violent agitation by the Patidar Patels in Gujarat demanding OBC status and quotas in education and jobs is one more indicator that the whole business of affirmative action has become counter-productive in India. Instead of helping the really backward classes overcome their historical handicaps so that they can lift themselves up by the bootstraps, India's caste-based quotas have become the route for the relatively well-off to demand special treatment and deny them to the more deserving.

Special Report: Land Pooling Strategy For The New Andhra Capital Could Become A Model For India's Smart Cities

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Andhra Pradesh's experiment with voluntary land pooling could provide an alternative to forcible land acquisition.

Tallayapalem is a village like many others in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district. It has lush green fields, and its prosperity is evident from the concrete houses scattered along its central thoroughfare. Somewhat incongruously, one field off the main road houses a canvas tent under which a small group of policemen has been doing 24-hour duty since June 6, 2015.

Defeated In Odisha, Is Posco Conquering Maharashtra?

Maharashtra’s coastal district of Sawantwadi is set to see some change, come 2016. Almost 33 thousand acres in size, it has lately been gaining popularity as a tourist spot and for its wooden handicraft industry. But it is in the news these days as it’s set to host South Korean giant Posco, which has signed a MoU with Uttam Steel, promoted by the Miglani family, to set up a 3 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant.

POSCO stays undeterred by the unsuccessful attempt to set up a steel plant in Odisha. The 12 billion dollar project lays dormant as the Center and the company have come to an impasse.

Weekend Tadka: How Modi Fell Into RaGa's Political Trap?

"This is a suit-boot-ki-sarkar", said one Rahul, the Congress Dynast. "This is not the Modi government", said another Rahul, a patriarch of the Bajaj Auto group. The two statements are pregnant with meaning. The Dynast's meaning was to suggest that Narendra Modi's government favours crony businessmen. Rahul Bajaj’s quip was intended to suggest that Modi was not proving to be the friend of business that he was thought to be.

All the current problems faced by Modi – the parliamentary gridlock, failure to pass key legislation, the lack of new energy in the economy, and growing business disillusionment with him - can best be explained by the wide gulf between the statements of the two Rahuls.

Electricity Conundrum In India: Idle Generators In The Midst Of Acute Power Deficit In Telangana & Andhra

The Southern region of India is expected to face high energy deficit this year while the Western and Eastern region will have a surplus of energy generation. INNLIVE explains why such regional skew in energy generation and energy consumption exists and what it will take to resolve it.

Southern India is expected to face a severe electricity shortage this year. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in its latest annual forecast anticipates the energy deficit in the southern electricity grid to be over 11 percent, equivalent to a generation capacity deficit of 4000 MW. For Karnataka and Telangana, the forecasted energy deficit is greater than 16 percent.

Special Focus: Why My Domestic Help Would Rather Send Her Kid To A Private School Than Public School?

My domestic help Ruksana has a seven-year-old daughter and a four year-old son. She enrolled them in a private school in the neighbourhood instead of the government primary school. Reason: No proper food, education and facilities. 

At the government school she could benefit from the Right to Education (RTE) Act which guarantees eight years of free, quality education to all children aged six to fourteen years. Instead, she shells out nearly Rs 800 a month for fees plus a good chunk on miscellaneous – books, uniforms, school activities, etc.

Indian Students In Limbo At DY Patil’s Mauritius Campus!

Indian students at DY Patil Medical College's campus in Mauritius are staring at an uncertain future as the college's recognition is under question. Several students who sought admission to the first-year undergraduate programme were asked to cancel it and 100% of their fees were refunded early this month. 

The ones who are studying there for the last two years were assured that they will be allowed to complete their degree. But with no approval, the students are worried that they will not be able to complete the mandatory 5,000 hours of practicals in hospitals, which they need to start right away. 

Gurdaspur Terror Attack: Revival Of Khalistan Or ISI Plot?

By Likha Veer in Delhi

On a clear day, the dome of Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur is visible from the rooftop of Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahab in Pakistan. It would be, naturally, tempting for Pakistan to eye Gurdaspur as a soft target.

Geographically, Gurdaspur is vulnerable to infiltration. On paper, anybody willing to enter the town from Pakistan would just have to navigate the Ravi and cross into adjoining Dinanagar, the third largest municipality of Gurdaspur and erstwhile summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This is the route terrorists currently holed up inside a police station in Dinanagar seem to have taken.

Focus: Where Are The Free School Textbooks For Children?

By Rati Kumar in Bhopal

In August last year, the a vernacular newspaper reported from Varanasi, that none of the students of class I, II and III had school text books. The whole of July had gone by without anything being taught in schools and the students spent most of their time playing. Varanasi is just as an example; the situation across the country is equally disappointing.

According to the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009, every child in a primary school should have text books available on time i.e. at the beginning of the academic year. But the reality is far from what the Act stipulates. In fact, most children do not receive school books and even those who do, don’t necessarily get all the books and rarely at the beginning of the academic year.

Armed With The 'Qura'an' And The 'Constitution', These Strong Women Are Fighting 'Fundamentalism' In Life!

SUCCESS STORY: India's Muslim women, often called a minority within a minority for their double handicap of gender and faith, are challenging medieval religious laws that have oppressed them for centuries. 

In 2007, two women co-founded the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), a group that is leading this fight. When Noorjehan Safia Niaz (43) and Zakia Soman (50) came together to empower Muslim women, they did not imagine the response they would get.

Opinion: What’s Holding Back Affordable Housing In India

By Likha Veer
Group Executive Editor

INTERVIEW: India needs more than five million homes annually and more than 90% of this demand is in the affordable segment — homes priced at less than $50,000. But supply is lagging. Rajesh Krishnan, founder and CEO of the Brick Eagle Group, a financial services platform for affordable housing, says the disparity between supply and demand is because of a broken ecosystem. According to him, everybody in the affordable housing value chain “seems to be missing some piece of the puzzle.”

In a conversation with INNLIVE, Krishnan talks about his prescription for affordable housing in India. He points out that along with being a pressing social need, it is also a $100 billion market opportunity. “We are making investments across the value chain so that we can take it from start to finish.”

Will PM Modi Keep His Word On 'One Rank One Pension'?

By M H Ahssan - Group Editor in Chief

OPEN EDITORIAL: And far more importantly, should he? On September 15, 2013, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi spoke passionately at a rally in Rewari to honour retired members of the armed forces: “Today, I publicly demand from the government of India on behalf of the army men and ex-service men of this country, to publish a white paper on the status of the ‘one rank, one pension’ scheme.”

Focus: Telangana's Chief Minister KCR Gifts Himself 5 Crore Mercedes-Benz Bus At Taxpayers' Expense!

By Newscop
Group Managing Editor

BURNING TOPIC: He do everything with a difference and catch the eye-balls to raise the concern, people call him a visionary, politician and a man with a difference, we are talking about the Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, also known as KCR, likes to boast about how only Gujarat and Telangana are revenue surplus states. 

That is perhaps why KCR has no qualms about splurging on his office. His latest acquisition is a bullet-proof and mine-proof Mercedes-Benz bus.It will be used during his tour to the districts but has burnt a hole of Rs 5 crore in the exchequer.