Suresh Nambath

PTI Leaked U.S. Embassy cable reveals senior BJP leader Arun Jaitely’s candid remarks on Hindutva, Narendra Modi and the party’s succession plan. File photo
Is Hindu nationalism the raison d'être of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or just another vote-catching device? In a private conversation with American diplomats in May 2005, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley articulated the view that Hindu nationalism was an opportunistic issue for the party.
Mr. Jaitley, who is now the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, met with Robert Blake, the Charge at the U.S. Embassy, on May 6, 2005, and provided him and the Political Counsel an insightful exposition on the politics of Hindutva. “Pressed on the question of Hindutva, Jaitley argued that Hindu nationalism ‘will always be a talking point' for the BJP. However, he characterized this as an opportunistic issue,” the Charge wrote in a cable dated May 10, 2005 (32279: confidential).
“In India's northeast, for instance, Hindutva plays well because of public anxiety about illegal migration of Muslims from Bangladesh. With the recent improvement of Indo-Pak relations, he added, Hindu nationalism is now less resonant in New Delhi, but that could change with another cross-border terrorist attack, for instance on the Indian Parliament,” Mr. Blake reported on the interaction with Mr. Jaitley.
On the basis of these remarks on Hindutva made by Mr. Jaitley, the diplomat concluded that his “credentials with the Sangh Parivar are weak, and he may not have what it takes to mobilize the BJP base.”
A “relaxed and self-assured” Mr. Jaitley predicted that L.K. Advani would lead the party for another two to three years, “after which one of five next generation leaders (Jaitley among them) would take the reins.”
On the issue of revocation of the visa of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Jaitley complained that he could not understand how the United States could take such an action against the party that began the transformation of U.S.-India relations.
When Mr. Blake explained the “rationale and legal basis” for the U.S. decision, “Jaitley agreed with the Charge's point that Modi was a polarizing personality, but argued that it would have been better for the US to let the Chief Minister visit the US, where he would have attracted a few demonstrators and then nothing more would be said.”
The Modi issue aside, the BJP leader was upbeat on U.S.-India relations, “emphasizing that ties with the U.S. were no longer a point of controversy in Indian politics.” Citing his own situation as typical, “Jaitley noted that he has several nieces and sisters living in the U.S., and ‘five homes to visit between DC and New York.'”
In private, Mr. Jaitley appeared more willing to give credit to his political rivals where due. “Putting on his hat as a former Commerce Minister, Jaitley confessed that the BJP's opposition to a Value Added Tax (VAT) at the state level was based on a narrow political calculus, and predicted that the BJP states would adopt the VAT soon in order to protect their revenue streams. He gave the Congress government generally positive marks for its handling of economic policy issues, but focused on the contradictions inherent in the UPA coalition.”
In response to the “Charge's pitch for opening of the Indian services sector,” Mr. Jaitley, a Senior Advocate, agreed that legal services should be opened to foreign competition, “noting that the performance of the Indian bar has begun to improve, even though the quality of judges suffers from a ‘Gandhian' mindset that leads to unreasonably low salaries.” On the retail sector, Mr. Jaitley “argued that foreign competition should not seriously hurt the mom and pop stores that form a BJP constituency.”
In a concluding comment, the Charge wrote: “Although visibly pained by the Modi visa revocation, Jaitley was gracious and open throughout. He clearly values his personal and commercial connections to the US (several US corporates are legal clients). As the competition for BJP leadership heats up, Jaitley will enjoy the advantages of a telegenic personality and strong ties to the New Delhi establishment.”
(This article is a part of the series "The India Cables" based on the US diplomatic cables accessed by The Hindu via Wikileaks.)

New Delhi, Mar 23 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday filed a complaint before the Election Commission accusing the Congress of indulging in the "paid news" malpractice in Assam by using a news channel to beam its electoral propaganda.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, the party alleged that the Congress was misusing the news channel News Live for telecasting biased news and said it "amounts to paid news to influence the voters of the state" for the forthcoming assembly polls.

The party demanded that the commission should take "immediate steps to stop telecast of paid news in the channel News Live".

It said the channel should be banned from telecasting any type of programme till the assembly elections are over in Assam.

It also sought independent inquiry against the channel and directions to the state Election Commission to monitor the channel and its programming to prevent paid news.

Assam will go for a two-phased poll on April 4 and 11.

The letter singed by BJP vice president M.A. Naqvi among others said the channel has a wide viewership in Assam.

It said that managing director of the channel is the wife of a minister who is contesting the assembly polls.

"The channel is presently running as an agent of the Congress party and screening programmes of the Congress which is nothing but clear case malpractice of paid news," the letter said.

"The MD of the said channel is openly canvassing for the Congress party and clipping of the same are repeatedly telecast on the channel...the Congress party in collusion with the TV channel namely News Live are opening violating the model code of conduct," the letter said.

'Advani played down opposition to Indo-US N-deal'

New Delhi: BJP was on Saturday hit by the Wikileaks expose with US diplomatic cables stating that the party leadership had told them that its criticism of the US in public was to score "easy political points" against UPA and when in power, it would not harm the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The expose, published by 'The Hindu', drew immediate strong reaction from ruling Congress which asked BJP to apply to itself the same standards it adopted for the government when it was needlessly disrupting Parliament for the last few days.

The BJP, however, denied there was any doublespeak and maintained that because of its strong position, the government had to come with 16 amendments to the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.

Seshadri Chari, BJP National Executive member and RSS pointsman in the party, figured in the diplomatic cables as having told an US embassy official in Delhi in December 2005 "not to read too much into the foreign policy resolution especially the parts relating to the US", which had attacked the UPA's "subservience" to Washington.

"Chari dismissed the statement (resolution) as standard practice aimed at scoring easy political points against the UPA. BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar echoed these statements, saying that the BJP was not really upset about the US-India relationship, but merely wanted the Government of India and US government to be more forthcoming about any deal on nuclear policy," the cable said.

In another cable, the embassy's then Charge d'affaires Peter Burleigh wrote after a meeting with L K Advani in May 2009, just before the Lok Sabha poll results were out, the BJP veteran "downplayed" any move by his party to reopen the nuclear deal noting that BJP "does not take international agreements lightly".

Advani acknowledged that the BJP's public position in July 2008 was that the deal constrained the country's strategic autonomy and that the party would reexamine if it returned to power but connected that stance to "domestic political developments" then at play in India.

The BJP leader, the diplomat wrote, was clear that there would be "no imminent BJP move to reopen the (nuclear) deal. In his view, the government is a continuity, particularly in matters of foreign policy and international agreements cannot be taken lightly."

Asked about the diplomatic cables quoting him, Chari declined to comment saying he has not seen the report. He said he did not remember if he had talked to Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Blake in December 2005.

"I don't remember the name. I don't remember the names. I don't remember whom I met in 2005," Chari said, adding the party will officially comment if required.

Javadekar said there are "no contradictions" in their stand. "We have made our position clear both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and through are press statements that we value strategic relations with the US and that all sources of energy should be tapped," he said.

But, he said, when the government brought the Nuclear Liability Bill, the party raised certain objections and the government had to make 16 amendments to the Bill at its insistence. "We keep national interest foremost...there is no double speak," Javadekar said.

But Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari would not buy the BJP's defence. He said, "For the BJP, chickens have come home to roost and they have come rather soon."

He said BJP had made Wikileaks "the Holy Grail of their political philosophy" even when Congress had warned them not to give credence to hearsay.

"Now the shoe is on the other foot. It is for the BJP to explain to the nation whether they will apply same standards to themselves as they attempted to apply to the government by needlessly disrupting Parliament for the last few days," Tewari said.

Guwahati, March 18: The Opposition BJP today demanded a high-level inquiry into the alleged collection of commissions by Congress leaders in Delhi for releasing funds meant for welfare of the indigenous population in the Northeast.

The party’s national secretary and ex-MP, Tapir Gao, today said, “Assam deputy speaker Pranati Phukan, during a sting operation by a satellite news channel, had admitted that the government department meant for tribal welfare in Delhi takes at least two per cent commission while releasing funds for development of tribals in the region. We demand a high-level inquiry into the revelations of Phukan and let people know the reality.”

The BJP leader from Arunachal Pradesh said the party would conduct an inquiry into the incident and launch a campaign against this ahead of the Assembly election.

“Our president Nitin Gadkari has issued instructions and decided to form a committee to probe the entire incident and the revelations made by Phukan. After the inquiry, we will submit the report to President Pratibha Patil,” Gao said.

BJP national vice-president and Lok Sabha MP, Bijoya Chakraborty, expressed confidence that the party would give tough fight to the ruling Congress in the ensuing poll.

“During campaigning at Morigaon and Nagaon, we have received an overwhelming response. This shows how people are unhappy over massive corruption and lack of development by the ruling party,” Chakraborty said.

“While the state government is beating its drum and crowing about its development activities, the ground reality is just the opposite. The common people are unhappy with the Congress and the state is poised for change of guard after the Assembly election,” she said.

BJP national general secretary Arti Mehra said yesterday the party was not averse to joining hands with the AIDUF if the post-poll scenario dictated such a move. The AIDUF has, however, ruled out any such possibility saying the party would remain away from the Congress and the BJP, no matter what.

GUWAHATI, March 15 – The election preparedness of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Assam Pradesh has picked up with several central leaders of the party camping in the State and visiting the constituencies. The saffron party is going to contest in all the 126 Assembly constituencies.

The party has chalked out a detailed constituency - wise programme for the central and State leaders to ensure their presence during the filing of nomination by the candidates. In the last two days, the BJP leaders participated in more than 40 worker and public meetings across the State.

On Monday, Central leader of the party Vinay Katiyar visited Nagaon and Rangia along with Dr BK Jalan, Anjan Deka and Sarbananda Sonowal. Party sources said that senior leader Venkaiah Naidu will be campaigning in the State on March 29, 30 and 31.

The other constituencies visited so far by the Central and senior State leaders are Boko, Dispur, Morigaon, Naobaicha (Laluk), Bihpuria, and Sipajhar.

It needs to be mentioned here that national general secretary of the party Vijay Goel will be present along with several State leaders during the filing of nomination by Margherita constituency candidate Kamakhya Prasad Tasa on March 15.

State president Ranjit Dutta will file his nomination on March 16 for the Behali constituency from which he was elected in the last Assembly election. Goel will be present here along with P Chandra Shekhar, north east organizsing secretary and Sarbananda Sonowal.

The other BJP candidates who will file their papers on March 16 are Dilip Moran for the Doomdooma constituency, Ritubaran Sarma for the Tezpur constituency and Sanjay Kisan for the Tinsukia constituency.

On the other hand, Niranjan Nath will file nomination papers for the Rangapara constituency on March 17. The other candidates who will file their nomination papers on March 17 are Ganesh Kr Limbu for Barchalla, Batas Orang for Dhekiajuli, Kulendra Daulagupu for Haflong (ST) and Gopal Pradhan for Sadiya.

National spokesperson Prakash Javadkar will be in the State on March 16 and 17 and will take part in public meetings in Golaghat and Tezpur. The national general secretary of the party Thawarchand Gehlot will participate in rallies in Hajo, Jagiroad and Khetri on March 17 and 18.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday said that he felt the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992 had "badly dented" the credibility of his party.

Recalling a newspaper article he had written a fortnight after the demolition, he said that while describing the genesis of evolution of Ayodhya movement, he had said that the day the disputed structure was pulled down was the saddest day of his life.

In the latest post on his blog, Advani said that some colleagues had criticised him for that statement saying, "Why he was being apologetic about the development?"

Advani said he had replied, "I am not at all apologetic. Indeed, I am proud of my association with the Ayodhya movement. But I am extremely sad that our party's credibility has been badly dented by the happenings of December 6."

He recalled that he had written in his article that organisations involved in the movement could be faulted for not being able to judge the impatience of the people participating in it.

"I felt sad that a meticulously drawn up plan of action, where under the UP government was steadily marching forward towards discharging its mandate regarding temple construction without violating any law or disregarding any
court order had gone awry (because of the demolition).

"If the exercise contemplated had now been short-circuited in a totally unforeseen manner, the organisations involved in the movement can be faulted for not being able to judge the impatience of the people participating in the movement, but they were certainly not responsible for what happened that day", Advani recalled as having stated in the article.

Guwahati, March 11 (IANS) A divided opposition is Assam continues to look for a meeting point to take on the ruling Congress party as the battle lines are drawn for the assembly elections next month.
The fight for the 126-member assembly is between the Congress and a fractured opposition led by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF). The two-day poll will be held April 4 and 11.
'The opposition must unite to defeat the Congress. If we look at the 2006 assembly election sheet, we find the Congress party with a 29 percent vote share in power. If we are able to keep the 71 percent vote share intact, we can surely keep the Congress out of power this time,' AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary told IANS.
But the AGP's move for a grand alliance to prevent the Congress from making a political hat-trick has come a cropper, with the two other main players - the BJP and AUDF - rejecting the proposal.
'No question of being on the same platform with the BJP. It is a communal party. We are not opposed to joining hands with the AGP, but not when the BJP is there,' AUDF president Badruddin Ajmal said.
According to BJP Assam unit president Ranjit Dutta, it is now too late for a grand alliance.
'The AGP was the first to snap ties with us in September after we had an alliance in the 2009 general election,' Dutta told IANS.
In the 2006 assembly poll, the Congress won 58 seats, the AGP 24, the BJP and AUDF 10 each and the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) 11, besides some smaller parties and independent candidates.
The BPF has been an alliance partner of the Congress since 2001.
The Congress party is confident of its prospects.
'Whether or not the opposition unites, the Congress and the BPF would form the next government in Assam and I am more than 100 percent confident about that,' Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
So far the opposition has not really been able to focus on any major issues and both the AGP and the BJP are busy refuting allegations of a secret seat-sharing deal.
The BJP particularly faces charges of putting up weak candidates against some senior AGP leaders, a deal that could also help it in some seats by way of a reciprocal gesture.
Gogoi dismissed the threat from such secret deals in the opposition camp.
'Don't really care about the opposition. We are focussing on development and peace - our twin mantras for the elections,' Gogoi said.

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

The Election Commission has urged the media to play the role of an “ally and friend” to monitor violation of the model code of conduct in the coming Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puduchery.

“We see the media as our ally and friend in the elections. We will see through your eyes,” Chief Clection Commissioner SY Quraishi said here on Tuesday.

Quraishi said the Election Commission would take up any case of malpractice and violation of the model code of conduct by parties and candidates, exposed by the media, as a formal complaint. “We will take up such cases exposed in the media as formal complaints and take necessary action as provided by the law,” he said.

Quraishi accompanied his two colleagues, HS Brahma and VS Sampath, was speaking at a press conference here at the end of their two-day visit to Assam. The announcement came after most opposition political parties in Assam complained to the visiting team on Monday that the ruling Congress party had allegedly violated the code across the state. The opposition parties also expressed apprehension of the use of money power (by the ruling party), he said. “Opposition parties have complained about the distribution of bicycles, mosquito nets, blankets and other items by the ruling party in violation of the model code of conduct. We are collecting details of such incidents and have already asked officers to take action if such cases are detected,” Quraishi said.

Quraishi, however, did not say what action the Election Commission would take in cases where freebies had been already allegedly distributed after the code came into force. A sizeable number of such items have been already confiscated in some districts after the code of conduct came into force in Assam.

“We have told the district magistrates and SPs that they would be in trouble if we see even the slightest lack of neutrality in their actions,” he said. The Election Commission would also constitute district-level media watch committees to monitor paid news. “Such committees will have among others a senior journalist nominated by the Press Council of India. While these committees will watch the print as well as electronic media, we will take up the matter once incidents of paid news are suspected,” Quraishi said.

Once confirmed that a particular news item was actually paid for, the cost of that item would be included in the expenditure register of the particular candidate. “As many as 86 such cases were noted in the Bihar Assembly elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, the EC found that as many as 137 officers were yet to be transferred from their home districts or from where they had served three-four years even after a week of the announcement of elections in Assam.

“The parties complained that many officers were still in their home districts ... We have asked the chief secretary to ensure these officers are shunted out,” Quraishi said.

New Delhi: Former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah conspired with policemen to kill Tulsiram Prajapati, a witness to the Sohrabuddin fake encounter, CBI told the Supreme court on Wednesday.
Shah is also a close aide to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The CBI has claimed that Shah had conspired with a section of Gujarat police officials to eliminate Prajapati in 2006.
The CBI told the Supreme Court this was because he was witness in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and just prior to Prajapati's encounter death there were many phone calls between Shah and IPS official Rajkumar Pandian.
CBI has petitioned the Supreme court to merge both the Sohrabuddin and Prajapati encounter killings and hand over the investigation to them.
Narmada Bai, the mother of the deceased, had sought transfer of the case to CBI on the ground that he was a key witness in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter killing case which was transferred to the agency by the apex court on January 12, 2010.
CBI's senior counsel KTS Tulsi also supported the plea for transfer of the case to the agency on the ground that Tulsiram Prajapati's killing was an "integral part" of the Sohrabuddin killing.
While Sohrabuddin and Kasuer Bi were killed in a fake encounter by the Gujarat police in November 2005, Tulsiram Prajapati, it was alleged, was shot dead by the police in a similar encounter on December 27, 2006 to destroy all evidence.
With PTI Inputs

By Priya Sahgal

Rahul Gandhi
This could be the year of change for the Congress. The buzz within the party is that Rahul Gandhi will be taking on a more decisive leadership role within the next few months. Highly placed Congress sources say that while Sonia Gandhi is keen to make him working president, Rahul does not feel he is ready yet. He has, however, agreed to play a more active role within the party. This will be the first step back that Sonia takes as Rahul steps forward to claim his legacy; party leadership is a major stop on the road to the goal to making him prime minister.
An organisational as well as a comprehensive Cabinet reshuffle is planned post the Assembly elections slated for April-May. This will see many Cabinet heavyweights shifting to the organisation. Contrary to reports, Team Rahul will comprise not only greenhorns from his youth brigade, but will also have experienced leaders from the Rajiv Gandhi or Sanjay Gandhi era.
Cabinet ministers such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, Veerbhadra Singh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Kamal Nath, C.P. Joshi and G.K. Vasan are tipped to be drafted for party work. Most have been complaining that they are at odds in Manmohan Singh's Government, where emphasis is on bureaucratic-like delivery systems instead of political governance. Manmohan has made this a government where professionals have eclipsed party veterans. The only genuine veteran who cannot be ignored is Pranab Mukherjee.
Non-performers such as S.M. Krishna, B.K. Handique, Veerappa Moily and M.S. Gill are likely to be dropped. Gill, the former sports minister, is already sulking at being sidelined to the Department of Statistics in the last reshuffle.

Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh
The idea is to groom a team that would connect with Rahul. Fresh faces that could be inducted into the government will vary from professionals such as spokespersons-cum-lawyers Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Manish Tiwari, young tribal leaders such as Gajendra Singh Raju Kheri and firebrand youth leaders Manicka Tagore and Vijay Inder Singla. "Low-profile state leaders will be inducted. Their brief will be to use their ministerial posts to improve development in their states. At least, this is what we are expecting," explains a Cabinet minister.
There is a need for revamp. "This is a government where the foreign minister reads the wrong speech, the law minister has not seen the inside of a court room for the last 40 years, the information and broadcasting minister is kept out of government information management, and where we have a risk-averse defence minister who is scared of taking a decision," says a Congress Lok Sabha MP. Congressmen also complain that upa II is but an extension of upa I. "There are no new faces in the Cabinet. Despite all this talk of bringing in performers and young blood, we still see the same handful of people in Cabinet who were there for the last six and half years," says another party MP.
A change had been promised at the party headquarters ever since upa II took over in 2009 and four of the nine general secretaries became Union ministers. Of the remaining five, the only one with whom Rahul has a working equation is General Secretary Digvijaya Singh. He is courteous to Mohsina Kidwai, helping her with her luggage when he bumped into her on a flight to Lucknow, but has not called on her for political guidance even though she is a part of the Indira era. Another General Secretary, V. Narayanasamy, had a hard time keeping up with Rahul's swift strides during the Madhya Pradesh Assembly campaign. When he takes over the party apparatus, he needs a team that can both mentor and walk alongside him.
There is already a fledgling Team Rahul in place. He has a band of young MPs helping him plan his tours and take on such projects as the Youth Congress talent hunt. However, they work from Rahul's residence at Tughlaq Lane and not the party headquarters. These include Milind Deora, Deepender Hooda, Jitin Prasada, RPN Singh, Madhu Yaskhi, Sandeep Dikshit and Sachin Pilot. Most are second-term MPs and young dynasts who entered politics at the same time as Rahul. He could now bring them into the system. Some are already ministers but they will be part of the Rahul rejig as he reshuffles his loyalists between the party and the Government. Congress Secretary Jitendar Bhanwar who is currently helping Rahul revamp the youth wings will remain at the party headquarters as Rahul's right hand man.
What is also worrying the party is the power play between senior Cabinet ministers. With Rahul still to indicate whether he is interested in the top job, a turf war has broken out between the second rung of leadership. "The planned reshuffle will end this, especially if he takes over as the working president or some post of authority. This will answer the question-after Manmohan, who?" says a Congress minister.
Congressmen have also taken note of Sonia's statement earlier this month. At a function in honour of the late Ranbir Singh Hooda, a freedom fighter and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's father, she said, "The biggest thing is that he chose to retire from politics at age 64. Today when people are hankering after power and post, the importance of such an outlook increases." This was seen as a signal not just to end the power play within the Cabinet but some of her colleagues say that she has also indicated her own retirement plans. Sonia is 64 years old.
Rajiv Gandhi was party general secretary in 1983-84 while his mother was the Congress president. But unlike Rahul, he did not limit himself to the youth wings but took an active interest in other party affairs. This kind of initiative is lacking in Rahul, who shrugs his shoulders and says that he has his own schedule whenever asked whether he will take on more responsibility. Hence the need to propel him in directions other than his own chartered course.
For long, Rahul had only limited himself officially to the brief given to him as a general secretary. It's only recently, however, that he has been increasing his scope of activities, albeit unofficially. Whether it is M. Karunanidhi or Hillary Clinton dropping in at 10 Janpath to meet Sonia, the young scion is there by his mother's side. Whenever Rahul is asked about his views on anything other than the youth wing, he says he is a mere general secretary and not authorised to comment on such matters. But as a working president his brief would be broadened, while Sonia would function as the upa Chairperson and a Rajmata-like figure, overseeing the party.
The feedback from Uttar Pradesh is not encouraging. This is a state that Rahul has identified himself very closely with. A wipe-out, especially after Bihar, would erode his credibility. Hence the need for him to consolidate his leadership before that. While touring Uttar Pradesh recently, Rahul met a group of young party workers at Raiphulwari. When he exhorted them that the only way forward in the state was to destabilise Mayawati, a young worker stood up and told him, "If you want to destabilise Mayawati, bring Priyanka." According to the india today Mood of the Nation poll, Rahul's ratings dropped nine points in a mere span of six months. Clearly, Sonia has realised that she needs to move fast before more party workers turn to Priyanka as their beacon of hope instead of Rahul.
The 40-year-old has spent the last six-and-a-half years readying himself for leadership. "Why are you harping about 40 when we have a prime minister-in-waiting at 91," laughs Digvijaya, taking a dig at L.K Advani, though the BJP leader is not yet a nonagenarian. Yet there is no denying the feeling of drift that has crept into the party. Talk to the average Congress worker and he will complain that the Sonia-Manmohan combination is on the wane. The reluctant Rahul has to play a larger role to energise the party. Now his party wants him to step up. "There is a wide constituency both inside and outside the party which believes he should play a far bigger role across the spectrum of issues in the public domain," says Tiwari.
This is also one reason why Manmohan had to limit himself to a cosmetic reshuffle in January. The blueprint of the great Rahul makeover is still being worked out. "Rahul is achieving a quiet revolution of youth empowerment at the grassroots levels," says Abhishek Singhvi. But this has not really happened.
The much-trumpeted process of democracy in the youth wing has only thrown up a bunch of dynasts as youth Congress chiefs. Rahul admitted this at a press conference claiming that democracy has to start from somewhere. Unlike Sanjay or Rajiv, he has not been able to build his band of performers from the youth wing. A Meenakshi Natarajan lacks the fire of an Ambika Soni.
During the party plenary last December, Digvijaya had told Rahul that most leaders on the dais, such as Bhupinder Hooda, Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot, Mukul Wasnik and himself, were brought into the Congress by Rajiv when they were in their 30s. He added that they had passed their expiry date and it was now time for Rahul to groom his team.
Rumours of Rahul being made working president have been doing the rounds ever since he refused a ministerial berth in upa II. "I cannot confirm or deny this news," says a party general secretary enigmatically.
There has not been a working president of the party since Kamlapati Tripathi was appointed by Indira. Later, Arjun Singh was made vice-president by Rajiv. This experiment did not work well in either case, leading to turf wars. However, Sonia would have no problems of promoting her heir apparent as the working president. The waiting game has to end soon.

R Dutta Choudhury
 GUWAHATI, March 8 – Corruption is one of the main reasons for underdevelopment of the North Eastern region of the country, while infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals poses a serious threat to the security of the nation, said the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nitin Gadkari. Talking to The Assam Tribune, the BJP president said that corruption would be one of the main issues for the BJP in the ensuing elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly. He pointed out that over the years, Assam has been neglected as vital issues concerning the people have been overlooked and a major portion of the funds provided by the Government of India is not reaching the people because of corruption. He pointed out that the BJP has already unearthed financial scams worth Rs 60,000 crore in the North Eastern region and even at the national level, corruption is a major issue for the party.
Gadkari said that the BJP has already constituted a committee of experts to study the problems facing the North East and to prepare a vision document entitled NE Vision 2025 for recommending ways for sustainable development of the region. He expressed the view that there is urgent need for launching sustainable development schemes free from corruption in the North East.
On the problem of infiltration of foreigners, the BJP president alleged that over the years, the Congress gave a red carpet welcome to the Bangladeshi nationals to create its own vote bank, thus overlooking the interests of the nation. He said that because of the wrong policies of the Congress, foreign nationals even managed to buy properties in India, while, infiltration has seriously deprived the indigenous people of Assam, irrespective of their religion and caste, of their due share of development. It is unfortunate that even after 60 years of independence, the international border with Bangladesh could not be sealed, which not only encouraged infiltration but also instigated cross border terrorism, which has become a major threat to the security of the nation, he added.
On the prospects of the BJP in the ensuing State Assembly polls, Gadkari said that the BJP would fight the elections alone. He asserted that a non-Congress Government would be formed in the State after the polls and the BJP is likely to be a part of it. However, he refused to disclose whether the BJP is ready for a post-poll alliance with the AGP and said, “ such issues will be discussed when such a need arises. At this moment I can only say that the strength of the BJP is increasing with every passing day and we hope to do well in the elections.”
Replying to a question on the recent resentment among a section of BJP workers over the issue of selection of party candidates, Gadkari said that such issues would not affect the party in any way. “Ours is a democratic party and such minor issues in a party like BJP are not unusual. The BJP is not like a proprietary mother and son party like the Congress,” he said. However, he warned that the BJP would not tolerate any indiscipline by party workers.
Replying to another question as to how the BJP, if voted to power, would solve the problem of insurgency, Gadkari said that wrong policies followed by the Congress resulted in deterioration of the situation. He expressed the view that the policy of appeasement by the Congress would not help in solving the problems. He said that all-round development including better education facilities, creating employment potential, solution to the problem of floods, better health care, adequate facilities to the farmers etc., can play a vital role in dealing with the problem of insurgency.

NEW DELHI, March 4 – The Congress-led Assam Government may have bombarded the State with a slew of development projects to woo the electorate, but All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-house survey predicts only 42 seats for the ruling party.

The pre-poll survey for Assam has forecast a rather gloomy picture for Assam Congress ahead of the polls though no clear winner has emerged, if the reports are anything to go by, a senior AICC leader told this newspaper.

According to the survey report, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) will get 39 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 26 seats and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) 19 seats, said sources.

The survey was reportedly conducted by a prestigious market research organisation with a large sample of over 1 lakh voters per constituency, said sources.

However, the findings have been questioned by Assam Congress leaders including Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Though the State Congress has been given only 42 seats, there is a catch. The surveyors were told to visit only difficult seats, leaving out those seats, where the ruling Congress is on a strong wicket.

As a result of which, Legislative Assembly Constituencies like Jalukbari, Moran, Margherita, Titabor, Samaguri, among others, which the Congress Party is reasonably confident of retaining have been left out of the survey, sources said.

Besides, the surveyors also left out the entire Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Areas ruled by Congress ally Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF).

Assam Congress leaders, when contacted, admitted that they were aware of the survey report but do not agree with its findings.

The survey report has given 42 seats to Congress Party, leaving out about 10-12 seats, where no survey was conducted but the Congress is expected to retain. Together, the tally is expected to be come to about 54 seats and with the help of allies like BPF, the ruling combine is expected to romp home, said the leader.

Interestingly, the Congress Party has decided to snap ties with BPF and fight the ensuing Assembly polls alone.

However, the survey report may have grave implications for the Tarun Gogoi Government, as it has also predicted that if Congress and AIUDF joins hands before the polls, they are likely to wrest 82 seats.

The findings may mean that the AICC may be forced to revisit the issue of alliance with AIUDF, which Gogoi has been vehemently resisting. AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal too has ruled out the possibility of fighting the polls with Congress as its alliance partner, opting to fight the polls alone.

However, the Congress Party’s minority members have already started making noise, pointing to AIUDF’s aggressive campaign in minority-dominated areas of lower Assam. They have also conveyed to the AICC their misgiving over the timing of the split in Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (HUJ).

Ajmal’s faction was ousted from JUH by Arshad Madani’s group in a move backed by the Congress Party, leaving the senior Ajmal seething with anger.

New Delhi: BJP on Thursday announced a list of 54 candidates for next month's assembly polls in Assam where it has decided to go it alone.

The BJP Central Election Committee (CEC), at a meeting chaired by party chief Nitin Gadkari, cleared the second list of 54 nominees for the two-phased elections scheduled for April 4 and 11.

Ananth Kumar, Secretary of the CEC, said BJP will contest all the 126 seats in the Assam assembly.

Another meeting of the CEC is scheduled for March 9.

The party had last month declared six candidates for the state polls.

Guwahati, Mar 3 : AIUDF sees secret understanding between BJP and AGP

The Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday snubbed the Asom Gana Parishad and virtually rejected the AGP's move to forge a grand alliance of all Opposition parties.

State BJP president Ranjit Dutta said his party would contest all 126 Assembly seats and there was no “secret understanding” with any other party.

The BJP claimed that the party would play a crucial role in the formation of the next non-Congress government in Assam.

The AGP had earlier announced that it would not field candidates against the BJP State chief, the Communist Party of India, the CPI (M) and the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) as a gesture towards forging a grand alliance to defeat the ruling Congress. But, AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary's announcement failed to evoke a positive response.

The AIUDF too rejected the AGP gesture and announced that it would not enter into any such poll understanding. AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal said the AGP, by announcing not to field any candidate against the State BJP chief, indicated the “secret understanding” between the AGP and the BJP.

Hence, the AIUDF could not have any poll pact with the AGP and would go it alone in the Assembly polls as of now.

The AGP's gesture came despite the regional party formally deciding to sever tie-up with the BJP and one of its general secretaries, Sarbananda Sonowal, quitting the party and joining the BJP.

The AGP has almost finalised a seat-sharing understanding with three regional parties — the Bodoland People's Progressive Front (BPPF), the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) and the Ganasakti. The AGP has already announced the first list of 31 candidates. The CPI State unit announced its first list of 22 candidates on Tuesday.

The two Left parties have called for defeating the Congress and the BJP in the Assembly polls.