NAC: Sonia’s own cronies

NAC: Sonia's own cronies
By Ravi

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RASHTRIYA Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat hit the nail on its head when he recently questioned the Constitutional validity of the National Advisory Council (NAC). He asked, "If Ramdev and Hazare are outsiders, under which clause of the Constitution has the NAC been constituted?"

The issue becomes extremely relevant with central ministers and Congress leaders expressing doubts over the legitimacy and representativeness of social activists Anna Hazare and yoga guru Baba Ramdev. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee lashed out at civil activists and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly trying to gather political capital from the anti-corruption movement. "The Constitution has given the power to legislate only to Parliament and the state Assemblies. If 5,000 or 6,000 people dictate from outside what Parliament ought to do, this will weaken democracy," he said.

How can a few thousand people 'dictate' the legislature? Even in his most intemperate remarks, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh did not mention any armed movement at Jantar Mantar and Ramlila Maidan. They were all peace-loving people who wanted to goad the Central Government to act against graft. One may agree or disagree with their demands; the views expressed by Hazare, Ramdev and others may be seen as impractical and sentimental. But by no stretch of imagination can the protestors be accused of dictating or coercing Parliament.

The supporters of Hazare and Ramdev—like the partisans of any cause—have every right to register their protest in a peaceful manner. Don't we have student unions, trade unions, industry associations, business chambers, resident welfare associations, media bodies and other organisations representing various groups and interests? Don't they plead with the Government and protest against it when needed? Don't we have interest groups and pressure groups? It is, after, the totality of such organisations that comprise civil society. So, what is the Finance Minister complaining about?

Further, he should get his facts right. The people supporting Hazare and Ramdev are not in a few thousands but in millions—and from all walks of life. And they are supporting the anti-corruption movement out of love for their country; they are not pushing any agenda or ideology.

The NAC, on the other hand, is a body comprising mostly Leftists who are eager to sneak their discredited ideology back into polity and economy. They represent the most quixotic non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and champion the most retrograde causes. And they have a most pronounced bias against industry, development, commonsense, reason, the BJP, and the RSS. Which is not surprising, for the NAC is headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Consider the case of the NAC member and former bureaucrat Harsh Mander. On February 24 this year, The Indian Express carried a report, revealing that his NGO, Aman Biradari, runs an orphanage, Rainbow Home—Aman Vedika, in Orissa. The home manager of the orphanage was Sirishakka, also known as A Padma. She is the wife of top Maoist leader Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna.

Typically, Mander claimed that he and his group were not aware of Padma's identify when she came looking for a job in October 2008. The Maoists had abducted a District Collector in the state and sought release of their comrades, including Padma.

This is not an isolated incident underlining the proximity of the former bureaucrat with Red terrorists. As a Special Commissioner appointed by the Supreme Court, he submitted a report in which he talked of an "undeclared civil war" in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh and the vicious trap of "unending cycles of often brutal violence, unleashed consecutively by Maoists, security forces and vigilante armed civilian groups such as the Salwa Judum, and its incarnations by other names."

Notice the egregious moral equivalence Mander resorts to; he equates the bloodthirsty Maoists with security forces, and presents both as brutal. In his scheme of things, there is no difference between an arsonist and a firefighter, between a psychopathic murderer and a brave soldier, between a rapist and a law-enforcer. This is the world of moral ambiguities, the world of the Indian intellectual, the world of Mander, an unabashed Naxal sympathiser.

The NAC represents such intellectuals and presents perverted worldview. They have not been elected, or even selected by some sort of collegium. They have been chosen by She-who-must-be-obeyed.

It is in this context that Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari's statements need to be seen. He has dubbed the Hazare group as being "unelectable" and tyrannical. He said, "If this democracy faces its greatest peril from someone, it is from the tyranny of the unelected and the unelectable."

The Hazares and the Ramdevs may not have been elected, but they surely have wide support of the people. The NAC, however, is nothing but a coterie of Sonia Gandhi's cronies.

- Dark days of Emergency
A Surya Prakash
[ We must never forget the Congress's suppression of democratic rights during the 1975-77 Emergency. The party remains authoritarian as ever. ]
That an extra-constitutional centre of power controls much of what transpires in the Union Government is a fact that is far too well known both within the country and outside. It is also no secret that the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, who became that supra-constitutional authority after the 2004 general election soon after the appointment of a pliable party man as Prime Minister, regularly exercises her veto power and keeps a tight rein on the Government.
The Congress, however, does not see this as violative of any principle, constitutional or otherwise, because the presence of such extra-constitutional entities is part and parcel of the party's concept of governance. Since the Nehru-Gandhis play a pivotal role in the affairs of the Congress, the party runs on the premise that members of the dynasty need no formal office to run the affairs of state.
Contrary to popular belief, this process began during the days of Jawaharlal Nehru when his daughter, Mrs Indira Gandhi, began dabbling in politics and even got her father to appoint her as the president of the Congress in the later part of the 1950s. The exercise of extra-constitutional power by members of this family came to be seen in a rather aggravated form in the mid-1970s when Sanjay Gandhi, as president of the Youth Congress, started issuing diktats to Union Ministers and Chief Ministers.
This approach to governance crossed the limits of decency during the dreaded Emergency in 1975-77. So appreciative was Mrs Indira Gandhi of the work of Sanjay Gandhi that she used her brute majority in Parliament to extend the term of the 1971-76 Lok Sabha by a year. This dreadful phase only ended when the people threw out the Congress in a belated general election called by her on the basis of 'intelligence' inputs that suggested that the people were with her.
This is the history of governance a la Congress

From: Ganesh Shenoy <ganeshekal@gmail.com>
TYRANNY OF UNELECTED AND UNELECTABLE
1. No other Democracy in the world has an unelected Prime Minister but
India, the world's largest democracy has. In such a scenario he could as
well say, "our democracy faces its peril from its people...'
2. No other Democracy in the world has its PM or President as silent
and as invisible as India.
3. No other government in the civilised modern world receives orders
from an extra constitutional authority (10, Janpath) as obsequiously as does the Indian Government.
4. No other government in civilised world is ever seen staggering
indecisively and so clownishly as our very own Government. First, they made fun of Anna Hazare, then, terrified at the overwhelming tide of humanity in support for Anna Hazare's call, the stubbornness of the government caved in and formed the Jt Drafting Committee for Lokpal bill. Unable to answer questions raised by the Anna Team, Pranab Mukherjee calls him a tyrant! Next, the top foursome of the government lay prostrate before Baba Ramdev whom they would beat two days later. What kind of 'Democracy' is it; and who is destroying it?
5. No other Democracy in the world has as many as nearly a third of its
Parliament (Lok Sabha) (162 plus Kalamadi, A Raja, Kanimozhi and more like Maran, Chindambaram etc in the pipeline) facing criminal charges (ranging from trespassing to murder) which is more than 26% increase over the previous Lok Sabha's record. There are 9 ministers in the central cabinet facing criminal charges including one for 'theft'. (As per National Election Watch, 76 MPs are involved in serious criminal cases. A total of 522 cases against MPs are pending, 275 under serious IPC sections). What more would you add, Mr Manish Tiwari, to imperil Indian Democracy?
6. As per combined survey ('International Perception of Corruption') by
world's highly reputed independent institutions like World Bank & IBRD,
Bertelsman Foundation, World Economic Forum, Global Insight and Transparency International Berlin, India ranks at 87 with countries like Albania, Jamaica and Liberia at index of 3.3 (out of 10) - continuously falling from 3.5 in 2007 and 3.4 in 2008 & 2009.
7. No sane system of governance other than a heartless tyrant would
unleash such brutality over a most peaceful bhajan singing congregation of innocent men, women and children as was done in Delhi's Ram Lila ground in the late night hours on 4/5 June 2011.
8. As per media reports (Times of India Ahmedabad, dated 8th June
2011), India not only tops the list of nations having tons of black money
stashed in Swiss banks but its cache of black money there ($ 1546 bn) is far more than the combined total of next four countries in the list of black
money deposits namely, Russia, UK, Ukraine and China ($ 1056 bn). Contrast this with our poor farmers committing suicides, hapless pregnant women delivering babies at hospital gates and destitute tribal masses fed up with the callous administration finding solace under Maoist rebellion.
9. No other government can boast of so many scams as the UPA Govt.
10. Only DMK seems to be ahead of Congress (so far, at least) in the
corruption race - so what if some have crash landed in Tihar Jail!
+91 93100 28880 www.ekal.org

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From: Chand K Sharma  - chandksharma@yahoo.com;

Impose Social Actions Against Corrupt Politicians

It is an open secret that Congress politicians have bred corruption in the public life after 1947. It has now got settled in every institution. Dr Manmohan Singh at present being the head of corruption has only to look after the interests of Sonia Gandhi and vacate the chair shortly before 2014 elections.

As long as the mother of corruption is in India the situation will remain contaminated.

Corrupt persons have forged unity at the center although they are fooling the public in UP by fighting mock battles harming public interest. If any among Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Congress, Laloo Prasad, or DMK are serious why don't they withdraw support from Manmohan Singh's government?

Constitutional remedies have been blocked. Congress politicians have turned remorseless and are over confident on the strength of their corrupt supporters. Public tolerance will come to end one day when frustrated youths will start beating politicians in streets. After all politicians elected or otherwise, claim to be the servants of public. Public has now to go to the politicians of all parties and confront them as to why they are individually supporting this corrupt government.

Chand K Sharma

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