My Columns: Without Fear and Favour

How Hit is Modi’s HIT Formula? By  Deepak Parvatiyar August 5, 2014 HIT in Kathmandu! Can Narendra Modi ask for any better? In the last few weeks, the Indian prime minister has shown his fondness for wordplay and slogans. The latest in the line is his prescription of a HIT formula to boost Indo-Nepal ties. “I have abbreviated the priorities as HIT — highways, information-ways and the third, transmission-ways,” he said during his visit last Sunday. Obviously, HIT struck a chord with international media too. A New York Times headlines screamed: ‘Nepal Enthralled by Visit of India Premier, Who Hits ‘the Right Notes’. The official Chinese media too has acknowledged that the Indian prime minister has done a lot to win hearts! Competing with China You may also like to read 100 days of Modi Government Biography of Narendra Modi Yet, there is more to the HIT formula than meets the eye. In recent times even China has stepped up its engagement with Nepal, wi...

AAP Not Contesting Haryana Polls: Will it backfire? By  Deepak Parvatiyar August 4, 2014 http://www.elections.in/blog/aap-not-contesting-haryana-polls-will-it-backfire/ What a fall it has been for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which had only recently marched aggressively to ‘capture’ Delhi by fielding 432 candidates in the Lok Sabha elections! The move of the political greenhorns came up cropper as the party could win only four seats and its candidate could save their deposit in barely 19 seats. Obviously, the disappointment at the general elections has proved to be rather disastrous for the AAP, which now has withdrawn from contesting even the state elections in Haryana – the native state of at least two of the AAP stalwarts – part chief Arvind Kejriwal and ideologue Yogendra Yadav. Fortunes have drastically dwindled for the Broom. Isn’t it true that Kejriwal was even projected to be the next prime minister of the country? That the suave Yadav was considered the ...

Politics in India and role of Media By  Deepak Parvatiyar August 2, 2014 Media plays an important role in politics as it influences public opinion and helps define and take up the issues. It can keep the powerful in check by seeking transparency in their actions. Suppose if a government were to control all the information regarding its own actions, then won’t it escape all accountability? Thus, an independent media is an effective check on government’s power and influence over its citizens. In fact, with the emergence of TV and Radio networks, many governments in the Europe and America brought about legislations so that the broadcast media did not deviate from a neutral position. Yet before we dig the issue more, it would be apt to refer to the media’s role in defining the political future of our country during the recent elections. You may also like to read Role of Social Media in 2014 Lok Sabha Election Names of states with upcoming assembly elections...

How fair is the Indian Election process ? By  Deepak Parvatiyar August 1, 2014 To its credit, the Election Commission (EC) has, indeed, played a significant role in keeping Indian democracy alive. Yet, can it claim of consistency vis-à-vis ensuring a free and fair democratic process? It certainly demands a close scrutiny. Seshan’s Path-breaking Contribution in cleansing the Elections Process All will agree that whenever we talk of fair and free elections, we think of a gentleman named Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan. As the 10th chief election commissioner (CEC) of India from 1990-1996, he was literally a one-man crusading army, loved by the masses but feared by the political establishments. Ironically, the efforts that he made to cleanse the election process in the country, earned him a rather degrading sobriquet, ‘maverick’. Obviously the political class never liked his style of functioning and even made attempts to derail his efforts. In October 1993, P...

Why do Politicians switch Political Parties By  Deepak Parvatiyar July 31, 2014 Consider these facts: In Uttar Pradesh, as many as 19 defectors joined the BJP just before the Lok Sabha elections. In Bihar, five of the nine outsiders who were given party ticket by the BJP, won the seats. In Haryana, defectors to the BJP won four of the seven seats in the state. This election, Narendra Modi was right in his judgment of getting absolute majority. But wasn’t the numbers of defections to the BJP a good indicator to boost his confidence? Just look at the names of some of the big defectors — Jagdambika Pal, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Ashok Kumar Dohare (Uttar Pradesh), Rao Indrajit Singh, Dharamvir Singh (Haryana), Col Sonaram Choudhary (Rajasthan), Ram Kripal Yadav, Ajay Nishad, Om Prakash Yadav, Sushil Kumar Singh (Bihar), Vidyut Baran Mahato (Jharkhand), Heena Gavit (Maharashtra). And the list goes on… It could be the question of political survival for these de...

Is this the End of Dynastic Politics in India? By  Deepak Parvatiyar July 30, 2014 Why are we so eager to write the epitaph of dynastic rule just because the Congress lost the elections this time? Didn’t the torch bearers of India’s foremost political dynasty – the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, who contested the elections, actually won? Whether it was Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul (both Congress), Maneka Gandhi and her son Varun (both BJP) all of them tasted victory at the hustings. Can Dynasties be Devoid of Conflicting Ideologies? I have another poser. It may be a wild assumption but suppose Varun rises in the BJP to become the prime minister of the country, would we call him carrying the legacy of a Nehru or a Gandhi? Would we make a distinction because of the ideological differences between Nehru’s centrist and Varun’s right wing politics? Yet there are instances in Indian politics where fathers (even mothers) and sons (and daughters alike) have nurtured poli...

John Kerry’s India visit: paving the way for Modi’s US visit By  Deepak Parvatiyar July 29, 2014 There is more to the US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to New Delhi than meets the eye. The visit is definitely meant to set up the base for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forthcoming US visit in September this year on an invitation from President Barrack Obama. But can Kerry succeed in setting the tone for Modi’s visit? Modi was banned from travelling to the United States under the International Religious Freedom Act (after the Gujarat riots of 2002). He was continuously denied the US visa since 2005, when the US government had patently rejected the Indian foreign ministry’s request to reconsider its arbitrary decision. From Pariah to PM Time has taken a full circle now and nothing can be more exciting than Narendra Modi’s visit to the USA.  Today, as India’s PM, he is expected to take forward the Indo-US relations to new levels, in a curious twist o...

http://www.elections.in/blog/can-aap-take-bjps-support-form-government-delhi/ Can AAP take the BJP’s support to form government in Delhi? By  Deepak Parvatiyar July 25, 2014 Both BJP and AAP should form an alliance to come to power.” This suggestion made by AICC General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed may sound like a typical pot shot at a political rival, but it seems to have a well thought out political overture. The Congress has a score to settle with the AAP Understandably, the Congress has to settle the score with the AAP on more than one count. While it owes its disgraceful exit from the political horizon of Delhi largely to the Jhadu or broom (the election symbol of the AAP), it had also been accused of dislodging the AAP government which it had supported from outside, despite the fact that the AAP’s leader Arvind Kejriwal had unilaterally decided to step down as the Delhi chief minister However, before we look into the (de)merits of the Congress advice, it...