SARBANANDA SONOWAL-Man who helped BJP script history in Assam

SARBANANDA SONOWAL
Man who helped BJP script history

Assam was waiting for him ever since he won a major legal victory over illegal immigrants in 2005. And for the next five years, Sarbananda Sonowal will script the state's history, thanks to the mandate handed to him by the people in the Assembly polls.

The indications were clear ahead of the Assembly elections — and that's exactly what happened: the 53-year-old BJP leader is now poised to lead Assam as its new Chief Minister.

Born in the tea district of Dibrugarh in 1962, Sonowal was a student leader in his younger days. He was a member of the All-Assam Students Union (AASU) and served as its president between 1992 and 1999. He later entered active politics by joining the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

Sonowal shot to fame in 2005 when he took up the issue of "illegal infiltration from Bangladesh" and moved the Supreme Court for removing the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983.

In its landmark judgment on July 12, 2005, the apex court struck down the act as being "unconstitutional" and termed Bangladeshi infiltration an act of "external aggression". The judgment has had its impact on Sonowal's political career: he became the "Jatiya Nayak" (national hero) of Assam — a title bestowed on him by the AASU.

However, Sonowal was aiming to spread his wings beyond a regional outfit.

In 2011, he left the AGP and joined the BJP. The same year, he was appointed to the party's national executive and made spokesperson and general secretary of the BJP's Assam unit. In 2012, he was appointed president of the state BJP-and there had been no looking back since then.

Sonowal synthesised his tribal identity with his brand of Hindutva politics. His staunch opposition to the Bangaldeshi migrants suited the RSS and the BJP in their quest for power beyond the Brahmaputra in the northeast.

And as we see now, it did wonders for the saffron outfit that had just six MLAs in the previous Assembly. Sonowal has delivered the state to his leader Narendra Modi. This, despite the fact that the "Modi wave" of 2014 was either on the wane or didn't exist.

Delighted by the success, 53-year-old Sonowal attributed it to the "family-like team work" of BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and a new entrant Himanta Bishwa Sarmah. — IANS

64 places named after Gandhis in Delhi alone: Rishi Kapoor tweets map

• HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
 |  
• Updated: May 20, 2016 22:25 IST

Rishi Kapoor continued his Twitter rant on Thursday.
It looks like Rishi Kapoor is still not done with the Gandhi family.

The 63-year-old actor on Thursday tweeted a map of Delhi, highlighting the places named after the Nehrus and Gandhis.

View image on Twitter

Rishi Kapoor 

✔‎@chintskap

THINK. There are 64 prominent places named after them only in New Delhi! Do you need that many to commemorate them?

3:32 PM - 19 May 2016

 
•  3,7773,777 Retweets
 
•  4,6354,635 likes

Read:Rishi Kapoor slams Congress: Why is everything named after the Gandhis?

Earlier this week, the actor stirred a political storm when he posted a thread of tweets, slamming the Congress Party for naming important places such as roadways, railways and airports after the Nehrus and Gandhis.

”Change Gandhi family assets named by Congress.Bandra/Worli Sea Link to Lata Mangeshkar or JRD Tata link road. Baap ka maal samjh rakha tha ?” he wrote.

 Follow

Rishi Kapoor 

✔‎@chintskap

If roads in Delhi can be changed why not Congress assets/property ke naam? Was in Chandigarh wahan bhi Rajeev Gandhi assets? Socho? Why?

200 crorepatis to contest Kerala assembly,89 re-contesting TN MLAs asset doubles in last 5 yrs

200 crorepatis to contest Kerala assembly elections, 311 have criminal cases against them: The average assets per candidate contesting in the Kerala assembly elections is Rs 1.28 crore.
PTI| Thursday, May 12, 2016 - 16:52

A total of 202 crorepatis are in the fray in Kerala assembly elections to be held on Monday, while 311 have declared criminal cases against themselves, as per a latest survey.

"Out of the 1,125 candidates, 202 are crorepatis. 43 from INC, 24 from CPI(M), 18 from BJP, 18 from Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, 2 from AIADMK, 17 from IUML, 9 from Kerala Congress (M) and 30 independent candidates have declared assets worth Rs 1 crore and above in their affidavits," a survey by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said on Thursday.

The average assets per candidate contesting in the Kerala assembly elections is Rs 1.28 crore.

"Out of the 1,125 candidates, 311 have declared criminal cases against themselves. 72 candidates from CPI(M), 42 from BJP, 37 from INC, 13 fielded by Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, 15 from CPI, 6 from IUML, 25 from SDPI and 43 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," the survey said.

A total of 496 candidates out of the 1,125 analysed have not declared their PAN details, while 834 have not declared income tax details.

On the education details of the candidates, the survey said 669 have declared their education qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 380 have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above, 29 have declared themselves to be simple literates and 7 have declared to be illiterate.

As per the survey, 656 candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years ,while 461 have declared their age to be between 51 and 80 years.

While six candidates have disclosed to be older than 80 years of age, two candidates have not disclosed their age details.

In the Kerala assembly election this year, 104 women candidates are contesting.

Kerala Election Watch and ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 1,125 out of the 1,203 candidates who are contesting in the Kerala assembly elections to be held on May 16.

TN2016

89 re-contesting TN MLAs asset doubles in last 5 yrs, Jaya’s jumps 62 cr: Survey

Jayalalithaa witnessed asset increase by Rs 62 crore from Rs 51 crore in 2011 to Rs 113 crore in 2016, ADR said.

PTI| Saturday, May 14, 2016 - 09:23






The average asset of 89 re-contesting MLAs in Tamil Nadu has doubled by Rs 4.27 crore between 2011 and 2016, with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa witnessing an increase of over Rs 62 crore in asset, as per a survey by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The average asset of these re-contesting MLAs fielded by various parties in 2011 was Rs 4.35 crore, while it now stands at Rs 8.63 crore in 2016, reflecting a jump of 98 per cent.

AIADMK's Jayalalithaa witnessed asset increase by Rs 62 crore from Rs 51 crore in 2011 to Rs 113 crore in 2016, ADR said.

DMK's M Karunanidhi asset increased by over Rs 18 crore (Rs 44 crore in 2011 to Rs 62 crore in 2016) and that of AIADMK's R Sarathkumar rose by more than Rs 36 crore (Rs 27 crore in 2011 to Rs 64 crore in 2016), it added.

Tamil Nadu Election Watch and ADR have analysed the affidavits of 89 outgoing MLAs who are re-contesting from major parties in the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections to be held on Monday.

AIADMK's 51 MLAs average asset increased by Rs 4 crore, while that of 16 DMK MLAs rose by Rs 5 crore.

Among other major parties, DMDK's 11 MLAs saw average asset increase of over Rs 2 crore, CPI four MLAs (over Rs 27 lakh), CPI(M) four MLAs (over Rs 15 lakh), Pattali Makkal Katchi two MLAs (over Rs 1 crore) and INC's one MLA (over Rs 3 crore), the survey said.
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/89-re-contesting-tn-mlas-asset-doubles-last-5-yrs-jaya%E2%80%99s-jumps-62-cr-survey-43227

Intellectuals come out in support of Modi government

NEW DELHI: With the intolerance debate taking centre-stage in the wake of outrage expressed by a section of intelligentsia and return of awards by writers, filmmakers and historians, a set of intellectuals on Thursday issued a detailed statement in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the protests were "much ado about the declining clout of a pampered section". 

The signatories appealed to people not to be diverted by the false narrative and rather focus on achieving unity, progress and growth under Modi's leadership.

The statement - 'Intolerance in Contemporary India' - was signed by 36 intellectuals by Thursday evening. The signatories include many prominent names associated with top institutions across the country.

It said, "India has witnessed a curious spectacle these last few weeks. A section of the nation's intelligentsia has expressed outrage at a perceived mounting intolerance in society. In the forefront are the usual pallbearers of Indic civilization -- Congressmen of various hues, Marxists, Leninists, even a handful of Maoists.

"The target is clear and explicitly stated -- none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who much to their dismay led his party to a clear majority in Parliament. Failure in the elections is now sought to be avenged by other means; it helps if the media (or sections of it) serve as cheerleaders."

Signatories included ICCR president Lokesh Chandra; author, novelist and Sahitya Akademi national fellow S L Bhyrappa; former Pro-VC JNU and chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Antar-rashtriya Hindi Viswavidyalaya, Wardha Kapil Kapoor; professor emeritus at University of Cambridge and ICHR member Dilip K Chakrabarti; and K Gopinath of IISC, Bengaluru.

The signatories appealed to people not to be diverted by the false narrative and rather focus on achieving unity, progress and growth under Modi's leadership.

Though these intellectuals expressed anguish over what happened in Dadri, they questioned how the central government was responsible for this.

"The murder of a resident of Uttar Pradesh, allegedly because he consumed beef, is certainly condemnable, but how is the central government to blame? Uttar Pradesh is a state infamous for violence of every kind. Had the Centre intervened and dismissed the state government under Article 356 of the Constitution, for failure to uphold law, the protest brigade would have found another stick with which to beat it. The murders of Dabholkar and Kalburgi happened in states not ruled by the BJP, yet loose language is bandied about," the statement said.

Referring to the intellectuals who have been vocal recently over the Dadri killing, the statement said, "This same intelligentsia chooses not to remember that there has been no justice for victims of the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 and the farmers killed in Nandigram in 2007 under Congress and Left governments respectively.

"In fact, when the CPM-led Left Front government, professing to serve the 'proletariat', fired upon and killed innocent farmers, it was a constituent of UPA-1 at the Centre and a close partner of the Congress party. A similar silence followed when in 2010, the hands of Professor T J Joseph, in then CPM-ruled Kerala, were chopped off, simply because of his belief and articulations. There are other sins of commission, too many to list."

Without taking Irfan Habib's name, the statement added, "But the equation of the RSS with the terrorist Islamic State by an AMU scholar is simply breathtaking, it embarrassed intellectuals from his own community. As an eminent scholar of Islam, he would be aware of its own recorded history and the IS's self-documented abuse of human rights, including beheadings and wanton killings, not to mention rape, enslavement et al."

Rahul Gandhi left embarrassed by Bengaluru students,

Rahul Gandhi fumbles for answers to queries from Bengaluru students, left embarrassed


The first outreach programme of Rahul Gandhi, a year-and-half after the Congress was thrown out of power and he occupied opposition benches, at Mount Carmel College in Bangalore left him hugely embarrassed.

By the time the over-an-hour interaction - his opening statement and a question and answer session ended - it was clear that the Congress vice president, who kept on stressing on one word “conversation” with all concerned and position of women in society at large, was clearly out of sync with the popular pulse, at least those in this metropolis.


]Image courtesy: Twitter

The questions were so pointed that Rahul for the first time accepted that GST was a good reformist bill and the Congress would support it if the government was inclined to engage with them and address “three concerns” including capping of taxes proposed in the bill.

Rahul seemed ill-prepared to handle questions which came from the young girls. It was part of the format of the programme. Unfortunately for him, the big embarrassing moment came when responding to his question whether the Swachh Bharat campaign was working the students responded with a loud “Yes”.

Surprised by the response, he said he would ask a different question: “You think Make in India is good”? Again there was a loud “Yes” for answer. Rahul was clearly stumped not just by their approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India programme but also the ferocity with which the students responded. “You think so!” he said. Then he asked: do you think youth are getting jobs in India? The answer was a mix of ‘Yes' and ‘No'. But Rahul heard 'No' for all the three questions he asked. He then added that BJP idea had not worked.

This session must be particularly revealing to Rahul and the Congress because for the better part of his opening statement he had blasted the prime minister, the BJP and the RSS. He kept on targeting Modi, saying the government at the Centre was being run by one man and the PMO was controlling it all. By contrast, he (Rahul) stood for dialogue, discussion conversation. He also said in the early part of his life he had been mostly in the company of women - grandmother, mother and sister - and realised that problem in this country was that the women did not get the respect and position they deserved.

But the kind of questions that came indicated that the most girls were not convinced with Rahul's argument on goodness of the Congress party and evilness of Modi and the BJP.

Interestingly, after he came out of the convention hall, he told media persons that he got no clear view on Swachh Bharat. “Half of them said nothing has happened, some said something has happened.” On Make in India, he said most said “No”, some said ‘'Yes”. The Congress vice-president was perhaps unmindful of the fact that his interaction was broadcast live on all national channels, apparently on feed provided by his party itself.

Sample the questions that came to Rahul from young girl students. The first question from a girl from North-East was: Why no conversation was held with Iron Sahrmila during her years long fast?

Second, you talk about Suit Boot (Modi) government but what's wrong with that if it brings development and achieves economic growt?

Third, GST, an important economic reform bill was piloted by the Congress but why is the party stalling it when it is moved by the BJP?
Fourth, why is the opposition stalling Parliament merely for opposing the government?

Fifth, why the youth was going either to the BJP or to the AAP and not to the Congress party?

Sixth, does aligning with the RJD in Bihar not mean that the Congress is compromising with corruption?

Seven, why after several years of Congress rule both at the centre and in states, North-East has been left neglected (the girl asking question referred to a particular stretch in Assam).

Such questions continued. Rahul response was not very coherent. He blamed Modi government for all the prevailing ills. For N-E alienation, he blamed the Modi government for withdrawing special status category to these states. For aligning with Lalu he deviated to say prime minister was killing RTI and to Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He did refer to Digvijaya Singh about half a dozen times.

He obviously had a rough landing at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, a place which could have provided him an ideal launching pad to set the “intolerance” agenda against the Modi government in motion for the Winter Session which starts on Thursday.
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/rahul-gandhis-embarrassment-in-bengaluru-is-food-for-thought-which-he-can-consume-at-leisure-2521066.html