More exposure on Teesta

The self proclaimed messiah of the Muslims, the Shrill and raucous Teesta has been using unethical and questionable means to propagate many myths about "Muslims oppression". Not too long ago it became clear that a few "victims" in Naroda Gam were propped up by Teesta by fabricating false charges. And now there's more embarrassment for Ms. Setalvad, who had no qualms going all over the world pouring vitriol on Hindus and Modi in particular. Read here. Excerpts follow -

Raees Khan, who has been accused of distorting facts in the affidavits of six Naroda Gam witnesses, alleged Friday that activist Teesta Setalvad has been threatening him and said he has filed a police complaint against her.

The man was threatened for turning inconvenient -

Khan said late on Friday evening that he had to take this step as calls were made to him from Ahmedabad railway station warning him and his family of dire consequence if "I turn out to be a nuisance to Teesta".

The threat -

"Do not say anything about Teesta. Do not address the media. Keep strictly away from media persons. Even if one word is spoken against Teesta, you and your family will have to pay a heavy price," Khan quoted the caller as saying.

And it is Teesta threatening -

"'I will send you to a place from where you will not return', Teesta had warned me recently when I asked for my two months' salary dues," Khan said.

And this pioneer report mentions Teesta indulging in bribing witnesses to claim "victimhood".

"Oppression" huh Teesta?

Overground jihadis

Abdul Rahman Antulay is sceptical of the circumstances under which Hemant Karkare died. It has been a day since he expressed his concern and is still unapologetic. On the contrary he claims his remarks have indeed helped the UPA government, which is a give away of the Congress's intentions. And he sat smiling when the opposition benches in the Lok Sabha demanded his removal. It did not seem to bother him that Karkare was accompanied by Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar and others when they were all gunned down by the terrorists.

Public, political and intellectual discourse have denigrated to levels unimaginable. It is "liberal progressive" to smell a rat in everything. It is the same looney liberalism that questions singing of the National Anthem and our National Song. It has become unfashionable, indeed loathsome, to be seen as a nationalist. Talks of sedition, justification of jihadis have come to be celebrated in our "liberal" media. What ought to be a discussion in the national interest and security is reduced to propagating the "minority oppression" myth. Even such important national matters as security are trumped by the "concern for minority" argument.

The proposed anti-terror bill and the National Investigating Agency (NIA) have been opposed by the usual overground jihadis claiming they will be used against the minorities. And Antulay is indeed the minority affairs minister. It seems his understanding of the ministry's job is different. Apparently he seems to think, it is his bounden duty to protect jihadi Muslims. He gives us enough indication on what the government intends to used the NIA for. In this report he claims, (quote from the report) "On Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's statement that there was no need to hold an inquiry into his demand, Antulay said he had no problem with it because now the matter could be dealt with by the proposed National Investigating Agency (NIA), a federal agency". The matter here is Karkare's killing by the jihadis. So rather than an unprecedented terror attack galvanising the political class in acting expeditiously to secure our citizens, it has become an occasion to "protect" the minorities and tools and laws devised to "counter" terror will now be used to "investigate" the supposed oppression of the minorities. With such leaders, do we even need jihadi's the bring this nation down?

Overground jihadis have infiltrated everything, the media, the parliament etc. And thay are not in short supply either. So when anyone points to Pakistani flags being hoisted on Indian soil or point to Pakistani jihadis, we are told to be "mature" and "understand" their "grievances". Never mind that such actions are against our constitution and patently anti-national.

Now as the din over the Mumbai massacre has begun to subside, the usual looney liberals have begun their "secular" agenda. Groundwork has begun to bail out Ajmal Kasab, the lone jihadi caught alive in Mumbai. There are stories of his beloved parents in Pakistan, his pictures from the hospital, suggestions of the sufferings he apparently underwent. Within a few days the same "enough is enough" actors will be raising their pitch in defense of the "poor oppressed misguided" Ajmal, conveniently forgetting that he set his foot on our soil to massacre innocent Indians and carry out the jihadi agenda. Also, there is already talk of seeking a "fair" trail for Ajmal. This talk presumes that Ajmal will not get a fair trial in India. A treasonous argument. "Fair", in this case, could only mean one thing, acquittal.

When the entire world has now realised Pakistan's role in terrorism and its support of global jihad, we have our "intellectuals" telling us they are "oppressed" and "misguided" souls. What is more baffling is that rather than "guide" the "misguided", it is the majority Indians that get preached! Which is the same as asking the prey to stay still while the predator adjusts him aim.

It is also the same looney liberals that have ended the fear of consequences amongst the wrong doers. In seeking to justify every terrorists actions against our nation, they have only emboldened them further. The liberals never for once stop to think the harm they are causing to the nation and the disservice they are doing. Reams of papers and hours of programs are produced, complete with "expert" opinions that justify everything from sedition to terrorism. And there is no second thought given to the means applied in achieving this goal. Many a myth goes unchallenged, stories pass for facts, numbers are twisted to suit their "secular" interpretation, inconvenient facts, blatant abuse of the laws are completely ignored.

Unless this "secular" noise is filtered and drowned out, there can be no clear, constructive discussion on the national interest. The overground jihadis must be defeated first. That is the first step towards tacking terrorism.

And now, blind men can rape!

A majority of the nun rape cases are very peculiar in nature and this one (Orissa nun rape case) is no exception. The usual drill is allege rape, prop up a "victim" nun, get a cahoot media to sensationalize the story, hold talk shows condemning the majority community and claim threat to India's secularism.

But, as investigations throw light on the matter, truth, it turns out, is usually on the contrary. This inconvenience always begets silence. Apparently, secularism cannot be under threat now.

A BJP MLA from Baliguda, Orissa has claimed that one of the suspects arrested by the Orissa police is a blind man. So now, the blind can rape. This is one curious case. It began with the nun alleging rape, a pliable media ran this story, then the nun went underground, refused to co-operate with the police, refused to come back to Orissa, the courts had to step in and order the nun to co-operate, next the nun claims a Hindu man saved her from being raped and now the police have arrested a blind man as one of the suspects. And since the inconvenient facts began to emerge, the "conscientious" media has ignored to cover it. You would think that rational minds would apply the same yardstick in passing judgements, but then we are talking of secularism in the Indian context.

Spontaneous victim theory

Radical muslims, despite history telling us otherwise, could never be aggressors. They can only be victims. That's the "secular" belief. And to prove this the "secularists" can postulate any number of convenient theories obfuscating facts suggesting otherwise. And the human rights business runs solely on this principle. The moment you prove this victimisation false, they will all be out of a job the very next moment. Hence the zealous need on the "secularists" and "human rights" activists part to perpetuate this mythical victimhood amongst the muslims. And this eagerness to paint all Hindus evil leads them to apply unethical means in manufacturing "truth", of which Teesta Setalvad in the beau idéal.

Her attempt at propping up Zaheera Sheikh, under duress, to perpetuate falsehood is one such example. And here, (excerpts later) there's more embarrassment for the "secularists". When it comes to applying questionable means in attaining one's goal, except physical violence, there is hardly any difference between the terrorists and the "secularists". Is it any surprise then that their heart bleeds for the terrorists?

Excerpts begin [Emphasis added] -

In a shocking revelation, six victims of the 2002 Naroda Gam riots have told the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that their statements submitted at several places in connection with the case were fabricated and recorded without their knowledge.

Wondering why or how could the "victims" not have any knowledge of what they were alleging? Here's why -

Tell SIT that human rights groups, relief camp authorities made them sign statements written in English, which they could not understand

And here's another Zaheera -

In her deposition before the SIT in February this year, victim Madina Pathan (25) retracted from her statement in the affidavit filed before the Supreme Court in 2003 and told the SIT that no one had raped her that day.

More lip service

Manmohan Singh has apologised to the nation over the Mumbai attacks. However, he owes much more than that. He, along with Sonia, has blood on his hands. Sitting over specific intelligence inputs is akin to complicity in murder.

That it took Manmohan Singh this long to realise his folly is a sorry indication of his clouded intellect. This realisation ought to have dawned on him back in Aug. 2004 (soon after he took over as our PM) when a bomb went off in Assam (ironically represented by him in the Rajya Sabha) killing innocent school children. That should have been the incident to startle Singh from his slumber and jolt him in action. Since then, there have been at least a dozen major terror attacks on our soil and yet it is now, after about 3000 lives have been lost, he realises his mistake. Unconvincing. So much for his concern for the aam aadmi!

There is one critical realisation that has not yet dawned on Singh. It is actions that define a leader, not words. Throughout his tenure, all that Singh has ever delivered is sermons to the nation. What baffles one and all is when Singh knew so much on what the government should be doing, why has there been no action on his part. L K Advani, in the Lok Sabha, rightly asked the question, "Are you here to govern or tender advice?". And Arun Shourie, in the Rajya Sabha, has made a compelling argument indicting the ruling dispensation of criminal apathy are dereliction of duty.

Perhaps no other Prime Minister has hurt our national interest so much as Manmohan Singh. He has been nothing short of a monumental letdown.

The people of the nation are angry precisely because of the UPA's failure to act on any significant matter. The current outpour is only a culmination of over 4 years of frustration. Mere words or assurances will no longer placate the them, action, rather concrete and decisive action in the nation's interest will. The opposition too has vowed its complete support to steps in this regard. It is questionable if the PM will shun partisanship and appeasement to stand up and deliver for the nation.

We won't learn, we are Congressmen

That is the message from the Congress leaders. Mumbai was a war zone for about three days. Hundreds of innocent Indians died, some of our bravest men lost their lives protecting us and yet the Congressmen fail it get it.

Vilasrao Deshmukh and R R Patil stepped down, not willingly and accepting failure, but rather reluctantly and under pressure from the 'high command'. No concern for integrity and morality. Narayan Rane is even worse, having failed to score the CM chair, the man has now revolted against his party. Our country burns and the Congressmen squabble for power. That is Congress's definition of national interest for you.

Conspicuous by absense

The usual shrill voices of the bleeding hearts group inc. is curiously silent on the Mumbai attacks. No "concern" for the victims lives? The victims do not have human rights?

Shocking beyond words

What kind of a government ignores threats to its own citizens and sovereignty? The callous apathy of sitting on specific intelligence inputs without doing anything about them is unpardonable. This pioneer news report makes the governments negligence clear.

Some excerpts -

Two days before the terrorists struck at Mumbai, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) had intercepted this chilling message: Char halal ho gaye jenab (four have been killed).” Already in possession of information about a possible attack on Mumbai by sea route, the RAW passed on this message to the Coast Guard to increase vigilance along the coast. The matter ended there. No one cared to react. Two days later, the terror boat made a safe landing at the Cuffe Parade port in Mumbai coast.

And here is specific intelligence input [Emphasis added] -

This is just one piece of input that went abegging. The terrorists were in constant touch with their ‘masters’ across the border and several of their messages were intercepted by the Indian intelligence, who passed them on to both the Centre and the Maharashtra Government. There were similar other specific inputs which intelligence officials processed and warned of an imminent attack on Mumbai. Some warnings specifically mentioned Taj and Oberoi hotels as possible targets. For once, it would be unfair to lay the blame at the door of RAW, Intelligence Bureau or National Security Adviser.

But where is accountability? Resignations are nothing but escape routes for politicians. The UPA and the Maharashtra government ought to be tried in court for negligence and dereliction of duty. And sadly, none of the mainstream "secular" news media and the self proclaimed conscience keepers of the nation hold the politicians accountable. All we ever hear from them is pontification.

The exemplary Arun Shourie too has completely exposed the UPA's callous apathy and failures to carry out its duties. Please read it in its entirety. With leaders like the UPA constituents who needs enemies.

Indian security forces were not hasty

Isreali intelligence personnel seem to believe that Indian security personnel acted in haste in storming to flush the Jihadis out in Mumbai. While this may have been true elsewhere that was facing such a situation for the first time, it is not true in India's case. India has seen decades of Jihad waged on its soil by Rabid Islamists. And we have all the intelligence and evidence one could have against Pakistan. In fact, we probably have more than enough evidence that conclusively connects Pakistan with all the terror unleashed in India. Our political leadership has been inept in using it to secure India's interests. And that is the sad part.

Sold out souls

The recent terror attacks in Mumbai have left this blogger shocked, enraged and dismayed. My nation has been under attack for years now. This is only an escalation. But this has eluded our political leaders. The media slant, even in such times, is disturbing. CNN-IBN has not even bothered to wait for the situation to get under control to start putting a spin on it. Read this for a conclusive proof of them having sold out their souls. This line is particularly galling -

What baffles the security agencies is the sacred thread tied on his wrist which many say could be a plot to show that the attack was undertaken by probably an extreme Hindu group.

While all other reports prove that this is an Islamic terror attack. Read here, here, here and here.

And here, CNN-IBN is already trying to protect the gutless wonder Shivraj Patil. Completely soulless and sickening.

Terrorists wage war in Mumbai

There should be no doubt that India is under terror attack. It has been for a few years now, but the terrorists have ratcheted up scale and intensity. Will the leaders, particularly Manmohan Singh and Shivraj Patil have the intellectual clarity to realize this or will their pusillanimity continue? It is time the people held them responsible of derelection of duty and give the current leadership the boot.

Inconvenience begets silence

Objectivity was never the media's forte, particularly the Indian national electronic news media. Upon seeing a possibility to malign Hindus, most of the 'secular' media houses and the self appointed conscience keepers invariably jump the gun. While Islamic violence is treated with deference by the same entities. We are advised to try and 'understand' their (imagined) 'grievances'. Clearly, the majority never needs to be understood, they can never have any grievance. Or even if they did, it can never be justified.

Reams of columns and hours of videos are produced when any incidence has a supposed Hindu link. The editors of the 'secular' media can hardly wait until the investigations are complete and truth established. If they did, it wouldn't be sensational. After all, where is the fun in indicting Jihadi terrorists or sleazy Christian priests who seem unable to keep their pants on? That would be stating the obvious. TRPs would not jump with such coverage. However, almost all such attempts to 'explain' Jihad or rabid evangelism have only yielded lemons. And yet, the media has not learnt.

Sister Abhaya was murdered 16 years ago. There were any number of attempts by the powers to cover it up. Yet, it turns out, the truth is tougher to bury. And now, two Christian priests and a sister have been arrested in connection to the case. Soul searching questions are not being asked. Fact finding teams are not being sent.

The Orissa nun, who was allegedly raped, got more coverage when Hindus were the alleged aggressors. However, as investigations progress, facts seem to suggest something else. The secular media's reaction? Silence. That's the standard hit-and-run ploy followed by them.

The editors of the 'secular' national media never pontificate the Muslims and their leaders to treat their women with respect and dignity. To respect the law of the land and to integrate with the nation. On the contrary, Mullahs that claim being ISI agents, seek to convert India into a Dar-ul-Islam, leaders that sing in Pakistan's glory, shout anti-India slogans are defended. And yet, it is the Hindus that must introspect.

The Sadhvi Pragya Thakur case is a more recent glaring example of the media's lopsided coverage. While terrorism could never be 'green' or 'Islamic', 'Hindu terrorism' or 'Saffron terror' is suddenly in vogue, so much so, that the mission to link terrorism to Hinduism has now continued unabated for about a month. Curiously, no other blast case received so much coverage. News reports of every other blasts died out after a day or so. But this new 'Hindu terror' story has outlasted every major news item, even the Chandrayaan-1 (which ought to have received the maximum coverage).

Even about a month's worth of effort in linking Hindus to terrorism has only resulted in incoherent theories, contradictory findings and inconvenient truths. While a Muslim terrorist who has no qualms taking innocent lives has all the human rights protection in the world. The same are not accorded to a Hindu 'suspect'. That too a woman no less. None of the usual activists have uttered anything so far. The National Commission for Women (NCW) too is guilty of inaction, especially now when the Sadhvi has alleged ill treatment by the Mumbai Anti Terror Squad (ATS). The affidavit makes for gut wrenching reading. However, that has failed to move Girija Vyas (President, NCW), the human rights activists and the usual concerned citizenry.

The media, who on days when the ATS did not have any leaks would cook up their own, too is guilty of being silent on the affidavit. Such a revelation demands equal coverage. So does the glaring violations of ATS in handling the case. But, it is inconvenient for a media who has bet heavily against the nation.

Best Bakery redux

The Orissa nun, who was allegedly gangraped, has backtracked. She now says that a local Hindu man saved her. This is reminiscent of the Best Bakery case in which Teesta Setalvad propped by a manufactured witness in Zaheera Sheikh to claim being victimized by Hindus. Zaheera later confessed to being pressured with dire threats by Teesta. And yet the media never learns, every such attempt at fabrication has landed eggs on their faces. The media screamed foul at the Hindus when the nun made the manufactured allegations, but has suddenly gone all quiet with this inconvenient turn of events.

You know where this is headed, don't you?

Establish terror links to the Hindus anywhich way, then equate the RSS with SIMI, then ban the RSS, next BJP and finally all Hindus. That Congress's social justice for you.

Tricolour on the moon!

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is indeed a momentous event in our nation's history. At 08:30 pm IST today, the Moon Impact Probe planted the Indian Tricolour on the moon!

Many congratulations to everyone at ISRO on the successful mission and making India proud! Congratulations to all Indians as well!

Trial by media

Raucous reporting by presenters of vacuous intellect passes off for serious news In India. The 24 X 7 television news channels are so driven by sensationalism and TRPs, they have dropped all semblence of responsibility, objectivity, fairness and nonpartisanship. News reports are no longer factual presentations made after thorough verification, instead they are almost often peppered personal opinions, spun to suit the presenter's political inclinications. Hardly any report could be considered credible enough to be regarded as a reliable record of an event.

Any objective viewer of the Indian news channels will have noticed their blatant one-sided coverage of events. The electronic media has appointed itself as the nation's conscience keeper. The abject lack of respect for law and the judicial process in the media houses is evident from their eagernesss to pronounce verdict even before the law has taken course.

The recent Amarnath episode is one such example. News coverage presented the Pakistani flag waving, anti-India slogan shouting Muslims of Kashmir as the aggreved party, while there was a near total black out on the completely patriotic and justified Jammu protests. Apparently Hindus had no claim on temporary land for their pilgrimage to Amarnath.

Gujarat riots of 2002 were covered to death, without investigating into the cause, however, there was complete silence on the Nandigram episode. The Gujarat riots brings us to another example of blatant partisanship. The Nanavati commission, which had the Supreme Court's (SC) blessing, after one of the most thorough investigations, absolved Modi of wrong doing. Yet the media sough to discredit the report by comparing it to an extra judicial commission on whose report a stay order has been issued by the SC, simply because it did not suit them.

While multiple bombs exploded in Assam last month, it only was as a momentary breaking news item on the news media which is in the midst of a campaign to prove "Hindu terrorism". The alacrity with which the media is seeking to prove Hindus as "terrorists" is galling. The same was completely missing in investigating or reporting any previous acts of terror. In contrast, there was every effort to protect any and every Muslim link. The same media houses denouncing Hindus as "terrorists" never painted previous acts as "Green terror" or "Islamic terror". Terrorists did not have religion we were told. Yet that has not stopped the media in proclaiming Hindus as "terrorists". While the "intellectuals" are busy lecturing, the same conscience keepers of the nation are completely silent on the illegal Bangaldeshi immigrants issue, illegal and unethical conversion activities of the foreign missionaries.

It is time the media be held accountable for its irresponsible and partisan behaviour. It is time for a reality check. The political position they hold and try to sell to the people is so far left that it is an anathema to our national interest. Divisive and seditious voices are given prominence and termed as the voice of the "sane" or "intellegence" while nationalism is denounced. The nation must question the media's transgressions.

Laying claim on national resources

Manmohan Singh said Muslims had the first right on the nation's resources. It did not take the Muslims too long before they started making demands. The Haj committee now seeks five-star facilities for it's members in Saudi. And sure enough, Singh will grant their wishes, after all his heart bleeds for the "oppressed minorities". In case you did not know this yet, we pay tax only to take care of the Muslims.

Mohammad Owais of the Haj committee is not requesting, but indeed demanding five-star treatment, like the tax payer money was a Muslim birth right to enjoy. Check the tone -

According to the letter to the Indian consulate, signed by
chief executive officer Mohammad Owais, the Haj committee has demanded that
"arrangements for their stay should be separate and befitting the status of the
officials and their family members during Haj period. Separate facilities of
kitchen and toilets should be made available."

More demands -

The letter further states, "The officials and their families
will require transportation arrangements during Haj period from Makkah to Mina,
Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina and back to Makkah. To facilitate their journey, it is
suggested that two or three buses, depending upon the number of pilgrims, should
be provided."

Wait, they are not done yet. Hey, so long as it's the tax payer's money, why not?

For its trip to Madina, the demand has been made for "accommodation in the
Markaziah area" which is where Hajis who can pay only first class rates are
usually booked, as it is only 5-10 km away from the central district housing the
main mosque.

Secularism Congress style!

What brings progress to the minorities?

Larry Wilmore on The Daily Show rightly said, as of Nov. 4th, the Jesse Jacksons of the US are out of their jobs. Folks that made a career for themselves exploiting the African-American victimhood (much like the 'secularists' back home in India, and the Mullah-Imam brigade) will suddenly have a lot less issues to rake up and talk about. Obama's victory has rendered them to the sidelines. And they should remain there unless they have something constructive and inspiring for the African-Americans.

Obama becoming the first African-American President of the US should be hugely inspirational, not only for African-Americans, but for all minorities. His is a lesson in hard work and ambition and he should now be the new hero whom all African-Americans should try to emulate.

With this, there needs to be a new debate on what helps the minorities. I mentioned this on Socal's blog and in this post entry, he rightly asks the minorities to introspect on what really helps them. The minorities should realise, perpetuating victimhood and exploiting it has only helped the 'secularists' and 'minority leaders' to be in business. True progress will be made by the minorities when they start seeing through the rhetoric of divisive policies argued on their behalf by the 'secularists' and when they seek to integrate into the majority. The claim that Muslims in India are given a raw deal is pure bunk and only hurts them more. You only have to look at Dr. Kalam, Azim Premji and many other Muslims to call the 'secularist's' bluff. None of them, and also Obama for that matter, made it big by crying out minority grievances. This ought to be the argument for minority betterment. Shun rhetoric and be inspired by the Kalam, Premji or the Obama story.

Hit and run

Claim being oppressed by the Hindus, fabricate bogeys to that effect, repeat them until they can be stated as facts and then perpetuate this victimhood. This modus operandi is being followed for decades now to portray Hindus as persecutors of the minorities and is a standard ploy used by the JNU, Macaulay, Marxist type journos. And it continues.

The nun who claimed being raped in Kandhamal is first, not co-operating with the investigative authorities, which is against what the courts directed her, and second, she is continuing making statements to the press and media about her victimhood. Rape victims are generally very reluctant to speak to anyone and suffer severe mental stress. But this nun shows hardly any signs of being a typical rape victim. If she indeed suffered that horrendous crime, then, having the truth on her side, there was no reason for her to act so elusive. Perhaps there is something to hide that compels her to act the way she has been.

The catholic priest, who claimed being assaulted on, too is playing hard to get. The priest is conveniently lodged in Kerala, undergoing Ayurvedic treatment and apparently this is reason why he cannot be back in Orissa. Neat! If justice is what they seek, it is only logical that they should be co-operating with the authorities in bringing the perpetrators to justice. But this is all lost on the "concerned" citizenry and the media personalities with "searching" questions to the establishment and the Hindus. It seems that the nun and the priest could never be wrong, but everyone else would.

Claim being victimized and go AWOL, leaving the burden of proof on others while never bothering to present any support to their claim.

All the concerns, soul searching questions, televised debates and human rights abuse issues were never raised when, for instance, these happened -

11 year old Nazmeen burnt by neighbour - The neighbour, whom Nazmeen called grandpa, actually tried to rape her according to this report.

John Thattunkal adopted a mature woman for "Spiritual refreshment" - Perhaps the Bible and the cross did not not provide what he sought.

More equal that others

While the Sadhvi and army men continue to suffer under fabricated charges and a sham of an investigation, the usual shrill voices of the sundry "concerned" citizenry, "human right" voices and commentators of vacuous intellect have been conspicuously missing. This motley crew has been vociferous in defending Jihadis accused of the numerous blasts across the country. Apparently every Jihadi arrested suffered "police atrocity" and "human rights" violation. However, all that zeal is missing in questioning the ATS's handling of the Sadhvi case.

A simple look at the affair will indicate lapses by the ATS in conforming to the rules of investigation. The Sadhvi had a chance to speak (only for 5 minutes though) to her lawyer Ganesh Sovani. And those few minutes yeilded these facts -

"According to section 50-A of the Criminal Procedure Code, a detainee or accused has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. We would like to know why the ATS didn't declare her arrest on October 11," Sovani said.

And -

Sovani has also alleged that National Human Rights Commission guidelines issued to all chief secretaries of states and Union territories on January 11 , 2000, relating to the administration of Polygraph Test (lie-detector) on an accused was not followed as the test was conducted without the subject's consent, which should have been recorded before a judicial magistrate.

It seems that the "police atrocities" and "human right" violations do not apply to a Hindu Sadhvi or the army men. Jihadis are more equal than others. While the mainstream media and their convenient commentators have gone to town labelling Hindus as terrorists, these inconvenient details were given a miss. No sooner does one test or interrogation fail, curiously enough, some new theory emerges either from the ATS or the media. The campaign to malign Hindus is relentless. So resolved is the media to attain this, the October Assam blasts were only a momentary distraction for them, after which, selling this new pet story of theirs resumed.

However, it is heartening to see increasing support for the Sadhvi among the people. Various political leaders have now voiced and offered their support including the BJP and RSS after fumbling earlier. Indians from Abroad too are now offering support. It seems that Hindus are waking up. The awakening must continue until until justice is achieved and Jihad quashed.

Karmic justice awaits p-secs

Calling spade a spade is a crime in India. The establishment, the intelligentsia, commentators and the mainstream media has deliberately chosen to look the other way while bombs blow up every other day in the name of Islam. We were told that terrorism had no religion and that it was the work of misguided folks. Never mind that the same allegedly misguided folks declared their Islamic agenda loud and clear. Never mind that their religious leaders, teachings and texts inspire them to do so. Never mind that there has hardly been even an attempt by the Muslims to condemn and disown the terrorists unequivocally and deem them outcasts. Never mind that the Islamic ideology has given birth to the likes of Osama, the Taliban, and various terrorists organizations based out of Pakistan. Yet they staunchly refused to communalize terrorism. It could never be Islamic Terrorism.

Now the same apologists of Islamic Terror are hysterically pronouncing Hindus as terrorists. Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was arrested in connection to the recent Malegaon blasts. Two army men too were detained. With this Hindu link, terrorism has suddenly become communal. Epithets like ‘Saffron Terror’ and ‘Hindu Terrorists’ are being used. Interestingly terror never was ‘Green’ before. Since the investigations began in the Sadhvi case, it was clear that there was no conclusive proof against the alleged. Many days and forensic tests later, evidence has yet to be found of their involvement. Yet the media has refused to tone down its campaign to malign Hindus. Moreover, inventing this new bogey gives the Congress and the media something to divert the country’s mind off the Delhi encounter case and SIMI involvement.

The alacrity shown by the Congress stooges to establish Hindus as terrorists is galling. The same was lacking when all those bombs went off before Malegaon. None of those cases could be solved, yet the ATS has suddenly found a link with the Hindus and is insisting on the Sadhvi’s involvement even on not finding any credible evidence. With every defeat, a new story emerges each day from the ATS. And the mainstream media has gone to town painting the Hindus as terrorists. This has not gone well with the people. They are seeing through this game. There is palpable anger among people, especially Hindus. A glance at message boards following this story reveals this. The relentless campaign to belittle Hindus at every turn by the Congress and its stooges in the mainstream media is pushing them to a corner. All this could lead to a strong reaction. Interesting times are ahead. Already there is growing resentment among the Hindus. Political leaders are now coming out in support of the Sadhvi. Hindu organizations are joining in. Blogs are voicing their concern. It is time that the Congress and the mainstream media realized their folly and stopped their games to please their masters. Else public outrage could consume them once and for all. That would be good riddance.

Laloo pulled a fast one on the nation

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has exploded the "Laloo-Railways success story" myth. This blog had its reservations and they have been proved true now with the CAG report on the Indian Railways. Laloo was upto to his old tricks of fooling the people like he did in Bihar, except the CAG (which always does a remarkable job) exposed the real reasons.

A politician who made his fortune by robbing fodder off bovines has chronic moral issues. His tenure as Bihar's chief minister saw the state's progress dip continually southwards. And since losing his hold over Bihar he went all hyper in appeasing the Muslims, holding rallies with Osama lookalikes, completely belying all responsibilities of a politician, supporting SIMI, trying to seek moral sanction to it's actions with dubious arguments, declaring Muslim youth charged of terrorism as innocents before the law had even taken its course. His act as a stand-up comic during the trust vote debate was completely bereft of any serious argument or contribution to the discussion. He took liberal digs at serious politicians who hold the parliament in extremely high regard. With a legacy like that, it would be a miracle if Laloo actually did any good to the nation.

Shubha Deepawali

Deepawali greetings to all my countrymen and women.

May this Deepawali bring peace, prosperity and glory to my dear Motherland.

Tricolour on the moon soon

On Oct 22, 2008 at 06:22 am IST we became only the fourth nation in the world to launch a moon mission. Chandrayaan-I is an unmanned mission to the moon that will also plant the tricolour on the lunar surface when it lands there in about 2 years. This is significant as we beat China who has only launched an orbiting mission so far.

ISRO scientists have made India proud and well deserved kudos are pouring from all over the world. Cheers to them and India!

Geert Wilders gets it

This Dutch MP has been fighting the Islamisation of his country and is urging Europe to wake up to this danger. The dramatic rise of radical Muslims is threatening the peace and existence of the region. The situation is pretty much similar to that of India's. The story is the same wherever there are Muslims in large numbers.

He has made a movie, titled 'Fitna', that emphasises the problem with the Islamic ideology. Watch the two parts here. (Warning! Graphic content.)

But Geert faces an uphill task, for there is no dearth of apologists. He was interviewed on the BBC by Stephen Sakur. Watch the interview and you will be hard pressed to differentiate between Sakur and the various pseudo-secular journalists back home. Dhimmis are the same all over the globe and unfortunately they have infiltrated various media houses heavily.

Here is the interview -

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

But that is entirely expected

The denounciations by the 'secular' brigade of the Nanavati commission report on the Gujarat riots were hardly surprising. Also, it is characteristic of the denouncers to criticize a report that is contrary to their expectations by not presenting any logical, factual or strong arguments backed by solid evidence.

No sooner was the first installment of the report tabled in the state assembly, cries of foul play began to be heard, without even an attempt to read the very same thing they were criticizing. It is all too well for the guardians of 'secularism' and 'minorities' to discredit a judicial commission appointed by the highest court of law in our land without providing any convincing counter argument, but the onus of proof lies entirely on the 'communal' people. While the 'secularists' can show complete lack of respect for the democracy, yet the 'communal' folk must be judged by the 'secular' yardstick. Oh, that's right, we are talking of secularism in India here. My bad.

Here is something else that will follow, 'secular' voices in connivance with other shrill voices launching a sustained attack on the 'communal' forces, demonizing Modi without caring too much for the judicial process or evidences. More myths will be floated and reinforced and fed to the people as complete thruth and the mainstream media will only be eager to oblige. Token muslims will be brought into televison studios to mouth scripts. However, the truth is out and all such attempts at suppressing the facts will only add to the already simmering anger amongst the silent majority and loss of credibility to the 'secular' forces.

Now for the 'secular' brigade to cry foul

The Nanavati Commission absolved Modi of any wrongdoing in the Godhra incidents. Now for the 'secular' brigade to term it as a assault on the minorities, write angry editorials, hold heated debates, write to the central government, approach the UN and the UNHRC, burn candles etc. etc. Never mind that this was a judicial commission appointed by the Supreme Court and not like the political one, appointed by Laloo no less.

How convenient that the Banerjee committee report was all lapped up because it held Modi guilty, but cry hoarse when the Nanavati commission found no fault in him. Worse yet, it implicated people from the minority community. Oh, that's right, everything in this country has to pass the 'secular' test.

And yet Dr. Manmohan Singh is in denial

All along Dr. Singh and his cohorts have been maintaining that the Hyde Act does not apply to the Indo-US nuclear deal. But when the deal actually went for the US senate approval, we have this.

"The Agreement shall be subject to the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006, and any other applicable United States law."

"Pursuant to section 103(a)(6) of the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006, in the event that nuclear transfers to India are suspended or terminated pursuant to title I of such Act, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or any other United States law, it is the policy of the United States to seek to prevent the transfer to India of nuclear equipment, materials, or technology from other participating governments in the Nuclear Suppliers Group or from any other source."

"nothing in the Agreement shall be construed to supersede the legal requirements of the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954." [Emphasis added]

This is hardly what Dr. Singh promised the parliament and the nation. The provisions are contrary to everything that he has been claiming. How is this an acceptance of India's nuclear status? And how does this not compromise our strategic concerns?

Islamic bigotry getting bolder

Thanks to the numerous cheerleaders of jihad, Islamic bigotry is getting bolder and louder. Stealth jihadists masquerading as 'intellectuals' have so successfully hijacked public discourse in India that the mere utterance of anything related to Hindu is immediately denounced as communal. While Islamic aggression (and now Christian aggression) is cheered on as the voice of the persecuted minority, when there is clearly no evidence supporting this. Take any television debate or editorials, myths are floated freely with no evidence to support such claims and worse yet, they go unchallenged allowing such myths to become accepted for further arguments.

So emboldened are Islamists with this support that any sundry Imam can now issue a fatwa warning muslims against associating with Hindus or Hindu practices. In the latest instance Salim Khan, scriptwriter and one half of the erstwhile Salim-Javed team and also Salman Khan's father, was at the receiving end of one such fatwa. This occured in Mumbai no less, so you can imagine the levels to which Islamic intolerance has reached. And rightly, Salim Khan asked this -

“What is the locus standi of these people? Who are they to question people's religious beliefs? Why don't they issue such a 'fatwa' against terrorists and terrorism, which is un-Islamic? The clerics are talking nonsense,”

But, the Imam was not acting on his own. The Islamists are a highly networked and closely knit community. The Jama Masjid and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board have connections to this incident. One Abdul Rehman Anjaria belonging to both these entities had requested the fatwa. Salim Khan's outburst has little effect on the Imams, in fact they had the temerity to mull over more serious actions. Here is what Anjaria says -

“Depending on what he has said, the community elders may go for stringent action against the Khans, including a social boycott,”

Without support from our media, Islamists would not have been so openly hostile towards the native majority religion. I do not expect any condemnations from our supposed intelligentsia, "concerned citizens" or "civil citizens" who are completely blinded by their sympathy for jihadists.

What did the Indo-US nuclear deal achieve?

No guarantee on fuel supply, no immunity in case India carries out tests, no transfer of sensitive nuclear technology, you cannot help but wonder, what did this deal achieve for us exactly. Apparently this was supposed to end the apartheid, but as there is more news on the matter, it seems that the isolation continues.

India assures USA of business but no such assurances in return, indeed President Bush has clarified that there is no legal binding on the US guaranteeing fuel supply to India. Australia continues its opposition. It is pretty clear that the Indian hawks have not done a good job on this one. Whatever happened to your assurances to the nation Dr. Singh? Any answers Mr. nuclear deal?

Charlatanism for diplomacy and incompetence for leadership

Charlatanism has taken over diplomacy. The latest revelations on the Indo-US nuclear deal have made American interests quite clear. It was never about empowering India, as claimed, but hoodwinking India into the non-proliferation regime. The letter released by House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman confirms this. The said letter was written 9 months ago by the state department in response to questions posed by the Congress, yet we were kept in the dark, lest the Americans lost the deal.

It is difficult to understand Dr. Singh's enthusiasm for the deal when it has been blindingly obvious, all along, that there were many questionable aspects of the deal that needed more disscussion, clarifications and re-negotiation. But Dr. Singh's incompetence made him blind to all this. He placed more trust in the Americans than his own countrymen who time and again warned him against the deal.

So what does the letter clarify? (From the IE link)

[...] the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman has released State Department's answers to 45 questions on the deal which indicate clearly differing perceptions on key issues between New Delhi and Washington. (Emphasis added)

Any why was the letter kept under wraps for 9 months -

The answers were considered ‘so sensitive, particularly because the debate over the agreement in India could have toppled the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the State Department requested they remain secret even though they were not classified,’ according to Washington Post which quoted a spokesman for Berman as saying he had made the answers public because the US Congress must have ‘relevant information’. (Emphasis added)

And what does it say about India carrying out any testing -

In its responses, the State Department has said that as outlined in the 123 Agreement, should India detonate a nuclear explosive device, the US has the right to cease all nuclear cooperation with it immediately, including the supply of fuel.

It also stipulates that US can request India to return items transferred from it including fresh fuel. In addition, the US has the right to terminate the agreement on one year's written notice. (Emphasis added)

And here are the bullet points from Dr. Brahma Chellaney's column on rediff -

• The US has given no binding fuel-supply assurance to India.
• No US consent to India's stockpiling of lifetime fuel reserves for safeguarded power reactors.
• US civil nuclear cooperation is explicitly conditioned to India not testing ever again.
• The US has retained the right to suspend or terminate supplies at its own discretion.
• The letter makes clear that the 123 Agreement has granted India no right to take corrective measures in case of any fuel-supply disruption.
• The Bush administration's letter states that the 123 Agreement fully conforms to the Hyde Act provisions.
• The letter assures Congress that the 'US government will not assist India in the design, construction or operation of sensitive nuclear technologies.

Spin doctors and media agents did not tire telling us how good the deal was and how good the PM was for negotiating it. The prime minister, Sonia, Rahul Gandhi, Pranab Mukerjee, Kapil Sibal etc. asked all opponents to listen to our hearts. Apparently it was in our national interest and that the future generations would thank us for the deal. However, Dr. Singh has a lot to answer to the nation, after all this amounts to him lying on the floor of our parliament and to the nation.

Update: According to David Mulford, The US did share all the points mentioned in the letter with the Indian government -

"This letter contains no new conditions and there is no data in this letter which has not already been shared in an open and transparent way with members of the Congress and with the Government of India," US Ambassador David C Mulford said in a statement.

Dr. Singh stands completely exposed and cannot feign ignorance after this. He is now a confirmed liar.

Karan Thapar the un-intellectual

Mr. Arun Jaitley was the recent guest on Mr. Karan Thapar’s ‘Devil’s Advocate’. This particular debate is a good example of how self styled ‘secular’ journalists fare when faced with a worthy opponent.

Mr. Thapar brought out the issue of economic blockade of Kashmir –

Figures released by the Jammu and Kashmir horticultural department, which is a
part of the official government, prove that between the first of August and the
17th of August this year, only 890 trucks bearing fruit came from Srinagar to
the Banihal pass where as last year during the same dates, the figure was
2,148—a fall of nearly sixty per cent.

Mr. Jaitley countered this claim as a mere propaganda by the separatists in the valley with no real basis to it –

Let’s be very clear. If there is a bandh and a curfew in Jammu for 50 days, if
you have a curfew in the Valley for 30 days plus, business is bound to go
down.

To support his claim he quoted this –

We asked the Army and the district administration as to what is the position.
They gave us the daily figures. This was not the apple season.
They said, we
have nothing lying in the stocks and today we have 90 trucks waiting at the
sabzi mandis, and there is nothing to be loaded on it. It was a false
propaganda.

Mr. Thapar had similar questions of shortage of medicines in the valley which were countered effectively by Mr. Jaitley by referring to clarifications by the relevant officials and the army who denied charges of economic blockade and attributed the fall in traffic and business to the bandh and curfew in the state –

The Army’s position is that there is no blockade; the
government’s position is that there is no blockade and the Sanghash Samiti told
us that there never was a blockade and there won’t be a blockade.

But that did not satisfy Mr. Thapar, he kept repeating that there in fact was a bandh in the valley and that the BJP was exacerbating the situation. Apparently Mr. Thapar seems to hold the separatist’s claims in high regard and not believe the state officials or the army or even the union government that denied any economic blockade in the valley. Not surprising when you cite your sources as ‘The Indian Express’ or ‘The Times of India’ who themselves cite only the separatists and have total disregard for any official that denied such claims.

Now, agreed that he was playing the devil’s advocate, but Mr. Thapar was not being responsible in quoting such luminaries (sic) as Mobin Shah, the president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce (who incidentally is a part of the Hurriat), the information secretary of the Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba (really? The LeT Mr. Thapar?). And if indeed he was serious about debating the issue, he would not have restricted it to supporting the separatist’s claims, but would have talked about what really is at the core. But that may be uncomfortable for Mr. Thapar and the others, when they seek to legitimise the separatists. Hearts that bleed for the Jihadists and separatists do not care about it. Mr. Jaitley got it exactly right when he said –

As far as Jammu is concerned, it is crying due to
discrimination and this is a strong ground of discrimination and you want to
shut a popular debate out on this discrimination?

But when you suffer from myopia all you can see is the evil ‘communal forces’ (which comprises of only the BJP and the sangh parivar and no Muslim, Jihadi group) and you have to bring them down. Mr. Thapar gets it completely wrong when he said –

It is not a popular debate. It is that BJP deliberately
exploiting a political situation to gain electoral benefits.

Olympics losing credibility

That the Chinese have lost all credibility amongst the people is a given. Folks all around are discussing stories about how the Chinese went about hosting the Olympics. Children were snatched away from their parents so they could be trained for the competition. Apparently, the Chinese officials were looking for certain physical profiles and any child fitting them was simply taken away from their homes and trained rigorously for the Olympics. Perhaps the under aged Chinese gymnasts were some of them. The fakery in the opening ceremony was well published, lip syncing singers, CGI fireworks etc. There are also stories of how the stadiums and other facilities were built. Communities were bulldozed, houses were torn down, people were simply asked to leave because their houses were in the way of the plans for Olympics. The Hans were too engaged in putting up a show than to care for their people, but then, when did they ever. Quashing Tibetian protests, heavy handed diplomacy and the general intolerance of anything unfavorable does not help their cause either.

All that effort does not seem to have paid off for the Chinese. Not the least financially. If seat occupancy is anything to go by, there not many spectators. The Chinese do not seem to have made much money in ticket sales. And surely, making arrangements, providing security, facilities for the various officials, athletes, tourists and making cosmetic changes to their cities may have cost them a lot.

With the cost increasing in hosting the Olympics, it won't be a surprising if there aren't any takes in the future. Obviously, security is going to be the biggest concern for everyone, the rising cost of fuel will increase transportation costs and huge infrastructure costs may just not make the Olympics economically viable.

And then there are talks of massive corruption in the IOC. The controversy with under aged athletes and the IOC not handling it properly, repeated doping scandals, allowing China to host the games apparently gives people an impression that corruption has a big hand in the functioning of the IOC. The Olympic charter is losing its meaning. It has now become a quest for medals at all costs (doping, snatching and training under age children) than spirit.

Un-intellectuals and their seperatist instincts

The not-very-intelligent "intellectuals" tribe, conveniently patronized by our mainstream media because their views coincide, is growing by the day. Khushwant Singh joins Swaminathan Aiyar, Vir Sanghvi and Suzanne Arundhati Roy in demanding freedom for Kashmir. One cannot help but wonder who are these people batting for? While being Indian nationals, their views are heavily slanted away from our national interest.

Kashmir did accede to India and is very much an integral part of it. That being the case, none of these un-intellectuals write any opinion on the need for scrapping article 370 and integrating Kashmir completely into India. Not a word on the ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri pandits from the valley so Muslim majority could be established. Such dhimmi apologists, give more traction to separatists. Besides, this could encourage more such separatist voices in the country. Such un-intellectuals could be running a propoganda to facilitate India's breakup, a la USSR.

A free Kashmir is another potential hub for terrorism. India is already faced with two such. China is another neighbor that keeps us on our toes. The un-intellectuals have no thoughts on that. But, 'secularism' demands propagating a false sense of victim hood among the Muslim community in India.

Distancing Kashmir from India and allowing it to grow closer to Pakistan is not in India's national interest. It will also be betraying the Kashmiri pandits who, even in the face of violent Islamic onslaught, have been the guardians of our culture and heritage in the valley. It is their home.

Let's not fail our future

Independence day should mean more than this...let's not fail our future.

(Picture by - Reuters: Arko Datta)

Fearful of 'Religion of Peace'

Random House Publishing has dropped its plans of publishing a book on the Prophet Mohammed's wife Aisha. The reason? Fear of Muslim community wrath!

The Islamic community is notorious for its intolerance of any criticism or outsider analysis of its religion. It fears that any such attempt could harm its religion. When in fact what the Islamic community or the Ulema really fear is the expose of many not so good aspects of Islam. This fear has caused the Islamic leaders and the community to denounce every attempt at critique. This is also the reason why Ulema keep the ordinary folk from researching into their religious scriptures and insist it be left to the learned few. And of course only the learned few are regarded as authorities in all matters Islamic, thus isolating Islam completely from any objective analysis. No innovation, no reform is permitted. The Islamic leaders insist on applying the tenets of Koran or the laws i.e. the Sharia as it was written well over 1400 years ago. Perhaps they fear the same fate that the orthodox churches met in the west due to objective criticism of Christianity.

The Islamic community has steadfastly guarded itself from any criticism. Some examples that come to mind are fate that Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen met when she wrote 'Ka' and 'Lajja'. Another famous example is Salman Rishdie's book 'The Satanic Verses'. We all know how the Muslim community erupted in protest and made the authors and the establishment bend over backwards. Some other similar examples (though not involving books) are Danish cartoons of Prophet Mohammed. Islamic intolerance was at its best in these instances.

Random House's decision to scrap publishing a book on Aisha was because -

Publishing giant Random House has scrapped plans to
publish a book on Aisha, the wife of Prophet Mohammed, fearing that it could be
the new Satanic Verses and may draw the wrath of the Muslim
community.

The sheer terror that Islamic community strikes in evident from this decision. The publishing house fears -

The publishers feared it could become new
Satanic Verses, a book written by Indian-origin author Salman Rushdie that led
to death threats being issued to him, riots and the murder of its Japanese translators, the journal said. [Emphasis
mine].

The author of the book, Sherry Jones, is understandably devastated. She says -

"I wanted to honour Aisha and all the
wives of Mohammed by giving voice to them, remarkable women whose crucial roles
in the shaping of Islam have so often been ignored -- silenced -- by
historians," [Emphasis mine].

Asra Nomani, a former reporter with the Wall Street Journal writes -

"The series of events that torpedoed this novel are a window
into how quickly fear stunts intelligent discourse about the Muslim
world," Nomani writes. [Emphasis mine].

And apologists, misleadingly called 'Intellectuals', are not far behind in defending Islam. Denise Spellberg, an associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Texas in Austin has this to say on the book -

"made fun of Muslims and their history,"

In an interview, Spellberg told
Nomani that the novel is a "very ugly, stupid piece of work."

A very intellectual defence of Islam indeed.

So much for claiming Islam to be a 'Religion of Peace'!

Obviously such regard is not accorded to other religions, like say, Hinduism. The tolerance and openness of the Hindus is often exploited and sentiments of the Hindus has no regard. Perhaps because there is no threat to life in abusing Hinduism.

Hyde Act will prevail: Nicholas Burns

Repeated exhortations by Dr. Singh and Mr. Pranab Mukherjee to the contrary not withstanding, Mr. Nicholas Burns, the primary negotiator of the Indo-US nuclear deal clarifies -

Burns said, "When this agreement was negotiated, it was fully consistent with the provisions of the Hyde Act. So we have the right to terminate it if India tests." But he said it was highly unlikely that India would conduct a nuclear test.

He also added, "No aspect of this deal recognises India as a nuclear weapons state."

There is more -

He predicted that "a conservative estimate would be that within a generation, 90 percent of India's nuclear establishment would be under IAEA safeguards�none of that would have been possible without this fundamental break with conventional wisdom that President Bush put forward three years ago."

So much for being responsible with our nuclear facilities!

How do the Prime Minister's and the External Affairs Minister's assurance hold in the face of this? Would it not be fair, then to say, that both have not been truthful to the nation? They repeatedly assured us that the Hyde Act would not apply to us, India's strategic interests would not be compromised. But that clearly is untrue.

We were told by Dr. Singh that the deal was in the interest of the nation. But, apparently, the nation he had on his mind was not the as same we thought. It is now clear that the US interests were the primary consideration.

Dr. Singh went to the extent for appealing to the conscience of the opposition, asking the "Bheeshma Pitamaha" Shri Vajpayee to approve it. He never clarifies how could his conscience go ahead with a deal that compromises India's strategic interests. He asked the opponents to listen to their hearts and assured us that the future generations would indeed be thankful for the deal. Without going that far, the present generation is the one that is being compromised by Dr. Manmohan Singh. When the opposition was playing a constructive role, was raising valid concerns and asking relevant questions, it was ridiculed and accused of playing politics, it was accused of being prepared to sign a much less beneficial deal when in power. Clearly Dr. Singh is the one playing politics over the deal.

It should now be clear that the Indo-US nuclear deal is designed to contain India's nuclear weapons programme. It is designed to hoodwink India into submission and deny the status of a nuclear weapons state. This deal is clearly not in India's favour. Dr. Singh must immediately come clean and not proceed with it unless all concerns are addressed. That would be in our national interest.

A friend in need...

...may not always be a friend indeed. This is especially true with Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP). It was not until a few days ago we heard new songs of friendship being sung by the two political parties. The two arch rivals were suddenly found cuddling each other, the reason, the impending trust vote in the parliament. SP coming to Congress' rescue was akin to a Bollywood style "kahani mein twist".

Amar Singh of the SP did not tire saying that his party was keeping the nation's interests at heart in supporting the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Indo-US nuclear deal. He also emphasised many times over that SP was being selfless in not insisting on any ministerial berths for his party and that their support was not based on any such conditions.

Then we saw currency bundles being waived in the parliament allegedly originating from Amar Singh. It began to seem that national interest had a price after all. Not just money, but 319 animals paid with their lives to save this government. The Congress and SP literally have blood on their hands. Now, barely a few days after the trust vote, it seems that the SP is finding it difficult to keep its flock together. Some of their partymen apparently have been demanding cabinet berths as a reward for following their party's whip. So much for not asking for their pound of flesh. Moreover, after apparently being convinced by none other than Dr. Kalam that the Indo-US nuclear deal was in India's best interests (never mind that he changed his stance on the matter), now the SP is singing a different tune altogether. It now wants the Hyde act amended or a new law in India to counter it. Whatever happened to it earlier claims on the deal.

Dr. Manmohan Singh or the Congress should have known better than to seek a friend in the SP. But then it was blinded by survival instincts. Dr. Singh seems to have avoided the collapse of his government, but with friends like these, the ride is not going to be smooth. SP will be guided by its own interests, not the nation's and it will act up.