There are some days when I am not as positive as I usually am, and this seems to be one of them.
Why? Well, because our wonderful political parties are at it again, supporting candidates who have made it clear what they think of other communities.
Exhibit A: Congress to field Jagadish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, of the 1984 anti-sikh-riots fame.
Exhibit B: BJP fully supports the candidature of Varun Gandhi, of the "its so funny that muslims with beards look like the terrorist bin laden" fame (quote paraphrased).
And of course, both of these parties are using the other's issue to justify their own, and will likely not change their stance. Shame on you, Dr. Singh, and Shame on _you_, Mr. Adwani (actually, not sure if it will have any effect, after what you did in 1992).
And _that_ is what I am pissed about today.
Actually, No. What I am really pissed off about is that the parties KNOW that these intolerant candidates stand a pretty good chance of winning, thanks to the "issues" our junta votes on.
So, what's the way out? Maybe an electorate that votes on the basis of performance rather than emotion. And that brings us to the upcoming meetings of Never Forget, in Mumbai (alt link) and Pune, both on March 28.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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This really is shameful!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually more disappointed in the Cong. & Dr. Singh than advani, as I expect very little from advani & his party.
Is this meant to be an eye-opener for me of some kind?
@Aman: well, was intended only as a venting post by me, but if it opens some eyes, even better :).
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately u forgot this name, the real face of goddess of sacrifice. Enough material is there at net, but his one for u
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navin_Chawla
@Mayank: WTF dude! For once, stop being partisan!
ReplyDeleteI think we're all going to vote for 'None of the above' this time. I thought Yeddy had a tiny amount of sense up his head, but he's as retarded as the rest. Wanted his CMship, got it. He's not doing anything intellectual for Hinduism, and all the shit for and against it continues to happen. Unethical conversions continue to happen, and Ram Sena continues to embarrass the rest of us. The funny question is, if not anyone, then who?
ReplyDelete@Roopa: very good question.
ReplyDeleteMy take: Visit all MP candidates, and tell them you will elect the one who will fulfil his/her promises. Talk to the current MP in your area, and ask him to make his/her case based on whether he/she fulfilled what he/she said.
Then elect someone based on that. More importantly, in 5 years, REMOVE him/her if they dont do what they claimed to.
I say let's not worry about the "country" for now (sadly). How about we build this bottom up?
Interesting fact: An online initiative for political accountability such as NeverForget still has no base in Bangalore, the city of techies. I wonder why.
Its your perception, here I generally say that I like none of the parties
ReplyDeleteNaveen chawla's name is the biggest because he would play decisive role in upcoming elections, I thought you should know this
Don't you think you should have welcomed a revelation? or are you biased for Sonia? don't wish to hear any allegation against her.
I have my CTs going on, would come to you later now
bbye
@Mayank: People say don't feel the troll, but I'll bite.
ReplyDeleteYou are claiming that your statement was not partisan. "Goddess of Sacrifice" isn't a partisan pejorative term?!?!
I know about the Chawla case, and indeed, I don't like what the govt did.
But this post is _not_ against one party or the other, but about _both_ turning a blind eye to intolerance.
Good luck with your class tests.
Animesh,
ReplyDeleteDidn't mean you or the post. Had directed that question at the event & the Universe...
I'm very cheesed off at this point! It's a WTF moment!
I completely agree. But from the view of the political parties, these are "seasoned" candidates, who seemingly have a "hold" over the electorate. And in a multi-party democracy like ours, parties will field any candidate who will win.
ReplyDeleteTo counter this, I think the EC should be given more powers to disbar candidates who have criminal records and/or are found to violate the model code of conduct.
You make a fair point about the electorate voting based on developmental issues. But in the end, the fact remains that in India, "you dont cast your vote, you vote your caste". Party/religion/region loyalties of the electorate outweigh the real issues at hand.
But I think this is beginning to change. Case in point - Delhi/Sheila Dixit.
@Manu: totally agree on the "parties will field any candidate who will win", two party or multi-party.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I am not too sure about the "more powers to the EC" chain of thought, given how these institutions can also be politicized. Even "criminal" is an ill-defined term, sadly (not to mention we already have laws against people with longer than 2 years of conviction).
The _only_ way out, in my opinion, is for the public to say enough! do what you said you would do, or else, we kick you out!
And regarding your "this is beginning to change" part, it looks pretty similar to the realization in the last paragraph of this document ;-). I sure hope things will change soon.
Manu,
ReplyDeleteRight on Ms. Dikshit.
I also agree on the more power to the EC.
Animesh,
Unfortunately we've seen that every organization is corruptible. We need checks & balances that prevent this from happening.
And yes, we the people should be more active. Like Obama's recent call to the American people to call up their representatives & urge them to support his budget: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=71454067717&h=pDG_1&u=evgnY&ref=nf