Tehelka Episode..

The Tehelka (Do we call it The Halka, meaning the bad one in Kannada) episode reminds me of old Kannada movies. The villain rapes a girl. The entire village is up in arms against the wealthy family of the villain. The village panchayat assembles and lambasts the villain. Finally, they give a verdict where the villain has to marry the girl. Then its business as usual for both of them... Is it too difficult to map the characters? I dont think so.

Somehow I have had a very strange feeling about Tehelka from the day they came up with their "Sting Operation" against NDA Government. Not that what they did was wrong. But the means that were used to extract information, like using call girls is not something thats worth emulating. Means always doesn't justify the ends. I still remember one of the guys on Star News saying something like " No one from the editors / reports were used as call girls" when queried if there were employees of Tehelka were used as baits.

Was it unknown that bribery was rampant in any Defence deals? I dont think that has changed even today.

Cobra Post an offshoot of Tehelka came up with a snooping episode a couple of days back. I dont know the veracity of their claims. Frankly, I dont care. The incumbent Government, their agencies like NCW have all been super active on the media. I think what Kapil Sibal wanted to do with Section 66A is something worse than this.

The role of NCW: 
NCW wants to send a notice to Gujarat Government on their own taking suo moto cognizance of the issue. The father of the girl has written to NCW against any such probe. It could also be argued that the father did it under pressure or something similar. However, TimesNow reports that NCW wants to "assess" the case before initiating any action against Tarun Tejpal and also NCW says "They haven't received any complaints from the victim". Isnt this double standards of the NCW?

On one side you are initiating action against Gujarat Govt in spite of the father of the victim in snoopgate saying no need for any such probe and on the other side, in spite of being a far more heinous crime in TehelkaGate, you want the victim to complain.

The role of Page-3 Personalities:
Renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar tweets: "It is a shame that some one with such impeccable values has committed such an act but unlike some he has the guts to accept and repent"
Come on, Sir. What values are you talking of? Using call girls to succeed in your profession is values? I dont know if your definition of Values includes such vulgarities. Are you trying to say that there is no need for any legal recourse if the person has the guts to accept and repent?

The less spoken about the Media bias the better it is. As far as I understand "The offence of rape under Section 375, have made both penile and non-penile insertion into bodily orifices of a woman by a man an offence. The definition is broadly defined in some aspect, with acts like penetration by penis, or any object or any part of body to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a woman or making her to do so with another person or applying of mouth to sexual organs without the consent or will of the woman constitutes the offence of rape" (Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_in_India)
Going by reports in the media, especially the Social media, the guy tried penetration. It is a non-bailable offence.

Why aren't the Governmental agencies acting against Tarun Tejpal? Or is there a hidden agenda somewhere?

Interview with Baarabt Davra

Baarabt Davra, is the Son-in-Law of a well known, globally acclaimed family. Lets simply call him "BD". To describe BD in two words, he is a "Macho Man". We caught up for an interview with BD and we spoke about issues at length. The excerpts of the conversation are shared below.

MA: Dear Mr. BD, Firstly, thank you for considering to speak to us.
BD: Oye! My pleasure jee. Dont forget the deal after the interview eh!

MA: Sure Jee. Lets start with the questions. What is the secret of your energy.
BD: Early to double bed, and early to wake up fast, makes a male mard, hatta khatta and oversmart! Eat lots of Akhroot, tighten your langot and fight with bare hands. No knives, no forks!

MA: Kitne uchch vichaar hain Sir! Hats off. You are being counted as one of the most intelligent businessmen in the world. Can we understand your Business Model?
BD: It is a long story actually. In my adolescent days, I was watching a movie called "Laadla" starring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Raveena Tandon. I was pretty much impressed by one part of the strategy of the hero in the movie and I used that strategy.

MA: What strategy is that Sir?
BD: Are budhdhu! Have you seen the movie? Anil Kapoor marries Sridevi, who is a rich man's daughter. I used that as the theme for my life strategy.

MA: Oh! But Anil Kapoor works in the textile mill in that movie....
BD: Are pappu! Kya yaar, you should understand the basics of strategy. What works for one will not work for everyone. So, I applied some changes to that strategy. I am writing a book on my strategies. Ranjit uncle has helped me write the book. It is being published by FDL Publications and you can reserve a copy if you want. It is only a limited edition book.

MA: Wow. Great Sir. What is the current state of the Book?
BD: It is being checked for Grammatical errors.

MA: May I know who is doing it?
BD: Is there anybody better than Kshwani Aumar to do the grammar corrections?

MA: Lets do a quick rapid fire round now Sir.

MA: Your favorite place?
BD: NCR, Haryana and Rajasthan

MA: Favorite food?
BD: I will tell you a little secret here. I like Idly Vada Sambar. But I please print that love Italian food. You know what? Saasu maa loves me if I tell this to her.

MA: Favorite News reporter?
BD: Barkha Dutt. We share the same acronyms you see!

MA: Favorite Tooth Paste?
BD: Coalgate

MA: Aim in life?
BD: To reign as a king by conquering Air, Water, Earth, Fire and Space.

MA: That seems to be a very ambitious plan! What are you doing in that direction?
BD: We have chartered air service. I have tied up with FDL Group for Earth. I have outsourced the others at this point of time to some of our well wishers.

MA: Thank you Mr. BD. What would be your one line parting shot to our readers?
BD: If your father is poor, it is your fate. But if your Mother in Law is poor, then it is your stupidity!

My Predictions for 2014 General Elections!

My predictions for General Elections - 2014 (Or whenever they happen!). Or, do I call it a wish list considering some of the practical aspects?

Basis is only intuition.

#	State	Number of Seats	Projections for
			BJP+	INC+	Others	Total
1	ANDHRA PRADESH	42	6	5	31	42
2	ARUNACHAL PRADESH	2		2		2
3	ASSAM	14	2	10	2	14
4	BIHAR	40	12	3	25	40
5	JHARKHAND	14	8	3	3	14
6	GOA	2	1	1		2
7	GUJARAT	26	21	5		26
8	HARYANA	10	3	3	4	10
9	HIMACHAL PRADESH	4	2	2		4
10	JAMMU & KASHMIR	6	2	4		6
11	KARNATAKA	28	12	12	4	28
12	KERALA	20	2	9	9	20
13	MADHYA PRADESH	29	19	10		29
14	CHHATTISGARH	11	7	4		11
15	MAHARASHTRA	48	24	24		48
16	MANIPUR	2		2		2
17	MEGHALAYA	2	1	1		2
18	MIZORAM	1		1		1
19	NAGALAND	1			1	1
20	ORISSA	21	5	5	11	21
21	PUNJAB	13	10	3		13
22	RAJASTHAN	25	17	8		25
23	SIKKIM	1			1	1
24	TAMIL NADU	39	25	2	12	39
25	TRIPURA	2			2	2
26	UTTAR PRADESH	80	30	5	45	80
37	UTTARAKHAND	5	2	3		5
28	WEST BENGAL	42	2	4	36	42
29	ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS	1		1		1
30	CHANDIGARH	1	1			1
31	DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI	1		1		1
32	DAMAN & DIU	1	1			1
33	DELHI	7	5	2		7
34	LAKSHADWEEP	1		1		1
35	PONDICHERRY	1	1			1
	TOTAL	543	221	136	186	543

Ashwam naiva gajam naiva vyaaghram naiva ca.....

अश्वं नैव गजं नैव व्याघ्रं नैव च |
अजापुत्रं बलिं दधातु देवो दुर्बलाघतक: ||

Ashwam naiva gajam naiva vyaaghram naiva ca, ajaaputram balim dadhaatu devO durbalaaghatakaH.

A story says - A devotee wanted to thank a Goddess, he offered her a Horse. She refused. He thought Horse is not a very powerful animal and offered an elephant. She refused again! The devotee offered a Tiger! Goddess coolly refuses and says, offer only a lamb as a sacrifice! 

The moral of the story is that even God doesn't protect the weak. 

Lets make minor changes to this to suit the current context. 


2G नैव अंगारम नैव हेलीकाप्टर नैव च |
तुच्छ भ्रश्टं बलिं दधातु मधुमक्षिका दुर्बलाघतक: ||


2G naiva angaaram naiva helicoptor naiva ca, tuchcha bhrashtam balim dadhaatu Madhumakshikaa durbalaaghatakaH

There were no actions initiated against perpetrators of major scams like 2G, CWG, CoalG, etc. Bansal is being forced to resign for what could be considered as a "Pocket Maar" amount compared to epic proportions of corruption seen in aforesaid scams. Ashwani Kumar who tried to clean up the mess also has resigned as of now. We need to look at the issue "Holistically", (of course, not the Manish Tiwari way) and possibly do a root cause analysis and the results wouldn't be too surprising. 

What is the accountability that these so called representatives of people have? Bansal probably thought that amount being small, more like rounding off errors in the scam books, not many would be bothered. Unfortunately for him, this scheme didn't work out. Ashwani Kumar probably thought the interests of the party and his reporting bosses was far more important than the interests of the country. Unfortunately for him, the CBI director didn't toe his line. 

Has the BJP been an effective opposition? My answer would be a resounding "NO". All the accusations against them like "Never lets the parliament run" have been taken as compliments. However, none of these give it back saying that the ruling coalition shares an equal if not more responsibility for the adjournments. Who can forget what happened when Sushma Swaraj tried to speak before LS walkout during passing of Finance Bill? Is there any point in raising that in a Press Conference and leave it? I can't forget the actions of the Queen Bee when LK Advani was speaking and he called the UPA2 and illegitimate Government. It beats all logic that BJP doesn't want to use any of these to counter the morons who rant on TV shows that "Opposition doesn't let the show go on..." Hah! Coming to the TV, I seriously think the BJP guys who appear on TV shows badly need basic training  except for a few like Meenakshi Lekhi and Smriti Irani, I haven't seen anyone give it back. It also beats all logic as to why these people appear on NDTV or CNN IBN. Neither are they allowed to air their views nor do they get time to counter the Congress rants. Why go at all? 

My views, are purely personal, and I believe that there are at least half a billion Indians who are concerned about the country. I strongly believe we need a Leader and a visionary who can lead us into the later part of the decade, that will probably decide the fate of the country for the next 50 years. We are all talking of Young Country, average age less than 26, etc. What will happen after 35-40 years when the working population ages? Is somebody planning for that? 

I don't know if there is a single person who can take India from the nadir to its peak. But I am sure that if there is a person who can build a team of like minded bureaucrats and politicians who are interested in the larger welfare of India, it is only that person who can lead India to glory. At this point of time, I can only think of one person called as "Narendra Damodardas Modi"