THE GREEK TRAGEDY: MASSIVE SOCIALIST FAILURE

Craig Kelly

THE GREEK TRAGEDY: MASSIVE SOCIALIST FAILURE

Make no mistake, the classic failure of Socialism is playing out in Greece right now.

Put simply, Greece’s problem is that it has run out of "other people's money".


No nation can continue to operate when almost 80% of the Government's budget goes to pay pensions and state wages - and where 10% of the nation’s entire economic output comprises pensions alone.

For too long Greece has headed down a ruinous political path of anti-market, collectivist and socialist policies - that have only guaranteed today's impoverishment; all based on the nonsensical premise that there is such a thing as a "free lunch" and the delusion that Keynesian stimulus will save the day.

And with the poison of Socialism having taken hold, and the economy falling into a fiscal abyss, has resulted in a spiral of decline - whereby the public elects more and more extreme politicians, so it was no surprise that at the last election in Greece, 52% voted for either Communists or neo-Nazis.

And the danger is that Greece, with a 25% unemployment rate, a third of its people living below the poverty line, 300,000 with no electricity, ATM’s running out money, and limits placed on what people can withdraw from banks - could likely respond to the failure of extreme-left Syriza Party by electing an even more extreme government.

The only way this Greek tragedy can be addressed is firstly by identifying socialism as the culprit in this massive public failure.

Secondly, there must be a condemnation of socialism and the failed politicians who made the sweeping promises to dishout "free stuff" they could not afford - all while they peddled the proven failed system of socialism.

Thirdly, a recognition that by recently electing an even more leftist and socialist government, that such a vote has only sped up the path to collapse.

There is no painless way out.

But rather than just kicking the can down the road, it might be best for the Greeks to go back to their old currency, with all the hardship that will involve - and rediscover the virtues of sound money, balanced budgets and implement a regulatory system that attracts foreign capital and encourages domestic enterprise – and they produce and export themselves out of this mess.

For everyday they delay, it will only result in a much more painful remedy being foisted upon all down the track.

But ultimately, the real threat of this Greek tradegy is to the global economy, in that we squander yet another valuable lesson from someone else's massive Socialist failure - and that other nations and politicians currently pushing socialist agenda's, promising more "free stuff" paid for by "other people's money" (including Australia’s Labor Party) will not be deterred or even slowed in the slightest by Greece's collapse.

Jayalalithaa’s record win in RK Nagar shows what awaits DMK in assembly polls

Running scared: Jayalalithaa’s record win in RK Nagar shows what awaits DMK in assembly polls

by Jul 1, 2015

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa's record margin in her re-election at Chennai's RK Nagar constituency has been a forgone conclusion because it was an uncontested battle. The Opposition had bowed out no sooner than the election date was announced, making her the winner even before voting began. The only target before her and her party was to maximise the margin, which they did when she finally polled nearly 89 per cent of the votes.

By choosing not to contest, what the opposition parties have done is conceded defeat not just in this by-election, but also in the next general election to the assembly, which is scheduled in less than a year. Usually, for any ruling party, it's hard to win a by-election towards the end of its tenure because of anti-incumbency. If the DMK and the others are hoping for any chances in the next elections, they should have tested the waters now. Instead, they gave in without a fight.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. AFP

All the parties had the same reason to stay away from RK Nagar - that the ruling AIADMK will resort to unfair practices. By this logic, the candidature of former Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who was elected for three consecutive terms to the assembly with massive margins or any other incumbent chief minister couldn't have been opposed for fear of misuse of official machinery. The truth in RK Nagar was that the DMK and the others were certain about their failure and didn't even want to try. By abandoning their political responsibility, what they have conceded was their moral right to be in electoral politics.

By running way, the DMK and others have invited more trouble for themselves. 

In the last election in RK Nagar in 2011, the DMK candidate had polled 52,522 votes against the AIADMK candidate. Had its supporters been with the DMK, these votes should have been either unpolled or gone to the CPI candidate, who was brave enough to take on Jaya. But he got only 9,710 votes, while another independent candidate managed 4,590. 

Where did all the other votes disappear? Most of them would have certainly voted because at 74 percent, the poll percentage was higher than last time. Obviously, most of them went to Jaya.

This should worry the DMK and the others. Although the opposition parties stayed away, their voters didn't and most of them seemed to have gone with Jaya. Had they been loyal to the DMK and others, they could have ensured that Jaya didn't get such a massive margin of 1.5 lakh, a record in assembly elections.

It's also puzzling as to why the DMK and others didn't back the CPI candidate. CPI, in fact, had all the reasons not to contest because it had taken Jaya's help to send its candidate to the Rajya Sabha. But it stuck its neck out because of political morality. In fact, it was only the CPI and the CPM that did any campaign against Jaya, although their resources were meagre.

The inability of the DMK and others to field a common candidate exposes their vulnerability that awaits them in the next elections. In 2011, the incumbent DMK was routed by the AIADMK and the party that became the official opposition was Vijayakanth's DMDK. Vijayakanth has since parted ways with the AIADMK and is now in the opposition camp. RK Nagar should have been a pilot to test a united opposition candidate. By not using it, they have lost an opportunity to overcome their collective nervousness.

Unless all the parties unite, Jaya looks unbeatable in the 2016 election not only because of the absence of an anti-incumbency wave, but also because of the laid back attitude of the DMK and the others. They are unable to find the chinks in Jaya's armour and have been politically silent. There have not been able to mount any attack against her government, either by taking up people's issues or exposing corruption scandals. In fact, the DMDK's Vijayakanth has been more outspoken than either Karunanidhi or Stalin.

The only hope for the DMK will be the alternating verdict of the people in the past. After the death of AIADMK founder and former chief minister MG Ramachandran (MGR), who ruled the state for three terms in a row, either the DMK or the AIADMK has not been able to get a second consecutive term. Anti-incumbency had been an unavoidable reality that neither of them could overcome, however good or bad they had been in office.

However, that even with a court verdict that found her guilty of corruption she could come back with a record margin should worry Karunanidhi and Stalin. 

What should also worry them is the possibility of the BJP and the AIADMK joining hands. If Jaya beats the cycle of alternating power, it will be a disastrous set back for the DMK and its future because in the past, MGR had kept the party out of power as long as he was live.

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/running-scared-jayalalithaas-record-win-in-rk-nagar-shows-what-awaits-dmk-in-assembly-polls-2321620.html

Lalit Modi case

Lalit Modi probe set to hit a dead endBy KANISHKA SINGH | NEW DELHI | 29 November, 2015



The Lalit Modi case is all set to hit a dead end as the chances of his return to India get increasingly bleak, say officers connected with the case. Lalit Modi is wanted in several cases of financial irregularities during his tenure as chairman of the Indian Premier League. 

The “Modigate” controversy started a political slugfest earlier this year, when the opposition parties accused the BJP of shielding the ex-IPL boss and resulted in a washout of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. 

What has given rise to worries among investigators is the brazenness with which Lalit Modi, despite an Interpol notice against him, posted on Instagram his photograph with ex-Interpol chief Ronald Noble. In the photo they are seen attending a football match in Barcelona, Spain. 

In the post, Lalit Modi described Noble as his “brother”. Noble served as the head of Interpol from 2000 to 2014. In July 2015, a series of emails revealed Modi’s ties with Noble and his brother James. James and Modi had agreed to enter into a joint business venture relating to a property worth $365,000 in the United States.

“By the time the investigation gained speed, it was already too late. Lalit Modi had a blue-corner notice against him, but even then an ex-Interpol officer got his photo clicked with him. It should explain why the case has dragged on for years. There has been no official request for a red corner notice (RCN) against Lalit Modi yet,” said an Interpol officer in Delhi, requesting anonymity.

He further said that “Blue notices have been issued against him in the past. We want justice to be done if he is guilty. However, to be realistic, there are little to no chances of Lalit Modi being brought back to India. At least not in the near future,” he added.
Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi had recently said: “It is a matter of political vendetta.” He had also said that Lalit Modi had been “hounded by the Congress ever since the Shashi Tharoor-Sunanda Pushkar controversy” came to light in 2010.

THE DOWNFALL
A BCCI inquiry had put a stop to Modi’s revelries in 2010. “In 2010, he (Modi) made a lot of enemies which included some of the senior cricket board (BCCI) members. The Kochi exposé backstabbed him; it contributed to his dramatic downfall,” said a source within the BCCI.

Sharad Pawar put him in charge of BCCI’s marketing affairs in 2005. Under him, the BCCI’s profit soared to over Rs 6,300 crore in 2006. 

Cut to 2008, Modi’s brainchild, the IPL, took the economics of cricket to a whole new level. IPL was a runaway success and became synonymous with Lalit Modi. The third edition of the IPL saw two new franchises make an entry — Subrata Roy’s Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers. At present, the IPL brand is worth more than $4 billion.

Hours after the franchise agreement had been signed, Modi took to social media revealing that among the shareholders, 4.75% of the sweat equity was owned by the now deceased Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress leader and then Union minister Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor was eventually forced to step down from his post as minister over allegations of holding a hidden stake in the team.

“It was LaMo’s vision. Look where Indian cricket stands now. He was the game changer. 

Unfortunately, the fairy tale was not to last for long. There are various stakeholders who may be pulling the strings in this investigation. You never know. But it is clear that he left a lasting impact on the game. IPL is one of the most loved tournaments in world cricket,” said a serving member of the IPL governing council adding that, “maybe Modi felt that he was being victimised. After all, he is not convicted yet and he isn’t hiding.”

BCCI’s inquiry report on the Kochi team charged him of rigging bids, arm-twisting and bringing disrepute to the board. In April 2010, during the course of the IPL, Modi was suspended. A suspension notice along with a 34-page letter that stated 22 charges were served to Modi.

THE FLIGHT TO FREEDOM
In March 2010, while Modi was in London, the Congress-led UPA government had revoked his passport. He had challenged the government’s decision in the Delhi High Court. BJP leader and current External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s daughter, Bansuri Swaraj, was one of the nine counsels who represented him in court.

In May 2014, the BJP came to power at the Centre and in August 2014, the high court restored Lalit Modi’s passport. 

It was said that the British Member of Parliament, Keith Vaz, had lobbied the UK immigration department on behalf of Lalit Modi in June 2015. Vaz had apparently mentioned an endorsement from Sushma Swaraj in his correspondence with immigration officers.

In 2008, Modi’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and was being treated in Portugal. Later in 2014, Sushma Swaraj clarified that she had requested the British authorities to go by the law of the land after which Modi was provided travel documents to Portugal so that he could tend to his ailing wife.

Lalit Modi case determined with appropriate rules: UK

• PTI, London
| 
• Updated: Jun 17, 2015 05:21 IST

The UK on Tuesday said that it had acted "appropriately" and in accordance with rules when issuing travel documents to the scam-tainted former IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

"We do not routinely comment on the detail of individual cases. This case was determined in accordance with the appropriate rules," a UK Home Office spokesperson said. The department also confirmed to PTI that the UK's Permanent Secretary is "satisfied" that Sarah Rapson, the Director-General of UK visas and immigration, acted "appropriately and professionally in handling this case".

Rapson was the senior official who received correspondence from Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz in relation to expediting paperwork for London-based Modi to travel to Portugal in June last year.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) founder is at the heart of a controversy which has engulfed external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj over accusations that she put diplomatic pressure on UK authorities to secure travel papers for Modi to visit Portugal, purportedly for his wife's cancer treatment.

Modi had come to London in 2010 amid claims that the IPL cricket tournament was embroiled in alleged match-fixing and illegal betting. His Indian passport was later revoked, leaving him grounded in the UK. A series of 'Sunday Times' reports have alleged impropriety on the part of Vaz, who also made a reference to Swaraj in one of his UK Home Office emails.

Kathryn Hudson, Britain's Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, yesterday confirmed that she will not be investigating Vaz over the issue."The Commissioner received a complaint (against Keith Vaz) last week, but has decided not to investigate into it," a spokesperson for the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards had said.

However, the row continues to brew in India as the Opposition demands Swaraj's resignation. After the reports surfaced, 63-year-old Swaraj said in a series of tweets that she had taken a "humanitarian view" and conveyed to the British High Commissioner that they should examine Modi's request as per their rules and "if the British government chooses to give travel documents to Lalit Modi that will not spoil our bilateral relations".

Modi has always denied any wrongdoing and says he left India for Britain because of death threats. Shortly after he received his UK travel documents in 2014 after a lengthy legal battle with the UK Home Office, he had described Vaz as a "superstar".

Lalit Modi names three UPA ministers who 'helped' him, blames Murdoch for leak

• HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
| 
• Updated: Jun 17, 2015 08:07 IST

Lalit Modi, the controversial former chief of IPL, is under fire over getting travel papers with the help of India's foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj.

Daring the Enforcement Directorate to prove any charge against him, former IPL boss Lalit Modi named three senior UPA leaders for having helped him in recent years even as he blamed media baron Rupert Murdoch for being behind the Sunday Times leak linking him to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.Living outside India for several years now, Modi faces 16 Enforcement Directorate cases and has of late become a headache for the BJP-led government after the Murdoch-owned Sunday Times of London reported Swaraj helped him obtain British travel documents to fly to Portugal.Modi told India Today channel that former Union ministers Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel (both from the Nationalist Congress Party) and Rajeev Shukla (Congress) had helped him get travel papers. All three were ministers in the previous Manmohan Singh government, and Shukla and Pawar denied the charges to India Today.Shukla said he had never helped Modi. “I have never helped him and neither have I sought for his help,” Shukla said. Pawar said he and Praful had advised Modi to return to the country to face trial.HT attempted to independently contact the three leaders but they could not be reached.Modi said the Sunday Times reported about Swaraj helping his bid to obtain travel documents to travel to Portugal to be with his ailing wife because of his involvement in the Champions Twenty20 League.Murdoch could not get out of the broadcasting rights of the loss-making tournament because of a no-exit clause in the contract, he said. “He knew I was going to tell about the no-exit clause,” he added.“I have done nothing wrong. I have paid my dues. I have been over-criticised. I have been taken to task by government in the past it made my life miserable for no reason,” Modi told the TV channel in Montenegro.Modi blamed the “interference” by the previous UPA government for the delay in his getting a UK residency.The fallen IPL czar acknowledged his proximity to the Swaraj family, saying the minister’s husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri Swaraj have been his advocates for 20 and four years respectively. “We are close in many ways,” Modi said.Modi admitted that Swaraj met him in London along with many other people but denied funding her travel to UK. He denied there was any conflict of interest in Swaraj helping him, and said, “Conflict of interest arises when government of India goes to a land breaking all legal norms.”As the BJP found itself mired in a fresh controversy after it emerged that its leader Vasundhara Raje appeared to have been a secret witness to the 2011 UK immigration application of Modi, the former IPL boss said the Rajasthan chief minister had in 2012 accompanied his wife to Portugal.

The controversial cricket administrator also disputed claims that he was evading court and investigating agencies in India. He said he may have not appeared personally before the court of any other agency, but has done so through his advocates and written affidavits.

Accusing former finance minister P Chidambaram of pursuing political vendetta against him, Modi said the senior Congress leader could not bring him back legally so “he tried to arm-twist me through a secret correspondence with the UK authorities in which he said India’s relationship with that country would be soured if he was given any relief.”

Claiming that UK authorities have paid damages to him, Modi said Chidambaram was upset with him because he took on then union minister Shashi Tharoor. “Mr Tharoor lost his job as he lied to people that he has nothing to do with Kochi team,” he said.

Modi said he has won at multiple stages in British courts and that the same has been examined in India as well. He added he could have easily given up his Indian citizenship and acquired the passport of any other country. “But I had to prove a point legally,” he said.

Wed, Jun 17, 2015

MUMBAI MIRRORAHMEDABAD MIRRORPUNE MIRROR

Lalit Modi: The untold story

By Kunal Pradhan | Apr 23, 2010, 03.29 PM IST

“We were all stunned by the way he spoke to his mother. He was always rude and arrogant -- quite different from the others in the Modi family,” a guest who had attended the wedding said on condition of anonymity.

The short temper has remained one of his defining traits over the years and may explain why the man who was labelled India’s most charismatic sports entrepreneur till last month finds himself the midst of a multi-agency probe, his brand equity tarnished, and that old moniker of black sheep returning to haunt him.

With talk of malfeasance and profiteering becoming common currency, this newspaper can reveal that the intelligence agencies are putting together a dossier on IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, 46. 

In Delhi, in the rarefied circles at Prithviraj Road and Ashok Road, and Jorbagh and Maharani Bagh, the whisper is about KK Modi’s son’s uber extravagant lifestyle comprising a private Lear jet that plies like a taxi, holidays on the Italian Riviera, new year breaks in Mexico at Jimmy Goldsmith’s home, a rented mansion in Bel Air, and finally, Modi’s proximity to Steve Schwarzman, co-founder of the alternative asset management company Blackstone that specialises in private equity, real estate and investment strategies. 

What sets Modi apart from your regular rich is that it can easily be preceded by the descriptor favourite of the tabloids: filthy. Modi’s  extravagance stands out for crossing the line between opulent and blatant.

Over a series of conversations with Lalit Modi’s old acquaintances, some family members and colleagues, we piece together a story that takes us back to a time when only a handful were genuinely rich, when bonds were forged on the wide roads of central Delhi and strengthened every summer in central London, and when everyone knew everything about everybody else in the top tier of Indian high-society.

WEDDING BELLSWhile the Modi family under the leadership of patriarch KK Modi was flourishing in India as their company Godfrey Phillips went on to be become India’s number two tobacco company, over in Nigeria, Pessu Aswani had set up a booming business for which he flew from there to London and back. His good friend Murli Chellaram was also part of the prospering Indian diaspora in Africa. Many years later, Aswani’s daughter Kavita would marry Chellaram’s son Suresh.

But it was Aswani’s other girl, Minal, who led a more interesting life. She married a high-flying professional Jack Sagrani, who lived in Nigeria, London and finally worked in Saudi Arabia for Inlaks, owned by Indoo and Lakshmi Shivdasani. While Minal was pregnant, Sagrani was caught in a scam and jailed in Saudi Arabia for several months. He was unable to visit his wife even when she delivered their daughter Karima in London.

After Sagrani and Minal parted ways, she stayed in the Gulf for a few years before finally moving to Delhi, where she was a frequent resident at her friend Bina Modi’s house at A-1, Maharani Bagh. It was a few years after Minal and Bina’s son Lalit had returned from the United States after being convicted in a drugs and assault charge. Lalit’s return had been facilitated by some of his father’s friends -- leading businessmen Jens Howalt and VL Gregory, owner of Alexander’s Department Store Robin Farkas, and billionaire Leonard Lauder.

Minal and Lalit’s courtship began at home, and the two sprang a surprise a few months later by expressing the desire to marry. Their declaration of love led to one of the biggest commotions the Modis have ever witnessed. While Bina Modi felt betrayed by her friend for allegedly luring her son, who was ten years her junior, into a profitable marriage, KK Modi told Lalit that he would not give his consent for the marriage.

After days of negotiation, angry outbursts and threats, sources say that Lalit finally had his way. Permission was granted for the wedding (which took place on October 17, 1991), a maintenance allowance was promised by the family, and Lalit was included in the Godfrey Phillips as a director. “Lalit said he would create a scandal if the marriage was not agreed to. The Modis were left with no choice,” said a family friend.

MUMBAI MOVESince Lalit and Minal’s wedding had caused such a stir in social circles in Delhi, the new bride soon discovered that she didn’t have much company because not too many of her childhood friends were very forthcoming.

The couple decided to move to Mumbai, where they first lived in KK Modi’s flat at Sterling Apartments on Pedder Road. However, by the time Lalit’s family grew -- son Ruchir and daughter Aliya joined step-daughter Karima Sagrani -- they had first rented, and then bought Minal’s father’s house in Juhu, which was rented out for film shootings until they moved in.
This house, where the Modis lived for more than ten years, caught fire in December last year and is currently under repairs. There have been some allegations of arson for claim insurance money, but so far they remain unsubstantiated.

THE TURNAROUNDWhile Lalit Modi was living in Mumbai, sources said he still received a maintenance allowance from his father’s company because his own businesses were consistently failing. Things started to turn around, however, once Lalit’s friend Vasundhara Raje took over as Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

Lalit knew Raje though her school friend Bina Kilachand, who had moved to Jaipur with her. Lalit Modi followed soon after, hoping his proximity to the CM would help him set up a profitable business. Soon after he shifted to Jaipur, Raje and Kilachand allegedly had a big falling out. Lalit stayed back as one of Vasundhara’s closest allies and his reputation as an alleged wheeler-dealer started to grow.

While in Rajasthan, he not only took over the cricket establishment with the help of a law passed by the new government, but his alleged involvement in the sale of some heritage havelis created a storm and is now being probed.

Modi’s alleged involvement in the scam was raised by Congress MLA Ramnarayan Meena. Rajasthan Tourism Minister Bina Kak had said that an inquiry would be immediately ordered. Jaipur Divisional Commissioner Kiron Soni Gupta, who headed this inquiry, submitted the report on the subject to the government recently.

Things took a dramatic turn for the Modis, however, after he entered the BCCI -- first as a dealer who helped the Pawar group defeat Jagmohan Dalmiya -- and then as a money-making wiz who finally came good business-wise. The BCCI’s profits soared over a billion with Modi in its midst, and his brainchild, the IPL, took cricket’s economics to a different level.

FAMILY TIES
Lalit Modi’s family members have some connection with the IPL, with some owning a stake in the teams, while some own broadcast rights for matches
Lalit Modi’s family and friends, most of whom have already featured in this article, are an integral part of the IPL.
Minal’s sister Kavita is married to Suresh Chellaram, who owns a majority share in the Rajasthan Royals franchise.

Lalit’s step-daughter Karima is married to Gaurav, son of Monica and Vivek Burman of the Dabur group. The marriage  caused a stir in the Burman family similar to the one in the Modi family when Lalit and Minal tied the knot. The Burmans have distanced themselves since then from Gaurav, who first lived in London but now stays in a disputed four-bedroom flat on Sir Pochkhanawala Road, Worli, rented for Rs 600 a month by Godfrey Philips from a Parsi trust.

Gaurav is a stakeholder in Global Cricket Venture, a firm that has the digital, mobile and internet rights of the IPL. His brother Mohit Burman is a co-owner in Kings XI Punjab, which he owns as part of the consortium consisting of his childhood friends Karan Paul and Ness Wadia, and Wadia’s ex-girlfriend Preity Zinta. The franchise, however, is up for sale now.

BCCI officials say that Modi did not disclose any of these relationships with franchise stakeholders at the time of the bidding for the first eight IPL teams.

Incidentally, one of the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders is also an old friend of Lalit Modi’s. Jay Mehta, son of Mahinder Mehta who owned Saurashtra Cements, and Lalit are childhood buddies.

SARDINIA TO BEL AIR?Those in the know reveal several details about how Modi’s lifestyle has changed over the last three years. To start with, he has been going on lavish holidays to the most exotic destinations in the world. In Sardinia, in the Italian Riviera, he allegedly rented a boat in which he invited several friends from India, including some senior politicians.

Then, the Modis have been spending the Christmas vacations in Phuket’s Aman Resort  for the last few seasons with friends and family. In 2008-09, they allegedly went to Mexico, where they rented Jimmy Goldsmith’s home. Goldsmith was the billionaire father of Imran Khan’s ex-wife Jemima.

Around that time, Minal Modi was diagnosed with breast cancer and Lalit reportedly rented a mansion in Bel Air, one of Los Angeles’s poshest suburbs for stay during her treatment. 

Karima and Gaurav Burman also stayed in the house until Minal bounced back from the illness.

Aside from this spending, it is his private jet, which he uses for most of his travel needs these days — including the IPL match in Dharamshala and the ICC meeting in Dubai recently —  that has come under special scrutiny. Not only because it raises aspersions of unexplained assets but because the aircraft has become a bit of a joke in social circle.

“Is it a plane or a taxi?” asked one source. “Private jets are usually used judiciously, even by the biggest industrialists. They are for work, not pleasure, and they’re supposed to help by getting you to far-off places quickly. No one, except Lalit Modi these days, uses it as a replacement for all other means of transport,” the source added.

The word is that Lalit Modi’s extravagance is a retaliation for all the years when he was looked down upon by other families in their social circle. “It was in his nature to be loud, but he never got a chance,” a source said. “The only problem is that overdoing things has got him into trouble.

SC's Section 66A ruling

SC's Section 66A ruling: BJP pays price for a self-serving U-turn

Narendra Modi is indisputably India's Number One Social Media politician. No other politician has been able to harness the power of social media as astutely as he did in his run-up to power.

Therefore it is especially embarrassing for his government to now be on the losing side of what is being hashtagged a landmark #SocialMediaVerdict.

The BJP could have been on the winning side of the Battle over Section 66A. Nothing would have signaled a dramatic break from the UPA-past as much as the new government telling the Supreme Court it recognized that Section 66A of the Information and Technology Act was unconstitutional, untenable and violated the right of citizens to freedom of expression.

Instead it now has to suffer the ignominy of being told all those things by the Indian Supreme Court.

The NDA government is trying to make its mark in many different areas of Indian public life. The PM wants to overhaul many aspects of the way India works and the way India sees itself. But the intricacies of land reform and pension bills, while enormously important, are beyond the grasp of the vast majority of Indian citizens.

]Narendra Modi. AFP.

But ordinary Indians understand and can empathize with the utter unfairness of a random citizen being hauled off to the police thana for just forwarding a cartoon or “liking” a status on Facebook. An ordinary person not only understands that but he also can easily see himself in that hapless offender's shoes. You or I might not exactly grasp how the Land Reform bill will affect our daily lives but we understand only too well how Section 66A could royally screw it up.

We have seen 66A in action. We know the names of the people whose lives have spiraled out of control thanks to it.

Shaheen Dada, Rinu Srinivasan, Ambikesh Mahapatra, Aseem Trivedi, Ravi Srinivasan, Kanwal Bharti. None of them were household names until they became unwitting Section 66A victims.

On the other side, almost invariably, there is a powerful politician whose ego was trampled on by the temerity of an ordinary citizen to speak her mind.

If there was every a gross example of a law that existed as the tool of the political bully it was Section 66A.

The BJP's great humiliation today is that it is paying the price for ignoring what it once knew all too well.

The IT cell of the BJP once compared Section 66A to the government's draconian measures during the Emergency. As opposition leader Arun Jaitley made a speech in the Rajya Sabhatearing into Section 66A after the government was revealed to have blocked almost 300 websites. “It would not even be desirable to (control technology)”, Jaitley had said at that time. “If the Internet had been in existence the internal emergency of 1975 would have been a big fiasco.” Jaitley at that time had admitted that there was a danger that the Internet could become the hothouse of hate speech frenzy but argued that terms used in Section 66A like harmful, harassing, defamatory, blasphemous were “absolutely subjective.” “Now there's information which my friends in the government might consider is very harmful to them but I might think it's my right to express that information,” said Jaitley.

“But this was ‘once upon a time'” writes Javed Anwer in the Daily O. “Now the BJP is in power and just like the government before it, even though the two governments supposedly differ on ideology like cheese and chalk, is finding Section 66A useful.”

That's why the government's additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta did his best to defend the indefensible making comforting noises about “freedom of expression” but clearly unwilling to let go of the advantages of having Section66A in its kitty. And let's make no mistake, the vague wording of Section 66A is precisely what made it so useful to governments who wanted to crack down on dissent. Which right-thinking government would be willing to let go of that unbridled power to define to its own advantage what was offensive, defamatory or harmful?

So in effect the government ended up doing the same dance that Kapil Sibal had once done. Sibal had refused to change the wording of the act and instead suggested fresh guidelines would be issued to make it more difficult for police to arrest people for posts on social networking sites. Obviously that worked splendidly for the teenager recently arrested by the UP police at the behest of Azam Khan's office for sharing something defamatory about him on Facebook. And now we have the current minister Ravi Shankar Prasad telling Times Now that his government had a clearly different stance on Section 66A than the previous one. “We were willing to come with further stringent rules, guidelines, regulations to prevent any further misuse,” he said. Sorry, but that just sounds like Sibal-ese under another label.

The face is the Supreme Court just dealt the NDA a box of lemons and Ravi Shankar Prasad has the unhappy task of making lemonade out of it. The BJP stands revealed as yet another party that is happy to take up the cudgels for freedom of expression while in the opposition but then hem and haw about it as soon as it is in power.

It need not have been so.

It was not that long ago when Narendra Modi had changed his display picture on Twitter to a black box in support of many ordinary journalists who found their accounts blocked by the UPA government. Namita Bhandare wrote on NewsLaundry then that "if the battle for minds in the virtual world has begun, let it be said, Round One to Modi and the BJP." As #GOIBlocks trended, the social media-savvy Modi tweeted “As a common man, I join the protest against the crackdown on freedom of speech.”

Now he is the Prime Minister and no longer the common man. And the Supreme Court has basically expressed no confidence in any political party's ability to truly prevent misuse of Section 66A. It's taken the government's toy away.

This could have been the BJP, arguably India's most Internet-savvy party's golden opportunity to have shown itself as a modern party that was truly different from the others when it came to freedom of expression and the Internet.

The Section 66A verdict was whopping victory for freedom of expression but a giant lost opportunity for the BJP. Once it had protested the "crackdown on freedom of speech". Now it finds itself shut out of the celebration.

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/scs-section-66a-ruling-bjp-pays-price-for-a-self-serving-u-turn-2170289.html

In Memory of DK Ravi

In Memory of My Senior, DK Ravi

(22-year-old Neetha Raj M is a final year BSC Agri student from GKVK, Bangalore. DK Ravi was an alumni of the same university.)

"Hey, come on why are you studying so much, you bookworm? Enjoy life, have fun" -  these were the words thrown at my friend Pradayini when day and night made no difference to her for her IAS preparation. A voice in her heart always said "I want to become a dynamic IAS officer and shatter the walls of corruption and change this bloody system". But now this energetic soul has lost everything. She is depressed and has not eaten or slept for the last few days. This is not the story of just one girl; injustice to Ravi anna has shattered dreams of many such souls all over India.

She says "This is India, no one can change it, this is the fate of honest officers in the land of Rama. They get slapped by uneducated, political leaders. Not just Ravi anna, but many officers in the country face the same fate". But still thousands of people have joined the protest to get justice for an IAS officer who was brave and honest. This proves his popularity and art of living.

Untouchability is a curse for so many in our country...Ravi anna was not just a civil servant, but a social reformer. He took leaps and bounds to cast off the caste system for which he reached the houses of the scheduled caste and tribes. He ate with them, spent time with them. People could not even dream of such a down-to-earth officer. With his loving interaction he not just entered their huts, but also their hearts.

The feet of the poor were worn out by going around to government offices but Ravi anna brought the government offices itself to the doorstep of poor men. For the poor, desperate souls of Kolar, Ravi annaturned out to be a surprise gift.

"I have a brand called non-corrupt officer which I never want to give up and live it till my last breath". These were the words uttered by him when, at lunch together recently, his friends Rohit and Madhu teased him

"When will you start making money like others?"

Becoming an IAS officer is the dream of a number of poor and middle class students but this dream stays just a dream because IAS coaching is not something everyone can get. But Ravi anna made it possible, keeping aside all his weekend fun and joining them, giving UPSC coaching classes. None of us felt that he was a Deputy Commissioner but he remained sweet Ravi anna always. He would eat with people, laugh with people, and dance with people without any barrier of his status.

His major challenge was to curb corruption and control the sand mafia. He fought to get back  government-encroached land and water tanks. He completed the works which had been pending for the past thirty years within just one year.

He was a son of Kunigal, he became the son of Kolar just in a year because of his love for the people. These people wanted him to be cremated in the womb of Kolar. On the other hand, the people of Kunigal wanted it to be done in his birth place. So, he was laid on the land of Kunigal and he was covered with the soil brought from Kolar.

He had only last week spoken to one of his closest friends and said that he wanted to go Harvard or Oxford for further studies. We can never believe he committed suicide.

We were proud of him as our senior, our University is proud of him as a brilliant student, his family is proud of him as a good son and husband, Kolar is proud of him as an eminent Deputy Commissioner, mother India is proud of him but the only one who is not is the government for which he lost his life.

Yes, not an end, the death of one Ravi will give birth to thousands of Ravis and for all those Ravi anna will be the model as always since his college days inspiring everyone around. Ravi anna's presence will be with us for ever and ever...

http://www.ndtv.com/blog/in-memory-of-my-senior-dk-ravi-748495?story_interestedin_related

Politics of Indian cricket

The cutthroat politics of Indian cricket In all the ups and downs of India’s post-liberalization Gilded Age, one sector of the nation’s economy has proved utterly recession-proof: cricket Chandrahas Choudhury

Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/bKNvRCajZr3mNiqtqJORvI/The-cutthroat-politics-of-Indian-cricket.html?google_editors_picks=true&utm_source=copy

The cutthroat politics of Indian cricket

In all the ups and downs of India’s post-liberalization Gilded Age, one sector of the nation’s economy has proved utterly recession-proof: cricket

As many wits have remarked, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is well-named: The emphasis falls on the word “control.” Photo: HT

In all the ups and downs of India’s post-liberalization Gilded Age, one sector of the nation’s economy has proved utterly recession-proof: cricket.

A series of conjunctures have, over the last three decades, turned India into something more than just the largest field seeded with cricket by the British empire. The most populous by far of the world’s major cricket-playing nations, India has become the sport’s financial powerhouse. Television broadcast rights, a marquee league, advertising and endorsements, sports management firms, even betting and the odd bout of match-fixing: The white and black economies of cricket today all revolve around India.

At an extraordinary meeting last year of cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), India’s representative claimed (with only a touch of exaggeration) that the country deserved a bigger share of the ICC’s profits as more than 80% of revenues were generated by India. Think of America’s power at the United Nations, and you have some sense of India’s place in the cricket world.

Luck and chance may have had something to do with it, but the rise of Indian cricket was not an accident. For every person who would ascribe its meteoric ascent to demographic factors—the appearance of satellite television in the early ‘90s, the Indian diaspora, India’s own rise to become a major power on the field of play itself—there is another who would point to the role of the governing body of cricket as the (often shadowy) mastermind of this revolution.

As many wits have remarked, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is well-named: The emphasis falls on the word “control.” The BCCI is a fascinating economic entity—registered as a non-profit society, run not by professional management but by a board of elected members, and with monopoly rights over most cricket in India and all Indian cricket abroad, including, most important, television rights, the biggest source of cash in the game.

In absolute terms, the revenues and annual profits of the BCCI are smaller than those of hundreds of Indian corporations. (Last year, the BCCI’s surplus was `364 crore, approximately $60 million.) But its business profile is equal to those of major Indian companies—Reliance Industries, Infosys, Tata. Many of those firms have extensive interests in the cricket economy, dealing in goods and technologies that need the emotion and the stars generated by cricket to sell them.

In fact, the personal perks, access to funds and discretionary powers that come with being a “voting member” of the BCCI’s 30-member board, as well as the cachet of Indian cricket and the global profile of the group’s president, make being an officeholder in one of the world’s richest sporting bodies more desirable than almost any corporate post in India. Even if the job is unpaid: Most of the posts are “honorary,” and the board only created its first paid position in 2006.

This mix of power, intrigue, patronage and glamour—membership in an exclusive secret society controlling the more visible sporting drama and energy of bat and ball—is utterly irresistible. And never more seductive than to the career politician, who sees in Indian cricket an enormous opportunity to leverage and redouble his own power.

So which prominent names in Indian politics have a foot planted in cricket “administration”? Well, let’s begin right at the top of the pyramid of power.

Last June, the Gujarat Cricket Association called a special meeting to appoint a new president. The sitting president, Narendra Modi, had just resigned, having become prime minister. Modi had not only been chief minister of Gujarat since 2001, but he had also taken over control of the association in 2009, bringing an end to long years of domination in the post by Congress Party politicians.

Who would replace Modi? The association elected as its president Amit Shah, Modi’s right-hand man in the national election and now the second-most powerful man in India. Shortly afterward, Shah was also appointed head of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Up in New Delhi, Arun Jaitley (now India’s finance minister) had brought an end to his 13-year-long presidency of the Delhi District Cricket Association at the end of 2013, with one eye on a future role in government. Had the BJP not won the national election, Jaitley would have in all likelihood made a run for BCCI president this year.

The BCCI is so powerful in world cricket that even dishonour on the job—such as that experienced by a previous president, the powerful businessman N. Srinivasan— only brings further gains. In 2013, Srinivasan was forced to step down after serious charges of corruption were levelled at his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan. He failed to get reinstated, and he was told by the Supreme Court of India that he was “killing the game of cricket.”

With the report of the inquiry against him still pending, Srinivasan decided to run last year for head of the ICC instead. In June, he was handed charge of cricket administration globally, a development the BCCI called “a proud and historic moment for Indian cricket.” But to most cricket fans, including many Indian ones, Srinivasan’s presidency is nothing short of scandalous.

What will the future of the cricket world be like? That depends almost entirely on India and—this is not something that will reassure any cricket fan—on the uncontrollable Board of Control for Cricket in India. Bloomberg