'Audacity of firangi foolishness' !! The Guardian view on India’s election: Narendra Modi’s audacity of hate ::: And they 'admit' Namo has a knack for turning anger into political power !!

Modi has a knack for turning anger and fear into political power.

The Guardian view on India’s election: Narendra Modi’s audacity of hate

Editorial

Look at the distortion:::  

"India’s prime minister encourages a belief in his divinity, leading followers to think it is God’s purpose to spread fear and loathing" . (Utterly distorted view) 

No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.” So reads the rule book for Indian elections. 

Has anyone told Narendra Modi? 

India’s prime minister has resorted to overtly Islamophobic language during the two-month campaign, painting India’s 200 million Muslims as an existential threat to the Hindu majority.

 Laughably, the body charged with conducting free and fair polls did issue a feeble call for restraint from “star campaigners”. 

With the Indian election results out next week (June 4) one commentator warned Mr Modi has “put a target on Indian Muslims’ backs, redirecting the anger of poor and marginalised Hindu communities away from crony capitalists and the privileged upper castes”.

Mr Modi’s tirades are meant to distract an electorate suffering from high inflation and a lack of jobs despite rapid economic growth. 

(inflation story is overstated and matters related to fuel from Russia at discounted price and whose benefits passed on to people is never expplained)

His (Modi's) Bharatiya Janata party’s political strategy is to emphasise threats to Hindu civilisation, and the need for a united Hindu nation against Muslims. 

However, Mr Modi has fused this Hindu nationalism with the idea that he was sent by God. The Congress party’s Rahul Gandhi, his main opponent, suggested that anyone else making such a claim needed to see a psychiatrist.

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Religion, Karl Marx wrote, is the opium of the people. This thought still resonates in places where organised religion remains a powerful force. That is why Donald Trump also claims to be doing God’s work. 

In India, poor people often see politicians as gods delivering relief to numb the pain of reality. By claiming to be divine, Mr Modi is making devotees of voters, encouraging a belief that it is God’s purpose to target minorities, outlaw dissent and ride roughshod over constitutional protections. It is depressing to think that Mr Modi will win a third election victory. 

There is small comfort in believing the BJP probably won’t achieve Mr Modi’s goal of winning nearly three-quarters of the country’s 543 parliamentary seats. Foreign investors are pulling out their cash from India’s stock market, citing uncertainty about the results, says the edit.

Ten years ago, Mr Modi promised jobs would be his top priority. Yet unemployment has barely budged despite India being the world’s fastest growing major economy. Four-fifths of its unemployed are young people. 

More working-age women are employed as a percentage of the workforce in Nepal and Bangladesh than in India. The fruits of growth are landing in the lap of India’s rich, drawn almost exclusively from country’s the upper castes who back the BJP. 

Unsurprisingly, under Mr Modi Indian inequality reached its highest ever recorded level.

The Guardian -- Link

Shrinking such gaps is not just a moral imperative but a necessary condition for economic growth. Human development is an outcome of social cooperation, which is made harder in a stratified society where divisions are encouraged. 

A report for Thomas Piketty’s World Inequality Lab suggested an annual wealth tax and an inheritance tax on the 370,000 Indians earning €1.2m a year, who currently hold over a quarter of the country’s total wealth. 

This, the authors say, should be used to double the current public spending on education, which has stagnated at 2.9% of GDP over the past 15 years. 

Reducing inequality has been a feature, to his credit, of Mr Gandhi’s campaign. The trouble for India is that Mr Modi has a knack for turning anger and fear into political power.

On way to Modi 3.0 ..... Diamond Harbour and Sandeshkhali in Basirhat voting today :::: In Varanasi people debate margin in favour of Modi

In West Bengal voting takes place in politically sensitive Diamond Harbour. Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee's powerful nephew Abhishek Banerjee is seeking re-election. He won the seat in 2014 and 2019.

In 2024, 'Bhaipo' is locked in a triangular contest against CPI(M) nominee Pratikur Rahaman and BJP's Bobby Kumar Das.  

In 2019, Abhishek had polled 791,127 votes making it 56.15 per cent. Nilanjan Roy of BJP was his nearest rival having polled 470,533 - that is 33.39 per cent of votes. Notably, BJP's vote share had increased by 17 per cent compared to the Lotus party performance in 2014.

CPI(M) candidate Dr Fuad Halim could manage just 93,941 votes -- that is only 6.67 per cent.

Basirhat is a keenly watched parliamentary constituency in West Bengal this year as the headline hunter place Sandeshkhali falls under this. 

Trinamool Congress has been winning it since 2009. Haji Nurul Islam won the seat in 2009; then it passed on to Idris Ali in 2014 and the incumbent MP is actress Nusrat Jahan. 

She is not contesting this time.

This year, TMC nominee is Haji Nurul Islam and he is pitted against CPI(M)'sNirapada Sardar, ISF nominee Akhtar Rahaman Biswas and BJP's  Rekha Patra. The exploitation of women by Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, 

now in custody, is the main election issue.

In fact, Sandeshkhali controversy has hit hard Trinamool's 'Maa, Maati, Manush' image severely.

On the last day of polling for the big battle of 2024 -- keenly watched globally - polling of votes is being conducted also in Varanasi -- from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking re-election for the third time in a row.

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Elections are being held in 

Uttar Pradesh: 13 segments - Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushi Nagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, 

Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Robertsganj 

Punjab: 13 -- Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Anandpur 

Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala

West Bengal: 9 --  Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, 

Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar

Bihar - 8 - Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat, 

Jahanabad 

Odisha: 6 -- Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur

Himachal Pradesh: 4 --  Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Shimla

Jharkhand: 3 -- Rajmahal, Dumka, Godda

Chandigarh: 01 

Varanasi has a unique history of political representation

The grand old party, Congress, represented the constituency 7 terms making it -- 41.18% per cent while BJP also won it for seven terms (41.18 percent), The communists CPI-M had won it once and similarly one term each went to Janata Party and Janata Dal.

Notably, in 1977, no less than Janata Party stalwart and a die-hard anti-Indira leader Chandra Shekhar had won the seat. It has been won by the likes of Kamalapathi Tripathi (Congress in 1980), Anil Shastri (Janata Dal) and also Dr Murli Manohor Joshi (BJP in 2009).

In 1967, Satya Narain Singh had won the seat for Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Some youths jokingly describe the eastern Uttar Pradesh sub-region as "Modi's workshop" and one of them explains that this region since the last 10 years is finding a new rhythm of developmental works, improvements in roads and at the same there is a great awakening happening culturally and in religious learning.

Some political strategists find these eastern UP constituencies a testing ground in a general sense to check how 'neo-Hindutva politics' along with welfarism would work. "Slowly, people are uniting and divisive policies are being rejected," said one Hindu shopkeeper.

However, Muslims complain against banning of cow slaughter and meat business. "We are dreaming that as country's Prime Minister is representing our region; this area will also turn modern, self-satisfactory, self-reliant and multicultural," says Yasmin Farheen, an office goer. 

She also adds, "We need to turn this region as education hub".  A college student endorses her views and adds, "My slogan is Jeetega bhai jeetega achha neta jeetega (only a good leader should win)," he screams - raising voice to be heard over the sound of music and some political announcements blaring from speakers.

ends 

In the six months after June 4, India will see "big political storm" - Modi ::::::: Achhey din to 'Golden era' literally ..... RBI moves 1 lakh kg of gold from UK to its vaults in India

Reports from the widely trusted betting markets say the BJP would get a comfortable 330 seats on its own, a majority not different from those forecast persistently by TV channels before the polls began.

In Odisha during campaigning, PM Narendra Modi said : "In the six months after June 4, country will catch a new pace of development.  Six months to bring a big storm in politics.  Disappointment is at its peak in family parties. People are questioning leaders who have failed. we will see  disintegration in the family parties."

Of course, PM Narendra Modi's target has been 370 for BJP and 400 plus for the ruling coalition.

Neither Mr Modi nor his ministers have minced words about a landslide victory they foresee, crossing even Rajiv Gandhi’s 400 plus, but opposition parties and well-regarded pollsters claim the outcome is likely to spell serious loss of seats for the BJP, which had a tally of 303 in the last polls -- says 'Dawn', Pakistani newspaper. 

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav asked his party workers and candidates to remain vigilant. In an appeal on X, Mr Yadav wrote, “All of you should remain fully alert, vigilant, and cautious during the voting on Saturday and also in the days after the voting, till the counting of votes is over and you receive the certificate of victory. Do not get misled by the BJP.”

PM Narendra Modi has also been lampooned by Rahul's sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and others for alleging that the Congress would steal one of two buffaloes and the Mangalsutra of Hindu women to give them to Muslims. He has described the Con­gress manifesto as a Muslim League document.

The fact of the matter is though a sure losing side, the Congress manifesto was discussed probably as one of the most hyper-sensitive issues.

In his last outing in Hoshiarpur in Punjab, where all 13 seats are to be decided in the last phase, PM Modi threatened to expose the opposition leaders if they didn’t stop targeting him. “Don’t mess with Modi,” he shouted, hours before flying off to Kanyakumari.

Earlier, in Bihar, he openly threatened to jail 24-year-old cha­llenger Tejashvi Yadav, who has been drawing massive crowds without troubling his father Lalu Yadav to campaign in the searing heat. 

On the last day of voting BJP candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha segment in Himachal Pradesh, actress Kangana Ranaut contesting as BJP nominee says "I have cast my vote right now. I want to appeal to the people to take part in the festival of democracy and exercise their right to vote. 

"PM Modi's wave is there in Himachal Pradesh...I am hopeful that the people of Mandi will bless me and we will get all 4 seats of the state... Himachal Pradesh's 4 seats will contribute to '400 paar'..."

"The biggest failure of India's opposition parties in the last 10 years is that they could not pose a formidable competition to Narendra Modi in Varanasi. They could not prepare one among themselves or even a celebrity to take on Narendra Modi. I am surprised," says one foreign journalist Christine Robinson.

Priyanka Gandhi – who plays an organisational role in the party but is often described as a more natural politician than her older brother – has described Rahul as the “ideological centre of the party today”. “Our family is one of the things that holds the Congress together,” she said. “But primarily it is our ideology: that there is a place for every religion, every caste, every creed in this country.”

She hit back at Modi’s criticisms of Congress being a party of nepotism and privilege. “I can give you a long list of so-called dynastic politicians who are flourishing in the BJP and nobody is saying anything about it.”

Achhey din to 'Golden era' literally ..... RBI moves 1 lakh kg of gold from UK to its vaults in India

"For those of my generation, the shipping out of gold in 1990-91 was moment of failure that we will never forget. This is why this shipping back of gold has a special meaning," economist Sanjeev Sanyal said. 

 This is the first time since 1991 that India has undertaken such a large-scale transfer of gold reserves.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has moved approximately 100 tonnes (1 lakh kilograms) of gold from the United Kingdom to its vaults in India.  More than half of the RBI’s gold reserves are held overseas in secure custody with the Bank of England and the Bank of International Settlements, while approximately a third is stored domestically.

It may be noted that the move is expected to help the RBI save on storage costs currently paid to the Bank of England.

The central bank held 822.10 tonnes of gold as part of its foreign exchange reserves as of March 31, 2024, an increase from the 794.63 tonnes held at the same time last year, according to the annual data released by the RBI.

Prominent economist Sanjeev Sanyal said, "While no one was watching, RBI has shifted 100 tonnes of its gold reserves back to India from UK."

"Most countries keep their gold in the vaults of the Bank of England or some such location (and pay a fee for the privilege). India will now hold most of its gold in its own vaults. We have come a long way since we had to ship out gold overnight in 1991 in the midst of a crisis," he added.

Domestically, gold is stored in vaults located in the RBI's buildings on Mumbai's Mint Road and in Nagpur.

According to a World Gold Council report, global central banks hold about 17% of all the gold ever mined, with reserves reaching 36,699 metric tons by the end of 2023.

It is worth mentioning that the majority of these acquisitions occurred over the last 14 years, as central banks became net buyers of gold starting in 2010.

It was expected !! Cat ..... seems to be 'out of the bag' :::: Israeli firm “began generating comments" that slammed BJP and lauded opposition Congress !!

 A threat intel report by OpenAI claims that a for-hire Israeli firm “began generating comments that focused on India, criticised the ruling BJP party and praised the opposition Congress party.”

Was there any Israeli link to this 'sick' Sickular bus ??

OpenAI claims it had disrupted covert operations that sought to use artificial intelligence models to influence elections in India in a bombshell revelation just four days before results are declared for the Lok Sabha polls, reports said.  

The activity that was focused on Indian polls was flagged in May, the report mentions, adding that the "network was operated by STOIC, a political campaign management firm in Israel".   

The OpenAI report cites campaigns that used AI for covert operations that were used to manipulate public opinion or influence political outcomes.

“While we observed these threat actors using our models for a range of IO, they all attempted to deceive people about who they were or what they were trying to achieve,” the report mentions.

The report further claims that a cluster of accounts, operated from Israel, were used to generate and edit content for the covert operations. The content were shared on X, Facebook, Instagram, websites, and YouTube.

“In early May, it (the network) began targeting audiences in India with English-language content,” the report claims.

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research organisation founded in December 2015. Reacting to the report, Union Minister of Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, 

"It is absolutely clear and obvious that BJP was and is the target of influence operations, misinformation and foreign interference, being done by and/or on behalf of some Indian political parties."

He called it a "dangerous threat" to the country's democracy.

"It is clear: vested interests in India and outside are clearly driving this and needs to be deeply scrutinised/investigated and exposed," Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

"My view at this point is that these platforms could have released this much earlier, and not so late when elections are ending," he added.

China-based network peddling pro-Khalistan agenda

Meta also released a report saying that they had removed several accounts, pages and groups on Instagram targeting the Sikh community in India, Australia, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Nigeria. The network originated in China, the report claims.

"The operation used compromised and fake accounts to pose as Sikhs, post content and manage Pages and Groups," the report claims.

It further claims that a "fictitious activist movement called Operation K" was created by the network, calling for pro-Sikh protests. "We found and removed this activity early, before it was able to build an audience among authentic communities," the report mentions.

The network posted primarily in English and Hindi about news and used images "likely manipulated by photo editing tools or generated by artificial intelligence".

The content flagged by Meta was about floods in the Punjab region, the Sikh community worldwide, the pro-Khalistan movement, the killing of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, and contents critical of the Indian government.  

The operations OpenAI shut down harnessed AI to generate comments and articles in different languages, make up names and bios for fake social media accounts, debug code, and more.

OpenAI said it thwarted two operations in Russia, one in China, one in Iran, and one by a commercial company in Israel. The campaigns involved "Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, the Indian elections, politics in Europe and the United States, and criticisms of the Chinese government by Chinese dissidents and foreign governments," OpenAI wrote in its blog.

The company said the campaigns didn't rely only on AI tools, but also used human operators. Some of the actors used AI to improve the quality of their campaigns, like producing text with fewer errors, while others used AI to increase their output, like generating larger volumes of fake comments on social media posts.

For example, OpenAI said the operation in Israel used AI to produce short texts about the war in Gaza, post them on social media, and then manufacture AI-generated replies and comments on those posts from fake accounts.

ends 

The Tragic tale of Congress party's journey under Moditva !! "If Congress faced another major loss, it could find itself in bigger trouble"

 Ten years in opposition have left Congress and the Gandhi family in decline, accused of elitism, disorganisation and weak leadership. The party presence on the ground remains lacklustre, compared with the BJP’s well-organised electoral machine and its disciplined cadre -- says 'The Guardian', London. 

The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty were once the giants of India’s politics – the family at the forefront of the independence battle, who built up the formidable Congress party and produced three prime ministers, says the article penned by Hannah Ellis-Petersen.

Mother-daughter duo : Sonia-Priyanka 'over protective'  for Rahul 

"But now the family are fighting for their survival. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government are seeking a third term in power in elections taking place over six weeks. 

Most analysts believe a BJP victory against Congress and its allies once again seems likely," she notes.  Analysts say that a third consecutive loss to Modi in June would deal another crippling blow to the family and could throw the future of the party as a viable political force into question.

Rahul Verma, a fellow at the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, said the Congress party was akin to a “large ship which has rusted for a very long period of time”. Verma said the problem was in part the Gandhi family leadership “but also the whole organisation of the party, which is very weak”.

Verma warned that if Congress faced another major election loss, it could find itself with state, or even national, rebellions on its hands, which could further diminish and even fracture the party to devastating effect. “This election is critical for Congress,” he said.

Rahul resigned two years later after losing to Modi, but the family’s influence has not waned and the Gandhis have made little effort to find a long-term successor who is not within their dynastic ranks. Few believe the family will vacate the political arena voluntarily. After internal pressure, last year Congress voted in a new president, Mallikarjan Kharge, but he is 81 years old and seen as the choice of the Gandhis. For many within its ranks, Congress without the Gandh is still seems unfathomable and Rahul Gandhi remains the recognisable face of the party.

“Earlier there was a divinity associated with this dynasty: it was unstated but they very much felt they were destined to rule this country,” said Sugata Srinivasaraju, who authored a book on Rahul Gandhi. “They don’t know how to behave when they are in opposition.”

Nowhere has the battle for the Gandhi family legacy been more visible in this election than in Raebareli, a dusty, nondescript constituency in Uttar Pradesh. The state was once the stronghold of Congress but under Modi it slipped from its grip to become a bastion of the BJP. Raebareli is the only safe Congress seat left, -- says the piece.

'The Guardian' link

Congress gives up.... throws the towel into the 'ring' .... abandon the great struggle; and simply admit defeat !! Bhag ....Congress Bhag

 Throw the towel into the ring is a token of acceptance of defeat. 

Here is a sentence illustration.... : There are times when the difficulties appear too great and we just throw in the towel. 

It means abandon a struggle; admit defeat. 

‘This election is critical for Congress’ --- says 'The Guardian' 

We are not discussing grammar or idioms here. The Congress party has admitted defeat in their hyped battle against Narendra Modi and to protect India's democracy and says --- well, we are out.... says it cryptically but takes a bravado face like an arrogant bad loser  and says once voting is over -- where is the need to speculate !!

 

Caption fails this picture !!

"The results will be out on 4th June. Prior to that, we do not see any reason to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP," Congress spokesman Pawan Khera he said in a statement.  

"The results will be out on 4th June. Prior to that, we do not see any reason to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP," he said in a statement shared on X.

Where's the candle vigil team ? What Sickular intellectuals will be telling next? What about 'rubbish TV' and also a few like RZZ deep Desai and the brigade -- we called them SICKULAR BRIGADE. 

Country's powerful Home Minister Amit Shah had joined the issue and said: ...By  boycotting the Exit Poll exercise, Congress was questioning the rigorous exercise carried out by several professional agencies that work day and night to compile the figures."

"Their hypocrisy is not lost on anyone. Let no one in Phase 7 waste their votes on them," said Shah. 

Objecting to Congress decision, BJP national president J P Nadda, in a post on X, said: "It doesn't behove India's Grand Old Party to behave like a child, whose toy has been taken away. One expects a certain level of maturity from the largest political party in the Opposition".  

In a Hindi post on X, formerly Twitter, Union Minister Amit Shah said, "Congress has come to know about its huge defeat, so with what face will it face the media and the public now? Therefore, Congress is running away from the exit polls. I want to tell the Congress party not to run away, face the defeat and introspect".

Blogger .... sometimes 'running' ... they say 'flying' 

The Congress's decision to skip exit poll debates has provided fresh ammunition to the BJP ahead of the seventh and final phase of the Lok abha election, in which the party is hoping for a historic third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. -- NDTV 

After the announcement by senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, both BJP chief JP Nadda and the party's chief strategist and Union Minister Amit Shah said it was obvious that the Opposition has conceded defeat.

  On June 1, Saturday voting are to be held in 57 parliamentary segments including in high-profile Varanasi and also in Punjab state.  

Uttar Pradesh: 13 |---  Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushi Nagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Robertsganj 

Punjab: 13  -- Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala

West Bengal: 9 --  Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar

Bihar: 8 -- Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat, Jahanabad 

Odisha: 6 -- Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur

Himachal Pradesh: 4 -- Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Shimla

Jharkhand: 3 | Rajmahal, Dumka, Godda

Chandigarh: 1  Chandigarh

 

Now, onus on civil bodies NGBF, Sümi Hoho to ensure NNPG unity

 Now, onus on civil bodies NGBF, Sümi Hoho to ensure NNPG unity

"We should not be held guilty of complacency....."

New Delhi  

The stakeholders in Delhi like the rest of India are keeping their fingers crossed.

Will the Modi government return to power? Can there be a refreshed look at the northeast region vis-a-vis the Act East Policy? Will it reap any dividend?

But no one is quite sure.

One source in the know of things says, "We should not be held guilty of complacency.We are maintaining a strict vigil.... the developments within the NNPG are also under scanner".

Asked whether the formal split now that the Kitovi-impeachment episode has brought could impact the three-decade long peace talks, the source said: ⁠”Despite the divisions, all groups in the NNPGs still stand by the Agreed Position". 

However he sought to caution with all sincerity; and added: ⁠”It is none of Govt of India’s concern … but such differences within the NNPG will surely weaken their narrative before the Naga public".

The Narendra Modi government has drawn up a plan to bring peace to the volatile northeastern region housing the nation’s only three Christian-majority states after the mammoth national elections end.

"Peace in the northeastern states, including Manipur and the end of various conflicts, is a priority," said a source.The Prime Minister himself announced that he has already prepared a road map for the first 125 days.

On June 1, Saturday, the final and the seventh phase of elections to the 543-member Lok Sabha will be conducted.

The results will be out on Tuesday, June 4.

'Nagaland Page' link

On Thursday afternoon, days after N Kitovi Zhimomi staked claim to camp Khehoyi and the 'Prime Ministerial post' of the GPRN/NSCN, the Neokpao-Alezo-Samson camp reasserted the ouster of its former Ato Kilonser. 

Top leaders of the GPRN/NSCN addressed the media at its Council Headquarters Khehoyi on May 30 asserting that the impeachment and subsequent expulsion of Kitovi Zhimomi was final.

Kitovi : Facing Tough challenges 

Two days earlier, Kitovi announced the formation of GPRN/NSCN (Unification).

"We have chosen Unification as we stand for Naga unification...others are busy pulling, pushingand removing genuine leadership by hook or crook," Kitovi told this journalist over phone.

The Alezo-Samson camp says Kitovi may be taken back if he agreed to work under President General (retired) M B Neokpao Konyak and Alezo Venuh as Ato Kilonser. 

The MIP also said that Zhimomi was impeached and expelled on grounds of acting contrary to the Yehzabo (Constitution). It said that his unilateral decisions and dictatorial style of functioning created dissension.

It reasserted Zhimomi’s removal as based on “democratic principle as per Party discipline and Yehzabo (Constitution).” 

The fresh developments in Nagaland vis-a-vis N Kitovi Zhimomi and the GPRN/NSCN are being analysed based on merits and taking into consideration all pros and cons, sources in Delhi say.

No internal conflict among players in the NNPG can have any positive impact. 

Hence, those who wish well to the Naga community in general and the state of

Nagaland in particular should try to bury their mutual differences.

It goes without stating that the NNPG should present a united face.

But as of now such unity is seemingly impossible. Things have reached a stage, where everyone concernedis asking, "Who'll bell the cat?"

From a neutral position; one can say the onus now should be on some of the well knowncivil society organisations such the Naga Gaon Burra Federation (NGBF).

Well, in the past too the NGBF and other organisations like the Nagaland Tribes Council(NTC) had played important roles.

Media can perhaps sincerely exhort the organisations such as CNTC, Sümi Hoho, Western Sümi Hohoand a few others including NTC and NGBF to come forward to "resolve the differences" between Kitovi and the Alezo-Samson camp. 

To be more specific, one can say these organisations probably need to be pragmatic to appreciate that differences between two sides are deep enough though personal in nature.

They can explore how Kitovi should continue to play a role in the ongoing talks between the Govt of India and NNPGs based on Agreed Position.

One reason for this is simple, Kitovi has been talking to the Government's negotiators for so long and to have a new person to do that job may only add to certain complexities.

The government of India is aware of various pros and cons and would still hope that things are maintained cool and calm. They insist nothing should be allowed to unfold that would delay the final peace pact and Solution to the Naga political issue.  

In 2019, within two and half months after being sworn in as the Prime Minister; Mr Modi acted fast and had abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

On May 29th, the Prime Minister told an election rally in Odisha:"In the six months after June 4, the country will catch a new pace of development.  Six months will bring a big storm in politics".  

ends 

Out of 57 going to polls on June 1, BJP won 28 and Congress only 8

Out of 57 seats going to vote on Saturday, June 1;  the had won 25 but the Congress had only 8  in 2019

NDA received 39.03% of the votes in these constituencies five years ago compared to INDIA parties’ 37.52% vote share.

After almost 80 days of campaigning, voting in the Lok Sabha elections concludes on Saturday with 57 seats across eight states and Union Territories going to polls. 

Punjab will also go for voting in parliamentary constituencies.

Local booth workeres say the BJP is confiden5 of good fight to winning chance in four constituencies Amritsar, Faridkot, Patiala and Gurdaspur.

This has been the second-longest parliamentary election since the first Lok Sabha election in 1951-’52.

After the polls close, all eyes will be on the exit po

lls on June 1 evening and the results on June 4. By the end of Saturday, polling will be completed at one go in all 13 seats in Punjab and all four seats in Himachal Pradesh. The other states that will vote are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal — where polling was held across all seven phases — and Jharkhand and Odisha, where Assembly polls are also being held simultaneously

In 2019, the parties constituting the Opposition INDIA bloc and the ruling BJP-led NDA won 19 and 30 of these 57 seats, respectively. The BJP alone won 25 of these constituencies.

 Among the INDIA bloc members, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress won the most seats at nine and eight, respectively. Several unaligned parties also bagged several constituencies: the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won four seats in Odisha, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won two in UP, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won two in Punjab.

In terms of vote share, the parties that constitute NDA received 39.03% of the votes compared to the 37.52% vote share of the INDIA bloc parties. In 2014, the NDA won 39 of these seats and the INDIA alliance parties won 11, with 10 going to other parties.

There are 904 candidates in the fray on Saturday. The BSP has fielded the most candidates at 56, followed by the BJP at 51, and the Congress at 31. With all of Punjab voting on Saturday, the state has the most candidates in this phase at 328, followed by 144 candidates in Uttar Pradesh’s 13 seats, 134 in Bihar’s 8 seats, and 124 in West Bengal’s 9 seats.

Candidate breakdownCandidate breakdown

Of the 199 candidates with criminal cases, Punjab has the most at 69, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 36, and Bihar at 30. 

The Ludhiana and Patiala seats in Punjab have the most candidates with cases at 9 each. There are also 151 candidates, or 17% of the total, with serious criminal cases. 

Among the major parties, the BJP has the most candidates with criminal cases at 23, accounting for 45% of its candidates in this phase, while the TMC and Samajwadi Party (SP) have the highest proportion of such candidates at 78%.

Of the 299 crorepati candidates in this phase, Punjab has the most at 102, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 55, and Bihar at 50.

 Among the parties, the BJP has the most crorepati candidates at 44, or 86% of its candidates in this phase, followed by the Congress at 30, or 97%, and the BSP at 22 or 39%. As a share of all candidates, Himachal Pradesh tops Phase 7 in crorepati candidates at 62%.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD), contesting from Punjab’s Bathinda | Assets: Rs 198.52 crore

Baijayant Panda (BJP), contesting from Odisha’s Kendrapara | Assets: Rs 148.09 crore

Youngest: Two candidates aged 25, from minor parties

Oldest: 87-year-old Independent K Rangaiah, contesting from Jharkhand’s Godda

Punjab and Chandigarh pollsPunjab and Chandigarh polls

BIHAR

Total seats: 39 (8 seats in Phase 7)

Total electors: 7.66 crore

First-time voters: 9.26 lakh

Bihar pollsBihar polls

WEST BENGAL

Total seats: 42 (9 seats in Phase 7)

Total electors: 7.6 crore

First-time voters: 11.34 lakh

West Bengal pollsWest Bengal polls

UTTAR PRADESH

Total seats: 80 (13 seats in Phase 7)

Total electors: 15.32 crore

ODISHA

Total seats: 21 (6 seats in Phase 7)

Total electors: 3.33 crore

First-time voters: 8 lakh

5 CONTESTS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi (BJP) vs Congress state chief Ajay Rai | 2019 winner: BJP

Diamond Harbour, West Bengal: TMC general secretary and sitting MP Abhishek Banerjee vs youth leader Pratikur Rehman (CPM) vs Abhijit “Bobby” Das (BJP) | 2019 winner: TMC

Bathinda, Punjab: Former Union minister and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD) vs sitting MLA Gurmeet Singh Khudian (AAP) vs former bureaucrat Parampal Kaur Sidhu (BJP) vs former MLA Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu (Cong) | 2019 winner: SAD

Patna Sahib, Bihar: Former Union minister and sitting MP Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) vs party spokesperson Anshul Avijit (Cong) | 209 winner: BJP

Mandi, Himachal Pradesh: State Cabinet minister Vikramaditya Singh (Cong) vs actor-politician Kangna Ranaut (BJP) | 2019 winner: Congress

Ends

MEA spokesman on Nawaz Sharif admitting the fact

 Objective view emerging in Pak: India on Nawaz Sharif’s comments that Islamabad violated Lahore pact

Sharif on Tuesday said Islamabad had "violated" an agreement with India signed by him and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999, in an apparent reference to the Kargil misadventure by General Pervez Musharraf.

Days after former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif admitted that Islamabad had violated the Lahore pact, India on Thursday said an objective view is emerging on the issue in the neighbouring country.

Sharif on Tuesday said Islamabad had “violated” an agreement with India signed by him and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999, in an apparent reference to the Kargil misadventure by General Pervez Musharraf.

“You are aware of our position on the issue. I need not have to reiterate that. We note that there is an objective view emerging in Pakistan as well on this matter,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

He was replying to a question on the matter at his weekly media briefing.

After a historic summit in Lahore, then Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee and Sharif signed the Lahore Declaration on February 21, 1999.

The agreement that talked about a vision of peace and stability between the two neighbouring countries signalled a breakthrough. However, a few months later, Pakistani intrusion in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kargil district led to the Kargil conflict.

“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan carried out five nuclear tests. After that Vajpayee saheb came here and made an agreement with us. But we violated that agreement…. It was our fault,” Sharif told a meeting of the PML-N general council that elected him the president of the ruling party in Pakistan.

Donald Trump found guilty on all 34 counts at hush money criminal trial ::: Republicans back him...verdict to be challenged ::: What happens to Biden's election ??

Donald Trump became the first US president to be convicted of a crime  when a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

After deliberations over two days, the 12-member jury announced it had found Trump guilty on all 34 counts he faced, news agency Reuters reported. Unanimity was required for any verdict.  

Republicans are backing the former President.

“Today is a shameful day in American history,” said Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker. “This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one. The weaponization of our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden administration, and the decision today is further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.”

Justice Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, days before the July 15 start of the Republican National Convention expected to formally nominate Trump for president.

Merchan thanked the jurors for their service. “Nobody can make you do anything you don’t want to do. The choice is yours,” Merchan said.

The verdict plunges the United States into unexplored territory ahead of the November 5 presidential election, when Trump, the Republican candidate, will try to win the White House back from Democratic President Joe Biden.

He faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, though others convicted of that crime often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation. Incarceration would not prevent him from campaigning, or taking office if he were to win.

He will not be jailed ahead of sentencing. Trump, 77, has denied wrongdoing and was expected to appeal.

Trump claims he is ‘innocent’ and condemns what he calls a ‘rigged’ trial; sentencing to come days before Republican National Convention   

Congressman Jim Jordan, the pugnacious rightwing Republican chair of the House judiciary committee, similarly bemoaned the verdict as “a travesty of justice”, adding: “The Manhattan kangaroo court shows what happens when our justice system is weaponized by partisan prosecutors in front of a biased judge with an unfair process.”

Some of Trump’s advisers and family members were even more blunt in their assessment of the verdict. “Such bullshit,” Donald Trump Jr, the former president’s eldest son, wrote on Twitter/X.

A number of Trump’s allies predicted the conviction would be reversed on appeal and would only mobilize Republican voters in the election, while at least one lawmaker suggested the verdict would set a dangerous precedent.

"It was a historic moment in which the US joined other democracies in showing the world it is willing to hold its political leaders to account. It also represents an earthquake in a presidential election where poll after poll shows Trump to be the marginal favourite over incumbent Joe Biden, despite the president’s efforts to move the needle. 

If this doesn’t do it, perhaps nothing will," says an analysis piece in London-based 'The Guardian'. 

ends 

Written for 'Nagaland Page' newspaper as it completes 25 years ..... ::::: Heart is for Written Word .... But we can still hate Journalism

Heart is for Written Word .... But we can still hate Journalism

Allegory is a story or a poem .... that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning.

This is an era of the internet, 'Digital India' one can take the risk of saying soin the election season.Ideally, 'May 29th' (2024) should have come after June 4th. One could relax a bit and pen something more captivating. Nevertheless, as journalists - our hearts do not really belong tospouses or even girl friends (or boyzz). 

It is locked to the written word.Once that happens - you are hooked and enslaved.

So when the invite came - one could not give up the opportunity -- the Temptation. 

Coming to the internet; surfing allows you to open up before a world of good books etc.

I was lately excited to read about Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci.

During her 1972 interview, Henry Kissinger agreed that the Vietnam conflict was a "useless war" and he compared himself to "the cowboy who leads the wagon train by riding ahead alone on his horse".

Kissinger later wrote that it was "the single most disastrous conversation I have ever had with any member of the press."

These words left me touched. Will S C Jamir, K L Chishi or even Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio ever say --"Oh, this was the single most disastrous conversation I have ever had with the journalist from Delhi" ?

Imagine that happens. Will that be a prize or a critical verdict from a political stalwart ?

Five years back, 'Nagaland Page' completed 20 years of publication and I had written a piece'I am obliged to inform, hence I am a journalist'. (May 29, 2019)

When veteran Jamir gave me a joy ride: Dec 2022 

Five years after -- nothing much has changed. But Journalism has changed a lot. 

It is no longer about 'informing' the readers -- we are now self-anointed game-changers or even stakeholders.

Here lies the biggest crisis. In fact, that's cancer today. Or is it just a paradox?

In political circles, people tend to debate that every democratic party believes in free speech for everyone in the country except its own members. Who will challenge this paradox?

Now some similarities and differences between Fallaci and journalists of my era or scribes like me.

Fallaci began her journalistic career in her teens. This applies to me also. 

Fallaci was shot three times, dragged down stairs by her hair, and left for dead by Mexican forces.

Well, none of these happened to me. Actually should not happen to me. And especially the second thing -- 'dragged down by hair' -- cannot happen to me ever. I have lost hair pretty fast and pretty early in my life that even the lady wife - Tripura damsel - at home could not get that pleasure.

'Nagaland Page' Link

What can one write when journalism overall faces credibility as well as financial crisis. Will there be a 2029 for us ?

Thus, to look back at the profession in circa 2024 -- one can say 'oh no, all my lost decades'.

Blogger's favourite debater among Naga Netas Chishi 

My daughter has entered a critical stage of her life. She passed class 12 CBSE on May 13th this year. Paradoxically a day after my wedding anniversary. Was that symbolic of any bigger message ?I am not sure.But what I am sure is --- she should not become a journalist ever.

                                               Lesson for Papa: Daughter's tightrope walking

The other day I asked her -- to repeat an Amitabh Bachhan film dialogue -- "Nafrat hai mujhe(I hate to the height of it..." .... A smart daughter of a smarter mom that she is -- Tanvi added: Journalism.

Well, my Big Picture message was clear. If someone says everyone comes to this world with a missionor a purpose -- we journalists -- especially of my generation - really do not know how to react.

ends       

Tanvi : A few years back