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Archives for March 2019

Mystique behind multi-phase polls

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Nasheman News : An important characteristic of multi-phase elections is the traction the political rhetoric gets. Extended elections in multiple phases allow political parties and formations malleability and ductility. Size is obviously the biggest determinant in such an exercise for Indian states are vast with different kinds of topography. Analysts point out the high stakes: the game is afoot for 220,000 polling booths across the country.

The polarizing potential of incendiary statements and the resultant divisiveness are amplified over a prolonged period, whose consequences are evident when the results are out. A case in point is the controversial statement of BJP leader Dayashanker Singh, whose sulphurous invective against Mayawati during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls led to a furore. High-profile BJP leaders had remained largely silent as chastising such leaders publicly would have demoralized the cadre. Such kinds of outbursts are commonplace in Hindi heartland and are used to galvanize cadre and voters.

Then, there’s the question of law and order. The Naxal angle, for instance, cannot be ignored. Nor the communal incidents, which political parties and partisan politicians use to polarize themes. Messaging and communication stratagems still work as they did during the protracted UP assembly polls. Fractiousness brought about by such incidents influence voters, one can argue, more in urban agglomerates than in rural areas. The non-committed and the less committed can well be swayed by communal incidents or by results of, say, even local body polls.

Lumpen elements, the ‘mahabalis’ and the ‘bahubalis’ (the musclemen) also need to be controlled and bottled. That is why the Election Commission is using the gambit of multi-phased elections in states where violence is feared during polls.

Yet, multi-phase polls give parties an opportunity to reassess, regroup and revise their strategies for different phases. Throw in some word-of-mouth from on-ground cadre to jump-start both lazy and active voters, and you have a successful operation going.


Cristiano hat trick powers Juventus over Atletico

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[Nasheman news] Turin (Italy) Cristiano Ronaldo notched a hat trick to lead Juventus 3-0 over Atletico Madrid for a 3-2 aggregate victory in their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

Atletico, whose Wanda Metropolitano stadium is the venue for this year’s final, won the first leg 2-0 and took a conservative approach to Tuesday night’s duel at Turin’s Allianz Stadium, where the home side went for goal from the starting whistle.

Juve’s Giorgio Chiellini put the ball in the Atletico net in the 4th minute, but the goal was called back for a Ronaldo foul on goalkeeper Jan Oblak, reports Efe news.

Atleti did an admirable job of keeping their shape, yet the pressure continued to build and the breakthrough came in the 27th minute, when Ronaldo got his head to Federico Bernardeschi’s cross and beat Oblak to cut the visitors’ edge in half.

Cristiano threatened twice more before half-time: a bicycle kick and another header that both went wide and the teams went to the dressing rooms with the tie still in the balance.

Three minutes into the second half, Ronaldo’s header off Joao Cancelo’s cross drove Oblak back into the net. Though the keeper made the stop, enough of the ball crossed the line for the referee to signal goal.

Both coaches made changes. Atletico’s Diego Simeone pulled Thomas Lemar in favour of Angel Correa and Bianconeri manager Massimiliano Allegri opted to replace Leonardo Spinazzola with Paulo Dybala.

The match then settled into an extended quiet stretch until the 80th minute, when Allegri took the bold step of sending in 19-year-old Moise Kean, the star of last week’s Serie A win against Udinese.

Kean had a chance to score the winner, but failed.

With five minutes left in regulation, Correa brought down Bernardeschi in the box and the referee awarded a penalty.

Ronaldo, who dispatched Juve from the spot last season for Real Madrid, fooled Oblak and converted to set off delirium among the 40,000-plus in the stands at the Allianz.

A zero-tolerance approach to terrorism

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The Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council held a special meeting on September 28, 2011, to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1373 and urged “all Member States to ensure zero tolerance towards terrorism and take urgent action to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”. As the chair of the committee, I presided over this special session in which the “zero-tolerance” norm was adopted.

Two developments helped change that narrative: reaction to 9/11, and the use of military force in Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011.

It became abundantly clear that organised terror outfits or non-state military actors cannot exist without the active arming and funding by some states, or at the very least acquiescence by them. Isalmic State (IS), for example, is the unwanted child of a failed, incompetently handled and neglected occupation (in Iraq).

There is a widespread tendency to underestimate the deep emotional and ideological reasons that prompt young men and women to take up arms and even lay down their lives for a cause they believe in, or have been persuaded to embrace. Radicalisation and violent extremism need to be understood if they are to be countered effectively. Locking up unemployed and radicalised youths only helps incubate Al Qaeda in jails.

Much of the global counterterrorism effort is delusional. It is laying the foundation for deeper polarisation and radicalisation that will make the world less safe than it already is. 

Why do I make this claim? Well a closer look at the two approaches used in the war against terror reveals that they both fit the delusional category.

First, erosion of the rule of law. It is now widely accepted that the American-led invasion of Iraq was illegal. There were no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and despite Saddam Hussain’s violently dictatorial regime, many more lives were lost as a result of the US invasion of the country. 

By disregarding international law and without giving due consideration to the international ramifications of such an invasion (the UN Security Council was largely ignored prior to the misadventure) the US and its allies created the monster that we today refer to as the IS. 

My previous book was on this very subject and studied the cases of Libya, Syria, Yemen, Crimea and Sri Lanka. It was aptly titled “Perilous Interventions”.

The second approach, a spectacular failure, is that of arming terror outfits. Often done under the garb of promoting democracy, the real motivation here is regime change for geopolitical gains. 

The American-led support to militant political Islamic organisations is well documented, with its crowning glory being Al Qaeda.

As General William Odom, director of the National Security Agency under President Ronald Reagan, said: “By any measure the US has long used terrorism. In 1978-79 the Senate was trying to pass a law against international terrorism — in every version they produced, the lawyers said the US would be in violation.”

And it is not just Western nations which are complicit. Other countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Iran and Turkey have also played their part. Turkey is known to provide a safe haven to the IS fighters, particularly those joining the terror organisation from Europe and the UK. And the rise of Pakistan’s ISI (the mastermind behind terror attacks in India) is predicated on importing Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabism, along with a large helping of financial and technical resources.

Moving forward, violent extremism and terrorism can be better countered if it is approached through the prism of dialogue and discourse, and state responsibility.

The war on global terror can only be won through a process of dialogue among nations where the discourse is focused on the international repercussions of what is an international security threat. Such a discourse, which is anchored in human rights, but not constrained by it, must transcend national interest and look at terrorism for what is — a threat to delicately balanced peace and security architecture, effectively established post the devastation of World War II.

In the absence of an agreement over the definition of “terrorism”, what must be made clear is that there is no such thing as a “good” terrorist, and responsibility for the tragic loss of life and property as a result of this “good” theory must be affixed on states supporting these claims. 

Terror plots only come to fruition with the help of governments/agencies that, under the garb of ‘non-state’ actors, propagate proxy wars and use terror as a tool for achieving their geostrategic goals. Just as no terror plot would be successful without this government support, no Countering Violent Extremism strategy will be successful without state responsibility. 

Name and shame is, in the words of Victor Hugo, an idea whose time has come.

Modi urges Rahul, others to motivate voters

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Nasheman News : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other politicians, sportspersons, actors, business leaders to encourage maximum voter engagement in 2019 general elections in April-May.

“I appeal to Rahul Gandhi, (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata (Banerjee), (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar, (BSP supremo) Mayawati, (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav, (RJD leader) Tejashwi Yadav and (DMK chief) M.K. Stalin to encourage increased voter participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. A high turnout augurs well for our democratic fabric,” he tweeted.

He also mentioned sportspersons P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, S..Kidambi; actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, business leaders Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra to encourage more voting in polls.

Modi urges Rahul, others to motivate voters

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[Nasheman news] New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other politicians, sportspersons, actors, business leaders to encourage maximum voter engagement in 2019 general elections in April-May.

“I appeal to Rahul Gandhi, (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata (Banerjee), (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar, (BSP supremo) Mayawati, (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav, (RJD leader) Tejashwi Yadav and (DMK chief) M.K. Stalin to encourage increased voter participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. A high turnout augurs well for our democratic fabric,” he tweeted.

He also mentioned sportspersons P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, S..Kidambi; actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, business leaders Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra to encourage more voting in polls.

Application to delete Jagan’s name from voter list

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Nasheman News : The election authorities in Andhra Pradesh have received an online application for deletion of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s name from the voter list.

An unidentified person submitted the application on behalf of Jaganmohan Reddy to delete his vote from the electoral rolls of Bhakarapuram (134th polling station) in Pulivendula Assembly constituency of Kadapa district.

According to Returning Officer Satyam, the application was made in Form-7 with Jaganmohan Reddy’s named as the applicant. It carried a photograph and other details of the leader.

The poll official contacted the YSRCP chief’s personal secretary, who denied submitting any such application.

Following this, the Returning Officer lodged a complaint with the police, which registered a case against an unknown person and launched an investigation.

Form-7 is used by voters to apply for deletion of their own name or the name of another voter from the electoral rolls.

The election authorities in Andhra Pradesh have received nearly 10 lakh such applications over the past two weeks. 

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi said more than half of the applications had been rejected and they were looking into more.

He said 446 cases were registered against people, who submitted false applications for deletion of voters.

Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Opposition YSRCP have been blaming each other for submitting applications to delete names of voters from the rolls.

I will reveal my plan on March 18 : Sumalatha

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All set to take the political plunge, multi-lingual film actor Sumalatha said on Monday she will reveal on March 18 whether she would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Mandya constituency in Karnataka.

Sumalatha, widow of celebrated Kannada actor Ambareesh, who was a three-time MP from Mandya, has disturbed the political equation with her insistence on contesting from the seat, upsetting calculations of ruling coalition partners Congress and JD(S).

“I believe that till the last minute anything can happen. Till it is officially announced, there is nothing to say this won’t happen. I will let you know on March 18,” Sumalatha told reporters in Mandya.

She urged people to not give credence to speculation that Congress leaders were persuading her to not contest from Mandya.

“Please don’t pay heed to rumours about me unless I reveal it to you, given the fact that Mandya is one of the prestigious Lok Sabha seats, not only in Karnataka, but in the entire country,” the actor added.

She said Congress strongman and water resources minister DK Shivakumar had requested her to not contest from Mandya. “Well, nobody can put pressure on me because they know who I am and what I am, but DK Shivakumar had met me with a suggestion that I should contest from somewhere else.

“He told me that since coalition dharma (with JD-S) was in place, Congress cannot retain Mandya. I too told him about my stand on this matter,” Sumalatha said.

Having a substantial population of the dominant Vokkaliga community, Mandya is traditionally considered a JD(S) citadel.

The JD(S) has not only made Congress give up Mandya, but has also decided to field Nikhil Gowda, son of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and third generation leader from the Gowda family, from the constituency.

Ambareesh, barring a brief stint in JD(S), had been associated with the Congress and was a minister of state for information and broadcasting in UPA-I dispensation.

Recently, JD(S) MLA and PWD minister HD Revanna said Sumalatha decided to enter politics even before a month had passed since her husband’s demise.

While referring to the arrangements made by the state government for Ambareesh’s funeral, Revanna said Sumalatha was also not grateful to Kumaraswamy what he did for her husband. 

The Congress and BJP have slammed Revanna, son of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and brother of the Chief Minister, for his comments.

Agencies

Father kills two children, commits suicide

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Nasheman News :  After killing his son and a daughter, a man apparently burdened by poverty committed suicide here on Monday night, police said on Tuesday.

The tragedy occurred in Noor Nagar area in Ghaziabad whose resident Sundar Pal (42) ran a ‘dhaba’ at Manali in Himachal Pradesh. 

He had returned to live with his father, a retired gardner from the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, as the roadside eatery was not giving him profits. 

On Monday night, his wife Sashi and their son Naman went to sleep in a first floor bedroom. Sundar Pal and his other two children, Tushar (15) and daughter Mahi (12), remained in the ground floor room. 

Post midnight, when his father Bhagwan Singh came out to use the toilet, he saw Sundar Pal hanging from the ceiling fan of his bedroom. The two children lay dead on the bed. 

The police found a 15-page note in which he mentioned how he had suffered loss in business and how he had tried to compensate the loss by driving cabs. 

“It seems he administered some poison in the ice cream he gave to Tushar and Mahi. And after that he committed suicide by hanging,” said Inspector Sanjay Pandey of Sihani Gate police station.

Last dates for voter registration

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Karnataka goes to polls in two phases on April 18 and April 23. As a resident of the state, if you have not registered to vote or if you have found that your name is not on the electoral rolls, then you have only a few days left to register and fill appropriate forms. 

If you are registered to vote in Udupi-Chikkamagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Mandya, Mysuru-Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru South, Bengaluru North, Chickkaballapur or Kolar, you need to register your vote before March 16. The last date for voter registration is 10 days before the last date for filing nominations. These regions go to polls on April 18 and the last date for filing nominations is March 26. Hence, it is important to finish filling the form within three days as the election commission takes 10 days to process one application. 

Chikkodi, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Ballari, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shivamogga go to polls on April 23. The last date for filing nominations for the candidates contesting polls in on April 8. The last date for voter registration is March 29. 

How to register to vote?

  • Those who want to register to vote, change their address or look if their names are on the electoral roll, you can visit the National Voter Service Portal (sometimes the website takes time to load. Try opening on desktop not on mobile. Please be patient.)
  • New voters must fill Form 6 in order to register themselves as voters. The form is available on the NVSP portal. You will need a passport sized photo and proof of age and residence.
  • There may be cases, where people who are alive appear as deceased on the electoral roll. Age of person or spelling of name may be incorrect. To update or correct the details on the electoral roll, one must fill Form 8.
  • If you have relocated to a different location within the constituency, use Form 8A.
  • If you wish to delete your name from the voters’ list from any constituency and relocate to a new constituency, Form 6 must be filled along with Form 7. Form 6 is to register to vote in a new constituency and by filling Form 7, your name will be deleted from the voters’ list in the old constituency.  
  • You can also collect two copies of the above mentioned forms from the Electoral Registration Office, Assistant Electoral Office and Booth Level Offices located in your constituency. You will have to fill the form and submit hard copies of age and address proof to the said office itself. 

“People have to follow the deadlines. Last date for south Karnataka voters to register is March 16 and last date for north Karnataka voters is March 29. The electoral rolls are updated till the last date of nominations. Voters must adhere to the deadlines as the process takes 10 days to get the voter ID. Once you get the voter ID, voters must check electoral rolls and see if their names have appeared. If their names are not there, they will not be able to vote,” Surya Sen, Joint ECO of the Karnataka Election Commission told TNM.

What is an electoral roll?

An electoral roll is a list of names prepared by the Election Commission of India. This includes the names of all the people, aged 18 years and above, who have voter ID cards. Basically, all the people who will be able to vote for the upcoming elections.

If your already have a voter ID card, then ideally, your name should appear on the electoral roll. However, sometimes this is not the case – many people have realised only when they reach the polling booth that their name is not on the electoral roll, despite the fact that they have a voter ID. Hence, it is crucial to check if your name appears on the voter list ahead of the polls. You can check whether your name is on the electoral roll here (sometimes the website takes time to load). If you cannot access the website, you can log on to the National Voter Service Portal. On the left hand side of the home page, you can search for your name on the electoral roll in the search bar.

Agencies

Congress flays Modi for exploting national security

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Nasheman News : Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “cynically exploiting the national security to hide his colossal failures”, the Congress at its working committee meeting here resolved to defeat the “RSS and BJP’s ideology of fascism, hatred, anger and divisiveness”.

The meeting of the Congress’ highest decision-making body held in Modi’s home state Gujarat was attended by top party leaders including party chief Rahul Gandhi, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and newly appointed General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi among others.

“The Congress Working Committee in Ahmedabad, resolved to defeat the RSS, BJP ideology of fascism, hatred, anger and divisiveness. No sacrifice is too great in this endeavour, no effort too little, this battle will be won,” said Gandhi.

In its resolution, the CWC said Modi and the BJP were insulting the struggle, sacrifices and enormous contribution in nation-building by leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by “brazenly seeking to hijack their legacy and pretending to be the champions of their values”.

“Congress expresses its strong disappointment that the Prime Minister is cynically exploiting the issue of national security, on which we are all united, to divert attention from his colossal failures, bogus claims and persistent falsehoods,” it said.

The Congress said the five years of Modi-BJP government has been a period of false promises and betrayal of people’s trust and confidence.

“This government has been a failure on all fronts and has inflicted pain and misery on the people through its reckless decisions of demonetisation and hasty imposition of a flawed GST,” it said.

It said demonetization and GST disrupted the economy, trade and industry, led to closure of lakhs of factories and tens of millions of workers lost their jobs and livelihood.

“The unprecedented joblessness, agrarian crisis and distress of farmers and agricultural laborers are issues of grave national concern. The Modi government is guilty of monumental mismanagement of the Indian economy. National savings and investments have sharply declined.

“Banks are burdened with NPAs and credit off-take of the industry has reached a record low. Exports are stagnant and industrial production has been falling continuously notwithstanding Government’s boastful and misleading claims, it said.

The CWC also endorsed the promise made by the Congress President to ensure minimum income support to the poor, weak and marginalised sections of society when the Congress party comes to power.

Briefing the media about the CWC meeting, Congress leader Anand Sharma said an atmosphere of fear and insecurity was all pervasive particularly among women, students, academics, writers and the business community.

“There are deliberate attacks on the Constitutional and other safeguards for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs and minorities; and there is subversion of all institutions of governance,” he said

Sharma also blamed Modi and the BJP for political discourse becoming bitter.

“They talk of dividing the society merely for political gains. Modi is playing with emotions of people. We condemn it,” he added.

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