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Modi mirage works wonders

Published

9 years ago

on

Opinion Verdict 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Janta sold on the promise of a better life as packaged and promoted by PM

By Sujit Bhar

Was the media disoriented while reporting about the BJP wave in UP, or while reporting about the Congress appeal in Punjab? Were all other political parties in denial of the truth staring right in the face? There has to be a possible truth hiding somewhere within the folds of the infinite permutations and combinations that have been worked around and talked about. There has to be a simpler understanding of this immense complexity. Or is there?

Hindsight is always 20/20, or so it is said. Even accepting this, one cannot make much sense of the BJP sweep in UP and the Congress dominance in Punjab. One cannot also make much sense in the three other states involved: Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. A simple BJP victory could have been explained by the split down the middle of the Samajwadi Party’s Yadav family, or of Mayawati’s corrupt practices. An indication was available when Mayawati asked, almost unbelievingly, “How can Muslims vote for the BJP?”

Let us look at it in a very different light. What does the man (or woman) on the street want? What does he or she want to see his or her life tomorrow as? Just the other day, he or she would have talked about regular electricity, jobs, a safe family environment and roti sabzi on the charpoy.

Now consider what they have had access to, in the meantime. Movies that show the glitz and glamour from around the world, the internet that promises a world that could be accessed with a little more effort and some education and with a smartphone that many can buy; the malls that promise a life that is a pretty much hathke from the day to day drudgeries of low to lower middle class lives. They have a high-powered mirage in front of them. They are determined to chase it.

Just the other day these existed only in Bollywood movies, things that were supposed to be taken with a pinch of salt, and they were. Today these are more life-like, actually real, things many never knew existed till they saw them and now cannot live without. Now there is this need to make life better, to be able to see far ahead of what has been shown to them by local leaders.

Remember that expensive coat that Prime Minster Narendra Modi wore during his meeting with US President Barack Obama, one that reportedly cost nearly a crore or more and had ‘Narendra Modi’ embroidered in the seams? It was an attire derided in the media, criticized within erudite circles and Modi quickly got out of it, even auctioned it, with the money “going for the poor.”

Well, ask the man in the chai shop (no analogy intended), or your favourite autowallah from UP. I did. Guess what I got? “A rajah is expected to wear a dress that suits a rajah. And if he is meeting the head of another country, should he not be wearing a dress suitable for the rajah of a great country like India?” Infallible logic, you would say. Because his aspiration level is now tagged to the country’s apparent aspiration level.

Is it practical? No. It is often disastrous in the long run. But that is not what hope is all about. Hope is about dreaming and realising the best in us, or even the best that has been around us. If in trying, we fail, at least we have tried.

Modi has delivered this dream, this impossible dream. And there are people dead sure of believing this. When demonetisation was brought in – an ill-conceived theory, conceived with tunnel-visioned “economic experts” – one expected the ill-effects to seep through the system and harm those at the bottom. It did. Badly. Yet, when I conducted interviews of those chaiwallahs, their eyes glittered. “It is bad for now, but it will yield great results in the future. Modi has made a great system.” Wow, I thought; so what was this system? “That I don’t know, but I hear it is a great system.”

That puts us right back to the basics and the results. The Modi Mirage has worked, it will, for some time now. Then when it fades, it will be called anti-incumbency. All the experts will start the predictions all over again.

Nobody realises the power of hope, in these desperate times. Even when hope leads to a mirage. We surely get the government we deserve.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Rahul Gandhi alleges institutional bias, questions electoral system during Berlin address

Rahul Gandhi alleged that India’s institutions and electoral system have been weaponised to favour the BJP, remarks that sparked a strong political response.

Published

42 mins ago

on

December 23, 2025

By

Rahul-Gandhi

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has said that India’s institutional framework is facing a serious challenge and has been used to favour the ruling BJP. Speaking during an interaction at the Hertie School in Berlin, Gandhi questioned the functioning of key institutions and the electoral machinery, remarks that triggered a sharp political response from the BJP.

Gandhi said the Congress believes there is a problem with the electoral system and alleged that several institutions have been captured. Referring to investigative agencies, he claimed that bodies such as the CBI and the ED have been used as political tools. According to him, cases filed by these agencies overwhelmingly target those opposing the BJP, while leaders from the ruling party face none.

He also pointed to what he described as a stark financial imbalance between the BJP and the opposition, claiming a funding ratio of 30:1. Gandhi said this disparity reflects how institutions are being used to consolidate political power.

Opposition strategy and INDIA alliance

The Congress leader said merely pointing out problems in elections is not enough and stressed the need for the opposition to build a system of resistance that can effectively counter the ruling party. He added that the challenge now goes beyond electoral contests and is about presenting an alternative vision for the country.

On the INDIA alliance, Gandhi said the unity among opposition parties is rooted in their rejection of the ideological position of the RSS. While acknowledging that tactical contests between alliance partners will continue, he said they remain united when it comes to opposing laws they disagree with and working together in Parliament.

BJP hits back at remarks abroad

Gandhi’s comments delivered overseas drew a strong reaction from the BJP. Party president and Union minister JP Nadda accused him of speaking against India while Parliament is in session and claimed that he was undermining the country’s image at a time when the Prime Minister is receiving global recognition.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also criticised Gandhi, alleging that he routinely travels abroad to defame India. He accused the Congress leader of making misleading claims about the country’s institutions and economic activity while praising China.

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India News

DU VC Prof Yogesh Singh entrusted with additional charge of AICTE Chairman

Published

18 hours ago

on

December 22, 2025

By

Prof. Yogesh Singh, Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi, has been entrusted with the additional charge of the post of Chairman, AICTE till the appointment of a Chairman of AICTE or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

It is noteworthy that AICTE Chairman Prof. TG Sitharam was relieved of his duties after his term ended on December 20, 2025. According to a letter issued by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, on Monday, Prof. Yogesh Singh’s appointment is until the appointment of a regular AICTE Chairman or until further orders whichever is earlier.

Prof. Yogesh Singh is a renowned academician with excellent administrative capabilities, who has been the Vice-Chancellor of University of Delhi since October 2021. He has also served as the Chairperson of the National Council for Teacher Education. In August 2023, he was also given the additional charge of Director of the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA).

Prof. Yogesh Singh served as the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi Technological University from 2015 to 2021; Director of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi from 2014 to 2017, and before that, he was the Vice-Chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda (Gujarat) from 2011 to 2014. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra. He has a distinguished track record in quality teaching, innovation, and research in the field of software engineering.

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Goa nightclub fire case: Court extends police custody of Luthra brothers by five days

A Goa court has extended the police custody of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the nightclub where a deadly fire killed 25 people, by five more days.

Published

18 hours ago

on

December 22, 2025

By

Luthra brothers

A court in Goa on Monday extended the police custody of Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, by five more days in connection with the deadly fire incident that claimed 25 lives on December 6.

The order was passed as investigators sought additional time to question the two accused in the case linked to the blaze at the Anjuna-based nightclub.

Owners were deported after fleeing abroad

According to details placed before the court, the Luthra brothers had left the country following the incident and travelled to Thailand. They were subsequently deported and brought back to India on December 17, after which they were taken into police custody.

Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing the families of the victims, confirmed that the court granted a five-day extension of police custody for both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra.

Another co-owner sent to judicial custody

The court also remanded Ajay Gupta, another owner of the nightclub, to judicial custody. Police did not seek an extension of his custody, following which the court passed the order, the victims’ counsel said.

The Anjuna police have registered a case against the Luthra brothers for culpable homicide not amounting to murder along with other relevant offences related to the fire incident.

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