YES...........PERHAPS AFTER 600 months. I AM NOT DUSTING MY PASSPORT. I LAY MY TRUST IN THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA THAT IS BHARAT!
________________________________ From: Venantius J Pinto <[email protected]> To: Francisco Colaco <[email protected]>; "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <[email protected]> Cc: GOANET <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, 16 March 2014 10:46 PM Subject: Re: [Goanet] SHOULD WE GIVE NARENDRA MODI A CHANCE? Another genuinely soft Christian heart?! I thought mine was the softest among the Goan shitheads. Venantius J Pinto On 3/16/14, Francisco Colaco <[email protected]> wrote: > Posted by Dr. Francisco Colaço > Margao. Goa. > Cell: 9823190318 > > Modi's bubble is slowly bursting. The hype created by the > media cannot be sustained any longer. Anchors like Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep > Sardessai and Arnab Goswami, we are told, are already fearing for their > lives > and liberties should Modi come to power tomorrow. While they churn fudged > electoral > statistics they are experiencing a sense of déjà vu. They know they will be > sent packing if they rub the boss on the wrong side. While everyone is > realizing > that Modi's development model is full of lies for public consumption, pari > passu, there's an all-pervasive fear that Modi's apparent rise brings in its > wake. > > Here is what VINOD MEHTA, one of India's most brilliant > editors, a fearless writer, always critical of the Congress, who does not > fear > to speak the truth, writes in the Times of India about the danger of Modi > ever > being the man at the helm. A must read > > ===================================================================================== > SHOULD WE GIVE NARENDRA MODI A CHANCE? > > by VINOD MEHTA > > I write this article with trepidation. It has huge potential > for being misunderstood. Specifically it is addressed to Narendra Modi's > detractors, among whom I count myself. Of course I am not in the U.R. > Anathamurthy league. He said "he wouldn't want to live in a country led by > Modi". > I have more in common with Amartya Sen's critique "As an Indian citizen I > don't want Modi as my > PM. He has not done enough to make the minorities feel safe" > Still reality hovers. As a journalist I have to read the > writing on the wall. It says in capital letters Narendra Modi will lead an > NDA > government on May 16. The permutations > and combinations of how this is achieved need not detain us. It will take > divine intervention to stop him > being crowned. . > I can think of four main misgivings concerning our > prospective prime minister. > First he is a deeply polarizing figure. You love him and you > loathe him. No in-between position exists. His opponents maintain he will > destroy the idea of India and promote a majoritarian agenda. New York Times > noted, "India is a country with multiple religions, more than a dozen major > languages and numerous ethnic groups. Mr. Modi cannot hope to lead > effectively > if he inspires fear and antipathy among its citizens". The paper's verdict > is > hard to refute. Nonetheless to see him as some Chaplinesque Great Dictator > is > over the top. Such an impulse probably > comes to him congenitally but it is unlikely to be top of his mind when he > is > sworn-in. If nothing else Modi has a sense of sharp self-preservation. This > may > persuade him on the need to wear the Vajpayee mantle. > Second, minorities, especially Muslims will not be safe > under his rule. Modi is committed to shredding the secular fabric. Remember > he > has yet to apologise or express regret for 2002. We have a population of 170 > million Muslims; 169 million tremble at his name. His behavior post 2002 in > Gujarat is hardly > reassuring. > Now consider the flip > side. Ever since he was declared the PM designate, Modi has been treading > with caution, > avoiding baiting Muslims or Pakistan. Instead he has stuck to his > jobs/development > theme, resisting even in places like Ayodhya and Varanasi, the communal > card. > Before you call me a native fool, let me say I am aware of > what has happened in Muzaffarnagar and I am also aware of the conspiracy > theory. While Modi is talking-up one > India, the Parivar is busy stirring the communal pot. Together they are > engaged > in a familiar double-game. > Even so Modi is staying away from what he does best. In this campaign we > have not heard of the > Sons of Babar. The prescient H.L. Mencken > said, "If a politician finds out he has cannibals among his constituents, he > will promise them missionaries for dinner". Who can deny there are some > cannibals > among Modi's die-hard loyalists? > Third, he is the classic autocrat/fascist masquerading as > decisive leader. Truth here too. We have only to look at the way he governed > Gujarat for a decade. He brooks no debate. He is a solo, not a team player. > He > decimated all opposition from within the party. Does India want to be ruled > by > a despot? > Again the flip side. We must credit Modi with minimal > intelligence. If his style remains unchanged the country is in big trouble. > India is not Gujarat His imperious approach which served him well in his > home > state will spell disaster for him in 7, Race Course. Modi may not have been > to > Oxford, but surely understands the difference between Delhi and Gandhinagar. > Fourth his much-touted achievements in Gujarat are > statistical fiction. He is no messiah of good including governance. He is > the > rich man's prime minister. Amartya Sen says: "Gujarat's record in education > and > health care is pretty bad". Incontrovertibly it is a mixed picture. While > the > state grew at over 10 per cent between 2002 And 2012, even the Economic > Times > concluded, "The effects of the high growth are yet to trickle down among its > people" > In his speeches Modi pleads : "For 60 myears you gave a chance to the > Congress, now give > me a chance for 60 months. I will give > you life, peace and happiness". Politicians with a dubious past who ask for > another chance are usually dodgy customers. And if any customer looks dodgy > it > is our Narendrabhai. > So what should we do with Modi's request? Should we throw it > in the waste-paper basket and start dusting our passport? Or should we, > while remaining > vigilant, give his request some consideration? Each one of us > anti-Modiwallahs > must make up our mind. Me, I am not applying for any visa yet! > > (Courtesy : Sunday Times of India, Goa, March 16, 2014) > -- +++++++++++++ Venantius J Pinto
