Modibots and the Venom they spew:
More than 5,000 people took part in a public meeting, which was held in Trichy on 22.09.2013.
Narendra Modi has been anointed BJP’s prime ministerial candidate ahead of the 2014 general elections. As part of BJP’s campaign, a state level “Ilam Thamarai Manadu (Young Lotus Conference)” is being organized in Tamil Nadu, to be held on September 26, 2013 in Trichy.
Revolutionary (marxist-leninist) mass organizations People’s Art and Literary Association (PALA), Revolutionary Students and Youth Front (RSYF), New Democratic Labour Front (NDLF), Women’s Liberation Front (WLF) and Peasants Liberation Front (PLF) have started a movement against what they call Modi’s propaganda machinery.
Amidst all of this, let me describe the scenario on campus. I have been approached by a group of students, who were a part of BJP. I’m astounded by the way they have been utterly professional in their propaganda. One person in particular drew my attention; he was not an inmate of my hostel and was exercising his authority on the other students. He went on to give an initial social talk and then swiftly changed the topic to Modi. He jotted down my personal details on a slip, which he tells me, will help me get involved in a rally in support of Modi. This rally will be starting from IIT Madras and will go via NITT main gate
He went on to tell me how a large gathering of students would welcome the rally in support of the “aam- aadmi party” and how high the anticipation was. Further Inquiries have led me to irritating facts about how they have been extensively working for a month to organize this rally and how the students were being called at odd times and how their academics were being affected.
In this regard I would like to tell you how important this little word jugglery that you are skimming through is, can you estimate the number of people on campus who are eligible to vote? I’m putting my chips on not less than 4000. With the numbers this immense, the effects of such politically motivated activities inside the campus are not fully understood. It is well to Imagine that there are forces far beyond our comprehension that lurk and control innocent student groups to their benefit. The primary concern I think would be to not cause any inconvenience during “festember”. Even mild disruptions may reflect very adversely on the integrity of the campus as a whole! This damage may in particular be crippling as this is the Golden Jubilee year.
I would recommend that any attempts to welcome the much anticipated rally should not be encouraged or looked kindly. Now while I have your attention, I would like lay down some tasty nuggets on Modi. Please note that I don’t have a dog in the fight and I am as neutral as neutral can be.
The very man, whom most of us presume to be the driving force behind the apparent rapid development taking place in Gujarat of late is also the one who, if not spurred, at least condoned the inhuman genocide of Muslims during the 2002 riots. Little of his deeds of complicity and conspiracy have been brought to light. It is rather surprising to see how people tend to be carried away by the notion that Gujarat has developed to beyond Indian standards during Modi’s regime.
Gujarat has actually developed, in terms of water and electricity but the development that we hear about is, in fact, an exaggerated version, thanks to Modi’s hyper-surveillance over most of the ministries which throws the rest of the country into oblivion of what’s actually happening inside. People need to reconsider before attributing entire credit to Mr.Modi and think about how implausible it is for a man who approved of the ruthless sabotage and conflagration of Muslims to have transformed into a demigod behind Gujarat’s prosperity.
Too much for sweeping statements that beg offense, I shall now substantiate with compelling evidence. Narendra Modi believes in the power of image. This is probably why the chief minister hired a US lobbying firm which has serviced clients like former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and President-for-life of Kazakhstan Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev.This Washington-based firm, Apco Worldwide, was hired by Modi sometime in August 2007, in the run-up to an important Assembly election, to improve his image before the world community. Among its recent clients are Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Communist youth leader-turned-Russian billionaire with mafia links.
The firm has a distinction of taking contracts of boosting images of leaders who fell out of favour of their followers.
On the face of it Apco Worldwide’s brief is to build and sell Brand Gujarat to the international community. APCO, through its 32 offices across the globe, has been promoting Gujarat as a great investment destination. APCO has also been managing Modi’s own behaviour and projection, for which the cost has been over $25,000 per month since 2007.
More about it here:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/specials/Modis-image-builders-have-dictators-on-client-list/articleshow/2600140.cms?
The firm is also a strong advocate of expanding armaments and the US military role in world affairs. In October 2004, Apco and Kissinger Associates (owned by Henry Kissinger) formed a strategic alliance. Beside Kissinger Associates, Apco also built a broad network or coalition of conservative pro-Zionist lobbyists and consultancy groups including Heritage Foundation, Frontier of Freedom, Jewish Policy Center, etc. In the name of war against terror, Apco helped to coordinate government communications to convince the public of the necessity of war. Its job also included manufacturing public opinion and feedback in supporting the war efforts.
Let me also, while we are still along the lines of development in Gujarat, draw your attention to
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) recently examined the investment statistics flaunted by the Gujarat. The Vibrant Gujarat investment summit held by the chief minister has been projected to have earned billions of dollars of fresh investment into India. But a closer look at the figures reveals a different story. Only a small percentage of projects announced in Vibrant Gujarat (VG) summits in 2009 and 2011 have actually moved on the ground. The details of many grand projects are still missing.
In VG held in January 2009, government claims that 3,574 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed for investments worth Rs 12 trillion. But CMIE could capture information and details of only 220 projects worth Rs 3,947 billion (Rs 3,94,700 crore). “The number of projects captured were drastically low when compared with the official numbers displayed on the event’s website because of poor disclosure of basic information about the projects proposed. In most cases the website does not provide the details of a valid company name, location, product, and capacity,’’ says the CMIE report
These figures place Gujarat at the same level as other states. It is not head and shoulders above others. While Gujarat may be pushing projects faster than some laggard states, but it is not racing ahead at the speed it claims.
The difference between Gujarat and other states is 80 per cent hype and 20 per cent substance.
More about it here:http://kafila.org/2013/02/09/we-remember-gujarat-2002-and-we-know-youre-lying-about-development/
I’ll just as a friendly reminder of the shadowed past, add an eye opening video regarding the 2002 riots here:
All of the above and a retribution. Modi is the best we have, at any rate, he is more likely to pioneer the political frontier. I’d like to point out that he will carry his consequences, a baggage of his own. It’s his followers that we should be more concerned about. In particular, the online bullying by his supporters.
On most of the public forums and on facebook, a truly honest question, like “What is Modiji doing to eliminate corruption?”, will attract comments like “Congress k chamche, chala jahan yahan se or “Go lick Sonia Gandhi’s b**t” etc. When asked a little more serious questions like “What is Modiji’s response to the Gujarat Lokayukta issue?”, we have actually been asked to leave the country because we are apparently, not “fit” to be Indians.
The anti-Muslim propaganda by some Modi fanatics is horrific and irrational. They have been freely using “Khan-gress” instead of “Congress” to mention the political party, concluding that they are, under the surface, Monstrous Muslims, trying to destroy “Indian Cultural values”,
Many Indian Feminists pages, Including our own, has received hate messages from BJP party workers, allow me to present one:
“you ****ing idiots, let modiji become the PM and then we will wipe out all you ****** muslims, feminists and traitors”
Many of these people, apart from being immensely rude and unethical, also equate Hindutva to Patriotism.One person also went about posting an image of the “Real” Indian Flag, which was a rip-off of VHP flag, only rectangular with some modifications.
In our modest opinion, these Hindutva fascists are the enemy-of-the-state, and not the Patriots that they claim to be.
Cognitto 