tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38949626976800149802024-03-19T02:15:38.745-07:00Raisina SeriesKrishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-18850550611229137212020-05-13T16:42:00.001-07:002020-05-13T16:42:06.265-07:00Opinion piece for NDTV--Modi's Nehru moment...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/takeaways-from-modis-speech-he-knows-not-to-waste-a-crisis-2227867?pfrom=home-opinion" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/takeaways-from-modis-speech-he-knows-not-to-waste-a-crisis-2227867?pfrom=home-opinion</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-89852242259705133072020-04-16T13:40:00.003-07:002020-04-16T13:40:56.663-07:00Opinion piece for NDTV--Evaluating the lockdown...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/modi-governments-response-to-opposition-leaders-is-typical-2212672" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/modi-governments-response-to-opposition-leaders-is-typical-2212672</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-86439911997601033672020-03-11T12:19:00.001-07:002020-03-11T12:19:22.277-07:00Opinion piece for NDTV--Scindia Surprise...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/jyotiraditya-boldly-goes-where-his-father-refused-to-bjp-2192966?trendingnow" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/jyotiraditya-boldly-goes-where-his-father-refused-to-bjp-2192966?trendingnow</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-12569393865839737462020-02-11T10:27:00.000-08:002020-02-11T10:29:46.189-08:00Opinion piece for NDTV--AAP wins again...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/prashant-kishors-role-in-kejriwals-giant-feat-2177809?trendingnow" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/prashant-kishors-role-in-kejriwals-giant-feat-2177809?trendingnow</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-41608114228926638102020-02-04T08:03:00.001-08:002020-02-04T08:04:52.244-08:00Opinion piece for NDTV--An Amit Shah vs Kejriwal election; stakes infinitely higher...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/an-amit-shah-vs-kejriwal-election-stakes-infinitely-higher-2174471?pfrom=home-topstories" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/an-amit-shah-vs-kejriwal-election-stakes-infinitely-higher-2174471?pfrom=home-topstories</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-73724740628822615822019-12-26T07:51:00.000-08:002019-12-26T07:51:00.943-08:00Opinion piece for NDTV--2019 end-of-year piece...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/caa-shows-modi-shah-are-victims-of-their-own-success-2154818" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/caa-shows-modi-shah-are-victims-of-their-own-success-2154818</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-39183092908042834242019-09-06T09:37:00.001-07:002019-09-06T09:37:18.953-07:00Opinion piece for NDTV--State of the Nation...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/how-to-read-modi-governments-stand-on-kashmir-2096502" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/how-to-read-modi-governments-stand-on-kashmir-2096502</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-6681151773385701362019-05-06T11:34:00.000-07:002019-05-06T11:34:01.704-07:00Opinion piece for NDTV--Analysing BJP's nationalistic campaign...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/modi-in-2019-campaign-is-opposite-of-his-2014-persona-2033542" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/modi-in-2019-campaign-is-opposite-of-his-2014-persona-2033542</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-86554576268364264582019-04-23T17:04:00.000-07:002019-04-23T17:06:17.331-07:00Opinion piece for NDTV--Round-up after first two phases of the General Election...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/dear-kejriwal-and-rahul-negotiations-are-best-kept-off-twitter-2025459" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/dear-kejriwal-and-rahul-negotiations-are-best-kept-off-twitter-2025459</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-7295539933136113402019-03-22T14:31:00.003-07:002019-03-22T14:32:37.601-07:00 Opinion piece for NDTV--2019 General Election, an early look...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/5-pointers-to-modi-ji-vs-opposition-and-why-hes-ahead-2011266?pfrom=home-topstories" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/5-pointers-to-modi-ji-vs-opposition-and-why-hes-ahead-2011266?pfrom=home-topstories</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-17145983135173526172018-02-23T08:24:00.002-08:002018-02-23T08:31:15.208-08:00Will Modi dismiss AAP's Delhi Government?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
<o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="382">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:1;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073786111 1 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">That the Aam Aadmi Party’s Government in Delhi has
been a source of great irritation for the Modi Government over the last three
years is well known. That the Modi Government has used every power in its remit
to obstruct the AAP Government’s functioning and cause a rift within the party
is also a matter of record. That the Modi Government would like to dismiss the
AAP Government and thus erase all existence of the Prime Minister’s most
humiliating electoral defeat is well within the realm of reason. That there is
no love lost between the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister since their 2014
Varanasi face-off goes without saying. It is important to see AAP Government’s
recent controversy with the Chief Secretary in this context. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">There has been a long war going on unceasingly almost since
the very moment of the stunning victory by AAP in February of 2015 and the Modi
Government’s conduct has gone beyond the bounds of the law or the constitution
or even common decency. It would not be an exaggeration to say that for AAP it
has been an experience in state-directed repression akin to an Emergency. MLAs
have been arrested on the flimsiest of complaints, pressured to implicate AAP
leaders, ministers, and if possible Arvind Kejriwal himself. Some MLAs have
been arrested on two or more occasions to great media fanfare. That the
judiciary has failed to put a stop to this blatant disregard of law and
procedure by the Delhi Police at the behest of its masters in the Central
Government is not difficult to understand considering the state of Supreme
Court currently and the conduct of the Chief Justice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Despite this reign of tyranny, the AAP Government has
managed to make a name for itself, in India and abroad, for its innovative and
effective health and educational policies. The vastly improved schools and the
introduction of Mohalla Clinics are a legacy that will far outlive the current
Delhi Government, of that we can be sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">We have an administrative situation in the Delhi
Government where the senior bureaucracy only looks for instructions to the
unelected and all-powerful Lieutenant Governor who himself behaves as if he is
only responsible to the Central Government and quite possibly only to the PM.
The AAP Government and MLAs who are directly responsible to voters on a daily basis
have no control over what any bureaucrat, big or small, decides to do and as we
know a situation where bureaucrats are left to their own devices without
concern for the needs and complaints of the common man or woman is a recipe for
an administrative catastrophe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Till such time as the Supreme Court delivers its
judgement on the constitutional question of the powers that the Delhi
Government does or does not have, the AAP Government has been left in this
administrative strait-jacket where they are held responsible for just about
everything that happens in Delhi, by the media and voters, and rightly so, but
the Chief Minister does not even have the power to transfer his chaprassi without
begging the Lieutenant Governor, who takes his own sweet time, and the
bureaucracy seeing this powerlessness of the AAP Government naturally treat
orders from ministers as worthless and refuse to have anything to do with MLAs.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The issue of linking ration cards in Delhi to Aadhaar
had been an issue of grave concern since January 1 when it was introduced and
it was found that due to glitches in the system more 2.5 lakh families were no
longer getting their ration. The inaccessibility of senior bureaucrats in the
Delhi Government became an even more urgent matter now that the issue concerned
was that of providing ration for the poorest of the poor. An irresponsible bureaucracy
unwilling or incapable of even catering to the basic needs of its most needy
citizens should worry us all. A Chief Secretary who oversees such callousness
is naturally not going to be presented with garlands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Anybody in Delhi can go and see their Chief Minister
on any weekday without an appointment between 10 and 11 a.m. The same goes for
any other AAP minister. The senior bureaucrats of Delhi Government in contrast
think twice before seeing their own ministers. And I do not blame these officers,
because they have been put in this state of fear by the knowledge that their
careers will suffer if they do not do the bidding of their masters on Raisina
Hill. It is instructive that the Chief Secretary went straight to the PMO the
day after the alleged altercation at the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence took
place, bypassing the Home Minister altogether. The Prime Minister is clearly
taking personal interest in the fate of his bête noire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The ever-depleting independence of the Supreme Court,
Election Commission, CBI, and other institutions during his tenure are enough
proof that the Prime Minister will not think twice before dismissing the Delhi
Government and no doubt the President will rubber stamp it. The prospect of
universal opprobrium that would arise from the decision has never dissuaded the
Prime Minister in the past and is unlikely to do so now. But it would be a
mistake because it would free up Arvind Kejriwal and AAP to campaign nationally
wearing the badge of victimhood in the run-up to the General Election. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">After three years in office Kejriwal has a maturity
now borne out of a record of performance to show and alliances with other
opposition parties are also starting to firm up in the most surprising corners.
His foray this week into Tamil Nadu to attend the innaugaration of Kamal
Haasan’s new political party Makkal Needhi Maiam was an early glimpse of what
is to come. Kejriwal looked like a man who had come up for air after a year
closeted in Delhi and there was a gleam in his eye that showed he was ready for
the big battle ahead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.0pt;">If the Prime Minister does dismiss the Delhi
Government he may find that he has in fact let loose his own worst political nightmare.</span></div>
</div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-74033286840089869182018-02-03T14:11:00.000-08:002018-02-03T14:11:53.308-08:00Opinion piece for NDTV--Rajasthan by-election shock for BJP...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/rajasthan-shock-wave-for-bjp-leaves-its-mps-elsewhere-worried-1808107?pfrom=home-topstories" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/rajasthan-shock-wave-for-bjp-leaves-its-mps-elsewhere-worried-1808107?pfrom=home-topstories</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-28739595440749385052018-01-25T10:09:00.001-08:002018-01-25T10:09:59.218-08:00Opinion piece for NDTV--Office of Profit controversy...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/kejriwals-big-opportunity-in-20-mla-controversy-1803939" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/kejriwals-big-opportunity-in-20-mla-controversy-1803939</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-35994844894561544812017-12-23T01:18:00.001-08:002017-12-23T01:19:17.258-08:00Opinion Piece for NDTV--From Gujarat to 2G, Modi's difficult week...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/from-gujarat-to-2g-modis-invincibility-in-doubt-1791192?fb" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/from-gujarat-to-2g-modis-invincibility-in-doubt-1791192?fb</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-47375783265562951312017-12-07T04:04:00.002-08:002017-12-07T04:04:17.916-08:00Opinion Piece for NDTV--Rahul Gandhi loses his training wheels...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/rahul-gandhi-loses-the-training-wheels-will-he-wobble-much-1783538" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/rahul-gandhi-loses-the-training-wheels-will-he-wobble-much-1783538</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-32328759600958108872017-11-25T03:37:00.000-08:002017-11-25T03:37:56.425-08:00Opinion Piece for The Print--The Chairman of Delhi's Dyal Singh College is a mini-Modi...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<a href="https://theprint.in/2017/11/24/the-chairman-of-delhis-dyal-singh-college-is-a-mini-modi/" target="_blank">https://theprint.in/2017/11/24/the-chairman-of-delhis-dyal-singh-college-is-a-mini-modi/</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-39458770059368401442017-11-23T05:28:00.000-08:002017-11-25T03:35:57.758-08:00Opinion Piece for NDTV--The curious case of Captain Amarinder Singh's ankle...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/why-amarinder-singhs-supporting-ban-on-padmavati-1778047" target="_blank">https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/why-amarinder-singhs-supporting-ban-on-padmavati-1778047</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-30837914467707541812017-05-16T09:37:00.000-07:002017-05-16T09:37:02.730-07:00Can an Election be stolen?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The
live demonstration in the Delhi Assembly last week of how an Electronic Voting
Machine (EVM) could be tampered made tangible and credible a threat that most of us thought to be a
conspiracy theory muttered by losing parties after an election defeat. Now
before I go forward let me underline that despite great doubt and suspicion we
have no evidence that EVMs were tampered in the recent assembly elections, and
with the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) current posture I doubt it will ever rise above
the level of suspicion and doubt. I’m not writing this piece about what might have happened in the past but the possible </span><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">vulnerabilities</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> our electoral process currently faces now that we know EVMs can be tampered in order to manipulate the vote tally by such stealth that no election official from the high and mighty Chief Election Commissioner all the
way down to poll booth officials would even be aware of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
am a novelist, a political novelist to be specific, and in my novels I try to
construct credible political scenarios for India in a parallel universe,
similar to ours but not quite. Let’s create another parallel universe now where,
to make it interesting, suppose that Arvind Kejriwal is Prime Minister of
India. Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking, but this is my creation and you
don’t get a vote! Now let’s say Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal, drunk with
power and hubris as all PM’s become sooner or later, makes use of his
considerable knowledge about EVMs and orders his aides in the PMO to do whatever
is required to tamper EVMs in order to insure electoral success for the
conceivable future. Could the PMO pull it off? Possibly. How? Keep reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
two PSUs that manufacture EVMs are Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), which comes
under the Defence Ministry, and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL),
which comes under the Department of Atomic Energy whose minister is the PM
himself. Chief executives of PSUs are not generally known to ask too many
questions when orders come down from the PMO, and even if some brave soul did
show some spine the PMO could appoint a new CMD to either PSU in the blink of
an eye. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There
would be no need for the PMO to interfere at the level of manufacturing the
EVMs which would require the involvement of more people in the conspiracy and an
unnecessary risk. In between election cycles the EVMs undergo maintenance in
their storage facilities across the country, for which BEL and ECIL are
responsible. But the story is not quite that straightforward. Let me allow GVL
Narasimha Rao, renowned for his expertise on EVMs and also incidentally a
ubiquitous BJP leader/spokesman, explain in his own words taken in full from a
<a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/report/ls-election-it-took-ec-4-years-to-admit-that-evms-could-be-hacked/20140314.htm" target="_blank">Rediff interview</a> in March 2014: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">“To begin with every EVM needs to be kept
in a secure environment so that it is cannot be tampered with. <b>However, what we had found is that these
machines were dumped in an open yard</b> which made it vulnerable to tampering.
As a result of dumping these machines in the open, <b>many had gone missing</b> and the ECI has not yet revealed these
details to us. The most important part of this machine is the chip, which
contains the source code. We suggested that since these machines were kept in
the open, it would be advisable to at least change the chip. These chips cost
not more than Rs 100 each. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">“The other
suggestion that we made and was not taken was regarding the maintenance of the
machines. These machines are manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited and
Electronics Corporation of India. These companies send engineers to carry out a
maintenance check or a first level check. <b>Shockingly,
these are not employees of the above mentioned two companies</b>. They are
agents hired on a contract basis and they conduct the inspection of these
machines before the elections. We suggested that the job of the first level
check be given to the National Informatics Centre so that the person doing the
job has accountability. <b>We had pointed
out that some of these persons who were hired to conduct this check belonged to
software companies that were being run by politicians.</b> The chances of
tampering are higher in such cases. However, the ECI did not agree with
us. The problem is that there is a leap of blind faith in technology and
the <b>ECI blindly trusts everything that
the manufacturer does</b>. We have always pointed out that elections cannot be
based on trust.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Quite
an indictment of our electoral process by Shri Rao. So all the PMO would have
to do is nudge the two PSUs to give EVM maintenance contracts to private
entities of their choosing and over time these engineers would have access to
an ever increasing percentage of the EVMs and do as they wish with machines.
I’m informed that changing the motherboard of the EVM, which contains the chip,
would take no more than a minute. Not that these engineers would be in any
hurry, since they would be legitimately doing their jobs and have no time
limitation. The Election Commission would be utterly oblivious to what was going
on. They would seal and lock the EVMs shortly before the next round of
elections without the slightest clues that the EVMs had been tampered and done
so through routine maintenance that they themselves had sanctioned. Election
Commission would genuinely keep parroting that “our EVMs cannot be tampered”
and do so while fully believing it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After
this on polling day the ruling party would send their people, as bona fide voters,
to the polling booths with the tampered EVMs and the deed would be done,
whether by punching in a code, as demonstrated in the Delhi Assembly, or even
by sending a signal from a mobile phone to the EVM if the tampering is of a
higher order. The EVMs that seemed normal up till this point would thereafter
start manipulating the vote tally as instructed. For a more detailed explanation
read this <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/interview-with-george-washington-university-professor-poorvi-vora-on-evm-security/article18451662.ece" target="_blank">eye-opening interview</a> with Professor Poorvi Vora of George Washington University
in The Hindu.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
admit I have oversimplified the scenario slightly for the benefit of coherence
because in addition to the actual tampering getting the tampered EVMs
positioned in polling booths likely to give maximum electoral advantage would
require some manipulation at the level of the Election Commission. But I have
little doubt our Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal, sneaky little fellow that he
is, would be able in due course to appoint Election Commissioners owing loyalty
to him and the Election Commission would become suitably pliant. And in the
meantime if any EVMs ‘malfunctioned’, having been observed voting only for the ruling
party, they would be whisked away by the Election Commission before any neutral experts could
run diagnostics on them. If opposition parties ever raised genuine objections about
EVMs the Election Commission would refuse to hold a proper hackathon and instead agree to a
‘challenge’ where experts would be expected to hack the EVMs using
extra-sensory powers because they would actually be forbidden from touching the
EVMs. All this while, the credibility of EVMs was increasingly questioned in
other continents like Africa to where they were exported.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is all hypothetical, of course, I’m sure the current government would never be
as underhanded as the fictional Prime Minster Kejriwal in my scenario. But my
point is a larger one, that when the Election Commission is blind to advances
in technology and leaves loopholes in its processes that any ruling party can
feasibly take full advantage of, the Election Commission is letting us all
down, because no Prime Minister ever attained his high office and no ruling
party ever won a general election by following their sense of fair play. Going
forward we are told that VVPAT EVMs which leave a paper trail will put all
doubts to end. At the same time we now hear of this magic cable that can be
used to connect the ballot unit and the control unit of an EVM and thereafter
manipulate the vote tally without having to tamper with the EVM’s circuitry at
all. If you build it, someone will hack it. As I sit writing this piece, computer
systems across the world are reeling from the worst ever hack in the form of a ransomware
attack. That’s the world we live in today while the Election Commission is
living in denial. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ll
leave it for you to decide whether the scenario I described above is feasible.
But I must conclude with due apologies to the real life Arvind Kejriwal who was
the driving force behind the EVM tampering demonstration in the Delhi Assembly,
overcoming many naysayers and who, I assure you, is not a sneaky little fellow
at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com297tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-76772689118882013102017-03-13T10:23:00.000-07:002017-05-16T09:37:18.134-07:00AAP's Punjab post-mortem...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
problem with most post-election analyses is that suddenly the victor is said to
have done everything with omniscient perfection and the defeated party’s
campaign is described as a total train-wreck. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got the
benefit of this phenomenon after it swept to victory in Delhi two years ago and
now it is feeling the bitter end of the equation after being vanquished by the
Congress Party in Punjab. AAP got it badly wrong. And, yes, I got it badly
wrong as well. No AAP tsunami materialised this time despite my prediction,
quite the reverse in fact. You have every reason to demand an explanation for
how this miscalculation happened. Let’s begin the post-mortem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In mid-January of 2016 all the main political
parties were assembled en masse in the city of Muktsar in the Malwa heartland
of Punjab to hold rallies on the day of the Maghi Mela. It was an annual ritual
but this was the day AAP announced its presence as a serious player in the
state with a massive show of force. The Congress had made the mistake of
holding its rally too close to the AAP rally and found that people arriving on
their buses were herding to hear Kejriwal speak instead. The Congress pandal
was naturally rendered quite empty. The shrewder Akalis had anticipated this
eventuality and held their rally at a comfortable distance away. What followed,
as recounted to me by a senior Congress leader, was that newly minted Punjab
Congress President, Captain Amarinder Singh, accompanied by the entire state
leadership of the party had arrived in the area but did not dare show up at the
still largely empty rally site. While emergency measures were taken to fill the
rally with people Amarinder Singh and his entourage decided to take shelter in
the house of an unsuspecting farmer in a nearby field. Two MLAs were dispatched
to record the AAP rally. Until this point Amarinder had considered AAP’s
surprise victories in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as a fluke, but after
suffering this indignity I imagine he had a re-think. Despite what he may have
said in public it was clear from his actions thereafter that the Captain now
believed AAP would be his main adversary in the upcoming campaign. An SOS went
out for Prashant Kishor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shortly after the Maghi Mela rallies I met AAP’s
campaign manager Durgesh Pathak for the first time. After I got past the fact
that he was so young he looked like he must have been barely out of college I
quickly realised that underneath the youthful façade lay a hardcore political
operative who knew exactly what he was doing and had travelled to every corner
of Punjab in the previous six months. He was also very clear that the only man
who could stop AAP from victory in Punjab was Amarinder Singh. Battle lines had
been drawn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It is unnecessary to recount the entire course of
the campaign over the last year in great detail. While AAP led by Arvind
Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann unleashed an onslaught on the Badals the Congress
was trying to get its house in order with Prashant Kishor and his team
overseeing the operation. Until, of course, Sardar Chhotepur was removed as the
convener of AAP Punjab and civil war ensued for a few weeks with charges being
flung from all directions. Amarinder took full advantage of this period of
turbulence for AAP. But the tide soon reversed again when it seemed the entire
leadership of Punjab Congress was stranded in Delhi for weeks as the high
command took forever to decide on their list of candidates. While AAP
campaigned relentlessly before the announcement of elections it seemed Congress
had left it till too late by giving some of their candidates as little as two
or three weeks before the election. But the Congress had a trump card to play
in the end and that was the entry of Navjot Singh Sidhu as a candidate from
Amritsar. The pictures of Amarinder and Sidhu smiling and chatting together at
their press conference was very effective and major setback for AAP. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In the last forty-eight hours since the election
results a flurry of newspaper articles have been postulating a myriad of
reasons why AAP electorally under-performed. Let me try and address some of
them. It is true the Hindu and urban vote coalesced behind the Congress, but
they were traditional Congress voters who had drifted to the BJP for the last
decade and were now coming home anyway. Though, I must admit, even as a Sikh,
the excessive religiosity of the AAP campaign made me distinctly uncomfortable
at times and the mysterious bomb blast in Bathinda on the eve of voting fed
into the unhelpful narrative of AAP consorting with extremists. The inability
of AAP to clinch a deal with Sidhu was a missed opportunity, certainly, because
he could have provided a pan-Punjab face that the party sorely required, but
agreeing to his demands would have almost certainly led to the exodus of at
least two senior leaders, thus making the entire exercise self-defeating. Then
there was the ever-present bogey of the threat posed by outsiders from Delhi
remote controlling AAP’s Punjab unit, all the while Congress leaders were
sitting in Delhi for weeks on end to find out if they made the cut in the
candidate list approved by the Gandhis. Of course, there is a kernel of truth
to all these observations by the media but I am not convinced they were
decisive in causing voters finally backing the Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">AAP’s success in the state during the 2014 Lok Sabha
election also has to be properly understood. At the time AAP represented
everything to everyone and provided the perfect vehicle for a protest vote
across central and eastern Malwa, a region known for its rebellious streak. By
the time Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak were deputed to the state in the wake
of the expulsions of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan the state unit was in
complete anarchy, with at least two of the four Members of Parliament in open
revolt. It took them six months just to calm everything down and start building
anything resembling a party organisation that could compete against the
Congress and the Akalis. By the time the election came along AAP had never
really garnered much support in Majha and only lukewarm support in Doaba, thus
staking it all in sweeping the Malwa heartland. To sweep Malwa AAP was reliant
on Akali Dal suffering a complete meltdown, something I expected given the
environment of strong anti-incumbency, but surprisingly they managed to
maintain their 2014 performance and Congress took full advantage of the
three-way split in the region. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So you could reasonably posit that the 2014 AAP
surge was an ephemeral occurrence caused by voter anger at both a deeply
unpopular UPA Govt at the Centre and equally unpopular Badal Government in
Chandigarh. In the Punjab assembly campaign as AAP made its stand clear on
issues and stated its preferred policies it now asked voters to look at it from
the perspective of a government-in-waiting and not just a faceless vehicle for protest
votes. This change of perspective form the point of view of voters provided the
crux of how this election was decided. The question voters needed to decide on was
if AAP was ready to rule Punjab. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The turbulence in Delhi between the Centre and Delhi
Governments may have earned some sympathy for AAP amongst younger voters but
also may have worried risk-averse and older voters who feared Punjab’s
interests would pay the price in the clash between the Prime Minister and Chief
Minister of Delhi. Then there was the lack of a Chief Ministerial candidate
when faced with Amarinder Singh who was unlike any leader AAP had faced so far
because he fits the profile of a powerful regional satrap who has absolutely no
national ambitions beyond the state and played the sympathy card of this being
his last election to the hilt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">AAP was successful in convincing voters of Punjab
that it would jail Majithia, that it would safeguard the holy scriptures
against sacrilege, that it would import its successful educational and health
policies from Delhi, that NRIs would never have it so good, and it would launch
a war on drugs. But in the end none of those things mattered. Punjab voters
looked at the line-up of AAP candidates, most political newcomers with little
or no government experience, and could not visualise a Government-in-Waiting.
They looked at Captain Amarinder Singh and saw a safe pair of hands, past his
prime and flawed though he might be. End of story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As the main opposition party in the Punjab
legislative assembly the twenty-two AAP MLAs, as well as the larger party
organisation, will have five years to prove to voters that they are indeed
ready to govern. They must do this by being a responsible but ever vigilant
opposition party. You can rest assured the Congress Government will provide ample
opportunity to showcase these qualities. I’ll be keeping a close watch on the
antics of the Captain and his durbar too. Stay tuned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-18512688148143137022017-01-08T10:13:00.000-08:002017-01-08T10:13:49.445-08:00Spotting AAP's Election Tsunami in Punjab: Umeed & Badlaav (Hope & Change)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
It was May of 2014 and I found
myself sitting in a crowded TV studio discussing a news channel’s exit poll for
the just completed General Election with a couple of days still to go for
counting day. As we went from state to state it was becoming painfully obvious,
even keeping in mind the unreliability of exit polls, that a Modi wave had
swept across northern and western India; ‘a northwest monsoon’ as Rajdeep
Sardesai described it. I really did not have much to say as the Modi supporters
on the panel crowed with pleasure and rubbed it in. It was not the most
pleasant experience. Then came Punjab’s turn and the smug pollster informed us
that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would get wiped out even in a state where it was
believed certain to open its account. Apparently the Modi wave had breached
Punjab’s defences as well. However, by then I was certain that Bhagwant Mann
was sweeping to victory in Sangrur and there was a corresponding groundswell
for AAP in the rest of Punjab’s Malwa heartland. AAP would ultimately win four
seats and come very close to winning two or three others. Anyway I awoke from
my stupor on the show to contradict the pollster and said that I had first-hand
knowledge of what was going on in Punjab, it being my home state, and his
figures were completely wrong. The pompous pollster informed me that AAP’s much
vaunted support in Punjab had been a mirage and that his numbers never lied. I
was going to advise him on air about which part of his anatomy he could stick
his poll number but for once, thankfully, I chose to keep my own counsel. I’ve
never returned to a TV studio since. Life is too short.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
My larger point being that
pollsters have been unable or unwilling to spot the full extent of AAP’s
support in election after election. They labelled AAP as a non-entity in the
Delhi elections of 2013, they were oblivious to AAP’s Punjab in 2014, and were
made to look completely incompetent by AAP’s Delhi sweep in 2015. If the first
couple of polls in 2017 are anything to go by they are set to repeat the pattern
in the run-up to next month’s Punjab assembly elections. What is it about AAP’s
electoral fortunes that these pollsters have been unable to gauge the true
scale of support? You would think the pollsters might undergo a bout of
self-scrutiny and adjust their sample and methods to avoid being embarrassed
again. Not that they were particularly accurate in Bihar either. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Like clockwork, after the
elections were announced last weeks, opinion polls appear throwing cold water
on AAP’s Punjab ambitions and all the so-called political experts of Lutyens’
Delhi start proclaiming that AAP is finished in Punjab. They claim AAP peaked
too early during the summer, which is funny because these same worthies were
claiming AAP was finished during the summer as well. So in the face of such
mendacity I have no choice but to state clearly and unequivocally that Punjab
voters are going to vote decisively in AAP’s favour on February 4<sup>th</sup>.
In many ways the election is already over. (By the way, I would have much
preferred to have continued writing my novel about Nehru instead of this blog,
but there seems to be such a disconnect between the perception of the national
media and the ground realities of Punjab I felt I had no choice but to break
myself away from the joy of recreating the 1928 Calcutta Congress, now
forgotten but of immense historical significance.)</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
So do I believe that all these
respected political analysts, pollsters included, are wrong and only I am
correct? Am I delusional? Quite possibly. Biased? Undoubtedly, but that need
not necessarily cloud my electoral assessment. Being my home state I have a
sense of what is going on the ground in Punjab much more so than I ever had
during elections in Delhi where I reside. There are certain signs that are now
visible as leading indicators of AAP support in Punjab that are perhaps too
subtle for pollsters to quantify. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
First and most importantly, the
crowds turning out day in and day out for AAP campaign events, even for
candidate nukkad meetings or jansabhas, across Punjab are stunning to behold.
Arvind Kejriwal will attract a crowd anywhere he goes but Bhagwant Mann’s
campaign stops in particular are looking more and more impressive, people are
turning out in droves and can be seen standing on trucks, hanging out of windows,
and standing on rooftops. There is a rock concert feel to them, reminiscent of
Delhi in 2015. Don’t believe me, just follow Bhagwant Mann on Facebook or
twitter, the pictures are posted daily and they speak for themselves. A Punjab
Congress MLA told me the crowds were showing up to hear Mann’s jokes, I told
him he should listen carefully to the well-crafted jokes because they were
political satire, the most lethal form of political rhetoric, especially so in
Punjabi. The AAP campaign machine may not have been the most disciplined to
begin with but once it got rolling, as it now has in Punjab, it is relentlessly
grinding towards its objective. Hoards of volunteers from India and abroad are
being added to the volunteer army in the state every day. They aren’t paid and
possess the passion of true believers. This idealism brings an invaluable
energy to any campaign. It is a concept alien to campaign strategist Prashant
Kishor and his team of bloodless mercenaries who work for the Punjab Congress. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
In Punjab much like Delhi you
have a highly unpopular incumbent party and an opposition party that lacks
energy and is riven with division. The wildcard is obviously Amarinder Singh
but he is being repeatedly hampered by Rahul Gandhi and his acolytes in the Punjab
Congress. It is common knowledge that Amarinder and Rahul don’t trust each
other. Rahul knows he needs the Captain to win the election but would like to
ultimately anoint somebody else as Chief Minister if they win, which is why he
wooed the eccentric Navjot Sidhu so assiduously. Amarinder, of course, knows
this and has been using every effort to get as many Akali defectors, presumably
loyal to him, Congress tickets as he can despite rumblings of revolt from
within Congress ranks. The extended disagreement over the 40 seats with
candidates still unannounced is a tussle for power for the post-election
scenario. Of course, it has resulted in Punjab Congress top brass camping in
Delhi for the last six or seven weeks and no one can remember the last time Amarinder
Singh addressed a rally. All the while AAP has been campaigning non-stop from
Arvind Kejriwal on downwards. Congress is busy dividing the spoils of a
prospective victory while ignoring the battlefield. Rahul Gandhi’s week-long
New Year’s sojourn means the Congress campaign will have a little more than
three weeks to campaign, assuming they can tamp down the dissension certain to
be caused by the announcement of the last 40 seats. With less than a month to
go to elections each day that you aren’t campaigning you are losing votes. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Another important point that
most commentary are glossing over when it comes to Punjab is the organisational
strength that AAP now has on the ground in the state. Between the summers of
2015 and 2016 Sanjay Singh, Durgesh Pathak
and their hard-working team have put into place a party structure that is
unmatched, even by the Akalis. They went from village to village, each of which
were traditionally divided into Akali or Congress bastions, breaking through
the duopoly and winning over allegiances. No easy task, I assure you. The AAP
surge in 2014 was largely voter driven, most of whom voted for the jhadu symbol
without having even seen AAP leader or volunteer, so much so that even such a
lacklustre campaigner as Harinder Khalsa was swept to victory. This time is
different, AAP will not only have voter intensity on its side but also a
turnout machine, augmented by a comprehensive voter database, the likes of
which Punjab has never before seen. There are whole villages that will vote for
AAP en masse and signs of this are already becoming clear after the imposition
of the model code of conduct as the villages have started putting up signs
asking Akali and Congress candidates to save their breath and stay away. The
added organisational prowess of the Bains brothers in the crucial seats in and
around Ludhiana is fast turning what was once a closely-fought battleground
into a one-sided sweep. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
But the closing weeks of the
campaign will matter as always and AAP must reduce its accusatory rhetoric to a
minimum, concentrating on a positive message to rev up its base and attract the
undecided voter. On the day the elections were announced last week Arvind
Kejriwal voiced a message of ‘umeed’ and ‘badlaav’, hope and change, which
should form the bedrock of AAP’s closing message to Punjab’s voters who are
ready for change after ten years of misgovernance and loot. Those voters still
in the undecided column are most likely to be either Akali voters ready to
defect after the Badal family’s wholesale takeover of the party or urban Hindu
voters fed up with the dysfunctional state BJP unit, with demonetisation only
increasing the migration away. These late-deciding voters have been
anti-Congress voters for a decade and therefore likely to break towards AAP in
large proportion. Because of its divisive history in the state there is a
defined ceiling to the Congress vote-share, and that is why their biggest fear
is an Akali electoral meltdown, something that is looking increasingly likely.
Whereas AAP as the new party can poach undecided voters from a wider basket
without any past mistakes to impede their message of real change. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
These remaining undecided
voters are the same voters that won the state for an Amarinder-led Congress in
2002, but that was then and Amarinder had returned home to the Congress and
brought a sense of hope and change in his wake that he subsequently betrayed
with a lazy and distant leadership style, surrounding himself with a durbar and
unable to control his family. He lost his second chance at Chief Ministership
ten years later in 2012 when the same great pollsters predicted an almost
certain Congress victory and caused the erstwhile Maharaja to take his
campaigning duties lightly. Badals eked out an upset victory and Punjab has been
paying the consequences ever since. There is little doubt that without
Amarinder the Punjab Congress would have little to no chance. He is desperate
for one last stint of power, not to change Punjab politics for the better but
to safeguard the status quo and his own interests. After all, as a military
historian he know better than anyone that Rajas and Maharajas historically are
rarely catalysts of change, in fact more often than not they are victims of it.
Punjab voters are yearning for genuine change, not more of the same in a
different package. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Just before a tsunami strikes
the coast the sea recedes from the beach and an eerie calm prevails, though
only momentarily and deceptively so. Those standing on the beach may
misinterpret this phenomena as intriguing but nothing to be worried about or
life-threatening. In Punjab I believe the tsunami is AAP and the clueless sods
on the beach are the establishment faced with imminent extinction. On February
4th nature will take its course.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Of course, there’s always the
possibility the polls are right and my assessment may prove to be completely
wrong, in which case I’ll be the one having to undergo a strenuous bout of
self-examination. That’s what I love about elections, in the end the voters cut
through the campaign fog of mistruths and decide all our fates. So be it. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-68662918669357661482016-11-27T07:19:00.000-08:002016-11-27T12:18:51.766-08:00Modi Meltdown<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On November 8th Prime Minister Modi took India and the world by surprise when he announced a demonetisation scheme that took 86% of rupee notes out of circulation with almost immediate effect. It is difficult to find a historical precedent of a country the size of India being thrown into a financial crisis by its own government without any warning or prevailing exigent circumstance for doing so other than the whims of its leader. Prime Minister Modi’s demonetisation gambit has led to economic chaos across India for the past nearly three weeks and shows no sign of abating. As bad as the cash shortage is in major cities, ground reports get progressively worse as you go into hinterland and away from the media spotlight, with rural areas almost being left to fend for themselves through barter. Economic activity has ground to a halt with consumers struggling to buy even the bare necessities, trucks unable to transport, farmers unable to sow their rabi crop, employees spending more time standing in line outside ATMs than working, and volatility affecting the financial markets. This was a true November surprise.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
How does a Prime Minster make such a staggering miscalculation? I doubt very much he was expecting such a severe economic dislocation when he addressed the nation and subsequent changing of the goalposts by the government bears this out. At first we were told the disruption would be last a mere two days, shortly thereafter it became two weeks and finally the PM pleaded for a grace period of fifty days. Needless to say the implementation of the demonetisation scheme has been farcical with a daily litany of new rules issued by Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slavishly following suit, creating more problems than they fixed. The sub-plot related to rules governing withdrawal of cash for marriages could make for an excellent case study on bureaucratic obtuseness. How many new currency notes are being printed and in which denomination is a mystery, because RBI refuses to tell us, but the online news platform Quint reports that only 0.06% of the vital Rs 500 notes have been replaced so far. The new Rs 2,000 note is in greater supply but of purely ornamental value right now because of the shortage of smaller denominations to provide change. The level of incompetence has been a sight to behold. The ministers weren’t much better, proffering varied reasons for the necessity of the demonetisation scheme, leapfrogging from black money to national security to fake currency to the more recent one of transforming India into a cashless economy. Well, they certainly succeeded in the last cause, because they have indeed rendered most Indians cashless. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Apologists keep parroting that demonetisation was a brilliant idea, it was only the ‘implementation’ that had fallen short, conveniently forgetting the PM had won his mandated promising above all superior implementation and competence. But most crucially, a responsible government is expected to do no harm and maintain stability before doing anything else. Events, external and internal, will test a country’s stability and voters understand that, but a government pulling the rug from under a billion Indians and doing so inexpertly will not be easy to explain. The fallout from the demonetisation has been felt directly by every Indian, with the aam aadmi feeling the brunt in far greater measure. Financial insecurity pervades the land and has united the country in suffering. I never expected the Prime Minister to be much of a uniter, but he has clearly proved me wrong. For nearly three weeks India has withstood this national trauma, with every passing day the death toll attributed to the scheme mounting, and hardships continue. Prime Minister Modi and his government are testing the limits of the Indian people’s patience. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The PM is a shrewd political operator and a misjudgement of this magnitude requires an in-depth analysis of what precisely led to flawed decision-making. There is the political aspect to it as well as an institutional aspect. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Politically, the 2014 campaign promise of repatriating Rs. 15 lakhs of black money in every voters’ bank account has been used as an effective taunt since then by the opposition in state election after state election. It is the original sin, so to speak. Amit Shah’s attempt to explain away the promise as a metaphorical ‘jumla’ only backfired further. So before the most important state election of all in Uttar Pradesh, his adopted political home, it was reasonable to think the PM would try to do something that would free him from this charge. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The government claims months of preparation preceded the demonetisation and I am not going to take issue with that, despite ample evidence to the contrary. The one objective we know they spent much of the first half of the year on was the ouster of the fiercely independent RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and supplanting him with a loyalist in the form of Urjit Patel, or as he has come to be known as in recent days, the Invisible Man. Once the Reserve Bank of India was captured in the first week of September it is clear that the march towards demonetisation began in earnest. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Indian Prime Ministers, especially those select few with single-party majorities, have always had grand visions of how they wish to transform India. Previous PMs succeeded during periods when they were able to surround themselves with capable ministers and aides who were able to speak truth to power. When this vital ingredient was missing from the governance mix PMs have tended to lose their way, even those with mammoth majorities like Pandit Nehru in 1962, Indira Gandhi in 1975, and Rajiv Gandhi in 1987. This is the institutional aspect that I referred to earlier.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As far as we can tell, in the decision-making process leading up to the demonetisation speech not one minister or PMO aide advised prudence or caution to Prime Minister Modi. Debate does not appear to be encouraged in the Modi cabinet, only one man’s opinion takes precedence. Shri Modi is said to prefer verbal presentations than written briefs, he’s not a details man, which is not unusual in political leaders around the world, but in such a case it is imperative he have a powerful and competent Principal Secretary who covers all the bases and makes sure nothing is missed, playing the part of a weather vane who forewarns of hidden trouble ahead. Unfortunately, the PM chose to divide the powers of the Principal Secretary between two men, in addition a National Security Adviser who is a law unto himself. The power apex of the Modi PMO is fractured and it reflects poorly on the PM when decisions are taken hurriedly and without a study of all possible ramifications. To put it bluntly, there is nobody in the Modi PMO or cabinet capable of speaking truth to power and that’s exactly the way the PM prefers it. So when the PM starts down the wrong track based on a half-baked idea there is no fail-safe in his decision-making process to warn him of the possible hazards ahead. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Secrecy is being used as an alibi to explain the government’s lack of preparation despite suspicious financial transactions by more than one BJP state unit in the weeks preceding November 8th. Even if we concede the need for secrecy, it cannot absolve the PMO, the cabinet and the RBI Governor from the responsibility of due diligence before putting the country through such an enormous change. It was incumbent on them to have asked pertinent questions of the demonetisation scheme before moving forward. How long will the disruption last? How long do we need to print the new notes? Are the ATMs ready to accept the new notes, especially the Rs 2000 note? How will this affect rabi sowing? How will this affect marriage season? How will this affect tourists? How will this affect the unbanked population? How will this affect the informal sector where 80% of Indians work? What is the worst scenario? How much will economic growth be affected? What is the long-term risk-reward of putting the country through such a serious economic dislocation? Could the financial infrastructure of the country withstand the pressure? Were the government’s administrative capabilities upto the task? Was there enough black money parked in cash to be worth going through such instability? How would the underground infrastructure that launders black money from Delhi to Mumbai to Dubai and Singapore adapt to the assault on their core interests? Did government legally have the power to execute everything that was planned? The list of questions can go on endlessly but the sense you get is this government does not waste much time on discussing the prudence of its actions in the normal course and did not suffer from much self-doubt in this case either. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then there is the question of the PM’s intellectual temperament. His government has earned a reputation for bandying around official figures that on closer investigation prove to bear no resemblance to the ground situation. It is one thing to try to fool the public but quite another if you start basing your decisions on your own boosted figures. From the Prime Minister’s repeated exhortations on moving India overnight to a cashless economy it is as if he is describing a completely different India where everyone has a bank account, an electricity connection, basic education, and a smartphone. This separation from reality could be part of the reason he may have believed the demonetisation scheme would only cause some initial disruption and nothing more. The problem is that the India that exists in the PM’s mind bares little resemblance to reality. This delusion is a worry for us all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Coupled with the incompetence of the RBI and Finance Ministry has been the reliance on private companies like Paytm and Big Bazaar as conduits of government policy, to their considerable profit. The stench of crony capitalism emanating from these relationships is apparent. It’s almost as if the common man is being coerced and herded into the awaiting grubby hands of these corporates as a direct consequence of government actions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The PM’s greatest weakness is the myth of infallibility that he has created for himself, assiduously defended by his ministers, as a result of which he refuses to apologise for anything even when it is his interest to do so. It’s a lesson he perhaps learnt from his experience in 2002 and his rise since then has probably reinforced this instinct. Obstinacy can be an asset during trying times but more often than not it stops a leader from recognising his error and changing to a more successful course. In the case of demonetisation Shri Modi has refused to alter course and gambled his government on it. An unnecessary and unwise strategy. The PM’s inability to defend his case in Parliament is a major liability as was seen this past week when Manmohan Singh earned a decisive victory. It was a demoralising blow for BJP MPs to see their much vaunted general flee the field of battle without fighting back. A great speech inside Parliament is worth a hundred outside. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The PM appears to have been convinced by the prospect of garnering a windfall Rs. 3 to 4 lakh crore from hoarded cash that the government estimates would not be returned to banks and thus extinguished, whereafter a subservient RBI would pass it onto the government exchequer in the form of a special dividend, ignoring its own rules and generally accepted international accounting practices. In retrospect we can see why the Budget was moved up to February 1st a few weeks ago, positioning it just before the state elections. The budgetary windfall blinded the PM and his principal advisors to the gravity of the risk they were taking. They got greedy and therefore careless. Politicians will be politicians, but the RBI Governor Urjit Patel, who surely knew better, has no excuse for agreeing to this madcap scheme. The economic losses and suffering caused by this decision is likely to dwarf any fiscal windfall that the government gains. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Shri Modi has gambled a great deal of his credibility and political capital on the ultimate success of the demonetisation scheme. He may succeed in the immediate future by parleying windfall gains from demonetisation into election gains, but in winning Uttar Pradesh he may have lost trust of the rest of the nation. The trauma to the economy and the aam aadmi’s psyche will not be repaired so easily. The BJP’s obnoxious and unrepentant response to the genuine suffering of people, almost branding by association millions of people as black money hoarders will not be soon forgotten. Those harried souls standing in ATM queues across the country may voice support for Shri Modi out of politeness when asked on camera but their faces tell a different tale, with anger likely lurking just below the surface and 2019 may provide an outlet. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Arun Shourie knows how the PM thinks better than most and he explained in a recent television interview that Shri Modi has got into the bad habit of wanting to perform a ‘surgical strike’ every few weeks. This need for quick-fixes to long-standing afflictions like black money shows a lack of discipline and understanding of governance. There are no quick fixes or easy solutions, national change requires sustained, patient work and persuasion of the public day in and day out. But Shri Modi is not a patient man and he has an overwhelming mandate so he can make impetuous, poorly thought out decisions with little resistance from those around him. There was only one person who could have saved the PM from himself, and that was Raghuram Rajan. What an irony it is that it was the PM who allowed Rajan to be hounded out of office. Will Rajan have the last laugh? Only time will tell. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com98tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-83305982989141383682016-10-22T13:45:00.000-07:002016-10-22T13:45:54.224-07:00AAP, Amarinder, and the vote for change....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
So what is the electoral state of play in Punjab today with the assembly election fast approaching? On the ground in Punjab it is now becoming increasingly clear that the election is a two-horse race between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, with the incumbent Akali-BJP alliance now lagging far behind. Also we can be sure that any hope of a fourth front is a non-starter, as Navjot Sidhu and his cohorts have quickly found out. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
There is no need to waste too many words on the Badal Government’s odds of re-election, which are right now close to nil. After ten years of misrule the Badals leave behind a legacy of having overseen a rampant drug epidemic, rural distress leading to farmer suicides in the hundreds, limitless nepotism, crony capitalism, total breakdown of law and order, fiscal bankruptcy, and outright loot. There is now a widespread belief in Punjab that the Badal clan has sucked Punjab dry. Their beleaguered ally the BJP can do nothing but cower in fear of an AAP victory because of the national political implications of such a result. To put it simply, the writing is on the wall for the Badals. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Amarinder Singh has spent the last six months trying to ward off the wrangling ways of his campaign strategist Prashant Kishor (aka PK), whom the good Captain claims to have invited onboard in the first place. Amarinder seemed distinctly uncomfortable during the plethora of packaged events PK and his team had organised for him through the summer. But now Amarinder seems to have momentarily broken away from PK’s influence and found some of his old fire. The people of Punjab have a very emotional relationship with the erstwhile Maharaja of Patiala, they are willing to forgive him many a fault because of his obvious charm and great reservoir of goodwill that he built after resigning from Parliament and the Congress Party after Operation Bluestar. He is the only reason the Congress is largely shielded from continued voter anger about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Amarinder is hoping that after a ten-year interregnum the voters will forget the disaster that was his earlier tenure as Chief Minister; the corruption charges and the inaccessibility where mornings started late and the evening’s entertainment began early. If elected this durbar culture will likely return with a vengeance, his family and retainers will surround him and all promises of governance and development will be forgotten. But Amarinder is a fighter and he will campaign hard, no doubt trying to elicit every last drop of emotion and sympathy of this being what he clams is his last election and last stand. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
And finally we come to AAP, who pulled a surprise against the run of play in 2014 by winning four Lok Sabha seats in the Malwa heartland of the state. Since then AAP in Punjab has been trying to put in place a party structure to fully exploit this initial groundswell of support that appeared, almost unbidden. Fortunately, Sanjay Singh, Durgesh Pathak and their top-notch team has been able to put an extensive party organisation into place on the ground over the past eighteen months or so. AAP is also well ahead in candidate selection with over half the candidates already selected and now campaigning in their constituencies. The candidate selection process necessarily led to some upheaval, as was expected, and some departures including the former state convenor who now finds himself all alone in the political wilderness. And then there was the Sidhu drama that began with a bang and then seems to have petered out. After walking out from the BJP and then overplaying his hand with AAP, Sidhu is now busy playing off one camp against the other in the Congress Party. One thing is for sure, you can’t be Awaaz-e-Punjab if you are taking orders from Rahul Gandhi. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
It is important to note that the groundswell of support in Punjab of AAP is only tangentially related to the party’s support in Delhi. In fact many of those who voted for AAP in 2014 make sure to remind visitors that they voted for AAP even when Delhi’s voters failed to do so during the Modi wave and they say this with great pride in their voice. Arvind Kejriwal is the common link for all AAP voters, of course, and the more he takes on Modi in Delhi the more popular he gets in Punjab, where an underdog with a fighting spirit is always admired. So the Modi Government’s strategy to use Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi Police in a war of attrition against the Kejriwal Government is totally backfiring on the ground in Punjab. Because of its turbulent recent history there are few states where people are more suspicious of the police and the central government than in Punjab and Modi Government’s ceaseless bullying tactics in Delhi serve as unwelcome reminders to Punjabis of their own state’s past.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
This is going to be a ‘change’ election, of that there is little doubt, the only question is what kind of change Punjab’s voters decide to choose. Amarinder is promising a safe version of change, and that is all it is, campaign promises never to be fulfilled once in office, as has been the case so many times in Punjab’s past and witnessed in Amarinder’s own chief ministerial tenure. Or voters can take the more risky choice of real change promised by AAP, likely to be more turbulent but also a genuine departure from the past, a new vision for Punjab divorced from the arguments of the past. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
A new beginning for Punjab is what AAP promises, but that is not enough to cross the finish line. They will need to convince voters that they are safe pair of hands to govern. Delhi Government’s example will provide some assistance in this endeavour. Modi Government’s extra-constitutional war on the Kejriwal Government is an attempt to stop AAP from crossing this final hurdle of acceptability in Punjab. Congress will target AAP’s lack of a chief ministerial candidate, a vulnerability that AAP has no obvious solution for at the moment. Arvind Kejriwal’s popularity and credibility in the eyes of Punjab voters will be invaluable but the election hinges on whether voters can make the mental leap required to envision AAP’s local leadership as a government-in-waiting. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
AAP has captured the message of hope in the Punjab election, while Amarinder is relying on emotion and false nostalgia. After a lacklustre summer the Congress is resurgent but yet to begin its ticket distribution exercise, which is likely to be fractious due to prevailing tensions between the young guard and veterans, between PK and sitting MLAs, between Rahul and Amarinder, between Bajwa and Amarinder, just to name a few. As of today it is an election for AAP to win or lose, the crowds at campaign events every day speak for themselves. The electorally significant Malwa heartland south of the Satluj is where AAP is strongest, the Doaba region lying between Beas and Satluj is where the Dalits and NRIs have a major influence and AAP is also doing well, but Amritsar-centred and sceptical Majha is a weak area for AAP and a more localised campaign strategy might be the need of the hour. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
There is no room for AAP to be complacent as the decisive phase of the campaign has just begun and there is a fighting Captain obstructing its path to victory. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-69699319700482026422016-07-07T20:33:00.000-07:002016-07-08T00:29:31.935-07:00AAP...Forward...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
We are an emotional people and never more so then when the subject is politics. But emotions tend to be an impairment when trying to get a clear view of the political landscape. So for the moment let’s cast aside all the angry recriminations of political spokespersons, the media clatter, and social media babble. The question of the hour being: what are the reasons for the recent escalation of hostilities between the Modi Government and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to a level that seems like almost total war? Admittedly, relations have been steadily deteriorating since AAP’s landslide victory in February 2015, but till now Prime Minister Modi was happy to leave the task of tormenting the Delhi Government to Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung with able support from the Delhi Police and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley putting in a guest appearance on occasion. The recent escalation, however, has been of a higher order and intensity, something no one in Lutyens’ Delhi has missed. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
From the moment Arvind Kejriwal launched his quixotic campaign to challenge Narendra Modi for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in 2014 the fates of the two man have seemed inextricably linked. The stakes have only risen since then. After all, AAP’s sweeping victory in the 2015 Delhi assembly elections was the first electoral defeat Prime Minister Modi had ever experienced. It was as nasty a campaign as has been seen in recent times and few will forget the sight of union cabinet ministers spreading out across Delhi to try and stop AAP’s guerrilla campaign. In the months since then, LG Najeeb Jung has willingly played proxy for the BJP in its attempt to scuttle AAP’s government, the litany of misdeeds with which we are all familiar. Chief Minister Kejriwal has been pretty vocal about what he thinks of Prime Minister Modi and, if BJP leaders are to be believed, the feelings are mutual. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
With the Congress in retreat and Priyanka Vadra’s apparent entry into a more full-time party role for the Uttar Pradesh election campaign, Rahul Gandhi’s diminishment as a national alternative to Modi continues apace. History tells us that in a durbar there can be only one heir, because when there have been two heirs internal strife is the inevitable result. Such are the dynamics of power. The weakening of Congress has provided AAP opportunities to rise in Punjab, Goa and Gujarat in recent months. The BJP’s grand plan to constrict and destroy AAP within borders of Delhi has largely failed. AAP’s crusade to get to the truth behind PM’s college degrees only heightened tensions between the governments and increased the mutual animosity between the party leaders. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Recent internal polling done by BJP in select states has startled senior party leaders, especially the rise of AAP in Gujarat, where a defeat for BJP in 2017 would be seen as a personal setback for the PM. Kejriwal’s unequivocal call for the incarcerated firebrand Hardik Patel to be released as well as his impending trip to Gujarat has left the BJP even more jittery. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Thus we have a rising party on one side and the all powerful ruling party on the other. Naturally the party in power will take every step it can to impede the rise of the challenger. In the case of Narendra Modi we have a Prime Minister who believes in the sledgehammer approach to crushing opponents, as can be seen in his track record in Gujarat.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
So, according to senior IB and CBI officers, it seems word recently came down from the PMO asking the agencies why it was that they had files loaded with information on every Chief Minister in the land except for the only one that mattered, Kejriwal. And sure enough in the last week there have been a non-stop series of charges, investigations and cases inflicted on AAP with the most high-profile being the recent arrest of Delhi CM’s Principal Secretary by CBI while the CM was campaigning in Punjab. A direct attempt to target Kejriwal himself. The idea being to pressurise the aide until he breaks and then to turn him against Kejriwal. I will not waste words going into the veracity of the charges, because I’m not a lawyer and frankly it does not matter, everybody knows how the CBI has operated as a tool of the PMO under successive governments and it is even more true under the current regime (in fact, it’s entirely possible during the course of your reading this piece that an AAP leader or MLA could well be charged or arrested for any range of alleged crimes on the basis of a one-line complaint without any corroborating evidence whatsoever, but don’t be overly alarmed because such is everyday life for AAPians in the age of Modi). You’ll hear plenty of headline-making leaks to the media about this and other investigations in the days to come, never to be proven in a court of law because the aim of the entire charade is not judicial but as always electoral. The only thing these desperate strong-arm tactics really reveal is the BJP’s fear of a rising AAP and more importantly fear of the ideas AAP has come to represent in the mind of voters. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
These are the facts so far, and the next six months will be a torrid period for AAP with the Modi Government trying its best to malign the party’s image as corruption-fighters and to malign the aam aadmi-friendly model of governance in Delhi. So what must AAP do to counter this central government-directed campaign against it? With the Badal Govt in Punjab starting to follow suit in recent days and BJP governments in Goa and Gujarat not far behind, AAP needs a new path forward.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
It is a given that BJP will do its best repress and malign AAP in the next six months, nothing anybody can do about that, it’s the law of jungle, but AAP can certainly adapt and adjust its strategy to better meet the threat. Since the formation of the AAP Government in Delhi, the acrimonious exit of those two drama queens Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, and the non-stop war with the central government along with the accompanying media storm, the AAP leadership has understandably been forced to retreat into a bunker mentality just to ensure the party’s survival. That is no longer necessary, the party has survived and prospered, the battle for Delhi is nearing its end and the battle for India is about to begin. It’s safe to come out of the bunker. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
AAP must transform from a guerrilla political organisation, which vanquished the giant, lumbering BJP army in the bylanes Delhi, into a national party that can adapt to the electoral imperatives of larger states. The organisational transformation in Punjab over the last year, spearheaded by AAP’s very own wunderkind Durgesh Pathak and his team, has been nothing short of miraculous. But the national leadership has been somewhat static, and for a party expanding by leaps and bounds at the grass-roots the growth should also be reflected at the top as well by attracting experienced hands. Right now Arvind Kejriwal and his core team have single-handedly taken on the might of the Modi Government, but it’s time to recruit reinforcements to help broaden the campaign fight and spread the burden. There must be space for experienced national and state leaders from other parties with a track record of honest and competent service to be welcomed into the national leadership structure. In the larger war to come AAP will require more generals, and anybody who thinks otherwise is living in a fool’s paradise. As the big tent of the Congress collapses nationally it is imperative that AAP takes its place like it has done on a much smaller scale in Delhi.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Delhi Government, in a very short period, has earned a well-deserved reputation for competence and reforming zeal particularly in the areas of education and health care, a creditable achievement certainly but it is not near enough for AAP to be taken seriously as a national party. In addition to education and health AAP will have to start participating in the national debate on vital subjects that it has only done so sporadically like foreign affairs, national security and finance, with well thought out policy stances. This will require opening up the party to policy experts in these fields, many of whom being retired bureaucrats and establishment-types are naturally suspicious of AAP, and will require some wooing. The good news is that there are many who are willing to help and are just waiting for the right opportunity.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Part of transitioning out of the bunker mentality will require that AAP’s frontline leadership must now take a step back from daily battles as participants in combative press conferences and television debates, which take their toll and leave all participants less worthy in the eyes of the viewer. The reason any political party has spokespersons is to project the party message while insulating the leaders from the daily maelstrom of the media madness so they can preserve their image and concentrate on more important party-building tasks. Younger spokespersons, like the soft-spoken but formidable Atishi Marlena, will be far more effective in dealing with the Sambit Patras of the world and frontline leaders can interject themselves into the media debate as and when it is necessary. Also the tendency to hold daily press conferences about the latest conspiracy theory before checking its veracity or collecting solid evidence must be put an end to as soon as possible, it hurts the party’s credibility and plays right into the criticism that AAP cries wolf without any factual basis. Above all it is lazy politics of little or no electoral benefit and careless accusations may make headlines in the short term but tend to prove counter-productive in the long term. Political parties are not media organisations and nor should they try to be. Politics at its best is about knowing when to exercise restraint as much as it’s about knowing when to act decisively, and the ability to strike a balance between both these instincts is what makes the difference between success and failure. No other party can match AAP in terms of fighting spirit and energy, traits when combined with tactical adroitness and message discipline will likely be unbeatable. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
In politics a party either evolves to changing circumstances or soon meets its end, and you just have to look at the current condition of the Congress Party for proof of this maxim. The Aam Aadmi Party has overcome an unprecedented eighteen months of sustained assault by the combined might of the Sarkari Dilli establishment, media included, on a mission to destroy it. It has been a trial by fire for the party and has emerged battle-hardened. Modi Government can return every bill the Delhi Government passes, can arrest or disqualify every AAP MLA, it can continue to use the CBI and police to trump up charges against Arvind Kejriwal, but they will soon come to realise that the Indian people always root for the underdog who stands up to the powerful for a worthy cause. In that regard this is still very much Mahatma Gandhi’s India. With elections in Punjab, Goa and Gujarat due next year, 2017 could well be the year of AAP. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
Let me conclude by telling a story, quite possibly apocryphal, that is often retold at Lutyens’ Delhi cocktail parties with a mixture of wonder and horror. The story goes that a junior IRS officer put in a request for unpaid long leave from service and was asked by his immediate superior the reason for this unusual request, the young officer replied he wished to give his entire attention and energy to fight and root out the corruption in India’s governing system. Needless to say the request for long leave was not immediately approved, but nor was it denied, and made its way up the chain of command with each succeeding officer passing the request swiftly upward like it was a ticking bomb about to explode on their desk. Finally the request reached the Revenue Secretary in North Block, who was equally clueless about what to do with it and so went to see the Finance Minister, the previous BJP-led government then being in power and the inimitable Jaswant Singh being the incumbent. After Jaswant Singh heard the predicament he laughed out loud and said he was impressed with the young man’s gumption. Jaswant Singh is said to have approved the request for leave on the spot. The young officer’s name, which I’m sure you’ve surmised by now, was Arvind Kejriwal. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-26596732894432556432016-05-23T06:38:00.001-07:002016-05-23T06:39:53.886-07:00The Wire: Donald Trump’s Electoral Campaign is Very Familiar to us Indians...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://thewire.in/2016/05/22/donald-trumps-electoral-campaign-is-very-familiar-to-us-indians-37784/" target="_blank">http://thewire.in/2016/05/22/donald-trumps-electoral-campaign-is-very-familiar-to-us-indians-37784/</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3894962697680014980.post-37489139148300718092015-05-14T13:04:00.001-07:002015-05-14T13:04:06.117-07:00DailyO: AAP draws a line in the sand with the media<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.dailyo.in/politics/aap-media-arvind-kejriwal-delhi-bjp-modi-yogendra-yadav-prashant-bhushan-kumar-vishwas-dcw/story/1/3691.html" target="_blank">http://www.dailyo.in/politics/aap-media-arvind-kejriwal-delhi-bjp-modi-yogendra-yadav-prashant-bhushan-kumar-vishwas-dcw/story/1/3691.html</a></div>
Krishan Partap Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018863863122160462noreply@blogger.com3