The monsoon session of Parliament ended on Friday (August 11, 2023) with a predictably unsuccessful no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the Modi government dominating the debates for 16 days.&nbsp;Given the huge majority that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has in Parliament, the result of the motion was a forgone conclusion. But despite limited numbers and firepower, the opposition succeeded in making the Prime Minister come to Parliament and speak on Manipur, something that he had been avoiding in the wake of the ongoing ethnic conflict that has claimed the lives of over 150 people and rendered thousands of families homeless - the conflict that came to light through a video showing mass sexual violence against women.Opposition leaders like Gaurav Gogoi, Mahua Moitra, Supriya Sule and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary categorically stated the motion was basically a ploy to bring the Prime Minister to the House and hold him accountable in keeping with the constitutional and democratic ethos of the country.&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_12_144434146_1024x576_eb2d0dff64.png" alt="image_2023-08-12_144434146-1024x576.png">Gaurav Gogoi speaking in Lok Sabha/ Credits: Sansad TVAccording to Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, who introduced the motion, it was “aimed at making the Prime Minister stop making speeches in foreign parliaments and come to the Parliament of India and deliver his speech here. And the second objective was justice for the people of Manipur.”&nbsp;But in his much-awaited reply to the motion, Modi sounded more like a politician addressing an election rally rather than a Prime Minister answering three simple questions raised by the Congress MP:1) Why did he not visit Manipur till date?2) Why did it take almost 80 days for him to finally speak on Manipur and, when he did speak, did he speak on the subject just for 30 seconds?3) Why has the Prime Minister not sacked the Manipur Chief Minister so far?”&nbsp;Modi, as expected, spent most of the time accusing the opposition parties of corruption and anti-India activities, while revelling in self-admiration and self-obsession. And historical facts went for a toss. He falsely claimed that the Indian Air Force attacked its own citizens in Mizoram under the Congress rule in 1966. In a complete departure from the positions taken by the past governments and his predecessors, he called Operation Bluestar as an “attack on Akal Takht.”Modi blamed the Congress for the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur but didn’t speak on the violence in Haryana’s Nuh, which is hardly 100 km from New Delhi, and the subsequent selective demolition drives by the administration against the Muslim community. A major part of his speech that concluded the three-day debate on the motion, was sound and fury signifying little. All that he had to offer after a studied silence on Manipur for the last three months was whataboutery, finger-pointing and scapegoating.&nbsp;Modi’s speech, which was largely aimed at lampooning the opposition unity, inadvertently ended up exposing as bogus Amit Shah’s assertions that the ruling party wanted a serious discussion on the Manipur violence. In a speech that lasted 133 minutes he gave barely four minutes for Manipur and that too after the members of the INDIA bloc staged a walk out. Interestingly, the INDIA alliance members were soon joined by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_12_142527305_1024x576_fafe2d7da5.png" alt="image_2023-08-12_142527305-1024x576.png">Rahul Gandhi speaking in Lok Sabha/ Credits: Sansad TVIn contrast to Modi’s empty rhetoric, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had returned to Parliament following a Supreme Court ruling revoking his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, attacked the government with renewed vigour. His speech visibly electrified even those parties that are not part of the NDA or INDIA. Amid the ruling party members’ heckling, and jeering, his flamboyance was remarkable. At the very outset of his explosive speech, he mockingly assured the ruling party MPs not to worry. “Relax! I won’t speak on Adani today,” he said. As anticipated, his speech was expunged at several places. Though he spoke for 15 minutes and 42 seconds, Rahul Gandhi was shown only for only four minutes on the Lok Sabha TV. Speaker Om Birla got 11 minutes and 8 seconds.Speaking to media persons outside Parliament, Rahul said: “The Prime Minister spoke in Parliament for 2 hours and 13 minutes. In the last two minutes, he spoke on Manipur. People are being killed. Rapes are happening. Children are being killed. The Prime Minister was speaking laughingly. He was cracking jokes. It does not suit him.”&nbsp;Interestingly, his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the expulsion and then reinstatement in Lok Sabha have raised Rahul Gandhi’s political profile. While being away from the House, he travelled with truck drivers, met with labourers and motor mechanics. He was seen ploughing farms with farmers in Haryana. And most importantly, he went to relief camps in Manipur and met with people from different sections of the society affected by sectarian violence. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_12_142951378_f90bc47a6b.png" alt="image_2023-08-12_142951378.png">Rahul Gandhi with truck drivers/ Credits: X/INCIndiaThe BJP had egg on its face when C. Lalrosanga, the lone MP of the Mizo National Front (MNF), an ally of the BJP-led NDA, voted in favour of the no-confidence motion. Though many BJP leaders, both publicly and privately, have criticised the Modi government for mishandling the Manipur crisis, Lalrosanga in his media interviews disagreed with what Modi said inside the Lok Sabha. “They (Modi government) are not doing enough. They could not take the tribals into confidence. The Kukis, Zos and Mizos don’t have confidence in the State government,” he was quoted as saying. In a 25-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, C. Lalrosanga expressed his disappointment over Modi’s speech in the Lok Sabha, saying his party was expecting “more and better.” To discuss Manipur, he said he has been trying to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the last 100 days but has not been given an appointment. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_12_142728892_1024x576_c35fa1e3f2.png" alt="image_2023-08-12_142728892-1024x576.png">Amit Shah speaking in Lok Sabha/ Credits: Sansad TVThose who spoke from the government side, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, adopted the strategy of highlighting the internal differences in the INDIA alliance. Clearly rattled by the unprecedented unity of the opposition, Amit Shah took a swipe at the Congress over the presence of an old and ailing former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in the House. Amit Shah mocked INDIA for making the Aam Aadmi Party its ally. Shah said the AAP would pull out of the INDIA bloc as soon as the Delhi Services Bill was passed.The opposition members under the banner of INDIA came up with a forceful presentation of the pitfalls of the Modi government.Leaders from the opposition parties <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/FTR_3_2_e1691832186515_1024x346_923f1e4d01.jpg" alt="FTR-3-2-e1691832186515-1024x346.jpg">The debate has set the stage for the 2024 general election. INDIA alliance is holding its next meeting on August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai, where it is expected to form a 11-member coordination panel. Ever since the 26-member alliance came into existence, the BJP, which seems to have mastered the art of controlling political narratives so far has been finding it hard to counter INDIA despite Narendra Modi.<figure class="image"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/KSFE_AD_768x768_3_cde581553d.jpg" alt="KSFE-AD-768x768 (3).jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_KSFE_AD_768x768_3_cde581553d.jpg 156w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_KSFE_AD_768x768_3_cde581553d.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_KSFE_AD_768x768_3_cde581553d.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure>

12-08-23.jpg

The monsoon session of Parliament ended on Friday (August 11, 2023) with a predictably unsuccessful no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the Modi government dominating the debates for 16 days.

Modi’s Missing Confidence

A ruling party with an inept leadership, a government whose main ‘claims to fame’ are a communally divisive agenda and allegations of corruption, a strong anti-incumbency sentiment – the Congress has no reason to lose the May 10 Assembly elections. Clear favourites in the latest round of elections, the Congress looks confident and comfortable amidst a bitter election campaign. It has successfully managed to steer the hotly contested debates away from national and/or communal politics, and focused on the local and the regional – the lack of development, unemployment, poverty and social justice under the BJP government and ‘Kannadiga pride’. But, with hardly a week to go for the polling day, the battle for the 224 Assembly seats appears far from over. Emotional rhetoric, religious polarisation, sectarianism, Hindutva and hate speeches appear to be rapidly gaining prominence in the context of the Congress’ perceptible advantage.Invoking Bajrang BaliThe BJP campaign is being led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has crisscrossed the State several times addressing public meetings and conducting road shows, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president J.P. Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, besides the Karnataka strongman B.S. Yediyurappa. It is on the defensive trying to ward off allegations that its government led by Basavaraj S. Bommai has not only done precious little for the State but indulged in corruption.The saffron party has gleefully latched on to what it calls the Congress’ “blunder” in declaring that it will ban the Bajrang Dal (and any other fundamentalist organisations), a fringe outfit of the Sangh Parivar if it comes to power. The Congress’ manifesto equating the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI) as terror organisations has been conveniently projected by the saffron forces as denigration of Bajrang Bali (the Hindu god Lord Hanuman), an affront to the Hindu faith, and another instance of appeasement politics. The BJP cites the statements of the leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the banned PFI, that it had withdrawn its candidates from 84 constituencies in favour of the contestants of the Congress and other secular parties and that it is only contesting 16 seats as evidence of the Congress’ compromise with Muslim communalism. Said Bommai: “The Congress party is under the influence of the SDPI and the PFI.”Modi chose to make the promised ban on the Bajrang Dal a big election issue by not only defending the Bajrang Dal (whose proclivity to violence is well recorded), but also asking crowds at several public meetings to chant “Jai Bajrang Bali”. He said that the Congress initially locked up Lord Ram and is now looking to imprison Bajrang Bali. In the blatantly communal turn of the BJP’s campaign, the Congress, which has until now steered clear of any religious issues, appears to be in a dilemma over what stand to take on the issue. While Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar went out of his way to distinguish between Bajrang Bali and the Bajrang Dal and announced that Hanuman temples will be constructed, repaired and renovated in Karnataka, senior leader M. Veerappa Moily said there was no plan to ban the Bajrang Dal. But Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera stuck to the stand that the Bajrang Dal will be banned by the Congress, if required.Though the BJP has repeatedly stated that development and its government’s achievements will be the focus of its election campaign, the Hindutva message behind this façade is all too evident. The party is banking on a polarised political environment to tackle the anti-incumbency sentiment. BJP general secretary C.T. Ravi, a three-time MLA from Chikmagalur, summed up the party’s position when he said that for the BJP, Hindutva was synonymous with nationalism and that there would be no compromise on its commitment to that concept. For the party, which has never secured a majority in the 224-member Assembly – the last three Assembly elections have also not given a majority to any party – a victory in Karnataka is crucial. For the Congress, a grand win could mean several things ranging from a resurgence of Rahul Gandhi’s political fortunes, to signifying a moral victory in its efforts to bring about opposition unity to defeat Modi. For the Janata Dal (S), the elections are another test of its ability to survive as a political party. A big loss could very well be the beginning of the end for an outfit which hopes to win 30 to 35 seats.‘40 percent Government’ Ever since Basavaraj Somappa Bommai took over as the 17th Chief Minister in July 2021, his government has been facing allegations of corruption, misgovernance, groupism and malfeasance. (Bommai took over from the BJP’s most well-known leader in the South, B.S. Yediyurappa, who had become Chief Ministership in July 2019 by dethroning the Janata Dal (S)-Congress coalition government after a series of defections.) In April 2022, the contractors association alleged that BJP MLAs and the then Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa demanded 40% commission or bribes from contractors for every project. The Association had even dashed off a letter to the Chief Minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot. The letters went unanswered but both the BJP and Eshwarappa stoutly denied the allegations. Eshwarappa was also forced to resign subsequently. At a press conference on March 27, 2023, D. Kempanna, the contractor association’s president, said: “After writing to the Prime Minister (on July 6, 2021), we had a lot of expectations. During the run-up to (2018) elections, the Prime Minister termed the previous (Congress) regime as 10% government. We wrote to him stating that the bribe amount has increased to 40%.” Though no formal complaint was filed before the authorities, the 40% corruption charge has had a Teflon effect..In March, the son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa was arrested after the Lok Ayukta, the anti-corruption watchdog of the Karnataka government – caught him in the act of taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. The officials also recovered Rs 7 crore in cash from the MLA’s residence. Madal Virupakshappa, who was then the chairman of the Karnataka Soaps &amp; Detergents Limited, was later arrested.Reservation CardIn the run-up to the elections, the BJP attempted to woo the electorate with some social engineering by offering additional reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to the State’s two most socially, economically, politically dominant and land-owning communities – the Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas – under the 2D category of reservations of the OBC quota. The Bommai government also controversially scrapped the 4% religion-based reservation that the Muslims in the State had enjoyed since 1995, under Category 2B, on grounds of being socially and educationally backward. The government announced that Muslims would be removed from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and that the 4% reservation taken away from them would be distributed equally among the Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. Quick on the heels of this move, the government support base accorded reservation for 101 Scheduled Castes (SC). Both these decisions triggered a political controversy. In a related case, the Supreme Court held that the decision to exclude the Muslims from their 4% quota was “prima facie shaky and flawed. Prima facie, on the basis of the documents that are before us, it appears that the foundation of your decision-making process is highly shaky and flawed…Because it is on the basis of an interim report. Why could you not wait for the final report? What was the great hurry?” the Supreme Court bench asked Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Karnataka government. Further, the bench said: “This is not about religion. It is about socially and educationally backward classes. The 4% reservation is totally knocked out and the percentage of those who already had it has increased. There is a class of persons whose benefits are taken away by a stroke and on the basis of an interim report.”Lingayat BaseThe BJP’s core strength in Karnataka has been its base among the Lingayats. Riding largely on the back of this support, the BJP has managed to increase its vote share and seat tally steadily; its vote share went up from 4.14% in 1989 to 36.22% in 2018, and the seat tally increased from four to 104 during the same period. The official count of the Lingayat population is anywhere between 15% to 17% of the population. But some statistics leaked from the caste survey done during Siddarmaiah’s chief ministerial tenure indicated that they accounted for not more than 12%. Whatever be the exact number, the Lingayats have had a disproportionate share in power ever since Karnataka’s formation in 1956. The Lingayat community has in its sub-sects like the Banajigas, Ganigas and Panchamasalis, who are spread across the State, and wield influence almost throughout the State.In recent months the BJP’s central leadership, sensing its diminishing sway over the Lingayats after the removal of Yediyurappa as Chief Minister, replaced him with Bommai, also a Lingayat. Then it appointed Yediyurappa as a Parliamentary Board member of the party. It also increased the reservation for the community.The BJP has also been forced to defend itself against the criticism that it has humiliated and ignored the interests of the community. But an off-the-cuff remark by the Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah helped the BJP to portray him as anti-Lingayat. In an interview to a Kannada news, Siddaramaiah had quipped: “There’s already a Lingayat CM (Bommai) who is at the root of all corruption in the state”. BJP leaders, including Bommai, were quick to launch a scathing attack on Siddaramaiah. Said Bommai: “It is not right for a former CM to make a statement like this. He has said that the entire Lingayat community is corrupt. The Brahmin community had been ridiculed in the past. Earlier, he had tried to break the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community when he was Chief Minister. The people of the State will teach Siddaramaiah a lesson.” Siddaramaiah clarified that his remarks had been “twisted and misinterpreted” by the BJP, and that his “comments referred only to Bommai being corrupt”.However, the BJP is facing rumblings in its Lingayat support base. As a consequence of the party’s strategy to field new faces – a strategy that was successfully implemented in the Gujarat elections – it denied the ticket to two of its seniormost Lingayat leaders- former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi. The two promptly switched their loyalties to the Congress and are now contesting the Hubli-Dharwad (Central) and Athani seats on the Congress ticket. Both Shettar, a six time MLA and Savadi, a three time MLA, wield considerable influence among the community.Wooing VokkaligasThe BJP has also sought to woo the State’s other dominant community, the Vokkaligas, other smaller OBC groups, and also the Dalits. Incidentally, Eshwarappa has blatantly stated that the BJP does not need the votes of the Muslims. Though the BJP has been in power in Karnataka, it has been able to establish a presence in only around 120 of the 224 Assembly constituencies.The party has tried to woo the Vokkaligas by installing a 108-foot tall statue of Kempe Gowda, the community’s icon and architect of Bengaluru city, at the international airport in Bengalauru. The Vokkaligas constitute 40% of the population in the Old Mysuru region – primarily territories that came under the former Mysore princely state in south Karnataka – which stretches from Bengaluru (Rural) to Chamarajanagar districts and encompasses the districts of Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru (Rural) Mandya, Mysuru, Kodagu, Kolar, Tumakuru and Hassan districts. The JD(U) has a significant presence in the region. The Muslims in the region have traditionally voted for the JD(S). The Vokkaliga-Muslim combination has earned the JD(S) the reputation of being the kingmaker whenever the State throws up a split verdict. Both the Congress and the BJP find it difficult to come to power on their own because of the Vokkaliga factor. The two parties are now trying their best to wrest the Vokkaliga vote. The BJP has unleashed its star campaigners including Modi and Yogi Adityanath in this region. Modi is scheduled to close his campaign with a visit to the Nanjundeshwara Temple (also called the Srikanteshwara Temple) in the Hindu pilgrimage town of Nanjanagudu in Old Mysuru.Of the 62 seats in the Old Mysuru region the Congress relies on its base among AHINDA (a Kannada acronym for Alpasankhyataru or minorities, Hindulidavaru or backward classes, and Dalitaru or Dalits) along with the support from a section of Vokkaligas. It is in a straight fight with the JD(S) in most seats. But the BJP has, buoyed by the 2019 Lok Sabha election results when the party for the first time ever received 40 per cent of the votes in southern Karnataka, has made inroads in this region. The party is hoping to double its tally. The Prime Minister in rallies in the Old Mysuru area has claimed a vote for the JD(S) is a vote for the Congress. “The JD(S) is the B team of the Congress,” he said. In the current assembly, the JD(S) holds 26 seats from this region, while the Congress has 20, and the BJP 16.Of the 17 CMs Karnataka has had, seven were from the Vokkaliga community. The Vokkaligas are also present in sizable numbers in 27 of Bengaluru urban district’s 28 constituencies (Anekal being the lone exception), Bengaluru rural district’s four constituencies, and Chikkaballapura’s eight constituencies.Both the Congress and the BJP are banking on winning Bengaluru, which accounts for 28 seats, and Belagavi, which has 18. In Bengaluru, the party won 15 seats in 2018, while in Belagavi, it pocketed 13. Modi has already done a road show in Bengaluru and two more covering 34 kms are planned over the weekend.The BJP continues to hold sway in the coastal region, which is known as the ‘laboratory’. Though dissidence has surfaced in a couple of seats, the Congress has not been able to alter the political balance in the region’s 19 seats.No party can hope to come to power in Karnataka without winning a majority of the seats in the Kalyana-Karnataka and Kittur-Karnataka regions. The Kalyana-Karnataka region comprising the seven districts of Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Kalaburagi – which were once part of the Kingdom of Hyderabad ruled by the Nizams – and, Ballari and Vijayanagara of the erstwhile Madras province, has 40 seats. Lingayats are the dominant political force here. The Congress, which takes credit for according special status to this backward region through the introduction of Article 371(J) in the Constitution in 2012 during the UPA-II regime at the Centre, has traditionally done well here. The move has benefited the region in a big way, with reservations in education and employment, apart from special grants for infrastructure development. Incidentally, the BJP, when it led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, rejected the demand for special status.In 2008, the Congress bagged 22 seats, while in 2013 it won 23. In 2018 the party bagged 21 seats. The northeastern corner of the State, which comes under the Kalyana-Karnataka region, has produced several tall Congress leaders including two Chief Ministers – Veerendra Patil and N. Dharam Singh. And Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge hails from this region. Kharge’s elevation in the party has certainly enthused Congress cadre in the region.The BJP which won 15 seats from this region in 2018 riding on its support from the Lingayats, increased its tally to 18 after three Congress legislators defected. The BJP takes credit for renaming the Hyderabad Karnataka region as the Kalyana Karnataka region, claiming that “the B.S. Yediyurappa-led government liberated the region from psychological slavery to Nizam rule.” The mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, a power centre who recently quit the saffron party, has launched the Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP) and is contesting in most seats in the region. The JD(S) won four seats in this region in 2018.Much churn has taken place in the Kittur-Karnataka region in the run-up to the elections. Earlier known as the Bombay Karnataka region, it comprises the districts of Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Belagavi, Vijayapura and Bagalkot. This region solidly behind the BJP in the 2018 elections, the BJP won 30 of the 48 seats on offer, with the Congress winning 17, and the JD(S) two.The Congress and the BJP are in a close fight in Central Karnataka comprising the districts of Davangere and Chitradurga, where the BJP won 10 of 13 constituencies in 2018. In the Malanad districts of Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru, the BJP won 10 of the 12 seats.A united Congress seeks to highlight the corruption charges against the Bommai regime, its policy of troubling the minorities, and its failure to take forward Brand Karnataka. The BJP, with its central leadership literally managing the campaign, is attempting to hold on to its position as the party with the largest number of seats. The third player, the JD(S), continues to remain a distant third.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The AIDEM presents the opinion of common people about the impending elections to the Karnataka state assembly:&nbsp;<a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/tag/karnataka-janathayonthike/">Karnataka Janathayonthike</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">.

image_2023-05-08_160148891.png

A ruling party with an inept leadership, a government whose main ‘claims to fame’ are a communally divisive agenda and allegations of corruption, a strong anti-incumbency sentiment – the Congress has no reason to lose the May 10 Assembly elections. Clear favourites in the latest round of elections, the Congress looks confident and comfortable amidst a bitter election campaign.

Karnataka Elections: Congress ahead, BJP on the defensive

Nearly two months after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept the Punjab Assembly elections in 2022, party supremo Arvind Kejriwal held a roadshow for a party candidate in the run up to Lok Sabha byelection in Sangrur, a seat that had fallen vacant after Bhagwant Mann resigned and assumed office as Chief Minister. While Kejriwal was seen standing out from the car’s sunroof, the new Mann travelled in the car clutching its window. Earlier, some pictures that went viral showed him touching Kejriwal’s feet after becoming the Chief Minister. Such visuals cemented the public perception that the AAP-led Punjab government was going to be controlled from Delhi.No doubt, the AAP’s massive victory in the Assembly elections was well defined by the party’s election slogan “Ek Mauqa Kejriwal Nu (One chance for Kejriwal)” that appealed to the people who had been completely disillusioned with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress, the parties that had ruled Punjab alternately thus far. Eventually, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader and Khalistan supporter, Simranjit Singh Mann, won Sangrur, an AAP stronghold, which was an indication that popular disillusionment with the AAP government had set in sooner than expected. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mann_768x432_3c96456d1a.png" alt="mann-768x432.png">Punjab CM Bhagwant MannAfter having completed one year in power, the AAP is yet to fulfil its election promises. There are several instances of the party’s publicity stunts leaving it with an egg on its face. Here, some instances:Mann had to be admitted to a hospital after he drank a glassful of water directly from the Kali Bein, a holy rivulet in Sultanpur Lodhi, in media presence. He was trying to demonstrate that Balbir Singh Seechewal, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the AAP, had made the river water drinkable through his sustained efforts. In fact, the party had evoked fierce criticism for choosing persons like Raghav Chadha and Ashok Kumar Mittal, Chancellor of Lovely Professional University, as its nominees after sweeping the Assembly elections. Both Mittal and Chaddha are considered political green horns and do not have much popular acceptance in Punjab . Chaddha is also perceived as an outsider . Sidhu Moosewala, famous singer and Congress leader, was murdered soon after his security was downgraded; and details were planted in the media to show that as a progressive step to end VIP culture in the debt-ridden State. In less than two months after the AAP had formed government on the promise of rooting out corruption, its Health Minister Vijay Singhla was dimissed from the Cabinet on corruption charges. Singhla, however, continues to organise public gatherings and attend party meetings.Emergence of AmritpalAgainst this backdrop, Punjab has seen the emergence of the self-styled Khalistan propagator Amritpal Singh, who heads the Waris Punjab De, a political group. In the State’s social, religious and political circles, Amritpal’s rise is believed to have the blessing of the State and Central governments. Before he was declared fugitive by the Punjab police on March 18, Amritpal had been active for over seven months. He was challenging the Indian state through his fiery speeches from public platforms and interviews to the local media. In Punjab’s recent past, Khalistan sympathisers have been given life imprisonments for possessing incriminatory literature. After Sidhu Moosewala’s murder, the State police cracked down on songs and singers for allegedly promoting gun culture.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_4_cadb332e48.png" alt="image-4.png"> Khalistan propagator Amritpal SinghIn the past few years the Narendra Modi government has shown exceptional alacrity to crush the voices of dissent against, among other things, the revocation of Article 370 and the Citizen Amendment Act. Another instance is the arrest and imprisonment of writers and intellectuals who were allegedly responsible for Bhima Koregaon violence. Also, the Central government has quickly acted against Khalistan supporters abroad. But in the case of Amprital, observers say, it allegedly allowed him to propagate secessionism instead of invoking Article 355 of the Constitution (laying down the duty of the government to protect States against external aggression and internal disturbance) , amass weapons and raise a militia. He was allowed to take out a procession to the Ajnala police station after he had openly threatened to do so. The Ajnala incident was preceded by clashes between police and protesters demanding release of Bandhi Sikhs (political prisoners) at the Mohali border a few days ago but the police seemed to have been caught unawared when the police station was stormed and besieged by the radical mob led by Amritpal.Though Governor Banwarilal Purohit has publicly admonished the Mann government on several issues, he chose to maintain silence even as Amritpal held public rallies and delivered inflammatory speeches, advocating creation of Sikh sovereign state after separating Punjab from India. Amritpal never shied away from giving calls to pick up guns against the Indian state. While taking law enforcement agencies for a ride, he had been storming gurudwaras and police stations with his gun-wielding supporters and issuing diktats well before Ajnala incident happened.After the disappearance of Amritpal, the Internet was banned, over 300 persons were detained, and twitter handles BBC Punjabi, media practitioners and activists were withheld. Unsurprisingly, the audio and video messages of Amritpal are being allowed to do the rounds on the social media. The AAP government has banned several songs supporting secessionism in Punjab in the recent past. But a different yardstick is being used for Amritpal.BJP, AAP on the same page?In Punjab, both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the AAP seem to be normalising the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s Hindutva politics at the national level in an effort to make Punjab Congress-mukt (free). The AAP leadership has been leaving no opportunity to rake up the wounds of 1984 to attack the Congress and its former president Rahul Gandhi. While the BJP has been successful in poaching Congress stalwarts such as Amarinder Singh, Sunil Jhakar and Manpreet Singh Badal and Charanjit Singh Channi, it is yet to recover from the election defeat. Still, the embattled Congress seems to be the only formidable opposition force in Punjab.The return of SidhuThe release of Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu from the Patiala Central Jail, where he served a sentence of 10 months following his conviction in a 1988 road rage case, has given a new lease of life to the party. After coming out of the jail, Sidhu has started training his guns on the BJP-led Central government, while accusing Mann of being subservient to Delhi. He has slammed the State government over the law and order situation in Punjab, alleging that jails have turned into suvidha centres (convenience points) for crimes. His visit to the parents of Sidhu Moosewala, who had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election on the Congress ticket last year, is a counter to the attempts by the Khalistan sympathisers to appropriate the cultural legacy of the popular singer who was murdered on May 29, 2022.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_3_a200f403ab.png" alt="image-3.png"> Congress leader and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu The 59-year-old cricketer turned politician has been reminding people of Arvind Kejriwal’s pre-election statement of generating Rs. 30,000 crore by ending corruption and Rs. 20,000 crore by checking the sand mafia. It is an irony, he says, that the AAP government is now going with a “begging bowl” to the Centre seeking Rs 50,000 crore annually. On March 24, Mann had sought annual aid from the Centre for at least two years citing the poor financial health of the State government. He has also questioned Mann about the Centre’s growing grip on Punjab, citing the increase in the jurisdiction of Border Security Force (BSF), a central paramilitary force, up to 50 km from Pakistan border in Punjab.Incidentally, the police action against Amritpal came after Mann’s meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier in March, which brought additional companies of paramilitary forces to Punjab. “Now friend, you have brought 50 companies (of paramilitary force). Which mega deal have you signed?” Sidhu asked CM Mann.The general perception in Punjab is that the State government has been acting at the behest of the Central government, by allowing Amritpal to become an icon initially and then creating a spectacle of a final crackdown on him. The idea, people believe, is to vilify Punjab and Sikhs, who were at the forefront of a relentless year-long agitation that forced the Centre to roll back three controversial farm laws. Mann’s critics feel that he has been playing the Centre’s game and fear that the ground is being prepared for President’s rule in Punjab where Sikhs, who are a minority at the national but a majority within the State. They cite the example of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under the Centre’s direct rule since 2018 in support of their apprehensions.In fact, Haryana’s Home Minister has said on record that the Punjab police was slow to act on a tipoff about Amritpal’s presence in his State a day after he reportedly gave the slip to the police in Jalandhar on March 18. Days before Amritpal caught national attention following the Ajnala incident, TV interviews of Lawrence Bishnoi, who is considered a high-risk criminal, emerged from the jails. Lawrence has justified the murder of Sidhu Moosewala _ a comment seen as aimed at provoking Punjabis. Lawrence claimed to be a nationalist, saying he was opposed to the idea of Khalistan. Even Kunwar Vijay Pratap, a retired IPS officer and AAP’s MLA from Amritsar North, has admitted in his media that the Punjab police has been facing a leadership crisis.There are signs of Amrpital being a product of State government’s inefficiency and the Central government’s manipulations. In support of this apprehension, observers cite the case of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the religious preacher and militant leader in the 1980s. While the Shiromani Akali Dal led by the Badal family has become almost politically redundant due to corruption charges against the leadership and its departure from its core agenda, the popular disenchantment with the Congress party under the leadership of Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi had also pushed Punjab towards the AAP.In this scenario, Sidhu seems to have picked up all the right threads after entering politics again. He has raised the ‘Punjabiyat’ pitch, asserting the State’s sub-national identity. During the marathon Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi referred to Tamil sub-nationalism positively while speaking in the Lok Sabha earlier in February. Turning to the BJP members, he said: “You will never, ever in your entire life, rule over the people of Tamil Nadu. It can’t be done.” For want of an expression in mainstream politics, the unaddressed regional aspirations of Punjab might continue to give traction to the likes of Jarnail Singh Bhindrenwale and Amritpals.<strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">YouTube</a><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">WhatsApp</a>

Punjab.jpg

Nearly two months after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept the Punjab Assembly elections in 2022, party supremo Arvind Kejriwal held a roadshow for a party candidate in the run up to Lok Sabha byelection in Sangrur, a seat that had fallen vacant after Bhagwant Mann resigned and assumed office as Chief Minister.

Punjab’s Simmering Sub-nationalism

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s blunders over the past week have set in motion a political churn that is pregnant with possibilities. First, recent developments have proved to be a boon for Rahul Gandhi in that it has established the scion of the Nehru dynasty as a leader in his own right. Secondly, it has brought together the Opposition forces like never before. And lastly, it has galvanised the Congress party. To sum up, recent developments indicate that change is in the air. Delhi’s political circles are abuzz with an energy seldom seen in recent times.Hemmed into a corner over the Adani issue, the BJP at first tried to tide over it with its trademark arrogance. But when that failed to dam the barrage of negative publicity and speculation around government-corporate nexus, the BJP decided to isolate Rahul Gandhi. The Narendra Modi-led government was already seething with anger over the success of Rahul Gandhi’s vibrant Bharat Jodo Yatra. Despite naysayers and a media blackout of the yatra, it showed Rahul Gandhi in a new and favourable light. His stamina and fitted white T-Shirt only added to his newfound charisma. Even a biased media that used to regale their audience by taking cheap potshots at Rahul Gandhi stopped calling him Pappu. Images of the man with just a T-Shirt under biting cold did not give them a chance to mock him.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/RG_in_parli_768x418_1_e23bedfe40.jpg" alt="RG-in-parli-768x418 (1).jpg"> Rahul Gandhi speaking inside Lok SabhaThreatened by Rahul Gandhi’s growing street cred [acceptance by the general public], the BJP tried to put him down by other means. The Delhi police reached his house to question him about his statement in Kashmir during the yatra about women “still being sexually assaulted” in that region. They apparently wanted to know the names and identities of the affected women so that they could take appropriate steps for their safety. Coming 45 days after the yatra ended, Congress leaders termed the police action as unprecedented, and said it was sheer harassment. Even leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, a direct political rival of the Congress in Delhi, had to concede that misusing probe agencies against Rahul Gandhi was wrong.Next came the conviction of Rahul Gandhi by the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Surat and his subsequent disqualification as a Lok Sabha member from Kerala’s Wayanad. The conviction is largely seen as one obtained under mysterious circumstances and the kind of sentence he has been given is perceived as peculiar. This has had an unintended impact as far as the BJP is concerned — that of uniting Opposition parties. In the direct aftermath of this, 14 political parties approached the Supreme Court with a petition alleging that agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were targeting only opponents of the BJP. Judges led by the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud took note of the submission of senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and listed the case for April 5. In Feburuary, the Chief Justice had described the basic structure of the Constitution, laid down by the Supreme Court in the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment, as the North Star that guided and given direction to the implementers of the Constitution when the way ahead was convoluted. This is being held by the detractors of the current regime as a metaphor for the current times and the kindling of a hope that the Supreme Court will act as a North Star when the time comes.The parties which filed the case in the Supreme Court include the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Janata Dal-United, Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), the National Conference, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Left parties and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Each of these parties has had to face the wrath of the BJP in one way or the other. The fact that Arvind Kejriwal joined the Opposition ranks is significant as his former deputy Manish Sisodia was the latest victim in a growing list of Opposition leaders being intimidated, raided or harassed by central agencies.Stalin backs RahulLast week, in a closed door meeting at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai, party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin declared that he would stand up for Rahul Gandhi and invited the views of senior party leaders on his decision. According to a DMK insider, an overwhelming majority of the leaders vehemently supported his stand. Stalin warned them that if they take this position, they might have to face retaliatory action from the BJP and its government at the Centre _ fund cuts to the State, the ED and CBI raids against party leaders, and so on. But according to the senior DMK representative, the party leaders were firm that they would stand up and fight unmindful of the BJP’s aggressive response. This meeting reflects the determination that is spurring many Opposition parties to join ranks and stand together. There is a recognition that it is no longer a fight for electoral gains but one for saving India’s democracy.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/rg_stalin_768x384_c02d314cc9.jpeg" alt="rg-stalin-768x384.jpeg"> Rahul Gandhi with MK StalinDemocracy and political survival at stakeThere is also an all-round admission that the Surat judgment was biased and unfair. Political leaders have begun to feel that if this could happen to a leaders like Rahul, then anything can happen to anybody. Responses expressing solidarity with Rahul Gandhi have created a newfound camaraderie even amongst rivals at the regional level as there is a serious apprehension about the survival of the non-BJP political class. The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi is seen by the Opposition leadrs as a sign of the crisis of democracy. It is still unclear what will happen to Rahul’s appeal against the Surat judgment and whether he will be able to context election. But these have taken the back seat because of the fact that he has emerged as a big political force around whom various political parties are rallying.A weak caseAs far as the case is concerned, even lawyers who are not strong supporters of the Congress or Rahul Gandhi have raises eyebrows. Whether the petitioner in the Surat case, Gujarat BJP MLA and former Minister Purnesh Modi, satisfies the conditions of being the aggrieved person in the defamation case is not clear. His petition argued that Rahul’s statement on Modis was an act of defamation against the Other Backward Community. Purnesh Modi is neither an OBC nor was he the intended target of the remarks made by Rahul Gandhi during an election rally in Karnataka in 2019 wondering why all thieves have the surname Modi, “Why do all these thieves have Modi in their names? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. And if we search a bit more, perhaps many more such Modis will come out,” he had said.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/rahul_1_24b2cae3ed.jpg" alt="rahul (1).jpg">In a significant move, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD held meetings in Uttar Pradesh denouncing this charge. RJD leaders pointed out that it was preposterous to consider Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi as members of the OBC community.What has baffled the legal community is the fact that the petitioner himself had asked for a stay on the proceedings in March 2022. Some lawyers have pointed out that the case picked up momentuu only after Rahul started talking about a possible nexus between Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani in Parliament. Whatever the case may be, all these twists and turns are working to the advantage of Rahul and the Opposition. Rarely has a court order brought so much joy in the Opposition camp. It has also thrown the Adani issue into a fresh perspective. No matter how much the government wishes to move past the issue, the Adani scam has become a mainstream issue. Once Hindenburg Research broke the story around Adani, different media outlets have published stories that show Adani in a poor light. For instance, the latest story on the exposure of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s exposure to the Adani group shows that the Adani scam goes way beyond the stock market and affects the common man.The Adani scam has also put Indian corporate and political activities on the global scanner. International media is keeping a watchful eye on the goings on in India. Foreign perception may or may not play a role in domestic affairs but there is no denying that foreign media have begun to join the dots. Columnists working in big papers, including the New York Times, have been making connections between Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and his criticism of Narendra Modi. His disqualification from Parliament is being seen as a direct result of his warning abroad about India’s democracy being under threat.The BJP is in a bind. The only way it can wriggle out of it is by giving up the fight against the Congress. But it is too late now for any rethink. Any move to arrest Rahul is likely to lead to a mood of popular resistance reminiscent of the Emergency times. Nationalit arguments equating Adani with India are wearing thin. The narrative around this issue has reached a point of no return. Whether the momentum continues until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections remains to be seen. But there is no denying that the BJP is strengthening its main adversary at this point in time.<strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">YouTube</a><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">WhatsApp</a>

ggg.jpg

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s blunders over the past week have set in motion a political churn that is pregnant with possibilities.

Rahul Disqualification : The blowback Puts BJP in a Bind and Galvanises the Opposition

The Indian National Congress has made a significant shift in its ideology by amending its constitution seeking to provide 50 percent reservation for weaker sections. This marks a departure from its past as, historically, it did not support the cause of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and instead relied on its vote base of advanced castes, Dalits, and the minorities. The change in political dynamics over the years, and the consequent erosion of its traditional vote bank, has led to this shift. The Congress adopting the traditional Dravidian principles such as federalism, opposition to imposition of Hindi, and reservation for OBCs, is a strategic move to align with marginalised communities, particularly those in the north. It is an attempt to rebuild its political base, and connect with the aspirations of OBCs who have largely voted for regional parties. However, this shift is not without its challenges, as the Congress’s history of neglecting the demands of OBCs can undermine its credibility. Therefore, the party needs to demonstrate its commitment to these principles through continued emphasis and concrete actions.Social Justice: At its 85th plenary session in Raipur on February 26, the Congress made an important change in its constitution. It has guaranteed 50% reservation for SC-STs, OBCs, minorities, and women in the Congress Working Committee (CWC). It has also promised a dedicated Ministry for the empowerment of OBCs and reservation in the appointments of Judges in the higher judiciary. This is a significant shift from the party’s historical stance on social justice. Back in November 21, 1925, Periyar E. V. Ramasamy protested against the Congress’s refusal to accept his resolution for reserving posts in the party and legislature for non-Brahmins, and ultimately left the party along with 50 supporters. He had been advocating proportionate representation in Congress posts since he joined the party in 1919, but his efforts to convince the leadership were unsuccessful. Subsequently, he launched the Self-Respect Movement, which had a transformative impact on the socio-political history of Tamil Nadu. However, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit leader with the full support of the Gandhis, the Congress has now passed this resolution.Previously, the Congress believed that its vote base was made up of advanced castes, Dalits, and the minorities and, as a consequence, did not support the cause of the OBCs. However, owing to changing political dynamics and the erosion of support from these groups, adopting traditional Dravidian principles – such as providing reservation for OBCs – has become inevitable for the Congress.State Autonomy and Federalism: On February 2, 2022 Rahul Gandhi delivered a 45-minute speech in the Lok Sabha, emphasising the importance of federalism and the States’ rights, a key Dravidian principle. He criticised the BJP government’s policy of centralising powers, stating that the diversity of India cannot be suppressed and that the country cannot be ruled from the Centre. Similarly, in 1962, CN Annadurai, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s founding leader and its first Chief Minister, gave a famous speech in the Lok Sabha advocating State autonomy and federalism. He also criticised the concentration of power in New Delhi and the interference of the Union government in States’ affairs. He argued for according more control to the States over their resources and development, and recognising the linguistic and cultural differences among the States. His speech was well-received by many members of Parliament. M. Karunanidhi, who succeeded Annadurai as Chief Minister, went on to establish the first state-level commission under the chairmanship of P. V. Rajamnnar in 1969 to study Union-State relations. Later, in 1974, he forwarded its recommendation, along with an Assembly resolution (1974) demanding State autonomy, to the Union Government requesting it “to effect immediate changes in the Constitution of India” in order “to establish a truly federal setup with full State autonomy”.Opposition to Hindi: The Congress’ outlook on the language policy has also undergone a shift, particularly in the context of the BJP’s emphasis on Hindi. During a speech at a Bharat Jodo Yatra rally in Rajasthan’s Alwar, Rahul Gandhi said: “If you want to speak to people of the rest of the world, Hindi will not work, English will.” He criticised the BJP for preventing poor children from learning English (by insisting on Hindi). He accused BJP leaders of speaking out against English and and its teaching in schools, despite their own children attending English medium schools. Gandhi acknowledged the importance of mother tongue, including Hindi, but argued that in order to communicate with the rest of the world, English was necessary.This shift proves that Periyar’s legacy lives on, as he was instrumental in launching a series of protests opposing compulsory Hindi in schools. C. Rajagopalachari issued an order on April 1, 1938, making Hindi compulsory in schools, during his tenure as the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency. Protesting against this policy, Periyar raised the slogan “Tamil Nadu for Tamils” and was eventually jailed for two years. At the height of the anti-Hindi agitation thousands of people were jailed. Tragically, the agitators Thalamuthu and Natarajan were seriously injured in the police lathicharge and later died in jail owing to the harsh conditions inside. Rajaji, following the Congress’ decision to resign from the government as a mark of protest against the British government’s move to enter the Second World War in 1939. Ultimately, the government’s decision was withdrawn by Governor Erskine in February 1940.Periyar opposed the imposition of Hindi for the same reason articulated by Rahul Gandhi in Alwar now. Periyar opposed Hindi as a medium of education and preferred English over that language. He believed that Hindi would not only stifle the progress and progressive ideas of Tamils, but also destroy their culture. Other Dravidian leaders such as Annadurai and Karunanidhi too fought against the Congress for trying to impose Hindi again, post-1947.Today, M. K. Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the president of the DMK, continues to fight for all these causes. The difference is that the fight now is against the BJP. Dravidianism, which emerged from the south, has gained so much relevance at the national level that it has become an ideological tool in the fight against the BJP in the north.Strategic Shift towards Dravidian Ideas: The Congress’ present shift is a strategic move aimed at aligning with marginalised communities, particularly the OBCs in the north. The party’s political base has been diminishing over time, and this is an effort to rebuild it. Sanjay Kumar’s (2013) study shows that, regardless of the BJP’s performance, it remains the preferred choice among Brahmins and other upper castes. In five consecutive Lok Sabha elections (since 1996), these groups heavily favouored the BJP, with the Congress trailing as a close second in winning over the upper caste voters. This trend continued in the 2014 and 2019 elections, resulting in a complete erosion of the Congress’ upper caste base.The Congress’ move comes in the context of the growing discontent among these communities and the BJP’s efforts to appropriate B.R. Ambedkar and thus win Dalit votes. Although the BJP has been successful in gaining the support of the upper castes, in the post-Mandal period OBCs have effected a ‘silent revolution’ by voting largely for regional parties. Therefore, the Congress has nothing to lose by supporting the policy of reservation for OBCs and adopting the social justice theme that would connect with the OBC vote bank, which is the largest social segment in India.Credibility Gap: However, it may not be easy for the Congress to reap the gains of its approach. Historically, the party has neglected the demands of OBCs due to the over-representation of the upper castes among its leaders. During the Constituent Assembly proceedings, the Congress avoided defining the OBCs, and its social policies led to numerous court verdicts against reservation for this segment in independent India. It took three years for the Congress government to establish the First Backward Classes Commission (with Kaka Kalelkar as Chairman) as mandated by Article 340. However, the Congress subsequently rejected the Commission’s recommendations on the grounds that caste-based reservation would disrupt India’s unity. It further argued that economic justice to be ushered in through planning would also take care of social justice. Despite demands for another commission to study the issue, the Congress refused to establish one.The Second Commission led by B.P. Mandal, known as the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission, was eventually established by the Janata Party Government. However, on returning to power, the Congress shelved the Commission’s report for another decade until the entry of V. P. Singh. When the V. P. Singh government, another non-Congress coalition government supported by regional parties such as DMK, the Telugu Desam Party, and the Asom Gana announced the implementation of the Mandal recommendations, the Congress joined forces with the BJP to topple the government. Such past actions have undermined its credibility vis-à-vis the policy of social justice.In a way, the upper caste resistance to OBC reservation with the support of Congress and BJP, facilitated the mobilisation of OBCs in the north during the post-Mandal era. This led to the erosion of the Congress’s vote base and the emergence of more regional parties in the north.It is in this context that the Congress may have to demonstrate its commitment to social justice through concrete actions and policies that benefit OBCs. Only by doing so can the party regain the trust and support of this crucial voting bloc.The Congress’ emphasis on federalism, the State’s rights, and the importance of the English language against the BJP’s insistence on Hindi will go a long way in defending India’s democratic and federal values. By opposing the BJP’s centralising policies and emphasising India’s diversity, the Congress is trying to uphold federalism, one of the basic structures of the Constitution. Moreover, the Congress’ support for English education can be viewed as a progressive stance towards empowering the marginalised communities and recognizing the importance of regional languages as a counter to the BJP’s cry of one nation-one language.The elevation of Dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the party president indicates the party’s shift towards giving due representation to and empowering marginalised communities within the organisation. Nonetheless, Congress needs to demonstrate its commitment to this new direction before the general election of 2024 to regain the trust and support of the marginalised communities and challenge the BJP’s agenda.References:<ol><li>Kumar, Sanjay (2013), “Shift Towards Regionalisation of Indian Politics” in Sudha Pai (ed.)</li><li>Handbook of Politics in Indian States, Oxford University Press, New Delhi</li></ol><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">YouTube</a><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"> &amp; <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">WhatsApp</a>

Congress-Change.jpg

The Indian National Congress has made a significant shift in its ideology by amending its constitution seeking to provide 50 percent reservation for weaker sections. This marks a departure from its past as, historically, it did not support the cause of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and instead relied on its vote base of advanced castes, Dalits, and the minorities.

The Congress’ Dravidian turn: Course correction to take on BJP

The Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) marks a new beginning in the contemporary history of the Indian National Congress (INC), says KC Venugopal the party’s General Secretary (in charge of Organisational Matters). He said this in an interview with Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, The Managing Editor of The AIDEM as the BJY reached the national capital of New Delhi and was preparing for the onward journey to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir in the first week of January 2023. The following is the English translation of the&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"> <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/kc-venugopal-interview-bharat-jodo-yatra-birth-of-new-age-for-congress/">interview</a> conducted in Malayalam.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:Welcome to The AIDEM Interactions.The Bharat Jodo Yatra is certainly perceived as a remarkable initiative in contemporary Indian politics both by political observers and activists.Today in The AIDEM interactions, we have K C Venugopal who is one of the chief organizers of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi, former national President of the INC. He has an important role in the Yatra as the General Secretary in charge of organisational affairs in the party.Question: Venugopal, 107 days 2800 km, you have been in this prolonged Yatra with Rahul Gandhi and now it has reached the capital city. How would you sum up this 107 day’s Yatra experience, in terms of its progress and impact?K.C. VENUGOPAL:This Yatra is an unforgettable experience for us. When we were planning it, we never expected this Yatra to have this much impact or popularity and we took it as a challenge. None has carried out a Yatra (on foot) from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, so we knew the challenges, but still we decided and started. But today at this point we can say it has had a great reaction and that people have accepted it and taken it to their heart going beyond divisions of caste, religion, political or region. Indeed, this is a great achievement.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:Of course. we are noticing the responses of the people, even from unexpected quarters. Also, from a demographical point of view the positive response has been from people of all categories and age. But can \you tell me which category was more attracted o this Yatra as compared to other sections?K.C. VENUGOPAL:Youth. To be frank, Congress was lately concerned about the diminishing presence and participation of youths. But the Yatra has taken away these apprehensions. For example, even in places like Madhya Pradesh, 80% of people participating in the Yatra was below 30 years. Women were also participating in huge numbers. Indeed, it is normal for people to come and witness a Yatra in a casual manner, driven by a sense of curiosity, but this time it is not like that. There is tremendous sense of involvement from all sections of the population.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:But there is also the view among many political observers based in Delhi, that despite the BJY being an important programme for the Congress and in a long time, there is also dichotomy, or a contradiction, inherent in the way it has advanced. On the one side, it has helped the Congress develop some sort of a national narrative for the first time after 2013 and in the process the party and Rahul Gandhi have been able to develop some specific binaries like, the huge burden unemployment one side as opposed to economic policies that help multinational corporations and crony capitalists. The Yatra has also brought up a contradiction between the values represented by Mahatma Gandhi and Savarkar, as also the contradictions between religious fanaticism and secularism. But, in spite of all this, there is the big question whether the Yatra will result in a concrete electoral outcome for the Congress ….K.C. VENUGOPAL:The transformation of this response into Electoral outcomes is something thar we should wait and watch for, but the positive factor is that, through this Yatra we were able to consolidate a host of communities, which had left the party in the recent past and bring them back to the Congress. More importantly, the Yatra has had an electrifying impact on our workers, the rank and file, who were disappointed with the election results in recent times.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:Yes, it is a fact that the Congress has consistently garnered a minimum of 20% vote share on an average in all national elections. But looking back to the period from the beginning of the 1990s we can see also that many from your core support base such as the OBC communities have left the party despite your victories in the national elections of 2004 and 2009…K C. VENUGOPAL:This Yatra is turning out be a big step in retrieving some of the eroded categories. Certainly not all, but some important communities….VENKITESH RAMAKRISHANAN:KC, I have observed that even you said in a recent byte that your vote share will be significantly increasing but, you have not mentioned about the seat share….K.C. VENUGOPAL:Talking about seat share, it will not be based only on this Yatra but also on its follow up. We are planning to conduct another campaign soon, ‘Haat Se Haat Jodo’ (join hands across the country). This will be yet another grassroots campaign, approaching every house in India. Many other follow up programmes have been planned but they are in the process of being finalised. So, if we continue with these campaigns, there will definitely be a change in terms of seats.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:Does Congress have what it takes organisationally to carry out such continuous campaigns? To conduct this Yatra, the Congress did amass huge resources and enhanced itself organizationally but the doubt remains whether the Congress can continue campaigns in a regular, systematic manner?K.C. VENUGOPAL:We have a great leader like Rahul Gandhi, who has made a lot of sacrifice, it is not simple to cover so many kilometres waking up at 5 o clock day after day. It has awakened our workers and leaders. It was indeed a challenge to wake up and start the Yatra at 5 o clock in the morning, but still so many people took part in huge numbers. This has not happened in the recent history of the Congress. See, we are not a cadre party but still we made it possible. It has strengthened our level of confidence. In places like Assam, where we never had done a padayatra the party leadership and workers have covered 850 kilometres. Jharkhand and West Bengal have also planned on their own padayatras.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:But in Uttar Pradesh a small geographical territory covered by the Yatra ….K.C. VENUGOPAL:We have specific plans regarding Uttar Pradesh. For covering the entire state like you said even 100 days will not be enough. We are facing criticism for not including Uttar Pradesh in a big way in the Yatra but actually we could not have conceived such an all-encompassing route. So, a route had to be fixed keeping practical considerations in mind. That is what you are witnessing now.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:There is also another dichotomy. Throughout this Yatra Rahul Gandhi has portrayed or projected himself as somebody not interested in power. He even went to the extent of saying that ‘power is poison’. But as leaders and workers of the party you are all aiming at power. But at the same time Rahul Gandhi makes such grandiose views harping on sacrifice. But, should not all politicians target power ….K.C. VENUGOPAL:Now, there is no relevant environment for this question. The simple fact is that he is not a leader who is craving for position or power. In contemporary politics, a majority of people aim for a political power and I am not saying that is a bad thing but Rahul Gandhi himself has a certain perspective, that does not mean he is into asceticism. I know for a fact that he is interested in promoting new faces to come to power. Finally, such matters are decided by party. The new Congress president (Mallikarjuna Kharge) has stated publicly that the next general elections would be fought under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. This was stated in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. So, be rest assured Rahul Gandhi is not going to take political sanyas. There is little doubt that the country needs a regime change. If the current Modi led regime is allowed to continue the whole country will be destroyed. That is the clear vision that the Congress party has.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:In Maharashtra, the former ruling coalition the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi came as joint entity to support the Yatra but in places like Telangana, Rahul Gandhi was seen criticizing the Telangana the Rashtra Samithi and its Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. You have also invited Samajwadi Party Leader Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Chaudhary leader of Rastriya Lok Dal to join the Yatra in Uttar Pradesh. So there seems to be a kind of partisan and selective choices in your approach in bringing e opposition leaders together….K.C. VENUGOPAL:It is not selective and it is meaningless to call it selective. The other day Rahul Gandhi himself have sent invitation letters to all opposition MPs including those from Trinamool Congress, BSP, SP, TRS and even Aam Aadmi party. So, the motive is to bring together everyone who agrees fight against the BJP on the basis of principles. The message we are trying to give is to take away the hatred in politics and to fight against the ruling government. In Telangana, the context of Rahulji’s speech should be understood, he was opposing Chandra Shekhar Rao of TRS for his support to the BJP, including in the case of the three controversial farm bills. We are dutybound to expose this. But beyond all this our aim to bring together the parties that stand against the current regime.VENKITESH RAMASKRISHNAN:So, basically the Bharat Jodo Yatra is focusing on an ideological thrust ….K.C. VENUGOPAL:Yes. we have to wait and see what effect it will have, as we have said before the Bharat Jodo Yatra is not designed for electoral gains but for raising our country’s major problems like unemployment among youth, economic distress. sectarian politics and so on. During this Yatra Rahul Gandhi is constantly interacting with common people, especially the youth. Rahul Gandhi is not only walking but also calling out to hundreds of people and talking and listening to their problems. It is after these widespread interactions you see the concluding speech at a venue. The other day in Delhi, during the Yatra, one youth came running and said that, I am mentally disturbed, and when he was asked the reason for it, he said “I don’t have any job, I am not able to live and I cannot find stability of mind. “We called and arranged a doctor for him. I am relating just one case, but there are so many other significant interactions with common people that came up during the Yatra. We are getting very important inputs on the problems that this country is facing let it be Unemployment, rising prices, divisive politics or the communal atmosphere.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:But the domestic problems inside Congress are not yet sorted. Even the Bharat Jodo Yatra is of no help here. For example, look at the Rajasthan situation ….K.C. VENUGOPAL:As a democratic movement that imbibes different sections, the Congress will definitely witness difference of opinion but that is nothing new for the party. In fact, it is natural in a democratic party. But the enthusiasm that the Yatra has inspired is unmistakable. I saw during the Yatra that every leader, even an 85-year-old Sushil Kumar Shinde walked for 3 hours even though he was not well. Shivar Patil is close to 90 years old too did the same. Every leader from top to bottom have participated keeping aside the differences they have. In other words, what we saw was a collective of people working together for a common cause following a leader. But at the same time, I also feel a sort of distress that some other people, who were giving us advice and telling us privately that this nation needs to be changed with a movement like the Yatra but were not brave enough to participate in this Yatra. Even in Kerala there were some people who said they would like to participate but did not. You understand what I am telling, right?”.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:But there was also the phenomenon of many well-known figures such as Raghuram Rajan, Kamal Haasan and T.M. Krishna crossing all social, political and cultural factors and joining the Yatra. When Raghuram Rajan came, the BJP’s reaction against him was that he was having dreams of becoming the Manmohan Singh of Rahul Gandhi …K.C. VENUGOPAL:This is the what the BJP is all about. They cannot see the positive side of anything. They believe in the politics of terrorising and blackmailing. Raghuram Rajan is a person who reacts on issues. But instead of going into the merit of his arguments they criticize the man. However, Raghuram Rajan has the capability to handle such criticism. But what I found in Kerala was that there were many who did not know how to withstand criticism as Raghuram Rajan could do. I never expected such people to be there in Kerala, which as a State is strong and resolute in its fight against communalism.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:The Congress witnessed a democratic election for the post of party President even as the Yatra was shaping up, and Shashi Tharoor was a significant personality who made such a democratic exercise meaningful. But after the elections, what we see is a repetition of the age-old coterie culture in Congress. Tharoor has been side-lined to such an extent …K.C. VENUGOPAL:Venkitesh, you are significant journalist who has played bold and brave role in mainstream media in India, and in this era, it is difficult to find such journalists. But while asking this question, you too seem to have been taken in by the present convoluted narration in the media, which is focusing on how to weaken the Congress. When I came into politics as a student what I learned was, the duty of fourth estate was to strengthen the opposition and to expose the weakness of the ruling party and its government. It is for helping the people. But as we all know the contemporary national media takes up no discussions questioning the governments’ weakness or the real concerns of the people. With regard to the question you asked, let me clarify that once the Congress President election takes place, the current national level body is continued without any change, unless the new President formally initiates the process to select a high-level committee. That will happen in February last week at a special plenary session to be held in Raipur (in Chhattisgarh). It is at the plenary that a new working committee will be formed and after that a new team will come. Then only we will be able to decide who all will be incorporated in the top bodies. Let me assure you, nobody is excluded from this exercise at the plenary. Congress is not a party like that, nobody will be punished or politically beheaded for sharing their opinion or participating in the election. As you know, there are many other parties like that.VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN:Thank you very much KC for this interaction. We will continue to have our dialogue in the future too on many issues.K.C. VENUGOPAL: Thank you and all the best.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Excerpts of the Interview Translated and Transcribed by Alida Shahid. <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/kc-venugopal-interview-bharat-jodo-yatra-birth-of-new-age-for-congress/">Watch full interview in Malayalam, here.</a>

KC-Venugopal-FTR-1.jpg

The Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) marks a new beginning in the contemporary history of the Indian National Congress (INC), says KC Venugopal the party’s General Secretary (in charge of Organisational Matters). He said this in an interview with Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, The Managing Editor of The AIDEM as the BJY reached the national capital of New Delhi and was preparing for the onward journey to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir in the first week of January 2023. The following is the English translation of the interview conducted in Malayalam. 

“Bharat Jodo Yatra marks a new era for Congress in Politics”

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">There is a new fighting spirit in Indian democratic space with the July 18 meeting of Opposition Parties in Bengaluru. The new alliance of Opposition parties, with the acronym INDIA, is bringing back the inclusivity angle to the country’s political debate. On the other side, the ruling BJP is showing signs of agitation by reviving the NDA, even going to the extent of roping in minuscule parties from the North East.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Does this mark a decisive shift from the Modi-centric campaign that has characterised the BJP’s electoral exercises so far?<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The AIDEM discusses these crucial developments in the early run-up to the 2024 General Elections with senior political analysts of the country, Sharath Pradhan, Joy Santhosh Koshi and Venkitesh Ramakrishnan. Interaction anchored by senior journalist Anand Haridas.

FTR-3-2-e1691832186515.jpg

There is a new fighting spirit in Indian democratic space with the July 18 meeting of Opposition Parties in Bengaluru. 

The July 18 Message for Indian Democracy and 2024

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The Karnataka election campaign is culminating in a communal row about the ‘Bajrang Dal’ controversy. BJP hopes to sway the voters towards it by an all out attack on Congress in this issue as Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself asked the voters to chant ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ when they vote. The question is, will this demolish the edge that Congress was found to have in the pre-poll surveys.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Watch this story in <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/ml-karnataka-elections-round-up-story/">Malayalam</a>, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/hi-karnataka-elections-round-up-story/">Hindi</a>.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The AIDEM presents the opinion of common people about the impending elections to the Karnataka state assembly:&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/tag/karnataka-janathayonthike/">Karnataka Janathayonthike</a>.

FTR-2.jpg

The Karnataka election campaign is culminating in a communal row about the ‘Bajrang Dal’ controversy. 

Price Rise v/s Bajrang Bali – The Battle for Karnataka

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Through “Karnataka Janathayonthike” (With the People of Karnataka), The AIDEM presents the opinion of common people about the impending elections to the Karnataka state assembly. In this programme, two Mysoreans- academic and social activist, Pamela Sanath Nikam and business development professional Manjunatha G.M., discuss how the social and political atmosphere is developing in the run-up to the polls in the state as a whole, but also with a special reference to the Mysore region.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The AIDEM presents the opinion of common people about the impending elections to the Karnataka state assembly:&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/tag/karnataka-janathayonthike/">Karnataka Janathayonthike</a>.

FTR-1-4.jpg

Through “Karnataka Janathayonthike” (With the People of Karnataka), The AIDEM presents the opinion of common people about the impending elections to the Karnataka state assembly.

Corruption & Bad Governance are the Main Issues

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">As Tripura votes on Thursday in the elections to the 60-member Assembly, political observers have more or less unanimously termed it as an even contest between the ruling BJP and the principal opposition combine consisting of&nbsp;the Left parties and the Congress. The presence of&nbsp;‘Tipra Motha’ led by Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Tripura, has added an interesting third dimension. His dramatic speech on the last day of the campaign branding conventional politics as dirty and promising new paths after the elections has added to the intrigue quotient of the current round of elections. This AIDEM Special Discussion with a panel of senior journalists looks at these factors. Participants: Suvojit Bagchi in Agartala and Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor, The AIDEM. Anchored by senior journalist Anand Kochukudy.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a> &amp; <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a>

FTR-2-1.jpg

As Tripura votes on Thursday in the elections to the 60-member Assembly, political observers have more or less unanimously termed it as an even contest between the ruling BJP and the principal opposition combine consisting of the Left parties and the Congress. 

Focus on Tripura as the State gets ready to Vote

Malayalam (ml)

Tamil (ta)

English (en)

Hindi (hi)

Telugu (te)

Kannada (kn)

THE-AIDEM-FTR-1-770x470.png

Dancing To Her Tune

IMG-20241226-WA0030-770x470.jpg

An Unwritten National Autobiography

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_6258d15665.jpeg" alt="images-1.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">People who read literature in India knew him, MT Vasudevan Nair. Language was no hurdle for his works to reach out beyond the state borders of Kerala. While Malayali diaspora took a handful of nostalgia along to the places they went, a little bit of MT was also in that.Today, the big business of literature finds translators to translate anything that moves. All tetrapods of literature are given awards that stink of corporate imperialistic nexus. But MT belonged to a different era when blood recognised blood, genius recognised genius. He got translated not once but several times.Basheer, Takazhi and MT were the triumvirate that could transcend the borders and stand tall among the Indian modernist literature. Yes, MT’s literature also had a fair amount of auto-fiction but he hoodwinked it with the magic of text. He was a persuasive minimalist both in writing and in person.An unsmiling MT could generate generations of readers who could smile through tears. MT wrote about a collapsing social structure that divested the old feudal class with their ill-gotten properties. But their social capital remained intact and could exert a lot of influence among the readers by becoming the surrogate emotional ethos of a transition time of Kerala’s socio-political history.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1196px;" id="attachment_31084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg" alt="mt-1024x575.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31084">MT during his Interview with Sabha TV (Watch <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NttnjeaVqn0">Here</a>)</figcaption></figure>When society evolved into a different being altogether, MT turned to the treasure trove of myths and itihasas to eke out allegories that explained the pain of loss, of class, roots and love. His literature spat on the face of bigotry, whether it was religious or familial. He was so stoically poised in his literature that none could have challenged him and expelled him from the world of literature.MT’s literature spoke of love and separation as vehemently as he wrote about the changing social complexions. But he was not sentimental. There was something in his writing that touched some chord in every reader. Before initiating themselves into Ambedkarite politics, the Dalit ideologues also, in their torturous nights of youth, pined for MT’s characters.Those who call the modernists, Dad Vibes, have really lost the sight of the forest while focusing on shrubs and thicket. MT was a forest that moved, as in the great tragedies. He remained a serious writer while the post modernists fell in the trap of publishers and wrote lightning stories and became laughing stokes.MT remains, so is the MT critique. That’s the beauty of a great writer’s life and of course, death.</div></div>

images-1.jpeg

MT: A Forest that Moved

dr-2-770x470.jpg

An ‘Overture’ Stringing The Pope, Yesudas and the ‘Songster Chaplain’

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/1_cc9df0fe47.png" alt="വലതുപക്ഷവുമായുള്ള-സംവാദത്തിൻ്റെ-വ്യർത്ഥത-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_1_cc9df0fe47.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_1_cc9df0fe47.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">When old age shall this generation waste,Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woeThan ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.” (John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn)<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/6_904b2e9f2a.jpg" alt="6.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 147w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 470w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Siddharth Tagore, Founder Director of Delhi’s <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/artkonsultindia/photos">Art Konsult</a> Gallery is no more. He cannot be contained in such a cold statement, so matter of fact like death itself. Besides the gallery, he founded magazines such as Art and Deal, Travel and Deal and many other publications. Even when he knew that he wouldn’t make any profit out of the publications, he invested money in them because he knew art wouldn’t survive without the literature surrounding it.&nbsp;Yet another venture of Tagore’s was an auction house, namely Art Bull. The name was perfect for a bullish art market of the 2000s. But the glitch was this: Siddharth Tagore was not bullish. Nor was he bearish. He was cherubic, complete with a benign smile on his face and a burning cigarette between his fingers. Whenever I came out after having a meeting with him, I would ask myself, was he cut for this business?&nbsp;Tagore could have been a poet and dreamer like his internationally renowned namesake of yesteryears.. After the pandemic period I met Tagore after a gap of four years at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre where Art Konsult had organized a group exhibition. After the inaugural function, I shook hands with him and I realized that his hands had lost the firm grip though the warmth remained. “I have not been keeping well,” he told me.&nbsp;<div class="gallery galleryid-31051 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:30px -8.96875px 0px;padding:0px;" id="gallery-1"><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg" alt="c-768x993.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 387w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 580w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg" alt="b-768x985.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 122w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 390w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 585w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/a_7888f94e4b.jpg" alt="a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 385w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 577w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure></div>Then on another occasion, at the same gallery, I met him again, this time without the crowd. He preferred to wear a pair of fading blue jeans and white shirt, a reminder of those romantic 1970s when every youth in West Bengal dreamt of poetry, love and revolution. Jeans and Shirt were the uniform of love and revolution. I think, when Tagore came to Delhi as a young man, he carried those qualities along, plus his sense of dressing. Lovers in those days smoked rather constantly and drank Old Monk Rum.&nbsp;On that day when I met him, Tagore told me that he had quit smoking, which was news to me. I couldn’t have imagined the man without a cigarette between his fingers or at least a packet of cigarettes to fuss with. I understood the gravity of the situation.&nbsp;Then again, we met when Praveen Upadhyay of the Progressive Gallery at Laddo Sarai organized a talk session with art professionals that included Tagore, Prayag Shukla, Vinod Bharadwaj and myself. Tagore was supposed to talk about the art market. When the mike was handed over to him, he fussed with it for a while and said that he always wanted to make it big by promoting young artists, but somehow, he never made huge business.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:689px;" id="attachment_31054" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31054"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg" alt="7-768x511.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 235w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31054">Siddharth speaking to the media at Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>Then I remembered Tagore telling the same during the market boom years that lasted in India for around ten years starting from 2005 to 2015. In 2008, the world market had collapsed, but the Indian art market using its cunning and reserve withstood the pressures and dragged the impending failure for a few more years only to revive itself by the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium.&nbsp;Had Tagore acquired a penchant for failure despite his resilience in running a gallery, publications and an auction house for over three and a half decades ? Did he enjoy calling himself a failure in the art market? Was he romantically involved with the idea of failure even when he kept others who were with him in the business, floating? I don’t know for sure. But Tagore remained grounded and rooted; he tried his best to keep himself away from the nefarious market practices.&nbsp;There were a few people who stood with Tagore in his highs and lows (lows that lasted for not some months but for years together), never deserting him, following his orders. Prashant Seal and Rajula Bisht are two people I remember. These two people have been so close to his heart and even after his twin daughters joining him in the business, both Seal and Bisht never lost their position as the confidantes of Tagore. He loved them like family.&nbsp;I met Siddharth Tagore in 1995. He had started Art Konsult in Hauz Khas Village. Meena Tagore (now Meena Varma) was with him then. Late Vijayan Kannanpally was the editor of Art and Deal. With the growth of art scene, Tagore’s gallery also grew in stature. Art Konsult was one of the few A listed galleries in the city. Tagore took it to South Delhi’s art district, Laddo Sarai during the boom years and later relocated it to Hauz Khas again.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:562px;" id="attachment_31055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg" alt="0-768x512.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31055">Siddharth Tagore with art critic and curator Jyoti A Kathpalia at the Art Konsult, New Delhi</figcaption></figure>It was in his Laddo Sarai phase that I joined him as the Editor of Art and Deal. It was the same when he decided to start Art Bull and Travel and Deal. I brought out around ten issues of Art and Deal between 2010 and 2013, with a gap in 2012 when I joined the United Art Logistics to establish the United Art Fair. Tagore literally lent me to the other organization with a promise that I could walk into the editor’s office at any time that I wanted. And I did go back.&nbsp;As a part of Tagore’s team, he gave me full freedom to edit the magazine and curate exhibitions. I curated a few shows and introduced a few new artists of which some are very reckonable names in today’s art scene. The exhibition ‘Merging/Submerging’ was a showcasing of contemporary photography art and ‘R.A.P.E’ (Rare Acts of Political Engagement), an all-woman show responding to the brutal murder of Nirbhaya in Delhi. This exhibition was a super hit and was discussed in all the print and television media. Art Bull did do a couple of exhibitions and auctions. I did not take much interest in it though Tagore hoped that his auction house could change the scenario and also break certain monopolies. Tagore also initiated an Art History Lecture series which I conducted on his behalf.&nbsp;Siddharth Tagore remained true to his calling. With a kind of detachment, he sponsored exhibitions that he knew well, would not bring any business. He was an avid collector of folk and tribal art and together with Meena Varma, he initiated an organization called ‘Art of the Earth’ for promoting the folk and tribal art of India, much before the ‘folkploitation’ of today’s art market became rampant. Tagore helped whoever came to him with a request for an exhibition or an immediate financial relief. &nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_31053" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31053"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg" alt="3-e1734762508660-669x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 490w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 653w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31053">Siddharth Tagore signing the <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://amzn.in/d/4TijcgO">book</a> “Ganika- In the visual culture of the 19th-20th Century India” at the Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg" alt="4-560x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 85w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 273w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 410w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 547w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When artists in Calcutta packed their wares and set out for Delhi, they knew Siddharth Tagore was there if nothing else worked (perhaps he was their primary destination), along with cigarettes and Old Monk Rum. He never discouraged the people who came to him with a clear intention to exploit. He was not cautious about relationships that brought him a fair amount of heartburn. As I said elsewhere, Tagore was a poet in his heart, with a heart ready to bleed for love and art.</div></div>