Narendra Modi completes 10 years in office today

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi completes 10 years in office on Thursday. Does his government’s focus on development explain a surge in his popularity?

As Modi begins his tenth year in office on Thursday the talk is only of the state’s growth and development. CNN-IBN explains the significance of some fundamental political changes that are now becoming increasingly visible in Narendra’s Modi’s Gujarat.

“The BJP is in Gujarat and everybody is benefiting. We thought why should we be left out,” said Ayub Chauhan, voter.
Words that are being interpreted as indicative of a fundamental change in Gujarat. Chauhan is among growing numbers of Muslim voters who appear to be voting for Narendra Modi. The BJP’s first ever victory in the Kathlal assembly seat in the recently concluded bypolls being the biggest indicator with a 65 per cent Muslim voter base – the BJP had never won the seat in over 50 years. Modi believes the credit for this tectonic shift should go to development.

“The past one decade has been a decade of growth. Gujarat has scaled new heights in the past decade,” said Narendra Modi.

Modi rode to power in the communally charged 2002 assembly elections, held in the backdrop of the 2002 riots. Despite widespread condemnation, Modi repeated the victory in the 2007 elections.

Barring the Junagadh Municipal Corporation that the BJP lost, Modi’s party has been able to hold all other civic bodies in the past decade.

In the past nine years, Modi has focused on an inclusive growth and development model. But many feel Modi’s dictatorial and confrontationist approach stands against democratic values.

The Kathlal victory has trickled down changes in ticket distribution too. Modi has given tickets to as many as 51 Muslim candidates for the forthcoming civic elections across the state – the highest ever in the state’s history. One of them – BJP candidate A I Saiyed says voters know what is best.

“My honourable chief minister has assured us that peace security and development will be the only issues that will be on our agenda in this area,” assured A.I. Saiyyed, retired Additional DGP and BJP Candidate.

But not everyone is convinced that the change is down to the core. Political scientist Hemantkumar Shah says political success is insignificant unless the core values of democracy are upheld. He even questions the growth rate saying it’s lower than what it was in the 80s.

.”Hitler was also successful and so were Stalin and Indira Gandhi. But democracy concerns values and these have not been protected in Gujarat,” opined Hemantkumar Shah, political analyst.

Modi’s detractors may never forgive him for the 2002 riots, but there is enough evidence that Modi’s popularity has increased over the past decade.

India, Japan hold 2nd round of N talks ahead of PM visit

NEW DELHI: Signifying an important movement forward ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo, India and Japan today held the second round of talks for a civilian atomic cooperation pact that will pave the way for sale of advanced technology by Japanese majors. 

The latest round comes over three months after the launch of talks for civil nuclear cooperation and barely days before Singh's visit to Tokyo from October 24. 

India says to jointly make 250-300 stealth fighters

NEW DELHI: India and Russia will jointly manufacture 250-300 fifth generation fighter aircraft over 10 years, Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said on Thursday. 

Fifth-generation aircraft are invisible to radar, have advanced flight and weapons control systems and can cruise at supersonic speeds. 

The Russian plane, first test-flown by Sukhoi in January, is Moscow's answer to the U.S.-built F-22 Raptor stealth fighter -- the world's only fifth-generation fighter yet in service -- which first flew in 1997.

Pervez Musharraf confirms India’s claim against Pakistan: MEA

India on Wednesday said former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf’s admission that his country was training terrorists to fight against India in Kashmir is what it had been saying over years.

Reacting to General Musharraf’s reported statement that Pakistan trained militant underground groups to fight against India in Kashmir, the official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that “this is a widely accepted fact and General Musharraf’s assertion only confirms the veracity of what we have been repeatedly saying over the years.

Ayodhya: VHP lays claim to entire 67-acre plot

NEW DELHI: While it initially hailed the Ayodhya verdict as a Hindu victory which had paved the way for a Ram temple, the VHP has now turned around by describing the same judgment as completely uncalled for as none of the parties involved had asked for a division of the disputed land. 

Stating that the party will settle for nothing less than a grand temple, VHP leader Ashok Singhal on Tuesday told TOI that allotment of land also to Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Waqf Board was wrong and the temple could come up only on the entire 67-acre plot of land. 

"The court has allotted 3,500 square feet of land each to all the parties involved. This is not enough to accommodate even the garba griha of the grand temple which is proposed to be built at the site. We are confident that the High Court ruling will be set aside by the Supreme Court," Singhal said. 

Despite fears being expressed in public that talk about a grand temple will only vitiate the atmosphere, Singhal maintained that Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas will not settle for a lesser structure. 

After the initial euphoria over the judgment, which went on to justify the birthplace of Lord Ram as exactly the place under the central dome of the demolished Babri mosque, the VHP seems to be slowly hardening its stand again. 

Making it evident that the VHP was not on the same page as Nirmohi Akhara on the issue of proposed temple, Singhal brushed aside statements by Akhara leaders suggesting that they were ready for a respectable structure for Lord Ram instead of a "bhavya mandir". 

"There is no question of settling for anything less than a grand temple. In any case, we believe Nirmohi Akhara should not have been given any share in the disputed land. We want a temple which is similar in size and grandeur to the Akshardham temple in Delhi which is spread over 70 acres," Singhal said, adding that only the VHP-affiliated Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas could build the temple at the spot as it had that authority from Ram Lalla himself. The Nyas has announced that it will approach Supreme Court against the verdict. 

The VHP also did not sound hopeful about renewed attempts to solve the issue out of court. "The Congress is talking about an out-of-court settlement but we are not sure if all parties will agree," added Singhal.

We did train militant groups to fight against India: Musharraf

London, Oct 5 : Pakistan had trained militant groups to fight against India and 'the government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir', former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has said in a candid admission.

In an interview to Der Spiegel, Musharraf said militant groups "were indeed formed" to fight India in Kashmir.

He said: "The government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir."

To a query on whether the Pakistani security forces trained the militants, Musharraf said: "The West was ignoring the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the West - especially the United States and important countries like Germany -- to resolve the Kashmir issue. Has Germany done that?"

The 67-year-old former Pakistan army chief, who masterminded a coup in October 1999 and overthrew the Nawaz Sharif government, pointed out that whenever Pakistan was in turmoil, "everybody looks to the army. But I would suggest that the times of military coups in Pakistan are over".

On the present government in Pakistan, he said that "everybody can see what they are doing".

"Pakistan is experiencing a deep economic decline -- in other areas, as well. Law and order are in jeopardy, extremism is on the rise and there is political turmoil. The non-performance of an elected government is the issue."

On present Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the man who succeeded Musharraf, the former president said: "I made him chief of the army, because I thought that he was the best man for the job."

To a query on his political future, Musharraf said: "No risk, no gain. We unfortunately have a culture of vendetta and vindictiveness in Pakistan. But there is no case of corruption or fraud or anything against me at the moment."

"My political opponents, especially Nawaz Sharif, would love to create a case against me - that I am corrupt or have committed fraud or some such. They do their best to achieve that, but they haven't succeeded. Even if they did, I would reply in court. Risks need to be taken."

He made it clear that he wasn't leading "a hermit's life" in Britain.

"I meet people here and in Dubai and receive accurate feedback. I launched my Facebook page eight months ago and today I have more than 315,000 fans. And hundreds of Pakistanis called into a TV show in which I collected money for the flood victims. They donated $3.5 million. Do you think they are doing this because they hate me?"

He lamented that the West blamed Pakistan "for everything".

"Everybody is interested in strategic deals with India, but Pakistan is always seen as the rogue".

He strongly criticised disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan and called him a "characterless man".

On Pakistan's nuclear weapons, he said: "This capability is our pride and it will never be compromised."

To a query on whether he might meet the same fate as that of Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated on her return to Pakistan, he said: "Yes, that is a risk, but it won't stop me. I am happy here in London. I am earning good money, but Pakistan is my country."

CWC meet after Ayodhay verdict

New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Congress Working Committee on Tuesday discussed the party's strategy and future course in the aftermath of the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit case, party sources said.

The CWC, party's supreme decision making body, was meeting here for the first time after the Sept 30 verdict on the case.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are among the top leaders participating in the meet which is also expected to discuss the situation in the Kashmir Valley.

The party is expected to come out with a strategy on the Ayodhya issue at a time when parties like Samajwadi Party and LJP are trying to win support of Muslims on the matter.

The two parties have expressed their disappointment over the verdict.

The CWC is also expected to underline its policy aiming at elections in some states, including Bihar.