Subramanian Swamy | SabrangIndia

BJP IT cell has gone rogue: Subramanian Swamy

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 11:52:24 +0000

A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member not known for sugar-coating critique of his own party has fired the salvo of the week already. Lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy has set the cat among the pigeons and called for the party’s Information and Technology (IT) cell chief Amit Malviya to be sacked!

His tweet went viral within minutes, with thousands of engagements, from both critics and fans. Swamy has accused Malviya of running a smear campaign against him using fake tweets, and messages over Whatsapp presumably to other cell members. “The BJP IT cell has gone rogue. Some of its members are putting out fake ID tweets to make personal attacks on me,” posted Swamy, “If my angered followers make counter personal attacks I cannot be held responsible just as BJP cannot be held responsible for the rogue IT cell of the party.”

The BJP IT cell has gone rogue. Some of its members are putting out fake ID tweets to make personal attacks on me. If my angered followers make counter personal attacks I cannot be held resonsible just as BJP cannot be held respinsible for the rogue IT cell of the party

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) September 7, 2020

Within minutes, his many followers responded to this, adding their own opinions on Malviya and the IT cell he runs. Many of which Swamy re-tweeted and in response to one asking him to ignore Malviya’s “attacks”, Swamy named the IT call head and called for the sacking of the IT cell as a whole it appears, “I am ignoring but BJP must sack them. One Malaviya (sic) character is running riot with filth. We are a party of maryada purushottam not of Ravan or Dushasan.”

It may be the first time that Swamy has openly named a BJP insider and called for the dismantling of the IT cell that has been on the forefront of the party’s massive presence on Social media. However, this issue and the allegations that Swamy has made of a “hate campaign” being run against him has been brewing for a while. A follower tweeted that , even “BJP key members are surprised how @amitmalviya who claims Head of IT Cell of @BJP4India is circulating 2Decade old videos as part of disinformation campaign against Dr @Swamy39 whom @narendramodi had appointed as Head of 2014 Election Strategic Action Committee & rose to POWER!?”

BJP key members are surprised how @amitmalviya who claims Head of IT Cell of @BJP4India is circulating 2Decade old videos as part of disinformation campaign against Dr @Swamy39 whom @narendramodi had appointed as Head of 2014 Election Strategic Action Committee & rose to POWER!? pic.twitter.com/qejDLBtW6N

— meradeshmahan (@meradeshmahan9) September 6, 2020

This is in reference to some old video apparently circulating in right-wing Whatsapp groups, and in IT cell groups of some purported “rivalry” between Swamy and BJP’s most iconic leader Atal Bihari Vaypayee. A Swamy supporter, some of who call themselves ‘Swamyarmy’ etc, shared that the video of a supposed ‘confrontation’ was being posted by “Some crooked new RW (joined after 2012) posting old videos of Swamy Vs Vajpayee & RSS asking silly Qs They should ask RSS how Swamy allowed back in Sangh Parivar. These crooks are like fraud neighbours reminding old fights when Miya & Beevi patch up & live happy lives again.”

Some crooked new RW (joined after 2012) posting old videos of Swamy Vs Vajpayee & RSS asking silly Qs They should ask RSS how Swamy allowed back in Sangh Parivar
These crooks are like fraud neighbours reminding old fights when Miya & Beevi patches up & living happy life again pic.twitter.com/AbdfDNZUed

— Sanatan Dharma (@HinduDharma1) September 6, 2020

While he is at the centre of social media attention because he called for a ‘sacking’ of a party insider, Swamy has never shied away from criticising the Narendra Modi government on many issues. On the very sensitive India-China standoff that continues along the borders, Swamy suggested that “India should call off it’s proposed meeting of our External Minister with the Chinese Foreign Minister due next week. It is fruitless since India wants China to vacate occupied Indian territory but China does not recognise it as Indian territory so will not vacate.”

India should call off it’s proposed meeting of our External Minister with the Chinese Foreign Minister due next week. It is fruitless since India wants China to vacate occupied Indian territory but China does not recognise it as Indian territory so will not vacate.

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) September 6, 2020

While the above was a suggestion, as a follow up he put the critique spotlight on two union ministers, stating that “Now that China has got RM Rajnath to talk and EAM Jaishankar eager to talk,the PLA will start operations in Arunachal to show the world that we are on beck and call even if they sit on our head. Same as what German Chancellor Hitler did to British PM Chamberlain and destroyed him.”

“Is Indian territory-according mutual agreed LAC- also subject to “peaceful resolution” ? The Chinese are sitting on our head in Ladakh, and we have to negotiate ? To convince the Chinese of what? That they should be good boys and go back home?,” he asked.

Last month he had “taken the government on” online when he stood in support of lakhs of students who had sought the postponing of JEE-NEET exams during the Covid-19 pandemic. He had posted that he was calling the PM’s office and making a personal plea to postpone the exams. He then followed up with tweeting this: “JEE/ NEET exams in the middle of a galloping COVID-19 infections, paralysing lockdown effects, a collapsing economy, a monsoon in bloom, Chinese Dragon gobbling our territory, & chors and murderers in Bollywood, is like Jallianwala Bagh where innocent were gunned down.”

He has always had an opinion on the movies made by the Union finance ministry, and as quoted by The Sunday Guardian Subramanian Swamy his weekly interview with NewsX commented on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman blaming the state of the economy to an “Act of God” with a “Hope she is not blaming me!”

P Gurus, a Right leaning blog, had even termed those attacking Swamy online as “Tweetitutes”, a take on ‘presstitutes’ the term the right-wing uses to abuse journalists who are not affiliated to their ecosystem. “Tweetitutes periodically gang up to spew venom against Subramanian Swamy,” stated the blog dated August 30.

“A few IT Cell employees to jobless homemakers are also part of this dubious gang. A section of neo-Right Winger‘s (RW) periodically gangs up to spew venom against Subramanian Swamy. The narrative is always the same – Subramanian Swamy vs Atal Bihari Vajpayee (ABV) and how he brought the ABV government down. Swamy and Vajpayee were known political enemies and it led to Vajpayee blocking a sitting Jan Sangh Member of Parliament (MP) Swamy from joining the BJP when it was formed in 1980. Swamy, who remained in Janata Party was the prime mover of the collapse of the Vajpayee Government in 1999. What did Vajpayee do to Swamy when he became the Prime Minister in 1998[1]? First, he kept Swamy out of his Cabinet, and within the first few days, he ordered an Income Tax probe into Janata Party’s accounts and found nothing. RW guys never tire of saying that Swamy back-stabbed Vajpayee,” said the blog.

According to this blog, “Swamy stabbed Vajpayee from the front.” It added that, “During Vajpayee’s period, Swamy and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also had problems with the RSS siding always with Vajpayee. Till 2003, there were problems between RSS Chief Rajju Bhaiya and Swamy. All issues were settled when K S. Sudarshan became the RSS Chief. Sudarshan and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Ashok Singhal brought back Subramanian Swamy to the Sangh Parivar and used his legal acumen in many cases including saving the Ram Setu.”

According to them “paid Twitter handles who started associating with Sangh Parivar and BJP in the period 2012 to 2014 and some landed even after the BJP came to power. Some were real estate agents, brokers, stock traders, etc, who will take money and tweet. Like Presstitutes, these people are Tweetitutes. Some RW guys are now praising Republic TV’s, Arnab Goswami. These fellows have forgotten that Arnab was a total slave of Congress regime and did all Supari stories against the then BJP President Nitin Gadkari, Gujarat fake encounter stories against Modi and fake stories against Sushma Swaraj.”

While it is not sure if the BJP will actually pay heed to Swamy, it is known that the party will not want to make him any angrier than he already is. Maybe the IT cell members are the ones who may soon have to prepare for a reshuffle.

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Subramanian Swamy: If BJP Gets 220-230 Seats, Modi May Not Be Prime Minister

Thu, 02 May 2019 13:17:51 +0000

Six time parliamentarian and Harvard economist, Subramanian Swamy, in an interview with HuffPost India, has spoken about his bittersweet relationship with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) performance in the upcoming elections, possibility of post-poll alliances, the places where BJP went wrong among other things.

Image Courtesy: Getty Images

In a bold statement he said that if BJP doesn’t get 220-230 seats then Modi may not be re-elected as the PM. “..the extra 30 or 40 — if they (NDA alliance) say no, we can’t accept him (Modi). (Naveen) Patnaik has gone on record to say that he does not deserve a second term, and if we are going to bring in Mayawati, she has not disclosed her mind.”

He further said that BJP would come to power but with a lesser majority than before and will have to enter into post-poll alliances. However, if Modi promises to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya then there wouldn’t be a need for a coalition government. “If he goes there (Ayodhya) and says ‘I pledge that I will I get this built in my next term,’ everything else will be swept away,” said Swamy.

He even boldly accepted that had it not been for the Balakot strikes, Modi would have lost credibility as the economy has crumbled in his regime with GST being the biggest disaster. “..For the election, I don’t think one needs to be bothered about economics at all. This — economy, unemployment — this is all westernization. In no time, after we took that (air) strike against Pakistan, our ratings went up. Otherwise, we were running at 160. Now, we are definitely within reach of the majority. This is because of tough action against Pakistan, dismissing the Kashmir government.”, Swamy said.

He then went on to accuse the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for economy’s mismanagement and called him “incompetent.” He further expressed his interest to become the Finance Minister as he is well-qualified for the post.

Swamy then spoke about his issues with Modi and his way to rule. He expressed disapproval of not giving him a post in spite of serving the RSS-BJP for so many years. Swamy said, “The main problem is his (Modi’s) extraordinarily unhealthy centralization of decision making. And the utter disregard that party president (Amit Shah) has for the worker. He was a machine man, like some guy from Chicago — you know, efficient. When the going is good, he produces results. When the going is bad, we have this problem. Modi is also highly inaccessible.”

While Swamy is sure about BJP’s victory, he is sceptical about Modi’s second term as a PM. As an alternative, he has given the name of Nitin Gadkari saying that he is well competent for the post.
In an unusual statement, coming from a party member, Swamy said that people are faced with lack of alternatives (in this election) which will bring BJP and Modi back.

Rajya Sabha MP, Swamy, has been an unapologetic proponent of Hindu nationalism and is infamous for making inflammatory statements against Indian Muslims.

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Will MIT Show Swamy the Door like Harvard Did?

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 05:26:24 +0000

A campaign is gathering steam against MIT inviting BJP leader Subramanian Swamy for a conference on February 16.

Image Coutesy: Scroll

‘We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides — on many sides,”
– Donald Trump on Charlottesville violence

The year was 2017 when the Charlottesville violence happened, when White Supremacists – supporters of Ku Klux Klan or KKK – killed a young man and wounded several others, by ramming a car into a rally of counter protesters. What had further shocked people was that instead of condemning this planned, one-sided violence, President Donald Trump had tried to ‘discover’ equivalence by talking about ‘violence on many sides’ for which he received enough opprobrium.

Yes, there was a single Indian politician who had come out in full support of Trump’s stand who had urged US-based Indians ‘to stand with Trump’ when he was being ‘hunted by cockeyed liberals and Left wing loonies on racism’.

Not a long ago, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy was in the news again when he targeted Priyanka Gandhi, younger sister of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, when she was appointed as the general secretary of the Congress Party. He had alleged that she ‘suffers from bipolar disorder and beats up people’, and that she was misfit for public life. He had no qualms about thus humiliating the entire community of ‘specially abled people’, and had exhibited his utter ignorance about the fact that with proper diagnosis and treatment, people with such a disorder can lead healthy and productive lives.

Variously described as a political maverick, a ‘Muckraker-in-Chief’ or a colourful politician, Swamy is in the news once again.

A petition has been moved by groups working for ‘safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos’ – based in the US – and has been signed by more than 1,700 people of various professions and organisations. It urged the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) President Rafael Reif to disinvite Swamy, from the MIT India Conference on February 16, 2019 at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA, and is gathering steam.

It underlines how such an invitation can add ‘a facade of respectability’ to his ‘hate and bigotry’ and ‘in the process denigrate the values of MIT’. It also adds: “[S]wamy’s hateful rhetoric has continued at a time where his party’s rule has been marked by a spate of unrelenting communal violence and lynching of minorities in India. Hateful rhetoric and incendiary speeches like Swamy’s have led to an increase in hate crimes in India by 400% in the past 5 years.”

As of now, it is difficult to gauge whether MIT would reconsider its decision or not, but it reminds one of a similar episode regarding Harvard University involving Swamy again. The university had decided to take a tough decision, and had effectively removed him from the faculty despite the fact that he had studied and taught there earlier.

The campaign by a group of Harvard students, joined in by hundreds of students, had played an important role in galvanising opinion against Swamy, and had called on the university to terminate its association with him, as it ‘seriously compromises the University’s integrity, undermining its commitment to diversity and tolerance’.

The immediate context for this petition had been provided by Swamy himself who, in his op-ed in the Indian newspaper DNA (How to Wipe out Islamic Terror, July 16, 2011), had openly called for destruction of mosques, the disenfranchisement of non-Hindus in India who do not acknowledge Hindu ancestry, and a ban on conversion from Hinduism.

As noted elsewhere, the said article, which was written in the aftermath of the July 13 bombings in Mumbai, had promoted a vision of Indian society based on Hindu supremacy, and had also cast suspicion on the entire Muslim community. It talked of “declar[ing] India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus”; “[r]emov[ing] the masjid in Kashi Vishwanath temple and the 300 masjids at other temple sites”; “[e]nact[ing] a national law prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to any other religion”; and “[p]ropagat[ing] the development of a Hindu mindset”. Terrorising and stigmatising a whole community, it added, “Muslims of India are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus.”

Before this tough decision, Harvard had decided otherwise, and had chosen to stand by Swamy, supposedly to affirm its commitment to free speech, but later, they seem to have realised that it was not a product of free speech but of hate speech, and it also amounted to incitement of violence. Professor Sugata Bose, history professor at Harvard, had then put it succinctly “[Swamy’s position on disenfranchisement] is like saying Jewish Americans and African Americans should not be allowed to vote unless they acknowledge the supremacy of white Anglo Saxon Protestants.”

What is worth underlining is that when Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard had voted by a large majority to exclude Swamy from Harvard Summer School offerings, it had clearly maintained that ‘Swamy has shown himself to be unfit to be a member of the Harvard community’ because:
For better or for worse, the Harvard name has the ability to lend authority, legitimacy, and gravitas to anyone wielding it. Indeed, Swamy has been known to invoke his status as a Harvard professor to bolster his image in India. Considering that Swamy uses whatever prominence he has as a platform to malign the world’s Muslims, trumpeting a thickheaded and violent brand of Hindu hyper-nationalism, Harvard must not continue to add legitimacy to his name.

The question remains whether MIT would follow footsteps of Harvard or would not bother itself with all such discomforting questions.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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Death Penalty for Cow Slaughter, Swamy’s Bill in RS, Now Withdrawn

Sat, 03 Feb 2018 08:43:46 +0000

GOI against death penalty for those who rape children, one member wants death for cow killing! Swamy withdraws bill after assurances from Modi government

BJP member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha, Subramaniam Swamy, known for his supremacist even extremist views has proposed a new national law against cow slaughter that includes death penalty as ‘deterrant punishment.’ A private members Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha yesterday. After moving the private member’s bill for a countrywide ban on cow slaughter, Swamy withdrew it after the government assured that steps have been taken to protect the animal.

During a two-hour discussion on the cow protection bill, the Upper House witnessed heated exchanges when Opposition members objected to railway minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks that an important issue was being “made fun of”.

The Bill pushes for the ‘creation of an authority for the stabilization of the population of cows, measures to comply with Article 37 and 48 of the Indian Constitution to ban cow slaughter and provide deterrant punishment including death penalty.’ The authority is called the National Cow Protection Authority.

A copy of the Bill tabled may be read here.

Ironically we have a situation where this government, the Modi regime says it is ‘against death penalty for those who rape children’ but a member of the same party that rules wants death for cow slaughter!!

Only recently the Centre told the Supreme Court that it was not in favour of amending laws to provide for death penalty to those found guilty of sexual assaults on infants and children. Additional solicitor general P S Narasimha told the SC that “death penalty is not an answer to everything”. Clearly to some of the ruling party death and killing is an answer to many things!
Narasimha had said in the SC the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act provided graded stringent punishment for sexual assault of children — a minimum 10-year term and maximum life imprisonment for raping a child while the punishment for a minor’s gang rape ranged between a 20-year term and life imprisonment.

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Delhi High Court calls Subramanian Swamy’s PIL as political interest litigation

Fri, 27 Oct 2017 06:24:59 +0000

The Delhi High Court has dismissed BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Subramanian Swamy’s plea seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar, terming his PIL as a “textbook example of a political interest litigation”.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said the petition by Swamy could not be entertained as a PIL, reported PTI.

The death of Pushkar has been recently in news after Tharoor moved the High Court seeking restriction for Republic TV and its founder Arnab Goswami on the coverage.

On Swamy, the High Court bench also said that from what was placed before the court, it was unable to be persuaded that the probe, being carried out by the SIT, is botched up or under the influence of any party.

The court was also of the view that Swamy concealed information, based on which he had made “sweeping allegations” against Tharoor and Delhi Police, as he today offered to file an affidavit disclosing his source or reason based on which he had made the accusation.
“Although Subramanian Swamy claimed he has not concealed any data or information, when asked specifically about the basis of his allegations in the petition, his response was to seek time to file affidavit thereby clearly showing that what was to be disclosed at the first instance was not done,” the court said.

The bench also said that “Courts need to be careful that judicial process is not used by political persons for their own purposes”.

“This is not to say that political persons cannot file PILs, but courts have to be extra cautious when allegations are made against other political persons,” the bench added.

The court said the petition by Swamy cannot be entertained as a PIL as it appears to be “a textbook example of political interest litigation being dressed up as a PIL”.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre and the Delhi Police, said that they do not subscribe to the views expressed by Swamy that the Congress leader continues to interfere in the investigation.

Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a five-star hotel in Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014.

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter

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SC Questions Swamy’s Locus Standi on Ayodhya

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 07:41:10 +0000

What is your locus standi, SC asks Subramanian Swamy, and refused to expedite case. On March 21, 2017, the court had, making oral observations offered to ‘mediate’ and resolve the issue that ‘was a matter of sentiments’.

The Supreme Court today turned down BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy’s plea to expedite the hearing in the Ayodhya land dispute case. “What is your locus standi in the case? We don’t have time to hear you now… we didn’t know that you are a party to case,” the bench told Swamy. On March 21, after it’s oral offer to ‘mediate’ on the issue, the Supreme Court had come in for widespread criticism. Reacting to Swamy’s over-zealous efforts to expedite the case and make political capital out of it, the judges said they have no time and adjourned the matter.

PTI reports that the litigant has objected to Subramanian Swamy seeking urgent hearing. Mohammad Hashim Ansari's son has written to the Secretary General of the Supreme court that Subramanian Swamy mentioned the matter before the Chief Justice of India without even informing the Advocate On Record.The son of one of the main litigants in the Ram Janam Bhumi-Babri Masjid land dispute has written to the Supreme Court raising objections to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking urgent hearing in the case without informing all the parties concerned. Mohammad Hashim Ansari’s son has written to the Secretary General of the apex court that time and again the Rajya Sabha MP mentioned the matter before the Chief Justice of India without even informing the Advocate On Record including the lawyer who has been appearing for his father.
Ansari, one of the oldest litigant in the Ayodhya dispute, had died in July last year due to heart-related ailments at the age of 95. He was first to file the suit in the court of civil judge of Faizabad on the matter.

“It was reported by media that Dr Subramanian Swamy had mentioned the matters on March 21, 2017 for its day to day hearing before this court(Chief Justice of India). It is submitted that the above proceedings arise out of original suit and in none of the aforesaid suits Dr Swamy is a party….

“On earlier occasions also, Dr Swamy has made oral mentioning of the matter and despite request, has not informed the concerned AORs about the mentioning stating that he is not obliged to inform. Considering the sensitivity of the matter, I wish to place on record my objection to such mentioning of the matter by Dr Swamy without informing all the concerned AORs,” said the letter from Ansari’s son Iqbal.

Always a law unto himself, Swamy said in his Tweet, “Today the SC asked me if I was a party in the Ayodhya dispute. I said I had made clear that I was on Fundamental Right to worship issue. The judges said they have no time and adjourned the matter. In other words those who wanted delay succeeded. I will try another route soon.” Even ten days ago, Swamy had issued an ‘ultimatum’ to Muslims.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, in full public view, even as security forces and policemen silently watched, has been widely acknowledged to have been the first act in democratic, secular India that shook the foundations of Constitutional Secularism. Senior leaders of the BJP, LK Advani, Murli ManoharJoshi and Uma Bharati were at the site instigating the crowds. They are facing criminal charges of conspiracy in a case that has taken years to proceed due to the high stakes involved. On September 30, 2010, in a controversial verdict (tw—one) the Allahabad Bench of the High Court had conceded to the ‘faith of the majority community.’ This controversial judgement is under challenge today and has been pending before the Supreme Court.

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Subramanian Swamy’s ultimatum to Muslims on Ayodhya: Give land for Ram Mandir or else a new law is imminent

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 07:58:21 +0000

The controversial BJP leader, Subramanian Swamy has threatened Muslims leaders to give up their claims on the disputed Babri-Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi plot in Ayodhya or else none can stop the Union government from pass a law on the building of Ram Mandir at the spot the moment the BJP-led NDA government gains a majority in the Rajya Sabha next year.

Image: PTI

In a tweet message Swamy said,

This was followed up with a second tweet:

Responding to the tweet messages the Congress party has demanded that he be prosecuted for contempt of court.

Last year the BJP leader had intervened in the case over the disputed plot pending before the Supreme Court since 2011 asking for an early disposal of the case. While hearing him on Tuesday, the Supreme Court had suggested that it would be better if the parties in the dispute were to arrive at an out-of-court settlement in this “sensitive” and “sentimental matter”.

The apex court’s bench headed by chief justice JS Khehar even offered the services of a court-appointed principal mediator if the contending parties so desired. Swamy is to report back to the court after exploring the matter with the disputants by March 31.

Even as he expressed his willingness for talks as suggested by the apex court, Swamy has made it clear that there was no question of any compromise on the Ram Mandir being built at the spot.

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BJP welcomes SC suggestion of out-of-court settlement of pending “sentimental” Ayodhya dispute; Waqf board prefers judicial verdict

Tue, 21 Mar 2017 13:40:14 +0000

December 6, 1992. Photo credit: Indian Express

The Supreme Court today suggested the mediation route to resolving the long-pending “sensitive” and “sentimental” Ayodhya dispute.

“These are issues of religion and sentiments. These are issues where all the parties can sit together and arrive at a consensual decision to end the dispute. All of you could sit together and hold a cordial meeting,” said the bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar while hearing a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

The apex court has set March 31 as the date by which the parties to the dispute must respond whether the idea was acceptable to them.

While the BJP has reportedly welcomed the suggestion, the Sunni Waqf board, a party in the dispute has said it was in favour of a judicial pronouncement from the apex court where the matter has been pending for decades.

“The parties should resolve the issue amicably by talking to each other. We welcome this step and I believe they should have talks outside the court,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said in New Delhi, PTI reported.

“We are ready for a settlement, let a temple and a mosque be built,” Swamy told India Today news channel while insisting that the disputed site was the birthplace of Lord Rama, a temple must be built there. “A mosque can be built anywhere”, he added. Lawyer Zafaryab Jeelani struck a different note saying, “27 years of talks have been useless.

Meanwhile VHP leader Pravin Togadia has demanded that the BJP-led NDA government pass a law in Parliament for the building of the Ram Temple at the disputed site while Samajwadi Party leader from UP, Azam Khan has welcomed the apex court’s suggestion.

“If all stakeholders on both sides can arrive at a mutually acceptable consensus based solution, it will go a long way in ensuring lasting peace, goodwill, mutual respect and brotherhood. Otherwise, Supreme Court should adjudicate the issue on merits,” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

Justice Khehar even offered to mediate on the controversial issue if the parties to the dispute were agreeable. All parties should consider appointing mediators to sit across the table and settle the issue. If need be a principal mediator could be appointed by the apex court, he added.

In 2010, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had given its verdict on the long-standing Ayodhya Ramjanmabhumi-Babri Masjid issue for a three-way division of the disputed area, between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the party for ‘Ram Lalla’. The aggrieved parties — Sunni Waqf Board and the All India Hindu Mahasabha — however appealed in the Supreme Court which ordered a stay on the High Court ruling.

Swamy had approached the apex court last year urging a speedy verdict on the long-pending Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute. In blatant violation of the Supreme Court orders and the assurances given to it, the Babri Mosque was demolised on December 6, 1992 by 'kar sevaks' who belonged to various organisations committed to Hindutva ideology.

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Arnab Goswami’s venture’s name ‘Republic’ is in violation of law: Subramanian Swamy writes to Centre

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:51:52 +0000

This isn’t the first public feud between the BJP MP and the star anchor.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has taken umbrage to star news anchor Arnab Goswami’s new digital venture’s name, Republic.

Swamy has written to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, pointing out that the use of the name “Republic” is in violation of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use), Act, 1950, which prohibits certain names and symbols from being used for commercial purposes.

As Swamy points out, Item 6 in the Schedule accompanying the Act, prohibits the use of, “The name, emblem or official seal of the President, Governor, Sadar-i-Riyasat or Republic or Union of India.”

“Hence the grant of a license to a news channel to broadcast under the name of “Republic” will be contrary to law,” writes Swamy, urging the Ministry to investigate the matter.

This is, however, not the first public spat between Swamy and Arnab. With his take-on-all-comers attitude to public fights, Subramanian Swamy seemed an ideal guest for Arnab’s Newshour debates, and was a regular on the show. However, this ended when Swamy thoroughly abused Arnab in the course of one 2014 episode, calling him ‘Ignoramus’, ‘liar’ (over 25 times), ‘dumbo’, ‘stupid fellow’, and ‘congenital liar’. Since then, Swamy has never returned to the show, and the relationship between them has remained tempestuous.

Following Arnab’s exclusive interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, in which Modi seemed to be implicitly criticising Swamy for his indiscretion, the BJP leader went after Goswami in a series of tweets. Among other things, he suggested that Arnab was “foaming at the mouth” and could be recommended as “Media Advisor to Idi Amin”.

Arnab had announced the name of his venture on December 15, a month-and-a-half after he resigned from his position of Editor-in-Chief and President, News, of Times Now and ET Now.

The venture, structured in two companies, ARG Outlier Media Ltd. and SARG Media Holding Pvt Ltd, reportedly features Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar as one of the main investors – through his through his company Asianet News Online Pvt Ltd (ANOPL). Besides this, the company’s publicly available list of investors also reportedly includes Sameer and Sanjeev Manchanda and Tapesh Veerendra Singh of DEN Networks.

The launch of Republic has been accompanied by a high-rhetoric campaign, with Arnab declaring that the venture would deliver independent journalism, that would save the profession from, “the influence of Lutyens’ Delhi.”
He also reportedly said that for him journalism was, “a list of dos and don’ts. It is about right and wrong. It is not a narration of facts. People ask me why don’t you depend on facts, I tell them if I depend on facts I would not be a journalist I would be Wikipedia.”

Arnab Goswami rose to a commanding position in the English television news space as the highly controversial news anchor of the nightly debate programme Newshour on Times Now. Drawing massive audiences to his high on rhetoric, high-decibel debates, Arnab was widely criticised by journalists and media commentators for overly simplifying the level of public debate and discourse in the country, and for repeatedly brow-beating participants on the show who did not agree with his point of view. However, Arnab had also earned a massive following from the viewing public, many of whom appreciated him for his no-holds-barred style, and his refusal to concede his standpoint.

Courtesy: The News Minute

The post Arnab Goswami’s venture’s name ‘Republic’ is in violation of law: Subramanian Swamy writes to Centre appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Subramanian Swamy warns Modi the economy is in a tailspin and about to crash

Wed, 14 Dec 2016 06:12:54 +0000

To stop it, Swamy wants to end RBI's independence and abolish income tax.

Image: IANS

We're used to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy making dire predictions – but they're usually about his opponents. He's tweeted often enough about what is going to happen to Congress leaders and how soon other political parties that he dislikes are going to get hit by catastrophe. This week, however, the former Harvard economics professor has a target that it is a little more dear to him: the Indian economy.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi dated September 15, Swamy says that the economy is in the early phases of a "tailspin" and warned that if curative measures were not quickly taken "a major crash is inevitable". And in typical Swamy style, he has even put a specific time range on it.

"Based on my reading of the various indicators of Indian economy, I feel compelled to inform you that the economy is in its early phase of a tailspin. If curative measures are not take, then a major crash is inevitable between the coming November and February, 2016."

Indicators have in fact been sketchy on this regard. Inflation, for example, has steadily fallen over the last year, thanks primarily to falling oil prices, a development that has allowed India to get on to much more stable ground on the fiscal front. Gross Domestic Product figures have been less positive, partly thanks to a change in the way they are measured leaving most people confused about the final numbers, although analysts are generally confident that the economy is nowhere near the booming levels it reached in the 2000s.

When asked which data had so alarmed him, Swamy told Scroll.in, "all the indicators of the economy". He added, "We need to do something about it, otherwise the tailspin has already begun."

His letter goes on to explain what he thinks Modi needs to do to fix the problem: abolishing the income tax and bringing down the lending interest rates.

*Income Tax abolition
This, a standard talking point for conservative economists in the West, is usually seen as a policy import that makes less sense in a country where the tax net covers a tiny section of the population. Swamy has repeatedly called for this measure, and insists in his letter that "the loss of revenue due to abolition of income tax can be recouped by auction process of 2G, 3G and 4G Spectrum as well as comprehensive auction of coal blocks", all of which the government was planning to do anyway. Swamy says the indirect taxes additionally will be enough to tide the government over from the loss of revenue.

*Lower Tax rate
Swamy doesn't like Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan. It was murmurs from Swamy right before Modi was sworn-in that suggested the BJP could be considering replacing the well-regarded RBI Governor, before realising that the international outcry that this move might cause would not be worth the headache. Of late, many in industry and the government have been adamant that the RBI cut rates to reflect slumping inflation levels, to the extent that Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian even suggested that India should be concerned about deflation.

Moreover, Swamy feels international financial companies are "taking advantage" of India's high interest rates through interest arbitrage, and adds that of the $24 billion that has come into India since Modi took over, "$18 billion have come through Mauritius and Singapore." According to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, in FY2014-15, India received about $15 billion in foreign direct investment from those two countries, of a total of $30 billion.

Swamy alleges that this is just recycling of black money and not new investment, asking instead for the government to end the independence of the RBI and bring the prime lending rate down to 8% and eventually 5%. "Therefore, I urge you to take personal interest and create a Crisis Management Team within the PMO for taking urgent steps to see that Indian economy does not spiral down to crash," Swamy says in his letter to Modi.

Courtesy: Scroll.in

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