Sikh Bodies Hail Denial Of Visa To Narender Modi

[sarblohsingh2004]

Vaheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Vaheguru Jee Kee Fateh !

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/f...llnews&id=88058

Sikh bodies hail denial of visa to Narender Modi

[india News]: Amritsar, Mar.19 : Various Sikh organizations have hailed the decision of the denial of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by US Consulate in India, terming it as "a principled and courageous action".

While talking to ANI over phone, Dr. Pritpal Singh, the convener of the American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, said on Saturday that Sikhs in America were against Modi getting the visa because of his alleged venomous speeches against the minorities.

"We in U.S. had been demanding for not granting visa to Modi as his presence could have created tension among minorities in U.S. We appreciated the step taken by the Consulate in India. The step taken by the US consulate indicates that the United States retains a deep commitment to human rights and the rights of the minorities. across the world," Pritpal Singh said.

The president of the All India Sikh Students Association, Manjit Singh Bhoma ,said that that other countries should also follow the path of the U.S. Bhoma also criticized the Indian Government for backing Modi on the issue. He alleged that both the Congress and the BJP were hand in glove in their machinations against the minorities. (ANI)

[sarblohsingh2004]

Vaheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Vaheguru Jee Kee Fateh !

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1958555.stm

Profile: Narendra Modi

By Rajyasri Rao

BBC News, Delhi

Narendra Modi: A protege of the Hindu right

Few politicians have done so much to polarise Indian public opinion in recent years as Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

A hate figure among Muslims, the state leader of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was swept back into power in December 2002.

He won re-election as chief minister with 126 seats in the 182-member assembly.

The biggest gains were in areas of the state where intercommunal violence led to the deaths of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, after 60 Hindu pilgrims had been burned to death in the town of Godhra in February.

Hardline Hinduism

Mr Modi used to be known as a back-room operator but during the elections turned into a pro-Hindu firebrand and campaigned openly on a platform of Hindutva (hardline Hinduism).

His critics accuse him of unabashed complicity in the religious clashes - some even claim he indirectly egged on the Hindu mobs who are believed to have led most of the attacks.

The Gujarat riots of 2002 left about 1,000 people dead

But his supporters from some of the most hardline of India's Hindu organisations say Mr Modi could have done little else under the circumstances.

Analysts say the reason why the chief minister remained relatively unscathed was the strong support he enjoys among senior leaders in the right-wing Hindu organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The RSS, founded in the 1920s with a clear objective to make India a Hindu nation, functions as an ideological fountainhead to a whole host of hardline Hindu groups - including the BJP with which it shares close ties.

It is common for RSS members to join the BJP and, analysts say, then carry through in whatever way possible the objectives dear to its parent organisation.

The RSS leadership despatched Mr Modi to join the BJP unit in Gujarat in the early 1980s.

The RSS has a particularly strong base there and Mr Modi's close ties to it were seen as a strength the organisation could tap when he joined the state unit of the BJP.

Mr Modi reportedly married a woman working as a teacher in a poor Muslim area about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Gujarat's capital, Ahmedabad.

But his official biography makes no mention of it.

Critics say the omission is in keeping with the value that old-world RSS members place on a life of bachelorhood - allowing in their view true dedication to work as an RSS leader.

Favourite protege

But the 52-year-old minister is not given to spartan tastes - he is widely known instead for his love of expensive clothes and designer accessories.

Mr Modi has wide support among party hardliners

Mr Modi is one of a set of young, savvy BJP leaders who are as comfortable with IT as with the hardline politics of the Hindu right

This combination is believed to be central to their political appeal.

Mr Modi has a formidable reputation as a party organiser.

This skill, along with an ability for secrecy, comes from long years of training as an RSS "pracharak" or propagandist, analysts say.

Mr Modi got his big break in the public arena when his predecessor in the state, Keshubhai Patel, was forced to step down in the fall-out from the earthquake in January 2001 that killed nearly 20,000 people.

Mr Modi is known to be one of hawkish Home Minister LK Advani's favourite protégés and has grown in stature within the BJP after his handling of the communal riots.

But critics say that even if BJP support withered, as long as Mr Modi holds the backing of the RSS he would be hard to prise from office.

[sarblohsingh2004]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050324/asp/...ory_4531711.asp

(Sellout manmohan - he was supporting Modi .... )

Singh delinks visa protest from Godhra

RADHIKA RAMASESHAN

Manmohan Singh

New Delhi, March 23: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today set the record straight on Narendra Modi.

He made it clear that his statement in the Rajya Sabha protesting against America’s denial of visa to the Gujarat chief minister was not tantamount to defending Modi’s role in the 2002 post-Godhra violence.

Issuing the clarification on Singh’s behalf, his media adviser Sanjaya Baru said: “The Prime Minister as Prime Minister made a statement as far as the sovereignty of the country is concerned on a question of principle and it is a criticism of the US government’s decision. But it in no way condones Modi or what happened in Gujarat. The PM does not have to prove his secular or nationalist credentials because his whole life has been spent defending these principles and values. For anyone to question his secular credentials is uncalled for.”

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma, who was initially non-committal on Modi’s role in the Gujarat riots, made his feelings clear today.

“The Congress never diluted its stand as far as Modi and his regime are concerned. It is for the BJP to see why this (the visa denial) happened to Modi, it has to do self-introspection. Modi may be a hero for the BJP, but their hero has become a cause of national embarrassment,” Sharma told reporters.

He questioned L.K. Advani’s presence at a swabhiman (self-respect) rally in Ahmedabad on Sunday, saying the BJP chief had to virtually tender an apology when he visited the US and the UK after the riots.

The Prime Minister’s Office decided to clear air after a section of the Congress privately voiced reservations about Singh’s statement.

Although nobody was willing to criticise it on record, some senior leaders were displeased with the part of the statement that accused the US government of reaching a “subjective judgement” based on “allegations”.

They felt the Prime Minister should have stuck to the “diplomatically correct” position of the Indian government going through the motion of protesting to the US authorities against revoking tourist and business visas and refusing a diplomatic visa to Modi.

Sources said the Congress, while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, had made Gujarat a major plank. It had cited the National Human Rights Commission’s observations and the Supreme Court’s repeated indictments of the Modi government to buttress its attack.

Sources said the use of the term “allegations” literally washed the campaign away as it amounted to a “denial” of the murder and mayhem that had rocked Gujarat.

Ambika Soni tried to temper Sharma’s comments by saying that if the US has refused to reconsider the visa denial, there were “serious” reasons behind the decision.

Sources close to Singh said his statement had been prepared after consultations with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh. The trio had agreed it was a “statement of principle” that criticised the US decision but in no way defended Modi and the BJP and legitimised the Gujarat riots.

But the BJP hijacked the statement as a “good conduct” certificate for its chief minister from none other than the Prime Minister.