Left was right in dumping UPA govt: Karat

New Delhi:

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Monday said it had no option but to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance government over the Indo-US nuclear deal.
CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said the Left-led Third Front "failed to be a viable and credible alternative" in the Lok Sabha polls to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"In the absence of a country-wide alliance and no policy platform being presented, the call for an alternative government was unrealistic," said Karat after the party's two-day central committee meeting that concluded on Sunday.
He, however, maintained that the attempt to rustle up a non-Congress, non-BJP government "was a correct tactic".
"This effort resulted in the electoral understanding forged by some regional and Left parties in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Karnataka. However, such an electoral understanding could not be extended beyond these four states and the three Left-led states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura."
He said this was why it "failed to be a viable and credible alternative".
Karat maintained that the decision of the Left parties to pull out support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in July last year was "correct".
"This was consistent with the Left stance against forging of strategic alliance with the United States.

The left never intended to dump UPA. It expected the Congress to return with a vastly reduced number of seats and itself to return with a vastly increased number of seats. Thereafter it calculated that the Left could do greater back-seat driving till its dream of 3rd front became powerful enough to become the ruling coalition in 2014, where it calculated it would be as good as a Left government. All calculations went awry and the rest is history. It also hoped that the BJP would be nowhere in the picture. As it turned out, it is only the BJP which is somewhat in the picture, which is largely a picture of the Congress. Now the Left is trying to say that its tactics were based on ideology!

Islamic burqa 'not welcome' in France"

Paris, June 22:

The Islamic burqa is "not welcome" in France because it is not a symbol of religion but a sign of subservience for women, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday."The burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience," he told lawmakers. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic." A group of French lawmakers has been calling for a special inquiry into whether Muslim women who cover themselves fully in public undermine French secularism and women's rights.


France, which prides itself as the harbinger of modern democracy in Europe and a forerunner to a secular intellectual society has been unable to develop an inclusive culture because of its Christian (read Churchian) legacy of intolerance. Burqua might seem an antediluvian Islamic symbol of terrorism, but can’t the French accept it as a modern fashion statement? At least in gay Paris, the fashion capital of the world? Let it learn from India the secret of its inclusive culture. The only way to go after Islamic terrorism is to challenge the Islamic claim that the Quranic way of thinking is the only valid way.

http://www.zeenews.com/news541293.html

Racist attacks: SC seeks Centre's response

Zeenews Bureau New Delhi, June 22:

Taking note of racist attacks on Indians abroad, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to file an affidavit before it by June 26 on the steps taken to ensure safety and security of Indian students under racial attacks in Australia and Canada. A vacation Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Asok Kumar Ganguly, while directing the Centre to place the affidavit, posted the matter for further hearing to June 29. The Supreme Court has also announced that Solicitor General of India will assist the government in the case. The apex court passed the direction while hearing a PIL filed by advocate DK Garg, who accused the Centre of not showing any interest in protecting the life of Indian citizens, some of whom have already been killed. On Sunday, Australia’s immigration authority had assured full safety to Indian students and asked the community members to help police in catching those involved in attacks on them, saying such crimes are "unacceptable". Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans, who met representatives from Indian community to hear their concerns about the incidents of violence, assured them that the Australian government will ensure their full safety. Some 93,000 Indian students study in Australia.


The Centre might have been cool to attacks on Indian students in Australia because there were no Muslim students among those attacked. Only then would Dr. Manmohan Singh lose his famed sleep and take some action.

http://www.zeenews.com/news541191.html

Rape case facing self-styled godman Lal Sai surrenders

Bhopal, June 22:

Self-styled godman Lal Bulchandani, popularly known as Lal Sai, on Monday surrendered before the police in connection with a rape case here, police said.He was on the run since last year after a girl lodged an FIR with the women's police station alleging that she had been raped by the godman in October 2008 at his ashram. Sai has been accused of sexually abusing some girls after giving them medicine during meditation, at his ashram in Bairagarh area, police said. Sai today surrendered before the women's police station after which he was produced in a local court from where he was sent to the jail as his bail plea was rejected by the court. Judicial Magistrate First Class Kirti Sharma refused to grant bail to the godman saying that the allegation against him were serious. The godman's counsel Ajay Gupta said that the medical tests on his client had not been carried out in connection with the 2008 rape case and therefore, he is entitiled for a bail. In June's first week, Madhya Pradesh's Director General of Police (DGP) S K Raut had directed the police to step up efforts to arrest Sai at the earliest. The DGP directive came after a local court directed the police to arrest Sai at the earliest. Bureau Report

This chap is obviously a crook in the guise of a holy man. Such scoundrels ought to be punished all the more because they tarnish the image of even genuine holy men and Ashrams.

http://www.zeenews.com/news541254.html

Surat gangrape: VHP workers detained in wake of 'bandh' call

Surat, June 15:

Police have detained some workers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in wake of Monday's 'bandh' call given by the organisation, protesting the gangrape of a teenager here. "Some VHP workers have been detained as precautionary measure," Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) Shamsher Singh said, refusing to divulge further details. The VHP, however, has alleged that police have arrested 50 of its members last night, including city unit secretary Utkarsh Patel and RSS leader Suresh Master. The shutdown call has been given in connection with the gangrape incident in the city on June 12, where three persons identified as Sahid Saiyed, Tariq Saiyed and Abu Bakr abducted a 17-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her in a moving car. The arrested trio are presently under police custody. Bureau Report

Muslims commit the crime and Hindus are arrested.

http://www.zeenews.com/news539331.html

Sangma apologises to Sonia for raking up foreign origin issue

New Delhi, June 05:

A decade after raking up her foreign origin issue, NCP leader P A Sangma on Friday said he had apologised to Congress President Sonia Gandhi for it. "I told her I am sorry for what had happened 10 years ago. I wanted to apologise for what had happened," Sangma, who had a meeting with Gandhi few days back, told reporters. The former Lok Sabha Speaker, who along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar parted ways with Congress on Gandhi's foreign origin issue, said that Gandhi was "very gracious" and remarked "past is past, forget it." Sangma, who met Gandhi to invite her for his son Conrad's wedding reception, said she has agreed to attend it. The NCP co-founder said that foreign origin was "no longer an issue" but replied in the negative when asked whether his party would merge with the Congress. "My daughter is a UPA minister and we are giving full support to the government," Sangma said. Asked about Sangma's remarks, NCP spokesman D P Tripathi said these meetings between UPA leaders was a welcome trend and should continue. Bureau Report

So that's all there is to Sangma's ideals and principles. All is forgotten because his daughter has been made a Minister. As they say, everybody has a price.

http://www.zeenews.com/news536962.html

Oneness of existence in Islam

K.Venugopal Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation. June 3, 2009 at 8:43 am
I can understand Hindus talking about oneness of existence because they believe that the creator and His creation are essentially one. But how can Muslims talk about the oneness of existence when they believe that the creator and His creation are separate entities with no scope for creation to aspire to become one with the creator?

http://mtakbar.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/thoughts-on-existence-and-oneness/#comment-809