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INDIA
Asian Voice - Saturday 11th August 2012
Mulayam Singh Yadav issues stern warning to partymen
A peeved Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav warned the party's elected representatives of some harsh action if they failed to meet people's expectations in Uttar Pradesh. "Nothing much has changed in last two months. Everybody seems to be catering to their own interests. This cannot be allowed any longer. If this continues, we will not be able to face people in the Lok Sabha elections," a stern Mulayam said. Addressing the first meeting of MLCs and MLAs at the party headquarters here, Mulayam took the ministers head on. "On the very first day of the government formation, I had asked each one of you to make sure that we deliver what we have promised. I have even assured you that those who will take the right initiative will get all support from the government. But I don't see any remarkable change," Mulayam said. In the presence of the entire top SP leadership,
Mulayam expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which SP MLCs, MLAs and ministers have conducted themselves. "I am watching every one of you and can point out by particular instance where you have faltered," Mulayam said, adding that this was neither in the interest of the party nor people or the politics of the state. "Don't be surprised if you find an unexpected reshuffle in the cabinet if I don't see a change soon," he said looking towards chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Senior SP leaders including Mohammed Azam Khan, Shivpal Yadav and Ahmed Hasan were among those present in the meeting. It was here that some unhappy MLAs sitting in the back rows reacted: "Kuch mantriyon ko badal hi dijiye ab (change at least some ministers now)." Mulayam, however, took the comment in his stride despite the displeasure of being interrupted reflecting on
L K Advani sees non-Cong, non-BJP PM post-2014 polls
BJP veteran L K Advani on Sunday stumped his party colleagues and provided mirth to opponents by conceding the possibility of the BJP not being able to lead the coalition at the Centre after the 2014 polls. While ruling out the possibility of a Third Front-led coalition, Advani wrote in his blog, “A non-Congress, non-BJP prime minister heading a government supported by one of these two principal parties is, however, feasible. This has happened in the past also.” Advani also predicted that the Congress was headed for its worst-ever debacle and might for the first time “sink to just two digits” in the Lok Sabha, adding that the BJP would benefit from the ruling party's “fast-eroding reputation”. However, his comment about the possibility of a non-BJP prime minister leading the next coalition implied that the saffron party would not be able to cross the threshold - estimated to be around 170-odd seats - where it
would be the natural claimant to the reins at the Centre. As BJP leaders dived for cover or tried to put a spin on the statement, Congress pounced upon the blog. Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla and SP’s Mohan Singh said the BJP had given up the fight even before it could be joined. The commentary was in line with the disappointment Advani has publicly expressed earlier on the BJP’s failure to make the most of the Congress’s bungles, and mirrored the assessment in neutral political quarters. However, the prognosis is at odds with the BJP leadership’s assessment that the growing disgust with Congress “misrule” could see the party post a 180plus tally. It comes at a time when the BJP leadership is debating whether it can risk annoying allies like Bihar CM Nitish Kumar by projecting his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate. The divergence stunned the party’s usually voluble spokespersons into silence. They refused to comment, citing the leadership’s instruction “not to react to Advaniji’s blogs”. However, party leaders who spoke on the condition of anonymity were fuming. “The remarks are demoralizing and betray the mindset of someone who knows that his innings is over and has, therefore, concluded that he has no stake in whatever may happen now,” a leader said.
his face: "Dekh lijiye ... jab apaski log khush nahi hain to janta ka kya hoga" (See for yourself. Our own people are not happy, what to talk of the people in general)," he said as other senior leaders waved their hands to silence those who had made the remark. Mulayam had barely completed his sentence when the entire auditorium plunged into darkness following the collapse of three grids. The meeting resumed when power was restored after 15 minutes. "People have given us a clear mandate because they were fed-up with Mayawati's misrule. They have some expectations from us and if we fail to meet them, then I am sure everyone knows what will happen," the SP supremo said. He admitted that there were problems at certain levels in terms of execution of policies. "But people are not bothered, they have voted us and they want results and rightly so," he said.
Hamid Ansari wins second term as Vice-President
Vice-President Hamid Ansari won a second term as he defeated senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh in the election on Tuesday. He is the second person after the first Vice President S. Radhakrishnan to get a second term in the chair. Ansari bagged 490 votes, 13 votes less than what he was supposed to get. His opponent managed 238 votes, four more than the tally of the National Democratic Alliance and the AIADMK. Eight votes were invalid. The BJD, RSP and the TDP had abstained. The halfway mark was thus brought down to 377 from 396. The UPA and its supporters the SP, BSP and the RJD had decided to support Ansari along with the CPI (M), CPI and the Forward Bloc. Five years ago, it was the CPI (M) which had suggested his name for the post of Vice-President. He was then the Chairman of the National Commission of Minorities. The Congress had also considered his name for the post of President, along with Pranab Mukherjee. Polling began on a brisk note for the vice-presidential election on Tuesday in which UPA candidate Hamid Ansari appears set to fend off the contest put up by NDA nominee Jaswant Singh. A total of 788 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, including nominated members, are eligible to vote in the poll to elect the 14th Vice-President.
In divine light By Rajen Vakil
Arjuna battles with a Kirat
ll of the Pandavas and the Brahmins travelling A with them gathered
around Arjuna. Yudhisthira asked him to tell them of his five years in Swarga, the kingdom of Indra. He said “Please tell us how you acquired these divine weapons? How did you please the lords Shiva and Indra, and how did they give you their weapons?” “Five years ago I left you in the Kamyakvana (the forest of desire) and went to a place called Bhrugutunga and there I started practising severe austerities and tapas. I met a Brahmin who told me to go to the top of the Himalayas and do tapas and very soon I would be able to see lord Indra.” “I did as he said, and for the first month lived only on a diet of fruit. The second month I did not eat anything but drank water, the third month I did not eat or drink anything, the fourth month I stood with my hands in the air. I was shocked to see that even though I was not eating or drinking, I did not lose any weight. One day after the fifth month, a massive wild boar came and stood in front of me. It had a huge
horn and was digging up the earth as it moved.” “A few paces behind the animal stood a huge Kirat, a hunter. In his hand was a huge bow and he had a sword. There was a group of women behind him. I took my bow and shot an arrow into the animal. At exactly the same time this Kirat also shot a bow into the boar. The twang of his bow string was so powerful that it sent shivers through my whole being. He then spoke with me.” The Kirat said, “When I had already decided to kill the boar, why did you break the rule of hunting and shoot him? Keep
standing there and I will break your pride.” Saying this, he lifted his bow to shoot Arjuna. “He then covered me completely with arrows. As fast as I could, I lifted my Gandiva and countered him arrow for arrow. I then took some burning arrows, and pulling the bowstring as much as I could, shot and wounded him. As soon as my arrow hit him, the hunter split up into more than a thousand forms. I started shooting at all the forms which suddenly again became one. So again I wounded him with my arrows, but this time he started taking larger and smaller forms at will; each one having a different kind of head and body.” “I took out the terrible astra (arrow) called Vayurvaha (of the wind) thinking I would finish him off. When this astra returned to me without harming him, I was shocked. With even greater intensity, I started attacking him with the best weapons I had. This Kirat just swallowed up all of my astras.”
All past articles on the Mahabharata can be accessed from http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html
British 'rail motor car' facing final journey in India One of the world's most celebrated, romantic railway trains, the British 'rail motor car' of India's Himalayan Kalka-Shimla line may have made its last journey after officials said they could no longer source essential spare parts. The train played a part in India's successful campaign for the railway to be declared a Unesco World Heritage Site along with the countries other mountain toy-train lines in Darjeeling and the Nilgiri Hills in 2008. The train – one of four – which has plied the railway which once spirited colonial officials and their families away from the heat of India's northern plains to the summer capital Shimla in the pine forests foothills, was suspended last month. Its suspension and likely retirement brought pangs of regret throughout India on Monday where it is warmly remembered not only by those who have made the five hour crawling rail journey to Shimla but by millions of Bollywood film fans who have seen the train star in countless romantic classics.
The train was built in 1927, 24 years after the Kalka-Shimla railway was opened as one of the world's most ambitious engineering projects. It has been built to dramatically reduce the travel time to the British summer capital from several days by elephant, horseback and hand-pulled rickshaw to a humane four and a half hours. Its 60 miles of track cross more than 800 bridges and viaducts, some
of which are five tiers deep to span steep valleys. It has more than 900 switchback hairpin bends to make the climb from just over 2000 feet to just below 7000 and passes through more than 100 tunnels to offer clear views of the Himalayan snow caps above grassy meadows. The train itself has featured in a number of Bollywood films, including the 2007 hit “Jab We Met”
(When we met), and also in Michael Palin's acclaimed television series Himalaya. But according to railway officials the celebrated train has finally run out of puff with no manufacturers able to supply key parts for its maintenance. Indian Railways divisional manager for Ambala, P K Sanghi, said the train was suspended three weeks ago on safety grounds after wear and tear on its wheels could no longer be overlooked. "The wheels are not in shape to be in service,' he said. He and his colleagues have been searching for steel manufacturers to make new cast iron for several months and have issued a tender but former suppliers have moved on to higher technology manufacturing, he said. "The wheels or steel tyres are made of special cast steel and we have difficulty in getting them. We are changing the 'tyres' for the first time after its inception. The rail technology has changed drastically and manufacturers are not making spare parts for heritage trains," he explained.