The Asian Star May 25 2019

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www.theasianstar.com

Vol 19 - Issue 17

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Indian PM Modi stuns opposition with huge election win

I

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored a dramatic election victory on Thursday, putting his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its majority on a mandate of business-friendly policies and a tough stand on national security. His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting harsh positions on protectionism, immigration and defense. Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in 302 of the 542 seats up for grabs, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the

Narendra Modi: From impoverished tea seller to master of political theatre The boy who once sold tea at a railway station has become the most influential Indian leader in generations, winning a landslide in election results announced on Thursday. Or so goes the story that has become the core of Narendra Modi’s extraordinary appeal. Modi, 68, was born to a poor family in western India’s Gujarat state, where he developed a strong dislike for the ruling Congress party as a result of hanging around a political office near his father’s tea stall. While still a child, he started attending daily meetings of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said to be the world’s largest volunteer organisation, whose Hindu nationalist ideology envisions the country’s diverse Hindu population as a single nation with a sacred culture that should be given primacy in India. Hindu nationalists were sidelined by India’s founding prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose vision of Continued on page 8

lower house of parliament. That would give his party the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. Votes will be fully counted by Friday morning. Modi was showered with rose petals by some of the thousands of cheering supporters who waited for hours in a thunderstorm for his arrival at party headquarters on Thursday evening. “Whatever happened in these elections is in the past, we have to look ahead. We have to take everyone forward, including our staunchest opponents,” he said in a televised address. He was critical of the many people that doubted the BJP could increase its majority. “The political pundits of India have to leave behind their ideas of the past,” he added. Modi has slashed red tape in the world’s Continued on page 39 fifth-largest economy, though

Regulator investigating high gas cost in BC has power to examine price gouging British Columbia’s independent energy regulator will have the power to call oil company representatives as witnesses into an investigation of high gasoline prices in the province. Premier John Horgan has tasked the B.C. Utilities Commission to examine the market factors that affect wholesale and retail

gas prices, and he wants a report by Aug. 30. Gas prices hovering around $1.70 per litre in the Metro Vancouver area have been the highest in Canada for several months. Horgan says he’s given the utilities commission broad terms of reference Continued on page 7

Bhavkiran Dhesi’s boyfriend and his mom charged in her murder The mother of a man accused in the 2017 killing of Bhavkiran Dhesi has been charged with being an accessory to her murder. Last week, police announced second-degree murder charges had been approved against Harjot Singh Deo, 21. Deo and Dhesi were dating at the time of her death, and Deo was considered a “person of interest” early in the

19-year-old’s murder, police said. On Tuesday, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Deo’s mother Manjit Kaur Deo, 53, has been charged with accessory after the fact in the August 2017 killing. Manjit Kaur Deo was arrested May 17 and is expected to appear in Surrey Continued on page 7

1 in 4 Canadians say it’s becoming ‘more acceptable’ to be prejudiced against Muslims: Ipsos poll An exclusive poll for Global News shows that racism is seen as less of a problem in this country and yet hate crimes have seen a rise in Canada. Robin Gill looks at what is contributing to this. More than a quarter of Canadians believe that over the past five

years, it’s become “more acceptable” to be prejudiced against Muslims, according to an exclusive poll by Ipsos for Global News. The polling seems to correlate with an increase in hate crimes t a r g e t i n g Continued on page 6

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