Opinion Ego trips
Now Uttar Pradesh has its own foreign policy. Mohammad Azam Khan has broken off the states diplomatic relations with the US
Now Uttar Pradesh has its own foreign policy. Mohammad Azam Khan has broken off the states diplomatic relations with the US. No minister of the UP government,it appears,will ever again visit the US. He has asked all Indian Muslims living in the US to return to the fertile and prosperous lands of UP (in time for the general elections to vote for his Samajwadi Party) and quit that miserable country.
Azam Khans anger arises from the fact that he was detained for 10 minutes at Logan airport when he went to Boston on UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadavs trip to Harvard to trumpet the way in which UP had managed the Kumbh Mela. The poor Harvard graduates will have to stay ignorant of that great achievement. After all,ministers in India are not used to going through security at airports or stopping at traffic lights or abiding by any law,civil or criminal.
By not extending such basic human rights to UP ministers on US soil,Obama has damaged his countrys economic prospects. Deprived of visits by UP ministers,the US will plunge into another recession. Only when Obama comes in person to kowtow at the airport in Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadavs home town and is detained for 10 hours at least without airconditioning will the US begin to recompense for that act of lese majeste.
Azam Khan was lucky that he got a visa and was able to visit the US. Narendra Modi is still waiting for that. He would have been thrilled to change places with Azam Khan. About the only thing lacking in Modis anointment as the BJPs chosen leader is a nod from the US that he is kosher. Now we hear that there are people in the US who insist that he be denied a visa. Maybe Gujarat should break off diplomatic relations with the US. Modi can then say that he does not want a visa from the US,in solidarity with Azam Khan. That will enhance the BJPs chances of winning the Muslim vote in UP.
Foreigners do not realise that in India,once a person gets into a Legislative Assembly or Parliament,to say nothing about being a minister,he or she is immune to all laws and has to be treated pretty much like an emperor/empress. Why otherwise would mega rich people want to enter legislatures? Recall that Rs 56 crore were paid for a Rajya Sabha seat by a high-flying plutocrat (not flying any more). In Karnataka,it was the illegal mine owners in the previous election who flew about in their helicopters to canvass votes for the BJP and won it many seats. This time the mineowners are in jail. No thanks to any government,only the judiciary.
So real estate dealers,another species which thrives on illegalities,have bought tickets for the forthcoming elections. They have been ecumenical and every party has obliged. After all money may talk but black money whispers louder,especially when you have to fight elections. But as they are in every party,when they go to jail thanks to the Supreme Court,party strengths will not be diluted too unevenly.
The Supreme Court has also finally confirmed what we all knew,or at least suspected. The CBI is not autonomous! How surprising! Who could have believed it! The Congress Bachao Institution has finally been found out. That has been the best gift anyone could give to the BJP and every other party outside the UPA coalition. In Karnataka,all talk of the BJP being corrupt can now be trumped by pointing finger at the Congress. There was going to be a tight race on the issue of who is more corrupt among the two big parties. But now the Supreme Court has prejudged the issue.
The Congress should have won hands down in Karnataka even despite all the infighting among the many leaders it has. Now the issue is more open. It may yet be the largest single party,but fall short of a majority. In that case it has three choices. Align with the JD(S) or B S Yeddyurappa or the BJP. The JD(S) is a fickle partner and Yeddyurappa is untouchable. So if the Congress wants to stay in power for five years,I would say go for the BJP.
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