Narendra Modi addresses rally in Sasaram, Bihar

Right before the State elections take off, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing a last round of campaigning in Bihar.

Prime Minister, during his rally on Thursday, took a dig at rival Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad over his controversial “beef eating” comment, while invoking youth power to change government in Bihar.

He also reiterated how Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had cheated the people of the State after promising 24-hour electricity to the State during the 2010 assembly poll but “not fulfilling them yet”.

The Prime Minsiter finally broke his silence over the Dadri incident asking people of India to maintain communal harmony.

As per today's schedule PM will be addressing public rallies in Aurangabad and Sasaram.

Highlights of today's speech at Sasaram:

1. I believe this election will punish the old governments who spoiled Bihar.

2. They want to run Bihar with the remote control.

3. People of Bihar should ask Lalu ji why he is not fighting the elections this time.

4. There is one leader who insulted a Dalit child.

5. The public has to decided to take Sasaram towards development its visible in the crowd.

6. They came together just for the chair. This is for selfishness for the chair of the government.

7. In 2019, when I come, I promise I will tell you how much work I did during my rule.

Here are the highlights of yesterday's speech

1	The elections in Bihar are based on the idea of development for the first time.
2	Do you want Jungle Raj or Vikas Raj?
3	I have full faith the youth of Bihar.
4	CM promised you 24 hours of electricity? Did he fulfill his promise?
5	They looted Bihar for 60 years.
6	Now "Shaitaan" should not win Bihar.
7	Bihar needs to be saved from the present government.
8	In 2022, when India will celebrate 75 years of Independence, I want 24 hour electricity in every village.
9	Around 1.65 lakh crore package has been sanctioned for the development for Bihar.
10	I have a dream that by 2022 all the villages in India should have electricity.

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Modi breaks silence on Dadri lynching

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at an election rally in Nawada, Bihar, on Thursday, broke his eight-day silence on the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaqin Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.

Akhlaq was beaten to death by a mob which suspected him of having stored and consumed beef. Several members of the BJP are among the suspects in the case.

Mr. Modi, who had come under criticism for failing to speak up on the issue or restrain his party leaders from making incendiary statements, referred to President Pranab Mukherjee’s statement just a day before, to drive home his point.

“I have said it earlier too. Hindus should decide whether to fight Muslims or poverty. Muslims have to decide whether to fight Hindus or poverty. Both need to fight poverty together. The country has to stay united, only communal harmony and brotherhood will take the nation forward. People should ignore controversial statements made by politicians, as they are doing so for political gains.”

However Mr. Modi’s remarks were met with criticism. Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted why there was no outright condemnation of the Dadri lynching.

Modi targets Lalu Prasad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing an election rally in Nawada, Bihar on Thursday, emphasized that only communal harmony and brotherhood could take the country forward.

Citing President Pranab Mukherjee’s speech a day before, Mr. Modi said: “Mr. Mukherjee’s message is the best guidance we can get as a nation. We should follow the path shown by the President,” he said.

Mr. Mukherjee, speaking at a book release function, had said, “We can’t allow the core values of our civilization to be wasted. The core values are that over the years, civilization celebrated diversity, promoted and advocated tolerance, enjoyed plurality.” Reactions to Mr. Modi’s comments were, however, critical as being too little, too late. “It took a few days, but our Honorable Prime Minister finally broke his silence. We didn’t get an outright condemnation, but at least something is better than nothing,” said former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on Twitter.

Former Union Minister R.P.N. Singh said: “The Prime Minister should come forward and speak on it, instead of just condemning it and giving it new twists.”

At the rallies in Munger and Begusarai earlier, Mr. Modi launched a frontal attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad, charging him with betraying the Yadavs, with his claim that some Hindus did consume beef.

He told the crowds that Mr. Prasad should not be absolved of his “beef remark” even though he had claimed that it was the “devil” that had made him say it.

“I want to know how the shaitan got his address. He recognizes that it was the shaitan, just as people recognize their relatives,” Mr. Modi said.

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Lalu ‘out of sync’ with new Bihar

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“Lalu Prasad had given backward castes a voice and self-respect, but his own caste’s dominance gave him a bad name,” said an ageing Manoranjan Chaurasia, taking a break from a game of cards in a field in his village in Khagaria district.

Youngsters of his caste aren’t this charitable and display impatience with Mr. Prasad’s politics. “We need industry. I have stayed in Gujarat and Maharashtra. People look down upon Bihar as we don’t have industry here,” Prabhash Chaurasia said, disagreeing with the elder village resident. He said he supported the BJP.

The political graph of Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad is falling as aspirations change, caste politics becomes nuanced and people charge the RJD with corruption and poor governance.

Mr. Prasad said days back that the present contest was between forward and backward castes. BJP ally and Mahadalit leader of the Musahar caste Jitan Ram Manjhi promptly disagreed.

The statement reflected Bihar politics of the 1990s, which seems to have changed now.

His conviction on corruption charges and image of poor governance apart, Mr. Prasad’s decline also stems from a gradual change in backward caste politics in Bihar. The first change was non-Yadavs seeking an autonomous space within OBC politics, which was symbolised by Mr. Kumar allying with the BJP — then seen as an upper caste party — to take on Mr. Prasad in 1994. The alliance defeated the RJD in 2005, and the BJP accepted Mr. Kumar as NDA’s leader in Bihar.

The scenario has changed further now. OBCs are no longer a bloc, and backward caste politics displays fragmentation even as individual backward castes seek welfare schemes and affirmative action. They are open to aligning with the BJP though many of them have fond memories of Mr. Kumar’s rule.

“Narendra Modi and Sushil Modi being from backward castes, OBCs and EBCs are increasingly open to allying with the BJP,” JNU academic Badri Narayan, an expert on caste, told The Hindu. He pointed to internal differentiation between backward castes. Sajjan Kumar Singh, a JNU doctoral student of politics who has surveyed Bihar for a month, said, “Each backward caste is looking at its own interest. There isn’t a bloc any longer; there are many individual castes.”

This affords the BJP a good opportunity to reach out to small, individual castes. This reporter’s visits to villages of OBCs and EBCs revealed interesting trends.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had sought to carve out a coherent EBC block as Chief Minister. But these castes aren’t acting as a group. Many have fond memories of Mr. Kumar’s rule but do not share the same sentiment for the RJD.

With an overarching backward caste politics no longer the glue, many backward castes in Yadav regions are uneasy with Yadav dominance, observers say. A Congress leader said he feared this would give the BJP a hidden advantage, as Yadavs outnumbered the BJP-supporting dominant castes, the Bhumihars and Rajputs.

The same may be true for Scheduled Castes in regions where Yadavs have a strong presence. Musahars of Barkhaban village in Gaya are with the NDA. They work in fields owned by Yadavs and the smirk on their faces is unmistakable when they say the landowners vote for Mr. Prasad.

The grand alliance still commands a Muslim-Yadav-Kurmi vote bank.

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Dadri Police want BJP leaders booked

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday sought a report from the Union Home Ministry on the Dadri incident in which a 50-year-old man was dragged out of his house and lynched amid rumors that he had consumed beef.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi is said to have given a detailed report to the PMO based on the reply given by the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday. The State government’s report, as first reported by The Hindu, did not mention the word beef and said the deceased Akhlaq was lynched over allegations that he had consumed pratibandhit pashu ka maans (meat of animal whose slaughter is banned).

On Tuesday, the Home Ministry shot off another letter to the Uttar Pradesh government, asking for a compliance report on the advisory sent by it on Monday. The MHA asked all the States to take the strictest action against those who attempted to weaken the secular fabric by exploiting religious emotions.

In a statement, the MHA said it was concerned at various incidents with communal overtones across the country, including the “unfortunate” incident at Dadri.

“We are examining the report sent by the Uttar Pradesh government regarding the incident and have also sent a strongly-worded letter seeking a compliance report on the steps taken by it to bring in communal harmony in the region,” said a senior official of the Home Ministry. Of the 10 accused named in the FIR, eight have been arrested.

On the sidelines of a function in Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: “It was an unfortunate incident. I appeal to every citizen to maintain communal harmony, which is everyone’s responsibility.”

The Dadri police also advised the police headquarters in Lucknow to take legal action against Union Minister for Culture and local MP Mahesh Sharma and BJP MLA and Muzaffarnagar riots accused Sangeet Som for violating prohibitory orders in Bishahra village. Another political leader against whom the local police have recommended action is Bahujan Samaj Party general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui.

The village and nearby areas became tense after Akhlaq’s lynching. The matter became communal as the trigger was beef, the victim was a Muslim and all the accused were Hindus.

As the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday sought a report from the Union Home Ministry on the Dadri incident and the Ministry shot off another letter to the Uttar Pradesh government, asking for a compliance report on the advisory sent by it on Monday, Superintendent of Police (Dadri Rural) Sanjay Singh told The Hindu that the headquarters in Lucknow had asked the local police to send a report on the visit to the village by several political leaders.

Legal action

“We have the names of the three leaders in our report and have also advised legal action against them for violating Section 144 which was in force in the village…” Mr. Singh said. “Legal action could be taken against Mahesh Sharma, Som and Siddique.”

Both Union Minister for Culture and local MP Mahesh Sharma and BJP MLA and Muzaffarnagar riots accused Sangeet Som had gone to the village temple which was misused to spread the rumor about beef at Mohammad Akhlaq’s house. Mr. Som visited the village on Sunday in a communally charged atmosphere and invoked the Muzaffarnagar riots while talking to a crowd. Without mentioning the riots, he said that if the law acts in favor of a particular community, “we are capable of giving a fitting reply as we did in the past.”

Sources said the police had in their possession a video recording of the speech made by Mr. Som, portions of which were found inflammatory.

In its report, the administration also said that at a time when the village needed to be calmed, Mr. Som made statements which could pose a challenge to law and order.

The police are also trying to find out the volunteers who spread the word about Mr. Som’s arrival and invited people for his speech.

Visiting the village last Friday, Mr. Sharma held a meeting in the compound of the temple and warned the media against “doing politics.”

The village was polarised on communal lines in the aftermath of the lynching. Members of the dominant Hindu community alleged harassment by the police. They have been protesting, and chased out reporters for “one-sided coverage.”

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Merkel, Modi at India's IT capital to boost trade ties

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  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were gifted a 'Make in India' lion model made by apprentices at the Bosch facility.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a tour of Bosch's vocational facility in Bengaluru. The two leaders interacted with students and received a 'Make in India' lion model made by apprentices at the facility.

The company showcased its innovative projects and the group’s commitment to skill development in India.

“Modi and Merkel viewed a powerpoint presentation on Bosch operations in India and walked through our innovation and vocational centres where research is done on innovative projects and skill development is imparted to our employees,” a Bosch India official said.

Both the leaders are expected to make a joint statement shortly.

1	Bengaluru houses major German business house like Bosch, SAP, Siemens and Mercedes-Benz, among others.
2	Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will tour the vocational facility of Bosch and are expected to make a joint statement.
3	The company will showcase its innovative projects and the group’s commitment to skill development in India. Chancellor Merkel will experience firsthand industry 4.0 and Internet of Things in the making in Bengaluru.
4	Both leaders will jointly address an Indo-German summit hosted by Indian IT association Nasscom in association with Fraunhofer called ‘Digitizing Tomorrow Together’.
5	They will also interact with Indian and German business leaders who are participating in the event.
6	On Monday, German research organization Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft signed Memorandums of Understanding with Bengaluru-based PSU HMT Limited.
7	Germany has agreed on a package of over a billion Euros for solar projects in India.
8	The high-profile visit is expected to boost the Modi government’s programmes such as ‘Make in India’, 'Digital India' and Smart city projects.
9	Around 1,600 German companies have established there presence in India, out of which over 200 are registered in India.
10	According to German Counsel, German companies had made an investment of around 9.7 billion Euro in India and provide workplaces for more than 4,00,000 Indians. http://editpag.blogspot.in/

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Minorities panel sends notice on Dadri lynching

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, following rumors he had stored beef in his house, is an issue “to which communal color must not be added.”

Mr. Singh’s appeal came even as it emerged that the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has served a show cause notice on the district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar on the incident. Dadri, the area where the incident occurred, falls within this district in Uttar Pradesh.

The notice was sent on September 30 after a request by Congressman Shehzad Poonawalla. The NCM has given the magistrate seven days to respond.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs, apart from one statement from senior minister Najma Heptullah, reiterating that the report of the State Government to the Home Ministry was awaited, maintained a studied silence.

“We must wait for the report. My work is to create confidence between communities,” she had said in Kolkata two days ago.

Her party colleague and controversial MP from Unnao, Sakshi Maharaj, termed the compensation given to the lynching victim’s family by the Uttar Pradesh government, an “appeasement.”

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Modi’s intense poll tours a contrast to long absences after

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed his first rally in Bihar after the announcement of the Assembly poll dates in the State.

He will be the main campaigner for his party in the Bihar elections and is expected to address more than 20 rallies over a month (the last date of campaigning is November 3 in this five-phase polls), a situation which could see him visit the State every other day of the month. How does that compare with his campaigning track record?

Data put together by The Hindu reveal that the Prime Minister tends to campaign in very intense bouts, packing in multiple venues and events in a single day. His public engagements in a particular State also dip after the polls are over.

The data, compiled from the Prime Minister’s website and Mr. Modi’s personal website, show that of the five States that have had elections since he assumed office, Mr. Modi has campaigned in all.

He held the most rallies and campaign events in Maharashtra — 24 (one rally in Nashik was cancelled due to rain) — which went to the polls on October 15 last year, while he spent the most days on the road campaigning, six days for nine rallies, in Jharkhand, which had its elections between November 25 and December 20 last year. The case of Maharashtra is astonishing since Mr. Modi seems to have packed in 24 rallies in just 10 days (October 4-13). In fact, between October 12 and 13, in the final burst of campaigning in the State, he addressed as many as eight rallies.

Mr. Modi held only five rallies over as many days in Delhi, which had its election on February 7 this year. The BJP lost the election to a wave in favor of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The data also show that official and party events sometimes run parallel to each other in poll-bound States. Between July and October 2014, the four months leading up to the Jammu and Kashmir elections, the Prime Minister visited the State four times for official functions, while he has had just one official function in the State since. Similarly, Mr. Modi’s first visit to Bihar since becoming the Prime Minister in May 2014 was on July 25, 2015, when he attended an official function in Patna, followed by a campaign rally in Muzaffarpur.

On Friday, Mr. Modi addressed a rally in Banka, his first in a series of 20 rallies he is expected to address in a month. The State will go to the polls in five phases from October 12.

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