Indian Political Corner | All Updates & Discussions.

[Parul]

"Gustakhi Maaf" spoof on Mr. Paltu-G's drama on bail.

 

[INDIC]

Opinion
Real India
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, June 01, 2014
From Print Edition

Capital suggestion

Fact 1: There are 1.2 billion humans in the world who live in extreme poverty. Fact 2: Of the 1.2 billion, 33 percent of the world’s poor live in India. Fact 3: India has a population of 1.237 billion. Fact 4: Of the 1.237 billion Indians, 850 million earn $2 or less per day (that is 2 out of every 3 Indians).

Yes, ‘India Shining’ was a marketing slogan developed by Grey Worldwide, the New York-based advertising firm. Yes, the Vajpayee government spent in excess of $20 million promoting the slogan (and yet the BJP lost the 2004 general election). Yes, there was a time when India’s growth rate was among the top in the world.

More recently, the rate of growth has crashed. More recently, stubborn budgetary deficits are crippling the economy. More recently, the current account gap soared to 6.7 percent of GDP. More recently, the Indian rupee is in free fall.

Education standards are falling like nine pins. According to the Annual Status of Education Report: “By their fifth year of schooling, only half of rural pupils can solve a calculation like 43 minus 24. Barely a quarter can read an English sentence like “What is the time?”

India’s model of economic development is failing. According to The New York Times: “Structural problems were inherent in India’s unusual model of economic development, which relied on a limited pool of skilled labor rather than an abundant supply of cheap, unskilled, semiliterate labor. This meant that India specialized in call centers, writing software for European companies and providing back-office services for American health insurers and law firms and the like, rather than in a manufacturing model. Other economies that have developed successfully – Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and China – relied in their early years on manufacturing, which provided more jobs for the poor.”

Last year, The Economist covered the Indian economy under the following headlines: “Angry young Indians; What a waste; How India is throwing away the world’s biggest economic opportunity.”

Arundhati Roy, the Indian political activist and the author of ‘The God of small things’, believes that “India’s chosen development model has a genocidal core to it” and that “bloodshed is inherent to this model of development.” According to Arundhati, “now, we have a democratically elected totalitarian government.”

“I see the induction of religion in politics”, wrote Kuldip Nayar, the veteran Indian journalist, author and columnist. “India’s new language of killing,” wrote Praveen Swami of The Hindu. Subir Sinha of the University of London, in a 927-word article, explained ‘Why India’s new PM may bring disaster to India.’

According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, 186 members of the elected lower house of parliament, 34 percent of the total, are facing criminal charges of inciting communal disharmony, murder, kidnapping and robbery.

For the record, India is already the biggest buyer of arms on the face of the planet. A religious extremist at the helm of affairs along with a failing economy could be disastrous both for India and the region.

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com

Twitter: @saleemfarrukh

Hey think tank, what is the message of this article.

 

[NirmalKrish]

Opinion
Real India
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, June 01, 2014
From Print Edition

Capital suggestion

Fact 1: There are 1.2 billion humans in the world who live in extreme poverty. Fact 2: Of the 1.2 billion, 33 percent of the world’s poor live in India. Fact 3: India has a population of 1.237 billion. Fact 4: Of the 1.237 billion Indians, 850 million earn $2 or less per day (that is 2 out of every 3 Indians).

Yes, ‘India Shining’ was a marketing slogan developed by Grey Worldwide, the New York-based advertising firm. Yes, the Vajpayee government spent in excess of $20 million promoting the slogan (and yet the BJP lost the 2004 general election). Yes, there was a time when India’s growth rate was among the top in the world.

More recently, the rate of growth has crashed. More recently, stubborn budgetary deficits are crippling the economy. More recently, the current account gap soared to 6.7 percent of GDP. More recently, the Indian rupee is in free fall.

Education standards are falling like nine pins. According to the Annual Status of Education Report: “By their fifth year of schooling, only half of rural pupils can solve a calculation like 43 minus 24. Barely a quarter can read an English sentence like “What is the time?”

India’s model of economic development is failing. According to The New York Times: “Structural problems were inherent in India’s unusual model of economic development, which relied on a limited pool of skilled labor rather than an abundant supply of cheap, unskilled, semiliterate labor. This meant that India specialized in call centers, writing software for European companies and providing back-office services for American health insurers and law firms and the like, rather than in a manufacturing model. Other economies that have developed successfully – Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and China – relied in their early years on manufacturing, which provided more jobs for the poor.”

Last year, The Economist covered the Indian economy under the following headlines: “Angry young Indians; What a waste; How India is throwing away the world’s biggest economic opportunity.”

Arundhati Roy, the Indian political activist and the author of ‘The God of small things’, believes that “India’s chosen development model has a genocidal core to it” and that “bloodshed is inherent to this model of development.” According to Arundhati, “now, we have a democratically elected totalitarian government.”

“I see the induction of religion in politics”, wrote Kuldip Nayar, the veteran Indian journalist, author and columnist. “India’s new language of killing,” wrote Praveen Swami of The Hindu. Subir Sinha of the University of London, in a 927-word article, explained ‘Why India’s new PM may bring disaster to India.’

According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, 186 members of the elected lower house of parliament, 34 percent of the total, are facing criminal charges of inciting communal disharmony, murder, kidnapping and robbery.

For the record, India is already the biggest buyer of arms on the face of the planet. A religious extremist at the helm of affairs along with a failing economy could be disastrous both for India and the region.

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com

Twitter: @saleemfarrukh

just pure garbage, literature of no substance, stopped after the first paragraph, and looked down journo based in islamabad, need i say more.

 

[AugenBlick]

Congress’ dilemma: How do you solve a problem like Rahul? | Firstpost

New Delhi: It’s time for Rahul Gandhi to be rewarded again. Others may win laurels for their successes, but the Amethi MP gets feted handsomely each time he fails. And this time he appears to have out-done himself. As the party’s star campaigner for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he returned home with just 44 of the 532 seats—162 less than its 2009 tally, 11 short of the number needed to get the status of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, one less than the 45 member-Modi cabinet and one more than the 43 years Rahul has to his age. Rahul Gandhi. PTI In presiding over the party’s worst performance since Independence, the Amethi MP has set a dubious record that, his critics aver, could lead to the extinction of the 129 year old organization nurtured after Independence mostly by the Nehru-Gandhi family. So, will Rahul be rewarded and anointed leader of party/leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha? And if he is handed this task, will be measure up to it? Or will he—like his refusal to join the Manmohan Singh government---shy away from taking any responsibility that requires his continued participation, visibility, availability, dedication and commitment, personality traits that he is seen to be woefully short of? Either way, it’s a losing proposition both for him and his party. This is because the problem is not that the party has lost the elections so badly, but that Rahul himself is a failure and a problem for the party which the Congress can neither jettison nor live with, given the fact that its fate is tied to the Nehru-Gandhi family both in victory or defeat. Rewarding Failure What worries most workers is that despite his failures, Rahul gets rewarded with greater responsibilities even if, along the way, he is ridiculed as Amul baby, Pappu or recently even "joker"---for which a Kerala Congressman was suspended. Rahul’s real test of leadership began, when he was made general secretary in 2007 and tasked to energise the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India and groom young leaders. He believes that he has done a good job by introducing elections to broadbase and democratize the frontal organizations. But ask any Congressman and he would dismiss the exercise as a dismal failure. "The role of the frontal organizations was to spot and groom talent through nominations. But the introduction of elections has brought in money power. It has allowed those with resources from elite families to dominate the show, thereby squeezing out the poor and the meritorious,’’ said a senior Congress leader who did not want to be named. During the 10 years that Rahul has been in active politics, he has nothing major to show by way of achievements, other than winning 21 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2009 which, in any case, was because of goodwill generated by the performance of UPA-1 under the triumvirate of Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi-Rahul which took their Lok Sabha tally from 145 seats in 2004 to 206 in 2009. Misled into thinking that Rahul perhaps has the magic wand, Sonia began to pass on her mantle to him--with disastrous consequences. Since the 2009 Lok Sabha and assembly polls, there have been elections in 26 states (besides the recent polls in Odisha, Sikkim and Andhra). The Congress won eight, mostly in midsized or small states like Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur. In the one big state of West Bengal, its tally rose from 21 to 42 because of its tie-up with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. But these victories could not camouflage Rahul’s failure to deliver in the assembly polls in big states like UP, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which account for 277 seats in 542 member Lok Sabha. But less than a year after the Congress’s shoddy performance in UP and a month after its abject defeat in Gujarat, Rahul was made vice president in January 2013 at a specially convened session which bypassed the main agenda of brainstorming on the reasons for the party’s losses. The conclave stopped short of naming him as the prime ministerial candidate but the carefully crafted show hailed him as the party’s messiah to enthuse workers depressed over serial defeats and worried at the impact of BJP leader Narendra Modi’s arrival on the national scene after his victory in Gujarat. Burdened by the failures of UPA-2 and his own lacklustre campaigns, Rahul led the party to disaster in Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in December 2013. But he was rewarded again. Early in 2014, he was made chief campaigner---to growing unease among party workers until Sonia decided to head the campaign committee herself. But this was a mere formality, since she allowed him to lead the battle for 2014. But the electorate was unforgiving: it gave the Congress only 44 seats and a 19.3% vote share. Has the Congress president learned something from all this---that Rahul’s rise is inversely proportional to the Congress’s downfall? Or will she fete him again by asking him to lead the MPs in the Lok Sabha? Will Rahul be upto a new task? Given Rahul’s personality traits and his past record, no one other than those close to him want him in that job. The Lok Sabha, they believe, is the only platform they presently have to claw their way into the reckoning through constructive debates, meaningful interventions and active participation and if they squander this opportunity, they may as well write their epitaph. Rahul’s parliamentary performance has been as dismal as his ground level campaigns where he could not even bring 55 MPs to officially become the leader of opposition. The party will now have to depend on the magnanimity of the new Speaker---to be elected when the House meets from June 4-12---for recognizing a Congress member as leader of opposition. Rahul’s attendance and interventions have been sparse. According to PRS, which tracks data on MPs’ parliamentary participation, Rahul did not ask a single question or bring any private members bill in his second term as MP. He participated in just two debates—both relating to the Lokpal bill. Half the time he was absent from the House---his 43% attendance in sharp contrast to the national average of 76%. Data shows that Rahul used only half of the Rs five crore fund allotted to every MP for the development of his constituency. Perhaps because he took a bigger role in the party, he skipped Parliament and did not turn up for the meetings of the standing committee of home of which he was a member. The big question is whether Rahul, who failed to inspire his workers as general secretary and vice president, will be able to do so to the handful of 44 Congress MPs in the new House? No one is ready to give him the benefit of doubt. After all, the Amethi MP—much like the fictional character Don Quixote--- prefers the lofty talk of transforming the Congress and the system and has missed a chance to learn practical politics and governance by not joining the Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. "He does not know how governments function and has not bothered to learn by participating in Parliament. So until he transforms himself, he would not fit in well with the other MPs,’’ said one leader. Congresspersons complain that he was not accessible or available to them as a party leader. As leader of the parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha, he will have to be constantly on his toes, interacting with his own flock as well as with MPs from other parties and with the government representatives. Indeed, the task is so onerous that there reports that most leaders are declining to lead the party even in the Rajya Sabha where the Congress has 67 members. The situation would be even more trying in the Lok Sabha which is a larger and in a way more powerful House since it has the power to bring down a government through a vote of confidence/no confidence or rejecting money bills. Youth Congress members and senior leader Digvijaya Singh are among those who want him to take up the job and lead from the front. "It will allow him to learn,’’ said one such supporter. But those worried about the party’s future do not want to run that risk and are keen that Sonia resume overall charge of the party, including in Parliament. They are already unnerved by Rahul’s promise to "fight for the people’’ and provide a "strong opposition’’ and pray that it is only a part of his well rehearsed speech and does not lead to his elevation as their leader in the Lok Sabha. The difference on opinion on whether or not Rahul should head the group of MPs is best illustrated by the fact that Sonia, as chairperson of the Congress parliamentary party, has not taken any decision in the matter so far. She is likely to keep decision pending until Rahul says "yes" or "no." The final word remains with him.

 

[Soumitra]

A young ladies encounter with Modi and Shankar Singh Vaghela

A train journey and two names to remember - The Hindu

 

[Prometheus]

still the lesson not learnt

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>बाराबंकी से <a href="Twitter / Search - #bjp">#bjp</a> सांसद प्रियंका सिंह ने <a href="Twitter / Search - #pm">#pm</a> नरेंद्र मोदी के निर्देश की उड़ाई धज्जियां। पिता को ही बनाया सांसद प्रतिनिधि।</p>&mdash; Navbharat Times (@NavbharatTimes) <a href="

https://twitter.com/x/status/472979630790422528

">June 1, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Rahul9090]

PM Modi likely to invite Jayalalithaa to join NDA | Firstpost

 

[arp2041]

still the lesson not learnt

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>बाराबंकी से <a href="Twitter / Search - #bjp">#bjp</a> सांसद प्रियंका सिंह ने <a href="Twitter / Search - #pm">#pm</a> नरेंद्र मोदी के निर्देश की उड़ाई धज्जियां। पिता को ही बनाया सांसद प्रतिनिधि।</p>&mdash; Navbharat Times (@NavbharatTimes) <a href="

https://twitter.com/x/status/472979630790422528

">June 1, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bhai seriously, can you now atleast act as a sane member & provide SOLUTIONS instead of pointing out PROBLEMS always?

The election campaign is over & we have a Majority govt. first time in 30 years, people have given there CLEAR verdict. Let's work out to make our country better now even if you hate the govt. (either of state or country).

You are NOT @Bhai Zakir pls don't act as one.

 

[INDIC]

@Prometheus aajkal AAP ke neta log TV pe nahi dikhte.

 

[Star Wars]

A young ladies encounter with Modi and Shankar Singh Vaghela

A train journey and two names to remember - The Hindu

Constitutional Amendment ...

 

[cloud_9]

GoI's Social Directory (Official Twitter and Facebook handles)

GoI's Social Directory - Pastebin.com

 

[Chronos]

just pure garbage, literature of no substance, stopped after the first paragraph, and looked down journo based in islamabad, need i say more.

Actually, the problem he raises is pertinent.

India's reliance on the IT sector relies on a limited pool of workers with specific skills.

Ironically, the answer is Modi. Modi did say an emphasis on manufacturing is needed, Which provides jobs for a bigger pool of semi-skilled workers. It also has a greater multiplier effect.

Modi emphasizes infrastructure projects. Which has been an ongoing complaint for a long time for India. He has made plans for toilets.

India is ranked as one of the worst places to start a business. Modi obviously wants to change this.

When I read the article, my solutions to the issues the journalist raised, are in conformance with Modi's polcies.

What are his solutions? More handouts? More subsidies that India can't afford?

Instead of going on a massive spending binge that subsidizes The poor in he country to live one more day, It makes sense to build up infrastructure, attract industry that allows the 33% of the poor to send their kid to schools.

To be fair, I don't know Dr. Farrukh's political agenda, But if a guy like Modi can usurp India's democractic instituions and checks and balances with ease, that means India's democracy was weak to begin with.

It's funny how he starts listing of all these problems (the standard Indians are so poor, how he forgot about the toilet line, I don't know). And the soultion is Modi's economic agenda.

It's better than Congress's plan anyway.

@NirmalKrish Pretty funny when Pakistanis post articles like this. Their country's reson for existence is blatant sectarianism.

And pretty funny when they lecture us on women's rights.

Both countries have country miules to go.

Indians just need to hunker down and concentrate on the economy.

 

[NirmalKrish]

Actually, the problem he raises is pertinent.

India's reliance on the IT sector relies on a limited pool of workers with specific skills.

Ironically, the answer is Modi. Modi did say an emphasis on manufacturing is needed, Which provides jobs for a bigger pool of semi-skilled workers. It also has a greater multiplier effect.

Modi emphasizes infrastructure projects. Which has been an ongoing complaint for a long time for India. He has made plans for toilets.

India is ranked as one of the worst places to start a business. Modi obviously wants to change this.

When I read the article, my solutions to the issues the journalist raised, are in conformance with Modi's polcies.

What are his solutions? More handouts? More subsidies that India can't afford?

Instead of going on a massive spending binge that subsidizes The poor in he country to live one more day, It makes sense to build up infrastructure, attract industry that allows the 33% of the poor to send their kid to schools.

To be fair, I don't know Dr. Farrukh's political agenda, But if a guy like Modi can usurp India's democractic instituions and checks and balances with ease, that means India's democracy was weak to begin with.

It's funny how he starts listing of all these problems (the standard Indians are so poor, how he forgot about the toilet line, I don't know). And the soultion is Modi's economic agenda.

It's better than Congress's plan anyway.

@NirmalKrish Pretty funny when Pakistanis post articles like this. Their country's reson for existence is blatant sectarianism.

And pretty funny when they lecture us on women's rights.

Both countries have country miules to go.

Indians just need to hunker down and concentrate on the economy.

"NARENDRA MODI: Is it possible to have discussions amidst bomb blasts and gunshots? Do you think it is possible to have a discussion amidst the deafening noise of bomb blasts and gunshots? So to have a reasonable discussion, first the blasts and gunshots have to stop

NARENDRA MODI: There can be no talks till all this comes to an end. You tell me, we are sitting here but can we continue our conversation if we are surrounded by the noise of bomb blasts and gunshots?

NARENDRA MODI: Why do you think negative? If the country looks strong, then even its companions will change, neighbours will change and the atmosphere will change.

ARNAB GOSWAMI: But, why don't you say talks and terror cannot continue? That was the position of the BJP in these last few years?

NARENDRA MODI: If the country's Government is strong, then the solutions will be found automatically"

Sums the flying F that modi has given, in relation to the importance of cross border menace that is Pakistan.

 

[paranoiarocks]

 

[JanjaWeed]

Congress’ dilemma: How do you solve a problem like Rahul? | Firstpost

New Delhi: It’s time for Rahul Gandhi to be rewarded again. Others may win laurels for their successes, but the Amethi MP gets feted handsomely each time he fails. And this time he appears to have out-done himself. As the party’s star campaigner for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he returned home with just 44 of the 532 seats—162 less than its 2009 tally, 11 short of the number needed to get the status of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, one less than the 45 member-Modi cabinet and one more than the 43 years Rahul has to his age. Rahul Gandhi. PTI In presiding over the party’s worst performance since Independence, the Amethi MP has set a dubious record that, his critics aver, could lead to the extinction of the 129 year old organization nurtured after Independence mostly by the Nehru-Gandhi family. So, will Rahul be rewarded and anointed leader of party/leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha? And if he is handed this task, will be measure up to it? Or will he—like his refusal to join the Manmohan Singh government---shy away from taking any responsibility that requires his continued participation, visibility, availability, dedication and commitment, personality traits that he is seen to be woefully short of? Either way, it’s a losing proposition both for him and his party. This is because the problem is not that the party has lost the elections so badly, but that Rahul himself is a failure and a problem for the party which the Congress can neither jettison nor live with, given the fact that its fate is tied to the Nehru-Gandhi family both in victory or defeat. Rewarding Failure What worries most workers is that despite his failures, Rahul gets rewarded with greater responsibilities even if, along the way, he is ridiculed as Amul baby, Pappu or recently even "joker"---for which a Kerala Congressman was suspended. Rahul’s real test of leadership began, when he was made general secretary in 2007 and tasked to energise the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India and groom young leaders. He believes that he has done a good job by introducing elections to broadbase and democratize the frontal organizations. But ask any Congressman and he would dismiss the exercise as a dismal failure. "The role of the frontal organizations was to spot and groom talent through nominations. But the introduction of elections has brought in money power. It has allowed those with resources from elite families to dominate the show, thereby squeezing out the poor and the meritorious,’’ said a senior Congress leader who did not want to be named. During the 10 years that Rahul has been in active politics, he has nothing major to show by way of achievements, other than winning 21 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2009 which, in any case, was because of goodwill generated by the performance of UPA-1 under the triumvirate of Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi-Rahul which took their Lok Sabha tally from 145 seats in 2004 to 206 in 2009. Misled into thinking that Rahul perhaps has the magic wand, Sonia began to pass on her mantle to him--with disastrous consequences. Since the 2009 Lok Sabha and assembly polls, there have been elections in 26 states (besides the recent polls in Odisha, Sikkim and Andhra). The Congress won eight, mostly in midsized or small states like Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur. In the one big state of West Bengal, its tally rose from 21 to 42 because of its tie-up with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. But these victories could not camouflage Rahul’s failure to deliver in the assembly polls in big states like UP, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which account for 277 seats in 542 member Lok Sabha. But less than a year after the Congress’s shoddy performance in UP and a month after its abject defeat in Gujarat, Rahul was made vice president in January 2013 at a specially convened session which bypassed the main agenda of brainstorming on the reasons for the party’s losses. The conclave stopped short of naming him as the prime ministerial candidate but the carefully crafted show hailed him as the party’s messiah to enthuse workers depressed over serial defeats and worried at the impact of BJP leader Narendra Modi’s arrival on the national scene after his victory in Gujarat. Burdened by the failures of UPA-2 and his own lacklustre campaigns, Rahul led the party to disaster in Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in December 2013. But he was rewarded again. Early in 2014, he was made chief campaigner---to growing unease among party workers until Sonia decided to head the campaign committee herself. But this was a mere formality, since she allowed him to lead the battle for 2014. But the electorate was unforgiving: it gave the Congress only 44 seats and a 19.3% vote share. Has the Congress president learned something from all this---that Rahul’s rise is inversely proportional to the Congress’s downfall? Or will she fete him again by asking him to lead the MPs in the Lok Sabha? Will Rahul be upto a new task? Given Rahul’s personality traits and his past record, no one other than those close to him want him in that job. The Lok Sabha, they believe, is the only platform they presently have to claw their way into the reckoning through constructive debates, meaningful interventions and active participation and if they squander this opportunity, they may as well write their epitaph. Rahul’s parliamentary performance has been as dismal as his ground level campaigns where he could not even bring 55 MPs to officially become the leader of opposition. The party will now have to depend on the magnanimity of the new Speaker---to be elected when the House meets from June 4-12---for recognizing a Congress member as leader of opposition. Rahul’s attendance and interventions have been sparse. According to PRS, which tracks data on MPs’ parliamentary participation, Rahul did not ask a single question or bring any private members bill in his second term as MP. He participated in just two debates—both relating to the Lokpal bill. Half the time he was absent from the House---his 43% attendance in sharp contrast to the national average of 76%. Data shows that Rahul used only half of the Rs five crore fund allotted to every MP for the development of his constituency. Perhaps because he took a bigger role in the party, he skipped Parliament and did not turn up for the meetings of the standing committee of home of which he was a member. The big question is whether Rahul, who failed to inspire his workers as general secretary and vice president, will be able to do so to the handful of 44 Congress MPs in the new House? No one is ready to give him the benefit of doubt. After all, the Amethi MP—much like the fictional character Don Quixote--- prefers the lofty talk of transforming the Congress and the system and has missed a chance to learn practical politics and governance by not joining the Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. "He does not know how governments function and has not bothered to learn by participating in Parliament. So until he transforms himself, he would not fit in well with the other MPs,’’ said one leader. Congresspersons complain that he was not accessible or available to them as a party leader. As leader of the parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha, he will have to be constantly on his toes, interacting with his own flock as well as with MPs from other parties and with the government representatives. Indeed, the task is so onerous that there reports that most leaders are declining to lead the party even in the Rajya Sabha where the Congress has 67 members. The situation would be even more trying in the Lok Sabha which is a larger and in a way more powerful House since it has the power to bring down a government through a vote of confidence/no confidence or rejecting money bills. Youth Congress members and senior leader Digvijaya Singh are among those who want him to take up the job and lead from the front. "It will allow him to learn,’’ said one such supporter. But those worried about the party’s future do not want to run that risk and are keen that Sonia resume overall charge of the party, including in Parliament. They are already unnerved by Rahul’s promise to "fight for the people’’ and provide a "strong opposition’’ and pray that it is only a part of his well rehearsed speech and does not lead to his elevation as their leader in the Lok Sabha. The difference on opinion on whether or not Rahul should head the group of MPs is best illustrated by the fact that Sonia, as chairperson of the Congress parliamentary party, has not taken any decision in the matter so far. She is likely to keep decision pending until Rahul says "yes" or "no." The final word remains with him.

no dilemma... just suspend whoever raises the question about Pappu's capability.. They have suspended that Mustafa guy from Kerala for calling Pappu a joker.

& now this...
Rajasthan Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma, who had blamed Rahul Gandhi & his advisors for poll rout, suspended.