‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Desh- Pehle'. Volume-1: Tamilnadu and Puducherry.

Preface:

It’s been more than two years since flamesofdissent.com was started. My idea was to present at least one story a week. Later on 16th August 2020, I wrote a second round of introduction and the idea was to present one story a week. But pressure from political class made me stop after three weeks. The pressure tactics involved stealing data and articles prepared by me from my room using duplicate keys, in my absence. Making my life impossible like disconnecting power supply every now and then. Mechanic and cobbler refusing to help me with their service and finally an attempt to murder me. And there was absolutely no action from police. Rowdies will come after me, every time when I come out of my home. And their unstated need is that the website (flamesofdissent.com) should belong to one of the political party.

I was not surprised, because in Tamilnadu most of the media belongs either to DMK or AIADMK. Starting from Kalinger TV, Jaya TV, Sun network, and even the print media like Daily Tanti.

I am of the opnion that a media or newspaper is meaningless, if it is owned and managed PRO of a political party. Of course political parties can have their own news paper, magazine or a TV channel to cater to their own supporters. But political parties having monopoly in media like in Tamilnadu or political parties making most of the media a PRO of their respective parties would sully the meaning of media. flamesofdissent.com will continue to be independent and no Rowdyism entertained what so ever.

I once wrote that anything written in flamesofdissent.com will either result in change of law, rules or it will change the reader’s paradigm. And if it is true, then it is only because of the research I do on a topic before presenting it. Some wanted the website’s name, some wanted the site to be theirs. Closure website is under consideration, if my health deteriorates. A change of name is under consideration and an upgrade to the website also is under consideration. But such changes will not make any sense, unless I present at least one story a week.

‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Desh- Pehle'.

‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Desh Pehle', was the slogan of Narendra Modi and BJP, which started during election campaign in 2014. And it continued even after Modi became Prime minister of India. But it continued as just a slogan. Now the same BJP and Modi is campaigning in five states, where election is due in less than a month. And the intention of me writing about this five state’s election is 'Desh Pehle'.

And it’s time to ask yourself; is Modi government really “Sabka Sath-Sabka Vikas” ( with everyone- everyone’s progress)? And why Modi and BJP leaders are not talking about their great diplomatic skills or about the mighty Indian defence? Is Indian territory as it was when BJP took over or did India make a unfair compromise with China?

Or did BJP led by Narendra Modi sell a portion of India to China? We all know that they have sold Bharath petroleum, Indian Airlines, LIC and so on. And we should call this; ‘Desh-Pehle’.

And as far as ‘Sabka Sath-Sabka Vikas' is concerned, we see Railway platform tickets which was available for rupees ten a few years ago is being sold for fifty rupees. One can purchase a local train ticket for fifteen ,twenty or thirty rupees, which would also get you access to platform.

Such expensive platform tickets are sold to raise funds for reforms. And the kind of reforms are like, Niti Ayog the government think tank will do research and find solutions like introducing only A/c trains in India. And it’s called ‘Sabka Sath- Sabka Vikas'. “Humsafar Express”, a train which runs from Chennai to Ahmedabad has no general compartment. Two general compartments, one in the back and one in the front will increase the safety of VIP passengers in event of any mishap, other than it helping the poor to travel. It also will help those who did not plan their trip or did not reserve a ticket in advance. And two additional compartments will not be an overload for its engine and will come at a negligible fuel expense. Oh yes, Desh Pehle!

Recently Smirti Irani said that India's raw silk production increased by 35%in the last six years.

I did my schooling in rural Bengaluru, in a town called Doddaballapur. Doddaballapur is also known as ‘Silk city’. I had several schoolmates who had hand and power looms in their house. I been to their houses where we play, sit, have tea, snacks and food in-between those looms. Silk business in the town (silk city) was lucrative at one point of time. But over the recent years, people whose livelihood was silk production are either jobless or are working somewhere else. And what is this 35% increase Miss. Irani is talking about? Thousands who depended on silk production lost their business and are jobless. Few companies who could afford machineries and could get bank loan have employed few hundred people and the production went up by 35%. If the union Government were to introduce a plan for encouraging cottage industries to create job in this sector in 2014, then the increase in silk production could have been much more than 35% and it could have decreased unemployment rate. The entire plan of NDA Government is to help only the rich and super rich which is not bad. But a super rich with few expensive machines and hundred odd employees can increase silk production, with those machines running all day and night. But it is neither sustainable nor it can create job for many.

Our union Government’s quick fix will help them to achieve numbers like GDP, while the gap between the rich and poor widens. A number of government schemes which Modi talks in his political rally are actually designed for such rallies. For example; Ayushman Bharath, MUDRA are being presented during such rallies and Modi will say something like fifty crore people are benefitted ( Oor pachas karod logonkeliyeee bee, iska feyda bii milaa haiii).

One should check with their neighbours, workers and vendors to see if there is someone in their families, who are benefitted from such schemes to know the reality.

Yes, there is no other political party, which can impart jingoism and chauvinism better than BJP. Look at the picture below to see the kind of Nationalism, we all should learn from them .

Narendra Modi and BJP leaders were desperate about making Hindi the national language. And during election campaign in Tamilnadu, Narendra Modi regrets for not learning Tamil. Will he say that while campaigning for his party in Karnataka? And Modi need not have to regret. He still can spare half an hour a day to learn Tamil or he can stop this hypocrisy.

Petrol and diesel prices are at all time high. And these is what Wion says about it.

Watch this video carefully to see what our Prime Minister said and the reaction of innocent audiences.

Increase in petrol and diesel price will result in price rise in essential commodities and food supplies. And that is one way of saying; ‘Sabka Sath-Sabka Vikas’.

BJP doesn’t deserve to win one state out of Kerala, Tamilnadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal. BJP may win Assam, in West Bengal they can choose to be in the opposition and the remaining three states are going to be a nightmare for BJP.

Week Congress leadership has actually created a real crisis in Indian politics. Modi and BJP at the center is making use of this to the extent of doing anything to saffronise India. Lack of opposition is making it go with out any checks and balances. And it is of course not 'Desh-Pehle'. It is ‘BJP-Pehle’. When BJP targets Chief Ministers like Arvind Kejriwal and V.Narayana Swamy using governors and central agencies, development in those states are hindered. And can you ever call this ‘Desh-Pehle'? Puducherry is just another example of it. BJP will look for MLA's who could be framed in tax evasion case or will use CBI, Enforcement or any central agencies to armtwist them. They look for MLA's who have got some business or some issue which can be used as an item for bargain. And they use central agencies to do such bargain. That’s exactly what BJP has done in Puducherry. They toppled Congress government led by V. Narayana Swamy in Puducherry.

Nitish Kumar was against Modi in the past. Later he became an ally of NDA. This is exactly what BJP expects from every non-BJP leaders. But in Puducherry, their gimmick backfired. Last time BJP had just three MLAs. Those who quit to join BJP can hardly win election. Even if they win, they still won’t be able form government with AIADMK. AIADMK and BJP ruling Puducherry is far from reality. Tamalians who value their culture are neither impressed by AIADMK leadership nor by strong Hindutva and beefban. There is no doubt that Congress will come back to power with DMK as it’s ally in Puducherry. And those MLAs who joined BJP winning the election in Puducherry is an insult to those who elected them.

Tamilnadu state election is just nineteen days away and people in Tamilnadu are in a dilemma as who would be their next Chief Minister? A stable government for five years can be a reality only by one single party getting the majority in the upcoming election. Looking at the history of Tamilnadu politics, one would find that Tamilnadu is a state, which had only few leaders who could complete five years term.

Fortunately Tamilnadu is one among those developed state in India and one can never say it is all because of their leaders. It is the hardworking people. Tamilnadu was rich from the days of Choola's. Madras presidency of British East India company was because they had much to extract from Tamilnadu.

Now Tamilnadu is going to witness an election without Jayalalithaa (AMMA) and Karunanidhi (KALAINGER). It was Edappadi Palani Swami the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu since Jayalalithaa's death. It is irrelevant to talk about how good or bad Jayalalitha was? But, it is necessary to say that the entire AIADMK leadership is nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites. They do not deserve to be in power. One such hypocrisy is that they do not want Sasikala in the party. And they know that Sasikala was co-accused in disproportionate assets case and the main accused was Jayalalitha. But when Jayalalitha was alive, the entire AIADMK was fine with both Jayalalitha (Amma) and Shashikala (Chinna Amma). But now they do not want Chinna Amma, even after Chinna Amma serving her sentence. They don’t even like her using AIADMK flag on her car.

But AIADMK want Jayalalitha's the main accused's picture everywhere. This means the EPS and OPS do not want Chinna Amma, a disrepute to AIADMK, as their boss or subordinate. They want Jayalalitha to get vote. So are they not using Jayalalithaa’s picture for Marketing brand AIADMK?

Jayalalithaa’s ( AMMA) mysterious death.

Jayalalitha’s mysterious death created a lot of vacuum and unrest in Tamilnadu politics. The unrest in politics was about; who will be the next chief minister of Tamilnadu? Then there was a divide in AIADMK. And the unrest among the innocent people in Tamilnadu was about the mysterious death of Jayalalitha, whom they called AMMA. Yes, Jayalalitha the popular leader whose slogan was, “Makkalal Naan, Makkalukkaga Naan”.

The product of all that happened days before and after Jayalalitha’s death is the present Chief Minister of Tamilnadu. And Eddapadi Palani Swami doesn’t deserves to be a Chief Minister ever in his life. The biggest mistake ever happened in the history of Tamilnadu politics is Eddapadi Palani Swamy becoming Chief Minister. His Chief Ministership was supported and sponsored by BJP at the centre. And this includes settling the factions in AIADMK. Also there was an unrest in AIADMK leaders regarding the assets belonging to Jayalalitha. And so far there is not much known to the public about the assets left by AMMA. Whom it should belong? Who is maintaining it? BJP the party, which is not acceptable for Tamilians on any day, had their great support to this great man Eddapadi Palani Swamy. If not, there could have been a CBI or some central agency investigating this matter.

Was Jayalalitha’s death a cold blooded murder or a natural death?

Of course, it was a planned murder. But not in the way in which people of Tamilnadu thought. It is a slow death, which many had in their old age. Often people with too much of wealth and power will die such death. And that makes it impossible to find out who is behind it?

Once her foreign doctor told to Jayalalitha; you could be the boss of this entire state, but here I am the boss and you should follow my instructions. Jayalalitha could not speak. So she gestured; it’s not you, it’s me.

Such arrogance and courage comes only from someone who is helpless, cornered, sick, cannot trust anyone and yet do not want to surrender, knowing that it anyways won’t make it any better.

It was just an year since people of Tamilnadu elected AMMA as chief Minister. The verdict in disproportionate assets case was just months away. AMMA had no legal heir. AMMA had various ailments which included skin disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problem ( which caused her death), she was allergic to ink and she used to wear adult diaper. And she had the best doctors in the city on call and handful of powerful people. Be it her obesity or the heart problem and the problems which made her use adult diapers did not happen over night. It was possible to control her weight, blood pressure, diabetes and perform the heart surgery in a planned manner. So there was ignorance from those around her, before she was hospitalized and may be not be after it. It could be true that the AIADMK leaders wanted her to leave before the court sentence. Accumulated wealth was another attraction than just saving the party from embarrassment. If anyone thinks that it is just my perspective. Then those doctors in KMC, Chennai who treated me while I was there with a stab injury would know as how someone helpless can be harassed.

AMMA a women born in Karnataka and came to Chennai to follow her passion. Had no family or kids. Spent rest of her life for Tamilnadu after retiring from movie world. All she had in life was enjoyed food she liked, lived luxuriously, had expensive saree, ornaments and expensive shoes. She could have had them anyways being a movie star. So don’t you all get the feeling of ‘being used'? After that, was her untimely and miserable death. And the result was such that a new hero was born in Tamilnadu called Edappadi Palani swamy. He is a disgrace for Tamilnadu.

Let us not consider what led to Jayalalitha’s death. Instead will just think of what Edappadi Palani Swamy has done in Tamilnadu in his term as Chief Minister. Edappadi Palani Swamy not just increased the bus fare in Tamilnadu but doubled it. Thus increasing the burden on poor masses who use buses for vacation, commuting to and from work etc. Edappadi was unaware of the fact that those who travel in bus will decide who should be the next Chief Minister.

The police brutality in Tamilnadu is needless to explain. It is not that all police officers had a drastic change in their behaviour in the last four years. It is the Edappadi Palani Swamy’s administration which made police officers rude, saddists and guardians of criminals. They say; “Yatha Prabhu, Thatha Praja”.

To quote few examples;

Who will forget the incidents like a cab driver in Chennai who self immolated in public road, due to harassment from police.

A couple on bike was kicked by police who chased them. The pillion rider was pregnant and died. This happened under the able administration of the great Edappadi Palani Swamy ayya.

If one were to say that it was some officers behaviour and not state sponsored. Then what would you say about the custodial death of a father and son in Tuticorin for violating lockdown norms. The father and son were not involved in any crime than the fact that they were late by few minutes to close their shop.

Edappadi Palani Swamy was with Sterlite in Toticorn and was not with those protesters who were spread across Tamilnadu. And Mugilan the activist whose spear headed the protest was killed brutally and his death is still a mystery.

Eight-lane Express High way from Salem to Chennai was an ambitious project, more for kickbacks than for the development of Tamilnadu.

Edappadi Palani Swamy and AIADMK was not with the farmers who lost their agricultural land for this project and was with those company who took contract for building the road.

It is only AIADMK led by Edappadi Palani Swamy the only party who tried to capitalise the pandemic (covid-19). Chennai was one of the epic centre of covid-19 and the trick is simple and it is no secret in Chennai.

Or Edappadi is good in maths. The recovery rate will improve, if the number of people affected are more. The increased number of covid-19 patients could mean more expenses to exchequer. And a portion of that expenses will go to political leaders. Any media conducting an investigation could find many who would say that they were taken forcefully from their place to be in quarantine to increase the headcount and was left after three days or a week’s time.

Edappadi Palani Swamy had nothing to say about Srilankan's killing Tamilnadu fishermen all these days. Same was his reaction even in the recent incident when fishermen from Rameshwaram were killed.

Now Eddapadi Palaniswamy and all other AIADMK leaders are pretty sure that they will not win the upcoming election in Tamilnadu. Hence they have come up with this freebies campaign, a strategy which often works in Tamilnadu.

And their big brother ally BJP is trying to polarize Tamilnadu by making them give more reservation for Vannier just days before election. Tamilnadu can never accept BJP or AIADMK anymore. And BJP's idea is to drive strong Hindutva ideas among the upper caste while AIADMK can bank on SC, ST and minorities. But the same BJP do not want to promote ideas like beef ban in Tamilnadu, knowing that considerable amount people in Tamilnadu consume beef. So they stick to development. Even in Puducherry, BJP will never be a acceptable party for those whose ancestors are from France, those who love Tamil sentiments and culture.

Then who should be the next Chief Minister of Tamilnadu?

Both AIADMK and DMK are equally corrupt. Kamarajar, Annaduari and MGR were among the few Chief Minister who were honest. Both AIADMK and DMK had Congress and BJP as their ally at different period. Being aggrieved by Karunanidhi and his corrupt policies, MGR started AIADMK. Later Jayalalitha was caught in disproportionate assets case. Then came 2G spectrum scam where A Raja from DMK and congress were involved. Then who should people of Tamilnadu should vote for? Well if one were to go by the logic that the people would vote out the incumbent party and will chose those who were in the opposition, then it is MK Stalin the next chief minister. But, there is a sort of arrogance which prevails in Tamilnadu politics from a while. It is that regardless of whatever they do, it is either them or us. TTV Dinakaran said that he will do anything to stop DMK from getting back to power. But it is other way round, AIADMK will not return to power. And once out of power, the party will split into different factions.

Kamal Hassan's MNM and allies getting a good vote share could actually change the Tamilnadu politics. It was definite, if Talaivar Rajinikanth was able to take part in this election as planned, before falling sick. MNM and allies winning election to make Kamal Hassan the chief minister will be great move. It is just that Kamal Hassan a movie star can hardly spend as much as DMK, Congress, BJP and AIADMK could. Even if MNM and allies won’t win, at least they being in the opposition could actually stop DMK from ruling as per their whims and fantasies.

People in Tamilnadu has more reasons to vote for MNM. AMMA and Kalenger were more than their respective party. It is innocent people’s affection to their leaders which made them vote. And it is true that MGR, Karunanidhi, Jayalalitha were all from show business like Kamal Hassan. And all of them banked heavily on Tamil sentiments. And I just have one question as why AIADMK, DMK, Congress and BJP were all silent on genocide of Tamilians in Srilanka?

There are several spheres where Tamilnadu should improve. And there is vast potential for Tamilnadu to be the number one state in India. But it cannot be an option, unless Tamilnadu is liberated from the jaws of corrupt politics. Can BJP or Congress utter a word about issue of Tamilnadu, like water crisis which happens every now and then. There is no election in Karnataka. Will any BJP or Congress leader dare to talk about Cauvery water sharing treaty? Can they speak about Mullaperiyar dam and the issue with Kerala? Let’s us think of an year without rain and there is no water at all in KRS. Do we have any alternative plan for Tamil farmers? Is it too expensive for TAMILNADU to construct a new dam in Mullaperiyar to store water as much as they want?

Tamilnadu is a big state with very large area of cultivable land. And at least sixty five percent of people depend on agriculture. And Tamilnadu has enough capital for development or can barrow from banks. And we have Arabian sea where there is plenty of water. And all we need is a mechanism to remove salt and make it good for irrigation. No research required, it’s already working well in middle east countries. And there is no scope for such innovation as long as people stick to DMK or AIADMK. So isn’t it time to dream beyond the ordinary?