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INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 Hardline Hindus become Modi’s inside opposition Rebellious lawmakers a test for PM RISHIKESH: In an ashram near the Ganges river feet of Maharaj, who wears light brown socks particularly acute for Modi, because he and in the Himalayan foothills, Indian priest-turned- with sandals, an orange turban, gold-framed his party are ideologically rooted in Hindutva, politician Sakshi Maharaj mimes rowing a boat Dolce and Gabbana glasses and a chunky gold- or Hinduness, a concept sometimes defined in to illustrate what will happen if Prime Minister colored watch. With a self-proclaimed following strident opposition to Muslims and Christians. Narendra Modi’s government ignores Hindu of 10 million people, Maharaj, a four-time mem- Modi himself has consistently denied accusa- nationalist demands. “Modi will have to be a ber of parliament, draws support through a net- tions that, as chief minister of Gujarat, he did boatman: one oar must focus on the economy work of dozens of ashrams and colleges. not do enough to prevent riots in which more and the other must concentrate on the Hindu “I am aware that I am a powerful man,” than 1,000 people died, most of them agenda,” says Maharaj, clad in saffron robes and Maharaj says. “I can make or break the govern- Muslims. A Supreme Court inquiry found no sitting cross-legged on a bed. ment.” Maharaj is charged by police with rioting evidence to prosecute him. He twirls his bejeweled fingers in the air, explaining that otherwise the boat will spin in circles. The Hindu priest, who has been charged NEW DELHI: Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters gesture during an election rally with rioting and inciting communal violence, is addressed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra. — AFP the embodiment of hardline religious elements in Modi’s party whose strident behavior is drag- ging on the government’s economic reform BJP faces possible agenda. Hindu agenda state poll defeat In recent months, Maharaj has created uproar by describing Mahatma Gandhi’s Hindu nation- NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister eign investment. The BJP’s campaign has alist assassin as a patriot, saying Hindu women Narendra Modi is facing his first state elec- been marked by infighting with party should give birth to four children to ensure the tion defeat since taking charge last year, workers frustrated that Kiran Bedi, the first religion survives and by calling for Hindus who opinion polls show a result that would woman officer in the Indian Police Service, convert to Islam and Christianity to be given the dent his chances of consolidating power was appointed as the party’s chief minis- death penalty. For the first time since the elec- needed to speed up an economic recovery. terial candidate - even though she wasn’t tion last year, some lawmakers in Modi’s The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has a party member until three weeks ago. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are rebelling against ordered scores of its top national and state India’s most powerful Hindu group, the his focus on mending the economy and gover- leaders to campaign for this weekend’s Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, which is nance at the expense of promoting Hinduism. high-profile election to the Delhi assembly also the ideological parent of the BJP, said This is testing the authority of a leader who cap- where a small anti-corruption party is yesterday the party was struggling in tured power to a degree not seen since Indira threatening to stop its momentum. Delhi and criticized Bedi, saying she was But even the appointment of Finance unpopular. The Aam Aadmi, an anti-cor- Gandhi ruled India more than three decades Minister Arun Jaitley to oversee the cam- ruption party, is on course to win ago. paign while he is writing this month’s fed- between 36 and 41 of the 70 seats in the Hardline Hindu politicians impatient with eral budget may not be enough. “This is Delhi assembly, according to three opin- Modi’s refusal to champion their cause are the first time that we may see Modi’s ion polls published this week. The BJP is beginning to advance their own agendas. Maharaj, for example, wants to make it illegal for NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi momentum stopped and that will be a on course to win between 27 and 32 seats chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi during a public rally. — AFP shock,” said Satish Misra, a political analyst and the Congress party, which has domi- Hindus to change religions and seeks the death at the Observer Research Foundation. nated politics over the last century, will penalty for slaughtering cows, an animal revered “Despite putting every last drop of energy win between two and seven seats, its by Hindus. Protests erupted at the most recent and inciting a mob after helping tear down a The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the into this campaign, it looks like the BJP is worst-ever performance in the city, the parliamentary session over a campaign by hard- 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya in 1992, an powerful ideological wing of the BJP, sup- heading for defeat.” polls show. The vote will take place on liners to convert Muslims and Christians to event sparking riots in which around 2,000 peo- ports lawmakers like Maharaj who are work- Feb 7 and the results will be announced Hinduism, torpedoing key foreign investment ple died. He admits being present at the demoli- ing to make India a Hindu nation, said a sen- Promise of jobs three days later. BJP spokesman legislation that the opposition had earlier tion but says he could not stop the crowds. In ior RSS official who asked not to be named. Modi needs to win most of the state Sudhanshu Mittal dismissed reports that agreed to pass. Modi had to use executive India, trials can take decades because of a short- “We will support them because it is all for a elections over the next four years to gain the party was getting nervous about a orders to drive policy, but they are seen as a age of judges. Hindu cause,” he said. There was no evi- control of both houses of parliament to likely defeat. “Who said we are in panic? stopgap measure that cannot replace reforms Modi will have a clearer idea of whether radi- dence to suggest that the RSS was actively deliver on his promise of jobs and eco- We will deploy all the resources at our needed to address India’s slowing economic cals elements are alienating voters when the BJP involved in pushing the hardliners’ agenda, nomic growth. The upper house, where his command. This is Delhi. Ministers and par- growth. fights elections in New Delhi. Also this month, however. party is in a minority, is frustrating his liament members live here. Why should “Modi has a major problem with these the government must present the budget and Modi’s ties with radical Hindus “can be best efforts to pass laws related to tax and for- they not campaign?” — Reuters extremist elements,” said S Chandrasekharan, try to enact three emergency decrees in parlia- described as a game of chess,” said director of the South Asia Analysis Group in New ment. In December, Modi told lawmakers their Ramchandra Guha, one of India’s leading histo- Delhi. “If he can’t bring them under control they behaviour was hurting the party and warned rians. “Both sides are on board when it comes are going to sap the energy needed to carry out them not to cross the Lakshman Rekha, a forbid- to establishing the Hindu supremacist agenda, reforms.” In a sign the world is watching, US den line in Hindu mythology, according to party but they want to follow a different strategy to President Barack Obama warned on a recent vis- officials briefed on the meeting. “The message is achieve it.” Maharaj says most Indians, includ- it that India’s success depended on it not splin- loud and clear: there is no room for any diver- ing Modi, privately share his views, and he will tering along religious lines. sion from the economy,” said GVL Narasimha continue promoting Hindu supremacy. “The Rao, a spokesman for the BJP. only difference is he is refined and maybe we ‘I am a powerful man’ are crass,” Maharaj says of Modi. “We may have At the spiritual retreat, or ashram, elderly dis- Game of chess to fine-tune the message but the message will ciples with long grey beards bend to kiss the The battle for the government’s direction is remain the same.” — Reuters US lifts US-India nuclear deal to secrecy on be finalized within year aid to NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON: A “breakthrough ty on the operator, said one senior US official. Afghan army understanding” to open India’s nuclear power New Delhi also proposed setting up an insurance sector to US firms reached during President pool with a liability cap of 15 billion rupees ($244 WASHINGTON: The US military has Barack Obama’s visit to New Delhi last month million). The state-run Nuclear Power Corporation performed another U-turn and will could be finalized this year, Indian officials say. of India would pay premiums to cover its liability. DHAKA: A Bangladeshi resident who suffered burn injuries after a petrol bomb attack on publicly release information about The Jan 25 announcement by Obama and Indian Suppliers would take out separate insurance a bus is treated by a doctor at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. — AFP its aid for Afghan forces, after com- Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed six weeks against their secondary liability - which could not ing under criticism for declaring the of intensive talks, but few details were released exceed that of the operator - at a “fraction” of the data top secret, officials said beyond a framework based on India’s acceptance cost.

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