Cover Story Amar Singh Has All the Credentials to Propound the Art Of
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Vol: 26 | No. 11 | November 2018| R20 www.opinionexpress.in A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE Cover Story THEAmar Singh has SURVIVORall the credentials to propound the art of survival in treacherous territory that Indian Politics is Thank You BIPL %DODML,QIUD3URMHFWV/LPLWHG www.balaji.co.in www.dighiport.in editorial Maximum leader Rajapaksa RNI - UPENG01809, Volume 26, No 11 EDITOR architect of modern Lanka Prashant Tewari he cover story dedicated to Mahinda Rajapaksa will surprise many in India but we ASSOCiate EDITOR have done it to inspire next generation leadership of South Asia for standing firm on Dr Rahul Misra critical decision that can alter the course of history for any nation. To describe Sri POLITICAL EDITOR T Lanka as Sri Rajapaksa may be just apt for the leader who changed Prakhar Misra the destiny of the island country. After becoming President of Sri BUREAU CHIEF Anshuman Dogra (DELHI), Diwakar Shetty Lanka, Rajapaksa reshuffled the cabinet and took the portfolios of (MUMBAI), Sidhartha Sharma (KOLKATA), Defence and Finance in the new cabinet, which was sworn on 23 Lakshmi Devi (BANGALORE ) DIvyash Bajpai November 2005. Immediately following his election in 2005, Raja- (USA), KAPIL DUDAKIA (UNITED KINGDOM) Rajiv Agnihotri (MAURITIUS), Romil Raj paksa extended the term of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Bhagat (DUBAI), Herman Silochan (CANADA), Sarath Fonseka, less than a month before he was scheduled to re- Dr Shiv Kumar (AUS/NZ), Nithya Ramesh tire. Over the next three and a half years Fonseka and Rajapaksa’s (Fashion & Entertainment ) brother and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa led the coun- CONTENT partner try’s armed forces in their battle against the LTTE, ultimately de- The Pioneer Pratham Pravakta feating the Tigers and killing their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. It was the most grueling LegaL AdviSORS battle that the world has witnessed in the recent times and it made Mahinda Rajaspaksa a Vishnu Sharma Adv national hero and international leader of repute. Vijai Krishna Adv There are few international leaders in contemporary global polity that have successful- AdvertiSEMENT / MARKETING DIRECTOR ly changed the war torn country in a vibrant progressive democracy in their life time. The Diwakar Shetty charismatic leader accelerated the pace of development of the island country by pushing Gopal Chopra various infrastructure projects that transformed the growth rate and GDP of the country ADMINIStrative DIRECTOR Amit Pandey from 2009 onwards. The Sri Lanka government declared total victory on 18 May 2009. On Bal Mukund Gaur 19 May 2009 President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a victory address to the Parliament Corporate COMMUNICation / PR and declared that Sri Lanka is liberated from terrorism. It was a near miracle achieved by Sanjay Mendiratta the Rajapaksa led team and instantly he became national hero and darling of the masses M M Upadhaya in Sri Lanka. Mahinda Rajapaksa launched “Mahinda Chinthana” for good governance for GRAPHICS & DESIGN Writeword Commuications (Studio 8) all. He drafted it to incorporate desire of every section of the society in the political main- stream so that nobody is left unattended. His concept is rooted in the soil, the governance Photographer Ratan Shukla that springs from the bottom of pyramid. The concept has made him darling of the masses OVERSEAS MARKETING in Sri Lanka and an iconic figure that transformed the country in one of the best governed OEMCL Ltd (Mauritius), OEHCL ltd (DUBAI) country in the South Asia. AdvertiSEMENT / CIRCULation: In domestic politics, Rafale deal has made everyone corrupt except Ambani. Both Con- Delhi / NCR - Hemant Sharma: D 239 gress and BJP are accusing each other of serious charges of corruption, but Anil Ambani is Defence Colony New Delhi 110024 INDIA Tel – 011 49060350 spared due to reasons known to them. In fact, Anil Ambani was benefited during UPA1 & Mumbai - Vijay Kalantri – Advisor: New UPA2 governments in power, coal and telecom sectors courtesy Chidambaram, SK Shin- ExcelsIor BUILDING, 6tH Floor, A.K. NAYAK de and Ahmed Patel extensively. The same person was instrumental in Narendra Modi’s MARG, Fort, MUMBAI - 400001 (INDIA). quest to power in 2014. Arun Jaitley, Piyush Goyal, Ex AG Mukul Rahatagi are reportedly Phone: 91 - 22 - 22019265 / 22019160 with him. Rahul Gandhi is aimlessly targeting Anil Ambani without realizing that Chidam- FAX : 91-22- 22019764 / 22019760 daram and Ahmed Patel can defuse the Rafale bomb anytime. In India, nobody can dare The magazine is published and printed by Rajiv Agnihotri for Opinion Express Communications to touch Ambani, so both Congress and BJP are playing a friendly match. Unfortunately, & Entertainments Pvt Ltd, from Kumpu Graphic India’s global position has dented by the mudslinging of our immature neta’s. This [the se- Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow & printed at lection of Reliance] is Dassault Aviation’s choice. This partnership has led to the creation of Kumpu Graphic Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow – 226001 Tele : 91-522-4060880 & the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) joint-venture in February 2017; Anil Ambani Nikhil Offset An ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified has always denied any wrongdoing in the deal. Company 223, DSIDC Complex, Okhla Industrial The Congress party has also accused Modi of compromising national security and de- Area Phase - I, New Delhi - 110020 Tele : 91- stroying state-run defence manufacturing firms. It’s a reality that India is facing a severe 26812316, 26810097, 26810458, FAX:91 45792362 E-Mail : [email protected], shortage of fighter jets. It would need 42 squadrons in the scenario of a two-front war with [email protected] China and Pakistan. But its squadron strength has depleted to 31 largely owing to ageing Registered Office: OPINION EXPRESS HOUSE Russian aircraft. But this realisation is not new. The BJP government in 2000 decided to 24-A Clyde Road, Lucknow-226001 (India) Phone: 91-522-4060880 buy new fighter jets. Its successor Congress continued the process and issued tenders in Fax: 91-522-2208242 # 24x7 2008 to buy 126 jets. Dassault was finalised as a supplier in 2012, and the state-run Hin- mobility +91 9984437000 dustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was selected as partner to produce 108 jets in India. email: [email protected] The Indian government says it decided to buy the 36 jets in “fly-away” condition to quickly All disputes are subject to be under jurisdiction of courts in Delhi. address the problem of the air force’s depleting strength. Both the national parties are in- All content published may be subject to copyright, terested in politics rather than addressing the issue with honest intent, the wild accusations seek written permission to re-produce. Opinion has made the country a laughing stock in front of the world. Express is trade mark brand of Opinion Express Communications & Entertainment Private Limited. —Prashant Tewari , Editor-in-Chief OPINIon EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2018 3 A Monthly News Magazine NoveMBER 2018 Cover StorY The Art of being Amar Singh P 18-24 The 16 X-Factors 5 44 Maximum The “FLAWLESS” India’s banking leader star to debut in woes & its Bollywood 26 economic impact Reform without 30 research can doom economy In tune with 36 32 time Prem Why French jets The biggest Shenoi on are at the cen- 50 Challenge clean India tre of an Indian yet – global mission political storm warming 4 NOVEMBER 2018 OPINIon EXPRESS Cover story MAXIMUM LEADER Rajapaksa is guardian, savior and hope of Lanka By Prashant Tewari OPINIon EXPRESS NOVEMBER 2018 5 o describe Sri Lanka as Sri Rajapaksa may be just apt for the leader who changed the destiny of the island country. There are few international leaders in contemporary global polity that have Tsuccessfully changed the war torn coun- try in a vibrant progressive democracy in their life time. The charismatic leader accelerated the pace of development of the island country by pushing various infrastructure projects that transformed the growth rate and GDP of the country from 2009 onwards. Mahinda Raja- paksa, served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 19 November 2005 to 9 January 2015. A learned lawyer by pro- fession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and he served as prime minister from 6 April 2004 until his victory in the 2005 presi- dential election. He was sworn in for his first six-year term as president on 19 November 2005. He was re-elected for a second term on 27 January 2010. How- ever due to international and domestic reasons, he was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential elec- tion by Maithripala Sirisena and left of- fice on 9 January 2015. Several months after leaving office, Rajapaksa unsuc- cessfully sought to become prime min- ister in the 2015 parliamentary election, where the United People’s Freedom Al- liance was defeated. He was, however, elected as Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District. The giant of Lanka polity entered politics way back in 1970 as the SLFP Member of Parliament in 1970. Raja- paksa big break came in 1994, following the election victory of the People’s Al- liance a political front led by Sri Lanka Freedom Party and headed by Chan- drika Kumaratunga, Rajapaksa was ap- pointed Minister of Labour. He held this post until 1997 when, following a cabi- net reshuffle, his portfolio was changed to Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. When the United National Party (UNP) defeated the People’s Al- liance in the 2001 elections, Rajapaksa lost his position in the Government. He was however appointed as Leader of the Opposition in March 2002. However in 2004 elections, the United People’s Freedom Alliance gained a slim majority in Parliament and Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 13th Prime Minister on 6 April 2004.