roobaroo

Sonia Gandhi born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino the italian godmother of the INC and the widower of the reformer former prime minister Late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi has come a long way from being the vilayati bahu of the gandhi family. It is by the grandouisty of the nehru lineage and tradition that has crept into the current role that the lady is playing in Indian Politics. Gandhis in India cant be secluded from politics. The Kids after studying abroad, securing good higher education and having lived in most prosperous cities of the world are now actively involved in conducting rallies for the party and are actually reshaping the political scenario in India. New debates have originated in here discussing the influence and the change of their involvement. But anyways holding no core position and just doing something for the purpose of the party i suppose is appreciable in someway. There is a sense of responsibility in the prestige associated with the nehru era.

Sonia Gandhi has no doubt achieved a status which will be remembered for long in Indian History. She holds the record of having served as Congress President for 10 years consecutively. she was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004 and was ranked 6th in 2007. She was also named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world for the years 2007 and 2008. But a important thing is the fact that All that has happened is mere sequence of events that turned up in the Gandhi Family in recent years. The Italian Lady would never have imagined giving rally speeches to masses in their regional language. It has happened fast and well till now. Future looks promising also.

But, my predictions are that there is much to follow with the young blood like priyanka and rahul gandhi into the Indian Poltical Arena. Nehru Lineage lives on...

Come elections, we see the same old story - booth capturing, poll violence, vote buying, muscle power, communal polarization, vote bank politics…
We, the people in Indian IT community, are among the smallest electorate turnout to vote, and very far behind electorate turnouts from rural and less educated communities. Moreover, we have been doing the most complaining, particularly in media (TV, newspapers etc), about the disappointing state of corruption and politics in our country. While less privileged people seem to be doing something about it, we have been on sidelines with resignation and indifference. Yes, there may be valid reasons such as corrupt system/ individuals being too powerful to be confronted by a single person, but time and time again there are examples of how a collection of committed people accomplished unthinkable (hint: how do you think we won our independence?). Enough is enough!

I believe that ‘Voting’, with goodwill of country in mind, will help bring fundamental and sweeping changes to our beloved country. ‘Voting’, while costing nothing or very little to each and every one of us, is the most effective tool to cause change. A single vote can be like a drop of water that has no power to cause change, but when our votes collect together to form an ocean like our mighty and formidable Indian ocean, there would be no doubt about bringing big changes in our society and government.It is my belief that ‘Voting’ is the highest solemn DUTY that any civilian can do in a democracy. So, enough whining, let’s each of us do our bare minimum part, and collectively we will have the best electorate turnout in entire country and then world.
Post elections, power may change hands, but the system remains scarily indifferent. Corruption, red tape, government apathy, criminalization of politics and a lack of governance and accountability exclude the possibility of real change.

It's time we stopped being silent spectators.
It's time we ensured that candidates with criminal records do not get elected.
It's time we made our vote count.

Mayawati Wants to be Third fronts' Prime Minister Candidate. I read this on TOI today morning and as a response a soft smile appeared on my face instantly. The reason, well i just pictured Obama in talks with Behanji in a conference for trade policies. Oh my mind has gone criminal, it was followed by a address of madamji in UN talks. Our Nation is democratic, Mayawati can very well on the top office. Now replacing the economist Mr. Manmohan as the Indian PM would be a new change in the Indian Administration Machinery. I dont exactly how should one react to it with the example of Mr. Lalu doing wonders with the crumbling Indian railways. Who knows what lies defunct or lacking is the extra focussed efforts on the dalits and other deprived classes for the nations progress. There are many plans setup for the nations infrastructural and ecomonic progress. That can still be taken care by the top bureacrats of the setup. But having said that lets also take a look at an astouding statistic that in 2007-08 Mayawati paid more income tax than industrialist and Forbes-listed Mukesh Ambani amounting 26 crores. Corruption at the top office!! Narsimha rao the reformist PM responsible for economic liberalisation of 1991 was also charged of frauds and corruption cases worth crores. Pool in your take on Behanjis' role as PM.

So what are the plans of the 43rd US president after retirement from the most powerful office of the world. Well, my suggestions for him would be playing golf, making post-dinner speeches and sitting on a beach. A leading daily published the intercepts from his comments on the same in a recent press conference at the white house " I just can’t envision myself, you know, with the big straw hat and a Hawaiian shirt, sitting on some beach.”

With the kind of lifestyle Mr. President has enjoyed till now , the answer to this question becomes all the more interesting to lookout for. He doesn't need to earn more for realizing his plans actually. He has earned millions as also mentioned in the article by various initiatives like selling the baseball team of Chicago. But also taking into account the low acceptance ratings of Mr. Bush, it seems logical for him to be around the lecture circuit or is expected to write about his tenure in the white house in a book as the former president Mr. Clinton. Oh yes there will be lot to talk about, 9/11, establishment of 'democracy' in Iraq and Afghanistan, US financial crisis all too far beyond to happen in a presidents' tenure. Happy Holidays Mr. President.