We Can And We Will

Hopes are running in the stratosphere. After years of almost nonexistent economic reform under the outgoing, paralyzed Congress-led coalition government, business leaders are itching for change, and fully expect Modi to deliver. Now there is great anticipation that Modi will do the same on a national scale.

The Asian-American Hotel Owners Association on Wednesday refused to withdraw its invitation to controversial Indian statesman Narendra Modi to speak at a Fort Lauderdale hospitality conference next month. In a brewing debate imported from a far-flung Indian state and imbued with ethnic tensions, the association is coming under increasing pressure to cancel Modi's visit as guest speaker at the group's annual convention, running from March 24- 26. Human rights monitors charge that Modi, chief minister of the western Gujarat state, turned a blind eye in 2002 as Hindu nationalists rampaged against Muslims and that his government later obstructed investigations into the atrocity.

The election results also display the depths to which the ruling Congress Party has fallen after being led for over a decade by a weak prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The central campaigning role of Rahul Gandhi, the heir to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty (whose mother still controls the Party, and limited Singh's maneuverabilty), didn't do much good either; Congress was soundly defeated and Rahul appears to many observers (and voters) as someone who combines inanition and intellectual lightness. If dynastic politics takes any sort of blow, the election will at least have accomplished something positive.

Unfortunately for Abbas, U.S. law prohibits aid to the Palestinians tobenefit Hamas, "or any entity effectively controlled by Hamas, anypower-sharing government of which Hamas is a member, or that resultsfrom an agreement with Hamas and over which Hamas exercises undueinfluence." Fatah and Hamas were at war several years ago, andseveral subsequent attempts at unity have collapsed because ofhostility between the two. Presumably Kerry is going to tell Abbas onThursday that if he wants U.S. aid to continue to flow to thePalestinians, then it would be a good idea for this attempt at unityto collapse as well. Reuters Mixed emotions over Narendra Modi's probable win in India.

Modi joined the BJP in 1987, and a year later he was made the general secretary of the Gujarat branch of the party. He was instrumental in greatly strengthening the party’s presence in the state in succeeding years. In 1990 Modi was one of the BJP members who participated in a coalition government in the state, and he helped the BJP achieve success in the 1995 state legislative assembly elections that in March allowed the party to form the first-ever BJP-controlled government in India. The BJP’s control of the state government was relatively short-lived, however, ending in September 1996.

We Can And We Will 2014-06-02T03:31:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Unknown