BJP: Against the tide -By Barkha Dutt

There's a story about Varun Gandhi that no one in the BJP will tell you on the record. It goes something like this. A party leader, who shall remain unnamed, rang the controversial young politician to invite him for a party function. "Varun," he said, "could you please come to ..." only to find that he had been cut off midstream by an irate Gandhi at the other end of the phone line. The 28-year old lit into his senior party colleague and reprimanded him for addressing him so casually by his first name. At the very least, he argued, he should have been called 'Varunji' for being the party's next big hope in Uttar Pradesh. The story gets even better. Despite the drubbing in UP (many BJP leaders privately blame Varun Gandhi's hate speech for polarising the Muslim vote in favour of the Congress), I'm told that the poet-turned-politician still fancies himself as the main contender for state president.
While the psychological delusions of Varun Gandhi are the subject of a whole different column, the man himself has come to represent all that is wrong with the BJP today. Simply put, the party suffers from paralysis every time it has to deal with its loony fringe. Usually, it dithers for so long on what stand to take that by the time its condemnation is made public, it sounds effete and unconvincing. And then, as the media stomps all over it, the party slips into victim mode and tries to aggressively promote its vices as if they were virtues.
Once the preferred choice of India's middle class, the BJP is now in danger of losing the big metros entirely (Delhi and Mumbai were swept by the Congress). Its agenda seems woefully out of sync with its own vote base. The opposition to the nuclear deal was a prime example. As a party leader confided to me in a private conversation, " no party can afford to go against the sentiments of its core constituency." And yet, by repeating the same mistakes over and over again, the party that had once positioned itself as the robust, rooted and nationalistic political alternative, now looks confused, anachronistic and weak.
Rewind to the Mangalore pub attacks. By the time the BJP decided to condemn them unequivocally, the attackers and the state government were seen to be on the same side. No one was ready to listen to the BJP argument that the Ram Sene was not a partner and had in fact, put up candidates against it in the previous Assembly elections. Ideological obfuscating had made the BJP look like a sympathiser of the attackers, even if it was not.
The Malegaon blasts and the entire 'Hindu Terror' issue proved to be another conundrum for the BJP. A party that had designed itself as absolutist (despite the IC 814 and Kandahar barter) on the matter of what it called 'Islamic terrorism' could not exactly afford doublespeak if allegations of terror links surfaced on the other side of the religious divide. But once again, the party dithered and dallied endlessly. Eventually, it ended up challenging the integrity of the police officer (Hemant Karkare, who died in 26/11) who was leading the investigations.
So much has already been said about how LK Advani and the BJP chose to handle Varun Gandhi's inflammatory campaign. But once again, the confused balancing act -- disowning the speech, but clinging on to the man who made it -- speaks to the essential existential crisis of the party.
Like many others, I believe that Advani is a politician with unimpeachable personal integrity. But more than that, I have always found him a thinking man -- with far too much intellectual curiosity -- to be at ease with petty bigotry. And yet, on so many key issues, Advani's public statements seemed to be at odds with his own comfort zone. It was almost as if the pulls and pushes of politics had forced him into positions he was not entirely at ease with. But it also underlined the lack of clarity in the BJP.
The party's Prime Ministerial candidate was trying to be moderate and extreme at the same time. It didn't work. Just as Vajpayee missed his moment in failing to push for Narenda Modi's removal after 2002, Advani's test as a leader for modern times was how he would handle Varun Gandhi. Both men will have to live with the knowledge that these two decisions have pushed the BJP along a trajectory that may not allow it to navigate contemporary India.
Where Narendra Modi goes from here will probably mark which road the BJP has decided to journey on. The whispers against him within the party have begun. All those rooting for him as perfect Prime Ministerial material have now begun to talk about his 'shrillness', his 'obsessive dislike of the Gandhi family' and his inability to reinvent himself into a politician with national acceptability. Yes, the verdict in Gujarat was largely status- quoits (with a marginal decline in vote share) but there was absolutely no Modi Magic outside the state. Will the BJP force Modi to apologise for the anti-Muslim riots or will it accept that without that, he will remain a powerful regional satrap and no more?
The most honest critique of the party has come from Arun Jaitley -- the man who led the election campaign in 2009. He has written about how New India is looking for 'moderation'. After an election that has proved that identity politics can travel only so far and no further, the question is whether he will be able to prevail upon his party? Will the right find its centre again? If it doesn't, the BJP may lose its way permanently.

OY!

Evaraina Epudaina

BONI

EcoGreen Trivia

Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is reflected back into space, in turn cooling Earth; but with the ice caps melting, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.

Scientists blame global warming for the declining penguin population, as warmer waters and smaller ice floes force the birds to travel further to find food.

Stressed by cyanide fishing, harbor dredging, coral mining, deforestation, coastal development, agricultural runoff, careless divers, and now global warming, there is a devastating loss of coral across the world.

With accelerated global warming, and the ice covering melting, the earth would be absorbing more sunlight, and is on its way to becoming hotter than before.

Due to global warming the polar ice cap in the Arctic region is shrinking and rupturing; if this continues, summers in the Arctic would become ice-free by the end of this century.

Everytime we burn oil, coal and gas to generate electricity and power, we produce the heat trapping gases that cause global warming.

Deforestation is one of the main causes of atmospheric carbon dioxide; burning and cutting millions of acres of trees each year, it is responsible for 20-25 per cent of all carbon emissions.

Water vapor is the most prevalent and most powerful greenhouse gas on the planet; it holds onto two-thirds of the heat trapped by all the greenhouse gases.
Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct!

Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute!

One-third of the water used in most homes is flushed down the toilet.

A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose -- and even longer if it's in the landfill.

Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours

Energy-saving lightbulbs last around ten times longer than ordinary lightbulbs- over 10,000 hours.

A laptop is more environment friendly than a desktop. It consumes five times less electricity.

An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now!

A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15 per cent.

Tissue paper is a major source of waste. It takes 60,00,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.

A ton of recycled paper equals or saves 17 trees in paper production.

A plant on your desk acts as a natural filter, absorbing airborne pollutants and computer radiation while replenishing oxygen levels.

Lawns only need watering once a week, post rain only after two weeks. Do watering early morning for minimal evaporation and water conservation.

Crawling traffic contributes eight times as much air pollution as traffic moving at regular highway speed.

Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year!

Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth and soaping your hands. This can save around 16 litres a day. That's 11,000 litre of water per person per year.

A dripping tap can waste over 20,000 litres of water every year.

How to grow green

"Going Green" doesn't have to be a daunting task that means sweeping life changes. Start by planting a tree in your backyard or neighbourhood. It's good for the air, the land, can shade your house and save on cooling and they can also improve the value of your property.
When taking a short trip, choose to walk or cycle. This reduces carbon emissions considerably.

Staying within the speed limit and smoothly accelerating can save upto 25 per cent of a vehicle's typical gasoline use.

Switching off one bulb for one hour saves upto 22,000 watts per year.

Lighting an empty office wastes enough energy to boil water for a 1000 cups of coffee and doubles a company's annual electric bill

Plug your computer, monitor and other home appliances into a power strip and turn them off when not in use- don't leave them in sleep mode. Sleep mode adds immensely to the electricity bill and unnecessary greenhouse gases.

Recharge your batteries. Batteries contain heavy metals, such as mercury and cadmium, which have become a major source of contamination in dump sites. They either break apart and are released into the soil or are incinerated and the deadly heavy metals are released into the air.

Plastic bags are not biodegradable. Even if they say they are, they do not decompose fully. Also the ink is made up of cadmium, and is highly toxic when it is released. Whereas paper bags are reusable and biodegradable. If your purchase is small don't take any bag, this alone could save hundreds of millions of bags. Bring a cloth bag when you shop, or use string bags.

Our oceans provide the earth with most of our oxygen, moisture, and weather patterns. To keep our oceans clean we have to start with our beaches. When you go to the beach you can help by bringing a trash bag and spend a little while picking up litter, or you can join a beach clean-up crew.

As little as ten years ago there were over 1.5 million elephants on the earth. Today there are only 750,000. By the year 2,000 they may become extinct. Over 80% of the ivory that is taken, is from elephants- Americans buy 30% of it. Over 6.5 million dolphins have been killed by tuna fisherman. To help you can: not buy endangered animal products.

Do not dump oil, grease, antifreeze, pesticides, fertilizers, paints, cleaners, and other toxic household products down the storm drain. These drains, found in the gutters on the sidewalk, are not treated by the sewage treatment plant--they go straight into rivers, lakes, and maybe even the ocean! By putting these toxic chemicals down the drain, there is a great biological threat to marine life.

Use CFC free products. ChloroFluoroCarbons destroy the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful UV rays.

One less meat-based meal a week helps the planet and your diet. For each hamburger that originated from animals raised on rainforest land, approximately 55 square feet of forest have been destroyed.

Recycling just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week.

You can reuse gift bags, bows and event paper, but you can also make something unique by using old maps, cloth or even newspaper. Flip a paper grocery bag inside out and give your child stamps or markers to create their own wrapping paper that's environmentally friendly and extra special for the recipient.

Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water, a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health.

Brush without running your tap dry. You'll conserve up to five gallons per day if you stop.

Adjust your thermostat one degree higher in the summer and one degree cooler in the winter. Each degree celsius less will save about 10% on your energy use!

If you must water your lawn, do it early in the morning before any moisture is lost to evaporation. Have a few weeds? Spot treat them with vinegar. Not sure if you should rake? Normal clippings act as a natural fertilizer, let them be. If you've waited too long, rake by hand — it's excellent exercise.

Most lighters are made out of plastic and filled with butane fuel, both petroleum products. Since most lighters are considered "disposable," over 1.5 billion end up in landfills each year. When choosing matches, pick cardboard over wood. Wood matches come from trees, whereas most cardboard matches are made from recycled paper.

Lo(BO)li Babu

Ayya chakram babu gaaaru,

Meeru 9 years Cm gaa vunaaaru,5 years opp leader gaaa vunaaaru, meeeku idhi taagunaaa, monna monnna vachina party vala ki vunaaaa sense endu ku leeedu sir meeeku. edo oppponent ni nilcho beetali ani edo tammmaa naakkka telivi use chheeesaaru, evaru support evaka poyeee saaari ki annni moooosukunaaaaru.

Last 5 years lo elaaagu oka oppostion party laaa asssembly lo lead cheeeyaaaleee kaaa poooyaaaru, meeeru weak ayaaaru kabaaateee kotha party luuu vachayeeee. maaallla ipppudu eeddduupu vati valaaaneee ooodipoyam anii. meeeru ee next 5 years koooda illlage vunthe mala govt lo ki ravatham kastham sir..

Opppsition party anthe eenadu paper laaa congress party emi cheeesinaaa taaapu anthe meeeru Dramoji tatttaya laaa pickles ammmukooovaaali. Taatttaya chhoodandi emmi cheyaaaleeemu ani artham cheeesukunaaaru kabatti plate marcheeesi saaaru. meeeru entha tondara geee artham cheeesukunthe antha manchidi. prathi danini oppose cheeesthe janaaalu reepu meeeru edains serious isssue oppose cheeesina lite teeesukuntaaaru.

Martthe meekeee manchidhi, leeeka pothe next time aa opposition leader post kooodha ooodipoyidhi sir.

Kite stills