May - 2014

National UnityCommunal AmityCultural IdentitySocial JusticeRule of LawDignified Democracy Volume : 4 Issue - 5 RAJAB - 1 May - 2014 Pages - 8 Monthly Price : Rs. 10/- Annual Subscription : Rs. 120/-

THE TIMES OF LEAGUEPostal Registration No : TN/CNI GPO / 051 / 2012 to 2014 / RNI No. TNENG/2011/40521

Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen conveys hearty gratitude to Dr. KalaignarParliament Election 2014 : Hectic Campaign by the DMK Chief

Is Congress banking on a Third Front to keep out BJP?The Congress is increasingly

coming around to the view that it is unlikely to win the 16th general election on its own and that it may have to work with a Third Front to stop the BJP from coming to power.

At least four Congress leaders have already hinted that allying with the Third Front, or a coalition of parties not allied to either the United Progressive Alliance or the National Democratic Alliance, is a possibility for the party in order to stop the BJP from coming to power.

The latest to do so is Ahmed Patel, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s closest aide, who told a leading national daily that the party was willing to consider the possibility of working with a Third Front. Others like PrithvirajChavan, Salman Khurshid and Jairam Ramesh have already spoken of this option.

While not all Congress leaders are willing to say so in public yet, in private the view has been doing the rounds for at least a couple of months. At a lunch he hosted for journalists in the capital some time earlier this year, a union minister from the south was categorical in stating that the party would not come to power on its own this time.

“Any party will start to stink if it spends 10 years in power,” he stated in a matter-of-fact way.

Another union minister averred that the party was set to lose the elections but may still continue to be in power. “We are not going to win this time. But you may still see another UPA government at the centre,” he said.

A union minister in the outgoing UPA-2 government said allying with the Third Front was a distinct possibility for the Congress as it was unlikely to get a majority on

its own.“We are keeping our options

open and will take a call on allying with the Third Front once the results are out,” the minister told IANS, not wanting to be identified because of the delicate nature of these issues.

Aware of the situation, the Left, which has played a part in forming a Third Front government at the centre each time in the past, is working towards the formation of another such government without making much noise about it.

Admitting that a Third Front government cannot come to power without support from the Congress, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is actively working towards the victory of candidates belonging to non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA), non-United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalitions, a well

placed CPI-M source told IANS.In Delhi, for example, the CPI-M

asked its cadre and sympathisers to vote for the AamAadmi Party (AAP), except in South Delhi from where a Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate was in fray. Although the AAP has not yet shown an interest in the Third Front, the CPI-M considers it a potential ally.

In Bihar, the CPI and the ruling Janata Dal-United are contesting together. In Telangana, the CPI has an alliance with Congress.

In other states like Odisha, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the Left Front is working towards the victory of candidates belonging to Biju Janata Dal, Janata Dal-Secular, and YSR Congress respectively except a few seats where its own candidates are contesting, said the CPI-M source.

Contd... on Page 6

The 91 Year Old DMK Leader Dr. Kalaignar Karunanithi surprised the Tamil Nadu Voters by his spirited, tiredless, hectic election campaign in various Parliament constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

He toured the nook and corner of the state to canvass votes for the DMK led democratic progressive alliance candidates. His campaign attracted huge crowds and people thronged in thousands to listen to his speeches.

The IUML TN State President and the party All India General Secretary Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen called on him in his Gopalapuram Residence on April 29, 2014 and conveyed his deep sense of gratitude to Kalaignar for his hectic campaign for democratic progressive alliance candidates. He was accompanied by the party State General Secretary K.A.M. Mohammed Abubacker, The Vellore Constituency IUML Candidate M. Abdul Rahman, Party Secretaries, Nizamudeen, Kayal Mahaboob and Thiruppur Sathar.

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2THE TIMES OF LEAGUE

Who does NarendraModi represent and what does his rise in Indian politics signify? Given the burden he carries of the 2002 anti-Muslim massacres, it is tempting to see the Gujarat chief minister’s arrival on the national stage as a watershed moment in the escalation of communal politics. Certainly the cult-like following he has amongst the sanghparivar faithful and a wider section of the Hindu middle class is due to the image he has of a leader who knows how to “show Muslims their place”. For these supporters, his refusal to do something so simple – and tokenistic — as express regret for the killings that happened under his watch is seen not as a handicap but as further proof of his strength.

And yet, Modi’s rise and rise has less to do with his Hindutva credentials and appeal than his secular critics would like to believe. Modi is where he is today – on the cusp of power — not because the country is becoming more communal but because the Indian corporate sector is becoming more impatient. Every opinion poll that shows him inching towards power sets off a bull run on the Bombay Stock Exchange. In a recent dispatch for the Financial Times, James Crabtree noted the exceptional gains notched up by Adani Enterprises – the company’s share price has shot up by more than 45 per cent over the past month compared to the 7 per cent rise registered by the Sensex. One reason, an equities analyst told the FT, is that investors expect a government headed by Modi to allow Adani to expand his crucial Mundra port despite the environmental complications involved. “So the market is saying that, beyond the simple proximity of MrAdani and MrModi, these clearances may no longer be so hard to get under a BJP regime,” the analyst is quoted as saying.

The word ‘clearances’ sounds benign but what it really signifies is Modi’s willingness to accommodate the desire of capital to expand in any way it wants – horizontally, across land and field, vertically, above and below the earth, and laterally, in terms of accommodating the demands of foreign investors, including for the opening up

The cult of cronyism

of the insurance and retail sectors. And if environmental rules, livelihoods, farmsteads or community interests intervene, they must perforce make way with the vigorous backing and assistance of the government. It is this promise of ‘decisiveness’ that has made Modi such an attractive proposition for Indian – and global — big business today.

How and why the country’s top businessmen switched allegiance from the ‘indecisive’ Congress to NarendraModi is a story that reflects the inner rhythms of life at the base of Indian politics. But it is also a cautionary tale about the deep crisis that rent-seeking and cronyism have engendered in the Indian economy now that the immediate gains made possible from liberalization have reached their natural limit. For all the changes that neo-liberal policies and the end of the ‘license-permit raj’ were meant to usher in, the level of rent that can be earned by companies that are close to the government has reached astronomical levels. As N.S. Siddharthan of the Madras School of Economics argues, “Under the existing business environment, the path to amass wealth is not through manufacturing but through exploitation of resources under government ownership.” Even if some of the estimates generated by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his reports on the 2G spectrum and coal scans appear to be on the high side, it is evident that the preferential allotment of resources has become a huge source of profit for companies that might otherwise earn only a ‘normal’ rate of return through their brick-and-mortar ventures. These resources include

not just coal or spectrum or iron ore but, most crucially, land and water too. And here, the poster boy for the brave new world that Modi represents is GautamAdani, whose emergence as a major businessman closely mirrors the rise of the Gujarat Chief Minister himself.

At the January 2009 ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ summit, two of India’s biggest industrialists, Anil Ambani, who was locked in battle with MukeshAmbani over the issue of gas pricing, and Sunil Mittal, chose openly to bat for Modi as Prime Minister. “Narendrabhai has done good for Gujarat and [imagine] what will happen if he leads the nation,” Anil Ambani was quoted as saying. “Gujarat has seen progress in all the fields under his leadership. Now, imagine what will happen to the country if he gets the opportunity to lead it … Person like him should be the next leader of the country.” Mittal, head of the Bharti Group with major interests in telecoms, had this to say: “Chief Minister Modi is known as a CEO, but he is actually not a CEO, because he is not running a company or a sector. He is running a state and can also run the nation.” Tata, who was present at the event, also sang Modi’s praises. “I have to say that today there is no state like Gujarat. Under MrModi’s leadership, Gujarat is head and shoulders above any state.” Again, the question of ‘clearances’ took pride of place. The Economic Times reported: “A state, Mr Tata gushed, would normally take 90 to 180 days to clear a new plant but, ‘in the Nano case, we had our land and approval in just two days.’”

Two years later, at the 2011 Vibrant Gujarat meet, the prize for florid rhetoric went to MukeshAmbani: “Gujarat is shining like a lamp of gold and the credit goes to the visionary, effective and passionate leadership provided by NarendraModi. We have a leader here with vision and determination to translate this vision into reality.” In 2013, it was again the turn of his estranged brother. “Anil Ambani hailed chief minister NarendraModi as the King among Kings,” the Economic Times reported, and requested the audience to give the CM a standing ovation. “The

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THE TIMES OF LEAGUE3

Amartya Sen votes for secular prime minister

Iterating that he did not consider NarendraModi as a good prime ministerial candidate, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen Wednesday said he preferred a prime minister who was “more secular” and not considered a threat by the minority communities.

Sen cast his vote Wednesday at Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, for the first time since the 2001 assembly polls.

“My reaction on Modi is well known, I don’t think he is a good prime ministerial candidate. Obviously he is popular among some sections, particularly in the business community. But that does not mean he is my favourite candidate, indeed he is not,” Sen told reporters after exercising his franchise at a booth on VishwaBharati University campus.

“So, I will like someone who is more secular and the minority communities like the Muslims or the Christians do not feel threatened by him. So that has to be one characteristic of a leader,” said Sen, who has strongly opposed Modi and questioned his secular credentials.

audience readily relented.” Others who spoke included a who’s who of top industrialists. If there was no repeat of the ‘Modi for PM’ chant this time around, it was only because India Inc had already made its choice clear.

Looking back, a major turning point in this evolving matrix of business and political interests was surely the NiiraRadia tapes drama of 2010. Coming close on the heels of the CAG’s dramatic exposé of the 2G scam, the Radia tapes brought out into the open the inner connections between big business, politicians, policymaking and even the media. With the Supreme Court now joining the CAG in seeking to stop the loot of public resources, it became clear that the era of easy “clearances” was now coming to an end. It was around this time that corporate India started accusing the Congress-led Manmohan Singh government – which they had strongly backed, and profited from, until then — of “policy paralysis”, “drift” and “indecisiveness.”

Since his name had figured in the Radia tapes, it was only natural that Ratan Tata should lead the charge. Warning that India was in danger of becoming a ‘banana republic’, the head of one of the country’s largest conglomerates hit out at the government for failing to maintain a conducive climate for industry. He was soon joined by Deepak Parekh, the influential head of HDFC bank, who raised the spectre of capital flight since land acquisition and mining leaseswere becoming more difficult. “Talk to businessman after businessman”, the Times of Indiareported, “and one of the first things he’ll tell you, off the record, is, ‘The government’s come to a halt. Bureaucrats, bankers, everybody’s scared to take decisions.’ The next thing he’ll tell you: ‘We are now looking at investing abroad rather than in India’.” SharadPawar, the business-friendly Union Agriculture Minister, also lent his voice to this chorus of protest.

It is a fact that outward investment from India has been growing steadily, except for a fall in the slump year of 2009-10. Companies invest abroad for a wide variety of reasons. Some look for resources like coal or oil to feed their industries at home, others for technology or a means of more easily accessing protected

markets. Domestic constraints on profitability can also be a factor. As Harun R. Khan, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has noted, “There exists a school of thought which apprehends that overseas investment by Indian corporates is at the cost of on-shore investment. One of the discernible reasons acting as an obstacle for companies to undertake on-shore investment could be the policy and procedural constraints.” But domestic investment is also constrained by supply bottlenecks, especially in infrastructure, and domestic demand, which, in turn, are functions of public investment and expenditure, investor confidence, and the poor dispersion of income, which affects the spending power of the population.

As long as the Indian economy was maintaining a high rate of growth during the first term of the Manmohan Singh government, the biggest Indian companies were able to enjoy both “normal” profitability and a “crony premium.” But the joint effect of the 2008 global slowdown on inflation, and interest rates, and the blow that Radiagate, the CAG, public opinion, and a more vigilant judiciary have delivered from 2009 onwards has fatally compromised this cosy revenue model. The arraignment of the Sahara group by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the jailing of its boss, Subrata Roy, by the Supreme Court on contempt charges is perhaps the most dramatic example of how the terrain for big business is changing. To be sure, Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram were aware of the brewing disquiet in the corporate sector and tried to tackle the problem at the easier end by creating the Cabinet Committee on Investment and making rent-friendly changes in key ministries like Petroleum and Natural Gas and Environment and Forests. But this has not been enough to restore the confidence of India Inc in the Congress

party’s ability to restore the status quo ante.

It is hardly surprising that this is the time the name of NarendraModi as a potential Prime Minister of India enters public discourse in a determined fashion. Egged on by corporate sponsors as well as by the personal preferences of their proprietors, big media

swung into action to take the process of “normalizing” Modi to its logical conclusion. Barely nine years earlier, the Gujarat Chief Minister and the massacres he failed to prevent were universally acknowledged by the media as having played a key role in the defeat of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre in 2004. The problem was how to convince the same urban middle class India, which is repelled by the spectre of communal violence, that the solution to India’s problems lies in Modi’s leadership. This is how the myth of the ‘Gujarat model of development’ came in handy. “Today people are talking about the China model of development in Gujarat,” Anand Mahindra of Mahindra and Mahindra told the 2013 Vibrant Gujarat summit. “But the day is not far when people will talk about Gujarat model of growth in China.”

Enough has been said and written about the statistical legerdemain that underlies Modi’s fanciful claims as an administrator who has transformed Gujarat. But in praising their Leader in this way, Corporate India is making an inadvertent admission: that what they admire the most about Modi is his love for the “Chinese model.” What is this model? It is one in which “clearances” for land, mines and the environment don’t matter. It is one in which awkward questions about gas pricing are never asked, let alone answered. Unlike the growing public support for strong institutional action

against corruption that lies at the root of the visible disenchantment with the Congress, Corporate India is not interested in an end to “corruption” as such. Cronyism and rent-seeking have become an integral part of the way our biggest companies do business – a sort of ‘capitalism with Indian characteristics’ – and they are looking to Modi to run this system in a decisive, stable and predictable manner. What they want is a Leader who will manage contradictions and institutional obstacles as and when they emerge. The communalism of the hordes who follow the Modi cult is an added attraction for his corporate backers, provided the Leader is able to keep his flock in check. This is something Atal Bihari Vajpayee and even L.K. Advaniwere not always capable of doing. NarendraModi is a more decisive and strong-willed man. He can be counted upon to keenly calibrate their deployment whenever a crisis requires a diversion.

Postscript: As this issue was going to press came news that N.K. Singh, the bureaucrat-turned-politician, who is heard on the Radia tapes trying to influence the course of a parliamentary debate on a matter concerning Reliance, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

(SiddharthVaradarajan, formerly Editor of The Hindu, is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, New Delhi)

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4THE TIMES OF LEAGUE

Chadrayan Project Director Myil samy Annadurai awardes the degrees to 420 students of Salih Engineering College on the

10th Degree award function.

Ahamed Buhari Rahman the Director of Buharia holdings and the son of B.S. Abdul Rahman receives the world leadership

quality award on behalf of his father from Puthrajaya International Convention Centre, kuala lumpur, Malasiya

Maulana Azad National Urdu University, the only university offering courses at higher level through Urdu medium, has introduced new regular courses i.e., Ph.D. in MCJ & Social Work and integrated courses in Sciences, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Sciences and in Humanities and Social Sciences History, Public Administration, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Islamic Studies, Urdu, English, Hindi, Arabic, Persian. According to Prof. S. M. Rahmatullah, Registrar other courses includes important courses includes B. Tech. (Computer Science), Ph.D. in Translation and Ph. D. in Computer Science.

Tahseen-e-Ghazal or Appreci

ation of Ghazal certificate course is a very unique course, conceived & designed keeping in view the popularity of Urdu poetry among non-Urdu speakers. This course has been extended into a diploma programme on demand of Urdu lovers. This programme is being run successfully. University has also started Ph. D. Arabic. M. A. in Political Science, P.G. Diploma in Functional Hindi & a Certificate programme in Arabic. All these programmes have received good response.

MANUU, is a central University, established by an act of Parliament & accredited “A” Grade by NAAC. The campus based courses for which admission process has begun, include Integrated courses

MANUU introduces B.Tech& M. Tech courses in Urdu mediumIntegrated P.G. Programmes (Admission to B.A./B.Sc. programmes leading to Honors and Post Graduate Degrees.

The Prospectus-cum-application forms are available at http://www.manuu.ac.in and copies will be available at Academic Section (HQ)/ Lucknow Campus/ Regional Centers / College of Teacher Education / Polytechnic. The prospectus – cum – application forms can be obtained by paying a Challan (available at website and places mentioned above) of Rs. 150/- by hand and Rs. 200/- by post. The downloaded application form must carry a Challan of Rs. 100/- paid at any branch of SBI all over India / Indian Overseas Bank, Gachibowli Branch, Hyderabad.

Additionally a fee of Rs. 100/- is to be paid for each entrance test. Online submission of application form facility is also available for programmes admissions based on Entrance Test.

The Programme-wise details are available in the prospectus. Reservation for SC/ST/OBC candidates for admission into various programmes will be as per the Government of India rules. Hostel facility would be provided subject to availability. The University Scholarship of Rs.1000/- p.m. is provided to the students of Masters Degree Programmes subject to availability of funds. The UGC Fellowship of Rs. 5,000/- p.m. and of Rs. 8,000/- p.m. shall be provided to the M. Phil. and Ph. D. Scholars respectively.

National Conference (NC) patron and Srinagar Lok Sabha candidate Farooq Abdullah said Sunday that Jammu and Kashmir would not remain a part of India if the country becomes communal, while asking those who vote for NarendraModi to “drown themselves”.

Lashing out at Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate, Abdullah told a party election rally in old city’s Khanyar area that: “Those who say that people opposing Modi should go to Pakistan must remember that if India becomes a communal country, Kashmir would not remain its part.

“Those who vote for Modi should drown themselves in a river”.

Criticizing his opponents of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abdullah alleged that PDP’s open support to BJP was a historic betrayal of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and its patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed should know that there is a limit to a nation’s tolerance to

gimmickry, political intrigues and lies.

“Every single vote that you will cast for National Conference will be a vote against the Modi-Mufti alliance and will be a vote that will stop the march of communal forces from entering Jammu and Kashmir.

“National Conference has defended Article 370 (of the constitution) and Kashmiriyat from hundreds of intrigues and thousands of enemies and National Conference will continue to be a protection shield for Jammu and Kashmir and its people long after I am gone,” he said.

“Mufti Sayeed nurtures a grudge against Kashmiris that they have handed him embarrassing electoral defeats from his native constituency four times, a loud and clear rejection that forced his rehabilitation in Muzaffarnagar (in Uttar Pradesh) as a member of parliament from a safe seat at a time when he couldn’t garner more than 300 votes in his own state,” Abdullah said.

Kashmir will not remain part of a communal India: Farooq Abdullah

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THE TIMES OF LEAGUE5

In his last leg of election campaign the IUML TN State President and All India General Secetary Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen concludes his hectic election campaign in Coimbatore. Seen in the picture are :

State Asst. Secretyar, S.A. Ibrahmim Mackey, Kovai District President Abdul Gafoor, Secretary Mohammed Bashir and Sirupur Suburban

President P.S. Hamza and other Office Bearers.

Harvard organises a roundtable on Islamic Finance in India

A roundtable on “Islamic Finance in India” was organized on April 27, 2014 at Harvard Law School at the conclusion of Eleventh Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance. The roundtable focused on the challenges and opportunities in introducing Islamic finance in India. Many prominent Islamic finance experts from Middle East, Europe, America, Africa and the subcontinent participated in the roundtable and shared their insights and experiences.

Dr. Nazim Ali, Director, IFP at Harvard introduced the theme to the panelists. The roundtable was chaired by Professor ElsayedElsiefy of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies. Dr. ShariqNisar, Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School presented an overview of the Indian financial system highlighting obstacles and the opportunities for Islamic finance. He touched upon banking, financial companies, insurance and capital market areas.

Mr. Ishtiaq Ali, Partner ClasisLaw Firm in Mumbai and a project finance expert briefed the panel about the prevailing rules and regulation in project financing. He also deliberated on the rules for FDI and FII. Dr. Asif Akhtar Assistant Professor from Aligarh Muslim University shared his research findings on the possibility of Islamic banking and finance in India. He emphasized on the role of Islamic finance in improving financial inclusion and sustainability.

Hussam Sultan from UK and a key officer on sustainability at HSBC Amanah shared his experience of introducing Islamic banking in the UK. He emphasized the importance of customer awareness and political lobbying. Dr. Umar Oseni, an expert on Islamic Dispute Resolution from International Islamic University Malaysia expressed his views on the legal and regulatory framework of Islamic Finance in the light of Malaysian experience.

Dr. Mohammad Faisal, Assistant Professor from Aligarh Muslim University, briefed the panel about the growing awareness of Islamic finance among Indian consumers. He proposed a strategic overview on the political risk and branding of Islamic financial products in India. Mr. Sajjad Shah of Wellington Management, USA shared his experience of fund management and the strategies that could be adopted to promote ethical investments.

The panelists included prominent industrialist Ali Alobaidli Group CEO Ezdan Holding, Qatar and Maulana Hassan Khan of Barkatullah University Bhopal. The Chair Professor Elsiefy enquired about the Islamic capital market opportunities and the FDI requirements for direct investments in the Indian economy. At the end he thanked all the participants for their valuable comments.

Many prominent industrialist, educationist, financial experts, philanthropist and students from India participated in the three-day-long Forum. Bearys Group Chairman Syed Mohammad Beary; BSAR University Chairman, Abdul Qadir Abdul Rahman Buhari; Chairman, Zakat Foundation of India Syed Zafar Mahmood; Baitun-Nasr founder Mr. Mohammad Husain Khatkhatay; BSE Brokers’ Forum Chief Executive Mr. VispiBhathena and Chief Economist Dr Aditya Srinivas; Mr. Saif Ahmed of Zamzam Capital; Niyash Mistry of Fletcher School; and Mr. Kashif-ul-Huda of TwoCirlcles.net also participated in the Forum.

Farooq Abdullah rejects agenda for uniform civil code

National Conference patron and candidate for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat Farooq Abdullah Monday said common civil code would not be accepted by the Indian Muslims at any cost.

“No Muslim in India will tolerate a common civil code for Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and followers of other religions to the exclusion of the Sharia law,” Abdullah said at an election rally in Kashmir’s Kangan town, 40 km from here.

“It (BJP) is also talking of building the Ram Mandir and other things,” he said.

“BJP’s priorities have made the election in Kashmir a question of saving the identity of this place and its people rather than voting for Farooq Abdullah or someone else,” Abdullah said.

He also lambasted the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and said, “Thank God, I am not a Mufti like him. If he can join hands with BJP’s prime ministerial candidate NarendraModi after claiming to be a Mufti, you should be able to imagine what other things he must be capable of doing.”

“Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has been blaming us for enforcing boycott in Anantnag district, which is clearly an indication that the PDP has lost the seat,” said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also addressed the rally.

Kangan is an assembly segment in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Farooq Abdullah is seeking re-election from Srinagar, and he is challenged by PDP leader Tariq Hamid Karra.

Srinagar goes to vote April 30.

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6THE TIMES OF LEAGUE

Dr. Hakim Syed Kalifathullah receives ‘Padma Shri’ award from the President of India Pranab Mukarjee for his exemplary

service in the field of Unani Medicine. Dr Kalifathullah served as the Chennai District IUML Secretary.

EC censures Giriraj Singh for hate speech

The Election Commission Wednesday censured BJP leader Giriraj Singh for his inflammatory speeches during his election campaign during which he asked people who opposed party prime ministerial candidate NarendraModi to “go to Pakistan”.

In a statement, the poll panel said that it is convinced that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader has made “highly provocative speech which had the impact of aggravating existing differences or create mutual hatred between different communities...” and it was thus violative of a provision of the Model Code of Conduct.

The Election Commission condemned the statement made by him during election meetings at Deoghar and Bokaro in Jharkhand, and censured Giriraj Singh for misconduct.

In his speech April 18 while campaigning in Jharkhand, the BJP candidate, who had earlier called opponents of Modi “Pakistani elements”, said these people had no place in India and should be sent to Pakistan.

Two first information reports were lodged against Giriraj Singh - one in Bokaro district and the second in Deoghar district of the state - on the instructions of the Election Commission.

Singh is the Lok Sabha candidate from Nawada constituency in Bihar.

Manindra Thakur, a political science professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that “the possibility of a Third Front government will arise if the BJP fails to cross the tally of 200 seats. In that case, the Congress may be able to stitch together a group of allies to form a next government”.

Thakur also opined that a Third Front government this time may not be unstable.

“A good number of experiments in coalition politics have been done since the Janata Party government came to power in 1977. A Third Front government may run for a good number of years this time,” Thakur told IANS.

NisarUlHaq, professor of political science at JamiaMiliaIslamia, felt a Third Front would come into picture only if the NDA failed to cross the tally of 230 seats.

“If they get around 230 seats, they will be able to draw more allies. But if they fail to reach that mark, a Third Front government is a possibility. The number of seats regional allies get in UP, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Odisha will be crucial to its formation,” he said.

Haq also said that due to past experiences of having formed such governments, the parties may do a better job this time.

“The stability will also depend on the number of seats the Congress gets. If it gets more than 100 seats, it will be in its favour to keep the alliance and the government,” added Haq.

The 18th Annual General Meeting of the Minority Welfare Society (MWS) was held with a daylong programme in Guwahati on Sunday. The meeting started with the recitation from the Holy Quran followed by paying homage to those members of the Society who passed away during the preceding year.

Thereafter, Abdul Waris Chowdhury, General Secretary of MWS, presented the Annual Report of the Society for the year 2013. During the year 2013, MWS organised several programmes for felicitation of outstanding students belonging to the community, hosted an iftar party during the month of Ramzan and assisted about 25 unemployed persons extending them microfinance to the tune of Rs 5 lakh for taking up productive enterprise. Chowdhury also informed that during the year in question, MWS organised felicitation functions for senior citizens – separately for both men and women. The Society donated an aggregate amount of Rs 1.38 lakh to 18 needy students and ailing patients to enable them to pursue their courses and take care of medical treatment respectively.

In the pre-lunch session, Abdul Malik, former State Election Commissioner and Abdul Hoque, Commissioner Law, Assam formally unveiled the second volume of MWS journal ‘Barak’. The highlight of the current volume is that it contains write-ups by NRI Barak Valley residents now living in faraway places such as Australia, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and USA.

In the Seminar that followed, women members deliberated on ‘Role of Education in the uplift of the Society’ which was presided over by NilofarMazumdar and participated by Raina KhanamMazumdar, Kaniz Fatima Laskar and BurhanaChioudhury.

Kausar J Hilaly ACS, Registrar, national Law University & Judicial Academy Assam, spoke and exhorted the young generation to work hard and achieve excellence to face the competition of modern day work successfully. Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, Sr Advocate of Gauhati High Court lauded the Society for its yeomen’s service to the community over the years.

Abu Saleh Najmuddin, former Minister Assam, handed over the first SahidulAlom Choudhury Memorial Award to Abul Hussain Mazumdar ‘Saberi’ for his outstanding achievements in the fields of academics, literature, and journalism. Saberi is adept in Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, English, and Urdu languages and has several books and publications in these languages to his credit.

Helal Uddin was complimented for his pioneering work in mobilising a lot of volunteers from the community to come forward to donate blood to needy patients whenever such occasions arose. Winners of prizes in children’s qirat, art, quiz and extempore speech competitions held earlier in the day were awarded prizes at the conclusion of the programme. Muktar Hussain Ahmed Choudhury, President, MWS made the concluding remarks and offered the vote of thanks.

Minority Welfare Society honours Abul Hussain Mazumdar for his outstanding works

From Page No. 1...

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THE TIMES OF LEAGUE7

IUML Election Symbol Ladder Elates the Vellore Voters

The Times of League - English Monthly - R.Dis. No. 1765/10 published by Mohamed Ismail on behalf of Muslim League Publication Trust, published at 36, Maraikayar Lebbai Street, Mannady, Chennai - 600 001 and printed by K.A.M. Muhammed Abubacker at Madras Media Press No, 36, Maraikayar Lebbai Street, Mannady, Chennai - 600 001.

Editor : Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen,

8THE TIMES OF LEAGUE

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mdyoonussait@yahoo.com98410 18080

Dr. P. Sivakumar the director C.V.R.D.E graces the 14th Anni-versary of Alim Mohammed Salih Engineering College, Avadi as the Chief Guest. College Correspondent S. Sheik Jamaludeen & College Principal Dr. M. Aksal Ali Baig participate in the function.

Leaders campaign for IUML M.P. Candidate

M. Abdul Rahman in Vellore

BJP prime ministerial candidate NarendraModi continues to be a cause of apprehension for the minority community, the party’s Goa leader Francis D’Souza said.

“Minorities will have an apprehension. It will always be there,” D’Souza, the deputy chief minister, said in response to queries if minority communities would accept Modi, who in the past has been accused of hard-line right wing politics.

Incidentally, D’Souza, one of the earliest minority leaders who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa more than a decade ago, was one of the few party leaders who had expressed apprehension after Modi’s nomination as the party’s campaign chief during the national executive held in Goa last year.

“That apprehension is still there,” D’Souza said, adding that a debate on

Minorities will always have apprehensions about Modi: BJP leaderthe very same apprehension was present in the mass media.

D’Souza also suggested that the influential Roman Catholic Church in Goa could be responsible for re-igniting a debate on ‘secularism versus communalism’ debate in Goa.

“This may be a fact,” he said to a query if a recent communication from Church authorities imploring its flock to vote for secular candidates and not fall prey to personality cults and fake “good governance” models, could have diverted the popular electoral discourse from development to communalism.

However, he questioned the “communal” label for his party. “There are six Catholic MLAs (legislators) in the BJP. Why should we be called communal?” D’Souza said.

The Goa Church is a significant player in Goa’s socio-political space with its Catholic population pegged at nearly 27 percent.