BJP leader Arun Jaitley elaborates his party's traditional belief on the Kashmir tangle and spells out its future position.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Bharatiya Janata Party's strategist, is getting ready to take on the United Progressive Alliance in the coming Budget session of Parliament. Jaitley's legal background and his envious reach in New Delhi's media is a potent combination helping his party to push its political agenda. He spoke exclusively to Sheela Bhatt on the Uttar Pradesh election.
Arun Jaitley, one of the BJP's seniormost leaders and a friend of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in an exclusive conversation with Sheela Bhatt.
Over lunch, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley breaks down his Budget. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports.
Dolly, who is leading from the front in Amritsar, wakes up early, plans things for her husband's campaign, oversees resources, does nukkad meetings and keeps busy -- all without getting into the limelight. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com's fascinating insights into the battle for Amritsar!
'Power sits lightly on Arun Jaitley's shoulders. Just because earth-shaking election results have brought his party in power, he has not gone recklessly ambitious. "Too soon, too fast" is not what he likes,' says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about Budget 2014.
While speaking to Sheela Bhatt about Narendra Modi and the Congress's media strategy, Jaitley deliberately and subtly downplays Modi's projection as a prime ministerial candidate and the BJP leaders' endorsements of Modi for the top job as if it is a routine affair
'See how he uses the CBI, allows telephone tapping, sustains corrupt ministers, ignores indisciplined ministers, had the cash for votes scam and used the Election Commission. Which institution has not been damaged by his government?' asks Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley.
"I am going to cheer for a good game of cricket," said Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a powerful voice in the world of Indian cricket, who is in Mohali to witness the mega semi-final between India and Pakistan.
In the first part of an interview to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Arun Jaitley spoke of his party's election campaign and the performance of the United Progressive Alliance government.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, was restrained in his reaction to the Ayodhya verdict delivered by the Allahabad high court's Lucknow bench; but his joy was hardly hidden.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley on why it is important for the government not to bow to those propagating violence and offers possible solutions to the problems plaguing the valley.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samjawadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party will have to change, modify or amend their stand on Foreign Direct Investment in retail to break the deadlock in Parliament, says Sheela Bhatt
'From one seat to a majority in the assembly in 20 years. The evolution of the BJP in Karnataka is a script in itself,' says Arun Jaitley, the party's strategist for the election.
'If Parliament had not been obstructed, even the Indian media would not have realised that such a monumental scam had taken place,' says Arun Jaitley.
Former minister responds to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com's questions.
In order to implement big ticket ideas which are likely to come via the Budget of 2015, Modi needs better political talent around him, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
For the first time ever, the BJP's headquarters for a Lok Sabha election is outside New Delhi. Meet the folks behind Narendra Modi's campaign for prime minister.
Much before Rashtrapati Bhavan confirmed the new ministers' portfolios, we had said who will get what in Narendra Modi's Union council of ministers!
'...Take him in the sense that I will defeat him. This is just our military term... If there's anybody today who's anti this government, it is the youth of Punjab. All of them are being coerced, there are no jobs being created, all of them are taking to drugs because of frustration... There is no Narendra Modi factor, there is no national anti-incumbency. In Punjab there in only anti-Akali incumbency.' Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, once the Maharaja of Patiala, pulls no punches when taking about his rivals, especially his BJP opponent from Amritsar Arun Jaitley and the Badals, in this no-holds-barred interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
On Election 2014: 'So far it looks like a one horse race. The difference between the first and the second challenger is so large that if the first one looks back in the last round, he'll probably not see the second one anywhere.' On the AAP prospects: 'They should be happy if they're able to open their account.' On Rahul Gandhi: 'He has a confused message. His campaign is in the abstract. And his campaign has nothing to offer.' Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in a free and frank conversation with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
The anti-corruption watchdog posts have been vacant for the last nine months.
When Prime Minister Modi travelled to the US last year Home Minister Rajnath Singh was officially put in charge of the government. But the BJP's national executive in Bengaluru made it clear who now matters in the party and in what order. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports
GST implementation could happen in September itself, with the next meeting of the Union Cabinet likely to take up the matter.
Last week, the RSS informed the party president Rajnath Singh and other leaders that all leaders above 75 should not be given any "pad" (position), meaning just not Cabinet position but even as chairman of the National Democratic Alliance or as Lok Sabha Speaker. That put to rest claims by old and veteran leaders like L K Advani, M M Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Karia Munda, reports Sheela Bhatt.
In Uttar Pradesh, believe it or not, the BJP will not be helped in the long run if the Congress collapses completely. The more regional parties are strengthened due to the decimation of the Congress, tougher will be the challenge facing both the grand old party and the BJP. Rediff.com's incomparable Sheela Bhatt continues her new election column where she reveals the ground realities in the Battle for India, as only she can. Don't miss it!
On Election 2014: 'So far it looks like a one horse race. The difference between the first and the second challenger is so large that if the first one looks back in the last round, he'll probably not see the second one anywhere.' On the AAP prospects: 'They should be happy if they're able to open their account.' On Rahul Gandhi: 'He has a confused message. His campaign is in the abstract. And his campaign has nothing to offer.' Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in a free and frank conversation with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
L K Advani has less to lose because he has actually lost what is vital in politics. His support base within the party is lost because the party thinks Advani can't help the BJP regain power. Since Modi is vulnerable, Advani, now and then, hits the headlines. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt explains the Advani Affair.
Arun Jaitley and Janardan Dwivedi have rewritten the rules of politics in the Age of the Internet and its young and restless user base, reports Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
At the best of times, ticket distribution in India's political parties is a tough business. The post-election result has to be judged, and judged correctly. It's an impossible job in view of the 814 million voters for whom the party bigwigs have to perform. Sheela Bhatt presents this light-hearted assessment of what's top of the mind for our political heavyweights.
The Modi government is learning to deal with the reality that it does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
The Supreme Court has not only exposed the BJP government's intentions, it has also questioned the government's credibility, which is a serious blow, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
He is the architect of the BJP's incredible show in Uttar Pradesh, but on the election results day he was a picture of relaxed confidence, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Former Central Board of Direct Taxes chief K V Chowdary and Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma were on Monday appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner and Chief Information Commissioner, posts which have remained vacant for over nine months on which the government drew some flak.
'What the interview with Modi told me was that now he is open to granting interviews.' 'And in this connection let me offer our credentials for being considered in this election season,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
All the Gujarat cadre officers have one thing in common. They do not need Modi's 'informal interactions' and advice because they are from the so-called 'Modi school of governance.' They know Modi well enough to perform their assigned roles.
Sheela Bhatt lists ten quick takeaways from the passage of the Telangana bill in the Lok Sabha.
According to a reliable source, the names of 'Preneet Kaur' and a name similar to one of Narayan Rane's sons allegedly feature on the HSBC list of Indians with Swiss bank accounts, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
'Under Narendra Modi's leadership, we will be able to regain our rightful place in the community of nations,' veteran diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who joined the BJP on January 2, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
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