In India, a Mixed Response to Nationwide Strike

September 20, 2012, 2:46 am

By SRUTHI GOTTIPATI

A nationwide strike called by opposition political parties and trade organizations to protest fuel price increases and other economic policy changes had a quiet start Thursday in the capital, but there were reports of protest from other pockets of the country.

As of mid-morning, traffic was bustling in most parts of New Delhi. Three-wheeled autorickshaws were plying the streets, bus service seemed unaffected and the Metro was running.  Most schools in New Delhi were also open, school officials said.

“Unless the government gives an order to shut down schools, why should we shut down schools?” said Ameeta Mulla Wattal, vice chairman of the National Progressive School Conference, a coalition of 130 schools. “Structure and routine is important to children.”

The Bharat Bandh, or “India shutdown,” was called by the main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, and its allies. Other parties, like the Samajwadi Party, which governs the state of Uttar Pradesh, have also joined in.

Samajwadi Party workers blocked rail traffic at Allahabad station in the morning, while activists from BJP Yuva Morcha, the party's youth wing, stopped trains at Patna Junction, The Hindustan Times reported. But the governing party of West Bengal, the All India Trinamool Congress, whose leader Mamata Banerjee has threatened to pull out of the governing coalition on Friday, has not supported the strike, according to news reports.

The government last week introduced a slew of economic policy changes, including moves that would allow big-box retail stores like Walmart to open outlets in India, in an effort to revive the economy . The government also said it would raise the price of diesel by 14 percent â€" the first fuel price increase in more than a year â€" and capped the number of subsidized cooking-gas cylinders a household can own.

Could Gujarat Elections Be a Close Race?

September 20, 2012, 12:20 am

By HARESH PANDYA

As the eagerly-awaited elections in Gujarat draw closer, there is a growing sense that a real political battle is brewing in the west Indian state.

The state has been dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party since 1995 and governed by Narendra Modi for a decade. He won a decisive victory in 2007, but some analysts believe that the assembly elections, expected to be held in December, may not be an easy win for Mr. Modi and his party. The elections are being closely watched as an indication of Mr. Modi's prospects if he becomes the party's candidate for prime minister in 2014, as many political analysts expect.

While the Modi-led government has trumpeted the state's economic successes, including at tracting domestic and international companies including Tata Motors and Ford, resentment is brewing in some corners. The government has been unable to curtail rising prices of commodities, while appearing to spend lavishly on events like Vibrant Gujarat, an investment summit, and the Sadbhavana Fast, a one-day rally.

“The government already earns a lot,” said Jayesh Makwana of Ahmedabad, a self-employed mason in his 50s. “The establishment of many industries and multinationals may have inundated its coffers. But what benefits are they to the people of Gujarat?”

A recent court verdict that found Maya Kodnani, a former minister in the B.J.P. government, and Babu Bajrangi, a Hindu nationalist activist, guilty of murder and conspiracy in the 2002 Gujarat riots has also threatened Mr. Modi's campaign. Further complicating the election, a third of the 182 constituencies have been redrawn or reorganized.

Mr. Modi kicked off hi s campaign last week with a month long Vivekananda Yuva Vikas yatra, or political march, from the temple town Bahucharaji, in Mehsana district. Mr. Modi, who is riding in the same bus the senior B.J.P. official L.K. Advani used for his anti-corruption march last year, will address over 150 political rallies all over the state.

Addressing a rally in Rajkot this week, Mr. Modi took a shot at the man likely to be his opponent in 2014, the Congress Party youth leader Rahul Gandhi, and alluded to his own ambitions.

The Congress Party says “Rahul Gandhi is a national leader while Modi is only a state level leader,” Mr. Modi said. “I think they are right. Rahul Gandhi is not just a national leader, he is an international leader. He is India's as well as Italy's leader.”

The normally pro-business Mr. Modi has also criticized the central government's recent decision to allow foreign retailers like Wal-Mart into India, saying they would destroy the country's trade and industry and the increase the problem of unemployment manifold.

The Congress Party is campaigning fiercely in Gujarat on development issues and has already promised low-cost housing to poor and working women, including free land, and free laptops to all students who enter college. Congress officials say that their party has already secured many votes, pointing to the 2.5 million forms for its housing project that have been already distributed.

“This government hasn't done anything for the poor while always giving a red-carpet welcome and five-star treatment to industrialists,” the senior Congress leader Narhari Amin, a contender for chief minister's post, said in an interview.

Mr. Modi, on the other hand, “just doesn't care for the poor,” he said, charging that the Gujarat Housing Board hasn't come up with a single new residential project in the years Mr. Modi has been chief minister.

“People aren't only disillusioned but also fed up with the Modi government,” Mr. Amin said. “We meet people in every nook and cranny of Gujarat and we see for ourselves how miserable, frustrated and angry they are.”

The election battle in Gujarat is further complicated because it isn't just between Congress and the B.J.P. Keshubhai Patel, a former Gujarat chief minister, severed relations with the B.J.P. in August and formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party, contending that under Mr. Modi the B.J.P.had become a “one many party” that strayed from its principles.

Mr. Patel, 83, struck an aggressive tone last week, vowing to correct the “injustice meted out to Gujarat” by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government running the country, while also criticizing Mr. Modi's campaign.

Mr. Patel, who represents the influential Patidar ethnic community in Gujarat, won't be a threat to Congress, Mr. Amin said. “He is out just to oust Modi,” he said.

To counter the Congress housing pr oject proposal, the B.J.P. said in August that it would construct 6,500 affordable houses and immediately revived the long-defunct Gujarat Housing Board. Jayshree Patel, president of the B.J.P. Women's Cell, denied Congress Party accusations that the B.J.P. has neglected the poor, saying that the Gujarat government had built 325,000 houses for the indigent between 2001 and 2011.

B.J.P. officials scoff at the idea that Mr. Modi's popularity is on the wane. Congress leaders are “trying to fool people by spreading all sorts of canards about Modi,” said Raju Dhruv, a B.J.P. spokesman from Rajkot. “The B.J.P. under Modi has done so much constructive work for all classes of people, and you can't ignore it by just talking nonsense.”

Vijay Rupani, state B.J.P. general secretary and former member of Parliament, said Mr. Modi's “sincerity, dedication, courage for convictions and vast contribution in the development of the state can't and won't be ignored by the p eople of Gujarat.”

“Under Modi's able leadership, B.J.P. will regain power in Gujarat with full majority,” he said.

As for the former B.J.P. stalwart Mr. Patel, “I feel pity for him,” Mr. Rupani said. “Where was he all these years?”

Not a single B.J.P. worker or leader has joined Mr. Patel's party, Mr. Rupani said. “As a senior leader, he should have helped Modi function the government better instead of deserting the party and making a mockery of himself at this age,” he said.

Could Gujarat Elections Be a Close Race?

September 20, 2012, 12:20 am

By HARESH PANDYA

As the eagerly-awaited elections in Gujarat draw closer, there is a growing sense that a real political battle is brewing in the west Indian state.

The state has been dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party since 1995 and governed by Narendra Modi for a decade. He won a decisive victory in 2007, but some analysts believe that the assembly elections, expected to be held in December, may not be an easy win for Mr. Modi and his party. The elections are being closely watched as an indication of Mr. Modi's prospects if he becomes the party's candidate for prime minister in 2014, as many political analysts expect.

While the Modi-led government has trumpeted the state's economic successes, including at tracting domestic and international companies including Tata Motors and Ford, resentment is brewing in some corners. The government has been unable to curtail rising prices of commodities, while appearing to spend lavishly on events like Vibrant Gujarat, an investment summit, and the Sadbhavana Fast, a one-day rally.

“The government already earns a lot,” said Jayesh Makwana of Ahmedabad, a self-employed mason in his 50s. “The establishment of many industries and multinationals may have inundated its coffers. But what benefits are they to the people of Gujarat?”

A recent court verdict that found Maya Kodnani, a former minister in the B.J.P. government, and Babu Bajrangi, a Hindu nationalist activist, guilty of murder and conspiracy in the 2002 Gujarat riots has also threatened Mr. Modi's campaign. Further complicating the election, a third of the 182 constituencies have been redrawn or reorganized.

Mr. Modi kicked off hi s campaign last week with a month long Vivekananda Yuva Vikas yatra, or political march, from the temple town Bahucharaji, in Mehsana district. Mr. Modi, who is riding in the same bus the senior B.J.P. official L.K. Advani used for his anti-corruption march last year, will address over 150 political rallies all over the state.

Addressing a rally in Rajkot this week, Mr. Modi took a shot at the man likely to be his opponent in 2014, the Congress Party youth leader Rahul Gandhi, and alluded to his own ambitions.

The Congress Party says “Rahul Gandhi is a national leader while Modi is only a state level leader,” Mr. Modi said. “I think they are right. Rahul Gandhi is not just a national leader, he is an international leader. He is India's as well as Italy's leader.”

The normally pro-business Mr. Modi has also criticized the central government's recent decision to allow foreign retailers like Wal-Mart into India, saying they would destroy the country's trade and industry and the increase the problem of unemployment manifold.

The Congress Party is campaigning fiercely in Gujarat on development issues and has already promised low-cost housing to poor and working women, including free land, and free laptops to all students who enter college. Congress officials say that their party has already secured many votes, pointing to the 2.5 million forms for its housing project that have been already distributed.

“This government hasn't done anything for the poor while always giving a red-carpet welcome and five-star treatment to industrialists,” the senior Congress leader Narhari Amin, a contender for chief minister's post, said in an interview.

Mr. Modi, on the other hand, “just doesn't care for the poor,” he said, charging that the Gujarat Housing Board hasn't come up with a single new residential project in the years Mr. Modi has been chief minister.

“People aren't only disillusioned but also fed up with the Modi government,” Mr. Amin said. “We meet people in every nook and cranny of Gujarat and we see for ourselves how miserable, frustrated and angry they are.”

The election battle in Gujarat is further complicated because it isn't just between Congress and the B.J.P. Keshubhai Patel, a former Gujarat chief minister, severed relations with the B.J.P. in August and formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party, contending that under Mr. Modi the B.J.P.had become a “one many party” that strayed from its principles.

Mr. Patel, 83, struck an aggressive tone last week, vowing to correct the “injustice meted out to Gujarat” by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government running the country, while also criticizing Mr. Modi's campaign.

Mr. Patel, who represents the influential Patidar ethnic community in Gujarat, won't be a threat to Congress, Mr. Amin said. “He is out just to oust Modi,” he said.

To counter the Congress housing pr oject proposal, the B.J.P. said in August that it would construct 6,500 affordable houses and immediately revived the long-defunct Gujarat Housing Board. Jayshree Patel, president of the B.J.P. Women's Cell, denied Congress Party accusations that the B.J.P. has neglected the poor, saying that the Gujarat government had built 325,000 houses for the indigent between 2001 and 2011.

B.J.P. officials scoff at the idea that Mr. Modi's popularity is on the wane. Congress leaders are “trying to fool people by spreading all sorts of canards about Modi,” said Raju Dhruv, a B.J.P. spokesman from Rajkot. “The B.J.P. under Modi has done so much constructive work for all classes of people, and you can't ignore it by just talking nonsense.”

Vijay Rupani, state B.J.P. general secretary and former member of Parliament, said Mr. Modi's “sincerity, dedication, courage for convictions and vast contribution in the development of the state can't and won't be ignored by the p eople of Gujarat.”

“Under Modi's able leadership, B.J.P. will regain power in Gujarat with full majority,” he said.

As for the former B.J.P. stalwart Mr. Patel, “I feel pity for him,” Mr. Rupani said. “Where was he all these years?”

Not a single B.J.P. worker or leader has joined Mr. Patel's party, Mr. Rupani said. “As a senior leader, he should have helped Modi function the government better instead of deserting the party and making a mockery of himself at this age,” he said.

Skepticism and Caution Greet India\'s New Policy on Retailers

Saurabh Das/Associated Press

Wal-Mart, a partner in this Bharti-Walmart store near Chandigarh, India, is expected to be a major beneficiary of new policies.

MUMBAI, India - When Indian policy makers announced last week that they would allow big-box foreign retailers like into the country, they pledged that it was the beginning of a long-awaited second wave of economic reforms that would make the country more hospitable to business.

If they follow through, it could prompt a new economic boom in India, where once-brisk growth has slowed markedly in recent years.

But it is a big if.

Just a few days into the effort, concern is growing about whether the latest steps, which also include reductions in fuel subsidies and changes in aviation policy, go far enough, and whether the government will be able to carry out even these limited proposals in the face of stiffening opposition from political allies and opponents.

On Tuesday, an important regional leader, Mamata Banerjee, announced that she would withdraw her support from the governing national coalition on Friday afternoon if policy makers did not abandon their change agenda. Ms. Banerjee, a tenacious politician from West Bengal, last year helped torpedo an earlier effort to open the doors to foreign retailers.

Even if the governing coalition, led by the Indian National Congress Party, retains power, it is unclear how it will push through more changes with the help of other partners. And if it keeps Ms. Banerjee in the alliance by accepting her demands, the Congress party will find it difficult to make the case for bigger changes in taxation and policies governing land and natural resources. Skepticism of the government's commitment to change runs deep, given a long history of disappointments.

“I am grossly underwhelmed,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of Technopak Advisors, an Indian consulting firm. “This is just the tip of the much larger thing that needs to be done.”

But analysts and executives say the new thrust is critical to reviving flagging business confidence and persuading companies to dust off mothballed investment plans. India's economy, which recovered quickly to an 8.4 percent annual growth rate after the financial crisis, is now slowing sharply and could grow as little as 5.4 percent in the fiscal year that began in April, economists say.

The Congress-led alliance has struggled to approve any significant economic policies in the eight years it has been in power. So letting foreign supermarkets enter the country, in particular, had become a litmus test of sorts for many investors and about its commitment to liberalizing India's economy.

“This will be a game changer not because of its immediate impact but because it redefines the feasibility of reforms in the current political environment,” said Eswar Prasad, an economist at Cornell and the Brookings Institution who advises the Indian government.

Still, analysts complain that as politically difficult as the most recent changes were to enact, they do not go far enough.

The new retail policy, for instance, will allow each of India's 29 state governments to block stores owned by foreign chains like Wal-Mart and Tesco. In aviation, the new policy would allow foreign airlines to buy only a 49 percent stake in their Indian counterparts, most of which are losing money. That restriction, with India's seemingly limitless financial support for the beleaguered state-owned Air India, is expected to deter many would-be investors.

Some in the government appear to recognize that they must do more. On Monday, Palaniappan Chidambaram, who recently was named finance minister and helped undo some of India's socialist and policies during a previous stint in the job, said that the government would announce more changes before the end of October.

If the new retail policy does take effect as announced, companies like Wal-Mart and Ikea could be big winners.

Retail sales in India total about $500 billion a year, but less than 10 percent take place in modern stores. Much of retailing is made up of small shops owned and run by families that have long opposed foreign investment. But young Indians are increasingly drawn to air-conditioned malls and department stores where couples and gaggles of teenagers can hang out openly without worrying about offending their more conservative parents and grandparents.

Wal-Mart, which with an Indian partner has 17 wholesale stores in India, is expected to be the biggest immediate beneficiary of the new policies, which will allow it to take a 51 percent stake in an Indian retail operation. Retail chains with a foreign investor will be allowed to open stores in and near cities with at least one million people as long as states give consent, and both New Delhi and Mumbai are expected to get new outlets.

Rajan Bharti Mittal, an executive of Wal-Mart's Indian partner, Bharti Enterprises, said the conditions imposed by the government - including a requirement that foreign retailers spend at least $100 million, with half of that going to processing and other back-end operations - were acceptable.

Ai, Reporter

September 19, 2012, 6:08 pm

By ROBERT MACKEY and CHRISTINE HAUSER

On Tuesday in Beijing, amid protests over the sovereignty of several tiny islands also claimed by Japan, a small group of protesters briefly surrounded the American ambassador's car outside the United States Embassy, pelting it with objects. As our colleagues Thom Shanker and Ian Johnson reported, Ambassador Gary Locke said later, “I never felt in any danger.”

Video of the incident, uploaded to YouTube by the dissident artist Ai Weiwei,
showed that the protesters arrived at the embassy's gate, with remarkable timing, at precisely the same moment as the ambassador's car. A line of police officers appeared on the scene, running in formation, seconds before the pr otesters blocked the car.

Video of Chinese protesters outside the United States Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday, blocking the car of the American ambassador.

The video clip also showed the protesters, who had apparently pealed off from a larger anti-Japanese rally, chanting and throwing objects at the car, before police officers cleared a path for the vehicle to drive off.

Writing on Twitter, Mr. Ai reported that dozens of protesters had arrived at the embassy at about 4 p.m. chanting, “Pay us back our money!” and “Down with U.S. imperialism,” perhaps in reference to American support for Japan.

下午四点左右，几十个游行者在美国大使馆前高喊“æ‰"å€'美帝”“还é'±â€å£å·ï¼Œæ‹¦æˆªã€æ"»å‡»äº†ä¸€è¾†ç¾Žå›½ä½¿é¦†è½¿è½¦ã€‚ RT @Patrick_TRN: RT @aiww: 贴一张照片 http://t.co/bEIdINQL

- 艾未未 Ai Weiwei (@ aiww) 18 Sep 12

The artist also posted a series of photographs on Twitter, via Instagram, which appear to have been shot just after the video, from above and at street level, showing more and more security gathered around the embassy gate.

Mr. Ai has not yet confirmed that he shot the video and photographs uploaded to his social media accounts, but another clip posted on YouTube this week by a video blogger in Beijing appeared to show the artist shooting images of a protest on Sunday outside the Japanese embassy on his iPhone.

Video posted on YouTube on Sunday appeared to show the artist Ai Weiwei recording protests at the Japanese embassy that day.

In April, our colleague Edward Wong reported, Mr. Ai said that he was ordered to shut down a Web site, weiweicam.com, which streamed live video of the artist from webcams in his home and studio in Beijing. That project was apparently a critique of the government's decision to put him under constant surveillance after releasing him from 81 days in secret detention.

Libyan Militia Blamed for Attack on U.S. Consulate Denies Responsibility

September 19, 2012, 11:13 am

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

A BBC Arabic interview with Mohammad Ali al-Zahawi, commander of the Islamist, Libyan militia blamed for the deadly attack on the American consulate in Benghazi last week.

Having taken up arms during the revolt against Colonel Qaddafi, Mr. Zahawi, 44, insisted in the Arabic-language interview that the brigade needed to hold into its weapons because of the continuing uncertainty about Libya's future. “We are in a battle with the liberals, the secularists and the remnants of Qaddafi,” he said, relaxing in a Western-style shirt and jeans in the brigade's fortified compound. “Our brave youths will continue their struggle until they impose Sharia. ”

In another interview, published by Foreign Policy, Mr. Zahawi told the Irish Times correspondent Mary Fitzgerald: “We cannot exclude the hand of the Qaddafi loyalists,” in the attack. “Everything is possible in this case.”

In his interview with the BBC, Mr. Zahawi acknowledged taking part in the destruction of shrines and graves revered by Sufi Muslims.

Video showing ultraconservative Muslims in Libya destroying a Sufi Muslim shrine in Tripoli last month.

Many ultraconservatives consider Sufis heretics, and Unesco, the United Nations cultural organization has recently raised alarms about militant Islamist desecration of historically important Sufi sites. “It is a religious duty to remove these shrines because people worship the deceased and this is prohibited,” Mr. Zahawi said. “It is not me who says so but rather our religion.”

Mosque in front of @Radissonlibya today 6AM #Tripoli #Libya http://t.co/WXu5vSLp

- David Bachmann (@david_bachmann_) 25 Aug 12

…same mosque today 6PM #Tripoli #Libya http://t.co/JCRz2tjD

- David Bachmann (@david_bachmann_) 25 Aug 12

Even while denying responsibility for the deadly assault on the consulate, the Islamist commander was notably sympathetic to the attack, and the killing of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. “There is a massive American onslaught on Muslim countries,” he said. “The crusaders want to occupy our countries and act as our guardians. They do not respect our sovereignty.”

“Al Qaeda's strategy is aimed at weakening US hegemony on the Muslim nation,” he said approvingly. Recent statements from Al Qaeda's new leader Ayman al-Zawahri calling for more violence “were a wake-up call for Muslims,” the commander said. Al Qaeda's statements †œhelp galvanize the Muslim nation, maintain its dignity and pride,” he said. “Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri is keen on safeguarding Muslim rights.”

As for the killing of Mr. Stevens, Mr. Zahawi asked rhetorically, “Do you think that the killing of the U.S. ambassador is more heinous than the several insults made about the Prophet?” He added: “They are weeping buckets on this ambassador but they won't shed any tears when dozens of Muslims are injured in these protests against the blasphemous film.”

“I swear by God that we can tolerate the killing of all people and wiping all countries off the map but we cannot tolerate a single swear word that could hurt our prophet,” he said.

What They Said: Mamata Banerjee Pulling Out of the UPA

September 19, 2012, 10:00 am

By SRUTHI GOTTIPATI

The regional party of Mamata Banerjee, the maverick leader of West Bengal who has threatened to pull out of the governing coalition, raised even more pressure on the national government by demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.

The latest standoff with Ms. Banerjee, who opposes the government's move to raise fuel prices and allow more foreign investment, has prompted the Indian National Congress Party, which leads the coalition, to try to line up support from other parties so that the government will not collapse, according to local news reports.

Here are some of the responses to the political crisis:

Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief: “The go vernment should get wise - what have they given to people of the country? We will discuss our strategy in the parliamentary board meeting. The government's stubborn behavior will do it no good,” Mr. Yadav said on CNN-IBN, a news channel.

Derek O'Brien, All India Trinamool Congress spokesman and member of Parliament: After Ms. Banerjee, who leads the All India Trinamool Congress, issued her threat to withdraw from the governing coalition by Friday, Mr. O'Brien posted on Twitter: “What is it some you of you folk here were saying about only bark, no bite?”

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bharatiya Janata Party's general secretary: “Because of the withdrawal of support by Mamamtaji's party, namely Trinamool Congress, a serious question mark is there on the stability of this government. The B.J.P. will take a call as to whether there is a need for a special session of the Parliament, ”Mr. Prasad told Times Now, a television channel.

Tariq Anwar, Nationalist Congress Party leader: “This is unfortunate - she should not have taken this step. This will help B.J.P. and communal forces. We hope by Friday she realizes this and takes back her decision. Supporting parties are with the government because we know that withdrawing support will not help them; it will help communal forces. Diesel price was hiked to control the fiscal deficit. The N.C.P. is supporting F.D.I.; it will help farmers,” Mr. Anwar told CNN-IBN.