When Singapore Indian Congress return to power?

[fivestars]

NEW DELHI: India's ruling Congress-led alliance was set to return to power after taking a commanding lead on Saturday in vote counting from the country's marathon general elections.

The Election Commission website showed the Congress UPA alliance with a lead of around 80 seats over the main opposition bloc headed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With counting underway in 502 of the parliament's 543 directly elected seats, the UPA was leading in 229, while the BJP alliance had the edge in just 155.

The other seats looked set to go India's myriad regional parties.

While projections showed the Congress grouping still falling short of the 272 seats required for an absolute majority, the margin of its lead gave it an insurmountable claim to form the next government.

"It is a decisive vote for the Congress," said party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi, as wild celebrations broke out at the Congress Party headquarters in New Delhi.

Party supporters banged drums and danced in the street, holding portraits of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"Manmohan Singh will be prime minister once more," announced delighted cabinet minister Oscar Fernandes.

The mood at the BJP headquarters was, by contrast, subdued as the counting results rolled in.

"It has to be analysed, but it is disappointing I agree," said senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu.

The apparent margin of victory was much higher than that predicted by exit polls, which had suggested only a handful of seats would separate the two main political groups.

Congress was also clearly emerging as the single largest party in parliament, leading in 180 seats, against 90 for the BJP.

"The trends are very positive," said Congress leader Ambika Soni. "We want to thank the people of India who have shown faith in the Congress party."

This election has come at a pivotal time for India and its 714-million strong electorate.

After five successive years of near-double digit growth that lent the country the international clout it has long sought, the economy has been badly hit by the global downturn.

And there are major security concerns over growing instability in South Asia, particularly in arch-rival Pakistan, with whom relations plunged to a new low following last year's bloody militant attack on Mumbai.

The unexpectedly strong vote for the ruling alliance will go some way to allaying the concerns off those who expected a tighter race that would have thrown up a shaky patchwork coalition.

The Congress will still need more allies to command a parliamentary majority, but a strong lead over the BJP alliance will make its task far easier.

Congress has spent much off the past week making overtures to the party's former communist allies, who quit the coalition last year in protest at a nuclear deal with the United States.

Ambika Soni said Congress leaders and their allies would meet later in the day to discuss how they would go about building the support they need to govern India's 1.1 billion people.

According to the constitution, a new government must be formed by June 2.

 

[fivestars]

NEW DELHI - India's ruling Congress-led alliance swept to a commanding election victory Saturday, crushing its Hindu nationalist rivals and setting up a second term for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

With results still coming in from the Election Commission, projections gave the Congress grouping as many as 250 seats against 160 for the main opposition bloc headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"It is a decisive vote for the Congress," said Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi, as wild celebrations broke out at the party headquarters in New Delhi.

Although the Congress alliance was still expected to fall short of the 272 seats required for a majority in the 543-seat parliament, its projected margin of victory was much greater than exit polls had predicted.

A shortfall of just 20 to 30 seats would allow it to pick and choose from India's myriad regional parties to make up the numbers needed for a viable government.

Congress was expected to pick up more than 190 seats in its own right -- the party's best showing since 1991.Conceding defeat, the Hindu nationalist BJP admitted that the results were "far below" expectations.

"We accept this verdict of the people," said senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who suggested a period of soul searching ahead for his party which had been pilloried during campaigning as anti-Muslim and communally divisive.

"When you lose an election it gives rise to a debate within the party," Jaitley said.

Outside the Congress party headquarters, supporters banged drums and danced in the street, holding portraits of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Singh.

Political analyst Neerja Choudhury said India's 714-million electorate had voted for stability.

"I feel that people did not want anything divisive in these times of uncertainty. They felt that Manmohan Singh, being an economist, can handle the economy for instance," Choudhury said.

After five successive years of near-double digit growth that lent the country the international clout it has long sought, the Indian economy has been badly hit by the global downturn.

And there are major security concerns over growing instability in South Asia, particularly in arch-rival Pakistan, with whom relations plunged to a new low following last year's bloody militant attack on Mumbai.

Exit polls had predicted that only a handful of seats would separate the Congress and BJP alliances -- a scenario that had prompted gloomy forecasts of a badly hung parliament that would throw up a weak, patchwork coalition.

The picture that emerged Saturday was of a far more stable government that would be less vulnerable to the whims of its coalition partners.

"Based on the trends, I think it's clear this government will last a full term," said political analyst Rasheed Kidwai.

Congress spokeswoman Ambika Soni said party leaders and their allies would meet later in the day to discuss how they would go about building the support they need to govern India's 1.1 billion people.

Before Saturday's result, conventional wisdom dictated that the Congress alliance would need the support of the communist parties who withdrew from the ruling coalition last year in protest over a nuclear deal with the United States.

But the Left was trounced in its stronghold states of West Bengal and Kerala, leaving its leaders to concede that it had lost any kingmaker status.

"We have suffered a major setback," admitted Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

"This is a victory for the Congress and its allies who will now clearly form the government," Karat said.

According to the constitution, a new government must be in place by June 2. - AFP/vm

 

[fivestars]

The Singapore Indian Association was established in 1923 with the objective of promoting the social, physical, intellectual, cultural and the general welfare of its members. When it was formed, the Association projected itself as a pan-Indian, rather than narrowly ethnic, language, religion, caste or region-based organization. This marked it as significantly different from most other Indian organisations in Singapore.

The Association led by the Indian mercantile and professional elite, expanding its membership to include the emerging white collar middle classes as well. Initially, the leaders of the Association were seized with the political spirit of the time in both India and Singapore. Many were supporters of the Indian independence movement, and many were also concerned about the social welfare and political rights of the wider Indian community in Singapore and British Malaya, which the city-state was then a part of.

The Singapore Indian Association was one of a number of such associations located in towns and cities all across Malaya. With the development of the Merdeka or freedom movement in Malayan politics, these associations became nodal points for the activation of Indian political activism. In time, this contributed to the formation of the Malaysian Indian Congress, the main political party in Malaysia representing the Indian community, and a current member of Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional coalition government.

Singapore politics, however, followed a different path. While Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) initially sought to merge with Malaya in a political federation, this eventual union proved to be unviable, resulting in the ejection of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, when the former became and independent republic. However, even prior to this momentous event, Singapore politics had developed along different lines from the rest of Malaysia. With its different racial makeup, the racial politics of Malaysia did not fit in well with Singapore’s demographic realities. In Singapore, voters, including Indians and other minorities, tended to support non race-based political parties like the PAP. With the eventual separation of Singapore from Malaysia, and the later consolidation of PAP hegemony over Singapore via a quasi-authoritarian government, the Singapore Indian Association quickly lost its political role and became a social, sports and recreation club.

While the Association was founded in 1923, its clubhouse was only completed in the 1950s. It is located at the historic Balestier Plain in Singapore, which has acquired formal heritage status for its concentration of a cluster of community associations and sports clubs, such as the Indian Association. In keeping with its early political leanings, the foundation stone of the clubhouse was laid by Jawaharlal Nehru on 18 June 1950.

Since its beginning, the Association has been extremely active in Singapore’s sports scene. Sports in which the Association is active in include cricket, tennis, hockey, football and billiards. Many of its members and sportspeople also went on to represent Singapore in regional and international tournaments.

Over time, the Association began to decline in terms of its membership, finances and public profile. However, with a fresh influx of leadership in the late 1990s, its fortunes have improved to some extent. The Association’s website reports a membership of about 1,000 members today. Recently, the Association has published a book – Passage of Indians - to commemorate its history, as well as that of the Indian community in Singapore.

 

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At the outset, MIC was founded to represent the interests of ethnic Indians in Malaya, the majority of whom had been brought to the country from South India as indentured laborers by the British. The party's founder John A. Thivy (1946-1947) also sought to check social problems such as low literacy level, alcoholism and family violence faced by the Indian community.[citation needed] At the outset, the party was committed to positive inter-racial harmony and cooperation and obtaining a fair share of the economic cake for the Indian community.[citation needed]

It was the intense anti-British sentiment that made the MIC under the leadership of its second president Budh Singh (1947-1950) critical of the Malayan Union, which did not obtain Indian support.[citation needed]

Under its third president, K. Ramanathan was when the MIC contested in the 1952 Kuala Lumpur Municipal Elections in alliance with the multi-racial Independent Malayan Party (IMP) under Datuk Onn Jaafar and other non-communal organisations. However the results showed that the MIC’s attempt to preach and practise non-communalism would not prevail in Malayan politics when communalism was the winning factor.[citation needed]

In 1954, the MIC under its fourth leader K.L. Devaser (1951-1955) became the third partner in the Alliance with the Malay-based UMNO and the Malaysian Chinese-based MCA after realising that political alliances were fundamental to success in Malaysian politics of the time.[citation needed]

Under Tun V.T. Sambanthan who took over the party’s leadership as the fifth president (1955-1973) the party grew in membership and became a mass-based party, at the same time firmly entrenching itself as a partner of the Alliance.[citation needed] On August 31, 1957, Independence was achieved under the Merdeka Agreement, to which Sambanthan was a signatory.

One big challenge that the party faced during this time was the fragmentation of estates, that desrupted the livelihood of ordinary Indian workers.[citation needed] While the Malaysian government banned further fragmentation, the party sponsored the establishment of the National Land Finance Cooperative Society (NLFCS) comprising workers as members and used their periodic contributions to buy up whole estates.

During Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam's term as the sixth president, the MIC became part of Barisan Nasional. The party sponsored the Nesa Multipurpose Cooperative and the MIC Unit Trust as part of its programme for economic ventures, and also set up the MIC Education Fund for members’ children and the Malaysian Indian Scholarship for higher education.[citation needed]

Nevertheless, Samy Vellu, who is the longest serving leader of a mainstream Malaysian political party, having been MIC president since October 12, 1979 has not been without controversy, marked by allegations of corruption and a perceived decline in Malaysian Indian welfare.

In 2006, Samy Vellu successfully ousted his long-time deputy, Dato' S Subramaniam and replaced him with Dato G Palanivel. The process was done through the 2006 party elections.

 

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The Singapore Indian Development Association (Abbreviation: SINDA; is self-help group (SHG), that was established in August 1991 to address the pressing educational and socio-economic issues facing the Indian community in Singapore. The group's mission is to build a strong and vibrant Indian Singaporean Community. The group's main office is located at Beatty Road.

 

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Established first in 1924 as the Indian Merchants Association, the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) is an independent, not-for-profit organization with over 800 members. Today, it is a platform for enhancing interaction and information exchange for business promotion and development for its members. It is also a unified body representing the Indian business community serving as a spokesman to the private and public sector organizations in Singapore.

 

[fivestars]

From documents available with the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI), the genealogy of the SICCI is as follows:
Indian Merchant Association (IMA) – 1924; °
Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – 1935;
°
Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce – 1971;
°
Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) – 1991.

The Chamber has its humble beginnings in the efforts of a few dedicated Indian businessmen who set out in 1924 to organize the Indian mercantile community in Singapore. Though Indian merchants had been active in trade & commerce in this part of the world from time immemorial, the historic developments that followed the arrival of Stamford Raffles in Singapore nearly two centuries back, gave a fillip to their activities.
Eleven years later, on 26th August 1935, when Mr. R Jumabhoy was President of IMA, the Association’s name was officially changed to ‘The Indian Chamber of Commerce’. It then became an entity that was exempted from registering, under Ordinance 116 (Societies) of Malaya.
On 27th September 1937, a ‘Certificate of Incorporation’ under the Companies Ordinance was issued to the ICC. The Indian Chamber of Commerce donned its current day avatar as the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1970.
Whilst the Chamber, from its very origins, had set out to operate as a business entity and prove its credibility as a leading commercial institution in Singapore, SICCI had also proven its ‘corporate citizenship’ by undertaking important social & charity roles, whenever the needs arose.
The Chamber Premises
The Indian Merchants Association, at the time of its conversion to the Indian Chamber of Commerce, was located in a small rented room in an old building in Malacca Street, where the Republic Plaza now stands.
Later, in 1937, with its incorporation, the Chamber relocated to another rented but far more spacious premise at No. 4 Raffles Quay. But in 1953, when the site was required for putting up the present Asia Insurance Building (soon to be the Carlton Hotel), the Chamber had to move out to yet another rented place at No. 94 B Robinson Road.
Only in 1963, did the Chamber move into its very own premises, a three-storey building at 55 Robinson Road. These premises were acquired after the Chamber sold the property that it had bought at 41 Market Street as early as 1949, but could not occupy as its tenant refused to move out! This property, unfortunately, was ultimately acquired by the Government for urban redevelopment.
In 1984, the Chamber acquired a modern office space in Tong Eng Building in Cecil Street. The office space was well equipped with a trade documentation centre, conference/seminar facilities and library.
In 2007, the Chamber acquired its current premises, a three-and-a-half storey conservation property, at 31 Stanley Street. This acquisition more than doubled the working space for the SICCI Secretariat and after extensive renovations, provided state-of the-art facilities. This shift has also enabled the SICCI to set up its ‘Enterprise Development Centre (EDC@SICCI)’, an entity which will integrate the Chamber’s activities and foster enterprise development, especially amongst its SME members.

 

[fivestars]

I. Preface

Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha are to be held shortly.

This is the time for you to choose your government at the Centre.

The Indian National Congress respectfully seeks a renewed mandate from the people. We pledge to continue our work to ensure a life of SECURITY, DIGNITY AND PROSPERITY for every citizen.

The Indian National Congress seeks this mandate on the strength of the performance of the Congress-led UPA government during 2004-09.

We made promises in our manifesto of 2004.

We have delivered on them in a very substantial measure.

The Indian National Congress seeks a fresh mandate on the basis of its core values and ideology ・secularism, nationalism, social justice, and economic growth for all, especially for the the aam admi.

We seek a fresh mandate on the basis of our heritage, record of service and vision of the future. We reaffirm our unflinching commitment to the welfare of all our people, especially to the well-being of the weaker sections of our society.

The Indian National Congress is the only party that appeals to, and derives its strength from, each and every section of our society.

The Indian National Congress is the only party that believes that economic growth and communal harmony, and economic growth and social justice, are two sides of the same coin and must always go hand-in-hand.

The Indian National Congress is the only party that combines experience and youth, wisdom and exuberance, achievement and ambition.

 

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II. Why Congress?



These are national elections.

While there will be regional, state-level and local issues that are important, these are elections for a government at the Centre, one that will govern all of India in its many diversities and fulfill its multitude of hopes and aspirations.

It is only the Indian National Congress that is anchored in the larger vision of India as a nation, while at the same time being sensitive to regional and local sentiments.

It is only the Indian National Congress that has demonstrated its commitment to a strong Centre, to strong States, and to strong panchayats and nagarpalikas. India痴 political system must have space for institutions at each of these three levels. Each has a vital and specific role to play.

The Indian National Congress is fighting these elections in alliance with like-minded parties in some States. These parties share the progressive vision and values of the Congress. Over the past five years, the Indian National Congress has managed a coalition government at the Centre, accommodating the views of its partners but without compromising on any of the essential principles of nation-building.

Even so, what India needs most today -- what every Indian needs most today ・at the national level is a party with an All-India perspective and with an All-India presence. The Indian National Congress is the only such party.

The Indian National Congress is the party that, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, led our people into freedom from colonial rule. It is the party whose leadership, by the admission of Dr. Ambedkar himself, made our Constitution possible.

The Indian National Congress is the party that, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, established the foundations of the modern Indian nation-state with its abiding commitment to parliamentary democracy, secularism, economic development, and science and technology.


Learning from experience at every step, the Indian National Congress is the party that has responded creatively to the challenges of the times through the establishment of a vast public sector manufacturing base in the fifties; through bank nationalization and the Green and White Revolutions spearheaded by Indira Gandhi in the late-sixties and seventies; through prudent liberalization and the IT Revolution created by Rajiv Gandhi in the eighties; bolder economic reforms in the nineties; and unprecedented economic growth over the past five years. It is the only party that is forward-looking, the only party that believes a better future is the right of every Indian.

The achievements of India since 1947 are the achievements of its people ・of its farmers and farm labour, its organized sector and unorganized sector workers, its managers, its scientists and engineers, its teachers, doctors and other professionals, its entrepreneurs and businesspersons. It has been the privilege of the Indian National Congress to have provided the political leadership that heralded these accomplishments under the Prime Ministerships of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Congress vs BJP: Secular, Liberal Nationalism vs Narrow Communalism

The Indian National Congress has always been in the forefront of the battle against those forces that seek to divide and fragment our society.

The Indian National Congress has always been the bulwark against the four 妬sms・ that threaten to tear our country apart -- communalism of all kinds, linguistic chauvinism, regional parochialism and casteism.

At the national level, the BJP has sought to position itself as the main political rival of the Indian National Congress.

The Indian National Congress rejects this presumptuous posturing since the BJP is simply not present in large parts of our country.

Even so, the contest between the Indian National Congress and the BJP is not just a fight between two political parties.

It is, in essence, a clash between two competing visions of Indian nationalism, between two competing visions of what India should be.

The Indian National Congress痴 secular and liberal nationalism has an equal place for each and every Indian. It is an inclusive vision. The BJP痴 narrow and communal nationalism denies equality and equal rights to large sections of our people. It is an exclusionary doctrine.

The Indian National Congress痴 secular and liberal nationalism is founded on a celebration of India痴 many diversities. The BJP痴 narrow and communal nationalism rejects many of these diversities and seeks to impose an artificial uniformity on our people.

The Indian National Congress practices the politics of consensus and cooperation. The BJP practices the politics of divisiveness and discord. Instinctively, the Indian National Congress unites, while the BJP divides.

Third Front ・a recipe for chaos

There is also the so-called Third Front, a grouping of opportunistic parties. These parties have neither consistency nor clarity. They have neither competence nor commitment. This Front, grounded in the politics of convenience, is nothing but a platform for personal ambitions. It speaks of 殿lternative polices・ without spelling out what these alternatives are. Parties of the Third Front do one thing when they are in power and quite another when they are rejected by the people.

The Left Parties, who are prime movers behind the so-called Third Front, supported the Congress-led UPA government for over four years. They attempted to exercise authority without taking on any responsibility. At every step, they violated the discipline, restraint and sobriety so very essential for running a coalition smoothly. At every step, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, briefed them on all important issues. The Left Parties withdrew their support on the issue of the civilian nuclear agreement even though it had been negotiated and concluded on our own terms. They adamantly refused to listen to reasoned arguments that convincingly demonstrated that the agreement was in India痴 supreme national interest.

The Left Parties and their present partners pride themselves on being secular. On the contrary, it may be recalled that they had actively aligned with the BJP in the past. They are, in fact, responsible for the electoral growth of the BJP.

As past experience has shown, the Third Front is a recipe for political instability. Lacking a natural national anchor, it is a recipe for chaos, not cohesion.

Only a united India can fight terrorism

The integrity and security of India are paramount. Terrorism threatens many countries, including India.

Terrorism knows no religion and it respects no political boundary. It is, as has become painfully evident, not confined to any community or any political persuasion. Its method is the mindless use of violence directed at the innocent in the most cowardly manner.

Let it be very clear ・terrorism must be fought relentlessly, intelligently and wisely, and without fear or favour.

Terrorism can be fought only by a united people, not by a people divided by religion. Religious polarization that is intrinsic to the BJP severely erodes our capacity to combat terrorism.

It is only the Indian National Congress that can deal with the scourge of terrorism squarely and decisively but without weakening the delicate strands that have, together, bound our society for centuries.

Dealing with terrorism aided and abetted from across our borders does not require a 杜uscular・foreign policy as advocated by the BJP. The country knows the heavy price that was paid for such a 杜uscular・foreign policy耀tupor in Kargil, surrender in Kandahar and stalemate in Operation Parakram.

What India needs is an intelligent and wise foreign policy, a foreign policy that is rooted in our traditions, gives us strength through our unity and common purpose, and radiates confidence.

After the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, the Congress-led UPA government mounted a forceful diplomatic campaign. It was this campaign that led to Pakistan admitting, for the first time, that Pakistani citizens were responsible for the attacks. That admission was a notable victory for our well thought out foreign policy.



The Middle Path ・the Congress痴 way

Balance熔r the middle path--has always been the hall-mark of the policies of the Indian National Congress.

As the world experiences a severe recession, it is this balance that is standing India in good stead.

It is a balance between the public sector and the private sector, with an important role assigned to cooperatives and self-help groups.

It is a balance between building a modern economy and imparting a new thrust to traditional industries.

It is a balance between promoting employment in the organized sector and protecting livelihoods in the unorganized sector.

It is a balance between addressing the needs of urban India and improving the quality of life and standard of living in our villages and towns.

It is a balance between taking advantage of globalization and ensuring that these benefits flow to local communities.

It is a balance between regulation by the government and unleashing the creative spirits of our entrepreneurs and professionals.

It is only the Indian National Congress that cherishes and practices this balance in all spheres of our national life including in the conduct of economic and foreign policy.

This balance is needed now more than ever.

 

[Adidas]

do we have one ?