Modi eyes power as Obama makes pledge to new India leader

[bananas]

Source: Agence France-Presse

US President Barack Obama pledged to work closely with the new Indian government as Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi was forecast Tuesday to have pulled off a crushing victory in the world's biggest election.

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All the polls showed Modi's right-wing opposition alliance trounced the left-leaning Congress party which has been in power for a decade, and most indicated that it had scraped enough votes to form a new coalition without having to seek fresh partners.

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Obama, leader of the world's second biggest democracy, said India had "set an example for the world" as he hailed the contest as "a vibrant demonstration of our shared values of diversity and freedom".

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Modi's election however presents something of a headache for the US, which refused to deal with him for years in the aftermath of religious riots in the state of Gujarat in 2002 shortly after Modi became its chief minister.

More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the violence which critics say Modi did little to stop, even though he has been cleared of involvement by the courts.

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European countries also refused to deal with Modi for years in the wake of the 2002 riots, for which Modi has refused to apologise.

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Read more: http://www.haveeru.com.mv/south_asia/54802

[bananas]

1. US continues to maintain silence on Modi's visa status

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/406461/us-continues-maintain-silence-modi039s.html

US continues to maintain silence on Modi's visa status
Washington, May 13, 2014, (PTI)

The US continued to maintain silence on granting a visa to BJP leader Narendra Modi, whose party-led NDA is projected by exit polls to form the next government in India.

"We don't speak on visa acceptances, applications, etcetera, so I don't have anything for you on that," State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday.

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In 2005, the US State Department had revoked a visa that Modi had for travelling to the US on the ground of alleged human rights violations after the 2002 Gujarat riots.

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Last year, Modi's plans to address by video a University of Pennsylvania conference were scrapped following opposition from Indian-American professors, alumni and students.

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[bananas]

2. Indian election: Stock markets surge to record high after exit polls predict Narendra Modi landslide

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/indian-election-stock-markets-surge-to-record-high-after-exit-polls-predict-narendra-modi-landslide-9359870.html

Indian election: Stock markets surge to record high after exit polls predict Narendra Modi landslide
Andrew Buncombe
Delhi, Tuesday 13 May 2014

India's stock markets have surged to a record high after the release of exit polls that suggest Narendra Modi is set to become the country’s next prime minister. It was the third successive day they rose to new heights amid anticipation of Mr Modi taking office.

The country’s main stock index, the Sensex, rose by 1.7 per cent to 23,941.32 points in early trading after television channels on Monday night released polls suggesting a landslide win for Mr Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The polls, which have been badly wrong in the past, suggested the ruling Congress party will suffer its worst ever defeat.

Mr Modi, the controversial chief minister of Gujarat, is seen as being friendly to business and investors and many in the corporate world would welcome him becoming premier. During the election campaign he often said if he became prime minister, investors would encounter a “red carpet” rather than red tape.

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During his campaign, he repeatedly pushed the message of development and jobs, even while some of his BJP colleagues continued to stir communal tension. While many Muslims refused to vote for him because of the killing of hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, lots of voters were attracted his his aspirational, modern campaign.

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[Recursion]

5. The rupee also broke the 60 per $ barrier today

Looks like Indian business likes this result...

[bananas]

3. Sensex Scales 24,000 as Exit Polls Predict Modi Win

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/market/article-sensex-scales-24-000-as-exit-polls-predict-modi-win-388202

Sensex Scales 24,000 as Exit Polls Predict Modi Win
NDTV | Updated On: May 13, 2014 12:30 (IST)

The BSE Sensex surged over 500 points to edge above the psychological 24,000 mark for the first time on Tuesday as markets reacted positive to exit poll results announced on Monday. The Sensex has now gained over 1,700 or nearly 8 per cent in just three sessions since Friday.

The broader Nifty jumped around 160 points and traded above the key 7,150 levels. This is the third straight day when Indian stock markets have hit record highs. (Track markets)

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Narendra Modi-led BJP is seen by markets as being more investor- and business-friendly. The Nifty has already surged around 20 per cent since Mr Modi became the BJP prime minister candidate on September 13. A large part of gains have come on account of strong buying by foreign investors, who have purchased cash shares worth about $4.3 billion so far in 2014.

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[bananas]

4. US would welcome Modi as India leader despite past visa ban

http://bdnews24.com/world/2014/05/13/us-would-welcome-modi-as-india-leader-despite-past-visa-ban

US would welcome Modi as India leader despite past visa ban
>> Reuters
Published: 2014-05-13 11:42:59.0 BdST Updated: 2014-05-13 11:42:59.0 BdST

President Barack Obama faces the prospect this week of having to offer his congratulations to a new Indian leader who was barred from the United States less than 10 years ago over massacres of Muslims in 2002.

As voting concluded in India's general election on Monday, four major exit polls showed Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi set to become prime minister, with his opposition party and its allies forecast to sweep to a parliamentary majority.

A Modi victory would be a blow for campaigners who have long maintained he is an autocratic Hindu supremacist responsible for an outbreak of religious riots in his home state of Gujarat in 2002 in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died.

Modi was shunned by Western nations for years after the bloodshed in Gujarat, where he has been chief minister since 2001. He was denied a U.S. visa in 2005 under the terms of a 1998 US law which bars entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom."

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[iamthebandfanman]

6. icky

nationalists are taking over everywhere :p

[IronLionZion]

7. It's a bad day when religious nationalists take over anywhere

and of course its bad to see liberals defeated anywhere. Hmm... hard to see any silver linings for anyone other than some businesses and investors. And even then, the last time these assholes were in power they had the Kargil war with Pakistan which was bad for business. We'll see if there's a repeat. Expect some spending on defense I suppose.

Minorities don't fare well under BJP governments, and Modi is extraordinarily evil and callous. You think Bush didn't give a F? Modi don't give a F as his citizens in his state murdered each other. No attempt to stop it. No apologies. No nothing.

I believe his US visa is still revoked. I hope they don't let him into our country for any reason ever. If he wants to address the UN in NYC, do it by videoconference.

A WSJ article from 2012 about his policy platform http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444327204577616060613980088

[cosmicone]

9. Half truths are dangerous

1. Congress was not a "liberal" party -- it just took money and power from one community and concentrated it in another community's hands. The really poor and dalits remained where they were. In the process of doing their ideology driven socialistic themes, the congress party lost half of Kashmir, kept Pakistan going despite having it on the ropes numerous times, destroyed capital formation and increased corruption and organized crime.

2. The Kargil was was started by Pakistan, particularly Pervaiz Musharraf and not by India. India has never attacked any other country in its thousands of years of existence.

3. Not giving Modi visa would be utterly stupid and what do you have to fear? That his speech will make people see the real person and not one caricatured by Pakistan and its sympathizers? As a head of government and a leader of over a billion people, it would look foolish to not give him visa because some people are whining. We gave visas to Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat, Muammar Q'addafi and Mehmood Ahmadinejad -- but not Modi? hahahahahahahaha

[cosmicone]

8. The visa ban was stupid anyway

The riots were funded and incited by Pakistan and it was Pakistanis who clamored in Western countries to not allow Modi to travel. Modi travelled to the middle east and has excellent relationships with the Gulf countries, Iran and Turkey. He managed to have excellent relationships with archenemies China and Japan and they both invested heavily in Gujarat.

Every time the US sides with Pakistan, it gets egg on its face .. but we continue to prop that terrorist haven unabashedly.

Narendra Modi will be a transformational figure in India and he has won 58% of the Muslim vote.

This also marks the end of Nehru/Gandhi dynasty forever. Nehru by his socialist protectionist policies brought India to its knees and Gandhi (while instrumental in achieving freedom and being a great man) was no good at policy. Gandhi's obsession with prohibition created organized crime and corruption in India. Nehru's obsession with import controls created mega-smugglers and took organized crime into the stratosphere. The socialist policies didn't help the poor and confiscatory tax structures ruined capital formation. Brutal Rent control with no adjustment for inflation and upkeep destroyed real estate development. (e.g., in Mumbai today, some tenants are paying $1/month on apartments whose market value is over $8 million)

Ideologues don't belong in the government -- they should retire and write books. Pragmatists make people's lives better.