[WSMDiscuss] India in movement…. : Sardar Sarovar dam dedication guest list cut due to security protocol; Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra CMs to stay away

Sun Sep 17 19:52:16 CEST 2017

Sunday, September 17, 2017

India in movement….

[This is a first supplement to my immediately previous post, on the Narmada Bachao Andolan’s statement about the dedication of the Sardar Sarovar Dam today, with a post from the mainstream media – though (please note) datelined prior to the dedication, not after. 

[The first major piece of additional information here is contained in the headline itself :

“Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra CMs to stay away”.  Although the official story - as reported - is that this was due to ‘space restrictions’, this is clearly a lie.  ‘Space restrictions’ on a dam that is a mile long, and that the government’s propaganda machine has wrongly claimed is the world’s largest dam ?!!  And moreover, where this project – the keystone of the much larger Narmada Valley Development Project – has always been an interstate project, the Chief Ministers of all the other states in the project stay away ?!  In short, this has been a stunning success for the NBA and their supporters, and a huge stinging slap (three stinging slaps) for the Prime Minister on his birthday – whose popularity seems to be on the wane…

[And where this in addition to what the NBA said in its Statement – that the Chief Ministers of all the BJP-ruled states also stayed away :

“…. was a complete failure. This was evident not only by the fact that except for Gujarat Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, no one else turned up, as was announced that all BJP ruled CMs will participate. The grand aarti [religious invocation] with 2,000 priests from Varanasi who were to come also didn’t turn up finally.”

[So, movement-wise, all this is quite something.  But the bigger battle remains : To mitigate the effects of the massive inundation that this final closure will cause.

[Again, the news in this present post is from before the dedication :

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Sardar Sarovar dam today

Guest list cut due to security protocol; Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra CMs to stay away

Indian Express 

         JS

[PS : Two corrections to my previous post :

[First, I said : “….timed to be on the Prime Minister’s birthday yesterday, was a flop.”  My apologies; his birthday is / was today, September 17, and so I should have said “today”.

[Second, I said : “According to this report – from the movement, the Narmada Bachao Andolan [‘Save the Narmada Movement’] -, the ‘dedication’ of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, timed to be on the Prime Minister’s birthday yesterday, was a flop.  If so, then this is pretty amazing,…”.  I should of course have added : “… and is a huge tribute to the campaign led by the Narmada Bachao Andolan against the dedication.”

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Sardar Sarovar dam today

Guest list cut due to security protocol; Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra CMs to stay away

By: Express News Service <http://indianexpress.com/agency/express-news-service/> | Vadodara | Updated: September 17, 2017 7:48 am
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modi-to-inaugurate-sardar-sarovar-dam-today-4847183/ <http://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modi-to-inaugurate-sardar-sarovar-dam-today-4847183/>

 Narendra Modi will also address a public rally in Dabhoi where more than 1.5 lakh people are expected to be present. (Source: PTI Photo)
Related News
Many conspired against Sardar Sarovar Dam project, World Bank refused funding: PM Modi <http://indianexpress.com/article/india/many-conspired-against-sardar-sarovar-dam-project-world-bank-refused-funding-pm-modi-4848255/>

Prime Minister Narendra Modi <http://indianexpress.com/about/narendra-modi> will inaugurate the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam, which has been raised to a height of 138 meters, on Sunday at Kevadia colony in Narmada district. The event will be well attended by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, BJP president Amit Shah, and Union minister Nitin Gadkari <http://indianexpress.com/about/nitin-gadkari>, among others.

However, due to a security protocol and a shortage of space on the dam, where Modi will perform Narmada aarti, the guest list of dignitaries has been curtailed. Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — Devendra Fadnavis <http://indianexpress.com/about/devendra-fadnavis>, Vasundhara Raje, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan — who were earlier scheduled to attend the event, will not be able to make it, said District Collectors of Vadodara and Narmada.

“As per the last confirmation we received, the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are not coming for the event,” Vadodara District Collector P Bharati said. In their places, the three states will be represented by their water resources minister — Narottam Mishra from Madhya Pradesh, Rampratap from Rajasthan by and Girish Mahajan from Maharashtra, Bharati added.

All the three states are ruled by the BJP. Singer Anuradha Paudwal has been invited to sing devotional songs. According to officials, the guest list, which originally included several spiritual leaders from various muths of the country, has now been restricted to prominent religious and spiritual leaders from Gujarat alone. Among those expected to be present at the event are Morari Bapu and Ramesh Oza and a host of spiritual leaders from the Swaminaryan sect.

A senior BJP functionary said, “There was a long list of guests, especially saints, who were expected to come here, especially from Madhya Pradesh and Varanasi. However, given the SPG protocol, it was impossible to accommodate everyone at the dam site. The SPG team, which visited the venue on Friday raised concern that the number of people present at the spot would completely violate the security protocol and pose a threat in case of an untoward incident. So, the guest list has been curtailed.”

Most priests and saints from Gujarat will be present at Dabhoi, instead of Kevadia, the leader said. Vadodara district administration stated, “September 17 will witness the inauguration of the Narmada project to its full potential and capacity at the hands of the son of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with blessings from the saints and high priests.”

The release said that Narmada river has “same importance as river Ganga, which was locked in the hair of Lord Shiva”. Later in the day, Modi will address a public rally in Dabhoi where more than 1.5 lakh people are expected to be present.

______________________________

Jai Sen

jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/> / http://www.openword.net.in

Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) 

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