PREASHANT BHUSHAN , Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), mass SMS voting

PREASHANT BHUSHAN , Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), mass SMS voting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan is evidently fond of referendums. In this, he's not alone, AAP itself having conducted mass SMS voting on whether it should form government in Delhi. However, Bhushan's view involving the popular polling exercise, extending to letting Kashmiris decide via referendum whether they'd like the armed forces to exit or stay, earned him thunderous response in the physical violence unleashed upon him by right-wing goons. And it didn't stop there — when Bhushan recently repeated his view, a right-wing group attacked AAP's office in Ghaziabad. Yet, Bhushan remains keen on a great big referendum — adding a new location too. He now reportedly wishes to have a referendum on whether deployment of central paramilitary forces in Naxalite-affected areas should continue. Expectedly, as his party shivers with deja vu, BJP has rushed into the fray, hotly demanding to know what AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has to say. While Kejriwal figures out an AAP-propriate response, Bhushan could helpfully elaborate on his vision — who would vote in this referendum? Would middle-class metro citizens, thousands of miles away from dangerous Dantewada, voice their views? Would the area's tribal communities, caught between a rock and a hard place, express themselves via postcard or mobile phone? And would the Naxalites themselves take a break between encounter and extortion to type: 'Yes', 'No' or 'Maybe'? Of course nobody has the right to express disagreement with Bhushan via physical assault. Still, suggestions like his only trivialise serious security issues, lost in the sound and fury that ensue around them. If we must have a referendum to while away wintry days, instead of pondering diverse security arrangements, let's have one on Prashant Bhushan and whether it's time he gave his referendum fever a rest. We have had licence raj and other similar Rajs. Are we heading for Refrundum Raj? By this can we expect to rule a country? Once every five years, the ECI conducts a credible referendum, nationally and in the states, about how Indians wish to be governed. That is supplemented by elections to local bodies, rural and urban. In such a large, diverse, populous land, that is referendum enough. We need a refrendum whether to send him to Timbuktu Prashant Bhushan type of people are anti India unity. They are challenging the integrity of the sovereign nation. All they want is a cheap publicity. Unfortunately India has so many anti India stance people living on generous policies of the nation abusing freedom afforded to them. At times you feel like offering them exit to a country of their choice. In many countries Electricity is produced by nuclear power plant, the only thing required is security. You cannot just speak against generating electricity using nuclear power plant if you have exactly no idea about the threat. Japan faced the disaster still they are producing electricity by nulclear power plants. AAP stand is just to get local support, and it has been observed everywhere. This party is just going after sentiments of people and planning to win LS polls then when their leaders have no stand on National issues. Why Mr. Kejriwal is asking for Modi and Rahul's view on national issues, so that he can ask for public support on their view through Mail and SMS and whichever view gets higher votes, that view will be publicized by Mr. Kejriwal. He is not having any idea on National issues and neither this party can do anything for this Country. The only hope is Mr. Modi and BJP. AAP has no leader to be considered as National leader. I heard one of his leader yesterday and all he was talking was nonsense. Mr. Yogendra Yadav is more interested in increasing the reservation quota just to appease some community. Same is with Mr. Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan. Only people who will vote without using their brain in LS will votefor them. Mr. Modi is the only need of hour and I will vote for him. NEW DELHI: After stoking controversy with his remarks on Kashmir, Aam Aadmi Party leader Prashant Bhushan on Sunday drew flak from BJP for reportedly saying that there should be a referendum for deployment of security forces against Maoists in the affected areas. Bhushan, whose demand for a referendum on deployment of security forces in Kashmir had raised hackles, with his party AAP also distancing itself from it, on Saturday called for a vote on the issue of deploying central paramilitary forces in Naxal-infested areas. BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said the efforts of the Centre, which is trying to tackle the issue with the help of state governments, will be negated by such statements and security forces will be demoralized. The party asked the AAP leadership and CM Arvind Kejriwal to make clear their stand on the issue. "BJP is astonished at the way Prashant Bhushan is speaking out on issues which have serious implications on national security. Only on Saturday he talked about referendum for deploying central forces in Naxal-infested areas. BJP condemns such kind of periodic statements which have a direct relation on internal security," she said. She said when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has himself termed Naxals an the most serious threat to India's internal security, such statements are not good for the nation. "None of us have any business to demoralize the security forces who are tackling the Maoists and Naxals waging a war against the Indian government." After Prashant Bhushan, a senior member of the Aam Aadmi Party, controversially recommended a referendum on deployment of the army in Kashmir, the party was constrained to distance itself from Bhushan’s views. Security requirements could not be decided by the people, clarified party chief Arvind Kejriwal, while insisting, more generally and unexceptionably, that local sentiments must be respected. This controversy foregrounds the AAP’s wobbly judgement on what political representation entails — the ways in which people exercise their voice in a democracy, and how their will is made manifest.