ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 9 August 2006

Red Alert In States

Major Terror Threat On I-Day

By Insaf

New Delhi and all State Capitals are preparing to celebrate the 58^th Independence Day on Tuesday amidst unprecedented security and anxiety, thanks to terrorist threats.  Various intelligence agencies have cautioned the Governments at the Centre and in the States of possible attacks on sensitive and vital installations, religious places, economic infrastructure and public functions.  The Union Home Ministry has sounded a red alert across the country. High on the terror list is Mumbai.  Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal reviewed the situation in Mumbai at a meeting with the Chiefs of Police and the  Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in New Delhi on Monday.  Other State Governments have likewise reviewed security measures for the annual I-Day celebrations.

Besides the terrorists’ threats, India’s peninsular States are having to brave another onslaught: nature-made “terror”.  Rains continued to pound Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Orissa for days together.  The downpour on the eve of the I-Day celebrations left behind a trail of death and destruction.  In Maharashtra itself, heavy rains have till the time of the writing claimed 52 lives. More than one lakh people have been evacuated by the Army, Navy and the Air Force teams. Two cadets of the National Defence Academy were also swept away in flash floods.  Similar grim situation prevails elsewhere in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Orissa.

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Centre-ULFA Talks In Jeopardy

Developments during the last fortnight or so indicate that the much talked-about direct peace talks between the dreaded ULFA of Assam and the Centre may not take place, at least in the near future.  While the Centre wants a “genuine” ceasefire before starting the talks, the ULFA leaders want their top leaders released.  Interlocutor Indira Goswami informed the Home Ministry that until the leaders are released, the outfit will not name its team.  The result?  More pressure for inclusion in the agenda of ULFA’s demand for sovereignty, more violence and a call for the boycott of Independence Day celebrations.  From the Government’s side, after a ten-month lull, the Army has mobilized its forces against serial attacks by the outfit. In an encounter in Assam’s Nalbari district, four ULFA militants were killed. The ULFA is now on the war path, while the Army is intercepting and hunting down militants in Barpeta, Baska and Kamrup districts.

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Situation Improves In J&K: CM Azad

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad firmly disagreed with the widespread perception created by the Opposition leaders and media  that  the militancy has increased in the State. On the other hand, he claimed in the State Assembly last week that there was “a discernable change for the better in the law and order situation.”  During his eight months in office, there had been a 17 per cent fall in the overall militancy-related incidents, 18 per cent decrease in civilian killings, 55 per cent fall in IED explosions and 66 per cent decrease in the killings of security and police personnel”. Importantly, he has ruled out talks with the militants on the pattern of the Centre’s talks with the Naga rebels. Azad considers the situation in J&K as totally different from the one obtaining in Nagaland. Those wielding the guns in J&K were non-State actors from Pakistan, Afghanistan and some other countries, whereas in Nagaland “we are talking with our own people.

Projecting Investment Climate In M.P.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan is making a determined bid to project the State’s huge potential of investment opportunities.  Last week, he showcased in New Delhi the business-friendly approach and policies of his Government at a Global Investors Summit in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  Chouhan particularly highlighted the investment opportunities in mining, tourism, power, roads, IT, agro-processing and chemical and industry sectors.  The Chief Minister has promised the industrialists good infrastructure, like roads, power, water and clean environment. Already, several agro-parks have been established across the State, the age-old octroi system has been abolished and, most importantly, a “single window system” and “single table system” have been introduced for quick clearance of projects.

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Amarinder Set To Win Again

The Punjab Congress and its Chief Minister Amarinder Singh seem set to retain power in the State.  With barely six months left for the Assembly elections, the main Opposition, Akali Dal (Badal) and its ally BJP are in disarray. Various other groups of Akalis have come together once more to oppose the Badal group in the upcoming poll.  Anti-Badalism is their binding force.  Those who have joined hands against Badal include the radical leader Simranjit Singh Mann, Akali Dal (Delhi) President Paramjit Singh Sarna and Prem Singh Chandumajra of SAD (Longowal). They have got together to launch a Gurdwara reform movement to free the Sikh religious places of Badal’s influence.  Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has reshuffled his Council of Ministers to ensure better governance. 

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Congress Kicks Off Poll Campaign In UP

Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul kicked off the Congress Party’s campaign for the U.P. Assembly poll early next year on Tuesday at a mammoth rally in Kanpur, the State’s industrial hub.  This was the first of eight rallies to be addressed by the duo during the next few weeks. Rahul stepped out of the family’s boroughs of Sultanpur and Rae Bareli for the first time and, what is more, delivered his longest ever speech lasting 12 minutes. Significantly, he concentrated mainly on wooing the youth, who constitute about 52 per cent of the electorate.  He asked them to condemn the communal and caste politics practised by the non-Congress parties ruling the State during the last 16 years.  Sonia Gandhi, for her part, called upon her partymen to wage a do-or-die battle to regain popularity for the Congress in the country’s largest-populated State. The party today has barely 16 MLAs in a House of 402 members..

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Corruption Charges Against Gowda Family

Bangalore continues to witness a sensational running battle between the Karnataka Congress and the ruling JD(S) of Deva Gowda and son Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.  Now that the erstwhile Prime Minister’s long-time friend and former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has switched to the Congress along with his supporters, grave charges of corruption are being made against the Chief Minister and his family in a bid to destabilize the Government.  The latest allegation is that the CM’s wife bought a 9.72 acre software park in Bangalore, officially valued at Rs.36 crore. The family has been accused of having bought this huge property from a bribe of Rs.150 crore, collected from some mine owners in Bellary. The Chief Minister has rubbished the charges as politically motivated, designed to destabilise his Government.

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Farmers’ Suicide Continue

Farmers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra continue to commit suicide at a distressing rate of two per day since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the six districts on July 1.  Despite the Prime Minister’s special package of Rs.1,075 crore, announced during his visit, the farmers are still suffering  greviously because of the failure of the crops during the last four years.  As Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar candidly told the Lok Sabha the other day, the remedy is not a mere relief package but adequate supply of water for irrigation, presently in short supply.  Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has directed his administration to ensure that all relief measures are properly implemented in Vidarbha’s six districts reporting maximum suicides. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 3 August 2006

BDR Offensive Alarms Assam

WAR-LIKE SITUATION ON BANGLA BORDER

By Insaf

A “war like” situation is prevailing along the Assam-Bangladesh border. In fact, the entire 35-km international border along the Cachar and Karimganj sectors of Assam is alarmed by the “operations” of the Bangla Desh Rifles (BDR) during the past about three months. The Opposition in the Lok Sabha has described it as a “Kargil-like situation”. The State Government has accused Dhaka of forcibly occupying about 500 sq.km. of land and the BSF has sounded an alert against the massive troop mobilization of the BDR along the Assam-Bangladesh border, which the Army Intelligence has confirmed. Not only that. The BDR has strengthened its defences across the Karimganj sector by digging trenches and bunkers, clearly indicating its aggressive postures, as in Kargil in 1999.

The alarming reports prompted the Centre to rush its Special Secretary for Border Area Management, B.S. Lalli, over the week-end to Assam for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.  The development was viewed as grave. As many as 250 families in the border villages have been evacuated and the schools closed until further orders. More BSF troops have been rushed.  Lalli has also assured the State Government and the All Asom Students Union (AASU), which was first to warn the Government of the unabated influx of illegal Bangladesh migrants, that the erection of barbed wire fencing along the Assam-Bangladesh border would be completed by December this year. Adequate steps have also been promised for floodlighting the border areas to check infiltration from across the border.

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Elusive Naga Peace Formula

While the Union Government and the NSCN (IM) have extended the ceasefire agreement for another year, a permanent peace formula remains elusive even after nine years of negotiations. At the last meeting in Bangkok over the week-end, India’s Ministerial team, led by Oscar Fernandes, and the NSCN(IM) top leaders, Issac Swu and T. Muivah, expressed hope of finalizing the framework for long-term peace in the next few months. The leaders of the Naga group have submitted their charter of demands, which include a separate Constitution and flag for Nagaland, as in the case of Jammu and Kashmir.  But those two demands for separate constitution and flag are not easy to meet.  If conceded, they are bound to open a Pandora’s box with some others like the Mizos and ULFA making similar demands.

Competent watchers of the Naga problem are one with this scribe in feeling that the unduly soft and indulgent approach of the Government interlocutors has encouraged  the NSCN(IM) leaders to keep raising their demands.  They feel it is now time to call their bluff. Few NSCN (IM) men now seem interested in reviving hostilities. Indications available show that they seem inclined not to persist with their core demand for greater Nagalim. But they have yet to give up the demand formally.  During the last three rounds, they have concentrated on getting New Delhi to accept a long list of demands, which include a separate constitution and flag for Nagaland.  The Union Government, for its part, has indicated its willingness to talk about giving more autonomy and powers to Nagaland and expanding Article 371(a) of the Constitution.

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Akalis Stall Parliament Over MSP

The States are greatly upset by the Centre’s decision to hike the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy and cotton by only Rs. 10 per quintal, which they denounce as wholly inadequate.  Punjab and Haryana, both ruled by the Congress, were the first to raise their voice against the meagre increase.  The Shiromani Akali Dal even stalled the proceedings of Parliament on Tuesday, leading to the adjournment of the Lok Sabha after the Question Hour.  The Akali Dal MPs interrupted the proceedings of the House, demanding a full-scale discussion on what they believed as “shockingly inadequate” MSP as well as the causes and ramifications of cases of suicides by the farmers. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, too, has expressed his unhappiness over the petty price increase.  He wants it raised by at least 25 per cent of last year’s MSP of Rs. 570 per quintal.

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Hooda Wants It Raised By Rs.50

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, too, considers the hike of barely Rs.10 per quintal as wholly inadequate considering the manifold increase in the cost of production.  He wants the MSP to be raised by at least Rs.50 per quintal. This would be in the interest of not only the farming community but also of the national economy, as the produce would be stopped from going into the open market. Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) also denounced the meagre increase and feels that it “has added insult to the injury caused by the anti-farmer policies of the Congress-led UPA Government”.  The farmers are already smarting under Government’s failure to increase the MSP for wheat, which has necessitated imports at much higher rates.

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Setback To Buddha’s FDI Concept

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya has been shown the Red flag once more. His concept of reforms and of inviting foreign direct investment (FDI) has suffered a setback from within. Several CPM and Left Front leaders want him to go slow and invite the FDI only in consultation with the party Secretariat.  In a heated discussion, the Left Front decided at a meeting last week, that no FDI deal should be finalized until a consensus with the Front was reached. Immediate provocation for of the anti-FDI forces is the CM’s invitation to the Salim group of Indonesia.  The group is expected to invest in an expressway, two bridges, a chain of satellite townships, a health city, a special economic zone and a chemical hub.  The deal is opposed on the ground that the prime agricultural land would be lost to the Salim project.

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Developing Karnataka Villages

Karnataka can now look forward to a better quality of life in the rural areas, if the State Government’s plan for the development of the countryside’s infrastructure is fully implemented.  A proposal has been finalized and submitted to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for a Rs.600-crore assistance for upgrading the villages. Assistance has been sought from the 12^th series of the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).  Of the amount demanded, Rs.300 crore would be used for the improvement of rural roads, Rs.125 crore for school buildings, and the remaining amount on minor irrigation works, “Swarna Ane” (bridges) and health centres etc. Besides this, the State Government too has earmarked Rs.125 crore for the construction of school buildings and junior colleges.

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Rain Batters Gujarat, Maharashtra

Unprecedented second spell of rainfall this monsoon in the West Coast States of Maharashtra and Gujarat continuously for four days last week has brought great misery to the people of the two States. In both the States, thousands of acres of farmland has turned into rivulets.  The situation is worse in Gujarat. Fifteen people are reported killed in the flash floods and more than 30,000 people had to be evacuated to safer places in southern and central parts of the States. High alert has been sounded in several parts of Vadodara, Anand, Bharuch, Surat and Navsari districts, as more rainfall is expected in the next few days.  In Maharashtra, large parts of Satara and Sangli districts were inundated and more than 15,000 people in low-lying areas had to be evacuated to safer places. ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 26 July 2006

Sixth Pay Panel

STATES WARY OF FISCAL CRISIS

By Insaf

The States are greatly upset over the Centre’s decision to set up the Sixth Pay Commission for about 3.3 million Government employees across the country.  Even though the question of implementing the recommendations will arise only after two to three years (just before the next Lok Sabha poll in 2009), the States have described this as another trigger to fiscal crisis, irrespective of their political affiliations. Already they are reeling under acute resource crunch following the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, which led to about 75 per cent hike in the wages of their employees.  Almost 90 per cent of the States’ revenue went into paying salaries. As many as 13 States did not have enough funds to pay salaries in 2001, forcing the Centre to come to their rescue by way of special financial packages.

In fact, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya had sought a mechanism under which the Centre could announce a pay revision after consulting the States.  Several States have also drawn the Centre’s attention to their poor financial condition. They have asked it to share their burden which will accrue due to the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations in 2008-09.  Bihar’s Additional Finance Commissioner has been quoted as stating that “We can’t afford it when finances are in shambles due to the fiscal indiscipline over the past few years”.  Finance controllers of several other States too have reacted in a similar vein. Maharashtra’s Finance Minister, Jayant Patil has come out with fact and figures to prove how the State Government will “bleed” by the implementation of the next Pay Commission report.

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Unprecedented Development In Punjab

Punjab and its Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, have started preparations for the Assembly poll early next year.  Work has started on the election manifesto of the ruling Congress. Various groups are being involved in shaping it. Development is going to be the main plank of Amarinder Singh and his party.  He claims that the State is now a “favourite industrial destination”, thanks to unprecedented development in all spheres during the past four years.   The Chief Minister has once more raised the sensitive issue of providing Haryana water from the Sutlej or Beas.  He has unequivocally declared that Punjab does not have any surplus water to give to Haryana. In fact, he has also clarified that Haryana should not expect any water from Punjab for its proposed Rs.260-crore Hunai-Bhutang link canal.

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Race To Woo Muslims In U.P.

A race to win the support of Muslims for the Assembly poll in U.P. early next year is hotting up. The ruling Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the BSP of Mayawati and the Sonia Congress are grabbing every opportunity to woo the community. Soon after the Mumbai blasts, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh went out of his way to give a clean chit to the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) even when a finger of suspicion was pointing against it. Now he has announced his decision to appoint 5,000 more Urdu teachers, with a view to “developing the language”.  Mayawati, for her part, has indicated that she will field more Muslim candidates for the Assembly poll.  The Congress too is not lagging behind.  Its Home Minister at the Centre, Shivraj Patil has publicly given a clean chit to the madrasas stating that they are “seats of social service, not centres of terror”.  

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New Delimitation Norm For Hill Areas

The erstwhile hilly region of U.P., now the new State of Uttaranchal, is also getting ready for next year’s Assembly poll.  The President of the ruling State Congress, Harish Rawat, who has been a potential candidate for Chief Ministership from the very beginning, has demanded a new formula for delimitation of constituencies to ensure that the scarcely- populated hill and tribal areas do not end up with reduced representation in the Vidhan Sabha and the Lok Sabha.  He has written not only to the Election Commission, but also to the Prime Minister, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and Opposition leaders against the existing delimitation formula. He has urged that the delimitation exercise being presently undertaken will leave large number of backward hill and tribal areas with reduced or no representation.  Instead, these areas deserve to be provided more seats in the Assembly.

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Hooda Secure In Haryana

Haryana’s Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, continues to enjoy the confidence and goodwill of the Congress High Command. Consequently, renewed efforts by Bhajan Lal, the State’s veteran leader known for his “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” politics, to create trouble in the State Congress have come to naught. Initially, Bhajan Lal, who claims that the “Congress is in his blood”, tried to foment problems by stepping down as President of the State Congress. Now, he virtually “boycotted” the first meeting of the newly-constituted Executive Committee of the Pradesh Congress.  What is more, his elder son, Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan was also conspicuous by his absence. (Remember, Bhajan Lal resigned as the State party chief in protest against exclusion from the new PCC of some leaders known to be his supporters). The AICC leadership continues to take a tough line against Bhajan Lal and his younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi. It does not want the veteran leader to rock Hooda’s boat.

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Ruling JD(S) Breaks In Karnataka

Down South in Karnataka, the ruling JD(S)-BJP coalition Government seems to be on the verge of collapse. Siddaramaiah, former Deputy Chief Minister and senior leader of the JD(S), has now formally joined the Congress.  His supporters, including eight to ten MLAs, are expected to follow suit soon. He vowed in New Delhi last week in the presence of party Chief Sonia Gandhi to bring the Congress back to power in Karnataka.  One of the main reasons for Siddaramaiah and his supporters to leave the JD(S) is the decision of the party Chief H.D. Deve Gowda and his son Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to join hands with the “communal” BJP for power. Siddaramaiah’s main political agenda now is to fight the BJP ideology and bring down Kumaraswamy’s Government.

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Karunanidhi Honours Commitments

The DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi has honoured his party’s pre-poll commitment: “If voted to power, the manifesto itself would be presented as the State’s budget for 2006-07.”  Reflecting this resolve, Karunanidhi Government’s first year budget proposals presented to the Assembly last week include provisions for almost all populist measures promised by his party. The largest provision of Rs.1,950 crore has been made for food subsidy. Rice will be distributed to the ration card holders at Rs.2 per kg.  The next major provision of Rs.1,435 crore is to make good the loss caused to the cooperative banks due to the waiver of farm loans.  A special task force is also being constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister to ensure hassle-free growth of industry.

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An authoritative intelligence report with the Union Home Ministry has concluded that at least 256 modules of Pakistan’s ISI are active across the country, recruiting youth and commissioning “Sleeper cells”.  These include 146 cells in U.P., Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, while over 80 modules have been set up in the southern States.  At least six such modules, each headed by a leader called “Amir” are operating in Maharashtra and five in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Additionally, the ISI is outsourcing some of its channels to certain groups in Bangladesh and Nepal.  This is no more than a sinister design to protect Pakistan’s direct involvement in terror-related activities in India. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 19 July 2006

Terror Spreads Far & Wide

STATES REVIEW SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS

By Insaf

Mumbai’s killer blasts have triggered overdue introspection and soul-searching by the State Governments on the sensitive issues of security and intelligence. Outwardly, everything looks honky dory. Yet the situation is far from reassuring.  In fact, an authoritative assessment shows that the internal security scenario across the country is alarming, requiring urgent handling of three main sources of threat: militant outfits operating from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal; banned terrorist outfits at home like the ULFA and CPI (Maoists); and local frustrated people, described by intelligence agencies as the “sleepers”.  All the three sources, especially in the States bordering Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh have now joined hands under the command and control of outside agencies like the ISI of Pakistan.

The Mumbai blasts trail is veering to the India-Bangladesh border through the north-eastern States, leading to a terror chain. The grilling of two Maharashtra-based youths detained in Agartala, Tripura, revealed that they were part of a group of eleven Islamic preachers. They were rounded up by the police from a remote mosque.  The Naxalites, now called the CPI (Maoists), too are not only continuing their violent activities in as many as 13 States, but have stepped up their activities in the tribal-dominated States of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.  Despite the Centre’s repeated efforts to strengthen security forces in the Naxal-hit States, the dreaded outfit continues to strike. On Monday last, the Naxals massacred 31 men, women and children in Chhattisgarh. They even engaged a CRPF unit at their camp for two hours.

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Crucial Naga Talks July 28-29

Peace talks between the Centre and the Naga rebel group, NSCN (I-M) have now entered a crucial stage.  For the first time in five years, they are being held on a monthly basis, leading to significant progress in May and June.  Much is now expected in the next round at Bangkok on July 28-29.  With the Prime Minister firmly holding by his stand that the borders of the States cannot be redrawn without the consent of the concerned States, the NSCN(I-M) leadership appears inclined to give up its demand for Nagalim (greater Nagaland) and instead opt for a separate Constitution, on the lines of the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution.  The Group of Ministers, headed by Oscar Fernandes, alongwith the Centre’s interlocutor K. Padmanabhaiah, seem to be in favour of enlarging the scope of Article 371-A which gives special status to Nagaland.  Bangkok could well mark a possible breakthrough next weak.

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Madhya Pradesh Towards Progress

Madhya Pradesh has pulled out of the sick State syndrome.   Incredibly enough, it is now among the ten leading States in industrialization and infrastructure development. Industrial investments proposed in the State last year totaled Rs.73,608 crore and, importantly, the implementation of the proposed projects was as high as 72 per cent, according to a recent survey by the Tata Services. Several new roads have been constructed benefiting 4103 villages.  Many schemes have also been drawn up to attract investment in the industrial sector. These include provision of cheap land and labour resources, peaceful industrial environment and availability of unrestricted power.  All this has made Madhya Pradesh a model State for industrial investment.

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Punjab Congress Prepares For Poll

The ruling Congress in Punjab and its Chief Minister Amarinder Singh have started hectic preparations for the Assembly polls about six months away.  The CM, who will lead the poll campaign, has taken a policy decision that the party would field a large number of new faces.  For the sitting legislators, the criteria for the party tickets would be their performance during the last five years.  Importantly, all those who had been critical of the Government policies in the past participated in the Punjab PCC meeting last week and promised to work unitedly for the success of the Congress candidates. Amarinder Singh has also taken steps to look into the plight of the farmers, which would be the main poll issue.  He has sought a 25 per cent hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat and paddy this year.

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Raje’s “Historic” Visit To America

Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje’s recent visit to the United States, described by her as “historic”, has proved to be successful beyond expectations.  Besides the super deal which Raje signed with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, as reported in this column last week, for a massive Information Technology (IT) promotion plan, the Chief Minister has roped in the Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA) to invest in the State in a big way. At an international conclave in New York, RANA’s delegation evinced keen interest in the development of the State and assured Raje of their full and active cooperation. Raje has also signed an agreement with the “North Shore”, reportedly the biggest hospital in the US, for the establishment of a similar hospital in Rajasthan. A delegation of the Hospital would soon visit the State.

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Mayawati Off Poll Block

In U.P., which goes to the Assembly poll along with Uttaranchal and Punjab early next year, the BSP supremo Mayawati is the first to take off the poll block.  Even as her main rival, the ruling Samajwadi Party and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh are busy consolidating their vote banks, Mayawati has gone one step further by finalizing the first list of 300 of the BSP candidates. This list has two significant features. One, it includes five Samajwadi Party and 13 BJP MLAs who cross-voted in favour of the BSP in the recent Rajya Sabha election. These MLAs have shifted their loyalty on the ground that the Mulayam Singh Government had failed on the law and order problem and that the BSP was the only option for the people.  Two, the list includes considerable number of Brahmin and Muslim candidates. 

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Kerala Seeks Central Aid

Kerala’s new Left Democratic Front Government has demanded from the Centre a Vidarbha-like relief package which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered for the farmers in the western region.  Chief Minister Achuthanandan rushed to New Delhi the other day and sought Rs.2,000 crore for the farmers in four hardest-hit districts of the State.  In his first meeting with the PM after assuming charge as the CM, Achuthanandan made out a case for the relief package.  The CM also urged the Centre to include Idukki among the 31 districts identified in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala for grant of a rehabilitation package to ease the plight of farmers. In his detailed wish-list, Achuthanandan also sought an additional Rs.991-crore Central assistance over the next five years for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the ravage-prone coastal areas of the State.

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Delhi’s Power Woes

Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s much trumpeted and highly appreciated “Bhagidari Scheme” (Citizen-Government partnership in governance) is slowly losing its popularity.  The reason?  Unscheduled and prolonged power cuts by the private power distribution companies. The privatization move, which was criticized even by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has actually brought much trouble for the ruling Congress Government.  Besides, prolonged power cuts, inflated bills and fast-running meters have added fuel to the fire. In fact, an NGO, People’s Action has written to the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, demanding a CBI probe into the power privatization deal, described as a “sell out” of the erstwhile Vidyut Board to private power distribution companies. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)