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Political Diary
Unprecedented Flood Havoc:GOVERNMENT’S CAUGHT NAPPING AGAIN, by Insaf,8 August 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 8 August 2007
Unprecedented Flood
Havoc
GOVERNMENT’S CAUGHT
NAPPING AGAIN
By Insaf
Unprecedented floods are playing havoc in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Orissa and West Bengal.
Worst ever in 30 years, this year’s floods across
the country have already taken a toll of 1,258 lives. Three crores of people
had been displaced across 20 States
at the time of writing. Property worth 1.3 crore has been destroyed. More than
68,000 heads of cattle have perished.
Top leaders have been making their customary visits to the flood-hit
States. The State Governments have set up shelters and have been air dropping
food and medicines. However, these measures leave a great deal to be desired.
They are hardly enough to meet the desperate need of the millions now suffering
silently---and helplessly.
Most sadly, the annual floods are not receiving the
attention they deserve from both the Central and State Governments even after
60 years of freedom. Floods across
the country are an annual visitation, differing only in intensity. Yet little
has been done so far either by the Centre or by the States to plan ahead
proactively and not merely react to disasters year after year. It is high time that India’s politicians and administrators start
learning to live and even dance, with the floods, as once advocated by Assam’s
late Chief Minister Sarat Chandra Sinha in his talk with Insaf in Guwahati years
ago. He added, “If the Europeans, Russians and others have learnt to play and dance with
the snow, why can’t we with the floods?”
* * * *
Interestingly, floods have been playing havoc among our
neighbours too. In Bangladesh,
nearly 9 million people have either been displaced or marooned in 39 out of 64
affected districts. Over 3,00,000 flood-hit victims have so far taken shelter
in 1412 flood centres and 156 lives were lost until August 6. In Nepal, death
toll due to floods and landslides since June stands at 93. Floods have affected
33 districts and damaged property worth 12.5 million. China, too, has been hit hard by
the worst rains of the year. Ironically, however, the country is also facing
widespread and prolonged drought in its northern North-Eastern and Southern
region of the country. By the last weekend
it had left 7.5 million people and 5 million head of cattle short of drinking
water. Sustained drought has affected 11 million hectares of arable land, 1.7
million more than the same period, last year.
* * * *
Freedom of Religion
in Gujarat & MP?
Freedom of religion has become a major issue in Gujarat and
Madhya Pradesh. The BJP governments’ bid to curb fraudulent religious
conversions in their States has run into rough weather. While Gujarat Governor
N K Sharma declined has declined to give his consent to the Freedom of Religion
(Amendment) Bill 2006, his counterpart in MP, Balram Jakhar has sent a similar
Bill to the President for consideration, after returning it to the State
government. The two Congress
veterans have justified their actions on ground that the amendments are
unconstitutional. In particular, Sharma
has found classifying of Jains and
Buddhists with Hindus objectionable, and Jhakhar considers provisions such as
submitting prior notice for conversion as draconian. While President Pratibha
Patil is to decide the fate of the MP Bill, Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra
Modi, is trying to take forward his hindutva agenda through the backdoor. He
proposes to revive a four-year-old law, with a similar aim, passed by the Assembly
and approved by the then BJP Governor, S.S. Bhandari, but not implemented!
Remember, he goes to the Assembly
poll later this year.
* * * *
Bizarre Wooing In
South
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are witnessing
something at once incredible and bizarre. Chief Ministers of both the States, V.S.
Achuthanandan of the Left and DMK’s Karunanidhi respectively are busy wooing
the new poster boy of appeasement, Abdul Naseer Mahdani, leader of the Peoples
Democratic Party. This follows the radical cleric’s release from prison
following his acquittal in the sensational Coimbatore blast case in 1998 allegedly aimed
at senior BJP leader L.K. Advani. Recall, Mahdani, a fiery orator, who founded
the banned Islamic Sevak Sangh, reportedly played a decisive role in the
minority vote calculus to garner Muslim votes in the 2001 and 2006 Assembly elections in Kerala and the 2004 polls in
Tamil Nadu. State leaders believe that Mahdani,
still wanted in 22 other cases, can conjure up minority magic in the next poll
for them.
* * * *
Jharkhand Honeymoon Over
Jharkhand, which was once touted as jewel in the crown of
small States, has today earned the ignominious distinction of a land of rising
crime, nervous officers, a paralysed State Government and an absentee Chief
Minister. Over 700 people are estimated to have been murdered this year; 547 in
just the first four months. More. The DGP has been given the marching orders
and replaced by a new DGP. Making matter worse, SPs in 22 districts of the
State are reportedly corrupt. Not only
that. Instead of a sanctioned strength of 143 officers, there are only 98
officers assigned to the State.
Increasing political interference is now forcing a lot of officers to opt out
the State. It is alleged that no file moves in a Government office without
money changing hands.
Clearly, the honeymoon is over, leaving the State in a suspended
limbo.
* * * *
Bangladeshi
Infiltrators
Assam’s travail over the influx of
migrants from Bangladesh
continues. Two years after Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi promised to update the
National Register of Citizens (NRC) 1951, and weed out suspected infiltrators
from across the border, it has still
to become a reality. Recall, in 2005 the Supreme Court had struck down the
controversial Illegal Migrants (Determination Act by Tribunals) Act and
directed that every person whose citizenship was under a cloud should be
brought under the purview of the Foreigners Act, 1946. Gogoi set up a Cabinet
sub-committee to study the issue in
its entirety quite some time back. But nothing concrete has come out so far.
Thus, providing fresh ammunition to the Opposition parties both in the State
and at the Centre. An embattled Gogoi has given a new twist to the foreigners’
imbroglio. He accused neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland of having
expelled 3000 “Indians”!
* * * *
Clean Land Deals A
Pipedream
Clean realty deals continue to be a pipedream in Maharashtra. The Vilas Rao Deshmukh Congress Government continues to drag its feet on adopting
the Housing Policy and repealing the Urban Land Ceiling (Regulation) Act
(ULCRA) --- both crucial for making affordable housing a reality in the State.
In India’s
commercial capital Mumbai, where 60 per cent of the population lives in slums, the
people will now have to wait a while before their dreams turn into realty. Also
the grand plan to decongest Mumbai by turning the focus on satellite townships
seems to have been put in cold storage. It is a moot point of how the State
Government’s goal of providing affordable housing is met without boosting the
supply of land or increasing the space index and making Mumbai slum free.
* * * *
Haryana’s New First
Haryana has a new first to its credit. It has launched a
mobile court-- bringing the judiciary to the people’s doorstep. The court, set
up in a bus, was inaugurated on Sunday last in the most backward district of
the State, Mewat, having an abysmal literacy rate. Staffed like a regular
court, it would move from one location to another as per a well-prepared
schedule-- sit on four days a week at different centres and function as a
regular court for the remaining next two days. Interestingly, the concept was
the brainchild of former President APJ Kalam, who wanted to take civil and
criminal justice closer to the people living in remote areas without their
having to incur expenses of traveling. Pleased with the privilege extended to
Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda hoped there would be more such
advancements in the judiciary to take India forward. To Chief Justice of
India K G Balakrishnan the mobile court was a “revolutionary occasion for the
judiciary” and hoped that other States would too follow. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Vote of Confidence in Goa:A FRAUD ON THE CONSTITUTION, by Insaf,2 July 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 2 July 2007
Vote of Confidence
in Goa
A FRAUD ON THE
CONSTITUTION
By Insaf
Last week’s vote of confidence in the 40-member Goa Assembly
was indeed a blatant and scandalous fraud on the Constitution. The Speaker is supposed
to represent the dignity of the House and uphold democracy. Yet he made a mockery
of the system and the well-established rule that a Government must enjoy the
confidence of the House. Speaker Pratapsinh Rane bailed out the shaky
Congress-led Government of Digambar Kamat by brazenly disallowing three MLAs to
vote, before the floor test. Of these, two belonging to the Maharshtrawadi
Gomantak Party were well within their rights to withdraw support to the
Government. Worse, Rane went a step further and cast his vote in favour of the Government
even though the motion had already been passed by a voice vote in the absence
of the Opposition, which had walked out.
That is not all. The Speaker, obviously under heavy pressure
from his Congress bosses in New Delhi,
also went against the clear directions of the Governor, S C Jamir. The Governor
had informed the Goa Democratic Front, led by leader of the Opposition, Manohar
Parrikar that he had asked the Speaker to ensure that the floor test was conducted before any other business. He had
also appointed observers to oversee the voting. Yet Speaker Rane went his own
way, leading the Opposition to demand that Jamir should undo the constitutional
mess and dismiss the Kamat Government. The matter has now gone before the
Supreme Court which is due to take it up early next week. Clearly, the future
of India’s
young democracy is at stake!
* * * *
First Time In
Nagaland
There is fresh hope for durable peace in Nagaland. The latest
round of talks between the Centre and the National Socialist Council of
Nagaland (IM) earlier this week has taken a positive turn. For the first time
in its history of ten years of parleys, the two sides met across the table in Nagaland. Initially, the NSCN
leaders insisted on talks only on foreign soil – Amsterdam
or Bangkok. Last
year, they agreed to meet in New Delhi.
The visit this time to Dimapur by the NSCN (IM) leaders, headed by Isak Chishi
Swu and Muivah, has not only given peace a new thrust, but more importantly provided
the leaders and the local people an opportunity to interact and understand each
others feelings and outlook. Importantly, the ceasefire has been extended
“indefinitely.”
Information available shows that the Dimapur parleys were marked
by an encouraging outcome. The NSCN(IM) appears to have more or less, agreed to the Centre’s firm stand that its demand
for sovereignty is “unacceptable” and that a solution would have to be found within
the framework of the Constitution. The NSCN (IM) seems agreeable to remaining a
part of India
but insists that this would have to be on the basis of a “special federal
relationship”. This is not going to be easy for New Delhi
to accept in view of the basic fact that India, according to the Constitution,
is a Union of States and not a federation.
In fact, the word federation does not occur anywhere in the
Constitution. Moreover, conceding a “federal relationship” would open a
Pandora’s box for the Centre. More and more States are now demanding “federal
powers.”
* * * *
Falling Democratic
Norms
Recent events in Andhra Pradesh too smack of falling democratic
norms and standards. Time was when members of its State Assembly and the
Council observed the highest standards of decorum. Both the leader of the House
and the leader of the Opposition refrained from making personal allegations against
each other. But this lasted only till the Telugu Desam came to power. Chandrababu
Naidu as the TDP Chief Minister had spats with the present incumbent, Dr. Y.S.
Rajasekhar Reddy, then leader of the
Opposition. Last week Naidu once again found himself at the receiving end when Dr.
Reddy went to the extent of saying that Naidu’s mother would be sorry for
having given birth to him. Expectedly, this led to an upheaval. Fortunately,
good sense prevailed on all sides. Dr. Reddy tendered an unconditional apology
and Naidu accepted it -- and returned to the House. But the incident has left an
appalling mark on the Vidhan Soudha.
Land for the
Landless
Landless labourers across the States are now aggressively
beginning to assert their rights. After Nandigram in West
Bengal, big trouble is brewing in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
On Saturday last, eight persons were killed and six injured in police firing in
Mudigonda village, in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh, during a rally called
by the Left parties to “distribute land to the poor”. In Tamil Nadu, the
villagers in Sattankulam town, in Tututicorin District have decided to go on a
fast on August 10, to oppose the acquisition of about 11,000 acres by the Tata
group for its Rs 2,500-crore titanium-dioxide project. They plan to fight it
out. One common factor stands out in all these incidents: the protest is for
land, not money. While politicians in the three States are using the incidents
to gain political mileage, they appear to be missing the wood for the trees. A
new movement demanding land for the landless is taking shape.
Labourers & Tourists Flee Kashmir?
Tourism and development have been witnessing a revival in trouble-torn
Kashmir. Sadly, however both appear to be in
for fresh trouble. A blast in a tourist bus in the Valley on Sunday last, is
likely to see holiday goers packing their bags and leaving. A repeat of what
happened last summer after a similar attack, in which 16 people were killed.
Tourists from Gujarat, a major influx, and
other States simply cancelled their bookings, causing losses and heartburn
amongst hoteliers and houseboat owners.
Worse, Kashmir is
witnessing a massive exodus of workers thanks to the “Quit Kashmir” notice to migrant
labourers by the Hizbul Mujahadeen. The call that they must leave Kashmir within a week follows an incident in which a
schoolgirl was allegedly raped by two migrant labourers. The threat is bound to
affect construction activity in the Valley, which started picking up during the
Chief Ministership of Mufti Mohd. Sayeed. This should be a cause of serious
concern to the present successor Government of Ghulam Nabi Azad. With three-and-a-half
lakh migrant labourers sustaining the Valley’s “construction boom” of roads,
bridges and much else, the Government can ill-afford to let the Mujahadeen have
their way.
Monsoon Playing
Havoc
Incessant rains
across the north-eastern region
continue to play havoc in some States. The flood situation in Assam
and Bihar is getting from bad to worse, with
over 11 lakh and 28 lakh people getting affected respectively. Meghalaya and
Garwhal are trying to cope with landslides. Threat of flood looms large in
Uttar Pradesh, with already 25 people having died in rain-related incidents. Over
5000 pilgrims to Badrinath were stranded. Over 26,000 hectares of crop has got
submerged in Assam. The Army
has been put on alert in Bihar. Rivers in West
Bengal’s Cooch Behar
district are flowing above the danger mark. And, Kerala has suffered losses of Rs 15,000 crore. While the State Administration
is working round-the-clock viz rescue operations and disaster management, the
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has found a novel way to get relief.
Last Sunday he threatened to stage a dharna outside the Prime Minister’s House
at 7 Race Course Road
if the Centre continued to ignore his demand for monsoon disaster aid. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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New Threat Of Drought:MONSOON GOES MISSING IN CENTRAL INDIA, by Insaf, 25 July 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 25 July 2007
New Threat Of
Drought
MONSOON GOES MISSING
IN CENTRAL INDIA
By Insaf
The monsoon has gone missing
in Central India, causing anxiety to both
farmers and weather forecasters. The States of Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, North Rajasthan and UP, should
have got maximum rainfall between mid-July and mid-August in the normal course.
But this has not happened, depriving these States of the much-needed showers.
Till July 10 there were no complaints. However, the subsequent two weeks have
made the weatherman sit up. A similar phenomenon in July 2002 and 2004 led to a
drought! And, if this break lasts three weeks to a month, then there is trouble
for sure. All crops, such as maize, rice and arhar, sown in the month of June,
which witnessed a good monsoon, are
in the development phase and require rain.
So far it’s raining only in the North East, with rest of the
country getting scattered rain. According to the Met a normal monsoon has a
permanent trough over Pakistan
and North West India and low pressure
over the Bay of Bengal. Both are missing with no signs of revival for at least the next
five to seven days. With reasons such as global weather patterns being cited
for this break in monsoon, the Met office has recast its forecast and says the
season’s rainfall is short by two per cent. All eyes are now raised towards the
sky, hopefully praying for the rain gods to smile. Else the panic button in
these States would need to be pushed.
* * * *
Rebellion In BJP
States
The Presidential poll is over. UPA’s Pratibha Patil has
moved into Rashtrapati Bhawan. But the outcome of the poll has inflicted unexpected
scars on the BJP and set the alarm bells ringing in the States of Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh ruled by it. Contrary to expectations,
rebellion raised its ugly head among the party MLAs in the three States. Five
party MLAs in Gujarat supported Pratibha Patil
in a show of defiance against Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Eleven party MLAs
in Madhya Pradesh deliberately invalidated their votes to express their anger against the leadership. The rebels
identically wrote either “Jai Shri Ram” or “Hari Om” on their respective ballot
papers. Two BJP MLAs in Chhattisgarh preferred not to vote for NDA’s Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat. Clearly, the signs are ominous for the BJP and an indication
of bigger trouble ahead.
* * * *
Naxalites Move Into
Tamil Nadu?
Will Tamil Nadu turn into another Andhra Pradesh? Of late,
reports of “naxal” elements moving about in villages have come to the notice of
the local village administration. A handful of men arrested nearby E Pudukkottai village claimed to be members of the CPI
(Maoists) and the guns recovered were “rusted”. The State Government has been
on alert following the arrest of CPI (Maoist) leader Sundaramoorthy and two
others last month. Special police teams have been asked to comb forests in
Chennai, Salem, Madurai,
Coimbatore,
Dharamapuri and Krishnagiri. Even though the last naxalite incident took place
way back in 2002, the State cannot afford to be complacent, as some districts
have long stretches of thick forests on its borders with Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka
* * * *
Hated Dadua Killed
in UP
Twentyfive-years of long search of the Special Task Force of
the Uttar Pradesh Police is finally over. The notorious dacoit Shiv Kumar Kurmi
alias Dadua was gunned down on Sunday last. The encounter in the forests of
Chitrakoot district brought an end to a reign of terror involving over 200
kidnappings, murders and extortions in the districts of UP and Madhya Pradesh.
Dadua, who carried a reward of Rs 5 lakhs in UP and another Rs 1 lakh in MP, wielded
incredible political influence. Anyone contesting an election from his area had
no other choice but to first seek his blessings!
Originally, a staunch BSP supporter, Dadua appears to have miscalculated this
time by switching over to the Mulayam Singh Yadav camp after the last general
elections. Interestingly, UP Chief Minister, Mayawati, has announced a reward
of Rs.1 lakh for each member of the STF team.
News of the killing of Dadua brought a sense of relief in UP
and in MP. But it was short lived. The night after Dadua was killed, another
dreaded dacoit Ambika Patel alias Thokia, retaliated and gunned down six STF
jawans and the police informer. Thokia appears to be eager to try and inherit
Dadua’s legacy. But this is not going to be easy. Mayawati is determined to
enforce law and order and prove to be one-up on Mulayam Singh as Chief Minister.
Much will ultimately depend on the cooperation of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.
* * * *
Mayawati &
Commonwealth Games
In the perennial tussle
between Mayawati and Mulayam Singh, preparations for the Commonwealth Games
2010 may run into rough weather. Chief Minister Mayawati has decided to review
14 hotel sites in Noida and Ghaziabad
by Mulayam Singh. This is giving sleepless
nights to the Union Sports Ministry. Singh’s government is said to have changed
the norms for allotment and issued
these under “industrial” rather than “commercial” category. “Urgent requirement
of rooms” was its justification, given the background that about 20,000 hotels
are needed in the National Capital Region to host the Games. If she reverses
the norms again, Mayawati may well run the risk of being termed a spoilsport
like the Jharkhand Government.
Shockingly, the Jharkhand Government has put up its hands in
hosting the 34th National Games, which are barely four months away---from
15 to 25 November. The Jhakhand Government has simply told the Indian Olympic Association that it is not prepared to host the
games. The callousness shown by Ranchi is unbeatable. No
infrastructure, be it an athletics stadium, or a velodrome, or an aquatic complex
plus swimming pool, or a shooting range, is ready yet. And while the Jharkhand
Government awaits a new schedule to host the games, it has an added worry: of
how to pay a penalty of Rs five crore!
* * * *.
Arunachal For
Status Quo
Top Arunachal leaders, headed by former Chief Minister
Gegong Apang are keeping their fingers crossed.
They want status quo of all Parliamentary and Assembly
constituencies in the State and no fresh delimitation. Happily for these
leaders, Delimitation Commission Chairman
Kuldip Singh has appreciated their stand and recommended to the Union Law and
Justice Ministry that status quo be maintained. Gegong Apang has also met the
Union Law and Justice Minister, H.R. Bhardwaj, who gave him a patient hearing.
His main plea: Status quo is required since fresh delimitation would greatly
disturb the existing balance between the large number of indigenous tribes with
different social ethos. It would also create problems for the thinly-populated
inhabitants of the vast State with the longest international border.
* * * *
Female Infanticide
in Orissa?
Suspected cases of female infanticide in Orissa have put the Naveen Patnaik government in a
quandary. On Sunday last, around 30 polybags containing bones and body parts of
babies were recovered from a garbage pit in Nayagarh town, 30 km from
Bhubaneswar, the State’s Capital. Earlier this month, seven bodies of baby
girls were found on the foothills of Durbari, near Nayagarh, forcing the
Government to start a search in nursing homes and clinics. The question
uppermost on officials’ mind is whether the remains are “linked to female
infanticide or a human organs trade racket?” Answers had better be found fast
so as to stem the rot before the State starts showing a declining sex ratio as
in the case of other States such as Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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New Dimension Of Militancy:TERROR THREATENS Oil Hunt, by Insaf,18 July 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 18 July 2007
New Dimension Of Militancy
TERROR
THREATENS Oil Hunt
By Insaf
Terrorism and Naxalism, which has gripped 13 States in its vicious
tentacles, has begun to cast its long shadow on oil and gas exploration
activities in some States. Leading high prospective areas in Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and
Jharkhand to be excluded from the forthcoming bidding for exploration blocks. The
Home Ministry has sounded a warning bell and conveyed serious security concerns
to the Petroleum Ministry before it offers certain blocks under the seventh
round of new Exploration Licencing Policy. It has sought exclusion of Kutch in Gujarat due to its proximity to the Indo-Pak border. The
movement of fishermen may prove to be a security hazard for exploration
activities in the Jakhua and Sir Creek areas. Ditto is the case with blocks in Diu.
The areas proposed for exploration in Punjab
and Rajasthan are too close to the western border for comfort and could well become
soft targets for the militants and for firing from across
the border. Also, while areas in the Hindu heartland like Madhya Pradesh are
vulnerable to the dacoit menace, the Naxalite menace in Jharkhand and cross-border infiltration in the eastern part of the
country is proving to be a major deterrent to the much-needed oil hunt. Assam
has already gained notoriety for kidnappings (and killings) of employees of oil
and gas companies and penetration by Pakistan’s diabolical ISI. Clearly,
the States need to keep strict vigil against this new economic dimension of
terror. Given that oil drives the engine of growth and prosperity.
* * * *
More Power To The States
The States have emerged winners in the ongoing Centre-States
tussle over the Hydro electric
policy. According to the new policy, the States will now have a free hand in
awarding projects. Plainly, the States can now legitimize the practice
currently adopted to award hydro projects---up-front payment, share of equity to
the States or higher quantum of free power. Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and
some North-Eastern
States have already
adopted this policy. The Central plan also provides a level-playing field to
the private developers who till now were the underdogs in the competitive bids
vis-à-vis the PSU’s like the NHPC, NTPC
etc. In return for more power, the States have to adhere to only one condition:
transparency in awarding the contract.
* * * *
Farooq Closer To
Congress
Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference, headed presently by
son Omar, is slowly moving closer to the
Congress, raising eyebrows in Mufti
Mohammed Sayeed’s PDP. On Monday, its Working Committee decided in Jammu to support UPA
nominee Pratibha Patil in the Presidential poll. Farooq Abdullah had earlier
told Insaf that he would be voting for NDA-supported Bhairon Singh Shekhawat,
who had proved himself to be secular and a nationalist as the Chairman of the
Rajya Sabha. “He never favoured the BJP even once.” The Congress
is also responding to his friendly signals.” Farooq flew in the PM’s special
plane alongwith Governor Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi
Azad during Dr. Manmohan’s one-day visit to Jammu last Sunday. Moreover, the PM referred
to Farooq more than once in his public speeches.
* * * *
nagaland Tops Agriculture Input
Nagaland, synonymous with insurgency, has broken new ground
in agriculture. Its farm output in eight districts has grown at double digit
rates putting to shame India’s
vast fertile land. According to a recent district-wise data complied by Indicus
Analytics, farm output in the State recorded a high of 17.7 per cent compared
to the national average of 2.6 per cent. On an average, every district in the
State showed an output worth Rs.75,385 per hectare in each crop season. This
was primarily due to a shift in crop patterns with cultivation shifting from
paddy to ginger, tapioca, passion
fruit, pineapple, banana and other horticultural crops. Clearly, tiny
Nagaland’s new agricultural song is a lesson
to vast swathes of fertile India’s
economic lament.
* * * *
Goa To Ban Rave
Parties
Goa, the hot spot of tourists, may
loose its position as the favourite destination. The State Home Minister Ravi
Naik in his bid to create a crime-free society has accorded top priority to rid
the State of crime including drug trade and other criminal activities. He also
intends to put an end to the rave parties of the famous and the rich which had
led to Goa gaining notoriety and bringing a
bad name to the State. That he meant business
was evident from the fact that he was not averse to invoking the National Security
Act to maintain law and order and deal firmly with foreigners engaged in
criminal activities and the drug trade. The State police has been asked to
identify the drug traffickers and anti-social elements and check their
activities.
* * * *
New Identity To The
Kolkata Street
Children
This is a tale of a new lease of life for Kolkata’s street
children. In a first of its kind function in the country, over 50,000 poor
children from the streets and slums got a new identity when they were handed
over their birth registration certificates. These children have had to struggle
for years to get “their right to identity” document because they did not have
the wherewithal to pay for it. With this new birth certificates the children
can now get admissions into schools,
which till yesterday was a distant dream. Interestingly, UNICEF which had
organized the function got famed magician P.C. Sarkar to make magic for the
slum children.
* * * *
Noida Revs Up For Car Racing
Greater Noida in UP is all set to hit the fast track with
its spanking new Formula One car racing track. The land has been identified for
a five kilometer track in a sprawling complex of 700 acres which is along the
proposed Taj Expressway about 8 km
from Greater Noida. However, the Indian Olympic Association
is keeping its cards close to its chest. Given the fact that it has shortlisted
possible sites in near Manesar,
Gurgaon and another at the Tughlakabad Shooting range. Either which way India will most
likely host the FI race in 2009. Racing fans have reasons to keep their finger
crossed.
* * * *
Mayawati Invades Himachal
Mayawati continues to play her cards shrewdly. She has struck unexpected success in Himachal Pradesh, due to go to the polls for
the Assembly early next year, apart
from giving a jolt to Sonia Gandhi and her Congress.
Former Himachal Pradesh Tourism Minister, Vijay Singh Mankotia, has announced
that he alongwith two other former Congress
Ministers will be formally joining the Bahujan Samaj Party at a rally in Kangra
on July 26. The other two leaders are four-time MLA Vijay Kumar Joshi and
former Transport Minister Kewal Singh. Surprisingly, Mayawati stayed away from
the gala dinner hosted by Sonia at New
Delhi on Tuesday last to underscore UPA’s solidarity
in the Presidential poll despite a week-long notice. The BSP supremo has surely
something up her sleeve, which time alone will reveal.
* * * *
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Presidential Elections:STATES BRACE UP FOR D-DAY, by Insaf,12 July 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 12 July 2007
Presidential
Elections
STATES BRACE UP FOR
D-DAY
By Insaf
The States are busy bracing up for the controversial
Presidential poll on 19 July. Hectic activity is in full swing in various
Capitals from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Maharashtra to West
Bengal and the North East. The High Commands of the Congress and its coalition partners as also the BJP and
its allies have directed their respective State units to ensure cent per cent presence
of all its MLAs, MLCs and MPs in the State Capitals prior to the polling date.
Nothing is being left to chance. Notwithstanding, the Election Commission’s decision to allow MLAs to vote at State
capitals other than their own in special cases. Some parties have even
requested the MPs to be present in Delhi.
In fact, meetings of some of Parliament’s Standing Committees have been
scheduled to coincide with the polling date to ensure the MPs presence in the
Union Capital.
Meanwhile, the UPA Presidential candidate, Pratibha Patil continues
to busily criss-cross the country to solicit votes. She has already toured
most of the important State Capitals. Even as her rival, Vice President Bharion
Singh Shekhawat ‘connects’ with his friends, cutting across
party lines, via a private telephone installed at his official residence in
Delhi. He is also using private stationary to write letters to MPs and MLAs.
The BJP on its part, has sent an emissary
to Chennai to try and cut a deal with the AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa and her friends
in the newly formed United National Progressive
Alliance to back Shekhawat. Recall, the UNPA, comprising 9 regional parties, has
decided to maintain equi-distance from the UPA and NDA’s candidates, following
President Kalam’s decision not to contest.
*
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*
*
Karnataka New Hub
Of Jehadi Network?
Bangalore, prided as India’s IT
capital and garden city, has earned the ignominous distinction of being dubbed
as the new hub of Jehadi network. Following the shocking disclosures that the failed
terror attack on the Glasgow Airport in Scotland, was allegedly the handy
work of two Indian doctors hailing from Karnataka. Both Kafeel and Sabeel
Ahmed, according to the State Police, were part of a large radical gang,
operating in the State. During a raid at their residence in Bangalore, the police found three CDs
containing inflammatory speeches and bomb manuals on Kafeel’s computer. A massive manhunt has been launched to find others in
the terror net who were in touch with the brothers.
The Karnataka Police has begun running a fine toothcomb
through several coastal and border districts on Sunday, hunting for affluent,
radical young men who could provide key links in the global investigation into
the failed terror attacks in the U.K. Not just Bangalore
and Mysore but also towns like Gulbarga,
Chintamani and Mulbagal have of late been infiltrated by militants from Kashmir. Clearly, from being a “safe hideout”, the city
is now being seen as a “breeding ground” for terrorists, who have roots in the
Middle-East. Needless to say, the
arrest of Kafeel Ahmed, Sabeel Ahmed and Dr. Mohammed Haneef marks a change in
the way intelligence agencies worldwide view Bangalore on the terror circuit.
* * * *
NEC Charts A New
Path
The North East appears at long last to be set for all-round
development of the sensitive and strategic region. According to the Union
Government’s Vision Document, a supplement to its Look-East Policy, the North
East Council (NEC) has now put in place a roadmap for growth and infrastructure
development. Importantly, the NEC, according to the Meghalaya Governor, B.L.
Joshi, will now play a more proactive role than work as a mere loan disbursal
agency. It is being geared up to be target-oriented
having a specific timeframe for implementation of each plan. As pointed out by the
Governor Joshi, lack of connectivity in the north-east had not only created a
sense of isolation among the people but also added to the transportation cost,
making trade and investment uncompetitive in the region. If Joshi has his way,
all this should become past history.
* * * *
Gujarat Pre-poll Games
Gujarat is in the throes of pre-poll games.
With five months left before the Assembly
elections, the arch rivals in the State, the Congress
and the BJP are trying to get the better of the other. Taking a lead, the
Congress has started its poll
preparations in full swing. Its state unit has started distributing application
forms among the State’s tribals, exhorting them to claim their right on forest
land (over land, minor forest produce, etc) as provided under the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Act, 2006. In the hope that this will enable the Congress
to expand its reach among the tribals, who have a sizeable strength in the
State. The Congress’s optimism stems
from the fact that the draft rules to implement the Act, are to be finalized
and enforced shortly by the Centre.
Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi has started touring the State.
* * * *
Terror Continues In
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh continues to be in the grip of Maoists terror.
Carrying out another big strike in the State, the extremists killed over 23
security personnel and critically injured another 12 in the forest near
Errabore in Dantewada district on Wednesday last. This comes on the heels of
last week’s hacking of two farmers in the insurgency-affected Bijapur district.
Their fault? Defying the extremists diktat instructing tribal villagers to
desist from farming in the Bastar area to avoid exploitation of the State’s
natural resources by the Government. Moreover, the Maoists also imposed a
two-day economic blockade to reiterate their seriousness.
Notwithstanding, a major breakthrough by the Chhattisgarh Police in nabbing
three top Naxals leaders.
* * * *
Haryana-Punjab
Water War Intensify
Punjab and Haryana, which share a long
love-hate relationship over the sharing of river waters, are once again in a
confrontation mode. The water war
between the two States seems all set to intensify with the Prakash Singh Badal
Government deciding to move the Supreme Court on the construction of the Rs.
260-crore Hansi-Bhutana
Branch Multipurpose
Canal by Haryana. On the
ground that it would result in displacement of over one lakh people in 70
villages due to flooding and over 29,000 acres of fertile land would be submerged.
It would also lead to a disruption of the existing canal irrigation system in
Punjab as the new canal would draw water from the Beas
to irrigate farmlands in Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts of Haryana.
* * * *
Maharashtra Village Seeks SEZ Status
Amidst the raging controversy over the setting up of the
Special Economic Zones, a Maharashtra village,
Avasari Khurd, has charted a new inspiring story. Around 1500 farmers from the
village on Thursday passed a
unanimous resolution seeking Special Economic Zone status for their village
which is located about 20 kilometers from the proposed international airport at
Rajgurunagar. They have also sought necessary
permission and recommendations from
the State and the Central Governments. No matter that farmers across various States, specially Haryana and Punjab, have revolted against the SEZs.
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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