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Economic Highlights
Crucial Assembly Polls:CONGRESS FIGHTS TWO HANDICAPS, by Insaf,24 January 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 24 January 2007
Crucial Assembly Polls
CONGRESS FIGHTS TWO
HANDICAPS
By Insaf
The Assembly polls
next month in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur
are crucial for all and more so for the Sonia Congress,
presently ruling the three States. The party is fighting two major handicaps:
anti-incumbency and intense infighting in the State units over ticket
distribution. Ticket-seekers are up in arms against ticket-distributors. Punjab is worse hit. The Amarinder Singh-led Government,
which is fighting a tough battle against a resurgent Akali Dal (Badal) in
alliance with the BJP, is facing protests and alienation by those denied party
nominations. Allegations of denial of tickets to some long-time party workers
even forced the High Command to re-consider the list and make some changes.
Despite this, resentment continues among the party workers.
Some State Congress
leaders and workers have even come out publicly against the Amarinder Singh
Government to state that not enough has been done for development during its
first four years in office. The critics of the Government in the party however
concede that the Chief Minister has tried to make up for the lapse during the
last one year and enabled the Congress
to retrieve the lost ground. Amarinder Singh, on his part, has claimed that the
Congress was “very sure of winning
atleast 70 seats in the 117-member Assembly.”
The party’s task has been made easier on two counts. First, Uma Bhart is
fielding her candidates in all the constituencies which the BJP is fighting. Second,
Mayawati’s BSP has failed to consolidate its Dalit votes in Punjab,
following Kanshi Ram’s death. Meanwhile, the Congress
has drawn up hectic election campaign schedules ahead of the February 13 Assembly poll.
* * * *
Infighting In
Uttarakhand Congress
Infighting in the State Congress
over the ticket distribution for the Assembly
poll in Uttarakhand on February 21 has affected the prospects of the Congress retaining power in the hill State. A major problem has been created by some 300
“lal batti wallah” State leaders with flashing red sirens on their “official”
cars and holding ranks equivalent to Ministers of State or heads of various
State Boards and Corporations. The Congress’
return to power is also threatened by intense factional fight between Chief
Minister N.D. Tiwari and State chief Harish Rawat. All the “lal-batti-wallahs
denied tickets are expected to further spoil the party’s chances. Added to this is N.D. Tiwari’s decision not
to contest the election. His absence from the scene may cost the Congress a large part of the Brahmin votes in the Kumaon
region. The support of K.C. Pant and his wife is already with the BJP.
* * * *
Maulana & Mahant
Mulayam
Even as the main Opposition parties in U.P., the BJP, BSP
and the Congress, have stepped up
their offensive against the Mulayam Singh Government, the Chief Minister is
making stout efforts to gain popularity and retain power. Hitherto identified
with the epithet of “Maulana”, he has now tried to don a new hat, that of a
“Mahant”. He took a dip in the Ganga at the
Sangam during the Ardh Kumbh last week and paid an obeisance to the saints. The
latter, showered blessings on the
Chief Minister and wished him another full term on U.P.’s throne. They even called him “mahant and protector”
of the saints and sadhus. At the same time, Mulayam Singh has been using every
opportunity to appease the Muslims. A
day after the Union Minority Affairs Minister, A.R. Antulay blamed his own
Congress for the plight of the
Muslims at a convention in Aligarh, Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party pounced on
the statement to accuse the Congress
of anti-Muslim bias.
* * * *
ULFA Continues To
Strike
Unconcerned by the intensified Army action in Assam
against the underground United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the dreaded
militant group continues to strike. After killing about 75 Hindi-speaking
people, mostly from Bihar, the militants have issued
a warning to the non-Assamese, who
comprise three per cent of the Assam’s 2.6 crore
population, to leave the State immediately.
Two days after this warning, the militant outfit triggered a power bomb
blast in Tinsukia, killing two and injuring eight Hindi-speaking persons. They
have now taken on the Congress
leaders in the State. A Congress worker was gunned down by the ULFA in Digboi over
the week-end. In another incident around
the same time, the militants shot dead a Congress
Panchayat Secretary at Betami village under the Digboi police station. The group has threatened to continue killings
of the Congress leaders if any of
its cadres was killed by the security forces.
* * * *
Investment Climate
In Bihar
Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has generated a lot of
goodwill and hope for a great future for the State’s development at a three-day
“Global Meet for a Resurgent Bihar” at Patna
last week. The meet was at once successful
and holds out promise for the future. The Chief Minister claimed in the presence
of a large number of NRIs: “Now the people are working. They are not making
excuses. On the law and order front, fear has disappeared.” This has created an
atmosphere for investment in the State by the NRIs and the multi-national
companies, some of which were represented at the global meet. Bihar has a significant and flourishing
non-resident community in the US,
UK, Mauritius and the Caribbean.
From this point of view, the Global Meet marks a new beginning for the State
under the youthful leadership of Nitish Kumar.
* * * *
Modi’s Achievements
In Gujarat
Politics in Gujarat is
hotting up, thanks to Narendra Modi and his Government’s achievements on the
development front. Modi’s determined efforts led to the completion of the
prolonged and controversial Sardar Sarovar Narmada project, which was dedicated
to the Nation last week. It will generate 1450 MW power and would provide massive irrigation facilities to Gujarat, Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. This
achievement of the Hindu icon Modi and the BJP has led the Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi to visit the State and fire her
first salvo for the Assembly poll
later in the year. She addressed a massive
rally at Devgadhbaria (Dahod) last week, targeting the tribals and their 26 reserved
seats in the Assembly and 20 other
constituencies which they dominate. Emboldened by the success of the rally, Sonia Gandhi is now planning three
other rallies across the State in
the next few weeks.
* * * *
States Favour Pension Reforms
As many as 19 States, except those ruled by the Left parties
in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, have agreed to the provisions of the
proposed Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority Bill (PFRDA). In fact, most of them, including those ruled by
the BJP, are getting impatient to get the Bill passed
quickly. Rajasthan’s Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje even gave an ultimatum to the Centre at a meeting in New Delhi
on Monday, that if the Centre was unable to have a legislation on pension
reforms before March 31 this year, the State would enact its own law. Prime
Minister Manmohan has, however, advised the Chief Ministers to look at the
other dimension of the pension reforms---the unavailability of pension
instruments for the common man at large. One major objective of the PFRDA Bill
is to put in place the delivery mechanism for various pension schemes.
* * * *
Civic Polls Make
Vilasrao Miss Davos
Politics prevails over economics. This is the message coming once more from Maharashtra. Chief
Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has missed
the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting at Davos from January 24 to 28 because
of the civic elections in the State and more especially the Bombay Municipal
Corporation poll on February 1.
Maharashtra was the only State this year to be invited to the WEF meet. The Chief
Minister’s last-minute withdrawal is all the more unfortunate as the State had
waited 12 years to get a call from the WEF. Riding on the recent economic boom
that has brought in more than Rs.40,000 crore of investment to the State,
Deshmukh was looking forward to generating more at the Davos meet. His hopes
were dashed when he was advised by the party leaders not to leave station on
the eve of the crucial civic polls.---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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Governor-CM Tiff:BIZARRE DEVELOPMENT IN U.P., by Insaf,18 January 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 18 January 2007
Governor-CM Tiff
BIZARRE DEVELOPMENT
IN U.P.
Insaf
Uttar Pradesh, increasingly called “ulta Pradesh”, has thrown
up a bizarre constitutional situation.
Thanks to the continuing confrontation between Governor T.V. Rajeshwar
and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh, a basic question mark has gone up over the powers
of the Governor: does the Constitution permit him to govern his State, like under
the British raj? The interesting debate was triggered on January 9 when Mulayam
Singh’s Cabinet called for a special two-day session
of the Assembly on January 15 to
seek a vote of confidence, following the
decision of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) of Ajit Singh to pull out of the Government. Rajeshwar refused to accept the Cabinet’s
decision on the ground that he had already prorogued the Assembly on the basis of the Cabinet’s recommendation
of January 3 after the Speaker had adjourned the winter session of the Assembly
sine die.
It is another matter that Mulayam Singh avoided a
Constitutional crisis by choosing to go by the old adage that discretion is
often the better part of valair. He dropped the idea of holding the session on January 15 and instead opted for the session on January 18.
But the Governor’s role in refusing to go by the Cabinet’s earlier recommendation
has raised many expert eye brows. The Raj Bhawan’s decision is viewed as unconstitutional
and a bad precedent as it could create avoidable problem in various States and at
the Centre. In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. This is reflected
in the legislatures at the State level and in the Lok Sabha at the national
level. The Governor has no power to become
a dictator or act as one. The ultimate power rests with the legislatures and
its Council of Ministers, appointed by the Governor in accordance with the
composition of the Assembly or the
Lok Sabha. When Ajit Singh’s RLD pulled out of the State Government on January 9,
Mulayam Singh had every right to summon the House and seek a vote of confidence
on the floor of the House on January 15, prorogation or no prorogation.
* * * *
Scandalous Poll
Campaign
The pre-poll scene in Punjab
is getting murkier and murkier, setting a scandalous trend. The main contestants
for power, the ruling Congress and
the Akali Dal (Badal), are not only attacking each other personally but are now
indulging in a highly libellous advertisement war through the State’s leading
newspapers. Although these advertisements have been inserted by groups or
individuals who are not covered by the moral code of conduct, they are at once highly
defamatory. The ruling Congress, on
its part, is trying hard to retain power. In an attempt to win over the Sikh
votes, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and other State Congress leaders have even approached Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to contest the Lok Sabha byelection for the Amritsar seat which fell vacant following
Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation. Manmohan Singh is disinclined to oblige. But
the last word has not been said on the subject. Manmohan Singh’s term in the
Rajya Sabha ends in June this year.
* * * *
Congress Plans For Uttarakhand
Next month’s Assembly
elections in Uttarakhand and Manipur are also crucial for the Congress party, which is ruling both the States and is
facing strong anti-incumbency factor. Additionally, the already-divided State
Congress in Uttarakhand has received
another jolt. Chief Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari has conveyed to the Central
leadership that he would not contest the upcoming Assembly
elections and would like to give an upper hand to the State party Chief, Harish
Rawat, in future sweepstakes if the party is able to beat anti-incumbency and
returns to power. Meanwhile, the Central Committee for finalizing the party’s
manifestos for the poll-bound States, has decided to stay committed to the aam aadmi. In its manifesto for Uttarakhand, the
Committee has identified housing, roads and employment as the key issues. It intends promising a special package for
the State’s faster growth.
* * * *
AFSP Act Main Issue In
Manipur
The ruling Congress
in Manipur, as also the party High Command are concentrating on the major
grievances of the people. The Manipur unit has already proposed to the AICC’s
Manifesto Committee that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act be adequately
amended to assuage the hurt and
resentment of the people in the State. Union Labour Minister, Oscar Fernandes,
who heads the Group of Ministers to negotiate peace with the NSCN(IM), has
visited Manipur and has had wide-ranging consultations with partymen
there. Fernandes has found that within
the State party the issue has
triggered a popular movement in the north-eastern State which needs to be addressed. He is now having consultations with the Union
Home Ministry on how best an amendment to the AFSP Act could be promised in the
party’s manifesto for the upcoming poll.
* * * *
PM’s Tough Talk On
ULFA
The Prime Minister’s visit to Assam
earlier this week came not a day too soon against the backdrop of increasing
ULFA violence and chilling attacks on defenceless
migrant workers. He visited the affected
areas on Tuesday and stated in no uncertain terms that “there will be no
compromise with such groups if they resort to violence.” Much now depends upon
how far the ULFA can be cajoled to come to the negotiating table. Of interest
was the PM’s reference to recent public survey over the ULFA’s demand for
sovereignty. This shows that no one in Assam
supports ULFA’s acts of violence and terror. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has
been trying hard to have a peace settlement with the ULFA. But the militant
group has so far spurned all gestures. Gogoi has now decided to act tough. He
has constituted a Unified Command under himself on the lines of the one in
J&K to deal with the militancy in the State.
* * * *
Naxals Reach Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh, considered immune to the spreading Naxalite
menace is now beginning to face the heat. Left-wing extremists have appeared in
Bhopal out of
the blue, making the State Government sit up. Five suspected Naxalites were
arrested last week from a residential colony in Bhopal. Some weapons and ideological
literature were also seized. Searchers
in several other colonies in Bhopal
and elsewhere in the State were conducted. No further arrests were made, but
the Police seized another cache of parts of weapons and literature. This has
been taken as a warning signal and the Government has sounded a red alert across the State. Four districts, Balaghat, Madle and
Dindori have already been declared as Naxal-affected. The State Police has also
got in touch with its counterparts in Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, to which the five suspected Naxals belong.
* * * *
Tamil Nadu Reacts
Sharply
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi has reacted strongly
to the Supreme Court ruling on the scope of judicial review of laws under the
Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. In
fact, he has warned that the supporters of social justice were prepared “to
even shed blood” to protect the reservation quota in the State. He has been quoted as stating that “the death
knell would be sounded for quota rights, which were won by shedding blood and
tears.” The Tamil Nadu Reservation Act
of 1993, which provides for 69 per cent quota for the SCs/STs/OBCs was included
in the Ninth Schedule in 1994 when the AIADMK Government was in power.
Karunanidhi’s sharp reaction follows the AIADMK supreme Jayalalitha’s statement
that her regime had striven hard to provide constitutional protection to
reservations. She has blamed the DMK Government for its failure to defend the
position before the Supreme Court.
* * * *
Mulayam’s Pre-Poll
Gift!
The just-concluded Ardh Kumbh in Allahabad turned out to be a great
opportunity for Chief Minister Mulayam Singh to project himself and his party
Government before millions of people at the Mela, spread over an area of 42 km
along the banks of the Yamuna. The Mela draws a massive
crowd of Hindu devotees and saints from far and near. Huge hoardings were put
up at different places of the Mela, carrying pictures of Mulayam Singh
welcoming the gathering: “Sadi Ke Sabse
bare samagam mein apka swagat hai” (welcome to the country’s biggest gathering).
The message said it all in the run-up
to the crucial Assembly poll, whose
outcome is anybody’s guess. This may
hit the BJP hardest, since the party is hoping to regain power in the State on
the Hindutva plank.
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Panic Exodus Of Biharis:ULFA POGROM AGAINST NON-ASSAMESE, by Insaf,10 January 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 10 January 2007
Panic Exodus Of
Biharis
ULFA POGROM AGAINST
NON-ASSAMESE
By Insaf
The ULFA pogrom in Assam
last week-end against the non-Assamese
workforce is causing grave concern to both the Centre and the State Government.
The latest round of killings in the three days of violence left more than 75
dead and scores of persons injured in northern Assam.
The militants fired repeatedly for three days on houses belonging to the Hindi-speaking
people. This was preceded by an encounter between motorcycle-borne militants
and the police in Dibrugarh. The attacks should not have come as a surprise
because the militants had more than once stated their plans to strike at the hapless migrant labourers to press
for their demand: “Asom for Assamese”
and “freedom”. The latest carnage has
led the State Government and the Centre to take stern and effective steps
against the militants. The Army has been re-deployed and 20 additional Companies
of the Central security forces have been moved to the affected areas.
The eruption of the violence by ULFA against the non-Assamese workers from Bihar
and eastern U.P., as also the exodus of a large number of Hindi-speaking people
from the State, has exposed once again the pitfalls in the blow-hot-blow-cold
policies of the Governments at the Centre and in the State. In fact, major
political parties have justifiably attacked the internal security management of
the Congress-led UPA Government at
the Centre. The BJP has lashed out at the Union Government for its handling of the
internal security, an important national issue,
which surprisingly, does not find any mention in the UPA’s 57-page Common
Minimum Programme. The Samajwadi Party has accused the Centre for being
insensitive to the problems created by ULFA. Astonishingly, the Indira Goswami
Committee has not been able to meet the underground and jailed rebel
leaders. The Committee, remember, was
constituted to facilitate peace talks between the Centre and the ULFA.
* * * *
Red Alert In Bihar
The Bihar Government has appropriately issued a red alert across
the State in the wake of the killings of the Bihari labourers in Assam,
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held an emergency meeting of his Cabinet to discuss the exodus of Biharis from Assam,
most of whom have been living there for long. A five-member team has been sent to
Assam
to study the situation. The CM has also directed the State’s Police Chief to
monitor the situation and keep the force in readiness
to meet any retaliatory attacks in the State.
He has been directed to coordinate with the railway authorities to
ensure security in the northeast-bound trains. Over a dozen long-distance Assam-bound trains either originate from Bihar or pass
through the State. The CM has also written to his counterpart in Guwahati to
provide protection to the Biharis in Assam,
which Tarun Gogoi has assured.
* * * *
Violent Land Tussle In W. Bengal
The political backlash over farmland acquisition in West Bengal is set to flare up again, even as Singur’s
aftershocks echo in distant Nandigram in Midnapore District. The land tussle in Nandiram, the site for the Special Economic
Zone (SEZ) being developed by the Indonesian group, Salim, turned violent over
the week-end. Six people were killed and
many more injured when the farmers, whose land is being acquired, and the CPM
cadres were engaged in a pitched battle. The two sides lobbed crude bombs at
each other and exchanged gunfire for nearly four hours. This constrained Chief
Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to come out in sack cloth and ashes. He
admitted having acted hastily and also that notices had been sent to farmers
whose land was to be acquired and stated on Tuesday: “We will talk to all the
political parties and elected Panchayats before acquiring land at Nandigram.”
* * * *
UP Towards Central
Rule?
Five weeks ago, this column predicted: “Uttar Pradesh
appears to be drifting towards Central rule before the State goes to the poll
next year… the UPA Government’s mind seems made and according to some, it is
only a matter of time…” Today, the Centre’s mind appears more firmly made on
promulgation of the President’s rule in the State. But the question remains:
when and how? A final decision will be taken before the upcoming Assembly polls in March-April, if not earlier. The
three major parties in the fray, the BJP, BSP and the Congress have demanded Central rule on the ground of
deteriorating law and order situation in the State, especially after the
horrible and disgusting serial killings of children in Noida. But can this
honestly justify the use of Article 356 to dismiss
the Mulayam Singh Government? It could
set an unfortunate precedent, raising a basic issue:
does a deterioration in the law and order situation amount to a breakdown of the constitutional machinery?
* * * *
EC Guidelines For Punjab Poll
Even as north-India freezes in cold, activity in Punjab and Uttarakhand is hotting up in the run-up to the
Assembly elections on 13
February. In a bid to ensure free and
fair poll, the Election Commission
has issued detailed guidelines for the
transfer of officials of the rank of Sub-Inspector and above and for the use of
the official machinery by the Ministers and officials. The Chief Minister has
been allowed four cars for security cover and the Leader of the Opposition two.
With the imposition of the model code of conduct, the State Government, on its
part, has issued separate
instructions to stop cheques already issued
for grants and financial assistances
from being encashed and limited use of official cars. An immediate stop has
been put on recently-transferred teachers from joining at their new places of
posting. A reshuffle in the Punjab Police is also on the cards in line with the
Election Commission guidelines.
* * * *
Uttaranchal Or
Uttarakhand?
An interesting and ticklish issue
has come up in Uttaranchal prior to the Assembly
poll on February 21. At the time when
the poll schedule was announced, the new hill State was called Uttaranchal. But
on January 1, an extraordinary gazette notification of the Central Government changed
the named of the State to Uttarakhand, as per the Uttaranchal (Alternation of
Name) Act, passed by Parliament and
assented to by the President of
India. The BJP, which is hoping to wrest power from the Congress in the State has now written to the Election
Commission to stop the name change, since
this has been notified by the Centre after the model code of conduct came into
force. It has charged the Congress,
presently ruling the State, of indulging in avoidable politics by changing the
name just before the Assembly poll.
* * * *
Happy Progress In Naga Peace Talks
Speculation is rife about the future of the ongoing talks
for peace in Nagaland between the Centre and the NSCN(IM). Following a surprise meeting between Sonia
Gandhi and the NSCN(IM) General Secretary T. Muivah in New Delhi last week, many Nagaland watchers
are wondering if the decks have been cleared for a settlement of the long-drawn
Naga issue. At the end of the
30-minute meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Muivah requested Union Minister Oscar
Fernandes, the Centre’s pointsman for the Naga talks, for a meeting with Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh. This has yet to materialize. But the positive development
between the Naga leaders’ meeting with Fernandes-led group of Union Ministers
last year at Bangkok
and last week’s meeting with Sonia Gandhi could have an impact on the Manipur Assembly poll next month. Naga tribes dominate four
hill districts of the State and the NSCN(IM) continues to demand greater
Nagaland, which includes large parts of Manipur.
* * * *
M.P. Follows Pak
Model
The BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh, led by Shivraj Singh
Chouhan has taken inspiration from Islamabad
to devise a family planning programme for the Muslims of the State. It is based
on the “Pakistan
model” which advocates use of religious texts and clerics for awareness campaigns and of mosques to distribute
contraceptives. The State Government is of the view, like the Pakistan
administration, that “what comes in the way of family planning is ignorance and
not religion and that the Muslim community should come out of darkness…” The
State’s Ministry of Health has thus decided to distribute as many as 10,000
copies of the book, “Census, Islam and Family Planning” free of cost, so that
the message of family planning
reaches the people. The book has been
written by the BJP’s National Executive member, Muzaffar Hussain.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Despite Apex Court’s Order….:STATES EVADE POLICE REFORMS, by Insaf, 4 January 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 4 January 2007
Despite Apex Court’s Order….
STATES EVADE POLICE
REFORMS
By Insaf
The State Governments seem determined to have their way on
the crucial subject of police reforms. These have been recommended by various
commissions and committees over the
past two decades but have been successfully
evaded. The States are, indeed, not willing even to implement the Supreme Court
order of September last for overdue reforms. At a Chief Ministers meet,
convened by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil in New Delhi over the week-end to discuss the issue,
they unanimously decided to individually inform the Court about their practical
difficulties in implementing the order. The
Court had directed all the States to set up a State Security Commissions each, a police establishment board to decide
all postings, transfers and promotions and a police complaint authority at the
district and State levels. It also
stipulated that the DGPs at the State headquarters should be selected from a
panel of three officers finalized by the UPSC and should have a fixed tenure of
two years like the officers under him.
Most Chief Ministers voiced strong reservations about the
fixed-tenure proposal. Bihar’s Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar, for example, apprehended that fixed tenures could create
“monsters” in each police station. He argued that it was simplistic to blame
political interference and asked: “What about interference from the superiors as
also corruption and bribery?” The States
are particularly opposed to the Security Commissions
on the plea that these would encroach upon their jurisdiction as did the
selection of the DGPs by a panel set up by the UPSC. That, they insisted, was their prerogative.
Even Shivraj Patil conceded that the
Centre was not in favour of the DGPs being selected from a UPSC panel. Opinion
was, however, divided on the establishment of a Police Complaint Authority.
Karnataka opposed it on the ground that such an authority at the State and
district levels would cost nearly 40 crore, which it could ill-afford.
* * * *
Assembly Polls In Three States
Crucial Assembly
elections are slated during the year in six States and, possibly, in seven.
The Election Commission has
announced polls in Punjab, Uttaranchal and
Manipur next month, leaving out Uttar Pradesh for March-April. Gujarat and Goa are scheduled to go for the Assembly
polls in the second half of the year. Karnataka too may face an election, given
its unending political developments. The first round of polls in February are
crucial for the Congress. The party
is ruling in all the three States and has completed full five-year tenures in Punjab and Uttaranchal. Confident of a peaceful poll in
these two States, the Election Commission
has announced one-day poll--on February 13 in the Punjab
and February 21 in Uttaranchal. In the
insurgency-hit Manipur, it will be a three-day poll---on February 2, 15 and 23.
The stage is set in the Punjab for a fierce contest between
the ruling Congress and the
Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)-BJP combine, as indicated by the tendency on both
sides to hit each other below the belt.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who is leading the Congress campaign, has claimed that his party will win
around 70-75 seats in the 117-member Assembly. The party has 66 MLAs in the present House.
The Leader of the Opposition, and former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has
reacted sharply to Amarinder Singh’s claim and thinks that the Congress would struggle to get even 30 seats. For his own party, he has predicted a
three-fourth majority in the next Assembly. The party had won 40 seats in the last Assembly poll. Badal has also dismissed as false propaganda Amarinder Government’s
claim that it has brought a lot of positive changes in Punjab.
A lot more is sure to follow.
* * * *
Ensuring Peaceful
Poll In Manipur
The ruling Congress
in Uttaranchal faces a challenging task, where the main Opposition, the BJP, is
hoping to win a comfortable majority. The State Congress
continues to be a divided house, causing anxiety to the Congress High Command. In Manipur, meanwhile, the law and
order situation is receiving special attention of both the Election Commission and the Union Government. Election Commissioner Navin Chawla has already visited the State
and worked out details with the State Government about the deployment of
security forces for the three-phase poll.
A Central team, headed by Home Secretary V.K. Duggal, has visited Assam
and Manipur to work out deployment of security forces, keeping in mind that the
National Games at Guwahati from February 9 to 24 coincide with the Manipur
poll. ULFA continues to oppose the Games and is even threatening to go
physical.
* * * *
EC Plans For U.P.
The Election Commission
is making all-out efforts to ensure a free and fair poll for the 403-member Assembly in U.P.
That is why the U.P. poll has been delinked from the three other
States. The crucial election is likely to
get the attention of the kind received by Bihar in 2005 and West
Bengal last year. A four-phase poll is expected to be announced.
Even as the warning bells are beginning to worry Chief Minister Mulayam Singh
and his party, following the increasing reports of the law and order problems
in the State, the Election Commission
has been quietly going about its job of cleansing the electoral rolls. So far,
as many as 25 lakh names of “dead voters” have been struck off the voters’
list. Incidentally, the already detected
number relates to only dead persons. The Commission
would also be striking off the names of duplicate voters, for which purpose
booth level officers have also been appointed.
* * * *
Singur Troubles
Chhatisgarh
West Bengal’s land deal with the Tatas for their
Rs.1 lakh car project is beginning to create controversial waves elsewhere.
What is considered by the BJP to be poison in Singur is, in fact, viewed as
manna by the same party in Chhatisgarh..
Even as the BJP supports Trinamool Congress
against the Tata deal in West Bengal, its own Government in Chhatisgarh is busy
earmarking over 6000 acres of agricultural land for the Tatas, who want to
invest Rs.10,000 crore in a steel plant with a capacity of 5 million tonnes per
annum. The State’s Raman Government
claims that the villagers have passed
a gram sabha resolution accepting the land acquisition. But the tribals in the
Lohandiguda block of Bastar say they do not want to part with their land. In
fact, they want the State Government to accept 13 demands in lieu of their
land. Heading the list is their demand of “land for land”. This cannot be met
easily.
* * * *
Rewriting
Rajathan’s History
Vasundhara Raje’s Rajasthan Government has launched on a
bizarre project. She wants the State’s history written afresh to make it more
authentic. About 175 years ago, Col. James Todd had written a book entitled:
Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. This was considered the most authentic
work on the State’s 41,000 villages and 186 cities and towns. But the State
Government and its Education Minister, Ghanshyam Tiwari does not think so and
regard it as highly controversial. It has, therefore, decided to seek the assistance of 50,000 teachers to write their own
version of Rajasthan’s history under a one-year project entitled: Aapno Dharti,
Aapno Log. (Our Land, Our People). Will the end product be authentic history or
will it be folk lore laced with highly subjective romanticism? The State’s historians have their doubts,
grave doubts. They would prefer to have well-known historians to do the
job.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Sustaining High Growth Rate…:BUT WHERE IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE?, by Dr. Vinod Mehta,26 December 200 |
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ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
New Delhi, 26 December 2007
Sustaining High
Growth Rate…
BUT WHERE IS THE
INFRASTRUCTURE?
By Dr. Vinod Mehta
(Former Director,
Research, ICSSR)
If anything that might hold back India from sustaining a high growth
rate of around 9 to 10 per cent is the slow development of its infrastructure. In
spite of the fact that the problem has been well identified.
Development of infrastructure like roads, rail network, waterways,
seaports, airports, communications, electricity etc., is the basic pre-condition
for any economy to achieve and sustain a high rate of economic growth. Thus, if
the country has to maintain and sustain an over nine per cent growth rate it is
essential to speed up the development of infrastructure.
Almost all the developed countries have a well developed
infrastructure which enables them to maintain a relatively high growth rate.
Take for instance, the Netherlands.
The size of the Netherlands
is almost equal to that of Haryana. It
has one port at Rotterdam compared to four major
ports in India, but that one
port in Rotterdam handles more shipments than
all the four major ports in India
taken together.
Similarly, Schipol Airport
in Amsterdam handles more aircrafts than the
four major airports in India
taken together. Even in the City State of Singapore its port and airport
handle more ships and airplanes than handled by all the major Indian ports and
airports.
Compared to these countries, even after 15 years of economic
reforms, India’s
infrastructure is still not in a good shape. This has been recognized by all
the Governments in power.
Besides, the importance of infrastructure has been
underlined in the India Infrastructure Report and various Governments have also
made some moves like the development of the highways and the privatization of the
Delhi and Bombay
airports, but these do not add too much. Given that the availability of
electricity in abundance, modern transport and communication systems, good
roads, trained manpower etc. would form the backbone for the success of any
economic reforms.
After the Revolution in Russia
in 1917, Lenin emphasized the importance of electricity without which, he
observed, new Russia
could never think of becoming an industrial power. This observation is as valid
today for India as it was
valid for Russia
then.
Even after six decades of planned development we are not
producing enough of electricity to meet our growing domestic demand. Every day
there are power-cuts coupled with voltage fluctuations which are not only
resulting in production losses and damaged equipments but also blocking
potential fresh investments. It has become a ritual every year to divert
electricity from the industry to agriculture during the summer months.
Bringing things to such a pass today that the demand for
electricity exceeds the supply of electricity. Moreover, the electricity
transmission losses are high because of obsolete technology, the State
electricity boards are perpetually in losses and foreign investments are
limited to promises only.
True, nuclear power may go a long way in relieving the power
shortage in the country but that depends on the successful conclusion of the
Indo-American nuclear deal which is being opposed both by the Left and the BJP.
Whether the deal finally sees the light of day or not, the
Government's first task should be to pay attention to attracting foreign and
domestic investment, on a very big scale, in electricity generation; it must
encourage introduction of new technology and to the extent possible revamping
and privatization of the State electricity boards so as to make them earn
reasonable profit.
Learning from the Enron experience, the foreign investment
and contracts in this sector must be made not only transparent but also with a
rider that once approved the project would be completed within the agreed time
framework.
The second important infrastructure problem relates to the
development of roads. There are very few fast roads for the high speed movement
of goods. The roads all over the country are in a bad shape.
Shockingly, only 20 per cent of the paved roads are said to
be in good condition (roads substantially free of defects and requiring only
routine maintenance) as against 30 per cent in Indonesia,
31 per cent in Philippines,
50 per cent in Thailand and
70 per cent in South Korea.
Such roads not only slow down the movement of traffic but result in the excessive
wear and tear of vehicles and excess consumption of petrol and diesel.
Sadly, even in this sector, the country has not been able to
attract private domestic and foreign investment. Needless to say the Government
will have to provide clear-cut guidelines including tax incentives if any to
attract investors in this field also.
Related to the development of roads is the question of
changing the technological base of our big vehicles especially the buses, bulk
carriers, specialized bulk carriers, as for frozen foods and so on. There has
been large scale foreign investment in the car manufacturing sector but no
significant foreign investment in the production of heavy vehicles to take care
of the mass transportation needs.
The buses are rickety and uncomfortable, their designs old
and outdated and they consume more energy per kilometre than required. So is true of our bulk carriers. This is very
important from the point of view of integrating all the domestic markets as
well as exploiting the export market.
Similarly, the development of railways, aviation and river transport
is very important for the success of economic reforms. The railways technology
likewise is relatively outdated which accounts for a high rate of railway
accidents in the country. Again, compared to other countries we have very few
high speed trains. Since our ports are quite far away from the hinterland, it
would difficult for the interior of the country to integrate with the world
markets in the absence of a high speed railway network.
The demand for international air travel has gone up manifold.
But Air India
(after merging Indian Airlines with it) is unable to meet the demand because of
the limited number of aircrafts. As a result foreign airlines have come in to India in a big way and Air India is left
with only code-sharing by giving away her right to fly to these countries.
The third important area of infrastructure is communication.
It is common knowledge that our basic telephones services are in a bad shape
even though the availability of the telephone service is perhaps the lowest in India. Data
shows there are only two telephones per 100 residents as against 7 in Brazil, 9 in Mexico
and 16 in Russia.
As for other services like voice and non-voice mail, data
transfer, e-mail etc. the less said the better. The powers-that-be seem to forget
that the growth of modern business depends upon the efficient communication
system which is definitely lacking in India.
The introduction of cellular phones does not amount to
modernization of the communication system. What the country needs is a very
large expansion of basic telephone services followed by value-added services.
The demand for the mobile phone services has been going up by leaps and bounds
but the quality of service provided by the private players and others is still
very poor. The question of the distribution of frequencies among the mobile
players is yet to be satisfactorily settled.
In short, the country cannot now afford to ignore the
development of all kinds of infrastructure. As the India Infrastructure Report states,
the country would be needing between $150 to $200 billion in the next five
years for infrastructure development in order to achieve an annual growth rate
of 7 per cent. We shall have to find the
resources of this magnitude. ---- INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
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