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?”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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”!

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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.

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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)

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!      

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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.”  

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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)

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.             

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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.

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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

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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.

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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 34^th 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!

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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.

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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)

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)