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Economic Highlights
PM, Sonia Calm Mufti:CONGRESS-PDP COALITION STAYS, by Insaf,29 March 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 29 March 2007
PM, Sonia Calm
Mufti
CONGRESS-PDP
COALITION STAYS
By Insaf
Sharp and simmering differences between the ruling allies in
Jammu & Kashmir, the Congress
and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have been sorted out and the threat to
the coalition averted for the time being. After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
applied balm to the alliance that had shown signs of collapsing, Congress President Sonia Gandhi in her two meetings with the
PDP supremo Mufti Mohammad Sayeed revived the initial political warmth and
tried to resolve the growing problems between the two parties to the satisfaction
of the Mufti. After his second meeting with Sonia Gandhi, the Mufti stated:
“she has taken a lot of interest in solving our problems. I am satisfied…” A much-needed
coordination Committee comprising equal number of MLAs from both the parties
would be constituted soon in consultation with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad
for the smooth running of the coalition Government.
In regard to the PDP’s demands for reduction of troops and
repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. (AFSPA), the Prime Minister conciliated
by promising to set up a Committee of experts, (possibly
headed by the National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan) to study the security
situation in the State and report back within two months. The Army’s inputs
would obviously carry weight with the Committee in view of the continuing
infiltration. The Army considers deployment in the border districts of the
State necessary. However, deployment
or replacement by the para-military forces or the State Police in other areas could
be left to the civil authorities. The Mufti was told that the question of the
repeal or amendment of the AFSP Act was already under consideration of the
Centre in the context of Manipur’s demand.
* * * *
Caste-Based Poll In
U.P.
Uttar Pradesh’s already fragmented politics along the
forward, backward and dalit camps is further poised to get divided on caste basis
in the run up to the Assembly poll
from April 7 to May 8. Several smaller parties have cropped up on caste basis
and started talking big in terms for pre-poll or post-poll alliances for power.
These parties or groups have given identity to individual castes as represented
by Apna Dal, Bharat Vikas Party and Samajwadi Kranti Dal and even Muslim
parties. In fact, the floating of the Samajwadi Kranti Dal by Beni Prasad Verma
has given a big jolt to the ruling Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh. Himself an
MP of the Samajwadi Party, Verma has decided to field 14 candidates on behalf
of his new outfit comprising Kurmis who dominate in Bara Banki and Baharaich
districts.
Chief Minister Mulayam Singh is leaving no trick untried to
woo whichever community he can, now that the Kurmi leader Verma and Jat Ajit
Singh have parted company with him.. He has now turned his attention to the
Prajapati community, presently a lowly-placed OBC and sought for its
recognition as a Dalit community from the Union Ministry of Social Justice.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
have turned their attention to the upper caste and Muslim votes. Mayawati’s
decision to give more tickets to the upper castes and Muslims than to the
Dalits, whom the party essentially
represented until recently, has considerably improved her chances for grabbing power
in the State. In fact, the BSP’s improved position in the race for power has triggered
a rush for party tickets and prompted the leader to put her party’s nominations
on sale at high prices.
* * * *
Bizarre Situation
In Punjab
A bizarre situation has developed in Punjab,
following the recent formation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Government, led
by Parkash Singh Badal. Charges of alleged corruption against the Chief
Minister and some of his family members have been framed by a Ropar court for
corruption during his earlier stint as the Chief Minister. Several Opposition
leaders called for Badal’s resignation, but the Chief Minister described the
charges as mere political vendetta. History repeated itself within days. Punjab’s Vigilance Bureau has now registered corruption
cases against former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, his Local Bodies Minister
Chaudhury Jagjit Singh, former PCC Chief H.S. Hanspal and 16 others in
connection with Ludhiana City Centre land scam case. Amarinder Singh has
described this a case of political vendetta. Badal has refused to comment.
* * * *
Controversial
Relief Package
The upcoming poll in UP has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the 1992 Gujarat
riot victims. The Centre has suddenly decided out of the blue to grant an
ex-gratia payment of Rs.3.5 lakh to the next-of-kin of those killed and Rs.1.25
lakh to those injured. Expectedly, New
Delhi’s decision has triggered a controversy. The BJP,
which is presently ruling the State, has trashed it as “politically motivated”
and brazenly designed to woo the Muslims in the forthcoming poll. The State’s
Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, has come forward with a counter demand. He wants
a bigger, countrywide package to cover the victims of all Hindu-Muslim riots in
the country after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The Union Home Ministry has
clarified that relief to all riot victims would be worked out after the Communal
Harmony Bill is passed by
Parliament, hopefully in the second half of the current budget session
* * * *
Rajasthan Bill On
Police Reforms
Rajasthan’s BJP Government, led by Vasundhara Raje, has
shown some welcome initiative. It has become the first State Government to
draft a comprehensive Bill on Police reforms, as directed by the Supreme
Court. Entitled, “A Police Act for 21st
Century”, the Bill is likely to be introduced in the current session of the Rajasthan Assembly.
Described as “model bill for like-minded States”, the Rajasthan Government has taken
pains to discuss its draft Bill in
depth with the representatives (Home Ministers or Chief Secretaries) of the
States presently ruled by the BJP or it allies of the NDA, that is Punjab,
Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Orissa
and Gujarat. The draft Bill is based on the apex Court’s direction to the State
Governments to amend the Police Act of the British times to suit public
aspirations in a democratic society.
* * * *
Plea For Higher MSP
For Wheat
Punjab and Haryana have struck a blow for
a better deal for their farmers. Both have asked the Centre for a higher
Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat this season. The Centre has fixed the MSP
at Rs.750 per quintal. But Punjab wants it
raised to Rs.900 per quintal and Haryana to Rs.850. Both the Chief Ministers,
Parkash Singh Badal and Bhupinder Singh Hooda have written to the Prime
Minister to direct his Minister of Agriculture, Sharad Pawar, to review the MSP
fixed recently. Both the CMs have also demanded that the bonus of Rs.100 which
the Centre has announced on procurement of every quintal of wheat this season
should be merged with the MSP. Badal has
also sought the Centre’s assistance
to bail out the State’s farming community which is burdened with enormous debt,
reportedly accumulated to about Rs.2,400 crore.
* * * *
Science Village In Assam
Distant and largely-neglected Assam will soon have India’s first Science Village,
a unique experiment for popularisation of Science in the strife-torn
countryside of the State. The village is being set up soon in Jamunagurihat
village, about 250 km from Guwahati over an area of 75 acres and at a cost of
about Rs.10 crore by an NGO Gramya Jana Bigyan Mancha (GJBM). The village will
have a planetarium, botanical garden, heritage park, a wetland project, bird
sanctuary, aquarium, science museum, library, auditorium, children’s park and a
laboratory. The land has already been bought and the village is scheduled to
open by the end of this year, when the first phase gets completed. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Farm Versus Factories:STATES FOR CHANGE IN SEZ POLICY, by Insaf,22 March 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 22 March 2007
Farm Versus
Factories
STATES FOR CHANGE
IN SEZ POLICY
By Insaf
West Bengal’s Nandigram, a little known village
until recently, has cast a long shadow on the industrialization plans of various
States through the establishments of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Even though
the Centre has already cleared more than 400 SEZs across
the country, the State Governments are increasingly under pressure from the farmers to reconsider their decisions
to acquire farm lands for factories. In the light of the horrendous toll
inflicted by police firing on farmers and their families protesting against the
acquisition of agricultural land, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has
announced not only his Government’s decision to shift the chemical SEZ project
site from Nandigram but also to put on hold other projects. In fact, the CPM partners in the Left Front,
presently ruling in Kerala and Tripura and supporting the UPA Government at the
Centre, are publicly pressing for a
change in the land acquisition policy.
Farmers in Orissa,
Maharashtra and Haryana have already taken up
cudgels against the decision to acquire farm lands for setting up SEZs. In Orissa, confrontation between the villagers to be
displaced and the State Government is growing what with the opposition taking
cue from the violence in West Bengal. They have taken a hard stance against the Tata
Steel project to be set up at Gopalpur and also protested against the Aluminium
project in Rayagada district. Up in the North, a farmers’ lobby, headed by
former Chief Ministers Om Prakash Chautala and Bhajan Lal, has taken up cudgels
against Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda for his Government’s decision to acquire
farm lands for several SEZ proposals. Similar lobbies have also cropped up in
Punjab and Maharashtra, even as trouble is
brewing in the other States. Lending strong support is the statement of the IT
Czar, Narayana Murthy, from Bangalore
opposing farmland for SEZs.
* * * *
Rahul’s Road Show
In U.P.
Poll activity is picking up feverishly in U.P. for the
seven-phase Assembly poll from April
7 to May 8, with MPs from the State and their Central leaders anxiously moving
in as Parliament recessed on Tuesday
until April 26. While the Central Election Committees of the major parties in quest
of power are busy finalizing their lists of candidates, the Congress High Command has finally deployed its “Crown
Prince,” Rahul Gandhi to lead the party’s campaign and take charge of the overall
strategy. He is all set to hold a series of road shows across the State, starting from the Delhi-UP border. On
his first day, he covered the districts of Ghaziabad,
Meerut, Muzzaffarnagar and Saharanpur. Many more are on his list as the
tempo builds up and other youthful Congress
MPs, notably Jyotiraditya Scindia, pitch in. Also on the cards is campaigning
by Priyanka Wadra in Rae Bareli and Amethi, Parliamentary constituencies of
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission
is taking all possible steps to
ensure a free and fair poll. Several senior officers, including the Chief
Secretary, have been replaced and more transfers are expected to follow. Even
district level officers, whose proximity to the ruling Samajwadi Party has been
established, are in the Commission’s
list for marching orders. According to the EC sources, the transfer list so far
has been prepared only for regions which will go to the polls in the first two
phases. The new Chief Secretary, Shambu Nath is touring different parts of the
State extensively to review the poll arrangements. He has already held a
meeting at the headquarters with all the Principal Secretaries. The Commission, on its part, is leaving nothing to chance and
is monitoring the security situation in the State closely. It has also decided
to appoint for the first time Special Observers, each of whom will be in charge
of specified districts
* * * *
J&K Crisis
Averted
The crisis in the Congress-PDP
coalition in Jammu and Kashmir
seems to have blown off, at least for the time being, thanks to the Prime
Minister’s intervention. Manmohan Singh’s painstaking efforts to convince the
PDP supremo Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the futility of demanding at this stage
reduction in troop deployment and withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act seem to have succeeded and the threat of a break-up of the coalition
averted, thanks to some face-saving formulae. The PDP top leadership is due to
consider the issue finally at its
meeting in Srinagar
on March 25. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, on his part, has hardened his
stand and ruled out troop reduction which, he believes, would jeopardize peace
in the State and so also endanger the lives of its innocent people. Governor
S.K. Sinha has trashed the PDP’s diabolical demand as “obnoxious”.
* * * *
Naxalite Terror
Again
The Naxalite terror is fast picking up again, after about a
year’s relative lull, especially in the newly-carved out, tribal-dominated
States of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Barely a week after the killing of
Jharkhand MP Sunil Mahato and two others, the Naxals gave a deadly twist in
Chhattisgarh last week to the ongoing battle between the rebels and the
security forces, aided by a local tribal militia, Salva Judum. Surprisingly,
they slaughtered in sleep 55 police
personnel in a pre-dawn operation in Dantewada district. The massacre took place in a region where the Government’s
writ barely runs, a situation that prompted the Prime Minister to equate the
Naxalite threat with terrorism. One wonders how the Naxals managed to enter
Dantewada police headquarters, a heavily fortified camp.
* * * *
Terror From The Sea
Growing terrorism in the country has taken a new turn.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony apprised the Lok Sabha last week of the Jehadis
using sea routes for infiltration into the southern States, starting from
Kerala. He has identified that marine terrorism, gun-running, drug trafficking
and piracy were major threats for the sea boarders. Earlier, the General
Officer Commanding (GOC), Southern Command, had stressed
the need for maintaining a strict vigil in the wake of the threat posed by the
extremist elements, aided and abetted by the ISI of Pakistan. Intelligence
agencies believe that the sealing of the land borders in the north and the west
has forced the terrorists to search out new infiltration routes. Fortunately,
the Coast Guard is up and about. It is said to have prepared a coastal security
scheme to improve its effectiveness
all along the coastal areas.
* * * *
Cauvery Rocks
Parliament
The Cauvery water dispute continues to bedevil relations
between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Mounting bitterness
between the two States even spilled over into Parliament earlier this week,
constraining the Speaker to adjourn the Lok Sabha for the budgetary session one day ahead of the schedule. Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy made a
welcome move for a one-to-one talk with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Karunanidhi for hammering out an amicable solution. But the latter has refused
to entertain the suggestion, asserting:
There is no scope for thought. It may be recalled that the Tribunal’s final
award last month had allocated 270 tmc ft of waters to Karnataka and asked the
State, from where the Cauvery originates, to release 192 tmc ft of water
annually to Tamil Nadu. This led to large-scale violent protests by farmers and
several other groups in the Cauvery basin districts of Mandya and Mysore.
* * * *
Delhi Civic Body Poll
The election for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on
April 5 has attracted greater political interest than ever before. Traditionally,
civic polls in the Union Capital have been seeing straights fight between the
Congress and the BJP. But this year’s poll has broken the
tradition. Multi-corner contests in almost all the 272 Wards will be taking
place. All major regional and other national parties have put up their
candidates. Surprisingly even Sharad Pawar’s NCP, which did not send even one Councillor
to the MCD House in the 2002 poll, has fielded candidates in 139 Wards and the
BSP is contesting 230 Wards. Likewise, the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh has
fielded 28 candidates, Janata Dal (U) 17, Janata Dal (S) 7 and the CPI 16. Over
300 candidates from regional parties are also in the fray, which is a record
according to the State Election Commission.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Congress Fourth Front:MULTI-CORNER CONTESTS IN UP, by Insaf,15 March 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 15 March 2007
Congress Fourth
Front
MULTI-CORNER
CONTESTS IN UP
By Insaf
Political activity is fast hotting up in U.P. for the
crucial seven-phase poll from April 7 to May 8.
As the nominations for the first round of polling in 62 constituencies
in 13 districts close next week, all parties in the fray are preparing for
intense multi-corner contests for all the 403 Assembly
seats. The ruling Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh, the BJP and Mayawati’s BSP
have finalized their strategies and pre-poll understandings with smaller
parties. While the Congress, which
presently stands fourth in popularity reckoning, is desperately trying to stage
a come-back in the State politics. Sonia Gandhi has personally worked out a Fourth
Front with the support of some of the Congress
partners in the UPA at the Centre, Lalu Prasad’s RLD, Sharad Pawar’s NCP and
Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP. Electoral adjustments are also being negotiated with
Ajit Singh’s RLD, the CPI and Jan Morcha of V.P. Singh and Raj Babbar.
The BJP is now a front-runner, having considerably improved
its chances of regaining power in the State, thanks to the impressive showing in Punjab
and Uttarakhand. It has already tied up
a pre-poll alliance with its NDA partner, Janata Dal (U) of Sharad Yadav-Nitish
Kumar-George Fernandes as also the Apna Dal. The party is hoping to get the
support of a majority of the Brahmins, who constitute about 11 per cent of the
State’s population , as also of the other upper castes namely Rajputs and
Banias comprising 12 and 13 per cent respectively. It is hoping to get the
support of non-Yadav OBCs through the JD(U) and Apna Dal. The party is also expecting full support of another
OBC, the Lodhs to which Kalyan Singh belongs. He is being projected by the BJP
as its chief ministerial candidate. The ruling SP is counting mainly on Yadavs,
the CPM and Muslims, who constitute 16-17 per cent of the State’s population.
In fact, even the Congress MP,
Obaidullah Khan is reportedly campaigning for the SP.
* * * *
EC Shifts Top Cop
Meanwhile, the Election Commission
has taken some unprecedented steps to ensure free and fair poll in U.P. These
include marching orders to nine senior IAS and IPS officers, including the
Director General of Police, his Deputy and the Principal Secretary Home, who,
the Commission thought, were
“admirers” of Mulayam Singh and had attended a Government function at Samajwadi
Party headquarters in late June last year.
The EC is said to have been watching closely the activities of the
bureaucracy since the poll was announced on February 21. But it chose to wait
for action until the Governor’s poll notification when the State administration
came under the EC’s “superintendence”. The entire bureaucracy is upset and the
top cop, DGP Bua Singh has already put in his papers, seeking premature
retirement. He was due to retire on June 30. More officers may follow suit.
They feel one with Bua Singh who has stated: “The EC has been unfair to me. I have
an unblemished service record…”
* * * *
Assets Case Vendetta, Says Badal
Within days of taking over the Chief Ministership of Punjab
for the fourth time, Parkash Singh Badal faces criminal charges against him
during his earlier stint as the CM from 1997 to 2002. A Special Judge at Chandigarh ordered framing of charges against
him, his wife, son Sukhbir Singh and others for amassing
wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. The case was filed
during the reign of Amarinder Singh. Badal has reacted sharply to the charge
and claimed that nothing has been established against him. He stated during his
first visit to the Union Capital as the fourth-time CM that he was a victim of
political vendetta and blamed Amarinder Singh for “employing the Government
machinery to frame him. He asserted:
“It must be the first case of its kind when allegations have been made quoting
reliable sources… I committed no wrong and amassed
no wealth disproportionate to my known sources of income”.
* * * *
Coalition Problems
In J&K
Relations between the ruling coalition partners in Jammu and Kashmir, the
Congress and the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP), are increasingly soaring. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has been
advised by the party High Command to lie low and leave the “first strike
option” for breaking up the alliance to the coalition PDP. This advice was
given to Azad who air-dashed to New
Delhi over the week-end, following the PDP Ministers’ decision
to boycott the Cabinet meetings until their demands were conceded. The
coalition’s erstwhile Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, and party Chief
Mehbooba Mufti have been demanding drastic troop withdrawal and repeal of the
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Azad
has rejected the demand and asked the PDP leaders to surrender their personal
security first!
* * * *
Nitish’s Plan For Bihar’s Progress
The NDA Government in Bihar, led by Nitish Kumar of the
Janata Dal (U), has adopted several good ideas from the Centre and implemented
them in the State, Bihar became the first
State in the country to have laid in the State Assembly
its “Economic Survey” prior to the budget presentation. Some of the fiscal
initiatives which Nitish Kumar adopted in his budget proposals as the Finance
Minister were also inspired by the Centre’s model. If the Centre has identified
23 districts of the State for implementation of the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the State Government has decided to extend the scheme
to the remaining 15 districts with internal funding. Ditto with the National
Horticulture Mission (NSM) which the
State Government has implemented in 19 districts uncovered by the Centre with
its own resources.
* * * *
New Industrial
Policy For NE
A new industrial policy has been worked out for the north-eastern
region by the Union Government to replace the existing which expires on March
31. According to the Minister for the Development of the North Eastern Region,
Mani Shankar Aiyar, the new policy will ensure that capital subsidies and the
viability gap funding are made easily available for small hydro-electric
project and biomass fuel projects.
The new policy reflects the Government’s keen desire to provide to the people
of the distant region power on priority. At present only about 24 per cent of
the households in the region get regular power supply, even though 62 per cent
of the villages in the region have been electrified. Power generation is
proposed to be more than doubled in the next five years, from 2000 MW to 5000
MW.
* * * *
Bloodshed In Nandigram
West Bengal’s Chief Minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee’s bold declaration that his Government’s policy on
industrialization and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was “irreversible” has
taken an ugly turn. Even though the CM had indicated at a massive farmers’ rally that shifting of the SEZ venue
of the Nandigram project could be considered, the people of the area and those
opposed to the SEZ policy revolted. When a land acquisition notice was put up,
local villagers and some political activists cut off the entry point to the
area. This led to the deployment of a large contingent of the police force
which opened fire on the protestors, killing at least eleven people. The police
has, however, clarified that they fired in self-defence only after the teargas
shells and rubber bullets failed to control the protestors at the entry point.
The villagers, they claimed, were carrying fire arms.
* * * *
RWAs in MCD Poll
Fray
Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit’s much publicized
“Bhagidari” concept that her Government introduced in 2000 to involve Resident
Welfare Associations (RWAs) in civic
issues has now gone beyond the
“participatory and responsive governance”. The RWAs are now demanding a direct
role in governance and are fielding their candidates in the Municipal Council
elections on April 7. The move is
intended to give voice to their dissatisfaction
with their ward Corporators. The RWAs feel that the presence of their own
representatives in the Municipal Corporation would strengthen the “Bhagidari”
concept. Actually Bhagidari’s failure was evident last year when the citizens’
bodies throughout the Capital forced the Government to roll back the hike in
power tariff. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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U.P. Poll & Supreme Court:PROBE AGAINST MULAYAM ILL-TIMED, by Insaf,7 March 2007, |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 7 March 2007
U.P. Poll &
Supreme Court
PROBE AGAINST
MULAYAM ILL-TIMED
By Insaf
Samajwadi Party supremo and Chief Minister of U.P., Mulayam
Singh is facing problem after problem prior to the Assembly
poll next month. The Sonia Congress is his main trouble-creator. The latest is the
Supreme Court direction of March 1 on a PIL by allegedly a Congress sympathizer for a CBI enquiry into his and his
family’s assets reportedly
disproportionate to their known sources of income. Constitutional experts have
described the directive on March 1 as singularly ill-timed, if not faulty, since
election to the Assembly had already
been announced on February 21. Fali Nariman, a senior Advocate of the Supreme Court
recalls a contempt petition against Narasimha Rao, then Prime Minister, in the
Babri Masjid case. The matter came up before a double-bench, headed by Justice
Bharucha when elections were round the corner. The bench preferred adjournment
beyond elections, so that the Court was not drawn into any political
controversy.
Meanwhile, encouraged by its remarkable electoral victories
in Punjab and Uttarakhand, the BJP has decided
to field almost all its front-ranking leaders to campaign in the seven-phase Assembly poll in U.P., starting April 7. Former Party
Chief Venkaiah Naidu has been made incharge of election management. Naidu’s
selection is expected to prevent “parallel power centres” that have been the
bane of the party in recent years. An old warhorse who can get every one to
work, Naidu is hopeful of wining upto 300 of the 403 Assembly
seats through electoral understanding with the NDA partners, especially the
Janata Dal (U) of Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar and the Kurmi-dominated Apna
Dal of Sonelal Patel. Both these parties have pre-dominantly OBC
constituencies. The BJP is also hoping that the upper castes would also support
it, despite desparate efforts of the Congress
to win them back.
* * * *
Crown Of Thorns For
Khanduri
Uttarakhand’s new Chief Minister, Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri
seems to have won a crown of thorns, if the post-poll developments are any
indication. A retired Major-General of the Corps of Engineers, he has been
chosen because of the great administrative and organizational capabilities he showed
as a Union Minister in the NDA Government.
But he has a challenging task ahead. With the BJP’s 34 MLAs in the
70-member Assembly, he cobbled up
his majority with the support of two Independents, both Congress rebels, and the three-member Uttarakhand Kranti
Dal (UKD). But more difficult for him is to bring Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, a
Thakur, on board. The former CM was a strong contender for the chair a second
time and refused to accept Deputy CMship or Speakership obviously under protest.
Thakurs have a sizeable strength. Khanduri is a Brahmin.
* * * *
Badal For Good
Governance
After finishing the task of Ministry-making in one go with
all Cabinet-rank 17 Ministers (12 from his SAD and 5 from the BJP), Parkash
Singh Badal has set the tone for his governance: Clean administration and “back
to the people approach”. Badal’s first major engagement on taking over the
reins of the State for the fourth time was to address
a meeting of all the Secretaries and financial Commissioners
to emphasize the need for what he described as “positive and constructive
approach to governance” with no place for “personal” agenda. Badal has also
given high priority to reviving the State Legislative Council to rope in
talented people as law makers, people who have excelled in various fields but
shied away from contesting elections because of the rough and tumble of
electoral politics.
* * * *
Sonia’s Good Chit
To Hooda
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda could not have
asked for more. At the Navyug rally at
Sirsa on the occasion of the second anniversary of his Congress Government on March 2, it was none less than the party Chief, Sonia Gandhi, who gave him
a good chit, declaring him “successful
with distinction”. Indeed Haryana today is reaching new milestones on almost
every developmental front like industry, agriculture, education, health, roads
etc, thanks to the far-sighted policies of the Hooda Government. Reputed industrial establishments and
multinational companies are increasingly investing in industrial zones of the
State. Expressways and flyover are
being constructed fast; also technology parks and industrial townships are coming
up. In the last two years, the Hooda Government has increased employment
generation more than three times.
* * * *
Naxals Kill
Jharkhand MP
The killings of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Sunil Mahato and
three others in broad daylight prove once more that the writ of the Government
does not run in a vast area of Jharkhand where the Naxalites are in control. It
was the worst attack in the recent past. The killers entered a crowded football
ground in a vehicle, got down at the place where the MP had come to inaugurate
a match, shot him and his aides, set ablaze his car and escaped. Hundreds of
people remained mute spectators. Obviously, there was no mystery about the
attack. Mahato was known to be actively working to control the Naxals’ violent
activities that included looting of trains and snatching of weapons from the
policemen. The Naxalite menace has now become a major national problem with at
least 76 districts in 18 States in their grip.
* * * *
Shaky Coalition In
J&K
The ruling Congress-PDP
alliance is increasingly becoming shaky with the latter strongly demanding reduction
of troops in the Valley and withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
from the State. The situation came to such a pass
last week that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to intervene to diffuse the
crisis in the coalition Government when the PDP, the main ally in the Ghulam
Nabi Azad-led Government, took an extreme position on the vital
security-related issue. While both
the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister have stated that the troops reduction
could be contemplated only if terrorist activities ended in the troubled State,
former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has renewed the plea for troops
reduction, stating “why use a hammer to kill a fly”.
* * * *
Cauvery Issue Reaches Boiling Point
The prolonged Cauvery waters dispute mainly between
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has reached a boiling point. The controversy has taken
a political turn at the Centre, with the UPA Government finding it difficult to
notify the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal which has hiked
Tamil Nadu’s share from 206 tmc ft in its interim order of 1991 to 419 tmc ft,
leaving 270 tmc ft to Karnataka. The latter is upset and tense about it,
because the State where the river originates is required to release to Tamil
Nadu an additional 192 tmc ft annually. Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda led an
all-party delegation to New Delhi
and wants the issue discussed in Parliament.
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee met MPs from both the States on Tuesday to
find a common meeting ground. But the discussions
between the two sides turned so heated that the Speaker decided to shelve the issue for the time being.
* * * *
Kerala: Cop Crime
State
The police seems to be usurping the criminals’ territory in
Kerala. A report recently compiled by the State police, first of its kind in
the country, has revealed that as many as 850 personnel in the force are
presently facing criminal charges. The personnel from the rank of Constable to
DSP stand accused to crimes like rape, murder, house-breaking, immoral trafficking
and atrocities against women. The figure of crime by the men in uniform relates
to the period between 2000 and 2006. The State police’s own report has also
revealed that as many as 14 of the accused are from the intelligence wing of
the force and most of them are facing forgery charges. Incredibly, seven of
them are from the Crime Branch. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Three Assembly Polls:CONGRESS ROUTED OUT IN TWO, by Insaf,1 March 2007 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 1 March 2007
Three Assembly Polls
CONGRESS ROUTED OUT
IN TWO
By Insaf
The outcome of the three Assembly
elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur
has clearly shown once more that the voter now understands the value of his
vote and wants good, clean governance.
If the Congress Governments
have been routed out in Punjab and
Uttarakhand, the Manipurians have retained the party in office for another term
in the interest of moderation and stability. In Punjab where no party or
combine has been voted consecutively for a second term during the last 20 years
or so, the Akali Dal-BJP combine has this time romped home with a clear
majority, bagging 67 seats in the 117-member Assembly
and leaving the ruling Congress
behind with 44 seats. However, despite
the defeat, the Congress has
recorded in its favour a swing of five per cent of the votes polled in 2002. It
has also improved its position in the rural areas, thanks to considerable
development under the outgoing Amarinder Singh Government.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP combine improved its vote
percentage by seven and fourteen per cent respectively, mostly in the urban
areas. However, the Akalis won six seats less
than its tally of 54 in 2002. But the BJP has improved its position
considerably, to the surprise of even
its Central leadership. The party has
won 19 of the 23 seats it contested, against only three in 2002. This gives Prakash Singh Badal, fourth-time
Chief Minister of the State, a comfortable majority in the Assembly and a greater clout to the BJP in the
Ministry. Their victory is attributed to
the fact that Sikh and Hindu votes combined in the urban areas and, what is the
more, a large number of Sikh workers actively campaigned for the BJP
candidates. This was well reflected in
the victory of the BJP’s Navjot Sidhu against Finance Minister Surender Singh
Singla. The combine’s declared economic policies, especially plans for farmers
and Dalits, also helped. Surprisingly, BSP’s Mawayati received a major rebuff.
All her 113 candidates lost.
* * * *
BJP Wins In
Uttarakhand
The BJP’s victory in Uttarakhand has indeed brought back the
party to the centre-stage of national politics.
It has won 34 seats against 21 of the ruling Congress. The BJP has gained 16 seats with a vote swing of
seven per cent in its favour over its 2002 performance. But, unlike the Congress,
the saffron party has failed to secure an absolute majority in the 70-member Assembly. Much
would depend on the three independents, who are Congress
rebels. The Congress’ loss of 15 seats against the 36 it won in 2002 was mainly
due to acute infighting in the party. This led to the presence of several rebel
candidates in the fray as Independents and, significantly, an ineffective poll
campaign that failed to project the Narayan Datt Tiwari Government’s many
achievements during the last two-three years.
* * * *
Consolation In
Manipur
In Manipur, the Congress
has something to cheer about. Although the party fell short of an absolute
majority by two votes with 29 seats in the 60-member Assembly,
it should have no difficulty in forming the Government for the second time in
succession. It has the support of the current coalition
partner, the CPI, which has won four seats. In fact, the stability of the Okram
Ibobi Singh-led Ministry, which became the first Government in the State to
complete its full five-year tenure, was one of the main reasons that prompted
the people to vote it back to power. Another reason for popular support to the
Congress was its reputation for
moderation and its decision to keep away from the several underground groups
that are known to be receiving active support from politicians of other
regional parties. Significantly, the pro-NSCN United Naga Council succeeded in
sending to the Assembly six of its
eleven candidates for pursuing its demand for the creation of Nagalim or
greater Nagaland.
* * * *
Poll Pitch Moves To
U.P.
Poll campaigning in UP has jazzed up with the rout of the
Congress in adjoining Uttarakhand,
once the hilly part of the larger State. The BJP and the BSP of Mayawati,
emboldened by their success in
Uttarakhand, have moved their crack troops into U.P. for the poll in seven
phases, starting April 7. Adding to the excitement is the ruling Samajwadi Party
supremo Mulayam Singh’s success in
winning the seventh vote of confidence in his Government (the second in two
months) on Monday in a near-empty House. The BSP, Congress
and the RLD stayed away and the BJP walked out of the Assembly,
leaving Mulayam Singh to sail through comfortably. The trust motion was passed by a voice vote after which the Speaker Pandey adjourned
the House to meet again on March 12.
* * * *
Madhya Pradesh
Towards Progress
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh has
reason to celebrate. He and his Government received a major compliment the
other day from the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission,
Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Madhya Pradesh, he said, was moving in the right
direction on the economic development front. The occasion was the Chief
Minister’s discussion with the
Planning Commission for finalising
the State’s annual plan for 2007-08. The
plan has been pegged at Rs.12,011 crore, a hike of Rs.2061 crore in the current
year’s allocation. Considering the State’s progress
roadmap, the Commission has
allocated a one-time additional Central assistance
of Rs.111 crore for projects of special benefit to the State, which has made
appreciable progress in the social
sector, especially education and health. The Commission
has also appreciated the continuous efforts to improve irrigation and women
empowerment. The Commission has,
however, advised acceleration of efforts for employment generation and poverty
reduction.
* * * *
Special Central
Grant For Orissa
Orissa, too, has
been given an additional one-time grant of Rs.80 crore for projects of special
interest to the State. This was announced by the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Ahluwalia while finalizing
with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik the State’s annual plan for 2007-08 in New Delhi last week. Ahluwalia complimented the State for its
economic performance, pointing out that Orissa
had developed potential to go for a higher plan size for the Eleventh Plan
(2007-12). There has been a substantial
improvement both on revenue deficit and fiscal deficit. The Commission has noticed that the State Government has
created an investor-friendly environment and a large amount of foreign
investment has been indicated. Several foreign companies have shown interest in
setting up industrial projects in Orissa.
* * * *
Gujarat’s Tax-Free
Budget
Gujarat’s Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala
has presented a tax-free budget for 2007-08. He has also announced in his
proposals an additional tax relief of about Rs.400 crore, leaving a deficit of Rs.70
crore which he hopes to meet by reducing Government and non-development
expenditure. Chief Minister Narendra
Modi has described the budget as “pro-people”, benefiting more than 90 per cent
of the poor and middle-class
families. The Finance Minister has also announced a massive
Rs. one-lakh crore outlay for the State’s Eleventh Plan (2007-08). It will be
more than double the Tenth Plan outlay of Rs.47,000 crore. The State Government
is hoping to achieve a 10.62 per cent growth rate at the end of the Tenth Plan.
* * * *
Fresh Trouble In
Singur
Fresh trouble has arisen for the West Bengal Government and
its Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee over the farmland acquired for the
Tata car project at Singur. Over 350 protestors tried to force their way into
the village on Saturday last in a bid to damage the fence around the project
site. Most of the protestors are
marginal land owners who are dissatisfied
with the compensation package. To make matters worse, the Calcutta High Court
has pulled up the State Government on a batch of public-interest litigations
(PILs) for following two sets of compensation rules for the acquisition of
land. The Court has directed the Government to show it all the documents and
agreements in this regard. Nevertheless,
the Tatas are pushing ahead with their plans for manufacturing a people’s car
of Rs. one lakh---and keeping their fingers crossed.
---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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