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Round The States
New Delhi, 1 April 2009
Religious
Fundamentalism?
CLERICS JOIN POLL BATTLE
By Insaf
Clerics belonging to different faiths and States are now brazenly
meddling in the politics of the forthcoming general election. In Maharashtra, the Muslim clerics, representing most of the
Sunni sects, have given an ultimatum to the Congress-NCP alliance to field at
least five Muslim candidates, or else they will campaign against the UPA nominees.
At a meeting convened by the head of All India Ulema Association, Maulana Athar
Ali, on Saturday last, over 50 imams of different mosques in Mumbai and heads
of dozens of faith-based Muslim organizations took a pledge to make appeals
from mosques “to vote for the Samajwadi Party’s Abu Asim Azmi and the BSP’s
candidate and non-Congress and non-NCP secular candidates.”
The ulemas grievance? The Muslims constitute 12 per cent of
the State’s population and had demanded that the combine field at least five
Muslim candidates. Instead, they have got only one, i.e. A R Antulay, whose
winnability they doubt. Though the ulemas move is being seen by some as helping
strengthen the saffron alliance, the Maulana is firm: “The Muslims have been
kept under this psychological fear of the saffron parties coming to power. We are
better off during Shiv Sena-BJP rule than we are now under Congress-NCP.” The
clerics want the Muslims to vote at any cost, if not for victory of other
secular candidates at least to defeat the Congress-NCP.”
* * * *
Likewise in Kerala, the Catholic Bishops Council, a common
platform of three Catholic denominations in the State, has appealed to the
laity not to vote for those preaching atheism, an obvious reference to the
ruling Left Democratic Front. The appeal, which says “send candidates to
Parliament who uphold secularism…” is part of a common pastoral letter to be
read out in all churches. Importantly, the Malankara orthodox church in
Thiruvanthapuram, has gone a step further and decided to field its own
candidates in four seats. According to its spokesperson “we have been ignored
and denied seats…Like any other community we need our representatives to speak
on national issues…”
In another unprecedented move, the Pune Diocese has come out
with a “Prayer for the Elections,” which shall reach out to a lakh Catholics.
On Sunday last, about 1,000-2,000 copies of the prayer were sent to each church
in the city and read “vote for candidates who stand for human rights and
liberty, equality, justice including minority rights…” The church involvement
seems to follow the Catholics Bishops Conference of India President Cardinal
Varkey Vithyathil’s, controversial remarks last week that compared to the
Marxists, the BJP was “a lesser evil.” Clearly, one now witnesses a new
politics of faith?
* * * *
BSP-SP Seek Mileage From Pilibhit
Meanwhile in Uttar Pradesh, Varun Gandhi’s “hate speech”
episode has shifted the focus from the BJP’s Pilibhit candidate to that of the BSP
and SP clamour for the Muslim vote bank. Initial signals emanating from
Pilibhit were that Varun would not be arrested and no step would be taken which
would evoke sympathy for the BJP’s poll prospects. However, the UP government
did otherwise and booked Varun under the National Security Act. Why? Simply
because Bahenji suspected that any
softness would be projected by her main rival, SP’s Mulayam Singh as her collusion
with the BJP.
That accomplished, Mayawati also sought to send the message to
the Muslim voters that the BSP was its only saviour. Apprehensive of losing his
vote bank to the BSP, Mulayam has finally spoken out on the episode. “The UP
government’s move cannot be justified as he (Varun) has not worked as a
traitor,” he said and alleged that “the drama was deliberate. The BSP wanted
the BJP to score some points. Why else didn’t the State government stop Varun
earlier?” Ironically, in this political conspiracy, Varun will remain in jail
under the NSA till April 13 and the outcome of the poll in the State will be
anybody’s guess.
* * * *
Tamil Nadu Stuns
UPA
After Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,
it is now the turn of Tamil Nadu to stun the UPA. On Thursday last, its key
ally, the PMK parted company with the Congress and DMK to join its arch rival
Jayalalitha’s AIADMK. Putting aside eight years of bitterness, the PMK chief Dr
S Ramadoss met Amma in Chennai and finalized the seat-sharing formula, in which
his party will contest seven of the 39 Lok Sabha seats. He has also got the PMK
Rajya Sabha seat during the biennial poll in 2010. This will ensure that his
son and former health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss retains his seat in
Parliament. In the 2004 General election, the Congress-DMK-PMK front had swept
all the 39 seats, a major reason for the NDA’s defeat. Apparently, this new
realignment is expected to tip the scales in favour of the AIADMK.
* * * *
Andhra Grand Alliance In Trouble
In Andhra Pradesh, cracks have started appearing in the
recently-formed TDP-TRS-CPM-CPI grand alliance. The seat-sharing formula agreed
to by the four parties appears to be no longer sacred. On Thursday last, the
Telengana Rashtriya Samiti unilaterally announced candidates in five seats
outside the agreement. The unethical move has not only angered the alliance
partners but has spilled onto the streets with activists ransacking TRS party
offices in the Telengana districts. Worse, the TRS itself is facing rebellion
from within. One of its Lok Sabha candidates has claimed that he paid the party
leaders Rs 10 crore for the seat! The claim was made by S Venkat Reddy in full
public view, when he was confronted by rival candidates for the Secunderbad Lok
Sabha seat at the Telengana Bhavan. Another aspirant is alleged to have paid Rs
7 crores for an Assembly seat. If the price of getting a ticket is so high, one
shudders to imagine how much they would be willing to spend on
electioneering.
* * * *
What’s In A Name?
Don’t ever ask a politician from Punjab
what’s in a name? For the State certainly keeps up its tradition of colourful
nicknames? This Lok Sabha election, a roll call of those contesting, suggests
that many a leader has adopted one. For the Bhatinda seats, the nickname
appears to be easier for all. The 13th
descendant of the royal family and former Congress Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh’s son, Raninder Singh, is “Tikku” to his friends and Tikku ji to his
supporters. His opponent, Biba Harsimrat Kaur, wife of Deputy Chief Minister
Sukhbir Singh’s wife, is addressed as “biba ji”. The Congress candidate from Faridkot,
Sukhinder Singh is “Danny’, whereas the Congress spokesperson from Ludhiana, Manish Tiwari
is preferably “Nitu”, and the Anandpur Sahib candidate is Bittu (Ravneet
Singh), grandson of former Chief Minister Beant Singh. Likewise, in the list of
sitting MLAs there is: Lov Kumar Goldy, Kaka Randeep Singh, Master Mohan Lal,
Harminder Singh Jassi, Sukhpal Singh
Nannu and Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, who is ‘kikki”. –INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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