Round The States

New Delhi, 24 June 2009

Centre Bans Maoists

WEST BENGAL DITHERING

By Insaf

West Bengal is not only in the cross-hairs of Naxalisms but is now busy grappling with another storm brewing in Writers Building. Thanks to a controversy over the question of going along with the Centre’s decision banning the CPI (Maoists) as a terrorist organization. This follows the CPM General Secretary’s Prakash Karat’s ‘supreme’ diktat that the Left-wing extremist group should be engaged “politically and administratively” to “isolate” them from the people instead of banning them. Though State Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has made plain his opposition to the Karat line, he now faces the tough and specious suggestion of “politically and administratively” engaging with a terror group banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Adding to the State’s quandary is Karat’s latest missive: West Bengal Government had no intention of banning the CPI(Maoist). Going in for the jugular, the CM cryptically asserted that it was the “State Government’s business” to implement the ban. How?

Ban or no ban, the Maoists continue to rule the roost in Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa by holding an effective two-day bandh. Notwithstanding, the Centre’s rejection of the Maoists “peace offer” as a “diversionary” ploy to escape the onslaught by the security forces in Lalgarh. A group of 50 armed naxals stormed the civil court building in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district, adjoining Patna and freed their commander. A home guard was killed and seven others injured in the indiscriminate firing by the Maoists. In Jharkhand, the Maoists blew up a panchayat building in Palamu district; in West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal and in Maoists-hit southern and western districts of Orissa, normal life was affected.  

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Failed Monsoon Worries States

With the risk of a failed monsoon looming large, both the Centre and State Governments fear the worst: a possible drought, crop failure, economic recovery being hit, farmers’ protest and rising food prices. The meteorologists have warned of the El Nino effect, i.e. a periodic weather anomaly that saps the monsoon of its strength most of the time it occurs. While the Centre is keeping a close watch and has called for States’ agriculture secretaries meeting, some Chief Ministers including Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh’s, are resorting to yagyas (prayers) to please the rain gods. In Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra the farmers are fearing large-scale crop loss, while in Kerala and Uttarakhand among others, the shrinking reservoirs would clearly affect power generation and release of water to irrigated tracts. With 60 per cent of the country’s net sown area depending on rains all eyes are on the weather gods.

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UPA to Stake Claim In Jharkhand?

Jharkhand has given the UPA fresh hope of staking claim to form the State government. In the bye-elections held to the two Rajya Sabha seats on Sunday last, the combine wrested the seats from the NDA, which fell vacant following BJP’s Yashwant Sinha and JD (U) Digvijay Singh election to the Lok Sabha. The State has been under President’s rule since January after the UPA was unable to agree on JMM leader Shibhu Soren’s successor. However, with its new found victory and ‘enough’ numbers in the 82-member House, the JMM leaders plan to go to Delhi to impress upon the Congress High Command to withdraw President rule. On the other hand, the BJP is mulling over the latest shock of its own allies ditching it in the State.   

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Maharashtra Spells Trouble for BJP

Adding to its woes, Maharashtra continues to spell double-trouble for the BJP. Barely had it recovered from setting its Uttarakhand house in order, by anointing Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank as the new Chief Minister, the Phoenix of factionalism savaged by internal bickering, stares the Hindutva Brigade in the face in the Western State. Infighting continues to fester between former Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde and the State BJP President Nitin Gadkari engaged in a debilitating one-upmanship tussle. With Assembly elections due in October it is imperative for the Saffron leadership to put up an improved performance in the coming polls. Given the severe reverses it suffered along with ally Shiv Sena in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. A victory would go a long way in re-energising the Party cadres. Besides, a third consecutive defeat for the two NDA partners in the State would not only raise serious questions about their ability to defeat the Congress-NCP combine, but, more important, it would put a big question mark on the viability of the alliance itself.

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Bihar CM Nets RJD Leaders

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar never had it so good. It’s raining ‘MLAs’ literally with his JD(U) being inundated by requests from arch-rival Lalu’s RJD and Paswan’s LJP leaders to join the Party. In the last few months alone a number of RJD-LJP leaders have switched loyalties. Nitish’s latest prize catch is RJD’s Dalit face eight-time MLA and Minister Ramai Ram and his daughter Geeta, an MLC. For already-down-in-the dumps Laloo and Paswan struggling to keep their flock together post the Lok Sabha poll mauling, these desertions spell double-trouble. One, it sent out a strong signal that their days of ‘Partying’ are numbered. Two, their plans to rebuild their respective Parties has hit the first obstacle. Call it poetic justice or what you may, but nemesis seems to have caught up with them. Will Nitish have the last laugh?

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Delhi Tops Infant Deaths

Delhi, the Union Capital is no place for infants. No matter its claim to all-round development and a third consecutive win for the Shiela Dikshit Government.  The number of children dying within the first year of birth has doubled in the past two years, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi for 2008-09. The infant mortality rate in 2007 was 25.4 deaths per 1,000 children between the age of 0 and 1 year, as against 12.9 in 2006 and 18.1 in 2005. While the State government can take solace from the fact that the Capital’s IMR is better than the national average of 55, the recent survey comes as a severe jolt as it’s the only State to have a rising IMR. The last time Delhi had such a high IMR was in 2001 (24.5 deaths). Though the government has been raising the budget for health care, the latest being an allotment of Rs 1,019 crore, the sorry state of affairs obviously reveals that the medical system is crumbling.  

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Karnataka’s All-Women Prison

Karnataka is soon to have its first all-women prison, in the footsteps of an all-women police station. The State Government has decided to convert an existing jail in Tumkur, to meet its long-pending commitment of a separate prison to curb harassment and exploitation of women inmates. Having got the nod, the prison authorities have asked the PWD to renovate the historic jail. Other than roomier cells and recreation centres, the prison is expected to have a crèche to accommodate the inmates’ children, a hospital and classrooms for continuing education. Statistics show that 180 women convicts and 200 women undertrials are languishing in different jails. Many of them, however, can now look forward to being ‘treated with dignity’ under one roof. --INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)