Round The States

New Delhi, 29 October 2009

Troubled Jammu & Kashmir

PM’s FRESH GESTURE FOR PEACE

By Insaf

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s eagerly awaited visit to Jammu and Kashmir was the highlight of the week, otherwise marked by a shocking Maoist hijacking of the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express 175 km from Kolkata. In Anantnag to inaugurate a train service on Wednesday last, with Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee in tow, Singh made yet another attempt to usher in normalcy in the troubled State. He reached out to both the separatists and Pakistan for talks, but with a proviso -- the former must give up violence and the latter must rein in terror groups operating from its soil. Regrettably, the offer has been turned down by a section of the Hurriyat under hardliner Ali Shah Geelani, terming it as “nothing new.” The separatist groups had stayed away from the three roundtable talks held by the PM in 2005-06. This time they enforced a total bandh in Srinagar and most parts of the Valley. What next?  

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Maha & Haryana Vote Stability

Now that the dust has settled in the recent Assembly polls interesting facts are emerging. The people have essentially voted for stability and Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi has done well in respecting the verdict. Both Chief Ministers, Ashok Chavan in Maharashtra and Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana have been retained despite claims by detractors. It is now busy sorting out the tricky issue of ministerial berths with the alliance partner, NCP, in Maharashtra. The latter is threatening to support the Government from outside and not join if it is not given the portfolios held earlier. In contrast, Hooda has played his cards adroitly. Even when he was expecting a walkover, he did not take chances and ensured that the Opposition remained divided.  

In fact, Hooda successfully sabotaged the INLD and BJP alliance, which could have even managed to win a majority, according to pollsters. What is more, within hours of the results being announced he had the letters of support from all the seven Independents to stake his claim for forming the Government. He was sworn in on Sunday last for a second term, a record for Haryana and proved his majority on Wednesday afternoon, with the additional help of the BSP MLA. Significantly, the Haryana Janhit Congress MLAs, totaling six, abstained from voting, indirectly helping Hooda in response to the latter’s overtures for joining his alliance. Efforts are on to get former leader and HJC chief Bhajan Lal to merge his party with the Congress.  This would enable Hooda not only to give the State a “stable government” but ensure that the HJC doesn’t at some point join hands with the INLD and spell trouble.     

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Tawang Snubs China

Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh has appropriately come to the rescue of the Centre. It used the recent Assembly poll to send a loud and clear message across to Beijing. The district, for which China claims Arunachal as its territory, ensured that all of its three MLAs from Tawang, Lumla and Mukto were elected unopposed. “We decided we shouldn’t fight among ourselves and should let the strongest voices against Beijing win without facing the battle of the ballot,” said a jubilant Congress leader after the party’s victory. Dorjee Khandu, decisively elected as Chief Minister for the second term was even more firm: “Arunachal was, is and will be part of India. We see no reason to be on the defensive whenever Beijing makes an unnecessary noise,” he said happy with a record 72 per cent turnout. In fact, some people in the district even rushed to sport the indelible ink on their index finger “for the pleasure of showing it to big bad China.” 

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Polls In Jharkhand

Curtains will finally be rung down on the controversial President’s rule in Jharkhand.  Twenty-four hours after the Congress won all three State polls last week, the Election Commission announced dates for the Maoist-infested State. Given the grave naxal threat, polling will be staggered over five days beginning November 27 and ending December 18. Counting will be held on December 23, completing the process before Xmas as 40 per cent of the State’s population is Christian. So far, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has said that it will contest all 81 seats on its own, projecting Shibu Soren as the Chief Ministerial candidate. Recall, President’s rule was imposed in January last when Soren lost the byelection to the Assembly and he and the UPA were unable to agree on his successor. However, Lok Janshakti Party President Ram Vilas Paswan wants the Congress to form a secular alliance with the RJD-LJP Front, JMM and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. If this happens, the going will become tougher for an already beleaguered BJP, which had vociferously campaigned for an end to the President’s rule.

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Mayawati In Trouble

BSP supremo Mayawati’s grandiose plans of being “kingmaker” have come crashing down again. Her party fared miserably in both Haryana and Maharashtra, forcing many to ask whatever happened to this great dalit leader. Worse, there is a nagging fear that the dismal performance may cast a shadow on the byelections to 12 seats next month in the party-ruled Uttar Pradesh. The BSP had contested all 288 seats in Maharashtra, home state to Baba Sahib Bhimrao Ambedkar with 30 per cent of the population Scheduled Castes. It failed to win even a single seat, whereas rival Samajwadi Party bagged four. In adjoining Haryana, an over confident Mayawati broke a poll alliance with Haryana Janhit Congress and put up candidates in all 90 seats. She also campaigned extensively but won only a solitary seat. Remember, the BSP had secured 15.75 per cent vote in the Lok Sabha poll and was determined to establish a foothold in the Dalit strongholds. Now bahenji has to concentrate on saving her hold in UP itself.

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Orissa Is Now ‘Odisha’

Orissa is soon to be known by a new name, ‘Odisha’ and the Oriya language is to be now Odia. This follows the Union Cabinet’s nod last week to the BJD-led Government’s proposal for the rechristening in August last year. The State will now be pronounced in “its own language.” While the ‘Odiyas’ are bound to rejoice, neighbouring West Bengal has reason to sulk. The Centre has been sitting pretty over its proposal to rechristen the State to “Bangla” for nearly a decade now. It was on 28 December 1999 that the CPM-led Government had requested the Centre for the change under Article 3(e) of the Constitution, wherein neither House of Parliament can deliberate on the matter or introduce a Bill to change the spelling or name of a State without the recommendation of the President. Intriguingly, the Centre has been prompt (within a year) in changing the name of Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand in 2007. The question Bengalis rightly ask: What about us? ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)