Round The States

New Delhi, 18 February 2010

Maoists’ Ruthless Attack

SHADOW OVER ANTI_NAXAL STRATEGY

By Insaf

The ruthless and cold-blooded attack by the Maoists on the police camp in Silda in West Midnapore district of West Bengal has cast a sinister shadow on the much-hyped Centre-State strategy to fight the growing naxal threat. Not only has it spotlighted the need for better coordination between the State police and the Central paramilitary forces, it has also underlined the need for the Centre to re-think its military solution of “Operation Green Hunt.” Less than a week after a “successful” meeting between the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Chief Ministers and top officials of four Naxal-affected States, around 80 Maoist guerrillas attacked the Eastern Frontier Rifles police camp, 170 km from Kolkatta on Monday last, killing 24 personnel and looting 40-odd weapons.

It was the biggest attack launched by the Maoists in the State, if not in India, and forced Chidambaram to admit that there were “indications of failure in some aspects.” While initial report suggests it is the handiwork of the CPI (Maoist) and that they came from Jharkhand, only a thorough review would reveal how the camp with adequate strength was overrun in broad daylight. Till then, Chidambaram has appealed: “It is only if the whole country rejects the preposterous thesis of the CPI (Maoist) and condemns the so-called armed liberation struggle that we can put an end to the menace.”  

Importantly, Bihar’s Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, who was unable to attend the Kolkata meeting, has his own view on the matter. He feels that the “armed offensive” is not a permanent solution and disagrees with the Centre’s strategy of “Operation Green Hunt.” Naxalism, he asserts, was not a new problem limited to a single State. Of course, he does not recommend “merely sitting and watching our soldiers die.” But he wants “Naxal-infested areas to be saturated with development programmes.” As against this, the ruling CPM in West Bengal wants the Centre to ensure immediate start of joint operations across the border in Jharkhand and better coordination between the State police and the Central paramilitary forces. The attack has also prompted the State government to opt for a policy of “shoot to kill” against Left-wing extremists.  

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ITIs For Naxal-Hit States

Meanwhile, the Centre is on another constructive track. It has decided to provide avenues of education and self-employment to youth who could otherwise be probable recruits for the extremists. It is gearing up to set up technical training institutes in the 33 Left-wing insurgency-hit districts in the eight Naxal-infested States. The proposal is to have 204 industrial training institutes (ITIs), one in almost every block, which will help encourage the youth to take up self-employment. The move follows a recent study, which revealed massive disparity in the numbers of ITIs and industrial training centres (ITCs) in the Left-wing extremism-affected and non-affected districts of these States. Shockingly, the Labour Ministry data shows that 196 ITIs and ITCs exist in 33 districts while an estimated 3,110 such institutions are there in the non-affected districts of these eight States. On an average each district in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh have 13 ITIs and ITCs, whereas the average number of institutions in Naxalite-hit districts of these States is only six. The proposal is certain to yield dividends. But it has first to be implemented.  

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Telengana Trouble Continues

Telengana continues to cause trouble despite the creation of the Justice Srikrishna Committee. The resignation of 12 MLAs --- 10 from Telengana Rashtra Samiti and one each from the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP --- has been accepted. (119 of 294 MLAs of the State Assembly are from Telengana). Ruling Party MLAs from Telengana raised slogans and staged a noisy walkout during Governor E.L. Narasimhan’s maiden address to the joint session to protest against the “unfavourable terms of reference” of the Justice Srikrishna Committee. Even as the Governor’s address was in progress, students and police fought pitched battles on the Osmania University campus. No less unfortunate is the assumption by the Assembly Speaker, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, of more powers than time-honoured conventions permit. He ruled the other day: “Even if the resignations are in proper format, it is totally under the Speaker’s discretion to determine whether the resignations are voluntary or not!”

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MP Govt’s Clean-Up Act

Stung by recent cases of brazen corruption within the State’s bureaucracy, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has cracked the whip. All ministers and IAS and IPS officers in the State will now be required to declare their assets online. All  the ministers will submit details of their properties to the Assembly Speaker during the next session, after which the information will be made public. Simultaneously, all IAS and IPS officers have been asked to do the same “as soon as possible.” This follows a decision of the State Information Commission wherein its Chief Commissioner, PP Tiwari, had overruled his juniors’ decision not to provide the said information on the ground that it “was an infringement on their privacy.”  He asserted: “If it is lawful for candidates to declare their properties before getting elected, then “it is necessary, especially in the interest of fighting corruption, that those who are already holding positions be made to declare their assets.”  There could be no separate yardstick for elected representatives and bureaucrats.

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Rajasthan Too For Transparency

Meanwhile, Rajasthan too has moved forward in the battle against corruption. Its Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has asked his Council of Ministers to submit details of their assets within a fortnight. They can submit the declaration of their property and other valuables either to the Chief Minister or to the General Administration Department. Gehlot has clarified that his move was in compliance with the Election Commission’s code of conduct for Chief Ministers and Ministers. He said: “This is going to be an annual programme. True it could not be done in the first year. However, all ministers had already submitted the details of their assets at the time of filing their nominations for the Assembly election.” Gehlot has given one other significant assurance. The CBI or the anti-corruption department would be allowed to function unhindered in the prosecution of senior bureaucrats whose premises were raided recently and massive corruption exposed.

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Gujarat Relaxes Prohibition

Unbelievable but true. Mahatma Gandhi’s Gujarat, which led all others in enforcing prohibition in its State, has decided to relax its policy. The reason? Tourism. Visitors from outside the State (both Indian and foreign) will now be issued a permit on arrival at Ahmedabad domestic airport for buying and consuming liquor during their sojourn in the State. A special counter at the Ahmedabad airport started functioning from Wednesday last where a domestic air traveller  on production of residential proof of having an address from any place outside Gujarat would be able to secure the permit on payment of fees. On the basis of the feedback of the functioning of the special counter, the facility would later be extended to other airports in the State, including the Ahmedabad International air terminal. ---INFA

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