Round The States

New Delhi, 26 August 2010

“Saffron Terrorism”

CENTRE ALERTS THE STATES

By Insaf

All the States have been put on the alert against what is being officially called as “saffron terrorism”. Inaugurating a Conference of Directors-General and Inspectors-Generals of police on Wednesday last in New Delhi, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram pointedly talked about “the recently uncovered phenomenon of saffron terrorism”. This form of terrorism, he stated had “been implicated in many bomb blasts of the past.” While he did not elaborate, Chidambaram was obviously hinting at the blasts in Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad in May 2007, Ajmer October 2007 and Malegaon in Maharashtra in September 2006, wherein Sangh Parivar activists or Hindu extremists groups are alleged to be involved. Expectedly, the BJP has taken strong exception to his remarks and asserted that terrorism has no colour or religion and that it could not be labelled saffron or green. What is more, the BJP leaders view Chidambaram’s stance as unabashed political posturing to please the Muslim minority once more.

Meanwhile, Kashmir poses a fresh challenge to India’s secularism. Last week the Sikh community in the Valley received anonymous letters asking it to either embrace Islam and join the protests against the Government of India or leave. While the Omar Abdullah government, the Centre and even the separatists have sought to dispel fears of various Sikh delegations which have taken up the matter, one cannot help but remember the turmoil of 1989. The State witnessed ‘ethnic cleansing’ with the separatists’ movement forcing the Kashmir Pandits to flee the Valley and, horrendously, become refugees in their own country. The 60-000 strong Sikh community is the single largest minority group in the Valley, which braved the insurgency and decided to stay back. Both the State government and the Centre are clearly on test. Will they protect the Sikhs or allow the separatists to go ahead with their plans to convert Kashmir into a wholly Muslim State.

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Haryana Farmers’ Novel Offer

Three cheers for Haryana farmers from Sirsa district for their vision and wisdom. They have decided to gift 125 acres of land to the local administration without taking a single paisa. The offer will help the District’s Deputy Commissioner to get requisite funds from the Hooda government to build a dam on the Ghaggar river and save the villages from floods. The project involves an investment of Rs 273-crore and will shortly be sent to the State Flood Control Board for approval. Forest officials too have got cracking on the project and sought clearance for felling of trees in and around the Ghaggar. Another project to raise the existing road around Sirsa town to protect it from floods has also been prepared. With the farmers’ novel offer in place, all eyes are on the Hooda Government to respond favourably to their gesture.  

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Cong Talks Tough In Andhra

The Congress High Command has finally decided to talk tough with Andhra Pradesh MP Jagan Mohan Reddy. Last week, the MP from Kadappa and son of the Late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, was cautioned by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee against undertaking the second leg of his Odarpu Yatra from September 3. It would not be tolerated and would invite disciplinary action, was the clear message. Last time, Jagan had defied the party president, Sonia Gandhi’s diktat saying that he had to console the families of those who had died due to the shock of YSR’s death. A successful yatra will not only cause the party great embarrassment but will provide leverage to Jagan to topple Chief Minister Rosaiah. The Congress can ill afford this as it views Andhra as its bastion in the South.

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NREGA A Joke In Rajasthan? 

The much-touted National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has turned out to be “cruel joke” on the villagers in Rajasthan’s Tonk district. A group of 99 people from Gudaliya village toiled for 11 days in May to dig a check-dam in the district. At the end they got a princely sum of Rs 11 each at the rate of Re 1 per day of labour! The group has refused to accept the payment saying it was a “cruel joke” and have decided to write to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot suggesting the sum should be donated to his relief fund. Sadly, this is not a lone case for the Gudaliya residents. For four jobs done between April and June the labourers were reportedly paid Rs 1, Rs 7, Rs 12 and Rs 25. With the recent case hitting the headlines, the State government has ordered a “full inquiry” into the incident on Tuesday last. In addition, it has promised to correct the lapses in the implementation of the scheme.

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Centre Yields To Uttarakhand

The Centre has finally yielded to the Uttarakhand Government. On Saturday last, the three-member GoM headed by Pranab Mukherjee reversed its earlier decision and ordered the closure of the 600 MW Loharinag Pala hydroelectric project on the Bhagirathi river, a tributary of the Ganga. The reason was not tit-for-tat as sought by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nashank, whereby his government’s two dam projects (381 MW at Bhairon ghati and 480 MW at Pala Maneri) had been stopped but one of ecological impact and “religious sentiments of millions”. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh told Insaf that though the Centre had already spent Rs 650 crore on the project, it did not want the Bhagirathi to be reduced to boulders without water. Indeed, he favours a clear policy decision taken of how many power projects any river in the Himalayas can take without losing its water.

Justice Is Criminal In UP

Uttar Pradesh is a classic case of the adage “justice delayed is justice denied.” A report submitted to the Supreme Court on Tuesday last, reveals that for 30 years no proceedings were held in 70 criminal cases! Worse, most of those involved—either the complainants, or accused, or investigating officers or even the judges would have either retired or died. Apparently, the cases are pending without investigation or trial because the Allahabad High Court stayed the proceedings and simply forgot about them! Unacceptable, the apex court has suggested that the Department of justice make UP a test case for a pilot project to speed up the justice delivery mechanism by finding out the details of cases in which trials had been stayed. One can expect more startling revelations.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)