Round The States

New Delhi, 17 March 2011

Jat Stir For Quota

TRAINS HIT, PRICES MOUNT

By Insaf

Like the proverbial bad penny the crisis over Jats demanding 27 per cent reservation in Central jobs under the OBC quota is back with a bang. Whereby in several parts of North India they have disrupted movement of nearly 700 trains. In UP alone, over 60 trains have not only been cancelled but for the first time in several decades, the State’s flagship Lucknow Mail was hit on Tuesday last. In Moradabad Division there have been a shocking 325 cancellations and 197 diversions of trains. Complicating matters further, the BSP’s supremo Mayawati has extended her Party’s support for the Jat demands. For the Dalit czarina it serves two purposes: One, it helps counter Rashtriya Lok Dal Chief Ajit Singh’s grip over the Jat voters. Two, it simultaneously creates problems for the Congress.  Recall, the Gandhi scion Rahul much-reported visit to express solidarity with farmers agitating in Aligarh over land acquisitions for the Yamuna Expressway. This is Mayawati’s tit for tat answer!

Compounding the situation, goods’ trains too have been badly hit. Leading to further escalation of food prices as also shortage of coal supply to power stations all over the country. In fact, Haryana’s Bawala power plant in Hissar is facing an acute problem as all the three available rail routes which connect are hit by the agitation. This is not all. The Jats have launched similar protest in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. It remains to be seen whether the reservation tornado will engulf the entire country in its fold once again. Meanwhile, the Central Government has finally woken up to the problem and has begun negotiations with the Jat leaders to find a via media to end the logjam.

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Of State Polls & Family

Come State Assembly elections a cursory a look at the candidates in the fray serves as a barometer of Party favorites. Typically in the Congress scheme of things the family comes first. In Assam of the 22 new faces in the poll fray, one is the son of former Assam Chief Minister, Hitishwar Saikia and another, the daughter of ex-Union Minister Santosh Mohan Deb, five are wives of deceased leaders and ministers. Four others are progenies of former MLAs, another, a daughter-in-law of a former Speaker, and the list goes on. In West Bengal, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s son is to make his debut. In Tamil Nadu Union Home Minister Chidambaram’s son is set to make his maiden entry. In Kerala, however, Union Civil Aviation Minister Vylar Ravi has dropped plans to field his daughter after criticism from party cadres. Will pressure work elsewhere?

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Army re-enters Nagaland

Nearly 14 years after the Centre brokered a ceasefire with two factions of Nagaland’s rebels, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN), the Army and Assam Rifles are all set to launch a fresh counter-insurgency operation in two districts of eastern Arunachal Pradesh following the killing of over 30 people. Seized of the matter, the Centre’s Cabinet Committee on Security decided to intervene and clear the two districts of armed militants from both rival factions. Accordingly, the police personnel deployed in the districts have been increased from the present 100. This development has also raised basic questions about the Centre's kid glove handling of the entire Naga question, often turning a blind eye to many transgressions including large-scale extortions by the NSCN’s factions. Add to this the Centre’s apathy and deliberate neglect has now resulted in the situation going out of control in Arunachal. All fingers are crossed both in the State and at the Centre that the two sides bury the hatchet.

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Kerala’s terror-politics cocktail

Kerala is fast emerging as a favourite destination for subversive activities. According to the Intelligence Bureau the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had not only re-grouped in the State but is also piggy-backing on the strong roots it has there. The terror headache zones are Binanipuram, Malapuram and Kozhikode. These areas serve as primary hubs for SIMI along-with other terror groups like the Islamic Sevak Sangh, which have by now set up over 100 modules in these areas. In fact, SIMI has started a women’s wing in Kozhikode. Worse, the Malabar Coast and its connection to the international waters has ensured that the terrorists manage to push in their arms and ammunition with much ease. Also, troublesome is that SIMI does not operate under its banner but uses several front organisations to carry out its task. This is not all. The Pakistan’s ISI is busy funding these fronts to gain a foothold in South India. With the Assembly elections round the corner, the SIMI and its front and charity organizations are bound to get hyper active. Time to nix the deadly terror-politics cocktail.

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Bangalore Traffic Goes Hi-tech

In India’s IT Capital, Bangalore is fast becoming the envy of other cities in traffic management. Whereby the Traffic Management Centre (TMC), the technology nerve centre of Bangalore traffic police, remotely monitors nearly 120 cameras put up at different junctions. In case of a violation at a signal, policemen zoom on the vehicle, capture images of its number plate and slap a fine on its owner. The record stored in the police’s central database enables the violator to check his offence on the traffic website and pay the fine at a citizen service centre, online or at a designated police station. More. Policemen equipped with BlackBerry phones and blue-tooth printers linked to a central base use it to key-in a car’s number and record the offence through the phone, checking for earlier violations. Violators can pay a fine on the spot or later while the policeman can print a receipt and hand it over immediately. A lesson for other States to use new technology in traffic control!

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Bihar Babudom Declares Assets

In a scam-scarred country, three cheers to Bihar for its initiative against corruption. Whereby, it became the first State to make public details of the assets of nearly 80,000 Government officials on the State Government’s website and for all to see. Not only babus belonging to the IAS, IPS, IFS but also the State Administration. For the black sheep bureaucrats who have yet to comply, the Administration has warned that their salaries would be withheld. The move is being seen as a step towards ending corruption as promised by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Recall, the CM and his Cabinet colleagues had posted their assets on the website as early as December last. Clearly, Bihar seems to be going a long way to bell the corruption cat! ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)