Round The States

New Delhi, 15 September 2011

Eight CMs Skip NIC

REDRAFT COMMUNAL BILL

By Insaf

The all important National Integration Council (NIC) headed by the Prime Minister is the latest victim of intra-party wrangling. Shockingly, eight Chief Ministers stayed away from the NIC’s fifteenth meeting in Union Capital Delhi on Sunday last. Worse, the absentees included not only those belonging to the NDA but also a key UPA ally West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee. This is not all. Even the Congress’ own Chief Ministers in Kerala Oommen Chandy and Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot failed to show up. While the former ostensibly excused himself on the grounds that he was busy with Onam festivities, the latter over the acute drought conditions in his State. The other CMs who skipped the meet did so to register their angst against the Centre. Gujarat’s CM Narendra Modi was absent due to his running battle with Governor Kamla Beniwal on the Lokayukta issue, key allies JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Akali’s Prakash Singh Badal in Punjab along-with Orissa’s Naveen Patnaik, UP’s Mayawati and Tamil Nadu’s Jayalalitha stayed away as they were miffed over the provisions in the Communal Violence Bill.

Importantly, representatives of these States termed the legislation “as dangerous” as it would hurt the federal structure of the country and violated the spirit of the Constitution.  As it not only usurps the powers of the States but also encroaches on personal liberty and discriminates on the basis of caste and religion. The CPM demanded that hate speeches and demonization of minorities should be illegalized and action taken whilst UP’s Mayawati wondered why the Bill had not been circulated. Dittoed Bihar’s Nitish and Orissa’s Patnaik who asserted the objectionable provisions would directly affect the autonomy of the States. Also, opposed were provisions that created an impression that the majority community was always responsible for communal incidence along-with provisions of promulgating Article 355 which gave the Centre a right to intervene. Bluntly, the message to the Centre was clear: Redraft the Bill.  Will the Centre heed?

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Uttarakhand Gets New CM

The old order gave way to the new in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand when Retd Major General B.C. Khanduri replaced Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ as Chief Minister.  Indeed life has come a full circle for Khanduri who makes a come back to the Chief Ministerial gaddi after two years. Recall, he made way for Nishank following the party’s debacle in the 2009 general elections when the BJP failed to net any of the five Lok Sabha seats. With Assembly elections due early next year, the change of guard was imperative given that Nishank’s reign was viewed as not only lackluster but also plagued by serious allegations of corruption. It is a moot point whether the former army major will be able to galvanise the Party cadres and ride the crest of victory?

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Naxal Districts On Notice

All Naxal-hit States have been put on notice by Union Home Minister Chidambaram. At a brain storming session with Collectors of 60 Maoists-hit districts he made plain that “the burden on governance cannot be shifted from the Central Government and must rest with the States. The States need to strike a balance between development and security”, he added for good measure. Underscoring, that the battle against the Maoists was not only about maintaining law and order but also for winning the minds and hearts of the people. To achieve this he extolled the district heads to keep villagers on their side. He further reiterated his argument by highlighting that whereas left-wing extremism had killed 297 people only 26 had been murdered in terrorist violence and 46 in insurgency. To strengthen the State hands to bolster its anti-Naxal operations the CRPF is all set to hire more than 2000 ex-army personnel. Perhaps taking a leaf from his suggestion the Maharashtra Government is planning to start kindergarten to post-graduate educational hubs for tribal students in Gadchiroli and Gondia districts of Vidarbha. It remains to be seen how the States bridge the trust deficit governance and development deficit?

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Communal Clash In Rajasthan

Communal violence continues to dot the countryside, this time round in Rajasthan notwithstanding the controversy over the National Communal Bill. Only three days ago, clashes between the Gujjars and Muslim Meo’s left over nine dead, six Muslims and three Gujjars, and several injured including policemen in the State’s Bharatpur district. The fracas was over a piece of land in the Kaman Tehsil with both communities laying claim on it. While the Muslims said it was their graveyard, the Gujjars denied this it. The Muslims accused the Gujjars of entering a mosque and set ablaze eight shops. Even intervention by two MLAs belonging to the Congress and BJP that the court was seized of the matter, was to no avail. All fingers are crossed that normalcy returns soon to this tourist town.

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Mamta’s Land Policy

West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is all set to blaze a new course on the contentious land acquisition policy. The key clauses of the draft Bill tabled to the State Cabinet are that no land acquisition would be made for private investors, not even for projects in the public-private partnership model as also no setting up of Special Economic Zones. The Government would hence forth acquire land only for its own projects like building bridges, hospitals, laying of railway tracks, irrigation projects and those  relating to internal security. Needless to say the West Bengal CM’s Bill is different from all other land legislations proposed by the Centre or announced by other States. Haryana and UP have kept a provision for acquisition of land for both Government and private projects. Clearly, Mamata has translated her ‘mass protests’ in Singur and Nandigram which swept her to power in to action!

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Tamil Nadu’s Freebies

From DMK’s Karunanidhi to AIDMK’s Jayalalitha nothing has changed in Tamil Nadu politics. Freebies continue to be the raison de atre of all State Governments. The latest in the series, is the Chief Minister’s special initiatives of providing laptops to students, free mixer-grinder and fans to help homemakers lessen their burden of domestic chores and milch cows and goats to the “poorest of the poor” to facilitate a white revolution in the State. On the fallacious belief that the sops are not ‘freebies’ as these were being given away at no cost by her Government and were aimed at uplifting the poor and the oppressed. Clearly, somebody needs a tutorial in mathematics. --- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)