Round The States

New Delhi, 9 February 2012

Assembly Porn

KARNATAKA, BJP SHAMED

By Insaf

Karnataka’s Vidhan Souda has been put to shame, indeed! The State Assembly’s BJP members are trying hard to stave off the scandal of their own brood’s version of the Dirty Picture. But, it is not going to be easy. This, despite the fact that the DV Sadananda Gowda government’s ratings have fallen low, very low, not only in the State but across the country.  The three Ministers, Lakshman Savadi (Minister for Co-operation), C.C. Patil (Women and Child Development) and Krishna Palemar (Ports and Environment), who were caught indulging in watching and sharing pornography on a mobile phone in the House have had no choice but to resign. They did so on Wednesday last and shall face an inquiry ordered by the Speaker. However, while they and their leaders are confident they will come out unscathed, this amoral incident has clearly exposed the hypocrisy of the BJP and its government. Haven’t we all read headlines of how Valentine’s Day and a drink by women at Pubs in the State and especially its buzzing IT capital Bangalore, invites its activists wrath? Have we forgotten that dancing in bars is not allowed after 11.30 p.m in the city, that one of the ministers had quote of the day by stating that women are molested because they dress indecently, etc! The BJP can ill-afford to give sermons now. It must put its house in order, stop making more ridiculous statements and ensure it offers an apology to the people. For they have another reason to question the integrity of their representatives.

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UP In ‘Record’ Mode

Uttar Pradesh is looking set for a ‘record’ election. The first of the 7-phase polling on Wednesday last, witnessed unprecedented voter turnout, 62-64 per cent, since Independence!   It signals trouble for Mayawati’s BSP and hope for Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, as a higher turnout, and that too of young voters, is normally interpreted as a mood for change. Remember, that polling in these 55 constituencies in 10 districts was 46.36 per cent in 2007 polls, where a strong anti-incumbency wave against the SP had helped BSP takeover the State’s reins. While the Election Commission seeks to take credit for this record, saying its voter education and higher enrolment campaign yielded results, it needs to worry about another one in the making. So far, 30-odd criminals, gangsters and mafia dons are contesting for an Assembly seat from jails! Even if they are from fringe parties, it is a sad reflection that the EC can do little about criminalization of politics, which sadly goes unchecked.

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Negligent Gujarat   

Gujarat’s BJP government under Narendra Modi has too much on its plate this week. One, it is smarting under the hard knock from the High Court on Wednesday last, over the State and police intelligence’s inaction and negligence in preventing the 2002 riots. Two, it has to either compensate the damage done to 600-odd religious structures across the State or reimburse the repair costs to the trusts looking after these. The HC was hearing a PIL filed by the Islamic Relief Committee, Gujarat in 2003, on the damage to religious places during the riots. It contended it was the State’s duty to protect these, as it had done by compensating the damage caused to residential and business buildings. Three, in the midst of all this, the Centre has asked the Modi government to immediately cancel the ensuing visit of a high-level Chinese delegation. Reason: it is being led by the vice-governor of Zhejiang province, where two Indian businessmen were severely harassed and that the local government did precious help for their release.

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Bengal-Delhi Fight

The relationship between West Bengal and New Delhi is getting disdainfully sour. True to her inimical style, Chief Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee, appears to be rearing for a fight with partner Congress, who till recently was undeniably pampering her. Spats between the two have been witnessed these past few months over infant deaths, farmers’ suicides, insulting ministers, funds etc. This past week, it was time for another one, even if it’s nothing new and over money again. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra claims Delhi has not paid a single paisa to the State and that CM has written to Prime Minister seeking fertilizer subsidy and waiver of farmers’ debts. But, why is an obvious question for the Centre to ask. It rubbishes Bengal’s claim and asserted on Wednesday last that the State has received Rs 23,695 crore in financial packages since May 2011, the time Mamata took over the reins of the Government. While who is right and where will this bickering lead to,  one thing is certain, other States, especially Opposition-ruled shall benefit from this scuffle. They now have fresh ammunition to fire at the Centre for always meting out step-motherly treatment.

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Centre Pat To Bihar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is pleased with the State’s development. More so, as he has got a pat from none other than his arch critic, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, CP Joshi. While it’s not unusual that Union Ministers have a kind word for the State government, specially when it plays hosts for functions such as inaugurations etc, Joshi seems to have been rather lavish with his praise. While opening the Rs 400 crore Kosi Mahasetu 1.8 km bridge on Wednesday last, he thanked Nitish for “successful implementation of Central projects” and unhesitatingly stated he was happy with the State’s progress under his leadership. According to him, Nitish was one of the few who get what they dream and he envied him! All this praise now, as against criticism of “tardy implementation” of Central projects in Bihar when he was Rural Development Minister, has led to speculation. Is it aimed to reach out to the JD(U) leader towards a possible alliance with the UPA in future? While many would shoot down the idea, time alone will tell, like it did when the JD(U) finally said no to ally with its NDA partner, the BJP for Uttar Pradesh elections.

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AP Forest Loss

Andhra Pradesh is a misfit in today’s world of being environment-friendly. In its report covering two years, 2009-11, the Forest Survey of India, has noted that the country recorded a loss of 367 sq km of forests, of which the southern State accounts for almost half of it. On Tuesday last, the report to the Union Environment Ministry stated that Khammam district alone lost 132 sq km of green cover during this period. The reason being two-fold: Left-wing extremists cutting down forests and the paper pulp industry harvesting old eucalyptus plantations. However, the explanation blaming the naxals doesn’t make much sense as States hit by Left-wing extremists such as Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have either seen stagnation or growth of their forest cover during the same period. While the former has seen a growth of 83 sq km, the latter has recorded a net loss of only 4 sq km. Can Andhra offer a viable explanation? ---INFA 

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