Round The States
New Delhi, 22 March 2012
Jharkhand Scandal
MONEY TALKS IN
RAJYA SABHA
By Insaf
Jharkhand has removed whatever little doubts there were over
seats being up for sale in our parliamentary democracy. The ongoing election to
the Council of State, Rajya Sabha, should make many hang their heads in shame.
And, one can thank the “party with a difference”, the BJP for bringing the
scourge to the fore. On Wednesday, it was forced to reverse its shameful
decision of supporting London-based businessman Anshuman Mishra's bid for a
seat in the House. The party asked its MLAs not to vote for the Independent.
While Mishra has withdrawn from the contest, the BJP president Nitin Gagkari
cannot wash his hands off the controversy. Several MPs within the party had
spoken out harshly against his decision to support Mishra in the first place.
Of particular import is what Yashwant Sinha stated. He openly declared that his
party “had put a price tag on its MLAs” and that MLAs “were being put on the
auction block!” Sadly, the House has been a route for businesspersons and the
rich to enter Parliament. Last year, there were 100 members in the Rajya Sabha
who were worth more than Rs. 1 crore!. Party leaders too are not behind. BJP’s
Arun Jaitley has declared assets worth Rs 158 crores and BSP’s Mayawati a
whopping 110 crore. The number is growing and so also the figures. Sadly,
politics seems to be all about money. Who will stop the country from being
short-changed?
* * * *
Bengal Has Its way
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party,
the Trinamool Congress is elated. Rather than biting the bullet, its partner
the Congress has not only bended but crawled before it. Other than replacing
its Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi with Mukul Roy, whose candidature had been
earlier rejected by the Prime Minister, the TMC has managed to keep all four
seats in the Rajya Sabha to itself. On Thursday last, Roy announced the rollback in passenger fare
hike in all classes except in first and second AC. An already burdened aam admi and middle-class cannot be
loaded more was his explanation. This, notwithstanding that the rail budget was
approved by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. This apart, the TMC forced the
Congress to withdraw its candidate Abdul Mannan from the Rajya Sabha elections
in West Bengal on the last day, to avoid “any
adverse impact on the alliance.” Wonder, how many more demands are going to be
conceded.
* * * *
Odisha Hostage
Crisis
Maoists in Odisha have set a dangerous precedent. For the
first time, they have targeted foreigners and abducted two Italian tourists
last week in Kandamahal district. The Maoists have put down a 13-point demand,
including halting of security operations in the State and releasing Maoist
prisoners, before the Naveen Patnaik government to set the two free. In
response Patnaik in consultation with the Centre has temporarily called-off
anti-Naxal operations and assured the Maoists that security forces would not
take any coercive action as long as they don’t indulge in violence. The latter
seems amiable and has announced a unilateral ceasefire and asked other Maoists
operating in the State's border not to indulge in violence. This apart, they
are learnt to treat the hostages well. However, while efforts must be made to
end the crisis soon as it is taking diplomatic overturns, the State government
needs to expedite its development strategy and reach out to the target groups.
Lest, Naxals in other States take a cue from this kidnapping.
* * * *
Gujarat Mansa’s Knock-out
Gujarat’s BJP government of Narendra Modi
is shell-shocked. On Wednesday last, the Opposition Congress dealt a knockout
punch and won the Mansa Assembly by-poll. The seat, close to the State capital
Gandhinagar, has not only been with the saffron party for the past 21 years but
recently Chief Minister Modi had held his Sadbhavana fast and took the Garib
Kalyan Mela (Poor Welfare Fair) there. Both the local worker and leadership is
a worried lot. Are the winds of change threateningly blowing in the State,
which goes to the polls later this year and wherein Modi is aiming at capturing
150 of the 182 Assembly seats. However, will he be able to do it, is the
concern as the Congress candidate Babuji Thakore defeated D D Patel by 8,188
votes. This may not be a big margin but it is more than the BJP's victory
margins of the past three polls put together in Mansa, the BJP’s bastion. This
apart, the Congress appears to be putting its house in order and its leaders
are gearing to overcome factionalism and work as a team. Will celebrations in
Congress camp in Mansa spill over to the rest of the State in coming
months?
* * * *
Andhra Blacklists
Cong
Andhra Pradesh has unfortunately become a spoiler for
Congress jubilation. The grand old party could not win a single seat of the
seven in the Assembly byelections. On Wednesday last, though Chief Minister N
Kiran Kumar Reddy accepted responsibility stating “every defeat is a lesson” to
learn from, the question doing the rounds is whether the Congress will get its
act together on the Telangana statehood issue. The pressure is definitely there
for all to see with the Telanagan Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) bagging four seats.
This apart, both the BJP and the YSR Congress fared better and were able to clinch
a seat each, along with an Independent. They had all sung the pro-Telangana
tune. The rout in Andhra obviously has made the Congress sit up, no matter
whatever excuse it may offer. Local State
leaders are urging 10 Janpath to see the writing on the wall and have “clarity”
on the Telangana issue and stop dilly-dallying.
* * * *
Chandigarh Dispute
Whose baby is Union Territory Chandigarh--Punjab
or Haryana? The long-pending debate got an unsavoury push from Punjab Governor
Shivraj Patil greatly upsetting Haryana. In his address to the Punjab Assembly,
Patil stated: “Chandigarh
and several other Punjabi-speaking areas have been kept out of the State and
must be transferred back at the earliest.” Both the ruling Congress and
Opposition Indian Lok Dal are up in arms. While Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda claimed that Chandigarh
belongs to Haryana as decided by the Shah Commission in 1966, INLD’s Om Prakash
Chautala asserted that Haryana would not give up its claim till Punjab
Hindi-speaking areas were transferred to the State. Likewise, the ruling Akali
Dal-BJP Punjab Government is insisting that Haryana move its offices out of Chandigarh so that the UT can be transferred to Punjab! The big question is which and when of the two
States will be able to make Chandigarh
their capital.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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