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Coalgate Scandal:UPA PASSES BUCK TO STATES, By Insaf, 23 August, 2012 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 23 August 2012

Coalgate Scandal

UPA PASSES BUCK TO STATES

By Insaf

 

Opposition States may well come to the rescue of a beleaguered Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre over the Rs 1.86 lakh crore ‘Coalgate’ scandal. Records of five States—Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Rajasthan are being brazenly flashed across by the Centre to wriggle out of the damaging CAG’s report on distribution of coal blocks. Taking the lead is Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, who asserts that the Government could not auction coal blocks because of strong Opposition from these States. It was them, he insists which were against the idea of introduction of coal block allocation through auction, during the period 2005-2009. This apart, the CBI has put the scanner on two dozen private companies while investigating the allocation of coal blocks during the same period. Importantly, it claims that the number of beneficiaries were the “maximum” in the two States of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh!  The big question is will the Centre succeed in its “master stroke” of trying to pass on the buck to the States? Will it be able to take the wind out of Opposition sails and manage to get Parliament proceedings back on the rails?  

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Rajasthan On Alert

Rajasthan offers a classic example of the vagaries of nature. Facing a drought-like situation just a few weeks ago, the desert State since Wednesday last has been put on high alert following heavy rainfall! Large parts of its capital, Jaipur, which witnessed the heaviest downpour in the past three decades, went into a spin with schools being shut down and flights and rail services disrupted. Worse, eight people died, while another seven were feared killed across the State. The downpour recorded 17cm rainfall, as against 1981’s 32.6cm rainfall and the Met department has predicted more rainfall. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is overseeing relief operations with reports stating that so far 200 houses have collapsed, 2,000-odd people evacuated and at least 20,000 food packets distributed. The State has been put on alert and all eyes are on the weather Gods for some respite from the rains.

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Nagaland’s Blockade Misery

Nagaland’s blockade misery seems never-ending. Assam is up in arms against its neighbour for what it alleges encroachment of land in its Golaghat district by miscreants. Six organisations, primarily youth outfits, have launched an indefinite economic blockade since August 18 demanding that the 250 bigha acres of farming land be returned. The district administration has been unsuccessful in getting the blockade lifted from two roads and National Highway 39, which is not only affecting the Nagas but Manipur too is facing hardship as oil tankers are stranded. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has had to step in and asked his counterpart in Kohima to maintain status quo on boundary demarcation. Don’t encroach on our land as the issue was pending in the Supreme Court, is his plea. Will Nagaland yield or face the hardship?

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Mumbai’s Illegal Bangladeshis?

Maharashtra may well touch a chord amongst the Assamese people. On Tuesday last, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray joined their chorus against illegal Bangladeshi migrants. At a massive rally at the Azad Maidan, which was in reply to the one held on August 11 by Muslim organisations, Thackeray alleged that it was these immigrants who were behind the violence witnessed in South Mumbai that day. Flashing a Bangladeshi passport, which he claimed was found at the Maidan, he warned that the influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants posed a serious threat to Mumbai. While his allegations may fall flat like the pleas made by the Assamese to their political leadership against the migrants, Thackeray has tasted some success. The Chavan government on Thursday last, transferred the Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, under attack for the violence on August 11. Perhaps this would give the Assamese some hope that its problem of immigrants will gain greater shrill. 

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UP Key Player  

Uttar Pradesh will be a key player in the Centre’s bid to bring a Constitution Amendment Bill to provide reservation in promotions to SC and ST employees. While most parties are eager and have lent their support to the Prime Minister on Tuesday last at the all-party meeting, the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav appears to have put a spanner. He is of the firm view that such a move would do injustice to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The argument being: “providing reservation in promotion to SC/ST employees will result in their becoming senior people who had joined earlier.”  However, his bête noire, the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati is obviously not with him. While she claimed she had no objection to OBCs getting reservation in promotions, the issue as of now was only dealing with SC/STs. Which lobby will yield is worth a watch. 

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Gujarat Cong Promises

The Congress in Gujarat is going all out to woo the voters in the Assembly elections later this year. The party yearning for a comeback after ten years is promising the moon, one could easily say. Not only does it propose to offer free plots under “own your own home” scheme, but if voted to power, it shall extend the same to rural urban women. Accordingly it says that it will allot 100 yards plots in the name of women of middle class homeless couples in rural areas and “provide loan up to Rs 1 lakh for constructing 30 square meter premises, to be repaid in affordable installments in 15 years.” To its pleasant surprise, the voters seem to have got carried away. Thousands of women queued up at the various centres to get the forms for starters for the 'own your own house' scheme. Under this, the Congress has promised to give flats to poor and middle class women at the cost of Rs 75,000 to 2 lakhs. The Opposition party has also been quick to influence the women by alleging that though the Modi government has granted 105 crore sq m land at cheap rates to industrial houses, it has “not allotted a single plot to the homeless, landless families in Gujarat under 20 point programme implementation scheme!" Will the Congress be able to re-build its popularity on these promises is worth a watch.

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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