Round The States
New Delhi, 6 September 2012
Illegal Migrants
MUMBAI VS PATNA BATTLE
By Insaf
The illegal migrants’
debate is truly turning ugly. Instead of the North East and finding a solution,
the focus has sadly shifted, rather turned into a big battle--Maharashtra vs Bihar. Mumbai’s
Thackerays and Patna’s
Nitish Kumar are embroiled in a sordid tu
tu mein mein spat (tit-for-tat) this past week, belittling the critical
issue. It comes on the heels of Nitish objecting to the manner in which the
Mumbai police on Sunday last arrested a person in Bihar
for vandalising the Amar Jawan memorial during the Azad Maidan riot in Mumbai
last month. The Mahrashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray promptly
reacted by calling people from Bihar
infiltrators and threatened to throw them out of Mumbai. Not to be left behind
cousin and Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray joined in by
demanding that there be a ‘permit system’ for these migrants if the Mumbai
police is not allowed to track down a criminal from Bihar.
Nitish has promptly dismissed these by saying that the comments came from a sir phira (crazy) Raj and that Udhav has
a penchant for speaking without applying his mind! While the three leaders may
be enjoying this diatribe, the Centre should not be amused. It already has its
plate full with the critical issue of Bangladeshi illegal migrants and can
ill-afford a fresh portion.
* * * *
TN Lankan Tirade
One-upmanship between
political rivals is never ending. Bereft of any issue against each other, both
the ruling AIADMK and Opposition DMK have sadly made Sri Lankan nationals a
common target, to outdo one another. Since last week, while both parties have
been hounding the Centre to stop the training programme for Lankan defence
personnel, Chief Minister Jayalalitha has gone a step further. On Sunday last,
she suspended a stadium official in Chennai for allowing a friendly match
between a football team from Colombo
and the Customs Department. The team was also asked to pack their bags and
leave. Worse, a special flight had to be arranged to take back 180-odd Lankan
pilgrims back to Colombo
after they were heckled by Tamil activists during a visit to a church. This hostility
has put New Delhi in an awkward position with
its Colombo
counterpart, with the latter issuing a travel advisory to its citizens. The
Foreign office is also in a quandary with the DMK opposing Lankan President
Rajapaksa’s visit to Madhya Pradesh later this month. Will Tamil Nadu continue to cause
embarrassment to the Centre in its internal wars or will it yield is a question
on South Block’s mind.
* * * *
Bengal’s Good Performance
West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee has reason to smile. At least on one front, the State
government can claim efficiency under the new regime. According to Home
Ministry statistics, about 205 districts across the country are under Naxal
influence. Of these while 84 are said to be “violence affected districts”, 119
are known to be under Left wing extremists’ influence. The good news is that in
Mamata’s Bengal three of the most Naxal-affected districts—Purulia, West Midnapore and Bankura—have not reported a single
casualty in the past eight months! Obviously, Mamata’s tough stance against the
Maoists is paying off but more importantly she has not picked up cudgels with
the Centre on this front. In addition, the fact that the Central paramilitary
forces have got the full support of the State police and enjoy a good working
relationship is welcome. North block is keeping its fingers crossed that if
the Trinamool Chief doesn’t mix politics
with internal security issues, like she does in development matters, her State
could well match Andhra Pradesh’s record of reporting “zero casualty.”
* * * *
UP’s Hollow Policy
Uttar Pradesh young Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav is yet to get his act together. Tall promises and
change in policy were announced with much gusto. However, all is not well on
fronts other than law and order. In a bizarre sequence of events it comes to
light that a shocking 407 junior engineers in the State’s Public Works
Department were shifted last month, in clear violation of the Government’s
transfer policy. Worse, these transfers were announced not on merit of the
cases but demands of Samajwadi Party leaders, MLAs, ministers and some by the
engineers themselves. And, the reasons cited were either mediocre performance,
unsatisfactory work, or simply because they were appointed by the previous BSP
Government or that some SP leaders wanted the good performers in areas of their
choice. By this one single act, Yadav’s assurance that not more than 15 per
cent of the employees in any category should be transferred in the annual
transfer season, stands exposed. The Diploma Engineers Association is gravely
upset, but it can do little against the whims and fancies of the State
politicians. Unless of course, Akhilesh means what he says and is able to show
the difference between his raj and
that of his predecessor Mayawati.
* * * *
Karnataka’s Junkets
The Karnataka government
of Jagadish Shettar is embarrassed pink. Reeling under a severe drought it is
unable to rein in its MLAs from enjoying junkets at the Exchequer’s cost. On
Tuesday last, the Chief Minister was forced to issue a directive to the first
batch of a dozen legislators to cut short their so-called “study tour” in Latin
America. The group, under the committee on Public Undertakings chose Brazil and
Argentian to study urban local governance. Interestingly, they also packed in a
world heritage site, Cuzco (Peru) as part
of it. The news has led to an outcry by the civil society, which has rightly
questioned the justification of the tour at public expense. With the media
glare on this tour, Shettar has been forced to cancel three other study tours,
which would cost the exchequer a whopping 8 crores. However, it is uncertain
yet whether the MLAs will pay heed or say a boo to him and the aam aadmi’s misery in several districts
facing drought.
* * * *
Mizo Women Warning
Women in Mizoram have
sounded the bugle against child rapists. The biggest women’s organisation, Mizo
Hmelchhe Insuihkhawn Pawl (MHIP), has called for the severest punishment for
offenders. In a special assembly session held in Aizawl on Thursday last, the
MHIP has resolved that any man who rapes a minor should be made impotent by
castration and nothing short of it! While the resolution may not have takers in
the administration, it may not be taken lightly at least by the men as the organisation
has a wide reach in the Christian-dominated
State. This apart, the
organisation has an equally strong message, on morality, for all women i.e.
they, whether single, married, widowed or divorced, should not get involved
with married men nor indulge in lesbian relationships. However, it offers no
drastic action against those found guilty, but takes it upon itself to ensure
that such activities by women are stopped. How many cases surface, would be
worth a watch. --INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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