Round The States

15 March 2013, New Delhi

UPSC ‘Conspiracy’

STATES FORCE CENTRE TO ACT

By Insaf

Three cheers to the Centre and States! Lakhs of young aspirants preparing for the Civil Services examination can heave a sigh of relief, as they have been spared grave injustice.  In a show of unity, seldom witnessed in the Lok Sabha, the people’s representatives on Thursday last, lambasted the Union Public Service Commission for its controversial notification of March 5 which makes English a compulsory paper and places restrictions on taking the exam in a regional language. With slogans such as “Angrez yahan se chale gaye, angrezi ko bhi jana hoga (The British have gone and English too would have to go); Angrezi hatao, Gaon Bachao (Remove English, save Villages); Lohiaji ka ka yahi abhishek, mere desh mein mere bhasha (Lohia’s resolve that in my nation my language), the MPs seem to have hit the nail on the head that the UPSC sought to keep the rural and backward classes away from entering the Services. Be it Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh et al, growing sentiments against the UPSC’s ‘conspiracy’ from all States were voiced vociferously. Importantly, the Government took many by surprise by responding favourably. It assured the MPs that the controversial notification was being put on hold and that status quo would be maintained. Such harmony and promptness for the people’s good as witnessed in Parliament is indeed welcome. There’s hope for future?  

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J&K Slipping Back?

The writing is on the wall. Jammu & Kashmir is threatening to slip back into anarchy. The latest sign being the terror attack on the CRPF camp in Srinagar on Wednesday last, in which five jawans lost their lives. While it triggered an uproar in the State Assembly as well as Parliament on expected lines, the fact is that both the Governments--of Omar Abdullah and Manmohan Singh should be sensitive to the undercurrents in the Valley. The mass protests that have been engineered by the separatists after the hanging of Afzal Guru and the protestors’ demand that his body be handed back to his family should be a cause of concern.  Obviously, the people and some of their elected representatives do not share the national sentiment against Guru. Following the attack on the CRPF camp, it is not enough to indulge in rhetoric against Pakistan. It will lead nowhere. The volatile situation needs to be contained by reaching out to the people and meeting their aspirations. Earlier the better.    

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Rejoicing In Uttarakhand?

Uttarakhand has little to rejoice over the ruling Congress’ celebrations of completing one year in Government. On Wednesday last, while Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna reeled out a list of his achievements, Insaf in Dehradun got a feedback that the people are far from impressed. Rather, governance has missed the woods for the trees. The biggest concern is that the hills people feel let down as they are not on the priority list, despite tall promises of “equitable development of all sections” including them. People from Tehri, Chamoli and Pauri, are migrating from the hills to the plains in large numbers in search of livelihood as there has been no development in the areas. This should be a concern for New Delhi as well as these areas border both Nepal and China. Worse, with the thrust being on the plains, cultivable land is being doled out to the real estate mafia, turning the young State into a concrete jungle. There have been little efforts made towards proper utilisation of abundant resources, the forests and rivers. Clearly, giving cheaper rice, an adventure sports Academy, a Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium, Tiger sanctuary, cycles for girls, etc will not help make Uttarakhand “progressive” as promised. Importantly, the Government should seek to remove the nagging question whether it was right to agitate for a separate State!  

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Karnataka Urban Poll

Karnataka is not particularly happy with its polity. The message should be read in the results of the urban local bodies’ election (4976 wards), announced on Monday last. On the one hand, the voter gave Opposition Congress a thumbs up (1,960 wards), while on the other it didn’t completely strike out the ruling BJP (906 wards) from its list and chose to keep the JD(S) (906 wards) in the reckoning. Further, while former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s and his Karnataka Janatha Paksha, would be happy of playing spoilsport for the BJP, the voter was not particularly impressed with it (274 wards). The Badava Shramika Raitha (BSR) Congress, patronised by the Bellary brothers, merely made a debut (86 wards) and was shown its place. Thus, the splintered verdict should make the Congress and BJP introspect as to what is lacking and why is it that the voter opted for Independents (776 wards) instead of their candidates. The two don’t have much time, as the Assembly polls are barely two months away, in May. An obvious guess is that people are tired of corruption and internal divisions. Time for leaders to focus on local issues and development to gain people’s confidence.    

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Punjab’s Black Wednesday

The Punjab Assembly should hang its head in shame. Harsh as it may sound, many legislators could argue that what happened on Wednesday last, was simply unacceptable. The Opposition Congress not only forced adjournments in the House as is common, but resorted to unparalleled unruly behaviour: tore paper and books and flung these at the Speaker, manhandled marshals and even slapped one, stood on the Secretary’s chair, sat in the Speaker’s chair after the House was adjourned and thrashed plainclothes cops in the Assembly complex. However, Congress MLAs are unrelenting. They justify their action saying it was in protest against the Secretary’s instructions to ‘raid’ their legislature party office to evict the girl, who was beaten by the police in Tarn Taran last week in public. What they chose to ignore is that the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the girl’s case and pulled up the State police. With the ruling SAD-BJP combine demanding stern action against the guilty MLAs, the Speaker suspended nine for the rest of the Budget session. Should this suffice?  

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Delhi’s Dirty Yamuna

Delhi had well-meaning demonstrators reach its doorstep. Fortunately, they didn’t have to go back disappointed as their demand for a Clean Yamuna had many powerful takers. Members, cutting across party lines in the Lok Sabha on Monday last, put up a strong case before the Government to save the Yamuna, which had “turned into a drain”.  They also demanded a white paper on the issue and lent total support to the “Yamuna Rakshak Dal”, which brought thousands of volunteers to the Capital demanding among others a total ban on sewer or industrial effluents entering the river. Recall that the Supreme Court too had ordered for a clean Yamuna some 19 years ago. Sadly, since then and after spending a whopping Rs 6,500 crore to clean the Yamuna, the river is today dirtier than ever! Delhi government has a lot to answer as: the number of unauthorised colonies, which discharge sewage into the river are increasing, from 1,432 in 2007 to 1,639 in 2012; only 55 per cent of Delhi’s population is served by sewer system; its sewage treatment capacity is 2,460 MLS, whereas sewage sent out is 3,8800 MLD and the biggest drain Najafgarh has only 30 per cent discharge treated! Will the Government wake up from its slumber and save the Yamuna, before it’s too late? ---INFA

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