Round The States

New Delhi, 6 June 2013

Poll Wins In Three States

PRECURSOR OF BATTLES AHEAD?

By Insaf

The results of Monday’s Lok Sabha and Assembly by-polls in three States were predictable. It was expected that two Parliamentary and four legislative seats in Gujarat would go the BJP’s way. Undoubtedly, a feather in three times Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s cap. His victory has been sweetened by the fact the six seats were wrested from arch rival Congress. Happily for Modi the poll outcome has come while the BJP’s national executive is debating ways to strengthen the party, take on the Congress as also deliberating on who will be the Saffron Sangh’s face in the coming Assembly and General elections. Needless to say it has strengthened Modi’s case to lead from the front.

In Bihar, the keenly contested Maharajganj Lok Sabha seat between Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu’s RJD has given the former Chief Minister something to smile about and jolted the Chief Minister. The defeat is a double whammy for the ruling Party as it hoped to wring the seat from its arch-rival. Two, this loss would force Nitish to do a serious re-think about rocking his coalition boat with 16-year ally BJP over ‘thorn-in-flesh’ Modi. In West Bengal, a scam-hit Mamata can finally heave a sigh of relief after her Trinamool retained the Howrah Parliamentary seat beating the CPM. Not only will it give the Chief Minister breathing time from the various acts of omission and commission by her Administration but also help put to rest talk of peoples’ disenchantment with her. For the Congress the results could not have come at a more in importunate time as it gears up to face the next round of Assembly elections in four States in November and the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament. Would it paid put to its plans of bringing in the Food Security Bill is a moot point!

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Uttarakhand Grouse Against Centre

The latest Chief Minister to raise the ante against the Union Environment Ministry is Uttarakhand’s Vijay Bahuguna. He has complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Party President Sonia for the Union Ministry’s non-cooperative attitude. Indeed, this is surprising given that it is the first Congress-ruled State which has criticized a Minister from the same Party. He has accused Jayanti Natarajan of deliberately delaying clearances and coming up with strange orders for various hydel power projects in the State. More so, as the State is reeling under acute power shortage. Over the last one year, the Union Ministry has only cleared power projects of 800 MW on the grounds that 70 per cent of the land is under forest cover. Therefore, development works cannot be undertaken as it would disturb the ecological balance. This latest tussle has added to the headache of the powers-that-be in New Delhi.

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Infrastructure For Minority Districts

States like Kerala, Andhra, Bihar, and UP which boast of a minority majority, read Muslims, in its districts are beaming. Not only has the UPA Government decided to expand its flagship infrastructure development programmes in these areas but also given the local Administration powers to approve projects to overcome bureaucratic delays. Under the dispensation, a block instead of a district would be the basic unit of planning. Wherein block level committees would be set up to ensure grassroot planning and monitoring implementation of the scheme. These re-structured programmes would be implemented in 710 blocks with large Muslim population. Clearly, with an eye to capture the minority vote banks.

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Greyhound For Nine Naxal States?

Good news for Nine States in the throws of Maoists terror. On the sidelines of the Chief Ministerial conference on the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Andhra, Maharashtra, Bihar and Odisha, Governors of Jharkhand and representatives of Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and UP decided to help each other in their anti-Naxal operations. While all States agreed to making a collective efforts to curb financing of Maoists by intervening in the Tendu leaf business and cracking down on illegal mining, both  major source of funds for Naxals. The Union Home Ministry suggested that the States take a leaf from Andhra’s model of policing and build a greyhound force to eradicate red terror. As also recruit, train and arm policemen. A ray of hope or simply a mirage that the States are serious about combating the Naxalite menace. Only time will tell.

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Punjab’s Historic Freebies

Its raining ‘historic’ freebies in Punjab. After free power for farmers, the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal unveiled a giveaway in its new industrial policy. Promising “never before” soaps vis-à-vis VAT and CST waivers and allowing exemptions for small and medium scale industry. This is not all. Electricity duty, stamp duty, property tax, purchase tax, Mandi fee, rural development and infrastructure cess were also waived for the agro processing industry keeping in line with the States crop diversification policy. Thus, by investing as little as Rs.1 crore one can avail benefits of up to half one’s fixed cost of investment. Will other States follow suit?

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Arunachal Hoots For Women

In an era where women-related crimes are splashing gore across media daily, Arunachal Pradesh has taken its first baby step forward to help mitigate some of the feminine gender’s ignominy. By setting up an all-women police station to specifically deal with crimes against women. For starters this police station promises to provide better safety and security to women. Thereby, sending a clear message to miscreants that no longer can they play havoc with the fair sex. Also on the anvil is creation of separate cells in all 17 district headquarters along-with at the Police Headquarters in Capital Itanagar to tackle women-related sex crimes. Towards that end, the State plans to recruit 200 women police personnel to run these cells. Three cheers for the far-flung North-Eastern State!---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)