|
Round The States
New Delhi, 19 September 2013
Minority Vote Bank
UP, GUJARAT
ON SAME TRACK
By Insaf
Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat
are ironically on the same track. Ruling parties in both the States are trying
to make amends with the minority community. With the recent Muzzafarnagar riots
hitting the ruling Samajwadi Party where it hurts most—its Muslim vote bank,
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is trying hard to mend bridges. Not only has did
he admit in the Assembly that the riots “would forever remain a blot on his
political career,” but promised to go all out to get the guilty. This apart, on
Thursday last his Government declared to give “special pension” (Rs 400 to Rs
500) to the families of the dead and those injured and even consider giving
jobs to the affected on basis of their educational qualification.
Likewise, the Gujarat BJP is paying
special attention to woo the Muslims, who still carry the anguish of the 2002
riots. The party has started a
membership drive to enrol the minority community members in the State and
across the country. Cells dealing with minorities, SC/ST, youth and cyber,
among others, have been given the target to enrol one lakh people each during
the nine-day drive, started on Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. The
bait is that they would have a better tomorrow under his leadership. All eyes
would be on this major vote bank --- one trying to retain it and the other
trying to win it over. Time will tell.
* * * *
Directive To States On
Onions
Other than its Ministers’ gaffes, the UPA Government is
cringing over onion prices hitting the roof. On Wednesday last, New Delhi directed all States and Union Territories
to take stern action against traders, who it claimed were creating an
artificial shortage of onions. This despite Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar
being quoted a day earlier saying rising prices (Rs 70-80 per kg) “were good
for farmers” and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal responding to the media with
“Does the Government sell onions? Ask the vendors and traders not us!” Clearly,
in a damage control mode, the Centre is also toying with the idea to increase
the minimum export price from US$ 650 a tonne to US$ 900 a tonne to curb
overseas sales. Besides, Maharashtra, the
largest onion-growing State, has been asked to let the Centre know if there are
any bottlenecks in the supply chain, which are affecting prices. This follows
allegations of Pawar’s NCP hoarding onions in the State, which the supremo
rubbished. However, with elections in four States staring it in its face, the
Congress-led UPA mustn’t shed crocodile tears over onion prices and pass on the
buck to the States. It must get its act together, or else it may end up paying
a heavy price itself.
* * * *
Karnataka Pre-Poll
Entrants
Karnataka is abuzz with exciting pre-poll 2014 rumours
trickling from both BJP and Congress camps. The two parties are busy working
out the mathematics over the numbers game. On the one hand, the BJP and former
Chief Minister and Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) chief B S Yeddyuruppa, who left
the party last year, are busy trying to work out a formula of getting back
together. However, as of now, the Lingayat leader has ruled out a merger with
the BJP. Obviously, his plans of a home coming haven’t worked out, despite the
realisation that the KJP may not be able to win a single seat with its 10 per
cent vote share. Likewise, the BJP is yet to concede that Yeddyuruppa would
split its vote bank to the Congress’ advantage. However, the two eventually
coming together cannot be ruled out. On the other, the Congress is wooing the
architect of its Aadhaar programme Nandan Nilekani to contest from South Bangalore, to help improve its sagging image among
the urban voter, despite having won the Assembly elections. Will he oblige and
agree to take on BJP’s sitting five-term MP Ananth Kumar? This political debut
is definitely worth a watch.
* * * *
Rajasthan Cong Under
Siege
The timing couldn’t have been worse for the ruling-Congress
in Rajasthan. Already in election-mode, the Party has been hit by rape charges
against its Food and Supplies Minister Babu Lal Nagar. With a police case filed
against him, Nagar tendered his resignation “on moral grounds” to Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot, on Thursday last. While Nagar has been accused by a
35-year-old woman of sexually assaulting her at his home on the pretext of
giving her a job, the minister has rubbished it claiming he was being framed in
a “political conspiracy.” The case of course has come in handy for the
Opposition BJP, which is going all out to wrest back power in the ensuing
Assembly polls. The Party is demanding a CBI inquiry and is all set to exploit
the scandal in its election campaign. It also proposes to refresh the public’s
memory about the infamous Bhanwari Devi murder case, which led to former Minister
Maderna, and Congress MLA Malkhan Singh cooling their heels in jail. A clearly
embarrassed Gehlot will need to work doubly hard to lessen the damage and keep
the cadres’ spirit enthused. Perhaps, a prayer for a miracle may come in
handy.
* * * *
Refreshing Change
Some States are witnessing a refreshing change indeed.
According to reports, inter-caste marriages over the years have seen a welcome
increase. The States which particularly deserve applaud are Maharashtra,
Kerala and Andhra Pradesh as per statistics with the Government of India. There
is, however, a catch. In an inter-caste marriage, if one spouse is a dalit,
then the Centre could pay up to Rs 50,000 to each of the couple, as per its
scheme to break up the strong caste barriers. Thus, figures for 2012 in
comparison to 2010 show that Maharashtra saw a
rise from 7,148 such marriages to 9,623, Andhra Pradesh from 1,641 to 3,040 and
Kerala 1,000 to 2,454. However, the
other southern State, Tamil Nadu witnessed a marginal change from 2,356 to 2750
marriages only. For reasons well know, the States which haven’t made any
headway in promoting the scheme include Haryana (notorious for its khap
panchayats), Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, with
annual figures running into a few hundreds. Sadly, caste alliances and
rivalries are far too entrenched here. Perhaps, the State Government take a cue
or two from their counterparts’ success stories.
* * * *
Diktat For Sikhs
Amritsar, the city of the Golden Temple,
has both good and bad news for the Sikhs. The Akal Takht, the community’s
primary centre of religious authority has issued a diktat, which may turn out
to be a tough call. The holiest scripture, “Guru Granth Sahib cannot be placed
in a house or location where liquor bars exist and hookah, tobacco, charas or
any kind of intoxicants, halal meat are consumed,” says the Jathedar (head
priest). His reason: the holy book, “is treated as a living master and keeping
it in houses with liquor bars is no less than a direct disrespect to it,” and
don’t even do it temporarily. Further, the ‘Akhand Path’ can be organised only
in gurdwaras or homes with “hygienic atmosphere”. The ban, according to the
Jathedar applies worldwide and has warned that any violation will invite religious
punishment “since it would be treated a blasphemous act.” Indeed, the pious
Sikhs would welcome the directive, but what about those who relish their “Patiala pegs” at home?
Undoubtedly, a difficult choice it shall be.---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
|
Archives 
