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Quota For Jats

CONGRESS PRE-POLL GAMBLE

By Insaf

The Congress-led UPA Government is going full throttle on it’s tried and tested policy of reservations. With elections to four State Assemblies round the corner, a precursor to the Lok Sabha polls next year, the Centre has decided to bite the bullet and grant reservation to Jats in Central Government jobs under the OBC category. Pertinently, the Jats comprise a decisive vote-bank in Hindu heartland States Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and UP. Undeniably, this is a counter to the BJP who is seeking to woo the other backward classes by projecting its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s OBC identity. The Congress knows only too well that the Jat quota could alienate other OBCs but its calculation is based on the premise that OBCs per se are divided and don’t vote enbloc, hence it is worth a gambling that the quota carrot would entice Jats to go along with it. Will it’s gamble succeed?

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Soaps For Migrants In Punjab

Populist promises are a given in poll-bound States. But Punjab has broken fresh ground by announcing a slew of freebies for migrant labourers in the State. These include free education, health care and housing facilities wherein the State Government would soon open schools and primary health centres along with dispensaries in migrant-dominated areas. While the Administration would provide free land the labourers would have to pay construction charges through easy installments . This is not all. Soaps like ration cards, Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards too would be given to these people. The reason for these perks is obvious: The migrants have put the State on a high growth trajectory. Today, the State is finding it increasingly difficult to retain these hard working agricultural and industrial labourers who hail from UP, Bihar and Rajasthan as there home States too are in the throes of expansion. Perhaps Maharashtra’s Shiv Sainiks and Karnataka’s Chief Minister could learn a lesson from Punjab instead of planning to throw out all the migrants from their States.

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More Power To Panchayats In J&K

The Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi is striking a new path and style of politics hitherto unknown in the 129-year old Grand Dame. In a fresh outburst post his repeal of ordinance demand drama, Rahul took the Congress-NC Government head-on and lambasted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for the delay in empowering Panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir. The Vice President joined the Panches and Sarpanches in demanding the State Administration cede powers to the Panchayats as per the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment. In his 15-minute address at a village in Jammu, Rahul emphasized that the only way for MNREGA and the food security to succeed would be by giving more powers to local bodies for them to carry out development works at the ground level. Towards that end, he highlighted the need to train and provide employment to youth and women enabling them in becoming self-reliant. It remains to be seen how Rahul’s demand pans out as empowerment of panchayats has been a bone of contention between the NC and Congress.

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Goa In Diplomatic Fracas

The Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is in the eye of a diplomatic storm following his assertion of throwing out Nigerians who do not have valid visas. The fracas started with a gang war between two Nigerian narcotic groups wherein a drug dealer was killed. Demanding the arrest of the perpetrators, the Nigerians blockaded a major highway protesting a compatriots murder , the Chief Minister made plain that he would brook no nonsense and averred to rid the State of all Nigerians. Already, two village Panchayats have banned renting out houses and rooms to Nigerians students and rent-a-bike owners association have stopped lending two wheelers to the Africans putting up "No to Nigerians!" banners across the coastal belt in north Goa. Predictably, the Nigerian Ambassador has accused the State Administration of racisms and demanded that the 20,000 Nigerians be allowed to stay in the State. Else, Nigeria would “throw out on the streets” the over one lakh Indian population in the country. But an unfazed Parrikar is unperturbed and intends deporting all illegal Nigerians overstaying in his State. What next?

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Sugar Woes in UP

The woes of the Akhilesh Yadav Government in Ulta-Pulta Pradesh continue. After being caught in a free-for-all communal carnage, Muzaffarnagar is now in the throes of a ‘sugar crisis’ in its economy. Thanks to private mills refusing to start harvesting and crushing the sugarcane crops until the State Government clarifies cane prices. Specially against the backdrop, of the district being renowned as a key cane growing area boasting of the highest agricultural GDP in UP. Interestingly, while farmers make up nearly 70 per cent of the population of which Jats own most of the farmland, the 80 per cent Muslims comprise the workforce. In the State vs farmers tug-of-war it is a moot point who will yield and provide the sweetener.

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Slug Fest In Maharashtra

All is not well between the Congress-NCP but the Shiv Sena-BJP Opposition too has nothing to crow about either in Maharashtra. Both are in the midst of allies exercising their muscle power. While Sharad Pawar’s NCP and the Congress are busy nit picking on Lok Sabha seat sharing with the Congress refusing to settle for anything less than a 29:19 formula, the regional satrap wants to part with only 22 and keep 26 seats for itself. Topped, by the NCP throwing the gauntlet and telling the Congress to go it alone if it was confident of winning all the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the State.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena took its ally BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Namo to task for wooing Muslims and trying to project the Party as their Messiah. It accused Namo of bringing burkha-clad women to his public rallies, while putting the Ram Mandir and uniform civil code on the backburner to project a secular face. Will the regional satraps Pawar and Thackeray get the better of national Sonia and Modi?---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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