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Article 370 Row: WAR OF WORDS IN J&K, By Insaf, 29 May, 2014 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 29 May 2014

Article 370 Row

WAR OF WORDS IN J&K

By Insaf

 

A war -- of words is going on in Jammu & Kashmir. The controversial Article 370 is back in the news with a bang. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has gone into an aggressive mode by taking on Minister of State in the PMO Jitender Singh’s statement saying that the process of abrogating the article, which grants special status to the State, has already begun! “Either J&K won’t be a part of India  or Art 370 will still exist… it is the ONLY constitutional link between J&K & rest of India..” he warned in his tweet. The Centre, rightly and most seriously should take cognisance of the choice of words used. Surely, it cannot let it pass because J&K is an integral part of the country and not a mere constitutional link with “rest of India”. Singh’s retracting and saying he was misquoted doesn’t help matters’ either. It has ignited passions both in the Valley and in New Delhi. While Omar’s bête noire Mehbooba Mufti has joined him by tweeting “…we condemn the statement as there were apprehensions that the BJP Government will be divisive..”, the RSS has joined the row, by asking Omar whether the State was his “parental estate”! The provocation on either side doesn’t appear to be innocuous. There is good reason for both to hammer it out. The BJP manifesto clearly states that the party “will discuss this with all stakeholders and remains committed to the abrogation of the Article.” Has the time come? A debate is a must—sooner the better.  

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Punjab’s Special Package?

The bonhomie between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal over the past decade in Punjab   shall be put to test. How soon is the big question? With its NDA Government at the Centre and its MP Hasmirat Kaur Badal now Cabinet Minister for Food Processing, the SAD leadership of Parkash Singh Badal and son Sukhbir is seeing a ray hope of getting that elusive special economic package for the State. The two ensured they called on Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and may well have put across their case. The BJP-SAD government had last year demanded at least a Rs 5,000 crore comprehensive economic package from the Centre to increase investments to help give a push to the stagnating farm economy. In addition, it had also sought a special package for the border areas, to restore industrialists’ confidence in the State. Given that six districts of the State share the border with Pakistan, the Government sought that the areas be made special tax free zone. Will the Green Revolution State be able to extract its pound of flesh finally? New Delhi will need to tread cautiously as there are many other States, such as Bihar, west Bengal and Odisha who too are in the queue.

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Rumblings In Bengal CPM

Rumblings in West Bengal’s CPM are growing. With its worst ever rout in General Elections, winning just two seats, the same as newcomer BJP, the shrill for a change in the party leadership is indeed louder. According to reports from Kolkata, a rally was held outside the party’s headquarters with party members, present and expelled voicing their concern that it faces the danger of getting wiped out from State politics if it doesn’t get its act together. The Party General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Karat and State level secretary Biman Bose and former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee have been at the receiving end. Worse, other than the rally being against its own leadership, it’s said to be the first in the history of the CPM, since it was set up in 1964! Instead of taking stock of the situation, the top brass appears to be shielding itself in the name of discipline. Speak within the party and not outside, is its answer to those demanding a change and shown the door. Will the leadership have to go through more failures to see the writing on the wall or will it yield before it is really too late?

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Andhra-Telangana Pow-Wow

The fight between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as feared has already begun. Even before the two States formally come into being! New Delhi, says TRS president and Chief Minister-designate K Chandrasekhar Rao, is to blame. On the other hand, TDP supremo and Chief Minister-designate of Andhra Pradesh accuses his counterpart of politricking. The bone of contention is New Delhi’s issuance of an Ordinance asking Telangana to hand over 200 villages to Andhra for the Polavaram irrigation project, across Godavari river, which would submerge the villages and therefore should be merged with AP. But Rao is clearly unwilling and ensured that a State-wide bandh in the 10 districts, including Hyderabad brought life to a halt on Thursday last. Rao insists the Ordinance was ‘unconstitutional’ and that New Delhi should have consulted the two States at least. He smells mischief as TDP is an ally of the NDA at the Centre. However, Naidu rubbishes this charge and wonders why Rao chose to remain silent when the UPA-II took the decision. Surely, this tu-tu mein-mein doesn’t augur well for the two States. Cooperation rather than confrontation should be their aim.

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Haryana Gears Up for Polls

There is no rest for the ruling Congress in Haryana. It can ill-afford to take a breather after its poor performance in the recently-concluded General elections. The State Assembly polls, slated for October, are staring it in the face. Thus, planning for a third consecutive victory for Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda against odds is on a war footing. In a recent Cabinet meeting, his team decided it’s best to reach out to the electorate and give them number of concessions. These include, exempting families from paying stamp-duty on property transfers, the pension for ex-servicemen be raised and women who seek loan under self-help groups be spared duty. Additionally, contractual employees can look forward to regularisation with a new policy in place. The Opposition may cry hoarse, but Hooda is confident that these concessions will make the people see his government’s “good intentions and vote for progress and policies”. And, the massage has to be sent across the State. Thus Hooda and team have decided to hold meetings with the party cadres to enthuse them as well as review development work with officials. Will an early start help?

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‘Racist’ Delhi

Heartless and racist Delhi—this is how students and activists from the North-East would describe the nation’s capital. Harsh but not wrong, one could say, as hundreds gathered outside the lower courts, Tiz Hazari to protest against the lawyers there who had reportedly assaulted some youth from the region and their woman lawyer, who is said to have been molested by a lawyer. The protestors also reached out to the Bar Council asking that the accused lawyers be revoked. The incident sadly again highlights how the people from the North-East are seen and treated – different from the rest of the country! And, just because they have “mongoloid features”. Recall that in the past, young people from the region have been harassed and made fun of for their looks, the way they speak and dress up. In one such incident, an MLA’s son was beaten to death. Did one hear someone say Delhi is a cosmopolitan city? ----INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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