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Round The States
New
Delhi, 5 June 2014
Of Rapes
& Hangings
STATES
PUT INDIA
TO SHAME
By Insaf
Where is India heading with reports of rapes
and hangings hitting headlines every other day? In this week alone news from
Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra,
Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh should make the States cringe in shame. Topping the
list should be UP and its Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav must remember that two
wrongs don’t make a right. There are no takers for his bizarre accusation that
the media was targeting his State deliberately “when similar incidents were
being reported from other States.” By any stretch of imagination is this a
justification for inaction on the horrific rape and murder of two Dalit girls in Badaun districts, which
sadly have invited international condemnation? The obvious answer is no.
Importantly, no other CM should even try using such a disgusting excuse. Stern action is critical not only in UP, but
in Rajasthan, where two minors were raped in Jhalawar district, in Chhattisgarh,
where a three-year-old girl was raped in Chhattisgarh’s Balod district, in
Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills district where a 35-year-old tribal Garo woman was
killed when she resisted rape attempt by alleged militants, in Maharashtra
where a 30-year-old woman conductor was stripped over an altercation with a
passenger. The list can go on, because these are only some of the reported
cases. The Centre needs to step in. There can be no ifs and buts about law and
order being a State subject. Let’s not get the tag of being a banana republic!
* * * *
Telangana
is Born
On the eve of its birth, Telangana
didn’t sleep. Hyderabad
along with other districts went into a jubilation mode for inauguration of the
country’s 29th State on Monday last. The celebrations seemed to
never end, with people singing, dancing, exchanging sweets and there was
burning of fire crackers in the backdrop of lit up streets and buildings. The
joint capital of Hyderabad
was festooned in pink with TRS workers even supporting pink scarves. After
having taking over the reins of governance, an elated Chief Minister K
Chandrashekhar Rao has gone into a generous mode. Within the next 48 hours, he
announced a waiver of loans worth 12,000 crore to farmers, benefiting some 23
lakh-odd. He assured the people that all their “dreams would be fulfilled.” And
to do this, he has stated that he would spend Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five
years for the welfare of STs, Dalits, BCs, Muslims and Christian minorities. Obviously,
he knows that he needs to deliver and therefore has kept the welfare portfolios
with himself. But would this suffice? The elections are long over, and the new
State would do well if sops are not showered, to fulfil poll promises. Rao should
keep in mind the new State’s finances before raising expectations. He shouldn’t
start on the wrong note.
* * * *
TN’s
Guessing Game
“Will she, won’t she?” is a question
doing the rounds in both Tamil Nadu and New
Delhi. It comes in the wake of Chief Minister J
Jayalalitha finally calling on Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday last. The meeting
which lasted for nearly an hour has made the BJP keep its fingers crossed that
the much-sought after southern lady may well come to its rescue in the Rajya
Sabha, where it is short of numbers, when the need arises. In simple
parliamentary terms it means the AIADMK may not be averse to giving outside
support to the NDA, at least for starters. But obviously nothing comes for
free. The CM came armed with a 64-page memorandum! Her demands to Modi include:
initiating expeditious steps to form Cauvery Management Board, move UN to hold
referendum on forming separate Tamil Eelam, release of Rs 1,576.87-crore
shortfall in grants-in-aid over the years and help fast-track Central
clearances for power, urban infrastructure projects. Not just this, Jayalalitha
surprised many by even calling on Finance Minister Jaitley. At his end, Modi
too sent out positive signals. He sent two senior minsters to call on her to discuss
issues relating to her State. While it is known that there are no free lunches,
will there be a quid-pro-quo? Time will tell.
* * * *
Punjab
Operation Clean-Up
Punjab has finally got cracking
on its drug problem. Having been pushed to the wall this election, the SAD-BJP
government can ill-afford to be lackadaisical. Its vote share apparently
dropped by 12 lakhs as rampant drug smuggling in the State and politicians
alleged links with it turned out to be a major poll issue. The combine has therefore
directed the police to launch a special drive against the menace. So far 3,353
people have been arrested in the past fortnight and 3,000 cases registered.
This apart, 25 SHOs have been dismissed for reportedly having links with the
drug cartel. Dy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has warned that none of the “black
sheep” in the force would be spared. At the same time, the administration is
ensuring that it has enough de-addiction centres in place for the drug-addicts
to seek help, provided of course if the drive is successful. Remember, the
Election Commission teams along with the police recovered “more drugs” than
from any other State during the polls (Rs 7.80 crore by the former and another
3.70 crore worth by the EC flying squads)! While the Opposition has denounced
the drive saying small operators are being picked up, the authorities’ are
confident that ‘clean-up’ operation will yield results. Let’s wait and
watch.
* * * *
Heartless
Kerala
Reports emanating from Kerala are
heart-rending. Rampant trafficking of children to the Gulf is being indulged in
‘God’s own country’. In the past week alone, nearly 600 children were rescued
from shelter homes in the State. Worse, from just two orphanages-- one in Kozhikode and the other in Malappuram. The kids, in the
age-group of eight to 13, largely belong to the North-East, Jharkhand and Bihar, either kidnapped or sold by their parents. The
racket came to light with the arrest of eight persons from West
Bengal at the Palakkad railway station. Apparently, the children
were brought in batches—100, then 466, and another 123 kids from West Bengal by train. Investigations so far have revealed
that orphanages have mushroomed particularly in north Kerala, with their teams in
Gulf countries to collect donations under the garb of child welfare. Further,
the kids are purchased by the orphanages at a price ranging between Rs 1,000 and
Rs 3,000 depending on their age (the younger ones for less) and sold for
anything between Rs 5,000 to Rs 100,000. The girls are forced into prostitution
and the boys employed as servants in houses of the rich, states the police.
While it is not a new racket, its roots are getting deeper. How much louder
should the wake-up call be? --INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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