Round The States

New Delhi, 31 July 2014

Saharanpur Riots

EID FESTIVITY TAKES A BEATING

By Insaf

Uttar Pradesh needs to hang its head in shame. Recurrent communal frenzy, with Saharanpur hitting the headlines, should make Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav get his act together and govern with an iron hand. But that may be asking for too much given that western UP is well-known for these. However, reports do clearly suggest that the sectarian violence could have been prevented had the local administration taken prompt decisions and action at the right time. More so, as the State Government seems to have learnt no lessons from the riots in Muzzafarnagar last year, which if one recollects, even drew international condemnation. The timing of the mischief over the land dispute too couldn’t have been worse. Thousands of families were denied partaking Eid celebrations. According to reports only 5000 Muslims offered prayers at the Idgah, where otherwise about 1 lakh-odd would gather on a normal day! The festivity spirit was marred by the presence of large number of para-military forces. People largely remained at home thanks to the curfew, which was relaxed for only three hours and continues to be in place. Even in the State, the celebrations were rather low key. The atmosphere was tense and spirits dampened.     

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Meanwhile, Eid gave the political circle in Delhi its first taste of the ‘new era’ being talked about under the BJP. The nation’s capital had something distinctly amiss this Eid season. With the Congress more or less passé, Lutyen’s Delhi was bereft of the Iftar parties, which were the flavour of the season in the past. The clamour for hosting these parties and getting a good attendance was not on the agenda. Instead of the many invites, the media got only two --one, an Iftar party by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the other BJP spokesperson and former MP Shah Nawaz Hussain’s Eid party. While there was a festive mood at the latter’s home, Sonia’s was rather a staid affair at Ashoka hotel. The grapewine has it that the Iftar was an afterthought following reports in the media wondering whatever happened to the festive mood among the politicos. Was the Congress shying away from hosting these parties, given the poor support from its traditional votebank this General election? Was it steering clear to change its imaged? Whatever be the reason, it did make the best of it. Sonia used the occasion to tie up the loose ends for an alliance with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and JD (U) chief Sharad Yadav for the Bihar byelections. Likewise, though Prime Minister has kept away from hosting a party, unlike his predecessor, Hussain’s do had his Cabinet Ministers making an appearance.     

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‘Martyr’s Week’ Red Alert

The Naxal-affected States are on red alert. This follows the observation of the yearly demonstration since 1972 of “Martyr’s Week” from July 28-August 4 by the rebels in districts across States where they have a presence. They have been putting up posters and distributing pamphlets asking the people in southern Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana to organise martyr meetings in all the villages and take the message of their fallen comrades to the people. The Left-wing extremists are also appealing to the people to “stop surrendering before police, fight to live with dignity” and “unite against the BJP Government’s capitalistic agenda….” At their end, while the States have deployed additional security in strategic places, strengthened intelligence gathering, put railway divisions on alert, etc there is confidence that the anti-naxal operations in the past have put the Maoists on the back foot and the week would not witness any major strikes. This emanates from statistics wherein even the Maoists admit that in the past one year over 200 cadres, including members of the Jan Militia, People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army Commanders etc. have been killed. Will the Martyr’s week in memory of Charu Majumdar, founder of the Maoist movement in the country, be a victim eventually?

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W Bengal’s Uncanny Decision  

It may turn out to be a classic case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The case being that of the West Bengal Government deciding to appeal against the order of the Calcutta High Court, which has directed a CID inquiry into Trinamool MP and film actor Tapas Paul’s rape remark. The MP is reported to have threatened to let loose his “boys to rape women of CPM workers.” The remark has not only given ammunition to the Opposition but has lawyers and the civil society greatly concerned. In fact, it was after two lawyers filed the petition did the court order the police to file an FIR against Paul. It went a step further by wondering ‘how a lawmaker could have made such a comment’, which in any civilised society is unacceptable. Worse, with her decision to have an appeal filed before a Division bench Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee has left many dumbfounded as the impression given  is that she supports her MP’s threat of killing CPM workers and ‘raping their women’! Surely, it is the least expected from a Chief Minister and that too, a woman. Will the TMC supremo have second thoughts and let the law take its own course or is it asking for too much? 

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“Unnecessarily” Bugged?

Are powers-that-be getting a taste of an ‘irresponsible’ media? The issue of Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s residence in Mumbai being reportedly bugged rocked both Houses of Parliament with the Opposition Congress insisting it smelled a rat and that the Government was trying to hide facts. It demanded a thorough investigation and some members were even heard of asking for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe! This, despite the fact that both Gadkari and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh have denied any such bugging. Singh outrightly rejected an investigation, saying the news that a powerful listening devise had been installed in Gadkari’s bedroom was simply not true and baseless. However, the Congress sought to remind the Government of the week-long derailment of Parliament session during UPA-II when there were reports of phone records of leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley being scrutinised. It now accused the Government of allowing tapping of phones on “a large scale.” In this tu-tu-mein-mein precious time of the Legislature is getting wasted. If the media has its facts right then it had better put these upfront so that the ‘fiction’ of imagination doesn’t run riot.  ---INFA 

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)