Round The States

New Delhi, 19 December 2014 

Assam’s Illegal Migrants

CENTRE, STATE PUT ON CALL

By Insaf

Assam’s touchy issue of illegal migrants should from now on hopefully become top priority for both Centre and the State. Rather, the two have no option but to get their act together. This follows a hard knock from the Supreme Court while dealing with a number of petitions against the massive influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Mincing no words, the court stated: “precious little” had been done to stem this tide of illegal migrants, who threaten to erode the entire culture of a State. Wondering why the Eastern border was left porous after 67 years of independence, the court asked the Governments to secure the Indo-Bangla border through complete fencing and intensive patrolling, other than expediting the process to deport illegal migrants. More so, as the number of foreigners’ tribunals, set up to decide the cases of illegal migration, was “abysmally low”.

Figures reveal that while 1.5 lakh people were deported between 1961 and 1965, the number from 1985 till date was a shocking 2,000 odd! While the Government assured that 64 additional tribunals will be set up soon, the court was not impressed. It has directed the NDA Government in no uncertain terms to enter into “necessary discussions” with Dhaka to “streamline the procedure of deportation,” and place the outcome of the deliberations before it within three months. If necessary, the Court has warned that it will entrust such monitoring by an empowered committee it shall constitute. Besides, the authorities have been directed to publish an updated National Register of Citizens with respect to Assam by January 2016. Clearly, there is no more room for ifs and buts.

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J&K Divide

Will the divide between Jammu and Kashmir get sharper? The answer sadly is in the affirmative, thanks to warring parties’ penchant for power and the entry of the BJP this Assembly election. The campaign of the main contenders —the PDP, BJP, NC, and Congress for the last phase of polling has wittingly or unwittingly widened the gap between the Muslim-majority Kashmir and Hindu majority Jammu, in the numbers’ game. At the fag end, the division lines are clearly drawn. BJP’s star campaigner Prime Minister Modi has urged voters in three districts of Jammu, Rajouri and Kathua not to give a single seat of the 20 in the region to his opponents. This, he justified would be a befitting reply to those “Kashmir-centric” parties who have been saying that the BJP will not be able to open its account in the Valley. Undeniably, both sides are playing regional politics which is not in national interest. At the end, the heavy voter turnout may not turn out to be good news or signs of better times, as all players claim.   

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Tamil Nadu Relieved

There’s both good and bad news for Tamil Nadu. The ruling AIADMK and supporters of former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha would heave a sigh of relief over the Supreme Court extending Amma’s bail by four months i.e. till April 18 next year, in the disproportionate assets case. However, the bad news is that all is not hunky dory. The SC has directed Karnataka High Court Chief Justice to constitute a special bench to decide her appeal on a day-to-day basis, within three months. Recall, that the AIADMK supremo had knocked on the Supreme Court’s door on October 9 after she was denied bail by the Karnataka HC. She was found guilty along with three others in the corruption case and had been slapped a fine of Rs 100 crore. With the ball now in back in Karnataka Court, all eyes would be on it how soon it copes with Jayalalitha’s appeal papers running into a whopping 2.8 lakh pages! A tall order, indeed! Chances of another reprieve?

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West Bengal Vs CBI

The TMC-BJP fight in West Bengal has spilled over to New Delhi. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was in the national capital to train her party’s guns against the BJP, which is meticulously trying to make inroads into the TMC territory. Worse, the ongoing CBI probe into the Saradha chit fund scam is more of a threat to her Government. So, for now that is her target. While her team of MPs are carrying out orders and taking on the treasury benches by stalling proceedings or staging walkouts in Parliament, Mamata too leaving no stone unturned. She is going all out to malign the CBI by accusing it of “functioning as a department of the PMO”. It is pursuing “political vendetta” against her party, even though her party has “no role to play” in the chit fund scam as it had not taken place under her Government, is her argument. The NDA government she also claimed was using the so-called autonomous agency as a “political tool” as it was “jealous of us”. Her tirade shows signs of being rattled. While she told media that she was in Delhi to look up President Mukerjee after his surgery, there may be more to it. Will she get support?

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Sikkim’s Wish List

Sikkim is all set with its wish list to test the seriousness of the Modi Government in its commitment to accelerating the progress of the North East. In a memorandum to Jitender Singh, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, the Sikkim Democratic Front Government of Pawan Chamling has specifically put across issues relating to infrastructure in the strategic and scenic Himalayan State. Of concern is the tardy progress on the 55-km railway line from Sevoke to Rangpo, which would put the State on the Railway map of India. Likewise, the construction of the Greenfield Airport at Pakyong, which too was started in 2009, has got unduly delayed. The connectivity problem is further aggravated with poor road and in this case it’s the national highway-10, the only road link of Sikkim with the rest of the country. Not only is there a dire need to improve the roads but the construction of proposed alternate highway must be made a top priority. The other issues raised include better internet connectivity, setting up of a Central University for Himalayan Technology and AIIMS, providing infrastructure on the new route to Kailash Mansarovar through Nathula, and Central assistance to take forward Chamling’s mission mode to become a fully organic State by 2015. Indeed, Sikkim has all the answers the Centre needs in realising its potential. Will it oblige and how soon? ----INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)