Round The States
New
Delhi, 1 January 2015
‘PK’ Vs.
Saffronites
UP, FILM
GOERS WINNERS
By Insaf
Three cheers to Uttar Pradesh
government. It has given a strong rebuff to the Hindu right wing groups flexing
their muscles against “PK” on grounds that it defames Hindu religion. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav would definitely
be a star amongst the Bollywood fraternity and lakhs of moviegoers who have
hailed the film, which even Insaf would
say in no way hurts the Hindu sentiments as alleged. While both the VHP and the
Bajrang Dal are demanding the film be banned or offending parts be deleted, the
UP government has made the film tax free, so that more people can watch it!
This despite the fact that the VHP and Bajrang Dal members have gone on a
rampage in Bhopal, Delhi, Bhubneshwar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai etc, screening the
film. Even the BJP-led government in Maharashtra
has ensured that the film screening is not affected. Indeed, the Amir Khan
blockbuster is brilliant. It basically evokes a debate on true nature of any
religion and their concept of god and god men. Importantly, the Censor Board
has refused to delete scenes from the film as it is already out for public
viewing. And yes, people have enjoyed it as in less than two weeks the film has
grossed Rs 246 crore! What more. Not only States, but peoples rebuff to Saffron
protest.
* * * *
Delhi Gears Up
Delhi is gearing up for the
big battle. With reports of the much-awaited Assembly elections to be held in
mid-February, the three big players--the BJP, Congress and Aam Admi Party--
have put their campaigning strategy into top gear. For starters, the Congress
has approached the Delhi High Court, alleging that a large number of ‘bogus
voters’ will cast their votes as they had numerous voter cards in their name,
but with different addresses. The court has issued notice to the Election
Commission to file their response by Monday. AAP was the first to voice concern
over irregularities in the voter lists, which the BJP has rubbished, saying
the rival was preparing grounds for its
‘wipe out’ this election. This apart top leaders of both the BJP and Congress
are being lined up for campaigning. While the former plans to facilitate its
new Chief Ministers from Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana, among others at a
rally, the latter has asked its leaders to camp in Delhi and assist local candidates. Undeniably
the fight for the seat of power in the nation’s Capital is indeed going to be
the most fiercely contested.
* * * *
Haryana To Go Solar
Haryana is taking the first baby
steps to resolve its power shortage crisis. The first BJP government in the
State has issued an order making it mandatory for all buildings on 500 sq yards
or more to install rooftop solar power systems within nine months. Accordingly,
group housing societies, malls, offices, private bungalows, schools, hospitals
etc will need to get cracking as failure to install the solar panels will mean
shelling out anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 10 lakh as penalty. While the
order is said to be in line with the previous Congress government’s solar power
policy framed in September last, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar wants
delivery. He has even offered bait. The Government will give 30 per cent
subsidy on the installation costs on a “first-cum-first-served” basis. Will it
help meet the deadline of September and ease pressure on the power-hungry
State, prone to heavy network breakdown and power shedding? The Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy too will be keenly watching.
* * * *
Land
Ordinance Row
The land acquisition ordinance
provides a golden opportunity for the Opposition to unitedly take on the NDA
government. While political parties such as Congress, the Left, JD(U) and the
SP have vociferously spoken against the ordinance on grounds it favours the
interests of the corporate and that exemptions would lead to forcible land
acquisition and diversion of land acquired, the TMC in West
Bengal has taken the lead by going for action. It staged protests
across the State. Terming the ordinance as “draconian and black”, its leaders
held rallies and burnt symbolic copies of it in Kolkata. Not only has
Parliament been bypassed, but the Centre has held no consultations with Chief
Ministers of States, is its accusation. On the other hand, the Government
claimed the ordinance was necessary as there were complaints by ‘various
States’ and industry against the “consent clause,” (now removed), as it was an
obstacle for defence, highways and infrastructure projects other than holding
up the economy's growth potential. It also has had the BJP-ruled States
welcoming the Ordinance. Clearly, the lines are drawn for the battle between
those and against.
* * * *
Maharashtra’s ‘Ghar Wapsi”
Maharashtra has added a fresh
version to the ongoing ‘reconversion’ programmes in many States. Around 6,000
OBCs from 1,600 families are reported to have registered themselves in a
campaign for ‘ghar wapsi’ (home
coming) for the Buddhists in the State. The Satyashod OBC Parishad claims that
these families want to embrace Buddhism as it is their “real home”. The argument being that while trying to find
their roots, the OBCs realised they were ‘nagvanshi’
and thus originally Buddhists. Besides, the OBCs are alleged to have been
cheated by upper caste Hindus in the past and thus the need to break out from
the system. With this goal in mind, the
Parishad says it embarked on its “Original Buddhist Cadre” mission in 2011 to
reach out to the OBCs and other than home visits has been holding small
rallies, group discussions and conclaves. Will it achieve its target of mass
conversions of five lakh OBCs into Buddhism by October 2016 in these trying
times, is the big question.
* * * *
Improving
State Connectivity
States may well be preparing their
wish list, following the Ministry of Road Transport, Highways & Shipping
promising to take up the challenge to revive the road sector, reduce the cost
while enhancing quality of road construction on a war footing. This apart,
Minister Nitin Gadkari is all set to give top priority to boost the country’s
inland waterways network just like the National highways, as it is a much
cheaper mode of transport. For starters, the Ministry is working on developing the
Varanasi-Haldia project for which the World Bank has already sanctioned Rs.
4,200 crore. The project on the Ganga too would be extended to Allahabad later. As for national highways,
the Ministry is restructuring cancelled projects, reviving stalled projects and
integrating border check posts with toll plazas, etc. Clearly, with goals such
as meeting the target to construct 30 kms per day, developing expressways
alongside industrial corridors and improving connectivity, various Chief
Ministers are said to be making a beeline for the Ministry. There is hope of proposals
getting the nod.
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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