Round The States

New Delhi, 13 February 2015

AAP In Delhi

CENTRE-STATE TIES ON TEST

By Insaf

Delhi is all set to become the country’s barometer viz Centre-State relations. With people’s expectations raised to the skies after AAP’s historic victory, the Kejriwal Government truly has a tough task ahead. Will it be able to achive its 70-point agenda, without cooperation of the Union government? While full statehood for Delhi is top priority, Kejriwal and team must  realise it’s asking for the moon. Nevertheless, it should ensure to push for what is legitimate  and not play to the gallery. Jan Lokpal Bill, cheaper electricity and water, regularisation of unauthorised colonies, development of rural villages and land for opening more schools and hospitals for example, are promises which can be kept with the Centre’s helping hand.Will Prime Minister Modi oblige or will he play the devil after the humiliating defeat to square up, is the million dollar question. At the same time, the AAP with its resounding majority would need to guard against throwing tantrums, still fresh in people’s memory of the 49-day rule. It must adhere to the adage once bitten twice shy. The mantra should be to retain its distinctiveness, not start behaving like other parties and get its priorities right. With unprecedented people’s power behind it, the AAP may force the Centre to respond positively. If not, Delhi could rightly join the chorus of Opposition-ruled States of ‘step-motherly’ treatment by the NDA. Hope it doesn’t turn into a shrill. Modi Vs Kejriwal must be put behind. Time to move on. Will Centre and Delhi “chale saath saath” (walk together)?         

Bihar High Drama

High drama engulfs Bihar. With Assembly elections slated for later this year, if not sooner, the political temperature is rising fast. Dalit ‘icon’ Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is giving his predecessor and mentor Nitish Kumar a run for his money. Far from being a ‘dummy’ CM as was sketched, Manjhi has sent the JD(U) into a tizzy. The war within the party is  fierce. The High Court has been dragged in. With it putting a hold on Nitish’s election as legislative party chief, the JD(U) rushed to Rashtrapati Bhavan claiming it has support of 130-odd MLAs and a floor test be called immediately as BJP was “buying MLAs”. Manjhi, however, rubbishes it saying he has the majority in the 243-mmber House. This, may well be at the end with some help from the BJP, who lately appears to be going all out to woo him with partner LJP. With 40 seats reserved, Manjhi may well turn out to be a game changer for the NDA. Will he win the vote of confidence on February 20, after Governor Tripathi addresses the Assembly or will Nitish get back the prized kursi before the polls? After Delhi, Bihar promises surprises and much entertainment.

BJP Cheerful In Jharkhand

The BJP in Jharkhand has got a shot in the arm. With six rebels of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) joining the saffron party, the BJP has now a majority on its own in the  81-member Assembly taking its tally to 43. While it is governng the State with its pre-poll ally, the All Jharkhand Students Union, which has five MLAs, the BJP obviously is more comfortable now and need not follow diktat, if any by its partner. However, the rebels’ crossing over has drawn flak, with the JVM(P) accusing the BJP of ‘horse trading’ by offering them plum posts. It held protests in Ranchi and threatens to approach the Speaker to disqualify them. But the BJP is not worried on this front as the anti-defection law is not applicable as two-third of the JVM(P) legislative party has merged legally. Be that as it may, all eyes shall be on the Cabinet expansion, wherein seven berths are lying vacant. Slated to be held soon, it needs to be seen what the rebels eventually get in the quid-pro-quo. Besides, the question rasied is how ‘different’ is the BJP from the rest!

Maharashtrian Barbs

Are cracks already emerging in Maharashtra’s coalition Government? Or is it the usual nit-picking by infamous Shiv Sena and its chief Uddhav Thakeray? Lead partner BJP would like to pass it as the latter, downplaying the barbs following the Delhi debacle. Agreeing with Anna Hazare that the defeat in Delhi was Modi’s, the SS mouthpiece Saamana in its edit hit hard: “You can't win elections with only promises and speeches. Modi’s popularity and Shah’s election strategies were at stake here, but a virtual non-entity like Kejriwal uprooted and threw them away. How was this possible?” While the search for honest answers has been underway, Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis had a piece of advice: the coalition partner should be with it in ‘good times and bad’. And, if things get bad to worse, there’s always NCP waiting in the wings. Modi’s visit to Pawar’s bastion Baramati for a function could be a warning for starters to keep partner in check. Too early to jump the gun.

Governors’ Responsibility

Close on the heels of President Pranab Mukherjee asking Governors to ensure peace and communal harmony, a piquant situation simmers in Uttar Pradesh. Senior minister Azam Khan has accused Governor Ram Naik of expressing “negative views which have led to a lot of fear among the minority community, especially Muslims.” The allegation follows Naik taking exception to the State government allotting a building in Rampur which houses an Institute to Khan’s trust on a 33 year lease of Rs 100 per year! Worse, Khan accused Naik of saying certain things “which were far from the truth”. While Raj Bhavan will deal with Khan’s letter, it may be worthwhile to draw President Pranab Mukherjee’s attention to the row. For the other day, at the 46^th Governors’ conference, he spelt out their responsibilities and urged them to uphold Constitutional provisions. A piece of advice on how to deal with a beligerent political leadership would have helped too. A do’s and don’t list for both sides would be more than welcome. 

Gujarat ‘Idolises’ Modi

Removal of an idol in a temple in Gujarat has led to no outcry! Rather, the persons who installed it realised it was a big blunder. They have upset their “god”-- Narendra Modi! With the temple in a village near Rajkot hitting the headlines, the district administration acted swiftly and removed the idol. But this was only after Modi tweeted that he was ‘appalled’ to see the news of a temple in his name. It is shocking and against India’s tradition, he lamented. However, it wasn’t an overnight development. It took the group of BJP supporters nearly two years to build the small temple and have an ‘exact copy’ of Modi created by artistes from Odisha. Prior to this, a photograph was initailly put up in the temple. While its unsure what the supporters will do with the idol, which cost Rs 1.65 lakhs, they will now have a “Bharat Mata” temple, instead of the son of India!--- INFA

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