Round The States
New
Delhi, 3 March 2015
Gujarat
Anti-Terror Bill
All EYES
ON RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN
By Insaf
Gujarat tries its luck yet
again. Notwithstanding that its anti-terror law, passed by the Assembly in the
past has been rejected not once but thrice by the President, the State
Government is adamant to push it through. Perhaps in the backdrop that with the
NDA government at the Centre, it may just get the elusive nod. It has thus
passed the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime Bill 2015 (GCTOC),
which according to the Opposition and human rights activists is undeniably
draconian like TADA and POTA and poses threat to fundamental rights of the
citizens. The State, however, insists that it is important to check organised
crime and that a similar Bill, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act
(MCOCA) is in force since 1999. However, what it doesn’t admit is that it gives
sweeping powers to the Police, it is in variance with the Centre’s Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act and that similar laws have not yielded any major
gains to fight organised crime or for terrorist activity. Importantly, the
Opposition has urged President Pranab Mukherjee to reject the Bill on grounds
that it contained anti-constitutional provisions. Undoubtedly, there will be a political hue
and cry in the coming days. All eyes will be on Rashtrapati Bhavan. Will it
oblige this time or will the Bill meet the same fate?
* * * *
W
Bengal-Centre Spat
The cat-and-mouse game between West Bengal and the Centre is never-ending. Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee is peeved with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s
recent visit to Tin Bigha and adjoining enclaves-- Chhit Mahals, near
Indo-Bangladesh border, without prior information. She has charged New Delhi of gross
impropriety, on grounds that Singh’s visit was without any consultation or
discussion, which amounts to ‘violating’ the principles of federal structure.
However, the BJP has rubbished the charge saying North Block had duly informed
the State government of the two-day visit and that administration offricials
were present during his tour. It charges Mamata of unnecessarily politicising
an issue of national security. At the same time, it accuses the ruling
Trinamool of playing the ‘minority card’ by banning VHP’s International working
president Praveen Togadia from entering the State, notwithstanding that two
other States have done the same. The move it claims is with an eye on the civic
polls to woo her vote bank, the minorities. The antics from both sides promise
to be interesting this local poll season.
* * * *
Punjab To
Check Misuse
Punjab is trying to find ways
to curb misuse of reservation benefits. While many eyebrows are being raised
about the aim, the Punjab State Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Commission
is undeterred and has set in motion the process to check whether Christians and
Muslims are holding ‘illegal’ SC certificates and availing benefits not meant
for them. The Commission has launched an awareness drive in panchayats,
municipal corporations and even colleges asking people from SC communities to
register complaints about ineligible individuals who are digging into their
benefits. However, many see the move as promoting the RSS agenda of “ghar wapsi’ (home coming) wherein lower
caste Muslims and Christians who convert back to Hinduism can avail SC
benefits. The Government, however, does not want the move to be seen as a RSS
agenda and has in the past spoken against ‘ghar
wapsi.’ Therefore, the Commission would need to tread carefully. While it is
determined to send a stern message that cheating by obtaining fraudulent
certificates would not be tolerated as per the law, its action should not be
seen as anti-Muslims/ Christians. Of course benefits should go to the deserving
only, but politics and wanton misuse should not cast a shadow on the move meant
to set the system right.
* * * *
Rajasthan
Ban on Witchcraft
Rajasthan has set the ball rolling
to check the shocking and inhuman practice of witchcraft. Concerned over large
number of cases hitting headlines, the Vasundhra Raje Government has introduced
in the Assembly the Rajasthan Prevention of Witch-hunting Bill, which makes
witchcraft and similar practices as punishable offences. The State obviously is
following the footsteps of Maharashtra Government, which has been the first to
ban black magic, witchcraft and other superstitious practices. Taking a cue,
now Jaipur seeks life imprisonment if witch-hunting causes death, a fine and
imprisonment for five years for practicing witch-craft etc. Importantly, the
Bill seeks to involve the people against the practice and imposes a collective
fine on those who abet the crime, suppress evidence or help the offenders,
among other actions. The fine in all cases will be used to rehabilitate and
resettle the victims. The Bill is very comprehensive and its passage is only a
question of time. Will Rajasthan too soon be on the road to a new progressive
era?
* * * *
Kannada
In Karnataka
Karnataka plans to reach out to all
Chief Ministers, other than the Centre to help it achieve its dream. It aspires
to enforce Kannada in all schools, in fact make it a compulsory language.
Towards this end, the Assembly on Tuesday last adopted two Bills—Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2015 and
Kannada Language Learning Bill 2015.
While the former seeks to provide primary education in class one to five
in the child’s mother tongue or in Kannada, the other seeks to make it
mandatory for students in class one to ten to be taught in Kannada as one of
the compulsory languages in all schools in a phased manner from 2015-16. With the first step taken, Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah is planning to take an all-party delegation to New Delhi to impress upon Prime Minister Modi
to bring an Constitutional amendment to enforce Kannada as medium of
instruction for primary education. The State’s earlier attempt to have a
language policy in place was turned down by the Supreme Court. Once bitten
twice shy, doesn’t seem to deter the legislators. This time around, they seem
to have done their homework to make the case watertight. The big question is
whether other Chief Ministers will readily oblige?
* * * *
J&K
Spirits Dampened
The weather is playing spoilsport
for the Jammu & Kashmir Government. In fact, the people’s spirits too are
dampened by the incessant rains. While both were gearing up for a good tourist
season this summer, after the floods played merry havoc seven months ago, news
from tour operators is disheartening. This follows, an advisory from the Mufti
administration declaring the Valley as a ‘flooded’ region. A large number of
tourist bookings have thus been cancelled. While the Government has rightly
done its duty following the month of March being the wettest in 100 years and
the State staring at another round of flooding, the tour operators say signs of
water receding are there and another advisory needs to be issued. The tourists
should wait and watch and not rush into cancelling their bookings. Will the
Centre, which is also monitoring the situation advice likewise? The tourism
industry cannot take another severe hit. But above all, the weather God must
oblige. ----INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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