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Round
The States
New Delhi, 18 June, 2015
LaMo Maelstrom
CENTRE,
RAJASTHAN ENTRAPED
By Insaf
From London
to New Delhi,
the LaMo Gate has now reached Jaipur, entrapping Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje
in its sordid facets. Reportedly, Rajasthan’s diva pushed the ex- IPL czar
Lalit Modi’s bid to obtain UK
immigration clearance in 2011. Worse, she pitched that it be kept a secret from
Indian authorities! Undeniably, this has come to bite the ruling BJP Government
both at the State and Centre. Even if the Party tried to look the other way as
its ‘humanitarian’ approach to Union Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj
impropriety, the sleaze has additionally engulfed Raje’s son and BJP MP
Dushyanat Singh for receiving Rs 11.63 crore from Modi through a combination of
loan and extraordinary share purchase. True, both Raje and Swaraj seem to have
bought time, but all depends on how successfully the Congress and Opposition
rake up the issue during Parliament’s ensuing monsoon session. As of now, it is
going to town on the ‘suit boot’ sarkar. Either which way, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s pet projects--that of the Land acquisition and GST Bills may be
sacrificed at the altar of one-upmanhsip politics. Additionally, NaMo’s loud
procrastination of zero tolerance towards corruption has taken a bit hit.
Raje’s discomfiture is music to her arch opponents and the knives are waiting
to strike. Who will LaMo Gate singe next?
* * * *
Cong
States Woo Dalits?
With its eye on the upcoming polls
in Bihar, followed by Punjab next year, the
Congress has upped the ante to woo Dalits in States ruled by it, post its
embracing of renowned Dalit icon B R Ambedkar. The Grand Dame’s high command
has signalled to Kerala, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Assam to ensure
funds are earmarked for SC/ST welfare in proportion to their population.
Purportedly, party President Sonia Gandhi would like the four States to adopt
the Karnataka model, whereby SC/ST funds can only be used for schemes catering
to the two communities to reinforce its promise for Dalit welfare. Not only
will it seek to score brownie points in Punjab,
which has a high SC concentration but should put pressure on the Centre to
adopt the same model. Alongside, the Party intends raising this demand in the
monsoon session of Parliament as also to key legislations for the Dalits ---
promotion quota and changes in the atrocities laws. Whether the Congress’ clear
shift from pro-Muslim to pro-Dalit credentials will harvest the benefits,
remain to be seen.
* * * *
Cleaning
Up Maharashtra
Prime Minister Modi’s zero tolerance
towards corruption has a major follower in his henchman Chief Minister Devinder
Fadnavis in Maharashtra. A big feather in the
State’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) is the
netting of rival NCP’s senior leader and ex-PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Two
cases have been registered against Sharad Pawar’s major factum under the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act. And out tumbled are scandalous details of
Bhujbal and family amassing various properties in Mumbai, Pune, Lonavala, Nasik, Thane and Navi
Mumbai. Reportedly, what nailed him was his awarding works to favourite
contractors for the swanky seven-star Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi worth Rs 100
crore without inviting bids as well as handing over the pricey Kalina
University land to a private estate developer to build a library along with
flats for a paltry Rs 124 crores. Bhujbal is accused of receiving kickbacks of
Rs 2.5 crore in his welfare foundation. The ACB officers were dumbfounded on
entering the 35,000 sq ft Bhujbal palace in Nasik and its accompanying 15,000
sq ft guest wing which boasted of a private health club, sauna, bar and a
billard room et al. Any wonder why politics is the favourite playground for
rags-to-riches players.
* * * *
J&K
Aid ‘Peanuts’?
Peanuts, is how Jammu and Kashmir citizens have in a
nutshell reacted to the Centre’s largesse of Rs 1667 crore. Scandalously, this
is nearly Rs 1000 crore less than what was announced to the State by Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to tide
over the devastation left in the wake of last year’s flood. Apparently, this
has poured cold water on Mufti Mohammad’s PDP-BJP government’s hope of garnering
Rs 44,000 crores for reconstruction of the economy and housing. It’s another
matter that a total of Rs 5039 crore has been released by the Centre so far to
placate the people. But, the Kashmiri is unhappy. Predictably, the former
ruling party National Conference is busy fanning the people’s discontent by
calling for rival PDP to break its ties with the Hindutva partner, which was an
‘enemy’ of the people. Even as the PDP goes dousing the flames of angst, it has
put forth another plea for more dole. Will the Centre accommodate and keep its
partner in good humour?
* * * *
Tripura’s
Chit Fund Scam
Are the people of Tripura not
Indians, asks the opposition Congress leaders of the North-Eastern State.
Their grievance is that while the CBI is investigating the chit fund scams in West Bengal and Odisha, it is soft on Tripura. According
to the party’s claim, 142 chit fund companies started their business in the
State since 1993, when the CPM government took over the reins. Of these 92 ran
away with the common people’s money but the Manik Sarkar government has not
only been sitting pretty but is in cahoots with scamsters. Worse, the Centre is
unwilling to heed to their woes. A whopping 14 lakh investors are said to have
lost their hard earned money. The Opposition parties in the State Assembly demanded
that 37 companies be investigated by the CBI. However, only five have been
taken cognisance of, giving the excuse that the amount involved in the cases
was “very small!” An upset Congress has sought to draw Prime Minister Modi’s
attention to the scandal and have been knocking on his door for an appointment.
Having made no headway, the high-level Congress team has reached out to the
national media to unravel the scandal in the hope the people will get justice.
Will it help?
* * * *
Expensive
Delhi
Forget Delhi’s rancid pollution, believe it or not
it is the second costliest Indian city for expats and Mumbai, the most
expensive metro. Surprisingly, African State Angola’s capital Luanda
is numero uno, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore. At number three is
Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Another revelation is that Pakistan’s commercial capital Karachi was ranked the world’s third
least-expensive city. The Mercer’s 21st Annual Cost of Living Survey
2015 lists 207 cities worldwide is a handyman for countries and multi nationals
to determine the quantum of compensation and allowances to their expat
employees. Notorious Delhi’s
second black mark, the German Embassy has cut short its diplomats tenure from 4
to three years thanks to the environment. ----INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
New
Delhi, 18 June 2015
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