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Round The States
New
Delhi, 17 July 2015
Niti Aayog Damp
Squib
STATES PLAY
POLITICS
By Insaf
Politics has entered the portals of Niti Aayog, erstwhile
Planning Commission. In a first of sorts twelve Chief Ministers gave the Governing
Council meet a miss, of which nine belonged to Congress-ruled States. Also
absent were West Bengal’s Mamata, UP’s
Akhilesh Yadav, Odisha’s Patnaik and Tamil Nadu’s Jayalalitha. Importantly, Prime
Minister Modi used the occasion to forge a consensus on his pet project, Land Acquisition
Bill stuck in political deadlock in Parliament. But his hopes were dashed as he
encountered resistance from political opponents as also among his allies. While
Bihar and Delhi Chief Ministers stoutly
opposed dilution of the 2013 Land Act provisions, dittoed by an absent Mamata
Banerjee, co-partners Akalis and PDP advised caution in acquisition of land
without the consent of the farmers.
With
Bihar going to the polls in a few months, the ruling JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar made
plain that in the event the Central Government failed to reach an amicable
solution then States should be allowed to enact their respective legislation
and the Centre could vet it. A move, which seems to have found favour with the
ruling NDA Government for fast development even as Punjab’s Chief Minister Badal
stressed he need for a social impact assessment of all acquisitions. Predictably,
BJP-ruled Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat
concurred with the Prime Minister’s decision. With Congress-ruled States
playing hard ball, clearly the Land Act is all up in the air.
* * * *
Fissures in Badal’s
Family?
All does not seem to be well in the Badal Parivar. For the
first time, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal reportedly taunted
daughter-in-law Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur family nee
his Samdhis, Majithia’s for “enjoying
maximum benefits of power”, that too in her presence. Speaking at the annual
convocation of the Khalsa
College presided over by Harsimrat’s
father SS Majithia, Badal Sr elucidated: “Majithia is the only man in the
country whose son is the State Revenue Minister (Bikram Singh Majithia),
daughter a Central Minister and son-in-law Sukhbir the Deputy Chief Minister.
Pertinently when Sr Majithia asked Badal Sr to release funds for the colleges,
the Chief Minister retorted, “I have already given the maximum”. It’s another
matter that later he granted Rs.50 lakhs from the Chief Minister’s discretionary
quota. A shell-shocked Jr Majithia tried to his utmost at damage control by asserting,
his sister Harsimrat’s father-in-law Badal had said this in lighter vein, yet
the truth is words once spoken cannot be retracted. Predictably, this has sent Punjab politicians in to a tizzy and provided fodder for
arch opponent Congress.
* * * *
IPS Officer Vs
Mulayam
The ruling Samajwadi Party in Ulta-Pulta State has once again unleashed its ‘State power’ by
suspending a senior IPS officer Amitabh Thakur who took up cudgels against the
mining mafia. In a repeat of the Durga Shakti Nagpal case, who came down
heavily on sand mafia, Thakur complained to the Police that Samajwadi supremo
Mulayam Singh in a phone conversation had
threatened him to desist, which he recorded and released to the media. In
retaliation, the IPS officer was suspended after a woman slapped a rape case
against him. For good measure, the
Akhilesh Government charge-sheeted Thakur for indiscipline and holding anti-Government
views. The official has now demanded a CBI enquiry in to the “false”
molestation charges and sought security from the Union Home Ministry. But North
Block has turned a blind eye as the officer is known for ‘undue activism’. All
eyes are on what happens next!
* * * *
All Roads Leads to Varanasi
All roads lead to Varanasi,
the most important constituency in the country, obviously Prime Minister
Modi’s. In the last one year since Modi’s high-powered election promising
various goodies, the city and its surrounding areas had witnessed 129
high-powered visits by 31 of the 64 Union Ministers. This was topped by another
144 tours by 56 Secretaries and Joint Secretaries from 27 Ministries to oversee
various projects. Besides the cleansing of the river Ganga, redevelopment of
the Varanasi’s famous Ghats,
the Urban Ministry has prepared a blue print for the integrated development of
the Constituency. Varanasi’s
residents have their fingers crossed whether the litany of Ministerial who’s
who visits promising various goodies will translate in to reality!
* * * *
NDA’s Santa Claus
Act
If it’s raining goodies and freebies, it must be Bihar. In a no-holds-barred election campaign the BJP-led
Modi Sarkar is leaving no stone
unturned to upstage the ruling JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar – Lalu’s RJD combine. After
biting dust in Delhi’s poll, Bihar
is crucial for the Hindutva brigade
as it would be a barometer of Modi’s policies and popularity. Towards that end,
the Union Finance Ministry is leading an 18-Ministry initiative to woo voters with various gifts couched as a Bihar development strategy. To upstage the erstwhile
UPA’s IIT, the NDA has mooted an Indian Institute of Management, granting
Central status to Patna University, upgradation of Patna and Bodh Gaya airports etc. It remains
to be seen if BJP’s Santa Claus act will reap rich electoral dividends.
* * * *
Food For Though
From Amma canteens
to aam aadmi khana. Delhi Chief
Minister Kejriwal has taken a leaf out of compatriot Tamil Nadu’s Jayalalitha’s
book and has promised to kick start eateries to provide college going students,
small traders, construction workers and working class nutritious food between
Rs. 5 and 10. Criticizing the erstwhile Congress Government’s unsustainable Jan
Ahaar Scheme, which served unhygienic food, the AAP Governments intends
replicating Amma’s 225 canteens in
the Union Capital. Kejriwal intends roping in NGO’s and private contractors.
But is mum on what would be the fate of his key constituents, the street
hawkers. Either which way, food for thought! ---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
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