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Round
The States
New
Delhi, 28 November, 2015
Bihar Agenda
ADIOS
LIQUOR, CORRUPTION
By
Insaf
Come April 1 and Bihar will go dry. Well, prohibition is uppermost on
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s list of poll promises to be kept. His
pronouncement will obviously make the menfolk frown. But that should be of
little concern. It’s the die-hard women supporters, who outnumbered the men in
casting their vote this election, that Nitish seeks to please. Liquor
consumption hits the poorest of the poor, their families hard and the kids’
education; it leads to domestic violence, particularly against women, and an
increase in crime, is Nitish’s reasoning for the ban. However, there hangs a
big question mark over coming out tops on this front. Prohibition may like in
Mahatma Gandhi’s Gujarat, turn out to be sham.
Liquor is easily there available thanks to the bootleggers, who it goes without
saying, are raking it in. And, how does Nitish propose to deal with the local
hooch industry? To top it all, how does the State, craving for funds, make up
for the loss of revenue of Rs 3000-odd crore annually? All eyes would be on the
‘peg’ measures. Will Biharis say ‘cheers’ or scream ‘April Fool’?
Likewise, bigger partner
RJD too has an agenda. Its Chief Lalu Pradad’s son and Deputy Chief Minister
Tejaswi stated that “corruption will not be tolerated ...people have given us a
big mandate only to work for them and we’ll do our work with full honesty.” The
zero tolerance warning and the commitment to develop Bihar
as a modern State came soon after he assumed charge of his ministries.
Ironically, a day later Lalu found himself cautioning his flock of newly
elected MLAs “not to scramble for bungalows in Patna before it was officially allotted to
them.” The need arose as some of the legislators had affixed their nameplates
to many a gate of several palatial bungalows, notwithstanding the fact that
these were still occupied! Will signs of the famous ‘jungle raj’ fade away and
how soon, is the big question.
* * * *
MP
Dampens BJP Spirits
Madhya Pradesh offers no
solace to the BJP headquarter in Delhi.
The ruling party suffered a humiliating defeat in the byelection for the
Ratlam-Jhabua (ST) Lok Sabha constituency, following the death of its MP, Dilip
Singh Bhuria, who incidentally won the seat in the 2014 Modi wave. On the other
hand, the Congress is upbeat. The victory of its candidate and former Minister,
Kantilal Bhuria offers a glimmer of hope of a comeback in the State. More so,
as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had camped in the constituency and
addressed over 25 rallies with his ministers in tow. The timing of this defeat
makes matters worse for the BJP – close on the heels of the Bihar
debacle. Losing its first parliamentary seat after its spectacular victory in
the Lok Sabha elections is indeed not a good omen. Is the magic wearing off? While
the BJP may scoff at the suggestion, it may at least admit that the Ratlam
verdict dampened its high spirits of having made its debut in the two Manipur
Assembly byelections. Victory turned sour?
* * * *
War
Cry In Punjab
The bugle for the 2017
battle in Punjab is already sounded. By
accusing the Congress of ‘orchestrating’ the recent anti-government protests in
the State, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal has realised that best defence is
offence. It now charges the Grand old party of ‘supporting pro-Khalistan
groups’, of being “anti-national” and petitioned the President for
‘derecognition.’ Besides, in a massive show of strength at a ‘Sadbhavna rally’
in the Badals stronghold, Bhatinda, the SAD has thrown the challenge –try dislodging
the Akali rule. The Congress has scoffed at the ‘theatrics’ and is too ready
with its ammunition. Capt Amarinder Singh, who is slated to be back as Pradesh
Congress chief, has hit back by charging the SAD of using ally BJP to use
‘dirty tricks’ against its opponents, read asking the Swiss authorities to investigate his wife and son’s
accounts! Daggers are indeed drawn. However, in their bitter war both shouldn’t
forget the AAP waiting in the wings. After Delhi,
will it be Punjab?
* * * *
Of
State Parties & Ambedkar
The Constitution Day
being observed by Parliament to commemorate the 125th birth
anniversary celebration of Dr B R Ambedkar, had State and regional parties
seeking to outdo big brothers Congress and the BJP in appropriating his legacy.
While Congress President Sonia Gandhi drew home the point that her party came
in for praise by none other than Ambedkar for appointing him the chairman of
the Constitution committee, BJP’s Rajnath Singh showcased his Government’s
schemes as being directly related to Ambedkar, who had inspired Prime Minister
Modi. However, when its turn came in the Lok Sabha, debating commitment to India’s Constitution, the Trinamool Congress was
quick to insist that after the Constituent assembly was set up, Ambedkar
represented West Bengal even though he was
born in Madhya Pradesh. Besides, while Mahatma Gandhi wanted him to be inducted
from Maharashtra or MP, neither obliged! While
the Shiv Sena may have been miffed, it chose to train its guns on the Congress,
reminding it that while it made him chairman it put up
candidates against him in two elections in Mumbai, both of which he lost.
Sadly, in the clamour for scoring brownie points, the MPs and parties seemed to
have missed the woods for the tress!
* * * *
Fiercely
Violent Bengal
West Bengal should hang
its head in shame. While the world joined the UN to mark the Day to end
violence against women last Wednesday, statistics revealed the State, ruled by
a woman Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, continues to top the nation’s chart in
domestic violence cases for the 7th consecutive year! Shockingly, married
women continue to be beaten in their homes and over one in 10 cases of crime
against women last year was reported from the State. Worse, while the Bengalis
claim to be more liberal, the State accounted for one in five cases of cruelty
by husband and relatives, more than northern States like UP, Haryana and Rajasthan,
whose society is typecast as brutally parochial. It also ranks second in cases
of suicide due to dowry and fourth in dowry murder. The statistics by an
international network to end domestic
violence have been contested by the Government saying the figures reflect only those
cases which are registered by police. And, while Bengali women go to the cops
and lodge complaints, others in many States don’t do so. Be that as it may, is
there any justification it can offer as to why justice eludes these women?
* * * *
Grand
Wedding In Kerala
Spartan Kerala can boast
of hosting a wedding which would put Bollywood to shame. Its NRI magnet with
businesses in the Gulf obviously chose home State for the wedding of his
daughter. The extravaganza in Kollam was budgeted to the tune of at least Rs 55
crore! It would showcase dance performances by Malayalam film actresses,
musical show etc to the 30,000-odd guests, including who’s who of Gulf and Europe, who were flown in charter flights. The wedding
set, a 350,000 sq ft pandal modelled along Rajasthan royal palaces, is said to
have taken over two months to prepare and was spread over eight acres. It cost
the father just over Rs 20 crores. While many an eyebrow would have gone up,
the NRI has sought to soften the splurge. Rs 10-crore were put aside for charity
initiatives in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. Worth another watch.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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