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Gujarat Civic Polls: WARNING BELLS FOR BJP, By Insaf, 5 Dec, 2015 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 5 December 2015

Gujarat Civic Polls

WARNING BELLS FOR BJP

By Insaf

 

Gujarat’s feel good factor is wearing off. The recent civic polls should set the alarm bells ringing both in the State and at the Centre. There is no denying that the Congress is making a comeback after over a decade. It has won 23 out of 31 district panchayats and 113 of the 193 taluka panchayats, showing that the rural hold of the Anadiben government is clearly on the wane. However, the big question is whether the BJP should see the writing on the wall, following the Patel reservation stir. Much that it would like to take solace in the fact that it has retained its urban vote bank and won all the six municipal corporations --Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar, and Bhavnagar, and that won 42 of the 56 municiplaities, it cannot shrug the fact that its majority has been reduced. Importantly, while the BJP could admit that the Patel agitation dealt a blow, it would have to realise that anti-incumbency is setting in. Its earlier staunch vote bank of farmers too is disillusioned. Add to this that the Modi charisma is clearly missing. While the BJP gets into a huddle analysing what went wrong, the Congress would do well to encash on its victory. 2017 in not too far.

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Kerala Solar Scam Murkier

Kerala’s solar panel scam is getting murkier. Worse at a time, when New Delhi is floating an idea of solar alliance with the outside world! Accusation of bribe and sleaze continue to haunt the UDF government. The prime accused in the solar panel scam, Biju Radhakrishnan has now claimed before the judicial commission that he paid bribes to the who’s who, including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy (Rs 5.5 crore), Rs 40 lakh to his former forest minister Ganesh Kumar and Rs 35 lakh to Congress MP K C Venugopal when he was MoS in the UPA. Besides, he alleged that the CM, his two colleagues and three others had sexual links with his live-in partner Saritha Nair, who mercifully, for Chandy has rubbished the charges. Recall, the scandal had hit the headlines in 2013 and involved the firm ‘Team Solar’, which apparently collected huge sums from investors promising to give solar energy material and make them partners in wind energy solutions. While that went kaput, Radhakrishnan is ensuring that Chandy and team have no ray of hope of the pressure easing. 

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Non-BJP States ‘Intolerant’

The Centre has good reason to scoff at belligerent States and their leaders complaining about growing hate culture in the country. In its recent data on incidents of communal violence, the Home Ministry has said that non-BJP States were the big offenders too—recording 52 per cent of the cases this year until October. Topping the list was Uttar Pradesh with the highest communal violence at 139 incidents, surpassing last year’s 133. Congress-ruled Karnataka witnessed more communal incidents at 79 as compared to 73 in 2014, Bihar has so far recorded 59 incidents against 61 in 2014 and West Bengal has 24 in the first 10 months of this year, up from 16 through 2014. So, is it a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black? It could have been, but BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh (86 incidents as compared to 54 last year), Jharkhand (24 instead of 10), and Maharashtra (97 communal incidents, same as 2014) have become spoilers. However, Rajasthan with 54 incidents (72 last year) and Gujarat with 47 incidents as compared to 74 in 2014, gives it some solace. How bad the statistics turn in the next two months would be worth a watch.

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Festive Trouble in Hyderabad?

Hyderabad’s Osmania University is on tenterhooks. The threat by a section of students to hold ‘a beef festival’ to coincide with International Human Rights Day on December 10 has got another section up in arms. The latter has demanded that if the festival is allowed then it would like to hold a ‘Gau pooja’ (cow worship) in the campus alongside. And if not this, then it would hold ‘a pork festival’ the same day! This section is obviously influenced by BJP MLA Raja Singh, who threatened to “kill anyone” who holds the beef festival. The VC’s office finally woke up to the looming threat and denied permission to all such activities that are unrelated to academic and research. While all eyes would still be on how the Human Rights Day eventually pans out in the University, it’s sadly certain that the Parliamentarians debate and appeal on curbing intolerance failed to make a mark on the young minds.

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States Help Sought

States need to chip in to help stop exploitation of their labour force in the Gulf. That’s a message from the Ministry of Overseas Indians Abroad to Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana among other States, which see large number of their people going across to earn a better living. While spelling out the various steps taken to check exploitation of Indian labourers in the Gulf, Minister Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha particularly drew attention of the members that the Centre has for starters insisted that all Indians going abroad as domestic help must go through government-registered recruitment agencies. They must follow too and set up a system in place. At the same time, the States have been asked to promote the Ministry’s 24X7 helpline “Overseas Workers Resource Centre”, which provides guidance on all matters and problems pertaining to overseas employment of Indian nationals. Will the States help strengthen the Centre’s hands?

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Tripura Malaria Check

Tripura believes in the adage a stitch in time saves nine. Bitten badly by the malaria bug last year, the Tripura Government doesn’t want to take chances anymore. It has started gearing up to protect its people from another tragedy. The Manik Sarkar government has procured nine lakh-odd medicated mosquito nets and proposes to distribute these free in malaria-prone areas. Fortunately for it, the Union government has contributed 8 lakh of the long lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN), whereas 50,000 have been bought from the UNICEF at the cost of Rs 90 lakh. Recall, that last June following a two-month long malaria epidemic in the State, a 100-odd people, mostly in tribal dominated mountainous areas had died and over a lakh fell ill, in what was described as the worst situation in 30 years. While health camps and blood testing facilities are also being put in place, fingers would be crossed that this time round the mosquitoes fall prey. Undeniably, distribution of the nets and of course usage will be critical.      ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

 

 

 

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