Round The States

New Delhi, 19 March 2016

Mother India Debatei

MAHARASHTRA BATS FOR BHARAT

By Insaf

Maharashtra Assembly is seeing a Mother India churn. Wherein all the patriotic secularists and perceived communalists have gotten together to play policemen to whosoever doesn’t wear his love for motherland on his sleeve. Surprisingly, notwithstanding Congress Vice President Rahul Ganshi accusing the Hindutva brigade of “destroying relationships” in the name of the flag, his party joined the chorus, the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP, in hounding out the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLA, Waris Pathan for rest of the Budget session for refusing to chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ during the debate on the Governor’s address. Worse, the Speaker suspended Pathan on the ground that of ‘collective feeling’ of all MLAs. Rule or no rule, didn’t matter. How could it when the stake of mother India was involved.

Clearly, Pathan was following in his leader MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s footsteps, who unabashedly took pride in his speech in Hyderabad that he would never chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ even if a “knife is put to my throat.” His fallacious plea: it was not in the Constitution! Obviously, Owasi’s MIM has eyes on the minority vote banks for the forthcoming elections in five States, never mind if his outbursts paint the minority community as anti-national. Predictably, cutting across Party lines Rajya MPs exercised their lung power denouncing their Lok Sabha counterpart’s anti-India assertion. Moreover, cocking a snook at its community leaders, thousands of Muslims in a show of love for the country got together at a dargah in Mumbai where for the first time the national flag was hoisted, national anthem sung and slogans of bharat mata ki jai rent the air, while celebrating the 603 Urs of Peer Maqdoom Shah Baba. Indeed, testing times for patriotism.

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West Bengal Stung

The West Bengal sting operation of ruling Trinamool leaders, being exposed taking bribes in lieu of favours, is a classic case of different strokes for different folks. Like all politicians caught with their hands in the till, Mamata Banerjee and her team have dubbed it a ‘political conspiracy’ to tarnish the party’s image prior to the Assembly elections, where they claim that the “Left, Congress and BJP are destined to lose.” Undeniably, the party supremo suffers from severe amnesia, having taken up cudgels against former NDA Defence Minister Late George Fernandes in the coffin scam case, where she resigned as Union Railway Minister to showcase her pristine honesty. She also seems to forget that Parliament had expelled 11 members facing charges of bribe some years ago in the famous cash-for-vote scam. Moreover, she chooses to ignore that five of her MPs shown receiving wads of notes have now to declare their innocence before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee. Will they come clean and add another blow to Parliament’s prestige and dignity or will they be stung?  

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Rajasthan Univ ‘Beef’ Row

Now it’s a Rajasthan university raising a stink. Not the now famous sedition controversy of JNU but over an equally flogged issue-- consumption of “beef.’ Four Kashmiri students were beaten up by a right-wing mob for allegedly consuming beef in the hostel room in a private University, which is nevertheless vegetarian -- prevents eating of non-vegetarian food in the campus. The mob gathered outside the campus in Chittorgarh district, threw stones, blocked the Ajmer-Udaipur highway and some even set fire to a meat shop. The four students were arrested ‘for disturbing peace’ but later released on bail as they consumed mutton and not beef. However, no action has been taken against those who indulged in violence. A classic case of misdirected fury, where the culprit goes scot free and the innocent gets cooked.      

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Telangana To Fulfil Promises?

Miniscule nascent State Telangana is out to outdo Prime Minister Modi in the agriculture and irrigation sector. Making rural economy the centre piece of its 2016-17 Budget, the State has outlayed an unprecedented Rs 1.3 lakh crores towards irrigation and drinking water through its ‘Mission Bhagiratha’ as also double bedroom housing amongst many of the core components that have been proposed for its people this financial year. Alongside, substantial allocation has also been made for power, health, education, welfare and social security. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is very clear that the ordinary folk, who struggled with him for the formation of the State as well as ensured majority rule, must be paid back. Thus the Government would spend Rs 75,000 corer on irrigation for the next three years starting this year. Insaf in Warangal recently learnt that under the mission every single home in the entire State would get piped drinking water through taps! Further, the administration realised that the earlier scheme of a one room hut was no claim to providing decent housing. So everyone would get two-bedroom homes. Hopes have been raised. Will targets be met?   

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UP’s SP Sugandh

In politics nothing matters more than sweet scent of success. The latest subscriber to this is Akhilesh Yadav, CEO of ulta pulta Pradesh. With Assembly elections slated for next year, the ruling SP is leaving no stone unturned to emerge victorious again. To ensure that his vote bank remains loyal the regional party has launched a range of perfumes—Samajwadi sugandh-- to spread its fragrance across UP. The four fragrances encapsulating its four-year rule encompasses progress, equality and efficiency. It remains to be seen whether the sugandh will come out smelling of roses or whether BSP’s bhenji will stink out her arch rival? Not to be left behind, the saffron Sangh has upped the ante of Modi’s pet hobby horse ‘Digital India’ by stating the gateway to grabbing the party ticket was their presence on social media, read facebook and twitter. The bar is set at a minimum of 25000 likes/followers. Naturally, the MLA hopefuls are busy opening their accounts and those who are not net savvy are hiring family and friends to ensure their likability. Even as many cribbed about this measure being applied to gauge a leader’s popularity they have no option but to fall in President Amit Shah’s line. The ball is now in Mayawati’s court. What flavour will she curry?—INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)