Home arrow Archives arrow Round the States arrow Round The States-2016 arrow UP Up In The Air: TROUBLE IN BSP, SP, By Insaf, 24 June, 2016
 
Home
News and Features
INFA Digest
Parliament Spotlight
Dossiers
Publications
Journalism Awards
Archives
RSS
 
 
 
 
 
 
UP Up In The Air: TROUBLE IN BSP, SP, By Insaf, 24 June, 2016 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 24 June, 2016

UP Up In The Air

Trouble In BSP, SP

By Insaf

 

All does not seem to be well among regional Parties in Ulta-Pulta Pradesh. Early this week, in a major political upset, Mayawati received a rude jolt when the BSP’s OBC face, Opposition leader in the Assembly and second-in-command Swami Prasad Maurya walked out of the Party. Ostensibly, because the BSP supremo was auctioning Party tickets for next year’s Assembly poll.  Moreover, he accused Mayawati of “industrial institution” to fulfill her personal interests. It’s another matter that Mayawati’s loss in all likelihood will be Mulayam’s gain as reportedly Maurya is all set to join the Samajwadi Party. Indeed, ironic considering the BJP was the first to try and poach Maurya from the Dalit Party. On the face of it, Mayawati nonchalantly dismisses Maurya’s exit as his ‘greed’ for wanting Party tickets for his son and daughter who had lost the last Assembly and recent Lok Sabha elections.

 

Barely had this been digested came news of a family one-upmanship tussle in Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Parivar. Wherein son and Chief Minister Akhilesh has flexed his muscles vis-à-vis uncle Shiv Pal Yadav and sacked his Secondary Education Minister Balram Yadav for allowing the merger of mafia don-turned MLA Mukhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal (QED). Reportedly, Akhilesh was dead against the QED being inducted in to Samajwadi fold as it sent a wrong signal to the electorate about the Party hobnobbing with criminals. But father Mulayam and uncle Shivpal prevailed whereby Ansari’s brother and confidant have joined, even as Ansari marks time in Lucknow jail. Interestingly, with four vacancies in Akhilesh’s Council of Ministers, Ansari is hopeful that his brother would be inducted as a Minister. Party seniors close to Mulayam assert that the Chief Minister will eventually fall in line as elections close in specially against the backdrop of the QED extending a helping hand in the recent Legislative Council and Rajya Sabha elections.

*                                                           *                                               *                             *

 

After Affect Of Jat Agitation

The Jats in Haryana might have called off their agitation for reservations in education and State jobs. But it all the 90 MLAs and 10 Lok Sabha MPs might have to pay a heavy price. A Rewari court has taken cognizance of a petition by angry residents demanding recovery of Rs.340 crores for losses to the State and private persons in the recent February riots. The cause célèbre? The State Administration’s failure in upholding law and order and our law makers failing in discharging their duty as public servants by controlling the violence and protecting public and private property from untoward damage. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, his MLAs and MPs are keeping their fingers crossed that the judge takes a lenient view when they appear in court on July 24.

*                                                           *                                               *                             *

 

Rs.200 for Drugs In Punjab

Film Udta Punjab is a reality check on the drug menace which has gripped the State in its vicious tentacles and how easy it is to ‘get a fix and high’ there. All it takes is the right connection with the dealer and knowing the local slang: ‘Chitta, chand and ganja’ for a measly Rs.200/-. Disgustingly over six lakh youths are doped out of their minds. Worse, allegedly the kingpins of the drug nexus are politicians, police, bureaucrats etc whereby cocaine and heroin availability beckons at every nook and corner. To put a halt to it, the State Administration seems to have finally woken up. It is now mandatory for aspiring candidates for over 7000 constables’ jobs in the police force to undergo a five-drug dope test. But who will take care of the drug addicts languishing in jails?

*                                                           *                                               *                             *

 

Congress Follows  Jayalalithaa

The Congress seems to have taken a leaf out of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s ‘How to Win Election’ book in Karnataka. With the run away success of the famous Amma canteens which facilitated the AIADMK’s return to powering the State, her counter part in neighbouring Karnataka is following suit. Chief Minister Siddharamaiah is busy wooing the homeless and migrants in Capital Bengaluru with subsidised meals being provided every night through mobile vans set up at night shelters, bus stands, hospitals and railway stations. Add to this, the State's Food and Civil Supplies Department has tied up with international society Iskcon to get the scheme off the ground. Interestingly, Jaya Amma too had copied the idea from Rajasthan where feeding the homeless has been in place for over six years. It remains to be seen if Siddharamaiah will reap electoral dividends in the 2018 Assembly polls? Food for thought!

*                                                           *                                               *                             *

 

Low Enrolment In Kerala

This could be straight out of comic strip Believe It Or Not. In God’s own country which boasts of a 100 per cent literacy rate, school classrooms are empty due to low enrolment. Shockingly, in the last 15 years admissions have dipped from 52.46 lakhs to 37.70 lakhs, consequently this has led to closure of 5,573 out of 12,615 schools as they have become uneconomical to run. Of these, half are directly run by the State Government while the others are State-aided institutions. Scandalously, not only is the States pupil-teacher ratio the lowest in the country but also 3000 teachers are taking their salaries without any work. Worse, over 1000 schools have approached to the State Education Department for closure. Not of few educationists allege that it is not low enrolment of students, but the motive is to usurp the schools land as they are located in prime localities which would fetch crores of rupees. All eyes are on the new LDF Government to see how they will reignite students to go back to the classrooms.---INFA

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

< Previous   Next >
 
   
     
 
 
  Mambo powered by Best-IT