Round The States

New Delhi, 10 June, 2017

Farm Loan Waiver

STATES, CENTRE RATTLED

By Insaf

The Centre appears to have bitten off more than it can chew. Undeniably, its populist farmers’ loan waiver strategy in Uttar Pradesh has opened a Pandora’s Box. Other than the BJP-ruled States of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan getting rattled, the RBI Governor too has a word of caution: the waivers could be inflationary and it needs to tread carefully. Will or rather can it heed, as the die has been cast? The situation is grave, with five farmers killed and four others injured in firing in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, not to speak of protests spreading to other districts, with protesters indulging in arson and violence, torching vehicles and blocking road and rail tracks. The demand for loan waiver and fair prices for their produce is now inching towards Rajasthan, even as Maharashtra is trying to get its act together to meet its biggest commitment of farm loan waivers to the tune of Rs 30,000 by 31 October. Worse, the farmers’ war cry is turning into a political battle. The Congress, among other rivals has been quick to grab the opportunity to reach out to the vote bank, but has been stopped in its track from reaching Mandsaur, being accused of instigating farmers. Ironically, the BJP is behaving no different. Its unit in Karnataka is pressurising the Congress government to announce loan waiver for farmers or else it will launch protests! Both sides must realise that farmers’ issue is indeed a hot potatoe and needs a resolution not tu-mein-mein!

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Gorkhaland Stir?

Trouble is brewing in West Bengal’s Darjeeling Hills. The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha has threatened to revive its agitation for a separate State of Gorkhaland. Running the semi-autonomous administrative body of the Gorkhaland Territorial Territory, the GJM is peeved with the Mamata Government for not allowing it to function and making it ‘powerless’. There is no development work being undertaken, alleges the GJM and its chief Bimal Gurung threatens to make an exit from the GTA.  However, this may only be an excuse, as the Morcha, which is an ally of the BJP, appears to be losing its hold in the Hills, as the recent municipal polls suggest, with the TMC making inroads into Mirik. While there is said to be a division within the group itself, Gurung maintains “all are united,” and the stir will be launched. How soon Mamata will checkmate the Morcha is a question. She too is in preparation mode and has asked for an audit of GTA funds. Predictably, a cat-and-mouse game!  

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Nagaland Encounter

Nagaland has put a question mark on the Centre’s recent claim that militancy is no longer an issue in the North-East. On Tuesday last, an Army officer and three militants of the NSCN(K) and ULFA(I) other than a civilian were killed in an encounter in the State’s Mon district, bordering Myanmar. It is no secret that the insurgents are operating in the neighbouring country and that New Delhi needs to up the ante. More so, as the insurgents appear to be well armed as the recent operation also led to recovery of one AK-56, two Chinese-make AK rifles, two grenades, three IEDs and 270 live rounds of AK-series ammunition. Both the Home and External Affairs ministries would need to double its efforts to contain the insurgency and get help from the Myanmar government. It cannot be complacent after its ‘framework pact’ with the NSCN(IM), which had been demanding Greater Nagalingam, has been put in cold storage. The challenge of several banned insurgent outfits carrying out activities in the region, under the banner of United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNFLW), set up April 2015 in Myanmar remains. Recall that in June 2015 the outfit had claimed responsibility of killing 18 Dogra Regiment personnel in an encounter in Manipur. Warning bells?

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Cattle Ban Flusters NE

Meanwhile, the Centre’s cow slaughter ban is making BJP-ruled States uneasy in the N-E. Discontent is brewing in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, forcing the Convener of BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance Himanta Biswa Sarma to be at  pains to insist that there is no intention of the State governments to impose any restriction. This after senior BJP members have quit the party in Meghalaya and the Biren Singh government in Manipur has made it known it will not implement any order which violates people’s food habits. Predictably so, as most of the States have a dominant Christian population and consumption of beef is common. “We are in power in Assam and people are eating beef there in day-to-day life. Where is the ban?” asked Sarma. While he claimed that the beef issue is being blown out of proportion by the Opposition, the BJP will need to make its own assessment as it dreams of expanding its base in Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland, where Assembly polls are due next year. Will it be as confident as its Goan leader who proclaimed that the notification will not affect tourism in the State!

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GST In J&K?

J&K has a fresh problem to deal with. A big question doing the rounds is whether the rolling out of the GST will impact the State’s special status or not? The Mehbooba Mufti government has thus convened a special session of the Assembly on 17 June to deal with the tricky issue. However, the State Finance Minister Drabu, has been quick to point out that the “Constitutional amendment 101 is not applicable to the State and it is being extended in a modified form.” The GST, he said is not about government but business, and if the State did not introduce it then no business will be profitable, he warned. The choice therefore is between the State getting additional taxes of Rs 15000-1600 crore or the people having to face two taxes—State and Central? Which way will the wind blow?    

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Kerala’s Prickly Wedding

A wedding has embarrassed Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front pink. An MLA of the CPI, which is a constituent of the Government, violated the rule book. Her daughter, the bride, was covered in gold ornaments and the photograph went viral on social media, forcing the CPI leadership to for starters seek an explanation. Cringe, it obviously would do as only recently the party had in the Assembly demanded that marriage extravagance be taxed and controlled by law! While the party asserted it was ‘wasteful expenditure’ and the legislator had deviated from its stand, the latter maintained there was nothing excessive about the marriage and she had only followed the “traditional practice of giving something to her daughter at time of marriage.” However, on social media it was a point of debate as that ‘something’ certainly didn’t match the so-called simplicity of the Left.  The fact that the party said that its leaders did not attend the ceremony is no consolation. Celebrations did turn sour. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)