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Mob Lynching: STOP: CITIZENS TO CENTRE, By Insaf, 1 July 2017 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 1 July, 2017

Mob Lynching

STOP: CITIZENS TO CENTRE

By Insaf

 

Enough is enough! This is the terse message ordinary citizens across State capitals have sent to the Centre. Thousands of people joined the ‘Not In My Name’ campaign started on social media to protest against the growing culture of mob lynching in the garb of nationalism and cow protection. In fact, the lynching of young Junaid Khan in a train this week came as the latest shocker. Students, artists, activists were among people from different walks of life who chose not to just put posts but came on to the streets on Wednesday last for their voice to be heard. Be it the national capital Delhi, or Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow et al the mood was of grave concern. “This is not the India we want”, was the cry. What is significant is that the gathering across the capitals was not Opposition-sponsored. Handful of political leaders joined the protest but in their personal capacity, because this was no occasion to earn brownie points. Importantly, the outrage against attacks on human dignity was peaceful with no sloganeering. Those gathered let placards speak a thousand words and a few others chose to make short speeches to drive home their claim as Indian citizens. Time New Delhi hears the cry, lest it becomes a shrill.           

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WB Leads GST Rebuff

West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee plays party pooper again. Her announcement of TMC boycotting Parliament’s midnight session to rollout GST had other Opposition parties following. The Congress, which could take credit of mooting the idea of GST in its heydays, the Left, DMK, RJD, BSP and SP too boycotted, barring the JD(U). While Didi was peeved over the “unnecessary hurry of the Centre” and called it an ‘epic blunder’, the Congress called it “'grand self-promoting tamasha”! In fact, it accused the Modi government of ‘insulting’ India's freedom struggle, as the previous three midnight functions had to do with the country’s independence, which the BJP will have no relevance as it played no role.  On a serious note though, the common refrain was that SMEs would be hit hard as the preparation for the launch were shoddy and nation wasn’t prepared. Incidentally, GST Council head Bengal Finance Minister Mitra, asserted his requests to defer the rollout fell on deaf ears and the country is what his party was concerned with. Expectedly, there was a quid-pro-quo, with Finance Minister Jaitley’s plea of a rethink on participation finding no takers amongst the Opposition. Wonder what lies ahead for GST, in its tryst with destiny.

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Bihar Intrigues

Developments in Bihar continue to shroud in mystery. On two counts: why Chief Minister Nitish Kumar chose to back NDA Presidential candidate, and, two whether the JD(U)-RJD alliance will remain intact? Reports emanating about the Centre resolving a dispute between Patna and Ranchi since 2000 over who gets Bihar Niwas in Delhi has raised eyebrows. The BJP-ruled Jharkhand government has now been convinced by Union Home and Urban Development Ministries to give up its claim to the 32-room Niwas in lieu of compensation. The timing is intriguing-- a week before he announced support for Kovind. A quid-pro quo, is a question doing the rounds? On the other front, while both Nitish and Lalu claim the presidential poll will not impact ties, the two parties are again going in different directions. The RJD has said it will not participate in the midnight GST rollout in Parliament, the JD(U) will be present. Predictably, relations are far from hunky dory. Will there be more nails in the mahagatbandhan coffin?

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Chhattisgarh Farm Woes

It is now the turn of Chhattisgarh to face the heat on farmers’ suicides. With the toll rising to 11 in the past two weeks alone, the BJP government’s denial that these are not agrarian-related has no takers. The Opposition Congress has challenged the Raman Singh administration saying its investigation committee has come to the firm conclusion that these were related to “excessive debt”. And, demanded Rs one crore compensation to families, debts and electricity dues of farmers be waived and they be given paddy bonus of past three years. Alongside, the Chhattisgarh Kisan Mazdoor Sangh too has stepped in. On Tuesday last it served a week’s ultimatum to State Agriculture Minister in Raipur to tour the villages where the suicides have taken place to “find out whether the reasons were non-agrarian” as he claims. Obviously, the pressure is building and the government can ill-afford to simply ‘regret the untimely deaths’. Will it too have to go Maharashtra, UP, Karnataka’s way or will it ride the wave?     

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Delhi Assembly Tamasha

Fisticuffs have sadly become the rule in Delhi’s Legislative Assembly. Months after dissident leader Kapil Mishra was manhandled by AAP MLAs and evicted from the House, two visitors got a taste of the same medicine. On Wednesday, the two -- an AAP candidate in 2013 and the other a party worker from Punjab, indulged in ‘contempt of the House’ by throwing pamphlets from the visitors’ gallery and shouting slogans against Health Minister Satyendra Jain, who is being probed by CBI for alleged corruption. While rightly they were evicted from the Assembly, what followed is unacceptable. Some AAP MLAs went after the two, thrashed them, with one eventually having to be taken out on a stretcher by the police. While the Speaker has in a letter to Central prison at Tihar asked the two workers be sentenced to 30-day rigorous imprisonment, following a motion being passed by the House, the big question is how does he propose to deal with the angry, unruly MLAs?    

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Haryana Mindset

Haryana restates that some things never change. In today’s modern world, the Jat-dominated State takes pleasure in its women being in ghoonghat (veil)! Worse, it’s not just the men folk but the Government itself, which seeks to stereotype its women and customs. Obviously, it should draw flak and it does. A photo-caption “Ghooghat ki aan baan mhara Haryana ki pehchaan” (pride of the veil is the identity of my Haryana) in the State’s monthly magazine, has women and social activists up in arms, after it went viral on the social media. They have demanded the photo be removed and an apology tendered. Rightly so, as the women have carved a niche for themselves — be it the Phogat sisters (of Dangal fame) or Manushi Chillar (wearing Femina Miss World crown). Caught on the wrong foot, the Khattar government is ‘investigating’ the issue, even as it says the ghoonghat tradition is practised in many parts of the State. Be that as it may, it certainly cannot be the State’s crowning glory. All eyes need to be on the magazine’s next issue. ---INFA

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

 

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