Round The
States
New Delhi, 15 September 2018
Panchayat Polls
ANXIETY IN
PUNJAB, TRIPURA
By Insaf
Grass-root democracy
is said to be taking a severe beating in Punjab and Tripura. The Opposition in
both these States has accused the Congress and BJP respectively of blocking
their candidates from filing nomination to local elections. Obviously, bringing
back images of what transpired in Mamata’s West Bengal. On Wednesday last, the AAP,
SAD and BJP in Punjab, accused Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of “murdering
democracy” by not only having its goons stop their candidates from participating in zila parishad and block samiti
polls, but questioned the State Election Commission (SEC) from turning a blind
eye and working under pressure of the ruling party. This, they claimed was
being done through rejection of over 200 nominations in most places on “flimsy
grounds with mala fide intent”. The process of free and fair polls has been
reduced to ‘a mockery’ says SAD, which has threatened to knock on Punjab and
Haryana High Court, demanding a probe into the exercise. Expectedly, the
Congress rubbishes the charges saying Opposition is only venting its
‘frustration’ as the ongoing process is completely fair. Polling is slated for September
19 for 354 zila parishad seats and 2,900-member panchayat samitis. Will it be
without a hitch?
Likewise, loud
rumblings are being heard in Tripura too. But, here it is not just the opposition
CPM-led Left Front which is crying foul, but worse a partner of the ruling
alliance—the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura. It accused ally BJP for
resorting to violence to prevent its candidates from filing nominations for the
three-tier panchayat by-elections in the State on September 30. While the Left
Front staged a protest outside the SEC office on Wednesday last, the IPFT held
a meeting of its coordination committee with its front organisations and chose
to request the SEC to “reschedule’ election in areas where the poll process was
disturbed. Guess, the alliance is on its edge, as the IPFT has issued a fresh
threat saying it would launch a State-wide movement to press for its demand for
a separate tribal State ‘Twipraland’. However, before it gets cracking, it shall
appeal to the BJP to come on the table to thrash out all outstanding issues for
smooth functioning of the coalition government. How the BJP proposes to overcome
the hiccups is anybody’s guess, but it hits back accusing the IPFT of indulging
in violence. Sadly, it’s the citizen as usual getting hurt in the blame
game!
* * * *
States
Ignore SC
Curbing
criminalisation and money power in politics is a far cry. Shockingly,
governments across the country seem to say a big boo to the Supreme Court. Even
after nine months, 25 States and UTs have not responded to the apex court
orders viz criminal cases pending against their MPs/MLAs plus setting up of
special courts exclusively to try them! These include: Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal, J&K, Jharkhand,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim,
Tripura, Uttarakhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra &
Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. Recalling its order
of November last and this August, a three-member bench on Wednesday last, decided
to monitor compliance. It directed State Chief Secretaries, Registrar Generals
of High Courts to give precise number of cases presently pending and required
to be transferred to special courts; information on functionality of special
courts, set up in 11 States (Andhra, Delhi, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, TN, UP,
Bihar, Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh) and volume of cases required to
be transferred to these courts and if there is a need for more. Will this
expedite cleansing politics or will it be another exercise in futility, time
will tell.
* * * *
Kerala
Sexual Abuse Case
Kerala is rocked by a
sexual abuse case. It has hit both national and international headlines. A nun
in the State has accused the head of the Jalandhar diocese, Franco Mulakkal of
raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016! Though the police have been
“stalling” the matter, it no longer can do so. Following pressure from women’s
groups, activists and civil society it has finally decided to question the
bishop, who, however, vehemently denies the charges and claims the nun has done
so as the Catholic order had rejected her demand for favours. However, on
Thursday last, the High Court seized of the matter, was not sounding too
encouraging for the nun, and said the case was moving in the right direction.
This after the police reported there were contradictions in statements of
various people, including the complainant. The court also refused to order the arrest
of the Bishop, which is being seen as a huge setback for the ongoing campaign.
A distraught nun, who arguably has taken the courage to make her “suffering”
public, has now knocked on the doors of the Vatican and demanded that Mulakkal
be removed as the head of the Jalandhar diocese. The big question is will she
get justice?
* * * *
Goa’s
Charm Fading?
Goa may well lose its
charm for many a beach goer. If the National Green Tribunal has its way, then
the tourists will no longer find their favourite haunts—the trendy shacks on
the beach and hotel, guest houses and beachfront restaurants. This month the
NGT ordered all traditional dwellings within 200 metres of the High Tide Line “cannot
be used for commercial purposes.” It specifically noted that “a structure being
used for commercial purposes whether prior to 1991 or subsequent to it cannot
be regularised or allowed to be continued to run”. Plus, there is a stern warning:
lease, sale or transfer of such dwellings to members not of the traditional
fishing community would definitely be “illegal”. So, the Indian jugaad will not work either.
Predictably, the tourist industry is worried like hell as it will lose good
business and thus has pleaded with the BJP government to intervene and at least
permit “part commercial activity”. Will it play ball?
* * * *
Of
Blood & Leave
Donate blood and get
four days annual leave. That is the message that government employees in
Jharkhand have been enticed with. Apparently, the State requires an estimated
3.5 lakh blood units every year, however, the collection falls short miserably by
around 1.9 lakh units, which obviously will prove fatal for many. Thus, on Tuesday
last, the Cabinet taking a cue from the Centre this January, cleared four-day
annual leave to its employees for blood donation/apheresis donation. It said
the leave taken for such purpose would be “counted as emergency leave.” However,
to avail the four leaves, an employee/official will have to donate blood only at
a government recognised blood bank or an organisation and get a certificate to
the same effect. Without the certificate, it warned, the employee would not be
sanctioned leave. Notwithstanding that the idea is welcome, it does put a
question mark on the people’s intention: whether they would donate for the
leave or as good Samaritans. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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