Round The States

New Delhi, 22 August 2007

Snap Poll Alert

CONGRESS CHURNING IN STATES

By Insaf

With the possibility of the country being pushed into a mid-term poll, the Congress has suddenly become conscious about getting its act together. Party units are now on the alert as the Congress High Command starts turning its attention towards revamping its  organizations in the States. Accordingly, some Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Chiefs may be replaced in the reshuffle and PCCs reconstituted or constituted where they are non-existent. Prominent among the States likely to witness changes include Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Madhya Pradesh, the PCC chief Subhash Yadav, whose stint has been marked by infighting, is likely to be replaced, and a PCC constituted. Incredibly enough, the State has been without a PCC for more than two years.

Those vying for the post are Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Jamuna Devi, Gwalior scion and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia and Union Minister Suresh Pachauri as former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, presently AICC General Secretary, is not interested in going back to the State. In UP, where the Congress had to bite dust in the Assembly poll, PCC Chief Salman Khursheed is likely to shift to Delhi. In Rajasthan, notwithstanding former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s keenness to become PCC Chief, chances are that a fresh face may replace BD Kalla as PCC Chief. In the reckoning are former Chief Minister Jaganath Pahadia, PCC spokesperson Param Navdeep Singh and Harinder Mirdha. Ultimately, caste equations would be the deciding factor.

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Kerala Adds to Congress’s Problems 

The UPA’s tie-up with the Left is causing more trouble than it had anticipated. Grappling with the CPMs threat over the nuclear deal at the Centre, the Union Government is now forced to cope with a turnaround by the CPM-led Government in Kerala. The latter has refused to go along with the toll-based Build Operate Transfer model for the construction of the national highway in the State and has asked the Union Transport & Highways Ministry to foot the bill for the 70-km stretch. With the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s talks with Chief Minister Achutanandan making no headway, the Centre is being left with no choice but to cough up Rs 400 crore! Consequently, all remaining road projects in the State have been put on hold till the issue is resolved. 

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Naga Encroachment In Assam

Assam’s cup of woes seems to be over-flowing. On the one hand, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s Congress Government is busy grappling with the violence unleashed by the outlawed ULFA to rid the State of Bihari labourers. On the other hand, Assam’s border dispute with neigbouring Nagaland has assumed sinister proportions. So far, armed Naga depredations were limited to creating havoc in Assam’s border villages. But now they have the tacit support of their State Government in surreptiously encroaching on Assamese land through the rebels in “well coordinated and planned moves.” Not only that. Schools, churches and police stations have allegedly been set-up in Assam’s territory by the Government in Kohima.

Recall, Nagaland has been making calculated and persistent attempts to acquire Assamese territory in pursuance of its grand design of greater Nagalim --- comprising major chunks of Assam and Manipur’s territory. The Nagas continue to be goaded by the belief that Nagaland got a raw deal when it was carved out of the then undivided Assam. Kohima even cites ‘historical facts’ to buttress its claim. Forgetting that the areas demanded by it were earlier hubs of the Ahom kingdom of which the Nagas were never the inhabitants. Sadly, the laxity by successive Assam governments has resulted in Nagaland now controlling a sizeable area of Assam as part of its territory.

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Punjab’s New Deal For Farmers

The Punjab Chief Minister, Prakash Singh Badal, has unveiled a new deal for the State’s poor. Whereby low-priced atta and daal will be provided to over 14 lakh families, including eight lakh Scheduled Castes households, with an annual income of less than Rs 30,000. The scheme aims to provide wheat at Rs 4 a kilo and daal at Rs 20 through fair-price shops. Even as the Opposition dismissed this measure as a “stunt” and “unsustainable”, given Punjab’s precarious fiscal health, an unstoppable Chief Minister went a step further. He has also relaxed the Rs 7,200 per year national criterion to define families living below the poverty line. It remains to be seen whether these measure will decrease the indebtedness of 65 per cent farmers in the State.

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Army To Blame For J&K Ammo Fire?

Is the Army to blame for the biggest-ever fire at the ammunition depot in J&K? Has the military’s callousness also cost the country 23 precious lives --- of 18 Army personnel and 13 firemen? It may well be so. Given the complaints by a fireman and a few others. The fire at the 21 Field Ammunition Depot at Khundroo, in Kashmir on 11 August last, has made Harjeet Singh, brother of one of the personnel killed, recall his letters written in October 2005. Addressed to the Chief of Army Staff, he had warned that inappropriate enrolment of civilians at the depot was resulting in militants drafting their own men. Shockingly, no action was taken. Had it been taken, the army may not have lost its men and property and Singh his brother.

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Tata Brews Another Storm In TN

On the heels of the ruckus it created in Singrur West Bengal, the Tatas have brewed up another storm in sleepy Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Teams from various political parties are crisscrossing Tirunelveli, venue of the Tata titanium dioxide project, eliciting views from the public following a furore over the company’s proposal to acquire 12,000 acres for its project. Worried about its fallout on his Government, Chief Minister Karunanidhi has put the project on hold, after giving his blessing to the Rs 2,500 crore venture. The Tata’s are keeping their fingers crossed amidst the war of words between Karunanidhi and his bete noire Jayalalitha. Both are accusing the other of ‘selling the farmers interest’, as mute farmers watch the unseemly spectacle.

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Himachal Apple Growers Woes

There seems no end to the miseries of the Himachal apple growers. On the heels of the intemperate weather, the orchardists are faced with an acute shortage of ‘specialised’ fruit pluckers – the fleet-footed and determined Gurkhas. The apple belt is dotted with ‘Wanted Gurkhas’ signboards. It isn’t as if there is a dearth of local labour, but plucking apples requires mountaineering specialists, as orchards are located on great heights. Gurkhas have the natural ability to carry heavy loads on their backs and simultaneously maneouvre tricky hill terrain. So desperate is the situation at ground zero that orchardists are sponsoring tours to Nepal to get labour from there.  ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)