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Round The
States
New Delhi, 26 January
2019
UP Politics
FRESH ENTRANT, NEW HOPE
By Insaf
Uttar Pradesh politics
has a new star on the horizon. The entry of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as Congress
General Secretary in-charge of UP (East) has hit headlines and is being viewed
by many as a morale booster for a decimated party cadre and may rejuvenate the Grand
Old Party. While it’s uncertain whether she will make a huge impact in the most
critical State, there is no denying that the Gandhi family realises the need
for her to be actively beside brother and party President Rahul facing his
biggest challenge. The workers may get enthused as Priyanka is a crowd puller
more so as she looks and talks like her grandmother Indira Gandhi. In fact, her
charm seems to have already overshadowed the other appointment-- of young scion
of Scindia family, Jyotiraditya-- as General Secretary in-charge UP (West). And
while the 80 seats are divided between the two, hers is a bigger challenge as
the East is a stronghold of arch rival BJP, electing Narendra Modi and Yogi
Adityanath. Besides, how she teams up to take on the BSP-SP alliance needs to
be closely watched. It is a tall order no doubt given her earlier limited role
of managing her mother and brother’s constituencies Raebareli and Amethi. Will
she as rahul says be able to “herald the dawn of a new kind of politics in the
State?” is the million dollar question. Priyanka must ensure there is more than
meets the eye
* * * *
Maha
Alliance Sop
Maharashtra offers a
different kind of pre-election sops. This time it is a political entity rather
than the common voter. On Tuesday last, the Fadanivs Cabinet agreed to give Rs
100-crore for the construction of a grand memorial for Shiv Sena founder Bal
Thackeray, at the mayor’s bungalow in Shivaji Park in Mumbai. And within 24
hours, 11,500 sq m of land, where the bungalow stands, was transferred to the
Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Nyas. That day, coinciding with senior Thackeray’s
93rd birth anniversary, also saw both Fadnavis and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray
jointly performing ‘vaastu pujan’ at
the site, creating a flutter in the corridors of power. Will there be a rapprochement
between the partners, given that SS has threatened to go it alone this election
and has been a headache by losing no opportunity to hit out at partner BJP, be
it the Rafale deal or construction of Ram temple or farm crisis et al. The
memorial is being seen as a means to soften and entice the Sena. The two, it is
being heard, may eventually cement a pre-poll alliance, by agreeing to halve
the seats more or less for both General and Assembly polls amongst them. How
soon a formula, if at all, is worked out between the estranged partners is
anybody’s guess. Slow and steady may not apply here as the race is closing in.
* * * *
Punjab
Cautions Delhi
Don’t throw caution
to the winds, is Punjab’s nudge to the Centre. Keeping a close watch on the
progress of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is peeved
over reports on Islamabad’s draft proposal for regulating entry to the Kartarpur
Sahib Gurdwara. Don’t allow Islamabad to negate the initiatives taken, he urges
Delhi and puts forth his arguments. One, why will only Sikh pilgrims be allowed
to visit the Gurdwara, when Guru Nanak Dev was a universal guru and revered by
followers of all religions, especially Hindus? Two, to limit the number of
people to a group of 15 is wrong as individual yatris must too be permitted. Three, don’t restrict 500 pilgrims
per days as it defeats the concept of ‘khulle
darshan’ and more so in November, when the Guru’s 550th birth anniversary will
be celebrated. While admitting Islamabad was within its rights to set terms and
conditions viz its territorial safety and security, Amarinder insists the
restrains as proposed must be logical and Delhi should take these up. Will
South Block pay heed?
* * * *
Chhattisgarh Woes
The
Congress government in Chhattisgarh will literally have to pay for the ills of
the previous BJP government. The State’s rural healthcare system is in doldrums.
Not political accusations but severe criticism from none other than the Comptroller
and Auditor General. In the audit report 2012-17 on the National Rural Health
Mission, placed in Assembly on Thursday last, the CAG noted: “The State suffers
from shortages of human resources in critical positions of specialist doctors
to the extent of 89%, medical officers by 36%, staff nurses by 34% and
paramedics by 12% against their sanctioned strengths.” Obviously health services
in district hospitals, community health centres and PHCs were impacted. Besides,
there was shortage of medical equipment (25-69%), drugs and consumables (40-76%),
laboratory services (36-71%) and many of these centres were operating from
private buildings—lacking space, infrastructure, delivery service, OPD
facilities, labour rooms, beds, water connectivity, toilets etc! While it was
reason enough for the voter to boot out the Raman Singh government, the
question which needs to be addressed is the time the Baghel government will
take to bring the State back in pink of health.
* * * *
States Asked To Buckle Up
All States and Union
Territories have been put on alert. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has
directed Chief Secretaries to mark dates between March and May to be available at
the Tribunal with a progress report on having tackled air/river pollution, municipal
solid waste management, illegal sand mining and polluted industrial cluster among
other environment-related issues. This is first time the NGT has chosen to club
all issues together instead of hearing these separately. So with specific 36
meeting dates slated, the 36 Chief Secretaries will need to do their homework and
as asked ‘get acquainted’ with the status of compliance regarding: management
rules; functioning of committees (of former HC judges or senior bureaucrats) set
up by NGT to oversee order implementation; action plans to remediate polluted
river, deal with illegal sand mining and fines from erring industries under
“Polluter Pays” principle and committees overseeing execution of National Clean
Air Programme. That the NGT means serious business is clear by it asking Chief Secretaries
to appear on their dates and not delegate the task to anyone else. At best they
can request a date change. Enough time to get their act together?
* * * *
‘Mothers
Party’
‘A party of mothers’
will soon come knocking on your doorstep for vote and support. Preparations are
afoot by the National Women’s Party (NWP), the nation’s first-ever all-women
party, to fight for 283 of the 545 Lok Sabha seats this General election season.
Founded by social activist and a medico, Shwetha Shetty strives for women
empowerment and gender equality in this patriarchal society. And this it is
believed can only be achieved if the elusive reservation for women, not 33%
hanging fire for over two decades, but more i.e. ‘50%’ is fought for. With
trust deficit on men politicians, the NWP seeks to create an environment for
women to realise their full potential and demand their space. Steps under
consideration include the launch of a mobile app “Mahila Rakshak” (women safety) and setting up a ‘Youth Parliament’
– a political school for women in every State which offers both academic and
practical training to them to engage in the political process. Baby steps, men
would perhaps say, but these women must remember: ‘Well begun is half done!’---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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