Round The
States
New Delhi, 14 March 2020
MP Crisis
IDEOLOGY BE DAMNED
By Insaf
To be or not to be, that is the question. Not just in
Madhya Pradesh but across parties, States and of course New Delhi. With
‘Maharaj’ Jyotiraditya Scindia deserting Congress after 18 years and embracing
BJP as his new ‘family’, will the State have Kamal Nath government stay alive? The
picture will be clear within days, but what is certain is that the politicians of
any hue today unashamedly eye greener pastures, damn ideology. The switchover
has got Scindia a berth in Rajya Sabha alright and perhaps a ministerial post, but
it is the same Scindia, who is quoted 8 months ago among others to have said: “The
BJP’s intention is to kill democracy and when it is unable to win an election
directly, its attention turns to grabbing power through backdoor methods.”
The time then was BJP’s shenanigans to bring down the Congress-JD(S)
Government in Karnataka and on Wednesday last it was his turn to grab power and
kill democracy with 22 of his supportive MLAs sending their resignation letter
to the Governor. ‘Maharaj’ perhaps is not wrong when he says the Congress ‘is
not the same as it used to be and is far removed from reality’, for the grand
old party is unquestionably in disarray and directionless. And, quitting in
disgust is understandable but to join the enemy camp, shower praises and strike
a deal is nothing short of being unethical and immoral. Well, a quick rebuttal
could well be ‘gone are those days’ as is being steadily seen across parties with
partners changing overnight in States. Madhya Pradesh will be a new entrant? In
its survival plan, the Congress will too need to do jugglery and dangle the
carrot to both friends and foes. This is Mera
Bharat Mahaan or New India, call it whatever, whether we like it or not!
* * * *
No Risking
Repeat in Karnataka
‘Once bitten twice shy’, is an idiom Congress considers
after the Scindia jolt. On Wednesday last, it finally brought down the curtains
on nagging indecision in Karnataka since December last, when State party
President Gundu Rao and CLP leader Siddaramaiah resigned following dismal
performance in Assembly bypolls. It appointed trouble shooter D K Shivakumar as
President, much against Siddaramaiah’s wishes! However, it sought to maintain a
balance by retaining the latter as Leader of Opposition and of CLP and 3
working presidents. The big question is how far this will go to set its house
in order as the tussle between the old guard and those close to Rahul Gandhi is
no secret? One thing is certain that the timing is critical. Not only is it
being viewed as avoiding a repeat in Karnataka but that Shivakumar may just
help tide the MP crisis. Recall, in August 2017 he protected 44 party MLAs from
Gujarat to facilitate AICC leader Ahmed Patel’s election to Rajya Sabha. While
the next few days will provide answers, the High Command has also done away its
indecisiveness in Delhi. For starters, AICC Secretary Anil Chaudhary was
appointed unit Delhi President along with five vice-presidents. Here the order
is tall as sheer revival is at stake. No guesses needed!
* * * *
Nation
Quarantined
India stands quarantined. With the WHO announcing coronavirus
as a pandemic, raising serious concerns on the uncontrollable outbreak, the GoM
on Wednesday last decided to shut the doors to all outsiders. It has isolated
the country from the world suspending all visas, except a few categories such
as diplomatic and employment, till April 15. This has pushed the travel and
hotel industry particularly into a quandary given the cancellations that
follow. So far, the Health Ministry has confirmed cases of COVID-19 having crossed
73, with numbers varying from: Kerala (17) Delhi (6), UP (10), Karnataka (4), Maharashtra
(11) and Ladakh (3), Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, and
Punjab one each. Given the size of the country and preparedness required, the
GoM finds the ban on travel as part of reducing the risk. But the hotel chains
and travel industry would need to deal with the impact it will have. Already, analysts
have cut back on their growth forecasts for the current quarter as they witness
a dip in occupancies and revenues this month, with both business and leisure
trip cancellations coming in by inbound travellers and future bookings getting
stalled. Definitely, there will be trouble and loss of business. The airlines
too are mulling over their flight operations. However, the idiom ‘better to be
safe than sorry’ may offer a justification.
* * * *
Right To
Privacy In Yogi Land
Uttar Pradesh government needs to get its reading of the
law right. Privacy is an intrinsic part of right to life and liberty under
Article 21 of Constitution and Yogi government’s actions putting up hoardings across
Lucknow, identifying 57 accused of violence during anti-CAA protests has come
under the scanner. The Allahabad High Court on March 9 was firm the ‘name and
shame’ hoardings seeking an amount of Rs 1.55 crore in damages and warning that
properties will be seized if the money isn’t deposited, was “highly unjust”, “insult
of state and its public”, and amounted to an unwarranted interference with the
right. It directed authorities to remove the hoardings put up on March 5 ‘immediately
and submit a compliance report on or before March 16’. A belligerent government
has instead knocked on Supreme Court’s door, which too has asked ‘quote some
law’, which backs your action. Insisting on privacy, the two-judge bench said while
it agrees there shouldn’t be unruly behaviour, “in this case, there is no
backing of law.” However, it refused to pass interim orders and sought a
three-judge bench be constituted next week to examine the matter. A breather
for Yogi but a nagging long wait for the citizens! Justice delayed could be
justice denied?
* * * *
Pellet
Guns to Stay?
Jammu & Kashmir High Court sadly passes the buck to
the Centre on the controversial pellet guns. On Wednesday last, it dismissed a
petition seeking a ban on these for crowd control citing an earlier order and
banking on an uncertain report of an expert committee supposedly set up by
Union government way back on July 21, 2016! The two-judge bench endorsed an
earlier order: “so long as there is violence by unruly mobs, use of force is
inevitable...and what kind of force has to be used at the relevant point of
time or in a given situation/place has to be decided by the persons in charge
of the place where the attack is happening”. Additionally, it put up its hands
saying “...before filing the report by expert committee and a decision taken by
the government, we are not inclined to prohibit the use of pellet guns in rare
and extreme situations.” Apathy is writ large as exploring alternatives to
pellet guns isn’t a priority--it hangs fire for nearly four years! Recall,
during July 2016 unrest, hospital figures revealed 6,000 plus people suffered
pellet injuries, including 1,100 eye injuries and Amnesty International claimed
14 persons were killed. Questions such as was a committee set up; is there a
report; if so what is it, simply are not raised. Can New Delhi throw light? ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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