Round The
States
New Delhi, 24 October
2020
Bihar Elections
COVID-19 CHANGES NOTHING
By Insaf
Elections will be
elections, COVID-19 or not. Crowded campaign rallies for Bihar’s first phase of
polling on Wednesday have party leaders, contestants and voters throwing all
precautions to the winds. No social distancing, no masks, have sent Nirvachan
Sadan into a tizzy. It now warns all political parties of invoking apt penal
provisions against candidates found violating its orders. The question to be
asked it, did it think that its mandated social distancing of at least two metres
between participants at physical gatherings and all wear masks, was possible?
Be realistic, it’s unfeasible. Impractical guidelines would obviously be
violated and more so when money and muscle power play a role in Indian
elections. Same way, as false promises are made to woo the voters.
The BJP has done so
without batting an eyelid—free vaccine against COVID-19 to every Biharwasi, is its first poll promise in its manifesto! Sadly, the party is playing
with sentiments and raising false expectations even when New Delhi has said a
policy to deliver the vaccine under production is in the works. Worse, it’s an
attempt to manoeuvre anxieties of the poor voters and smacks of desperation. It
would have done better to first apologise to the State’s migrant worker and
admitted lapses in not being able to lessen their misery. But then whoever
believes in what is said during the election mela. With all parties, the Congress, JD(U), LJP, RJD etc promising
the moon, the voter must remain wary and separate the chaff from the wheat. Unlike
the Election Commission, it’s the people’s words and action that matter to the
politician. Will Bihar help test waters and prepare for post-COVID times?
* * * *
Punjab
Vs Centre
Punjab does it! On
Tuesday last, the Legislative Assembly passed four new state farm Bills,
including three amendment Bills, keeping Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s word to
counter the Centre’s laws passed last month. Barring the 2 BJP MLAs, all
political parties, cut across party lines and gave their nod and passed a
resolution against the Union laws. However, all is not over, the Bills would
require Governor Badnore’s and President Kovind’s assent, as these seek to
amend laws passed by the Centre. Singh is doubly pleased for the time being as
he has delivered, plus countered one-upmanship game by rivals SAD, which exited
the NDA over the Bills. To the big question whether Rashtrapati Bhavan will
give assent to the bills, Singh has an answer –his government will seek legal
recourse. At its end, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare
Narendra Singh Tomar has said once they get the bills ‘these will be examined
and action taken in interest of farmers’. While Singh is seeking time to raise Punjab’s
concerns with Kovind, the matter may just end up in the Supreme Court, as it
did in the water agreements termination Act. Will it be a long drawn battle?
* * * *
Empowering
People In J&K?
Will winds of change
blow in J&K? New Delhi seems confident as the Union Cabinet on Wednesday
last, approved amendment to the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, clearing the decks
for beginning of a three-tier system of local body governance in the UT.
Accordingly, it will lead to institution of District Development Councils
(DDC), members of which will be directly elected by the voters. The Councils will
be the third-tier -- at district level, over the block and village levels and
once the amendment is approved it shall facilitate ‘holding of elections soon.’
Before abrogation of Article 370, people in the erstwhile State didn’t have the
right to elect their local representatives like in rest of the country,
explains Union Minister Javadekar. So now there will be a three-tier system --
Gram Panchayat, Block Development Council and DDC—which will replace the
District Development Boards, headed by a State Cabinet minister and MLCs, MLAs
and MPs as members. Each district will now be divided into 14 constituencies,
electing a member each to the DDC, who then shall elect a chairperson and
vice-chairperson. It will be worth a watch to see whether the people will
exercise their power to manage the local bodies or will the exercise remain a
promise redeemed by the Prime Minister and his Home Minister.
* * * *
Maharashtra’s
No To CBI
Maharashtra says a
big no to CBI to carry out investigations in the State. On Wednesday last, the
Uddhav Thackeray government withdrew “general consent” given to the Central
investigating agency saying it was to ensure that the CBI ‘is not misused for
political purpose.’ It is firm that the agency cannot carry out investigations
till it issues “permission.” This after the CBI took over a case registered by the
Uttar Pradesh Police against “unknown” channels and persons over alleged
fudging of TRPs. The government smells a rat and sees the move as a bid to move
the case from the purview of the Mumbai police, which had registered an FIR on
October 6, against three channels, including Republic TV, wherein prima facie these
were involved in manipulating TRPs. Plus, it had burnt its fingers only
recently with the CBI taking over investigations into actor Sushant Singh
Rajput’s death, when its Police was already looking into it. No more. Home
Minister Deshmukh justified the action saying, “the CBI had been given a free
pass by the earlier government. We have withdrawn it. We thought about
political scores being settled through CBI...” Best explained as ‘once bitten,
twice shy’.
* * * *
‘Dirty’ MP
Campaign
Electioneering
decorum is thrown to the winds in Madhya Pradesh, making Nirvachan Sadan
cringe. The by-elections to 28 seats is witnessing an offensive campaign, to
say the least. The tu-tu-mein-mein
between BJP and Congress leaders is at a new low and sadly distasteful to women
candidates: Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s hitting out at State minister
Imarti Devi and saying to the crowds “You know her better than I do, you people
should have warned me beforehand…ye kya
item hai…”; Minister for Food & Civil Supplies Bisahulal Singh, dealt
with his Congress rival’s nomination papers, wondering why he had mentioned the
name of his “rakhail” (mistress) and
not his first wife; After BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya called
Nath and Digvijaya Singh as “chunnu-munnu”
who couldn’t mobilise over 100 people for their rallies, former Congress
minister SS Verma hits back saying, “Have you forgotten the days when you wore
bangles on your hands, draped a saree, wore nose rings and prayed to god, dreaming
of becoming the Chief Minister.” The EC has issued a notice to Nath for alleged
violation of MCC, Bisahulal Singh was booked for using an “obscene” word by
Anuppur police and the State women’s commission has sought an explanation. Will
they be able to stem the rot?---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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