Round The States

New Delhi, 14 January 2023 

Presiding Officers’ Meet

BATTLE OF ‘ONE-UPMANSHIP’

By Insaf

Deliberations at the All-India Presiding Officers’ Conference in Jaipur, Rajasthan has many an eyebrow raised, to put it mildly. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar virtually censured the judiciary on Wednesday last, saying ‘one-upmanship and public posturing’ from judicial platforms is not good and ‘these institutions must know how to conduct themselves.’ The obvious reference was to Supreme Court’s remarks on collegium system. Criticising the scrapping of NJAC Act in 2015 and questioning Kesavananda Bharati case verdict, he said it set a wrong precedent and disagreed with the ruling that Parliament can amend the Constitution but not its basic structure. “We can’t have an Ostrich-like stance” on judiciary-legislature relations, he urged upon legislature officers and said parliamentary sovereignty can’t be permitted to be diluted or compromised by executive or judiciary. “If any organisation strikes down a law by Parliament, then it is not good for democracy. And it would be difficult to say we are a democratic nation…”

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was on same page, saying “Legislatures in our country have always respected powers of judiciary. The judiciary is also expected to follow the principle of separation and balance of powers conferred by the Constitution.” However, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi had another take. He called for the need to increase the accountability of the executive, while lamenting the ‘unfortunate condition’ of Speakers being reduced to ‘referees’. He said: “If we have to keep democracy strong, then we have to keep the executive accountable, otherwise we are governed by executive dictatorship.” He sought financial autonomy to the State Assembly, as Speakers were “helpless” as neither could they call for a sitting of the House, as the Government and Governor were responsible for that, nor decide on the proceedings, which were decided by the Business Advisory Committee. Different takes alright, but what should be of major concern is the Executive-Judiciary showdown.High constitutional offices taking partisan stance will muddy the waters further. Uncalled for?

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Sinking Town

Only a miracle can save Uttarakhand’s sinking town of Joshimath. ISRO’s satellite images show the Himalayan town sank at a rapid pace of 5.4 cm in a matter of just 12 days!The gateway to renowned pilgrimage sites such as Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib is facing a major challenge due to land subsidence.Huge cracks on roads, houses and ground are staring Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his administration in the face. It has finally woken up from its slumber as the number of houses affected has risen to over 700. The administration on Monday last,directed demolition drive against unstable structures starting with two hotels and evacuating people from unsafe zones. However, there are vociferous protests from people, raising legitimate questions such as: what’s the compensation, one-time settlement plan, will there be an assurance in writing; what’s relocation plans and where shall we go with all our belongings, our children and the elderly, etc. Dhami has assured a committee would decide the market rate for compensation by keeping interests of stakeholders in mind.Enough? Clearly not for rightly Union Home Ministry has stepped in. A realistic assessment is being made and so far,169-odd families consisting of 589 members have so far been shifted to relief centres; 835 rooms are serving as relief centres to accommodate 3,630 people; an interim assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh has been paid so far to 42 affected families. More needs to be done and fast as time is essence. Sooner the better.

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TN Big Tussle

The slugfest in Tamil Nadu between Governor and ruling DMK is reaching boiling point.  Chief Minister Stalin sent a delegation to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday last with his ‘letter’ to President Murmu, contents of which were not disclosed, but obviously over the ongoing issues concerning Governor Ravi’s departure from traditions. The team urged President to take appropriate action on the memorandum. Clearly, tempers are flying high in the State with “#GetoutRavi” posters, featuring Stalin surfacing in some parts of Chennai. The hashtag was trending on Twitter on Monday last following Ravi’s face-off with the government in Assembly where Stalin had piloted a resolution against him deviating from his customary address and the former staging a walkout. Saying that it was an “unprecedented event” in the history of the House, Stalin’s son and Minister Udhayanidhi hit below the belt saying normally our leader makes Opposition run with his replies “but this time he made the Governor run!” The big question is whether Murmu will be able to douse the fire, or will it engulf constitutional proprietary?  

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Tripura Poll Alliance

Better sense or rather compulsion of sheer survival is playing out in Tripura’s opposition camp. On Wednesday last, the CPM, which had a 25-year reign in the State before BJP came to power five years ago, announced it would tie up with the Congress for the Assembly polls, a month away. A turn in its political history indeed, as two bitter rivals start working out an arrangement, putting end to any further speculation. The seats, announced CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, would be shared between them based on ‘ground reality’ and to ensure ‘broadest mobilisation of secular forces’, to defeat the saffron brigade. The party is also reaching out to the tribal TIPRA Motha party for a pre-poll alliance, which it views as critical in ‘context of the Northeast, development and for national politics.’ However, it is not going to be easy. Remember, the tribal party has been demanding ‘Greater Tipraland’, or a separate state for tribals living in different parts of Tripura, Assam, Mizoram, and bordering areas of Bangladesh. In the 60-member Assembly, there are 20 ST seats, which for crucial for unseating the BJP.  All eyes should now be on the nitty-gritty thrashed out for all must be aware of the idiom there can be many a slip between the cup and the lip.

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Meghalaya’s 3 In 1 Scheme 

Meghalaya is on the right track. Its Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has launched ‘shared school bus system, prime tourism vehicles and agriculture response vehicle scheme’ in the tiny north-eastern State.On Wednesday last, he flagged off the school bus system saying it would lead to a mode shift from private four-wheelers to school buses, part of Sustainable Transport & Efficient Mobility Society (STEMS) programme, focussed on mobility and overall transportation to decongest capital city Shillong. The prime tourist vehicles are being viewed as a step to improve overall tourism sector and to provide better transportation services to tourists as well as job opportunities to the entrepreneurs, being given financial aid. The Prime Agriculture Response Vehicles are being given to farmers’ associations and groups to help farmers have a strong transportation network and mitigate money spent on transportation of agriculture produce. A good beginning alright -- on the road to development. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)