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Round The States
New Delhi, 23 April 2008
Rajasthan Muslim
Leaders
FRESH ASSAULT ON
SECULARISM
By Insaf
Yet another assault has been mounted on the secular fabric
of our country. A convention of Muslim Congress leaders in Rajasthan has now demanded
‘political quota’ for “political empowerment”. Smacking of dangerous overtones,
the gathering of Muslim MLAs, former MPs, Zila Pramukhs, Sarpanches and retired
government officials in Jaipur on Sunday wanted Muslim candidates to be fielded
in both the Assembly and general elections “in proportion to the community’s
percentage in the population.” It demanded that the Congress take concrete
steps for the ‘political empowerment’ of the community and not merely indulge
in meaningless promises. In fact, a resolution to this effect listed a number
of demands that included fielding of at least 30 Muslim candidates for the
Assembly election and three for the Lok Sabha; a Muslim secretary in the AICC,
more office-bearers in the PCC, two Muslim members in the selection committee
and one Muslim president of one of the front organisations of the party.
What is of concern is that the meeting was presided over by
the Vice-President of the Pradesh Congress Committee and MLA A A Khan, suggesting
a brazenly communal line of thinking emerging within the party. Muslim
candidates, it was noted, were by and large unable to win elections on their
own and needed the requisite support from “other sections of society.” However,
this support was missing when needed most and was assessed as the reason for
the decline in the number of Muslim MLAs in the Assembly. It also demanded
implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations and felt it was time for
the Muslim community to show its political strength to the “other parties” in
the BJP-led State. As a first step, it was decided
that a committee be constituted to refer the resolutions to the Congress President,
Sonia Gandhi, for their implementation. The party’s response to this brazenly
communal demand is awaited with interest.
* * * *
States For Speedy
Justice
The ball of speedy and inexpensive justice is back now in
the States’ court. At a conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the
High Courts held in the Capital last Saturday, the verdict was clear: there was
need to set up new courts as well as family courts, raise budgetary allocation,
increase working hours, make video-conferencing of under trials legal etc. if
justice was to be delivered to the poor. Setting the tone, the Chief Justice of
India, K. G. Balakrishnan pleaded for creation of new courts to deal
exclusively with “59-lakh petty cases.” If States are prepared to give
“budgetary allocation for starting new courts,” then special magistrates could
be appointed and all these cases, pending for long could be disposed off, he
said.
Interestingly, Punjab’s
Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, disclosed that his State had earmarked Rs
35 crore for upgrading the judicial infrastructure in the past year alone as
compared to Rs 45 crore spent by the Congress governments in the past five
years. He, however, regretted that 60 years after Independence the common perception was that
“law was a handy mistress in the hands of the rich and mighty.” His State had
accordingly asked the Centre to speed up Rs 59-crore grant for its judicial
infrastructure. His counterpart in Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, however,
sought a separate High Court for his State by bifurcating the existing
premises, staff and judges of the Punjab & Haryana High Court. What is
more, Hooda advocated fast track magisterial courts, a shift system and legal
sanction of video-conferencing of under-trials as pragmatic steps to ensure speedy
justice.
* * * *
“Gujarat
Is The Best”
Chief Minister Narendra Modi is pushing ahead vigorously and
imaginatively with his claim that “Gujarat is
the best!” Inaugurating an Assocham-organised Summit
in New Delhi
over the weekend, he disclosed that his Government was building a hundred
storeyed nano city and the Gujarat International Financial Tax City (GIFT) at
Gandhinagar. Importantly, the proposed GIFT will be built by the company that
developed Shanghai in China as a globally unrivalled
metropolis. Gujarat, according to the CM, had already become number one IT power
in entire Asia and number two in the world.
Plans were underway to connect all the State’s villages with broad band facilities
in the next two months. Modi is surely concentrating on creating
infrastructure. Within a span of 700 days, the State had laid a water pipeline
measuring 1400 km to supply drinking water to 800 villages. Plans are underway
to connect the entire State with a network of gas pipelines.
* * * *
States Asked To
Import Wheat
Faced with a severe food grain shortage crisis, the Centre
has asked four States--Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal to import wheat from the global market.
Accordingly, this is supposed to help them meet about half of their food grain
requirements under the PDS and other welfare schemes. However, the wheat price
internationally is about one-and-a-half times or twice more than the Minimum
Support Price of Rs 1,000 per quintal in the country. But, a subsidy equal to
what would have been given by the Food Corporation of India for
import of wheat, would be given to the States by the Centre. Another two
States—Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have too been asked by the Centre to consider
importing wheat. Is it abdicating its responsibility of procuring and providing
grains for PDS, as accused by its ally, the CPM? And, isn’t the Centre shifting
its responsibility to the State governments?
* * * *
Unrest In Karnataka
Congress
Like its rival, the BJP, the Congress too seems to have
ruffled feathers in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly polls. In nearly 10 of
the 89 constituencies going to the polls in the first phase, on May 10, the
Congress is facing unrest from its rank and file, soon after it released its
first list of candidates. Some of the workers had threatened to walk out of the
party, forcing the High Command on Sunday to opt for a review of those selected
for certain constituencies. The disappointed ticket aspirants have thus been
pacified for the time being that their request is “under consideration.” In
addition, there is confusion amongst party workers as to why former Chief
Minister S M Krishna had not been given a ticket, even though it had been pointed
that he had not indicated his desire to contest. While the Chairman of the
Central Screening Committee Digvijay Singh, has finalized the list for the
second and third phase too and sent it for approval to AICC President Sonia
Gandhi, the Congress do not rule out rebellion.
* * * *
Russians In Goa Village
Drug trafficking and sex escapades in Goa,
take a turn for the worst. A peaceful village, Morjim, in Pernem taluka appears
to have virtually been taken over by the Russians. In a population of 12,000,
the Russians could be anywhere between 500 and 1000. This is because the
foreigners are on a buying spree. Land and houses are being bought on a big
scale, forcing the locals to look for a home elsewhere. During the tourist
season, huge Russian banners and flags are seen fluttering at prominent places.
Worse, they are openly carrying out major drug peddling and other illicit trade
activities, as a result of which the locals allege a police-Russian nexus.
While it is understood that shacks selling drugs and holding of rave parties
are quite common in Morjim, the order of closing these down at midnight does
not apply to the Russians. So far a large chunk of the 26 properties owned by
foreign nationals in and around this village belongs to the Russians. There is
a growing fear among locals that if the government continues to look the other
way, Russian culture will steadily take roots in Morjim. Will the government
check this infiltration please?---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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