ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 12 January 2006

Pravasi Meet At Hyderabad

CMs PITCH IN FOR NRI FUNDS

By Insaf

More and more States of the Union are zeroing-in on Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in their determined bid to secure investment for development. Having failed to get satisfactory response during the last three years, despite creation by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of a separate Ministry for the NRIs, the Chief Ministers of several States went overboard in luring them at the fourth three-day Pravasi Divas meet at Hyderabad over the week-end.  At least six CMs attended the meet with high-level delegations to attract the NRIs to their States.  If Narendra Modi of Gujarat made a strong “sales pitch”, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar turned up with a 40-member delegation to spell out the slew of measures his Government has unveiled to bring in foreign investment.  These include creation of an Investment Board, development of infrastructure and modified rules for speedy clearance of development projects. 

In fact, Nitish Kumar even struck an emotional chord to make his pitch for the diaspora to “spare a thought and a few pennies” for the backward States in India. Bihar with its lowest GDP is undoubtedly the most backward State.  But he promised to turn the State into an “investors’ paradise” within 18 months. Narendera Modi made a business-like speech: “Sow a rupee, reap a dollar”, was his slogan with a promise to Gujarati NRIs that their State provided them the best climate for investment. In fact, Modi’s claim was challenged by his counterpart in adjoining Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh. The latter listed several projects to claim that Mumbai had always been the most favoured investment destination. The new Chief Minister of J&K, Ghulam Nabi Azad too sought support from the Indian diaspora on the plea that his State had a long way to go on the development front.

Similar impassioned pleas to the NRIs were made by the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan were, however, represented by their Ministers.  The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who chaired the “CMs’ Interaction”, advised the States to introduce reforms in various sectors to attract investment.  Union Finance Minister Chidambaram too doffed his hat to the NRIs, stating that the remittances from abroad were a development catalyst and the most stable source of private funds flowing into the country.  He assured the NRIs that the balance of payments position was no longer a cause for concern with the foreign exchange reserves standing at $137 billion. Moreover, he promised “sensible economic policies”.

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CPM Kickstarts Poll Campaign

The CPM has kicked off its campaign for the Assembly poll in West Bengal in April-May this year.  To start with, the party Politburo has taken two decisions.  One, no confrontation with the Election Commission.  Two, all out effort to ensure majority for the party itself, without having to rely on support from smaller Left parties.  Importantly, former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu exhorted his partymen at a truly massive rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on Sunday last to cooperate with the EC officials. The EC has sent to the State 19 observers, including the “Biharman” K.J. Rao, to supervise roll revision in all the 19 districts of the State.  For the first time in 29 years of the Left rule in the State, the CPM leaders have publicly admitted existence of a large number of bogus voters in the State.

In the present Assembly, the CPM has 143 seats, five short of the magic figure of 148 in the 294-member Assembly.  The CPM leadership is hoping to get a majority on its own on the basis of its assessment that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress may not be able to win more than 40 seats this time, as against its tally of 60 in the 2001 poll.  The CPM patriach Jyoti Basu stated at the recent rally that “we have to do better this time than our best performance so far in 1987 when we won 187 of the total 294 seats”.  Already, the Congress has ruled out the possibility of any poll understanding with the Trinamool, if the party continues to have any understanding with the BJP-led NDA.  This would mean a divided Opposition, to the advantage of the ruling Left Front.

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Poll Activity In Assam

Poll activity has started in Assam too. The ruling Congress in the State has fired its first salvo for the Assembly poll this year.  Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi circulated to the media the performance chart of his Government and, at the same time, hit out at the Opposition parties for their undoings when in power.  The main Opposition, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), headed by Brindaban Goswami, has started negotiations for an alliance with the BJP.  In fact, the new BJP president, Rajnath Singh, indicated in New Delhi the other day that in order to prevent a split in the anti-Congress votes, the BJP was trying to enter into alliance with the AGP and the United Democratic Front, a broad coalition of parties, including the United Minority Front which has already decided to disengage itself from the Congress.  The BJP-AGP combine may also seek a poll understanding with the Bodo National Front which wields considerable influence in Kokrajar district.  The ruling Congress faces a tough challenge. 

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Karnataka Towards Snap Poll

Karnataka too may go in for a mid-term poll this year.  The long-drawn differences between the ruling coalition partners, the Congress and the JD(Secular) of Deve Gowda, have reached a breaking point following the recent local body elections for which the State Congress tied-up with the new outfit of Siddaramaiha, who broke away from Deve Gowda.  This caused the former Prime Minister to blow hot and cold on his relationship with the Congress.  Gowda first threatened to withdraw support to the Congress and rushed to New Delhi to meet BJP’s, Atal Behari Vajpayee. However, on return to Bangalore, he announced he would revisit the issue again after meeting Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi on February 8.  Not much is expected to come out of Gowda’s talk with Sonia, because the AICC had earlier authorized the State unit to tie-up with the breakaway JD(S) of Siddaramaiha.  Most State Congress leaders favour breaking ties with Gowda’s JD(S) and a snap poll.

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Unrest In Tribal Areas

Tribal unrest in Orissa is fast spreading to the tribal-dominated areas in adjoining States. It all started on Monday last in Kalinga Nagar of Jajia district where police opened fire on a crowd of tribals agitating against the State Government’s decision to acquire their land for a steel plant. Thirteen people were killed and several injured. This unleashed a wave of protests across the State.  The first sign of the snowballing crisis came when tribal MLAs and Ministers of the BJP in the Naveen Patnaik Government decided to quit.  But the situation was saved when the BJP high command advised them against breaking the alliance with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).  But the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) of Shibu Soren have made this a major political issue.  Sonia Gandhi has visited Kalinga Nagar  in the footsteps of her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, who rushed to Belchi in 1978 to nurse the tribals hurt in a similar incident. Soren has warned of a nationwide stir against the killing of the tribals.

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BJP-Shiv Sena Trouble In Maharashtra

Serious trouble is brewing between the BJP and Shiv Sena, the long-time political partners in national politics.  The problem has erupted ahead of the three Assembly byelections in Maharashtra on January 21.  These elections were caused by the resignation of three Sena MLAs, who joined the Congress along with the party’s senior leader Narayan Rane.   The split in the Sena has led to a division in the State BJP.  One view is to keep supporting Bal Thackarey. But a large section within the party wants the relationship rewritten, if not severed. The problem between the two parties looks serious this time because former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader with a statewide appeal, Gopinath Munde, himself is doing his bit to fan the anti-Sena feelings.

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Punjab Farmers Top Indebtedness

Punjab, known for spearheading the Green Revolution, today has the highest indebtedness among its farmers, according to the latest report of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), as disclosed by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.  Punjab is followed by Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in that order.  As of May last, the average outstanding loan of a farmer in Punjab was Rs.41,576, in Kerala Rs.33,907, followed by Rs.26,007 in Haryana, Rs.23,965 in Andhra, Rs.23,963 in Tamil Nadu and Rs.18,135 in Karnataka.  The Union Government and the concerned State governments have consequently initiated several steps to reduce the farmers’ dependence on private moneylenders for meeting their credit requirements and to provide relief to indebted farmers. ---INFA

 
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