ROUND THE STATES
New Delhi, 13 December 2006
Politics in NDC
Meet
WOOING MUSLIMS FOR
ASSEMBLY POLLS
By Insaf
The crucial upcoming Assembly
elections in UP, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Manipur even injected politics into the
sedate National Development Council meeting in New Delhi over the week-end.
Intended mainly to finalise the Eleventh Plan (2007-12), the Prime Minister and
the Chief Ministers introduced in their speeches the flavour of vote-bank
politics on party lines rather than economic issues
of national interest. Speaking about the success
of his economic reforms and rising growth rate, the PM and Chairman of the
Planning Commission, stressed the need for the CMs and policy planners not
only to devise “innovative plans” for the SCs, STs, OBCs but more so for minorities,
particularly the Muslims who should have “first claim on resources.” The BJP
CMs, led by Narendra Modi of Gujarat, reacted sharply
to the new dimension to Muslim appeasement, which caused an uproar in
Parliament.
The long-standing controversy over the Centre-State
financial relations has also been raised once more. While the Prime Minister
highlighted the critical issue at
the NDC meet, stating that in view of the stretched resources of the Centre for
its development efforts the burden should be shared by the States, the Chief
Ministers highlighted their own fiscal problems. Karnataka’s CM H D
Kumaraswamy, for example, demanded Central aid of 50 per cent on
infrastructure, cut in interest rate on all farm loans and revision of cost-sharing
in literacy programmes. The CMs of special category States demanded that
external aid should be passed on to
them in the ratio of 90:10. The PM has accepted this. In fact, most Chief Ministers
have suggested the lowering of interest on outstanding State loans on National
Small Savings Funds. They quoted the NDC sub-committee’s observation on
deteriorating State finances and the need to reduce the interest rates on
outstanding State loans.
* * * *
Bypoll Verdict
Highlights
The outcome of the recent byelections for two Lok Sabha and 11
Assembly Seats across the country has provided food for thought to all
the major political parties. Overall, the Congress
had the satisfaction of winning five Assembly
seats and wresting from the TDP Bobbili Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra
Pradesh. But the party suffered a serious setback when it lost crucial
Karimganj Lok Sabha seat. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief and former
Union Minister Chandrashekhar Rao proved the pollsters wrong when he recorded a
landslide victory, defeating the nearest Congress
rival T Jeevan Reddy, by a whopping 2,01,502 votes. Rao’s victory has given a
shot in the arm to the movement for a separate Telangana State, the issue on which the party had withdrawn its two
Ministers (Rao and Narendra) from the Union Government and its support to the
UPA at the Centre and to the ruling Congress
in the State.
Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (S) Chief, H C Deve
Gowda was a prominent loser in the sense that his party’s nominee Shivadasappa
lost to the OBC leader Siddaramaiah in a high-voltage bypoll from
Chanmeedeshwari Assembly
constituency in Mysore district. For Siddaramaiah, once a closed friend of Deve
Gowda and now his bete noire, the victory is a revenge against the former PM and
his clan in Karnataka. This defeat not only spells a setback to the
Kumaraswami-BJP coalition Government in Karnataka but also provides a fillip to
the JD (S) dissidents who have been
demanding Deve Gowda’s expulsion from the party. The poll outcome was disappointing for the
BJP-Shiv Sena combine, which lost to the Congress
both the Daryapur and Chimur Assembly
seats in Maharashtra. The BJP candidate’s
defeat at the hands of the Congress in
the tribal-dominated Dungarpur constituency is also a warning signal to the
ruling party in Rajasthan.
* * * *
UP Politics in Rashtrapati
Bhawan
Pre-poll activity in Uttar Pradesh moved to Rashtrapati
Bhawan last week. While the delegations of the main Opposition parties, the BJP
and the BSP, led by L K Advani and Mayawati respectively, met the President and
demanded Central rule in the State prior to the Assembly
election next year, the ruling Samajwadi Party group of MPs demanded recall of
the Governor, T A Rajeshwar. The Opposition parties stressed
the need for President’s rule to save the State from “mafia rule”. Mayawati was
most vocal and alleged a collapse of law and order machinery in the State. She
said exactly what Sonia Gandhi had stated earlier that free and fair polls were
not possible under the present
dispensation. Reacting sharply, to the move, a group of SP sought the
Governor’s recall on the plea that he was “conspiring” against the State
Government.
* * * *
SC Scraps
Foreigners Order for Assam
The Supreme Court verdict striking down the Union
Government’s controversial Foreigners (Tribunals for Assam)
Order has been widely welcomed in the State and elsewhere. The Order was denounced
by many as an attempt to somehow overrule the apex Court’s historic judgment
which had scrapped the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act in
February last year, describing it as illegal and unconstitutional. The
Government order on the Foreigners Act too had put the burden of proof in the
case of Assam to the
complainant as in the case of the IMDT, which the Court had been repealed on
the same ground. However, illegal migrants would still continue to be a threat,
until the State Government takes speedy steps to constitute adequate number of
Tribunals to deport illegal migrants under the Foreigners Act, 1946. Much
eventually depends upon the Centre’s willingness
to issue multi-purpose identity
cards to all the nationals, beginning with the sensitive border areas.
* * * *
Sonia’s Direction
to Punjab Leaders
The Congress
President, Sonia Gandhi, is striving hard to get senior Punjab
leaders to bury the hatchet and work unitedly for the Assembly
elections early next year, if they want the party to retain power in the State.
Sonia Gandhi has felt constrained to warn feuding Congressmen
in the State following reports that differences between Chief Minister
Amarinder Singh and Jagmeet Singh Brar were continuing despite earlier advices
from the AICC. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress’
main opposition SAD (B)-BJP combine has declared its agenda for the poll. It
has promised subsidized flour and pulses, filling of vacancies in Government
within six months of coming to power and insurance scheme for the farmers. The
party Chief Parkash Singh Badal made this announcement at an impressive rally in Moga.
* * * *
Naxals Attack Train
In Jharkhand
The Naxalites, now re-grouped as CPI (Maoists) have adopted
a new method of attacking trains and looting. This was in evidence in the Jharkhand
sector, (bordering West Bengal) of the
South-Eastern Railways. They stopped the Khargpur passenger
train for about two hours, looted two rifles and cash from the Railway Police
Force (RPF) personnel escorting the train, snatched walkie-talkie sets from the
guard and driver of the train and then fled. The train was stopped by five or
six armed Maoists who were already in the train which they reportedly boarded
at Tatanagar. The passengers noticed
their presence but did not dare to inform the rail authorities. They told the
Station Master only after the incident that the Maoists first forcibly snatched
the rifles of the RPF personnel and looted some cash in their possession.
* * * *
What’s In A Name?
Uttaranchal, the new hill State carved out of UP, will now
be re-named Uttarakhand. The Bill for the change in its name has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament. The UPA Government
has defended the change on the ground that the move would fulfil the
aspirations of the people of the State, especially the State Congress, which had successfully
and, at times violently agitated for the creation of the hill State, initially
named by them as Uttarakhand. When the State was finally created by the Vajpayee-led
NDA Government, it was named Uttaranchal. During discussions
of the Bill in Parliament, the BJP, SP and Left parties put up a united Front
and argued that the timing of the alteration of the name was a political
gimmick to court the electorate even though, as Ravi Shankar Prasad of the BJP
pointed out, it would cost the State Government at least Rs 400 to 500 crore.
--INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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