Round The States

New Delhi, 21 May 2008

Rajasthan Turns Tough

“THROW OUT ILLEGAL BANGLADESHIS”

By Insaf

Illegal migrants from Bangladesh have cast a long and sinister shadow across many States following the tragic recent serial blasts in Jaipur, suspected to be the handiwork of Bangladesh-based terror outfit HuJI. Deep concern is being felt not only at the Centre but in each State Capital. Immediate measures are being considered. For one, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje has ordered throwing out all illegal migrants from the State. On Friday last, all District Collectors and SPs were told to scrutinize ration cards and voter identity cards with West Bengal addresses and verify their authenticity with the State Government. An estimated 20,000 Bangladeshi are suspected to be living illegally in Rajasthan, with the majority claiming to belong to Cooch Behar, North or South 24-Parganas in West Bengal. Raje is firm that the verification drill must be completed within a month.

In fact, the BJP Chief Minister has gone a step ahead of the Centre. In a chat with a leading editor, Raje claimed that the UPA Government wanted her Administration to round-up all illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the State and “put them in a transit camp.” The suggestion, said Raje was made by the Union Home Ministry last June in response to repeated letters from the State Government about deportation of the illegal Bangladeshis in the State. Besides, the Raje Government has revived its demand for approval of the Rajasthan Control of Organised Crime Bill (RCOCA) by the Centre or the reintroduction of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) to counter terrorism. She has also insisted that the Centre call a meeting of all Chief Ministers to discuss internal security, against the background of the total failure of the intelligence agencies in the recent blasts. It’s a different matter that now the security agencies are putting out alert after alert to nearly every city.  

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Meanwhile, even as the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made a strong pitch for the setting up of a federal agency to deal with offences such as terrorism, following the Jaipur blasts, the Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has advocated “a bullet for a bullet” approach. At a function on Sunday last in Punjab to disburse funds to terrorism-affected families, Azad was unambiguous: “How can you initiate talks with terrorists, who after attaining training from across the border, come to kill you. Either you have to kill him, otherwise you will get killed.”  In addition, the Chief Minister was of the opinion that the Centre may hold talks with Pakistan, but when it comes to terrorism there could be no tolerance. With terrorist organizations getting local support, Azad felt that the Governments of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh & his own J&K should join hands and fight the menace unitedly.

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Typical Panchayat Poll In WB

The Panchayat poll in West Bengal appears to have lived up to its reputation --- of being the bloodiest local elections! The three-phase poll which ended on Monday last, has claimed 35 lives so far—one in the first phase, 10 in the second and 23 in the third phase. The two main rivals, the Congress and CPM in the week-long poll were embroiled in fierce battles, with cadres unabashedly resorting to firing and hurling crude bombs. Other parties involved included the Trinamool Congress, RSP and Forward Bloc. Absurd as it may sound, the IG, law and order, considered the elections a “success” from the security point of view as “the death toll was below 40 compared to the 2003 election in which 74 people lost their lives”! However, local politicians expect the picture to be no different and that the toll may exceed past figures, with post-poll violence a near-certainty. Evidently, with huge inflow of money into the three-tier system, every village has now assumed great importance.                                

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Badal Exposes Bhattal

The outcome of the Shiromani Akali Dal- Congress spat over the recent Panchayat elections held in Punjab is worth watching out for. Following victory, an upbeat Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has thrown another challenge to the State Congress. Stop doing stunts and resorting to cheap publicity, he told PCC Chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. The latter along with 41 MLAs is said to have handed in their resignations to Party President Sonia Gandhi and are demanding President’s rule. Their reason: the polls 324 members of 20 zila parishads and 141 members of panchayat samitis in 12,705 villages held  on 12 May was marred by violence allegedly by SAD cadres. Two persons including a Congress worker was killed. Ridiculing Bhattal’s move as cheap publicity, Badal has dared the Congress leadership to forward the MLAs’ resignation to the Vidhan Sabha Speaker. After all, “Stuntmanship is no substitute for statesmanship,” said Badal. Will the Congress MLAs heed?   

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Militant Violence Affects NE

Militant violence in Assam’s north Cachar Hills has had a cascading affect on three North-Eastern States of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur. The States have been cut off from the rest of the country for nine days, following the North-East Frontier Railway suspending all trains that pass through southern Assam and Tripura. The action by the Railways came after militants killed 13 workers and kidnapped an engineer early this week. Construction firms stopped work and an estimated 3,500 workers who were engaged by private firms for laying new tracks withdrew, fearing fresh militant attacks. So far 25 persons have been gunned down by militants in the district in the past week. Grain laden rail wagons are stranded and there is fear that if the situation is not brought under control, there will be food shortage in the region. The Congress-led Government in Assam and the Centre have been urged to take appropriate steps.  

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Ambulance Transports Money

There is a new ingenuity of carrying cash for contesting an election. Use ambulances to transport money and liquor, as did politicians in Bellary district, in the Karnataka Assembly poll! The Election Commission has booked three such cases. A BJP leader from Bellary, who runs a charitable trust, allegedly misused an ambulance owned by the trust for his campaigning. The modus operandi: a person would lie on the stretcher, with three or four women sitting around him, creating an impression that the ambulance was carrying a patient. The money and liquor was stacked on the floor and covered with metal plates. If stopped, the women would plead that the patient was critical and had to be rushed to the hospital. Nothing was suspected and it was quite simple. Till, rivals noticed the ambulance making frequent trips to Davanagree and Chitadurga. On inquiries with the hospital, they were told there was no such patient. Guess elections can make one creative! ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)