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State Parties Call Shots:LOLLIPOPS FOR REGIONAL SATRAPS, by Insaf, 17 July 2008 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 17 July 2008

State Parties Call Shots

LOLLIPOPS FOR REGIONAL SATRAPS

By Insaf

The regional parties in various States could not have it any better. Till yesterday they served as mere appendages to the national parties but today are calling the shots in New Delhi. Look how both the Congress-led UPA, BJP-led NDA and the Left-backed fledgling UNPA are busy keeping their State allies together. With promises galore, monetary benefits, other ‘goodies’et al. All to keep them from being poached by their rivals. If the UPA boasts of UP’s Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi, Bihar’s Lalu Yadav’s RJD and Ramvilas Paswan’s LNJP, Maharashtra’s Sharad Pawar’s NCP, Tamil Nadu’s Karunanidhi’s DMK. The NDA preens over Bihar’s Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena, Punjab’s Prakash Singh Badal’s SAD, Orissa’s Naveen Patnaik’s BJD and Tamil Nadu’s Jayalalitha’s AIADMK.

The UNPA which till recently, comprised three major State outfits among other smaller outfits --- namely Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi, Andhra’s Chandrababu’s TDP and Haryana’s Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD has now netted UP’s Mayawati’s BSP to replace the Samajwadi’s “betrayal”. It is now busy coordinating its future options alongwith the Left parties with strongholds in three States, West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. Up for grabs by all are Andhra’s Chandrashekhar’s TRS, UP’s Ajit Singh’s RLD, Jharkhand’s JMM besides various small outfits ( J&K’s NCP and PDP) and one-MP parties in the Lok Sabha. In todays’ political milieu with coalition politics becoming the main stay of India’s democracy, clearly the ‘Made in India” State satraps and their regional parties will rule the roost.

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J&K Polls In November

Elections to the Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly will be held on schedule, asserted State Governor N.N. Vohra, putting to rest rumours floated by various political outfits. Stating that President’s rule was “a temporary phenomena”, Vohra, however, added a ride: the situation had to be congenial for the purpose. This was in context to the recent violence and the volatile  situation over the Amarnath Shrine land transfer row leading to the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s resignation. Confessing that he had never anticipated that the elected Government would fall within 13 days of his taking over as Governor, Vohra said the notification for the polls would be issued in the later half of August and the elections held before November 2. Towards that end, the Election Commission has begun its pre-poll exercise like assessing the ground situation vis-à-vis identification of hyper-sensitive and sensitive polling stations and the political parties are readying electoral issues.

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Chattisgarh Caught In Three-Way Terror

An International Human rights organization has charged security forces and members of Salwa Judum --- a citizens group against Maoists --- with killing and forcibly displacing people in anti-Naxalite operations in Chhattisgarh. Besides, it called on Maoists to stop attacking civilians and recruiting children and allow camp residents to return to their villages. Shockingly, it pointed out that the conflict have given rise to one of the largest internal displacement crises in India --- at least 100,000 people have resettled in camps or fled to neighbouring States. Further, the tribal communities were caught in a “deadly tug-of-war” between security forces, the Salwa Judum and Naxalites in 18 villages of Dantewada and Bijapur districts since mid-2005. Worse, the Maoists were using six-years old children as informers and 12-years old in armed operations. The Chhattisgarh police too, use children as special police officers to assist in anti-Naxalite combing operations. It remains to be seen who will drill the final nail in the three-way terror coffin.

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Fodder Scam Nets IAS Officer

History was made when a serving IAS officer was convicted on Tuesday in the infamous Rs. 950 crores fodder scam which hit national headlines in the early 1990s. Jharkhand’s Transport Secretary Sajal Chakraborty was pronounced guilty for the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.39 crores from the Chaibasa treasury, when he was its Deputy Commissioner, by the Special CBI Court in Ranchi. A shocked Chakraborty, among the 64 accused found guilty, however denied the charge by asserting that he had “not engaged in seeking any illegal gratification.” Pertinently, Chief Minister Madhu Koda is tight-lipped about Chakraborty’s fate. This is the 28th of 63 fodder cases in which 274 people have already convicted.

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SC Danda For Police

Good news for the beleaguered aam aadmi who is reeling under the police danda. In a landmark judgment the Supreme Court has vented is anger against the police who refuse  to register an FIR on the basis of complaints. It has issued notices to all State Governments and the Centre to ensure that the police personnel who find reasons not to register cases are not let off. Further, it deplored the fact that despite repeated judgments from the Apex Court, there had been several cases where the police refused to register FIRs. Calling it a “disturbing state of affairs” the two-member Bench asserted that guidelines were essential to ensure that the erring officers were prosecuted and sent to jail for neglecting duties. It remains to be seen if the police’s much touted “With you, for you always” will now translate into action.

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Tamil Nadu Opposes Nalini’s Release

Belying expectations that Tamil Nadu would be lenient towards Rajiv Gandhi’s assassin Nalini Sriharan’s plea for early release, the State Government has clearly told the Madras High Court that it was against it. Notwithstanding Rajiv’s daughter Priyanka’s visit to Nalini in Vellore jail to “come to terms” with her father’s death in March last. The Government in a counter affidavit stated that Priyanka’s meeting had nothing to do with the premature release of Nalini. Recall, Nalini and 26 others were given death sentences in January 1998. However, 2000, the Tamil Nadu Governor, had commuted her sentence to life on the basis of a State Cabinet recommendation and an appeal by Sonia Gandhi. Clearly, Nalini who has already 17 years in jail would have to wait some more before she gains freedom.

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When the Tirupati Lord visits Dalits

In a rare ‘Godly” gesture the world’s richest God, Tirupati Lord Balaji (Venkateshwara) blessed Dalits right in their homes. Thanks to the holy feat performed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to take the Lord and his two consorts to several villages in Andhra Pradesh’s Chitoor district to enable Dalits to worship their Gods and perform ‘Dalit Govindam’to their hearts content. Rarer still was that the Dalits participated in the rituals standing besides the priests and people who had earlier ostracized and banned them from entering temples. True, the decision by the TTD was to prevent large-scale conversions by disillusioned and alienated Dalits to other religions but at the same time it is also a first step in eradicating caste discrimination and slowly moving to a casteless society. ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

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