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.
* * * *
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.
* * * *
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.
* * * *
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.
* * * *
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.
* * * *
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.
* * * *
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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