Round The States

New Delhi, 24 July 2008

State Capitals In Tizzy Over Fallout

REGIONAL SATRAPS FINE-TUNE STRATEGY

By Insaf

All State Capitals and their regional parties are in a tizzy over the fallout of the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday which exposed the weakness in their flanks. Significantly, besides the BJP, all its regional allies in the NDA have lost their trusted MPs to the ‘attractive’ inducements by the Congress-led UPA Government. Be it Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (U) who’s two MPs one from Bihar’s Nalanda and the other from Lakshadweep voted in favour of the Indo-US nuclear deal, Naveen Patnaik’s BJD in Orissa  which faced discomfiture when its Aska MP voted for the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In Maharashtra, a Shiv Sena MP cocked a snook at his Party Chief when he stayed away from a crucial meeting at Bal Thackeray’s residence on Saturday last. The Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal’s Akali Dal too was in for an unpleasant surprise when its Ropar MP was absconding from the Lok Sabha.

The fledgling Mayawati-led UNPA too was not left unscathed. Andhra Pradesh’s TDP President Chandrababu Naidu, who had been camping in New Delhi to seek the support of other regional parties against the UPA and forge new alliances before the trust vote, faced acute embarrassment when two of his trusted MPs voted for the Government. Andhra’s TRS along with Karnataka’s Deve Gowda’s JD(S) lost one MP each from its three MPs each ranks. The Congress’s new ally Mulayam’s Samajwadi too was harmed. It lost 6 MPs to the Opposition. But its mortification was drowned in the euphoria of the UPA’s victory. Even as the regional satraps are explaining the depletion in their ranks due to the redrawing of Parliamentary constituencies which would have resulted in the sitting MPs being denied Party renominations, the defections have made them wiser. They are going through the credentials of prospective ticket seekers with a fine tooth comb.

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Greater Jharkhand?

Orissa has reacted sharply (and understandably) to the renewed demand by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief Shibu Soren, for the creation of “greater Jharkhand” by taking away three districts of the State and another three from West Bengal. Demonstrations and protests were staged in various parts of the State. Normal life was affected in the tribal dominated Mayurbhanj as the BJP and the BJD observed a 12-hour bandh across the district. Shibu Soren, no doubt, feels encouraged by his latest deal with the UPA Government in which he got the JMM to provide crucial support to Manmohan Singh in the trust vote in the Lok Sabha. But, as in the case of the demand for greater Nagaland, there is little likelihood of a greater Jharkhand in the foreseeable future.

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Clash Paralyses Punjab

Punjab continues to suffer time and again because of the ongoing clash between the Sikhs and the followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Rail and road traffic was paralysed in several parts of the State on Monday. Thousands of passengers were stranded at the Amritsar railway station as activists of the Sant Samaj, a conglomerate of various Sikh organizations, blocked the Garib Rath Express and forced cancellation of nine other trains, including the Shatabdi Express. Traffic on the national highways and other roads was also disrupted. The Sant Samaj wants the Dera Chief arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of three Sikhs, including one each in Mumbai and Dabwali in the State. The Sant Samaj enjoys the backing of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the apex religious body of Sikhs. However, Haryana, where the headquarters of the Dera Sacha Sauda are located, largely remained unaffected by the bandh.

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Mayawati Targets Delhi

Sonia Gandhi’s Congress is likely to face a bigger challenge than ever before in its hope of pulling off a hat trick in the forthcoming Assembly poll in Delhi. True, Delhi’s Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, continues to be popular, which has enabled her to rule the Union Territory for the past 10 years. Also correct, there is little evidence of any anti-incumbency mood thus far. Nevertheless, the Congress has to reckon with Mayawati and her BSP. This time, Mayawati is determined to assert her presence and has decided to contest all the 70 Assembly seats. In fact, she has already announced BSP’s  candidates for nearly 60 seats. The results have already started showing. The Party’s blue flags are now flattering in many slum clusters, unauthorized colonies and rehabilitation settlements. Traditionally, these colonies have been Congress supports.

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Jammu Erupts, Geelani Talks Peace

The furor over the Amarnath land transfer row refuses to die down. Once again an indefinite curfew has been imposed in Jammu following fresh tension in the wake of a youth's suicide against the revocation of the forest land allotment. However, despite the curfew protests erupted in some areas of the city and outskirts. Importantly, even as Jammu simmers with discontent notwithstanding the curfew, the separatists Hurriyat forces are undergoing a change of heart. Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Geelani asserted “We don’t need the gun of the Mujahideen now. We don’t need the support of Pakistan or its media”. Significantly, he also averred that the Kashmir “movement” doesn’t require violence and had stressed that a peaceful struggle could achieve the political goal.

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Gujarat Dalit Girls ‘Rich Commodity’

Gujarat’s Chief Minister Modi may have earned accolades for the State’s progress and high growth rate. However, behind the development façade, it has notched up a slur in its rural belt. Wherein girls belonging to the Dalit and backward communities are abducted and put up for sale as sex slaves in several villages fringing Ahmedabad, Surendranagar, Mehsana and some areas of Rajkot. Though, it is not a prostitution racket run by pimps, the girls are being passed on like ‘commodities’ from one rich buyer to another for personal ‘use’. Not a few are taken to Maharashtra and other States to be sold to rich farmers who sell them again only to buy new arrivals. Tragically, the police and State Government both have turned a blind eye.

Tiger Poaching Continues

Tiger poaching continues scandalously across the country, notwithstanding solemn assurances by the powers-that-be. Late last week, two tiger skins and a skeleton were seized at Swarghat in Himachal Pradesh and two persons, including a Tibetan national, were arrested by the local police. This was followed by the seizure of two tiger skins in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district. Investigations in Himachal show that many people are involved. Some have contacts in Gurgaon, which are being pursued. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is on the job. But it has still to establish where the tigers were poached from. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)