Round The States

New Delhi, 9 December 2010

Varanasi Blast

Centre’s Fallacy Exposed

By Insaf

Deadly terror struck with a vengeance in Uttar Pradesh’s holy city Varanasi on Tuesday last. A crude device went off during the famous Ganag aarti at the Dasaswamedh Ghat killing one and injuring 35, including foreign tourists. The blast came after a ten-month lull following the Pune German bakery explosion. The perpetrators, the Indian Mujahedeen in an email asserted this was to avenge the Babri demolition as also expressed its angst against the Allahabad High Court decision in favour of the Ram Janam Bhoomi Trust. Since 2005 this is the third attack and Varanasi seems to be a favourite target. For three diverse reasons. One, it is India’s primary religious centre and a symbol of Ganga-Jamuni culture. Two, it is close to the recruiting areas of home-grown terror outfits. Three, a favorite tourist destination it automatically attracts world attention.

Importantly, notwithstanding the Centre’s tall claims of being adept at tackling terror post 26/11, the Varanasi blast exposes the fallacy of New Delhi. Particularly as nearly a thousand people have been killed in 28 terrorists’ attacks in the past one decade. The Centre seems confused as it continues to vacillate. Resulting in emboldening terrorists. According to intelligence sources, the militants seem to take heart from the over three-year-long trial of Pakistani terrorist Kasab in Mumbai. Other than making loud claims that India will fight terrorism with an iron hand, the ground reality totals a big zero. Invariably all terror attacks are thanks to lackadaisical security and poor intelligence outputs. Most seem to forget that the safety and security of the citizens is the prime responsibility of the Government both at the Centre and the States.

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Finance Ministers’ Meet

The much-touted State Finance Ministers meeting to end the stalemate over the proposed goods and services tax at New Delhi earlier this week came to naught. Thanks to this indirect-tax reform, it is now a political issue between the Congress and the BJP. Only eight State Finance Ministers out of 28 attended the meet. Leading to the deferment of discussions on the Constitutional amendments required for GST’s implementation. Most pointed was the absence of Finance Ministers of BJP-ruled States. Recall, the Centre had planned to roll out GST from this fiscal year to harmonise the country’s indirect tax regime by replacing several taxes levied by it and States. However, the Constitution needs to be amended to allow Parliament and State Assemblies to tax same items. At present, the Centre can impose tax on goods at the factory gate while States can only tax goods at retail level. With a lack of consensus against the GST gaining momentum it remains to be seen if it will become a reality next fiscal year.

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UP’s ‘Record’ Corruption

In this season of corruption galore, UP recorded another first. When its former Chief Secretary and Chairman Noida, Neera Yadav, was sentenced and jailed on Tuesday last. The CBI special court nabbed her under the anti-corruption Act, as it found her guilty in a land allocation case for favouring Flex Industries chairman Ashok Chautrvedi, who too was convicted. In three other allotments of plots in Noida, Yadav was said to have indulged in large-scale bungling, violation of rules and procedures in 1994-96. She was  also charged with allotting out-of-turn plots to bureaucrats, politicians, industrialists and  near and dear ones. In fact, she earned the dubious reputation of being declared “The most corrupt bureaucrat” by UP’s IAS Association. Yadav clearly is no pushover. She is the first woman in India to head a State administration and who earned the dubious distinction of being removed by the Supreme Court in 2004. Will she be the last?

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BJP Karnataka Woes

The travails of the BJP government in Karnataka are unending. After the Lok Ayukta, it is now yet again the turn of Governor HR Bhardwaj to unleash an attack on Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa over ordering a judicial probe into the allegations of favouritism in allotment of government land. Whereby the Governor has suggested “that the judicial probe was nothing but an eyewash and a cover-up effort,” given that the police alone had the powers to investigate the land scam. He cited a Supreme Court ruling for good measure. According to him the dual probe into the scam and denotification of land was just to create confusion. Making matters worse, the Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde too has asserted that a judicial probe was redundant as he was inquiring into the same. Needless to say troubles are clearly not over for Yeddyurappa, who barely managed to save his kursi thanks to BJP’s political compulsions to retain its Lingayat vote bank in the State. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

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Kashmir’s Political Anguish

If the continuing strife in Kashmir was not bad enough, trust our politicians to add fuel to fire. In a shocking faux pas two leaders at the Centre and the State have added to the all-round dismay and confusion. Stated CPI National Secretary D Raja on a visit to Srinagar: “Pelting stones represented accumulated anger and frustration of fourth generation Kashmiris”. Turning turtle the Centre and security forces’ assertions that stone-pelting was orchestrated by separatist leader Syed Geelani along with Lashkar-e-Toiba. This is not all. Along with his 11-member group, comprising 7 MPs and 3 civilians, he promised to act as a ‘pro- Kashmir pressure group’ in New Delhi. Equally scandalous in Jammu the Congress Minister for Health and Horticulture Sham Lal Sharma suggested that Kashmir be granted Azadi for better development of Jammu. Interestingly, the PCC chief Saifuddin Soz. remained silent even as the BJP yelled blue murder. Notwithstanding a sharp rap from New Delhi Sharma continues to remain in the saddle. What now?

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Tamil Nadu Land Scam

In this season of land scams Tamil Nadu is the latest entrant. In documents obtained by RTI activist, the DMK Government has allotted land worth crores by allegedly misusing its discretionary powers. Under special powers it can award up to 15 per cent of properties developed by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board under the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota. Notwithstanding stringent eligibility norms which include widows, single women, social workers, disabled, armed forces, freedom fighters et al, the lands were ‘gifted’ to its chosen few --- politicians, their family members, officials and senior judicial staff. Even corrupt officials were shown with ‘unblemished’ records while politicians feigned how their kin were among the beneficiaries. There is no gainsaying that post Raja’s 2G Spectrum scam, this is not surprising. It is merely a drop in the vast ocean of corruption that emits from Tamil Nadu.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 2 December 2010

Dealing With Naxals

NEW SECURITY PLAN ON ANVIL

By Insaf

States can now look forward to a Naxalite free era. The Union Home Ministry has decided to set up a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) expected to be in place by the end of next year.  Conceptualised on the lines of NCTC set up by the US post-9/11, it is to help the States counter the dreaded Maoists. Not only that. The NCTC is to be tasked with preventing a terrorist attack, containing a terrorist attack, and responding to a terrorist attack by inflicting pain upon the perpetrators. It would serve as an umbrella authority on terror-related matters on which representatives from various intelligence and investigative agencies would be represented. Also, it would have to perform functions relating to intelligence, investigation and operations. In addition to the NCTC, NATGRID a network of various individual databases relating to rail and air travel, phone calls, bank accounts, credit card transactions, passport and visa records, PAN cards etc would also come handy. It is a moot point whether this new security architecture will finally nail the Maoists.

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Jaganmohan Quits Congress

The Congress problem child in Andhra Jaganmohan Reddy finally cut the umbical cord with the Party. He alongwith his mother, an MLA sent their resignation letter to Party President Sonia. Though his exit from the Party was on the cards following his TV channel Sakshi’s stringent criticism against both the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi, the High Command waited for him to take the first step. It is no secret that since his father Rajshekhar’s demise, the young Lok Sabha MP has been hoping to be anointed Chief Minister. But no such luck. Adding to Jagan’s woes, the new Chief Minister managed to create a wedge in the family by making his uncle Vivekanand Reddy a Minister in his 39-member new Cabinet. This is not all. In a decisive move, the Congress leadership also dropped four of Jagan’s loyalists from the previous Cabinet and brought in 11 new faces including Ravindra Reddy, a known YSR baiter along-with giving a lion’s share to the Reddy community, traditional backbone of the Congress, as part of the strategy to contain Jagan's threat to wean away the Reddy community. All eyes are now on Jagan’s next move.

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West Bengal Deals With Maoists

There is some good news for embattled West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. According to him, the Maoist problem in his State is largely under control. Whereby the jungle areas of the State have been freed of Naxalites and continuous operation are being undertaken to uphold the rule of law. To deal with the high risk to the police personnel posted in the Maoist-affected districts, Bhattacharjee announced compensation to police officers and employment to one of the kin of dead policemen. Not only that. Efforts are on to speed up the construction of housing for police personnel and provide them with better healthcare facilities. It remains to be seen whether these measures are limited only till such time the State goes to polls early next year.

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Maharashtra In BIMARU Rank

India’s commercial State Maharashtra is set to join the ranks of the country’s four BIMARU States. A new study by Mumbai University shows that Maharashtra, once seen as an epitome of growth, development and progress, fares quite poorly in the all-important factor of economic growth rate. Shockingly, the State fell to 11th for growth from 2005-06 to 2007-08. Both Bihar (rank 4) and Rajasthan (10) rank higher. While backward states like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh seem to have woken up from their slumber and taken giant strides towards progress, Maharashtra is facing a reversal of fortunes. Despite having a large base of its own tax collection, the State has got mired in inefficiency, poor governance, corruption charges and an apathetic attitude towards its own people. More, Government spending in development, education, social and economic areas indicates that the State’s overall health is not only poor but marginally above that of Bihar. Shocking to say the least!

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Railways Play Spoiler In IT City

Now it is the turn of the Indian Railways to play a spoiler in the construction of Karnataka’s high speed rail link plan (HSRL). The much delayed project connecting Bangalore to its new international airport proposal has hit a fresh speed breaker over the legal framework. The plan mooted in 2006 at a cost of Rs.6,000 croresm which was intended to reduce commuting time from the present one hour to 20 minutes, has been indefinitely postponed. Primarily because of two reasons. One, railway constructions outside urban municipalities fall under the purview of the Railways and, two, the Centre has still to delegate powers to the State under the Central Metro Railway (Construction) Act 1980. Adding to the quagmire, the extension of the Bruhat Bangalore Corporation limits to encompass the new Bengaluru International Airport, located 37 km away, cannot be carried out due to ongoing census that prevents redrawing urban geographies till March 2011. The much feted IT capital will have to sweat it out in roadblocks.

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State-Centre Tussle In Kerala

In Kerala too, the Left Democratic Front Government and UPA have locked horns over widening of national highways through state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Ahead of April 2011 Assembly elections, the State Government wants the Centre to not only give market value for land acquisition but also foot the bill for resettlement and rehabilitation of people displaced due to widening of highways. Predictably, the Centre has refused to make any exception thereby stalling widening work on several projects. Already, five four-laning projects on NH-17 and three on NH-47 are in limbo. A tough talking State Government has written to the Road Transport Ministry to stop all land acquisition in the state. Clearly, the Road of Governance is filled with murky pot holes.

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Congress Seeks Divine Help

Now it’s the turn of the Congress in Orissa to seek divine help. In a move to embarrass the ruling BJD in the land acquisition deal for Vedanta University project at Puri, the Congress MLAs went to the Lord Jagannath temple and offered prayers to the deity seeking his blessings for early end of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s ‘mis-rule’. It also accused the Chief Minister of reneging on the recent direction of Orissa High Court which held that land acquisition for the university was illegal and directed the State Government to return the acquired lands to their original owners. Will Lord Jagannath oblige? ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Events & Issues

New Delhi, 23 November 2010

Mega Dam Project

SETS ASSAM AFLAME

By Mithun Dey

The ‘mega dam’ 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project set up in 2003 in Arunachal Pradesh is now one of the central political issues in Assam. The Opposition parties led by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the BJP in the State have made clear that they would use its ‘anti-dam’ stand as an election issue during the Assembly polls early next year.

Pertinently, even as the mega dam projects are being planned in Assam along-with Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the conservationists have volubly expressed that the dams must be tossed out as they would cause an obnoxious ecological collision in the areas and create problems for the people living in the regions. 

Said the BJP’s Assam President Ranjit Dutta, “Definitely the big dam issue would be on top of our agenda and we will see to it that the plans are shelved at any cost.” The AGP too is making big noises on the mega dam issue. Added AGP’s former Chief Minister Profulla Mahanta, “We will not allow the Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project in Arunachal Pradesh to come up at any cost.

An expert committee has been formed by the Congress’s Tarun Gogoi Assam Government. Stated a member of the committee Jatin Kalita, “From a geological point of view, we have recommended diminution of the dam height to avert flooding, besides other technical recommendations’.

However, now the controversy over the mega dam has taken a political turn. Apparent from the manner the Opposition and the ruling Party are locked in a bitter slanging match. The Chief Minister is of the view that there was no point in opposing the project for the sake of opposition. “If the project benefits Assam then why should we oppose it?’ Gogoi said.

Significantly, there are currently three major projects, Ranganadi project, Subansari project and Taloh power project being executed in Arunachal.  Notwithstanding the anti-dam tirade by farmers and fishermen who might lose their source of livelihood, the State Government is going ahead with the construction of the dams in the Himalayan region.

On the flip side, with an energy discrepancy of about 12 per cent, India is under pressure to power its economic growth.  But the people of North East think otherwise. In fact, a composite network of tribal groups and over a dozen long-running mutinies fuelled by anger over what they see as New Delhi’s pillage of local resources have raised the ante for meaningful autonomy.  

According to activists, the edifice of the dams would not only diminish water flows but as a result, it would lead to a decrease of fishing stocks in the rivers and less water for farmers to rinse out their crops.

As it stands, in Assam during monsoon, the water levels in the dam reservoirs often lead to mass floods and ruin almost everything, crops, homes, animals’ et al while people suffer from dysentery, diarrhea year after year. Moreover, experts note that the region is also located in an active seismic zone, which could create serious problems if many mega-dams are constructed.

But the State Government has no plan to discontinue the ongoing work on the project even as experts list out the adverse impacts of the project. “We are not against development and power generation. But this should not be done at the cost of the lives of the common people. The Government can take recourse to the micro-hydel projects, instead of the mega dams, for power generation,” emphasized Sammujal Bhattacharya.

 “The Central Government must stop the mega dam projects being constructed in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh till the final viability report is filed. The Government should think about the adverse collision of the dam projects. After erecting these mega dam projects in the hills, the future of the lower parts residing people will be jeopardized”, he warned.

In July this year, well known activist and head of the Narmada Bachao Andolan Medha Patkar launched a scorching attack on the Assam Government for moving ahead with the mega dams project over the Brahmaputra River and presaged for mass mutiny if the projects were not stopped immediately.

 “The people of Assam and the North-east would rebellion if such dams are permitted to proceed. Building of dams would slay both the river Brahmaputra and the people of the North-East and we shall never assent to this sort of projects to continue,” asserted Patkar at an anti-dam rally in the State.

The BJP retaliated against Congress assertions that the erstwhile NDA Government under Prime Minister Vajpayee had supported the construction of mega dams in the region. Countered former BJP President Rajnath Singh, “The BJP had only said yes to build a multi-purpose dam but never started construction of mega dams.” Thus, making plain its stand over construction of mega dams in the region.

Importantly, the people of Assam have the right to live which would clearly be in jeopardy if mega dams are constructed in the region. At the same time the Government has a duty to safeguard public interests and its people from ruin. The powers-that-be should also engage more experts to study all the pros and cons of downstream affects of the dam. ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Political Diary

New Delhi, 11 December 2010

Sad Epitaph Of Session

NETA-PUBLIC DISCONNECT

By Poonam I Kaushish

How does one begin an epitaph of the just-concluded winter session of Parliament? That it passed into history by being adjourned daily since it began on 9 November, thanks to a united Opposition demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Rs 1.76 lakh crore telecom scam. That its tenure witnessed a sharp decline reducing Parliament virtually to zero. Recklessly assaulted from within and without. That it affixed its seal of approval on political harlotry of the worst kind.

Tragically, it suffered this ignominy and more with none willing to pause and ponder, and prevent its crumble. Notwithstanding, many MPs individually felt strongly that something must be done. But collectively connived and concluded that nothing could or should be done. Perhaps, they believe that Parliamentary proceedings have little material bearing on the course of politics in this deterioration of political culture and ethos. Whither Parliament?

Why only telecom, ghotala after ghotala is making a mockery of India’s democratic Parliamentary pretensions of focusing on the issue of probity in public life. A piece of raucous political theater played in the majestic circular building decade after decade. Whereby Government accountability to Parliament is blatantly trampled upon by the Treasury Benches. Stoking concerns of how powerless Parliament is to stem the rot.

The contempt of the powers-that-be for this high temple of democracy can be gauged from the fact that even as the Opposition and UPA II slugged it out over the losses caused to the national exchequer due to the 2G spectrum scam, none cared that their stand-off resulted in wastage of over Rs. 200 crore (each minute costs over Rs26,000) on account of Parliament not functioning for the entire 25-day session. The Government’s plans to introduce 24 new Bills this session including those on land acquisitions, reforming accounting standards, amending labour laws all came to naught. Scandalous was how supplementary grants of Rs1024.61 crore were passed amid din by voice vote, without debate.

True, the Congress can crow over how it used its brute numbers and intellectual ability to rationalize the irrational. Of how it got the better of a united and tenacious Opposition’s endevour to constitute a JPC. But it cannot shun its responsibility to ensure that the Opposition's legitimate concerns are addressed and Parliament doesn't suffer. Shockingly, not only did the Prime Minister choose to remain silent during the entire fracas but left on a foreign visit prior to the curtain ringing down on the ‘aborted’ session.

Over the years, Parliament has been disrupted for some very trivial reasons--all parties have been guilty of it some time or the other--but that does not negate the occasions when the Opposition was seen to be on the right track. By ensuring that the Opposition does not have its say the treasury benches are willy-nilly only fast-tracking the breakdown of Parliament, which serves nobody’s interest, neither people’s nor MPs, leaving a widening chasm that may take years to bridge, if at all.

What is further disgusting and, indeed, most unfortunate is that our polity largely continues to drift along smugly without any sense of shame or a desire to turn a new page. Exemplified by how despite the turmoil, our Right Honourables gathered in their fineries for their traditional group photo.

All forgetting that Parliament is a forum for discussion and for any Government to shut out debate simply because of its own vulnerability amounts to authoritarianism. The very spirit of parliamentary democracy would be in danger if the Opposition is sought to be silenced by taking recourse to mere technicalities or judicial interventions.  

Yet, after every session, both sides bemoan the loss of working days because of frequent interruptions and adjournments. Statistics also show that legislative business done in each Lok Sabha has progressively declined over the years, and increasingly more time is spent on “non-Parliamentary or extra-Parliamentary'' means used by MPs to be heard.

It's not just the declining number of hours that MPs put in for debating questions that is worrying, but also the quality of debates has plummeted. “Legislation has become more complex and we need intelligent, threadbare discussion of the issues but all we get is shouting and abuse. People want to know what MPs think about the Kashmir crisis, terrorism, inflation et al. Sadly, the link between MPs and the aam aadmi is weakening,” bemoaned a 9-term MP.

In this milieu any wonder that the centre of politics has moved from Parliament to the judiciary and civil society. Our Right Honourables must introspect about what kind of legacy they are going to leave behind. Will they allow Parliament to sink under the weight of its increasing decadence?

Can we expect Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who, as Finance Minister in the 90s, initiated bold economic reforms and paved way for progress, do the same and reform Parliament? Does his Government have the courage to institute a JPC to get to the bottom of this mega scam?

The time has come for all MPs to see how they can strengthen Parliamentary democracy before people begin to mock at it in sheer disgust? One way is that on certain issues both the Government and the Opposition should rise above sectarian political loyalties and be guided more by the sense of the House than the rule book. Another is to make the Executive accountable by taking a leaf out of Westminster. The House of Commons has a convention of a “PM’s Hour” of 40 minutes a week, wherein the MPs can question him on any issue and this session is extempore.

Our netagan also need to implement one of the recommendations made by a conference of Presiding officers held in Shimla in 1997. Namely, “strict system of time-use” be introduced and implemented in all legislative bodies to avoid “wasteful public expenditure.” Whereby, the Speaker or Chairman of their respective legislatures should “calculate the cost of each second of their House-time and give wide publicity for the same to the public.”

In India’s coalition milieu our leadership must invest time and money in ensuring that they pick the right legislators to make Parliament a more effective forum. Else the increased interventions and recent admonishments by the judiciary, may well aid a process by which the Courts will eventually marginalize them.

Time for our polity to look within whether the system has failed them or they have failed the system? They must grasp that a rot which can be cured must never be endured. All those perceived as corrupt and ugly should be thrown out or at best sidelined. Parties should present new faces which are both clean and credible. No neta, howsoever mighty is indispensable. Remember what Gandhiji said: “In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place.” People devoid of conscience have no right to stay in power ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)