Round The States

New Delhi, 4 February 2010

Drive Against Corruption

STATES GIVEN CODE OF CONDUCT

By Insaf

The States and their Chief Ministers have been formally alerted by the Centre against the countrywide clamour against mounting corruption and demand for effective action. Regret has been conveyed to the CMs for their failure largely in not even adhering to the code of conduct on declaration of assets by the Ministers. The code for the States, which has been revised and is almost on par with that for the Centre, requires CMs and Ministers to disclose their “assets and liabilities: as also “business interests” for the previous year by August 31 every year. It also expects them to ensure that they and their families do not start or participate in business concerns engaged in supplying goods and services to the Government. The revised code, communicated to the States and Union Territories in December, also requires the CMs and Ministers to refrain from buying or selling to Government any movable property, except in public interest. The Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister are the authorities for ensuring the observance of the code by the Chief Ministers. The CMs are the authority for their Ministers. But will the code really be implemented? Or will it again remain a pious hope!

Telangana Panel Set-Up

The contentious issue of the formation of a separate Telangana State has moved half a step forward. On Wednesday last, the Centre announced a five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna, “to hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of the people and all political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh”. However, its terms of references are yet to be drafted and no time-frame has been mentioned. This apart, eyebrows have been raised over the wording of the official statement, which does not mention Telangana. This could be deliberate. Those supporting Telangana could infer the Centre had finally set the ball rolling on the formation of a new State. Those from Andhra/Rayalseema could interpret it as only “a continuation of the consultation process.” While both the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi and the Joint Action Committee are non-committal and await the panel’s terms of references, the BJP has rejected the committee, denouncing it as a “dilatory exercise.” It added: If at all the committee was to be set up, it should have been charged with identifying “the nitty-gritty of bifurcation.”

Nitish Under Attack

All is not well with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal (United). On Monday last, close aide and MP Ranjan Singh Lallan put in his papers as the State party president accusing Nitish of “behaving like a dictator”. He alleged that the CM was “ignoring and overlooking genuine party workers and treating the party as his pocket organization…” The rebel chief was closely associated with Nitish since long and had emerged as one of the most powerful men in Bihar politics, enjoying a great deal of say in bureaucratic reshuffle and decision-making. However, since the Lok Sabha election last May, the relationship sour as Nitish reportedly refused to allow him to interfere in the Government’s functioning. While Nitish is confident that everything will be sorted out and the people will finally decide, party President Sharad Yadav said he had kept the resignation pending and would resolve the issue within a fortnight. Time is crucial as the State goes to the polls this October.    

Meghalaya’s Record ‘CMs’

Meghalaya offers a novel way of keeping rebels at bay. Last week, Chief Minister DD Lapang elevated Chairman of Programme Implementation and Congress PCC chief and political advisor Friday Lyngdoh to the rank of Chief Minister. Two others (former chief ministers) are already enjoying the same rank—State Planning Board chairman Donkupar Roy and Economic Development Council Chairman JD Rymbai. In addition, the tiny north-eastern State has two Deputy Chief Ministers—Mukul Sangma and Bindo Lalong. While many see the latest move to quell rebellion against him by a section of congress MLAs, wanting more ministerial berths, Lapang defends his decision, saying it is not the first time the State has had more than one person enjoying the rank of CM. In the past, he enjoyed the status of CM when Rymbal was Chief Minister. What is more, the decision making powers lie only with Lapang. The other three CMs only enjoy the status, security, perks and emoluments which go with the post. With his hands tied in a downsized Cabinet of 12 ministers, the upgrading of the PCC chief should help Lapang neutralize any threat.      

Nation-wide Protests Over Bt Brinjal

The protest against Bt Brinjal, genetically modified crop is growing steadily louder across the country. A day-long fast was observed by thousands of protestors on Martyr’s day, in Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Kerala. The protestors emphasised that the hard-won independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi could not be lost to agri-business MNCs. They sought that the Centre remember the Mahatma’s dream of Hind Swaraj and uphold the food sovereignty of the country from the onslaught of technologies like GM seeds and not let the farmers lose control over their seed and agriculture. India is the second largest producer of brinjals, producing 3,600 varieties that are cheap and have high yields. However, tests have shown that the insertion of genetic material that makes the brinjal plant produces Bt toxin could have harmful effects on liver, kidney and other functions. The protests have forced Union Environment Minister to hold public hearings and he will take a final decision on Feb 10.  

Never-ending Woes Of CM Chavan

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan miseries are far from over. Other than handling the murky situation arising out of Shiv Sena’s threats against Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Gandhi, Chidambaram et al, he is yet to be let off the hook by the Election Commission for alleged electoral malpractice. Last week, Chavan had replied to the EC’s notice and denied paying money for news in local papers in his favour during the Assembly poll last year and undervaluing his poll expenses, as complained by the BJP. He also questioned the EC’s authority to seek his “comments” on the charges, as his expense account was the subject matter of an election petition pending before the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court. However, the Commission is keeping the suspense going. It will wait for the complainant BJP’s counter before taking further action on Chavan’s reply.

Goa A “Rape City”?

Is Goa the “rape city” of the country, as described by its Tourism Minister Mickey Pachecho? The answer could turn out to be in the affirmative, if the ruling Congress-NCP Government doesn’t get its act together. The recent case of a nine-year-old Russian girl raped on Arambol beach on Republic Day has made New Delhi sit up. The Congress high command has demanded a report from Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on the security steps being taken by his government and sought intelligence inputs on whether Russian tourists were being specifically targeted. Further, it has demanded the government prepare a report on police presence at different places and the progress of investigation in various cases. These include: a 14-year-old German girl allegedly raped by the son of a Goa minister in October 2008 and the body of a 19-year-old Russian girl found on rail tracks on May 2009. Recall, that Goa had hit the headlines after a British teen Scarlet Keeling was allegedly raped and found dead on a beach in February 2008. --INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 28 January 2010

Gorkha Agitators Warned

SUPREME COURT BAILS OUT SIKKIM

By Insaf

Sikkim has finally been bailed out, thanks to a landmark ruling of the Supreme Court. The north-eastern State’s unending agony of being repeatedly cut off from the rest of the country due to the Gorkhaland agitation in neighbouring West Bengal has hopefully ended. And with it Chief Minister P K Chamling’s too of severe hardship faced by his people. On Monday last, a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, warned political parties, both pro and anti-Gorkhaland, against blockading National Highway 31A, Sikkim’s only link to the rest of the country. It ruled: “The party blocking the National Highway will be declared unlawful and we will direct detention of their leaders.” The stern warning was aimed at the belligerent Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, spearheading the movement for a separate State, and its main opponents, Amra Bengali, Jan Jagran Manch and Jan Chetna.

While these parties will now have to think hard before taking their protest to NH 31A, the ruling could also provide much-needed relief to other States, which, like Sikkim, suffer for no fault of theirs because of mindless agitations. Recall, Chamling’s meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last fortnight urging that the National Highway be kept open at all cost, including use of force. The Court has echoed the sentiment and reminded both the Centre and the West Bengal Government “about their duty” to keep the Highway open. It has also made a note of the inexcusable fact that its earlier interim order of July 2008 to keep the highway free from agitation had been violated eight times. But this time it will have none of it. The parties have been warned to adhere to its directive or face serious consequences. 

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Tricolour Missing In Lal Chowk

Republic Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir were unfortunately marred when an 18-year-old tradition was done away with. The national flag was amiss at the Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of Srinagar, leaving BJP fuming at the “meek surrender by the Government before the terrorists.”  While the Omar Abdullah government had no ready explanation to offer, the Central Reserve Police Force said: “We decided to discontinue the custom and participate in the State function just a km away (Bakshi Stadium)…. We used to do it as the forces in charge before us had done. There is no order, logic or significance to it… We don’t know why it was started?” Clearly, the CRPF’s memory needs to be refreshed. The Tricolour was first hoisted at the Chowk’s clock tower by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Republic Day in 1992, at the culmination of the “Ekta Yatra”, from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, symbolizing India’s nationalistic assertion in an area where Pakistani flags fluttered. Since then the security forces were hoisting the Tricolour every Republic and Independence Day. Surely, the CRPF could not have decided on its own not to hoist the flag. Perhaps, it is part of Home Minister Chidambaram’s “quiet diplomacy” vis a vis the separatists!

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Maoists Respond To Mamata

The Maoists in West Bengal have thrown the ball back in Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee’s court. In his response to Didi’s offer last week of mediating, the Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishenji on Monday last sent a four-page ‘open letter’ confirming his willingness to talk. However, with a proviso: “Talks can only be held on the ground that all the prisoners are released, combined forces withdrawn and talks with People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities start at government level.” Additionally, the Maoist leader invited Mamata or her representative for a dialogue to their jungle hideout, Jungalmahal, without police escort. The TMC chief is yet to respond, but a few reactions so far from party members suggest that this time around she would like to tread cautiously. One such notable response was: “We don’t want to be in a hurry. The problem was not created in a single day and can’t be solved so fast.”    

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Soren’s Deadline To Naxals?

Meanwhile, is Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibhu Soren going soft on the Maoists? An answer should hopefully be available in the next two weeks, at least to a worried Union Home Ministry. On Monday last, Soren gave the Maoists a fortnight to stop violence and come for talks. If they don’t then his police will intensify action against them, he has asserted. However, reports so far suggest that ever since Soren came to power, there has been a lackluster response in Jharkhand to the Centre’s anti-Maoists operations. Over the past 10 days there has been a ban on intercepting mobile phones of the Maoists. Besides, four BSF battalions (nearly 4,000 personnel) meant for anti-naxal operations were sent off to Chhattisgarh after the State Government refused to give the nod for an offensive. In addition, Soren is reported to have sent a missive to Kishenji to start peace talks. The CM, however, has rubbished such reports and said that he was not against the anti-Maoists offensive except that “before intensifying such action the government should try to bring the rebels on board.”

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Taxi Drivers On MNS Hit List

Competitive regionalism once again appears to play havoc with normal life in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra. A simple ride in a taxi could prove costly to both the driver and the passenger if the threat by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is allowed to be carried out. Taking a cue from Chief Minister’s Ashok Chavan’s controversial decision last week of granting new licenses only to those taxi drivers who knew fluent Marathi (which was later withdrawn and amended to any one of the local languages, namely Hindi and Gujarati), the MNS chief Raj Thackeray has issued a fresh diktat. It would not allow any such taxi to ply on Mumbai’s roads if the driver does not read or write or speak Marathi. The taxi drivers have been given a deadline of 40 days to get acquainted with Marathi or else they will be handed “return tickets to UP”. Meaning business, the MNS activists have started positioning themselves at traffic signals and are busy handing out 50,000-odd Marathi textbooks of Class I to cab drivers across the city! 

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500 Dead In Cold Wave

The bitter cold wave in northern India has left nearly 500 people dead so far. While Uttar Pradesh has witnessed “one of the longest spells of cold days in the past three decades,” Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana have staggered under sub-zero temperatures. According to available figures, cold and fog related accidents have claimed 450 lives in UP alone and forced authorities to shut schools till last week.  Though the Government has claimed to have disbursed Rs 10 crore for blankets and bonfires for the poor, not many have benefited. In Bihar about 40 persons have died but the Government prefers to remain mum on the figures. In Himachal the situation is different-- apple and cherry orchards have been hit hard. Despite the mercury dipping it isn’t snowing and raining this year enough threatening both the crops and flower growers. In Punjab the airports have been grappling with delays and virtually every train is leaving and arriving several hours late. People are keeping their fingers crossed that the Met Departments predictions come out right—the biting chill will remain only till this week-end. --INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 21 January 2010

44 Deemed Univs ‘Blacklisted’

HIGHER EDUCATION IN DOLDRUMS

By Insaf

Higher education in the country has received a rude shock with fly-by-night operators making a killing in a number of States. On Monday last, the Human Resource Development Ministry informed the Supreme Court that 44 universities would be de-recognised, spelling uncertainty for nearly two lakh students! Tamil Nadu heads the list with 16 such universities, followed by Karnataka which has six, Uttar Pradesh four, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Maharashtra three each, Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Bihar one each. The revelation follows HRD Minister Kapil Sibal setting up a three-member review committee to look into accusations of hasty approvals being given to a number of universities under UPA-I. It now comes to light that 27 of these 44 Universities were conferred the deemed tag under former HRD Minister Arjun Singh. Worse, three are government sponsored and one promoted by the then Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. A number of these have received funds from the University Grants Commission. 

The deemed universities have shockingly revealed a lack of infrastructure and no little evidence of experts in disciplines they claim to specialize in. The probe has even shown that a few are simply five-room universities and their glossy catalogues mere fiction. Records disclose that between 1956 and 1990 only 29 institutions were granted the status of ‘deemed-to-be universities’ by the Central government but in the last five years as many as 35 have been granted this status. The big question is who gave the approvals that are now shown to be faulty? The future of lakhs of youth is at stake and signs of growing unrest have been witnessed in Tamil Nadu for starters, where students ransacked furniture, laboratories and broke window panes in a couple of blacklisted universities in Chennai. There is need for a thorough inquiry and punishment to the guilty, notwithstanding Sibal’s assurance to the students that “none would suffer.” He has assured that their colleges would be given affiliation to the State universities or some other universities and valid degrees. Will this suffice?  

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Himachal Makes Literacy Strides

While higher education has received a setback in some States, Himachal Pradesh has made impressive strides in promoting primary education. The State Economics and Statistics Department has noted that the State has achieved almost 83 per cent literacy rate, next only to Kerala, the most literate State in the country (literacy rate of 91 per cent), followed by Mizoram which has 89 per cent. The strides made by the state are thanks to better infrastructure. The State has 1.74 schools for a population of one lakh, against the national average of 0.74 schools. The BJP government, led by PK Dhumal has ensured that there is a school at a distance of less than two kms in the rural areas because of the State’s treacherous terrain, a big hurdle. Importantly, the dropout rate in the State capital, Simla has come to zero, despite a number of rural areas falling in the district. If all goes well, Himachal claims that if it retains its annual growth rate it could well over-take Kerala by 2011-end.  

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Maoists Worried in West Bengal

West Bengal continues to dominate the headlines. First it was the passing away of the great communist icon Jyoti Basu, with whose death an era has ended. Thereafter, the appointment of former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan as Governor of the State attracted great attention. In view of his unrivalled experience, he is expected to provide leadership in tackling the growing terrorist threat over the past year. The Maoists alone have protested against his appointment and their leader Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishenji has called for a mass movement. In fact, it is for the first time that the Maoists have shown concern over an appointment to the Governor’s office. Meanwhile, Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee has offered to hold talks with the Maoists and mediate between them and the Centre. “Give up violence and let us talk development”, she has urged. While there is no response from the Maoists, the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) has indicated its willingness to negotiate, but only with the TMC’s estranged MP Kabir Suman, who sings and highlights the lack of development in Maoist-dominated areas. 

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Bonanza For Poor In UP

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supremo Mayawati celebrated her 54^th birthday differently this January 15. The focus was shifted from herself to the downtrodden and the deprived. On last Friday, observed as “People’s Welfare Day,” Behenji announced 264 new public welfare measures worth Rs 7312 crores. Other than building 111 new bridges, nearly 50 new roads, bus stations etc, the State Cabinet approved the “Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mahamaya Garib Arthik Madad Yojana”, under which Rs 300 would be deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The recipients would be selected through open meetings in gram sabhas and urban areas under the supervision of the DMs. Promising complete transparency, Mayawati explained that objections would be invited and the final list would be declared only after thorough examination. She hoped that her ‘birthday gift’ would fulfil the needs of the poor and the needy.  

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Madhya Pradesh Goes “Decent”

Obscene hoardings have caught the eye of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He wants none of it in his State. On Tuesday last, the BJP leader ordered the removal of all such “indecent” hoardings forthwith. This follows his attention being caught by a hoarding advertising chocolate body spa near a girls’ college in Bhopal while he was on his way to the party headquarters. He stopped his cavalcade and not only ordered that the hoarding be removed but an FIR lodged against the owner of the beauty clinic. The State administration got cracking and a day later through a video conference directed officials to remove obscene hoardings in more than 350 urban bodies. Chouhan’s “anti-obscenity” drive has also been taken forward by the Sanskriti Bachao Manch, a right wing body, whose members forced shopkeepers in the busy New Market locality to move mannequins displaying lingerie as these were “objectionable.” Indeed, Chouhan has undertaken a new role for himself –of moral policing. 

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Modi’s “Appearance Fee”

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi can boast of being no less than a Bollywood star. He charges a handsome “celebrity appearance fee” of Rs seven lakhs and above at public functions. But more importantly, it is all for a cause. The princely sum is donated to the Kanya Kelavani Nidhi, created for educating the girl child in Gujarat. Other than scholarships being given to bright young girls, the fund disburses bonds of Rs 1000 each to help support the education of lakhs of girls. Additionally, a part of the collection goes to the Chief Minister’s relief fund, which has seen an inflow of Rs 104 crore ever since Modi took over. In the past five years, his office has collected a whopping Rs 23 crore from his public functions. While a major part comes from donations, depending on the paying capacity of the organizers of functions, a considerable amount is raised by auctioning gift articles which Modi has received. This January alone, the BJP Chief Minister has inaugurated about 20 such events. Clearly, Modi has been cashing on his popularity literally!---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 14 January 2010

Ladakh Stuns New Delhi

INDIA LOSES LAND TO CHINA

By Insaf

Ladakh has made New Delhi sit up as never before. At a meeting held last week in Leh of senior officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Government, Union Home Ministry and the Army it was confirmed that India had lost a “substantial” area of land in the past 20-25 years, thanks to repeated incursions by China and an unclear border map. The area along the Line of Actual Control with China had “shrunk” over the years, and India was clearly ‘withdrawing”, according to the consensus reached at the meeting, chaired by Commissioner (Leh) A K Sahu. It was also agreed that the maps drawn up by various agencies were all different and that there was a lack of proper mapping of the area. In fact, the minutes added: “There is a lack of institutional memory in various agencies as well as clear policy on this issue, which in the long run has resulted in loss of territory by India in favour of China.” 

The disclosure has prompted former Chief Minister of J&K and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah to urge the Centre to take up the matter with Beijing at the earliest. “This seems to be happening for the last 25 years. One cannot be absolved of the responsibility by merely saying that the LAC has not been demarcated,” he said at a conference in Delhi. The boundary dispute cannot hang in balance for eternity. “It should be resolved—earlier the better”. Likewise, the BJP has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clarify the truth about the incursions. It said; “The government had denied such incursions by China in Arunachal Pradesh and now the same thing is happening in Ladakh. It is most shocking…” Will the Centre come clean on the issue?         

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Sikkim Getting Alienated

The Gorkhaland agitation in West Bengal is playing havoc with adjoining Sikkim. The State is like a time-bomb waiting to explode and its Chief Minister Pawan Chamling feels like a “hostage in his own country.” The exasperation is a fallout of the frequent blockades of NH-31A—the only road connecting Sikkim to the rest of the country—by protestors seeking a separate State of Gorkhaland. The exasperation was spelt out by Chamling in a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week in the Capital. In his record fourth term in office, Chamling warned that the blockades were hurting the State’s economy with a huge reduction in the tourist inflow and worse the discontent amongst the locals could be exploited by miscreants to disturb peace in the sensitive State. “People are at the complete mercy of these so-called agitators… a sense of frustration and alienation is slowly creeping in”, he said and urged the Centre to “establish governance” in the region and see to it that the National Highway was kept open by force. Else, his hard work of over 15 years of emotionally integrating the Sikkimese people with India could get washed out!       

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Bihar Congress Goes Casteist 

The Bihar Congress has raked a most unfortunate controversy in post-Independent India. In its jumbo list of PCC office-bearers, the Party has specified caste names against all 562 office-bearers, in utter disregard of the Constitution and the laws against use of caste names under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) act. Worse, it has named Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as its Permanent Invitee, violating the basic norm that Constitutional authorities cannot hold any Party post. Additionally, it has put her caste name (she belongs to the Dalit community) in the list issued last week. While the AICC denies her name being on the list, it justifies the use of caste names. AICC in-charge of Bihar, Jagdish Tytler explains: “We had to name the castes because out of 45 castes (in the State), barely four have been dominating the PCC so far. We did it to ensure representation of all castes.” So much for General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s much-touted advocacy of politics of development rather than caste and religion.  

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SP Bites Dust In UP

Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh’s woes seem never ending. His party is on the brink of being whitewashed in Uttar Pradesh. In  the Legislative Council polls held last week, the party got an incredible drubbing. It barely managed to win just one out of the 33 seats. As against this, his bete noire and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s BSP won 31 seats. The Congress too won just one seat, namely that of Rae Barelli. But it lost the Sultanpur seat which includes Rahul Gandhi’s constituency, Amethi. The BJP drew a blank.  Though the Council polls traditionally favour ruling parties, the SP’s defeat has become important in the wake of his General Secretary Amar Singh’s resignation from the post. Shockingly, the SP could not even win the seats in Maulayam’s home turf of Ballia, Deoria and Etawah. Important for Mayawati, the strength of the BSP has gone up to 53 in the 100-member Legislative council. The ruling party can now push through whatever legislation it wants without the fear of rejection by the Council!

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Manipur Schools Finally Open

Normalcy has finally returned to educational institutions in Manipur. Students, parents and teachers have heaved a sigh of relief, following the re-opening of schools and colleges, shut since September last. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding between the State government and Apunba Lup, an umbrella body of 23 organizations on Friday last. Accordingly, board and annual exams will be held as per the regular schedule and the losses to be made up through special classes. The Apunba Lup had given a call for the boycott of educational institutions as part of its agitation to protest an alleged fake encounter in which a reformed militant and a pregnant woman were killed in the BT Road locality of Imphal on July 23. The State government has agreed to release all 15 persons arrested during the agitation and adequately compensate for the losses to the family of killed woman.

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Maha Kumbh In Haridwar

A sea of humanity has flooded Haridwar, the pilgrim town of Uttarakhand. On Thursday last, the Maha Kumbh, the biggest congregation of Hindus once every 12 years began, with an estimated five lakh devotees taking a dip in the Ganga and ‘washing away their sins’. The ritual began at midnight sharp at Brahma Kund, a large pond at the ancient Har ki Pauri, on the banks of the Ganga. The Kumbh has 11 bathing dates, will end on April 28 and by then would have drawn six crore devotees—a crore more than the last Kumbh in 1998. The State has earmarked a budgetary allocation of Rs 525 crores for the festivities, which will be held amidst tight security as the Maha Kumbh has been on the terror list for long. The town has been divided into 32 sectors. Over 4,000 policemen from several States, paramilitary forces, crack intelligence and anti-terror units have been deployed. Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” too has sent a much-needed advisory to all States: “No one should come to the Kumbh as a VIP for it would weaken the security. Please come as commoners and enjoy the bliss of god.” ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)