Round The States
New Delhi, 15 September 2011
Eight CMs Skip NIC
REDRAFT COMMUNAL
BILL
By Insaf
The all important National Integration Council (NIC) headed
by the Prime Minister is the latest victim of intra-party wrangling.
Shockingly, eight Chief Ministers stayed away from the NIC’s fifteenth meeting
in Union Capital Delhi on Sunday last. Worse, the absentees included not only those
belonging to the NDA but also a key UPA ally West Bengal’s
Mamata Banerjee. This is not all. Even the Congress’ own Chief Ministers in
Kerala Oommen Chandy and Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot failed to show up. While the
former ostensibly excused himself on the grounds that he was busy with Onam
festivities, the latter over the acute drought conditions in his State. The
other CMs who skipped the meet did so to register their angst against the
Centre. Gujarat’s CM Narendra Modi was absent due to his running battle with
Governor Kamla Beniwal on the Lokayukta issue, key allies JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar
in Bihar and Akali’s Prakash Singh Badal in Punjab along-with Orissa’s Naveen
Patnaik, UP’s Mayawati and Tamil Nadu’s Jayalalitha stayed away as they were
miffed over the provisions in the Communal Violence Bill.
Importantly, representatives of these States termed the legislation
“as dangerous” as it would hurt the federal structure of the country and
violated the spirit of the Constitution. As it not only usurps the powers of the States
but also encroaches on personal liberty and discriminates on the basis of caste
and religion. The CPM demanded that hate speeches and demonization of
minorities should be illegalized and action taken whilst UP’s Mayawati wondered
why the Bill had not been circulated. Dittoed Bihar’s
Nitish and Orissa’s Patnaik who asserted the objectionable provisions would
directly affect the autonomy of the States. Also, opposed were provisions that
created an impression that the majority community was always responsible for
communal incidence along-with provisions of promulgating Article 355 which gave
the Centre a right to intervene. Bluntly, the message to the Centre was clear:
Redraft the Bill. Will the Centre heed?
* * * *
Uttarakhand Gets
New CM
The old order gave way to the new in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand
when Retd Major General B.C. Khanduri replaced Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ as Chief
Minister. Indeed life has come a full
circle for Khanduri who makes a come back to the Chief Ministerial gaddi after two years. Recall, he made
way for Nishank following the party’s debacle in the 2009 general elections when
the BJP failed to net any of the five Lok Sabha seats. With Assembly elections
due early next year, the change of guard was imperative given that Nishank’s
reign was viewed as not only lackluster but also plagued by serious allegations
of corruption. It is a moot point whether the former army major will be able to
galvanise the Party cadres and ride the crest of victory?
* * * *
Naxal Districts On
Notice
All Naxal-hit States have been put on notice by Union Home
Minister Chidambaram. At a brain storming session with Collectors of 60
Maoists-hit districts he made plain that “the burden on governance cannot be
shifted from the Central Government and must rest with the States. The States
need to strike a balance between development and security”, he added for good
measure. Underscoring, that the battle against the Maoists was not only about maintaining
law and order but also for winning the minds and hearts of the people. To
achieve this he extolled the district heads to keep villagers on their side. He
further reiterated his argument by highlighting that whereas left-wing
extremism had killed 297 people only 26 had been murdered in terrorist violence
and 46 in insurgency. To strengthen the State hands to bolster its anti-Naxal
operations the CRPF is all set to hire more than 2000 ex-army personnel.
Perhaps taking a leaf from his suggestion the Maharashtra Government is
planning to start kindergarten to post-graduate educational hubs for tribal
students in Gadchiroli and Gondia districts of Vidarbha. It remains to be seen
how the States bridge the trust deficit governance and development deficit?
* * * *
Communal Clash In
Rajasthan
Communal violence continues to dot the countryside, this
time round in Rajasthan notwithstanding the controversy over the National
Communal Bill. Only three days ago, clashes between the Gujjars and Muslim Meo’s
left over nine dead, six Muslims and three Gujjars, and several injured
including policemen in the State’s Bharatpur district. The fracas was over a
piece of land in the Kaman Tehsil with both communities laying claim on it. While
the Muslims said it was their graveyard, the Gujjars denied this it. The
Muslims accused the Gujjars of entering a mosque and set ablaze eight shops. Even
intervention by two MLAs belonging to the Congress and BJP that the court was
seized of the matter, was to no avail. All fingers are crossed that normalcy
returns soon to this tourist town.
* * * *
Mamta’s Land Policy
West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is all set to blaze
a new course on the contentious land acquisition policy. The key clauses of the
draft Bill tabled to the State Cabinet are that no land acquisition would be
made for private investors, not even for projects in the public-private
partnership model as also no setting up of Special Economic Zones. The
Government would hence forth acquire land only for its own projects like
building bridges, hospitals, laying of railway tracks, irrigation projects and those
relating to internal security. Needless
to say the West Bengal CM’s Bill is different from all other land legislations
proposed by the Centre or announced by other States. Haryana and UP have kept a
provision for acquisition of land for both Government and private projects.
Clearly, Mamata has translated her ‘mass protests’ in Singur and Nandigram
which swept her to power in to action!
* * * *
Tamil Nadu’s
Freebies
From DMK’s Karunanidhi to AIDMK’s Jayalalitha nothing has
changed in Tamil Nadu politics. Freebies continue to be the raison de atre of all State Governments.
The latest in the series, is the Chief Minister’s special initiatives of
providing laptops to students, free mixer-grinder and fans to help homemakers
lessen their burden of domestic chores and milch cows and goats to the “poorest
of the poor” to facilitate a white revolution in the State. On the fallacious
belief that the sops are not ‘freebies’ as these were being given away at no
cost by her Government and were aimed at uplifting the poor and the oppressed. Clearly,
somebody needs a tutorial in mathematics. --- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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