Round The States
New Delhi, 13 October 2011
UP In Poll Mode
BSP, CONG GEAR UP
FOR BIG FIGHT
By Insaf
Uttar Pradesh is rolling into the election mode with great
gusto. The ruling BSP, and waiting in the wings, the Congress and the Samajwadi
Party are all gearing for the roller coaster ride, Assembly polls due next
April. In fact, taking the lead is Chief Minister Mayawati, who has been on the
fast track to cleanse her image. Last week, she added two more ministers to her
list of sacked BSP leaders. Paying heed to the Lokayukta’s report she removed
Higher Education Minister Rangnath Mishra for allegedly acquiring assets
disproportionate to his known source of income. In the other case, the BSP
supremo did not wait for any report and dismissed Labour Minister Badshah Singh
found guilty of land grab. This apart, she has suspended a number of MLAs for
their reported involvement either in crime or for anti-party activities.
Obviously, this is her way of silencing her opponents who have been targeting
her government for corruption and criminalizing of politics from day one. Some,
however, see this entire exercise as an Anna effect.
As a counter to her strategy, Congress General Secretary
Rahul Gandhi has sounded the battle bugle. He is all set to launch the Party
campaign from November 1, with road shows and mass-contact programme. Other
than Rahul, the Congress has asked its Union Ministers to descend on UP to hold
media briefings to reel out details of Central funds going waste in the State.
This time, however, the young scion has been asked to target the BSP and the
BJP in the hope that there could be a post-poll alliance with the Samajwadi
Party. Meanwhile, the SP MP Akhilesh Yadav, has thrown a challenge to Rahul
asserting that the Congress leader is way behind him in the campaign by 1,500
km and 51 Assembly seats. How? The young Yadav claims to have covered the above
trail in the four phases of his Kranti
Rath campaign! The SP leader, however, claims that the “Congress is no
rival” and the main battle is against Mayawati. Does one hear a similar
strategy between the Congress and the SP? Of a post-poll alliance. The BSP
supremo is bound to throw some light soon.
* * * *
TN No To PM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha is unwilling to play
ball with the Centre. On Wednesday last, she chose to play to the gallery
rather than pay heed to none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s request
on “continuing support” to the 2000 MW Kudankulam nuclear power project, coming
up at Tirunelveli. Jayalalitha has so far maintained that the AIADMK Government
would “act respecting the local people’s sentiments.” The project had run into
run weather last month with the locals launching an agitation against its
commissioning on grounds that the UPA Government has not addressed the crucial
safety and livelihood issues. However, even as the PM has sought to ally the
fears in his letter to Jayalalitha, the latter has assured her people that she
is “one among them on the issue.” The big question is will this stance impact
the State’s development and industrialization plans, as warned by the PM. Who
will prove right?
* * * *
J&K On Centre’s
Platter
Resolution of the Kashmir problem
is back on the Centre’s platter, freshly hot. On Wednesday last, the three
interlocutors on J&K handed their report to Union Home Ministry. Its
recommendations include setting up of autonomous councils in the three regions,
Jammu, Kashmir
and Ladakh and withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
While these are said to be an “outcome of interface with over 600 delegations,
mass meetings in all 22 districts of the State, and three roundtable
conferences of women and cultural activists, scholars”, a crucial input from
the real troublemakers, the Separatists has drawn a big zero. The two factions
of the Hurriyat had boycotted the team, putting a big question mark on its
mandate—of finding a political settlement to the J&K problem. The Centre is
expected to take up the report at an all-party meeting to find the elusive
consensus. However, all eyes shall be on the Omar Abdullah Government. Will it
accept the report, given the fact that its advice for reverting back to the
pre-1953 status, wherein the Centre had jurisdiction only over three
subjects—Foreign Affairs, Defence and Communications—had not been recommended
and was not on the agenda?
* * * *
Punjab Withdraws Bills
The Punjab Government has sought to play safe rather than be
sorry. Last week, its Home department under Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh
Badal, withdrew two controversial and “draconian” bills: One, the Punjab
Prevention of Damage at Public and Private Property Bill, 2010 which made
peaceful protests a non-bailable offence if these were without permission. Two,
the Punjab Special Security Group Bill, 2010, which gave sweeping powers and
immunity to members of this special police force, set up to combat
anti-national forces and provide security to high-risk persons. The Bills had
evoked strong protests from human rights groups and the Opposition, on grounds
that in a democratic country no one could be above the law and that strikes and
agitations was a right guaranteed under the Constitution.
* * * *
Telangana Stir
Taking Toll
Power supply and school education is sadly becoming victim
of the ongoing agitation for a separate Telangana State.
With the Centre refusing to yield, pressure is on the Telangana Political Joint
Action Committee (JAC) to review its general strike call, which has been
ongoing for over a month. Apparently, six southern States, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Puducherry and of
course Andhra Pradesh are slowly heading for a major power crisis. This is so
because the power generation at the NTPC Ramagundem plant has decreased drastically
as coal production in Andhra has hit an all-time low thanks to the strike. This
apart, with schools shut down in Telangana since September 13, children studies
have been badly disrupted. While the JAC may be willing to consider reviewing
its call viz the schools, it should also consider that Chief Minister Kiran
Kumar Reddy’s appeal to end the agitation, as it was costing Rs 200 crore
revenue loss daily!
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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