Round The States
New Delhi, 27 October 2011
Revocation of AFSPA
CONUNDRUM FOR
J&K, CENTRE
By Insaf
The proposed withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers
Act (AFSPA) from some areas in Jammu & Kashmir has unfortunately got caught
in a merry-go-round. Will Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Chief Minister
Omar Abdullah be able to clinch matters, is the big question For one, normalcy
appears to have taken a beating, since the decision to revoke AFSPA was taken
by Omar. On Tuesday last, there have been two grenade attacks on police and
paramilitary forces at Lal Chowk in Srinagar,
a policeman was shot in Anantnag and a grenade was lobbed at policemen in
Shopian. Worse, Omar’s uncle and National Conference spokesperson Mustafa Kamal
seems to have jumped the gun by accusing the Army of carrying out the attacks
to stall the revocation! This obviously, has greatly upset the Army, with its
Chief Gen V K Singh curtly reacting: “Whosoever has given that comment, I think
that does not deserve the courtesy of any remark from me". Unfortunately,
the NC’s partner, the Congress too has stepped in the brawl. State party
president Saifuddin Soz has claimed: "The Chief Minister did not consult
the Congress on AFSPA rollback,” and that “the decision is wrong if the country's
Defence Minister is not consulted." Time for New Delhi to be firm--either AFSPA stays or
it doesn’t—enough of vacillating.
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Plan for Naxal-Hit States
The youth in Naxal-hit States can look forward to better
times if the Centre’s plan finds favour with the Planning Commission. According
to a map drawn up by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh about three lakh
youth in 60 Left wing-affected districts of Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra
Pradesh would be provided jobs. Additionally, 18,000-odd panchayat development
officers and an equal number of junior engineers shall be appointed for better
implementation of the Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (MGNREGS). The districts will be covered under the National Rural
Livelihood Mission (NRLM) by March 2013 with the goal of training and providing
jobs to the youths over the next five years. Other correctives include launching of a public-private
partnership (PPP) pilot project in non-timber forest produce to ensure that the
tribals were not shortchanged and building houses for the destitute—widows,
disabled and old-age pensioners, under the Indira Awas Yojana. While the Centre
is going to bear 75 per cent of the costs involved, it is keeping its fingers
crossed that the States agree too and shell out the remaining 25 per cent.
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Karnataka’s
Corruption
Karnataka continues to cause embarrassment to the ruling
BJP. On Monday, a Lokayukta court ordered investigation against Industries
Minister Murugesh Nirani for allegedly denotifying Government land for
pecuniary gain. The complaint filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, had
the judge direct the Lokayukta Police to investigate and file a report on
November 16. The complaint against Nirani and some of his family members is he
“misused his position as Industries Minister" and floated a number of
non-existent companies and denotified Karnataka Industrial Area Development
Board land to them, causing over Rs 130 crore loss to the exchequer! Nirani is
the second in the D V Sadananda Gowda Cabinet to face a probe, with the Home
Minister preceding him. The timing couldn’t have been worse for the BJP, which
is yet to recover from seeing its former Chief Minister Yeddyurappa in jail.
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Mumbai In Trouble?
The Congress and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra
appear to be rearing for a fight. This time around the fire has been ignited by
Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam taking a swipe at the Sena and speaking in favour of
north Indians. Addressing a cultural organization on Monday last, the MP,
stated: “If north Indians decide not to report to work one day, they can bring
Mumbai to a halt.” While many would agree that there was ample truth in what he
said, the Sena couldn’t stay silent in the background of its famous bogie of migrants’
vs locals. It reacted by challenging the MP to shut down the city. While
observers see the controversial remark as a warm-up session for the crucial
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) poll scheduled for February next year,
State Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan does not want to take any chances. He
promptly intervened and declared that his Government would not allow anyone to
enforce closure in Mumbai. Hope it doesn’t turn out to be a tall order.
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South’s Inter State
Council
The Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrim season at the Sabari Hills
of the Western Ghats has brought the States of
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka closer. The three southern States have
agreed to set up an Inter State Council. This will be a permanent mechanism for
coordination of activities for the millions of devotees which throng the hill
shrine at Sabari Hills during mid-November to mid-January. The initiative was
taken by the Kerala government on Sunday last, wherein Chief Minister Oomen
Chandy also agreed to provide land at Nilackel for the other States for
constructing guest houses and information centres for the pilgrims. It has been proposed that the Council, will
meet at least twice a year—once on the eve of the pilgrim season and the other
after it. This apart, Sabarimala cells would be set up in Thiruvananthapuram
and capitals of the two other States; a “Clean Sabarimala” campaign would be
launched on November and a security manual be brought out. A major issue of
raising Rs 150 crore for the proposed Sabarimala Masterplan Infrastructure Fund,
however, remains.
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Left Front Eyes States
On a weak wicket, the Left parties have decided to change
tack in the forthcoming Assembly polls in five States. In fact, it will be for
the first time that the Left Front—the CPI, CPM, the RSP and the Forward Bloc
will jointly contest at least 100 seats in Uttar Pradesh next year. The CPI has
declared nominees for 30 seats, while the CPM is planning to contest 25. In the
past, the numbers were small. This apart, the CPI has also started looking out
for partners in Punjab and Uttarakhand. It
proposes to forge an alliance with like-minded parties and groups, with the
objective of providing the voter a non-Congress or non-BJP alternative. How
many takers will there be, is worth a watch. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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