Round
The States
New Delhi, 8 December 2011
Lokayukta Fervour
BIHAR & MP MAKE
NEWS
By Insaf
The Lokayukta fervour is catching
up. Bihar is the latest State to heed to
Anna’s war cry against corruption, even as the nation anxiously awaits the
Centre’s Lokpal Bill. On Wednesday last, the State Assembly passed the Bihar
Lokayukta Bill, 2011, rejecting the amendments moved by the Opposition. The
latter was upset over the “undue haste” but Kumar was firm as he stated: the
Government “cannot tolerate corruption for a single day.” However, the reason
may be otherwise. Kumar hopes the Centre would take a cue from it. Please incorporate its provisions in
the Lokpal bill if it intends to cover the Lokayukta under the Central
legislation, is his earnest advice. The Bill follows in the footsteps of
Uttarakhand, which passed the Bill in early November, and shall cover a wide
spectrum of people, from Chief Minister to the village head, and from Chief
Secretary to Panchayat clerks. This apart, Bihar
will be able to show case its Lokayukta as there shall be no doubt about the
incumbent’s “integrity”. Eminent people and not the Executive shall be in the
search and selection committees to identify candidates for its members and the
coveted post is Kumar’s assurance.
Bihar apparently may have got
a cue from the rumblings in Madhya Pradesh. The Lokayukta in this State has got
embroiled in a controversy. The opposition Congress has claimed that Lokayukta
Justice P P Naolekar’s “appointment is disputed and is done illegally by the Government.”
It is being alleged that Naolekar was made the Lokayukta by the outgoing Governor
when a new Governor's appointment had already been announced. A petition
challenging his appointment is pending in the Supreme Court, even as the
Opposition is demanding his resignation on “moral grounds.” While the issue hots up, there is good news
as well. The Lokayukta police team in Ujjain
have left people dumbstruck. In a raid conducted at a municipal employee’s
bungalow, the police unearthed assets worth Rs 12 crore! This, when the
employee, Narendra Deshnukh, had started as a peon on a salary of Rs 150 and
was now drawing Rs 15,000. The Class IV employee is alleged to have two
bungalows, apart from land in Jalgaon, three cars and four two-wheelers apart
from cash and jewellery. While the law will take its own course in the State,
hope the Centre takes a cue from too from this case.
* * * *
Voters Pat For States
Ruling parties in some
States can by and large pat themselves. The voters in recent by elections held
in Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha have reposed their faith in the ruling establishment—the
Janata Dal (U), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Biju Janata Dal respectively, for an
Assembly seat each. In West Bengal too, the ruling
Trinamool Congress retained the Kolkata South Lok Sabha seat, won six times
earlier. However, the ruling Congress in Haryana had a mixed fortune. The Bhupinder
Singh Hooda government was jubilant over breaking a 29-year jinx in Ratia by winning
the seat from the Indian National Lok Dal. But, its spirits were dampened in
Adampur, where the voters opted for Haryana Janhit Congress-BJP candidate, like
they did in the Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll. Likewise, the ruling BJP in Himachal
Pradesh was happy to win one of the two byelections, but had to bite the dust
in Karnataka. Its former Minister B Sriramulu not only won the coveted Bellary seat as an
Independent, but humiliated the BJP candidate by ensuring he lost deposit!
Jubilation for some and introspection for others is on the cards.
* * * *
Chhattisgarh’s Novel Plan
Chhattisgarh has embarked
on a novel plan to fight the Naxals on its soil. Recently, its Bastar police
has approached the anthropological museum in Jagdalpur to help train its men.
Sounds illogical, but apparently it’s not. According to SP Ratan L Dangi, if
the police follow tribal behaviour, it could predict the actions of Naxals. But
first, it must study and understand the behaviour of the tribals. Thus, the
request to the museum. The course would
entail helping them become aware of the tribals’ agricultural practices, trade,
eating habits, and other customs. Additionally, the police stations have been
asked to keep records of the local tribes, their customs and guidelines on how
to behave with them, which then would be passed down to successive police
station in-charges. Once the linguistic and cultural gap with the locals is
bridged, the police are confident that half their battle with the Naxals would
be won. And, if the experiment succeeds, others have reason to follow suit.
* * * *
West Bengal’s Unfair Demand
West
Bengal’s demand for a bailout package appears to have sadly boomeranged.
Worse, it has invited a hard knock from the Centre, much to the chagrin of
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The latter has been seeking a bailout package
of Rs 19,000-odd crore from the Centre on the ground that her Government had
inherited a huge debt from the previous Left Front that ruled the State for
three decades. Out of every rupee spent, she argued, 94 paisa went for
statutory payment such as salaries, pension, debt repayment etc. However, what
she didn’t add was her Government has been unable to spend funds already in its
kitty. But, it couldn’t remain a secret. In a letter, Union Rural Development
Minister Jairam Ramesh has told her that the total available fund with the
State is a whopping Rs 1,823 crore, including its share. Of this, Rs 900 crore
is lying unutilised with various project implementation authorities in the
State. He advised her make efforts for optimal utilisation of this unspent
amount. Will Mamata continue to bite more than she can chew?
* * * *
Notorious Delhi
Delhi, the nation’s capital is shockingly
getting a notorious reputation. It has, according to the National Investigation
Agency, emerged as a major hub for hawala
operations of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Apparently, the funds
received from Pakistan
are offered to the families of terror operatives, killed across the country and
also to separatists in Jammu & Kashmir. However, the funds, about Rs 100
crore in the past few years, first reach Delhi
and are then disbursed to J&K and other States through normal banking
channels by conduits based in various parts of the city. Additionally, Delhi
is also one of the cities, other than Chennai, Bangalore and Pune, which reportedly has
sleeper cells of the Indian Mujahideen. Recent interrogation of six IM
operatives from across the country has set alarm bells ringing as four more
modules of the IM are said to be preparing to strike. A worried Delhi police has
tightened security measures.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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