Round The States
New Delhi, 12 July 2007
Presidential
Elections
STATES BRACE UP FOR
D-DAY
By Insaf
The States are busy bracing up for the controversial
Presidential poll on 19 July. Hectic activity is in full swing in various
Capitals from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Maharashtra to West
Bengal and the North East. The High Commands of the Congress and its coalition partners as also the BJP and
its allies have directed their respective State units to ensure cent per cent presence
of all its MLAs, MLCs and MPs in the State Capitals prior to the polling date.
Nothing is being left to chance. Notwithstanding, the Election Commission’s decision to allow MLAs to vote at State
capitals other than their own in special cases. Some parties have even
requested the MPs to be present in Delhi.
In fact, meetings of some of Parliament’s Standing Committees have been
scheduled to coincide with the polling date to ensure the MPs presence in the
Union Capital.
Meanwhile, the UPA Presidential candidate, Pratibha Patil continues
to busily criss-cross the country to solicit votes. She has already toured
most of the important State Capitals. Even as her rival, Vice President Bharion
Singh Shekhawat ‘connects’ with his friends, cutting across
party lines, via a private telephone installed at his official residence in
Delhi. He is also using private stationary to write letters to MPs and MLAs.
The BJP on its part, has sent an emissary
to Chennai to try and cut a deal with the AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa and her friends
in the newly formed United National Progressive
Alliance to back Shekhawat. Recall, the UNPA, comprising 9 regional parties, has
decided to maintain equi-distance from the UPA and NDA’s candidates, following
President Kalam’s decision not to contest.
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Karnataka New Hub
Of Jehadi Network?
Bangalore, prided as India’s IT
capital and garden city, has earned the ignominous distinction of being dubbed
as the new hub of Jehadi network. Following the shocking disclosures that the failed
terror attack on the Glasgow Airport in Scotland, was allegedly the handy
work of two Indian doctors hailing from Karnataka. Both Kafeel and Sabeel
Ahmed, according to the State Police, were part of a large radical gang,
operating in the State. During a raid at their residence in Bangalore, the police found three CDs
containing inflammatory speeches and bomb manuals on Kafeel’s computer. A massive manhunt has been launched to find others in
the terror net who were in touch with the brothers.
The Karnataka Police has begun running a fine toothcomb
through several coastal and border districts on Sunday, hunting for affluent,
radical young men who could provide key links in the global investigation into
the failed terror attacks in the U.K. Not just Bangalore
and Mysore but also towns like Gulbarga,
Chintamani and Mulbagal have of late been infiltrated by militants from Kashmir. Clearly, from being a “safe hideout”, the city
is now being seen as a “breeding ground” for terrorists, who have roots in the
Middle-East. Needless to say, the
arrest of Kafeel Ahmed, Sabeel Ahmed and Dr. Mohammed Haneef marks a change in
the way intelligence agencies worldwide view Bangalore on the terror circuit.
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NEC Charts A New
Path
The North East appears at long last to be set for all-round
development of the sensitive and strategic region. According to the Union
Government’s Vision Document, a supplement to its Look-East Policy, the North
East Council (NEC) has now put in place a roadmap for growth and infrastructure
development. Importantly, the NEC, according to the Meghalaya Governor, B.L.
Joshi, will now play a more proactive role than work as a mere loan disbursal
agency. It is being geared up to be target-oriented
having a specific timeframe for implementation of each plan. As pointed out by the
Governor Joshi, lack of connectivity in the north-east had not only created a
sense of isolation among the people but also added to the transportation cost,
making trade and investment uncompetitive in the region. If Joshi has his way,
all this should become past history.
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Gujarat Pre-poll Games
Gujarat is in the throes of pre-poll games.
With five months left before the Assembly
elections, the arch rivals in the State, the Congress
and the BJP are trying to get the better of the other. Taking a lead, the
Congress has started its poll
preparations in full swing. Its state unit has started distributing application
forms among the State’s tribals, exhorting them to claim their right on forest
land (over land, minor forest produce, etc) as provided under the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Act, 2006. In the hope that this will enable the Congress
to expand its reach among the tribals, who have a sizeable strength in the
State. The Congress’s optimism stems
from the fact that the draft rules to implement the Act, are to be finalized
and enforced shortly by the Centre.
Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi has started touring the State.
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Terror Continues In
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh continues to be in the grip of Maoists terror.
Carrying out another big strike in the State, the extremists killed over 23
security personnel and critically injured another 12 in the forest near
Errabore in Dantewada district on Wednesday last. This comes on the heels of
last week’s hacking of two farmers in the insurgency-affected Bijapur district.
Their fault? Defying the extremists diktat instructing tribal villagers to
desist from farming in the Bastar area to avoid exploitation of the State’s
natural resources by the Government. Moreover, the Maoists also imposed a
two-day economic blockade to reiterate their seriousness.
Notwithstanding, a major breakthrough by the Chhattisgarh Police in nabbing
three top Naxals leaders.
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Haryana-Punjab
Water War Intensify
Punjab and Haryana, which share a long
love-hate relationship over the sharing of river waters, are once again in a
confrontation mode. The water war
between the two States seems all set to intensify with the Prakash Singh Badal
Government deciding to move the Supreme Court on the construction of the Rs.
260-crore Hansi-Bhutana
Branch Multipurpose
Canal by Haryana. On the
ground that it would result in displacement of over one lakh people in 70
villages due to flooding and over 29,000 acres of fertile land would be submerged.
It would also lead to a disruption of the existing canal irrigation system in
Punjab as the new canal would draw water from the Beas
to irrigate farmlands in Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts of Haryana.
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Maharashtra Village Seeks SEZ Status
Amidst the raging controversy over the setting up of the
Special Economic Zones, a Maharashtra village,
Avasari Khurd, has charted a new inspiring story. Around 1500 farmers from the
village on Thursday passed a
unanimous resolution seeking Special Economic Zone status for their village
which is located about 20 kilometers from the proposed international airport at
Rajgurunagar. They have also sought necessary
permission and recommendations from
the State and the Central Governments. No matter that farmers across various States, specially Haryana and Punjab, have revolted against the SEZs.
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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