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Round The States
New Delhi, 9 January
2021
UP’s ‘Love Jihad’
FEAR, SET BACK & HOPE?
By Insaf
A ray of hope emerges
against the controversial anti-conversion ordinance in Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi
Adityanath government has had to eat crow, to put it mildly. On Thursday last,
it informed the Allahabad High Court that it had dropped charges of forced
conversion against a Muslim man, as the police found no proof of allegations.
This retraction to others facing the wrath would be cheering as the man was among
the first who was booked following the ordinance, infamous as ‘love jihad’ law.
On November 29, the police had filed an FIR against Nadeem Ahmad and his
brother under the Ordinance following a complaint alleging he lured his wife to
convert to Islam and threatened her too. The HC had restrained the police from
taking action against Nadeem and tagged his petition to others. This apart a
PIL has been filed in the court again challenging the Ordinance’s constitutional
validity. The issue has also reached the Supreme Court doorstep, as two
petitions were filed against the anti-conversion laws of UP and Uttarakhand,
saying people are being lifted from marriage functions and mob attacks are
taking place. While the apex court
refused to grant stay it has issued notices to the two governments. On its part
the UP government has been claiming that the Ordinance is ‘aimed at preventing
any form of unlawful conversion actuated by elements of misrepresentation,
force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, etc and the Constitution abhors
any form of forceful conversion particularly in matters of religion’. The big
question is whether this will withstand the law of the land. Time will tell.
* * * *
Bird
Flu
It’s a double whammy.
As the nation struggles to battle COVID-19, several States have been hit by
bird flu, with the Centre advising all local authorities to boost surveillance
around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos and poultry farms. On Thursday last,
it sent a team to Kerala to assess the crisis in Alappuzha and Kottayam
districts with the administration having to cull over 70,000 birds, including
ducks and chicken to contain the
H5N8 strain. Reports from Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir are a cause of worry as recently unusual
deaths of poultry, crows and migratory birds have been witnessed. While six
crows were found dead on the Karnataka-Kerala border, so far 64 crows were found
dead in areas near Pong wetland in Kangra, Himachal and anther four crow deaths
were reported from two places in Chhattisgarh. J&K has banned import of
poultry until January 14. While there is obviously a red alert, poultry farming industry in these
States is going to take a big hit as sale of bird meat and eggs in the affected
regions is prohibited. Will governments come to their aid, is a nagging
question?
* * * *
Tractor
Parade
Haryana farmers Plan
B is underway if Plan A doesn’t work. Indeed, the farmers’ agitation is geared
to take the protest to New Delhi, if the talks with the Centre don’t yield
results. The message that all-out efforts are going on to ensure there shall be
a ‘Tractor Parade’ on Republic Day can be seen and heard loud and clear. Farmers
atop thousands of tractors joined the tractor march on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal
(KMP) Expressway and other parts of Haryana on Thursday last calling it a ‘trailer’
of their determination. One authority which has so far been impressed is the
police department as despite the huge participation the farmers showed
exemplary discipline, which it’s hoped should get other sections of society to
come out in support of the farmers. For one, politicians are not staying
behind. In a cavalcade of tractors, INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala moved to
Delhi border from Sirsa district and Haryana Congress President Kumari Selja reached
the border in support. No doubt 26 January is far away, can New Delhi ensure
that dialogue ploughs results rather than having tractors on its
doorsteps.
* * * *
Victory
For Gujarat Farmers
The farmers in
Gujarat have tasted victory. The Supreme Court has frowned over the State
government short changing them. On Thursday last, the apex court dismissed the
Gujarat government’s petition and upheld two orders of the Gujarat High Court which
directed a higher compensation be paid to farmers in Bharuch and Gandhinagar for
the lands acquired for expansion of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway and the Ahmedabad-Delhi
Highway respectively. In its orders way back in September and October 2019, the
High Court had ordered the State government to apply a multiplying factor of
2.00 instead of 1.00 and re-calculate the compensation payable to farmers, as
two government resolutions, which did not consider areas falling under “Urban
Development Area’ as urban areas, violated constitutional guarantee of equality
before law. With the SC upholding the HC verdicts, affected farmers in Gandhinagar
will now be eligible up to Rs 200 crore additional payment and those in Bharuch
an additional payment of Rs 300 crore. Predictably, this case shall get cited
often and save the farmers from being cheated by their governments.
* * * *
Kashmir
Snowed Out
Utter failure. The
Kashmir valley being cut off for days after heavy snowfall shows the
administration’s crass incompetence. Winter is always severe and the official
machinery is expected to be well prepared and strategize, more so as the Centre
did promise better times since abrogation of Article 370. Lt Governor Manoj
Sinha will need to do a lot more to gain confidence of the people, who see the
Srinagar-Jammu National Highway being closed, passenger flights suspended,
power breakdowns and for ‘first time in decades’ having rationing of automobile
and cooking fuel. No stocks kept in advance and shoddy planning. For example,
on one hand the administration asked people to stay indoors as many roads were blocked
and on the other examination for recruitment of banking associates for J&K Bank
was not postponed. Several candidates failed to make it, many villages went without
electricity and even the J&K Police said it had to carry several patients
to hospital on foot! While governance may improve with recent District Development
Councils polls, a popular government instead of Governor’s Rule will make the administration
accountable and answerable. Will the Centre’s stance change with the melting of
the snow?
* * * *
Cow
Science!
Move over other
sciences for the future of the country lies in cow science! Well this is what
the BJP government would want us to believe. The Department of Animal Husbandry
and Dairying has set February 25 for a countrywide voluntary online one-hour exam,
Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar-Prasar
Pareeksha, on cow science and set up Kamdhenu chairs in universities. The
aim: “infuse curiosity” among citizens about cows’ importance and “sensitise
and educate” them about the bovine species. Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) Chairman
Vallabhbhai Kathiria is quoted in a daily saying “Cow is full of science... If
we talk about the $5-trillion economy, we have 19.42 crore govansh (cattle) in
our country, which can play an important role in it (growth of the economy).
Even if a cow does not give milk, its urine and dung is still precious; if we
use those, not only will cows be saved, the entire economy will be on track.”
He claims “800 Covid-19 patients have been cured by panchgavya – cow dung, cow
urine, milk, curd, ghee – and ayurvedic concoctions. Coronavirus patients from
Rajkot, Varanasi, Vadodara and Kalyan (Maharashtra) were given this and they
were rid of the virus between five and 14 days without experiencing any
complications”! Should one say move over Vaccine, we have our own desi brand?---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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