Round The States
New Delhi, 29 April 2023
Karnataka Polls
UNDER ‘FEAR OR FAVOUR’
By Insaf
Karnataka makes a mockery of the
cardinal rule that voters must exercise their right to vote ‘without fear or
favour.’ The run-up to May 10 Assembly elections have warring political parties
either offering bribes, a basket of freebies, or instilling a sense of fear
amongst the electorate, apart from gutter politics being played out. The
Congress has offered 5 guarantees, including free travel for women in public
transport buses, 200 units of free power, 10 kg of rice free to every member of
a BPL household, Rs 3,000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for
diploma holders. The BJP is against ‘revari’ politics but offers to do
away with ‘religion-based’ reservation. Its Union Home Minister Amit Shah warns
of “communal riots’ if Congress is voted to power. Both sides are filing
complaints with the police or the electoral office. The Congress charges Shah
‘of disrupting the communal harmony’ by his statement that “If the Congress
comes to power, dynastic politics will be at an all-time high and Karnataka
will be afflicted with riots,”, and demands an FIR against him. The BJP has
filed a complaint against Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with the office
of the state chief electoral officer for likening Prime Minister Modi to a
‘poisonous snake’ and the hate intent. How will the voters respond, is
anybody’s guess. Major issues are being side lined for the voter to make an
informed decision. It’s time much-needed electoral reforms are no longer put on
the back burner. People deserve better.
* * * *
Manipur Tense
All is not well in Manipur. The BJP government
has had to shut down internet services and clamp down section 144 in two
districts of Churachandpur and Pherzawl from Friday last, after a mob set on
fire an open gym facility the night before it was to be inaugurated by Chief
Minister Biren Singh. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum had called for an
eight-hour total shutdown in Churachandpur and announced non-cooperation with
government programmes. The reason: failure of government to address the
people’s grievances. A statement said the forum was ‘compelled to take up the
agitation’ as while it had submitted several memoranda to the government over
apprehensions on the survey carried out pertaining to Reserved Forest/Protected
forest and wetland and eviction of villagers, ‘the government has shown no
signs of willingness, no sincerity to address the plight of the people.’ The
government will do well to deal with the complaints rather than taking the
easier way out of clamping down on social media, which happens often. Empathy
rather than indifference should be the outlook.
* * * *
Maoists Strike In Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh has dented both the
State and Centre’s claim that Left Wing Extremism has almost been wiped out. On
Wednesday last, 10 police personnel and a civilian driver were killed in
Dantewada district after Naxals blew up a vehicle, part of a convoy carrying
security personnel. The strike, through an IED, containing 40-odd kg of
explosives, was the biggest by Maoists in the past two years and happened when District
Reserve Guard was out on an anti-naxal operation. While as usual a search
operation has been launched, both Baghel government and North Block need to
work in tandem and plug loopholes. Despite information about presence of
Maoists in the area, lapses occurred. Such as the road the 200 security
personnel were travelling was not sanitised, a rented van instead of an
armoured vehicle was used to transport the personnel who died; the forces still
are not equipped with foolproof technology to detect IEDs, which are largely being
used by Naxals to avoid direct combat with security forces. They succeeded in 2021,
killing 22 security personnel and a year earlier 17. ‘Over confidence’ of the
fight against LWE being in its last phase may not be a good strategy.
* * * *
End Of Era In Punjab
Punjab witnesses an end or an era. The
State bid a tearful farewell to Akali stalwart Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday
last. The popularity and respect the five-time Chief Minister had gained during
his 70 years political career was writ large with thousands from not just the
State but leaders across the political spectrum, including Prime Minister Modi,
paying their last respects. He was cremated with full state honours at his
ancestral village in Muktsar district; the AAP government declared a holiday
on Thursday and Centre announced two days state mourning on across the country.
The grand old man of Punjab politics started his political career as a sarpanch
of his village in 1952; became the youngest CM at 43 in 1970 and the oldest in 2012.Badal
was known as a “messiah of farmers”and a great leader who fought for Punjab and
Punjabiyat. He towered over the Shiromani Akali Dal, the second oldest
party in the country formed in 1920. For the party, politics may not be the
same. His son and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, the political heir must keep
the legacy alive.
* * * *
Bihar Political Release
Vote bank politics comes to the fore
in Bihar aimed at 2024. Gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan, serving a life
sentence for killing a young Dalit IAS officer in 1994, walked out a free man on
Thursday last. An MP prior to his conviction in 2007, he was released from
Saharsa jail after spending 15 years, 9 months and 25 days behind bars.Mohan’s
name figured in a list of over 20 prisoners, ordered to be set free as they had
spent over 14 years behind bars, following a notification by Nitish Kumar
government on April 10 amending Bihar Prison Manual. Plus, restriction on early
release of those involved in killing of a public servant on duty was done away
with. The IAS officer’s family allege it was done to help release Mohan and appealed
to Nitish to reconsider. The IAS Officers’ Association is too peeved, but Chief
Secretary insists the release is in accordance with norms, ‘no special favour
has been done to anybody.’ Is it so straightforward? Apparently not, as Nitish is
said to be under pressure from partner RJD, to release Mohan, who wields a lot
of influence over Rajputs and enjoys a Robinhood-like image amongst his
community. Besides, over half of the prisoners freed are Yadavs or Muslims, said
to be RJD supporters. Guess, votes matter more than the law!
* * * *
Kerala’s Boo To NCERT
God’s own country will not allow the
“complete saffronisation” of academic books by the Centre. With what is rightly
perceived by academicians and historians as ‘whitewashing’ of history in Class
11 and 12 textbooks by NCERT, students in Kerala will soon be taught the
deleted portions, which include Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, his pursuit of
Hindu-Muslim unity and ban on RSS. A unanimous decision to this effect was
taken at a meeting of curriculum steering committee of State Council of
Education Research and Training on Tuesday last. It awaits state education minister
getting go ahead by Government and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Further, it
decided to inform New Delhi and petition Prime Minister Modi and HRD Minister
about the omissions. The state body would welcome a nod by the Centre, but if
didn’t oblige then it proposes to bring out supplementary textbooks comprising
those deleted portions in this academic year. The controversy continues
to rage. ----INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature
Alliance)
|