ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 29 August 2006

March Poll In 4 States

NEW POLITICAL REALIGNMENTS

By Insaf

Political realignments are once again on the cards in U.P., Uttaranchal, Punjab and Manipur, now that the Chief Election Commissioner has announced Assembly elections in the four States by mid-March next year.  The BJP-led NDA faces a major threat. Its main constituent, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) has advised its units in the poll-bound States to work out their own electoral alliances and not necessarily be bound to the BJP.  In fact, the JD-U clearly distinguished itself from the BJP in New Delhi over the week-end. by asserting its secular credentials at a meeting of National Executive It declared that it was opposed to the BJP-led Arjun Munda Government’s move to ban religious conversions in Jharkhand. Fissures have been developing between the BJP and the JD-U since George Fernandes handed over the latter’s presidentship to Sharad Yadav. 

These developments are also beginning to affect the pre-poll scenario in U.P. Even as Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav highlighted with “great satisfaction” on Tuesday last  his Government’s achievements during the past three years, his main pre-poll worry is the changing mood of his alliance partners and opponents within his own Samajwadi Party.  Especially, one of his main allies, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) of Ajit Singh. The latter has once again hinted at his desire to leave the alliance. In fact, some Congress leaders have already initiated moves to work out an electoral understanding with the RLD. However, Mayawati, who was re-elected last week as the BSP President, continues to be the main challenger to the Lucknow gaddi. The Jan Morcha of former Prime Minister V.P. Singh and Raj Babbar has also been causing worry to the SP.  What is more, SP MLAs like Haji Yaqoob Qureshi, who has emerged as a prominent Muslim leader, are said to be on the verge of leaving the ruling party for greener pastures.

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Uttaranchal To Be Uttarakhand

Chief Minister Narain Datt Tiwari and the ruling Congress in Uttaranchal have at long last succeeded in getting the name of their new State changed to Uttarakhand before the upcoming Assembly polls.  Tiwari had strongly advised the Central leadership to do so before the elections and thereby “respect the sentiment” of the people who had sacrificed much for the creation of the hill State.  They had specifically fought for “Uttarakhand” as these hills are called in the ancient Puranas. Most people were upset by the BJP-led NDA Government’s decision to call the State “Uttaranchal”. The Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre has now okayed the change under Article 3 of the Constitution.  A Bill, Uttaranchal (Alteration of Name) Bill 2006 will be sent to the President for referring it to the State legislature for its consent.  It will then be redirected to Parliament for final approval. The exercise is expected to be completed by December.

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PM’s New Deal For Orissa

Orissa, one of the most backward States in the country, can now look forward to speedier progress.  It has now received the personal attention of the Prime Minister, thanks to his first ever visit to the State as the PM earlier this week. Although heavy rains forced him to cut down his visit by a day, Manmohan Singh has concernedly noted that over 4,500 villages in the State (sasural of his second daughter) are still not connected by road, over 9,000 habitations are not electrified and almost 5,000 villages do not have a telephone.   He has promised the State that this “development deficit” will be overcome and that the Centre will make massive investment in Orissa (details to be worked out later) for its development. It will help the State Government to provide road and telephone connectivity and electrification in each village. Efforts will also be made to develop all sources of energy, including oil, gas, coal, biogas and nuclear to ensure accelerated development of the State.

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Tackling Debt Crisis In States

The States have finally succeeded in pressuring the Centre to take a fresh look at their mounting problems in the agricultural sector, tragically reflected in increasing suicides by farmers. The issue was raised in various forms in both the Houses of Parliament during the recent monsoon session. Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar patiently replied to several questions and also took serious note of the special mentions time and again, culminating in a full-fledged debate in the Rajya Sabha on the penultimate day.  Prominent among the issues that got highlighted during the debate were rural indebtedness in totality, relief measures for farmers across the country and inadequate minimum support price for the foodgrains. Members from both sides of the House strongly criticized the manner in which the serious problem was being handled by the Government.

This prompted Sharad Pawar to announce a series of measures had worked out by the Centre for the States. Hardest hit States like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala have been promised special packages.  Beside, an expert committee has been constituted to recommend by November 30 ways and means to control rural indebtedness and provide one-time relief measures for the farmers and the families of those who have committed suicides. Earlier, an expert committee, known as the Vaidyanathan Committee had recommended a Rs.14,000-crore revival package, of which the Centre has decided to sanction Rs.12,000 crore.  In fact, Sharad Pawar shared with the House an important piece of information. The agricultural sector would need about Rs. 5 lakh crore of investment if it is to achieve 4 per cent growth, as recommended by the Planning Commission in its Approach Paper for the Eleventh Plan 2007-12.

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Desert Into A Sea Of Disaster

An unprecedented downpour continuously for six days last week turned a part of Rajasthan’s sprawling desert, into a sea of disaster, 15 ft deep at several places. Ironically, the flash floods of the magnitude unheard of in at least 200 years, which claimed nearly 300 lives, came after six years of severe draught. The toll is estimated to be much higher as rescue workers and Naval divers are searching for bodies in flooded towns and villages. Most affected were districts of Barmer, Dungarpur, Banswara and Udaipur. The situation in Barmer continued to be critical till the time of writing.  Hundreds of villagers were missing in the five worst-hit villages in the Barmer district which remained under 15-20 ft. water for several days.  Preliminary loss from the tragedy has been estimated at Rs.1500 crore. And the State Government has demanded an immediate package of Rs.400 crore.

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Gujarat Faces Epidemic

Gujarat too is hard hit by the unpredictable monsoon misery in three instalments since May last. After handling the disaster caused by the rainfall, the State Government is now facing a major health problem.  Water-borne diseases and the latest disease Chikungunya, first discovered among the birds, has now spread in an epidemic form in several parts of the flood-hit State.  Rough estimate put the number of people suffering from Chikungunya since May last at 30,000.  In Maninagar, Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, nearly 5,000 suspected cases have been reported.  The Medical Superintendent of a hospital in Makwana has been quoted as stating that 50 per cent of the total cases in the hospital are of Chikungunya, which is now a widespread epidemic.

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Nathu La & W. Bengal Concern

West Bengal is beginning to feel gravely concerned over one possible fallout of the recent opening of the Nathu La for trade with China, even as the event has brought much joy to the people of Sikkim.  The W. Bengal Government now fears that China may use the Nathu La route to dump large quantities of its cheap products, posing a threat to the State’s traditional cottage and other industries. This problem was once faced by West Bengal when Chinese products were dumped in Nepal and these then found their way into the State.  An alarmed Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee warned a workshop in Kolkata last week of this possibility and advised it to undertake programmes for development of micro and small industries.  The threat is greatest to West Bengal’s silk industry. Silk production in China is highly mechanized and, therefore, cheap.---INFA

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