Round The States
New Delhi, 29 November 2006
New Terror Law
Controversy
STATES DEBATE IB
CHIEF’s PROPOSAL
By Insaf
Various State Governments and their security agencies are
eagerly debating the controversy sparked off by Intelligence Bureau Chief ESL
Narasimhan at the Conference of Directors General of Police in New Delhi last week. Narasimhan had pitched for a special law to
tackle the growing terrorism in the country on the ground that the existing
legal framework was not adequate to deal with the new-age terrorists. The IB
Chief had made the demand in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at
the Conference. The PM did not react to the suggestion at that time but
responded three days later at a seminar on “Law, Terrorism and Development.” There
was no need for a new law, he said, and added that the authorities should take
recourse to “stringent measures” under existing laws to tackle the scourge and,
among other things, “cut off” the illegal flow of money to terrorists through
money laundering and organized crime.
The State Police Chiefs and several retired DGPs and security
experts Insaf has spoken to on the issue
are fully with the IB Chief’s observation on the threat posed to the country by
new-age and other forms of terrorism.
Narasimhan had observed that “having large financial and material
resources at their disposal, terrorist groups are able to use modern
communication system and state-of-the-art technology to pursue their agenda”…
Most security agencies and the Police chiefs in the States have now begun to
increasingly feel that they do not have adequate wherewithal to tackle the
terrorists who have become more sophisticated, better networked and highly
motivated in carrying out their diabolical designs. Of greater concern is the
threat to internal security, their linkage with organized crime, drug
trafficking, gun-running and money laundering, as reflected in the debates in
the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
* * * *
ULFA Steps Up
Violence
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is spreading its
tentacles by the day. Taking advantage of the ceasefire between
August-September last, the organization regrouped its forces, recruited
Bangladeshi migrants, got a large number of its cadres trained in Pak-occupied
Kashmir (PoK) and managed to equip itself with modern weaponry. It struck four
bomb blasts in Assam since the
November 5 twin blasts that killed 14 persons. The latest on November 22 was in
the high-security zone of Guwahati, killing three persons and injuring more
than a dozen. Alarmingly, the group is focusing its attacks on the
Hindi-speaking people from Bihar, UP and Rajasthan settled in Assam.
They have now extended their activities to northern Bengal
with the assistance of local
insurgent groups. Their first target was a blast in the Haldibari passenger train, first of its kind in West Bengal.
* * * *
Impact Of SC Order
Against Mayawati
The Supreme Court’s ruling that the prosecution of the BSP
Chief and former UP Chief Minister, Mayawati in the Rs.175-crore Taj Heritage
Corridor scam be reopened has affected the ongoing process
of social and political realignments prior to the crucial Assembly elections in the State. The immediate impact
is expected to be felt in the relationship which the Congress has been slowly building with Mayawati’s
BSP. Both parties are vehemently opposed
to Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party (SP) and his governance. But the move is
unlikely to succeed now. The BJP too has
rejected any post-poll tie-up with the BSP in the event of a hung Assembly. Mayawati’s efforts to woo upper caste votes
may also not materialize since the CBI will be framing fresh charges against
her.
* * * *
AICC Directive To Punjab Leaders
With the Assembly
elections in Punjab barely three months away,
the Central leadership of the ruling Congress
has directed the State PCC to ensure unity, so vital for retaining power. The
AICC General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi has rapped former Lok Sabha member
Jagmeet Singh Brar, a known critic of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, for
openly speaking against the State leadership.
Brar has been specifically told to refrain from going public with his
criticism and to work closely with other State leaders for the upcoming
poll. The Chief Minister has also been
asked to stamp out factionalism in the State unit. Following a similar AICC
advice to the Punjab leaders few months ago,
there was a brief lull in the wrangling. But Brar is at it again publicly against
his bete noire.
* * * *
Militancy Takes New
Turn In J&K
Militancy in Jammu
and Kashmir is hopefully taking a new turn. For the
first time since it reared its ugly head more than a decade ago, as many as 20
militants from different outfits have surrendered and laid down arms in front
of the GOC of an Army Division. Most of
them had crossed over to PoK for
arms training between 1993 and 2002. The
Centre and the State Government are watching the encouraging trend with
interest, against the backdrop of continuing violence in the State. The militants are, however, continuing their
attacks on security forces and Government buildings. On Tuesday, Dr. Shameena
Badroo, wife of former Hizbul Chief and an Army major were critically injured
in two gun battles in Chanpora and Bijbehara respectively. Three days earlier, a gun fight took place in
Neldora village in south Kashmir in which four
Army personnel and one militant were killed.
* * * *
Bonanza For Godhra
Victims
The UPA Government at the Centre has finalized a relief
package for the 2002 Gujarat riot victims. It will be a one-time compensation on the
lines of the relief the Centre awarded to the 1984 Sikh riot victims. What is more, the compensation will not only
cover the casualties but also those who are staying in semi-permanent
camps. The package provides that the
next of kin of a deceased would get Rs.7 lakh, minus the compensation paid so
far. The move will come as a relief for several Muslim families which have
received hardly any assistance from
the Gujarat Government, despite suffering loss
of their property and that of near and dear ones. The National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) has identified
5,307 displaced families which have not been settled so far.
* * * *
AIDS Virus Spreads
To 20 States
The dreaded HIV/AIDS virus has created an alarming
situation. It has now spread to as many as 163 districts in 20 States. The
highest number of districts is in Andhra Pradesh (21 of the 25 districts),
Karnataka (24 of 27), Maharashtra (30 of 36).
The new “entrants” in the list of AIDS-affected districts are New Delhi, eight
districts in Bihar, five in UP, five in Madhya Pradesh, three in Punjab
including Chandigarh, two in Rajasthan and one in Haryana. Other States affected by the virus are Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam,
Meghalaya, J&K, Jharkhand and Andaman
Nicobar Island.
In view of the speed with which the virus is spreading in the country, the
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has programmed that each of the 611
districts affected by the disease will have a link worker for implementing the
control programme at the district level.
* * * *
Pulling Out Hand
Rickshaws From Kolkata
Kolkata will soon be missing
what is loosely described as the city’s “heritage” road transport, the hand-pulled
rickshaw. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee wants to see them off the
roads as early as possible. He has got the present winter session of the State Assembly
extended by four days to get a Bill passed
for withdrawal of these rickshaws from Kolkata.
The session, scheduled to adjourn
on November 30, has been extended to December 4. The Government had actually
introduced the Bill during the Monsoon session
in July last. But it could not be passed following resistance from the Opposition. The Congress
had initially opposed it. But it will now
support the move as the Chief Minister has assured
a rehabilitation package for all the licensed rickshaw pullers.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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