Round The States

New Delhi, 10 July 2008

Shrine Row Strikes Azad Govt

J&K UNDER GOVERNOR’S RULE

By Insaf

Jammu and Kashmir was pushed into another spell of Governor’s rule as no political party in the State was inclined to stake a claim to form a Government! Following the political turmoil over the Amarnath shrine land controversy and coalition partner, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) withdrawing support, Congress Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had resigned on Monday last, the day his minority Government was to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly. Governor N N Vohra had accepted the resignation, but asked Azad to continue till “alternate arrangements are made,” as his meetings with other political parties yielded no results. Three days later, on Thursday last Vohra dissolved the Assembly and assumed all functions of the State government. 

Interestingly, even though Azad had the support of 40 MLAs in a House of 87, he chose not to muster a majority (four more MLAs) and indulge in horse-trading. All the parties are clearly eyeing the ensuing October elections in the State to gain maximum mileage out of the land controversy, which has changed the dynamics of politics across the State.

The National Conference (NC), which has maintained close ties with the Congress, chose not to bail out Azad because of its own compulsions of regaining its Kashmir-centric character and return to power. It is hopeful of doing so following the communal polarization in the Jammu region, wherein the Hindu belt of Jammu-Kathua-Udhampur is now at loggerheads with the Muslim-majority hill districts of Rajouri-Poonch-Doda and the PDP is being publicly considered “an accomplice” to Azad’s decision of transferring the land to the shrine. As for the PDP, it could not return to the coalition given the bitter circumstances that led to the parting of ways. However, for its survival, the party is keeping its channels open with the Congress. The Panthers Party, with four MLAs, supported Azad, but it could ill-afford to upset its supporters in the Hindu-dominated Jammu city and the Kathua belt. With the State coming under Governor’s rule for the fifth time around, the question being asked is will the situation demand elections be called sooner?

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Karnataka Goes Bizarre

Karnataka is witnessing some bizarre political developments. In the run up to the budget session of the State Assembly on July 17, the ruling BJP has got two Congress and two of Deve Gowda’s JD(S) MLAs. All four have resigned their seats and are poised to return to the Assembly in the bypolls on BJP tickets. This has enabled the Yeddyurappa Government to stem any threat, for the time being, from six independent MLAs who are being wooed by the Congress and the JD(S). Remember, the six MLAs helped Yeddyurappa with 110 MLAs to cross the simple majority of 113 in a House of 224 members. Some more Congress and JD(S) MLAs may follow suit what with BJP headhunters ---the crorepatis Reddy Brothers from Bellary ---dangling the guarantee of development funds. One Congress MLA who has crossed over has been promised a development package of Rs.30 crore for his constituency. Two MLAs have been offered ministerial berths. The Congress is up in arms. It has demanded CBI’s intervention to prevent a “holocaust of democracy” by “money bags and the builder mafia!”

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Orissa’s Bonanza For Poor

Orissa’s Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik is not leaving anything to chance in the run-up to the Assembly poll, notwithstanding his strong position and remarkable popularity. He has come forward with another bonanza for the poor: relief against high price rise to all the families Below the Poverty Line (BPL) by giving them 25 kg of rice per month at Rs.2 per kg. The sop, effective from August 1, will benefit more than 55 lakh families, including 44 lakh BPL families, 5.5 lakh urban-poor families and over 5 lakh families living above the Poverty Line (APL) in the backward Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput region.. Beneficiaries of the Antodaya Scheme, who get 35 kg of rice per month at Rs.3 per kg, would also be provided 25 kg of rice at Rs.2 per kg. Earlier in April, Naveen had won applause for giving field-level forest officials deployed in Naxalite areas much-needed provision of insurance cover and as also for putting them on par with the police in regard to compassionate grants in case of death or injury and special family pension.

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Sena Ex-MP Convicted Finally

The high profile case of Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpordar in the 1992 communal riots in Mumbai has finally been decided. After 16-long years, the MLA and Ex-MP was convicted by the Special Court on Wednesday last, sentenced to one year imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 for inciting communal passions and “promting enmity between different religious groups.” Sarpordar had been accused of delivering a hate-filled speech to a 5,000-strong mob on December 27, 1992, following which the mob pelted stones,  raised slogans against Muslims and turned riotous.in the Bandra-Khar area. This was the first major conviction and sentencing by the court set up by Maharashtra’s Democratic Front after the riots. The Ex-MP will, however, not be behind bars, because soon after the sentence was announced, he was granted bail. By the same court!! He has now over a month to file an appeal in the High Court, which in all likelihood he shall do.

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Alert For Sariska

Gurgaon has poured cold water over the excitement of a tiger and tigress being airlifted to the Sariska Tiger Reserve last week. Days later, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) recovered about 15-20 kgs of fresh tiger bones from a known poacher Bhima Bavaria’s house in a village on Sunday last, following a tip-off. Bavaria is a known history-sheeter and has been arrested for wildlife crimes in the operator. Worse, he was one of the prime accused in the Sariska poaching case. The recovery of the bones, which had been salted to preserve them and two gunny bags of iron traps, should be of serious concern to the Tiger Reserve officials in the country. On the one hand, efforts are being made to relocate the wildlife from one Reserve to another (as in Sariska), and on the other there is no stopping criminal poaching. In fact, now traps are being increasingly used instead of bullets, as these entrap the legs of the tiger after which they are captured and killed. In the recent case, a forensic team has been to the site to find out how many tigers the seized bones would have belonged to and from which Reserve these could have come. Regrettably, the answers cannot be got from Bavaria as he managed to give the slip to the WCCB, putting Sariska and other Tiger Reserves on high alert.

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World Heritage Status for Shimla Train

The 105-year-old Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR) is now a World Heritage Site. The good news reached the people of this Hill State on Sunday last, following UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee’s announcement during its ongoing meeting in Quebec. The KSR is an engineering marvel and considered an ‘outstanding example of a hill passenger system.’ It represents an exceptional technical achievement in the developments of the Himalayan mountains because of its length, its attitude and the difficulty of the terrain which it runs in difficult tropical climatic conditions, read the statement of Outstanding Universal Value adopted by the WHC. The 96.6-km long narrow gauge railway line now joins Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) and Nilgiri Mountain railway (NMR) under the “Mountain Railways of India” category in UNESCO’s world heritage list. It took four-and-a-half years for the KSR to get this special status. Reason to rejoice and get on board the joy ride this season. --INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)