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ROUND THE STATES
BJP, Congress Strategies
STATES READY FOR POLLS
By Insaf
New Delhi, February 02, 2008
The six BJP-ruled States have begun preparations for the 10
Assembly polls and next year’s General Election. Reinvent and
repackage was the sum and substance of the Party’s National
Executive conclave held last week in Delhi. On the anvil was a
resurgent Hindutva jazzed up with a heavy dose of development
and welfare schemes. All modeled on Brand Modi, the success
story scripted by the Gujarat Chief Minister in the recent
Assembly polls. Along with a macho response to terrorism, a
robust foreign policy and forward-looking economic programmes.
It is attempting to position itself as a middle class and aam
aadmi friendly Party. Both crippled by the soaring-price
levels, high-cost education, sky-scraping cost of health care
and high-cost housing.
Accusing the UPA of jeopardising national security by viewing
it through the prism of vote-bank politics, the Saffron Sangh
buttressed its concern by reeling of figures of the terrorists
spreading their tentacles from J& K to the North East, UP,
Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and even Kerala. In fact, J&K
recorded only 1,092 terrorism-related incidents and 271 deaths
compared to the North-East which had 1,316 incidents and 501
deaths in 2007. Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were the two States
worst hit by Left-wing extremist violence in 2007, together
accounting for 68.16% of the incidents and 76.42% of the
killings. Moreover, while admitting that there were several
states where neither its coalition partners nor it had a
presence it called for the need to broadbase the NDA.
* * * *
Congress Plays Dalit Card
The Congress too is not lagging behind in poll preparedness.
After minority appeasement it’s the turn to reach out to the
Dalits, specially in UP. The Gandhi scion and General
Secretary Rahul Gandhi led the reconciliation efforts by
making an unscheduled night stop, eating and sleeping in the
house of a Dalit villager in Jawaharpur in his constituency,
Amethi last week. The outreach effort is significant as the UP
Chief Minister, BSP supremo and Dalit icon Mayawati, has
emerged as a strong rival for the community’s votes in several
States where the Congress is in power. In the recent Gujarat
polls not a few Congress candidates lost thanks to the BSP
eating into its vote share. Recall, since Independence the
Muslims and the Scheduled Caste and Tribes comprising an 18%
vote share have been the raison d atre for the Party lording
over the country for over 45 years. Will it strike rich?
* * * *
Arunachal Gets Security Makeover
Arunachal Pradesh is all set to get a security makeover. The
appointment of former Army Chief J.J. Singh as the State
Governor stands testimony to New Delhi’s intentions of
tackling the insurgency problem as well as growing activities
across the border by the Chinese in all seriousness. The Prime
Minister too has just returned from a long overdue two-day
visit to the strife-torn State. Especially against the
background of increasing actions by the Chinese across the
border. Reportedly, Beijing has built roads, rail link and a
township along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Also, the
Chinese have made plain their intention that they consider
Arunachal as part of their country. Only a fortnight back, the
Congress MP from the State had accused the Chinese army of
destroying a Buddhist statue in the Tawang region. The
Congress has mooted the idea to immediately create the
North-East Indian Border Regiment with local youths to tackle
insurgency in the sensitive region which has become a safe
haven for anti-terrorist elements. All fingers are crossed
that the new Governor will succeed in crying a halt to both
the problems.
* * * *
J&K Govt Corrupt Travails Continue
The corruption travails of the Ghulam Nabi Azad Government in
Jammu & Kashmir continue. Barely had the unseemly controversy
over the resignation of Education Minister and PCC chief
Peerzada M Sayeed died, that the State has been rocked by
another scandal. The National Conference has now demanded the
scalp of two PDP ‘tainted’ Ministers Qazi Afzal and Tariq
Hamid Karra, in the forest scam. With the State slated to go
to polls later this year, the Chief Minister finds himself
squeezed between a rock and a hard place. If Azad refuses to
relent, the NC will not let the House function. If he accepts
their demand, he will have to prove corruption charges against
the PDP duo, something that the B R Kundal panel report on
forests has not done. And if he sacks them, he will make his
Government fall. After hitting the Congress in the belly over
Sayeed, the NC is now keen to see that the PDP does not
survive unscathed as it has emerged as an alternative to the
NC. It remains to be seen who will have the last laugh!
* * * *
Kidney Scam Shakes Up Health Ministry
If nothing else, the 100-crore kidney scandal in Gurgaon has
made the Union Health Ministry sit up and rethink its organ
transplant policy. Gurgaon has hit the headlines for over a
week following the unearthing of the kidney racket in which
about 600 poor labourers were made victims by Dr Santosh Raut
alias Dr. Amit Kumar, who is on the run. The doctor largely
catered mainly to the rich and foreigners, who paid Rs 18-25
lakh per kidney, whereas the donor may have got Rs 50,000.
This is so because while 1.5 lakh patients need kidney
transplant every year and only 3,500 manage to get it. Not
only has the Health Ministry been forced to re-look its
Transplantation of Human Organs Act, whereby only near
relatives can donate kidneys, but it has started thinking of
incentives for organ donations, such as free education and
health insurance. Ministry officials have made various trips
overseas to study best practices in organ donations. It’s time
they start acting or else another Dr. Kumar shall play merry
hell with the lives of the poor.
* * * *
Bastar New Haven For Maoists
The Chhattisgarh government of Dr. Raman Singh can no longer
sit pretty to a glaring threat of extremism. Its territory is
being used as training ground for Maoists cadres, with Bastar
being the new haven. According to intelligence reports, the
People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) is running four camps
in the jungles of Bijapur and Dantewada districts and
Abujhmarh forests. At any given time about 1,500-2,000 cadres
from various States are being trained for carrying out attacks
and handling sophisticated arms and explosives. In all 186
districts in the country are affected by Maoist violence and
39 per cent of all such incidents are reported from
Chhattisgarh. The extremists, it may be recalled carried out
one of the worst attack in the State last March, killing 55
policemen in a camp. The Union Home ministry needs to push Dr
Singh’s government to formulate a strategy to quell the
Maoists rebellion, as done by Andhra Pradesh, lest the Maoists
support base grows.
* * * *
Ashes Immersed, Few Remember Bapu
It was a historic moment. But only a few hundreds chose to
witness it. Sixty years after the Mahatma’s assassination, the
last consignment of his ashes were immersed in the sea off
South Mumbai on Wednesday. The journey started at Gamdevi’s
Mani Bhavan with a morning prayer and then the urn containing
the ashes was taken in a mini truck to Chowpatty, where the
Gandhi family led by Nilamben Parikh, great granddaughter,
carried out the final ritual. Unfortunately, the meager
gathering of common people at the beach, which witnesses
mammoth crowds during festivals, is yet another pointer to the
disturbing fact that the father of the nation is forgotten.
Can Munna Bhai please do something? ---INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
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