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ROUND THE STATES
CRPF Camp Attacked
UP IS JIHADIS NEW TERROR GROUND
By Insaf
New Delhi, January 05, 2008
Terror struck once more in UP with deadly vengeance ---
this time at the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Group
Centre in Rampur, on a cold wintry Sunday night. Leaving eight
policemen dead, the jihadis again sent a chilling reminder
that they mean business. Clearly, the terrorist had done their
homework, given the fact that the Rampur CRPF hub serves as
the logistical and administrative backbone to five battalions
posted in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East. This attack, the
seventh since 2000, comes two years after the failed attack on
the Ram Janamabhoomi complex in July 2005 and exposes the
unprepardness of the security forces in dealing with
terrorism. UP Chief Minister Mayawati promptly tried to wash
her hands of the dastardly attack by accusing the Central
forces of laxity as these had already been warned. But she
herself has been accused by the Congress of being “soft on
terrorists.”
The State has been on the fiyadeen’s radar for the last 14
years. In fact, after Jammu & Kashmir, UP has been the worst
affected terror-afflicted State. Borne out by the fact that in
the last three years alone, 80 terror modules have been
neutralized by the security forces. Interestingly, these
modules, off-shoots of the dreaded Harkut-ul-Ansar, had made
western UP their base after inheriting the infrastructure from
it in 1993. Shockingly, the State security forces which are
wholly dependent on the Central forces, have been unable to
make a dent in the jihadis network, which has grown many-fold
in the last five years. Worse, time and again, it has not
followed effectively the vital leads, resulting in cases being
closed. Thanks to this lackadaisical approach, it has uptill
now failed to prosecute any of the arrested terrorists, who
were able to obtain bail and then disappear. Clearly, it is
time for the Centre to bring in another POTA.
* * * *
Nitish Knocks Down Lalu
Bihar’s Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, has special reason to
rejoice. He has won hands down a virtual “referendum” against
the RJD Supremo, Lalu Prasad, in the Bikramganj Lok Sabha
byelection, which his JD (U) candidate bagged by over 31,000
votes. Remember, Nitish has won all byelections since he came
to power two years ago. The outcome dashes all hopes of Lalu
derailing Nitish, his bete noire in his home State in the near
future. Needless to say, this poll should serve as an
eye-opener for Lalu to realize the extent he has lost ground
in Bihar, over which he lorded for 15 years. Specially as the
by poll was a contest between him and Nitish Kumar with Lalu
banking on the Yadav-Khushwaha-Muslim alignment. True the
margin of victory was slim. But that was thanks to a low voter
turnout. A visibly happy Chief Minister appropriately chides
his arch rival: “Now people will only vote for development.
Voting on cast lines is getting passé!”
* * * *
Heartbreak For Mayawati
In neighbouring UP, it was double heartbreak for Chief
Minister Mayawati in the byelection for the Ballia Lok Sabha
poll. One, her BSP candidate had to eat the humble pie by over
1.31 lakh votes. Two, he was defeated by her arch rival
Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party, which had fielded former
Prime Minister Chandrashekhar’s son Neeraj. Mayawati and her
ministerial colleagues had made the poll a prestige fight and
put up Vinay Shankar Tewari, son of Gorakhpur’s dreaded mafia
don, Hari Shankar Tiwari. Nevertheless, this is BSP’s first
defeat in the State since Mayawati came to power. Last year,
it won all the three previous Lok Sabha bypolls. The result
has also dashed the hopes of the BJP riding the crest of its
Gujarat and Himachal victories in the Hindu heartland as also
the Congress’ expectations of reviving itself in the State.
Shamefully, the candidates of both the national parties
forfeited their deposits.
* * * *
CPM Wins But Warned
Traditional supporters of the CPM in West Bengal have clearly
warned the party not to take their support for granted. Borne
out by the decreased victory margin of nearly 8,000 votes for
its candidate in the Balagarh Assembly seat in Hooghly. This
is less than half the margin in the last election. Exposing
that Singur and Nandigram have had a ripple effect all over
the State, including the CPM’s rural strongholds. Coupled with
the CPM’s pro-farmer posturing which took a beating. Most
farmers continue to be fearful of losing their land. Spiraling
prices also caused strong reaction, forcing loyalist cadres to
go in for a serious rethink of what is best for them. In fact,
had the Opposition combined to take on the CPM, it could have
snatched the seat from the Red party. The total of the
Trinamool (51,691) and the BJP (8,833) a former ally of Mamata
Banerjee’s party, together polled more votes than CPM’s
60,101. The CPM is clearly in trouble.
* * * *
Goa Governor Blows Bugle
Goa’s Governor, S.C. Jamir, former Chief Minister of Nagaland,
has blazed a new trail: playing the role of an elder statesman
and candidly sharing his thoughts about the State, its people
and their future. Goa, he lamented in Panaji, had become
oversensitive and, in the bargain, Goans had developed a
negative mindset. “Everything is being politicized and, as a
result, nothing moves.” Goa, he added, should be helped to
develop “a balanced mindset” and a polity that was stable and
a people and politicians committed to an ideology. Jamir also
blew the bugle against the prevalent electoral practices,
wherein candidates “bribed their voters with drinks and money”
to get elected. Such candidates, he warned, would not make
good leaders. Jamir said much else that was of interest,
including his opposition to SEZs in the State. Importantly, he
urged the Government to give up thoughts of making Goa another
Hong Kong or Dubai and let it remain what it is --- Goa!
* * * *
President’s Rule In Nagaland
The Centre has decided to impose President’s rule in Nagaland
on second thoughts. Notwithstanding, that the Assembly poll is
just a month away. New Delhi was forced to rethink when 30
Congress MLAs called on President Pratibha Patil and claimed
that they had won the no-confidence motion against the Neiphu
Rio-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland by 31-23 votes in the
60-member Assembly with an effective strength of 55 members.
Recall, the Speaker had surprisingly barred nine MLAs from
voting and declared the motion lost. Expectedly, Chief
Minister Neiphiu Rio and his colleagues are livid. They have
denounced the Centre’s decision as “murder of democracy.” The
BJP, a partner in the Neiphiu Rio Government, too has
criticized the Centre’s decision as “against all political
ethics.” But New Delhi is clear that the DAN Government had
lost its majority and Central rule was necessary on two
counts: First, to stem further deterioration in the law and
order situation in which militants are now ruling the roost.
Two, ensure a truly free and fair vote!
* * * *
Now Incredible Ladakh
Incredible India. And now incredible Ladakh. An
anti-corruption drive in picturesque Ladakh has got an icy
response from the local community. Six months, 18 raids in
which 31 Ladakh residents, including 14 shopkeepers, were held
by the J&K police investigating large-scale theft of supplies
meant for Indian troops on the Siachen Glacier has led to
strong protests. Specially as the pilfered supplies are seen
as subsidies, not as corruption. Each winter, when night
temperatures drop below -250 Celsius, local residents are
forced to depend upon fuel and food filtered from the Army
since transportation costs of normal supplies are
prohibitively high. As an MLA explained: “We get just 10
litres of subsidised kerosene per head per month. This is
barely enough to keep one home warm for a day.” Also the
allotted 1.5 kgs of daily food for those guarding Siachen is
more than what is required. Thus, the locals feast on
chocolates and dry fruits meant for the Army--- and protest
angrily against the Government’s anti-corruption drive.---INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
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