By M Rama Rao, Dec 1, 2007
Stoop to conquer is the message from battle ground Gujarat as the electorate sealed the fate of contenders, real and phoney, for a place in the Gandhinagar Sachivalaya.
Who had stooped low?
“Sonia”, says Narendra Modi.
“No, that discredit goes to Modi”, says Digvijay Singh, the Congress general secretary, who along with Sonia Gandhi came on the EC firing line shortly after Congress, the Left and lawyer- social activist Teesta Setalvad dragged Modi to the EC court.
Interestingly, the Congress-BJP spat has taken place a couple of days after BJP senior LK Advani told Rahul Gandhi, the heir to the Congress throne, “It is time we both stopped treating each other as enemy”.
That advice was given during a chance encounter at the Delhi airport. It was their first meeting. The young Gandhi walked up to Advani, introduced himself saying that he had no occasion thus far to meet him and greeted him formally. It was not a put on act, according to onlookers. And the gesture was in the true Indian tradition of a youngster showing deference to his senior.
Was Advani surprised given the amount of bad blood between 10 Janpath and 11 Ashok Road? The veteran gave no hint. He warmly received Rahul and they both were soon seen engaged in a serious conversation.
Advani, the strategist, has an ability to read the pulse of the nation. So, he has been talking for a while about the need for mainstream parties to put their act together to face the threat posed by forces that have come to represent regional, religious, sectional, and casteist interests. The urgency in his view is more now since Mayawati’s engineering has ushered in a new political climate of hope for some and despair for some others.
Probably, in normal times, Rahul-Advani tête-à-tête could have facilitated a thaw of sorts in the Congress-BJP relations. Not when both are fighting a no holds barred battle in Gujarat. And when Sonia Gandhi, leading the Congress charge against the darling of Hindutva brigade, described him as the ‘maut ka saudagar’ (merchants of death).
The Congress president had taken no names. She made no reference to Modi himself. But her spokesperson, Manu Abhishek Singhvi, a noted jurist, said, “What Sonia Gandhi said is there for all to hear, understand and read”.
Expectedly, Advani rose in defence of Modi. It was an aggressive defence by all means. “You may call him a Hitler. No problem, because in India, Hitler has come to denote not what the German had come to stand for universally but a strong willed person who acts high-handedly. But to call a person a maut ka saudagar? It is an act of provocation”.
Modi went into overdrive.. And Soharabuddin became a metaphor. Electioneering turned to ‘death and fear’.
Media reports quoted Modi as asking crowds, “You tell, what should be done to Sohrabuddin? Their response was predictable: “Kill him, Kill him”. Going by reports, Modi told cheering crowds, ‘Well, that is what I did, And I did what was necessary. Do I need Sonia’s permission for this?”
Sohrabuddin Sheikh, who has a criminal record, was killed by Gujarat’s anti-terrorist squad (ATS) on November 26, 2005. Two days later his wife, Kauserbi was also eliminated. It appears her crime was being a witness to her husband’s abduction by the police. By the time the couple were ‘finished’, the police of Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were also after them. As usual, post encounter press briefing described the victim as a terrorist, a member of the dreaded militant outfit, Lashkar-e- Taiba.
It took almost two years for the encounter to land in the Supreme Court, and a charge sheet to be filed against 13 police officials, who had thought they had covered their tracks. One of these officers is D G Vanzara, who headed the ATS in the rank of a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). The charge sheet was, and, in fact, is a chilling reminder of the imperfections of our democracy, as the Times of India observed editorially on July 18, 2007.
Politicians have a penchant to concern themselves only with the immediate. For them today is important. Tomorrow is just another day. But for statesmen, neither today nor yesterday is of concern though they do draw their strength from the present and the past. For them tomorrow is a new dawn of hope and pride and not an occasion to cause despair.
The campaign theme in Gujarat shows we have more politicians in the land of Bapu. Most of them are clever by half, experts at hair splitting contentions. The post-maut ka saudagar twists and turns bear this out.
Media reports from the battle ground said Modi stated ‘Sohrabuddin got what he deserved’, and added ‘it is a confessional statement’ by him with some reports going on to say ‘Modi has justified a murder’.
Modi contention is the controversy was generated by a report (in a local English daily) of his December 4 election rally, which was not factual. Particularly the remark, ‘You tell what should be done to Sohrabuddin... And I did what was necessary’, is not reflected in the CD in the possession of the poll body.
In the same breath, Narendra Modi is not at all apologetic of his counter charges. “It is clear that my comment is a part of my speech where on several occasions I have put questions to the audience which the audience has answered. It is my political response to Smt. Gandhi’s allegation that I am Maut-ka-Saudagar. I have replied back alleging that the Congress party is helping those who have spread terrorism in the country”, he stated in his reply to the EC notice..
He went to say, “No where in my speech have I explicitly referred to the religion of any person. I have spoken against terrorism. It is not my speech but the complaint which assumes terrorism is linked to a religion”. In so many words, Modi appeared to question the Nirvachan Sadan: how could you issue a notice on the basis of ‘unverified and false media reports’.
At the time of going to press, verdict from the Election Commission was awaited on the new Modinama..
Surprisingly, just before the first phase of polling ended, Sonia Gandhi reinvented her campaign wheel, discarded, in a manner of speaking, ‘maut ka saudagar’ theme and sought the vote to ‘take forward the weak and backward Gujarat’. Her son, Rahul, flew in to give a final push to campaigning and to request Gujaratis ‘to throw away those who are hiding the truth by making bogus claims of development’.
Obviously, the Congress strategists did a campaign rejig who felt it is better to beat Modi with his own weapon – development and Gujarat’s pride. Modi entered the battle on development plank and stuck to that refrain till Sohrabuddin came to haunt him.
Suffice to say the verbal duel has shifted the focus a wee bit away from the poll to Modi, who has emerged larger than the Hindutva cut-out that he was not too long ago.
Monday, December 17, 2007
N WORD IS BACK
by M Rama Rao, Dec 1-16, 2007
The N-word is back. As the temperature dropped to below seven degrees Celsius for the first time on the first Saturday of this December, the Marxist Ayatollah Prakash Karat was back at his past time. He issued a fresh N-ultimatum to the Manmohan Singh government - stop operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal by this month-end or face mid-term elections.
The ultimatum came two days after the Indian team left for
Said Karat, “We don’t want the BJP to win the polls. We have to defeat the Modi government. So we don’t want to disturb the situation now. The Congress may not be worried (over BJP factor) but we are”. In other words the rationale for the Marxist led Left life-line to UPA is clear: they don’t want the UPA coalition government to fall before the
Perfectly justified political line. But the question that begs the answer is: Why did Karat babu deem it necessary to go to the town with his ‘BJP jeetega’ fears when the first round of polling was taking place in another four days, December 11 to be precise. Did he not factor in the possibility of BJP trying to derive some mileage from the fresh scorn heaped on the Congress?
The Marxist headquarters at the AK Gopalan Bhavan close to the heritage Gole Market building is unwilling to field these questions. The Congress friendly Sitaram Yechury offered his own spin on his General Secretary speak which in essence meant nothing but some word play. “The CPM agenda is not to destabilise the government but to stop the nuclear deal because it has increased India’s vulnerability to US pressures in various fields particularly independent foreign policy”, he said from Gujarat where he was campaigning, and yet left unanswered the all important question: What was the trigger that had almost activated the Karat bomb?
Well, the trigger was the developments in the red citadel Kolkata and its black spot, Nandigram. The Central Reserve Police Force too played no mean role.. After deployment, it demanded a clear mandate for action and clear delineation of areas for its charge. This was something unusual for a force known all over the county for their lathis. And then it unearthed graves.
On Dec 5, CRPF had found five graves from Bidyapith village in the CPM stronghold of Khejuri from where charred human bones and skulls were dug out the next day. The remains were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. The CBI recovered more bones from another grave at Talpati canal at Bhangabera in Nandigram around the same time.
Another freshly dug grave was unearthed on Monday, December 10. It was at Parulbari village near Maheshpur and attracted police attention after the locals complained of a bad smell emanating from the place. Maheshpur was a strong hold of Bhumi Uchched Paratirodh Committee till very recently.
Superintendent of Police, Midnapore (East), Satyeswar Panda described the grave as freshly dug. His colleagues suspect that these bodies might be those of outsiders who had taken part in the ‘Nandigram battle’. The police discovered some flesh and long hair about 100 metres from the grave.
The new grave was found in an area owned by Amrita Das, a local. He cultivates paddy on his land but the place where the grave was discovered has not been cultivated for months. When police questioned him, Das gave conflicting statements on why he didn’t cultivate paddy in that portion of his land. Initially, he said that he was not in the village for the past few months and was unaware of the persons who had cultivated on his land.
When pressed further, he said that portion of the land was not good for cultivation of paddy so he used to ignore it, according to the officer investigating the case.
Just eight days prior to these ‘discoveries’, on Dec 2, Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi visited Nandigram belt. It was his first visit to the area which has been in the headlines after the industry friendly Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government selected Nandigram for a chemical hub in January 2007 and invited the wrath of the locals initially and of Marxist betenoire Mamata Bannerjee later on.
Gandhi has been unusually harsh in his critique of Buddhadeb and his tryst with farmers’ destiny. But the visit went off without any hitch. In fact, the governor took time off to play cricket with children at the grounds of
In Lyuten’s Delhi around the same time, Mamata Bannerjee, the maverick Trinamul Congress chief, called on Sonia Gandhi and made out a case for a more pro-active Congress role on Nandigram and related issues. A couple of hours later, AICC announced that a fact finding team would be sent to Nandigram. And Congress men in Kolkata issued a statement demanding the scalp of chief minister. Did they do so with or without the cue? No one is ready to field the question, at least for the present.
Eom
BUDDHA SPEAK
You may not like him. But you cannot dislike him and his disarming smile in particular. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister, is an unsual comrade and an equally unusual politician. There is a frankness in him that disarms you. Like when he said (Dec 4), ‘I should not have said it was tit-for tat, opposition was paid back in their own coin’. The reference was to the way the CPM cadres regained control over Nandigram by evicting the Mamata brigade.
In
Reaction was swift and sharp from his adversaries. Said Mamata Bannerjee: “Whenever he comes up with a sort of regret, the violence starts”.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WPCC) General Secretary Manas Bhuiyan said that "Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is in the habit of making regrets later for his comments. He had done it on several occasions in the past. He should quit after his admission that Nandigram was an administrative and political failure."
The RSP leaders said Nandigram fiasco was because of CPM's ‘unilateral decision to handle the situation there keeping the partners in the dark’..
Forward Bloc state Secretary Ashok Ghosh said: “What we have been saying, what the people and the intellectuals have been saying has been echoed now by the Chief Minister admitting that Nandigram was an administrative and political failure”.
POLITICAL MOBILISATION IN DOWN UNDER
by M RAMA RAO, Dec 15-31 in The Field Marshal, Chandigarh
Developments in Andhra Pradesh have become the talk of the political circuit in the capital. It is not always the
Political analysts and pundits are impressed by the response the Mayawati phenomenon has evoked in Andhra Pradesh. Also topic for animated discussion is the possibility of yet another film star, Chiranjivi, Chiru to his fans, entering politics. He is a mega star and has a fan following which is the envy of any cadre based party. Till now he confined himself to charity work particularly blood donation campaigns.
Opinion is divided on how enduring Maya-Chiru developments will be.
‘Chiranjivi is not a MGR or a NTR despite his fan following’, according to a senior political leader, who pointed out that the circumstances that propelled MGR and NTR into politics were different. In his assessment, Chiranjivi by allowing the suspense to last a little longer will not help his own cause. Whatever decision he takes, he has to take it quickly. Politics, in essence, is timing.
Another leader, a Leftist who hails from Tamilnadu, cites the case of super star Rajnikant.. ‘There was this talk of Rajni joining politics for days and months. Nothing happened. Why he did not take the plunge I don’t know but his practice of helping build kalyanmandapams and the like is not enough passport to electoral politics’.
In this context, the experience of thespian Shivaji Ganesan is cited to make the point that even in a land where film hero worship is the order all heroes cannot make it big in elections. Shivaji was in and out of Congress and had lost an assembly election.
An interesting point, several political pundits here make is that caste is not primary for winning an election. It plays a peripheral role in electoral politics, according to a Left thinker.
But CPI general secretary A B Bardhan doesn’t see any thing wrong in caste based politics. “As a Communist I am opposed to caste politics but caste is a reality in politics. What can I do? BSP, SP are caste based parties. What is wrong if the OBCs want a share in political power pie? So if he (Chiranjivi) starts a new party, let us see what happens. Let him first announce his plan and plank”.
In Andhra Pradesh, several leaders are ready to jump on the Chiranjivi band wagon if it gets rolling. This is giving sleepless nights to the two main local players, the Telugu Desam party (TDP) started by NTR and now run by his son-in-law, Chandrababu Naidu, and the good old Congress party.
Some social scientists hold the view that ‘Andhra Pradesh is not Uttar Pradesh and that Mayawati, whatever be the clamour among the political class, will not make an impact on Andhra Pradesh scene. More over, unlike in UP and
.
This view is shared by senior Left and BJP leaders who point out that the scheduled castes are divided into two camps – Malas ( the traditionally front runners with high literacy rates) and Madigas ( the largest in numbers but insignificant in the share of political pie). ‘Bringing about unity in the SC ranks doesn’t appear to be possible. Any how, even before these divisions happened, BSP, during the hey days of Kanshiram, had failed to make inroads into Andhra Pradesh’.
And on their part, the Telugu OBCs are not a homogenous group and this fact may come in the way of new polarisation. “Kapus are a dominant group. In coastal districts they are rich but in Telangana they are poor. Also, once political chips are down other marginalised OBCs will clamour for their share under the sun. Like it happened in
Nonetheless, the overwhelming view is ‘Chiranjivi’s potential as a vote getter cannot be minimised. He will be a big draw even if he is not cut in the NTR mould. If he plays his cards well, he can create a new niche for himself in Andhra Pradesh Politics.
Mayawati is planning to hold a massive rally in
MID TERM BLUES BECOME OPEN ENDED
byM RAMA RAO in Field Marshal, Fortnightly from Chandigar, Dec 15-31, 2007
Re-think on the advisability of opting for a Lok Sabha election in April s visible in the Congress camp. Latest thinking favours the ballot in November.
The Congress high command views 2008 as a year of elections. Three North-eastern states, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland will elect their MLAs in February- March.
Four other states will go for assembly elections in November. These are BJP ruled Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan and Congress ruled
BJP has suffered a series of setbacks in by-elections in Madhya Pradesh. The situation was no different in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where the BJP is driven by dissensions.
The latest by-elections in Madhya Pradesh have gone the Congress way. Chief Minister (GIVE HIS NAME HERE) conducted the campaign for the Kargoan Lok Sabha seat and the Sanwar assembly seat (
Firstly, the victory margin was convincing - 10,000 votes in the case of Sanwar and a huge 1, 18, 638 votes at Kargoan, a traditional BJP seat.
Secondly, the myth created over Sadhvi Uma Bharati is shattered with her Bharatiya Janshakti Party’s nominee coming a poor third. At Sanwar he polled just 3671 votes. This is for fourth time Uma Bharati has failed to open her party’s account in the by-elections since she left the BJP. Her forays into UP and Gujarat have not yielded much in electoral terms since she traded of her (doubtful) political credentials for the goodwill of the Sangh Parivar in both the states.
Thirdly and more importantly, the by-elections saw the emergence of Jyotiraditya Scindia, as a leader in his own right in Madhya Pradesh which was hitherto mostly the turf of Digvijay Singh and Arjun Singh. Scindia junior personally selected the nominee, Silavat, for Sanwar and campaigned for his victory. In other words, the Gennext is coming into own.
Vasundhara Raje, the lone BJP Maharani, is not happily placed. Her problems are challenges thrown up by her one time mentors – Jaswant Singh and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.. Then there is the added trouble from the Gujjars, a self-inflicted wound for Vasundhara in a way. She has bought a reprieve from them but it will prove costly in electoral terms.
Doctor Saheb, as Chhattisgarh chief minister …… is addressed has some track record that can be envy of his opponents within and outside the BJP. Yet, he has to contend with a resurgent Congress which has tasted by-election successes, cashing on his Maoist ‘handicap’.
Election to these three states can be advanced to April to suit the Lok Sabha dates arguing that it would help cut down expenditure. Any how already a precedent has been set in Himachal Pradesh, where the Election Commission rather arbitrarily advanced the elections due in Feb to December it self.
But is it worth the trouble. Why not give a longer rope to the BJP to tie itself in knots with anti-incumbency? This question is doing the rounds now. And there appear to be many takers for the idea of pushing the Lok Sabha election to 2008 end.
For this section, November is a better bet for Lok Sabha election. According to them, it would mean advancing elections by some six months. ‘That is not a big deal in electoral politics’ and the government can be deemed to have run its full five year course.
Another plus is that Sonia Congress can lay a rightful claim for an ability to run coalitions. The UPA is its first coalition experiment.
Hitherto, BJP has been projecting itself as the only expert in running multi-party coalitions. It has been taking digs at the Congress. A November poll will therefore certainly blunt the BJP edge.
Another plus from the Congress perspective is the time it will have to derive full advantage from the slew of sops and the multi-crore rupee Bharat Nirman publicity campaign presently under way.
Informed sources in the Congress and the Left circles say Sonia Gandhi, personally speaking, is inclined towards November. The Ministerialists, however, are advocating March –April to deny the BJP and BSP the breathing space they need to put their act.
Analysts outside the Congress also are not unconvinced by the argument that November would give some benefit to the BJP and BSP. According to them, the BJP is a divided house with no quick fix in sight.
The result in
In so far the BSP is concerned, these analysts contend that the Maya phenomenon will have a limited reach and impact even in normal times. Mayawati has to put in long hours of work and effort to repeat her experiment outside Uttar Pradesh. As such March-April or November makes no difference.
In other words, the advancing of Lok Sabha elections has once again become an open ended issue.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
LEFT-UPA NUKE COMMITTEE TO BE AN OPEN ENDED AFFAIR
By M RAMA RAO
These issues are 1. What is the impact of the Hyde Act of America on the nuclear agreement with the
2. Does the text of the agreement expect our foreign policy to be in tune with the foreign policy goals of
3. What is the impact of the deal on our indigenous nuclear power programme and strategic nuclear plans?
4. Whether the nuclear energy will be cost effective from national energy security needs since nuclear power will go up from 3% to 7 % over a time?
5. What type of nuclear safeguards we are accepting?
6. Is
The Left parties are split vertically on the question of remitting the nuke issue to a committee. Both the RSP and the Forward Bloc are opposed to the move and they have said so to the Government today when Pranab Mukherjee who heads the core committee of the Congress met the leaders of the two parties separately here today.
Both CPI and CPI (M) are taking these objections in their stride. Survaram Sudhakara Reddy, CPI national committee secretary, said the RSP is known for its different stand on many issues. So their objections are not a surprise to us. A CPI (M) leader pointed out that the RSP and FB were parties to the committee demand which was articulated by Left parties on August 20. “The demand was incorporated in the joint statement we had issued on that day”.
PARLIAMENT DEBATE UNLIKELY
Indian Naxalites and Tigers cozying up again
By M Rama Rao
This convergence of interests has resulted in a fillip to Naxal presence in southern Tamil Nadu districts like Theni, Tirunelveli, Thuthookudi and Ramanathapuram. Traditionally, Naxalites are confined to Dharmapuri,
The southern Tamil Nadu districts are believed to have strong sympathy for the LTTE, which has led security agencies to suspect a renewed nexus between the Naxals and the LTTE. The ties between these two extremist groups date back to the time Tamil Nadu Communist Party- Marxist-Leninist was formed in 1984-85. Its military wing, the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA), had close ties with the LTTE and indulged in several bomb blasts and looting of weapons. By mid 1990s however the police managed to eliminate some of its senior leaders and the resultant leadership crippled them. More over the TNLA was proscribed under POTA on July 2, 2002 .
Experts here believe a new context for the revival of the old linkages might have been provided by some recent developments. Firstly, the technical capability of the LTTE could be a compelling factor behind the Naxals choosing to align with them to intensify their armed struggle against the state.
In particular, the recent measure by the government to use aerial surveillance in the forest regions of Chhattisgarh could have prompted the Naxals to seek training from the LTTE which to date is the only terrorist outfit in the world that has such capability. The Tigers are known to have unmanned aircraft, small planes and helicopters at Wanni hideout besides a functional airstrip. The Tigers have also conducted a spectacular air attack on an air base near
Although the Government of India has recalled the two unmanned aerial vehicles deployed in Chhattisgarh, the very fact that the government is deploying the aerial vehicles delivered a strong warning to the Naxals of possible aerial attacks on their camps in the future.
Experts believe that the second strong motivating factor for the Naxals to cozy up to the LTTE could be their increasing use of child soldiers. There is evidence to show that Naxalites particularly in Orissa and adjoining Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh areas are expanding the Bal Militia Wing.
Recently, some 10-12 children were found distributing leaflets with the Naxals in Kisinda village, Sambalpur, Orissa.
Given that the LTTE is notorious for its extensive use of child soldiers as part of their strategy, it is possible that the Naxals would seek their training in the mobilization, recruitment and use child soldiers in their struggle against the state.
The LTTE, for its part, has equally strong reasons for befriending the Naxals in
Hence, the likelihood of the LTTE infiltrating into
For meeting these objectives, a Naxal presence in Tamil Nadu would help them. The security implications of this possibility are obvious, experts here said underlining the need for state governments in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to remain vigilant.
A view here is that Tamil Nadu is vulnerable to Naxal-LTTE violence. Caste politics, Dalit oppression, and continuing strands of Tamil nationalism are the soft underbelly of Tamil Nadu. Unlike Jayalalithaa's hard approach to extremism, the DMK strongman Muthavel Karunanidhi's government is said to adopt a soft approach towards the Tigers because of local political compulsions.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
ADB RECIPE TO CHECK GROWTH DISPARITIES
By M Rama Rao
New Delhi( Asian Tribune, Aug 8, 2007): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has come up with its own recipe for checking disparities, which, it says, in its flagship annual statistical publication, ‘Key Indicators, 2077’, are ‘widening’ and can ‘threaten’ the very growth process in India and other Asian countries.
The flipside of ‘growth story’, the Manila based regional lender says, is ‘unevenness in growth in incomes’ across urban and rural areas. That is not something unexpected during growth process, according to it.
“Some unevenness in growth is to be expected during the development phase. It (the rising inequality) is not unusual during major structural change”, the study says and makes out a case for checking ‘weaknesses and imbalances’ in policy formulation and implementation.
The ADB makes two interesting observation, which should be of interest to Yojana Bhavan. “Slow growth in rural incomes has resulted from weaknesses in public investments in rural infrastructure and a policy environment that has kept private investment away. Growth in urban areas has been insufficient to absorb surplus labor from rural areas”
The Bank study holds the view that new opportunities generated by urban growth in developing Asia have favored the highly-educated, further aggravating the earnings gap between the rich and poor. This is largely because of the interplay between market-oriented reforms and globalization.
Asian Development Bank hastens to add that its observations are not a call for rollback of market-oriented reforms or international integration. And calls for ‘policy action’ on three fronts to mitigate the hardships of disadvantaged sections.
First counter negative impact of market forces through mechanisms like well designed social protection programmes and skill upgradation. Second, generate new employment ‘that do not bypass the poor’ through the public and private sector participation. Third, radically improve the quality of basic health care and education available to the disadvantaged sections
CHALLENGE: The key challenge to public policy in Asia, the report concludes, is not just increasing the quantum of public expenditures, but ensuring that these are well targeted, effective, and funded through mechanisms that do not detract from economic growth.
Another ADB report makes out a case for focus on environment clean up, saying most Asian countries are facing massive pollution of both surface and groundwater. Some two billion Asians – roughly 66% of the population in Asia – lack access to adequate sanitation, such as toilets, pit latrines, septic tanks, and sewerage systems. This accounts for nearly three-quarters of all those in the world without such facilities.
Experts from the world over are going to work on a blue print for action on sanitation at Stockholm and water issues from August 12-18. “Sanitation must get top priority from the political leadership everywhere. They need to see sanitation as paying its way and not as being either unaffordable or a luxury,” according to Arjun Thapan, who heads the ADB’s Water Committee. He adds, “Politicians must also understand that postponing action will cost a great deal more”.
New Delhi( Asian Tribune, Aug 8, 2007): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has come up with its own recipe for checking disparities, which, it says, in its flagship annual statistical publication, ‘Key Indicators, 2077’, are ‘widening’ and can ‘threaten’ the very growth process in India and other Asian countries.
The flipside of ‘growth story’, the Manila based regional lender says, is ‘unevenness in growth in incomes’ across urban and rural areas. That is not something unexpected during growth process, according to it.
“Some unevenness in growth is to be expected during the development phase. It (the rising inequality) is not unusual during major structural change”, the study says and makes out a case for checking ‘weaknesses and imbalances’ in policy formulation and implementation.
The ADB makes two interesting observation, which should be of interest to Yojana Bhavan. “Slow growth in rural incomes has resulted from weaknesses in public investments in rural infrastructure and a policy environment that has kept private investment away. Growth in urban areas has been insufficient to absorb surplus labor from rural areas”
The Bank study holds the view that new opportunities generated by urban growth in developing Asia have favored the highly-educated, further aggravating the earnings gap between the rich and poor. This is largely because of the interplay between market-oriented reforms and globalization.
Asian Development Bank hastens to add that its observations are not a call for rollback of market-oriented reforms or international integration. And calls for ‘policy action’ on three fronts to mitigate the hardships of disadvantaged sections.
First counter negative impact of market forces through mechanisms like well designed social protection programmes and skill upgradation. Second, generate new employment ‘that do not bypass the poor’ through the public and private sector participation. Third, radically improve the quality of basic health care and education available to the disadvantaged sections
CHALLENGE: The key challenge to public policy in Asia, the report concludes, is not just increasing the quantum of public expenditures, but ensuring that these are well targeted, effective, and funded through mechanisms that do not detract from economic growth.
Another ADB report makes out a case for focus on environment clean up, saying most Asian countries are facing massive pollution of both surface and groundwater. Some two billion Asians – roughly 66% of the population in Asia – lack access to adequate sanitation, such as toilets, pit latrines, septic tanks, and sewerage systems. This accounts for nearly three-quarters of all those in the world without such facilities.
Experts from the world over are going to work on a blue print for action on sanitation at Stockholm and water issues from August 12-18. “Sanitation must get top priority from the political leadership everywhere. They need to see sanitation as paying its way and not as being either unaffordable or a luxury,” according to Arjun Thapan, who heads the ADB’s Water Committee. He adds, “Politicians must also understand that postponing action will cost a great deal more”.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
POLICE DOWN UNDER NO DIFFERENT
by M Rama Rao
New Delhi (July 24, Field Marshal fortnightly) Admittedly, Australia’s High Commissioner to India John McCarthy has a tough time these days. From a laid back approach to men and matters Indian, the diplomat has found himself on the back foot to defend his country’s police.
“This is not an issue about racism. This is an issue about terrorism,” he said repeatedly after Bangalore doctor, Mohammed Haneef‘s tryst with justice in Australia hit the headlines. Every body is worked up from the government to the Haneef’s family. The doctor’s young wife, Firdous Arshia (26) is livid with anger at the treatment her husband (27) is getting in Brisbane. “The Australian police are stupid”, she said as she appeared before TV cameras in front of her father’s house, two days after her husband was charged with supporting a failed terrorist plot in Glasgow, UK.
The twists and turns in Haneef’s case justify her anger and also the growing feeling across India that police in Down Under are no different from our own protectors of law. This should have come as a surprise to quite a few Indians who keep so much in store in the biblical fairness of the White Man and to all those who look to the far away shores as the modern El’ Dorado.
Consider the bare facts of the case. Haneef goes to Brisbane in 2006 on a four-year work visa. Arshia stays home as she is expecting her first baby. Haneef logs on the net and chats with his second cousin Sabeel Ahmed in Britain three days before the car bombs were discovered in London and Glasgow. UK police tumble on ‘leads’, and ‘incriminating’ evidence. Sabeel has the SIM card purchased by Haneef before he left the Halton Hospitl in Cheshire to strike riches as a doctor in Australia. The SIM card was recovered from ‘the flaming jeep’ at Glasgow airport on June 30. And the rest is history as the saying goes.
From Kashmir to Punjab, from Delhi to Bhopal to Baroda, and from Bangalore to Hyderabad, and of course from that ever tantalising Mumbai to the for ever ‘dying’ Kolkata, police are known to act in ‘the interest of the state’ on ‘mere suspicion’.
First arrest, flood the media with ‘an aggressive campaign of selective leaks’ and then search for evidence. This has been the police motto. Even as the victims languish behind bars as under trials for years.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) did not act differently in the Haneef’s case in a manner of speaking. In fact, they took a leaf out of Indian police manual, ‘ignored’ the bail granted to him by a local court and revoked his visa so that they can ‘detain’ him in the country.
So, what moral high ground India can occupy vis-à-vis the Aussies? That is a much larger issue the South Block should grapple without much obfuscation. The state governments are unwilling to undertake police reforms even after the Supreme Court highlighted the urgency and fixed a deadline for action.
A new brand version of McCtharism is sweeping the ‘civilized’ First World. The Australian anti-terror law speaks of four descending levels of ‘fault element’ behind each crime: intention, knowledge, recklessness and negligence. The police ‘declared’ Haneef as a terrorist but charged with him recklessness. It is a clear signal that the police is not confident of nailing Haneef. Yet, the very same evidence was used to cancel his visa and to prevent him from flying to India to see his new born daughter.
Haneef’s arrest and the vote bank politics have woken up India to the emerging global reality. For the moment the only consolation is that saner elements are still able to call the shots at home and abroad and expose the bumbling cops and their ministers.
BYTES BITE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
New Delhi (July 24, Field Marshal fortnightly) Admittedly, Australia’s High Commissioner to India John McCarthy has a tough time these days. From a laid back approach to men and matters Indian, the diplomat has found himself on the back foot to defend his country’s police.
“This is not an issue about racism. This is an issue about terrorism,” he said repeatedly after Bangalore doctor, Mohammed Haneef‘s tryst with justice in Australia hit the headlines. Every body is worked up from the government to the Haneef’s family. The doctor’s young wife, Firdous Arshia (26) is livid with anger at the treatment her husband (27) is getting in Brisbane. “The Australian police are stupid”, she said as she appeared before TV cameras in front of her father’s house, two days after her husband was charged with supporting a failed terrorist plot in Glasgow, UK.
The twists and turns in Haneef’s case justify her anger and also the growing feeling across India that police in Down Under are no different from our own protectors of law. This should have come as a surprise to quite a few Indians who keep so much in store in the biblical fairness of the White Man and to all those who look to the far away shores as the modern El’ Dorado.
Consider the bare facts of the case. Haneef goes to Brisbane in 2006 on a four-year work visa. Arshia stays home as she is expecting her first baby. Haneef logs on the net and chats with his second cousin Sabeel Ahmed in Britain three days before the car bombs were discovered in London and Glasgow. UK police tumble on ‘leads’, and ‘incriminating’ evidence. Sabeel has the SIM card purchased by Haneef before he left the Halton Hospitl in Cheshire to strike riches as a doctor in Australia. The SIM card was recovered from ‘the flaming jeep’ at Glasgow airport on June 30. And the rest is history as the saying goes.
From Kashmir to Punjab, from Delhi to Bhopal to Baroda, and from Bangalore to Hyderabad, and of course from that ever tantalising Mumbai to the for ever ‘dying’ Kolkata, police are known to act in ‘the interest of the state’ on ‘mere suspicion’.
First arrest, flood the media with ‘an aggressive campaign of selective leaks’ and then search for evidence. This has been the police motto. Even as the victims languish behind bars as under trials for years.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) did not act differently in the Haneef’s case in a manner of speaking. In fact, they took a leaf out of Indian police manual, ‘ignored’ the bail granted to him by a local court and revoked his visa so that they can ‘detain’ him in the country.
So, what moral high ground India can occupy vis-à-vis the Aussies? That is a much larger issue the South Block should grapple without much obfuscation. The state governments are unwilling to undertake police reforms even after the Supreme Court highlighted the urgency and fixed a deadline for action.
A new brand version of McCtharism is sweeping the ‘civilized’ First World. The Australian anti-terror law speaks of four descending levels of ‘fault element’ behind each crime: intention, knowledge, recklessness and negligence. The police ‘declared’ Haneef as a terrorist but charged with him recklessness. It is a clear signal that the police is not confident of nailing Haneef. Yet, the very same evidence was used to cancel his visa and to prevent him from flying to India to see his new born daughter.
Haneef’s arrest and the vote bank politics have woken up India to the emerging global reality. For the moment the only consolation is that saner elements are still able to call the shots at home and abroad and expose the bumbling cops and their ministers.
BYTES BITE
1.
Australia would be outraged if one of its citizens was treated the same way as Haneef overseas: Ian Brown, President, Australian Law Alliance (ALA)
2.
The Australian Federal Police acted as bumbling keystone cops and have become a laughing stock: Peter Beattle, Queensland Premier ( chief minister)
3.
It is very dangerous business when politicians start interfering with judiciary: Senator Bob Brown, Greens leader.
4.
Howard government has placed incredible political pressure on the police to tarnish Haneef’s reputation: Senator Kerry Nettle
5.
I appeal to the Prime Minister to please, please help me out: Firdous Arshia, wife of Haneef
6.
Govt is unhappy with turn of events. Haneef was detained even after a judge said he is a man with an impeccable track record: E A Ahmed, Minister of State for External Affairs
Musharraf stages a big climb down for a ‘mother of all deals’ with Benazir
By Malladi Rama Rao in New Delhi
New Delhi, July 28, (asiantribune.com): The beleaguered Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf has staged a big climb down publicly. He has entered into ‘mother of all deals’ with a ‘willing ‘Benazir Bhutto so that he ‘survives’ and the army moves to ‘backstage’.
It is a win-win deal for both. The details are still officially wrapped in secrecy. But broad contours are available. Musharraf will dissolve Parliament and invite Benazir or a person acceptable to her to form an interim government. Parliament will meet from Monday for its last session, according to a cryptic announcement made in Islamabad even before Musharraf returned home.
Musharraf’s air dash to Abu Dhabi on Friday to meet the PPP leader in self-imposed exile is ‘a political and moral victory’ for Benazir. The event also highlights the importance of Bhuttos in contemporary Pakistan politics. Also unmistakable is the irony of the situation.
HISTORY REPEATS
At the fall of Dhaka in 1971, the then military ruler, Gen Yahya Khan, had turned to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and sent a plane to New York to bring him home. Now another military ruler has himself taken a plane to Abu Dhabi to meet his daughter after losing all his gambles.
Benazir is trying to use the situation to her advantage. Her plan is not to give any room to critics to say that she had ‘mortgaged interests of democracy’ at the altar of political and personal expediency. Such impression will mark the beginning of the end of Bhutto charisma.
BHUTTO CONDITIONS
So another round of ‘final’ talks cannot be ruled out to help her blunt the weapons in the armoury of Nawaz Sharif, her one time foe turned friend, who has again become her adversary.
In a deft move, last week, Mr Sharif staged a coup of sorts, isolated her and floated a new alliance — the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM). This way he made redundant Benazir dominated Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), which had fought the October 2002 elections.
Bhutto presented a five point plan to Musharraf, reports say. The plan calls for a round table conference of all political parties to form a national government, free, fair and transparent elections; a new electoral roll by integrating the old (2002) and the latest defective ones, general amnesty and withdrawal of cases against her, and Musharraf’s re-election without uniform by new parliament.
She also wants Musharraf to leave the knitty-gritty of his second term as President to the new government.
Musharraf, it appears, has no difficulty to accept these conditions, which have been vetted in London and Washington. He only would like to reformulation of the phraseology. He has been assured of full cooperation by Benazir for his re-election.
WIN-WIN DEAL
It is a win-win deal for both. On the one hand he is getting what he wants – second term and respite from the political crisis besides a formal back seat to the army as the Americans want.
On her part, Benazir gains from Musharraf doffing off his uniform and thus avoids risking isolation politically.
The Army also gets the respite it is looking for in the wake of Lal Masjid operation, which for the first time in Pakistan history exposed the army to public ire.
There are a spate of reports in Pakistan papers and TV channels and each report had its own spin. Interestingly, most reports emanated from the Benazir camp, according to an Arab journalist covering the event.
PAK MEDIA SPIN
For instance, The Dawn said quoting unidentified ‘highly placed’ sources that the talks remained ‘inconclusive’. The respected daily also quoted another source privy to the talk process which preferred to call it a “deadlock”, saying differences over the timing for the general to doff his uniform, and Ms Bhutto’s insistence on returning to Pakistan before the general election remained the contentious issues.
“But neither he nor any other person close to the process of talks of the last few months was prepared to describe it (Musharraf-Benazir talks) a failure”, the Dawn added.
The Geo News quoting sources close to the two leaders, reported that the meeting that lasted for over an hour ended. The channel said it was not a one-on-one meeting and some important Pakistani and Arab personalities and Western diplomats were also present there.
“The UAE interior minister’s son acted as the mediator between the two sides,” Lahore based English daily, The Daily Times, which is known to be pro-Musharraf, said quoting its own sources. Only Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief accompanied the President on the visit prompting The Dawn to say that it gave ‘credence’ to reports that it may be a sojourn aimed at national reconciliation.
Like The Dawn, the Geo News also spoke of “a deadlock after Bhutto refused to endorse Musharraf as president in uniform for another term”. The channel said that Bhutto was asked to endorse Musharraf in uniform for the next term and in return the government would remove the constitutional embargo on her becoming prime minister for the third time.
However, The Daily Times, again quoting ‘political observers’ said, “There was no deadlock in the talks on the uniform issue”. It added that a deal between the PPP and President Musharraf was likely to be signed “soon”.
DENIAL MODE
PML Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also told the Geo News TV channel that there was no deadlock in the Musharraf-Benazir negotiations on the president’s uniform issue. Ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also said “the president’s uniform was not an issue in the talks with the PPP”. He added that the PML may share power with the PPP after the general elections.
As remarked at the outset, both the Musharraf government and the People’s Party of Pakistan (PPP) are in a denial mode on the meeting between Musharraf and Benazir.
“The top aides of both President General Pervez Musharraf and Chairperson PPP Benazir Bhutto on Friday drained their energies in trying to conceal the news of the meeting that took place between the two leaders in Abu Dhabi. Instead of giving details of the meeting to media persons, they denied the reports of any such meeting”, The News said while reporting that Musharraf wanted to meet Nawaz Sharif also but the former Prime Minister had declined the invitation.
-Asian Tribune-
New Delhi, July 28, (asiantribune.com): The beleaguered Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf has staged a big climb down publicly. He has entered into ‘mother of all deals’ with a ‘willing ‘Benazir Bhutto so that he ‘survives’ and the army moves to ‘backstage’.
It is a win-win deal for both. The details are still officially wrapped in secrecy. But broad contours are available. Musharraf will dissolve Parliament and invite Benazir or a person acceptable to her to form an interim government. Parliament will meet from Monday for its last session, according to a cryptic announcement made in Islamabad even before Musharraf returned home.
Musharraf’s air dash to Abu Dhabi on Friday to meet the PPP leader in self-imposed exile is ‘a political and moral victory’ for Benazir. The event also highlights the importance of Bhuttos in contemporary Pakistan politics. Also unmistakable is the irony of the situation.
HISTORY REPEATS
At the fall of Dhaka in 1971, the then military ruler, Gen Yahya Khan, had turned to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and sent a plane to New York to bring him home. Now another military ruler has himself taken a plane to Abu Dhabi to meet his daughter after losing all his gambles.
Benazir is trying to use the situation to her advantage. Her plan is not to give any room to critics to say that she had ‘mortgaged interests of democracy’ at the altar of political and personal expediency. Such impression will mark the beginning of the end of Bhutto charisma.
BHUTTO CONDITIONS
So another round of ‘final’ talks cannot be ruled out to help her blunt the weapons in the armoury of Nawaz Sharif, her one time foe turned friend, who has again become her adversary.
In a deft move, last week, Mr Sharif staged a coup of sorts, isolated her and floated a new alliance — the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM). This way he made redundant Benazir dominated Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), which had fought the October 2002 elections.
Bhutto presented a five point plan to Musharraf, reports say. The plan calls for a round table conference of all political parties to form a national government, free, fair and transparent elections; a new electoral roll by integrating the old (2002) and the latest defective ones, general amnesty and withdrawal of cases against her, and Musharraf’s re-election without uniform by new parliament.
She also wants Musharraf to leave the knitty-gritty of his second term as President to the new government.
Musharraf, it appears, has no difficulty to accept these conditions, which have been vetted in London and Washington. He only would like to reformulation of the phraseology. He has been assured of full cooperation by Benazir for his re-election.
WIN-WIN DEAL
It is a win-win deal for both. On the one hand he is getting what he wants – second term and respite from the political crisis besides a formal back seat to the army as the Americans want.
On her part, Benazir gains from Musharraf doffing off his uniform and thus avoids risking isolation politically.
The Army also gets the respite it is looking for in the wake of Lal Masjid operation, which for the first time in Pakistan history exposed the army to public ire.
There are a spate of reports in Pakistan papers and TV channels and each report had its own spin. Interestingly, most reports emanated from the Benazir camp, according to an Arab journalist covering the event.
PAK MEDIA SPIN
For instance, The Dawn said quoting unidentified ‘highly placed’ sources that the talks remained ‘inconclusive’. The respected daily also quoted another source privy to the talk process which preferred to call it a “deadlock”, saying differences over the timing for the general to doff his uniform, and Ms Bhutto’s insistence on returning to Pakistan before the general election remained the contentious issues.
“But neither he nor any other person close to the process of talks of the last few months was prepared to describe it (Musharraf-Benazir talks) a failure”, the Dawn added.
The Geo News quoting sources close to the two leaders, reported that the meeting that lasted for over an hour ended. The channel said it was not a one-on-one meeting and some important Pakistani and Arab personalities and Western diplomats were also present there.
“The UAE interior minister’s son acted as the mediator between the two sides,” Lahore based English daily, The Daily Times, which is known to be pro-Musharraf, said quoting its own sources. Only Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief accompanied the President on the visit prompting The Dawn to say that it gave ‘credence’ to reports that it may be a sojourn aimed at national reconciliation.
Like The Dawn, the Geo News also spoke of “a deadlock after Bhutto refused to endorse Musharraf as president in uniform for another term”. The channel said that Bhutto was asked to endorse Musharraf in uniform for the next term and in return the government would remove the constitutional embargo on her becoming prime minister for the third time.
However, The Daily Times, again quoting ‘political observers’ said, “There was no deadlock in the talks on the uniform issue”. It added that a deal between the PPP and President Musharraf was likely to be signed “soon”.
DENIAL MODE
PML Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also told the Geo News TV channel that there was no deadlock in the Musharraf-Benazir negotiations on the president’s uniform issue. Ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also said “the president’s uniform was not an issue in the talks with the PPP”. He added that the PML may share power with the PPP after the general elections.
As remarked at the outset, both the Musharraf government and the People’s Party of Pakistan (PPP) are in a denial mode on the meeting between Musharraf and Benazir.
“The top aides of both President General Pervez Musharraf and Chairperson PPP Benazir Bhutto on Friday drained their energies in trying to conceal the news of the meeting that took place between the two leaders in Abu Dhabi. Instead of giving details of the meeting to media persons, they denied the reports of any such meeting”, The News said while reporting that Musharraf wanted to meet Nawaz Sharif also but the former Prime Minister had declined the invitation.
-Asian Tribune-
Monday, June 25, 2007
KING MAKERS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
"The race for Rashtrapati Bhavan this year is not going to be a tepid affair it used to be before and after the Giri-Reddy contest. Coalition politics have ‘reinvented’ the Indian President".
By M Rama Rao
New Delhi ( Field Marshal)Will Bhairo Baba, as Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is addressed in his native Rajasthan, pull off a miracle, ala V.V. Giri? Two things are going in his favour, according to Political analysts. One his personal equations with all those who matter. Second the absence of a whip from political parties to their lawmakers.
In 1969, when Giri entered the fray it was a fight between the Indicate and Syndicate. The election and also the counting had all the ingredients of one-day cricket, which was yet to make its debut by then. Editors of dak editions of news papers had a tough time in deciding the page one lead and the anchor. Some of us thought we were clever and ran the profile of both the main candidates – the unofficial Giri, and the official Sanjiva Reddy.
This year, the race for Rashtrapati Bhavan is not going to be a tepid affair it used to be before and after the Giri-Reddy contest. Coalition politics have ‘reinvented’ the Indian President.
“President is never a rubber stamp, as he is made out to be. Under the constitution, our president has so much authority and residual power”, G V G Krishnamurthy, legal eagle and a former Election Commissioner told me. He had worked for two Presidential candidates- Koka Subba Rao (who resigned as Chief Justice of India to become a nominee of the opposition in 1974) and Giri.
Both K R Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam have proved GVG right. They are the closest to activist Presidents we could ever think of.
So, the difficulty of the Congress in making its right choice is understandable. Also the Left parties eagerness to set the ball rolling ahead of others. That is why as early as May 13, the Left made the first move.
‘The two basic criteria’, Prakash Karat, CPI (M) General Secretary, said, ‘for the candidate are political experience and strong secular credentials’.
This yardstick virtually ruled out the likes of Infosys chief, Narayanmurthi, the darling of middle classes.
APJ Abdul Kalam too emerged as the ‘popular choice’ in SMS polls conducted by the media mostly the TV channels. But the BJP spoiled his chances. That is a story without a parallel, according to a longtime BJP watcher. And the ‘bad’ news was broken to Kalam by none other than Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Kalam was not the first choice of Vajpayee in 2002. The missile scientist’s name was proposed by ‘Maulana’ Mulayam Singh. Neither the Congress nor the Left was consulted or even sounded before the BJP led NDA went public with its choice. The Congress went along with the BJP decision. For reasons which are not difficult to understand.
So, in a way, it is pay back time. “I hope they will support our candidate. It is time for NDA to reciprocate,” says Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, who along with Sonia Gandhi, the Congress chief, is engaged in consultations with the UPA allies on ‘the choice’.
A number of names have done the usual rounds. Some are media favourites and hence found repeated mention in dispatches. Like for instance, Somnath Chatterjee. The chances of the Lok Sabha speaker were discussed in the four-party Left Front, according to a Left insider.
But the Marxists vetoed the name. For them the first preference is Pranab Mukherjee. The veteran was amused. ‘Can Brahmin (like him) become a President these days’, he is said to have remarked when a few journos broached the subject with him. Radhakrishnan, Giri, Sharma, and Venkataraman were Brahmin- Presidents. The times they lived were different.
Pranab is a Congressman. But he is not a born Congressman. Also he was in and out of the party. His drafting skills and razor sharp memory are his plus. These are not enough to stand the loyalty test. It is also said the Congress is not sparing Pranab because it considers him as the ideal choice for Prime Ministership after the 2009 elections if a coalition supported by the Left and the Third Front were to become inevitable.
Therefore, instead of being the bride groom Pranab has become a match maker. Sonia turned to him to achieve consensus on Shivraj Patil, a Lingayat from Maharashtra. It is a tough job only he can pull off.
The Left and the NCP are not very enthusiastic of Patil. Left parties see him as a light weight who entered Rajya Sabha after tasting defeat in 2004 Lok Sabha election. NCP views him as a new Maratha in the making. “We are neither for nor against any one. We will support UPA nominee,” said NCP trouble shooter Praful Patel on record though.
Thundered A. B. Bardhan, the CPI honcho, who is being seen as the next Vice President of India, “You cannot name a candidate and ask others to support (him). That is not consensus”.
Arjun Singh, Motilal Vora, Narain Dutt Tiwari, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Karan Singh figured among the early hopefuls. At the time of writing (June 10), each one of them bowed out of reckoning. For a variety of reasons.
Vora and Tiwari had good equation with Mayawati. They could count on her support. They are both Brahmins. But it was not enough. Karan Singh as the erstwhile maharaja doesn’t fit today’s political calculus. Shinde as the dalit stood a chance. Only an outside chance because of ‘Mayajaal’ even after formal reprieve to the ‘Behenji’ in the Taj corridor scam.
Where does Shekhawat fit in the equation? “We need little backing from the South of the Vindhyas. Then we will be on auto pilot,” say supporters of the former chief minister of Rajasthan.
According to political pundits of all hues, the Vice President has acquired ‘several IOUs’. These have the potential of ending up as the ‘conscience vote’ of the day.
Naidu (TDP) and Mulayam (SP) as also Chautala (INLD) and Jayalalithaa (AIADMK) would not like to appear as supporting the Congress candidate. Ideally they will prefer a Left nominee. “Otherwise, we would like to abstain from voting,” said a senior TDP leader and member of the party’s politburo, after the Third Front had a rebirth in Hyderabad on June 6.
Such a scenario will be advantage Shekhawat. Because, many of the Third Front MPs will ‘treat’ the call for abstention as a ‘directive’ to vote for Shekhawat, who endeared himself to the MPs as chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Interestingly, the Left is not against Shekhawat, the Vice President and the Rajya Sabha chairman. “His handling of the House (Rajya Sabha) was top class. You cannot find fault with him”, Sitaram Yechuri, the Marxist ideologue, says.
Their objection is to Shekhawat, the BJP leader, who swears by the Sangh. “After the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, the Left parties were conscious about selecting a President with secular credentials. That principle is still relevant.”
Hiding behind the ‘lofty’ ideals of secularism, the Third Front may field their own candidate and offer second preference votes to Shekhawat. That way they can settle scores with the Congress or so they hope.
At least on paper, the odds are not in favour of Shekhawat (see the box). Then why is the BJP not responding to Mammohan’s call.
Says Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP spokesman, “Strategy is not number crunching. It cannot be a question-answer at a press conference”.
What about consensus …..? He replies: “It is not correct to say Kalam was the consensus candidate last time. After the BJP agreed to support him, the Congress also supported him. But the Left parties fielded their own candidate”.
Suffice to say, the 12th Presidential election will be no ordinary election. It will see new king makers emerge on the scene.
Eom
AKASHVANI, ARE YOU LISTENING…
By Malladi RAMA RAO
New Delhi June 10(Syndicate Features): In this age of information technology revolution with its dazzling array of gizmos that keep you connected to the whole world 24x7, it must be an odd man who confesses to be a radio addict. This predilection has survived the constant static nuisance in short-wave listening, shifting frequencies and the everyday plethora of gibberish from the mouth of some announcers and programme presenters. Then there are the many ‘pundits’ who pontificate incoherently on Indian and foreign propaganda stations on every subject under the sun with enviable sangfroid.
There are irritating times too when the station you want to listen to just ‘disappears’ from the precise ‘spot’ (frequency) you have marked on the radio set for listening to it. But the most trying is catching up with the fickle moods of our All India Radio, which determinedly sticks to its role of being government’s propaganda arm even though it claims to be an ‘autonomous’ body. It may be an experience not shared by many but often the afternoon programmes of Delhi ‘B’ (called the Rajdhani station) are just not audible on the medium wave frequency.
The fault, however, may be entirely of the cheap radio set’s, not that of AIR authorities whose unflappable composure in the face of a sharp decline in the quality and standards of broadcast of most of AIR programmes, accompanied by an ever increasing number of long transmission breakdowns, merits praise—perhaps a public scrutiny, if anyone is bothered about waste of the tax payers’ money.
It may be wrong to adduce the unscheduled and unexplained bouts of silence by AIR to sheer inefficiency or an act of subterfuge by terrorists and to even think that some armed hobos from a camp in a neighbouring country have overtaken an AIR station to silence it would be absurdity. The frequent spells of silence by an AIR station, presumably due to transmission breakdown or power failures are mysterious all the same. Or for that matter the way news bulletins are faded out on the FM even before the news reader completed the last sentence.
Another ‘interesting’ AIR innovation on FM is letting the listener to ‘enjoy’ multiple channels almost simultaneously with no one who is anyone in the Akashvani Bhavan caring for the listeners. May be they tend to agree with the critics that who listens to radio in these days of satellite and dish TV.
If you don’t believe what we say try tuning into the FM Gold and listen to their news bulletins and spot light programme in English and Hindi. The bulletins begin rather abruptly and end equally abruptly even as the news reader is midway through a long sentence.
If you are keen on listening to the spot light that follows the 9 pm news you will have to be prepared to hear a bit of Urdu news and some instrumental music too before the spotlight discussion comes your way with no introduction whatsoever to the participants and the subject under discussion.
Not surprisingly, therefore the AIR addict is becoming an endangered species.
New Delhi June 10(Syndicate Features): In this age of information technology revolution with its dazzling array of gizmos that keep you connected to the whole world 24x7, it must be an odd man who confesses to be a radio addict. This predilection has survived the constant static nuisance in short-wave listening, shifting frequencies and the everyday plethora of gibberish from the mouth of some announcers and programme presenters. Then there are the many ‘pundits’ who pontificate incoherently on Indian and foreign propaganda stations on every subject under the sun with enviable sangfroid.
There are irritating times too when the station you want to listen to just ‘disappears’ from the precise ‘spot’ (frequency) you have marked on the radio set for listening to it. But the most trying is catching up with the fickle moods of our All India Radio, which determinedly sticks to its role of being government’s propaganda arm even though it claims to be an ‘autonomous’ body. It may be an experience not shared by many but often the afternoon programmes of Delhi ‘B’ (called the Rajdhani station) are just not audible on the medium wave frequency.
The fault, however, may be entirely of the cheap radio set’s, not that of AIR authorities whose unflappable composure in the face of a sharp decline in the quality and standards of broadcast of most of AIR programmes, accompanied by an ever increasing number of long transmission breakdowns, merits praise—perhaps a public scrutiny, if anyone is bothered about waste of the tax payers’ money.
It may be wrong to adduce the unscheduled and unexplained bouts of silence by AIR to sheer inefficiency or an act of subterfuge by terrorists and to even think that some armed hobos from a camp in a neighbouring country have overtaken an AIR station to silence it would be absurdity. The frequent spells of silence by an AIR station, presumably due to transmission breakdown or power failures are mysterious all the same. Or for that matter the way news bulletins are faded out on the FM even before the news reader completed the last sentence.
Another ‘interesting’ AIR innovation on FM is letting the listener to ‘enjoy’ multiple channels almost simultaneously with no one who is anyone in the Akashvani Bhavan caring for the listeners. May be they tend to agree with the critics that who listens to radio in these days of satellite and dish TV.
If you don’t believe what we say try tuning into the FM Gold and listen to their news bulletins and spot light programme in English and Hindi. The bulletins begin rather abruptly and end equally abruptly even as the news reader is midway through a long sentence.
If you are keen on listening to the spot light that follows the 9 pm news you will have to be prepared to hear a bit of Urdu news and some instrumental music too before the spotlight discussion comes your way with no introduction whatsoever to the participants and the subject under discussion.
Not surprisingly, therefore the AIR addict is becoming an endangered species.
SRI LANKA MEDIA UNDER THREAT
By MALLADI RAMARAO
New Delhi June 23, 2007 (Syndicate Features): For Sri Lanka journalists, threats from the Tamil rebels and from the official machinery have become an every day reality. Kidnappings, threats to life and forced detentions are norm; they have to factor in, in their working life. While the government holds the LTTE and its breakaway factions responsible for the threats to media freedom, a section of the local media holds the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) as equally guilty.
Journalist of the Maubima news paper, Parameshwari, was forced to part with her ID card and passport by an armed group 'dressed in casual clothes' in broad day light in Colombo in early June. She recognized one member of the gang. ‘He was part of the group that had forcibly abducted and detained me in April’. Last November, Parameshwari was taken into custody for interrogation by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) for ‘aiding and abetting’ LTTE activists. She was released after about 90 days following a court order. The hunch is that those involved in the seizure of Parameshwari's identification documents could be from the Criminal Investigation Department.
Three Sinhalese journalists, Lalith Seneviratne, Sisira Priyankara and Nihal Senasinghe of ‘Akuna’ which is the official paper of a railway trade union, faced music at the hands of the security forces in February. The case hoisted on them was that they had visited the LTTE controlled areas and were involved in smuggling arms to Colombo.
A break away Tamil rebel group has held out death threats to two senior journalists early June for 'criticising' its activities. Karuna group has sent letters warning Asian Tribune editor K T Rajasingham and put on notice the staff of Daily Mirror.
Both Asian Tribune and Daily Mirror have earned the 'wrath' of V.Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, who heads the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) for their coverage of the split in the group, which took place on May 4.
‘Karuna will not tolerate any adverse comments and he will see that you are removed from the face of this earth’, the letter bluntly conveyed to Rajasingham, who publishes the ‘Asian Tribune’. Rajasingham had his journalistic baptism in Jaffna some forty years back. His contemporary and a one time friend was Anton Silvester Balasingham who went on to become the LTTE ideologue.
’KT’ as Rajasingham is known in journalistic circles and Tigers's supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran belong to two adjacent Vadamaradchchy villages. Ideologically, they are poles apart. KT faced trouble at the hands of Tigers several times over the years even when he lived in Chennai in the eighties.
Whether it is because of this past or otherwise, ‘Asian Tribune’ is pronouncedly anti-LTTE. It is also generally sympathetic towards Karuna, who has emerged as a strong warlord in the Eastern Sri Lanka after breaking away from Tiger supremo Prabhakaran. He is believed to enjoy patronage of President Mahinda Rajapakse notwithstanding official denials.
The tilt towards Karuna has not come in the way of ‘Asian Tribune’ 'exposing' the fratricidal killings let loose by Karuna after his aide Pillaiyan engineered a split in the group. It also carried a campaign against child-soldiers in the Karuna-fold. The daily put the spotlight on the presence of more than 190 child-soldiers and more recruitment from Amparai district.
It was alleged that Karuna has telephonically threatened Champika Liyanaraachchi, editor of Daily Mirror from Colombo, but she has since told ‘Asian Tribune’ that there was no such threat. Karuna group also warned the staff of ‘Mirror’ that they would send killer squad to eliminate any journalist 'who reports adversely' against his group.
Take the case of freelance journalist, Sampath Lakmal Silva. Though his abduction and killing took place a little while ago, the very mention of the case sends chill down the spine of journalists. The 24-year-old Lakmal worked with the Lakbima newspaper, TNL television and Sathdina newspaper. He wrote extensively on defence matters. One night, he left home, according to his mother, 'to meet Kumar Sir', who had telephoned him. His body was found next day morning. One surmise is that Sampath was bumped off 'suspecting' him to be an informer to the government. But who 'eliminated' him and for what purpose remains a mystery.
Convenor of the Free Media Movement, Sunanda Deshapriya, says such killings at a time of the country is sliding towards war could pose a serious threat to independent journalists. As many as four journalists were assassinated in less than two years but those responsible are yet to be brought to book, Sunanda laments.
Any observer of Sri Lanka will agree that journalists whether they are from the majority Sinhala community or minority Tamils have been at the receiving end over several years. The list is long. It includes editors, journalists, freelancer writers, independent journalists, and even radio announcers and photographers. It is not a sudden phenomenon though it has become pronounced now and has thus attracted the notice of various human rights organisations.
Two leading media houses, Wijaya Newspapers and the Sirasa Media network have earned the wrath of pro-Sinhala groups and parties like JVP. Lankadeepa from the Wijaya is the biggest circulated Sinhala daily. Sirasa TV has won laurels for its TV coverage. Yet, the JVP publicity secretary, Wimal Weerawansa considers that both media groups 'represent' the interest of the LTTE. His advice to employees of these organizations: better find alternate employment.
Why is Weerawansa angry? It is possible that he is peeved at the lampooning he was subjected in the Lankadeepa. Cartoonist, Dasa Hapuwalana, takes delight at poking fun at the JVP leader. Not surprisingly, Weerawansa spews venom at Dasa.
Politicians in a democracy must learn to live with media criticism. They also must learn to enjoy a cartoon. Politics become dull and drab if caricaturists either go out of job or retirement. And we will be deprived of our daily dose of hearty laugh. Well, a sense of humour and an ability to laugh at one self figures prominently on the CV of most successful politicians.
For an Indian journalist, who lives and works in the safe environs of Delhi, it is difficult to imagine how journalists manage to keep to their daily deadlines in Colombo. The plight of ethnic Tamil journalist in strife torn Jaffna is something very difficult even to visualize. Not many of the tribe is left behind there, going by reports. And their number is dwindling by the day.
Selvarajah Rajivarnam, a young reporter with the daily Uthayan, one of the Tamil newspapers that has been most targeted by violence, was gunned down near his office on April 30 in the government controlled Jaffna area. 25-year-old Rajivarnam is the second journalist to be killed in April. Though he was in the profession for over four years, he was literally a student as he had been taking an evening journalism course at Jaffna University. Rajivarnam worked for three years for the newspaper Namathu Eelanadu (Our Eelam Nation), and for the daily, Yarl Thinakural.
Eelanadu’s managing editor, Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah, was murdered in August 2006. Thinakural’s scribe, Subramaniam Ramachandran, is missing since February. It is no surprise, therefore, that many Tamil publications are printed in Colombo and distributed in the Tamil heartland.
Of late, the long arm of LTTE Tigers is reaching Colombo with some effortless ease. And it is cause for concern, undoubtedly! The clamp down on the web based Tamilnet (from London) is not the answer to the problem. But that is what the authorities in Colombo did this past week saying it is ‘widely considered to be biased towards the LTTE’. The charge may be true to an extent but the fact is the news web site offered ‘alternative perspectives, insights and information’. Its editor, Sivaram Dharmaratnam, was killed in April 2005.
The ban on Tamilnet clearly highlights, as the Free Media Movement (FMM) observers, the extent to which media is censored and the free flow of information curtailed in Sri Lanka
New Delhi June 23, 2007 (Syndicate Features): For Sri Lanka journalists, threats from the Tamil rebels and from the official machinery have become an every day reality. Kidnappings, threats to life and forced detentions are norm; they have to factor in, in their working life. While the government holds the LTTE and its breakaway factions responsible for the threats to media freedom, a section of the local media holds the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) as equally guilty.
Journalist of the Maubima news paper, Parameshwari, was forced to part with her ID card and passport by an armed group 'dressed in casual clothes' in broad day light in Colombo in early June. She recognized one member of the gang. ‘He was part of the group that had forcibly abducted and detained me in April’. Last November, Parameshwari was taken into custody for interrogation by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) for ‘aiding and abetting’ LTTE activists. She was released after about 90 days following a court order. The hunch is that those involved in the seizure of Parameshwari's identification documents could be from the Criminal Investigation Department.
Three Sinhalese journalists, Lalith Seneviratne, Sisira Priyankara and Nihal Senasinghe of ‘Akuna’ which is the official paper of a railway trade union, faced music at the hands of the security forces in February. The case hoisted on them was that they had visited the LTTE controlled areas and were involved in smuggling arms to Colombo.
A break away Tamil rebel group has held out death threats to two senior journalists early June for 'criticising' its activities. Karuna group has sent letters warning Asian Tribune editor K T Rajasingham and put on notice the staff of Daily Mirror.
Both Asian Tribune and Daily Mirror have earned the 'wrath' of V.Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, who heads the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) for their coverage of the split in the group, which took place on May 4.
‘Karuna will not tolerate any adverse comments and he will see that you are removed from the face of this earth’, the letter bluntly conveyed to Rajasingham, who publishes the ‘Asian Tribune’. Rajasingham had his journalistic baptism in Jaffna some forty years back. His contemporary and a one time friend was Anton Silvester Balasingham who went on to become the LTTE ideologue.
’KT’ as Rajasingham is known in journalistic circles and Tigers's supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran belong to two adjacent Vadamaradchchy villages. Ideologically, they are poles apart. KT faced trouble at the hands of Tigers several times over the years even when he lived in Chennai in the eighties.
Whether it is because of this past or otherwise, ‘Asian Tribune’ is pronouncedly anti-LTTE. It is also generally sympathetic towards Karuna, who has emerged as a strong warlord in the Eastern Sri Lanka after breaking away from Tiger supremo Prabhakaran. He is believed to enjoy patronage of President Mahinda Rajapakse notwithstanding official denials.
The tilt towards Karuna has not come in the way of ‘Asian Tribune’ 'exposing' the fratricidal killings let loose by Karuna after his aide Pillaiyan engineered a split in the group. It also carried a campaign against child-soldiers in the Karuna-fold. The daily put the spotlight on the presence of more than 190 child-soldiers and more recruitment from Amparai district.
It was alleged that Karuna has telephonically threatened Champika Liyanaraachchi, editor of Daily Mirror from Colombo, but she has since told ‘Asian Tribune’ that there was no such threat. Karuna group also warned the staff of ‘Mirror’ that they would send killer squad to eliminate any journalist 'who reports adversely' against his group.
Take the case of freelance journalist, Sampath Lakmal Silva. Though his abduction and killing took place a little while ago, the very mention of the case sends chill down the spine of journalists. The 24-year-old Lakmal worked with the Lakbima newspaper, TNL television and Sathdina newspaper. He wrote extensively on defence matters. One night, he left home, according to his mother, 'to meet Kumar Sir', who had telephoned him. His body was found next day morning. One surmise is that Sampath was bumped off 'suspecting' him to be an informer to the government. But who 'eliminated' him and for what purpose remains a mystery.
Convenor of the Free Media Movement, Sunanda Deshapriya, says such killings at a time of the country is sliding towards war could pose a serious threat to independent journalists. As many as four journalists were assassinated in less than two years but those responsible are yet to be brought to book, Sunanda laments.
Any observer of Sri Lanka will agree that journalists whether they are from the majority Sinhala community or minority Tamils have been at the receiving end over several years. The list is long. It includes editors, journalists, freelancer writers, independent journalists, and even radio announcers and photographers. It is not a sudden phenomenon though it has become pronounced now and has thus attracted the notice of various human rights organisations.
Two leading media houses, Wijaya Newspapers and the Sirasa Media network have earned the wrath of pro-Sinhala groups and parties like JVP. Lankadeepa from the Wijaya is the biggest circulated Sinhala daily. Sirasa TV has won laurels for its TV coverage. Yet, the JVP publicity secretary, Wimal Weerawansa considers that both media groups 'represent' the interest of the LTTE. His advice to employees of these organizations: better find alternate employment.
Why is Weerawansa angry? It is possible that he is peeved at the lampooning he was subjected in the Lankadeepa. Cartoonist, Dasa Hapuwalana, takes delight at poking fun at the JVP leader. Not surprisingly, Weerawansa spews venom at Dasa.
Politicians in a democracy must learn to live with media criticism. They also must learn to enjoy a cartoon. Politics become dull and drab if caricaturists either go out of job or retirement. And we will be deprived of our daily dose of hearty laugh. Well, a sense of humour and an ability to laugh at one self figures prominently on the CV of most successful politicians.
For an Indian journalist, who lives and works in the safe environs of Delhi, it is difficult to imagine how journalists manage to keep to their daily deadlines in Colombo. The plight of ethnic Tamil journalist in strife torn Jaffna is something very difficult even to visualize. Not many of the tribe is left behind there, going by reports. And their number is dwindling by the day.
Selvarajah Rajivarnam, a young reporter with the daily Uthayan, one of the Tamil newspapers that has been most targeted by violence, was gunned down near his office on April 30 in the government controlled Jaffna area. 25-year-old Rajivarnam is the second journalist to be killed in April. Though he was in the profession for over four years, he was literally a student as he had been taking an evening journalism course at Jaffna University. Rajivarnam worked for three years for the newspaper Namathu Eelanadu (Our Eelam Nation), and for the daily, Yarl Thinakural.
Eelanadu’s managing editor, Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah, was murdered in August 2006. Thinakural’s scribe, Subramaniam Ramachandran, is missing since February. It is no surprise, therefore, that many Tamil publications are printed in Colombo and distributed in the Tamil heartland.
Of late, the long arm of LTTE Tigers is reaching Colombo with some effortless ease. And it is cause for concern, undoubtedly! The clamp down on the web based Tamilnet (from London) is not the answer to the problem. But that is what the authorities in Colombo did this past week saying it is ‘widely considered to be biased towards the LTTE’. The charge may be true to an extent but the fact is the news web site offered ‘alternative perspectives, insights and information’. Its editor, Sivaram Dharmaratnam, was killed in April 2005.
The ban on Tamilnet clearly highlights, as the Free Media Movement (FMM) observers, the extent to which media is censored and the free flow of information curtailed in Sri Lanka
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat enters the race
By M Rama Rao
New Delhi, June 25, 2007(NH): Despite the odds staring at him, Vice President and Veteran BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat entered the race for Raisina Hills as an Independent on Monday in what is seen as a direct fight between two Shekhawats since the Third Front balloon has burst even before it launch.
BJP managers frankly admit that the numbers are not in their favour. And hence they issued a call for conscience vote to all MPs and MLAs and their campaign is on a virulently anti-Congress platform. “We have deliberately opted for June 25 to file the nomination”, they said recalling that the internal emergency was clamped on this day 32 years back.
Bhairon Baba as the former Rajasthan chief minister is addressed by his admirers and supporters, filed his nomination papers before Mr P D T Acharya, the Returning Officer for the election at the Parliament Building. The NDA full house minus the Shiv Sena was present to express solidarity with him.
Sushma Swaraj, the NDA spokesperson, assisted Mr Shekhawat in filling up the nomination form, in her capacity as his campaign manager and spokesperson. The Vice President, who need not resign now under the Constitution, handed over two sets of nomination papers with 266 signatures to Mr. Acharya, who is also the Lok Sabha Secretary-General.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, NDA convenor George Fernandes, senior Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav, Akali Dal chief Prakash Singh Badal and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik, Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar were present along with BJP leaders L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu, Murali Manohar Joshi and a host of others.
Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan – Narendra Modi, Raman Singh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Vasundhara Raje, who are in town to attend the BJP national executive meeting also, were on hand.
Mr. Shekhawat diligently went over every single signature before presenting his papers to the returning officer apparently to satisfy himself that there would be no hiccups later on.
BJP managers are still unclear as to the way the United National Progressive Alliance, UNPA, as the Third Front styles itself, would vote –whether it will put up a candidate or whether it will offer at least second preference votes to Shekhawat.
Jayalalithaa – Mulayam – Chautala- Chandrababu Naidu, who have popped up the eight party alliance, as a part of their politics of survival and search for political space, have returned to their base camps with no clear cut plan of action. While Jayalalithaa is preoccupied with a by-election, Naidu is on his way to the United States even as his state is reeling under the fury of floods.
The Front has drawn a blank in their campaign to corner the Congress with their Kalam card. And in the process exposed the missile scientist to some unpleasant digs. Kalam, who looked for a ‘certainty’ on his election, hurriedly withdrew from the front line saying “enough is enough”.
New Delhi, June 25, 2007(NH): Despite the odds staring at him, Vice President and Veteran BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat entered the race for Raisina Hills as an Independent on Monday in what is seen as a direct fight between two Shekhawats since the Third Front balloon has burst even before it launch.
BJP managers frankly admit that the numbers are not in their favour. And hence they issued a call for conscience vote to all MPs and MLAs and their campaign is on a virulently anti-Congress platform. “We have deliberately opted for June 25 to file the nomination”, they said recalling that the internal emergency was clamped on this day 32 years back.
Bhairon Baba as the former Rajasthan chief minister is addressed by his admirers and supporters, filed his nomination papers before Mr P D T Acharya, the Returning Officer for the election at the Parliament Building. The NDA full house minus the Shiv Sena was present to express solidarity with him.
Sushma Swaraj, the NDA spokesperson, assisted Mr Shekhawat in filling up the nomination form, in her capacity as his campaign manager and spokesperson. The Vice President, who need not resign now under the Constitution, handed over two sets of nomination papers with 266 signatures to Mr. Acharya, who is also the Lok Sabha Secretary-General.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, NDA convenor George Fernandes, senior Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav, Akali Dal chief Prakash Singh Badal and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik, Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar were present along with BJP leaders L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu, Murali Manohar Joshi and a host of others.
Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan – Narendra Modi, Raman Singh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Vasundhara Raje, who are in town to attend the BJP national executive meeting also, were on hand.
Mr. Shekhawat diligently went over every single signature before presenting his papers to the returning officer apparently to satisfy himself that there would be no hiccups later on.
BJP managers are still unclear as to the way the United National Progressive Alliance, UNPA, as the Third Front styles itself, would vote –whether it will put up a candidate or whether it will offer at least second preference votes to Shekhawat.
Jayalalithaa – Mulayam – Chautala- Chandrababu Naidu, who have popped up the eight party alliance, as a part of their politics of survival and search for political space, have returned to their base camps with no clear cut plan of action. While Jayalalithaa is preoccupied with a by-election, Naidu is on his way to the United States even as his state is reeling under the fury of floods.
The Front has drawn a blank in their campaign to corner the Congress with their Kalam card. And in the process exposed the missile scientist to some unpleasant digs. Kalam, who looked for a ‘certainty’ on his election, hurriedly withdrew from the front line saying “enough is enough”.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Sri Lanka Tamil leader asks India to break peace logjam
ENDLF wants PM Singh to convene an international meet on SL
By M Rama Rao in New Delhi
New Delhi, 06 June (asiantribune.com): A Sri Lankan Tamil Group has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take the initiative to break the peace log jam in the Island nation charging President Rajapakse with ‘skilfully’ exploiting India’s declared policy of not interference in the Sri Lankan crisis ‘to carry on with his war designs’.
Suggesting the model of ‘Paris Peace Accord’ for Cambodia, the Tamil group, Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), said India must call for an international conference to explore and find a lasting solution to the Sri Lankan conflict. This, it said, is necessary as ‘the ongoing armed conflict has clearly demonstrated that the war is un-winnable by either side’. Even United States officials have gone on record to say that there cannot be a military solution to the Sri Lankan conflict.
In an open appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ENDLF President Gnanasekaran, said “as a nation closely involved in the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict, India should initiate action to convene and chair such an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations”
The criteria for invitation to Tamil groups for the conference should be acceptance of Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord also known as Rajiv-Jayawardane agreement. By this yardstick, EPRLF, EROS, LTTE, PLOTE and TELO besides ENDLF will automatically qualify for the invitation as they had accepted the Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord.
Gnanasekaran said Sri Lankan Government, representatives of the Sri Lankan opposition and representatives of the Muslims should be invited as other parties to the dialogue.
At the outset, the ENDLF leader admitted that the backgrounds to the Cambodian conflict and Sri Lankan crisis are vastly different. He pointed out that participation of the parties directly involved in the conflict, along with member nations of the Security Council, ASEAN, Australia, Canada, India, and Japan, Laos and Vietnam and former Cambodia’s colonial power France helped reach a final settlement in Cambodia.
So, his suggestion is that Britain, Japan, Norway, EU and United States may be invited to participate in the international conference with India in chair and asked to guarantee the successful implementation of a comprehensive final settlement of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. As was the case in Cambodia and East Timor, United Nations should be asked to implement the final peace agreement.
He wants India to give a serious try to his suggestion saying that the peace efforts have not made no head way since 1985 when India first brought the Tamil parties and groups and Sri Lankan government face to face for a dialogue in Thimpu in 1985. The Norwegian brokered deal of 2002 also has come unstuck with the two sides locked in an undeclared war resulting in a humanitarian crisis with over half a million Tamils in North East Sri Lanka internally displaced.
ENDLF leader has criticised that India’s declared policy of not interfering directly in the Sri Lankan crisis is being skillfully used by President Rajapakse to carry on with his war designs.
ENDLF President Gnanasekaran also termed as charade the All Party Representative Committee (APC) set up by President Rajapakse to arrive at a Southern consensus on devolution. “It (APC) was a clever devise to avoid international pressure on the Rajapakse government”, he said claiming that the Sri Lankan politicians will not come up with a solution that will satisfy ‘the reasonable demands’ of the Tamils for devolution.
And added that the devolution proposals recently put forward by the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party is ‘further proof’ that President Rajapakse is ‘not genuinely’ interested in peace talks. He recalled that Colombo had abrogated Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact and various other agreements signed with moderate Tamil leaders in the past.
By M Rama Rao in New Delhi
New Delhi, 06 June (asiantribune.com): A Sri Lankan Tamil Group has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take the initiative to break the peace log jam in the Island nation charging President Rajapakse with ‘skilfully’ exploiting India’s declared policy of not interference in the Sri Lankan crisis ‘to carry on with his war designs’.
Suggesting the model of ‘Paris Peace Accord’ for Cambodia, the Tamil group, Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), said India must call for an international conference to explore and find a lasting solution to the Sri Lankan conflict. This, it said, is necessary as ‘the ongoing armed conflict has clearly demonstrated that the war is un-winnable by either side’. Even United States officials have gone on record to say that there cannot be a military solution to the Sri Lankan conflict.
In an open appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ENDLF President Gnanasekaran, said “as a nation closely involved in the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict, India should initiate action to convene and chair such an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations”
The criteria for invitation to Tamil groups for the conference should be acceptance of Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord also known as Rajiv-Jayawardane agreement. By this yardstick, EPRLF, EROS, LTTE, PLOTE and TELO besides ENDLF will automatically qualify for the invitation as they had accepted the Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord.
Gnanasekaran said Sri Lankan Government, representatives of the Sri Lankan opposition and representatives of the Muslims should be invited as other parties to the dialogue.
At the outset, the ENDLF leader admitted that the backgrounds to the Cambodian conflict and Sri Lankan crisis are vastly different. He pointed out that participation of the parties directly involved in the conflict, along with member nations of the Security Council, ASEAN, Australia, Canada, India, and Japan, Laos and Vietnam and former Cambodia’s colonial power France helped reach a final settlement in Cambodia.
So, his suggestion is that Britain, Japan, Norway, EU and United States may be invited to participate in the international conference with India in chair and asked to guarantee the successful implementation of a comprehensive final settlement of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. As was the case in Cambodia and East Timor, United Nations should be asked to implement the final peace agreement.
He wants India to give a serious try to his suggestion saying that the peace efforts have not made no head way since 1985 when India first brought the Tamil parties and groups and Sri Lankan government face to face for a dialogue in Thimpu in 1985. The Norwegian brokered deal of 2002 also has come unstuck with the two sides locked in an undeclared war resulting in a humanitarian crisis with over half a million Tamils in North East Sri Lanka internally displaced.
ENDLF leader has criticised that India’s declared policy of not interfering directly in the Sri Lankan crisis is being skillfully used by President Rajapakse to carry on with his war designs.
ENDLF President Gnanasekaran also termed as charade the All Party Representative Committee (APC) set up by President Rajapakse to arrive at a Southern consensus on devolution. “It (APC) was a clever devise to avoid international pressure on the Rajapakse government”, he said claiming that the Sri Lankan politicians will not come up with a solution that will satisfy ‘the reasonable demands’ of the Tamils for devolution.
And added that the devolution proposals recently put forward by the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party is ‘further proof’ that President Rajapakse is ‘not genuinely’ interested in peace talks. He recalled that Colombo had abrogated Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact and various other agreements signed with moderate Tamil leaders in the past.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Nearly 2 lakh Hindus lost their lands in Bangladesh in six years
by M Rama Rao
New Delhi( HNS May 26, 2007): Nearly two lakh Hindus have lost 22 lakh acres of their land and houses during the last six years in Bangladesh, a Dhaka University Professor says. The market value of these lands is Taka 2, 52,000 crore (about $156 million), which is more than half of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
‘This is a man-made problem contrary to the spirit of humanity. We have to get rid of this uncivilised state of affairs to establish a civilised society. Otherwise, we have to face a bigger historic catastrophe,’ Professor Abdul Barkat, who teaches economics, insists in his research paper, ‘Deprivation of affected million families: Living with Vested Property in Bangladesh’.
Politically powerful people grabbed most of the Hindu lands during the reign of Begum Khaleda Zia’s BNP-led four-party alliance between 2001 and 2006. Forty-five per cent of the land grabbers were affiliated with the BNP, 31 per cent with the Awami League, eight per cent with Jamaat-e-Islami and six per cent with the Jatiya Party and other political organisations, the New Age, Dhaka daily quotes Prof Barkat as saying in his report, which will be published shortly.
Some 12 lakh or 44 per cent of the 27 lakh Hindu households in the country were affected by the Enemy Property Act 1965 and its post-independence version, the Vested Property Act 1974.
The Begum Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government annulled this Act in 2001. It wanted to return the ‘vested’ property to their original Hindu owners. The move was criticised as a ‘political tokenism’ aimed to appease minority voters prior to the general elections.
But in reality, as Professor Barkat study shows the Hasina largesse did not benefit the Hindu minority, who owned land at the time of partition. Infact, it ended up displacing most of them from their ancestral land.
While trying to review the impact of the law on the land ownership of the Hindu community, Prof Barkat found that no list of the people evicted or the quantum of lands grabbed on the basis of the Vested Property Act has been prepared till date.
Instead, politically powerful people grabbed most of the land during the reign of the BNP-led alliance government between 2001 and 2006.
The affected Hindu families met with more incidents of violence and repression in the immediate-past five years of the BNP-led government than in the previous five years of the Awami League government, the Barkat research report concludes, according to The New Age.
Prof Barkat points out that 53 per cent of the family displacement and 74 per cent of the land grabbing occurred following the India-Pakistan War in 1965. The then Pakistan government introduced the Enemy Property (Custody and Registration) Order II as a tool for appropriating the lands of the minority Hindus.
Political elements, locally influential people in collaboration with the land administration, trickery by land officials and employees themselves, use of force and crookedness, fake documentation, contracted farmers and death or exile of original owners have contributed to the phenomenon, according to Professor Barkat’s study covering 6 districts across the country.
More than 60 per cent of the owners and the successors of ‘vested properties’ are either dead or have left the country.
The Professor doesn’t think the land grab was a problem of ‘Hindu versus Muslim’ polarisation. “Criminals do not bother whether a piece of land is owned by a Hindu, a Muslim or a Santal and they simply loot property. The problem highlights the ‘inability’ and ‘weakness’ of the majority people to raise protests though they are non-communal”.
New Delhi( HNS May 26, 2007): Nearly two lakh Hindus have lost 22 lakh acres of their land and houses during the last six years in Bangladesh, a Dhaka University Professor says. The market value of these lands is Taka 2, 52,000 crore (about $156 million), which is more than half of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
‘This is a man-made problem contrary to the spirit of humanity. We have to get rid of this uncivilised state of affairs to establish a civilised society. Otherwise, we have to face a bigger historic catastrophe,’ Professor Abdul Barkat, who teaches economics, insists in his research paper, ‘Deprivation of affected million families: Living with Vested Property in Bangladesh’.
Politically powerful people grabbed most of the Hindu lands during the reign of Begum Khaleda Zia’s BNP-led four-party alliance between 2001 and 2006. Forty-five per cent of the land grabbers were affiliated with the BNP, 31 per cent with the Awami League, eight per cent with Jamaat-e-Islami and six per cent with the Jatiya Party and other political organisations, the New Age, Dhaka daily quotes Prof Barkat as saying in his report, which will be published shortly.
Some 12 lakh or 44 per cent of the 27 lakh Hindu households in the country were affected by the Enemy Property Act 1965 and its post-independence version, the Vested Property Act 1974.
The Begum Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government annulled this Act in 2001. It wanted to return the ‘vested’ property to their original Hindu owners. The move was criticised as a ‘political tokenism’ aimed to appease minority voters prior to the general elections.
But in reality, as Professor Barkat study shows the Hasina largesse did not benefit the Hindu minority, who owned land at the time of partition. Infact, it ended up displacing most of them from their ancestral land.
While trying to review the impact of the law on the land ownership of the Hindu community, Prof Barkat found that no list of the people evicted or the quantum of lands grabbed on the basis of the Vested Property Act has been prepared till date.
Instead, politically powerful people grabbed most of the land during the reign of the BNP-led alliance government between 2001 and 2006.
The affected Hindu families met with more incidents of violence and repression in the immediate-past five years of the BNP-led government than in the previous five years of the Awami League government, the Barkat research report concludes, according to The New Age.
Prof Barkat points out that 53 per cent of the family displacement and 74 per cent of the land grabbing occurred following the India-Pakistan War in 1965. The then Pakistan government introduced the Enemy Property (Custody and Registration) Order II as a tool for appropriating the lands of the minority Hindus.
Political elements, locally influential people in collaboration with the land administration, trickery by land officials and employees themselves, use of force and crookedness, fake documentation, contracted farmers and death or exile of original owners have contributed to the phenomenon, according to Professor Barkat’s study covering 6 districts across the country.
More than 60 per cent of the owners and the successors of ‘vested properties’ are either dead or have left the country.
The Professor doesn’t think the land grab was a problem of ‘Hindu versus Muslim’ polarisation. “Criminals do not bother whether a piece of land is owned by a Hindu, a Muslim or a Santal and they simply loot property. The problem highlights the ‘inability’ and ‘weakness’ of the majority people to raise protests though they are non-communal”.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Frittering away Goodwill in Bangladesh
New Delhi ( edit for Surya May 22)A high profile UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) delegation visits Dhaka from June 3 to 10 to assess Bangladesh's progress in implementing counter-terrorism policies. The visit coincides with a spurt in the activities of Islamist groups like ‘Jadid al Qaeda Bangladesh’ that have claimed responsibility for the May Day bomb explosions at Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet railway stations.
The police claim they have drawn a blank so far in their investigations on the Jadid al Qaeda. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Noor Mohammad doubts the existence of any such organisation. His reasoning is that the sleuths have not yet found any outfit with that name. It is possible that the Jadid al Qaeda is a factious name. But what is interesting is that while the police are claiming helplessness in tracing them, this very group has threatened to blow up a bridge that connects south-western Bangladesh with the north of the country. The bridge known as Hardinge bridge was built over the river Padma during the British period. A letter purported to have been written by Jadid al Qaeda Bangladesh was received by the railway police at Ishwardi station close to the Bridge.
The threat has prompted a security alert across the region. Amongst the known militant groups, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is openly active. Not a day passes with its activist being rounded up in some corner of the country. There is no dearth of war veterans who had fought shoulder to shoulder with the Taliban during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Most of them have closed ranks under the banner of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish with Mufti Shahidul Islam and their goal is creation of Islamist state in Bangladesh.
Harkatul Mujahideen Bangladesh and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh are the other outfits floated by Afghan returnees. While Harkat-ul-Jihad formally launched its activities through a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on April 30, 1992, Harkatul Mujahideen opted for a soft launch simultaneously. Harkat-ul-Jihad subsequently regrouped as Islamist Dewat-e-Kafela.
That the Islamists have secured political cover is public knowledge. For instance Mufti Shahidul entered Parliament five years ago on the ticket of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) which is an ally of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of Begum Khaleda Zia. Some militants have been arrested after the caretaker government headed by former world banker Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed took office. Frankly these arrests are neither here nor there.
So, the situation report will not please the UN team which will be headed by CTC Executive Director Javier Ruperez. That is bound to be bad news for the regime which has failed to have its way on ‘exiling’ the Begums, and creating a new King’s party. More so, as pressure is increasing to quickly lift the ban on ‘indoor’ politics and fix an early poll date.
President Iajuddin Ahmed, a known BNP loyalist, who is lying low for the past four months, is again flexing muscles in a manner of speaking and has even summoned the CEC to Banga Bhavan to give a bit of his mind on election date issue. The US, EU and UK also have become vocal lately.15 US Senators including Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton have shot off a letter to .the government expressing their annoyance over delaying elections on one pretext or the other.
Officially, the hiccups in revising voters list and issuing ID cards to voters are held responsible for putting off the poll date. The Election Commission says it needs at least 18 months to do its home work. But reality check shows that the regime, most importantly its prime backer, the army is keen to rejig political parties and create a new King’s party, if possible.
That exercise is taking time because the two mainline parties BNP and Awami League are not amorphous groups and have well entrenched network across the country. Not surprisingly, therefore, the regime’s foot soldiers have started targetting ‘relatively young, popular and honest’ leaders to organise the new organisation at the district level.
To what extent the move will succeed is a moot point but what is abundantly clear is that like all military dictators, the army backed and popped up regime in Dhaka is missing the woods for the trees. It should have learnt a lesson from what had happened in Pakistan where General Musharraf had banked on religious parties and kept the main line Benazir Bhutto’s Peoples’ Party of Pakistan (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). His efforts to break PPP failed. A significant chunk of Nawaz party became the kings’ party but that has not helped Musharraf to secure a safety net. He is now forced to consider a deal with Benazir Bhutto for a bail out.
The long and short of the story is democracy is the manna for survival in the 21st century and no short cuts will help. Will the powers that be in Bangladesh read the writing on the wall? Otherwise they will fritter away all the goodwill they had earned when they took office in January and launched an ‘operation’ to clean the system the corrupt Khaleda Zia regime had left behind and to round up the Islamists who have been doing their damanest to destroy the secular fabric of the country.
The police claim they have drawn a blank so far in their investigations on the Jadid al Qaeda. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Noor Mohammad doubts the existence of any such organisation. His reasoning is that the sleuths have not yet found any outfit with that name. It is possible that the Jadid al Qaeda is a factious name. But what is interesting is that while the police are claiming helplessness in tracing them, this very group has threatened to blow up a bridge that connects south-western Bangladesh with the north of the country. The bridge known as Hardinge bridge was built over the river Padma during the British period. A letter purported to have been written by Jadid al Qaeda Bangladesh was received by the railway police at Ishwardi station close to the Bridge.
The threat has prompted a security alert across the region. Amongst the known militant groups, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is openly active. Not a day passes with its activist being rounded up in some corner of the country. There is no dearth of war veterans who had fought shoulder to shoulder with the Taliban during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Most of them have closed ranks under the banner of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish with Mufti Shahidul Islam and their goal is creation of Islamist state in Bangladesh.
Harkatul Mujahideen Bangladesh and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh are the other outfits floated by Afghan returnees. While Harkat-ul-Jihad formally launched its activities through a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on April 30, 1992, Harkatul Mujahideen opted for a soft launch simultaneously. Harkat-ul-Jihad subsequently regrouped as Islamist Dewat-e-Kafela.
That the Islamists have secured political cover is public knowledge. For instance Mufti Shahidul entered Parliament five years ago on the ticket of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) which is an ally of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of Begum Khaleda Zia. Some militants have been arrested after the caretaker government headed by former world banker Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed took office. Frankly these arrests are neither here nor there.
So, the situation report will not please the UN team which will be headed by CTC Executive Director Javier Ruperez. That is bound to be bad news for the regime which has failed to have its way on ‘exiling’ the Begums, and creating a new King’s party. More so, as pressure is increasing to quickly lift the ban on ‘indoor’ politics and fix an early poll date.
President Iajuddin Ahmed, a known BNP loyalist, who is lying low for the past four months, is again flexing muscles in a manner of speaking and has even summoned the CEC to Banga Bhavan to give a bit of his mind on election date issue. The US, EU and UK also have become vocal lately.15 US Senators including Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton have shot off a letter to .the government expressing their annoyance over delaying elections on one pretext or the other.
Officially, the hiccups in revising voters list and issuing ID cards to voters are held responsible for putting off the poll date. The Election Commission says it needs at least 18 months to do its home work. But reality check shows that the regime, most importantly its prime backer, the army is keen to rejig political parties and create a new King’s party, if possible.
That exercise is taking time because the two mainline parties BNP and Awami League are not amorphous groups and have well entrenched network across the country. Not surprisingly, therefore, the regime’s foot soldiers have started targetting ‘relatively young, popular and honest’ leaders to organise the new organisation at the district level.
To what extent the move will succeed is a moot point but what is abundantly clear is that like all military dictators, the army backed and popped up regime in Dhaka is missing the woods for the trees. It should have learnt a lesson from what had happened in Pakistan where General Musharraf had banked on religious parties and kept the main line Benazir Bhutto’s Peoples’ Party of Pakistan (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). His efforts to break PPP failed. A significant chunk of Nawaz party became the kings’ party but that has not helped Musharraf to secure a safety net. He is now forced to consider a deal with Benazir Bhutto for a bail out.
The long and short of the story is democracy is the manna for survival in the 21st century and no short cuts will help. Will the powers that be in Bangladesh read the writing on the wall? Otherwise they will fritter away all the goodwill they had earned when they took office in January and launched an ‘operation’ to clean the system the corrupt Khaleda Zia regime had left behind and to round up the Islamists who have been doing their damanest to destroy the secular fabric of the country.
Nepal scene becoming curiouser and curiouser
New Delhi( editorial May 22)The Nepal situation is becoming curious by the day. The Maoists are in the government but they are still acting as if they are in opposition to the government on a host of issues that range from teachers’ salaries to upkeep of cantonments where the Maoist cadres are housed under a UN supervised peace process. It is not surprising that the US is still wary of Maoists and their plans. US envoy to Nepal, James F Moriarty, a known outspoken critic of Maoists, has conveyed Washington’s doubts vis-à-vis the Maoists to the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala last week. Will they, the Maoists, give up violence? This is the question Mr Moriarty has been raising for a while. Frankly, nobody who is any body on the Nepal scene has any answer. Prime Minister Mr Koirala himself has his own misgivings about the Maoists though they are a member of the ruling eight party alliance. Maoist supremo Prachanda is clear about his goal. He wants Nepal to become a Republic. He is insisting that the interim parliament must usher in the Republic. The Prime Minister is not averse to Republic idea but believes that it should wait till the statute is ready. Mr Prachanda also advocates early elections to set up a constituent assembly to draft a new statute for the Himalayan country. The Government considers mid-November as the appropriate period for elections. This view is shared by the chief of UN Mission to Nepal, Ian Martin. Both Mr Prachanda and his deputies notably, Baburam Bhattarai, have been saying that they will struggle "from the streets, the parliament and the government" until the country is declared a Republic. At a meeting in Kathmandu on Sunday, May 20, Mr. Bhattarai declared that the Maoists would not ‘retract even an inch’ from their demand. A senior Maoist leader and Minister for Local Development Dev Gurung has said that Maoists can step down from the government anytime and join the agitation on Republic issue. He also said uncertainty over Constituent Assembly (CA) elections was weakening the eight party unity. Even the cabinet meetings have come under the shadow of differences between the Maoists and other parties in the ruling coalition. Result is that there are no regular cabinet meetings for the past two weeks. In the past the cabinet used to meet at least twice a week and more often if the situation demanded. The last cabinet meeting took place on April 29.
It is a pity that the Maoist leadership doesn’t realise the incongruity of their actions. Certainly they are entitled to speak up on their pet demands but they cannot hold out threats of mass agitations to secure their demands since they are a part of the government. Take for instance the issue of amenities for Maoist cadres housed in camps. Mr Prachanda last week held out a 24-hour hour ultimatum to ‘improve the upkeep’ and threatened to launch a nationwide agitation. The Government acted post haste and a ministerial committee approved a provision of Rs. 3000 a month to each of the Maoist army member. It was not the government’s case that milk and honey were overflowing in these camps. It only needed some breathing time to put its act together. So, the question is couldn’t the Maoists secure the ‘package’ without such theatrics. They could have since Mr Koirala and Mr Prachanda still enjoy good personal rapport.
There are reports that the Young Communist League (YCL) affiliated to the Maoists is on a rampage. They have become a ‘parallel law enforcement agency’, and are attacking police posts and government offices to enforce their writ. Maoist senior Mr. Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is also the Communications Minister, sees nothing wrong in YCL activities. He is also the cabinet spokesman. So much so it is disturbing to hear him say last week that the kind of activities the YCL has been carrying out ‘cannot be ruled out’ in the transition period. The inescapable conclusion is that the Maoists are either slow learners of the Three Rs of democracy or unwilling to adjust to the changed circumstances. Either way the Maoists are not serving their cause.
It is a pity that the Maoist leadership doesn’t realise the incongruity of their actions. Certainly they are entitled to speak up on their pet demands but they cannot hold out threats of mass agitations to secure their demands since they are a part of the government. Take for instance the issue of amenities for Maoist cadres housed in camps. Mr Prachanda last week held out a 24-hour hour ultimatum to ‘improve the upkeep’ and threatened to launch a nationwide agitation. The Government acted post haste and a ministerial committee approved a provision of Rs. 3000 a month to each of the Maoist army member. It was not the government’s case that milk and honey were overflowing in these camps. It only needed some breathing time to put its act together. So, the question is couldn’t the Maoists secure the ‘package’ without such theatrics. They could have since Mr Koirala and Mr Prachanda still enjoy good personal rapport.
There are reports that the Young Communist League (YCL) affiliated to the Maoists is on a rampage. They have become a ‘parallel law enforcement agency’, and are attacking police posts and government offices to enforce their writ. Maoist senior Mr. Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is also the Communications Minister, sees nothing wrong in YCL activities. He is also the cabinet spokesman. So much so it is disturbing to hear him say last week that the kind of activities the YCL has been carrying out ‘cannot be ruled out’ in the transition period. The inescapable conclusion is that the Maoists are either slow learners of the Three Rs of democracy or unwilling to adjust to the changed circumstances. Either way the Maoists are not serving their cause.
BACK TO BASICS FOR UPA
By Rao Malladi
(One unmistakable message from UP elections is that people don’t want caste and rhetoric. Nor do they feel comfortable with packages and promises. For them, food on the table, quality employment, better health and above all ability to live with dignity is what matters. So, it is time to go back to the common man’s plank for Manmohan Singh and Co.,)
New Delhi: The irony was difficult to miss. It was Tuesday, May 22 evening. It was close to 7pm. Leaders and media were gathering in strength under a specially erected and tastefully decorated shamina at 7 Race Course Road to hear UPA’s 3-year report. As Prime Minister was getting ready to receive the guests who included Sonia Gandhi, an aide walked briskly towards him and whispered something into his ears. Almost around the same time, news agency tickers were carrying a flash:-‘3 bomb blasts in Gorakhpur. 6 injured’. Quickly most TV channels switched over to the ‘Breaking News’. Only the good old Doordarshan (DD) News Channel picked up the UPA ‘live’ feed.
BJP President Rajnath Singh was quick to react. “The UPA has compromised national security. Terrorist attacks are increasing”, he thundered. “The list is unending... Ayodhya, Bangalore, Kashi, Delhi, Mumbai, Malegaon, Samjhouta Express, Jammu, Hyderabad and now it is Gorakhpur”.
Earlier in the day, Rajnath issued a 66-page charge sheet, “UPA's Three Years, Aam Aadmi’s Tear Years”. And offered a byte, “UPA’s is a faceless, directionless and spineless rule. It is led by a Prime Minister who has no say in his cabinet”.
It was his first press conference in the capital after he led the BJP to its historic rout in Uttar Pradesh. He entered the media conference room at the party headquarters, 11 Ashok Road, fully prepared to turn the guns on Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and the Congress in that order.
But he found himself facing a barrage of questions on ‘sword display’ in Punjab where his party is a junior partner in the Akali-led government. There was reason. The day witnessed life come to a standstill in the state by a bandh called by the Sikh clergy, which is locked in a stand-off with Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim.
Initially, Rajnath tried to duck for cover. And then tried to obfuscate. Finally, when he opened up, he did not want to sound as harsh as his Punjab colleagues. “I have spoken twice with Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal on phone and told him that every measure should be taken to contain violence and to maintain peace”.
Poor Rajnath. For yet another time, the BJP lost its thunder. Who hijacked it? The Left, of course. Ever since the UPA came to power on their crutches, the Left has occupied the opposition space. Whether it played that role effectively or allowed itself to be led by its fear of lengthening saffron shadows is a moot point. Opinion is divided any how.
That the Left is increasingly worried about the direction of the government is public knowledge. “The gap between ‘shining India’ and ‘suffering India’ is widening”, Sitaram Yechuri, Marxist ideologue and politburo member, said. Surprisingly, this view is shared by some in the Government as well.
Mani Shankar Aiyer, the maverick former diplomat and presently minister for Panchayati Raj, spoke his mind with “Devil’s Advocate’ Karan Thapar in an interview aired on TV-18 group of channels. “Alarm bells absolutely must be rung”. He said his views have a ‘resonance with every single minister I have talked about this’ matter”. Added he,” Nobody has reprimanded me. No body has suggested that I am out of line. No one. Literally, no one… I will certainly not be whistling in the wind”. He did not sound like a dissident. He talked more like a person who is worried about his next election.
The Mani speak was ammunition good enough for L K Advani to fire at Sonia Gandhi.
“I don’t know why Shri Aiyar is being allowed to say such things by the Congress high command without being reprimanded,” the former deputy prime minister, who is credited with rebuilding the BJP after it was reduced to just 2 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984, said, while hitting the campaign trail in Goa.
In the Advani view, the blunt undiplomatic Mani speak is a calibrated effort to distance the ‘dynasty’ from the failures of UPA Government. He has a point but it needn’t necessarily be the only point.
Not surprisingly, course correction is the flavour of the season. “Go for a mid-course recast of policies”, D Raja, the CPI national secretary, who hopes to enter the Rajya Sabha from Tamilnadu in July, thundered. His boss, A B Bardhan, who admits with a smile that his one and only electoral foray forty years ago ended in defeat, has been giving the thumbs down to UPA for a while. He also has been pushing for a review of Left’s relationship with the government.
Bardhan, like any other Left leader, is angry that the Manmohan Singh government is not sensitive to Left concerns. “I believe Dr Manmohan Singh is blessing Chidambaram and Montek (Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of Planning Commission). That is why they are going ahead with their plans”, CPI General Secretary declares.
Yet, the Big Marxist brother is unmoved by his case for a redefinition of Left-UPA relations on the basis of Government policies. The point is none of the four Left parties is prepared to rock the UPA boat. Certainly, not after reading 3rd anniversary eve surveys, which said, “UPA ratings take a dip but NDA eases ahead”.
Probably, there is no need for a ‘Left push’ for UPA. That much has become clear in the past few days. The tone for revisiting the drawing board has been set up by Manmohan Singh himself long before the nation was mesmerised by ‘Maya Jal’. He has been voicing his disquiet at every available platform on a host of issues that range from crony capitalism to social safety net and from upper caste poor’s plight to low farm yields.
At a full meeting of the Planning Commission in early May, for instance, he called for ‘back to basics’ in agriculture. Shorn of economic jargons, it means working on state and area specific agriculture plans not from Yojana Bhavan but at the district and state level. Rural distress is as much a big political headache as spiralling prices. Actionable plans and quick results are a must in this country which witnesses some election somewhere almost every quarter.
One unmistakable message from UP elections, according to social scientists, is people don’t want caste and rhetoric. Nor do they feel comfortable with packages and promises. For them, food on the table, quality employment, better health and above all ability to live with dignity is what matters.
The need is for something like the rural job guarantee scheme, which everyone thought three years back, was ambitious and unworkable in our country. Andhra Pradesh proved that the optimism of the authors of the scheme was not misplaced. Implemented in over 9000 habitations, it has become a model of effectiveness and probity what with payment of wages directly made into the postal savings bank accounts of every job card holder.
So, it is time to go back to the common man for Manmohan Singh and Co., “We recognise that high national income growth alone does not address the challenges of employment promotion, poverty reduction and balanced regional development. Nor does growth in itself improve human development”, the Prime Minister told his UPA constituents before inviting them to a sumptuous third anniversary dinner. And assured them his government will work with ‘dedication and renewed energy to build a new India, a caring India, an inclusive India, and an India of our dreams’.
Back to basics once again as the voters come back into reckoning!
MAYA HAS AN AMAR
Satish Chandra Mishra is to Mayawati what Amar Singh is to Mulayam Singh, probably much more. And there is reason for this. Amar Singh delivered more bytes and less votes. Satish offered no bytes but delivered votes of ‘suvarna’ castes by helping ‘Behenji’ bring Brahmins, Thakurs, Rajputs and Banias under the BSP umbrella.
Like most Brahmins, Mishra belonged to the RSS-fold. When opportunity knocked at his door, he migrated to Mayawati camp with the ‘blessings’ of his BJP mentor, initially as a legal aid. He helped her fight a host of cases slapped by ‘Moolyam’ Singh, the SP supremo, who broke her party and ‘occupied’ her ‘Gaddi’ in Lucknow Sachivalaya for close to three years.
Mishra’s services were amply rewarded with a Rajya Sabha berth. But it was during the run up to the assembly elections 2007 that Mishra became the top strategist and emerged as the Brahmin face of the Dalit party. Now, Mayawati has found a cabinet berth for him as her number two in the government. Both should get elected to the legislative assembly or legislative council over the next six months. No problem.
Some analysts aver that Maya’s Dalit-Brahmin alliance decimated the BJP and relegated it to the slot of a distant third. ‘BJP is facing a terminal decline in UP’, says Yogendra Yadav, who, like several other pollsters, has egg on his face after the UP verdict. The issues dear to the Parivar, like Ram Mandir, are not relevant to the people in the state, according to him.
But, says, an in-house specialist at BJP headquarters, “We lost in UP because UP is a SP-BSP battle field. It is not like Uttarakhand or Rajasthan where it is BJP vs. Congress”.
- YAMAARAAR
GOOD BAD UGLY
Pranab Mukherjee tops the UPA pack as a getter done and trouble shooter, according to various surveys on government performance. Chidambaram is close behind but the Left is baying for his blood. His growth rates don’t translate into votes, Left fumes and the savvy lawyer admits they have a point.
Lalu Yadav, the Railway Minister and Kamalnath, the Commerce Minister are also rated high. Not Home Minister Shivraj Patil and HRD Minister Arjun Singh. At the bottom rung are Sharad Pawar, the Maratha who loves Cricket more than his agriculture and Ambumani Ramadoss, whose stay at the helm of health ministry, critics say, is like a bull in a china shop.
The economist-doctor, Manmohan Singh, scores 6 on a scale of 10.
Rural job guarantee scheme, Bharat Nirman, sustained growth rate, communal harmony and stable coalition are his plus. Price rise, SEZ mess, power crisis, farmers’ suicide, cheap exports and costly imports are his flip side.
All this hurts his image. Not of Sonia Gandhi. Even as the Left says UPA is no more aam aadmi’s government’.
Why? She has left ‘governance’ to the ‘doctor saheb’. And when she wants to say something, she shoots of a letter to him.
- YAMAARAAR
(One unmistakable message from UP elections is that people don’t want caste and rhetoric. Nor do they feel comfortable with packages and promises. For them, food on the table, quality employment, better health and above all ability to live with dignity is what matters. So, it is time to go back to the common man’s plank for Manmohan Singh and Co.,)
New Delhi: The irony was difficult to miss. It was Tuesday, May 22 evening. It was close to 7pm. Leaders and media were gathering in strength under a specially erected and tastefully decorated shamina at 7 Race Course Road to hear UPA’s 3-year report. As Prime Minister was getting ready to receive the guests who included Sonia Gandhi, an aide walked briskly towards him and whispered something into his ears. Almost around the same time, news agency tickers were carrying a flash:-‘3 bomb blasts in Gorakhpur. 6 injured’. Quickly most TV channels switched over to the ‘Breaking News’. Only the good old Doordarshan (DD) News Channel picked up the UPA ‘live’ feed.
BJP President Rajnath Singh was quick to react. “The UPA has compromised national security. Terrorist attacks are increasing”, he thundered. “The list is unending... Ayodhya, Bangalore, Kashi, Delhi, Mumbai, Malegaon, Samjhouta Express, Jammu, Hyderabad and now it is Gorakhpur”.
Earlier in the day, Rajnath issued a 66-page charge sheet, “UPA's Three Years, Aam Aadmi’s Tear Years”. And offered a byte, “UPA’s is a faceless, directionless and spineless rule. It is led by a Prime Minister who has no say in his cabinet”.
It was his first press conference in the capital after he led the BJP to its historic rout in Uttar Pradesh. He entered the media conference room at the party headquarters, 11 Ashok Road, fully prepared to turn the guns on Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and the Congress in that order.
But he found himself facing a barrage of questions on ‘sword display’ in Punjab where his party is a junior partner in the Akali-led government. There was reason. The day witnessed life come to a standstill in the state by a bandh called by the Sikh clergy, which is locked in a stand-off with Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim.
Initially, Rajnath tried to duck for cover. And then tried to obfuscate. Finally, when he opened up, he did not want to sound as harsh as his Punjab colleagues. “I have spoken twice with Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal on phone and told him that every measure should be taken to contain violence and to maintain peace”.
Poor Rajnath. For yet another time, the BJP lost its thunder. Who hijacked it? The Left, of course. Ever since the UPA came to power on their crutches, the Left has occupied the opposition space. Whether it played that role effectively or allowed itself to be led by its fear of lengthening saffron shadows is a moot point. Opinion is divided any how.
That the Left is increasingly worried about the direction of the government is public knowledge. “The gap between ‘shining India’ and ‘suffering India’ is widening”, Sitaram Yechuri, Marxist ideologue and politburo member, said. Surprisingly, this view is shared by some in the Government as well.
Mani Shankar Aiyer, the maverick former diplomat and presently minister for Panchayati Raj, spoke his mind with “Devil’s Advocate’ Karan Thapar in an interview aired on TV-18 group of channels. “Alarm bells absolutely must be rung”. He said his views have a ‘resonance with every single minister I have talked about this’ matter”. Added he,” Nobody has reprimanded me. No body has suggested that I am out of line. No one. Literally, no one… I will certainly not be whistling in the wind”. He did not sound like a dissident. He talked more like a person who is worried about his next election.
The Mani speak was ammunition good enough for L K Advani to fire at Sonia Gandhi.
“I don’t know why Shri Aiyar is being allowed to say such things by the Congress high command without being reprimanded,” the former deputy prime minister, who is credited with rebuilding the BJP after it was reduced to just 2 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984, said, while hitting the campaign trail in Goa.
In the Advani view, the blunt undiplomatic Mani speak is a calibrated effort to distance the ‘dynasty’ from the failures of UPA Government. He has a point but it needn’t necessarily be the only point.
Not surprisingly, course correction is the flavour of the season. “Go for a mid-course recast of policies”, D Raja, the CPI national secretary, who hopes to enter the Rajya Sabha from Tamilnadu in July, thundered. His boss, A B Bardhan, who admits with a smile that his one and only electoral foray forty years ago ended in defeat, has been giving the thumbs down to UPA for a while. He also has been pushing for a review of Left’s relationship with the government.
Bardhan, like any other Left leader, is angry that the Manmohan Singh government is not sensitive to Left concerns. “I believe Dr Manmohan Singh is blessing Chidambaram and Montek (Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of Planning Commission). That is why they are going ahead with their plans”, CPI General Secretary declares.
Yet, the Big Marxist brother is unmoved by his case for a redefinition of Left-UPA relations on the basis of Government policies. The point is none of the four Left parties is prepared to rock the UPA boat. Certainly, not after reading 3rd anniversary eve surveys, which said, “UPA ratings take a dip but NDA eases ahead”.
Probably, there is no need for a ‘Left push’ for UPA. That much has become clear in the past few days. The tone for revisiting the drawing board has been set up by Manmohan Singh himself long before the nation was mesmerised by ‘Maya Jal’. He has been voicing his disquiet at every available platform on a host of issues that range from crony capitalism to social safety net and from upper caste poor’s plight to low farm yields.
At a full meeting of the Planning Commission in early May, for instance, he called for ‘back to basics’ in agriculture. Shorn of economic jargons, it means working on state and area specific agriculture plans not from Yojana Bhavan but at the district and state level. Rural distress is as much a big political headache as spiralling prices. Actionable plans and quick results are a must in this country which witnesses some election somewhere almost every quarter.
One unmistakable message from UP elections, according to social scientists, is people don’t want caste and rhetoric. Nor do they feel comfortable with packages and promises. For them, food on the table, quality employment, better health and above all ability to live with dignity is what matters.
The need is for something like the rural job guarantee scheme, which everyone thought three years back, was ambitious and unworkable in our country. Andhra Pradesh proved that the optimism of the authors of the scheme was not misplaced. Implemented in over 9000 habitations, it has become a model of effectiveness and probity what with payment of wages directly made into the postal savings bank accounts of every job card holder.
So, it is time to go back to the common man for Manmohan Singh and Co., “We recognise that high national income growth alone does not address the challenges of employment promotion, poverty reduction and balanced regional development. Nor does growth in itself improve human development”, the Prime Minister told his UPA constituents before inviting them to a sumptuous third anniversary dinner. And assured them his government will work with ‘dedication and renewed energy to build a new India, a caring India, an inclusive India, and an India of our dreams’.
Back to basics once again as the voters come back into reckoning!
“Left is increasingly worried about the direction of the government and it sees the gap between ‘shining India’ and ‘suffering India’ widening. Mid-course recast of policies is its recipe.
The Marxist Big brother is not prepared to rock the UPA boat and hence the cold shoulder to Bardhan’s push for a review of Left’s relationship with the government”.
Probably, there is no need for a ‘Left push’ for UPA. The tone for revisiting the drawing board has been set up by Manmohan Singh himself long before the nation was mesmerised by ‘Maya Jal’.
Rural distress is as much a big political headache as spiralling prices. Actionable plans and quick results are a must in this country which witnesses some election somewhere almost every quarter.
MAYA HAS AN AMAR
Satish Chandra Mishra is to Mayawati what Amar Singh is to Mulayam Singh, probably much more. And there is reason for this. Amar Singh delivered more bytes and less votes. Satish offered no bytes but delivered votes of ‘suvarna’ castes by helping ‘Behenji’ bring Brahmins, Thakurs, Rajputs and Banias under the BSP umbrella.
Like most Brahmins, Mishra belonged to the RSS-fold. When opportunity knocked at his door, he migrated to Mayawati camp with the ‘blessings’ of his BJP mentor, initially as a legal aid. He helped her fight a host of cases slapped by ‘Moolyam’ Singh, the SP supremo, who broke her party and ‘occupied’ her ‘Gaddi’ in Lucknow Sachivalaya for close to three years.
Mishra’s services were amply rewarded with a Rajya Sabha berth. But it was during the run up to the assembly elections 2007 that Mishra became the top strategist and emerged as the Brahmin face of the Dalit party. Now, Mayawati has found a cabinet berth for him as her number two in the government. Both should get elected to the legislative assembly or legislative council over the next six months. No problem.
Some analysts aver that Maya’s Dalit-Brahmin alliance decimated the BJP and relegated it to the slot of a distant third. ‘BJP is facing a terminal decline in UP’, says Yogendra Yadav, who, like several other pollsters, has egg on his face after the UP verdict. The issues dear to the Parivar, like Ram Mandir, are not relevant to the people in the state, according to him.
But, says, an in-house specialist at BJP headquarters, “We lost in UP because UP is a SP-BSP battle field. It is not like Uttarakhand or Rajasthan where it is BJP vs. Congress”.
- YAMAARAAR
GOOD BAD UGLY
Pranab Mukherjee tops the UPA pack as a getter done and trouble shooter, according to various surveys on government performance. Chidambaram is close behind but the Left is baying for his blood. His growth rates don’t translate into votes, Left fumes and the savvy lawyer admits they have a point.
Lalu Yadav, the Railway Minister and Kamalnath, the Commerce Minister are also rated high. Not Home Minister Shivraj Patil and HRD Minister Arjun Singh. At the bottom rung are Sharad Pawar, the Maratha who loves Cricket more than his agriculture and Ambumani Ramadoss, whose stay at the helm of health ministry, critics say, is like a bull in a china shop.
The economist-doctor, Manmohan Singh, scores 6 on a scale of 10.
Rural job guarantee scheme, Bharat Nirman, sustained growth rate, communal harmony and stable coalition are his plus. Price rise, SEZ mess, power crisis, farmers’ suicide, cheap exports and costly imports are his flip side.
All this hurts his image. Not of Sonia Gandhi. Even as the Left says UPA is no more aam aadmi’s government’.
Why? She has left ‘governance’ to the ‘doctor saheb’. And when she wants to say something, she shoots of a letter to him.
- YAMAARAAR
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