Newsnotes
Delhi: Audible Signal
Age seems to be catching up with the 112-year-old
Congress party. Both Sitaram Kesri and V.N. Gadgil may
fall in the "senior citizens" bracket, but the
party chief feels that his spokesperson is more senior,
and hence too old for the job. Kesri made this apparent
recently by appointing Rajya Sabha member Ajit Jogi as
assistant spokesperson. What seems to have also weighed
against Gadgil was his defeat in the CWC election. Jogi's
new assignment is meant to be a signal to Gadgil that a
successor is waiting in the wings. Surprisingly, the
spokesperson gets to know the mind of the Congress chief
and about other developments in the party from the
"assistant". But Kesri has obviously overlooked
one well known factor: Gadgil's age -- and subsequent
hearing problem -- enables him to ignore unpleasant
questions and be delightfully vague on ticklish issues.
Jogi will lack this shield.
Delhi: Divine Help
After a troubled year, things seems to be falling into
place for former India captain and gentleman cricketer
Mohammed Azharuddin. His personal life has settled down
nicely -- wife Sangeeta Bijlani is expecting -- and the
runs are once again flowing from his willow. In the
capital for the pre-Toronto training camp, he was
accompanied by his younger son from his first marriage, a
seven-year-old who seems to be taking after his father,
considering the keenness he displays for the game. Always
a religious man, Azhar took time off to visit the
Nizamuddin idgah along with wicket-keeper Saba Karim and
physio Ali Irani. Since it is Pakistan that is on the
agenda, Azhar feels "a little divine help" can
do no harm. Inshallah.
Chandigarh: Sumo Brigade
The fear of re-emergence of terrorism in Punjab has
come as a bonanza for the state's 87 MLAs. The Parkash
Singh Badal Government has decided to provide each MLA
with an airconditioned Tata Sumo. While the decision is
in line with Badal's attempts to keep all MLAs in good
humour, the largesse will leave the exchequer poorer by
about Rs 3.5 crore and also punch a hole in the ruling
Akali-BJP combine's claim of "austere
governance". Expectedly, the Badal Government
justifies the Sumo bonanza as mere acceptance of a
genuine demand -- the MLAs say the existing fleet was old
and run-down, often forcing them to travel without
security guards. But with the recent terrorist strikes in
the state, the MLAs had become wary. Besides, the
Government claims that the "one-time
investment" would work out cheaper in the long run.
Also, to ensure better maintenance, it is considering a
proposal to give soft loans to the MLAs to buy the
official Sumos. For a change, even the opposition MLAs
are going gaga over Badal's "mobile dole".
Chandigarh: Tracing Links
It was a deadly mission, but one discovered in the
nick of time. Yet, Scotland Yard is not gloating over
last month's prize catch: Babbar Khalsa International
(BKI -- Parmar faction) militants Jasbir Singh Ghuman and
Jagroop Singh Baath who had conspired to kill visiting
Punjab Police DIG Sumedh Singh Saini in London. The ace
sleuths know they have to DIG much deeper to find the
brain behind the operation.
Following revelations by Baath, a four-member Scotland
Yard team rushed to India last week to unearth the
missing links. During its visit to Delhi and Punjab, the
team questioned a Briton, Gurnam Singh, who was arrested
by the Punjab Police in Ludhiana on August 14. An
accomplice of Ghuman and Baath, Gurnam was sent to India
by the BKI to float a new outfit named 'Sikh National
Guards' and trigger bomb explosions in Punjab on August
15.
Though the detectives made considerable headway, the
big question remains: how did militants in the UK get to
know of Saini's itinerary? During their interrogation,
Ghuman and Baath are believed to have hinted that they
got wind of Saini's visit from their sympathisers among
senior officers of the Punjab Police. It's probably for
this reason that the state's law enforcers aren't
gloating either.
Mumbai: Taxman's Tonic
Whatever other politicians may think of P.
Chidambaram, the 500-plus crowd gathered to hear him in
Mumbai's Patkar Hall recently was mighty impressed. It
was not his quasi-Harvard accent or his near-perfect
diction that bowled over the audience hearing him speak
on the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme. It was both the style
and the substance of the finance minister's speech that
drew repeated applause. But the loudest cheers were
reserved for his definition of ideal taxation -- it
should be like a bee drawing nectar from the flowers.
Never mind that he quoted Vishnugupta Chanakya without
crediting him. For the crowds, it was a sign of political
maturity. Small wonder then that Indian Merchants Chamber
chief Ram Gandhi kept referring to Chidambaram as prime
minister. PC didn't seem to mind either.
Mumbai: Political Class
It's never too late to go back to school. Particularly
when you are an unruly politician in Mumbai. Bombay
University is offering a three-month certificate course
to educate legislators on the theory and practice of
parliamentary proceedings. "Our aim is to expose
legislators to the skills required to be good
parliamentarians," says Nawaz Modi, head of the
civics and political science department of the
university. "At present the legislators are not
doing what they are supposed to."
The crash course covers every little thing on
parliamentary affairs, including media management and
effective campaigning. Apart from politicians and experts
in constitutional law, the faculty includes lawyers and
academicians. Says P.M. Bandiwadekar, vice-principal of
Ruia College and the brain behind the programme:
"Most politicians don't understand parliamentary
procedures. The courses conducted by the secretariat are
too short."
But will the legislators enrol by themselves? The
university is hopeful. It has roped in the Assembly
Speaker, the Maharashtra Parliamentary Association and
the Mumbai municipal commissioner for the purpose. Says
Speaker Datta Nalawade: "The legislators should
avail the opportunity being provided at their
doorstep." Even if it means an occasional dressing
down from teachers.
Mumbai: Building Afresh
The Shiv Sena–BJP Government has decided to
restart its ambitious Slum Redevelopment Scheme (SRS),
meant to house four million slum-dwellers. The scheme was
a non-starter for various reasons, the more significant
being that the builders who were awarded the contracts
had little experience and resources -- though sufficient
political contacts. "Though we approved many
projects, few really took off," conceded Chief
Minister Manohar Joshi at a review meeting last week. Now
the revised srs requires builders to prove
"financial capability" while submitting
proposals, which in turn will be cleared by the
Government within three months. Other plans include
forming an apex authority to monitor the srs and
exemption of property taxes and stamp duties. That the
major changes come close on the heels of the departure of
chief secretary Dinesh Afzalpurkar, who earned that
position mainly by drafting the SRS for the Government,
is a coincidence. Or so Joshi would have us believe. He
has entrusted the srs to Housing Minister Suresh Jain,
the go-getter who defected to the Sena from the Congress
some months ago. "I want this to work," says
Jain. There's a lot at stake for the Sena, not least of
all the Government's reputation itself.
Hyderabad: Drought Award
After a whirlwind Sunday tour of Andhra Pradesh's
drought-affected areas, Agriculture Minister Chaturanan
Mishra's first impression was that "the situation is
serious". This, after a 100-odd km road journey
through three districts in three hours. Not surprisingly,
at several places distressed farmers waved sheaves of
withered crop on seeing the convoy -- which included five
state ministers -- speed past. But Mishra took everyone
by surprise and embarrassed his hosts when he stopped at
a roadside village and stated that funds would not be a
constraint in averting starvation deaths and that
collectors would be severely punished if such deaths
occurred in their districts. The stunned ministers were
left wondering as to what gave Mishra the impression that
the situation was like that of Kalahandi or Koraput in
neighbouring Orissa. In any case, he promised nothing
more than a Central team to assess the drought.
Apparently, what mattered more to Mishra was the Ravi
Narayan Reddy lecture, in memory of the communist freedom
fighter, he was to deliver the same evening and an award
he was billed to receive on the occasion.
Ahmedabad: Transfer
Medals
For IPS officers in Gujarat, a transfer often
signifies a certificate of uprightness. Not surprising,
considering that in the past 10 months the Shankersinh
Vaghela Government has transferred nearly 100 of the
130-odd IPS officers in the state. And the ones sidelined
in this game of musical chairs are officers with proven
track records: Atul Karwal, who rid Vadodra of deadly
gangsters who held the city to ransom once upon a time;
Kuldip Sharma and P.K. Jha, two officers who did a great
job investigating cases registered in Gujarat in
connection with the Bombay blasts; and Satish Varma, who
cleared Mahatma's birthplace Porbander of the dubious tag
of "Gujarat's Chicago". Such is the
demoralisation in the force that Sharma, who holds the
insignificant post of prohibition commissioner, recently
dashed off a nasty letter to the Government about the
treatment meted out to him. An IPS officer echoes the
sentiment: "The Government needs lackeys, not
officers. Many of us regret joining government service.
We would have been much happier and financially fatter
had we been in the private sector."
Shimla: Role Reversal
Himachal Pradesh's top politicians appear adept at
trading charges but not in bringing out the truth.
Scam-tainted leader Sukh Ram recently alleged that Chief
Minister Virbhadra Singh grabbed 20 bighas of forest
land. But he shied away when the Lok Ayukta took suo moto
notice and asked him to file an affidavit so that action
could be initiated. Sukh Ram backed out saying he would
oblige only if he was informed about the fate of a
similar complaint pending against Singh. Earlier, when
former chief minister Shanta Kumar acted similarly, Singh
had filed a defamation suit. But Sukh Ram is unperturbed.
"If Singh files a defamation suit against me that'll
bring out the truth," he says. Seems that, for Sukh
Ram, levelling charges is one way of remaining in the
news.
Bangalore: Tough Treatment
The 13 medical colleges in Karnataka -- nine private
and four government-run -- could not have been hit more
directly. When the Supreme Court passed an interim order
last week directing the state Government to conform to
the admission capacity of 2,500 fixed by the Medical
Council of India (MCI), it was implying that there were
procedural irregularities. This academic year the
colleges admitted an additional 564 students. Now the
admission test will have to be held again. In the
process, those affected are students with allotted seats
who have to either give them up or seek other options.
Meanwhile, BJP legislator A. Ramdas has sought a cbi
probe into the 5,200 seats that were illegally filled up
in the state between 1993 and 1996. "If the mci does
not agree to a probe, I will move the Supreme
Court," he says. Law and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister M.C. Nanaiah has promised to convene a meeting
soon to draft a comprehensive piece of legislation
regarding admissions to professional colleges. But there
is no word about the students who have had to relinquish
seats for no fault of theirs.
Thiruvananthapuram: Far
from Free
It was the day Mariam Rasheeda had been waiting for.
The Maldivian woman, in prison since 1994 along with her
compatriot Fauzia Hassan in the ISRO espionage case,
thought she would be free on September 6. The state
Government had other ideas. Soon after she was granted
bail in a defamation case filed by Kerala Police
officials, Rasheeda was detained under the National
Security Act the same day. This, notwithstanding the CBI
establishing that Rasheeda, Hassan and four others were
not guilty.
The state's argument that unless detained Rasheeda
would abscond hasn't cut much ice. "This amounts to
contempt of court," says Prasad Gandhi, Rasheeda's
lawyer, referring to the Supreme Court's stay on the
Government's decision to reinvestigate the case. For the
moment, Rasheeda has to await the apex court's ruling on
an appeal seeking the vacation of the stay. If the Court
again declines permission, she will be free. If not, it
will mean another long battle for justice.
|
