<b>Modi pitches for inclusive growth</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->He said that during the period of 1857-1947, "scores of Indans fighting for independence fought, died or were jailed, an effort which was limited only to individuals. But it was Mahatma Gandhi who turned the struggle into a mass movement that won us independence".
"This was Gandhiji's greatest contribution to India's freedom struggle," Modi said.
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He also made a veiled reference to his Tamil Nadu counterpart M Karunanidhi's poll promise of free colour televisions and said Congress too had made a similar promise during the recent assembly elections in Gujarat but it fell flat.
<b>"When the media sought my reaction to Congress' promise, I said I will serve notice on people who had failed to pay their tax. The people of Gujarat only elected a man who would serve notice on them. For, from where else can I mobilise the money for the development of the poor?" he said.
"The voters there (in Gujarat) were a matured lot who were not impressed with free CTVs," Modi said while ridiculing the "media sessions discussing if something was wrong with the people of Gujarat" to have voted him back to power.
Recalling the controversy over the US denying him a visa post-Godhra, Modi said he had then "vowed to create hundreds of Americas inside Gujarat and make the Americans visit the state and seek visa to visit my state,"</b> Modi said.
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Earlier, the Congress-led coalition government was on the brink and appeared to have slipped into a minority after the NCP and an Independent MLA decided to withdraw support triggering a fresh political crisis which saw three ministers resign.
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The ruling coalition has 23 members - Congress(16), NCP(3), Save Goa Front(2) and Independents(2). United Goans Democratic party's unattached legislator Atanasio Monserratte gives issue based support to the government. The opposition has 16 members with BJP(14) and MGP(2).
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Now again, Sonia had to write check to keep few guys in her own kitty. This month she may have to write few more checks for Koda kitty.
I hope she gets her Carpel tunnel examined from "Right doctor". Boat is sinking, drop by drop.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Reigniting an old issue
Kalyani Shankar
When Veerappa Moily stated the need for setting up a second State Reorganisation Commission last week, he never thought it would catch the fancy of so many politicians from Mayawati to those demanding a separate Telangana. Has the Congress's gamble backfired?
When Mr Veerappa Moily made a statement about the creation of a second State Reorganisation Commission last week in Hyderabad, the Congress strategists did not expect much reaction from elsewhere. They, however, proved wrong. While cutting her birthday cake on January 15, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati demanded trifurcation of the State -- Harit Pradesh, Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand -- with an intention to upstage the Congress. The BSP leader's reaction gives an indication of what one can expect from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat where demands for smaller States are long pending.
The context of Mr Moily's statement was on the question of a separate Telangana State for which a movement has been going on for more than 60 years. There are arguments for and against small States. <b>Votaries of small States cite the example of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to say that small States help the cause of development. There are, however, others who think that this may open up a Pandora's box. They fear that the regional passion may be incited in other States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. They also argue that not all small States are doing well, citing the example of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.</b>
The SRC idea is not new as it gains momentum whenever demands for small States crop up. <b>After the Gujarat defeat, the Congress leadership is being persuaded to trifurcate Uttar Pradesh in the hope that it will improve the party's electoral prospect. The Congress leadership has been told that a second SRC may pacify the sentiments of many in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. </b>
<b>The immediate provocation for the second SRC is the unrest in Andhra Pradesh where the Congress came to power in 2004 with the support of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which was born on the regional sentiment and a separate Telangana slogan.</b> With 14 months left for the next election, Mr Moily's statement was meant to test the waters before announcing a second SRC. After seeing a stormy reaction, he quickly withdrew.
The issue of creating small States has been a matter of debate within the Congress. While the common minimum programme of the UPA had skirted a direct commitment, a sub-committee headed by Mr Pranab Mukherjee was set up to look into the Telangana issue. Even after three-and-a-half years there is no consensus. So, the Congress is now toying with the idea of a second SRC.
<b>The Telangana demand has been surfacing on and off for the past 60 years. Before 1947, Telangana was part of Hyderabad State of Nizam. After its integration with the Union Government in 1948, it became part of the Madras Presidency. When Andhra Pradesh was born, it became part of the State but continued to remain backward. In 1969-70, there was a violent agitation for a separate Telangana State in which at least 300 people lost their lives. Since then the demand for separate Telangana has been surfacing, with no strong leader to carry on the movement. </b>
M Chenna Reddy, who had earlier led the Telangana agitation, did not touch the issue when he became the Chief Minister twice. Before the 2004 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, Mr K Chandrasekhar Rao, an expelled Telugu Desam leader, successfully floated his Telangana Rashtra Samithi. This new regional party joined hands with the Congress and won some seats in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections.
Mr Chandrasekhar Rao and his colleague, Mr A Narendra, became Ministers in the UPA Government. However, within two years, they left the Cabinet as their demand was not acceded. Now with just 15 months to go for the next Assembly election, the TRS is queering its pitch despite problems in the regional outfit.
When Mr Moily made his remark, the local Congress leaders led by Mr G Venkataswamy had no option but to speak the TRS language. <b>Their problem is compounded because the Maoists are supporting the cause of a separate Telangana. The Maoist violence has been running parallel with the Telangana movement for the past 40 years.</b>
There is also a political angle to the issue. The BJP was coy about supporting the separate Telangana State before 2004, but it changed its stand after the TDP left the NDA coalition. The TDP opposes the move. The local Congress is divided on the issue with Chief Minister Rajashekhara Reddy leading the dissension. The CPI(M) is opposed to a separate State, while the CPI has adopted softer stand.
At the Central level, the Left parties are opposing the creation of small States, so is the RJD. The NCP, too, is not very keen. <b>In such a situation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken a retreat and said there was no decision on the second SRC.</b> This despite the fact that the Congress Working Committee had already recommended the setting up of the second SRC.
The UPA Government should be careful before pursuing the path of small States. <b>No doubt big States are unable to meet the aspirations of the people. However, several question remain unanswered. Will creating small States resolve the issue? Are the demands for small States justified? What is the progress in the recently created small States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand? Will the political parties use this emotional issue to further their own interests?</b> These are questions that need to be discussed before setting up the second SRC.
While there may be a case for Telangana, the real question is governance and not the size of the State. Telangana should be treated as a stand-alone issue and tackled. Now the Congress has to deal with not only the TRS but also its own local leaders.
<b>'I knew I was swimming against the tideâ</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->In our country, some people have created an atmosphere. They have invented a theory and created examples to convince themselves into believing their own theory. These people would have us believe that good governance is bad politics. They would have us believe that development wonât win any votes. Instead, they lay emphasis on coalitions and caste and vote bank politics. The nation was rooted in this for over five decades. I shook it up. I disproved what everyone believed for 50 years and proved that if our nation has to change for the better, we have to shun these shortcuts,â he said.
âI knew I was swimming against the tide. I knew I would be assaulted by problems. I knew I would be surrounded by trouble. But I decided that if I have to die fighting this battle, I would do so on the streets and not on a hospital bed,â he said, stressing that it is high time Indian politicians shunned caste-based and vote bank-based politics.
<span style='color:red'>âThis is the beginning of a new history,â he said, adding that the people wanted, âgood governance, a new direction, a new ethic.â </span>
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<b>'I am just a watchman who guards the resources of Gujaratâ</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->âOnly the common man has a right over the governmentâs resources. In that sense, I am not the chief minister of Gujarat. I am just a watchman who guards the resources of Gujarat so that it can benefit the common man.
âNow, if a mere chief minister of a small state thinks on these lines, how lofty must a prime minister think of the resources of a whole nation. But here we have our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that Indian Muslims should be given preference while distributing the countryâs resources. They will soon get down to communal budgeting, I think,â he said.
<b>Saying that the Congress hasnât learnt anything even after being out of power for 15 years, he urged the crowd: âDonât have any hopes of them changing. They have become a burden on the nation. Remove them from power quickly.â </b>
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01-22-2008, 01:54 AM (This post was last modified: 01-22-2008, 01:55 AM by ramana.)
<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+Jan 21 2008, 05:47 PM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ Jan 21 2008, 05:47 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->AP experts: why are TDP and Congress opposed to a separate Telangana state? Is bifurcation of AP an emotive issue in rest of the Andhra?
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The Telugu state was unified after centuries of breakup between Muslim ruled Telengana, Colonial ruled Circars and Coastal Andhra. So it is emotional to see it broken up for petty reason of misgovernance. Telengana at 42% land area is the largest, however due to it being in rainshed area doesnt produce much. Due to long dhimmitude, Telengana has developed a sense of 'takleef' and blames the rest of Andhra Pradesh for its ills.
Leaders from Telengana, like M. Chenna Reddy, raise the issue of disparity and get to power and then they loot the treasury and the cycle goes on.
The state has dumped tremendous resources into developing Hyderabad at the cost of the whole state.
A firm hand is needed to bring some sense to the folks. If there is a demand for a break up then the Telugu tribal districts (Vizag, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Khammam, Adilabad also should demand a separate state like Chattisgarh.
I totally agree with ramana. Unfortunately Telangana formation looks like a reality with no good leader in any parties of the state. If they make a guy from Telangana as CM of AP everything will subside and that is all it matters to stop this nuisance.
There will be demand by every district to have a seperate state. Every tribal with a population of 1000 or more is demanding a seperate state in NE and do we want the whole of India in the same situation?
Analyze what Chattisgargh or Jharkhand achieved after separation. Nothing other than either lawlessness or political instability. There should be no state less than 180 seats of assembly. Everytime BJP talks about smaller states they talk about Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as examples. Not all states can have the luxury of being river beds. This is a stupid comparison.
I believe UP is heart of India and dividing it in the name of governence is disastorous. By dividing the country into smaller states no one single state will have effect on the policies of central government. The lobbying by states worked very well in the development of country.
Let me give couple of examples. Every year the 2 MPs from Meghalaya request the railway minister to allocte rail development to their state. One time an MP even cried. The rail ministry never cares a two hoot because the state is not important politically. Can they do the same to UP?
Very recently when China intruded into Arunachal Pradesh, there was a protest by Arunachal MPs and no one really joined them in the parliament other than lip service.
If there are some regional imbalances, the states should adress them rather than dividing these states into smaller ones to create more instability.
Someone need to stop both BJP and congress from going into this disastorous path. If they want to bring stability at center they can increase the number of Loksabha seats to 800 based on latest census or divided the 800 equally between regions or by land area. There are many ways to solve the problem of hung Loksabha.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Seeking to make a decisive breach into the BJP's Lingayat vote base in Karnataka and consequently boost its chances in the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the Congress has succeeded in roping in JD(S) rebel leader MP Prakash, who belongs to the powerful community, into the party fold.
Prakash, along with 11 former MLAs belonging to his group, is expected to join the Congress on January 27 in Bangalore. AICC circles here affirmed that they would be awarded with party tickets, as part of the deal.
The JD(S) rebel, who was also being sought out by the BJP, is expected to be the Congress answer to the BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yedyurappa, who also is a Lingayat. The Lingayats, numbering about 18% of the state's population, are the dominant community in northern Karnataka, comprising 12 districts.
The community, known to indulge in block voting, had favoured the Congress initially but have switched their loyalty to the faction led by late Nijalingappa after the split in the Congress in 1969. In fact, it was this group which provided the base for the anti-Congress outfits that emerged in the region. The community gravitated to the Janata Party and then later towards the BJP and the JD. The BJP had won its first LS seat in the south from Bidar in north Karnataka and eight of the 12 seats in this region in the 1998 general elections.
It is obvious now that the Congress is working on a formula aiming to weave a caste coalition of Vokkaligas, the other community who are predominant in southern Karnataka, dalits and a section of the Lingayats. The services of former Congress chief minister SM Krishna, who is a Vokkaliga, is also expected to be utilised, while the party have decided to send a strong message to the dalits by retaining Mallikarjun Kharge, even though he is not rated much by the party as a leader with strong political acumen to lead such major electoral battle.
The Congress now hopes to make a dent into the BJP's Lingayat base through Prakash, even at the cost of incurring displeasure of local party units in northern Karnataka. The JD(S) rebel had met AICC leaders here earlier this week and finalised the terms of his group joining the Congress, which included seats for all his supporters.
AICC circles also dispelled fears of a Gujarat type of backlash, where the electorate rejected Congress moves to tie up with rebels. They contended that while the formula failed in Gujarat because the rebels were essentially BJP workers, it would not take a similar route because most of the followers in the Prakash camp were former Congress rebels.
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BHOPAL: The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP-ruled government in the state of adopting double standard against farmers on the issue of power dues.
"BJP on one hand, had registered fake cases against cultivators failing to pay power bills, while on the other announced plans to waive their electricity dues," Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters.
He said the party will campaign across the state to "expose" the attitude of the government.
The former Chief Minister said the government cuts power supply to houses of common people with dues of just over an month. "Why such an action is not taken against wealthy industrialists refraining from making the payments?"
Dubbing the recently-held 'Kisan Maha Panchayat' as an exercise aimed at December Assembly polls, Singh said "the meet was an insult to the farmers."
He accused the BJP of politicising the Kisan Maha Panchayat and asked it to explain how it generated funds to organise the event.
Singh sidestepped a query on state government banning screening of Hrithik-Aishwarya starrer `Jodhaa Akbar' and said he was a strong supporter of freedom of expression. However, it seems that in-depth research was not carried out while making the movie, he said.
AHMEDABAD, MARCH 18 : AMID much fan fare, the RTI on Wheels was launched at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) here on Monday. The vehicle, conceptualised by the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pehal (MAGP) is poised to take the Right to Information Act to the common man across the city.
Equipped with LCD projector, screen, computer with wireless Internet connection, scanner, printer and copier, and a small library, the vehicle will be manned by two volunteers, who will screen films on RTI, distribute pamphlets, hold discussions, assist people to file applications seeking information about the Act.
While the planned area of operation includes the six districts of Ahmedabad, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Surendranagar, Rajkot and Patan, the vehicle will initially start with the city before expanding elsewhere. Harinesh Pandya from the MAGP said the government might replicate this model across other districts later. âThis vehicle has been designed by modifying an old Tata Sumo vehicle,â said Pandya.
âWith so many vehicles lying unused, the Government can replicate the model across other districts,â he added. He said MAGP will help anyone wanting to replicate the model, with the design. He further said the vehicle will also be used for holding public discussions, for which MAGP is holding talks with the local authorities and the police department.
Noted activist Nikhil Dey from MKSS Rajasthan pointed out that the RTI Act has steadily become alive through vibrant mass-movement. Dwelling upon the scenario in Gujarat, Dey said that the state has been fortunate to have a combination of three bodies like the Information Commission, SPIPA and MAGP coming together for spreading awareness about the Act.
âMyriad innovations are taking place to generate awareness about the Act and we are learning a lot from each other,â he added.
Chandigarh: Water almost sucked out of its bowels, Haryana is now so desperate to quench the thirst of its millions that it has embarked on an ambitious, almost Quixotic, attempt to reach the Saraswati, hoping it will unravel both river and mystery.
In the middle of a festering water row with Punjab on one side and Rajasthan on the other, Haryana has now sought drilling machines from ONGC and asked it to discover the paleo channel near Kalayat, in Kaithal district, under which the mythical river may perhaps lay gurgling but buried. ONGC officials told TOI they have agreed to carry out the project.
Haryana power minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, armed with research on how Libya had uncovered a channel 3 km beneath the earth and found what's been called the first "man-made river", said: "We want drilling machines free of cost from the Centre to find out a similar paleo channel.
"Such channels are known to carry huge quantities of water, maybe even as large as the SYL (Satluj Yamuna Link) canal." M R Rao, chief general manager (knowledge management), ONGC, confirmed the Haryana plan and said from London on Friday that his team will try to start drilling work soon. "We have found positive results near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan while drilling to find out paleo channels."
In Libya, the government there found a huge mass of water while exploring for oil and gas. Called the "eighth wonder of the world", the 1980 project has now turned into the "Great Man-Made River" and is acknowledged as one of the largest engineering schemes currently underway anywhere on earth.
Darshan Lal Jain, president of Saraswati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, doesn't think the Saraswati exists in myth and thrives on imagination. "Nearly 76,000 litres of fresh drinking water is coming out every hour from the ONGC's Jaisalmer project," he said.
"The source of Saraswati is at present in the upper Himalayas. From there it reaches Adi Badri, Bilaspur, Mustafabad, Bhagwanpur, Pipli, Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Kaithal, Kalayat, Tohana, Fatehabad and Sirsa. Finally, this river merges in the Bay of Khambat through Kutch and Nal Sarovar (Saurashtra)."
Excited at the prospect of seeing Saraswati in his lifetime, Jain added, "The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO, Jodhpur) has already mapped the Saraswati paleo channels flowing into Haryana and they should be contacted to identify spots which merit digging."
Geeta Bhukkal, the Kalayat MLA, said in the state Assembly on Thursday that "heavy waves" were coming out since the last one year from a pond near Kapil Muni temple in her constituency. "Experts from Saraswati Shodh Sansthan have termed it a proof of revival of the river while Isro has taken satellite images of the area," she added.
The MLA swore the water, comparatively hot, is gushing out from a source 300 feet below the surface. It is widely believed that the Kapil Muni temple was on the bank of the 20 km wide-river.
Haryana irrigation minister Ajay Singh Yadav, who revealed the government has appointed a nodal officer to tie up with Isro and Saraswati Shodh Sansthan to delineate the further course of action, said, "We want to find out the exact location of Saraswati."
The Bihar chief minister's functioning is markedly different from that of his predecessor, Laloo Yadav.
- Methodical, hands-on approach to administration. Understands nitty-gritty of development schemes.
- Arrives in the secretariat by 10 am and stays till late evening. Personally oversees pet projects and schemes.
- Holds durbars where he himself scrutinises public complaints and passes these on to the ministers and officials concerned.
- Has taken up improving law and order in the state as top priority.
- Many dons in jail after convictions by fast track courts. Thousands arrested under Arms Act.
- No Laloo-style flamboyance for the media. Is correct and dignified with the press.
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Nitish Kumar is certainly a methodical man. When I go to meet the Bihar chief minister, he has just spent the entire day reading 3,000 written complaints from the people at his janata durbar. His ministers and bureaucrats sit around him in attendance. The sudden heat wave that has descended on the state capital doesn't seem to bother him; he keeps smiling at many complainants and hastily dismisses the others. At the end of the exercise, he finds 1,700 complaints valid, and passes them on to his ministers and bureaucrats. And throughout, he has managed to keep both his cool, and his spectacles, on.
This is quite a leap of faith for Bihar. Its politicians are usually not in the habit of reading petitions from the public. They are more comfortable making speeches, posing for photographs with villagers and leaving the dirty work for their clerks and officials to do, who do not do it anyway. Nitish, in contrast, clearly has the patience for paperwork. His janata durbar is a remarkable feat of endurance. The CM has managed to introduce order in what can easily descend into chaos (every valid complaint is given a number), and inspired the belief that it is not impossible to seekâand getâredressal from the system.
If you ask economist Saibal Gupta, he tells you that, historically, Bihar was never a functioning state. Even before Independence, it had the most organised zamindari system and the lowest per capita expenditure on health, education and other public investments. Politicians in Bihar traditionally followed the route of forging social coalitions, seeking caste support and riding the crest of the state's many social justice or land reform agitations. Social upheaval or transformation has been seen as the key to change in Bihar; not "vikas" or development schemes.
But ever since he came to power, the government has begun preparing economic surveys (written by nationally known economists)âthe first time ever in Bihar's history. The second survey published in March this year duly notes that the state has the lowest per capita income of Rs 5,772, only a quarter of the national average of Rs 22,946. "For the first time," says Gupta, "Nitish is giving the impression that he is trying to build a state. It is a mammoth task, but he has tried to make a beginning."
And it is by no means an easy beginning. Given the state he inherited Bihar in, the CM has a long way to goâthat too on a path ridden with ridicule. First off the block is state RJD president Abdul Bari Siddiqui. "Nitish organised a three-day seminar on poverty indicators," he said. "I told him it is a shame you don't recognise poverty. Lalooji knows that a man who does not get two square meals is poor. Do you need to attend a seminar to understand poverty?"
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