Will the Jan Lokpal prove to be a magic wand in removing corruption?

Anna Hazare’s fast at Ramlila Maidan had a profound impact in Punjab, Haryana and their joint Capital Chandigarh, forcing the politicians of the region to take a call and then keep changing their stance depending on the direction the wind was blowing.

This was due to the fact that a lot of players on either side of the divide – team Anna or the Congress and even the BJP have a Chandigarh, Punjab or Haryana connect. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has to take a political stand on the Jan Lokpal, has a house in Chandigarh and so does Ambika Soni and Kapil Sibal who left no stones unturned to undermine Anna’s effort. The man who generated a sympathy wave in favour of Anna by describing him as “corrupt from head to toe”, Manish Tewari, too hails from the city and is an MP from Ludhiana. Pawan Kumar Bansal, the parliamentary affairs minister is the local MP.

On the other side of the divide, Kiran Bedi has her roots and family in Amritsar while Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who initiated the debate from the BJP in Lok Sabha on Saturday has a Chandigarh and Haryana connect, hailing from Ambala. Even the friend turned critic of the movement, Swami Agnivesh hails from Haryana and so does Swami Ramdev, who extended his support to Anna after he was himself forcibly evicted from the same Ramlila Maidan.

With the movement and the accompanying media coverage going on for days together, there were changes in the position of the prominent parties in the region – Shiromani Akal Dal, Congress, BJP and the INLD.

But at the end of the day, it turned out to be the pot calling the kettle black. Several leaders, themselves battling severe charges of irregularities, facing a series of court cases and CBI investigations on corruption, have started supporting Anna Hazare. In a twist of irony, INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala came out openly in support of Anna and disrupted the proceedings of the Assembly asking for a resolution on the Jan Lokpal Bill even as a CBI court in Delhi was framing charges against him and his son. Perhaps the intention of some of the politicians could be to wash off their past sins of corruption in the Anna wave, sweeping the country.

Chautala is not alone. There are others too. I am not pointing fingers at anyone as almost all politically aware citizens of the north, and a majority of the population comes in this category, know who is facing court cases and where. Some of them played a role in belittling Anna’s effort at Ramlila Maidan by publicly supporting him like the Punjab’s very own Monika Bedi, the wife (no one knows if she has become former wife) of notorious gangster Abu Salem. It would have been better had they remained neutral in the entire episode. This would have served them and Anna better.

Fighting anti-incumbency in poll bound Punjab, the Parkash Singh Badal government also rode on the Anna wave and supported the Jan Lokpal Bill. The Akali Dal thinks that with Anna hogging the limelight and his movement clearly against the Congress and the UPA, its coalition with BJP has a serious chance of coming back to power in the state as the Congress remains the only opposition in Punjab. While Badal wanted the PM out of Jan Lokpal in the initial days of the fast, he changed tracks and at the concluding stages, wanted the PM too in the ambit of the Bill

A party repeating its poll performance might not have happened in Punjab for several decades now, but Anna’s effort and its cascading effect in Punjab has given a lifeline to the Badal government. So much so that the political analysts in the region and even the bureaucrats, who are the first to sense which way the political wind is blowing, are not sure about the outcome at this point of time. For them it is a 50:50 after the latest turn of events.

The SAD points out that Anna is asking for the implementation of a Citizen’s charter with a time bound delivery of services. They say that Punjab has done it and are all set to blow their trumpet all the way till the Assembly elections conclude in February. The SAD leaders say that corruption as an issue has become the single most important issue in Punjab and it was here that it has an advantage.

Sensing that the anti-graft crusade indeed has merits and the SAD was attempting to take benefits from its fallout, the Punjab Congress, after dismissing it initially discovered that Anna indeed had rare qualities and sympathised with the septuagenarian. PCC chief Captain Amarinder Singh charged the Badals with corruption and kept repeating it in his press conferences throughout the duration of the fast at Ramlila Maidan.

Ever since the Anna crescendo began, the Vigilance Bureau in both Punjab and Haryana became active catching one patwari here and an SP somewhere. Revenue officials were also caught along with those of the Power department and other low level functionaries to show their seriousness in tackling graft. The CBI too swung into action and caught two Punjab Police Services Officers in Chandigarh to show that it too was quite serious on tackling the menace and does not merely act on political pressure.

But I am not sure what would happen once the media hype gets over, Anna returns to Ralegaon-Siddhi in Maharashtra and the Bedis, Kejriwals and Bhushans go back to their primary jobs.

Cynics here argue that the politicians have made enough in all these years in power and this would last them a few generations – the proverbial seven generations if not more. They do not need anything now even if the proposed Lokpal indeed becomes a panacea of all ills in the society as is being projected by the team Anna and corruption as a word would have to be removed from the Indian variants of the Oxford dictionary.

Cynics could say what they want. But one thing is for sure. Corruption as an issue per se is as old as 1000 BC if not more. Everyone since time immemorial wanted an end to it. People, nevertheless, would watch the face which is speaking against corruption to be assured of sincerity and give a positive electoral verdict. I am not sure there are many.

http://dailypioneer.com/363969/Will-Jan-Lokpal-prove-to-be-a-magic-wand-in-removing-corruption.html

Anti-graft crusade catches attention but miles to go

VIEWPOINT

August 20, 2011 11:11:12 PM

AMITABH SHUKLA

Anna Hazare has caught the imagination of not only the people of Delhi but also of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. Protests were held all across the region against corruption, the arrest of Anna and in favour of a Jan Lokpal.

None of the protesters blocked traffic anywhere nor did they show signs of ugliness and hooliganism, part of most political protests. They merely sat on dharna near the Chandigarh roundabouts and with smiles on their faces, waived the national flag, urging people passing by to support the septuagenarian anti-graft crusader.

At one place near the Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park, a demonstrator carried a placard asking the motorists to blow horn to express their support for a Jan Lokpal. The passing motorists, obliged, merrily blowing the horn several times, much to the delight of the traffic police personnel and the pedestrians. Those driving trucks, autorickshwas, luxury cars, Activa, motorcycles or the 600 and 800cc cars — all felt that they too were involved in the churning going on at the national level. The Anna supporter, carrying the placard, acknowledged the support and waived at the new ‘converts’ to the cause.

Imbibing their Delhi counterparts, the Chandigarh Administration had imposed Section 144 in the city, prohibiting the assembly of five or more people. But given the national mood and the mood of the city residents, it did not care to implement the law and looked the other way round whenever and wherever the peaceful sit-ins of Anna sympathisers took place.At some other places, the number of police personnel outnumbered those who were waiving flags but the message was not lost. Students of Panjab University and students of colleges decided not to attend their classes to take part in the flag waiving at roundabouts and motor cycle rallies in the day time and candle march during the evening at the Sector 17 market.

Sometimes, I wonder where the protests will take us to. Is there a long term vision in team Anna or is it merely a flash in the pan for only one cause - Jan Lokpal. Beyond this, do they have any idea what to do and how to go about on an issue. When I had joined Delhi University, Vishwanath Pratap Singh had emerged as an anti-graft icon. He held a rally at Maurice Nagar, the heart of Delhi University with his Jan Morcha colleagues - the likes of Arun Nehru and Arif Mohammed Khan. The students, including me, lapped every word. They shouted slogans against corruption and built a movement which led to the defeat of Congress and Rajiv Gandhi was dethroned as the Prime Minister. Bofors was the drumbeat on which VP Singh catapulted himself to power.

No sooner had he come to power, Singh brought in the Mandal Commission from the dusty shelves, not for the love of OBCs but to fight a political battle against the OBC satraps who were dictating terms. Singh wanted to prolong his political career through Mandal, it collapsed like a house of cards in no time. The same students, who had hailed Singh as a messiah, dubbed him as one of the biggest villains of the country and organised one of the fiercest anti-Government protests which lingered on for over three months in the national Capital. The dream of the youth had been shattered. Some aspects of the movement then and the social bitterness it created were aptly captured by film-maker Prakash Jha in his latest movie Aarakshan.

Twenty-one years after the fiasco of VP Singh, it is only now that the youth feel that the Gandhian approach of Anna could steer the country on the path of progress. They might not understand the nuances of a Jan Lokpal but feel that if corruption comes to an end, there is a better future for every individual, every citizen of the country. But for this, even team Anna has to come out with a perspective beyond Jan Lokpal. The institution may not be a panacea for all the ills plaguing the country. They cannot let down the youth of the country after bringing them on the streets.

There are undoubtedly, Doubting Thomases. Some even doubt whether corruption exists in society at all. They just want the existing laws and institutions to take care of graft, conveniently forgetting that they have so far failed to do so. Interacting with some officials, I found that the bureaucracy in particular has doubts about Anna and they are expressing it openly. They say that this will lead to nowhere and unnecessarily a mass hysteria is being generated. Some of them genuinely argue that this will let lose a ‘mobocracy’ as the Indian democracy is only 64 years old, not mature enough to tackle such mobs and dictatorship of an individual in the garb of mass support.

One of the Anna sympathisers said that those with vested interests, those who are averse to change and those who think that an effective Jan Lokpal could reach them, their houses, their properties, their lockers and bank deposits are criticising the Gandhian’s anti-graft crusade.

But people also want a vision beyond Jan Lokpal. Team Anna has already said that it was averse of joining the political process and won’t contest elections. In India, even if you do not like, democracy is the only method of governance we know and we do not want to replace it with mobocracy or anything similar to it. Anna will have to co-opt the existing political forces, be ready for being co-opted by one of them or alternatively begin his own version of a political outfit. The real test of team Anna would be in the heat and dust of the electoral field with a long term vision and not merely on Jantar Mantar, Ramlila Maidan and in front of the TV cameras on the streets. (The writer is Senior Editor, The Pioneer, Chandigarh)

http://dailypioneer.com/362259/Anti-graft-crusade-catches-attention-but-miles-to-go.html

Aarakshan a no show as audiences give it a miss

August 12, 2011 10:11:24 PM

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

It began as a bang but ended in a whimper. Prakash Jha’s controversial film Aarakshan, which has been banned in Punjab, failed to find enough audience on the opening day in Chandigarh on Friday.

Despite the controversy surrounding the movie and the ban extended by Punjab and earlier Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, the enthusiasm amongst the cine-goers was missing.

It was expected to set the cash registers ringing in the movie theatres and multiplexes in the city due to the controversy. The Multiplexes in Chandigarh were in fact expecting a huge rush from people in Punjab. They had to remain disappointed as only 50-60 percent of the theatres were full for the film.

“The show of the movie before noon was very disappointing. The theatre was only 40 per cent full. The controversy has not helped it a bit. You could say the theatres were only half full,” a staff member of DT Cinema here said.

Ironically, there was no demand for banning the Amitabh Bachchan, Sai Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone starred film in Punjab and the state government banned it on its own volition. A senior official said that the government was perhaps “inspired” by UP, the BSP ruled state, which was the first to extend a ban on the film.

In fact, an organisation called “Chamar Maha Sabha” which glorifies the dalit community and feels proud to associate with the word Chamar, which is not used commonly and is considered demeaning by many, wanted the early release of the film as it portrayed a true picture of the country and highlighted the backwardness of the dalits and OBCs.

A specially constituted committee of the Punjab government may have watched the film and recommended the continuation of the ban till certain scenes and dialogues are removed by the director. But, prima facie, nothing seems to be objectionable nor has the movie got anything which violates the dignity of any section of the society. Doing a balancing act, dialogues – both pro and anti reservation - are there in the movie. While Saif Ali Khan is vocal on the need of reservation, Prateik Babbar is shown against reservations. They both fell out initially but later join hands for the cause of education.

Moreover, the movie has been made in the backdrop of the implementation of the recommendations of the Mandal Commission and subsequently the Supreme Court orders on the issue. People have obviously moved ahead now so much so that a major section of dalits in Punjab are proud of the word “Chamar”. Even popular music and literature glorifies the word in no uncertain terms. T-shirts proclaiming that “I am a Chamar” are worn by the youths here, signifying the new empowerment.

A senior official said that more than what the film contains, the Assembly elections in the state forced the state government to ban the film and try to appease the huge segment of the dalits in the state.

“Even though no demand was made for a ban and no dalit would feel offended by the movie, the Akali Dal thought that if they can get even a section of these votes in the forthcoming SGPC and then the Assembly elections, it would do no harm to its prospects”, a senior official said, on condition of anonymity.

The report of the screening committee gave an inkling of the thinking of the government to some extent.

“This (movie Arakshan) may prove to be a disturbing factor in the society especially in Punjab where more than 31 per cent of the 2.77 Crore population of Punjab belong to the weaker sections including the Scheduled Caste,” the Committee said is its report to the government, recommending continuation of the ban till the “objectionable” scenes and dialogues are removed. http://dailypioneer.com/360416/Aarakshan-a-no-show-as-audiences-give-it-a-miss.html

Cong tradition of dynastic politics continues

July 31, 2011 10:20:20 PM

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

Dynastic politics and Congress go hand in hand. Following the footsteps of their national leaders, even the State leaders in Punjab are promoting their sons, wives, daughters and relatives in a big way.

None of the Congress leaders here are bothered about Rahul Gandhi’s call of ending dynastic politics and bring in democratisation in the party with the infusion of fresh blood and talent through internal elections. Interestingly, Punjab was one of the first States where democratic elections were held for posts in the Indian Youth Congress.

However, the very principle of Gandhi seems to have been defeated in the State where the democratisation process of the party began with a bang three years ago.

Ravneet Singh Bittu was elected as the president of the Punjab Youth Congress through this democratic process which has now vitiated and has several grey areas. His political lineage as a grandson of former Chief Minister Beant Singh played a major role in his “democratic election”. He was rewarded for being a torch bearer of Rahul Gandhi’s idea and became a member of the Lok Sabha from Anandpur Sahib.

Now almost the entire clan of Beant Singh, the Chief Minister, who played an important role in ending terrorism in the State, wants tickets for the forthcoming Assembly elections. This includes his daughter Gurkanwal Kaur, son Tej Prakash Singh and another grandson Gurkirat Singh. “Their claim to fame is simple. All are asking for tickets citing the sacrifice which the former Chief Minister made for the State,” said a party leader, on condition of anonymity.

Beant Singh’s family is not the only one in the State which is hankering after party tickets. CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal is following the footsteps of Congress leaders who want to perpetuate dynastic politics. While her brother Kuldip Singh Bhattal is an MLA, she also wants a ticket for her son-in-law Vikram Singh Bajwa.

Party leaders in the State point out that promotion of dynastic politics is natural due to the path shown by the “first Congress family” in the State - 69-year old PCC president Captain Amarinder Singh. His wife Parneet Kaur is an MP from Patiala and a Minister in the Central Government, he himself the CM in waiting and his son Raninder wants to avenge his defeat from Bathinda in 2009 Lok Sabha polls at the hands of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, another beneficiary of the dynastic politics, in the next general elections.

Taking cue from these leaders, several sitting MPs and senior MLAs are promoting their sons and daughters and want the party to give them tickets for the 2012 elections. They take their wards to political meetings, introduce them to the leaders in New Delhi and the State and express their wish clearly. Some of these leaders who are growing old have a succession plan ready.

“I want the party to give ticket to my son this time. I have served the party for a long time and this would be a suitable award,” a former Congress MLA, now 78 years old, said. He saw nothing wrong in son succeeding father saying “this is a Congress tradition”.

http://dailypioneer.com/357370/Cong-tradition-of-dynastic-politics-continues.html

Slice of life in the City Beautiful

OFF-TRACK

Amitabh Shukla

It has now been almost two month since I moved to the City Beautiful – Chandigarh. What amazes me here is the facility extended by the government to those who love their drink. You can easily find a liquor shop every 100 meters in the city. If you are dying of thirst in the humid and sultry conditions and want to desperately buy bottled water, you will have to traverse half the city to find a shop and you will be lucky to get a brand of your choice.

But the guzzlers of Beer are spoilt for choice. So the youth simply do not drink water in the hot and humid conditions. They merrily go to the nearest booze shop and purchase a bottle of chilled Beer. Keeping alive the tradition of the city, even the tourists indulge themselves with Beer to beat the heat instead of water, which in any case is largely available only at the railway station and the inter-state bus terminals. In this “Green city”, only those travelling by buses and trains drink water, others prefer Beer during the day time and hard liquor in the evenings.

Having travelled to a lot of places in the country and also to a few places which are considered a paradise for drinkers, I did not find any other place, except Nepal which was so “booze friendly”. Here, the city administration goes all out to give a helping hand to the tipplers.

Even the booze shopkeepers and their neighboring shops have become innovative, something rarely seen in other places. For the first time, I found a shop, specializing in selling “drinking accessories”. This was located next to a busy shop selling all sorts of whisky, Beer, Wine, Vodka, Rum, Brandy and what not.

Curiosity got better of me and I examined the shop selling “drinking accessories”. The shop had a list of all the “accessories” used for drinking – soda, ice cube, plastic glasses, peanuts, mixtures, cold drinks of all variety, bottled water, even cigarette for those who smoke while drinking. The shop next to it was selling another drinking accessory, widely used in this part of the country – Tandoori Kukkad (chicken) and all its variants like Afghani chicken and the Tikkas if one was careful of the bones while gulping liquor.

So the list of “drinking accessories” was complete. Booze lovers, some of them fresh from their office or shop going to have their first drink of the evening and others in different levels of intoxication, were coming and purchasing the drink and the “accessories”. There was a business for everyone associated with the drinks and selling the actual stuff and the accessories. The guy selling ready-made clothes and the one selling stationary, were only watching with envy the business generated by their neighbor.

The patronizing hand of government is there everywhere. In the City Beautiful, liquor is perhaps cheapest in the entire country. It is 25 to 40 per cent cheaper (depending on the brand) than Delhi. Even the neighbouring Punjab and Haryana cannot compete with Chandigarh in liquor price.

Then, in Chandigarh, the city government implements the Master Plan religiously. Business can be carried out only from the notified areas. But the rule is not applicable for the booze shops. It can be set-up anywhere in the city. Temporary structures, selling liquor have sprung up all across the city, particularly on the outskirts and what is known as the southern sectors.

To facilitate such shops and increase their business, “Taverns” have opened. Again, they sell all “drinking accessories” right from glasses, water, soda to Tandoori Kukkad. All you have to do is buy your brand from the shop, flash the bottle in the Tavern and order all the dishes available in the air-conditioned make-shift “Taverns”. One can sit as long as one wants if one has ordered anything from the menu. Even drunken brawls are allowed here, provided it does not warrant the presence of the police and has not turned too violent.

Some of them are quite innovative with the names. A liquor shop has been named “The World of Whiskies” and the “Tavern” next to it in a posh sector called “Whisky Thieves”. But you cannot steal whisky from the shop and drink it in the “tavern” close by. It has one rule. If you place order worth a minimum of Rs 400 from the kitchen, you can sit in the AC hall. If you place an order of a lesser amount, then you will have to do with the non-AC hall. But the irony was that none of those drinking merrily actually realised after a couple of pegs whether they were sitting in an AC or a non AC hall.

The lovers of Bacchus never had it so good, in any part of the country, except perhaps Goa where Beer and hard liquor is available in every second shop. But the “reputation” of Chandigarh is growing and the old residents of the city think that it can easily beat Goa provided the government gave them some more help like reducing the excise further and permitting drinking in public places.

What has come as a dampener which is otherwise a paradise for the lovers of “the daughter of grapes” is the drive against drunken driving, launched by the Chandigarh Police in recent days. The drunkards simply can’t believe that driving after drinking is an offence. Reeking of liquor and driving late night on the city streets, these “gentlemen” and “Gentlewomen” were shocked when the police impounded their license and told them to call home and get a sober person to drive them home. “I get sober and become normal only after three pegs,” one of them told the police.

“If there is paradise on earth (for us), it is here. It is here. It is here,” exclaimed a 30-something person, on a high after gulping down half a bottle of whisky with his favorite “drinking accessory”. He did not remember who had written it but vividly remembers the inconvenience of drinking in several cities and the ease of it in the “city beautiful”. He has another motto – “Live here, drink here and die here”.

His friend, who had gulped down the other half of the whisky bottle, was listening to the conversation, nodded in agreement.

(July 28, 2011)

Amarinder focuses fire on Badals

PUNJAB ELECTIONS

July 27, 2011 11:35:39 PM

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

Punjab Assembly elections may be over six months away but Captain Amarinder Singh’s body language suggests as if he has already won the elections and is on the way of becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab once again.

The President of the Punjab Congress has only abuses and contempt for his rivals and hurls them at the slightest pretext. On the firing line are obviously his Akali Dal rivals - the father son duo of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal.

“He is trying to mislead the people of Punjab…It is a complete fraud with the people of the state,” Singh said at a news conference here on Wednesday, while referring to a slew of urban reforms initiative announced by the Deputy CM at Jalandhar last week.

The Captain is not contemptuous to the Deputy CM alone. Referring to CM Badal’s criticism of Surjeet Singh Barnala and the Rajeev - Longowal pact, he said, “this (criticism) is a reflection on his (Badal’s) character. Badal has only used the events in Punjab to promote himself. He has sacrificed Punjab for personal ends.” The former Chief Minister, who had joined the Akali Dal briefly in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar in 1984, narrated some incidents from the heydays of terrorism to point out the “double character” of the septuagenarian Badal.

Captain’s verbal barbs were also directed at Sukhbir’s wife and MP from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Asked in a press conference if his son Raninder Singh intended to contest the forthcoming Assembly elections, he said, “no. He (Raninder) wants to contest against… what is her name…”? Then someone prompted that it was Harsimrat. The Captain conveniently forgot it and mispronounced the name, apparently to ridicule the Badal family.

In another instance during the 50-minute long interaction with the media of the city, he attacked Vikramjit Singh Majithia, the brother in law of Sukhbir Badal on a pointed question. “They may bring in sons, daughters, grandchildren, uncles, nephews, Congress will win.”

The Captain also took a jibe at the age of the senior Badal. “My uncle studied with him in college…He is over 90…I don’t know what is his actual age though he claims to be 83,” Amarinder Singh told mediapersons at the Chandigarh Press Club on Wednesday.

Observers here say that with political discourse reaching a low, hitting below the belt has become a norm rather than an exception. The Akali Dal too has been indulging in it. But the new found obsession of the Captain with the Akalis and the Badal family has baffled the political observers here. The Badals have become the only agenda of the Congress in the run-up to the Assembly polls which has so far failed to come out with what it intends to do if and when it comes to power.

http://dailypioneer.com/356449/Amarinder-focuses-fire-on-Badals.html

Battle of Badals heats up political climate

July 23, 2011 10:45:10 PM

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

The Manpreet Singh Badal and the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) factor finally seems to be hurting the parent party. The admission has come from no other than the Shiromani Akali Dal supremo and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal himself.

In every political meeting and Sangat Darshan (exercise to meet people and address grievances), the Badal patriarch has something nasty or emotional to say about his nephew Manpreet. This has only intensified in recent weeks even though when Manpreet was expelled from the party, the senior Badal had simply shrugged off the matter as having no political consequence.

For the SAD, it is now clearly a fight against two political enemies. While Congress is obviously the enemy Number one, no one is in any doubt now that Manpreet is the enemy Number two. The SAD fears that if he makes even a slight dent into the traditional vote-bank of the party, the consequences could be alarming. Fighting anti incumbency and a resurgent Congress, SAD simply cannot afford to have any erosion in its rural-farmer-panthic vote bank, assiduously built over the last few decades.

No wonder, in the run-up to the Assembly polls, SAD is targeting both the Congress and PPP of Manpreet. If the PPP issues any statement, SAD retaliates by countering it the same evening or the next day. A senior party functionary says that this is an admission of the fact that you cannot turn a blind eye to PPP any more.

Sample this: An emotional senior Badal says that the death of his wife and Manpreet leaving the parent party hurt him. Manpreet retaliates saying he was expelled and did not leave on his own accord.

-Manpreet says the creation of Punjabi Suba was a mistake. SAD retaliates saying the statement is malicious and misleading.

- The uncle says that Manpreet committed political suicide by leaving his parent party and he did all this at the behest of the Congress terming him as opportunist. The nephew reiterates that he never left the party and was expelled and he only talks about the future well being of the state.

- The PPP chief says wrong policies and mistakes has led Punjab away from the path of progress and development, the SAD retaliates saying the state is marching ahead with progress and prosperity.

The war of words between the SAD and PPP has only intensified in recent weeks. Clearly, SAD is now politically pitted against two outfits and it is not to its liking. “In fact, SAD has provided more credence to the PPP by reacting to it. Manpreet should be left alone. He cannot survive politically beyond the assembly elections,” a party worker said, a sentiment which a lot of SAD sympathizers hold.

Badal, who will perhaps spearhead the party for the last time in 2012 polls, before handing over the baton to his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, has spent a lot of time in Gidderbaha, the home turf of Manpreet in the Badals stronghold of the Malwa region recently. He has reached out to the people like never before and indicated in no uncertain terms that Manpreet is an outsider, was some kind of a villain and it was only due to SAD’s patronage that he became the Finance Minister of the state and acquired any stature.

Taking the threat of Manpreet seriously, Badal senior has tried to win over the SAD MLAs who decided to support the former Finance Minister. A case in point is Beas MLA Manjinder Singh Kang who has for all practical purposes now deserted Manpreet to go back to the parent party.

Political observers are closely watching how the Badals versus Badal battle will unfold as the final overs of the political match are played out in the next few months.

http://dailypioneer.com/355456/Battle-of-Badals-heats-up-political-climate.html

Haryana Cong meet held in New Delhi

July 20, 2011 10:55:59 PM

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

With discontent brewing in the Haryana Congress on a range of issues, a meeting of the Coordination committee of the party was held in New Delhi on Wednesday to thrash out the differences and put the ruling party back on the tracks of governance.

As expected, the party officially ruled out any differences amongst the warring leaders. “We mainly discussed the implementation of the flagship programmes of the UPA I and II. This meeting was for better coordination between the party and the government. There are no differences in the party,” All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in-charge of Haryana, B K Hariprasad told The Pioneer on phone from New Delhi.

However, sources said that there were several demands put forward by the group which is considered opposed to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. This included allegations that development work was not balanced in the state.

“The development is skewed. Those who differ with the Chief Minister find that the projects have been shifted to the constituencies of those who are loyal to the CM. In addition, projects are being continuously taken to the Rohtak region, the area represented by Hooda and his son, Deepender Hooda” a party leader said.

Asked about the demands of party leaders that development was not evenly spread out in the state, Hariprasad said, “It is natural for leaders to demand more projects in their areas. We do not see it as a difference.”

Questions were also raised in the meeting about Ministers not being involved in decision making as Cabinet meetings are rarely held, centralization of power in the hands of Hooda and constitution of the two bodies for selection of candidates for various government posts in the state.

This was the first meeting of the coordination committee after Hariprasad took over as the party in-charge of the state from Prithviraj Chavan, who was sent to Maharashtra as the Chief Minister.

Those who attended the meeting included Chief Minister Hooda, Union Minister Shelja, Rajya Sabha MPs Birender Singh and Ram Prakash, PCC President Phool Chand Mullana and Minister in the Haryana government, Captain Ajay Singh Yadav.

The meeting took place in the backdrop of Hooda removing Captain Yadav from the crucial Finance department for opposing the land acquisition policy of the state, particularly agricultural land for industrial projects. As the minister holding the Finance Department is practically considered as Number two in the government, Yadav took umbrage and met party President Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the developments in the state.

To a query about the land acquisition policy in the state and whether it needs to be modified in view of the opposition by leaders like Shelja and Captain Yadav, Hariprasad said that the law needs to be amended. “The land acquisition law needs to be amended. A Bill will be passed by Parliament to this effect and all the suggestions made by leaders from the state would be incorporated,’ he said.

Ironically, scion of the Gandhi-Nehru family and General Secretary Rahul Gandhi had praised the land acquisition policy of Haryana in his Padyatra to enlist the support of the farmers in western UP. The same policy has been criticised by his party leaders in the state as several farmers’ agitation have been going on, including one in Ambala, the Lok Sabha constituency of Shelja.

Hariprasad said that another agenda for the meeting was nominations to the posts in various Boards and Corporations of the state. He said after getting the list from the state, it would be forwarded to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi for approval.

On the party strategy for the Hissar bye-election, the AICC General Secretary said the Coordination committee discussed the issue but has left the matter to Gandhi. The seat fell vacant following the death of Haryana Janhit Congress leader and MP Bhajan Lal. He said more such meetings would be held in the future for coordination between the party and the government.

http://dailypioneer.com/354686/Haryana-Cong-meet-held-in-New-Delhi.html

Cong, Opp lampoon Rahul praise for Hooda

July 12, 2011 1:17:38 AM

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

Rahul Gandhi hailing Haryana’s land acquisition policy during his much publicised Padyatra in western UP has ruffled quite a few feathers in the state.

His statement praising the state government has not gone down well with farmers who have been sitting on dharna in the state against land acquisition. Several of them do not want to cede even an inch of productive agricultural land for industrial development.

The Congress General Secretary’s praise of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s policy, has also upset the applecart of a few senior Congress leaders of the state who have been quite vocal against land acquisition for industrial projects.

During his protest march in BSP-ruled UP, Gandhi had cited the example of Congress-ruled Haryana, saying “farmers were happy in Haryana and there are no problems there…In Haryana there were no dharnas either as the farmers were paid market rates for their land acquired…”

In fact, farmers of Panjokhra village have been sitting on a fast in front of civil secretariat at Ambala city for last almost two months to protest against the acquisition of their 1852 acres of land for setting up IMT.

“Congress suffers from selective amnesia. As Rahul Gandhi has not visited Haryana recently, he is perhaps not aware of the plight of the farmers here who do not want to sell their land to the government at any cost,” said a Congress leader, who did not want to be named.

Union Minister Shelja has openly voiced her concern against land acquisition in her constituency Ambala for an Industrial Model Township. Similarly Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, Cabinet Minister in the Hooda government, too has practically raised a banner of revolt against such acquisitions. He has been quite vocal on the issue and had even met party President Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the situation.

After being divested of the crucial Finance Department, Yadav, a six-time MLA said, “I still stand by my earlier objections against the land acquisition policy. Fertile land of the farmers should not be acquired for industrial projects and developed plot should be given to the farmers whose land has been acquired for such projects.”

Interestingly, even though Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Gandhi-Nehru family, has been praising Hooda, his party’s Yadav has been consistent in his criticism against the land acquisition policy. In fact, he has written letters to Hooda asking him to stop land acquisition of more than 450 acres of productive land of Kapriwas, Malpura, Gujjar Ghatal and Mehaniawas villages for industrial model township at Dharuhera in Rewari for another IMT.

Ironically, all Congress leaders in the state, who are opposed to Hooda in the factional politics of the Congress here, have targeted him only on the issue of land acquisition. Apart from Yadav and the Union Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja, Congress General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh too has expressed such sentiments in the past. Selja has written to party President Sonia Gandhi seeking her intervention on the issue.

Hooda, however, defends land acquisitions for industrial purposes. “Industrial development is the only alternative at a time when the land holding of the people is getting depleted and the youth of the State are finding it hard to get employment amid the scarcity of government jobs,” he told a rally in Ambala last month, the constituency of his bitter critic Selja.

After Gandhi hitting out at UP Chief Minister Mayawati and praising Hooda during his padyatra, those opposed to Hooda’s land acquisition policy in the Congress have fallen silent. They preferred not to respond to the issue this time.

The state BJP, however, has hit out at the Congress and Gandhi. State party President Krishan Pal Gurjar said that neither Gandhi nor the central Congress leaders have shown any concern even as the farmers have been agitating in different parts of the state for over a year against land acquisition. Haryana Janhit Congress chief Kuldeep Bishnoi has also criticised Gandhi for “double standards” and ignoring the plight of farmers in Haryana and campaigning only in Uttar Pradesh for political reasons and not concern for the farmers.

http://dailypioneer.com/352568/Cong-Opp-lampoon-Rahul-praise-for-Hooda.html

Babu-neta nexus at zenith as poll nears

July 07, 2011 10:48:45 PM

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

The politicisation of bureaucracy and the bureaucratisation of politics is almost complete in Punjab in the run-up to the state assembly elections. For many in the state, both politics and bureaucracy, which also comprises the police, go hand in hand and there is hardly a dividing line between the two.

With Assembly elections a little over six months away and stakes very high, political parties have roped in the bureaucracy for furthering their agenda while the bureaucrats are courting the political masters to gain a foothold in the rough and unpredictable world of politics.

At least four police officers, some retired, some serving, are eyeing politics as a new career. This includes the Director General of Police P S Gill who is expected to contest from Moga on an Akali Dal ticket. There are many others who are waiting in the wings – willing to put in their papers to contest the Assembly polls if given a party ticket.

Retired IPS officer Mohammad Izhar Alam, who made his mark during the era of militancy, too is expected to put his hat in the ring from Malerkotla Assembly constituency – the only segment in the state where the Muslims have a decisive role in ensuring the victory of a candidate. If nominated, he will contest against Razia Sultana, the wife of his former colleague in the IPS, Mohammad Mustafa, now Additional DGP. Alam officially joined SAD after retirement and was subsequently made Chairman of the Punjab Waqf Board.

Former DGPs Chander Shekhar and SS Virk too are expected to try their hands in politics, both as Congress nominee. Virk, perceived to be very close to Captain Amarinder Singh, was the DGP during the Congress regime and was persecuted by the Vigilance when SAD came to power. He was closely identified with the Congress when he was the DGP and then chargesheeted and accused of “politicking and misuse of official position” when SAD-BJP came to power in 2007.

A similar charge is now being made against the present DGP, P S Gill by both the Congress and the Punjab People’s Party (PPP) headed by Manpreet Singh Badal. Gill will retire in September and can contest the polls, scheduled to be held in February, without any problem. Sources have ruled out any extension being given to him. Moreover, the Election Commission is likely to scuttle any such move and will play a major role in the selection of the next DGP in the state who will take the state to polls.

Not only the police, even the civil servants in the race for contesting the polls. Prominent amongst them is D S Guru, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and an IAS officer of the 1980 batch. Unlike DGP Gill, the officer will have to put in his papers if he decides to contest the polls.

Captain Amarinder Singh, former CM and PCC President, alleged that some of the officers are “acting like Jathedars” of the Akali Dal and claimed that he had never seen such politicization of bureaucrats in his political career spanning 42 years.

Manpreet Badal’s PPP has submitted a memorandum to the Governor alleging harassment of his workers at the behest of the “politicised” police and bureaucracy. He said the DGP has become a “stakeholder” in subverting the democratic process. The memorandum to the Governor has also accused senior bureaucrats of favouring the ruling dispensation to silence the opposition.

In the deeply divided politics of the state, the fault lines run deep. The state has been swinging one way (SAD) or the other (Congress) for the last over three decades. No wonder the police officers and bureaucracy too swing from one party to the other. A few have permanent allegiance to one party while the remaining prefer to be neutral, knowing well that reprisals and poor postings could follow if “their” political party does not come back to power.

“It requires a delicate balancing act…We have to be on guard all the time so that we are not identified with a particular party,” summed up a senior Punjab official.

http://dailypioneer.com/351456/Babu-neta-nexus-at-zenith-as-poll-nears.html