‘Bulldozer’Politics
By Insaf
The rule of law be damned, rather simply bulldoze it. It’s the “New India” that the national capital too gets a taste of. On Wednesday last, in a sequence to the communal riots in Jahangiripuri in northwest Delhi on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanthi on Sunday, the BJP-led North Delhi Municipal Corporation took a leaf out of other BJP-ruled States. With no notices issued, bulldozers were run over houses and establishments of a particular community under the garb of ‘illegal encroachments’. A common pretext for a BJP administration to target the “rioters” as was done in Madhya Pradesh days ago, an idea picked from BJP-ruled UP. What is shockingly worse is that authorities didn’t care a hoot that the Supreme Court had ordered them to pause, maintain status quo, following the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, petitioning it early morning saying “this is completely unauthorised, unconstitutional, demolition.” It did as it was also told that while the demolition was planned to start at 2 pm, it started at 9 am “knowing that we are going to mention it”. The court obliged. But at noon, the Jamiat counsel had to reach out to CJI saying “Despite the world knowing that this court passed orders, they are not stopping…They say order is not communicated…”Brazen dirty tricks! The top court must act. Accepting a big boo to its face shall bulldoze the faith that citizens have in the last surviving bastion of our democratic society.
Naga Peace Talks
Will the Centre and NSCN-IM finally clinch an agreement to usher in peace in Nagaland? Hope is revived, with NSCN-IM leaders, led by General Secretary Th Muivah not only holding talks with Centre’s interlocutor A K Mishra on Tuesday last, but significantly for the first time at the outfit’s headquarters, Camp Hebron near Dimapur.Recall, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the rebel group and New Delhi in 1997. In 2015, the negotiations were renewed by the Modi government which claimed that a Naga peace accord had been signed, details of which were not spelt out. This Tuesday, the talks lasted ‘over two hours’but no details were shared, other than sources saying these were ‘fruitful’. It is a challenge for new interlocutor Mishra, a former special director of IB, who replaced R N Ravi, after relations between him and NSCN-IM soured in 2019-20 and he was sent as Tamil Nadu Governor. This time around, the talks took place a week after Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, his Deputy Patton and former CM Zeliang met Modi and Shah in Delhi to discuss the status of peace talks. Disagreement remains on the demand for a separate Naga flag and the Constitution. It’s resolution is anybody’s guess.
TMC Dominance
The winning streak continues for the TMC in West Bengal. Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee it swept the two Lok Sabha bypolls, winning Asansol constituency for the first time since 1998 and retaining its Ballygunge seat in south Kolkata. Incidentally, both the victorious candidates, Shatrughan Sinha and Babul Supriyo respectively, had deserted the BJP, which got a drubbing with one of its candidate’s losing her deposit and CPM coming second in Ballygunge. Supriyo thanked Mamata Banerjee for his ghar wapsi’, whereas Shatrughan was upbeat as not only had he broken the Asansol jinx for the party, won by over 3 lakh votes’ margin but gave a befitting reply to BJP, which he had left after his 40 years’ stint with it and a brief one in Congress. The BJP didn’t expect such a result, saying its ‘going to introspect’. It would have to do a lot more, as the TMC proclaimed, “it’s only going to get better from here.”Will Mamata, the street fighter, be a game changer in 2024 elections?
All Is Well In MVA
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has proved the BJP’s rumour mongering machinery wrong that all was not well among the alliance partners. With a ‘united’ strategy, the Congress candidate won the Kolhapur North Assembly seat defeating BJP’s in a hotly contested bypoll. Celebrations erupted in all three camps—Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP as it was a rebuttal to Hindutva ‘divisive politics’ of the BJP. Importantly, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a good call. His directive to a disgruntled section of his party cadres to support the Congress candidate worked. Plus, it rattled a confident BJP State President Patil,who said if the party’s candidate lost, he would take sanyas in Himalayas. While that isn’t happening, the bypoll should make the MVA wiser. As a leader said: “Our unity has shown that BJP is easily beatable. And if we remain like this elsewhere in the state, there is no reason why the MVA shouldn’t remain on top in every election.” The Kohlapur formula has indeed sent a strong message for not just the ruling dispensation but the BJP too. It did end up conceding “it was up against MVA’s three constituents— one-versus-three contest.”
TN Raj Bhavan Row
The Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu should get the message, the government means business. Governor Ravi can’t go on delaying giving assent to the second anti-NEET Bill passed by the Assembly. For DMK Chief Minister Stalin didn’t mince words when he warned the Tamil New Year high tea party and a statue unveiling function organised by Raj Bhavan would be boycotted. It was on Thursday last.Adding to the strained relations between the two. Importantly, NEET abolition bill is among 11 others pending, ever since the Assembly passed it in September. Ravi is alleged to have been sitting on the files for initial 142 days, before sending it back, government returned it for assent, but it wasn’t considered. ‘It has been held up for 208 days now,’ said a minister.The delay is denying Stalin to fulfil his poll promise— exempt the State from centralised medical entrance test. But, Ravi insists it would go “against students’ interest, especially the poor.” His ‘uncalled-for critique’ and “big brother” attitude may help the Centre, but violates the federal structure, arguesthe DMK. It’s time he realisesthat ‘constitutional propriety’ demands he act on advice of Council of ministers. Sooner the better.
Intolerant Tweet
Is BJP worried about the ensuing Assembly elections in Gujarat or is the growing intolerance rubbing off? The question comes up following the arrest of independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, by the Assam police from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night and taken to Assam by air in the early hours. The Congress, which Mevani supports, called the action “undemocratic”, “unconstitutional” and an act of “authoritarianism’. The latter is what many would agree with. For the reason for Mevani’s arrest is absurd, to say the least. It was over his recent tweets in which he called Prime Minister Modi a supporter of Nathuram Godse. Modi, who “considers Godse as God,” should appeal for peace and harmony against communal clashes in Gujarat, he had said. An FIR was filed few days back following a complaint by a BJP executive member in Assam’s autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council, though the tweet has been withheld by Twitter. Besides, the chief judicial magistrate, Kokrajhar, rejected his bail petition and sent him to three-day police custody. Supporters of Mevani have announced that they will protest in Delhi. Not enough. Arrests on basis of FIRs are becoming a near normal against those who question the establishment. Not done in a civilised, democratic society.— INFA