Amit Shah in Manipur
By Insaf
Ushering peace in Manipur is going to be a tall order for the Centre. More so, as the Union Home Minister Amit Shah finally made a four-day visit to the violence-marred State after nearly a month since ethnic clashes broke out! He held meetings with bureaucrats, top officials from Central and State forces, talks with civil society organisations, warring groups to broker peace and visited the Meitei and Kuki relief camps. His message: “Violence was a temporary phase, misunderstandings will go away … the situation will soon be normal.” On Thursday last, he announced a judicial probe headed by a retired high court chief justice to inquire into clashes will soon be announced; a peace committee under Governor Anusuiya Uikey, with representatives of all political parties, besides representatives from both Kuki and Meitei communities and social organisations will be set up; CBI to probe five criminal conspiracies and one general conspiracy behind the violence. “Dialogue is the only solution to the ongoing crisis in Manipur,” was his bottomline, other than getting the refugees to return to their homes at the earliest. How soon and what homes, as large numbers have been gutted down. The Congress has called it a ‘hopeless situation’ and communities from both sides fear the divide will take years to bridge. Words may not be of any solace. North Block will need to act but not because of its BJP government. There are longstanding tensions and suspicions, and it must look for a political solution.
Now ‘50% Commission’ Govt
Will the Congress be able to do a Karnataka in Madhya Pradesh in Assembly polls later this year? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says an affirmative yes at the first preparatory meeting in Delhi on Monday last, predicting winning ‘150 of 230 seats.’ The party is toying with playing out the corruption card this time too and has come up with “50% commission” charge against Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. Not off the cuff, but the idea seems to be ‘God’ sent, given the collapse of six of seven 10-feet tall idols of Saptarishis (big saints), at Mahakal Lok corridor, during Sunday last storm. The corridor, one of the longest in country, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi last year and is to have 160 statutes, in Mahakaleshwar temple premises in Ujjain. With the project stated to cost Rs 856 crore, as against Rs 300 crore envisaged by previous Congress government in 2019, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath has alleged ‘corruption’, demanded a probe into “sub-standard” quality of construction and set up his own 7-member inquiry committee, as ‘the way the deity idols fell on the ground is a very pathetic scene for any religious person.’ Importantly, the Lokayukta had issues notices to 15 officials last year after Ujjain’s Congress MLA had alleged corruption in the construction. Greed more than God, could be a slogan for the Congress! Will BJP pay a price for sin of greed?
Bihar Upbeat
June 12 shall be an important day for Bihar. Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar gets the first set of Opposition parties together in Patna that day. He has been holding meetings to get the flock together against the BJP for the big fight—General elections 2024. And on Thursday last, Congress finally said yes to participating, though it’s unsure who will attend as Rahul Gandhi is in abroad and party President Kharge has other programmes. Be that as it may, a JD(U) leader was confident it will be ‘a grand meeting’ under Nitish’s leadership, ‘which will send a message to whole country. Change in country will start from Bihar only. You will see that parties with the same views will stand together.’ Will they? For Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been unable to get Congress support against the Centre’s Ordinance over transfer and postings of bureaucrats in the national capital. His third message has not cut any ice. However, he has been successful in adding his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin’s support in the Rajya Sabha. Interestingly, Stalin said he “will take all steps to coordinate the Opposition. That effort is already on. This is not new. DMK will also be involved in it wholeheartedly.” Encouraging, but leaders should remember the proverb: Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Farmers to Wrestlers
Do the wrestlers have reason to have a glimmer of hope? Perhaps, as the farmers have decided to lend them support, after New Delhi has chosen to look the other way. A Mahapanchayat was called by BKU leader Naresh Tikait and with 30-35 khaps and their heads from Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, held in Muzzafarnagar, UP on Thursday last, after he and other farmer leaders managed to dissuade the protesting wrestlers from throwing their medals in the Ganges at Har ki Pauri, Haridwar, Uttarakhand. His brother Rakesh Tikait said the wrestlers ‘will not get defeated’ and they too shall demand action against the WFI chief in the alleged cases of sexual harassment. However, a final decision will be taken at a meeting in Haryana on Friday. “We will go to the President of India if need be… We are with you, you don’t have to worry,” he sought to give them confidence. The support comes as the wrestlers, disheartened were seen sitting along the banks of the river for over an hour, clutching onto their hard-earned medals and citations. The farmer leader convinced them to wait for five days. Will he be able to keep his promise? Will Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, as demanded be arrested? The farmers had won one big battle against the Centre, will this be another one?
Phone Vs Water
It can only happen in India. Precious 41 litres of water from a reservoir’s waste dam were drained out to retrieve a food inspector’s mobile phone! On Wednesday last, Chhattisgarh police finally lodged an FIR against three government officials, including the inspector Vishwas (who is suspended) for the absurd act at the Paralkot reservoir in Kanker district, which hit headlines after a week since it happened following a complaint filed by the nayab tehsildar (revenue official) of the area. Vishwas got the wasted water stored in the spillway basin of the waste weir drained for four days after he dropped his phone during an outing with the two water resources department officials, who supported him in his ‘unauthorised act’. Incidentally, he didn’t care about the water stored, which is used by locals for daily needs, agriculture activities and serves as a drinking source for animals and birds in the summer season. His phone was more important. While it would be worthwhile to see if he pays the penalty of Rs 53,092 imposed by the department, the incident speaks volumes of how babus feel they can do what they want. Recall, how a whole sports arena was closed in Delhi in the evenings as a babu wanted to have his daily walk with his dog. The officer was posted out to another State. Would the same happen to a common citizen? — INFA