{"id":149685,"date":"2021-02-06T00:23:01","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T18:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=149685"},"modified":"2021-02-06T00:23:01","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T18:53:01","slug":"besieged-in-bihar-ukhand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2021\/02\/06\/besieged-in-bihar-ukhand\/","title":{"rendered":"Besieged in Bihar, U’khand?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Democratic Rights<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Insaf<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two States have put a big question mark on the citizens\u2019 democratic rights. In Bihar and Uttarakhand these appear to have come under severe threat. Police authorities, under these two governments have issued fresh orders, which should have civil rights activists up in arms. In JD (U)-BJP ruled Bihar, the police have warned that persons indulging in criminal activities during law and order incidents, protest demonstrations, chakka jaam (disruption of road traffic) and are further named in a chargesheet, would find it difficult to get \u201cpassports, government jobs, financial grants by the State, or even bank loans.\u201d The warning: people should be ready for grave consequences once police verification takes place. In BJP\u2019s Uttarakhand, the police has gone a step further and plans to monitor and take note of comments made by persons even on social media, which could be labelled \u201canti-national\u201d or \u201canti-social\u201d posts and a record will be maintained. FIRs will be on a rising spree, putting the citizen\u2019s character certificate in jeopardy. A close watch needs to be kept as a right to protest is a rule and not an exception in any democratic society.<\/p>\n

State Might Vs Farmers
\nFighting a State power is difficult, is the belief. But not among the protesting farmers. Will they prove it wrong? The ongoing battle between the farmers and powers-that-be is turning ugly, to say the least. The intense baracading by security forces at the Ghazipur border shocked 15 MPs from 10 Opposition parties, including SAD, NCP, DMK, TMC, NC, RSP and IUML. The team was not allowed to reach the border and was stopped by the police. What made matters worse was what they saw. The fortress-like concrete barriers, barbed wire fencing and metal spikes on the roads, were simply revolting. The andaata, they said were being treated as \u2018enemies\u2019 and denied \u2018basic rights\u2019, drinking water, toilets, sanitation, electricity and internet service. A similar situation at Singhu and Tikri borders too. Sharing their concern, they raised their voice in Parliament\u2019s ongoing Budget session demanding the government stop making it a \u2018prestige issue\u2019 and withdraw the bills. Be that as it may, the government must see the writing on the wall or convince the protestors. It must note that the agitation has found new grounds in Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh with protests spreading to various districts. The brutal State power is instead stirring the farmers\u2019 resolve further!
\nRegional Vs National Parties
\nThe ruling BJP and allies in Assam have reason to worry and the Congress-led Grand Alliance to have hope. With an eye on the ensuing Assembly election, two regional parties spearheading the anti-CAA protests \u2014 the Assam Jatiya Parishad, led by AASU former leaders and the Raijor Dal, formed by supporters of activist Akhil Gogoi, in jail for over a year on sedition charges, decided on Thursday last to contest together. Though they have made it amply clear they will not join the Grand Alliance, the Congress shouldn\u2019t be disheartened. Predictably, this tie up is expected to cut into BJP\u2019s vote and shall benefit the Alliance of the Congress, minority-based AIUDF and the Left parties. While the AJP-RD claim this election it shall be a two-front contest\u2014regional parties versus the national, observers feel it will go three way\u2014the BJP and allies such as AGP and UPPL, the Grand alliance and these regional parties, which may cut into the AGP vote bank plus get tribal votes and those from the tea gardens. With AIUDF joining the Alliance this poll, the anti-BJP should not split. Be that as it may, the big question is whether the BJP alliance can make a comeback, and show no signs of nervousness.
\nKerala\u2019s Poll Churnings
\nElection fever rises in God\u2019s own country. Preparations are on a war-footing with churnings across the political spectrum. One, to dent the Congress vote, the CPM-led government in Kerala on Wednesday last decided to finally accord OBC reservation to the Nadar Christian community, as per the State Commission for Backward Classes. The new benefit won\u2019t affect the benefits already given to Hindu Nadar and SIUC-Christian Nadar segments in education and jobs, but is hoped to impact the pro-Congress Thiruvananthapuram district. Two, a constituent of NDA, Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, suffered a split, with a group of its leaders forming the Bharathiya Jana Sena, and decided to work with the Congress-led UDF. Plus, it has accused the BJP of working in cahoots with the ruling LDF government, which hurt Hindu sentiments by allowing women of menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala Temple. Three, IUML leader Kunhalikutty resigned from the Lok Sabha to lead his party\u2019s campaign and join the UDF\u2019s state-wide \u2018Aishwarya Yatra.\u2019 It is anybody\u2019s guess how many more calculated moves are in the offing and whether these will bear fruit as anticipated by the players in the big battle, beginning April-May.<\/p>\n

Karnataka\u2019s Numbers Game
\nThe numbers\u2019 game plays out in Karnataka again. On Thursday last, Council Chairman K P Shetty submitted his resignation to Deputy Chairman, following the understanding between BJP and the JD(S) to install their joint candidate finally. The BJP had moved a no-confidence motion against the Congress MLC with JD(S) extending support, saying it\u2019s \u2018conditional and not on all issues\u2019. The duality in JD(S) stand\u2014on the one hand it opposes the BJP on the farmers\u2019 issue, but chooses to side with it on this, does raise questions of proprietary and integrity. No, some would say given that gaining seat of power, hook or by crook is done thing. A quid pro quo was agreed, with the deal being that its MLC Basavaraj will be in the Chairman\u2019s chair after election process. The JD(S) had in return ensured the BJP got its MLC elected earlier as Deputy Chairman with its support. So what if Shetty was its candidate for the post in 2018 when the Congress-JD(S) alliance was in power. With the Congressman out and the numbers game tilted in its favour, the BJP can ensure getting key bills passed. How long will this alliance last is anybody\u2019s guess? After all, this southern State is infamous for playing musical chairs!<\/p>\n

Memorable Moments
\nCatch that unforgettable moment of your life, is Rajasthan\u2019s bait to all those set to tie the knot. Jaipur\u2019s historical monuments and museums shall be an ideal backdrop for those pre and post-wedding shoots, so long as one is willing to pay the price. The Art, Literature, Culture and Archaeology Department passed orders on Tuesday last announcing a new policy wherein interested parties can get \u2018exclusive\u2019 access to the much in demand pink city\u2019s monuments such as Amber Palace, Albert Hall, Isarlat, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal. This, after officials realised that though such shoots took place in the normal ticketing system, people prefer to avoid the crowd. Accordingly, those wanting pre and post wedding shoots will have to pay Rs 5,000 for every two hours if its during office hours and Rs 15000 if the shoots are before or after. However, the parties will need to exercise caution for approval: follow all guidelines, ensure no antiques are damaged and mustn\u2019t engage in acts or shoot such films which \u201cmay hurt the sentiments of the public, be it their religious sentiments.\u201d Does the last proviso make the grand picture hazy? \u2014 INFA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democratic Rights By Insaf Two States have put a big question mark on the citizens\u2019 democratic rights. In Bihar and Uttarakhand these appear to have come under severe threat. Police authorities, under these two governments have issued fresh orders, which should have civil rights activists up in arms. In JD (U)-BJP ruled Bihar, the police […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-149685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}