By Insaf
Has Goa stirred a hornet’s nest? On Tuesday last, Chief Minister Parrikar proposed an audit of State electoral officers’ reimbursement claim of Rs 16.86 crore incurred during the February poll. To Mr Clean, it was “seemingly exorbitant”, as according to him, the officials had hired vehicles other than those already made available from various departments for election duty. While this would pass, his observation at a function two days later should ruffle feathers. He said that for those two-and-half-months of the poll process, the Election Commission has given this bill and ‘they were going around in the vehicles”. And then there was a bigger punch at Nirvachan Sadan. He said: “I don’t like to criticise constitutional authorities, but when constitutional authorities attain absolute power, they can become more corrupt than politicians.” And, to buttress his point he stated that while politicians have to come before people every five years and are answerable to the media 24/7, “this kind of accountability has to be there everywhere.”
The Chief Minister was obviously peeved at the delay in holding of elections in some panchayat wards after a court order and sought to know who should be held responsible for the delay? Sadly, to him “there is no accountability of the State Election Commission. If politicians were responsible for the delay, they would have been criticised. It is very easy to target a politician,” he went on to make his point. The remarks would get a lot of cheer from the common man, but then two wrongs don’t make a right. His run-in with the EC is not new. Last February, the poll body issued a notice to him (then Defence Minister) over his purported remarks suggesting bribery for votes during the election campaign. While he claimed his speech was wrongly translated, the Sadan had rejected it. With his latest utterances, has Parrikar put his foot in mouth or should he get kudos for speaking where others would fear to tread. The pow-wow is certainly worth a watch.
Tripura State Demand
Tripura too seems to be heading towards trouble, like the Darjeeling Hills. With elections to the State due in February, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), on Wednesday last again raised its demand for a separate State. It has threatened to block NH 8, (connecting the land-locked State and the rest of India through Assam) and rail tracks indefinitely from 10th July. The CPM government of Manik Sarkar smells a rat and warned it will not tolerate a Manipur-like conspiracy. It claims that just months before the polls, the BJP instigated the Naga group to block Manipur’s National Highway to embarrass the ruling Congress and come to power. The plot was successful, and within days the BJP got the month long road blockade withdrawn! The IPFT however insists its demand is long-pending and the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) area, which constitutes 2/3rd of the State’s area and has a population of 37 lakhs be upgraded to a State. Though all parties are against it, all eyes would be on New Delhi. Will the BJP be able to extract its pound of flesh?
TN MLAs’ ‘Auction’
Tamil Nadu politics continues to be bogged down by corruption. A sting operation has opened a can of worms and given the opposition DMK a handle to mock their counterparts in the Assembly with placards of “MLAsFor Sale” and putting them up for ‘auction’. The high decibel drama on Wednesday last, saw leader Stalin demanding dissolution of the House, as he said the February vote trust was “fixed and bought over”. This, on the basis of the sting operation carried out by a news channel showing two MLAs openly ‘talking’ of taking money and gold for votes offered by middlemen of both the Panneerselvam and Palaniswami camps! While the authenticity of the sting is being questioned with the MLAs in denial mode, the DMK is set to up the ante. With Congress and IUML MLAs joining its protest, Stalin has warned it will not let go as the Government has “lost moral and legal right to continue in office.” Is it a classic case of the kettle calling the pot black?
Rajasthan Inefficiency
Rajasthan housing has a shaky foundation. In fact, a recent case reveals its not only private builders but government agencies too take the citizens for a ride. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission came down hard on the Rajasthan Housing Board as a complainant had his allocation of property cancelled twice in schemes floated in 1979 and 2007. This forced the Commission to observe: “government agencies have no right to accept money from the public unless they are ready with a housing scheme for which allotment can be made within a reasonable time.” While the Board admitted the 2nd allotment letter was a ‘mistake’, the Commission viewed it as ‘height of inefficiency.” The Board has now to allot a flat to the complainant at 2008 previling prices! Worse, the Commission noted that the Board hasn’t been able to maintain its own record properly, nor look after the interest of the gullible public, which deposit their hard-earned money in hope of getting a residential property and keep on waiting for the same for decades together…” Other Housing Boards please take note.
Punjab Divergence
The ghost of Punjab militancy resurfaced bringing differences between alliance partners. On Wednesday last, when the Punjab Assembly had an obituary reference for “super cop’ KPS Gill, all 14 MLAs of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) staged a walkout. But its partner, the BJP wasn’t on the same page and three of its MLAs stayed put. SAD said ‘Gill killed thousands of of innocent youth and his name must be deleted from the list’. The BJP felt difference of opinion over the former DGP’s style of functioning could be there, but there was no denying he brought peace to the State. Likewise, AAP MLAs refused to join their ally, the Lok Insaf Party’s two MLAs who too walked out shouting anti-Gill and government slogans. Understandably, the Congress Government justified its decision to pay tributes to Gill, and chose to remind SAD that Badal remained CM for 15 years ‘because of Gill.” Would the allies at least agree on this? —INFA