Petroleum Mazdoor Union Threat
Editor,
The news report ‘Meghalaya stares at yet another fuel crisis,’ vis-à-vis the threat issued by the North East Petroleum Mazdoor Union to stop loading of petroleum products destined for the state of Meghalaya is quite upsetting. The warning issued by the Union was uncalled for as the arrest of suspected individuals, involved in fuel theft from oil tankers and fuel adulteration, was based on raids conducted by the state police after receiving complaints on the same. The Mazdoor Union in fact is arm-twisting the state authorities for release of those persons involved in the illegal act notwithstanding the fact that members of their Union were involved in the racketeering of petroleum products during transportation. As such the legal steps taken by the concerned authorities to put a stop to such illegalities should be appreciated and the law should be allowed to take its own course so as to discourage others from committing such unlawful acts in future.
Yours etc.,
Stanley LK Diengdoh
Umsning
New political assignments by Modi
Editor,
In all the three states the Chief Ministers and two Deputy Chief Ministers had been carefully selected by the BJP with the aim of capturing maximum Lok Sabha seats so that gets a third term at the Centre. This will make Modi the second Prime Minister after Nehru to achieve this rare feat. With the new assignments in three states Modi has proved that “Modi Hai To Mumkin Hai,” works.
In Madhya Pradesh the BJP chose a Yadav for the post of CM. This will benefit the Party in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where the post of chief minister had remained within one family of Yadavs. Having a Yadav CM in Madhya Pradesh will definitely benefit to BJP. In all the three states the BJP has picked Gen Next to helm the state governments Moreover, it has been noticed that only the BJP can operate like a disruptive, innovative technology start-up turned super-unicorn. In the era of Modi, the only obsolete commodity is status quo. Whereas the Congress could not resolve the clash between CM and Deputy CM in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the same happened in Punjab also a year ago.
Empowering tribal groups is good for national politics and national security and clearly the BJP leadership wanted to send a bigger message to the people of India ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Prime Minister Modi seeks a third term for his government. The choice of Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal face of the party and with rich political experience as the next CM of Chhattisgarh after nearly a week’s wait should be seen in this perspective. As PM Modi said in his victory speech, the tribal community played a key role in the ouster of the Congress.
Interestingly the Deputy CM of Chhattisgarh is a Brahmin. They earlier felt ignored by the ruling parties. Now with the inclusion of Brahmin faces in the cabinet it will definitely pay dividends for the BJP.
The biggest challenge before the new Government in Chhattisgarh is to cleanse the State of the stench of corruption that marked the previous regime, staunch denials by the then dispensation notwithstanding. That was not possibly because of any individual engagement in dirty deals, but hugely because of the distorted political philosophy and policy the party in power had adopted towards national issues. The party leadership at the national and the state levels had differing and confused ideas of how the economy had to be managed and how to make things happen.
Not much has yet been thought through and written about the overall national impact of the recently concluded Assembly elections to five states — but the direction and mood of India is clear. Across the north, central and western India, there is an absolute and complete domination of the BJP’s political narrative. After winning all the three states comfortably, the BJP has stunningly done the unthinkable, even unbelievable, by choosing three new younger leaders to lead the government
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP had its toughest challenge because “Mamaji “Shivraj Singh Chouhan is not only an extraordinarily popular leader but also the incumbent CM. Yet, the saffron party went ahead and named Mohan Yadav as the next chief minister. The 58-year old Yadav is an OBC and a three-time legislator from Ujjain and had served as a minister in the Chouhan government. It was not an easy exercise to appoint him CM of Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP named Bhajanlal Sharma as the next chief minister of Rajasthan. He will be supported by two deputies -Vindhya Nagar MLA, Diya Kumari and Dudu MLA, Prem Chand Bairwa The party chose Vasudev Devnani for the post of Speaker as he represents Ajmer North.
Though the Pradhan Mantri Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM-PVTG) Mission was announced in the Union Budget in February, its launch on the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda in Jharkhand on November 15, was a significant part of the Modi government’s outreach to tribals.
Yours etc.,
Yash Pal Ralhan,
Via email
Failure to plan smart
Editor,
Apropos of Ashwin Pundalik’s article, “Constructing a Himalayan challenge” (ST, December 9, 2023), it is a criminal negligence to evade environmental impact assessment before the excavation for building a tunnel or a high-rise building. From the tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi to flooded streets in Chennai after a few hours of rain it is evident that there is something wrong in urban planning. We do not need smart brutes but smart human beings to make anything be it a country or a city look smart. Moreover, rising inequality in India mar the efforts of making anything smart. As a matter of fact, a smart city should not require a wall to hide the truth. The policy makers must ensure food, health care, education and employment for all and give priority to improve the Human Development Index score rather than only to lopsided GDP growth. Would a model look smart by wearing a brand new costly coat along with a cheap, shabby pair of trousers?
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata