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The killer drain Murder, murder |
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Battle for UP Maya may take on Mulayam With only nine months left for the UP Assembly tenure to end, hectic activity has begun for the coming battle of the ballot there. Every contender for power seems to be working overtime.
Importance of N-deal
No complaint!
Musharraf isolated His father’s son: Karnataka
struggles on Legal notes
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The killer drain The
misery being spread far and wide by Budda Nullah of Ludhiana is too lethal, too obnoxious and too obvious for anyone to miss it. And yet, it took a concerted campaign by The Tribune to make the government and its officials to wake up to the grave threat that it was posing to the lives of thousands of people. This was not the first time that this paper was highlighting one of the worst health hazards in Ludhiana, which is said to be the city of the rich in the North. Similar investigative stories had been carried last year also. The authorities concerned promised prompt action but delivered precious little. In fact, the situation had only gone from bad to worse ever since. It is heartening to note that this time the Chief Minister has now stepped in. Since the elections are also approaching, there are chances that there will be some real action on the ground. Yet, time has still not really come to confidently uncross one’s fingers. The trouble is that the action that the government has announced is too diffused to evoke confidence. For one thing, it involves numerous departments. The experience so far is that too many departments — like cooks — spoil the broth. Then there is also an unabashed tendency to hand over the responsibility to NGOs. The task of cleaning up the mess is too gigantic and specialised to be left to Good Samaritans. It is best handled by the government itself on a start-to-finish basis. That is what the Captain and his government should be doing. To accomplish that, there must be a crash programme, which may annoy some vested interests but brooks no delay. After all, the polluted nullah is spewing poison wherever it flows. Health of countless poor persons condemned to live in its vicinity is at peril. Even those living some distance away are not immune. Municipal and state authorities have failed miserably in tackling the menace. Instead of being a coordinating agency, the government has to be the implementing agency. And yes, there has to be a time ceiling on whosoever is assigned the task. The old “what-can-be-done” approach won’t do. If the “impossible” can be achieved in Surat, why can’t Ludhiana do it?
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Murder, murder IN the years of yore, Ujjain was a seat of learning. Today the town is notorious for the virtual lynching of a professor by his own students for no other reason than that he had to postpone elections to the students union. Postmortem of Prof Harbhajan Singh Sabharwal showed that he died because of an injury in his ribs causing the lungs to choke. A colleague of his, Prof M L Nath, is lucky that he is still alive after all the beatings he suffered. A former Principal of Government Madhav College, Prof Sachin Upadhyay, was so shocked by what happened at the college from where he retired that he died of cardiac arrest. First the haranguing and then the manhandling of the teachers all happened in the presence of the police but they did nothing to save the teachers. Worse, even when Prof Sabharwal collapsed and Prof Nath had to be taken on a stretcher to the hospital the policemen were looking for cover. In distant Bhopal, minister for higher education Tukojirao was labouring hard to prove that it was not the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which was behind the attack on the teachers. He was certain that it was the handiwork of the rival National Students Union of India. Be that as it may, the worthy minister did not say who prevented the police from taking action against the killers of Prof Sabharwal. Video footage of the manhandling of the professors shown by CNN-IBN gave a lie to the claims of the police. The faces of all those students were as clear as those of the police officers who remained mute spectators. Finally, it was the video clipping that forced the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government to order a magisterial inquiry into the killing of the professor and forced the surrender of some ABVP leaders. It is surprising that an organisation that lays great store by what it calls the guru-shishya tradition would debase itself to such a base and vile degree as to come to the rescue of the guilty student leaders. Those who have the blood of their teachers on their hands need to be tried for murder and not given any leniency. The policemen who chose to remain passive in the face of the gravest provocation, too, need to be punished for their callousness.
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Battle for UP With only nine months left for the UP Assembly tenure to end, hectic activity has begun for the coming battle of the ballot there. Every contender for power seems to be working overtime. BSP chief Mayawati has even finalised the names of the nominees for most of the seats in the state’s 76 districts. She has fine-tuned her strategy too. She announced in Lucknow on Sunday after her re-election as the BSP chief that she was against the practice of promoting hereditary rule — a charge levelled against the ruling Samajwadi Party and the Congress. She has also started building a vote-bank in the upper castes like the Brahmins despite making it clear that the party’s leadership will remain in the hands of the Dalits. Only the BSP is a serious challenger to Mr Mulayam Singh’s rule. People are thoroughly disappointed with his record particularly on the law and order front. But he seems to be the least bothered about such issues when caste and community considerations continue to determine the outcome of elections in his state. Mr Yadav is busy strengthening his base in the sections — like the Yadavs and the Muslims — known for supporting him. Recently he announced two major awards for literary works in Urdu. He has also been trying to ensure that the Muslims as a class are not victimised in the fight against terrorism. But former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, who has come back to the BJP after his expulsion some time ago, believes that people are not only fed up with the rule of the SP, but also have no confidence in the BSP to be able to give them a government that cares for everybody, irrespective of one’s caste or religion. In his opinion, people think that only the BJP can be trusted for providing good governance. But the problem with the BJP is that it is still beset with infighting. The position of the Congress remains most pitiable despite Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s assertions to the contrary. Most of its district units need to be given a new lease of life. She and her son Rahul Gandhi will find it a Herculian task to change the fate of the Congress, which has only 10 seats in a House of 403.
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The British House of Lords is the British Outer Mongolia for retired politicians. — Tony Benn
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Importance of N-deal Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stunned everyone into silence, in Parliament, Press rooms, think tanks and retirement homes with his candour and determination as he spoke in the Rajya Sabha on August 17, 2006, on the Indo-US nuclear deal. He spoke only the obvious, based on his position spelt out clearly on earlier occasions, but self-fulfilling prophecies had clouded the atmosphere so much that it appeared as though it was a new gospel for the Indian Prime Minister to say that there has been no change in “the basic orientation of our policies” or “our independent judgment of issues of national interest”. To say that India had many differences with the United States appeared to be a revelation. He had to say that India was engaged not only with the United States, but also with other countries in promoting our national interests. And strangest of all, he had to assure the House that “there is no question of India being bound by a law passed by a foreign legislature”, an elementary lesson in sovereignty. But are we about to throw the baby with the bathwater? Was Mr Natwar Singh right when he said in his non-speech in the Rajya Sabha that the Prime Minister “might have also ensured the death of a deal, which in its original form was beneficial to us”? To proceed on the assumption that the choice for India is only between servility to the United States and defiance of it is to challenge India’s ability to work in the post-Cold War environment. The Cold War mindset seems alive and well in India. Today’s global agenda is not colonialism, apartheid and foreign domination, which meant confrontation, but terrorism, energy security, the environment and HIV/AIDS, which demand cooperation and coordination among all nations. In the process of building such cooperation, a distinction must be made between matters of fundamental interest on which no compromise is possible and peripheral issues on which accommodation is necessary. The point that the Prime Minister made about the significance of the current negotiations needs reiteration. They involve the dismantling of a regime that has not only survived for over three decades, but has also been an article of faith for the vast majority of the nations of the world. Public opinion around the globe has attached great importance to the regime for the sheer survival of mankind. It is, therefore, not easy for the Bush Administration itself to change the rules for India even if it wants to do so. Our defiance on issues that are not directly related to the civilian nuclear cooperation will make it difficult for the US to sell the deal to the Nuclear Suppliers Group or to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Winning arguments with the US will give us a sense of triumph, but it will not help us to win the other battles ahead of us. Apart from reiterating that the basis of any future agreement will be strictly the Joint Statement and the Separation Plan, the Prime Minister termed as “unacceptable” some of the stipulations the US Senate and House have made with regard to the nuclear deal. He could not have been more forceful in insisting on full civilian nuclear cooperation, the principle of reciprocity, the total autonomy of our strategic programme and scientific research. How many of them will eventually emerge as “deal-breakers” is a matter of speculation at present. On the other hand, there may be some others which may not require the same amount of vehement objection either because they are implicit in the statement or are not fundamental to our position. One case in point is the requirement under the US Public Law to cease nuclear commerce with India in the event of India testing nuclear weapons. It will be unrealistic to expect that the nuclear agreement will remain intact if we test again. New Delhi is committed to “continuing India’s unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing” in the July 18, 2005, statement and the nuclear weapons states themselves have, in one way or another, are committed not to test. This is a sleeping dog that should be allowed to remain undisturbed. To raise a hypothetical question about tests is to arouse suspicions about our real motivations. The requirement of annual certification by the President of the United States is a legal devise that the US Congress uses to get around some of the domestic laws. By challenging this requirement that does not have any practical impact on the agreement will create suspicion that we do not intend to honour our commitments. We are perfectly right in claiming that the whole deal with the US is about civilian nuclear cooperation and it has nothing to do with our nuclear weapons. But the whole world sees it differently and we ourselves see it as an alternative to the NPT regime to build confidence in the world. The statement explicitly states that the two leaders reiterated their commitment that their countries would play a leading role in international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our point is not that we have not assumed any responsibilities, but that they will be no whit more than those of the leading countries with advanced nuclear technology such as the US. The Prime Minister’s categorical assertions in Parliament that the final agreement will be only on the basis of the Joint Statement and the Separation Plan was stating the obvious because we are not a party to any conditionality that the Senate or the House may have sought to impose. At no stage did the government accept any of the stipulations of the US Congress. The outer limits of Indian flexibility were well known to the US Congress, but the latter has its own preoccupations and concerns as we ourselves have. But happily, the US Administration itself shares some of India’s concerns on the developments on the Hill and has informed the US Congress that it does not intend to renegotiate the deal with India. But we should also show our innate sagacity to concede what is cosmetic and unimportant and remain steadfast to the fundamentals. Walking out of the agreement is an easy option for India. But that will negate the relentless diplomatic efforts made by India for 30 years to find a way out of the NPT regime. If nuclear fuel and equipment from abroad were not essential for our development, we could as well have ploughed a lonely furrow much longer. Even the most ardent critics of the deal concede that in its original form, the agreement has fundamental importance to us. As for the additions by the US Congress, the government had not accepted any of them in the first place. Let us throw the bathwater out, not the
baby.
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No complaint! Our odd-looking group - five from Chandigarh, two from Ludhiana and one each from Haryana and Allahabad — boarded AP Express at Hyderabad. Weather had been kind on the outward journey and we hoped for a smooth return journey. But it wasn’t so ordained. Due to mistake or mischief, tickets of the Ludhiana duo were for June 22, full 30 days away. When claimants emerged Punjab friends had to buy new tickets, cough up a fine and remain without seats. We were not too worried: nine people seven seats, friend from UP getting down at 2 am. After some time weather cooled down. Food was passable. We North Indian hacks were unable to survive without our cuppa. One friend, call him “B”, particularly fond of his “cha”, pestered every passing waiter for tea, but pantry car (PC) staff of the prime Andhra train had time only for coffee. All joined his impatient wait for the post-lunch cup. We were in a dark mood when tea ultimately arrived. “B” complained: “It’s not hot enough, the cup is not full”. Waiter protested, but “B” made him see the 150 ML line on the paper cup. Waiter reluctantly poured some more. This was repeated before dinner as another waiter brought tea. “B” insisted that complaint book be brought, only then will we make payment. The waiter left. Despite several massages to PC manager, it was no show. At breakfast time next morning one Chandigarh friend opening his packet of omelette and toast, casually turned over the food to find an inch long worm sticking to the omelette underside. We all were horrified. The waiter, still nearby, was summoned; he offered a fresh packet and suggested we throw the offending one out of the window. “B” shouted: “Keep the packet”. Waiter was ordered to leave his basket there, bring PC manager and the complaint book immediately. This complaint couldn’t be wished away — or thrown out of the window. PCM, portly Train Superintendent (TS) in tow, arrived 30 minutes later looking visibly peeved. It’s inexcusable, TS pronounced. PCM explained he was understaffed, his only cook was overworked, a waiter was spared for packing. AP Express catering is being privatised. Vacancies remain unfilled. “B” narrated the teatime incident. TS rebuked PCM: if you respond to complaints the first time passengers won’t be angry. Demand for complaint book was repeated. TS and PCM pleaded: poor cook will be sacked. Some hearts began to melt. The complaint book was produced. Someone asked to see the culprit. The cook was produced — sweating, clad in greasy pants and banyan asking for forgiveness with folded hands. He was forgiven. All un-served packets of “toast-omelette” went out of the window; the cook himself did that. PCM ensured the offending packet went out too. Before returning the elusive complaint book we chanced to turn its pages. Two complaints in six months, a third had been cancelled after being written. Be sure there won’t be many; complaints will be handled the AP Express
way.
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Musharraf isolated
ISLAMABAD – Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the man Washington is leaning on to uproot Islamic extremism here in one of its main strongholds, is looking more politically isolated in the three days since his army killed a charismatic, 79-year-old rebel leader. Even Musharraf’s closest aides have left him alone in defending the killing Saturday of the ethnic Baluch leader, Akbar Khan Bugti. Protest of the killing has been as unanimous as politics gets in Pakistan. The Bugti affair comes as Musharraf has faced months of broadening public talk that he is failing as a national leader. He has been unable to quell (and, according to many, has exacerbated) two regional rebellions. Inflation has spiked. And the government is besieged with accusations that it is corrupt. The rising dissatisfaction with Musharraf is reflected in two open letters sent to him in the past six weeks by senior political and military figures, including many former allies, underscoring that his continued dual role as president and as commanding general of the military poses dangers for Pakistan and its ability to evolve toward a real democracy. Musharraf – and the Bush administration – are hoping that he can muddle through and somehow strengthen his political legitimacy next year through an election. Analysts say it’s too early to tell how badly the killing of Bugti might damage his chances. Riots and protests continued for a third day Tuesday in towns of Baluchistan, a province of deserts and mountains where nationalist guerrillas and Bugti’s tribal warriors have fought the government since early last year. Newspaper editorials and leaders from across Pakistan’s political spectrum continued to condemn Bugti’s killing. Musharraf defended the attack on Bugti, an urbanely pugnacious politician who had moved to Baluchistan’s mountains to command thousands of men from his tribe in a guerrilla war. “Whoever wants to harm Pakistan ... would have to fight with me first,” he said in a speech Monday, according to Online, a Pakistani news service. But he appears to be the only member of his administration trying to publicly justify the killing of a man who, while autocratic and deeply controversial, has been part of Pakistan’s political elite since the country’s birth in 1947. Following a series of recent attacks by Bugti’s tribesmen, government and military sources said last weekend that an elite army special forces unit had killed Bugti in an assault on mountainside caves where he was hiding. “The location of the caves ... was well known to the authorities” who “could have got him any time during the past year or so,” according to Ikram Sehgal, a retired army officer who heads a Pakistani security and intelligence-analysis firm. Musharraf reportedly congratulated the military on Sunday in a high-level government meeting. And according to the Lahore-based Daily Times, Musharraf “voiced reservations at statements from some members off the ruling coalition condemning the killing, and stressed the need for unity in the government.” Still, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and Musharraf’s military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, have since backed away from Musharraf’s assertion of victory. They told reporters Monday the government never knew Bugti was in the caves. Indeed, said Sultan, the explosion that collapsed his hideout was an accident. “What probably happened was that when army men sought to enter the cave, they received heavy fire from inside,” Sultan told the daily newspaper Dawn. “They naturally returned fire and then something in the cave exploded.” Other members of Musharraf’s political team — including his foreign minister and the two top leaders of his chosen political party, the Pakistan Muslim League — have publicly mourned or criticized Bugti’s death. The Baluch conflict’s new eruption into crisis is the latest of many reverses for Musharraf. Army forces have been fought to a standstill by locally based Taliban guerrillas in the border region of Waziristan, and the military has been forced to negotiate truces in the region that have left the Taliban largely in control there and able to continue fighting U.S. and allied forces in neighboring Afghanistan. “The two things that have hurt him (Musharraf) most are that he is not acting in accord with the constitution” in holding his army command as well as the presidency, “and the escalating prices,” said Tariq Jan, a political analyst at the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad. Various measures put inflation at about 8 percent to 10 percent last year, roughly double the rates in Musharraf’s first years in power. Newspapers routinely report neighborhoods of the country’s biggest cities blacked out or without water, or flooded during the monsoon season.
By arrangement with
LA Times-Washington Post
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His father’s son: Karnataka struggles on Fed up with seventeen months of complete inaction from a Congress – Janata Dal (Secular) government, the people of Karnataka heaved a sigh of relief when JD (S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda’s son H.D. Kumaraswamy and his young turks broke away to take over the the State with the support of the BJP. Kumaraswamy’s early image of a man in a hurry who would provide a fresh lease of life to governance in the State earned him many admirers. Barely seven months into the JD (S) – BJP experiment, Kumaraswamy has shown he is his father’s son even if he is an “estranged” one. Promising the people that he was in favour of the metro, his government is still trying to push the mono rail project as a feeder for the metro even though the city can hardly afford the metro. The mono rail project was cleared by an erstwhile government headed by his father. Continuing with his father’s stand on the Bangalore- Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMTC), he claimed that the company promoting the project – Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) has acquired more land than needed for the project. His solution – take over the country’s first showpiece private roadway project even though the Supreme Court had rapped his government for not releasing land for the expressway. Better sense prevailed only when the BJP refused to support a legislation proposing take over of the project. Even though the Chief Minister continued to claim that he was fighting for the interests of the farmers, he had a lot of explaining to do when it was revealed he owned 47 acres of land right next to the expressway which would have been opened up for development if the government had passed a bill taking over the project. Right now the zone is subject to regulation by the BMIC Area Planning Authority which was to be abolished under the proposed bill. Kumaraswamy has claimed that he owned 24 acres of land in the area earlier and 23 acres were donated to him by his aunt in 2004-05. Kumaraswamy’s image as a land developer and businessman rather than the son of India’s “humble farmer” were further strengthened by Congressman D K Shivakumar producing registration copies to prove the CM and his relatives had purchased a ten acre software park in Bangalore for Rs 36 crore even though the market price of the property was Rs 85 crore. The Chief Minister, while claiming that the property had not been undervalued during registration, said he had only paid a token advance and that software park had been purchased after taking a bank loan. As if the people had not heard of enough crores, Kumaraswamy now faces another allegation. That he collected Rs 150 crore from mine owners of Bellary. The allegation, made by suspended BJP MLC K Janardhan Reddy, has yet to be proved conclusively. However, Reddy has released banks account statements showing that the CM’s sister-in-law gets crores deposited in her bank account which are withdrawn immediately. Kumaraswamy says his sister-in-law is running a legitimate business. Even as the guessing game is on about the survival of the government, Kumaraswamy is doing what he is best at. Instead of being in Bangalore to answer charges of corruption leveled against him, he was touring the State and sleeping on the floor in areas which had witnessed floods. He even got himself photographed on the mattress and walking around the house bare-chested, a la humble farmer.
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Legal notes Lakhs of ex-servicemen superannuated before January 1996 and denied post-retirement treatment facilities in government hospitals have got a major relief from the Supreme Court. The fifth pay commission had provided for extending the post-retirement medical benefits to ex-servicemen on payment of one-time contribution at the time of retirement, but those who superannuated before January 1, 1996 were left out of the scheme. A confederation of various associations of ex-servicemen had challenged the discrimination. The government had said that it was ready to extend the benefit to the pre-January 1996 retiree also if they were willing to make a one-time contribution. But the contention of the ex-servicemen was that their pension was far less than those who retired after the implementation of fifth pay commission and government should not deny them the benefit merely on the question of contribution. Allowing their plea, the Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, ruled that the government “will pay such amount and not claim from the retired personnel”. Family courts In view of the growing number of marital disputes in the country, the strength of special family courts to exclusively deal with cases relating to women has gone up to 159 in the past few years, according to the latest data available with the Law Ministry from different states. Six states — Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh — have more than 10 family courts, with Maharashtra leading with 18. The service provided by the family courts was as satisfactory as that of the fast track courts, if the data available was any indication. Out of little over one lakh cases instituted with these courts in 2004, 90,629 were settled by 2005. Photo-I cards delayed The number of voters in the country after completion of electoral rolls in most of the states has risen to 69.27 per cent but the figure could easily cross the 70 crore mark. Six states — Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Rajasthan — have not yet completed the exercise. Data from Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Uttaranchal have not been included in the final figures despite completion of the rolls. The electoral rolls have been updated by other states by including the names of those electors who have attained voting right on January 1, 2006, the data available with Law Ministry suggest. Out of the total accounted 69.27 crore voters the photo-identity cards so far have been provided to only 48.33 crore, which only accounted for 69.71 per cent success of Election Commission’s commitment to provide photo cards to cent per cent electors. The progress in providing the cards was uneven with bigger states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Gujarat lagging far behind. With this speed, the EC is unlikely to achieve the target of covering all the electors by next general elections in 2009.
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From the pages of Verdict from Amritsar
In conformity with its traditional policy of keeping clear of religious disputes The Tribune has tried so far not to take sides in the current controversy between the Sikh community and the Sant Nirankari sect. We have calculatedly discouraged comment and correspondence on the subject but have attempted with all fairness to publish news reports concerning the unhappy incidents of April 13 and their aftermath. For this stand of neutrality The Tribune has been blamed by extremists in both camps, which is not surprising because, in moments of passion, man is tempted to believe that those who are not with him are necessarily against him. However, the hukumnama issued from the Akal Takht has substantially changed the situation. The command for a social boycott of the Sant Nirankari sect impinges on territory wider than religious faith and practice. This interpretation is supported by the further directive from the Akal Takht that the Nirankaris should not be allowed to “grow and flourish” and that they should be treated as “enemies” of dharma and social morality. Prudence demands that the application of the hukumnama be tempered with wisdom.
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