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Learning from her mistake, Mamata Banerjee has grown wiser. Jettisoning the idea of an Ordinance, she is all set to move a Bill in the West Bengal Assembly today for taking over the entire 997.11 acres of land in Singur which was handed over to Tata Motors for the Nano car factory.
Interestingly, the CPM, taking a U- turn, has decided to support the land acquisition Bill, leaving Buddhadev in the lurch. It will only raise some objections as far as the modalities are concerned.
In moving the Bill, Mamata has deviated a little from the stand she had maintained ever since the West Bengal government acquired land for the Tatas. Previously her stand was that around 400 acres of land should be returned to those farmers who had refused to take compensation. But now she has decided to acquire the entire land under the Tata's possession.
This certainly amounts to a hardening of attitude. Political circles in Kolkata find it a little difficult to explain.
But sources in the Trinamul Congress point out that an earlier letter from the Tatas to the Buddhadev Bhattacharjee government expressing their unwillingness to go ahead with the project any more has provided Mamata with a potent weapon. However, according to one group of Trinamul leadership, the real reason for taking over the entire project area lies in the nature of ownership of land before the acquisition.
A little more than six hundred acres of land, on which the main car factory of the Tatas was scheduled to come up, belonged to mostly absentee landlords who did accept compensation from the state government. After Tatas carried out the construction, those six hundred acres have become unfit for any cultivation. Trinamul leaders point out that a cursory offer might be made to the Tatas now for re- launching their Nano project and in the event of their refusal Mamata is eyeing either a railway factory or ventures by any other industrial house there.
There is a strong possibility that the Bill will declare the entire land as "khas" or vested and the Tatas will be asked to remove their possessions.
The Tatas, or the other ancillary industrial groups, might ask for compensation, the quantum of which will be decided by an arbitrator who might be the District Judge of the Hooghly district under whose jurisdiction Singur falls.
Till the time computation of the compensation is complete the Tatas as well as the ancillary unit owners will get an interim relief of 6 per cent of their investment. If the Tatas do not vacate the land within the stipulated time then the District Magistrate of Hooghly will be at liberty to take possession of the land by force.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Karunanidhi advise to Maran : Fight for your own cause
Tainted Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran will have to fight it alone against the recent allegations of corruption as his party is still reluctant to come out in his support. Former Chief Minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, has made clear this much and quashed the hopes left among Maran supporters by saying that the Minister will fight the allegations legally and refused to spell out the support from DMK in this battle.
Fielding questions from mediapersons at his Gopalapuram residence here in Chennai, Karunanidhi said, "Maran had already made his stance clear on the issue and he would face it legally." Ironically, the top leaders from DMK, who had strongly defended former telecom minister A Raja on 2G Spectrum allegations, have not come out in defence of Dayanidhi Maran so far. Inside sources in the party reveal that a large section of the DMK cadres are 'happy' with the current fate of Maran and do not want the leadership to rally behind him.
Even after a week of intense anti- Maran campaign launched by the BJP and other Opposition parties, neither Karunanidhi nor DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan has issued a statement in support of him. Karunanidhi, who had been bombarded with questions regarding the party's support for former telecom minister by the media, seems to have consciously decided to isolate him in his fight to prove innocence.
Maran had been desperately trying to gather the party support in his do- ordie battle. However, the DMK leadership has not taken Maran taint as an insult to the party, already reeling under the charges levelled against its leaders in 2G spectrum.
Party insiders say the '' cease- fire agreement'' between the Maran brothers and Karunanidhi family, after a brief period of '' intense war'', was just a political decision and the embers of hatred are still smouldering inside both families. Moreover, the party leadership also suspect the hands of Maran in 2G spectrum exposure against A Raja, who was hailed as the Dalit face of the party by none other than Karunanidhi.
It is also said that the party leadership is now gathering their resources to bring out M P Kanimozhi, daughter of Karunanidhi, who along with Sarath Kumar was arrested by the CBI. And Maran cannot expect the DMK chief picking up cudgels for him in his battle for survival.
So it is time for Dayanidhi Maran to use all his political wisdom to ward off the charges that are propping up one after the other all alone without the support from the cadres or leaders of his party.
Fielding questions from mediapersons at his Gopalapuram residence here in Chennai, Karunanidhi said, "Maran had already made his stance clear on the issue and he would face it legally." Ironically, the top leaders from DMK, who had strongly defended former telecom minister A Raja on 2G Spectrum allegations, have not come out in defence of Dayanidhi Maran so far. Inside sources in the party reveal that a large section of the DMK cadres are 'happy' with the current fate of Maran and do not want the leadership to rally behind him.
Even after a week of intense anti- Maran campaign launched by the BJP and other Opposition parties, neither Karunanidhi nor DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan has issued a statement in support of him. Karunanidhi, who had been bombarded with questions regarding the party's support for former telecom minister by the media, seems to have consciously decided to isolate him in his fight to prove innocence.
Maran had been desperately trying to gather the party support in his do- ordie battle. However, the DMK leadership has not taken Maran taint as an insult to the party, already reeling under the charges levelled against its leaders in 2G spectrum.
Party insiders say the '' cease- fire agreement'' between the Maran brothers and Karunanidhi family, after a brief period of '' intense war'', was just a political decision and the embers of hatred are still smouldering inside both families. Moreover, the party leadership also suspect the hands of Maran in 2G spectrum exposure against A Raja, who was hailed as the Dalit face of the party by none other than Karunanidhi.
It is also said that the party leadership is now gathering their resources to bring out M P Kanimozhi, daughter of Karunanidhi, who along with Sarath Kumar was arrested by the CBI. And Maran cannot expect the DMK chief picking up cudgels for him in his battle for survival.
So it is time for Dayanidhi Maran to use all his political wisdom to ward off the charges that are propping up one after the other all alone without the support from the cadres or leaders of his party.
Monday, May 30, 2011
PM goes tough on ministries for no action on Shunglu report
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has fired a missile at all ministries concerned with the Commonwealth Games (CWG) to act within two weeks on the irregularities pinpointed by a high - powered committee headed by retired Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) V K Shunglu.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Dr Manmohan Singh is angry over no action taken by the ministry even two months after the Home Ministry had circulated the Shunglu Committee's 534-page report for action.
Asking the concerned ministries to furnish in two weeks answers to the issues raised in the Shunglu report, the Prime Minister has asked them to keep him informed of differences, if any.
The Sports Ministry and the Urban Development Ministry, whose ministers were shunted out after the Games as also Delhi''s Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Muncipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Committee and CWG organising committee''s arrested chairman Suresh Kalmadi had come under severe criticism in the Shunglu report.
The report blasts Kalmadi for running the organising committee like a club, misusing powers and neutralising dissent by removing top officials who objected.
Chief Minister Dikshit rejected early this week findings of the Shunglu committee as "self contradictory" and blasted it for lack of understanding on her government's role in conduct of the CWG. Her stand is that the Delhi Government had only supervised the CWG - related works while the execution was done mostly by the BJP led municipal corporation or by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) which does not come under the state government.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Dr Manmohan Singh is angry over no action taken by the ministry even two months after the Home Ministry had circulated the Shunglu Committee's 534-page report for action.
Asking the concerned ministries to furnish in two weeks answers to the issues raised in the Shunglu report, the Prime Minister has asked them to keep him informed of differences, if any.
The Sports Ministry and the Urban Development Ministry, whose ministers were shunted out after the Games as also Delhi''s Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Muncipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Committee and CWG organising committee''s arrested chairman Suresh Kalmadi had come under severe criticism in the Shunglu report.
The report blasts Kalmadi for running the organising committee like a club, misusing powers and neutralising dissent by removing top officials who objected.
Chief Minister Dikshit rejected early this week findings of the Shunglu committee as "self contradictory" and blasted it for lack of understanding on her government's role in conduct of the CWG. Her stand is that the Delhi Government had only supervised the CWG - related works while the execution was done mostly by the BJP led municipal corporation or by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) which does not come under the state government.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Congress dilemma on coalition politics
If the Congress's earlier coalitional troubles were due to the Left's ideological predilections, its present difficulties are the result of the propensity of the allies to use ministerial positions for financial adventures. Since the Congress itself harbours similar tendencies, as the Bofors episode showed, it is not always in a position to act as a moral guardian. The result has been that the allegations of sleaze have dragged both the Congress and its partners into a political quagmire.
The present rumpus involving the Congress and the DMK is the fallout of their devious policies. First, the Congress allowed the DMK to appoint ministers like Andimuthu Raja despite their dubious record and then turned a blind eye to their shenanigans to keep the DMK in good humour. This is the basis of the so- called coalition dharma, which the Prime Minister has tried to justify by suggesting that any adherence to the straight and narrow path in such circumstances will lead to elections every six months.
But, in trying to avoid elections in quick succession, the Congress has succeeded in besmirching its own reputation to such an extent that it must be scared of facing the electorate in the near future. The compromise with venality, which the coalition dharma signified, has boomeranged to cause grievous damage to the party's reputation. The DMK, too, has been hurt although no one will know how badly till the electoral verdict in Tamil Nadu is out in mid May.
There is little doubt, however, that outside of Tamil Nadu, the octogenarian patriarch, M Karundanidhi, with his two wives and squabbling sons and daughter has come to represent the worst aspects of Indian politics. For the Congress, with a longer and more glorious history, and the hope it still inspires about the pursuit of inclusive policies, the mud on its face will be difficult to wipe off if only because it confirms that the party has never been too serious about fighting corruption. The taint is not the result of the Bofors saga alone.
Even its more recent endeavours to buy the support of Shibu Soren and Co to remain in power and the subsequent accommodation of Soren in the cabinet in UPA-I, despite the murder charges against him, showed that the party was rarely guided by ethical considerations in choosing its allies. All that mattered to it was to remain in power by hook or by crook.
Till now, the Congress had managed to pursue this cynical objective successfully because of the charisma of its leaders, the weakness of the opposition and the reluctance of the judiciary to probe its wrong- doings too closely. It stumbled only once in 1975 when Indira Gandhi fell foul of the law. But she solved the problem by imposing a semidictatorship because neither she nor the Congress could conceive of being out of power.
But, now, it is different. First, the charisma of the party's leaders has waned. Secondly, the opposition parties have become much stronger even if their spread across the country is uneven. But so is the Congress's. And, thirdly, not only has the judiciary become a lot more active, the media, too, is no longer willing to crawl when asked to bend as during the Emergency. The way, in which the Congress has landed in its present troubles it appears to be unaware of these changes.
It still thought that it could bypass moral imperatives and that no one would notice. Perhaps the ease with which it avoided being legally trapped in the Bofors affair (although it couldn't evade the taint) and could not prevent a suspect, Ottavio Quottrocchi, from escaping although an income- tax tribunal has branded him as guilty, emboldened the Congress. It thought it could pull off the same Houdini trick in the spectrum scam, too.
But just as Narendra Modi has discovered that the Supreme Court will not let him off the hook where the 2002 riots are concerned, similarly, the Congress has found that references to coalition dharma will not save it from the illegalities of the scandal. The Congress's legal difficulties have been compounded, of course, by political ones because the DMK, seemingly less concerned about its image than the Congress, does not see any reason why it should not play hard ball to intimidate the latter, as it did throughout the period of UPA-I and up to recent months.
But even if Mulayam Singh adav bails out the Congress in the event of a rupture with the DMK, as Jayalalitha had promised to do earlier, the Congress has learnt the vital lesson that coalitions do not justify winking at corruption. Most people would have thought that this wasn't something that needed to be learnt by decent individuals.
But, as the writer F Scott Fitzgerald said that the rich are "different" from ordinary people, so are the politicians.
The present rumpus involving the Congress and the DMK is the fallout of their devious policies. First, the Congress allowed the DMK to appoint ministers like Andimuthu Raja despite their dubious record and then turned a blind eye to their shenanigans to keep the DMK in good humour. This is the basis of the so- called coalition dharma, which the Prime Minister has tried to justify by suggesting that any adherence to the straight and narrow path in such circumstances will lead to elections every six months.
But, in trying to avoid elections in quick succession, the Congress has succeeded in besmirching its own reputation to such an extent that it must be scared of facing the electorate in the near future. The compromise with venality, which the coalition dharma signified, has boomeranged to cause grievous damage to the party's reputation. The DMK, too, has been hurt although no one will know how badly till the electoral verdict in Tamil Nadu is out in mid May.
There is little doubt, however, that outside of Tamil Nadu, the octogenarian patriarch, M Karundanidhi, with his two wives and squabbling sons and daughter has come to represent the worst aspects of Indian politics. For the Congress, with a longer and more glorious history, and the hope it still inspires about the pursuit of inclusive policies, the mud on its face will be difficult to wipe off if only because it confirms that the party has never been too serious about fighting corruption. The taint is not the result of the Bofors saga alone.
Even its more recent endeavours to buy the support of Shibu Soren and Co to remain in power and the subsequent accommodation of Soren in the cabinet in UPA-I, despite the murder charges against him, showed that the party was rarely guided by ethical considerations in choosing its allies. All that mattered to it was to remain in power by hook or by crook.
Till now, the Congress had managed to pursue this cynical objective successfully because of the charisma of its leaders, the weakness of the opposition and the reluctance of the judiciary to probe its wrong- doings too closely. It stumbled only once in 1975 when Indira Gandhi fell foul of the law. But she solved the problem by imposing a semidictatorship because neither she nor the Congress could conceive of being out of power.
But, now, it is different. First, the charisma of the party's leaders has waned. Secondly, the opposition parties have become much stronger even if their spread across the country is uneven. But so is the Congress's. And, thirdly, not only has the judiciary become a lot more active, the media, too, is no longer willing to crawl when asked to bend as during the Emergency. The way, in which the Congress has landed in its present troubles it appears to be unaware of these changes.
It still thought that it could bypass moral imperatives and that no one would notice. Perhaps the ease with which it avoided being legally trapped in the Bofors affair (although it couldn't evade the taint) and could not prevent a suspect, Ottavio Quottrocchi, from escaping although an income- tax tribunal has branded him as guilty, emboldened the Congress. It thought it could pull off the same Houdini trick in the spectrum scam, too.
But just as Narendra Modi has discovered that the Supreme Court will not let him off the hook where the 2002 riots are concerned, similarly, the Congress has found that references to coalition dharma will not save it from the illegalities of the scandal. The Congress's legal difficulties have been compounded, of course, by political ones because the DMK, seemingly less concerned about its image than the Congress, does not see any reason why it should not play hard ball to intimidate the latter, as it did throughout the period of UPA-I and up to recent months.
But even if Mulayam Singh adav bails out the Congress in the event of a rupture with the DMK, as Jayalalitha had promised to do earlier, the Congress has learnt the vital lesson that coalitions do not justify winking at corruption. Most people would have thought that this wasn't something that needed to be learnt by decent individuals.
But, as the writer F Scott Fitzgerald said that the rich are "different" from ordinary people, so are the politicians.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
BJP plans mega stir in April to expose govt
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday decided to launch a nationwide mass movement (jansangharsh) on its foundation day (April 6 to June 15) against the government's failure on corruption, inflation and black money fronts.
Announcing this after a day- long meeting of the national office- bearers with the state presidents and general secretaries, BJP President Nitin Gadkari told a Press conference here that the stir will cover all 600 districts of the country and the party leaders will also travel to maximum villages to create an awareness on the issues involved.
There shall also be a marathon race in every important city to involve the people in this movement, he said while appealing them to join the mass movement. The party will also organise plays, street corner meetings and use SMS and emails to involve people in the movement, Gadkari said.
He added that the party will expose the Prime Minister for his hand in every wrong involving the Centre, be it the appointment of the Central Vigilance Commissioner that has been struck down by the Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Games scam, the 2G spectrum allocation.
There is a total system of the system under the UPA regime and that will be highlighted during the movement and that will also include a direct attack on the Prime Minister, Gadkari said. Asked why the BJP is shying away from demanding his resignation, the BJP president quipped that in democracy any sensitive person would have resigned on his own, but now the party will take the PM and his government to the people's court through the mass movement.
Announcing this after a day- long meeting of the national office- bearers with the state presidents and general secretaries, BJP President Nitin Gadkari told a Press conference here that the stir will cover all 600 districts of the country and the party leaders will also travel to maximum villages to create an awareness on the issues involved.
There shall also be a marathon race in every important city to involve the people in this movement, he said while appealing them to join the mass movement. The party will also organise plays, street corner meetings and use SMS and emails to involve people in the movement, Gadkari said.
He added that the party will expose the Prime Minister for his hand in every wrong involving the Centre, be it the appointment of the Central Vigilance Commissioner that has been struck down by the Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Games scam, the 2G spectrum allocation.
There is a total system of the system under the UPA regime and that will be highlighted during the movement and that will also include a direct attack on the Prime Minister, Gadkari said. Asked why the BJP is shying away from demanding his resignation, the BJP president quipped that in democracy any sensitive person would have resigned on his own, but now the party will take the PM and his government to the people's court through the mass movement.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Pune debacle: Sena supremo blasts BJP
Stung by the debacle in Pune Municipal Corporation, Sena chief Bal Thackeray today lashed out at its ally BJP in Maharashtra, saying it was mistreating allies for narrow political purposes.
In an editorial in ' Saamna' on Tuesday, Thackeray accused the BJP of riding piggyback on regional parties and mistreating its allies. Thackeray said, " the BJP says it is a national party but has succeeded only with the help of regional parties. In Punjab, it has problems with the Akali Dal and in Maharashtra, BJP is constantly straining relations with us till breaking point." The provocation for Thackeray's attack on BJP was the election of BJP leader Ganesh Bidkar as Chairman of the Pune Municipal Corporation Standing Committee. The Sena had also fielded a candidate and asked the BJP for support.
But the BJP candidate won with help of MNS and NCP. " On one hand BJP leader Gopinath Munde says there will be no alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party or Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and now they get their partyman elected with help of MNS and NCP," the editorial said.
Meanwhile, the BJP leader of opposition in state legislature asserted that the experiments like the one in Pune would continue, adding fuel to the fire ignited by Munde's advocacy of MNS joining the saffron combine. It may be noted that Munde had created political ripples by announcing his intentions to rope in the Raj Thackeray's MNS in an anti-Congress alliance to grab power in the state.
However, he said in Nagpur on Monday that this would not be at the cost of their two-decade-old ally Shiv Sena.
"We will consult the Sena before making any move to actually get the MNS in the alliance. But at the same time the BJP and I personally firmly believe that a new combination will have to be tried to build up a formidable alliance to ensure ouster of the Congress- NCP DF government in the next state elections. To broadbase the anti- Congress alliance, the BJP is not averse to taking help from MNS. Similarly, the Republican Party of India factions could also be taken in our fold as even a three per cent additional vote could swing the outcome in our favour," said Munde.
In an editorial in ' Saamna' on Tuesday, Thackeray accused the BJP of riding piggyback on regional parties and mistreating its allies. Thackeray said, " the BJP says it is a national party but has succeeded only with the help of regional parties. In Punjab, it has problems with the Akali Dal and in Maharashtra, BJP is constantly straining relations with us till breaking point." The provocation for Thackeray's attack on BJP was the election of BJP leader Ganesh Bidkar as Chairman of the Pune Municipal Corporation Standing Committee. The Sena had also fielded a candidate and asked the BJP for support.
But the BJP candidate won with help of MNS and NCP. " On one hand BJP leader Gopinath Munde says there will be no alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party or Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and now they get their partyman elected with help of MNS and NCP," the editorial said.
Meanwhile, the BJP leader of opposition in state legislature asserted that the experiments like the one in Pune would continue, adding fuel to the fire ignited by Munde's advocacy of MNS joining the saffron combine. It may be noted that Munde had created political ripples by announcing his intentions to rope in the Raj Thackeray's MNS in an anti-Congress alliance to grab power in the state.
However, he said in Nagpur on Monday that this would not be at the cost of their two-decade-old ally Shiv Sena.
"We will consult the Sena before making any move to actually get the MNS in the alliance. But at the same time the BJP and I personally firmly believe that a new combination will have to be tried to build up a formidable alliance to ensure ouster of the Congress- NCP DF government in the next state elections. To broadbase the anti- Congress alliance, the BJP is not averse to taking help from MNS. Similarly, the Republican Party of India factions could also be taken in our fold as even a three per cent additional vote could swing the outcome in our favour," said Munde.
PM persuades Hazare not to undertake fast
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has won over 72- year old social activist Anna Hazare from going on fast in Delhi, promising a group led by him that the government will engage with civil society in addressing concerns over corruption.
The group belonging to " India against corruption" initiative met the PM on Monday evening and argued that the country expected meaningful reforms to tackle the menace of corruption in public life.
The Prime Minister was quoted telling the group that " I appreciate and share your concerns on corruption." He urged Hazare not to resort to a fast unto death as his government was alive to the problem of corruption and doing all to fight it at every level. Hazare had already given up the fast plan from March 5 after the PM invited the group for the meeting.
The group presented a copy of the draft it has prepared for constituting the office of the Lokpal and appreciated the PM's offer to discuss it with a sub- committee of the Group of Ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee set up in January to tackle corruption.
Those in the group who met the Prime Minister were Hazare, former police officer Kiran Bedi, activists Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh, Archbishop Vincent and Kuldip
Chikara, lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan (father and son), Darshak Hathi of Art of Living and P V Rajagopal.
The group belonging to " India against corruption" initiative met the PM on Monday evening and argued that the country expected meaningful reforms to tackle the menace of corruption in public life.
The Prime Minister was quoted telling the group that " I appreciate and share your concerns on corruption." He urged Hazare not to resort to a fast unto death as his government was alive to the problem of corruption and doing all to fight it at every level. Hazare had already given up the fast plan from March 5 after the PM invited the group for the meeting.
The group presented a copy of the draft it has prepared for constituting the office of the Lokpal and appreciated the PM's offer to discuss it with a sub- committee of the Group of Ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee set up in January to tackle corruption.
Those in the group who met the Prime Minister were Hazare, former police officer Kiran Bedi, activists Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh, Archbishop Vincent and Kuldip
Chikara, lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan (father and son), Darshak Hathi of Art of Living and P V Rajagopal.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Congress was budgeting for Assembly polls
The Congress was 'budgeting' for elections after all: the secret was out on Tuesday with the Election Commission announcing Assembly elections in five states of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in April and May.
The announcement puts in perspective the ' harmless' Budget that Pranab Mukherjee tabled in the House on Monday. Given the high stakes in the April- May battle, the Congress did not wish to stick its neck out by announcing any radical measures. In what is touted as a mini- general election, the results will be out on May 13. Political analysts said the electoral battle would be a pointer to the people's mood in the context of the raging corruption scandals and price rise. The stakes for the Congress are especially high and it will be desperate to win in at least two states.
In this context, the most significant result state is Tamil Nadu, whose ruling DMK is in the thick of the spectrum allocation scandal, with one of its leaders and former cabinet minister A. Raja now in prison. The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu will lead its alliance against a resurgent AIADMK However, the keenest contest is expected in West Bengal, where the Left Front led by the Communist Party of India- Marxist, which has been in power since 1977, faces its most serious challenge. The Left Front's biggest threat comes from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which has vowed to unseat the Marxists and form a government.
In Kerala, the coalitions led by the Left and the Congress will take on each other. In Assam, the ruling Congress faces a divided opposition.
West Bengal will have elections spread over six phases, starting from April 18 to May 10, while Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will have polls on a single day on April 13 and Assam will have a 2- phase poll on April 4 and 11. The poll dates in West Bengal are April 18, 23 and 27, May 3, 7 and 10. Because of the long poll phase in the Left- ruled State, the other states will have to wait for a month before the counting of votes takes place simultaneously on May 13.
Chief Election Commissioner S Quraishi announced that the code of conduct for elections comes into force in all five states with immediate effect. Among the innovations is a call centre with a toll free No 1965 which anybody can call for lodging complaints. Also, the Election Commission will itself be issuing voter slips with photos. Until recently, the political parties would hand over the slips to voters at polling booths on election day. The election staff will verify the slips before allowing a person to cast his vote.
Notifications for the elections in Assam will be issued on March 10 and 18, respectively, while the notification for elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will be issued on March 19. The polls kick off in West Bengal with the notification for the first phase of polling on March 24, followed by March 30, April 2, 7, 11 and 14. Meanwhile, the government is under pressure to re- schedule the Parliament sittings to allow the political parties time for poll campaign. They want the recess from March 16 to April 4 shortened to finish off the session by end of March or extend the recess and hold the remainder of the session after May 10.
Under the present schedule, the second half of the budget session is to be held from April 4 through April 21, but this does not suit the parties as the dates clash with the polls in all states, including Assam, which will have its second phase on April 11. The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry sources said it would be difficult to shorten the recess, which is given to allow the standing committees to vet the budgets ministry- wise, as otherwise it is difficult for Parliament to discuss all demands.
However, if all parties agree, the recess period can be cut down by a week, sources said, adding that the government would be game for the second half of the session taking place in May as it has a long agenda of some 70 legislations to be passed, besides the finance bills.
The announcement puts in perspective the ' harmless' Budget that Pranab Mukherjee tabled in the House on Monday. Given the high stakes in the April- May battle, the Congress did not wish to stick its neck out by announcing any radical measures. In what is touted as a mini- general election, the results will be out on May 13. Political analysts said the electoral battle would be a pointer to the people's mood in the context of the raging corruption scandals and price rise. The stakes for the Congress are especially high and it will be desperate to win in at least two states.
In this context, the most significant result state is Tamil Nadu, whose ruling DMK is in the thick of the spectrum allocation scandal, with one of its leaders and former cabinet minister A. Raja now in prison. The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu will lead its alliance against a resurgent AIADMK However, the keenest contest is expected in West Bengal, where the Left Front led by the Communist Party of India- Marxist, which has been in power since 1977, faces its most serious challenge. The Left Front's biggest threat comes from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which has vowed to unseat the Marxists and form a government.
In Kerala, the coalitions led by the Left and the Congress will take on each other. In Assam, the ruling Congress faces a divided opposition.
West Bengal will have elections spread over six phases, starting from April 18 to May 10, while Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will have polls on a single day on April 13 and Assam will have a 2- phase poll on April 4 and 11. The poll dates in West Bengal are April 18, 23 and 27, May 3, 7 and 10. Because of the long poll phase in the Left- ruled State, the other states will have to wait for a month before the counting of votes takes place simultaneously on May 13.
Chief Election Commissioner S Quraishi announced that the code of conduct for elections comes into force in all five states with immediate effect. Among the innovations is a call centre with a toll free No 1965 which anybody can call for lodging complaints. Also, the Election Commission will itself be issuing voter slips with photos. Until recently, the political parties would hand over the slips to voters at polling booths on election day. The election staff will verify the slips before allowing a person to cast his vote.
Notifications for the elections in Assam will be issued on March 10 and 18, respectively, while the notification for elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will be issued on March 19. The polls kick off in West Bengal with the notification for the first phase of polling on March 24, followed by March 30, April 2, 7, 11 and 14. Meanwhile, the government is under pressure to re- schedule the Parliament sittings to allow the political parties time for poll campaign. They want the recess from March 16 to April 4 shortened to finish off the session by end of March or extend the recess and hold the remainder of the session after May 10.
Under the present schedule, the second half of the budget session is to be held from April 4 through April 21, but this does not suit the parties as the dates clash with the polls in all states, including Assam, which will have its second phase on April 11. The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry sources said it would be difficult to shorten the recess, which is given to allow the standing committees to vet the budgets ministry- wise, as otherwise it is difficult for Parliament to discuss all demands.
However, if all parties agree, the recess period can be cut down by a week, sources said, adding that the government would be game for the second half of the session taking place in May as it has a long agenda of some 70 legislations to be passed, besides the finance bills.
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