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Delhi:
Guarding the Gates Chacha Kesri seems
to be losing his cool these days. Last week, the Congress chief was busy discussing the
names of candidates from Bihar with the state PCC leaders when a security guard came
running to him and said: "Sir, some people are shouting slogans against you. What do
we do?" Barefoot and minus his cap, Kesri rushed to the gates, and before anyone
could react, challenged them: "Kaun hai saala ... Hamare samne aao ... Kaun laga raha
hai slogan (Who dares to shout slogans in front of me?)." The small crowd of youth
standing outside Kesri's 7 Purana Qila Road residence vanished in no time. Kesri walked
back triumphantly to the state leaders who were flabbergasted by the party chief's
conduct. Later, the security guard was removed. His crime: running to Kesri for silly
matters, especially when he was in a foul mood.
Calcutta: Plot within Plot
Some months ago, when Chief Minister Jyoti Basu was accused
of nepotism in the distribution of prime plots in the Salt Lake area, his officials racked
their brains to offer convincing explanations. Now, in affidavits filed in the case, they
explain that Bimal Basu, the chief minister's late brother-in-law, and Anjan Bandopadhyay,
the husband of his "official" biographer Surabhi, got their plots for reasons
quite valid. Which are: Bimal Basu was "poor" and lived on just Rs 4,000 a
month. His nephew is now completing a huge mansion on the plot. As for Anjan, who already
owns a house, Jyoti Basu was impressed with his proposal for an art gallery on a business
plot. Originally, he proposed a brick-and-lime shed, but his "creative" wife
redrafted the application. Of course, it was all "official".
Calcutta: Cricketing Arrears
The 1996 Wills World Cup cricket championship is long over,
but the other match -- Jagmohan Dalmiya versus the Income-Tax (IT) Department -- ended
only last week. It began with the it Department slapping pilcom (Pakistan-India-Lanka
Committee), the agency formed to organise the tournament, with a notice to clear its TDS
(tax-deduction at source) arrears amounting to Rs 3 crore. Controversy has dogged
Dalmiya's handling of pilcom's finances right from the beginning. pilcom wound up a
fortnight after the tournament concluded, and when it and the Enforcement Directorate
questioned its finances, Dalmiya said the books were in Pakistan since the treasurer was
the Pakistan Cricket Board's secretary. He appealed to Calcutta High Court against it's
claim for TDS dues, arguing that since pilcom was part of the Board of Control for Cricket
in India, it couldn't be charged separately. it contested the plea, pointing out that
pilcom's composition was pan-south Asian. Finally, the high court referred the matter to
the it's appellate tribunal, which recently passed an order in the department's favour.
But the question remains: With pilcom having folded up, who will pay up? Dalmiya may open
his second innings against the it with that bouncer.
Mumbai:Tenantt Rights
It's an Act that is eagerly being awaited -- not so much for
its benefits but for the extent to which it will affect the people of Maharashtra. On
April 1, 1998, when the state Government announces the new rent Act, that replaces the old
Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging and House Rates Control Act, tenants and landlords alike
will pay close attention to what it will spell out for the 30 lakh tenants of the city.
Under the new Act, landlords would be empowered to not only hike rents by as much as 16
times, but also evict tenants from their flats without notice. The old rent Act, which
ceases from March 31, allowed tenants to stay on ridiculously low rents and made it
impossible for landlords to rent out flats due to the economies of scale.
With no clear indication of the state Government formulating
a comprehensive legislation, there is widespread fear among tenants that they will be
pushed out. According to Prakash Reddy, president of the Brihanmumbai Bhadekare Parishad,
an organisation of tenants that is fighting the new rent bill, "The landlords have
enough money to buy the state Government and the long-term view is to turn Mumbai into a
commercial capital." The tenants feel that after March 31, with no new bill in place,
they would be at the mercy of landlords. And by the time the new bill, if at all, comes
into existence, it will be too late for many tenants.
Bangalore: Wealth Woes
First, they did not pay their telephone bills and rentals.
And now they have not declared their assets (and liabilities) to the Lok Ayukta: Karnataka
Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda's son and state
Housing Minister H.D. Revanna and other colleagues are among the 26 ministers of the only
JD government in the country who are yet to declare their assets before the Lok Ayukta.
Under the Karnataka Lok Ayukta Act 1984, every public servant has to file his list of
assets and liabilities before June 30 every year. But as Siddaramaiah says: "We will
attend to these things soon after we finish our (election) campaigns."
Meanwhile, an unsuccessful but regular contestant in the
elections -- both Lok Sabha and Assembly -- for almost 30 years, Hottepaksha Rangaswamy,
recently filed a petition before the Karnataka High Court on the issue. The petition
sought a directive to restrict public servants who have not declared their assets from
contesting the forthcoming polls. Following Rangaswamy's petition, the court issued
notices to the state chief secretary and Lok Ayukta registrar regarding implementation of
the Act. Four ministers and several ruling party legislators have filed their nominations
for the polls. And, despite the reminders, declaration of assets seems to be the last
thing on their minds right now.
Hyderabad: Pushing his Luck
N. Chandrababu Naidu may not believe in astrology and
numerology but he does believe that kicking off the TDP poll campaign from the temple town
of Tirupathi brings him and his party luck. A similar launch of the l996 Lok Sabha
campaign helped Naidu assert his claim to the disputed ntr legacy. Now, he expects the
January 21 launch to not only give him an edge over the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls,
but also a headstart for the 1999 assembly elections. In fact, winning the assembly polls
is crucial for Naidu and hence the TDP chief stalled the release of the party manifesto at
Tirupati for strategic reasons; while the campaign will focus on the TDP performance in
the initial stages, the party wants to make promises at a later stage and make it appear
sacrosanct by carrying it in the party manifesto. A tactful opening gambit. Whether it has
an impact on the endgame on polling day is another matter.
Chandigarh: Campaign Trauma
Parkash Singh Badal is a man in a hurry. But with the
Election Commission having grounded the chief minister's request to use the state
aircraft, the frequent-flier is finding it hard to cope with the rigours of travelling by
road. On his way to meet I.K. Gujral just before the prime minister filed his nomination
from Jalandhar, Badal found himself stuck at a railway crossing. Running out of patience
and ignoring the Z-plus security, he stepped out of the car, ducked under the railway
barrier and sought a lift from a private car after introducing himself to the driver. By
the time the barrier was lifted to let the VIP cross over, Badal had sped away, leaving
his NSG commandos in a tizzy. It took a 10-minute chase before they caught up with him.
It's a different matter that Gujral was hours late for the meeting.
Lucknow: Wielding the Cane
After cutting Mayawati down to size, Chief Minister Kalyan
Singh is now targeting Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. But before he lays
his hands on Mulayam, Kalyan is zeroing in on the defence minister's friend, an
industrialist-politician who has dwarfed other SP leaders. Kalyan has initiated a probe
into the supply of molasses to a distillery owned by this power-broker friend of
Mulayam's. This follows reports of the distillery smuggling out molasses to cane-dry
states. Kalyan is being assisted in his "mission" by an SP minister at the
Centre who was humiliated and sidelined in the party by this power-broker. An enemy's
enemy is obviously Kalyan's friend.
Lucknow: Code Clashes
"How can anyone prevent anybody from hoisting the
national flag?" was Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's reaction to the Election Commission
(EC) directive that no minister should participate in any Republic Day function in Uttar
Pradesh. The diatribe was aimed at state Chief Election Officer Noor Mohammad, who is said
to be nursing a grudge against Kalyan for seeking his removal. Kalyan was particularly
stung when, on Mohammad's recommendations, the state Government had to strike down three
of its orders during the past month.
Kalyan immediately complained to journalists about the
"partial and partisan" attitude of the EC towards a "BJP government".
Then, on January 27, on the opening day of the special session of the Assembly in Lucknow,
while Kalyan maintained that he had made no fresh announcement, Mohammad was reading
between the lines of the speech made in the House. He said he would send his report to the
commission. "It is up to the commission to take cognisance or not," said
Mohammed, "but, I will do my duty." With elections round the corner, and the
stakes in Uttar Pradesh high for the BJP, the bickerings are bound to intensify in the
days to come.
Ahmedabad: Labour of Love
It's not without reason that Pandurang Shastri Athavale, last
year's Templeton Award winner, is regarded as a leading social reformer of India. Last
week, Athavale, better known as an authority on the Bhagwad Gita, gave yet another proof
of his tireless efforts by inaugurating a 32-acre social agriculture farm, set up with
land donations from farmers of 20 villages. Income from the farm, located at Virpur near
Rajkot in Saurashtra, will be used to help the poor financially.
Besides the farm implements, which too came in the form of
donations, farmers have also volunteered to work on the farm. Says Hamukhbhai Patel,
Gandhian social worker: "It reminds one of Gandhiji's concept of trusteeship wherein
the Mahatma called upon the people to treat society as a trust." Perfect parallel. |
