Miracle seems to have happened during the monsoon session of Parliament. In the first three weeks, there was complete chaos on the issue of Telangana and the lost files of the coal scam. No one, therefore, expected that in the last two weeks so much work would be done in the two Houses. Even critics are amazed to see this turnaround.
The Congress is particularly happy with this turn of events. Party president Sonia Gandhi’s pet scheme, the Food Security Bill, has been passed by both Houses of Parliament. Also, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘dream’ project — the land Acquisition Bill — has received Parliament’s nod. Meanwhile, the Government has won the Opposition’s consent on introducing some other Bills, including the one related to the appointment of judges and the other on providing relief to ‘convicted’ politicians from being disqualified post Supreme Court verdict. Indeed, a great turnaround!
FOOD SECURITY FlAWS
During the parliamentary discussion on the Food Security Bill, Sonia Gandhi conceded that there were some flaws in the Bill. She, thus, requested the Opposition to look into the matter. But, surprisingly, the Bill was passed without these ‘flaws’ being ironed out. Not a single amendment proposal of the Opposition was accepted.
Some experts have also showcased a major fault in the Bill. Pointing at the old draft, which aimed to provide cooked food to drought-affected, homeless people, they say there is no such provision in the new Bill. likewise, the land Acquisition Bill, which was aimed to make any acquisition of land difficult, has been watered down. The Government has kept 16 ways of land acquisition out of this Bill. It implies that the Government can still acquire whatever land it wants to have.
WIll MODI CONTESTIJ
There is a million-dollar question: Will Narendra Modi, chief of the BJP campaign committee, fight the lok Sabha electionIJ Many party leaders feel that Modi must not fight the election. They think that if Modi fights, then his opponents may join hands to defeat him. Such a candidate will be put who can pose a serious threat to him. In such a scenario, Modi will be caught in his own constituency and he would find very little time for the party in other parts of the country.
Some other party leaders, however, feel that if Modi contests from Uttar Pradesh then it will be good for the BJP and the party can win 40 out of 80 seats. Its effect, they believe, will also be seen in neighbouring States like Bihar and Jharkhand. Rumour mills were initially full of stories saying Modi might contest the lok Sabha election from lucknow, Varanasi or Allahabad, but now it is being said that the Gujarat Chief Minister might not fight elections at all. Time will tell the truth.
BJP’s AllIANCE DIlEMMA
The Congress strongly believes that the BJP will find it hard to have any alliance partner if Narendra Modi’s name is declared as the prime ministerial candidate. BJP leaders, on the other hand, say that they don’t require any alliance partner. As per their strategy, the BJP wants to go alone this time. Apart from the Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and Haryana Janhit Congress, the BJP will tie up with smaller, regional parties like Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National lok Dal.
One of the senior BJP leaders says that right now there is anger across the country against the Congress-led UPA Government. People are fed up and the BJP will be the natural beneficiary. He feels that this is the right time for the party to expand its base in the entire country. Some party leaders, however, find it a risky proposition. They say that the BJP must find a reliable partner in those States where it’s weak. Others are not ready for this. They want the party to go alone.
KARAT’s SURJEET MOMENT
Senior Congress leader AK Antony, charged with the task of looking into pre-poll alliance with ‘like-minded’ parties, is trying his best to finalise an alliance with the CPI(M).
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, however, has made it clear that his party is not going to support the Congress. The largest left party of the country feels that the worsening economy is a big challenge today. Also, Karat wants to do a Harkishan Singh Surjeet this time; he may take initiatives for the formation of the Third Front after the lok Sabha election. This explains why he has bluntly said that the CPI(M) is not going to have any alliance with the Congress.
lAlU IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT
RJD chief lalu Prasad Yadav is a busy person nowadays. The proceedings in the fodder scam have started and the verdict is expected to be out anytime soon. Yadav, therefore, wants to put his party in order. According to RJD sources, the former Bihar Chief Minister is ready for the worst-case scenario.
Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, the most revered leader both within and outside the RJD, can be made the executive president of the party. Apart from this, legislative party leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui can be made the Bihar State president. Sources close to Yadav say that if Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is made executive president, then there will be greater chance of alliance with the Congress.
POlITICS OVER TERRORISM
India is one of the most terror-affected countries in the world. Yet, one finds here a lot of politics being done in the name of terrorism. This is, sadly, apparent after the arrest of India’s two most-wanted terrorists — Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar allies Haddi. Soon after their arrest, a campaign has started to save them.
First, Bhatkal’s father and uncle have given a controversial statement, saying Yasin might be killed in a fake encounter. Thereafter, Javed Akhtar, father of Asadullah and a leading medical practitioner in Azamgarh, said that his son was innocent. He recalled inviting Digvijay Singh to Azamgarh wherein the Congress leader became ‘emotional’ after hearing about the Batla House encounter case. Obviously, Javed has a lot of expectations from Digvijay Singh. Amid all this, the lawyer of Yasin Bhatkal tried to mislead the court and said that the person arrested was actually Mohammed Asad!
Samajwadi Party leader Kamal Farooqi crossed all limits when he related the arrest of the two terrorists with their religion. He was least bothered about the fact that the agencies arrested them after a lot of difficulties and hard work. It didn’t bother him that Bhatkal was accused of over three dozen blasts which killed hundreds of innocent people.