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Political Notes |
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Joint task forces to check Naxalites
The Central Government and the States affected by Naxalite violence have agreed to set up joint task forces for coordinated operations to curb Naxalite elements. The decision was taken at the first meeting of the Chief Ministers of the Naxalite affected states in New Delhi on Monday, September 19. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil presided over the meeting. A special group would be formed in each state to improve the administrative structure at the state and district level for better governance and faster socio-economic development. The states agreed to take steps to raise India Reserve Battalions to be used in checking the Naxalite menace. The Centre will meet 75 per cent of the expenditure on police organisations of the affected states.
A Home Ministry statement issued after the meeting said : “The problem of naxalism has to be addressed by ensuring effective and sustained police action against naxal violence and at the same time, accelerating socio-economic development of the affected areas.”
The Chief Ministers who participated were Jayalalitha of Tamil Nadu, Dharam Singh of Karnataka, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy of Andhra Pradesh, Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh, Arjun Munda of Jharkhand, Babulal Gaur of Madhya Pradesh and Navin Patnaik of Orissa. Bihar was represented by Governor Buta Singh.
The meeting came just a day after the BJP at its Chennai national executive meeting lashed out at the Manmohan Singh Government for its alleged failure to deal with Naxalite violence and to end infiltration from across the border.
Left to launch protests against Centre’s economic policies
The Left parties have decided to support the call by the central trade unions for a nation-wide protest action on Thursday, Sept. 29 to mount pressure on the Government to implement promises made in the common minimum programme. The 16-point charter of demands of the Central Trade Unions belonging to the Left parties includes opposition to disinvestment of shares of profit-making public sector undertakings. The strike has the support of employees organisations of the insurance sector, banks and airports.
Meanwhile, the Left parties are still awaiting a letter from the Government committing itself to non-disinvestment of shares in Navratana companies before agreeing to rejoin the UPA-Left Coordination Committee.
Cases registered on defence deals during NDA rule
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered three cases related to defence deals finalised during the tenure of the previous NDA Government. One of the cases is a follow up to the Tehelka expose while another relates to the purchase of spares for Bofors guns during the Kargil conflict of 1999. CBI says the deal was carried out in a slip-short manner resulting in loss to the public exchequer.
CPI(M) wants Centre to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab
The CPI(M) has appealed to the UPA Government at the Centre to immediately transfer the Union Territory of Chandigarh to Punjab and also to resolve all pending territorial and river-water sharing disputes between Punjab and Haryana within the framework of the Rajiv-Longowal accord. The demand was made at the party’s state committee at its meeting in Chandigarh. Party General Secretary Prakash Karat chaired some of the deliberations of the committee. The CPI(M) described the recent statement by BJP leader Sushma Swaraj favouring a separate legislative Assembly for Chandigarh as an act of mischief aimed at fueling communal divide among the people of Punjab.
Gujarat Riots : President’s Secretariat seeks time to submit Narayanan’s letter to Vajpayee
The President’s Secretariat has sought two-weeks time to consult the Central Government on the Nanavati-Shah Commission’s directive to submit copies of the letters written by the then President K.R. Narayanan to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the Gujarat riots. The commission had earlier issued a directive to the Secretariat to submit copies of letters by September 24, rejecting its plea of Presidential Privilege. The Commission accepted the arguments of advocate of the riot victims that the Presidential privilege was not absolute. The Commission was particular about a letter Narayanan had written to Vajpayee asking the Prime Minister to intervene to rush troops to the riot-affected areas in the state. Narayanan had disclosed about the letter in a media interview, but when requested by the Commission for cross-examination replied that he had “nothing more to add.”
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