India News Online » News Analysis » Indian Politics » 

Political Notes

	February 20, 2006

Sangma wins LS by-election



Former Lok Sabha Speaker and NCP candidate Purno A Sangma has retained his home Tura parliamentary constituency in Meghalaya, defeating his nearest Congress rival Mukul Sangma by a margin of over one lakh votes. Mukul Sangma is a former deputy chief minister of the state.





Nominations to the Rajya Sabha



President A.P.J. Kalam has nominated to the Rajya Sabha noted film-maker Shyam Benegal, eminent name in arts and culture, Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan and Vice Chairperson of HT Media Limited, Shobhana Bhartia. An official announcement said the nominations filled up vacancies caused by retiring members. Under Article 80 (3), the President nominates to the Upper House 12 persons with “special knowledge or practical experience” in literature, science, art and social service.





Karnataka Ministry expansion fails to please all



The Karnataka Ministry headed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular), was expanded on February 17 with the inclusion of 20 ministers. Nine of them were from the JD(S) and 11 from the BJP. The JD(S) rooted for youth while the BJP went in for veterans. There were no women in the team and several hopefuls could not be accommodated. Those left out alleged lack of balance in terms of community and regional representation.



Meanwhile, JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has suspended Kumarawamy and 39 other MLAs from the party. Party secretary general Danish Ali said that the action was taken as the decision taken by the MLAs to topple the JD(S)-Congress coalition, headed by Dharam Singh was against the “accepted principles of the party.”



Experts are divided on the fall out of the suspension and on whether it would result in their disqualification as legislators.





Mob fury over Prophet Mohammed’s cartoons



Protests erupted in several parts of the country on Friday, Feb. 17 over publication of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. In Hyderabad, a protesting mob went on a rampage in the old city resulting in damage to half-a-dozen vehicles and several shops. Six persons were injured when the mob hurled stones.



In Uttar Pradesh, the mob fury was encouraged by a Minister in the State Government (Haj and Minorities Welfare Minister Haji Yakoob Qureshi) announcing a reward of Rs. 51 crore to any one who eliminates the Danish cartoonist who made the caricature of the Prophet. The crowd at the rally addressed by the Minister in Meerut on February 17 burnt an effigy of the cartoonist and demanded that India should sever diplomatic relations with Denmark.



Clerics and prominent Muslims of the State have criticized the Minister for his call for the elimination of the cartoonist. “Anyone who does anything wrong has to be punished under the law of the land to which he belongs,” pointed out Lucknow Idgah Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed. “Such statements only go on to help those targeting Muslims across the world. This will be an opportunity to accuse minorities of violent thoughts.”



All India Muslim Personal law Board also dismissed the Minister’s statement. “In our religion,m the authority to pronounce a judgment rests only with a qazi and no one else,” said Board Member Zaffaryab Jilani.





No agreement on state funding of elections



An all party meeting convened by the Election Commission to discuss state funding of elections failed to reach a consensus on how to go about it. Most national and regional parties expressed divergent views on the matter at the meeting held on Feb. 15. There was a clear division between the Congress and its allies, mainly the CPI and CPI(M) on the cabinet suggestions based on the recommendations of the Indrajit Gupta Committee. The CPI(M) dismissed certain proposals for poll financing as “mockery.”



Representatives of 31 political parties, including more than two dozen regional parties, attended the meeting. Most of them, including the BJP and the Left parties, rejected the draft proposal for state funding.



Differences mainly emerged over suggestions for the Government’s complete hold on the poll purse, sops to political parties by way of free accommodation and telephone connections and strict compliance with the stipulated candidate ceiling.



The Election Commission, however, was optimistic. “A near consensus was reached on two aspects - conforming to the limit of expenditure set at Rs. 25 lakh for a Lok Sabha candidate and Rs. 10 lakh for an Assembly candidate, and restricting the customarily bottomless expenditure of political parties,” Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon told reporters.





Oil-for-food scam : Natwar Singh interrogated



Enforcement Directorate officials investigating the involvement of some Indians in the Iraqi oil-for-food scam questioned former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh on February 17 and 18. Reportedly clarification was sought from him about some documents which the Enforcement Dte. had procured from Jordan and Iraq. Natwar Singh’s name had appeared in the Volcker Report as a non-contractual beneficiary of the payments made in the scam.