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Political Notes

	May 01, 2006

Medicos suspend agitation over OBC quota



Students of medical colleges in the capital, Delhi, have suspended their agitation against the Government’s move to reserve seats for students belonging to other backward classes in educational institutions after talks with Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh. At the talks held on Thursday, April 27, Arjun Singh did not give them any assurance as the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct remains in force. He told a five-member delegation of the medical students that the Cabinet would take a decision which would be well reasoned and well-considered.



The students’ delegation sought a roll-back of the proposal for 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions. The medical students said they are suspending their agitation till May 12, but will review the matter after the Assembly elections are over.



Meanwhile, the Election Commission has asked the Cabinet Secretary to defer consideration of the OBC quota bill till the completion of the on-going Assembly election process.



Reports say that to soften the impact of greater reservation in educational institutions, the Government may increase the number of seats in elite institutions like IITs, IIMs and AIIMS.



Meanwhile, JDU president Sharad Yadav has demanded the dismissal of Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal from the Government for his criticism of the Government stand on the issue of reservation for OBCs.





Left extremism : No let up in Naxal violence



There is no let up in the violent activities of Naxalites in Chhattisgarh and neighbouring states despite increased security forces’ presence and alert. On Saturday, April 29, the Naxalites killed 13 of the 52 villagers they had kidnapped in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. They released 37 others. They had killed two of the kidnapped earlier.



The villagers had been kidnapped for opposing the Naxalites. Police sources said the released villagers are in a state of shock and are not able to tell where they were and how they were treated. The incident happened when about 60 villagers who were staying in relief camps went to their village to look after their belongings on April 25. The Maoists present in the village surrounded them and assaulted them.



In Andhra Pradesh, in one of the biggest encounters of recent times, the police shot dead nine member of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) on the borders of Kuddappa and Chittoor districts, about 500 km. south of the capital, Hyderabad. The incident happened on Friday, April 28 when the police got a tip off about the presence of 30 Maoists in a forest area.



The Maoists are continuing with their activities in other states also. A day after killing six Panchayat poll campaigners in Bihar’s Aurangabad district, the Maoists struck again on Tuesday, April 25, and blew up a railway cabin at a station between Jhajha and Jasidih, disrupting traffic on the Howrah-Mughal Sarai line.



Meanwhile, taking account of the upsurge in Naxal activities, the Centre is reported to be considering deploying security forces now on poll duties in the Assembly elections to Chhattisgarh. The state Chief Minister’s newly appointed security advisor, K.P.S. Gill had a two-hour meeting with Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal in New Delhi on April 26 to thrash out a blueprint to launch an offensive against the Maoists. The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to rush to Chhattisgarh about 60 companies of paramilitary forces now on poll duties.



The Centre has sanctioned the raising of nine more India Reserve Battalions comprising 9,000 police personnel for Naxalite-affected states. Of these, two battalions will be raised by Chhattisgarh. The Centre is also considering the creation of a separate reserve commando force for each of the Naxalite affected states.





Separate Telengana state a possibility : Congress



Alarmed at the BJP’s move to get closer to the Telengana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) which is now a constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Congress has said that a separate Telengana state is a possibility. But the party said that the course of events would be decided after the Pranab Mukherjee Committee submits its report and after consultation and building up of a consensus on the issue. Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh gave the information after his meeting with TRS chief and Union Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao.



Criticising what he called the BJP double-speak on the Telengana issue, the Congress leader said the BJP had passed a resolution in 1998 supporting separate Telengana, but did not take up the matter when it was in power at the Centre for six years.



Meanwhile, BJP senior leader L.K. Advani admitted that the party dropped the idea of a separate Telengana and Vidharbha during the NDA rule because allies, Telugu Desam Party and Shiv Sena, were opposed to it. Advani said the BJP has been in favour of Telengana and Vidharbha for a long time.





V.P. Singh floats Jan Morcha



Former Prime Minister V.P. Singh has floated a new political front called Jan Morcha, which will bring together like-minded leaders from various parties on one platform. He has nominated Lok Sabha member Raj Babbar, suspended from the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh as its president. Raj Babbar has been criticising the SP leadership of late after falling out with party general secretary Amar Singh.



V.P. Singh and Raj Babbar said that the Jan Morcha will take up the cause of farmers, labourers, youth and women. Announcing the formation of the Morcha, V.P. Singh said on April 23 that the new organisation would subsequently take part in elections in adjustment with like-minded parties. Its first target would be Uttar Pradesh, which is going to have assembly elections early next year.





Controversial officer appointed Gujarat police chief



The Gujarat Government has appointed P.C. Pande, who kept Ahmedabad’s police force inactive during the worst period of the 2002 communal riots as the Director General of Police. Pande, who was Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad during the riots feigned ignorance about specific incidents in 2002 when deposing before the Nanavati Shah Commission in 2004. In his affidavit before the Commission, he blamed the media for the riots.



Reports say the state Government faces contempt of court proceedings for appointing P.C. Pande as DGP. A 2004 Supreme Court ruling on a petition filed by social activist Teesta Setalvad had barred Pande - who had been moved to the CBI following his controversial role in the post-Godhra riots - from handling any Gujarat-related case during his deputation in view of the order. NGOs espousing the cause of riot victims are contemplating legal action against the state Government’s decision to name Pande as the new DGP.