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Political Notes

	October 25, 2004

Reshuffle of Governors

There are reports that the Manmohan Singh Government may replace Governors of five States and shift some more Governors. The Government is reported to be finalising replacements for Mohammed Fazal (Maharashtra), Viran J. Shah (West Bengal), MM Rajendran (Orissa), Ved Marwah (Jharkhand) and V.C. Pande (Arunachal Pradesh). All of them are due to retire between the last week of November and early December.

In addition, Andhra Pradesh Governor S.S. Barnala, may be shifted to Tamil Nadu to replace Ram Mohan Rao. The names of the Congress shortlist for vacancies in different Raj Bhavans include Bansi Lal and N.D. Tiwari.

There are also reports that Rajasthan Governor Madan Lal Khurana may quit on Monday (October 25) to join active politics in Delhi. He is reported to have sought an appointment with the President the same day. Raj Bhavan sources in Jaipur denied reports that Khuarana is resigning.



PM visit to Tamil Nadu

There were two prominent names conspicuous by their absence from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visitors at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on his first visit to the city after taking over as Prime Minister. Neither Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa nor former Chief Minister and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi called on the Prime Minister in the evening. Jayalalithaa and Governor P.S. Ramamohan Rao had, however, received him at the airport on his arrival. Karunanidhi was in Kodaikanal penning the script for a movie. DMK circles said there was no political significance in Karunanidhi not meeting the Prime Minister. “It is only because he is busy writing the script for his movie”, DMK spokesperson Elangovan said.



Biggest ever reshuffle in Judiciary

In one of the biggest reshuffles of the higher judiciary, the Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti, has recommended the transfer of eight High Court chief justices. These include the CJs of the High Courts of Madras, Allahabad, Punjab and Haryana, Uttaranchal and Calcutta.

The Law Ministry will now act upon the recommendations and forward them to the President.

Madras HC Chief Justice B Subhasan Reddy has been transferred to the Kerala High Court. Reddy, facing a hostile Bar after he tried to rein in the lawyers with a code of ethics, would be succeeded by Justice Markanday Katju of the Allahabad HC.

Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana HC B K Roy, during whose tenure many judges took the unprecedented step of going on a mass casual leave because of differences with him, has been transferred as CJ of the Patna HC. Roy would be succeeded by Justice Altamas Kabir, a judge of the Calcutta HC. Justice N K Sodhi, Chief Justice of the Kerala HC, has been transferred to the Karnataka HC as Chief Justice. The Allahabad High Court will also have a new chief justice in Justice A N Ray, currently a judge in the Calcutta HC.

Chief Justice of Uttaranchal HC, V S Sirpurkar has been transferred as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta HC. He would be succeeded by Justice Cyriac Joseph, a judge in the Kerala HC.



Forest brigand Veerappan killed

Sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, who unleashed a reign of terror in the forests of the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for over two decades, has been killed in an encounter with a special task force formed to hunt him down. He had killed over 120 policemen and officials including a former Minister during his journey of crime. The encounter in which the bandit was killed by the special task force in a Tamil Nadu reserve forest marks the end of a man who kept eluding the law like a habit.

The police in both States maintained that it was difficult to track him down in the dense 6,000-sq km forest area. After committing a crime in Tamil Nadu, he would get into the jungles of Karnataka or even Kerala. Though he was reportedly sighted on a few occasions, the STF could not get him dead or alive. After a killing incident in 1987, Veerappan became notorious, but the real hunt was stated to have begun from 1990. Since then, there had been periodic episodes of kidnap, demands, negotiations and intensified search, and then no news at all.

Veerappan earned notoriety as a sandalwood smuggler, in addition to looting ivory after killing elephants. When the laws governing forest wealth were tightened, Veerappan took to hostage-taking for ransom. He used the funds to keep himself going and buy provisions and other requirements from villagers. Most of the villages in the jungles were almost under his control some found his money useful and others were too afraid of tipping off the police. Informers were invariably killed.

Initially, the brigand was supposed to command a gang of over 100 persons. But, over the years, due to the frequent police operations and the necessity of keeping the numbers small to avoid detection while in movement, it dwindled to anywhere between four and six.



Fodder scam : Another allegation against Lalu

An accused in the Bihar-Jharkhand fodder scam turned approver, Dipesh Chandak, has alleged that Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, now Railway Minister, was paid Rs.55 to Rs. 60 crore from Bihar Government treasuries in the early 1990s. He alleged that the amount had been withdrawn fraudulently and paid in cash to Lalu who was then Chief Minister of Bihar.



Underworld don’s threat to Maharashtra/Gujarat

Karachi-based underworld don, Dawood Ibrahim, is reported to be planning to carry out subversive activities in India, especially in the Maharashtra capital Mumbai, and different places in Gujarat. Dawood Ibrahim who had been declared a global terrorist by the United States and is constantly under the watch of American CIA has adopted a new strategy to keep himself out of reach of the American agency. They say his operations supported by Pakistan’s ISI, are now being controlled by a new group headed by Anwar, brother of Chhota Shakeel. Sources say the formation of the Anwar group is to shift attention from Dawood Ibrahim.