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Political Notes

	July 11, 2005

Kerala : Nine Karunakaran supporters quit the Assembly



In a major set back to the Oommen Chandy Government in Kerala, nine Congress legislators supporting former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran and his National Congress (Indira) have resigned from the state Assembly. The legislators said that they decided to quit because of the wrong policies of the Oommen Chandy Government. The resignations reduced the strength of the Congress-led ruling United Democratic Front to 84 in the 140 member Assembly.



Goa : Deadlock over allocation of portfolios



The Congress and the NCP are still deadlocked over the portfolio allocation to an NCP Minister in the Congress-led coalition in Goa. Ten days after he was sworn in as Minister - following a bout of political wrangling - NCP MLA Fracisco Micky Pacheco is yet to receive any portfolio from Congress Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane.



Pacheco would like to head the Sports and Forest Ministry, but so would several Congress Ministers - leading to a fresh hurdle among the many the Rane Ministry has had to deal with in its month long term.

The Congress and its NCP allies have been unable to work out the allocation of key posts in several state-run corporations leading to a delay in these appointments.



Meanwhile, amidst a walkout by the Opposition BJP, Francisco Sardinha and Victoria Fernandes were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Goa Assembly on July 8. A special session of the Assembly had been called with a single point agenda - the election of Sardinha and Fernandes.

The BJP protested saying adequate notice was not given - a 15 day notice is needed to summon the Assembly - and boycotted the proceedings.



Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat elected to the Rajya Sabha



All six candidates for the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal have been elected unopposed. They include Sitram Yechury and Brinda Karat, both members of the CPI(M) politburo. Among the other candidates elected was Arjun Sen Gupta who was supported by the Left Front and the Congress.

In Gujarat, the BJP retained two Rajya Sabha seats and the Congress one. The Congress candidate was Ahmed Patel, political advisor to party president Sonia Gandhi.



Election Commission rejects Samajwadi Party’s plea



The Election Commission has rejected the Samajwadi Party’s plea for national status. The party had approached the Commission after former Karnataka Chief Minister S. Bangarappa’s victory from the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency on the party ticket. For national status, a party needs to have parliamentary representation from at least three states. Besides 36 members from Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party has one MP from Uttaranchal.

The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, provides for conferment of the national status on the basis of the performance of a party in the general elections either to the Lok Sabha or the State Assemblies. There is no provision for granting it on the basis of performance in a by election.



Sonia Gandhi asks Gujarat Government to speed up flood relief



Congress president Sonia Gandhi, on a tour of flood-hit Gujarat, said last week that she had received complaints about inadequate relief in the state. Speaking in Vadodara after a tour of the flood hit areas, she asked the Narendra Modi Government in the State to pay cash doles for 15 days to the affected persons and speed up the rehabilitation work. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee who accompanied Sonia Gandhi said the purpose of the visit was to see the affected areas. “No doubt the magnitude of the destruction is huge and unprecedented. Three-fourths of the land in the state has been affected. We wanted to land in some villages, but could not do so as the conditions were not suitable”, he added.



Eminent Islamic scholar Rafiq Zakaria passes away



Eminent historian, Islamic scholar and Congress leader, Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday, July 9. He was 85. The end came soon after he had finished his Namaz (prayer) in the early morning.

Dr. Zakaria spent over 25 years in public service as a Cabinet Minister and then as a Deputy leader of the Congress party. He also represented India at the United Nations.



He authored several books, including A Study of Nehru, Rise of Muslims in Indian Politics, The Struggle Within Islam, Conflict between Religion and politics, The Price of Partition, Gandhi and the Break-up of India, The Man Who Divided India, and Muhammad and The Quran. His last book, Indian Muslims: Where have they gone wrong ? was published last year with a foreword by M.J. Akbar.