LESSON 26
BSP to contest all seats in Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad, March 23 (IANS) The Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) will contest all the assembly and Lok Sabha seats in Andhra
Pradesh, said party supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati
here Monday.
Addressing a public meeting here, she said the party would contest the
elections on its own and have no alliance with any party. She promised
that justice would be done to all sections of the society in party
ticket distribution.
Mayawati called upon the people to defeat both the Congress and the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She alleged that both the parties were
responsible for the problems faced by people, especially farmers and
the working class.
“Though the Congress was in power most of the time since the
country’s independence, it failed to do justice to the weaker sections
of the society,” she said.
Mayawati said poverty and unemployment were the main causes for the rise of Maoist violence in the country.
Simultaneous polls to the 294-member state assembly and 42 Lok Sabha
seats in the state are scheduled to be held in two phases - April 16
and April 23.
Mayawati urges people to vote out Congress, BJP
HYDERABAD - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Mayawati on Monday urged people to vote out parties like the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Vote out the Congress and the BJP for the betterment of your
lives,” Mayawati said while addressing a public meeting at the Nizam
College Grounds here.
Mayawati was here to launch her party’s campaign for the upcoming general elections.
She blamed the policies of the Congress for the troubles faced by the downtrodden sections of the society.
“Poor farmers, workers, traders and virtually every section of the
society is facing problems because of the gross neglect of the
Congress,” she said.
The BSP supremo also appealed people to vote for the newly formed
Third Front to uplift the downtrodden sections of the society. (ANI)
Again, tribal votes hold the key
Tribal groups emerge as the most powerful section of voters when it
comes to elections in Chhattisgarh. Their vote has been the deciding
factor in catapulting political parties to power or pulling them down.
This was evident in the Assembly elections in 2003 as also in the
recently concluded November 2008 polls. The tribal votes hold the key
again in the 2009 general elections.
Of the 11 Parliamentary seats, four are
reserved for the Scheduled Tribes and one for the Scheduled Castes.
Bastar and Kanker in the extreme South of Chhattisgarh and Surguja and
Raigarh in the Northern tip are strong tribal bastions.
In the 2009 elections, the
Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to put up its candidates in all the
seats.
The BSP, which polled 4.54 per cent votes in 2004, has two Assembly
seats in its kitty, and has the potential to cut into Congress votes in
Bilaspur and Korba Parliamentary constituencies. The fight in Bilaspur
and Korba seats should be interesting to watch. Korba is a new
Parliamentary constituency carved out during delimitation and has
pockets of the now non-existent Sarangarh reserved seat and some parts
of Bilaspur constituency.
Mulayam in trouble over speech
Atiq Khan
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh has invited trouble
with his alleged objectionable references against the District
Magistrate (DM) of Mainpuri and Returning Officer S. Minishti.
Mr. Singh is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Mainpuri.
In a report sent to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Uttar
Pradesh on Tuesday, Ms. Minishti quoted the alleged objectionable
reference in an election speech by Mr. Singh in Mainpuri on Monday. The
CD of the speech was also sent to the CEO.
Report sent
Additional CEO Amrit Abhijat told journalists here that the DM’s
report and the CD have been sent “for consideration” to the Election
Commission.
Mr. Abhijat said that according to the Mainpuri district administration, the DM’s report contained “statement of facts.”
Mr. Singh reportedly said that though he respected women, had the
Mainpuri DM not been a woman he would have dealt with the official
differently.
The Samajwadi Party president is also reported to have come down on the Superintendent of Police of Mainpuri.
The Additional CEO said he was not aware of the cause for the
provocation but added that the DM’s report contained a reference to
“woman.”
Singh for allegedly threatening a woman returning officer in Mainpuri,
from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha election.
“The Commission should take suo motu action against Mr. Singh for threatening the Returning Officer.
“The Commission, should also take suo motu action against Varun
Gandhi case, should look at other persons who are violating the model
code. Why is no action being taken against Mr. Mulayam Singh?”
Congress is at fault for BJP’s growth
Janata Party in States where the party was the principal opponent.
In States where it [Congress] is the main political opponent, they did not defeat the BJP.
The Congress’ record had been voting with the BJP to pull down previous non-Congress secular governments.
UPA had many such contenders for Prime Minister. Both Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan
had ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister but were not saying so
openly.
With the Congress once again stating that Dr. Singh would be its
Prime Minister, he said previous results showed that such projections
proved ominous.
Any leader who was projected to lead a government had lost —
be it L.K. Advani in 2004, Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan or V.K.
Malhotra in Delhi during the recent Assembly polls.
areas for 25 kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs.3 a kg.
One-third reservation for women in all Central government jobs.
No affirmative action for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in theprivate sector, never carved out reservation for the
economically weaker sections of all communities without prejudice to
what is in place for SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes.
No reservation for minorities in
government employment and education on the basis of their social and
economic backwardness nationally.
No National Rural
Employment Guarantee for the entire year.
There is no health security for all, and comprehensive social security to those at
special risk, including single-woman headed households, disabled and
elderly, urban homeless, released bonded workers, primitive tribal
workers and members of designated ‘most backward’ SC/ST communities.
Congress is “grouping of opportunistic parties” which have neither consistency nor clarity, an organisation that walks the middle path; supporting “narrow
communalism” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the “Caste opportunism”.
UPA government, poverty levels increased and more people joined the
below-poverty-line group; instead of the promised jobs, employed people
lost their jobs; inflation may be down but prices of food articles
soared; it failed to give political reservation to women; it failed to
bring the Lok Pal Bill; and it failed to usher in judicial reforms.
Double standards.
Mr. Varun Gandhi’s alleged remarks and the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s
remark on the post-Indira Gandhi assassination anti-Sikh riots – “when
a large banyan tree falls, the earth shakes.” are not double standards..
dr. bhanu pratap singh
INDIA: ONE LAND, TWO LAWS
NEW
DELHI: This is a country where the law clearly protects the rich and
famous and comes down heavily, very often unfairly, on the poor and
powerless.
For
all those listening / watching aghast at how low our politicians can
sink - e.g. Varun Gandhi’s vituperative attack against the Muslim
community in an election address in Pilibhit from where he will contest
on the BJP ticket - they always knew deep down that nothing would come
of it. The interim anticipatory bail granted to him on Friday is on
those very predictable lines.
The
scion of Sanjay Gandhi will grow from strength to strength in an age
which hails ‘khalnayaks’ who indulge in communally divisive politics
.For them there is no Model Code of Conduct but a Model Code of Self
Seeking Hate Politics. The BJP will not take away their symbol from
Varun .Nor will the law of the land really move against him and keep
him from contesting the election. And getting a bail will be child’s
play for a person as influential as Varun Gandhi.
While
the Raipur Sessions court rejected his bail application in July 2007,
the Chattisgarh High Court denied bail twice, first in July 2007 and
again in December 2008.
Countless
media reports and organizations fighting for his release have pointed
out that although Dr Binayak Sen has been arrested on charges under the
controversial Chattisgarh State Public Security Act, none of the over
80 witnesses produced in his trial so far at a sessions court in Raipur
have been able to substantiate any of these charges.
Yet
the barefoot doctor, whose life’s mission was to heal those who had
been left out of the state’s medical radar, has been denied bail and
left to rot in jail for 22 months. What is worse his health has been
fast deteriorating and appeals for justice have fallen on deaf ears.
In
the days and months following his incarceration there has been an
international and national demand for the release of Dr Binayak Sen. As
many as 22 Nobel Laureates signed a petition in support of his
immediate release terming his arrest a travesty of justice. But it has
failed to move either the BJP government in the state or the UPA
government at the Centre.
On
March 16, 50 activists of the national campaign for the release of Dr.
Binayak Sen, marched to the jail in Raipur in a ‘jail bharo’ agitation
to highlight the case.The Raipur Satyagraha was led by well-known
social worker and Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey and include
eminent persons like documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and members
of various civil society groups, civil rights organisations, trade
unions, lawyers, journalists, medical professionals and women’s groups.
The
satyagraha will be held every Monday in front of the jail in Raipur
where Dr Binayak Sen is incarcerated. They are demanding that the
Chattisgarh government should stop opposing the grant of bail to Dr
Sen. Denial of bail should not be used as a punitive measure as this
goes against the spirit of the entire justice system and constitutional
rights, they stress.
In
a bid to win over high profile judicial support in favour of Sen, there
is now a petition going around with former Supreme Court and High Court
judges. Eminent former Supreme Court Judge V R Krishna Iyer has already
put his weight behind the petition along with six others.
Clearly the law as it plays out for Varun Gandhi and Dr Binayak Sen smacks of one land-two laws.
http://www.binayaks en.net/2009/ 03/india- one-land- two-laws/
What is Advani’s record ?
Mr. Advani’s track record as Home Minister of the National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime. Mr.
Advani’s role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December
1992. He played a
prominent role in the destruction of the Babri Masjid. What else has he
done? When he was Home Minister, Parliament was attacked. Troops were
mobilised for months along the border and withdrawn without reason;
resulting in the loss of thousands of crores which could have gone to
the common man. The Red Fort was attacked, an aircraft was hijacked,
terrorists were rewarded, and the Gujarat carnage happened. The country
has to decide whether he is fit to be Prime Minister.”
Mr. Advani’s visit to Pakistan where he found “new virtues in [Mohammad Ali] Jinnah.”
It goes without saying that communalism is the greatest challenge; ifwe do not fight it, Prabuddha Bharath’s integrity and prosperity will be
threatened. SC/STs are still oppressed here
KOLAR: Kolar Lok Sabha constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled
Caste candidates, comprises all the six Assembly segments in Kolar
district — Kolar, Malur, Srinivaspur, Mulbagal (SC), Bangarpet (SC) and
Kolar Gold Fields (SC) — and two from Chickaballapur district —
Shidlaghatta and Chintamani.
Kolar served as the capital of the Gangas. The great warrior Hyder
Ali was born in Boodikote in Kolar district. Litterateurs such as D.V.
Gundappa and Jnanpith Award-winner Masti Venkatesha Iyengar hailed from
the district. Shivarapatna is home to hundreds of sculptors.
There are many places of pilgrimage such as the Kashi Visveshwar
temple on Antaragange betta, the Muragamal Dargah, Kaiwara and the
Kotilingeshwara temple.
The region is known for gold, silk, milk and mango. However,
although this constituency is close to Bangalore, it has not seen much
development, as is evident from the fact that towns, including Kolar,
the district headquarters, resemble overgrown villages.
The district shares its northern and eastern borders with Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu lies to the South.
Since gold mining in Kolar Gold Fields, for which Karnataka was
referred to as ‘Chinnada Nadu’ (land of gold), ended about a decade
ago, hundreds of labourers and their families have been left in the
lurch.
Now the region has only one major industry, Bharat Earth Movers
Ltd., after the closure of Bharat Gold Mines Ltd. The people,
therefore, are dependent on agriculture.
The scale of unemployment is such that people are coming forward in
large numbers to work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme though it offers meagre wages.
Roads in the constituency are in a deplorable condition
notwithstanding the fact that the sitting MP, K.H. Muniyappa of the
Congress, has been the Union Minister of State for Shipping, Road
Transport and Highways for the past five years.
He has represented the constituency for 18 years without a break.
What makes this grim scenario worse is that SC/STs in this reserved
constituency still face caste oppression, to which the carnage at
Kambalapalli at the dawn of the 21st century stands mute witness.
Kolar has been a Congress stronghold since the first general
elections. It has returned Congress nominees in all elections, except
in 1984. It was a dual-member constituency till 1962. In the past, the
Communists were a force to reckon with in the region.
By chennaivision at 24 March, 2009, 11:32 am
New
Delhi, As the country gears up for the Lok Sabha polls, the process of
filing nomination for the first phase kick started with Chhattisgarh
leading by 12 nominations, followed by three nominations in
Maharashtra, eight in Uttar Pradesh and an equal number in Kerala on
the opening day.
Nominations would close on March 30 and scrutiny would take place
the next day. The last day for withdrawal is April 2 with polling on
April 16.
Only three nomination papers were filed on the opening day of filing
nominations for the first phase of the general elections, a report from
Mumbai said.
In all, 13 of the 48 constituencies would go to the polls in the
first phase. Of these constituencies, 10 fall in Vidharba and three in
Marathwada region. The general elections for 48 Lok Sabha seats in
Maharashtra was notified today.
Sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Mumbai said one
nomination each was filed in Akola, Nanded and Nagpur. None of the
nominees of any major political party had tendered their papers.
Constituencies that would have polling in the first phase are
Buldhana, Akola, Amravati (SC), Wardha, Ramtek (SC), Nagpur,
Bhandara-Gondiya, Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST), Chandrapur, Yavatmal-Washim,
Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani.
Twelve candidates, including three Independents, filed their nominations papers in Chhattisgarh, a report form Raipur said.
T R Nirali was, however, the first Bahujan Samaj Party candidate to
file his papers from Bilaspur.
In Uttar Pradesh, a total of eight candidates today filed their
nominations in six Lok Sabha constituencies, a Lucknow report said.
This covers some constituencies in the eastern parts of the state.
According to chief electoral officer (CEO) Anuj Kumar Bishnoi, two
candidates each filed their nominations from Ghazipur and Robertsganj
seats while one each at Kushingar, Deoria, Ghosi and Salempur Lok Sabha
seats.
Prominent candidates who had filed their nominations on day one
include
(Ghosi), Afzal Ansari of BSP(Ghazipur)
In Kerala, as many as eight candidates, filed their
nominations.
An official release issued by the State Election Department in
Thiruvananthapuram said each filed nominations from Kannur and Vadakara
constituencies.
One nomination each was filed at Kozhikode, Kottayam,Mavelikkara and Thiruvananthapuram.
A report from Kannur said Left Democratic Front nominee K K Raghesh of the CPI(M) filed his nominations from Kannur.
Raghesh filed three sets of nominations with District Collector
Dinesh Arora, who also holds the charge of District Returning Officer.
A Kozhikode report said LDF nominee P Satheedevi filed their nominations for the Vadakara and
Kozhikode Lok Sabha seats respectively.
They have filed their papers before Returning Officer and Kozhikode District Collect P B Salim.
CPI(M) leader Mohanan Master also filed nomination as a dummy candidate for the LDF in Vadakara seat.
Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh filed his papers from the Mavelikkara Reserved Constituency.
SUCI leaders Shajar Khan and Mini K Philip filed their nominations from Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam respectively.