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'From PM to DM' proposal upsets Marxists
by Gautam Ghosh

          Kolkata: The CPI(M) seems to be in a spot over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposed poverty-alleviation steps to ensure a qualitative improvement in the standard of life of the rural poor suffering from starvation and malnutrition. The Centre intends to provide special funds to different states for this particular purpose and does not want the allocation to be spent on other projects. However, Singh's move to make the allocation directly to the zilla parishads, bypassing the respective state governments, has not been taken kindly by the ruling Marxists in West Bengal who feel this may erode the state government's power and authority and lead to adverse political repercussions. Both Sitaram Yechuri, CPI(M) politburo member, and Surya Kanta Mishra, Bengal's minister for rural development and panchayats, who attended the Prime Minister's conference on Tuesday, have vehemently opposed the proposal, describing it as an attempt to interfere with the state administration.

           The proposal, mooted by the Prime Minister, however, is nothing new as far as the Congress is concerned. It was originally planned by late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who wanted to send Central funds directly to the rural bodies with the slogan: "From PM to DM(district magistrate)." The idea was that the district magistrates would receive the funds directly from the Centre for disbursement among the panchayats without the concerned state governments' intervention. The former Prime Minister had felt this was necessary to avert undue political interference, red tapism and delay in improving the lot of the rural poor. The proposal, however, died a natural death as most of the state governments, irrespective of their political colour, opposed it for obvious reasons. This also explains why even Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi virtually echoed Mishra's objection to Singh's proposal to despatch central funds to the rural bodies, bypassing the state governments.

            The United Progressive Alliance government's intention to provide at least 100 days' work to the agricultural labourers every year has also caught the Marxists in Bengal on the wrong foot. It has been proposed that the Centre will bear 75 per cent of the funds required for the purpose while the concerned state governments will be expected to provide the rest 25 per cent. However, the Left Front government's financial banakruptcy will not enable it to mobilise the required 25 per cent. If the Centre brings a legislation to implement the proposal, which is one of the salient features of the UPA's common minimum programme, the Bengal government may face a real trouble. For, a rural daily wage-earner may then feel free to move the court against the state government if the latter fails to provide at least 100 days' work to him every year.

           The leftists are also not happy over some of the economic measures already taken by the Congress-led government at the Centre. The AITUC, CPI's labour wing, has severely criticised civil aviation minister Praful Patel for his decision to allow 49 per cent foreign direct investment in the sector and offering another 25 per cent to private concerns in the country. The Centre's virtual refusal to raise the PF interest and rollback the hike in the cooking gas price have also jolted the left parties which had expected the new government to adopt a "pro- people stand" on the vital economic issues. According to informed sources, the CPI(M) and its partners in the Left Front are looking forward to the railway and general budgets to justify their decision to support the Congress-led coalition. The left parties expect railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and finance minister P. Chidambaram to offer substantial relief to the common man and the lower-income groups in their respective budgets. As a senior member of the state CPI(M) secretariat put it: "We hope that there will be specific announcements in the railway and general budgets for the benefit of senior citizens, retired persons and under-privileged sections of society who have been the victims of the prevailing low-interest regime."

Telgi case: CBI raids police officers' residences in Chennai (Go To Top)

         Chennai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday commenced raids in the city residences of two Tamil Nadu police officers in connection with the multi-crore Telgi stamp paper scam. The raiding team arrived here from Delhi this morning, police said. The police officers belonging to the CB-CID allegedly subdued investigation into the scam and allowed fake stamp paer worth crores of rupees to be taken away for the gratification by one Nizamuddin, believed to be an accomplice of Telgi. On April 3 the state government had announced that it had decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI.

Offensive lingerie sparks VHP protest (Go To Top)

         Godhra: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday protested in Godhra town against lingerie emblazoned with Hindu deities. The lingerie, which inspired various international designers in the UK and the US had already met with massive protests from Hindu groups on displaying their culture in derogatory and bad taste. The undergarments, with images of what looks like Lord Vishnu, Lord Ram and Lord Krishna were originally designed by Italian designer Roberto Cavalli earlier this year. The lingerie is being sold openly on the streets in Godhra which sparked statewide riots in Gujarat in 2002 killing nearly 1,000 people, mainly Muslims. VHP activist Rakesh Thakrey expressed anguish at the lingerie being sold in India. "Earlier the undergarments bearing the images of Hindu gods were being sold in foreign countries. The Hindu groups had protested against this. Then the sale was stopped but now they are trying to sell them off in India. They are trying to make this reach every house," said Thakrey. Babubhai Patel, another activist, said: "We cannot tolerate this nonsense. Such images of gods and goddesses on undergarments is derogatory. And this is an attack on our culture, we cannot tolerate this insult." Till now, toilet seat covers, boxes of tissues, shoes, sandals and finger puppets have all been tracked down as bearing "offensive" images, variously of Lord Krishna, Ram, Saraswati and so on. The campaign comes just months after Britain's increasingly-vocal Hindus protested against a Merchant-Ivory film's plans to cast "sex icon" rock star Tina Turner in the role of Goddess Kali.

Defiant Saddam produced in court (Go To Top)

          Baghdad: Iraq's ex-leader Saddam Hussein on Thursday made a defiant first appearance before an Iraqi judge, branding President George W Bush as the "real criminal". He defended Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, said he was still president and rejected the court's jurisdiction. He arrived in handcuffs and chains at the court near Baghdad airport to hear charges of war crimes and genocide. TV pictures of the hearing were released to international broadcasters shortly after the hearing finished. The images - cleared for broadcast by the US military - were the first of Saddam Hussein since his capture in December. They showed Iraq's former president looking thin, haggard and with a trimmed, grey beard Saddam Hussein, described by reporters at the hearing as both defiant and downcast, denounced the proceedings as "theatre" and questioned the validity of the law he was to be tried under.

           "I am Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq," he replied when asked to confirm his identity at the hearing, which took place inside one of his former palaces, now a sprawling US base. Seven preliminary charges were read out to him, including accusations over the campaign against the Kurds in the 1980s, which included the use of chemical weapons in Halabja, and the suppression of Kurdish and Shia uprisings after the 1991 Gulf War. Saddam Hussein refused to concede that he had invaded Kuwait in 1990. "How can you, as an Iraqi, say the 'invasion of Kuwait' when Kuwait is part of Iraq?" he asked the judge, whose face was not shown on the film and whose identity is being kept secret for security reasons. He refused at the end to sign legal papers confirming that he had been read his rights and understood the case against him, saying he wanted his lawyer in court. He was then taken back to jail, while the charges were read out one-by-one against the 11 other accused. These include former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and Ali Hasan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged role in poison gas attacks, who were formally transferred from US to Iraqi custody on Wednesday. Saddam Hussein's lawyers have already challenged the court's legitimacy.

Pak to conduct mother of all missile tests soon, says Musharraf (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that his country will most likely be conducting an important missile test very soon. According to The News, Musharraf on Wednesday said that an extremely important substantive test, most likely a longer-range missile test, will be conducted in two months' time, for which hectic arrangements were already under way. "We will show you a big test within next two months or so," the Daily Times quoted him as saying. The President also said that he would not roll back Pakistan's nuclear and missile programme. However, he did not disclose the exact nature of the strategic testing in the offing.