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EDITORIAL It is strange that each time there are elections, the ruling parties have to be reminded that they should go by the book. How else can one explain the Central Government’s attempt to advertise its achievements with five states going to the polls in November and December. Or, for that matter, how can one justify the photographs of Congress Chief Minister Ajit Jogi on the bags of children going to schools in Chhattisgarh, one of the states where Assembly elections are being held. Such is the tendency on the part of political parties to blatantly extract any mileage that even as the Election Commission directed that the advertisements be withdrawn, the Bharatiya Janata Party .....more By now 63, Clifton is a
familiar address. Not because it is the num |
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avenues of By Subhashis Mittra In keeping with the promise of providing 10 million jobs to the unemployed every year, the Vajpayee Government has accorded high priority to the creation of a skilled labour force in the country by upgrading their skills to .......more By Dr Rajni Dhingra Play is an occupation that comes naturally to a child. Children start playing the moment they are conceived since it has been found by research studies that even foetuses show movements similar to play actions in their mother's ......more Need
for a cautious By T.K. Krishnamurthy India is desperately trying to overcome its energy shortage estimated to be 80,000 MW. If we go by the Planning Commission estimates, it will cost Rs.120,000 crore. The shortfall can be met through a nuclear energy .........more |
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EDITORIAL It is strange that each time there are elections, the ruling parties have to be reminded that they should go by the book. How else can one explain the Central Government’s attempt to advertise its achievements with five states going to the polls in November and December. Or, for that matter, how can one justify the photographs of Congress Chief Minister Ajit Jogi on the bags of children going to schools in Chhattisgarh, one of the states where Assembly elections are being held. Such is the tendency on the part of political parties to blatantly extract any mileage that even as the Election Commission directed that the advertisements be withdrawn, the Bharatiya Janata Party ‘respectfully’ urged the EC to ‘reconsider’ its directive. The party’s argument was that giving publicity to the Central Government’s schemes would keep the people better informed and it was the ‘Government’s duty’ to fulfill this obligation. It just overlooked the fact that using state resources for this purpose would disturb the level playing field at this juncture. Fortunately, however, good sense has prevailed upon the Central Government which is in far more experienced hands than the BJP. It has announced the suspension of its advertisement campaign till the first week of December — that is till the polling ends in five states. By doing so, it has done well to drive home the message that it would stay within its own limits instead of unnecessarily joining the issue with the EC. It appears, however, that Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister is a slow learner. He must raise avoidable controversies even in small matters. School bags carrying his photographs have been rightly ordered to be withdrawn. In this modern age and time, it is sheer megalomania to think of perpetuating a personality cult. Apart from these two incidents, the EC has once again felt the need to tell the candidates to keep their expenses within the prescribed limit. Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh has asserted in Jaipur that he and his colleagues would ensure that the candidates ‘keep to the limits’. He has minced no words while saying that the EC would be ‘very strict with expenses and we will insist on full daily accounts’. One can feel that with every election the expenditure is skyrocketing. Ceiling imposed on it has simply not worked in real terms. Perhaps keeping this in view, the EC has decided to introduce transparency in the poll expenditure. It will ensure that ‘the accounts maintained by the candidates and forwarded to the authorities daily during the campaign would be accessible to others’. There is another logical departure from a past practice. Individual candidates will now be fully accountable for their campaign expenses. No more can any part of it be attributed to their friends and parties. Doubtless, the election scenario in the country is much better presently. One will have to thank successive Chief Election Commissioners for this, particularly Mr T.N. Seshan who had rediscovered the powers of the office to tell one and all that he would brook no nonsense. Behind Mr Lyngdoh’s calm exterior lies a determined man. He has done his job extremely well. He had refused to be scared away by vitriolic and personal attack by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. In the end Mr Lyngdoh had emerged a real victor while Mr Modi must have felt ashamed about his own utterances after having swept the elections which he had panicked might not be fair. There are many other feathers in Mr Lyngdoh’s cap including the 2002 Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. By hinting now that he would curb the wasteful expenditure, Mr Lyngdoh has raised hope that the election process would soon be exorcised of this evil. By now 63, Clifton is a
familiar address. Not because it is the num If doubts arise about Pakistan’s complicity in this matter it is because the safety of the Indian High Commission property after it has fallen vacant is its responsibility. Why is it that it has failed to do its job and let the Indian Consulate building become a matter of property dispute? Is it not that in New Delhi angry demonstrators are not allowed to reach anywhere near the Pakistan High Commission in Chanakayapuri? It is explained that the genesis of the drama in Karachi lies in India’s refusal to transfer the Jinnah house in Mumbai to Pakistan. It has been handed over to the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. If this is true, Pakistan’s anger is entirely unjustified because the Jinnah house is an evacuee property while 63, Clifton has been legally purchased by the Indian High Commission. However, in a tit-for-tat tactic, Pakistan, according to many, is alleged to have planned the illegal occupation of the bungalow just to settle a score. Such childish approach can only cause another major irritant between the two neighbouring countries, and needs to be avoided. By raising storm in a tea up, noone has gained anything. |
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