Coalition era enters Karnataka but

BANGALORE, Dec 25: Bitter political opponents turned friends in karnataka this year as the Janata Dal (secular), led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and the Congress combined together to form the first-ever coalition Government in the state to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party at bay.

The hastening of the Assembly elections this year to coincide with the Lok Sabha polls in April-May spelt doom for the Congress, which went done badly, finishing a poor second with only 65 seats, while the BJP emerged the single largest party, securing 79 seats.

The JD(S), which fought the major political outfits in the company of the Left parties, finished third with 58 seats and emerged the deciding factor.

The party swung in favour of the Congress to keep the "communal" BJP out of power, despite the Congress and the JD(S) fighting bitterly in the elections. An equally tough and long-drawn spell of negotiations over which party should head the Government was finally resolved with the Congress’ Dharam Singh and the JD (S)’s Siddaramaiah being sworn in as Chief Minister and deputy Chief Minister respectively on May 28.

Subsequently on June 5, five members from each party were sworn in to take the strength to a dozen.

The birth pangs of the coalition Government continued as it took six months of dithering and frequent postponing, before the much-awaited cabinet expansion could occur.

It finally took place on December 15, with the induction of 20 ministers to the 12-member ministry. Mr Singh is keeping his options open, as the Congress still has two more ministerial berths to its quota.

The expansion was forced by the JD(S), whose members had threatened to pull away from the coalition if steps were not initiated to induct more ministers. The Congress also had to delay the expansion as the coalition partner had imposed a condition of the tainted ministers being kept out of the ministry, successfully foiling the chance of prominent Congress leader and former minister D K Shivakumar, who had clashed with Mr Deve Gowda in the Kanakapura Lok Sabha constituency in the recent elections.

The recent expansion had brought to the fore dissidence in JD(S), with some of the senior leaders like Vyjnath Patil, who had launched a campaign against Mr Deve Gowda, not given a berth.

Disgruntlement in the Congress was also exhibited on the day of the expansion, but did not appear to be much serious. Only after Mr Singh fills the remaining two seats, will the status of dissidence within the party be known.

However, the two parties still need to master the intricacises of coalition politics as mutual mistrust still pervades their relation even as 2005 approaches.

The year, however, proved to be a lucky and successful one for Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, as after years of massive manhunt by the Karnataka police as well as of neighbouring Tamil Nadu, forest brigand Veerappan was killed in an encounter during a joint operation.

But, the Chief Minister had to face the wrath of the information technology giants of the country as both infosys’ chief N R Narayanamurthy and Wipro CEO Azim Premji came out bitterly against the poor infrastructure in the city, that might force the IT industry to move out of the state to other growing centres such as Chennai and Hyderabad, besides the emerging one at Kolkata.

However, at the fag end of the year, things appeared to have been resolved amicably with a meeting between Mr Narayanamurthy and Mr Singh, after which the former said he was satisfied with the Government’s initiatives. The entire IT sector had been worried about the city not being able to cope with the growing industry, whose exports had crossed Rs 20,000 crore.

Another achievement of the Government was granting clearance to the much-delayed international airport at Devanahalli at a cost of over Rs 1,300 crore. A new high-tech city and promises of early clearance for metro rail project are the other assurances that should keep the IT industry in good humour.

The film industry also clashed with the Government, following a protracted feud between the exhibitors and others in the Kannada film industry over release of new non-Kannada films. Worried about the declining profitability of the Kannada film sector, the industry leaders, led by matinee idol Raj Kumar, vigorously protested, organising demonstrations and ‘film bandhs.’ (UNI)

2004 saw Bollywood stars locked in legal battles

MUMBAI, Dec 25: A host of Bollywood stars including Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra were locked in legal battles during the year even as trials in Best Bakery case, 1993 bomb blast, 2002 serial explosions and Bilkis Bano murder case hogged the limelight.

On July 28, the Bombay High Court admitted a petition filed by filmstar Shahrukh Khan seeking a stay on the warrant issued against him by a local court in a cheating case early this year. The matter would be finally heard in due course.

A Magistrate had issued a bailable warrant against Shahrukh on a complaint filed by real estate agent Anees Ahmed alleging that the actor had not paid him brokerage for purchase of a property in return for services rendered by him.

In another case, the trial in hit-and-run case involving Salman was deferred from time to time during the year as case papers from Sessions Court had not reached the trial court. The matter is adjourned to February 28 next year.

Salman is charged with killing one person and injuring four, on September 28, 2002, by ramming his vehicle into a shop in Suburban Bandra, police alleged that he was under the influence of liquor, a charge denied by the actor.

Principal Sessions Judge R R Vachha, hearing Maharashtra Government’s plea, on June nine, had transferred the case from the court of Magistrate S Y Sishode to the court of additional Chief Magistrate J B Pankhe.

The state argued that Bandra Magistrate S Y Sishode was not competent to conduct the trial as he had earlier recorded statements of three witnesses. Under section 164 CRPC, such a Magistrate had to transfer the case to other court for trial.

Actress Priyanka Chopra got a reprieve when the Bombay High Court, on December 9, stayed proceedings in a lower court against her and her father A K Chopra in a cheating case filed by Akshay management, an event management company.

In another cheating case registered against Priyanka, the High Court also stayed proceedings initiated by film financier Prakash Jaju who claimed Rs 30 lakhs from her as dues for promoting her as Bollywood actress.

Actor Hrithik Roshan, his father Rakesh Roshan and maternal grandfater J Om Prakash also faced a cheating case with a film distribution company filing complaint against them over sale of marketing rights of Hindi film "Kaho Na Pyar Hai" and their home productions.

On December 16, a local court issued summons to veteran CPI (M) leader, Harkishen Singh Surjeet in a defamation complaint filed by actor Anupam Kher for alleging that he was an ‘RSS man’ and had saffronised the censor board in his capacity as the Chairman. The court asked Surjeet to appear on January 27.

Kher, who was unceremoniously removed as Central Board of Film Certification Chairman on October 13, had filed a criminal complaint in the court of Magistrate C B Havelikar.

Kher said he was an artist and did not belong to any party or ideology. Falsely linking him with any political organisation was a blot on his career, he said.

Actor Sunny Deol was dragged to court by a city-based firm in a cheque bouncing case for defaulting on payments for purchases made by him in 2002. On November 2, a Magistrate stayed a warrant issued against him for not appearing in the case.

Noted actress Rakhi Gulzar appeared before a Magistrate on September 30 in response to summons issued against her in a case of alleged cheating and furnished a personal bond of Rs 5,000.

Actress and Miss World Yukta Mookhey suffered a setback when the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT), on November 8, dismissed an appeal filed by her against eviction from her flat initiated by Bank of India.

Actor Suniel Shetty also faced rough weather when a Magistrate issued summons to him and two others on November 26 in a cheating case filed by Jaya tour and travels. The actor was asked to appear on March 23, 2005.

In another case, a local court issued summons to Neelima Azim, actress and mother of film star Shahid Kapoor, asking her to appear in person and report whether she married Raza Ali Khan, grandson of legendry vocalist Bade Ghulam Ali, who has been charged with bigamy by his wife, a German national.

Sema Khan had filed a police complaint on July nine claiming that her marriage to Ali was not dissolved before he reportedly married Azim. She said the Talaqnama, posted to her by her husband, was invalid as the marriage was not dissolved under the Special Marriage Act.

Another case that generated public interest was the suicide of model and former beauty Queen Nafisa Joseph. She ended her life on July 29 and two months later, her father lodged a police complaint alleging that businessman and her fiance Gautam Khanduja was responsible for abetting suicide.

However, the High Court, on November 11, granted him anticipatory bail. The court observed that the custodial interrogation of Khanduja was not required under the circumstances and also noted that he had disclosed everything about his past life to the deceased model.

In the case of alleged nexus of police with underworld, police filed chargesheet in November end in a special court against former journalist Ketan Tirodkar and two others under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for forging links with Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel to "tame police and reap personal benefits."

Besides Tirodkar, other accused are builder A C Agarwal and gangster Fahim Machmach. Tirodkar and Agarwal are in custody, while Machmach is absconding.

However, the chargesheet exonerated police inspector Daya Nayak and Mrilani Patil, director of film "Kaagar" under MCOCA although they were implicated by Tirodkar in a complaint filed before the court alleging police links with underworld.

Tirodkar had moved the court saying he and Nayak had links with Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel and taken Rs two crore from him to transfer certain police officers. Seeking pardon from the court, he alleged that inspector Daya Nayak and some others were also involved in the conspiracy.

Tirodkar alleged that Hindi film "Kaagar" was made on the life of encounter specialist Daya Nayak at Shakeel’s instance.

The designated Judge A P Bhangale had ordered City Police Commissioner A N Roy to probe the charges. The police Chief deputed ACP Dilip Sawant to probe the allegations and shifted Nayak from Crime Branch to a Suburban Police Station.

During the course of inquiry, Tirodkar was arrested on the basis of his confession.

The court rejected Tirokdar’s bail plea and issued summons to Nayak on allegations that he had taken money from the underworld to fund a school in Karnataka. Nayak moved the High Court which stayed until further orders the process issued by the lower court.

In yet another significant case, a model turned actress Preeti Jain alleged that she was raped by film maker Madhur Bhandarkar repeatedly for three years and that he had promised her a role in his film but backed out later.

He was granted anticipatory bail by a Sessions Court in July. However, the High Court issued notice to him on a petition filed by Maharashtra Government challenging anticipatory bail granted to him.

Bhandarkar denied the charges of rape and criminal intimidation and submitted that the victim was trying to use arm twisting tactics to get a role in his film. (PTI)

Nripen Chakraborty: Patriarch of Tripura politics

AGARTALA, Dec 25: Nripen Chakraborty, one of the last communist mandarins of 1930s, was a relentless crusader who lived for a cause and breathed his last with a dream.

So much so that the party which expelled him in 1995 for plainspeak finally reinducted him into the fold on Thursday keeping in view his record of "long service to the Communist movement".

A towering personality in Tripura politics, Chakraborty was the leader who shaped the political history of the state, which joined the Indian union in October 1949.

Chakraborty, who was the Chief Minister of Tripura from 1978 to 1988, was expelled by the CPI (M) on April 13, 1995 for open criticism of the party and its Government in West Bengal besides then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu.

A man with a spartan lifestyle and unblemished political career, he was regarded by all irrespective of their political ideologies. After he relinquished the office of Chief Minister in 1988, a small room in MLA hostel was his abode.

Resolute, sensitive and sometimes defiant Chakraborty was often dubbed as a conservative Communist who was never afraid of paying the price for calling a spade a spade. But he was also a man of sparkling wit and humour.

Nripendralal alias Nasha was the ninth son of Raj Kumar Chakraborty and Uttamsundari Devi. Born in to a well educated family of Bikrampur under Dhaka district (now Bangladesh) on April 4, 1905, he passed entrance examination from Outsahi High School in first division in 1925.

While he was doing his postgraduation in Economics in Bangabasi College in Calcutta he got associated with Abhay Ashram and became a dedicated Gandhian and also participated in Dandi March in 1930.

But his quest for a ‘better world order’ brought him in touch with extremist leftist leader Smritish Banerjee in 1932 and he joined the Communist party in 1935 before joining the trade union movement.

A bachelor, his brand of politics was not a cake walk. He spent most of his young life as a underground worker mobilising public opinion.

The firebrand trade unionist even once made a daring escape from jail and remained underground till he surrendered three years later.

Mr Chakraborty’s chequered and eventful political career spanning seven decades saw him as a jute mill worker, a revolutionery in hiding, a sub-editor in Ananda bazar patrika, a marxist teacher among tribals in remote hills, and a Chief Minister of highest regard.

In 1936, Nripen Chakraborty was inducted as the member of the provincial secretariat of the banned Communist party. In the same year he was also elected the Joint Secretary along with historiao late Hirendra Nath Mukherjee of the socialist party.

In 1938 the secret meeting of the Bengal provincial committee held at Chandannagar elected him as the secretary of the party when even promod Dasgupta or former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu were not even a primary member of the party. For a long period during this period he was working as a jute mill worker at the Naskar Para Jute mill at Ghusuri to give a boost to the trade union movement.

During his tenure in the ABP, he also came in contact with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and in 1941 he was arrested by the British police and sent to Presidency jail.

But he escaped from Hijli jail where he was detained along with another inmate Panchugopal Bhaduri, also a famous firebrand Communist. In 1943 both of them surrendered at the instruction of the party.

In 1948, the Communist party was banned and he went underground once again.

In 1950, Mr Chakraborty came to Tripura along with his three comrades-in-arms — Kongsari Halder, Dr Bijoy Bose and Bipul Chowdhury. Although the Communist movement began in Tripura in 1938 under Biren Datta, it thrived after Mr Chakraborty took over the reins.

Former Chief Minister Dasaratha Deb, who enjoyed unequivocal popularity among the tribals, was also influenced by Nripen Chakraborty and joined the Communist Party with his Tripura Rajya Gana Mukti Parisad.

The merger shaped the political history of Tripura.

The Communists made a slow and steady inroads into power with its top brass getting elected in almost all the elections. Nripen Chakraborty was elected in 1957, 1962, 1972, 1977, 1983, 1988 and 1993. He was time and again arrested in 1962, 1965 and 1975 by the Congress Governments in the state.

Mr chakraborty’s political acumen led to the downfall of two Governments. Congress For Democracy (CFD) under the Chief Ministership of Prafulla Chandra Das and Janata Party Government headed by Radhika Ranjan Gupta, of which he were ministers, had short lives, thanks to Mr Chakraborty’s political shrewdness.

This paved the way for the first CPI (M)-led Left Front Government in 1978. He became the Chief Minister of Tripura in January 5, 1978.

Earlier in 1972 he was inducted as the member of the CPI (M)’s Central Committee and in 1984 he became the lone CPI(M) politbureau member from the border state.

It was for Mr Chakraborty that all the stalwarts of the then CPI in Tripura joined CPI(M) in 1962 making a history in the country.

Fluent in tribal language "Kokborok" Nripen Chakraborty, known among the hill people as "Jagat-Da", was the most popular leader both among tribals and non-tribals.

Mr Chakraborty also evinced great interest in literature, philosophy, economics and history. He was even interested in gardening, child psychology and cooking.

He was a regular Columnist in the state party organ "daily Deser Katha" before his expulsion from the party where he often used a pen name- "Arup Roy".

The respect he enjoyed can be gauged from a bizzare incident when a south Indian youth sent a letter to Mr Chakraborty written in his blood to pay tributes to the leader. (UNI)

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