No stay for new TN law on Jallikattu

Ashish Tripathi NEW DELHI: Feb 1, 2017, DHNS

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the new law in Tamil Nadu which permits Jallikattu, but slammed the state government for allowing a massive protest. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R F Nariman took strong exception to the agitation resorted to by the people on Chennai’s Marina beach for a few days in January, asking how there can be protest when the court itself was seized up with the matter.
“Please tell your state executives that law and order situation is primacy (sic) in any civilised society. Convey it to them when final arbitrator (SC) is seized up of the situation, there should be absolute silence and compliance,” the bench told senior advocates K Parasaran, C S Vaidyanathan and Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government.

“What was the necessity of doing all kinds of street march? Why you allowed such a situation to crop up,” the bench further asked the counsel, reminding them during the hearing on Cauvery dispute, the court had directed both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to maintain law and order. The counsel maintained that in a democracy, the people can always demand a legislation which is not prohibited. 

Sects hold sway as fight gets down to the wire

Gautam Dheer Moga, DHNS:

With just a couple of days left for polling in Punjab, politicians from all parties are queuing up at the doors of various sects and deras — which wield considerable influence over voters in the state. In the build-up to a likely scenario of a split mandate, dera votes can play a crucial role. Some of the sects espouse an egalitarian philosophy, yet many have their dedicated political wings that take a call on supporting a party or a particular candidate. 

In an estimated 40 constituencies out of 117 in Punjab, sects have their dominance. The Congress took an early lead last month when the party vice president Rahul Gandhi took a chartered flight to visit Dera Radha Soami Satsang in Beas near Amritsar. Along with Capt Amarinder, he spent a night at the sect’s dera. A couple of days ago, Rahul had also spent a night at Dera Sachkhand Ballan near Jalandhar. The sect has a huge following among the Dalits.

AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and the Badals too have visited deras in the run-up to the elections. Politicians feel dera supporters vote collectively. Their votes have impacted the outcome of the elections in the past, as in 2012 when the SAD-BJP alliance gained in close to 20 seats because of sect votes.

In a three-cornered contest, where the AAP has managed a sizeable groundswell, the challenge for the Congress is to turn vote share into seats. The party got the maximum votes in the last elections, close to 42%, which was an improvement since the previous election. Yet the Congress got only 46 seats and lost the election to the SAD-BJP alliance.

The Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda is headed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and has a colossal following. Its chief has asked followers to ‘remain united’. The sect head has often come out with words of praise for Narendra Modi.

People are fed up of Badal, says Captain

Gautam Dheer Feb 1, 2017, DHNS

Punjab Congress president and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh says this election will be his last. On March 11, the day the election results are announced, Capt Amarinder will turn 75. The date could prove lucky for him. It’s a three-cornered contest in Punjab and the former chief minister is pulling out all the stops to get the Congress back in power after a decade of Akali-BJP rule. On the sidelines of his election campaign in the last few weeks, Gautam Dheer spoke to him on the changing political narrative and more. Excerpts.

A decade out of power, why do you think Congress will come to power in Punjab?

There’s a strong anti-incumbency and anti-Badal sentiment in Punjab. The state has gone through terrible misrule. Law and order has collapsed. Drugs is consuming lives of people. Then there are mafias of land, liquor, sand, cable etc. Dalits have suffered. People are fed up. They want a change.

People also see change in the AAP. How do you see the AAP in the joust for power?

Kejriwal is a liar and an outsider. His party cannot protect the interest of Punjab. The AAP started well when they entered Punjab. Their organisation structure has collapsed. They have exposed their double face and corruption, like in ticket allotment. The party has limited impact and people will read through the party’s agenda.

How many seats are you confident of winning?

Congress will comfortably cross 70 seats out of 117.

You have a ‘battle ready’ General against you in Patiala?

You’ll see, for the first time a Captain will defeat a General.

You have been projected by Rahul Gandhi as CM candidate. What’s your plan for Punjab?

In a nutshell, we will bring Punjab back on its feet. We will wipe out drug menace in four weeks. Youth will be our focus and the unemployed youth will get Rs 2,500 each month as stipend. VVIP culture will completely end and even the CM will not use the chopper unless necessary. We’ll bring in legislation to protect Punjab waters.

Poll panel bans liquor production

Chandigarh: Feb 1, 2017, DHNS

After a record haul of liquor in Bathinda district a couple of days ago, the Election Commission on Tuesday ordered to stop production and dispatch of liquor from five distilleries in the state.

V K Singh, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and V K Bhawra, Additional Director General of Police Punjab, informed that the step has been taken after preliminary investigation and only those distilleries have been told to stop the dispatch whose liquor was found in the raid.

He said that 34 certified paid news cases have been detected so far. The CEO said that he is personally monitoring the situation in Malerkotla and has advised Director General of Police Mohammad Mustafa to stay at the headquarters till the polling date. Punjab borders will be completely sealed 48 hours prior to the election. 

Teddy bears for women voters in Goa get thumbs down

Panaji: Feb 1, 2017, DHNS

Ever heard of teddy bears triggering controversy in election season in India? But then it’s Goa, where the decision of the poll authorities to award first-time women voters with teddy bears and set up 40 special all-pink, all-women voting booths, has provoked women intellectuals in the coastal state.
Chitrangi, a progressive women’s group, in a representation to Goa’s Chief Electoral Officer Kunal, said that the poll authority’s decision to gift teddy bears and pink polling booths is archaic and one that enhances gender disparity.

“Your office intends to project women empowerment through this drive. We fail to understand how this can be achieved by wearing pink dresses and giving pink teddy bears to first-time female voters. We strongly object to such stereotyping through colours and gifts, which have strong roots in the typical gender disparities that exist in our country,” Prashanti Talponkar of Chitrangi told DH. However, the CEO has already placed an official order for 1,000 teddy bears and work is underway to furbish the 40 polling booths with pink paint and other upholstery.

“Our attempt is to celebrate women power in these elections,” Kunal explained. Goa has around 11.10 lakh registered voters, of which 5.46 lakh are males and 5.64 lakh are females.

In the February 4 elections, 32,354 first-time voters in 18-19 age group, of which nearly half are women, are expected to cast their votes. Prashanti suggested that instead of only first-time women voters being given gifts, debuting male voters should also be given incentives.

“Can we think of ways by which both men and women can be encouraged to vote in the upcoming elections? Giving gifts as token is welcome, but for all genders and in a better form, which has some educational or intellect value. Voting is a right and a privilege, which is given across gender and all divides. It is therefore necessary to make the new voters understand their duty to vote,” she said. For now, the CEO has assured that pens as gifts for first-time male voters would work well. “He gave us a patient ear and said that first-time male voters could be given pens as an incentive,” Prashanti said.

CM Parsekar faces four-cornered battle

Panaji: Feb 1, 2017, DHNS

Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s constituency of Mandrem in north Goa is also known as mini-Russia, owing to the fascination of Russian tourists for this sandy stretch. Mandrem will witness a four-cornered battle between BJP’s Parsekar (60), a former school headmaster, and candidates fielded by the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Congress and the AAP. 
Political experts claim this is a close contest with no clear indication of which way the seawind is likely to blow on February 4, when the coastal state goes to polls. “I am confident that I will win with a margin bigger than last time,” Parsekar told DH on Monday. The chief minister won with a margin of around 3,500 votes in 2012.

Mandrem became a major tourism destination, only over the last decade and a half, with its beaches Morjim, Arambol and Ashwen hosting thousands of domestic and international tourists. But behind the shimmering tourism prowess, there are problems, including poor roads in the interiors and paucity of water supply, something which Parsekar acknowledges.

“We have a new Electronic City coming up in my constituency. We are building a new water treatment plant for it, which will help provide 24x7 water supply for Mandrem,” Parsekar said. But his opponents are not in a mood to be humoured by such promises. Parsekar’s rivals are Shripad Mandrekar of the MGP, which is in alliance with the Goa Suraksha Manch, Dayanand Sopte of the Congress and Devendra Prabhudessai of the AAP. Mandrekar is a former zilla panchayat member from Mandrem and his wife is a sitting member.

Two-third of candidates in Goa polls are crorepatis

NEW DELHI, Feb 1, 2017, DHNS

Almost two-third of the 251 candidates in Goa Assembly polls are crorepatis, while 8% have declared serious criminal cases against them, according to a private election watchdog.

The analysis by Association for Democratic Rights (ADR) of affidavits filed by candidates showed that 156 candidates in the Assembly polls slated for this Saturday have assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.

AAP’s Ranjit Cotta Carvalho, contesting from Fatorda, is the richest candidate with Rs 65.78 crore, while BJP’s Michael Vincent Lobo (Calangute) has assets worth Rs 54.59 crore and Congress candidate and former chief minister Pratapsingh Rane (Poriem) has declared assets worth Rs 50 crore.

Independent candidate Jose Lopes from St Cruz has declared zero assets while NCP’s Aldona candidate Osbert D Cunha and independent candidate from Sanguem S N Gaunkar have declared assets worth Rs 20,000 each.