Innova Crysta for JCs!
The long-pending demand for respectable transport facility for joint collectors is likely to end soon as the government has decided to provide them brand new Innova Crysta ZX cars.
It is indeed pity that some of the joint collectors, who as additional district magistrate rank second in the administrative set up in districts, use hired cars for road communication while some others are provided Innovas purchased by government years ago. One hired car even met with a road accident in Nirmal a few months ago.
Where the JCs were so far using government Innovas, they have been asked to surrender the vehicles to the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration and drive away with the new ones.
Political one-upmanship
The political parties are not just keeping an eye on their prospective rival candidates but the promises likely to be made in manifestos of their respective parties.
By now, it is clear that the TRS has hijacked the promise of unemployment allowance of ₹ 3,000 made by the Congress and offered to pay ₹ 16 more in its manifesto. Another hijack plot of TRS was to increase the annual investment support for agriculture from ₹ 8,000 an acre to ₹ 10,000 an acre. Such a proposal to pay ₹ 10,000 originated from the Telugu Desam but the party preferred not to call it investment support but ‘bonus’ to farmers.
When the manifestos are actually released in the coming days, such promises are bound to overlap in the documents of some more parties as, after all, it is a matter of winning votes.
Tracking liquor buyers
With the commencement of election season, the Excise Department has focussed attention on checking the use of liquor as an inducement by political parties.
The department has accordingly directed retail liquor outlets to ensure that their CCTV cameras are up and running all through the election days. While the Department has wherewithal to check abnormal sales in individual retail outlets, the CCTV cameras, according to officials, will help in checking a frequent irregularity — distribution of coupons by political parties that can be exchanged by individuals for liquor in select outlets.
Effective functioning of the CCTVs installed inside the retail outlets will help the department check the menace to a large extent, officials believe.
Alliance not shaken by ‘leaked’ reports
Despite the ‘differences’ over seat sharing and the threatening tone of the partners of the Grand Alliance the Congress party appears to be not much concerned as it feels the partners will not leave it in their own interests.
Congress leadership is not taking seriously the ‘leaked’ reports on Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) and Communist Party of India (CPI) threatening to contest on their own if they are not treated with respect. Instead, the party leaders argue that the smaller parties will stay in the alliance for their own benefit more than the alliance.
Apart from Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that have traditional vote bank and supporters, the CPI has been experiencing slide in its popularity over the years. The TJS is a new party with a group of people coming together against the TRS rather than groups and communities that have a strong sway over voting. But Congress leaders say they will play the big brother role and the smaller ones will get their share as its sole intention is to defeat the TRS.
(N. Rahul, M. Rajeev and R. Ravikanth Reddy)