NIA searches homes of Islamic State suspects in Tamil Nadu. (File)The editorial in Organiser says that the expression of insecurity by prominent persons, from people holding high constitutional positions to so-called celebrities and the arrest of Islamic State-inspired individuals by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), may be independent events, but there is a common thread that connects them — the fundamentalism of “believers” who do not consider other religious practices or sages who propounded different paths to be true. Unless we address this root cause, we cannot find the way out of the fabricated intolerance and insecurity, the editorial says. In a veiled attack on actor Naseeruddin Shah for his recent remark in the context of the mob lynching of a police officer in Bulandshahr, the editorial says that expressing insecurity and disdain for living in Bharat in the name of perceived insecurity and intolerance is in fashion nowadays. “No act of violence can be justified in a democracy on any ground, but when the same voices expressing concern over an incident and express their insecurity, simultaneously stand for terrorists, Maoists and the criminals or justify their acts in the name of same insecurity, then their intention definitely comes under the scanner,” the editorial contends. Referring to the recent arrest of 11 IS-inspired radicalised Muslims by the NIA while busting a module called Harkat-Ul-Harb-e-Islam as well as such arrests in the past, the editorial points out, “From Bihar to interiors of Kerala many youths are influenced by this menace”. The editorial further says that unfortunately, being believers and not seekers of truth, the same “intellectuals and eminent people who talk of insecurity and intolerance either turned a blind eye towards this radicalisation or blame others (non-believers/seekers) for pushing these youths towards the IS. The sad ghettoised mindset is the root cause of radicalisation, insecurity and intolerance”.
The editorial in Panchjanya criticises actor Naseeruddin Shah for his remark by saying that actors like him appear to build up a narrative with contentious facts about an incident. It is surprising when such people who speak about “fear” and “intolerance”, are not fearful about the increasing interest in India of IS-like outfits and the arrests of terrorists, claims the editorial.
After the polls
An article in Organiser says that a simple takeaway from the recent polls in five key states is that local candidates, local conditions and perhaps more importantly, regional issues and aspirations matter in the heat and dust of the electoral battle. “It is due to these factors, in the ultimate, we see Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) doing well in Telangana and in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, both national parties, the Congress and the BJP, falling short of majority of their own by a rather narrow margin,” the article contends. Giving figures of poll results, the story says that in Madhya Pradesh, Congress fell short of two MLAs to touch the magic figure of 116 and the BJP’s tally of 109 was seven short of the simple majority mark. With a mere 99 seats, the hyped Congress victory in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly is actually only a wafer thin majority, the article contends. “This brings us to the importance of regional parties,” it says.
The article claims that a section of the TDP leaders have cautioned party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu to tread cautiously on the path of his new found friendship with Congress President Rahul Gandhi. In context of Uttar Pradesh, the article says that the Samajwadi Party has indicated more than once that it is not comfortable doing business with the Congress. Yadav virtually snubbed DMK chief M K Stalin and said Rahul Gandhi was not acceptable to him as a prime ministerial candidate. He also rejected the Congress demand for a Public Accounts Committee on Rafale. Notably, the DMK’s suggestion was snubbed also by the Trinamool Congress. Even the Congress demand for a JPC on Rafale came a cropper when Sudip Bandyopadhyay clearly dissociated his party from it on the floor of the Lok Sabha. The CPM is also cautious about Rahul as the leader of a united Opposition. Importantly, it must be noted that besides the TRS and Biju Janata Dal there will be a few more parties (in a non-Congress opposition alliance). The TRS leadership has played things safe. The article further says that in 2007, BSP chief Mayawati’s social engineering won her party Brahmin votes but that was short lived. Mayawati was gradually sidelined in UP’s political arithmetic. In fact, the BSP was decimated in the 2017 assembly polls in UP. The article also claims that a powerful section of regional players are not comfortable with the Congress.
Farmer’s foe
An article in Organiser says that the return of the Congress to office in Rajasthan has rudely shaken the farmers out of their stupor.The naïve optimism for prosperity that had arisen after farm loan waiver and other unviable freebies in the state of Rajasthan has diminished. The report says that the first body blow to the farmers came in the form of a lathi charge. Quoting media reports, the Organiser’s report says that Rajasthan farmers who stood in long queues for buying urea in freezing temperatures were lathicharged by the police. The worst sufferers were farmers from Kota, Bundi, Baran and Jhalawad which comprise Hadauti regions. “Eventually, the farmers’ unrest and their disenchantment with the new dispensation is spreading across the State with more and more farmers venting their fury while the newly-formed government is at a wit’s end to diffuse the urea crisis,” the report says.
The article presents a similar picture for Madhya Pradesh. Within days of the Congress government taking charge, the farmers in the state expressed outrage after the government created a crisis by mismanaging the supply of urea. “The Rahul Gandhi-led Congress which came to power in the State promising several sops of loan waivers, high MSP to the farmers seems to have started on a very bad note. Meanwhile, two farmers have also lost their lives in the state of Madhya Pradesh after failing to repay the farm loans, as the Congress party brought in new conditions for waiving off loans contrary to Rahul Gandhi’s claim of unconditional loan waivers,” the report says.
(Compiled by Lalmani Verma)
