Will the country have a stable government?

Chinu Gupta

The political uncertainty prevailing the country for the last one month or so, finally came to an end when President K. R. Narayanan dissolved the 12th Lok Sabha. Consequently the Election Commission after consulting the political parties has decided to hold the next general elections in late September or early October.

This will be the third general elections in the country in the last four years. Since Congress tasted defeat at the hustings in 1996, four governments came to power. But, unfortunately, neither of them managed to last its full term.

The dissolution of the 12th Lok Sabha came after the Congress, which was asked by the President to explore the possibilities of forming an alternative government at the Centre, failed to muster a simple majority in the lower house. Congress president Sonia Gandhi handed over a list of 233 MPs to the President, far short of the required number of 272.

In the beginning it seemed that the Congress would be able to form the government at the Centre. It was expected that the parties which joined hands to topple the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government would extend support to the Congress.

But the Congress' dream of recapturing power at the Centre suffered a body blow when Samajvadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav refused to extend support to a Congress-led minority government. Besides, though the major Left parties CPI and CPI (M) agreed to support the Congress, two smaller partners of the Left Front, RSP and Forward Block refused to follow the suit. Both the parties stuck to their anti-Congress, anti-BJP stand despite the intervention of West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and his party general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet. The three parties altogether had a strength of 28 MPs in the dissolved Lok Sabha.

On the other hand, despite the setback suffered during the voting of the confidence motion moved by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the BJP and its allies managed to keep its house in order.
The party along with its partners claimed the support of 270 MPs and in the process made it absolutely difficult for the opposition to provide a stable alternative.

Many in the Congress that when the party would stake its claim to form an alternative government, many MPs from the other political parties would join them to avoid mid-term elections. But in the end, it seemed that they were day-dreaming. Apart from one TDP member, no other MPs from other political parties joined the party. Even the first-timers, on whom the Congress pinned a lot of hope, finally decided to float or sink with their respective parties.

Many political observers feel that the Congress' unilateral announcement that the party would prefer to form a minority government rather than a coalition government spoiled its chances. They pointed out that while the BJP after the fall of the government held regular discussions with its allies and even managed to get the support of the DMK before any formal understanding, the Congress did not hold any meeting with all the anti-BJP parties and the party president met only selected opposition leaders. They felt that the Congress made no sincere attempt to unite the opposition against the BJP.

Many in the Congress also believe this theory. One Congress leader on condition of anonymity remarked that the party leaders failed to access the situation properly and the Congress might have to pay a heavy price for this blunder.

As usual, after the failure of the party in forming a government at the Centre, internal bickering has stepped up within the Congress. A majority of Congress leaders are now openly blaming Sonia Gandhi's trusted 'think tank' Arjun Singh, Makhan Lal Fotedar, R. K. Pradhan and V. George. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Sonia Gandhi has now appointed Sharad Pawar as the head of the party's strategy committee. Interestingly, Arjun Singh has finds no place in this powerful committee.

While the Congress has declared that it would fight the forthcoming elections on the stability plank, the BJP leadership are busy in managing support of as many as parties possible. The party has already achieved success in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK is all set to join the BJP-led alliance. Besides, the smaller parties in the State, many of which fought the last elections in company of AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha, have extended their support to the BJP-DMK combine.

Muslim girl can marry the person of her choice

Any sane and major Muslim girl has a right to perform her nikah even without the consent of her guardian and the nikah through mutual consent between a boy and a girl is valid as per the Shariah.
This was among the “far-reaching” decisions arrived at a three-day seminar on the issue of equality for marriage in Islam.

More than 250 ulema, jurist, qadhis and sociologists from all over the country as well as abroad who participated in the seminar, agreed that a Muslim girl, who is sane and has attained puberty, has a right to perform her nikah even without the consent of a guardian and family members, who have no right to object the nikah whether contracted between equals or inequals.

However, it would be “desirable” that there be a consent of both girl and her guardian.
The speakers said that if a woman marries a man of status lower that her without the consent of her guardian, even then her marriage is valid. But the guardians shall have a right to approach qadhi.

There was consensus among the ulema on issues of neo-Muslims marrying Muslim girls. The ulema felt that not only is this marriage legally valid and desireable, but is also of high merit and piety.
The participants said that all Muslims follow “brotherhood” and there was no place for superiority or inferiority based on their lineage. Equality in religion was the only consideration for marriage.

The seminar laid stress on social issues, particularly, the rights of boy and girl in marriage in the light of Shariah. Issues like lineage, social, financial, educational and other status in the realm of marriage, particularly in Indian context, were discussed threadbare.

Renowned jurists, including Justice Taqi Usmani, former judge of Pakistan Supreme Court, Sheikh Wahba of Syria and Maulana Yaqoob Ismail of London, were prominent among the participants.

ISI moves its bases close to LOC

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has moved its bases and militants' training camps close to line of control in a bid to step up efforts to infiltrate insurgents into Jammu and Kashmir in the summer, according to Army sources.

The Army officials at the line of control (LoC) have monitored additional movement on the Pakistani side, particularly in those areas where snow has melted.

“There is lot of movement across the LoC particularly in those areas where snow has melted. Road network has also been upgraded near the LoC in areas such as Kahuta, Alabad, Haji Pir, Dholi, Bhagh and Muzaffarabad,” said Brigadier R.P.S. Malhan, in-charge of LoC in Uri sector.
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He said that around 40 militants' training camps, besides ISI bases, have been established near the LoC to step up efforts to infiltrate ultras into Jammu and Kashmir after the passes get cleared of snow.

Brigadier Jasbir Singh, in-charge of LoC in Poonch sector, added that at least 10 militant camps have been set up within 150 km. near the LoC in PoK.

“There are three bases of ISI near the LoC which give the militants money and weapons,” he added. The places where the bases have been set up are Kothibagh Hazira and Samani. The militants are mainly pushed in by the special operational intelligence unit of the ISI, Brig. Singh said.

Speaking about the modus operandi involved in the infiltration, Brig. Singh said the intruders were generally divided into groups, each comprising three or four persons.“If a bigger group is to be pushed in, some of the personnel of Pakistani Army accompany them,” he added.He said that the Pakistani armymen had even started crossing the LoC along with the infiltrators and cited the recent incident when two Pakistani regulars were killed while infiltrating.

The infiltration attempts generally pick up in summer months after the mountain passes get cleared of snow, Brig. Malhan said, adding “as the local recruitment has reduced to a minimum, Pakistan has to depend on infiltrating foreign mercenaries to keep militancy alive in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Brig. Malhan said that the deployment of troops had been stepped up to thwart any infiltration attempts during the coming months which would go a long way in normalisation of the situation in the militancy-torn State.Referring to the Lahore declaration signed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore in February, the officers said its result was not evident on the ground as the neighbouring nation “has not given up its activities.”
“Pakistani army has not yet given up its attempts to destabilise India by fomenting militancy and pushing in arms and militants,” they said.

According to Army officials, Pakistani nationals form the major chunk of foreign mercenaries who are pushed into Jammu and Kashmir to carry out subversive activities there.

ISI now eyes Punjab
In a series of moves aimed at reviving the fading militancy movement in Punjab, Pakistani authorities have taken over management of all gurdwaras in the country and appointed an Islamic hardliner as head of the top management body of Sikh shrines, say reports. The government has named Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Javed Nasir, a former ISI head and a well-known Islamic hardliner, as head of the newly established Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PGPC) and incharge of all Sikh shrines in a bid to tighten its hold over them.

PSLV launch
The first multi-satellite launch from India is expected to take place in May when the Polar Satelite Launch System (PSLV-C2), with three satellites on board, will be blasted into space from Sriharikota, the Department of Space said. PSLV-C2 would carry the Indian remote sensing satelite IRS-P4 (Oceansat-1) as the primary payload, South Korean micro satellite Kitsat and a German microsatellite Tubsat as piggybacks, DoS Secretary Dr. K. Kasturirangan informed. According to officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation, the event would also signify the start of marketing of Indian launch vahicles.

Bihar staff stir hits poll revision
The fate of revision of electoral rolls in Bihar hangs in balance following ongoing indefinite strike by over 7.5 lakh non-gazetted employees and teachers. Chief electoral officer, A. K. Basu said that the process of revision was yet to be set in motion due to the stir. "We cannot start revision of electoral rolls as long as the strike continues," Mr. Basu said. The revision of roll have already been started in other states. The Chief Electoral Officer said it would take at least three months to complete the exercise in Bihar.

Dissolution robs over 200 MPs of pension
More than 200 first-time MPs have lost out on pensions and perks because of the premature dissolution of the 12th Lok Sabha. This is for the second consecutive time that the first-time MPs have had a raw deal, courtesy a fractured mandate.
The dissolution automatically takes away the benefits enjoyed by all MPs on basic amenities like housing.That apart, with the Union budget being passed only on April 23, the MPs did not get the time to seek release of Rs. two crore under the Local Area Development Fund Scheme for constituency development for the current fiscal year.

President did nothing to avoid mid-term poll, says Mamata
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said President K. R. Narayanan did not explore the possibility of avoiding the mid-term polls which have been forced on the people.
Ms. Banerjee said that Mr. Narayanan did not give a chance to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to explore the possibility of forming an alternative government.