UNREALITY OF THE PANCHAYAT POLL
HUBLI, Dec 22 2010
There is an air of unreality even as the three major political parties in Karnataka flex their muscle for the latest round of hustings in the panchayat elections in Karnataka scheduled to be held by the end of this month..
Firstly, all the three parties have left no stone unturned to raise hype over the outcome of the poll and say that the future of the government depends on it. The reality is that the elections for the taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat elections in Karnataka have no role to play in determining the political fortunes of beleaguered Yeddyurappa. It does not in any way affect the balance of power in the state assembly, where at the moment, Yeddyurappa appears to be well ensconced.
In the case of the rural voters trusting BJP for running the panchayat institutions, Mr. Yeddyurappa may claim that his policies have received a mandate from the people and cock a snook at his detractors who have been braying for his blood found as he is a quagmire of scams by himself and his ministerial colleagues.
In the case of an adverse vote, the Congress and JDS may go to the town to claim that people have shown their displeasure and may demand that Yeddyurappa should demit office. But Mr. Yeddyurappa may reject the demand in limine by taking the stand that it does not reflect the mood of the people, since the urban voters are not a part of the election process. And that his future has to be decided on the floor of the legislature and not in panchayat election. The President of the national BJP, Mr. Gadkari who had said that Yeddyurappa had been given a reprieve till the panchayat elections also will not be able to secure resignation of the Yeddyurappa because of the likely adverse impact it may have on the only saffron government in the south.
Secondly, all the three parties, have been conveniently ignored the core issue of the panchayat elections, namely of how efficiently these institutions of democratic decentralization could be effectively run to ensure that the money meant for the rural development is spent properly for the benefit and improvement of the lot of the stake holders and how they can remove the impediments coming in the way.
All of them without an exception have been busy fudging on the core issue of empowerment of these institutions and talk of the rural development programme as if the rural development programmes are synonymous with panchayat empowerment.
None of them including the ruling BJP, are telling people about their commitment to empower the panchayat institutions. Even if they were to tell that it would be taken with a pinch of salt. It is because all of them have an uniform record of emasculating the panchayats as for as possible and have abetted in the moves to subtlety withdraw the powers given to them by law. They would have succeeded in their endeavour to turn them into their vassals but for the constitutional safeguards that these institutions enjoy thanks to the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments.
There have been occasions, when the Congress tried its level best to violate the constitutional provision of having regular elections once in five years before the expiry of the term. The BJP would have tried this time to postpone poll, but went in for it for sheer political compulsions and prospects of had political advantage they could derive in the process. This was the direct consequence of the reducing the seats reserved for the OBCs as per the direction of the Supreme Court, and everybody knows that it is a constituency in which BJP is not comfortably placed.
More than the political parties, their MLAs regardless of the political divide are dead opposed to any move to empower the panchayats since they fear that any alternate leadership which may emerge in the rural areas as a consequence may prove to be inimical to their position. They have not lost a single occasion to put these institutions down, deride them and talked about the rampant corruption in the panchayat institutions, forgetting the fact that they are the fountain heads of corruption and have not lifted a finger to fight corruption. It is a case of kettle calling the cup black.
The report of the third State Finance Commission headed by Mr. AG Kodgi, which has recommended a new formula for sharing the resources between the state government and the panchayats has been with the state government for more than a year but still, neither the party in power is bothered with it nor the opposition has taken the government to task for the delay in the implementation of the report. The Constitution enjoins that the states appoint the state finance commission in a bid to ensure a fair devolution of finances to enable the panchayat s to discharge the responsibilities given to them. The implementation of the recommendations of the previous two finance commissions has been quite tardy and there appear to be no early prospects of the latest one being implemented.
The point at issue whom should the rural voters prefer in the ensuing polls to the panchayat elections. One party is as bad as another and all of them are universally untrustworthy. They have no chance but to vote. And political parties are their to utilse the opportunity for their political aggrandizement and have hardly anytime to give any thought for strengthening of the system, whose vitality has been sapped by the subtle moves of the government to keep all these institutions under their bureaucratic thumbs.
Eom 22.12.10
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Hubli, 16th December 2010
Karnataka, is going through a hype of unprecedented dimensions, over the impending polls to the second and third tiers of the three tier panchayat raj system in the more than two decade history of the movement for the democratic decentralization in Karnataka.
It does not however signify the growing awareness on the part of the political parties in Karnataka, of the importance of the system and the imperative necessity of strengthening the same with view to bringing about the all round improvement of the rural areas. For none of them have ever bothered with this aspect and have not lifted a single finger to promote or strengthen system and they have the track record of consistently trying to emasculate and weaken the system as for as possible.
But the sheer political compulsions have made them zero in on the polls, scheduled to be held by the end of this month. For the BJP, it is an opportunity to get bailed out from the serious of scams in which it has landed itself on its own volition. And an answer to the opposition which have been braying for its blood and for its ouster The Yeddyurappa government has been viewing the system as an opportunity to get the mandate from the rural albeit from the rural areas as an answer to its critics.
For the opposition, the Congress and JDS, who have tried all the tricks in their armoury to unseat the government through means fair or foul, wants to prove that the mandate which the BJP had got in 2008 assembly poll is waning and that the people are against the BJP.
But the moot point is that commonality of interests has not been reflected in the commonality of the approach. The dilemma for them is that they are damned if they come together and more damned if they don’t come together. For they suffer from mutual conflict of interest at the grass root level. One party has to grow at the cost of another in any constituency allocated to their share.
The elections to the taluk and zilla panchayats have become imperative since the five year term of the most of these bodies, are coming to an end by January this year and the constitutional mandate requires that the elections are held before the expiry of the five year term.
But the present government like the Congress coalition led by Mr. Dharam Singh in 2005 was not exactly willing to adhere to the time schedule. It was waiting for the alibis to postpone them. But a direction of the Supreme Court in May requiring state governments to limit the total reservations to 50% came in handy. The total reservations in Karnataka for the SCs STs and the OBCs was more than 60% and the implementation of the same would result in reduction of the seats, for OBCs, a constituency in which BJP was not very comfortable.
And the government grabbed the opportunity to implement the same through the ordinance, in November with the not so friendly Governor having no compunctions in going along the state governments view. The State Election Commission, accordingly started process and came out with a matrix of reservations. And all hell broke lose when the SEC published the matrix. The quota of the OBCs in zilla panchayats came down by 109 seats, and by 482 in taluk panchayts.
Both the Congress and the JDS cried foul and dubbed the measure as something inimical to the OBCs interests. And cried hoarse urging the state government to retrace its steps. It is here that the BJP played its cards well. Not willing to be dubbed as anti OBC on the eve of panchayat elections it made attempts to retrace the steps and proposed to issue another ordinance and as anticipated the Governor turned it down on the ground interalia that it was violative of the Supreme Court’s directions.
It looked as is the Governor had snubbed the BJP again. But the reality was otherwise. It had turned the Governors penchant to its advantage to serve its political interest and silenced the Congress, which was depending too much on the Governor for fixing the government.
Congress which was very vocal in crying foul in the first instance, has been made to eat its own words, when the Governor turned down the second proposal for restoring quota.. It is not known whether it tried in vain to prevail upon the friendly Governor to do so? If it did try, the efforts apparently did not succeed. They lost a political weapon too. The party cans no longer make a political capital of the developments in the forthcoming elations to deride the BJP. For, who stood in the way of the restoration of quota was not the State Government but the Governor. And criticizing the Governor does not benefit them in any way.
Politically also, the BJP is one step ahead of its political rivals. BJP finds that the time is ripe for holding the elections to the grass root level democratic institutions. It has fully prepared itself for the hustings. It has virtually launched the election campaign too and the Chief Minister Mr. Yeddyurappa is touring the districts implementing the specially designed government programme of the distribution of sarees to rural women, with a view to wooing them. With a tongue in the cheek statement, the state BJP President, Mr. Eshwarappa has said that the party would make up whatever the quota the OBCs lost by providing the increased representation to this section in the allotment party tickets. He has through this statement thrown a gauntlet at the opposition.
On the other hand, the opposition parties, both the Congress and the JDS are in total disarray. They are yet to come out of their fixation of berating the government for the plethora of scams including the land grabbing by the Minister, to come to terms with the political realities facing them.
As the things stand today, the BJP appears to have all the aces up its sleeves. Going by the track record of the previous panchayat elections, rural voters have a tendency to go with the party in power always. It had benefited the undivided Janata Dal and the Congress in the past. It maybe the BJPs turn to derive the advantage this time. Has the gamble by Yeddyurappa paid off? It appears so at the moment..
For what the disarrayed opposition is busy in doing is to endlessly hark on scams, instead of listing out the failure of the government in strengthening the panchayat raj system. They have not been able to come out with manifesto on what they would do to achieve goal, if they are trusted with power at the panchayat level. The government, which has ace in its sleeves, can afford not to talk about it. But the opposition can ill afford not doing it.
Yeddyurappa finds himself in a win win situation. He can glow in glory in case of win, terming it as a renewed mandate in favour of his policies. In the case of adverse verdict, he can say that the opinion is warped, with the urban voters not being part of it and get away within. Besides the BJP, what ever may be verdict, cannot afford to dislodge him because of the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor.
Eom 0816hrs. 16.12.2010
.
Karnataka, is going through a hype of unprecedented dimensions, over the impending polls to the second and third tiers of the three tier panchayat raj system in the more than two decade history of the movement for the democratic decentralization in Karnataka.
It does not however signify the growing awareness on the part of the political parties in Karnataka, of the importance of the system and the imperative necessity of strengthening the same with view to bringing about the all round improvement of the rural areas. For none of them have ever bothered with this aspect and have not lifted a single finger to promote or strengthen system and they have the track record of consistently trying to emasculate and weaken the system as for as possible.
But the sheer political compulsions have made them zero in on the polls, scheduled to be held by the end of this month. For the BJP, it is an opportunity to get bailed out from the serious of scams in which it has landed itself on its own volition. And an answer to the opposition which have been braying for its blood and for its ouster The Yeddyurappa government has been viewing the system as an opportunity to get the mandate from the rural albeit from the rural areas as an answer to its critics.
For the opposition, the Congress and JDS, who have tried all the tricks in their armoury to unseat the government through means fair or foul, wants to prove that the mandate which the BJP had got in 2008 assembly poll is waning and that the people are against the BJP.
But the moot point is that commonality of interests has not been reflected in the commonality of the approach. The dilemma for them is that they are damned if they come together and more damned if they don’t come together. For they suffer from mutual conflict of interest at the grass root level. One party has to grow at the cost of another in any constituency allocated to their share.
The elections to the taluk and zilla panchayats have become imperative since the five year term of the most of these bodies, are coming to an end by January this year and the constitutional mandate requires that the elections are held before the expiry of the five year term.
But the present government like the Congress coalition led by Mr. Dharam Singh in 2005 was not exactly willing to adhere to the time schedule. It was waiting for the alibis to postpone them. But a direction of the Supreme Court in May requiring state governments to limit the total reservations to 50% came in handy. The total reservations in Karnataka for the SCs STs and the OBCs was more than 60% and the implementation of the same would result in reduction of the seats, for OBCs, a constituency in which BJP was not very comfortable.
And the government grabbed the opportunity to implement the same through the ordinance, in November with the not so friendly Governor having no compunctions in going along the state governments view. The State Election Commission, accordingly started process and came out with a matrix of reservations. And all hell broke lose when the SEC published the matrix. The quota of the OBCs in zilla panchayats came down by 109 seats, and by 482 in taluk panchayts.
Both the Congress and the JDS cried foul and dubbed the measure as something inimical to the OBCs interests. And cried hoarse urging the state government to retrace its steps. It is here that the BJP played its cards well. Not willing to be dubbed as anti OBC on the eve of panchayat elections it made attempts to retrace the steps and proposed to issue another ordinance and as anticipated the Governor turned it down on the ground interalia that it was violative of the Supreme Court’s directions.
It looked as is the Governor had snubbed the BJP again. But the reality was otherwise. It had turned the Governors penchant to its advantage to serve its political interest and silenced the Congress, which was depending too much on the Governor for fixing the government.
Congress which was very vocal in crying foul in the first instance, has been made to eat its own words, when the Governor turned down the second proposal for restoring quota.. It is not known whether it tried in vain to prevail upon the friendly Governor to do so? If it did try, the efforts apparently did not succeed. They lost a political weapon too. The party cans no longer make a political capital of the developments in the forthcoming elations to deride the BJP. For, who stood in the way of the restoration of quota was not the State Government but the Governor. And criticizing the Governor does not benefit them in any way.
Politically also, the BJP is one step ahead of its political rivals. BJP finds that the time is ripe for holding the elections to the grass root level democratic institutions. It has fully prepared itself for the hustings. It has virtually launched the election campaign too and the Chief Minister Mr. Yeddyurappa is touring the districts implementing the specially designed government programme of the distribution of sarees to rural women, with a view to wooing them. With a tongue in the cheek statement, the state BJP President, Mr. Eshwarappa has said that the party would make up whatever the quota the OBCs lost by providing the increased representation to this section in the allotment party tickets. He has through this statement thrown a gauntlet at the opposition.
On the other hand, the opposition parties, both the Congress and the JDS are in total disarray. They are yet to come out of their fixation of berating the government for the plethora of scams including the land grabbing by the Minister, to come to terms with the political realities facing them.
As the things stand today, the BJP appears to have all the aces up its sleeves. Going by the track record of the previous panchayat elections, rural voters have a tendency to go with the party in power always. It had benefited the undivided Janata Dal and the Congress in the past. It maybe the BJPs turn to derive the advantage this time. Has the gamble by Yeddyurappa paid off? It appears so at the moment..
For what the disarrayed opposition is busy in doing is to endlessly hark on scams, instead of listing out the failure of the government in strengthening the panchayat raj system. They have not been able to come out with manifesto on what they would do to achieve goal, if they are trusted with power at the panchayat level. The government, which has ace in its sleeves, can afford not to talk about it. But the opposition can ill afford not doing it.
Yeddyurappa finds himself in a win win situation. He can glow in glory in case of win, terming it as a renewed mandate in favour of his policies. In the case of adverse verdict, he can say that the opinion is warped, with the urban voters not being part of it and get away within. Besides the BJP, what ever may be verdict, cannot afford to dislodge him because of the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor.
Eom 0816hrs. 16.12.2010
.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Karnataka Governor gets cornered
The Karnataka Governor Mr. Hans Raj Bharadwaj finds himself hoisted by his own petard of sorts over the issue of ordinances for the reservation of seats for the impending elections to the taluk and zilla panchayats the two vital grass root level democratic institutions in Karnataka. Keeping him company in the predicament has been the Congress, which has preferred to fight proxy war against the BJP government.
It is the direction of the Supreme Court received sometime in May, requiring the state governments including Karnataka to cap the total reservations at 50%, which set the ball rolling. The State Government proposed and the Governor agreed for amending the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act through ordinance to give effect to the same in the first week of November.
More than a month later, when the details of the matrix of reservations worked out by the State Election Commission became known, all hell broke loose in Karnataka, with the opposition including the Congress crying foul. For, the seats axed in the process had exclusively come from the OBCs, since the quota for the SCs and STs could not be tinkered with because of the constitutional safeguards. The OBC quota had been reduced by 109 seats from the 334 reserved in thirty zilla panchayats and by 482 among 1232 seats reserved 174 taluk panchayats.
The move set off furore of sorts, with everybody including the opposition Congress braying at the government with a fervent plea to restore statusquo ante in the interest of social justice. The BJP government did not want to take the odium of being anti OBC on the eve of crucial panchayat elections, which provided another opportunity for its growing clout in the rural areas.
Hence it lost no time in attempting to retrace its steps. It was quick in forwarding another ordinance to the Governor for approval with a view to restoring the status quo ante as had been desired by the opposition. But the Governor did not oblige, he returned the proposal and another subsequently modified one too, on the ground interalia that it was violative of the Supreme Courts directions.
The developments had all the trappings of the one more flip-flop action, for which the BJP government has become famous, And that the Governor, as has been his wont, had delivered one more public snub to the Yeddyurappa government, with whom he has been having continued battle of nerves, and has made no secret of his annoyance over the functioning and performanance of the government.
.But a careful reading of the situation reveals that the boot is another leg. It is not the BJP government, which has been put on the mat. But the Governor and the Congress which have found themselves cornered, unable to prevent whatever the BJP politically wanted to do.
It has been a known fact that the BJP has not been that comfortable with the OBCs. The Supreme Courts directive on limiting the reservations to the 50% came as manna from heaven, and it could legally reduce the OBC quota and swell the general quota commensurately. If the government was really worried over the reduction in the OBC quota, it had many avenues open to defer decision under one or the other pretext. But it chose act swiftly and quietly to get an ordinance issued.
Its subsequent attempts to retrace the step as had been demanded by the opposition, was more a show for public consumption than indicative of any change in heart. The insiders in the BJP maintain that the BJP was sure that t the Governor could not oblige, for the government was on strong legal ground, and a seasoned lawyer and former Union Law Minister, Mr. Bharadwaj could not act otherwise. Their hunch ultimately proved to be correct.
The BJP government, has been able achieve politically whatever wanted to do and has got away with it. The Governor has not been able to prevent it, even if he were to be aware of its real political intentions government, because of the legal frame work surrounding the government’s action.
The Congress which was very vocal in crying foul in the first instance, has been made to eat its own words, when the Governor turned down the second proposal for restoring quota.. It is not known whether it tried in vain to prevail upon the friendly Governor to do so? If it did try, the efforts apparently did not succeed. They lost a political weapon too. The party cans no longer make a political capital of the developments in the forthcoming elations to deride the BJP. For, who stood in the way of the restoration of quota was not the State Government but the Governor. And criticizing the Governor does not benefit them in any way..
Politically also, the BJP is one step ahead of its political rivals. BJP finds that the time is ripe for holding the elections to the grass root level democratic institutions. It has fully prepared itself for the hustings. It has virtually launched the election campaign too and the Chief Minister Mr. Yeddyurappa is touring the districts implementing the specially designed government programme of Bhagyashri for the distribution of sarees to rural women, with a view to wooing them. With a tongue in the cheek statement, the state BJP President, Mr. Eshwarappa has said that the party would make up whatever the quota the OBCs lost by providing the increased representation to this section in the allotment party tickets. He has through this statement thrown a gauntlet at the opposition.
On the other hand, the opposition parties, both the Congress and the JDS are in total disarray. They are yet to come out of their fixation of berating the government for the plethora of scams including the land grabbing by the Minister, to come to terms with the political realities facing them.
The moot question is whether the BJP had planned its strategy? Going by the track record, it is unlikely. For, since beginning, Yeddyurappa has been more relying on is impulses than a carefully worked out political strategy. The knee jerk reaction, for which he is known, has conspired somehow to place him in a politically advantageous position.
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