Bengal Civic Polls

By Insaf

The BJP has sprung a nasty surprise on TMC rebels. It has chosen to go it alone in the forthcoming municipal polls in West Bengal, ruling out any alliance with the rebels, now part of the NCPI, despite their claim of being constituents of the BJP-led NDA. The move is a setback for the rebels, who had evidently counted on their NDA association to translate into an electoral understanding with the BJP. Says the ruling party that national-level alliance does not automatically translate into local tie-up—”There may be an understanding with NCPI in Delhi, but Delhi and Kolkata are about 1,500 km apart,”! On the other hand, the NCPI, hasbeen projecting a possible tie-up with BJP as it claims to be ‘largest coalition member of BJP-led NDA.’ But it is a no-go, as BJP doesn’t want to upset its cadre and leaders in the first election since it came to power. Plus, it believes a multi-cornered contest with NCPI, TMC led by Mamata Banerjee, rebel TMC MLAs, Left, and Congress could work to its advantage if it goes solo.However, it will need to brace itself for critical electoral tests for Kolkata and Howrah MunicipalCorporations following its big win in Assembly polls earlier this year. The two civic bodies have undergone a big overhaul following delimitation and the party proposes to campaign on corruption and municipal services. The truncated TMC is fighting against delimitation and it’s worth seeing how far it can go. The civic polls, including in Kolkata and Howrah, are to be completed by December 7. A long way ahead, but not easy.

J&K Vande Mataram Spat

The full rendition of Vande Mataram puts Kashmir in a bind. ‘Do you want Kashmiris in jail?’, for not complying with it, is Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s retort to Congress, which wants National Conference to stand with INDIA bloc in singing only the first two stanzas of the national song. The two parties are sparring over the full rendition at J&K’s first International Film Festival inaugural ceremony attended earlier this week by Omar and NC President Farooq Abdullah. “Our party has never accepted Vande Mataram. We will not accept it in the future either. But we will have to fulfil our legal and statutory obligations,” elaborates Omar. Additionally, he says ‘it doesn’t apply to J&K alone but entire country’, and cautions ‘it will also happen in government functions in Congress states.’ In fact, it has happened, as a NC MLA has posted videos of Congress Telangana and Karnataka CMs standing during the full rendition of the national song. Exposing the grand old party’s double standards. Omar’s larger point remains though: ‘Congress should have stopped this in Parliament.’

UDF’s Conundrum

As is now a bitter fact, losing power means big trouble. However, in God’s own country, it appears to be a problem for those in power!The ED’s request for a probe against former Keralam Chief Minister, LoP and CPM senior Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan inthe alleged money laundering Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) bribery case has put the ruling UDF government at odds. If it acts onED’s request it risks strengthening CPM’s charge of a BJP-Congress tacit understanding, and if it sits pretty, it gives BJP fresh ammunition against Congress.The government so far is cautious. It has asked Home and Law departments to examine legal/procedural aspects. Apparently, Congress top brass chooses not to repeat the political mistake as previous LDF government’s call in 2021 to recommend a CBI probe against Ex-CM Oommen Chandy on a woman’s complaint, backfired. CBI gave him a clean chit. Plus, the ED move is helpful to CPM, as it moves the spotlight from its electoral setback and internal debate. For BJP, the probe helps either way: If government registers a case, it can step up demand for action against Pinarayi and if it doesn’t it can accuse Congress of having an understanding with CPM to shield him.As for Pinarayi, he calls ED move ‘shameful’ and is confident ‘neither would it damage his personal life nor portray him as a corrupt person.’Guess, he will watch developments closely.

Summit Halts Flying Training

BRICS summit in the national capital, Delhi, impacts flying training organisations in seven states. The DGCA has brought training activities to a grounding halt for three days —11th to 13thin Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. A 7thSeptember communication reads:”No aircraft including light/micro-light aircraft, hang gliders, helicopters etc. is permitted to fly even to start from any FTO” during the specified period.In addition, operations of light/microlight aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and similar long-range aerial vehicles are banned within a 300-km radius of Delhi; operations of hang-gliders, para gliders, para-motors, aero-models, all types of drones and similar short-range aerial vehicles are barred within 100 km of Delhi. The Directorate of Flying Training has sought full cooperation from all to ensure ‘safe and smooth conduct’ of the Summit-2026.While Delhiites have had to contend with massive traffic snarls and the Delhi government has declared Friday a holiday because of the high-profile summit, aviation trainees at FTOs across these States would have their own reason to be peeved over the forced three-day grounding.

Pune Alcohol Ban

Cheers literally Bombay High Court!On Friday last it directed the Pune administration to withdraw its alcohol ban during the 10-day Ganesh festival or face judicial intervention. The two-judge bench questioned why the district was being singled out, while Mumbai and other regions faced no such restrictions? The Pune collector had in an order prohibited sale of alcohol for 10 days during the Ganesh festival starting September 14. The court was hearing petitions against the order by associations of hotel owners and wine shop owners. “What is the rationale behind choosing only Pune? We deprecate such practice. This is a stigma on Pune residents. What are you trying to portray that only people in Pune behave badly after drinking,? the court remarked.While it understands that authorities need to maintain law and order and avoid nuisance, a blanket order prohibiting licence holders from carrying out their trade for 10 days cannot be passed. And in a lighter vein, also said with such a ban, habitual drinkers would end up having medical issues. “They will flood hospitals if they don’t get to drink for 10 days.” The counsel for Pune collector was asked to inform the court later in the day if the order would be withdrawn or else the court would pass an appropriate order.A big low for Pune collector alright and a high for the residents. — INFA