These days one wonders whether any “rule of law” is being effectively implemented in our system. Maintenance of law and order is the prime responsibility of the government. People living in a civil society can only cooperative fully and expect their government to provide them safety and basic security to pursue a peaceful life. Nowadays various incidents frequently happening around us indicate gross abuse and misuse of various provisions of law which are enacted in good faith for the purpose of good governance. Perusal of all such instances may not be possible but an illustration of some would reveal the conduct of the manner in which our system is functioning.
Just a few days ago, in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, three young men carrying acid attacked two girls studying engineering. The acid attack on two girls has attracted much ire from the civil society. Large number of people opined that the perpetrators of such crimes should be dealt appropriately. Yes, in less than a day, the three accused were killed by the police in an alleged encounter. While crimes against women are increasing each day, the police officials who appear to be vexed with the protracted criminal justice system are helplessly resorting to these sorts of adventures.
After drawing the flak from the people for their failure to nab the offenders involved in Ayesha case, the police administration seems to be getting desperate to perform. But will this sort of instant justice being resorted to by the cops can really work as a deterrent and prevent such crimes is the relevant question.
Consider the way terrorists are dealt with in our system. Yes, even after the whole trial is completed where the accused are pronounced guilty and convicted for a specific punishment which is also confirmed as such by the apex court, the government does not implement the judgment.  Afzal Guru, who has been given death sentence for his role in the conspiracy of attacking Indian Parliament, is yet to be punished. What are the reasons for such procrastination is best known only to the powers that be.
Coming back to AP, there is another glaring instance of abuse of the flaws in the provisions of the tenth schedule which deals with the anti-defection laws meant for disqualifying the legislators for their objectionable conduct. The timing and the manner in which the Hon’ble Speaker of AP Legislative Assembly has accepted and disqualified some of the rebel TRS legislators calls for an immediate amendment of the anti-defection laws. Yes, there has to be a specific time period for such presiding officers to dispose or deliver their judgments, else we would continue to witness the mockery of such lofty principles.
In the end comes the endless series of unending excuses from the responsible powers that be; often resorting to appointing commissions of enquiry whose reports have no legal sanctity; and when all is lost; our leaders become very sensitive to public opinion and resign citing high moral reasons as an excuse.

By Sridhar Goka

Doctors are gods on Earth. They save the lives of patients and sometimes perform miracles which only god can. Recently, doctors performed a rare surgery on Supratim Dutta in Delhi after a five-feet-long and two-inch wide iron rod pierced his upper body. Many had given up hope that he would survive, but doctors attending on him at AIIMS Trauma Centre performed the miracle.
Another miracle that AIIMS doctors performed on Tuesday last was on one-year old Kumkum, after a six-inch crochet needle pierced through her eye and reached the brain. Initially doctors attending on her feared that the baby may lose an eye and vital body functions because of the needle piercing her eye.  
Cases of needle piercing into the eye have been heard about in different parts of the world, but all were sewing needles. Recently, in Tamil Nadu too, a boy swallowed a sewing needle and was saved after a surgery. Cases of needles entering the body while administering injections or while working with some sewing machines are common, but it does amount to carelessness on the part of the elders in case it happens to children. How did the crochet needle enter the one-year-old girl’s eye and why did the young boy swallow the needle baffles me? Did another child do it to enact a TV play?
With the television invading our homes and no control on the channels on its content, there are some gory serials which catch the attention of young minds. What looks superficial on the screen hits us when it happens in front of our eyes. There have been many instances where children below 10 years have copied the acts of popular television serial ‘Shaktiman’ only to end up by paying with their lives.
The government must seriously bring in a legislation that will help monitor of airing such ghastly and gory serials to catch TRP ratings.
Instead of having a line saying that this is harmful, let it be prominently displayed to the right side of the TV screen that not for this age group and so on. I am sure many will welcome it as some of them are liberal but no so liberal that they can watch anything appearing on the TV along with the family members.
The doctors too must desist from going on strike on flimsy grounds because being in a noble profession they can give life and heal the sick.

By Lakshmi
lakshmi@deccanpost.in

Whenever there are elections round the corner there is a flurry of activity in all the camps of various political parties. They need to build an effective party organisation, prepare a manifesto, identify potential candidates and evolve a strategy to gain maximum support possible as is desired by each party. Earlier, the political situation in Andhra Pradesh was more or less a straight contest between the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). But in the last elections, the Congress defeated the TDP led by Chandrababu, primarily because of its alliance with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) headed by K. Chandrashekar Rao.
This time a new trend is visible as a potential challenger (the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) founded by Chiranjeevi) has entered the fray making the contest a triangular affair in all the 294 MLA seats for the State legislature. Even before Chiranjeevi officially declared his intent to join and start a political party there has been an exodus of leaders belonging to various parties coming out to welcome his projected entry. Now, with the entry of PRP, the outcome of the ensuing elections has become quite unpredictable. All parties which seemed overtly confident earlier are now struggling with the emerging twists and turns. Today, no single party is in a position to believe that they could confidently form the next government on their own strength more so when the issue of Telangana State is hanging like a ‘Sword of Damocles’.
There is a saying that  ‘a week is a long time in politics’. Just a few months ago, KCR adopted a political strategy by enforcing mass resignation of his MLAs, and MPs; the ploy boomeranged, as a result the party suffered heavy losses in the by-polls held in the Telangana region. Within hours of those results being declared, media analysts and several political personalities lost no time in gleefully speculating the date and time of the political demise of the TRS party. A crestfallen KCR seemed sad and isolated; as his detractors tried to hasten his exit from the T-turf.
But after that debacle, he became quite practical and ever since steadily emerged as an unavoidable poll partner to many political parties. Now, he is strongly pursuing an alliance with any party which has extended its support for a separate state for Telangana. Right now he is in a pleasant dilemma of having to choose between the TDP-CPM-CPI front or the PRP-NTP front and appears disappointed with the Congress High Command for not doing enough for Telangana which could have justified his alliance with the Congress but none the less he has not given up hope of reviving an alliance with the Congress again.
Now as elections are drawing nearer each day several parties are making a clamour for a tie-up with the TRS. Some are begging, some flirting, some coercing and some demanding too. So, why are these parties desperate to have a tie-up with the TRS? What is the need for such desperation? What is the significance of an alliance with the TRS?
Simple, a pre-poll alliance with the TRS is considered to be yielding a minimum guarantee of 50 seats in the Telangana region, as TRS is presumed to be having a vote bank of atleast 15 per cent in the region. Hence the reason for such desperation. Yes, there are now 119 seats in the Telangana region due to a recent increase under the delimitation. With about 175 seats remaining in the Andhra and Rayalaseema region; the contest is absolutely nail biting. Today, the Congress and TDP are making every possible effort to retain whatever vote bank they can and also gain the new votes to the extent possible. That leaves the new PRP outfit a gigantic task to pursue and achieve. Out of these 175 seats available,  any of these three parties (Congress, TDP and PRP) even if they win about 100 seats single handedly; still require about another 48 seats in the T-region to form a government on their own. Hence such desperate need. Although such tie-ups promise plenty; the voters normally endorse based only on the sanctity of such alliances.

By Sridhar Goka
sridhargoka@deccanpost.in

The terror attacks on Mumbai and firing in Santoshnagar in the city taking prominence, very few remembered the Bhopal Gas tragedy victims. On December 3, the world's worst-ever industrial disaster - the Bhopal Gas Tragedy - observed the 24th anniversary.
The Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas leak from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal has hit many families hard. The tell tale signs are visible even till date. The gas leak on unsuspecting people in the dead of the night is heart rending.
On the night of the 1984 tragedy, a total of around 3,000 people lost their lives and the number has gone up to 35,000 in the last 24 years and the lakhs injured continue to suffer. According to organisations working for the tragedy affected victims, there were three lakh people suffering from serious gas-related diseases even now.
Even in our own city, if proper care is not taken tragedy is waiting to happen. The government is allowing construction of residential accommodation in industrial zones. Though it is understandable that people want to stay near their place of work to avoid long hours in commuting, the government must put its foot down and not allow construction of residences in those areas.
The smoke from the industries pollutes the air and sometimes the effluents are also not disposed off properly leading to health hazards. If the effluents are not treated properly and seep into drinking water lines it affects the health of a whole generation. The government and its agencies must implement rules and regulations and show no leniency when carrying out checks on industrial units in L B Nagar, Balanagar and Autonagar. We must not forget the recent tragedy in the closed drug unit Siris industries in April this year, where the thick black smoke caused many health problems.
Meanwhile, to sensitise the people, theatre personality and film actor Akhil Mishra is acting in an English film ‘Prayer for rain’ being produced and directed by Ravi Kumar. Speaking about the film, Misra said that he had agreed to be part of this film because it deals with the issue of Bhopal gas tragedy. The film, which will be shot in Hyderabad, is an entertaining cinema with realistic approach. Hope the city will wake up to the effects of industrial hazards before tragedy strikes.

By Lakshmi
lakshmi@deccanpost.in

One notable point of the outcome of elections to five state assemblies this week is the hat-trick achieved by Delhi Congress chief minister Sheila Dikshit. The 72-year-old lady won accolades by one and all for her spectacular victory in a city-state with a voter base of 1.2 crore.
By scoring 42 out of 69 total seats in the Delhi assembly, she has surpassed the performance of any chief minister belonging to Congress since Indira Gandhi era.  Since Indira’s time, Congress echelons are supposed to talk about only the performance of a member of the first family, that is Nehru-Gandhi family, and no one else.
Any other leader including the chief ministers in the party was just looked as dispensable. In fact, if there is any leader with individual standing or personal popularity were treated as outcasts. Some of them were even shunted out of the party just because they refused to fall in line or raised a banner of revolt.
Of course, there has been some shift in the culture ever since Sonia Gandhi took over as Congress president a decade ago. The continuation of Sheila Dikshit or allowing Digvijay Singh for second term as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh are some instances to prove the point.
This culture of tolerance and open-mindedness appears to continue even in the era of Rahul Gandhi. In fact, Rahul inherited some qualities of his mother like - simplicity, democratic nature, tolerance and some degree of adherence to discipline and basic ethos of the organisation.
Then, there is no wonder that Sheila has said that she belonged to a good party. But, it was not the case some years back. The Congress stung by the compulsions of coalition politics both at the center and states is gradually learning to follow certain democratic traditions.
No longer the party can use and throw the CMs. And definitely Sheila deserves the credit for this victory. Sonia knows it fully well that she need to have many more Sheilas so that Congress becomes the choice of Gen- Y or GenNext. The grand old party needs to be spruced up in a big way, to attract the youth.
Unless the party becomes the choice of young people, the heir apparent Rahul Gandhi cannot aspire to become the Prime Minister one day. In a way, Sheila Dikshit deserves cheers for two reasons: One for providing Delhiwallahs with good governance,  and Two, keeping Congress fit for future times.

By
S Rama Krishna
ramakrishna.s@deccanpost.in

Psephologists and scores of political pundits are currently busy analyzing the outcome and significance of polls held recently in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Delhi and Rajasthan. Before these polls, the vote bank in these states was mostly shared between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. Even at the national level these two parties are leading their respective fronts. But the outcome of these poll results signals the emergence of a new player, the Bahujan Samaj Party led by the UP Chief Minister Ms. Mayawathi on the national scene.
While Congress leaders are trying their best to convey that the recent verdict is indicative of a favorable trend for them in the coming general elections in April-May of 2009; the BJP, which is internally elated over its remarkable achievement in retaining power in both MP and Chattisgarh (also not losing out too badly to Congress in Rajasthan) is only downplaying their mood giving an impression of being not fully satisfied with the outcome fearing their cadres could become complacent.
Whatever may be the impression these two major parties are attempting to project; the fact remains that these two parties have a great deal of work to do in tackling the complex political possibilities which are likely to arise and have to be encountered in the coming months. What needs to be done? Will they be able to do it?
The BSP has been started as a party for the Dalits and other down trodden sections but after the success of UP formula where the BSP altered its strategy by joining hands with progressive elements among the Brahmin community and also offering something substantial to the Muslims, its expansion has been phenomenal. BSP's growth has been causing gradual erosion of the traditional vote bank of the Congress. But the most surprising element is that the Brahmins and Banias who were till recently with the BJP have also been wooed by an aggressive political agenda unleashed by a shrewd Ms. Mayawathi.
Undermining the existence and significance of BSP growth has been a regular feature. But the results reveal that it its performance cannot be ignored anymore. Taking a close look at its performance, statistics indicate that it polled 8% in Rajasthan; 11% in MP; 14% in Delhi; and 6.5% in Chattisgarh. While the margin of difference between the Congress and BJP was as small as 1.5% in Chattisgarh; the BSP factor has been the single most issue for Congress not winning where it lost. Further, it is quite bitter for the Congress to digest its traditional vote being systematically hijacked by the BSP; actually, it would have been a landslide for the Congress even in States like the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh if BSP has not been in the contest there.
There are many states like UP, Uttaranchal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal, Delhi, MP, Chatissgarh, and Karnataka where Congress could lose heavily because of the BSP. In such a volatile political scenario, how can Sonia Gandhi tackle such emerging situations? Since the advent of BSP, the Congress has been gradually conceding its traditional vote bank comprising of the Dalits, Tribals, Muslims and the Upper caste sections. The irony is that Mayawathi has been able to stitch an alliance with upper caste sections by changing the very slogan of her mentor.
Here, the art of political maneuvering lies in understanding the ground realities; sharing power with those sections who actually constitute your vote bank. The Congress and BSP have been vying for almost the same vote bank. Political prudence calls for these two parties to chalk out a common agenda and sink their differences.
To save Congress, Sonia needs to use techniques of effective management of conflicts and contradictions which are quite glaring and irksome too. Whether Sonia can share power with Mayawathi is the key element? Can Sonia persuade Mayawathi to merge her BSP with Congress in lieu of being offered Prime Ministership for two terms and revive the fortunes of a declining dynasty? It may sound weird but if intentions of doing good to the country are uppermost, it may not be impossible for Mayawathi to work with Congress. Well, it sound absolutely graet to see Rahul Gandhi as a successor of Mayawathi rather than a heir apparent of the sinking dynasty.
Yes, veterans like Advani, Karat, Chandra Babu etc., cannot be expected to be mute witnesses to these dramatic events if such speculations are indeed being attempted as some of them have already declared her as their Prime Ministerial candidate expecting to derive political mileage out of it. While speculating politics may be fun; understanding politicians is no mean business.

By Sridhar Goka
sridhargoka@deccanpost.in

Last week terrorists caused mayhem in Mumbai. They held the city to ransom for nearly three days. All those who saw the visuals on television spent sleepless nights wondering where one was heading to. Was this a civil society in which one was living in or a modern anarchy where anything was possible?
Since ancient times there have been wars. Battles have been fought for wealth and women. But this is no war, it is attacking a defenceless person on a sly. In the Mahabharatha, at the battle of Kurukshetra where Pandavas and Kauravas battle it out, Lord Krishna says that the victory will be of Dharma rather righteousness only. The terrorists must take leaf out of this and sit across the table and sort out their differences rather than take to the gun. 
The money that would be spent on acquiring guns for security or taking revenge can easily generate employment and basic necessities for the needy.
One must remember that the gun culture will not take anyone anywhere. It will cause more bloodshed and sadness in all. The governments of the day must address the basic question of why the youth are taking to extremism. Are their legitimate rights not being met? If the government feels the demands are not justified then the line should be drawn and things should not be left pending. If we take one step, we are being pushed three step backwards.
If the extremists can infiltrate educational institutions and carry out their propaganda, then the government too that runs it can place its checks and balances and inculcate the feeling of patriotism in the students. During the Mumbai siege and after, many concerned citizens exchanged SMSes and emails stating that nobody could break the unity of Indians. A popular Bollywood actress is leading the mission in Mumbai. We must not wait for such incidents to bring us closer but strive on united India continuously.
To begin with training in the security wing, be it army or police, must be made compulsory for all college students. So that in case of an emergency like Mumbai, we have a reserve of trained, motivated young students who can protect the country. If such groups are formed in the city neighbourhood, all difficult situations can be handled more efficiently. It is call for united India. 

By Lakshmi
lakshmi@deccanpost.in

Who is safe? It is the question that is making rounds among chattering classes after the last weekend's Mumbai terror.  Actually I was supposed to attend to a wedding of my friend, Stuti Sharma in Navi Mumbai on November 29. She was my batchmate in film appreciation course at Pune Film Institute last year. The groom, Suraj, too, was our batchmate of the FA.
Right, assuming that the Mumbai city is full of chaos and confusion, me and another friend, Piu from Kolkatta cancelled our tour programmes. Before taking the decision, both of us had a conversation on the situation in Mumbai. Another friend, Meeta from Pune, however, insisted that we should all go for the marriage, as it would instill a sense of solidarity to Stuti who was already feeling disappointed because of several travel cancellations. But, somehow, reasons known not even to us, Piu and me thought otherwise and stayed out.
As anticipated, the Mumbai city returned to normalcy only by Sunday, when all the terrorists were flushed out of all the places they were holed up. Then, I read a write up of noted novelist Suketu Mehta (author of “Maximum City”). Mehta said that the best way to respond to terror threat is all of us visit Mumbai more frequently.
He said that when the terrorists wanted to kill the dreams of people in Mumbai, the best answer to the merchants of death is to dream even bigger. The write up made me think about my decision to stay away from my close friend’s wedding. My presence there would have been more meaningful now.
Being a journalist, how can I escape from risk? Whatever may be the reasons, I behaved like any ordinary person who does not want to take any risk. This appears to be a symptom of mindset of people of our country.
Are we safe? How can we save our city, our locality? - These are the questions that occupy our minds in times of national calamity. I know, in the last few days, people of this city are shit scared of prospects of a Mumbai type attack on us. “How can we save ourselves, if that happens?” a friend asked me, during a morning walk.
First we should not think on these lines. When we treat Mumbai as a city cut off from rest of us, we have no right to think of India as one country. Do we think like this when one of our own family member suffers? No, no one is safe, as long as the terrorists treat all of us as Indians. Let me come forward and admit, I am not safe.

By
S Rama Krishna
ramakrishna.s@deccanpost.in

At last, the attention of many political parties in Andhra Pradesh seems to be turning towards the Babhli barrage controversy. The contention of these parties is that the neighbouring Maharashtra State headed by Vilasrao Deshmuk has been illegally constructing about a dozen barrages across the Inter-State Godavari River stream flowing in the Maharashtra region.
It is also being alleged that besides the Babhli project which is currently a subject matter in the apex court; there are further barrages being illegally pursued by the Maharashtra Govt. at another 11 places like the Apigaon, Hirodpur, Jogla Devi, Mungrowl, Raja Takli, Dhalegaon, Mudhgal, Mooli, Loni Savangi, Digraas and Andhoora; threatening to jeopardise the interests of the farming community in the Telangana region of AP State.
These brazen acts resorted to by the Vilasrao Deshmukh regime is a clear case of violating several statutory and constitutional provisions. These projects are out rightly intended to deprive the rightful share of the people of Telangana region.
Godavari is acknowledged as the biggest river of South India. It originates near Triambak in Nashik district of Maharashtra.  While the entire river stream flows 1465km, it flows 694km in Maharashtra, and 767km in Andhra Pradesh. To specify further it flows 653km in Telangana and 114km in Andhra area before it empties into the Bay of Bengal at Antarvedi in AP. There are many laws specifying the use, distribution and control of river waters between the states besides the disputes being redressed.
The political game apportioning blame on each other has been going on for a very long time in our State. What is more intriguing is the way these political parties conduct themselves depending on the given situation in which these parties are placed vis-à-vis the seat of power.
When the TDP headed by Chandrababu Naidu was governing the State, the Congress made quite an issue over the illegal construction of barrage at Alamatti in Karnataka over the Krishna River. At that time, the TDP Govt. was virtually in a state of limbo with regard to the confrontation with Karnataka as a friendly non-Congress Govt. was administering the neighbouring Karnataka then; which explains the reasons for understanding Babu's silence.
Now, when both Maharashtra and AP are being run by the Congress Party Govts., history seems to be repeating as the Babhli barrage controversy once again appears to be a friendly fight amongst the neighbouring Congress chieftains; here the reasons which can be ascribed to the conduct of the AP Chief Minister have to be perceived from a different perspective.
YSR knows fully the implications of water controversies. He himself was no less brazen in diverting water illegally by manipulating the Pothireddipadu head regulator which is yet to be resolved within the State. Why did he keep silent on the illegal obstruction of Godavari River waters?
Yes, it is absolutely proper to blame these parties for their failure to protect the interests of the State. But what can be attributed to the silence on the part of KCR? TRS as a political outfit was just started to protect and further the interests of the people of Telangana region. KCR could have better served the interests of Telanganites if only he and his party got properly aware of the threat posed by these illegal acts of the Maharashtra Govt.
In the end, it is a colossal failure on the part of TRS and also parties like the ruling Congress and TDP for their complete lack of responsibility in protecting the interests of the people of the Telugu State, which ironically props the Congress led UPA Govt. with its share of 30 MPs in the Lok Sabha but still vulnerable to the terrorist like behaviour of a neighbouring State.

By Sridhar Goka
sridhargoka@deccanpost.in