Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Damning Evidence
That self-styled farm leader Sharad Joshi should support the Sardar Sarovar Project is fine. But the timing of his kar seva8217; to press for the early completion of SSP is worrying the Gujarat Government. Joshi8217;s action has already divided the pro-SSP groups, which always stood behind the Government in its fight against anti-dam campaigners. Now, as the issue inches towards conclusion with the Supreme Court hearing scheduled in February, SSP supporters are squabbling over the strategy on the dam. That8217;s not all.
Joshi is going all out to project Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel as an ally of Narmada Bachao Andolan8217;s Medha Patkar. He claims that he had found 8220;a lot of commonality8221; between them. He has also called Patel fascist for not making arrangements even for drinking water for his kar sevaks who were fighting for the cause of farmers. Naturally, many are wondering whether Sharad Joshi is really an SSP supporter, or is he a booby trap laid by Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Digvijay Singh. Or is he preparing the ground for Sharad Pawar8217;s NCP8217;s debut in Gujarat?
The Ahmedabad Civil Hospital may be the largest hospital in Asia, it may also boast of having the latest gadgetry for diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases. But this doesn8217;t impress those running the government in Gujarat. Recently, when Leelabai, wife of Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, complained of chest pain, she was admitted in the intensive cardiac care unit of the nearby Rajasthan Hospital, which is run by a private trust, and not in the civil hospital, which has a full-fledged institute of cardiology.
What added to the irony was the fact that on the same day the Netherlands Prime Minister Wim Kok visited the hospital for the launch of a Rs 200-crore Indo-Dutch project to modernise hospitals in Gujarat. So, while Health Minister Ashok Bhatt was going ga-ga over the latest facilities made available under the Dutch project, the civil hospital was considered unsafe for aVIP patient. The story was repeated a few days later when the Chief Minister8217;s son Pravinbhai was admitted to the Rajasthan Hospital for an angiography.
Om Constitution
The dais was complete with the essential pooja samagri. But what was being worshipped was a copy of the Indian Constitution. This unique Constitution jagran was to celebrate November 26, on which our Constitution was adopted in 1949. The event, held at the busiest crossing in the Civil Lines in Allahabad, was the brainchild of a lawyer-couple which runs Janaganavadi Bharat. 8220;We celebrate Independence Day, Republic Day, even Teachers8217; Day and Women8217;s Day but nobody ever thought of celebrating November 26 as Constitution Day. Everybody has conveniently forgotten that which gave us all the rights,8221; says Saroj Giri, the more eloquent of the two.
8220;This pooja is because the Constitution is India8217;s Holy Scripture, whatever your religion is,8221; she adds.
Playing His Murli
Pied Piper Deora. The ex-MP from the Congress, MurliDeora had sleepless nights, power breakfasts, and surreptitious meetings all of last week, to ensure his party supported the insurance bill in the Lok Sabha. Among those he met last week, apart from various Congress MPs such as Vayalar Ravi who hate the bill, were party president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from whom he got an assurance that the Congress8217; amendments to the bill would be accepted.
Vajpayee gave Deora his assurance on Tuesday, but on Wednesday Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha sent Deora a note saying one demand was unacceptable. Parleys with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan resulted in an idli breakfast meeting to formalise the agreement. Apart from Sinha himself, the Congress was represented by Deora, Priyaranjan Das Munshi, Madhavrao Scindia and Jairam Ramesh.
Deora8217;s support for the bill, of course, stems from the fact that he was the head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee which cleared this bill in the first place. Another Congressman who8217;s hada history of association with insurance is Jairam Ramesh: he was with the Congress when the Malhotra committee was asked to chalk out the opening up of the sector, and was with P. Chidambaram when he piloted the first insurance bill. No wonder the BJP was sure their bill would go through. They had a full Hand.
