Time To Stop Salman’s Act

Mumbai’s dynamic police commissioner, M N Singh, who recently in New Delhi in connection with the All India Conference of Director Generals of Police, was of the opinion that though nothing much can be done in the recent car accident involving Salman because of the lack of suitable legal provisions, the police will have to swing into action at some point to rein in Salman. Singh is also trying to probe whether Salman met an underworld don in Copenhagen some months ago.

Mod Misses The SEZ Boat

With Assembly elections round the corner in Gujarat, the Narendra Modi government will come under the scanner for more than just the recent communal riots. Modi’s capricious decision not to allot land earmarked by the previous regime has almost robbed the state of what could be the country’s first special economic zone. The Centre had decided to set up two special economic zones in the country—one in Gujarat, the other in Tamil Nadu. While the Tamil Nadu zone is still waiting for finance, financial institutions, international companies and the Singapore Government—backed by provisions in this year’s budget—breathed life into the project. Modi’s predecessor, Keshubhai Patel, even sanctioned land for the zone. But the Modi government has, for reasons unknown, stalled the process by refusing to hand over the plot. Sniffing an opportunity, the Congress Government of Maharashtra has stepped in, with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh holding several rounds of discussion with the entrepreneurs involved with the project to persuade them to move the zone to Maharashtra. China has already set up about 50 special economic zones and they are doing wonders for its economy. With CMs like Modi around, states like Gujarat will have to wait.

Cheap Stunt, Heavy Price

Praveen Togadia and his ilk should explain what they mean by seeking a leader like George W. Bush, Ariel Sharon or Shivaji for India. They can imagine the possible repercussions of a war with nuclear Pakistan. Their attempt to paint Vajpayee as weak—just because he has the natural wisdom of avoiding a full-scale armed confrontation with our neighbour—is a cheap political stunt. Tackling Pak-sponsored terrorism involves a lot of diplomatic manoeuvring and such irresponsible utterances don’t help the Indian cause at all. This hawkish stance gives credence to Pakistan’s claim that strong Hindu fundamentalist elements do exist in India. Frankly, it’s not possible to differentiate the language of leaders like Togadia from that of Islamic fundamentalists.

Nobody can fight fundamentalism selectively. When we attack Islamic fundamentalism, we will also have to come down heavily on Hindu fundamentalists. One should remember the example of late Indira Gandhi who enjoyed equal mass following among both communities because when it came to fundamentalism, she never tried to target one and spare the other.