Opinion Aggressive federalism
Will the next government be a coalition of regional aspirations with national parties playing second fiddle, the Organiser asks.
Aggressive federalism
In a special edition on federalism,the RSS weekly Organiser has focused on the resurgence of regional players in the polity,alongside the apparent decline in the Centres authority. The buzz of the season is the assertion of power by regional satraps. The UPA at the Centre was forced to back down on a number of important legislations,policies and diplomatic positions as a consequence of strident and debilitating pressure from regional allies.
Will the next government be a coalition of regional aspirations with national parties playing second fiddle, the Organiser asks.
The Sri Lanka switch
After taking the position last week that India should not back the resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council,the RSS has now turned around to back Sri Lankan Tamils and assert that the government of India should take the right action,which it did by voting for the resolution.
A statement issued in the Organiser by the RSSs Number Two,Sarkaryavah Bhaiyyaji Joshi,dwelled on large-scale violations of human rights in northern Sri Lanka during the final stages of conflict.
The RSS had always held that innocent civilians shouldnt be made to suffer in the conflict of Sri Lanka and the Tamils,as equal citizens of that country,should be able to enjoy all legitimate rights along with the remaining Sinhala people. We call upon the Sri Lanka government to do the utmost to alleviate the sufferings of the Tamils in that country and also ensure proper rehabilitation,security and political rights to them, the statement said. Only last week,the RSS had said that India should not support the US-backed UNHRC resolution,contending that it would open scope for the US to play a similar role in Kashmir and the Northeast.
Muddied waters
The latest edition of the RSSs Hindi journal,Panchjanya,focuses on environmental issues.
The cry of the birds,the greenery in the hills and the freshness of springs and waterfalls is slowly vanishing as the pace of urbanisation and industrialisation increases,says the Panchjanya. It says that even Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs official Twitter account has raised these concerns.
It draws attention to a recent Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report,which claims that Delhis atmosphere has become so poisonous that 3,000 deaths occur every year. It refers to another report by the Energy Resources Institute,which flags the issue of industrial waste in the Yamuna,making lead,manganese and nickel content rise in the water. As a consequence,vegetables and fruits grown by small farms along a 22 kilometre stretch near Delhi now contain excessive amounts of these elements and are not fit for consumption.
What is more shocking,says the Panchjanya,is that there have been 276 schemes and projects to clean the Yamuna since 1993,in which a total of Rs 1,700 crore has been spent. Yet,the Yamuna waters have become dirtier and more toxic. A fresh budget of Rs 1,656 crore has been allocated by the Centre to clean the Yamuna under the Yamuna Action Plan Phase III,but one should not expect much from this plan,the Panchjanya says,adding that the Ganga suffers a similar fate.
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