Opinion Bhopal and after
Urdu poet and journalist,Hasan Kamal,in his column in Sahafat (published from Delhi,Lucknow,Dehradun and Mumbai)...
Urdu poet and journalist,Hasan Kamal,in his column in Sahafat (published from Delhi,Lucknow,Dehradun and Mumbai) writes on June 14: Whatever is happening now (with regard to the Bhopal gas tragedy) is nothing but politics. No one has any interest in or sympathy with the dead or those living as crippled. Kamal further asks: Why doesnt the government put pressure on the United States as it did in the case of Headley? Is it because those who died were poor people? Or,because this matter cannot in any manner be used politically at the international level?
Rashtriya Sahara,in an editorial entitled,Central and state governments in the dock on June 19 writes: The fresh revelations put the Central government,along with the then Arjun Singh government in Madhya Pradesh,in the dock and negate the clarifications and explanations given by the Central government.
Jamaat-e-Islamis biweekly Daawat,in a front-page commentary on June 19 has taken a potshot at the BJP: The party that is holding Anderson as killer of thousands of persons has in its fold (paal rakha hai) a much bigger Anderson and is presenting him as a hero… Anderson is guilty only of negligence in the capacity of the head of the company. He had no enmity or ill will against the citizens of Bhopal. He did not kill them in a deliberate and planned manner whereas the Anderson of Gujarat had ill will against some selected citizens of his own state. He used the torching of a train as a pretext and in a deliberate and planned manner killed those people… Union Carbide company does not consider its Anderson as a hero. BJP worships its Anderson.
JD(U)-BJP tussle
Describing the JD(U)-BJP war of words in Bihar as a fixed match (noora kushti),bi-weekly Daawat (June 25) writes: Recent events (the advertisement controversy) alone cannot be seen as the reason for the souring of relations between the two parties. But it can be described as a pretext for distancing themselves from each other,and the atmosphere for this was being created for the last two or three years… In fact the Bihar chief minister does not want to lose the popularity that he has achieved because of his development programmes and the hard-earned support of minorities.
The paper adds: The conditions that had prevailed in Orissa are probably on his mind right now,and he hopes that the people of his state would follow Orissas lead. Analysing the Bihar chief ministers strategy, Akhbar-e-Mashriq,a Delhi,Kolkata and Ranchi-based daily,writes in an editorial on June 17: Nitish Kumar had shaken hands with BJP also because he wanted to cripple the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Now,with his administrative acumen,Nitish Kumar has brought Lalu Prasad Yadav to the margin and reduced his popularity among Muslims and Dalits to a large extent. Nitish Kumar wants to show through his work that he is a secularist in the real sense and shaking hands with BJP was a tactical move for a while,so that he got the chance to work peacefully and actually show some real results in the state. Undoubtedly,Nitish Kumar has succeeded substantially and earned the peoples confidence.
Soaring prices
The rise in prices of almost every item of common consumption or use,particularly petroleum,has been discussed at length. Rashtriya Sahara,in an editorial on June 28,comments: The government is moving towards a policy of decontrol of petroleum and diesel prices,along with raising the prices of these products,and it is not possible at the moment to fully foresee the effect of such a policy. But it is obvious that this policy will slowly be causing a hike in prices of petroleum products. The common man (aam aadmi) is,therefore,compelled to suffer the ill effects of this policy for a long time… The question is not only of the adverse effects of increasing petroleum prices or the policy of its decontrol. Apart from these,there are indications that conditions are being created for rise in prices of foodgrains too.
Akhbar-e-Mashriq,in an editorial (June 27),writes: The rise in prices of petrol,diesel,kerosene and cooking gas are undoubtedly compulsions of the government. But as a result,inflation levels will rise further by one per cent. Inflation has already moved to double digits because of which the budget of the common man is getting topsy turvy. Now this agonising situation will intensify further.
Compiled by Seema Chishti
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