Delhi Confidential: Crisis Management
Praise & Pressure
On a day when Union Minister Chirag Paswan thanked Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for approving domicile policy in job reservation for women and announcing the setting up of Yuva Aayog in Bihar, his party seemed to be putting pressure on the NDA leadership in the state. LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti on Tuesday counted Nitish among leaders who had grown old and suggested that Bihar needed a young leader to take Bahujan politics forward. 'Remember the top leaders of the Bahujan movement… Kanshi Ram-ji, Mayawati-ji, Mulayam Singh-ji… our founder Ram Vilas Paswan-ji… Lalu-ji who is very ill and Nitish Kumar who is old now… We are contesting under his leadership, but it can't be denied he is old… in such a situation which young leader will lead the Bahujans,' Bharti told reporters.
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Business Standard
39 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Trade union strike: Normal life remains unaffected; sporadic violence in WB
Normal life was not impacted in most parts of the country due to a nationwide strike called by the 10 central trade unions to protest against the labour policies of the Centre, though some sporadic incidents of violence were reported from West Bengal. However, the trade unions claimed that the strike was successful, and a large number of workers abstained from work, impacting postal, banking, insurance, and mining sectors. Reports of violence were received from pockets of West Bengal after Left-wing activists clashed with police and supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress in some districts. Left-leaning bank unions, All India Bank Employees Association, All India Bank Officers Association and Bank Employees Federation of India also supported the strike, leading to disruption in services in some parts of the country. However, there was no impact on private sector banks and many large public sector banks like State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda. The All India Power Engineers Federation claimed that over 2.7 million power sector workers hit the road across the country to protest against privatisation. In a statement, a forum of the 10 central trade unions said there was a bandh-like situation in many states of the country. They include Puducherry, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur. Reports of partial bandhs were also received from parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, among others, the forum said. There were industrial and sectoral strikes held in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat, it added. Several political parties supported the strike call, including the Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Communist Party of India. In Bengaluru, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the nationwide strike is aimed at opposing the Narendra Modi government's 'anti-worker and anti-farmer' policies, and its 'failures' to create jobs and fill existing vacancies. In Odisha, the Biju Shramik Samukhya, a trade union affiliated to the Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), joined the protests. In Telangana, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha said that her party and Telangana Jagruti supported the strike as the BJP-led government at the Centre has eroded workers' rights. The trade unions have said that the central government is implementing reforms that weaken workers' rights. They called the one-day strike in support of their demand for doing away with the four labour codes along with contractualisation, privatisation of public sector undertakings and increasing minimum wages to ₹26,000 per month, among others. The forum had last year submitted a 17-point demand to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The government has not been conducting the annual labour conference for the last 10 years, the forum claimed. However, the Confederation of All India Traders, which BJP Lok Sabha member Praveen Khandelwal leads, said there was no impact of the strike on commercial activity in the national capital.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Time to halt forceful acquisition of land
For more than 1,100 days, farmers of 13 villages near Channarayapatna in Devanahalli taluk, Bengaluru Rural district, have been agitating against the 'forceful' acquisition of their land by the Karnataka government for industrial development. In 2022, the Basavaraj Bommai government notified 1,777 acres off land for a proposed hi-tech defence and aerospace park. This highly fertile region is the lifeline of Bengaluru's food and nutrition security. The farmers immediately took to the streets, demanding that the plan be dropped. They rejected offers of compensation and promises to drop part of the acquisition. The farmers say they want to continue farming and remain on their land that have sustained lives and livelihoods for generations. Their persistent struggle has not only brought them into national focus, but has also foregrounded the legitimacy of forcible land acquisition. Over the past month, this agitation has taken an intense turn. On June 25, a 'Devanahalli Chalo (let's go to Devanahalli)' programme was organised, and various farmer, trade union, Dalit, student, and women's organisations came together to show solidarity with the farmers. The use of police force in dispersing the protesters only intensified the agitation under the aegis of Samyukta Horata Karnataka. Facing intense pressure, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called a meeting on July 4 and requested time to take a decision. He argued that there were legal hurdles in going back on land acquisition. This is an exercise in obfuscation since the power of the State government to withdraw from the land acquisition process is legally settled. Nevertheless, the farmers have heeded his request and are awaiting his decision. Before elaborating on this, it is necessary to mention that forcible acquisition, premised on the principle of eminent domain, is a colonial relic and has no place in a democracy. It is for this reason that informed consent found a place in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. However, despite this enactment, there are many State expropriation laws that remain on the statute books. These are used indiscriminately to acquire people's lands. Despite several demands, the Karnataka government has shown no inclination in scrapping these laws. The lands of the Devanahalli farmers have been acquired under one such law — the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act, 1966. To date, lakhs of acres of agricultural land have been acquired under this statute for establishing industrial areas and for allotting them to individual companies. There is overwhelming evidence that acres of acquired land are lying waste. The Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the economic sector for the year ending March 2017 confirmed this. The disastrous nature of forcible acquisition stands exposed, yet the State government is yet to undertake a comprehensive review of the status of all acquired lands. The answer to the question of withdrawal from land acquisition proceedings can be found in the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act. Section 4 allows the State government to exclude acquired land at any time it deems necessary. This flows from the settled legal position that the State can exercise its power of withdrawal from land acquisition unilaterally. Indeed, with regard to acquisition under the 1966 Act, the Karnataka High Court, in Thomas Patrao Since Deceased by his LR and Anr. vs. State of Karnataka, 2005, held that the State government can cancel land acquisition notifications before taking possession by virtue of its power under Section 21 of the Karnataka General Clauses Act, 1899. The unambiguous position is that the State government can withdraw the Devanahalli land from acquisition by cancelling the preliminary and final land acquisition notifications. Incidentally, this is a power that successive State governments have exercised. Acquisition of hundreds of acres of notified lands were withdrawn on various counts including farmers' resistance, so the Siddaramaiah government has no real reason to seek time. Instead, it must listen to the demand of the farmers and drop the land acquisition. Else, talk of democracy and social justice will remain hollow words. Clifton D' Rozario is a practicing advocate in the Karnataka High Court and the General Secretary of the All India Lawyers Association for Justice
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Have appealed to the Centre for Rs 11,122.76 crore funds for six irrigation projects in Karnataka: DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 9 (ANI): Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister, D.K. Shivakumar, who oversees the irrigation portfolio, announced on Wednesday that he has requested funding amounting to Rs 11,122.76 crore for the development of six irrigation projects within the state. Addressing a press conference at Karnataka Bhawan, Shivakumar said, 'We have appealed to the Centre for Rs 11,122.76 funds for six irrigation projects in the state - Rs 804.66 crore for Sonnathi lift irrigation project; Rs 2,660.70 crore for Indi branch canal in Upper Krishna project; Rs 3000 crore for third stage of Malaprabha canal; Rs 1,44.42 crore for Ghataprabha right bund canal and Chikkodi branch canal; Rs 1610 crore for flood prevention project at Benne Halla. We have learnt that one project has been approved, but we are yet to receive official confirmation.' 'We have also appealed for 25% of the funds for the Yettinahole project, as it is a drinking water project. There were some complications for the project due to the Forest Department not issuing clearance. The Union Minister for Environment has assured that the issue would be resolved soon,' he said. Replying to a question on the Upper Bhadra project, Shivakumar said, 'We have asked for funds for this project too. We have submitted the revised cost estimates as asked by the Centre, and they have said the funds would be released. There is no guarantee until the funds hit the state government's account.' When pointed to repeated promises but no action by the Centre on the release of funds for the Upper Bhadra project, he said, 'You have to ask the Centre if they don't have funds or they are doing politics over this. They had asked about the expenditure on the project till now, and we have submitted all the relevant documents.' Asked why the Rs 5,300 funds for Upper Bhadra are getting delayed despite the Centre announcing it, he said, 'What to do? The Congress government came to power in the state.' Shivakumar further said, 'Goa has said that we have objected to its request to lay a power transmission line through Karnataka. We have told them that we would support them if they support us on the Kalasa-Bhanduri project. The Union Environment Minister has told us that he will convey his opinion on this in a week. I have informed him that I would meet him before the Monsoon session of the Parliament.' He also explained, 'The Centre had given a go-ahead for the Kalasa-Bhanduri project when Karnataka had a BJP government. Based on that approval, our government had called for tenders. But the Goa government issued us a show cause notice in 2023, and the case is in the court now. We have brought this issue to the attention of the Union Environment Minister. Goa does not have any locus standi to object to work in our state. We have already moved court regarding this.' The Deputy Chief Minister stated that the government has requested approval for the Detailed Project Report of the Mekedatu project. 'We have appealed to the Union Jal Shakthi minister to give us approval for the DPR of the Mekedatu project. The DPR is in line with the order given by the Cauvery Water Management Authority. We have told the Union minister to submit its report to the court so that the court can pass a judgment. We have also conveyed to the minister that the project benefits Tamil Nadu. He has assured us that he would speak to Tamil Nadu about this.' 'A meeting on sharing of Krishna water was cancelled last time, and the Union Jal Shakthi minister has assured us that a meeting would be scheduled in July itself. Though the Tribunal's order has allowed us to increase the height of the Alamatti dam, we are not allowed to do it as the Centre has yet to issue a Gazette notification on the same. I have appealed to the Union minister to call for a meeting among Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He has assured that the meeting would be held before the Parliament session,' he said. Union Minister V Somanna accompanied DK Shivakumar during his meetings with the Union Minister for Environment and the Union Minister for Jal Shakthi. (ANI)
