Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, whose government is now on the verge of collapse due to the impending defection of 22 Congress MLAs of the Jyotiraditya Scindia camp, is partly to blame for the crisis he finds himself in. Kamal Nath failed to mend bridge with Scindia and disallowed others to do so, and even stalled the latter’s claim for the post of the Madhya Pradesh state Congress chief. Even senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who is hardly a Scindia sympathizer, tried to persuade CM Kamal Nath in February this yearto reach out to Scindia and ensure the young leader doesn’t stay miffed, but to no avail. Kamal Nath turned a deaf ear to Singh’s candid suggestions, and consequently, Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP. CM Kamal Nath is still confident that the rebel Congress MLAs would cross over to the BJP camp and would return to the Congress fold. The Assembly session is going to start on 16 March and the biggest question mark would be if the Kamal Nath government would continue or collapse.
CM PATNAIK HOPES BJD TO WIN ALL 4 RAJYA SABHA SEATS FROM ODISHA
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s image as a secular leader has come under a scanner after his government had supported the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Muslims, Christians and other minority community membersthen organised a number of rallies in the state to express their strong objection to the CAA, and also met the CM to convey their grievances. Patnaik decided to send Muna Khan to the Rajya Sabha to allay fears over the CAA, which he deemed as misconstrued. On March 7,CM Patnaik announced the names of BJD candidates for the March 26 elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha. Patnaik announced the names of Muna Khan, at present heading the BJD’s minority cell and advisor, minority affairs; Subash Singh, chairman of the Odisha Construction Workers Welfare Board; Sujit Kumar, adviser to the State Development Council; and, Mamata Mahanta, head of the party’s women wing of Mayurbhanj district – for the Upper House polls. Four of the 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha will fall vacant in Aprilafter the completion of tenures of three BJD MPs— Anubhav Mohanty, Narendra Kumar Swain and Sarojini Hembram, and Congress member Ranjib Biswal, the former chairman of IPL. While the BJD is set to win three seats comfortably, given the absolute majority of the party in the Assembly, the BJD is hopeful of winning even the fourth candidate. Patnaikhas assured his party of grabbing all four RS seats. While Congress may not field candidates because of lack of numbers, the BJP is yet to make its stand clear about fielding.
CORONAVIRUS PROMPTS HEALTH ADVISORY FOR PARLIAMENT HOUSE
Coronavirus scare seems to have reached the Parliament House too. People who have got their passes for a visit to Parliament should take note that a health advisory has been sent to every department in Parliament House recommending that large gathering within the precincts of Parliament House Estate be avoided. The Lok Sabha secretariat cannot take riskswith the health of public officials like ministers, including the Prime Minister, who would be moving in the same corridors as the general public. The health advisory is being taken seriously, it seems.
WILL UTTARAKHAND HAVE A NEW STATE CAPITAL SOON?
Although Uttarakhand is a small state but after 20 years of its statehood, the people of Uttarakhand are still fighting over its capital. At present, Dehradun is a capital of Uttarakhand and the high court is in Nainital. There are only two regions in Uttarakhand – one is Garhwal, having the state capital in Dehradun, and the other region is Kumaon, in which the high court based in Nainital is located. Now, BJP and Congress both want to make Gairsain as the state capital and they both are busy fighting the elections only on this issue. Uttarakhand has only five Lok Sabha seats. Congress has declared in his manifesto that after the election they would make Gairsain as the capital of the state. Only Vijay Bahuguna had once organised an assembly session in tent house in Gairsain, and since that, Harish Rawat has always tried to evade this issue. In the same way, all the former BJP chief ministers don’t discuss this issue once the elections get over. However, this time Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has announced in the state assembly that his government would make Gairsain the summer capital. The people of Uttarakhand are still in dilemma whether Gairsain will become the capital or not.
CONGRESS WANTS RJD TO GIVE IT A RAJYA SABHA SEAT IN BIHAR
The Congress central leadership has decided to stake its claim to one of the three Rajya Sabha seats that the opposition parties can jointly win from Bihar. The party has already conveyed its wish to its senior ally RJD, with a reminder that the latter had promised Congress a Rajya Sabha seat for the concession it made during the seat allocations in the Lok Sabha polls. The RJD, on the other hand, is refusing to concede the seat. On Thursday, the RJD state president Jagadanand Singh announced the names of Prem Chandra Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh for two of the five RS seats that will go to polls. Bihar Congress strength of 26 MLAs is short of the minimum 35 votes required to win a Rajya Sabha seat. The party wants RJD with 80 MLAs and in a position to win two seats to transfer its surplus votes to help Congress win a seat to the Upper House from Bihar. (IPA)
Private Sector Banks Are Failing 