POLITICAL SNIPPETS

CBI Shadow

The inevitable happened and Textile Minister and DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran resigned from the Union Cabinet on July 7, a day after the CBI told the Supreme Court that he had coerced Aircel owner C Sivasankarn to sell his 74 per cent stake to Maxis group of Malaysia when he was the Union Telecom Minister from 2004 to 2007.

The CBI will soon be knocking at Maran’s doors to record his testimony that would eventually lead to his arrest. The CBI has already started work on preparing a First Information Report (FIR) against Maran. Maran is the second union minister and third MP – all from DMK -- to step down from the cabinet in the wake of the 2G scam.

Jairam’s Priority

Soon after Jairam Ramesh took charge of his new Rural Development Ministry as full-fledged cabinet minister on July 12, the minister made clear his number one priority will be the highly political Land Acquisition Bill, the existing draft of which he consigned to the dustbin within 24 hours of his taking over. Ramesh has also told the bureaucrats in his ministry to draft the new bill that is in tune with the recommendations of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council.

Ramesh had a long meeting with the senior officials of his ministry that was focused on the Land Acquisition Bill that went past midnight, thus signifying the mandate given to him by Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi. Interestingly, two members of the NAC were part of his July 12 brainstorming session.

Ramesh is on record saying: “It is not just compensation to land owners but more important issue is to compensate those whose livelihood depends on the land being acquired. This is the most important matter. Compensation is the second important issue…The purpose for which the land is being acquired, whether it is for critical infrastructure or golf courses, are important issues that have to be discussed.”

The UPA government is well aware of the fact that the Land Acquisition Bill is a potential political landmine. The biggest worry for the government is Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee, whose view is absolutely contrary to the view of the Sonia-led NAC.

The NAC is of the view that the government should acquire hundred per cent of land, the compensation to the owners should be six-fold than the present rates. Mamata’s view is that the private sector should have hundred per cent stakes in land acquisition with zero role of the government. It is against this backdrop that Ramesh’s deep focus on drafting a new Land Acquisition Bill by trashing the 2005 draft bill assumes significance.

The US reac ted to Pakist an' s removal of American military trainers and c u rt aili ng of v isas for U.S. personnel and Pe ntagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan clearly stated that the suspended aid could be resumed if Pakistan removed these two irritants.

A day later, P ak istan i De fe nce Minister Ahmed Muk htar came up with Islamabad’s hard ened resp onse wa rning th at the Ameri can mo ve would force Pakistan to recall all its ten thousand troops from Afghanistan.

The Paki stani mili tar y establ ishment exa cerb ated the situation further by playing the China card and s aid that Pakista n co uld manage without the American assistance and turn to China for help. Thi s co nf ront ation is noth ing but posturing by the Americ ans and the Pakistanis who know that they need each other and will eventually kiss and make up.