Manipur in flames
Manipur has been in a state of turmoil for the past 19 months, with incidents of ethnic violence regularly making headlines. Yet, Delhi appears largely indifferent. Seemingly a case of out of sight, out of mind, the political outreach has been next to negligible.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to visit Manipur. BJP’s 8 Kuki MLAs have boycotted the two assembly sessions that were held since last May and are demanding the removal of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. A dozen BJP MLAs from the state have been coming to Delhi every other month—some of them have been, in fact, camping in Delhi for the past several months—in the hope of getting an audience with the PM. But all they have managed so far is an audience with BJP’s National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh and RSS’s Arun Kumar.
The Centre earlier virtually took over the reins of Manipur by appointing its nominees the chief secretary, the DGP and the security adviser. It set up an Inquiry Commission headed by a retired judge. It deployed some 288 companies of Central Armed Police Forces to the state and imposed the Armed Force (Special Powers) Act in six police stations of the state, last month. But these measures have been too piecemeal in the absence of a political outreach.
Also reach: Why Chidambaram’s ‘basmati rice’ isn’t for everyone’s palate & MLA missing from Haryana assembly
Anil Vij on suspension spree again
Haryana Minister Anil Vij is back to his old ways. Renowned for his swift action against government officials during his first two terms, the transport minister is once again making headlines in his current tenure with his trademark penchant for suspensions.
At the first official grievance redressal committee meeting he presided over in Sirsa last Friday, he suspended a building inspector for approving a map for an unapproved site. Vij warned officials, saying, “I am notorious for suspending people. I don’t spare anyone.”
The suspended building inspector, Ramesh Kumar, is posted in Vij’s home district Ambala. In the meeting, a complainant, Paramjeet, shared with Vij that in 1980, 5 acres of land were allotted to a man named Sultan in the village of Jhoothi Kheda. By 1984, Sultan received ownership rights. However, 20 years after his death, some people falsely claimed to be his heirs and usurped the land. Vij directed the SDM to conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate action.
“My name is Anil Vij, you know that, right? Wrongdoers will not be spared,” he asserted.
Later, Vij visited the Kaithal Bus Stand, where he suspended both the station supervisor and a bus driver. The action came after he witnessed driver Monu making passengers push a bus. Supervisor Sunil Kumar faced suspension for the unhygienic state of the bus stand’s toilets.
Justice Gavai looks into prison conditions
Justice B.R. Gavai, who is in line to become the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI) in mid-May following the retirement of present incumbent, CJI Sanjiv Khanna, has undertaken an initiative to get first-hand experience of how jails function. He has decided to pay surprise visits to some jails.
The judge took the decision soon after he got appointed as chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), which monitors legal aid services in jails. As part of this endeavour, Justice Gavai has already made his first visit. It was to the Nagpur jail where he interacted with the children of seven women inmates. To build rapport with the minors, Justice Gavai distributed gifts and engaged them in conversation to understand their daily lives within the prison environment.
What fascinated the judge was a Montessori school operated by the jail authorities. The school provides education not only to the children of inmates but also to kids from nearby neighborhoods. This allows the children of inmates to integrate into mainstream society and offer them a sense of normalcy while residing within the jail premises. Although located within the jail compound, the school is situated outside the barricaded zones, ensuring an open and inclusive environment.
Justice Gavai is currently hearing a matter related to prison. Drawing from his observations during such visits, he intends to address pressing issues related to jail conditions.
Also read: Timing of Kharge’s jibe at Shivakumar, impact on Maharashtra polls—Congress grapevine is buzzing