E-Paper
Short of simple majority, but MP govt stable
In the 230-member House, the Congress, with 115 seats, is a seat short of the simple majority.
Chief minister Kamal Nath-led Congress government completed its first year in office in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday even as the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hoped its days would be numbered in the absence of a clear majority in the state assembly.
In the 230-member House, the Congress, with 115 seats, is a seat short of the simple majority. The government has the backing of two members of the Bahujan Samaj Party, one Samajwadi Party lawmaker, and four Independent legislators. The BJP (108) is just eight seats short of the majority mark.
There was fresh speculation about the future of Nath’s government after the BJP returned to power in Karnataka following the collapse of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance with the resignation of 17 lawmakers in the southern state in July. Sixteen of the 17 joined the BJP and 13 of them were fielded in the by-polls in Karnataka this month. Eleven the 13 were re-elected.
The problems for the Nath government began soon after it was formed in December last year. Income Tax department conducted raids on the premises of Praveen Kakkar, an officer on special duty in the chief minister’s office, and Nath’s political advisor, R K Miglani, in April.
BJP leaders have since the beginning been predicting the imminent demise of the government. Gopal Bhargava, the leader of Opposition, in January said that the whitewash of ministers’ bungalows will not be over when the government would fall. He claimed that the Congress government would fall within no time if his party’s leadership so wished.
A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the regular predictions about the government’s fall led to confusion within the bureaucracy more so after the BJP’s return to power in Karnataka.
The Madhya Pradesh government has also faced problems from within. Forest minister Umang Singhar wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in September to urge her to stop former chief minister Digvijaya Singh from interfering in the governance. He claimed that Digvijaya Singh was running the government.
Experts say the Congress government’s biggest achievement in this backdrop is that it has been able to complete one year in office. “From a state of apprehension and uncertainty to a state of certainty, this is the biggest achievement of the Congress government in general and chief minister Kamal Nath in particular,” said political analyst Girija Shankar.
Waiving farm loans, creating employment avenues, curbing corruption, checking crimes particularly those against women and children and providing better education and health facilities were the major challenges for the government.
Shankar said that on the governance front, the government could not achieve anything significant as it wanted to have achievements in every area instead of focussing on certain areas or projects. “That is why the government could waive loans of farmers amounting to Rs 7,154 crore only of 2 million farmers. The Congress had claimed that farmer loans would be waived within 10 days of its forming government. As per its promise, loans worth about Rs 50,000 of 5.5 million farmers were to be written off.”
M Zameeruddin, a retired professor, said though there has been no major scandal and scam and Nath has shown political maturity but corruption at lower levels of the government is yet to be checked. “A common man is harassed everywhere. The government is yet to do anything significant in the areas of education and health and for the people of the weaker sections…”
L S Hardenia, a journalist, said the Congress had promised that it would ban government employees from taking part in the gatherings of the BJP’s ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and also prevent them from being held on government land and premises. He added that none of this happened.
BJP leader Vijesh Lunawat said that the government has done nothing except transferring officials. “[There have been] more than 40,000 transfers and postings… and rampant corruption at every level. The law and order has completely collapsed. There are serious crimes at regular intervals across the state and First Information Reports are not being lodged.”
Madhya Pradesh minister Brajendra Singh Rathore said that the government was doing its best despite facing a funds crunch. “The central government has withheld Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 crore that the state is to get from it as its share in taxes and central funds. The previous BJP government left empty coffers. But the [Congress] government is trying to fulfil all its promises which are meant to be fulfilled over five years.”
State Congress spokesperson, Shobha Oza, said Nath has created a work culture in the state which was completely missing during the previous BJP rule. “…he has cared to look into the needs of every section of society while taking his decisions and launching several schemes.”
Major decisions
-- Waiving of farm loans worth Rs 7,154 crore of 2 million farmers
-- Raising limit of financial assistance for women for marriages among weaker sections from Rs 28,000 to Rs 51,000
— Gaushala across 1,000 panchayats
-- Increase in reservation in government jobs for the Other Backward Classes from 14% to 27%
-- 70% job reservation to locals in MSME sector and incentives to other industries which give 70% jobs to local people
