Article 356 gives the provision to the Union Govt. to impose President rule in a state where the Constitution machinery has failed. As per another article of Constitution any Indian is free to work and live in any part of the peninsula. Combining the two articles together, in short it means that Maharashtra is a fit case for imposition of President rule.
An inept government both at Centre and State is compounding the problem by being inert to the violence which has marred the erstwhile Maha. State. Beating up examinees of a competitive examination, burning of taxis, looting public property, resorting to vandalism were one thing, but killing a dis-grunted chauvinist in a false encounter and lynching a hapless youth travelling in train is another. State home minister statement of "A bullet for a bullet" is a childish effort to justify a police mis-adventure.
Problem of Mumbai and Maharashtra does not lie in the migrants and the jobs they have taken away from the "marathi manoos". Government data reveals that there is no clash in terms of the job being chased by locals and migrants. The basic problem lies in identity- and infact the crisis of it. Shiv Sena during its hay days rose to stardom on the plank of divisive politics and once Bala Saheb legacy started crumbling down, the heir-dom issue arose in the family. Uddhav was the monarchial choice while Raj was the natural choice. Blood relationship means a lot in the civilised Indian society and the Uddhav was picked as heir apparent to Bala Saheb over the firebrand leader. Robbed of his "gaddi", there was no option left to Raj then to create a junta of young vitriolic workers and float a party, called the Maharastra Navanirman Sena (MNS). The definition of navanirman according to their destiny is to destroy the social and cultural fabric of unified India and replace it by a policy of mistrust and hatred. The real issue here is - Who owns the Sena legacy? Today Sena and MNS seem to be harboring the same agenda albeit under a different banner.
If it is family fight why everyone seems to be handicapped to handle it is the burning question! The fact of matter is that Raj politics suits one and all and everyone seems to have a hidden agenda in the success of Raj. While the ruling Cong-NCP combine at the state thinks Sena-BJP is still their enemy no-1, so for every 1 vote MNS gets, Sena gets one less and this would ensure a clear passage for Cong-NCP candidate in forthcoming LS/assembly polls. Centre is obliged to support the way Maha. govt thinks because after all it is the same party. To make matter worse for the hapless North Indians (read UPites and Biharis) is that Union Home Minster hails from Maharastra as well. If this was not enough Ms. President is also a Mahaite. Main opposition party at the centre the BJP can only walk the tight rope of criticizing what MNS is doing but being tight lipped on what Shiv Sena claims inspite of the fact that they are the same agenda. No tall political leader from Maha. like Sharad Power would like to meddle into what is happening in Maha. in this election year without paying a heavy price for it.
Leaders like Laloo- Nitesh and Paswan have to speak what they are to protect their respective vote banks.Same are the state of affair with Mulayam-Mayawati combine. Adversities have brought foes in same fold in past but vote bank protection can bring them together has been established - after all politics is nothing but a marriage of convenience where there are no permanent foes and friends. However, states like Bihar whose people are extremely intelligent and hard working must rise to the occasion and for one realize that they are the scapegoats in this dirty politics and should desist from spoiling their already wrecked image. All efforts must be done to uplift Bihar and UP from its shamble state and show these Maha's and Gujarat that they can be world beaters in their own right and in their own kingdom. This is a lifetime opportunity Raj and his goons have given to the politicians and people of these two states. This opportunity should be en-cashed at all cost.
Prakash Kumar
Infosys – Pune
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