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Maharashtra approves closure of dance bars

     Mumbai: Nearly a month after announcing that it was going to ban dance bars in the state, the Maharashtra government has approved a proposal to promulgate the ordinance across the state. The implementation of the ordinance, however, might take some more time since the state Cabinet is to discuss its contents one more time next week before forwarding it to the Governor for his assent. Wednesday's decision was taken at the State Cabinet's weekly meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R R Patil told reporters that the ordinance will be confirmed in the next Cabinet before it is sent for the Governor's approval. After the Democratic Front government decided to ban dance bars in Mumbai and other parts of the State, it asked the Law and Judiciary department to examine facts and come out with the ordinance on the issue, Government sources said.

     The Maharashtra government's decision to ban dance bars in Mumbai has evoked extreme reactions from bar employees and owners, NGOs and the public. Bar dancers will be the worst affected lot when the decision is enforced. Mostly uneducated and poor, these dancers have few other options to earn a living. Many of them have children and families to support. Taking up these issues, the Fight For Rights of Bar Owners' Association had decided to move the courts against the government's decision. Association president Manjeet Singh Sethi has been focussing on saving the jobs of 150,000 dance bar employees across the state. According to Sethi, there are about 1,250 dance bars in Maharashtra, 600 of which are in Mumbai and 650 in other cities. Around 75,000 dancers are employed in these bars. There are a similar number of male employees. Sethi said that in his dance bar, there were 35 dancers, 10 stewards, 12 waiters, and some cooks and cleaners. Around one percent of the dancers are very good looking and educated. They may get breaks in television, films or modelling. But there are no guarantees. Dance bars are thriving in Bangalore and Hyderabad too. If the Maharashtra ordinance is promulgated, about five to six percent of the girls may migrate to these two cities.

Monsoon in Kerala may get delayed by a week (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The onset of Monsoon over Kerala may be delayed by a week-the new likely date being June 7, with a forecast error of plus or minus three days. According to a press release, the forecast is based on the new statistical model developed by the India Meteorological Department with 6 predictors to forecast the onset of Monsoon over Kerala. These predictors are: NW India Minimum Temperature, Pre-monsoon rainfall peak over south Peninsula, Outgoing Long wave radiation (OLR) anomaly over Indo-China region, South Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperature, South Indian Ocean lower tropospheric wind, and Outgoing Long wave radiation (OLR) anomaly over South-west Pacific region. This statistical model has a forecast error of 1 3 days. There is no one to one correspondence between monsoon onset date over Kerala and subsequent performance of south-west monsoon during the season (June to September) over the country as a whole. In spite of the expected delay in monsoon onset over Kerala, the 2005 south-west monsoon seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is expected to be near normal as given in the IMD's first forecast issued on 20 April, 2005. Over the Indian mainland, monsoon arrives by 1st June over south Kerala. Slowly moving northwards along the western coast and northwestwards across central India, monsoon covers the whole India by 15th July, said the press release. The onset date over Kerala has a standard deviation of about 7 days. Earlier, on 20th April, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued the long range forecast for the 2005 south-west monsoon season rainfall as 98 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of 1 5 per cent.

Girls ahead of boys in ICSE examination (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: It's again the girls time in examination results. Girls have performed well than boys achieving above 95 pass percentage in the ICSE Class X and XII examinations results which were announced today. Girls achieved a 95.09 per cent success compared to 93.59 per cent by the boys in the class XII examination and in the ISC Class XII examinations, girls had a pass percentage of 95.93 as against 91.79 per cent by the boys. Nearly 87,513 students, including 38,331 girls from 1,187 schools appeared in the Class X examinations while 39,693 students, including 17,065 girls from 528 schools appeared in the Class XII examinations.

Left, Congress do not agree on joint declaration (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Left today refused to be a part of the UPA government's assessment process and disowned the joint statement brought out at the meeting attended by Prime Minister Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to assess the government's performance. "It is not our statement. It is their statement," said Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M). Earlier today, Singh along with Sonia met with key allies to assess the government's performance and made a declaration stating the UPA's decision to implement the common minimum programme. After the day-long meeting, the UPA came out with a one-page joint declaration. It had also tried to assuage the Left with a slew of welfare schemes. "There was a structured dialogue and discussions were held in cordial atmosphere. There was no discordant note at the meeting," said Ambika Soni. The Left, however, said that they were not a part of this assessment exercise and disowned the statement minutes after emerging from the meeting. It's understood that the Left which has had major reservations with the government's policies, especially on matters like FDI and schemes for agricultural workers, does not want to be identified with the Congress or the UPA ahead of the West Bengal and Kerala elections.

Sonia mismanaging Congress: Karunakaran (Go To Top)

     Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran leader and founder of National Congress (Indira) K Karunakaran has said that the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, is sidelining senior leaders like him. Accusing her of running the party with a closed coterie, he said that Sonia who is only a fraction of his age, has ruined the prospects of the Congress by mismanaging party affairs. "The question you are asking me is like knowing the entire Ramayan and asking who Sita is. I have been apprehensive about some developments. What kind of a party is this. She has been postponing the organisational polls. Someone with so much of age and experience. I have been able to do so much. I am very very sorry to say. They have postponed the polls that too, with no opposition," said Karunakaran. Karunakarn also added that the only hope for the Congress workers is Rahul Gandhi. He said that in the coming by elections, Congress will not get majority in any of the state. He also said that many leaders in Tamilnadu , Pondichery, Maharashtara have met him in recent days. Showing his respect for Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, he said that he has always been faithful to the Nehru-Gandhi family.

     Karunakaran flayed the Congress president for her statement in which she had said that the exit of the octagenerian leader has actually helped the party in Kerala. Earlier, on May 1 , Karunakaran formally split from the Congress in Kerala and announced the formation of a new party called the National Congress (Indira). He appointed his son Muraleedharan, who had been suspended from the Congress for six years for alleged anti-party activities, as the President of the new party. Karunakaran had said that he would carry on with efforts to cleanse the party in Kerala of "impurities". Coming down heavily on incumbent Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and the present leadership of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) led by Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, he, however, had refrained from making any critical remarks against Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. "You will have to face many difficulties in the coming days. But, drawing inspiration from the Congress ideals and firm commitment of the workers, we will go ahead," the senior leader had said in his inaugural address to his faction's state-level workers' convention in Thrissur. "This is the time to form a new organization. But that, I mean, is to go ahead by cleansing the organization of all the impurities that have crept into it," he said. "There is no question of ditching you. With your love, affection and sincere support, we will go ahead," he said. Recalling his nearly six-decade-long association with the Congress party since the salt satyagraha days, Karunakaran had said he would continue to follow the footsteps of Congress leaders.

     The octagenarian leader's differences with the Congress have been widening after his son and former KPCC chief K Muraleedharan was expelled from party for holding rallies against state government which was described anti-Party activity by the party high command. Karunakaran had met Sonia to discuss the issue but nothing fruitful had emerged.

Congress concern over Bengal, Kerala infighting  (Go To Top)
by Gautam Ghosh

     Kolkata: The Congress high command is reportedly worried about the infighting in the party's Kerala and West Bengal units with barely a year left for Assembly polls in the two states. While veteran Kerala Congress leader K. Karunakaran has already floated a separate outfit with the party dissidents, the Bengal unit seems to be in complete disarray on the eve of the municipal polls. The physical assault on PCC chief and union defence minister Pranab Mukherjee by a section of disgruntled Congress workers inside the party headquarters here on Sunday over selection of candidates has brought to the fore the party's organisational ailments. There is every possibility of polarisation of votes between the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Trinamul Congress-BJP combine in the civic elections scheduled for June 19. According to informed sources, the Congress high command is yet to give its full attention to the party's organisational problems in Kerala and Bengal where the Marxists happen to be its main political opponent. The high command has been in a position to take some firm steps against the Congress dissidents in Kerala since the CPI(M) is out of power there.

     However, in West Bengal the picture is entirely different with the Marxists firmly saddled in power and Trinamul Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, continuing to remain the main anti-CPI(M) force. This largely explains why neither Pranab Mukherjee nor the Congress high command could initiate any immediate disciplinary action against former state Congress president Somen Mitra despite sufficient evidence of his indirect support to the party dissidents responsible for the PCC chief's public humiliation. Sources said Mukherjee, who has little personal following in Bengal, could not take the risk of antagonising Mitra who controls the party's organisational network in most of the districts. The unprecedented attack on Mukherjee, who happens to be Number 2 in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, is likely to have an adverse impact on the party's organisational polls in Bengal. Mukherjee had earlier requested Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi to relieve him of his responsibility as the PCC chief. But the high command's inability to find a suitable replacement has apparently compelled him to continue in the post against his wish. There is every probability of the defence minister continuing as the state Congress president even after the civic polls if the party's infighting goes on unabated. The assault on Mukherjee has also cast a shadow on the functioning of the United Democratic Alliance which was being projected as a "grand alliance of anti-CPI(M) forces." The announcement of the names of candidates by the Congress and Paschimbanga Unnayan Congress Mancha led by mayor Subrata Mukherjee has created considerably discontent among some of the smaller UDA partners like the Nationalist Congress party, Party for Democratic Socialism and Samajwadi party. While the Mancha has put up its nominees in 38 wards, the PDS, NCP and SP have been allotted only 6,2 and 1 seat respectively. Bengal NCP president and former Trinamul Congress MP Bikram Sarkar has already threatened to field his party's nominees in 30 seats.

     While the Congress infighting on the poll eve has been a welcome development for Mamata Banerjee, the Marxists are not quite happy over the turn of events. The ruling CPI(M) expected the UDA to emerge as a strong enough force to cut into the Trinamul Congress' vote bank and thus indirectly help the Left Front candidates win the polls. The Marxists are now apprehending a serious erosion in the Congress' vote bank as a fallout of the party's infighting which may be fully fully exploited by Ms Banerjee to further her party's electoral prospect. The Trinamul Congress chairperson, on her part, feels the present state of affairs in Bengal Congress will serve as a damper to the plan of a section of her party legislators and councillors to switch over to the parent party after the civic elections.

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