In-Focus

Equitable Progress
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister

Is it right to exonerate Advani? He is still an accused in the people's court Anil Shastri The CBI case leading to the discharge of LK Advani is no surprise. With due respect to the special court, the discharge of Advani is a blot on the reputation of this investigating agency. Since the BJP obviously did not want its deputy prime minister to face any humiliation, the CBI came in handy and in the process has confirmed the popular suspicion that Advani has gone scot free. He was let off on a technical ground that two sets of evidence contradicted each other in some respects. Though the law has discharged him, Advani's speeches during his controversial Rath Yatra incited people to bring down the Babri masjid. Karsewaks had categorically stated in the past that it was LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and others who pushed them into demolishing the disputed structure. Now, the entire nation should rise to the occasion not to allow these leaders to go scot free. LK Advani is still a prime accused in the people's court. Neither they nor history will exonerate him. It is intriguing that after 11 long years, when the hand of justice came down heavily on the perpetrators of this heinous crime, it came down on the lieutenants of the general who escaped untouched. The general must be a much-relieved man today as he has found the route to escape from the long arm of justice. The camera never lies, it captures the moment, good or bad, happy or gory. The video tape shows it all. He stood in stoic silence letting the carnage happen. December 6, 1992 became the slaughterhouse of secularism. The ugly face of fanaticism surfaced, spitting the fire of hatred and destroying a place of worship in Ayodhya. Behind this Hindutva jihad was the craftsmanship of the bandmaster conducting the orchestra of fury. What followed is a disgraceful part of the history of India. The BJP is not the custodian of Hinduism. It has not been empowered to trade fundamentalism. In a religion where there is no room for religious divide or space for communal fury, a perverted interpretation of our Vedas, Gita and Upanishads will not be tolerated by a community which has always upheld the message of universal brotherhood and religious tolerance for peaceful coexistence. Anil Shastri

The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri Digvijay Singh envisions a Madhya Pradesh synonymous with equitable development, peace and harmony. Excerpts of an Interview:

Q. Decentralisation has been the hallmark of your governance. How have you fared in your effort to empower the people of Madhya Pradesh?

A. Ninety percent of villages in Madhya Pradesh are inaccessible so governance is not possible without decentralization. We have attempted to empower the local bodies and our effort has been well received. It has also been a politically correct endeavour and the results are visible in the Congress' victory in the general elections, by-polls and local-body elections. We have also fought anti-incumbency.

Q. Decentralisation brings about transparency in governance. How has the bureaucracy reacted to this?

A. The bureaucracy needs direction that my Government has given. As far as acceptability is concerned, there has been no resistance from the bureaucracy. In fact, I would like to put it on record that the bureaucracy has been very cooperative even though the policy curtails its powers. Public officials have faithfully implemented the policy.

Q. Bhopal is being hailed as the centre of learning with many educational institutions in the pipeline. Why have you zeroed in on the Capital?

A. Bhopal has become synonymous with the Union Carbide gas tragedy. We don't want another tragedy like that so we have consciously decided not to encourage manufacturing units in the Capital. Instead, we are promoting the city as the centre of learning and a tourist destination. We already have the National Law Institute University, National Judicial Academy and the Indian Institute of Forest Management among other institutions, while the Institute of Life Sciences will be set up for research on bio-reserves and biotechnology. Recently, filmstar Jeetendra has proposed setting up a film institute here. An AIIMS-affiliated medical institute is also in the offing. As a tourist destination, Bhopal is known for its lakes. We would like to encourage water sports. Besides, tourist hotspots like Sanchi and Bhimbetka are close to the Capital.

Q. What about primary and secondary education in the State?

A. Our aim is to move from access to excellence. To provide universal access to primary education, we have the Education Guarantee Scheme that ensures primary schooling facility to children in every locality, and an elementary school within 3 km of the habitation. Census 2001 showed Madhya Pradesh's literacy rate growing from 44 percent in 1991 to 64 percent in 2001 to catch up with the national average. The growth in female literacy was the highest in the country.

Q. Another indicator of human development is health. How has the State done in this sector?

A. We are in the process of streamlining the health sector by decentralizing it. Since there are not enough doctors, we are strengthening rural healthcare by appointing two community health activists in each village _ the Jan Swasthaya Rakshak and a trained dai. There is a Health Samiti in every village coordinated by anganwadi workers and the Rogi Kalyan Samiti _ which was awarded the Global Development Network Award 2002 _ to focus on improvement of 750 public hospitals through community participation.

Q. How has your decision to downsize government departments helped the State?

A. Madhya Pradesh is the only state in India that is downsizing all departments _ barring education, health and police _ by 30 percent. We have already retrenched 28,000 workers and offered VRS to another 78,000. At the same time, four lakh jobs have been created in the panchayats and rural sector thereby giving a clear identity to the rural youth. Downsizing departments alone has brought down expenditure on salary as percentage of revenue receipt from 50 percent in 1999 to 34 percent in 2003-04. The revenue and the fiscal deficit has gone down while capital expenditure has risen. We have also facilitated the setting up of 2,50,000 self-help groups providing employment to over 2.5 million people.

Q. What about industrial growth in the State.

A. With the end of the licence-quota raj, investment decisions are being taken by the Centre. In the process, Madhya Pradesh has lost out to the developed States. As it is, the State is landlocked. Yet, the level of investment has increased. Madhya Pradesh is ranked seventh in the country in terms of foreign direct investment. The peaceful law and order situation in the State and the availability of labour make for a good investment environment. Corporates like Bridgestone and Hindustan Graphite have already set up their units here. Moreover, now we have a single-window clearance system. We have also come up with a special economic zone in Indore with an investment of over Rs. 1,000 crore. Spread over 1,000 hectares of land, it will have top class infrastructure.

Q. What about infrastructure development in the rest of the State? Power shortages are a big problem.

A. We have restructured the electricity boards, and now have separate companies for generation, transmission and distribution (T&D) of power under the board and an independent state electricity regulatory authority. Our campaign to check T&D losses has been most rewarding. Installing tamper-proof meters has already brought down T&D losses. Projects to construct new power plants or upgrade existing ones are in the pipeline to augment power generation by over 3,000 MW. As far as road development goes, the private sector has been involved in upgrading high-density corridors. Around Rs. 4,200 crore will be spent in the next two years to upgrade, improve and build roads stretching over 25,000 km.

Q. What is the reaction to your commitment to the legislative institution?

A. Attending the sessions in the Mantralaya is not a formality. It's about accountability and transparency in governance. The Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha has recorded the highest number of sittings in the country.

Q. What is your vision for Madhya Pradesh and what are your plans for the next five years?

A. I envision a Madhya Pradesh which is synonymous with equitable development, peace and harmony. I would like to concentrate on creating job opportunities for the youth and improving health indices and infrastructure in the State.

(Courtesy: India Today)

Sonia Gandhi calls up Chandrababu Naidu NEW DELHI: The Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, on October 2 inquired about the health of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was injured in the blast in Tirupati. Smt Gandhi called up Shri Naidu, but was informed that he was not in a position to take the telephone call. She spoke to the Telugu Desam Parliamentary party leader, Shri Yerran Naidu, and conveyed her best wishes for quick recovery of the Chief Minister, the AICC media secretary, Shri Tom Vadakkan, said. Next day, Shri Naidu called up Smt. Sonia Gandhi, to thank for inquiring about his health and wishing him a speedy recovery, sources said.