Rationalist duo

After having chief ministers who were known for their faith in rituals and godmen,the state appears to have seen a change.

Rationalist duo

After having chief ministers who were known for their faith in rituals and godmen,the state appears to have seen a change. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan,when asked by his staff to suggest a preferred direction for his seating arrangement,promptly said it wouldnt matter which direction he faced as long as his agenda was in place. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar,too,said he did not believe in superstitions and had never visited godmen for blessings,as individual capabilities were more important than blind faith. Rationalists in the state hope that the duo will be able to pilot the Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic,Evil and Aghori Practices Bill that had been moved in 2005,but then got stuck in the Council and has never been passed.

Cornered Sena

The ruling Democratic Front government,led by the Congress-NCP coalition,has started closing in on the Shiv Sena. The Sena is losing fresh ground in its erstwhile stronghold in Konkan and is preparing to defend its citadel in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that goes to polls in 14 months. After Narayan Rane launched a campaign in his Marathi daily,Prahaar,against the Sena-ruled BMC,through a series of stories on lapses in the civic body,Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has called for the BMCs balance-sheet,which has been delayed since 2007-08. He has warned of action for financial lapses. The Senas strength in Konkan has reduced from nine MLAs in 2004 to four in 2009,that of the NCP has increased from four to five,and that of the Peasants and Workers Party from one to three. In Mumbai,the Sena has lost its monopoly over the Marathi and jobs for locals issues and faces a formidable rival in the MNS.

Babudom rules

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Maharashtras rulers take pride in claiming that it is one of the best-governed and progressive states in the country. But statistics from its administrative headquarters,Mantralaya,reveal a different story. The state has a law in place for timebound disposal of files and babus are required to move a file from a table within a week and clear it within 45 days. A monthly report has to be submitted within a week of the completion of every month on the status of pending and disposed files. Chief Secretary J P Dange issued a circular recently lamenting that neither information on pending files but nor monthly reports are filed within the stipulated period by departmental heads. The babus are apparently unfazed by the law enacted in 2005 and in force since 2006,as no action has been taken against even a single one so far.

Failed strategy

Home Minister R R Patil (NCP) and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Eknath Khadse (BJP) met 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab during their visit to Arthur Road jail recently. It evoked sharp criticism from several quarters,including Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Apart from discussing the conditions in the jail,the leaders are believed to have used the privacy they got to explore the possibility of transferring votes between the BJP and the NCP for the Jalgaon MLC election scheduled four days later. While Khadses son Nikhil was contesting as the official BJP candidate,NCP nominee Anil Chaudhari was challenged by a rebel,Manish Jain,the son of NCP Rajya Sabha MP Ishwarlal Jain. Convinced that Manish would spoil the winning chances of Nikhil and Chaudhari,Patil and Khadse explored the possibilities of helping each other. However,Manish won the seat with Senas support.