Political high drama as scams rule Assembly’s winter session

Last week saw the unearthing of scam after scam; be it the Lavasa lake city, the Mhada property scam worth Rs 3000 crore, BMC irregularities and some more of ' Adarsh' like scams within the State. Around 33 property scams were detected in all, and this was more than enough to make a scene (literally a ruckus) on the concluding day of the winter session in the legislative Assembly in Nagpur. The CM has assured that all the necessary actions would be taken.

Unlike the Assembly, the winter session of the parliament ended with no work at all, thanks to the JPC drama. The regional media has criticised the Parliament clocking paltry 7.3 hours of business instead of the mandatory 138 hours a year. Apart from over Rs 170 crore going down the drain, this year's was the biggest disruption ever ( even more than Bofors).

While the media has equivocally criticised the Opposition for its behavior, it also questioned the Congress sticking to its guns on ' No JPC committee'. Is it the ' once bitten twice shy' syndrome? While ' Maharashtra Times' called it a ' black day' in the history of Indian politics, ' Navshakti' called it ' criminal' for the simple reason that it was the ' Aam aadmi's' money that was being wasted. In fact, the latter argued in its editorial that the Opposition could have instead held demonstrations for a day or to two and then resumed parliamentary discussions.

The regional media has also been critical of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is the latest to burn his fingers in yet another row, with the Supreme Court holding him guilty for shielding the father (Gokulchand Sananda, a money lender) of Congress MLA Dilip Kumar Sananda of Buldhana. The Supreme Court has imposed the fine of Rs 10 lakh on the State.

While ' Loksatta' has an editorial suggesting it was least expected from the man of his stature, Navshakati has categorically said that his act has brought shame to the State and Deshmukh should resign on moral grounds. The bigger question remains as to why the public's hard- earned money should be given away as fine. Let the minister pay from his pocket.

On the other hand ' Sakaal' and ' Saamana' both said in their editorial that the SC ruling confirmed farmer exploitation and shows how the politician- money lender nexus is driving farmers towards suicides. It further urged the government to ensure the schemes meant for the welfare of farmers are implemented properly.

Last week also witnessed yet another major accident on the Mumbai- Goa highway wherein nine passengers of a Travera rammed into a luxury bus, killing all of them on the spot. The rising number of road accidents especially on the Mumbai- Nasik- Agra- Highway and the Mumbai- Goa highway has been of serious concern which the media has categorically highlighted. This despite both being four- lane highways.

In the last one year itself on the Mumbai- Goa highway over 350 people have lost their lives, while on the Mumbai- Nasik Highway more than 100 people have been hurt and around 50 people killed. In the recent accident, Nashik's budding tennis star Varun Pathre along with his mother lost his life, while in another accident Nishad Deshmukh, a publisher, died when he was on his way back to the city. Deadly sharp turns and flouting driving rules is said to be the reason for most of the accidents on these roads.

The media has cautioned the public at large and has advised on avoiding late night driving and follow the lane discipline.