The news has it that 18 more Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been cleared by the commerce ministry. This brings up the total to 531.
In the meantime, farmers and landowners in Raigad, Maharashtra, have voted in a referendum not to sell their land to Reliance Industries for their proposed SEZ.
It is interesting that the Maharashtra government has responded to this by proposing to declare Raigad a “green zone.”
If Raigad is declared “green” then no commercial development of any kind will be permitted there.
This sounds suspiciously like blackmail: either you sell your land to Reliance, or forever stay a farmer.
This should be opposed on a property rights basis: the owner of property is free to decide what to do with his property.
In either case, what sense does it make for the Maharashtra government to first propose an area for commercial development and immediately thereafter declare the same area a “green zone”? It makes no sense at all.
The other interesting news is that, as Manmohan goes to the US to ink the Great Nuclear Deal, and attacks on Chritians mount throughout India, “the Congressionally-mandated United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan, federal agency that advises both the Administration and US lawmakers, has called on President George W Bush to raise pressing concerns about religious freedom in India with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he hosts the latter at the White House Oval office on September 25 late afternoon and then for an early dinner.”
Read the full story here.
This only affirms the fact that India needs a liberal and secular alternative to the socialist secular Congress. The INC is perfectly happy with the BJP being its only serious competitor. A liberal secular party is the need of the hour – but then, this is illegal. I hope that pressure will also be put on the UPA government to rectify this anomaly in our election laws, which debars liberals from forming political parties.
That would be a pleasant surprise for sure!
ReplyDeleteBut given the political climate in India, an attempt to removing the word 'socialist' could (and would) be trivially spun in to an anti-people, elitist attempt to capture the country.
And since we have declared ourselves to be socialist constitutionally, we need an amendment which requires support of existing political parties.
Who will be willing to bell the cat? (Or attempt it at least)