The suspected sabotage by Maoist guerrillas that derailed a passenger train that was subsequently hit by a goods train, killing at least 81 people, should be condemned. Public opinion and sentiment cannot be taken for granted. The assumption that the TINA (there is no other alternative) factor will last forever is a fallacy. The “dual” talk

about tackling the Maoists and all the debating points gained by shifting blame on to the state government cannot absolve the United Progressive Alliance government and its leaders of their responsibility.
This is not the time to indulge in blame-games or politics. We need to prevent the next attack, and for this leaders from various political parties have to show a great deal of political and personal courage.
The security forces and the aam aadmi, who bear the brunt of the pain, must feel that the political leadership at the top is not affected by critics and media analyses. However, if one delves into the matter one will find that there is very little difference between the views expressed by a majority of politicians on the long-term solution. Also, such issues cannot be solved by the “gun”.
The fact remains that the government has limited options when extremist organisations take the law into their hands, terrorise and extort the local population and attack civilians.
Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee has said that law and order is a state subject. But what does this mean? Passing the buck to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) government in West Bengal is not the solution and hence carries zero credibility.
I have repeated this many times that the threat to external and internal security can jeopardise our very existence as a democratic society. Do we need a disaster every fortnight to remind us of the ground reality? Many senior leaders have delivered numerous sermons but this is not the time for partisan politics. Instead, our security forces must be given every form of support and faith reposed, and shown, in the efforts of home minister P. Chidambaram and West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. I sincerely hope that the media will not play the old tapes and bring out the contradictions of the past.
The Maoist violence will dominate the media’s attention. This is not a “war” waged by the Maoists in favour of the tribal people, or the poor, but to capture power. There is little doubt that years of poor governance, as we see in Jharkhand, has literally handed over the reins to the Maoists and other extreme elements and we now see their methods of governance as violence is unleashed on innocent civilians.

IN JHARKHAND, the Bharatiya Janata Party is going through the nightmare of dealing with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren. Now the Congress will go through the same drill. I cannot understand why the Congress or the BJP associates itself with the JMM and makes a mockery of governance. The best thing would be to put the state under a prolonged spell of President’s Rule and to expedite the Central Bureau of Investigation’s final action report on the Rs 4,000-crore Madhu Koda scam.
In my opinion, the Congress would make a serious mistake if it forms a coalition government in Jharkhand with the JMM. Its first priority should be to clean up the system as the Madhu Koda scam may well go beyond party lines. On the positive side, this may help all the parties to purge the corrupt elements within their ranks.
We have seen an increase in criminal activities in the state, including murder, and the very fact that neither the BJP nor the Congress can cobble together a majority shows the extent to which the system has deteriorated in the state. Jharkhand is being held to ransom by criminal elements and I think it is time for the Congress and the BJP to set aside their differences and take note of the security situation. The current condition of Jharkhand is beyond conventional political treatment; this “virus” has been around for over two decades. Also, few would have forgotten the JMM bribery case under P.V. Narasimha Rao. Unless we find a suitable solution now we may have something much worse in the future.

WE HAVE an economic crisis looming over Europe. The euro mess in Greece, and possibly in Portugal and Spain, is serious. In all these situations the most important thing was timely action but the decision to infuse $1 trillion in excess liquidity came almost after six months. As things stand we could well see a prolonged period of low, or even negative, growth in Europe; and with austerity measures and unemployment issues we could well see several political changes in the future that could affect India’s business interests in the region. Crisis situations can trigger several right-wing movements. It would be a sad situation if the situation spirals out of control in Europe as this could well result in “reciprocal” action.
Recently, the Canadian embassy in India twice denied a visa to a decorated, senior IB officer only because he had served in areas where counter-insurgency operations had been carried out. As a ripple effect there may be immigration issues with the UK and Europe.
Political and economic issues go hand in hand and we will see greater participation by the Bric countries in the G-20. With institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank, besides forums like the World Trade Organisation, we will have to adopt a global attitude and cannot afford to react emotively.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee have given a projection of GDP growth along with the challenges associated with inflation and curbing the deficit. It is good to adopt a cautious approach in view of the global situation. I think we may exceed the 8.5 per cent growth projected for this year.

Arun Nehru is a former Union Minister