South leads as an example to North
During last elections, Amit Shah had visited Kerala and had spoken down upon the state government and its administration. He had said the government had failed in protecting the interests of people and was harbouring terrorists in the state. People had responded with scathing criticism to such sweeping statements by Shah and had trended #PoMoneShaji on social media.
At this state it is imperative to remember this is not the first time BJP and its leaders nurse ill feelings about Kerala. They have lowly opinion about every south Indian state. Paying heed to this are some Karnataka BJP leaders who keep saying they’d bring ‘Gujarat model’ to state, to please their north Indian bosses. Since long, people from North feel people down south are made to be ruled by them and they accept that hierarchy. A BJP leader had even made very insensitive statement about ‘race’ in south Indian states vis-à-vis north Indian states.
One needn’t go too far to understand the mindset behind this statement. South India has always been posing a challenge to BJP and RSS’s Brahmin-centric mindset. The Dravida movement of south has always been about questioning status quo. Except for Karnataka, BJP hasn’t been able to gain a foothold in any other southern parts of the state. Even in Karnataka, the party hasn’t been so successful. Hence, the party is trying hard to create biases and ill feelings about south Indians.
The central leaders keep referring to Kerala at least once a month. That state has been posing serious challenges to the party and political outfit, in gaining ground there. And in order to prove the biases wrong and unfounded, a PIA survey has revealed all the south Indian states where BJP isn’t ruling, have been ranked among the top ones where administration is at its best.
PAC has ranked Kerala the highest, the very state that has been criticized by the BJP over and again. The other states on the toppers’ list include Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka. The states that are known for unrest and mob violence incidents, such as Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand among others figure towards the end of the list.
PAC was set up by economist Samuel Paul in 1994. This agency releases a report on social and economic progress of the states, based on the data and other parameters. Social security given to citizens, women and children especially figures in the list. States have been divided based on their population as well. All this has helped Kerala top the list of best administration and other citizen satisfaction parameters. At the same time, all other states with BJP rule have done miserably according to the list. This goes to prove polarization and emotional politics, playing with people’s feelings does not yield good results. When the survey was done in Karnataka, the Congress govt led by CM Siddaramaiah was in power here.
The BJP would unnecessarily criticize Siddaramaiah government at every given instance. Without any basis, the BJP would call the government a corrupt one. But now the progress report submitted by PAC is presenting a different picture altogether. Yeddyurappa may have assured to bring a Gujarat Model to Karnataka, but Siddaramaiah ensured the Karnataka model was higher than that. The North Indian leaders want South India to lose its identity, with their consistent imposition of Hindi on us. While BJP played the Hindu-Muslim card, Siddaramaiah worked on the overall progress of the state. There is a lot for the BJP leaders to learn in South India.
Today, the North Indian states are mired with mob violence, and lynching incidents. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are known for Gau Rakshak sponsored violences. The PM isn’t even aware of the fact that the whole world is watching these incidents. The BJP has chosen Karnataka as a lab to experiment with violence and hatred based politics. The coastal Karnataka is already mired in such incidents. If the BJP is successful in spreading this violent model of politics, the impact of this would be on the progress indicators.
Social and economic parameters will suffer owing to this. The states that are known for best administration would begin to lose that advantage. The mob lynching virus has already spread to south India too. Some murders have happened during daylight. South India should never follow the example of North. The states here must serve as an example of giving best administration to the rest of India, without succumbing to petty politics played by BJP.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
