Now Price Rise Hits Congress Chief Ministers

With the price rise turning into a political issue, Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled States on Wednesday sought to apportion blame on the previous National Democratic Alliance Government for the situation. They suggested that the controls on the Essential Commodities Act removed by the NDA Government must be reconsidered.

“They (Chief Ministers) requested that the order of the NDA Government dated February 2002 rescinding all Control Orders under the Essential Commodities Act be reconsidered, and State Governments empowered to intervene in cases of hoarding of essential commodities,” the Congress party said in a statement after the meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to review the steps taken by the Congress-ruled States to moderate the recent increase in prices of essential commodities.

Another significant request made by the Chief Ministers was to better regulate forward trading in foodgrains and some other essential commodities to curb excessive speculation.

The BJP-led NDA Government had issued an order removing of licensing regulating stocks limits and movement restriction especially of foodgrains, which allowed dealers to freely buy, use or consume, stock, sell, transport, distribute or dispose of any quantity of paddy/rice, wheat, coarse grain, sugar, edible oil seeds without any regulation, or permit or licence.

On her part, Congress president Sonia Gandhi advised the Chief Ministers to continue to take measures to strengthen the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ensure that the PDS functions effectively and provides essential commodities to the common people at reasonable prices.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who briefed later, said the Chief Ministers assured that they will monitor the price situation closely and take further steps as may be found necessary.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Mukherjee and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

Another Temple Cleaning Ritual In Row In Kerala

Kerala is having one more temple cleaning ritual in hand. After Kannada actor Jaimala’s entry into Sabarimala temple created much furore, the popular Raja Rajeshwara temple at Thaliparamba in north Malabar in Kerala underwent a ‘cleansing ritual’ to rid itself of the ‘impurities’ posed by the entry of non-Hindu actor Meera Jasmine.

The Christian actor made offerings at the famous temple and paid obeisance to Lord Raja Rajeshwara, the presiding deity, sparking off a protest by Hindu devotees. She was accompanied by Govindan Kutty, co-producer of the Mohanlal film Vadakkumnathan. Some temple functionaries recognised Meera and asked about her religious status. Though her co-artistes said Meera had converted to Hinduism, she later denied this.

According to her she had sought prior permission from temple officials for entering the shrine, a claim the temple authorities denied. “She had called up about her intention to come but was told non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple,” said T T K Devaswam Board president E P Harijayanandan Namboodaripad.

Sources close to the actor said the temple administration has asked her to deposit Rs 10,000 for the cleansing ritual. Film producer Govindan Kutty wasn’t available for comments.

Mittal Steel Looks At Orissa For His Next Investment

Orissa is now a new destination for Lakshmi Niwas Mittal for his next investment. The steel baron, who achieved a new high by successfully taking over Arcelor recently, is slated to visit the state on Friday with a possible investment plan.

Although the state government is yet to receive any concrete proposal from the world’s biggest steelmaker, the visit is expected to bring good tidings for the state, officials said.According to the chief minister’s office, chairman of Mittal Steel will meet CM Naveen Patnaik at the state secretariat to discuss possible investments in Orissa during his two-hour-long stay here. Before signing the Arcelor deal, Mittal had said he was planning to expand base in India and China.Mittal had signed an MoU with the Jharkhand government for a 10-MTPA greenfield steel unit last year, but the project is reportedly facing stiff resistance. He may go for a similar MoU with the Orissa government as a back-up plan, officials said.

In fact, the possibility of Mittal setting up a steel facility in Orissa has been in the air for two years now. According to the officials, the arrival of South Korean company Posco in the state could have made Mittal Steel put its plans on hold.Sources said Mittal has not indicated any details of the investment proposed in the state. “It is essentially exploratory at the moment. We will make a presentation on the benefits that the state offers and would like to hear what he has in mind. Once the basic interaction is over and we know what is on his mind, we can discuss the specifics,” an official said.

While an e-mail to Mittal Steel spokesperson in London went unanswered, the visit to Orissa could have been prompted by the world’s largest steel company’s inability to grab a share of iron ore in the highly lucrative Chiria mines in Jharkhand.It is also possible that Mittal is exploring the possibility of setting up a second facility in India, a market he has not entered so far despite having a global footprint.

Officials said Orissa can make available captive mines for a 5 MT steel plant in the state.