After failing the dope test in recently concluded Indian Premier League(IPL), Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif career looks to be in serious jeopardy. This is bad news for Pakistan cricket as Shoaib Akhtar is also facing ban from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

I have no doubt in my mind that Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar is the best bowling combination in the world, if they are fit and controversy free. Mohammad Asif has quite a good line and length. More importantly, he swings the ball which is pretty mandatory to attain success in cricket field with flat pitches all around the world.

Irony is that Asif has not learn anything from his past mistake. When he was caught in a drug case in Dubai, PCB supported Asif in every step but this time around this looks highly unlikely because PCB is tired of defending Asif.

Some said he had been hospitalised. Others say he is convalescing at his residence in New Delhi. Prying cameras were spotted outside his house waiting to get a glimpse of the leader. So far none has been lucky. The question remains what is actually keeping him away from UP? The buzz in the political circles doing the rounds is - is it the party’s humiliating defeat in the elections or could it be the fear of Chief Minister Mayawati?

Whatever the reason be he probably believes in the theory of “out of sight, out of mind” hence, he is thinking twice before treading on troubled land. Of course Mulayam Singh refuses to believe that Amar Singh was in any way responsible for the party’s debacle.

Soon after Chief Minister Mayawati had assumed charge of office, Amar Singh had in a statement challenged her to arrest Mulayam Singh and himself. Though there was no reaction to his outburst, Mayawati in her first Press conference after taking oath announced disbanding of the UP Development Council. Obviously there are apprehensions in the party circles over the next move by the BSP Government.

The Congress is welcome to celebrate its ‘victory’ in the Goa Assembly election, but that does not minimize the fact that the outcome of the June 2 poll is not a mandate for any of the contenders for power. For, with 16 seats - and three won by its ally, the NCP - the Congress may form a Government with the help of individual Independent legislators, but it will never be able to provide political stability to a State that has been blighted by political instability in recent times.

At every stage, those propping up a Congress-led Government will be demanding their pound of flesh, or more, and the consequences of this on governance do not merit elaboration. This is not to suggest that the Congress is to blame for the inevitable instability that will now follow.

Had the BJP won more seats than the Congress but was forced to depend on individual MLAs or minor parties for a working majority, the situation would have been no different. The fault, essentially, lies in the manner in which voters have exercised their franchise. Rather than give a clear mandate to either the Congress or the BJP, they have scattered power among small groups and individuals not necessarily known for either their commitment to Goa’s welfare or integrity in public life. That’s a pity, because the resultant instability is bound to adversely impact on Goa’s society and economy, not to mention its development and growth, although those responsible for further harming the State’s interests will prosper.

In a sense, Goa’s inability to elect a stable Government with a comfortable majority is no different from what we have seen in another small State, Jharkhand. On the other hand, two other small States, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, have seen relative prosperity and good governance because the people have elected to install stable Governments with an unambiguous mandate. What has also helped them in making that choice is the two-party system that exists in these States; in Goa and Jharkhand, a plethora of parties and interest groups tend to distract the attention of voters and thus lead to fractured results.

Hindu