Party can arraign him, but was it possible for VS to justify the lottery fraud?

Reports speak about CPM leadership putting the blame squarely on Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan for the debacle in the election to the local bodies in Kerala, maybe citing the single reason that he opposed the stance taken by strong forces in the party in the lottery issue.

He was blamed earlier for the body blow received by the party in the Lok Sabha elections on account of his stance in the SNC Lavalin issue. The party was dealing with the issue legally and politically when VS had taken stern stance.

Forget about Lavalin and all that, but in the lottery fiasco, could it have been possible for VS to justify the forces which were supporting draw of lotteries which were dubbed fishy? Transparency has been totally lacking in the running of outside lotteries in Kerala. Those supporting this sort of lotteries were basing their arguments on the situation that the Central law was standing in the way of taking action against spurious lotteries.

At the same time, some legal pundits have pointed out that there are provisions in the Central Act itself empowering the states to take action against erring lotteries. Recently, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee himself had said that the states have the power to deal with faulty operators.

Therefore, could it be possible for a Chief Minister to support erring people. Everyone knows that such lotteries do not have transparency and that they were taking advantage of gullible poor people on a large scale.

Lo, 50 per cent women are being positioned in our local bodies, polls under way

Mullappally Ramachandran may say people cannot vote fearlessly in Kerala, India. State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan may pooh-pooh the allegation of the Union Minister. No doubt, people can understand a little bit of politicking.

However, the beauty of it all in Kerala is that 2.50 crore people are exercising their franchise for electing the leadership of various local bodies. This is for the first time that the local bodies would have 50 per cent women representing the people. In other states, such a scenario cannot be dreamed as of now.

The polling has already begun on Saturday (October 23) in seven districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod districts. In the other seven districts-Idukki, Kottayam, Alapuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram- polling would be held on October 25.

Brisk polling has been registered in the Malabar area of the State. There are 978 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 60 municipalities and five city corporations in the state. Of the 60 municipalitiesm, election is being held only in 59 municipalities as the term of the Mattannur municipality will expire only in 2011. Of the 21,612 total wards, women will don the leadership positions in half of them.

Paper ballots are being used in all panchayats and electronic voting machines in municipalities and corporations.

As many as 8,000 EVMs are being used in the municipalities and corporations. There are 40,000 polling booths and 2.6 lakh polling officials.

Gandhiji’s gram swaraj may be eluding the nation, garbage clearance may be the worst problem for the people and no one is taking care of the issue for a solution on a permanent basis, still the people have a prominent role in all areas of the realm through local bodies.

Let us not miss the woods for the trees, in the lottery fiasco

A lot of hot discussions are going on about the lottery fiasco in Kerala, which is running the state lottery without any hitch.

The problem is with regard to outside lotteries that have been fleecing the gullible poor man for a long time now.

Those who seek action against the erring lotteries are drawing attention to the well-run Kerala lottery which is transparent and the outside lotteries, particularly the Bhutan and Sikkim varieties.

No one in the state would have any doubt about the hanky panky in the outside lottery. The affairs are not transparent. No one knows who all got the prizes. Neither is the way the lottery is being run.

Ordinary folks used to purchase tickets in bulk, thinking that they would get Rs 5,000 each for the last three digits or so. If one gets a Rs 5,000 winning once, he would go on buying lottery tickets in bulk. The reality is that the people are not aware of the venue where the draw is conducted or whether the first and bumper prizes are given at all.

The blame game has been going on in Kerala as to who should take action against the erring lotteries. Now it is time for the authorities to clear up the mess. No one should be allowed to run spurious lotteries. The people should know where the draw is conducted and who are all getting the sprizes.

The authorities cannot hoodwink the people anymore.

Who said India is down in the dumps in the Commonwealth Games?

Overall performance of Indian sportspersons in the Delhi Commonwealth Games has been scintillating. The last event was the crown of all other events when Saina Nehwal won the gold in the badminton women’s singles.

And this gold has contributed to India finishing second in the medal haul in the Delhi CWG. India bagged 38 gold and altogether 101 medals.

Without this win, India would have been relegated to the back with a third position. Now England has been placed on the third slot.

India is traditionally a slow starter. In the case of Saina also she had lost the first set. But she rallied to grab the second and third sets.

Even in organising the event, the country has been abysmally slow and had suffered a lot in the international media about shoddy arrangements. But in the end everything had been placed all right.

But one thing should be sure, when India haggles for holding the Olympic Games, this lethargy should be nipped in the bud.

Everyone who should be impartial is partial in Karnataka

The drama of a trust vote in Karnataka is over and BJP’s B.S.Yeddyurappa Government has been saved by the skin at the intervention of Speaker K.G.Bopaiah. By a simple voice vote, claiming the support of 106 members, apparently the government secured trust vote, maybe in a tainted way.

The Speaker early morning disqualified 11 rebel BJP MLAs and five independents. They were not allowed to enter the precincts of the Assembly. Some of the independents had barged in but they were restrained by security people, including the police. What a shame, the police had to be called in at the sacred precincts of the Assembly.

Does the Speaker has the power to disqualify independents at all? Can disqualification proceedings commence before the members defy the party whip?
Governor H.R.Bharadwaj had issued an advisory to the Speaker to allow all the members to participate in the trust vote. But that advice was not taken kindly by the Speaker.

Now the dissidents are planning to move the court against the tainted trust vote.
Meanwhile, the BJP has called for the recall of the Governor who is allegedly pro-Congress.

In Karnataka, the political situation is quite confusing.

Yeddyurappa the most opposed CM from within the ranks

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa has stood steadfast as of now amidst domineering opposition. His government has been rattled from Day One by rebels from his own party.

It stands as a black mark for the BJP which had cobbled up a government in the Southern States for the first time. But then everyone is fated. Yeddy’s fate has so far been secure in spite of nagging worries on all days.

This time too he feels the problem would solve itself and he would prove his majority on the floor of the House on October 11. His hope against hope is that the rebels would come back. How, no one knows. He may be banking on the central leadership of the BJP to save his face. If Yeddy goes, the party withers away in Karnataka. That feeling may incite even his opponents among the central leadership to somehow save his fate.

Deve Gowda’s party had indirectly facilitated the success of Yeddy earlier. That party had ditched Yeddy at the crucial time, after receiving its support for more than two years. Now Janata Dal is trying to cobble up a government with the support of the Congress and independents.

Politics is like that, and anything can happen.

What had happened to Mani Shankar Aiyyar?

Well-read, well-experienced Mani Shankar Aiyyar has been the single most outspoken person against India hosting the Commonwealth Games. The diatribes were without offering an escape route of give and take.

He may have reasons for the grievous criticism he thought fit to lavish on the organizers. He had put up a proposal earlier when he was in charge of sports affairs to set up sports facilities in each village, costing crores of rupees. And the next day he was divested of the sports portfolio.

Aiyyar has said the country should have made preparations for years together after setting up facilities all over the country. There is a point in his argument, but his criticism has gone overboard.

Good that Aiyyar thought it fit to be out of the country when the Delhi Commonwealth Games are being played out.

India’s system is a peculiar one, with a lot of corruption, lethargy, babudom and nobody taking responsibility. Still it would out-manoeuvre all obstacles and put the best in place.

India is on the verge of playing out as a developed country even as nearly half of the 1.2 billion population is not living a decent life of income and facilities.
Mani Shankar Aiyyar’s criticism was a little too much. Wasn’t it?

Let Mandir-Masjid co-exist, let peace rule Ayodhya and elsewhere

The Ayodhya verdict by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court should ultimately pave the way for co-existence of a Mandir and Masjid at the place held sacred by both communities.

For years we have been concerned about the fate of this issue and have been anxious about the fall-out of any one-sided initiative. Now after about 60 years of legal wrangling, at least the High Court come to a conclusion, which allows a Mandir and Masjid to come about in the plot concerned.

The parties concerned can definitely approach the Supreme Court and seek final conclusion. In fact, that step should be pursued since the problem has not been settled outside the court. If it is a court solution, let it have the seal of approval of the apex court as well, whatever be the outcome.
Hair-splitting arguments apart, the nation seeks resolution of the issue amicably through court or otherwise.

Now that a legal decision has come which allows sharing of the property by both communities, there is scope for India as a nation to face the facts boldly and resolve the most contentious issue.

The scope would enable the people to leapfrog into ambitious growth and development. The people should feel that they are now unbound by the debilitating issue.