The calendar itself is man-made; what is the sanctity for man-prophesied apocalypse? The day, month, year and the calendar have been made by man, and that too in different categories. Day and night phenomenon exists because of the Sun and Moon. God had never revealed to any prophets about the exact time of the doomsday. There are indications, but there is not a fixed date. Is there a fixed date for the Sun to become a red giant and swallow everything, including the Earth? Scientists have observed that this phenomenon would occur, billions of years from now. All calculations of 666, the number attributed to Satan, are transcending the realm of imagination. God-believers can safely believe in the Apocalypse, but without a pre-known day. Therefore, why should we worry about December 21, 2012 when no one has the information from God Almighty. Atheists can scoff at the very idea of Apocalypse. They would believe the scientific explanation of the Sun turning a red giant billions of years from now.

P.Govinda Pillai had transcended a world of intrigues He was a firm member of the CPM whose rules and regulations are rigid and inflexible. But P.Govinda Pillai, the writer, thinker, intellectual and ideologue, transcended all these trammels and postulated his views, reactions and affirmations, occasionally earning the wrath of steely-framed party apparatus. He was a Buddha, Ram, or Jesus Christ in the matter of renunciation. When positions were taken away from him, he took it in his stride and did not have a vengeful attitude towards his tormentors. All the same he remained a staunch Marxist. That is what gives him a shining personality. We see a lot of people, leaders, and powerful people who have earned their hour of reputation by intrigues, committing a lot of wrongs against others. He was a member of the nobility, a class that is vanishing rapidly in the intellectual world.

Hospital managements are taking the foolish path; they are leaving the nurses to organise themselves strongly The hospital managements are taking the foolish route by denying a fair deal to nurses, most of whom are women. When the managements become rigid, and as of now all of them are more than rigid when it comes to paying nurses, the organising capacity of the Nightingales gets stronger. Sheer will to live would spur them to go to any extent. Private hospitals are run by managements of all hues, religious and otherwise, to make a fast buck. Because when it comes to the question of life and death, human beings would go the whole hog to cling on to a worthy or unworthy life. Forget about the fact for a moment that it would be the prerogative of God Almighty to call us back to the unknown world. Nurses have already become well organised and they have gained the capacity to paralyse the health sector. Even the knowledgeable Labour Minister Shibu Baby John has recently been harping on taking action against the striking nurses. Pray, tell us what action can you take against the striking nurses? Would you put them in jail for demanding fair wages. Shibu Baby John has been telling us that minimum wages are being paid. What is this minimum wage? Would it come to, say Rs 15,000 per month? The Minister does not say anything about revising upwards the so-called minimum wages. The government has a lot of powers to insist on fair wages to nurses being paid to them. Any nursing course can be started by a management, provided it has a hospital. At the time of sanctioning courses and adding new batches, the government and the nursing council can insist on a clause, to the effect that the nurses in the respective hospitals should be paid fair wages. These days, the state government has been going back on the promises made to the nurses earlier. With the result that the nurses would get organised further and there would come a time when the managements would have to dance to the tune of the Nightingales, if the managements' reticence goes on like this. Better pay the nurses, say Rs 15,000 per month, and don't go in a round-about way to fleece money from this sum by other means.

What a miracle awaits the UPA II Government? P.Chidambaram says the government is expecting the Opposition, particularly the BJP, to rescue it, to pass the controversial legislations on FDI in pension, insurance and what not. Diesel price hike, cut in the number of subsidised LPG cylinders, steep hike in price of non-subsidised LPG cylinders and the like are simply matters which can be tackled by administrative diktat. How easy it is to manage technical jargons like fiscal deficit, inflation, and plummeting economy!!! Simply take away all subsidies and go on increasing administrative prices!!! Thank God, the government had asked the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai, to go through the accounts of the petroleum companies. Who knows about the expenses, dimensions of oil prospecting and payments being given to identified and unidentified entities concerned? To sum up, all the recent measures introduced by the Manmohan Singh Government are not being relished by the people. Still the government says it has the requisite numbers to enjoy majority. Maybe, the legislators of various parties do not want to wallow in the wilderness by moving against the government.

Add your Comment One cannot block FDI, one cannot let in everything and have a free-for-all Those who oppose Foreign Direct Investment of any sort, in a fundamentalist view, should postulate alternative policy approach. The alternative policy approach should not be like don't hike taxes, prices, don't press income-generating ways, but the government should underwrite everything. There was criticism about the statement of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that money does not grow on trees. Perhaps his averrment was not couched in unintelligible economic jargon, but it was a crass observation that should hammer the heads of common folks. Actually, the opposition should be on not utilising the humongous amounts of money that would accrue by way of liberalisation, FDI and the like for the larger benefit of the common people. What happens in India is that a major portion of windfall profits is gobbled up by vested interests. In developed countries, windfall profits provide a lot of money to the government. Here in India, celebrity chartered accountants prepare accounts in such a way that those who earn maximum windfall profits would have zero balance. Therefore, where should we put the control button? That is the crucial question.

Unmanned level crossings, bullet tanker explosions are death traps Accidents like the car-train hit at unmanned level crossing at Aroor in which five lives were lost, including that of an infant, and gas tanker tragedy which had claimed 22 lives are most unfortunate. Such loss of lives is cruel since there can be no warning about the impending danger. Railways together with state governments should take urgent steps to put an end to leaving unmanned level crossings open. Unmanned level crossings are an open invitation to death and devastation. Who will take responsibility for the loss of lives? The same was the case with regard to leakage of gas from the bullet tanker which had exploded and caused a conflagration all around. People who were sound asleep could not even run for their lives. There are billionaires and thousands of millionaires in our country, but rustic facilities prevail in India, that is Bharat.

Triple whammy for the people, but they are patience personified People of India, particularly those in Kerala, should be praised for their immense patience for suffering the hardships in many ways. The Government of India has hiked the price of diesel and cut down the quantum of subsidised LPG cylinders. I am sure there would be many more such acts of administrative adventure. But then shall we suffer protests also each time? The present acts are definitely deleterious to the common people. But then one hartal has passed off, in protest, on Saturday. Now there is another all-India life-stilling protest, hartal of course, on September 20. Will these hartals prod the government to backtrack? Not indeed. These would only help the political parties which call for such action. If the protesting parties are indeed sincere, they should withdraw support for the government. But they would not, for they have two more years to go to remain MPs, and some Ministers. Meanwhile, the people would suffer, first the governmental pouncing ,and then the protests of the parties. Whenever the government goes in for a hike in price, it is sure the system would absorb it. The same is the case with protest hartals as well.

Development is a must; many things can be done without harming environment Kerala needs all-round development, in infrastructure, manufacturing, services,higher education, job provision and what not. Therefore, developmental projects are a must.And at the same time, there should not be large-scale devastation of the environment. What we have to do with regard to Emerging Kerala projects are, to take up those which do not harshly impact the environment. The people at large should not be made to suffer in land acquisition. Land acquisition everywhere is an eye-sore only because we do not develop an attitude towards the victims whose lands have been taken over. Compensation should be multi-fold than what we give now. A system should be in place by which houses should be built for those who lose the same. Only after rehabilitating them, should the lands and house buildings should be acquired. Land acquisition should turn out to be a pleasant experience. Let the developments take on from now, with the people being felt happy about it.

VS may pursue fight only if action is taken against him Opposition Leader V.S.Achuthanandan had said that a CBI probe into the murder of RMP leader T.P.Chandrasekharan would bring out the truth. His overt averrment was that the allegations against CPM leaders could be set to rest, even though his covert thinking was that the CBI probe would nail some more CPM leaders, perhaps big fish. Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri had also said there was no harm in having a CBI inquiry. For, from the beginning the CPM had openly welcomed any type of investigation. Now the whole scenario has changed, with oficial Kerala leaders of the party successfully bargaining for ruling out the CBI probe. Prakash Karat himself has come out openly against the CBI probe, saying it is an attempt at trapping leaders of the party. Now what will V.S.Achuthanandan do? Everyone thinks that he would raise the bogey of another revolt. Perhaps, he may write more letters to the central committee, which is his forum. And then, in the end if no action is taken against him for various instances of breach of party discipline, he may virulently go in for attack on the UPA II dispensation and corruption issues. And this issue may gradually get eclipsed. But, VS may go in for doing something about T.P.murder case, if there is any attempt to downgrade him further in the party.

Comment on PM' tragic figure: It should have been best ignored The comment by Washington Post, not the Government of the US, about Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as a tragic figure should have been best ignroed. You cannot force a foreign newspaper to change its stance, if it believes that its posture is right. But what can simply be done is to place facts and figures before the foreign paper to disprove the allegation. Maybe, it will also publish the averrments on behalf of the Prime Minister. There may be politics and partisan attitude on the part of the foreign paper, but such interferences should stir us up to action to make our nation a vibrant one. No doubt, particularly because of the beleagured nature of the UPA II Government due to the pressures of front politics, largely of a regional nature, the government lacks vibrancy. All MPs, even those who oppose Dr Manmohan Singh, want the dispensation to continue. Therefore, policies and programmes are fine-tuned in accordance with the death wish of continuity. Taking action against widespread corruption after the instances have been notified by vetting agencies like the Comptroller and Auditor General may not be impressive. There is lack of machinery and the will to ensure prevention of corruption. There remains much to be done, still India is a sovereign country. And let the MPs, in a democracy, decide as to how to govern the country. If the people are disgusted, they will throw them out next time. But when would be the next time?

This is not the way to transport deadly gas and chemicals The tanker lorry disaster in Chala, Kannur, calls for more vigil in handling transportation of deadly gas and chemicals as also the precarious condition of the roads as well as the precautions needed in running such vehicles. All the factors might have contributed to the devastation that occurred at Chala, Kannur, where denizens of a rural pocket were caught unawares in the dead of night and a lot of them have lost their lives and many more are battling for their lives. Eleven persons have already lost their lives and at least 10 more are battling for their lives. Only God Almighty can save the lives of such critically burnt people. We are not learning anything from similar disasters, for there was a tragedy in Karunagappally in Kollam district in 2009. There were inspections, probes, studies and priorities ordained, but none of them worked. It seems we are all living a life simply because Destiny has allowed us to do so. Man-made precautions are simply absent.

Placing of bomb is a serious affair, let it not be trivialised It seems there is haste in making a conclusion that the bomb was placed on the railway tracks near Velloor to settle personal scores by two bus conductors. Why did the accused person place the bomb on the railway tracks? Would it help to settle personal scores with another conductor? Is it possible for an untrained conductor to make bombs. The media appear to be hastily concluding that this was something arising from personal vengeance. Let a thorough enquiry be done before arriving at conclusions. Matters like placing bomb are serious affairs. There should not be trivialising of issues.

What a pity, nurses have to offer threat of suicide to get even a measly salary!!! There is no point in grandstanding on technical grounds regarding provision of justifiable salary to nurses in the country, and in Kerala in particular. The Labour Department says it cannot go beyond assuring minimum salary. What is the minimum salary? Doesn't the Labour Department feel that it should be steeply revised upwards? The Health Department has washed its hands off thinking that salary and other pecuiary benefits is none of its business. But it takes care of such things in the case of doctors, in government service, of course. Doctors in the private sector may not need such proactive action from the government. For, they may be taken care of very well, otherwise. The latest incident refers to suicide threat by the nurses. Managements do not pay salary to newly appointed nurses. They are considered as trainees only. This is a sad state of affairs. In the case of teachers of unaided schools, including the CBSE, the managements get the acquittance rolls signed by the teachers for a hefty salary, but then they give the teachers a pittance. This is the case with managements of missionaries and mercenaries. The social situation has changed and people have to be paid decently.

Dissensions, apprehensions, explosive situations, UDF, LDF rocked from within The atmosphere is replete with dissensions and apprehensions of various sorts in the UDF and explosive situation in the LDF in Kerala. Some of the divergent goings-on could be V.M.Sudheeran's vibe against Ramesh Chennithala and Oommen Chandy, parallel team's foray into Nelliyampathy, M.M.Hassan's resignation from the post of Convener, UDF Committee on Nelliyampathy and what not. Sudheeran has been articulating his dissidence on various issues in a fire-brand manner these days. He had even made a comment against computer whiz kids pointing a finger against Rahul Gandhi. Now he is against Kerala leaders of the Congress who have not consulted him regarding reconstitution of KPCC. The confused state of affairs in the UDF is with regard to Nelliyampathy. Kerala Congress leader and Chief Whip P.C.George had taken a strong stance trying to protect the interests of the farmers, according to his version. But Forest Minister K.B.Ganeshkumar as well as several leaders of the Congress have been against showing any sympathy to the so-called farmers in Nelliyampathy. It has come to such a pass that within the Congress, a few MLAs have gone against the sub-committee formed by the UDF which was headed by M.M.Hassan. Now Hassan has resigned his post in protest. Things are not hunky dory in the affairs of the UDF, particularly the Congress. The LDF appears to be in tatters, with the CPI dissociating with many moves of the CPM. Lately, the party has made it clear that the CPM had not consulted it before ordering a hartal on Thursday last. Even otherwise the CPM has been on the defensive in various murder cases with political dimensions. Normality is far off in UDF and LDF.

Rahul Gandhi should prove himself; And now is the time Everyone knows that Rahul Gandhi is the Gandhi family scion, out to reign the country sooner or later. For, the Congress clan can pull on only around a fulcrum which has pan-India recognition. Rival political outfits and certain other intellectuals would poohpooh the idea that only the Gandhi family clan can rule the country, simply because they otherwise would want the seemingly-safe cohesion of the Congress Party shattered. Take for example the BJP where a lot of leaders are clamouring after becoming the next Prime Minister, and there may not be consensus ad idem, a meeting of the minds. Here, in the Congress no one would challenge the Gandhi family scion. If someone challenges, it would be like the fate meted out to P.A.Sangma. Sharad Pawar being a Maratha 'king' himself, he has managed to remain afloat, but cannot aspire to become the Prime Minister, anyway. In the circumstances, the 41-year-old Rahul Gandhi cannot simply fancy himself to be ruling the country. For now is the time for him to come to the fore and prove himself. Let him be a Cabinet Minister, Deputy Prime Minister or Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, or whatever it is. Let him prove his role as something that he can undertake with ease. There are limits to just imagining that things can be done. The challenge is to undertake the role and go through the drill of getting and giving bouqets and brickbats and perfecting himself to the role.

Karat does not concede an inch; What would VS do now? It would be interesting for observers of political developments in the state as to what rebellious V.S.Achuthanandan would do after the central leadership of the CPM has ruled out conceding any of his demands. The only concession was the last warning against any more violations of the basic norms of the party and thereby doing nothing to remove him from his positions. The central leadership has said Achuthanandan had acceded in self-criticism to having made mistakes. Calling Pinarayi Vijayan a Dange and making a visit to the residence of murdered T.P.Chandrasekharan on the day of polling of Neyyattinkara by-election were grave mistakes, according to Prakash Karat. More over, the central leadership has asked Achuthanandan to apologise in public. The central leadership has emphatically reiterated that there was no deviation by the official leadership from the party ideology. All these things have been published in the party mouthpiece, Desabhimani. Now Achuthanandan cannot give out the impression that the central leadership would heed to some of his requests. Also, now there is no point in his sending any more letters to the central leadership, as a final call has been taken by Prakash Karat. It may be naive to think that Achuthanandan has lost all his ammunition. Keralites are looking forward to his next move.

CPM trying to buttress VS as well as Pinarayi; who knows what happens next?

By O.J.George Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM leadership is trying to put a lid on the nagging problems arising from egoism between state's top leaders as also ideological differences between two groups led by Pinarayi Vijayan and V.S.Achuthanandan by taking certain steps that it believes should take care of everything. The state secretariat meeting held on Monday and the state committee meeting being held on Tuesday were slated to take steps like public censure of Achuthanandan and reporting to all the branches about corrective steps to be taken against the leaders holding the organisational set-up as demanded by Achuthanandan. Definitely, Achuthanandan's demand for restructuring the state secretariat and state committee won't be heeded to. For, the party congress had elected the state leadership for three years. The state leadership had reported to all branches below about the 'wrong-doings' of Achuthanandan about which VS had complained to the central leadership. But Achuthanandan had not been sitting idle. As he had no organisational set-up, he spoke everything in public. All bits and pieces were carried by the electronic media as well as the print media. Thus he had no need for reporting to the lower branches. Lately, close on the heels of CPM general secretary Prakash Karat announced the public censure for violating basis tenets of the party, Achuthanandan retorted by getting the complete contents of his letter to the central leaderhip published in a newspaper. That was his reply to the public reprimand. No one can reprimand him. In fact, in heart and mind, no doubt, one can perceive contempt for the junior boys of all sorts admonishing him, and that too against the basic ideological plank on which the party had stood.

Break-down of the value system is the culprit for evil practices, corruption The report about the Intelligence Bureau finding that a majority of the cops posted at the major airports in Kerala, that is Nedumbasserry, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, are hands-in-glove with rackets of various sorts is alarming. There would be even national security issues involved. Some of the cops may not be even aware of the security implications involved. They may be simply covetous of the quick money they would receive. When we look at corrupt practices of all sorts, we can easily find that the craze for grabbing quick money and indulging in pleasures, carnal of course, is the main reason. They won't mind receiving slush money from the conduit of Dawood Ibrahim even. The fundamental issue is that a lot of the human beings have lost the fundamentals of human values. Value system has no takers. Even those who are supposed to uphold the value system and groom the next generation are culprits. If it goes on like this, there would be a break-down somewhere down the line.

Poodle, puppet, under-achiever: such terms being used by any foreigner is unacceptable What do these people think about India and its democracy? Some half-witted people in the journalistic fraternity in the US and the UK have been throwing verbal mud and slush against our Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, of late. This method-in-the madness started with Time magazine in the US calling Dr Manmohan Singh an under-achiever. One can say, it has been following some norms available in the West. Such norms may not be applicable and implementable in India, which is a curious and sluggish democracy. A foreigner cannot simply call the shots as to how to run our country. Let their democracy reign supreme in their country. India is a vast country with all sorts of diversity in incalculable ways. No one can issue a fiat and rule the economy like that. Innumerable constraints are there for executing an order. These Westerners do not understand a thing about India's diversity, particularly in the face of the fact that no party is able to cobble up a firm government. In such circumstances there would be a lot of wobbling and indecision. If one regional party agrees to do a thing, several other such regional outfits would go against it. The UK newspaper, Independent, has dubbed Dr Manmohan Singh as Sonia Gandhi's puppet and poodle. Do they think that they are still ruling our country? Dr Manmohan Singh may have been slow and sluggish in taking essential decisions. But then, there cannot be such decisions of far-reaching consequences in the face of political fragility. In the ensuing Parliament elections in 2014 or a little earlier, the people will have to decide whether the country should have a firm government. But these foreigners have no business to defile and damage the reputation of the Indian Prime Minister.

Pension matters: Kerala cannot pull on like this for long Kerala cannot go on for long with the present system of pension and service rules. When the Union Government and various other state governments have introduced the contributory pension scheme for new entrants in service, Kerala cannot remain otherwise for long. Earlier there were many thoughts about first benefit, second benefit, third benefit etc. First benefit is salary, second benefit is DA, and third benefit is pension. Bank employees also struggled hard to have pension as part of salary package as third benefit. But they could not succeed. Now it is participatory pension for them. If the pension funds are best managed there could be boosted pension for those who subscribe to the participatory pension. Youth organisations among political parties in Kerala would always oppose the move for hiking pension age. They fear that their prospects for employment would be lost. The thing is, the government should be able to offer good schemes for creation of jobs and other benefits for youth, like self-employment. Service sector jobs could be quadrupled if proper steps are taken. The latest thrust is on the manufacturing sector. We should be able to produce things like all sorts of things produced in China as part of small and medium enterprises. In the UK, the latest reports say 65 per cent of the population are above 65 years of age and are pension-earners. The government there is struggling hard to cope. Whatever it is, no government in Kerala would be able to pull on with the present scheme of things regarding pension age, participatory pension and the like.

Man has craze to play God and he would go on inventing anything to become God-like Now the greatest news is about the near-total finding of the Higgs Boson particle which might have provided mass to the universe in diverse ways. The finding was arrived at on completion of a series of experiments on the large Hadron collider. When man provided it a nomenclature in a figurative way as the God particle, the media caught on with it, maybe in an exaggerated way, and have given hope that man can one day become God-like. But what is the speciality of the God- nature. The Entity can create matter from non-matter. It can ask mountains to move, oceans to dry up and re-form it. The creation of matter from non-matter was the end-product of a Word command. The bible says, in the beginning there was the Word. God commanded, Let there be the Universe, the Sun, Moon, Air, Water and everything. The Vedas speak about OM, the word, which is a command. There is no mention about the God particle which is capable of creation. The creation of the particle is a product of the Command. Man cannot Command to create the God particle. Anyway man is going on inventing and expanding the horizons of science and wisdom, which is a great thing. God had said the creation was for the benefit of man. Let there be nothing that would go to the destruction of mankind. There is another factor, which is the Energy factor. The greatest thing could be the mental energy power. The Word command or the OM command could be the outcome of the mental energy. In this context, disaster could come into being on account of the humungous amount of evil mental power of the human beings. All machinations, that is the tremendous amount of evil energy released from the planning stage to the execution stage of all evil deeds, the energy involved in evil thoughts and evil actions, all dimensions of thoughts and action against the value system, the sum total of which all when released into the earth’s planet system would be able to reverse the direction of Earth’s rotation or to suddenly change its axis movement like side-to-side movement as in the case of Uranus, which would mean serious destruction of all living beings. Let us not wait for solar flares or hitting of comets, the evil energy comet could bring in cataclysmic changes. And at this stage, we are playing God’s role. Key word: Man's craze for playing God, God particle, Hadron collider, mental energy, evil energy capable of causing destruction. Other News in this category • Money for running corruption cases could be a bone of contention between VS and Pinarayi • It is cruelty non-pareil • Could she be such a loner in the UPA? • It is a gracious decision; a former President in unsure contest would have been most awkward • Mamata Banerjee stands isolated on her pranks regarding Presidential election • Azim Premji, Narayana Murthy et al speak out against policy paralysis, but what can the govt do when ruling allies do not allow it to move at snail’s pace? • VS had his say, but central committee put issues in the court of the state committee

Actually, it was a notice to all those who rigidly opposed cogent solution

At one stroke, Oommen Chandy flummoxed all those who had stoutly opposed all methods of finding a solution to the vexing situation caused by the Muslim League by insisting on the fifth Minister.

The Congressmen who would not see reason and would not agree to any formula to come out of the precarious position were shown their proper place. The Muslim League got their fifth Minister but were in fact humiliated when Chief Minister Oommen Chandy divested himself of the Home portfolio.

Now the League stalwarts would have to approach a junior Minister, compared to them, for solving some of their ugly problems.

Speaker G.Karthikeyan and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala should take notice and comrephend that there are other forms of solving problems.

UDF convener P.P.Thankachen himself had not conducted himself properly, if one sees the problem in proper perspective.

What was the situation? Everyone should have thought that the solution lay in finding alternatives, safeguarding the interests of the Congress Party and the leader of the government.

Someone may have thought that it would be safe to drive Oommen Chandy to the wall, ultimately leading to his exit. But that was a wrong perspective and unless these people see reason, there may be worse danger ahead.

Was there an attempt to derail Oommen Chandy Cabinet, to enthrone someone else?

The combined opposition to the excellent move made by Oommen Chandy to harmonise communal equation by interchange of portfolios, in the wake of failure of all other options, point to an attempt to weaken the Chief Minister.

Some interested parties might have thought that Oommen Chandy could be unseated simply by weakening his position using the fifth Minister issue.

Some reports say the IUML leaders had arrived at the conclusion at Panakad house that if the fifth Minister is not given, all the four Ministers of the Muslim League would resign and the party would offer support from outside.

That would have made the Chief Minister the weakest in Kerala’s history. And then there would have been many more attempts at change of leadership.

Oommen Chandy, being a pastmaster at perceiving danger, might have acted posthaste. No one was able to hoodwink him.

Karthikeyan was not prepared to quit the office of Speaker, a post he was reluctant to take over in the beginning. Ramesh Chennithala would not join the Cabinet. No formula would work out.

Then it was within the prerogative of the Chief Minister to interchange portfolios, of course with the concurrence of the high command.

Now all forces which might have been hoping for the possible exit of Oommen Chandy are aggrieved.

They say that they would teach Oommen Chandy a lesson by causing a defeat of the UDF candidate at Neyyattinkara.

Let everyone play his role and see what would be the outcome at Neyyattinkara. For, even if there is a defeat it would not be that disastrous.

What is this General up to?

Army chief General V.K.Singh was copious in filing written representations to various bodies and authorities to have his date of birth noted by him in various documents corrected to enable him to continue in service for one more year.

But he was not prepared to give it in writing that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by a recently retired Army officer if he approved sub-standard trucks.

Defence Minister A.K.Antony today told Rajya Sabha, in reply to questions that the General had verbally informed him of the incident and named Tejinder Singh as having accosted him with the offer.

Antony was shocked to hear this and he had told the General to take action. But General V.K.Singh was not interested to pursue the matter. That means General V.K.Singh was not interested in complaining against Tejinder Singh.

Nothing was given in writing, and a Defence Minister cannot, on his own, initiate action on a verbal averment.

Is it such a predicament that an Army chief is going the way the Anna Hazare team is ending itself up? All parties have now complained against the Anna Hazare team that it has gone overboard and made blanket and unsavory statements.

The Army chief has been allowed to continue in service till May 31 by the Defence Minister himself even as other Cabinet colleagues reportedly demanded termination of his services the moment the General went against the government in the Supreme Court.

The General is demeaning himself by making allegations without taking any action against corruption.

Kerala’s hinterlands have not grown to remain paperless

Despite all the talk of vanishing newspaper industry elsewhere in the developed countries, particularly the West and Europe, Kerala has not grown to remain paperless.

We are replete with a plethora of television channel and broadband internet facility in Kerala. But still, the same is not true of the rural areas and hinterlands.

We need newspapers until a time the new generation can afford to ignore the written word. Television channels and internet cannot replace newspapers at least with regard to detailed obituary news and university news to such minute details as provided by the medium in black and white which is one for safe keeping.

And newspapers have changed their style a lot, to remain different from the fare provided by television channels and internet sites.

Did you notice the fast lane in newspapers offering a lot of information and awareness and worked out study materials for students? No channel can provide this much of service.

For the last few days from March 20, people are denied newspapers of their choice owing to strike by newspaper agents who want a lot of increased benefits, including status as some sort of an employee of the newspaper organization.

Maybe, negotiations can whittle down their demands leading to a settlement that would ensure supply to the readers.

Newspaper agents have the backing of strong political parties, otherwise they would not have been able to keep up the tempo of the stir.

At least for the last few days Keralites could not read newspapers in the morning, sipping a cup of coffee or tea.

Mamata Banerjee: Arrogance personified

Mamata Banerjee wanted the head of Dinesh Trivedi at one go; nothing short of guillotine. Okay, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh pleaded with her to agree to at least partially admit fare hike in the Railway Minister. Derisively she might have agreed to a little bit.

Mukul Roy was made the Cabinet Minister for Railways on the dot. But Mamata Banerjee, the super heroine, has not time to attend the swearing-in at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Let Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and other Ministers and dignitaries attend the function. Mamata has no time, she has to go back to Kolkata where she had already gone back on supporting a Congress nominee for being made a Rajya Sabha member.

Her party stance is all the more clear now. Samajwadi Party is supporting the UPA II Government from outside, for it is not part of the Government. Trinamool Congress is part of the Government. Its members and Ministers kept off the voting on the motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.

Who cares, that is the attitude of Mamata Banerjee.

Can the Congress Party bank on the Trinamool Congress any more?

What is the Congress Party going to do with Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee as an ally of the UPA II Government?

It is churlish behaviour throughout that the Congress Party is facing from the Trinamool Congress throughout. Mamata Banerjee wants an amendment to the President’s Address, wants complete rollback of the fare hike proposed by her own Railway Minister, wants another Railway Minister on the dot. What else would she do or not do in the coming days is beyond speculation.

It appears there is not even a minimum common programme approved with Congress and Trinamool Congress. Congress should at least enquire with her as to what she wants from the UPA II Government. Does she want this government to go?

In that case, the UPA II Government should find more reliable allies. This sort of governance, with a Railway Minister being sacked the day he presented a budget is unthinkable. What was Mamata Banerjee doing as party chief when proposals were mooted by Dinesh Trivedi to hike fare?

No doubt, the state of affairs at the UPA II Government is far from desirable.

The LDF should be careful about keeping its flock safe under its wings

R.Selvaraj had a grouse bordering on humiliation and the rest is history.

Now all the talk is concentrated on the resignation of CPM MLA R.Selvaraj, reducing the strength of LDF in Kerala Assembly by one, just before the by-election being held in Piravom on March 17.

That the state leadership of the CPM could not smell anything foul till the announcement of the resignation by Selvaraj himself is shocking.

Selvaraj himself had been complaining about the humiliation meted out to him by some of the party leaders, at the district level.

He was the only MLA of the party who was not given a delegate’s position at the just concluded state conference. According to reports, perhaps he would have lost his membership in the district committee of the party after the conclusion of the party Congress.

The allegation is that he was being methodically eliminated from party echelons. Therefore, he had grouse and he took measures at his command to wriggle out of the situation. Perhaps the party thought that no MLA would be courageous enough to call it quits.

But R.Selvaraj has large following, particularly in the Nadar community. He could pull off a victory in Neyyattinkara, which was fresh ground for him in the last Assembly elections, was proof of this. Earlier he was returned to the Assembly from Parassala constituency where he had considerable clout and support base.

It was his strength in the community and support base that saw through machinations to eliminate him, according to reports.

Now the CPM can raise all bogeys against the resignation of Selvaraj. But the party also has to take the blame for his exit. That the UDF, which has wafer thin majority in the Assembly, has taken advantage of the situation is quite natural.

Kerala Assembly had the history of Lonappan Nambadan, a Minister of the Congress-led front government, weaned out of the front. The government had collapsed owing to this floor crossing.

The CPM has tripped in its vigil somewhere.

Resignation of CPM MLA on the threshold of Piravom by-election a setback for party

All on a sudden Neyyattinkara MLA of the CPM, R.Selvaraj, tendered his resignation to the Speaker saying he has no surety that the party would give him support in the wake of an attack personally or on family basis.

He has clarified that groupism has not abated even after the conclusion of the party’s state conference.

He has a grouse that he was not given a seat at Parassala, which be believes is his pocketborough. Instead, he was asked to contest at Neyyattinkara which is traditionally a UDF bastion. Still he managed to win the seat, defeating Thampanoor Ravi of the Congress Party.

He feels he should have been complimented for the feat, instead he was taken to task for the defeat of the party nominee , Anavoor Nagappan, at Parassala.Moreover, he was removed from the area committee of the CPM at Parassala saying he was a member of the district committee.

He says he has called it quits on his own and was not persuaded by anyone. He would continue to be an ordinary party worker. He does not entertain any idea to join the UDF bandwagon.

All these points are relevant for him, or may not be relevant for the party. Whatever it is, the act of quitting the post of MLA just when the by-election at Piravom is being held on March 17 cannot add fervor to the campaign of the LDF. On the contrary, there is a setback on the campaign plank.

Resignation of CPM MLA on the threshold of Piravom by-election a setback for party

All on a sudden Neyyattinkara MLA of the CPM, R.Selvaraj, tendered his resignation to the Speaker saying he has no surety that the party would give him support in the wake of an attack personally or on family basis.

He has clarified that groupism has not abated even after the conclusion of the party’s state conference.

He has a grouse that he was not given a seat at Parassala, which be believes is his pocketborough. Instead, he was asked to contest at Neyyattinkara which is traditionally a UDF bastion. Still he managed to win the seat, defeating Thampanoor Ravi of the Congress Party.

He feels he should have been complimented for the feat, instead he was taken to task for the defeat of the party nominee , Anavoor Nagappan, at Parassala.Moreover, he was removed from the area committee of the CPM at Parassala saying he was a member of the district committee.

He says he has called it quits on his own and was not persuaded by anyone. He would continue to be an ordinary party worker. He does not entertain any idea to join the UDF bandwagon.

All these points are relevant for him, or may not be relevant for the party. Whatever it is, the act of quitting the post of MLA just when the by-election at Piravom is being held on March 17 cannot add fervor to the campaign of the LDF. On the contrary, there is a setback on the campaign plank.

Resignation of CPM MLA on the threshold of Piravom by-election a setback for party

All on a sudden Neyyattinkara MLA of the CPM, R.Selvaraj, tendered his resignation to the Speaker saying he has no surety that the party would give him support in the wake of an attack personally or on family basis.

He has clarified that groupism has not abated even after the conclusion of the party’s state conference.

He has a grouse that he was not given a seat at Parassala, which be believes is his pocketborough. Instead, he was asked to contest at Neyyattinkara which is traditionally a UDF bastion. Still he managed to win the seat, defeating Thampanoor Ravi of the Congress Party.

He feels he should have been complimented for the feat, instead he was taken to task for the defeat of the party nominee , Anavoor Nagappan, at Parassala.Moreover, he was removed from the area committee of the CPM at Parassala saying he was a member of the district committee.

He says he has called it quits on his own and was not persuaded by anyone. He would continue to be an ordinary party worker. He does not entertain any idea to join the UDF bandwagon.

All these points are relevant for him, or may not be relevant for the party. Whatever it is, the act of quitting the post of MLA just when the by-election at Piravom is being held on March 17 cannot add fervor to the campaign of the LDF. On the contrary, there is a setback on the campaign plank.

Resignation of CPM MLA on the threshold of Piravom by-election a setback for party

All on a sudden Neyyattinkara MLA of the CPM, R.Selvaraj, tendered his resignation to the Speaker saying he has no surety that the party would give him support in the wake of an attack personally or on family basis.

He has clarified that groupism has not abated even after the conclusion of the party’s state conference.

He has a grouse that he was not given a seat at Parassala, which be believes is his pocketborough. Instead, he was asked to contest at Neyyattinkara which is traditionally a UDF bastion. Still he managed to win the seat, defeating Thampanoor Ravi of the Congress Party.

He feels he should have been complimented for the feat, instead he was taken to task for the defeat of the party nominee , Anavoor Nagappan, at Parassala.Moreover, he was removed from the area committee of the CPM at Parassala saying he was a member of the district committee.

He says he has called it quits on his own and was not persuaded by anyone. He would continue to be an ordinary party worker. He does not entertain any idea to join the UDF bandwagon.

All these points are relevant for him, or may not be relevant for the party. Whatever it is, the act of quitting the post of MLA just when the by-election at Piravom is being held on March 17 cannot add fervor to the campaign of the LDF. On the contrary, there is a setback on the campaign plank.

Resignation of CPM MLA on the threshold of Piravom by-election a setback for party

All on a sudden Neyyattinkara MLA of the CPM, R.Selvaraj, tendered his resignation to the Speaker saying he has no surety that the party would give him support in the wake of an attack personally or on family basis.

He has clarified that groupism has not abated even after the conclusion of the party’s state conference.

He has a grouse that he was not given a seat at Parassala, which be believes is his pocketborough. Instead, he was asked to contest at Neyyattinkara which is traditionally a UDF bastion. Still he managed to win the seat, defeating Thampanoor Ravi of the Congress Party.

He feels he should have been complimented for the feat, instead he was taken to task for the defeat of the party nominee , Anavoor Nagappan, at Parassala.Moreover, he was removed from the area committee of the CPM at Parassala saying he was a member of the district committee.

He says he has called it quits on his own and was not persuaded by anyone. He would continue to be an ordinary party worker. He does not entertain any idea to join the UDF bandwagon.

All these points are relevant for him, or may not be relevant for the party. Whatever it is, the act of quitting the post of MLA just when the by-election at Piravom is being held on March 17 cannot add fervor to the campaign of the LDF. On the contrary, there is a setback on the campaign plank.

Resignation of CPM MLA on the threshold of Piravom by-election a setback for party

All on a sudden Neyyattinkara MLA of the CPM, R.Selvaraj, tendered his resignation to the Speaker saying he has no surety that the party would give him support in the wake of an attack personally or on family basis.

He has clarified that groupism has not abated even after the conclusion of the party’s state conference.

He has a grouse that he was not given a seat at Parassala, which be believes is his pocketborough. Instead, he was asked to contest at Neyyattinkara which is traditionally a UDF bastion. Still he managed to win the seat, defeating Thampanoor Ravi of the Congress Party.

He feels he should have been complimented for the feat, instead he was taken to task for the defeat of the party nominee , Anavoor Nagappan, at Parassala.Moreover, he was removed from the area committee of the CPM at Parassala saying he was a member of the district committee.

He says he has called it quits on his own and was not persuaded by anyone. He would continue to be an ordinary party worker. He does not entertain any idea to join the UDF bandwagon.

All these points are relevant for him, or may not be relevant for the party. Whatever it is, the act of quitting the post of MLA just when the by-election at Piravom is being held on March 17 cannot add fervor to the campaign of the LDF. On the contrary, there is a setback on the campaign plank.

Resignation of CPM MLA on the threshold of Piravom by-election a setback for party

All on a sudden Neyyattinkara MLA of the CPM, R.Selvaraj, tendered his resignation to the Speaker saying he has no surety that the party would give him support in the wake of an attack personally or on family basis.

He has clarified that groupism has not abated even after the conclusion of the party’s state conference.

He has a grouse that he was not given a seat at Parassala, which be believes is his pocketborough. Instead, he was asked to contest at Neyyattinkara which is traditionally a UDF bastion. Still he managed to win the seat, defeating Thampanoor Ravi of the Congress Party.

He feels he should have been complimented for the feat, instead he was taken to task for the defeat of the party nominee , Anavoor Nagappan, at Parassala.Moreover, he was removed from the area committee of the CPM at Parassala saying he was a member of the district committee.

He says he has called it quits on his own and was not persuaded by anyone. He would continue to be an ordinary party worker. He does not entertain any idea to join the UDF bandwagon.

All these points are relevant for him, or may not be relevant for the party. Whatever it is, the act of quitting the post of MLA just when the by-election at Piravom is being held on March 17 cannot add fervor to the campaign of the LDF. On the contrary, there is a setback on the campaign plank.

Kerala coast is turning hell for fishermen

Fishermen in Kerala are increasingly being tormented by troubles leading to loss of lives. A fortnight ago, two fishermen were shot dead by two Italian marines while they were fishing in the economic zone.

Today two fishermen were killed and other three were missing as a merchant vessel collided with the fishing boat which was remaining in anchor. Two persons were rescued by other boat people.

Paradoxically, one of the deceased, Jestin was the first person who had informed the police about the killing of two fishermen earlier by Italian Navy men.

One may not be able to put these incidents together. But in today’s case the merchant vessel, which has not been identified, was comparatively close to the shores. They have no business to be sailing along so close the shores, in the Indian waters.
All these points have to be probed very well. But how will the authorities ensure safety for the fishermen who venture out into the sea for fishing and fetch a livelihood for their family members?

India has grown well in putting communication equipment together and guarding the shores. Even small incidents which are detrimental to the fishermen and their livelihood should be investigated and remedial measures taken.

This by-election would be crucial for all

Let us do a little bit of rewinding: Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram had said Mullaperiyar agitation would wither away once Piravom by-election was over. Now it was mentioned in Kerala High Court on behalf of Italian authorities that the case against Italian marines would die down once the by-election is over.

Lately, Daisy Jacob, wife of the late T.M.Jacob and mother of Anoop Jacob, has filed nomination papers as a dummy candidate of Anoop Jacob.

There is abundant precaution about losing out, come what may.

The point is: national and international attention has been grabbed by Piravom and it will sustain till March 21 when the counting would be held, voting being held on March 17.

What is the heck of it all? The thin margin enjoyed by the Oommen Chandy Government of the Congress-led United Democratic Front would go for a near-fall if its candidate fails. If the UDF candidate gets defeated, the government’s majority would be only by one and it would be precarious trapezing then on.

All the Cabinet Ministers are logging it out at the streets of Piravom to secure votes for Anoop Jacob. Every vote counts.

The Opposition, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front , is also not leaving any stone unturned in campaigning for which there is no group problem, with CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and Opposition Leader V.S.Achuthanandan doing the rounds. National and state leaders are also pouring in to lend a hand to the electioneering.

Church feuds, SNDP Yogam leader’s move in having an SRP candidate drafted in to carve away a few votes and the like may or may not adversely hit the prospects of the UDF candidate and may nor may not help rival candidate M.J.Jacob of the CPM.

No doubt, this by-election would be crucial for all

Interlinking of rivers should be a mega project and should not ultimately end up with linking Pamba-Achenkovil and Vaipar

Now the Supreme Court has given the green signal to interlink big rivers in the country to facilitate irrigation, generation of power etc.

The issue has been hanging fire for a long time, with even the Supreme Court earlier not amenable to giving the approval. There were many points for and against, the crucial problem being the huge amount required to execute the project.

In this context, there is a possibility that Tamil Nadu would use its clout to have the Pamba-Achenkovil-Vaipar river link at the earliest. Compared to water availability in big rivers like Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Cauvery etc, water availability in rivers in Kerala is meager, even though a sort of scare about floods is created every year during the monsoons.

Definitely there was a failure on the part of Kerala over a period of years to collect the flow of water during the monsoons and store it for better use later. That should not be construed as availability of excess water.

Let the Himalayan rivers and others like Cauvery which have plenty of water be linked first. Then only one should think about tinkering with Pamba, Achenkovil and Vaipar.
Ultimately, the mega project should not whittle down to Pamba, Achenkovil and Vaipar, in the guise of interlinking of rivers.

Cardinal George Alencherry has done the right thing by clarifying his position about attack on fishermen

Cardinal George Alencherry had given an interview to Italian news portal Fides and there was misquoting about his position on Italian Navy men killing two Indian fishermen, shooting from the merchant vessel, Enrica Lexie. The news portal released the interview to suit Italian people’s interests.

According to reports, Italian newspapers and media have been giving out one-sided views on the incident to the effect that the Italian marines had shot at pirates and that the fishermen had attacked the ship and the like.

No doubt, they are all arguing and they all want to believe that India has no business to detain the ship and the two marines, for they had done the act in international waters.

The interview with the newly-ordained Cardinal was twisted in such as way that the Cardinal’s standing in Kerala society has been undermined.

Now the Cardinal has clarified that the Italian news portal has issued a rebuttal statement and that they have apologised him for the erroneous reporting.
The cardinal has reiterated that he stands for the rights of the fishermen and that justice should be done to the killing of the two fishermen. Only that in dealing rightly with the issue to get justice there should be no enmity between the two nations.

The erring Navy men should be brought to book and they should meet the ends of justice. No one can run away from a criminal act committed on Indian citizens, particularly this act has resulted in the loss of life of two precious fishermen. The families have lost their sustenance as the head of the family each has been killed no fault of theirs.

All powers of Italy are hell-bent on bailing out their Navy men

Judging from the keenness with which various powerful arms of Italian authorities are protecting the alleged killers of two Indian fishermen, it would be a tedious effort for Kerala police to take measures to keep the duo here.

Initially, the Italian authorities have been successful in keeping Latorre Massimillano and Salvatore Girone, the two Italian marines, to themselves. Which means the three days of police custody means they are in safe custody in guest houses.

The magistrate has granted 14 days custody, initial three days in police custody and the rest in judicial custody.

But the Italian authorities are moving Kerala High Court pleading for cancellation of the first information report filed by Kerala police on the plea that the duo are foreign nationals and the incident occurred outside the coastal authority of the state of Kerala.

There would be hair-splitting arguments about nautical miles, ordinary miles, and about the arms used for firing being Italian Navy’s properties and therefore these cannot be handed over to Kerala police etc.

If the Italian authorities manage to get a favourable order from the High Court they would spirit away their Naval boys.

As of now the captain of the ship from which the firing incident occurred has not been proceeded against.

The question remains as to whether it is a silly matter for anyone possessing guns or arms on a ship on high seas or low seas to shoot down fishing vessels and they can escape on the plea that these were pirates.

Is it that difficult to identify pirates from fishermen on fishing boats?

Nurses are a formidable force in the medical sector, we have all the while been ignoring them

The elephant does not know its strength, so goes the saying. The nurses did not know their strength as yet. But they are consolidating their position now.

Earlier, the managements used to tinker with their fate basically because of the prevailing bond system and confiscation of their certificates. Now the moment it has been dispensed with following the directives from the Indian Nursing Council, the nurses have found a new-found energy to get an erroneous system corrected.

The latest strike was at Fortis Escorts Hospital, Delhi, but the stir has been settled within hours. The collective bargaining was for reinstatement of four nurses who were asked to resign for seeking enhanced wages on behalf of others.

Now when all of them rallied together in the fight, the managements acquiesced within hours.

Be it at Kothamangalam, Painkulam, Lakeshore, Amrita or elsewhere, the situation has been clear. The nurses have been taken advantage of by the managements which have no qualms to pay hefty sum to others, but not the nurses and para-medical staff.

Times have changed, and one must acknowledge the fact that the nursing care sector is the key component without which a hospital cannot be run. You cannot persecute the nurses anymore by paying measly sums. Let them be paid handsomely and let them live a life of honour.

Kerala brimming with paradoxes even as it claims many progressive achievements

Do we have a model to project to the youth regarding their career and future? We often over-emphasise and project a Kerala model which does not have much content.
We won’t pay even a daily wager’s coolie to a professional nurse, we would pay a pittance to school teachers and CBCE school teachers.

The world over retirement age for employees and workers is not 55 years. But we insist employees and workers should go home on superannuation at 55 years of age.
Specialist hospitals which levy hefty amounts from patients do not pay salaries to nursing and other para-medical staff which would take care of their sustenance. The cruelty is that big-time players in the field do not care a bit in this matter.
Names like Yusuf Ali who have claims of doing a lot of service to the society appear to be not interested in paying handsome salaries to nurses. At least don’t threaten the poor angels.

Church-run h ospitals are also only willing to deny decent salaries to nurses.
What about school teachers and teachers working in CBSE schools? Women empowerment leaders who run such schools also do not pay good salary to the teachers.

Kerala’s this model is not attractive. The government should not kowtow to the pressures of such powerful institutions.

Let the Sun shine at midnight through visual media

If the Sun shines at midnight!!! It used to be a wild thought at the hidden actions being undertaken by the mighty . All the evil pervading the environs could be brought to light.

The visual media have partly undertaken the task of the Sun shining at midnight, meaning the media unravels hidden aspects.

What else was there at Karnataka Assembly where the visual media exposed the moble porno- viewing Ministers?

If there were no visuals all of them would have parroted innocence. Now it would be difficult for them to explain things.

What if we had a system under which every action would be available on a visual? Suppose all human beings had a chip installed in the brain from which the actions could be transferred on a visual platform.

What if such visuals would have been available when Shaari of Kiliroor and Anagha of Kaviyoor were persecuted?

Alibis could have been avoided if there were visuals.

We may say the visual media have been transgressing their limits. There may have been some wrong articulations. But the world would have been in the dark ages still, if there were no visual media.

Parents, society have also to take the blame on crimes like Kiliroor and Kaviyoor instances

Kaviyoor case verdict has come, with five of the accused having been found to be guilty. Shaari, the girl who was minor during the time of the atrocities committed against her, had died in suspicious circumstances in hospital.

Five lesser individuals have been convicted, but Shaari’s father says the real culprits in high places remain outside the ambit of trial or conviction.

There were reports that many people in high places had misused the girl who had not got proper treatment in hospitals.

We are concerned with morality and immorality only, but we don’t take congnisance of the fact that there are amoral people in our society. They don’t bother about the moral or immoral aspect of an action. The rightness or otherwise of an act is not bothersome for them.

Very often parents present there girls, maybe some of them had practised a little bit of dancing, to fraudulent people who claim that they are serial film makers. Sometimes, the girls are taken out by close relatives to such dens. After they fall into the trap, there is no coming out.

Very young girls fetch tidy sums from such deals in which the agents fleece them of the maxi mum amount. There are instances where even parents make a fast buck out of flesh trade.

There can be no escape for the trapped girls.
When people in high places are involved, there would be pulls and pressures on the investigating agencies. In the process of vetting of hard evidence, the culprits escape.

Let us take giant leaps and not small steps

Montek Singh Ahluwalliah has come, let us go in for a leap in infrastructure works
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalliah has come and discussed various issues with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Cabinet colleagues and also members of the state planning board.

What usually happens, hitherto, is to increase the outlay for various ongoing projects by 10 per cent. In unusual instances, there would be 20 per cent increase, if there is constant pressure.

But this is not infrastructure development, which actually requires a giant stride. In other States which are concerned with developments, it is the case that huge fly-over projects stretching to kilometers of length is being completed within months. Which speaks volumes for the fact that if there is a will, projects can be completed. Then one should not create hurdles in the way of proceeding with the work simply for getting commission or other benefits.

Already the Smart City project has lagged behind, after it was cleared. The Opposition has charged that the foreign players were not much interested in the project. Steps should be taken to expedite the work.

The all-state high-speed rail corridor, Kochi Metro and the like should not be embroiled in usual bureaucratic and political bungling. Whatever is the quick way in a transparent manner should be pressed into service.

In fact, Kerala does not have much of a high-calibre development achievement. That does not mean that we should never attempt such mega schemes.
Let us take giant leaps and not small steps.

All right, Subramanian Swamy often makes sweeping statements against leaders, but this time P.Chidambaram could be sweating it out

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy is characteristic by his sweeping statements inside and outside of courts. Claiming that he has proof of many wrong-doings by various leaders, subjectively chosen by him for blows, he has had many of them run for survival.

Subramanian Swamy is a pastmaster at verbal acrimony in stylish English, enough of Hindi and of course Tamil, and he has been taking worthies to courts on and off. He argues the cases themselves. His writing has also been sometimes controversial, like an article written in DNA (Daily News and Analysis) about Muslims. Only those Muslims who profess to be Hindustanis should have voting rights, according to his article. That is a different matter. And he is facing the music in court about it.

Now for some time, Swamy , who had claimed earlier that he could become the Prime Minister of India provided he has 20 MPs with him, has been out to decimate Home Minister P.Chidambaram. It may be because of his eagerness to find a stalwart co-accused for A.Raja in the 2 G spectrum scam case, or may be intended to browbeat the Congress and generate warmth from the BJP that he is gunning for the scalp of Chidambaram. We may not know whether he has to settle some personal scores with Chidambaram.

Anyway, Chidambaram has to be extra careful, for Swamy has taken out weapons in his armoury, no-holds-barred at that.

The Delhi judge is to make a decision on February 4 whether Chidambaram should be tried in the 2 G case on the basis of the so-called pieces of evidence tendered by Subramanian Swamy. And Chidambaram has the baggage of having had to resign on an earlier occasion.

The issue then involved alleged investments by Chidambaram's wife Nalini in the scam-tainted Fairgrowth Financial Services that had been promoted by banker Bilgi Ratnakar, a close associate of rogue broker Harshad Mehta.

There may or may not be something to nail Chidambaram as claimed by Subramanian Swamy, but it will be a blow for Congress if he is dragged into the case.

Post of Army Chief of 1.2 billion people is sacrosanct; there can be no trivialization on plea of verifying facts

The Supreme Court has dismissed the public interest litigation about the age row of Army Chief General V.K.Singh saying the plea is not maintainable and taking it up would create an unnecessary precedent.

The apex court has not mentioned anything about the merits of the issue, whether the date of birth of the General is May 10, 1950 as accepted by the government or May 10, 1951 as claimed by the General.

The petition filed by the General himself has not been taken up by the apex court as yet, and it has not been listed.

In the normal course, such petitions like the plea for determination of the age of an individual would be considered first by the lowest of the courts. The issue should be interesting to notice whether one can take out the Brahmastra first, that is approaching the apex court instantly without going through the lower courts.

Then the issue is one raised by the Army Chief and in view of the propensity for sensationalisation, one has to watch over the situation whether the apex court will take it up.

Defence Minister A.K.Antony has reacted for the first time about the issue saying let us wait for the verdict of the Supreme Court, the highest court of the country. The government was keeping maximum restraint and it does not want to sensationalise the issue.

That is definitely what should be done.

There are certain decorum with regard to handling such issues. Can a Cabinet Minister file a petition against the Prime Minister, still holding the post of the Cabinet Minister?

The post of the Chief of Army Staff of 1.2 billion people of the country is sacrosanct and there cannot be trivialization of matters, be it in the name of probing the veracity of the fact or otherwise.

This gentleman has broken the golden rule!!!

An officer and a gentleman. That is what is often mentioned about military officers. But India’s Army chief General V.K.Singh, after reportedly affirming his willingness to treat his birth year as 1950 when he was being promoted earlier as Lieutenant General, has thrown all the norms of grandeur and discipline, to the winds and has taken the government to the Supreme Court saying his birth year was 1951.

There were discrepancies about his date of birth in different records, one saying his daste of birth was May 10, 1950 and another May 10,1951.

His statutory application was disposed of by the government saying his date of birth could be reckoned as May 10,1950.

Defence Minister A.K.Antony has made the decision after proper vetting by the Attorney General. He had taken the wise decision in accordance with the recommendations of the Attorney General.

There are a lot of people in India who have different dates of birth in different records. The school records may have one date and other records a different date.
For example, in olden days, when the school re-opened on June 1 and the student should have completed six years as on that date, many children with a different date of birth were admitted with date of birth in May so that they could be admitted to school in June. Those days there were no system of issuing birth certificates by local bodies. They continue with their studies and shaped their career and future in accordance with the bogus date of birth. That was something done in good faith.

After having got the topmost promotion and after enjoying all the spoils of office, it was unbecoming of General V.K.Singh to have dragged the government and his superiors (like the President of India who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces) to court.

The General going to court over a matter like this is not something like getting his right secured at the last minute. He should have taken the authorities to court before his becoming the Lieutenant General. Then his future would have been bleak in the Army. One must respect one’s own word. We usually say “ I have only one word”. This gentleman has broken the golden rule.

Will any good come from the Prime Minister to save lakhs of people of Kerala from Mullaperiyar disaster?

The latest is that Union Minister for Science and Technology Ashwinikumar has said Mullaperiyar dam is spick and span. What science and technology he was referring to while giving a fitness certificate to the fragile 116-year-old dam is not known.
He blandly states that experts have given the clean chit. He may have been referring to the affirmation of people like Thatte whose biased position was well known to everybody.

The Prime Minister had sought a salubrious climate for taking measures to bring in a settlement, probably by convening a meeting of the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Prime Minister had gone to Tamil Nadu for some other programmes recently and on the occasion DMK leader Muthuvel Karunanidhi wanted the Prime Minister to call off the measures he had initiated earlier to press national disaster management steps with regard to a possible break of the Mullaperiyar dam. The person who should have persuaded the Tamil Nadu leaders to come to the negotiating table has simply obliged the Tamil Nadu leaders. He has totally ignored the interests of the Kerala people.
By mollifying the Tamil leaders he had secured the support of the DMK in the FDI issue. It is another matter that the FDI bill had to be jettisoned.

Now for passing the budget and finance bills, he may get the support of these fringe groups. And Mullaperiyar would be a fine issue with which he can get the support of the Tamil leaders.

Who were opposing the passing of the Dam Safety Bill 2010? It was Tamil Nadu which strongly opposed the bill which had provisions for the states in which the dams are located to initiate various safety measures.

In the case of dams like Mullaperiyar, which is located in Kerala, we may get authority to proceed properly to ensure safety for the people here. The Centre had done nothing to have the bill passed.

What is the crucial point is that Kerala alone will have to take strong measures, whatever these are, to ensure safety for the people of Kerala by averting a breach of the weak Mullaperiyar dam.

Kerala politics in for turmoil?

Kerala politics in for turmoil as V.S.Achuthanandan is being proceeded against for corruption.

The Vigilance is proceeding against Opposition Leader V.S.Achuthanandan for corruption involving landscam to benefit a relative of his, when he was Chief Minister. He is being charge-sheeted as first accused in the case, with the-then Revenue Minister K.P.Rajendran of CPI as the second accused and six other officials.

Achuthanandan has already made it clear that he is being framed on political considerations and he has nothing to do with the donation of the land. Present Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asked two simple questions, one whether the benefiary was a relative of his, and two whether he did not know about this when the Cabinet took the decision to grant his relative land.

His party colleagues in Kerala belonging to the rival group led by party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan have refused to make any comment, rather they maintained guarded silence.

Only politburo member Sitaram Yechury has made the comment that V.S.need not quit.
It seems Achuthanandan himself has sought permission from the central leaders of the party to allow him to quit.

If he quits this post as well as membership of the Assembly, there would be serious ramifications.

In view of the developments, the campaign in the coming by-election at Piravom would be racy.

Kochousseph Chittilappilly is a good man at heart, but his idea of opposing a new dam at Mullaperiyar is amateurish

No doubt, Kochousseph Chittilappilly is a good man at heart, having parted with one of his kidneys to an unrelated person. He is a bold businessman as well.

But his proposal for strengthening the God-forsaken 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, which is nothing but a huge embankment holding water, which if let out in a break, could destroy half of Kerala consequent on which the other half would be affected badly in different ways, and in the bargain abandoning the plan for a new dam at Mullaperiyar is nothing but amateurish.

He should not have undertaken this attempt at all. Remember, one C.P.Roy sitting in dharna along with the agitationists, suddenly had sprung with an idea that would retain the old dam. He, in turn, turned out to be an abominable man in the eyes of those people living in the vicinity as well those downstream the dangerous dam.

There are hundreds of rich Keralites who have plantations, business ventures, farms and the like in Tamil Nadu. They don’t want their wealth stashed this way in Tamil Nadu affected even at the cost of lakhs of people of Kerala. These rich people would not be affected, if the dam bursts. For they can manage other quarters far away from the downstream area of the dam.

Remember, Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has got the music for suggesting that the old monster can be retained.

Even in 1979, the Central Water Commission had suggested that a new dam be constructed and in the meantime strengthening work should be ensured.
Kochousseph Chittilappilly, please keep off vested interests who might have taken advantage of you.

All these years, they have been taken advantage of,
Now we must give them their due

Everywhere nurses have been exploited, without recognizing the fact that nurses were the backbone of the treatment sector. Exploitation has been the worst in Kerala, as nurses were given a pittance as remuneration.

Most of the institutions have nursing schools and it is very easy for them to manipulate things in such a way that the products of their institutions are kept within their control. They keep their certificates and essential other documents. At least for a year after completion of the nursing course, their services are utilized in return for which they are given a measly sum. Even that sum is used for their living expenses in hostels maintained by such institutions.

Let us not name names of the institutions. All of them were like that. Even institutions which should have taken care of the interests of the nurses like Indian Nursing Council and various state nursing councils have erred in their duty. Human rights panels had looked askance at their plight.
Most of the new lot have to pay back the hefty loans they have taken to complete their studies.

Now there is no way they can be exploited to this extent. The silver lining has surfaced only when the Indian Nursing Council decided that the institutions should return their certificates and there should be no condition of bonds. Accept the fact that bonded labour is over.

A clerk in the central government service gets roughly Rs 50,000 per month. Nurses deserve as much as a clerk gets.

Threats against forming associations, collective bargaining and uproar for better pay packets will not work in the present-day world. Let us treat our nurses with honour.

Kali, Kalki, Mayan calendar: Human kind does not bother about apocalypse

Why should humankind bother about something it cannot prevent? That seems to be the attitude of the fraudsters, cheaters, betrayers, the corrupt and morally deprave. The lot are thriving like anything. The pity is that the same kind of people go about preaching morals. Drugs, liquor camouflage their memory about scruples.

We have rung out 2011 and rung in 2012 with all gaiety. We have lit candles, spread messages of goodwill and harmony and happiness and enthraldom. It should be like that. For what is there to rue about.

Don’t care even if Mullaperiyar dam bursts, the icesheets of the Himalayas melt and rush down as the deluge.

Doomsayers are laughed at, for we ourselves have become the prophets, we advice others to be alert about the impending devastation and the chance to form part of the rapture and be elevated alive.

Mayan calendar predicts December 21, 2012 as the Dooms Day. Nostradamus gives more time, 3927 for final judgement.

Kalki is believed as the next Avatar of Vishnu.
It is believed that He will appear, riding his white horse and drawing a flaming sword, at the end of the Kali Yuga, the dark age through which we are now passing. His task will be to exterminate the evil and restore the Dharma. Thus will begin a new cycle, starting with the new Satya Yuga.

No timeframe was given by Jesus Christ about his return, for God Almighty alone decides the date, for Whom everything is timeless and eternity.

Let there be a few beings who don’t bother about the trials and tribulations brought on to them by the Adharmic.

Key words: 2012, Kali, Kalki, Mayan, Nostradamus, Jesus Christ