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

Mass contact programme of the Chief Minister inspires millions

Taking the massive people’s participation in the mass contact programme of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, it should be naturally assessed that it is inspiring.
The people expect a lot from Oommen Chandy, a man of the masses. There are allegations that people approach him for even flimsy reasons.

But why should they approach the Chief Minister for lowly matters? Simply because they don’t get recourse from elsewhere. Probably, they might have approached the officials a number of times and action has been eluding them.

They come to him to fetch a ration card that would fetch them subsidized ration, welfare pensions, birth certificates, death certificates and what not.

When they come to the Chief Minister, automatically the complaints get vetted by officials of various departments and they themselves try to solve the problem. That is the saving grace of it. Other things which are beyond them, the officials place these before the Chief Minister for a decision.

When there are on options, people approach leaders whom they expect to deliver the goods.

For example, over 60,000 applicants with various grievances have turned up at the mass contact programme in Kottayam. One can imagine the crowd considering the attendance of officials and political party activists added.

Let the people’s problems be resolved one way or another, and the Chief Minister himself taking up the grievances is a good omen.

Should the people approach the UN for averting disaster at Mullaperiyar?

Averting disasters the world over is the responsibility of the UN as well. Doesn’t matter whether it is an internal problem of a country concerning two states.

If both the states do not come to an understanding to avert the imminent disaster, the Centre should use all its powers to avert the calamity. If the Centre is not prepared to go the whole hog, or if the Centre stands helpless, one cannot blame the people, if at least some human rights organizations or other NGO approach the world body seeking its good offices to take steps to prevent a disaster of Mullaperiyar.

If no authority is amenable, including the Supreme Court which is dilly-dallying with stale statistics, who would save the people of Kerala? The propensity of the people is to seek from wherever it would be possible to get solace.

Is it not cowardice on the part of the Tamil Nadu Government to ban screening of the film, DAM 999, fearing that the sensitive people of Tamil Nadu would come to know of the reality of the imminent danger?

The authorities cannot sit in ivory towers and take their own convenient time to decide about scrapping the fragile Mullaperiyar dam.

Action is needed now. Quakes can intensify and can worsen the fragility of the dam.
Suppose, the dam bursts and lakhs of people perish, will Tamil Nadu be able to have a dam at Mullaperiyar ever?

Also if a new dam is constructed, Tamil Nadu will get more water. Perhaps the water level of the new dam can be increased and more water would be available to be let out.

Wake up and decommission the dangerous dam.Before that bring down the water level to below 120 feet.

The indecision on decommissioning dilapidated Mullaperiyar dam is cruel

The Centre and Tamil Nadu Government have the bounden duty to ensure the safety of lakhs of people of Kerala by decommissioning the 117-year-old dilapidated lime and earth masonry dam of Mullaperiyar.

After all, what is the purpose of this dam? To provide water to the people of Tamil Nadu. There has been no hurdle to fulfil this purpose. Tamil Nadu has been making a lot of money by generating power from the water released from Mullaperiyar, in addition to using the water for irrigation purpose. This would continue to be provided even after a new dam is built.

Our celebrated Chief Minister the late C.Achutha Menon had renewed the contract for 999 years with Tamil Nadu without raising any objection. Now on hindsight, one should say a clause should have been inserted to ensure the safety of the dam as it was constructed using age-old and irrelevant technology.

The broad-mindedness of Kerala should not be taken advantage of by the Tamil Nadu Government. Does it think that this fragile dam can withstand for another 999 years.
A breach of the dam would cause devastation on a larger scale than the destruction of a nuclear bomb.

Now that Tamil Nadu would not see reason and common sense would not prevail, the Centre should intervene quickly and if there is any problem with Tamil Nadu it can approach the Supreme Court to make a quick decision on the basis of the reports of damages wrought on the dam by now. There are many reports, including those from the Intelligence wing about the fragility of the dam.

It would be cruel on the part of the Centre not to act in the matter.

OC plans so many things to do; but the proof the pudding is in the eating

With a benevolent Centre and a lot of experienced bureaucrats whose services are available to the state, the Oommen Chandy government is planning to launch ambitious projects on many fronts.

But there should be visible results for the people, and posturing will not do.
Farmers are in dire straits, not to specially mention Wayanad farmers. Farm Debt commission has been toothless. There was no mechanism to file application for assistance after 2009.

A person undertaking farming is a farmer whether on own land, leased land or others’ land. A simple affidavit that should be obtained from him should be sufficient for the banker to offer assistance. If there should be evidence about one’s farming, there are umpteen number of neighbours, panchayat representatives and the like to vouchsafe for the same.

Recently, I was made aware of a poor woman who has no known sources of income and whose husband died six years ago having not been given widow’s pension. She has been representing about it through the panchayat member. She was told that there are a lot of other women like her. Why not give her and all others the eligible widow’s pension? The point is, whatever is said in public about social welfare schemes is not being implemented.

We have come across a lot of schemes announced by governments from time to time. There are some which are undertaken as a pilot project, turnkey project and the like. These are misnomers for doing nothing or doing something to favour something.
Where is the Smart City scheme now? Is something cooking?

It is adulterated decontrol

The regime is going in for the easy way, by decontrol, removing subsidies.

It is quite easy to narrow the gap in income level by simply taking away the subsidies and hiking prices.

The regime should, instead, provide a clean slate, even if it is copy book capitalism, by not mixing taxes while it says there would be decontrol of prices.

Now what the regime is doing is simply allowing the taxes attached years ago to the prices of petroleum products and then giving up responsibility and allowing companies to go on hiking prices.

When the court intervened in the 2G scam, so many skeletons are falling off the cupboard. Just like that the court should intervene and look into the state of affairs of the petroleum companies before allowing them to hike prices.

Now the people know many things- about Rs 1.76 lakh crore swindle in the 2 G scam, Rs 1.20 lakh crore in the give-away of gas plots in the Cauvery basin and what not. Lakhs of crores flow out like this. The known figures are flabbergasting, and the unknown figures could be unimaginable.

You are wasting money like this to a few, and then fleecing 120 crore people of whom the majority are common people. It is easy to swipe their coffers.

There should be imaginative ideas to save the people from burden, even if you decontrol. But then, the decontrol you speak about is not decontrol as such, it is adulterated decontrol.

One may say the price of petrol in France, US, UK is roughly equivalent to Rs 70-75. But then the minimum wages for a worker could be seven dollars, seven Euros, seven pounds per hour.

And also there a citizen has fabulous social welfare schemes. The complaint there is that people go lethargic, without going to work, and enjoy the social welfare benefits.

Here what is it? If you have Rs 26 in the rural areas or Rs 32 in the urban areas, you are above poverty line.

So whatever be the assertions about liberalisation etc, don't burden the people without offering social welfare benefits- full stream.

End this cat and mouse game

It is high time we ended the cat and mouse game of increasing the price of petrol and then drawing it back a little bit and again going in for another hike, creating a havoc in the country.

It was a pathetic sight of the Finance Minister on television channels on Friday just parroting that the petrol price is decontrolled, the government has no role.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said more items have to be decontrolled.
Who is against decontrol, if it is done judiciously?

You cannot call it decontrol, when other levies are tagged with the actual prices being levied from the people.

First of all, before imposing decontrol, the government has to ensure fair practices. The performance of the petroleum companies should be vetted in an objective manner.

The Comptroller and Auditor-General should have the accounts and reports audited in an impartial manner. Otherwise, how can the so-called losses be considered true?
All other levies tagged with petroleum products should be detached and the petroleum prices should be considered in an impartial manner.

The stance of the government simply walking off the stage, leaving the mismanaged companies to fix a price is irresponsible.

Let there be transparency in the affairs of the petroleum companies.
You say prices are hiked when there is hike in international prices. Mind you, much of the purchases are done by prospecting, future trade and speculation. How can real prices in the international market be a reason for the consumers?

There should be a hard look into the affairs of the petroleum companies by the judiciary.

There would be an explosive situation soon if petrol price hike goes like this

The government would learn only when an explosive situation arises. And no doubt, the people would stage opposition in a strong manner, if the hike in petrol prices goes on like this.

The government seems to think that it can wash its hands off by saying it is all the job of the petroleum companies.

Earlier, Dr Manmohan Singh had said the system would absorb hikes. It would not be true always, for the people have suffered enough.

The price hike occurs not because of the increasing prices in the international market alone. Our prices are linked to other taxes and levies.

The government is getting money by simply taxing the people using the petrol path.
The pity is that no one is seriously working on finding a way-out. The price inflation is at its vortex, when the petrol price has been pushed up.

Who is aware of the intricacies of the activities and expenses of the petroleum companies? Their prospecting, projects and governance are not that transparent, and people are simply told they are making losses.

Maybe at one time, the courts would be forced to interfere even in policy matters.
Things are bad for the country, which levies the heaviest in the neighbourhood.

Let us feel ashamed of ourselves for the public battering

Keralites think highly about their intelligence and accomplishments. No harm in making claims. You can even claim to have solved the riddles of Ohm, which rishis of ages found it difficult to crack. Still there is no harm in it.

At least we have a Sukumar Azhicode who had done wonders in his works, but others are also making wild claims.

Forget about all these things and consider the public spat by honorable people, the politicians. Veteran leader V.S.Achuthanandan had crossed limits on several occasions. And now Minister K.B.Ganeshkumar has gone overboard against Achuthanandan.

There are other instances of unbecoming behavior in the realm. We must hang our head in shame.

Legislators have privilege for this!!!

On Monday morning what happened at Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seems to be the privilege of the legislators. The Opposition Leader hurled a mike set at the Speaker who himself showered abuses at the Opposition Leader.

There was uproar in the House over the custodial death of a National Conference Worker and the PDP wanted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to resign. It seems much hulabaloo is in store.

These days in almost all legislatures function sometimes in the form of undertaking physical attacks rather than verbal attacks.

Once, in the Tamil Nadu Assembly the Speaker was manhandled to put another one in his seat. Those who got seated was simply thrown out, physically.

These are the examples that come out starkly as being the signature of the legislatures. And still, all our legislators, be in Parliament or in the State Houses, cry from the roof¬tops about their privileged position!!!

However, in spite of all the drawbacks, can an ombudsman be asked to supervise the work of all the Houses? Who knows the ombudsman himself or herself may be purchased outright.

The other day Anna Hazarehas declared he does not want to become the President of India, as though someone has asked him to please live in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Some mediapersons might have asked him a question about his becoming the Rashtrapati and he says he does not want to become one. Gods Blessings, there would not be a drama in Rahstrapati Bhavan.

OC has bounden duty to find culprits behind brutal attack on teacher

The CPM-led Opposition in Kerala is naturally making a hue and cry into the heinous attack on R.Krishnakumar, a techer of the RVHSS, Valakam, Kottarakara the other day. That the teacher was impaled through the anus using an iron rod, apart from his suffering attacks on the head etc, highlights application of a terrorism-like vengeance in the matter.

The Opposition has taken up the issue in right earnest, pointing out that the school belongs to Kerala Congress (Pillai) leader R.Balakrishna Pillai, who is now in jail in the Idamalayar case, and that his son Ganeshan is a Minister in the Oommen Chandy Government. The teacher in question had some sort of a tussle with the teacher in connection with the promotion of his wife who is also a teacher of the same school.
Naturally, the Opposition has taken the cue and accused Pillai and Ganeshan with being behind the back in the attack on the teacher.

It is because of the same background that Oommen Chandy has more responsibility in the matter to find out the truth and penalize the guilty.

The complicity or otherwise can be confirmed by a sincere probe.

It is not because of the hullabaloo, but the culture of the state calls for getting at the truth.

There may be nothing concerning the complicity. We may remember that at one time, RSP’s stalwart Baby John was the butt of attacks for a long time with regard to the disappearance of a person who was his earlier supporter. Finally, the person himself had turned up and the whole allegations were untrue.

If there is a role for Pillai or his son in the heinous attack, that should be found out, and if there is no role that also should be revealed and the assailants should be brought to book, whoever it is.

Rs 32- Rs 26 poverty threshold an improvement; but then eradicate hunger

We are definitely improving in the level of determination of poverty line, if the affidavit submitted before the Supreme Court by the Planning Commission is any indication.

The affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on September 20 says if one earns Rs 32 a day in the urban areas and Rs 26 in the rural areas, he or she is not poor. That is the poverty threshold line.

The population of BPL (Below the Poverty Line) is 40.74 crore. But the population of BPL covered by the public distribution system (that is people supplied with ration items) is only 35.98 crore.

Let us say there is improvement, but then years ago the Suresh Tendulkar commission had stated that every third Indian is poor. There does not seem to be much improvement then.

According to the latest parameters pointed out by the planning commission, the income should be Rs 965 per capita per month in urban areas and Rs 781 per capita per month in the rural areas. A family of five should have a monthly income of Rs 4,824 in urban areas and Rs 3,905 in rural areas.

The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.

The common international poverty line has in the past been roughly $1 a day.In 2008, the World Bank came out with a revised figure of $1.25 at 2005 purchasing-power parity.

Earlier in the nineteen seventies there was the calculation of a human being consuming 2,400 calories a day in the urban areas and 2,100 calories a day in the rural areas for determining the poverty threshold. But there was an anachronism in the calories statement as the Supreme Court itself had pointed out that it was not possible to have such consumption of calories at the-then income level of Rs 20 and Rs 15 a day.

Whatever it is the governmental attitude should not be denial of basic amenities on the plea of poverty threshold, but taking all efforts to eradicate hunger and provision of amenities.

How many are there who can be counted as just and fair?

The sudden exit of Karnataka Lokayukta and the pace of such developments elsewhere are pointers to the fall in standards of morality.

The Lokayukta, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, had to demit office close on the heels of his assuming office on account of allegations of land scam.

The crucial point is not with regard to accusations of impropriety against one person. It is about the mind-set of people. When power and pelf are available many of the people fall prey to such attractions. Afterall, the dictum for them is enjoy whatever comes handy.

Seeing the gargantuan proportions of corruption in society, we argue for setting up a Lokpal or Ombudsman to deal with all sorts of ills and irregularities. There can be no argument against setting up some sort of an arrangement to deal with erroneous people and institutions.

But who will morally, legally and judiciously deal with such issues? Can all incumbents of so-called Ombudsman be depended upon? If they want they can levy more money from evil-doers. That is the grave situation in which we live. And there is no one who would appreciate upright persons.

One may, behind his back, find fault with upright people. He may be depicted as someone incapable of making a fast buck or enjoying luxuries. Those who achieve worldly possessions on account of devious means are applauded and awarded.

Suppose there is no opposition, no movement against mounting instances of evil doing and corruption, immorality, unethical practices, the end will be quick. There will be a natural explosion in the society.

Until then, all the evil doers will flourish and enjoy themselves.

There should be people at the helm of affairs who sense the sensitivities

You can comfortably sit in cosy rooms, enjoying all the perks and facilities and go on sermonizing on the vast amount of losses occurred on account of sale of petroleum products.

You say that the prices have been decontrolled and the government has no say in the matter. But would you leave the prices alone? No, you would attach taxes, excise duties and other levies and say that everything is decontrolled. This is mere insensitivity.

You may be able to balance the deficit by extorting the people. But things are very bad.

Don’t believe the people managing the petroleum companies with their accounts. The people do not know the prospecting of petroleum production and purchases, in the country and abroad. The people are not involved in the affairs of these petroleum companies. And the government would say, it has no control.

The government is planning to make a cut for cooking gas. The price would come to Rs 797.something for a cylinder. But it may graciously reduce it to Rs 750 per cylinder. What a grace?

And these are people who say that we would get piped gas. And these are the same people who say that our country is going to be a developed nation post-2020.

The tussle for Prime Ministership between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi in 2014?

Narendra Modi definitely is angling for grabbing the post of Prime Minister, if his image building exercise is any indication. He feels the Supreme Court has let him alone, by not instantly cornering him in the communal genocide issue in Gujarat.

Now, a report on India by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a bipartisan and independent research wing of the US Congress, has found his regime something like first class.

And the same body has given out the impression that Narendra Modi would be the BJP candidate for Prime Ministership in 2014, when Lok Sabha elections are due next.
Which means, L.K.Advani has no chances. The report was given out before Advani decided to launch out on the corruption issue. The decision for a Bharat Yatra led by Advani against corruption came later.

No doubt, there was tussle for upper hand between Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, the second generation leaders after A.B.Vajpayee and L.K.Advani. If Narendra Modi settles the leadership issue, that would be well and good for the party.
And the CRS also affirms that the battle would be between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi in 2014.

Rahul Gandhi has so far been saying that he is not interested in being Prime Minister. But he could have gained first hand knowledge at governance, had he accepted ministership under Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Kerala reeling with controversies one after the other

Kerala is a hot-bed of certain controversies now, with regard to a letter written by Chief Whip P.C.George pointing out the alleged irregularities in the Vigilance court dealing with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the palmolein case, Chief Whip receiving perks akin to a Cabinet Minister and Orthodox and jacobite factions fast-fighting it out with regard to the Kolencherry church.

The cup of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is full with woes, which he has been struggling hard to solve. Some of the things he cannot handle alone and he seems to be leaving them out. For example, if he says he supports P.C.George, that would be tantamount to challenging the decision of the court. If he rejects P.C.George, that would look like he has isolated him.

Now the cat is out of the bag with regard to enjoying the spoils of office. It was on the basis of a law passed by Kerala Assembly that Cabinet perks were given to the Opposition Leader and the Chief Whip. There is nothing wrong with that, according to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Office of profit image would not be applicable in that case.

Then what about the church affair. Orthodox faction to which Oommen Chandy belongs, wants its case to be settled by the Chief Minister in its favour. The rival jacobite faction would not cave in. Now the issue is before the remediation panel of the High Court. It is a hard nut to crack.

Technicalities like Parliamentary privilege, judicial privilege, discretion of the executive may not remain for long

People’s power is rising all over the world like anything. People defy repressive regimes, rules and actions at any cost.

People don’t obey tyrants, rules that are unequal, and corruption and corrupt people.
In course of time, we are going to face a situation in which a verdict of the Supreme Court, if there is any indiscretion in it, would be stoutly opposed. The beginning comes through vetting of the actions and operations of judges who have retired.
In the long run, the mushrooming media would highlight the wrong-doings, if any, of even the reigning judges.

It would be the responsibility of the reigning judges and other authorities of various limbs of the Constitution to perform in such a way that they retain goodwill in accordance with law and fairness.

Why people have come up against corruption in such large measure? It would be wrong to think that it was because of Anna Hazare. People wanted an umbrella and that cover was given by Anna Hazare.

It was utmostly reprehensible that some people dubbed him as the second Mahatma Gandhi. By doing so, we were humiliating Mahatma Gandhi. That is another thing. But corruption would not be tolerated by the people.

Therefore, judges, parliamentarians, and rulers cannot take cover under the pretext of privilege in future.

Let the functions be discharged transparently and let no man or woman take cover under privilege.

No demarcation between America and American imperialism, both same: VS

Kozhkode: Before the inimitable V.S.Achuthanandan, interpretation between the lines by some party leaders of his CPM would not gel well. For he has spoken out in unmistakable terms that America and American imperialism cannot be seen with a different lens.

He made it clear to mediapersons here on Friday that both are the same. Some leaders had explained that the party had no problem with America and its people. The problem was with regard to the policies.

Such an explanation had come in the wake of WikiLeaks information that the CPM leaders including party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan,others like Dr Thomas Isaac, M.A.Baby and V.S.Achuthanandan himself had interaction with counselors of the US administration. The leaders had sought American investment in Kerala for its development.

Now Achuthanandan has made it clear that there can be no demarcation between the US and US imperialism. The US means its imperialism. Its imperialism has isolated itself before the people, he said.

US imperialism had tried to kill revolutionary Fidel Castro 117 times, he alleged.

Keralites have a lot of WikiLeaks info to gobble up during Onam

Think of Onam 2011, when we have plenty of WikiLeaks info to gobble up and please Maveli for our opulence.

V.S.Achuthanandan, Pinarayi Vijayan, M.A.Baby, Thomas Isaac, P.K.Kunjalikutty, M.K.Muneer are all enmeshed in WikiLeaks info.

For the CPM leaders, the leaks is a heaven-sent, for rival groups can present their views on certain issues in the guise of comments on WikiLeaks. Such utterances have already come out. Sometimes court cases also provide such occasions for the leaders.

But don’t mistake all these mouthings as some sort of imminent explosion in the party that would break it. Nothing of the sort. The party will continue to undergo the waxing and waning to take up reins of administration every other five years.

This time, the party tried hard to retain power. It was on the verge of fulfilling its dreams, because of the bickerings within the UDF bandwagon. Had the UDF mandarins been successful in defeating just two more candidates, the situation would have been entirely different. Luck eluded the LDF by a whisker. Still the leaders can wax eloquent, for WikiLeaks have provided them the fodder.

The Congress Party is a different entity altogether. It is some sort of a free-for-all. A T.H.Musthafa can twist things to his advantage in the palmolein case and there won’t be any criticism against him. Afterall, he has his own rights.

Now the public utterances by K.Sudhakaran, MP, and Kannur DCC president P.Ramakrishnan could be the epitome of undaunted utterances by various leaders. The Congress Party would see virtue in utterances of divergent views.

The people are bemused by various utterances during Onam time. Anyway, the government led by Oommen Chandy is providing rice at Rs one per kilogramme to the Below-the-Poverty Line people. Don’t worry, at least they get it, even though those above this thin line are not much different.

WikiLeaks won’t be earthshattering in Kerala.

Who will ombudsman the Ombudsman?

A lot of people have turned simply mobs calling for an Ombudsman which will vet the doings of the Prime Minister, all the judges of the higher and lower judiciary, all the bureaucrats from top to bottom and who else.

For once did any one think about the scenario in which a Shanti Bhushan, his son Prashan Bhushan, Magsaysay award winners Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal and a few others would be supervising the Body System of India that is Bharat? Anna Hazare would be able to bridle the corruption that pervades the whole Body System?

Nobody need be carried away by the high-falutin media coverage about Anna Hazare and Company who may break off once the real issues come up before them.

There is no one righteous in the whole world, so says the Word. A lot of our worthies would fall prey to enticements of different sorts, once they are flush with power. Misuse of power by even the Ombudsman cannot be ruled out.

Because of the blow-blow media coverage of the movement, ordinary mortals would be thinking that this would be the end of Corruption Personified. We would be sadly mistaken to believe in a bunch of over-adventurous people. Their intent may be right, but which way the result of this movement will assume cannot be foretold.

Corruption is eating into not only the government echelons, but in the body and mind of the Human System. Simply gobble up whatever comes handy seems to be the way of the world. A lot of worthies would do any unethical and immoral act for a price. It is this mindset that has to be fought against.