V S Achuthanandan looks definitely pained

In this picture, Kerala’s Opposition Leader, with PA A.Suresh is definitely pained, anticipating action against his trusted lieutenants.

Reports say there would be punitive action against three of his personnel staff members.

There is something like vicarious responsibility

There can be immediate cases in point in respect of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Kerala's Opposition Leader V.S.Achuthanandan.

The Supreme Court had mentioned "the heart of the report was changed on the suggestion of government officials" regarding coalgate scam report of the CBI.

The court has said access was given to joint secretaries in the Prime Minister's Office and the Coal Minstry. The joint secretary concerned in the PMO was one Shatrughan Singh and another joint secretary in the Coal Ministry was one A.K.Bhalla.

At the instance of the Law Minister these officials intervened and met together with CBI director Ranjit Sinha and Attorney-General G.E.Vahanvati.

Why should these officials intervene? It was only to save the blame game on the Prime Minister.

Come to Kerala, the personnel staff members of Opposition Leader V.S.Achuthanandan are being acted against by the central leadership of the CPM. Press Secretary K.Balakrishnan, Additional PS V.K.Sasidharan and PA A.Suresh are being proceeded against.

Of course V.S.Achuthanandan has told the central leadership that this action is meant to be by default. VS himself is targetted.

what we see now-a-days is abdication of vicarious responsibility.

PM knows he can’t give up Ministers that easily

The CBI has found that the corruption money received by the nephew of Railway Minister P.k.Bansal was on behalf of the Minister himself. It may be soon when the CBI may interrogate the Minister himself.

But P.K.Bansal remains in the post because he is the protégé of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh himself.

Law Minister Ashwini Kumar is also dear to the heart of the Prime Minister. The Supreme Court has been berating the CBI, the Law Minister and joint secretaries of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Coal Ministry for interfering with the report of the CBI on coalgate scam investigation.

The Supreme Court has said the heart of the inquiry report was changed.

All the same the two Ministers are guarding their posts, maybe on the plea that the apex court is yet to name them.

Indirectly, the blame should be shared by the Prime Minister too. So what is the point in pinpointing the blame to the Law Minister only?

Easy to say nature should not be touched; what would human beings do?

Remember M.P.Veerendrakumar was Minister of Forests for a day. And he issued the singularly important order on that day. Don't cut any tree.

 No one can question the good intention of M.P.Veerendrakumar, for he is a lover of nature. Now-a-days everyone is speaking in the same vein. Don't touch nature at all. After all, human beings have to dwell on planet earth. He has to find dwellings, and means to live. 

Therefore, he has to tinker with nature. The problem is over-exploitation of nature that would destroy the very existence of life on earth.

 In the name of protecting the environment, ecology and fragile areas, human beings cannot keep off districts of Idukki, Wayanad, parts of Kasargod and the like.

 Now one is asking questions like which would you have, Madhav Gadgil report or Kasturirangan report. Be it Madhav Gadgil or Kasturirangan, there can be no life, to the exclusion of human beings. Let there be temperance at all levels.

Allies in OC Government are enjoying freedom like anything

The allies in the Oommen Chandy Government are enjoying their freedom like anything.

Look into the affairs of K.R.Gowri Amma's JSS, whose state committee has decided to leave the Congress-led UDF. But a special convention would be held in August or so and then take the final decision. Meanwhile, JSS would sit in the UDF meets. Gowri Amma herself would not have any more discussions with the UDF.

M.V.Raghavan's CMP is sitting on the fence, with an eye on moving over to the LDF, if it is possible. By hooks or crooks this party wants governance of Pariyaram Medical college. The government has decided to take over the medical college, but M V Ragahavan would not be appeased.

Now the latest stunt is by Shibu Baby John of a faction of the RSP. Without informing anyone of consequence like the Chief Minister, he went off to meet Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The Kerala BJP unit chief says this visit was with the knowledge of it. What a paradox, Kerala CM did not know it.

The allies are enjoying like anything. Let them feast on their freedom.

Labour Minister Shibu Baby John meets Narendra Modi, wants to replicate skill development and knowledge city schemes in Kerala

Labour Minister Shibu Baby John has been impressed by the developments in Gujarat and he wants to replicate the skill development scheme and the knowledge city scheme in Kerala.

Shibu Baby John met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi last Thursday and got direct feedback from him. And Shibu Baby John presented him with an Aranmula metal mirror.

Shibu Baby John was in Ahamedabad to participate in a function of the National Institute of Design when he met Gujarat's Labour Minister who took him to the Chief Minister.

There is no clarity at both UPA and NDA levels regarding advance polls

Janata Dal (United) of Sharad Yadav and Nitishkumar says it won't gravitate away from the BJP-led NDA. It has no reason to break up the firm alliance.

It has only added a rider, there should be a secular-looking, all-embracing Prime Minister.

Nitishkumar has observed that there should be an over-arching personality like the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to be the new PM.


At some other juncture, he had reportedly said L.K.Advani of Babri Masjid demolition- fame was acceptable as PM.

Still, there is no walking off from the NDA now.

On the other extreme, Sharad Pawar, veteran leader of NCP, has observed UPA alliance is weakening. There could be polls anytime.

More than that, he has called for making plans and preparations for next Lok Sabha polls.

These days Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has been keeping quiet. There may not be any chance of his withdrawing support now, even as he had cautioned his party people earlier that there could be polls in 2013, advanced from 2014.

Anyhow, Defence Minister A.K.Antony has been reiterating that there would not be advance elections.

Lately, an allegation has come up regarding some fiddling at the PMO regarding CBI report on coalgate scam.

This would be more than enough for the Opposition to rattle the ruling dispensation when Parliament reconvenes.

Both ways, at the UPA level as well as NDA level, there appears to be no clarlity.

Allies' opposition mounts against Narendra Modi being named PM candidate; JD (U), Shiv Sena raise banner of revolt

Janata Dal (United) and Shiv Sena have publicly aired their views that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is not acceptable to them as a Prime Ministerial candidate.

 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who himself is an aspirant for the post or at least who hopes to play a crucial role in selecting a secular-looking Prime Minister has demanded of the BJP to make up its mind about the candidature within a week.

 The call would be a precursor to his making cogent decisions. Janata Dal (U) President Sharad Yadav has made it clear that its alliance with the BJP "is based on secular credentials and secularism", making it clear that Modi is simply unacceptable. 

Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray,working president of Shiv Sena has said his party is against Narendra Modi becoming the PM. He wants Sushma Swaraj as the PM candidate.

Film. military fields may squirm if women take up cases in the wake of new law

Women are turning femme fatale in the wake of the new law passed by Parliament against atrocities against the weaker sex.

Everything began on a war footing following the gangrape-murder of the Delhi girl.

Yamini Thankachi would not bear the brunts anymore, even if her husband was a Minister. Her plaints were there when he was the Minister, and now a mere MLA. He had to part with property and considerable pie as well.

Now film girl Anjali has turned against her kith and kin for alleged misuse of her in several ways.

For fear of her life, she has gone hiding.

Yesterday a Naval officer's wife had come out openly against the lieutenant-colonel's alleged misbehaviour and atrocious sex depredations. She has alleged that her husband had coerced her into submitting herself sexually to senior level Naval officers.

The Navy people have contradicted her averrments saying the developments were part of a marital discord.

Whatever it is, film people and military hawks where discipline is the inthing, have to watch out.

Skeletons in the cupboard may tumble out.

Apologise and pay up, otherwise jail beckons

Reports say K.B.Ganeshkumar is preparing himself to apologise to wife Yamini Thankachi for two counts.

The apology is for reneging on the agreement for parting of ways, with proper payment and provision of properties to her and two children, as also the public statement issued by his counsel to the effect that Yamini was going inimical spurred by the machinations of the forest mafia.

These days the magistrate has been trying hard to help them arrive at a settlement, after Yamini filed the domestic violence plea, a few days following the filing of petition by Ganeshkumar against Yamini.

Ganeshkumar should count himself lucky that there are a lot of people trying to help him out.

Whatever common sensical arguments are there bothways, the domestic violence clauses are largely favourable to the fair sex. Only because there is a friendly regime and Ganeshkumar is a former minister and now an MLA could he save his face not landing himself in prison.

The women-friendly domestic violence clauses are all the more important and unfriendly to the male folk in the backdrop of the Delhi atrocities.

The public has turned deadly against perpetrators of trouble makers among men.

Yamini has a lot of nicks and cuts on her body that should urge the court to act against him.

Better gird up and act - apologise and pay up - and be a free man. The world is one which fleeces a pound of flesh. Forget about your other peccadilloes.

Will the North Korean leader go berserk and launch a nuclear war? Twenty-nine year-old North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is playing up rhetorics transcending the frequency reached earlier by former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and present Iranian leader Ahmadi Nejad. Kim Jong-un has the inheritance of self-styled glorious leadership of his grandfather and father. This young leader could outwit his forefathers and do something nutty, that is what is feared by the US, South Korea and other world powers. The precocious N.Korean leader has threatened nuclear strikes on the US, formally declared war on South Korea and insists on reopening a nuclear reactor in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. He has already put the world leaders on tenterhooks. In the normal course, no one with sensible thinking would launch a nuclear war. There were reports earlier that Pervez Musharraf was planning to launch a nuclear missile against India during the Kargil war. The-then US President Bill Clinton had intervened to salvage the situation. If a man goes berserk, anything could happen in the world. Major religions have anticipated an armageddon-like occurrence. Let the present threat be not that miserable.

Involve the Congress high command to draft Ramesh Chennithala into the Cabinet The allegation by Yamini Thankachi that she was cheated by all, including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, was too much. The Chief Minister may not have understood the gravity of the murky goings-on in the family headed by R.Balakrishna Pillai. It seems there existed a situation that was incorrigible. It was this fact that could not be deciphered by the Chief Minister. Of course, he had the good intention to safeguard the cohesion of the government as well. Can that be faulted? If we look through a cross-section of the society, we could confirm that there are situations sometimes which cannot be improved upon, except the court's intervention. Even that could not save the relationships, but parties concerned can go their ways. The silver lining on the dark horizon could be that the Congress high command should be involved in finding ways to accommodate Ramesh Chennithala into the Cabinet. A lot of problems could be solved at one go.

Apparently, the party mantle has fallen on Narendra Modi The BJP has demonstrated in unmistakable terms about who would be leading the party in an attempt to recapture power at the Centre. The leader is Narendra Modi who has been re-inducted into the parliamentary board of the party. He has been kept outside for six years. Now, accepting the growth figures in Gujarat, the central leadership of the party has no doubt he would be the fit person. And that underscores the fact that the party would be playing the extremist Hindutva ideology. And that would be a great departure from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee days. L.K.Advani, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and all would not be tall leaders vis-a-vis Narendra Modi. There may be many critics against this choice. But a party has the right to choose its nominee, even though Narendra Modi has not been chosen the Prime Ministerial candidate as yet. The writing is clear on the wall. The rival political parties have also the right to criticise the situation. But the right of any party to bring a particular person on the vanguard cannot be questioned. The results have to be watched at the appropriate time.

On again, off again, still on again support; something is wrong Once in a while it seemed Mamata Banerjee was coming back to the UPA II when DMK pulled out. It seemed Janata Dal (U)'s Nitish Kumar of Bihar could be roped in. But one thing has to be recorded Biju Janata Dal's Naveen Patnaik did not even hint at supporting the UPA II dispensation. Dr Manmohan Singh's Government has been hanging on with the outside support of Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav. But for a few days now, Mulayam Singh has been at his best to rip open the Congress. It seems, when P.Chidambaram complimented his son and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam has calmed down a little bit. But he is a past master at politicking. Remember, how he had hoodwinked Mamata Banerjee. Reports were apearing in the media that maybe Karunanidhi would return to the UPA fold. Lately, Karunanidhi has expressly confirmed there would be no going back to the UPA. Even the Prime Minister has hinted that there could be pulling out of allies, however as the leader of the ruling dispensation he should give out only remarks about the cohesion of the government. And that he has done. Everything may not be smooth going, and 2013 could be a cliff-hanger.

The marines' issue was miserably mishandled by the Italians Now we have heard about the resignation of Italy's Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi over the return of the two marines to India as assured to the Supreme Court of India. It seems Terzi was protesting against the return of the marines. No doubt, Terzi had a big role to play in the 'kidnapping' of the marines to Italy duping the sovereign nation of India. It all seems some people in India, maybe in the political sphere, maybe in the diplomatic or ex-diplomatic sphere, had given them false hopes. But the moment, the sovereign nation of Italy duped the sovereign nation of India and the Supreme Court of India, things had gone awry. The Italians were behaving like the mafiosi. The averrment that there is an agreement about not giving capital punishment to the marines is not tenable. Any law-abiding citizen in India knows that the marines' case would not come under the rarest of the rare cases. They would not get death sentence. The Italians should have shown perseverance and fought the case in India. On the political front, they could have drawn up an agreement with India allowing the marines to spend their time in Italy, if there is a small jail term for them. In sum, the marines' issue was a monumental mismanagement by the Italians.

Culprits smuggle themselves into the groups of just and fair and argue for truth More than 4 billion people live without access to the protections of law. This leaves them, their families, and their homes vulnerable to exploitation and violence at the hands of the rich and powerful. But now there’s an opportunity to change this. Because poverty will only be defeated when the law works for everyone, Chris Stone, President of Open Society, says along with George Soros, Amartya Sen. What we see now-a-days is the heightened form of inequality, the rich and the powerful get away with whatever they want. All the film stars will argue out the case for acquittal of an accused arraigned by the Supreme Court. This comment is without going into the merits of the culpability of a person who was once a drug-addict. There are millions of examples of inequality and disparity, in wealth acquisition, working of the law, justice and fairness. Now what we see is a strange phenomenon, the real culprit smuggles himself into the just and fair and argues out for justice, equality and fairness. What a paradox!!!

It would be just pulling on till the elections, in 2013 or 2014? It is a game of numbers in Parliament, there can be no mincing the matter. Whether the MPs belong to national parties or regional parties or some parochial ones, their support and votes count in the sustenance of the government. Coalition set-up runs in many countries, particularly in Israel, Japan, Italy etc There, when they find the going tough, they call for fresh elections. The post-election scenario would bring out a little different outcome, still coalitions pull on. Now the UPA II Government in India is facing the worst of its crises. Those who do not want to sing a swan song in Parliament now (for where is the guarantee that the same MPs would return after fresh elections?), would try to stitch some support so that the government survives. Who would all be coming out with support, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, Biju Patnaik or so? For the Congress Party, announcement of elections should be at a convenient time. Is it the time now which is convenient? Lo, elections are on the horizon, at least during winter time this year!!!

Definitely, the atmosphere in Kerala has been vitiated by vitriolics but expediency demands that there would be no political killing Be he K.B.Ganeshkumar, P.C.George or some other leader, political expediency does not allow a killing. When the survival of the very government is dependent on complacency, that would be the rule. Any amount of waxing eloquent on the issues would not result in action. Now that P.C.George-Gowri Amma row has surfaced, Ganeshkumar issue had a reprieve of sorts. For, the problem remains only if it is in the air through television channels. Otherwise, it is just pass. No doubt, the goings-on in Kerala in the political sphere have been undesirable. But no one has a solution. The only solution seems to be to create a fresh controversy to suppress a previous row. And people are thriving on the telecasts of leaders washing dirty linen. We, Keralites, may think that ours is the ideal political atmosphere. Actually, we are ignoring the genuine issues that confront the people. We go on speaking about treating wastes at the source and solving the mounting garbage problem, which is the biggest woe for people of the state. Just tinkering with the issue by assurances of treating wastes at the source would not do. There should be gargantuan cauldrons and incinerators and mega level automatons that should burn off the wastes. That is costly and may necessitate crucial planning and execution. If the garbage problem can be solved at a mega level, much of the infectious diseases, viral fever, and other fevers caused by mosquitoes can be prevented. Demands for axing particular leaders would hog the headlines at breaking news realms for some time, the problems would escape into thin air, unless of course there would be a decision of the courts.

Unbelievable there could be such a Pontiff as Pope Francis I In this world of the riches-seeking, pleasure-playing and luxury-indulging times, it is unbelievable that there could be such a pontiff as Pope Francis I, who is in his first blessing asked the people to pray for Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI as well. The new Pope coming from Argentina of Latin America loves football. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as he was, gave up a palace for a small apartment, cooked his own meal, rode public transport. He is a history-making pontiff, first from Latin America, who gives importance to social outreach. Definitely, this prelate from humble beginnings can work to make the world a better place to live in.

Gorbachev, Pope Benedict XVI are trend-setters Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope Bendict XVI are the trend setters of the new world. The actions of Mikhail Gorbachev led to far-reaching changes in the world. Even though he had not anticipated the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, wanting only multi-party system to come into being instead of totalitarianism, other powerful and popular leaders emerged, along with new nations. Freedom for millions of people was the result of Gorbachev's actions which are not liked by traditional Communists. All the same, freedom is valuable. In the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI did not want to put up with things he could not bear. Rather than living a life of duplicity, he chose to remain steadfast in his beliefs. Abdicating the most powerful position on Planet Earth is not that simple. He has done that, now leading to the process for election of a new Pope. Now-a-days renunciation is a far cry for even those who are sworn to renunciation.

There is a connoisseur in every art, sport, entertainment form; don't trespass Cricket is the fort of personalities like Sachin Tendulkar and music that of Yesudas, Lata Mangeshkar and their class. Everyone can play cricket in the private domain, and everyone can sing like that. In public domain, there should not be a burden from small worthies playing cricket and singing songs, to 'entertain' the people. Only the players are entertained. The sight of worthy actors spoiling cricket and some of them orchestrating musical strains for the 'benefit' of the fans is illogical. There is a connoisseur in every art, sport and entertainment form. Don't trespass.

A lot of pressures are there, but Oommen Chandy had said not a leaf would move On the surface of it, the Oommen Chandy Government should fall by the wayside going by the sort of machinations against it. But Chief Minister Oommen Chandy himself had said not a leaf would move out of the Congress-led UDF bandwagon. The NSS-SNDP Yogam combine is gleefully waiting for the fall of its persona non grata government. M.V.Raghavan is not satisfied with the spoils of office offered to it, even as it has no MLA. So is the case with K.R.Gowri Amma. But they cannot simply move out, for if they venture out, there might be split in their own forts. Now Minister K.B.Ganeshkumar is being given a taste of being arrogant. His paramour's husband had given him blows at the ministerial bungalow itself, according to government's own Chief Whip P.C.George. But Oommen Chandy and the UDF have no complaint against Ganeshkumar by the aggrieved party. One should expect a bland statement from the UDF leaders after the front's meeting on Thursday. Everybody should behave and fall within the pattern of the UDF discipline. There is no complaint from the aggrieved parties, so would go on the fulminations. K.M.Mani is being shown an olive branch by the LDF, without cogent plan of action. Mani may not be that indiscreet to be hoodwinked by anyone.

Why not try expenditure tax as well? We have exhausted all forms of taxation. Where is the tool to extract more money from the people? Expenditure tax could also be pursued. The rich and the poor could be roped in at one go. Expenditure tax is a taxation plan that replaces the income tax. Instead of applying a tax based on the income earned, tax is allocated based on the rate of spending. This is different from a sales tax, which is applied at the time the goods or services are provided and is considered a consumption tax. Experts say there are four basic issues surrounding an expenditure tax: equal distribution between rich and poor, collection methods, tax brackets, and rates. The most obvious issue with this model is the difference in available income for spending. The lower the income, the more of that income is spent to meet daily needs. Saving is a luxury that is only possible after all spending needs are met. This model would have the wealthy, who have more income available to save, and thus shelter from tax than the poor and working classes. To address this issue, adjustment mechanisms would need to be built in to the tax reporting process for people with lower incomes.

Systemic changes needed for instant implementation of budget proposals There was a comment about Railway budget proposals that it would take fifty years to implement the suggestions. Therefore, the point is clear, there should be a systemic change to realise actual implemenetation. Finance Minister P.Chidambaram says the women's bank with a start-up capital of Rs 1,000 crore would be set up this November. If that happens, it would be a wonder, in India which is in a quagmire of procedural wrangles otherwise. We speak about 80,000 crore for rural development, Rs 1,000 crore for women's empowerment, Rs two lakh crore for defence and the like. But when it comes to actual implementation a year, the figures would be much less. When the world is moving at rocket speed, our snail's pace implementation would only add up to all sorts of deficits, fiscal, current account, and so on. But there would be cut-back on confidence, added inflation and frustration all around.

Mani is having fun; it should be a nice feeling being invited by rivals Kerala Congress (M) supremo K.M.Mani is definitely enjoying the fun of it all. Initially, the CPM said something would be done to rattle the UDF bandwagon. Then, none other than V.S.Achuthanandan said Mani is welcome to the LDF fold. Now Pinarayi Vijayan says there is no such decision to welcome Mani. Vaikom Viswan says only those who have similarity of views would be accepted. Could the game-changer be that simple? Mani has nothing to gain unless he is offered Chief Ministership. Would the CPM come down to that? Would LDF allies agree to this? Will K.M.Mani's own MLAs in full accept this proposal? Several imponderables are there. Suppose there would be a third front government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections. Changes could come easily then.

The late K.Karunakaran might be the only political stalwart who had taken criticism in his stride The late K.Karunakaran was probably the only political stalwart in Kerala who took criticism in his stride. Those times,when a multitude of television channels were absent, newspapers used to tear him to pieces when he was Chief Minister and otherwise. He wouldn't mind even calumny against him. For a fact, it should be noted that the very concept of the UDF then was based on protecting the interests of various communities. Karunakaran would visit Guruvayur temple every first of the Malayalam month of Chingam. That was the way of his passion about Hinduism. But then, he was close to various community leaders. And they trusted him. With regard to J.C.Daniel not having been accepted as the first Malayalam film maker, some confidantes of Karunakaran might have told him that his was not a talking film in Malayalam and that was that.

Terrorism is lurking everywhere; no one knows when it would strike We may not know, terrorism could strike in our backyard. Everywhere its tentacles have a strong-hold. The attacks could be in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad or any other place. The powers-that-be appear to have intruded into almost every echelons of our society, masquerading in different forms and entities. The US has always been criticised for seemingly oppressive forms of search, questioning and detaining suspects. But then, it has contained the menace quite well. Now what is haunting the US is trigger-happy gun firing only. In India, because we are so liberal, to the extent of being unique in the world, any terrorist can pass as ordinary citizen, hoodwinking the authorities. Now reports say Indian Mujahideen leader Yasin Bhatkal was in the custody of Kolkata police in 2008 in disguise. Another report says he has two Malayali accomplices with him. The cops had no idea that the person in custody was Yasin Bhatkal. That drives the point home that there should be a federal set-up to deal with terrorism. But no one even speaks about the National Counter Terrorism Centre. There should be co-ordinated efforts to nab terrorists infiltrating the society.

Add your Comment Paradoxes of democracy, capitalism; no one paying heed to the real issues I have always been perplexed by certain issues which confront our democracy which is fast leading to comrephensive capitalism. Liberal ideas, free speech and unfettered articulation, business and the like are, no doubt, far better than totalitarianism and suppression of independent thinking. But some of the real issues confronting the people, the society, the workers are looked askance at. One has to look at the welfare provisions existing in developed nations. There are nation-wide social security networks in all such countries. We have to have a nation-wide social security department giving social security numbers to each and every family and individual. When one finds himself or herself without gainful employment, the social security department comes into full play and provides minimum decent living expenses and amenities. Children are provided good amounts for health and education. We have this MNREGA and other minor welfare schemes. But we have not thought of providing a social security number to each individual. The system of unique identity number should be provided to all first, and then this should be used as the base facility for comprehensive social security measures. Another paradox is the free-for-all of employers, that is in the system of capitalism everywhere. That system has come into being in India as well. Employers, after careful procedure of finding merit and qualification, give jobs to youths. After some time, by mismanagement or otherwise or non-profitability, they announce that they cannot retain so many of the employees. Okay, some of you have to leave the organisation. This is sheer one-sidedness and unilateral application of mind. The courts also do not take cognizance of the real problem. No one, after selection and infusion into service, should be thrown out. First, all avenues of non-profitability should be probed and the real issues found out for correction. If the managers, including owners, are found to be at fault, they have no right to ask the employees to clear out. Mismanagement, if any, should not be tolerated. Wasteful expenditure and lavish way of living of the management, including owners, should be scrapped. If nothing works out, the losses should be evenly distributed, without asking the employees to quit. If everything goes awry, there is no right for the company or institution to continue. Let this be wound up. Let all the parties share the burden. Will anyone take heed to this sort of justice?

Temporal powers and spiritual powers are with him, but he has no qualms about stepping down People occupying some posts and enjoying the power should give attention to the grand gesture of Pope Benedict XVI who has temporal and spiritual powers bestowed on him. The keys of heaven are his, in his capacity as the successor of St Peter. No doubt, temporal powers are unfathomable in his capacity as head of the 120 billion -strong Catholic faithful spread over all the globe. For more than six centuries no Pope abdicated his position, be he hale and hearty or bed-ridden. In the world which is teeming with leaders who cling on to even vestiges of power, this gesture of calling it a day when he can stand up and walk around, is unique. When all seems to be lost with the world for values, ethics and justice, lo there is a silver lining. Everyone would admire his gesture.

Merry-go-round of plea for action, no-action likely with regard to VS The merry-go-round of the state panels of the CPM demanding strongest punishment for V S Achuthanandan and the central leadership looking askance at it could, in all probability, repeat. V S Achuthanandan knows it for a fact that no action could be taken against him, if the party wants not to create worst problems. By the basic standards of discipline, V S Achuthanandan could have been expelled for his forthright comments in the media against the state leadership. But the party, which did not think twice in expelling Somnath Chatterjee, has been dilly-dallying with regard to V S Achuthanandan, who is convinced that he has been provoked. Gradually, the CPM may also be convinced that it is like any other party regarding disciplinary action.

Telling- the- truth syndrome has come to stay in CPM; Iron curtain cracks The Iron Curtain has cracked, for telling-the-truth syndrome has come to stay in the CPM. In that case, a lot of instances which should have come out in the open but kept within the echelons of the party hierarchy would come up in the public arena in the not-so-far future. Some others could also come out in the open. There is no sacrosanct party discipline as such. In an era where social media, the internet and channels have broadened the horizon of people's knowledge, there can be no sanctity to the hidden agenda of any party.

Rahul Gandhi officially crowned; his responsibility goes up too At the Jaipur conclave of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, the Gandhi family scion, has been officially crowned. He is de jure number two, but for all practical purposes he would be de facto number one. Politics has not been the same for the Nehru-Gandhi family all these decades. It is fast opening up to new challenges. One may perceive the factor of family fiefdom, but for the working efficiency of the Congress Party, it needs a central controlling power. Otherwise, the squabbling would be worse than when the central power centre calls the shots. Mind you, India is the largest democracy in the world, but it has still to evolve as a developed democracy. Perhaps, Rahul Gandhi would have to compete with Narendra Modi in the political arena. The BJP president could be anyone- Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj or someone else. In the given circumstances, the people would have to put up with who all are the leaders chosen by the parties. Let there be an attempt at cleansing the cesspool of wickedness, corruption, brutality against women and crimes of all sorts.

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.