Absurd idea

 C. Rangarajan, the former chairman of the prime minister’s economic advisory council, should be castigated for his idea that those spending below Rs 47 a day in cities and Rs 32 in rural areas should be considered poor (“Debate over poverty estimates”, July 8). The Indian Coffee House in Kerala — popular with the masses — charges Rs 45 for a masala dosa and a tea without sugar. According to Rangarajan, those who can afford the luxury of such a meal should not be accommodated in the BPL category. Rangarajan’s proposition brings to mind Sheila Dikshit’s observation that Rs 600 is enough to feed a family of five for a month in Delhi.

Poverty classifications are absurd. No one can survive on such paltry sums. The actual purchasing power of citizens and several other technical aspects should be taken into consideration to strengthen research projects meant to draw the poverty line. Usually, such committees comprise the rich and the powerful. Without representation from the deprived sections, none can find out who India’s poor are.

Yours faithfully,
K.A. Solaman,  Kerala

The Telegraph, Calcutta published on July 12, 2014

Writing and reading!

Cine director Renjith has said that those were writing abuses on public latrine walls are now writing on Face Book to insult people like him. It might have have been more apt had he said those who were reading latrine walls are now reading Face Book. As a film director he has insulted many with his worst directed films like Spirit. The cine goers have not crossed that limit with their comments on FB

K A Solaman

Margdarshak Mandal.

All the three founding dignitaries of BJP  Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are now out from the top decision making bodies of the party. Atal is out because of his illness but Advani and Joshi, who were permanent fixtures on the party top panels, have been kicked out and accommodated in a newly created body called 'Margdarshak Mandal'. The nomenclature of this body is supercilious, but decision must be taken by Modi and his coterie.

It is damaging for the party to ignore Advani's contribution to the party in the 1990s and his ability to attract Hindu voters. Joshi was a prominent face of the Ayodhya movement and was known for his proximity to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the party’s ideological parent.  By placing them in Margdarshak Mandal BJP has belittled them and put them below the level of leaders like Ananth Kumar, Thawarchand Gehlot, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and JP Nadda. This is not good for the party as any disrespect to most revered elder leaders would turn party’s “ good days” into bad days.   It is utterly false and cruelly arbitrary to put all the work into middle age, and all the regrets into old age.

K A Solaman

Hussain’s fate

National animal of india-Tiger

Sheila Dikshit has resigned as Kerala Governor amid indications that she might be shunted out of the southern stat. This indicates BJP has decided that UPA appointed governors should go. BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain saying that, "Good that Sheila Dikshit resigned on her own, now she can work for her party" is an insult to person occupying a constitutional post. The fate in the making for persons like Hussain is nothing other than this sort.

Interesting it is to see that BJP is to decide what resigned governors should do after quitting the post and they will also decide what everyone in this country should do. They will change the national animal Tiger to Cow as the latter gives milk and dung!

It is now the turn of NDA government to humiliate the governors and remove them. And after 5 years it would be the turn of UPA to reciprocate.  Who said Governor's post is non-partisan.

K A Solaman

Total ban will not work

The Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy has stunned all by coming out with a unanimous decision for a liquor ban in the state to achieve total prohibition. All the bars and Bevco outlets will be closed and after 10 ten years Kerala will be a liquor free state.

Nevertheless, a period of 10 years is not a short span of time. A huge amount of water will flow through the Vembanadu Lake. Likewise a huge amount of illicit liquor will flow to Kerala from outside. The CM may go and the UDF coalition may change and what will happen then is far beyond one’s reckon.

Prohibition is good in the larger public interest. It will prevent the ruin of the uneducated. But will the government take necessary steps to prevent illegal flow. The bootlegging and corruption will increase. Tourism will get affected as many Keralites themselves will go to neighbouring states in large numbers, some people even on daily basis for recreation. It will be interesting to see how the government tackles these types of problems. A total ban will only encourage black market and mafia nexus and will worsen the situation. The rationale behind the present liquor ban doesn't look moral but more political.

History will get repeated. There was a time when AP, Haryana and Rajasthan were declared dry but that ban only gave a big rise to black marketing. If not controlled firmly there will be huge flow of illicit liquor from other states to Kerala, the beneficiaries of it will be some unscrupulous politicians belonging to what we call UDF, LDF or NDA.

K A Solaman

Invitation to Mani

There is of course some logic when K M Mani is invited by Marxist party to join their fold. Mani Congress with the LDF can form a ministry with Mani as the CM. But the invitation by BJP to Mani to join with them is quite inexplicable. There is not even a single seat for BJP in the Kerala Assembly. It is laughable to see that Mani ideas go with BJP ideology.

It may be K M Mani’s wish to become the CM of Kerala by hook or crook. He has paved the way for it by mishandling the State Exchequer. The State is on the verge of a financial breakdown. And it is too cruel on the part of the Finance Minister Mani and the State Transport Minister Thiruvanchoor  to deny the pension of KSRTC retired employees.

It may be Mani’s last wish to become the CM of Kerala. So it would be better for him to remember the second wish of Alexander the Great. He said: “My second wish is to tell people not to be like me in pursuing wealth. I spent my whole life pursuing wealth, but I was wasting my time, most of the time”

K A Solaman

Judicial jeopardy.

In a remarkable development to overturn the collegium system the Lok Sabha approved the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014. It is aimed at ensuring only meritorious people are selected as judges to the higher courts. Does it mean that the collegium system had appointed mediocre judges till this time? Will the sanctity of the judiciary be protected by this bill? One hopes that proposed law does not ensure the independence of the judiciary.

Unsighted clique would call this as a good move but in certainty politicians would try to restrain independence of judiciary. Under the new law the commission will decide appointment of judges to Supreme Court and High Courts after considering seniority along with merit and ability. The merit and ability are relative and will be speckled from time to time with the whims and fancies of the ruling front. Here in India everyone knows how  a candidate is appointed in the merit quota for assistant professor post. People close to politicians and other higher ups are appointed and meritorious ones are side lined. Even in appointment of CBI chief this could be seen.

K A Solaman

Testing times.

 The CSAT episode has cast the Central government in poor light. The manner in which the government has gone about addressing the problem is strange. Hindi or any other regional language can never be a substitute for English. The government should have noticed that the protesters mainly hail from the cow belt. The CSAT format was devised by specialists who knew what they were doing. The government appears to be bowing to the senseless demands on account of political considerations and giving concessions to the agitators.

K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha, Kerala

The Telegraph, Calcutta published on Aug 8, 2014

Let UPSC to do its business.

The Central Government emerges in poor light from the Civil Service Aptitude Test( CSAT) episode. The government is not able to even judge what the Hindi cow pee drinkers wanted. The manner in which the government has gone about addressing this question appears strange. The Hindi or any other regional language can never be a substitute for English.

 In the first pace the Government should have noticed that that the dissent is coming only from the students of the cow belt. Then, it should have stopped a section of those aspirants who would compete in a national contest from dictating as to what they should be tested on. After all the CSAT scheme was devised by eminent persons who knew what they were doing and it has got the approval of the people's representatives. The trouble makers can not have posing that they know things better than those who designed the scheme.
The Government appearing to be bowing down to the senseless demand and giving concessions to agitators is unwarranted. Even now it is not too late to withdraw the allowances and let the UPSC go with  its business unrestricted by the agitation of cow belt candidates.

K A Solaman

Imagine sex

Two women suspects namely Ruksana and Bindhya Thomas are seemingly the most sufferers in the 'blackmail sex scam' that recently rocked the Kerala civic mind. They are taken by the police from place to place and served as hot cake for channel gluers. The only crime against them is their involvement in the oldest trade. The black mailing and related matters are undoubtedly carried out by certain bigwigs from politics and business.

The poignant aspect of the whole episode is the suicide of a person stated to be victim of the gang which allegedly lured several persons into sex traps and used their videos to blackmail them for money. The gang is, of course, comprised of many pimps and hooligans, other than the two women. Then, where are these guys? Except one Jayachandran none is seen in Channels. Otherwise to say channels  have no interest in showing those nasty guys except showing the two women-one in dark  and other in white- allowing viewers to enjoy sex with their mind's eye.

The police version that two women have played a key role in the scam is unbelievable and is indented to protect someone from politics, cinema or other business.

It is a pity to see that even sex workers have not turned up to render a helping hand to these two women. Their association can, at least, ask to stop exhibiting these two women. The channel cameras that were running behind Saritha Nair a few weeks back are now restless before these two women. Kerala is sex workers’ own country. Some perform, some telecast and some others imagine  and enjoy!

K A Solaman