Tackle poverty

The common man’s eatery, the Indian Coffee House in Kerala, charge Rs45 for a masala dosa weighing roughly about 100g and a tea without sugar. According to the report, if one enjoys this luxury on one day, he is rich. This is like theformer Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit saying that Rs 600 a month was enough for a four-member family in Delhi to make ends meet

This sort of poverty classification is absurd. No one can live on Rs32 a day. There are better ways of drawing the poverty line These committees comprise only the rich and the influential and without representation from the poor, no committee can adequately decide on what constitute’s poverty.

K A Solaman

The Hindu Business Line published on 8 july 2014

Resistance to criminal rashness

Resistance to criminal rashness comes better late than never. That is what the Bar Council of Kerala has done by taking action  against Solar Scam Saritha Nair’s advocate Fenny Balakrishnan.  The counsel of the notorious criminal was performing like a body guard all the time and made innumerable media outbursts that are quite unbecoming of the profession of an advocate.
The act the Bar Council presents clear warning to those counsels indulging to whimsical practices in criminal jurisprudence.

K A Solaman
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On destroying files

The Modi Ministry seems to be undertaking a whole lot of unnecessary jobs because of its brute majority. One such example is the destruction of 1.5 lakh files by the Home Ministry. This is a very questionable move. Taking just a minute or less to identify the historical importance of a file seems astounding. Why is there no process of digitisation? It is only after this that a decision on whether to destroy the original file or not can be taken. As far as the historical importance of a file is concerned, even the signature affixed on a set of papers could be of more importance than the text. The Modi government has to exercise caution before embarking on such actions. Any move to rewrite the history of India is detrimental.

K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha

The Hindu published on y 16, 2014

Need for day care centres for seniors

Senior citizens are at present a neglected lot and in most cases they are sent to old age homes. But the old age homes do not provide a safe and supportive environment for seniors who need care for the whole day. In day care centres seniors are attended well and day and programmes are arranged by a nurse, a geriatric recreation specialist and a  number of personal support workers. These centers provide relief to caregivers and family members who are caring for an elder in their home, as well as offering the senior a chance to get out of the house, socialize and participate in fun activities with others.

Generally men and women aged 65 and older are eligible to attend elderly day care. The average age of senior participating in day care programming is 72 and usually lives with a spouse, adult children or other friends or family members. It is found that approximately half of all participants in elderly day care have some type of cognitive impairment such as memory loss, and many of these seniors need support with activities of daily living such as personal hygiene and meal preparation.

Elder day care programs are to be located in nursing homes, community and senior centers, hospitals, schools and churches. Other locations include centers in shopping areas, rehabilitation centers and private homes. Day programs should operate Monday to Friday during the day. However, some  facilities may offer evening, holiday and weekend programming to accommodate caregiver schedules.

There are only limited day care centers currently operating across the state. In view of the growing demand public and private agencies can think of opening more day care centres or convert the present old age homes partly into day care centres. The government speaking volumes for the support of senior citizens can do something in this direction to lend a helping hand to them.

K A Solaman

Bold idea of self-attestation

In what may come as a major relief to citizens, the government of India has decided to do away with the necessity of filing affidavits from a gazetted officer or a notary for a big chunk of government-related work and instead to promote self-attestation of documents. The government may be congratulated for doing away with the necessity of filing affidavits from a gazetted officer.

In this regard I would like to be grateful to the Kerala  Public Service Commission for their clever  decision of doing away with attestation by gazetted officers years back. What is there in attestation when the appointment of a candidate is done only after verifying the certificates in originals?  The novel way of PSC, however, was not taken up by other public and private agencies causing immense hardship to applicants. And with the present decision the government has reduced the suffering of people especially from villages and remote areas.

The people who are annoyed of this decision may be notary babus, nevertheless, a person attesting his certificate is now himself responsible for any kind of fake information is a brazen idea.

K A Solaman

A poor catch for faithful

In any community one can find that only twenty percent of the people are trustworthy and all others are either careless or funny. These twenty percent people run a college,  a factory or a ministry. For clergies too this concept is applicable. For instance look at clergy run Christian weekly newspaper ‘Sunday Shalom’ carrying an editorial praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that Modi is God’s answer for Christians who prayed for the benefit of the country and for a good administration. The editorial stated that god will save the country and the Sabha through Modi. Till Modi’s incarnation they were praying for someone of Italian origin for country’s rule.

There are clergies who do even more funny things. For example, one clergy in Alappuzha who openly claims his direct connection with Jesus, had gone to bless the Arabian sea for a good catch for the faithful. Unfortunately the followers got little catch as all the HIndu fishes ran to the west and the sea became ferocious.  CBCI president Cardinal Cleemus Catholica Bava,  the patron of Sunday Shalom, however, is not that much imprudent.

-K A Solaman

On destroying files.

The Modi Ministry is doing all the unnecessary jobs because of its brute majority. One such job is the destruction of 1.5 Lakh files by the Home ministry. It is highly questionable. Taking just 45 seconds or less  to identify the historical importance of a file seems astounding.

It is important that all the files should be xeroxed and be made along with micro filming too. Then only decision to be taken to destroy the original or not. No one has time to see even the subject. As far as historic importance is concerned, for some people even the signature could be of more important than the text.

It would be better if the Modi Government to exercise caution before doing such actions. Any action to rewrite history of India would become detrimental to them too.

-K A Solaman

Poor educational practices in Kerala private colleges.

Academic activities in colleges across Kerala have been badly hit by large-scale vacancies in various faculties. Many colleges have been facing an acute shortage of teachers with several vacancies.

Though permission to various colleges to fill up vacancies has been given, they make it as good opportunity to collect money by way application money from innumerable job seekers. It is the practice of some private college managements to post none after conducting interview. The five member interview board with one government nominee and a subject expert is a farce as these members dance in tune with other three of the management in the board after getting a five star hospitality.  After the interview, posts are held vacant for always with no permanent faculty. The classes are then run by guest faculty with meager salary and hence managements can often notify the vacancy for collecting application money. The fee for single application for appointment in private colleges in Kerala about Rs 800 and if a college receives 100 applications for a single post it makes Rs 80000 per subject. If there are ten subjects the sum collected is Rs 8 lakh and that too without filling a single post. This ordeal is repeated and the losers are those candidates with NET qualification and Ph D.

The colleges engaging lecturers on contractual basis should be abandoned. Teaching is a noble profession that needs total dedication and  for which the guest faculty and retired teachers are unfit. It is high time for higher education department in Kerala to investigate the bad practices taken up by the private college managements.

A candidate from a different community appeared for an interview in a private college had to answer only questions of the sort: “Why did you waste money? Don’t you know our practice? Could you find any one in our colleges outside our community? So, take tea and leave the place. This job is not for people like you”.

All in the education sector know this but who cares?

K A Solaman

Poor man’s luxury!

The PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan may be greeted with folded hands for his report that individuals spending below Rs 47 a day in cities and Rs 32 in rural areas would be considered poor. The common man’s eatery the Indian Coffee Houses in Kerala charge Rs 45 for a Masala Dosa weighing roughly about 100gram and a tea without sugar. As per the report if one enjoys this luxury in a whole day he is rich. This report is somewhat akin to the the finding of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit  that Rs 600 in a month is enough for a four member family in Delhi to meet their both ends.

In this context I would like to say that this sort of poverty classification is absurd. No one could live in this country with Rs 32 in a day. The actuality of purchasing power of citizen and other technical aspects should be applied to finalize such reports. There are better ways of drawing poverty line nevertheless, the Rangarajan Committee is not able to recognise the exact idea of poverty line.
The committees of the above sort comprise only the rich and the influential. And without poor man’s representation, no committee in India could demarcate  the rich and the poor with a sharp line.


K A Solaman

Weakness of Indian democracy

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari is never going to contest any election from Kerala and even if he decides so he will not get back the election deposit amount. That is why he says Centre will not extend any assistance under national highways programme if the Kerala government decides to develop NH stretches in the state at 30metre width instead of 45 metres.

Gadgiri does not know about the dense population in Kerala. Any move to widen the high stretch would certainly affect innumerable dwellers near the highway side. The Kerala government’s decision for four-lane of 30metre highways is to avoid the massive land acquisition that was needed if the width is 45m. Gadgiri saying that NHAI funds would not be available for NHs less than 45 m wide, is to discard the genuine requisite of the state and thereby to divert fund to his state.

Gadgiri like ministers not seeing the country as a whole is certainly a weakness of Indian democracy.

K A Solaman

Law Minister is wrong.

Regarding SC Judge appointment row too there is no difference between the last UPA Government and the present NDA government. Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s comment that the government has the right to be consulted on the appointment of judges is unwarranted. No one agree with this minister. And in this respect Chief Justice of India RM Lodha's remark that the government had acted unilaterally in segregating the name of former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium from the panel of four names recommended by the collegium for appointment as apex court judges, stands acceptable.

It is a fact that any ruling party at centre or state always wants to recommend officials in favour of them. This criterion if applied to judges it would become detrimental to Indian Judicial system. Therefore, the collegium and not the ministry should decide on selection of Judges whether it is for SC/HC judges. This would enable the judges to remain fully independent.

The law abiding citizens of the country are with the views of Chief Justice and not with the Law Minister. It is thoughtless on the part of NDA to take unwise decisions as done by the erstwhile UPA government.

K A Solaman

Cotton Hill School transfer row

The transfer row relating the Cotton Hill School, Thiruvananthapuram is quite unwarranted.  Seeking to settle the controversy emerged by the transfer of the Head Mistress Urmila Devi  of Cotton Hill  school  for criticising Education Minister, Government has revoked the orders and posted her in Model High School  in the city itself. Is it then just to punish the head of Model School by transferring him or her for a fault committed by someone else? Is there anyone, I mean a political party or communal outfit to hear the grievance to Model School HM?

Transfer of HM Urmila Devi  to a school near Attingal town, about 35 km from the city is not a big mistake. There are many employees in the State travelling every day more than 200km by train or bus to attend their duty. The controversy relating the transfer was politically motivated. The situation that there is none to speak for HM of Ayilam School, Attingal and Model School, Thiruvananthapuram is curious. Barring seniority all HMs are equal under government service. Nevertheless, it now appears that Urmila Devi is a super HM, having powers to downsize even  the Education minister of the State..

.Undoubtedly the CM and the Education Minister have made all the effort to settle the row. Had been this episode in LDF regime, Urmila Devi has to appeal the CM from Kasargod for the furor she created.

K A Solaman

Move to remove governors is bad

The BJP-led government’s move to remove governors of some states is autocratic and is against the democratic mores of the country. By doing so, the BJP government has put the first spade to dig its own grave.

If one looks back to the benefits the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi received by the  Shah Commission instated by then Janatha Party Government against her, no one would hastily act now to remove the governors in various states. The hurried action of Modi Government is an act of political revenge rather than fulfilling its election assurances.

Removing governors after change of government brings a bad precedence even if UPA government had in 2004 replaced some governors appointed by the previous NDA government. Governors’ post being a non-political one it is imprudent to remove them after a change of government.

K A Solaman

Imperceptive participatory effort.

Bizarre are the ways of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to check the ever increasing power consumption in the state. One is their advice to all its consumers to switch off unwanted lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to participate in the Earth–Hour campaign in the month of March. None, including the ministers observed it. Ministers’ residences registered an extra consumption on that day- an RTI query replies.

Other one is the arrangement of KSEB to distribute energy-efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL). As such, the CF lamps thus distributed have become a toxic waste creating health hazards. The KSEB keeps no data on power savings on that way with CFLs except the commission the board has accrued by way of purchasing sub-standard gadgets for consumers.

And now with football fans planning to stay stuck to TV sets to catch the FIFA show, KSEB officials demand for a ‘participatory effort’ from consumers. The consumers have to save power in advance to get uninterrupted power supply from 9.30pm for watching the World Soccer. Grippingly, no one one is going to heed the KSEB as the consumers have had bitter experience from the board by way of meter charge, un-informed power cuts, poor service, and poor consumer redressal. The KSEB should learn first to exert a pull on the heart of consumers and then ask for a participatory effort.  

K A Solaman 

KSEB offices in danger!

We have Computer, Internet, Facebook, Twitter, Mobile phone and what else.  And what for these gadgets without electric power- a Kerala  facebookian laments.   This bewail would soon turn into an outburst or even clash  because of power failure that disappoint football aficionado in the State as they would miss the FIFA World Cup matches.

According to the scheduled load shedding, power cuts of duration of 45 minutes to one hour daily take place between 6.30 p.m. and 11.15 p.m. in different parts of the state. In all, 24 matches of the FIFA World Cup are being played at 9.30 p.m. (Indian time), which includes two quarter final matches. Given the load shedding schedule, many may not be able to watch the matches unless back up power supply or generator is available.

In most cases people watch TV only when there is no power cut. Though the load shedding schedule is informed in advance, consumers are annoyed with uninformed power cuts. And any such occurrence during the live telecast of World Football would take fans to nearby KSEB offices which would, no doubt, turn into unprecedented incidents this time.

K A Solaman
The New Indian Express published on 14-6-2014

Good decision, but...

I welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance to improve agriculture productivity through modern farm techniques and thereby to check price rise. To bring food prices under control price stabilisation fund, setting up of special courts to deal with hoarding and black marketing, unbundling of the Food Corporation of India and establishment of national agriculture market, are good decisions.

However, unless we abandon Oil & Gas Companies regime in India all the wise decisions visualized would become futile. The price of oil and inflation are often seen as being connected in a cause and effect relationship. As oil prices move up inflation follows in the same direction. That is, if the price of oil rises, it raises price of essential commodities and thus inflation.

Oil and gas producers in India are now asking the government to allow the market to set prices. If permission is given in that direction all efforts of the government to contain price rise go in vain.

K A Solaman

Touching gesture

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a noble gesture by discouraging anyone from touching the feet — whether his or of other senior leaders of the party. In doing so, he took a dig at the Congress. He has also advised the newly-appointed MPs belonging to the ruling party to stay humble and work hard. Modi has ordered the MPs to spend as much time as possible in their constituencies and not waste their time in Delhi when Parliament is not in session.

Modi had said that it pains him if someone touches his feet. The idea, according to the BJP, is to end the culture of sycophancy that has been a part of Indian politics for decades. In his 20-minute address, Modi, who is also the BJP leader, reminded his partymen that they are no longer in the Opposition, and, as elected representatives of the ruling party, they need to remain grounded and be alert at all times.

Modi’s speech centred around what the party lawmakers should do, in light of the fact that the new Lok Sabha has the maximum number of first-time MPs, including Modi himself. He asked the party MPs to attend Parliament sessions regularly and be well-prepared to participate in debates. It remains to be seen whether the BJP MPs will pay heed to Modi’s advice or follow in the footsteps of the outgoing members.

K.A. Solaman,  Kerala

The Telegraph, Calcutta published on 10-6-14

OBNOXIOUS ATTITUDE

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s comment that “boys will be boys” and that they “make mistakes” is quite obnoxious. He stooped to new lows by saying “Rape accused should not be hanged. Men make mistakes”. In the context of such comments, what Indian women need is self-defence training and what men need is sex education.

The girl behind closed doors is equally at risk as the girl on the street. Rape has nothing to do with culture. It is an odious crime. It is high time we punished rapists and also those who plead for them.

KA Solaman

The Hindu Business Line Published on 10-6-14

Boys should not be rapists.

The SP supremo Mualayam Singh Yadav’s comment that "boys will be boys" and that they "make mistakes" is quite obnoxious. He stooped to the floor by saying. "Rape accused should not be hanged. Men make mistakes”. Stupid comments of this sort would come from politicians if their daughters, wives and sisters are not get raped. These politicians are unsighted with the power they cleave to.

And in the backdrop of such senseless comments by politicians, what Indian women need is some self-defense training and what men need is sex education. The girl behind the closed doors and curtains is equally at risk like the one walking in the street. Rape has nothing to do with culture. It is an odious crime done by men who are uneducated, inebriated, and self-centered.

So it is high time to punish the rapists and also the politicians who plead for the guilty. Nonsensical politicians should be restricted from insulting the whole womenfolk which includes their women kin.

K A Solaman

Modi’s noble gesture.

That is a noble gesture from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  He advised BJP MPs to remain humble and visit their constituencies regularly and not touch his feet. Asking MPS not to touch his feet is an act of humility. And it is also an indirect corrective step shown to all Amma Chief Ministers(present and ex) elsewhere in the country.
Once elected to law making bodies the MPs and MLAs forget to contact people in grass root level and often ignore their responsibility. If PM’s gesture makes the MPs more humble and responsive it would become an added advantage to the country.

Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues-Confucius

K A Solaman

Prostitute should not rule the roost

Woman prostitutes should not be allowed rule the roost. There is no political situation now in Kerala that requires Congress MLA Abdullakutty to step down in the wake of solar accused Saritha Nair’s allegations against him. A person facing accusations is not an accused. He becomes indicted only when all the accusations are proved in a court of justice.
It is to be noted that all the laws are ostensibly meant for protection of the hypothetical weak sections and they are blatantly abused by pretenders to the title of 'weaker section'.  The victims have scarcely any defence or remedy. The laws should not create bias and prejudice. They should not reduce the chances of justice being delivered in genuine cases. A humanitarian approach is, therefore, needed in the case of A P Abdullakutty MLA.

 "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!", the Bible says.

K A Solaman

Hallmark of Modi Government.

Rashmi Thackeray, wife of Uddhav Thackeray, with (right) Nita Ambani at Narendra Modi’s swearing-in

Corporate conciliation of Modi Government will not be different from that Manmohan Singh Government. The indication in this direction is not alone the money spent by Modi Inc for election propaganda but the representation from Corporates, which was like never before, at the swearing-in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.

Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita were seated in the third row with a ringside view of the proceedings. And the couple’s sons, Akash and Anant, were seated next in the same enclosure. The other Ambani offspring, Anil drew attention to him by accompanying with wife and mother Kokilaben. Representatives of organizations speaking for businesses, both big and small, were represented prominently. They too had ringside views of the formation of a new central government.  Gautam Adani, who had allegedly enjoyed Modi’s patronage when he was Gujarat chief minister, was a notable figure. Adani Company shares were sky rocketed with Modi’s win. Adani was accompanied by his wife. Other prominent industrialists who attended the event were Kumar Mangalam Birla, telecom czar Sunil Mittal, Jet Airways owner Naresh Goyal, and Essar group chairman Shashi Ruia.

The sign is; like Manmohan Singh Government, Corporate governess will be the hall mark of Modi Government too.

K A Solaman

May Greetings!

Pillai’s gimmicks

The CM Ommen Chandy may be congratulated for saying: “Pillai can do whatever he wants. If he has the letter of statement of Saritha, let him release it. Let’s wait for the reshuffle till then”.

 It is of late the habit of Poojappura returnee and the dim-witted Pillai to come with all abuses against the government in which he is also a part as chairman of the State Forward Communities Welfare Corporation.  This superfluous chairman post was created to satisfy Pillai when there was an unceremonious exit of his son Ganesh Kumar from the cabinet because of  some issue relating women trafficking.  Ganesh divorced his wife with a price and now Pilli argues that his son is fit as fiddle for the post of minister. If Pillai’s party with single MLA is given a minister ship along with the chairman post of the State Forward Communities Corporation, it would turn out as an injustice to all other coalition parties. Then it would create further turmoil.

Pillai has a bad notion that there is none in Kerala politics to outshine him and he is even prepared to blackmail the government with what is called a letter from Solar  scam accused Saritha. And with the statement of the sort given by Oommen Chandy the gimmicks of the Pillai would come to a halt.

K A Solaman  

Are they talking less, working more?

That was in June 2012 the Kerala government asked its employees to restrict personal calls during working hours and for that the government had been congratulated from various corners.  State government has issued this order when its employees were mostly seen glued to their cell phones. Office computers were used for listening to music, for playing games and occasionally for searching pornographic sites. This spoiled the public’s impression of the government and hence the government imposed a ban on personal calls at work for its employees.

However, if one wishes to check  the situation in public offices he would be bewildered to see that no change has been taken place . On the other hand the employees are now equipped with smart phones, the application of which is far from that in 2012. The employees are busier with their cell phones at working hours.

 It is the practice of the government to issue well-meaning directives to their employees. But most of these instructions are ignored. Only a very few employees would take the order of this sort  seriously and end their private conversations during office hours.

It is true that the extensive use of cell phones at work creates a major distraction for the employees and causes utmost inconvenience to people visiting government offices to avail themselves of some service. But no order from the authorities would be able to solve this unless a follow up action is undertaken by the government. The staff will not voluntarily switch off their gadgets while on duty unless a random surprise check is made in offices. Other wise, directives of the above sort would turn out as meaningless gestures.

K.A. Solaman

Laddoo politics.

Several thousand of saffron coloured laddoo were consumed by BJP men as Narendra Modi lead their party to a spectacular win in the election. However, those laddoos brought in Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod were packed back because of little takers. The BJP candidates Rajagopal and Surendran lost the battle in these constituencies. Interestingly the green laddoos distributed at Malappuram and Ponnani got lots of takers. Green is the accepted colour of Muslim League, hence their laddoos are made green and their school tops too.

More interesting is the eating of laddoo by grouchy duo, L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj, who arrived on time to receive Narendra Modi on his first visit to the party headquarters as Prime Minister-designate. The pair, who had tried to damn Modi with faint praise after election, made themselves available for photo-session to celebrate party victory. Nevertheless, the irrepressible lot are the  BJP cadres who are furious at Advani and Sushma for their wet blanket response to government postings. Presumably the cadres are uncaring people who blind fully ignored the great sacrifice made by Advani in building up the party.

 So it is time for cadres to apologize and to recognize that a smooth sail of Modi government is only possible with the whole hearted support of Advani, Sushama and Murli Manohar Joshi. Unlike thoughtless cadres the clever Modi could understand all these specifics.

K A Solaman 

Comprehensive win

While one can say that it was the better marketing strategy of Mr. Modi’s that propelled the BJP to power, the mandate seems to be more a reaction to the large-scale corruption unleashed by the UPA, a sluggish economy and price rise. On many an occasion, the government looked ineffective. There were also many flip-flops on welfare schemes, an example being the Aadhar-linking exercise.

K.A. Solaman,

Alappuzha

The Hindu Published on 17-5-2014

UPA defeat.(Enough is enough)

Enough is enough

It is not only the better marketing strategy of Modi that brought a thumping victory to the BJP but also the harm done by the UPA government to the common people. The UPA was ineffective on many occasions, for instance when the oil companies repeatedly hiked the oil price.

There was an anti-UPA sentiment among the middle and poor classes due to the government’s economy policies and the exorbitant price rise. The UPA’s Aadhaar-linked exercise was painful and it was not able to live up to the expectations of the common people. Another important point is that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh never bothered to control his ministerial colleagues when there were reports of several scams. And when NDA with the support of the media projected Modi as the next prime minister, the Congress never bothered to project Rahul Gandhi similarly. So the people of India decided: “Enough is enough. Let us experiment with the NDA for the next five years!”

KA Solaman

Alappuzha

The Hindu business Line Published on 17 May 2014

Easy loan to common man?

Kerala Chief Minister Ommen Chandy taking steps for availing loans to the common man at low interest rates is welcome. He said”steps will be taken for availing loans at low interest rates. The State Bankers’ committee meeting will be convened on May 22 to discuss the matter.” The CM has taken such a decision on the back drop of suicide  of a few people who fell in the trap of blade mafia in the state. Nevertheless, the feasibility of CM’s step for easy loan is doubtful.

The blade men issue loan to without much guarantee. Their only guarantee is the quotation gang that collect the pay back. Even high-tech bankers, name to none, resort to this method to get back the dues. The nationalized banks, banks in the cooperative sector, or the KSFE could not lend money without proper guarantee. And the process of giving guarantee takes time and hence quick and easy loan as practiced by blade men is not possible for any financial institution under government control. This means minister’s step is only a soothing remark without any viability.

Also the statement that steps should be taken to speed up disbursement of loans by the Matsyafed and Kudumbasree project is also doubtful. How could a cash-crunchy state exchequer lend easy loan to people?

The bankers who issued education loans on the basis of the rhetoric of  certain ministers are now in doldrums because of non-repayment.  And in that context no banker would undertake easy loan to common people who have only sky above and earth below.

K A Solaman

Exit poll obsession

 Many people are jobless and waste time watching TV channels that telecast exit poll results. Most often, exit poll outcomes are contradictory to the actual election results. The hype given to these surveys is unwarranted. For instance, one of the exit poll surveyors has endorsed 18 seats in Kerala to UDF, while another admits only 12. It is time to prevent the exit poll obsession.

There should be some law in place against those surveyors pitching half-truths or no truths.

KA Solaman  Kerala

The Hindu Business line published on 15-5-2014

Welcome initiative by Kudumbasree.

It is of high welcome that Kerala women network 'Kudumbasree' is going join the drive against the sale and distribution of illegal liquor in the state. Women are the most sufferers of the liquor abuses in the state and if they plan a workout to contain this menace that would save many families especially that of low strata income.

The laborers and daily wage owners waste more than half of their income for consuming liquor and taking lottery tickets. The women and children solely depending on the daily income often fall in despair because of liquor consumption of the earning member. However, it is doubtful to get support from Marxist party and a section of the Congress for this endeavor as most the sellers and workers related to liquor are strong supporters of these parties.. Can anyone find a toddy shop in the state without a red flag fluttering in front of it?

If Kudumbasree mission, which has a strong volunteer base at the grass root level, could help agencies involved in the anti-illegal liquor drive it could avert many house hold crimes, nevertheless its feasibility is bleak.

K A Solaman

The New Indian Express published on 15-5-2014

Poor educational practices in Kerala private colleges.

Academic activities in colleges across Kerala have been badly hit by large-scale vacancies in various faculties. Many colleges have been facing an acute shortage of teachers with several vacancies.

Though permission to various colleges to fill up vacancies has been given, they make it as good opportunity to collect money by way application money from innumerable job seekers. It is the practice of some private college managements to post none after conducting interview. The five member interview board with one government nominee and a subject expert is a farce as these members dance in tune with other three of the management in the board after getting a five star hospitality.  After the interview, posts are held vacant for always with no permanent faculty. The classes are then run by guest faculty with meager salary and hence managements can often notify the vacancy for collecting application money. The fee for single application for appointment in private colleges in Kerala about Rs 800 and if a college receives 100 applications for a single post it makes Rs 80000 per subject. If there are ten subjects the sum collected is Rs 8 lakh and that too without filling a single post. This ordeal is repeated and the losers are those candidates with NET qualification and Ph D.

The colleges engaging lecturers on contractual basis should be abandoned. Teaching is a noble profession that needs total dedication and  for which the guest faculty and retired teachers are unfit. It is high time for higher education department in Kerala to investigate the bad practices taken up by the private college managements.

A candidate from a different community appeared for an interview in a private college had to answer only questions of the sort: “Why did you waste money? Don’t you know our practice? Could you find any one in our colleges outside our community? So, take tea and leave the place. This job is not for people like you”.

All in the education sector know this but who cares?

K A Solaman

Usman searching for a way out.

Thee Mahila Congress leader Shanimol Usman has crossed all limits with her letter accusing the KPCC President V M Sudheeran. No doubt Ms Usman’s letter is a part of conspiracy against Sudheeran who keeps firm stand on the liquor policy. Shanimol’s opponent A A Shukkoor, the Alappuzha District Congress Committee President, is a strong opponent of a liquor baron in the locality. 

A section of the Congress party in the state demands a ‘practical approach’, like adding water to liquor, in the liquor policy. And for them in the direct fight with Sudheeran, a woman on the front line is a shield and thus Usman became a pawn for them. Usman’s letter, therefore, is based on a conspiracy and three-member party committee set up to probe the entire episode would bring the truth. An action less than a total apology from Ms Usman would show the way out for her from the party.

K A Solaman

Chennithala’s ‘thara ‘formula.

After Lagrange’s interpolation formula one of the well known formulae is Chennithala formula for granting licence to 67 bars out of 418 bars which were denied licence by the honourable HC. Chennithala put up the formula that among the 418 bars, 67 bars come under the category of two star hotels and should be given the licence to open and a district collector led committee should inspect the quality of the other bars and those found wanting in facilities should be given a reasonable time frame to get things in order. This in effect is overriding the court verdict  and it will pressurise district collectors in taking decisions.
So in this regard KPCC President V.M Sudheeran’s stand that he could not agree with the formula mooted by Chennithala is bold and is in favour of the wishes of common people of the state. The UDF is on the way for a consensus and it should be for not opening these bars. The Chennithala formula is a ‘thara’ formula and this formula together with  other similar formulae should be outrightly rejected.

Any action to help people to stand on two legs rather than on four legs is good for the entire people of the state.

K A Solaman

Standard bar.

The sky will not fall if boozers of Kerala wait for some more time infront of Beverages outlets for their share. The K P C C President V M Sudheeran may be congratulated for his firm stand on the issue of liquor bar licences. It is not the SNDP, KCBC or the Muslim outfits to decide the Kerala liquor policy. The Yogam secretary’s comment that it is not the ministers but the KPCC president runs the government is a good compliment to Sudheeran, nevertheless, it demands no reply

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KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran insisting on a policy that would reduce the number of liquor bars is in accordance with Congress party’s proclaimed policy of abstinence. Then why the Excise Minister and others think in a different line to give opportunity to bar owners to improve their standards within a stipulated time. What is after all the standard of a bar? Does it mean that in bar of high standard a boozer get it straightly to his mouth and not through glass?

K A Solaman 

No bar license, please

Seemingly the only major problem the UDF Government now faces in Kerala is the issue of allotting temporary licences to 418 bars in the state that were closed three weeks ago. Congress leaders like Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC vice president V.D. Satheesan and Excise Minister K. Babu  who speak mouthful against anti-liquor policy, standing together opposing V M Sudheeran, is amazing.

It is known that the  Minister K Babu always speaks in favour of Abkaris and his opinion in this direction is one sided. At present without 418 bars all the boozers get sufficient liquor and there is no decrease in State revenue by way of selling liquor. Then why this haste from others including Chief Minister in settling the issue? So in that context Sudheeran's  stand that no bar licences should be renewed unless required standard is met, is correct.

K A Solaman

Front page for good news.

It is of bad precedence to see ‘Total 4 U scam’ prime accused Sabarinath on the front page of NIE. This fellow is out and out a cheat who looted several crores in collusion with some bigwigs in Kerala politics.   Fugitive life of this guy for over three years was gone off in connivance with his political god fathers for which our investigating agencies were mute spectators.  Presumably this guy had received continuous messages from persons in Kerala who shared part of the money he looted.

A fraud with as many as 34 cases registered against and who swindled money   in tune with Rs 200 is a fit person for severe imprisonment. The news item about him should be put in some remote corners of our esteemed daily. The front page of the daily should be reserved for some good news.

K A Solaman

For a buck

Boby Chemmannur in Kerala has created an artificial wave with his ‘hard earned’money. There is a huge gathering for his State wide run. The media have been profusely benefited with Chemmannur run. Likewise Modi wave is an artificial wave created with money augmented from unknown sources. Spending several crores for his holographic image projection is a colossal waste when the pathetic state of the poor people of this country is considered.  Seemingly, the media, newspapers, event managers and multitude have been purchased  by NaMo men. 

K A Solaman

Modi in 3D

 

The UK company Musion has done a good business with Modi in 3D. Modi has appeared in holographi 3D before voters in several places to create a big visual impact, It is seemingly an exercise akin to ‘India shining’ performed by the BJP a few yers back.

The tall holographic images of Modi  were  projected simultaneously in various cities to make it easier for Modi to get his message across to more people without a physical presence. The idea  is a novel one for people other than  scientific community. The public impact of this innovation would be that of a magic and it is unwise to think that BJP get any adavntage over the Congress with this magic. People will watch this as a joke. So it is doubtful that Modi’s holographic projection campaign would bring any additional votes.

It is said that in the 3D projection, Modi walked onto the dais, sat on a chair, and even sipped water a few times, in order to create the impression that the projection was almost the real thing. And in the real world what is likely to happen after election  is Modi gasping for  water several times. And for that we have to wait until May 16! The NDA should remember that “too many cooks spoil the broth”.

K A Solaman 

Pawar to swallow his words.

The NCP leader Sharad Pawar comparing Modi to Hitler is gratuitous. What provoked Pawar to say like this is resulted from fear of defeat in the election. Everyone knows what happened to India during the 54 year rule of the Congress where Pawar was a part for most of the time.

Pawar, for quite long, was trying to jump out of the UPA to join the NDA , but Shiv Sena prevented. Now he has no other alternative other than abuse Modi and his party. Nevertheless if chance for a berth in Modi cabinet occurs Pawar will swallow his words and join the NDA as Agriculture Minister, for helping himself and his relatives!

K A Solaman.

Is Mamta the State?

Louis the Fourteenth, King of France is known for his famous quote 'État, c'est Moi!’ (I am The State!). This quotation is becoming more and more contested by historians because his reign was marked by huge steps in public rights. During his reign he imposed more restrictions on the people. Likewise the Chief Minister of W Bengal is quoting “ I am the State” by disobeying  Election Commission’s order to transfer officials on election duty. The Commission has removed seven of the election officials, including two additional district magistrates from their post but the CM is hesitant to comply.  

 As regards the posting of the poll officers and their shifting, the power is vested with the Commission and the only option for Mamta is to obey the Commission order. Mamta has no right to challenge the Commission.  Her statement:"Put me in jail. I will not remove a single officer as chief minister" is akin to King Louis XIV quote. Mamta should understand that after announcement of election, all election officers and police officers under the Representation of the People Act come under the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission and not under the Chief Minitster.

Mamta Banerji’s stand is unwarranted and hence punishable under the Representation of the People Act. What Mamta said is against the Constitution as she is “not the State”.

K A Solaman

Bad practice by Lieutenant colonel.(Actor campaign)

The lieutenant colonel of Indian Army Mohanlal asking votes for ‘AMMA’ president Innocent is a bad practice and in this respect I endorse the words of KPCC President V M Sudheeran. The Army personnel showing interest in direct politics is not good. Sudheeran asked Lal to step aside from campaigning for Innocent in Chalkkudi. However this doesn’t imply that the Congress leader P C Chacko is an eligible candidate for a win. Chacko was the Parliamentary committee leader who played all the tricks to hide the 2G scam.

The Malayalam cinema men, especially those under the title “AMMA” are a set who keep special interest in their personal motives. The act of actor Mohanlal, who is known for his ease with  Congress party, now asking vote for a pro-Marxist candidate is conspicuous. The actor should abstain from direct politics as long as he is attached to the Indian Army.

K A Solaman 
NIE published on 8-4-2014

What an idea, Sirjee!

While most of the top Congress leaders are abstaining from contesting the elections for fear of failure, defence minister AK Antony is hinting at the possibility of forming a fresh secular front with the Left to keep the BJP out of power. If Congress leaders are true to their secular credentials they should stop practising communal appeasement. Antony is asking the CPI(M) in Kerala to stop opposing the Congress; the Congress can return the favour. Making agreements with everyone to remain in power is a misguided move.

KA Solaman

Alappuzha

The Hindu Business Line Published on 1-4-2014

Old man’s pleasure

The court procedure is a cumbersome process for majority of the public and hence they try to opt out from it by all means. However, for the 90 plus leader of Opposition in Kerala, court proceedings are a matter of ecstasy.  He now approached the Kerala High Court seeking a CBI probe into the Solar Panel cheating case, in which Saritha Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan are the key accused. Achuthanandan also sought investigations by the Enforcement Directorate, the Corporate Affairs Department and the Income Tax Department into the source of the income of the accused persons.

One wonders why there is none other than Achuthanandan in the Marxist party to file case in a judicial forum, when there is no dearth for Central and State Committee members who are much younger than the veteran leader. It is not the petitioner but his counsel decides the course of a petition in the court.  Then, why the party still disturb the ‘grand old man’( courtesy Yogam Sceretary)  with all sleaze cases and legal trials?

K A Solaman 

Bizarre politicians.

Now only I understood the reason for the group rivalry of Congress party in Kerala. It was Madhusudan Mistry, the Congress candidate against Narendra Modi at Vadodara was the High Command representative in Kerala to take care of the party.

What Mistry did is enjoyable for a few moments. When all streets in Gujarat are reserved for Modi posters what Mistry could do other than fixing his poster on Modi posters? It is the duty of the Election Commission of India to provide some space for fixing Mistry posters.  Nevertheless, action of Mistry is  a disrespect to our democracy. When the leaders are corrupt and barefaced, what could one expect from chaps down the line?  And it is a matter of relief that Mistry, who was detained by the Modi police,   has been released on bail.

It is also interesting to see that Mistry is the person who taught  Rahul Gandhi the way to become a great leader. This implies that poor students have studied under very poor teachers. Bizarre are the ways of politicians in the country of greatest democracy.

K A Solaman
The New Indian Express published on 5April 2014

Boby-Maradonna run for gold.

Boby-Maradonna- Chemmanur  is not only a good gold merchant but a good runner also. If identified his talent a little earlier the country might have secured 2-3 gold medals in the International Olympics.  Boby’s run for the mission to create the world's largest blood bank is encouraging, nevertheless the feasibility of implementing the scheme is at stake. Those who register on line as blood donors will not be available at needs.  What I mean is: his run for the cause ‘ give blood, save lives’ and for creating the world’s largest blood bank,  is not meant for saving anybody’s life but to save himself, his gold business.

Mr Chemmanur in October 2012 had brought in Argentine football legend Diego Maradona as the brand ambassador of his jewelry in Kerala. Maradona inaugurated his Kannur showroom and a helicopter service, attracting huge crowd. Chemmanur  then offered  Boby - Maradona collection at his jewelry shops, giving an image that Mardonna is one of the sons of an Argentine goldsmith.  It was also heard that Boby Chemmanur was  in talks with another  Argentine footballer Lionel Messi to open a gold shop Boby-Messi collection. As Messi was very with his sports and unwilling to sponsor any unscrupulous gold vendor for a few bucks it has not been worked.

So, Chemmannur  with his ‘simple ancient’ attire ‘ chatta and mundu’ played ‘marvellous’ football against Mardonna in channels and now organized state-length run by spending a bit from his huge profit. And one would be stunned to see how Boby-Maradonna Chemmannur outshines all candidates for election when political parties are desperately doing hard work to take people to polling booths. Channels spend more time for Bobby-Maradonna run advertisement than Parliament election news.

How a self acclaimed gentleman ‘ caring the poor and the disabled’ could spend extravagantly in 600 km run for no cause though he says ‘ give blood, save lives’ ?

K A Solaman