Will Messi come or not?

#Will #Messi come or not?

It seems Kerala’s football dreams were briefly hijacked by a man with more ambition than authenticity. The man is the so-called “sponsor” who promised Messi but he delivered a mess. 

With a résumé that reads like a thriller of  unauthorized tree cutting from forest land, mysterious stadium “renovations,” and now a phantom international match, he tried to turn Kerala’s sports scene into his private circus. 

One wonders whether he planned to bring Messi or merely a cardboard cutout from Buenos Aires! The way this grand show evaporated proves once again that when shady businessmen step into the sports arena, the only goal scored is against public trust.

As for Kerala’s Sports Minister, he seems to have mistaken political theatrics for sports development. Instead of nurturing homegrown talent, he was busy warming up for a handshake that never came. When the state exchequer is gasping for breath, talking about crores for a foreign star’s fleeting appearance is like painting luxury boxes on a crumbling stadium wall. 

The minister’s role should be to raise players, not illusions. But alas, in Kerala’s sports field, the whistle blows not for fair play but for fouls.

-K A Solaman

Sivankutty's Intellectual Gymnastics

#Sivankutty's #intellectual #gymnastics.

When Minister V Sivankutty boldly announces that Kerala can sign a national agreement without following it, he truly breaks new ground in political comedy. Money is the main concern and not academic standard.

According to his logic, PM SHRI funding is like a buffet, that is, take the money, skip the items we don’t like.  He assures everyone that Kerala’s curriculum will remain untouched, as if the MoU is just a decorative ribbon to tie around existing practices. 

After all, this is the same education system that introduced “Party-Approved Teacher Handbooks”as it was  a proud effort to ensure that every chapter has ideological vitamins. Teachers, in return, graciously recycled these tomes into dustbin décor and silently expressed  academic creativity.

The CPI leaders clap like members of a laugh track, delighted by this new form of intellectual gymnastics. They argue that Kerala can join the scheme without joining the scheme, a Schrödinger’s Agreement, both valid and void at the same time. In their grand vision, NCERT books may arrive, but Kerala’s own ideological handbooks will remain mandatory.

With such brave innovation, Sivankutty and company are rewriting not only the curriculum but also the definition of logic by proving once again that satire is sometimes just reporting the news.

-K A Solaman

Vasavan should quit

#Vasavan should quit

Minister V.N. Vasavan seems to have taken his portfolio as “Devaswom” a little too literally, as if the gods themselves were meant to serve his convenience. Under his watch, the Travancore Devaswom Board finds itself in a golden scandal where temple ornaments apparently performed a divine metamorphosis from gold to copper! 

When the Kerala High Court takes notice and the opposition demands accountability, the minister’s only visible response is the art of denial. It seems Vasavan believes that devotion is best expressed not in service or transparency, but in silence and stubbornness. Perhaps he imagines that by ignoring the noise, the gods and the people will forgive him.

Then came the vallasadya at Aranmula, where Vasavan allegedly dined before the deity had been offered the meal, an act against conventional practice and ritual.. And if that wasn’t enough divine irony, his stoic stance behind President Murmu at Sabarimala, while she prayed with folded hands, revealed a man who could neither bow before faith nor rise to the dignity of his office. 

A minister of Devaswoms who cannot show reverence in the abode of the gods, nor responsibility in their administration, has surely lost his moral right to hold the post. It’s time for Vasavan to perform his own atonement starting with resignation.

-K A Solaman

System Failure in P2.0

#System #failure in P 2.0

The Pinarayi Vijayan government’s failure to clear a relatively small debt of ₹158 crore to medical implant distributors exposes the shocking negligence towards the state’s most vulnerable citizens. 

The government hospitals are the only hope for the poor. The poor people are forced to halt life-saving heart surgeries due to non-payment equipment suppliers to hospitals. This reflects a collapse of financial discipline and moral responsibility.

 While the government boasts of welfare schemes and social justice, patients who depend on free or subsidized treatment are left gasping for life in hospital corridors.  The surgeries are postponed indefinitely because the system cannot pay its bills.

As the LDF prepares to seek a mandate for “Pinarayi 3.0,” this situation stands as a grim reminder of misplaced priorities and arrogance in governance. A government that can spend lavishly on publicity, festivals, and unnecessary projects but fails to pay suppliers for essential medical implants shows contempt for public health and compassion. 

The poor, who trusted the state’s health system, now face unbearable agony. This is not just fiscal failure but it is moral bankruptcy at the heart of Kerala’s governance.

-K A Solaman

PM SHRI School admitted

#PM SHRI #school #admitted

The recent decision of the Kerala government to join the PM SHRI scheme, after initially opposing it, once again exposes the inconsistency and political opportunism that have become characteristic of the state’s governance.

Minister V. Sivankutty’s assurance that Kerala’s educational policy will remain uncompromised appears hollow when viewed against the government’s habitual pattern of criticizing central initiatives for political mileage and later quietly accepting them to access funds. 

This double standard reflects a lack of coherent policy vision. Instead of formulating independent, sustainable reforms in education, the government seems more focused on extracting financial benefits while maintaining a façade of ideological resistance to the Centre.

Such contradictions have weakened the credibility of the Left-led administration in Kerala. The CPI, a key constituent of the ruling front, has particularly lost its ideological clarity. They are  trying to rule and oppose all the time. 

The politics of selective resistance only exposes Kerala's dependence on central assistance for governance. While the government loudly project Kerala as a model state or even as a quasi-independent entity distinct from the Union, their inability to sustain essential programmes without central aid highlights administrative

inefficiency and fiscal mismanagement.

 This approach of opposing for politics and accepting for survival not only undermines Kerala’s governance but also erodes public confidence in its leadership.

-K A Solaman

Disregard to RTI Act

#Disregard to RTI Act.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 was enacted to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance by empowering citizens to seek information from public authorities. 

When a citizen inquires about the reason for his name being deleted from the voter’s list, it is a legitimate request for information that directly affects their democratic right to vote. Such a query cannot be dismissed by hiding behind technicalities or by quoting irrelevant definitions from the Act. 

The Public Information Officer (PIO) has a statutory duty to provide a clear and factual response, such as the official reason for deletion or the authority responsible for the action. By refusing to give this information, the officer has not only denied the citizen’s right but also shown disregard for the principles of transparency that the RTI Act upholds.

The  kind of misleading response represents a growing trend of bureaucratic evasion that weakens the RTI framework. The officer’s answer is not only evasive but also reflects ignorance or deliberate distortion of the law. 

The RTI Act never intended to allow officers to hide information by citing procedural loopholes; instead, it obligates them to assist applicants in obtaining the correct information. The citizen’s question clearly pertains to a government record, namely, the voter list and hence falls squarely within the Act’s purview. Such misuse of authority warrants disciplinary action, as it discourages public participation and erodes faith in democratic institutions. 

To preserve the sanctity of the RTI Act, erring officials who misuse their position to deny rightful information must be held accountable under the provisions of the law.

An inappropriate reply given by the Panchayat Secretary clearly undermines the very spirit and purpose of the Right to Information (RTI).

-K A Solaman

Hijab issue. lacks maturity

#Hijab #issue lacks maturity

The father’s reaction to the hijab issue at St. Rita’s Public School reflects a lack of maturity and a failure to prioritize his daughter’s education over emotional impulses. Instead of resolving the issue calmly and guiding his daughter to adapt to the school’s uniform policy he has chosen to withdraw her, citing emotional distress. 

Education is meant to prepare students to face life’s realities with discipline and understanding. If the girl is not withdrawn from the school there is possibility for father constantly finding fault with the school, whether about teachers’ remarks, marks, or other grievances. His duty as a parent is to ensure her continuity in quality education, not to politicize or dramatize a manageable situation. The new school that is going to admit the girl should be beware of her father.

Equally concerning is the conduct of the Education Minister, V. Sivankutty, whose frequent and inconsistent comments on this issue only deepen the confusion. As the head of the education department, he should maintain neutrality and uphold the institutional authority of schools rather than appear to sway with political pressure. His repeated remarks, shifting tones, and lack of firmness undermine public confidence in the education system. 

A responsible minister must offer clarity, stability, and balanced judgment, not fuel controversies through impulsive statements. Both the father’s overreaction and the minister’s inconsistency ultimately harm the broader goal of maintaining discipline, respect, and educational integrity in schools.

-K A Solaman