Governor's Kitchen

#What's #AICC's #business in the #Governor's #Kitchen?

It is the head of the household who decides what to cook in his own kitchen, not the local people. Even the cooks were surprised to see a protest break out in Delhi before the mustard was even cooked in the Lok Bhavan's china pot. Under which section does the Governor, who took oath and took charge, decide what to serve on the dinner table in his own house and it becomes a "saffron agenda"? If this continues, people are worried that if sambar is served in any house today, will it have to be sent for the approval of Congress General Secretary KC. 

The fact that a person sitting in the post of AICC General Secretary finds time to interfere in the salt and flour of a kitchen when there are so many big problems in the country is seen as proof of karma, but a rethinking of priorities is very good. Now, if we take the issue of food freedom, no one's freedom may be undermined just because fish and meat are not cooked in Lok Bhavan.  This reform is not a stone edict, but only until the end of the governor's term. If the governor who comes tomorrow is satisfied with only dum biryani, democracy will pave the way for that too.

Employees who are hungry for non-veg food in Lok Bhavan have hot stalls waiting outside the gate. When there are modern food courts serving beef fries and fried fish in every nook and corner of Kerala, it remains to be seen whether the Lok Bhavan kitchen is portrayed as an ideological battlefield due to ignorance or a knowing game. Employees who want to change their lavana because they do not get biryani cannot be denied the facility.

If the food rights of employees are actually being restricted, then we can criticize it based on facts. But we should not criticize the entire menu in a kitchen as a serving vessel for Sangh Parivar politics. Criticism is good in politics; but we should not try to add a hearthstone of divisive politics to every kitchen.

-KA Solaman

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Stock market crash

#StockMarket #Crash

The sustained decline in the Indian stock market has posed a severe threat to the savings of ordinary investors. An investment of one lakh rupees made just a few weeks ago has now shrunk significantly. Small-scale investors are deeply concerned that if this trend continues, they might lose their capital entirely.

This market downturn cannot be dismissed as a mere temporary fluctuation. Those who encourage the public to invest in the market must also reflect on their own accountability when losses occur.

It is incorrect to gauge the overall health of the market solely by the success of a specific share issue such as that of Jio Platforms. The response to a single offering is distinct from the performance of the market as a whole. If investor enthusiasm is touted as proof of the market's inherent strength, it is only fair to ask why a similar level of concern is not shown when that same capital is placed at risk.

In the past, during major market downturns, one could expect interventions from the Finance Minister or announcements aimed at reassuring the public. The market interventions during P. Chidambaram’s tenure as Finance Minister serve as an example. Today, however, amidst this market crash, the public expects greater clarity regarding the Finance Ministry’s response and the potential interventions of public sector financial institutions, such as the LIC.  It is not the government's duty to artificially prop up the stock market; rather, its role is to ensure transparency and investor protection, and to clarify the reasons behind any undue market volatility.

Those who celebrate the gains during periods of market growth must also address the concerns of investors when the market declines. Otherwise, the ordinary person—who enters the stock market with the hope of building long-term savings will come to view it not as a platform for investment, but as a gambling den where one ends up losing their hard-earned money.

The current state of the Indian stock market can be summed up as: "If you have money to lose, go ahead and enter the Indian stock market."

— K. A. Solaman

KIIFB-Debt under the guiss of development

#KIIFB: Debt under the guise of development!

KIIFB, which was formed with the aim of finding money for Kerala's infrastructure development, is today raising serious questions about the state's financial liabilities. The loans collected through this system, implemented as part of the financial planning of former Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, must ultimately be repaid from the state's income. The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General also make it clear that KIIFB's loans cannot be separated from the state's actual debt. 

Borrowing without ensuring clear repayment planning and financial transparency will affect the financial security of future generations. The public should be clearly aware of the interest and repayment figures on loans, including the Rs 2,150 crore masala bond. If there has been any irregularity or corruption in the masala bond deal, those responsible should be found through investigation and evidence.

 The discrepancy between Thomas Isaac's claim that KIIFB has Rs 30,000 crore and the figures put forward by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has now led to a new controversy. Chief Minister Satheesan pointed out that as of March 31, 2026, KIIFB's total balance was Rs 10,633 crore, of which Rs 4,128 crore was the government treasury corpus fund and the remaining investment was Rs 6,521 crore. Following this, the media reported that Isaac had corrected the figures in his Facebook post. 

In this situation, Isaac has the responsibility to clarify through detailed figures the basis for the claim of Rs 30,000 crore and the actual financial position of KIIFB.

The KIIFB model implemented under the leadership of Pinarayi Vijayan and Isaac's financial decisions should be subject to independent and transparent scrutiny beyond political arguments. Loans can be taken in the name of development;  But the amount of that loan and the responsibility for repayment cannot be hidden from the people. To find the 30,000 crores in KIIFB,  it is foolish to look in the torn pocket of  kurta.

-K. A. Solaman

Deserve condemnation

#Action should be condemned 

The reported actions of CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, who allegedly scaled police barricades and entered Jantar Mantar in defiance of police restrictions, deserve strong condemnation. In a constitutional democracy like India, the right to peaceful protest is fundamental, but it does not place anyone above the law. 

Disregarding police orders, crossing barricades and entering a restricted protest zone cannot be justified merely in the name of activism. If the authorities have designated alternative venues such as Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground for authorized demonstrations, protest organizers should follow the prescribed procedures and challenge restrictions through lawful means. 

The rule of law must apply equally to activists, political leaders and ordinary citizens. No organization should be allowed to treat public spaces as its private territory or assume that its political convictions give it immunity from legal consequences. What is particularly disturbing is the tendency of some activists to make confrontation with the authorities and to violate  regulations. Such conduct risks undermining the credibility of legitimate protest movements and needlessly escalating tensions. 

Activists who claim to defend constitutional values must demonstrate the same respect for constitutional procedures that they demand from the government. 

K A Solaman

Inflammatory name calling

#inflammatory name calling

Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar “cowards” is hardly an example of responsible political leadership. Rahul Gandhi, as a senior opposition leader should show the  responsibility to uphold the dignity of public discourse. 

Political disagreement is an essential feature of democracy, but personal insults and provocative language cannot substitute for reasoned arguments, evidence and constructive criticism. Rahul Gandhi's confrontational rhetoric risks reducing serious political debates to exchanges of insults and theatrical gestures. 

An opposition leader earns public respect not merely by attacking those in power but by presenting credible alternatives, questioning government policies with evidence and demonstrating consistency between words and actions.

 Personal attacks may generate headlines and energise misinformed political supporters, but they can also alienate undecided voters and weaken the substance of legitimate criticism. If Rahul Gandhi wishes to establish himself as a credible national leader, restraint, clarity of argument and respect for constitutional institutions would serve him better than inflammatory name-calling. 

The strength of a leader lies not in the harshness of his insults, but in the quality of his arguments, the dignity of his conduct and the credibility of his alternative vision.

K A Solaman

#Should Vigilance be closed?

#Should Vigilance be closed or should the High Court also be investigated!

Whether an FIR should be registered in a case is not a matter of political convenience; it is a matter that should be examined according to legal standards. There is strong criticism that the state government went ahead with its own vigilance investigation without registering an FIR despite the ED's findings and demands for further action in the allegations against Pinarayi Vijayan and his son-in-law Mohammed Riyaz. 

Now that the High Court has intervened, the vigilance investigation announced by the government cannot be carried out without closing it. The government should clarify on what basis the FIR was not filed despite the ED's request. Since the High Court's new directive is against the government's political calculations, will a vigilance investigation be announced against the court as well? 

The rule of law is not something that should be remembered only when the government is convenient. It is the constitutional responsibility of the government to follow the court's directives; it cannot turn its back on them in the name of political friendship.  Just as no one can be declared guilty before the charges are proven, no one can be kept under suspicion indefinitely in the name of investigation.

In a democracy, the government can disagree with the court; but the due process of law should not be ignored in the name of political favoritism. 

- K. A. Solaman

Political Farces

#Political #Farces

The current developments in Kerala politics are more than just political farces, they expose the double standards of the ruling class. Just as all rivers flow into the sea, we can see a strange way in which all the crises and controversies in the state are finally tied to one person. 

While the cockroaches and the indis are declaring a strike against Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi as if to oust Modi, the ruling party in Kerala is also raising its sword against him. It is because it is reluctant to go to Delhi and roll out the Luttappi.model with the police that an artificial strike atmosphere is being created in the political arena of Kerala. 

There are clear political objectives behind the moves by the ruling party to implicate the then Public Works Secretary Gyanesh Kumar in a suicide incident that took place twenty years ago.  The UDF may have felt it was politically necessary to resort to such tactics to counter the allegations raised by the Marxist party that 'Satheesan is a Modi supporter'. It is also clear that this entry into the scene is outside the 'legal advice' received as part of it. 

But the problem is with the advisors who give such legal advice. Kerala witnessed similar scenes during the previous LDF regime. Pinarayi and his group's method was to blame all the misdeeds committed by the government and the cases that were lost in the courts on the heads of the legal advisors. 

Many serious corruption cases that have emerged in Kerala in the last two decades, including gold smuggling, sprinkler, black sand monthly payment, and PPE kits, are still not being investigated.  When so many cases with real evidence are lying before the investigative agencies working with the tax money of the common people, what else is the current government doing but ignoring all that and diverting the vigilance investigation into such unnecessary controversies?

The Kerala society needs to recognize such dramas that are being carried out with the benefit of legal advice to divert attention from the real problems of the people and to hide their mutual political collusion. The damage done to the democratic system of Kerala by this political deception, where the ruling party and the opposition become birds of the same feather and deceive the people, is not insignificant..

-K. A. Solaman