In TN, leader’s popularity is a measure of deaths.

It is a further setback for the TN former CM Jayalaltihaa to stay in prison as the vacation bench of the Karnataka high court adjourned plea for bail to October 7. The counsels favoring Jayalaithaa staging dharna in front of the court is unwarranted. 

My concern is about the killing of people after the special court in Bangalore convicted Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case. It is reported that at least 16 people committed suicide or died of cardiac arrest across Tamil Nadu. Two people have been hospitalized with severe burns. A thorough enquiry should be conducted to find the exact reason for these deaths. There are stories of planned killings as self immolation. 
  
The people of TN, in fact, are emotionally charged by politicians and they are usually instigated by fellow citizens that prompt them to go for suicide. Moreover the leader’s popularity is measured by the number of deaths and the intensity of agitations over the arrest. Had the common people any sense, they should enquire any higher-ups have resorted to this kind of extreme step. The role of leaders and the media are also found responsible for not taking any defensive steps to prevent these stoppable deaths.
There should be a law to further penalize the convict in prison to compensate the loss of lives caused by the poignant electrification by the politicians.

K A Solaman  

Wrong move by the government

The Kerala Government move  for disinvestment of 26 per cent shares of State-owned public sector undertakings (PSUs)  for mobilising Rs.1,000 crore to rein in the revenue deficit,  is in the wrong direction. The proposal if implemented would have far-reaching consequences and set a mistaken example.
The Finance Department of Kerala is a poorly run one.  The very instance is, their deploying of police, excise, and sale tax staff on highways to extract money from passengers. In order to protect the government interests, there are better ways other than selling earnings made by our ancestors. If not checked, this government would sell land and other properties owned by government colleges and other public sector institutions.

The government could not sell loss making establishments as there are little takers for them, It can sell only profit making ones. Absence of a professional management in public sector establishments is the fault of the government. The unaccountability of the staff there may be another factor.
The ministry which is in power for a short span of time has no right to sell the public properties. The move should be out rightly opposed.

K A Solaman

New government college

It is a welcome step on the part of the Kerala Government to start a Government college at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district. The college will provide opportunity to poor students who are unable pay hefty sum as fee in the neighbouring self financing colleges.  Now there are only three courses B.Com, BSc (Zoology), and BA (Malayalam) courses with a strength of 132 student. Classes are handled by guest lecturers.
Guest lecturers are a handicap of all educational institutions where the students are denied better educational facilities. So the faculty should be furnished with permanent teachers and more courses.
The UDF government at the time of  inception has promised  a government college in each taluk and presumably the Elanthoor college is the first of its kind. It is, therefore, the accountability of the government to start government colleges in every taluk and that too with full pledged facilities.  What we need a complete college and not a namesake college.

K A Solaman

Total ban or abstinence?

In Kerala there is no liquor ban. Liquor is available in beverages outlets and in bars. Another intoxicant toddy is also available in every nook and corner of the Kerala What will be now in Kerala to happen is a bar ban and not liquor ban. The term ‘liquor ban’ is thus a misnomer.

A few political and communal leaders consider that total liquor ban is impractical in Kerala. According to them what we need is not a total ban but abstinence from alcohol which should be achieved through planned awareness programmes. This observation about abstinence is rather illogical because awareness programmes that started from the time of Sree Narayana Guru reached nowhere. The most laughing matter is, the Guru founded organisations are now headed by advocates of liquor.

I endorse the comment of KPCC President V M Sudheeran that “Sree Narayana Guru’s followers should work towards the success of the new liquor policy”.

It is the common people to understand the hazard of liquor consumption and to work for the success of the bar ban. The financial crisis now experienced in the State is not of liquor policy as it is yet to be implemented.

K A Solaman

By-election results

It might be no exaggeration to say that after the Lok Sabha election, most BJP leaders have become intoxicated with power. Right-wing elements seem to be calling the shots. The Lok Sabha result was for Mr. Modi as Prime Minister as India wanted a strong leader. The issues that formed the core of past BJP governments at the Centre should not be brought up again. India has changed.

K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha

The Hindu Published on 19-9-2014

Bleak financial management

The Kerala government hiking taxes on liquor and tobacco products, water charges, land registration and stamp duty in a bid to tide over a financial crunch is deadly against the interest of common people of Kerala. Any hike in tax would definitely affect all people and not alone the rich as the CM  claimed. A company chairman staying in a  VIP suit of a luxury hotel or travelling in VIP class, meets the expense by selling the company product mostly to common people. This means a learned minister saying that ‘hiking plane ticket will not affect common man’ is absurd 

The new tax burden of over Rs.2,000 crore now placed on Kerala people has no justification as it is outside the budgetary provisions. The many time Finance Minister K M Mani has proved once again that his financial management is utterly hopeless.

It is learnt that the CPM planned launch a massive protest against the present tax hike. This would mean that Mani’s last wish to become the CM of Kerala has met with an abrupt end.

K A Solaman

Bypoll reverse

Bypoll reverse is a warning signal to BJP Government. After Lok Sabha Elections most of the BJP leaders have gone into snooze and some have became power intoxicated. Many of them have become tools under the communal dictates of RSS. Being in power at Centre, the BJP workers have changed their attitude towards voters. They rather started to think as masters than servants of people.

It is a fact that the Lok Sabha election was for Modi as PM because India needed a strong PM, who is able to air views on various world problems. Modi has proved his ability by his style of governance. The financial inflow from Japan and China is truly the hand pick of Modi. People need a brawny centre and in any case Ram Temple at Ayodhya should not be the pressing issue.

K A Solaman

Ground-breaking soubriquet!

Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasivam suggesting that there is no need to use epithets like 'His Excellency' while addressing him is not a revolutionary idea. He suggests that the soubriquet ‘Honourable’ can be used instead of ‘His Excellency'. And when the demarcation between the two is very narrow one could not comprehend the need for such a 'radical'change.

Further, the successor of Justice Sathasivam need not adhere to this new ground-breaking brand! 

K A Solaman

Kerala Liquor prohibition, an absurd drama.

The CM of Kerala Oommen Chandy has ordered a ban on the sale of alcohol in all non-5 star outlets in the state and a liquor prohibition in stages completing after ten years. On hearing this there on the go fierce discussion drill in channels about a total ban. Is there any total ban? Nothing of the sort.

This episode somewhat resembles the story of yet another Chandy of Cherthala suburb. Much before Christian clergies started to preach laity to procreate more Chandy of Cherthala recognised the importance of more children. He and his wife Sosamma have 12 children. When all the children were studying in school and colleges on every morning there was a big quarrel among children to get the only iron in the house to press their uniform. On seeing this Chandy would come forward and throw the iron to their pond to keep it safe. The quarrel of the children would thus come to an end. Here the liquor ban is the iron and all ministers and leaders are the children. The CM by imposing a total liquor ban has stopped the quarrel among ministers.  

I don’t think that there would be any loss of revenue due to liquor ban. If only 20 percent of the revenue is obtained from bars this could be compensated from the additional sale of liquor in Beverages outlets. And if 7500 bar tenders lose their job another 15000 thousand would get job as bystander before Beverages outlet queue. Many clients of the closed bars would employ people on daily wages to get their quota from outlets. The tourists coming to Kerala are for seeing lakes and lagoons and not to remain inebriated all the time.

The claim of government that a strict ban will reduce crime rates and make the streets safer for women is wrong as there is no liquor ban in the state. What the government should do is to come down heavily on the drug and illicit liquor mafia that are exploiting the younger generation. Implementation of complete liquor ban, as many vociferously converse, is never could be seen in any part of Kerala in immediate future. A period of 10 years is not a short span of time.

K A Solaman

PM’s speech on Teachers day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s live television address on the occasion of Teachers’ Day was impressive. However, students and teachers in many schools in Kerala lost the opportunity to watch the speech because it was not telecast in the official ViCTERS channel of IT@School. Victers channel is in fact is a poorly viewed channel and it lost an opportunity to reach a wider section of the society.

It was an accusation by some political parties in Kerala against Modi to use Teachers day to play politics to air saffron ideology, but in fact, by denying telecast through Victers, the Kerala UDF played tricky politics.  Actually Modi inspired students and teachers by effectively mixing interesting anecdotes from his childhood and issues such as environment protection and teachers’ responsibility.

Once a person becomes a Prime Minister, he is the PM of all and not of a section of the people and this fact has been forgotten by the Kerala rulers.

K A Solaman

Happy teachers' day

Happy Teacher's day

On this teacher’s day.

September 5 is celebrated as Teacher's Day as it is Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday and he is regarded as one of the finest teachers.

Teacher is the quintessence of life and it is only through a teacher that we are what we are today. The first teacher in our life is our mother, and then comes the father. They teach us, take care of us and raise us to be good human beings prepared to face the world. The hands that raise the child a thousand times and the hands that rock the cradle  a thousand rules the world. Our parents teach us to follow discipline and to learn the importance of values and respect in life. Each parent has his or her role to play and ideas to contribute. We are students in every step of life. As children, we learn from parents and the parents are our very first teachers.

Then we go to school and there we  learn from our teachers. We learn the basics of every language from our teachers. They teach us science, mathematics, social studies and what else. In colleges too we are supplemented with our beloved teachers.   It is indeed a pleasure and privilege to be with such learned people who selflessly teach us the art of science, the beauty of the surroundings and the history of the world. Teachers are gems and we cherish them forever.

Our next stage is the world where we start a career. Our team manager is our teacher. There we realize the importance of all the values, and rules set down by our parents at that young age. Suddenly, the discipline of putting things back in place, of going to bed on time, of praying when we wake up, all begins to make sense. We realize that time is money and we stop wasting time.

As we move further on in life, we settle down to a happy family life. Our spouse becomes our teacher. We learn a lot from him or her. She or he comes from a different background and we learn the art of adjustment and compromise. We share, care and begin to learn to share our personality with another person gradually we become parents. Our learning does not end here. We begin to learn from children. Child is the father of man- this Wordsworth statement perhaps means that the qualities exhibited by a child will deepen and appear in a marked form when the child grows up into a man. By observing and studying the behaviour, the inclinations, the preferences, the prejudices and the tendencies of child we can form an idea as to what sort of man he will develop into. We begin to behave ourself, we stop swearing and we do not indulge in bad habits. We learn from children. They are our best teachers.

As we grow old, we look back rocking our experiences back and forth. We realize that Teachers are Gems, they are important and they are here to make us what we are today. We are all students of one common teacher – LIFE. Life is the biggest teacher.

So on this teacher’s day let us all salute our loved, respected and amazing teachers!

K A Solaman

Post-retirement job

The news about former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam being listed to be the Kerala governor  has evoked mixed  responses from various corners. I value the one that is expressed  by KPCC Predident V M Sudheeran in this respect. The person who occupied a supreme post should not be demoted to a lower post. Of late the governor’s post is  tool for ruling parties to humiliate leaders who were once in other parties before becoming  governor.

It is the responsibility of Government to ensure the highest standards of judicial independence and to defend against even the faintest trace of governmental influence on the judiciary.  As judicial independence of Judges remains entirely on maintaining an incorruptible detachment from the government of the day it cannot be allowed t for lobbying for comfortable post-retirement postings. Sathasivam’s posting will create “post retirement job ” syndrome among judges and it could place judges potentially open to governmental influence leaving scope for biased pre-retirement  judgments.

The judges can be considered for governor post if this post has privileges akin to that of the President of India.

K A Solaman