VOX POPULI

by

Aam Admi

Issue:122

Date: 21.07.2012

Contents:

1. In Goa, The Casinos Should Be Shut Down

2. Democracy Under Siege In India

3. BJP Should Get Its Act Together

4. Mamata Needs To Grow Up

5. Kalmadi On Bail

6. In Presidential Election, Candidates Should Respect the High Office While Contesting

7. The Shame On Assam

In Goa, The Casinos Should Be Shut Down

First it was the Congress – led government and now the BJP government in Goa that both pay lip-service to be anti-gambling and against casinos are covertly supporting it. Lately with regard to the statistics put out on the revenue generated and the employment provided by casinos in the State, it is an apparently clear case of the BJP government with Manohar Parrikar leading the charge being detrimental to the social well-being of the State and having a clearly distorted viewpoint on the mechanism for generating revenue for the government. In the first instance, we need to remember that the revenue arising out of casino operations is something which is not contributing to improving the moral fibre of the State and a BJP government stooping so low as to take credit for increase in revenues from casinos speaks for itself. The increase in the number of footfalls at the casinos in the April – June quarter of 2012, normalized for the reduced entry fee of Rs. 500 and assuming that each person visits the casino three times on a 3-day package tour, we arrive at a figure of 10,000 persons per quarter or 3300 persons approx. per month. These will include more outsiders than Goans and even if 10% of these become chronic gamblers, the casinos in Goa are destroying the lives of approx. 4000 Indian citizens per year. Out of this at least 5% should be Goans, which means that lives of 200 Goans are being destroyed by the casinos every year and about 800 Goans in their immediate families are being made destitute. Additionally Goa would be getting blamed for the lives destroyed of other Indians who visit the casinos. Is all this desirable? If not, is this not avoidable? In the second instance, the casino entry fee at a higher level was a threshold barrier to deter people from going into casinos to gamble, this being more so for Goans. By reducing the entry fee to a nominal Rs. 500/- you are opening the floodgates for people and particularly our youth in Goa to flock to casinos and gamble. Just like the DSSY scheme the money has been increased from Rs. 1000/- to Rs. 2000/- as an election promise, so also the BJP had promised that our youth would get an unemployment allowance of some Rs. 2000 – 2500 per month. When this takes place, would some of our youth not go and play with government money at the casinos since the entry fee is just Rs. 500/- By playing to the masses in reducing the price of petrol in the State, if Manohar Parrikar thinks that the people of Goa will condone his raising revenues from casinos and gambling to compensate for the revenue loss, then he is sadly mistaken. Thirdly, the employment statistics given in the newsitem and quoted from government figures seem to be wrong. These job numbers seem to be fudged to show that more Goans are being employed in the casinos while the reality is closer to that which is given in the figures given for Hotel Neo Majestic (Casino Pride) of total employees 351 out of which Goans are only 151. Thus with employment being provided for an upper maximum of 1600 persons, the casinos would destroy the lives of the same number of people that it would give jobs to though these two categories are different set of people but even then for the whole of Goa the figures nullify each other and thus there is no benefit of the casinos to Goa at all. Additionally, there is more nuisance because of their presence arising out of increase in crime, prostitution, drug usage, money laundering, palming off counterfeit money and its relationship to terror operations, congestion on the River Mandovi of the off-shore casinos to the fishing vessels, barge traffic and cruise ships along with the additional costs of administering these problems by the government which are being currently hidden away in the respective departmental budgets. Finally the casinos are an increasing nuisance to Goans and normal tourists. Like in the first category where the casinos are located in residential neighbourhoods the peace and calm of the locality is being destroyed by movement of noise, commotion and rashly driven traffic on a 24/7 basis, soliciting by prostitutes which restricts decent women from respectable households from coming out on the streets for fear of being accosted. Even if we take the figure of jobs provided by the casinos for Goans at 1600, then for 0.1% of the population should 99.9% of the Goan people suffer the nuisance generated by the casinos. Thus we need to think whether we need these casinos at all in Goa since their disadvantages far outweigh their benefits. Goa should aspire to provide clean tourism which seems to be a lost cause now with Manohar Parrikar and his government bent upon acting analogous to a priest operating a vice den or a liquor vend where they first encourage the individual to indulge in the vices on account of the necessity to earn money but without a care for the ultimate destruction of the person on account of his addiction to that vice. Is this why the people of Goa sent Manohar Parrikar and the BJP to power with a resounding majority in the last elections?

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THIS IS AN APPEAL TO ALL OF YOU TO COME OUT AGAINST CASINOS AND GAMBLING IN ALL ITS FORMS IN INDIA AND PARTICULARLY IN GOA. IN THE EVENT THAT YOU VISIT GOA PLEASE SHUN THE CASINOS AND DO NOT ENCOURAGE THEM TO CONTINUE IN BUSINESS WITH EVEN YOUR OCCASSIONAL PATRONAGE. THE FOLLOWING LETTER SENT TO THE BJP AND RSS TOP BRASS OUTLINES THE PROBLEMS THAT WE SEE IN THE CASINO INDUSTRY FLOURISHING IN GOA. SOME LIKEMINDED PEOPLE LIKE ME ARE CAMPAIGNING AGAINST THE CASINOS IN GOA AND WOULD VALUE YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT. IN YOUR OWN AREA OR CITY YOU COULD TAKE UP THIS ISSUE TO STOP GAMBLING OF WHICH THE ‘MATKA’ FORM OR THE NUMBERS GAME IS THE MOST PATRONISED IN INDIA BY WRITING TO THE AUTHORITIES OR THE STATE AND CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION TO CURB, CONTROL AND STOP THIS. ANY OF YOUR LETTERS THAT YOU ISSUE ON THIS CAN BE COPIED TO ME BY EMAIL OR BY REGULAR POST. IF YOU CAN ALSO WRITE SIMILARLY ON THE CASINO BUSINESS IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. SEND ME COPIES OF THESE LETTERS ALSO SO THAT WE CAN ALL WORK TOWARDS COORDINATING A NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN TO RID THIS COUNTRY OF THIS VICE OF GAMBLING BEFORE IT BECOMES AN ORGANISED INDUSTRY LIKE WE ARE SEEING IN GOA. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE CASINO BUSINESS IN GOA IS JUST THE BEGINNING WITH SIKKIM ALREADY HAVING SOME CASINOS. THEN DAMAN & DIU FOLLOWING SUIT IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND THEN IT WILL BE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY SHOWING THE GOA REVENUE MODEL EXAMPLE SINCE EVERY SINGLE STATE IN THIS COUNTRY NEEDS AN EASY REVENUE MECHANISM AND CASINOS ARE IDEALLY SUITED FOR THIS.

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LETTER SENT TO THE BJP AND RSS TOP BRASS IN NEW DELHI: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 4th June 2012

To,

(See below for Addressee List)

Dear ....................... ,

This is to bring to your attention the mushrooming gambling and casino culture that is spreading in Goa, which happens to be the only State in India where this activity is thriving and rampant apart from Sikkim where there is a marginal presence of casinos. Now that there is a BJP government in power in Goa with an unassailable majority, it is time that a moral clean-up of the State is undertaken by banning such activity as gambling that is represented through the casinos. We have as a group under the umbrella of the Aam Aurat and Admi Against Gambling (AAAAG), Goa have submitted a memorandum in this regard to Shri Manohar Parrikar, the Chief Minister of Goa, a copy of which is attached to this letter. In addition to this, this letter seeks to request you to remind the BJP in Goa and Shri Manohar Parrikar of the basic conceptual ideology that gambling as a vice should not find place in our contemporary Indian society and any earnings from this activity are surely tainted and have no business to be considered as revenue for the government.

In this spirit, the following is enumerated to give you the background of the gambling/casino culture that is slowly rising as a menace to civil society in Goa:

1. Gambling as a vice and represented through the casinos in Goa is polluting civil society since in its wake it brings in the other vices like organized crime, money laundering, drugs, prostitution and linkages to the terror networks. This fact is nothing new and has been seen in other places of the world where gambling activity is actively promoted. Even in Goa over the last 5 years or so when the number of casinos were being increased there have been many cases of crime, money laundering, drugs and prostitution that have happened. It is time that this is stopped and the casinos are asked to close down.

2. Even though the casinos are ostensibly set up to cater to tourists, many are the local Goan families who have seen their near and dear ones destroyed through the passion of gambling. These are ordinary middle class families whose youth primarily are attracted towards the ‘hi-life’ as represented by the casinos and end up loosing everything on the gaming machines/tables of the casinos.

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3. There is no independent control or regulation on the gambling machines and/or tables in the casinos apart from that set up by the owners. Thus the gambling is biased towards increasing the profitability of the casino owners at the cost of those gambling. This therefore is a manner of extortion through the gaming process. Abroad there are independent gaming commissions which ensure a certain amount of fairness in the process of the games that are played and which monitor the casinos on a regular basis to ensure that these regulations are being followed. In Goa though there is a gaming commission, it is almost defunct and serves no useful purpose and those visiting the casinos are at the mercy of the machines/table operators which is essentially the casino owners.

4. There are two kinds of casinos – on-shore and off-shore. On-shore casinos are allowed to operate only gaming machines with no live gambling at the tables like card games and are supposed to be only in ‘5-star’ hotels. The off-shore casinos are located on board ships and are supposed to be technically 5 KM. from Goa’s sea shore. These off-shore casinos can have gaming machines as well as live gaming at tables. In both categories of casinos, the surprising part is the uniform flouting of laws by which on-shore casinos have been allowed to function within the premises of supposedly ‘5-star’ hotels, certified by the local State administration and not by the Tourism Dept. of the Govt. of India. In the same manner, the off-shore casinos are located mostly on the river Mandovi in the capital city of Panaji on ships that are not seaworthy and which clutter up the river causing traffic congestion to the movement of fishing trawlers, cruise ships and barges carrying iron ore for export. In the manner of splitting hairs, the off-shore casino owners have filed cases in the courts of law that off-shore can also mean being on the river! The matter is now sub-judice. Most of this had happened during the erstwhile Congress government’s rule in Goa for the last 8 years or so.

5. Upon the BJP government assuming power in Goa a couple of months back, the Chief Minister, Shri Manohar Parrikar announced a reduction in the entry fee of off-shore casinos from Rs. 2,000/- bringing it in line with the Rs. 500/- as applicable for on-shore casinos. At the same time, he enhanced the licence fees payable in advance of on-shore casinos from Rs. 15 lakh per year to Rs. 2.5 crores per year and that of off-shore casinos from Rs. 5 crores per year to Rs. 6.5 crores per year. Both these have since been notified. This he admits was a revenue mobilization measure and to simplify the administration of the collection of entry fees from the casinos in which there was a high amount of leakage. However, Manohar Parrikar failed to realize that in his zeal to earn revenue and to plug procedural leakages, he is firstly, resting his government’s earnings on a vice which is, as said earlier, conceptually immoral, and secondly, encouraging a social evil by making it easier for people to visit the casinos by reducing the entry fees to Rs. 500/- for both categories.

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6. Shri Manohar Parrikar at around the same time of revising the entry fee and licence fees of the casinos announced an unemployment allowance of some Rs. 2500/- p.m to Goan unemployed youth. When this is implemented it would not be surprising to see the youth in Goa playing with government money at the casinos with their entry fees now reduced. Thus Manohar Parrikar has increased the social nuisance of the casinos in Goa. Though he has said that he will come up with legislation to restrict entry of Goans below 21 years into the casinos, this will again be a very difficult thing to administer since it will be easy for the youth to grease the palms of the gate-keepers at the casinos and gain entry, since the rates have been reduced from Rs. 2000/- to Rs. 500/-, leaving them with more money in their hands. 7. Goa gets about 20 lakh tourists a year, both foreign and of Indian origin, out of which just about 60,000 visit casinos. Thus the casinos make no serious dent in the tourism portfolio of the State but for adding a certain nuisance and notoriety value to Goa. The negative fallouts of the gambling and casino culture are more than any benefits that it allows.

8. Gambling is an illegal activity all over India and even in Goa but gaming at casinos is not illegal in Goa which is somewhat anachronistic! Therefore gaming at casinos being gambling should also be declared illegal.

9. Advertising is resorted to by the casinos in Goa not only in print advertising, but also point-of-sale moving sign displays, lighted hoardings, signs on road dividers, on airport luggage turntables and even on police road barricades! The image that is conveyed for anyone visiting Goa is that this is ‘Sin State’ akin to ‘Sin City’, is what Las Vegas is known in the United States. Moreover when advertising for liquor and cigarettes is banned in print and visual media, though we see surrogate advertising in this area, the simple question is how are casinos able to advertise freely in all forms of advertising? Clearly this has to be stopped.

10. In many States in India and also in Goa, bars and liquor shops are banned within 100 meters of any place of worship or educational institutions. If bars and liquor shops are required to follow the 100 meters distance separation, common logic or sense should also not allow casinos to be within 100 meters of any place of worship or educational institutions.

11. For entry into casinos, there is no record kept of the visitors and thus it becomes a hot-bed for laundering black/hot money. In hotels around the country and even in Goa, photo ids are a must during check-in as part of the ‘war on terror’ and to also have a record of those visiting the place. But for casinos, there is no record of the people visiting their premises. Just asking for a photo id or PAN card at the time of entry to the casino will prune the visitors and bring a modicum of control to those going to casinos.

12. Another nuisance is that casinos appropriate public spaces near their entrances mostly on the road along the river Mandovi in Panaji which is allocated for the general public.

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13. It is estimated that the casinos in Goa contribute to about Rs. 60 crore to the State Budget while the expenses related to maintaining the casinos in the State, in terms of policing, ensuring law and order and investigation of crimes related to the casinos along with cost of repairing and upkeep of the environment of the river Mandovi in which the off-shore casinos ships continually discharge sewage and effluents are much more than the revenue earned from them. Again as a measure of generating public approbation immediately upon taking over the helm of government in Goa, Manohar Parrikar exempted petrol from the State taxes thus bringing the price down by some Rs. 12 per liter. This is estimated to have resulted in a revenue loss of Rs. 150 crore to the State which he is confident of compensating or recovering from alternate means. If so to continue not patronizing a social evil like casinos in the State, he can surely find ways and means to compensate for the Rs. 60 crores revenue that comes from casinos.

With this, it is requested that you should intervene and ensure that the nuisance and the resultant social evil of the casinos in Goa which is essentially a gambling activity and should be banned with immediate effect. I look forward to your support on this critical and sensitive issue.

Thanking you Yours truly

Sd/-

Srinivas Kamat AG 2 Sabnis Palace Alto Betim Goa 403 521. Ph: (0832) 2416430 Email: kamatsrinivas@hotmail.com

Sent to:

1. Shri Arun Jaitley, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 11, Ashoka Road, New Delhi 110001.

2. Shrimati Sushma Swaraj, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 11, Ashoka Road, New Delhi 110001.

3. Shri Suresh G Soni, Rasthriya Sevak Sangh (RSS) Keshav Kunj Jhandewalan Deshbandhu Gupta Marg New Delhi 110 055.

4. Shri Ram Madhav Rasthriya Sevak Sangh (RSS) Keshav Kunj Jhandewalan Deshbandhu Gupta Marg New Delhi 110 055.

Democracy Under Siege In India

It is democracy under siege during the ongoing Goa Assembly session which is being held behind police barricades and hordes of armed police guarding from a point about 1 km. away from the road leading up to the Assembly premises and then again at the approach of the two Mandovi Bridges in Panaji which are used for access to North Goa and on whose other immediate end are the Assembly premises. Thus for a premise of democracy which was famously defined by Abraham Lincoln as – Of The People, By The People and For The People, has reached a stage in Goa and for that matter in the whole of India as a shuttered, isolated and secretive exercise. The definition of democracy as adapted to the Indian circumstance is - Of The Politicians, By The Politicians and For The Politicians. Never before in the history of India or for that matter mankind has a select few been so apprehensive of the large majority. In this situation our politicians use every single machination and devious tactic in the book to protect themselves against their habit of personal aggrandizement and amassing wealth by hook or by crook. The unseemly hurry to satisfy their greed is the characteristic of the majority of the politicians in India and in that process they are alienating themselves more and more from the aam admi of this country. That is where they see the necessity for protecting themselves with Z+ security, hiding behind procedure for doing anything that is requested for them for the public good, claiming to be snowed under with the onerous process of serving the mass of humanity that is characteristic in India. This in fact is the sum and substance of the problems related to democracy in India which like Bollywood tends to be India’s own and unique masala mix of the premise called democracy.

BJP Should Get Its Act Together

The BJP as a party seems to have lost the elementary basics that they need to be decisive. Being decisive is indicative of leadership which the BJP sorely lacks today. A fractured leadership which resorts to in-fighting at every instance and every turn on the winding road of politics has been their hallmark lately. Take the case of the crisis in Karnataka where yet another CM was installed on the instance of Yeddyurappa's obdurate demands to bring down his own earlier and the only BJP government south of the Vindhyas. This man has been castigated for corruption on many varied counts which has caused no end of embarrassment to the BJP but continues his machinations to topple the incumbent CM since he believes that unless he or his cronies are in the drivers seat in the Vidhana Soudha he would again have to spend some time in jail again. Why no one in the BJP HQ cannot read the riot act to him is anybody's guess? Then again, first in the Presidential election candidates and now in the Vice-Presidential election, the BJP seems to be giving the impression that they prefer to follow rather than lead in spelling out their candidate in advance so that they can build a groundswell of support to challenge the Congress and UPA candidates. This has led them to support a non-candidate like P A Sangma for the President's post since they played themselves into a corner with little choice. Mamata Banerji for all other things that you may blame her for, came out with names of candidates at least of better stature and eminence than that of the Congress & UPA for both the President and the Vice-President. It is quite another matter that her candidates did not want to contest. In this context the BJP's Jaswant Singh is a good candidate for the Vice-Presidency and given time to build support among the political parties he could have been a shoo-in against Hamid Ansari, the Congress candidate who has already had a stint in the post. But it looks like again the BJP left it a bit too late to make up their minds. These and many other things lead the aam admi to believe that the BJP is party which likes to be permanently ensconced in the Opposition and lacks the wherewithal to lead.

Mamata Needs To Grow Up

Mamata Banerji rule in West Bengal is clearly going erratic and directionless. The initial problems she had, with baby deaths in the hospitals, the fires that randomly seemed to sprout from nowhere all over the State and then the Park Street rape case in which the first woman CM of Bengal, Mamata Banerji was perceived not to be on the side of the aggrieved woman and also instrumental in transferring the woman police officer in charge of the Crime Branch in Kolkata Police for hogging the limelight, seem to be far from over. With the Pinki case which was obviously badly handled by the police who did not give the basic protection that a woman or a person claiming to be a woman deserves to get, during arrest or while in jail and the fact that Mamata Banerji did not come out with a statement on this matter has been seen as a negative considering Pinki was in jail for 25 odd days. There is also a broader issue of how a medal-winning athlete is handled in Kolkata or for that matter in India where surely some benefit of the doubt can be given to the athlete and then only rigorous police action taken unless it is an obvious case of murder or similar grievous crime. In line with the hospital issues there was also last week a footballer who died in North Bengal after having been injured on the playing field and no hospital accommodated him to evaluate his injuries. The poor footballer finally died which again speaks of the lack of urgency or seriousness with which patients are treated in West Bengal during the current TMC rule. Even with regard to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections she does not seem to have talked to either Abdul Kalam or Gopal Gandhi, her candidates for the two posts since both have come with almost identical comments on their candidatures and that is only if they are assured of a win they would have contested. Here there is nothing to fault in Mamata Banerji’s choice of candidates since both are highly eminent people and better than what the Congress & UPA put up, but the process that she followed in proposing their candidature which was at fault. Then there was the commemoration of Jyoti Basu’s birth anniversary which happened to fall on a Sunday which she wanted to celebrate on the preceding Friday which the Left boycotted and in retaliation she locked them out of the Assembly premises when they turned up on Sunday to pay their respects to the Grand Old Man of Bengal politics and the media splashed pictures of the Left MLA’s clamouring at the Assembly gates seeking entry. At least for Jyoti Basu’s stature in Bengal should she not have been a little negotiable in her adamancy? It is time therefore that Mamata Banerji gets her act together and shows some maturity and at the same time restores a semblance of governance to the State that has reposed confidence in her. Postscript: Mamata's erratic slip is still showing with her flip-flop in offering support of the TMC to Pranab Mukherji in the Presidential election. Considering that a Bengali has been nominated for the post for the first time she could have gracefully stood behind Pranab-da from the beginning which would have cemented her position across the Bengali psyche irrespective of party affiliations. There is a time to play politics and there is a time to play the stateswoman is what Mamata should realise.

Kalmadi On Bail

How can Suresh Kalmadi be allowed to go to the London Olympics by the CBI judge when he is implicated in the CWG scam where hundreds of crores was purportedly swindled unless it is to collect his dues from the CWG flame run organizer based in London, with which issue the CWG scam started unraveling! In fact his passport should have been permanently cancelled and he should also not have been given bail. By allowing Suresh Kalmadi to go abroad when he has not yet been cleared of his guilt on charges brought against him the Indian justice system is clearly being undermined. The act of giving Kalmadi smacks like that of the judge who gave the Reddy brothers bail in the Obulapuram illegal mining case in Andhra Pradesh. The fact that people like Suresh Kalmadi, the Reddy brothers and A Raja in the 2G scam case who also got bail are influential people and who can swing the outcome of a case by compromising witnesses or tampering with documents would not be lost on the judges. But with the political patronage of the ruling party these cases like the 2G and the CWG are being systematically diluted and with the cynical pessimism that has become the expectation of the aam admi in such matters, one will have to but conclude that nothing will come out of these cases now. This cynicism is in order since if both Kalmadi & Raja were denied bail all this while particularly the latter who was in jail for close to 14 months, what has materially changed in their cases to grant them bail now? Essentially nothing except that the investigation agencies will need more time to make out their case. And simply on this plea every accused in the 2G & CWG cases have been enlarged on bail. It is thus expected that the mills of justice will grind but will not dispense any justice and it will be yet again a fruitless exercise. Therefore you can argue that the accused need not have been incarcerated in jail at all since what was the point in putting all these wealthy and influential people to unnecessary difficulty? Take Suresh Kalmadi’s case where the party including the Congress High Command defended him initially in the CWG scam, but finding that his case was becoming embarrassing they dumped him and also threw him out of the party but then he swung bail on grounds of dementia of which there seem to be no signs now and then had the audacity to announce that he would contest for MP from Pune, his original constituency, and just last month caused a minor fracas in Pune when his cronies in the Municipality invited him to an inauguration which the Opposition did not want anything to do with. The Congress party at the Centre has compromised our value system so much that the border lines of right, wrong and maybe have blurred and nowadays one is not sure of what’s what since what was wrong until yesterday is right today and vice versa.

In Presidential Election, Candidates Should Respect the High Office While Contesting

The manner in which the current Presidential elections are being 'fought' is a shame on the highest office of the land and some of the august and eminent personalities that have graced the office of the President of India in the past. P A Sangma who is completely unfit to hold this office is in any case contesting because some of the political parties who do not see eye to eye with the Congress and the UPA government are playing him along to meet their own limited objectives. His being in the fray has led some of the parties like the Samajwadi party to extract its pound of flesh from the Congress for supporting their official candidate, Pranab Mukherjee and thus indirectly UP needs to thank Sangma for the financial largesse. Talk of a sword that can cut both ways. But in this doling out of budgetory support by an incumbent government to one or the other State for support by a political party for the Presidential candidate is what is vitiating the process of the election and bringing down the stature of the office of the President. Sangma has also stooped low in saying that Rasthrapati Bhawan should not be a 'dumping ground' for a non-performing Finance Minister like Pranab Mukherjee. Little does Sangma realise that by saying this he is indicating that he is amenable to go to this 'dumping ground'! Thus Sangma should know his limits while campaigning for the Presidency and taking pot-shots at Pranab Mukherjee. Not that Pranab Mukherjee is without fault since his very candidature is suspect in the public eye in terms of the technicality that he did not resign from the various offices of profit that he held at the time of filing his Presidential nomination. The signature on the resignation from the office of profit that Pranab Mukherjee held at ISI, Kolkata is clearly different from how he regularly signs other documents which even a layman can see. Thus claiming that can a person not sign his name differently is insulting the imagination of all Indians since we all know that even if one is woken up in the middle of the night to sign a document one would use the same official signature as a matter of caution that whatever document is being signed should not be contested and then held invalid. Thus a man with 40 years of political experience behind him, holding the high office of Finance Minister and aspiring for a higher office that of President does not have the elementary knowledge that he should sign the same way in all documents shows up Pranab Mukherjee's negotiable standards of conduct. There is like they say - 'Dal Mein Kuch Kala Hai!' but then that is what this country has come to under the Congress party where what they would say or do has become the de-facto non-negotiable standard of behaviour or action which we all have to accept. Some one will definitely move a PIL on this matter, sooner or later and we may have the ignominy of Pranab Mukherjee having to demit office and then get re-elected in a short span of time or does that make Sangma the President for the full term in which case it will be a disaster or a thunderbolt of fortune pushing Sangma forward, depending on which way you look at it. But all the same the two candidates should remember to contest the election with conduct that behoves the high office of the President of India.

The Shame On Assam

The Gauhati incident is a shame on the people of Assam following in the wake of the Kolkata incident where a woman was raped in a moving car by perpetrators claiming false identities. In the eastern and north-eastern States of the country starting from Bengal up into Assam and the other Seven Sisters women were treated with respect in the past but with this incident in Gauhati and the increasing rape cases in Bengal, this image seems no longer valid. As far as the police are concerned though there is a necessity for them to be alert, there is little that they can do when such out-of-the-ordinary incidents occur. As reported by an eye-witness the police came within half-hour of being called which is a pretty good response in any part of India and therefore there is not much blame that you can apportion on them. What this or the other police officer said is not valid since its worth is only transient to create those sound bytes on instant TV. The police should however be quick in apprehending the perpetrators and with the support of the Assam CM which has been assured by him, the case should be tried in the fast track courts and exemplary punishment is awarded so that the fair name of Assam is no longer sullied in this manner. The media being castigated for continuing coverage of the incident as it was unfolding is rather unfair since we are not sure if the coverage was received from independent observers or if the media people had alerted the police and then continued to shoot the incident, in which case it is good, hard and unbiased legal evidence which is being presented. However, this incident brings back the memories of the Mangalore incident involving Shree Ram Sene assaulting young couples in a bar or others in Bihar & UP of a cop dragging a supposed criminal along the road while riding a motorcycle, children and women getting thrashed by policemen. This has all happened in the last one year and with more regularity over the last few months which shows that India is getting increasingly violent and intolerant. Time to change, no!

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VOX POPULI

by

Aam Admi

Issue: 121

Date: 14.07.2012

Contents:

1. P Chidambaram's Crass Comment About The Middle Class

2. Lack Of Coordination Among Indian Law Enforcement Agencies, The Cause For Terror Attacks

3. The ‘Time’ Underachiever Manmohan Singh

P Chidambaram's Crass Comment About The Middle Class

Home Minister P Chidambaram's comment about the middle class being able to buy mineral water at Rs. 15 a 1L bottle and buying their children a Rs. 20 icecream cone shows the crass attitude that leaders of our political class have towards the aam admi of this country. This nothing new actually since all leaders and particularly the Finance Ministers of our country, which portfolio Chidambaram has handled many a time, have always used the middle class as a punching bag. Like they say in a sandwich what lies in between the slices of bread is what makes it interesting. Thus in the same manner the Indian middle class is sandwiched between the super rich and the extremely poor and has had to bear the brunt of many an excess mainly financial in every single Budget that has been presented in this country for the last 65 years. Inspite of paying the largest block of both direct taxes and also contributing a very large portion of the indirect tax revenue because of the consumerist boom, the middle class continues to be pummeled by our government since it has no voice in the affairs of the country except at election time. Where the super rich can resort to lobbying using their resources as highlighted in the Nira Radia incident during the exposure of the 2G scam and the cause of the poor are taken by many a NGO as also the government in terms of poverty alleviation measures, one needs to ask whether anyone in this country has taken up the cause of the middle class. It is only in the last decade or so have we seen the tools of the Consumer Courts and the RTI functioning somewhat to alleviate the problems of the middle class. When P Chidambaram talked of the middle class, he also talked of villages in our country that have not seen a metalled road in their lifetime. He mentioned this in a very casual manner as if the government is doing them a big favour. Is this not shocking that a senior functionary of this government and part of the Congress party which has ruled this country for more than 50 years since Independence has been unable to provide every single village in this country a metalled road? How can he have the temerity to say this? Does he not have the modicum of of responsibilty and shame that they have not been able to provide for this essential need? Not only this Chidambaram continued to talk about the 'slight increase' in prices of essential commodities has been because of the increase in the MSP's to the farmers. Firstly, the increase in prices over the last 3 years for almost everything that an aam admi needs for civilsed living has been anything but 'slight'. Secondly, no aam admi of this country grudges the farmer getting better prices for his produce but the increase seems to be going to the vested interests controlled by the political class like distributors and traders and to the politicians themselves who deliberately manipulate prices of commodities to earn windfall gains like in the case of sugar and cotton. There is no need to mention the name of which politician gained from these 2 commodities since it is an open secret. Thirdly, that farmers are not benefiting from the price increases of the commodities in the market place is evident by the rate of increase of retail prices in the market for almost every single commodity is much higher than the rate of increase in the MSP's of the same commodities. Concluding on this issue Chidambaram blaming the media for twisting his comments is rather crude and unfair since then he should give out a handout before his press conferences on what the media should write irrespective of him saying something completely different since the media cannot read Chidambaram's mind. It is not that Chidambaram is alone in exhibiting such crass attitudes towards the citizens of this country but almost every single person in the Cabinet and the only solution to this seems to be to publicly flog them in Vijai Chowk with national TV coverage. It is not that Pranab Mukherjee should think that he has escaped this punishment since he should also get it for his irresponsible and inefficient handling of the economy and putting the whole country into an unescapable financial mess, before he climbs Raisina Hill to enter Rasthrapati Bhawan.

Lack Of Coordination Among Indian Law Enforcement Agencies, The Cause For Terror Attacks

With the Indian law enforcement agencies fighting over the custody of Pakistani terrorist Abu Jundal including the NIA which has gone to court seeking handing over of the above named, one wonders how P Chidambaran, our Home Minister can start accusing Pakistan of State involvement in the 26/11 incident. This is not to contest Pakistan's involvement but to bring home the fact that when interrogation seems incomplete why are we blowing our mouths on the issue since only if we have rock-hard, solid evidence implicating Pakistan it is only then that that country will take heed of the matter. Also contrast this with Ajmal Kasab against whom we have CCTV recordings showing him shooting down our innocent civilians and having been awarded the death sentence, we are still pussyfooting around in carrying out the sentence. Thus based on some leads during an interrogation we start accusing a die-hard enemy nation like Pakistan who has a hide thicker and tougher than a rhinoceros but one of their terrorists caught red-handed we pamper by feeding him biryani in jail at some Rs. 21 crores cost when last estimates were made. The fighting among our law enforcement agencies has been the cause for many a terror attack in this country including 26/11 when warnings from one or the other agency are not given credence and terror alerts are left on desks weeks together with no action taken against them. This precisely is the problem in our preparedness in fighting terror where each law enforcement goes its own way and the terrorists take advantage of this lacunae and kill innocent civilians. It is time to change and improve our alertness, informer networks and time bound investigation ability so that we ward off terror attacks before they even occur.

The ‘Time’ Underachiever Manmohan Singh

The Underachiever tag that Time magazine has affixed to Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister is nothing new and was known to Indians all along. Those who keep track of the political and economic scene here are well aware of this syndrome of the PM. The need to run to Sonia Gandhi for every little thing in government, the 'policy paralysis' plaguing the UPA-2 and rarely being seen in the event of any tragedy that affects the nation and even then half a step behind the Grand Dame and even more rarely speaking to the country or to its press except 30,000 feet of the ground while returning or going from some foreign trip or other, are these not symptoms of the Underachiever disease. Thus Time is not at all wrong when it correctly criticised Manmohan Singh. As for the Congress grouse about asking what is Time magazine, it shows up their own crass ignorance. Further when there are positive reports in the Western press about the PM or for that matter any politician or celebrity from India, we go out of the way to bask in that halo, but when there is criticism then we ask - Who is Time or What is Time? Essentially is that not a philosophical question! Therefore let us not be puerile in these matters and accept criticism when it is valid and due.

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VOX POPULI

by

Aam Admi

Issue: 120

Date: 07.07.2012

Contents:

1. Pakistan: The Fount Of Terrorism, But India Should Continue To Talk

2. Abu Jundal Affair: For God's Sake, Keep Interrogation Secret

3. CRPF Attack in Bastar Stinks to High Heaven‏

4. India's Economy: Discard Keynes, Tread The Mahatma's Way

5. Of Nuclear Power Plant's & Safety Features

6. Dhoble’s German Fracas

Pakistan: The Fount Of Terrorism, But India Should Continue To Talk

India always seems to have too high expectations from Pakistan. This is evident from the disappointments expressed in the various incidents relating to the release of death row prisoners in Pakistan to the continued denial of the Pakistan State's involvement in the 26/11 terror incident at Mumbai and the refusal of Pakistan to look rationally at the many dossiers sent by India in this matter. This inspite of the West including both the US & UK being very clear about Pakistan’s involvement in the incident. This is kind of normal since life teaches us that irrespective of how well you deal with anyone, they would reciprocate their own way and not necessarily in the same manner as you. Pakistan is a nation which has many faces which even the US has now understood through the various charades and games that Pakistan continues to play with them. India had warned the US all along but then the US never listened and is re-learning this out of its own experience. It is only now that the US is finally coming around to the fact what India has been telling them for decades about the Pakistan leadership and establishment being complicit with terrorism. Given the state of Pakistan’s economy the revenue stream arising from terror, both in terms of supporting it for the money coming through it from drugs and extortion as also combating it, when money comes in as aid from the US & the West, terror is a golden goose for them. Or putting it another way, Pakistan has the terror toast buttered on both sides to gorge upon. Thus in Afghanistan if the Taliban does not become active by the time of the US withdrawal in 2014 then it is to Pakistan’s disadvantage. That is precisely the reason why India will face a stoic denial from Pakistan on all matters of terror but that does not mean that India should give up on dialogue. The same logic on terror applies to Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan if you saw him at the recent NATO conference in Chicago basking in the spotlight of the West created by the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda. Once the US & NATO forces withdraw one wonders if he would like to remain in his home country since then the aid pipeline would not be as bountiful as it is now. On these billions of dollars of Western aid, the entire Karzai clan, his Cabinet and those close to him have minted money hand over fist and are now looking at more comfortable climes to live out their retirement. The best way to deal with terror would be for the West to switch focus from Iran and put sanctions on both Pakistan and Afghanistan isolating them both financially as well as physically by a blockade and thus throttle terrorism and choke it off until it is dead. There is no other way to make this work.

Abu Jundal Affair: For God's Sake, Keep Interrogation Secret

The manner that we deal these days with issues of national importance is rather sad. With the media very strong and active, it is almost as if everyone including government officials and ministers also seem to be in a rush to tell their side of the story first. The first is to take credit for the achievement and cover themselves with glory as is evident in the Abu Jundal story. The publicity being given to this person’s purported actions in relation to 26/11 are all over the media with even Home Minister Chidambaram jumping into the fray about the manner in which the accused was intercepted and deported from Saudi Arabia. Now considering that 26/11 was a serious issue and there is a need even after so many years to get to the bottom of it, it is rather disappointing to see the manner in which it is being handled. To shoot holes in the story that is pieced together from what has come out in the media, the accused is an uneducated person initiated into terror through a process of training by the ISI supposedly. For our intelligence agencies to stoop down and claim laurels in extracting information from such people is rather sad. There have been doubts cast about the person irrespective of the DNA check and for all you know he may have been planted by the ISI to sing a story to which they know the Indian intelligence agencies will dance to. We all know a couple of months back how some Pakistani businessmen visiting India were branded terrorists by our intelligence agencies and an alert was sent to all major cities and then when the truth came out our agencies like RAW and others had more than mud on their face. By P Chidambaram getting involved in it, we are only making the matter more complicated in terms of our relationship with Pakistan. Why can we not keep all this under wraps after the initial announcement of the suspect’s arrest until there is sure information and definite things to say to the media? Why do we expose ourselves unnecessarily and look like fools? There is nothing wrong with the media looking for scoops in such stories but at the same time the intelligence agencies should not live up to their existing reputation of being as effective as a sieve in keeping critical information secret. Will our authorities at least now learn the meaning of Secret, Top Secret and For Your Eyes Only or do they still believe that these phrases are seen only in 007 James Bond movies or its desi version like Agent Vinod!

CRPF Attack in Bastar Stinks to High Heaven‏

In the instance of the CRPF attack in Bastar where 19 ‘Maoists’ were killed one can see the authorities and again Minister Chidambaran going to the media is to get the official side of the story out first. This would make it appear that all other versions of the incident coming out in the media would be seen by the general public as rebuttals. This is the common enough strategy one follows in road accidents where you try to take the upper-hand so that even if the fault is yours the other party is sufficiently cowed down to express or justify his version. In all this talk of the CRPF shooting in self-defence and whether they do not have a right to defend themselves, the fact that axes were used to mutilate the bodies after they had been shot and killed, is being lost. Why was this brutality necessary? Why were no autopsies done? How were these people identified as Maoists? The villagers say something else altogether and why were women, teenagers and children shot down. If it was close to midnight why were the operations not deferred till the morning and the suspected Maoists surrounded by calling for extra forces so that casualties could have been minimized? If operations had to be completed for operational reasons at the dead of night why were not high powered floodlights used to throw more light on hazy identities? Defending themselves by saying that women and children were held as shields by the Maoists or that the Maoists have women cadre is not exactly covering themselves with any glory. Rushing to the media to take credit P Chidambaran had to eat crow later on national media apologizing if (!) the villagers were innocent bystanders. It is good that the Home Minister but it looked as doing lip service of an apology. Is saying sorry enough to the villagers who have lost their near and dear ones? Is the government not expected to weight its options and then act. We seem in the new ally relationship with the US taking on their habits of killing innocent civilians and then calling it firstly ‘collateral damage’ and thinking that just by saying sorry you are absolved of guilt. This will not work in India, sir! Thus the CRPF-Bastar operation stink smells to high heaven that something rotten has happened there that night and it is time that the true story came out.

India's Economy: Discard Keynes, Tread The Mahatma's Way

The PM’s reference to activating animal instincts in economy refers to Keynesian economics which is part of economics textbook lore but what we need in India is a practical and hands-on approach in tackling the economic mess that we are in now. Why we cannot follow Mahatma Gandhi’s prescription for our economy which is more contemporary than Keynes and stems from an intimate knowledge of the needs of our people is something that is not understood? Mahatma Gandhi had suggested to going back to panchayati raj, making the village as the basic unit of the economy, concentrating in production of ‘desi ’ goods so that we can make the lot of our own people better. Surely we can adapt the Mahatma’s ideas to fit in with current times when we have been seeing that our policy planners in the economic field seem to be completely out of ideas on how to tackle our economy. Their only approach seems to the palliative way like when you go the doctor he will give you a dose of medicine and ask you to come after 3 days if the complaint persists. And when you go back after this time he continues with the same medicine or changes the medication experimenting with you like a guinea pig. So also our economists at the helm of the financial health of our country who buy time in lots of 2-3 months or 6 months or 1 year depending on who is speaking out and when and their constant refrain is that things will get better when actually the reverse is happening and maters are getting worse. This is a complete shame and it is time that the PM in his new economic avatar, saddled with the old economists team, rolls up his shirt-sleeves and gets down to serious business. We have tried different models and one thinks it is time to give the Mahatma's ideas a chance so that inclusive development does not become a slogan but is part of the development process. In the 21st century and after 65 years of Independence we cannot have people continue to die, 61 at last count, every year in the Brahmaputra floods in Assam and we have simply done nothing about it. Similarly we have set up power plants, both gas and coal based, but do not have the fuel to supply them while the country reels under power shortages, more so in the summers. We have surplus grain because of a good monsoon that we cannot store and therefore pray for a bad monsoon the next year so that the grain stocks balance out themselves. All this needs to corrected and quickly if India has to stand proudly in the comity of nations of this world. FDI is not the be-all and end-all of our economic maladies like the Chief Economic Advisor, Kaushik Basu is making it out to be and who inveterately seems unable to get out of the habit of putting his foot in his mouth, which he did again by saying that prices will come down in 2-3 months. Will he guarantee that? Unfortunately he has lost all credibility and no one believes anything he says.

Of Nuclear Power Plant's & Safety Features

The news of the Kudankulam NPP commissioning in its final stages is being carried in the media while at the same time there is no advice on the progress of the report submitted by the High Court judges on the public hearing and what the Tamil Nadu and/or the Central Govt. is planning to do about that. Also there have been earthquakes felt in Gujarat coast where a NPP is planned as also near the Jaitapur NPP site in Ratnagiri district of Maharasthra albeit in the range of 3 - 4 on the Richter scale over the last 6 months. We do hope that per the pattern of the earthquakes, they do not move southward and down to Kudankulam to test the safety that the government has claimed that it has built into the plant post-Fukushima.

Dhoble’s German Fracas

We have another comment covered by the media over 29th June 2012 that ACP Dhoble and his team had asked some German women tourists who were at a pub in Mumbai to come with them to the police station. The video grabs showed the German women arguing with the policemen asking why they should go to the police station. The media, one thinks, should stay away from such incidents and let the police do their job particularly in these times of terror. The visit may have been innocuous enough to establish the validity of their visas, check their antecedents and then let them go. These kind of things routinely happen abroad, more so in Communist countries, where sometimes visiting Indians are asked to come to the police station. We have no hullabaloo raised about such incidents and even when our ex-Presidents, Ministers and publicly known members of our society are put through security procedures in the West particularly in the US, we react by saying that they should comply with established regulations and should not be expected to be treated as VIP’s as at home. So why should these German women not go through a simple procedure of visiting a police station to check their antecedents. Should we not have the same yardsticks for Indians as well as foreigners? Or is the colonial mindset so embedded in our psyches that we will bend backwards whenever we see a white skin?

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VOX POPULI by Aam Admi Issue: 119

Date: 30.06.2012

Contents:

1. Congratulations, ACP Dhoble! Keep Up The Good Work.

2. Turkey's Provocation Against Syria Was Unnecessary

3. Finance Ministry: Pranab Out, Manmohan Singh In

4. Our Politicians: Blaming The Whole World Except Themselves

5. Of Beef Eating & Trying To Make A Point

6. White Paper Required On Malaria Research in India

7. Convenient Fires Help Out The Rich & Influential

8. Storing Grain A Priority

Congratulations, ACP Dhoble! Keep Up The Good Work.

What ACP Dhoble is doing in Mumbai is absolutely correct and nowhere near moral policing as alleged by some people. People in the entertainment business and those that seek entertainment believe anywhere and not necessarily in Mumbai or India that if you grease some palms they can get away with anything. They operate on the belief that everyone has a price and in the grey area of time lags that exist between issuance of orders/laws and their enforcement they continue to flout regulations. Carry on as long as you can but do not get caught, is the moral of their trade. Thus when a Dhoble comes along once in a decade or more then a hue and cry is made about implementation of the laws. Irrespective of the laws being archaic Dhoble's job is to enforce them. If the people do not like the laws or they need to be updated then it is for the people to amend the laws and it is not Dhoble's job. Thus let public spirited policemen get on with their work such that some sense is drilled into the heads of people who seek entertainment at any cost irrespective of its impact on society in general. We have another comment covered by the media over 29th June 2012 that ACP Dhoble and his team had asked some German women tourists who were at a pub in Mumbai to come with them to the police station. The video grabs showed the German women arguing with the policemen asking why they should go to the police station. The media, one thinks, should stay away from such incidents and let the police do their job particularly at these times of terror. The visit may be innocuous enough to establish the validity of their visas, check their antecedents and then let them go. These kind of things routinely happen abroad where sometimes visiting Indians more so in Communist countries are asked to come to the police station. We have no hullabaloo done about such incidents and when our ex-Presidents, Ministers and publicly known members of our society are put through security procedures in the West particularly in the US, we react by saying that they should comply with established regulations and should not be expected to be treated as VIP’s as at home when they visit foreign countries. So why should these German women not go through a simple procedure of visiting a police station to check their antecedents. Should we not have the same yardsticks for Indians as well as foreigners? Or is the colonial mindset so embedded in our psyches that we will bend backwards whenever we see a white skin?

Turkey's Provocation Against Syria Was Unnecessary

The Syria Turkey incident in which the latter’s jetfighter was shot down for straying into Syria’s waters is a prelude akin to the manner in which the Libyan invasion commenced with first a ‘no-fly’ zone enforced, then aerial bombings and finally a seaborne attack to supplement the rebels supplies. In the same way Turkey is attempting to rope in NATO into the fracas and let loose the dogs of war. There was no need for such unnecessary provocation by Turkey who could have ensured that its air force trained away from Syria’s boundaries since it full well knew the sensitive nature of Syria’s current political problems and rather than create more tension it should have tried to resolve the imbroglio as much as it could. Instead of that it continues to support the rebels of the Free Syria army and give them shelter in its territory. Thus it full well deserves the punch in the nose from Syria in downing its jetfighter. Let Syria resolve its own problems in its own way rather than have outside interference in its affairs.

Finance Ministry: Pranab Out, Manmohan Singh In

Beginning of this week the Presidential candidate of the Congress & the UPA-2 and the outgoing Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee in conjunction with the RBI was to announce major initiatives to revive a stuttering Indian economy but what came out was a tepid prescription remaining consistent with his track record over the past 3 years of doing nothing but talking a lot, mostly excuses for the problems faced by the economy. Thus the newspapers coming out with headlines stating nothing major announced on economic initiatives, should be asked what did you expect from this man a complete non-performer and who is reported as being the main stumbling block to reforms that are required to be brought in the Indian economy. With the PM Manmohan Singh now holding, one would assume, temporary charge of the Finance Ministry and in the first briefing of the ministry officials asking them to kindle the 'animal spirit' in the economy sounded a trifle blase and the phrase more suited to a pagan or tribal society and clearly an insult to a more than 5000 year old civilisation that is India. This coming from an erudite and cultured person like the PM added only insult to injury. We hope this does not signify the wrong start to put right the mess that Pranab Mukherjee has left the Indian economy.

Our Politicians: Blaming The Whole World Except Themselves

The Dy CM Chagan Bhujbal defending his portfolio under which the PWD comes while commenting on the Mantralaya fire sounded very much like Home Minister R R Patil after the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai saying they did everything but co-ordinate among the various law enforcement authorities after the incident, ignored the Central intelligence alerts, had no quick response teams at the scene of the attacks since primarily they were living in a cocoon that such things could not happen in Mumbai. Even after the latest bomb strikes in Mumbai after close to 2 years it was found that Mumbai was unprepared as much as it was prior to 26/11 and all forward looking initiatives like CCTV on Mumbai roads, providing for bullet-proof vests to the police etc. was all mired in bureaucratic procedure. In the same manner Chagan Bhujbal claimed that the PWD had implemented 11 out of the 12 recommendations made by the AG’s office in connection with fire prevention and protection. The 12th recommendation was probably - Do not look the other way in case of a fire! Chagan Bhujbal could do well to remember that emergencies like fire come unannounced and it is more of an approach or frame of mind that contains the loss of lives and property damage. That is exactly why Disaster Management Authorities need to be in place. No AG report can help the Dy CM to fight a fire. Interestingly both Chagan Bhujbal now and R R Patil on the earlier occasion as mentioned above suggested that they had not been given sufficient funds to protect government property and common citizens. This is the standard bogey raised by our Ministers to escape responsibility. On the many conspiracy theories doing the rounds the one about the destruction of Adarsh files seems to be the front-runner but people do not realize that while deluding the public with Adarsh our ministers will have probably destroyed other files which would in aggregate exceed the Adarsh scam value. CM Prithviraj Chavan while asking the people to stay away from conspiracy theories has asked them to wait for the official report. For this Mr Chavan, the official report need to come out quickly and not after another 10 years as is the practice that we see in our country. Until then conspiracy theories should circulate and pick up momentum since only then the government would come out quickly with the official report to either clarify or deny any particular conspiracy theory which is in the lead.

Of Beef Eating & Trying To Make A Point

Sometime back in columns written by Kancha Ilaiah & Sunanda Datta Ray in the national papers they expounded on the aspect of eating beef in India. While Kancha Ilaiah vehemently supported it on the basis of the lower castes having a need for protein and that beef has been the traditional diet of the Dalits and hence the festival celebrating beef held lately in Hyderabad should be supported. This argument stems from the author’s grouse against the supposedly higher classes and the feeling of repression which would make him justify anything that the Dalits do, be it right or wrong. Sunanda Datta Ray came through with examples from the early 20th century in Calcutta where eating beef was considered avant garde and modern. Thus it was something to carry as a distinction in the English supplicant and sycophant bhadralok society then prevailing in Bengal is what he positions. (The society adjectives or definition is mine.) Additionally he takes the route of compulsion to justify eating beef by quoting the example that while he was studying in the colleges in the UK mid-20th century there was no alternative but to eat beef in the college hostels to keep body together (and the soul could fend for itself). Here he brings up the fear of exclusion among peers in a social context and eating beef meant acceptance among English society, is what he says. Now let us look at meat eating first on a scientific basis and then attempt to put a sociological context to it. Human beings in their evolution on this planet were initially hunter-gatherers and over a couple of centuries took up farming. Thus the structure of the human stomach in the above progression would suggest that it is primarily designed to be meat eating or what we tend to call carnivorous. Essentially mankind is not designed towards vegetarianism. Even in our mythological books it has been written of Lord Krishna and his brother, Balaram, partaking of and enjoying beef particularly veal, well cooked and deep fried. This is because they were not only Yadavas and there is mention in the same texts that the Brahmans of those times also indulged in beef eating. It is also generally believed that the Brahmin class in Kerala, the Namboodiris, some among who eat beef due to certain compulsions relating to famine and starvation some centuries ago and the practice still persists. Thus the point here is that there is a time context to anything and which applies also to beef eating. But we have to recognize that the world and India has evolved and also science which positions milk that comes out of animals like cows, buffalos, goats, sheep, camel and the like is just the only nourishing liquid which in it has the three dietary needs of protein, fat and minerals. No other nourishing liquid has all three of these dietary components. In terms of evolution of society, we could possibly say that we have become more civilized and educated over the ages and with that has come about what we call the development of what we call, mores of society or value systems. These vary across the world depending on the people, place climate etc. etc. When we travel across the world we tend to respect these social values not to either offend in a limited time perspective or go along with these in an economically compelled circumstance like not being able to carry photos of Hindu gods and their idols in the Arab countries. Thus if India being the only Hindu nation in the world except for Nepal, which we are uncertain with the Communist majority control now, specifies that beef eating should be banned on account of religious and health reasons as explained above, then one does not see any problem in people including our own native Indians to accept it. In fact all milk-giving animals should be banned from slaughter in India and only after their natural or accidental death should we allow their hides to be removed for use as leather etc. and the meat interred. To argue against Kancha Ilaiah’s position one can say that the Dalits economic status across India is much better today than it was maybe a century earlier and they can afford to eat other meat. It is also important to note that if people approach any issue without taking a confrontationist position on it then there are more chances of finding a solution. As for Sunanda Datta Ray one should tell him that one can eat beef when one travels around the world but not when one comes to India since there would be no availability of it here. Also as regards the beef food festival held in Hyderabad, the authorities should nip these in the bud and ban it since it is only trying to make a point by showing the obstinate and stubborn aspect of our society and not the rational and compassionate side.

White Paper Required On Malaria Research in India

The world is busy tackling malaria with fundamental methods like finding out that only female mosquito bite and genetically engineering for more males to be produced, inhibiting the protein which enables the malaria parasite to take root in the mosquito, working on methods to quickly analyse blood samples of infected people rather than go through the time-consuming culture process to keep a tab on the rapidly changing DNA of the malaria parasite and the latest discovery being finding a common fungus – beauveria bassiana - which kills the mosquito. While we in India which is one of the areas which is worst hit by malaria are not told what our scientists are doing to firstly, check the spread of the disease and secondly, eradicate it. Our administrators, corporations and municipalities across India are logically working on the front end of the disease control mechanism by stopping the breeding of mosquitoes in stagnant water and resorting to spraying insecticides to kill the mosquito eggs and also in the protection stage by distributing repellant impregnated mosquito nets for the population. However, it is time that our research establishments in science and medicine come out with a white paper on their efforts in the field of malaria control and eradication so that we know what is going on. We need to remember that if we remain a follower then it will become very expensive for us to tackle this disease considering the massive population base that we need to protect since then we will have to depend on foreign MNC’s to provide us the medicine and also the technology to produce this in India if at all this is possible.

Convenient Fires Help Out The Rich & Influential

The situation relating to the fire at Mantralaya in Mumbai last week represents a microcosm of what is happening in contemporary India. Irrespective of the reason of the fire it is clear that there was some ulterior motive in the fire destroying mainly the Urban Development Department, the CM's and Dy CM's office. These offices deal with papers concerning decisions which run into hundreds of crores if not thousands and with the Adarsh and other scams relating to out of turn land allotment people will naturally be suspicious that the fire saved some very senior people from further or more embarassment on counts of corruption or benefited some builders lobby substantially. Now if the CM and Dy CM's cannot be protected against fire or for that matter any natural or man-made calamity or at least a pretence made in that regard then surely the leadership aspect of the State is in question which is the same situation at the Centre. The fact that the Fire Dept. in Mumbai had to combat the fire based on old and outdated drawings which had not been updated and there were partitions and additions made in the corridors of the Mantralaya and in the structure which hampered fighting the fire and to organise successful rescue operations is also representative of the chaos that we not only have in Mumbai and Maharasthra but also in the rest of the country under the present regime. The fact that there was a similar fire albeit on a smaller scale earlier in this month in the Ministry of Finance at Delhi in rooms housing the Income Tax sections points to very unusual coincidences that fires seem to be happening in places which are of interest to those in positions of wealth and influence. Is there a message there, somewhere?

Storing Grain A Priority

The world is laughing at India for the fact that we in the initial instance did not produce enough food for which some or a substantial part of our population used to starve and now over the last five years or so we produce enough food but are unable to store it properly and therefore have it rot out in the open and still have people starve. The fact that storage space was required for foodgrains was known for a long time now and particularly over the last 3 years the media has randomly exposed the fact that grain lying exposed to the elements have been rotting and/or being eaten away by rodents. Why nothing was done to enhance even temporary storage is anybody’s guess? If one goes by what is reported in the media, it is almost as if the government is in competition with the private trade since we had the Central Food & Civil Supplies Minister last week claim that whatever has been acquired by the government is stored safely. Again, as said earlier with the lack of credibility with anything related to the government, we do not how much of this is true and whether it has been said just to get the heat off the government. In any case, does government not have a role that the private sector ensures it keeps foodgrains stocks safe? In all this mess it is heartening to note that a 2 million tonne grain silo is being built in Haryana, at least a start has been made in the context of a record procurement of some 39 million tonnes. Earlier there was no information on granary or silo projects to store foodgrains but for M S Swaminathan’s comment once that a project is being taken up for storage on a massive scale for grains across the country to provide easy reach to consumers. Why the government cannot be open about such projects is again anybody’s guess and whether there is at all a project like this is again anybody’s guess. The same way the government puts the lid on issues like farmer suicides which have hit 334 in just Vidarbha and Maharasthra in the first 5 months of this year alone. After the massive write-off of farmer’s loans a couple of years back and the pronounced intent of the government to make available easy credit to farmers, why they should continue to take their lives is something which needs to be seriously investigated. On the back of all this is news that fertiliser prices are likely to go up by 30% which would break the back of some more farmers and we will be having more of them hanging from village trees as time goes by. A holistic approach is required to be taken for agriculture on an individual crop basis on the cost of inputs, MSP’s and the final retail price so that the entire thing works smoothly or the government should wash its hands from the whole thing and fully privatize agriculture and allow market forces take over. This is being said in the context of the recent increase of the MSP for paddy being hiked by Rs. 175/quintal and some time back to that of sugar and cotton. These ad-hoc increases are not good for the farmers of particular crops in the long run and this system is prone to lobbying by vested interests who have large holdings in one or the other crop.

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VOX POPULI

by

Aam Admi

Issue: 118

Date: 23.06.2012

Contents:

1. The Killing Fields In Kerala

2. The BJP Needs To Be Clear-Headed

3. Pranab Mukerjee Incapable FM Jumps Ship For Presidency

4. India’s Economy Stuttering

5. The Nuclear Power Option Being Forced Down Through People's Throats

6. Pranab Mukherjee as the Presidential Candidate

The Killing Fields In Kerala

Soli Sorabjee writing in his weekly column in a national newspaper on the killing of the ex-CPM leader Chandrasekharan recently in Kerala and the comment of the CPM leader Mani that these things are routine and such people deserve to be killed, claimed kind of assumed ignorance that such things happen. This is rather sad for such an eminent legal luminary people with an extensive practice over a few decades or more. The coastal region in the Malabar north of Kozhikode (Calicut) and until Kannur (Cannanore) and to a lesser extent up to Kasargod on the border between Kerala and Karnataka have for long been known as the killing fields of south India where political rivalries demand the elimination of class enemies and the communist proletariat at the two ends of the scale. Preferred weapons have been have been choppers and country made bombs and there are many a youth whose lives have been snuffed out or have been maimed for life, their mutilated limb stumps are mute testimony of a trek into the realm of transitory insanity. Every person in Kerala and the Communist cadres in the country along with the Congress and RSS who have among them victims of these attacks cannot claim that they are unaware of this situation. However Soli Sorabjee, who one can categorise as belonging to the ‘genteel’ India dabbling in legal matters over his lifetime, one must say prefers not to see the seamy and more often than not the violent streak in the lower strata of our society. This is what we say when we talk of the new partition of this country into India and Bharat. The first affluent and seeking the best and most luxurious in life styles while the latter continues to fumble in trying to make do and frequently gets enmeshed in the mills of crime, violence and political mayhem.

The BJP Needs To Be Clear-Headed

The BJP seems to be a confused party and in taking a long-term view on the 2014 elections and squabbling with its NDA consitutuents over who should be the Prime Minister, if and when they win, they have completely lost sight of the imminent President's elections next month. Gopinath Munde, the Dy Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha thinks it fit to comment on the lack of consultation within the UPA on the President election in the context of the Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamul issue of proposing Kalam's name but forgets about the muddleheaded thinking wihin his party & the NDA on not being able to even name a candidate for the President. Saying that the Congress took 2 months to name Pranab Mukherjee as the Presidential candidate and how can the BJP name their within 2 days is neither here nor there. Will therefore the BJP take 3 months to name their candidate in which case it would be advance preparation for the succeeding Presidential election and not for the imminent one. To retain their credibility the BJP particularly and the NDA in general should align their actions to convey the impression of competence, the ability to perform and have original thinking and not remain forever on the path of being just critical of the Congress.

Pranab Mukerjee Incapable FM Jumps Ship For Presidency

When Mamata Banerji named Manmohan Singh as her top candidate for the President of India, it is understood that Manmohan Singh was upset that if this suggestion was considered by the Congress party it would mean that the party and the nation would consider him a failure as Prime Minister. It is believed that he sulked for a day until the Congress party gave its official denial to this proposition and had even threatened to not go for the G-20 & the Rio environment summits. In comparison, Pranab Mukherjee did not seem to have any similar qualms when named the Congress President candidate. Is it because he knew his below normal performance as Finance Minister and thought it better to jump ship now rather than wait for the economy to become any worse?

India’s Economy Stuttering

The GDP story of 5.3% growth with core sector at a sluggish 2% for 1Q.2012 has set off panic buttons around the country whether we are back to the pre-90’s level of 4-6% called famously the Hindu rate of growth. The Rupee also hit a low of Rs. 56 to the US$ around the same time that the GDP story broke. Exports for May are down by 5%. Inflation close to 7.5% on account of rising vegetable prices. IIP for the first time has gone negative. In foreign countries a successive three times that the manufacturing index becomes negative, it is meant to show that recession has set in. Do we have any similar standards in India or do we continue to fool the common public by having the FM or the PM talk things up and hide the actual facts. Thus from a projected superpower in the year 2020 to a laggard in the world on economic growth it has been quite a transition that the UPA has enjoined upon India. Not only that, India is the only country in the BRIC group to be pulled up for non-performance. The FM and all other senior functionaries in this government and the Planning Commission continue to give excuses, which they have been doing for the last 3 years, and blame the rest of the world for India’s economic woes but fail to take responsibility and you cannot but fail to notice that they never blame themselves. The FM after the GDP story broke famously said the following in different forums - That the low growth rates of the GDP have bottomed out. RBI will adjust monetary policy to spur growth. India has resilience to face grave challenges. The Rupee volatility is a concern. While Montek Singh Ahluwalia said – That people these days tend to look at the negative view more. The next day he says – That fiscal reforms and policy paralysis are the reasons for the stuttering growth. Thus you see that these people have their moralizing statements pat and ready and world economic problems come in very handy for them like the financial crisis in banks in the US and Europe first, then the Spain debt burdens followed by Portugal and now the Euro crisis brought on by the likely failure of the Greek economy. How many times have we heard these statements from our policy planners in the last 3 years? Surprisingly as said earlier none are admitting that to this kind of a pass have we led this nation into. Because of our not doing ourselves anything constructive in handling of the economy or policy paralysis as it is come to be called, we have Standard & Poor (S&P) threaten to downgrade our ratings. Why we should be bothered is anybody’s guess? Does anyone rate S&P who are known to fudge their reports as it came out on the back of the US financial crisis when it had threatened to downgrade the US economy? Like the US why do we not stand up to them. Is it because we know what they are saying is true? Similar all and sundry from abroad like various foreign governments, international banks are giving us ‘bright’ ideas on managing our economy. Do we need to listen to them? But even then it is time that we got down to brass tacks and move our economy out of the mess it is slowly sinking into.

The Nuclear Power Option Being Forced Down Through People's Throats

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) public hearing report underlines the lack of pursuit of democratic norms in dealing with the protestors in the lead-up to the commissioning of the nuclear plant in the start-up phase along with not sharing of technical information relating to the safety features of the Russian reactors and the geological/hydrographic information related to the site. Both the Central & State governments have been pulled up on this matter and asked to provide this information to the protestors. On its part the government is taking satisfaction in the commissioning of the start-up phase and the fact that it had filed thousands of police cases against the protestors including those of ‘sedition’. The similar pattern is being followed to mow down the protests at the Jaitapur NPP where just last week protestors agitating against the acquisition of land at the site were arrested in droves and the media reported that the protest was ‘crushed’. These phrases are surely not those that are used in democracy where the people are trying to express an opinion albeit in a united and forceful manner and are more common in dictatorial and authoritarian regimes. The government is also moving apace on the NPP’s considering that NPCIL management has again over the last week signed the long term purchase agreements for the nuclear reactors from GE-Westinghouse. One would recall that these reactors were not acceptable to be installed in its parent country, the US, while India in its fairmindedness is buying these based on the shred of a paper certifying these by a Senate Committee. These reactors along with the French ones are the most expensive in the world and India is going on a merry ride carried away in the zest of a spendthrift shopping spree.

Pranab Mukherjee as the Presidential Candidate

The candidature of Pranab Mukherjee as the Presidential candidate by the Congress party sums up all that is wrong with the Indian political scene. Here is a man who has albeit had a long innings as a Congressman and in public life. He has held mostly positions of the Finance Minister in successive Congress and its coalition governments and is the presently the incumbent Finance Ministerin charge of our sputtering economy. In this last innings Pranab Mukherjee has not covered himself with any distinction and has in fact presided over the economy going rapidly downhill over the last 3-4 years. A clear lack of ideas on what to do has been characteristic of his approaches towards the economy and instead of concentrating on his portfolio he has been chairing almost every single EGOM of the present government and also its main trouble shooter. Part of the reason for this could be that the Congress party does not have anyone to be, shall we say, multidisciplinary and also hold the can when things go wrong for which Pranab Mukherjee has more often than not been the fall guy. Thus one would say that if this government has been accused of 'policy paralysis' then he should shoulder a large part of the blame. Thus naming him as the Presidential candidate, in which contest he is most likely to win, is kind of giving him a promotion for his non-performance on the job assigned to him. In another sense it is 'kicking him upstairs' in the internecine politics within the dog-eat-dog world of the Congress party and both, Manmohan Singh would heave a sigh of relief that a likely contender for his chair is now out of the way, and P Chidambaran would be gleeful that a thorn on his path to the PM's chair is now cleared. But what we also need to remember about Pranab Mukherjee is that even with his long association with the Congress party and working closely with its top leaders including Indira Gandhi and now Sonia Gandhi, they have never really trusted him. His has been a case of being used whenever it was required and then cast away, like shall we say toilet paper. There have always been hushed whispers of his being close to the late T A Pai founded Manipal group and the first family of industrial India, the Reliance group and its founder the late Dhirubai Ambani and having passed on crucial favours to them at critical times, the first for their banking operations and interests in education and the latter in the hell-for-leather expansion in the petrochemiocals area and approving excess of manufactured capacity beyond those licensed. Given these issues one cannot take away the fact that he has what is called the gravitas and the pompousness that in fact comes natural to most Bengalis to hold the President's job. Thus this decision to field Pranab Mukherjee as the Presidential candidate by the Congress is more in the nature of a compromise than anything else.

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VOX POPULI

by

Aam Admi

Issue: 117

Date: 16.06.2012

Contents:

1. Mamata Banerjee Upsets The Presidential Poll Applecart But Where Is The BJP?

2. Manmohan Singh as Dhritarasthra

3. Petrol Price Hike, Need To Rationalise Fossil Fuel Prices

4. Manmohan Singh as Dhritarasthra

5. The West's ‘Agent Provocateur’ Methods

Mamata Banerjee Upsets The Presidential Poll Applecart But Where Is The BJP?

The Presidential race with its odd twists and turns over the last month or so has seen the absence of one major player and that is the main Opposition party, the BJP. But for the passing mention of a compromise deal with the Congress led UPA about Murli Manohar Joshi as Vice President in the event that Pranab Mukherjee is the Congress candidate for President and the further fleeting news that Jaswant Singh could be contesting for the Vice-President's post, we find that the BJP has been bereft of ideas on this issue. The comment that the BJP would announce its candidate once the Congress announces theirs only confirms that the BJP has no ideas on the subject. It also shows that the BJP is incapable of being a leader on any major issue and prefers to be a follower with its mind-set that of a perennial Opposition party. This is where the downfall of the BJP will come about given the fractious in-fighting that their top brass is prone to. In contrast look at the street-fighter that Mamata Banerjee is. With less than one-fifth of the MP's than the BJP at her command she has up-staged the Congress and their President Sonia Gandhi by being the one who announced to the nation that Pranab Mukherjee is indeed the Congress candidate for President, before the 15th June date that the Congress had set for announcing the names. Not only that Mamata Banerjee went further by rejecting Pranab Mukherjee's candidature and announcing her own 'impeccable list' including Abdul Kalam, Manmohan Singh and Somenath Chatterjee and by this putting the Congress into a quandary and turning the Presidential poll on its head by hobnobbing with the SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and appearing to suggest that they were allies in the list announced by her. Why did the BJP not have its own 'impeccable list' very much ahead of all this hustle and bustle? Is it because they were too busy sorting out their internal issues of who will be the PM next time, when they are yet to win the next election and thus loosing sight of the imminent President's election which is now poised for a nail-biting finish? With this we can surely say that Mamata Banerjee not only up-staged the Congress/UPA alliance but also BJP in the process.

Manmohan Singh as Dhritarasthra

Kiran Bedi has called our PM Manmohan Singh, like Dhritarasthra, the blind patriarch king of the Kauravas. In fact Dhritarasthra's sin is much less than Manmohan Singh since being blind he was dependent on inputs from members of his court on what was happening in his kingdom, while Manmohan Singh in spite of being able to see prefers to remain dumb and refuses to take any action and presides over Bharat which is increasingly sliding into a morass of gloom, degeneration of morality and ultimately doom.

Petrol Price Hike, Need To Rationalise Fossil Fuel Prices

The petrol price increase recently by about Rs. 7.50 per liter was more than unfair and the jiggling by reducing it by Rs. 1.50 with a promise that further reductions are in the offing is not helping either the aam admi or this government. What was required to be done was that a migration plan should have been put in place from a subsidized regime to a no-subsidy regime a long time back. Then there would have been lesser public outcry and people would have got used to the high prices by now and also put in place their own economizing routines. This plan should have included all the fossil fuels petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG. On all these we have been aware that the government has been subsidizing them. Why? That is anybody’s guess. The whole process is just like robbing Peter to pay Paul. On one side you subsidise commodities but on the other side to compensate that you raise taxes. This has clearly led to an imbalance in the pricing of these commodities since any of the increases have been knee-jerk and very much ad-hoc. The anomalies created are where diesel has been priced at almost 50% of petrol and also lower than furnace oil leading to its diversion for uses other than those intended like for agricultural pumpsets and long haul transport apart from car manufacturers spewing out a whole new range of diesel car models since consumers prefer these to save on operating costs. There is no argument that diesel and petrol prices should be priced at the same level with maybe diesel marginally lower. The migration plan for fossil fuels should include inputs on long term plan to explore our own reserves like exploration for oil and gas, development of shale reserves etc. since nowadays with international prices for oil ruling at close to US$100 a barrel new sources for oil like shale can be looked at, older higher cost oil wells could be re-opened etc. The reasons for this are manifold since we become more self-sufficient, save foreign exchange and as a strategic measure depend on our own resources. Nothing like this is done to take the aam admi into confidence by the government and random and irregular price increases are rammed down his throat. That is where the objection is and not in the hike per se. There could be a need for subsidy to the lowest strata of society since we still have close to 63% of our population below the poverty line and for these under the UIDAI or Aadhaar scheme directly transfer the cash subsidy to such targeted population groups. Will we now see any more rationality in the manipulation of the prices for petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG?

The Congress’ Sonia Gandhi Syndrome

Sycophancy is being taken to the extreme by having Sonia Gandhi to decide on the candidates to be put up by the Congress for the President & Vice President posts which are falling vacant shortly. Why the Congress should continue to leave things to her is something which is beyond the comprehension of every right minded citizen of India. It is almost as if we, having been under the British until 1947 are under Italy for the last decade or so. Sonia Gandhi remains a foreigner and though she may be welcome to stay in India as many such other people stay, she should not hold any public office which is the rule even in her native Italy and all countries in the West. In that event why should we be magnanimous and allow her to be the Congress President? Giving credit to her for not taking up the post of Prime Minister and handing it over to a pliable Manmohan Singh in the first innings of the UPA is nothing much of a great sacrifice as it is made out to be since she, very much, knows the limits of her ability and therefore did not want to carry this onerous burden. With Manmohan Singh accepting to be the fall guy she got the ideal position of ruling India without any accountability as we have seen playing out before us in the second innings of the UPA. Many journalists have commented in the same manner not only about Sonia Gandhi’s backseat driving the UPA government but also forming the NAC and such other bodies and stuffing it again with people who will dictate policy but without any corresponding responsibility. It is time therefore for the Congress to shake itself out of somnolence and see reality. They have to strike it out without Sonia Gandhi but maybe hitch its bandwagon to the younger scions of the Gandhi dynasty like Rahul & Priyanka to achieve any tangible political gains.

The West's ‘Agent Provocateur’ Methods

Syria is going the same way as Iraq and lately Libya in terms of orchestration of forces against the incumbent rulers by the West and its crony multilateral institutions like the UN. A similar exercise akin to Syria is continuing in Iran also. The same pattern of first supporting the dissenters in these nations posing in the garb of democracy and then having the multilateral agencies be it the IAEA or the EC or NATO or the UN jump on them for contravention of some international law/agreement or infarction of human rights followed by trade and financial sanctions and then having a pliant Ban E Moon, the UN Secretary General make noises about the suppression of the voices of democracy in the affected nations and then suddenly an air strike by one or the other NATO nations like in Libya or a full scale invasion like in Iraq. In the last named military measures there could be many civilian casualties who are decorated as martyrs in the cause of democracy by the aggressors to lighten their burden and that of the victim society of having lost a near and dear one. The civilian deaths euphemistically called ‘collateral damage’, which would have normally meant property damage in earlier times, could be many times higher than what the supposed authoritarian rule of the victim country would have caused in a decade or more but who cares. With military intrusions the borders of the victim country would be opened up to make it a hotbed of nuisance and anarchy as we have seen in Iraq where explosions and/or terror attacks almost every other day would be taking innocent lives which would all be blamed on the Al Qaeda or some such terrorism body leaving the aggressor country clothing itself in holy robes of compassion and piety while nobody would question them on why they actively worked to dismantle the protective system and the law and order structure of the society in the victim country. It is not only the number of lives lost in the victim country but also the lives which are completely shattered or turned upside down because of the aggressor country’s entry and the mayhem that is generated in its wake. These are all created by the West to support the military-industrial complex in their nations which without war and military strife cannot survive since peace and normalcy are anathema to them. Is this any kind of civilization that we are talking about? Or are we back in the Dark Ages where we follow dog eat dog methods under the veneer of assumed civilization. In the light of the second 'supposed' massacre in Syria by Assad's forces, there was news in the media that the UN observers have reached the place to investigate. Firstly, would the West in the event of any incidents like this or even marginally equivalent allow UN inspectors to come for inspection? Thus if Syria has allowed the UN inspectors is it not that Assad and his forces have nothing to be afraid of and irrespective of Western provocations, he continues to cooperate? Let's not have double standards in these matters and play the games by the same rules as applicable to the West.

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