In Lighter Vein !

(1) Black Money
Son: Dad, what’s black money?
Dad: It’s unaccounted money, my boy.
Son: What’s unaccounted money, dad?
Dad: If you don’t pay tax on your taxable income
it becomes unaccounted money. It’s a crime to evade tax, my son.
Son: Dad do you pay tax on your income from tuition?
Dad: No, my boy.
Son: Then it’s a crime, dad.
Dad: No, my son.
Son: Why, dad?
Dad: Guardians have already paid taxes on the money they pay me as tuition fees, my boy.

(2) Black Marketers
Son: Jawaharlal Nehru, the 1st Prime minister of our country promised to hang black marketers at the lamp posts. But he didn’t keep his promise.
Dad: It was not his fault, my son.
Son: Why?
Dad: Just after independence there were fewer power generating stations and and so were very few lampposts, my boy.

(3) Eden
Son: ICC’s disqualified Eden Gardens as a venue for Cricket W.Cup 2011.
Dad: Yes, my son. CAB’s failed to prepare Eden to hold the scheduled match as yet.Much work is left to be done.
Son: ICC’s done injustice to CAB, my Dad.
Dad: Why, my boy?
Son: Instead of declaring Eden unfit for W. Cup, ICC could have requested Suresh Kalmadi to finish the unfinished work in due time.

Apparently No Way-out!

Central govt is making all-out efforts to combat and contain Maoist menace. According to Prime minister Monmohan Singh Maoists are the greatest internal threat to the nation. Maoist infested states are awarded all-out help to fight Maoism. Maoists don’t believe in ballots, they believe in bullets to capture state power. Their aim is to free the poor and the downtrodden from the shackle of exploitation by the bourgeois system and ameliorate the subhuman condition they are now living in. No doubt they are guided by a noble purpose and all sensible men must stand by them in this respect. Only where people differ from them is their means of achieving this end. No well meaning people want violence, they opt for peaceful means. But in reality the plight of the poor is going from bad to worse in our ‘peaceful system’, the gap between the rich and the poor is increasingly widening. Again, in Maoists’ battle to achieve equality and prosperity of the poor, it’s the poor who are falling prey to the bullets. Senseless violence and killing hold sway. Can it ever serve the purpose of reaching the noble goal of the Maoists to improve the lot of the downtrodden? Perhaps not. Then what is the way out? How can we at least minimize the burgeoning social disparity and do good to the poor? We’re in fact confused and apparently find no escape route. So we sometimes happen to ventilate our soft corner for the Maoists more from our pent-up rage against social inequality than from rationality. Such feelings are accentuated when a man like Binayak Sen has to suffer behind the bar for his noble attempt to stand by the suffering humanity.

How Long?

The grave concern expressed by the Chief election commissioner about the law and order situation of the state is true and genuine. All well meaning people will fully share his view. Any attempt from any corner to criticize his view as one prodded by political motivation would be unjust and biased. Some raise the question of constitutional propriety in this matter but that too is not a well conceived view. Now what’s necessary is restore law and order and stop senseless killing particularly at sensitive and violence prone areas by any means. The concept that law and order is constitutionally a state subject sounds meaningless when state machinery fail to protect people’s lives for some reason or other. Of course, state can’t be unilaterally blamed for its failure to maintain law and order either. In a democratic set –up govt alone can’t maintain peace and tranquility unless the opposition extend their whole hearted co-operation. Unfortunately, in our state the ruling party and opposition are always at loggerheads . What’s most shocking they’re not even on speaking terms. It might sound bizarre that here the opposition leaders have been advised by their party supremo not to share dais with any member of the ruling party but it's absolutely true and party’s declared policy. So its no wonder any all party meet convened by the ruling party is scrupulously boycotted by the chief opposition. Developmental activities in the state have become casualty of this senseless non-cooperation. Had the ruling and the chief opposition parties sat together the present law and order situation could have improved a lot. But that’s destined not to be and our ill-fated state would continue to suffer and no body knows how long.

Going Global

Mamata Banerjee has rightly fascinated the reporter of New York Times(TOI 16 Dec) for
her sustained efforts and doggedness to over throw the Leftist govt from a pocket of Indian subcontinent after its unbelievable 34 yrs of governance based on popular consent.Stubornly anti-American Left govt’s ouster might pose a pleasant surprise to NYT scribe His interest in Miss Banerjee’s political activities is not misplaced in other senses either. Her anti land acquisition movement that began from obscure places like Singur and Nandigram has now rocked the entire nation. Wherever land is going to be procured for public or private purposes for people’s benefit land owners start agitation in Singur like way. As a result developmental activities grind to a halt. History will ever remember Miss Banerjee at least for her anti-land grab movement as procurement of land is a global phenomenon. So she rightly deserves to go global in newsworthiness.

Home Truth

War Of letters:
Hardly ever a letter from Center to a state has created such a ruckus in state’s politics as Chidambaram’s letter has done. Content of the letter got leaked to press even before it reached the state govt after inordinate delay. The letter was claimed to be highly confidential in some quarters but it was sent by speed post in ordinary way mingled with other mails while it’s customary to send such letters by courier. Perhaps, Center did not attach that importance to this letter as the state did. It’s an open secret Chidambaram had to issue such a letter more out of political compulsion rather than anything else. In the face of TMC supremo’s threat to quit UPA what else the Center can do other than taking the state govt to task to save its govt as TMC is an important ally to reckon with so far as its stability is concerned? What has shown Chidambaram, who has a reputation as a perfect gentleman politician, in poor light is use of word like ‘Harmad’.It definitely smacks of his bad taste. However, some even surmised the letter was not drafted by Chidambaram himself but as it contained his signature he can’t disown the onus of what was objectionable in his letter .
Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee, however, had taken care that his rejoinder to Chidambaram was not leaked before it reached him and made it public only after home department acknowledged the receipt of the letter. Content of CM’s letter was precise and more or less matter-of-factly.He, however, made no bones about his reservation against the leakage of the letter before it reached him and use of word like Harmads. However, Chidambaram in his rejoinder scuttled the ‘Harmads’ issue but stuck to his gun against CM over his allegation about presence of armed camps of CPM in Jungalmahal.He also invited CM to Delhi for discussion on this issue. However, in another letter Chidambaram defended the use of ‘Harmad’ claiming it a common parlance in the political lexicon of the state.CM vehemently opposed it again and accused him of being mum over Trinomool-Maoist pact when Center claims Maoists are the greatest internal menace to the nation.Incidentally,CM did neither deny nor confirm the presence of armed camps of CPM at Jungalmahal.

Chidambaram has not yet refuted the allegation made against Trinomool about their rapport with the Maoists, Nor has CM clarified if armed camps of CPM are there at Jungalmahal.Now it’s all quiet on Chidambaram’s front Apparently, both sides have called it a day. It’s really difficult to categorically deny the charges they’ve leveled against each other.