There are three controversies,
currently raging, in Kerala. The first one has to do with a racket that
blackmails powerful and rich persons, using video recordings of their sexual
escapades with the women from the racket. Apart from the TRP conscious news
channels, perverts and others starved of healthy sex, this issue is not of much
importance. The other two issues are with far more social and financial implications
for state and its people.
The first issue arose from the
closure of 418 liquor Bars that failed to maintain certain standards, in the
past. A large number of these Bars now claim to have created those necessary
standards and, therefore, complain that their closure is not justified. The
matter is before the High Court, and the Govt is required to make up its mind on
whether to allow these Bars (or such of them that have created the necessary
standards by now) or to revoke their licenses permanently.
There are various claims for and
against the permanent closure of these Bars. Those who are against reopening
any of these Bars (irrespective of their current status) is led by a powerful
section of the ruling Congress party and its State President VM Sudheeran. Many
of the coalition partners are also in favour of the closure, at least in their
public posture. This group also draws power from the anti-liquor groups and
religious leaderships. The other group that includes the Chief Minister and the
concerned Minister argues that government cannot arbitrarily close these Bars
without any rational differentiation. There are close to 400 other Bars
operating in the state, some of them surely without necessary facilities. They
argue that all the Bars that meet the necessary standards should be allowed to operate
and the rest asked to close down, irrespective of whether the Bar belongs to
the group of 418 or not.
The government currently caught
between the devil and deep sea must try to become proactive and create a policy
that seeks to get the population out of the vice grip of alcohol. As a
beginning, it should consider closing down all the Bars and restrict liquor
sale only to the government owned Beverages Corporation outlets. Let us not
make it easy for the addicted, to obtain liquor. No doubt, there might be a problem from the
revenue that will have to be foregone in the process. A part of it might be offset
by the increased revenue of Beverages Corporation. Even otherwise, the revenue
earned at the cost of people’s health and so many other vices including ‘increasing
crime rates,’ is not worth or sustainable for a democratic government.
Before I proceed to the remaining
issue, let me clarify that I am not in favour of a forced prohibition, which
only leads to the strengthening of liquor mafia and seller of spurious liquor. On
principles, I also believe that government should not arbitrarily act against
one set of Bars while allowing others to continue with their business. However,
the government is not left with many options at this stage. It cannot easily go
against the powerful ‘public opinion’ being created in favour of not opening
the 418 Bars. Also, it cannot escape the accusations of supporting the Bar
owners, for extraneous consideration, even if the Bars are eventually allowed
to reopen through a court order. So, why not turn the tables and adopt a general
policy of no Bars that is in consonance with the demand of a large proportion
of the population?
The third controversy relates to
the allocation of new Higher Secondary (Plus Two) Batches, to accommodate the
surplus students who have passed the last year’s 10th standard examination.
This issue is also before the High Court, where the Government has already been
subjected to some severe criticism. The
controversy mainly stems from the fact that every management is putting
pressure on the government to allocate more Batches to them. The Aided School lobby
of Kerala remains one of the most powerful, with all the major religious /
community leadership being so keen to increase their level of services to the
students of Kerala. It is not a secret that this interest has to do more with
their power to appoint teachers for the additional Batches, rather than any
genuine desire to provide educational services. For each appointment in Higher
Secondary school, the management usually take bribes to the tune of more than a
million. These bribes are, of course, in cash, and not reflected in the
accounts or tax returns. At the same time, the salary and other benefits of the
teachers appointed by the management are paid by the state Government.
Government paying the salary to individuals
who are appointed by management without giving any consideration to the merit or
fair selection, is against all the principles of natural justice and the
Constitution. The fact that no government has been able to correct this
injustice until now is only a reflection on the power of the education lobby in
the state. It is said that the present
allotment of additional batches alone will cost the state exchequer more than
Rs.200 crores! Imagine the amount of black money that can be collected by the
management while appointing teachers to these new posts. No wonder, they are
willing to fight it out to the end!
Again, government is faced with
allegations of kickbacks and corruption in allotting the new Batches. To
overcome all these issues and turn the table on those who are challenging the
government’s decision, let the government take a policy decision to make the appointments
to aided schools, through the state Public Service Commission, just like in the
case of government schools. Of course, there will be a backlash from the vested
interests, but at least the Government can gain the goodwill of a large section
of the population and break the power of the management lobby, once for all.
No doubt, there will be cries about
the rights of minorities and communities to carry on educational activities.
Let them continue to do so. There are a large number of unaided schools in the
state. These organizations can also continue their educational services in the
unaided sector. If and only if, they want government to pay the salaries, they must
remain in the aided sector and allow the Government to appoint teachers through
competitive selection. There is no justification for any discrimination between
teachers of aided and unaided schools.
The effective leadership is in
converting adversities into opportunities. These two decisions can not only break
the efforts of the adversaries of the current government, but also positively
impact the state’s governance in future. I am not too optimistic, but let us wait
and see how the government headed by Chief Minister Mr. Oommen Chandy tackles
these adversities.
