Wednesday, July 8, 2020

India, Kerala and Covid.

India and China begin disengaging

Two things bear heavily on my mind which are:-

    (a) 97 days after the Chinese troops had pulled out from the Galwan Valley in Ladakh did it
          embark on the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962.
    (b) Are the Chinese following the 'two steps forward and a step backward' policy in their
          withdrawals from their offensive positions taken in the months of May, June? 

The Chinese should never be believed and the fundamental aspect in the context of international
relationships between countries, it's permanent interests that matter. Make no mistake on that!

The nations around the world - as I'd stated earlier on this forum - seem to have acquired a sudden strength - the timidity has been shed off - to take actions against China and pronounce them loudly. The Tibetans, the world over, has attained an energy as they sense that something positive could come about, in the form of recognition of their long standing aspirations of an independent Tibet as their permanent home and a free and fair government under the benevolent directions of the Dalai Lama is soon gonna be a reality.

India should continue with the sanctions taken against China and be the rallying point for the rest of the world to turn hostile international opinion against that country, to bring it down to its knees and defang its aspirations to become a superpower. It has to implode with the weight of its own inconsistencies and the nastiness to subdue another country, by being a bully.

Kerala government struggling with an illegal gold haul

The Kerala chief minister's office came under the scanner this Monday, after it came to light that Swapna Suresh, the prime suspect in the attempt to smuggle 30 kg gold in a diplomatic consignment addressed to the Consulate General through the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The following facts are discernible :-

   (a) The Customs Department is pretty sure that this activity was not the first incident.
   (b) Swapna Suresh is a XII class pass and was employed with the Space Park that comes under the
         IT department, headed by none other than the chief minister.
   (c) The IT secretary, M Sivasankar, a close associate of the chief minister had appointed her as the
         Liaison Officer of the park. He has since been sacked!
   (d) She'd faced a Crime Branch probe in a fake sexual harassment case that she'd lodged against
         an Air India superior - where she was working before joining the UAE consulate. From the
         consulate she had wormed her way to the Space park and seems to have been in close
         proximity with many bigwigs of the government.

The chief minister had turned up at his usual press conference yesterday evening and decried the opposition and the media in raking up a case that's not there. He'd said that he doesn't know Swapna Suresh and advised the media that they must ascertain the truth of the matter before embarking on any allegations against his government.

My take.

Five years back, when Saritha and the solar case was swamping the previous chief minister, Oommen Chandy, one of the first politicians to embark on tarnishing his predecessor's image was the present chief minister even before ascertaining the veracity of the allegations! His appeal, yesterday evening, has brought him a full circle to face the music. Incidentally, the solar case had finally turned out to be a non starter, clearing the former chief minister!

Every other politician has been quick to embark on hurling allegations at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the only one, who is conspicuous by his absence in the mudslinging is Oommen Chandy
himself. He could have easily joined in the melee but being the thorough gentleman that he is, has refrained from it.

Incidentally, Swapna Suresh has gone underground and is not traceable! She is rumoured to have connections with the higher ups in the Kerala Police hierarchy. In the meantime, juicy stories keep surfacing every passing day.

The alarming spread of Covid

Meanwhile, there has been an alarming increase in the number of new Covid cases in the state as well as in the country. In many places, community spread seems to have set in though the government is yet to confirm it. As predicted earlier, the month of July will see an abnormal spike which will begin its downward trend towards the last weeks of the month.

The positive thing is that the number of recoveries has been quite high and is a heartening bit of news! Let us continue to stay safe and take care by taking all the necessary precautions that have been laid down.


Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores which were :-

    * Offering my blood samples to ascertain FBS and PPBS; results were passed on to my doctor.
    * Change of bed linen and washing machinex.
    * The Wednesday 'aarti' of the house.

Selvam had dropped by for pressing clothes after the lapse of a fortnight.

The evening webinar on the 'National Digital Library India and Covid' by Prof Das of IIT, Kharagpur and a friend of mine, was absorbing. 

   

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