Learn the science of politics

Finally a course that was long in need I wish we had more of these courses and such qualifications were mde mandatory to actually represent the people in the government!

BANGALORE: Old stereotypes of politicians no longer hold good. And for those who have had done enough of ringside criticism and are ready to take the political plunge themselves, here’s a start.

The National Institute of Political Excellence was launched in the city on Sunday. Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy inaugurated the course at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, in the presence of law minister S Suresh Kumar and freedom fighter H S Doreswamy.

Institute authorities said the course includes classes on Indian Constitution, history, culture, law and religion. Communication skills will be a focus area. Finer nuances like mingling with different sets of people and handling them will also be covered.

The course will give the students a chance to watch house proceedings and subsequent discussions on the floor. Fees for the three-month course is Rs 5,000.

[ source: TOI ]

First Tata, now Infosys… may pull out of Bengal

I hope that Mamata and the rest of those filthy politicians are happy now that Tata is almost on the verge of pulling out of Bengal and InfoSys is also rethinking its plans for West Bengal.

I really wouldn’t blame the companies here. How can you expect them to invest huge amount of money in a state where all it takes is a bunch illiterate, insensitive, brain dead politicians backed by a few hundred depressed, deprived common men to stop the working of a production factory and endanger the lives of all its employees. All this while the so called ruling government, law enforcement and judicial system stands by watching the chaos pathetically helpless!!!

Under Budhadheb, after the dark ages under Jyothi Basu, finally W. Bengal was just becoming an attractive haven for investors. And now with the Singur issue, they have back stepped in their progress by many folds. Why is this? Why is it that some Indian politicians manage to screw up things big time and yet the public still supports them.

Tale of a 100 rupee note

A really amusing tale of a 100 rupee note in aamchi Mumbai!!!

Pick your candidate

It is time to elect a world leader and your vote counts. Here’s the scoop on the three leading candidates.

Candidate A: associates with ward heelers and consults with astrologists. He’s had two mistresses. He chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B: was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of brandy every evening.
Candidate C: is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn’t had any illicit affairs.

Which of these candidates is your choice??

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt
Candidate B is Winston Churchill
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler

Indian Minister vs. US Senator

An Indian politician went to the US to visit his counterpart. When the senator invited him home for dinner, the minister was very impressed by the lavish mansion, grounds and the costly furnishings.

He asked, “How can you afford all this on a meagre senator’s salary?”

The senator smiled knowingly and took him to the window.

“Can you see the river?”

“Yes”

“Can you see the bridge over it?”

“Of course”, said the minister.

“10 percent”, said the senator smugly.

Some time later, he had occasion to pay a return visit. The Indian minister lavished all hospitality on him. When they came to his house,the American was stunned by the huge palace the minister had built, glittering with precious art, hundreds of servants etc etc.

“How can you possibly afford this, on a salary in Indian Rupees,” he asked.

The minister called him to the window.

“See the river over there?”

“Sure”, cried the senator.

“Can you see the bridge over it?”

The senator looked, was confused, peered closely and said, “No, I don’t see any bridge.”

“100 percent”, said the Indian minister !!

Coal India swindle Rs.100,000,000.00 from PM Fund

Here’s news item from CNN-IBN. As big as the number sounds, I think when compared to the amount the politicians and the corrupt officials are cheating from us – the tax payers, on a regular basis, this amount would be peanuts!!!!

New Delhi: Under an RTI (Right To Information) filed by an employee of South Eastern Coalfield Limited, the PMO has revealed startling facts about how an amount of Rs 10 crore, collected by Coal India Ltd (CIL) from its employees for over a decade, was misappropriated.

Here’s a look at what the PMO Inquiry Report says:

• Rs 40.65 crore collected from CIL employees for PM’s Relief Fund
• Only Rs 30 crore submitted
• Rs 4.71 crore used for unauthorised purchase of relief material
• Rs 5.93 crore still in CIL coffers

The report from PMO targets one of India’s biggest PSUs, Coal India Limited.

The man who brought the corruption to light, Mujibur Rehman, is a lab technician at a Coal India subsidiary. Rehman filed an application under RTI last year seeking details of the money collected for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund after which the PMO was forced to conduct an inquiry.

The result was shocking: Coal India withheld Rs 10 crore from the relief fund.

Rs 30 lakh collected during the 2004 Tsunami and 17 lakh during the 1999 Orissa cyclone was never handed over and that’s not all. While Kargil collections were submitted eight years late in August 2007, Rs 7 crores collected for the 2005 J&K earthquake have not yet been deposited.

Funds have been used illegally as working capital causing loss of interest to the PM’s Fund. For all his efforts, Rehman has been shunted around, threatened and charge-sheeted twice by CIL for using the RTI Act. “The CMD warned me to quit this,” says Rehman.

It is ironic that while the government passes an Act like the RTI the system and society penalises the individual for using it. The PMO says while it is accountable for the money that has come to them, they are not responsible for the money that was supposed to, but hasn’t reached them.

RTI experts are livid and want the PMO to fix responsibility. “People gave money generously and now after 7-8 years, it’s shocking to see the money is lying in FDs. The company is using it as a working capital. It’s a breach of faith,” says RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.

This is the result of just one enquiry and with more probes on the cards, Coal India could see more skeletons tumbling out of its cupboard.

[ Source: CNN-IBN ]