That's all, your honour! : Oct. 3-9

1. "Kashmir was an outstanding issue which needs to be resolved. It is a political issue and cannot be addressed through development, employment or good governance only" Now, it is but natural to think that such kind of a ridiculous statement can come only from some vague guy not interested in practical solutions. Agreed it is a political issue but to brush aside development, employment and good governance is little too childish. Now what do we have make of it when this statement comes from the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir? Not just this, he went on to say "J&K acceded to India in very unique circumstances and did not merge. Had we merged with India, we would not have had a special constitutional position". Yep, you read it right. The full speech is not available anywhere for download. The entire media has only reported parts of speech here and there and almost all headlines were talking about the protests by opposition members! Yep - the Chief Minister says all this stuff and we are interested in reporting how the opposition reacted. This blog piece by "i_panchajanya" gives an excellent summary of how the media covered this shocking speech by the Chief Minister. He goes on to "assert" that his government is not a "puppet" (sure, why would we think so - given his timely "action" for all the crises, it is a sin to think his govt. is a puppet!). Just playing to the galleries and to the separatists ideas will help solve your problem, Mr.Chief Minister? And please don't keep wondering how this man is still holding this job despite so many deaths - that's how immune we have become to inefficiency. Even if it is costing lives.

2. Finally, it is about the games and not about Shiela, Kalmadi et.al. The Commonwealth games have finally begun and the opening ceremony recieved wide kudos for a majority of audience! The event was excellently choreographed, showcasing the rich cultre and heritage of India. Right from the beginning wherein drummers from various parts of the country started their to the "swagatam" dance by the kids, to the yoga performance, to the dance forms of India - everything was way beyond anybody's expectations! Also, we have had a very rich medal haul so far. We have won golds, silvers, bronzes in archery, weightlifting, wrestling and shooting. So far we have even won bronzes in swimming, gymnastics and even in the 10,000m race! This is the first time we are winning medals in the swimming and gymnastics category. The muck and the controversies surrounding the games will only be refreshed after the games are over. Till then "come out and play" !

3. BJP seems to be having a fascination for the "natak" in Karnataka (pun not mine :D). After some recent fiascos, this time it all began when dissent started brewing after a recent cabinet expansion by the Yeddyurappa government. And within no time, 18 MLA's withdrew their support to the government! BJP has a 5 MLA majority in the assembly and this move has put it in a minority. As it happens in such cases, all MLA's first went to Kerala, and then to Chennai and finally to Mumbai! Hectic negotiations (read "how many crores would suffice" stuff) are on, and so far 4-5 MLA's are back into the BJP fold. The Congress has categorically said it will not support the JD(S) now. However, all this muck is bringing in instability in the state thus removing the focus from governance issues. The confidence vote is scheduled for the 12th of this month - need to see how this crisis will play out.

4. So Rahul Gandhi has spoken again. This time, he has enlightened us by saying that there is no difference between RSS and SIMI. He thinks both encourage "fanatics" and are "fundamentalist" in their views. Just so that readers know, SIMI is a banned terrorist organisation. One might have huge differences with views of RSS but to equate them to a banned terrorist organisation speaks volumes about the intelligence of the Enlightener. That's all, your honour!