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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is not easy to out-Goebbels Goebbels. But the Kerala BJP leaders are tantalizingly close to achieving that feat!

“The Opportunity Costs of Socialism,” published on Tuesday by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, attempts to smear socialism—worker ownership of production—as a bankrupt ideology. The 72-page paper uses the 200th anniversary of socialist thinker Karl Marx’s birth as a jumping-off point for condemning everyone who doesn’t pray at the altar of the free market. Not even capitalist social democracies like Norway and Sweden are spared from blistering attacks.

We know how the world views Taj Mahal as a beautiful monument of love. We also know that the world considers Bangalore and Hyderabad as Indian versions of Silicon Valley. But we never knew that there is a world famous stretch of land near an airstrip in Nagpur and it happens to be owned by Anil Ambani. The discovery has been made possible by the Rafale deal with Dassault Aviation.

Sadly, the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s premier investigative agency, has been described as “Comical Bureau”, “Bureau of Intrigues” and headlines in newspapers, reflecting internal tussle inside the CBI, screamed “CBI vs CBI”. Why this prestigious agency has come to such a pass? Possibly, its misuse by the political parties—Congress or the BJP— when in power, to meet their political ends. The agency has been losing its credibility.

The Supreme Court Friday ordered the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) to complete his probe against CBI Director Alok Verma in two weeks’ time under the strict eye of Supreme Court-appointed judge AK Patnaik. The top court issued notices to the Centre and the CVC; and barred interim CBI Director Nageshwar Rao from taking policy decisions. Besides, decisions or orders taken by Rao in the last three days must be handed over to the SC in a sealed cover.

Apprentices, badlis, casuals, probationers and temps—one thing common to all these five categories of workers, besides contract labourers, is their precarious existence as workers. Not only they have no job security, they are also invariably underpaid, often doing the same work as regular workers usually at a fraction of their earnings. In fact, apprentices are not even officially considered as workers. Textile industry now has policy sanction to employ badlis for fixed-term contracts sans all other statutory entitlements. The Modi government has now extended this legally questionable concession to the employers of all industries.

While the Rafale fighter jet deal will entail huge financial losses for the country, the agreement for the world’s largest nuclear power project at Jaitapur in an ecologically diverse and fragile region like Konkan, along with attendant concerns of the safety of EPRs, an unsteady French nuclear industry and its inexperienced Indian counterparts, will pose serious challenges to the environment, biodiversity, health and livelihoods of lakhs of people in and around the region.

The arguments that the government spokespersons including the Union Cabinet ministers are advancing to justify the mid-night coup organised by the government to end the remaining credibility and autonomy of the CBI is nothing but cooked up stories to save the skin of the ruling duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. The way the government is trying to equate the status of CBI director Alok Verma who has been appointed by a duly constituted authority of Prime Minister, leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India with a secured tenure of two years with that of the special director Rakesh Asthana who has been imposed by Modi-Shah duo is sheer nonsense. Since his induction in CBI, Asthana is facing objections including petitions in the Apex Court on various counts. Even before the eruption of present controversy, there were at least six corruption cases against him that were under investigation.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Pinarayi Vijayan government has shed its ambivalence and reactive mode on the Sabarimala issue.

BHOPAL: It is an uphill task to select candidates for the elections. The parties, particularly BJP and Congress, are finding it extremely difficult to handle the problem. For BJP it is much more arduous to select proper candidates with reports that the ruling party may replace a large number of sitting MLA. These reports have created an almost rebellion like situation in some pockets.