Vote for gossip?

My Dear Clansters,

Firstly, my thanks to Parimal for giving the lead, yes “healthy gossips?” Secondly, my thanks to Anju, as ever, supporting me to write, more specifically this time on “gossip”.  The word “gossip” is so juicy.  While I was toying with two or three other topics , the pop-up word “gossip” auto-changed all priorities.  I am restricting this post to CMR Clan, though it can otherwise be accessed. 

Straightaway, it is a bit confusing  whether gossip can be good as well as bad, all the more when the reference is given as “healthy” gossip.  When you mention the word “gossip”, you are more used to think of films/film star gossip, office gossip, of course, family/friends gossip.  You can keep on adding, political gossip, face book gossip, tweeting gossip…..

When I consulted an online dictionary, gossip means:

1. Rumour or talk of a personal, sensational or intimate nature  2. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumours or facts  3. Trivial facts ……………. 

Gossip is a reference information  passed by one person (say, A) about another person (say, B) to other person/s (say, C or more  persons).  Ok, let’s agree there are three parties to a gossip.  Gossiper, gossipee and gossip-receivers or gossip well-wishers (Pardon me, I am not sure if there are such words like gossipee and gossiper in English dictionary).  Gossiper is also  used as gossip-monger. 

Gossip is almost always used with a negative reference.  I continue to be confused how it can be referred as “healthy gossip”.  Healthy, yes, except the subject party, the gossipee.  If it is healthy, then it should be something else.  Have we ever come across someone saying “I gossiped nice about you”?  

When we say “healthy”, it should be all-round harmony, isn’t it?  When was the last time you gossiped good and nice about someone?  If we talk good or positive about some one behind their back, can it be termed as good/healthy gossip?  And do you call it a gossip?

 Can someone think of coining a different word  for “healthy  gossip”?

How comfortable are you, when the gossipee knows that you are the one who initiated the gossip?

I agree with the view point that “gossip helps you lose weight”, though shared with a hearty smile.  You can even add that it helps to lessen your stress levels.

Gossip may be harmful, but not a crime.  We are not saints (in fact, many saints are subject matters of gossip).  I am not sure if there is healthy gossip, but gossip can be healthy, healthy for the gossiper and gossip-receivers. 

One area  where gossips may be healthy is celebrities/film industry.  If any reference is reported about film stars , they are happy and healthy about the publicity the gossip generated. When the gossip is complete and all parties are aware of all the contents of the gossip details, how does it feel?

Consider there is truth in a gossip. If the gossipee learns the truth through the gossip and corrects himself/herself, can it be termed as “healthy gossip”?  Can it be taken that the gossipee is grateful for the gossip?  If any one remembers such “healthy” gossip, please share with the Clan.

Generally, when the gossiper comes to know about the gossip, the response is “None of your business”.  On a serious note, yes.  On a lighter vein,  I may feel fine and funny, if not healthy.  Have you observed closely, in any gossip, “listeners” are more than the actual gossiper.   And, gossip is more colourful when ‘cosmetics’ are appropriately  uploaded in the “story”.

Let us not forget that, when I gossip, I must be prepared to get gossiped. After all, I am an ordinary guy and concerned about my stress levels and good health, and occasionally gossip as and when opportunity throws up.

This is more a debate on gossip.  Please pour in your inputs.  Correct me where I am wrong.  Else, it will end up as gossip on debate.

Happy & Healthy gossiping!

RBI and the currency notes

The Reserve  Bank of India (RBI) recently announced that currency notes issued before 2005 will not be acceptable for circulation and the public should exchange the same with the banks before April 2014.  However, within two days from the date of the announcement, the apex bank came out with a topsy-turvy reversal  stating that the public can, even after July  1, can exchange it through their respective bank accounts. It may not be surprising if RBI releases yet another statement that the pre-2005 notes will continue to be valid and the status-quo would prevail.

Why RBI not adhering to the original deadline of March 31, 2014?

Ensuing Lok Sabah polls is public knowledge. The sleeping currency bundles lying with the politicians and the political parties will awaken to find their locations in the hands of the voters as “freebies”.  If RBI implements April 2014 deadline, the public will pounce and bounce at the Parties  for ‘giving’ them the ‘invalid’ notes which would backfire on their political prospects. “We don’t want your notes, and you will not have our votes”, the repressive response the parties would apprehend. Perhaps, is that the reason, RBI has extended the deadline to July and beyond?

Make no mistake, RBI and the Government are one and the same.  It is like CBI, Election Commission et.al. Though they are independent entities, they are Central Government’s one or the other organs of the same body. They will dance to the Centre’s tunes.

The pre-2005 currency notes will not feature the “Gandhi” image and the year of printing.  This, in addition to unearthing the black money, has been cited as the reason to withdraw the pre-2005 notes.  The common man, by and large, will not  be holding the pre-2005 currency notes.

Where will they be?  Undoubtedly, with the politicians and the political parties.  The RBI notification need not panic the aam aadmi (no pun, please). Or may be those coin collectors, like stamp-collectors may hold it is a hobby, which would only increase its numismatic value. 

What is the status of  black money stashed in Swiss banks?

Pertinent it is to recall that the Congress party in its 2009 election manifesto  yelled at its campaign  to bring out the stash money in Swiss banks.  A term of five years has gone by.  Will they clarify what efforts have they taken to dig out the illegal funds?  In the interim period, the black money sharks cunningly hijacked it to other countries.   In fact, the Swiss government had furnished the details of those account holders and the amount held by them, to the Central   Government.

“Indian banks, led by the public sector, have accumulated sticky loans of over Rs 6.5 lakh crore till the end of 2013….” (Times of India, Jan. 24, 2014). And now, this announcement  of withdrawal of pre-2005 notes is to unearth “local” hoarding of dirty money!  There could be a sudden spurt in spending of unaccounted money.  Recent reports indicate the currency involved could be over Rs.11,000 crore.  Even  a conservative estimate of 30 per cent of it could be “dark”, and there can be pressure to declare or spend.

If eradication of black money is the true intention of the government/ RBI, they should have stuck to the deadline of March 31, 2014.  Will they do? A big NO. Why? Because where will the Congress party go to ask for election funds?

RBI should make it mandatory to deposit at least higher denominations like 100, 500 & 1,000 of pre-2005 be deposited in the respective bank accounts and issue new/post-2005 notes through cheques/withdrawal forms.  This is a better way to expose the black money.  Also, as transactions of Rs.50,000 and above warrant PAN No., you can expect from now on deposits of 49,000 or less in several tranches to avoid scrutiny.

Identify the pre-2005 and post-2005 notes and ensure exchange of notes before deadline.  

Big B, there is nothing official about it!

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan recently told an IIM student how he had stopped endorsing Pepsi.  It was a stimulating anecdote about a small girl in Jaipur who had asked him why he was promoting a fizzy drink that her teacher called “poison.” The little schoolgirl educating the tall hero and the latter accepting and acting upon it is commendable (Ref: "Big B's 'poison' dart leaves Pepsi cringing", Economic Times dated 03/02/2014).

The Big B had executed an 8-year contract with Pepsi for endorsing its product for a total consideration of Rs.24 crore (@ Rs.3 crores per annum), and the contract has been completed since.  It sounds funny that after milking Pepsi for so many years, enlightenment suddenly dawned upon the boss! If your principles have changed, that’s okay. However, how did you choose to bite the hand that fed you for such a long time?  If you had snapped the agreement during midway, your action would have merited value, but castigating the brand at the conclusion of the contract period is unprofessional, isn’t it?

It all looks like a corollary.

If it is indeed a “poison,” what Big B did is socially ethical. And the next question arises, why did the government allow marketing of such “dubious” products that are harmful to public health?

Does the Big B feel guilty?  The legendary hero is squarely in a dilemma.  He can’t undo the past, but he can surely mend his ways.  Probably, and given the benefit of doubt, he has done that.

What is incredible is that AB is so naïve that some schoolgirl, somewhere, some day, has to tell him that a product is poisonous and that he believed her.  Curiously, here is an icon who hosted one of the brainiest quiz shows, the Kaun Banega Crorepathi (KBC) Show, who has to be told by a small girl that Pepsi was “poison.” 

Now that he has stopped endorsing the product, can we expect him to:--

(a) Refund the amount to Pepsi or fund at least part of the money for the rehabilitation of those harmed by consuming the noxious drink?  Of course, he cannot undo the damage he has caused, wittingly or unwittingly, to the brand.  Suddenly “brand ambassadorship” is in for a jolt.

(b ) Advise/influence other celebrities, his family members included, to follow suit?

Logically, you are not obliged to refund the money or fund it to charitable cause.  It is a personal choice.

Meditation Guru Baba Ramdev used to tell his yoga students that such products were only fit for “cleaning toilets.”  One need not be a nutritionist to appreciate that colas are toxic.   “Cigarette smoking is injurious to health” is only a small-sized font statutory warning that is displayed on every pack of the tobacco product.  Isn’t it downright hypocrisy?  If a product is harmful, how does the brand warrant a defence?  Will it (Pepsi) join the category of cigarettes, alcohol?  Pundits in the health & fitness space can be expected to predict that “such” drinks will carry warnings similar to the ones on cigarette packs.  Not Pepsi alone.  All cola brands are riding the same boat.

May be, AB has not endorsed tobacco products, but that cannot be a convincing reason to justify his signing the Pepsi contract.  The consequences of not knowing the truth of what they promote is alarming. Can it be interpreted that AB has endorsed “poison” for 8 years and can consequently be sued?    There is also a difference between endorsing a product like Pepsi and any other product like garments or footwear, as the former is a health hazard. Lots of care should be exercised while choosing the product one endorses.  It is not some fantasy concept but something concerned with health.

Big names from Bollywood and our sports fraternity, our cricket stars in particular, endorse one cola brand or the other.  Even the far richer names like Sachin Tendulkar, Shahrukh Khan, et al, continue to stamp their endorsements for the “controversial” cola.  It is a vicious cycle.  These are companies that promote sports and World Cups and other entertainment feats.  Can they be restrained?  It’s all about money, honey! 

Before I forget, have you ever seen Super Star Rajnikanth or Padma Shri Kamal Hassan do any brand advertising?  It is good the Super Star of the Millennium raised a poser on the Pepsi and its “poisonous” content.  At least, let us welcome their bid, going forward, to make informed decisions.  Big names like AB, before stamping their contractual obligations, must exercise due diligence and study the pros and cons of the product.   Forget for a moment Brand Pepsi; AB is a top brand himself whose image is in for a debate.  Yes, it does put AB in bad light. Yet, I appreciate him for showing the courage to speak out the truth.  Big B has a bigger responsibility.

Media selective

Why don’t the media dare discuss the earlier charges on the cola giants regarding “pesticide” as an ingredient of the beverage?  The ads and the revenues will be blocked?  Or have the honourable journalists been purchased?

Pepsi embarrassed

Pepsi is not embarrassed about selling a drink that is allegedly harmful; rather, they are more embarrassed about a public figure declaring the truth.  Stars endorsing brands never meant they actually used those brands. Gullible consumers buy what these stars only endorse.  Also, let’s wait and see if negative brand ambassadorship has any impact.

Education must change from mastering texts to questioning knowledge.  Congratulations to the young girl who made AB wiser.

Yes,  Dil Maange More.

Frankly, Rahul .....

I am reminded of a segment relating to a two-minute game-play telecast in a Tamil channel, where the participant will have to give totally irrelevant reply to the questions shot at him in order to be declared a winner.  Hardly any one wins.  Alas, how Rahul Gandhi, one wonders, could endure 90 minutes, in full flow!  Or is it one of those left-brain right-brain balancing exercises?

True, any Congress grassroots worker could have given a better perspective and defended the Party.  The interview was a test of humor and patience for Rahul Gandhi & Arnab Goswami, respectively and a hilarious evening for many.  It was depressingly and seriously sad for Congress supporters.  A historic number of tweets followed.  This is merely a trailer.  When and if at all he becomes the Prime Minister, you will see the main movie, which by all accounts ought to be more hilarious than a Charlie Chaplin movie. 

Well, the theme of pointing fingers at somebody else can endlessly go on and on, and enough has already been said, written and caricatured.  What are the simple lessons one can learn from this comical event?  Yes, you, me, and of course, Rahul?

Key takeaways:

1.  The interview can be used as a case-study for management students on the importance of communications and how it can make or mar a situation. 

 2.  Importance of homework:  Even our children will tell us the consequences of not doing their homework.  It is said that a boy was once told that there would be a question about a “cow” during the exam.  In the exam, unfortunately, the essay was about a coconut tree. The boy didn't give up. He wrote everything he studied about the cow, and at the end he wrote 'such a cow can be tied to the coconut tree'.  Pappu’s interview was pretty much on similar lines.

 3. Body language:  The body language of the candidate must exude confidence and should not show weakness and submissiveness. Rahul, you appeared edgy; at one stage, you were waiting for the interview to end.

 4. Value of knowing history:  Today's politics is tomorrow's history.  If you had studied the politics of your forefathers, you would have been abreast with the knowledge of our history and you would have fared much better in the interview.

  5. To become a successful politician, you should be either knowledgeable or manipulative; you displayed neither quality.

 6.  Leadership:  If you are averse to reading books, you could have at least watched the Indian cricket captain, M.S. Dhoni, which would have imparted to you glimpses of leadership traits/tenets and tips about how to handle the most telling and turbulent of situations.  Watch the after-match captain comments.   You should first learn how to play the game before you aspire to lead the team.

 7. Apology: Humility is the prime requisite of every human being.  Every parent and every teacher advises children to tender apologies when there are mistakes on their part, and society has accepted this norm as an unwritten law.  While you have admitted that some of the Congressmen were involved in the massacre of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, you have refused to even tender a word of apology in order to appease the severely hurt feelings of the Sikhs and people in general. While this is not only a disappointing response, it also sounds unsympathetic and arrogant. 

 8. Owning responsibility: Every individual, all the more a leader, must own responsibility for all his or her actions/inactions. When you try to shy away from Congressmen’s "involvement" in 1984 riots, it reminds me of a bank clerk trying to bank on excuses like "It is not my job," or "I was on leave that day," or "the previous person has been transferred", for a moment forgetting that he/she, by sitting behind the counter, is a representative of the bank, an ambassador of the institution. Mind you, you want to lead our nation.

 9. Anticipation: Even when you drive a car, your natural instincts would guide you to look for an unforeseen crossing of the lane by a pedestrian, a two-wheeler, or an auto-driver; this would help you stay alert. When the interviewer asked you "Why you are avoiding a one-on-one interview with the media?" you were caught unawares. A simple and normal question like this was only to be expected!

 10. Preparation: If you had prepared well, not only would you have fared well, but you would also have dominated the proceedings. 

 11. Excuse of inexperience:  If someone attempts to defend you saying that you are politically inexperienced, there are not many takers to this theory.  Hereditarily, you hail from the Nehru family, which is perfectly public knowledge.  You can ask your own Rajya Sabha member, the maestro Sachin Tendulkar, at what age he stepped into international cricket, the segment that he indisputably dominated during his tenure and was venerated as the God of Cricket. 

 12. This so-called interview is also a lesson to many parents.  If you push your children into an activity in which they are not passionate about, the outcome can be enormously embarrassing.

13. Clarity:  It is plain common sense that when a question is asked, say, “what is 1+1,” your answer should be 2 (right answer) or 3 or any other number (wrong answer), or even "I don’t know" (confession of ignorance).  Instead if you reply with an answer like “4+5 is 9", it is ridiculous.

14. Two wrongs cannot make a right.  Your bid to equate 1984 riots with 2002 riots will only muddy the waters more and infuriate a discerning public.

15. Public relations:  At the age of 44, after 10 years as Vice-President of the Congress party, it is unfortunate that this is your first media interview.   When you address speeches, it is one-way traffic; you speak and people who are paid to applaud do so.  More media interaction and press conferences are imperative for you to stay in constant contact with the public.

16.  Interview etiquette demands that you have to respond to the questions raised and not question the interviewers themselves.  Also, when you asked about the interviewer's qualifications, it sounded downright silly and childish; the people were more interested in your own qualifications since you being projected as the aspiring candidate. When millions of people are watching you, the element of personality that is in play is paramount in deciding fortunes.

17. Selfishness: When it comes to "apologizing" for the 1984 riots, your inexperience expeditiously took a back seat and you became personally and politically alert. People wonder.  When you are not ready to even apologize for a riot organized by your own party which was in government, how are you going to provide justice?

18. Self-introspection:  When you come to a media interview like this, you should have delved deep into research on the possible questions about corruption and misuse of power indulged by friends in your own camp and how to undo the wrongs and set right the malaise.   

19. Sense of humor:  If you had displayed a tiny dose of humor during the interview, it would have added color to the event.  In any case, humor should only supplement, not supplant the content; instead, you have yourself become the national laughing stock.

20. Honesty in reply:  If you don't know the answer, you can always say, "I don't know or I am not sure.  I shall consult the experts and get back to you".  Instead, if you give incorrect, irrelevant, and incongruent answers, these will only breed confusion and vitiate the atmosphere.

If you can appreciate the feedback and follow the above suggestions, you may even earn better grades in the next interview and the nation would resound with cries of  “Pappu is baar pass ho gaya!”

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http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2014/01/congress-then-and-now.html
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2014/07/miles-to-go-before-i-sleep-wake-up-call.html

BEWARE: YOUR DORMANT ACCOUNT CAN BE A TARGET FOR FRAUD!

“A bank executive has been arrested for stealing almost Rs. 50 lakh from the inactive account of an NRI who had died, by breaking every rule of professional ethics, ferreting out customer information and manipulating safety procedures  ............” That was a news item carried in "The Times of India" dated 07/01/2014 (Read full report link at the bottom).

Bank frauds are not new.  Dormant account frauds are almost always carried out by a few insiders.  If a staffer is involved in an embezzlement of Rs.50 lakh, how else you can term him other than a bankster (blend of banker and gangster).  Money and crime always share a  nefarious nexus.   A banker looting the customer funds is like a police robbing.

A savings account/current account is considered as inoperative account if there are no transactions in the account for over two years.  Dormant account  results from a variety of reasons: death of a customer who has failed to update his legal heirs the requisite information, failure by account holders to notify their bankers in the event of change of address, the fact of the account-holder himself having forgotten about the existence of an account opened many years before, or cases in which a person has opened an account in the name of another without informing the latter person (eg. Account opened in the name of minor by his parents/grandparents).  Depositing aside money for a rainy day ...... and then forgetting about it; senior citizens affected by Alzheimer disease...

All of us have savings banks accounts, at times end up having many.  Tracking of multiple accounts often breeds confusion.  Ignoring a bank account for a long time can cost time, money and also the accompanying agony.

While frauds are committed even in operative accounts, it is no wonder such frauds are happening in inactive accounts.  The reason is that in case of inactive accounts, the constituents do not come to know immediately that a fraud has been perpetrated, as they do not track the account regularly.  Moreover, maintaining such accounts increases the overall cost for the bank.  Banks need to maintain the database of dormant accounts, which increases the cost.  Also, it requires manpower which can be used elsewhere.

It is learnt that a mind-numbing amount of about Rs.2,500 crore is lying as unclaimed deposits. The largest stash of unclaimed money is in savings bank accounts of nationalised banks amounting to Rs.425 crore in 8.7 million accounts.

The fradulent staffer  tampers with the inactive accounts by executing or authorising scores of  fraudulent entries. When a few customers became aware of unauthorised activity in their accounts, s/he corrects the “errors” by depositing funds from other customer’s accounts.  Then s/he sends letters to the customers reporting that there had been an error in their accounts and falsely note in the bank database that  the accounts had been “corrected” and the customers notified.

Although most dormant accounts have small balances, those with larger balances are tempting targets for dishonest employees.  A Teller or other bank insider authorised to access these accounts simply need to make debit entries and steal the money.  Because the legitimate account holder is not monitoring the account, there is little chance the fraud will be detected (in a few cases, the legitimate account holders are deceased).

A similar version of this embezzlement involves external fraudsters who intercept the bank statements that arrive at the address from where the legitimate account holder has moved.  If funds are available in the account, the fraudsters can use the account information to commit identity fraud by posing as the legitimate customer and withdraw the funds.

What to do?

Spare a few minutes to verify the entries appearing in your statement.  Promptly notify the change of address and ensure you get the acknowledgement to the new address.  Though you have ATM and online banking facility, visit your branch periodically.  Share all the bank details to all your family members.  Close the unwanted accounts rather than merely abandon them, as it is easy to monitor minimum number of needed accounts.  Destroy unused cheques from inactive accounts.

The bank audit team has a special and serious role to play.  The team should always make surprise visit, as some banks still give sufficient notice before the visit which alerts the insiders. The latter defeats the very purpose of audit.  We receive many cold calls from bank sales team regarding credit card, home loan, auto loan etc., whereas they extend secondary treatment  to customers if account is about to become “inactive”. If the bank shows little concern to inform processing either by SMS, phone or email (all of these), frauds can be reduced.  An autogenerated email advice appears suffice from management’s perspective, where the personal touch and courtesy is missing.

Preventive and positive measures from the banks' reach is imperative apart, proactively protect yourself from the predators.  After all, the value of money is better appreciated when it is not there!

Happy banking!

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Also read: http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2014/08/bank-frauds-are-direct-attacks-on.html

                

 Reference:

1) www.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/Bank-executive-forges-signature-of-dead-NRI-steals-Rs-50L-from-account/articleshow/28489329.cms

2) www.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Rs-2500cr-lying-unclaimed-in-bank-accounts/articleshow/18981034.cms

Your feed back is welcome at: krs1957@hotmail.com

CONGRESS – THEN AND NOW

Soon after India attained independence on August 15, 1947, the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi suggested to the then Congress leaders that the main purpose of starting the Congress party was to fight for freedom.  In the process, the Congress completely dedicated itself to this herculean task amidst enormous stress and distress. Subsequently, we became Free India, delinked from British clutches.  The goal of freedom was accomplished and it was time to wind up the party.  Senior Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, and Rajendra Prasad, should meet, review, and expeditiously take a decision in this regard, said Gandhi.

Gandhi would have probably forethought that in the latter days, Congress party leaders of subsequent generations would recall the party’s active role in the freedom movement and gain political mileage, which he felt was wrong and ought to be halted.  The aforementioned senior leaders of the party did not pay heed to Gandhi’s suggestion to close the shop.

The Congress party plunged into the electoral battleground.  India was proclaimed a Sovereign Republic on January 26, 1950 and the Indian Constitution came into effect.  Accordingly, parliament at the Centre and legislative assemblies in the states came into existence.  On the basis of the Constitution, the Congress party appealed to the people to elect their representatives.

The Party highlighted their role during the freedom struggle, amplified the sacrifices made by the Nehru family, and enticed the electorate.  For over 30 years since Independence, the Congress party reigned in the Centre and in many states.  During that period, the opium of power slowly but surely raised its head.  Corruption also in small and definite doses started showing up.  The leaders of the Congress party during the freedom struggle movement were spotless nationalists.  When they jumped into the freedom struggle, they sacrificed all their comforts and luxuries.  They even forgot their families. 

Due to the selfless sacrifices of the erstwhile leaders, we initially had corruption-free governance.  Sardar Patel was a remarkable leader-cum-administrator during that period.  Due to his diplomatic efforts, many princely rulers surrendered their sovereignty and agreed to annex their jurisdictions to streamline with India.  

During the Nehru era, the India-Russia pact was signed.  Also, the other leaders - Abul Kalam Azad and Rajendra Prasad, in particular – played an exceptional role in the discharge of their administrative duties.   India began to advance in many sectors.  However, after the departure of these leaders, subsequent generations deviated from the path of honesty and integrity, eyed only power, and indulged in corrupt practices.  Corruption which started in small trickles began to multiply to the highest proportions.  Whenever elections approached, the Congress party would highlight the past struggles of their predecessors, the sacrifices of the Nehru family, and of the Indian National Congress leaders to hoodwink the voters, and they merrily exploited the electorate.

  

However, over a period of time, people identified their true colors and slowly stopped voting for them.  Result:- The 30-year Congress rule at the Centre was disturbed. 

New political parties emerged in the states captured power.  In spite of all these,  Congress continued to remain a reasonably powerful party.  At the same time, the party tried to cover-up the corrupt deals indulged by its representatives while in power.  A stage has come that they cannot fool the people by singing the old songs.   There is a huge difference between the Congress prevailed during/soon after Independence, and the Congress ruling today. One need not look at BJP and other political parties for Anti-Congress forces.  Make a simple comparison between the Congress that stood for Indian freedom and the corrupt-tainted Congress of today.  The latter is a distinct Anti-Congress in itself.

Dissolve the Congress party

Keeping this in mind and to cherish the historic Indian national ethos, the present-day Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi, in deference to the original wishes of the Mahatma should dissolve the Congress party.  Let her start a new political party under a different name.  Though she is of Italian origin, she has become a naturalized Indian.  She has all the competencies to start a new party.  After all, the original Congress was started by a British civil servant, Allan Octavian Hume.  If Sonia Gandhi can initiate a decision to that effect, she would be rendering yeoman service to the cause of Indian democracy in general and the Indian National Congress in particular.  Referring to Mahatma Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in the same breath is akin to equating Swami Vivekananda with Nityananda!

Happy Republic Day Greetings.

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Also Read:  http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2014/05/congress-good-riddance.html

                   http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2014/01/mani-shankar-aiyar-hosts-tea-party.html

Mani Shankar Aiyar hosts the 'Tea Party'

When I used to prepare for my examinations , my mother would make tea for me to stay long awake at night and study hard.  But I didn’t know that the hot cup of tea can also stimulate “sleepless nights” to many politicians and political parties. Probably the ‘tea’ is strong, the ‘tea-vendor’powerful and the 'flavour' political.

For the first time after the post-1975-Emergency elections, it doesn’t require any astrologer to foretell the fate of the Congress in the coming Lok Sabha polls, which is deafeningly loud and distinctly clear. Quite a few seasoned leaders of the party are in the process of maturely reconciling with the offshoot.  Of course, there are bound to be a few aberrations.  Mr.Mani Shankar Aiyar, the diplomant-turned-politician belonging to the Congress party, is one such deviation.  He mocked at  Mr. Narendra Modi's Prime Ministerial ambitions and said a place will be identified for the Gujarat Chief Minister to distribute tea.  He also said that "I promise you in 21st Century Narendra Modi will never become the Prime Minister of the country. ...But if he wants to distribute tea here, we will find a place for him," Mr. Aiyar said at the venue of the AICC meeting in New Delhi.  Sometime back,  the Samajwadi party leader Naresh Agarwal  also echoed a similar comment. 

From a media perspective, anything nonsense one speaks also becomes “news” due to the so-called element of personality.

While the ‘beverage’ is brewing up, the BJP and other anti-Congress outfits are milking the opportunity, mixing the requisite quantity of masala and maintain the political aroma.

A cursory view at Mr.Aiyyar’s comment not only insults the communiTEA, but all the Indians. It also prompts you to perceive his feudal and sub-standard mindset. The bulk of the Indian psyche has digested the familiarity of goondas and criminals in Indian politics and the same logic is now arguing for “why not a tea-vendor?”  If a tea-boy becomes a PM, it would be a better success story, says another theory.  True, have we not witnessed Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi elected to parliament from the Samajwadi party?  And scores of tainted MPs and Ministers?

It is not new to Mr. Aiyar to indulge in such shoddy controversies.In an article in The Telegraph on Sep. 12,2002, Mr. Aiyar wrote, "When J.Jayalaithaa became Chief Minister, she donated a baby elephant to the Guruvayoor temple. When I become CM, I intend donating Jayalalithaa to the Guruvayoor temple. And to become CM, I am planning to move a bill in parliament to ban fading actresses of cinematic origin from becoming Chief Minister." (Ref. The Hindu, October 16, 2003- See link below).

I don’t know if BJP would get a clear majority, but the self-seeking political “Aiyyars” and “Agarwals” have clearly ensured playing into the prospects of BJP. All the more, when the Congress party is already tormented by their performance balance-sheet presented before the people , spewing such outbursts only hammered the final  nails.  Further, despite being a highly qualified academic and also having  authored many titles to his credit, Mr. Aiyar has catered to wicked public mudslinging. The chances of the Congress party is comprehensively and convincingly doomed.  Now tell me, Mr. Aiyar, who is more realistic: The “educated-you” or the enterprising tea-vendor?   All the non-congress parties are grateful to you and your likes, thanks to your verbal diarrhoea (due to fear).

In spite of knowing fully well that such discretionary abuse of choicest epithets will be counterproductive, you have pandered in “poll-fixing”, like spot-fixing events frequented in cricket. After all, there is total unanimity that ethics  and fairness are bad words in politics. 

If you want to attack your political rivals, you could have done it any number of ways, but it is puzzling why you opted to affront the tea vending community?  "Can’t a tea-vendor have a national perspective" is a natural query of any aam aadmi (no pun attempted). Selling tea is more honourable than an Honourable Minister looting the public funds, true or false?

Mr. Aiyar, please wake up! A newspaper seller made us proud by becoming the President of India; in fact, Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the most respected visionary,  the free India  ever had.

Abraham Lincoln, the son of a shoemaker, became the President of America.. 

Every time we drive a car, it is good to remember Henry Ford, who started from scrap, yet managed to steer his way through to riches and harness the benefit to mankind.

Dhirubhai  Ambani was born to a humble school teacher.  While there was nothing to indicate that he would rise above the lower middle-class level, the corporate giant Brand Reliance is an icon to reckon with.

The chapter on Rajnikanth’s life story has been incorporated by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board to motivate children to be successful and take pride in whatever work they do, just like their favourite superstar has , no matter what the job was – being a bus conductor or the most loved super star of India.

Washing your own clothes, cleaning your own utensils, doing all your things by yourself is considered below one's dignity. This attitude was attacked by Gandhiji, who is not only the Father-of-the-Nation, but also a founder-member of the Congress party, to which you proudly belong to.

History is replete with plenty of inspiring success stories.  May be, any day ahead, a tea vendor too would nail his national identity.

By your utterances, Mr. Aiyar, you have failed to honour the dignity of work, caused unlimited disrepute to your party and hurt all your fellow-citizens.

Well, its time for a cup of hot tea, not to be haughty!

http://www.hindu.com/2003/10/16/stories/2003101605230400.htm