THE ugly aspects of a trading of engineering colleges and MCA colleges in Kerala were apparently wrapped up in a false document filed by the UDF government of Kerala before the High Court. We have earlier reported about the false affidavit and the drain of the constitutional secrecy of the cabinet in detail in these columns. However, there have been aspersions about the way things have been focused in the media by the powers that be in the concerned question. What is more serious, the act of selling out and leasing out the sphere of professional colleges in the state, or the filing of false affidavit, or the draining of official secrecy? All the three are crimes of serious order in a democracy. The draining of official secrecy is also very grave in that it amounts to a breach of faith posed by the administrative machinery in a person or group of persons as custodians of the intricacies of administration and governance. It is however a technical error and anybody who has done this crime can be easily discovered and dealt with accordingly through a judicial probe. History of Kerala has ample precedents in this regard that a minister or a person who files a false affidavit has to resign his post as Karunakaran had done in the Rajan case. The person who has breached the official cabinet secrecy can be expelled from the cabinet if the chief minister exercises his constitutional responsibility or if it is the chief minister himself he could very well quit his post.

However, we are quite aware of one thing that the government of Kerala has decided to sell eight engineering colleges and two MCA colleges to the allegedly minority institutions for a huge sum of rupees as bribe. The circumstantial evidences prove this beyond doubt. The UDF sub committee for education had decided not to render minority status to self-financing engineering colleges. In spite of this a paper came before the cabinet to the effect that eight colleges should be given minority status. How could it have occurred? The answer is simple. It was the result of a bargain one of the cabinet colleagues of the chief minister had had with the Managers of the said colleges. The final decision is pending before the cabinet since the deal is not yet completed. Rather the cabinet did not take a decision on the matter because the managers did not express their readiness to pay the huge sum demanded by the minister in question on behalf of his party. The sum demanded is said to be Rs 10 crore.

A meeting of the concerned managers rejected the demand and expressed readiness to pay a sum of Rupees one crore by collecting ten lakhs from each institution. Even this decision was arrived at and taken by a majority opinion. There was no unanimity regarding the decision. The managers categorically denied the minister’s demand for ten crore rupees. As compensation to this loss, the minister put forward a parallel demand along with the one crore that was promised by the managers. It was that each college was to spare at least five seats for the UDF, rather the party he represented. One of the managers consented to spare three seats while the majority opposed the proposal. It was in this background that the July 25^Th meeting of the cabinet had to shy away from taking a decision on the issue of granting Minority status to the said colleges.

Three issues were discussed in the meeting of July 25

• The consent received from the All India Council of Technical Education for twelve engineering colleges,
• Minority status for eight engineering colleges and three MCA colleges, and
• Fee structure in self-financing colleges.

Of these the only item on which no decision could be arrived at was the minority question. The Minutes of the meeting does not even mention that the issue is postponed for a further occasion. The concerned managers are quite displeased at this state of affairs. Therefore the UDF leaders are afraid of a Judicial probe because there is every possibility that some of these managers may tell the probing agency regarding the dirty deal of the Antony cabinet in this regard. In the meanwhile one person who is closely connected with the UDF had received a sum of one lakh rupees from one of the managements to " expedite" the matter. A judicial probe will bring out all truths regarding this. Here we get the answer why the chief minister is quite opposed to the judicial probe.

Now the probe ordered by the government of Kerala is a vigilance probe. Vigilance department is directly under control of the chief minister whose hands need not necessarily be unstained in the affair. Therefore the Vigilance enquiry will be a flop and there will not be any concrete result in the matter after this enquiry. The papers have categorically reported that the vigilance enquiry is facing a crisis because the officers concerned do not cooperate with it and because the vigilance commission is indirectly forbidden from questioning ministers. The commission is said to be warned by their heads of dire consequences if it tries to question the ministers. Moreover the chief minister has declared that no minister in his cabinet will drain the document of secret. This is a verdict even before the questioning and trials are over.

With the already sinking image, Antony and his colleagues are resorting to all anti-people anti-democratic tactics to cow down the people of the state. The heinous measure of granting minority status to engineering colleges will be an attempt to trade professional seats to the wealthy people at the cost of the meritorious ones.

STATE Secretariat of CPI(M) in a statement issued here on yesterday, seriously warned the state government on entering into an agreement with the central government on implementation of the policies of liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation etc. Secretariat said that such a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is in total violation of all principles of democracy and those of federalism envisaged in the constitution. It is also beyond the due powers of the government to enter into such agreements without proper consideration and assent of the legislature. The MOU will practically result in yielding whatever powers the state government is now having under the constitution. The LDF government have earlier declared that the state government will never be a party to such an MOU. Secretariat also recorded strong protest over their move and warned that it will be in effect a declaration of war against the people of the state.

THE 16^th, three-day state conference of Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union, came to a close on Friday at Kollam with a massive demonstration of agriculture workers. The rally was addressed by E K Nayanar, ex-chief minister, B Raghavan and A Kanaran, the newly elected president and general secretary of KSKTU. The conference earlier adopted resolutions for effective schemes to protect paddy cultivation, arrears of pension for agricultural workers before Onam festival, continuance of people participatory planning, formation of a paddy board, revision of agricultural workers welfare and scheme, unity against communalism, protection of minorities etc.

DYFI wanted the Muslim League and the UDF government to clarify their stand towards the visit of leaders of Huriyat to the state. These parties have had electoral understanding with Muslim fundamentalists with political names of PDP, SIMI, NDF etc. DYFI said that the visit of Huriyat leaders is to expand the terrorist activities and politics in Kashmir to all over India. It is strange to note that the Congress (I) is following the Muslim League in its unconcern with such moves and developments.

A NUMBER of organisations and leaders strongly criticized the action of the state government in recommending all applications for Medical and Dental Colleges. There are rules of minimum requirements for such colleges and it is quite immoral for the government to leave itself off from the responsibilities of certification of eligibility according to the rules and norms. The government has now yielded fully to the moves for privatisation, commercialisation and communalisation of professional education. The government has gone too far in recommending applications presented as mere request not even in the prescribed form.

The DYFI Kerala unit has been observing the national Independence Day consecutively for the last many years in their axiomatic ways. This year they conducted patriotic marches in which thousands participated in many places. The marches asked the people to "beware of the global conspiracy against India and to march for freedom again". These marches became the gatherings of the people of all walks of life who protested against the connivance's of the monopolies and multinationals and their imperialist masters to partition the wealth and markets of India. The freedom was a reward for the sacrifices and uncompromising struggles, the marchers declared; they would not surrender it to any body who-so-ever conspires to surrender it to the imperialists and the multinationals.

The patriotic marches were held at all district headquarters while in Quilon district alone marches were held in all taluk head quarters. The marches were followed by holding of Deshasneha Sangamam (patriotic gathering) and pledge taking. The pledge was in fact a declaration to protect the freedom of the country.

The patriotic gathering at Thiruvananthapuram was organized at Gandhi Park which was inaugurated by the leader of opposition and CPI(M) polit bureau member V.S.Achuthanadan. DYFI state secretary T Sasidharan and others spoke on the occasion. E K Nayanar, CPI(M) polit bureau member and former chief minister of Kerala inaugurated the Ernakulam march.

At Kozhikode about a quarter of a lakh of people gathered and participated in the marches and the gatherings. T Sivadasa Menon inaugurated the rally. DYFI state p-resident P R Vasanthan read out the pledge.

Malappuram the land of the patriots in the Malabar rebellion witnessed the participation of thousands in the rally. N.N.Krishna Das MP, the national president of the DYFI inaugurated the rally. The Wynad rally was held at Kalpetta. Wynad the land of Adivasis where the ruling ministers of the present UDF government humiliated the adivasis on their famishing and sufferings witnessed an unprecedented attendance of adivasis in the patriotic march. For the Adivasis patriotism means food, independence means some employment. Globalization has brought them to a pass where they are deprived of the bare minimum required for their subsistence. They have no work to do. Their plea is not for concessions, but for employment.

In Quilon district altogether eleven marches were held. All India Kisan Mazdoor Union general secretary and member of parliament A Vijaya Raghavan inaugurated the rally at Neduman kavu junction.