A section of Kerala intelligentsia says Kerala should be made a UT for better administration
The February 13 verdict delivered by the Supreme Court upholding the conversion of Jammu & Kashmir into a Union Territory and carving out of Ladakh as a separate region has led to a demand by Kerala’s intelligentsia that the southern State too should be declared as a Union Territory.
The Supreme Court verdict has been cited by former director general of police Dr Jacob Thomas as a panacea for Kerala too. “It is time we gave serious thought to make Kerala a Union Territory. As things stand today, Kerala has become the most ungovernable territory in India. Allegations of corruption, bribery and scams appear from nowhere on a daily basis. We saw the arrest and incarceration of the chief minister’s principal secretary in connection with gold smuggling through diplomatic channel Though the central agencies like Enforcement Directorate and NIA probed the gold smuggling, it fizzled out over the last two years as all documentary evidence disappeared from the safe custody in the secretariat, The video footage from CCTV cameras installed in the CMO and his palatial Cliff House bungalow too vanished into thin air,” said Jacob Thomas who had headed the department of vigilance waging a relentless battle against some of the CPI(M) strongmen whose names are synonymous with corruption.
He also pointed out that prices of essential commodities in the State are higher compared to the neighbouring States. “Prices of all commodities in Mahi, a Union Territory region inside Kerala are much lower. The law and order in Kerala have gone for a sixer as murders and mayhem are on the increase by the hour. No entrepreneurs would dare to come to Kerala and the administration is groping in the dark when asked about the industrialization of the State,” said Dr Thomas.
T P Senkumar, another former chief of Kerala Police portrayed an alarming picture of drug and narcotics misuse. He said schools and colleges have emerged as the new hub of drug pushing. A leading student organization is behind the flourishing drug market in the State. All professional arts and science colleges have hundreds of junkies and drug pushers. Drug syndicates controlled by film actresses and teachers call the shots in the State. Anti-social elements have infiltrated the ruling party and its youth wing because of the safety assured by the second-rung leadership. Names like Thillankeris and Aayankis evoke the same fear among the people as that of the Karachi-based Don.
Dr Thomas says that the Constitution has empowered the parliament to declare a State as Union Territory and vice versa. “It is an open secret that Kerala is a safe haven for terrorists and arms smugglers. There is no development in the industrial and agricultural spheres in the State. Once Kerala becomes a union territory, prices of all commodities would come down. The common man is least bothered whether Kerala remains as a State or UT. People should get a comfortable life,” said Dr Thomas.
State-sponsored terrorism is at its peak in Kerala. The Chief Minister moves around in the State accompanied by a cavalcade of nearly 100 cars. The latest move by the administration to lease/purchase a helicopter for the chief minister has sent the people into a tizzy. A leader who is frightened of his people. At no point of time in history Kerala has been riddled with this much corruption. The running battle between a scholarly Governor and the ruling party over the appointment of vice-chancellors in the universities is further proof of the move to make the higher education sector another branch of the AKG Centre.
(The writer is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal)
