VOX POPULI
by
S Kamat
as
Aam Admi
Issue: 227 Date: 13.11.2017
Therefore Closing Down The Casinos Is The Best Option
Money laundering is as old as the oldest profession in the world and that is prostitution. In fact one begets the other. The motivation being easy money. Now that the Goan government has woken up to the fact that money laundering, both big and small, goes on in the State, it is time that we did something about it. Like it is known that the casinos in Goa act as the magnet who bring in the big-time money laundering activities into the State. These casinos are used for money laundering opportunities that are availed by persons, businesses across India as also organised crime. This is not a good thing since in the wake of organised crime will come the rackets of prostitution and drugs. The mechanics and stratagems that those involved in such activities employ are devious and circumvental to say the least. The easiest thing for the Goan government to do is therefore to close down the casinos which will kill two birds with one stone, get rid of the gambling nuisance and also limit the avenue of large-scale money laundering. No longer can the government justify the presence of the casinos by the revenue that they bring in. The negatives of casinos far outweigh their positive aspects like generating employment and revenue. Thus money laundering is just the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the waterline since there are more major negatives under the water which businesses like casinos thrive upon compared to other business activity.
by
S Kamat
as
Aam Admi
Issue: 227 Date: 13.11.2017
Contents:
1. Are Our Schools Safe?
2. Goa Police Should Not Try To Pass The Buck
3. Saving Indian Democracy
4. The Pollution Crisis In Delhi Should Have Been Anticipated
5. Organised Crime Will Follow In The Wake Of Money Laundering, Therefore Closing Down The Casinos Is The Best Option
Are Our Schools Safe?
The Pradyuman killing and the arrest of the new suspect, a Cl. XI schoolboy from the same school, Ryan International at Bhondsi, makes chilling reading when you are made aware of the possible reason for the murder, to get a school holiday that would postpone a PTA meeting and an exam scheduled on that day. What is our society coming to? When children in their teens can think of measures as extreme as this to get away from regular events on school calendars. It speaks of a complete lack of upbringing of the suspect with no inculcation of proper moral values by his parents and other elders in his family. The school as far as the incident is concerned is less to blame apart from the regular security measures that it flouted. But at the same time one feels that the school should keep an eagle eye open on the students in the higher classes to look for possible offenders since murder is a rare occurrence but bullying, incorrect dealings with the other sex, smoking, use of drugs etc. are quite possible the risk factors for our schoolchildren in a rapidly changing modern society. If the CBI is proved right in the arrest of the Cl. XI schoolboy for Pradyuman's murder, we need to take measures to sanitise our schools sufficiently since we would not want them to go the way of US schools where shootings, knifing, drug abuse etc. over the years have been quite rampant. This is being stated since in the last five years or so in the NCR we have had incidents of knifing and shootings reported in the media committed by schoolchildren but maybe not necessarily on school premises. Most of these are related to bravado, rivalry or girl related issues. We could also consider having psychological tests conducted annually by the schools for all children above 12 years to see the child's development and what kind of tendencies he/she are showing. The reports of these tests can be shared with the children and their parents/guardians. If there is anything adverse then those responsible for the child get all the more time to address the issues and a chance to iron them out. But what makes the murder at the Ryan International school at Bhondsi diabolical, since maybe Pradyuman would have lived but then some other poor child would have died at the hands of the the killer. For the killer, it seems the act was more important than the identity of the victim.
Goa Police Should Not Try To Pass The Buck
The Goan papers lately carried two news items on police matters. The first was that police personnel on duty will not be allowed to use cellphones and access Apps while on duty. The cellphone is a technology gadget that has simplified access to and from people anywhere and everywhere. As to matters related to police, cellphones have almost eliminated the dependence on wireless sets which used to be a specialised technical activity which the cellphones have simplified to an easy to use process. So why does the government want to limit the use of technology rather than embrace it and see how best it can be used to improve police services? Is it a fear of technology that is making the authorities to take this retrograde step? If police are stopped from using mobiles while on duty, will the government stop all other government employees to do the same? Since if you go to any government office you will find at least 60% of the employees on their mobile phones on personal calls or accessing Apps. If there is going to be a rule, then there should be a single rule across the board for all government employees.
The other news was that the police is keen on getting the public as whistleblowers to complain about traffic offences. Why are the police delegating their job to the public? Are they not competent to handle their jobs that they have to ask the public to assist them? Or are they plumb lazy and just want to sit around waiting for the complaints from the public to come in? A scheme of regular patrolling both by foot in city areas and by vehicles on major roads and highways, will get a better rate of catching offenders for all those reasons in which points are proposed to be given to the complainants from the public. Additionally the traffic police that are deployed in the city areas to manage parking can be given daily/weekly or monthly targets for catching offenders to improve the apprehending rate. What happens presently can be seen from an incident personally experienced by this writer last week in Panjim. We were driving into the one-way lane below the Panjim church adjoining the mosque on our way to A B Road nearing 5pm, when we saw 3-4 scooters, hired ones it seemed from their registration plates which were yellow, coming out of the lane and into the Panjim church square! This was clearly wrong side. And there was a police Gypsy vehicle parked in front of the bungalow that is on the right of the lane there with an officer and constable standing outside, next to the vehicle. And they did nothing to the 3 scooters and let them pass through without a murmur let alone a hail! This is our police in Goa today! And the police IGP instead of making the police work is trying to give them an easier time by delegating their work to the public. Mr IGP, put your head down and get on with the job that you are paid to do and get your personnel to deliver on their salaries that they receive every month.
The idea of passing on the task of reporting traffic offences to the public whistleblowers is also fraught with confusion. People who have enmity against others will use this opportunity to take revenge by filing false reports. The police will then be caught in the dilemma of trying to find what is the 'truth'. There is also every chance that the fines imposed through this process will be struck down by the courts since the public whistleblowers have no locus standii as a traffic regulating or offence administration authority. Therefore it is best that the police work be best done by the police themselves. In a moral sense asking people to tell tales on other people is also wrong. We are setting a bad example for our society here by having people squeal on others. In times of crisis or emergency asking for public support by the police is all right like neighbourhood night patrols if you have a spate of robberies happening but in normal times passing the buck is just not the right thing to do.
The other news was that the police is keen on getting the public as whistleblowers to complain about traffic offences. Why are the police delegating their job to the public? Are they not competent to handle their jobs that they have to ask the public to assist them? Or are they plumb lazy and just want to sit around waiting for the complaints from the public to come in? A scheme of regular patrolling both by foot in city areas and by vehicles on major roads and highways, will get a better rate of catching offenders for all those reasons in which points are proposed to be given to the complainants from the public. Additionally the traffic police that are deployed in the city areas to manage parking can be given daily/weekly or monthly targets for catching offenders to improve the apprehending rate. What happens presently can be seen from an incident personally experienced by this writer last week in Panjim. We were driving into the one-way lane below the Panjim church adjoining the mosque on our way to A B Road nearing 5pm, when we saw 3-4 scooters, hired ones it seemed from their registration plates which were yellow, coming out of the lane and into the Panjim church square! This was clearly wrong side. And there was a police Gypsy vehicle parked in front of the bungalow that is on the right of the lane there with an officer and constable standing outside, next to the vehicle. And they did nothing to the 3 scooters and let them pass through without a murmur let alone a hail! This is our police in Goa today! And the police IGP instead of making the police work is trying to give them an easier time by delegating their work to the public. Mr IGP, put your head down and get on with the job that you are paid to do and get your personnel to deliver on their salaries that they receive every month.
The idea of passing on the task of reporting traffic offences to the public whistleblowers is also fraught with confusion. People who have enmity against others will use this opportunity to take revenge by filing false reports. The police will then be caught in the dilemma of trying to find what is the 'truth'. There is also every chance that the fines imposed through this process will be struck down by the courts since the public whistleblowers have no locus standii as a traffic regulating or offence administration authority. Therefore it is best that the police work be best done by the police themselves. In a moral sense asking people to tell tales on other people is also wrong. We are setting a bad example for our society here by having people squeal on others. In times of crisis or emergency asking for public support by the police is all right like neighbourhood night patrols if you have a spate of robberies happening but in normal times passing the buck is just not the right thing to do.
Saving Indian Democracy
The way things are going on in the Indian political arena, we need to try and look at the likely happenings that may happen in the future. The Opposition parties led by the Congress and the various regional parties bringing up the tail are all in disarray. Thus the hope that they will be able to whip up the anti-incumbency factor against Modi & the BJP and dislodge them in 2019 is a rather forlorn thought. Therefore we need to look at how to keep Modi under check. For all his faults Modi in the face of election victories that are at stake keeps his ears open and responds to feedback. The example of this are the various revisions on the GST with more to come which would not have been done had the imminent Gujarat elections not been ahead of him. Though he may win Gujarat, it is important to give him a good fight and reduce the BJP margin of victory which will be a caution for Modi. Otherwise if he takes Gujarat with a huge majority and also wins the 2019 Lok Sabha elections since there is no feasible alternative from among other political parties as stated above, with a similar resounding majority like in the 2014 elections, we may be heading for Emergency like conditions imposed on the country from mid-2020 onwards. At least if the Opposition parties organise an improved showing in the number of seats won both in Gujarat and across the country in the general elections, it will put a speed governor on Modi's political juggernaut which is threatening to run astray. Clearly the Indian democracy is at stake in the next two years. Arun Jaitley's mishandling of the economy and fully instituting a terrorist Raj through his enforcement apparatus like the income tax, ED etc. will lose a lot of votes for the BJP. Jaitley's approach is somewhat similar to the India Shining platform that the BJP adopted in the past which was a disconnect with people's wants while the present approach is authoritarian which does not go very well with the Indian people. Indians like a little bit of authority but not too much. The Opposition needs to capitalise on such issues where people are hurt like for Demonetisation the major plank to be taken was loss of jobs and livelihood by closures of businesses while for GST it is that there is no 'ease of doing business'. And that the twin operations that were imposed on the Indian economy in the last one year of Demonetisation and GST though claimed to be 'successful' left the economy 'dead'. Only in the Opposition parties improved showing in the elections will we secure the safety of Indian democracy.
The Pollution Crisis In Delhi Should Have Been Anticipated
The pollution that is crippling Delhi and northern India with haze should have been tackled in proper time this year before it reached hazardous levels. As the harvest season was in swing the government's in Haryana & Punjab should have launched an awareness drive among farmers not to set fire to the stubble in their fields as also informed them of the Supreme Court verdict in the matter. Parallely some incentive could have been announced for enhanced fertiliser subsidies for those farmers that do not set fire to their fields. This would surely have motivated some of the farmers at least not to contribute to smoke pollution and the consequent haze in Delhi.
The other thing is that the AAP government had initiated immediately after coming to power the odd-even rule for cars in Delhi. Though the pros & cons of the measure was discussed to death, it remains the only visible measure to reduce vehicular particulate pollution in Delhi apart from closing down polluting industry, ban on construction activity etc. Why this was not launched when the likely haze from the smoke from Haryana & Punjab was being discussed is something that defies logic and common sense? It seems that the AAP government is no longer interested in the long term health of the people of Delhi or maybe because the odd-even rule was roundly vilified by many in different media forums. However, it is best that every year from Sept - Jan the odd-even rule is strictly implemented since not only will it reduce vehicular pollution but also facilitate to streamline traffic on Delhi roads.
The other thing is that the AAP government had initiated immediately after coming to power the odd-even rule for cars in Delhi. Though the pros & cons of the measure was discussed to death, it remains the only visible measure to reduce vehicular particulate pollution in Delhi apart from closing down polluting industry, ban on construction activity etc. Why this was not launched when the likely haze from the smoke from Haryana & Punjab was being discussed is something that defies logic and common sense? It seems that the AAP government is no longer interested in the long term health of the people of Delhi or maybe because the odd-even rule was roundly vilified by many in different media forums. However, it is best that every year from Sept - Jan the odd-even rule is strictly implemented since not only will it reduce vehicular pollution but also facilitate to streamline traffic on Delhi roads.
Organised Crime Will Follow In The Wake Of Money Laundering, Therefore Closing Down
The Casinos Is The Best Option
We have Manohar Parrikar talking last week of money laundering of about some Rs. 1000 crores by doctors and those owning restaurants and diagnostic labs where transactions are mainly in cash. Is this something new? Under-declaring of income is the time-honoured prerogative of all Indian professionals like doctors, lawyers etc. and of businesses that handle mostly cash like those referred above and everyone knows about this. The way the Income Tax officers handle it is, they mark up the income depending upon how much cut is offered to them and the issue is settled with everyone happy. These avoidances that require money laundering for the undeclared income are relatively small change compared to what is done through the casinos. Again in the last couple of weeks there was news of some Rs. 90 crores being laundered through a racket in which the Goan casinos were involved by some people based in Delhi.
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