PAY REVISION ORDERS 2016 GO(P) No.07/2016/Fin Dated 20/01/2016https://sites.google.com/site/secretariatemployeesasso/pay-revision-software

Government have issued orders on the recommendations of the Tenth Pay Revision Commission on the revision of pay and allowances of employees of Universities in the State.For details view GO(P) No.10/2016/Fin Dated 21/01/2016https://sites.google.com/site/secretariatemployeesasso/pay-revision-software

Bar scam: Vigilance report acquitting Mani dismissed

Vigilance special court judge John K Illikkadan Thursday dismissed the final report seeking permission to close the bar scam case against Finance Minister K M Mani. Dismissing the report, the court ordered further probe in the case. The court Thursday adjudicatednine pleas seeking further probe, Biju Ramesh’s plea to consider factual report as final report and a plea requesting to accept the final report. Bar hotel association working president Biju Ramesh had alleged that Mani accepted a bribe of Rs one crore from bar owners to open the closed 418 bars.

Vigilance director Winson M Paul has decided to quit his post following court verdict ordering a further probe against K M Mani in the bar scam case. Paul, who is retiring from service on November 30, has given an application to enter on leave. Talking to reporters here, Paul said he dealt the case from within the purview of the Act. S P Sukesan will only be in charge of the further probe. There is no need for a further probe under the guidance of the vigilance director. He said that he is stepping down from the post to maintain the reputation of the vigilance. In some special circumstances, will have to stay away and that is for transparency. When asked whether he feels guilty, he said as I have not done anything wrong there is no need to feel guilty.

In the wake of the order for a further probe in the bar case, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and opposition leader V S Achuthanandan sought the resignation of Finance Minister K M Mani. If he still continues in the post, he will have to face mass protests. A further probe against Mani, who put the investigating official under pressure to submit a favourable probe, continuing in the ministerial post would be ridiculous, said Kodiyeri.

If Mani has any self-respect, he should resign today itself, said VS.CPM-led LDF Opposition had been on a warpath demanding Mani's resignation since the scam broke out in November 2014. The case against Mani, who is the Kerala Congress (M) supremo, was registered on the basis of statements given by some of those questioned by investigators as part of a preliminary inquiry into the allegation that he had taken a hefty sum as bribe from bar owners for decisions favourable to them. The Left leaders had demanded Mani's resignation and had tried to prevent him from presenting the state budget in March 13 this year, which led to the ruling and opposition fronts coming to blows in the Assembly and the house witnessing unprecedented violence. Charges against Mani While the Vigilance had sought to end the case, many, including V.S. Achuthanandan, had demanded that the case be re-probed. Vigilance had registered a case against Mani in December, 2014, in connection with the allegations that he had accepted bribe from bar owners to renew liquor licences. However, in June, the Vigilance decided not to file a charge-sheet in the case filed against Mani by bar hotelier Biju Ramesh who alleged that the finance minister had demanded Rs 5 crore bribe as illegal gratification to facilitate the renewal of bar licenses and had obtained Rs one crore from the office-bearers of the association between Mar 20 and April 2 last year. The officials had said that there wasn't enough evidence to prove that Mani had taken the bribe. Vinson M. Paul had also ordered investigating officer to file a closure report in the Vigilance court. Sukesan demanded Mani's prosecution

The fact-finding report presented by Vigilance SP and investigating officer in the case, R. Sukesan, had suggested that Mani may be prosecuted under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. However, the Vigilance Director's final report that emerged in August rejected Sukesan's contention. Vinson had stated in the final report that "from the documentary, oral and circumstantial material presented in the factual report by the Investigation Officer (IO), I am of the opinion that there is no sufficient material to prove the ingredient of section 7, 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act." "... Thus in the absence of any material whatsoever for demanding of bribe or acceptance of money, the contention of the IO that there is ample circumstantial evidence to prove the offences against Mani is not justified," the report had stated. It was understood that for taking such a decision, the Vigilance director had obtained expert opinion from two senior Supreme Court counsels, including a former Solicitor General. CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran too sought Mani’s resignation.

ANANTHAPURAM TEMPLE, KASARAGOD

ശ്രീ അനന്തപത്മനാഭ സ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രം

തിരുവനന്തപുരത്തെ ശ്രീപത്മനാ‌ഭസ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രവുമായി ബന്ധമുണ്ടെന്നു വിശ്വസിക്കുന്ന കാസർകോട്ടെ ശ്രീ അനന്തപത്മനാഭ സ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്ക്.മഴ വഴികാട്ടിയായി വന്ന ഒരു പകൽ. വഴിയിലെ ചെങ്കൽ നിറവും അതിൽ വളർന്നു നിൽക്കുന്ന പച്ചപ്പുകളും കുളിച്ചൊരുങ്ങി നിൽക്കുന്നു. കാസർ കോട്ടു നിന്ന് കുമ്പളയിലേക്കുളള വഴിയിൽ മനസ്സിലേക്ക് മഴ തീർഥമായി വീണു കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു. ഈ യാത്ര ഭക്തിയുടെ ഭസ്മം തൊട്ട കഥമനസ്സുകൾക്കു മുന്നിലേക്കാണ്. അമ്മ പറഞ്ഞ് മക്കൾ കേട്ട്, ആ മക്കൾ എഴുതി വയ്ക്കപ്പെടാതെ കാലം അതിന്റെ കൈകളിലൂടെ കൈമാറി വരുന്ന കുറേ ഐതിഹ്യങ്ങൾ... ചെങ്കൽകുന്നുകൾക്കു നടുവിൽ പച്ച പുതപ്പിട്ട കുഞ്ഞു തടാകം. അതിനു നടുവിലെ ക്ഷേത്രം, ആ തടാകത്തിൽ ദൈവത്തിന്റെ പ്രതിരൂപമായ ‘ബബിയാ’ എന്ന മുതല... കഥകളുടെ ഏടുകൾ ഏറെയുണ്ട്. അതു പറയുമ്പോൾ വിശ്വാസം കൊണ്ട് അവരുടെ മനസ്സ് ഒരു പിടി കര്‍പ്പൂരമായി ഉരുകിയുണരും. മഴയ്ക്കൊപ്പമെത്തുന്ന കാറ്റിൽ കുളിരു കോരുന്നതു പോലെയാണ് അതിർത്തിയിലെ മലയാളം. കന്നടത്തിന്റേയും തുളുവി ന്റെയും പെയ്യലിൽ നമ്മുടെ മലയാളം ഒന്നു വിറയ്ക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. പലപ്പോഴും. വഴി ചോദിക്കേണ്ടി വന്നില്ല. കുമ്പളയിൽ അനന്ത പുരം ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ വലിയ ബോർ‍‍ഡ്. ഇനി അഞ്ചു കിലോമീ റ്റർ. കുന്നുകൾക്കു നടുവിലാണ് ക്ഷേത്രം. മല മുത്തശൻ മടിയിലിരുത്തി ഓമനിക്കുന്നതു പോലെ തോന്നും. ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്കുളള വഴിക്ക് ഓരോ കാലത്തും ഓരോ ഭാവമാണ്. വിശാലമായ ഒഴിഞ്ഞു കിടക്കുന്ന കുന്നുകൾ മഴക്കാലത്ത് പച്ചയുടുപ്പിട്ട് സുന്ദരിയാവും. മഴ മാറി ചിങ്ങം വന്നാൽ ഉടുപ്പിൽ കുഞ്ഞു പൂക്കൾ മിഴിതുറന്ന് പാൽച്ചിരിയാവും. മഴവില്ലൊടിഞ്ഞ് മലയ്ക്കു മുകളിൽ വീണു ചിതറിയതു പോലെ പല നിറങ്ങൾ. എന്നാൽ വേനലാവുമ്പോഴേക്കും ചുറ്റും നരയ്ക്കും. മലകൾ മുത്തശന്മാ രാവും. ജരാനരകൾ ബാധിക്കും..... ‘പരീക്ഷയില്‍ നല്ല മാർക്കു കിട്ടണേ, ടീച്ചറിന്റെ കൈയിൽ നിന്ന് അടി കിട്ടല്ലേ...’ കുഞ്ഞു നിക്കറിട്ട ഒരു കൂട്ടം പ്രാര്‍ത്ഥനകള്‍ മുന്നിൽ നടന്നു പോവുന്നുണ്ട്. കൈയിൽ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്കുളള പൂവുകൾ...മഴയുടെ ശബ്ദം അകലെ നിന്നേ കേട്ടിട്ടാണെന്നു തോന്നുന്നു കുട്ടികൾ പറഞ്ഞു : ‘‘ഓടിക്കോളീ.....’’ അകലെ നിന്നേ കണ്ടു, ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ ബോർഡ്. ശ്രീ അനന്തപത്മനാഭ സ്വാമീ ക്ഷേത്രം.

കണ്ണുകളടച്ച് ഭഗവാനെ തൊഴുതു. ചന്ദനം തൊടാൻ കൈകുമ്പിളിലേക്ക് മഴ വീണ്ടും തീർഥമായി. പിന്നീട് മാനേജർ ലക്ഷ്മണ ഹെബ്ബാറിനൊപ്പം ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്ക് കഥകളുടെ പടവിറങ്ങി ചെന്നു. പണ്ടു പണ്ട്.... ബാലരൂപത്തില്‍ ഭഗവാനെത്തി‍ Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്കുള്ള പാലം തറ നിരപ്പിൽ നിന്ന് താഴെയാണ് ക്ഷേത്രം. പടവുകളിറങ്ങി അകത്തേക്കു ചെല്ലുന്നത് ഗോപുരത്തിലേക്ക്. അവിടെ നിന്ന് ചെറിയൊരു പാലം. പാലം കടന്നാൽ നമസ്കാര മണ്ഡപം, പിന്നെ മുഖമണ്ഡപം. അതു കഴിഞ്ഞ് ശ്രീകോവിൽ. പാലം കടന്നാൽ ഭക്തർ തടാകമെന്നു വിശേഷിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ജലശയ്യയ്ക്കു മുകളിലാണ് നമസ്കാരമണ്ഡപവും മുഖമണ്ഡപവും ശ്രീകോവിലുമെല്ലാം. ‘‘ജലാശയത്തിനു നടുവിൽ ഉപവിഷ്ടനായ സാക്ഷാൽ വൈകുണ്ഠ ദർശനം തന്നെയാണ് ഇവിടെ’’ ക്ഷേത്ര ത്തിലേക്കുളള പാലത്തിന് അരികിൽ നിന്ന് ലക്ഷ്മണ ഹെബ്ബാർ കഥ പറയാൻ തുടങ്ങി. ‘‘ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന് ആയിരക്കണക്കിനു വർഷം പഴക്കമുണ്ടെന്നാണ് കരുതപ്പെടുന്നത്. ബ്രാഹ്മണ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനായ വില്വമംഗലസ്വാമി കൾക്കും അനന്തപത്മനാഭന്റെ ഈ ദിവ്യ സന്നിധാനത്തിനും തമ്മിൽ ബന്ധമുണ്ട്. സ്വാമികളാണ് വിഗ്രഹം സ്ഥാപിച്ചതെന്നും ഇതേ തടാകമധ്യത്തിലായിരുന്നു അന്നും ഈ ക്ഷേത്രമെന്നും വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നു. സ്വാമി പൂജാദികര്‍മങ്ങളുമായി ഇവിടെ തന്നെ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. ഒരിക്കൽ പൂജ ചെയ്യുമ്പോൾ ഒരു ബാലൻ സ്വാമിക്കരികിലെത്തി പൂജാകർമങ്ങള്‍ നോക്കിയിരുന്നു പിന്നീടെല്ലാ ദിവസവും സ്വാമി പൂജാകർമങ്ങള്‍ അനുഷ്ഠിക്കാനായി വരുമ്പോള്‍ ബാലനും എത്തും. അദ്ദേഹമത് കാര്യമായെടുത്തില്ല. കുറച്ചു ദിവസം കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ ബാലന്റെ കുസൃതികൾ കൂടി. ഇതു കണ്ട് സ്വാമിക്ക് ദേഷ്യം വന്നു. തന്റെ ഇടതുകൈകൊണ്ട് സ്വാമി കുഞ്ഞിനെ തട്ടിമാറ്റി. കുഞ്ഞ് തടാകത്തിന്റെ വട‌ക്കു കിഴക്കു ഭാഗത്തു പോയി വീണു. ആ സ്ഥലത്ത് പെട്ടെന്ന് ഒരു ഗുഹ ഉണ്ടായി. ‘ഇനിയെന്നെ കാണണമെങ്കിൽ അനന്തൻ കാട്ടിലെത്തണമെന്ന’ അശരീരിയോടെ ബാലൻ അപ്രത്യക്ഷനായി. തേജോമയ രൂപം ഗുഹയിലൂടെ അകന്നകന്നു പോവാൻ തുടങ്ങി. സ്വാമി ആ രൂപത്തേയും നോക്കി പിന്നാലെ പോയി. Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple ക്ഷേത്രത്തിനു മുമ്പുള്ള ഗോപുരം സ്വാമിക്ക് അപ്പോഴാണ് ആ ബാലൻ അനന്തപദ്മനാഭസ്വാമിയാണ് എന്ന തിരിച്ചറിവുണ്ടാവുന്നത്. അദ്ദേഹം പശ്ചാത്താപ ത്തോടെ അനന്തൻ കാടന്വേഷിച്ച് നടക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങി. ദിവസ ങ്ങളും മാസങ്ങളും നടന്ന് ഒടുവിൽ അനന്തൻ കാട്ടിൽ വച്ച് ഭഗവാനെ ദർശിച്ചു. മരത്തിന്റെ ചുവട്ടിൽ കിടക്കുന്ന രൂപത്തി ലായിരുന്നു ഭഗവത് ദർശനം, ഭഗവാൻ അദ്ദേഹത്തോട് ഭക്ഷണം ആവശ്യപ്പെടുകയും സ്വാമി അവിടെയുളള മാവിൽ നിന്ന് പഴുത്ത മാങ്ങ പൂളി ചിരട്ടയിൽ നിവേദിച്ചെന്നുമാണ് വിശ്വാസം. ഇന്നും ശ്രീപദ്മനാഭസ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ മാമ്പഴം നിവേദിക്കാറുണ്ട്. അങ്ങനെയാണ് ആ നാട് അനന്തപുരവും പിന്നീട് തിരുവനന്ത പുരവുമായി മാറിയതെന്നും വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നു. ശ്രീപദ്മനാഭസ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ മൂലസ്ഥാനം ഇവിടെയാണ്. കേരളത്തിന്റെ അങ്ങേയറ്റത്തും ഇങ്ങേയറ്റത്തുമായി രണ്ടു പദ്മനാഭസ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രങ്ങൾ. ‘‘ ലക്ഷ്മണ ഹെബ്ബാർ കണ്ണുകളടച്ച് കൈകൾ കൂപ്പി. നെറ്റിയിലെ ചന്ദനം ഭക്തിയിൽ കുതിർന്നു.

പാലത്തിനു താഴെ മീനുകള്‍ ഇളകി മറിഞ്ഞു. എത്ര മഴപെയ്താ ലും പാലത്തിനു മുകളിൽ വെളളം കയറില്ല. പണ്ടിത് മരപ്പാല മായിരുന്നു. അന്നും പാലത്തിനു മുകളിലൂടെ വെളളമൊഴുകാ റില്ല. ഒരു പരിധിയിൽ കൂടുതൽ വെളളം നിറഞ്ഞാൽ കൽക്കെട്ടി ലെ ഓവു വഴി പുറമേയ്ക്കു പോയി കിലോമീറ്ററുകൾ അകലെ യുളള കണ്ണൂർ പുഴയില്‍ ചേരും. എൻജിനീയറിങ് മികവ് Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple ശ്രീ അനന്തപത്മനാഭ സ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രം ഇതു മാത്രമല്ല എൻജിനീയറിങ് വൈദഗ്ധ്യം. ക്ഷേത്രമിരിക്കുന്ന തടാകത്തിന് പത്തടിയോളം താഴ്ചയുണ്ട്. ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ പുനഃ പ്രതിഷ്ഠയോടനുബന്ധിച്ച് ഒരിക്കൽ തടാകം വറ്റിക്കേണ്ടി വന്നു. അപ്പോഴാണ് പഴമക്കാർ പറഞ്ഞത്, ഈ തടാകത്തിന്റെ അടിത്ത ട്ടിൽ ഒരു ദ്വാരമുണ്ടത്രെ. വലിയ മരക്കുറ്റി അടിച്ചിരിക്കുകയാണ് അത് ഊരിയെടുത്താൽ ഒാവു വെളളം പുറമേക്കു പോവും. പിന്നെ എന്തു സംഭവിച്ചു? ഭഗവാനെ തൊഴാന്‍ പോവും മുമ്പ് ക്ഷേത്രഭാരവാഹിയായ കരുണാകരന്‍ ആ കഥ പറഞ്ഞു. അദ്ദേ ഹം കണ്ടതാണ് ആ കാഴ്ച. ‘‘വേനലായിരുന്നതിനാൽ വെളളം കുറവായിരുന്നു. എന്നാലും മോട്ടോർ വച്ച് വെളളം വറ്റിക്കുന്നത് പ്രായോഗികമല്ല. പഴയ ആൾക്കാർ പറഞ്ഞു കേട്ടിട്ടുണ്ട് കോർക്കു പോലെ വലിയൊരു മരത്തിന്റെ കുറ്റിവച്ചാണ് ഇത് അടച്ചിരിക്കുന്നതെന്ന്. ഒടുവില്‍ അത് കണ്ടുപിടിച്ചു. റബ്ബർ പോലെ തോന്നിക്കുന്ന ഏതോ വസ്തു ആ കോർക്കിനു ചുറ്റും ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. നാട്ടുകാർ ഏറെ കഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട് അത് ‌ഊരിയെടുത്തു. ആ ദ്വാരത്തിലൂടെ വെളളം ഒഴുകി പോയി. അന്നത്തെ എൻജിനീയറിങ് മികവിനെ നമസ്കരിക്കാതെ വയ്യ. ഉറവയുളളതുകൊണ്ട് തടാകത്തിൽ ജലം നിറയുകയും ചെയ്തു.’’ അന്നത്തെ കാലത്ത് ഇതിന്റെ നിര്‍മ്മാണവും മറ്റും അദ്ഭുതപ്പെടുത്തുക തന്നെ ചെയ്യും. മുഖമണ്ഡപത്തിൽ കരവിരുതിന്റെ കാവ്യങ്ങള്‍. പാലം കടന്ന് മണ്ഡപത്തിന് അരികിലൂടെയുളള ശ്രീകോവിലിന് മുന്നിൽ എത്താം. അകത്ത് അഞ്ചു തലയുളള സർപ്പത്തി നു മുകളിൽ ഇരിക്കുന്ന രൂപത്തിലാണ് ഭഗവാൻ. ശ്രീ പദ്മനാഭ സ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ അനന്തശയനവും. മരുന്നു കൂട്ടുളള വിഗ്രഹം ശ്രീകോവിലിൽ ശ്രീദേവി, ഭൂദേവി, ഗരുഡൻ, ഹനുമാൻ, നാഗക ന്യകമാരുടെ കൂടെ അഞ്ചു തലയുളള സർപ്പത്തിനു മീതെ പ്രഭ ചൊരിയുന്ന ഭഗവത് രൂപം. ആ വിഗ്രഹത്തിനു തന്നെ വലിയൊരു കഥയുണ്ട്. തൊഴുതു വന്നു കഴിഞ്ഞ് കരുണാകരൻ ആ കഥ യും പറഞ്ഞു. ‘‘കടുകുശർക്കരയോഗ കൂട്ടിലുളളതാണ് ഇവിടുത്തെ പ്രതിഷ്ഠ. നൂറ്റാണ്ടുകള്‍ക്കു മുമ്പേ വില്വമംഗലം സ്വാമി സ്ഥാപിച്ചതും കടു ശർക്കരക്കൂട്ടിലുളള വിഗ്രഹങ്ങളായിരുന്നു. 64 തരം ആയുർ വേദ ഔഷധങ്ങൾ ഉൾപ്പെടെ 108 തരം വസ്തുക്കൾ കൊണ്ടാണ് ഈ കൂട്ടുണ്ടാക്കുന്നത്. അത്ര ദിവ്യമായ രീതിയിലായിരുന്നു ഇവിടുത്തെ പ്രതിഷ്ഠ. എന്നാൽ ബ്രിട്ടീഷുകാരുടെ കാലത്ത് ക്ഷേത്രം ആക്രമിക്കപ്പെടുകയും വിഗ്രഹങ്ങൾക്ക് അംഗവൈകല്യം ഉണ്ടാവുകയും ചെയ്തു. വില്വമംഗലം സ്വാമികൾ ഈ നാട് ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് പോയപ്പോൾ മുതൽ ക്ഷേത്രം ക്ഷയിക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങിയിരുന്നു. ഒടുവിൽ പുനരുദ്ധാരണം നടത്താൻ തീരുമാനം ആയി. അങ്ങനെ അംഗഭംഗം വന്ന വിഗ്രഹങ്ങള്‍ ഈ തടാകത്തിൽ താന്ത്രികവിധി പ്രകാരം നിമജ്ജനം ചെയ്യുകയും പകരം പഞ്ചലോഹ വിഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ സ്ഥാപിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തു. പക്ഷേ, അതുകൊണ്ടും പ്രശ്നങ്ങൾ തീർന്നില്ല. നിത്യപൂജയ്ക്കു പോലും തട്ടിമുട്ടി കടന്നുപോവുന്ന അവസ്ഥയിലായി. ക്ഷേത്രം മുഴുവനും കാടുകൊണ്ടു മൂടി..... Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple

അങ്ങനെ വീണ്ടും പ്രശ്നം വച്ചു. അപ്പോഴാണ് കടുശർക്കര കൊണ്ടു തന്നെ വിഗ്രഹങ്ങള്‍ സ്ഥാപിക്കണം എന്നു കണ്ടത്. പക്ഷേ, ഈ കാലത്ത് കടുശർക്കര യോഗത്തിൽ വിഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ തീർക്കുന്നവർ എവിടെയുണ്ടെന്ന് നാട്ടുകാർക്ക് അറിയില്ല. ഒടുവിൽ കോട്ടയം ജില്ലയിലെ ബ്രഹ്മമംഗലത്ത് ഒരു കുടുംബമുണ്ടെന്ന് കേട്ട് അങ്ങോട്ടു പോയി. അതുവരെ ഇത്തരമൊരു വിഗ്രഹം ഉണ്ടാക്കിയിട്ടില്ലെന്നും പക്ഷേ, ഗ്രന്ഥങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ടെന്നും അതു നോക്കി വിഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ നിർമിക്കാമെന്നും ബ്രഹ്മമംഗലത്തെ സുബ്രഹ്മണ്യ ആശാരിയും മകൻ കൈലാസനും പറഞ്ഞു. അവർ ഇവിടെ എത്തി പണ്ട് തടാകത്തിൽ നിമഞ്ജനം ചെയ്ത പ്രതിഷ്ഠ കണ്ടെത്തി. കാൽ നൂറ്റാണ്ടു മുമ്പ് തടാകത്തിൽ ഇട്ട തായിരുന്നെങ്കിലും അലിഞ്ഞു പോയിട്ടില്ലായിരുന്നു. ഒരാള്‍ രൂപം ഉണ്ടാക്കുന്നതുപോലെയാണ് വിഗ്രഹം ഉണ്ടാക്കു ന്നത്. അസ്ഥിയും മജ്ജയും നാഡീഞരമ്പുകളും എല്ലാമുണ്ടാവും. കരിങ്ങാലി മരത്തിലാണ് അസ്ഥികൂടം ഉണ്ടാക്കി പ്രതിഷ്ഠ ചെയ്യുന്നത്. പിന്നീട് ചകിരിനാരു പിരിച്ച് കയറാക്കി നാഡീഞര മ്പുകളുണ്ടാക്കുന്നു. മാംസഖണ്ഡം ഉണ്ടാക്കിയത് 64 ആയുർവേദ വസ്തുക്കൾ ഉപയോഗിച്ചായിരുന്നു. പുറമെ മുത്തുച്ചിപ്പിയും. ചിതൽപുറ്റും. ഗംഗയിലെ മണ്ണും അങ്ങനെ പല തരം വസ്തുക്കൾ നന്നായരച്ച് ലേപനം ചെയ്യും. ഒരു ലേപനം കഴിഞ്ഞ് രണ്ടു മാസം കഴിഞ്ഞേഅടുത്തുണ്ടാവൂ. എട്ടു വർഷം കൊണ്ടാണ് വിഗ്രഹനിർമാണം പൂർത്തിയാക്കിയത്. 24 പ്രാവശ്യം ഇതു പോലെ ലേപനം ചെയ്തിരുന്നു. പിന്നീട് ബ്രഹ്മകലശവും കഴിഞ്ഞതോടെ ക്ഷേത്രം ഈ കാണുന്ന തുപോലെയായി. എല്ലാ ദോഷങ്ങളും മാറി ഐശ്വര്യം വന്നു.’’ കൈക്കുമ്പിളിലെ ചന്ദനം ഭക്തിയോടെ നെറുകയിൽ തൊട്ട് അദ്ദേഹം പടികൾ കയറി പോയി. കഥ കേൾക്കാന്‍ ഇപ്പോൾ ഒരാള്‍ക്കൂട്ടം തന്നെയായി. പല നാട്ടില്‍ നിന്നു വന്നവർ. ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ രൂപം തന്നെ അദ്ഭുത ത്തോടെയാണ് കാണുന്നത്. അവരുടെ മനസ്സിലേക്ക് കഥകളുടെ ചന്ദനഗന്ധം നൽകി പൂജാരി മഹാദേവ് ഭട്ട് പറഞ്ഞു: ‘‘പണ്ട് വലിയ കഷ്ടമായിരുന്നു. എട്ടു വയസ്സു മുതല്‍ ഇടയ്ക്കി ടെ പൂജ ചെയ്യാനായി ഞാൻ വരാറുണ്ട്. ആൾപൊക്കത്തിലായിരുന്നു അന്നൊക്കെ പുല്ല്. തന്ത്രിക്ക് ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ കയറാൻ അശുദ്ധി വരുമ്പോഴാണ് ഞാൻ എത്താറുളളത്. ഈ പരിസരം മുഴുവൻ കാടായിരുന്നു. അന്നത്തെ മരത്തിന്റെ പാലം കയറുമ്പോഴേ കുലുങ്ങും. വട്ടയിലയിൽ ഒരു പിടി നിവേദ്യം, അതേയുളളൂ. പക്ഷേ, ഇന്ന് അതൊക്കെ മാറിയില്ലേ.....’’ അപ്പോഴാണ് ആ നാലുവയസ്സുകാരൻ ചോദിച്ചത്, ‘‘ ഈ തടാകത്തിലാണോ മുതല....’’? ഒരു ചിരിയോടെ ഭട്ടു പറഞ്ഞു :‘‘ഇപ്പോൾ അതു പുറത്തെക്കുളത്തിലാണ്. ഒട്ടും പേടിക്കണ്ട. അതുപദ്രവിക്കില്ല. ആ കുളത്തിൽ നിന്ന് രാത്രിയിൽ ഈ തടാകത്തിലേക്കു വരും. ചില ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ ആ വരവ് ഞാൻ കണ്ടിട്ടുണ്ട്. മനുഷ്യരെ കണ്ടാൽ അതു മാറും. നമ്മൾ പോയാലേ പിന്നെ അതനങ്ങൂ. ഭഗവാന്റെ പ്രതി രൂപം തന്നെയാണ്. പോയി കണ്ടോളൂ.’’ പുഞ്ചിരിയോടെ ഭട്ട്. ബബിയ എന്ന മുതല Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple നാട്ടുകാർക്ക് മുതല ഒരദ്ഭുതമാണ്. മാംസാഹാരം കഴിക്കാത്ത മുതല എന്നാണവർ വിശേഷിപ്പിക്കുന്നതു തന്നെ. ബബിയാ.... എന്നു വിളിച്ചാൽ പലപ്പോഴും വെളളത്തിനു മുകളിലേക്ക് പൊങ്ങി വരുമത്രെ. പണ്ടു പണ്ടേ ഈ തടാകത്തിൽ മുതലയു ണ്ടായിരുന്നതായി പറയപ്പെടുന്നു. ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് പട്ടാളക്കാർ ക്ഷേത്രം നശിപ്പിച്ച കൂട്ടത്തിൽ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലുണ്ടായിരുന്ന മുതലയേയും കൊല്ലാൻ തീരുമാനിച്ചു. ക്ഷേത്രം സ്ഥിതി ചെയ്യുന്ന തടാകത്തിലായിരുന്നു മുതല. ഒരു ദിവസം വെയിൽ കായാൻ കിടന്ന മുതലയെ തടാകത്തിന്റെ കിഴക്കുവ ശത്തുളള ആലിന്റെ ചുവട്ടിൽ വച്ച് ഒരു പട്ടാളക്കാരൻ വെടി വച്ചു. അതേ സമയത്തു തന്നെ ആലിൽ നിന്ന് വിഷജന്തു ഇറങ്ങിവന്ന് പട്ടാളക്കാരനെ കടിച്ചു. അപ്പോൾ തന്നെ അയാൾ മരിച്ചു പോയത്രെ. പക്ഷേ, പിറ്റേദിവസം തടാകത്തിൽ വീണ്ടും ഒരു മുതല പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടെന്നും ആ മുതലയാണ് ഇന്നുളളതെന്നും നാട്ടുകാർ വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നു. മുതലയെ കാണിക്കാന്‍ ക്ഷേത്ര ജീവനക്കാർ ചന്ദ്കൻ കൂടെ വന്നു.‘‘ ഈ മുതല ഒരദ്ഭുതമാണെന്നു പറയുന്നതില്‍ അവിശ്വസിക്കേണ്ടതില്ല. ഇതൊരു തുറന്നു കിടക്കുന്ന കുളമാണ്. മഴക്കാലമായാൽ നിറഞ്ഞു കവിയും. മുതലയ്ക്കു വേണമെങ്കിൽ എങ്ങോട്ടു വേണമെങ്കിലും പോവാം. പക്ഷേ, അതു പോവില്ല. മുതലയ്ക്കു നിവേദ്യം ഇവിടെ പ്രധാന വഴിപാടാണ്. ഇഷ്ടകാര്യ സാധ്യത്തിനാണ് ഭക്തർ വഴിപാട് നടത്താറുളളത്. ആ വഴിപാടാണ് മുതലയ്ക്കും നൽകുക. കലി കാലത്തിൽ ഭഗവാൻ ഏതു രൂപത്തിലാണ് അവതരിക്കുകയെന്നു പറയാനാ വില്ലല്ലോ....’’ ‘ബബിയാ തലപൊക്കൂ..’ മുതലയെ വിളിച്ച് ചന്ദ്കന്‍ വെളളത്തിലിറങ്ങി. ബബിയ പൊങ്ങിത്താണു. പിന്നെ കുളത്തിലെ കല്ലിനോടു ചേർന്ന് മറ്റൊരു കല്ലുപോലെ കിടന്നു. പ്രധാന ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ നിന്നു പുറത്താണ് ഉപദൈങ്ങൾ. ആലിനു ചുവട്ടിൽ ഗണപതിയുണ്ട്. തടാകത്തിനു കരയിൽ ഗോശാല കൃഷ്ണൻ. ഇതും വില്വമംഗലം സ്വാമിയുടെ കാലം മുതൽക്കേ ഉളളതായിരുന്നത്രെ. ഇതിനു പുറമേ ശ്രീവേദാവതി, ശ്രീവന ശാസ്താവ്, ശ്രീരക്തേശ്വരി, ശ്രീമഹിഷമർദ്ദിനി തുടങ്ങിയ സാന്നിധ്യങ്ങളും ഉപദൈവങ്ങളാണ്. ക്ഷേത്ര മതിൽ സർപ്പക്കെട്ട് രീതിയിലാണ്. സർപ്പം പത്തി വിരിച്ചു നിൽക്കുന്നതു പോലെ തോന്നുമത്രെ. സിമന്റ് ഒട്ടും ചേർക്കാതെ കല്ലുകള്‍ തമ്മിൽ ചേർത്തു വച്ചാണ് മതിലുകെട്ടിയിരിക്കുന്നത്. മതിലിനു പുറത്ത് പഴമയുടെ മാളികപ്പുറം. ഓർമകളുടെ വലിയ വീട് അനന്തപുരം വലിയ വീട്. വാർധക്യത്തിന്റെ പ്രൗഢിയോടെ തറവാടു വീട് തലയുയർത്തി നിൽക്കുന്നു. ഇപ്പോള്‍ മലബാർ ദേവസ്വത്തിനു കീഴിലാണെങ്കിലും ഒരു കാലത്ത് ഈ ക്ഷേത്ര ത്തിന്റെ ചുമതല ആ വീട്ടുകാർക്കായിരുന്നു. ഇപ്പോള്‍ ഈ വീട്ടിൽ ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണയ്യരും സഹോദരനും അവരുടെ കുടുംബ വുമാണ്. സാഹിത്യകാരൻ കൂടിയായ ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണയ്യയ്ക്കും പറയാനുളളത് പഴങ്കഥകളുടെ നേർത്ത ഞരമ്പുകൾ തന്നെ. ‘‘ക്ഷേത്രവും തറവാടിന്റെ ആദ്യ രൂപവും ഏതാണ്ട് ഒരേ കാലത്ത് നിർമിച്ചതായി പറയപ്പെടുന്നു. സ്വാതന്ത്യ്രം കിട്ടും മുന്നേയുളള ഒരു കഥ പറയാം. എന്റെ അച്ഛൻ നാരായണയ്യ, മധുർ വില്ലേജിന്റെ ഓഫിസർ ആയിരുന്നു. ഇംഗ്ലീഷുകാരനായ അന്നത്തെ കലക്ടർ ഈ മുതലയെക്കുറിച്ച് കേട്ട് ക്ഷേത്രം സന്ദർശിക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹം പറഞ്ഞു. മുതല വിളിച്ചാൽ വരില്ല എന്ന് തർക്കിച്ചു അദ്ദേഹം. അച്ഛൻ തടാകത്തിന്റെ കരയിൽ ചെന്ന് ബബിയാ എന്നു വിളിച്ചപ്പോഴേക്കും മുതല വന്നു. സ്ഥിരം വിളിക്കുന്ന സ്ഥലത്തു നിന്നു വിളിച്ചതു കൊണ്ടാണി തെന്നു പറഞ്ഞ് കുളത്തിന്റെ മറ്റു വശങ്ങളിൽ പോയി നിന്നു വിളിക്കാൻ അച്ഛനോടു പറഞ്ഞു. അദ്ദേഹം വിളിച്ചു. മുതല ചെന്നു. ഇത് സായ്പിന് വലിയദ്ഭുതമായി...’’ ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണയ്യ ഓർമകളുടെ ഞരമ്പിലൊന്നു തൊട്ടു. തിരിച്ചെത്തിയപ്പോഴേക്കും അന്നദാനത്തിനു സമയമായി. എല്ലാ ദിവസവും നൂറോളം പേർ ഭക്ഷണം കഴിക്കാൻ ഉണ്ടാവുമത്രെ. മൂന്നോ നാലോ കൂട്ടം കറികളും പായസവും. ശനിയും ഞായറും അന്നദാനത്തിനു നല്ല തിരക്കായിരിക്കുമെന്ന് ക്ഷേത്ര ജീവനക്കാർ പറഞ്ഞു. നടയടച്ചു. ഭക്തർ അന്നദാനത്തിനു ശേഷം പതുക്കെ പിരിഞ്ഞു തുടങ്ങി. ഒടുവിൽ ആൽമരത്തിലെ കാറ്റും കഥകളും ക്ഷേത്രവും ബാക്കിയായി. അപ്പോഴും കാറ്റിലുണ്ടായിരുന്നു കർപ്പൂര ഗന്ധമുളള കഥകൾ..... തടാകക്കരയിലെ ഗു‌ഹ Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple ക്ഷേത്രം സ്ഥിതി ചെയ്യുന്ന തടാകത്തിന്റെ അരികിലായാണ് ഈ ഗുഹ. വില്വമംഗലം സ്വാമി കുട്ടിയെ ഇടം കൈയിൽ തട്ടിയെറിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ കുട്ടി വീണയിടം ഗുഹയായി മാറുകയായിരുന്നത്രേ കിലോമീറ്ററുകള്‍ക്ക് അകലെ കുമ്പളയ്ക്കടുത്തുളള കടൽത്തീരത്താണ് ഈ ഗുഹ അവസാനിക്കുന്നത്. ഇന്നും അവിടത്തെ പാറക്കെട്ടിൽ രണ്ടു വലിയ കാൽപാദത്തിന്റെ രൂപം ഉണ്ട്. അത് ശ്രീ അനന്തപദ്മനാഭന്റേതാണെന്ന് നാട്ടുകാർ കരുതുന്നു. ഗുഹ യിലൂടെ കടൽ തീരത്തു ചെന്ന് അതു വഴി ഭഗവാൻ അനന്തൻ കാട്ടിലേക്കു പോയിരിക്കാമെന്ന് ഭക്തിപൂർവം അവര്‍ വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നു. ആദ്യ കാലങ്ങളില്‍ ഈ ഗ‌ുഹയിലേക്ക് പ്രവേശനം ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നെങ്കിലും ഇപ്പോള്‍ ഭക്തരെ അകത്തേക്കു പ്രവേശിപ്പിക്കാറില്ല.

PAY FIXATION SOFTWARE 2015

You can download the software for fixation of Pay as per Pay Revision of Kerala Government Employees . FROM THE SIDE LINK " PAY FIXATION SOFTWARE 2015 " and 10 th Pay Commission Report 2014

Top Maoist couple Roopesh and Shyna arrested by Andhra Pradesh Police

Maoist couple Roopesh and P A Shyna, wanted in connection with at least 30 cases in Kerala, were arrested along with three other suspected Maoists by the Andhra Pradesh police from Coimbatore on Friday. Roopesh, in-charge of the Western Ghats zone of the Communist Part of India (Maoist), had been leading the Maoist movement in Kerala along with his wife. Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala confirmed the arrests and said the suspected Maoists had moved to Tamil Nadu in the wake of heightened vigilance in Kerala. He added that the arrests were a result of the police forces of several states working together.

According to officials, the intelligence bureaus of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana joined forces to make the arrests. The alleged Maoists are being questioned by officials of the Andhra police and the Tamil Nadu Q-branch, and would subsequently be taken to Kerala for questioning to ascertain their role in various cases in the state. Roopesh and Shyna were believed to be preparing for an armed struggle in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu-Karnataka tri-junction. The couple, along with Anoop, Kannan and Eswaran, were arrested from a bakery in Karumathampatti in the evening, when they were having tea, police said. A police team from Andhra Pradesh, in coordination with the Tamil Nadu Q-branch officers, surrounded the bakery around 8.30 pm based on an intelligence tip-off. “Arrests were made without much trouble, although they did raise slogans when they were asked to surrender,” said an official. Another officer told The Indian Express that Roopesh, who was in-charge of the Western

Ghats zone of CPI(Maoist), had been on the radar of the Andhra police for a number of cases registered against him in the state. Sources close to Roopesh said that they had received reports of his arrest four days ago. “Now we are told that they may be produced before the magistrate tomorrow,” sources said. A law graduate with a diploma in Information Technology, Roopesh had been at the centre of a police manhunt for four years, and had been in hiding for more than a decade. Before joining the CPI(Maoist), he was with the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War Group. Lately, he had been heading the newly formed South Indian Regional Committee of Maoists, coordinating their activities on the Kerala-Karnataka-Tamil Nadu tri-junction. In 2013, he wrote a novel which was published by two publishing houses in Kerala under two different titles — ‘Maoist’ and ‘Vasanthathile Poomarangal (Flowering trees of spring)’. Shyna, a former employee of the Kerala high court, was in the news in 2011 after she wrote a letter to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy seeking action against police officials who allegedly harassed her 71-year old

The couple came under the radar of intelligence agencies after they allegedly gave shelter to Malla Raji Reddy, a Politburo member of CPI(Maoist) arrested in 2007 from Angamali in Kerala. Although Shyna was also arrested in the case, she was released on bail in 2008 and then went underground. Their elder daughter Amy said that the couple had studied law after marriage. “One would study while the other would work. They married to continue their political activity,” Amy said. She said Roopesh had gone into hiding 2002 and Shyna in 2008. “After the birth of my younger sister Savera, now an upper primary school student, Roopesh rarely visited us at home. We, the daughters, went to several places to meet

our parents,” she had told The Indian Express recently. “As a daughter, I would support their struggles. I realise my parents’ struggle is also meant for me and my future. For me, they are the true leaders who remain dedicated to their cause,” she added. Police said that with the arrests, they had busted the entire Western Ghats Committee of the CPI(Maoists), which was operating on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border. They added that the arrest of the couple was the biggest catch since the arrest of Kobad Ghandy in 2009. Police added that an editorial in a Maoist journal in March, which hailed the progress made by the committee in the tri-junction area, had rattled the forces and added impetus to their hunt.

Sitaram Yechury is new CPM general secretary

The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Sunday elected Sitaram Yechury as the new general secretary of the party. At the meeting of the Central Committee, outgoing general secretary Prakash Karat proposed Yechury's name and SR Pillai seconded it. Sitaram Yechury is the fifth general secretary of the 50-year-old party. Yechury replaces Prakash Karat who has stepped down after three terms. "The Central Committee unanimously chose Sitaram Yechury as our new general secretary," Prakash Karat said. Addressing the CPI(M) meet here, Yechury, after getting elected as the general secretary, said this is the congress of future, future of our party and our country. "Our task is to strengthen unity of Left and democratic forces. The unmistakable conclusion of this congress is that the crisis in capitalism continues to deepen in the world. There is no alternative except to strengthen the struggle for socialism. If there is any future for human civilisation, that future lies in socialism," the 62-year-old CPM leader said.

The four new politburo members are Mohammed Saleem, Subhashini Ali, Hannan Mollah and G. Ramakrishnan. Subhashini Ali is the second woman in the politburo after Brinda Karat. The politburo members are Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, S. Ramchandran Pillai, Biman Basu, Manik Sarkar, Pinyarayi Vijayan, B.V. Raghavulu, K. Balakrishnan, M.A. Baby, S.K. Mishra, A.K. Padmanabhan, Mohammed Saleem, Subhashini Ali, Hannan Mollah and G. Ramakrishnan. Earlier, the Congress elected the new CC. It approved the names finalized by the outgoing politburo on Saturday night. This was followed by the election of the new politburo and the general secretary by the CC. Apart from 91 members, the CC has five special invitees and five permanent invitees. Central Committee unanimously chose Sitaram Yechury as our new General Secretary: Prakash Karat (CPI-M) Sitaram Yechury's journey: From an activist to CPM general secretary One of the most recognizable faces of the CPM, Sitaram Yechury has the image of being a pragmatic leader unlike his predecessor Prakash Karat, who was a stickler to dogma. An outstanding student, 62-year-old Politburo member has emerged as a leader with considerable skills of political negotiations who has friends across the spectrum. Yechury, who was elected as the CPM general secretary at the party's 21st Congress in Visakhapatnam today, is cast much in the mould of the late party leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet. Yechury had learnt the ropes under Surjeet, who had played major roles in the coalition era governance first during the National Front government of VP Singh and the United Front government of 1996-97, both of which the CPM had supported from outside.

Yechury further honed his skills when the Left parties backed the first UPA government often putting pressure on the Congress-led regime in policy-making. He had also played a critical role in the talks with the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal that led to the Left parties withdrawing support to the UPA-I government because of Karat's stubborn stand. There are analysts who feel that the Left parties including the CPM pushed themselves into a corner, from which it has not been able to recover in successive elections. Yechury, who joined the Students Federation of India (SFI) in 1974 and became a member of the party the very next year, was arrested a few months later during the Emergency. Suave and soft-spoken, he has been associated with the Communist movement since his student days and now at the age of 62 faces the onerous task of rebuilding the party.

Popularly known as SRY among his supporters, Mr Yechury is a dynamic leader and is considered the young face of the leading communist party. He is also known for his skills in reaching out to people both within and outside the party. Currently a member of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Yechury has been a member of the CPI-M's Central Committee since 1984 and the politburo since 1992. A politician, economist, writer and columnist, Mr Yechury is known for his good communication skills and is seen by many in the party as someone who could strengthen the party, facing a crisis with a series of electoral reverses. Born on August 12, 1952 in a Telugu family in then Madras, Mr Yechury did his schooling mostly in Andhra Pradesh. He stood first in the CBSE higher secondary examination. He graduated from St Stephen's College, Delhi in Economics (Hons) and did MA in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi. He discontinued his PhD due to his arrest during the Emergency. Mr Yechury, whose father SS Yechury was an employee in the Road Transport Corporation, was influenced by the communist movement during his student days. He joined the Student Federation of India (SFI) in 1974. The young leader was arrested for opposing internal emergency in 1975. He was later elected the president of JNU's students union. In 1978, he became the national joint secretary of SFI and went on to become the national president of the student's body.

In 1984, he was invited to the Central Committee of the CPI-M and the next year elected to the top decision making body of the party. Mr Yechury was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2005. He served on various parliamentary committees and was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2011. The communist leader has been playing a key role in rallying the opposition, which has a majority in the upper house. Mr Yechury is the author of books like "Left Hand Drive", "What is this Hindu Rashtra", "Socialism in 21st Century", "Communalism vs Secularism" and "Ghrina Ki Rajniti" (Hindi).

Married to journalist Seema Chisti, Mr Yechury has a daughter and two sons from his first marriage. A sports enthusiast, he was captain of the lawn tennis team in the university. Reading, writing and listening to music are his favourite hobbies.Story First Published: April 19, 2015 14:13 IST

SC strikes down Section 66A of IT Act , and Kerala Police Act 118 D. All you need to know about the controversial law

The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down Section 66A of the Information & Technology Act and Kerala Police Act 118 D today after hearing a clutch of petitions challenging it. The case has been closely followed, mostly for its implications on how Indians can use the Internet and social media, and because of its implications on the freedom of speech. Here is all you need to know about section 66A, the cases against it, and what the controversies surrounding it are: What does section 66A of the IT act actually say? "Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,— (a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; or (b) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will, persistently by making use of such computer resource or a communication device, (c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deceive or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of such messages,shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine."

The issues with the wording of the act One of the main problems with the act is the fact that it is framed in vague and sweeping language, which allows law enforcement authorities to interpret it in a subjective manner. What, for instance is information that is 'grossly offensive' and has menacing character'? If someone were pro-life, for instance, they may find an email forward endorsing abortion 'grossly offensive'. Similarly, if someone were a religious purist who believed God created the world in seven days, they may find a status update on evolution to be 'false information'. By making the act so open ended and subjective, the government is trying to save itself the trouble of having to define each and every cyber crime, but what they have overlooked or ignored is that in its present form, the act also easily lends itself to prosecuting people who dare to have and express a controversial or different opinion that may not necessarily be dangerous. This issue was also brought up by the Supreme Court while it was hearing the petitions against the act. Dealing with the word "grossly offensive", the bench referred to the judgement cited by the ASG and said, "what is grossly offensive to you, may not be grossly offensive to me and it is a vague term." "Highly trained judicial minds (judges of the UK courts) came to different conclusions by using the same test applied to judge as to what is grossly offensive and what is offensive," the court added.

In fact one of the judges on the case, Justice Nariman, even gave an example to the court of how the vague definition of 'grossly offensive' could be dangerously twisted. According to a Times of India report, he said in court, ""I can give you millions of examples but take one burning issue is of conversion. If I post something in support of conversion and some people, not agreeable to my view, filed a complaint against me then what will happen to me?" The petitions against the act Some of the petitions seek setting aside of section 66A of the Information Technology Act which empowers police to arrest a person for allegedly posting offensive materials on social networking sites. The first PIL on the issue was filed in 2012 by law student Shreya Singhal, who sought amendment in Section 66A of the Act, after two girls -- Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan -- were arrested in Palghar in Thane district as one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death and the other 'liked' it. Most activists and policy experts point out that the Section 66A is loosely worded and puts too much powers in the hands of the police.

Recent controversies surrounding the act Much of the outrage surrounding section 66A has been because of arbitrary arrests of people posting content on social media against various politicians, with police using the vague language of the act to their advantage. As pointed out by Firstpost editor Sandip Roy, "There’s nothing in Section 66A that’s specific to politicians, but politicians of all stripes have seized on it as the handy bully club to squelch all kinds of dissent from cartoons to abuse. There’s that old saying jiski laathi uski bhains(whoever owns the big stick, owns the buffalo). For our politicians, Section 66A is the big stick." Apart from the two girls who were arrested in Maharashtra mentioned earlier, some other controversial arrests around the act are: * A tourism officer in Varanasi was arrested for uploading “objectionable” pictures of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan on Facebook. * Ambikesh Mahapatra, a Jadavpur University professor, was arrested in Kolkata for forwarding a cartoon about Mamata Banerjee. * In Goa last year, police booked a young shipping professional for a Facebook post which said that the Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi would start a holocaust in India. Devu Chodankar had written on a Facebook forum on Goa+, a popular forum with over 47,000 members, if elected to power, Modi would unleash a 'holocaust'. He deleted his post subsequently. Chodankar later apologised for his choice of words but stood by the sum of his argument, calling it his crusade against the “tyranny of fascists”. * Most recently a class 11 student was arrested for making a Facebook post about UP minister Azam Khan. “A Class XII student made comments against me on FB. Law is enforced with strictness and he has been arrested within 24 hours,” Khan told the media. * A man was arrested in Puducherry for tweeting that Karti Chidambaram, son of then union minister P Chidambaram was 'corrupt'.

The government's defence of 66A The main defence of the government has been that the act cannot be "quashed" merely because of the possibility of its "abuse". According to a report in Times of India, additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the court that “there was a need for a mechanism to put checks and balances on this medium”, because the Internet doesn’t “operate in an institutional form.” He told the court that, “Considering the reach and impact of medium, leeway needs to be given to legislature to frame rules. On the Internet every individual is a director, producer and broadcaster and a person can send offensive material to millions of people at a same time in nanosecond just with a click of button.” Mehta also said that the vague wording of Section 66A, which said ‘grossly inoffensive’ content could land someone in prison for three year, was not a good enough reason to get rid of the section. In the earlier hearings, Mehta had given examples of how the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs, received emails that were designed to hack and steal information from the ministries, in an effort to convince the court that Section 66A was needed to prevent such activities. What the court has said so far Apart from raising objections to who could determine what constituted 'grossly offensive content', the court has also not been impressed with the government argument that the section was needed to protect government data from hackers, and had pointed out that this eventuality was already dealt with viruses and hacking for which Section 65 of the IT Act was relevant. The apex court had also on 16 May, 2013, come out with an advisory that a person, accused of posting objectionable comments on social networking sites, cannot be arrested without police getting permission from senior officers like IG or DCP. The direction had come in the wake of numerous complaints of harassment and arrests, sparking public outrage. It had, however, refused to pass an interim order for a blanket ban on the arrest of such persons across the country.

266 kg gold missing from Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple: Audit report

As much as 266 kg gold is missing from the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, said former chief government auditor Vinod Rai in his audit report that he submitted to the apex court on Friday. According to media reports,of the 893 kg gold that was given out for various works, only 627 kg has been returned to the temple. Rai was asked by the Supreme Court last year to conduct an audit of the temple's books and accounts. A division bench of Justice R.M. Lodha and Justice A.K. Patnaik last April in its interim order had asked Rai to undertake the audit of the temple accounts and properties for the past quarter of a century. This directive came on the recommendations of amicus curiae Gopal Subramaniam, who had sought overhauling of the functioning of the temple. Apart from asking Rai to audit the accounts of the temple, the apex court also directed the formation of a new five-member committee comprising of a judge from the capital city, the temple tantri, chief nambi of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple and two more members, of which one will be appointed in consultation with the state government and one would be the choice of the judge.

It was in July 2011 that an apex court committee stumbled upon six vaults in the temple and with just vault B left to be opened, the treasure that has been found in the other five vaults have been estimated to be valued more than Rs.100,000 crore. Since then, armed security guards besides state of the art security equipment has been deployed for the safe upkeep of this treasure. Reacting to the new developments, Communist Party of India-Marxist legislator V.Sivankutty said that a few years back all hell broke loose when V.S.Achuthanandan said that things are not going the way it should go in the temple as far as the priceless treasures upkeep are concerned and blamed the Travancore royal family. "Look, what Rai has come out with in his report. There are some views from some quarters that the issues of this temple should be hushed up. Now with this report, responsibilities should be fixed and those people who have caused this should be brought to light," he said.

The erstwhile Travancore Royal Family with its headquarters in the capital city is however yet to react on Rai's report. Mr. Rai’s report follows a Supreme Court order on April 24, 2014 to conduct a special audit of the temple and its properties “as early as may be possible”. He points to how the B Kallara was opened twice in 1990 and fives times in 2002. “Silver ingots were taken out and gold vessels were deposited and subsequently taken out,” the report said. The audit was prompted by an exhaustive but damaging amicus report filed by senior lawyer Gopal Subramanium — an outcome of a 35-day stay on the temple premises — that indicated that gold and silver jewellery offered by devotees to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple were not accounted for by the temple administration. Graft alleged The report had complained of corruption, filth, and disregard of ethics in the temple’s administration.

Alarmed by the report, the court had invited Mr. Rai as the Special Audit Authority on Mr. Subramanium's suggestion. In what seems to be a sequel of the amicus’ findings, Mr. Rai said: “preliminary audit findings point towards deficiencies and inadequacies in maintenance of records. There is also incomplete information provided in the records for the weight and purity of the gold and silver items. Auction process The tendering and auction process needs streamlining. The register of temple assets is not also up-to-date”. Mr. Rai said, “prima facie, there is lack of financial control of the custody and use of precious articles”.

He said over 72 audit notes have been sent to the temple management on the discrepancies and deficiencies, but most of them have not been replied to. Comprehensive audit The former CAG proposes to conduct a complete audit of records of the past 15 years in the first phase, and then audit the records of the preceding 10 years in the second round. Mr. Rai said there is no credible accounting procedures in the temple administration. He said the long-term objective of this Special Audit is to draw up a “comprehensive and appropriate system of accounting drawing on lessons from the deficiencies of the prevailing system”.

Delhi election results 2015: AAP makes inroads into BJP’s upper class vote

Belying the perception that its support base was limited to the lower class, Aam Aadmi Party today registered a hefty victory, winning 67 seats in the Delhi Assembly and making inroads into the upper class vote, which has traditionally gone with BJP. While BJP, which had won 31 seats in the last Assembly elections, managed only three seats — Mustafabad, Vishwas Nagar and Rohini — Congress returned a zero in Delhi. New Delhi, RK Puram, Greater Kailash, Malviya Nagar — considered to be among the posh localities of Delhi, are among the constituencies where AAP registered a thumping victory. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who bagged 57,213 votes, won the prestigious New Delhi seat by trouncing his BJP rival Nupur Sharma by 31,583 votes. Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti, Gopal Rai, Rakhi Birla, Saurabh Bhardwaj and all other prominent AAP leaders emerged victorious.

Sisodia handed a defeat to former AAP member Vinod Kumar Binny, who was this time fighting on a BJP ticket, by 28,761 votes in the Patparganj seat in east Delhi while Bharti won the Malviya Nagar seat by 15,897 votes, defeating BJP candidate Nandini Sharma.Rai and Birla also tasted victory, getting 75,928 and 60,534 votes, respectively, while Bhardwaj defeated BJP's Rakesh Kumar Gullayiya by 14,583 votes in Greater Kailash. Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken, who contested from Sadar Bazar seat, was also defeated. BJP's chief ministerial nominee, Kiran Bedi, got 65,919 seats as she lost the battle for the Krishna Nagar constituency to AAP candidate SK Bagga Advocate by 2,277 votes.The only saving grace for BJP was the win managed by its former state unit president Vijender Gupta in Rohini. BJP leader Om Prakash Sharma bagged 58,124 votes to edge past AAP candidate Dr Atul Gupta by 10,158 votes in Vishwas Nagar. The third BJP member elected to the Assembly is Jagdish Pradhan, who won the Mustafabad seat by 6,031 votes. Rahul Gandhi actually voted for AAP

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has avenged Delhi with a thumping majority, rounding up the major political players - Congress and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) from the city. The dismal performance of the other parties in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections is quite apparent - especially Congress that hasn't managed to get even a single seat in any of the constituencies in Delhi. While AAP is in the midst of the mass celebrations, our sources have found out that not everybody is down in the dumps in the Congress. According to insiders in the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi was seen dancing on Pharrell Williams' popular song 'Happy' when the election mandate was out. When people asked around about his sudden burst of happiness, especially at this dark day in the history of the Party, he was heard whispering to his close confidant, Sanjay Jha that in fact he did vote for AAP, after all.

Rahul Gandhi's reaction evoked the gleeful smile that he had while addressing the press after losing the General Elections, back in May 2014. But this time he went one step ahead with doing the jig on the popular number. When Arvind Kejriwal, the new chief minister of Delhi and AAP supremo, heard of this, he invited Rahul Gandhi to come over to AAP headquarters and join the party. But his one condition was, that the dance number would be '5 saal Kejriwal' only. That's when Sonia Gandhi stepped in for an intervention. Apparently, Rahul Gandhi has been grounded for an unspecified term, with no access to TV or music, and has been asked to work on a project on 'How to salvage the Congress Party.' Feeling quite gloomy, Rahul Gandhi sent a Whatsapp message to Kejriwal offering to join his party. Delhi Police gear up to tackle face-off with AAP govt

At a time when exit polls indicate that AAP may make a comeback in Delhi, police are gearing up to tackle a face-off — one of the top highlights in the 49-day tenure of the party last year. Sources say the police brass is trying to chalk out a possible way to avoid confrontation if AAP comes to power.

Trial in Palm Oil case should continue : High Court

Quashing a plea of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government seeking to close the palmolein scam, the Kerala high court on Thursday ordered that the trial into the case should continue. This comes as a setback to the government as the court approved the Vigilance court’s stance that the case should not be closed now. Justice P Ubaid pronounced the order on an appeal filed by the state government and Jiji Thomson, a senior IAS officer, against the Vigilance court order, which rejected the plea to withdraw the case. “The withdrawal of the case will only help the accused. It would be against the public interest,” the court observed, adding, “the fact that the key witnesses are not alive is not reason enough to close the case.” Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan and VS Sunil Kumar, MLA, had moved the high court citing it would be unfair to withdraw corruption cases. The court made it clear that both Achuthanandan and Sunil Kumar could intervene in the issue on behalf of the public. The UDF government had requested to withdraw the decades-long case that originated in 1991, when K Karunakaran was chief minister, citing there was no point in continuing as three officials with the civil supplies, who had given key statements in the case, had died. Karunakaran, who was the key accused, is also no more. However, the Vigilance Court in Thrissur had ordered that the case should not be withdrawn. The government claimed that the Vigilance had held that the Cabinet’s decision to import palmolein was right. Moreover, the Centre had not given the nod to try former Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas and Jiji Thomson. However, the Vigilance Court rejected all these claims.

Achuthanandan and Sunil Kumar had claimed that the decision to withdraw the case, which caused severe loss to the state exchequer, was ill-aimed and politically motivated. The Vigilance Court, had, however, rejected the plea to conduct a probe against chief minister Oommen Chandy. The case alleged irregularities in the import of palmolein by the government through Power and Energy Limited Company, a Singapore-based firm.

The investigation agency’s charge sheet says the government’s decision caused a loss to the tune of Rs 2.32 crore to the exchequer. The decision was to import 15,000 tonnes of palm oil. Opposition seeks CM’s resignation Meanwhile, the Opposition LDF has demanded the resignation of chief minister Oommen Chandy as he was the finance minister when the scam

occurred. Pannyan Raveendran, secretary, CPI state council, said the high court order is a charge sheet against the government and the chief minister is responsible for that.

Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan, in a press conference today, said Chandy should resign from the post. He also urged the government not to appoint Jiji Thomson, director, Sport Authority of India (SAI), as chief secretary of the state. He is also one of the accused in the case.

Sunanda Pushkar was murdered: Delhi Police

Almost a year after Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a five-star hotel in New Delhi, the police on Tuesday registered a case of murder, putting aside all the alternative and speculative theories revolving around her death. 50-year-old Sunanda was an Indo-Canadian businessperson and the wife of then minister of state for human resource development, Shashi Tharoor. The Delhi police on Tuesday said that Sunanda was poisoned and that the poison was either administered to her by mouth or injection. The police have relied on medical and forensic reports while registering a case under section 302 of the IPC. "We have got the final medical report from AIIMS, and we have been told that it was an unnatural death... It was not a natural death," Delhi Police chief B S Bassi told the media. "She died due to poisoning. Whether the poison was given orally or injected into her body is being investigated," he said, adding the report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was received on Dec 29. Bassi said the quantum of poison given to Pushkar, who was 52, had not yet been ascertained. "For that we will send her viscera abroad."

A murder case had now been registered against unknown persons at Delhi's Sarojini Nagar police station, the police chief said. A special team led by DCP (south) Prem Nath and additional DCP (south) Kushwah has been formed to investigate the case. The police will go for a re-investigation in the case which was earlier being probed under 174 CrPC, treating the death as unnatural. Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor may also be questioned by Delhi Police. Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in a five-star hotel room on January 17, 2014 in the capital this year. A day before she was found dead, Tharoor and Pushkar had issued a joint statement saying they were distressed by a row over some unauthorized tweets posted from their Twitter account and that both were "happily married and intend to remain that way". The statement claimed that distorted accounts of comments allegedly made by Pushkar, alleging an affair between her husband and a Pakistani journalist, had led to some erroneous conclusions. The medical investigation into Sunanda Pushkar's death took many twists and turns through the past year. The first autopsy report, submitted to a magistrate on January 20 last year, had said that Tharoor's wife died due to drug overdose. But it also reported a dozen injury marks on her body.

The final autopsy report that came out in July put the number of injury marks at 15. All the injuries were caused by blunt forces except one which was an injection mark. Later, Sudhir Kumar Gupta, who headed the forensic team in AIIMS, alleged that he was pressured to show that Pushkar's death was natural. The AIIMS denied the allegation, and Gupta was removed from the post. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar did not commit suicide but was murdered, Delhi Police chief BS Bassi said on Tuesday. "We have got the final medical report from AIIMS, and we have been told that it was an unnatural death," Bassi told the media. Here are some of the details we know in the murder case of Sunanda Pushkar: *Sunanda Pushkar died due to poisoning

*Whether the poison was given orally or injected into Sunanda's body is being investigated *Police are getting Sunanda's viscera tested abroad to zero in on the poison in her body. *A murder case had now been registered in connection with Sunanda Pushkar's death. *An FIR has been filed under section 302 against unknown persons in Sarojini Nagar police station *A special team has been formed to probe the case. This will be overseen by deputy commissioner of police Prem Nath. * Autopsy report points to over 15 injury marks on Sunanda's body *Shashi Tharoor may also be questioned.

*Delhi Police are reportedly seeking the list of passengers who travelled from Dubai and Pakistan to Delhi, and vice versa, on January 17 — the day Sunanda was found dead. *A day before she was found dead, Tharoor and Pushkar had issued a joint statement saying they were distressed by a row over some unauthorized tweets posted from their twitter account and that both were "happily married and intend to remain that way".

Justice VR Krishna Iyer, eminent jurist, dies in Kochi

Former Supreme Court judge and Kerala minister VR Krishna Iyer passed away in a hospital in Kochi on Thursday, doctors said. Iyer celebrated his 100th birthday November 15 this year. "He (Iyer) is no more. He passed away at 3.30pm," cardiologist Manu R Varma told reporters here. Iyer was in the hospital since last on Friday for treatment of pneumonia and his condition deteriorated in the past few days. He was the minister of law in the first communist government led by legendary EMS Nampoothiripad in 1957. He was also the member of the second Kerala legislative assembly. Iyer became a judge of the Kerala high court in 1968 and remained there till 1971. He was also the member of the Law Commission for two years.

In 1973, he was appointed the judge of the Supreme Court and retired in 1980. He was sworn in as the judge of the Supreme Court on July 17, 1973 and retired at the age of 65 on November14, 1980. Born to a leading criminal lawyer V.V. Rama Ayyar in 1915 in Thalassery, Justice Iyer had his education at the Basel Mission School, Thalassery, Victoria College, Palakkad, Annamalai University and Madras Law College. After starting legal practice in 1937 under his father in the Thalassery courts, he used to appear for workers and peasants in several agrarian struggle-related cases in his early years of practice.

He became a member of the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952. He held portfolios such as law, justice, home, irrigation, power, prisons, social welfare and inland navigation in the first Communist government in Kerala headed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad that came to power in 1957. He was instrumental in passing several pieces of people-oriented legislations during his tenure as minister in the Communist government. He resumed his legal practice in August 1959 and threw himself into the legal profession after he lost the 1965 Assembly election. He was appointed a judge of the Kerala High Court on July 2, 1968. He was elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court on July 17, 1973, and retired on November, 14, 1980. He served as a Member of the Law Commission from 1971 to 1973.

His landmark judgments include the Shamser Singh case which interpreted the powers of the Cabinet vis-à-vis the President, Maneka Gandhi case which gave a new dimension to Article 21, Ratlam Municipality case, and Muthamma's case. He had pushed for reformative theory, in contrast to deterrence theory in the criminal justice system. He also received brickbats for granting conditional stay on the Allahabad High Court verdict declaring former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha void.

In 2002, Justice Iyer was part of the citizen's panel that inquired into the Gujarat riots along with retired justice P.B. Sawant and others. He was conferred with Padma Vibhushan in the 1999. He had unsuccessfully contested to the post of President against Congress nominee late R. Venkitaraman in 1987. He also headed the Kerala Law Reform Commission in 2009. He has to his credit around 70 books, mostly on law, and four travelogues. Wandering in Many Worlds is his autobiography. He has also authored a book in Tamil, Neethimandramum Samanvya Manithanum. He has been actively involved in social and political life after his retirement, almost till a few weeks when ill-health and advancing age took their toll on him. His 100th birthday was celebrated in Kochi last month and a number of programmes were organised by members of the legal fraternity, citizenry and his friends and well-wishers to felicitate him. Justice Iyer's wife predeceased him. He is survived by two sons.

The body of Justice Iyer will be taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra, on Friday, where members of the general public will be able to pay homage to the departed jurist, said M.G.Rajamanikyam, Ernakulam district collector. The funeral will take place at Ravipuram crematorium at 6 p.m. on Friday, he said.