YET ANOTHER HARTAL!

And now, the political clowns in God's Own Country are organising a 'hartal' (read 'bandh') in 'protest' against the spreading fever epidemic! This time, it is the UDF which has come out with this brainwave, announcing a 24 hours' hartal in the State on Tuesday, the 17th of July.The UDF convenor informed the media that this was 'a token protest against the State Government's failure to control the fever'! He also hastened to add that this was only the first hartal by the UDF since the LDF came to power, while the LDF observed 12 hartals when the UDF were in power.What commitment,what competitive spirit! Really, people who claim that such measures will hit Kerala Tourism adversely do not know what they are talking about!



Needless to say, this could be the most effective medicine prescribed to bring the fever under control. So, who cares if a patient suffering from this very fever dies because of delay in reaching a hospital? Who gives a damn if the people lose, for yet another day, their basic right to move about freely and earn their livelihood? 'We' have proved the might of our party-yet again. And, of course, the people supported and co-operated with us-as if they ever had any other option!

The UDF is probably under the impression that the mosquitoes which spread the fever are sent from the Secretariat with specific instructions from the Chief Minister himself! If the immense manpower which is employed to enforce the hartal is instead utilised towards cleaning the environment, it would go a long way in preventing further spreading of the disease.

It is high time the people of Kerala decided, once and for all, whether they deserve such torture, in the guise of leadership, from the political parties. But perhaps they do-why else are they electing these same jokers,UDF or LDF or whatever, time and again and sending them to the Assembly? Then again, after all our political parties and their rank and file are considered, does there remain in Kerala a class which can actually be called the 'people'? Every little incident in this little state acquires a political hue in no time at all, rendering impossible an impartial or dispassionate resolution.

Only yesterday one of the Malayalam dailies published two eloquent photographs.The first one showed the perpetrators of the UDF sponsored hartal in Pathanamthitta obstructing private vehicles which dared to take the road; the second one showed the same group getting into a car to travel comfortably to their respective destinations!

So, what do we do about it? Public flogging and execution of these leaders would be the obvious solution; but since, unfortunately, it not practical in our blessed democracy, how about boycotting them for a start? The need of the hour is the advent of a non-political party, as an antidote to such political hooliganism. Kerala still posess people who can lead such a movement, but someone has to bell the cat. Hopefully, if the patience of the common man continues to be tested by these so called leaders, it will happen; it has to happen!

Update: The proposed hartal didn't come off after all. The UDF initially put it off by one day; then called it off altogether because of the serious flood situation which developed in North Kerala. In a sense, this is the best thing that could have happened to the UDF, since the hartal would have surely alienated the party from the long suffering masses of 'God's own country'.One has to suspect that the leaders sensed the lack of support for the ridiculous hartal call- even in its own ranks- and hence the calling off. Whatever the reason, the common man would have heaved a sigh of relief! He has been spared .....but for how long?

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