THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 14 April 2007 — Kerala High Court yesterday rejected Local Self-Government Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty’s “unconditional” apology for his remarks against the judiciary. The court will take up the case again on May 30.
Opposition parties have decided to launch an agitation demanding the resignation of the minister who said “weight of the currency bundles” influence judgments.
The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice K.S. Radhakrishanan and Justice M.N. Krishnan observed that the minister was not a layman or an illiterate person who could make such a statement. The court held that the statement had damaged the image of the judiciary and observed that the apology was not according to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and it would not help restore the prestige of the judiciary. The court decided to go ahead with the contempt proceedings as it felt that the statement was not against any judges but the entire judiciary.
Revenue From Tourism Increases
Kerala has earned a record Rs. 90 billion from tourism in 2006. Over 6.2 million domestic tourists, a growth of 5.4 percent over the last year, and 428,000 foreign holidaymakers, a growth of 23.7 percent, visited the state during the year.
Kerala Tourism Director Sanjay Kaul said the state was expecting a 10 percent increase in the flow of domestic tourists and 22 percent in international tourists this year. The state, which expects an investment of Rs. 10 billion, will set up a one-window investor cell for facilitating investments. The cell will be functional by the end of the month.
“This year we will be promoting the Malabar region, which has tremendous tourism potential. We will also sell discounted holiday packages for the regions, which will be as little as one-fourths of the current tariff,” Kaul said.
Zoo Gets New Guest
Raj Kumar, a 20-year-old elephant, arrived in Thiruvananthapuram zoo from Mumbai traveling 2,200 kilometers by road in a ten-wheeled truck last week. The 2.75-ton elephant traveled mostly during the night as the vets were not sure how it would react to the scorching heat. “We stored food for one week. But we had to depend on the local people heavily for water since the elephant needs 1,000-2,000 liters everyday,” Dr. Jayakumar, who accompanied the pachyderm, said. Raj Kumar will join 70-year-old Maheswari here. There was an array of VIPs, including Culture Minister M.A. Baby, to greet the new guest at the zoo.
Traders Not to Sell Cigarettes
A number of traders in Kerala have decided not to sell cigarettes from Monday to protest a new tobacco tax imposed by the state government. Kerala Vyapari Vyvasayi Ekopana Samithi, the top body of traders, said they would not sell cigarettes because of the newly-introduced 12.5 percent value-added tax on tobacco products. The additional tax has come into force from April 1. KVVES President T. Nasiruddhin said the tax should be paid by tobacco companies and not by the traders.
