POLITICAL DIARY

New Delhi, 27 December 2008

India Wants Change

WHEN WILL NETAS SAY: WE CAN?

By Poonam I Kaushish

A year of mea culpas, home truths and tutorials. Of real politik. A year which began with Brand India on a global roll and ended in tragedy and violence becoming the benchmark of Asli Bharat. A story of high growth rate, over flowing cash tillers, hedonistic consumerism which camouflaged the rising poverty, depravity and unemployment. Only to culminate in a devastating confrontation with terrorism in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Varanasi et al and economic hardship.  Bringing India once again face to face with cynicism and despair.

While an increasingly angry and frustrated janata cry out for action against Pakistan, demand answers and yearn for change in the New Year our polity continues unaffected. Interspersing their bellicose rhetoric of a fitting reply to Islamabad if it does not take action against its jehadis by rushing to Washington to rein in Pakistan and do its dirty work. Read hot air no action.

To go to war or not?  While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Foreign Minister vacillate on what to do next, speculations rule the roost. Not a few advocate surgical strikes to teach Islamabad a lesson. Some aver that it would be against New Delhi’s interest and would only strengthen the Pakistan army and it’s ISI. The intelligentsia holds a conflict would be unable to eradicate the root of terrorism, given Pakistan’s military psyche. Others warn that it could unleash a nuclear war wherein even Washington would be helpless.

However, all these pale in comparison to the weirdest conjecture doing the rounds. Both India and Pakistan have decided on an action plan. New Delhi conducts ‘limited’ surgical strikes on places earmarked by Islamabad and its military ‘retaliates’ by attacking our border. Enough to satisfy their respective domestic audiences. Job done both settle for truce.

How does it benefit India? With elections round the corner, the UPA would win the people confidence and the polls and have another go at running the country. What’s in it for Pakistan? It gets respite from the mounting international pressure specially US and UK to act against its “non-State players.” Besides, it suits the Pak army to keep the fragile mask of democracy in place as it pulls the strings from behind. This theory gains currency against the backdrop that the US and UK have their own larger interests in mind vis-à-vis India and Pakistan

Amidst all this hulla gulla lays forgotten a hamla more destructive than surgical strikes against Pakistan. Today India is face to face with its own home-grown terrorists, our Right Honourables who have struck with a vengeance at the highest temple of democracy --- Parliament.

The curtain rang down finally on the extended special session of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday last which encapsulated the decline of Parliament as never before. One has written umpteen articles on Parliament’s sessions and discourses hitting rock bottom but it seems that the bottom is an unending pit.

Appallingly, as many as 8 bills were bulldozed and passed in a record 17 minutes in the Lok Sabha, about 2 minutes per bill, without any discussion or debate amidst slogan-shouting Opposition. In a first of sorts, when a division was sought in the Lok Sabha only the chamber was cleared. After the House reassembled and a division sought again, the chamber and lobbies were cleared but the well was left intact --- a livid Opposition gheraoing the Speaker’s chair.

Sadly, important Bills like the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, LIC (Amendment) Bill, National Highways Authority of India (Amendment) Bill and many others were passed in a jiffy instead of being referred to the respective standing committees. Daily one stood witness to a tug-of-war between the Treasury Benches and the Opposition over the legislative agenda. In the Rajya Sabha one saw the Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee give a CPM MP a push to prevent him from accosting the Minister of State for Finance Pawan Bansal who clutched the Insurance Bill to his chest.

No matter that the all-important Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2008 languishes in the Lok Sabha since March 2007 and was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2005. Our Right Honourables neither have the time nor the inclination to debate and pass it, notwithstanding, their commitment to preventing outbreak of communal violence in the country.

Typical, the Government and Opposition accused each other for “killing” Parliament. In the 10-day session both Houses lost almost 7 hours each of business. In fact, in an all-time low the Lok Sabha functioned only for 32 days and the Rajya Sabha had a mere 46 sittings this year.

This apart, how does our polity protect the janata from future terrorist attacks?  By spending hundreds of crores of the tax payers hard-earned money on protecting themselves. They surround themselves with gun-toting commandos to flaunt their “status” and harass people by blocking traffic. Shockingly, over Rs 250 crores is spent on protecting 400 plus VIPs annually. It matters little whether these worthies face no risk or at best little risk yet they refuse to budge without the elaborate security paraphernalia.

What New Delhi does, the States do one better. Every State has diverted a number of its policemen for VIP security. In Delhi alone, over 14,200 policemen are deployed on round-the-clock VIP security duty ---- Special Protection Group for the top of the ladder, followed by Z-plus provided by NSG “black cats” consisting of six personal security officers, two head constables, 12 constables, in a cavalcade of AK47 toting ‘black cats’ in a convoy of cars including one pilot vehicle with ‘lal batti.’  Then come the minions with Z (68 VIPs), Y (243) and X (81) categories.

Scandalously, the result of this explosion of VIP security is that commandoes meant for anti-terror operations have been diverted to protect our naam ke vaste leaders. The NSG, set up in 1984 for anti-hijack and anti-terror operations, has two wings: Special Action Group comprising Army personnel on deputation, and Special Rangers Group (SRG), consisting of recruits from the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB. Worse, more than half of SRG has been diverted for VIP security. Never mind that only our garib desh provides security cover to all and sundry unlike the USA, UK, Germany etc which provide security to only a handful of their leaders.

Not only that. This is in addition to the SPG that is exclusively meant for providing security to the PM, former PMs, Sonia Gandhi and their respective family members including their grand children. Astonishingly, the SPG budget for the next year has seen a rise of over Rs 60 crores from Rs 117 crores to Rs.180 crores, while the 2008-09 budget for the National Security Gaurds (NSG) meant to protect over the billion-plus people from terror is a measly Rs.158 crores, down from Rs.159 crores the previous year. Shockingly, the NSG who saved Mumbai do not have their own aircraft to ferry them to crisis situations.

Bringing things to such a pass that now even Supreme Court judges are demanding two Personal Security Officers instead of one who already guards each judge round the clock. For a 24-hour hour security cover, three officers work for eight hours each. Besides, these PSOs’ 5 security guards are deployed at the judge’s official residence. So what if the Delhi police has to press 192 security personnel and forego setting up two police stations.  After all, aren’t our leaders’ national treasures that need to be protected! Sic.

One can go on and on about the hedonism in the year gone by. Of the majority’s growing disillusionment with the system which explodes in rage and in which more and more people are taking law into their own hands. Slowly but surely, the people’s patience is running out, and running out fast.

Thanks to Mumbai the people have seen through the sham of democracy where our netagan revel in peddling grandiose dreams which cannot feed the hungry stomachs. The aam aadmi wants change. They have blown the conch against the fraud repeatedly wrought on them: Enough is enough. Our leaders had better pay heed. Tough times call for tough action. But the moot point: Who will act tough and assert: Yes, we can! ---- INFA

(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)