Political Diary

New Delhi, 3 April 2010

Aaj Ke Netas

HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS

By Poonam I Kaushish

In a sad reflection of our political times, it’s been a week when inanities and trivia consumed our polity. An acerbic tu-tu-mein-mein of one-upmanship played between motor-mouthed smart alec aaj ke netas who revelled in idiocy, defended the indefensible, justified the unjustifiable and derided institutions and high posts. All to score petty points against each other. Ignoring that at some point all have blood on their hands. Serious substantive issues of governance can wait.

 If ten days ago it was over kissa Mayawati ka mayajaal, followed by Mulayam’s cheap sexist remark that reservation for women would lead to businessmen wives in Parliament where people would whistle at them, this week’s fracas is over Bollywood icon and Gujarat tourism brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan presence at the Mumbai sea-link inauguration which snow-balled into a full-blown media hogging controversy.

In a telling defensive response, Congressmen obsessed with the ‘more loyal than the King’ syndrome of obeisance to the First Family, first distanced themselves and then attacked Bachchan. Why? Because the star once close friends with the Gandhi’s had now fallen out. While Maharashtra Congress Chief Minister Ashok Chavan pleaded his ignorance over Bachchan’s invite, Party spokespersons compounded the folly with an incredible explanation: The actor was endorsing Gujarat led by BJP’s Narender Modi who was the “maut ka saudagar” of the 2002 pogram. Averred they, “Does Amitabh condemn Modi’s role in the riots or endorses it?”

Matter didn’t end there. Chavan preponed his visit to a literary programme in Pune to avoid bumping into the celebrated actor again. Almost on cue, posters of his son Abhishek  were removed from an event in the Capital where Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was present. Followed by a Union Minister cancelling a public engagement to evade coming face to face with him. Next, the Commonwealth Games Chairman and Congress MP Kalmadi ruled out naming Bachchan the games brand ambassador.

Modi, on his part, invoked Gujarati pride and came up with an equally outlandish criticism, dubbing the Congress, the “Taliban of untouchability” for hounding Bachchan. Even as the aam aadmi wonder what’s the big deal if Bachchhan fell out with the Gandhi’s, given that he is a brand ambassador of many products because as a successful star his name sells.

What’s wrong if he promotes Gujarat tourism? As a proud Bharatvasi doesn’t he have the democratic right to endorse a State? It does not mean he is holding a brief for Modi or his brand of politics. Why should any reference to Gujarat be seen through the prism of the 2002 riots?  Will the Congress stop doing business with the Ambani’s and Tata’s because their industries are based in Gujarat? Stop buying the Nano, Vimal textiles and Amul products because they are out of Gujarat?

What does the Congress have to say for the 1984 Sikh riots in Delhi which left over 3000 dead. And Rajiv’s Gandhi’s chilling cold-blooded statement: “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” Aren’t we familiar with are criminal-politcos with their “bullet-proof vests.” The neta-police nexus. Is the Congress any different from the Shiv Sena or MNS which attacked Sachin Tendulkar for asserting that Mumbai belongs to all Indians?

Tragically, the irrational and frivolous outpourings over Bachchan underscore the ugly truth: Rajniti today has been reduced to a political charade. Substance is elusive, if it is there at all. Wherein all stand equally guilty. A politics of I-me-myself. All willy-nilly playing ducks and drakes with governance and issues which have a bearing on our daily lives. For the polity issues like garibi hatoa, providing roti, kapada aur maakan and bijli, sadak, paani are mere slogans to ride the crest of the popularity wave during polls. Not serious matters

Instead of wasting their energy on Modi, why aren’t are leaders debating issues like the increasing threat of Maoists who have encompassed 13 States, the rising  insurgency in the North-East which is worse than Kashmir, skyrocketing prices and run-away inflation. Why hasn’t the Congress put Delhi CM on the mat for burdening the aam janata with more taxes because her Government wasted three precious years in getting its act together for the 14-day Commonwealth Games. 

Forget Brand India, see Asli Bharat which is in the grip of the Bolangir-Kalahandi syndrome – hunger, poverty and suicides. According to the Global Hunger Index 2010 recently released, India is placed at the 66th spot out of 88 countries surveyed. Of which 12 States fall in the ‘alarming’ categories, Madhya Pradesh shows extreme levels of hunger. Punjab, Kerala, Haryana and Assam fall in the serious category. With 87% of the population living below the poverty line, the struggle to eke out a living is an onerous task. Over 30m have joined the ranks of hungry since mid-1990s, the study revealed.

Shockingly, in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region 9 farmers committed suicide in the last 24 hours. This takes the toll of farmers’ suicides to 19 in the last one week and 194 this year. Does anyone care? More than six decades post Independence and being counted as one of the key growth engines to the world economy, why are hunger deaths still happening in India? Obviously, because those in power are greedy for money.  Not even 15 paise out of a rupee of development aid has percolated down to the people who needed it most. The real beneficiaries are Government officials, who more often than not bribe their way to stay in lucrative posts.

More. Over 230 million of the rural poor are — the highest for any country in the world. Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths in India as every third adult (aged 15-49 years) is reported to be thin (BMI less than 18.5). According to the latest report on the state of food insecurity in rural India, more than 1.5 million children are at risk of becoming malnourished because of rising global food prices.

Besides, almost 80% of rural households do not have access to toilets within their premises. The figure exceeds 90% in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and MP. The proportion of stunted children (under-5) at 48% is again among the highest in the world. Every second child in the country is stunted, according to the health ministry's figures. Around 30% of babies in India are born underweight. In fact, the Index reveals that the country’s rates of child malnutrition are higher than most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We have the poor being imprisoned for thefts of food but those in power prosper and refuse to be accountable.  Our netas continue to parrot “everyone is equal before law”, yet till date all have successfully thwarted the due process of law. Be it Lalu-Rabri, Mulayam, Mayawati, Modi, Shibhu Soren et al. Either because cases were investigated long after the crime and the delay was directly linked to the period when they were enjoying power or the ruling Party needed their help to keep the Government afloat. 

It’s all very well for the Prime Minister to lament, “Democracy will have little meaning for the common man if he cannot secure basic rights and easy access to speedy justice”. But what are our judges doing about the backlog of over 2.5 crore cases pending at various levels across the country.

Sadly, the charades being played out on the political chessboard prove conclusively that shadow matters not substance. High time that our netas stop getting their shorts in knots over excessive trivia, get their act together, take responsibility, amend their ways and address real serious issues of governance. The minimum they owe the aam aadmi who reposed faith in them. Else history will never forgive them. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)