Looks like the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in India has given Democracy a new meaning. The government's actions seem to indicate that people power is limited to voting. Once in power, function like an autocracy and/or a dictatorship.
A prime example is the issue of reservation under which the government has turned a blind eye to widespread protests, all to satiate the ego of aging Union Human Resources Development minister Arjun Singh, one foot in the grave and the other on its way, and his newfound love for the backward classes.
I have just one question to Mr. Singh. He has been in politics for over five decades. Then why this sudden and irrational urge to grandstand? Is it because of the guilt of having done nothing worthwhile all these years? If yes, then Mr. Singh even now you have done nothing worthwhile.
Sixty years after Independence of which the main protagonist, the ruling Congress, has been at the helm for over fifty years, if Mr. Singh feels that the backward classes have not got their due, whose fault is it, may I ask? What was the Congress government doing all these years?
Another example of the government's foolhardiness is its plan to levy an exit tax on students taking up jobs abroad. The reason being given is it defeats the purpose of subsidy being provided to educational institutions such as IIM and IIT. My question is why subsidy in the first place? What is wrong in privatizing these institutions and letting market forces decide fees?
Even with subsidy, how many bright students from the poor and backward classes manage to secure admission to these institutions? Just a fraction, I say. That effectively means the government has been providing subsidized education to students who can afford the fees sans subsidy. That, dear friends, is how foolish this UPA government has been.
The Prime Minister talks of the need for executive salaries not going over the top. The reason: to avoid discontent and disconnect among the not so lucky. So what was the government doing all these years, hatching eggs while the gap between the rich and the poor widened?
I agree that the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh thinks well and wants to do a lot to bring the country out of the morass that it has slipped into. But that can hardly be said about his cabinet, which is filled with self-serving, corrupt, illiterate, uncouth Members of Parliament (MP).
The Opposition fares no better. The British employed the divide and rule policy in India. Our politicians seem to be sired by the illegitimate desires of the British. They act as different parties in public, but scratch eachother's back in private. That's the biggest reason why a politician, any politican, is rarely convicted and imprisoned for any crime committed.
A classic case is that of Shibu Soren. It's public knowledge that the man is nothing but a goon. He was found guilty of murder by one court only to be acquitted by another. The reason as always, lack of or faulty evidence. No questions asked.
The Finance Minister keeps on talking about accountability and bringing more people under the tax net. Fine, but should that definition be limited to the salaried class. The salaried class has been the most dilligent in paying taxes. So what does our FM do, tax them further as a reward for compliance.
The common man not only pays income tax, but pays taxes on every product that he buys, on food that he eats at restaurants...the list is never ending. My question, why should the common man be always burdened? Just because he is vulnerable, and has little power to defend himself?
Dear Mr. FM, show me one politician who has been raided, forget forced to cough up taxes. You may say show me, and I will take action.
I take up that challenge and give you the list here: Sonia Gandhi, Bal Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Gopinath Munde, Vilasrao Deshmukh, LK Advani, P Chidambaram, M Karunanidhi, J Jayalalitha, K Karunakaran, Keshubhai Patel, Shankar Sinh Vaghela, Shibu Soren, Chandan Basu (Jyoti Basu's son), Suresh Kalmadi, Abu Azmi, Baba Siddiqui, Nawab Malik, Arjun Singh, Abhijit Manu Singhvi.
Is this list enough to begin with Mr. FM? If you have the guts to walk the talk, send your tax inspectors after these guys. I will then say you are a man of your word. Mr. Thakeray was a cartoonist. How come he is worth over Rs 300 crore today? Have you or any government before your's bothered to investigate? I say not only you but no minster or government before you had the guts to to even casually ask Mr. Thackeray the source of his wealth.
Last but not the least, the question of the Sethusamundram project. Forget religious sentiments, forget what the BJP and the VHP have to say. Isn't it ridiculous to ignore warnings of scientists against damaging the Ram Setu or Adams Bridge? They warn of Tsunamis from Indonesia hugely hurting India if the structure is demolished or tampered with.
So what's the motivation for ignoring scientific advise and going ahead with the demolishing the structure? Or is it that money is more valuable than human lives for your Governement?
Mr. Prime Minister, the people demand answers for all these questions and more. Are you listening or is it a case of Nero playing the flute while Rome burned? Or should I in your case say Dancing to Sonia's tunes while India drowned?
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