The biggest news of the week gone by was the joint session
convened by NDA government to pass the controversial POTO bill. The joint
session between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha was held after an interregnum
of two and a half decades. Given the lack of majority of NDA government
in the Rajya Sabha, the government always faced the risk of key pieces of
legislation being defeated in the upper house of Parliament. Thus, when
POTO was defeated in Rajya Sabha, a joint session was used to pass the bill.
While the controversy surrounding the bill is outside
the realm of this column, few comments are in order. First, despite the
fact that POTO existed as on ordinance since past few months, the Gujarat
carnage could not be stopped. Nor could the attack on the parliament. Then,
one may question the efficacy of the bill. Second, the sincerity with which
NDA passed the bill is commendable. Just that one wishes that the same level
of sincerity is seen in other spheres of governance. Three, with the BJP
rout in four state assemblies, and the latest defeat in Delhi MCD election,
the PM laments that the center is to be blamed for the spate of defeats.
One wonders whether he is the leader of the government or part of the opposition.
Since long, one has become accustomed to seeing indifferent leaders, right
from P. V. Narsimha Rao, to H. D. Dewe Gowda, Chandra Shekhar to now Atal
Bihari Bajpayee. Somehow, the zeal to bring about a transformation in the
country is missing. Given this, one may thing whether it is really possible
to satisfy the aspirations of billion odd Indians.
One exception here is the good work done by Union Urban
Affairs minister Jagmohan. He had cleansed many a places and broken down
many an illegally constructed buildings. But he was viewed as a man doing
too much, and transferred to the less harmful portfolio of Tourism.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Talking about H. D. Dewe Gowda, few days back I attended a marriage whether
I chanced upon our ex-PM. Apart from him, Mayawati, a potential UP chief
minister was also part of the celebrity gathering. To assume that the marriage
was of a VIP would be foolishness. The groom was a very ordinary engineer
of an average Indian firm. Thus, the reason for the two celebrities attending
the marriage is not clear. The point worth noting was that while ten commandos
provided heavy security to Mayawati, the ex-PM had only few uncles to provide
company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A recent article on the deplorable state of Bihar caught my attention.
My prime years, between 1990 and 1994, were spent in the city of Ranchi,
now capital of Jharkhand. The article commented how, after the creation
of separate state of Jharkhand, the per capita income of Bihar had fallen
from above five thousand rupees to something close to four thousand three
hundred rupees. The article also said how e-business (extortion business)
was booming in laloo's heartland. The article evoked some not so happy memories
of my stay there.
First of all, every now and then, a Jharkhand bandh
was called, sometimes extending for almost three days. Unfortunately, most
of the times the bandh was successful and the economic activity in the city
was brought to a halt. As a student, I always cheered those bandhs as it
meant a holiday for me. But then, the bandhs also meant that the two-year
course of ICSE board X examination, required three years of teaching. My
father was not so lucky as his office hours were shifted from 9am-6pm to
6am-3pm. Once, while returning from work, a Jharkhandi activist attacked
my father's car by hurling a stone at the moving vehicle. Luckily, the stone
missed by father, and hit the rear window instead, damaging it completely.
Apart from this, I also remember how a close friend of my mother was kidnapped
by her driver, looted and later murdered. When he was caught and a trial
was held in the court, the culprit ran away from the court in broad daylight.
Civic amenity, like law and order, was also in a state of shambles. We got
electricity only about 12 hours a day. Once, thieves stole so many members
of the towers carrying power that the entire infrastructure carrying power
collapsed. There was no electricity in the city for about two weeks. Roads
were awful. Our frustration reached its peak when my mother was incorrectly
diagnosed, a lapse that almost took her to her deathbed. It was then when
my father decided he had enough of the state.
Given this, the creation of Jharkhand was a rather cheerful
occasion for me. An uncle who visits us regularly from the state updates
us about the latest developments. And every time I ask how are things, he
only laments how things have hardly changed. Given this, the article on Bihar
and Jharkhand does not come as a surprise. Those who ruined economic activity
to see Jharkhand become a separate state have hardly brought cheers to the
people. Rather, some time back, Ranchi High Court lamented how weak and
ineffective Jharkhand government was ruining the mineral-rich state.
Residents of Delhi too lament the poor state of roads,
or the erratic power situation. However, if they ever get to live in the
less privileged states of the country, they will redefine what poor road
is or what erratic power situation is. Not that either of the situation is
justifiable. Just that by knowing extremes, things can be put in a better
perspective.