ENCOUNTERS - 217

A weekly Column by Rajan Khanna

The words “ Largest democracy of the world “ may be music to the ears of us Indians but the behaviour and the actions of those who are ruling this country, do not justify the spirit of the word, democracy. The performance of most of the central ministers handling important portfolios, is belying the faith which was reposed in them while electing the government which these ministers are representing.

Accidents after accidents are taking place- taking the lives of hundreds of passengers- but the railway minister Ms. Mamta Bannerjee has other priorities to attend to. She is more engrossed in making preparations to win the forthcoming elections at her home turf, West Bengal. Instead of giving more time to her ministry and finding the ways and means to prevent further railway accidents from taking place, she is indulging in the childish act of putting the blame of the said accidents on her rivals, the communists. The debates- on why anti-collision devices are not deployed in the trains or which government gave sanctions for the same and which did not implement the sanctions- are in no way going to console those who have lost their kith and kin in the unabating mishaps on the railway tracks. Neither the grants which are announced in the aftermath of the accidents, are going to make up for those unfortunate men and women who meet the untimely death due to the callous and unpardonable attitude of the railway ministry.

Another central minister whose performance or rather lack of it, has been responsible for the ongoing bout of inflation is,Mr. Sharad Pawar. During his tenure, the prices of most of the essential edible commodities, have more than doubled up, the farmers are committing suicides and the food grains being stored in the godowns of the F.C.I are being eaten up by the rodents and are rotting. But the minister ostensibly has more important duties to discharge; he wants to devote his time to manage the affairs of International Cricket Council.

There was an enquiry committee constituted to unearth the alleged mal-practices having been done in the 2G spectrum case. The committee has come out with the revelations that indeed irregularities were committed in the said case; the government owes an answer to the public that why in a case like 2G spectrum where thousands of crores of rupees were involved, an enquiry by C.B.I was not instituted against the minister for telecommunications, Mr. A. Raja? Moreover, the cases which are pending with the C.B.I, are not being pursued to the logical conclusions; apparently, a policy of quid pro quo is adopted vis-a-vis those leaders against whom the C.B.I enquiries are going on. No wonders that no action is taken against Ms Mayawat in the Taj corridor case and to return the favours, she keeps on rendering her support to the Congress party in the Parliament despite both the B.S.P and the Congress being at loggerheads in the state of U.P.

At present, the Congress party is giving an impression of running with the Hare and hunting with the Hound. Home minister, Mr. P. Chidambram talks about the dangerous threat posed by the Naxalites and is recommending- and rightly so- a strong action against the Naxal outlaws but ironically, the party general secretary, Mr. Digvijay singh is singing a different tune altogether and favours a soft approach toward the Naxals. Mr. Digvijay Singh has gone a few steps further; he has dubbed the Batla house encounter- in which a brave police officer also lost his life- as fake. He very conveniently is glossing over the fact that in fake encounters, police officers do not lose their lives.

Another faux pas- which has brought disrepute to the national dignity- has been committed by another minister heading very important ministry of foreign affairs. Foreign minister Mr. S.M Krishna has admonished home secretary Mr. Pillay for making a press statement regarding the involvement of Pakistan's I.S.I in the 26/11 attacks on the city of Mumbai. James Headley- the man who had done the reconnaissance on behalf of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and I.S.I and is now in the custody of F.B.I of the U.S.A- had revealed the information to the team of interrogators sent by India to the U.S.A. Now if Mr. Pillay lets the Nation know about the outcome of the investigations, why is he being rebuffed by the foreign minister? And why the minister is presenting Pakistan with an opportunity which is interpreted by that country as a diplomatic victory?

It is quite clear that P.M Mr. Manmohan Singh has miserably failed in establishing consensus among his own ministerial colleagues on the matters of the National import. Instead of wasting its energy on creating troubles in the opposition run states, the stalwarts of the ruling party should set their own house in order and try to alleviate the miseries of the people of this country.

(The author is a social activist. He can be contacted on rajan_c3@hotmail.com)