UPA 2-third anniversary celebration

May 21, 2012, marked the completion of the third year of the United Progressive Alliance(UPA-2). Although this makes it the beginning of the Congress-ruled coalition's ninth year in government, but, if you look back to assess its achievements and moments of glory, the story is sad and depressing. Major terrorist attacks have taken place with some intervals despite the govt assertions of zero tolerance; the most gruesome massacre happened on November 26, 2008 in Mumbai when ten Pakistani murderers came through the sea at the docks opposite the Taj Mahal Hotel-the metropolitan's leading landmark. Thus, the internal security situation is as vulnerable as ever.

Then, we have had several corruption scandals, including 2G spectrum allocation, Commonwealth Games, etc., involving thousands of crores of public money in which UPA Ministers, other Congress leaders and bureaucrats were allegedly guilty. Initially, the govt defended them, but, thanks to the opposition and the media uproar, Anna  Hazare's anti-corruption movement and the Supreme Court intervention, the Telecom Minister A. Raja and the CWG chief Suresh Kalmadi were arrested and jailed for over a year. They have just been released on bail.

In other words, the UPA govt led by an economist-bureaucrat-turned politician, Dr Manmohan Singh who, in effect, was really acting as a deputy to the supreme leader, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, head of the UPA as well as the Congress party, hurtled the country from one crisis to another. By all accounts, we are in an economic mess and political chaos. The rupee has plunged to its lowest rate against the dollar: Rs.55. Consequently, the price rise at a unbearably high point, will worsen as imported goods and essential components will become costlier.Thanks to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's well-known silence, subservience, indecision, inaction, non-communicative and laissez faire attitude, his key constitutional office as the govt's chief executive head, has been compromised and diminished as never before. He is bound to go down in India's history as the weakest Prime Minister who was in office but not in power.

NCERT cartoon controversy

We witnessed a sickening drama in the Indian Parliament recently when excepting one or two MPs, including Mr Jaswant Singh, a senior BJP leader, members representing different parties-left, right and centre, condemned a political cartoon depicting Mr BR Ambedkar and Mr Jawaharlal Nehru that was published in a XI class text book of the NCERT, a govt body authorised to prescribe text books for the schools. The cartoon was done by Mr Shankar Pillai, a legendary and pioneering cartoonist, in 1949. He was highly regarded by the politicians of that time, including the then Prime Minister Nehru and Mr Ambedkar, the key player in the Constitution-making as the chairman of the drafting committee. The offending cartoon that had appeared in magazines and cartoon collections, had never come under any adverse notice or objection all these sixty-odd years. It seemed innocuously comic. New text books authors and advisors, obviously keen to introduce a humourous element to political science reading to make the subject more interesting, used political cartoons by well-known professionals, in the NCERT books. The said cartoon was published in 2006.

Hell broke loose when recently some dalit MPs happened to see the Ambedkar cartoon in the said text book. The Parliament proceedings were disrupted; all other important issues waiting to be discussed were sidelined and express the both Houses' sense of outrage at the "insult" of the Dalit icon-Mr BR Ambedkar. The cartoon showed Mr Ambedkar sitting on a snail with a rein and a whip in his hand and Mr Nehru at his back also with a whip. Most who viewed the cartoon dispassionately felt that the head of the Constitution-making body(Mr A) and the head of the govt(Mr N) were trying to egg on the snail with a faster pace.( Perhaps, there was a feeling in the country that the process of making the constitution was slow. Hence, the symbol of the snail. But, unfortunately, Dalit activists thought that Mr Nehru with his whip was threatening Mr Ambedkar to move fast. This was clearly ridiculous, knowing Mr Nehru's respect for Mr Ambedkar and his role. But bigoted Dalit ideologues and activists will have none of it. It was a convenient handle to malign non-dalits. It was a really shameful display of vote-bank politics at its worst.

SC amicus curiae's anti-Modi views

A controversy has arisen over a recent report of Raju Ramchandran, an amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court to assist it in the Gujarat riot cases. The report the extracts of which were reproduced in a section of the press, seemed anti-Narendra Modi(Gujarat Chief Minister). Another curious character of the report is that it disregards a comprehensive investigative report on the riots submitted by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigative Team(SIT), particularly its rejection of the suspended IPS officer of Gujarat-Sanjiv Bhatt's charges against Chief Minister Modi as "unbelievable". Here is "a friend of the court"-amicus curiae-who is acting more as a "friend" of  a discredited Police Officer who is currently facing multiple charges himself in the local courts and is under suspension. An amazing-and bewildering fact is that Raju Ramchandran, in his report, conceded that Bhatt's "statement" against Modi "has not been that of a detached police officer...I am left with no doubt that he(Bhatt) is actively 'strategising' and is in touch with those who would benefit or gain mileage"-a clear reference to anti-Modi elements, namely, the Congress party, Teesta Setalvad, Mukul Sinha, etc. Yet, Ramchandran insisted that "these factors cannot be grounds for ignoring it". Does it not sound incredible and clearly biassed that while recognising the motivated mindset of a leading player in the anti-Modi campaign-with conspiratorial undertones-Bhatt-and his political backers and anti-Modi compulsive bashers, the apex court-appointed lawyer-Raju Ramchandran, supposed to assist the court, is creating more complications, and, in the process, discrediting himself, instead of following a logical course of damning Bhatt's case?    

Spat between Govt and General

AK Antony, Union Defence Minister, is now facing a controversy regarding his inaction in the bribery case that was brought to his notice by his Army Chief Gen VK Singh, over a year ago. In his statement to the Parliament, a few day ago, in response to the public and opposition uproar, Antony acknowledged that the Army Chief had, indeed, told him about the bribery offer, but he did not act because the General did not want to pursue the matter. Instead of pressing his subordinate-the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Singh, to follow it up, he left it at that. How could the Defence Minister, known for "honesty" and "incorruptability", adopt an attitude of indifference and inaction in a serious matter of corruption at higher levels? How could he accept the Army Chief's reported reluctance to probe the case further and not himself initiate an enquiry?

However, when one looks deep into the Antony mindset, one is not surprised. This approach of laissez-faire, silence, indecision, general reluctance to promptly grapple with grave problems of governance and morality seems a trade-mark of this UPA govt. headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, a master, silent bureaucrat-turned politician and comprising senior members like Antony. No wonder, the country is hurtling from one cisis to another caused by a series of scams.

The unpleasantness between the Army Chief and the govt, particularly his boss, the Defence Minister, began with the controversy of the former's birth year. It has now worsened on the issues of the bribe offer that the General had conveyed to Antony and followed by his leaked letter to the PM about the inadequate preparedness of the armed forces due to insufficient weaponry, ammunition, etc. The ruling politicians and their supporters are raising hell about the grave leak, but do not display similar concern about the more disastrous state of our defence forces, thanks to the sensitivity and seriousness of the leadership.      

President Pratibha Patil's record wanderlust

A few days ago, one was shocked to read a Press Trust of India(PTI) report in the press about the Indian lady President, Mrs Pratibha Patil's fondness for foreign trips alongwith a huge group of her family and officials, at the cost of public exchequer. In response to a Right to Information(RTI) enquiry, it was revealed that Mrs Patil has set up a record of "jet-setting", making 12 trips to 22 countries in 4 continents, at the massive cost of Rs.205 crores! Her five-year tenure is about to end in July, 2012, but clearly her "wanderlust" at the expense of public funds, is yet not fully satisfied; it is reported that the lady President is getting ready to make her last official journey to South Africa before she demits her office within four months!

Right-thinking and concerned Indians were distressed when this undistinguished, provinicial politician was suddenly chosen by her party leadership to occupy the august office of the Head of the State-that too as the first woman President in the history of independent India. One hoped that, perhaps, the highest office might bring the best in the humble lady and she would leave behind a great legacy which the Indian people would remember fondly. But, alas, this was not to be. On the top of it, we have her penchant for expensive "wanderlust". The people at large cannot forget how the lady President has been a convenient tool of her party and government leadership to excessively delay the Supreme Court ordered execution of the Parliament attack convict(Afzal Guru) till this day. She has served as "your most obedient master" in her tenure!

It is a sad reflection on our democracy that there is hardly any accountability of the office-holder of the top-most office. At least, in the case of another constitutional office-holder-Mayawati, she had to pay a large price of losing her chief ministership for a colossal misuse of her office and public money. In contrast, Mrs Patil will go home quietly.  

Congress party's flippant spokespersons

It is a bitter truth that most controversies currently confronting the Congress party can be attributed to its own folly:confusion and incompetence. It is unfortunate that when it needs able, dignified and well-informed spokespersons the most, to defend it in TV news channel debates on topical matters on daily basis, it puts forward flippant, crude ones like Mrs Renuka Chaudhry who only compound its misery.

Watching her performance on several occasions in recent weeks, particularly the one on February 27 on NDTV, I really felt sorry for the party's improper and unwise choice to project Mrs Chaudhry. The lady has a bad habit of giggling at and taunting opponents during serious discussions, and this was in full flow on the Feb.27 night debate on the PM's accusation against some NGOs allegedly misusing foreign contributions to "instigate" local people to agitate against the Kudankulam nuclear power facility. Renuka indulged in a running commentary, ridiculing  another panelist, BS Udaykumar's assertion that he had not received any money from foreign sources for his NGO-National Movement Against Nuclear Energy. He added that he raised his money in small amounts from local people-farmers,etc. Mrs Chaudhry was interrupting him, implicitly saying that Kumar was lying. At that point, one more panelist-Mrs Kiran Bedi remarked that the lady anchor was not controlling the discussions, indirectly accusing Renuka of hijacking the debate with needless interjections. All in all, Renuka Chaudhry's conduct was totally undignified that did no credit to her party.

Muslim quota controversy

The Muslim quota controversy that has been fuelled by Congress leaders like Salman Khurshid and Beni Prasad Verma-both UPA Cabinet Ministers-as well as SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and the BSP Chief Minister of UP Ms Mayawati, in their election campaign in the State, is now echoing in the media. It was the topic of discussion in the NDTV's popular Sunday, prime-time, programme:"We, The People"(Feb 19). One can understand vote-bank-oriented parties-Congress and the Samajwadi Party championing the religion-based quota for one community-Indian Muslims, through  their respective leaders, namely, Mrs Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Shahid Siddiqi, in the TV debate, during the election time in UP, in violation of the spirit and the letter of the Constitution. Siddiqi who is a typical party-hopper who moved from the Congress, then the BSP to the SP, was quite confused and pathetic in his arguments in favour of the Muslim quota. In fact, all those exponents of Muslim quota have no real valid argument to oppose economic criterion as the basis of reservation of the depressed classes. But they think that Muslim quota advocacy will bring them electoral gains in the crucial election. Siddiqi seemed even critical of the Constitution-makers for providing reservations for the Hindu Scheduled castes, and not others, namely, Muslims who were similarly situated. In other words, he admitted that Islam had failed to absorb the SC converts, unable to offer them equal treatment!

What was most astonishing and incomprehensible in the TV debate, was the pro-quota posture of highly placed Muslims like the film-maker Muzzaffar Ali and a former IAS member and Vice-Chancellor Ansari. Having achieved a distinctive, elitist status in the society due to their hard work and talent, how could they join the ranks of habitual Muslim whiners, complaining about discrimination and backwardness allegedly faced by their community? Is itn't a myth-in fact, falsehood, to accuse the Indian State and the society(read Hindu dominated), for the socalled miserable plight of the Indian Muslims? How is it that Bollywood is dominated by Muslims even when all key levers-finance, direction, production, exhibition and distribution are mostly in the hands of Hindus? As an ordinary Indian, I know of so many cases of Muslim boys from very poor families achieving success through hard work and basic talent in their chosen field like tennis. You see so many young Muslim men and women in the print and electronic media doing well.

How can we forget the way our poor illiterate brethren-Hindus and Muslims, from the boondocks of UP, Bihar and Rajasthan, were taken to the far off lands-in the Caribbean-Trinidad and Guyana, Fiji and Mauritius, in the 19th century and later, to work in the sugar plantations as indentured labourers? They had to work in terrible, snake-infested conditions. And see how they have transformed their lives, becoming most prosperous and politically powerful, in less than a century, through sheer hard work and emphasis on education. Also, look at the refugees from West Pakistan and Sindh after partition. They came penniless, leaving everything behind. Again through sheer relentless efforts, self-sacrifice and hard work they have successfully rebuilt their lives. One has heard many stories of poor women doing manual work to send their children to school and college. Hence, it is disgusting to hear Ansaris, Siddiqis, Khurshids and Beni Vermas  talk of quotas. In fact, it is time to end all quotas; even, initially, they were meant for a decad or so. Let the State help weaker ones with affirmative action without the crutch of quotas.