SALAAM BUREAUCRAT
That bureaucrats have been and continue to be at the receiving end of politicians is an established fact, only that Home Minister P Chidambaram was honest enough to admit recently that they (he was referring only to police officials) are kicked around like foot balls. Apart from transfers and punishment postings, we have been witness to even some officials being killed brutally if they do not shell out money for the birth day celebrations of some politicians and the entire nation saw on television how an Andhra MP from Mr Chidambaram’s own party thrashed a bank official over some loan issue.
It is equally an open secret that some bureaucrats crawl even where they are expected only to bend. Top ranking officials singing paeans for people in power and even putting loads of pastry into their hungry mouths during birthday celebrations are not uncommon sights. Political connections are used to get transfers, postings and even promotions, not to talk of other sundry favours for spouses, children and others ranging from admissions to foreign trips and business contracts.
Yet, one does come across exceptions in this mutually exploitative and opportunistic relationship. We do find bureaucrats like Kiran Bedi, who don’t mind taking even the Prime Minister to task when it comes to following rules (remember Crane Bedi).and going on to win the prestigious Magsaysay Award for turning a punishment posting (Tihar Jail) into a wonderful opportunity (ashram). Yes, finally she did resign over not being appointed as the Delhi Police Commissioner. But, the fact also remains that the people remember Bedi (she is now on popular television shows) more than any other city police chief.
It is in this context that one remembers the comparatively low profile, soft spoken and affable bureaucrat Satish Chandra who passed away in Bengaluru recently. He was Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office during the 10 month tenure of H D Deve Gowda.
The proverbial dark horse that he was, a shell shocked Gowda found himself all alone in the corridors of power in Delhi when he was catapulted to the nation’s highest office by destiny. Having been a seasoned politician in Karnataka, Gowda knew too well the importance of a friendly bureaucracy if he was to prove his detractors and critics wrong.
He approached Chandra, who was Chief Secretary of the state when he was the state PWD Minister. Chandra initially refused but after much persuasion relented and guided Gowda through an eventful and tumultuous ten months. Though the bad press he got projected Gowda as a sleeping, mumbling rustic, the first ever package for North East, the signing of the Mahakali Treat with Nepal, the Ganges water sharing agreement with Bangladesh, the resolution of the Tehri dam issue, the announcement of Uttarakhand state and the first railway link to Kashmir, the negotiations with Naga insurgent groups etc also took place during the period thanks to the Janata Dal leader’s vision and free hand given to Chandra, T S R Subramanian and their team of bureaucrats.
Chandra, who briefly became the Governor of Goa, became a recluse after he succumbed to Parkinson’s Disease and to some extent even Alzheimer’s. Gowda made repeated attempts to meet him but he declined on grounds of protocol. After much persuasion, Gowda hosted Chandra and his wife at his residence and as they were leaving presented them with fruits and dress material. Chandra accepted only the fruits.
And much against Chandra’s will for a quiet funeral, a grateful Gowda made all arrangements when his Man Friday passed away. He got the issue raised in the Karnataka legislative council and forced the BJP run state Government to extend full state Honours to the late bureaucrat and Governor. The former Prime Minister spent the whole night weeping besides Chandra’s mortal remains and even organized a memorial meeting.
In a rare tribute by a politician to a bureaucrat, Gowda described Chandra as his “friend, philosopher and guide.”
“I owe him to a great extent whatever achievements are attributed to my government. I must also give him full credit for ensuring that the United Front Government remained scandal free and its image unsullied”, Gowda said.
Neither did Gowda treat Chandra like a foot ball nor did the latter seek or accept any favours from him. It was a relationship of trust and understanding in the larger interests of the nation by two important pillars of our democracy – legislature and executive.
Showing posts with label deve gowda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deve gowda. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
An Absurdity Called Austerity
‘E-Cow-Nomics’ screamed Amul’s latest satirical advertisement making a pun of Junior Minister Shashi Tharoor’s uncharitable Twitter references to economy air passengers as “cattle class”, days after he was forced to vacate his plush suite in the Taj Mansingh, where he was staying in the absence of privacy and a gym in Kerala House.
The austerity fad seems to spreading like a pandemic, sort of H1N1, with no one including the Royal Gandhis escaping from its clutches. While his expression of solidarity with the ‘Aam Aadmi’ saved a meager Rs 445, it will cost much more for the Indian tax payer to repair those windowpanes broken by some wayward boys of Haryana (some television shows identified one of the stone-throwing boys as Varun Gandhi, little knowing that his expertise lies somewhere else – Just remember the Pilibhit speech).
Rahul’s Discovery of India was preceded by his mother’s equally fascinating journey to Mumbai not to talk about the circuitous route taken by our Foreign Minister S M Krishna to reach Belarus and other places to save some money for the country. The Vokkaliga stalwart was not even allowed to rest in peace at his Maurya Sheraton suite and was forced to vacate it by people who apparently didn’t know that he was the father-in-law of the owner of Café Coffee Day.
This whole exercise or enactment of this farcical and absurd horse play began when the Indian Express broke the story about these two Ministers leading a royal life in a country of the poor, downtrodden, Dalits, underprivileged, religious, linguistic and sexual minorities.
If that be the criterion, why on earth should we be hosting the Commonwealth Games. After all, you cannot blow away the wealth of the common man even if it has been named ‘Commonwealth’. We need more schools than stadia, more hospitals than velodromes, more houses than Five star hotels and games villages.
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda never used to claim any of the free bus passes or railway coupons he was entitled to as an MLA. In fact, even today, he travels by his own car and stays in a bungalow lower in category than the one to which he is entitled.
One may have sharp differences with the man on his politics, but when it comes to leading a simple life, you just cannot beat the man who wears bathroom slippers to the Parliament and lives on a staple diet of Ragi balls (Muddae) and sambar.
Even in the UPA, we have leaders like A K Antony, whose wife used to travel to her office by bus when he was the Chief Minister of Kerala, Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge who stays in a room at the Karnataka Bhavan and the indefatigable Mamata Banerjee, who even goes to Parliament on Railway Budget day in a friend’s car sans any security cover and is caught in a traffic jam. Even when he was the country’s Defence Minister, the gates of George Fernandes’ residence on Krishna Menon Marg always remained open (one reason why the Tehelka team was tempted to enter and catch Jaya Jetlie unawares). We can recount several such instances from the past.
In the land of Gandhi, I mean the Mahatma, austerity has to be an integral part of life. In fact, it is the ordinary Indian’s inclination towards savings and an austere life that has seen us through the worst of recession.
The Congress stage managers must realize that the ‘Aam Aadmi’ does not travel even the economy class or chair car. At the best, a lower middle class family may travel by a low cost carrier once in a blue moon. Therefore, if at all these leaders and ministers have to travel, let them book their cheapest available tickets through travel portals like ordinary folk and travel without any frills.
Secondly, let these leaders not trivialize the very concept of austerity. If a senior political leaders does not keep well and needs more legroom at his or her age to travel comfortably, even the media should not grudge it. As private citizens, we also look for our basic comforts. Being a politician is not a crime. We don’t mind our elected representatives being looked after well, so long us as they also look after us well.
In countries such as United States, several facilities are extended to elected representatives to enable them to function smoothly and independently. A newly elected Corporator was complaining to me recently that he was finding it difficult to even offer a cup of tea to the scores of constituents who come to him daily with problems. In fact, some newly elected MPs from adjoining states who were allotted rooms in Hotel Samrat temporarily after the recent Lok Sabha elections vacated it after they found it beyond their means to entertain constituents.
Coming back to Gowda, he recently contributed 20% of his annual salary to the Prime Minister’s Famine Relief Fund, keeping in view the flood and drought situation in different parts of the country. And the princely sum amounted to Rs 38, 400/-. That being the case, isn’t it high time, we take a look at the salary structure of our elected representatives and devise mechanisms that would ensure that they are not forced to take favours to do their work properly. In fact, a hike in their salaries and allowances would give us better returns in the long run rather than short-term and short-sighted absurd austerity measures.
The austerity fad seems to spreading like a pandemic, sort of H1N1, with no one including the Royal Gandhis escaping from its clutches. While his expression of solidarity with the ‘Aam Aadmi’ saved a meager Rs 445, it will cost much more for the Indian tax payer to repair those windowpanes broken by some wayward boys of Haryana (some television shows identified one of the stone-throwing boys as Varun Gandhi, little knowing that his expertise lies somewhere else – Just remember the Pilibhit speech).
Rahul’s Discovery of India was preceded by his mother’s equally fascinating journey to Mumbai not to talk about the circuitous route taken by our Foreign Minister S M Krishna to reach Belarus and other places to save some money for the country. The Vokkaliga stalwart was not even allowed to rest in peace at his Maurya Sheraton suite and was forced to vacate it by people who apparently didn’t know that he was the father-in-law of the owner of Café Coffee Day.
This whole exercise or enactment of this farcical and absurd horse play began when the Indian Express broke the story about these two Ministers leading a royal life in a country of the poor, downtrodden, Dalits, underprivileged, religious, linguistic and sexual minorities.
If that be the criterion, why on earth should we be hosting the Commonwealth Games. After all, you cannot blow away the wealth of the common man even if it has been named ‘Commonwealth’. We need more schools than stadia, more hospitals than velodromes, more houses than Five star hotels and games villages.
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda never used to claim any of the free bus passes or railway coupons he was entitled to as an MLA. In fact, even today, he travels by his own car and stays in a bungalow lower in category than the one to which he is entitled.
One may have sharp differences with the man on his politics, but when it comes to leading a simple life, you just cannot beat the man who wears bathroom slippers to the Parliament and lives on a staple diet of Ragi balls (Muddae) and sambar.
Even in the UPA, we have leaders like A K Antony, whose wife used to travel to her office by bus when he was the Chief Minister of Kerala, Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge who stays in a room at the Karnataka Bhavan and the indefatigable Mamata Banerjee, who even goes to Parliament on Railway Budget day in a friend’s car sans any security cover and is caught in a traffic jam. Even when he was the country’s Defence Minister, the gates of George Fernandes’ residence on Krishna Menon Marg always remained open (one reason why the Tehelka team was tempted to enter and catch Jaya Jetlie unawares). We can recount several such instances from the past.
In the land of Gandhi, I mean the Mahatma, austerity has to be an integral part of life. In fact, it is the ordinary Indian’s inclination towards savings and an austere life that has seen us through the worst of recession.
The Congress stage managers must realize that the ‘Aam Aadmi’ does not travel even the economy class or chair car. At the best, a lower middle class family may travel by a low cost carrier once in a blue moon. Therefore, if at all these leaders and ministers have to travel, let them book their cheapest available tickets through travel portals like ordinary folk and travel without any frills.
Secondly, let these leaders not trivialize the very concept of austerity. If a senior political leaders does not keep well and needs more legroom at his or her age to travel comfortably, even the media should not grudge it. As private citizens, we also look for our basic comforts. Being a politician is not a crime. We don’t mind our elected representatives being looked after well, so long us as they also look after us well.
In countries such as United States, several facilities are extended to elected representatives to enable them to function smoothly and independently. A newly elected Corporator was complaining to me recently that he was finding it difficult to even offer a cup of tea to the scores of constituents who come to him daily with problems. In fact, some newly elected MPs from adjoining states who were allotted rooms in Hotel Samrat temporarily after the recent Lok Sabha elections vacated it after they found it beyond their means to entertain constituents.
Coming back to Gowda, he recently contributed 20% of his annual salary to the Prime Minister’s Famine Relief Fund, keeping in view the flood and drought situation in different parts of the country. And the princely sum amounted to Rs 38, 400/-. That being the case, isn’t it high time, we take a look at the salary structure of our elected representatives and devise mechanisms that would ensure that they are not forced to take favours to do their work properly. In fact, a hike in their salaries and allowances would give us better returns in the long run rather than short-term and short-sighted absurd austerity measures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
