In yet another instance, government is being held to ransom by none other than Mamta Banerjee, supremo of TMC...ahhmm..or correctly say supremo of the GoI. In the recent time it's been evident that, most of the reformative decisions taken by government has to be approved by didi, and if didi is not agreed to that, these decisions has to be rollback until the consensus(read agreement with Mamta Banerjee) is reached upon. It's seems like after having such scandalous last year and putting all of it's resources in covers up of scam, this year it's Mamta Banerjee, who is going to consume the crucial resources and time of UPA government.
Mamta Banerjee has been known for her pro-poor and pro-people agenda throughout her career. Be it Nandigram or Singur she has always stood by the poor people and fought for them. And that image of her has led her to the swapping victory over 34 year long rule of left in West Bengal. Even after coming to power, she has only boosted her pro-poor image by immediately refusing demand for required land for Tata Nano plant in singur. So it's quite clear she do not want to dent or even a scratch on her image.
Demand for rollback of fare hike, proposed in the railway budget, prepared by her own party men, is an attempt to save this image of her. But this has revealed her narrow minded, dictatorial and pro-poverty nature. Not only the demand of rollback of fare hike, but her statements after the incident has been dictatorial and even anti-national.
Without understanding the importance of the fare hike for Indian Railway (read more about it here), she has done what's needed to keep alive her pro-people and pro-poor image. After the refusal of railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, she stated that "No one is above party". This statement of her rises an important question, What about the nation then? Doesn't it the duty of every citizen and every party to think of nation first? It seems like rather then being worried about the effect of fare hike on poor people, she is more worried about her party image. And even if she thinks that fare hike is unfair to people, she has misjudged it totally.
If she thinks that fare hike introduced in the railway budget, which is first time in last 9 years, is unfair to the people, someone has to remind her the fact that, apart from last two years, Indian economy has been steadily growing at one of the highest rate in the world. And that economic growth has led to more income for Indian people be it poor or rich. A worker whose wage was in between 25 - 75 rupees per day is now earning around 100 - 250 per day. The diesel and electricity has gone costlier. So in this kind of scenario, the fare hike in railway budget is like oxygen for the dying railway economy.
If she really cares about the people, then she should try to uplift their economic condition rather than promoting their poverty and by that shielding her image and vote bank. Rather than opposing the fare hike, she should welcome the new reforms introduced in cleanliness, hygiene and safety in railway. Roll back of fare hike would be roll back of the reforms introduced, and that will stop the progress and development of Indian Railway. And as I am writing this, it's been confirmed that Dinesh Trivedi has resigned from the post of railway ministry. Again a sad news for India, with this kind of weak government at center and such strong ally, I am really expecting more such sad news. It reminds me of what Yashwant Sinha said a day ago about UPA, "Agar raja hi itna weak he, to sube to strong hoge hi". Truly said !!!
Mamta Banerjee has been known for her pro-poor and pro-people agenda throughout her career. Be it Nandigram or Singur she has always stood by the poor people and fought for them. And that image of her has led her to the swapping victory over 34 year long rule of left in West Bengal. Even after coming to power, she has only boosted her pro-poor image by immediately refusing demand for required land for Tata Nano plant in singur. So it's quite clear she do not want to dent or even a scratch on her image.
Demand for rollback of fare hike, proposed in the railway budget, prepared by her own party men, is an attempt to save this image of her. But this has revealed her narrow minded, dictatorial and pro-poverty nature. Not only the demand of rollback of fare hike, but her statements after the incident has been dictatorial and even anti-national.
Without understanding the importance of the fare hike for Indian Railway (read more about it here), she has done what's needed to keep alive her pro-people and pro-poor image. After the refusal of railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, she stated that "No one is above party". This statement of her rises an important question, What about the nation then? Doesn't it the duty of every citizen and every party to think of nation first? It seems like rather then being worried about the effect of fare hike on poor people, she is more worried about her party image. And even if she thinks that fare hike is unfair to people, she has misjudged it totally.
If she thinks that fare hike introduced in the railway budget, which is first time in last 9 years, is unfair to the people, someone has to remind her the fact that, apart from last two years, Indian economy has been steadily growing at one of the highest rate in the world. And that economic growth has led to more income for Indian people be it poor or rich. A worker whose wage was in between 25 - 75 rupees per day is now earning around 100 - 250 per day. The diesel and electricity has gone costlier. So in this kind of scenario, the fare hike in railway budget is like oxygen for the dying railway economy.
If she really cares about the people, then she should try to uplift their economic condition rather than promoting their poverty and by that shielding her image and vote bank. Rather than opposing the fare hike, she should welcome the new reforms introduced in cleanliness, hygiene and safety in railway. Roll back of fare hike would be roll back of the reforms introduced, and that will stop the progress and development of Indian Railway. And as I am writing this, it's been confirmed that Dinesh Trivedi has resigned from the post of railway ministry. Again a sad news for India, with this kind of weak government at center and such strong ally, I am really expecting more such sad news. It reminds me of what Yashwant Sinha said a day ago about UPA, "Agar raja hi itna weak he, to sube to strong hoge hi". Truly said !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment