news details |
|
|
| Dressed up, dressed down | | | | Dressing well is not a bad idea but one should also handle his job well. It is not the wardrobe of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil attracting criticism from all and sundry but his loss of grip on the job he is meant to do. Terror attacks in Delhi have placed Patil once again in the dock. But like the proverbial cat with nine lives he is again appearing to wriggle out of this tight spot, by pledging loyalty to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and defending his penchant to dress well. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav has been spearheading the attack against the Home Minister, and now there is talk that while Patil will survive the government might create another Ministry of Internal Security. But who will be the minister? The visible dearth of talent in the ruling alliance on this front is more than visible to all concerned. National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, another loyalist, also cannot escape responsibility for the increasing number of terror attacks and the growing insecurity in the country. The response cannot be left entirely to the states, with Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh taking the cue from Gujarat and Rajasthan and indulging in mass arrests. This creates deep anger and resentment, that leads to a vicious cycle, taking the situation out of control. The answer to terrorism does not lie in another ministry and more expenditure but in beefing up the existing apparatus to ensure efficiency and performance. The answer also does not lie in POTA-type laws, as governments have sufficient powers to arrest, interrogate and try the accused without resorting to draconian measures under which the innocent are left with no recourse to justice. The Home Minister and the NSA have shown themselves repeatedly that they are not up to getting results on the ground —should they then continue to do what they do best? Can we find persons who can make the system perform? India has the infrastructure in place but inefficiency percolates down when those at the top are indecisive, and unwilling to act. Shivraj Patil appears on television after every terror attack to say the same words, except for the name of the place, and retires never really to be seen again. Some high-level meetings are held, a few statements made after which the government retires until the next act of terrorism. The same attitude is evident in tackling the Naxalites, the violence engulfing Orissa and Karnataka, and the continuing protests and unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. Accountability has to be fixed. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
