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| Politics of blackmail | | It is for government to realise that Coalition Dharma may not eclipse nation’s development | | Sunita Vakil | 3/26/2012 11:00:43 PM |
| There is hardly any scope of surprise that the
former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had to pay
with his job for presenting to the nation a budget full of good economic sense, keeping in view the fact that the Congress leader’s main concern is the survival of UPA government till 2014. So it would have been naive to expect a railway budget not dictated by politics, heavily dependent as the UPA is on its constituents for survival. Indeed, Trivedi has been made a scapegoat. Manmohan Singh had to act on Mamta’s dictates because he dare not be seen to do anything that could rock the UPA’s boat. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has again chosen to keep mum, letting the railways became a pawn in the hands of politicians whose notions on politics and economics are all mixed up. Having said that, coalition compulsions, which have been the UPA’s bane for too long, have once again prevailed at the cost of progress.
Putting the needs of the railways and its passengers above populism, former railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi had brought a much needed reformist railway budget. He has proved himself to be a true statesman who did not bother about his post, contrary to most politicians who weigh their own interests above the country’s. Saying the modernization of and safety standards in the railways were his prime concern, Trivedi had presented an innovative balanced budget for the financial year 2012-2013 which attempted among other things, to save our biggest transportation network. By saying that country comes first, Trivedi fulfilled his pledge of promoting the national transporter, Indian railways, keeping nation’s interest in mind. In an unusual development people have also come forward in open support of the former railway minister’s proposals, notwithstanding the additional financial burden on passengers. But strangely enough, he was served an ultimatum to either roll back the hike in railway fares or resign. It was only a few days ago that Dinesh Trivedi said that if real change is to be brought in the railways, it should be separated from politics and run in a professional manner. It is unfortunate that an attempt to do so sealed the fate of the former cabinet minister. It is unprecedented in independent India that a party in power has not endorsed its own Railway Minister’s outright and pragmatic approach. That Trivedi was made a sacrificial goat to placate the whims and fancies of the UPA-II’s biggest ally speaks a lot for those who have a penchant for running economics with politics of blackmail. Interestingly, it is not Trivedi alone who has been martyred for doing his job. Under the UPA’s watchdog, many politicians have been jettisoned for placing nation’s interest above politics. Punjab’s ex-finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal lost his job and party for trying to bring professionalism in the state’s financially ruinous subsidy culture. Some time back, Dayanidhi Maran was dropped from the cabinet on a dictate from the DMK, with the PM’S acquiescence. The PM Dr. Manmohan Singh himself has suffered at the hands of parochial allies who have torpedoed his every major policy initiative. Consequently he has so far failed to work out an alternative to his colleagues’ blackmailing and bullying tactics on major policy issues like land acquisition revamp, subsidy reduction, decisions on FDI, tax and labour reforms including many others. Given this coalition crisis and policy paralysis, Trivedi’s agenda came as a ray of hope.
But Mamta Benarjee has once again set a bad precedent. It is saddening to see that no honest and self-respecting politician can hope to serve people through the existing system of multi-party democracy. Our country is saddled with a system which is by the politicians and for the politicians.
It goes without saying that the Railway budget should serve the nation and not any political party. It is a pity to see a minister who proposed a progressive rail budget after nine long years, has been asked to resign by his own party chief. Trivedi should in fact be applauded for presenting a forward looking budget even at the cost of losing his job. The UPA should be cognizant of the perils of having self serving allies on board. Indeed, Trivedi has set an example by keeping the nation above self-a rare trait among modern day politicians.
It is necessary to modernize the railway infrastructure to ensure the safety of passengers. We are in fact aware of the present plight of Indian railways. It does not meet the standards of being called the third largest railway network in the world. Since the Indian railways is relied upon by millions of people a hike in the fares is mandatory to raise the standards of trains and stations. The decision therefore should have been commended and not objected to.
Price hike after 9 years was something that was essential for the functioning of one of the biggest networks of India. A moderate hike given the overall rise in related infrastructure would not have mattered much to the common man. We prefer traveling in safe and hygienic environment and marginal increase in fare would not have pinched the passengers. Moreover, it would open doors to quality service and new recruitment. Such a decision should have been welcomed as it would have undoubtedly turned around the picture of railways. It comes as no surprise that Trivedi’s budget had the unstained backing of railway unions. It was quite imperative for the former railway minister to raise the fares in order to pull the railways out of the precarious financial crises. And that he did it very cautiously keeping in mind the interests of the common man and with the concurrence of the Finance Minister and Prime Minister is very praiseworthy.
Being adamant on such issues will not help the cause of development in a growing nation like India. The resignation of a minister for just not dancing to the tunes of his party leader is absurd. The aversion of raising rail fares by using poor as an alibi has exposed the brazen and parochial mentality of the TMC chief. The UPA must realize the dangers of having self serving allies, who in a bid to outdo each other announce populist programmes that are most often impractical and even dangerous to the nation. Bannerjee cannot have the cake and eat it too by remaining in the UPA and at the same time opposing every policy initiative. New Railway Minister Mukul Roy has announced the roll back of the hike except for 1st and 2nd AC coaches. Of course, it is of no consequence to Mr. Roy and his boss that their policies tend to be on the wrong side of public opinion and reason. After creating fracas at the Centre by opposing FDI in retail, Teesta river water treaty, the Lokayukta bill, NCTC and many other policies, the TMC chief has orchestrated another ploy to show that she is a cut above the rest. The sordid drama of Dinesh Trivedi’s resignation on Banerjee’s demand with the PM watching helplessly is nothing but capitulation to the latter’s high handedness. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the railway budget as forward looking. Then what made him drop the person who presented this forward looking budget. Given the overall support for the fare hike; he should have taken it up with Benarjee. But instead he once again parroted his honest confession that compulsions of alliance politics are making them succumb to the politics of blackmail. That is why the PM has allowed himself to be relegated to the position of a mute spectator. Indeed, both Baneerjee and Dr. Singh have lowered their image in public eye by forcing the resignation of Dinesh Trivedi. With elections to Parliament slated for 2014 and Mukul Roy at the helm, will the UPA focus on the safety of passengers and take correct policy measures?
As the results of the recent Assembly elections have indicated, the outcome of the 2014 general elections is way too predictable, of a fractured verdict. That is going to make national parties rely heavily on regional parties. This will not auger well for the country given the perils of a coalition government. |
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