The Delhi Debate

A lot has been written about the AAP already and I too congratulate them on the wins. In fact, it is needless to mention that we all are proud of them. However, Delhi voted for governance and not a logjam. Therefore AAP should either take or offer support from BJP to form the govt. (even an outside support works and everything said and done, most of the people of Delhi voted for the BJP ) and put out a public notice of issues that they won't compromise on. This will respect people's verdict and not compromise AAP's political character. We can use the taxpayers' money for better purposes than a re-election. The likes of Kumar Vishwas are already losing their "humble" demeanour and they will be well advised not to fall into the lusty trap of realpolitik.

Re-election

The amount that the election commission has put as the upper limit for the candidates to campaign for the election is Rs. 14 lakh. Given the number of candidates in the 70 constituencies, the figure of the ‘permissible’ limits come out to be somewhere around 113 crores (so I found on a few news channels). We all know that the permissible limits is way off the actual spending that is incurred. The setting up of election machinery, security personnel etc. are also a disruption of normal life to an extent. It’s good to exercise our right to elect a government, however, surely not so frequently.

The way forward

The BJP has received the maximum support of the people of Delhi to form the government. Dr. Harshvardhan looks like a humble servant that Delhi has been looking for. Unlike a Vijay Goel, Mr. Harsvardhan looks like a man of the masses and not of Lutyen’s Delhi alone. So, 4 more seats and we have a stable government in the national capital. However, we have a hung assembly. AAP has won hearts and votes in Delhi and performed well enough to quip back to Sheila Dixit who infamously snapped “Bewakoof hain na hum," when asked if she underestimated the Aam Aadmi Party. Following are the options for the BJP and AAP. The Congress does not find a mention because there is a clear mandate from the people and the message very clear – “We do not like the Congress”.

The options :

1. The BJP sagaciously offers to support the AAP from the outside and promise them a 5 years’ term (obviously including a list of things that they would like to see for a better Delhi). This way AAP gets a chance to form the government and the BJP can show at a national level their intent to facilitate the formation a corruption free government. Strategically also, you will then have routed Congress from Delhi for another decade at the least.
2. The AAP supports the BJP from the outside and acknowledges the mandate of the people of Delhi in favour of the BJP. They also come out with a list of initiatives that they want the government to work upon such as the Jan Lokpal Bill in the very form that they wanted it to be introduced.
3. The AAP and the BJP join hands in an alliance with a common minimum program that takes the best of both worlds and does not compromise of any ideologies that these parties claim to uphold. (Something that Kiran Bedi has also suggested)
4. AAP should let the BJP form the government by abstinence in the favour of a stable government. In case things go wrong and the BJP turns out no different to the Congress, then you can always ask them to prove their majority on the floor of the house. In that case a re-election will be justified because the government would have gone against a few of the principles that it was expected to uphold. 

The AAP’s leftist demeanour has irked me into wishing that they remain good with Delhi alone at the current moment. That is a separate discussion altogether, I understand, however, the cause of nation building is more than just the winning of the seats. How you help form the government is a classic test of your respect for the voters. I write this knowing full well that a re-election will put in place a majority government. 

This surely is an interesting phase in Delhi, a city that has been the center of politics for a long time  – be it in the medieval India or in the contemporary India.  

The Uttarakhand Cloudburst and more...

What it would be like.. (sanitized)

What is a cloudburst (geographically and politically)?

A cloudburst refers to a rainfall at a very high rate (more than 100 mm per hour). Given that such a large amount of rain  falls in a matter of minutes, it creates a flood like situation – the flash floods. In the Indian context, it also refers to a scenario when our ministers survey the affected area aerially while our soldiers toil hard on the ground to save every life, that, the politicians forget, is valuable. No, I am not bashing India, it is just the reality. I have seen the likes of Kevin Rudd ( Australian Prime minister) help the victims himself when floods hit parts of Australia and Donald Rumsfeld (the then US secretary of Defense) help the victims of 9/11 by working on the ground. They, by no means, are less important than MMS and Edvige Antonia Albina Maino (I mean Sonia Gandhi).

What does it do?

It destroys life and property. The former is hardly a valuable asset in our country of a billion people. Thousands of people have already lost their lives in this Himalayan Tsunami.

Is it a natural disaster?

No, this one is not. While the Uttarakhand Chief Minister disagrees with me , questioning how can flash floods and landslides be termed as man-made disasters, I have a different opinion. It is a man – made one. Every time politicians like him or Rahul Gandhi (who suggested that Atal ji’s suggestion to join all rivers is tantamount to ‘playing with nature’) open their mouth, I feel that there should be an entrance exam for people to be qualified as politicians. Not only will that allow only those above a certain IQ to govern our country, it will also save us the embarrassment of having leaders like SM Krishna who would read a Portuguese minister speech at the UN , instead of his own! Sorry for digressing. We have mindlessly constructed damns, built roads, buildings (including our own homes) perilously close to the rivers (and in some cases on the river beds) and thereby have played with the eco system of the region, inviting such disasters. It’s funny that when we see the Yamuna, as she ought to be seen, we call it “floods”. We do not have an efficient disaster management department. They say “we have all the new techniques to rescue the people stuck in disaster, however, what we lack is the means to transfer these equipment to the area that are affected”.  That’s like saying, I know you are dying and we have the best doctor with us, but we cannot wake him up. Death, is given. Many people die of heat in summers and cold in winters, but only Gujarat has a Heat action plan for its citizens. Time to learn, perhaps (even for the “secular” people) ?

Mr. CM, mindless construction and deforestation has led to this disaster. We trusted you to protect us, we trusted wrong. You shamelessly admit that the Uttarakhand state disaster management authority (formed 6 years back) has not even met once. You also allege that no other state has an agency prepared to meet the devastation of such magnitude. Two points here – a ) This argument hardly absolves you of your duty , b) Other states are not as prone to natural disasters as yours is. Doppler radars cost only a few crores and they can inform you 3-4 hours before a cloudburst, however, you did not install them, perhaps, you were busy “allocating the money to a greater cause”.  

What did the CAG say?

The CAG report released in April, 2013 raised pertinent issues. It highlighted the lack of basic personnel with 44% of the posts in the district emergency cell vacant, no trainers to train the people at the district or the village level on how to manage such emergencies, lack of adequately trained medical staff and no actionable plans in Uttarakhand to tackle natural phenomena such as Cloudburst, glacier collapse or flash floods despite the state being prone to such disasters.

As usual, the Congress blood prevented the state CM to listen to the CAG.

What did the media do?

Believe it or not, they “all” were the “first ones” to reach the place. Sure I wanted to know who were the first ones and they did not disappoint me. To be fair though, the media did do a good job of bringing us pictures and plight of the people stranded there. It led to a movement across the country where people have come together to contribute in their own ways, by supplying food, water, blankets and a few chosen one chose aerial visits.

What do we do?

We write blogs, post on facebook and sleep in disgust. I hope all of us have gone beyond regular praying and done something more meaningful for the affected. On an ugly side, there were reports that some of “us” were looting valuables from the temples and worst, even from the pilgrims. There were incidents of loot in many parts of the affected areas, which put us all in a very bad light. Winston Churchill was opposed to India getting independence, because he thought that Indians were unruly and barbaric people who won’t be able to sustain the independence. This incident almost makes me wonder, if we have lost love and respect for life. Pardon me my generalization, but such were the scenes.

What we ought to do?

Contribute any which way we can to help those who are in need. There are groups on facebook and other NGOs who are tirelessly working to help the needy. Please do find out and extend the help. Many offices are also driving such initiatives, and so is mine, to help the victims. The platform is not important, the contribution is. Let us also wish that the lives of those affected and the livelihood of the locals is restored to normalcy at the earliest. While I was surfing channels today, I came across a movie “Shiva, the Hero”. It all seems ironical after the images that we saw from Kedarnath. The Indian government teaches how precious our lives are, so let us take the positives from this man made disaster, and spend more time with our families, for you never know what will happen on your next trip.

Who to thank?

Who else but the CM and the PM? Of course, I am kidding. The Indian army. We all should thank the Indian army for being the best heroes that we have, night and day, through thick and thin, through pot holes and external aggression, you always rise above and restore our faith on a belief that is India. Thank you.