Well the new mantra of the government seems to be, Observe "A"usterity for "B"achat of a few thousands of rupees by travelling "C"attle Class........Austerity is the new word that has suddenly found space in the dictionary of the government. So the government thinks...Mrs. Gandhi traveling economy, kicking out certain "twittering" ministers from their five-star cocoons will alleviate the nation's poverty and help India prosper...Well when posed by this question, the government spokesperson said that the entire intent of this "Austerity Drive" has been misconstrued... It is just the govt.'s symbolic gesture of expressing solidarity with their less fortunate countrymen including the drought-struck, flood-struck and several other crisis-struck people. Well if its just about tightening purse strings, then I guess for a purse that holds "crores" depriving it of a few thousands would not really make it unhappy!!!!Recession that has burnt big holes in everybody pockets has somehow left our ministers pockets unscathed....Is flying economy the best the government can do? How about taking some "Real Decisions" and giving pink-slips to non-functional MPs whose designations just exist on paper and who serve no real purpose..What do you save out of this..Millions of rupees that goes into providing unnecessary security to these ministers, footing mammoth bills of their accommodations in plush villas, foreign travel (read vacations) and of course the baggage that comes along..the high handedness of these ministers and their kin....the list is just endless...If only the govt could curb the ostentatious display of wealth at the weddings of their kin..Right from making the invitations in gold (I am sure they would even make these in rhodium)...to booking an entire city for the weddings, to making a 1000 crore meal, to deploying the entire national security for the elite guest list upto hiring certain "Khans" to dance at the weddings at the cost of only a few crores by certain "high-flying" ministers (pun intended) is certainly no austerity. The net result of this ugly gala event-complete consumption of every possible resource-both monetary and energy sources!!! Wouldn't real action be targeting these ministers and confiscating their "Fodder" and "Shoes" wealth and utilizing these resources for more productive developmental work....It is ironical that so many of these ministers that claim to save money by cutting down on their foreign travel never travel even once to their respective constituency!!!!! Stationing oneself in the slightly less cosy "Govt Bhavans" instead of five-star hotels is certainly no austering!!!Why do these "Bhavans" need months of work of face-lift each time an MP leaves making way for another one to move in?????? Do these ministers just plunder everything from the Bhavans that you need to redo the place to make way for another plunder....
Well I wonder if these "austere ministers" think this gesture is equivalent in measure to the "forced austerity" that a farmer in Vidarbha faces when he has to mortgage his home to fend himself and this rain-deprived farm or to the misery of the "Cattle-Class" aadmi whose pockets have been completely deflated by the "inflation" balloon that doesn't cease to grow bigger by the day!!!!
So yes travelling economy by his elected representative or a pretense of giving up on your five-star luxuries is the most over-simplified answer that will certainly not please the voter!!!!!!
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2 comments:
Good one Yogi. n besides did you read about the stone pelting on train that Rahul Gandhi was travelling, causing a lot of inconvenience to the "CATTLE CLASS".. I think the ruling party has to budget for everything and make that kind of information available to the tax payers (CATTLE CLASS) at all times.
Visited this blog after a long time wasn't disappointed at all. Great to read the austerity and the reality TV post. Your rage on the austerity drive comes through well, with a dash of humor - so well written! You brilliantly point out the hypocrisy of this blatant tokenism. While I definitely think that these "servants" of the people must travel economy and avoid 5 star hotels, the problem is their presumption that it is enough.
Everytime I drove through Lutyen's Delhi I understood why political power is such an intoxicant. Those palatial bungalows are a brutal joke on the people who vote these &#@$* to power.
Reality tv and voyeurism of course, I have lots of thoughts on. A book is waiting to be written on the Reality TV "revolution" in India...
And I personally think that Love has no language...:)
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