Good Luck to the Opposition Bench

At the onset of the budget session, I would like to wish good luck to our opposition bench. They seem to be representing the aam aadmi pretty well using the media to their advantage. This is essential to make sure that the government does not lose focus on development. However, I would like to recommend a cheat sheet for the opposition and see the points in the sheet addressed adequately in this session.

Hooliganism as a Political Arsenal

Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka! Emperor Supreme of Sri Lanka? Goon Elect of Sri Lanka? Persecutor-of-all-against of Sri Lanka?

I wake up this morning to a front page interview with the man, a profile photo of a man set and determined, confident and ruthless (seemingly). I dread and shudder. I read on…

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Gadkari stated in his opening remarks at the BJP national council meeting in Indore

Today, I appeal to the Muslim community to be generous towards the sentiments and feelings of Hindus and facilitate the construction of a grand Ram temple. If you (Muslims) give up your claim on the land at the disputed site, we will cooperate in the construction of a magnificent masjid in a nearby land.

This, I think, is the light at the end of the tunnel for BJP in particular and India in general. Never before have we heard such open and consultative talk from the camp that wants to build the temple.

Many are claiming that Gadkari is ‘doing a Rahul’. I disagree. To raise a request such as this in a camp that is more than willing to use the temple/mosque issue into a vote bank takes a lot of gumption. Our man has shown just that.

It remains to be seen how the rest of the leadership responds. Already there are grumbles and chords of disagreement heard. But how he is going to handle these are these going to build up into a nasty in-fighting session in BJP as seen last year will prove whether this man will be capable of pulling the party out of its quagmire. I certainly hope and believe he will.

Single Entrance Exam – Bravo!

Yes, I am in favor. But the Tamilnadu government is in defiance. But why?

Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa

It is sad that the government with such an able cabinet has failed miserably to bridge the gap between spending and revenue. In this case, the blame rests solely on not putting into action the revenue plan effectively. The finance ministry planned spending on the assumption that revenues will come in from mobile spectrum auction, privatization of PSUs etc. While the plan sounded bullet proof earlier this financial year, the way the plans were carried out was far from professional leading to a yawning gap. This gap is, I am afraid, going to influence much-needed spending in the next couple of fiscals.

Albeit bad weather affecting agricultural output and world economic recession, India was positioned smartly at the beginning of this fiscal because it had precious revenue sources. Other nations would have killed to be in this position but the government has squandered this opportunity to take a leap ahead of other nations out of this recession.

Unfortunately, in India, there are more takers than givers. Among the groups needing support next fiscal would be marginal farmers who could fall out of an occupation with just one bad monsoon, urban laborers depending on real estate development and infrastructure projects, workers in traditional sectors such as textile, gems/jewelery, handicrafts etc.

This gap will force the government to roll back stimulus prematurely and put Indian industry at a disadvantage compared to rest of the world. In addition, unemployment numbers will sneak up (There are no clear numbers on unemployment numbers!).

I hope the opposition gets its act together and takes the government to task on the following items in the upcoming budget session

1. Spectrum auction failure/mismanagement (I think the telecom ministry needs some executive clean up)
2. Botch-up of NMDC IPO
3. Government’s measures to address unemployment (rural and urban)
4. Government’s plans to address revenue growth in the following fiscals
5. Stimulus plan

We do have an able team at the center but we do not have watch guards – a problem I was afraid will come up due to the lack of a strong opposition. Let us hope we get through this one with the sane ones in the parliament asking the right unbiased, non-divisive questions.

Back on Track

I am happy yet I am not content. We have a much stronger coalition in the centre. We have a cabinet that is best qualified ever to make changes for the better.

Why am I still concerned?

The Things I Dread…

OK We are will into election season. While some of us have already chosen, many of us are weighing the options. This election may well set the tone for the composition of future governments for a long time to come. In this scenario, I dread four things.

I am Proud to be an Indian

The past week has been depressing mainly because we don’t seem to have a good hold of the situation and there does not seem to be any concrete progress in the investigations. But today is different. The Hindu Magazine section has produced a few marvels restoring my pride and faith in the system.

We Want Transparency!

One week later, the government is still playing cat and mouse. They say that ISI is involved and we have strong evidence pointing to that. On the other hand, there is a conspiracy theory floating around that there were 25 terrorists and many got away. Now they are saying that the list of 20 demanded from Pakistan by India does not include the already pursued terrorists.

What is happening? Can we, the people of India, have some information about what is happening to us. I understand there may be case for a national security in disclosing this information. But the government needs to realize that the Pakistani media and Indian media are blowing this out of proportion and disillusioning the public. That leads to more anger and more unrest. This may possibly inflame the hindu extremists in India and other anti-social elements in Pakistan. Don’t let this anger breed. Communicate with us, the people and include us in the process of investigation.

Talk About Terrorism

As a nation, we are scar(r)ed. Our politicians don’t seem to have the required capabilities to uphold the nation’s security. One week since the attacks and we haven’t seen a single picture of the 9 killed terrorists. We have not seen a conclusive story on how the attacks unfolded. There has been no solicitation of help from the general public in solving the case. There has been no recognition of the NSG commandos who fought bravely and relentlessly against hardened and murderous terrorists.