By Patricia Mukhim
Congress- UDP marital dilemma
The Congress and UDP have co-habited for all of three years. One would have thought that the two would have adapted to each other’s fads and foibles and behave just as well under the blanket as they would out of it. But as we get closer to the 2013 tamasha the marital discord seems to be out in the open. Congress patriarchs with amnesiac tendencies are beginning to feel the three year itch first. They are going round the countryside calling the UDP names which are not exactly what one calls a sleeping partner. The amorous happy-go-lucky relationship now seems to have nearly hit rock bottom. From the looks of it, that’s going to happen sooner than later.
Now the UDP is known to be a party that helps joins the dots. They flirted with the NCP in 2008 and then bedded them. But the romance was short-lived. No one really knows who caused that monumental break-up but many believe that a certain wit actually lit the spark that burnt the flimsy knot and led to the unforgettable split of the NCP-UDP-KHNAM-Independent coalition government christened the MPA.(Let’s dispense with the full form. It means nothing in Meghalaya). And that master blaster who broke the Gordian knot was not even with the UDP then. He is now, though and one can see that he has brought some vitality to the party but whether he will be able to score a ton for it remains to be seen. When the Congress wooed the UDP in 2009, it was wooing an old flame. The two had known each other since 2003; they have been there, done that. Hence the renewed bonds did not take too long to materialize. All the political intrigues and back-stabbing actually happened within the Congress. The UDP remained a loyal partner.
But out of the blue we hear the UDP honcho (a doctorate in economics) launching a broadside against his coalition partner accusing it of mucking up the law and order situation. He was referring to the road blockades and the petrol bombing of vehicles during those curfew hours. If this is a coalition government then is the UDP not an equal partner in crime (in this case a breach of law and order)? That’s what a coalition means. You don’t go around blaming a coalition partner unless you have resigned from the coalition. That’s the rule of the game. But perhaps some politicians and political parties don’t believe in any rules at all. They play the game of democracy using the rules of monocracy (read tyranny).
However, the voting public is having the last laugh because they are no fools. Even the voters of rural Meghalaya are wise enough to know who’s pulling a fast one. That’s why wannabe MLAs have to spend such a hell of a lot of money to buy votes. If the rural folks were bozos as we believe them to be, would they make capital out of the election season? It’s us in the town who are yet to put a price on our votes. Some among us are idealistic enough to believe that they could even change voter behaviour through mass campaigns. What would they campaign about? The environment? Save the rivers? Doubtful voters? Lack of drinking water? Power cuts? And oh yes, corruption too! The list of things not working for the state, are endless. Where do the bleeding hearts start from and where will they end?
So much for the UDP- Congress name calling episodes! It’s a charade badly enacted. Let me now move to another less slippery domain.
Obsession with security and paraphernalia
Last week this writer was at Mumbai and some news made it to the headlines. Guess what the news was. The newly elected BJP Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar an alumnus of IIT Mumbai who was awarded with Distinguished Alumnus Award 2001, came to Mumbai for a felicitation ceremony. He flew economy class, checked in and queued up like ordinary passengers and took a taxi from the airport to his place of stay. That same evening at a party held in his honour and attended by the jet set and the Page 3 glitterati of Mumbai, the guests were stunned by what they saw. The Goa CM arrived at the venue in a taxi with no black cats to protect him .He wore shirts and trousers much like a humble middle class man, avoided gushing at film stars and generally surprised the pompous celebrities with his down to earth conduct.
Contrast this to Meghalaya where much hue and cry has been made in recent times by some worthies about security paraphernalia. In the first place Meghalaya is a poor state (66% of its population are BPL) so it does not befit a chief minister to go around with an entourage of six or seven vehicles with SOT gunmen even while moving around the city. The scene is intimidating and reeks of the arrogance of power. There is never any threat to a politician’s life in Meghalaya and I can vouch for this. Militants have always targeted policemen and lesser mortals. They do not wish to break the symbiotic relation they have with politicians. It benefits no one to do so. So will Dr Mukul Sangma please shed his load of gunmen and move around like an ordinary citizen? After all he is only the first among equals! If he does so then perhaps Conrad Sangma too might stop cribbing about how his security is being downgraded. It makes us all sick to hear politicians quibbling about their rights when the common people in Garo Hills are actually left to fend for themselves.
In terms of revenue generation Goa is heads and shoulders above Meghalaya. In the recent assembly elections the people of Goa rejected the Congress because of its dynastic politics. Manohar Parrikar is a much liked chief minister. His being in the BJP is incidental. After becoming chief minister he went unobtrusively into the logistics section of the state mines and geology department, and enquired about the royalty collection for the previous financial year. The staff was bewildered, as they never expected the chief minister to drop by without a word or notice. Save for a personal security officer, the CM goes about the state without the huge protective entourage that comes with his position.
Taking charge of a state reeling under reports of a mining scam, Parrikar began his clean-up drive by suspending the director of mines and geology who is said to be neck deep in corruption. Following this, he began eliminating rogue mining traders to control illegal mining. He suspended licenses of all the traders and asked each one to re-apply. Only the genuine ones re-applied. The Public Works Department (PWD), which had become a hub of corruption, also faced Parrikar’s onslaught when a senior officer and a couple of juniors were suspended. Besides this, block development officers, panchayat secretaries and lower rank staff involved in malpractices have also begun to feel the heat.
Parrikar struck the right chord with the people when he reduced the tax on petrol to bring down its price by Rs 11. Since then his popularity graph has been rising. He travels on a Tata Innova given to him when he was the leader of the Opposition. Above all, here is one chief minister who is available to the public through his official email ID which he accesses daily.
I wish we had such politicians in Meghalaya who will shed their pompous airs and transient baggage to connect with people instead of keeping themselves ‘off’ the masses. Alas! Such examples are rare. I am reminded of late TH Rangad who as Home Minister at the height of militancy in Meghalaya drove his own vehicle after office hours. There is something to be said about the BJP. The Congress is too used to the paraphernalia and goodies of office. The NCP is not too far behind!