Articles

Tatkal Entry into Private Club

By Sudha Dixit

                                                     Hell hath no greed as a politician enthroned

                                                                                             ~ With apology from Shakespeare.

 Except manual labour, all other forms of jobs & careers require some qualification. The only job that does not require either education or skill is the job of a politician. As exceptions, there are some good and qualified persons in politics, but they are in minority (should we seek reservation for them?). The majority is a herd and the indiscipline is reflected in the way they function in Assembly and Parliament. Their lack of culture shows in the way they speak and behave at cultural functions (demanding preferential treatment). There is a joke, a man had two sons, one was studious, hard working and intelligent. The other one lazy, good-for-nothing and irresponsible. When asked by well wishers what the father planned for his second son, the man replied “My first son will have a good career and my second son will become a politician.”

 Congress having huge number of such bright, happy-go-lucky sons, ruled for sixty eight years and did nothing. Finally it lost, thank god. Rahul Gandhi may have sharpened his vocal cords after fifty nine days of sabbatical but his loser party has not learnt its lesson. Instead of introspection (as madam Sonia had suggested) Congress is resorting to rabble-rousing. In a few states where Congress is still in power, voters are having second thoughts regarding their choice of Government. Now people of Karnataka are introspecting about what to do about Congress Government in state.

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiya must be living in fool’s paradise if he thinks that he is going to remain CM forever. He holds traffic for hours causing inconvenience to people, including  the sick and the elderly, then has the audacity to say “They have to bear it“ as if he is the king supreme (sounds like ‘Hum Lankesh hain’). Now he and his cronies are coming up with an outrageous idea of passing a draconian bill to enter elite private clubs from the back door. These clubs have an average waiting period of fifteen to twenty years. How can politician who don’t even qualify for the membership, gatecrash such institutions instantly? It is sheer autocracy.

 There is load shedding in the month of monsoon, which is ridiculous. As a result streets are plunged in darkness, giving rise to crimes. There is eternal problem of garbage disposal (shouldn’t garbage be dumped in politicians’ manicured lawns? At least it will be removed quickly). There is water scarcity, uncontrolled traffic, potholes, chain snatching and most unfortunate events of farmers’ suicides. The list is endless.

 The alacrity with which Karnataka Govt. is trying to pass the draft ‘Karnataka Entry into Public Places’ has never been shown in tackling other civic and human ills troubling the state. The Govt. claims that by entering the recreational clubs it will enhance Kannada culture. How can a herd of culturally challenged, uneducated people improve an elite community’s culture? Lord Acton had said “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. While disagreeing with and bickering about each other, whole tribe of politicians is unanimous on one issue – self promotion and benefits – pay, perks and freebies. There are umpteen urgent and important issues but the Govt. is focusing on saving culture, ludicrous. There is an Urdu couplet portraying these ‘Netas’

            Qaum ke ghum mein dinner khaate hain hukkaam ke sath

                   Ranj leader ko bahut hain magar araam ke sath

{Having concern for the community, they eat dinner with officials

                    Leaders are very sad but with relaxation }

 So, instead of doing its job for which it was elected in the first place and fulfilling its duties, the Govt. is eyeing the privileges & facilities of private recreational clubs, to relax and enjoy. Yes Nero was fiddling while Rome was burning.

 About The Author:  Sudha Dixit is from Lucknow and studied at Aligarh Muslim Univ., Lucknow Univ. and Banaras Hindu University. She currently resides in Bangalore. She writes articles, poems in both Hindi & English. Her hobbies include painting and reading.

Comments are closed.