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Journalism of Courage
I war surprised to see the good old Delhi-Agra highway dotted with huge hoardings of the Prime Minister, after every kilometre, proclaiming the construction of the road under the Golden Quadrilateral project. I, and millions like me, took this road to Agra long before the NDA Government was formed. But my surprise was doubled when I saw similar Golden Quadrilateral hoardings on the Mumbai-Pune expressway 8212; built during the Shiv Sena Government 8212; celebrating the expressway magic. Then came the real shock: even Sher Shah Suri8217;s G T Road 8212; the oldest of all highways 8212; hadn8217;t been spared in this credit-taking campaign.
The Government must come clean. Repairing or widening of old highways doesn8217;t make them new roads. The Ministry of Surface Transport must come out with a White Paper clarifying exactly how many kilometres of new highway it has laid. Also, it must spell out how much public money has been wasted on those huge glow hoardings all over the country and why the funds weren8217;t pumped into road construction instead. One estimate suggests that more than Rs 100 crore has been spent on such hoardings.
Those who gave an electoral spin to the expressway project could have spared some thought to make the highways serve their purpose better instead. Why, for instance, are our so-called expressways still without side barriers. How one can drive at an express speed if one is constantly worried about tractors or bullock carts that can join the highway traffic from the surrounding fields any time? The amount of money spent on those misleading hoardings could be used in constructing side-barriers along a substantial length of our expressways.
While the BJP has made it a habit to snatch credit for everything and anything, let it also shoulder responsibility for some of its own doing. As India shines in sarkari ads and Indians are told to feel good, comes the report of a survey conducted by Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. Among the 12 countries surveyed, India stands second just after Indonesia in the list of most corrupt nations. The survey was conducted among foreign businessmen and investors. India got an alarmingly high 8.9 out of 10 for corruption. Singapore, as always, ranked as the least corrupt nation with just 0.5. The Government, particularly its Finance Ministry, must explain why the perception of India among foreign businessmen and investors is so poor.
Make judges, babus pay
The Delhi High Court verdict asking all MPs to come clean on their government dues is a welcome move. Nobody should misuse power of office. But I think similar lists of defaulters among government officers and members of the judiciary would go a long way in cleansing the system. We have black sheep in all walks of life and they need to be singled out. A number of IAS officers, when they go back to their parent cadre after five years of service, just forget all their sarkari dues. It8217;s a shame when the same officials or politicians represent the government they dupe. The HC verdict is timely. But only a blanket scrutiny can make the system accountable.
Shekhar Suman reigns
Shekhar Suman, the indomitable humorist, recently bumped into BJP president Venkaiah Naidu in Mumbai. Given his current zeal to rein in as many as he gets, Naidu would well have invited Suman to join the BJP star parade, but the actor had two jokes lined up for him.
When kids go missing these days, Suman told Naidu, parents don8217;t rush to the local police station. Instead, they go to the BJP party office and check if Naidu has taken them to get them enrolled as party members.
As if that was not enough, the BJP chief had to face another googly from Suman. Notice Board at the BJP headquarters: Trespassers will be inducted into the party. Now Naidu had a good laugh but next time you are on Ashoka Road, make sure you don8217;t stray.
8212; The writer is a Congress MP
