Ticketless travellers

The furore over Deve Gowda's little family picnic in Harare last year seems to have had no lasting effect on the ruling class, which persis...

The furore over Deve Gowda8217;s little family picnic in Harare last year seems to have had no lasting effect on the ruling class, which persists in its belief that the nation8217;s resources are intended for assuring its comfort levels. For instance, Minister of State for Defence N. V. N. Somu had no qualms when he commandeered an Air Force plane to get his family to Delhi from Chennai. And former Railway Board Chairman C. L. Kaw made himself useful on his last day in office by pushing through a recommendation that all Board members, serving or retired, be permitted unlimited ticketless travel in the AC classes. Even the pets of serving members are covered under the scheme, provided they accompany the officials on duty.

Somu8217;s plea that he paid the way for his family is specious. Every time an IAF aircraft lifts off, it makes a dent Rs 5 lakh deep in the defence budget. Assuming that 10 people accompanied Somu and that is a liberal estimate the tickets would have been worth Rs 50,000 each. Somu8217;s family could almost circumnavigate the globe on that kind of money, were he to buy the tickets from a commercial airline, and it is very unlikely that he paid up half a lakh per head just to get to Delhi. If he indeed paid that much, the Government might want to know whether he enjoys unnaturally large disposable incomes. Not too long ago, IAF craft were being hijacked by K. Karunakaran, who had to break off confabulations in Delhi on the first day of every Malayalam month and airdash to pay his respects at the Guruvayur temple. Every time, the Minister of State for Defence of the day flew with him to Kochi, just to keep up appearances. Karunakaran8217;s devoutness has not exerted a healthy influence on the State exchequer.

The State has moved against the misuse of position for personal gain. Now it must move decisively against the equation of position with privilege, a myth carefully nurtured by politicians and bureaucrats over the years. It looks relatively harmless, because the recipient does not seem to make permanent gains. A Platinum Card will not allow a Railway Board member to pack his trunks with hard cash. But the proliferation of Platinum Cards would do very significant and permanent damage to the financial viability of the Railways. Ministers and bureaucrats must learn to travel with the common man. The experience would teach them humility and widen their horizons most wonderfully. It would also do wonders for the self-esteem of the citizen, who regularly finds himself shoved on to the shoulder by VIP security measures that he has helped pay for. The Prime Minister8217;s insistence on reducing security is extremely welcome, but so far he has contented himself with leading by example. He should now initiate concrete measures because now that the terrorist problem is no longer at its peak, Black Cats serve principally as the best-paid and best-trained durwans and tea-boys in the country. And while he is about it, the PM should also ensure that the IAF planes are not hijacked by any two-bit politician.