Tags:
Journalism of Courage
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.
