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Journalism of Courage
The Delhi metro has long been regarded as a showpiece, not just of the Capital but of the nation. For the rest of India, it is a model of a world class public transport system that can be emulated. Yet the BJP and the Congress have been squabbling over it much like three-year-olds would over a toy train. Every time a new section of the metro is inaugurated, there is this unseemly spectacle of the BJP-led government at the Centre claiming it as their very own gift to the people, even the Congress-led Delhi government loses no opportunity to trumpet its claim of having brought it to the people of Delhi. As the Central government releases ads lauding the achievements of its leaders even while studiously avoiding all references to the Congress government, the latter through its ads quietly congratulates itself 8212; and Sonia Gandhi 8212; for having provided Delhiites with 8220;eco-friendly transportation8221;. It happened when the prime minister had inaugurated the first section of the metro last December, it has happened now with the inauguration of the second, and will continue to happen as long as there are governments of rival political parties at the Centre and the state.
The fact that Delhi will soon witness elections has only lent an added edge to this competitive clamour. So sharp has the division become that the prime minister was constrained to observe, while inaugurating the new 4.5 km stretch on Friday, that political rivalries should not come in the way of the development of Delhi. It was a pertinent observation and comes as a reminder that all infrastructural projects 8212; no matter where they are located 8212; belong not to any group, party, interest, or even city, but to the country as a whole. Although Jawaharlal Nehru has often been berated for his observation that dams and factories are the 8220;new temples of modern India8221;, his words were also a recognition of this truth. All public infrastructure and installations are, ultimately, pan-Indian symbols of a nation on the move, a nation that is united, a nation that believes in itself.
