TidBits-023 COMMENTS on " With malice to all " by Khuswant Singh- NT Panorama - 22 Jun-2003
Ofcourse, Khuswantji, you are certainly talking through your TURBAN. Or, we would like to think that your dear TURBAN is doing the talking. But then, whether you are talking through your turban or your turban is doing the talking, what comes out is very true, sensible, most appropriate ... and I could go on and on in adding the adjectives to kingdom come. And if these thoughts of yours had the power to convert things like in the "magical wishes" or "magic tongue", India would be a perfect place to live in, specially without us common folks having to suffer the load of supporting and pampering our many useless governors who are mostly a very big pain our necks. And for your kind information, Goa, of late, has become the dumping ground for such relics who have outgrown their usefulness in buttering the bottoms of persons in the higher echelon of politics in New Delhi and elsewhere and for having been engaged in refined chamchagiri. I for one, like the idea of converting our Goa's Raj Bhavan into a quality aged home rather than have it soiled by soft or loud-mouthed chamchas of politicians in Delhi. I would certainly change my mind if governors like Lt. Gen. (retd) Jacob and his ilk will be put in charge of Goa on permanent basis to totally do away with the ongoing tamasha of having the legislative assembly and a cabinet ministry. This would certainly give good reason for TGF and SGPIAG and the rest of Goa and Goans along with Rene Barreto to indulge in the celebrations of a new " Goa Day " Cheers Floriano *** Corrupt Practices in Electoral Games There is a French proverb plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose - the more it changes , the more it is the same thing. The prime minister re-shuffles his Cabinet, some ministers are thrown out, some resign. New men and women take their places and stuff pedas in each others' mouths by way of celebration. Nothing else changes and the government goes on at its usual snail's pace. Elections have become an abiding obsession. Whether it is of a Panchayat, zila parishad, municipality, or a bye-election for the Vidhan Sabha or Parliament, they are fought with the zeal of another Kurukshetra. They are not fought on differences of political or economic programmes nor on local issues; they are battles for survival waged by ambitious politicians against each other. Thousand of crores of unaccounted cash go down the nullahs. Despite valiant efforts made by Election Commissioners like Seshan, Gill and Lyndoh, our electoral process has been corrupted to the core because we, the common people, are ourselves willing to condone corrupt practices as a part of the electoral game. We have to think of other ways of eliciting people's views on national problems by restricting the right to vote to tax payers and the educated. The institution of having Governors of States also needs re-thinking. As it is, it has come down to doling out patronage by the party in power with some give and take with its allies. Governors are not vital to governance of their states which could be run by their chief ministers more smoothly without incumbents of Raj Bhavans poling their noses into matters that do not concern them. Examine the list of governors and you will find few men or women of substance: most of them are undistinguished mediocrities or hangers-on of some Cabinet minister or the other. They live in palatial splendour with hordes of liveried flunkies, ADCs, and have fleets of cars at their disposal. Ask yourself, could not we put our Raj Bhavans with their extensive gardens to better uses by converting them into schools, colleges or homes for the aged? Surely these things are more important than knowing what one politician has to say about another, where some senior bureaucrat is being posted and endless platitudes about ups and downs of our relationship with Pakistan! If we mean to go forward, we have to bring radical changes in many of our institutions. Am I right? Or am I talking through my turban? End. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
