Indra’s Drishtikona (Viewpoint)

Old Men and our country

Posted : September 26, 2004 at 8:38 pm [IST]

Why can’t these old men retire? Why doesn’t someone file a PIL to make a politician retire at an age, say 70- 5 years more than the best age where our scriptures has asked one to retire?

I have three or four men in my mind when I thought of venting my opinion. Jyoti Basu is the first among them along with his friend Sujeet Singh of CPM. Fortunately, unlike many other politicians Jyoti Basu got the opportunity to change the fate of a prosperous province of West Bengal where Dr.BC Roy had already laid a solid foundation-with the first IIT, Durgapur, salt Lake etc. Jyoti Basu remained Chief of the states for more than two decades- a good enough time for making the state a real Sonar Bangla. But Mr. Basu could hardly do anything but to teach his people the way one can win election and remain in power by any right or wrong but strictly secret and party-controlled patented mechanism. He never bothered by the gradual down fall of the ranking of West Bengal on economic indexes and the poor plight of its inherently intelligent people.. West Bengal was one of the most industrialized states of the country, particularly the top in manufacturing sector. But under Jyoti Babu, only trade unions and their innovations in devising many new of protesting such as gheroas and bandhs flourished and their ideology got spread in all over the country.. Leave aside industrialists and entrepreneurs, gradually all professional technocrats from different industries fled the state. I don’t know if he realizes that even today. Budhadev, as I am told and see, is doing a fine job. But it will take a decade for West Bengal to come anywhere near the Southern states. And at least now, Jyoti Babu must stop talking about the affairs of the state that may embarrass the present leader. Why can’t he learn to live peacefully in his Salt Lake residence and spend time with young school children instead of talking politics? Can he put himself in the position of Montek Singh and realize the damage he has done by branding him a ‘World Bank’ man.

Next old man in my list is Karunakaran of Kerala, who made a clean honest man- AK Antony resign from the Chief Minister position. Karunakaran had tried to push all his family members to positions of importance throughout his life. He occupied key position in Congress party and the central and state government too on the strength of his nuisance value, why can’t he go out of the politics of the state and pass time with his grand children or a religious life with some trust of the state?

And then I pity Atal Bihari Bajpai- the former Prime Minister and claimed as poet, particularly when he goes on giving his opinions and the party leadership hardly hears him, as he is no more in chair. I consider him a jewel of the men as he was a successful PM and wonderful manager who managed the diversity of the NDA in all forms with great success. His thrust on road, telecom, port and electricity might have made his party loose the election, but still he remains the best PM till date, and he remained aloof from his family that is hardly seen these days. None of the members of his family could get any advantage of his position. That was really great. I wish he keeps his image intact by taking ’shanyas’ from politics and spend his time in Manali or in some other places. He can follow respected President Kalam by keeping himself busy with the younger generation in schools and inspiring them. No one else can better appreciate the fact that he had his time and now the younger ones must take over.

And lastly, I can’t but mention the name of VK KrishnaMurty of Maruti fame who has been nominated as the head of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council with a cabinet minister rank. I don’t know how much he can and will contribute in making India strong in manufacturing sector, but there were many more physically active and able technocrat managers in the country that would have gone to the position. But perhaps they were not very much near to the chair that decided in favour of Mr. Krishna Murthy.

- Indra

Category: Indian politics |