DailyPost 2242
PEOPLE WHO CREATE THE ROT…
People who create the rot are not the ones who can set it right. They have no interest in it. Mostly, they had some vested interest in doing so or they are reaping benefits out of it, having created it. There is no reason for them to understand the impact beyond the fact it is delivering gains to them, beyond their genuine entitlement. If for some reason there is pressure to set right the rot, there is no reason for them to make an effort, setting it right would go against their ulterior motives. Maintaining the rot while talking of the ideal situation and crib about that not happening is the ultimate way to play the riddle in the public domain.
The situation which is so complex but is made to look simple in the eyes of all. The people in the public domain should get a feeling that they understand it all and the solutions being provided by them are genuine, impact making and can set right things. They would also give a feeling that the whole correctional / remedial exercise would take a sometime and one remains to be patient, while they move forward towards the final outcome. There would be no blueprint, generally no timelines, no milestones with validations and certainly no trajectory, worth its name. It can be any leader, government or most senior of the public officials and the story goes on.
Election reforms is one such area. It was not messed up by the constitution or the officials (help at times) or above all the people of this country. Having messed up to a level that can be termed as intractable, the best way to continue the same was to talk about its reforms. It has been on the platter for a long time, everyone agrees for its need, but it does not happen. What is left as the permanent T N Seshan’s era in our current day conduct of elections and electioneering but for some functionaries and processes. There is no need to comment on any of them. The power of money, liquor and a variety of other tried and tested tricks are being perfected by the day, making them way more important by the constitution itself.
The bedrock of democracy is transparency. This country has reached a level of transparency decades back, where you could do a lot of wrong things openly and get away with it. If transparency is not associated with fear, deterrence and action, what is the big fun. RTI was a milestone in its own way, without majorly impacting anything. The health infrastructure in rural areas, the less said the better, there could not have been a more cruel impact of it, than what we suffered at time of the Covid-19 second wave, but has it made any difference. We have been hearing of health sector reforms for ages. The game of welfare schemes and poverty continues with the same earnestness endlessly. Democracy itself can be termed as the politics of poverty. The list can go on and on, and unfortunately covers the rot created in private education, NGOs, think tanks and last but not the least the corporates.
CAN OFFENDERS SET RIGHT A SYSTEM?
Sanjay Sahay