IT is become fashionable among the intelligentsia to be ‘well balanced’. It seems to be old fashioned to be ‘one sided’.
I recall, whilst resident in a south Asian country, I was a supporter of a particular person to be the head of the Indian business chamber. Originally the head-ship was thrust on him, becoz no one wanted it. He turned out to be a ‘popular’ head and was re-elected to that office for many years, most of the time uncontested. Not that there weren’t any other candidates. There were, but they knew that they will be defeated. So they never stood for election.
As years went by, the opposition got a bright idea: there should be a provision in the constitution that a person can not be head for more than 2 or 3 years running.
Due to this ‘dispute’, the Indian diplomat located in that town took matters in his hand. He asked for a general body meeting to be called to consider this amendment to the constitution as drafted by him.
The incumbent head n his Team were opposed to this. They argued that if anyone wants, he can come forward n contest elections.
Personally I was in favour of the proposal to limit the number of years one could be Head.
On the eve of the General Body, the Head n his supporters called on me to get my support. In principle I was in favour of the amendment. After a lot of debate, I asked myself: if I am a supporter of this Team, I must support their stand. Else what kind of a supporter am I. (in later years on return to India, I have heard the phrase: issue based support).
So I cast my vote with the Incumbent.
The point I am making is that if one belongs to a particular party, ideology, Team, he cannot in all honesty oppose his party, ideology, Team when it comes to a public airing. It is no dishonesty to voice the difference within the Grouping. But when it comes to a public airing, it has to be my Team, right or wrong.
It is accepted wisdom in medical treatment to go for 2nd opinion. I have had more than my share of these n I have lost more often than won.
Case 1. Prostate
My urologist in Lilavati suggested, in 2005 that I should get operated for prostate. I spoke to some friends and was encouraged to go for 2nd opinion to the top most urologist of Bombay. He prolonged my treatment for about 18 months. In 2007 he also suggested surgery. I duly underwent laser- based surgery in Aug that year. The upshot was that I had three bouts of post -operative infections entailing heavy medication. Also in the 18 months I was receiving increasing dosage of medication.
Verdict: I lost.
Case 2. Dental
In Viet Nam I had got a 5 piece dental bridge. It kept coming off. I went under care of a dentist in Bandra suggested by my neighbour. After some quick fixes n one extraction, he suggested that I should go in for implant becoz a new bridge is not feasible. I went for 2nd opinion to my old dentist in Bombay (pre viet nam era). He readily opined that a new bridge was very much feasible n there is no need for implant. He provided the bridge. I developed infection under the bridge and had 3 different surgeries: excision by my dentist to remove infection; second surgery by a specialist surgeon; third surgery involving curetting of the bone under the gum. The bridge proved not viable. I settled for a removable partial denture. Meanwhile one more adjoining tooth gave way n the denture got extended. The denture is proving useless for eating. Now finally we have come a full circle n implants are contemplated. The dentist is afraid that the bone that was curetted may not provide a stable base for the implant. Today I have undergone a scan to assess this. First look shows narrowed bone width. Prospects are 50:50
Verdict: I lost – time, money n damage.
Case 3. Eyes
The car accident in Dubai in Nov 2005 had caused injury to the tissue around the eyes: Sort of ‘black eye’. The doctors there had suggested that the damage would go away n I should get a recheck in 3-4 months. In Bombay I was referred to a famous eye doctor in Bandra. He opined that I had a developing cataract but could wait. He did not prescribe any medicine for my complaint of the eye watering on reading. Six months later, Aug 2006, he opined that I was due for cataract surgery n should set the date. Again my friend n senior suggested that I should assess the quality of my vision n go for surgery only if I was feeling handicapped. I was not handicapped in any way in 2006 nor in 2010! Meanwhile I went for 2nd opinion n the verdict was ‘dry eyes’. Third eye doctor in 2008 opined that surgery should ‘now’ be done. Fourth eye doctor in Jan 2010 opined ‘no need’ because I can see v well. My spectacle Nos are v small.
Curiously Sukhjit overtook me n has had a cataract surgery done!
Verdict: Open – hopefully I won.
There are one or two more but the point is made i.e. 2nd opinion is not always beneficial.
Doctor to the lady patient: Your eye sight is weak.
Ways of Indian Railways under the Calcutta based Railway Minister.
Background:
May 16 2010.New Delhi: At least two people were killed and nine others injured in a stampede on Sunday afternoon at the New DelhiRailway Station. The dead include a woman and a child.
The stampede took place at platform numbers 12 and 13 at about 1450 hrs IST after last minute changes in the platform number from where the Bihar Sampark Kranti was to depart (CNN IBN).
May 17 2010: New Delhi: People coming to New Delhi Railway Station to see off their loved ones will not be able to enter platforms from Monday with the Railways deciding to stop sale of platform tickets to control crowd inside.
The decision came on Sunday night in the wake of a stampede in the railway station which claimed two lives and injured many others. (PTI)
The Impact
On June 1, a young mother in her early 30s had to board the evening Shatabadi at Ludhiana Station. She had two small kids (4 yrs and a toddler) with her. The train stops at Ludhiana all of 3 minutes. Her husband or relatives were NOT able to help her board the train because Platform Tickets have been discontinued, not just at New Delhi but also at other stations in the Punjab. It was a huge struggle for her, to manage her kids, her baggage and yet board the train. She managed it.
The same night, her relatives in Delhi deputed a driver to receive her at the Railway Station n bring her home. The resourceful driver bought a travel ticket worth Rs.250 to be able to enter the Railway Station. He could receive the young mother n her kids at the Platform and safely drive her home.
This is the way our hyper-active hyper- political Railway Minister runs the Railway Ministry.
First the Ministry claims that there was no stampede. Just some people slipped n fell and caused all the problem.
Then stop the people from coming to the Railway Station. Viola ! No more stampedes.
Naxalites derail a train. Stop running the trains at night.Voila No more derailments! (How we wish that the Aviation Minister takes a leaf out of her book n stops Air India planes from flying!)
I am praying very hard for her to win the next State Assembly Elections and become Chief Minister of West Bengal. In that event, West Bengal’s gain will be also Country’s Gain. The virus will be confined to that State.
20 Sep 2009: The Supreme Court has said that the Government has a duty to decide on the Mercy Petitions of those sentenced to death without much delay.(zee news.com)
20 July 2009: The President is set to discuss with PM Dr. Manmohan Singh the 26 Mercy Petitions that are pending with her………Recently the home ministry decided to clear one mercy petition every month in chronological order. Afzal Guru is22nd in a list of 28 pending……. (express.india.com) .
Questions that arise:
1.Why not the PresidentDecide? The Mercy Petition is a plea for mercy from the sovereign. It is not an appeal of sorts to be decided on legal, factual basis.Thatprocess is exhausted when the Supreme Court has upheld death Sentence. Therefore is it NOT the prerogative of the President rather than of the low functionaries in state n central governments to ‘support/oppose”?So why the President has to await inputs from GOI, who in turn await inputs from State Governor, who in turn awaits inputs from the State Government and so on. And any one of them can stall the entire process and negate all the work done by the country’s slowing moving judicial System.
2.Is it because the President has to act on advice of the Cabinet?
I grant that constitutional possibility. In that case the buck should stop with the Cabinet. And should not start the game of ‘pass-the-buck’ down and up the line.
3.Why in Chronological Order? Each case of death penalty stands on its own merits and has undergone its own long journey through the courts. Similarly the grounds for Mercy and facts-of-the-case are unique in itself. One case has nothing absolutely to do with the other (most of the time). Is this ‘seniority’ system so ingrained in the mindset of the Government machinery that even death penalty must also be executed based on seniority; mercy petitions must also be decided based on seniority? It will take a ‘criminal’ lawyer to clarify whether any statute prescribes such seniority system.
4.Why not fast track cases of National Importance?
It was a wise decision of theGovernment to appoint a Special court to try out the case of the 26/11 perpetrators. This was done in view of the overwhelming nature of the crime against the State and citizenry of India. Surely such a case should not get mired among the Lakhs of pending criminal cases. But it will be a great pity if after this Herculean effort, the case was to be finally bogged down in the ‘seniority’ system. There should be absolute priority allowing such Crimes against the State to be dealt with quickly in order to calm the disturbed psyche of the Nation and to send a message to future perpetrators.
5.Have we not learnt lessons from the Past?
Are waiting for another Indian Airlines aircraft being hijacked and release of XYZ prisoner being demanded as ransom? Are we giving in to the anti-capital punishment lobby by taken ‘no action’; prolonging the criminal’s imprisonment and thus building an alibi that he has served Life Imprisonment already?
They say in Management, not taking a decision is a vital decision itself.
The burden of this note is that the PM is not a weak man. And that the weaknesses are in the situation in which he became PM and in which he is called upon to head the Government. Calling him a ‘puppet’ casts aspersions on him personally. Someone of his track record in the world of Political Economy, both international and national, does not have a ‘puppet’ mental frame of mind.
How he became PM?
The whole world knows the circumstances in which Dr. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of India.
In the General Election of 2005, Sonia Gandhi as President of the Indian National Congress won a mandate to form the Government and did so with the help of Left n some other regional parties. However, for her own reasons, some very obvious, n some not so,she opted out of the office of the Prime Minister and anointed Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister. She did not pay heed to many emotional appeals to reconsider her decision. Instead she chose to be chairperson of the UPA. No one can deny the fact that PM took the office as a proxy for the Congress President, who remains very much on the scene with some serious responsibilities of her own.
The structure of GOI:
Thus from 2005 onwards we have a government with some obvious division of labour. Mrs. Gandhi takes care of the politics of governance and Dr. Manmohan Singh takes care of the business of Government: something similar to the CEO n COO in corporate parlance. In such a set up, it is quite obvious who holds the upper hand. The CEO of course! So is the COO a puppet in the hands of the CEO? There are obvious pros/cons in this Organization structure and therefore many corporations combine the jobs of Chairman n Managing Director. That makes for ‘strength.
Coalition Politics
Both Mrs. Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh head a multi party government. Quite obviously apart from sharing spoils of office, some of these parties have their own Agenda independent of the Congress. The nominees of these parties who are Ministers in this Government are more ‘responsive’ to their respective leaders. They are much less responsive to the Prime Minister or the Chairperson of the UPA. Therefore some of the incumbents won ministerial seats despite strong opposition from the PM (and from the Congress).
Constitutional Framework:
It is worth bringing into the picture the Constitutional nature of our Government. First the negative. Our’s is not a Presidential form of Government where the President is supreme and the Ministers really serve at his pleasure.
We follow the cabinet form of Government, in which the Prime Minister is First Among Equals. There is also the (much neglected) concept of ‘Joint responsibility’ in as much as all decisions (at least Policy Decisions) of the Government are decisions of the Cabinet. Individual cabinet members may air their views in the Cabinet. But the decision that comes out is a Join Decision of the Cabinet. The FM took shelter under this when he ‘declined’ to give his personal views on the Caste base census. The PM is also accused ofducking the question taking shelter under the “Cabinet Decision” format.
However, in practice, many of the Ministers have been announcingepoch making decisions in their personal capacity. It is a great pity of the situation that this Concept has not been assiduously used to ensure a united face of the coalition government. This concept should have been made an important bedrock of Coalition Dharma i.e. the ministers shall look to the Cabinet and the PM to bless their decisions or to the modify them and not take shelter under their regional party leaders. That is a missed opportunity.
What prompts the Puppet epithet?
It goes without saying that there must be a great deal of consultation between the PM and the Congress President in Policy formulation. Yet there have been occasions when the Congress President has “written’ to the PM in effect giving some direction. Such ‘written’ directions were meant as much to givea direction to the Government as toenable Congress to take political ownership of some decisions in the political one- up game. But this gives the impression that the PM is a Puppet n the strings are in the hands of the Congress president. On other occasions, the PM has had to ‘give in’ to predilections of the leaders of the Coalition partners e.g. Privatization of some PSUs in Tamil Nadu. In such cases, the strings seem to be in the hands of the Regional Leaders.
Personality of the PM
It is for all to see that the PM is not an egoist, keen to project himself at every occasion. He is soft spoken, but learned n thinking man. Neither was he a Puppet Governor of RBI nor was he a puppet Finance Minister who set India on the road to solvency once again.A puppet could hardly have shown the world leaders the way out of this current economic melt-down.
Some people are born politicians; some others have politics thrust on them. He became a politician via his skills in managing vast financial and economic institutions. Being a man of principles, n honest to a fault, he was valued by Congress leadership. It needs strength of character to remain honest in the midst of so much power n temptation. In the UPA I, he got to a stage when he said to the left “so be it” and carried the Congress leadership with him to clinch the Nuclear deal with the USA.
As the saying goes, circumstances maketh the man. The circumstances made him the PM, and the circumstances themselves leave him limited room to exertthe authority of his office and of his personal strengths.
THE ORIGINAL DRAFT OF THE TELEPROMPTER TEXT FOR THE PRIME MINISTER’S PRESS CONFERENCE.
The following was found in the file No. 13 in the PMO the day after the Press Conference.
ON INFLATION N ECONOMY:
We were getting along quite nicely with very low inflation in the first few years of our First tenure. The global meltdown, with the consequential need to pump in money into the economy fed the demand side. It was aggravated by increase in salaries of the Babus, and Aam Aadmi programs. Bad monsoons, and a ‘hardly working’ Agriculture n Food Minister starved the supply side. God is working on the Monsoon. The RBI n the FM are trying to calm the demand side. Indian cricket is in a mess, so the Agriculture n Food Minister might spend more time at his Desk. That is how we shall tame the beast of inflation.
ON PAKISTAN
If you rule out the option of declaring War on Pakistan, please tell me what else can we do to make Pakistan behave, that we are not doing now. Observing “Kutti” i.e. we will not talk to you has not yielded any results. So we will try resuming “Batti” i.e. we will talk to you.We tried to complain to Uncle Sam. But he is also helpless. You see how the mighty USA is ‘appeasing’ Pakistan because of TINA factor.
ON NAXALS
If I had my way, I would send all the civic society sympathizers of the Naxal movement on a world tour on one of the luxury liners so that they study 'separatist' movements around the world.. That will give the MHA the cease fire he wants. Having done that I would instruct the MHA to forget about the other ceasefire nmeet with the Kishens n other leaders of the Naxals for 7 days of non stop negotiations n talks. If that does not work, I will hand the matter over to Joint force of Army, Police under the leadership of a retired General of the Army with an unlimited mandate.
ON TERRORISM
Honestly I don’t think Pakistan has the will or the ability to eradicate terrorism from its soil. Even though the dog bites the hand that has fed it, Pakistan can not put the dog away. I am thinking of divesting the MHA of its role in anti terrorist activities n sub contracting to some Israeli agency.
ON CASTE CENSUS
Many our CORE programs depend on demographic information. For example, Reservation for SC n STs, Reservation for OBC, Funding for BPL persons, Reservation for Women and most important Election Ticket distribution n Vote Banks. We will be shooting in the dark, if the Census does not provide us the demographic base for these programs. It is the essential Market Research that we need.
ON RAJA N CORRUPTION
Have you people forgotten that our’s is a coalition government and we have to observe coalition dharma. In any case, Raja has more than compensated the GOI for any loss he may caused in his earlier decision. Even the FM is grateful to Raja for creating ‘elbow room’ for him. You should be praising Raja for his 100K Crore bonanza to the Nation.
ON RAHUL GANDHI
The PM’s chair belongs to him by rights. His mother did not want him. So as her successor, it is his by right. I will vacate it the moment he is ready to give up his ‘freedom’.
ON ILLEGAL MINING IN ORISSA
If I had my way, I would put the culprits in Jail and ‘chaabi kho jai”.That should set an example.
ON THE SUPPORT OF THE LEFT
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. I can not depend on Air India. But the ticket price of that ride is too high.
ON HIS LEGACY
The country will remember me as the Pradhan Munshi who became Pradhan Mantri.
