Sunday, June 10, 2012

The Pioneer - Dilli Billi -June.10.2012 - "SPECIAL PRIVILEGES ON RED ALERT"

"SPECIAL PRIVILEGES ON RED ALERT"

The aam aadmi is amazed how the MPs want more facilities and yet when it comes to working in the interest of the public, they fail to deliver.

With coverage of Parliament on Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha TV, the aam aadmi knows how our representatives behave. In the last session, one was shocked to see empty seats in both the Houses. One day, there was only one Cabinet Minister present. Another day, there were only seven MPs. One wonders how Parliament is working.

The common man is saddened by how MPs continue to want more facilities. They want red beacons on their cars but don’t want to work in the interest of the people who have voted for them. In my opinion, it would be better if these people travelled incognito because the minute they are identified, I am sure the public will stone their car.

Awareness that aam aadmi’s vote counts need to spread. After all, it is his most powerful weapon, even though he gets to exercise it once every five years. People need to realise that crores of rupees are spent each day when Parliament is in session. Therefore, the onus of choosing the right representative lies with the public.

Unfortunately, the public is tired of the political games that politicians play. So much so that now he doesn’t want to vote at all. Those who do want to vote are so confused that they don’t know for whom to vote. But one thing is clear, whoever he votes for needs to work in the interest of the public — provide clean drinking water, build roads, provide electricity and good healthcare facilities, build schools, keep prices rise under check and contain the crime graph.

The common man also expects the elected representative to raise questions on the problems he faces in Parliament so that policies can be formulated to solve them. It is a frustrating that errant MPs are not pulled up for not attending the sessions and non-performance. Performance of each member should be judged. All the political parties should see how much money has been spent by the MPs in their constituency. Follow-up of the work done should be monitored regularly.

Interestingly, it is the lifestyle of these MPs which undergoes a drastic change. Foreign trips become frequent and electricity, water and phone bills go up. Even the whims and fancies of the MPs’ children are taken care of courtesy tax payers money. The Government needs to step in to check extravagant spending.

In a recent faux pas by Government managers, Leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee missed the MPs photo opportunity to commemorate 60 years of Parliament because he was not informed. This is extremely shameful. It is strange that a senior Cabinet Minister like Pranab Mukherjee was not informed. This goes to prove the inefficiency and irresponsible attitude of the Speaker’s office. This indifferent attitude travels down the line. In other words, the rot starts from the top.

What is stranger is that despite such a major slip-up no enquiry has been set up. If a person of Pranab Mukherjee’s stature can be ignored one can only imagine what will happen to the common man.

In such a situation one can only pray to God to save the country from such leaders.

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