In your article ‘Nothing Personal’,December 23, A K Bhattacharya has chosen the easiest course of defending the finance minister’s view of the newspaper article of “Athreya”, taking recourse to the civil service rules. Both Bhattacharya and Chidambaram are only diverting the nation’s attention from the harsh truth so powerfully expressed by “Athreya” in Mint.
I have reread that article and every word of what Athreya has written is true. Instead of taking note of the widespread discontent with our government, remedying the situation and reshaping the government policies, the minister has condemned the writer as cowardly and disloyal. Bhattacharya has come to Chidambaram’s rescue. Both have erred.
The government has dithered on every step. The catalogue is too long. Even on the latest anti-national outbursts of Antulay, the government has exhibited its weakness to take a decision one way or the other. Politics and governance have reached their nadir. Take, for instance, the situation in the state from which Chidambaram hails. The Tamil Nadu police were passive spectators when boys from powerful castes lynched a dalit student. If that is the type of loyalty political leaders like Chidambaram expect and senior media commentators like Bhattacharya support, the harm caused to the country is more than that caused by terrorists.
Corruption has eaten away the vitals of our governance. Worse still, if someone like Athreya sums up the courage to express his views, however harsh and inconvenient these may be, we witness his being vilified instead of facing the plain truths.
The civil services and police have been reduced to become the handmaids of political leaders. In the name of infrastructure development, the ripping of public assets and deprivation of government revenues occur often through the collusion of corrupt politicians and ‘loyal’ civil servants. Projects that benefit to the common man are ignored and elite and monumental projects are sponsored by this unholy combination. The list is endless.
There is another angle to this. After several decades, I noticed how a newspaper article was used by an alert parliamentarian to raise the issue in the House. It reminds me of the olden days when even a mere newspaper report was enough for alert parliamentarians to take note of the concerned issue, debate it thoroughly and put the government on the mat. It is also a tribute to our own media. This helped establish a healthy ‘connect’ between the people, media and the legislator/parliamentarian.
Returning to the subject matter, viz, Athreya’s article, the harsh and instant judgment on it by Chidambaram — with Bhattacharya taking recourse to the service rules to arraign the former instead of raising the basic issues raised by Athreya — I wish Parliament debates the issues further and more importantly, the media will continue to debate fearlessly how the government has been functioning in the last five years.
Even if they fail to do so, let them remember that in the days ahead, when the country goes to the polls, the vigilant middle class, the working class and the emerging youth will rise as one to elect a government that is strong, visionary, pro-people and, more importantly, capable of taking quick decisions instead of vacillating.
S Subramanyan, Mumbai
