I keep ranting on twitter about the bad state of governance in the country and criticize almost everything which our Congress led government does. Some people say that I hate the government just for the sake of hating it. Maybe its because of a deep rooted bias against the Congress in my mind. The idea to write this post came to me after having a conversation with a some friends and colleagues who generally had no clue what would they expect from a government except for the usual need for less corruption and economic development.
I am a very practical person, I know corruption cannot be eradicated from our country. I am guilty of bribing several government officials many times in the past and wont shy away from it in the future if it means my work gets done faster. A small service charge or a facilitation fee is not the problem according to me, the problem is at the highest levels where taxpayer money is being squandered on frivolous schemes and shady deals which benefit a few corrupt politicians. With this post I am trying to clarify what exactly do I expect my elected representative to do t make my life better. These are the issues on which I will go out and vote.
At Municipality level:
The lesser I expect from the BMC the better it is for me. A useless organization full or idiotic people working for it in my opinion. My expectations can be summarized in just 2 points:
- Better Roads
- Cleanliness
At State Level:
I do not want to sound pro-BJP or pro-Modi here but since my dads family is from Gujarat I have no other state to use as a reference. I used to hate going to my village when I was a kid. It used to have power cuts for 10-12 hours, no roads, 2-3 televisions in the entire village and water for just 4 hours a day. In comparison my house in Mumbai had 24 hour electricity, excellent approach roads and 24 hours water. Today after 15 years when I compare my village to my city, my village has decent approach roads, 24 hours electricity and water, excellent cellphone and cable connectivity. My house in Mumbai has a really bad approach road which is full of potholes, we have electricity round the clock but for the past 3 summers there have talks of a power cut due to the bad power problem in my state and we get water only for 4 hours a day (supplied by BMC, building has a water tank so no real problem). It is very difficult to ignore the progress made by my village which has a population of a thousand people against the steadily deteriorating quality of life in my city. 6 simple things which I expect from my state government are:
- A solution to the power problems in Maharashtra
- A solution to the water problem in Maharashtra (both irrigation and drinking water)
- Ability to assure citizens of their safety and continuance of business during sensitive situations (riots, deaths etc)
- Better educational infrastructure in the state
- A responsible and friendly police force whom the citizens are not afraid to approach.
- Reduce duties on petrol and diesel.
At National Level:
My wishlist is really really long here. It is very difficult to support one political party because on many issues all of them have the same regressive views (reservations, caste based politics etc). I have tried to be as objective and practical as possible in shortlisting the below mentioned issues which I think should be the topmost priority for any government which comes to power in the Centre.
- Focus on development of infrastructure (Highways, Canals, Ports, Airports).
- A foreign policy which is focused on preserving our national interests and not influenced by idiotic concerns of allies.
- A will to fight both internal and external terror and not politicize the issue.
- Fair and transparent allocation of national resources like oil, gas and airwaves.
- Rationalization of stupid schemes like NREGA, Food Security Bill and Direct Cash Transfer.
- No more reservation on the lines of caste or religion. Affirmative action basis economic status.
- Modify or repeal regressive laws which curb freedom of speech and expression.
- Ensure sufficiency in foodgrains and not allow our food to rot in government godowns.
These are just a few basic things which I would want my leader to look at. I would be willing to give my vote to any national leader who is committed to focus on these issues. What I have seen till date is the absolute failure of the current UPA government on all the above fronts both in Delhi and in Maharashtra. Some leaders from the opposition have repeatedly spoken about a few of these issues, it remains to be seen if they can translate their words into action. As of now I am inclined to give a chance to these leaders who are at least talking about the right things rather than trust a government which has repeatedly ignored all the above issues for the past 8 years.
I am a very practical person, I know corruption cannot be eradicated from our country. I am guilty of bribing several government officials many times in the past and wont shy away from it in the future if it means my work gets done faster. A small service charge or a facilitation fee is not the problem according to me, the problem is at the highest levels where taxpayer money is being squandered on frivolous schemes and shady deals which benefit a few corrupt politicians. With this post I am trying to clarify what exactly do I expect my elected representative to do t make my life better. These are the issues on which I will go out and vote.
At Municipality level:
The lesser I expect from the BMC the better it is for me. A useless organization full or idiotic people working for it in my opinion. My expectations can be summarized in just 2 points:
- Better Roads
- Cleanliness
At State Level:
I do not want to sound pro-BJP or pro-Modi here but since my dads family is from Gujarat I have no other state to use as a reference. I used to hate going to my village when I was a kid. It used to have power cuts for 10-12 hours, no roads, 2-3 televisions in the entire village and water for just 4 hours a day. In comparison my house in Mumbai had 24 hour electricity, excellent approach roads and 24 hours water. Today after 15 years when I compare my village to my city, my village has decent approach roads, 24 hours electricity and water, excellent cellphone and cable connectivity. My house in Mumbai has a really bad approach road which is full of potholes, we have electricity round the clock but for the past 3 summers there have talks of a power cut due to the bad power problem in my state and we get water only for 4 hours a day (supplied by BMC, building has a water tank so no real problem). It is very difficult to ignore the progress made by my village which has a population of a thousand people against the steadily deteriorating quality of life in my city. 6 simple things which I expect from my state government are:
- A solution to the power problems in Maharashtra
- A solution to the water problem in Maharashtra (both irrigation and drinking water)
- Ability to assure citizens of their safety and continuance of business during sensitive situations (riots, deaths etc)
- Better educational infrastructure in the state
- A responsible and friendly police force whom the citizens are not afraid to approach.
- Reduce duties on petrol and diesel.
At National Level:
My wishlist is really really long here. It is very difficult to support one political party because on many issues all of them have the same regressive views (reservations, caste based politics etc). I have tried to be as objective and practical as possible in shortlisting the below mentioned issues which I think should be the topmost priority for any government which comes to power in the Centre.
- Focus on development of infrastructure (Highways, Canals, Ports, Airports).
- A foreign policy which is focused on preserving our national interests and not influenced by idiotic concerns of allies.
- A will to fight both internal and external terror and not politicize the issue.
- Fair and transparent allocation of national resources like oil, gas and airwaves.
- Rationalization of stupid schemes like NREGA, Food Security Bill and Direct Cash Transfer.
- No more reservation on the lines of caste or religion. Affirmative action basis economic status.
- Modify or repeal regressive laws which curb freedom of speech and expression.
- Ensure sufficiency in foodgrains and not allow our food to rot in government godowns.
These are just a few basic things which I would want my leader to look at. I would be willing to give my vote to any national leader who is committed to focus on these issues. What I have seen till date is the absolute failure of the current UPA government on all the above fronts both in Delhi and in Maharashtra. Some leaders from the opposition have repeatedly spoken about a few of these issues, it remains to be seen if they can translate their words into action. As of now I am inclined to give a chance to these leaders who are at least talking about the right things rather than trust a government which has repeatedly ignored all the above issues for the past 8 years.
1 comment:
Every word is apt.
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