Indian Cabinet for the new UPA government was formed and it was huge. Am I being too naive too think do we really need 79 ministers with different portfolios to form a Government? There is separate minister for food processing, shipping, water resources, Coal and so on. Basically, there is a minister for everything we can imagine and for important portfolios like finance,defense etc there are two ministers. Regular minister and minister of State. I still don't understand this concept of minister of state.
I was also happy to see Congress getting the majority (I am up for one party getting majority whether it is congress or BJP instead of big coalition) as it need not depend on the coalition to form the government which enables more stable government but the purpose of giving a majority to one party is in jeopardy with this huge cabinet.
I applaud Mr.Singh when he got rid of veterans like Arjun Singh from Cabinet and bought in some new and fresh minds like Shasi Tharoor and Anand Sharma, but having visualized a 100 day road map for delivering good governance one would imagine a leaner and more efficient cabinet will ensure the results.
We need trimmer government. Taxpayers shouldn't have to payroll the fragmenting of ministries into ever smaller units coal, steel, chemicals and information & broadcasting. The government has a lot of scope to cut waste and spending. What it can gain in terms of efficiency, public trust will make for a good management which in turn enable a good and efficient government.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Singh is King
The Verdict is out. Congress led UPA overcame the anti incumbency factor and came back into power with a thumping majority. "Singh is King" again. I think this is good. Not because UPA came to power but I wished one of the leading parties either Congress or BJP come into over power with full majority rather than a hung government hindering any policy implementation.
Also, I was amazed how fast the results are out. Counting started at 8:00 AM and by 1:00 PM almost all results are out. Results here means not precincts, but actual vote count with majority. That is counting more than 500 million votes all over India. I think India have the most sophisticated vote counting technology in the world better than USA.
Let us hope this is going to be a fresh start again.
Also, I was amazed how fast the results are out. Counting started at 8:00 AM and by 1:00 PM almost all results are out. Results here means not precincts, but actual vote count with majority. That is counting more than 500 million votes all over India. I think India have the most sophisticated vote counting technology in the world better than USA.
Let us hope this is going to be a fresh start again.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Got Democracy?
Indian Elections are over and tomorrow is the D- Day. The results will be out. These are some of my ramblings about Indian Democracy.
SIX weeks is too long a period for conducting elections. The government has been inactive since the poll notification issued nearly three months ago.
Fortunately, there has been no challenge or issues within India except some random violence in the North East. But practically all neighboring countries have been facing situations that demand New Delhi’s immediate attention.
The new parliament must attend to this problem. I believe peaceful and prosperous Pakistan is always good for India. Pakistan is like a big Honey Bee hive now and if we throw a stone at the hive some bees will fly across the Border. Also, Certain elements have appeared inside the country causing concern about the future of democracy.
Elections are not just a question of queuing up before polling booths. They also represent something more meaningful. Economic well-being is no doubt the main requirement, but more important is the value system which the nation has lost along the way. If the country had only retained the rule of law it would have met the minimum demand of democracy. Worse, there is no accountability in any field.
The question that now faces the nation is who will bring about the required change. Leaders of political parties are interested only in power for power’s sake. They have turned their parties into their personal play grounds and there is no internal democracy. A party moves from one alliance to another, not on ideological or policy considerations but on the basis of gain. Criminals or moneybags doing deals do not have any vision that contains principles or a sense of humility.
What has lately pulled down the nation is the polarisation of society. Democracy has already been diluted. India appears to be building a structure which is far from the traditional principles: by the people, of the people and for the people. The Elections turned into a system of voting based on caste.
These election has shown increasing intolerance and speeches of hate, including personal attacks, whether it is Varun Gandhi in the UP, Area based politics by TRS and other parties in the AP or fake hunger strikes and politically motivated concern for Tamil's in Srilanka from one of the oldest politician in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu which do not in any way contribute to the democratic spirit.
Equally important is how to bring about change in a society where disparities are increasing between individuals and regions. Since consumerism has become an integral part of our life, I was shocked to see an article the other day that two-thirds of India’s population continue to live on an income of around Rs1000 a month even after 62 years of independence. This is a systemic failure.
Political leaders are comfortable because they are thick with industrialists and businessmen who provide them with the funds they require. In the absence of electoral reforms it is not possible to stop the role that money plays, but then the question is will the political parties agree to a law which makes elections possible within an affordable limit? Politics is the new mantra now to become rich.
The role of the media, particularly the electronic one is huge. The bias was obvious and there are reports of corrupt practices. An inquiry committee should be appointed to look into the charges which some political leaders are not willing to accept.
Corruption has saturated both the bureaucratic and political machinery to such an extent that the rule of one party means benefits for all those who support it. Sometimes people have argued that it is better to allow a party in power to continue than to elect a new one because the one in power has already filled enough and so hopefully they will get fed up with that.
I was reading an article some where which says "India has taken cricket and changed it forever it has adopted democracy and transformed it into its own unique political game.’
So true, This is democracy of a different kind. It does not ensure that people elect the candidate they want, nor does it shun dynastic, caste and communal politics.
At some stage the people will become desperate because they have been led down the wrong path. We have the most number of youth in the world and they are biggest sufferer's because of this system.
However, we have wasted too much time and too many resources in attaining too little. Let us discuss all these things openly and without fear now that the elections are over. I rest my case.
SIX weeks is too long a period for conducting elections. The government has been inactive since the poll notification issued nearly three months ago.
Fortunately, there has been no challenge or issues within India except some random violence in the North East. But practically all neighboring countries have been facing situations that demand New Delhi’s immediate attention.
The new parliament must attend to this problem. I believe peaceful and prosperous Pakistan is always good for India. Pakistan is like a big Honey Bee hive now and if we throw a stone at the hive some bees will fly across the Border. Also, Certain elements have appeared inside the country causing concern about the future of democracy.
Elections are not just a question of queuing up before polling booths. They also represent something more meaningful. Economic well-being is no doubt the main requirement, but more important is the value system which the nation has lost along the way. If the country had only retained the rule of law it would have met the minimum demand of democracy. Worse, there is no accountability in any field.
The question that now faces the nation is who will bring about the required change. Leaders of political parties are interested only in power for power’s sake. They have turned their parties into their personal play grounds and there is no internal democracy. A party moves from one alliance to another, not on ideological or policy considerations but on the basis of gain. Criminals or moneybags doing deals do not have any vision that contains principles or a sense of humility.
What has lately pulled down the nation is the polarisation of society. Democracy has already been diluted. India appears to be building a structure which is far from the traditional principles: by the people, of the people and for the people. The Elections turned into a system of voting based on caste.
These election has shown increasing intolerance and speeches of hate, including personal attacks, whether it is Varun Gandhi in the UP, Area based politics by TRS and other parties in the AP or fake hunger strikes and politically motivated concern for Tamil's in Srilanka from one of the oldest politician in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu which do not in any way contribute to the democratic spirit.
Equally important is how to bring about change in a society where disparities are increasing between individuals and regions. Since consumerism has become an integral part of our life, I was shocked to see an article the other day that two-thirds of India’s population continue to live on an income of around Rs1000 a month even after 62 years of independence. This is a systemic failure.
Political leaders are comfortable because they are thick with industrialists and businessmen who provide them with the funds they require. In the absence of electoral reforms it is not possible to stop the role that money plays, but then the question is will the political parties agree to a law which makes elections possible within an affordable limit? Politics is the new mantra now to become rich.
The role of the media, particularly the electronic one is huge. The bias was obvious and there are reports of corrupt practices. An inquiry committee should be appointed to look into the charges which some political leaders are not willing to accept.
Corruption has saturated both the bureaucratic and political machinery to such an extent that the rule of one party means benefits for all those who support it. Sometimes people have argued that it is better to allow a party in power to continue than to elect a new one because the one in power has already filled enough and so hopefully they will get fed up with that.
I was reading an article some where which says "India has taken cricket and changed it forever it has adopted democracy and transformed it into its own unique political game.’
So true, This is democracy of a different kind. It does not ensure that people elect the candidate they want, nor does it shun dynastic, caste and communal politics.
At some stage the people will become desperate because they have been led down the wrong path. We have the most number of youth in the world and they are biggest sufferer's because of this system.
However, we have wasted too much time and too many resources in attaining too little. Let us discuss all these things openly and without fear now that the elections are over. I rest my case.
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