POLITICS PERCEPTION and THE REAL ISSUES
Musings
By
VIKRAM KARVE
As I watch
with hapless amusement the LPG fiasco which is causing tremendous negative
sentiment among most of the citizens, I am quite surprised as to why seasoned
politicians are allowing bureaucratic bungling to proliferate and letting the situation
worsen day by day.
Bureaucrats do
not have to win elections. Their jobs and career progression are guaranteed.
That is why bureaucrats do not have to bother about public perception.
Politicians
have to be sensitive to public perception. They have to win elections every
five years and cannot afford negative public sentiment.
Of course,
there are two types of politicians in India
1. Those who
have to go to the people and get their votes to win elections and get elected
to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
2. Those who
are nominated by their parties to the Rajya Sabha and State Legislative
Councils. This second category of politicians don’t have to go to the people
every five years to get elected and, like bureaucrats, they have an assured
tenure, and if they remain in the good books of the party leadership then they
can hope for a second or third tenure as well. Hence, like bureaucrats, they do
not have to bother about public perception and they need not be sensitive to
the problems of the common man.
Therefore, it
is only from the first category of “elected” politicians that a common man can
seek hope and redress of his grievances.
And I feel
that a common man will certainly vote for the person who is sensitive to his
problems.
You may say
that most people vote as per “vote banks” based on caste, creed, religion,
language, region etc, but sometimes an emotive issue can turn the tables and
history bears testimony to this fact as there have been many occasions when
even big leaders were defeated in the elections.
An issue like
price rice is certainly an emotive issue which affects every citizen and can
cause immense negative sentiment which can turn the tide. The recent inept
political handling of the LPG Domestic Cooking Gas issue, further exacerbated
by the bureaucratic bungling (of removing subsidy, capping cylinders, blocking
connections, confusion created by distributors and oil companies regarding
procedures for KYC, rumours of artificial shortage and potential for
black-marketing of cylinders, perpetual fear of price rise of unsubsidized
cylinders, etc) is causing great harassment and anxiety to the consumers,
especially housewives, and the common perception is that the government is
acting in an insensitive and clueless manner, as far as this LPG issue is
concerned.
There is adage
in “systems theory” – DO NOT DISTURB A SYSTEM WHICH IS RUNNING WELL.
The LPG
Domestic Gas Supply System was running smoothly so it was best not to disturb it.
Hence, it will be advisable for the powers-that-be to restore status
quo ante.
Sometimes
reversing a decision can pay dividends and in this LPG case, reverting back to
the old tried-and-tested “subsidized” system will certainly undo the damage in
perception and also prove that politicians are sensitive to the needs of the
common man.
Many
politicians and the media feels that corruption is the main issue for a common
man. Yes, corruption may be an important issue but it is not the cardinal
issue. As far as the common man is concerned the main issue is PRICE RISE since
price rise affects each and every individual – man or woman, rich, poor or
middle class.
Yes,
corruption may have contributed to price rise but again the main issue is Price
Rise which you experience every day as you buy things from the market for your
daily use.
Of course, the
bureaucrats and “nominated” politicians need not be sensitive about price rise
since they don’t have to fight the next election, but I feel that those seeking
election must give due consideration to this aspect. I will certainly vote for
those who take tangible and visible steps to contain price rise.
Meanwhile, it
may be interesting to see if there is any difference in the attitudes and
actions of:
1. The
Ministers from the Lok Sabha who are aspiring to fight the next election in
2014 and hence they have to be sensitive to the needs and concerns of the
common man
vis-à-vis
2. The Ministers
from the Rajya Sabha who can afford to be insensitive, bureaucratic and
complacent since they do not have to fight elections and their tenures are
assured irrespective of whether their party wins or loses in the next
elections.
It is the same
with the opposition parties too. Only those political leaders who have to face
the electorate need to be sensitive about real ground-level issues like price
rise which affect the common man (rather than engage in political one-upmanship
which does not alleviate the distress of the aam aadmi).
In conclusion,
I request all politicians to please take steps to contain inflation and tackle
the issue of price rise. To start with please reverse the decision of capping
LPG cylinders as the new system is not only causing distress to the common man
but also seems to be practically difficult to implement and is likely to lead
to more corruption, confusion and cause harassment to the aam
aadmi.
I also hope that
the opposition parties will constructively take up such practical day-to-day
tangible issues which affect common citizens.
It is sad to
see opposition parties wasting their energies by indulging in futile political
one-upmanship on intangible matters.
It is
demoralizing to see politicians create disharmony in inter-personal
relationships by engaging in political duels in the media which produce no
results on the ground, as far as the aam aadmi is concerned.
These negative
vibes created by politics of conflict are avoidable and it will be good to see politicians synergize together
and tackle the problems facing the country and alleviate the distress of the
common man. I hope they focus on taking up the issues of Inflation and Price
Rise. To start with, let us see all politicians get together and resolve the
LPG fiasco.
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
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About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a large number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
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