SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
ALTAF SHAH
The new trend in our country: huge hoardings or advertisements by politicians of self-praise and proclamation of list of achievements. In fact, there are times when they try to take credit for things that are not theirs at all. Like it happened last week when there was a full-page advertisement in a leading newspaper, where beneath a list of achievements by the UP government, a bridge was shown which turned out to be the one in West Bengal. Naturally, it was an embarrassing situation and the newspaper took full responsibility for the ‘error’ and issued an apology about the same. We can imagine the pressure on media houses who have to issue ‘corrigenda’ for no fault of their own which reflects badly on their integrity, some might even lose their jobs. Sad.
For politicians with vested interests, getting away with a census that suits their agenda is no big deal, however, inaccurate it may be. Like they may quote that unemployment is at its lowest or the GDP at its highest under their regime and get away with projecting that the country and its countrymen are at their happiest and progressive at their best while the ground reality may be a stark contrast. They may even announce grants worth Rs 1,000 crore on social welfare schemes, without actually giving it out. Who’s looking into the actual transactions really?
These politicians are aware that not many will question them and they can get away with anything.
Probably, we deserve this as we elect the uneducated lot, don’t we? The tragedy today is, if we have to secure a good job, we need to be educated and pass certain standards. However, to be a politician one need not be educated. Shockingly, people with multiple police cases under their name are also eligible for candidature as our leader. And more shockingly, they even emerge winners on the dint of our votes. Somewhere the lack of education is showing up in the state of affairs of the country. And this rot will continue if we have uneducated people as our leaders.
We have seen a rise in revenge politics, the politics of hate and the rampant corruption, we have all become accustomed to thinking that politics is a dirty game which does not remain confined to any particular party but has spread to the entire system.
The only way out to good governance, according to me, is that we keep education and no criminal cases as the criteria. Until and unless, we don’t have broad-minded educated people as our leaders who have the national good at heart and knowhow to achieve that on a macro level with good schemes, plans and activities, things will not change for the better.
Until then we have to bear with these people who congratulating themselves for things which are their duty and not favours to the masses, and yes they are being well paid for serving us.
It’s time that the truly educated and progressive people shun their reservations about politics and give its recognition with ‘national interest’ as its core motive and agenda. Time to heed to what Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Anyone who says they are not interested in politics is like a drowning man who insists he is not interested in water.”
