Today’s news and events are truly fitting to this title, which is borrowed from Ketan Mehta’s ’95 satire starring SRK. The latest diktat from the Election Commission, the “Operation Cover-up”, to ensure several huge statues erected by Mayawati (her own, Ambedkar’s, Kanshi Ram’s and of course hundreds of elephants) ahead of the UP elections, has raised many an eyebrow! While this news splashed across the media and the virtual world, all I could think of was “Oh Darling…. Yeh Hai India!! I mean where else can one witness such antics other than our very own I-N-D-I-A…
Think of this – all these years, the state exchequer was used to build and erect various parks and statues. In the land of countless laws with and without purpose, we failed to find a law that could stop this massive wastage of tax payer’s money. It is reported that more than Rs.2500 crore was spent on projects of five parks and memorials in Lucknow between 2007 and 2009. There were even cases filed in the Supreme Court against raising these ‘memorials’ – as they call it. Yet, it is mortifying to see that no one has been able to stop this wasteful expenditure. Today, out of the blue, the Election Commission wants to cover all these humungous statues with their burqa!!
Now, the ‘cover-up’ situation at hand has become a logistical nightmare for the government authorities. Once again, the government money is wasted on this exercise and it would not be an uphill task to imagine that this clothing exercise will not be anything but futile. For me, and I would presume it is human nature that a closed or covered piece generates more curiosity than an open one. So why bother to cover it up now? Are we not giving more publicity to this ‘statue politics’?
The question at hand – what happens to these statues if the BSP does not return to power? And what happens if they do?
Last heard was a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Lucknow High Court stating that Elephant is a religious symbol and hence ‘burqa-fying’ elephant statues should be stopped.......... What an Idea Sirji!
On an exaggerated note, I was thinking out loud – Are we looking at a situation of arranging over 200 million (which is the estimated population of UP) pairs of gloves to cover all Hands/Palms in UP (because this happens to be the symbol of the rival Congress)? Covering of the ‘Lotus’ and other party symbols will be child’s play as compared to this mammoth task in hand.....
The Glove-making Industry… are you listening?
Welcome to the greatest cover-ups of all times........It happens only in India! Jai Ho!
Think of this – all these years, the state exchequer was used to build and erect various parks and statues. In the land of countless laws with and without purpose, we failed to find a law that could stop this massive wastage of tax payer’s money. It is reported that more than Rs.2500 crore was spent on projects of five parks and memorials in Lucknow between 2007 and 2009. There were even cases filed in the Supreme Court against raising these ‘memorials’ – as they call it. Yet, it is mortifying to see that no one has been able to stop this wasteful expenditure. Today, out of the blue, the Election Commission wants to cover all these humungous statues with their burqa!!
Now, the ‘cover-up’ situation at hand has become a logistical nightmare for the government authorities. Once again, the government money is wasted on this exercise and it would not be an uphill task to imagine that this clothing exercise will not be anything but futile. For me, and I would presume it is human nature that a closed or covered piece generates more curiosity than an open one. So why bother to cover it up now? Are we not giving more publicity to this ‘statue politics’?
The question at hand – what happens to these statues if the BSP does not return to power? And what happens if they do?
Last heard was a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Lucknow High Court stating that Elephant is a religious symbol and hence ‘burqa-fying’ elephant statues should be stopped.......... What an Idea Sirji!
On an exaggerated note, I was thinking out loud – Are we looking at a situation of arranging over 200 million (which is the estimated population of UP) pairs of gloves to cover all Hands/Palms in UP (because this happens to be the symbol of the rival Congress)? Covering of the ‘Lotus’ and other party symbols will be child’s play as compared to this mammoth task in hand.....
The Glove-making Industry… are you listening?
Welcome to the greatest cover-ups of all times........It happens only in India! Jai Ho!
Awesome! Providing gloves seems like a great idea..wish the elections were in winters at least the common man would have finally got something to keep him warm, from the cold and the cold politicians of this country :)
ReplyDeletehow about spending the money on providing shelter and blankets to those on the streets in UP battling the cold wave, rather than covering lifeless and useless statues!
ReplyDeleteMore than the cover up, what is required... by people like us... is.... what are we doing to change the political situation of our country... yeah... the first thought is.. what can WE do !!!! right :) but surely there must be something more which WE can do other than talking about cover-ups in the evening in our living rooms, with a nice drink in our hands, with back-slapping buddies and have a lively and animated conversation about such things, then popping off to sleep, fully oblivious of it the next day morning, when our own lives take precedence over the life of our country :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteBut, having said that, what you are doing sir jee, is commendable and certainly a step in the right direction.. that is to publish your views without fear :) :) :) keep it up buddy boy :) :) :)
In the latest report published by TI, India scored only 3.3 in the corruption perception index which pushes it down from 84th position in 2009 to 87th.
ReplyDeleteAgain, fighting corruption requires more than government policy, laws, tools and legal system. It requires awareness of our social responsibility, moral values, excellence in our daily work, etc.
How many would even volunteer for to educate our people, inspire the upcoming generations, change the mindset of corrupted people and to tackle with every cause. Moreover it need willingness, commitment and active participation of media, civic associations, voluntary groups, teachers, students, social workers, etc...