UPA - all jokes are valid

.. in the lighter vein..

Mommy, Food security Bill is sooooo good!!

This Land Acquisition Bill will do it for us!

Yes Madam!

Yoohoo Bring it on Mr. Modi !!

The Land acquisition Bill - is it the Sonrise?

Now, this is an altogether good bill that the Lok Sabha passed yesterday. The salient features are:

To purchase land for SEZ/ industries or infrastructure development:

* 70 to 80% farmers consent would be needed

* They will be paid value 4 times the market value in the rural areas and two times in the urban areas.

That Rahul Gandhi championed it is also great as I think he generally connects with the rural masses of this country – I always read about him traveling to all sorts of remote areas. 

But what are the good and bad sides to this bill?

The Good

* No need for 100% consent as the Left often proposes since that is practically impossible. I think 70 – 80% consent is a pretty good way to acquire land.

* A legal guideline exists for what compensation will be paid to the farmers and especially in rural areas, giving them 4 times the market value is a good idea as land is rather cheap in the countryside.

* The objection that it is industry unfriendly is not valid – industry will rake good profits out of the project provided they are given clear titles and land once acquired is not opposed by activists, opposition parties etc. The only way industry gets hurt (e.g. Tata Nano plant) is when they set up a factory and then the protests start to shut down the plant. So, they lose time money and energy. If land acquired through this bill is clean and clear, they stand to benefit.

The Bad

The flipside to this bill is something universal to all Parliament bills – Enforcement and implementation. All are bills are well debated and the Indian legal framework is outstanding to say the least. But implementation is so tardy that it becomes meaningless. Now what will be the hurdles for implementing this bill in reality?

* It would be hard to quantify 70% or 80% consent as a lot of intimidation will be used to get farmers to agree. In case they voluntarily agree, opposition parties will claim intimidation was used.

* What is the “market value” – now this is where the bill will lose its sheen. How do you determine market value? In rural areas, market value of land is pretty low plus it tends to start rising when a project comes there and as the industrial project advances, the market value goes up further. When the farmers agree to sell their land, it is based on rural market value which existed when there was nothing. But in a span of a year or two, they see that market value spiral and then agitate to demand compensation based on the new market value (which is an oxymoron because if there was no industry, the market value would not have risen). So, they start protesting and demanding their land back and the activists and the opposition parties go into a frenzy over that.

* Also, the Middle men tend to pocket sums and never pass on the right compensation to the farmers. They may even tend to grab lands of the lower caste segments (if they have any to begin with)

So, great Bill Mr. Gandhi but long way to go in delivering it in reality - that is where the real work is.

But it is a good bill to enter the election fray with – I think this son has risen!

 

Protest Hotspots of Delhi

India gate

At the heart of the capital India gate is always buzzing with crowds and energy. Candle light vigils and protest sit-ins are common occurrences at India Gate but it came most into the limelight when thousands of youngsters poured in post Nirbhaya case causing huge traffic jams. A better venue couldn’t be found as such women are also martyrs to our war within – a war for women’s rights and dignity.

Of late the inner sanctum sanctorum has been closed to public but we have other venues.

Jantar Mantar Street

Originally built as an astronomical observatory, today Jantar Mantar serves as an observatory to different sorts of things. From Anti corruption supporters to Yamuna Bachao Andolan to December 16 Kranti etc. etc. all marches tend to end there.

(.. and recently Baba Asaram’s supporters march… ahhm)

Though on a normal day the street has a large number of sleepy looking stalls devoted to smaller causes - usually there is a tent with some posters and pictures and one or two attendants sleeping next to it. There are equally sleepy looking police checkpoints and some street food eateries alongside.

Parliament Street

As is the mood of the moment in Delhi and India right now, this street has been the hotspot during women’s rights marches and protests in response to the rising crime.

INA Market

A venue for smaller gatherings and causes, INA market again witnesses a lot of activism.

And the latest..

Malls – yes believe it or not.

From Gurgaon mall street to Saket Select Citywalk, malls have become the new place. They have the added advantage of audience but the one who is in a party mood – so somehow the causes don’t touch them at that time.

All these protests and marches are no doubt a symbol that our democracy is alive but having taken part in a few of these marches, I always come back home wondering what difference will these make. 

What do you think?

(oops this was supposed to be in the lighter vein..hmm, not so light I guess)

Sonia Gandhi – Silent Waters run Deep?

Being a politician, she receives her fair share of media glare and criticism; it is a part of the deal. But I have long been a fan of her. Yes, granted she is no idealist (would she last in politics if she were?) but I find her brand of politics as clever but what you may call “above board”. She has the pulse of the voter and knows what populist schemes to devise- NREGA, food security Bill etc. to mention a few. But she is neither divisive nor detrimental to the nation. And she does not play dirty to get to the top, though she just naturally belongs there by way of her Gandhi dynastic lineage.  I find her quiet strength admirable and she would be one of the women I admire. So, this piece is about her and UPA politics under her hand.

While much is written about the Gandhi dynasty, the present generation is not that power hungry as is often times suggested. After Rajiv’s death, Sonia stayed out of politics for good many years, 8 was it? Initially happy that brighter talent can now rise to the top, the Congress soon realized that there is no party without the Gandhis. Whether pressure from party men or threat of Bofors scandal, Sonia finally did enter the fray. However when BJP kicked up a storm over her Italian background, she did not fight back tooth and nail or play dirty. Despite winning the elections she stepped aside and propped up Manmohan Singh as the PM. Likewise, Rahul Gandhi, though the supposed crown prince, has spent more time travelling the countryside meeting the poor etc. than really trying to gun for Dr. Singh’s job. With Indira Gandhi’s lingering image, Priyanka too has been touted as the next candidate in waiting. But so far, apart from supporting Rahul’s campaigns, she seems to have stayed away. Whatever ideas may have been propounded, none of them seem to be the clichéd ‘power hungry’.

So what keeps them going in the murky world of politics? Patriotism, destiny, party pressure or may be a little bit of all because frankly the Congress really has no identity minus the Gandhi family, at least not in the voters’ mind. That is not to say Congress does not have other leaders but they have no party without the Gandhis. So, I’d settle for destiny as the answer to why they continue as clearly they have seen much violence and tragic losses and their wariness is often visible.

What about Sonia’s brand of politics? I think she is not the puppet brand model that party patriarchs may once have expected her to be. She is indeed shrewd and savvy. She knows who to trust and puts her confidants into positions of power such that they do not undermine her. Dr. Singh was hand picked for the job and temperamentally they do make a great team. While coalition governments were starting to become the norm, under her leadership, UPA has held on to good majority in two successive terms. She is quiet, understated and quite graceful for a politician. She knows how to avoid controversies and has the pulse of the Indian voter.

On the down side, she may never herald path breaking changes but even keeping such a diverse and factional country democratic, strong and stable is no mean task.  While UPA has come under the hammer for economic slowdown, I think the bigger issue is falling status of women in this country. And that no politician – be it the ruling party or the opposition is even talking about.  But again, that is as much a social as political issue which increasingly seems like a lost cause without a worthy champion. Ya, people have protested, media has written scores about it, but crime and general harassment of women seems to be on the rise not decline. So far as the economic slowdown itself is concerned, one couldn’t expect a better FM than Chidambaram but again good economic policies will not be populist and tend to go against what the voter thinks is good (more on that later). So, politicians are wary to implement them.

Sonia Gandhi herself is a good leader whose best quality I think is her ability to negotiate out of difficult situations. She knows how to keep the power balance without getting murky herself. Congress as a party has survived on her back. As a politician I think she is great and as a woman I think awesome – be it in her role in the past as a daughter in law (to Indira Gandhi, mind you), as a wife and as a mother. The word balancer comes to mind when I think of her. Does her Italian background matter, I don’t think so. I think she is quite a good role model for women.

Now this is increasingly looking like a UPA blog – so expect something lighter in the next vein..

Food Security Bill – No need to beat the drums yet!!

As war of words flies between UPA and Modi camp, how big a deal really is the Food security bill?

Well, pretty big deal if you see the dent on the exchequer – over 1 lac crores but what about the impact on the voter? I have my doubts about that.

If you see UPA’s last time election stunt – NREGA : it was simply awesome. Not in the sense that it created any kind of employment or any genuine economic upliftment of people. No, not at all. But giving people “cash” on a monthly basis – that is a “never fail” tactic. It is a sure shot election winner.

But food security bill is a bit of an old wine in a new bottle. People already have these so called BPL cards through which grains are available to them in ration shops at cheap rates. Food security bill makes the same available a rupee or two cheaper.  I don’t think it sounds all that great to a voter and so it may not be that big an election winner as UPA might be imagining.

Now, if you gave people free color TVs as was done in Tamil Nadu, that is good vote winner. If you give them mobile phones or cash – as was done in Mexico (and people were asked to take the photo of the voter card on their mobiles to be eligible for the cash), that is an election winner. NREGA was also basically just cash distribution as salary for ill defined or undefined work which essentially means no work i.e. “free salary”. UPA got that bang on. But Food security bill??

While all sort of arguments fly about implementation of these schemes and that somehow they fail to reach the neediest, the main issue is that this is not going to be an election winner. Yet at a time when Rupee is falling like a stone and we are having some border skirmishes with Pakistan (another Kargil2 in the offing??), can the government afford to spend this big an amount.

In terms of people’s needs, it may surprise many of us city dwellers that even today hunger remains a problem in remote parts of the country. I once visited some immigrants here and felt sorry that they only have two meals a day with nothing in between, not a cup of tea or even a biscuit. Then I happened to read a journalist’s account that in some part of Rajasthan, the children eat by turns – the mother feeds one child one day and another the next. I was shocked. So, it is always a good idea to reach food to people. But not just grains as the Food security bill promises but also some protein like milk or daals.

A better idea would have been improving the reach of the BPL card scheme – ensuring it reaches the neediest (it doesn’t at the moment) and streamlining inspection system over ration shops as well as mid day meal schemes. The recent Bihar tragedy tells us that a serious revamp of this system is required. You can’t just serve “any damn thing” to children because they are poor. Surprise checks and inspection system should be put in place. But then none of this makes election news that you can announce to the beat of drums.

But leaving such rational arguments aside, we are a democracy and winning elections is an important part of that reality. So far as that strategy goes, I’m afraid the Food security bill is not going to get UPA far – it does not have the charm of a mobile, cash or a TV. So whatever be opposition’s arguments, There probably is just too much hype around the Bill whereas my guess is it’ll just pass the voter by.  

 
So this does not seem to be a bill that can be announced to the beat of drums – Dr.Singh and  M’am Sonia, better drum up another ace or strategy to crack the 2014 elections. I'm afraid Food security bill ain’t gonna do it..