Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com
If you are a public figure for a long time, it must be really difficult to keep track of what you say and what you really do. The advent of communications and 24/7/365 media makes it difficult to retract the words you say, and even retracting has become difficult these days for blabber mouths. A combination of inexperience in dealing with issues and also with the multimedia has become a standard operating procedure for politicians, and we can see the constant foot-in-mouth demonstration by politicians, irrespective of who they represent. Media itself is on the prowl for any kind of tidbits to keep the channel space occupied and even the slightest response to the most innocuous query gets its space for at least a brief period time, and it is stored for perpetuity.
The early leaders for the 2014 national agenda are already going at each other, along with their respective parties helping in fueling the war of words. Mr. Modi is very articulate and very net and media savvy politician and can always come-up with great retorts and zingers to any negative comments thrown at him. He is also quite good at touting his agenda and accomplishments, along with his humble beginnings. When you speak to just about every NRI who is from Gujarat, they have high praise for him, and they all speak of the infrastructure and educational development, along with water and power management, and various issues that they all feel are of importance to everyone in the state, and also people who are Gujarati NRI. No denying the fact that the development of the state over the decade under Mr. Modi has been aggressive and progressive for the state and the opportunity for NRI in the state is far greater than that is offered in rest of India.
While the projected candidate for INC Rahul Gandhi is younger to Mr. Modi, he is no stranger to politics or political power. His family has pretty much had the monopoly on India's INC and power since India's Independence in 1947. He does keep claiming that he is not a career politician, and his family background and pedigree is not important, and whatever claims that are easy to make and sounds good to himself, but doesn't represent the fact that he is there because of who he is, and nothing else. The fact is the Nehru/Gandhi family has just about monopolized Indian administration, except for a few years of other surnames. It is not only unheard of in a democracy to have such continued power vested with one single family, but there is little evidence in the history of democratically elected governments having such long lasting seat at the power by the same family. For whatever it is worth, they continue to represent and and dictate the INC and their allies agenda, and henceforth the agenda of the Indian nation.
With the new elections of 2014 coming in a few months the early poll predictions are not favorable for congress, and also doesn't give absolute majority to the opposition. It can once again be a fractured and coalition based government where the parties that help form the government will look for favors beyond the means of the party that is going into power. If this happens and there is no absolute majority to a single party, Indians will once gain see similar horse trading and lack of administration that has paralyzed the last two terms of the national elections. A government not only unable to deliver to its poll agenda, but also full of grandstanding and mismanagement. India has a lot of experience in simply having a government put together with outside support, but unable to have a definitive agenda to meet the needs of the people.
The 2014 elections once again might deliver a coalition government, and once gain leave the country with unpredictable agenda that can never be achieved. Also, the politicians who are simply speaking into a mike and voicing whatever they want to say to whosoever is listening to them, will once gain have an escape route due to the coalition, rather than administration. There is nothing to say that absolute majority to a single party will guarantee a economic blockbuster and scam free and taint free government, but it will certainly enable the philosophy of the politicians and their party to govern without constant buttering of the affiliates.
We are hearing rhetoric and words beyond comprehension and the speeches being delivered to the voters with a lot of promises along with slime being thrown at the opponents. Majority of the slime is directed at the projected leaders of each of the parties, and often negative. In a life of public service, there must be some good done by the politicians and specially if they are projected as national leaders. We hear nothing good coming from the political parties about the opposition, and almost no agreement on policy matters, while we hear nothing about a balanced budget, economic upturn, employment, education and other useful things that might appeal to the voters.
It is no longer an interesting debate on who might come into power and what might be expected from the party and its leadership. The sound bites are now limited to whatever you say and how much more harsh words you will use against the opposition. For better or worse, here is to wishing that a single party get back into power, and will at least have five years to deliver what might be the best possible solutions for the country. Until then we the public will have to hear whatever the politicians say, be it real or fictional.
vasureddy@aol.com
If you are a public figure for a long time, it must be really difficult to keep track of what you say and what you really do. The advent of communications and 24/7/365 media makes it difficult to retract the words you say, and even retracting has become difficult these days for blabber mouths. A combination of inexperience in dealing with issues and also with the multimedia has become a standard operating procedure for politicians, and we can see the constant foot-in-mouth demonstration by politicians, irrespective of who they represent. Media itself is on the prowl for any kind of tidbits to keep the channel space occupied and even the slightest response to the most innocuous query gets its space for at least a brief period time, and it is stored for perpetuity.
The early leaders for the 2014 national agenda are already going at each other, along with their respective parties helping in fueling the war of words. Mr. Modi is very articulate and very net and media savvy politician and can always come-up with great retorts and zingers to any negative comments thrown at him. He is also quite good at touting his agenda and accomplishments, along with his humble beginnings. When you speak to just about every NRI who is from Gujarat, they have high praise for him, and they all speak of the infrastructure and educational development, along with water and power management, and various issues that they all feel are of importance to everyone in the state, and also people who are Gujarati NRI. No denying the fact that the development of the state over the decade under Mr. Modi has been aggressive and progressive for the state and the opportunity for NRI in the state is far greater than that is offered in rest of India.
While the projected candidate for INC Rahul Gandhi is younger to Mr. Modi, he is no stranger to politics or political power. His family has pretty much had the monopoly on India's INC and power since India's Independence in 1947. He does keep claiming that he is not a career politician, and his family background and pedigree is not important, and whatever claims that are easy to make and sounds good to himself, but doesn't represent the fact that he is there because of who he is, and nothing else. The fact is the Nehru/Gandhi family has just about monopolized Indian administration, except for a few years of other surnames. It is not only unheard of in a democracy to have such continued power vested with one single family, but there is little evidence in the history of democratically elected governments having such long lasting seat at the power by the same family. For whatever it is worth, they continue to represent and and dictate the INC and their allies agenda, and henceforth the agenda of the Indian nation.
With the new elections of 2014 coming in a few months the early poll predictions are not favorable for congress, and also doesn't give absolute majority to the opposition. It can once again be a fractured and coalition based government where the parties that help form the government will look for favors beyond the means of the party that is going into power. If this happens and there is no absolute majority to a single party, Indians will once gain see similar horse trading and lack of administration that has paralyzed the last two terms of the national elections. A government not only unable to deliver to its poll agenda, but also full of grandstanding and mismanagement. India has a lot of experience in simply having a government put together with outside support, but unable to have a definitive agenda to meet the needs of the people.
The 2014 elections once again might deliver a coalition government, and once gain leave the country with unpredictable agenda that can never be achieved. Also, the politicians who are simply speaking into a mike and voicing whatever they want to say to whosoever is listening to them, will once gain have an escape route due to the coalition, rather than administration. There is nothing to say that absolute majority to a single party will guarantee a economic blockbuster and scam free and taint free government, but it will certainly enable the philosophy of the politicians and their party to govern without constant buttering of the affiliates.
We are hearing rhetoric and words beyond comprehension and the speeches being delivered to the voters with a lot of promises along with slime being thrown at the opponents. Majority of the slime is directed at the projected leaders of each of the parties, and often negative. In a life of public service, there must be some good done by the politicians and specially if they are projected as national leaders. We hear nothing good coming from the political parties about the opposition, and almost no agreement on policy matters, while we hear nothing about a balanced budget, economic upturn, employment, education and other useful things that might appeal to the voters.
It is no longer an interesting debate on who might come into power and what might be expected from the party and its leadership. The sound bites are now limited to whatever you say and how much more harsh words you will use against the opposition. For better or worse, here is to wishing that a single party get back into power, and will at least have five years to deliver what might be the best possible solutions for the country. Until then we the public will have to hear whatever the politicians say, be it real or fictional.
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