My views are mine

Yesterday’s debate on No confidence motion brought in by opposition parties against Modi Government was highlighted by one of the first corruption charges against the Government since it assumed power 4 years ago. Though opposition seems to be reading too much into the mystery shrouding the deal, knowing the likes of Nirmala Sitharaman and Modi, one can assume with reasonable surety that it’s a hoax red flag raised by the opposition. However, it is also interesting to know that what after all happened to those whose names got embroiled in scams in the past:

(1) the first, foremost and mother of all scams that readily comes to one’s mind is Bofors. From Rajiv Gandhi to Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari to Arun Nehru to Quattrochi- lots of names were involved but they either perished or continued to survive but didn’t get punished.

(2) chara ghotala has seen Lalu going in and out of jail but his party and family continue to have an iron hold on the affairs of Bihar.

(3) Robert Vadra vs. DLF seems to have died natural death and Vadra continues to be a free bird.

(4) Chidambaram and his son are in soup but PC is the top lawyer in the country and he doesn’t seem to be much worried.

(5) Ajit Dada Pawar seems to have Vidarbha irrigation scam behind him , while Ashok Chavan seems to have got flat in Adarsh and clean chit too! Incidentally, when is Adarsh going to get demolished?

(6) Chit fund scam in West Bengal, education scam in MP, Reddy brothers, Jayalalitha ( May her soul rest in peace) are all but forgotten.

Why dig up a scam, make noise about it, spend public money on probes if ultimately nothing is to come out of it. Let’s admit that our guys are not fool to be leaving a paper trail or proof behind to be in soup in future!

Mumbai is also sometimes called “City of Dreams” . Millions of people from all over the country come here to try their luck. Also, Mumbai houses Bollywood, and metamorphic for film industry is also dreams that are sold to millions of moviegoers. Not all are successful though, but nobody starves here! There is work and opportunity for everyone. This immigration of people from all over has made this megapolis a heady melting pot of different cultural, linguistic and ethnic groups.

The city that welcomed and accommodated everyone in the past is now in throes. Of late, it’s infrastructure has started creaking and it is not able to support rising pressure on it any more – buildings, houses, vehicles and above all people! Infrastructure development has started and you can see work happening all around, but it seems to be too little too late! What, however, is the cause for greater concern is helplessness of the city to offer safety to its citizens. While in any megapolis of the size and magnitude of Mumbai, there will be daily casualties due to road accidents, train related accidents (unique to Mumbai and its lifeline) , murders, suicides etc., the situation gets aggravated during the monsoons. One heavy downpour and you see people dying of electrocution, falling into uncovered sewer holes, trees falling on them- but this year, fires, landslides, stampedes, buildings caving in and yesterday’s unfortunate accident of Andheri bridge falling on railway tracks clearly indicate that Mumbai seems to be giving in to the pressure of excesses. It seems to have crossed tipping point. How the authorities plan to cope up with new sky scrapers visible all over, new and bigger vehicles getting registered daily and manpower influx continuing unabated? I pray that resilience of Mumbai and Mumbaikar should not be tested ; on the contrary the city and its denizens deserve better infrastructure and treatment.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton