"The government spends crores building five-star hotels," we thundered."There are over two lakh villages without drinking water!" The slum-dwellersapplauded.
That was over two decades ago. Emergency was over. The Congress was defeated inParliament. We smelt revolution.
It did not come. So we stormed public sector five-star hotels with thousands ofslum-dwellers claiming to be customers. "We'll drink tea in hotels which weown," we snarled. "Auction these hotels! Spend public money for publicwelfare!"
We surrounded banks demanding loans for the poor. We occupied empty dda flats demandinghouses for the poor.
"Some people have strange notions of socialism," a Hindustan Times editorialsneered. That was before talk about public disinvestment, about infrastructure, had becomefashionable. That was a long time ago.
Once more people speak for the poor. But with a difference. Those who speak now areformer prime ministers. They pursued policies when in office that made life so unbearablefor villagers they migrated to the cities. Now they grieve for the living conditions ofthose migrants who came to the cities.
These former prime ministers are so poor themselves that they cannot pay telephone andelectricity bills running into lakhs that they owe to the government.
That doesn't bother the Left. cpi leader A.B. Bardhan said, "Issues such asreckless privatisation, growing unemployment and the worsening situation in Kashmir arebeing highlighted."
He has a point. Earlier, there was no recklessness. There was caution. V.P. Singhinvited foreign banks to start operations in India, cautiously. Chandra Shekhar staked thecountry's gold to obtain foreign loans, cautiously. Gowda and Gujral encouragedliberalisation, cautiously.
The Left, Laloo and others will join these leaders. This gaggle of headless chickenswill then spread across the country addressing public rallies. They will identify issuesaffecting the people. They will seek policies.
But people aren't looking for policies. They are looking for probity. The leadersdon't lack creativity. They lack credibility. The politicians, the pundits, themedia, they all think that the public is dumb. They think the public is swayed only bycaste and religion. They forget how voters rejected Laloo once. How they rejected hisvictors the next time.
The public is not dumb. It is silent. One day it will speak. When it does, our leaderswill tremble.
Eeny meeny mina mo,
Let polls come and go,
Our only choice is to see
Tweedledum or Tweedledee!
