They range from 600 and go to over 850 -
based on different reports. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continue to hold the ignominy
of maximum farm suicides in the country.
Telangana which was officially carved out
of Andhra Pradesh on June 1 last year has inherited the issue from its parent
state. And has been performing even worse after that.
Its first chief minister is busy in affairs of his family and the ministerial
council. He has converted the entire state into his fiefdom it seems. Had it
not been so, his MLA would not dare to say that 'no farmer has committed the
suicide in the state since KCR (K. Chadrashekar Rao) took over in June 2014'.
And such MLAs (and ministers) are duly
rewarded by KCR.
The minister who said this is a so-called
'progressive farmer' and is headed to Israel for the International Agriculture
Exhibition. He is part of the delegation of eight such 'farmers' who will go to
Israel on the study tour and would implement the learning of the 'place' back
home.
So, Telangana is looking to grab an opportunity
that would get it rid of all negative publicity. Isn't it?
But then negative publicities are galore.
And they are not without reasons.
But then, they are politicians of the day, of
the lot they come from, of the land called India.
Even all the media fury and political
opposition's arguments couldn't bring the chief minister out to speak on it.
Probably none would be so appealing for him;
probably it was not bothering him. After all, for such petty issues, like
farmers committing suicides, government nepotism, administrative corruption,
government sponsored junkets, etc., his deputy chief minister, ministers and
MLAs are there.
After all, he is a person who warns media
outfits to 'bury alive' if its members 'insult the state'.
Farmers are dying in Telangana but it's a
non-issue for KCR and his ministers. Drought, unseasonal rains and the
mechanism of compensation to farmers have created a mix that has exacerbated
the plight of farmers.
But the politicians are enjoying their
time-out, like these four along with four others are going to have in Israel.
And it's symbolic of the overall political
culture in India.
'Politicians are a class above us' they
believe. And it was once again reiterated by the union government of India when
its Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapati Raju.
He 'assured' his fellow parliamentarians
(of the political lot) that they will continue to avail the VVIP treatment at
the airports.
Now airports are one of the most secure
places and an MP can go like you and me to any airport in this country.
While writing so, we must keep in mind that
very few of the overall Indians (the common men, the biggest but amorphous
votebank) travel by the air and thus have the opportunity to see the airports.
Yet, our parliamentarians think they are
above even the selected very few. After all, once in the hallowed halls of
Indian policymaking, they feel themselves several notches above even the
persons who avail the air travel facility in India (the world's largest
democracy, but with maximum number of poor). Once in the hallowed halls, they
feel in a separate class altogether.
And the demand to continue the VVIP
treatment at the airports is just one such of many reflections.
