26 December 2013, 12:37 PM IST
At a time when Delhi's to-be-sworn-in chief minister is spurning all trappings of a VIP in this status conscious city, indeed the nation, the Congress seems to have been hit by news it could have done without. Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar has been given control of her father's bungalow till 2038. Not surprisingly, the social media has erupted in protest, especially since there is history to this attempt to take control.
While it may be argued that it is only a memorial and not for her personal use, people know the reality. And, at a time like this when the so called winds of change are sweeping across the nation, when perceptions are important, when symbolism is critical, this is beyond just poor PR for the lady, as well as for the grand old party.
But while this story, and the general story of VIPism by those in power is despicable, at the other extreme is Arvind Kejriwal, who has said no to both, his security paraphernalia as well as a ministerial bungalow. Although the move is creditable and hugely popular, especially in a nation where the common man has seen himself being relegated to the status of a 2nd class citizen in comparison to these VIPs, where not just the VIPs, but have-beens and their sons too flaunt their status to belittle the common man, I would like to caution Arvind.
Symbolism is important but it cannot ride roughshod over ground realities, even practicalities. For, if you eliminate the needless trappings that genuinely harass the common man, the truth is that for those in actual position of power, some of these things are not a perquisite, but necessity.
As a leader, that too holding a constitutional post puts a lot of responsibility on the person. There are political opponents and then there could be powerful adversaries, including those who have lost out because of some unfavourable decisions. They all have the potential to harm you. In any case, if a person is at such an important position after wining an election, he would also have support among the masses. Any harm that comes to the person would ignite passions and can turn into a huge law and order problem, especially as it is exploited by anti-social elements and all others who mean harm. Weren't we witness to it after Indira Gandhi was assassinated?
It is, therefore, not right to go without security. The good thing is that the system itself may not permit all that, for it follows the security blue-book for such posts and would go by that, and not by the whims of the person being protected. I can recall an instance when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime minister and TN Seshan was the cabinet secretary of India and also responsible for PM's security. After a venue had been sanitised in the evening for a function the next morning, Seshan visited the venue in the morning before the PM's arrival and noticed a flower pot placed where it wasn't kept earlier in the evening. It was at a height and Seshan demanded it be removed. The organisers said they couldn't at that last moment and said PM was their friend. Seshan thundered into his walkie-talkie to the security to turn back PM's convoy. The organisers complied in a jiffy.
On the issue of the bungalow too, one needs to be practical. A person who is the chief minister will have thousands of visitors. If you are in a community with several people, it inconveniences all of them, for the veneer of having a VIP in the midst wears off in no time. It ultimately has security implications for self and also those around.
I hope Arvind would reconsider these decisions. Symbolism has its place, but for a limited period alone, after which, practical solutions need to take over. Symbolism should not reach a stage where you become their prisoner. There would be umpteen other ways of making the world know that you are a mere servant and not their lord and master.
Those would have genuine and practical impact. One of them would be to instruct the security apparatus to treat the common man as a respectable citizen and not send them scurrying around for cover when the cavalcade goes past, sirens blaring, gunmen waving their automatic weapons, pointing them at the common man with a move-or-else look. And not just you, even the others should be asked to shun these things. People hate the kind of things that I had to go through, for example: At gunpoint on a cycle.
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