Harvinder Singh, a transporter from Delhi, caused a furore when he landed a slap on the face of the Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar in protest against the rise in food prices. Although this is not the first time ,Prashant Bhushan, lawyer and aide to activist Anna Hazare, who last month was assaulted in his office by a young man who found Mr. Bhushan’s remarks on self-determination in Kashmir to be so offensive that he started swinging. Or the former telecom minister Sukhram, who was slapped and kicked in court earlier this week by a man identified as none other than Harvinder Singh – which makes you wonder how many causes Mr. Singh gets irate about in an average week. Then In 2009, a Sikh journalist hurled a shoe at Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram during a news conference after getting angry with the minister's reply to a question about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. But as always this time too, the leaders of all political parties immediately condemned the attack (on Mr.Pawar this time) on the grounds that there is no place for violence in a democracy.
No doubts that the act of slapping a minister is ought to be condemned. But such an incident indicates that common people are getting increasingly frustrated with the country’s politicians. The incident should be viewed as a sign of the anger and frustration of the common man against rising prices that the United Progressive Alliance government has struggled to contain. None of the leader is doing anything to tackle the burning issues of corruption, price rise and inflation, all of which have made the lives of ordinary people miserable. The incident should prompt politicians to engage in serious.
Meanwhile Anna Hazare’s remarks on the incident seem to have been taken out of context and twisted by the media. It was only a spontaneous and natural reaction to the situation. People should be allowed to express what they feel. Politicians have directed barbs at Hazare because he claims to trend the gandhian path. However, not many politicians have the time to follow gandhian principals themselves.
Recently, Jitendra Prasada, a member of the congress and a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, was seen kicking protesters during a campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh. The protesters had allegedly breached the security cordon around Rahul Gandhi. However, it was the security staff’s responsibility to deal with such a situation, not prasada’s. Such leaders, with their obvious contempt for the common man, are not fit to be role models for the youth of this country and most observably no condemnations were registered by any politician.
Over the years, the gap between the haves and the have-notes has widened. Politicians lead luxurious lives while millions do not even get two square meals a day. In legislative assemblies, laws are passed summarily, and there is no concerted effort to address the problems that plague the common man. Such problems might take years of work to eradicate. Even while criticizing the attack on Sharad Pawar, one cannot forget the role he has played, as minister for agriculture, in the price rise crises.
A while ago, the Supreme Court had directed the government to distribute the food to the poor free of cost or at low prices, instead of letting it rot in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI).The government however did not comply with the orders.
Meanwhile, Hazare seems ready to apologize to Pawar for his hasty remarks. But the agriculture minister remains defiant in spite of the attack on him. When asked if he could forgive Harvinder Singh, Pawar reportedly said,” Who am I to forgive? I am not a judge”. Sadly, that the real face of our politicians, defiant, egotistical and unrepentant.
http://twocircles.net/2011nov30/slap_face_price_rise%E2%80%A6.html
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