piyush kaviraj

feelings and musings…

Public Expectations and Government: in search of ‘Achhe Din’

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In the recent past, someone had remarked- Modi is probably the last gamble by Indian public. And the citizens left no stone unturned in order not to have any regret left for not giving a majority to Modi sarkar. Riding on a Modi wave, full support from media and a whirlwind of expectations, BJP got a thumping majority and NaMo became the PM, to the delight of millions.

But there lies the glitch. The lured public clearly wants results as the wait for good days or ‘Achhe Din’ has been in suspension for more than 60 years. It was visible through daily scrutiny of the Aam Aadmi Party government at Delhi. Continuing with the same, the public would keep the NaMo sarkar under scanner till it is relieved of its daily tensions, from workplace to home, from social development to economic strengthening. The public is, but losing its patience in an exasperated hope of reviving the situation.

In such a situation, every move of the government would be introspected as per merit and it won’t be easy for the new government which already knows that governing India during the present situation is the crown of thorns marred by acute inflation, chronic poverty, mounting unemployment, snail pace development, fractured economy and beleaguered finances. Hence massive reforms are needed to counter the problems. The honeymoon period with media already seems to be jolted with hash tags of ‘achhe din delayed’ and ‘bitter rail pill”. Price regulation for petroleum is not my forte but the government will have to bear the brunt with every increment. Though minor hiccups were felt during Iraq problem and the ‘Hindi circular’, the first tremor has come with the rail fare and freight hike. There seems to be huge disappointment among people, especially the daily and regular commuters of railways. The cost of Mumbai sub-urban passes have gone up with 200-300% increase, not to mention the first and second AC fare is already giving stiff competition to the low-cost airlines. No doubt many people will prefer to spend a few bucks more to save 10-20 hours, through air journey. However, the sleeper and general class  passengers have a compulsion to remain loyal to their railways, even though it means shelling out extra bucks from their savings. Finance Minister asks if we want a world class railway or the present dilapidated one. Well, Jaitleyji, the rail makeover to world class can’t be achieved through fare hike. There is a limit to it. Price hike could be a necessity with the continuing inflation and that may be a reason good enough. Is there a need to issue such statements?

No doubt it is difficult to stand up to the public expectations as it has almost lost all the hopes on the traditional politicians, most of them christened with murder/rape and baptized with criminal cases. The level of saturation is dangerously close as was evident during Anna’s India against corruption movement with mass participation of public, swarming to the call against the prevailing issues. It was in full public glare when huge protests erupted against the heinously barbaric Nirbhaya incident. It has been clearly visible among the angry Delhi people since Arvind Kejriwal resigned. The frustration that has been building up since 60 years is something which shouldn’t be exploited otherwise. This is the time to perform or perish, in a reasonable time, without unreasonable arguments and statements. Because, Janata maaf nahi karegi!!

Author: piyushKAVIRAJ

Author of "Mahlon Ko Bikte Dekha Hai", Crumpled Voices 2, Jazbaati Galiyaan; Avid reader and writer, love for languages, especially Hindi. Aspiring socio-political activist. Poet and philanthrope!! Have been writing poetry since school days and trying to write better poems with every passing day. We owe so many things to the society and we can't get rid of our responsibility of returning the favour. Trying to contribute to society through writing and any other help possible, be it through guidance to students, cancer patients and their relatives or blood donors.

2 thoughts on “Public Expectations and Government: in search of ‘Achhe Din’

  1. good Analysis. What should be the priorities of the government ?

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    • As someone not in the helm of affairs, its easy to enlist priorities for the Government. But the fact is, a lot needs to be done. The current situation might have proved difficult even for Lincoln. So Manmohan or Modi doesn’t matter much. However this doesn’t give the government an excuse for non-functioning. Inflation and increasing prices are the first most visible problems. Next is development and better management of agriculture sector. It is but obvious that agrarian improvents (along with better electricity and transport facilities to farmlands and mandis) will positively impact the food prices and economy.

      Next priority should be development of infrastructure at state level. 2-3 city (other than the capital cities) of each state should be chosen to develop for industries, services and education. This will start reducing load on metro cities and development will not be restricted to few urban hot-spots.

      Along with these major works, better tapping of natural and human resources can be initiated on priority basis. My limited knowledge and understanding says foreign affairs are important but they can be in queue. Home-situation should be addressed first.

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