VOX POPULI

by

Aam Admi

Issue:145

Date: 29.12.2012

Contents:

1. Focus On Justice, Do Not Divert Attention

2. Welcoming Walmart & IKEA With Open Arms

3. Delhi Protestors Should Have been Dealt With More Humanely

4. Narendra Modi’s Hat-Trick vs. Rahul Gandhi’s Hat-Trick

Focus On Justice, Do Not Divert Attention

The Sheila Dixit vs. Police Commissioner spat over the action taken in the gang-rape case is just designed to divert attention from the fact that Sheila Dixit was MIA (missing in action) when the public protests on the issue hit the zenith. True to being a 'good politician' she is trying to cover up for herself and accuse others of not doing their job. People before slandering others should hold a mirror to themselves to see if they measure up to the standards they set for others. The saving grace in this matter has been that the Congress party higher-ups have ignored the call by Sheila Dixit to have the Police Commissioner fired. Therefore what all should do including the police and the administration is to expedite the investigations against the accused in the case and bring them to justice and be sentenced by the fast-track courts. The ideal time schedule for this would have been before the victim is released from hospital or before any more grievous issue overtakes her. Time to roll up your short-sleeves and get working to deliver justice, Sheila-ji and the Police Commissioner.

Welcoming Walmart & IKEA With Open Arms

A lid is being attempted to be put over the infarctions that Walmart seems to have committed in India against the anti-bribery laws of the US. The essence of the obfuscation seems to be that lobbying is legal in the US, and not so in India, and that is where the majority of the US$25 million was spent. One now has to put this claim in context since why should Walmart spend money in the US when it wants to enter the Indian market. By all logic the money should be spent in the target market since we clearly know that there are no restrictions in the US about restricting trade with specific countries and particularly with India for which lobbying would be required and consequently money for that spent. A related fact is that Walmart upon being pulled up in the US for bribery in multiple countries including India, almost immediately sacked the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & other officers in their financial department from the India Walmart joint venture operations. The timing of this event is too close to the hauling up of Walmart in the US for anti-bribery and is too much of a coincidence to believe that the sacking was part of a routine management exercise. In any case the ED & DRI wings of the Indian government are looking into the situation that when FDI investment was banned in retail in India how did Walmart in cohorts with the Bharti group bring in some Rs. 300 crores into the country in the last few years. There is more information that Walmart Mexico has admitted to bribing in that country for land use change and to obtain construction permissions to open its stores. In India these kind of situations are something that we are very familiar with and hence Walmart practices being homogeneous world-wide may have involved doing the same thing in India also. The less than above board and some downright shady practices as above that Walmart implements in their world-wide operations, they will surely bring to India, for which we surely need to thank them. At least we will learn more than what we already know of pulling a legal veil on illegal practices by professional management methods. Therefore, it is not understood why we need to bring into the country those who are not very straight in their business practices and methods is beyond anyone’s comprehension. The same way with IKEA who it is understood are not very willing to accommodate in the approvals that the Indian government are giving them for their India operations which involves restricting them in certain areas like opening cafes in their stores, sourcing from medium and small-scale industries etc. They have told the Indian government that their application needs to be cleared in its entirety. This could be a negotiating ploy but then if it is not and the Indian government buckles to IKEA we will again have seen another time where this present government very familiar with ‘roll-backs’ and desperately in favour of foreign Cos. bending backwards to facilitate the entry of IKEA into India. Postscript: On the issue of IKEA, our government has done it again accepting the Co.’s proposal in toto with no changes or strictures and in the process withdrawing the conditions set earlier and as mentioned above. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma’s comment on this was that when we have allowed 100% FDI in single brand retail then we should not have put any conditions. Were we not aware of this before putting in the conditions? There is no debate on government policy on what it should do or not do beyond a point but then should not the government show that it has at least a clear and firm mind on formulation of policy. Additionally if it wants to protect and/or promote local interests and/or industry it should exhibit a will to do so. Operating in the manner as in the IKEA case indicates that India has become a ‘banana republic’ willing to accommodate foreign Cos./multinationals at any cost.

Delhi Protestors Should Have been Dealt With More Humanely

The public protests in Delhi over the last few days consequent upon the gang-rape of the 23 year old paramedic last Sunday (16th) night is representative of the callous and indifferent attitude of our politicians and civil administration. What our establishment is unable to understand is that people are coming out in anguish and in support of the rape victim and if they are given a patient and sympathetic hearing, then the protests would die down. When confronted with situations which are not the norm our authorities are perplexed and fail to grasp on how to deal with these situations. That is when they try to fit everything into boxes of format they know and categorising the existing protest as just another public protest or jatha, they use the existing methods in their armoury like lathi charges, water cannon Sec. 144 and tear-gas as we have seen. Use of these methods complicates these situations and as we have seen aggravates it. What should have been done is that Sheila Dixit, considering that Delhi is her domain, and ultimately she is responsible for the law and order and incidents of rape like what happened, should have come out and met the people, mostly youth and predominantly girls and young women, and first heard them out and then addressed their concerns. Instead of that as reported on TV, she scooted off to Himachal Pradesh to be present at the CLP leader's election after the Congress recently wrested the seat of power there from the BJP. With Delhi on the boil, for the CM to leave town is completely irresponsible. Underestimating the problem is no excuse since it shows how ineffectual the State police & Central intelligence is. Now that she has come back she is blaming the police for the excessive action taken which is nothing but trying to divert the flak from her own self. Even if Sheila Dixit was not there, was it not the civil administration's duty to address the problem as above. Could the Chief Secretary of Delhi not come in support of the police and given them relevant instructions to deal with the protestors in a more humane manner. Beyond that what was the Centre's Home Ministry doing, should they not have stepped in? The situation in Delhi seemed to be as if she was nobody's baby and the buck was passed here and there when 'Mama' Sheila Dixit was away. To reduce the capital of this country to an orphaned waif is a shame by itself. As someone asked on TV what was the PM, Manmohan Singh doing? Hiding behind the skirts of Sonia Gandhi and Sheila Dixit as some other person, a lady author, said in a TV panel discussion. This incident has brought out once again the incapacity of the Congress to rule this country. More often than not the Congress tend to mouth inanities and platitudes and no concrete action is seen on the ground to address a problem. One cannot but emphasise here that timely intervention tends to defuse incendiary situations and make them more manageable. While in this instance after typefying the protests as being ‘politicalised’, ‘lumpen elements’ getting involved etc. which is nothing but to highlight, the we vs. they syndrome and that the police and the establishment are always right. This may not be true all the time.

Narendra Modi’s Hat-Trick vs. Rahul Gandhi’s Hat-Trick

The hat-trick that Narendra Modi pulled off in the Gujarat Assembly elections is a reminder to the Congress and this nation that there are alternatives which could deliver a better form of governance than what we have had in the last 8/9 years. If Modi is able to shed himself from the stigma of being complicit in the communal riots of 2002 when the whole State went up in flames, there could be a case for him to be considered as a Prime Ministerial candidate, if and when the BJP wins in any of the next general elections. But that is going to be a difficult job since no amount of white-washing can remove the stain of blood on his political persona. On the Gujarat Assembly elections it was amusing to see the Congress 'young pup', Rahul Gandhi staying away from the State since it would have been a hat-trick of sorts with him presiding over the losses consecutively in the States of Bihar, UP & then Gujarat. That is why he made a token presence on the last day of polling in the second schedule so that none could say that he was not seen during these Gujarat elections. It was necessary for Rahul to show his face in the Gujarat Assembly elections considering that he has been anointed to lead the Congress charge in the 2014 general elections. Maybe the hat-trick of losses in elections has been kept for the general elections in 2014. Like they say, save the best for last.

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