An Insipid End Of Budget Drama!

Resignation of Dinesh Trivedi:
It started with a fanfare but ended in a fiasco.Yes, Rail budget drama started with a high pitch but ended in a a tame note. Dinesh Trivedi could not stick to his stand that unless Mamata Banerjee herself or Prime minister asked him to resign he would not step down.On the contrary he himself contacted Mamata Banerjee simply to be asked to quit railway ministry with immediate effect and he did it as a 'disciplined soldier'.He heaped praise on TMC supremo and did swear unwavering faith in party leadership.In fact, he could have resigned immediately after his party chair person made it known to the Prime minister that she didn't want him to continue as Rail minister any more.It's not clear why he took unnecessarily so much time to call it quits.May be,he expected Congress leadership would stand by him as Prime minister and Finance minister lauded his budget.Pranab Mukherjee in particular supported fare-hike by thumping table.But in reality none in the govt dared extend active support to him and rather projected it as a personal matter between Mamata Banerjee and Dinesh Trivedi. Mamata Banerjee made the last laugh.

Now it's up to Mamata Banerjee(defacto Railway minister) to dictate to what extent roll-back in fare hike would be made or there would be no fare-hike at all. What's, perhaps, certain is hapless Prime minister has no choice but to accept Mukul Ray as Railway minister notwithstanding his strong reservation against him.

Democracy at a stake!

Asking Dinesh Trivedi to resign:

As the things stand Dinesh Trivedi might have to relinquish railway portfolios at the instance of Mamata Banerjee who feels let down by her party colleague for hiking train fares .As railway minister Miss Banerjee put railways on the dock and bade farewell to passengers' safety and security.Mr.Trivedi has made an honest ,sincere and realistic approach to recover the financial health of railways instead of playing to the gallery like his predecessor.For doing this job first of all money is required and to enhance revenue he's hiked train fares.He's enhanced fares marginally at lower classes and at higher rates for AC and sleeper coaches keeping in mind that poor people too can afford the enhanced fare.What's more, people in general don't grudge to cough up the extra fare considering the moribund state of Indian railways.They rather hope rail could now ensure them safe,secure and hassle- free journey.Nothing could be more unfortunate if Dinesh Trivedi has to quit now simply because Mamata Banerjee does not like him while whole nation is behind him.Even Prime minister Monmohan Singh has complimented him for presenting a rational budget.Trivedi's departure might go down as a dark spot in the history Indian democracy.

Again, what's most humiliating and insulting for Monhmohan singh that Mamata Banerjee has recommended the name of Mukul Ray as railway minster to replace Dinesh Trivedi.It's Mukul Roy who outright defied Monmohan Singh when he asked Mr.Ray, the then minister of state for railways, to visit the site of train accident due to bomb blast at Assam.

To Editor,The Bengal Post

The queer logic presented by your correspondent Niranjan Hazra in his write-up (March16) Trivedi has violated the collective will of the people has surprised me a lot.What he's said boils down to the moot point that by hiking train fare in railway budget he's betrayed his party and the people who support it.The party is always dead against such hike particularly in the interest of poor people.As he's won election on TMC's ticket and not as an independent candidate he should have toed his party's line of not affecting people's interest by any means in his budgetary proposals.What Mr.Hazra has missed is Dinesh Trivedi is not a minister of a particular party, he's a cabinet minster of UPA -II govt.So his budget proposals should reflect the policy and principles of UPA-II govt and not of TMC or of any other party in particular.Although in a coalition govt different partners might have different policies but the govt is run on common minimum program.In fact, Dinesh Trivedi has taken a bold decision of hiking train fares after so many years to augment the financial health of railways.People too don't grudge to cough up the extra fare considering the morbid condition of Indian rail ways which now fail to ensure minimum safety to the passengers.Thanks to Mr.Trivedi he has not followed the populist policy far divorced from ground realities adopted by his predecessor.Trivedi has, in fact, respected the collective will of the people who want railways to assure them safe, secure and hassle free journey.

Appeasing farmers

Mamata Banerjee has called upon the cooperative banks not to confiscate the property of a farmer and put it on auction if he fails to repay his bank loan.She's also declared that she'd amend such legal provision enjoyed by banks.She's also added she'd file FIR against the bank which has issued notice to attach mortgaged property of defaulter farmers.As usual she's lambasted the Left Front govt for passing such anti farmer draconian law, although such a legal provision was in vogue much before the Left came to power.Perhaps, a series of suicides recently committed by debt trapped farmers in the state has prompted CM to make such a populist statement as a damage control measure.That apart,Panchayet election is not far off and now it's time to look after the rural vote bank.

A dispassionate review of CM's statement suggests it's not only populist but irrational also.It'll encourage the farmers not to repay loan even if they 're able to do so.It's as good as asking the banks to waive the debts of the farmers irrespective of their financial position.If the banks have to oblige CM, how would they run their institutions?A time would come when the cooperative banks would be compelled to roll down their shutters or refuse to sanction loans to the farmers for their own survival.As a result the farmers will have to approach the money lenders to take loan at an exorbitantly high rate of interest.So CM should think twice before making such a populist statement to appease the farmers with an eye to their vote bank.In fact,in doing so she'll do more harm than good to the farmers whose interest she's apparently going to vindicate.

Jumping the gun!

They say man learns from mistakes.But our CM Mamata Banerjee is an exception.She never tries to learn from mistakes because she doesn't believe she can commit any mistake at all.Park Street rape case proved her wrong as she'd claimed it was concocted.Incidence of rape is a very sensitive issue, so she should have been more cautious while making any comment on Katwa rape incident.But here too she made the similar remark as in Park Street case, this time, of course ,based on medical test though doctors claim this preliminary test does prove nothing unless the result of forensic test is received.Doctors are, in fact, waiting for the results of forensic test.As these uncalled-for remarks are coming from no lesser a person than CM herself, it might have a far reaching impact on investigation.Investigating agency might be influenced and try to prove CM was not wrong in her observation as all cops are not that courageous as Damayanti Sen.CM did jump the gun in murder cases too.Recently,immediately after dastardly incidence of twin murders at Bardwan she claimed from Delhi it was the fall-out of internal squabble of CPM while her ministers claimed murders were the result of mob fury.What's most significant is in these murder cases cops didn't even pray for police custody of the accused as is normally done.In each instance she should have made remark after the investigation was complete to do justice to the victim.What's more, yesterday during ALL India General strike when a journalist of a private TV channel was brutally assaulted by Trinomool activists she also called it concocted to malign her party and govt..

What's very disturbing is Mamata Banerjee always finds CPM's presence behind every untoward incidents or crimes taking place in the state.She seems obsessed that CPM is working overtime to do harm to her government and thus embarrass her.So she passes not a single day without spewing fire and brimstone on CPM for some reason or other and some times without any rhyme and reason..May be it's paranoia syndrome but it proves very costly for our state.Such a sour relation between the ruling party and the opposition stands in the way of developmental activities of the state.In a democracy govt and ruling party should respect each other and work in tandem for the progress of the state.As ill luck would have it in the last Left regime too TMC and the Left were at daggers drawn and state suffered a lot.We're afraid the same thing would happen in the changed regime too.

Courageous Fight For Justice

Park street rape case:
We’re happy that adverse comments from high places of administration could not influence the police investigation as feared in the Park Street rape case and ultimately it could be successfully cracked. It’s the untiring efforts and doggedness of some dedicated police officers that yielded results. The rape victim’s courage and unfaltering adherence to her complaint that she was assaulted and raped even in the face of disbelief prevailing in some quarters convinced the investigating officers that some mischief was done to her.However, initially cops at police station didn’t take her statement seriously and on the contrary misbehaved with her, she alleged. Perhaps, matter could have ended there hadn’t the electronic media brought such a dastardly incident to light. So, thanks to media for playing a pivotal role that prodded the cops to swing into action.

The incident has laid bare our attitude to a rape victim. Many of us questioned her character as if women of questionable character deserve to be raped. That apart, it’s revealed how custodian of law behaves with a woman in distress, particularly in case of sexual assault. Now the question arises how safe are women in our society.

In fine, congrats to the victim whose courage and indomitable spirit would inspire other women to come forward and fight for justice if any sexual assault is made on them.

Prescribing Generic names

Central govt is reportedly going in for making it mandatory for
doctors to prescribe generic names of drugs instead of trade names.The
move is apparently a welcome one as it would curb the alleged practice
of the pharmaceutical companies to woo doctors by cash and kind to
promote sale of their drugs.That apart drug dealers will not have to
keep a host of drugs of same generic names but of different trade
names at their shops.Not only that, they'd require to make less
monetary investment to run their business and much less space would be
needed too.As different pharmaceutical companies sometimes supply a
drug of same formulation at mindbogglingly widely varying prices the
consumer would have now the choice to opt for one that costs less.So
for patients drugs will not be as costly as they are now.

There's also the flip side of the coin.In our country vigilance on
drug manufacturing is not at all satisfactory.So efficacy of the
same drug prepared by different companies is not always the same.The
reputed pharmaceutical companies generally maintain the required
quality of a drug perhaps for their sophisticated infrastructural
facilities and their product also normally cost high. On the other
hand, the lesser known companies who sell drugs at cheaper price
sometimes fail to maintain proper standard as they can't afford that
sophistication in drug manufacturing.Of course it's not always
true.Sometimes many cheaper formulations have the same efficacy as the
costlier ones.Again, there is menace of spurious drugs.All these
problems can be sorted out if there's proper vigil on drug
manufacturing companies to ensure that quality control is rigorously
followed.That apart, vigil should be also kept on the drug stores to
check sale of spurious drugs.Each drug store should compulsorily have
a qualified pharmacist.