Thursday, September 17, 2009

Austerity. Security and Publicity

It is unfortunate to note that a very serious issue of austerity in these times of economic crisis has become a subject of frivolous comments and ridicule. The journeys undertaken by Sonia Gandhi by Economy class by Air and that of by Train by Rahul Gandhi were at first given undue publicity and subsequently twisted as security risks. No one denies the security angle attached to both these leaders, but was not the security breached by giving advanced publicity to these events?

2. Travel expenses is not the only area of austerity in Government expenses. There is over staffing, wasteful office expenses, uneconomic and redundant schemes and hospitality expenses which need to be pruned. Mere issue of instructions .Circulars and Orders have not yielded any result in the past nor will it bear any fruit in future. What is required is sincere will and determination to enforce these measures. Look at the publicity mongers politicians and Government Ministers holding Iftar parties at public expenses in a Secular State, not out of anyrespect for the faith but out of sheer publicity appetite. How do we propose to manage austerity. security and publicity at the same time?




( O.P.Tandon)