Madhya Pradesh Political Punch: Passing The Buck, Lack Of Conscience, Mother Tongue-Tied & More

Passing the buck

A top leader of the state, trying to woo Generation Z, recently flew off the handle at an event. The function organised for students included a symbolic distribution of certain items. The leader had expected the department responsible for the event to bring new items for symbolic presentation to students. The officials, however, arrived at the venue with old items simply packed for the occasion. The sight of the items at the rostrum riled the leader, who conveyed his displeasure to the minister in charge of the department. He also enquired about the person who made the blunder with reproach. Shaken by the reprimand, the minister passed the bucks to an officer of the department. He, however, remained upset, as the department failed to arrange new items for symbolic presentation even after spending a lot of money. On the other hand, the senior officer shifted the blame on his subordinates. The issue had been serious, but it turned out to be amusing as each officer of the department began to reprimand his junior counterparts to get rid of the blame. Finally, everyone learnt a lesson: be at your best when meeting influential individuals.

Lack of conscience

Two recent tragedies, the deaths of children in Balaghat from malaria and other diseases and those in Sagar from spurious liquor, have rattled the citizens across the state. But the incidents seemed to have failed to smite the conscience of the politicians in the state. Instead of voicing concern over the tragedies, they remain busy posting their photographs of the 1980s to show the world how handsome they had been in their salad days. True, many of them look like Bollywood heroes. The state ministers and their central counterparts post their old pictures. Even women politicians and ministers do not lag behind. They post photographs that chronicle their beauty in their heydays. The common man, however, wonders whether the politicians should remain busy in such avocations instead of showing concern for the families who have lost their dear ones. In Balaghat, many flowers have fallen even before attaining their spring. Such tragedies seemed to have failed to burden the conscience of politicians.

Deaf ears

The ruling party leaders celebrate their birthdays with unmatched flair to show their popularity among their supporters and the public. Their fans flood the thoroughfares in the city with posters, banners, and hoardings to greet their leaders, spending public money. Such publicity rarely promotes public welfare. Thus, the ruling party s state unit president has instructed everyone, including the office-bearers and workers, to keep away from celebrating his birthday. He also advised them against organising birthday bashes for any leader. The party s state head practises what he preaches. But his saner advice remains unheeded. He says instead of throwing parties on his birthdays, the partymen should go to inaccessible areas of the state to hear the people s problems and solve them. The money spent on buying costly gifts for him and putting up posters and banners may ensure that fewer people go to sleep hungry.

Capitalising on crisis

Only politicians know how to weaponise a tragedy to settle old scores with their rivals. Many people may or may not like it: it is an art. A tragedy took place in a district in the state. A powerful politician in the district has swung into action to square old scores with another heavyweight, a minister, taking advantage of the tragedy. Soon after the incident that claimed the lives of the breadwinners of many families occurred, he began to target his rival by posting his photographs with a liquor contractor of the area. Spurious liquor caused deaths. The politician intended to diminish his rival in the eyes of senior leaders of the party in Bhopal, as well as in Delhi. The minister has, however, launched a blistering attack on his detractors, who also ferreted out the minister's links with the spurious liquor makers. But the war cry for one-upmanship between two old rivals has smoke-screened the real issue: the deaths of many people from spurious liquor.

Game of chess

A bout between the leader of the opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and the state government over a function in an important city in Madhya Pradesh continues, leaving the government machinery huffing and puffing. The LoP plans to interact with the youth. As the government does not want to let the politician steal the limelight, it has chalked out a plan. The officials of a department, responsible for youth affairs and asked to organise a function to foil the LOP's attempt to woo the youth, remain on the horns of a dilemma over scheduling the event. Consequently, it has been repeatedly changing the dates for the occasion. The government intends to organise the event when the LoP addresses the youth. As the politician changes the dates for his event to outfox the government, the latter spares no effort to outwit him. The fight for one-upmanship between the government and the LoP has put the officials in a dilemma. People in the corridors of power whisper whether the government s event will take the sheen off the LoP s function or the politician will best the ruling dispensation s plan.

Mother tongue-tied

A woman minister went abroad to represent Madhya Pradesh in a global summit. Several delegates from different parts across the world participated in the event. After her return from the talks, she made several posts on social media about the event; however, her write-ups dulled the charm of her visit. A bunch of spelling errors crept into her post, inviting social media users attention, who began to point them out. Accordingly, the minister edited the post, but her efforts came to naught, as a few errors remained nestled in the story. Those mistakes left people tittering, for she claims herself to be a postgraduate. People in the corridors of power murmur that the government sent her to the summit to meet the foreign delegates because she remains short of work in her department. But back home, the spelling errors in her posts, that too in Hindi, her mother tongue, took everyone aback.