Get back to the grass

 

 

H.D. Kumaraswamy Chief Minister Karnataka As the country gets ready to celebrate the 58th Republic Day, random thoughts cross my mind on the state of our nation. Where are we heading for? Is the perception about ‘Bharat’ vs ‘India’ for real? On the one hand we have success stories in the field of information technology and of Indian professionals managing Fortune 500 companies, while on the other we have incidents of farmers, who form the backbone of our economy, committing suicide in large numbers for want of paltry credit. Indian companies are today on a buying spree in Europe, the Americas and Africa, and emerging as multinationals in their own right even as the list of unemployed grows by leaps and bounds back home. Caste and communal tension continue to plague us even about six decades after Independence. It would be unfair to blame any particular section of society – politicians, bureaucrats etc. – for this state of affairs. Everyone, including the media, has its share of credits and otherwise. One of the reasons for the disconnect between the rural and the urban, the educated and the illiterate, the rich and the poor, is our alienation from the grassroots. It was with this in mind that immediately after assuming charge as Chief Minister, I decided to spend as much time with the people as possible to get an insight into their aspirations and needs.

Every Saturday, I meet thousands of people from early morning to late at night under the ‘Janata Darshan’ programme at my home office ‘Krishna’ and try to solve their small and big problems on the spot. Financial aid, government appointments, and land allotments to the poor and needy are provided there and then. Taking a cue from my father, JD (S) President and former Prime Minister Sri H.D. Deve Gowda, I also initiated the ‘Grama Vastavya’ programme wherein I stay overnight in villages while visiting different districts. This has enabled me to get first hand information about the problems faced by villagers and provide solutions for them. Even while slamming my action as ‘populist’, my worst critics, including friends from the media, have conceded that my visits have at least prompted officials to improve infrastructural facilities including roads in remote villages. My outlook towards development is different. I do not approve of a development model that only means an increase in GDP but leaves the common man’s woes unaddressed. I agree that our politicians could have done more than what has been achieved but then politician-bashing is no solution. Politicians will continue to play a pivotal role in our parliamentary set-up. Through their objective reporting, analysis and commentaries, the media can make them more responsible and accountable. But the media too should overcome its cynical approach and stop deriving mileage by belittling people in public life. If something good is being done, they should encourage it, not just dub it as populist and try to pick holes in it. Corruption is certainly a major challenge. It may not be possible to wipe it out completely so soon from our body politic but such instances can be reduced. The Right to Information Act, a vigilant media and honest citizens can rein in this menace to a great extent but I would like to caution against being carried away by any allegation without any basis just because it is made against someone in power. What is at stake is a reputation of a lifetime in public life. Let not any Tom, Dick or Harry tarnish it merely to settle scores.

Infrastructure is another core area where we need to pay immediate attention. I am not against any project including the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project but I am against projects that indulge in land grabbing in the name of building infrastructure. I have an open mind on the issue of Special Economic Zones but I do not want SEZs to cause inconvenience to farmers. It is unfortunate that even today linguistic passions are sought to be whipped up and controversies are sought to be raked up on settled boundaries of states. For me, it is immaterial whether any Taluk or district is part of one state or the other so long as it is part of India, but then it is unfair to raise issues settled in principle long back. My resolution for this Republic Day is to provide homeless families in Karnataka with a house of their own. My government has decided to adopt 1,000 villages every year with an annual budget of Rs 1,000 crores. I plan to increase this to 2,000 villages every year subsequently. I want to make Karnataka a model state in its golden jubilee year.