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Medha Patkar and A K Antony




Medha Patkar was in Kerala today.  She praised A K Antony, India’s present defence minister and Kerala’s former chief minister.  She said that Antony was trying to bring development to Kerala without harming the environment. 

Antony is an honest politician.  No, I don’t mean any irony like the one spoken by Shakespeare’s Brutus about Mark Antony of the ancient Rome (Sonia Gandhi’s Italy).

Yesterday A K Antony criticised the Congress government in Kerala for scuttling many of the progressive measures that the Central government could have done for Kerala.  He said clearly that he was able to do much more for Kerala when the Left govt was ruling in Kerala than now when the Congress govt is ruling.  He said he has no courage now, when the Congress govt is in power, to bring industries to Kerala.  He said that the Left govt had cooperated more with him.  He became emotional mentioning the Left leaders like V S Achuthanandan (former chief minister) and Elamaram Kareem (minister in the Left govt) for the support they gave him in bringing developmental projects.  (I watched both Antony and Patkar on TV – that’s why I could gauge their emotions.)

Kerala’s present Congress govt has been trying to scuttle the Kochi Metro rail project being handed over to Dr Sreedharan of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.  The reason: Dr Sreedharan won’t accept bribes and the policy of bribes.  Which Congress politician in Kerala wants to run a project without what’s called “cuts” ?  This is what made A K Antony emotional.

This is what makes me emotional too.   

When will we Indians rise above the need for “cuts”?  When we will we realise that every “cut” we are making is a cut into the breast of the ordinary Indian, the poor Indian, who still stands in front of a temple or gurudwara for the food supplied in charity?  When will we raise India from that quagmire of charity?
We need more Medha Patkars and A K Antonys.  

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  1. Tanya SehgalNovember 17, 2012 at 11:36 AM

    You said it so simply but with a pierce down the throat. We definitely need Medha patkars & AK Antonys unlike the corrupt politicians the nation contains. I pray that this wish come true in the coming elections. Thanks! for sharing your insights!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 17, 2012 at 11:48 AM

      Thanks, Tanya, for sharing my dream. I don't call it optimism, i call it dream. Will it be a chimera, I wonder. Given the kind of politics we have in India, and the economic system which feeds on and nurtures GREED, my dream is likely to end as a chimera.

      Delete
    2. Tanya SehgalNovember 17, 2012 at 12:07 PM

      Let hope for the Sir, its the only thing in our hands. We are referred as the largest democracy but still nothing seems to fall in place. Vote for the right candidate is all we can do :)

      Delete
  2. VetirmagalNovember 20, 2012 at 11:15 AM

    A good post for us to know about AK Anthony.
    Hope more and more people will speak up , and still work in the framework of parties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 20, 2012 at 4:23 PM

      It's certainly not impossible to he honest and yet be a politician.

      Delete

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