..MP – More Pay. More Perks.....

The timing could not have been worse. The MPs’ propose to give themselves a 100% hike in pay when complaints of ministers delaying flights and displacing booked passengers are still hot. Elected representatives also demand special privileges like close care, escort  and attention at airports, almost akin to that provided for the mentally or physically challenged. Their list includes toll free passage for their vehicles  when the public have to pay. Until they get this free passage they use muscle to enforce their self-assumed status..  All this happens while  the ex-servicemen have to take to the streets to get their decades-old OROP promises fulfilled by Government, The government is also in need of funds for their ambitious plans for all-round development. The MPs’ proposal at this stage is the  perfect recipe for turning a simmering public resentment against politicians into a boil.

It is no surprise that rude but believable expansions are being circulated of some well known acronyms. MP now stands for More Perks, More Pay, More Power, More Prominence, Minimum  Performance. VIP is Vain Intolerant (also Intolerable) Person and VVIP is a Very Vain Intolerant Person ! It is the very people who elected them that are now displaying their disillusionment.

It is relevant at this point of time  to recall the growing instances of the people taking upon themselves the responsibility of dispensing justice when confronted by  offences against them, be they real or even imaginary. Suspicion has led to lynching, non-conforming teachers are being beaten up and doctors assaulted for presumed medical negligence. The spectre of corruption is haunting those seeking to get their legitimate rights in government offices. Transfers even at low levels formerly handled routinely by the bureaucracy have in many States been escalated to MLA and ministerial levels leading to  obvious  conclusions.

I remember the time when elected representatives were held in great respect and trust.. Over the years, however, that has dissipated. The recent instances of flights being delayed have seen open public resentment and the  passengers  have taken on the ministers questioning their right  to inconvenience the public for totally unacceptable reasons. The media , particularly the TV, are challenging politicians to appear in public   view and answer question on various contentious issues to do with them. There have also been instances of their being stopped on the roads and turned back by angry crowds. Politicians should,  therefore, note with care that the opposition to their urge for exclusivity is changing from an ideological level to more tangible forms. What is happening on the streets  is a stark reflection of a failed and misused administrative system and the politicians have to remember that remedying this is not only part of their sworn responsibility but would also be in their personal interest.

Records of days worked by MP’s  during Parliament sessions show an interesting picture when it is seen against a record of their increase in tax-free pay and allowances. There was a gradual increase in pay from Rs.400 per month in 1968 to Rs 50000 in 2010, which was a three-fold increase from the previous Rs.16000. Daily allowance was enhanced to Rs 2000.During the period that regular and generous increases were being voted for themselves the 12^th Lok Sabha  (1998-99)  lost 68 working hours, the 13^th (1994-99) lost 454 hours, 14^th (2004- 9) lost 423. The 15^th Lok Sabha (2009-14)  topped them all by losing a whopping 891 hours. All these hours lost almost entirely by wanton disruptions cost the nation over Rs 2 million per hour and , of course, the MP’s receieved their daily allowance all the same. Rajya Sabha trails as a worthy second !

It is pertinent to mention that besides the remuneration of MP’s mentioned above, they receive various other allowances plus free furnished accommodation, travel, power, water, telephone and related expense plus plus....On a TV programme a week ago an MP was strident in his demand that critics should compare remuneration of Indian MP’s with that of  their counterparts abroad. That was obviously an ill-informed challenge  as, to start with, working  hours lost to disruption do not exist in most parliaments abroad. Some countries do not permit MP’s to do any business during their term. Ours are allowed to and many do business of many hues. A few countries pay no monthly remuneration and expect  the employers to permit their elected employees to attend Parliament. MP’s abroad have no special privileges of the kind our worthies expect and the respect and status they have are earned by their work in the constituencies.

After a long time we seem to have a party at the helm with a leader in apparent control. If this party and the leader are  to continue to retain the support and the trust on which both rode to power the leader would be well advised to rein in his flock and circumscribe the extent of their  forays with their new-found status.

 

Defence Matters That Matter

The Defence Ministry has been in the line of fire for some time now. There are crucial issues of shortages and delays dogging the military..Disclosures have revealed the extent to which military preparedness has been diluted in all three services.

The bogey of middlemen has been so unsettling that products selected by the military for their technical suitability and quality have been blacklisted   without identifying alternatives – the familiar cutting of the nose to spite the face !

In the  ministry, like OROP* which has been allowed to escalate into an avoidable confrontation  the CDS** proposal has also been hanging fire for too long. It is suspected, rightly or wrongly,  that the bureaucracy-military rivalry has something to do with these delays and in implementing  pertinent recommendations of the comprehensive Arun Singh Committee report. The government has only itself to blame for the strong promises made by the ruling party before and after the election perhaps without ascertaining the possible roadblocks in their implementation. It is the credibility of the present government that is being questioned.

In the matter of the divide that exists between the military and the Defence Ministry there is a view that it is caused by the belief that the supremacy of the civil government over the military has to be sustained at every level. This belief  is baseless as the civil supremacy is well defined and established in the Constitution. The point that is being missed is that the civil government contemplated in the Constitution  is the government elected by the people and not the bureaucracy. The military and the bureaucracy are two parallel arms of the Defence Ministry set up to implement the will of the people in defence and related  matters  as articulated through the elected government..It is obvious that the military and  the bureaucracy have to work together in their separate roles if the military is  to  stay in readiness to deal with any contingency.

The bureaucracy is the medium through which the elected government exercises control over the military. The bureaucracy by itself has no supervisory role. From this it is also obvious that the military has its role in decision-making as this final process has direct implications on the preparedness of the military.

       

The Arun Singh report has clear views on the degree of participation of the military in the functioning of the ministry.It is time that the collaboration of the military and civil service be established at the earliest. The appointment of a CDS as the principal military adviser  will go a long way in remedying the present scene and bolstering advisory support for the Defence Minister. Many of the Defence Ministry scandals and the shortages in military hardware could have been avoided if protection of personal haloes had not taken precedence over mature decision-making.

On OROP it seems to be blocked by unpredicted obstacles. If that is so, a candid admission to the ex-servicemen with a new and firm timeline would be in order. The ex-servicemen are a disciplined and loyal group and only know the language of blunt truth. If, on the other hand, the delay is bureaucratic, that is an excuse which will be difficult to sell. The government can ill afford to lose the support of  a traditionally reliable and disciplined band of citizens.

The government and the Prime Minister, in particular,  who led the BJP in its election charge to a historic victory, are under close watch. Deadlines are becoming crucial and it is the PM’s word that everybody waits to hear as the only authoritative voice of government.

*One Rank One Pension                                ** Chief of Defence Staff  

Then Nehru, Rao and Vajpayee-Who Now ?

It is sad that the image of cleanliness on which BJP rode to its majority is under threat.. It was obvious from to start that BJP would have a problem of a shortage of administrative experience. This was compounded by the political compulsion to  “improvise”  portfolios and ministers to meet the needs of adequate representation  In the present situation I am taking the charitable view that some of  the younger lot in positions of power did not understand the constitutional importance of accuracy in their affidavits while filing their nominations. Others acted in excess of their power and may not have been  advised correctly by the officials. As for the seniors who are under fire the jury is still out and I shall keep my views to myself.

It is coincidental that a week ago I was worrying about the inexperienced ministers who are drawing criticism for their style of working and their tendency to tinker with well established systems without enough thought. The HRD minister is already facing flak and many others, who are not, are spared because they have done nothing noteworthy..

In the interests of protecting the administrative stability and the image of the ruling parties it is necessary that the new ministers be provided with support from eminent and retired professionals. They could be Special Advisers with MOS status which gives them recognition and also avoids the mandatory need for their election. The minister and the adviser would  have to be told what their roles are and that any disagreement would  be brought to the notice of a senior minister with mentor status (if you can find one) or the PM. It must also be made clear that they will be judged by the number of mediations that become necessary.

On the more crucial political tangle that threatens to  obstruct the working of the Parliament it is essential that the two major parties, one in government  and the other in the opposition should, for once, shed ego considerations  which  are usually personal.  The leaders should agree on issues that should be kept out of their inter-party conflicts and treated with respect and urgency as matters of national consequence. Some of these issues like the Land Acquisition Bill and the GST Bill have already been accepted by both parties but have failed to be adopted due to unwarranted trials of strength. These tussles can only be obstructive and never constructive. An  accommodating  attitude could lead to greater areas of agreement on national issues as they emerge.

There is no vested interest in these recommendations other than that the government should succeed and the nation should benefit.The nation waits to see acts of great statesmanship from  individuals who have the power and the ability. It is usually a crisis that brings a statesman out into the open like Nehru post- Independence, Narasimha Rao in 1991 and Vajpayee later in that millennium, If this is true there is no better time than now for a new one to emerge.