Meira Kumar and Pratibha Patil

I was wondering how Sonia Gandhi who infamously was responsible for making fraudulent Pratibha Patil as President could have become wise enough to nominate Meira Kumar for Presidency.

My astonishment was short-lived. My assumption that Meira Kumar is a clean politician has been proved wrong. She is reported to have fraudulently converted a government bungalow into a memorial for her father, Jagjivan Ram. She surreptitiously got her rental arrears to the extent of Rs.1.97 crore waived.

The NDA government for political reasons is turning a blind eye to all this. Now I am not surprised that Soniaji chose to nominate Meira Kumar. Sonia is consistent in supporting the embezzlers. I am sure that if Ram Nath Kovind has any fraudulent credentials, he will also gain Sonia's support.

Kovind vs Meira Kumar

UPA has now nominated Meira Kumar to contest against Ram Nath Kovind in the Presidential election. Meira Kumar is a former IFS bureaucrat, a five time member of LokSabha and a former central minister and Speaker of the Lok Sabha.A distinguished dalit, she is the daughter of Jagjivan Ram who was once an ardent supporter of Indira Gandhi before rebelling against her.

The contest will not be one-sided. Kovind's election is not a foregone conclusion. Since Meira Kumar hails from Bihar it may be difficult for Nitish Kumar not to support her. Though impossible, it will be interesting if there is a public debate between the two eminent contestants.

It is a pity that the election to the highest post in India is reduced to the mockery of who cares more for the dalits. Dalits need constructive help and not symbolic support. Since the contest is between two eminent citizens, it is not all that bad.

NDA vs UPA

In a democracy, comparison between different parties or alliances in government at different times is inevitable and also useful. UPA was in power for 10 years; the present NDA has been governing for the past 3 years.

There are some obvious differences like surfeit of scams during UPA times and initiation of inflammatory issues when NDA is in power. Beyond the obvious, there is one basic difference which may decide if NDA will be voted back to power in the next general elections.

UPA was shrewd (?) or pragmatic (?) or indifferent enough not to attempt any experiment, call it reform or not, that would require widespread co-operation from the public. UPA's major achievement as its leaders are fond of saying was introduction of Right to Information Act. A crucial measure, no doubt, but it was easy to implement and nobody was adversely affected at least initially. When difficulties started, many subterfuges emerged heralding adoption of various dilatory tactics. RTI did not require people's forbearance for its successful implementation.

NDA however has charted a different course. It has embarked on two major missions which require(d) total and unflinching readiness on the part of people to take suffering in their stride. Objectives of Demonetisation were hazy but the problems it created for the people were tangible and crystal-clear. It is a tribute to Modi's shrewdness that he could not only weather this self-created storm but could successfully project it as a mission against all evils, be they terrorism, black money or inflation.

GST is the next big experiment that is bound to create a lot of teething problems. Its introduction is certainly called for. One does not know if UPA deftly avoided belling the cat though it made a lot of noise about it. No doubt, Modi strongly opposed GST when he was a chief minister. If GST is implemented without snafu, Modi will be a little more sure of retaining power post 2019. Would he have the nerve to come up with one more major experiment before 2019?

Changing times

There was a time when people had utmost faith in banks. It was not unusual for people to seek advice from their bankers how to invest their hard earned money. Any money kept with banks was deemed to be 100% safe.

Post 2007, things have changed drastically. It has become difficult to distinguish between bankers and politicians in terms of their trust-worthiness. Frauds committed by and on banks have become one too many.

I am tempted to write this because today when I saw a headline in NYTimes "DealBook: Barclays Charged with Fraud", I was least interested in reading the details. I was only wondering 'What is new in a bank committing a fraud?'

Would banks ever regain their credibility?

Ram Nath Kovind

Barring unforeseen events, Mr.Ram Nath Kovind will be our next President. Little known outside BJP (in fact, little known in BJP also), he is presently the Governor of Bihar. A non-controversial politician (oxymoronish?), he was a member of Rajya Sabha for twelve years.

He was practising law in Delhi. He dutifully handled cases of the marginalised sections. Obviously, he is not greedy for money. He is a dalit and he continues to evince interest in the welfare of dalits unlike many dalit leaders who care little for other dalits once they become rich and powerful.

It is evident that Kovind is not in any way unfit to be our President. BJP and Modi could of course have chosen a better candidate. But, politics being what it is today, we ought to be happy that they have not selected a worse candidate. He will be the second dalit to be our President. K.R.Narayanan was the first. KRN and  RNK share an interesting anagrammatic relationship.

Yet another terror attack

The incident at the Finsbury Park mosque in London in which one Muslim worshipper was killed and several wounded shows that terrorists of different hues are becoming active. This is an ominous sign that things are going out of control.

Terrorism by or against Muslims deserves strongest condemnation. This is no time for political correctness. Police should handle all such incidents with maximum seriousness, bring culprits to book and release their investigative reports for public understanding. Any person preaching violence has to be immediately arrested, Right to freedom of speech is not a licence to provoke hatred among people.

It is particularly sad that London is becoming a hotbed of terrorism. Does it mean that the salad bowl approach to immigration is failing?

"Letter from a concerned reader"

One Mr.J.Mathrubootham who identifies himself only as a retired senior executive of a nationalised bank writes a weekly column in The Hindu. It appears in the Sunday Magazine section.

Titled "Letter from a concerned reader", this column justly trivialises what we normally (mis)take as important issues. The writer expresses his humorous thoughts conversationally and interestingly. Inclusion of this weekly contribution is a pleasant surprise from The Hindu which is normally associated with sedate seriousness and staid statements.

This is a double surprise because bankers are considered to be too serious to be concerned with lighter moments of life and flippant observations on those moments.

Who is our next President?

It may be difficult to get a President like Dr.Radhakrishnan or Dr.Zakir Hussain, both eminent educationists. But does that mean that we need to accept a mediocre person who is least unacceptable to various political divisions?

A person like E.Sreedharan, the Metro Man, is the need of the hour. He is known for honesty, hard work and purposeful action. An equally good choice would be M.S.Swaminathan, the renowned agricultural scientist. Prime Minister Modi has a panache for springing surprises. This time he must also ensure that the presidential nominee is capable of acting without political fear or favour. He or she must also be knowledgeable about duties and responsibility of the First Citizen of the country.

PNB's uniqueness

I worked in Punjab National Bank for 21 years. It is not surprising therefore that any news about PNB interests me. It is the only bank in India whose Chairman and CEO (Managing Director) both have the same name: Sunil Mehta. This peculiarity may occur in family-owned companies. This does not seem to be the case in any non-family owned company in India.

The Chairman had earlier worked with Citibank and AIG. The MD came to PNB via Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank. Placing both of them in the same bank is an interesting experiment.

PNB which was once considered a robust bank has fallen on difficult days. It has skipped dividend for the past two years. It's anybody's guess when its fortunes will revive.

Theresa May and Narendra Modi

Theresa May seems to have bungled in calling elections early. Her blunder regarding 'dementia tax' has cost her heavily. Perhaps, she could not have foreseen all this.

There are interesting parallels between May and Modi. Both rely heavily on a small set of advisers. Both keep an uneasy distance from their party leaders and parliamentarians. Even while conducting meetings with legislators, these two leaders do not get too close to their party men. Modi gets physically closer only with foreign leaders. This aspect of Modi has started attracting media attention. May and Modi are right of centre economically.

There is one stark difference though. Modi relishes addressing humongously large gatherings which is not May's cup of tea.

Modi excels when in crisis. His handling of repercussions of demonetisation is still fresh in our memory. Will Theresa May excel similarly now that her party has lost majority and Brexit negotiations are round the corner?

AI apologises to Governor

An international flight of Air India was delayed for take-off by two hours in Kozhicode. This is hardly any news. The Governor Justice Sadasivam of Kerala was travelling by that flight.

Newspapers have reported that Air India apologised to the Governor for the delay in departure. This delay was caused by the delay in an incoming flight. Apology has to be tendered to all passengers. Why should AI apologise only to one passenger ? Is India a feudal state?

Evolution of a WhatsApper

It seems impossible today to live without WhatsApp facility. All users of WhatsApp are not alike in the way they use this facility.

Any WhatsApp user evolves over a period of time. Following stages of evolution are noteworthy.

Stage 1: When we are initiated into WhatsApp usage, we only read others' postings on WhatsApp. We do not dare to start posting rightaway.

Stage 2: Once we develop a taste for this facility, we begin to post information and our views. Frequency of postings increases as we become more addicted.

Stage 3: Then we reach a situation when we stop reading postings of others. Instead we forward postings in other groups in our group without knowing or caring to know who was the author in the first place.

Stage 4: We have now graduated to a level wherein we are not expected to read any postings. We end up forwarding others' postings in the same group. Now users in Stage 1 start wondering how they are coming across the same message again and again.

Stage 5: When our evolution is complete, we start forwarding the messages we had earlier forwarded in the same group.

Terror attack in London

It is tragic that that terror events are becoming more frequent. Saturday's attack in London Bridge and Borough Market are absolutely shocking.

Politicians in U.K. have reacted sensibly. Read what Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Labour Party, has said:

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “We are all shocked and horrified by the brutal attacks in London. My thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have died and the many who have been injured. Today, we will all grieve for their loss.

“I would like to thank the police and emergency services for their bravery and professionalism in acting to save lives and deal with these appalling acts of terrorism, as well as NHS staff and members of the public who sought to protect others.

“The Labour party will be suspending national campaigning until this evening, after consultations with other parties, as a mark of respect for those who have died and suffered injury.

“Those who wish to harm our people, divide our communities and attack our democracy will not succeed. We will stand together to defend our common values of solidarity, humanity and justice, and will not allow terrorists to derail our democratic process.”

This opposition leader has not taken advantage of the terror attack to undermine the chances of the ruling party in the ensuing General Election. Can we ever expect such maturity from our political parties? Unfortunately, in India every calamity is an opportunity to embarrass the government of the day. It may be offensive, but true, that the British took away political decency with them when they departed from India.