Again one more old FB post, putting it here, hope it is decent:
Dear Sir..
Before I begin, I would like to say that I have the highest regard for you as a person and I am a huge admirer of your academic and intellectual pursuits. The values of integrity and honour that you embody are an inspiration to me as well as millions of people. I am a critique & non admirer of the political party that you represent but I am a staunch admirer of the values that you as an individual embody.
In this era of modernized India, when our GDP is almost soaring almost at 10%, I feel a sense of immense pride & off late an immense amount of pain as well. I vouch for my nation wherever i go, with people whom i interact in my education abroad or with people who belong to the NRI category (Never Return to India).I have always done this with such immense joy & optimism because i feel my country is rising despite the system, i feel my country is bringing the perfect blend of culture & development, i feel my India is a land of immortality. But today i felt let down.
Mr Kalmadi makes a joke out of himself telling in a press conference that an umbrella for the CWG(Commonwealth Games) cost Rs 6300, inflation has caused the budget to skyrocket 17.5 times than the original estimate, that an Australian based company(SMAM-sponsorship recruiters) is going to get Rs 243 crores for doing NOTHING in the sponsorship arena & the list goes on. The sports minister tells the people that this is a "punjabi" wedding. An ex-sports minister is taking full advantage of this and using it for his own justification of his " i wont be happy if the games succeed" taunt that he gave a week back. Where will this end sir?
I dont have an answer to this question sir.
The media circus that encircles this mess is a shame in itself.Times Now & Headlines Today have stooped down to such shocking levels of national carnage projecting themselves to be as pure as Lord Buddha & the "whole" CWG as convicts.Arnab Goswami( despite the fact i am a big fan of him) and his channel's assault on the games is so irresponsible and ridiculous.They accuse, defame and convict someone in sequential order according to their needs and their own personal vendetta against the people who run the show.It is admirable that they expose corruption( if its proven) but the need for 24/7 barraging of ruining CWG is uncalled for.
Just because Kalmadi snubbed the media, do you go on a slug-fest to worsen the shattered image of the CWG? I ask myself where were the media all this while for the past 6 yrs? Where did the sudden urge to "clean up" the mess come from just 60 days short of the event? Don't they even think of our top athletes who are the crux of the games, who are preparing ever so hard for the games?.
I dont have answers to these questions sir.
Sir, the entire nexus of rotten public administration coupled with agenda driven, sensationalism obsessed media has let the nation down. This entire fiasco gives ample opportunity for the critics of rising india to point the finger right on us. The corporate sector is thriving whereas the public sector is minting money shamelessly.
Though i never will have the stature nor pedigree to suggest anything, I have a few humble suggestions to make sir:
1) The top brass of the CWG including Mr Suresh Kalmadi should be sacked pending inquiry by an independent foreign agency.The support system would be kept, so the functioning of the Games wont be affected in the broader sense.
2) Bring in vibrant young politicians like Rahul Gandhi & Arun Jaitley ( he atleast runs DDCA and has some experience in stadium infrastructure) to set up a multi- party task force including the leaders of the corporate world to oversee the games for the next 60 days. It has to be inclusive involving the main opposition party so as to cut of political hurdles in getting the work done.
3) Direct Ms Ambika Soni, Minister for Broadcasting to take all these head's of these news channels for a discussion & assurance to stem the rot after the Games. Urge them to focus on the positives of the games, to create an aura of positivity. Political pressure should be put on them ( for something good) to stop their negativity.
4) Bring out stars of the sporting arena and focus on their preparations of the games. Divert all the hysteria and sensationalism away from affecting the performance of the athletes. Get the Bollywood bigwigs to promote the games as much as they did waving day in day out like dolls in the IPL.
5) While the focus is on the athletes and the positive nature of the games, the other works involving the last minute preparations of the games can be done without any media attention . Some sort of damage control can be done, even though it seems too late.
My views had to be presented to you sir. It might sound trivial & might not be implementable. After all I am no minister's son, I am no prominent public figure, I am no media big shot, I am no billionaire ,I am no Nobel Laureate.
I am just the bleeding common man; in search of the answers to my questions & in search of the values that you embody within the public system.
Sriram
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