पिछले दो महीनों मैं देश का मोदी सरकार से देश का जो मोह भंग हुआ है वह पूरी तरह बचाया जा सकता था . यह मोह भंग इस लिए हुआ की जिस शेर मोदी को देश की जनता ने प्रधान मंत्री बनाया था उस शेर की नाक मैं राष्ट्र द्रोही नौकरशाही ने नकेल डाल कर देश को जता दिया की गुजरात के शेर को उसने सर्कस का शेर बना दिया है . यह पहली बार नहीं हुआ है . दिवंगत ब्रजेश मिश्रा ने भी मरने से पहले एक साक्षात्कार मैं यह गर्वोक्ती दी थी की उन्होंने वाजपेयी सरकार मैं अडवाणी व् बीजेपी से धर्मनिरपेक्षता को बचाया था . वास्तव मैं उन्होंने देश की नहीं कांग्रेस की सेवा की थी जिसके लिए सोनिया सरकार ने उन्हें सम्मानित भी किया था. वही नौकरशाही पुनः कांग्रेस सेवा व् अपने राष्ट्र द्रोही अभिमान को दिखा कर मतदाताओं के एक बड़े वर्ग को बी जेपी से विमुख कर रही है . साठ वर्षों मैं नौकरशाही का जो कांग्रेसीकरण हुआ है उससे सँभलने की बहुत आवश्यकता है . अन्यथा २००४ जैसी हार ही बीजेपी की नियति होगी.
तीन उदाहरण इस बात को सिद्ध कर देंगे .
जनरल वी के सिंह के साथ आप की सब सैनिकों की रिवाड़ी रैली एक परिवर्तन की प्रथम आवाज़ थी जो बाद मैं सारे देश मैं गूँज गयी. आज भूतपूर्व व् सेवा मैं सैनिक सरकार से बदला लेने को उतारू हो गए हैं . देश मैं आपके बाद सर्वाधिक मतों से जीते जनरल वीकेसिंह के विरुद्ध अत्यंत अपमान जनक टिप्पणी को सर्वोच्च न्यायलय मैं बिना रक्षा सचिव की अनुमती के नहीं दिया जा सकता . कैसे रक्षा सचिव की हिम्मत हुयी की बिना जेटली जी की अनुमती के वह टिप्पणी न्यायलय मैं चली गयी . उस रक्षा सचिव को क्यों नहीं विभाग से निकाला गया . एक करोड़ भूतपूर्व सैनिक इस अपमान का बदला वोट से ही लेंगे . फिर जले पर नमक छिडकने के लिए मात्र एक हज़ार करोड़ रूपये का प्रावधान एक रैंक एक पेंशन के लिए क्या दर्शाता है . बीजेपी ने तो इस का भरपूर समर्थन किया था . फिर यह चूक राजनितिक आत्महत्या नहीं तो क्या है . यह ठीक उसी तरह है जिस तरह राम मंदिर से विमुखता ने बीजेपी को उत्तर प्रदेश मैं कहीं का नहीं छोड़ा . आई ए एस का सेना विरोधी रवैया जग विदित है . वह सेना को अपने नीचे करना चाहती है . सेना रक्षा मंत्री के नीचे है रक्षा सचिव के नहीं जो सेना प्रमुखों से नीचे है .सेना की झूटी क्रांति की खबरों को फ़ैलाने वालों को दण्डित करें . रक्षा सचिव को सर्वोच्च न्यायलय को गुमराह करने के लिए दण्डित करें . एक रैंक एक पेंशन योजना इसी वर्ष मैं लागू करने का आश्वासन तुरंत दें . नहीं तो देश के वीर जवान सर्कस के शेर को दुबारा वोट नहीं देंगे .
स्वयं आपने गुजरात मैं अत्यंत भेदभाव के अल्प्सख्न्यकों को प्राथमिकता देने वाली छात्रवृती व् अन्य स्कीमों को नहीं लागू किया तो कैसे नौकरशाही ने पुनः ३७०० करोड़ रूपये का प्रावधान अल्पसंख्यक मंत्रालय के लिए कर दिया . भूतपूर्व सैनिकों ने जो लम्बी लडाई सर्वोच्च न्यायलय मैं जीती उसे कुंठित करने के लिए मात्र एक हज़ार रूपये पर अल्पसंख्यकों को वजीफों के लिए ३७०० करोड़ रूपये , यह कहाँ का न्याय व् कहाँ की बुद्धिमत्ता है .
क्यों ऐसा बजट बनाया जो सब चिदम्बरम की चाय को जेटली की केतली मैं कह रहे हैं . चाहे यही बजट होता पर कुछ तो हिन्दू चिन्ह होते . कुछ तो मोदी की छाप दीखती .
मोदी जी इस भ्रामक कुप्रचार पर विश्वास मत कीजिये की यह आप के विरोधी करवा रहे हैं . हमने ने आप के समर्थन मैं लम्बी लडाई लड़ी ही. देश की जनता बड़ी आशा से आपकी सरकार को देख रही है . हम पंद्रह वर्ष तक आप का राज्य देखना चाहते हैं .
रक्षा सचिव को तुरंत हटा कर और किसी राजनितिक रूप से परिपक्व व्यक्ती के हाथ लगाम दें जिससे बीजेपी से लोग इतनी जल्दी हताश न हों .
नीचे का सिफ़ी का लेख आने वाले खतरे की घंटी है .
The root cause of all the ills afflicting this country is India’s insensitive, self-serving, arrogant, corrupt, power-hungry and inefficient bureaucracy. From the lofty days of being the steel frame of India, it has degraded into being the misfortune of India. Shamelessly but through well calculated maneuvers, bureaucrats have reduced India into their captive fiefdom with the sole objective of perpetuating their vice-like hold to safeguard their own interests.
Right since their training days, it is ingrained in their minds that they are the rulers. Question any bureaucrat, and he will retort by saying that ‘he is the government’. Commonly referred to as ‘one-exam wonders’, they suffer from acute inferiority complex in relation to the specialist cadres. Their demeanour of self-importance is in fact a facade to hide their acute sense of inadequacy. Their arrogant behaviour is symptomatic of the malaise.
Further, all bureaucrats crave for lucrative appointments under UNO, World Bank and other international organisations. They know that their candidature would need positive support from the developed nations. Need for continued ‘good behaviour’ renders Indian diplomats incapable of taking up Indian issues forcefully.
Irrelevance of the Political Leadership
Although only six weeks have passed since the Modi sarkaar assumed office, disappointing signs are already discernible. It is apparent that the bureaucracy is so well entrenched that it cares little for the political leadership. Bureaucrats cannot be reformed simply by asking them to put in extra hours of work or to skip golf on weekends. These are superficial and peripheral measures.
As they say, coming events cast their shadow before. Here are a few indicative signs that do not bode well for the Modi government and the country. They demonstrate that bureaucracy continues to rule supreme, Modi matters little.
One, in early June, well after the swearing in of the Modi government, bureaucrats filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court castigating General VK Singh, a member of the cabinet for his allegedly ‘illegal and extraneous decision’ against Lt General Suhag. It was termed as ‘premeditated and issued in utter disregard to the legal provisions governing the court of inquiry and principles of natural justice’. It must be the first ever occasion in the Indian history when the government indicted its own minister in a court of law with obnoxious expletives.
It is apparent that the bureaucrats had approved the affidavit at their level. They did not consider it necessary to consult the Defence Minister. What did the embarrassed government do? Nothing, except for a few sound bites from a discomfited Defence Minister. Was any bureaucrat sacked or taken to task for such a major transgression? Forget it. Bureaucrats are above law; in fact they are the law. They lead the political leadership by the nose.
Two, despite loud declarations by the ruling party of its love for the soldiers, bureaucracy continues to file cases against all judicial verdicts that go in favour of soldiers, ex-soldiers, war-widows, soldiers’ families and even war casualties. Shameful state of affairs indeed. India must be the only country in the world where the Ministry of Defence fights legal battles against the soldiers whose welfare is its prime responsibility. What a dubious distinction! We have a department to look after the welfare of ex-servicemen but it has been staffed by personnel whose sole mission in life is to inflict indignity on them. The political leadership remains a powerless spectator.
Three, when not in power, BJP had demanded release of the Henderson Brooks Report, stating that the country had a right to know as to what went wrong in pushing the military into a war it could only lose. However, under the pressure of the bureaucracy, the party has changed its stance. Even a chameleon takes longer to change its colours. It is now singing the familiar tune of keeping it under wraps in national interests. Once again, the bureaucracy has demonstrated that it holds complete sway over the government functioning.
Four, the move to liberalise FDI in defence is supported by all except the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Defence who feel that their empire of the public sector would get adversely impacted. Despite the much applauded proposal of the Commerce Minister, the bureaucrats have managed to restrict it to mere 49 percent, as indicated in the budget speech. With control firmly in Indian hands, no foreign vendor is likely to bring in his exclusive technology. Hence, it is a meaningless change. But then, the political leaders count for little in governance. Bureaucracy rules the roost.
Five, despite the much declared support of BJP for One Rank One Pension, the issue has got mired in bureaucratic quagmire. Bureaucrats have devised a new stratagem to obstruct its execution. They have resorted to distorting the very definition of OROP, thereby obscuring the modalities of its implementation. A meeting was called by the Defence Minister to sort the issue. According to a member of a veterans’ organisation who was present in the said meeting, “It was sad to see the Defence Minister looking helplessly at the bureaucrats’ stalling tactics. He had no courage to oppose them.” OROP in the Budget Speech
Reaction of ex-servicemen to the budget speech varies from a sense of betrayal to outright disgust with the BJP. Sample some of the comments making rounds on the social media ??? ‘an allocation of Rs 1000 crore is nothing but a cruel joke’, ‘we have been taken for a ride by false promises’, ‘let all ex-servicemen take a vow to teach BJP a lesson by voting against it henceforth’, ‘state assemblies that go to polls shortly should be used to deliver a shock to the ungrateful party’ and ‘even a Kejriwal would have been more indebted for the support we extended’.
It is strongly felt by most veterans that no dilution in the definition of OROP should ever be accepted. In case the government expresses its inability to increase allocation, it should be requested to implement OROP for JCOs and OR immediately. The officer cadre can wait till the fiscal position improves. If that is not acceptable to the government, the ex-servicemen should say a polite ‘thank you’ and reconcile to live without OROP. How long can they let themselves be treated as beggars by an apathetic leadership? Enough is enough.
Finally.
A few years ago, some bureaucrats were ordered by the then Defence Minister to visit forward areas to get a feel of the ground conditions. The Defence Minister’s stock went up considerably amongst the soldiers. In a social gathering soon after the above incident, a few service officers were busy eulogizing him. Overhearing their conversation, a senior retired bureaucrat told them that the euphoria was premature. He advised them to watch for a few days. “Military salutes and guards are good for ego but politicians need funds to fight elections. Therefore, they need bureaucrats and listen to them,” he added.
As regards BJP, rarely has one seen such a shortsighted leadership ??? in a short period of six weeks it has frittered away all the goodwill and support that it had garnered by assiduously cultivating the soldiers and ex-soldiers. It forgot that it owed its electoral victory in no small measure to the en-bloc support extended by 50 lakh strong military community and their family members. But then, gratitude is not a quality that one generally associates with politicians. Even the die-hard opponents of BJP had never expected such a short honeymoon. Breach of faith is as ruinous to any relationship as infidelity to a marriage. Thus, a divorce is now inevitable. BJP is certainly going to rue its ill-advised act of taking ex-servicemen for granted and reneging on its promise.
After listening to Modi’s pre-election speeches, one expected him to stand by his word and overcome bureaucratic resistance. It appears that his much trumpeted 56 inches chest was good enough to annihilate opposition in the elections but not potent enough to tame the obdurate bureaucracy. How else can one explain BJP shooting in its own foot by losing backing of such a solid support base?
