"SERVICE, MORE THAN GLAMOUR, NEED OF HOUR"
One hopes that celebrities like Tendulkar and Rekha will honour the positions given to them by serving the nation with the same passion they showed in their professional live.
With the General Election in 2014, all political parties are trying to put their house in order. However, things are not positive for the NDA or the UPA. It is amazing how fast the credibility of the two national parties — the Congress and the BJP — has gone down. The winners, of course, are the regional parties. Even during the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the main gainer was Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh. Despite the RLD being a non-visible, non-contributing political party, its chief manages to wrest a Cabinet berth and ensures that his son, friends and relatives enjoy Rahul Gandhi’s patronage.
What is keeping the Government busy these days is the Presidential elections. The BJP and other parties are busy plotting. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s name is a surprise. He is definitely, a class above the rest of the names doing rounds, including vice-president Hamid Ansari. One will just have to wait and see who wins.
Coming to the nominations of the names to the Rajya Sabha. The names of many celebrities has taken everybody by surprise. Nominating Sachin Tendulkar was a surprise cut which bowled over everybody. And then there is Rekha who has not said a word about her nomination. These icons will obviously lend glamour to the Rajya Sabha and raise the TRPs of the Rajya Sabha channel.
I have nothing against the nominations of these personalities to the Upper House. But the way the Government is functioning and as India’s image takes a beating internationally, I would have preferred that an intellectual or a person who could contribute to policy-making had found a place in the Rajya Sabha.
Over the years, the Upper House has been rapidly losing the respect of the public because of the number of industrialists finding their way into the House through consistent lobbying. Rekha and Tendulkar will, indeed, lend dignity to the House but one hopes that the passion that they have shown towards their profession will be diverted towards serving the nation. There have been instances where celebrities nominated to the Upper House have not attended a single session. Lata Mangeshkar is one such example. This, in my opinion, is not only an insult to the Upper House but also to the people of the country who place their confidence in them.
Those who are nominated to the Rajya Sabha and accept the post need to honour the responsibility that goes with it. With due respect to all the celebrities who have made it big in their professional life, if the country has placed trust in them, they need to live up to it. It is not fair that a celebrity who takes the place of a person who could have contributed more by way of his expertise spends the next six years doing nothing for the country. It is the non-performance of these celebrities in Parliament that makes the public angry. More so, at a time when the nation is going through such tough times both politically and economically.
At present, we need is people who will be able to pull the country out of the crises it is going through rather than those who will lend a glamour quotient. We need people who can deliver, give advice and bring people’s problem to the forefront. Though the people are nominated to the Rajya Sabha, they fail to use the opportunity to serve the aam aadmi. It is unfortunate that even political parties nominate celebrities so that they can be used to propagate the political agenda of the party at rallies just before the elections, instead of using their popularity to spread the message of respect for elders and women. The Congress has played its card with the recent nominations to the Rajya Sabha. Let’s see if it works.
One hopes that celebrities like Tendulkar and Rekha will honour the positions given to them by serving the nation with the same passion they showed in their professional live.
With the General Election in 2014, all political parties are trying to put their house in order. However, things are not positive for the NDA or the UPA. It is amazing how fast the credibility of the two national parties — the Congress and the BJP — has gone down. The winners, of course, are the regional parties. Even during the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the main gainer was Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh. Despite the RLD being a non-visible, non-contributing political party, its chief manages to wrest a Cabinet berth and ensures that his son, friends and relatives enjoy Rahul Gandhi’s patronage.
What is keeping the Government busy these days is the Presidential elections. The BJP and other parties are busy plotting. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s name is a surprise. He is definitely, a class above the rest of the names doing rounds, including vice-president Hamid Ansari. One will just have to wait and see who wins.
Coming to the nominations of the names to the Rajya Sabha. The names of many celebrities has taken everybody by surprise. Nominating Sachin Tendulkar was a surprise cut which bowled over everybody. And then there is Rekha who has not said a word about her nomination. These icons will obviously lend glamour to the Rajya Sabha and raise the TRPs of the Rajya Sabha channel.
I have nothing against the nominations of these personalities to the Upper House. But the way the Government is functioning and as India’s image takes a beating internationally, I would have preferred that an intellectual or a person who could contribute to policy-making had found a place in the Rajya Sabha.
Over the years, the Upper House has been rapidly losing the respect of the public because of the number of industrialists finding their way into the House through consistent lobbying. Rekha and Tendulkar will, indeed, lend dignity to the House but one hopes that the passion that they have shown towards their profession will be diverted towards serving the nation. There have been instances where celebrities nominated to the Upper House have not attended a single session. Lata Mangeshkar is one such example. This, in my opinion, is not only an insult to the Upper House but also to the people of the country who place their confidence in them.
Those who are nominated to the Rajya Sabha and accept the post need to honour the responsibility that goes with it. With due respect to all the celebrities who have made it big in their professional life, if the country has placed trust in them, they need to live up to it. It is not fair that a celebrity who takes the place of a person who could have contributed more by way of his expertise spends the next six years doing nothing for the country. It is the non-performance of these celebrities in Parliament that makes the public angry. More so, at a time when the nation is going through such tough times both politically and economically.
At present, we need is people who will be able to pull the country out of the crises it is going through rather than those who will lend a glamour quotient. We need people who can deliver, give advice and bring people’s problem to the forefront. Though the people are nominated to the Rajya Sabha, they fail to use the opportunity to serve the aam aadmi. It is unfortunate that even political parties nominate celebrities so that they can be used to propagate the political agenda of the party at rallies just before the elections, instead of using their popularity to spread the message of respect for elders and women. The Congress has played its card with the recent nominations to the Rajya Sabha. Let’s see if it works.
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