Different Laws

Sivesh Kumar

 

I was caught by the Delhi Police after midnight recently as my friend was not wearing a helmet. We were ready to pay the fine as what we had done was illegal. However, the officer-on-duty took our bike in custody instead of slapping us with a fine. As the bike was new, we decided to negotiate if we could pay the fine on the spot and get our bike back.

 

While my friend was negotiating, I was sitting on the pavement, observing, when three roaring Enfield bikes were also made to stop. All the riders were without helmets and were triple riding. However, as one of the nine riders was a CRPF personnel, nothing happened to them.

 

Along came three MBA students on two bikes, again, sans helmets,  papers and driving licenses. To top it, the number plates were also not in place. On being stopped by the police, one of them dialed a number and told the officer-on-duty to talk. Needless to say, they rode away in the sunset. Oops, in the midnight!

 

To complete the drama, four labour class guys coming on two bicycles they were stopped and searched and questioned for an hour. No idea why.

 

I was really enjoying this dance of law when I was informed by my friend that it was four in the morning and there was no chance of recovering the bike until we came up with some contact. So we decided to get some sleep.

Makes we think. Is the law same for all the people in this country?

 

 

 

Delhi Budget 2006: Public Eye on Public Service

Centre for Civil Society and India International Centre are organising a monthly dialogue series titled Public Eye on Public Services - Delhi Budget 2006. Panellists include Dr. Narendra Nath (MLA), Ms. Kiran Walia (MLA)*, Dr. Harshvardan (MLA)* and Dr. Parth J Shah (President, CCS). [* Invited]

 

When & Where: April 19, 2006 (Wednesday); 6.30-8.00 pm, Conference Room II, India International Centre, Delhi

For more information click www.ccsindia.org  You may confirm your participation by email to Ms Nidhi Chadha nidhi@ccsindia.org
or by call at 011-2653 7456/ 2652 1882

Privatization of airports: the need of the hour

By Raj Kishore Swain

If you ever drive on the Dehradun to Mussoorie highway, you will see several monkeys, feeding themselves on peanuts tossed by the passers by. It’s not as if the forest does not have enough food for them. It’s just that when one promotes begging, it grows.

We ourselves are no better than beggars when we expect the Government to do everything for us for free - be it education, food, compulsory employment, water, health services, etc. But we forget that the Government is an entrepreneur who takes away - and does not borrow - our capital for the services it gives. For it is not possible to make anybody better off without making somebody worse off. The rich pay the taxes, the poor relish the yojanas and the Babus pocket the money. Corruption grows.

Recently the Left caused upheaval over the privatization of airports. The already dismal services were further affected by the protests and dharnas that were only called off when the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Praful Patel, gave a written assurance of job security for the striking workers.

We all know how unsuccessful our five-year plans have been and how things began to look up with the liberalization of the economy in 1991. The telecommunication and cellular services in India are among the cheapest in the world today. There is a world of difference between the suave UTI Bank and the unfriendly SBI branch. We might endure the failure of the Government for ages - after all, it is our “Lord Protector” who makes up for its losses through our taxes. It does not matter to us if the letters we post never reach or if the railways stink, but private players have proved to be more efficient.

The forthcoming Commonwealth Games promise to be the world’s window to India. It is therefore essential that airports be revamped to meet the influx of tourists. And this can be done effectively only through privatization.

If the Left is the future of India, then Indians have no future left.