Friday, September 22, 2017

How work gets stalled, facts get distorted.

1. The Elusive Road Repairs.

    Despite the PWD minister's assurance that money has been allotted for the road repair work, all
    over the state, nothing is gonna come out of it and the stated deadlines shall remain only on paper.
    This is because of the government's lack of clarity on the application and levying of the GST on
    proposed works.

    What is the actual problem? The contractors are the service providers while the various central
    and state government departments, quasi-governmental agencies and local self governments are
    service receivers. It's the deafening silence as to whether the service receivers will reimburse the
    indirect taxes paid in advance by the service providers for executing the repairs, that remains the
    problem area.

    Since the matter needs resolution, work amounting to Rs.1,500 crores will not commence. The net
    result is that the motorists can continue to grin and bear it when they come across the ever
    increasing number of potholes on the highways and the smaller roads, some of which are pathetic!

2. Rumour Mongering.

    There seems to be a concerted effort on the social media and in certain sections of the press,
    inimical to PM Modi, to show that the Indian economy is failing. They cite that the demonetisat-
    ion exercise was wrong and the GST has been brought about hastily creating a failing(?)
    economy!

    What the naysayers forget is that the system takes time to react to change. The economy is
    reacting positively and it might take a quarter or two for it to steady up. What has become amply
    clear is that there are very many of us who want the reforms to fail, the system to collapse to
    bundle out Modi and they're the ones who've been vociferously saying that Rahul Gandhi has
    come of age which brings me to my next point.

3. Rahul Gandhi's Roadshow in the US.

    After criticising Prime Minister Modi for his foreign tours, why has Rahul Gandhi and his party
    embarked on this roadshow in the US? He has been making gaffes one after the other but I must
    acknowledge that he has put across a few points from the perspective of a responsible opposition!
    The guys accompanying him must whet his script and provide corrections lest he continues to
    make a fool of himself. He's comparatively young, prone to make mistakes and needs to do a lot
    of homework because what he must understand is that he has reached his current position only
    by virtue of his birth and not for any great qualities of leadership.

    He must surround himself with well meaning people, experts in various fields and take their
    advice rather than trample upon them and sound like a know all, because he cannot pull it off
    on his own as he lacks the wherewithal, poor fellow!

    My final query. Did he require this roadshow? That, too, in the US? Or are we going to see
    similar ones in the other countries, too, to woo the Indian diaspora spread all over? The Congress
    has realised that they've been neglecting this audience all this while, but why copycat Modi?
    Don't you have your own unique thinking and execution?

My random thoughts, as I see falsehoods and half truths being bandied about - with nary a caution and with a gay abandon. Sad but true! - in the mad scramble of getting into a position of advantage(?) in the general elections of '19.



Tailpiece.

Our maid's indisposition has begun to worry because Lekha interacts with her almost continuously after she comes in for work. We've asked her to take rest for a couple of days but she insists that she's okay. Hope everything ends up well.

  


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