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THE OP-ED PAGETheIndian EXPRESSwww.indianexpress.com

11l MONDAY l APRIL 8 l 2013

LESSthanthree weeksafterthe

topleadershipof thefourmajorpartiesmadeSupremeCourtChiefJusticeKhilRajRegmiheadoftheelec-toralgovern-ment,theelec-tioncommissionhasmadeitclearthatthecon-stituentassemblypollscannottakeplacewithinthe earlyJunedeadline.Whilemissingapolldeadlineisnothingnew,thisinstancegoes againstthe verybasisofhavingan incum-bentCJaschairmanofthecouncilofministers.

Theleadershad stated

thatRegmiaschiefof execu-tivewasmeantpurelytore-storeconstitutionalorderbyholdingelections.OnRegmisinsistence, theyagreedtoinsertaprovisionintheiragreementthatshouldsomesituationemergebe- yondcontrol,the electionmaytakeplaceinNovember

instead.Butthe ECsinabil-itytoholdpollsinJuneislargelybecauseoftherefusal,bymostpoliticalparties,otherthanthebigfour,torecognisethe constitutionalstatusoftheexecutive.TheycallRegmisgovernment,packedwithretiredcivilser- vants,a puppetof thefour-partysyndicateahigh-levelmachineryof thepartychiefswithnoconsti-tutionalstatus.Thegovern-mentsconstitutional validityisyettobedeterminedbytheSC.RegmiisunderpressuretoquitasCJbymanyparties,theBar,humanrightsgroupsandcivilsociety,whofeartheSCmaynotbeactingfreely,fairlyandfearlesslyinRegmiscase.

Atleast33 parties,in-cludingtheCommunistParty

ofNepal-Maoists,the break-awaygroupfromtheUnifiedCommunistPartyofNepal-Maoists,havetoldPresidentRamBaranYadavthatthey willnotparticipatein pollsuntilthereisalevelplayingfield.TheyalsodemandRegmibereplacedbyapoliti-cianasprimeminister.TheEChasalreadysuspendedtheprocessofupdatingthe voterslist.

TheEUanditsambassa-dorsseemtobethefirsttore- viewtheirstanceandstatepubliclythataconduciveat-mosphereisthefirstprecon-ditionforafreeandfairpoll.TheEUhad activelylobbiedforRegmi.Maoistchief

Prachandare-mindedRegmi

thathewasin-stalledtocon-ductthepollsinJune,andaskedhimtoanno-uncethedateattheearliest.Regmiserst- whilesupportersamongdomesticandinterna-tionalgroupsareclearlydivided.

LikePrachanda, NepaliCongresspresidentSushilKoiralaandCPN-UMLchief JhalanathKhanalarefacinghostileresponseswithintheirpartiesfordefyingtheirre-spectivecentral committees warningthat theCJsap-

pointmentasexecutivehead wasa badidea.TheCJ aswellasthefourleadershavebeenreducedtomembersofahelplessclubrepresentingthenationspredicament,quiteapathetictotheunder-currentof massfrustrationandfury.

Lawandorderisnot

favourable,astwo incidentsdemonstrated.OnMarch22,thepresidenthadtocancelhistriptoPokharaincentralNepal,wherehewassched-uledtoinauguratethena-tionalconventionofthe Fed-erationofNepaliJournalists.Twoweeks later,CPN-Mcadressymbolically cap-turedthevaststretchof Regmisagricultural landalongwiththatofhisfather-in-lawinwesternNepalsBardiadistrict.Thepolicere-movedtheredflagsplantedandenhancedsecurity,buttheeventsshowthegeneralstateoflawandorder.

Crediblepoll surveyshaveshownthatthepro-monarchistRastriyaPra- jatantraPartyNepal,whichhasbeencampaigningforaHinduNepalaswell,has

emergedasoneofthefavo-urites.ThiscoincideswiththesubstantialdeclineinpublicsupportfortheMaoists,per-ceivedasthebiggestreasonbehindtodayschaosandun-certainty.TheNCandCPN-UMLaresharplydividedoverfuturepoliticalequa-tionswhiletheMaoistsareal-readydividedwithin.Thesit-uationisclearlynotfavourableforthe parties.ButtheblameofthecurrentfailuremightsticktotheCJ, whichmeansyetanotherex-perimentwithNepalasapo-liticallaboratoryhasfailed.

yubaraj.ghimire@ expressindia.com

Anotherexperiment fails

Thechief justicebecame chiefof executive.Butpolls still cannottake pl

Nextdoor NEPAL

YUBARAJGHIMIRE

CREDIBLEPOLLsurveys show that thepro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepalhasemergedas oneof thefavourites.Thiscoincideswiththe substantial decline insupport for the Maoists.

IN THE unending wordy duel be-tween Beni Prasad Verma, Unionsteel minister and Congress mem-berof Parliament,andhisonetimeNetaji Mulayam Singh Yadav,supreme leader of the SamajwadiParty that rules the countrys mostpopulous state, Uttar Pradesh, thelatest is that t he Congress leader-ship has reined in the recalcitrantsteel minister from continuing his warof wordswith Yadav.At ameet-ing with Congress president SoniaGandhistrouble-shooter,JanardanDwivedi,the aggressive Vermahas

reportedlyagreednotto malignYa-dav, provided the latter also ob-servesrestraint.

Howthisuglyepisodepansoutisoflittleconcernto me.Theevent isimportant because it underscores a widespreadfeatureof theIndianpo-litical scene about which the politi-calclassandeventhepublicopinionappear unconcerned: the greatpower of the turncoats, desertersfromonepartythatarewelcomedbyits rival with open arms. Verma is aclassicexampleof thisphenomenon.

For long years, he was Yadavsacknowledged number two, both in

the SP and in the state government whenever the party was in power inLucknow.Yadavsfondness forhimhadtworeasons.First,inanerawhen

the OBCs were rising to power,Vermawasthemostimportantleaderof the Kurmis, and thus supple-mentedYadavsenormousfollowingamong the Yadavs. Secondly, henever looked upon himself as Ne-tajis eventual successor. Yet, thebreach betweenthe twocame whenYadavdiscernedthatVermawaslos-inghisholdontheKurmisandstarteddowngradingthenowsteelminister. Aftera stintinthewilderness,theam-bitious Verma joined the Congressparty and has since been a memberoftheUnioncouncilofministers.

In this context, especially be-cause the Congress-led UPA gov-ernment cannot afford to lose theSamajwadi Partys support fromoutside,despiteYadavsincorrigi-blehabittoblowhotandcoldinthesame breath, the intriguing ques-

tionthatarisesis: howcanthe steelministeraffordtodisregardthehighcommandsdirectives?

Afterall,followinghisintemper-ate tirade against Yadav, SoniaGandhihadwalkeduptoYadavwithfolded hands to apologise. TheCongress party publicly apologisedtotheSPbossseparately.But Vermarefused to follow their lead. To ex-pressregretwasasfarashewouldgo.Hedidntutterthewordapology,andindeed launchedanotherattackon Yadav, who is repeating his de-mandthatthesteelministermustbesacked.Could therebe a morevivid

displayof theturncoatsclout to thepointthat evenhis newmentorsarereluctanttopushhimbeyondapoint?

When asked why the Congress wastreatingVermawithkid gloves,a party leader replied, strictly oncondition of anonymity, We havenoKurmileaderworththenameinUP. We dont want him to turn hisbackonus, too.Interestingly,therearerumoursthat thesteelminister wantsto malignYadavand teamup

with Mayawati. He emphaticallydenies this, of course. But whoknows what kind of realignmentsmight take place before the 2014generalelection.

Nopartyisaversetowelcomingpolitical migratory birds, but theCongress takes the cake in this re-spect.Vermaisonlyoneofahordeof defectors from other parties nowflourishingin theCongressranks.Inthestateof Maharashtra, wherethe

Congress is in an uneasy coalition withthe NationalistCongressPartyled by Sharad Pawar, all thestormtroopers of the Congress are

formerleadersofthe ShivSena,twoofthemformerchiefministersofthestate. All of them are holding highoffice.Oneofthem,NarayanRane,hasstakedhisclaimtobechiefmin-istermorethanonce.InGujarat,theCongresshasonlytwo pillarsto sup-port its crumbling structure Shankersinh Vaghela and Keshub-haiPatel whoarebothstalwartsof theRSSandtheBJP.Thelistisillus-trative,not exhaustive.

However,thecaseofRashidAlvideservesa mention.At onestagehehadleftthepartyinahufftoexplorefresh pastures, first in the SP andthen in Mayawatis Bahujan SamajParty. Then he came back and waspromptlymadea partyspokesman.

Probably the case of the re-doubtable Pawarsumsup thestateof the Indian polity. Originally a

staunchCongressman,he jettisonedhis party in 1978 to become chief minister of Maharashtra with thesupportof theJanataPartythen rul-ing in New Delhi. Rajiv Gandhibrought himbackinto theCongressin 1987. Later, he revolted againstSoniaGandhisleadershipwiththeslogan Raj karega hindustani (AnIndian will be in charge). Since2004, he and the Congress havebeen coalition partners in bothDelhiand Mumbai.

ThewriterisaDelhi-based politicalcommentator

Day of the turncoatsNo party is averse to welcoming political migratory birds.

But the Congress takes the cake

THE riveting drama at leading Indiancampusesatthistimeoftheyearprovidesatruthful glimpse into the state of theeconomy as seen through the eyes of twentysomethings.As manymiddle- andupper-middle-class college graduatesperchattheedgeofthecountrysjobmar-ket,thesombre,glummoodportraysapic-turemorerealthancold statisticsandthecomplex economic predictions by gov-ernmentagencies.

OneparticularactunfoldedinMarchat Bangalores leadingChrist University, where 620MBA studentsare plunked inthemiddleof campusplacements.ChristUniversityisnotinthesameleagueastheIIMs,butitsMBA programmeis increas-inglysoughtafter.Itisatop-rankedBanga-loreinstitutionwhosestudentsaresmart,

articulate and poised. That makes it amust-doamongsttopIndianandmultina-tionalemployerslookingtorecruitatcam-puses outside the top engineering andmanagementschoolambit.

Yet,thisyear,bytheendoftheacade-micsession,onlyhalfthestudentsofChristUniversity, manyof themengineers withMBAs(awinningcombinationbyanyhir-ingyardstick)havebeenplaced. Contrastthe scenario with last year, when three-quartersofthe studentshadalreadybeenplacedby thistimeof theyear.Recruitersare coming but their selects, the num-berofgraduatingstudentswhotheymakeoffersto,arelower,saidplacementcoordi-nator Molly Joseph. Last year, 103 com-paniescametothecampustorecruit.This year,therehavebeen56 companiesso far.

On the day Frances second-largestbank, Societe Generale, was on campus,

MBAstudentsPankajSharmaand DavidPoly,both 22,andKavithaB.,24, wereontenterhooks.Theyhad madeit througha writtentestandwereawaitingtheresultsof the group discussion round. Betweenthem,thethreehadalreadygonethroughtheplacementdrillat adozencompaniesandtheanxietylevelswereup.Eachtimethestressbuildsupaswethink,ifwedontclearthisone,whatifthenextcompanyistougher?saidKavitha.Thecompetitionisseverebut options arefewer,saidPoly.He has seen several students sweat thr-oughwrittenrounds,gaspforwaterduringinterviewsandbreakdownafternotmak-ingit.Peoplegetverydepressed,hesaid.

Themood issubduedfor extraneousreasons as well. For the first time, someMBAstudentsatanIIMfailedtogetplac-edthis yearduringthe placementseasonthat ended a few weeks ago. Around the

sametime,engineerswhoweregivencam-pusofferlettersbyIndiasleadingITcom-pany,HCLTechnologies,wentonaprotestin New Delhi as the company had givenno word on their joining dates even 18monthslater.

AtChristUniversity,placementseasonstartedin Novemberandthe college-dic-tatedsalarycutoffforcompaniesthisyearisRs3.5lakhperannum.Thefirststudents who got offer letters in hand were eu-phoric.Cisco generatedgreat excitementon campus for its generous salary offers.Butas companies likeBosch,Accenture,TCS and Federal Bank came and de-parted,theoneswhoremainedarejumpy. AwaitingbrandslikeHindustanUnilever,Johnson&Johnson and Capgemini, theytweakedresumesand askedfor tips.Imlearninghowtohandlethepressure,saidDavidwhoconfessedthathehadbeense-lectiveinattendingwrittentests.

Kavithaisanengineerandshetoohasbeenchoosy.ShewillsettleonlyforjobsinherMBAspecialisation,humanresources.ShewantstoworkonlyinsouthIndia.The workprofileand thecompanybrand are

moreimportantto herthan thecompen-sation package. Her parents want her toget a job where she can balance her per-sonal and professional life. But she andothersinherMBAclasshavestudentloansto pay. The two-year MBA programmecostsRs6lakhintuitionfeealone.Shehasbeguntoworry.

Perhaps as a result of the economicslowdown,afewbluechipcompanieshavearrivedatChristUniversityforplacementsfortheveryfirsttime. Companiescouldbesaying, lets go to the smaller schools wherewecanhireatlessersalaries,getea-ger employees and deal with less attri-tion,speculatedMollyJoseph,theplace-ments coordinator. The students aregratefulfor thisunexpectedfalloutof theeconomicdeceleration.

saritha.rai@expressindia.com

In the twentysomething viewIts slim pickings for young MBA graduates out on the job market

INDERMALHOTRA

SARITHA RAI

TheFIFTHMETROLETTERFROMBANGALORE

DEARreaders:Icongratulatethoseamong you who do not have theirchildren in the police force of thisgreatcountryandIcommiseratewiththose parents whose children havebecomepolicemen andpolicewomeneither through legitimate means(UPSC examinations?) or throughlesssavourymeans(bribingthemin-isterinchargeof policerecruitment!). According to the eleventy-eleventhamendment of theIndianConstitu-tion, our honourable ExecutiveBranch is requiredto soconductaf-fairsofstatethatpolicemenneedtobebeaten by legislators, policewomenneedtobeharassedbymobsandsen-

iorpoliceofficersneedtobekilledina manner where the principal ac-cusedhaveunshakeablealibisforbe-inghundredsof milesawayfromthesceneof thecrime.Policepersonnelarehailedasheroesfor bumpingoff criminalsin incidentseuphemisti-cally referred to as encounters; afewmonthslater,thesesameindivid-ualsare chargedwith themurderof innocents. Police officers are re-quired to enter dangerous alleys indim-litneighbourhoods,toconfrontso-calledterrorists;it isobligatoryforthemtobekilledbyadversarieswhoarebetter-armed.

Instead of winning a gallantrymedal,theconcerneddeadpoliceof-ficercan be safely accusedof falselyimplicatinginnocentyouthandgiv-ingthemthechase.Itistothecreditof

the Executive Branch of our greatGovernment both in the variousprovincesand in theimperial cityof Delhithattheirconstitutionaldutyisbeing fulfilled with great vim, gustoandpanache.

Our great Government hasmoneytosendministersandofficialson unneeded foreign trips, to buildgiganticstadiumsthat stand asmuteOzymandianwitnessesintheirglori-ousemptiness, to buyspecialVVIPhelicoptersat inflatedprices,to sub-sidise the rich as they buy diesel fortheirSUVsand generators, to keepstartingnewministriesatthedropof a hatwhilenever shuttingdownoldredundant ministries, to providesinecureappointmentsto theirbud-

dies and to gift contracts for ghostcanalsandnon-existentdamstotheircronies. But our Government doesnothave money toprovidetiny flatsfor constables who are required toliveinthatchedhutsandasbestoscab-insinslumsandshanties.Ourpolicestationsdonot haveair-conditioners;nevermindthatair-conditioningim-proves productivity, we just cannotletmerehavildarsgetuppitybyhavinggood working conditions. Besides,thepowercutsofourlandmeanthatthese devices will not work anyway.Our police department budgets donotprovideforpaymentofelectricitybillsorpurchaseofdieselfor genera-tors.Thisis availableonlyto exaltedMinisters and Officials. Our policestationshave computersthatgatherdustastheyarenotconnectedtoany

intelligentdatabaseanddonotserveanyuseful purpose.

Theprimarydutiesofour policeare: one, VIP Security distinctfrom VVIP Security, which is pro- vided by elite commandos who arehierarchicallyfarabovemerepolice-men and policewomen. Two, crowdcontrol it is a distinction of ourcountrythatenormouscrowdsgatherforreligiousfestivities,marriagesandfrankly for no reason at all. Crowdsare almost invariably lacking in dis-ciplineand giventodisobeyinglaws.Ourpoliceforceisrequiredtocontrolcrowds not by using force, but by

imploring, begging and beseechingthe self-appointed leaders of thecrowds to take pity on the policepersonnel.Three,mobcontrolthisisdistinctfromcrowdcontrol.Mobsdo notcongregate onreligiousholi-days.MobsareorganisedbyourgreatPolitical Leaders with the specificpurpose of creating trouble whilemaking hysterical demands of anunrealandpatentlyimpossiblekind.Theprincipalpurposeofmobsseemstobe toincitethepolicetochargethemwithquaintcolonial-eralathisor

shootatthemwithquaintercolonial-era 303 rifles. Once the Mob hasaccomplished its purpose, it is im-perative that dozens of shrill spok-espersonsof spuriousorganisationsmake wild demands (these daysthesedemands aremade on prime-timeTV)to punishthepolice,to es-tablish a Commission of Inquiry(preferably a Judicial one) and tootherwiseconfuseanalreadybewil-deredpoliceforce.

Thesecondaryandincidentaldu-ties of our police, which they maycarryout optionally, in theunlikely,nay, virtually impossible event that

they gettimeofffromthe threepri-marydutiesare:

One, investigating crime. Two,nabbing criminals. Three, keepingthestreetssafe.Four,readingup allthenew lawswhichour great Legis-latureskeep passing.(I amtold thatthereareplansforaPoliceMobtoagitate that Parliament should stopmeeting,becauseeachtimethereisarelatively undisturbed session of Parliament,moreunimplementablelawsareput onthe statutebook;thehapless police are required to first

understand these bizarre laws andthenaregoingtobeheldresponsibleforfailingtoenforcethatwhichisin-herentlyunenforceable).

Therewasa time whenthe onlyroutetoenterthepolicewasalegiti-mateone,whenparentswereproudthattheirchildrenwereinthepolice, whentheabbreviationCIDsignalleda high level of expertise. Can thosetimes come back? They can quiteeasily. All wehavetodo isto imple-ment the recommendations of thenumerouspolicecommissionsofthepast. Instead of doing something asobvious as this, our great Govern-ment is likely to take the time-hon-ouredexpedientrouteofappointing yetanotherCommissionto comeup

withyetanotherreport. Thatreport willthenbe examinedby anon-Em-powered Group of Secretaries who willthenpassitonto anEmpoweredGroup of Secretaries who will thenpass iton toa non-Empowered Gr-oupofMinisterswhowillthenpassitontoanEmpoweredGroupofMinis-terswhowillthenpassitontoaCabi-net Sub-Committee who will thenpass it on to a Cabinet Committee.My tale, Dear Readers, is as longasHanumansproverbialtail.

Inthenextelections,perhapswecan all agree to vote only for thoseparties that promise to implementthepolicecommissionreports.Isthatanoption?Orarewedreaming?

Thewriterisa Mumbai-basedentrepreneur

Poor, powerless police

THESPAT betweenBeni Prasad Vermaand MulayamSingh Yadav is important because it underscoresawidespread feature of the Indian political scene: thegreat power of the turncoats.

BYTHEendof theacademicsession,onlyhalfthe studentsof ChristUniversity, manyof themengineers withMBAs(a winningcombinationby anyhiringyardstick)have beenplaced.Contrastthescenariowithlastyear, when three-quartersof thestudentshadalreadybeenplacedbythis time of theyear.

JAITHIRTH RAO

OURGOVERNMENT doesnothave money toprovidetiny

flatsforconstablesrequiredtolivein thatchedhuts andasbestos cabinsin slums andshanties.Our police stations donothaveair-conditioners;never mindthatair-conditioningimproves productivity, wejust cannotletmere havildars getuppityby havinggoodworking conditions.

Can we agree to vote only for parties that promise to implement the police reforms?

CRSASIKUMAR