There is an anecdote that talks about how US President while travelling in a train in an Far East Asian Country, claimed how one could see till the horizon industries if one were to travel in USA. To this his Russian counterpart claimed that in Russia, one could see wheat fields instead of industries. Noticing that Indian PM Nehru was quiet, they turned to him and asked what could one see till the horizon, if one were to travel in a train in India. With an impassive face Nehru replied "Shining Bottoms".
It is sad that 65 years after independence, we have still not made any progress. In fact, it has got worse. We tried to cover up during Common Wealth Games as I wrote in the blog then. Read it here.
Yesterday, on Gandhi Jayanthi Day, our Rural Development Minister, Jayaram Ramesh, said 'Open defecation is a blot on Indian Society'.
And typical of our uncaring ministers, he has just blamed the people without giving one solution to the problem. And he is the Rural Development Minister!!!. People dont defecate in the open because they love it. They do it because they dont have proper toilet access. And while we have lakhs of crores to give as incentives to Industry and the rich, we dont have a few thousands to build toilets in every house in India. A 5 year plan to ensure there are toilets in every house in India, will easily solve the problem. And it wont make a dent on our excequer. Instead of doing that, he is doing what Congress has been doing all these years - making the poor feel guilty.
What else can you expect from a party and government that has abdicated all its responsibilities towards the people of this country?
