The opening of a much-needed skywalk at the busy intersection near ITO in the heart of New Delhi ought to have been an occasion for joy over the relief it provided to pedestrians. Alas, the petty politicking surrounding the commissioning of the ITO skywalk facility only re-emphasised the cesspool to which the common folk are condemned, caught up as they are between two sets of politicians ~ at the central and state levels ~ much too small to appreciate the enormity of the task of administering the national capital.
The skywalk crosses a ganda nullah ~ the politicians appear to relish wallowing in the sewerage. This time around it was a squabble over who funded the project, but that has to be seen against the backdrop of the continuing tussle between Raisina Hill and Players’ Building over who rules the city ~ in reality it suffers from gross misrule as the interests of the city are sacrificed at the altar of political one-upmanship. People elsewhere contend that Delhi is a pampered city, possibly because few have ventured beyond Lutyens’ luxury enclave and had first-hand experience of what parliamentarians and top bureaucrats choose to ignore.
It is true that it takes two hands to clap and Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party could teach a master-class in what is required to be branded upstart (coming to power as it did riding an Anna Hazare wave and then ditching the revered anti-corruption crusader). Yet the Narendra Modi government lacks persons who think “big”, and inject personal pique into every possible difference in viewpoint.
The union ministry for urban affairs is often the spearhead of its scrap with Kejriwal (it has limited relevance beyond the union territory now risking suffocation again) and has resorted to the decidedly un-diplomatic habit of ignoring non-BJP persons from its list of invitees to major functions. The ignoring of the local leadership (the Lieutenant-Governor does not fall into that category, indeed Anil Baijal might feel insulted by such description) for the launch of the skywalk is not an isolated case. Congress leaders were ignored when the foundation stone was being laid for a “museum of prime ministers”, though that party has “provided” the nation seven chief executives in contrast with the BJP’s two ~ unless the locally-educated Hardeep Puri has suffered a memory lapse.
Non-issuance of invitations is not all that hurts the Dilliwallah. A court has just scrapped a bid to give locals priority in admission to a Delhi-government funded hospital although it is common knowledge that folk from adjoining states flock to Delhi since facilities are non-existent in the Capital’s hinterland, the same holds true of college admissions. And as the Metro reaches outward less accommodation is available for Delhi-based commuters. Will only a fresh election to the Old Secretariat end the price the people are paying for their 03-67 verdict against the BJP?