“I have no sympathy for the bureaucrats” Rita Bahuguna Joshi

In an exclusive meeting with Life Watch, Congress President in Uttar Pradesh, Rita Bahuguna Joshi speaks her mind and heart out on UP’s present state of scenario and woeful condition that the State has witnessed during the past 22 years. Rita herself suffered tremendously because of the prevailing law and order condition in the State when her house was burnt and her car attacked. Read Ms. Bahuguna’s views in first person, as she spoke to Life Watch…
For past 22 years, UP has suffered a lot in terms of governance. Congress party had done a lot for development of State and after we quit the power in 1989, the State has steadily gone down since then. It is very unfortunate that in terms of human development index and in terms of social development index, UP is taking lead from bottom. We are considered worst state in India in terms of education, poverty levels and corruption. Unsocial elements rule the roost and we are considered the most unsafe state in the country.
Unfortunately when the people selected the BJP, they found themselves cheated on emotional and sentimental grounds because of Mandir. They gave Samajwadi a chance and it was money and muscle during that tenure. Corruption was supreme. Now, with Mayawati coming, people feel cheated once again because she had given very high sounding promises to give a clean state. I think she will go down in history as personally the most corrupt politician and a Chief Minister who has headed the most corrupt Government in the country. Now with Rahulji’s entrance and his focus on UP, Congress taking to the street, picking up people’s issue, UPA government’s performance in terms of social welfare programs, programs for the poor, people are once again turning towards Congress and Congress party is working very hard to try to pick up the people’s issues. We are trying to rein in the UP Government on the issue of corruption and misgovernance. Party elections are going on; we are strengthening our cadre. We hope to give a new facelift to the Party and in the next two years we are hopeful of turning the tide in favour of the Congress.
I am very sorry to say that bureaucrats are not doing their duty properly. Executive is considered to be a very strong pillar of democracy. But they have become a team of pshcyophants. They are totally corrupt. Bureaucracy is equally responsible for the plight of the State. I feel very sad that they have not stood by the oath that they had taken to save democracy. There are hardly a handful of bureaucrats whom you can call clean. They are paying money for posting. They are cheating the people. The way people are being looted by the bureaucrats and the Government, they are hand in glove. For 22 years they have been cheating; they have been registered in cases. I have no sympathy for the bureaucrats; we are making a list of corrupt bureaucrats.
The Congress party has governed long enough to know how to carry out the administration. I have seen my father working; if the politician is clean and committed everything can be brought under control.

‘CAPITAL WOES: 22,000 domestic LPG cylinders being sold in black daily’

As per an independent assessment which may vary on day-to-day basis, nearly 22000 domestic LPG cylinders are being sold in black in the Capital on daily basis. All these LPG gas cylinders are being used for commercial activities. The situation is so grim that you go to any roadside eatery, dhaba, sweet shop or restaurant and you will find domestic cylinders being used. This is despite that there are strict guidelines that the domestic LPG cylinders shall not be used for commercial purposes. Despite this, all the eateries, dhabas, sweet shops and restaurants are not only purchasing these cylinders in black, but also using them publicly as if laws don’t matter anymore to them.
The Delhi Government claims that nearly 90 per cent of the ration card holders in the Capital possess LPG connections. But when the authenticity of the ration card holders itself is in doubt, all such claims fall to the ground. In a sample exercise to make biometric ration cards in the Capital recently, a good percentage of ration card holders did not come to take their biometric cards; thereby revealing clearly that a very high percentage of ration cards is fake. It can easily be presumed that a similar situation exists for LPG gas connections in the Capital.
If LPG gas cylinders are being sold in such high numbers in black on daily basis, there remains no doubt that a strong mechanism exists that sells these cylinders in black to buyers. The real sufferer is the domestic consumer who has to wait for many days to get his supply of cylinder. And the sufferer is also the Government which gives subsidy on domestic cylinders but commercial benefits are being derived through this subsidy; often in collusion with the authorities.
The matter came to light when a LPG agency sacked an employee on charges of harassing and taking up fights with the customers and selling the gas cylinders in black. It would have remained a small incident if the sacked employee would have merely sat at home. But the employee started putting all types of pressures on the gas agency owner to reinstate him in job. The local Congress MLA from East Delhi came up to persuade the agency owner on behalf of the sacked employee. Agency’s staff was beaten up in broad daylight. Even the car of the gas agency owner was attacked. Despite complaints to the police the matter was not resolved; thereby revealing that either there was pressure on the police not to act or the police itself was involved in the entire racket. Finally the gas agency owner has got some respite from the goons when the matter was brought to the notice of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the local MP Sandeep Dikshit. But the sacked employee is still creating pressure to get reinstated. Several employees of the agency have left the job when threatened by this sacked employee.
Unless there are huge monetary benefits involved, this sacked employee would not have spent this amount of energy. Neither would have the politicians and police came up in his support. It is time that we act to put our house in order!