A ministral masquarade

This one is for you H'nble HRD minister Kapil Sibal. For asking a protester "who are you?" Having watched in silence the sordid saga of scams unfold one after another and the oversight by the Govt that have resulted in humongous losses to the Nation's exchequer, you have been earning the ire and fury of my ilk for quite sometime. This disdainful and uncalled for query of yours stinks of arrogance; adding insult to injury. May I then proceed to answer your question? I Sir, am a humble tax-paying, law-abiding, frustrated citizen of a Republic nation called India of whose Govt's, an elected representative you are. Simply speaking, I represent the public whose paid servant you are.

There was a time when democracy used to be defined as a Govt of the people, by the people and for the people. In your drunken stupor of power and authority, you have lost cognisance that the power you wield is provided by the likes of me whom you have taken for a ride, time and again. I am a bit of the populace that has to bear the brunt every time petrol prices go up, pay bribe to get a driving license, passport, property registered or even a ration card. I have had to grease the hands of all levels of bureaucracy from the lowest of rungs to the top each time I had to get a job done. If I refused I was asked to wait outside or come back later.

Not that we have not seen corruption before. But what we have seen in recent times is unprecedented. The public outcry and out pouring that you witness in the streets and elsewhere today is only symbolic of the outrage I and my countrymen have held on to in our hearts for long. Not to be discounted as quotidian's bustle. Whether a bill(law when passed) can eradicate a disease as widespread and deep-rooted as corruption is debatable but it can definitely serve as a means of bringing about greater accountability, responsibility and probity that your ilk have been evading for decades.

You may do well not to heighten the sense of outrage further with your uncouth foibles and rather employ your energy and skills to rework the draft your Govt proposes in the best interest of all concerned and salvage the last vestige of trust that people have in a democratically elected government; lest you be also held responsible for dereliction of duty when called for.

Do not henceforth venture to rub an already harrassed "Aam Aadmi".