Time to rock the boat

We have a tense situation in Kashmir where 50 people have been killed since the trouble started about seven weeks ago. Sadly, no one has a solution to offer and while it is true that most political issues cannot be seen in black-and-white, the fact is that we are witnessing a civil disobedience movement and increased violence and more deaths will only reduce the credibility of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.  

We all talk of change, we all talk of young leadership and take it for granted that this applies only to those in governance. While the separatists and the Opposition in the Valley may take advantage of the situation, the fact is that the real leadership of this movement has moved on to another generation.
The security forces have done well to control the terrorists and infiltrators but they cannot be a substitute for political will and dialogue. Clearly Kashmir, like the rest of the country, is coming out of old feudal values and attitudes and as things stand it is clear that a massive mandate in favour of good governance has been eroded over the past year.
We will do well to remember that the People’s Democratic Party had won more seats than the National Conference (NC) in the Valley and the formation of the government was possible only when the Congress tilted towards the NC for all the right reasons.
Mr Abdullah cannot be expected to deliver a miracle on his own. But with the help of all elements in the NC, the Congress and the assistance of home minister P. Chidambaram and the excellent intelligence and information network, a great deal can be done to pacify the public in the Valley. We should wish Mr Abdullah well in his efforts.

THE CONTROVERSY surrounding the Commonwealth Games continues to dominate the headlines. I think it is tragic that we are confusing the setting up of the facilities for the Games with the organisation of the Games. A great deal of good work by hundreds and thousands of workers is being negated by a handful of individuals in the Commonwealth Games Organisation Committee.
Some of the facilities have teething problems but that can be handled in the time available. The fact is that we are paying the price for neglecting work in the first few years after winning the bid to host the Games. But holding a discussion now, at this stage, is not right as there will be enough time for post-mortem after the Games.
The Commonwealth Games Village is handled by the Delhi Development Authority as are the “soft” facilities in the stadiums. We should put our best talent to deal with this situation.
The Congress is supporting Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and ignoring the affairs of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and his associates. After the forgery issue they should have resigned or the government should have taken suitable punitive action.
The United Progressive Alliance government, the Congress and all of us are embarrassed as we see the amount of money being paid for things like mosquito repellents — Rs 135 has been paid for rental whereas they can be bought for Rs 100. If we go from item to item — liquid soap dispensers, plug points, ice-making machines, dust bins, pedestal fans, bookcase — each one seems a bigger, more embarrassing scam than the other.
Murky deals like the AM Auto hire or commission paid for advertisements will continue till all those guilty are replaced by members of the Organising Committee whose hands are clean and who can take charge of the Games.
Union sports minister M.S. Gill can handle the situation if there is a clear political indicator. This issue has festered beyond a certain period and those in governance will suffer more than anyone else as the media cannot be curbed. The issue of national pride cannot be invoked in cases of fraud and forgery.
In the context of the Commonwealth games some references have been made to the Asian Games in 1982 and though my memory is a little blurred, I do remember that we discussed the issue for well over a fortnight from all possible angles before Rajiv Gandhi took over responsibility for the Asian Games.
There were many who had doubts and this is inevitable in a democratic framework. The first step was to assemble a team and Sardar Buta Singh, then a deputy minister, was promoted to minister of sports and K.T. Satarawala, Sankaran Nair and S.S. Gill were inducted. Along with Arun Singh we assisted Rajiv Gandhi on a 24x7 basis. We had no mobile phones but each of us got a car and were known by our wireless codes (1, 2, 3). My job was to ensure that schedules were maintained and that there were no bureaucratic delays (there weren’t any). We had the full support of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi but we rarely troubled her or anyone else in the government. All credit for the success must also go to the many hundreds and thousands who worked for the Asiad.
We had to take several unpopular decisions and there were no free VVIP and VIP passes. Some senior Cabinet ministers were respectfully escorted back to their cars twice but no one really complained as there were no “exceptions”. We saw little of the Asian Games but the amazing thing was that everything, including the telephones, worked.
I hope the Commonwealth Games 2010 will be a success and wish everyone well who has any responsibility, big or small, for its success.

Arun Nehru is a former Union Minister