The Bangalore Airport Fiasco
The resignation of N R Narayana Murthy from Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) shows the deviousness and convoluted thinking that prevails among many of the country’s politicians.
Bangalore, long considered India’s Silicon Valley, has been suffering from acute infrastructure problems in recent years. The roads are clogged. The power supply is erratic. The existing airport is crowded and unable to cope with the increased number of flights. Once India’s most beautiful city, Bangalore is no longer the most attractive place for people to work and live. People in Bangalore today spend as much time traveling to their workplace and back, as in Mumbai.
Bangalore politicians and bureaucrats are squarely to blame for this scenario. While politicians in neighbouring states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are investing in infrastructure development, their counterparts in Karnataka have allowed the garden city’s beauty to fade away rapidly.
Bangalore’s IT chieftains have been airing their concerns in public for sometime now. Indeed, companies like Wipro and Infosys have been quietly expanding their development centres in other parts of the country, including Calcutta, once described by Rajiv Gandhi as a dying city. Current indications are that Chennai will rapidly overtake Bangalore both in terms of the size of development centres and the number of jobs generated. Tamil Nadu politicians may be eccentric in some respects, such as putting huge hoardings of their leaders on thoroughfares. But when it comes to providing a good investment climate, leaders of both the DMK and AIADMK show considerable maturity.
Under these circumstances, Janata Dal leader HD Deve Gowda’s irresponsible statements are nothing but fishing in troubled waters. Deva Gowda’s party did little for Bangalore when it was in power at the centre and the state. Now in trying to make out a case against Infosys, one of India’s most admired companies (especially where it comes to ethics and corporate governance), the Janata Dal leaders are clearly barking up the wrong tree.
Indian people have long given up on the country’s politicians. The least Indian politicians can do is to keep quiet when some people are trying to do good work. People like Narayana Murthy are busy leading and building their organizations. If at all they choose to sacrifice some of their time and associate themselves with projects like BIAL, it is purely out of a sense of social responsibility. In contrast to politicians who cling to power shamelessly, even after their incompetence and malafide intentions have been thoroughly exposed, Narayana Murthy has not hesitated to resign. If at all he withdraws his resignation, he must do so on his terms and after Deve Gowda tenders a public apology.
Meanwhile, the resignation of Narayana Murthy will send absolutely wrong signals to the international community. It will tell the world, that India is least concerned about infrastructure development. Slowly but surely, other cities like Shanghai will emerge as better places for software development. Infosys itself is strengthening its presence in China, recruiting a large number of software engineers in that country.
Meanwhile, the Congress is not exactly covering itself with glory. Instead of resolving the stalemate, Congress politicians are trying to gain political milage out of the episode. They are making weak, diplomatic noises but not really criticizing Deve Gowda directly.
The time has come to put in place suitable legislation to take politicians to task for making irresponsible statements. Politicians must be made to realize that they are accountable. If their thoughts, words and deeds impede economic development, they must be punished. In May 2004, the communists made irresponsible statements around the time a new government was being formed at the centre. The Sensex plunged, sending thousands of ordinary investors into despair.
Unlike corporate leaders who are punished by the markets quickly for poor financial performance even in one quarter, politicians have to face the electorate only once in five years. Many of the voters are gullible and vulnerable to the manipulation of politicians. Only strong legal safeguards can correct the situation. In recent times, the Supreme Court has got involved in various matters relating to public interest and dispensed justice promptly. It must also do so when politicians behave irresponsibly.
The resignation of N R Narayana Murthy from Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) shows the deviousness and convoluted thinking that prevails among many of the country’s politicians.
Bangalore, long considered India’s Silicon Valley, has been suffering from acute infrastructure problems in recent years. The roads are clogged. The power supply is erratic. The existing airport is crowded and unable to cope with the increased number of flights. Once India’s most beautiful city, Bangalore is no longer the most attractive place for people to work and live. People in Bangalore today spend as much time traveling to their workplace and back, as in Mumbai.
Bangalore politicians and bureaucrats are squarely to blame for this scenario. While politicians in neighbouring states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are investing in infrastructure development, their counterparts in Karnataka have allowed the garden city’s beauty to fade away rapidly.
Bangalore’s IT chieftains have been airing their concerns in public for sometime now. Indeed, companies like Wipro and Infosys have been quietly expanding their development centres in other parts of the country, including Calcutta, once described by Rajiv Gandhi as a dying city. Current indications are that Chennai will rapidly overtake Bangalore both in terms of the size of development centres and the number of jobs generated. Tamil Nadu politicians may be eccentric in some respects, such as putting huge hoardings of their leaders on thoroughfares. But when it comes to providing a good investment climate, leaders of both the DMK and AIADMK show considerable maturity.
Under these circumstances, Janata Dal leader HD Deve Gowda’s irresponsible statements are nothing but fishing in troubled waters. Deva Gowda’s party did little for Bangalore when it was in power at the centre and the state. Now in trying to make out a case against Infosys, one of India’s most admired companies (especially where it comes to ethics and corporate governance), the Janata Dal leaders are clearly barking up the wrong tree.
Indian people have long given up on the country’s politicians. The least Indian politicians can do is to keep quiet when some people are trying to do good work. People like Narayana Murthy are busy leading and building their organizations. If at all they choose to sacrifice some of their time and associate themselves with projects like BIAL, it is purely out of a sense of social responsibility. In contrast to politicians who cling to power shamelessly, even after their incompetence and malafide intentions have been thoroughly exposed, Narayana Murthy has not hesitated to resign. If at all he withdraws his resignation, he must do so on his terms and after Deve Gowda tenders a public apology.
Meanwhile, the resignation of Narayana Murthy will send absolutely wrong signals to the international community. It will tell the world, that India is least concerned about infrastructure development. Slowly but surely, other cities like Shanghai will emerge as better places for software development. Infosys itself is strengthening its presence in China, recruiting a large number of software engineers in that country.
Meanwhile, the Congress is not exactly covering itself with glory. Instead of resolving the stalemate, Congress politicians are trying to gain political milage out of the episode. They are making weak, diplomatic noises but not really criticizing Deve Gowda directly.
The time has come to put in place suitable legislation to take politicians to task for making irresponsible statements. Politicians must be made to realize that they are accountable. If their thoughts, words and deeds impede economic development, they must be punished. In May 2004, the communists made irresponsible statements around the time a new government was being formed at the centre. The Sensex plunged, sending thousands of ordinary investors into despair.
Unlike corporate leaders who are punished by the markets quickly for poor financial performance even in one quarter, politicians have to face the electorate only once in five years. Many of the voters are gullible and vulnerable to the manipulation of politicians. Only strong legal safeguards can correct the situation. In recent times, the Supreme Court has got involved in various matters relating to public interest and dispensed justice promptly. It must also do so when politicians behave irresponsibly.
1 comment:
Deve Gowda- the kingpin of land sharks in Bangalore. If you look at the criticisms raised by him, it is always related to real estate in and around Bangalore. When S.M. Krishna was the CM (not that he was a saint), he did think progressively to a certain extent and established BATF(Bangalore Agenda Task Force). BATF, with great names like Dr.Ramesh Ramanathan, Nandan Nilekani among others, were in the process of making some changes in Bangalore. When the coalition government took over, one of the first tasks was to dismantle BATF. They scrapped paid parking which has not only added to the parking woes but increased vehicle thefts(Bangalore has the highest 2 wheeler thefts in the world). There are no roads in Bangalore, only skeletal remains of the roads. During the recent rains, the government did nothing, as expected, but no help came form the corporates too.I am too glad that focus is shifting to Chennai and other cities. It will help to decongest Bangalore.
Now back to our most admired leader, Narayan Murthy. The Infy campus in Mysore is breathtaking. Seeing is believing. But did Murthy displace poor farmers to acquire the land? Hush! Let's not talk about this.
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