They learn from each other in and out of power – some of these politicians. They pick up a style on how to bamboozle, how to bluff and baffle the public. Since a solid new efficient and competent way of administration is terribly in short supply, they make dazzling declarations day and night without caring enough whether those announcements materialised or not.

That is what our CM Keshubhai Patel seems to be doing these days. Perhaps he thought that his predecessors did the same thing and why not he too could adopt that method? Predecessor described his government as Tana Tan government (quick decisions). While he could at least over-rule his bureaucrats on many points and tried to implement his baffling declarations.

But Keshubhai seems to be too gullible to over-rule his smarter bureaucrats. He can hardly see through that bureaucrats learn faster and make the best out of the situation for themselves. They have lots and lots of cats in their bags and they don’t hesitate to bring out each one whenever the CM asked for it.

CM perhaps envisioned: Declare your ‘decisions’ right and left. People have proverbial tendency to forget. They will not remember what was declared yesterday and what is in store today. They will be taken in by all too loud and expensive advertisements. They will hail him as a hero, a great leader. That is perhaps the only way to remain in limelight, to boost up a non-performing regime.

Just see this: Each citizen will now be given Adhikar Patra (Rights card), says the CM.

Sorry, but what Adhikar? Does it include any Right to Information for citizens to combat corruption rampant in the departments? Does it mean a secure right to worship whatever God he or she would believe in? Idea of Adhikar Patra came after CM heard Human Rights Day’s clamor. But the first thing a common man in Gujarat would like to have a right for is enough clean drinking water, a disciplined civic rule, taking care of health and a school for his kid. Where have all these basic needs gone? Are they the part of your Adhikar? Can a citizen sue the government if he or she did not get it? No.

Secondly: It was announced that an Info-City or a Science City is coming up near Gandhinagar. It does not matter if the CM learnt the word from Chandrababu’s fantastic device to modernise Andhra Pradesh. It also does not matter if the CM himself was trying to transform his rural vocabulary and speak in computer jargon (like database, Internet, e-mail, etc). It is a welcome development. But where is the money for such a venture? Nothing much is heard after initial allotment of Rs 50 crores, which is just a peanut before such a huge 200-acre project…A minimum of Rs 500 to 1000 crores would be needed. There is no indication who among the domestic or foreign companies would buy such a bland idea?

Third: A new Non-Resident Gujarati Foundation has been formed by the CM. It has no autonomous or semi-autonomous character. It has been safely cuddled into that immovable general administration department, which is not able even to take care of its own job. The other day, some 140 Adivasi boys had gone on hungerstrike in Gandhinagar to demand fulfillment of an assurance to give them government jobs. It was under general administration’s charge. Files of hundreds of unemployed applicants have been tucked up there on their tables since ages. How such a department could handle a new Foundation in their hands?

Being an NRI myself for many years, I can vouch that NRIs are a smarter lot than you think. Inauguration function itself took away so much time, flowers, music and energy, with lots and lots of long long speeches, backpatting and garlanding each other…NRIs would easily be scared instead of being allured to Gujarat with their talent and dollars. It is time to learn something from other nation like China, which has successfully tapped their overseas Chinese.

Fourth: Do you remember the state government’s demand for at least Rs. 600 crores before the central government following the natural disasters at Kandla and Surat? What happened to it? Why does not the Centre give anything? People forget, CM knows.

Fifth: 36 self-financed institutions in Gujarat will get 5,700 new seats in engineering colleges of Gujarat from the centre, says an announcement. This is only a proposal. Gujarat sadly lacks technical training institutions at taluka and district level. Gujarat as such gets fewer seats than other states from centre’s human resource department.

Sixth: It has been announced off and on again that Pipavav would get gas from Tapti to build a 6,000 MW power plant. The Centre now says Gujarat would get such a gas only if ONGC had extra to spare!! Now it is announced that 2000 MW plant would be built at Pipavav using imported Naphtha. Pipavav and people of Saurashtra, meanwhile, wonder why there is neither gas nor Naphtha nor a single extra megawatt of power coming since a decade? Farmers wake up whole night to use few hours of power they are given at night only!!!

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