Few days back there was a funny forward making rounds which mocked the first day of Nandan Nilekani in the parliament. It was written as a mock blog penned by Nilekani after his first day at Parliament. The blog described how Nilekani was amused when he was chided by Azahruddin for wearing a suit in the parliament while others wore the Indian kurta pyajama. Azahar then offered Nilekani the services of his Italian designer who designs his Indian attire for the parliament. This may be a mock anecdote but fits so perfectly with the pseudo austerity psyche of the ministers.
The recent call by Sonia Gandhi to Congress ministry for austerity highlights this point. Tharoor and SM Krishna have been asked to vacate their 5 star accommodation to move to more humble dwellings. Tharoor immediately tweets that the money he spends is from his own pocket. As a Gen Y Indian I don't find anything wrong if Tharoor or anyone lives royally at their own expense. But what I hate is the show of austerity our netas display even when in reality they follow a immodest lifestyle. It demonstrates hypocrisy at its height. Also, lets not kid ourselves when they say that its their own wealth. We all know how their 'own' wealth is created.
The call to austerity is praiseworthy but I hope it encourages the ministers to change their way of living rather than treat it as a branding exercise.
A modest lifestyle looks real when ministers like Pranab Mukherjee and our PM Manmohan Singh follow it but looks like a publicity stunt when most of the others use it as a tool to enhance their public image. Just like ministers wearing khadi makes no sense to me. As long as they conduct their duties, I don't care if they wear a tee shirt and shorts in the Parliament. Its cheaper too!! Any takers for that??
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