Why Chouhan needs to travel by road?

MP CM thinks roads in his State are better than US

NK SINGH

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan believes that roads in Madhya Pradesh are better than US. His statement is not a case of political rhetoric. The man who has ruled MP for 12 years seems to sincerely believe that. After declaring in Washington DC that roads in MP are better than US, he saw people at the meeting smiling. He grinned, "I am not saying it just for the sake of it” and went on to explain how his government had constructed 1.75 lakh km of roads in the State.

His Bhakts also believe that MP roads are superior to US. As the CM’s statement triggered an avalanche of jibes on Twitter, his party and Government rose in spirited defence. A spokesman of MP BJP released a series to photographs to prove that roads in MP are indeed better. The state Government too released photographs to counter the ridicule. It contrasted the State's swanky looking roads with potholed roads in New York and Los Angeles.

Chouhan remained unperturbed by the fact that his comment had made him a butt of jokes on social media. A couple of days after people started trolling him, he reiterated that roads in his State are indeed better than American roads. “Some of the roads in MP are world class. Indore roads are better than roads in Washington,” he said, adding, “I have come here for marketing (MP), I shall do that.” He was on one of his frequent trips abroad to attract investment in MP.

Absolute power not only corrupts, it also blinds, particularly when rulers choose to remain surrounded by sycophants. It guarantees total insulation from reality.

Chouhan is simply not in a position to know the ground reality about roads in his State. He rarely travels by road. So much so that if he travels by road or rail, an unusual event, it evokes headlines in newspapers. He travels by road only if bad weather prevents air journey. He prefers to fly even if he has to visit Vidisha, an hour’s drive from Bhopal.

MP Government owns a fleet of one aeroplane and three helicopters. It is in the process of hiring a second jet. A team of more than 50 persons is employed to look after this fleet. In addition, it keeps frequently hiring aircrafts and choppers. The Government spends, on an average, Rs 9.70 lakh a day so that our rulers can travel in comfort.

Are our roads indeed better than US? The following do not seem to believe so. None of them are Chouhan’s critic or political opponents or irresponsible trolls:

• Kusum Singh Mehdele, a senior member of Chouhan cabinet, tweeted to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and PM Narendra Modi, tagging along BJP, highlighting the poor condition of roads in MP: “Satna to Panna, Panna to Chhatarpur, Rewa to Satna highways in bad shape. Road from Khajurao to Lavkushnagar not motorable. Please order to repair it soon.”

• Yashodhara Raje Scindia, another member of Shivraj cabinet, has been complaining about bad roads in her constituency. When a constituent complained to her about poor roads, she tweeted back last month: “This is the responsibility of NHAI and GOI. I have complained to them several times. Will complain again.”

• In the State capital, Bhopal, the roads are in such bad shape that BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma started filling up potholes in his constituency with stones and mud in full media glare a few months ago.

• After a punishing, nerve-racking  77 km drive from Bhopal to Hoshangabad earlier this year, veteran actor Rishi Kapoor appealed to Chouhan to improve the “terrible” road conditions in MP. Earlier, two other celebrities, BJP MP Hema Malini and Bollywood star Raveena Tandon had publicly complained about MP’s bumpy roads.

• Not long ago Additional Chief Secretary Radheshyam Julania said at an official meeting that he could not visit his mother as often as he wished to because the 130 km trip from Bhopal to Rajgarh took four hours due to poor road condition.

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said at a function six months ago that he was “ashamed” of the delays in road infrastructure in MP.

• And, finally, this is what MP High Court commented last year: “Many of the national highways in the State are in such condition that driving and motoring on them, particularly after the monsoon season, becomes impossible.”

Road infrastructure had totally crumbled during Congress regime 15 years ago. Digvijay Singh ignored development for social engineering. Voters responded by throwing him out of power. Starting from zero, BJP government did a wonderful job of restoring the infrastructure initially. But now most roads are in such pathetic condition that it has started reminding people of Digvijay Raj. Not a very palatable  thought.

Powers That Be, my column in DB Post of 30 Oct 2017

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