Please forgive me..

I love politicians. I just love them. More so, the politicians from Maharashtra although the thinking men from UP and Bihar are always in the fray, giving a neck-to-neck fight to Maharashtra guys for the top spot. This morning a news item in the newspaper captured my attention. Maharashtra government is contemplating the idea of putting a huge Shivaji statue in the middle of the sea. The whole drama will cost the exchequer a cool 100 crores. I want to meet the consultant of this government. I mean, I just want to know the brain behind such ideas.

This is nothing new from this government. One fine day, one Mr. R R Patil woke up from his sleep and decided to ban the dance bars and actually did it. Poor girls are still finding it difficult to cope with the situation. Then came the July flood and the poor polythene was made to suffer this time. Reason? As given by the CM of the state, polythene blocked sewer and hence prevented the water outflow. Consequently, the polythene was banned. Poor ‘P’, it cannot even appeal in any court like the bar girls! Between these, there was a suggestion from none other than the environment minister of the state to sell the open available spaces, like mahalaxmi racecourse, in the city’s heart to pay heavy debt of Maharashtra. As if the existing concrete jungle is not enough for him.

Now comes Shivaji. No offence intended but I fail to understand what is he supposed to do in the middle of the sea. In Mumbai, we already have Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Chatrapati Shivaji Park, Chatrapati Shivaji stadium, Chatrapati Shivaji Airport, Chatrapati Shivaji Vaastu Sangrahlaya and what not. The only man, living or dead, ahead of Shivaji is Mr. Ambedker (again, no offence intended) we can see the total collection of Ambedkar’s in Uttar Pradesh. He was in full vogue when Mayawati was chief minister there but still you can find places named after Ambedker right from schools to parks, colleges to bus stands, streets to stations and infact an entire district is named after him there in the form of Ambedker Nagar!

I don’t know when the day will come when these politicians will realize that there is more to do than naming a building and putting a statue! There are starving people dying of hunger, under nutritious children, uneducated population, non-existent health facilities, invisible roads and unemployed youth. When they will realize that for every 100 crores spent on a statue, there are millions of homeless people who are spending freezing nights under the open skies!

God! When they will realize that there are better ways to make Mumbai, next Shanghai, than putting Shivaji Maharaj in deep waters….