Questions are many, but who will ask is the main question!

Shouldn't we question the government for not paying compensation for doctors who died treating corona patients. Why were certain corporate and private hospitals allowed to fleece patients? Or where is the accountability in delivering affordable houses? Questions are many, but where are the people to ask them

CHILDREN tend to ask lots of questions. Don't we hear many young parents proudly saying 'my child is the greatest… asks so many questions!' As children, we too must have asked many questions, but as we grow up, we seem to have forgotten the art and science of 5Ws and 1H. Picking up from where I left in my last column, I strongly feel that it is time we started asking questions again about life around us. Isn't it better to ask today rather than waiting for our children to ask us tomorrow – where were you when the lights went out!

Unlike in 1975 when Indira Gandhi imposed dictatorship on a democratic India, today the society is much more open and we have many more communication tools to raise questions. For that matter, youngsters do ask us: what was the emergency and where were you then!

We too were young and studying journalism and learning about freedom of expression when the Constitution of India was suspended. We were told that the government had all the rights to do so when the nation was threatened with dangers internally and externally. During war times, the government would declare an external emergency and this was the first (and hopefully the last) time that we had an internal emergency. Learning journalism during the emergency was a challenge in itself. The biggest joke was we learnt about the Fundamental Rights without being able to exercise them.

After my internship with a couple of small newspapers at Hyderabad, I got into full-fledged journalism in Mumbai in February 1977, beginning with the great media institution Free Press Journal (FPJ) which by then had already produced most of the journalists writing elsewhere. The pent-up anger suddenly blew up as Indira Gandhi called for general elections and we started asking all questions. More than 'why', the questions were about 'what' the Indira government did during the Emergency.

To cut the long story short, the aftermath of what happened in the post-Emergency government just fizzled out thanks to the weak ruling party coalition and a strong Opposition led by Indira Gandhi herself. Then came the era of political instability. Even the strongest Rajiv Gandhi government with 411 out of 542 seats could not withstand the repeated questions from the Opposition on various scams.

History repeats. The mighty GOP (grand old party) Congress has begun to fade out from bad to worse since 2014. Now, the question that arises is where are the questions. Are those who are asking questions serious? Do they enjoy credibility? More than anything else, are these questions credible? Is there a serious follow-up on their questions or they are just throwing darts in the air?

While we question the ruling party, we should also ask the Opposition as to what they are doing.

Social media platforms have just become free-for-all. Or at best an extension of video games. It is about time that the unguided missiles are fine tuned to be pointed, well targeted rockets.

If the Prime Minister says the Congress and other opposition parties were responsible for spreading Corona by encouraging migrant labour to leave big cities, shouldn't the Opposition ask as to who arranged for the Shramik Special trains? Or just show the Lok Sabha question-and-answer to the government?

To the question number 415, by Girish Bhalchandra Bapat and Ritesh Pandey, Railway Minister Piyush Goel himself said that "Shramik Specials which were operated between May 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020 carried 63.19 lakh passengers to their home States".

Goel said Railways have collected fare for Shramik Special trains from State Governments or their authorised representatives. Railways did not collect any fare directly from the passengers. Fare collected from State Governments or from the representatives of State Governments for running of Shramik Special trains for period May 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020 is approximately Rs 433 crore.

The fact that the Opposition is not serious about how their behaviour makes the ruling party take decisions as it wishes. This is not a good sign for democracy and overall social welfare.

I have no contention with any group or individuals – media persons included – supporting the government. In fact, they should support all good things the government does. But at the same time, they should also raise questions about their unfulfilled promises and gaps in implementation.

To take another case, shouldn't we question the government for not paying compensation for doctors who died treating corona patients. Why were certain corporate and private hospitals allowed to fleece patients? Or where is the accountability in delivering affordable houses? Questions are many, but where are the people to ask them!

This brings me back to the Preamble of The Constitution. Let us call for having the replicas at prominent places and government offices. Anyone entering or exiting the government offices – from panchayats and police stations to the Prime Minister's Office – should be reminded of the basic tenets of our social fabric – the best count called the basic structure of the Constitution.

It is time now for this generation to stand up and question. Earlier generations have silently suffered the lies and breach of promises by the leaders. Even if they did not deviate from the right path, they might have turned to the other side when injustices were perpetuated.

There is a general tendency to ask the government employees about accountability. What about similar responsibility on part of the MPs and MLAs who get paid salaries, fat allowances and even pensions from the taxpayers' money?

Rise India, rise! Or as the government itself says, Jaago Grahak, Jaago! You are the consumer for the government since you consume everything, including the information.

(The author is a Mumbai-based media veteran. He is known for his thought-provoking communication)