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Bragging rights (not) reserved
India’s political class loves to flaunt every little achievement, but the phenomenon is jarring if you take into consideration what needs to be achieved
A disclaimer: this piece is not about the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian National Congress or any other political party. Given how public opinion and its fora have been polarized of late, I believe this statement is absolutely necessary.
Today, if one were to traverse through Bengaluru’s Chinmaya Mission Hospital (or CMH) Road, in the bustling commercial hub of Indiranagar, two things will stand out: the pillars of Namma Metro that span along the median, and a tonne of publicity material.
You might ask, did someone reinvent the wheel? No. Did anyone devise an electric car that can pose competition to Elon Musk’s Tesla? Neither. An earth-shattering development, perhaps? Not at all. In fact, the material — flex-boards and banners — feature a litany of political leaders congratulating themselves for having initiated and executed the process of asphalting — yes, asphalting CMH Road.
For every 50 metres or so on the road, one will be greeted by these boards on either side, featuring visages of beaming politicians. The boards give out details of the project — budget, execution time, officials involved and photographs of the work in progress. When one is bombarded…
