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Is Laloo smarter than a fifth grader?
Do we deserve the leaders we have? I think yes.
We fret and fume about how corrupt our leaders are and at the same time get charmed by their antics, call them on game shows and ask them to give speeches in premier management institutes.
Yes, Lalu Prasad Yadav is the person I am talking of.
Lalu has been charged with multiple corruption cases, the most famous being the “Fodder scam”. In the Fodder Scam, the funds meant for cattle fodder were diverted from the animal husbandry department to Lalu’s personal coffers. The explanation that was given for the disappearing funds was that the chicken were eating more fodder than usual. And just how much more did the birds eat? Eah wing flapping creature was eating about INR 5000 worth of fodder a day. That’s more than what an American eats in a day (ok maybe not). From 1997 to 2001, he has been in jail five times. The case and many more like these are still pending in court.
Watching Lalu Prasad Yadav on Shah Rukh Khan’s rip off of “Are You smarter than a fifth grader” and going on to win INR 1 crore on the show, I looked at disbelief as the audience go wild, obviously amused and excited to see the guy show his antics. His answers drew numerous claps from the audience. Shah Rukh even went on to say there should be a “Lalu Encyclopedia”.
Lalu has been invited to speak of his revolutionary engineering of the financial turnaround of the Indian Railways at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. While the turnaround of the Indian Railways is admirable, truth of the matter is that at the heart of it, Lalu is a corrupt politician whose rule of Bihar has turned the state into a living hell. According to a study by Transparency International, Bihar has been rated as the most corrupt state in India. Corruption is a way of life in Bihar. The list of corrupt politicians would include Lalu himself, RJD MPs Mohd. Shahbuddin and Pappu Yadav, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, union minister of state for water resources and Lalu’s MP brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav amongst others. Between them they have siphoned off thousands of crores of rupees. The crime condition in the state is beyond all control.
Extolling such a person by laughing at his jokes is nothing but a mockery of the entire democratic process.
In the US, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has been grilled by the FBI and the IRS for a bribery case and has been has been indicted for making false statements about receiving gifts, primarily from prominent businessmen.
In India, irrespective of the cases against him, irrespective of the fact that he has been to jail on corruption charges on many an occasion, we invite him to game shows and IIMs. And India cheers on. What a shame.
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3 Responses to “Is Laloo smarter than a fifth grader?”
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Yes, it’s really weird. People who ideally don’t deserve respect are lauded. What Lalu has done with the Railways is great. But that doesn’t mean he gets a clean chit for his past.
Well written.
good one . indian politics is personality driven . nobody is bothered about the true worth and facts about people . we r easily bowled over by charm of our selfish leaders. nice to read something tht was on my mind too for long time