The South Goa Member of Parliament Francisco Sardinha is sticking to his guns even in the face of strident criticism from all quarters. The issue concerns his refusal to hand over a bike to a differently-abled beneficiary who arrived late for the function (the beneficiary will get the promised bike at a later date). The MP maintains that "A beneficiary , even if he is differently-abled must learn to come on time".
I feel that while discipline is desirable there could always be some extenuating factors that may have delayed the differently-abled beneficiary. We need to be sympathetic in such cases. Be that as it may, I think discipline is good and must flow from the top. For starters, politicians must be punctual and arrive on time for all functions. They are not 'special' in any way. In case they are late, organizers of the function will be well within their rights to refuse entry to such dignitaries. But will the honourable dignitaries take kindly to this? No, never. Then why penalize a differently-abled person for a minor lapse?
