There has been a trend of those in the BJP to ape and emulate their 'supreme' leader Narendra Modi. FM Nirmala Sitharaman is also walking that well-trodden path. This year she presented a budget that was neither here nor there with cuts in outlay for agriculture and health sector at a time when the pandemic has brought out the gaps in our health infrastructure. Consistent with aping Modi, she has presented a Budget for the next 25 years to coincide with Centenary of India's Independence. Not only that she has said while defending the Budget - If there is no vision for India at 100, the country will suffer in the same way it has been suffering for last 70 years under Congress regime. She is not over 70 years old, so obviously she is talking from personal experience. Despite all that suffering she has reached the position she is holding now after completing her education and raising a family. Therefore if one considers that she has done well, one wonders where the suffering has been. Her sources for the claim to suffering seem to be therefore obviously wrong since in India we have seen all-round development in all spheres of activity and life is a lot easier than what it was in the 50s. Sitharaman seems to be a whiner who always looks for the negative in everything. Time to change Nirmala. Do not follow your ‘great leader’ since like the Pied Piper he will lead you to jump off the cliff as he sidesteps to save himself at the last minute.
S Kamat, Alto Santa Cruz
