Let's Make an Example............

I don't know economics, and neither do I understand politics. Probably, some bit of commonsense and morality, I can understand with my limited intellect.

I was watching with amazement, the news of the Satyam imbroglio and its aftermath. I am sure Raju will probably go to jail. But my prescription is that the entire board, the PwC local brass, the SEBI Chief, and probably the BSE Chief should also go to jail. One may argue that some of the above may have nothing to do. Possibly, yes, but I have an argument. Raju is a businessman, and his primary job is to make money—he will go at any length to maximize his returns. That's where the regulators come in and they didn't do their job. They must pay for this. So must the board members. The biggest crime in this land is negligence and oversight. This is not to absolve Raju of the crime. He has cheated his stakeholders—he must be punished. What will probably come out is people at responsible positions will act out of fear of ending up in jails for gross negligence.

This is not the first time. After the terror strikes happened, there was a clamor for the CM's exit. "RR Patil must go." "Down with politicians." There were morchas, candlelight marches, Facebook groups, all saying the same thing—"The CM/ Dy CM must go." They went. Then what? Has the threat gone away to Latur and Sangli? No. I went about looking for people who are responsible for Mumbai's security—the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Police. Why didn't anybody ask for the head of the Naval Chief? The Coast Guard Chief? The Police Chief? My logic is simple—had these guys done their job of protecting the city, those 10 idiots wouldn't have held the city to ransom and killed 200 innocents! Even today, these 'Chiefs' are pretty secure in their seats! When I suggested this to someone, he said, "Why are you holding the chiefs responsible? They don't have enough weaponry and manpower, besides a host of other problems?" My point—Only when heads roll, will the new incumbents take up issues of inadequate staffing, archaic training, and rampant politicization. Maybe then, will we as citizens feel more secure!

Moot point—People at responsible positions must pay for their acts of negligence! They are as responsible for the crimes as much as the perpetrators! Raju, Deshmukh, and Patil must be punished, but they aren’t the only guys, if you want to stem the rot! They are soft targets, there are others in the system who need a kick on their softside!