E-Paper
Fight of fancy
Playing hardball can take on various forms. The Left?s preferred version happens to be the one that?s wrapped in a fervent demand for social justice.
Playing hardball can take on various forms. The Left’s preferred version happens to be the one that’s wrapped in a fervent demand for social justice. Not only does this serve the purpose of our communists doing something — anything — to remain in the spotlight, but it also makes them come across as a righteous lot doing their bit to save the ‘unprotected masses’ from the onslaught of State aggression. The latest proletarian show is the agitation unleashed by airport employees, backed by Left parties, against the Delhi and Mumbai airport modernisation programme launched by the central government. The Left has already started displaying its usual calisthenics by insisting that it is not against modernisation but against the project going into private hands. Considering that the Airports Authority of India’s track record is there for all to see, this is nothing short of being a dog in the manger.
The agitation — that the protestors insist is not a ‘strike’ but a ‘stop-work without a time limit’, the difference being too subtle for the rest of us to figure out — has already made Indians think twice about air travel in this country. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has clearly stated that there is no fear of en masse retrenchment. According to the terms of the contract, all AAI employees in Delhi and Mumbai will be on “compulsory three-year deputation” to the two private companies, after which at least 60 per cent of the workforce will be absorbed. This is not something that has been chalked out in a shadowy boardroom, but an issue that’s out in the open. So what is the reason for the Left’s heavy-duty arm-flailing? The only answer we can think of is that, once again, it is playing to the gallery.
Used to a work culture that considers productivity and efficiency to be mere digressions — if not downright obstacles — the Left has held a whole nation to ransom. It is creditable that Mr Patel has stated he will continue to try to bring around the agitators and convince them that the government has no nefarious plans up its sleeves. But he must also be prepared to take stern action if things get out of hand. A strike of this nature in a sector that is bursting to expand is not a matter to be taken lightly. The Civil Aviation Ministry alone cannot handle such an eventuality. If need be, the prime minister and the entire government should step in and take action. India can’t be held hostage to the whims of 22,000 AAI employees; a nation needs to be served. Surely, this is something that the Left can understand.
