A few days ago, when Aviation Minister Ashok Ganapathi Raju spoke of the "lagging" commitment of the staff employed with India's national carrier Air India, little did he expect to be put in place by one of his targets of criticism.
A senior pilot employed with the airline has retaliated at the flippant remark in a strongly-worded letter to the minister. In a missive titled "Lagging in Inspiration, Not Commitment", Subhashish Majumdar minced no words to point out that the raucous behaviour of parliamentarians in the recently concluded Winter Session proved "that our politicians are 'still lagging well behind in their commitment' to the nation".
Asking the minister to lead by example, Majumdar went on to make some pertinent observations about the functioning of democracy in India. "I have no doubt in my mind that any Air India employee conducting themselves in the same manner as our parliamentarians would have been instantly reprimanded, if not sacked, by your government," he said.
Not only were 92 working hours wasted in the Lok Sabha due to frequent disruptions by the members, "it was observed that prohibition on rules on slogan shouting, displaying posters and obstructing proceedings were blatantly flouted," Majumdar wrote.
While Air India has denied any knowledge of such a letter and distanced itself from the pilot's opinion, his views must resonate with every "honest taxpayer" and "patriotic citizen", words Majumdar used to describe himself.
Hopefully, the aviation minister and his political colleagues are making some serious resolutions for the New Year.
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