In the run-up to the first phase of elections, H R Venkatesh spoke to two Bangaloreans - one who chose to return from Canada and a former DGP of Gujarat who divides his time between Bangalore and the US. They talked about Bangalore's biggest problems and on whether reservation for Kannadigas in IT companies is a good idea.
H R Venkatesh: Hello and welcome to the News Junkie Podcast. We are in Bangalore getting in views from different Bangaloreans in the run-up to the first phase of elections in Karnataka, slated for the 10th of May. I have with me two interesting people - one is a senior citizen and one who has just finished studies and started working in Bangalore...Mr Ramchandran, former DGP of Gujarat he doesn’t live in Bangalore anymore. Thanks very much for coming on the show.
G Ramachandran: Nice being here with you, all my children are abroad, I lost my wife five years back. I have the best of both the worlds, I migrate to the states in summer and then I escape the winter there and spend five months here!
H R Venkatesh: And I also have Arjun Rao who did his Masters' in Canada and instead of taking up a job there, chose to come back to Bangalore, Arjun thanks very much for joining me.
Arjun Rao: Hi, it is nice to be here, I chose to come back because I am a Bangalorean at heart though I liked living in Canada. I always wanted to settle down in Bangalorean and was able to find a good job, so I am really happy to be here.
H R Venkatesh: Alright. Elections all over the place really but is it really something you think about Mr Ramachandran?
G Ramachandran: Yeah I do because we have been 6 months without a popular government. We don't know what the policy of the government is because there is no representative government. There is no responsibility, no accountability, corruption is flourishing all over the place and people voices are not heard and the democratic process is suffering. I mean Governor's rule, the governor is not the elected representative of the people. We must have representation, we must have to respond to the anxieties of the people, people who understand the needs of the people, anxieties of the people, their future, their budgeting priorities to be fixed...this is possible only in the popular form of government.
H R Venkatesh: Okay, Arjun you have come back after two and a half-three years. It must have been a bit of a shock looking at Bangalore? I am asking this because infrastructure is probably one of Bangalore's biggest problems.
Arjun Rao: Yeah way back in '97 it was still a small town and then we had the whole software explosion and just before I left it was expanding, but three years down the line it's really grown out of proportion since I've been back. I do ride a two wheeler I can definitely say that we have lot of issues about infrastructure.
H R Venkatesh: If there was one thing you would like to change about Bangalore what would it be?
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G Ramachandran: Better traffic management, better discipline, less corruption, more breathing space, less pollution...
H R Venkatesh: and the list goes on and on. What about you Arjun?
Arjun Rao: I would definitely say traffic control is number one on my list especially at peak hours. It’s difficult to navigate through Bangalore. Also like to say that we have lots of problems with the sewage system and when we have even a small amount of rain we've a lot of flooding in low-lying areas. So I think these two issues should and can be fixed quite fast.
H R Venkatesh: As part of this Podcast we've been getting views from different Bangaloreans. As I said, you are both Kannadigas, so I wanted to ask you one question that seems to be top of mind everywhere...the number of immigrants coming into Bangalore, there are organisations asking for reservations for Kannadigas in jobs in the IT sector, do u have any views on this? Arjun I will start with you.
Arjun Rao: No I really don’t have any opinion on it as of now, so it is something I would like to read up a bit on.
H R Venkatesh: Mr Ramachandran?
G Ramachandran: I am a person totally against any kind of reservation based on language, or things like that but I agree that for lower types of jobs which require only minor mechanical skills, routine skills, it is obvious that local people should be employed. But where higher technical skill are employed I think a big churning up of the population is the way to go ahead. America is so prosperous because it is the immigrants who have brought prosperity to America, it is the talented people wherever they are.
In fact I would go a step further and say that if real talent could be tapped from abroad they should also be brought here and because of them fertilization takes place, pollination takes place in a community which is open and fresh ideas flow into the community when others come and put the proper seeds and then make it grow. No point in being insular and trying to avoid foreign ideas and outside ideas to come in. The way to progress is by opening up the society as much as possible.
H R Venkatesh: One final question we have had in the last four years a series of governments coming and going so would you say that you are hoping that whoever wins this time, it is a government which can form a majority on its own?
G Ramachandran: It looks at the moment that it is going to be a sticky verdict where you know there will be lots of horse trading going on....unless there is a government of absolute majority in place, it will be an unstable government.
When there is instability the temptation is great because like last time we had an experience of making a promise. That 6 months you rule, 6 months somebody else rules - these are not healthy signs of a democratic way of government. It is just power hunger that makes them accept such compromises. This is not the way to compromise and rule the country.
H R Venkatesh: And you Arjun?
Arjun Rao: Yeah I came in quite recently but I have seen this changing of coalition government and without a stable government, we are not going to get much done. So I am all for stability at the centre.
H R Venkatesh: Thanks both of you for coming in.
G Ramachandran: Nice being with you
Arjun Rao: Thank you.
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