More on Lok Paritran

to prasanna..there's no questioning the fact that they have guts. but it takes much more than guts to provide good governance! and again, it is true that other parties do not follow their ideologies in letter and spirit. but, that is no reason for not having one at all.

imagine lok paritran ten years down the line(assume for now that they survive 2 general elections). they will no longer be a novelty then. they will be no longer able to ask for votes claiming to be 'young' and 'enthued students'. what do you think will happen? the writing is on the wall - they will simply become one more political outfit, same as the innumerable parties that they now brand as corrupt.

verily, haven't most political parties (dmk, bjp, jana sangh) started with 'noble' intentions? haven't they all claimed to be 'different' at some point of time? the one thing that can set a party apart for all time is a strong ideological basis, neither a hi-funda education nor being young! since i have mentioned other parties, let me add that these parties had their roots in popular movements. before he formed the DMK, CN Annadurai was part of a prominent social organization, the Dravidar Kazhagam. moreover, he had spearheaded the anti-Hindi agitation. people knew his credentials and priorities when he entered politics. Sadly, that is not the case here. the founders of Lok Paritran drop out of nowhere and claim to be the torchbearers of resurgent India! shouldn't they make a mark first and then contest elections?

of course, now comes a matter of personal opinion. a lot of ppl seem to be 'investing' in lok paritran hoping that they will be 'different'. but, i would rather invest after making doubly sure that they will remain 'different'. and i humbly believe that I have been rational and unbiased in saying that.

to kiran..i don't know abt you, but i am contributing to my country(why, to all humanity) by doing productive work in my 'AC office'. and if you were a sincere software engr, i believe you should be making a sterling contribution to our economy too. and imho, these fellows could make a tremendous contribution by becoming good engineers, economists or whatever they were trained to become. you seem to think that one can contribute only by "giving up lucrative careers". these lucrative jobs have a much greater role in the scheme of things than an amateur political party.

i am not in anyway questioning their intentions! there is no doubt that they intend to do the best. I am not happy, however, with what they have come up with.

i don't ask them to stay away from elections. But before asking us to vote, i would like them to come up with a concrete political philosophy. atleast, they could take an explicit stand on important issues such as reservation or liberalization. if that is too much to ask, how about specific plans for each constituency? they do say that they will put the MLA fund to good use. but there's no mention of any specific priorities.

with all due respect, let me put forward a hypothetical situation - 4 arbit chaps from sinnathayi arts college at seevalaperi start a party called 'illumined india' and claim they will root out corruption. will you support them? if not, are they any different from lok paritran?

to deepak..Hard as you may find it to believe, I have great respect for IITs and IITians. Two vain attempts at cracking JEE have only increased my admiration and awe manifold. You have got it the other way round. I have met a number of extremely intelligent, cogent and capable fellows from the IITs. And therefore, I guess I have put them on a pedestal. It was with great expectations that I initially looked up to Lok Paritran. But their website and comments in the press were disappointing, to say the least. On top of that, my orkut scrapbook and mailbox are spammed by friends who are going gaga about this party without even visiting their website. Thence stems my anger. Make no mistake - I have not written this blog out of hatred/antagonism/jealousy towards IITians. This is simply my objective assessment.