Right policies only can lead country to progress

It is time people in India stop thinking in terms of caste, religion and community and broaden their mindset and become progressive in outlook. This will happen only when a new breed of young politicians enters into the political arena.

New breed does not mean the kith and kin of the present day politicians. We have seen how they too follow the footsteps of their fathers and how they have failed in providing good governance. The county needs a new genre of politicians who believe that the nation can progress if it gives top priority to agriculture which happens to be the main occupation of about 65% of the population followed by industry.

The agriculture sector contributes to about 25 percent of the country's GDP if not more. Thanks to the defective planning and policies and improper implementation as showering freebies to win elections, the political leaders - young or old - are ruining, nay, have ruined the country.

Dr Harold Damerow, a professor of history, says that government is 'responsible primarily for making public policy for an entire society.' He also mentions that government is 'the steering mechanism for a given society.'

It forms the policies that keep a particular society heading in the right direction. But the political parties, after coming to power, seem to be driving the country like untrained drivers. The country would progress at a fast pace if the government can concentrate on policies rather than play with regional feelings or religious sentiments.

For example, Andhra Pradesh is now witnessing a kind of card game on the issue of capital city. The government in Andhra Pradesh is determined to rule from Visakhapatnam and is making all kinds of political manoeuvrings by coming with new nomenclatures like executive capital, judicial capital and legislative capital.

But the big question remains: What would be answer if an investor asks which is your capital? Can one say that the port city is the State capital?

Maharashtra is getting embroiled into an uncalled for controversy pertaining the Janmasthal and Karmasthal of Shirdi Saibaba. There is nothing wrong if the government had simply announced that they were allocating Rs 100 crore for the development of Saibaba Temple in Pathri of Parbhani district of Maharashtra. But the minute he certified that it is the Janmasthal of Saibaba, it became a controversial issue.

People too should understand that they are overreacting to the issue. For decades, Shirdi has been known as the place where Saibaba lived and there is documentary evidence for it.

People have been visiting in large numbers and today Shirdi has become a major pilgrimage centre. Just because the government brought in a new element, the importance of Shirdi cannot be reduced. But they are egged by a section of politicians to oppose the governments move.

This results in the Chief Minister taking it as prestige issue and trying to enforce the decision they had announced come what may and the situation becomes more and more complicated and all kinds of elements tend to get into it.

Unless the politicians in power stop playing this kind of games, country will not progress and cannot compete globally and move forward.