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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 10:20:16 am

Beacon Blues

India in general and Maharashtra in particular have long waged a rhetorical war against VIP culture. Yet every few months a small incident reminds the country that the old habits of privilege die slowly. The recent controversy over flashing lights on the official vehicle of Mumbai’s mayor, Ritu Tawde, offers another glimpse into the stubborn afterlife of political entitlement. Social media posts earlier this week showed red and blue flasher lights mounted on the bonnet of the mayor’s official...

Beacon Blues

India in general and Maharashtra in particular have long waged a rhetorical war against VIP culture. Yet every few months a small incident reminds the country that the old habits of privilege die slowly. The recent controversy over flashing lights on the official vehicle of Mumbai’s mayor, Ritu Tawde, offers another glimpse into the stubborn afterlife of political entitlement. Social media posts earlier this week showed red and blue flasher lights mounted on the bonnet of the mayor’s official vehicle and its escort car. The images quickly spread online, prompting activists and citizens to question why such lights had returned to the streets. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation soon stepped in, announcing that the lights had been removed and even the designation plaque on the vehicle covered. The explanation offered by the civic body was procedural in tone. Vehicles, it said, are allotted to office bearers by the administration once they assume office, and the lights were removed as soon as the issue came to public attention. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, defending the mayor, suggesting she was being unfairly targeted for something she had not personally authorised. Yet the controversy is revealing precisely because of its banality. Nearly a decade ago, the Union government took a clear decision to abolish the red beacon culture that had come to symbolise the distance between India’s rulers and its citizens. In 2017 the cabinet amended the Motor Vehicles Rules, banning the use of red beacons atop government vehicles except for emergency services. The reform was widely hailed at the time as a symbolic blow against a culture of entitlement. For decades the red beacon had functioned as a badge of power. Mounted on the roofs of ministerial cars, it parted traffic like a royal standard. Drivers were expected to yield, police to salute and citizens to step aside. In a democracy that prides itself on egalitarian ideals, the spectacle sat uneasily with the rhetoric of public service. The abolition of the beacon was meant to change that psychology. The reform had a theatrical flourish to it, but symbolism in politics often matters. Removing the red light was meant to remind officials that authority flows from the people, not from flashing bulbs on government vehicles. When a mayor’s car is seen sporting the very symbols the law sought to abolish, it suggests that the instinct to mark status visibly still lingers within the machinery of governance. India’s struggle against VIP culture has always been about more than traffic privileges. From airport queues to police escorts, public life still carries traces of an older hierarchy in which the powerful glide past rules that bind everyone else. The removal of a few lights on a municipal vehicle will not transform that culture overnight. Yet the episode is a reminder that vigilance matters. Laws abolishing symbols of privilege are only the first step; ensuring that officials internalise their meaning is a longer battle.

Maharashtra’s COVID-19 Scam: Will Justice Be Served?

Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar orders a probe in Beed—Will he dare to unearth the multi-thousand crore scam buried statewide?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, corruption in Maharashtra’s public health department spread like the virus itself. Media reports had exposed a massive scam worth hundreds of crores, backed by undeniable evidence. An investigation followed, and audits confirmed the irregularities. However, powerful politicians and bureaucrats allegedly conspired to bury the scam, ensuring no real action was taken.


Now, Beed MLA Namita Mundada has raised the issue in the state legislature, putting the government on the defensive. In response, Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar has ordered the immediate suspension of the district civil surgeon under suspicion. He has also announced an inquiry into the delays in previous investigations and subsequent actions.


Abitkar, who is also the guardian minister of Kolhapur, faces a crucial test. His district witnessed a ₹110 crore scam related to the purchasing of medicines and surgical equipment during the pandemic. Will he take bold steps to initiate action in Kolhapur as well? More importantly, will he limit the probe to Beed, or will he expand it to uncover the widespread corruption across Maharashtra?


Multi-Thousand Crore Scam—Buried and Forgotten?

While citizens were gripped with fear during the pandemic, some ministers' close aides, administrative officials, and supplier companies allegedly looted Maharashtra. The scam, estimated to be worth thousands of crores, involved the procurement of medicines and medical equipment at highly inflated rates—sometimes 2 to 10 times their market price.


Media houses relentlessly pursued the story. In Kolhapur, then-District Collector, Daulat Desai had refused to clear the suppliers' bills after noticing irregularities. However, the corrupt network ensured his transfer. Meanwhile, a senior officer suspected of involvement was given a grand farewell by ministers, complete with garlands, despite allegations against him.


A petition regarding the scam is currently being heard in the Bombay High Court. The court has already pulled up the government for its mismanagement, yet not a single clerk has been suspended so far. A pharmacist from the Zilla Parishad reported that 75 crucial files related to the scam had mysteriously gone missing—yet no probe was initiated. On the contrary, several officials suspected of corruption were rewarded with promotions.


Will the Government Take Firm Action?

Now that Beed MLA Namita Mundada has reignited the issue, will real action follow? Notably, this scam occurred during the tenure of the then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. At that time, current CM Devendra Fadnavis was the leader of the opposition and had vocally raised this issue in the legislature. However, since then, Maharashtra has seen two different governments, with Fadnavis serving first as deputy CM and now as CM once again.


With Fadnavis now in power, Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar has a golden opportunity to take credit for a full-fledged investigation. If those who looted Maharashtra during the pandemic are sent behind bars, Kolhapur’s people might just celebrate by taking out a grand procession in Abitkar’shonour!


Beyond COVID-19—A Deeper Health Department Cleanup Needed

While the COVID-19 scam is shocking, the corruption in Maharashtra’s public health department extends far beyond it. Over the past four years, questionable purchases, unnecessary procurements, and expired medicines have plagued the system.


Currently, Kolhapur holds key portfolios in the state's health administration—Prakash Abitkar heads the Public Health Ministry, while Hasan Mushrif from Kagal represents the Medical Education Department. Interestingly, just like in the health department, a similar multi-thousand crore procurement scam allegedly took place in the medical education sector.


If Mushrif follows Abitkar’s lead and orders a fair investigation, Maharashtra’s health sector might finally start recovering from the disease of corruption.


(The author is a senior journalist based in Kolhapur. Views personal.)

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