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Journalism of Courage
Had we not reported this, we would have thought this is out of a movie script. A Bond villain, perhaps, who lives in a subterranean cave and reckons he can change the world. Or, to make allowances for inventive Bollywood script writers, a version of Mogambo, a villain who ordered his minions to do the impossible under the firm belief that if he thinks it is possible, it must be so. But the thing is, we have reported it — our story on Friday that Kerala’s Marxist government has decided to outbid a private company in buying fruit and vegetables from farmers. Reliance is offering two to three times the local rates for produce, a procurement policy based on cutting out middlemen and guaranteeing quality supply for its retail chain. In the real world, governments would be relieved, even if they didn’t admit it. Farmers are getting good rates, and commitments on the public purse vis-a-vis welfare spending on debt-ridden farmers are reduced. But the real world, as we all know, is boring.
The world of Kerala’s Marxists, in contrast, is full of exciting battles — sometimes the windmill they take on is a soft drink MNC, sometimes it is the fiscal responsibility law, sometimes it is ‘low’ VAT rates on ‘luxuries’ (liable to be defined as anything beyond bare necessities) and sometimes it is an Indian private company. Notice the sheer consistency of action, just as we see in bunker-dwelling Bond villains or in Mogambo. Always but always Kerala’s Marxists attack a company, a proposition, a plan that makes perfect sense in the boring real world. And equally consistently, their alternatives leave real world inhabitants breathless.
Thus it is that Kerala’s Marxists have made plans to build a publicly funded Wal-Mart. Reliance, and other private players who dare to enter the retail business in Kerala, will be countered by official procurement and sarkari super markets. State-of-the-art, world class super markets will be set up by us, ministers say. We say don’t stop there. What about a Kerala cola, for example? Or a Kerala fiscal irresponsibility law? Entertain us, comrades. But do let us know if you ever want to come back to the real world.
