It is unfortunate that most in the state today still choose not to recognize the crisis at hand. And what crisis can be greater than governmental bankruptcy. There is not enough money with the government to pay even monthly salaries in time. When these are paid, it is with borrowed money, loading the debt burden on the state. As an IFP report calculated last week, the debt burden on every newborn in the state today is in excess of Rs 5000 and the figure is on the increase. And yet, nobody 'still seems to realize the true gravity of the situation. Nobody is prepared to meet the crisis at hand as it should be met. Nobody still wants to give; everybody is interested in taking only. We refer in particular to the storm in the shape of a strike by government employees that is building up. A headlong clash between the government and the employees will be in nobody's interest, particularly in consideration of the fact that there is absolutely nothing the government can do to concede to the demands of the employees. Such a clash can hence only generate heat and no light.
However, while it is true that the government is hard up like never before, and that there is no immediate hope of it overcoming its bankruptcy, there is a point to note in one of the allegations of the striking employees. The widely held belief is that it is only the lower rung employees of the government who have been asked to bear the burden of the government's austerity measures. Whether it is cuts in allowances and other fringe benefits, or retrenchment of excess and redundant posts in the government, the top rungs have been spared, or else only marginally touched. As believers in the need to take drastic and tough measures, even if it means sacrificing short term comfort and popularity while there is still time, so as to set the state back on the rails to the future, we cannot find any convincing argument that the austerity measures being undertaken by the government are unnecessary. We had said the same while the Radhabinod government was in charge of the state for those short three months. As a matter of fact, we had praised him for having the courage to attempt the onerous task of reversing the wrongs of many decades perpetuated by his predecessors. We did not have the opportunity to find out whether he was sincere in his declared convictions, or if the moves were mere gimmick, because his ministry could not handle the brand of politics the state has virtually put its patent on.
Let the government then come clear. The press has been receiving contradictory information on the nature of the austerity measures. Is it like the striking employees are saying and the tough measures are tough only on the lower level employees? Or, as many of those who are not part of the strike have explained, is everybody from the top to the bottom, sharing the burden of the harsh times proportionately? Why has the government not thought of publicizing the list of perks cut and from which category employees as yet? If it is totally open about its action plan and motives, there should not be any reason, or more relevant, excuses, for any employee to refuse to share the burden of the common predicament of the state. The government's move will then have the backing of the non government employee public as well.
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