Kollam temple fire tragedy is not a circus, Modi
The circus has begun. And it's getting bigger.
Barely hours after the first reports of the massive tragedy at the Puttingal Devi temple in Kerala's Kollam district emerged, we have politicians of all hues "rushing" to the site.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "on his way". BJP president Amit Shah has "reached" and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi "will come".
Why are they all making a beeline for the temple?
For heaven's sake, how is a Narendra Modi, or an Amit Shah, or a Rahul Gandhi going to help?
The bodies of victims are still lying strewn around the site and politicians have started to address the media already. They are playing to the galleries, egged on and encouraged by hundreds of television channels, all of them vying for TRPs.
 |
| The bodies of victims are still lying strewn around the site and politicians have started to address the media already. |
Has anyone realised how the presence of SPG-protected VVIPs and individuals having so-called "Z" category security will hinder relief and rescue? They are visiting the accident site, hospitals, and meeting the victims' families, doing all that they can to get themselves in the picture.
After all, it's election season and everyone wants to make a killing by being in the picture.
The politics has started; the blame game will begin soon. Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy and the Congress government will be blamed for the huge loss of life, and the BJP will be hoping that will swing votes in its favour in the upcoming elections in the state.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, specialists, experts, the Navy and Air Force being pressed into duty is all right and the natural response that any nation would resort to, but there is no need for the prime minister, the BJP chief and the Congress vice president to be at the site, at least not now.
A week from now, and we would have forgotten about the accident and the loss of life. But, in the run-up to the elections, the politicians are hoping to tom-tom "god's will" and throw barbs at one another.
What have we as a nation come to?
It is shameful and sad.