Forget who came by boat, worry on who came by vote
Published on November 30, 2008 at 14:55
Commodity OnlineMUMBAI : With Shivraj Patil out of home ministry, expect the head of some governors to roll out to accommodate him. At the end of the term of Pratibha Patil as Indian president and presuming that Congress is in power, Shivraj Patil is all set to be the next president of India.
But he, along with Vilasrao Deshmukh, are the political casualties of the Mumbai Terror Attack (MTA). Deshmukh, though have not yet resigned, is on the edge.
It is after a long time that a good news of a minister resigning taking moral responsibility is being heard. Since 2000, India has seen catastrophic events both manmade and natural and none took responsibility over what happened or shoddy relief or rescue.
But everyone could see the end of political career for Shivraj Patil. For a nation of 1 billion young and restless population, the 74 year old well combed, well dressed, well mannered home minister was not enough to handle situations like MTA.
At a time when terrorists were carrying out destruction with great impunity, a pro-active minister who could get the acts together was the key necessity and India lacked it.
Rumours are mongering over who the next home minister will be. P Chidambaram will be the most likely person to replace Patil. If that happens, expect some economic jargons in the home ministry. South Block and North Block may be poles apart in functioning but as nation watches in horror, healing touches can be expected in the next few days.
The natural response of villagers in times of drought and floods is to leave their crops and cattle to flee to cities. But ICRISAT in association with a woman's self help group in Andhra Pradesh demonstrates how information technology and involvement of farmers can help predict such natural calamities and deal with them 
