Saturday, October 21, 2006

Letter to Editor (TOI) 15.09.04: Jayakar Jerome deserves better!

Dear Sir, I am anguished at the most humiliating and shabby manner in which an outstanding and competent civil servant such as Jayakar Jerome has been transferred out. In one stroke the Government and the political parties have sent out a clear signal to bureaucrats that merit and performance does not count. What is important is how much you accomodate your political masters and how you co-operate with them to further their political ambitions. What is even more amazing is the fact that Jayakar Jerome was the star of the previous Congress government which is a coalition partner of the present government and not a single Congressman has raised a voice of dissent against this. Which proves that politicians of all hues and shades just will not tolerate anyone who threatens to upset their patronage and corrupt ways. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Mr. Jerome enjoyed the unstinted support of Mr. Krishna alone and was not someone who was liked by the rest of the Congressmen in the state. Isn't the sterling perfomance put up by the BDA over the last 4 years not proof of Mr.Jerome's honesty, integrity and capability? From an organisation which was synonymous with corruption and which typified all that was wrong with government organisations in this country, Mr. Jerome turned it into one of the finest and most accountable organisations, so much so that its credit rating is higher than the Government to which it belongs!Is this the way he is rewarded for his efforts? Does coming to power over a fractured mandate means undoing whatever good was done by the previous dispensation? If the present government is serious about developing the villages and the rest of Karnataka it should seize the opportunity and appoint more officers such as Jayakar Jerome to key posts so that they carry on the good work going on in Bangalore while they can devote their attention to fulfilling their election manifestos. But our politicians will not do that because it is here in Bangalore that money and power resides and not in Gulbarga or Mangalore and they can't have someone who is a thorn in their flesh. It is time we the people got together and persuaded the Government to reinstate Jayakar Jerome as BDA Commissioner so that the BDA completes all the work entrusted to it by the Krishna administration and takes Bangalore to new heights. Bangalore is not Mr. Deve Gowda's personal fiefdom for him to run it as per his whims and fancies. Politicians are given a mandate to perform for the good of the city, state or country and not to settle personal scores and vendettas. Mr. Jerome deserves better than this! If Mr. Krishna can raise above his 'political' self and risk sticking his neck out for the city he loves so much he should speak with Sonia Gandhi and ask her to crack the whip in Karnataka. I mean doesn't the Congress party have any self-respect left?

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