The 11-member delegation also meets U.S. officials
A group of Indian MPs attended a crash course at Yale University in the U.S.
The six-day course under the India-Yale Parliamentary Leadership Programme, which was launched in 2007, focussed, among others, on global economic governance, counter-insurgency efforts in Afghanistan and political developments in the Middle East
The 11-member delegation, led by Baijayant “Jay” Panda of the BJD, took part in discussions with the university faculty on global economic governance, the U.S. economy, corruption in government, Iran’s nuclear programme and political and economic developments in China. The other topics discussed were political developments in the Arab world, the U.S. Presidential elections, the economic and political crises in the Eurozone and higher education in India. Furthermore, there were sessions on the challenges of leadership, strategy, negotiation and applied game theory.
After completing the course, which the university organised in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the India-US Forum of Parliamentarians, the MPs arrived here on Wednesday.
They met Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, the former U.S. Ambassador to India, Tim Roemer, and the former U.S. diplomat, John Negroponte.
“I see a dramatic” change in the mood in the U.S. against Pakistan, Mr. Panda, who is also chairman of the India-US Forum of Parliamentarians, said after the daylong meetings with government officials and think-tanks here. “In the U.S., there are lawmakers who are no longer willing to be as tolerant as the U.S. has been in the past.” Over the next two days, the delegation will meet lawmakers and hold meetings at the Pentagon and the White House.
Mr. Burns, a State Department spokesperson said, underscored the importance of the U.S.-India relations and discussed the successful outcome of the recent Strategic Dialogue. “He reiterated the continuing and growing importance of India-U.S. relations,” Mr. Panda said.
‘Reforms needed for creating jobs’
At the meetings with U.S. officials, “there were concerns in many ways that the reform process in India has… slowed down a lot,” said Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool Congress. Speaking in his “personal capacity,” Mr. Trivedi noted that India needed reforms to create jobs, and it was potentially placed to become the growth engine for the world.
The other members of the delegation are Birendra Prasad Baishya of the Asom Gana Parishad; Thomas Sangma and Vandana Chavan of the Nationalist Congress Party; Madhu Goud Yaskhi, Mukut Mithi and Manicka Tagore of the Congress; Shivkumar Udasi and Kamlesh Paswan of the BJP; and Ajoy Kumar of the Jharkhand Vikaas Morcha Party.
Dinesh Trivedi, who was removed as Railway Minister at the behest of his Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee after he increased passenger fares, said on Thursday that most political parties, especially the regional ones, had become “feudal,” with decisions taken at the whims and fancies of their leaders.
“Sycophancy or chamchagiri is not serving any leader,” Mr. Trivedi, who is here as part of a parliamentary delegation, told PTI. “... slowly, for the past few years, a very dangerous trend has set, in which most parties have become feudal. There is no internal democracy at all, issues are not debated, issues are not discussed. Whatever the head of the party — I am not talking about one party, I am speaking in general — that is carried on, there is never a debate on it.”
“Country comes first”
In such a situation, he argued, party members were scared that if they said something against the leader or the decision he took, they would not get the ticket next time. “At the end of the day, for me, the country comes first, then comes the family, and then comes the party,” he said, making it clear that he was speaking in his personal capacity and not as a spokesperson of the Trinamool Congress.
Mr. Trivedi, 62, was forced to step down as Railway Minister in March this year by Ms. Banerjee after his Railway Budget proposed an increase in passenger fares.
“...if we are only going to serve not the party but an individual, then, I think, it is going to be very, very dangerous development in India, which would be against all the tenets of freedom of expression and democracy,” he said.
Keywords: crash course Yale University, Indian MPs
I cannot understand the raison d’être for giving Indian parliamentarians “training” in the US and the reason for the munificence of the Chamber of Commerce to sponsor it. The topics discussed were purely political and not related to parliamentary practice. If the objective were to educate them in parliamentary practice, the “training” should have been in the UK. This seems to be to primarily brainwash Indian parliamentarians and make them puppets of America?
Rather than going to the Yale, if the MPs had just toured some cities in the US, visited their Municipal offices to see how meetings happen, budgets are allocated, things are planned, studied the infrastructure (besides having a pleasure trip) and had then taken a leaf or two about the cleanliness, discipline, implementation of schemes etc. back home to teach fellow 'intelligent' MPs, it would have been far useful. What do our MPs have to learn on politics from US of A? India does not need any other country - whose people and sometimes even the President who does not know about India - to lecture on international affairs. The crash course is a hogwash!!
Mr. Trivedi ought first to clarify that his country seems to lie somewhere between the US and Raisina Hill, not anywhere that we know on the ground daily. Increasing passenger fares without increasing capital expenditure on long term capacity building in the Railways is not serving the country. Here millions, not all poor, but all hardworking, must travel precariously in overcrowded trains made up of overused outdated unsafe coaches not upgraded or replaced for long to reduce public expenditure. Mr. Trivedi, who anyway puts his family over his party, never challenged the feudal family-loyalty-kind set-up of his party as long as he could be minister because of it. After getting the boot despite serving his feudal party boss, now he is parroting the Americans. Let us not delude ourselves in thinking that Americans, or the English-speaking new Indian politicians tutored by them, have any real interest in fighting feudalism in India. Passenger fares and fuel prices are not about feudalism.
It is ironic and sad that Indian politicians have to come to the US to learn lessons on governance. It should be noted that many universities like Yale in North America are highly involved in political affairs of the US, and as such their agenda is to move forward policy that serves the strategic interests of their country. Frankly, I don't understand why Indian politicians need to be lectured on countries like Afghanistan where Americans have failed miserably and India has quietly succeeded in promoting development without military occupation. If India is aspiring to be an independent voice on the global stage, it will have to develop tools (ie. think tanks, centers of excellence) that provide scholarly input for policy formation. Are Indian universities so far behind in these areas that politicians have to look elsewhere to develop their skills? Maybe that speaks to the present state of India's economic and political affairs!
One really wonders what our 11 member delegation of MPs is expected to achieve by attending the six-day crash course at Yale University covering varied subjects which require months of deep study to be even able to grasp the basics.Seems more like a nice foreign jaunt as a reward, for what God only knows.At least I have never heard of any of the 11 except for Trivedi who too was sacked for his bold Rail-budget (which also was not accepted in toto but with roll-back of fare hikes for lower class)appreciated even by the opposition as a well conceived one.But then ,perhaps in politics and governance the Government has to periodically show its appreciation(?) for the Members' participation(?)in the proceedings of the House on a rotation basis.
Mr. Trivedi, the former Railway 'minister' has made a pertinent comment. Indian political parties, first and foremost the Congress, are behaving like Private Limited companies. The few that are exceptions to the rule, e.g., the BJP, are mocked every time there is some disagreement within their ranks. Of course, this is partly because of a deliberately misconstrued notion of secularism where secularism means having to dislike and disown all things Hindu. In contrast the 'unanimity' within the Congress can be likened to the silence of the graveyard.
Brainwash the Indian parliamentarians so they think like the Americans and support American policy blindly. Now these MPs think that what America is doing in the Arab world and elsewhere is just the right thing to do. They are also made to think that the way American economy is set up is the only working solution for the ills of Indian economy. The bottom line is these MPs are made to feel that they can not think for themselves, that Indian values are useless, and all the ills of Indian society are solved by mimicking the American system. They should quit the program and come up with Indian solutions to Indian problems.
a progressive step, more such are needed.Am glad they are making steps to educate themselves.Only a handful of our politicians are properly educated more needs to be done to improve them
Mr Trivedi has to realise that most of the MPs and MLAs serve an individual and not the contituents they represent or the nation. This started from the time of Nehru, fine tuned by Indira Gandhi and perfected by the regional parties. DMK and AIADMK supermos rule their parties with iron fist and the successor is named by the Supremos not the party's rank and file. Didi should not be blamed for following the trend. Lallu Prasad Yadav is another example where the party stood mutely when Rabri devi was to succeed Lalluji. Recently Mulayam Singh Yadav anointed his son for the CM's post. Not a whimper of protest. This sycophancy was exhibited by SM Krishna saying Rahul should join the Cabinet. Mr Trivedi either you are new to the way of Indian politics or naive. I hope the it is the former because naivity will not allow you to survive her.
Its interesting that MPs from India head to Yale to discover wisdom. Elite institutions like Yale, Princeton and Harvard in recent years have become Corporate mouth pieces and enablers of the elite looting of the middle class. One wonders if this was the agenda of the FICCI. Is the FICCI becoming an organ of the US Chamber of Commerce? America has become a 'Market state' instead of a 'Nation state' and in this so called market state there are thriving Oligopolies which loot the consumers, the medical insurance industry and Wall Street Banks come readily to mind. The Indian populace must sincerely hope that our MPs do not come back with this kind of wisdom of handing over the country to raping and pillaging Corporations.
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