A fortnight ago, Jamal Mecklai endorsed through his regular column in Business Standard the candidature of Meera Sanyal, the banker, from the Mumbai South constituency. Here, Deepak Parekh, the well-known business and financial figure, argues why voters from the constituency should vote for the sitting MP from the Congress, Milind Deora.
India belongs to the youth and they have to play an active role in taking the country forward and pushing for change. I support continuity, stability, youth and especially educated youth in politics. And Milind Deora, the Congress candidate from Mumbai South constituency, represents that. He is qualified to take the country forward and I would like to see him back in Parliament.
Representing a constituency like Mumbai South is a tough task but Milind, whom I have known since he was in the kindergarten, has played an active role in Parliament. He has probably asked more questions in Parliament and participated in more debates than anyone else from Maharashtra. Be it the Right to Information Act or the 26/11 terror attacks, Milind has played an active role and has represented the constituency well.
For five years, he has fought for the cause of the constituency and wants to see further improvements over a period of time. He fought for the removal of the land ceiling law. He pushed hard for ensuring that adequate funding was made available for the city through the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. It was largely due to his efforts that Mumbai emerged as the largest recipient of funds from the scheme.
People talk of congestion, but we need national debates and a consensus on some of the issues in order to deal with that problem. For instance, the FSI (floor space index) requirement restricts buildings from going beyond a certain height. A city like New York does not have such restrictions.
Similarly, there are restrictions on reclaiming land. When I was a child, the land on which Cuffe Parade has come up, and the place where the Oberoi is built, were under the sea.
There is need for better transport linkages so that people can travel across the harbour to the mainland. This will reduce pressure on the island of Mumbai. We need to address these issues if we have to deal with congestion. These are national issues on which a consensus is needed and Milind will have to push these debates for the standard of living in the city to improve. Unless there is continuity, these objectives are unlikely to be met. You need to work on these issues for some time before solutions emerge.
If you look at the last general elections, there were so many independent candidates but only a few made it to the Lok Sabha. Even those who won were associated with a national party in the past and, when they were denied a ticket, they decided to contest as independent candidates. What we need is to vote for a national party in the national elections.
Deepak Parekh is ridiculously naive and should realise how damaging he is being for the country in supporting a party which has wrecked the country in 62 years. I think business interests and evening cocktail relations take precedence over an objective understanding of the country's needs. Congress puts Parekh on various committees and then he returns favours by giving reco letters. http://rishiaggarwaal.wordpress.com/2007/10/28/a-reality-check-mr-correa-and-mr-parekh/
Deepak Parekh's argument fails to convince me: my choice is Meera Sanyal. Mr Parekh has merely repeated Mr Deora's assertions, where Mr Deora has overstated his role and understated his shortcomings. Take RTI, for which Mr Parekh gives Mr Deora credit. If anyone deserves that credit, it is people like Arvind Kejriwal, Shekhar Singh, Aruna Roy, and Sandeep Pandey. Nobody remembers who introduced the Senate Resolution on the Voting Rights Act. But we remember Martin Luther King and President Lyndon Johnson. This is a recurring problem with Mr Deora: he has claimed to have secured huge resources for the city which were earmarked for Mumbai anyway; he has secured less per capita for Mumbai than what cities like Mysore have got; and he was silent when liberal values were under attack in Mumbai. Mr Deora is welcome to over-egg his pudding. From someone of Mr Parekh's stature, I had expected far better.
Milind is a disaster failure candidate for South Mumbai, South Mumbai today is in worst state then ever before. Milind has absolutely no powers! The Security even today at Oberoi and Taj is Shameful! May God bless India and save us from Congress! Let's Vote for PPI, JAGO or Individuals Enough with COngress!
It's shame Mr. Parekh if ur Candidate is Milind. Have you recently been to Papanaswadi in Gowaliatank area? where I work with a NGO more then 23 kids have been registered with Malaria and dengue.
Have you seen the state of August Kranti Maidaan where Mahatam Gandhi started "Quit India" Movement? It yells Quit Indians right now!
We need change, Let's Vote for PPI, JAGO, Individuals but definitely not for CONGRESS, NOWAY!
The whole scheme of increasing FSI has become a nexus between politicians and builders. I wonder whether this is a positive...
Secondly, I don't feel a candidate by himself can do anything if his party doesn't let him. Voting for Milind is voting for Congress, whether one likes it or not. The record of the Congress Govt over the past 5 yrs has been terribly disappointing.
Content Guide
A fortnight ago, Jamal Mecklai endorsed through his regular column in Business Standard the candidature of Meera Sanyal, the banker, from the Mumbai South constituency. Here, Deepak Parekh, the well-known business and financial figure, argues why voters from the constituency should vote for the sitting MP from the Congress, Milind Deora.
