Marathons, but no winners

In this season of heightened awareness of a functional democracy, we need to realise that the travesty of Budgetary accountability is yet another step in the direction of citizens' disempowerment

Some 2,500 years ago, Pheidippides, an Athenian runner, is reputed to have run 42 km to Athens to announce Athenian victory over Persian invaders in the Battle of Marathon.  Though historically inaccurate, the legend endures.  A 42-km race has been an exciting part of all modern Olympic Games. The term marathon is now routinely used to describe any long-lasting event, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s February 1 Budget speech. After 2 hours and 40 minutes, Ms Sitharaman had not yet done with it, but had to abandon the rest of it due to exhaustion (that duration, by a remarkable coincidence,