June 14: Mr Vinod Mehta, I am disappointed

For those who don't know, Mr Vinod Mehta is the editor of "Outlook", probably the best current affairs magazine in India.

Mr Mehta, you're an ex-Mumbaikar in Delhi and I have always believed that you combine Mumbai pragmatism with Delhi political insights very well. I have always known you leaned slightly to the left, which is fine for I believe it is possible to be objective while having specific political views. But you have sorely disappointed me with your articles post May 16. I specifically refer to two articles:

1) "No Hate Politics" on May 25.

When I saw this, I was hoping for your usually solid analysis of the losers. I was willing to ignore the title, which obviously alluded to only one of the two big losers. The BJP's tally went down from 150+ to 110+ - a roughly 25% decline. It's ally, JD(U), improved its tally. A big disappointment to them, but by no means a washout. The Left parties went from 60+ to barely 30 - a 50%+ decline.

You said "Verdict 2009 is an unambiguous, comprehensive and titanic rejection by the country of extremist politics—of the BJP and the CPI(M)". Very true. But why does teh rest of the article only assess BJP while there is not as much as a word on the left - who saw a bigger decline by any standards? You said "Let me flag a few howlers". No howlers you can recall from messers Karat and Yechuri? Where is the balance? Where is the objectivity? This almost sounds like what I see on MSNBC & FOX here in the US- completely and unabashedly biased reporting. I still can't bring myself to believe this is from you.

2) Your last "Delhi Diary"

Here, you pretty much credit the left with "slowing" India so it avoided the financial meltdown and go on to say (of free market capitalism's trickle down effect) "if it did not trickle down in 20 years, what guarantee is there that it will trickle down in the next decade? Remember, the poor vote with their feet!

It is almost laughable to imagine that India would have been a US style free market with a convertible rupee, privatised everything and no social spending if the left had not supported the UPA. Sure we would have had a few more reforms, a few more privatisations etc. but nothing that would have inextricably entangled us in the mess. SBI would not have been a Citigroup kind of case, no matter what. It is inexcusable that the UPA messed up even the most sensible NDA programmes like the golden quadrilateral road project. It is too early to pronounce that programmes like NREG;'s are successes - but I do not dispute the short term benefits to some which no doubt helped the UPA.

Now, for trickle down. What trickled down in the previous 45 yeards, Mr Mehta? 15 paise of every 1 rupee that was spent on welfare programmes (the consensus, more or less). Would BSNL have provided a vibrant cellular market that we have? I do not dispute that we shouldn't ape the west. I do not dispute that social spending is a must even when we know there are leakages.  

But I digress. This is not meant to be a left v/s right or free market v/s socialism debate. This is about balance. You say you fear you may be labelled with the "S" word (Socialism). I say you should fear being labelled a leftist editor who has given up the Mumbai pragmatism, objectivity and sense of balance. Very disappointing. I am hoping this is not a trend.