The sane will wonder the justification in such a pay rise given that a crippling double digit inflation is strangling the nation’s economy. But the smart figure out a justification for it. Here’s how it goes…. well, on second thoughts, maybe someone who is an expert in these matters should explain them to you. And of course I am referring to Sir Humphry and Sir Arnold. :)

Here is a clip from one of my all time favourite TV series Yes Prime Minister, that describes the entire process in hilarious detail: [link (part 2), link (part 3)]

Part 2:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JObTDctaZOc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB5R40Ds_yg

There are two versions of the incident making the rounds. The first one, by the MP Abdul Wahab, says that the MP was on time, but the ground staff was slow in seating the passengers. This infuriated the pilot Rajat Rana and he same stomping down the aisle screaming at the ground staff. Unable to tolerate such unacceptable behavior towards the ‘common man’, our honorable MP intervened. The pilot asked him to take of running the country while he takes care of running the aircraft. At this point, the MP called him a glorified driver. The pilot, finding this insult intolerable, asked the MP to deplane.

The second version is that the MP was late in arriving to begin with. When the pilot was inquiring about the reason for the delay, the pilot was told it was because of the MP. The MP then stormed into the cockpit to explain that he was an MP, and so privileged. This was a breach of security, and the pilot (rightly) asked him to deplane.

Amidst the confusion over the precise sequence of events, the following quotes by the MP Abdul Wahab stand out:

• “Rana [the pilot] is nothing but a glorified driver.” : So pilots are nothing but glorified drivers?!? So…. all that training that goes into becoming a commercial airline pilot is just… well… glorified reading-writing-and-arithmetic? At the very least this is indicative of our noble MP’s respect for the dignity of labor.
• “If this is the kind of treatment that a Parliament member has to face then what would be the experience of the common man” : Of course, a Parliament member is far above the common man (at times, even the law), and so deserves to be treated like royalty. As a ‘public servant’, should always be treated better than the public. This is, of course, notwithstanding how a public servant should treat the public (including the pilot). And the last I checked, the common man has been treated fairly well in aircrafts in India.
• “I intervened and told him not to abuse the official he told me it’s none of your business to intervene. I said I am an MP and it’s my right to interfere.”: So if you are an MP, then you are everyone’s boss. Even the airline pilot’s boss. Never mind the fact that you are called a ‘Public Servant’ for a reason. Its just a misnomer, its more like ‘sanctioned mafioso’.

This is not the first time a politician has stalled progress. Be it by arriving late at a function, deciding to have a twenty-car motorcade with police protection pass through the cities busiest roads during rush hour, or arriving late to an aircraft and keep all other passenger waiting. And for once, someone stood up and said, ‘I wont take this bulls**t anymore’. And the knee jerk reaction is to move for a privileged motion against the pilot in the parliament! Apparently, Mr. Wahab’s deplaning is so much more important then other problems like inflation, wheat shortage, and stock market falls, that this motion is to be placed ahead of all other matters (yup, that’s what a privileged motion means)!

The megalomania astounds me. Every time I think the politicians can’t sink any lower, they come right back and surprise me. Oh abomination, thy name is politicians.