Politicians need to clean up their own backyards first

Representation Pic

It is battleground on Mumbai's walls as the BJP and Congress gear up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Both parties have engaged in a graffiti war in the western suburbs. While the BJP has stenciled lotus symbols and Modi slogans, Congress has hit back with slogans demanding jobs and welfare. The slogan ‘Ek Baar Firse, Modi Sarkar' stands next to the lotus. Responding, the Youth Congress stated ‘Rojgar Do, Nyay Do' in public places.

Parties are now fighting, with one alleging that they were pulled up for the graffiti, while the other party seems to be getting away with it.

The bigger picture though is not about who is doing what and which party is guilty about this that or the other. It is that nobody, affiliated to any party should be allowed to use the city's walls and lamp posts, electric poles as free publicity billboards.

An activist rightly pointed out that on the one hand, there are efforts on to beautify the city.

Whether one agrees with the method or not, the intent is to beautify Mumbai.

It does seem ironical and in fact counterproductive that when Mumbai is looking to get spruced up and better looking, we see an explosion of these posters and graffiti. We may see this even more as elections draw closer, and the campaigning nears hysteria. It has been years and there has still not been any permanent solution to what is a fairly simple situation. People who are plastering the walls with illegal posters and spraying graffiti need to be penalised and fined. What makes this tricky is that workers of the ruling party and even workers from robust opposition are doing so. Those who should be leading by example as in fact, doing the opposite, setting a bad example of their own. Clean up the city and first point the broom at yourselves.