Calcutta Diary

Calcutta Diary AM MADAM PRIME MINISTER is incensed. Irresponsible talk of corruption being rampant in the country, she thinks, is an insult to the nation. Is such talk irresponsible? Is such talk an insult to the dignity of nation? Let us consider each of the States where she and her party run the administration. And, in order not to complicate matters, let us leave Assam and Punjab out. In the case of one, the State government is a bit of a fake; in the other case, it has not been seen to function for some months. In any event, in both States, the Centre has taken de facto charge of the administration, so that a general assessment of the Centre's performance will cover the quality of performance in the two States too.