Do politicians care for common people?

If you were in touch with the media and news channel in the last few days, you would have seen heavy bashing of politicians by both media and the common people. There is a heightened state of hatred for politicians after the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Politicians are also partly to blame for it. One fool CM criticizing a martyr’s parent, one politician talking against protesting public; this all has fueled further public outrage.

I was watching the news channel today and saw angry public taking on the politicians. Then my roommate made a statement that struck my mind. He said: Historically terrorists were focusing on political assassinations to make their presence felt and also for maximum impact. Politicians then responded equally aggressively to the terrorists. Now terrorists have become smarter and they target politicians no more, instead, they target the common people and get away without being violently pursued. Nobody forgot the war like situation that was created after the parliament attack.

I do not completely disagree, that is a good observation. Attack on parliament was a big thing. But no politicians got killed; yet the politicians responded violently, almost waging a war (lots of Army man would have got killed). But I do believe what happened in Mumbai is much larger then the parliament attack, lots of innocent life lost (not a single politician), and the response now from politician is not as aggressive as post parliament attack. So do the politicians care for us, the common people, or they just care for themselves?

This year has been severely violent in terms of attack on common people. After May, there have been serial blasts (mind it not bomb blast, serial means multiple bombs, more deaths) at regular intervals (almost every month, latest being Mumbai). Government has said we will take stern action, but as a matter of fact, nothing has happened. Only thing that has happened is another attack on civilians. The terrorists must have been laughing from a distance (may be they are patting on their back for figuring out the trick to get away unharmed). So will the politicians get serious only when they directly face terror? Will they wait for another political assassination to happen before responding? Don’t they value innocent life of the public?

I don’t want to believe what my friend is telling, but right now I can help thinking that it is true.

Time has come for the politicians to prove me wrong (that will make me happy being wrong) and take some stern action. Time for them to prove the public wrong, time to prove the media wrong, and all the people wrong who have been talking foul against them all along.