It is quite common in politics for the opposition parties criticising the ruling party to take political mileage.
But there is always some limit for this criticism. If the leaders cross the limit and make cheap comments, it only shows their declining standard of politics.
The comments made by Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu against village volunteers fall into this category of sub-standard politics.
Citing an example of a report about a village volunteer making sexual overtures to a woman resulting in her suicide, Naidu alleged that security of women was at peril with this village volunteer system.
“Where is the security to womenfolk at home, when village volunteers go to them in the name of delivery of goods? And what are they meant for – distributing gunny bags?” he asked.
This is nothing but insulting unemployed youth who are being provided employment, albeit at a small level, within their villages. And criticising their job as petty is very mean on the part of Naidu.
As a matter of fact, no job is small or petty. Take the case of Dabbawalas of Mumbai, who deliver home food to lakhs of employees carrying the lunch boxes on bicycles.
The delivery mechanism of Dabbawalah is a subject for research scholars in several universities.
So is the case with the delivery of goods and services by E-commerce agents like Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, Big Basket and other service delivery boys. They too go door to door to deliver services to people.
Can Naidu suspect them, too, to be a threat to security of women? Why should he look down upon only village volunteers, based on some sporadic incidents?
For a man, who claims himself to have encouraged E-commerce across the country, it is below his dignity to make such comments.