Watch: they keep getting caught on tape, but Indian VIPs' sense of entitlement is intact
PILs, RTIs, citizens with camera – nothing seems to stop their atrocious behaviour.
Of the many things India's politicians, high ranking officials and celebrities are infamous for, their VIP sense of entitlement might be the most prominent. India's VIP ranks have grown to such astonishing proportions that a special category of VVIPs has been created for people above the VIPs. These categories of people get preferential treatment on the road, in the air, in hospitals — in short, in all aspects of public life.
Out of these, VIPs delaying air and road travel and creating massive traffic jams invites the most fury. An article under the Letter from Delhi section of The Irish Times documented India's VIP casualties: a list of people who had passed away because their ambulance could not reach the hospital due to a VIP motorcade. Also included were students who missed exams and people who missed job interviews and important events.
So reckless has been this misuse of power that the courts were forced to rule on a PIL on the rampant use of red beacons, which, advocate Harish Salve argued, was unconstitutional because it created a special class of citizens. Later, on a plea by the Delhi Police, the original judgement was reversed and the red beacons found their way back on to cars. An online survey about VIP culture revealed the obvious – 87 per cent of the 11,500 who voted believed it's harming their way of life.
Very often, it is Air India, India's national airline, that is the news for bowing down before the many VIPs of the country.
In January 2015, a flight from Delhi to Bhopal was delayed by a few BJP politicians by 7 hours. Last year, while Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis came under fire for delaying a flight, Air India offloaded three passengers to accommodate Minister of State for Home Affairs Karen Rijiju and his two aides. In 2014, an RTI petition revealed that former aviation minister Praful Patel's daughter Avni Deshpande asked for, and received, a larger aircraft to accommodate members of her family. But each time, the politicians have denied they were involved in any way.
As a result, citizens have resorted to using mobile phone cameras or footage from CCTV cameras to seek to shame VIPs. The latest one saw a motorist bully a motorist at a signal. The video above shows an incident from 2015 where DMK leader MK Stalin slapped a party member during a ride on the Chennai Metro. He had previously slapped an auto driver for clicking a selfie with him.
In the video below, uploaded by The Logical India, an ambulance was stopped so that a convoy of a government official could be allowed to pass.
In February 2016, a member of the Shiv Sena assaulted a women traffic constable because she stopped him for using his mobile phone while driving. Party members have often been brazen in their conduct with officials, using force despite the presence of cameras on multiple occasions.
Below is a video of a self-styled VIP threatening a policeman who stopped him for having a number plate with INLD (Indian National Lok Dal) written on it.
In July 2015, a woman who, the police believed, was attached to a diplomat's office, slapped a guard for denying her entry without an invitation to a high-powered event.
Part of the reason for this VIP practice of not obeying rules might also stem from the fact that most people do not know or follow basic traffic rules. In the video below – uploaded by Everyday India – a biker travels through Delhi pointing out VIP violations, at the same time merrily driving on pavements and standing on zebra crossings when the traffic signal is red.