Years ago, while still young, I owned a contracting firm. One morning, I got a call that one of my workers had fallen from the scaffolding. By the time I reached, he was gone. A life snuffed out before tea break.

The police came. Looked around. Jotted notes in well-worn books. Then one of them turned to me and asked, “Who was in charge?”

“There was a supervisor,” I said. “And a manager above him. But it’s my company, so my fault.”

He looked at me as if I had confessed to a murder. “Why take the blame?” he asked. “Let someone else take it. The supervisor maybe?”
But I couldn’t. Because deep down, I knew, when you’re at the top, the buck doesn’t stop somewhere in middle management. It stops with you. Or at least, it should.

I’m reminded of that day often—not because I enjoy revisiting grief—but because I see its reverse playing out in high places today. A train accident in Mumbra? A stampede in a stadium? Patients dying in a hospital corridor? Someone will be blamed, yes. A clerk maybe. Or the “system.” Or even—brace yourself—”divine will.”

But not the minister.

No, today’s leaders are made of slippery Teflon. Nothing sticks. They give interviews, not apologies. They distribute compensation cheques, not resignations. And if public anger rises, they duck behind compensation packages, temple inaugurations, or—my personal favourite—a new bank transfer scheme just in time to woo voters.

Gone are the days when ministers resigned.

I remember once, back in the ’80s, a railway minister stepped down after a major train crash, saying, “The lives of those passengers were my responsibility.” That was a time when public service meant, well, serving the public—not feeding them slogans and spiritual selfies.

Today? Accountability is as extinct as the dodo. If a minister insults a doctor, humiliates a teacher, or disappears after a tragedy—it’s business as usual. The only thing they’re quick to resign from is press conferences and answering tough questions.

And who’s to blame for this brazen bravado? Look in the mirror, dear citizen. Yes, you. And me.

Because we no longer ask for accountability—we ask for cash transfers and religious tokens. We no longer demand resignations—we demand Wi-Fi in stations and pothole-ridden flyovers with LED lights. And politicians know this. That’s why they’ll never step down. Why should they, when the only thing that gets them kicked out these days is losing an election—not losing lives?

So, the next time tragedy strikes, don’t just mourn the victims. Ask who should have resigned. And then ask yourself—why didn’t we make them?

Because if we don’t start holding them accountable, the next accident may not make headlines. It may make your obituary.

And trust me, no minister will take the blame for that…!

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