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New Manmohan Government: Old wine in new bottle |
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While the final word on UPA II will have to wait till the second round of Government formation, which is expected tomorrow, it is becoming increasingly clear that the saga of making compromises to keep the show running will continue. Portfolios of only six of the 19 Cabinet Ministers, who were sworn in along with Dr. Manmohan Singh last week, have been announced. Others will perhaps have to wait till the Cabinet expansion on Tuesday to find out what they would be handling over the next five years. Meanwhile, the Congress is continuing confabulations with the DMK on the formulas being bandied about to get the nominees of the southern ally into the Government.
Both parties are hopeful of working out a compromise as soon as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK patriarch Karunanidhi finds a way to settle the conflicting claims of his sons and daughters and members of his extended family.
While the saga is being played out, the Congress itself has backtracked on earlier assertions through the media, mostly sourced to unnamed functionaries, that it would not like persons with taint to find a place in the new Government. Media reports had said that the Congress was opposed to inclusion of people like T.R. Baalu and A. Raja in the Ministry as there were vigilance reports about them. But the Congress has now turned back on the whole issue and says that none of its leaders ever said anything to this effect. For good measure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself came on record to say that the issue is not of individuals and that Baalu and Raja are “valued and respected” colleagues. Karunanidhi himself has appreciated the clarification or “certificate’’ issued by the Prime Minister and there is now hope that the matter will be sorted out by the time phase two of the Ministry formation takes place.
Of the 19 Ministers who took office along with Dr. Manmohan Singh, five were not in the earlier cabinet. The remaining 14 were there in the first Manmohan Singh Government also. But the so-called five new faces in the Ministry are really not so fresh arrivals on the scene; they have been active in politics both at the state and the central levels for decades.
There is no sign of a generational shift in the government, at least till now, and the control appears very much to be in the hands of the older generation, but there is no doubt that lip service is being paid to the idea of bringing in youth. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi not joining the government is a clear sign that the arrival of youth on the political horizon in a big way is still some time away.
Interestingly, the opposition BJP has also not been able to tackle the transition to generation next, as they call it, in a smooth way. The party’s prime ministerial candidate offered to step down as leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, but despite efforts, the party did not succeed in finding a successor to Lal Krishan Advani from the generation next, at least for the near future.
Both the Congress and the BJP perhaps have not been able to meet successfully the people’s desire for change. People do not want just a tinkering with institutions, but a fundamental new way of tackling the problems facing the nation, with almost one half of the population below the age of 40 years.
The people are looking for the creation of a new polity, where there is zero tolerance of corruption, where there is a functioning judicial system, which delivers justice in a foreseeable period of time and a police force, which serves the people and not lords over them. The voters are looking for administrative and financial systems which protect the interests of the aam admi (common man). They do not want the institutional regulators like the Reserve Bank of India to turn a blind eye to corporate fraud, whose worst victims are retail customers or shareholders. They do not want the government and the regulators to permit multinational banks to levy charges and fees, unthinkable even in the countries from where they originate. Significantly, the Obama Administration in the United States has moved to check usurious practices adopted by credit card issuing banks and financial institutions. But in India, the regulators have been mute spectators to banks charging extortionist rates of interest.
In the guise of economic reforms, the private sector employers have been allowed to ride rough shod over labour rights. Unfortunately, even government departments and public sector undertakings are increasingly adopting practices such as getting work done on contract basis, rather than depend on regular employees. Without harming productivity, the Government has to think of effective ways to protect the interests of the working class.
In their interaction with media persons after being allocated portfolios, Ministers like those in charge of External Affairs, Home, Finance and Railways have been talking of their agenda. It is perhaps too early to expect them to come up with a fresh vision to tackle fundamental issues facing the nation. But people expect a new approach and not just a holding operation.
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