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One year of the Manmohan Singh Government

	May 16, 2005

Both the constituents of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its supporting parties and the Opposition are planning to come out with their assessment of the first year of the Manmohan Singh Government. The Government will be completing one year of its rule on May 22. The Left parties have already come out with a long list of the programmes in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) not implemented by the Manmohan Singh Government so far. At a breakfast meeting with the UPA at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Left leaders said that the UPA Government should have enacted the Employment Guarantee Scheme. the Women’s Reservation Bill, the Agricultural Workers’ Bill and the Bill on the Rights of Tribals. At the meeting held on Thursday, May 12, the Left parties also expressed concern at the resumption of arms supplies to Nepal. On the Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Government explained that plans for legislation in the budget session could not materialise as the Bill was pending with a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The Left leaders were given a status report on the implementation of promises made in the Common Minimum Programme.

CPI General Secretary A.B. Bardhan later said that all UPA constituents and the four Left parties would meet in New Delhi on May 18 to finalise the draft of a booklet to be published by the Government listing the UPA coalition’s achievements.

In an article in the CPI mouthpiece, New Age, A.B. Bardhan said the UPA coalition’s first year was marked by a lot of failures and few positives. He said the shortcomings are mainly in the economic sphere. Bardhan said some Ministers are picking out from here and there in the CMP precisely those points that serve the interests of big business. He said the Government has a soft corner for domestic and foreign monopolies. Bardhan said curbing the spread of communal tension is a major step forward by the Manmohan Singh government. He said, “The spread of tension and communal hatred, with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other special wings of the RSS being on the rampage, has been effectively curbed.”

Bardhan said that the Left parties’ support is assured as long as the Manmohan Singh Government implements the CMP in letter and spirit. He said, “the Left is not known to pull the rug from below the feet of those whom it supports. The choice is theirs.”

In a related development, Sonia Gandhi has defended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Government’s performance even as she lambasted the BJP-led NDA for its self-imposed boycott of the Budget session of Parliament. She said that the NDA first invented one excuse after another to justify their boycott and then spread canards about the Prime Minister, who went out of his way to persuade the Opposition to return to the House. Sonia Gandhi said, “Not even our most bitter critics can accuse our Prime Minister of being arrogant, subjective, and or inconsiderate. Yet, this is what the BJP has done,” she told the Congress Parliamentary Party’s general body meeting. She exhorted party MPs to explain to their constituents “how parliamentary democracy has been subverted so blatantly by those who often talked of maryada (tradition).”

She said the BJP’s decision to boycott the session was essentially an attempt to take the focus away from its internal dissensions and total disarray to issues that have no consistent or substantive content. “Else, why would they have not accepted the offer of the Prime Minister to discuss any of the issues agitating them.”



Left pledges full-term support to UPA Govt

As the UPA coalition completes a year in office, the Left parties, providing crucial outside support for its survival, say that they do not see any reason why the Government should collapse unless it suffers “internally”.

Though guaranteeing support for the remaining four years, the Left parties will also work side by side for evolution of the Third Front in which parties like the TDP could be a partner at a later date.

They feel that the Congress-led government was going ahead with policies of economic reforms affecting poorer sections, but they realise that beyond a point, the Left parties could not push things.

Analysing the performance of the UPA coalition, CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan, in an interview said, “I can say they will complete their full term. We (61 MPs of the Left parties in Lok Sabha) will try to keep them under check as far as the economic policies are concerned. Let them take steps in a way that development continues in the country.”

Earlier, the CPI(M) politburo met for two days at the weekend to review the performance of the Manmohan Singh Government in the past one year and take stock of the political situation in the country. The meeting also discussed the role of the Opposition in Parliament. The politburo took note of the formulation of strategies to carry forward the decisions taken at the 18th party congress.



Opinion poll rates Government’s performance as “Good”

An opinion poll carried out by The Times of India in 11 cities has found that as many as 60 per cent of the nearly 1700 respondents rated Manmohan Singh’s performance as Prime Minister as “Excellent” or “Good.” Only 7 per cent rated the performance as “Poor”. One-third of the respondents thought that Manmohan Singh has done an “average” job. The poll covered the five metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, five other state capitals, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Patna, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad as well as the bustling city of Pune.

The people taking part in the poll were also asked for their view of the “remote-control” by Sonia Gandhi. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents felt that she has had positive influence on the Government. Fifteen per cent said that her role has been negative while 19 per cent said that her influence has been neutral. Another six per cent voiced the view that her role was non-existent.

Interestingly, the Government’s ratings are noticeably lower than those of the Prime Minister or Sonia Gandhi but are still fairly impressive. Just under half the respondents rated the Government as having done excellent or good work against a bare 10 per cent who rated it as poor, About 40 per cent felt that the Government performance has been average.

Despite the coalition pangs, a majority - 51 per cent - felt that the Government will last its full term. Twenty-three per cent felt that it would last another three years, meaning that it would fall short of a full term by a year. Of the remaining 26 per cent, only 8 per cent thought that the Government will fall within a year.



Questioned by CBI, Mayawati threatens to withdraw support

The CBI questioned the former Utter Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP president Mayawati on May 9 in the disproportionate assets cases against her. One of them pertains to her alleged involvement in the Rs.175 crore Taj Corridor Scam. The questioning of the BSP chief by the CBI last week was the second round, the first having taken place a year ago. The CBI had raided Mayawati’s premises in Lucknow, Delhi and some other places in 2003 after filing a report under the Prevention of Corruption Act. CBI sources said Mayawati was questioned about her bank accounts and properties held in the name of her kith and kin.

Upset over the questioning, BSP members raised the issue in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, May 12. This also led to a short adjournment of the Lok Sabha, the Lower House. The BSP members threatened to withdraw outside support to the UPA Government if the CBI continued to target their leader as they put it. Mayawati, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, alleged that she is coming in for discriminatory treatment by the CBI because she is a Dalit (scheduled caste). Mayawati said the CBI should probe the properties acquired by presidents of all other national and regional parties the same way as it had interrogated her.

Stating that the CBI’s autonomy ought to be maintained. Mayawati said that it should not be used for setting political scores. She demanded fundamental structural changes in the CBI, with senior officers belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the minorities being posted in the agency.

Reacting to the remarks by BSP members, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, said the Government would look into their concerns. “It is not our intention to harass any leader. Mayawati is our colleague; she is a supporter of the UPA.”