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Two years of UPA Government : Mixed track record |
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B.I. Saini
The Manmohan Singh Government is completing two years today with a mixed track record in dealing with national and international issues. The Congress, which is leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, does not appear to have gone far in achieving its agenda of working for the Aam Admi (Common Man), going by the fact that hundreds of farmers committed suicides during the last two years in the face of indebtedness. Finance Minister Chidambaram’s economic policies appear to be aimed primarily at boosting the stock exchange indices, which hardly helps the poor, especially those living in the rural areas.
The Government appears to have made some headway in tackling the Kashmir issue, both internally and with the Pakistan Government. It has been successful in bringing to the negotiations table representatives of a wide spectrum of Kashmiri society, including the moderates among the separatist groups, apart from the mainstream political parties. The UPA Government also appears to have succeeded to an extent in opening negotiations with Assam’s ULFA and not allowing the dialogue process with Nagaland’s NSCN(IM) to flounder. But both the central and the state governments have been less than successful in dealing with the Naxalite problem which is affecting several states running through the central and southern parts of the country. The Government’s failure is shown by the fact that the Maoists are almost running a parallel administration in the remote areas of several states and it is their writ which runs there, and not that of the Government.
The latest controversy over the reservation of seats in educational institutions for students belonging to other backward classes (OBCs) could have been handled in a better way. Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh’s unilateral announcement regarding the proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats for OBC students in higher educational institutions bears the hallmark of a step taken without consulting his colleagues in the government and perhaps even the Prime Minister.
This is only one example of internal contradictions in the Congress which is the leading light of the UPA, with its senior functionaries engaging in the game of one-upmanship. There have been many instances of Ministers, including those belonging to other UPA partners, running their ministries and departments like fiefdoms and speaking on any and every subject. The open tussle between Arjun Singh and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal on the reservation issue did not leave a good taste in the mouth about the Prime Minister’s ability to keep his flock marching together.
The Opposition has been critical of what they call the two centres of power in the Government - one the Prime Minister and the other, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, previously the chairperson of the National Advisory Council. The Congress has been claiming that Dr. Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have a very good equation and there has been no conflict between them on any major issue. But it appears differences have been there between the two leaders which came out when Sonia Gandhi openly questioned the usefulness of the Free Trade Area (FTA) agreements with various countries and blocs.
The track record of the Government in facing up to pressures from the alliance partners and those supporting the UPA Government from outside has not been very happy. The Left parties, more often than not, have got their way in dictating terms on major issues. The delay in taking a decision on hiking the prices of petroleum products, even though the public sector oil marketing companies are bleeding heavily and almost becoming bankrupt on account of rising international prices of crude, is an instance of the pressures the Left can apply.
The Left pressure has also been evident in foreign policy matters. They have been openly working against the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and it is to Dr. Manmohan Singh and the UPA Government’s credit that they have withstood the pressure and decided to go ahead with the deal, which can help meet the country’s energy requirements in the future apart from India getting the support of the United States on issues such as permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
As a survey has revealed, the country is now looking for younger people at the top. The Manmohan Singh Government’s composition is tilted in favour of aged leaders, especially those in the Congress, well past their prime who stick to old issues to achieve their political ends. But the need is for new ideas and new faces to take the country forward.
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