There is an increasing perception that this is a government in absentia unable even to project its most tangible achievements which there are aplenty
“I have lost my freedom and privacy, but such is life”, this was one of the remarks, which Dr.Manmohan Singh had made during his first week after getting the post of the Prime Minister, which he “had not imagined in my wildest dreams”. On the verge of completing his and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government’s three years in office, one of the glaring features of his tenure has been how he has continued to cling on to that “freedom and privacy”.
Though not really invisible, he has been the least heard Prime Ministers, we have had. In his three years, he has addressed hardly three full-fledged press conferences. And we are told he is unlikely to add to that number in a hurry, even on the completion of his three years. One cannot remember when he gave the last interview to the media. He has hardly been heard even within the Parliament, though in all fairness to him, it is not of his own making. The Opposition has hardly given him the opportunity.
The problem with this Prime Minister is that he continues to believe that he is an interloper in that post. Just to remind you of what he had said—“It was a mandate for Sonia Gandhi not for me, she made me the prime Minister”. So our amenable, mild mannered man refuses to take the limelight, and there is no one else who is talking on behalf of the Government.
The problem with this Prime Minister is that he continues to believe that he is an interloper in that post. Just to remind you of what he had said—“It was a mandate for Sonia Gandhi not for me, she made me the prime Minister”.
As far as Sonia Gandhi is concerned, except for those periodical assertions in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting, and stray press releases or speeches, she has also scrupulously avoided being seen as the face of the Government. She has become so over-cautious about being dubbed as “remote control” of the Government, that it now looks as if she has no “control” over the Government. It is a curious situation where the Prime Minister is reluctant to take credit for his Government’s performance and the real winner of the mandate does not want to be seen hogging credit of the Prime Minister.
The result is that increasingly a perception is growing that it is a Government in absentia, so much so, even some of its good performance is getting buried. There seems to be no coherent publicity machinery, which can put forth the performance of the Government. Ministers’ talk in different voices, and Prime Minister is unwilling to bring about that coherence. So inevitably the mistakes of the Government is getting highlighted leading to the belief that the Government is not performing.
Of course there are several areas where the UPA Government has fallen short. Agriculture continues to be a problem area. There is also a huge dissatisfaction over the investments that are going into agriculture, though several long-term measures are being taken, which will take time to show results. Left Parties which have emerged not only as the saviours of the Government, but also its worst critics, on the economic policy front feel that the Manmohan Singh Government has been exceeding its mandate in the Common Minimum Programme. However in all fairness several of the CMP promises have been taken care of.
Yet what we hear most is the criticism by the left parties against the economic policies, attacks by the rival BJP about minority appeasement, rising prices and inflation, foreign policy problems on the US and Pakistan front, suicide deaths by farmers and so on. One can’t blame either the opposition or the media; for both good news on the governance-front is no news.
It is upto those in governance to project their performance, and admittedly it is not an easy task. The example of the NDA Government is glaring, as it over-stated its own performance and launched the India-Shining campaign and started believing in the illusion, which it created. And everyone knows how it had to rue the day it decided on that campaign.
But then when in Government, it is your job to talk about your performance, if people have to know about it. It would be worthwhile here to recall the words of former US President Bill Clinton. After a very eventful and performance-filled first year in office he continued to have a poor rating. During those days he met some important people from Arkansas, his home state. During the meeting he recollected all the achievements of his Government in the past year, which was pretty impressive. When he finished, one of his home-staters reacted, “Then there must be a conspiracy to keep this a secret: we don’t hear any of this” (!). Recalling this in his autobiography, “My Life”, Clinton comes out with one of the dozens of great one-liners in the book, “In politics, if you don’t toot your own horn, it usually stays untooted”.
It is high time Dr.Manmohan Singh gets rid of his shyness, humility, embarrassment— or whatever he feels, and starts “tooting his own horn”, about both his achievements and his failures and how he plans to tackle the next two years. For that he needs to be not just seen, but heard answering all the hard questions. He will have no one to blame later if his horn remains untooted.
KEEPING PROMISES
What were the main promises in the CMP? Strengthening health and education. On this front, the allocations have doubled and even trebled in some cases in the last three years. On the issues of livelihood, land and food security, landmark programmes relating to National Rural Employment Guarantee, mid-day meals, and land rights for tribals have been implemented. On the question of integration, the government is battling the OBC reservation issue in the Supreme Court while programmes for minorities are on the anvil, following the Sachar report. Women’s reservation, however, continues to elude consensus. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, with huge funds allocated to it, can change the face of our cities in coming years. Major measures have been undertaken on the Panchayati Raj front, and a landmark study done by the concerned ministry has paved the way for a road map for better implementation. On the vital issue of secularism, the communal atmosphere in the country is by and large under control though the attacks on mosques are a worry.
