Congress May Call For Mid Term Poll

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The Moving Finger Writes
How Long will the UPA last?

By M.V. Kamath

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HOW long will the United Progressive Alliance under the leadership of the Congress last and when will the unnatural coalition, supported from outside by the unreliable Communist Party (M) come down like a pack of cards? Already there are signs of strain within the Alliance, which is just about a year old.

<b>The CPM's Harkishen Singh Surjeet and the CPI's A.B. Bardhan have already expressed deep reservations about the longevity of the UPA government in Delhi, following the fiasco in Goa and Jharkhand and the reportedly ‘reckless economic reforms’ pursued by the Sonia Congress. </b>

Consider what Mr Pranab Mukherjee who is supposedly close to Sonia Gandhi recently told a television channel. He said: <b>“I don't think that there is any danger to the present government, but I cannot say we will complete the full five-year terms.” This was said in all seriousness.</b>

Then we have Comrade Harkishen Singh Surjeet's testimony in cold print. Writes Mr Surjeet Singh in an article in People's Democracy: “The present national-level co-relation of forces cannot continue for long.” And he was, of course, addressing his own party workers. And then we have the testomony of Mr Bardhan, the CPI leader who recently told the party meeting in Chandigarh that the CPI will work for a ‘credible alternative’ at the Centre, minus both the Congress and the BJP. Mr Bardhan, it is clear, has a wonderful sense of humour. There has been no reaction to Mr Pranab Mukherjee's statement in Congress party circles. Leaders, no doubt, are waiting for clearance from Sonia Gandhi who, till the other day, was trying to catch the nation's attention by attempting to re-live the Mahatma's Dandi march—but with no effect.

Some Congressmen reportedly tried to dismiss Pranab Mukherjee's remarks by saying they were his ‘personal views’. But such ‘personal views’ are not expressed openly unless there are strong reasons for doing so. <b>It is clear that the United Progressive Alliance is not united, is hardly progressive and certainly is not much of an alliance. But what is most laughable is Mr Bardhan's hope that the CPI could put together a ‘credible alternative’ at the Centre by exploring prospects of forming a ‘third front’, no doubt consisting of progressive champions of democracy like Mayawati and Lalu Prasad Yadav. And, who knows, the CPI (Maoist) specialising in murder and arson as well. </b>

Mukherjee would not have expressed his doubts about the possible longevity of the UPA government without sound reason and inside knowledge of what is going on. By his statement, Mukherjee has sounded the warning gong. The Congress cannot fight the communists. Only the BJP can.

The question that demands an answer is what kind of credibility do the Leftists, of any and every persuasion—have in the country? West Bengal is in a thorough mess. After nearly three decades of communist rule, the state has been reduced to penury. Its debt has risen to one lakh crore of rupees and nobody says a word about it. Jyoti Basu's Communist party has now been reduced to a party of thugs and gangsters—and this admission comes from the officials of the party themselves.

Only the other day Mr Azim Premji made a powerful attack on the ‘bundh culture’ in West Bengal. A day after his attack comes news that the authorities who produce Amul milk in West Bengal are fed up with terrorism let loose on them by government officials. The charge against Amul is that they are producing more milk! Not less!  <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->  In any civilised state, a manufacturer would be complimented for producing more of any product and thus providing jobs for more people. In West Bengal, a private party is not allowed to produce more than the norms laid down by the government.

Mr Rahul Kumar, Managing Director, Amul, has been quoted as saying that he is “fed up” with the state government's attitude and that he “never imagined that he would have to face such a situation” in West Bengal. Poor man. He evidently does not know how a corrupt communist government works.

Amul has a milk processing plant at a place called Chanditala. The communist government had imposed an order on the plant limiting its production to 80,000 liters per day. But peasants are producing more milk and the plant happily went on to process 1,30,000 liters a day to the delight—and profit—of the milkmen in the surrounding areas. This is resented by Buddhadev Bhattacharjee's communist government which apparently runs a milk plant of its own and does not want competition from an efficient and incorruptible plant such as Amul. Hence the harassment of Amul authorities. If Amul has its way it can increase its production to 2,25,000 liters a day most successfully. The communist government of West Bengal does not want more production. Nor is it interested in peasants' prosperity. It is interested only in power. To think, therefore, that the Leftists will establish a ‘credible alternative’ in Delhi is a joke. They have some base in West Bengal and in Kerala. Elsewhere in this vast coutnry they don't have a leg to stand on. They have no credibility. And if they are in power in West Bengal it is out of pure communist goondagiri. Right from the village panchayat level to the highest administrative level, the state is governed by naked terrorism. Industrialists do not want to move in, and their worries have now been publicly articulated by the likes of Azim Premji. So where do we go from here? Pranab Mukherjee would not have expressed his doubts about the possible longevity of the UPA government without sound reason and inside knowledge of what is going on. By his statement, Mukherjee has sounded the warning gong. The Congress cannot fight the communists. Only the BJP can. And the country must know that.

<b>In Andhra Pradesh, the Congress government finds itself helpless in the face of a Naxalite threat</b>. If this helplessness is prolonged, one may witness large-scale flight of capital from the state such has been witnessed in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh will be utterly ruined. It is only in a Congress state can ruthless and known murderers walk freely and terrorise people. It doesn't happen in Gujarat. There is a moral here.

Indians everywhere must take note of Pranab Mukherjee's admission and get ready for a fresh general election any time in the coming months. We don't need a weak and effeminate party like the Congress to meekly succumb to communist demands. The communist record in West Bengal clearly shows that the communists are incapable of taking care of the poor and the needy. They must be shown the door—and the earlier the better. We don't need West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh being replicated all over the country to the detriment of Mother India.

A wise and patriotic Congress will seek BJP support, instead of depending on communists who can only bring ruin and shame on the nation. It is sad that the Congress does not know who its friends are—and who its enemies. Enemies, not only of the Congress, but of the country at large. <b>It is time it wakes up to reality as apparently Pranab Mukherjee has. </b>


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