07-09-2006, 08:51 PM
<b>Itâs over </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> 6 July 2006: <b>The question that Manmohan Singh should ask himself is, when should he go, resign? Not if he should resign, by when...</b>
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But it is not Karunanidhi alone or that unspeakable thug in health, the UPA government is going in as many different directions as there are cabinet ministers, a majority of them have declared independence from centralized, collective decision making. There is almost an unwritten compact in the cabinet among the more forceful ministers, there is no interference in one anotherâs territory, nobody stops nobody from taking decisions even if they have the potential to cause instability, to provoke a national crisis.
<b>The agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, has played havoc with food security, and the PM was powerless to call him to account. Arjun Singh has let loose the quota genie that this hopelessly divided minority government cannot bottle again. Senior journalists who have covered Planning Commission meetings have observed the utter disdain that ministers like Pranab Mukherjee and the finance minister, P.Chidambaram, have for the PM. They show up after the PM, if at all, they are very late, and they postpone decisions even if the PM may be expecting one. âThe PM has been humiliated time after time,â said a senior journalist. âHe swallows the insults, and that is about all he can do.â</b> <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Now why Manmohan Singh wonât up and go has often been speculated, his slavish devotion for Sonia Gandhi, his inability to give up a responsibility, even if he is failing at it, and some even say he does not care any longer, that he has grown a hide, and so on</b>. But one doesnât know. Except, it should be clear to a man of his intelligence that he is advancing, if not pushing, everyoneâs agenda, and his vision, if he has any, is getting choked in the process. He has tried to be someone else after the Vidharba visit, the tragic farmersâ suicides would affect anybody, but he is talking about excess consumption, waste, etc, Western preoccupations today, when we are barely sustained on growth. His confusion will not make his job easier, and even while his ministers declare independence, the shackles get worse on him. How long can he survive this way?
There will be recrimination, the Left/ allies will bay for Congress blood, its ability to power a coalition government will be queried, and surely, the BJP will taunt it, the NDA couldnât be happier. But see the other side, going on like this is only delaying the inevitable, the Congress has no chance in the next election, better to force a situation where the party escapes with the least damage, and risks the future. But the Congress leadership is risk averse, Congress ministers wouldnât want to surrender the vices of office. What, though, is Manmohan Singh getting out of continuing? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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But it is not Karunanidhi alone or that unspeakable thug in health, the UPA government is going in as many different directions as there are cabinet ministers, a majority of them have declared independence from centralized, collective decision making. There is almost an unwritten compact in the cabinet among the more forceful ministers, there is no interference in one anotherâs territory, nobody stops nobody from taking decisions even if they have the potential to cause instability, to provoke a national crisis.
<b>The agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, has played havoc with food security, and the PM was powerless to call him to account. Arjun Singh has let loose the quota genie that this hopelessly divided minority government cannot bottle again. Senior journalists who have covered Planning Commission meetings have observed the utter disdain that ministers like Pranab Mukherjee and the finance minister, P.Chidambaram, have for the PM. They show up after the PM, if at all, they are very late, and they postpone decisions even if the PM may be expecting one. âThe PM has been humiliated time after time,â said a senior journalist. âHe swallows the insults, and that is about all he can do.â</b> <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Now why Manmohan Singh wonât up and go has often been speculated, his slavish devotion for Sonia Gandhi, his inability to give up a responsibility, even if he is failing at it, and some even say he does not care any longer, that he has grown a hide, and so on</b>. But one doesnât know. Except, it should be clear to a man of his intelligence that he is advancing, if not pushing, everyoneâs agenda, and his vision, if he has any, is getting choked in the process. He has tried to be someone else after the Vidharba visit, the tragic farmersâ suicides would affect anybody, but he is talking about excess consumption, waste, etc, Western preoccupations today, when we are barely sustained on growth. His confusion will not make his job easier, and even while his ministers declare independence, the shackles get worse on him. How long can he survive this way?
There will be recrimination, the Left/ allies will bay for Congress blood, its ability to power a coalition government will be queried, and surely, the BJP will taunt it, the NDA couldnât be happier. But see the other side, going on like this is only delaying the inevitable, the Congress has no chance in the next election, better to force a situation where the party escapes with the least damage, and risks the future. But the Congress leadership is risk averse, Congress ministers wouldnât want to surrender the vices of office. What, though, is Manmohan Singh getting out of continuing? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->