India is changing and the UPA is finding it hard to keep up; keep up with its own thieving Ministers. It is finding it hard to communicate with its own coalition. Their President seems to be busy forgiving and enticing to keep the government in power. But where is our beloved Prime Minister? India is in crisis and we need a “State of the Nation Address” by him.
While urban India and its media are busy beating the drums of “super power India,” there is nothing in our democracy that points out to this fact except “disposable” income. Explosion of retail industry, a World Cup victory and a commercialised cricket league does not indicate the makings of a super power. It is the quality of life of its poorest, the safety of its women and an ecosystem for prosperity that fuels a nation to superstardom.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is undoubtedly the architect of today’s “rich” India, but does he make a good Prime Minister? Yes, indeed he is a good man, a non - corrupt individual and a fantastic economist, but is that enough to lead a nation of multi - cultured, morally fractured and electorally erratic nation? Is our Prime Minister, a man with astute character and position of power, doing his best to change the future of India? We doubt it. But who’s asking?
In India we have a bad habit — we feel we have no right to criticize anyone who has done some good work or whom the “media” has declared heroes. It seems we cannot question anything or critique anyone who has a combination of “non - corrupt,” “well - educated” and “service - oriented” tags attached to them. If they are glorified, they suddenly become unquestionable. That is why, when Deve Gowda asked a few pertinent questions about Infosys’ land acquisition frenzy, he was immediately put down by the media and urban public as, “How dare a politician, an allegedly “corrupt” politician, question Infosys, the epitome of IT in Karnataka?”
Questioning Dr. Abdul Kalam about the validity of his vision — Vision 2020 — of a developed India is considered sacrilegious. Questioning Anna Hazare’s “unconventional” methods of discouraging young boys from smoking in his town is a No No. Just because an individual is of good character, does it mean his decisions cannot be questioned? On the other hand, a bad decision does not mean a person is evil either.
For some reason, we tend to take criticism or uncomfortable line of questioning as casting a doubt on one’s character. So it seems no matter how mannequinish Dr. Manmohan Singh remains, we cannot critique him or question his actions as it is “just not done” — after all, isn’t he a good, intelligent, non - corrupt man? But then he is our Prime Minister and he has to answer uncomfortable questions.
Moreover, how long can we keep quiet? In recent times, Dr. Manmohan Singh is the only PM we have truly believed in, who could make life better for an average Indian. The brilliant economist gave us disposable income and a light - trickle effect that the poor could enjoy. But then again, inflation rate is at an all - time high.
Also the PM with a soft smile showed no emotion or quick response when RTI activists and journalists were murdered, sailors were held hostage by Somalian pirates and when Kapil Sibal gave us a slap of arrogance when he said there was zero loss in 2G spectrum auction, and this while our PM himself is an economist!
Does not our good Prime Minister understand that silence may be golden but that applies only if you’re in a doctor’s lounge and not when you are the Prime Minister of the most populated nation in the world? In a democracy which is in crisis and is looking for answers, we need our Prime Minister to talk to us, address the nation as to what will be done and give us hope.
Instead, our Prime Minister remains invisible while his government lets loose its intellectual twist - master and spin - doctor on us. Kapil Sibal, a former Supreme Court lawyer, can spin an issue better than Shane Warne can spin a cricket ball or Liz Hurley for that matter. And Chidambaram can bug the hell out of any argument (and also, apparently Pranab Mukherjee’s office) with a barrage of information and statistics.
So where is our Prime Minister? Why isn’t he addressing the nation? Yes, true, unlike the United States, our Prime Minister is elected by the majority party that comes to power and not directly by the people. But does that mean that he must address only the President of his party and not the people? True, he called a few media men and answered questions on various issues, but what about speaking to the people? Why leave everything to your Ministers?
What should the people of this nation think when well - educated Ministers such as Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Pranab Mukherjee, who we assume want to change the course of this democracy, create so much debate, confusion and revulsion to introduce a Bill that may change the future of this nation for the better? Doesn’t a visionary like Manmohan Singh appreciate the importance of a strong Lokpal Bill knowing very well by now how politicians rob this country at every level?
Instead, he lets his party men talk about civil society as “unelected” entities, thereby implying they have no voice! In that case, should we ask Chidambaram to leave the Home Ministry and go back to his home in Chennai as his election victory is still being challenged in Chennai High Court? Doesn’t the good Prime Minister see the good that can come out of this Bill? Similarly, what about the National Advisory Council (NAC)? It also has members from civil society and yet, the government listens to it.
It’s time Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh addressed the nation on the moral and financial chaos that is brewing. Stating “coalition compulsions” as an excuse for the government’s inability to book the corrupt is rather unbelievable considering that black money and ISRO spectrum scams don’t seem to have too much significance among the regional coalition partners.
Has our brilliant economist PM crossed over to the dark side? Has he too become just a politician like his other intellectual Cabinet colleagues? Or is he just in a very confused phase in his career right now? India is in too much crisis to wait till August 15th to hear him. One show a year is no show at all. Looks like “Singh was never the King” to begin with. It was only the Queen all along.
