PM can't duck it

The sense of hurt and indignation that Manmohan Singh displays at often being labelled a ‘lame duck’ prime minister is understandable. However self-effacing a person is, nobody would like to be perceived as a ‘dummy,’ and certainly not a prime minister who is in office for seven long years without a break and set a record as the third longest-serving PM after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

 That Manmohan Singh, heading the government more as a creature of coalition politics than a leader in his own right or not having the charisma and public standing of a Nehru or an Indira Gandhi, is not the problem. Persons with lesser credentials than him have occupied that post. The problem with Manmohan Singh is that he goes into a ‘shell’ for long periods and gives the impression of being ‘an absentee prime minister’ who has no control over things happening around him.

His meeting with a hand-picked group of editors on Wednesday with a promise to interact with the media more regularly henceforth, is obviously borne out of his desire to show that he is in “full command” of his government, as he himself proclaimed. But ironically, his evasive responses to various issues raised during the meeting only confirmed the fact that on ticklish domestic issues he is afraid to take a stand and be counted.

Take for instance, the much-debated Lokpal bill. Whether the prime minister should be brought under the purview of Lokpal is one of most contentious issues. Manmohan Singh justifiably has a clean image and not even his political opponents question his political and administrative integrity. If only he had the courage to speak up, he would have taken by the bull by its horns, declared his willingness and his government’s commitment to bring the prime minister under the Lokpal, giving a much-needed boost to his government’s sagging image, besides chaging the course of the discourse.

But after a prolonged silence, Manmohan Singh now says, “I have no hesitation in bringing myself under the purview of Lokpal, but many of my cabinet colleagues feel that bringing the institution of the prime minister under it will create an element of instability.” The point is, if he has no hesitation, why is he allowing his cabinet colleagues to bully him to take a contrary stand? And if he is not a dummy, should he not assert his authority and tell his colleagues that this is what he would like to do?

 As Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde, a member of the Lokpal bill joint drafting committee, has pointed out that under the Constitution, it is only the President of India who enjoys immunity from prosecution and there is no exemption given to the prime minister. An anti-corruption law will gain credibility only when the highest chief executive is also brought under its ambit. There is no substance in the argument that a prime minister cannot function freely if he has to always look over his shoulder to see what the Lokpal is upto or that the country will plunge into instability if he comes under the Lokpal scanner.

Frivolous complaints

There can be a board of five or seven members which will weed out all frivolous complaints and award exemplary punishment to those who indulge in such mischief, so that the prime minister does not in anyway feel constrained from taking any valid decisions.

It is heartening to note that the prime minister is aware of the fact his government is described as “the most corrupt ever,” but it is entirely in his hands to remove that perception rather than blaming the civil society, the opposition or the media. He cannot be unaware that whether it is 2G spectrum scam, the Commonwealth Games scandal or the Adarsh housing society controversy, it was the judiciary and the media which have driven the government to act, rather reluctantly. His government is yet to respond to the Supreme Court’s suggestion to set up a special court to deal with the multi-dimensional 2G scam.

On former minister A Raja’s involvement in the 2G scam, Manmohan Singh makes a valid point that he has to trust his ministers and cannot oversee the functioning of every department. But he has no convincing answer as to why he did not act for months on newspapers reports and the CAG report on the scam. His contention that if he were to refer every newspaper report for CBI inquiry, the public sector would not be able to perform and it would result in a “police raj” is disingenuous and completely untenable.

Again, the prime minister’s observation that the inflation is the result of high crude oil prices and the rising commodity prices worldwide may be partly true, but what initiative has his government taken to contain government expenditure and introduce austerity measures which could have had salutary effect on inflation? He is also aware that the goods and services tax (GST) is vital for removing interstate barriers for commerce and would ease the price situation besides accelerating the tempo of growth, but what initiative has he taken as prime minister to convince the states that such legislation is urgently needed?

The prime minister needs to take the states along if he is serious about addressing myriad problems facing the country, be it corruption, naxalism or the economic issues like the GST. When did Manmohan Singh last call the National Development Council meeting, which is a forum of all chief ministers?

It’s high time that the Lame Duck turned into an energetic Swan!