After woes of ’11, PM has vows for ’12
Asserts his govt is committed to Lokpal
Weighed down by an extremely unsuccessful 2011 that saw his nearly 8-year-old government lose its credibility in an alarming manner, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday came out with a New Year resolve, promising a new beginning in 2012.
In an unusual way, the prime minister used his New Year greetings to the nation to virtually set himself on a road to refurbish his government’s image and spell out a new agenda. Singh did not even wish to look back at 2011.
“On this New Year’s Day I do not wish to dwell on the year gone by. Instead, I would like to focus on the challenges of the future, so that we can all work together to overcome them,” he said in his message.
The contrast could not have been more striking. His New Year’s message last year was very brief: just 131 words.
But on Saturday, his message for 2012 counted 3,183 words, and read more like a speech. Obviously, it has a lot to do with the happenings in 2011, most of which were completely unpalatable to his government. In his New Year message exactly a year ago, the prime minister had said thus: “It is an occasion to take stock of the year gone by and of the challenges that lie ahead.’’
Obviously, the prime minster did not want to recall the series of allegations of scams against his government, the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare, price rise, pulls and pressures from allies like Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress, to name a few, which damaged his and his government’s image in 2011.
In the lengthy message, Singh promised an honest and efficient government. ‘‘I want to assure you all on this New Year’s day that I personally will work to provide an honest and more efficient government, a more productive, competitive and robust economy and a more equitable and just social and political order.’’
He dwelt at length on the Lokpal issue which was the focus of attack on his government by the Opposition and social activist Anna Hazare. Two days after his government came in for criticism for avoiding a vote on the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said his government was committed to the enactment of an effective Lokpal Act.
Lokpal regret
‘‘The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha. It is unfortunate that the Bill could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha. However, our Government is committed to the enactment of an effective Lokpal Act.’’ Noting that concern about corruption had moved to the centre stage, the prime minister said, ‘‘New institutions such as the Lokpal and the Lokayuktas are an important part of the solution and we have initiated the process for establishing them. But this is only one part of the solution. We also need reforms in systems of government which would increase transparency and minimise discretion so that the scope of misgovernance is reduced.
We have taken several steps in this regard. We have introduced in Parliament a Bill on Citizen’s Charters which will empower citizens to demand services at appropriate standards from government departments. We have introduced a Bill on Judicial Accountability.
‘‘These initiatives will take time to have their full effect and we must therefore be patient. But I do believe they are transformational initiatives, which will be recognised as such a few years down the line.’’
Singh also dwelt at length on economy, the social sector and energy security.
