JOIN USThree years after calling Manmohan Singh the man who changed millions of lives for better, the “Time” magazine, featuring him on its cover, termed him “the underachiever”.
The weekly, whose July issue hit the stands on Saturday, has also raised questions on Manmohan Singh’s ability to act in the face of slowing growth, widespread charges of policy inaction and the unpopularity of business reforms.
“India needs a robot. Is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh up to the job?,” asked the magazine, which flays Dr Singh for having “squandered” the last three years, his lack of confidence, inability to rein in his ministers and “unwilling” to carry out reforms that would continue the process of liberalisation he helped start in 1991.
The comments prima facie look hard hitting for a prime minister, who has often been billed pro-reforms, pro-market and even pro-America.
It also seems like the fall from the grace of a man in the eyes of the US, having been hailed in the past for making the world’s largest democracy one of the fastest growing one.
Criticising the UPA it said: “The laws that could help create growth and jobs are stuck in parliament, sparking concerns that politicians have lost the plot in their focus on short-term populist measures that will win votes.
“India is stalling. To turn it around, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must emerge from his private and political gloom,” elaborates the write-up, calling the Prime Minister “a man in shadow”. Time reckons that retaining the finance portfolio following the exit of Pranab Mukherjee an opportunity for Dr Singh to turn the economy around, though it is not sure if he could manage that.