UPA: Two years on, not much to show

The UPA government ‘celebrated’ its two years in power yesterday, albeit, on a very somber note, what with the country’s middle class and social structure extremely polarized and the nations’ two bourses taking a heavy body blow on the same day. An assessment of the two years in power shows many lows than the government would have hoped for, some notable achievements, which unfortunately got muddled in the cacophony of criticism fly thick and fast.

The two years in power have seen some very controversial decisions being taken by the Government in general and the Congress in particular. The dissolution of the Bihar, Jharkhand and Goa assemblies, the increased number of terror attacks, the rise of Naxalism, Volcker, office of profit and the more recent quota controversy gives the picture of a government that has sputtered at crucial stages of its existence and have brought it down a couple of notches in the public domain. The loss of Natwar Singh, as foreign minister was seen as a victory for the opposition and left many at 24 Akbar Road red faced. Also with Shibu Soren been declared an absconder and a proclaimed offender did not show the government or the PM’s team in good light. In fact, the root cause of many of the problems that seem inherent with this government is the lackluster leadership of the prime minister to forcefully take charge of the cabinet and really be the last word on his government’s policy. His media managing skills are partly to be blamed for this peculiar situation. The prime minister is virtually invisible in the public domain. Whenever an issue of national importance breaks out the prime minister is found wanting in addressing the nation and reassuring the citizens about the governments policy. All we hear on most issues is that the PMO was kept out of the loop in most controversies. That line to take is an indicator that the prime ministers team members are taking their own course with Dr. Singh as the bystander in all of this. It is not very reassuring for the country nor does it augur well for the prime ministers own image. He has to speak out and be heard more, lest he wants a false impression of indifference or more damagingly, indecisiveness to become the hallmark of his premiership.

The notable achievements that the government has been trying to hard sell is the Indo-US nuclear deal and Sonia Gandhi’s pet project the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Both projects are of incredible importance to India in terms of its future, however, both are now mired in controversy for different reasons. The onus now lies with the government to prove that both projects are implementable are at the same time beneficial for the country. Some other notable highs for the government have been its opening of the aviation sector. Although, many may argue that the seeds of opening up the civil aviation space was the work of the previous government, the very continuing of a successful policy is commendable.

No analysis of the UPA government will be complete without looking at the role of the Left in the alliance. If the UPA were to be represented with a color, it would no doubt be red, crimson at best. The shadow of the left is imprinted on every major decision taken by this government, sometime pulling it back on some pragmatic decisions. The pension regulatory bill, FDI in retail and disinvestments of PSU remain in limbo with no consensus on the issue within the alliance.

The rise of Naxalism has been well documented and it has seen an unprecedented rise in the past few years. The so called ‘red corridor’ by some observers now accounts for 23% of the nation’s territory, this remains the biggest threat to the country’s internal security and will have be addressed soon, however, resolving the issue anytime soon is far fetched for this government to tackle.

Foreign policy has been another key focus area where flip-flops within the government and the larger coalition have come to the fore. The Iran vote at the IAEA had the Congress and the Left on opposing camps; the Nepal situation was badly handled with a coherent policy not coming out from South Block. Similarly, the government has been hamstrung on the level and degree of support it wants to seek from the US at the cost of its traditional friends. Relations between India and countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia and our neighbors as well have not gone according to plan. The peace process with Pakistan now needs an impetus as the progress on a solution is moving at a snail’s pace, with both sides not knowing how to take the well established confident building measures forward to resolve all outstanding issues. The urgent need to find a suitable foreign minister is also required to bring some sense of leadership and articulate a consistent foreign policy in this world that is looking at India as a future superpower.

The assembly elections that have been held this year have shown the Congress’ diminishing presence to the gain of its political allies. The DMK, Left and other regional factions have emerged much stronger at the cost of the Congress. Every few months the talk of a third front floats in the air, indicating the allies in the UPA wanting to keep the Congress out in their ideal scheme of things. The Congress to realizes the pressure groups that have established within the coalition but seems to be doing little about it knowing fully well that a CPM or a DMK could really rock the UPA boat if push comes to shove.

Overall, the two years at the helm of affairs have thrown a government that though not short on ideas has faced numerous challenges and impediments created by its own coalition partners or surprisingly by many foot in mouth cabinet ministers. On the whole two years of the UPA would warrant it a 4 on 10 with much work to be done and a more assertive prime minister standing up and being counted.