DC debate: Befitting reply to PM critics

Dokka Manikya Vara Prasad

Minister for Rural Development, AP

The press meet of Dr Manmohan Singh should be welcomed by one and all. The PM has candidly expressed his views. During the regime of UPA-I and UPA-II, the performance of the PM and the Government has been spectacular.

Under his tenure, Dr Singh has brought about many innovative enactments, namely, Right to Education Act, Right to Information Act, MGNREG Act, Criminal Amendment Act and more recently, the Lokpal Act and Land Acquisition Act. These enactments have a far-reaching effect on the people.

During the regime of NDA, there was never such an attempt to streamline the administration and better the lives of the people. Dr Singh is a renowned economist and India should be proud of his stewardship.

He has brought about many financial reforms for dealing with inflation in the country. When all nations, including the US, were in the grip of severe financial crisis, the economic policies of Dr Singh saved the country. His administration won worldwide admiration and applause. It is unfortunate that some parties choose to attack the PM on the basis of narrow parochial and partisan attitude.

Since Dr Singh has almost announced retirement from politics, people are looking towards Rahul Gandhi to take  the charge of UPA-III. Both Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are faces of the Indian secularism. The poor and the oppressed are looking to his leadership. The pro-poor policies of the Congress will definitely bring the party back into power, in whose hands the future of India lies safely.

The PM has rightly said that the reforms in the UPA government is a continuing process and they would undertake such reforms as and when necessary to take the country forward. It is known to one and all that the PM is an impeccable and honest person and he has stated that he has streamlined the administration to curb corruption. Even in the sale of coal blocks, he suggested to go for auctions, which proves his innocence.

The PM has stoutly denied BJP’s charges that he is a weak person and has attacked their PM candidate Narendra Modi strongly. He went to the extent of saying that a strong PM does not mean one who presides over the massacre of innocent citizens in the streets of Ahmedabad.

This proves his capability to provide befitting answers to malicious attacks. The PM has answered a wide range questions with ease and exhibited himself as a strong, capable leader to run the country safely. He will be remembered as a great administrator.

PM dependent on party prez

prof y.b. satyanarayana, Secretary, Centre for Dalit Studies

The press conference Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed on Friday was only his third during his entire period in office, almost nine-and- half-years. He has never been elected directly by the people and has always been nominated. Hence, he has never been in direct contact with the people to comprehend their problems.

He was a bureaucrat and a well known economist. As the Prime Minster, he is occupying a driving seat but is being driven by a back seater.

Defending the UPA’s rule in his interview, he said that despite his government being blamed for the 2G spectrum and coal block scams, people re-elected UPA for another term. This claim appears ridiculous.

He further said that media played into the hands of Opposition and also the CAG reports. During his tenure inflation was at its peak, but instead of addressing the issue he says that necessary measures are being taken to protect the weaker sections.

He claims that five months is a long period to address the growth impulses on the economic front. On his failure to act on major issues, he justifies himself by blaming the coalition politics for not being competent enough.

On UPA’s debacle in the last Assembly elections in four states, he confesses that price rise, which was beyond his control, was the main reason. On the foreign policy front, Dr Singh utterly failed in regard to Indo-US relations and Indo-Pak relations.

The question on everybody’s minds in the past nine years has been: Who runs the government — is it Manmohan Singh or Congress president? There must be only one reason for such a long stint — either the PM is extraordinarily efficient and independent in his work or totally reliant on party president. Dr Singh has proved his dependence on the party president in his handling of many issues. There have been no hiccups in his relationship with the Congress president all during his entire tenure.

There has been no single incident where the PM expressed his regret in the long term. He says when history is written, the Congress will come out unscathed. But the history is always built on facts and figures and not on expectations. He says that he has served the country with utmost dedication and integrity but he had to compromise due to coalition politics.

He has been compromising with the coalition partners saving his chair at the cost of the merits he mentioned and says dealing with corruption is not an easy process. He accepts that there have been irregularities, but they have been overstated by the media and CAG. He was an able and efficient finance minister in P.V. Narsimha Rao’s Cabinet, but is a failure as the Prime Minister of India.