Govt must shape up, do it quickly
Winning over 200 seats, the Congress Party returned to office in 2009 with a greater core strength than had any party leading a coalition in recent years. And yet, the frailty of the UPA-2 government has been underlined on the FDI issue. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, on whom his party relies considerably for political management, explained to the Congress Parliamentary Party on Thursday that the fear of a mid-term election had stopped the government from pushing the FDI issue as it feared defeat since the government had not been able to persuade all its coalition partners. More than the Congress’ weakness in floor management, to which some have drawn attention, it is the party’s failure in managing its allies that raises concern.
Indeed, the FDI episode also showed that many Congress MPs were not comfortable with the government’s stance on FDI. The fear of investment by foreigners in certain sectors of the economy also came to light when Congress MPs in the standing committee on finance, along with those of the Opposition parties, declined to support the government on enhancing the prospect of foreign investments in banking and insurance.
It is clear that the government has not cared to explain the implications to the people, and has simply sprung these issues in Parliament. Aside from the issue of foreign investments, Congress MPs also avoided supporting the government on ushering in the system of a unique identity number for all residents (as distinct from “citizens”), which the party leadership — most notably AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi — is said to strongly endorse.
On the whole, the treasury benches have failed to manage their flock, the first call on a ruling party or coalition. In the circumstances, UPA-2 is plain lucky that the Opposition is not yet ready for a mid-term poll. Should the Anna Hazare movement gather steam in the coming months, the picture might just look different, and the efforts of the Opposition parties could acquire an edge. In such an event, only the quality of governance is likely to bail out the government. At the moment there appears to be a question mark on this front.
A look at some key sectors is revealing. The UPA’s flagship scheme of NREGA — which many think won the 2009 general election for this coalition — is riddled with corruption. Railway finances are a mess and there has hardly been any technological upgrade or innovation in this sector. Defence acquisitions have lagged behind. The lack of clear-cut political direction to the bureaucracy, and an absence of procedures and firm accountability, is thought to be at the bottom of many of these deficiencies. If the government doesn’t shape up, it could be shipped out.
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