Leaks and sparks

Sometimes coalition governments can provide a great deal of entertainment. Instead of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Opposition sparring on issues, we have many ministers and members of Parliament

within the Congress Party firing blanks at each other. In an age of 24x7 media, all these issues get blown out of proportion but we should learn where to draw the line on particular issues.
In my opinion, minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh has a very tough portfolio to handle and he will be under constant attack as environmental issues are contentious. Look at the controversy generated at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. Should we be surprised that in a country like India, which has a booming economy and growing infrastructure needs, environmental issues create (necessary) hurdles?
I am not surprised that Mr Ramesh has come under attack from all quarters and this is, in fact, a “good” sign. In our obsession to achieve record gross domestic product growth we cannot afford to neglect environmental issues. Mr Ramesh’s remarks in China, critical of the Union home ministry for allegedly stalling import of Chinese telecom equipment and raising security concerns, were unnecessary, but we must move on.
Considering the important portfolios talented ministers like Mr Salman Khurshid and Mr Ramesh handle, I think it would be a good thing if they get full Cabinet rank. This is important keeping in mind our system of governance and the deeply-entrenched protocol. The situation is very different in the home ministry where dissenting views on Maoist violence were dealt with by home minister P. Chidambaram, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Security, and also at the prime ministerial level. No one believes that force is the only solution and Mr Chidambaram has said so himself on several occasions. We have had serious issues on security after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and the uncertain situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, along with extremist violence, complicated it further. Given the restraints of time and resources, Mr Chidambaram has done extremely well. He needs a great deal of support at the political level in the government and also from the Congress. Good governance needs to be acknowledged across party lines.
While the 3G auction figures are hugely impressive and will net the government in excess of Rs 50,000 crores, the storm over the 2G mess has led to an open and transparent system being monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office. While this is a welcome development, sadly, telecom minister A. Raja may well carry the nickname “Spectrum” Raja in the future.
Even before the tapes and documents regarding the deals were leaked by government agencies there were few secrets in this “transaction”. It is tragic that despite instructions from the Prime Minister and the raids conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the Department of Telecom, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) immersed itself in the succession war within the family. While this invited the wrath of the voting public, the 2G scam documents went to the Supreme Court.
We have seen a great deal of negative reactions to the role of business houses, lobbyists and media personalities. But we are clearly over-reacting to these issues, just we as did during the face-off between Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI). We must learn to draw a line between public servants and private individuals and the law applicable to each category.
The point here is that if, according to the documents, “public servants” or their families have benefited from the 2G licences, then the issue needs investigation and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress have a serious problem on their hands.
In Tamil Nadu few can predict the course the DMK succession war will take. With a viable Opposition in the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and a fluid situation with the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Congress has much to think about.

WE LIVE in a global society and events abroad affect us in many ways. It is time to take a brief vacation from internal political events and dwell on events in the United Kingdom and Europe. The situation in Europe is complex and the economic crisis in Greece might have well crept into Portugal, Spain and Italy. The European Union, along with the International Monetary Fund, had to infuse nearly $1 trillion into the system as this was clearly not the time to “bite the bullet”.
In the UK, a catastrophe has been avoided as a hung Parliament was converted into a stable coalition government comprising the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg, in their early forties, have taken up their responsibilities as Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister respectively.
After 13 years, the Labour Party looked very “tired” as the economy was in shambles, the Iraq war was considered an intelligence “error” and the number of casualties suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan were increasing. I think we will witness a great deal of corrective action in the UK and in Europe. We have much at stake in the UK and Europe where many Indian companies have sizeable investments.
The British general election was well reported by the BBC and I was very impressed with the accuracy of their “opinion polls”.

This week we will be entertained by the BCCI-IPL battle, which is bound to be complicated as many charges against Mr Modi are based only on statements and media reports. The IPL Kochi franchisee team negotiations hold the “key” to the truth and now that Shashi Tharoor is back with them some sparks may fly.
The Indian cricket team has been ousted from the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. In the last three games that India played at the Super Eight level it looked a beaten and tired team. A single positive performance can create the difference between success and failure.

Arun Nehru is a former Union Minister