UPA-II'S TWEETS

The euphoria that the UPA-II’s reasonably impressive victory created during the 2009 general elections seems to be withering away. There is an uncomfortable feeling that things are falling apart and that the Manmohan Singh government is losing control over men and matters. It is really disappointing that there is noticeable drift in such a short span in political and administrative direction of the Union government.
It all started with the fiasco in Sharm-el-Sheikh where the Prime Minister came out in poor light either due to the US pressure or out of his own weakness to be seen as an accommodating head of government. The net result was he had to cut a very sorry figure within the country and it was left to his cabinet colleagues to do damage control. He did irreparable damage to the national interest when he agreed to include Balochistan in the joint statement. The External Affairs Minister, S M Krishna, proved to be another Shivraj Patil minus his sartorial splendour.

As if the discomfiture in Egypt was not enough, Krishna was in the midst of an unseemly controversy when he was residing in a five-star hotel at the cost of tax payers’ money along with his deputy. It was left to the Finance Minister to make amends by going in for austerity measures which for all practical purposes is nothing but tokenism. Even tokenism is okay if it has a bearing on others in the administration. But the Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor threw the Congress party, which came to power on the slogan of “Aam admi”, into great embarrassment with his remark on “Cattle class” and “Holy Cows”. Unfortunately for Tharoor, he made this remark on Twitter network when his boss Sonia Gandhi was travelling by economy class. This has infuriated Congressmen no end and they are after his scalp. Rajasthan chief minister Ghelot wants him to resign. As a side show to this farcical austerity, here comes a report that Rahul Gandhi’s Tamil Nadu tour cost Rs 1 crore. Did this exposure make him to take to Shatabdhi when he went to Haryana?

Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad also proved to be a bad choice and the way he handled swine flu pandemic did not bring any credit to the government. The very fact that his proposal to disband the Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Councils of India was summarily turned down by the Prime Minister with a suggestion to hold wider consultations before a final decision speaks volumes about the confidence he enjoys with the head of government. Another minister, E Ahmed, though not from Congress, is accused of a massive scandal in Haj pilgrimage. The relationship with the NCP is not too cosy and it is only the fear of Shiv Sena’s return that might keep the Cong-NCP ties in tact, if at all.

More than all these developments which do not anyway enhance the prestige of the government and the party, what should be really worrying the party is the post-YSR drama for succession. Andhra Pradesh played a crucial role under YSR in enabling the UPA bounce back to power at the Centre by sending 33 MPs to Lok Sabha few months ago. The Congress party must have thought that AP is an impregnable fort for the party. Today, that fort is in tatters. Though K Rosaiah was installed as the chief minister by the high command, his writ does not run and the local media is full of reports of how the ministers care a damn for him and how they don’t even attend the CM’s review meetings. Even the Congress legislators have not bothered to call on him for courtesy sake after he took over as CM. There are also reports that if YSR’s son Jagan Mohan Reddy is not coronated, there could be a split in the party. Whether it is true or not, the fact remains that the Andhra Pradesh Congress is not going to be as strong as it was in the last five years and dissidence is bound to weaken the party. It is highly unlikely that the party would be able to repeat its 2009 performance in 2014 when Congress is hoping to be on its own thanks to the heir apparent’s efforts to revitalise the party.

Even the UPA allies are contributing their own share to embarrass the government. The man who revels in blackmail politics, Muthuvel Karunanidhi, has once again raised his pet theme of “Self-Rule” for Tamil Nadu as he finds the Union government to be weak. Well, one does not know what he means by “Self-Rule”, but if what he means is family rule he already has it. It is his family which controls the state in all aspects. But where he might feel threatened is the noise that Crown Prince Rahul made in Tamil Nadu and wanted the Congress to come back to power on its own. This is something that he can’t put up with. Hence Karunanidhi raised the banner of “Self-Rule” as a red rag.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, in her own inimitable style, demanded a CBI enquiry into job scam during the Lalu Prasad regime. This will only queer the pitch and deepen the hostilities between UPA and RJD in Bihar where RJD seems to be on the comeback trail. This comes at a time when Lalu Prasad is slowly trying to cool down the temperature in his relationship with the Congress. Further, if any concrete material about the job racket comes out of the enquiry, more than Lalu, it is going to affect the image of the UPA regime.

Though UP chief minister Mayawati or her party is not part of the UPA, she is also threatening the government of India of serious consequences if memorials dedicated to Bahujan Samaj Party icons are demolished. She is hinting at serious law and order situation, an euphemism for anarchy and lawlessness in the state leading to President’s Rule.

Politics apart, even the image of the judiciary has also taken a severe beating under the UPA-II regime. It is something unusual for the Chief Justice of India to summon a High Court chief justice for his explanation on corruption charges. The Karnataka Bar Association has decided to boycott the courts so long as Justice Dinakaran, CJ of Karnatak High Court continues to be in office. Another judge of the same court had been using the media to express his views on a sensitive subject like disclosure of assets by judges. The Law Minister under UPA-I was only a domestic help of the Nehru-Gandhi family and his successor seems to be no better in protecting the image of the judiciary.

One did not expect that the UPA-II would find itself in such a mess within six months, but fortunately for the Congress, the principal Opposition is in no better position. Not a solace for the nation really!