One year of UPA's non-performance

Farce of a Government
By A. Jaitley

It was an year of assault on constitutional institutions. When the Supreme Court passed its orders in the Jharkhand assembly case, a legislature versus judiciary confrontation was attempted.

The UPA government completes a year in office. Its principal achievement is to have survived the period. The UPA had no mandate or majority to rule. It was the support of those who opposed it in the 2004 general elections that enabled it to come to power. The common minimum programme (CMP) is only the ostensible programme of the government. Even the review by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), published in several newspapers, reveals that the CMP is largely unimplemented. Parts of it are unimplementable. Its real programme is anti-BJPism.

Disillusionment with the government is writ large. The Samajwadi Party, which initially decided to support the government from outside, has virtually withdrawn support. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), another outside supporter, has declared the government to be a failure. The hypocrisy of the Left is more than evident. Its anti-BJPism gets the government going. Its desire to occupy the opposition space persuades it to ideologically torture the government on economic reforms.

It was an year of tainted ministers. Never before has the nation witnessed such criminalisation of the council of ministers. The prime minister had no prerogative in the selection of ministers; alliance partners insisted that their nominees be appointed. Inducting the tainted was bad enough. Institutions like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the income tax appellate tribunal were subverted to help the tainted. The prime minister, who said "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion", also defended the tainted on the presumption of innocence till guilt is proved.

It was an year of vendetta. Governors were removed on political considerations. Institutions were subverted to help the likes of Lalu Prasad, Shibu Soren and Capt Satish Sharma. Justice Phukan's report on 15 defence transactions was consigned to the dustbin because it did not proclaim George Fernandes guilty. A CBI inspector would now probe the transactions. He is presumably more reliable than a former Supreme Court judge.

While the tainted were defended, an inquiry was announced into the Centaur Hotels disinvestment to tarnish one of India's cleanest politicians - Arun Shourie. This inquiry, which bypasses the public accounts committee, was set up only to keep the Left in good humour. By harassing a former minister with strong pro-reform credentials, the government has created a deterrent against reformist ministers. The prime minister can be safely referred to as a former reformist.

The year witnessed the dilution of the prime minister's authority. Major decisions are no longer in the domain of the PMO; they are taken by the UPA chairperson. The PMO is only the notifying agency. This was an year of emergence of extra-constitutional centres of power. In Goa and Jharkhand, the PMO had no idea at whose behest the governors were acting. What prevented the prime minister from taking firm steps on the matter?

It was an year of assault on constitutional institutions. When the Supreme Court passed its orders in the Jharkhand assembly case, a legislature versus judiciary confrontation was attempted. The Election Commission conducted one of the fairest elections in Bihar. This disappointed the railway minister. He attacked the Election Commission (EC) on the basis of a not-so-convincing allegation of a controversial civil servant. The attack backfired; the EC was not to be intimidated. All this suggests that the government plans to politically capture the EC.

National security stands compromised today. The anti-terrorism law was repealed as a response to an increase in Maoist activity along the entire Maoist corridor. Normal laws with easy bail provisions must now apply to the Al-Qaida activists and Peoples War. Why? An honest reply in Parliament highlighting the dangers of infiltration from Bangladesh was withdrawn because the government cannot be seen as anti-infiltration.

The census report on major demographic changes was not a cause of concern. It was a cause of embarrassment, leading to its withdrawal.

The year was a setback to the process of economic reforms. Infrastructure creation was diluted. The last two budgets were characterised by high taxes. Fiscal deficit remains uncorrected. Major reform decisions are diluted under Left pressure. If privatisation is a bad word with this government, labour flexibilities are taboo. At this rate, economic growth will be industry-driven and not policy-driven.

The government is responsible for complete breakdown of dialogue with the Opposition. The UPA chairperson proclaimed that the Opposition boycott enabled Parliament to transact business. Congress general secretary Ambika Soni wanted the Opposition to apologise before being invited back to Parliament. The prime minister's information advisor informed the media that the prime minister was not inviting Opposition leaders for talks on ending the boycott. The railway minister has reduced public discourse to vulgarity.

It was an eventful year: Parliament without Opposition, an economist prime minister without economic reforms. The tainted govern as ministers and the Arun Shouries stand in the dock. How long wills this torture last?