The United Progressive Alliance government has just completed two years in office. How do you rate its performance? Good, bad or sad? And how many marks would you give it out of 10?
Has Manmohan Singh done a good job with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Right to Information Act; with friendlier ties with the United States and Pakistan; with reduced communal tensions; with a booming economy?
Or has Manmohan Singh done a bad job with the continuing farmers' suicides, with the reservation fracas, with the Natwar Singh scandal, with the nuclear deal which mortgages India's energy interests, with the kowtowing to the World Bank and ADB?
Or has Manmohan Singh been just a sad, ineffective, bureaucratic PM who has been used by the Congress to dislodge governments in Bihar, Jharkhand and Goa, to protect Ottavio Quattrochi in the Bofors deal, and to shield Sonia Gandhi hersef in the office of profit controversy?
With bullheaded partners like MK, Laloo etc. and so many impediments and conundrums, it’s surpising that Manmohan has survived so far. Let’s give him a respectable grade.
For all the criticism that he invokes, the facelessness of Manmohan Singh has been a blessing in disguise. For a change policy and politics are not heavily personalised as it usually tends to be in the Indian context. It takes a peculiar genius to work when a figure like Sonia Gandhi is hovering over your head. It takes a peculiar genius to work without seeking recognition or publicity. Manmohan, to his credit, has done so very well, confusing an opposition which doesn’t know whether to attack him or his boss. I would give him a 7 out of 10.
Dr.Singh is a brilliant Economist. But Manmohan is something different. I wish he were Good,Sad or even Bad. But he turned out to be Bland.
I will give very poor marks to Man Mohan Singh. Even in his own field of economics he has not been able to make an impact. Look at energy sector. The problem is one of misguided pricing policies. The first lesson any economics student learn is about the misuse of subsidy. Under Man Mohan Singh, the reign of subsidy is continuing. Admnistered pricing mechanism should have been wound. Instead it is strengthening in the worst way and navarathnas will be soon bankrupt while political netas having lucrative petrol stations, kerosese shops are raking in crores.
Let us forget economics. He should have at least brough some honesty to our political system and attempted to reduce corruption. He has not even made a dent in the system. Corruption is still continuing. Both the real PM and apparent PM are supposed to be honest. But have we seen any improvement in this much needed area?
Suffice it to say, he has been a failure but not a disaster.
The people from Sardar community are always looked upon as the bundel of immense energy. What bugs me is the attitude of lazy follower than the initiater.
Dr Manmohan Singh is a highly educated bureaucrat and as a bureaucrat he did what Madame Inidra wanted when he was Governor, Reserve Bank. Socialism, yes master. Liberalisation came because of that wily Prime minister with no mass base, P.V. Narasimha Rau, who saw the evils of public and private monopoly which had led into into all types of isms like nepotisam, casteism. etc and corruption -rampant. During Rau’s time he did what Rau wanted the way he wanted, liberalisation at SLOW Pace. Rau was walking on thin edge of the sword. Now with two masters, Mrs Gandhi and CPM he will do what they want. I would give him fullmarks as bureaucrat. He has financial honesty. We cannot measure him eith other parameters, like leadership qulaity. We should remeber he is a master bureaucrat
Dear All,
MMS reminds me of the Tendulkar Effect. IMHO Tendulkar is the most useless all-time great batsman India has ever produced. MMS is a ‘brilliant economist’ only India can produce and it is to Sonia’s credit that she created the most useless greatest faceless PM the world has ever seen:)
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