The dramatic decision of Manmohan Singh yesterday to overturn a cabinet decision on disinvestment all by himself has thrown a big question mark over the Prime Minister. Is a serious move afoot in the Congress to undermine Dr Singh? Be it the petrol price hike, be it the increasing prices of essential commodities, be it the reservation issue, or be it the AIIMS episode, the view seems to be gaining ground that the prime minister is not his own man; that he is not being allowed to do what he wants to do. And that some unseen hands in the Congress and outside are striving to make things difficult for him while making good use of his clean reformist image to achieve their own ends.
Questions: How long will Manmohan Singh be able to withstand the caricature of a “weak PM”? With disinvestment now completely off radar, has the countdown begun for his end? Will a frustrated PM throw in the towel and say goodbye one of these days? Should he? Will that be good or bad for the country?
Also see: Why stay on?
churumuri 
I am aghast at the frequency with which Churumuri calls for the resignation of people. Narendra Modi in the past. Then Anbumani Ramadoss. Now the prime minister himself. I think the world is underestimating Singh’s acumen as a politician. Merely because he is a Rajya Sabha member, merely because he is calm and cool, merely because of his image, they think he is a rollover. I suspect he is not.
The very fact that he has managed to stick around so long in the Congress, first as finance minister then as leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and now as prime minister shows this. It would be naive of us to expect him to pack his bags and run away. And what is the alternative? We must understand two things: one, that divestment is alone not reforms, and two, that this is what we must expect in coalition politics. Given Singh’s trackrecord, I do not think he will quit just like that. In fact, given his understanding of Indian politics and the economy, he is likely to stay on and fight till the very end. Not loudly but quietly in his own way. Which is much better than what Churumuri wants him to be: a coward.
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Boy, did I speak too early or what? I am looking at television headlines quoting the Prime Minister’s Office as denying the PM’s resignation!
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I believed Sonia Gandhi had pulled off a masterstroke in getting Manmohan Singh to be PM of India. It turned the heat off her, it pleased the worried businesses and gave the middle classes some confidence in leadership not based on lineage and sycophancy alone.
Alas the events of the last two years have belied our expectations of Dr. Manmohan Singh. Unable to tame coalition partners or even the ministers of his own government, he has become somewhat of a Bheeshma like PM. Unable to tame the excesses of Duryodhana and his brothers, despite being in a position to express firm and strong disapproval, Bheeshma bound by a sense of duty and his own terrible vow, went along averting his helpless gaze when but a strong look of disapproval might have prevent the ultimate destruction of the Kurus. Instead he allowed himself to be constantly berated by Duryodhana and Dushshasana for not doing his duty as a general well enough despite the fact that he was the foremost warrior in the world and an incomparable knowledge of warfare.
Dr. Manmohan Singh stands at a threshhold now. He risks becoming another Bheeshma, brilliant, dutiful, but unwilling or unable to assert himself when the wrong thing is done.
Or, he can recognize what he brings to the government, and use it to gain leverage and command obedience from the motlety melange of marauding misfits masquerading as Ministers.
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