Kanchan Gupta wrote about this last week in Daily Pioneer where he talked of Manmohan Singh and his integrity. The duplicity and surreptitious manner in which Manmohan Singh is implementing major policy decisions gives the impression that he might end up beating the First Prime Minister in historic blunders. Considering that Nehru has a long list of disastrous decisions in his kitty, it takes quite an effort from the honest economist PMTM.
1. There was the secret pact that was "almost" reached on Kashmir during UPA season 1. No doubt by accident, as Carl Sagan would have said(0:29), the media channels like CNN-IBN were running polls during that time on whether India should give up Kashmir. Now in UPA season 2, we are seeing the plan being implemented more brazenly.
2. Then there is the nuclear deal. A lot has been written about it and the solemn promises made by Manmohan Singh in the parliament.
3. There is the small matter of NPT and CTBT. While Manmohan was still at the G8 venue, nuclear fuel supply was linked to NPT and CTBT.
Manmohan Singh is ostentatiously called for a meeting and snubbed. The pattern is just so predictably boring now. Even a politcal non-entity like Cambridge University implemented it. Manmohan praised the British Raj for ruling India. Cambridge dropped research studies in Sanskrit the same day. Manmohan went on to announce a $5 million grant to Cambridge to setup a Nehru chair. Sweet.
4. The major policy change on agriculture trade is to benefit the aam aadmi, the honest PM would vouch. Not to wory, he is also simultaneously working on the farmer suicide compensation package.
5. Another major policy change in terms of climate change. Trust the economist PM when signs this policy to enhance our competitive advantage even as the US dropped out of Kyoto protocol fearing economic fallout.
Who changed the tune?
1. There was the secret pact that was "almost" reached on Kashmir during UPA season 1. No doubt by accident, as Carl Sagan would have said(0:29), the media channels like CNN-IBN were running polls during that time on whether India should give up Kashmir. Now in UPA season 2, we are seeing the plan being implemented more brazenly.
2. Then there is the nuclear deal. A lot has been written about it and the solemn promises made by Manmohan Singh in the parliament.
3. There is the small matter of NPT and CTBT. While Manmohan was still at the G8 venue, nuclear fuel supply was linked to NPT and CTBT.
Manmohan Singh is ostentatiously called for a meeting and snubbed. The pattern is just so predictably boring now. Even a politcal non-entity like Cambridge University implemented it. Manmohan praised the British Raj for ruling India. Cambridge dropped research studies in Sanskrit the same day. Manmohan went on to announce a $5 million grant to Cambridge to setup a Nehru chair. Sweet.
4. The major policy change on agriculture trade is to benefit the aam aadmi, the honest PM would vouch. Not to wory, he is also simultaneously working on the farmer suicide compensation package.
5. Another major policy change in terms of climate change. Trust the economist PM when signs this policy to enhance our competitive advantage even as the US dropped out of Kyoto protocol fearing economic fallout.
Who changed the tune?
Our consistent posture in the past has been that India can look to join any regime provided USA and the rest, who have been the major polluting culprits till now, take major steps in controlling their emissions. Indeed, USA has not even subscribed to the Kyoto declaration on climate change.
Yet the recent joint communication from Italy which makes no distinction between developed and developing countries comes as a total surprise. One has not seen any debate or recent discussions preceding this massive change in posture, in the Parliament or elsewhere.
Equally puzzling is the recent Cairo communique, tacitly dropping any prior condition relating to addressing the terror issue, before an all-encompassing bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan.
A mention also needs to be made of the new conditions imposed by the West on supply of nuclear fuel, linking it with international treaties on the subject. Clearly there is an apparent conflict between these new conditions and the interpretation of the Indo-US nuclear deal as rendered to Parliament by the Indian leadership.
Are we seeing the contours of a new road map on strategic and security issues, quietly being implemented by the government, surreptitiously, stealthily, without public debate, and finally to confront the nation with a fait accompli?
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2 comments:
Sometimes Shishya overtakes Guru. MMS may not need those many years as chahchaah looking at the pace at which the King is taking and implementing policy decisions.
Whatever's said and done, Nehru always did what he thought was right, irrespective of votes -- while Manmohan nowadays does what he thinks will get him votes or approval from The Rajmata.
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