CONGRESS’S BIGGEST WORRY: THE COMMON MAN

During the general election of 2009 the Congress manifesto’s cover page had two opening lines that encapsulated the campaign theme for the party. The lines were –

Aam Aadmi kay badhtey kadam
Har Kadam Par Bharat Buland

This essentially means ‘As the common man moves forward, India gets stronger with every step’. And fortunately for the Congress this theme did find resonance amongst the masses which voted for them in huge numbers. But today barely eighteen months after the elections, the above message has changed to- ‘The more the common man tries to move forward, the more he will get punished’.

The events that have unfolded in the last six months have left the common man completely disillusioned. The series of scams that have unearthed, the price rise of essential food items, the growing inflation and now the second price increase of crude oil in a month has left the common man battered. The various scams that have been erupting from time to time have been disturbing, because of which the common man is saying, that first of all the hard earned tax payers money has been gobbeled by corrupt ministers and if that was not enough the price rise has become a constant phenomenon. But the bigger worry is the government’s inability to control price rise. All these events are compelling the common man to question himself –whether it was a mistake to vote for the Congress & allies for the second time?

The emergency cabinet meeting which took place for over two days and ended without any guarantee from the governement to contain the price rise has left everyone even more bemused. The government message that it can do little to bring down the prices in the immediate future but can work towards a more secure future has suddenly shaken the confidence of the common man.

There are two stark messages that the government has send out in the last six months.Firstly that ministers and bureaucrats who are involved in corruption will be brought to book only when they are proven guilty. It is easier for us to take action against our own ministers (e.g.- Tharoor, Chavan, Kalmadi etc) but difficult to take action against ministers from other parties who are our coalition partners. But how much time will it take to finish these investigations is still not known. Second, that our intention is to control price rise but there is very little we can do as most of the stock is with private players. Suddenly the common man’s confidence and faith in the Indian growth story has shaken. Now the questions is that – what is the use of this 9% growth if the we have to suffer due to due price rise and the extra wealth that is created by the government is eaten up corrupt politicians and ministers.

This sudden change in the national environment is really disturbing. The last time the country went through this phase was way back in the 90’s. But suddenly after the Kargil war the nation found renewed confidence and after that the rise in the economic growth completely changed the mood of the nation. But when ordinary citizens start questioning the growth and prosperity of the nation then it means that the government is in serious trouble.

Analysts’ believe that if elections were to be held today then the UPA will suffer a huge defeat. And for the Congress the timing could not have been worse as it is losing political ground in one of its key states - Andhra Pradesh.
The unfortunate part is that this govenrment has some very reputed ministers who have a great image and are genuinely good administrators. But the overall performance of this government is in question. The Congress cannot blame its allies because evntually it is the big brother of this coalition.Manmohan Singh is still considered an honest man and his integrity is still intact but now people want him to take some tough steps to change this mood.

If the governmet fails to act quickly, it may find it difficult to last for a full five year term. And all the ground that the Congress had recovered in the six years it may just get undone in a matter of few months. It’s time that the Congress fulfills its campaign theme on the back of which it came to power otherwise those very lines which it used as its campaign theme will become its nightmare in the next election.

10 CHALLENGES INDIA FACES IN 2010

The year 2009 was a satisfying year for India. Been able grow at an impressive rate of 7% at the time when the whole world was reeling under recession and also emerging as a major global player on all key global issues were some of the biggest achievments . But the year 2010 will bring with it even bigger challenges which will truly test the might of the nation. Here are the 10 major challenges for the year 2010.

1) Price rise- Even though India was able to fight global recession to a great extent, the rise of basic food items has hit the common man badly. Currently the food inflation is at a decade high of 20 percent.The government will have to ensure that prices are back to normal levels at the earliest otherwise the economic growth will look meaningless for the middle class & poor people of this nation.

2) Terror threat- Post 26/11 no major terror attack has struck India but the Headley-Rana case is a chilling reminder of the vulnerable security situation. From the time Chidambaram has taken over as union home minister, the inteligence sharing has improved drastically. But there are still many grey areas. The threat of another 26/11 type attack continues to loom.

3) Commonwealth Games- This has become a matter of pride for the nation. This is a golden opportunity for India to showcase itself to the world as a potential superpower. China was able to do it by hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. But with the IOC skeptical about the preparation made so far, the onus is on the administration to act quickly at any cost. If Delhi is able to pull this off succesfully then the stereotype of India been just a poor nation and full of call centres might be finally broken. This is a huge challenge as the nation’s reputation is at stake.

4) The Naxal threat- The naxals proved in 2009 that they are the biggest security threat to this country. With the naxal influence growing from the state to state the government will have to do much more to restrict this threat. Apart from dialogue with the Naxals, enhancement of police weapons & special task force are significant immediate steps that the government will have to take.

5) Implementation of flagship programs- The iconic projects and flagship programmes of the UPA government are suffering from implementation blues. The delivery monitoring unit in the Prime Minister’s Office that assessed the performance of 18 schemes has found that only the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is doing well. The Rajiv Gandhi Yojna (Housing scheme) & Right to education are some key projects that are yet to take off. Making sure they take off in the right direction would be essential this year.

6) Creation of smaller states- The Telangana issue has triggered of a debate which would shape the future of India. Having smaller states could prove to be boon as it would lead to more development, lesser corruption and more decentralization. But it is imperative that the government comes out with clear set of policies for carving out smaller states. Creating states merely on ethnic or linguistic lines doesn’t make sense at this point of time. Economics should be the driving point. Setting up a committee to set the guidelines should be done at the earliest.

7) Autonomy for Jammu & Kashmir- This is a thorny issue that is bound to create huge ripples but probably is the right way ahead. Critics argue that this will create a safe haven for terrorists which will have a direct impact on Indian security. By granting autonomy to J&K, the government just might tilt the valley’s support in its favour. With uncertainty attached to Pakistan’s democratic future, this is the practical way ahead.

8) Foreign policy decisions- India has been criticized in the last few years for going the US way on international political issues. The vote against Iran was seen in this light. On issues like climate change India has been able to guard its interest. But will it stifle under US pressure on large international political issues is the big question.

9) How to deal with neighbours- This question has haunted India for decades now. To talk or not to talk to Pakistan is a big question. So far India has resisted from taking a very rigid stand. But it still needs to find ways to make Pakistan act against the perpetrators of 26/11. Without that there would be no meaning to any dialogues with them. Similarly the China issue is even dicier. On issues like climate change both countries have lobbied together but the Arunachal Pradesh issue is the tricky one where trusting China could be a mistake.

10) Police Reforms- P.Chidambaram has been raising this point for sometime now. The police needs immediate reforms. The recent cases of Ruchika molestation and Mumbai cops dancing in an underworld party exposed the naked truth. Also the cops need better training & weapons to fight terror attacks.