The Hindu Business Line : One year of UPA rule — Some successes, some disappointments

Six out of 10 is what the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has awarded his Government for its achievements in the first year of office. Even by this assessment, the plusses just about score over the minuses. Rasheeda Bhagat looks at the perf ormance and sees more work ahead for the UPA alliance regime.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, with the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi ... Management by convinience?

AS THE United Progressive Alliance Government completes one year in office, much energy — in fact, too much — and ink are being expended on speculating whether the relationship between the Congress(I) president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, handpicked by her for the job, continues to be cordial and trusting or if it has degenerated into suspicion and rancour. Unfortunately for the BJP and its friends — the single largest group that would benefit from the souring of relations between the two key figures of the regime in Delhi — for now the Congress prima donna appears to have no complaints about Dr Manmohan Singh's demeanour or conduct.

It is an irony of the times we live in that as the Congress-led UPA Government completes one year in office — an office the Congress(I) never expected to preside over in the first place — political pundits/analysts are busy interpreting every frown or smile on Ms Sonia Gandhi's face every time she is seen with Dr Manmohan Singh, or reading her body language, rather than judging the Prime Minister's performance.

In the history of independent India, no other Prime Minister was put under the scanner at the time of his appointment as Dr Manmohan Singh. Every expression on his pensive face was scrutinised as Ms Sonia Gandhi turned down the crown even in the face of sycophantic protests from the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty loyalists. He was anointed with the full knowledge that almost nobody from his party, or the Congress' allies, wanted him to be prime minister. To make matters worse, such stalwarts as Arun Singh and Pranab Mukherjee made it clear that if `Madam' did not want the throne, it should have been given to one of them.

While Ms Sonia Gandhi's stunning decision took the wind out of the sails of the BJP's voluble leaders such as Uma Bharti and Sushma Swaraj, who had drawn up an impressive plan of leading a sanyasin-like existence to protest against a "foreigner" becoming India's Prime Minister, for the "outsider" Dr Manmohan Singh those initial days must have been tough, if not humiliating, indeed. The first few days were tumultuous and the crash of the equity market added its bit to make the top seat really hot. But as the market and the people of India realised the reality of the BJP-led NDA government's defeat, some kind of rational responses returned.

Soon enough a few voices started speaking out that India Inc had nothing to fear from the `original reformer' having been made Prime Minister and the new Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram's `dream Budget' was recalled. People began to draw comfort from Dr Manmohan Singh's squeaky-clean image. The market snapped out of its blues and for Corporate India it was business as usual.

But not so politically. While leaders of the alliance partners, such as of the Left and the RJD chief, Mr Lalu Prasad, conceded the Congress(I) the right as the single largest party to choose a prime minister of its liking, it was from within his party that Dr Manmohan Singh continued to face problems with several senior ministers continuing to pay obeisance to 10 Janpath even in matters pertaining to governance which should have been dealt with by the PMO. For the Prime Minister, the problem was compounded by a shell-shocked and petulant BJP badgering the Government on the issue of `tainted ministers' and the Left parties coming out with a wish-list every other day. It is in this background, coupled with the fact that he is political lightweight, that Dr Manmohan Singh's one year as prime minister should be assessed.

Sure enough, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee had successfully led an even bigger coalition of disparate parties, but his political experience was long and acumen and leadership beyond doubt. Nor did he face any major dissent except perhaps for a few minor irritants from the Advani camp. But these were nothing compared to Dr Manmohan Singh's headaches. He himself has given his Government 6 out of 10 and admitted that bolder initiatives are required, particularly on the economics reforms front and improvement in public finances at all levels of government.

There is no denying that the pace set by the NDA on the reforms front, particularly divestment and foreign investments, has slackened. It is easy for Dalal Street gurus to pontificate on what could or should have been done to attract more FII participation in the equity market or FDI in various sectors. But it would be suicidal for any government to forget how the `India Shining' campaign backfired on the BJP, with hordes of people whose lives were not touched even by a ray of the so-called-shine voting out the NDA with a vengeance.

So have the lives of these people changed for the better? Not by a long shot, and the `development' mantra remains more on paper and in rhetoric than in action. Mr Chidambaram's Budget has made the right noises about grassroots issues such as education for every girl child, `gender budgeting' in every government department, women's self help groups getting more money and muscle, the farmer getting his due, the long-suffering rural masses getting safe drinking water and sanitation, their children basic health care and so on. But it is one thing to make promises and even budgetary allocations and quite another to get the monolithic government machinery, an apathetic and corrupt bureaucracy, and the greedy politician to suddenly transform themselves and reach funds and benefits meant for the poor and the downtrodden to the right addresses.

Dr Manmohan Singh and his economic team can be commended for moving in quickly on issues such as relaxing the cap on foreign investment in the telecom sector, even while floundering on scores of other such issues opposed vigorously by the Left leaders. But why they should have floundered in areas as crucial as rural development, water management and even health-care for the poor masses — issues on which the Left parties would provide all support — is a question that needs an answer.

In an area far removed from economic reforms, but extremely sensitive and crucial for the country's march towards becoming an economic powerhouse — that of communal peace and equity — the UPA has not done badly at all. Riots of the Gujarat kind are a distant memory and the minorities live in no fear.

But far from our shores, and by a magazine like The Economist, the UPA Government's one year in office has not been judged too kindly. In an editorial titled `Not much to write home about', it said that though it was always known that Dr Manmohan Singh faced an uphill task, it cannot be denied that "India still needs economic reform by the bushel, and although Mr Singh's credentials as a reformer are unimpeachable," his one year record in office is "disappointing".

It says that except for tax reform in the form of introduction of Value Added Tax, the "little" initiatives the Singh Government took pertain to "modest improvements to the system of caps on investment which, ludicrous though this might seem for a country in India's position, prevent foreigners from committing the heinous crime of putting as much money and know-how as they would like into India's antiquated services and industries."

A fine piece of writing and black humour at its best. But, then, India and Indians are only too well aware that foreigners would like to commit this "heinous crime" not for any great love of India but because there is money to be made in improving "India's antiquated services."

Whatever outsiders may say, there is no denying that this economy is growing by over 6.5 per cent and can grow faster with the right policy initiatives and more congenial political climate.

But, then, a country of one billion plus has other priorities as well, not the least of which is taking all sections of society, all classes and communities of people towards progress. When a government is not perceived to be doing that, then the backlash can be vicious.

As the BJP found in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, and as has the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu where the seven-party combine was thrashed by the lone AIADMK in the two by-elections in Gummindipoondi and Kancheepuram.

In a cleverly-managed campaign, the AIADMK chief, Ms Jayalalithaa, was able to convince the people that the plethora of DPA ministers in the UPA Government had done little to change their lives.

That then remains the single message of any election that no government, one, two or five years old, can afford to ignore.

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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