Manmohan Singh is plainly an unhappy PM this summer. When he accepted his prime ministerial brief just over two years ago, he would have anticipated that negotiating with political allies during his government's tenure would be a thorny business. However, what the good doctor perhaps failed to diagnose was that supping with his fellow congressmen might be an equally tricky bargain. Sequestered from the Congress party's working apparatus and wounded by "friendly fire", the beleaguered PM's plight is obvious.
Throughout this year, the Congress party has assiduously cultivated an image of variance with prime ministerial initiatives. For example, when the price of fuel rose - triggered by the volatility of the global markets - it was expected that the opposition parties and the leftists would opportunistically agitate to make some political capital out of it. Less expected was the Congress party's organised attempt to join the chorus, unmindful of the damage to the prime minister.
It appears that some ministers have taken upon themselves to embarrass and blatantly undermine the PM's position. The turmoil over reservations - and now the AIIMS episode - shows how individual ministers are operating as free policy making agents unencumbered by the PM's views or even scarcely bothering to consult him. With a discomfited Manmohan often playing catch-up with his Cabinet, any semblance of unity has taken a pummelling. Adding to his unease is Sonia Gandhi's silence - or is it acquiescence - that further emboldens the internal mischief-makers to unleash salvos anew at Manmohan with fire and brimstone.
Recalling Norman Lamont's famously acerbic criticism of John Major, Manmohan Singh "gives the impression of being in office but not in power". While this innuendo was spouted at the outset of Manmohan Singh's premiership, today it has more than a grain of bitter truth about it.
The Congress party has lost no qualms in positioning itself as the protector of the "common man" in opposition to the alleged "middle class" proclivities of the PM. Thus, for instance, the credit for the successful enactment of the National Rural Employee Guarantee Scheme is reserved by the party and the PM is relegated to the background. However, in contrast when trouble visits in any shape or form, the blame attaches squarely to Manmohan.
Is it any wonder that Manmohan feels aggrieved? As the Congressional Marc Anthony's make it clear that they "come to bury Ceaser and not to praise him", the party's internecine feuding is exposing it to ridicule and contempt in the electorate's eyes. Indeed, in a week when the compulsions of coalition politics have ensured that the disinvestment process has stalled yet again, more than ever Manmohan Singh needs support from his party.
This is the unfortunate reality of Indian political equations: Difficult decisions such as re-examining the proper ambit of the state or reforming outmoded labour laws are indefinitely held hostage to short-term parochialism and personal advancement.
Let's take this febrile Manmohan baiting to its hypothetical conclusion. With sharper verbal weaponry deployed against Manmohan by the Congress party at every opportunity, there may be a moment when the pressure on him reaches its apogee and he resigns his office. What productive end would this yield the Congress party? Rather than a confirmation of its earthy credentials, the early ouster of Manmohan Singh will plunge the Congress into a deeper chasm of ideological uncertainty. Surely, self-harm has never done a party any good.
A few weeks ago, I wrote that Manmohan Singh was at risk of being remembered as the "silent Prime Minister". It is vitally important that he shrugs this sobriquet with some combative decision-making. The good doctor's political fragility rests on the basis that he is not a "career politician". However, this weakness is also his prime strength. Untainted by allegations of any personal enrichment, the Prime Minister's image of a highly qualified self-made man committed to India's economic renaissance is actually an asset to his party. Nor is he ambivalent to rural concerns as his recent sojourn to Vidarbha shows.
It is time that Manmohan Singh plays to his strengths and throws the gauntlet to plotting colleagues. He must make his ideological moorings count when it matters. If he does not succeed in this attempt, he can take comfort, as Nehru did from the following passage in the Talmud: We are enjoined to labour; but it is not granted to us to complete our labours. Ironically, as authority drains away from the PM, the greater victim of the regular volley of "friendly fire" is not Manmohan Singh but the Congress party itself.
Rishabh Bhandari is a lawyer at a global law firm in London. These are his personal views.
first published:July 10, 2006, 10:22 ISTlast updated:July 10, 2006, 10:22 IST
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The Cause of the PM's Unhappiness
Manmohan Singh is plainly an unhappy PM this summer. When he accepted his prime ministerial brief just over two years ago, he would have anticipated that negotiating with political allies during his government's tenure would be a thorny business. However, what the good doctor perhaps failed to diagnose was that supping with his fellow congressmen might be an equally tricky bargain. Sequestered from the Congress party's working apparatus and wounded by "friendly fire", the beleaguered PM's plight is obvious.
Throughout this year, the Congress party has assiduously cultivated an image of variance with prime ministerial initiatives. For example, when the price of fuel rose - triggered by the volatility of the global markets - it was expected that the opposition parties and the leftists would opportunistically agitate to make some political capital out of it. Less expected was the Congress party's organised attempt to join the chorus, unmindful of the damage to the prime minister.
It appears that some ministers have taken upon themselves to embarrass and blatantly undermine the PM's position. The turmoil over reservations - and now the AIIMS episode - shows how individual ministers are operating as free policy making agents unencumbered by the PM's views or even scarcely bothering to consult him. With a discomfited Manmohan often playing catch-up with his Cabinet, any semblance of unity has taken a pummelling. Adding to his unease is Sonia Gandhi's silence - or is it acquiescence - that further emboldens the internal mischief-makers to unleash salvos anew at Manmohan with fire and brimstone.
Recalling Norman Lamont's famously acerbic criticism of John Major, Manmohan Singh "gives the impression of being in office but not in power". While this innuendo was spouted at the outset of Manmohan Singh's premiership, today it has more than a grain of bitter truth about it.
The Congress party has lost no qualms in positioning itself as the protector of the "common man" in opposition to the alleged "middle class" proclivities of the PM. Thus, for instance, the credit for the successful enactment of the National Rural Employee Guarantee Scheme is reserved by the party and the PM is relegated to the background. However, in contrast when trouble visits in any shape or form, the blame attaches squarely to Manmohan.
Is it any wonder that Manmohan feels aggrieved? As the Congressional Marc Anthony's make it clear that they "come to bury Ceaser and not to praise him", the party's internecine feuding is exposing it to ridicule and contempt in the electorate's eyes. Indeed, in a week when the compulsions of coalition politics have ensured that the disinvestment process has stalled yet again, more than ever Manmohan Singh needs support from his party.
This is the unfortunate reality of Indian political equations: Difficult decisions such as re-examining the proper ambit of the state or reforming outmoded labour laws are indefinitely held hostage to short-term parochialism and personal advancement.
Let's take this febrile Manmohan baiting to its hypothetical conclusion. With sharper verbal weaponry deployed against Manmohan by the Congress party at every opportunity, there may be a moment when the pressure on him reaches its apogee and he resigns his office. What productive end would this yield the Congress party? Rather than a confirmation of its earthy credentials, the early ouster of Manmohan Singh will plunge the Congress into a deeper chasm of ideological uncertainty. Surely, self-harm has never done a party any good.
A few weeks ago, I wrote that Manmohan Singh was at risk of being remembered as the "silent Prime Minister". It is vitally important that he shrugs this sobriquet with some combative decision-making. The good doctor's political fragility rests on the basis that he is not a "career politician". However, this weakness is also his prime strength. Untainted by allegations of any personal enrichment, the Prime Minister's image of a highly qualified self-made man committed to India's economic renaissance is actually an asset to his party. Nor is he ambivalent to rural concerns as his recent sojourn to Vidarbha shows.
It is time that Manmohan Singh plays to his strengths and throws the gauntlet to plotting colleagues. He must make his ideological moorings count when it matters. If he does not succeed in this attempt, he can take comfort, as Nehru did from the following passage in the Talmud: We are enjoined to labour; but it is not granted to us to complete our labours. Ironically, as authority drains away from the PM, the greater victim of the regular volley of "friendly fire" is not Manmohan Singh but the Congress party itself.
Rishabh Bhandari is a lawyer at a global law firm in London. These are his personal views.
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