Grace marks for UPA

With a weak Opposition, the Congress party is having a field day

The United Progressive Alliance Government headed by Manmohan Singh is said be moving ‘progressively’, though the ‘alliance’ is a matter of opportunity and ‘united’ as long as it serves the purpose of each constituent. In the same vein even ‘progressive’ is subjective, given the shape the Congress-led Government has acquired over the last seven years of its existence post-Atal Bihari Vajpayee era.
The text of the report card of the Government reads pass marks but the subnotes are a little worrisome. What goes to the overall credit of the UPA is the passing of the Right to Information Act and Right to Education Act. But that was in the first term.
The transition from first term to the second dose of the UPA Government was relatively smooth despite the fact that 2G scam had happened and was already in the public domain.
The present-day Government is embroiled in scams – Commonwealth, Adarsh and 2G. The three have seen top officials and netas taking a hit, and some powerful MPs like Suresh Kalmadi landing in jail besides DMK MPs – A Raja and Kanimozhi. Ashok Chavan lost the chief ministership of Maharashtra.
The UPA has for the time being able to pacify the mass anger over corruption. Nevertheless after six months or a year, when these politicians would eventually move out of their prestigious quarters in Tihar by seeking bail from the courts, cynicism of the people would hardly subside as the UPA would by then not have tackled the core issue of corruption.
Besides corruption, what has affected the people the most is inflation. While the Government is spending a lot of its quality energy on reducing the figure of inflation, the cost of the items in the grocery shop are still the same or rather continue to go higher and higher.
On the alliance front, there is talk of DMK reportedly being unhappy with the Congress and is staying in the coalition as its options are limited. The Samajwadi Party is ready to move in just in case DMK walks out. At the fag-end of the second year of the second term of the UPA, the Home Minister and his team of officials including the Central Bureau of Investigation put the last nail in its performance before the anniversary dinner could start at 7 Race Course Road. The list of 50 most wanted incurred unwarranted cynicism of the people.
The health of a democracy is judged by its Opposition it has. The relative smooth sailing of the UPA Government is not only because of its crisis managers in proactive mode but also because of the lack of ‘Opposition’.
The seven years of UPA in power are also seven years of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeated journey. After tasting the ‘treasured’ juices, the party is still unable to come to terms with its rout.
The BJP presented over 800 candidates in the recent Assembly elections and won only five. The UPA got a taste of the 2G scam in Tamil Nadu. In Puducherry too, there were no takers of the Congress party. In Assam where the BJP was pinning some hopes, they got a blank note from the people. The party mandarins argue that West Bengal, Kerala and even Assam are not its core concentration area.
In 2009, ‘iron man’ LK Advani threw the gauntlet. Where is the BJP today? The party has still not go the message. It didn’t wake up to the 2G scam when it happened and during the general elections it was not an issue. Only when corruption became too glaring to ignore in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games did the BJP saw an opportunity to target the UPA Government. The party stalled Parliament proceedings after the CWG in October 2010 which then ultimately had been taken up by the judiciary. So Kalamdi, Raja and Kanimozhi in jail are not because of the UPA or its defunct constituent and country cousin sitting in the Opposition, the NDA.
The BJP has lost steam as the Games saw a BJP as a meek protester and so did Adarsh. When it wanted a JPC on 2G scam, MM Joshi was scoring brownie points by leaking the PAC report. What was the point in stalling Parliament for a JPC too late in the day? Why has the BJP not seen an opportunity in the Devas-Antrix deal to strike at the Congress party?
Power struggle between the BJP leaders is telling a different tale. When the BJP was hitting out at Rahul Gandhi for going to Bhatta Parsaul on a bike, Advani came out in support of the ‘Prince-in-waiting’.
The party is unsure if will ever pick up the issue of Ram Mandir again though hardliners still swear by its ideology. Advani has gone on record praising Jinnah, which became a sore point within the Sangh parivar.
Seniors in the party are senior to the party president and a succession war is simmering though no one likes to admit it upfront. Unlike the Congress party where the command structure is fairly defined and has no element of uncertainty, the BJP leaders see a vacuum after Advani. Vajpayee is reportedly unwell and is relegated from the party memory. The second rung leaders are vying for a pie which many may never get to see. Arun Jaitley sees himself as prime minister material and so do a host of other leaders. Are they spoiling the party?
The recent elections were a pan India test which failed the BJP. For a vibrant democracy, it is important that the Opposition should keep a check on the Government but the BJP miserably failed to fit the bill. In the absence of a strong Opposition, the UPA report card carries little weight.