A close look at Dr. Manmohan Singh’s performance as Leader of the Opposition is in order to fully appreciate why Dr. Manmohan Singh has failed as a Leader.
#1 Manmohan Singh’s record in building political consensus
The hallmark of Manmohan Singh Prime Ministership has been more than 18 months of Executive Delinquency and Dysfunctional Governance on account of his incompetence in building political consensus within his party and its allies over the Indo-US Nuclear Deal.
A good example of this shortcoming comes from his days as Sonia Gandhi’s political trouble-shooter which started on an embarassing note with his role in stitching up an alliance with AIADMK’s Jayalalitha back in 1999 and culminated with the 2002 failed missive to Srinagar.
In October 2002 Sonia Gandhi sent Manmohan Singh as her special emissary to build political consensus between the Congress and the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed lead PDP in Kashmir on the question of Chief Ministership and a common minimum program.
The Manmohan Singh missive however fell flat on its face making no headway in Srinagar and the Congress having to accept the ignominy of a rotating Chief Ministership in deference to the wishes of the smaller party.
#2 Manmohan Singh’s record in creating a political constituency for his Economic Reforms agenda
One of the singificant failings of Dr. Manmohan Singh as a Leader has been his inability to build a political constituency in support of his economic beliefs.
After having architected the first phase of India’s economic reforms as Finance Minister in the early 1990s, Dr. Manmohan Singh has had to suffer the ignominy of his Party’s leadership publicly dismissing away his views on economic policy as his “personal opinion”.
This observation by Rediff in May 2000 sums it up very well
Be that as it may, the Congress chief and her supporters continue to remain in a dilemma over what is to be done with Manmohan Singh despite the party’s avowed objective of having a pro-poor image.
The most scathing indictment of the Congress Party’s role in derailing economic reforms back in 2000 comes from this piece by Sucheta Dalal on a Dr. Manmohan Singh endorsed introspection document on approach to the economy.
The story 9 years on is no different with the release of a “Low on Economic Reform, High on Populism” Manifesto by the Congress.
Dr. Manmohan Singh lacks the strength of conviction to admit that the Party has triumphed over him on Economic Philosophy, and there in lies his incompetence as a leader.
#3 Manmohan Singh’s hypocrisy on Electoral Politics
If there is one issue that towers every other failing of Manmohan Singh it is his utter lack of conviction in his own beliefs on Electoral Politics.
In July of 2002 in the aftermath of the Gujarat Riots Dr. Manmohan Singh lead a Congress delegation to the Election Commission impress upon the three-member Election Commission panel led by Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh the need to hold Assembly poll in Gujarat and militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir under the President’s rule.
This is what Dr. Manmohan Singh had to say on that occassion
Stating that the Congress would not fight shy of contesting elections whenever these were held, the Congress leaders said they had left it to the Election Commission to decide on the poll schedule.
“We believe elections are the best way to settle political issues. We will not fight shy of contesting the poll,” Dr Manmohan Singh told mediapersons.
Here is the “accidental politician” making a bold political statement on why elections are the best way to settle political questions and why he would not fight shy of contesting them, but the reality 7 years on is that he neither showed a faith in elections nor did he show the spine to contest in them.
Conclusion
After one failed Lok Sabha contest and many years as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the reality is Dr. Manmohan Singh is no “accidental politician”.
His political trajectory over the years has been one of a “deliberate politician” who has sought to masked his failings as a Leader by seeking refuge in this media propogated myth while doing little to dispel it over the years.
As India prepares to vote in the General Elections hard questions must be asked of the Congress Party on Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Leadership and of his hypocrisy on Electoral Politics.
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Filed under: Chattisgarh Polls 2008, Chhattisgarh Polls 2008, Delhi Polls 2008, DesiPundit, Dharmayudh-2009, Gujarat Polls 2007, India Elections 2009, Karnataka Polls 2008, Lok Sabha Polls 2008-2009, Madhya Pradesh Polls 2008, Manmohan Confidence Vote, Rajasthan Polls 2008, betrayal of aam admi, jeetega-bharat
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