Guest guest Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 bjpnews >bjp-l (BJP Discussion Group) >vaidika1008 >[bJP News] Where is the Prime Minister? >Wed, 28 Jul 2004 07:59:20 -0500 > >Where is the Prime Minister? >By R. Balashankar >http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=34&pa\ ge=2 > >Two months into power, the United Progressive Alliance Prime Minister is >fast receding into oblivion. Consider the situations. > > a.. A senior Union Cabinet minister, Shri Shibu Soren is hiding himself >from the police for over a week (at the time of going to the press). Nobody >has a clue of his whereabouts and the Prime Minister has not said a word >about the unexplained absence of his colleague. > > > b.. Another senior minister, Shri T.R. Balu goes to a Christian >congregation hosted by Brother Dinakaran, who built his entire career on >conversion campaigns in south India and declares that he is ashamed of >being >born a Hindu. And he apologises for this "shameful" act on which he had no >control. > > > c.. The Chief Minister of the Congress-ruled state of Punjab, Capt. >Amarinder Singh unilaterally terminates the SYL canal agreement defying the >Supreme Court and announces through full-page advertisements in national >dailies that his job is to protect only the interests of "his" farmers. The >Chief Ministers of the affected states plead with the Prime Minister >against >the unconstitutional action of the Congress Chief Minister and the Prime >Minister's advice to them is "approach the Supreme Court." And he confesses >he too has not been consulted. > > > d.. Another Chief Minister who has overnight become a darling of the >Naxalites by lifting a ban on their activities, announces a 5 per cent >reservation for Muslims, violating the Supreme Court directive. The Andhra >High Court strikes down the order but the Chief Minister insists that he >will go ahead and pass a bill in the Assembly. > > > e.. The party president visits Kumbakonam, where in the tragic fire over >90 children lost their lives, and announces Rs 1 crore relief from the >Prime >Minister's Relief Fund. This, of course, is a fait accompli now for the >Prime Minister. > > > f.. In all flourish, to discuss rural development, the Prime Minister >calls a meeting of all the Chief Ministers within the first month of his >assuming office. All the BJP Chief Ministers attend the conference, and all >the Congress Chief Ministers abstain without explanation. A couple of days >later, the Congress president presides over a CWC meeting, which is >attended >by all the Congress Chief Ministers. > > > Considering the fact that Balu's predecessors in the Justice Party and >later Dravida Kazhagam wept and crawled before the British, begging them >not >to leave India for they would be orphaned, the shame is understandable. A >person is ashamed of himself for very private reasons. > > > The UPA is a hydra-headed wonder. Its several heads speak in many >voices. >But the one head that is supposed to head the wonder is invisible and >silent. Dr Manmohan Singh widely assumed to be a nice man is considered a >low-profile politician. > > How does one explain the behaviour of Shibu Soren in a democratic >polity? >The cabinet has a collective responsibility and the Prime Minister cannot >look the other way when one of his colleagues is on the run like an >ordinary >criminal. Remember, this is the first cabinet in Indian history, which has >as many as seven ministers facing criminal charges. Of course, Shibu Soren >has set an altogether new record. > > Capt. Amarinder Singh claims that he did not consult either his Prime >Minister or his party chief. The Captain has always wallowed in >controversy. >He cannot survive without fighting a chimera. He started off with Badal, >then turned to Bhattal and now it is the baandh (dam). It is a ludicrous >obsession. One could have appreciated the royal scion's jingoism, had he >stopped all the water of panchnad from flowing into Pakistan. > > a.. Balu´s private shame is public > > Those who are familiar with the Congress history are tempted to believe >that the Captain found the water to be highly inflammable only after the >Akali-BJP combine scored a sweeping victory in the Lok Sabha polls. Some >observers believe that the Congress is talking parochialism in Punjab the >way it propped up Bhindranwale in the 70s, with an eye on the Assembly >polls. But this was an occasion for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to assert >his authority, which he sorely failed to do. > > Similarly, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister could not have made a private >decision, which revives the memories of the communal award of the British. >This again was a clear occasion for the Prime Minister to step in. > > Equally sensitive is the Balu episode. In a secular polity, a Union >Minister has no business to hurt the sentiments of the majority community. >If Balu feels so strongly, he could have converted himself to Christianity >or any other religion of his choice. India's real shame is people like him. >And those like him, like old Jaichand are undeservedly born Hindu. And >happens to be our kin. Considering the fact that Balu's predecessors in the >Justice Party and later Dravida Kazhagam wept and crawled before the >British, begging them not to leave India for they would be orphaned, the >shame is understandable. A person is ashamed of himself for very private >reasons. But as for the Hindus, we are a very proud civilisation and there >is nothing in our history for us to be ashamed of. How long will Dr Singh >carry this blot on his cabinet? > > Under the constitutional provisions, the Prime Minister of India enjoys >unfettered powers. He is in most ways more powerful than the President of >America. A strong Prime Minister and a strong Centre are the twin >foundations of our federal structure. India cannot afford a weak Centre or >a >weak Prime Minister. Even former Prime Ministers like Chandra Shekhar, Deve >Gowda and I.K. Gujral, whose tenure did not last long, brought some level >of >visibility and glamour to the office. Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, who had >authority, popularity, ideological moorings and organisational grip, had a >colossal presence as a Prime Minister. > > The present Prime Minister started on a weak wicket. For, he was not the >elected one but the selected one. Even for that, Dr Singh has allowed >himself to erode his own authority. so much so that his Chief Ministers >behave as if they do not care for him. > > The numerous committees for overseeing Dr Singh, which the party >president >has constituted in the past weeks notwithstanding, Sonia Gandhi has not >reconciled herself to the position of UPA convener. The Prime Minister's >Relief Fund is not something the party president can go about distributing. >It is the sole prerogative of the Prime Minister and this again is the >first >such dubious instance. > > True, Dr Manmohan Singh is playing the role as Sonia Gandhi's selected >Prime Minister to the hilt. The Congress president would like him to be >seen >as weak and only as keeping the chair warm. The Prime Minister has to >assert. The Prime Minister of such a great nation as India cannot be seen >as >indecisive, inept and overwhelmed. Will the real Prime Minister stand up? > > > > >------------------------------- >This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. > > _______________ Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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