A government teetering

There is not a shred of doubt that the Manmohan Singh government would have fallen last week if it had persisted in going ahead with FDI in retail. The opposition came together and the government was reduced to 206 in the 545-member house. A similar fate can confront the government if it does not improve upon the diluted bill to set up the institution of Ombudsman (Lokpal) to deal with corruption.
Behind-the-scenes efforts have not stopped to bring down the government. Permutations and combinations are being worked out and it looks difficult that the government can complete the full term up to May, 2014. The threat has already affected the functioning of government. Decisions are taking long and there is a paralysis in the administration. It looks as if it is momentum which is keeping it going.
Most political parties, particularly the BJP, have taken the advantage of Gandhian Anna Hazare’s movement on the Lokpal bill which brought thousands from civil society on the streets. Except the National Congress Party (NCP) of Maharashtra (9), the Trinamul Congress of West Bengal (19) and the DMK of Tamilnadu, (16) almost all political parties from left to right commanding the strength of 201 joined Hazare on the same platform. The Congress led-government has 248 in tow, missing the half way mark of 272. Therefore, the government cannot take bold decision which the situation demands.
The Congress is justified in alleging that the Hazare’s movement has got politicised. The party has also a point when it says that such pressures tell upon the democratic method of achieving the end. However, I do not accept the charge that Hazare has political gains in view. The more the Congress trumps up such allegations the less will be its credibility. Yet the Congress has itself to blame for the development because the Lokpal bill it has brought before Parliament is neither fish nor foul. It goes against the assurances the Congress gave to Anna Hazare (the PM endorsed those through a letter).
Now that the bill is being amended, the Congress should introspect why it could not read the mood of political parties and the public. The party has lost its face by first insisting to keep the lower staff as well as PM out of ambit of Lokpal and then surrendering within 48 hours. (Former PM Inder Gujral is opposed to having PM under Lokpal. He says that the PM has so much information accumulating at his table that he cannot afford to share anything with anyone, including Lokpal, because by doing so he may harm national interest).
Yet the sticking point is the Central Bureau of Investigation. This is an instrument which every government has used against opponents at the centre and in the states. CBI is under the personnel department of central government that means the ruling party. Rulers have misused CBI to sustain its majority in the Lok Sabha or the state legislatures. Sharad Yadav, a leader of Other Backward Classes (OBC) has been honest enough to say on the floor of the house that they too misused CBI when they were in power. In fact, it is time that all political parties realise that the destabilisation of elected governments does not augur well for them or the country.
The country is going down the hill as far as the economy is concerned. Industrial growth rate has slipped to 5.1 per cent, the lowest in the last two years. The growth of GDP is just above 7 per cent which is the minimum if the nation does not want to see the lay offs and dire unemployment. India is no more considered a good place for investment. The licking that the rupee is getting shows that.
The Singh government will have to make many compromises to stay in power. This may entail economic packages to Trinamul Congress, the DMK or smaller parties. This is not good for the country’s health, economically or politically. The Congress is right when it blames the opposition for stalling parliament and not letting the key bills to be passed. Indeed, the opposition’s role is negative when the nation faces a difficult hour. But then the opposition is interested in coming to power by hook or by crook, not in pushing the economy.
In the process, people are suffering and missing pace and progress in development. On the chessboard of politics, the different parties are busy playing the game in such a way that they sustain their strength and project their own interest even if it means stagnation for the nation. No doubt, they do not want to face election because of uncertainty of the outcome. The electorate has no faith in what the government claims and no confidence in what the political parties promise. Hazare’s agitation has awakened them to the misdeeds of those in power or those who are outside it. Fresh election may throw up new faces, new parties and new combinations. There may well be a manthan (churning). Some dirt is bound to come out. This is good for the nation. There is no alternative to new elections.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist.