India’s interests betrayed in Egypt

The Prime Minister of the Union of India is oath-bound to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the nation. And also to faithfully discharge his duties towards all manner of people in accordance to the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will.

Now India is no stranger to terrorism. Terrorists have been ripping us apart for decades and thousands of innocent lives have been lost under jihadi attacks. These only increased in intensity and frequency in the last few years. Bomb blasts became a routine and the people, appalled at our leaders' inaction, accepted it as a fact of life. Then 26/11 happened. This attack on Mumbai was no routine bomb blast. But we had professionally trained fidayeen attackers wrecking havoc in India's commercial capital. They held the city hostage for over 60 hours and by the time they were neutralised over 300 innocent lives had been lost. Landmark buildings were in flames, many lives were disrupted. People were enraged at this assault on their lives and the PM addressed the nation. Condemnations and promises were a part of it -

The dastardly terror attacks that took
place in Mumbai last
night and today leading to the loss of many precious lives and injuries to many
others have deeply shocked the nation. I strongly condemn these acts of
senseless violence against innocent people, including guests from foreign
countries. I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and
sympathies to those injured. The Government will take all necessary measures to
look after the wellbeing of the affected families, including medical
treatment of injured.

[...] We are not prepared to countenance
a situation in which the safety and security of our citizens can be violated
with impunity by terrorists.

[...] We will take the strongest possible
measures to ensure that there is no repetition of such terrorist acts. We are
determined to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the safety and
security of our citizens.

[...] We will take up strongly
with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us
will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are
not taken by them. [Link] (Emphasis added)

In the seven months since then, all we saw was a bunch of files exchanged between us and Pakistan. Leave inflicting costs on our neighbour aside, even diplomatic measures weren't forthcoming. When Singh and Gilani met in Egypt last week, this resulted -

Both Prime Ministers recognized that
dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to
the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed. Prime Minister
Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including
all outstanding issues. [Link] (Emphasis added)

We had Singh assuring the nation, all the while, no dialogue would take place unless Pakistan acted credibly on ending terrorism. And now we have the same Singh agreeing to de-link terrorism from discussions with Pakistan. It gets even worse -

Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that
Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas. [Link]

Balochistan featured in the joint statement. When it is India that is among the worst affected by terrorism in the world and clearly was the victim in the Mumbai attacks, thanks to Singh, Pakistan manages to paint itself as a victim. It was Singh's responsibility to ensure keeping pressure and onus on Pakistan. But what really happened, in his presence, was that both the nations came out as equally aggrieved parties. It is astonishing that images of destruction and innocent blood did not come to Singh's mind when he met Gilani and issued the joint statement in Egypt. And this is the same person who is known to have lost sleep on at least one other occasion. So much for guarding India's interests. Singh's attempt of passing the buck and seeking refuge under "bad drafting" is juvenile to say the least. It lends all the more credence to the fact that he was not being diligent in Egypt.

Singh, being the PM, ought to realise the responsibilities of his position and the potential implications of his actions on nation. He has demonstrated an inability to do so on multiple occasions. This particular joint statement has grave implications. Singh's judgement is a suspect. Until he proves otherwise, it must be concluded that Singh is incapable of keeping our national interest above all else.

G-20 assessment of Indian measures against terrorism

Cheerleaders won't take the "communal" folk's word on Congress' laxity towards terrorism. Well, then here's the G-20's assessment. India fared poorly against these key measurement criteria -

1. Number of terrorists listed under
UNSCR 1333/1390 for which a freeze order has been issued: NIL

2. Number of other terrorists under UNSCR
1373 for which a freeze order has been issued: NIL

3. Amount of assets frozen for all
terrorists: ZERO

4. Specific risk-based measures in place to ensure that
non-profit organizations cannot be abused for the financing of terrorism?: NO

Even an Islamic country like Saudi Arabia fared better than us. For the complete listing click here. Because this report by the G-20 is inconvenient to the "secular" party and gives more fodder to the "communal forces" no mention was made of this by any news media covering the summit.

It is time the "voice of the people" media shunned its slant and start taking matters concerning our national interest seriously. Reducing the debate on terrorism to a yelling contest only takes the focus away from the grave dangers facing the nation.

The 100 day plan that Singh forgot

Manmohan Singh is to visit Assam tomorrow and today this happened -

Terror struck Assam on the eve of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's visit when the state was rocked by three blasts and a
grenade attack in the space of five hours on Monday killing seven persons - all
in the Maligaon area here - and injuring 63. [Link]

This in a state represented by Singh himself in the upper house and on the eve of his visit there. Speaks volumes of his complete laxity on terrorism. Assam has been experiencing blasts and terrorists activities have only increased in the past 5 years under Singh's leadership. Yet Manmohan Singh fails to realise the danger posed by terrorism to our nation.

When he visits Assam tomorrow, the people should remind him of this -

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday
suggested setting up of a task force to initiate a 100-day plan to address
"emerging challenges" in the areas of terrorism, Naxalism and insurgency.

"I suggest establishment of a task force
which would initiate a 100-day plan to develop an integrated capability to
address emerging challenges in areas such as left wing extremism, terrorism and
insurgency," Singh said addressing the conference of the country's top police
officers. [Link]

Singh delivered that sermon on 23 Nov 2008. It is now well past the 100 day mark and yet bombs continue to rip our cities apart. Much like everything else, nothing came of this promise.

Manmohan Singh continues to be tentative

PM talks tough on terror, that probably is the oft repeated headline following each act of terror on Indian soil. Sadly though, it does not include the word 'acts'. In fact that has been true of Manmohan Singh throughout his tenure as the PM. He has failed to act on any matter of significance.

Talking at Parvasi Bharatiys Divas at Chennai, Singh had this to say -

‘‘We’ll continue to work with the international community to ensure there’re no safe havens and launching pads for terrorists,’’ the PM said while inaugurating Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2009 at the Chennai Trade Centre.

Repeated terror attacks, growing in frequency and intensity have only proven that India probably is as safe a haven for the terrorists, along with their overt and covert supporters, as Pakistan. With such as dismal record to show for himself, the PM's credibility is in tatters. But that does not stop him from pontificating the world on how terror must be dealt with.

Israel's response in Gaza is in sharp contrast to Manmohan Singh's response to Pakistan after it attacked in Mumbai. While Israel is committed to protecting it's citizens and sovereignty, Singh asks it to exercise 'restraint'. Much like he is being patient with the terrorists while our cities and citizens are being bombed away. Moreover, he goes on to condemn Israel when it clearly is acting to protect it's national interests. In his condemnation, he had this to say -

"It is our hope that the international community will come together to restore peace and normalcy," he said inaugurating the seventh edition of the three-day Pravasi Bhartiya Divas here.

However, this concern for peace and normalcy was lacking when bombs rained on Israeli soil. Singh did not seem to be bothered then. India can never dream of being superpower until it can protect it's citizens and interests. While war may or may not be the best option, lack of tough actions against Pakistan will only cast doubts on Singh's intentions. All this talk for being 'tough on terror' will be severely lacking in credibility until there actually is some action. There were a host of diplomatic measures that could be initiated against Pakistan. Recalling our High Commissioner, reviewing trade, denying access to Indian air space are some. Yet, over a month since the Mumbai attacks wrong signals continue to be sent by not exercising diplomatic retaliation. Experts and ex-officials have criticized this inaction.

Singh and the UPA continues to be timid, incoherent and spineless in guarding India's interests. The Indian electorate must take a lesson from Jharkhand voters and drive this alliance, that is hurting India, out of power.

More lip service

Manmohan Singh has apologised to the nation over the Mumbai attacks. However, he owes much more than that. He, along with Sonia, has blood on his hands. Sitting over specific intelligence inputs is akin to complicity in murder.

That it took Manmohan Singh this long to realise his folly is a sorry indication of his clouded intellect. This realisation ought to have dawned on him back in Aug. 2004 (soon after he took over as our PM) when a bomb went off in Assam (ironically represented by him in the Rajya Sabha) killing innocent school children. That should have been the incident to startle Singh from his slumber and jolt him in action. Since then, there have been at least a dozen major terror attacks on our soil and yet it is now, after about 3000 lives have been lost, he realises his mistake. Unconvincing. So much for his concern for the aam aadmi!

There is one critical realisation that has not yet dawned on Singh. It is actions that define a leader, not words. Throughout his tenure, all that Singh has ever delivered is sermons to the nation. What baffles one and all is when Singh knew so much on what the government should be doing, why has there been no action on his part. L K Advani, in the Lok Sabha, rightly asked the question, "Are you here to govern or tender advice?". And Arun Shourie, in the Rajya Sabha, has made a compelling argument indicting the ruling dispensation of criminal apathy are dereliction of duty.

Perhaps no other Prime Minister has hurt our national interest so much as Manmohan Singh. He has been nothing short of a monumental letdown.

The people of the nation are angry precisely because of the UPA's failure to act on any significant matter. The current outpour is only a culmination of over 4 years of frustration. Mere words or assurances will no longer placate the them, action, rather concrete and decisive action in the nation's interest will. The opposition too has vowed its complete support to steps in this regard. It is questionable if the PM will shun partisanship and appeasement to stand up and deliver for the nation.

Laying claim on national resources

Manmohan Singh said Muslims had the first right on the nation's resources. It did not take the Muslims too long before they started making demands. The Haj committee now seeks five-star facilities for it's members in Saudi. And sure enough, Singh will grant their wishes, after all his heart bleeds for the "oppressed minorities". In case you did not know this yet, we pay tax only to take care of the Muslims.

Mohammad Owais of the Haj committee is not requesting, but indeed demanding five-star treatment, like the tax payer money was a Muslim birth right to enjoy. Check the tone -

According to the letter to the Indian consulate, signed by
chief executive officer Mohammad Owais, the Haj committee has demanded that
"arrangements for their stay should be separate and befitting the status of the
officials and their family members during Haj period. Separate facilities of
kitchen and toilets should be made available."

More demands -

The letter further states, "The officials and their families
will require transportation arrangements during Haj period from Makkah to Mina,
Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina and back to Makkah. To facilitate their journey, it is
suggested that two or three buses, depending upon the number of pilgrims, should
be provided."

Wait, they are not done yet. Hey, so long as it's the tax payer's money, why not?

For its trip to Madina, the demand has been made for "accommodation in the
Markaziah area" which is where Hajis who can pay only first class rates are
usually booked, as it is only 5-10 km away from the central district housing the
main mosque.

Secularism Congress style!

And yet Dr. Manmohan Singh is in denial

All along Dr. Singh and his cohorts have been maintaining that the Hyde Act does not apply to the Indo-US nuclear deal. But when the deal actually went for the US senate approval, we have this.

"The Agreement shall be subject to the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006, and any other applicable United States law."

"Pursuant to section 103(a)(6) of the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006, in the event that nuclear transfers to India are suspended or terminated pursuant to title I of such Act, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or any other United States law, it is the policy of the United States to seek to prevent the transfer to India of nuclear equipment, materials, or technology from other participating governments in the Nuclear Suppliers Group or from any other source."

"nothing in the Agreement shall be construed to supersede the legal requirements of the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954." [Emphasis added]

This is hardly what Dr. Singh promised the parliament and the nation. The provisions are contrary to everything that he has been claiming. How is this an acceptance of India's nuclear status? And how does this not compromise our strategic concerns?

What did the Indo-US nuclear deal achieve?

No guarantee on fuel supply, no immunity in case India carries out tests, no transfer of sensitive nuclear technology, you cannot help but wonder, what did this deal achieve for us exactly. Apparently this was supposed to end the apartheid, but as there is more news on the matter, it seems that the isolation continues.

India assures USA of business but no such assurances in return, indeed President Bush has clarified that there is no legal binding on the US guaranteeing fuel supply to India. Australia continues its opposition. It is pretty clear that the Indian hawks have not done a good job on this one. Whatever happened to your assurances to the nation Dr. Singh? Any answers Mr. nuclear deal?

Charlatanism for diplomacy and incompetence for leadership

Charlatanism has taken over diplomacy. The latest revelations on the Indo-US nuclear deal have made American interests quite clear. It was never about empowering India, as claimed, but hoodwinking India into the non-proliferation regime. The letter released by House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman confirms this. The said letter was written 9 months ago by the state department in response to questions posed by the Congress, yet we were kept in the dark, lest the Americans lost the deal.

It is difficult to understand Dr. Singh's enthusiasm for the deal when it has been blindingly obvious, all along, that there were many questionable aspects of the deal that needed more disscussion, clarifications and re-negotiation. But Dr. Singh's incompetence made him blind to all this. He placed more trust in the Americans than his own countrymen who time and again warned him against the deal.

So what does the letter clarify? (From the IE link)

[...] the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman has released State Department's answers to 45 questions on the deal which indicate clearly differing perceptions on key issues between New Delhi and Washington. (Emphasis added)

Any why was the letter kept under wraps for 9 months -

The answers were considered ‘so sensitive, particularly because the debate over the agreement in India could have toppled the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the State Department requested they remain secret even though they were not classified,’ according to Washington Post which quoted a spokesman for Berman as saying he had made the answers public because the US Congress must have ‘relevant information’. (Emphasis added)

And what does it say about India carrying out any testing -

In its responses, the State Department has said that as outlined in the 123 Agreement, should India detonate a nuclear explosive device, the US has the right to cease all nuclear cooperation with it immediately, including the supply of fuel.

It also stipulates that US can request India to return items transferred from it including fresh fuel. In addition, the US has the right to terminate the agreement on one year's written notice. (Emphasis added)

And here are the bullet points from Dr. Brahma Chellaney's column on rediff -

• The US has given no binding fuel-supply assurance to India.
• No US consent to India's stockpiling of lifetime fuel reserves for safeguarded power reactors.
• US civil nuclear cooperation is explicitly conditioned to India not testing ever again.
• The US has retained the right to suspend or terminate supplies at its own discretion.
• The letter makes clear that the 123 Agreement has granted India no right to take corrective measures in case of any fuel-supply disruption.
• The Bush administration's letter states that the 123 Agreement fully conforms to the Hyde Act provisions.
• The letter assures Congress that the 'US government will not assist India in the design, construction or operation of sensitive nuclear technologies.

Spin doctors and media agents did not tire telling us how good the deal was and how good the PM was for negotiating it. The prime minister, Sonia, Rahul Gandhi, Pranab Mukerjee, Kapil Sibal etc. asked all opponents to listen to our hearts. Apparently it was in our national interest and that the future generations would thank us for the deal. However, Dr. Singh has a lot to answer to the nation, after all this amounts to him lying on the floor of our parliament and to the nation.

Update: According to David Mulford, The US did share all the points mentioned in the letter with the Indian government -

"This letter contains no new conditions and there is no data in this letter which has not already been shared in an open and transparent way with members of the Congress and with the Government of India," US Ambassador David C Mulford said in a statement.

Dr. Singh stands completely exposed and cannot feign ignorance after this. He is now a confirmed liar.

Hyde Act will prevail: Nicholas Burns

Repeated exhortations by Dr. Singh and Mr. Pranab Mukherjee to the contrary not withstanding, Mr. Nicholas Burns, the primary negotiator of the Indo-US nuclear deal clarifies -

Burns said, "When this agreement was negotiated, it was fully consistent with the provisions of the Hyde Act. So we have the right to terminate it if India tests." But he said it was highly unlikely that India would conduct a nuclear test.

He also added, "No aspect of this deal recognises India as a nuclear weapons state."

There is more -

He predicted that "a conservative estimate would be that within a generation, 90 percent of India's nuclear establishment would be under IAEA safeguards�none of that would have been possible without this fundamental break with conventional wisdom that President Bush put forward three years ago."

So much for being responsible with our nuclear facilities!

How do the Prime Minister's and the External Affairs Minister's assurance hold in the face of this? Would it not be fair, then to say, that both have not been truthful to the nation? They repeatedly assured us that the Hyde Act would not apply to us, India's strategic interests would not be compromised. But that clearly is untrue.

We were told by Dr. Singh that the deal was in the interest of the nation. But, apparently, the nation he had on his mind was not the as same we thought. It is now clear that the US interests were the primary consideration.

Dr. Singh went to the extent for appealing to the conscience of the opposition, asking the "Bheeshma Pitamaha" Shri Vajpayee to approve it. He never clarifies how could his conscience go ahead with a deal that compromises India's strategic interests. He asked the opponents to listen to their hearts and assured us that the future generations would indeed be thankful for the deal. Without going that far, the present generation is the one that is being compromised by Dr. Manmohan Singh. When the opposition was playing a constructive role, was raising valid concerns and asking relevant questions, it was ridiculed and accused of playing politics, it was accused of being prepared to sign a much less beneficial deal when in power. Clearly Dr. Singh is the one playing politics over the deal.

It should now be clear that the Indo-US nuclear deal is designed to contain India's nuclear weapons programme. It is designed to hoodwink India into submission and deny the status of a nuclear weapons state. This deal is clearly not in India's favour. Dr. Singh must immediately come clean and not proceed with it unless all concerns are addressed. That would be in our national interest.

A friend in need...

...may not always be a friend indeed. This is especially true with Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP). It was not until a few days ago we heard new songs of friendship being sung by the two political parties. The two arch rivals were suddenly found cuddling each other, the reason, the impending trust vote in the parliament. SP coming to Congress' rescue was akin to a Bollywood style "kahani mein twist".

Amar Singh of the SP did not tire saying that his party was keeping the nation's interests at heart in supporting the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Indo-US nuclear deal. He also emphasised many times over that SP was being selfless in not insisting on any ministerial berths for his party and that their support was not based on any such conditions.

Then we saw currency bundles being waived in the parliament allegedly originating from Amar Singh. It began to seem that national interest had a price after all. Not just money, but 319 animals paid with their lives to save this government. The Congress and SP literally have blood on their hands. Now, barely a few days after the trust vote, it seems that the SP is finding it difficult to keep its flock together. Some of their partymen apparently have been demanding cabinet berths as a reward for following their party's whip. So much for not asking for their pound of flesh. Moreover, after apparently being convinced by none other than Dr. Kalam that the Indo-US nuclear deal was in India's best interests (never mind that he changed his stance on the matter), now the SP is singing a different tune altogether. It now wants the Hyde act amended or a new law in India to counter it. Whatever happened to it earlier claims on the deal.

Dr. Manmohan Singh or the Congress should have known better than to seek a friend in the SP. But then it was blinded by survival instincts. Dr. Singh seems to have avoided the collapse of his government, but with friends like these, the ride is not going to be smooth. SP will be guided by its own interests, not the nation's and it will act up.

Our leaders must act, our people must make them do so

Our cities continue to be bombed and all we get is banal responses to the incidences from our leaders. The attacks were (and they continue) highly disturbing and could affect the moral of the people. The unmitigated disaster of a Home Minister, Mr. Shivraj Patil, was not even innovative with his remarks. The same words spoken as after every such incident, tossed and rearranged so they do not sound repetitive. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has been equally disappointing. But we have now come to expect this after having known them for these past four years. What else was new in their reactions to the recent bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad?

The dust had not yet settled from the blasts and we had the two main political parties sparring already, each trying to gain as much political mileage as it possibly could. First up, it was the UPA, headed by Congress that tried to exonerate itself by claiming it had warned the Karnataka government of a possible terror attack. Next we had the BJP claiming that the Congress is deliberately trying to go slow on the terrorists by not bringing back POTA. The BJP has a good point here since a tough anti-terror law would empower security agencies to act strongly and bring results to their investigations. However the latest allegation by Ms. Sushma Swaraj is far fetched even by conspiracy theory standards. The Congress will use it to discredit the BJP. This task will be easier since the Congress has immense clout in the mainstream media. The verbal war has the potential to divert attention from what is necessary. Some Congress leaders demand Mr. Modi's ouster, by the same logic, Mr. Shivraj Patil should be the first to go since terrorism has flourished during his tenure.

The Congress’ response has been typical, careful not to disturb its votes. The dogged refusal to act tough on terror even after bombings in two cities on two successive days in indicative of where their interests lie, national security is clearly not one of them. Add to that its handling of the Bangaldeshi refugees, border disputes with our neighbors, the Naxal and Maoist violence and nothing more would be needed to prove this. Congress leaders, especially the Prime Minister no less, claim that POTA never stopped terror attacks from taking place. However, that does not stop them from claiming that the present penal codes are enough in tackling terror. Clearly the penal codes are inadequate too. Another idea suggested by Dr. Singh is forming a federal agency to handle terrorism. Well, that too would not stop attacks unless it is armed to the teeth with tough anti-terror laws with less political interference into its functioning.

However, it is not all depressing. The police and emergency service response in Bangalore was very quick and effective in keeping the situation under control. There definitely is a marked difference in the way the state machinery worked during the Deve Gowda days and now. Similarly, the services in Gujarat following the tragic events have been praiseworthy. Mr. Narendra Modi was quick to respond to the situation and did not allow the situation to grow into anything unfortunate. The response of the leaders of the two states has also been praiseworthy. Both seem determined to deal with the situation without diverting their attentions to anything else. That is a good sign.

The center, especially the UPA rather the Congress, does not have the political will to deal with internal security matter strongly. This is even more pronounced since their vote base seems to have eroded greatly due to high inflation and the recent events involving the trust vote in the parliament. It does not want to disturb its traditional vote base lest it gets completely wiped out. It is the people who must refuse such banal responses from the Home Minister and our Prime Minister and demand action from them. It is time words replaced actions.

Update: My earlier thoughts about Ms. Sushma Swaraj's allegations were incorrect. I now believe she may not be entirely incorrect. Knowing Congress' dubious history and its ability to be involved into many a controversy, it is perfectly capable for anything. Besides, Ms. Swaraj did not name the Congress explicitly, so why are the Congressmen cursing her? Was it not a party to such grave allegations as the BJP being behind the attack on our parliament, Godhara etc? Any who can forget the unfounded allegations such as "Merchant of death" which our "secular" media furthered willing knowing fully well that it was a flase and grave charge aimed at vilification.

No Compromise on Strategic Interests?

If the Indo-US nuclear deal does not compromise our strategic interests, like Dr. Singh and Sonia (rather belatedly) have been claiming, why not announce another set of nuclear tests and see what sort of noises uncle Sam makes? That ought to clear all doubts.

What's the deal here?

The Indo-US nuclear deal is a convenient reason for the Congress to distance itself from the nagging Left. Neither the Congress nor Dr. Singh is serious about the deal. All the latest events are a ploy to divert the nation’s attention from other serious issues like price rise, internal security, Chinese aggression etc. It is clear that the Congress and the UPA are on the defensive on these subjects. So the deal gives them something to divert our attention with. That it is a ploy should be clear from the fact that the Left (consistent and principled politics? BAH!) now finds Dr. Singh the villain in the act rather than the Congress. (Trying to keep our options open, are we Karat?)

On the other hand, this whole saga could really be fallout. Dr. Singh, who continually exhorted on building a broad consensus on the deal in India, declares he is going ahead with the next steps towards the deal without taking the nation into confidence. So much for being our nations’ Prime Minister! No concerns for “broad consensus” now? And the hesitation in sharing the text for the IAEA drafts claiming they were classified when the whole world could read it over the internet was simply ridiculous. It makes one question Dr. Singh’s loyalty to the nation. No wonder Shri. L K Advani wonders if something else is at play here.

And just how serious is Dr. Singh about this deal? If he indeed was serious enough, he would not have waited this late in trying to get the deal signed. He chose to wait hoping he would get the Left parties to agree to it and long enough until he could count on someone else for support. Surely he knew that the Left would never agree to such a deal.

Dr. Singh did not take the parliament into confidence, there is little consensus over it, the public is ill informed about the deal, the media is hard at work in trying to sell the deal on behalf of the Congress with it’s biased coverage, all these should be reasons enough for doubt. However, and all of a sudden, the Congress finding new best friends in arch rivals, Mulayam and Amar Singh should be a giveaway about dubiousness of this mess of a deal.

Manmohan ain't gonna resign

Throughout his professional life, Manmohan has only contemplated resigning, but never actually did.

He thought of stepping down when he was the deputy chairman of the planning commission. And the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi called the commission "a bunch of jokers". When the securities scam surfaced, Manmohan thought of resigning again. He challenged the Left to withdraw support over the Indo-US nuclear deal earlier. And now the farce continues with his latest threat.

Manmohan ain't going nowhere. He's too obedient a babu to not follow his master's commands.

Dr. Manmohan Singh continues his sermons to the nation

This time the Prime Minister calls for pay cuts to the corporates. This is in continuation of his tradition of mouthing platitudes & delivering little, as witnessed in the 4 years of his premiership. One can’t help but think of him as clueless.

Dr. Singh forgets that corporates get paid more because they deliver more. Besides it’s not the government that pays them. Folks in the corporate sector get paid based on their performance, hard work & results delivered, something that’s totally lacking in the government. It’s a universal rule; you get paid more, if you perform better. People doing better should be appropriately rewarded so they are motivated to continue their high performance rather than chiding them for doing so.

This latest advice from Dr. Singh is little more than rhetoric & completely lacking in serious thought. The Prime Minister continues to fall for the ‘socialist’ & ‘inclusive’ trap. The corporates & the private industry doing better financially are actually better for the nation. But the Prime Minister doesn’t agree. He seems intent on dragging the nation back to the ‘Nehruvian’ rate of growth. The economic growth that India has been witnessing has been on account of the corporations doing better. This in result creates direct & indirect employment. This can be seen in places like Bangalore, among others, where the software export boom has created a large number of jobs for our engineers. This employment allows them to earn more as compared to the public sector. Higher incomes result in greater spending boosting the local economy, which in turn results in indirect employment. The boom in transport, catering, communications, entertainment, real estate etc. is a result of flourishing businesses.

All the growth in the private companies is on account of them being productive & merit based, not because of reservations & entitlements or ‘socialist’ & ‘inclusive’ policies. All the wealth generated is on account of the hard work put in by the private sector employees; again something that is lacking in the government agencies. Dr. Singh also forgets one important thing, if the corporates & the employees in the private sector are earning more; they are also contributing more to taxes.

The economic liberalization of India was the brain child of the late P.V. Narasimha Rao, easily one of the best Prime Ministers India ever had. Dr. Singh seems to have been wrongly credited for what was Mr. Rao’s brainchild. If Dr. Singh is serious about India’s economic growth & wants India to be a global leader, he should eschew rhetoric & reward merit.

Dr. Manmohan Singh - Still admirable?

Dr. Singh is often regarded as an honest, one with high personal integrity, highly respected & admired. These were the qualities that won him the Prime Minister’s post four years ago. Now that we have seen four years of his governance, it is time we re-look at his tenure & evaluate how he measures against the high praise as against taking them on face value.

Back in the earlier 90’s, when the V.P. Singh government announced a loan waiver of Rs. 10,000 crore, our hon. Prime Minister, Dr. Singh, who was the finance minister then in the subsequent government, criticized the waiver calling it a burden on the exchequer. When the same was done a few weeks ago (and this time an estimated Rs. 60,000 crore) he hailed it as being historic. No word on the impact of this on the exchequer or on fiscal irresponsibility. Arun Shourie analyzed the latest union budget in his excellent four part series. In the process exposing some plain lies being told by our hon. Finance Minister with a Harvard degree.

The UPA assumed office proclaiming to carry out economic reforms with a “human face”. And that it cared for the “aam aadmi”. Dr. Singh made many speeches to this effect after taking oath. Well it is common knowledge now that the common man continues to be “aam” & that little has improved in his life since UPA assumed office. That was four years ago. This is in continuation of the Congress’s grand tradition of raising the poverty issue for political gains & doing little about it. Indira Gandhi was the pioneer, remember “Garibi Hatao”?

The anti-terrorism record of the UPA government has been appalling to say the least. Terrorists have continued to attack with impunity, our countrymen continue to die & cross border terrorism continues. The POTA was dropped giving it a communal color. Here’s a nice post by offstumped summarizing UPA’s anti-terrorism record. Apparently the Prime Minister was only concerned that it would harm the minorities (loss of sleep?). But no such concerns when terrorism continues to claim innocent lives in our country.

Even the wild life isn’t immune to our Prime Minister’s incompetence. The national animal, the majestic Tiger, is closer to extension. This was the result of Dr. Singh’s promised personal help to Tiger conservation. That prompted Dr. Singh to advise Chief Ministers on what they should be doing to save Tigers, but little action on his part.

Dr. Singh’s office recently issued a statement asking political parties to refrain from politicizing the price rise issue. Well, he seems to forget that the UPA came to power by politicizing similar issues in 2004. Besides his office has been involved in many questionable activities as recent events suggest. The responsibility should also lie with the office bearer.

Similarly, in the recent past, Dr. Singh asked the babus to be fair, honest & efficient, but did not lay out plan to achieve the desired result. All one ever hears is Dr. Singh sermonizing on terrorism, economic policies, minority issues, foreign relations, education etc. But there is hardly any action that follows those sermons. As if by just uttering his desire, the desired will be achieved. He seems to forget that it is the Prime Minister’s job to deliver & not just sermonize. In fact, this has been his hallmark in the four years as the Prime Minister – Lip Service.

The tentative & reluctant nature of his leadership & lack of conviction was on full display during his Indo-US nuclear deal initiative. This was the only issue on which he showed some interest & passion, but he has failed miserable here too.

And recently, sycophants in Congress have been demanding that Rahul Gandhi should be the party’s next Prime Ministerial candidate. What does that say about Dr. Singh? All along he has been living under the shadow & command of his party president, Sonia Gandhi. Any self respecting man would be unwilling to work in such an arrangement or allow himself to be sidelined time & again. Also, by turning a blind eye to what happens in his party, the various scandals, scams, sycophancy etc. Dr. Singh is damaging his own credibility & image. There’s more than can be discussed.

Taking a moral high ground after all this isn’t convincing at all. The Common Minimum Program is nothing but a plan to cling to power. And four years of following the plan have yeilded all the problems & controversies that we see today. By letting all that happened since the UPA came to power, Dr. Singh is equally guilty. After all he is the Prime Minister of our country & responsible for the government. It is time we re-evaluated Dr. Manmohan Singh again before we blindly continue to admire him.

Dr. Singh’s failure to protect Tigers

Dr. Singh promised personal involvement in saving the Tiger in 2005. In Jan 2008, the National Tiger Conservation Authority has released the latest census totaling the Tiger population to 1,411 today. The report says the population has gone down by half since 2002.

Dr. Singh is no exception to the long list of leaders to have failed Project Tiger. But, his failure is more disappointing than the others. Dr. Singh personally headed the steering committee & hence is directly responsible. It seems, he’s just as clueless here as he is on national matters.

Read this to know how Dr. Singh has only paid lip service to this project. The latest Tiger census is proof enough of the failure. The very fact that Dr. Singh has asked the Chief Ministers to get in the act is an admission of the failure.

Will UPA make India a superpower?

We need a national movement if we are to become a superpower one day. This should become a national objective, like our freedom struggle. The public & the government must join hands if this is to be achieved. It’ll be difficult otherwise.

There are enough examples in world history where nations rose from despair to prosperity. Japan rose from being bombed to become the world’s second largest economy. It leads in the fields of automobiles, science & technology today. Germany rose from its Hitler era, to become a major engineering force & the third largest economy today.

Achieving something similar requires a great deal of leadership foresight & will. The leaders will have to drive this. However, common minimum programs catering to narrow sections of societies will not achieve this. There is a need to unite the nation towards one goal. But, Sonia's & UPA's goals are different, vote bank.

When there is a need to unite the nation as one, we have governments practicing minority appeasement. There is a need to put an end to casteism & religious hatred. But after 60 years of freedom this is still prevalent in India & our leaders have failed to on this account. They have used caste & minorities are a political tool. This is nothing but an extension of the divide & rule policy employed by the British. It's high time we realised that.

Failed schemes, reservations in higher educational institutes, religious subsidies, unconstitutional behavior, lax attitude towards terrorism & internal security are all retrograde steps. Sonia’s UPA governance is a clear manifestation of all this. Sonia & her band of UPA leaders will hardly make India a superpower.

This is not how you serve your nation

The UPA government is fast setting a record for being one of the most counter productive regimes. The only governing factor it seems to follow is short-term-gain-which-costs-India-dear or blame-NDA-for-everything.

The Congress leadership at the center & at the state level is further proof of that. There are a multitude of important issues facing the nation, yet the current leadership has failed to resolve them. The UPA gained majority in 2004 & has little to show for it's governance since then.

Let's talk of the most important issue facing us today- terrorism. While the NDA government's record on this front is debatable, the UPA's goes even beyond that. Read this analysis by offstumped to know the facts. The argument that the NDA failed is not enough, worse yet, it doesn't make any sense when it concerns our national security. If the previous government failed, the current one had a chance to correct that. Yet the UPA has clearly failed to do that. It has not learnt from the past failures. Instead, it decides to go ahead & pay money to the dependents of militants killed in encounters with security forces in J&K. (Read this at the dailypoineer.com, story appears on Jan 24th 2008 under the heading 'Now, dole for jihadis' kin'). It is just so unfair to our men in uniform who laid down their lives protecting us. Where does the money come from? Right, from our taxes. The blame-everyone-else-for-your-failure attitude is evident from this. The question being raised was of great importance, yet the issue was diverted by giving it another dimension. Hardly a good sign.

The Congress often alleges that the BJP is communal. Well, by that logic what does minority (read Muslim & Christian) appeasement make the Congress. If it were truly secular, it would talk of the entire Indian populace. Rewarding more reservations to a certain minority, extending financial help, now to the Christians, for their pilgrimage when the majority are not accorded the same is exactly the same as communalism. And all this from our tax money.

When the PM himself has been the most disappointing on various fronts, little should be expected from his team. When Dr. Singh took the Prime Minister's oath, there was hope that this honest man would do India proud. Unfortunately, that was not to be. He is fast losing his credibility with irresponsible remarks like these, or his ill fated schemes that only burden the treasury & hence the tax payers, or with failing to save tigers after personally taking up the cause & rampant minority appeasement.

Read this & this to know how Dr. Singh continues to disappoint us. All of India wanted him to do good, yet he failed to lead from the front, inspire his band of leaders & allowed all the noise around him influence his tenure. Sonia Gandhi, being the chairperson of UPA, needs to take the primary responsibility since she drives all the policy matters & sets the agenda for UPA governance. This fact needs to be brought to fore. The UPA's failures are conveniently blamed on all sundry reasons, when in fact Sonia Gandhi is in charge. After all she heads the UPA.

It also doesn't help that Dr. Singh is surrounded by people with no credentials to claim, begining with Sonia Gandhi. None of them have made any significant contribution to the nation.

Any argument that defends the current leaders by pointing out failures of the older leaders is weak, because it does not talk of the failures of the current ones. If the previous governments failed, the current one has not done any better either. In fact, the record is much worse. How does talking of NDA's failures make the UPA better? Besides, such arguments tacitly agree to the current government's failures. India deserves better leaders.