Should We Put The Blame On Manmohan Singh?

By Tarun Raina:

Our two time champion, playing the wrong sport has been under speculation since his second innings and has been addressed as a mild-mannered man who finds it rather simple to drop a matter than to force a confrontation. Yes! I speak of Mr. Manmohan Singh, India’s 13th and our current Prime Minister, who is believed to be seated on a chair consisting of wheels. Is the expression less frontal lobe a sign of a waning Prime Minister? Or is it just that he is curbed by true politicians and his 15 party coalition government?

A saviour of our nation and its economy, this is where it all started from. Mr. Singh was ascribed as one of the most influential architects of India’s socialist economy after being appointed the Finance Minister under P.V. Narasimha Rao, the then Prime Minister. He opened the Indian economy to foreign investment and business competition and hence made it a more capitalistic one.

But the twist came in the 2004 general elections when Indian National Congress President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi appointed Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister, following the old tradition of renunciation.

Handling his duties as his religion, under his tenure, growth accelerated on account of a sharp rise in both the savings and investment rates, the latter rising sharply from 24.6 per cent in 2003-04 to 32.3 per cent in 2008-09. However, the second innings have been hit by a decline in the investment rate largely on account of the government’s own acts of omission and commission. The last 3 years of the government have been turbulent because of innumerable scams, rise in corruption and the economic walk.

The cropping up of these ordeals has weakened our Prime Minister as he is unable to do anything due to the bonds of coalition and his party. The Time magazine recently dubbed him as an “underachiever” in their upcoming issue, criticising him on the slow growth, scams and him being influenced by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and other party stalwarts.

Are any of these artefacts real, if real, do we blame it on a man known for his serenity and grace. Who once was regarded as the best Prime Minister of India has now perished inside this system. An economist known for making good and effective policies has been wrongly assigned, a task to the moon. The people are simply using him as a shield and making him speak, walk and sing like a puppet. He should understand he is not suited for the job and the associated pressure. He should do what he is suited for and for which the country needs him the most at present.

The man who has nothing to gain, with his selfless attitude retains a name, with simple habits and a humble attitude, he is unlike the politicians because he has an honest game. What he needs is a favour, in the form of a waiver and to gear up his 800 to a place called “the growth of the nation”.