I've always maintained that the UPA government has always milked their Prime Minister to the fullest when it comes to dealing with the public and media's charges of unprecedented corruption and misuse of power within their coterie. It seems that the Prime Minister's "meet the press" was just that.
The person I saw on television yesterday did not look like the leader of the government of India, but a powerless individual who, like any other citizen around him, is saddened by the state of affairs and is simply sharing his anguish.
The media, it seems, as brought it hook line and sinker. Very, very disappointing. I read this note from Aroon Purie of the India Today on the news conference, and was disappointed to say the least.
He says: "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh didn't deal with the question on 2G spectrum allocation too directly. I asked him why he re-appointed A. Raja if he knew that what he was doing was not right, but he didn't really deal with that question. He said he thought he (Raja) wasn't that irregular and followed the policy and he had therefore re-appointed him (Raja). He also said that these were compromises of coalition politics.
The prime minister appeared to be serious about going after corruption. He was concerned about the fact that the government had become scam-tainted, that the country had become scam-tainted. He felt that India's self-confidence should not be sapped by this atmosphere around the government.
I think it is good that the prime minister communicates to the people about what he thinks. He has voiced his opinion on certain issues and it's a good thing.
My first reaction was - thats it, Mr. Purie? I suppose its time to get on with our sorry lives now. Note the other bogey with governments in India use with utmost ease - the compulsions of coalition politics. So what is the message the Prime Minister is attempting to send to his coutrymen and women? That this is all acceptable because its a coalition? Thats the most absurd reasoning a politician can ever present, and unfortunately, its been used very frequently. I believe the real problem is that we simply do not have the laws to put an end to this supposed "helplessness" on the part of the Prime Minister of a country that says it wants to be a permanent member of the UNSC. Shameful.
Even Indian Express, a newspaper that I have a little inkling of respect for, is actually discussing the high points of the Prime Minister's interaction! What about the tough questions, you damn TV editors? Maybe its my mistake to believe you all have any other capability than present news that highlights the state of today's tabloids, bollywood and cricket.
Okay, let us take a look at some of his other gems, or rather, examples of his helplessness. But, I had said this in my previous post as well, perhaps there is a method to his madness. As many readers suggested, the Prime Minister is now simply speaking like a seasoned politician - skirting away from the tough questions, maintaining a line of innocence and finishing it out with promises of action. His press conference was filled with examples of all three.
Whatever some people may say, that we are a lame duck government, that I am a lame duck prime minister, we take our job very seriously, we are here to govern, and to govern effectively, tackle the problems as they arise and get this country moving forward.
The country voted our party to be the leader of the coalition, and we have a lot of unfinished business to accomplish ... I will stay the course. I wish to assure you and I wish to assure the country as a whole, that our government is dead serious in bringing to book all the wrongdoers, regardless of their position they may occupy.
As far as who gets licences, the first-come-first-served policy, how it is implemented, that was never discussed with me. Licences were not a matter which ever got referred to me or the cabinet. That was a decision exclusively of the telecoms ministry.
So did anybody gain anything from this media parlay? I doubt it. The media - the television media, particularly, got to hear what we've been hearing all this while already (coalition compulsions for example), nothing in terms of the decisions he is going to take, and how the media and the BJP are being so negative. So despite the hoopla that surrounded the meeting before it happened, this press meet will be forgotten before you wake up tomorrow morning.
The person I saw on television yesterday did not look like the leader of the government of India, but a powerless individual who, like any other citizen around him, is saddened by the state of affairs and is simply sharing his anguish.
The media, it seems, as brought it hook line and sinker. Very, very disappointing. I read this note from Aroon Purie of the India Today on the news conference, and was disappointed to say the least.
He says: "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh didn't deal with the question on 2G spectrum allocation too directly. I asked him why he re-appointed A. Raja if he knew that what he was doing was not right, but he didn't really deal with that question. He said he thought he (Raja) wasn't that irregular and followed the policy and he had therefore re-appointed him (Raja). He also said that these were compromises of coalition politics.
The prime minister appeared to be serious about going after corruption. He was concerned about the fact that the government had become scam-tainted, that the country had become scam-tainted. He felt that India's self-confidence should not be sapped by this atmosphere around the government.
I think it is good that the prime minister communicates to the people about what he thinks. He has voiced his opinion on certain issues and it's a good thing.
My first reaction was - thats it, Mr. Purie? I suppose its time to get on with our sorry lives now. Note the other bogey with governments in India use with utmost ease - the compulsions of coalition politics. So what is the message the Prime Minister is attempting to send to his coutrymen and women? That this is all acceptable because its a coalition? Thats the most absurd reasoning a politician can ever present, and unfortunately, its been used very frequently. I believe the real problem is that we simply do not have the laws to put an end to this supposed "helplessness" on the part of the Prime Minister of a country that says it wants to be a permanent member of the UNSC. Shameful.
Even Indian Express, a newspaper that I have a little inkling of respect for, is actually discussing the high points of the Prime Minister's interaction! What about the tough questions, you damn TV editors? Maybe its my mistake to believe you all have any other capability than present news that highlights the state of today's tabloids, bollywood and cricket.
Okay, let us take a look at some of his other gems, or rather, examples of his helplessness. But, I had said this in my previous post as well, perhaps there is a method to his madness. As many readers suggested, the Prime Minister is now simply speaking like a seasoned politician - skirting away from the tough questions, maintaining a line of innocence and finishing it out with promises of action. His press conference was filled with examples of all three.
Whatever some people may say, that we are a lame duck government, that I am a lame duck prime minister, we take our job very seriously, we are here to govern, and to govern effectively, tackle the problems as they arise and get this country moving forward.
The country voted our party to be the leader of the coalition, and we have a lot of unfinished business to accomplish ... I will stay the course. I wish to assure you and I wish to assure the country as a whole, that our government is dead serious in bringing to book all the wrongdoers, regardless of their position they may occupy.
As far as who gets licences, the first-come-first-served policy, how it is implemented, that was never discussed with me. Licences were not a matter which ever got referred to me or the cabinet. That was a decision exclusively of the telecoms ministry.
So did anybody gain anything from this media parlay? I doubt it. The media - the television media, particularly, got to hear what we've been hearing all this while already (coalition compulsions for example), nothing in terms of the decisions he is going to take, and how the media and the BJP are being so negative. So despite the hoopla that surrounded the meeting before it happened, this press meet will be forgotten before you wake up tomorrow morning.
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