A K Bhattacharya: New challenges for Manmohan

NEW DELHI DIARY

Next month, the Manmohan Singh government will complete one year. It is time, therefore, to assess how the government performed in this period, what went right and what went wrong.

But before undertaking any such evaluation, it is important to keep in mind that the formation of the Manmohan Singh government was preceded by unusual developments.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was all set to lead the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, decided to step down in favour of an unlikely candidate ""Manmohan Singh.

Within the Congress, her decision was hailed as an act of renunciation. Outside, it was seen as a politically astute move to retain power and control of the government without taking responsibility for the decisions that are taken.

Critics also pointed to the inherent problems that will arise out of the new arrangement. They argued that Sonia Gandhi would want to function as the real power centre of the government and the party.

They also feared that Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister would be too weak to assert himself as the head of the government.

The prognosis was that it would not take long for Manmohan Singh to taste the power that goes along with prime ministership.

And the very day he wielded that power, the new arrangement of Sonia Gandhi heading the UPA and Manmohan Singh heading the government would come to an end.

So, the first achievement of the UPA government is that it experimented with a new arrangement and so far it has worked well.

Sonia Gandhi has refrained from behaving in any manner that would give the impression that she ran the government and undermined the authority of the Prime Minister.

Manmohan Singh, too, has not acted in a way that would create an impression that he was unhappy with the current arrangement and was not a free agent as Prime Minister.

The arrangement may have been a little tenuous. But the chemistry between the two has been such that it has worked well so far.

Sonia Gandhi has focused on running the Congress party and Manmohan Singh has concentrated on running the government. On paper, it should have worked.

But political analysts had doubts if it would work in practice. That this arrangement has worked for close to a year without any problem is a comment as much on the personalities of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh as on their working styles.

A key reason why the experiment worked is of course Manmohan Singh and his style of functioning. It is naïve to believe that Manmohan Singh does not understand politics.

More than anyone else in his own party, Dr Singh knows what can get him in political trouble and what can ensure his safety. More importantly, he has relied on his innate honesty and an approach that is firm and yet polite.

This has ensured that even his worst enemies could do little harm to him. He is conscious of his own importance in the Congress party and the credibility he brings to his job as Prime Minister.

Take a look at the initiatives he took during his bilateral talks with his counterparts in China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and you will realise that Manmohan Singh knows when to assert himself and outline his own agenda of action.

It appears that Sonia Gandhi has recognised the indispensable role being played by Manmohan Singh.

She seems happy looking after the Congress party and managing the political contradictions within the UPA, while leaving Manmohan Singh to run the government on the lines outlined in the national Common Minimum Programme.

There is, however, one problem Manmohan Singh has failed to tackle during the last one year and that pertains to building a strong ministerial team to assist him in running the government.

This may not entirely be his fault. But the ironic fact is that the architect of India's economic reforms has not yet put in place a strong team to look after economic ministries.

Barring P Chidambaram, Praful Patel, Manishankar Aiyar, Kamal Nath, Dayanidhi Maran and Sharad Pawar, it is difficult to name a competent minister in charge of any other economic portfolio.

The power sector is in dire need for more reforms. But it has to make do with a minister who is yet to push through the much-needed policy changes in this sector.

The roads and shipping sectors definitely could do with more dynamic ministers. Similarly, the facelift required for company laws can happen if the ministry of company affairs gets more enterprising leadership.

The short point is, while the Sonia-Manmohan duo has done well in terms of political management of running a coalition government, there is urgent need for beefing up the government apparatus.

And that task should begin in earnest with a ministerial reshuffle. Manmohan Singh should weed out the deadwood and bring in some fresh faces that can improve governance and help him fulfil the promise he made to the nation on assuming office as Prime Minister.