If UPA-2 does not take everyone on board, it may not last until 2014.
On the FDI issue, the Congress-led UPA government did not bother to consult its allies before it decided to bring the measure to Parliament. The result was an embarrassing retreat when some allies decided to go with the Opposition rather than the government of which they were a part. Learning from this, the Congress was more circumspect and took the allies on board on Tuesday, when the Union Cabinet cleared a clutch of three bills relating to curbing corruption. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, the Whistleblowers’ Bill, and the Citizens’ Charter and Grievance Redress Bill are significant measures whose impact will be widespread. Deciding on the anti-corruption measures in the Cabinet after the concurrence of the allies, the Congress can be sure of passage of the legislation in the Lok Sabha. But it could encounter some hurdles in the Rajya Sabha, where the UPA’s position is not comfortable, and it must depend on the goodwill of a section of the Opposition.
On Tuesday, the Opposition prevented human resources development minister Kapil Sibal from moving the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, and law minister Salman Khurshid had to withdraw a bill setting up commercial divisions in the high courts. This essentially means that the government will have to keep the Opposition parties in good humour even if it gets the three anti-corruption bills through the Lok Sabha. If the UPA-2 is to last the distance until 2014, it will have to look for a new paradigm of politics.
Deccan Chronicle, December 15