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With opinion polls predicting a fractured mandate in the coming general elections, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday made a forthright appeal to Indians to vote for a stable government.
"A fractured government, hostage to whimsical opportunists, is always an unhappy eventuality. In 2014, it could be catastrophic…Whosoever wins must have an undiluted commitment to stability, honesty, and the development of India. Our problems will not disappear overnight. We live in a turbulent part of the world where factors of instability have grown in the recent past," Mukherjee said in his address to the nation on the eve of the 65th Republic Day.
Mukherjee came down heavily on those who made promises they couldn't keep. "Those who seek the trust of voters must promise only what is possible. The government is not a charity shop. Populist anarchy cannot be a substitute for governance. False promises lead to disillusionment, which gives birth to rage, and that rage has one legitimate target: those in power," he said, a clear reference to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which recently announced subsidies for power and led an agitation that had threatened cancellation of the Republic Day parade.
Corruption, Mukherjee said, was the society's cancer; it made people angry. Referring to the 'anthem of despair' from the streets about a multitude of grievances ranging from corruption to poverty, Mukherjee said, "If governments do not remove these flaws, voters will remove governments." On recent agitations that had rattled the nation, Mukherjee said India could never be anything but a democracy, even if it was a noisy one at times.
"Some cynics may scoff at our commitment to democracy, but our democracy has never been betrayed by the people; its fault-lines, where they exist, are the handiwork of those who have made power a gateway to greed. We do feel angry, and rightly so, when we see democratic institutions being weakened by complacency and incompetence. If we hear sometimes an anthem of despair from the street, it is because people feel a sacred trust is being violated."
Mukherjee said the government had to deliver on its promises or be at the receiving end of the people's rage. "This rage will abate only when governments deliver what they were elected to deliver - social and economic progress - not at a snail's pace, but with the speed of a racehorse. The aspirational young Indian will not forgive a betrayal of her future. Those in office must eliminate the trust deficit between them and the people," he said.
In the president's address, there was a conspicuous absence to any reference to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that he had been judged too harshly and that history would be kinder to him. At a time when most analyses of the Indian economy said it fared much better than most others around the globe, the president said the slowdown in the economy in the last two years could be some "cause for concern, but none for despair".
India, especially young India, deserved a better break, the president said, cautioning this chance "will not come if India does not get a stable government...Each one of us is a voter; each one of us has a deep responsibility; we cannot let India down. It is time for introspection and action".
But for a passing reference to communalism, the president did not elaborate on the threat of a communal divide before secular India. Instead, he referred to the ongoing agitation over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. "Passions are rising over whether we should have smaller states to extend equitable development to all parts of a state. A debate is legitimate, but it should conform to democratic norms. The politics of divide and rule has extracted a heavy price on our subcontinent. If we do not work together, nothing will ever work," he said.
Obviously provoked by the AAP's references to Delhi Police, the president, also the supreme commander of the armed forces, said, "Mavericks who question the integrity of our armed services are irresponsible and should find no place in public life."
