Independent India never had the experience of a Prime Minister, supposedly a political leader with a large popular following, who was so reluctant to communicate with his countrymen. Although Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has a reputation of being a man of integrity and honesty, this economist-turned bureaucrat-turned politician, is ironically heading a most corrupt and direction-less administration. The Prime Minister, though unelected to the Lok Sabha in 2004, was nominated by his party supremo-Mrs Sonia Gandhi to occupy the chair of the country's head of government. To follow the well-established convention of the PM being a member of the more important House of the People(Lok Sabha), he should have decided to legitimise his prime ministership by contesting a bye-election as soon as possible. But he chose otherwise. Even after the first term of five years, he was renominated by his boss(Mrs Sonia Gandhi)to continue in his post. Thus, he again avoided the Lok Sabha general elections in 2009 and re-entered the Parliament through an indirect, convenient Rajya Sabha route. Consequently, he cannot be the Leader of the House as he is not an elected member of the Lok Sabha, as the elected Prime Minister would normally be, and he cannot vote in this House. His deputy, Pranab Mukherjee, being an popularly elected member of the Lok Sabha, is the Leader of the House and his Congress legislative party.
There has been a constant onslaught on the PM's habitual taciturnity from the media, thinking Indians and the opposition parties. His invisibility and long silence on critical problems facing the nation and his govt. has been a subject of tongue-in-cheek write-ups in the press. One columnist of a leading pro-Congress English daily wrote that the PM was reported "lost but not found"! Hence, in the face of the crescendo of criticism, the party seemed alarmed by enormous damage this lack of communication with the people was causing and egged on Dr Singh to have a regular interaction with the media to reach the people. The first of these press meetings was held in the Prime Minister's residence on June 29, 2011, where five "carefully chosen" editors were invited for a 100-minute questions and answers session. Two editors-one from a small Marathi journal-a known pro-Congress apologist, and another from a Hindi one, the CEO of a leading news agency dependent on the govt for funding, and two editors, one each from an economic daily and another from an English regional daily. One would have expected that being the first press meet after a gap of nearly six months, the PM and his press advisers would arrange to televise the event for maximum impact. But, a restricted format was chosen:A summary of the proceedings will be placed on the official website. What a way to communicate in this age of television!
Judging from the account of the press meet given by the participants to the media afterwards, it was evident that the Prime Minister did not say anything new on problems like galloping price rise, corruption, Lokpal bill, cohesion in his govt, alleged party-govt discord, and his own future. He will quit if his party asked him to go, but they have not done so. He is, thus, in full command, he insisted. Some media commentators called the PM's repeated claim of his being in charge as an indication of the opposite. It does not seem so settled. Even Dr Singh's comment that he had no objection to be within the ambit of Lokpal but that his colleagues had different views, did not seem sincere. If he was serious, he could have persuaded his cabinet colleagues to fall in line. Similarly, his observation that he had no magic wand to solve burning problems of corruption and inflation, etc., evoked derisive response. His certificate to the Chinese President and the Prime Minister that they are "men of peace" does him hardly any credit. How can any Indian forget the immense pain they have caused to us because of their aggressive policies towards Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, damming Brahamputra, and their arrogant attitude towards Tibetans and the Dalai Lama and pro-Pakistan strategies,etc?
There has been a constant onslaught on the PM's habitual taciturnity from the media, thinking Indians and the opposition parties. His invisibility and long silence on critical problems facing the nation and his govt. has been a subject of tongue-in-cheek write-ups in the press. One columnist of a leading pro-Congress English daily wrote that the PM was reported "lost but not found"! Hence, in the face of the crescendo of criticism, the party seemed alarmed by enormous damage this lack of communication with the people was causing and egged on Dr Singh to have a regular interaction with the media to reach the people. The first of these press meetings was held in the Prime Minister's residence on June 29, 2011, where five "carefully chosen" editors were invited for a 100-minute questions and answers session. Two editors-one from a small Marathi journal-a known pro-Congress apologist, and another from a Hindi one, the CEO of a leading news agency dependent on the govt for funding, and two editors, one each from an economic daily and another from an English regional daily. One would have expected that being the first press meet after a gap of nearly six months, the PM and his press advisers would arrange to televise the event for maximum impact. But, a restricted format was chosen:A summary of the proceedings will be placed on the official website. What a way to communicate in this age of television!
Judging from the account of the press meet given by the participants to the media afterwards, it was evident that the Prime Minister did not say anything new on problems like galloping price rise, corruption, Lokpal bill, cohesion in his govt, alleged party-govt discord, and his own future. He will quit if his party asked him to go, but they have not done so. He is, thus, in full command, he insisted. Some media commentators called the PM's repeated claim of his being in charge as an indication of the opposite. It does not seem so settled. Even Dr Singh's comment that he had no objection to be within the ambit of Lokpal but that his colleagues had different views, did not seem sincere. If he was serious, he could have persuaded his cabinet colleagues to fall in line. Similarly, his observation that he had no magic wand to solve burning problems of corruption and inflation, etc., evoked derisive response. His certificate to the Chinese President and the Prime Minister that they are "men of peace" does him hardly any credit. How can any Indian forget the immense pain they have caused to us because of their aggressive policies towards Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, damming Brahamputra, and their arrogant attitude towards Tibetans and the Dalai Lama and pro-Pakistan strategies,etc?
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