06-15-2004, 08:00 PM
<b>Lack of political coherence </b>
By Harish Khare
NEW DELHI, JUNE 15. It was not until June 13 that this newspaper printed a photograph of the new Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, paying obeisance at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in New Delhi. Earlier, he made a solo appearance on the front page on May 23 when he was sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In between, he appeared in photographs with others, like on the occasion of the release of the Common Minimum Programme or in the Presidential procession on way to the Central Hall for the President's Address. Dr. Singh was not making news. The headlines and photo space was cornered by the Opposition, by the Samajwadi Party and by other members of the Manmohan Singh Government.
The Prime Minister has neither been seen nor much heard from and this is causing concern among senior Congress leaders as indicative of the fact that the new Government is yet to take off politically. The new Government has not been seen as dominating the political discourse in the country, leave alone setting its political agenda.
<b>Those in the know of things suggest that part of the problem is that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has no political person who could ensure that the Prime Minister is seen as playing the role of the chief political executive.</b> There are some eminent and competent civil servants among the senior PMO officials, but there are no political operatives. There is a Minister of State in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan, but he is too much of a lightweight to be able to bring about the political synergy between the Prime Minister and other Ministers and allies and the supporting parties.
On the other hand, there is not much co-ordination between the PMO and the Congress. Both the Prime Minister and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, are reported to be reluctant to be seen interacting too often, lest there is talk of "two power centres." Ms. Gandhi has been particularly keen on not being seen as over-shadowing Dr. Singh.
Ms. Gandhi has also not geared herself for the Congress' new role and responsibility. The AICC itself stands depleted as a number of general secretaries â Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kamal Nath, Oscar Fernandes â have shifted to ministerial roles. Similarly, the AICC has lost the day-to-day services of leaders such as Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, Natwar Singh, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Kapil Sibal and Mani Shankar Aiyar as they have their own ministerial preoccupations. Ms. Gandhi remains dependent upon the services of a limited staff at the AICC while the secretariat support that was available to her as the Leader of Opposition stands withdrawn. Her role as chairperson of the newly-created National Advisory Council on implementation of the Common Minimum Programme is yet to be fleshed out.
All this means that there is no political coherence in the functioning of the new Government. The allied Ministers have set out on their own pace; the Congress Ministers have caused embarrassment by seemingly speaking out of turn. Nor has there been any meeting of the Congress Working Committee, which could spell out the political thrust.
<b>In other words, the new Government has not been able to acquire a political profile. Neither the Cabinet Committee on Security nor the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has met once. The Prime Minister is yet to make a political statement. </b>
<b>Dr. Singh is not a "political animal" in the classic sense of the term. Yet no Prime Minister can shun the role of the chief political executive. Sooner or later, Dr. Singh will need to beef up his office with political aides, communicators and spin-masters who can see to it that the Prime Minister is seen as playing the role of a maximum leader. </b>
By Harish Khare
NEW DELHI, JUNE 15. It was not until June 13 that this newspaper printed a photograph of the new Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, paying obeisance at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in New Delhi. Earlier, he made a solo appearance on the front page on May 23 when he was sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In between, he appeared in photographs with others, like on the occasion of the release of the Common Minimum Programme or in the Presidential procession on way to the Central Hall for the President's Address. Dr. Singh was not making news. The headlines and photo space was cornered by the Opposition, by the Samajwadi Party and by other members of the Manmohan Singh Government.
The Prime Minister has neither been seen nor much heard from and this is causing concern among senior Congress leaders as indicative of the fact that the new Government is yet to take off politically. The new Government has not been seen as dominating the political discourse in the country, leave alone setting its political agenda.
<b>Those in the know of things suggest that part of the problem is that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has no political person who could ensure that the Prime Minister is seen as playing the role of the chief political executive.</b> There are some eminent and competent civil servants among the senior PMO officials, but there are no political operatives. There is a Minister of State in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan, but he is too much of a lightweight to be able to bring about the political synergy between the Prime Minister and other Ministers and allies and the supporting parties.
On the other hand, there is not much co-ordination between the PMO and the Congress. Both the Prime Minister and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, are reported to be reluctant to be seen interacting too often, lest there is talk of "two power centres." Ms. Gandhi has been particularly keen on not being seen as over-shadowing Dr. Singh.
Ms. Gandhi has also not geared herself for the Congress' new role and responsibility. The AICC itself stands depleted as a number of general secretaries â Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kamal Nath, Oscar Fernandes â have shifted to ministerial roles. Similarly, the AICC has lost the day-to-day services of leaders such as Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, Natwar Singh, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Kapil Sibal and Mani Shankar Aiyar as they have their own ministerial preoccupations. Ms. Gandhi remains dependent upon the services of a limited staff at the AICC while the secretariat support that was available to her as the Leader of Opposition stands withdrawn. Her role as chairperson of the newly-created National Advisory Council on implementation of the Common Minimum Programme is yet to be fleshed out.
All this means that there is no political coherence in the functioning of the new Government. The allied Ministers have set out on their own pace; the Congress Ministers have caused embarrassment by seemingly speaking out of turn. Nor has there been any meeting of the Congress Working Committee, which could spell out the political thrust.
<b>In other words, the new Government has not been able to acquire a political profile. Neither the Cabinet Committee on Security nor the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has met once. The Prime Minister is yet to make a political statement. </b>
<b>Dr. Singh is not a "political animal" in the classic sense of the term. Yet no Prime Minister can shun the role of the chief political executive. Sooner or later, Dr. Singh will need to beef up his office with political aides, communicators and spin-masters who can see to it that the Prime Minister is seen as playing the role of a maximum leader. </b>