India was in deep financial crisis and facing a shameful default in the early 1990s when the ex-RBI governor, Dr Manmohan Singh became the Finance Minister of the newly elected Government. He brought in a wave of sweeping reforms that saved the face and economy of the nation. It was due to his astute policies that privatisation, liberalisation,deregulation and tax reforms took place. The economy was saved and India grew to become one of the strongest economies in the world by 2007 with Dr. Manmohan at the helm as the Prime Minister of a Congress-led UPA coalition.
Despite surviving the financial crisis of 2008, India has found itself in a soup with spiraling inflation (as faced by almost every other country on this planet) and large-scale corruption at every level of government and society. The 2G Telecom scandal and the Commonwealth scams have rocked the UPA government hard and it had almost sunk when Anna Hazare started his anti-corruption drive insisting on a Lok Pal bill drafted by civil society. This anti-corruption crusader has brought the government to its knees by maligning Dr Manmohan Singh and the entire UPA government but without being critical of the opposition party which not only has an anti-minority agenda but also itself been embroiled in several scams including the Tehelka defence scandal, coffingate, the Karnataka mining scam, etc.
This anti-Manmohan tirade therefore puts a question mark on the motives of the Lok Pal movement. They so easily forget the great work Manmohan Singh has done for India (including the implementation of RTI Act and anti-poverty measures as PM). The incredible rescue act which he had done in the 1990s makes this writer scorn the ingratitude of those who criticised him so harshly without knowing the facts. The facts are that Manmohan Singh is a mild man who believed in almost complete delegation of authority to the extent that he trusted the Kalmadis and the Rajas to do their job diligently. He was as surprised as everyone else to learn about the scams as it had happened under his own nose and even after the false guarantees given by these rogues. And let us not forget that it is difficult for a PM of a coalition to effectively monitor and deal with ministers placed by their allies. One must not also forget that Manmohan Singh as a congress man has to make decisions keeping the party policies in mind (although he is no remote control) although they may seem unpopular.
So, I ask fellow Indians not to misjudge one of the greatest economists and politicians we've had in Independent India. Do not mock him and remember that if Anna Hazare is old and wise, then Manmohan Singh is much older and much wiser.
Despite surviving the financial crisis of 2008, India has found itself in a soup with spiraling inflation (as faced by almost every other country on this planet) and large-scale corruption at every level of government and society. The 2G Telecom scandal and the Commonwealth scams have rocked the UPA government hard and it had almost sunk when Anna Hazare started his anti-corruption drive insisting on a Lok Pal bill drafted by civil society. This anti-corruption crusader has brought the government to its knees by maligning Dr Manmohan Singh and the entire UPA government but without being critical of the opposition party which not only has an anti-minority agenda but also itself been embroiled in several scams including the Tehelka defence scandal, coffingate, the Karnataka mining scam, etc.
This anti-Manmohan tirade therefore puts a question mark on the motives of the Lok Pal movement. They so easily forget the great work Manmohan Singh has done for India (including the implementation of RTI Act and anti-poverty measures as PM). The incredible rescue act which he had done in the 1990s makes this writer scorn the ingratitude of those who criticised him so harshly without knowing the facts. The facts are that Manmohan Singh is a mild man who believed in almost complete delegation of authority to the extent that he trusted the Kalmadis and the Rajas to do their job diligently. He was as surprised as everyone else to learn about the scams as it had happened under his own nose and even after the false guarantees given by these rogues. And let us not forget that it is difficult for a PM of a coalition to effectively monitor and deal with ministers placed by their allies. One must not also forget that Manmohan Singh as a congress man has to make decisions keeping the party policies in mind (although he is no remote control) although they may seem unpopular.
So, I ask fellow Indians not to misjudge one of the greatest economists and politicians we've had in Independent India. Do not mock him and remember that if Anna Hazare is old and wise, then Manmohan Singh is much older and much wiser.
