Lame duck Govt., dead duck PM

There isn't a Government I can remember in my time which has been more impotent and hamstrung in its approach than the current Manmohan Singh, err sorry Sonia Gandhi led Union Government. But then I never expected a lot from a motley crew propped up with the support of none other than the Communists themselves, who seem to have awakened from the dinosaur age after their prolonged absence at the Centre.

Back when the coalition was formed, the Government itself started off on the wrong foot. We had the first ever 'selected' PM rather than the usually 'elected' PM. Now thats not very good is it? How much confidence is it going to inspire in the people that the PM himself has never won an election in his life. And do not believe anybody when they say that the Congress has the people's mandate. Take a look at the vote statistics from the last election and one can safely conclude that nobody had the people's mandate in the last election.

For all off Manmohan Singh's intellect, integrity & honesty, he simply is not cut out to be a leader of a nation. Listening to his squeaky speeches can even cure insomniacs. AB Vajpayee had terribly long pauses, but he commanded attention when he spoke and was a great orator. He was the right PM at the wrong age. Singh is a bureaucrat and that is what he should have been. He will make an able deputy but he fails as a leader.

Coming to the current scenario and the nuclear deal impasse. The Left has hindered every move made by the Government, however good or bad it maybe. And to be honest I am quite worried over the long term impact their outdated ideology could have. Even their masters in China are more liberal and capitalist, policy wise, in their approach than our democracy! Which is quite something.

The irony over the nuclear deal is that the people who have shone strong conviction and an unwillingness to budge are the wrong ones! Its Manmohan Singh who should have had that position rather than the Left. I believe the nuclear deal is big enough to warrant elections if the Left feels they will withdraw support should the Govt. go ahead with it. Atleast it will call their bluff, which they have done ad nauseum now, and let the people decide what they want.

I have also been disappointed by the BJP's approach towards the deal. Their opposition in Parliament to a deal initiated by Vajpayee's Govt. smacks of policital opportunism and also highlights the marginalization of Vajpayee in his own party. They had the chance to support the Congress in Parliament and push the deal through to expose the Left for what they are, a bunch of hypocrites and followers of an outdated ideology.

But then again this a bit too much to expect from our politicos. We will all go back to normal as if nothing happened and India would have missed a deal of a lifetime. The Congress will hang on to power and the Left will continue to have the power they crave without any responsibility at all. The more things change, the more they remain the same.