Nine years of UPA misrule
Pramod Kumar
The four years of Congress-led United Front Alliance (UPA) government is a saga of open loot of public exchequer, setting new records of corruption involving mind boggling figures, intentionally killing the constitutional bodies like CAG, CBI, CVC, etc. and collapse of the overall administrative machinery. The bankruptcy of the regime can be gauged from the fact that it does not have even a single achievement in four years which can benefit the common man.
All the achievements counted by it in the Report Card on May 22 are basically the schemes launched during the UPA-I. Though, the entire regime blindly defended the corrupt, six ministers had to resign in four years. Fed up with its functioning two of its prominent alliance partners, the TMC and DMK, left the coalition. Congress leaders were caught red handed misusing the CBI for covering up their misdeeds only strengthened the perception that the UPA is a gang of thieves and expecting any ethics or morality from them is wrong.
Someone has rightly said that the footprints one leaves behind are always more important than the longevity of the rule. In this sense, these four years of the UPA-II will be remembered for the huge damage that it has inflicted to the country. Two power centres only ridiculed the institution of Prime Minister. The institution of PM was never so much synonymous with indecision, inability and silence as is today.
The saga of UPA began with corruption and perhaps will end with scams only. The CWG scam destroyed the legitimacy of the prestigious international sports event in 2010. The 2G spectrum allocation scandal shook the conscience of the entire country. Ministers, bureaucrats and beneficiaries had to be arrested. But despite that the Prime Minister continued to defend the scandal till the very last. Even though the Supreme Court and the CAG made adverse observations and charge-sheet was filed by the CBI, the UPA attempted to subvert the JPC by playing down the corruption in 2G.
The coal block allocation was another loot of valuable national resource. Not deterred by the magnitude of the scandal, the ministers and the officials in PMO continued to interfere in the CBI investigation and vetted its status report before it was presented to the Supreme Court. Instead of taking the corrective measures, the overall efforts of the regime have been to ensure that the truth does not come out. The cash for job scandal in Railways is the latest to hit the UPA. Senior posts in the Railway Board were auctioned by the ministerial proxies. Instead of going to the root of the matter and taking action against the guilty, there is an air of go slow against the politicians who are prima facie liable.
The unprecedented price rise during these years caused immense misery to the common man. At the time when food inflation is going down world over it is between 10 to 30 per cent in India. The FDI in multi brand retail proved to be a major setback both to domestic retail, manufacturing and the consumers. The agricultural sector is amongst the worst hit. The farmers’ suicides continue unabated hampering the entire growth engine.
The damage to constitutional bodies seen during these years is unprecedented. The CBI was turned into the Congress Bureau of Investigation. The Supreme Court caught red handed how the offences of the UPA were covered up. Vindictiveness was shown towards the opponents of the government. The parties like SP and BSP are still managed through a carrot and stick policy followed by the CBI. Be it the Election Commission, National Human Rights Commission, CAG or the CVC, majority of the appointments that the UPA made have been highly questionable. Many times the judiciary had to intervene for institutional protection.
The periodic terror attacks and the government’s inability to curb them put many question marks over the national security. Not only the Maoist violence continues unabated, but Pakistan also continues to breed terrorist activities. From beheading the Indian soldiers to brutally killing Indian prisoners like Sarabjit Singh and Chamel Singh in Pakistani jails, there are repeated provocations from across the border. The Chinese have been increasingly aggressive in dealing with India. Stapled visas, encroachment into Indian territorial sovereignty, non-recognition of Line of Actual Control are part of aggressive Chinese behaviour in the last few years. The government is reluctant to disclose the behind the scene negotiations and the compromises which have taken place recently in Ladakh.
During these four years the crimes against women touched new height. The incidents of rapes, gang rapes, sexual assaults, acid attacks increased manifold. The public outrage seen against these crimes is unprecedented. The public was in the streets seeking strong measures to curb the menace, but the government only cheated them as the so-called amendment in the law is seen nowhere on the ground. Today the general perception is that the regime is good for none, hence it should be thrown away as early as possible.
Only lies, nothing else: BMS
Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) termed the four years performance of UPA-II as ‘repeated lies and nothing else’. Talking to Organiser BMS north-central zone organising secretary Pawan Kumar said all claims of the government about labour and employment generation are misleading. “In MGNREGA the UPA promised 100 days employment. Fact is that they clandestinely reduced the fund and finally today nobody can get the employment of more than 43 days under this scheme. When we see rampant corruption in the scheme anybody can imagine what a village labourer gets from it,” he said.
Similar is the fate of Food Security Bill. For the first time the government has admitted that its earlier statistics of BPL were wrong. In the Food Security Bill it accepted that 75 per cent people in rural areas and 50 per cent in urban areas i.e. two third population of the country, do not have food to eat. Congress must answer the nation who is responsible for this situation? Equally bitter is the truth of NHRM, as 29 per cent of the infants die within 24 hours of their birth. The prime reason of their death is that their mothers are malnourished.
A World Bank report recently claimed that even in government sector the number of contract labour has reached up to 62 per cent. It means the government itself is exploiting labour. It is the height of insensitiveness that despite two day strike the government does not talk to the 47 crore labourers, but it is always ready to amend its policies for the benefit of 42,800 people whose income is above one crore. (FOC)
BJP declares Jail Bharo Andolan
Terming the four years of UPA-II as total disappointment, the main opposition BJP announced Jail Bharo agitation from May 27. The week long countrywide protest will conclude on June 3. “We are surprised what the UPA is celebrating, they should rather sit down to apologise to the nation for their failures and the damage they have caused to the nation. We will protest for the Prime Minister’s resignation. The UPA Government should go,” BJP president Rajnath Singh said adding that the sooner this Government leaves will be better for the nation. BJP President Rajnath Singh asked the Prime Minister to step down immediately.
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