India's GDP numbers for the last quarter is a sad commentary on how our government is running our economy into the ground. Pranab Mukerjee talks about India's GDP growth better than that of Euro zone countries. He does not talk about the basic standard of life that those countries have already provided to their citizens. I really wonder what is the motivation for people like him, who are far beyond their retirement age, to stretch and aggressively work towards economic upliftment of the country or fix issues quickly. They are happy warming their cozy chairs, bending backwards to appease the people who keep them in power. While we are stuck with Congress for couple more years, here is the best possible scenario that I can think of, under current circumstance - Rahul Ghandhi should take over as Prime Minister. He is young and has maximum at stake - his future. He has shown the inclination to go out and connect with people. He had the courage to speak in favor of FDI in retail, logically arguing that it will benefit a large population of farmers vs the short term impact that it will have on the trading community. There are still couple of years for him to turn things around. The going has been so bad for UPA II till now, that anything marginally better would reflect good on him. He has to just put some energy and focus on getting things done. If group of Ministers must meet to take a decision, then instead of that meeting taking place after couple months, have that meeting done now, push the envelop. Allow executives to take decisions rather than lining up all of them for legislative discussion and hence delays. Punish people for corruption and showing favoritism, however don't start second guessing executive decisions, there is no end to it. No one will take any decision. Hindsight is always 20-20.
Manmohan Singh should take over Finance portfolio.(A good nurse may not necessarily be a good nurse supervisor, likewise, a good economist may not necessarily be a good administrator/politician). Why not use Manmohan Singh in a role that he is good at - Finance vs. in a role where he is ineffective. Pranab M should be booted up to Presidential Palace.
Manmohan Singh should take over Finance portfolio.(A good nurse may not necessarily be a good nurse supervisor, likewise, a good economist may not necessarily be a good administrator/politician). Why not use Manmohan Singh in a role that he is good at - Finance vs. in a role where he is ineffective. Pranab M should be booted up to Presidential Palace.
Hi Munish,
ReplyDeleteI have a point to make, why even should be move Pranab M to Presidential Palace..?
Thanks
Good point! Presidential position in our country is mostly ceremonial. I guess Pranab, with his links into various political parties, in that position, can provide political stability, unlike anyone else. Pratibha Patil for one has been completely useless.
ReplyDeleteEven if Rahul comes in, the public facing face would be different, but the internal handling of the government would remain the same (corrupt as Sonia is the decision maker).
ReplyDeleteCongress has lost its charm as a party and the number of scams and cases against ministers may force the country to go for a mid-term elections. Don't know how many of such scams are still under cover....
Modi may be a good hope for India in the next term, but nothing is predictable in our political system....