Accidental Prime minister

Sanjay Baru book on Manmohan Singh as “accidental prime minister” illustrates a set of events which substantiates a widely held notion about him. The success of Manmohan led UPA in 2009 elections, according to Baru is widely attributed to Manmohan Singh .But that result was clearly “hijacked” by Congress circles and assigned it to the Gandhi family, particularly Rahul Gandhi.  Manmohan ‘s inherent inability to own that success of 2009 and take Congress from the shadows of the Gandhi family, can be seen as a monumental failure in Indian politics. After 2009, Congress circles were busy trying to build Rahul Gandhi as a successor by weakening the prime minister and his office.

It’s not a secret that, Congress party is run more or less like a family run “conglomerate” than a political institution. All the positions whether it is a position inside the party or public offices are filled by people who display overweening allegiance to Gandhi family or those who don’t pose any threat to them. With the help of some "cherry picked" technocrats and legal luminaries they ran the government which largely served their purpose and their partners.

Along with a weak government, headed by an “accidental prime minister” with no political authority, there was a weaker and divided opposition.  In fact,there are times when government and some opposition have colluded to take some decisions to help some corporate interests. Apart from disrupting the Parliament from time to time, opposition found no purpose in uniting and launch a public movement against government policies. It was this “mutual understanding” of the political establishment which gave birth to anti-corruption movement launched by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal. In response, government and opposition worked hand in hand to oppose any public demand for accountability and institutions to check corruption.

As elections have descended, the emergence of Modi from the opposition camp, who promises everything to everything is seen as an answer to Congress’s “dynasty rule”.  In fact, it is the dwindling nature of democracy and transparency in political parties which are translating into corruption and ineptitude in their functioning. The answer to “good governance” lies in the functioning of inclusive democratic institutions which can be made only by political institutions which works in an inclusive and democratic manner. Well a country like India shouldn’t be at the mercy of a person or a family.