From excellent FM to weak PM ? Let history be the judge
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 14 , 2014 -

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh visit Imphal on 03 December 2011 :: Pix - Bullu Raj

Let history be the judge. This was Dr Manmohan Singh some time back, when he came under a barrage of attack from the Opposition.

So where will Dr Manmohan Singh stand as a former Prime Minister of the country ?

Will he be just a footnote in the list of former Prime Ministers like Deve Gowda and the late IK Gujral or will he stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Atal Behari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, Nehru or Rajiv Gandhi ?

In a little over a month’s time, the country will have a new Prime Minister, whether the UPA regains power or the NDA grabs power.

A soft spoken man, but then being soft spoken should not necessarily mean being weak.

However in the case of Dr Singh, unfortunately he has not been able to cross the line of being soft spoken and not weak.

A trait that became increasingly clear in UPA II.

Ironic it is, but in many ways it was the Congress party which went a long way in making Dr Singh appear to be a weak man and a weaker Prime Minister.

The outburst from the AICC vice president, Rahul Gandhi against a Union Cabinet decision further gave credence to the growing assumption that Dr Manmohan Singh is a weak Prime Minister not having any control over his Cabinet colleagues.

The emergence of 10 Janpath as the power centre did not help his cause either.

Unfortunate in the sense that for a man known for his personal integrity, honesty and humility, Dr Singh is most likely to step down as a weak Prime Minister.

Or was he really weak in the truest sense of the term ?

Remember how he signed the nuclear deal with the US, much against the stand of the Left parties, which were lending outside support to the UPA Government.

Again it is also important to bear in mind the circumstances under which he had to work as well as the manner in which he was pitch forked into chair of Prime Minister in 2004.

With Sonia Gandhi listening to her ‘inner voice’ and hand picking Dr Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister, it was more than clear that he did not make it to the chair of the Prime Minister on his own steam but was pitch forked into the chair by the AICC president.

So how will history ultimately judge him ? There will no easy answer to this poser for not everything is in black and white.

True, Dr Singh was not able to exercise much power and control over his Cabinet colleagues a point laid bare by the series of corruption charges against his Government.

True, he had to deal with allies in a manner which he was not inclined to do so, but then one has to maintain balance while leading a coalition Government.

For a man who scripted India’s economic reforms as the Finance Minister under PV Narasimha Rao in the early 90s, it is somewhat unfortunate that Dr Singh’s role as the Prime Minister is sure to overshadow his performance as the Finance Minister, when India was in dire straits.

From an excellent Finance Minister to a weak Prime Minister, is the transition or rather a picture that has been created not only by the Opposition, but also by his own party, the Congress.

Whatever the case may be, while judging Dr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, it is important to keep in mind all the points that have been mentioned here.

Certainly it would not have been easy for him to perform to his potential with a parallel power structure.

No one would be able to perform in such a situation and this is a point that should be kept in mind, before one paints Dr Singh as a weak Prime Minister.