Media onslaught on Manmohan : Is it time to go for a 'tragic' PM?
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: September 06, 2012 -
Notwithstanding the harsh criticism he has to fend off back home, it is interesting to note that western media have of late gone ballistic against Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
First it was the Time, the American journal which dubbed him as an 'underachiever' who appears "unwilling to stick his neck out" on reforms that will put the country back on growth path in its Asia edition in July.
Almost simultaneously, Foreign Policy, a strategic affairs journal published by the Washington Post group, contended that Dr Manmohan Singh has been 'wildly overrated' as the Prime Minister of a country aspiring to become a super power.
Close on the heels of the two US journals came the London- based The Independent of Great Britian running a report under a disparaging headline, 'Manmohan Singh- India's savior or Sonia's poodle?' questioning Dr Manmohan Singh's legacy and his capacity to regain control of a coalition reeling under corruption scams, an unresponsive bureaucracy, bullying allies and a freeze in reforms.
And now, in the latest onslaught, American daily Washington Post has described the Indian Prime Minister as 'a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government', giving enough arsenals for the Opposition back home to pile heat on a distraught and besieged Prime Minister to quit.
Indeed, it's ironic that an economist turned politician of such great stature like Dr Manmohan Singh, who has been regarded as the key architect of economic liberalization in India and who was voted back to power for the second consecutive term as the Prime Minister of India on account of his acknowledged good governance during UPA-I appears to be falling from grace like a tragic hero in some Greek plays of Sophocles.
With several charges of corruption including 2G spectrum scam, loan bribery scam, Commonwealth Games scam, Housing scam and the latest, 'Coalgate', the furor over the issue of coal blocks allocation in the wake of report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India alleging that some private firms have been shown undue favours, thus allowing them windfall gains of Rs 1.86 lakh crores, Dr Manmohan Singh is indeed in a tricky situation today.
In fact, some critics have already written the obituary of Dr Manmohan Singh's political career, saying that the soft-spoken 79-year-old is in 'danger of going down in history as a failure'.
On the other hand, like the proverbial last nail on the coffin, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has declared the updated assets and worth of the members of the Union Council of Ministers, showing that the Prime Minister's men are only getting richer by the year.
Well, it is not for us to be judgemental here, but the predicament of the 'scrupulously honest' Prime Minister is definitely not enviable right now.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.