Looking ahead

The prime minister says hes dead serious about fixing the mess. We wait.

It was hardly surprising that many of the questions put to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday dealt with one scam or another. The PM did not duck any of the questions,laying out what his office had and had not done at each step. But he also shoved public discourse in other directions,as a reminder that his personal priorities as PM extend elsewhere. He emphasised that while food inflation was a concern,sacrificing his governments commitment to growth would do nobody any good. He spoke of evolving a consensus on Telangana,and said,quite strongly,that he was not blocking an agreement on a joint parliamentary committee as he had no objection to appearing before one.

This is clearly a push to try and end the confrontational paralysis,an atmosphere to which parts of the government have contributed. The opposition too,needs to move on. The PM hinted that the BJPs graceless attitude on reforms like the Goods and

Services Tax was based on the expectation of reciprocal favours. The BJP will achieve nothing by non-cooperation. The partys desire to include Adarsh in the ambit of any JPC is an example of such thoughtlessness. If Union and state jurisdictions can be so recklessly blurred,what about their own record in Karnataka? With the budget session of

Parliament days away,it is time for a bit of perspective. After all,in our parliamentary system,the government and opposition must of necessity have a working equation.

A confrontational air will only deepen public mistrust. The mess and toxicity of the past few months have corroded public faith and hardened a sense of all-pervasive thievery. The PM rightly called the danger in allowing this false impression to take hold. Now more than ever the political system,especially the opposition,needs to react to scams and corruption in a more grown-up way,sifting through information and holding the government to real account. Despite a slow and reluctant start,the 2G investigations have acquired a momentum that insulates them from administrative interference. This is why Dr Singhs colleagues in the UPA do their governments cause great harm by their persistent aggression and obfuscation on presumptive losses that could undermine institutions and the investigation. But with Wednesdays press conference,the PM too laid down an agenda to change the mood,saying hes dead serious about nailing wrongdoers,moving on reforms and restructuring his council of ministers. We hope its an agenda he urgently holds himself to.