Netaji by your side

UPA cannot keep pointing to its insecure numbers,or Mamata,as alibi for its indecision

At UPA 2s third birthday party,much of the attention went to a prominent guest. Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav shared the dais with partners in the ruling coalition,and even held up the governments report card. The photo-op establishes what appears to have been a tacit understanding so far that the SP is the UPAs friend-in-need,nudging it out of difficult spots,voting with it on controversial and consequential issues,like the nuclear deal,or even walking out before a vote,allegedly,to accommodate the government in Parliament. With its 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha,the SP is very useful to the UPA at a time when Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress looks increasingly troublesome. However,now that this understanding has been made explicit,the UPA must realise that its last excuse is gone no longer can it evade responsibility and pretend that its best ideas are being blocked by an ally. After all,while Banerjee may have scuttled some of the governments reforms,the Congress certainly did not seem to exert itself to build consensus not just with the opposition but even with allies. The SPs assured backing would make it that much easier for the UPA to push through its initiatives.

This mutual understanding at the Centre is interesting,given that merely a few months ago,before the Uttar Pradesh election,the Congress and the SP were viciously tearing into each other. This is the kind of political compromise that campaigning often undermines,but governance demands. The SP,like many other regional parties,is nimble and baggage-free ready to adapt to change. The UPA would do well to learn from that resourcefulness. After all,for all its big talk at the third anniversary,the UPAs standard posture so far has been a defeated slump. In fact,its self-authored report card is a masterly document of evasions and half-truths presenting setbacks like retail reform as achievements,claiming credit for merely announcing good intentions like the GST and DTC,blaming everyone else for stalled legislation.

The only way the UPA can retrieve lost ground is by shedding its passivity,and being an energetic and coordinated force for reform. The much-needed petrol price hike by oil PSUs is a good start the government must do the same for diesel. After all,its anniversary party has confirmed that in the numbers game,its position may be less fragile than it is painted to be.