Taking the lead

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,we know,is not the gabbiest politician. When he does speak,though,he often manages to cut through opacity and confusion,something that is currently afflicting this government. At an wide-ranging inter-action with editors on Monday,the prime minister provided some of the answers that the nation has been casting about for.

Accused of drift and heedlessness,and of investing all its mental energies in the 2014 election,the UPA clearly needs to square with the people,even if it be something along the spirit of Gerald Fords 1975 candour: I must say to you that the state of the Union is not good. And at his exchange with the media,the prime minister responded to many of the looming,large questions,from the Kashmir turmoil to crony capitalism. He indicated to the Supreme Court that it could be getting into the realm of policy formulation over the recent order to distribute rotting foodgrain. He also took on delicate questions about the Congresss internal carping and his own grip on the party. He suggested the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle and his own desire to see younger faces there. He threw his weight behind colleagues who have faced serious criticism in recent weeks,praising the home minister and encouraging a beleaguered HRD minister for his handling of the most important ministry. The prime ministers intervention was badly needed on all these matters of policy and politics to start with,it is not even a matter of taking drastic action on these fronts as much as conveying a clear consciousness of his responsibility and sharing the governments rationale. It is a bit of essential theatre that so far the UPA has been particularly inept at providing.

And now,the prime minister will be tested against these assurances. For all his soothing words about the partys cohesion,there is little question that the Congress is largely culpable for this sense of purposelessness. Theres so much internal disagreement and transparent jockeying for future power within the coalition that it does not seem to need a formal opposition,and it often coasts on the fact that responsibility is hard to locate. Erasing that ambiguity,as the prime minister has now attempted to do,is crucial if there is to be a mid-course correction for UPA-II.