The 18th Lok Sabha election campaign, its run-up, have witnessed a degradation of public conversation. All parties – and governments – are in a race to the bottom
It were these crucial 90 minutes that paved the way for India’s historic decision to liberalise its economy in 1991. Rao was told that foreign exchange reserves had dipped to Rs 2,500 crore, only enough to meet three months’ imports.
The year 1995-96 was the Republic’s year of ghotalas. Coinciding with P V Narasimha Rao’s last year in office, the period saw a number of scams and dubious deals.
A look at the 60-year-old parliamentary proceedings sheds light on the kind of deliberative democracy at work in the early years of the republic. Unlike today, the PM made it a point to put off other official appointments to be present in the House.
It is such hazardous atmospherics that has pushed the Congress — and other opposition parties — into the present predicament. As for the Congress, it is too naive to presume that internal reforms will be an answer to its present problems
If the choice is between the two evils, one would certainly opt for the first. Rainbow coalitions were not bad performers. And a ‘strong PM’ did not do better.
