The Verdict

The 2G scam, Commonwealth Games scam, Indian Coal Allocation scam or the Coalgate as put forward by the media, DLF-Vadra allegations and the list is about to linger further. In a fresh aspersion, the government is accused of receiving pay offs from Ispat Steel during the years when Virbhadra Singh was the Steel Minister. A document seized by the Income Tax Department in 2010 contains details of the pay offs, says a news report.

Regardless of the outcome of the last two accusations, things do not seem to go on track for the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA). With Trinamool Congress and Jharkahnd Vikas Morcha already withdrawing support recently, it is fair to say that the days of Dr. Manmohan Singh lead UPA government, are numbered.

Reviewing the Tamilnadu Assembly Elections of last year, might give some foresight of what is in store for the UPA. The then ruling DMK took a serious blow to its credibility, when the party faithfuls Kanimozhi and Raja became the prime accused in the 2G spectrum scandal. The effect was evident in the state elections as the DMK hit an all time low in accumulating votes.

Coincidentally, the UPA run Central Government is in a black cloud of corruption scandals and they are being hit with accusations over and over again. The results of the recent by-elections to fill the vacated seats of our President Pranab Mukherjee and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, serve as an ultimatum to the UPA.

One thing I have noticed over the years – Be it a sex scandal of a celebrity or a financial scandal of an organisation; once the first accusation hits the accused, repeated accusations starts flowing in, even if it’s from a decade earlier. One may never find out if the trailing accusations are true or simply directed to attain media publicity. So either one should keep his slate clean or prepared for a backlash.

Coming back to the UPA’s position, who is going to hit the jackpot when they slip up? Is it going to be the NDA again, led by BJP? The centre has failed to create a third party over the years and so one’s loss is simply the other’s gain. That’s what happened in Tamilnadu as well.

If the NDA does succeed, the most favourable candidate for the post of PM is arguably Narendra Modi, who has tightened his grip on party administration over the years; of course by his unique methods. Is he an authoritarian or an able administrator? May be he is a mix of both. Amidst the speculation of his involvement in the Gujarat riots in 2002 and his alleged authoritarian style of rule, he did manage to uplift the state on many fronts. But, if he does become the most powerful citizen of the country, certain subjects have to be pondered upon. How will the Indo-US relations get affected (?), with the latter holding onto a firm stance over Modi. Also certain European countries had cut off their ties with Gujarat. England resumed its ties very recently, but, other countries still retain their position. Will this affect India?

The recent wave of reforms put forward by the government needs time to bear fruit. With hardly 18 months to go maybe it is too little too late already. A look at the achievements of the two-term UPA rule tells that they have controlled unemployment woes, taken bold steps in the international level such as the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, achieved national highs in highway projects, increased FDI in infrastructure and a few others. But, will these be able to eclipse the rising inflation and various corruption related scandals? I don’t think so. What do the people think? The verdict is just over a year ahead.

Swasthika Sang