The Opposition has painted a bleak picture of the ruling coalition's performance. Expectedly critical, it said UPA’s one-year record appears to be a case of belied hopes.
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will celebrate the first anniversary of its second consecutive term in office tomorrow after a sweet and sour year marked by misses and hits in governance and its deft management of uncertainties of coalition politics.
As prime minister Manmohan Singh unveils the "report to the people" on the achievements of his government, the spate
of Maoist strikes tested the Government, especially after the two big naxal attacks in the space of six weeks in Chhatisgarh that killed 110 CRPF personnel and civilians. Price rise was also a burning issue with the UPA-II facing lost of flak.
While the Congress-led alliance and its supporters took credit for the passage of Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha and making Right to Education a fundamental right, its foes saw the UPA-II tenure a "disastrous" one.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is also the UPA chairperson, was credited for pushing the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha but questions remained when it would be passed in the Lok Sabha amid fierce opposition from the Yadav trio as also from BSP supremo Mayawati.
Despite skating on thin ice as regards numbers, the coalition shook off the opposition challenge in Parliament successfully defeating the cut motion.
Another highlight of the second term with the economist-turned-politician at the helm of afffairs was that India remained on the high growth path amid the global slowdown.
The Opposition painted a bleak picture of the ruling coalition's performance. Expectedly critical, it said UPA’s one-year record appears to be a case of belied hopes.
BJP has accused UPA of misusing institutions like CBI to manage vulnerable allies, faltering on strategic and foreign policy issues, failing to deliver on internal security front and in controlling prices. BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said UPA II's first year was "disastrous".
"Normally, the first year of any government or honeymoon period is a very comfortable period. For Congress-led UPA, it started with a slender majority and opportunistic support of BSP, SP and RJD but they thought they had captured the moon
and made arrogance their political culture," leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.
The opposition also cited the issue of separate Telangana to accuse the coalition of indecisiveness and flip-flops.
For Congress, leading the coalition, the first year was a smooth affair.
"It has been a year of achievements and fulfilment, a year of satisfaction but also the year of realising that there are many miles to go. It is an ongoing journey," says party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi.
Singhvi referred to the Unique Identification project, expansion of rural job guarantee scheme NREGA, the National Food Security Act, health security for all citizens, bank credit to small farmers at low rate of interest, women's reservation Bill as some of the achievements.
He says while some of them have been fulfilled, the remaining would be realised soon, adding "These are the issues which we believe are game changers for society. We always considered them vital issues."
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