Manmohan Singh again gave vent to his frustration with coalition politics, blaming it for introducing distortions in governance and policies.
But allies and rivals say multi-party governments are a reality, and are here to stay
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday again gave vent to his frustration with coalition politics, blaming it for introducing distortions in governance and policies.
"Sometimes the resolution of problems acquires an excessively political hue, and narrow political considerations, based on regional or sectional loyalties and ideologies, can distort the national vision and sense of collective purpose,’’ he stated. The PM was inaugurating the fourth International Conference on Federalism, attended by delegates from 26 countries, including the presidents of Comoros and the Swiss Federation.
This is the third time in recent days that the Prime Minister has hit out at his alliance partners for creating roadblocks for his government. Although the remarks were made in a philosophical vein, and there was no mention of the nuclear deal, the PM could not hide his underlying sense of unhappiness at the limitations imposed by coalition politics.
His partners reacted cautiously to the PM’s jibes. CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu refused to comment. NCP leader and civil aviation minister Praful Patel said, ``Coalition politics is a reality and here to stay. We have to live with this reality. As long as parties act responsibly, it doesn’t matter.’’
RJD spokesman Devendra Yadav was also circumspect. ``This is a coalition era; so coalition governments are inevitable. All parties have to adjust to this and learn to live with the different sentiments and opinions of their allies,’’ he said.
The PM is not so sanguine, especially when it comes to coalition governments and national issues.
He suggested that coalition models like the NDA and UPA cannot provide ``the unity of purpose that nation states often have to demonstrate’’. He was careful not to refer directly to the two alliances.
Instead, he talked of ``a multi-party model where parties with varying national reach and many with very limited sub-national reach form a coalition at the national level’’.
While his allies refrained from joining issue with the PM, leaders of other smaller parties were more forthcoming. JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said, ``This is the people’s verdict. You can’t ignore it. It’s obvious that the Congress does not have the temperament to run a coalition. There wouldn’t have been any complaints if the allies put a rubber stamp on the nuclear deal.’’
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