Archived_Member16
SPNer
February 16, 2011
India’s Prime Minister Vows to Fight Corruption
By JIM YARDLEY - The New York Times
NEW DELHI — Faced with broad criticism of his government and of his own performance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India on Wednesday vowed to complete his term while promising to crack down on corruption scandals that have stained India’s image at home and abroad.
Mr. Singh, who leads India’s coalition United Progress Alliance government, sought to directly address mounting speculation about his own status and about whether his government — with more than three years remaining in its five-year term — was capable of righting itself and addressing the litany of problems facing the nation.
“We have a functioning government, and whatever some people will say — that we are a lame-duck government, that I am a lame-duck prime minister — we take our job very seriously,” he said in a nationally televised news conference. “We are here to govern and to govern effectively, tackle the problems as they arise, and get this country moving forward.”
For months, India’s coalition government, led by the Indian National Congress Party, has been beset by scandal, infighting and unmet expectations. Corruption scandals, covered feverishly in the Indian media, have ranged from malfeasance in the allocation of 2G telecommunications spectrum, questionable contracts in the staging of the Commonwealth Games ,contractual irregularities in the national space program, and more.
Mr. Singh, who has long enjoyed a reputation for probity, has found himself on the defensive in the telecom scandal, as critics have blamed him for failing to intervene with the country’s former telecom minister, A. Raja, even as irregularities were becoming apparent. Mr. Raja, a member of a south Indian regional party included in the coalition government, has since resigned and been arrested in connection with allegations that he cost the Indian treasury billions of dollars by selling spectrum to mobile phone companies at below-market rates in exchange for bribes.
On Wednesday, Mr. Singh described the corruption scandals as the greatest regret of his current term in office. But he defended his own actions, particularly in the telecom scandal, noting that his office had made inquiries into whether 2G spectrum should have been auctioned off — as later happened in the sale of 3G spectrum — rather than allocated. He said different government ministries, at the time, argued against an auction. As for the details of how the spectrum was ultimately allocated, the prime minister added, “that was never discussed with me.”
Asked why he reappointed Mr. Raja as telecom minister in 2009, even as allegations of wrongdoing were spilling into the media, Mr. Singh alluded to the constraints of coalition politics, in which smaller parties in the coalition are often allowed to name certain ministers as quid pro quo for supporting the government.
“In a coalition government, you can suggest your preferences,” he said, adding that ultimately, though, the decision rested with the leader of Mr. Raja’s party.
Nitin Gadkari, president of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, quickly criticized the prime minister’s comments. “He has expressed his own helplessness,” Mr. Gadkari said. “He has completely failed in checking corruption. You cannot justify corruption in the name of coalition politics.”
Mr. Gadkari added: “He is not able to control the bureaucracy and not able to control the coalition partners.”
Mr. Singh’s news conference came as India’s Parliament is scheduled to meet later this month to pass the budget. Opposition parties blocked any activity during Parliament’s winter session as a protest over the government’s refusal to empower a joint parliamentary committee for investigating the telecom scandal.
Initially, government leaders argued that a different parliamentary committee was already investigating the scandal — making another investigation unnecessary.
But in recent days, the government has been negotiating terms to create a joint investigative committee in exchange for opposition parties allowing the parliamentary session to go forward. Opposition leaders have blamed Mr. Singh for resisting the joint committee for fear of having to testify before it — a claim the prime minister described as “entirely wrong” on Wednesday.
“I’m not afraid of appearing before any committee,” he said.
In his comments, Mr. Singh beseeched the Indian media not to focus on the negative, fretting that “an impression has gone out that we are a scam-crippled country and that nothing good is happening.” He noted that India’s economy continues to thrive, with economic growth projected at 8.5 percent, and that the government had been effective in maintaining domestic security amid regular threats of terrorism.
But his call for more positive coverage seemed to attract little sympathy. Within an hour of his news conference, Mr. Singh’s comments were being criticized on blog postings and on Twitter.
source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/world/asia/17india.html?_r=1
India’s Prime Minister Vows to Fight Corruption
By JIM YARDLEY - The New York Times
NEW DELHI — Faced with broad criticism of his government and of his own performance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India on Wednesday vowed to complete his term while promising to crack down on corruption scandals that have stained India’s image at home and abroad.
Mr. Singh, who leads India’s coalition United Progress Alliance government, sought to directly address mounting speculation about his own status and about whether his government — with more than three years remaining in its five-year term — was capable of righting itself and addressing the litany of problems facing the nation.
“We have a functioning government, and whatever some people will say — that we are a lame-duck government, that I am a lame-duck prime minister — we take our job very seriously,” he said in a nationally televised news conference. “We are here to govern and to govern effectively, tackle the problems as they arise, and get this country moving forward.”
For months, India’s coalition government, led by the Indian National Congress Party, has been beset by scandal, infighting and unmet expectations. Corruption scandals, covered feverishly in the Indian media, have ranged from malfeasance in the allocation of 2G telecommunications spectrum, questionable contracts in the staging of the Commonwealth Games ,contractual irregularities in the national space program, and more.
Mr. Singh, who has long enjoyed a reputation for probity, has found himself on the defensive in the telecom scandal, as critics have blamed him for failing to intervene with the country’s former telecom minister, A. Raja, even as irregularities were becoming apparent. Mr. Raja, a member of a south Indian regional party included in the coalition government, has since resigned and been arrested in connection with allegations that he cost the Indian treasury billions of dollars by selling spectrum to mobile phone companies at below-market rates in exchange for bribes.
On Wednesday, Mr. Singh described the corruption scandals as the greatest regret of his current term in office. But he defended his own actions, particularly in the telecom scandal, noting that his office had made inquiries into whether 2G spectrum should have been auctioned off — as later happened in the sale of 3G spectrum — rather than allocated. He said different government ministries, at the time, argued against an auction. As for the details of how the spectrum was ultimately allocated, the prime minister added, “that was never discussed with me.”
Asked why he reappointed Mr. Raja as telecom minister in 2009, even as allegations of wrongdoing were spilling into the media, Mr. Singh alluded to the constraints of coalition politics, in which smaller parties in the coalition are often allowed to name certain ministers as quid pro quo for supporting the government.
“In a coalition government, you can suggest your preferences,” he said, adding that ultimately, though, the decision rested with the leader of Mr. Raja’s party.
Nitin Gadkari, president of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, quickly criticized the prime minister’s comments. “He has expressed his own helplessness,” Mr. Gadkari said. “He has completely failed in checking corruption. You cannot justify corruption in the name of coalition politics.”
Mr. Gadkari added: “He is not able to control the bureaucracy and not able to control the coalition partners.”
Mr. Singh’s news conference came as India’s Parliament is scheduled to meet later this month to pass the budget. Opposition parties blocked any activity during Parliament’s winter session as a protest over the government’s refusal to empower a joint parliamentary committee for investigating the telecom scandal.
Initially, government leaders argued that a different parliamentary committee was already investigating the scandal — making another investigation unnecessary.
But in recent days, the government has been negotiating terms to create a joint investigative committee in exchange for opposition parties allowing the parliamentary session to go forward. Opposition leaders have blamed Mr. Singh for resisting the joint committee for fear of having to testify before it — a claim the prime minister described as “entirely wrong” on Wednesday.
“I’m not afraid of appearing before any committee,” he said.
In his comments, Mr. Singh beseeched the Indian media not to focus on the negative, fretting that “an impression has gone out that we are a scam-crippled country and that nothing good is happening.” He noted that India’s economy continues to thrive, with economic growth projected at 8.5 percent, and that the government had been effective in maintaining domestic security amid regular threats of terrorism.
But his call for more positive coverage seemed to attract little sympathy. Within an hour of his news conference, Mr. Singh’s comments were being criticized on blog postings and on Twitter.
source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/world/asia/17india.html?_r=1
