He is the longest serving PM of this country after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, not a mean achievement by any standards considering it is the era of coalitions and fractured mandates unlike the times when Nehru or Indira could easily serve such terms. Yet for all his integrity, serenity, dignity and intellectual capability, Manmohan Singh also carries the tag of perhaps the first, (and hopefully the last) PM who ended up making the highest office of this country and the most powerful one, a mere pass through. The country was poised to go leaps and bounds when he took charge by accident in 2004 and given two consecutive full terms in office, we could have achieved much greater heights. Yet when he packs his bags today what we remember the most are the various corruption cases of unprecedented scales, files missing from office, infiltration at borders, Chinese occupation, naval accidents, low morale of armed forces, a deteriorating economy under the very nose of the best economist of this country, and an eternal silence among the pandemonium of anarchy, disorder, chaos and decay. It is simply not good enough to keep saying, I am innocent, I am Mr. Clean, I have no information or idea of what happened, whenever such grave misdeeds are happening right under your leadership when you occupy the highest chair. This is what Dhritarashtra did. This is what Drona did. And this is what Bheeshma did. Even though they were statesmen and noble men, they turned their faces away from Adharma when they were to raise their voices and take action against it. He may not have sinned directly, but if one were to take the words of Swami Vivekananda, the greatest sin is to think yourself weak. Leadership involves infusing confidence in others, taking timely actions when it is most needed and above all to demonstrate its effectiveness. Manmohan Singh failed in these. He was never a leader, but a faithful follower. All through his life including his last assignment which was the most important. And he leaves an enviable task for his successor to restore the pride and glory of the chair that he vacates in such a pathetic state.
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 04:22:16 +0000
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