Parliament

The Army chief causes huge tension to the Government, but what about the real issues ?

Ever since reports came out that the Army chief would challenge the Government with regard to his date of birth row, there was some amount of consternation in the Government and the Congress party. Even though the courts finally advised the chief to let go of his claim (they did not say that he was wrong though technically), there was some initial problems for the Government; further, the defense minister was criticized for letting the situation reach this point. And ever since then, the chief has been causing some pin-pricks for the Government, with 2 issues having been raised so far, one being the bribe being offered for a truck used widely by the army, and the other being the controversy caused by the release of a letter to the PM which claims that defense preparedness is at an absolute low.
There are 2 main problems that come out in this discussion that are not really being addressed. Worldwide, army chiefs are treated with respect, along with the stated position that the military chiefs report into the civilian leadership; in this particular case, the tension that the army chief is giving to the government is causing many politicians (including ruling party politicians) to call for the sacking of the army chief like he is a lowly servant who had the audacity to make remarks against the master. And the Government, which is so sensitive of politicians being called corrupt or criminals, has no problems with such remarks being made against the army chief and it is only a day that the defense minister states that the army chief has his full support. One should not really take actions that look unfair to a large section of the armed forces, the consequences of breeding resentment are not really worth contemplating.
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The Lokpal Bill – Current status of the discussion by the Parliamentary committee

Twice this year, there has been a lot of controversy over the Lokpal Bill. In April, the issue burst onto the limelight when Anna Hazare sat on a dharna at the Jantar Mantar in the capital, Delhi, protesting against the Government wanting to have a watered down version of the Lokpal. The move generated an enthusiastic support with people coming to the site; the media and various online fora were all abuzz with enthusiasm about the campaign. This forced the Government to come to a settlement where 5 citizens nominated by Anna Hazare were part of a committee (with 5 members of the Government as well) that setout to create a strong Lokpal institution. As expected, the Government soon went back on the basic intention, tossed aside the suggestions of the non-Government committee members on the most important issues, and decided to send a Bill.
Anna Hazare took on this issue again, promising to go on an indefinite fast to get a Bill passed by Parliament. There was some condemnation of this move, with protests of this being about subverting Parliament, and so on, but the mass support that Anna Hazare received from all sections of society forced the Government to admit that the measures it had taken were incorrect, and finally the Government decided to have a Sense of the house in Parliament, where they agreed to the most contentious issues, and sent this off to the standing committee. There was a sense of feeling that the Government will not so easily agree, since the most contentious demands arguably refer to the inclusion of the lower bureaucracy and inclusion of a citizen’s charter, since it is the lower bureaucracy that is the one used by all the political parties to generate the money through corruption that these parties need for their survival.
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The Government backs down on FDI – a flawed approach

The Congress has done it again. For many months now, the Government has been publicly criticized for not taking any initiatives, for causing a paralysis that is slowing the process for reform in the country and combined with the harsh interest rates being set by the RBI (in order to try and fight inflation, without taking any measures on the supply side front), slowly bringing the rate of growth in the economy down. Recent reports speak of reduction in growth rates of industrial production, along with an outflow of money as major Indian businesses invest abroad in light of a reduced level of confidence in the Indian economy. This is combined with a higher level of revenue and decreased tax receipts which are causing Pranab Mukherjee to increase deficit levels and run out of money for the various welfare schemes that the Congress believes is necessary for its survival.
No Government can continue like this for very long, and when combined with the reduced public confidence following the agitation over the Lokpal Bill, the Government has to show it is dedicated to growth; and for this, some steps of reform are needed to be advocated. So, the Government decided to show that it is focused on reform and not stuck on any paralysis, and thus came the Cabinet decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail to 51%, effectively allowing the major international retailers to come into the country. This is a decision that has been contested for a long time, since the fear of letting large retailers such as Walmart into the country is that they will be so powerful that they will put the local retailers out of business, and there are a large number of retailers and people dependent on them, which in turn means that there is a political cost.
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