UPA celebrates first anniversary

First anniversary of second term tomorrow, opposition says not much to be happy about

PTI | May 21, 2010



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.

Comments

 

Other News

Are EVs empowering India`s Green Transition?

Against the backdrop of the $3.5 billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched by the Government of India, sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) are expected to grow at a CAGR of 35% by 2032. It is crucial to take into account the fact that 86% of EV sales in India were under the price bracket of $2

When Nandini Satpathy told Biju Patnaik: ‘I’ll sit on the chair you are sitting on’

Nandini Satpathy: The Iron Lady of Orissa By Pallavi Rebbapragada Simon and Schuster India, 321 pages, Rs 765

Elections 2024: 1,351 candidates in fray for Phase 3

As many as 1,351 candidates from 12 states /UTs are contesting elections in Phase 3 of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The number includes eight contesting candidates for the adjourned poll in 29-Betul (ST) PC of Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, one candidate from Surat PC in Gujarat has been elected unopp

2023-24 net direct tax collections exceed budget estimates by 7.40%

The provisional figures of direct tax collections for the financial year 2023-24 show that net collections are at Rs. 19.58 lakh crore, 17.70% more than Rs. 16.64 lakh crore in 2022-23. The Budget Estimates (BE) for Direct Tax revenue in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 were fixed at Rs. 18.

‘World’s biggest festival of democracy’ begins

The much-awaited General Elections of 2024, billed as the world’s biggest festival of democracy, began on Friday with Phase 1 of polling in 102 Parliamentary Constituencies (the highest among all seven phases) in 21 States/ UTs and 92 Assembly Constituencies in the State Assembly Elections in Arunach

A sustainability warrior’s heartfelt stories of life’s fleeting moments

Fit In, Stand Out, Walk: Stories from a Pushed Away Hill By Shailini Sheth Amin Notion Press, Rs 399

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter