The time is now

Dr Manmohan Singh is in clear and present danger of being mistaken for his home minister. Saturday, Dr Singh, along with Sonia Gandhi, visited Guwahati 48 hours after the series of bomb blasts, looking like he would rather be anywhere but. And what did the prime minister say to the nation, after the sixth terrorist attack since July? — “there can be no compromise with terrorism”. Sounds familiar? Sounds like Shivraj Patil after every attack.

Meanwhile, NDA prime ministerial candidate, L.K.Advani, was in Assam 24 hours earlier blaming the Centre for the blasts — something he does each time there is an attack. But whenever there is a crisis, be it Assam or the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya S. Thakur, he is on the air before Dr Singh. Advani is seen to be communicating with the people whereas the prime minister seems to be in deep communion with himself.

When the financial crisis hit us harder than Shah Rukh Khan punched Saif Ali Khan in the stomach so hard it ‘hurts’, we saw the PM make a reassuring statement in Parliament; we heard him worry on board the flight to Japan and from China. But not once did he call a media meet or address the nation in a televised broadcast to explain the how, why, what and what now of the crash. George Bush did it, Sarkozy did it, Gordon Brown did it, why even the prime minister of Iceland must have done it but our prime minister, a most respected economist, allows others to do his talking for him. Yes, actions speak better than words but words explain actions and the public needs that to make sense of events. Yes, the PM has issued statements but TV edits those into a sound byte, making Dr Singh sound offhand, distant. These are, if not the worst of times, bad times and he needs to be seen and heard much more.

Last week’s coverage of the Assam bomb blasts had something new and something very old. Something very old: constant interruptus, the television disorder afflicting anchors who invite someone to speak but never allow them to. As in:

Vikram Chandra (The Big Fight): Jayanti Natarajan, why is the Centre, so slow to act in Maharashtra?

Natarajan: I don’t agree with the framing of your question, there were three different cases...

Chandra: Alright, let’s take an audience poll on how many of you think the Centre was slow? Everyone.

... contd.

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P.M. Singh didn't need to speak about the economy in India. by Jason M. on 2008-11-04 18:45:45.468438+05:30
Your poor understanding of economics leads you to deride Dr. Singh. Do you think the Indian financial situation is remotely similar to Iceland, the U.S.A., France, and the U.K.? India has very little exposure to Lehman, C.D.O's, subprime mortgages, etc. etc. That is the heart of the problem. Indian banks are not on the verge of bankrupting like the Icelandic banks did. The measures the Indian government took pale in comparison to what Iceland has had to do. Dr. Singh did not need to come out and speak. Sarkozy, Bush, and Brown are economic and intellectual lightweights compared to Dr. Singh. Bush knew nothing about what he was saying, he could not even pronounce the economic terms correctly. And when he speaks on the economy, investors almost always end up selling off largely that day because he speeches are seen as a pariah on Wall Street. I apologize my thoughts are scattered, a bit too busy to write this comment well. Thanks.Jason M.

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Is Man mohan a PM? by Jacob Marc on 2008-11-04 15:55:12.095869+05:30
When slave takes orders from master but made to sit on King's chair...Looks similar to Man Mohan's delima. He is controlled by Sonia in evry aspect. His statement on Assam blast was out rageous and moreover he walked out of the press confrence when reporters booed at him asking " Ye kab thak challega ?". He has occupied Shivraj's place and I think we had the worst PM ever India has seen. Devegowda was far better than this Higda.

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Win or lose-Singh needs a consulting job by Satya Moro on 2008-11-04 11:22:33.005974+05:30
let me answer your question-SIngh misses the moment since he is the quintessential Bureaucrat and all his life, including the 1990 crash, he has done what he was told to do, by Narsinmha Rao, IMF and now Sonia Gandhi. He is incaplable of independent action or thought and this the the only reason he was put in the pm's chair as a place holder PM. A woman who was threatened by a dud like Pranab could only appoint a absolute bureaucrat to safegaurd her son's place. And it would be foolish to expect anything but "consultant's platitudes" from him.Infact the poor guy is currently lobbying in US/China/Japan for a consultants job in some internatonal agency -as he knows whether Congress wins or loses-he is out of his job in India.

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