A Bold Agenda for United Progressive Alliance (UPA)

arjun_m

//...When a ship sails, the bow goes first, then the stern....someone has to benefit first....you`re looking for a ship that sails sideways....both bow and stern in line.... //

Good one :)

DM
//...The CMP is full of general platitudes but it is full of loopholes ...//

Yeah - that`s just a consolation , a hope against the odds.

Look - at this point, the right economic policies would have been to go full steam ahead with privatization and labor reforms and reinvestment of monies in right sectors, redirection of capitals. Instead, we have a pledge to exactly the opposite.....with much-vaunted ``loopholes`` .... basically we are clutching at some straws in the wind.

The tragedy is : Some thirty years ago, our great ``leader`` were giving us the same platitudes - garibi hatao, pro-poor, socialism, rural sector etc .... and doing exactly wrong things .... while countries like south korea and japan were going full steam ahead with what needs to be done. And now these countries are first world nations. And we are still talking about pro-poor, socialism and we have with $400 per-capita income ... and our jacka$$ ``leaders`` are still mouthing the same old lines.

And I am sure - 20 years down the line - when other nations like china would be breaking into first world - our leaders would still be saying the same thing. Indians would still be poor, still trapped in the same third world miseries.

We never seem to learn. We suspend all logic .... and lap up same old lies from the same old hags, dynasties, commies and criminals. It`s never-ending spectacle of stupidity and hope against hope.

It`s disgusting to see a bunch of morons hijack a nation that could do so much for itself ... and people who are supposed to know better are closing their eyes and going along with heist.

Shame on us all.

Maharana:
This is indeed an area of concern. Although I approve of Manmohan Singh, I had remarked earlier that we do not want to see the ``jamalification`` of the Prime Minister`s office. In that sense, it would have been better to have Sonia as a weak prime minister dependent upon strong and competent ministers than a politically weak prime minister depending for his survival on a strong Sonia outside the government.

I think that Musharraf broke the protocol by directly inviting Sonia. If she had to be invited, the invitation should have come from the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League or some other political party. The only redeeming feature is that the response came from the Minister of Externa Affairs and not from Sonia directly.

I hope that Sonia will learn not to interfere with the matters of day-to-day governance, although she does have some right to provide input on policy matters to the government.

arjun-m:

I do not see any problem in having a profit making unit in the public sector as long as it is subject to the market discipline. Take for example the Maruti Enterprise; as long as it has to compete with other car makers without any subsidy or preferential treatment by the government, selling it or not should be governed only by the interest of the public as a shareholder in that enterprise, which would include the alternative use of the potential proceeds of sale by the public.

Mohar11:
``India`s economic progress is going to slow down for sure.``

I wont be so certain. The CMP is full of general platitudes but it is full of loopholes like, ``no automatic hire and fire`` or no privatisation unless in public interest. I think that, after a short interval, reforms will continue in the slow and steady way that they have in the past 12-13 years. There was no torrent of labour reforms or privatisation even during the NDA period. However, the NDA had been able to create a strong pro-business image for India and it may take some time for that image to return. And when it does, it will be with the added advantage of the image of a stable India at peace with itself.

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Ref Maharana #139

[Soon the only ``progressive`` parties in india will be .....temple building, hymn singing donkey bhaktas.]

Hey Soysauce, looks like Maharana has got another nick for you!

Ref dost-mittar #135

[I think that we have gone through this before. It is not a question of numbers but of the criminal attitude of the government - or the neglect of the `raj dharma` as Vajpayee put it... it is when the chief minister justifies the murder of the innocents by blaming the whole community for the action of the few - it is when the administration takes a cue from him and colludes with the marauders - it is when he then takes credit for it and is proudly used by the party as its mascot in elections in the same state and elsewhere.
The only other time this happened was in Delhi in 1984.]

The man who justified the Delhi riots went on to become the Prime Minister of India and his widow has become the most powerful person in India now.

At least Modi had the compulsions of having to face the electorate soon and so looked the other way when street justice was meted out in Gujarat. What was Rajiv`s excuse when he already had the Prime Ministership delivered to him by the Congress flunkies?

Or, is it okay in India to kill followers of any religion except Islam?

rsridhar
//....India`s economic progress mayslow down but it will be a good thing if rural sector gets proper attention this time....//

It`s a big IF. And chances are more it`s not going to happen - rural sector or any other sector for that matter - is not going to get what it needs to grow and succeed. Commies and laloos have never done it in their lifetime - and now that they have already been given the much-vaunted ``serving the poor`` title ( free of charge - with nothing to show for that credit ) they have no incentive to do it.

India`s economic progress is going to slow down for sure.

rsridhar

Any govt serious about helping rural sector has to first pile up on capital - it needs massive amount of money. The best way to get the capital is by freeing it from White Elephants commies love to call ``nine jewels``. You have to sell off these companies - free the hold up capital and build rural roads, cold-storage, river-linking, irrigation, electrification etc.

And yet - that`s the first thing commies did - stop the privatization process. How does protecting steel plants help the rural sector? From which source are the morons going to get capital? World bank, IMF - the favorite whipping boys? Taxes on the non-existent ``rich``? Taxes on NRI deposits?

On electrification - commies want to review electricity bill - a piece of forward looking legislation that has a chance of finally make dent in the massive gap in power sector. And yet - that`s exctly waht commies want to dismantle.

it`s unbelievable how people readily agree to get scr@@d - with eyes wide open.

Dost,

From Rediff today- Sonia is to visit pakistan soon.
What about the so called decision making authority (in this case the PM)?

I can see nothing progressive about UPA now. Should have seen the writing on the wall, when a gandhi cries for not being able to become PM, and anyway decides to run the show herself disregarding the actual PM. And the fools in india take her crying for ``the highest vedantic ideals``, while intellectuals are giddy with a secular government having communal murderers at the helm.
This is congress culture, even a donkey can vie for the highest office. The only qualification reuired is ``Gandhi``. The smarter ones like narsimha rao, rajesh pilot and others are kicked out.
I think congress party workers are competing with the DMK buffoons in trying to build a temple for her too. Soon the only ``progressive`` parties in india will be either the degenerate commies or temple building, hymn singing donkey bhaktas. We can truly pride ourselves with a secular and progressive governance. One in which even the PM becomes a pitiable puppet, while a gndhi clan calls the shot, much like the lallo clan in bihar.

Adios

rsridhar:
``The big question is: why is Lalloo Yadav so popular? Is it just among the Yadavs?``

Frankly, I do not know the answer. But I have heard different explanations.

- it is the caste politics and his alliance of yadavs and muslims.
- the bihari poor are amazed at the importance he has attained at the national level and take pride in someone who looks and talks just like them.
- he is really not popular; he has a network of goondas whom he keeps happy with liquor and small perks and lets them carry guns; they are used to scare villagers into voting for him.

The above are some of the examples quoted by people.

harimou:
``So, how many communal riots during the BJP`s rule and how many were killed? How many communal riots during Congress rule and how many were killed?``

I think that we have gone through this before. It is not a question of numbers but of the criminal attitude of the government - or the neglect of the `raj dharma` as Vajpayee put it... it is when the chief minister justifies the murder of the innocents by blaming the whole community for the action of the few - it is when the administration takes a cue from him and colludes with the marauders - it is when he then takes credit for it and is proudly used by the party as its mascot in elections in the same state and elsewhere.
The only other time this happened was in Delhi in 1984.

Ref dost-mittar #129

[Did I ever promise a rose garden with the Congress victory? All I said was that the defeat of the BJP would heal the communal divide; I didn`t even say that it will end communal riots.]

So, how many communal riots during the BJP`s rule and how many were killed? How many communal riots during Congress rule and how many were killed?

Shouldn`t statistics be the objective criteria for determining who causes communal divide and who heals it? Or is it the drumbeat of propaganda that we are supposed to accept?

re:#123 by mohar11
This is what happens if a party (BJP) pretends like it has solved all of India`s problems and is waiting to join the big league. India`s per capita income is slightly above 500$ as compared to about 35,000 for USA. 70% of India lives in villages and a lot of them live on less than 2 dollars a day income. Can any party then survive neglecting this huge mass of humanity that is struggling to survive?
Indian poor did not elect those goons who have become MPs today. They have rejected the BJP. That`s all. India`s economic progress mayslow down but it will be a good thing if rural sector gets proper attention this time.
Sridhar