Now India Gets a New Ministry that is Likely to Deliver

Dear doctor, give berths to my son, daughter, nephew and our servants too...!

POLITICS, AS the good doctor Manmohan Singh says, is the art of the possible. There is always the game of the pragmatist in it, howsoever much you might wish ideals had an upper hand.

Last time when Dr Manmohan Singh was asked to lead the United Progressive Alliance Government as Prime Minister, I think he realized it from day one. You think of the mandate you were given by the people, how to keep the promise given to them, and how to govern a country almost on the brink.

And your allies, I use the term for want of a better term to describe the partners in a political alliance, have other ideas: They are thinking about the berths they should get, the portfolios they should target for and the sons, daughters and nephews and nieces to be accommodated in ministerial berths.

Last time it was so, and this time too the same was the fate of the government at the centre. Muthuvel Karunanidhi, Shibu Soren and others were demanding all kinds of berths and accommodations last time; they threatened and cajoled, threw many tantrums and played many games, and got away with what they wanted and of course in the course of five years of rule made a mess of many departments that the stink is felt even in Delhi gullies.

Thankfully, people found a solution themselves in the case of Soren who was trounced in the polls. However, Karunanidhi did his best to see the tradition is kept alive: He was eager his son, daughter, nephew and the two chaps known for corruption be accommodated in the ministry. He has walked out and even boycotted the swearing-in ceremony on Friday.

Sure, this will be sorted out because without those government berths and ministerial posts, what is DMK or for that matter, any other political party? They are there for power and they will get it. But I am happy with the team of ministers now sworn in with Dr Manmohan Singh and I feel India could hope for a better, comparatively corruption-free government in the next five years. My only regret is that people Laloo are missing in this ministry, and the left has been reduced to a non-entity in these times when their voice should have been much more pronounced in our Parliament.