Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been spending a lot of time playing schoolmaster lately. Specifically, he is repeatedly being called upon to sort out squabbles between his ministers. The most recent fracas has the Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh attacking the Union home ministry?s attitude towards Chinese companies as ?alarmist? and ?paranoid?. He said this in Beijing of all places. Ramesh was reportedly referring to the ban on import of telecom equipment from Chinese major Huawei. Instead of passing adverse comments on sensitive international issues in a foreign country, Ramesh could as well have raised any concerns he had within the less controversy-conducive spaces of party and government forums. Was he actually looking to just create controversy? Wouldn?t that be highly irresponsible? The PM has reportedly reminded Ramesh that it wasn?t advisable for Cabinet members to publicly comment on the conduct of their colleagues? ministries. But that such a basic point needed reminding reflects an unfortunate state of affairs in the UPA government. Debate is one thing, but open clashes and chaos in government ranks do not inspire confidence even among policy enthusiasts?leave alone convincing sceptics about the acuity of chosen plans.
Ramesh, of course, has lately been at odds with many Cabinet colleagues. Union minister for road transport and highways Kamal Nath has been raising objections about how many infrastructure projects are getting stalled on environmental grounds. Minister of agriculture, consumer affairs, food and public distribution Sharad Pawar has weighed in on Nath?s side?asking, for example, why the road to Solapur in Maharashtra had been blocked by Ramesh?s ministry on the grounds that it passed through a sanctuary, when that was not the case. Ramesh, for his part, would like to shift the blame onto states? shoulders. On the states? front, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan are just two of the many voices that have been challenging Ramesh?s environmental decrees. Given that the Cabinet isn?t speaking in one voice, such challenges are gaining rising validity and the chaos is worsening. Even the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee Digvijay Singh made a notable contribution to this chaos recently when he challenged the rigorousness of the home minister?s thinking on the Maoist issue, surely one of the biggest challenges confronting India today. There are better ways to thrash out their differences, than going public at the drop of a self-indulgent hat.
