IndiaPost.com - Manmohan Singh Govt gasping for breath in ICU: Bandaru

India Post News Service

CHICAGO: The UPA Government headed by Manmohan Singh is in ICU gasping for breath and it can collapse anytime triggering fresh elections before its scheduled time next year, according to Dattatrey Bandaru, a former Union Minister and a three time member of Indian Parliament.

Bandaru was in Chicago as part of his trip to USA and was talking to ethnic Indian Media at Jaihind restaurant on Devon Avenue last week. He said that the UPA government has failed on many fronts but its handling of economic situation and the terrorist threat is simply miserable.

Economically the inflation is creeping up at the highest rate since Independence - over 11 percent annually- hurting poor and middle class really bad. The farmers are in bad shape and many commit suicide for failing to meet two ends meet.

The poor gets poorer and the rich richer because of the unbalance economic growth, he said and this has put the government in bad light with the people across the country. The failure in containing terrorism is all the more glaring, he observed and this has created a sense of insecurity in the minds of people at all the levels.

"The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence meted out to Afzal for his role in bombing the Indian Parliament in 2001 and the government is dilly dallying implementing the curt decision. Where is justice?, "he quipped.

Externally, the Indian embassy gets bombed in Afghanistan and that too allegedly with the help of another neighboring country. "What does the government do about this?, "he asked Bandaru was also critical of the government policy in appeasing minority by advocating policies that go basically counter to the provision of Indian constitution.

"We talk about secularism and why the government should create quotas based on religion?" he asked. Cultivating the vote bank policy is most horrendous from the view point of forging national unity, he said. Bandaru said that he would not be surprised if the country is faced with snap elections in November this year itself.

The scheduled time is the later part of 2009. "The Bharatiya Janata Party is well prepared for this situation and it has come out its four points Agenda which has greatly appealed the masses, " he said. One of the major planks of the BJP platform is relief in agricultural tax and waiving of all loans up to Rs. 50,000 to farmers.

The second plan is to meet firmly and effectively the terrorist threat, and uphold the law of the land. The third platform is to ensure good governance full of transparency and free of corruption. The fourth would be to ensure a balance economic development.

Bandaru felt that the BJP would decidedly fare better in the forthcoming elections and it would not be surprising if it touches the magic figure of 273 seats in Parliament with its allies.

In fact, the Congress party is lossening its grip on Southern States and the gainer is BJP. In North BJP is expected to do better in Hindi belt while it has gained good ground in West. BJP has been picking up support in the Eastern states too, he said.

Activists from local chapter of Overseas friends of BJP accompanied Bandaru and among those present were Shridhar Damle, Vasant Pandav. Vidya Sagar, Sitaram Patel and Bhailal Patel.