SPEECH AND ACTION
"When Manmohan speaks," President Obama has said " the world listens". This was by far the greatest encomium showered on our Prime Minister who nevertheless loves it and sees no stone is left unturned to please the President be it nuclear liability bill or absolving Dow Chemicals from liability. Back home our Prime Minister hardly speaks and when he does not even his own partymen or cabinet colleagues listen to him. I is an irony reminding the cynical remark of Arjun singh when he commented" the best way to control a violent mob is to come in front and say now the Prime minister will address you" Arjun was referring to PV Narasimha Rao. Dr.Singh has an aura of sincerity, integrity about him but it baffles me as to how he can be so insensible as to be so inactive when matters concerning people's lives crop up before him. Supreme Court of India acting on a PIL on foodgrains getting rotten up at FCI Godowns ordered the government to distribute the rice free to the poor and starving rather than let them rot. millions of tonnes of food grains were getting rotten in Punjab and Haryana. Any other Prime Minister would have swung in to action and taken remedial steps but our PM maintained his cool. His food Minister, Sharad Pawar earned the wrath of the judges when he commented that it was a suggestion and not an order. This time our MPs cutting across party lines took the fight straight in to PM's terrain, Yet he was unmoved. His way of avoiding issues of governance that of entrusting the job to an empowered group of ministers worked again. Pranab chaired a meeting of EGOM which has recommended release of more food grains to BPL families. A Rajiv Gandhi would have dismissed his Food Minister and released the buffer stock to the poor and needy. Dr.Singh spoke nothing did nothing and yet came clean on this enormous inhuman act of letting grains rot while millions suffer from hunger and mal nourishment. It is not for nothing Shakespeare said " Reputation is a mere bubble it is often bestowed upon the un meritus" God save our country.
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