Pot and kettle

Manmohan Singh has made an observation that the opposition also is not clean.

'We are not afraid of discussing the issue of corruption. The opposition also has too many skeletons in its cupboard. We are not afraid of discussing any issue in parliament,' Manmohan Singh, who came to Parliament House to attend an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

It is a pity that instead of ensuring good governance, the prime minister draws comfort from the fact that both government and opposition are letting the country down. What a fall for a person who used to talk about global benchmarking ! Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde ?

Prime Minister's expedience

Who said our prime minister is not a scheming politician? Read what he says now on the 2G scam:

“The matter is before courts. It should be left to be decided by the court and Parliament should not pre-judge the issue,” Dr. Singh told reporters on the sidelines of an all-party meeting convened by Speaker Meira Kumar.

So the much revered parliament (Salman Kurshid and Kapil Sibal have repeatedly advised Anna Hazare and his team to "respect the parliament" as if they do not now) does not have the power to discuss the 2G issue as long as the matter is in the court, according to the worthy prime minister. Manmohan Singh is more machiavellian than many other politicians. The monsoon session of the parliament opens tomorrow. If the BJP does not shut down the session, the ruling party will. The discredited former minister, A.Raja has argued in the court that he is not more culpable than the prime minister. Manmohan Singh owes an explanation to the parliament and the nation. He has apparently decided not to respond not because of any regard for the judicial process but because he finds it expedient to find an alibi for his trademark silence. Never in the history of India has there been such a dichotomy between a person's assumed honesty and actual dishonesty.

Primacy of Parliament

Salman Kurshid who is among the more sober elements in the central cabinet has said that protesting against the government's Lokpal Bill is an action not against the government but against the proceedings of Parliament. This creates a false impression that the government respects the parliament. Truth to tell, the government is unwilling even to take any action against the perpetrators of dastardly attack on the parliament. Well, Salman Kurshid has every right to play politics. He need not trivialise the proposed fast by Anna Hazare against the teethless bill approved by the cabinet.

Manmohan Singh has said that he prefers inclusion of prime minister under the Lokpal, but he defers to the cabinet decision against it. He has become a joker in the process.

Culture of corruption

It is now clear that Justice Santosh Hegde, the Lok Ayuktha of Karnataka has held Yeddyurappa and some of his cabinet colleagues guilty of corrupt practices. It is also fairly obvious that the BJP or the state government will not act on these findings. Being corrupt is condemnable; sticking onto power even after corruption is proved is nefarious and subversive of all principles of good governance. BJP and Congress are the pot and the kettle each calling the other black. Both are heinously craven political parties. Both have wreaked havoc on Indian politics. Corruption is so rife that honesty and integrity are deemed to be obsolete qualities.

The Supreme Court under the leadership of Justice Kapadia has tried its best to redeem the nation from the all pervasive evil of corruption. But the task is not easy. When corruption has become the only way of life, who can save the nation?

President's Role

We are passing through a difficult political phase as corruption corrodes every aspect of governance. These are exactly the times when we need a President like Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan or Abdul Kalam. Unfortunately, ------------------

Gopal Subramaniam, the Solicitor General met the President today and discussed with her the issue relating to the Telecom Ministry engaging a private lawyer to defend Kapil Sibal. What can we expect from the present President?

Cartelisation by banks ?

All public sector banks are having almost the same "base rate" i.e.10.25%  Reserve Bank of India had earlier advsed banks to come up with their own base rate to be calculated on the basis of their respective cost of funds, administrative costs and profit margin. Each borrower was supposed to be charged an interest rate that would be base rate plus borrower's risk premium. It is surprising that all banks are having similar cost structure!
RBI also was of the view that the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) which is sought to be replaced by Base Rate was non-transparently fixed by various banks. It now appears that the fate of Base Rate may be no different.