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The fruits of unilateralism

The United Progressive Alliance Government seems better at managing crises than in averting them. Once Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi threatened to pull the party out of the government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lost no time in "putting on hold" the decision to divest 10 per cent stake in the Neyveli Lignite Corporation and the National Aluminium Company. That it took a political threat from an ally to spur the government into action speaks poorly of the coordination mechanism within the UPA. Rather than heed the warning signals from the Left parties as also the DMK and the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the UPA leadership let matters drift until the pull-out threat brought about a crisis. Thus, instead of displaying sensitivity to political opinion, the government ended up appearing vulnerable to pressures from allies. Neither could the UPA mobilise resources for the National Investment Fund through divestment nor could it draw political mileage from the reversal of the decision. The DMK and the PMK are represented in the Cabinet and it is indeed strange that they should have let an issue of great interest to them pass in the Cabinet in the first place. Even if their opposition was belated, allies and supporting parties of the government cannot now be faulted for coming away with the impression that the UPA leadership turns a deaf ear to their views, but reacts in panic to political arm-twisting.

However, the divestment crisis could be an opportunity for the UPA to put in place a consultative process within the alliance. The Congress leans heavily not only on the constituents of the UPA, but also on the Left parties for the smooth functioning of the government. Last year, the UPA ran into problems with the Left parties, which decided against participating in the UPA-Left Coordination Committee following the government's decision to go ahead with divestment in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. Although the Left parties later returned to the coordination panel, it has been clear for some time that the Congress is not doing a good job of consensus-building on crucial issues. Now, however, the problem is more serious: there is apparently no coordination within the UPA itself, although all the parties are represented in the Cabinet. In this context, the suggestion of the Nationalist Congress Party that the UPA-Left Coordination Committee be enlarged to include all the constituents of the UPA and not just the Congress merits consideration. But the expansion of the Coordination Committee, while necessary, will not by itself avert such crises. If its deliberations are to be meaningful, the government must place on the table all important policy initiatives, especially those that could be interpreted as being at odds with the National Common Minimum Programme. There is no alternative to an expanded and truly consultative coordination mechanism.

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