Indian PM's image takes a beating
2010-11-25 12:05
New Delhi - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known as India's "Mr Clean", is battling to save his image after becoming enmeshed in a damaging telecom scandal in the twilight years of his distinguished career.
Singh, aged 78, stands accused of failing to intervene when his telecoms minister, A Raja, sold mobile phone licences for a fraction of their value, losing the country up to $40bn, according to the government's audit watchdog.
There is no suggestion that Singh, always pictured in traditional sky-blue turbans, benefited from the licence sales to mostly ineligible firms who won them without making competitive bids.
But the Supreme Court in a rare step last week asked the government to explain its "alleged inaction and silence for 16 months" on a request by an opposition lawmaker to prosecute Raja, who stepped down this month.
Under Indian law, the premier must approve criminal proceedings against any cabinet member. Singh's office has told the Supreme Court the government followed procedure in responding to the complaint.
"The prime minister is an extremely decent man but not a politician," said opposition lawmaker Subramaniam Swamy who made the complaint to the prime minister's office about Raja, unleashing the firestorm.
"He took the line of least resistance and waited too long to take action," Swamy said.
Political expedience
Singh, a self-effacing and quietly spoken man, has so far managed to handle the notorious rough and tumble of Indian politics at the helm of the fractious alliance led by his ruling Congress party.
The criticism now is that for reasons of political expedience - Raja's regional DMK party is needed by Congress in its coalition - he was prepared to turn a blind eye to the alleged plunder.
In a scenario that would shake financial markets and unsettle foreign investors, there are even mutterings in New Delhi that the principled former economics professor might resign if his reputation is further impugned.
"He is prone to that kind of gesture," said one senior bureaucrat who is close to Singh and did not wish to be named.
The father of three daughters also underwent a quintuple heart bypass last year.
He has made two brief comments on the scandal so far, promising to bring anyone found guilty to justice and hinting at the strain of leading a government that has been rocked by a series of graft-related blows recently.
He said on Saturday he sometimes feels like "a high school student going from one test to another".
Known as a loyalist to the Gandhi political dynasty, he stepped up to be prime minister when Congress staged its surprise return to power in 2004 and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi decided not to take the top office.
This has led to frequent jibes from critics that he is merely keeping the seat warm until Sonia's son Rahul, aged 40, feels ready to take over as premier.
Held in esteem
Nevertheless, Singh has used his political capital during his six years in power to push through a landmark nuclear deal with the United States and other liberalising policies to open up the economy.
The Oxbridge-trained economist served as finance minister in the 1990s and is seen as the father of India's financial and economic reforms after a crisis that saw the country seek help from the International Monetary Fund.
He is held in huge esteem by his peers in the Group of 20 (G20) leading nations, with US President Barack Obama one among many who has articulated his respect for the premier, the son of a fruit-seller.
Singh was born in 1932 during British rule on the subcontinent in the dusty mud-house village of Gah in what is now Pakistan. As a Sikh, he was the first prime minister in mainly Hindu India from a religious minority.
"The Congress does not want to be seen as having a prime minister who went down in a scandal, it would be a terrific blow, they will fight this tooth-and-nail," political commentator Parsa Venkateshwar Rao said.
"When they decide to replace him it will be at a time of their own choosing," he said.
