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UPA model of governance faulty, says Arun Jaitley

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley unleashed an attack on the UPA government saying that the ‘present governance model is faulty’. Speaking at the AGM of the CII, the senior BJP leader also said, ‘The elected head of the state should be able to have the final say, but here he has to follow diktats.’

Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Jaitley said, ‘Being in the Opposition, we disagree with the Prime Minister. But we never questioned his wisdom. His ability to implement is suspect... What is the roadmap for 9 per cent growth rate? The leader must have the last word. But elected head of government does not have last word. You end up in three-legged race. This is happening with the present government.’

‘There is general worry... the direction in which we are moving... He (Prime Minister) knew where and what the problems are,’ he added. Referring to the Congress’s dual-leadership model with Sonia Gandhi as a powerful party president and Manmohan Singh as PM, something which Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh had pointed to recently, Jaitley said, ‘The leader must always have the last word. The tragedy of the government is that it has always been caught in a three-legged race as there are two power centres.’

Jaitley also criticised the UPA for misusing the CBI against its allies. He said, ‘UPA misused CBI to bend the allies. When I heard Mulayam Singh, we can say that vulnerable are pliable. The two UPA allies (BSP and SP) are vulnerable. They disturbed the agenda of having consensus on economic issues.’

‘The CBI is being run more by the party (Congress) rather than the government... All past directors of CBI and NIA have a post retirement job,’ he added.

Raising concerns overs scams which have surfaced in successful sectors like power, telecom, highways, rural roads, he questioned the UPA leadership. ‘Kashmir and cross-border terrorism are two most serious problems. Maoist violence is disturbing. It is growing in large parts of central India. Northeast is our neglected region and the complaint of people from there is genuine. We cannot give the impression of being a soft state,’ added Jaitley.
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