The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday sought to paint a dismal picture of United Progressive Alliance-II holding it responsible for the economic gloom and failure to give the country leadership while accusing it of diminishing the role of the prime minister.
Troubleshooter for the Congress and the government not long ago, Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday refrained from making any comments on UPA-II at a time when it is accused of non-performance.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Will this be a 'political' Budget? Or, will the Budget be able to take the country back to growth path?
Sheela Bhatt, who attended the dinner to celebrate UPA-II's fourth anniversary, sensed a deep unease in the ruling echelons.
Sources in the Congress have begun to brief business houses and mediapersons with 'adequate numbers' to prove that the United Progressive Alliance government is in majority, despite Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress pulling out its 19 members of Parliament from the government.
The United Progressive Alliance II faced "red lines" that are not obvious unlike UPA-I but the government learnt to adjust and get the allies on board, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday.
As the United Progressive Alliance-II government completed two years in office, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday dubbed it the "most dishonest" government in the history of independent India and charged it with failing on fundamental issues of corruption and price rise.
Common people's views about the economic policies of the United Progressive Alliance government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday alleged that the UPA-II government's performance at the end of its fourth anniversary has waned so much, that it "mirrored the rule" of last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
'If the Singh government was characterised by policy paralysis, this one is afflicted by hyperactivism, sans a roadmap,' says Yogendra Yadav.
The United Progressive Alliance government will suffer a set back if ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam doest not contain the infighting between T R Baalu, leader of DMK parliamentary party, and Union Minister S S Palanimanickam, DMK's five time MP from Thanjavur constituency, over the new railway line in Thanjavur.
From the economy to foreign policy issues, to addressing the serious challenge posed by communal forces which are out to viciously polarise and divide Indian society, the UPA II government has shown a certain pronounced weakness and lack of vision and commitment that could seriously harm India in the long run, notes Sanjay Kapoor.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 10-year tenure of UPA-II will formally come to an end on Saturday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh calls on President Pranab Mukherjee and submits resignation of his government.
The Congress seems to be ruing what it does not have in UPA II: The support of the left parties, not particularly because they let the government govern till they withdrew support over the issue of signing a nuclear treaty with the US, but because they didn't demand their pound of flesh in the allocation of ministries by not joining the government.
EPS' acceptance of Amit Shah's proposal for an electoral alliance with the BJP is being interpreted to mean how the AIADMK has signed up the NDA national leader as a junior partner. Not many have appreciated EPS for this strategic move that has now forced the BJP to play second fiddle to the AIADMK. This has meant that the BJP has buried its ambitions of capturing power in Tamil Nadu now, and is willing to wait until after the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Months before he demitted office as prime minister in 2014, Manmohan Singh had famously asserted that his leadership was not weak and history would be kinder to him than what the media projected at that time.
Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, in his latest book, argues that Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister in 2012 instead of Manmohan Singh, who was then recovering from health issues. Aiyar believes this would have prevented the "paralysis of governance" and "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III. He also criticizes the government's handling of the Anna Hazare-led agitation and the Commonwealth Games scandal, which he believes contributed to the party's downfall in the 2014 general elections.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92. He was brought to the emergency department of AIIMS Delhi in critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness."
Then prime minister Manmohan Singh's brief to his new information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari on what should be the government's approach to the media was simple -- it should be an essay in persuasion, not coercion.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna passed away at his residence in Bengaluru early Tuesday morning, his family said.
UPA-II has yielded a 7.5 per cent average annual growth rate
A K Bhattacharya on the deliberations in the government that have moved beyond fiscal policy to infrastructure, land rights for tribals, and so on.
The methods being used by the government to window-dress the fiscal deficit will fool no one, least of all foreign investors or bodies like the IMF, warns Sonali Ranade
Renu Mittal takes a hard look the two years of the United Progressive Alliance government.
Mamata Bannerjee, a key United Progressive Alliance constituent, has put the cat amongst the pigeons by demanding that the UPA set up a co-ordination committee to discuss important issues and decisions before they are made and implemented. She said the recent petrol price hike was undertaken without her consent.
The Congress' 206 parliamentary seats in last year's election had unleashed a wave of optimism but that feel-good mood is now a thing of the past, writes Harsh V Pant.
The United Progressive Alliance will celebrate the first anniversary of its second consecutive term in office on Saturday after a sweet and sour year marked by misses and hits in governance and its deft management of uncertainties of coalition politics.
Blame the government's huge tax demand, while domestic investors point to their falling corporate governance standards.
'Just because the NDA has a majority and the BJP is the single largest party does not mean that this Modi government enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha.' 'It is always possible that some members (of the NDA and even the BJP) may defect, some members may not want him to be the prime minister and they might vote differently (against Modi) in the confidence vote.'
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was the cynosure of all eyes at the United Progressive Alliance anniversary function last year, was conspicuous by his absence Wednesday night.
The minister said he was able to build consensus on VAT when he was the Finance Minister during the UPA-I term.
Appreciating the central government for conferring Bharat Ratna to Charan Singh, he said that this decision proves that Modi understands the sentiment and character of the nation.
Dravida Munettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday refused to rate the three year performance of the United Progressive Alliance-II government, saying there are "ups and downs" for every government.
Noted jurist and Bharatiya Janata Party member of parliament Ram Jethmalani on Friday slammed the ruling United Progressive Alliance government as "shameless" for remaining in office even after the Supreme Court's criticism of it for the "laggardly pace" of probe into the issue of black money stashed abroad in tax havens.
Four of the most important ministries in the United Progressive Alliance government remained untouched in the major Cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday. Let's take a look at these ministries:
Sonia Gandhi kept off the media, Rahul Gandhi was basking in his UP foray, while other Congressmen showed little exuberance when they were not sniping at each other. Sheela Bhatt reports on UPA II's dinner to mark two years in office
