The manner of the attack on non-governmental organisations and the character assassination of former solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium to justify scuttling his appointment as a Supreme Court judge have brought little credit to the government. An impression is created that it operates through selective leaks and innuendoes rather than clearly stating its principled position in the matter.

Instead of speaking up, the government has been using selective leaks from the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Blaming policemen for political decisions is not good governance.

The government’s reluctance to explain its actions upfront is also evident in the rail fares being hiked two weeks before the Budget Session. The presentation of the Railway Budget — and the debate on it — in Parliament is the occasion to discuss the issue. If the government is in fact biting the bullet, it should not be shy of explaining to Parliament and the people the necessity of raising fares. It is not sufficient to say that this bitter pill was necessary or that previous governments had also done the same.

On the controversy over giving preference to Hindi on social media platforms, perhaps a virtue was sought to be made of a necessity with a home minister who is more comfortable in Hindi than English. But was it necessary to add that this government had only re-issued the directives of the previous one?

Constantly rationalising bad practices by citing past precedents will erode the image that the new government wants to create for itself. It sends the signal that this government is led by people from the same stock as earlier governments and that nothing has really changed.

Much has been made of the fresh and bold foreign policy initiatives taken by the Modi government. However, contrary to expectations raised in his campaign, his moves suggest continuity rather than fresh thinking. He has already started a dialogue with Pakistan by opening the doors at the highest level. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was invited to his inauguration without any progress on containing terrorism aimed at India. Now it has also been revealed that the Modi government has started back-channel diplomacy with Pakistan. While these signals of policy continuity may be welcome, they are a far cry from Mr Modi’s election statements that Pakistan must first become “eligible” for a dialogue.

The way Mr Modi has handled foreign policy shows that he is yet to develop a cogent perspective. As of now, he seems as non-assertive as the previous government, whether it is on Pakistan, China or the US.

The only charitable view of Mr Modi’s first month in office is that he is still settling down and evolving a blueprint for his government. And, therefore, one must not judge him in haste.

http://www.asianage.com/columnists/modi-s-mute-mode-563

NEW DELHI: The slew of measures announced by the Modi government to fight rising prices have raised the question: Since all this has been done before, will it work? During UPA 2, minister for consumer affairs K V Thomas told the LokSabha 11 different times that state governments had been told to seriously tackle inflation by acting against hoarders and black marketeers.

This is what was repeated in Friday's meeting of state food ministers where finance minister Arun Jaitley urged the states to tackle "hoarding, cartelization and artificial storages". To be fair, Jaitley declared that the central government would be working in close coordination with the state governments, thus lending a certain heft to the plan. But is that enough?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/pre-budget/UPA-steps-to-curb-price-rise-failed-will-NDAs-succeed/articleshow/37925356.cms?

NEW DELHI: It's been more than a month since Nirmala bought fresh tomatoes. A fourfold rise in prices since early June has made the essential ingredient in curries and sauces a luxury she can no longer afford.

"Buying tomatoes feels like buying jewellery," says the 29-year-old maid, who is struggling to make ends meet on her monthly pay of $l65 as prices for fresh staples such as onions and potatoes also soar in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election triumph in May .. had raised hopes of quick action to tackle recurring food price shocks. But, despite his strong economic record of running Gujarat, he has resorted to an old inflation playbook that contributed to the last government's crashing defeat.

Just like his predecessor, Modi has imposed export curbs and cracked down on hoarding. While these steps can give brief relief, they cannot fix a dilapidated system controlled by middlemen.

So far, the cash-strapped government has committed to invest less than one-tenth of the amount it estimates is needed to fix cold supply chain. It opposes the entry of foreign supermarket giants who might set up their own logistics.

Its only innovation, a food price stabilisation fund, is at $82 million derided as too tiny to make any difference in feeding the country's 1.2 billion people.

Economists who had backed Modi to put Asia's third largest economy back on track are already expressing unease at the government's failure to  lay out a credible inflation strategy, beyond short-term improvisation.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/narendra-modi-sticks-to-failed-recipe-in-food-inflation-fight/articleshow/39845202.cms