UP Ministers continue to shoot their mouths off
If statements made by Ministers indicate the maturity and the efficiency of a Government, then Mr Akhilesh Yadav's regime in Uttar Pradesh is both immature and inefficient. This is a pity because the young Mr Yadav had triggered great hopes of positive change when he assumed charge a little over a year ago. Sadly, many of his Ministers have been making remarks that do not display the commitment the Chief Minister has been repeatedly expressing to provided effective governance to a State which faces serious social and economic challenges. It may be argued that Mr Yadav is sincere and wants to bring a change for the better. Unfortunately, there is a huge gap between desire and implementation. If the Chief Minister is indeed determined to revamp governance, he has to take to task his erring Ministers. It will not be enough for him to tick them off publicly; he has to sack those that deserve to — and quite a few do. So far, Mr Yadav has not shown the courage to crack the whip, largely because he is reluctant to disturb the power structure that derives its strength from old-timers led by his father and former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. But the Chief Minister has to understand that eventually he, and not his father or his silly Ministers, will be held accountable for governance in the State. He cannot be heading the Government and at the same laying the blame for errors at the doorsteps of others. The buck stops with him, regardless of his compulsions.
Mr Akhilesh Yadav cannot be unaware that his bitter rival, the Bahujan Samaj Party, is having a merry time as one Samajwadi Party Minister after the other cuts a sorry figure with intemperate remarks. Of course, what has worsened matters is that alongside these gaffes, these Ministers have been performing their duties in the most inefficient manner. Mr Akhilesh Yadav cannot deny that his Government has lost much public goodwill as a result of his blundering Ministers, since it assumed power. The Samajwadi Party supremo, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, too has warned the Chief Minister-son over falling standards in governance. Of course, sceptics will say that it is the senior Yadav's ‘interference' which is the root cause of the Chief Minister's troubles. Whatever the case may be, Mr Akhilesh Yadav can now fail to act only at a huge political cost.
He has to decide whether to let off one of his Ministers who said from a public platform that the policemen in Uttar Pradesh are at his beck and call, that he can strip them of their uniform if the latter do not obey, that the policemen will stand up if asked to and sit down if commanded to do so. The junior Mr Yadav also has to decide whether he should continue with another Minister who remarked that there can be no improvement in the law and order situation, regardless of the Government in power. The people did not elect the Samajwadi Party and repose faith in Mr Akhilesh Yadav to listen to inanities from senior leaders and Ministers. It's time we see a glimpse of the younger Yadav who had acted decisively before the elections to block the entry of the notorious DP Yadav into the party. The chief ministership must be an enabler, not a constraint, for Mr Akhilesh Yadav to bring a change for the better.