Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign!

Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign!

An open letter from a big fan of Mr. Manmohan Singh, requesting him to resign from the post of Prime Minister:

Dear PM,

At the outset I must confess that I've been, for a very long time, a huge admirer of your integrity, abilities and sincerity. My admiration started in 1991, when the then Prime Minister Mr. Narasimha Rao chose you to be the saviour of the financial mess that India found itself in.

Hence, please don't take offence at my requesting you to tender your resignation.

The time to resign is NOW. Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign! Not that I love you any less. But I love India more.

Let's take various aspects of your governance:

• Prominent External Dangers to India
  • China has been issuing stapled visas, questioning the very basics about Arunachal Pradesh being part of India. And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.
  • Pakistan - Dawood and his friends have been enjoying life as honoured guests in Pakistan. 26/11 happened. Parliament attack happened. And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.

Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign. Not that I love you any less, but I love India more.

• Internal Dangers to India
  • Kashmir - In the past few decades, only an occasional person or two outside Kashmir and a few "rival countries" used to question Kashmir being a part of India. Today, we have public seminars where mainstream Indian citizens are talking about "letting go" of Kashmir. And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.
  • Maoist Problems - Whether West Bengal or Orissa, AP or Chattisgarh, there are just too many districts where Maoists (by whatever name they may be called) either have total control of the local administration or at least move around freely, terrorizing people. And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.
  • Self-appointed Moral Police - Whether we're talking about Khap Panchayats or people questioning the right of citizens to celebrate Valentine's day, whether we're referring to unknown political novices getting books banned or about professors having their hands chopped off, the rule of law seems to be in "silent mode". And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.

Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign. Not that I love you any less, but I love India more.

• The dirty dragon of Corruption is OMNIPOTENT
  • CWG scam
  • Adarsh Society scam
  • 2G Spectrum scam
  • IPL scam
  • Indian Medical Council scam
  • Microfinance Scam
  • Housing loan scam (thought it is still being called 'just a bribery case involving certain individuals')
  • Land scams across different states - irrespective of whether they are ruled by your party or not.

The list is endless. Not only me, even far more reputed and powerful people ranging from politicians to lawyers to journalists find it difficult to keep pace with all "active scams"

and keep track of what is happening in each individual case.

And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.

Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign. Not that I love you any less, but I love India more.

• The Anti-poor menace of Inflation
  • Inflation simply refuses to go away 
  • In fact, if we forget the official inflation figures and look at what your favourite Aam Aadmi actually pays, the real inflation is even more acute.
  • Farmers continue to commit suicide
  • Essential prices of commodities continue to sky-rocket - especially food grains, cereals and vegetables are increasingly out of reach of the ordinary citizen
  • The real levels of unemployment are way too high, based on anecdotal evidence. Fortunately, unlike the USA, we don't have reliable statistics on the unemployment data which comes out each month. Otherwise, it would become one more stick for the media and the opposition to beat the government. But is that an excuse? Not for a man of integrity. Certainly, not for you. 

And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.

Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign. Not that I love you any less, but I love India more.

• The bogus excuse of "Integrity" and "Competence"
  • Of course, you are apparently honest, a man of integrity, and all that. I still believe that. I certainly don't have any faint doubt about your own personal integrity.
  • But then, since when did "Integrity" become the sole qualification for being the Prime Minister of India?
  • Nobody, including me, doubts your competence. We all know you to be among the most intelligent of all current global leaders. We are conscious about your personal competence in discharging your duties pertaining to ministries coming under your direct personal control.
  • But then, is the Prime Minister of India not supposed to be a "First among equals" and is he not supposed to ensure effective functioning of each of his ministries?
  • Even if you're given the benefit of doubt on the issues of personal integrity and personal competence, a vast majority of the population don't care to believe that several of your colleagues in the cabinet are men of integrity or men of competence. On the contrary, we keep hearing sob stories about hitting a new nadir on the key issues of integrity and competence every other day.

And what have you done? A few statements and occasional noises, nothing more.

Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign. Not that I love you any less, but I love India more.

Dear PM,

As I mentioned right at the beginning, I'm a huge fan of yours.

I certainly believe that you are capable of much more than what you are presently doing (or being allowed to do by the system at large).

That's no excuse for a person of your stature to continue in office.

The time for you to go has come. And gone. It is already too late.

The only thing that is still left reasonably safe is your personal reputation for integrity and competence.

Please don't let that go.

Instead,

Resign, Mr. Prime Minister, resign.

Not that I love you any less, but I love India more.

Regards,

N

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