Time Magazine termed Manmohan ‘Underachiever’
New Delhi. Renowned International News Magazine ‘Time’ has termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh an “underachiever”, flaying him for not acting decisively when the country’s economy was slowing.
Dr Singh, 79, is featured on the cover of Time magazine’s Asia edition, which will be out this week. With his portrait in the background, the title on the cover reads The Underachiever – India needs a reboot.
‘Is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh up to the job?’ Time’s report titled A Man in Shadow asks, adding that apart from facing the challenges of a slowdown in economic growth, huge fiscal deficit and a falling rupee, India’s Congress party-led UPA coalition “has found itself fending off corruption scandals and accused of showing a lack of economic direction.”
India’s economic growth slumped to nine-year low of 5.3 percent in the quarter ended March 31, 2012. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell to 6.5 percent in 2011-12 as compared to 8.4 percent in the previous year.
“Investors at home and abroad are beginning to get cold feet. Voters too are losing confidence, as rising inflation and a litany of scandals chip away at the government’s credibility,” said the magazine, which will be in the market next week.
Influential western financial magazines and journals have already been downbeat on Singh and former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. This is only a reflection of the mood within the country which has blamed the UPA government for non-performance and the Congress party has been getting repeatedly punished at the hustings.
When questioned, however, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said, “In the past eight years, the UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has provided political stability, social harmony, internal cohesion, economic growth and a greater role in global affairs. This by no stretch of imagination is under achievement.”
