Just as the people were heaving a sigh of relief at the inflation figures going below 8%, comes the shock that Petrol prices are raised by nearly Rs 3, with a hike in Diesel price indicated. The reason given is the firming up of the crude oil prices. The point is we have not seen petroleum companies reducing the prices when the crude prices drop. So it is back to > 10% inflation in a couple of weeks. The economy is sustained by higher level of spending, mainly due to people losing confidence in any investment instrument, and freer flow of black money. High interest rates have already resulted in dip in manufacturing growth. The production is decreasing, there is more money available in the market which is a clear indication of inflation galloping in the coming few months.
The PM finally opened his mouth on the Radia Tapes and promptly went on to shoot himself in the foot. He was more worried about how the tapes got leaked than about the contents of the tape, that gave clear indications of big businessmen influencing his governments formation. Talk about wrong priorities!!! Shoot the messenger and ignore the message.
The problem with MMS is that he is a lame duck Prime Minister now. In a way, he always had been a lame duck PM. He is not likely to get another term as PM. The age is against him and his health is also not what it should be. Normally, the period when a PM knows he is a lame duck is quite dangerous. Most of them want to change the world in their last year, and try to do everything in one year that they didnt do during their past few years in office.
But our PM wont even do that. He did make an aborted attempt at signing a peace treaty with Pakistan, which would have ensured a legacy and a Nobel Price for him, but the Pakis stymied it. Another reason why he wont try anything silly is his training as a bureaucrat, where he has been trained to obey his political masters. Also, he is in line to become our next President once Pratibha Patils tenure ends in 2012. And what better way to end a career of mediocrity than in the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
And who cares if the Country goes to dogs!
