New Delhi, May 22 (IANS): The Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance-II (UPA) completed two years in power Sunday amid slew of corruption scandals and public disenchantment over rising prices.
As the government balances the effects of arrests of union minister A. Raja and two high-profile MPs - Suresh Kalmadi and Kanimozhi - the 'aam aadmi' (common man) has been hit by the unprecedented rise in prices of essential goods from vegetables to petrol.
"UPA-II will be remembered for its corruption scandals. It is an unending saga of corruption, from 2G spectrum to Commonwealth Games (CWG), to Adarsh housing society case to (ISRO) spectrum-band scandals," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told IANS.
"Even the central vigilance commissioner (P.J. Thomas) had to resign as he was appointed thoughtlessly, ignoring the objections the our leader Sushma Swaraj raised," Sitharaman added.
However, Congress leader Mohan Prakash differed.
"The UPA-II has become a victim of aggressive, adverse publicity," he said. "As (Congress president) Soniaji (Gandhi) has said, the government has taken action whenever complaints were raised."
He said Sonia Gandhi pointed out "several times that action will be taken against party and government functionaries, in whatever position they are. Compare this with the inaction of the BJP in Karanataka," he told IANS.
Forward Bloc national secretary G. Devarajan said ordinary people are reeling under the spiralling rise in prices, be it foodgrain, vegetables or petrol.
"The same middle-class whom the UPA has been counting as its supporters will turn to be its detractors."
But the UPA-II has done reasonably well in the assembly polls post the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, political analyst K. Sreekumar pointed out.
"That is the major relief. And in the next round of polls - beginning with Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab in 2012, the opposition has more at stake than the Congress," he pointed out.
According to him, the latest assembly polls have not been "too bad for the UPA", thanks to the allies, it could become the junior ally in West Bengal, re-capture Kerala and by its own strength, the Congress could retain Assam.
For the defeat in Tamil Nadu, the Congress can blame the 2G spectrum scandal under the DMK's Raja, he said.
But what should worry the Congress is its huge defeats to the YSR Congress, led by Jagan Mohan Reddy - the son of the late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekahara Reddy - in Andhra Pradesh, Sreekumar said.
With the largest number of Congress MPs both in the UPA-I and the UPA-II, Andhra Pradesh had been very important for the Congress and the central government.
According to political observers, the second year of the UPA-II had been submerged in scandals: the CWG corruption scandal, the 2G spectrum scandal which cost the national exchequer a loss of Rs.1.72 lakh crore according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the Adarsh housing society scandal in Mumbai and the S-band spectrum scandal in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which comes under the Prime Minister's Office.
Former communications minister Raja and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi were among those arrested in the 2G spectrum case, while Kalmadi is behind the bars in the CWG scam.
"The perception is very important. The issue of corruption could fire the public mind, as reflected in the huge support for social reformer Anna Hazare'as five-day-fast at Jantar Mantar in April, pressing for stringent anti-graft laws," said a political watcher.
"Negative news dominates the public perceptions. As corruption dominated the the second year of UPA-II, Mamohan Singh's work on other fields like diplomacy and internal security were sidelined," Sreekumar said.
"The images of impressive visits by top global leaders like US President Barrack Obama and Chinese premier Wen Jiabo or Manmohan Singh's cricket diplomacy by hosting Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at Mohali all fade away before Raja, Kanimozhi and Kalmadi taken to the Tihar jail," he added.
Timeline of major events during UPA-II
May 22, 2009: Manmohan Singh takes oath as prime minister of second UPA government.
Oct 22, 2009: Congress wins polls in Arunachal Pradesh, emerges single largest party in Haryana; wins polls in alliance with Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra.
Dec 23, 2009: Congress-Jharkhand Vikas Morcha Alliance wins 25 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.
April 1, 2010: Right to Education becomes a fundamental right.
April 18, 2010: Shashi Tharoor resigns as minister of state for external affairs following controversy over his mentoring of Kochi Indian Premier League franchise.
Nov 9, 2010: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan resigns over Adarsh Housing Society scam.
Nov 9, 2010: Congress removes party MP Suresh Kalmadi as secretary of parliamentary party following allegations of corruption in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games.
Nov 14, 2010: DMK's A.Raja resigns as communications and IT minister over 2G spectrum scam.
Nov 16, 2010: Comptroller and Auditor General's report on 2G controversy tabled in parliament.
Nov 24, 2010: Congress fares poorly in Bihar assembly polls getting only four seats.
Jan 19, 2011: Supreme Court expresses displeasure over the government's reluctance in coming forward with full information on the black money stashed by Indians in foreign banks.
Jan 19, 2011: Prime minister carries out first reshuffle of cabinet.
Feb 17, 2011: Government cancels controversial S-band spectrum deal between Antrix, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation, and private firm Devas Multimedia.
Feb 24, 2011: Joint parliamentary committee (JPC) formed to look into the 2G spectrum controversy following opposition's relentless demand that led to wash-out of winter session of parliament.
March 3, 2011: Supreme Court quashes appointment of P.J. Thomas as central vigilance commissioner over the appointing committee not considering relevant material, including a pending criminal case against him in the Palmolein import case.
April 9, 2011: Government forms joint drafting panel on Lokpal Bill following a fast by social activist Anna Hazare.
April 25, 2011: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrests Kalmadi over criminal conspiracy in buying timing, scoring and result (TSR) systems from a Swiss company at an inflated cost.
May 13, 2011: Congress wins elections in Assam, Kerala; loses Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and by-elections in three states; wins in West Bengal as junior partner of Trinamool Congress
May 20, 2011: DMK MP and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi arrested for involvement in 2G spectrum scam and sent to Tihar jail.