Kay Benedict

New Delhi: Prime minister Manmohan Singh will preside over the UPA government’s “last supper” on Thursday when it completes four years in office.

Being the last year, the Congress-led government should have ideally celebrated the occasion in a big way, but that is not the case. Manmohan, in the company of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, will release a booklet highlighting the achievements of the government in the last four years. And a customary dinner with all UPA stalwarts will follow.

Government sources said it will be a subdued affair even as political wags dub it “the last supper” of the UPA government with general elections due in April next year. High inflation and terrorism appear to have dampened their spirit.

Courtesy the Left, the PM failed to push his big-ticket reform agenda, including the opening up of the insurance sector and the India-US civilian nuclear deal. Also, unlike last year, the 2008 anniversary comes in the wake of a string of electoral debacles for the Congress in Gujarat, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh.

Official sources said various government departments may release advertisements on the occasion. The PMO with the ministry of information and broadcasting has prepared the ‘Report to the People’ in English, Hindi and regional languages.

On May 22, 2005, the PM released a 42-page booklet, ‘A Caring Government’, on the occasion of the UPA’s completion of first year in office. Last year, he released a 75-page brochure, ‘Report to The People’, and promised to tackle inflation, which is even now giving him sleepless nights.

The PM inter alia said: “In the last year, the growth processes we unleashed have put some pressure on prices. We have been faced with a galloping demand for many products and this has resulted in inflation.

“This has been compounded by a shortfall in production of these commodities. We have taken credible steps to control inflation and will continue to be vigilant on this front so that the poor and vulnerable sections of society do not suffer unduly. We have made arrangements to augment supplies wherever feasible and hope to keep prices in check. All reasonable measures will be adopted to accelerate the tempo of agricultural production and to strengthen the public distribution system.”

Source : DNA