Prime Manmohan Singh might have rediscovered his reformist mojo and getting a lot of applause from the pink papers for his latest ‘reformist’ moves but not many in the country are too enthused.
A whopping majority of respondents in a CNN-IBN survey believe the reforms are a sham. Worse, the public in general is disillusioned with the prime minister’s ability to guide the country out of the current crisis.
The survey, conducted across six urban centres with a sample size of 1236, does not have too many flattering things about the prime minister or the UPA government. So what are the biggest concerns of the people across the country at the moment. Well, no surprises here. These are price rise and corruption.
25 percent say there’s no other candidate better than him in the UPA. AFP
As many as 57 percent of the respondents believe the government is going nowhere in its battle against corruption while 32 percent say corruption is a matter of concern. Even youngsters in the 18-25 years age group feel that rising inflation is a big worry.
On the prime minister, the views are not charitable. 37 percent of respondents believe he has been ineffective and lacks the ability to take decisions. But 25 percent say there’s no other candidate better than him in the UPA.
18 percent of the respondents say he has finally decided to show some resolve so he should be allowed to continue. The survey reveals that the honest image of the prime minister has taken a beating. As many as 66 percent said he is responsible for coal gate controversy.
As many as 67 percent of the respondents said Mamata Banerjee was justified in quitting the UPA and 31 percent believe the government would function better without her. 33 percent said Mamata is pro-poor and will do anything for them. That is proof enough that her stock has not gone down despite the media portraying her as the tantrum queen.
The government’s moves on FDI in retail and diesel price hike do not find much support. 53 percent of the respondents believe FDI in retail will bring ruin to the local retailers and 50 percent said it would cause massive unemployment. 93 percent said the cap on susidised cylinders was unjust. In New Delhi 99 percent of the respondent have voted against the government’s move.
