The distinct feature of the UPA government has been that there were two centres of power. Sonia Gandhi wielded real power and the prime minister managed the administration of the government. Do you agree with this perception?
Not at all. Political power is primarily in the hands of Sonia Gandhi because the prime minister does not control the party and cannot control the party. He doesn't pose any threat to Sonia Gandhi as far as her political power goes. He is almost like an executive. He is the executive prime minister of the country, but the owner of the company is different.
Is it harming the system at the top?
It is the coalition of two individuals. One individual enjoys high respect and is a professional economist with some background in public life but he doesn't have political clout.
On the other side is the person with political clout who wants to have an executive prime minister for various reasons, including the symbolic one of making peace with the Sikhs, a section of which were a constant threat to her family.
In one way, the last four years have legitimised Sonia Gandhi as an insider. Also, Prime Minister Singh represents no threat to her. Suppose, Sharad Pawar had stayed back he could have been a natural choice to be prime minister but he would have been a threat to the dynasty. Prime Minister Singh is a person with a limited political base and that has helped her.
Are you comfortable with this arrangement? Doesn't it degrade the post of prime minister? Should the people and the prime minister of the country not have a direct connection? Have you seen a single photograph of Dr Singh with ordinary Indians on the front pages of our daily newspapers?
All prime ministers are not the same. It is a coalition of structures in India, in any case. Even in the BJP it is a coalition of structures. You need not pursue that line of analysis.
Do you see any harm in having two centres of power at the top?
Not at all. In fact, I believe more the centres of power, the better it is for Indian polity. I don't believe in the unified structure. It has not done India good in the past.
Image: Sonia Gandhi welcomes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at her home for a meeting with chief ministers of Congress-ruled states in 2006. Photograph: Ranjan Basu/Saab Press
Also read: Four years of UPA: Foreign policy adrift
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