PM to present UPA's fourth report card May 22

Under attack from the opposition over corruption and lack of governance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will present the fourth and last report card of the UPA-II government May 22, sources said Tuesday.

The report will list the achievements of the government on its fourth anniversary May 22. Later Wednesday, the prime minister will host dinner for the allies and supporting parties, said the sources.

The report is the last one for the second edition of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government as there would be a new Lok Sabha by May next year.

According to sources, the report is expected to highlight the rollout of the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, and foreign equity in multi-brand retail and insurance as its major policy initiatives.

It will also list the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill as pro-poor and pro-reform legislations.

The report is also likely to mention a bill relating to the time-bound delivery of services as another step to bring more transparency in the functioning of the government, said the sources.

The three bills are yet to be passed by parliament.

UPA-II, which started off with a resurgent mood in 2009, has spent most of its tenure battling charges of corruption related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, allocations of 2G spectrum and coal blocks and a perceived misgovernance.

The report is expected to create a positive impression among the people and Congress workers, said the sources.

As it prepares for the 2014 general elections, the UPA appears to have been weakened after two key allies, the Trinamool Congress and the DMK, quit the alliance in the past one year.

While the Trinamool Congress left in September 2012 against the move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, the DMK parted ways in March 2013 on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils.

This has made the ruling combine more dependent on parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which help prop it.

It would be interesting to watch if SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who shared the dais with the prime minister and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi during the release of the report to the people last year, is present on the occasion Wednesday, said the sources.

For the prime minister, the recent exit of two tainted ministers considered close to him, has dented his image of Mr. Clean, when he took office for the first time in 2004 and again in 2009.

Sonia Gandhi, who has backed the prime minister all along, may indicate her continued support to him, said the sources.

--Indo-Asian New Service

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