Socialism lives, as do hypocrisy and political expediency
The Times of India has an excellent article today (April 24) in which the paper says that although coalition politics might require parties to make compromises on their ideology, the parties haven't by any means jettisoned their driving ideology. Here's a telling quote: "Even Congress is unable to shake off much of its ideological baggage. For most of Man mohan Singh's tenure as prime minister, Congress has been harping on economic reform and growth. However, Congress hasn't been able to abandon its ideological cornerstone since Independence -- socialism. Jawaharlal Nehru's and Indira Gandhi's faith in socialism and suspicion of the free market continues to guide Congress. Though the party keeps talking about liberalization, it is unable to break the shackles of its ideology. This has meant that even if it takes a step forward on issues such as disinvestment or pension reform, it is forced to step back because of internal pressure."