Goa Governor’s veiled attack on Manmohan

Panaji, Jan 18 (IANS) Goa Governor Mridula Sinha on Friday launched a veiled attack on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying some leaders are "foisted into position by others" and that "there are only certain compulsions" whether they deliver or not.

She was speaking at a function organised by the Goa Institute of Management at a women's leadership forum 'Pathways to Resilient Leadership', when she said that in appointing an "accidental leader", much thought is not given to whether that person understands issues, studies or analyses them and that only "certain compulsions" matter.

Although she did not mention Singh by name but her comments came at a time when a biopic on the former Prime Minister "The Accidental Prime Minister" has been courting controversy and has started a war of words between the ruling BJP and Congress leaders.

"There are many types of leaders, some of them are even accidental, and are foisted into the position by others," she said

"They are made (leaders) and asked to do some chores. How much work he can do, whether (the chores done) have quality or not, has he given them thought or studied the issues, these things do not matter. There are only certain compulsions," Sinha told the audience here.

She said she decided on her topic to speak at the forum, while musing over how many types of leaders were there.

"I felt, when I was concentrating in the morning, that some leaders are accidental. They are made (leaders) all of a sudden. Accidental leaders..."

The Governor said, however, "even an accidental leader eventually does wake up to his responsibilities after put in a position of leadership.

"It is not that the accidental leader will not work after he is appointed. When his responsibilities increase, he tries to inculcate leadership qualities," he said.

Stressing on leadership qualities, she said: "A leader is not chosen to maintain a status quo, but to lead his flock forward.

"In politics, a leader needs to be sensitive. If the person does not have the ability to understand the pain of the other, he cannot be a successful leader," she added.

Screening of "The Accidental Prime Minister" based on the book 'The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh', written by Sanjaya Baru, media advisor to Manmohan Singh when he was Prime Minister, has triggered a storm meeting with steep opposition from Congress workers in a few states after its release on January 11.

"We set out to tell the story of an unsung hero, a politician who was far less political than the job required him to be. The film is based on a book written by Dr. Singh's political advisor. But it is not a biopic on Dr. Singh. It depicts 10 crucial years in the life of India's politics," said Kher, who plays the central character.