New Delhi, May 21
Even as the Congress-UPA government completes three years in office tomorrow to a large extent due to the image of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being at the helm of affairs, the smaller Left parties are highly critical of the Centre's economic policies and some ministers like Mani Shankar Aiyar have sounded the alarm that urgent course correction is needed to benefit the "aam aadmi."

Despite Dr Singh underlining the imperative need for the economic reforms to be all inclusive, the government is far away from achieving this objective. Clearly, one of the biggest worries for the UPA is the price spiral, which has burdened the poor and provided the necessary lever to the Opposition to blast the government.

Aiyar who is overseeing Panchayati Raj, youth affairs and sports, has cautioned in a TV interview that course corrections are needed urgently for balancing growth with equity. While lauding 9.2 per cent economic growth, Aiyar warned that the government will be in trouble if the benefits did not percolate to the masses.

Political analysts believe the government's inability to rein in the prices and the common man being increasingly burdened. There are still two years remaining for the 2009 general elections and the government will have to gear up to make an impact on the day-to-day life of the teeming millions as only certain influential classes and lobbies are reaping the benefits at present.

Official sources said PM will provide an overview and a report card of what the UPA government has been able to achieve to fulfill its pledges in the preceding 12 months tomorrow.

On its part, the government has expressed concern about the rising cost of basic essentials and set in motion steps to arrest the inflationary tendency which has only had marginal impact so far. At the same time Dr Singh's image has provided strength to the government despite constant voices of dissent by the Left parties, which are supporting the UPA regime from outside.

Despite the inherent contradictions in the UPA arrangement, Dr Singh has been able to push the peace process in Jammu and Kashmir as well as with Pakistan. Then the government has unleashed the employment guarantee scheme for the rural poor and the Right to Information Act which is aimed at ensuring transparency in the administration.

The BJP is highly critical of the UPA government emphasising that it has failed miserably on the price front and the common man is the worst hit. With the UPA entering the fourth year in office tomorrow, CPI's deputy leader D Raja insisted that the Manmohan Singh government's performance has been a mixed bag. He counted the positives as pro-people legislation like the NREGA, the Right to Information Act and stopping the privatisation of profit making PSUs and the negative as economic policies being anti-poor and favouring the rich and business class.