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Poll
Issues vs Pet Hates Is India voting for a government -- or laws impelled by one individual?
It is quite obvious that the business is getting out of hand. Not only are the proposals questionable, most of them are, in essence, knee-jerk responses specific to one individual. India doesn't want revolution by legislation; it simply wants good governance. Having said that, it is nobody's argument that the basic law is a static entity. The NDA manifesto -- in a reassertion of an unkept BJP vow of 1998 -- has spoken of a constitutional review commission. There is no reason why this commission's ambit cannot be extended to include electoral reforms. The BJP and its allies -- as of course the other parties -- will then be free to make their suggestions and defend them. Dissent and dynamism may be cornerstones of democracy but so is the ability to choose the right forum for expression. To seek to convert a general election into a plebiscite on pet hates is not just inappropriate, it is downright unfair. Let the Rupee Be
The marginal fall in the rupee's value recently was driven by a few fundamental factors. A roughly 30 per cent rise in the international price of crude oil over three months has bloated India's import bill and pushed demand in the forex market. In simple words, more dollars may be going out of the country to pay for imports than are coming in as income from exports. Adding to the panic is the general election. With voting a week away, the ruling coalition does not want to be perceived as a government that could not defend the rupee. The problem with economic debate in India is that much of the discourse is shaped by outmoded postulates. The strength of a country's currency is not necessarily an indicator of the well-being of its economy. Two fairly weak currencies -- the yen and the lira -- belong to two of the global market's most robust players: Japan and Italy. The RBI -- and the government -- could consider this analogy the next time they have a look at the rupee. |
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Debate,
empowerment, franchise: elections are about many things. Above all else though, they are
about choosing a government. In the current poll campaign, the essential issue is clear
enough: it is a referendum on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 13 months in power. The BJP-led NDA
argues that its attempt at stable and effective administration was thwarted and seeks
another chance. So far, so good. Yet, with disconcerting rapidity, a series of peripheral
issues is coming to dominate poll speeches. First the nda's manifesto promised a
constitutional amendment to ensure that every Lok Sabha lasted its term of five years and
that in voting out a ministry, MPs were also enjoined to indicate an alternative. Next
came an announcement that the laws would be changed to prevent naturalised Indians from
entering high office. Now there is a solemn resolve to prevent candidates from seeking
election from two or more seats. Taking the cue from this, some sections have gone further
and demanded that only residents of a constituency be allowed to represent it in the Lok
Sabha. 
In 1994, India made a historic leap by adopting a
free float exchange rate for the rupee. Half a decade has passed but the mindset of
policy-makers is still ruled by the fixed exchange rate, under which the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) stayed loyal to a pre-determined value of the currency. A free float currency
implies a regime under which the value of the currency is broadly determined by its demand
and supply in the market. Of course central banks across the world intervene to defend
their currencies if speculators push or pull the currency way out of a reasonable band.
But in India panic spreads across North and South Blocks, and all the way up to the RBI
headquarters in Mumbai, even when the rupee depreciates by a percentage point or two. In
most mature economies, the currency is allowed to move about freely within an average
range of 10 per cent.