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VIEWPOINT: KAUTILYA
Ten Days Of Active Stupor
Vajpayee raises great expectations, but will he and
can he deliver?
By Jairam Ramesh
The
first ten days of September have been extraordinarily busy for Prime Minister
A.B. Vajpayee and his economic team. Never before in his 40-month tenure
has there been such a concentrated focus on the economy. Never before has
the prime minister so frankly admitted that the economy is in a slow-down
mode. Never before has the prime minister talked so tough on pushing reforms
further. Never before has the prime minister accumulated so many ideas and
so many reports on what is to be done to get the economy moving again.
 #
On September 1, the National Development Council (NDC), comprising the
prime minister, key Union ministers and all the chief ministers, met.
The approach to the Tenth Five-Year Plan was approved and the prime minister
unveiled a 14-point plan to steer the economy forward.
# On September 4, Vajpayee announced the formation
of a new Cabinet Committee on Economic Strategy and directed major economic
ministries to speed up the implementation of projects worth Rs 75,000
crore to invigorate a flagging economy.
# On September 6, the prime minister personally
received a 13-point agenda for India's economic regeneration prepared
by the Washington-based McKinsey Global Institute. Separately, the finance
minister called the chieftains of the housing, cement and the automobile
sectors and heads of financial institutions for a brainstorming.
# September 7 saw the prime minister's reconstituted
Trade and Industry Council meet and call for speeding up the privatisation
process and for greater government spending, specially on railways and
roads. Vajpayee used the occasion to release another 25-point agenda.
# On September 10, the prime minister met with
a group of economists comprising his Economic Advisory Council who, while
supporting faster privatisation, bolder liberalisation of labour laws
and increased private investment, expressed reservations on the wisdom
of greater public spending when the fiscal and revenue deficit is already
out of control, a view that contradicts what the industrialists told the
prime minister.
Of all these, it was the NDC meeting that came
up with the most interesting idea to manage the politics of economic reforms
which is really what is lacking. At long last, the prime minister is to
use the NDC to build a coalition of the 30 chief ministers-11 of whom
belong to the Congress, 11 to regional parties, six to the BJP and two
to the Left Front-to ensure that an environment is created to sustain
the reform efforts of states in crucial areas like power, agriculture
and public administration. The first such interaction is scheduled to
take place next month near Bangalore, and from what the prime minister
said at the NDC meet, it appeared that he wanted to institutionalise such
interactions in between Parliament sessions. Clearly, he is hoping that
the pragmatism of the Congress XI will influence the thinking of its "national"
team when it comes to legislation that has to be passed by Parliament.
He also appears to be aiming to bring about some consistency in the positions
taken by national parties. For instance, the Congress in Andhra Pradesh
is opposing what it is doing in Karnataka. Similarly, the BJP in Rajasthan
is resisting what it is implementing in Uttar Pradesh. If this hypocrisy
has to be tackled, Vajpayee has to be talking not just with the chief
ministers but also with the national and state-level opposition leaders.
And what will he do with his Punjab ally that is engaged in a financially
disastrous race of competitive populism with the Congress?
Vajpayee's standing has taken such a severe
beating that there is a great deal of scepticism and cynicism on whether
the flurry of meetings will deliver anything substantial. His bizarre
interview to The Indian Express has certainly not helped matters. On the
contrary, his admission that Jagmohan was shifted because of Delhi's municipal
elections calls into question his famed judgement. The question being
asked is how exactly is Vajpayee going to implement what he has promised?
Having a labour minister who is opposed to changes in labour laws to make
them more employment-friendly does not help. Setting up a committee to
examine the recommendations of a task force on employment just because
George Fernandes is spewing fire and venom at those perfectly sensible
recommendations makes a mockery of a stated commitment to moving purposefully
ahead.
India is facing its gravest economic crisis
in a decade. Unlike 1991 which was an external collapse, this time the
catastrophe is internal. There is increasing growth hunger and spreading
investment famine. The need of the hour is for a decisive government that
uses the enormous powers that are at the disposal of the executive and
an enlightened Congress that recognises the imperatives of governance
instead of always succumbing to the compulsions of opposition. Sadly,
neither is in sight.
(The author is with the Congress party. These
are his personal views.)
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