The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Long on policy announcements, short on implementation

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Sunday, Sep 12, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Long on policy announcements, short on implementation

By Inder Malhotra

A certain amount of sparring, even bickering, between the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government and the Left Front that supports it "from outside" is built into the situation. Having acquired at the Centre the kind of clout it never had before the Left is naturally inclined to flex its muscle. And the opportunities to do so are bound to be ample, given the long history of the Left's, especially the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s, opposition to Congress' economic policies.

Of course, Communist ideologues do recognise that the changed circumstances require some compromise with the imperatives of globalisation and liberalisation, something that they have done in Kolkata already and should therefore repeat in New Delhi. But here the Left's problem is that it does not want to leave the opposition space exclusively to the BJP and its cohorts.

Overriding objective

Despite all this, the Left's overriding objective is to see to it that nothing happens to bring down the Manmohan Singh Government, thus paving the way for the BJP's return to power — a goal that is bound to remain unchanged, the BJP's expectations to the contrary notwithstanding.

It was for this reason that most people had refused to take seriously the protests the Left had created over the UPA Government's decision to raise the ceiling on the foreign direct investment in telecommunications, insurance and airports. To be sure, there was a greater passion behind the Left's resistance to the move to reduce the interest rate on the Employees' Provident Fund but even this did not do much damage. The Government held fast to the increase in FDI limits but backtracked on the reduction of the interest on the EPF.

`Rhetorical excess'

Now, however, it is clear that the contention, if not conflict, between the Congress and the Left Front is being allowed to escalate unnecessarily. Some observers of the Delhi scene are describing it as a "rhetorical excess." But, surely, everyone must sit up and take notice when the patriarch of the CPI(M) and the most respected Left leader, Jyoti Basu, has joined others in expressing his "unhappiness' with the UPA Government's "functioning." He is also planning a visit to Delhi, along with other leaders, "to take up our concerns with the Government."

There can be any number of differences between the Manmohan Singh Government and its Left Front supporters. They can also differ on the interpretation of the Common Minimum Programme. But what is the Coordination Committee of the two sides for, if it cannot thrash out these differences amicably?

Foreign consultants

Ironically, the issue that has aroused the greatest ire of the Left is the Planning Commission's decision to include in its consultative committees representatives of not only the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank but also an American consultant firm. Right from the days of Jawaharlal Nehru and P. C. Mahalanobis, top planners have been consulting an array of foreigners, including John Kenneth Galbraith from the United States, Gunnar Myrdal from Sweden, Jan Tinbergen from Holland, Oskar Lange from Poland and so on. (Incidentally, the Eisenhower administration's initial decision was to depute Milton Friedman, an inveterate advocate of the private sector, to advise India on economic planning. On this Prof. Galbraith's comment was that this was "like asking the Holy Father to counsel on running a birth control clinic.")

There had then been not the slightest problem about consulting foreigners obviously because none of them was integrated into any organ of the Planning Commission. Why do so now when the Left's deep distrust of the World Bank, etc., is well known?

A new convert

The Congress is a new convert to the belief that coalitions at the Centre are inevitable. It has yet to acquire at least a fraction of Atal Behari Vajpayee's skill and finesse in managing the motley combination it heads.

The Left is not the only source of trouble for the Prime Minister; Lalu Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan can give the Left parties a tough competition.

It is far from clear why the Government makes a policy announcement first, invites a storm from its Leftist supporters and then tries to limit the damage.

Why should not consultations take place first, especially when the Left or any other ally cannot claim to have a veto?

Sadly, the UPA Government — long on policy announcements and woefully short on implementation — has also displayed ineptitude on a host of issues and this does not enhance confidence in its ability to keep the ruling coalition in line.

What, for instance, is the country to make of the practically unattended mess in Manipur? The policy of "wait and watch" is nothing short of dereliction of duty.

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