How not to govern !

   The FDI issue has got over-politicized simply because the ruling party and government functionaries did not play their cards well. Even Commerce Minister Anand Sharma was just goody-goody in his approach and did not reach out to his opponents and small traders in a professional manner by working out well-thought-out comprehensive economics of the FDI and its multi-dimensional benefits.

The FDI fiasco is yet another typical case of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance establishment’s gross failure in providing right information flow and logical communication to its allies, opposition parties, state chief ministers and even within the Congress party itself. The fact that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh failed to carry all of his cabinet colleagues on a matter in which he wished to be firm and non-compromising does not speak well of his leadership quality.    True, it was the government’s prerogative to get started on a policy matter,. But the timing of the announcement on FDI in retail, when   Parliament  was in   session,   underlined the   absence  of

parliamentary sensitivities, political understanding and common sense among those who are supposed to guide and advise the Prime Minister on vital issues. One problem with the ministers and government aides is that they invariably lack understanding of the country’s changing grassroots realities. What makes things worse is their visible arrogance of power, which they may deny but is an unpleasant reality of the ruling syndrome today.

   Had the Prime Minister drawn proper chart of pro and anti-FDI elements of all sides of the country’s political spectrum and made his moves accordingly, he would not have lost his face. It was simple arithmetic. The PM had tagged his personal prestige. He claimed that he was in communication with the ruling functionaries for quite some time. But looking at the fiasco, this claim does not stand the test of scrutiny. Perhaps Dr Singh was either over-confident or was suffering from the fatigue factor or preferred to be insensitive to the likes and dislikes of his allies and political opponents. This is not a good sign in a vibrant democracy such as ours .

   We do understand the PM’s compulsions. Whatever might be his public postures, we know that he no longer enjoys unquestioned support from his party bosses, even though, on paper, they were all for FDI. On the question of ushering in the second generation reforms, the UPA establishment has apparently not done its homework properly.

   Otherwise, it should have gone deep into the Chinese approach to the FDI issue. The Chinese government initiated the process as an experiment in two of its major cities – Beijing and Shanghai and expanded the FDI wings to other urban areas, drawing right lessons and applying correctives in operations wherever needed.

   Looking back, we believe that the UPA government should have set the FDI ball rolling first in the Congressruled states such as Delhi, Maharastra and Andhra Pradesh . In Mumbai and Pune, we have the regime of two known pro-FDI protagonists, the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. In fact, the ruling establishment there could have developed them as showpieces of Wallmart and Carrefort . These are all matters of basic understanding. Why should our economist-turned Prime Minister give the impression of lacking in basics in politics?

   Unfortunately, the FDI issue has got over-politicized simply because the ruling party and government functionaries did not play their cards well. Even Commerce Minister Anand Sharma was just goody-goody in his approach and did not reach out to his opponents and small traders in a professional manner by working out well-thought-out comprehensive economics of the FDI and its multi-dimensional benefits.

   The nation is vibrant. So are the Indian entrepreneurs and the middle class. Had the government intervened in right earnest in partnership with the private sector, they could have done a much better job than Wallmart in building infrastructure for cold storage and food processing for fruits and vegetables for the benefits of consumers as well as farmers. But the problem with the UPA government is that it undertakes even most critical matters in an ad-hoc manner without fresh thinking and confidence-building within. Instead of looking within, it looks overseas to bail it out of the inflation menace as well as for building infrastructure for food, agriculture and food processing.

   We are sorry the government has allowed a priority area to be missed because of its lopsided thinking and poor floor management in Parliament. We believe that the problem here is not of generation gaps but of credibility ones. Amidst new rising expectations, the people want honest and scam-free governance. The government would do well to be sensitive to its people.