After mandate, no more excuses for government’s non-performance: Parekh

Parekh suggested that the broad principles on which the Modi government should run are simplification of government processes, especially that of the tax structure.

Industry doyen Deepak Parekh has said with the massive electoral mandate there is no room for the incoming BJP-led government at the Centre not to perform. “No one can give any excuses any more,” he said in a conversation with The Indian Express.

He also said despite losing the electoral battle from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley can still become the finance minister in the NDA government. “I do not see any problem there, at all. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha.”

He said it was important to have men like Jaitley and Arun Shourie in the government to give a push to the economic agenda. “Narendra Modi is a strong leader so with his support they can do much better than what we have seen so far.”

The BJP leaders have so far given no indication of what will be the composition of the new Cabinet under Narendra Modi, expected to be sworn in next week.

The Indian economy has sputtered to its lowest growth level in the post reform year in FY14 at 4.7 per cent. With FY13 too recording a 5 per cent rate, the UPA-II government has recorded the lowest five year average in the past 22 years since India began large scale reforms in its economic policies, post 1991.

The HDFC chairman, who has advised the UPA and the previous NDA governments on a series of difficult economic policies including on infrastructure financing and that of gas pricing also said he saw no room for continuing with the Cabinet Committee on Investment set up as a last ditch measure by the former government of Manmohan Singh to revive investment in the economy.

“The Prime Minister’s Office has to become strong instead, which I am sure it will and yet retain an easy access for solving inter-ministerial disputes that are bound to emerge,” he said.

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Parekh suggested that the broad principles on which the Modi government should run are simplification of government processes, especially that of the tax structure. “We lag hugely on ease of doing business and that has to change very fast,” he noted.

The next set of must does for him are bringing in decisiveness in the working of the government, and instituting integrity with transparency in taking of decisions.

The Singh government was hobbled by its own environment ministry that stonewalled cabinet clearances. Currently to acquire a piece of land an entity needs at least 40 clearances, he said. “It is bound to lead to corruption and yet hardly any one talks about it. If these are sorted out, we will do much better as an economy,” he remarked.