Doctor146;s savvy

Meetings with representatives of industry catch Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his most persuasive. In the presence of men and women impat...

Meetings with representatives of industry catch Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his most persuasive. In the presence of men and women impatient with the thickets of political rhetoric around economic policy, he visibly relaxes. He arranges economic indicators and policy imperatives into a compelling programme for reform. It affirms 8212; as it did, for instance, during an address at the New York Stock Exchange last September 8212; his engagement with emerging challenges. It also, however, often leaves him open to the charge that the good doctor is a nuts-and-bolts technocrat, that he may not have the political guile to work economic policy into a viable agenda for governance, to gather diverse coalition parties into a partnership for wide-ranging reform. This tidy assessment of Manmohan Singh as the apolitical keeper of clean, investor-friendly governance may, alas, already be a bit anachronistic.

An on-the-job transformation is evident. It can be seen, most assertively, in his statement at a CII summit in Kolkata this week. In a call to industry and government to 8220;think big8221; and 8220;think boldly8221; to confirm India8217;s place in an arc of prosperity across Asia, Manmohan Singh has drafted a vision plan for both economist and politician. In correlating their concerns and interests, he has, moreover, broad-based the constituency for growth and reform. He has made common cause with a perceived ideological foe. For proof of India8217;s viability as a recipient of lavish infusion of foreign direct investment, he said, look at the Left Front8217;s West Bengal. For proof of New Delhi8217;s resolve to harness the benefits of globalisation and modernisation, look at Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee8217;s Kolkata. Look at both, he said, for India8217;s thirst for growth with equity and social justice.

Such profuse praise for the West Bengal chief minister is, of course, justified. During his chief ministership he has tempered the communist parties8217; ideological posturing with nuanced and substantive efforts to spur economic growth and create opportunities. More than one business leader has vouched for the advantages of working with his government. All the same, putting Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the centre of India8217;s engagement with the world economy is not just a statement of fact. It is a shrewd attempt by the prime minister to reach out to reform sceptics 8212; among them, Buddhadeb8217;s comrades in Parliament as well as assorted chief ministers too lazy to craft economic reform into an electorally resonant platform. Manmohan Singh may have just presented his political credentials.