It146;s now or never

The sharply divergent views on disinvestment held at the highest levels of government, along with other unhappy developments like SP8217;s...

The sharply divergent views on disinvestment held at the highest levels of government, along with other unhappy developments like S038;P8217;s downward rating of the Indian economy, have dented the country8217;s image as a business destination considerably. It was, therefore, in the fitness of things that the prime minister set the record straight at the India-ASEAN Business Summit in Delhi on Thursday. He told his audience that, notwithstanding the process of debate and dialogue, of reconciling divergences before arriving at a consensus, which typically marks economic policy-making in a democratic dispensation, this country is committed to the process of liberalisation. Indeed, having set a growth target of 8 per cent for itself, India has no other option, he underlined.

The prime minister8217;s words come as a much required corrective at an important forum representing economically energetic Southeast Asian economies. Hopefully, he was successful in convincing his foreign audience. But that, really, is the easy part. The far more daunting task ahead of him is to carry his own party 8212; and the Sangh Parivar in general 8212; with him as his government attempts to put its money where its prime minister8217;s mouth is. This is easier said than done. Already a section of BJP leaders has begun to complain in right earnest about the party8217;s economic policies. They point to the rising price of petroleum products, the talk of a possible increase in cooking gas, a freeze in Dearness Allowance and howl that all these measures are hurting the interests of their core constituency, the middle class. It was an argument, remember, that got them to lay their hands on the union budget of 2002 and squeeze it out of shape, rendering it meaningless in the process.

What they forget is the responsibility their party, as the steward of the nation8217;s economy, to put it on track. This period, in fact, is vital for those hard, unpopular decisions. A little while later, with the 2004 general elections looming large on the horizon, even the ever-so-slight fiscal discipline that the NDA government displays today will vanish into the ether as the temptation to get into dole mode kicks in. As it is, this government has already acquired the odium for having presided over the slowest growing years in a decade. What it desperately needs to remember is that old slogan that helped win Bill Clinton his presidency: 8216;It8217;s the economy, stupid!8217; What India needs is to stick to past commitments 8212; as for instance its proposed disinvestments in the oil sector 8212; even as it explores new partnerships. Vajpayee, at the India-ASEAN meet, had suggested that the ASEAN and India 8216;work on a comprehensive economic partnership8217; that is mutually beneficial. Precisely. Now go get it.