Jayalalitha speaks

Strange as it might sound coming from Jayalalitha, what she says about putting petty politics aside and concentrating on salvaging the ec...

Strange as it might sound coming from Jayalalitha, what she says about putting petty politics aside and concentrating on salvaging the economy is quite right. Her appeal is mainly addressed to the Congress and the BJP but applies to the whole political establishment. It echoes what many in the country have felt for a long time. Whether one believes the economy is heading for a crisis or is already in the midst of one, everyone agrees that 8220;political bickering8221; and 8220;scoring political points8221;, to use Jayalalitha8217;s phrases, make problems worse than they need be. One would hope that having acknowledged this, the AIADMK chief whose manoeuvres have rocked the boat several times in the last nine months, will herself do what is necessary to ensure stability at the Centre. Political sobriety in all quarters will do more immediate good to the economy than a special parliamentary debate on the economic crisis which Jayalalitha calls for. She is correct to ask for economic recovery measures in advance of the budgetsession. However, the credibility of her high-minded call for action can be improved by spelling out policies and legislation her party supports and assiduous work within the coalition8217;s coordination committee. It was the AIADMK, after all, that battered the power regulatory Bill.

Merely debating the crisis in a special session will mean little beyond giving everyone an opportunity to score points. Political party positions on this or that reform Bill or measure are no mystery. It is imperative for the economy8217;s sake that differences be resolved and a consensus fashioned. But who is going to take the initiative and set aside partisan interests when a mid-term poll is in the air? On its part, the BJP gives the impression of wanting to go ahead with reform despite serious opposition within its ranks. At the same time, it is arguable that the three major Bills one political, two economic it chose to concentrate on during the winter session, have not achieved much apart from helping to accentuate fundamentaldifferences between parties which were talking eagerly after the November polls of forming a non-BJP coalition. If that was, in fact, the BJP8217;s intention it could not have found a better way of showing up the unbridgeable divide between the Congress and Mandal parties in a political context and between the Congress and the Left on economic issues.

A plethora of committees and sub-committees is proposing or about to pronounce on economic rescue and reform measures. In that the prime minister will get broad-based and expert counsel, this is an excellent development. However, one cannot get away from the uneasy thought that in some areas at least government decisions are driven by many other considerations such as boosting core sectors or improving market psychology or refurbishing its reform image. For example, even as several panels concentrate on roads, ports, power and telecom, the government jumps the gun by announcing a Rs 50,000 crore plan for roadways. Will it all hang together in the end or are theyworking at cross purposes?