Reform process, inflation key govt priority: Experts

Q: After the kind of cross-voting one saw yesterday, do you think there could be more bipartisan support sought, given the terms of bills like insurance? The Finance Minister said they would reach out to other parties who voted with the opposition on issues like higher foreign ownership of insurance companies. Do you think cross voting and bipartisan approach to issues could become common in the next six-months? Do you think that we will see some reforms through?

Varghese: I am sure the government will reach out to all sections of the house and country. That is the purpose of Parliamentary democracy, i.e. to be able to build and debate national consensus. The onus will be on those who oppose it to then face elections and say why are they standing in the way of reforms. It was all very well within the government to say we would pull you down, therefore don’t move. But with that obstacle removed, if the government now moves, the onus will be on the others to show why they are opposing reforms, when they say they want the government and the country to move forward.

If one is dealing with the price rise, it doesn’t mean one folds ones hands on everything else and just sits and waits for events. One acts simultaneously on a broad front.

Therefore, all this talk about concentrating on prices is absolutely meaningless and so is the total lack of understanding of both governance and economics.

Q: If you look at the political scenario 6-9 months down the line when an election would be on the anvil, do you think there is a distinct possibility of a Mayawati or BSP-led Third Front forming a government or will there be a hung Parliament? What does the scene look like nine months down the line?

Sharma: The 15th Lok Sabha is going to be a hugely atomized entity. A stable government formation is going to be a big challenge. The Third Front aspires to garner above100 seats after the next elections. If they do get above 100 seats, they would be major players in any combination. Political alienation or differences do not last in the face of an opportunity to grab power. At times, political parties do extend support from outside to other entities in order to curry favour with the electorate or certain sections of the society.

If Mayawati is a serious contender for being the next Prime Minister, the Congress will have great problems not supporting her, because Congress’ agenda number one is to regain its Dalit base. It cannot be doing that by opposing a possible first Prime Minister from that community.

Between now and the elections, both the BJP and the so-called Third Front- UNPA, which now also has the Left aligned with it, will try to bad mouth the Congress’ economic reforms. It is there that the government’s ability to reach out and explain to the people in simple terms about the benefits of the nuclear deal and the reforms process that it is initiating would of utmost importance.

Since the early 90s, there has been a great danger of reforms becoming a four-letter word, because the first generation economic reforms did not touch the people on the margins. This fact is accepted even by celebrated Chief Ministers like Chandrababu Naidu and SM Krishna. Naidu lately has been singing the Left’s tune. He is more in consort with the Left than the reform process. So, it is going to be a tightrope walk for the Prime Minister.