Congress decides that it will play it safe before the elections

 

 

NEW DELHI: As the Manmohan Singh government nears the halfway mark of its term, the Congress has sent out a strong, unequivocal message to put big ticket reforms on the slow burner in the run-up to the next general elections.

 

Measures that the Congress wants to put on hold include privatisation of profit-making PSUs, FDI in the retail sector and insurance, banking and pension fund reforms.

 

Over the past few weeks, the party has dusted out its economic introspection committee report of November 2000 and the economic resolution adopted at the AICC session in Bangalore in March 2001 to draw the line for the government.

 

Among other things, both documents stressed the "kisan and khet mazdoor first'' policy, opposed indiscriminate PSU disinvestment and criticised privatisation of the banking sector. A Congress leader, who wished to remain unidentified, pointed out, "Reforms are not just about FDI and privatisation.

 

They also mean providing people with better education, better healthcare and more employment. We are not for gung-ho reforms.''

 

The resurgence of this kind of sentiment can no longer be dismissed as Left rhetoric. What's making the government sit up and take note of the rumblings in the Congress is the fact that Sonia Gandhi has thrown her weight behind those pressing for a go-slow on some of the reforms being pursued.

 

The significance of her decision to call a Working Committee meeting on price rise has not been lost. Rarely have government leaders been subjected to the kind of grilling the PM and Finance Minister P Chidambaram faced for three hours that day from worried party leaders.

 

Party sources acknowledged that much of the concern over the government's economic policies is being driven by the fear of elections. The Congress is haunted by the prospect of meeting the same fate as the BJP whose reforms-based Shining India campaign came a cropper in the 2004 polls.

 

The other compulsion is to prevent the Left from dominating political discourse. Many in the Congress feel that the Left parties are running away with all public debate. They take credit for the "good'' decisions and wash their hands off the "bad'' ones. The Congress has decided to follow suit and prove that it too can run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.

 

There is a measure of satisfaction in the party that the PM at least seems to have responded to the signals emanating from 10, Janpath. His recent trip to rural Vidarbha is seen as an attempt for a mid-term correction to bring his profile in line with the party's pro-poor, pro-farmer image. "It's the Congressisation of Manmohan Singh,'' remarked one leader.

 

But the real targets of the party's ire are Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia who are seen as the drivers of Manmohanomics.  "They must understand that this is not a US presidential system. This is a parliamentary system and it's a coalition government. The party must be consulted and so must our partners,'' the leader said.

 

It seems some of the UPA partners agree with this. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has shot off two letters to the PM in protest against the proposed 10 per cent disinvestment in Neyveli Lignite Corporation. He has told Congress leaders that the decision was taken without keeping him in the picture.

 

 

There is a measure of satisfaction in the party that the PM at least seems to have responded to the signals emanating from 10, Janpath. His recent trip to rural Vidarbha is seen as an attempt for a mid-term correction to bring his profile in line with the party's pro-poor, pro-farmer image.