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Vajpayee's
five years in office
K
G Joglekar
The
last five years have been a period of challenges and assurances
for India and the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee. The
nation was able to weather the storms that rose at home and abroad
because of the determination of its people and the leadership of
Shri Vajpayee. This compliment may seem strange but one has to take
one’s mind back to 1998 when Shri Vajpayee assumed office. Three
governments at the Centre had been formed and had fallen in less
than two years. One of them headed by Shri Vajpayee had to resign in
just thirteen days because a political party switched its allegiance
at the last minute and in the second instance the government lost
the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha by one vote. Frequent
changes and the resultant instability created doubts in the minds of
the people about the very utility of democracy for the country. It
created doubts in other countries about any decisions that were
taken by the Indian government. Both were dangerous because they not
only hampered the march for the eradication of poverty and ignorance
but threatened the very fabric of the political system as well.
Functioning
The Government of
the National Democratic Alliance headed by Shri Vajpayee which came
to power in 1998 reversed this dangerous trend of instability. It
won the mandate of the people in the elections to the 13th Lok Sabha
in 1999. What was more, India began marching ahead because of the
ambitious programmes launched by the Government in all spheres of
the economy. It becomes difficult at times for a political period
which has a majority of its own to push through all the measures
that it wants. The task becomes Herculean when an Alliance which has
parties of diverse and sometimes divergent political ideologies is
in power. It is a tribute to Shri Vajpayee’s leadership that he
was able to keep his flock together. As the senior partner in the
Alliance, Shri Vajpayee’s Bharatiya Janata Party had to agree to
more adjustments than the others. Hardlines within his party have
often criticized him for giving up on some contentious issues. But
he has so far been able to convince them that like the other parties
the BJP has to honour the pledges given in the manifesto of the
Alliance.
He has had often to
compromise so as to reach a consensus and win the support of the
others for his views. It has, however, to be remembered that the
compromise has been on the degree of emphasis and the priority to be
given, in the form and not the substance. He has tried to give the
maximum concessions to win over the critics. He persuaded the
Finance Minister to give in to the demand of the farmers’ lobby
and not raise the prices of fertilizers. But it has to be remembered
that he has not allowed anyone to hold him to ransom. Whenever any
minister has threatened to resign on an issue and the Prime Minister
has found it difficult to agree to his demand, Shri Vajpayee has bid
him good bye with a smile on the face. What is more, though he has
not allowed such a person to stage a come back, he has kept the best
personal relations with him.
Style
To work towards a
consensus to the maximum extent possible and to meet the challenge
when a consensus is impossible has been the hallmark of his approach
not only with those in the Alliance but also those in the
opposition. It was because of the understanding reached with the
opposition parties that the two Houses of Parliament passed 42 bills
during the winter session. All of them have received the assent of
the President. The Government was able to bring forward several
pieces of legislation last year. Out of them 93 bills have been
passed. This is the highest number of pieces of legislation enacted
in a single year in the last 25 years and the third highest since
Independence. This number assumes significance when one remembers
that the work of legislatures in the country is often disturbed by
members who want to discuss other issues which they consider
important. Legislative work, therefore, gets derailed. Viewed in
this background, the progress of legislative work last year is
indeed remarkable. It was possible because of the rapport
established between the ruling Alliance and the Opposition. Even
when patently false allegations were made against him, Shri Vajpayee
rarely lost his cool and replied to the charges in a dignified
manner.
Traditionally,
India has had good relations with its neighbours. The only exception
is Pakistan. In a bid to normalize relations with it, Shri Vajpayee
undertook a bus journey to Lahore after taking over. He also had a
summit meeting with President Pervez Musharraf in Agra. But it was
soon clear that Pakistan was not interested in friendship with
India. Even when Shri Vajpayee was shaking hands with the then
Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Shareef, Gen Musharraf, then the
Army Chief, was planning a large scale incursion in the sensitive
Kargil area. He used the summit in Agra for a tirade against India.
This was understandable because President Musharraf has himself
confessed that no ruler of Pakistan can continue in office unless he
rakes up anti-India feelings by raising the Kashmir issue.
Successive Indian leaders have recognized this compulsion of the
Pakistani leadership. Rarely, therefore, have they replied in kind
to Pakistan’s vituperations. So has Shri Vajpayee. As he once
observed one can choose one’s friends but whether one likes it or
not one has to accept one’s neighbours. Hence, his effort to win
over Pakistan to the path of peace and friendship. He tolerated the
oral diatribe but it was impossible for him or for the people to
tolerate the incursion in Kargil intended to cut off Indian troops
in Ladakh. More important still, no one could tolerate the proxy war
that Pakistan has been waging against India, first in Punjab and now
in Kashmir.
This proxy war has
now been going on for more than 20 years. Pakistan has been
training, arming, equipping and financing terrorists for operations
against India. According to one estimate nearly 50,000 people –
innocent, men, women and children- have been killed by these
terrorists. It is ironic that most of them were Muslims who were
killed by men sent by a country which claims to be Islamic. India
has been trying to persuade Pakistan to stop this cross-border
terrorism but it has had no effect. The terrorists targeted centers
of India’s political authority like Parliament House in New Delhi,
and the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly building in
Srinagar. For a time, India ordered its armed forces to take up
positions on the forward line on the border with Pakistan and the
line of control in Jammu and Kashmir. The terrorists killed innocent
pilgrims in the Akshardham temple in Gandhi Nagar, Raghunath Mandir
in Jammu and innocent women and children sleeping in an army camp in
Kaluchak near Jammu. It became clear that Pakistan will not stop
sending the terrorists to India.
This forced India
to take up the stand that till Pakistan stopped this cross border
terrorism India will not take part in any talks with it. The Prime
Minister, Shri Vajpayee and other leaders have reiterated this
stand. This must have been a bitter pill to swallow for someone who
made every effort to win over Pakistan to the path of peace and
friendship but failed. President Musharraf has since confessed that
raking up the Kashmir issue and fanning the flames of hatred against
India were essential for any ruler who wanted to continue in power
in Pakistan.
Shri Vajpayee has
given expression to his disappointment that while the United States
talks about ending terrorism everywhere in the world, it does not
put enough pressure on Pakistan to end the cross border terrorism
against India. Washinton’s reaction to terrorism seems to be
selective – it is terrorism only when targets in the United States
or its embassies are hit. Otherwise, the US Government would rather
turn the blind eye to the menace of terrorism elsewhere.
Development
It is remarkable
that while the people of Jammu and Kashmir were fighting the menace
of terrorism, elections were held to the State Legislative Assembly
last October. By their active participation in the exercise, the
people of the State replied to the threat of the bullet fired by
Pakistan-trained terrorists with the power of the bullet. There have
been protests in many places against the terrorists for the their
wanton killing of innocent people. The Central Government is totally
committed to working closely with the present government in the
State, elected by the people to bring peace, normalcy and economic
development. The Prime Minister has announced projects and schemes
worth Rs. 6000 crore covering various spheres of development. The
thrust will be on providing employment opportunities to the youth,
relief to migrants affected by militancy and building the
infrastructure. When the State acceded to India in 1947, the railway
line stopped at Pathankot, 100 kms from Jammu. The railway line now
goes to Udharpur and beyond in Jammu province. A major project
costing Rs. 3500 crore is being implemented to extend the railway
line to Baramulla in South Kashmir. This will not only help in the
development of the area but also act as an integrating force with
the rest of the country. The first train is expected to roll into
Kashmir Valley before August 15, 2007.
Diplomacy
Since India was
fighting the menace of terrorism single handedly, it was only
natural for it to take a keen interest in the campaign to oust the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which had usurped the rights of the
people and tried to push the country back to the Middle Ages.
India’s interest was all the more great because the people of
Afghanistan have had great respect for Indian leaders and friendship
with its people. The approach was, however, low-key. India gave
Afghanistan whatever help it could in fighting the menace of Taliban
and continues to do so in its reconstruction.
The Gulf region is
of great importance to India. Much of the crude oil that India
imports comes from there. India and the countries in the region are
major partners in trade and investment. More than 35 lakh Indians
work in the Gulf countries. These countries may have differences
among themselves but all have friendly ties with India. It is,
therefore, only natural that India should be concerned about the
unhappy situation concerning Iraq. Iraq has been a staunch friend of
India but India cannot ignore the demands of truth. The Prime
Minister put the Indian viewpoint succinctly when he told Parliament
that whatever action was taken should be taken only under the
authority of the United Nations. Any action taken unilaterally by
any country will mean the end of the world body. He also stated that
no country can impose a government on another and if there has to be
a change of government it can be only according to the wishes of the
people.
Some members of
Parliament wanted that the Government should be more categorical and
the country threatening unilateral action should be named. They
forget two important facts. Firstly, India is not a member of the
Security Council and though it may be interested in the happenings
in the area so are many others. Secondly, India can only go thus far
in criticizing the world’s only super power. What India wants
about everything else is that there should be no war in the region.
A war in the Gulf area will push up the price of crude oil, affect
supplies, push up prices and once again throw the country back into
a recessionary trend from which it is emerging. War may also mean
lakhs of refugees fleeing back to the country as they did during the
Gulf War in the nineties. India, therefore, does not want a war.
The war in
Afghanistan, the threat posed by terrorism, and a severe drought in
14 States of the country cast a shadow on the Indian political and
economic scene during the last five years. Also in the background
was the persistent threat of a war in the Gulf region. There were
genuine fears that all these factors would affect the growth of the
Indian economy. Despite the general slowdown of the economy in most
countries, the financial year 2002-03, the last of the five year
period of Shri Vajpayee’s years in office, was a fairly good year
for India. India continued to be rated amongst the world’s
fast-growing economies. In the first nine months of the financial
year, India’s exports grew by more than 20 per cent to reach 38
billion US dollars, i.e. Rs. 181, 300 crore. The total revenues from
excise and customs rose by over 15 per cent during this period.
Inflation remained at a moderate level. India’s foreign exchange
reserves rose to 73 billion US dollars, i.e. Rs. 348, 429 crore.
Though the Centre had to release foodgrains for relief of the people
living in areas affected by the drought, the stocks of foodgrains
continued to be comfortable and prices continued to be relatively
stable.
Economy
After a period of
gloom in the first four years, there was a turnaround in the economy
last year. Though the country had to make contingency planning in
the event of a war in the Gulf, the picture was no longer as gloomy
as was once feared. This ray of hope is reflected in the Tenth Five
Year Plan approved by the National Development Council. The Plan
aims at achieving faster economic growth with a stronger thrust on
employment generation and equity. To the surprise of many, the Plan
document set a target of an annual rate of growth of 8 per cent in
the Gross Domestic Product during the Plan period. What is more
important, this growth rate is expected to generate five crore
employment and self-employment opportunities.
These targets are
certainly ambitious and sceptics have expressed doubts if they can
be achieved. But the Document argues the case for these ambitious
objectives by pointing out that unlike previous Plans, the Tenth
Five Year Plan is not merely a resources plan. It is a Reforms Plan.
The area of reforms in the economy is to be widened. State
Governments are to be given incentives to carry out reforms.
Non-financial barriers in the way of economic growth are to be
removed by carrying out reforms in the civil service, judiciary,
education but, above all, governance at all levels – the Centre,
the States and the Panchayati Raj institutions. This last area of
administration is of particular importance for the people living in
the countryside. The Plan document does not leave things vague. It
gives a detailed list of the legislative and administrative measures
needed for transforming the goals and targets into ground realities.
What is envisaged
is a total revolution of life at all levels and spheres-agriculture,
industry, education and power generation. National security is high
on the agenda and so is expansion and strengthening of the
infrastructure. In the first 50 years of Independence only 556 kms.
of four and six lane highways were constructed in India. At present,
five kilometres of such highways are being built every day. The
Golden Quadrilateral of world class highways to connect the four
metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai is
progressing ahead of schedule. Besides generating employment and
giving a boost to the country’s cement and steel industries, the
6000 kms of highways will also mean an annual saving of Rs. 8000
crore on fuel and vehicle maintenance costs. Side by side with the
development of roads, a Rail Vikas Yojana has been launched at a
cost of Rs. 15,000 crore to put the country’s premier transport
infrastructure on the fast track. The incredible growth of telecom
services in India has made the telephone an affordable tool of
empowerment for the common man.
What is the guiding
spirit behind the efforts of the last five years and the Tenth Five
Year Plan? In his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the
last Independence Day, the Prime Minister, had given a call to the
people to lift India from the ranks of developing countries to the
rank of a developed nation by the year 2020. It is a stupendous task
no doubt but the impressive achievements of the past, a proper
management but, above all the determination of a hundred crore
people will make it possible. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has said
that the concentration should be on two mantras: effective
implementation with people’s participation and effective
communication for people’s participation.
Vision
The years since
Independence have seen a steep rise in the population of India’s
cities. The population of the cities increased from 15.9 crore to
21.8 crore between 1981 and 1991, and has further increased since.
People from the villages rush to the cities in search of employment
and a better life. The cities are bursting at the seams and are not
able to provide basic amenities like houses, health, education,
drinking water, or electricity. Slums therefore grow in the cities
while villages are impoverished because of the flight of the youth,
particularly the educated and skilled youth to the cities. It was at
first believed that heavy industry would act as an engine of
development and lift the surrounding areas from poverty to
prosperity by promoting ancillary industry and other activity. This
has not happened to the extent that it should have. In most cases
the centers of heavy industry have become pockets of prosperity in a
sea of poverty. Disparities have increased, giving rise to social
tensions and despair. Successive Plans have tried to solve this
problem but have been only partially successful — the countryside
continues to be impoverished and the cities continue to grow into
large clusters of slums.
The problem has so
far defied solution. The answer lies in providing amenities
available in the cities to the villages as well where two-thirds of
the people live. Nearly 260 million people living there are mostly
below the poverty line and want to join the mainstream of national
life. They do not want doles or spoon –feeding. They are prepared
to work hard to lift themselves from poverty to prosperity. What is
needed is a mega mission for their empowerment. Pointing this out,
President Abdul Kalam said in his address to the joint session of
the two Houses of Parliament in February that the people living in
the villages need four critical connectivities. First, they want
good roads, transport services and quality power. Secondly, along
with this physical connectivity, the people in the villages should
have electronic connectivity. They should have reliable
communication facilities. Thirdly, most professional institutions
and vocational training centers should be opened in the countryside
so as to give them knowledge connectivity. Lastly, market
connectivity should help them to realize the best value for the
products and services of the people and provide them ever-growing
employment opportunities.
Vision 2020 is an
assertion of the confidence of the people of the country and so is
the 8 per cent annual growth in the Gross Democratic Product
envisaged in the Tenth Five Year Plan document. The determination of
the people can make the vision a reality. Both give a concrete shape
to the dream that Shri Vajpayee has in mind. (PIB
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