As the Modi government completes a year in office, former FM P Chidambaram tells TOI’s Sagarika Ghose that almost every scheme of the government is a continuation of UPA policies.
Does the Congress charge of a suit boot ki sarkar stick against the BJP government?
You have misunderstood the context in which “suit boot sarkar” was used. As I understand it, it is a shorthand way of saying this government has been pro-corporate rather than pro-farmer or pro-poor or pro-working class. Corporate (groups) got a big break when the FM announced he will cut corporate tax rate by 1% or 1.25% every year over four years. That’s a bonanza of almost Rs 2 lakh crore. That is a good example of a big announcement which is pro-corporate.
Observers say the crony capitalism charge sticks more to the Congress than BJP.
You cannot compare one year of a government with a party that has been in government for 50-odd years. In the 5 years of Vajpayee there was a charge of crony capitalism, that a family member was promoting the interests of some corporate (groups). These charges are easy to make, how many have stuck is the question.
Spectrum has been allocated since 1993 on first-come-first-served (FCFS) basis. The first licences given in 1993 expired in 2013. In that period there were five governments, including Vajpayee’s, which allocated spectrum on a FCFS basis. I am not justifying that. All I am saying is that this was not peculiar to the Congress.
There are serious charges of favouritism against UPA 2.
That is a charge made in respect of one minister. There is no general charge. The only spectrum allocations set aside are those made in 2008, not those made before or after.
The coal Act came into force in 1954. Under Section 5 read with Section 11 of the Act, coal has been allocated on a FCFS basis since 1954. There have been many governments since then, all of them allocated on that basis.
When Supreme Court declared FCFS was wrong, we went to spectrum auction. The first spectrum auctions were done by the UPA. When the SC declared coal allocation wrong, we switched to auction. The first coal auctions were done by the NDA government.
The Congress says BJP’s government is pro-rich. What about pro-poor programmes like Jan Dhan?
Jan Dhan is not new. It is a continuation of the financial inclusion programme started when Dr Rangarajan was RBI governor. The government does not have the grace to admit that up to March 31, 2014, the previous government opened 24 crore accounts. The present government has now opened 14 crore accounts. You must gracefully acknowledge the work done earlier.
The economy is doing well with a 7.3% growth.
I predicted this. When we handed over the economy to the NDA it was growing at 6.9%. I said even if the government did nothing, the economy was bound to grow further because of the momentum of 2013-14.
Has the government stabilized the economy?
Stability came into the economy in 2013-14. We handed over a stable, growing economy. Who blocked the Insurance Bill — the BJP. So who should get credit? Those who opposed it and passed it or those who wanted it to be passed and passed it? The Insurance Bill is our Bill.
Isn’t this government’s legislative record better than yours?
That’s because it has a more cooperative opposition. The BJP indulged in mindless obstructionism.
Isn’t Niti Aayog a new idea?
It’s a good idea. I welcomed it. But it was not thought through before it was implemented. The result is a half-baked Niti Aayog without the full complement of members, without objectives and without work.
What would you have done in these 12 months that FM Jaitley has not done?
With 282 (Lok Sabha members), I would have pushed the legislative agenda faster and further. I would have brought the Direct Taxes Code, pushed the legislative parts of the FSLRC (Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission) recommendations and enacted a law for a Public Debt Management Agency.
Hasn’t Modi brought a great deal of dynamism to the Prime Minister’s office?
He’s using various instruments of government to publicize what he’s doing.
Would you concede that big ticket corruption is not there in this government?
There was no corruption charge in the first year of UPA, neither in 2005-’06 nor in ’06-’07.
The government says many Congress CMs want amendments in the Land Bill, yet in Parliament you block it.
The CMs can amend it in their own legislatures, it’s a concurrent subject. If a CM wants changes in the law he can do that in his own legislature.
The Land Bill has not been given a fair trial. They amended the Bill by ordinance. The law in force today is the Ordinance-amended Bill. How many cases have they pushed through after the amendment? None.
Implement the law, give it a fair trial and after a year or two, if you find there are problems you can always revisit the law. What was the hurry that a Bill passed in November 2013 should be amended in July-August 2014?
Will you continue opposing GST?
We are not opposing GST. When I was finance minister I announced GST. I pushed the GST. The BJP opposed it. They have introduced eight amendments to the Bill, we are asking for eight weeks to study the amendments.
One of the eight amendments allows a state government to impose an additional 1% tax on any goods passing through that state. This means if goods pass through from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu, four states will each impose 1%. Arvind Subramanian, government’s Chief Economic Advisor, has strongly criticized that provision. What’s wrong if Parliament wants to study that amendment which the CEA himself is criticizing?
You were quoted saying that a non-Nehru Gandhi could become Congress president.
I said non-Nehru Gandhis have been president in the past and non-Nehru Gandhis may be president in the future. Look at Narasimha Rao, Sitaram Kesri. In the future who knows what will happen.
Is it time for a generational change in the Congress?
Absolutely. Younger people must take over and older people must step aside.
Should Rahul take over right away?
That’s a choice he has to make. If it’s left to a vote in the AICC, there would be an overwhelming vote for him to take over.
Do you see yourself returning to fulltime politics?
I am in fulltime politics. I am talking to you as a fulltime politician.
