<div><em><strong>Suman K Jha</strong> points out that the BJP’s inability to take along its own allies, leave alone the Opposition, has been its bane</em></div><div> </div><div>The advent of Narendra Modi on the national scene was met with huge expectations. This is agreed upon by the entire political class, including the Congress. And even the non-Congress opposition doesn’t doubt the sincerity of the Modi government towards its avowed developmental goals. Biju Janata Dal’s party leader in Lok Sabha B Mahtab tells Businessworld: “Sincerity of this government is not in doubt like the previous government’s; it’s (mostly) external factors responsible (that are responsible for the non-delivery of electoral promises, including the economic ones”).</div><div> </div><div>The ruling BJP and its allies are united in their firm belief that while the government is making all attempts to fulfil all its economic promises, it’s the Congress that is creating roadblocks.</div><div> </div><div>Asked what has changed since the Modi government assumed power, BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Naresh Gujral says, “There’ve been no corruption cases (against the Modi government ministers). The ministers are working 12-14 hours a day. Ministers are not allowed foreign jaunts.”</div><div> </div><div>That PM Modi has instilled a new work ethic among the ministers and even hard-to-change bureaucracy is widely acknowledged. Officials are at work on time. Stories do the rounds in the corridors of the Capital about how senior IAS officials find it difficult to keep pace with some of the younger ministers in the Cabinet, as a result of which some have even opted for “easier postings”. A senior IAS officer says that it was only in this government that he had to stay back in office, often till midnight, at Delhi’s Shram Shakti Bhawan, power, Coal and new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal’s office.</div><div> </div><div>A Secretary in the Union Government tells that under Modi, there is “a new sense of purpose and urgency in the bureaucracy”.</div><div> </div><div>Asked to list the positives under the Modi government in the last 15 months, SAD’s Gujral says: “The government is trying to get passed the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, which is the single-most important economic reforms measure after the 1991 opening of Indian economy”.</div><div> </div><div>On the ease of doing business, he says, the Government is reviewing the Companies Act passed by the Congress government which made it virtually impossible to do business. “Tax rates are being lowered like in South Asian economies. Coal-based power plants have coal reserves of 20-25 days, unlike the UPA days where the reserves used to be in the range of one day to one week”.</div><div> </div><div>Mahtab says that “Under Modi government some positive steps have been taken to check parallel economy. Some other announcements like the one on Mudra Bank have been good too.”</div><div> </div><div>When asked what has changed under the Modi government, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy says that one big change is that institutions have been performing their role well under the Modi government. “The well-networked people, who were in power for 60 years are feeling restless. But we will see a robust economic framework in very near future,” he says.</div><div> </div><div>Not everything is hunky-dory though, even for the BJP and its allies.</div><div> </div><div>A senior BJP leader requesting anonymity tells Businessworld that the land Acquisition Bill has been the biggest embarrassment for the government.</div><div> </div><div>Among the negatives, Mahtab says that while no one is casting any doubt over the sincerity of the government, nothing has been done on the delivery front. </div><div> </div><div>“Manufacturing is yet to take off; employment is on the downslide; and investment is not coming,” he says.</div><div> </div><div>The Congress, as also the Left, however, feel that under the Modi government, the government-Opposition ties have definitely taken a turn for the worse. “Union Ministers are competing with each other in berating the Opposition. There’s no constructive engagement at all. The government should keep in mind that it could pass key legislations like the ones on insurance, coal mines and mines & minerals only due to active cooperation of the Congress,” says the deputy leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma.</div><div> </div><div>The BJP’s inability to take along its own allies, leave alone the Opposition, has been castigated by the Shiv Sena, with the party leader Sanjay Raut saying that BJP, under a new government, has been avoiding alliance meetings, as a result of which even the floor management takes a hit. </div><div><div> </div><div><strong>Modi’s Reforms In A Logjam; Read Businessworld magazine 24 September Edition</strong></div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>
