If every opinion poll says the Congress and allies will do badly in forthcoming elections, the reasons are both numerous and obvious: sustained high inflation, the economic slowdown, macroeconomic mismanagement that has risked instability through a sovereign downgrade, and scandals to suit every pocket. Crazy tax and other rules have frightened away foreigners and Indian investors alike, while the failure to undertake serious reform has been scandalous. Adding insult to injury are counterproductive new laws such as on land acquisition, because of the scope it provides for delays and rent-seeking. Before that there was the law on the right toeducation, including as it did regressive provisions that discourage if not disable private educational establishments. Also, there is the widespread perception of a power vacuum at the heart of the government, and that strings are pulled by the party boss or bosses. The result is an undeniable diminution of the office of the prime minister – which is not just a subject of much tut-tutting and head-shaking but also a potentially dangerous development. There is, finally, a suspicion that, deep within the bowels of this government, lies extreme cynicism – about corruption, about craven crony capitalism, about buying votes at the cost of economic progress, about doing and saying whatever it takes to get past the day’s angry headlines. Millions, therefore, will look back on this period with not just disappointment but perhaps even anger.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 15:36:04 +0000
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