Analysis
Virtuous or Vicious Cycle: It's Looting
and Selling India
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh usually does not use rhetorics in his speeches. But this time while addressing a full Planning Commission meeting he raises a big question. The Prime Minister asks people to make a choice between the Virtuous Cycle and the Vicious Cycle. The Logjam is to be removed. It is not very clear how the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will lead to a virtuous cycle.
It is a master stroke to bypass the corruption issue. Earlier the country was looted and now the country is being sold to the foreigners. This created a big uproar among the political parties and all those who are concerned about the growth momentum of economics in India. Some have seen in it an attempt to sell the country.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who feigns silence roars now on the need for introducing economic reforms which include FDI, and Foreign Institutional Investments(FII) to maintain the growth momentum and finance welfare measures. He stresses on cutting fiscal deficit and for rational pricing of energy. He does not want the policy logjam to continue and argues that growth could then easily collapse to about 5 per cent per year.
But is it a choice between two cycles or two circles: one virtuous and the other vicious?
There are many now arguing that, the choice is not between two cycles, but two circles - the vicious circles created by the UPA and its allies and Virtuous circles which is yet to be created by the non-Congress and non-BJP parties. The vicious circles in power have been engrossed in all sorts of corruptions, scams and scums. The UPA allies all give fake threats against Congress led coalition government at Centre.
After all the sound and fury, Mamata Banerjee during the recent Presidential election surrenders to Congress by giving the excuses of the welfare of the state. Now she has given an ultimatum on rolling back of Diesel price hike which is becoming a political issue each time rather than an economic issue. What alternative is there really, nobody knows. There are certain vague alternatives given such as bringing the black money to the country, or steps need to be taken against corruptions with no clear cut proposals and way out of the impasse.
The ouster of the government is necessary, but who will bell the cat? More necessary seems to be the formation of the third front which is still a myth with so many opportunists in the Opposition. A non-BJP, non- Congress coalition should emerge as the saviour. But there is no such possibility right at this moment with the Left coordinating agitation separately. Trinamool and the Samajvadi party, Janata (U) and the Bahujan Samaj Party are being vocal against the Congress led coalition, but they are not taking any real step so far. The diesel price hike escalates and the FDI in multi brand retail has been opened. The coordinated agitation by non-UPA parties against these should be culminating in the ouster of the government which leads the vicious circle. But with opportunist parties like Trinamool, Samajbadi party, Bahujan Samajbadi party, and Janata Dal (U), such agitation is really difficult to be organized.
BJP is more concerned not with the vicious and virtuous circles. It is going to face splits over the choice of Prime Ministerial candidate. What Manmohan Singh is doing is nothing but to close the employment opportunities of crores of Indians if once FDI in multi-brand retail is in. It will contribute further in increasing the problem of hunger in the country instead of solving the core problems. Besides the 72 hours ultimatum given by Mamata Banerjee, SP, along with a number of other non-UPA parties including BJP, have decided to hold coordinated agitational programmes on September 20 against these measures.
16-Sep-2012
More by :
Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee
Top | Analysis
