SHRI 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 Features)
*Senior
Freelance Writer
