It’s Never Either/Or

What Singh’s frustrations tell us about governance

EVERY Manmohan Singh obit noted the following: his decency, role as a reformer, hidden political savvy and govt dysfunction in his second term as PM. What’s got very little press is his frustration – he spent most of UPA-2 (2009-2014) as a PM unable to work on what he saw as a priority: the faltering economy. A decade back, in 2014, in a commentary in TOI (‘History will be kind to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’), Swaminathan Aiyar had caught this frustration – it took a long time for Singh to convince Sonia, who was focused only on rights-based policies, that GDP growth mattered, and when she finally listened, it was too late. Added to this was a forest of new green regulations that stalled work on projects. Politics is different now. Modi as PM is a powerful boss, even in a coalition govt. But there are useful lessons to be still learnt from the good doctor’s frustrations.

First, politics is not about binaries – you can focus on welfare/rights activism and growth at the same time. And if you forget the latter, peril awaits. This can hardly be more relevant when every party is looking to devise a new cash transfer scheme and no party wants to talk up growth policies. Reforms, as today’s accompanying piece shows, have become a mantra devoid of meaning. Second, don’t pit growth/project work against environment. During UPA-2, projects stalled because of green rules. These days, mountains and hills are under threat because of project work. Ten years ago, govts were blind to this in a certain way, and now, they are blind to it in a different way. Third, remember, very few leaders, even those that start well, leave office on a high – Singh didn’t. When you still have time to change this outcome, don’t waste it on politics as usual. 

END OF ARTICLE