The prime minister, IK Gujral was being less than fair to beleaguered tea estate managers in Assam when he assailed the out-going president of Assocham, HL Somany for being too concerned about the impact of militancy on corporate performance. For so many years now, the tea industry in the north eastern state is being held to ransom by militant outfits.

While ideally no corporate should surrender to demands for protection money, when the state government has consistently failed to protect business interests, making a deal with the ultras has become quite unavoidable. This is the scenario and it is wrong for any lawful government, whether it be of the centre or the states, to demand of corporate managements a sacrifice of their essential business interests. The tea industry, or for that matter any industry, would be serving the national interests better if it takes care of its business performance. For industry, the interests of the nation are largely identified with a good track record on its part.

As one heading a coalition government, Gujral, no doubt, has to live in peace with all partners. But, that is, strictly speaking, a personal interest and not one which can be claimed to be that of the nation. The Mahanta government in Assam has failed to offer any protection to the tea industry and cannot legitimately ask the estates to eschew deals with the extremists. The ruling party in the state is a constituent of the United Front, but that can be no justification for the centre to endorse its total inaction in respect of the threat posed by militant organisations. In 1989, a tea company executive could be airlifted to Calcutta only after the VP Singh government fell at the centre. That was an indictment of the former prime minister's policy of appeasement towards the AGP government in Assam headed by Mahanta. Now, Gujral's statement at the Assocham AGM on October 29 was virtually a reiteration of the same policy. Clearly, for the ruling coalition at the centre keeping the ranks closed is what only matters. This explained why the West Bengal chief minister, Jyoti Basu, earlier paid a visit to Assam and made it a point to express solidarity with Mahanta on the latter's policy of harassment of a particular tea company. This is not the best agenda for industrial development. With or without reform, the least that industrial units would want of a government is freedom from militancy. Now, they are told that this is not their fundamental right.