Feb 6: There's this little trick to judging advertisement copy: don't read it, just hear it! If it sounds good, it's good -- never mind if it doesn't make any sense, or appears contradictory. Apply the same yardstick to the economic manifestos of the country's top political parties, and you begin to understand how they all manage to sound so similar, how they all seem to be unwavering in their determination to further economic reforms. And how, with a minor difference in emphasis -- like the BJP's ``foreign capital should not be encouraged in non-priority sectors'' -- they all have similar intent in most areas. The trick is the manner in which they've managed to gloss over the inconsistencies in their promises.The BJP, for instance, the original purveyor of ``swadeshi'' (the Congress, of course, says it has talked of swadeshi right since the time of the freedom movement), has promised to protect the Indian industry from foreign competition and to ``not encourage'' its takeover by foreigners. That'ssupposed to get the Indian industry all excited and happy -- at last, someone to help them remain inefficient and allow them to charge the hapless consumer prices far higher than those globally, for products far inferior.
But wait a minute. Is the BJP really promising to drive the foreign devils away, to increase import duties, and to ignore compulsions like those related to intellectual property rights and the like that are broadly clubbed under the head ``WTO issues''? And what's the difference between its stand and that of, say, the Congress on the issue of protection? Frankly, both parties are saying more or less the same thing on the matter and, no, neither is really committing itself to raising protective barriers.
The BJP, for instance, makes a big deal about how it will fight for the rights of industry, of farmers, and how these will not be surrendered, according to it, in the meek manner the Congress did when it negotiated in the Uruguay Round. And then, the party adds a rider: ``...but theobjective will be to protect the national economy and national interest like all nations do and not indulge in economic isolationism''. The Congress, similarly, promises that it will ``continue to fight for India's interests in world fora like the WTO. At the same time, it will honour all international commitments in a responsible manner.'' While this is being responsible, and is a good thing, the point is that they're both saying the same thing, only the emphasis is different. With the exception of the United Front (UF), which appears to be taking a very different stance on public sector units (PSUs), the difference between the Congress and BJP also appears minuscule on this front -- once you get over the ad hype, that is.
The Congress, for instance, has made much of its desire to give the Disinvestment Commission a statutory status. In other words, they will implement all its recommendations on selling certain PSUs, and closing down others. When the Congress released its manifesto and was questioned moreclosely, it chose to hem and haw on the matter. ``No, we won't close them down immediately, but we can't afford them either'', continues to be the party line.
Both the BJP and Congress talk of increased fiscal discipline and more government spending on infrastructure. How is the circle to be squared? By cutting ``wasteful'' or non-merit subsidies, say both. Given the poor track record that the Congress and UF have had so far in this area, it doesn't seem likely that even the BJP, if it comes to power, will have much better luck -- the party, in any case, wants the fertiliser subsidy to continue.
It is questions such as these that dogged the voter long before each party came out with its manifesto. Unfortunately, they're none the wiser, even after the manifestos have been released. The only consolation they do have is from a statement by former finance minister Manmohan Singh on why he thought the Congress would be able to give a push to reforms, especially since it failed to push them in its last twoyears in power. ``Hope springs eternal in the human breast,'' is what Singh said disarmingly.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
