Some exaggeration, some sense, in its advice
On the face of it, the warning to the Union Government by Moody's Analytics that “Modi must keep his members in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility”, sounds sensible. However, the issue is whether global rating or analytical agencies should consider stray incidents of crime or irresponsible utterances by public figures, whatever the motivation, as proof of rise of “ethnic tensions” — as Moody's puts its — in the country. Clearly, the answer is, “no”. There is nothing to suggest either in the official statements of the Government or its actions that it is a party to the so-called rise in intolerance. On the contrary, senior Ministers and party functionaries have strongly denounced such behaviour and even pulled up the culprits. In any case, a few unfortunate happenings here and there do not constitute an orchestrated design to foist intolerance over opinions contrary to that of the Government in power. Not just Moody's, but also other international organisations should appreciate this fine point. It is important for them to understand, because what they opine is treated with respect and credibility among global investors and image-managers. They should be careful not to make sweeping remarks. It does appear that Moody's Analytics has been unduly influenced by the slew of protests conducted by a handful of people in the fields of art, literature and science, who, for various by unjust reasons, have been spreading the canard that the Modi regime has vehemently turned against those who do not subscribe to its ideology. People in India understand the ground reality, which is why the protests, which include the return of awards and cash prizes etc, have been taken with a pinch of salt by the vast majority of masses — many of whom had not even heard of these eminent personalities, or care little about their petty form of protest.
However, this does not mean that the Government should ignore the larger message in Moody's advice, which is that the regime must hasten the process of economic reforms. It is a fact that key legislations such as the land acquisition Bill and the Goods and Services Tax Bill have been lying in limbo, primarily thanks to the obstinacy of the Congress and the tendency of a few other parties to play the spoiler even at the cost of national interest. The first is dead at least in the form the Modi Government presented it before Parliament, and it is now for the States to frame acquisition laws of their liking. The GST Bill still has chances of seeing the light of the day. It can only be hoped that the Opposition sees reason and cooperates with the Government in the Winter Session of Parliament to usher in the GST regime at least by mid-2016, which will change positively the way business is done in the country and add to GDP growth. Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Finance must continue with its incremental but critical measures to further promote business environment in the country, and boost both development and employment.