The future of millions cannot be held hostage to political one-upmanship
Amid the doom and gloom prognosis on the economy from the Opposition and simpatico elements of the academic-activist-media complex, comes news that Stanley Morgan has in a new report on India not only shaved off a few years for the target date when the country would become the world's third-largest economy in the world, but has affirmed that its prediction is premised on the boost provided to the economy by the introduction of GST and digitisation by the Modi Government. 2027 will be the magic year for India, the research wing of the leading global financial services and wealth management firm has stated, emphasising that the country was on the path to long-term growth and that the demographic dividend would come into play as tax reform and digitization would accelerate expansion. Hopefully, even the Government's most vociferous opponents will not accuse Stanley Morgan of being a Sangh outfit!
There is a reason why Union finance minister Arun Jaitley's has been asserting at every forum, most recently in Washington on Sunday, that India has carried out key structural reforms such as demonetisation and GST at the right time — when the growth rate was high - and as a result the economy is set for a higher trajectory and a faster pace. While it is understandable that the Congress-led Opposition would try and talk up and capitalise on the teething troubles with GST and the resistance in certain quarters to the digitisation drive including demonetisation, what is surprising is that some among those who ought to be applauding the Government showing signs of moderating the instinctive populism that ruling regimes take recourse to regardless of political colour in light of electoral compulsions are reacting in a lukewarm manner. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at an election rally in poll-bound Gujarat, felt it necessary to remind the Congress that it was an “equal partner” in GST and it was disingenuous of its leaders to now criticise the most seminal tax reform of the past 50 years. As an aside, simultaneous elections to the lok Sabha and State Assemblies must be made mandatory as soon as the Election Commission thinks it is viable logistically if for nothing else then to insulate economic decision-making from politics. Politicians may only care about their own electoral survival, and we have no complaints with that, but the future prosperity of millions of Indians who need to be lifted out of poverty and millions of others whose quality of life will be immeasurably enhanced by faster economic growth cannot be held hostage. Therein lies the rub.