While Indians don't mind the politicking as long as the poll campaign is on, following the election and the formation of a new Government, they want to see work done — not in television studios but in the corridors of power
In just over three weeks, we will know the results of the general election to the 16th lok Sabha. It appears likely that a coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party will win and that Mr Narendra Modi will, in all likelihood, be the 14th Prime Minister of India (or 15th if you wish to count Gulzarilal Nanda). Of course, elections are strange creatures and, following the stellar and unanticipated success of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha poll in December, the science of electoral predictions has taken a beating in India.
Whatever happens on May 16 and the weeks following the declaration of results, one thing is certain: India needs to get back to work. The past two years have been an incessant stream of loud and often politically obnoxious opinions on television, social media and occasionally even in Op-ed columns. To be fair, every party is guilty of indulging in muck-raking.
But there is a sense now that while Indians want a stable Government and don’t mind the politicking as long as the campaign is on, following the election and the formation of a Government, they want to see work done — not in television studios but in the corridors of power.
For far too long, policy-making in India has been in a state of paralysis. While the Congress-led Government managed to pass some pet Bills of the Gandhi family, several other important Bills, some pending through the life of this Government, such as the Bill to protect the interests of disabled people and amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, have lapsed. Several media reports have shown that the 15th lok Sabha, which oddly lasted its full-term, has been a disaster in terms of law-making.
If the next Government is to succeed, it has to ensure that these ‘non-flagship’ Bills get passed. These are the small Bills that can make a big difference to people’s lives. The amended Motor Vehicles Act can dramatically improve the abysmal nature of road-safety in the country. What was worse about the 15th lok Sabha was that so many critical Bills were passed without discussion. So, when some described the Houses of Parliament as a giant ‘Country Club’, finding arguments to disagree became increasingly tough.
There have been a slew of massive tax cases in the higher courts of India. Foreign investors have become despondent at the lack of reforms in India. Nobody doubts the potential of the Indian markets or the economy in general, but without a clear direction on the taxation or on the policy front, investing in India has come to a near standstill.
Police and judicial reforms are long overdue. Your columnist has long argued for these reforms. There are arguments for and against the death penalty, but to keep people on death row for decades, with the Government sitting on mercy petitions for years, is nothing but a monumental example of procrastination. Delays in the Indian judicial system have become so endemic that threats of filing a case are made because people know the labyrinthine process of Indian law. The old adage, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’, must have been written after two-decade-long real-estate cases in India. This is, in a way, attacking the over-burdened judicial system in India, but even our learned justices will possible agree that a drastic overhaul of the system is urgently needed.
However, it will be difficult for a future Government to manage expectations, particularly for a BJP-led regime. Through a clever series of advertisements and slogans, the BJP has whetted the appetite, particularly of the younger, first-time voting Indians. This is a class of people that wants rapid change, because these people want to climb up the social ladder. This is the same sense across the country. These are boys who want to afford the latest and best mobile phones and motorcycles; and girls who want safe places to work and travel and the latest brands in stores.
Across the length and breadth of India, people appreciate the work done by the Vajpayee-led Government which propelled India’s development process. The BJP has promised rapid development of a high-speed rail ‘Diamond Quadrilateral’ which, much like what the ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ did for roadways, can kickstart an ambitious modernisation of India’s creaking railway system.
But India has been adding infrastructure, maybe not at the pace it should, but there is no denying that progress has been made in the past decade. However, where the new Government ought to focus its energies on are in areas such as water, food and energy independence. India is facing down the barrel of a serious water, and thus, agrarian crisis, thanks to rampant water-mining and wastage, particularly in north Indian States. Some States, including Gujarat, have found novel and affordable solutions to the crisis.
The same applies to food — driving down major highways one now sees massive development of cold storages, mainly in northern and western India. But the fact remains that cold-chains in India have a long way to go. Food is still rotting in Government godowns and grains meant for the poor are often sold in the black market. Best practices, such as the model of distribution from Chhattisgarh, can be replicated across the country.
These are small examples, and the BJP as well as some other parties have said that they will enhance the federal structure of the country. Best practices should be shared between States. But these are just examples of the work that remains to be done.
It is not going to be easy and the effects will not come through overnight. It will take time to undo the years of non-governance. Unfortunately, we do live in a time of instant gratification, and this is something the next Government will have to take into account. Impatient youth will not be satisfied by the refrain of “ho jayega” (it will get done); they want progress and development now.
And, again, there is little chance that any development will come from the television studios.