lamenting the all-round gloomy scenario prevailing in the country, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that while everybody is concerned about the fiscal deficit, there seems to be a “deficit” in every sphere and even pointed out that the country lacks direction, dedication and determination.
Modi, who was addressing the ‘India Economic Convention 2014’ convened by India Foundation, launched a scathing attack on the UPA Government by saying that the need of the hour was the concept of ‘trusteeship’ which was propounded by the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. According to this concept, those in power are trustees, not owners of public funds.
Under the UPA Government’s tenure since 2004, the country has gone back by ten years, Modi said, adding that when the NDA Government under the stewardship of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, the country grew at the rate of 8.4 per cent. “The UPA Government has brought the growth rate down to 4.8 per cent and we will have to start from scratch,” he quipped.
“People talk about fiscal deficit, but if we look at the current scenario, there is deficit everywhere. There is deficit in governance, deficit in trust, even moral deficit and also a deficit in facilitating an encouraging business environment,” Modi said in his 75-minute long speech. Taking a barb at Finance Minister P Chidambaram who while commenting on the Gujarat Chief Minister’s economic knowledge had recently said that his (Modi’s) knowledge could be accommodated on the back of a postage stamp, Modi said, “my knowledge about finance and economy will not occupy even a postage stamp. My whole knowledge can be confined to one word, and that is trustee.”
Admitting that he lacks the knowledge confined in books, Modi said he can always hire those who are well-versed in economic issues. Hinting at the oft-repeated epithet of policy paralysis which is often associated with the Congress-led UPA Government, Modi said that even a municipal corporation takes more decisions than the Centre. Highlighting the need for a holistic approach in governance, the BJP leader said that all the key sectors need to be harmonised and more significantly the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers need to function as one entity in order to take the nation forward on the path of progress.
“There is a need to come out of a deficit environment. We need direction, determination and dedication... We need good governance. Bad governance is like diabetes which invites all kinds of ailments,” he added. Referring to specific issues, Modi said that he would attempt to focus equally on the three pillars of growth - manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors, and try to bridge the gap between rich and poor to make development more inclusive. Modi said economic growth should be inclusive, speedy and yet sustainable.
He said the development agenda should be “respectful to individuals, responsive to innovation and responsible towards future generations” and Governments should work towards improving standards of living and providing social justice. Referring to the plethora of laws, Modi said the need of the hour was to do way with the “jungle of laws”. In an apparent indication to the BJP’s election manifesto, Modi said a political party’s manifesto should also talk about the number of laws that would be taken off the books. On energy security, Modi said nature has been kind to India and it should exploit its solar, wind and hydro power availability. Replying to a question related to regulatory issues, he said financial decisions should be based on commercial considerations and not on political concerns.
On the issue of attracting Foreign Direct Investment, Modi said that in India even the human resource development sector presents a huge opportunity for foreign investment. He said it is the responsibility of the Government to remove hurdles and create an environment for foreign investments. Modi further said India’s foreign missions should now focus more on trade and commerce to increase exports and reduce dependence on imports. “...Whole of our system needs to be given a new direction because we cannot remain disconnected with world. We have to make a strong footing in the changing global paradigm,” he emphasised, adding that India’s advantages are democracy, demography and demand.
Modi further said there was a need to get into mission mode to remove poverty from the country while stressing on giving “dignity” to even the poorest workers as everybody has aspirations.