Rigid govt not good for 2nd gen reforms: Jairam Ramesh

It was a marriage of numbers and wit at the Times LitFest on Sunday as Congress leader and former union minister Jairam Ramesh shared the stage and his thoughts on economic reforms with Arun Maira, member of the erstwhile Planning Commission, and columnist Swaminathan Aiyar.
As the conversation veered towards the 1991 economic crisis and the deftness with which former PM PV Narasimha Rao ushered in transformation, handling politics democratically, Ramesh said an authoritarian regime isn’t good for the country looking at second generation reforms.
Taking Rao’s example, who held the industries portfolio and dismantled the Licence Raj in the face of external and internal pressure, Ramesh said political management is of utmost importance, especially now. “Working within a democratic framework, India has witnessed growth for over a decade. Although Rao started the reforms and subsequent governments followed him, small things need to be fi xed. Decentralisation will be a good road to travel.”
Ramesh was taking Aiyar’s argument further. He had suggested that CMs such as Nitish Kumar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Naveen Patnaik are responsible for the economic transformation in their states. “These CMs come to the Centre and urge decentralisation of power. But when it’s their turn to do that, they refuse. They should decentralise within their states. The outcome in education, food supply and water management will be good,” he said.
Maira echoed Ramesh’s sentiments. It’s good that Planning Commission was scrapped, he said. “…Putting in its place a charter for another institution was good.” He was referring to the NITI Aayog headed by the PM and has CMs as members of its governing council.
Comparing economic reforms in China and India and the debate between autocracy and democracy, Ramesh said Deng Xiaoping was a great reformer but Tiananmen Square and millions of lives that were sacrifi ced are still fresh on everybody’s mind. “China’s reforms started 14 years before India’s. The Chinese became aggressive on foreign trade. China is still the biggest exporter and importer. In India’s case, we want to be the biggest exporter but not the biggest importer. There is a popular saying: China is a closed society with an open mind and India is an open society with a closed mind.”