KN Govindacharya is not given to making statements merely
for effect. Expect plain-speaking from the 71-year-old former RSS pracharak and
former BJP ideologue, especially when the issues at hand are something he feels
strongly about — the rise and rise of Amit Shah, the pitfalls of being a
Narendra Modi or the degeneration of the BJP into an electoral machine. In an
interview to RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN, he also says that the prime minister must be
seen to act on black money and that the next Union Budget will be the best
indicator yet of the thought process of the NDA government. Edited excerpts from an interview :
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'The Modi government needs to be much more forthcoming as far as actions are concerned. Just fond wishes won’t do. Just exclamations won’t suffice'
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'Mukesh Ambani patting Prime Minister Modi does not go down well with the cadres. The self-respect of the cadres is hurt'
It is nearly six months since Narendra Modi was sworn in as
prime minister. How do you view his performance?
After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi has
proved himself to be the most hardworking prime minister. He is also the most
proactive. He has exhibited these two qualities. However, he has yet to learn
the ropes of governance at the Centre. Now he is facing the arduous task of taming
and then steering the bureaucracy because the whole structure, in spirit, is
status-quoist, inert, corrupt and insensitive. Right from the peons to the
secretary-level officials, passing-the-buck has been the greatest surviving
strength of government employees. So, indecisiveness is another characteristic
of the bureaucracy. As far as out-of-the-box thinking or breakthrough thinking
is concerned, it is a far, far dream. So, now, Modi is facing this aspect of
governance. It will be interesting to see how he fares in this context.
Similarly, you cannot differentiate between the two
personalities of Modi and Amit Shah (BJP president) or, for that matter,
between the party and the government. All rolled into one is the present
picture. And it will continue to be so because Shah will not be seen as having
any separate identity of his own. He will be just a shadow. He is yet to make a
mark. So, with these things, naturally, there is always a liability or
vulnerability of the emergence of several Dev Kant Barooahs. (Barooah was a
former Congress president who famously said, “India is Indira. Indira is
India.”) Only one was sufficient to damage the reputation. Here, that will
become the way of working or the order of the day. So, it will be interesting
to see how all these aspects are tackled.
What do you make of Prime Minister Modi’s pro-business image
and some of the recent pronouncements by his government, particularly on issues
such as black money?
Without imputing motives, I feel that the government needs
to be much more forthcoming as far as actions are concerned. Just fond wishes
won’t do. Just exclamations won’t suffice, but they have to be in unison with
the action also. As Murli Manohar Joshi has also recently said (about politics
and corporates), and I agree with him, a (Reliance Industries chairman) Mukesh
Ambani patting Prime Minister Modi does not go down well with the cadres. The
self-respect of the cadres is hurt. Because in this party, Nanaji Deshmukh (a
founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh) used to have the best of relations with
the industrialists but none of them could get into so much proximity and they
were not given even the primary membership anywhere. But in the past 20 years,
corporate houses have won Rajya Sabha seats also for some of their officials or
ex-officials. So this nexus of political power and money power will definitely
influence the formulation of policies also. It will be difficult for the
political parties to strike a different line or mode that will be injurious or
harmful to the interests of the corporates. So the people running the
government must be aware of it and they should take precautions about it. That
is why Modi was categorical that black money (“ek ek pai”; Hindi for every
penny) will be brought back because that is the money of the poor. But, you
see, this cannot match with his hobnobbing with the corporate sector.
Some view Modi as being autocratic. How would you describe
his style of governance?
Modi has been working very smartly, so to say; he is an
extraordinary performer when it comes to image, message, signals and politics.
Nobody can match (him) and for that (to happen), a structure, technology and
resources are needed. He has those things because of the party and the Sangh
Parivar structures. Therefore, he is able to synchronise those three factors
and that is his genius. One has to admit that, but that has to be translated
into achievements at the ground level and it is in this context that I
mentioned about the bureaucracy.
The Congress party is in disarray. A section of the media
does not quite seem to have an appetite for being critical of the government.
The judiciary is in need of reforms. In this situation, who do you think can
effectively play the role of an Opposition?
The Opposition political parties have failed in their duties
and they are not able to put their house in order. They are not able to digest
their defeat or accept the reality that they have to rebuild the party; but
how, they don’t know. They are also not clear about what should be their future
strategy or planks of politics. On that count, the Opposition is nowhere to be
seen. The media, for its part, has been rational enough to give time to this
government before judging it or criticising it. They are acting fair enough,
that is what I feel. As for the judiciary, it has come out openly with strong
comments on black money and with regard to many other things; it has been vocal
enough, assertive enough in its role. So I think that the media and the
judiciary are indeed playing their roles, but the same cannot be said for the
Opposition.
Can the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) be more effective as an
Opposition than as a government?
They have to acquire more skills for wielding power to
protect and promote the interests of the people. So I think it was because of
the distress and despair in the minds of the voters against the erstwhile
ruling establishment that AAP was successful more than what they also might
have expected. They have yet to build themselves into a political instrument.
Their movement may have been helpful but consolidation was not there. So
go-slow would have been the better strategy but they are the best people to
judge for themselves.
Could the BJP-Shiv Sena split have been avoided before the
Maharashtra Assembly election?
I think Modi is playing his game of politics in an assertive
manner, given the numbers he has. And he has not trampled upon the toes of
other political forces per se. Instead, for example, in Amritsar (Navjot Singh)
Sidhu was sidelined; by whom? It was totally unfair and the BJP had to gulp it
at that moment. About the Shiv Sena, that has not been the case but definitely,
because of the split, realities have changed as far as Shiv Sena is concerned
and, on the BJP’s side, they have not been unfair in demanding more seats. That
was not good politics played by the Shiv Sena. So it is their fault. That fault
can’t be heaped upon the BJP.
So where do the BJP and the Shiv Sena go from here?
They (Shiv Sena) also will learn lessons, which it is due
for them. Efforts are always there but many a time efforts may not yield
desired results. But I don’t think the BJP does not want allies or that it has
become arrogant. That will be unfair to say. It depends on both partners;
unilaterally, it is not possible. They should also be sensible enough to
understand the change in the ground realities and the texture of politics. And
it is not the end of the day; they should understand that it is a continuing
process. What I am apprehensive about is how politics is turning power-centric
and not people-centric, leadership-centric or personality-centric and not
issue-centric. Politics is not merely about government or governance. It is
about the direction in which the whole nation is to be steered by the State
apparatus. It all depends on how you view the role of the State. Just winning
elections or numbers is not the end of the road. The State is supposed to
protect those who can’t protect themselves. So I see that in this respect, more
sensitivity is required by all parties, including the ruling party.The issues
of the poor and the deprived have to get more attention in this era of
marketism and the State should be weighing itself in favour of the poor and the
deprived rather than creating a perception that it is closer to the corporates.
Certain instances of indiscipline reported from Maharashtra
have embarrassed the BJP…
It will become the order of the day. If the party gets
degenerated into just an electoral machine and the party, instead of being a
party of workers with a mission, gets degenerated into a party of candidates
for power — and instead of holistic growth, electoral gains become their
parameters — then all this is bound to happen.
The government has taken certain measures on the economic
front but there is a view that more reforms are needed and quickly at that.
The situation will become clear in the next Budget because
the last Budget was an extension of the previous government’s interim Budget.
There was no original concept in it. The next Budget will definitely be the
indicator of the thought process of the BJP. Till then, we have to wait as far
as economic issues are concerned. Having said that, there is the issue of
amendments to the Land Acquisition Bill, which the government is expected to
bring in the winter session of Parliament. Then there are some cases on fast
track against certain politicians… all of which is getting delayed. So I think
one should not test the people’s patience beyond a limit. Six months is neither
too early nor too late but the government has to present itself as pro-Bharat
and pro-poor. There is a widespread perception that on certain issues the
government is pro-Bharat, but it has to be translated at the policy level. For
example, the ban on cow slaughter is not only an emotional issue; it is as well
linked to economic and environmental aspects and also the direction of the
development model. Breeding centres are needed. A couple of centuries ago, the cattle-to-man
ratio was 7 to 1. At the time of Independence, it became 1 to 1 and now it is
the reverse; today, the cattle-to-man ratio is 1 to 7. This is an alarming
situation. It will definitely affect the health of the country, lead to
malnutrition among children and the socio-psycho atmosphere will be hurt if
this ratio further declines. The government can take certain steps such as
ensuring that the export of beef and fodder is banned altogether. These
seemingly innocuous steps can go a long way in addressing some of the problems.
I intend to submit a memo to the government on the issue of cattle,
specifically cows and their progeny.
The ‘trickle-down’ development model is a proven failure, so
a departure is needed. Whether this government indeed does some out-of-the-box
thinking remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see what is there in the
Budget.
The government may be emotionally inclined towards being
pro-Bharat but I think a lot needs to be done for the government to adopt a
pro-poor approach. This aspect has to be geared for not merely lip service but
a genuine commitment is needed. Eco-centric development is the need of the
hour. fdi (foreign direct investment) and trickle-down theory won’t work and
they will be detrimental to those people who are dependent on natural
resources. Their livelihood will be threatened. Therefore, sensitivity and
continuous exposure to that section of the people is needed, not investor
summits.
Instead of practising the failed dictum of trickle-down
theory, they should proceed towards eco-centric development and not merely
anthropocentric development. An overdependence on the trickle-down theory can
be counterproductive as it could encourage disparities and inequalities.
Inclusive development and empowerment are needed, not through doles and
charities but by the active participation of those sections of society and
opening up avenues for that is the task of the government. There is a lot of
talk about smart cities but hundreds of villages could vanish or be affected by
the development of smart cities. Should smart cities then be a priority?
BJP veterans such as LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi have
been sidelined. Could they have been treated differently?
If electoral politics is the approach, then whatever has
been done is correct; but if politics is to be viewed holistically, then some
more options could have been there. But, then again, there is no use discussing
all those options. Gatham Gathaha… what has happened, has happened. One has to
move on.
Concerns have been expressed in some quarters over the
future of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
and the Unique Identification (Aadhaar) Number — two schemes that had been
launched by the erstwhile UPA government. Where do you stand on this issue?
Continuity and change are to be blended together. As it is
said, old is gold but everything new may not be the best, so change and
continuity should go hand in hand. Many alterations to MGNREGA are needed but
more changes are needed in the legislation on land acquisition so that
agricultural land is saved and the land that protects the interests of animals,
birds and other living beings is protected. The interests of jal (water),
jameen (land), jungle and jaanvar (animals) should be at least as important as
that of humans. So I feel if the approach is altered from an anthropocentric
development to eco-centric development, it will do more good.
What are your impressions about the government’s foreign
policy?
I think the government is in a learning mode and needs more
time to understand the ropes of foreign policy. It could definitely have better
diplomatic and economic relations with Russia because they have been natural
allies, geopolitically, in the past. China can be a competitor, if not a rival,
but we will have to see how far this competition can be healthy.
