RESOLUTIONS
NATIONAL WORKING COMMITTEE MEETING, 30TH MARCH2014,MUMBAI
POLICY MATTERS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PRIME MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE FOR THE ELECTION
Whether the policy centric or person centric politics is good for the country? What is the central focus of the election campaign? What are the core issues to be discussed in the coming election? Voters must think about the above questions.
The biggest issue is impact of globalisation on our people and their livelihood. In India Globalisation started with the promises of more growth and employment. From 1981 to 1991 India’s GDP growth was averaged at 6.5 percent, it reached the record level in 1988-89 with a growth rate of 10.2 percent. Economic growth had fallen from 9.3% in 2010-11 to 5.5 % in 2012–13. Current year growth (2013-14) predicted by all international agencies is below 5 percent (IMF-3.7%, World Bank 4.7%). Fastest growing economy is counted as the credit of globalization. In the last twenty years of globalisation, Indian GDP never overtook the pre-reform record of 10.2 percent of 1988-89. Now there is neither growth nor employment opportunities. In the pre -reform period annual growth rate of employment was 2.1percent (during1981 to 1991), and next decade (from 1991 to 2001) annual employment growth rate was only 1 percent, and from 2001 to 2011 it was 1.11 percent (current daily status basis). It is clear that globalisation reduced our employment and growth rate. Now the economy is facing three major crisis that are Fiscal crisis, Current Account crisis and Currency crisis. Fiscal Crisis: India's fiscal position went bad from 2008 onwards; the government gave encouragement to the corporates in 2008 and 2009 by giving tax concessions to come out of the so-called recession. But after that they are not ready to withdraw the concessions due to the pressure from the corporates. Allotment for the flagship program (MGNREGA etc)in the Eleventh Five year plan period was only Rs 6,43,491 crore, total tax exemption in these period was Rs 22 lakhs crore. Revenue foregone in the financial year 2012-13 is Rs 5, 73,626.7 crore. Corporates are the beneficieries of revenue foregone head.
CURRENT ACCOUNT CRISIS:
3 percent CAD in 1990-91 was the main reason told by the globalisation team to start reform. After twenty years of reform CAD reached 4.8% of GDP in 2012-13. Government has reduced the import duty, according to the unsafe foreign investment in our share market. Trade deficit reached the record level( $191 billion); There is no reason to run a trade deficit of $ 40 billion with China and starve the local industries. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the May 2013 contracted by 1.6 percent, compared with growth of 2.3 percent in April. The IIP contracted again to 2.2% in June. Current year (April-February) industrial growth is zero percent. The actual reason for the low industrial production is not the low consumer demand but the cheep import from many parts of the world. Many of the product’s applied tariffs are very low compared to the bound tariff. The committed average bound tariff in industrial products at WTO is 34.6%, the actual applied rate is 9.8 %( 2010-11). Low tariff is harming our industry.
CURRENCY CRISIS:
Rupee has slipped from 45.7 to 67.8 rupees per $US in the last year which was a record falling. Currency crisis is the most debated issue at present. When globalisation, economic reform started in 1991, rupee value was 19 rupee per dollar. Vector Grader.com last month table says that market value of rupee is 67% lower than its actual value. Fall of the rupee has created lot of problems in the economy. Continued increase of petroleum product prices has lead to rocketing retail prices: Its impact on the common man is very high, inflation has been ruining the life of our people, shooting up prices of basic raw materials including metals which make industrial production very costlier.
Globalisation is not bringing any visible benefit, all these policies are creating more troubles in India, not only India but to all those who promoted liberalized-free market policies. More integration to the world market will only bring more troubles. All the countries who preached free market policies have now thrown out the policy when they are in trouble and are taking policies that are just opposite to the free market policy. In the crisis period US pumped tax payer’s money to the loss making banking sector. US did this to avoid the takeover of its banks by foreigners. In case of Vodafone takeover of AT&T telecom and Dubai Port takeover of major six US ports, they took extreme swadeshi policy. But at the same time they preached free market policy to get market access to their companies. Same is the case of European Union, Canada and other developed economies. It is the end of globalized economic policies. No country is ready to go with free market policy. One by one economy is falling. Now this is the time for swadeshi economic policy. If we are not ready to follow swadeshi policies our economy also will collapse.
This election will bring out a rule change in the centre; the question is that whether this will give any policy change? Both the Congress led UPA and BJP led NDA are going with the same globalised economic policy. Rather than projecting charismatic carrier oriented politicians as PM candidates and hunting for votes, political parties should speak policy issues. The kind of campaign undertaken by political parties presently is not good for the country. After the victory in the Indo- Pak war Smt Indira Gandhi was projected as a charismatic leader. She was projected inside and outside the party as the sole answer for the whole problems of the country. Net result was, she became an autocrat and declared emergency and snatched the rights of the people. Same way Atal Bihari Vajpayee was projected as a saint in the politics in the time of NDA rule . But Vajpayee led government implemented the most dangerous globalisation economic policy that they once vehemently opposed. Thirteen days of Vajpayee government gave counter guarantee to the dubious US Company Enron for the Dabol power project, once whole Sangha Parivar and the BJP had opposed this project. In the name of loss making PSU they sold out the profit making PSUs to the Indian and multinational corporates. NDA government allowed FDI in strategic sector like port and telecom. They brought dubious Dubai port in the port sector, they allowed FDI in telecom that brought lot of security threat to the nation later. When Vajpayee was the PM and the Planning commission Chairman, Planning commission decided to increase beef export. After a huge cry from sanyasi groups they told that they had not suggested this thing. But in the time of NDA rule beef export tripled. At present India is the biggest exporter of beef. RSS passed resolution against water privatisation, but BJP ruled Nagpur Municipal Corporation gave water distribution to a multinational company.
Same as in the case of congress, Now they are implementing globalisation economic policy, they are telling that they are reforming the economy, then the question is who deformed Indian economy no one other than the Nehru dynasty. Nehru developed public sector undertakings. Indira Gandhi nationalised the big banks and insurance companies. Present Congress led UPA is doing completely against the policy of their congress ancestors in the name of reform. In the time of freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhiji was in the forefront to develop the idea of swadeshi. But the present Gandhis of congress leaders have successfully finished the swadeshi concept with their development model.
Same is the policies of Left front, why they established SEZ for the corporate during their rule is a question. Majority of political parties are going with the globalisation agenda. All political parties have only one policy that is Crony Capitalism.
First we want the policy change, and policy change is the most important thing. There is many policy options to save Indian economy. The question is whether UPA or NDA or Third Front are ready to implement that policy. Are they ready to discuss the policy in the election? All the voters think about policies that are good for the country. Charismatic politics will not bring any good result for the country.