07-28-2006, 11:48 PM
<b>Ministers Mani and Arjun take a swipe at their Govt</b>
Kandula SubramaniamPosted online: Friday, July 28, 2006 at 0000 hrs Print <i>Aiyar slams labour law reforms, Arjun says majority untouched by âmesmerising statisticsâ </i>
New Delhi, July 27:The XIth Plan approach paper seems to have given some discontented Cabinet ministers a new avenue to vent their feelings on which way government policy should be directed. Two such ministers are HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar, the minister for Sports and Panchayati Raj, who while giving a feedback on their ministryâs interests, also gave a detailed account on areas that donât concern their ministries.
Aiyar, still nostalgic about his previous portfolio when he was minister for petroleum and natural gas, points out in his comments on the paper that he was<b> "deeply disturbed by the absence of any reference whatsoever on energy security, and the role of oil diplomacy" and after saying that energy security was part of the NCMP he says "... I plead for the inclusion of a strong section on energy security." </b>
Apart from concerns on petroleum, it appears, that some of the labour and industry reforms have not gone down well with Aiyar. Highlighting the section on industrial policy where the paper called for an amendment in the Section V-B of the Industrial Disputes Act and Contract Labour Act to provide more industry flexibility on labour, Aiyar says that the "Congress Party took a strong stand" against the previous governmentâs stand to do the same.
And, therefore, he "saw no reason to change our stand" before pointing out that <b>"I would rather plump for employment growth and the protection of the hard-won rights of labour than promote manufacturing interest at the expense of the interests of labour".</b>
When it comes to the paperâs suggestion de-reserving SSI, while acknowledging the importance of modernisation, <b>he says that modernisation reduces employment in the "short-run" and reminds the economists in the Commission of the economic adage "in the long run we are all dead". </b>
While a good part of Arjun Singhâs comments touch upon his ministryâs subjects, he also doesnât hesitate to speak out on agrarian issues, the fisc, inflation and the NCMP commitments.
He reminds the Planning Commission to take a "hard look at the growth strategy", which according to him "has exacerbated the inequities" and the "impressive growth" had "gone hand in hand with mounting agrarian distress, price rise".
He says in his letter to the Commission that <b>"vast number of our people have remained totally untouched by the mesmerizing statistics of the kind that people of India so decisively rejected in the last elections." </b>
After lauding the paperâs suggestion that inclusive growth should not be constrained by the fiscal responsibility Act and terming this thinking as "breath of fresh air", the HRD minister also gives a lesson on how to make the Plan exercise more meaningful.
He first suggests that an analysis needs to be done to find out why efforts in earlier Plans had not "achieved desired results" and then terms the goal to achieve 3.9 per cent growth in agriculture (from 1.8 per cent) as nothing short of a "miracle". According to him, this could be one area for that analysis for the Commission.
kandula.subramaniam@expressindia.com
Kandula SubramaniamPosted online: Friday, July 28, 2006 at 0000 hrs Print <i>Aiyar slams labour law reforms, Arjun says majority untouched by âmesmerising statisticsâ </i>
New Delhi, July 27:The XIth Plan approach paper seems to have given some discontented Cabinet ministers a new avenue to vent their feelings on which way government policy should be directed. Two such ministers are HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar, the minister for Sports and Panchayati Raj, who while giving a feedback on their ministryâs interests, also gave a detailed account on areas that donât concern their ministries.
Aiyar, still nostalgic about his previous portfolio when he was minister for petroleum and natural gas, points out in his comments on the paper that he was<b> "deeply disturbed by the absence of any reference whatsoever on energy security, and the role of oil diplomacy" and after saying that energy security was part of the NCMP he says "... I plead for the inclusion of a strong section on energy security." </b>
Apart from concerns on petroleum, it appears, that some of the labour and industry reforms have not gone down well with Aiyar. Highlighting the section on industrial policy where the paper called for an amendment in the Section V-B of the Industrial Disputes Act and Contract Labour Act to provide more industry flexibility on labour, Aiyar says that the "Congress Party took a strong stand" against the previous governmentâs stand to do the same.
And, therefore, he "saw no reason to change our stand" before pointing out that <b>"I would rather plump for employment growth and the protection of the hard-won rights of labour than promote manufacturing interest at the expense of the interests of labour".</b>
When it comes to the paperâs suggestion de-reserving SSI, while acknowledging the importance of modernisation, <b>he says that modernisation reduces employment in the "short-run" and reminds the economists in the Commission of the economic adage "in the long run we are all dead". </b>
While a good part of Arjun Singhâs comments touch upon his ministryâs subjects, he also doesnât hesitate to speak out on agrarian issues, the fisc, inflation and the NCMP commitments.
He reminds the Planning Commission to take a "hard look at the growth strategy", which according to him "has exacerbated the inequities" and the "impressive growth" had "gone hand in hand with mounting agrarian distress, price rise".
He says in his letter to the Commission that <b>"vast number of our people have remained totally untouched by the mesmerizing statistics of the kind that people of India so decisively rejected in the last elections." </b>
After lauding the paperâs suggestion that inclusive growth should not be constrained by the fiscal responsibility Act and terming this thinking as "breath of fresh air", the HRD minister also gives a lesson on how to make the Plan exercise more meaningful.
He first suggests that an analysis needs to be done to find out why efforts in earlier Plans had not "achieved desired results" and then terms the goal to achieve 3.9 per cent growth in agriculture (from 1.8 per cent) as nothing short of a "miracle". According to him, this could be one area for that analysis for the Commission.
kandula.subramaniam@expressindia.com