THE LOBBYISTS
Untold Story of Oil, Gas and Energy Sector
Rajeev Jayaswal
Bloomsbury
346 pages; Rs 499
The 10 years of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule at the Centre were tumultuous in every respect when it came to the energy sector. From pricing of petroleum products to the controversy surrounding natural gas pricing, petroleum ministers in the UPA government made headlines much too often. In comparison, the National Democratic Alliance’s rule has been muted, with much of the tricky decision-making executed smoothly over an extended period of time with little protest from the Opposition.
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Much of what made headlines during the UPA period has been covered in Rajeev Jayaswal’s The Lobbyists: Untold Story of Oil, Gas and Energy Sector. On each of the issues, Mr Jayaswal adds an inside story that goes beyond the publicly known statements and press releases. The author’s proximity to decision-makers as a journalist reporting on the petroleum sector is clearly an advantage that he has used skilfully.
Mr Jayaswal seems to have maintained a copious account of his journalistic encounters. With a doctoral degree from the Jawaharlal Nehru University and masters in sociology from the Delhi School of Economics and experience of over two decades, the habit seems to have been put to good use.
A large part of the author’s account also comes from his closeness to the late Murli Deora, who was the petroleum minister for the longest period of five years spread over the two terms of the UPA government. For instance, Mr Jayaswal describes an incident when Deora told him that he was reprimanded by then prime minister Manmohan Singh for raising the issue of the price of Asian Premium with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during their visit to Saudi Arabia in 2010. India and Japan have for long believed that there is an extra charge which Asian countries are made to pay on purchase of crude oil from the West Asia though Europe or the United States do not pay such a levy. “We did not go to Saudi Arabia to eat food and enjoy. As an oil minister, it was my duty to raise issues. He [Singh] should have supported me there,” Deora told Mr Jayaswal.
In another conversation, after Deora was replaced in the petroleum ministry by Jaipal Reddy, the otherwise mild-mannered Congress veteran tells Mr Jayaswal on the Vedanta takeover of Cairn India. “What was the hurry? If PM was in such a hurry, then why did Jaipal Reddy sit on the file for months? Seems, the hurry was only an excuse of PMO officials to get me removed….” Clearance to the $9-billion deal had been stuck under Deora since the ministry of petroleum and natural gas set conditions contested by the Edinburgh-based Cairn parent.
Though the title may suggest that Mr Jayaswal has dealt with specific personalities in the opaque world of petroleum, politics and controversies, the book is more about issues confronting the petroleum business in India than actual lobbyists. Oil business is globally known to be fraught with lobbyists who swing appointments to their funders’ favour or get roadblocks cleared for purchases. He briefly refers to the Niira Radia tapes of 2010 and controversies related to the appointment of ministers in key berths; and the “leakgate” of 2015 involving the media itself when official documents were stolen from the oil ministry; but he does not examine the issues in greater detail. Towards the end, he rolls up hurriedly, touching on topics that are still live — whether it is the issue of Reliance Industries producing Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s share of the Krishna-Godavari basin gas due to the overlapping of reservoirs or the roll-out of direct benefit transfer for cooking gas.
The book ends rather abruptly with a eulogy of M Veerappa Moily, the last of the UPA’s petroleum ministers, saying he was a “visionary”, an able administrator, a go-getter and a practical minister who did not have much time to fight the lobbyists, unlike his successor, Dharmendra Pradhan, who does have time on his side. This is not before the author devotes about half a page to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat (a heart-to-heart talk), a weekly show that started off on the state-owned All India Radio and is now aired through private radio and television channels, too.
Mr Jayaswal’s book covers a crucial period in country’s petroleum history when petrol and diesel witnessed decontrol, and natural gas was taken out of the private sector hands both for pricing and marketing. The period also saw one of the most-high pitched corporate battles involving the Ambani brothers. He, therefore, deals with myriad topics, which range from global crude oil pricing and the levy of the Asian premium to the deregulation of petroleum pricing and energy conservation efforts put in place by Mr Moily. Each of these issues could well be a separate chapter. Despite the poor editing and proofing, the book is a well-told commentary, underscored by 647 footnotes, laying bare what went on behind some of the crucial decisions in the sector.