'Populism must be resisted'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sternly said "money does not grow on trees" and stressed that democracy was based on the notion of a "popular" and not a "populist" mandate.

"The art of political management is in ensuring longevity in office while taking difficult decisions and simultaneously, in resisting populism," he said.

Possibly for the first time, the prime minister conceded that absence of consensus was hindering the pace of reforms.

"Be it the agrarian policy, fiscal policy, investment policy, labour policy or even the environmental policy, the challenge of development can be addressed only if the democratic process enables a wider political consensus. However, political parties sometimes succumb to populist pressures for short-term political gains. Regrettably, the process of ensuring political longevity sometimes leads to decisions that may not address long-term challenges," the prime minister said, addressing a conference on democracy, development and social inclusion organised by the Jagran Forum.

He said ensuring sustained development within a democratic framework was not an easy task, and that everyone must recognise that "a nation cannot spend its way to prosperity".

He said the standard of living of a nation is, in the final analysis, a matter of higher efficiency and productivity and "there are no shortcuts to it".

Contending that in a developing democracy, the government could not invest in the future of the people unless it had raised necessary resources, he said for this purpose, developing countries must evolve political and social consensus on the pattern of development.

"We need a development paradigm in which the government guarantees freedom of an open society and an open economy, while acquiring the capability to invest in the public good," he said.

The prime minister also called for inclusion of more professionals in the legislatures of the country "who recognise the dangers of dividing the people on the basis of religion".

"More and more professionals in our country must join the ranks of those who participate in the process of political management," Singh said departing from his prepared speech, adding that sustained development was "not like going to a free dinner party".

He cautioned that if politics was based on exploitation of religious and caste differences, the end result could be a "low level equilibrium characterised by social strife and an uncertain environment for the growth of enterprise".

"We need more professionals in our legislature. People should respect their representatives -- also because they have personal attributes that are relevant in the task of building our nation. They must, therefore, represent the best that we wish to see in our country," he told the gathering which included Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Veerbhadra Singh and economist Meghnad Desai.