On Monday, when most concentrated on P Chidambaram’s Interim Budget, Arvind Kejriwal quietly (unlike his style) went to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and made an interesting speech. Well, he even invited company heads to join the AAP instead of criticising it from outside.
For a party, that is opposed to foreign direct investment in retail and has filed an FIR against Mukesh Ambani and petroleum minister Moily, his words weren’t so anti-business, and somewhat, refreshing as well.
With statements like ‘politicians should not become a roadblock for business or licence and inspector raj has to end’, he said what many small and even large businesses want to hear. Interestingly, he even said that unnecessary litigation has to end.
At CII, he wasn’t as eloquent as the more accomplished P Chidambaram or Montek Singh Ahluwalia or Arun Jaitley. But few can deny that he was more or less correct. For instance, when he said that licence and inspector raj has to end, he is not wrong.
While there is a lot of talk about the end of licence raj in the 1970s, the truth is that it isn’t really over. An example: A young boy from UP, who has only passed 10 standard, wants to open a small massage parlour for months. He has the requisite certificates, in terms of courses done etc. But after trying for months, he gave up as the number of permits required and bribes that he would have to give for them made the venture financial unviable. Besides that, he was told that he would have to give monthly ‘hafta’ to the police otherwise they will charge him for prostitution. And many prospective entrepreneurs will identify with his plight.
Another businessman who is mining in Africa is quite blunt. “In India, even if we get a licence to start mining, we are never sure when someone will go to court and halfway during the mining, our work will be stayed or suspended and employees may even be sent to jail,” he argues. He acknowledges that some big companies have got the rough end of the stick abroad but his contention that only a few companies can ‘manage’ everything in India clearly shows that there is a strong entry barrier. Another of Kejriwal’s statements – unnecessary litigation has to end – is likely to make many global companies, stung by GAAR, happy.
Scams like 2G or coalgate are examples of how lack of transparency or licence raj can mess up the system. One would think that many companies would prefer a transparent system where market forces come into play. Instead of sitting in front of our political heavyweights’ offices and lobbying with them, many would prefer clear guidelines that allow them to perform.
It’s not that Kejriwal will be able to do this, not for now at least. Worse still, given his unpredictability, there is a trust deficit. But other political parties, while charting out their agendas, can start thinking on these lines.
For a party, that is opposed to foreign direct investment in retail and has filed an FIR against Mukesh Ambani and petroleum minister Moily, his words weren’t so anti-business, and somewhat, refreshing as well.
With statements like ‘politicians should not become a roadblock for business or licence and inspector raj has to end’, he said what many small and even large businesses want to hear. Interestingly, he even said that unnecessary litigation has to end.
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People love to brand Kejriwal. So, some call him anarchist, others leftist, some others left-of-centre and so on. But, perhaps, he is none of the above – he simply reacts to situations as they stand or as they say, horses for courses. Sometimes (mostly nowadays), he goes horribly wrong and at others, he is right.
At CII, he wasn’t as eloquent as the more accomplished P Chidambaram or Montek Singh Ahluwalia or Arun Jaitley. But few can deny that he was more or less correct. For instance, when he said that licence and inspector raj has to end, he is not wrong.
While there is a lot of talk about the end of licence raj in the 1970s, the truth is that it isn’t really over. An example: A young boy from UP, who has only passed 10 standard, wants to open a small massage parlour for months. He has the requisite certificates, in terms of courses done etc. But after trying for months, he gave up as the number of permits required and bribes that he would have to give for them made the venture financial unviable. Besides that, he was told that he would have to give monthly ‘hafta’ to the police otherwise they will charge him for prostitution. And many prospective entrepreneurs will identify with his plight.
Another businessman who is mining in Africa is quite blunt. “In India, even if we get a licence to start mining, we are never sure when someone will go to court and halfway during the mining, our work will be stayed or suspended and employees may even be sent to jail,” he argues. He acknowledges that some big companies have got the rough end of the stick abroad but his contention that only a few companies can ‘manage’ everything in India clearly shows that there is a strong entry barrier. Another of Kejriwal’s statements – unnecessary litigation has to end – is likely to make many global companies, stung by GAAR, happy.
Scams like 2G or coalgate are examples of how lack of transparency or licence raj can mess up the system. One would think that many companies would prefer a transparent system where market forces come into play. Instead of sitting in front of our political heavyweights’ offices and lobbying with them, many would prefer clear guidelines that allow them to perform.
It’s not that Kejriwal will be able to do this, not for now at least. Worse still, given his unpredictability, there is a trust deficit. But other political parties, while charting out their agendas, can start thinking on these lines.