Sonia Gandhi has chaired the last meeting of the National Advisory Council (NAC), touted as as a "unique experiment" of involving civil society in decision-making. The NAC was set up to serve as a left-leaning alter ego of the Congress, to keep both the government and a vociferous Left under an ideological leash of sorts. It did nothing much beyond this till the global meltdown of 2008-09 and the withdrawal of Left support. The NAC then decided to turn more red than the Left. Every conceivable welfare scheme, with scant regard to fiscal economics, was launched in the absence of the Left parties to share the credit. The NAC was used by the Congress essentially to build up a rural vote bank. That the scams, the fall in global economy and an ineffective prime minister wrecked the entire base of an electoral game plan is another story. The NAC will be remembered more for the damage caused to the economy than any trickle-down effect on less-privileged citizens.
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R Narayanan Ghaziabad
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number