Principal rivals in the political space - the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared a common dream at the national annual conference of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on Wednesday when both parties emphasized consensus building and cooperation to take the India story ahead.
A press release by the CII, reports that in what is seen as a rare occurrence in the current political climate, senior leaders of both the political parties- Ravi Shankar Prasad and Abhishek Manu Singhvi spoke in the same language echoing a similar strain of thought when they talked about how the growth story can be accelerated.
The session - 'Economy Institutions And Change: The Promise' also got political leaders across the spectrum, the Right, Left and the Centre together when they spoke in one voice on the need to reform judiciary and the electoral process for overcoming caste based and individual politics.
Ravi Shankar Prasad said that consensus building on important economic parameters such as simplifying tax regime, FDI, infrastructure development, power, and telecom is a must for augmenting economic growth.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi agreed with his political opponent and reiterated that democracy and consensus building on major economic policies are the two most effective mechanisms to ensure economic growth.
While Prasad highlighted the role of effective leadership that can ensure good governance, Singhvi said that the current government had achieved important growth goals by leveraging various institutional mechanisms.
According to Prasad corruption needed to be addressed and the ability in the political parties to take fair and honest decisions would pave the way for essential institutional changes.
The other panelist, Communist Party of India (M) leader Sitaram Yehchury, asserted that good governance is based on adopting a proper strategy and planning.
"A blueprint laying down the roadmap and agenda for economic growth is of paramount importance. Expansion of domestic demand and consumer base, increasing public investments in infrastructure and hardware manufacturing is important for attracting investments, creating employment thus resurging growth in the country," he asserted.
"A fair, free and open institutional framework of the country is the key to economic growth" Subodh Bhargava, Past President, CII Chairman, CII Public Policy Council and Chairman Tata Communications Limited pointed out while setting the context for the Session.
Bhargava further added that inclusive growth depends upon efficient administration and governance.
