'The PM has taken domestic politics to audiences abroad'

I welcome all of you to this meeting of Congress chief ministers. Such conclaves have proved very useful in the past. I recall now how it was at a similar session at Guwahati way back in April 2002, when we were in the Opposition at the Centre, that the idea of RTI (Right to Information) and MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) first took shape and became part of our party's agenda.

The new government took over at the Centre a little over a year ago. Both its substance and style are now all too evident. Both are cause of great concern. They raise many disturbing questions. They should make us pause, reflect and give an appropriate response. In terms of substance, there are systematic attempts being made to dismantle the edifice of the welfare state built up over the decades by successive Congress governments, a state that promoted economic growth for the betterment of everybody but especially to meet the objectives of social justice and equity.

Budgetary allocations in key areas like education, health, drinking water and sanitation, rural roads and livelihoods, women and child development and welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes have been slashed. This is clearly part of a new philosophy that abdicates the essential role of the central government in social and human development, and in strengthening local self-government institutions in rural and urban India.

Eleven states have been dealt a grievous blow by the abolition of the Planning Commission and of the grouping called "special category states". In the guise of giving more untied funds to states, the Centre has ended up imposing additional burdens on all of them. New fiscal architecture is all very well but at what cost and whose cost needs to be examined carefully.

In terms of style, there is unprecedented centralisation of power and authority, the deliberate by-passing of parliamentary procedures and practices, threats to civil society and warnings to the judiciary. The Prime Minister has broken with tradition and taken domestic politics to audiences abroad. Boastful claims, exaggerations and downright falsehoods characterise most of his statements. His election promises are now being dismissed, in the words of one of his own key colleagues, as "chunavi jumlas".

And, of course, on a number of important issues, the Prime Minister has made a U-turn on his earlier positions. On some, like the GST (Goods and Services Tax) and UID (Unique Identification Authority of India), he seems to have discovered their virtues. But on other turnabouts, like on the 2013 land acquisition law and on the National Food Security Act, he has to be strongly opposed. It is alarming that the coverage under the National Food Security Act is proposed to be reduced from 67 per cent to 40 per cent and the entire system of food procurement including MSP (minimum support price) is under assault.

There is another aspect of both substance and style that I should mention and this relates to a dangerous duplicitous game that is being played out. On the one hand, the Prime Minister wants to project himself as the great champion of good governance and Constitutional values, while on the other, he allows many of his colleagues to make vile statements and foment communal polarisation. This has already damaged our secular fabric. An atmosphere of fear and foreboding has been deliberately created.

As chief ministers you must work with the Centre in the best interests of your state even as you express your views frankly. But at the same time, we as Congressmen and women have to confront the Modi government and engage in agitations against it when it works against the public interest. I should also make it clear: It is the responsibility of the central government to create and maintain an atmosphere conducive for cooperation and consensus.

Three areas invite our immediate and focussed attention: first, the manner in which the UPA (United Progressive Alliance)'s flagship programmes are now being implemented by the Centre and the impact that the change is having; second, the manner in which some of the UPA's key pro-poor policies are being diluted; and third, the new schemes introduced by the Centre and how the Congress-ruled states are geared to implement them.

Some of the states represented here today will face elections in the next year. While our main purpose is to discuss the Centre's policies, we should also spend some time talking about the implementation of the state-level manifestos. How far have we been able to fulfil the pledges we made and what are the important unfinished tasks? Do we need the Centre's assistance/cooperation in this regard and if we do what should be our approach?

One of the lessons we have learned from the last election is that we need to vastly improve our communications and marketing skills, particularly in an era of rapidly changing technology. We can have great accomplishments but they have to reach the people. The party organisation, of course, is the primary instrument for such dissemination and propagation. As chief ministers, you have to ensure that party workers are motivated and enthused to become champions of the achievements of the governments you run.

You are all aware that we have been commemorating the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru and have recently launched the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Jawaharlal Nehru is now under sustained assault by forces that guide the ruling establishment. His fundamental contributions are being belittled. His legacy, which has enabled our country to flourish as an open, liberal democracy rejoicing in its diversity is being threatened. This must be stoutly resisted.

Babasaheb Ambedkar was the main architect of our Constitution, a role he was enabled to play by the Congress because of his outstanding capabilities. Rahul (Gandhi) ji has launched the celebrations for his 125th birth anniversary in Mhow recently. A number of programmes are being planned but I believe that the best tribute we can pay him is by ensuring each Congress-ruled state gives statutory status to implementing the scheduled caste plan and tribal sub-plan. Our UPA government had finalised legislation in this regard. Our states should now take it forward.

We have a packed agenda ahead of us. I would request you to be pointed in your interventions so that we can cover all the ground we have laid out before us.

---

Edited excerpts from Congress President Sonia Gandhi's speech at the meeting of Congress chief ministers in New Delhi, June 9, 2015