People's Democracy

THE government seems to be groping in the dark. It lacks a clear-cut vision and appears directionless to tackle the challenges confronting the country in the fifty-second year of its independence. This is what can be deduced from the President's opening address to the joint session of parliament. The customary Cabinet-approved address is a statement of policy of the government of the day. This year's address is marked by its lack of substance relying, merely on reiterating the oft repeated.

At the same time, it skirts the issues on which the President has an opinion at variance with that of the BJP-led government. The President had minced no words during his Republic Day Eve speech to warn against attempts to tinker with the Constitution in the name of a constitutional review. More than once the President had occasion to give a piece of his mind on the Ayodhya issue. Unlike last year when the President had to read the NDA government's stand on the Constitution Review Commission, this time the government thought it fit not to misuse this occasion to publicly air its disagreement with the President.

But on one of the most significant issues that has been engaging the attention of the whole nation for years together, the Ayodhya issue, the government has maintained a stoic silence. Considering the fact that the last session of parliament had witnessed a heated debate with both Houses being stalled for days together, the least one could expect was a statement from the government that it would uphold the rule of law. This becomes all the more relevant in light of the depositions before the Liberhans Commission, hearing the Babri Masjid demolition case and the trials in related cases reaching various stages in the courts.

Instead what we find is an indulgence in self-acclaim by merely mentioning the "efforts at smoothly managing" the Kumbh Mela. There is no mention of the attempts at fomenting communal trouble with the affiliates of the ruling party even utilising the occasion to serve ultimata for the construction of the temple at Ayodhya at the site where the Babri Masjid stood. Instead, what we have are pious declarations of "uncompromising" commitment to secularism.

It also makes the ridiculous claim of stepping up "vigil against communal and extremist organizations"! Such an assertion comes in the background of the moral policing indulged in by the self-styled crusades against western culture patronaged by rightwing parties like the BJP and the Shiv Sena.

Coming to the economy, the address states that there has been a " growing national consensus" on the reform process. The consensus that the address talks about is that within the ruling class parties. The working class and the downtrodden sections represented by the Left and democratic parties have been the staunchest opponents of these policies of liberalisation and privatisation that have heaped immense miseries on the people. "The public sector", as the address itself acknowledges, which "played a vital role in the development of our economy", is coming under increasing attack. While the government has always been taking the ruse of disinvesting (an euphemism for privatisation) sick or non-viable PSU's to handover lucrative and profit making units to private sector, the address has been candid enough to admit that the nature of the role of the public sector "cannot remain frozen to what it was conceived fifty years ago". VRS seems to be the only measure that the government is contemplating to "protect" the interests of workers in these PSUs. Despite stiff opposition from the workers concerned, it has reiterated its decision to go ahead with the privatisation of Indian Airlines, Air India, ITCD, VSNL, IPCL, Maruti Udyog etc.

The bitter experience of privatisation of the power sector notwithstanding, with the Enron company even invoking the counter-guarantee clause, the NDA government views reforms in the power sector as being "crucial for achieving the ambitious growth targets of the economy".

Besides, two important sectors of the economy - agriculture and the small-scale industries -- have in recent years been accorded shabby treatment with framing of policies heavily loaded against them. The new agricultural policy announced last year instead of helping the agricultural sector, on the contrary, only helps in aggravating the crisis.

The lifting of quantitative restrictions on imports of agricultural produce has spelt ruin for the peasantry. The free import of agricultural produce has resulted in sharp fluctuations and a fall in the prices of cotton, rubber, tea, jute, coconuts, tobacco and even foodgrains, resulting in great hardship for the peasants and agricultural labourers. They now have to pay increasing prices for their inputs and see their days of work dwindling in the face of the change from food to cash crops being forced on a hard-pressed peasantry by these policies. There is no talk of seeking a modification of the terms of the WTO to protect Indian agriculture from the vagaries of the international market.

The damage to Indian agriculture is occurring and will deepen as the result of a forced opening up of the Indian market to agricultural imports; the wrecking of what little `food security’ approach in agricultural production has existed since the seventies; the dismantling of public procurement and price support operations, public warehousing and public distribution; and the further reduction in the already abysmally low public investment in agriculture.

India’s agriculture is now at a crossroads. The failure of foodgrains production to keep pace with population growth is perhaps the most depressing economic trend in India today. As the focus of agricultural policies shift to agro-processing, foreign investment and exports, the critical connection between agricultural production and access to food has been ignored.

The CPI(M) views with skepticism the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission and the proposed Fiscal Responsibility Bill. The recommendations of the Finance Commission encroach upon the already limited powers that the states enjoy under the constitution in matters of fiscal policy. It imposes upon the states a programme of fiscal reform using the instrumentality of statutory financial devolution. Each state would be expected to abide by a state-specific group designated as Monitory Agency, to be constituted with the representatives of the Planning Commission, Union Finance Ministry, and the state government. Such a proposal comes despite opposition from various states. This is an infringement upon the rights and powers of the states and will have to be fought back.

A note of caution has been sounded for the working class. As we had been reiterating repeatedly the attacks on the working class and its rights are bound to grow with the intensification of the "reforms" process. The address has markedly pointed towards this and said that "amendments to some of our labour laws cannot be delayed any more." This should be seen in the light of the proposals to amend the Industrial Disputes Act and various other legislations that offer some limited protection to the workers. The security of employment, a right won through hard struggles is being sought to be taken away. For the first time the government has so blatantly spelt out its intentions

On the plight of the Scheduled Castes, the most oppressed sections of society, the less said the better. While the address talks of addressing their problems, the fact remains that until the land question is addressed and land vested in them, we will neither be able to solve the problem of poverty, unemployment or their empowerment. On the contrary, the government now intends to hand over huge tracts of waste cultivable land in its occupation to multinationals, on a platter.

The President's address laments the fact that the Constitution (85^th Amendment) Bill, 1999, providing for one-third reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures has not seen the light of the day. It however, attributes lack of "consensus" as the excuse for its non-passage. The reasons lie elsewhere. All the major parties in the country including, the BJP the Congress and the Left, have publicly committed their support to this piece of legislation. This ensures overwhelming support of parliament to adopt this amendment. What then are the reasons for the government shirking and not going ahead and pressing for its adoption? Is it lack of political will or opposition from within its own ranks and constituents that is preventing it from pressing forward with this legislation.

On the major issue of Kashmir, the government seems to be caught in a bind. On the one hand, its unilateral announcement of non-initiation of combat operations, which was popularly deemed to be a ceasefire, during the period of Ramzan (which was extended twice later), has not been reciprocated by the Pakistani side. At the political level, however, the government continues to think and talk only in terms of cross border terrorism. The BJP-led government must realise that ultimately the people will have to be taken into confidence, talks will have to be initiated aimed at finding a solution on the basis of the Shimla agreement. A matter of equal concern is the moves advocating a trifurcation of the state on communal lines.

On foreign policy matters the address reiterates the changed priorities of the Indian ruling establishment.. Externally, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the reverses to socialism and the emergence of the USA as the sole superpower contributed to this process. Internally, the course was strengthened by the initiation of the policies of liberalisation and privatisation.

However, it was not until the BJP gained the levers of power at the centre that a complete reversal of India's foreign policy of non-alignment with an anti-imperialist thrust, solidarity with national liberation movements and for elimination of nuclear weapons and world peace, came about. Having given up independent and self-reliant economic development and adopting a pro-US tilt in foreign relations was natural. India, a founder member of the NAM and a front ranking leader of the third world countries, has lost the trust of the developing and underdeveloped countries. Its voice is no more heard in world fora.

While the address voices deep concern at the stalemate in the Middle East peace process, it fails to criticise Israel for not positively responding to the genuine aspirations of the Palestinian people. Unless their genuine demands are addressed no lasting peace is possible in the Middle East.

The attempt to please all coalition partners -- the pulls and pressures of real politick is all-pervasive. There is hardly a major ministry whose "achievements" have not been outlined. It looks more like a performance report of the various departments of the centre.

Its attempt to sound credible and acceptable and in the process garner support for its unbridled pursuit of the policies of liberalisation and privatisation, has miserably failed. It lacks a clear cut perspective on important issues like Kashmir, while on issues like Ayodhya it has sought to remain silent. While the poor will face increasing attacks on their living conditions, the working class will have to gear up to fight not only against the onslaught on their livelihood but their right to struggle and security of employment.