Pranab jab at ‘power-hungry’ Maoists

Minister says nothing romantic about gun-wielding rebels out to topple the state

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Pranab Mukherjee New Delhi, Sept. 16: Pranab Mukherjee today showed the government’s tough face on the subject of Maoists, saying lack of development was not the main reason for their rise and that policy-making cannot be influenced by “romanticism”. “If you try to simplify the problem by saying that it is because of lack of opportunity and development… it is more imaginary than real,” the finance minister, a key UPA strategist, said. He played down the government’s role in persuading the “misguided youth” to join the mainstream, arguing this was a job for NGOs and social activists. Mukherjee, who was addressing a conference on “Red Corridor & Development” organised by a Hindi newspaper, agreed that development was necessary to check the rebels’ influence on the poor. But he described the Maoists themselves as “political elements who want to capture power”. “Lack of development may swell their cadre. But they do not run charitable institutions. They still believe (that) power flows through the barrel of the gun,” he said. “Development is needed but that cannot change their philosophy. The government cannot allow them to challenge the state. No civilised society can accept this. The state cannot allow itself to be overthrown by a handful of gun-wielding youths.” His statements appeared to cut through the maze of views emanating from the Congress in recent months with Digvijay Singh and Keshava Rao criticising home minister P. Chidambaram’s tough stand against the rebels. Mukherjee said he was not articulating the views of the government or the party. Yet, he was clearly reflecting the position of the state, whose primary responsibility is to enforce the rule of law unlike political parties, which can afford to take a softer stand. His views, though, do not clash with Sonia Gandhi’s despite her stress on development, for she too has conceded the importance of tough administrative action. If their emphases are different, so are their roles.  “The policy-makers would reach erroneous conclusions if they allow romantic ideas about Maoism to influence them,” Mukherjee said, arguing that the “Red Corridor” (from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh) was largely a “euphemism”. Responding to BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s criticism of “intellectuals” who support the Maoists, the finance minister said: “At times, to build up a propaganda, or to support a theory, some people create a non-existent multinational exploiting mineral resources. There is no multinational in Bastar, only government agencies are mining.” He added: “Also, if the police kill, it is described as (an) atrocity and if (a) Maoist kills it is described as justice…. It is ridiculous to say so. (The) police has to do its duty. If we tell them to give up arms, they say, ‘The government has arms, so we too would keep arms’. They consider themselves equal to the elected government. They don’t believe in parliamentary democracy.” He hinted that the Maoist belief that power can be grabbed through the gun was mistaken. “In the ’70s, I thought Naxalism in West Bengal will never come to an end. But it didn’t last long, it cannot last long.” Speaking before Mukherjee, Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh said the “Red Corridor” was a dated concept since the journey the Maoists were now planning extended from Dantewada to Delhi. “It is not a tribal or forest problem. It is a battle for our democratic existence, for our Constitution. And the tribals are suffering the most as no battle in the world has caused so much displacement.”

Aiming at 9-10% growth but labour productivity has to improve: PM

New Delhi: India is aiming at 9-10% economic growth in the coming years but labour productivity has to improve to sustain high growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday. “Our aim is a growth rate of 9% to 10% in the medium term. But this will not happen automatically. There are deficiencies we will have to remove and strengths that we will have to acquire,” Singh said at an award function. “As you all know, India’s economic performance in the last few years has been truly impressive. Our country is poised to move to trajectory of sustained high economic growth, which is so essential for fighting mass poverty, hunger and disease that still afflict millions of our people,” he said.

Policymakers have forecast 8.5% growth in 2010-11, higher than 7.4% of previous year, after a series of stimulus in the form of cuts in interest rates, excise duties and higher public spending. India’s economic growth was hovering around 9-9.7% between 2005-06 and 2007-08, but it slowed to 6.7% in 2008-09 after the global economic crisis trimmed demand and output.

While praising the country’s millions of workers, who have toiled to build India’s infrastructure and industry, Singh said high economic growth could be attained with higher productivity. “To achieve our goals and our ambitions, we will have to enhance productivity across all sectors of the economy. Our resources are limited and need to be utilised optimally,” he said. “I would urge all of you present here to pay greater attention to cutting costs and boosting the quality of the products and services that our country produces,” he said.
“Our work ethic as a people also needs to be greatly improved. Both managements and workers have a critical role in bringing about this much needed change,” he added. Doing a repetitive task mechanically can be draining, he said, but added “the same work can become far more fulfilling when shram (labour) becomes seva (service) when it is infused with a meaning and a sense of purpose.”

The Prime Minister outlined the government’s recent initiatives in increasing skills of workers. “Our effort is to promote the well-being of all sections of workers, especially those in the unorganised sector, who comprise over 90% of our total workforce,” he said. “We are committed to creating conditions that will encourage individual initiative, ingenuity, and acquisition of new skills,” he added.