India's Planning Commission has been in the eye of a storm after its Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia dismantled the various consultative committees when the Communists opposed the inclusion of foreign consultants on the Planning Commission panels.
The abrupt move has considerably upset the Communists as five economists on the panels were nominated by the Left parties.
Miffed Marxists and Communists have met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded the revival of a new consultative mechanism in the Planning Commission.
Communist Party of India National Secretary Doraiswamy Raja who met with the prime minister on the issue says dismantling of the consultative committees was "unwarranted."
"Montek Singh Ahluwalia acted in the most autocratic manner," Raja, one of the most outspoken Left leaders, tells Deputy Managing Editor George Iype, in an exclusive interview.
Are the Left parties angry that the government has done away with the Planning Commission's consultative committees?
We are upset. It is not a good practice. First of all, you set up consultative committees for the apex policy-making organisation in the country. And when one issue comes up, dissolving the committees was not the solution. That is not the way governmental decisions should be taken. We want to know why the committees were dissolved. The decision to dismantle the committees defies logic and reason.
The government says the committees were dismantled because the Left parties demanded the ouster of the foreign representatives on them.
Yes, that is what we precisely demanded. Our demand was for the betterment of the economy and for the nation. First of all, we are eager to know why representatives of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and companies like McKinsey and the Boston Consultant Group were appointed on the plan panels. Do you think we do not have enough consultants in India to give shape to policy matters? We sternly opposed the foreign experts in the committees, as outsiders with their agenda were not compatible in a sovereign dispensation.But the foreign representatives were included on the committees in advisory capacities. Do you think they would have dictated policy matters?
The question is why should the Indian government go for consultancy services from the World Bank and ADB? They are controlled by foreign States. By including them on the plan panels, we are actually giving them an opportunity to interfere in India's political and policy processes. The Left parties will continue to oppose any such anti-India moves from this government.What did Montek Singh Ahluwalia tell the Left parties when you took up the issue with him?
We officially sent him a letter saying that we are opposed to the foreign representatives. He replied to us, saying he would look into it. He also said the foreign representatives are included not in their individual capacities, but for their professional services. However, one fine morning, Montek dissolved the committees without even discussing the issue with us.Do you think that was uncalled for?
Yes, that was the most uncalled for act, and the government should explain why the committees were dissolved. We feel Montek acted like an autocrat. I think Montek did not even consult with the prime minister before dismantling the committees. We want the prime minister to be aware of the autocratic behaviour of the bureaucracy.You met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue. What did he tell you?
We met him and told him about how we have been treated. He listened to us patiently, but has not spelt out anything yet. The prime minister has assured us that he would look into the issues and concerns of the Left parties. We hope he will evolve a mechanism to resolve the impasse in the Planning Commission.Do you think the Left parties have been left out of the planning process, now that you are out of the various committees?
We do not consider the Planning Commission as the superpower body in India. It is not the supreme policy making body. It is the government and Parliament, which make policies and implement them, not the Planning Commission. The real action for good governance comes from the government of the day. The government is consulting the Left parties on various issues and policy matters. So we are not left out of the planning process.Are you happy with the Manmohan Singh government's performance so far?
We are not very satisfied with the performance of the government, because it can do many great things. The government needs to act and perform fast. Its performance has not been all that great in the last three months. There is tremendous scope for improvement. We need the government to come out with concrete action plans for employment generation, for food for work, for alleviation of poverty.Image: Uday Kuckian