Time for an alternative agenda for India : Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

 Time for an alternative agenda for India

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

The Pioneer (05-05-2022)

Addressing the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) plenary on April 27, 2022 in Hyderabad, the party president and Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao, articulated the need for an 'alternative agenda' for the country. This is in line with KCR's plans to play a decisive and critical role in national politics.

According to KCR, the idea is not to make X, Y or Z occupy the Prime Minister's chair or to bring some party to power, but to ensure that the nation implements an alternate agenda that would reach the hard-earned fruits of Independence to all sections of society. In other words, the need of the hour for the country is an alternative agenda for development and not mere political realignment.

KCR made a strong case for implementation of the hugely successful Telangana model of development and welfare across the country. The Chief Minister posed a series of questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his policies, including Hindutva propagated by BJP, which is dangerous to the country. All through his address there were cheers from the participants and slogans like 'Desh Ki Neta KCR'.

If one analyses the conceptual framework behind KCR's appeal for an alternative agenda, several important things come to the fore. The demand for a change for the better would come from people and the leadership to bring about such qualitative change would emerge automatically. The progress in the country during the last 75 years has been slow. Going by the present political scenario, people are vexed and are looking for change as soon as possible. We may cite the examples of Janata Party's formation and its coming to power; NTR's Telugu Desam formation and its coming to power; and the formation of TRS party, achieving separate state for Telangana and then coming to power. So also, Trinamool Congress, Aam Admi Party etc. This means, as and when a necessity arises for a qualitative change in the existing system, the process of evolution will surprise everyone, and this has been proved more than once in this country.

Undoubtedly such a desire for change is very much there now in the hearts of people across the country. The present situation and the need will give birth to leaders like KCR, who became a leader during the separate statehood movement. Leaders emerge from people's movements.

According to KCR, if he is required by people to change the national political scenario, he would shoulder the responsibility without any hesitation.

The country's political scenario has been dominated either by the Congress or the BJP till now. At any given point of time, either the NDA led by BJP or the UPA led by Congress or both on their own have been in power, except for short periods. However, except for change of slogans and change in the names of schemes, there has never been a situation to improve the lot of people at large.

The Union Budgets presented by these governments at best speak of an incremental growth. But the economy was not really stirred. The 75 years' experience of these two systems of governance, one by BJP and the other by Congress, has been one of fooling the people. Wealth was not accumulated in the real sense. Of the 75 years of independent India, except for five to six years of non-BJP, non-Congress Front, the Congress and the BJP have ruled the country. What is their answer to the country? KCR's call for a qualitative change in politics by setting an alternative national agenda resonates well with people's expectations. The next political force for this cannot be a third front or federal front, but an alternative agenda. Whoever is capable of implementing this, will automatically emerge as the leader.

What is required now is that, on the lines of Telangana, India too need to be reinvented and reoriented to make it great. Towards this end, the best practices across the globe are to be collected and studied for making them applicable to Indian situation. Leveraging the country's economy and drafting a policy framework to understand where the country is lagging behind is the need of the hour. It is absolutely necessary to prepare a growth agenda for the country, taking into account the requirements of different states and various strata of society and then place it before the people for consideration and choose appropriately.

Experts, senior bureaucrats, both retired and working, and economists drawn from across the country, and, if necessary, from abroad too, should give guidelines and roadmap for a way forward after studying the existing acts, laws, methods and practices, and show the changes and reforms to be taken up. In this endeavor, people from all sections and from all parts of the country should also actively participate.

If KCR's address to the TRS plenary and at other platforms are studied deeply, one may conclude that, with the BJP in power at the Centre, the possibilities of development of the country are bleak. People are vexed with Narendra Modi and his policies. There is not even a single flagship program of the Modi Government that is worth mentioning. There is not even a single program either for Dalits or farmers.

When KCR was spearheading the separate statehood movement of Telangana, he was heckled with comments that suggested he would not be able to do anything. History proved otherwise. KCR made everyone say, "Jai Telangana". Why not adopt the same spirit at the national level?

Having proved his mettle as a people's leader and an able administrator par excellence, KCR, in the contemporary political scenario, is the right person to see that the alternative agenda is defined, designed, and delivered to suit the people's needs.

Incorporating a broad-based reform-oriented agricultural policy benefiting the Indian farmer that includes assured MSP and investment support; provision for income tax relief to all those whose income is less; digging out black money and thereby pooling funds for Government investment; establishing parliamentary supremacy; judicial reforms; equitable distribution of 70,000 TMC of available water in the country by the Center; provision of minimum wages to small and marginal employees; electoral reforms; bureaucratic reforms; making the Finance Commission a permanent body etc., among many more other things, will have to form part of a gigantic national alternative agenda.