'Shun negativity, play constructive'

Drawing flak from various quarters over policy paralysis and governance deficit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday sought support of all political parties and states to end the prevailing environment of negativism.

With the government being rapped by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the judiciary on various counts, he laid emphasis on the defined role of the executive, Parliament, state legislatures and other constitutional and regulatory authorities.

“It is our collective responsibility to reverse the mood of negativism today,” he told a meeting of the National Development Council, which is a body of the Centre and states.

“We can either become victims of negativism, criticising ourselves all the way, or work together to put ourselves firmly in the group of rising economies. Both optimism and pessimism have an infectious quality”, he said. In India, “the business is better than the mood, “ the PM said, quoting a business leader.

He emphasised that every pillar of democracy should play its due role in a constructive manner.

“In times like these, it is of vital importance that each of our democratic institutions — the executive, judiciary, Parliament and state legislatures, various constitutional and regulatory authorities — understand their due role and play the same in a constructive manner.”

He sought the states’ help to make the country grow at a high pace on a sustained basis.

The PM expressed concern at the slowing economic growth, but exuded confidence it would be a short-term phenomenon in the context of unsettled conditions in the world economy.

Singh does not feel the moderation in growth would undermine the 12th Plan approach paper’s target of an average growth of nine per cent a year over the next five financial years.

The country’s economy grew at a six-quarter low of 7.7 per cent in the first quarter. Against projections of nine per cent at the time of the Budget, the finance ministry is talking of substantially lowering growth rate to 7.5-8.2 per cent for this financial year.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said there had to be a certain flexibility in the planning to raise the target of nine per cent average yearly growth in the 12th Plan, if the global environment improved and the country made progress in terms of strengthening growth drivers.

Singh sought cooperation from political parties on long-term national agenda, while recognising there were political considerations behind the moves of parties.

“Elected governments can deliver only if, once the elections are over and a government is formed, the political process works to allow governments to function in a manner where the needs of longer term development do not become hostage to short-term concerns,” he said.

He said parliamentary parties had to strike a difficult balance between maintaining adversarial political positions on many issues, while co-operating to advance a shared longer term national agenda.

“The balance is not easy to strike,” he recognised.

Pointing out that resources were limited, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia highlighted the importance of raising the tax-GDP ratio and cutting untargetted subsidies both by the Centre and states.

In this context, he and the finance minister emphasized on the importance of an early implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, which has already missed two deadlines and is all set to miss the timeframe of April 1, 2012 as well.