Good economics is good politics will be the BJP’s mantra going ahead. Notwithstanding the impasse over the three farm laws, the Narendra Modi government is set to push forth aggressive reform measures in the coming months with the aim of getting the Covid 19-ravaged economy back on track.
While this slogan – good economic is good politics– gained momentum just ahead of the Union Budget, the BJP is keen to strengthen this narrative going ahead.
Sources said that the government is looking to expedite the reform process so that the fruits of those measures are visible in the next couple of years.
“It is not just related to the Union Budget, going ahead this will be the BJP’s mantra that only good economics is good politics and the days of good economic is bad politics are gone. The government is determined to push forth reform measures with the only agenda of growth and social welfare, it will not buckle down to pressures,” Gopal Krishna Agarwal, national spokesperson for the BJP said. Agarwal hightlighted the importance of good economics and good politics even as at a press conference held last month.
Notably, unlike most political leaders, who have typically shied away from directly acknowledging the importance of private sector, Modi speaking in Lok Sabha openly highlighted the role of wealth creators.
"To use improper words against the private sector may have got votes for a few people in the past but those times are gone. The culture of abusing the private sector is not acceptable any longer. We cannot keep insulting our youth like this," the Prime Minister said.
An insider said that the social welfare scheme would be critical in providing the required support to the underprivileged and poor but portrayal of apathy towards the rich will no more be the cornerstone.
“They are tax paying citizens, why should they be made to feel that they have committed a crime. Those days are gone,” he said.
“For the first time ever, an Indian Prime Minister has publicly shared his respect for the Indian Entrepreneurs. "This is a great encouragement for the community that has been creating wealth and jobs in the country,” Sajjan Jindal, chairman, JSW Group wrote on Twitter.
Interestingly, Modi and his team have often been called the “suit boot ki sarkar” by the opposition Congress implying that the government has been favouring the rich. “There is no time now to get bogged down by these illogical allegations. The PM is set to take this head-on,” another person said.
Bold reform process outlined in the Budget
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget, the first after the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, outlined a bold reform process in several sectors including in banking and insurance services.
Sitharaman has outlined privatisation of two public sector banks and a general insurance company as part of its disinvestment policy besides launching the initial public offer (IPO) of the public sector life insurer behemoth Life Insurance Corporation of India. “This is indeed bold and unthinkable few years ago as we all knew that good economics could never be good politics,” a senior executive engaged with a multinational company said.
