Govt messed up, admits PM’s adviser Sam Pitroda

MUMBAI: Sam Pitroda, who advises the Prime Minister on innovation, on Wednesday admitted that the UPA government "messed up" and took some wrong decisions, including on Vodafone.

The government's decision to retrospectively tax the telecom MNC spooked the global investor community, which saw it as an example of inconsistent policy.

Speaking at a meet organized by Congress in Mumbai, Pitroda, who is said to have the ear of Rahul Gandhi, said a range of much-needed reforms — administrative, labour, political and legal — couldn't be implemented because of a "lack of political will".

He blamed it, at least in part, on the "difficulty of running a coalition government". He also blamed it on the absence of 'HR' in government, saying "How do you hire people in government and how do you let go?" Pitroda referred to how bureaucrats get shuffled at frequent intervals, before they can get a chance to settle in and be held accountable.

"Today in government, you can't fire anybody for doing bad work or no work," he said.

Although the UPA government has had an octogenarian as the PM, Pitroda said, "You get a government of 40-year-old guys, they'll deliver; you get a government of 70-year-old guys, they won't deliver."