Government should take initiative in nation building

The monsoon has started early and is expected to perform well, removing most of the uncertainty over what may be called a known unknown among the determinants of how the nation will fare. The political leadership needs to do the same to the most significant of such known unknowns: its own ability to decide rather than dither.

It is imperative that the leadership break the sense of drift that wafts down from Raisina Hill and into all the nearby Bhawans that house the ministries of the central government, enervating anyone that comes in its way. It must begin with the Cabinet reshuffle the Prime Minister had promised in January. It must extend to radically changing the way the ruling Congress mobilises its funds.

A thoroughgoing attack on systemic corruption in India has to start with cleaning up political funding, almost all of which is garnered through corruption of one kind or another. Legal reforms to clean up political funding, and make political party accounts transparent are overdue and must be initiated. But the most credible reform of all would be a move by the biggest party of them all to initiate the process of acquiring transparency in collection of funds and in expenditure.

The government must find the courage to move on things it knows to be imperative, but has been putting off for fear of offending some interest group or the other. It must decide on export of farm produce, to ensure that farmers get a decent price and will continue to produce bumper harvests in the years ahead. It must create a separate state of Telangana and start work on a modern new capital for Andhra Pradesh, triggering massive new construction and planned urbanisation. It must decontrol diesel prices, rationalise taxes on petro fuels and allow independent retail of fuel, paving the way for a competitive market.

It must initiate appointment of tens of thousands of new district-level judges, to speed up the judicial process. It must pass pending legislation. The government must, in other words, take the initiative and act to take the nation forward. Action will silence critics, not protestations from inert postures of rectitude. And there is no time to waste.