UPA must learn from its own victory on FDI in retail: boldness pays

After the vote on foreign direct investment in organised retail, the government now stands tall, its political authority fortified, and not just reaffirmed. At the same time, the Opposition looks rather silly. In a climate where normal working of the government has been hostage to weakened authority, wayward coalition numbers, an obstructionist Opposition and unsure numbers in Parliament, this is a key development, one that allows governance to turn coherent and purposive.

The entire nation, and not just the ruling coalition’s electoral fortunes, stands to gain from this. The point is to use the new-found authority and legitimacy to take fresh, bold decisions, rather than to relapse into the old mould of passive inertia. Many people have questioned the wisdom of choosing foreign investment in retail as the issue on which to stake the government’s survival.

Why not pick a nobler, more immediate policy such as subsidy on petroleum products? The short answer is that the choice of the particular issue for making a stand did not really matter. It so happened that an ally, the Trinamool Congress, left the coalition protesting against the decision to allow FDI in retail.

The choice was thus made. The government had to prove two things: that it would not allow itself to be a victim of political blackmail and that it had a secure, functional majority in Parliament even after the ruling coalition shed its second-largest contingent. Both points have been made, and emphatically, with the decisive win in both Houses of Parliament on FDI in retail.

The Opposition increasingly resembles its caricature: irresponsible and power-hungry, unmindful of the nation’s larger interest at a time of global economic crisis. It cannot afford now to merge fully with, and become its own, caricature.

It must cooperate with the government on a great many issues on which there is no basic disagreement: allowing joint-venture insurance companies to bring in more foreign capital to allow them to keep expanding, transit to a goods and services tax, reform education, pass the company Bill. The government must take the lead. It must use its upper hand constructively. Elicit cooperation, rather than score political points.