The Finance Minister Mr. P Chidambaram has commented that the amount of economics that Mr. Narendra Modi knows can be written on the backside of a postal stamp. This statement comes from a keen student of economics who can be credited with pushing India’s GDP growth to below 5%.
Mr. Chidambaram believes that he is a principal repository of all economic wisdom. It is a different matter that he along with the other members of the UPA’s dream team to manage the economy, have presented to the country not a dream but a nightmare. Political administrators who manage the economy are not known by their academic attributes. They are known by the footprints of performance they leave behind.
Mr. P V Narasimha Rao and Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee had no claim to high levels of scholarship in economics. Experts are always available for special assignments in a Government. It’s a different matter that the Congress Party chooses to make them Finance Ministers. Political Leaders are expected to provide the leadership and decisiveness required for the management of the economy. They need to have a broad idea of the management of political economy. They are required to build consensus on economic issues. If consensus is not forthcoming they must assert themselves and overrule the critics. It is this quality that both Mr. Rao and Mr. Vajpayee had. It is for this reason that they find a special mention in history.
Mr. Narendra Modi does not claim to be an economist. The manner in which he has administered Gujarat for the past 12 years has demonstrated his decisiveness and ability. Gujarat is an industrial hub of India. It is a manufacturing State. Its agricultural economy has grown in double digits. Its growth figures are higher than those of the rest of the country. Unlike Mr. Modi, Mr. Chidambaram and his Prime Minister did not have the ability to overrule their critics. They caved in even when obsolete suggestions were made by their Party leadership. Observers today do not share Mr. Chidambaram’s opinion about Mr. Modi. In fact, the revival of the Investment cycle is being linked to a change in Government where Dr. Singh and Mr. Chidambaram go out and Mr. Modi comes in.
Mr. Modi has demonstrated his clarity and effectiveness in generating and expediting economic activity in Gujarat. His ability does not require certification of Mr. Chidambaram. But will Mr. Chidambaram with his customary wisdom educate us on the extent of economic knowledge and understanding his de facto Prime Ministerial candidate Mr. Rahul Gandhi possesses?