Siddharth Mazumdar is a policy analyst and Member, Citizens for Accountable Governance.
A thunderous applause marked the conclusion of Rahul Gandhi's address to Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (FICCI) 85th annual general meeting. (
Watch: Rahul Gandhi's speech at FICCI)
Rahul Gandhi spoke a lot on transformation - literally everything under the sun from agriculture to education - but his change in style and rhetoric was a subtle attempt to present himself not as a recalcitrant prince but as a battle-ready commander.
But ultimately substance supersedes style and as the euphoria over the emergence of a Rahul 2.0 rescinds its essential to understand if the Congress party's Prime Ministerial candidate offers a new vision or just new packaging for an old and failed vision.
The genesis of the antipathy which businesses harbors towards the UPA 2 lies in the latter's policy paralysis. Rahul Gandhi promises to infuse dynamism into government but using the same strategies which UPA 2 unsuccessfully tried.
For instance he invoked the "innovative" concept of a government sponsored SPV (special purpose vehicle) which will take upon itself the responsibility of obtaining project-related approvals and permissions. In response to a backlog of several energy-related investment proposals, the Prime Minister's Office - in May 2012 - floated the same idea only to be rejected by the Union Oil Ministry.
In its observations , the ministry had noted that an SPV would be redundant as government agencies are legally better equipped to obtain clearances. Since then the SPV proposal is safely gathering dust somewhere in Lutyen's Delhi.
Rahul Gandhi vociferously endorsed the idea of an economy whose foundation is deeply rooted in a robust manufacturing sector. But it would have been helpful if he could have explained why the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) set up by the UPA in 2004 did not deliver on its objectives. In his 2006 address to the NMCC , Prime Minster Manmohan Singh spoke exactly on the same lines as Mr. Gandhi and promised to increase manufacturing output to 25-35% of GDP. For the past 30 years, manufacturing's contribution to the national economy remains frozen at 15%.
In his address Mr. Gandhi rightly pointed out that corruption bleeds the economy. His party has conferred on him credit for passing the Lokpal Bill. But eventually corruption has to be deracinated through assertive action.
Considering this session of parliament was the penultimate session of the 15th Lok Sabha, why did the Congress party choose not to extend the winter session to pass the other gamut of anti-corruption bills which Rahul has been batting for? Some of them, such as the amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act, already have bipartisan support
If Rahul Gandhi's FICCI address was about enforcing almost all of UPA's - adopted, abandoned and failed - policies, then what is it he can do differently than the Manmohan Singh government, which he himself is disappointed with? The only answer lies in effective implementation and efficient administration. And this can be driven by a decisive and committed leadership - a leadership enjoying both constitutional and political authority .
Narendra Modi's primary credentials are rooted in his tangible track record in project delivery and a functional administration through his 12 -year term in Gujarat. On the other hand the only thing Rahul Gandhi could boast of is a few projects in Amethi.
May be instead of transforming his image, he could come up with genuine transformative ideas that has the potential to transform current predictions of a Congress defeat.
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