Ink dry on 1996 but the writers are back and ready

Sonia Gandhi doesn’t have to worry about thrashing out an acceptable programme for her forthcoming coalition government—she can tu...

Sonia Gandhi doesn’t have to worry about thrashing out an acceptable programme for her forthcoming coalition government—she can turn to a readymade negotiating team. A team which struck positive notes on disinvestment and called for strengthening ‘‘warm relations with the United States and Russia.’’

In May 1996, the United Front government officially set up a three-member team to work out ‘‘A Common Approach to Major Policy Matters and a Minimum Programme.’’ And the three members were P. Chidambaram, Jaipal Reddy and Sitaram Yechury.

Reddy and Chidambaram are now with the Congress and Yechury is still the chief troubleshooter of the Left—then as now a crucial partner of the alliance.

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Eight summers ago, the three-member South Indian brains trust, Reddy recalls, held numerous meetings at Andhra Pradesh Bhavan. ‘‘And within 72 hours, we came up with the Common Minimum Programme.’’ It was a programme that tried to strike a fine balance between economic reforms and social welfare.

Yechury remembers the discussions well and concedes that despite differences, consensus was never elusive. ‘‘The two contentious issues were disinvestment and privatisation of insurance,’’ he remembers.

While Reddy says he convinced Yechury on the need to open up the insurance sector, Yechury counters: ‘‘Just read the CMP—we did not agree to it.’’

The carefully worded sentences could be read both ways.

Under the section on Infrastructure, the CMP said, ‘‘There is room for public sector companies and private sector companies to co-exist and compete in the financial sector. We have gained considerable experience in the working of the banking sector. The said experience will be applied to the restructuring of the insurance industry but at the same time public sector companies like LIC, GIC etc will be strengthened…”

If Yechury agreed to a Disinvestment Commission, the other two went along with the demand for dividing public sector undertakings into different categories and following different policies for each of them.

According to the Common Minimum Programme of the government, a Disinvestment Commission would be set up to advise the government on withdrawing the public sector from non-core and non-strategic areas but only after ‘‘assuring the workers and employees of job security or, in the alternative, opportunities for retraining and redeployment.’’

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Revenues generated from disinvestment, it said, ‘‘will be utilised in two vital areas, health and education, particularly in the poorer and backward districts of the country. A part of such revenues will be earmarked to create an investment fund which will be used to strengthen other public sector enterprises.’’

And for those who fear that the CPI(M)’s long history of street marches against ‘‘US imperialism’’ means a U-turn in Indo-US relations, have a look at the CMP’s section on foreign policy.

It said: ‘‘While India has good relations with all countries of the world, it has especially warm relations with the United States and Russia as well as Japan and many countries …. These warm relations will be emphasised while strengthening relations with all countries of the world.”