Highly respected teddy - Politics | Andhra Pradesh’s parochial policy will hurt national interest

[TheBrahmabull]

Rajeev Sharma 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone on record saying, “If I had chosen the populist course, it would have been a breach of the trust placed in me by the people.” His detractors may pounce back saying that Modi hasn’t practiced what he preached. The fact is that none other than the prime minister himself has drawn a line on populism and thumbed down the politics of populism.

The government of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, the newly-installed Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, is doing the same what PM Modi cautioned against. Sample Reddy’s latest move: the decision to reserve 75 percent jobs for locals in private industrial units and factories, even if a firm has not received concessions from the government. This populist move will harm not just the state’s economic interests but would also damage the national fabric.

 

On July 22, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly chose to be on the wrong side of history when it enacted a law to that effect. The penny-wise-pound-foolish legislation stipulates that if locals with requisite skills were not available, the private factories would be required to train people along with the state government, and then hire them.

 

 

 

Cleary, this legislation undermines the industrialisation effort of the nascent state, which was bifurcated five years ago.

Imagine a scenario if all the 29 states and seven Union Territories in India were to implement such protectionist measures — what would happen to India as a nation! Madhya Pradesh was already mulling such a legislation. Similarly, in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has threatened to reserve seats for Delhi students at the University of Delhi.

The Reddy government has adopted a parochial policy, which may be in the interest of the state but would actually damage the national fabric. It has taken several other decisions which are a sure recipe for disaster not only for the industrial development of Andhra Pradesh but also hurt India as a nation.

Another controversial decision of the Reddy government is to renegotiate power purchase agreements signed by the previous N Chandrababu Naidu government. Though this is said to combat corruption, it will end up not only stalling industrial development but also compromising renewable energy projects of 5.2 gigawatt production with an estimated debt of Rs 21,000 crore.

Thus when Andhra Pradesh has been hectoring the Centre for a special category status, this legislation will only repel potential investors, not attract them!

The bug of parochialism and protectionism did not start with Andhra Pradesh. The Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh has been threatening to do the same. The Reddy government’s move is against the spirit of Article 19 of the Constitution which guarantees free movement to citizens across the country. In a way, it is also contrary to the larger purpose entailed in legislation such as the Goods and Services Tax or GST. The GST entails ceding unilateral control over rates for the sake of a unified market for goods and services across India. However, here Andhra Pradesh is putting up road blocks to the movement of labour.

Taking a cue from Reddy, PMK founder S Ramadoss has demanded 80% of quotas in Tamil Nadu. This stokes all the more trouble for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the PMK is a BJP ally in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

A clever politician like Reddy knows that Andhra Pradesh won’t be immediately impacted because 62 per cent of its population is engaged directly or indirectly in agriculture. However, what about the farm sector which is bound to shrink as a result of this myopic legislation?

Reddy has reinvented the wheel and brought into focus the issue of ‘outsiders’, a hobby horse of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra for decades now. If his government’s 50-day report card is made, it will be dominated by the red mark of this parochial policy of enforcing job reservations in the private sector.

Rajeev Sharma is a senior journalist and political analyst. Twitter: @Kishkindha. Views are personal.