Milind Deora: I do not think there is fear in the system

Milind Deora, you are a two-term Member of Parliament (MP) from south Mumbai: but is this the wrong time to be an MP from south Mumbai? It's the financial capital of India, and currently with the rupee plunging to its all time low - in fact some people would say, rupee has turned a senior citizen - isn't it a bad time to be an MP from there?

Milind Deora: No, I think it's a great time to represent a constituency like south Mumbai, because no constituency in India has the diversity that south Mumbai has . Nowhere else will you find the extremes both in terms of economic strata, social strata. I am very happy to represent it; I think there's never a bad time for it.
 

But, given the fact that you are from the financial capital, how do you explain the image of India to investors abroad at a time like this?

Milind Deora: People across the country in the industry, I think, they understand that this is a difficult time for India economically.

How much is the Congress to blame? Given the fact that you have been in power for nine years, you have a reformist as prime minister, yet you have the rupee plunging so low.

Milind Deora: We can't deny the fact that we are a nation that imports a lot of our energy requirements. We can't deny that we are a nation that does not have control over what crude oil prices will be around the world. Having said that, we can perhaps say that we can improve upon our domestic situation. How do we create a healthy debate with industry, with opposition in terms of what is the way going for war? And I think that is an area where collectively, perhaps we have made some mistakes, we as in, not just the government, but the politicians and businessmen together. Please understand that a few years ago something happened that was unimaginable in india.

Which is what?

Milind Deora: Union Ministers going to jail, businessmen being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation, businessmen going to jail… this has, I think, shocked the system and so, I think, what had happened prior to this happening was there was a very shrill rhetoric in the country and therefore, I am not blaming the opposition, but I am saying politicians also created an atmosphere that was very shrill, it was a very negative atmosphere.

In my own ministry, telecommunications and information technology, the courts got involved, they completely overturned a certain policy in the 2G spectrum area: should spectrum be bundled with licences or should it be auctioned? And these things happened without a debate, so a lot changed, there were a lot of shocks in our system and I believe now going forward, it's important that we get a discourse in our country that is practical, pragmatic, realistic and honest, frankly, and not just accuse one another, that someone is corrupt, someone should go to jail. And that, in my view, will allow us to debate what the core issues of India are.

But some would argue that in the interest of transparency this shakedown had to happen, because now at least people will be more careful, there will be less corruption, after the 2G scam has come to light.

Milind Deora: Well, I think that if there is a scam, nobody is saying that people who are involved in the scam should be allowed to go free. If the way the 2G licences were allotted in the first-come-first-serve policy, if there were violations by all means, everyone concerned should be punished. But what I am trying to say is, please understand that you suddenly moved from a policy of not auctioning, to a policy of auctioning because the court intervened and suggested you should do that.

Correct.

Milind Deora: That didn't happen with much debate, it is important to have debates when you discuss those policies because they have wide ranging ramifications on industry, on tele-density in our country and those things, sadly were not debated.

So, is there a policy paralysis? Are people scared to take decisions? That's what I am hearing from a lot of bureaucrats: that they are scared to sign anything on the file now.

Milind Deora: No, I don't think there is a fear in the system. I think if you talk to businessmen today, what they are concerned about is; is there consistency of policy? They're afraid if they invested "x" amount of rupees today, five years later or 10 years later, will that policy be overturned? Will it be overturned because a new government comes into power, will that be overturned because someone goes and files a public interest litigation in the court, and the court overturns a certain decision. That is a genuine fear, that's a fear that we collectively have to address, and it is not fair to say that the government is to blame. I believe that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the principal opposition party in our country has as much responsibility in not allowing the debate on at least the economy, on financial matters and on industry to become shrill and to allow it to be debated in a fair manner that allows the truth to come out so we can move ahead together as a country.

But it is not the BJP it is the Congress that has brought in some of the policies. Since that Vodafone retrospective taxation policy - your government is to be blamed for that....

Milind Deora: On policy, as I said, there are certain areas where perhaps, one can say that within the government also there should be more consistency, andmore clarity. I am not denying that, I don't think that our government is unique in that case. That happens in every government in India, around the world.

Excerpts from an interview given by Minister of state for Telecommunications, Milind Deora, the MP from South Mumbai, to Priya Sahgal of NewsX channel, New Delhi, August 31, 2013