Dot Decisions Get Trapped In Web Of Power Play

Beni Prasad Verma, the man in charge of the countrys communications, is in a spot. The minister is ducking political punches thrown at him from rival quarters in Samajwadi Party (SP), the very party he helped float. And, in the process, has considerably slowed down taking policy decisions in the departments of telecom and posts.

In the face of stinging criticism from Amar Singh, the partys upcoming second-in-command, Verma has taken his foot off the pedal. Why should he take decisions when attacks are made at even the most transparent of decisions? asks a close aide of the minister. The fact that Singh has the tacit support of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is also the Union defence minister, has not eased Vermas tensions one bit.

 

Among the decisions that the minister has put on the backburner are: the award of the Rajasthan basic telecom services licence to Telelink Networks, a Shyam Telecom-led consortium; the new Internet policy which would allow entry of private Internet service providers into the country; and a decision on a $3-billion WorldTel proposal to roll-out basic telecom services in Uttar Pradesh (east), Kerala and West Bengal.

Singh, highly visible in Delhis powerbroking circles, even wrote a letter to Vermas office pointing out irregularities in the Rajasthan basic telecom tendering process. The missive, similar to an earlier note from Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, is seen to represent interests of rival corporate groups, including a Delhi-based company which had bid for provision of services in several circles and a Mumbai-based shipping-to-steel group.

Singhs attack comes at a time of telecom deregulation and impending corporatisation and eventual privatisation of the department of telecommunications (DoT). Ironically, Singh himself has grown in political stature after the 1991 economic reforms.

Verma, obviously, is a victim of his growing stature within the party, so much so that he was considered an alternate candidate to Yadav for the chief ministership of his home state, Uttar Pradesh, when a tie-up with bitter rivals Bahujan Samajwadi Party was being discussed.

At an SP national conclave earlier this month, a paper presented on the economy brought differences between Singh and Verma to the fore. The paper, authored by Mohan Singh, which clearly had a pro-swadeshi slant, was used by Singh to drive home the point that Verma was not in the best of Yadavs books.

How can we talk of swadeshi when our own minister is following a different track? Singh had asked the audience.

Interestingly, Verma finds himself holding the short end of the stick because of his clean handling of DoT deals. Reportedly, he is being pressured from within his party to work for the benefit of the party; something which the minister has been fighting shy of, given the experience of his predecessor, Sukh Ram.

At the end of the day, corporates hoping to cash in on bold decisions from the first floor of Sanchar Bhavan in the capital where Verma sits are a disillusioned lot. There are no decisions forthcoming because the government does not expect to remain in power for very long. Why should Verma unnecessarily spoil his chances within the party? asks a industry source.

Why should he take decisions when attacks are made at even the most transparent of decisions?

A close aide