Man with the halo

Before the tough decision on finally implementing FDI in multi-brand retail was arrived at, the Congress Core Committee deliberating the issue was aware that while theoretically such decrees sounded good, their impact when put to vote, could entirely be the opposite. Example: in the mid-nineties, Atal Behari Vajpayee’s NDA government fell by one vote in Parliament.

Party president Sonia Gandhi made it apparent to all concerned that a fiasco of that magnitude – when then Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan was seen scurrying with a voters’ list in his hand, apparently clueless – should not be repeated at any cost.

So the big question at hand was this: with three sessions stalled minus any legislation, who could the ruling party turn to for ensuring that crucial bills could be passed without hiccups in the upcoming Winter session of Parliament?

It was becoming difficult to agree on incumbent Pawan Kumar Bansal’s name, given that the Congress had completely failed to get the cooperation of the opposition. Several names cropped up; among them Ambika Soni, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kamal Nath. Sonia put in the final word for Kamal Nath, who she felt was capable of pulling the party’s chestnuts out of fire at a critical time. The veteran Chhindwara MP was summoned immediately.

Nath appeared reportedly reluctant at a time when the government’s relations with the opposition parties were at a nadir. But he was persuaded by other members of the Core Committee. As the drama later unfolded, it started to become clear that Congress had made the right choice.

Kamal Nath went to work with political parties fundamentally opposed to the Congress and was able to report to the Core Committee in early September that with the exception of Mamata Banerjee, the UPA government could be rest assured that it would not face any humiliation if it went with introducing the bill on multi-brand retail in both houses of the Parliament in the eventuality of a vote. It turned out to be high assurance.

Congress sources say as a tester, Nath suggested that the government hike prices of petroleum products and the chips would fall into place automatically. On September 13, the prices of diesel were increased and the SP and Trinamool Congress immediately demanded a roll back. Mamata threatened to pull out of the government. Sensing the iron was hot, the Congress announced its intention of introducing FDI in multi-brand retail.

The West Bengal Chief Minister followed her threat and walked out, a new Union Cabinet came into being with the announcement of dates for the winter session of Parliament and the Congress breathed a huge sigh of collective relief.

Party sources say that in the intervening period, Kamal Nath was under constant party pressure with one question on every lip: will the government survive Mamata Banerjee’s no-confidence motion? The Parliamentary Affairs Minister had one reply to this harangue: Yes.

Kamal Nath, whose caliber was never in doubt, has suddenly acquired a halo. According to his fellow Cabinet member and Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister has left his impact where ever he has worked. “In Forest and Environment, Commerce, Urban Development and Textiles ministries, he left his stamp,’’ says Rawat. As Commerce Minister, Nath is credited for putting his weight behind Foreign Trade Policy and the SEZ act.

Bureaucrats who work with him are a satisfied lot, their minister is used to giving briefings rather than taking it. People who know him credit Kamal Nath with a unique endowment: he does not let the left hand know what the right is doing!

Even in state politics, where every third Congressman lays claims to lead the party, Kamal Nath has confined himself to his constituency Chhindwara, a reason why he has been winning elections from this Madhya Pradesh seat since the 1980s. He is known to have nurtured his constituency like a baby, listening to as many complaints and grievances as possible.

Any evaluation of Kamal Nath’s off beat personality cannot be complete without a mention of his alter ego and political adviser Rajendra Kumar Miglani, who quit his job in the ITC and has been working with the Congress MP for the last 32 years. Miglani says even today he leaves hand written messages for the minister when they come from Chhindwara. Nath concurs or disagrees briefly, with a note that the work should be attended to on a priority basis. Later that slip is destroyed but the Congress leader, who is a computer freak, follows up the rest on his desk or laptop.

According to Miglani, when he first met Kamal Nath in the 1980s, he was advised to learn computers as information technology was soon going to become the sunrise industry. “He never stalls and remembers to keep his promises,’’ Miglani gushes. Maybe it is these qualities which have endeared him to the opposition parties as well.

"The government has lost moral ground"

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha is not pleased with the number game in the house

The government has cleared the FDI hurdle. How do you see it?
The UPA government may have cleared the hurdle in the House but what happened behind the scenes is known to all. The government has lost despite winning the vote in Parliament.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has said that the BSP saw reason when it heard the Congress arguments and thereafter voted with the government.
I would not like to make a personal comment on the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, he is doing his job. The attitude of the SP is very clear, it has to do its own politics and it is going to oppose FDI in brand retail.  But the volte face by the BSP is nothing less than astonishing. Otherwise, the bill would have fallen through in the Rajya Sabha. It is difficult to say how the government managed to convince Mayawati.

You may say that the government has lost the moral high ground but the ruling dispensation says Parliament is run on the basis of numbers.
After what happened in the vote on retail, it became obvious that the government had pulled out all stops to cough up the numbers. That is why we are claiming the moral high ground. The mis-steps used to get the bill passed shows that it had already made up its mind on retail and then decided to go the full throttle.
 

"We know how to put a point across"

With the hurdle in FDI retail cleared, kamal Nath is a happy man

With the last three sessions going down the drain, you were appointed Parliamentary Affairs Minister. How do you assess your role?
What can I say? I was given this responsibility by the UPA Chairman Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. They must have had some faith in me. I am just trying to work for the party.

The UPA government was very worried about passing FDI in retail in the Parliament. The way BSP came out in support of the government in the Rajya Sabha at the last minute, the Opposition is alleging that there was a deal with Mayawati.
It is totally untrue to say that. There has been no deal on introducing FDI in retail. All I can say is we probably have a good way of putting our point of view across and the opposition parties have the good sense to appreciate it.

The government has cleared the FDI hurdle, what about lobbying by Walmart? The issue appears to be catching fire.
The government is prepared to order an inquiry into the matter, the scope of such an investigation would obviously be decided by the government.

pramod.kumar@thesundayindian.com