NEW DELHI: The Government ‘on Dec. 10 maintained that the reverses suffered by the Congress in the elections to the four states ‘would not have any adverse impact on the pace of economic reform despite apprehensions in some quarter of trade and industry, Report agencies.

Even as the Commerce Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said that the setback suffered by his party would in no way affect the Government economic policies, a section of the industry feared a slowdown in the reform process.

“Why should these election results slow down the economic process, “he asked, indicating that the verdict was not against the liberalization process initiated by the Government three years ago?

‘The debacle of the Congress in the current Assembly elections will not in any way blocks the process of economic reforms, the Minister of State for External Affairs, Salman Khursheed said.

Presenting awards for northern region unit of the All India Manufactures Organization (AIMO), Khursheed said there was no crisis. In the Congress or the Central Government election results. “The fact is that Andhra Pradesh and Kamataka have just slipped out of Congress’s hold.”

The president of the All India Association of Industries, Vijay G. Kalantri said that although the election defeats were more due to the local issues in Andhra Pradesh and Kamataka, it is essential that the fruit of reforms be percolated to the lowest level: ‘Tough the regulations have gone the regulators still remain, he said.”

‘One of the major shareholders of S. Kumar’s, a leading textile manufacturing company, Vikas Kasliwal feared that the slowdown: in economic reforms and foreign investments would have a negative impact on the pace of the growth of country.

‘The chairman of the Ansal Properties and Industries Ltd, Sushil Ansal, expressed apprehensions that the election defeat would slow down the peace of economic reforms that was nontitle country’s interest.

Ansal said though there is an attitudinal change in the Center’s economic policy this change has not yet reached the district level.

He, however, maintained that the poll debacle was not the result of the initiating of economic reforms and that it was only the local issues which caused these setbacks.

Despite these reverses, the Congress party should show political will and determination in carrying on with the reform program, he said.

‘The chairman of Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, too felt that the economic reforms may not have anything to do with the reverses suffered by the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

He expressed confidence that the process of liberalization at the Center will continue unhampered and would not be affected by these factors.

‘An apparel exporter, Subodh Kumar Jain, was hopeful that the Government would continue in the direction of economic reforms and would not get bogged down by these reverses. Some of the captains of trade and industry felt the economic reforms_ has so far only benefitted thematic= national corporations and that the Indian industry has largely remained deprived of the benefits of economies reforms. A professor in the Jawahan Lal Nehru University, Dr. Jayati Ghosh, felt that the verdict is clear and was a reaction to fallout of particular strategies of economic. Policy.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 16, 1994